"Yo new guy, mead!"

Mason took a moment to lean against the bar and breathe for what felt like the first time in hours. He donned an apron today, trying his hand as a waiter for the guild.

"Sorry Mason, but Wakaba does need another drink." Mason was brought out of his temporary reprieve to a warm Kinana smile.

"Another?" Mason managed a smile and a chuckle. "He already can't remember my name, another drink and I'll turn invisible to him."

"Possibly," Kinana chuckled, making a cute face that made Mason grin. "If he ever starts to bother you, just show him his tab and he'll go dry for days." She placed the mug on the counter, brimming with bubbles.

"I'll keep that in mind." With a bow of his head and a quick smile, Mason grabbed the mug and went about delivering it.

"Two Poor Man's Tonic!" The call came from somewhere behind him. Mason was too tired of being called on to even look back to see who it was. He was just going to bring them to wherever he had heard the voices from. When Kinana had mixed them and he brought them over, he was surprised to be looking at Maryanna and Dante.

"Maryanna, I didn't peg you as a drinker." Mason placed their drinks in front of each of them.

"Who said Maryanna ordered anything?" Dante reached over and pulled both drinks in front of him.

"How's the job, 'New Guy'?" Maryanna inquired.

"The work isn't hard, I just don't like being called back and forth." Mason sighed.

"It's really nice of you to work without pay for us too." Maryanna smiled brightly.

If Mason had a drink, he would have spit it out.

"Without pay?!"

"Yup." Dante placed an empty glass down with a steady exhale. "Some punk snuck in last week and robbed the guild blind; not that there was much to steal in the first place. Until we can get our feet back under us, you're an intern."

Mason slumped into the empty chair at the table and let his forehead make sweet love to the tabletop. Maryanna petted his hair gently and muttered quiet words to him, as if comforting a dog in a thunderstorm.

"Dante is running his game night tonight," Maryanna offered, "If it's successful, you could get a late paycheck. It's better than no paycheck."

"By the way, I'm gonna need an extra set of hands after tonight." Dante set down his final glass with an accomplished grin. "You free?"

"I guess. I've never been, why don't you ask Maryanna?"

"I said an extra set of hands, Maryanna is always there."

"Oh, so you're a gambler?" Mason lifted his head off the table finally to turn to her.

"Nope." When Maryanna looked back at him, her face portrayed a much deeper answer Mason didn't have time to question.

"New! Guy! NEW! GUY! MEAD!"

"Wakaba is calling," Maryanna said.

"What's he gonna do if I don't serve him, cut my pay?" Mason snorted, but got up and left to see to him. If he kept serving him, Mason figured, maybe all of the guild's money problems would be solved courtesy of Wakaba's tab.

"Coming right up!"

After a few hours of bartending, Mason decided that it wasn't for him. It had a few perks, such as his ability to carry a miraculous pile of tableware without it so much as swaying. Kinana was another perk. Although any man wouldn't complain about working with a cute girl, Mason particularly enjoyed the barmaid. She was an employee, not a mage, so she didn't look down on him like most of the members. Her kind, mannered personality had Mason soon noting her as a potential friend and someone he could trust. Sadly, tips were nearly nonexistent, which he hoped would help compensate his lack of pay, and he hated being called back and forth like some kind of dog. When suppertime came, Kinana told him he could take the night off, sending him away with a fresh bowl of stew.

Mason didn't take two careful steps before Maryanna waved him over to sit by her. They were alone at the table, Dante had left.

"Where's Dante?"

"He off getting a few things ready for his game night tonight. You're finally off?"

"Yeah." Mason took his first, tentative sip. "What is this game night anyway?"

"Dante basically turns the guild into a casino, any card game that you can put money on shows up. Dante rigs the whole thing, of course. He's smarter than he puts off when it comes to something he knows. If he sees a sucker, he'll make him win, knowing the he'll now come back and spend more money than he won. If someone is losing often, he'll give them small victories to ensure they keep coming back."

"It's all for the guild in the end, then?"

Maryanna nodded. "It's one of the main ways the guild makes money, since we don't bring in the money from missions like we used to. Honestly, there's only one member on the level of the Fairy Tail of old." Maryanna suddenly caught herself, turning to Mason with a finger on her lips. "She hates talking about the old times though, and so does Dante. So shhh..."

"You really do like talking," Mason chuckled, "And you don't seem to have a problem with giving out any information on anyone."

"While that's partially true, only my friends get the real inside scoop." Maryanna winked in a way that was a little more than playful.

"I'll keep that in mind," Mason said. "Problem now is, what do I do between now and the end of the game night?"

Maryanna's eyebrows shot up. She dug in her purse, fishing around until she pulled out a small silver key. "Here is my key to Dante's place. Since you're not being paid, I'm sure he won't have a problem with you staying there for a while. You've been working hard, treat yourself to a hot bath courtesy of Dante!"

"Thanks!" Mason took the key with glee. As he left the guild, he began to get the feeling Maryanna was a very valuable friend to have.

Dante's house was modest. It was very open, making it seem bigger than it truly was. Two floors, two bedrooms, two bathrooms, and no other roommates made it the perfect place for Mason to bunk with Dante.

He spent no time making his way to the bathroom, where he had to resist the urge to dive into the water. He slowly set himself into the water and couldn't hold back a sigh. The warm water pulled out his stiffness from his recent travels and first day of work. He closed his eyes and sunk up to his mouth, resisting the urge to fall asleep. He'd have to thank Dante tonight.

Dante... What a strange man. Most of his skills and knowledge seemed to be entirely dishonourable, but Mason couldn't help but trust the man. Going behind the back of the master and making Mason a member was an action that he wouldn't forget anytime soon. He also seemed close with Maryanna; if anyone knew the true nature of men, it was her. If she trusted him, Mason did too.

He couldn't help but feel happy at the warm welcomes he had been receiving from the guild, especially from Dante and Maryanna. He already felt like he had carved his own little place in the guild. Many of the other mages seemed distant and foreign now, but he was sure that he could make a few friends if he really tried. Comfortable at the thoughts of his new friends, Mason let himself relax further and fell asleep in the warm water.

When the games night had concluded, Mason and Dante were left alone in the guild hall. They put away mugs and wiped down tables silently. The guild hall, which seemed cramped during the day, seemed much larger when it was this empty and quiet.

"Well, what did you need me for?" Mason inquired. Dante frowned, gesturing with his rag to the tables. "Anyone can clean a table, but you asked me personally to help you. My best guess is you wanted me alone afterwards."

"If you guessed that you'd be right." Dante sniffed a mug, made a face, then threw it over his shoulder. "Tonight, we're getting back the guild's money."

"We're going after the thief? How?" Mason stopped wiping. Dreams of a proper paycheck filled his head with hope.

"He is coming back tonight." Dante assured.

"You spoke to him?"

"No."

The two returned to their work in silence. Together they managed to clean the hall to the same state it was before the gambling started. Only when the last mug was washed and the last rag wrung dry did Mason speak up.

"I'll bite. How do you know he's coming back?"

"He is a sloppy thief. He is either new to this, or old and very lucky. I suspect the first option." Dante dried his hands and slung the rag over a shoulder. He leaned back against the bar and pointed to several doors hung open, their knobs bent and broken. "It took three tries until he finally found where we kept the money; any thief worth their salt knows before they enter a place. It took him an hour before he finally made it out."

"You're speaking like a well experienced thief."

"I'm an innocent man, and until I'm guilty I'm just a well-informed fan of the art." Dante grinned.

"Speaking of well informed, who exactly is your informant? How did you know how long he stayed?"

"Maryanna." Dante answered simply. He opened up a drawer of the bar filled with papers, retrieving a large envelope. He pulled out a paper and handed it to Mason. As Mason read, he continued. "If you need to know anything, Maryanna is your girl. She may not look it, but she has her ear to the ground at all times, and has a lot of friends around the city with ear's just as keen as hers."

"Who is this... Jonathon Mulligan?"

"He's our thief. Don't ask her how she figured it all out, I stopped questioning her a long time ago."

"You never said how you know this Jonathon Mulligan is coming back."

"One thing separates new thieves from experienced thieves: greed. He knew there was a game night last week and profited like mad from his little break in. Now, he's cocky and will come back this week." Dante's face suddenly set firm. His multi-coloured eyes didn't move, but they now looked beyond the front doors of the guild to something else altogether. "Shame he doesn't know the one rule of thieving: never steal from the same house twice."

As if summoned, crunching footsteps on gravel started outside the door. Dante hissed a quick order to Mason and they both dived behind the bar counter.

The front door swung open effortlessly, still not fixed from the last time the thief visited. Only a long creak gave away his entrance. His footsteps softened as he entered the guild hall. Mason began to sweat. Fear began to make his breathing hitch and his stomach turn. What if the thief was armed? What if something went wrong? He could be stabbed, or worse. Dante must have noticed his new friend's doubt, because he placed a hand on his arm. With a smile, he flipped a card out of his pack and held it between the same way as he had in the alley when they first spoke, between his index and middle finder and brandished like a knife. He wasn't alone, he had Dante, who could handle himself and then some.

The thief crossed the floor with confidence, heading straight for the office. When the thief had passed by the bar and was facing away from them, Dante gave Mason the nod.

Mason hopped the bar and landed on a tabletop with all the noise of a cat. From there, he stepped from table to table with ease. They didn't shake or wobble, or even creak when Mason put his full weight on them. Silent and graceful as a breeze, Mason drifted over the tabletops and ended up just outside the office. Dante, after taking a moment to frown at his Mason's unforeseen coordination, snuck across along the wall much slower than his comrade. They stood together outside the office door.

"That's our money, you half-rate!" Dante kicked down the door and hurled forward a hand of cards, which Mason never saw him draw. When they hit the startled thief, the cards morphed into water and slammed into him with incredible force. More water jetted from the impact point and pushed him against the wall, soaking him and many of Macao's papers. When the attack ceased, the thief fell to his knees. He was left sputtering out water and drenched from head to toe, his hood stuck to his face.

"How'd you like my Flush, Jon? Can I call you Jon?" Jonathon didn't reply, instead bursting forward with surprising agility. He socked Dante in the stomach and made to push past him, but Mason was faster. He surged forward with his own fist in hand, slamming his sharp elbow into Jon's back and making him stumble. Glowing blue cards whipped past Mason, pinning the hems of the man's pants to the floorboards. With a grunt, Jon swung his heavy money bag across the cards, sending them fluttering to the side so he could resume his chase.

"Get him!" They charged out of the office and into the guild hall proper. Jonathon had a head start, but Dante was already preparing more cards.

"I got him!" Mason grabbed a chair's back and threw it up in front of him. He then carefully kicked it out of the air, sending it arcing ahead of Jonathon. The two watched as the chair fell and slammed into his legs, tripping him and leaving him in a heap.

"Nice shot!" They closed the distance quickly. Learned from their past mistake, Mason placed a foot down on his back while Dante had three cards ready, each tucked in between the fingers of a fist.

"Fuck." Jonathon spoke for the first time. He laughed suddenly, mostly at the hopelessness of the situation. "You got me. Congrats."

"It wasn't hard." Dante spat. "It was like you wanted to be caught."

"I've given in; can you let me up?" Mason looked to Dante, who nodded. Mason removed his foot and Dante helped the hooded man up. He spun around a chair and let him sit on it. "Much better..." As one, final motion, Dante tucked back his hood. It revealed a bald man not much older than them, with a crooked nose and a dirty, smudged face.

"Why'd you do it?" Mason inquired eagerly, leaning against a table. Dante looked at him as if it was a stupid question. "You knew this was the guild hall of wizards, isn't that a little dangerous?"

"I don't mean to be rude, but Fairy Tail's reputation isn't exactly what it used to be." Jon looked between them a few times before his eyes decided on Dante. "Can I get a drink?"

"We've got a mead barrel tapped, is that good?" Dante asked, to which Jon nodded. Dante looked to Mason, who left to find a mug.

"I came to the game night of the festival, about a month back," Jon began, "Even if you guys were just a shadow of the old Fairy Tail, you were raking in serious coin." Dante bit his lip, as if holding back a reaction from an injury. Mason returned with a mug of mead, which Jon sampled. "Warm, but good. I figured all that coin in the hands of such a small guild made you an easy target. The first time around, I was right. I guess I was stretching my luck thinking I could come back the next week."

"Where is the money from last week?" Dante asked.

"Tucked into the pockets of whores and barmaids, at least most of it." Jonathon chuckled, which sounded like a pig's snort. Mason's heart fell, there went his paycheck dreams. "Never had that much money before. Spent it until I realized I didn't have the coin for supper. You two don't know how it is, you're lucky." Jon looked Dante up and down. "You're the dealer, always dressed fancy like and walking around like you've got heavy pockets. How was I supposed to hold back? I grew up in a box."

Dante leaned in close to Jon, reaching down and grabbing his dropped sack of money. "I was lucky all right; my box was outside a manor. And when they had roast duck on Saturdays, the daughter would barely touch her supper, so the servants threw it in the dumpster whole." Dante smacked his lips at the memory. He hefted the money bag off the ground and over his shoulder. "And the only thing that could make me the richest guy in the room is if I made a better get away with this bag than you." Dante reached inside the bag and pulled out a modest wad of bills, tossing it onto Jon's lap. "Get out of here, Jon. If I ever see you here again, it had better be either at my game night, or as an innocent man."

"Thank you, kind mages!" Jon rose, bowing profusely, even as he started to walk out. That is, after he hastily tucked the money in his pocket. "Thank you for your mercy!" He stopped at the doorway. "I never got your names, my friends."

"Dante Atene." Dante said with a smile.

Mason blinked, caught off guard. He was so engaged in their back and forth he forgot it was his turn to say his name. "Uh, Mason! Mason Marcotte."

"Dante Atene, Mason Marcotte." He took off and invisible hat and tipped it to them. He left the guild chuckling to himself.

"He's laughing at us." Mason said. "Why'd you let him leave with those bills?"

"No, he's laughing at his own luck. And I didn't." Dante corrected. A smile spread over his face as he held up the same wad of bills that Jon had pocketed.

"You damn pickpocket." Mason chuckled, grabbing Jon's mug and bringing it back to the bar.