They stood there, not daring to move, as the Guild Master looked them over from the throne. Nothing moved; not an ear, tail, nor hair. Silence surrounded them, allowing the echoes from beyond the massive doors to seep through.
Finally, the Guild Master spoke, "Natalie, it is good to see you again." It was feminine, aged yet cut through the air with precision. "How are you today?" She turned her head towards the young eevee, any formal image being dropped briefly.
"I am fine, Guild Master." Natalie bowed slightly, continuing, "Anyway, this is-"
"Kaden." She nodded in acknowledgement. Kaden gaped in shock. 'She knows me? How? Does this mean she is connected to my past? Is… Is she my…'
"Now, now, let's not get off track." She was speaking to him, her eyes locked with his; her large, shining eyes, twinkling with the brilliance of the sun, reflecting calmness, control… power; but most of all, wisdom.
Returning to formalities, she resumed her pose. "Now, I believe you had something to tell me, Natalie?" The eevee shifted uneasily. "Y-yes… We… would like to join the Guild.
Nothing changed in the Guild Master's expression, leading Kaden to believe she already knew. She sat there, staring into the young eevee's eyes, looking into her soul.
"Very well," She spoke, stepping off the throne. "Now follow me." They quickly followed, not daring to disobey the Guild Master.
Kaden finally had the time to let his focus shift away from the awkward introduction. With Natalie walking beside the Guild Master, Kaden hung back, looking the Guild Master over to place her in his memories. She was easily twice as tall as either Kaden or Natalie, and had a strange shade of light lavender fur, glowing with an unearthly shimmer. With a two-pronged tail, and ears like his, she had long tufts of fur hanging from the sides of the head. The most noticeable features were the eyes; seconded only by the red jewel embedded in the forehead.
"And stop staring, Kaden. We have much to discuss." Kaden had his head snapped ahead, eyes large, and ears back. The Guild Master stared him down, her face stern and business-like. 'You should really be a part of the conversation. It involves your future, little one.' Those shining eyes bored into him, 'Come closer. Join us. We have much to discuss.' Kaden couldn't describe how unnerving it was to have someone's voice in his head, as the Guild Master had done.
She turned to leave, Natalie trailing alongside. Kaden slowly followed after, uncertain of what else to expect. The hallway was long and mimicked the designs of the other halls. Strangely, the only doors were spread out at the far end of the hall. Eventually, Kaden caught up.
"Your parents were good members; some of the best in the guild. It was unfortunate when they passed away; as it is that you lived alone since then. None the less, I think you have the potential to become an excellent guild member, and I know you would make them proud." They were reaching the end of the hall.
Sunlight streamed into the hallway as the door was opened. They stepped into the room, the floor changing to an elegant tile set, leaving Kaden bewildered. In the center stood a vast tree, towering above him, reaching for the sky in the roofless chamber, barely topping the grey brick walls. Its bark was a dark brown, as the trunk spiraled upwards, branching out to many thick branches, each supporting a forest of leaves and dangling vines.
The air was chilled, as shadows were beset across much of the courtyard. The sound of water caught Kaden's attention, and he spied the embedded creek around the jungle tree. It wound all around the tree, with vast rocks jutting into the air. Upon one lay the Guild Master, eyeing both eevee as they took their places.
They let the sounds of the room sink in as they waited. The wind gently rustling the leaves with its invisible breathe, the sound of the stream gurgling quietly, and the cool air settling itself upon them, easing their muscles and minds with each breathe.
A sigh broke his concentration as he opened his eyes to look at the Guild Master. Her formal pose had been laid aside, as she lay comfortably upon the angled rock. "Now where were we? Ah yes… teams…" she began, her voice relaxed and informal. "I'm pretty sure you know how the teams go, Natalie, but does Kaden know?" Natalie shook her head.
The Guild Master frowned, thinking to herself before speaking, "Ok then. Let's see… Ah. The new recruits to this division of the guild never start a team right away. That is far too dangerous, and often reflects badly upon the guild, something certain guilds seem unable to realize… Instead, here, in Silver Spring, we have training groups. New recruits are assigned to a team with up to eight trainees per group. These groups, however, are split into smaller groups of four. It is done this way to better manage the recruits, as flaws can be fixed with smaller numbers and teams can be compared for a better learning experience. I cannot say for certain how long it will take for you to graduate to become a team of your own, but I have faith that you two will do your best." She nodded briefly, looking towards the giant tree. "Do you two still wish to join? It will be strenuous as a trainee, and even more so as an official team. I've had friends lose their lives in service to the guild. It is a rough life."
Natalie and Kaden exchanged glances, turning back to the elderly Espeon with a firm "Yes." The Guild Master turned back to them, looking upon the confidant faces of the two youth. "Good. I am glad to hear that." She pulled herself up to stand. "Then we shall go and meet the other trainee groups, and you will be assigned to one of the captains."
Through the door they went, down the hall, and out the large doors. Further, deeper into the base they ventured, down several flights of stairs, and through a heavily decorated door. They entered into a windowless room, a table set in the middle, and benches placed around it. In these benches were the trainees, a blue crocodile, a spined purple rabbit, a black hound, and many others. Standing on the opposite side was a tall, green figure, with shining blades of bone for arms, and features just as sharp. He looked up from the map he had been reading, and bowed in respect towards the Guild Master. "How are you today, Guild Master?"
"I am fine, Kor'dal. And you? How is your group?" She inquired, eyeing each of the recruits.
"I am well. We were just going over the map and scenarios for tomorrow's missions." He glanced at his students, who gazed at the two eevee with varied looks of excitement or curiosity.
The Guild Master turned to leave, him goodbye, and took the two eevees in stride.
As the door closed, Kaden heard the captain yell, "Eyes over here!" He flinched as a metallic clang against stone sounded. Kaden could tell, Kor'dal definitely had their attention.
They came upon yet another decorated door. Kaden guessed it was the eighth group, the others either being gone, mostly gone, or otherwise composed of only girls, as was the case in the third group. The trio entered, finding yet another familiar room; the same crystals, the same table, the same design.
However, this time, like the first and seventh recruit meeting rooms, had their respective team within. A group of young creatures glanced at the door, as they continued to eat their lunch, listening to their captain talk. The captain was a proud-looking creature, with jet-black fur, standing out against the blue fur covering other parts of his form. The tip of his tail was adorned with a star, and his eyes turned to pierce Kaden, instilling fear into him.
Kaden pulled back, instinctively hiding behind the espeon's leg, avoiding the gaze of the fearsome lion. The lion, luckily, removed his gaze from Kaden, exchanging greetings with the Guild Master. With the group taking a five minute break, the captain and the Guild Master stepped outside of the room to talk.
Kaden pulled away from the door, watching warily as the lion disappeared behind. A hand landed upon his shoulder. "Don't worry. He does that to everyone." Kaden looked to the source. It was yellow, and banded all the way down its body in a strange pattern of tough skin, like a biological armor. "I'm Rodney." It smiled, "What's your name?"
"K-Kaden" he responded, trying to replace the sight of the lion's eyes from his mind. The armadillo took his paw, shaking it slowly, its black eyes staring into Kaden's. It was strange, looking into the endless pits that were the armadillo's eyes, as they caught the light from the crystals of the room.
Natalie was talking to other members of the group, but Kaden did not listen, instead eyeing the door with mistrust.
"So, where are you from?" Rodney asked, taking a bite out of an Oran berry. Kaden did not respond, but continued to stare towards the door. They stood there, waiting for Kaden's answer as Natalie walked up, a strange dog at her side.
"And this is Kaden." Natalie said, nodding in his direction. The dog smiled at him, "Hello" she said, her yellow tail wagging back and forth across the floor.
"Err… Hi…" Kaden replied. The dog was a bright orange with sharp black striped across her body. Her face reflected curiosity and playfulness.
"Rodney and I are lacking two members from our group. If you wanted to join, Rodney and I would be more than happy to have the extra help. Right Rodney?" She nudged the armadillo, and he quickly nodded.
"That'd be great. Thank you." Natalie smiled.
But their attention was soon swayed as the lion and the Guild Master stepped back into the room. The lion looked over his students, and announced. "Natalie and Kaden will be joining our group by the Guild Master's request. Treat them well and befriend them. They will be joining us on our mission to the Great Fjord tomorrow."
Murmuring and exclamations burst forth from the trainees. "The Great Fjord? Them? But that's for experienced members!" "Why do they get to go? We never got anything hard when we joined." Maybe they got trained by the Guild Master?" "Does she-" many bewildered comments and questions were coming forth, but would not have the opportunity of being fulfilled.
"-Enough!" The lion yelled, causing many to cut their sentences short to cover their ears. They soon opened their eyes, ever silent and attentive. "The Guild Master asked that I take them into the group. As I do not have enough time to train them from the beginning, you will have to teach them. When we go on our mission with them, I want you all to take care of each other. No one left behind, and we all stick together. Do you understand?" Most students simply stared ahead, while few nodded slowly.
The Guild Master looked towards the two Eevees, calling their attention for a moment, 'Now, I want you two to watch how everyone works under Captain Skye. You must do everything he tells you to do without question. If you do not understand, simply ask him to clarify. But I warn you, he can have a short temper, and doesn't tolerate answering lots of questions. Now, when you two return from your mission tomorrow, I would like to speak with you. Now pay attention to Captain Skye.' And she slipped out of the room.
"As everyone else has been paired up into a group of four, that leaves Rodney and Cisco to be teamed up with Kaden and Natalie." The lion glanced towards the newly formed trainee team. "Finish up lunch and get ready to head out to Deepwater Springs for today's mission." He finished, leaving his trainees to finish their food and prepare for the trip. Turning to the Eevees, he walked over. "Cisco and Rodney, I want you two to take today off to learn about Natalie and Kaden. Become acquainted with them. Do not take this as a break, while you may travel where you want for today, I expect a report by tonight on what you have learned." The pair smiled at him as he nodded and walked out the door. "The rest of you, meet me out front in five."
As the other trainee groups scuttled out the door, the hound, armadillo, and eevees watched, before finally being left alone in the empty room. "So…" Cisco began, "Where to?"