Stacy Kaiser - White Tiger
Her defeat at the hands of her reanimated parents was more than humiliating. It was infuriating, disheartening, and scarring. Had Lamia Scale and Lunar Wolf mages not arrived and pressured Avatar to retreat, Stacy would've likely been killed. Her memory of her parents had been from so long ago. She had no idea her father was this powerful. Was his abilities amplified somehow? Then again, he had the same abilities as her. And considering he was older, it would make sense that he would be stronger in the end. Her inability to put them to rest left her upset. It was an insult to their memory for them to be manipulated by a Dark Guild postmortem.
The weeks had been spent mostly in solitude. Where Stacy was known for being loud, obnoxious, and completely uncaring of how others perceived her she had lately become much quieter and more reserved. She remained at her personal home in Era, which had been completely funded and given to her by Kyou in the past, hardly leaving the oddly luxurious home. It was a small house with Stacy as the only one living in it, but it was furnished fully and lavishly, reflecting just how much money Stacy was capable of obtaining by working with the Magic Council. Despite the eccentric and fancy home, Stacy found no solace in the environment
she herself designed.
It was today that she decided to do something.
Ajax Thera - Hellmouth
The council member and Wizard Saint also had a home near Era, though it was in the outskirts of the town. It was a much more humble abode, being a primarily stone house with little decoration. The strong suit was that it had plenty of property around it, which Ajax used to train in his free time. The big man was standing outside his house, watering a potted plant that was too young to yet identify, when he noticed someone approaching.
Turning his yellow eyes to the dirt road leading to the house, he saw Stacy Kaiser. Without a word, Ajax stopped watering the plant and waited for her to enter conversation range. Something seemed different about the girl. While she looked the same, her aura felt different. She wasn't radiating her confidence, nor did she seem particularly obnoxious or exuberant at the moment.
"You've never visited me at my home once," Ajax greeted, his voice as hard to read as ever. He didn't sound angry or irritated, but he certainly didn't sound happy.
"What brings you out here?""I need you to train me further, Ajax-dono," Stacy spoke, giving him a polite bow. The larger man was shocked, though it was hard to tell by looking. A moment of silence passed between the two, only broken when Ajax set down the tin watering can on the porch chair.
"You've completed your Magus Hunter training long ago. You don't need further training," he responded simply, crossing his arms over his chest now that both hands were free.
"It's not about that," Stacy began, her voice notably wavering.
"I need to become stronger. I need to grow faster. I'm not as strong as I'm supposed to be, and you're one of the strongest there is. I... I need your help, Ajax."Another moment of silence passed between them.
"I can't help you," Ajax said simply, a look of dread and surprise appearing on Stacy's face instantly.
"Your magic and style are completely different from mine. There is little I can do to help you improve further. Training with me would be a waste of both of our time. I'm sorry to tell you this, but I'm not the answer you seek." The big man began to turn away, to walk back into his house and simply leave Stacy outside alone. He stopped when he heard the sound of cloth moving. When he looked over his shoulder, Stacy was on the ground on her hands and knees, practically bowing at his feet.
"Please, Ajax-dono. I'm begging you. Anything, anything at all. I need to get stronger and I don't know how anymore! Liz can't help me anymore! I need you to teach me how to be strong on my own! I can't ever fail again!" Tears had begun to roll down her cheeks, dropping to the dirt ground one at a time. She had begun sobbing on her own, and Ajax continued to watch in silence for a moment.
"Get up," he commanded, causing Stacy to stop looking at the ground and turn her face to him.
"Only the weak beg. You want to become stronger? Then get up." After sniffling a few times, Stacy obliged and returned to her feet.
"I can't teach you anything new. But I can show you how to grow on your own.""Prepare yourself."Hana Oshiro - The Last Samurai
"Nine thousand nine hundred ninety-eight... nine thousand nine hundred ninety-nine... ten thousand..." The Last Samurai was standing perfectly vertically, with her left hand on the wooden floor and her feet pointed towards the ceiling. Her right arm was held tight behind her back, to maintain balance. Her long pink hair had been tied into two large buns and she adorned a simple white shirt and grey sweatpants as her exercise attire. And with this final push-up she had completed the morning regimen. She returned to her feet with grace, wiping some sweat from her brow with her left forearm as she walked to the bathroom.
A quick shower to clean up and a change of wardrobe magically transformed this woman into the Hana that everybody knows and loves. The young woman sat down in the middle of her apartment's living room, crossing her legs and taking her meditation stance. She had meditated all her life, every day in the morning. Only she has been having difficulties lately, particularly since the events of Augustine Town. And the past few weeks had seen no improvement, what with the guild hall being attacked and a wayward comrade almost getting Lamia Scale in deep trouble with the council.
The world around Hana began to fade away after she closed her eyes. The rhythm of her breathing was maintained calmly as a deep blackness surrounded the meditating woman. All sound had disappeared with the world, leaving her alone in a void of emptiness. This calm state only lasted a few seconds. Hana felt her heartbeat begin to rise, the rhythm of her breathing losing pace and the void around her fading away. When she opened her eyes, she was still in her living room.
I can't focus, she complained in her head, closing her eyes again and attempting to meditate once more.
The trance-like state slowly began to return, but it was equally short lived. Her pulse began to rise and she lost focus, snapping her out of her meditation again.
There are too many things on my mind. I just can't find my inner peace anymore... With a sigh, Hana got back to her feet and gave up on meditating for the day. Just like every day over the past month and a half. Stepping out of her apartment, Hana took a deep breath and looked to the sky.
It's been a while... Oh well... He'll be here soon. A sigh relented the thought and Hana began her walk to the Lamia Scale guild hall.
Perhaps I should mix it up... I think I'll try doing something nice for the guild...I'll bake everyone a cake. It'll be a surprise. And I need to improve my baking anyways. Last time didn't go so well... Before Hana could reminisce the time she almost burned down Lamia Scale, she detected a surge of magical power. Stopping in her tracks, the pink-haired woman turned to face the source. It was well out of range of her sight, and the buildings surrounding her didn't help any, but she could feel who it was.
"Jeanne?" she questioned aloud.
What is she doing? And... wait... there's another power. She's fighting someone. Someone... dark... The innocent smile began to fade away, taking a serious expression.
That's... bad. Hana's body began to transform, turning into pink cherry blossoms that seemingly began to drift away in the breeze. Only there was no breeze.
Piper Hatfield - Ms. One Shot
The past few weeks had seen something new from Piper: she had
actually been honing her skills. Training, if you will. Considering her position on the Harpy Wing team meant she would be working with such strong comrades, Piper felt inadequate when compared to them. The bespectacled sniper knew that, when compared to the others, she was the obvious weak link. And in preparation for the Games, she decided that she must train to overcome that gap. She wanted to be valuable and useful for the guild, not some trickshow. While her aim has always been dead-on, Piper has notably become faster over the past few weeks. Her quickdraw is viable and lethal, her requip speed has increased and she has notably been more energetic from her physical exercise.
Speaking of energetic.
From seemingly out of nowhere, Piper jumped up onto the bar next to Nigel. Rather than sitting at any of the stools, she instead sat
on the bar itself and faced her favorite non-human.
"The timeline you gave me claims you'd be done with the uniforms today," she noted, casually crossing her legs to be more feminine as she stared into Nigel's blue eyes.
"I've been waiting to see how they'll work. They good to go for the Games? Oh, and don't worry about getting me a drink. I've already had seven cups of coffee. I'm more interested in how nice I'll look in the uniform, you see?" Piper giggled to herself a bit with her last statement before giving the bar a light shove to land on her feet next to Nigel.
"I've also got something cool to show you later. I practiced it all night. I found a way to disarm someone and humiliate them. A perfect way to win a fight if I ever get picked for one, eh?"
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