Amaryllis, a lovely town in Fiore. It's a beautiful and quaint town where it feels like it's spring all year long. It is also the home to the Phoenix Flame guildhall. The guild is located on the other end of town. It appears to be a modernized guild. Nothing too fancy and appears to be a rather casual with the banner with the guild emblem right in front. This is where Maru and Sandy have brought Mary for her to check the place out and see if she wants to join.
"Here we are. Welcome to the Phoenix Flame guildhall." Maru said.
"Pretty neat, right?" Sandy said.
"I guess. Honestly, it doesn't look all that special to me." Mary said.
"Well, just wait until you see the place. There's tons of great people here, a great place for you to hang out, and get some work." Maru said. "Just come inside and you'll see." Mary had her doubts, but she went with it anyway as they all went on inside. "Hey! We're back!" He called and alerted everyone that they're back. All of them greeted them as they came in.
"Hey, Maru and Sandy!"
"Welcome back!"
"How was the job?"
"Hey, who's the hottie? You finally got yourself a girlfriend?" The place really didn't seem that bad. It seemed like a nice casual place. A two-story place with a stage and a bar. It just gave off a casual feeling and everyone appeared to be welcoming.
"This is a guild?" Mary said as she got a good look at the place. "Seems about as much as I expected. People just relaxing and not really doing anything."
"That's sort of the idea. It's not just work around here because most of the work is outside the guild and even the town." Sandy said. "The guild is a place for you to feel like you're at home. Every guild is different with different beliefs and working system, but some are the same more or less."
"And there are a bunch of great people around." Maru said as he looked around to introduce. "Just like him over there." He pointed over to a guy sitting at the bar. He was about their age with him having black hair that's spikey and coming from the back of his head. He wore a black shirt with brown pants, and one could faintly see the dark blue emblem on his left arm. He just sat on a stool and polished a pair of actual guns he had. "Hey, Gin!"
"Hey!" Gin called back. "You brought a girl? You don't usually try to impress the ladies. Is she a new member?"
"She's thinking about it, but don't let her looks fool you. She's a bad girl." Sandy said.
"You might want to rethink what you just said." Mary pointed out.
"That there is Gin Hunter." Maru introduced. "He's been in the guild for a pretty long time, and a good friend. He's also quite the sharp shooter."
"I could tell since he has guns. He must be good with them, but should he really be having those around here?" Mary questioned.
"No worries. Gin knows what he's doing with those bad boys." Sandy said. "We've also got some a few mysterious members. There's... There's J over there, and it's true. His name is just the letter." Sandy pointed out to someone else. He pointed to a guy just leaning against the wall with him having a brown scissor-cut hair. He wore a white shirt with a dark leather jacket and pants with a grey furry collar and a lightning bolt on his back. "That guy is just simply called J. He's been in the guild for a long time, but it's weird. He is a nice guy, but we don't know much about him. He doesn't like to talk about himself."
"His name can't be just a letter. What's his actual name?" Mary questioned.
"Don't know. We told you that he doesn't like to talk about himself." Maru said.
"Okay. So far, I'm not impressed." Mary said feeling pretty underwhelemed.
"Maru! Sandy! Welcome back!" They were all greeted by a young lady. She had long white hair tied back into a big tail that went down her back. She wore a dark green body suit under a large orange shirt she wore that was long enough to be a short dress. "Did you guys have a good time?"
"Hi there, Yukina." Sandy said.
"Here's someone you might be able to relate to." Maru said. "Mary, this is Yukina Winters. She was the most recent member to join our guild. She's only been here for less than a year."
"Hi. It's nice to meet you." Yukina said. "Are you a new member of the guild?"
"I wouldn't go that far." Mary said as she still didn't seem that persuaded to join.
"We met up with Mary on our way back and she ran into a little trouble." Maru said.
"More like she is trouble." Sandy teased, but Mary just pushed him away with her leg.
"Mary is a wizard and said she needs to make some money, so I invited her to join." Maru said.
"Inviting a new member? Well, I at least need to meet her." That was when they all met with a man dressed in Victorian-era dark suit with a red vest and a black cape draped over him. He also had black spikey hair with a bit of grey in it.
"Master Velvet." Maru said.
"Master? You mean this old man is in charge?" Mary questioned.
"Old? I ain't that old." Velvet claimed. "That aside, it's nice to meet you. So, you want to be the newest member of our guild?"
"I wouldn't say that." Mary said. "I just came to check this place out to see if I actually want to join, but I'm not really into being a full-time guild wizard. I've heard of a few like Blue Pegasus and Lamia Scale, but I don't really follow that sort of thing."
"I can certainly understand that." Velvet said. "You want to find a place that feels right for you. There's nothing wrong with you looking over the place to see if it's a good fit. Fill free to look around as much as you like."
"If I may ask, what kind of magic do you use?" Yukina asked.
"She uses this rare form of magic that she says is similar to celestial magic. She said it's call olympus magic."
"Did you say olympus magic?!" Velvet said with him surprised. "I've heard of that sort of magic, but I thought it wasn't real. It requires special charms, but I heard that there are very few in the world."
"There are, but I already managed to get my hands on three. See?" Mary said as she held up her little charm bracelet. "It would be considered lost magic, but there are still a few charms out there. Many don't know about it because they're hard to come by."
"Wow. Most impressive. It would be difficult to get just one, but you managed to get your hands on three." Velvet said. "If you decide not to join the guild, it would be a real shame."
"Maybe a tour around town might help convince you." Sandy suggested.
"Great idea. Amaryllis is a pretty great place to live. Let's show you around. If the guild itself won't convince you, maybe there's something in the two that will." Maru said, but Mary had her doubts about that as well.
...
Amaryllis
Maru and Sandy showed Mary around so they could see what the town is like if she decided to live there.
"Amaryllis is a pretty quaint town with some fun events every once in a while." Maru said as they strolled around the streets. "The weather around here is usually pretty great. It hardly snows around here, but the warmth is decent and not usually too hot. It's almost like the seasons hardly ever change around here."
"Okay. That doesn't sound too bad." Mary said. "I guess this place does appear to have some charm, but that isn't enough to convince me to settle here."
"And check out all the cool places." Sandy said. "Up ahead is the town's best bakery. There's also the library. We also have a great park that goes around our very own Lake Parla."
"And up ahead is Amaryllis' famous landmark." Maru said. Mary took a look and they were stood facing a castle-like structure.
"A small castle?" Mary questioned.
"It's a small model of Mercurius, the castle in the Capital, Crocus." Maru said. "I've never seen the real thing, but I hear it's massive compared to this. This model was built by the royal family as a tribute to a brave soldier that lived here and gave his life for the kingdom. At least that's what I've heard. It happened many years ago. Of course, we're allowed to go in. It's empty at the moment, but many people hold weddings or ceremonies around here."
"Sounds interesting..." Mary said, but she didn't appear to be that interested in it.
"Boy, you're one hard nut to crack." Maru said. "There must be something here that you might like."
"What would impress you?" Sandy said.
"Probably something you can't afford. I have a bit of an extravagant taste." Mary said.
"Oh, so Maru's trying to recruit a gold digger." Sandy mocked.
"Are you trying to get me to make you lose your nine lives?" Mary said as she was getting annoyed with Sandy. "By the way, is a giant furball like you really a member of a guild? Do they really take in little cats that have freaky wings?"
"Of course I'm a member of Phoenix Flame. Just take a look." Sandy said as he showed the guild emblem in red on his back. "And it might be freaky for you, but it's normal for my kind. We exceeds are able to fly and have wings because we can use magic."
"Let's just keep going. You might find something you might like." Maru said. Sandy and Maru continued to show Mary around and showed all that Amaryllis had to offer, but there just didn't appear to be anything that really spoke to Mary. Nothing around here really interests her. Maybe Mary really doesn't have any interest in joining a guild.
...
The Guild
"Well, that's about it." Maru said. They all returned to the guild, but Mary didn't really like anything that she saw. "Nothing here really interests you?"
"Nope, but I was never interested in joining a guild in the first place." Mary said. "Well, it's been fun, but I think it's time I get going." She said as she turned away and was going to walk out the door.
"Oh, come on! You said you need some money, but you would rather steal it from others than work for it?!" Sandy called.
"Do you ever keep your mouth shut?" Mary said. "Keep in mind, I was stealing from someone who was already a criminal. Besides, I just don't see the appeal of a guild."
"Don't see appeal, do you? Well, I suppose everyone does look at a guild differently." That was when they all saw Master Velvet joining in the conversation. "Seems like I have good timing. You still aren't convinced?"
"Not really." Mary said.
"I can see why you would think the way you do." Velvet said as he stared out to the town. "There are those that see a guild as nothing more than a place to get work. However, some make a connection with it. They see it as a home, a place to make friends, go on adventures, and see challenges. Our guild might not be that well known, but we're making progress. It's been around for about fifty years, and I'm only the guild's second master. It might be a challenge, but that's what our guild stands for."
"What do you mean?" Mary questioned.
"Do you know why we call our guild Phoenix Flame? It is said that the phoenix represents rebirth and renewal." Velvet claimed. "When it dies, it rises from the ashes and is reborn in the flames, stronger than ever. Our guild follows that example. We don't run from a challenge, we face it. We might fail, but that doesn't mean we can't try again. Everyone falls, but what matters is that you get back up. If we fail, we'll just rise back up stronger than before just like the phoenix. That's the way of Phoenix Flame. That is why we call ourselves Phoenix Flame."
"Lovely, but I don't care." Mary said as she still wasn't convinced. It seems like Phoenix Flame won't be getting a new member. "I think I'm just gonna go and..." She was about to step out until she noticed something in the guild that did catch her eye. "What's that?"
"That? It's just the job request board." Maru said. "People make requests and hire us for some help. We use our magic to try and help them. That's how most wizards make a living."
"These prices... You can really make this much money in a wizard guild?!" Mary said as she saw all the types of jobs that had various high prices.
"Yeah. We get all kinds of jobs." Sandy said.
"But the higher paying ones can be pretty dangerous." Maru claimed.
"I had no idea you could make this much in a guild! I could make so much money so quickly!" Mary said as she finally found something she loved seeing. "Sign me up! I'll join this guild if it means I can make some money like this!"
"That was your selling point?!" Maru and Sandy said as they dumbfounded that all it took was money to convince her to join. Velvet wasn't too keen on it either, but he had no reason to say no.
"We're not desperate for new members, but we should at least give her a chance." Velvet claimed. Just like that, a new phoenix was made in the guild.
"I sure hope you were sure about letting her in, Maru." Sandy said.
"Well, it could be interesting." Maru said. Mary is certainly a tough nut to crack, but it looks like she was convinced to join in the end. With Mary joining this guild, things might get rather interesting in the guild from here.