November 15th, X876
Riley Mendes
It was way too freaking cold outside. Riley had just gotten off the train, having returned from a particularly nasty job that was located all the way down in Crocus. For someone who didn't like to leave the Guild too often, that was quite the trip. Heck, it was quite the trip anyway. Halfway across the country.
He puffed out a sigh and ran a hand through his windswept midnight blue hair, shivering just a bit and pulling his yellow scarf closer to his face to cover up his nose and defend against the freezing cold air as he trotted toward the Guild Hall. Once there, he'd be able to sit down and warm himself up with something from the bar, and he'd be able to give the souvenir he had in his pocket to its rightful owner.
Riley reached the Hall in record time and swung open one of the heavy, metal doors before stepping in. He groaned - the strobe lights were on yet again. Fortunately for him, the lights weren't unbearably bright. Annoying, but not too bright. He could deal with them.
He didn't get much of a greeting as he walked in - one or two of the Guild members he could name said "hi," but that was it. That was expected. Owl's Omen wasn't a tight Guild - most of them just stayed there because the Guild offered them shelter between jobs. Making friends wasn't something many of them were too focused on.
The twenty-five-year-old made his way through the throng of dancing bodies and headed over to the bar and sat down, feeling a bit concerned. Usually, by that point, he'd have a five-foot-five ball of happy blonde girl in his arms. The fact that he didn't was disconcerting.
Luckily, he didn't get too much of a chance to dwell on it, for another of the Guild's members caught his attention. He hadn't realized it when he'd sat down, but the man who was sitting in the seat to his right was one of his "friends," and that term was used rather loosely in this context. Ephraim London was a twenty-four-year-old Shadow mage, and though he and Riley ended up as drinking buddies more often than not, they didn't particularly get along. Still, Ephraim was cool enough - when he wasn't trying specifically to get on Riley's nerves.
Ephraim had smiled when Riley took his seat, and ran a hand through his lime green hair. "That didn't take too long. Don't assassinations take more than a week, on average?" he questioned, arching one eyebrow and fixing Riley a smirk. "Or are you just that good?"
"It wasn't as difficult as they said it'd be," Riley informed him, offering a small smile in return as the barmaid - the gorgeous, twenty-six-year-old, five-foot-six, platinum blonde Harriet Willows, who Riley was way more than familiar with - brought over his favorite drink. She slid it in front of him with a dazzling smile and a wink. Riley returned the favor before he turned back to Ephraim. "It only took a few days."
Ephraim nodded, watching the exchange with a tiny chuckle. "Wow. Impressive. I shouldn't expect anything less from the one they call 'Storm Caller,' should I?" Riley figured the question was rhetorical, since Ephraim simply took a sip of whatever alcohol was on the bar in front of him and started to speak again, "That's not to say you weren't missed. Not by me of course. It's just that that blonde bimbo wouldn't shut up about being worried about you."
Usually a comment like that would have gotten him upset, but since it was Ephraim, and Ephraim was a total jerk on a good day, Riley had come to expect it. He took a deep breath and reached into his pocket to pull out a packet of cigarettes - Fiore Blue, as always - and frowned when he realized he was running low: two left. Taking one out, he lit the cigarette and put it in his mouth, puffing out a breath of smoke. "Speaking of, do you know where she is?" he questioned, tilting his head to the side and watching Ephraim down the rest of his drink.
"Haven't seen her since the incident with Marx earlier today. That was pretty entertaining - that idiot was spouting off about how Zale was bad, how he had us under his control, and crap like that. She had to kill him." Ephraim's purple eyes watched Harriet as she flounced up to give him a refill, and bounced away with a giggle. Her skirt was altogether too short, but Riley supposed that that was probably the point. Harriet loved attention.
"How'd she do?" Riley felt that familiar protective "older brother" feeling rise in his chest. Cecily had let it slip to him once that she always felt weird after she killed someone. She'd used words like "shaky," "jittery," and "sick" to describe what it was like, and that sounded like her conscience was getting to her. He'd gotten to know Cecily quite well over the past few years, and he knew that this sort of lifestyle didn't suit a person like her. She was way too soft to be expected to kill people without a conscience.
Ephraim shrugged a shoulder. "The way she always does. She got blood all over the place, though. I had to help clean it up, too," he complained, taking a few sips of his new glass of alcohol. His pale cheeks were flushing a bit with drunkenness. Riley had to wonder how long he'd been drinking before he returned to the Hall a few minutes ago.
A sudden weight on his back halted any response Riley had formulated for Ephraim, and familiar - albeit cold and damp - honey blonde hair fell over his shoulder. Riley couldn't prevent the smile that broke loose on his face as Cecily twisted around to hug him from the front, her head pressed tightly into his chest. He moved his hands over to wrap around her, and she pulled back to glare pointedly at him.
"You didn't even tell me what time you were leaving last week," she scolded, her ember eyes narrowed and her finger wagging in his face to emphasize the fact that he was in trouble. "I wanted to go, too!"
Riley laughed and ruffled her wet hair. She would want to cut it soon, he imagined - it was getting quite long. "I didn't want you to get up at four in the morning. You didn't sleep well that night anyway, and it wasn't a safe mission," he pointed out, and Cecily scoffed.
"That doesn't mean I wouldn't have wanted to go with you. I'm not an S-Class for no reason, you know!" she grumbled, and busied herself by running her fingers through Riley's hair to get the knots out. Riley sighed, detecting a tremor in her hands as they carded through his dark blue locks.
"I know," he conceded, bending his head down to accommodate her shorter reach. Cecily didn't speak after that - she just continued to untangle Riley's wispy hair and shiver every now and again. The silence was out-of-character if Riley had ever seen it, and he moved back a bit in order to get her to make eye contact with him. She did - her eyes were red and the eyelids were puffy. He couldn't have that. "I got you something," he said around his cigarette, smiling a bit to try and get her to brighten up.
Her eyes lit up a bit - that was more like it. "You did?" she asked, as though she hadn't expected a "surprise" - they were rather routine at that point. Riley rarely went anywhere without getting her something these days. "Can I have it?" she asked, reaching her hands into his coat pockets to fish for her present. Riley chuckled and shifted back a bit so she couldn't find it on her own.
"Hang on; I'll get it for you." Riley reached deep into the pocket on the left side of his black-and-yellow coat, tugging out a small box wrapped in shiny blue paper. He handed it to her, and she opened it with a tiny smile. He wondered idly if the smile was just for his sake, since her sagging shoulders practically spelled out that she wasn't happy, and Riley hated it.
"Ooh!" she exclaimed, pulling out a small, chain bracelet with a few charms on it - a flower, a heart, and a book. Her eyes were round as she slid it over her hand - her hands were little enough so that she didn't even have to unfasten it. It hung loosely on her thin wrist, though it wasn't in danger of falling off. "It's so pretty, Riley! Thank you," she said, her smile more genuine as she hugged him again.
Riley returned the hug and pulled back to study her. Cecily wasn't all that curvy to begin with, but he'd noticed as of late that she was even slimmer than usual. "You look like you could use a cheeseburger," he teased, and Cecily blushed vibrantly.
"I'm fine!" she protested, her cheeks hot with embarrassment. She never had liked having her weight mentioned - whether she was too pudgy, too thin, or somewhere in between - and she'd been all three of those things since Riley had in the two years after he joined the Guild. He should know. She went through periods where she would stress out and eat too much, and she'd go through periods where she'd stress out and forget to eat. From experience, Riley knew she preferred leaning more toward the "too skinny" side rather than the "too pudgy" side, though he couldn't imagine why. Riley liked curves. Not that he thought of Cecily in that way, of course. No, sir.
Riley flicked her nose gently, and she stuck her lower lip out in a manipulative pout. "You don't mention a lady's weight, Riley."
"You're right. How rude of me. Will you forgive me, my lady?" He laughed and smiled broadly, a few puffs of smoke exiting his mouth. Cecily didn't seem to mind - she rather enjoyed the scent of that particular brand of cigarettes. She couldn't smoke - thank goodness - though she had attempted several times. Each had ended in a coughing fit - she'd even thrown up once. She was a lightweight drinker, too, but she was a rather funny drunk. At least until she'd attempted to make out with Ephraim - then it hadn't been funny anymore.
Cecily crossed her arms and stuck her nose up in the air self-righteously. "I suppose," she huffed, and smiled in return, all embarrassment and resentment forgotten. "Want to dance with me?" she offered, scooting off of Riley and extending one hand toward him.
And how could he say no to her?
November 15th, X876
Zale McNamara
Zale had been watching the two of them for quite a while - Riley and Cecily were too close for his comfort. Too much emotional investment between Guildmates could cloud judgments, and he didn't want anything to distract them from serving him. He knew he had Cecily's complete, unwavering loyalty. She had professed to him that she would never take any romantic interest in anyone in the Guild - not ever. "Riley's like my big brother, anyway. That would be too weird," she'd assured Zale many times. And he believed her.
Riley, on the other hand... He didn't trust Riley. He didn't like Riley. Cecily had been in the Guild for years before Riley had arrived, and had devoted her entire being to Zale - she'd even let him literally burn the Guild's mark into the side of her throat rather than putting it on with magic, so that she'd never be rid of it. But ever since Riley had joined two years ago, she had become progressively attached to the young man - had even come to rely on him in several situations.
And normally, Zale didn't mind relationships between Guildmates. Under normal circumstances, they were fine. But this was Cecily - this was his pawn, his most loyal dog, and one of the strongest pieces in his game. He couldn't have her corrupted.
It made Zale uncomfortable. It wasn't something he'd planned, and it was annoying. A hindrance. If one of them were to die in battle, the other would be devastated. If Riley were to rebel, Zale wasn't entirely sure if he could get Cecily to run him through with the same ease as she'd done with Marx.
It was unnerving. It was disgusting. It was wrong.
And he'd fix it. Sometime. But for now, he didn't want to proceed without full knowledge of how to control the relationship and find the best course of action. For now, they were fine. For now, there was really nothing that could be done. Both Riley and Cecily were good members of the Guild - strong, loyal, and willing to kill. They were fine.
Zale took a deep breath through his nose when Cecily plucked the cigarette out of Riley's mouth and tossed it to the side, and grabbed both of his hands in her own to tug him onto the dance floor. Zale's silver eyes narrowed dangerously, and he turned before he let his suspicion get the better of him.
Currently, everything was going according to plan. Currently, he was in control. Currently, some pretty-boy was not making out with his most loyal mage. And hopefully, it would stay that way. Hopefully, the two of them would remain the "brother and sister" they claimed that they were. That way, Zale would not be forced to intervene.
Everything was still going according to plan.
Currently, I've only accepted two characters.
Riley Mendes - portrayed above - belongs to Grimnack.
Janon Daerica - who has not yet made an appearance - belongs to Xy-Guy.
Both of these characters are amazing, detailed, and fit well with the story.
I'm still accepting - if you've submitted already, and I haven't accepted your character, please feel free to submit again and adjust the character. I'm sorry if they didn't fit.
Thanks for reading!
God bless you,
Canima