Ayako smiled as Megumi took her seat and then said, "I will be gone for just a moment to fetch some supplies. Please do not mind the man standing outside the door. He is just a precaution." Apparently a man dressed entirely in black had taken a position by the door as a guard at some point during their conversation -- or perhaps he had been there the whole time. It was likely that Megumi would not have even noticed him unless Ayako had pointed him out. With that, the kitsune left the room, leaving Megumi to sit in silence for about three minutes. In that time, the man by the door stood still and statue-like; the loudest sound coming from him was the beating of his heart, and even that was muffled by layers of cloth. 

Finally, Ayako returned with a piece of white silk, a slab of a black metal substance, and a tiny metal tool that looked to be a pick of some sort. He laid the piece of silk on the table before him, placed the block of metal on top of the sheet, and proceeded to carefully carve a series of symbols that translated to "wolf" into the metal. "This will be your brand," he explained as he worked. "The materials here are enchanted so that the branding is a permanent process, but I assure you that it will not interact with any other magic you wish to use, nor will it have any negative effects on your health." When finished with that word, he carved one more smaller symbol above it that signified that she was of the ancient race of spirits. Next, he turned the pick around and tapped the metal three times, pausing about a second between them. When he lifted the metal, the symbols had transferred onto the cloth, penetrating through to both sides. He picked up the silk cloth and then made his way behind Megumi. "Now hold still. You may feel a slight sting, but it will only be momentary and no harm will come of it." With that final reassurance, he tied the cloth around Megumi's head like a headband, ensuring that the brand was centered properly; after all, once it was on, it would never come off. 

Once everything was in place, he lightly tapped Megumi's forehead and temples with the back of the pick, and the brand began to transfer onto her flesh. Megumi would feel a slight pain, like the prickling of thousands of needles where the symbols fused with her body, but the process took only a couple of seconds and then Ayako removed the cloth. "All finished. Now you are in compliance with our laws and have no need to hide from us. You are free to go if you like, but I would be happy if you chose to join The Guild. Of course, if you need more time to decide you are welcome to it, but spirits of your caliber do not come to us very often and I feel it would be a shame not to put your talents to use." Megumi was not blocked or restrained in any way; she was free to go if she chose, though it was clear that the fox wanted her on board.

Garoth raised an eyebrow at what Scarlet said. It was good having a friend that could give him special insights, but sometimes it frustrated him with how vague it could be. "I'm not a detective, I'm a hunter," he said. "Besides, she already told me that her father did something to her when she was a pup, but I'm not sure that even she knows what it is. If you think there's something really dangerous about her, then you should report it to the council. They have access to a lot more information than I do and can do a background check or something..." Now that he thought about it, if The Guild conducted a hunt on her father, they would definitely have a file on him that contained the reason he was hunted. "I'll talk to her again and have a look at the library," he said with a sigh, "but it it's something serious, that information would be classified." Perhaps one day he would have access to all of the information in the library, but as a warrior, he would have to make do with information that was free to everyone.