Senna Talan was just an average human of the Fiore Kingdom with no magik to call her own, born into a family of wizards, who lived in the town that the Sabertooth Guild Hall towered above. Here, she opened a small restaurant called The Rocky Grove and brought a comfortable atmosphere and delicious food to the residents. Being the only one in her family that did not have magik, Senna always felt out of place and wanted to make something of herself; cooking just happened to be what she was good at.
One cloudy day, Senna went to the market. It was rather crowded, as though some big event was going on, so it made maneuvering through the streets a bit difficult.
"Senna, good morning!"
"Marco, good to see you! How's your leg?"
Marco, the produce stall manager, tapped his casted leg. "Still got about a week or so before this comes off, but it's feeling much better. How's the restaurant?"
"Business has been a bit slow lately, but judging from the crowd today, that may change soon."
"That's true. I wonder why it's so crowded today."
"Not sure, I haven't heard anything about any events or anything happening."
Marco shrugs. "Well, as long as we get business from it, I don't mind. Anyway, what do you need today?"
Senna handed him a list of ingredients. "I was wondering if you'd be able to procure any of these? I heard the merchants' caravan is going to be passing through later this week."
Marco looked at the list. "Sure, that shouldn't be an issue. I do have a few of these items in stock already, but I'll be sure to put in the request with the merchants." He passed the list to one of his employees, asking them to gather the available ingredients.
"Thanks, Marco."
"Any time," he replied, smiling. After a few minutes, the items were ready and Senna took them from the employee. "The caravan should be arriving in two days, so it shouldn't take too long."
"Great, I'll see you later this week, then. Thanks again!"
Marco waved her off and helped the next customer while Senna continued on her way to her next stop.
The current master of Sabertooth, Sting, and a few of his guild mates walked through town- returning home after some weeks away. Sting had attended a conference for the guild masters while the others had taken a few jobs, and they happened to meet on the road back into town. They chatted away, filling each other in on the goings-on, and Sting could tell that everyone else was just as excited to get back home as he was. As they entered the town, they could see it was much busier than normal and Sting recalled that the merchants' caravan would be passing through soon- figuring that the residents were preparing ahead of time for their arrival.
As they walked the streets, however, they drew a lot of attention from some of the tourists present in town and they were quickly surrounded by fans.
'Here we go again.' he thought, but such was the life of a celebrity. Since becoming the guild master, however, Sting just wanted some peace and quiet for once.
As the crowd surges, Sting can hear someone grunt and fall to their knees- spilling everything they were carrying. He pushes through the crowd towards the person he heard and finds a woman with pewter hair collecting the items around her. He watches her inspect each item for a moment before placing them in her basket and moving on to the next one. He grabs the one closest to him and approaches her.
"Here," he says, presenting it to the woman.
"Oh, thank you."
As the woman turns towards him, he notices that she is much younger than he would have thought on her hair alone. He hands her the jar of spices. "It's fine, no cracks or chips."
The woman regards him for a moment, then looks over the jar. "That's a relief." She placed the jar in her basket and made to stand, but noticed that he had offered her a hand and she takes it. Sting helps her to her feet, watching as she brushed the dirt from her dress. "Thanks again for the help."
"No problem," Sting replied with a nod, watching her secure the basket over her arm. He noticed her eyes drawn to the white guild emblem on his arm as she looked back at him for a moment before offering him a smile and a small bow. He raised a hand as she took her leave, disappearing into the crowd quickly.
'Wonder who that was.'
Senna had finished her errands and was on her way home when she got knocked over by the crowd, but thanks to the wizard who helped her, it wasn't too much trouble.
"Senna, where do you want this?"
"Um, over there."
After making it home finally, and with the help of her employees, Senna began unloading her basket and the order that had arrived while she was out.
"What about the other stuff?"
"Marco said he'll pass the list on to the merchants' caravan once they arrive in town. Should only take a few days?"
"That's good."
"In the meantime, though, we should have plenty for the dinner rush." Senna ties her apron and pins her hair up with a smile. "Now, let's get started."