Jax wasn't, from the very beginning, a guy who liked normal boyish things. As a matter of fact, he often preferred girly things. Loved them, in fact. They were so much more elegant, prettier, and he looked much better in them. His parents however, preferred that he dressed like a normal little boy, preferred being an understated term.

The fact that their little boy didn't like the things all other little boys liked scared them, and they tried to force him to conform, to brainwash him. So eventually, he started dressing like that in secret, hidden away from the conformed world of his parents. He had started out with what every princess starts out with, the color pink. But eventually, he grew tired of such a cliché color. It had no meaning, no depth. And so he began wearing darker colors, to express the pain he went through by, well, not being able to express himself. Eventually, he settled on a color he found very elegant, albeit appropriate for his situation; black.

One day, he was in his room, working on his latest acquisition, a torn black ball gown that he intended to turn into a pinafore dress. Halfway through the project his father walked in on him. Seeing what his son was doing, he exploded, yelling the most horrible things about him.

Deciding not to stay around to see what happened next, he ran out of the house. Hours later, he returned through the back gate, and looking in the window, saw his parents in the kitchen, chatting happily as if nothing had ever happened, his little sister toddling around the floor happily. That's when he realized, they didn't even look for him. They didn't mind when he wasn't there. In fact, they liked it better. He wasn't needed, wasn't wanted.

So, he left. After having enough of the beatings and bleeding, and the scars he now had, he went off to be free. He went to the forest, where he discovered his talent.

Magic.

Jax had a knack for animals. When he had played in the woods as a small child, the animals had often played with him. They had been his companions, his friends. He would play with the wolves, sing with the birds, and nap with the leopards. With the bears, he would eat honey and go fishing. One day, he was walking through the woods, and would have fallen off a cliff, had it not been for the wolf that had grabbed him by the collar just before he fell.

Later that day, Jax realized that when he had yelled "Save me!" as he fell, the wolf had heeded his command. Jax was a beast master. He could use this to his advantage, and often did. Jax was content. He had help building a half crumbling house in the middle of the woods for a comfortable place to stay, help finding food, and general companionship. He felt happy and safe, and for the first time, he could be himself. The weeks passed, and Jax's thirteenth birthday passed as well, if he kept track of time right.

Then, one day, he heard a loud voice coming from one of the many clearings in the woods, one that sounded as if it belonged to an angry boy. They seemed to be arguing with someone Jax couldn't hear. He summoned a wolf pack in case of danger, and stealthily approached them. He could see they were mages; they had the same guild mark: a crescent moon with a spider web. The shorter, darker haired girl had her light blue guild mark on her collarbone, slightly hidden by her loose white button up shirt. The taller white haired boy (girl?) had his light gray one on his upper arm.

The boy tilted his head before he smirked. "I hear wolves," he drawled. The shorter girl blinked and smiled fondly at memories long past.

"Remember that time you choked a wolf twice your size with one hand Alice?" She asked softly. "The first time we met?" The taller girl barked a laugh.

Alice. Female name. He's a girl? Jax shook his head. But what a girl, so tall, with all that muscle. He shouldn't be one to judge, anyway.

"How many times are you going to make me remember?!" She grinned. "Anyway, come out, come out, li'l pup!"

Jax was confused. What were these mages doing in his forest? And were these really mages? The short one looked no older than him! He wasn't sure about the tall one, though. She looked older. By a lot.

Suddenly, the short one looked right at him, her eyes sparking with interest. She tugged on the taller girl's sleeve.

"Sara?" The other acknowledged. Sara didn't break eye contact with Jax, who suddenly had difficulty breathing.

"Alice, I found a person," she said softly with a smile. "I want them." Alice blinked.

"You… Want them?" She asked. Sara looked up at Alice expectantly.

"Yes. I want them in our guild," she said. Alice sighed.

"We can't have random people join our guild, Sara. We're a dark guild," Alice reminded. Sara rolled her eyes.

"So? They're unmarked," Sara said. "No guild visible. I want them." Jax fell to his knees. He had observed their reserve magic and found it difficult to breathe. Just who were these girls?

Alice sighed and approached Jax. She saw he was looking at her in fear and she smirked dangerously. "Are you sure I can't kill him instead? I'm in the mood for some bloody fun."

Sara pouted. "No, Alice. I want - it's a him?" She asked suddenly. Jax blinked. Alice and Sara looked confused at his gender.

"Not another transvestite," Alice pleaded. She was having bad memories. Sara grinned wide.

"Yes! Diversity! Our guild needs diversity! Join us!" Even her excitement was quiet. Jax felt he preferred the shorter girl. She was less likely to kill him, at least.

Stepping out of the bushes, he decided his best chance was just to confront this outright. "U-um," he said. Alice rolled her eyes and Sara watched him patiently. She tilted her head with a smile. Why was she smiling? "Why?" He finally asked quietly, his eyes finding the ground. Join them? Ha! It felt so ridiculous to Jax. These two incredibly powerful mages were inviting him to join their guild, for no reason whatsoever.

"Because I said so," Sara said, her face suddenly blank. "And if you don't, Alice will kill you. She wants to, can't you see she's anxious?" Jax let his eyes tear away from Sara's to see that Alice was smirking at him darkly. He swallowed nervously. "You either die, or join us."

"I don't like either," Jax said softly, before his wolf pack burst from the forest. Sara's eyes widened, and Alice's grin did the same before she whooped in excitement. Jax gasped as Alice simply punched the alpha in the jaw, sending him flying across the clearing, falling to the ground hard. His other wolves began cowering, slinking to their alpha which had yet to move. Defeated in one shot, and without any magic? Sara smiled at Alice and suddenly hugged her. Alice stiffened.

"Get off, shrimp," Alice demanded. Sara sniffed and her eyes were watery.

"I knew it! Meat-for-brains hates me!" She wailed. Jax blinked. These two were a walking comedy show. A very lame one.

"N-no, I-I don't - stop crying, S! I could never hate you!" Alice burst out. Sara grinned mischievously.

"Was that so hard?" She teased. Alice growled.

"You're horrible," Alice stuck her nose in the air and pried Sara off her. Sara giggled before meeting Jax's eyes again.

"Nice magic," she complimented. Jax blinked.

"Y-you realized?" He asked, impressed. Most people didn't notice the animals were under his control. Sara smiled mysteriously.

"I have to. Alice is an idiot, so I have to - ow!" Alice hit Sara over the head gently. Sara pouted.

"I'm not an idiot," she said, feeling a little done with Sara's antics for the moment. Sara smiled at her and grabbed Alice's hand. Alice blinked, weirded out by Sara acting so forward. Jax felt like an outsider while watching them. He was surprised Alice hadn't killed him yet. His eyes went to his alpha wolf. He hadn't moved yet.

"Excuse me," Jax finally interrupted. "I'll go with you." Sara cheered. Alice groaned.

"I don't get to kill you!" She complained. Jax blinked then shivered. Sara smiled reassuringly.

"She grows on you," she promised. Jax stared at her.

"I doubt that," he admitted. Alice winked at him. He froze for a moment before standing and dusting off his dress. Sara watched him a moment before frowning disapprovingly.

Jax's heart sank. He had a feeling the guild he was joining wouldn't accept his fashion choices, either. Sara finally snapped her fingers.

"I just realized what's wrong! I'll fix it, don't worry," she grinned. Jax looked at her blankly.

"The dress is staying," he said simply. Sara shrugged.

"That's not the problem, but don't worry about it," she trailed off. Alice looked at her weirdly before whispering in her ear. Sara froze and her face flushed. She pressed her fingers together nervously and laughed lightly.

Jax stared at them, his gold eyes boring into their friendly interaction. He looked down, suddenly embarrassed. His black hair hung in his face, the electric blue streaks shimmering in the afternoon sun. He was suddenly dragged to his feet by his ridiculously tall acquaintance. He squeaked and Alice outright laughed at him.

"Let's go, pipsqueak," she said casually, turning to leave. Sara seemed irritated at the comment, whilst Jax was just confused.

"Excuse me," he interrupted her dramatic exit. "Can I go get my things first?" Alice twitched.

"Sure," she whistled, pretending she didn't forget to ask if he needed any essentials.

"U-um, what's your name?" Sara asked, realizing she didn't know it. He looked at her timid face and relaxed. He could count on her to prevent his death, right?

"Jax, no last name," he said. Sara smiled at him.
"Just like me. Sara, no last name," she said. Jax blinked. Few people didn't have last names. Either they really didn't have one, or they discarded it.

"Alice Nomex. I do have a last name. Ha," she said, bored. They began the walk to Jax's cabin, owner of it leading the way, after Alice had put him down, of course. Alice had her hands in her pockets, and she seemed completely relaxed - which she wasn't. Sara trusted Jax, but not entirely. She was also watching the forest for any danger.

"I'm not going to attack you," Jax said pointlessly. He rolled his eyes. "There'd be no point. I can tell both of you are too strong for me."

Sara's eyes sparkled and she tugged on Alice's sleeve. "Hear that? He called me strong, Alice!" She grinned. Alice snickered.

"Yeah, Sara's strong. Sure," she drawled. Sara pouted. Jax blinked.

"I just assumed because her reserve is kinda larger than yours," he simply amended. Alice's eyes snapped to Sara who merely smirked at her and waggled her eyebrows.

"My reserve is bigger than yours," she teased. Alice rolled her eyes.

"At least I can hit things. You run away and cry," she said. Sara pouted.

"Maybe," she said. She didn't continue.

Jax watched Sara carefully. Despite Alice's words, he didn't believe Sara was useless. Otherwise, Alice wouldn't have so much respect in her eyes for Sara. They eventually reached his decrepit living area and stared while he gathered his dresses, skirts, and lazy clothes. Sara began to frown again and Jax felt his dislike of her continuing to grow. Was she judging him? They always judged him!

They began their walk to the nearest train station. Alice cursed and Sara sighed when it was crawling with the Magic Council. He faintly remembered them mentioning that their guild was a dark one. He sighed when they came up with ridiculous disguises.

"That's not going to work," he said. He was ignored. Sara twirled her new mustache and adjusted her thick glasses. Alice adjusted her trench coat, and straightened her wig. Jax looked at them with disapproval.

He tsked before dragging them away. Their eyes widened at the sudden action before he brought out clothes from his bag.

"You wouldn't fool a blind man. Let me do this," he insisted. He also pulled out some natural dyes he had made. "These go in your hair. They'll wash right out, don't worry. Oh, and these clothes are more suitable. Big and bulky is suspicious. Confident, girly, and out there is not. What? Miss Sara, do you dislike revealing clothes? Take that cloak off, it's a huge target. Now, style your hair like so. Here, a mirror. Recognize yourselves?"

Sara and Alice stared at the mirror. He was really good at this. Alice looked at Sara and subtly nodded. They were definitely keeping Jax. They were getting pretty sick of walking to the next town station.

AN: Hey guys, this is the shortest chapter we've written so far. This is part one of three chapters in which we introduce our new characters. This will probably will be the shortest of the chapters, because Jax, as much as we love him, has the least complex back story, and the shortest time it took for recruitment, less dialogue, etc. We hope you like all of our new characters, as well as our old ones! And look out for more chapters with Rorian in them, because they are coming, and fast! Go Moonlight Insomniac!

~EoniaVermillion

Heyyy folks. I know we have ghost readers. Please review. Just. Press the review button. Leave a little note saying you enjoyed (or if you didn't). It's getting a little daunting because we have so much more to write and to receive no feedback is very dismaying. Pretty please?

~Arts

Review replies: Loki's Queen: There was a case of the semicolon not being used correctly? One of us must of missed it. Thanks. As for the influence of Sara? Well, both main characters are loosely based on us. Sara is based on Arts, except considerably more shy and braver in other instances. Alice is based on Eon, except more boyish and ridiculously strong. Thank you for both of your reviews. We really appreciate it. Heartsign.