Chapter 1 – A new member
The town of Gladiolus wasn't one that particularly stood out in Fire, it was neither a small little village and nor was it a city of bustling nature, merely a quaint little town that had the hills to its back and a large expansive lake to its side. Yet occasionally throughout the town and mainly on the nearby mountains were Gladiolus's main attraction, its hot springs while a constant warm river ran through the town acting almost as a central piece to it.
It was bustling with all sorts of people that went about their day, either hurriedly making it from one place to another for whatever their reasons were whilst there were other's happily taking their time as they walked together checking out various different sights.
There was one individual however that easily stood apart from the crowd, with long silvery pink hair that almost glittered as it blew in the wind, a few stands still managed to run down her back whilst her fringe was platted into a small crown paired with a simple black hairband with a ribbon attached. As she walked past she couldn't help but gather the attention of various onlookers who looked as if they had ever seen anything like her before, gawking at her short figure.
It didn't help her either as she shifted slightly under the uncomfortable gazes, it was hardly like she wasn't used to drawing attraction but now it was all under whole new clothes that she hardly felt like she was wearing correctly.
'Is there something wrong with this outfit after all? The clerk insisted that it suited me perfectly…' she pondered to herself whilst holding herself composed enough that none would ever have been able to guess her thoughts. 'But if I go back to wearing what I'm used to out here then I'm sure to gather even more attention…'
The outfit in question that she pondered over was a simple black top whilst wearing a frilly blue poncho over it, matching with another frilly skirt as she wore white tights in tall, heeled boots that helped give off a sense of a casual cute charm. It was something that had cost a little more than she had initially imagined but she found it something she was willing to pay if it was to help her fit in, only that it seemed to be having the opposite effect in town…
The girl in question who was oblivious to the fact that the stares aimed at her were out of attraction rather than anything else was Caminal Sisua, a short girl that almost radiated both cuteness and beauty with long silvery pink hair with darker pink eyes with a childish look to her despite her age of 16.
As she continued to walk along the street, still clueless as to the true reason for everyone's stares did a tiny little squeak come from her stomach before she quickly clapped her hand over it trying to muffle the sound before looking around with a faint amount of blush adorning her cheeks
As she entered a café there was a chime of a small bell from above the door, making her presence known to the staff quickly resulting in a cheery "Welcome!" from the woman managing the storefront.
Mina couldn't help but take a quick glance around the shop, enjoying its rather quiet atmosphere and quaint appearance of basic brick walls with wooden support beams which along with the furniture gave the café a slight authentic atmosphere.
"Good morning." Caminal had greeted the staff member whilst her eyes had moved to scan over the various different goods that were on display, noting that there were multiple different treats that she had never seen before, her eyes widening and beginning to sparkle at the prospect of new sweet treats.
"Is there anything you would like?" The woman had asked her, noticing the clear glimmer in her eyes that seemed excited at the prospect of eating whatever she could see.
"Ah, yes there is, would it be possible to have some brownies, please?" Caminal then asked, snapping out of her joyful moment and pulling herself back together as to not embarrass herself, even if the shop was relatively empty. "And some tea as well please." She then added on before quickly beginning to materialise her purse in her hand, it taking a few moment's before it lightly plopped into her hand.
"Of course miss, that will be 560 Jewel's please." The barista asked with a smile whilst she was already smoothly working on taking out a few brownies from the display, putting them on a plate before turning around to start up some hot water.
With a sense of grace had Caminal took out the money and placed it on the counter before taking the plate that was offered, doing her best to hide an unsettled feeling that had now taken place in her.
"Thank you, feel free to sit down, I'll bring your drink over to you." The barista said before turning around again to continue to work on the drink, leaving Caminal free to begin to make her leave as she began to walk towards a nearby table that allowed her to look outside a nearby window whilst not becoming the centre of attention yet again to whatever passer-by there were.
'I can't last much longer at this rate…' Caminal thought to herself as she looked back into her purse again, resisting releasing a sigh at the sight that greeted her. 'Who would have thought that travelling would be so expensive… maybe I should have gotten these new clothes even if I would stand out even more…'
It was too late to be thinking it, but it would have been far better if she had waited a little bit longer and got some more money before leaving so pre-emptively. But now returning back home was something that she couldn't possibly consider, the whole town would make sure that she couldn't leave again if she did so, but that meant that she had to start finding a source of income soon…
"Here you are!" A familiar voice soon broke her thoughts for her to notice that the barista had come back, now holding a small tray of which a cut of tea sat upon it before she took the mug and place it down on the table before Caminal with a smile.
"Thank you." Caminal briefly replied before taking a quick sip of the drink to try and ease herself once again, only to notice that the barista was yet to leave her still. "Is there something wrong?" she couldn't help but ask, wondering why she was yet to be left to herself again.
"Oh, no really, I was just wondering if you're a mage. You didn't get your purse from your pockets and you also don't look like anyone I would see around here either." The barista replied with a friendly smile. "Is there anything in particular that you are travelling for? Oh, I'm called Lina by the way, what's your name?"
Caminal was slightly shocked as she listened to the barista that simply wanted to talk with her, usually after serving the order people would leave and continue with their job, except that it was rather quiet around here still. Yet whilst usually she might have been a little displeased with how she practically had forced a conviction on her, she was also the first person in the town to warmly walk with her rather than look at her from a distance.
"My name is Caminal, and yes I am a mage, I've simply been looking for a place to stay for now, however…." Caminal replied before taking a sip of her tea and testing out one of the brownies that she had ordered, almost melting into joy from the taste of the new sweet. "But there is the worry that I won't be able to fit in, everyone keeps staring at me from a distance for some reason… is there something off about me?"
"Off about you? You look amazing! You're so cute I'm sure that everyone was just looking at you in admiration!" Lina exclaimed in pure shock as she once again looked over Caminal. Between her personal childish charm and the general cuteness of the clothes that she wore, it was the only possible reason that Lily could think of, and get Caminal somehow had thought the opposite!
"Ah… um, thank you very much…" Caminal replied in a bashful manner, lowering her head slightly in embarrassment whilst aiming to play it off as nothing more than a respectful bow to hide her feelings.
"So, what is someone like you planning on doing then? If you say you're looking for a place to stay then that would mean you don't have any kind of job currently do you?" Lina then continued with a cheery smile, moving the conversation along whilst enjoying the sight of the young girl before her.
"No, I don't… I guess I need to find one and a place to live soon…" Caminal mumbled almost under her breath whilst her mood completely sank, no longer embarrassed as her thoughts began to run over her predicament once again.
"Then why don't you try the local guild? Mythic Djinn is plenty friendly, and it also comes with accommodations for its mages I've heard." Lina then suggested to the surprise of Mina. "I don't know how tough you are but I know better to judge a book by its cover!"
"Mythic… Djinn?" Mina repeated the name of the guild whilst she thought over the name. "But aren't Djinn's?" She started to ask before Lina interrupted her, holding up a hand telling her to stop.
"I understand that much, however, the guild isn't anything to worry about. The best that I know is that the guild has a little bit of history if you were to ask the guildmaster or his nephew. I don't think that the guild has ever had a dark history however and it certainly isn't like that today."
"That's intriguing… but I'm not much of a fighter…. I mean, my magic can be used for it however I simply have no fighting experience at all…" Caminal then replied.
"You don't know how guild's work at all huh? There are varying levels of requests that guilds can get, and they can get low ranking jobs that simply want some help around town and even then I'm sure that there are members of the guild that will be willing to help you out. You don't need to be a powerful wizard to qualify, you just need to know some magic." Lina argued back again whilst Caminal calmly and quietly ate more of her brownies, thinking about what to say next still in hesitation.
"You know, maybe you should at least go and check it out, a guild is a perfect place for wizards of any level after all." Lina continued with a gentle smile. "You shouldn't have to worry about your abilities too much."
"I see… I don't ever see me becoming a fighter but I suppose you have a point." Caminal replied before nodding to herself, having made up her mind for the day. After all, it was an almost perfect answer to the problems that she was having.
"Great! Come back and tell me how it goes ok?" Lina said with a smile again, earning one back from Caminal before the two continued to talk for a little more whilst she finished her order before starting to make her way over the local guild…
It had been a little while since Caminal had left the café with Lina happily wishing her luck whilst sending her off with a wave after having given the girl the directions towards the local guild. The guildhall was located in the side of one of the nearby hills to the guild allowing it to expand nicely underground whilst giving them prime access to some of the town's famed hot springs.
Due to the fact, when Mina arrived there was little for her to instantly gaze upon apart from the parts of the building that still stuck out above the ground, the walls being made of rustic wood with large tall wooden beams that stood tall and proud whilst supporting the building. The doors were also somewhat large with a indicate pattern embedded onto it whilst far above, there was seemingly a viewing platform that also stuck out, looking over the town.
"I wonder what the rest of the building is like…" Caminal pondered to herself as she gazed up before looking back down to the door that was before her, hiding everything that was inside and the true splendour of the building from her eyes.
But before she could begin to move any closer to the building, however, there was something that had managed to catch her eye. Whilst she had been standing there she had managed to catch sight of another girl that was returning to the guild.
Whilst only able to see her from behind, she was rather short with bushy, unkempt pink hair which held the odd highlight whilst being styled into low kept pigtails that rode over her shoulders and chest.
But what had really caught Caminal's attention was a leather band that she wore over her dark yellow dress which sleaves managed to consume her hands, which carried an incredibly memorable object to her. A long silver, needle-like weapon that had engravings running along its blade…
Snapping out of initial shock, Caminal wasted no time rushing up the person. "Kimberly?" Caminal called out, using the name associated with whom she believed to be before her.
Right away the short girl had turned around at the mentioning of her name to quickly find out who had called out to her almost with a jolt before her hazel eyes went wide in equal shock at the person that was hurrying over to her. "Caminal?! What are you doing here?" Kimberly asked as she hurried over to meet halfway.
"I decide to leave the village for… person reasons," Caminal replied with a smile on her face for the accounter.
"Is that alright? You're rather central to everyone, aren't you? I thought that you would never get to leave the village." Kimberly replied with a worried expression when she compared the scenario to her memories. "Central might not even be enough to describe it actually…"
"You don't have to say never," Caminal pointed out with an offput expression before she mellowed slightly. "But it wasn't like I left with permission either… if anything I ran away because they were being unfair…"
"That makes more sense, but what about? This is still really unlike you…" Kimberly asked.
"Sorry, I don't feel like telling…" Caminal soon replied before she began to brighten up. "I did come here however trying to find a way to start a life outside the village for once, and I had been suggested coming to this guild but I didn't think that I would run into you here! Has Calvin accompanied you here?"
At this it was now Kimberly's turn to darken in response to the worries of Caminal at the sudden change in mood, wondering just what she had said was wrong. 'Did he… did he die?!' Caminal couldn't but panic internally as multiple different scenarios ran through her mind. 'Or maybe she doesn't want me here?'
"Calvin went missing…." Kimberly eventually admitted to the shock of Caminal, whilst stopping her mind from going any more out of control. "We had started a life but then he went missing, I abandoned everything to try and find him but I couldn't find anything." She started to explain before lifting her head to look back at the guild "But since coming to Mythic Djinn and asking for their help, I've had a bit more hope in finding him, whilst becoming a guild mage here as well to help out and live." She continued with a vague smile whilst her voice was so soft that she almost couldn't be heard, yet this was something that Caminal had long gotten used to.
"And now that you're here, I'm sure that everything will get even better! Oh, have you happened to have heard anything about Calvin whilst coming out here?" Kimberly then asked, turning around to Caminal who was almost taken back from everything.
"Unfortunately not, not much comes in and out of the village and I haven't seen too many different places since leaving, I didn't even think to try asking since I didn't think that this would have happened…" Caminal replied with a frown, hoping that the news wouldn't hurt.
Kimberly's mood dampened in response, but it didn't last long either before she perked up again. "I guess that makes sense… Also, I know that it has been a while but, I'm sorry for how things turned out back then…" she said whilst gesturing towards the silver needle that she carried with her only for Caminal to shake her head in response.
"I hope that you have at least learned to not pock around, but you did suffer more in the end, I should be apologising to you," Caminal replied with a bow of her head, helping her catch a glimpse of Kimberly's knee-high boots.
"Maybe we should forget about this then, but you should come inside instead of talking out here. You wanted to join the guild right?" Kimberly then said, gently taking Caminal by the hand to lead her into the guild, lightly pulling her along as her slightly hesitation stemmed from her shock.
The doors to the guild opened rather seamlessly as Kimberly and Caminal entered the guild, yet when Kimberly let go of the door and its wight once again too over it slammed shut gathering some of the attention of the guild as the odd person looked up to wonder who had come in. They paid them little attention however as they headed further into the guild, Caminal allowed herself to be led along to better take a look around the room.
It was an incredibly large place with multiple supporting pillars as well, with a roughly designated area where there was a café and bar alongside a seating area, a stage and a general relaxation area. Towards the back of the hall were a set of spiral stairs that lead to a higher floor whilst beside them a corridor that lead further into the mountain.
"Come on Cami-meow!" Kimberly cheerily said to Caminal's shock and embarrassment as they neared a sofa to sit down on together.
"Cami-meow?" Caminal couldn't help but repeat almost dazed in shock from the sudden nickname.
"Yeah, I called you that back in the past with cute you are alongside your like of cats, remember?" Kimberly answered with a beaming smile, seemingly without a care for Caminal's own feelings on the nickname.
"Then how about Kimmy then?" Caminal returned with a slight huff whilst Kimberly began to turn sour at the name.
"Don't call me that!" Kimberly snapped in response, clearly in much more than a huff than Caminal. "You know I don't like that name at all, there was no reason for using it now!"
"Hm? What's going on Kim?" Another voice then cut in, making Kimberly flitch yet again whilst her expression suddenly darkened a lot more than her mere irritation as she spun around at near lightning speeds.
"And I've told you plenty of times to call me Kimber! You know most of all and you still don't change!" Kimberly immediately scolded, knowing just who she was talking to without needing to see the person whilst Caminal quietly looked up at the new person who had walked over to them.
The person in question was a boy with short, messy, light brown hair with matching sharp eyes yet despite them he had an easy-going smile. With an arm with a golden band resting on his hip, pointing out the leather belt around his simple blue jeans that otherwise would have gone covered by a slightly baggy grey shirt and blue overcoat that he wore over it all.
"Well, Kim's just a little bit easier to say, it rolls off the tongue." The newcomer replied with almost a sense of amusement from Kimberly's harsh behaviour, "But anyway, who's with you? You're pretty similar with your pink hair and general childish features."
"Childish?!" The two girls exclaimed together at the tackles remark, taking the boy back slightly.
"I wish that you would have a few more manners when meeting someone for the first time at least," Caminal said with a pout, contrary to the almost scowl that Kimberly was giving him. "The least you could do would be to introduce yourself at least before asking for a name."
'Proper on manners huh?' he couldn't help but think to himself, now knowing to try and keep some of his more unhinged thoughts to himself, and it wasn't like the girl didn't have a point. "Sorry then, my name's Raphael Embroche."
"And mine is Caminal Sisua." Caminal politely replied as she began to regain some of her usual composure.
"It's nice to meet you, but what brings you here besides Kimber? Are you here to join?" Raphael continued to ask earning an enthusiastic answer out of Kimberly instead.
"That's something that you've gotten right, would you mind getting the master? You are the one who can best handle him." Kimberly said with an energetic yet quiet voice, cutting in before Caminal had the chance to answer.
"Is that actually want, Mina?" Raphael then asked to the added shock of Caminal.
"Mina?" She repeated, tilting her head in response to the sudden name that she heard, not working it out for what it was.
"A nickname, Mina fits in your name and it's nice to say. Do you mind?" Raphael nonchalantly returned making Caminal slightly shocked yet again.
"A nickname? You would already give me a nickname…" Caminal puzzledly thought to herself, "I guess you can call me that… But at the same time, I don't think I want that to spread…" She continued to think aloud as she remained torn over how she felt about the name. It was certainly better than Cami-meow that Kimberly still had for her at least.
"He'll keep calling you it regardless… it's the main thing I can't stand about him." Kimberly then cut in looking almost exhausted at the prospect that she had mentioned.
"You shouldn't call people by names that they don't like." Caminal then said as she turned to Raphael who seemed to almost be on the verge of shrugging at her.
"But you don't mind it, do you, Mina? However, we were talking about if you would like to join the guild." Raphael replied as he now took the time to sit down just across from the girls on another sofa.
"Well, It would be nice but I'm not exactly a fighter or anything… I'm only a mage because I know magic." Caminal then replied to the joined confusion of Raphael and Kimberly.
"Well, that's what makes someone a mage, fighting isn't a requirement, although I guess it's a fairly common trait now. Why do you feel the need to say that? What magic do you use, or is it simply not having fighting experience?" Raphael replied whilst his smile began to widen with a sense of amusement towards the new girl that had entered the guild. It was something about her personality, something possibly ditzy or naïve or perhaps there was a better way of describing it.
"Well… I've learned my magic from my family, we have a tradition and keep passing down things likes that…" Caminal began to answer almost meekly to Raphael's added interest.
"Is it hard for you to mention?" Raphael couldn't help but ask before Caminal had the chance to finish her sentence.
"No, that's not it. My magic is Ark of Embodiment… and a little requip… but despite that, I can hardly fight, I haven't ever done so before…" Caminal eventually replied before looking at Raphael firmly in the eyes, awaiting his response.
"You mean, you have lost magic? Just how long is your family history exactly?" Raphael began to question in shock whilst Kimberly remained quiet and calm, "Kimber, you're already known Mina for a while right?"
"That's right, in fact, I got my weapon when I first met Cami-meow," Kimberly answered.
"The needle was something that belonged to my family as well, but we made sure to never touch it otherwise we would lose our magic, and in the past when Kimber came and stayed with us for a bit she couldn't sit still and touched it," Caminal explained whilst Kimberly reached behind her to pull out the mentioned blade, holding it out again for the three of them to admire.
Like my magic, the needle was also passed down for roughly 500 years, so magic like my family's wasn't all that rare back then, but surviving to pass it down is." Caminal continued.
"That's impressive…" Raphael said whilst leaning back into his seat again. "Well, you certainly have nothing to worry about when it comes to getting into the guild won't be a problem, although the master might be harsh on you at first thought, it's kinda how he is. I'll go explain everything to him now, wanna come with?" he then said, getting to his feet before offering a hand out to Caminal for her to hastily yet gracefully accept.
"Of course, I shouldn't leave it to other people about these things." She replied with a small smile as she allowed herself to be pulled onto her feet. "Kimberly, will you be coming with us?" she then asked, turning back around to her friend.
"I'm fine, I'll be able to see everything from here anyways," Kimberly replied to the slight shock and confusion of Caminal but she didn't say anything more, simply accepting what her friend had said before walking off with Raphael, allowing him to lead her to whoever the guildmaster happened to be.
"It's been a little bit since the master last got involved in something, at least she as Raphi." She quietly mentioned to herself, still watching the two walking towards the stairs together, already knowing just what the two were in for.
"Hey, Kimby, who was she?" A young boy asked with an energetic voice that practically bounced up to the lone girl with wolves ears and a tail-wagging behind that helped show his energy and interest.
"She's an old friend of mine." Kimberly calmly replied before she release a small huff as she turned to face the hyper boy. "But what have I told you about calling me that Razi?" She then gripped with a harsh enough voice that the younger boy took a step back with an apologetic look, his tail dropping between his legs as his ears also drooped.
"Sorry, Kimberly…" Razi replied with an awkward smile, hoping that she would find the heart to forgive him. Whilst the girl didn't look that much older than him, in fact, she looked quite the opposite as she nearly looked like a child despite being 15, but it didn't stop her from having her scary moments whenever she got upset in contrary to her usual behaviour.
"Really, I think it's Raphi that you're getting that from," Kimberly said as she turned back, once again spying on the sight that was Raphael and Caminal climbing to the second floor, and likely all the way to the viewing platform.
"Is Raphael trying to help her into the guild?" Razi then asked as he plopped down onto the sofa beside Kimberly, his green and red eyes blinking whilst he tried to spot where Raphael was, taking a few moments to be able to spot them.
"Yeah, he acts tough but at the end of the day he cares and listens to Raphi, even if he doesn't see it," Kimberly replied whilst all Razi did was quietly nod in response as the two awaited whatever would go down…
"What is the master like?" Caminal asked as they walked along side-by-side, making their way every higher that it had begun to feel like they were really climbing a mountain.
"The master… well, he's harsh, really harsh…" Raphael replied with a heavy sigh as he pressed onwards before noticing the worry that was beginning to spread along Caminal's face. "Well, everyone says he has a soft part to him that he doesn't let show and they believe that he shows more care for me but honestly he just feels more brutal…"
"But despite it all, he is a good man, he never lets things go too far but he is really insistent on people handling things by themselves if they can."
"Does that mean that he would rather I came to see him alone?" Caminal then asked.
"Probably, yet at the same time he also wouldn't want me to be half-hearted about this either, so he'll likely tell me to tag along with you for a bit and help out when you need it if you need it." Raphael quickly replied.
"You really seem to know him well, and since everyone thinks that you're the best with him is there some kind of reason for that?"
"Once again think the best with him part isn't true but… he's my uncle if that answer's anything for you," Raphael said with a conflicted face that had kept Caminal from falling into too much shock at the revelation of who Raphael was. "Don't call him Embroche though, he's from my mother's side and she took my father's in marriage."
"Where… where are your parents?" Caminal then asked, for once openly showing hesitation that she couldn't help but feel was reasonable or perhaps expected. It was Raphael's expression that couldn't help give her the taste of the mood that something about the family wasn't quite right.
And it was at this question that Raphael went quiet for a few moments as he was seemingly thinking about answering the question or not before he stopped in his place for a few moments, taking the chance to look Mina in the eyes for a few seconds before he made up his mind.
"You don't need to tell me if you don't want to, I won't pry!" Caminal hurriedly spoke in an apologetic manner but Raphael simply shook off her concern in an almost tired manner.
"Their dead, my mother died in childbirth whilst my father died whilst on a mission… my uncle is my only remaining family and has taken care of me ever since. Not that it hasn't been rough." Raphael eventually said, his answer turning Caminal meek as she lowered her head in response.
"I'm sorry for your loss…" she quietly mumbled so it was almost a whisper.
"Don't worry about it, I didn't really get to know them, my mother especially. I just wonder what it would have been like to be taken care of them instead." Raphael replied, "Anyway cheer up, we're almost here." He said whilst lightly gesturing ahead of them to the top of the stairs that had begun to level out into a large platform like a plateau to the guildhall. It was the same viewing platform that Caminal had spied above from when she stood before the guild.
"You've finally come up here looking to join." A somewhat harsh, gruff voice greeted them. "And I thought I told you to let people come to me alone." It then continued, getting somewhat harsher as he made his words clearly aimed at Raphael.
"And people probed me into this somewhat, besides I don't see what's wrong with lending a little help to someone," Raphael replied, aiming to keep his same composure yet failing as Caminal could tell that his loose demeanour had started to become more serious as he straightened his posture.
"Then you know the rest… if she stays…" the person replied before they made themselves clear as to where they were by standing up from near a corner of the edge of the platform before walking over to Caminal and Raphael.
The man that had risen up was a somewhat tall man that in comparison to the hights of Caminal and Kimberly, towered over them with hair that was rather straight and mostly gone grey with the few off dark brown stands. If there was one word to come to mind, it was disciplined, or stern, either one fitted him almost perfectly.
His facial complexion was also rather firm with brown eyes even sharper than Raphael's whilst his arms were firmly crossed before his chest with an imposing feel as he proudly wore a black kimono with a basic golden pattern of a tree on it whilst wearing fitting wooden sandals that nicely clicked against the floorboards.
Standing up and walking over to them was all the older man needed to set an imposing presence of Caminal, enough so that she was even more grateful that Raphael had offered to bring her as she wasn't sure how much harder this would be had she done it alone.
"What is your name them?" He asked, all his attention dead focused on Caminal.
"Caminal Sisua." She immediately replied, doing her best to make herself sound calm and collected, trying to not let any kind of pressure get to her head.
"Remorti Grayhook." The master responded in kind whilst he closely inspected the girl that stood before him and side-by-side to his nephew. "I take it you know Kimberly?" he then asked.
"Yes, we met before a few years ago…" Caminal quickly replied again.
After this Remorti went quiet for a bit before he decided to say anymore, yet it was the silence that made the atmosphere all the heavier for her as she was sure that it had to have started to affect Raphael, even if he wasn't the centre of it all. But he was also his nephew and seemed laxer of a person so perhaps he was used to it? At the least, she welcomed whatever thoughts that helped prevent her from focusing too hard on the mood at hand…
"You came here looking to simply make a living right?" Remorti asked.
"Yes sir." She replied, adding the extra title without much conscious thought.
"Despite doubting yourself as a mage?" He then pressured her, nearly managing to make her shrink back and give in to his aura somewhat yet she still managed to hold his ground.
"Yes… but not every job you get is a fighting one right?" Caminal replied, finding a little bit of strength in her to counter back slightly. Something resulted in a smile so faint she was sure that she had just been seeing things, but in the end, his face had hardened far more than it possibly could have lightened that it couldn't help but worry her.
"You can join the guild… if you can pass a B ranked quest." He said whilst turning around to return to his previous seat. "Raphael with naturally be with you, but only if you need it!" he almost shouted out, putting, even more, empathises on need, making it clear that she wasn't to have any kind of easy way to make it through her little test.
"Thank you, sir." Caminal then replied with a short bow before taking the opportunity to leave as soon as possible whilst Raphael kept up by her side with ease, looking almost as glad to finally have left.
It was mostly quiet as they made their way back down the stairs to the lounge area of the guild again, whilst Caminal was thinking her to herself about the experience as Raphael gave her the chance to think.
"By the way… the only reason why he's doing this is just to get you to push yourself a bit. He does some kind of challenge for everyone who joins the guild but he's no elitist, there was a time when someone failed but he made the excuse 'You have unwaning spirit' or something along those lines." Raphael eventually said, breaking Caminal's thought as she took the time to listen to him.
"So then relying on you would have him turn me away?" Caminal summarised.
"Probably… he just doesn't want slackers I think," Raphael answered before the pair got interrupted by another bounding ball of excitement that left Caminal completely bewildered.
"Hey, Raphi." A kid with somewhat messy, pitch-black hair and a huge scar on his neck and most notably his guild mark of a circular djinn that was right in the middle of his forehead. His eyes that Raphael usual saw bright and wide with excitement now held a sense of meekness to them as he neared and he could guess why.
"Um, why does he have a tail?" Caminal couldn't help but ask, pointing out the wagging attachment, something that obviously shouldn't be.
"I don't really know myself… he's a… special case…" Raphael awkwardly answered whilst rubbing the back of his head, not really knowing how to handle the situation. "He's been at the guild a while now though, and he's not all different despite his physic and a few quirks."
"A few quirks?" Razi said looking somewhat displeased as if he already had a general idea of what Raphael was hinting at.
"Everyone's different and unique." He quickly replied to his defence to not upset the wolf boy.
"Like, how she's call Cami-meow?" Razi then asked, directing words towards Caminal who showed a brief amount of shock and clear disdain for the name that she just heard.
"Don't call me names like that! My name is Caminal! Ca-min-al!" She snapped as she greatly embellished her name on the boy, getting him to recoil slightly from her intensity. "I can't believe Kimberly is trying to spread that name…" she then added on with a slight huff.
"Calm down a bit Mina, he's a touch shy," Raphael interjected before making sure to stand between Razi and Caminal like an intermediary. "Come on, Razi this is Caminal and she'll be joining soon, and Caminal, this is Razi, like I said before he's been here a while, but he's also someone who means goodwill."
"Right! I hope that we can get along!" Razi exclaimed whilst eagerly holding out a hand, waiting for her to accept.
"Right…" Caminal somewhat awkwardly replied, still not knowing how to accept the reality that was standing before her in a black furry vest and white shirt with a yin-yang symbol on it, not to mention the puffy breaches that in her opinion had a ridiculous total of 10 pockets on them. "How old are people in this guild exactly? I would have thought that people would typically be older."
"We have our adults, but still a fair amount of teenagers. With exception of me from being the master's literal family, the youngest that we've had was Razi 8 years ago, at the age of 6 at that." Raphael quickly answered her as he reflected on the past.
"Since that young?! Wait, what about you then? You made it sound you were here even younger." Caminal replied in shock as she had now taken her hand back from Razi, giving Raphael her complete attention with a sense of disbelief. "You couldn't have been able to actually take on requests from such a young age… could you?"
"Well, I think I was about 4 or 5 when I joined…" Raphael replied as he had begun walking again, forcing Caminal to follow after in complete shock whilst Razi kept with them in simple interest in their new member. "And now I'm 17, having been here all this time and slowly getting stronger the longer I have been here, being forced into the occasional thing by the master."
"You were made to do guild jobs since that young? A parent or guardian should be keeping their child closer to them than that, even if it was just small jobs around the town." Caminal said with disapproval clear in her voice that it make Raphael tilt his head slightly whilst gaining a slight smile.
"Oh, you already care about me?" He joked, yet it didn't shift Caminal's mood in the slightest.
"It's not a matter about that, people should have more care for their children." She bluntly replied whilst they walked on, not quite reacting how Raphael thought she would.
"Hey, how old are you then?" Razi then asked, reverting the conversation back slightly as Caminal blinked in the face of the question.
"You shouldn't ask a lady her age," She calmly stated before looking away again.
"Double standards, huh?" Raphael couldn't help but mumble to himself, yet it wasn't quiet enough for Caminal to not hear as she flinched slightly.
"Very well, I'm 16 if you must know." She finally answered with a slight sigh. 'Are these the kinds of people that I will be around now?' She couldn't help think to herself. "But where are you taking me now exactly?" she then asked, looking up at Raphael.
"Well you've got the choice of choosing a job with me now and completing it, or you can look around a bit and meet some people as well. But Kimberly should be good for that, she's always at least hanging around near groups even if she doesn't talk much."
"Is there anyone that you think that I should go and meet?"
"Well…" Raphael started whilst he turned to Razi, the pair of them looking horribly awkward and conflicted over something without even needing to talk for them to understand just the person that the other was thinking about filling Caminal with a sense of curiosity but also concern at just what kind of person would warrant such a reaction.
"I'm sure that you'll get along with everyone but Orla might be someone you should prepare for…" Razi answered whilst he was still thinking about the person in question. "She can be really strange and overwhelming at times… Raphi says that she has tons of character."
"And I don't think I'm wrong…" he added on without the faintest trace of shame or anything between.
"I see… but it would be wrong to avoid people," Mina mentioned.
"We're not saying to, she just… requires preparation…." Raphael replied.
"If you're going on a job, can I tag along?" Razi then asked, tearing everything away from whoever happened to be named Orla.
"Don't get too involved, the master is doing this as a test for Mina like he usually does for the new ones," Raphael told the boy to his excitement at the go-ahead that he had received whilst worry once again began to take over Caminal's face at the prospect of already being rushed into some kind of hard battle, and all whilst being her first. Maybe it would have done her some good to have mentioned it to the master before they had left yet he had somehow made her feel that there had been no room for argument against him.
"Can we ask Kimber as well?" Caminal then asked.
"The same rules would apply to her, but there shouldn't be anything wrong with her tagging along." Raphael replied again, "wanna go get her?"
"I would like to ask."
"Razi, can you find her?" Raphael then asked as he turned to the wolf boy again who promptly saluted before looking around the guildhall, his ears twitching occasionally whilst he sniffed the air around him all the more to Caminal's bewilderment around him until he soon pointed off in a direction.
"She's over there, I think she's just hanging around a bunch of people again," Razi said as he pointed his finger over to the café area, where plenty of random members of the guild was gathered yet despite him claiming her to be there, there was no sight of them familiar messy pink hair.
"I wonder if she struggles in crowds with the differences in height?" Caminal pondered aloud before she started to make her own way there in search of her friend, trusting that the wolf boy was in fact telling the truth, yet there was a part of her that wished that he wasn't. The idea that he was capable of literally sniffing a person out was a thought that didn't like to entertain.
'He's almost like a human dog, but the world doesn't work that way…' Mina thought to herself as she walked, still making sure to look through all the crowds for Kimberly. 'But then just what is he? He can't be defined as human, can he?'
She didn't get to finish the thought however as soon her eyes caught sight of just the person that she was looking for, instantly removing them as she focused on something new. "Kimberly!" Mina called out as she quickly approached the small figure of her friend, getting her attention again alongside the attention of two other's that she happened to be sitting nearby.
"Cami-meow, did you manage to join? Or are you being tested?" Kimberly asked as she spun around on a swivel chair that was by a bar counter, a sight that with her youthful look would appear somewhat wrong to many beholders.
"Tested apparently, and Raphael, or Raphi, was told to watch over me effectively," Caminal replied before he demeanour began to sink slightly yet again. "And what have I told you about that name?! You even told that to Razi as if it was my real name!" she soon began to scold her.
"But it's a nice name for you!" Kimberly replied, "But what about your job? What kind of mission are you going on?" she then continued, doing her best to press pass the situation at hand.
"I don't know yet, I was wondering if you would like to come along as well." Caminal then asked, whilst Raphael and Razi finally began to close in on her, having finally made it around the crowds of people that filled the area.
"Hmm… but Raphael is coming along…" Kimberly mumbled to herself she began to sway in place slightly as she thought about the situation that she was faced with. "And things are starting to get interesting here…"
"Are you starting something again?" Raphael asked with a hard enough smile that one could start to see the disapproval through it .
"I don't start anything, people just start getting upset,." Kimberly calmly replied.
"They start getting upset from the things that you say."
"More like the comments that you have to make."
"You commonly guide the conversations towards where the drama is."
"I just want to hear certain things, that doesn't mean I start fights."
"Can the two of you please stop?" Caminal finally interrupted the two, breaking up their back and forth. "Razi, are they usually like this?" She then asked the younger boy that was at their side who unlike her didn't seem to care all that much for the scene that had been beginning to play out before them.
"Kinda, Raphi is can be found watching over everyone at times and so he caught onto Kimber usually being near where fights are starting." Razi quickly answer her whilst his mind kept wondering between trying to sit down and eat something or not if they didn't have the time. "Are we going to go soon or can I have something to eat?" he then asked to Caminal's slight irritation.
"Well, sorry Cami-meow, I think I'll stay here, but I'll be cheering for you! You shouldn't need to worry about anything with Raphael and Razi with you anyways." Kimberly then said, pulling back Caminal's attention and disappointment at the answer that she had received, yet at the same time, she couldn't feel surprised either.
"Very well then, hopefully, we'll be back soon then," Caminal replied with indifference before she turned back around to the two boys. "Can go choose a request now then? I would like to be done before the end of the day at least."
"Sure, there should be a B rank job like that still, so long as transport is on our side," Raphael replied whilst turning around to face the large request board that wasn't all that far from the lounge area whilst being stuck to the wall, the whole of it now having only the odd few requests plastered over it with writing too small that it was hard to see from where they currently stood. Yet despite that all the small yet different images that were on various requests made it obvious that there was still a rather wide diversity for them to choose from.
"Hey Razi," Kimberly then called out to the wolf boy getting him to turn around only to have a chicken leg being held out to him.
"Thank you!" Razi cheerily replied as he took the leg before hurrying after Caminal and Raphael on all fours whilst chewing on the chicken in his mouth, the tip of the bone sticking out of his lips.
Break
"So, see anything you like?" Raphael asked as the group of three looked over the board, briefly skimming over each different request that was left within what was effectively referred to as the B-Class section of the board.
"Bandit's… monster outbreaks…" Caminal read aloud with a slightly worried gaze as she continued to look for anything that suggested to be something less fighting oriented.
"I'm sure that we can complete any one of these before the day is over," Razi then commented as he noticed the troubled gaze of Caminal as she continued reading. "What about this one! Weretigers are a little fast but they're easy among B-Class quests!"
"Razi, that one's an outbreak. There will be a ton of them so she'll need crowd control and stamina." Raphael then corrected him, leaving the boy to look back at the request that he was holding with a bland expression before his expression dropped slightly as he put the paper back to the board.
"Can't you read or did you just make an assumption? You shouldn't be like that when it comes to accepting a job!" Caminal then scolded the boy with a sense of disbelief, making him shrink back with a pitiful expression.
"Um, Mina?" Raphael then quickly cut in with an awkward expression of his own. "Your first accusation was actually right… Razi, can't read, not really…"
"Huh?" Caminal reacted with a dumbstruck expression as she turned back to the meek wolf kid, "Ah, um… I apologise for my insensitive words…" she quickly said as she hurriedly shifted to a more apologetic look, giving Razi a brief bow alongside it that appeared to go over his head as he seemingly struggled to comprehend Caminal's level of manners. "But this guild has known him for seven years, have you not? Why hasn't someone of his age learned to read and write yet?"
"Once upon a time there were some who were working on it, but they gave up." Raphael bluntly answered. "I could guess two reasons but not now…" he then swiftly finished the conversation as quickly as it had started, leaving Caminal completely mystified.
"Well anyway…there wouldn't happen to be anything… less violent?" Caminal awkwardly asked, hoping that there would be something that would still allow her to escape her lack of fighting capability. "Perhaps something like fetching something from somewhere? There are missions like those aren't there?"
"The rank of missions increased with the danger associated with them, at B-Rank everything requires you to be capable enough of protecting yourself so avoiding it is kinda impossible. It's more down to luck that things don't get unnecessarily messy." Raphael was quick to answer, much to the exhaustion of Caminal whilst all her hope was squandered.
It also meant that there was no point in hoping by some chance that the A-Class mission's had something more idea for her by Raphael's logic, it would only mean that it would make her mission needlessly gruelling and perhaps unnecessarily long…
"Very well then… I suppose that this should do." Caminal with a long face as she stepped forward, having to stand on the tips of her toes for a few moments which made both cute and amusing sight to behold before she finally managed to take down a sheet of paper.
"What is it?" Razi asked as closed nearly all the distance between them, peering over Caminal's shoulder.
"Fishermen have been asking for someone to deal with some kind of aquatic monster, I should be able to exploit various weaknesses," Caminal answered before pulling away from Razi, instead, spinning around the job request to present it to the two boys.
"Isn't that an aqua… aqua… an aqua…" Razi said, whilst the rest of the answer refused to come to the forefront of his mind.
"An Aquafiné." Raphael then cut in answering for him. "Horrible to have to fight in water but if you can get it out of the lake you should do swimmingly."
"You had to do that, didn't you?" Caminal replied as she looked up at him with an expression so dull that it almost appeared pained.
"Honestly wasn't trying…" Raphael responded.
"Hey, come on, can't we get going? We have a mission now don't we? I wanna get to the train!" Razi then cheered out, grabbing the attention of the two with a quick wave of his hand and more notably a swishing tail that gave insight into how he was feeling.
In response Raphael simply released a puff of air in amusement before following along with him before glancing back at Caminal, waiting for her to tag along with them as she looked back with conflicting feelings in her heart, soon pushing them down and away for the time being to follow after the experienced mages…
For the first time in her life, she would be taking on an actual mages job, a proper fight all the while possibly marking the beginning of her new life…
Hello, sorry for the long wait but now the first chapter of this story is out, I hope that so far I have managed to write the submitted character's as they were envisioned. PLEASE do tell me if I'm writing them wrong, I'm needing to get a bit of a grip on this and I'll make adjustments!
When it comes to introducing character's I would like to try and take a little slow to be able to give better thought when writing them and manage them until I get a proper grip on them. To this end, I'm likely keeping them in groups of 3-4 until all introductions have been made. I also realise that I need to learn to maintain a better balance between characters in groups for better representation of everyone.
In the next chapter there will be a little of the mission of Mina, Raphael and Razi, but should still be cutting back to the guild plenty so I hope that is something to be looking forward to! Onwards to some other updates and till the next time.
Main Character Creator's:
Razi Bharx - MaMcMu
Kimberly Monti - LuxuryKiwi
Raphael Embroche - SimpleStories24 (Me)