"Hey, remember how Black had unleashed his err...horror here?" Variante said teasingly, giving the ebony-haired blacksmith a sidelong glance.
"Hey, cut it out!" Black groaned, looking apprehensively at Jewel.
Jewel merely smiled at him knowingly, almost as though she knew what had happened before. Suddenly, Silver asked, "Hey, Jewel. Did you find your friend yet?"
Looking at him, she nodded quietly and said, "I'm meeting him tonight. Care to join me, everyone?"
Looking up, Tranquil glanced at Silver. Mika exchanged looks with Variante. And Sakura, she chirped out, "Yeah! Anywhere but staying cooped up here!"
"Ah, Sakura's too easy to please! Just dump her in a playpen nearby and she'll go hyperactive on us," teased Variante. Scowling at him, Sakura stuck out her tongue.
Sensing a fight, Mika hurriedly cut in, "Well, why don't we make a move now? Let's kill time outside."
Nodding his head, Silver began to adjust his muffler but stopped suddenly as he remembered something. "Hey, Mika. What happened to Vagabond back then? I had forgotten all about him," he said suddenly. Surprised, Mika looked at him, her hands still busy arranging her moon pin. "Why, it had followed us here. Didn't you know?" As Silver shook his head, she continued, "Well then, look into your bag and see. I believe it became an egg once more."
Rummaging through his bag, Silver was amazed to find that it was true. Caressing it gently, Silver murmured, "You saved my life once, and I'll never forget that." Putting it back gently into his bag, he impulsively grabbed a pet incubator and dumped it in too just in case.
"Hey look, guys! That young novice is in trouble...again," said Variante, as he looked out of the window. Glancing down, they saw that the novice was again bullied by a bunch of blacksmiths this time. Sighing, Silver said, "When will they ever stop picking on novices I wonder. Come on, let's go and help him again."
Picking up his wand, he went down, followed by the rest of them. "You guys know him?" Tranquil asked Variante in surprise. Nodding his head, he explained to the others about the young man's trouble previously.
When they reached the scene, a crowd was beginning to form out. Even from afar, they could hear the novice's cries, "Stop picking on me! I didn't steal anything!" Suddenly, Variante frowned and stepped forward. "Let him go, Slay! Enough with your dirty tricks already," he commanded. The others looked at him in surprise. Ignoring them, Variante walked purposefully towards the platinum-haired blacksmith. Sneering, 'Slay' said tauntingly, "Well, well, well. Variante. Long time no meet. What do you do now? Picking up stones like you're doing now?" His group laughed at his lame joke.
Tranquil said disgustedly, "At least his IQ isn't pathetic as yours." Slay heard that and looked at Tranquil appraisingly. "Hey, Variante..." he said slowly, "I think you've just gotten yourself a girlfriend." Cracking up, they laughed again, the novice temporarily forgotten.
Enraged, Mika started to step forward, determined to give the obnoxious blacksmith a piece of her mind, but Jewel stopped her. Stepping forward herself, she said softly, "That's enough." She didn't shout these words, nor did she yell. She merely said it slowly, but it worked. Both Slay and Variante stopped their quarrel.