Alright, time to continue this bizarre little medieval RPG tale. And yes, I know RPG elements haven't appeared yet, but be patient.
Oh, and before I forget, the characters are older here. Specifically for the Loud siblings:
Lori is in her mid to late 20s.
Leni is 24.
Luna is 22.
Luan 21.
Lynn 20.
Lincoln 19.
Lucy 18.
Lana 16.
Lola 16.
Lisa 12.
And Lily 8.
Not much else to say here, so let's go!
Ever since the Behemoth was taken care of and the crops healed, a sense of peace returned to the McBride household.
"Absolutely not!"
For the most part.
"There's no way am I letting Lincoln join a team or guild or whatever!" Harold stated. "He might just be my adopted son, but I still won't let any harm come to him!"
"Please, Dad, this might be my only chance to make it big!" Lincoln answered. "You know I don't necessarily hate the life of a farmer, but I've always wanted to become part of a guild!"
"It might be for the best to let him do this," Clyde remarked. "After all, peasants like us can't get combat training without joining a guild, and he did show some prowess while fighting the Behemoth."
"I promise you, Mr. McBride, that I'm very well aware of the dangers that befall those who join a guild, but your son is in safe hands," Chandler told the man. "No matter what happens, Eleanor and I will keep him safe."
Eleanor nodded in agreement, and the couple exchanged looks.
"I don't know… I know Lincoln wants to join a guild, but I don't want him to get in trouble, especially with the Loud family currently running the Guild market."
"Yes, I know, but it's the best chance he's got," Howard argued. "And he's proven himself capable of holding his weight in a fight. And above all else, learning some self-defense couldn't hurt, right?"
The man turned back to Lincoln, who clasped his hands and flashed a pleading look, puppy dog eyes included...
One very long, boring talk over the terms of the agreement, the trio of Chandler, Lincoln, and Eleanor walked to the central guild in search of the registration booth.
"I still can't believe they actually agreed to have me join you!" Lincoln remarked with astonishment. "I figured it would take, like, a lot more talking and convincing to do it!"
"You're not complaining, right?" Chandler asked.
"Not in the slightest, I'm just surprised it wasn't harder to convince them," Lincoln answered before raising his sword. "Anyhow, I'm ready to begin my work as a guild member!"
"We can't do that just yet, though," Eleanor pointed out. "We first need to establish a guild."
"Oh, right."
Eventually, the trio reached the guild registration booth, where a teen girl with a cow's ears and tail stood behind.
"Greetings, adventurers!" the cowgirl at the counter said. "I'm Becky and I'm in charge of registering any new guild in the area. And to get the most obvious questions out of the way: yes, I'm a Cow Beastman. Now stop staring at my chest."
"But it's so… stareable!" Eleanor exclaimed while looking at Becky's breasts.
"I'll take care of it from here," Chandler said, pulling Eleanor back. "You and Lincoln go wait elsewhere."
The duo nodded and promptly sat on a bench close to the booth.
"Her rack really is great, though, right?"
"Yeah, I guess so," Lincoln shrugged. "I'd like to talk about something else, though."
"Like what?"
"Something I need to make clear before any misunderstandings happen," Lincoln took a deep breath. "Sometimes, when a boy and a girl are in a team, certain… feelings can develop. And I've already been through that many times before, so… before it gets to that point-"
"Lincoln, I get where you're going, and it's okay," Eleanor smiled. "I wouldn't see you in a romantic light even if you saw me that way."
Lincoln nodded slightly. "That kinda hurts."
"I know, sorry, I can be
.. a little blunt sometimes," Eleanor chuckled. "But what I mean is true, Lincoln. I'll always see you as a friend, but never as a romantic partner."
"I see," the boy breathed a sigh of relief. "If you don't mind me asking, though, why's that?"
"Well, Lincoln, you see… I'm gay."
The boy hummed for a second… then gasped.
"Wait, that sounds like something you'd tell someone who you trust or have known for a while!"
"And deals with something that needs to be addressed immediately in order to avoid romantic drama," Eleanor pointed out. "See the logic?"
Lincoln opened his mouth, but as he thought about it, he slowly closed it and nodded in agreement.
"Besides, it makes for some nice small talk while we look around for the registration booth, don't you think?"
"I mean I guess so, but still-"
"Lincoln, it's okay, really," Eleanor interjected. "Let's end this conversation here, alright?"
"Please do."
The duo got off the bench and turned around to see a group arrive, flying down giant ravens that promptly transformed into their natural, smaller forms.
This group had black robes covering their bodies, and consisted of a guy with pale skin and tired eyes, Silas, a girl with black hair over one eye, Haiku, and the leader, a girl with hair covering her eyes…
"Lucy?" Lincoln asked.
"Lucy!" Eleanor exclaimed, gaining a notable blush as she curtsied. "It's a great pleasure to see the Healing Ravens here!"
Lucy paused. "It would be weirder otherwise, given this is our territory."
Eleanor's blush vanished and her expression became concerned as the guild leader scanned the trio. "What are you doing here?"
"We were hoping to officially begin our own guild," Chandler explained before pointing at Lincoln. "We just got the third member we need to make it official."
Lincoln sighed. "Chandler, why?"
"Joining a guild, huh?" Lucy folded her arms. "I see you're still the stubborn little rapscallion that brought our family nothing but trouble."
"I'm both taller and older than you."
"You were also given the clear instruction to not get involved with any guild, ours or otherwise, as part of your disowning. Care to explain yourself?"
"Lucy, maybe you should cut back a little?" Silas requested wearily. "We're in public, the last thing we need is to make a scene."
"The one making a scene here is him!" Lucy clarified before pointing at Lincoln with her staff. "Trying to join a guild after being disowned? That's audacity of the highest level!"
Silas shrugged. "Eh, it seems to be in the same level as usual for a Loud."
"He's not a Loud!"
Lucy's exclamation echoed across the streets, immediately getting all eyes on the surprised group.
"I mean, he's not allowed to join a guild, plain and simple."
"Seriously? It's one thing to disown him for whatever reason, but also prevent him from joining a guild?" Eleanor folded her arms and narrowed her eyes in disapproval. "Guilds are very linked to most things nowadays; banning someone from joining one is like banning them from living!"
"Not to mention the fact this isn't something that's been brought up before," Haiku remarked.
"Look, just, listen to me," Lucy rubbed her forehead. "Lincoln isn't the kind of person who works well with a guild, especially one with a cute girl."
"It's okay, I'm only into girls, he's not gonna seduce me no matter how hard he tries," Eleanor answered… only to blush furiously as she realized. "Wait, did you just call me cute?!"
"Fine, if it comes down to this, then so be it," Lucy took out her staff and aimed it at Lincoln. "We challenge you to a fight: if you win, you get to make your guild. If you lose, you quit and go back to your life as a farmer. Understood?"
"Um, don't I get a say in this?" Chandler asked.
"Even if you did, she wouldn't listen," Lincoln narrowed his eyes. "The Loud family is incredibly stubborn; they're not gonna hear anybody unless they agree with their beliefs."
"That is a fact," Haiku scoffed while Silas cracked a smile.
Lucy glared at her teammates… only for Lincoln to aim his sword at her, stating:
"I accept the challenge."
Lucy turned back to her disowned brother, and smiled.
"Excellent."
The first match of the challenge began, with Chandler and Lucy standing at opposite sides of the street while Silas stood in the middle.
"Alright, the first bout will be between the leaders of each faction," Silas remarked calmly. "Chandler McCann versus Lucy Loud. Three, two, one, go, or fight, or whatever."
"Aren't you gonna mention the rules?" Eleanor asked.
"Why? Everybody knows what they are: no killing, no dirty blows, and don't hurt the citizens," Silas stated. "Now let's get this over with: fight."
Chandler aimed his bow and arrow at Lucy, but the Healing Ravens leader proved faster, and she slammed her staff on the ground, summoning a shadowy hand that trapped Chandler inside, and stole his weapons for good measure.
"Chandler McCann can't go on," Silas pointed to Lucy. "The winner is Lucy Loud, surprise, surprise."
Lucy snapped her fingers and the hands disappeared, freeing Chandler while the guild leader walked back to her spot.
"Don't feel bad, Chandler, spellcasters are too damn OP," Eleanor remarked. "I should know: I'm a spellcaster myself."
"And that's what you're going to use to your advantage," Lincoln remarked.
The duo exchanged looks and nodded before Eleanor walked to the arena, Silas taking what used to be Lucy's spot while Haiku went to his referee part.
"The second bout will begin! Eleanor versus Silas! Three, two, one, go!"
"Hit her with all you got, Silas!" Lucy exclaimed.
Silas rolled his eyes and prepared to use his magic while Eleanor quipped:
"Just to let you know, flirting with me isn't gonna give you an advantage!"
Silas tilted his head, legitimately confused. "Flirting?"
Before he knew it, Silas found himself suspended in the air, the winds snatching his staff away while Eleanor watched with a smile.
"Silas can't go on!" Haiku pointed to Eleanor. "The winner is Eleanor!"
The pointy-eared spellcaster moved Silas back to the ground, handing him back his staff while he walked back to his team.
"What the hell was that, Silas!?" Lucy snapped.
"She confused me with an unknown term, what was I supposed to do?" Silas shrugged. "It's not my fault I don't know what flirting is."
"I do it with you all the time!"
Silas raised a perplexed eyebrow.
"Ugh, whatever, we'll talk about this later," Lucy replied before turning to the last remaining fighter. "Haiku, it's all up to you: we have one point, they have one point, we need one more to decide what will happen. You need to win."
"Understood."
Haiku took a deep breath and began to walk to the arena...
"Haiku, don't go easy on him."
The one-eyed member winced and turned to her guild leader.
"I've known you since we were kids; I know you're gonna try to cut my brother some slack and not use your full power against him. Normally, I'd allow it, but given what's at stake, I don't have that luxury."
Lucy walked towards Haiku, who frowned as her leader said:
"You're gonna give it your all against Lincoln in your fight against him. You won't hold back, you won't give him a break, treat this fight as if your life depended on it."
Haiku paused and blinked twice. "I'm… surprised you're this worried for your brother. Given your usual attitude, I figured you wouldn't care."
"Oh, I'm not worried about Lincoln, I'm worried about you."
And with that said, the leader of the Healing Ravens walked away, leaving Haiku alone to ponder what to do.
No more than a few seconds, though, there was a match to decide what would happen to Lincoln's group.
So, a few minutes, Lincoln and Haiku went to the arena, with both sides cheering for them: Chandler and Eleanor did it loudly, while Silas raised a sign saying "Do your Best" with bold, bleeding letters, while Lucy folded her arms and stared calmly.
Lincoln unsheathed his sword, Haiku took out a simplistic staff, and the two of them got ready to fight...
And then a whistle was heard.
"Care to leave this little scuffle for later?"
Both groups turned around and saw a girl sitting at the counter, one that both Lincoln and Lucy recognized.
She was a girl slightly younger than Lucy, sporting long blonde hair and wearing a pink sleeveless dress with pink fingerless opera gloves, revealing clawed fingers. She also had pink boots, and the exposed part of her legs revealed they were covered in scales.
Also, she had a draconic tail. That was kinda hard to miss too.
"Sigh, Lola," Lucy remarked. "What are you doing?"
"I gotta go to the Great Lakes Kingdom for a diplomatic endeavor with Lori," Lola explained while checking her nails. "And since I don't have a guild of my own, I need to have another one act as my bodyguards."
"Right, of course," Lucy folded her arms. "We're in the middle of something important, but if it's to maintain political relations with the Casagrandes, we can make an exception-"
"Ahahaha, Lucy, you're so funny sometimes!" Lola cackled. "I don't want the Healing Ravens to be my bodyguards."
The draconic girl pointed at the trio of Lincoln, Chandler, and Eleanor with a clawed finger.
"I want them."