Aria felt her heart catch in her throat when everything went down so quickly. She didn't even have time to blink as they suddenly crash-landed to the planet below. Aria rolled out with the others, groaning as she stood up and wobbled a little. "Yup, we almost died. Totally fun..." She then watched as the plot unfolded where it turned out Jim grabbed the wrong map-looking-sphere on the ship. She stared a moment, and then slapped her palm on her face and let it drag on her face. "Well..." She looked up at the ship, realizing that two party members were missing. "My master and my friend Take are still up there... maybe they'll find it and keep it safe." Aria sighed out and then looked over to the Captain, summoning her keyblade. "I don't have tea, that's Illiana's specialty. But I have magic." Aria held her keyblade above her head and called forth her magic to help. "Cure!" Green light went around the Captain, and Aria hoped that it would be somewhat effective. "There, maybe that'll help a little." She then went over to the rest of her teammates, holding out a hand to Illiana. "See? We're on land," she said, offering a small smile. "No more scary boat stuff for now." Realizing that they were kind of out in the open, Aria looked over her shoulder at the rest of the party. "What's our plan now since we don't have the map...? There's no way we can get back up there, is there?"
Lakoda covered her mouth and shook as if she was laughing, yet no sound came out. Yukyo was quite the character. "We wouldn't be eating any. Well, maybe we might if we buy some baked goods... But we have to deliver some cakes unharmed to a baby shower." Lakoda raised an eyebrow when Yukyo patted her head and then shrugged her shoulders. "Nothing today. I was going to sketch, but then this quest came up. I'll go tell Shawn that we're ready, and we'll head out in a few moments? Is that alright?" She then turned to the direction of Shawn and waved at the boy to come over to talk to her and the cat-man. "Yukyo is going to go with us as well. Should we head out soon? If we get started, we can be done in no time." It wasn't long after she had released three of her guild mates to go on the mission that three more came over. "Ah, good morning to you," she greeted to the group as she took the job. She frowned a little as she saw the nature of the quest and saw who was going on this job. "Mmm... I'll allow it. But be very careful, all of you," she warned as she pulled out her guild stamp and pressed her rainbow seal of approval of a rose on the parchment. "If it seems to be too challenging, you can always pull out. Or if that is not an option, send word for me immediately. But I am pretty sure you all can handle it if you work together as a team." A Price Unpaid- Gavin, Zephyr, Thea Spoiler The journey to Murgate was tedious to say the least. The group would have had to cross a large lake by ferry, and then stop by a town who offered to give the group a ride in a carriage. As they ventured farther and farther away, the scenery was becoming dreary, humid, and creepy even. A thin fog settled over the drooping trees and made the path somewhat obscure before them. Soon, the smell of food being cooked and a smithy working in a metal shop could be heard through the carriage along with flocks of sheep, chickens, and even ducks. The carriage stopped, and the group was let out to see Murgate Village. They were dropped off in what it seemed like the market place where there were many wares and foods being sold. Everyone was bustling about, but there was something off about this place.... There were no children running about. If the group observed carefully, there were only adults and just a few teenagers hanging about. There were no children playing in the streets, or helping their parents with various chores, or tending to the animals. It almost left a dull, lifeless touch to the busy village. As soon as the carriage master collected his fare, he was off, leaving Gavin, Thea, and Zephyr to their own devices. They were being stared at by the locals, many of them looking to Thea in odd curiosity. Some began talking behind their hands to each other while others gestured with their hand to the group, or just passed on by while taking a second glance at the team. A young teen approached the group, curtsying to them in respect. "Hello, my name is Maliel," she said with a small smile. "You must be the guild coming to help us, thank you. I've been asked to bring you to our mayor when you arrived... Oh..." Maliel's eyes landed on Thea with surprise as she realized how young she seemed. She cleared her throat and then crouched down to Thea's height, smiling pleasantly. "Hi there, what's your name? How old are you?"
With all the commotion that was going on, Aria knew she didn't have time to protest her master's orders. "Yes, Master Choma!" Aria hopped on the boat in time when they were beginning to be shot at. She didn't like the idea of leaving others behind with the pirates, but she knew better than to disobey orders. Aria listened to the Captain talking to the Doctor and summoned her keyblade, pointing it towards the pirates that were shooting at them and fired a Thunder spell at them.
"Yukyo, mm? I never worked with him before. He seems alright." Lakoda smiled and hugged her sketchbook close to her. "When I can't play piano or guitar, I like to draw. But that'll have to come later... Oh look, Yukyo is here now. I'll go speak to him and see if he wants to come with us." She nodded to Shawn and then headed over to the cat-like man and made and cleared her throat, although it sounded like a weird cough without the the voice behind it. "Good morning, Yukyo," she greeted with a friendly smile. "Shawn and I were looking at the job board and we were planning to take the cake job. Shawn said you might be interested. Do you wish to come with us?" Midarah looked up to see Everette coming over to her with the most recent job from the board. She smiled a little and took it in her hand. "Alright... I know you know the risks. Honestly, this is almost on the borderline of S-Class. I am relieved you are going on this job." She pulled out of her guild stamp, a rose with a steam and leaves, from her sleeve and pressed a glyph on the side, activating a rainbow ink to appear on the rose. She then took the paper and stamped it on there, officially giving the job the seal stamp of approval for the group to embark. "Good luck, and if you need anything, anything, please send me a message as quick as possible and I will be on my way." Village in Peril- Conrad, Everette, Samuel Spoiler: Village in Peril Soon Samuel, Conrad, and Everette would embark on their quest. The supplies they needed were in hand, and the journey only took a day and a half. First they went by train, then by magical car, and then by horse and cart when it seemed they were getting further and further away from civilization. It took some convincing to get a horse and cart to the Froulk Woods Village, but once they convinced the driver they weren't going to make them go near the village, he offered them a ride there. They were about a mile away from the village gates when the horse and cart stopped, and the driver looked over at the three boys. "This is where I stop. You boys be careful now, you hear? Everyone that goes into that village gets sick, and never come back out..." Samuel paid the driver, and after the group gathered their items off the cart, the driver high-tailed on out of there, leaving the three boys in the dust. There was no choice but to go forward at this point... Once the group approached the gates, there were about four guards on the ground, and two up on the high wooden gate. One saw the group approach and held up his hand to make them stop. "Halt! This village is under quarantine due to a strange illness. No one is allowed inside!" Samuel frowned and pushed his glasses up his nose. "We're from the Divine Rose guild. We took the job that was posted this morning." Samuel took the Job Posting from Everette's bag and held it out for the guard to see. The guard carefully edged their way over to Sam and snatched the parchment from him, looking it over with wide eyes. "So soon? M-my apologies," the guard said as he placed his hand over his chest and bowed. "We weren't expecting anyone to take the job this quickly. Show me your guild marks, and we will let you in." Samuel pulled up his shirt to where his Guild Mark was resting on his left hip. Once the others showed their marks, they would be let inside the gates. "Thank you... Chief Yolvun is in the main hall of the village, the largest building in the village. That's where we keep our most critically ill at. H-He is not ill, but simply checking on them." Samuel nodded his head and looked back to the other two when the gates were raised. Taking in a deep breath, Samuel pushed on with his pack on his back and walked on through. The buildings were in shambles, some missing parts of roofs or walls were crumbling. There was hardly anyone walking around save for a few here and there, but they seemed slow and disheartened. The life was literally sucked out of this place. There could be sounds of a baby crying somewhere, and a small group of people were gathered at a hut with the door wide opened, where Sam looked in time to see a blanket being put over someone's body. The boy felt his throat go dry and knew that they came at a very critical time... would they be able to help them? He looked up to see that there was in fact one large building out of all of them, sitting close to the middle of the village where a well was at. The roof was partially falling in, and the paint was peeling off the walls, but the building mostly held together. "That's probably what the guard was talking about," Sam said in a quiet voice as if he was walking on hallowed grounds .
Aria followed after the group as soon as they entered into the tunnels, staying close to the back where the Captain was. They passed a heavy metal door on the way to the longboats, and an idea popped into her head. Aria waited until the Captain was done firing her rounds and then jumped beside her. "Excuse me, Captain!" She then unsummoned her keyblade and yanked on the door as hard as she could, letting it swing shut and then pushed a lever to lock it. She figured her strength came from working on a farm and from the adrenaline, but didn't have much time to focus on it. She arrived with the group to the life boats and then slowed down when she saw Take, Glyde, and Master Choma. "Hey!" she called to them. "They're right behind us," she explained, referring to the pirates. "We're all leaving together, yes? Th-that's kind of a stupid question, but it's hard to think on your feet right now."
Aria was flabbergasted when Illiana was trying to argue with the captain and then protested going on the lifeboat. Really? "There's no time to argue!" Aria barked at the older girl. "You'll be fine! I bet you'll be on land in less than a minute, and hardly notice you're on the life boat in the first place!!! JUST GO!" She almost wanted to kick Illiana down the hole already so she didn't protest anymore. "Last thing you want is to be caught by crew of pirates on a mutiny. They're out for blood, and unless you have something to barter with, you're screwed. And we don't have anything, and we're NOT giving anything, so get going!" She knew that there was a chance they would be kept alive if they were captured, but at this point, the chances seemed a little slimmer than usual. She read too many books to know how these usually played out if the original crew didn't escape quickly.
Aria nodded her head and summoned her keyblade. “Aye Captain, it’s not just a one time thing. It’s an always-when-someone-is-in-danger thing. We can do it again.” She was careful to stay out of the way of the gun that was handed to the Doctor guy, not trusting him one bit with it. She watched as Jim wrestled the map out of Morph’s mouth and then glanced at the door to see it being cut through. Aria’s eyes darted to her golden bracelet and then looked at the others. “You guys jump in first! I’ll follow after you as soon as the last one goes down.” She held her keyblade with both hands and stood in a defensive position in front of everyone else. With or without the knowledge of being a princess, Aria knew that deep down she would have done this reguardless. It was always in her to protect her friends and family, having them come first before her. Besides, she had a bracelet that could protect her from most harm. If the pirates broke through before everyone jumped on down, she would be able to defend herself and maybe distract the pirates to go another way away from the Capatain and away from Jim. Master Choma, Take, and Glyde were hopefully together somewhere, she thought. Maybe trying to figure out a plan or something.
It was nice what Shawn said to her before she left the room. She hadn't really connected with anyone besides Conrad, and there was an exception for Everette as well. Conrad, because he was willing to learn sign language and talk with her that way. Everette, because he was one of the first to be her friends here in the guild when she had healed after the night of her horrible ordeal that made her mute in the first place. She smiled as she walked to her room and grabbed her sketchbook off her nightstand before venturing back downstairs, going over to where Shawn was. "Is anyone else going to go on this Cake Delivery job with us?" She asked as she held her sketchbook close to her. Samuel was surprised with Conrad's bravery, yet it made him smile to himself. He was about to eat the last bit of his bagel when he felt some paws hop on him. He cried out and then covered his plate protectively, growling at the cat-man as he ventured away from him. "Miiiiine..." Soon he was gone, and Samuel sighed out in relief as he completed his meal for the day. He then glanced at Everette and pushed his glasses up his nose. "If anyone of us starts to feel sick, then I'll help in any way I can before we pull the plug and call it quits... Let's agree that if we get past the first stage of the illness and it doesn't get better, we'll get out. Seems like it comes in four stages... If we start throwing up and have chills, or the rash begins to spread, we get out. It seems like the fever is the part that nearly kills, or does kill them." He heard little Thea calling out and smiled as he kept a careful eye on her. "Ah... gotta admire that enthusiasm sometimes. Hey Thea!" he called to the little girl, "did you eat any breakfast?" He nodded towards the breakfast area, knowing that the little girl could be forgetful sometimes. "Eat some toast... Anyways, we're going to have to bring our own things; food, water, tents, so forth. If a village is in crisis, the last thing they could do is provide us with what we need. When should we set out?"
This new year fills you with... determination.
Aria was just finishing breakfast when something chilly was placed on her forehead. "Ah! Coldcoldcoldcold!" She recovered from the initial shock when she brought the ice pack down and realized what it was. "O-oh, thank you!" She grinned at Illiana as she carefully placed it back on her head. Was her goose egg that predominate? The cheers suddenly turned to something more sinister and Aria tensed as she looked up towards the deck. "Uuh, that doesn't sound good," she mumbled to Chrono. She looked to Illiana who was heading towards the stairs and at once felt the urgent need to move. "I have a bad feeling about this," she said as she grabbed the three plates of breakfast and hastily shoved them in her satchel she had on her shoulder. She had a strange feeling they wouldn't have time to grab them later. "Illiana, wait up! Chrono, we better move too." She then darted after the older girl, making her way up to the top of the deck cautiously. She gasped when she saw the crew before her suddenly turning into a burly bunch with weapons in hand. There was movement up in the sky that caught her eye, and she saw that the ship's flag had changed into a black one that was eerily similar to a skull and crossbones in books she read about- "Pirates...?" Aria's eyes darted around as she realized that this wasn't the best idea to be out in plain view. "We gotta go." Her mind raced with ideas as she tried to figure out what to do next. If there were pirates aboard this whole time and the captain didn't know about it... "The captain. We have to get to her before they do!" she urgently stated to Illiana and Chrono in a hushed voice. "Hurry!" She then ducked her head and made a run for it towards the captain's cabin, hoping the other two would go along with her. Wherever Take, Master Choma, Jim, and Glyde were, she hoped they would be able to handle themselves... Well, no doubt about her Master... Or even Take. Well, maybe the they were all grown men and could take care of themselves. She was just a Princess of Heart who would probably fling herself in harm's way for the sake of someone else after all.
The smell of breakfast made its way to Aria’s nose. She felt her stomach rumble and sighed out, pulling her blanket tighter around her. She shivered and shuffled towards the smell, hoping it just wasn’t her imagination and she was really awake. She stumbled down to the gally, where the smell was becoming even stronger. She rubbed her eye as she saw her older friend standing before her, with breakfast prepared for them. “Mmm, you made breakfast, Illiana?” She asked as she glanced at the food. Aria smiled as she saw her name and took her plate before sitting down. “Thank you, it looks really good.” She took a fork and began to dig into the food, temporarily forgetting the bump on her head. She got halfway through when she heard a cry above deck and set her plate down. “Sounds like they made it to their destination.”
Lakoda glanced over to see Gavin sitting at a table close by, and then saw that Conrad left the table to go ask others to do a mission with him. She smiled and waved goodbye to him and then worked up the courage to glance at Shawn. “Sign language looks easy, but it’s hard to learn,” she said through her charm, keeping her lips closed as she smiled kindly at Shawn. “There’s a lot of memorizing and lots of practice involved. I can teach you a little bit though. This is ‘Breakfast Time’.” She made her fingers squish together with her thumb on her right hand as if she was grabbing something to eat and then brought it to her lips. She then lowered her hand and placed her left hand on her right forearm, just below the elbow, bringing it up once more before dropping it and pointing to her right wrist like there was an invisible watch there. “Breakfast time.” She finished up her own food and then nodded to the two boys sitting at the table. "If you need someone to go on a quest with you, let me know if I can help. I'm pretty easy going. You can either find me in my room, or back here in a bit." With that, she took her empty breakfast plate to the kitchen and then headed out to go to her room. The new mission interested Sam enough, but he couldn't stop eating. But then again, Conrad said to enjoy his breakfast. He looked over the mission details, slowing down his eating as he read the paper that Conrad written out. Sick people...? A few died already? He frowned deeply and swallowed down his chewed food. Everette already responded that he would go too, which made the young man feel more at ease. "It sounds like my type of mission... Sure. I'll go with you." He offered Conrad a small smile, and then almost felt the glare from Everette as he stopped eating. He shoveled in more food, politely of course, and ate what he had grabbed. "They say it's a plague, but hopefully it isn't contagious... If that's the case, we might be in some trouble. I never heard anything like it before though... We won't know the nature of it until we get there. Are you okay with that?" he asked his comrades at the table, mostly referring the question to Conrad. He wasn't trying to discourage him from choosing the said mission; only to make him aware of the risks that could be there waiting for them.
It was that nightmare again. Aria was frozen in place. She could hear her rapid breathing in the darkness and feel her heart thud in her chest. Her arms were outstretched on either side of her, bound by some dark chain so she couldn't lower them. Her legs were bound too, making it impossible to move. She jerked her arm to try to get free, but it was no use. She was stuck in place, suspended partially off the ground like this. She heard the familiar gurgle and cringed as she shut her eyes. She could feel its cold breath on her skin, and feel its powerful energy nearby. Aria clenched her fists and tried to move free. Suddenly she heard it snarl at her and cried out when she felt searing pain in her shoulders. She was forced to open her eyes, and she was faced to face with the cloaked beast with sharp, jagged teeth. Its skin was ebony, and its presence was suffocating. It was the same monster that haunted her in her dreams since she was a baby. It dug its claws deeper into Aria's shirt, making the girl wince and cry out. She had seen what it could do to others in her dreams, but only recently had it actually had its hands on her. "Aria." A strange, womanly voice echoed all around Aria. The creature seemed to shudder and looked over to where the voice was coming from. Just then, a white light began to wrap around the shadows, making the creature shriek. Aria turned her head to look when- The creaking of the ship woke her up with a start. Aria gasped and sat up, only to hit the low ceiling above her bunk bed hard. "OW!" She hissed between her teeth as she grabbed her head, curling her toes and rocking herself as the pain throbbed through her noggin. "Ow, owy, ow, ow, ooooow...." After a moment of self-soothing herself, Aria rubbed at her head and had a look around. She had taken the top bunk for that night, leaving Illiana at the bottom one. The bed was sturdy enough to not really notice the difference, save for the lower ceiling above Aria's head. The girl shivered as a sudden chill ghosted her skin. She looked down at herself and groaned, realizing that she had woken up in cold sweat. It wasn't the first time this happened, and it she knew it wouldn't be the last. Well, now that she was awake, she couldn't fall back to sleep in this cramped area. Last night was easy enough since she fell asleep talking to Illiana and then was forced to go to bed. How she got into the top bunk in that state, she would never know. Aria softly grumbled to herself as she carefully made her way out of bed, taking a stray blanket with her from the foot of the bed. She reached the floor and slipped on her shoes, checking on the older girl to make sure she didn't wake her up. When it seemed like she was still out, Aria wrapped her blanket tightly around her like a cloak and meandered her way to the door to get out into the open air. The cool, morning air greeted her happily, which Aria was not really in the mood yet and huddled in her blanket like an old lady as she made her way to the railing of the ship. She carefully leaned on it as she pulled her blanket up over her head like a hood, her teeth chattering as she was becoming accustomed to the outside air. It was strange how her dream was interrupted... Usually she would have to face the dark creature one on one... But that voice. It almost seemed familiar to her. She was mad at herself she couldn't get a better look. Aria felt her head throb a little and sighed out as she rubbed the goose egg on top of her head. "Happy morning to meeeeee~," she sadly sang to herself in the tune of Happy Birthday.
"I get out for fresh air quite often, my dear. There's no need for me to go on a job to do that." What was with her younger guildmates sassing her about how she took care of herself lately? Still, it amused her. "Artemis always stays here with me," Master Midarah replied in response to Gavin's comment about her rabbit joining a quest. "Mmm, they may seem like friends, but you cannot assume things based on observations alone, now can you?" She smiled to herself as she stroked Artemis' fur and watched the flames dance in the fire. She was happy to hear that Gavin had a plan of action to go ask others as soon as breakfast was nearly over and nodded her head. "That sounds like a plan to me..." She then saw Everett come in the room fully and waved to him in a friendly manner before sitting back in her chair. She had her own plans to follow after breakfast and knew everyone would be just fine for now. Lakoda shrugged her shoulders to Conrad's question about what quest she was thinking about going on. She couldn't really decide as she often went on the easier ones with those she didn't know so well, and only difficult ones with those she trusted the most. She was good on rent as far as she knew. She was either asked by someone else to go, or tagged along with Conrad when he asked. Lakoda looked to Shawn as he tried to copy what Conrad had signed earlier and smiled to herself. It was a good attempt, but it was nonsense to her. "Only if you wish," Lakoda's charm said as she tilted her head with a small smile. The girl kept her hands in her lap, suddenly feeling self-conscious of herself and signing freely. She found interest in her food and picked at it, trying to stay busy with it so she didn't have to talk or sign for a moment. Sam chuckled as he listened to his friend. "True, can't be hogging all the good ones now." He nodded to the master as he followed after Everett and grabbed his own plate of breakfast; two eggs, two sausages, three bacon, a bagel, and some blue berries and strawberries with a glass of milk. He sighed out as he sat down heavily in a chair next to Everett, and then protectively hovered over his tray when he realized he didn't know where the cat was. "Seems like everyone is here, except for the cat," Samuel muttered to himself as he took a big bite out of his cream cheese bagel. He eyed the job board across the room, seeing that a new mission had been put up recently and raised his eyebrow at it. He would have to go check it out after he ate most of his breakfast least he received a scolding from Mama Everett for not eating enough.
Aria swished the tea in the cup, watching it sway within the china. “Last I saw him, he was in the world that was lost to the darkness; Eventide. But it was still asleep or something. The Light Chaser was putting it back to normal. Koa said when the darkness showed up in his world, the world was almost lost and the Light Chaser saved it and him, offering to help Koa be stronger so it never happened again.” Aria took in a sip of tea and then let the cup rest in her lap with her hands around it. “You know, I don’t think the Light Chaser is bad... I think he’s just confused. All things need to have a balance... you can’t have one thing without the other... If darkness gets taken away completely, the light that’s left is going to be corrupted somehow... right?” The girl closed her eyes and drank more of the tea before pulling her knees up to her chest in the chair. “Koa was really kind to me. He beat me in a duel, but he was still nice. He tried to protect me when Torrin showed up and I had no idea Torrin was on our side until he said something... Koa was also the one who gave me the bracelet though,” she said as she lifted her wrist up with the golden chain. “But I don’t think he knew what it was really.” She smiled at Illiana and finished the rest of her tea, giving the empty cup to her. “Maybe... this chaos will die down someday where you guys can see each other again and catch up on old times.”
"I know, but it's been like that since I was itty, bitty..." Aria gratefully accepted the tea, and took a sip. When suddenly, Illiana dropped the bomb on her. Aria spewed out her tea in her mouth, careful to not have aimed it at her friend. "Wha-What?! So you are related? I was right?" Aria sat on the edge of her chair and held the tea cup tightly in her hand. "I mean, now I think about it, you two almost look the same... B-but that's beside the point... Did you think he was gone?" She asked, letting the tea warm her hands as she watched the older girl carefully. "He said his world was lost, but the Light Chaser saved him and restored his world... That's why he's with him now."
"I can stay awake a bit longer," Aria said with a small smile. "I used to stay up a lot back on my world... I never really had gotten a full night's sleep. But that's for another day." She led the older girl to their cabin for the night and shut the door behind them. It was cozy with a built in bunk bed that looked comfy enough. The space was kind of tight for Aria's liking, and she opted to sit right by the window on a cozy, cushy chair instead of on the bed for now. At least the window gave her some security of open space. "Okay... What's up? I'm all ears."
Aria stopped on the steps and twiddled her fingers. "Well, Koa mentioned he had a sister. And with the way you reacted, I assumed maybe there was a connection with Koa and you. Maybe I'm wrong. But it seems highly likely to me that's the case. Cause I know Chrys doesn't have a sibling..." She rubbed at her sleepy eyes with the back of her hand and yawned again. "But yeah, if something is up and you wanna talk, I'm here... I think it's time to turn in for the night though, so I'm going to find a bed and go night-night... Night-night!" Aria smiled crookedly with half-opened eyes and again turned to leave to find some place to lay down and get some shut-eye.
Aria turned when she heard Illiana’s voice. She crinkled her eyebrow in confusion and folded her arms. “What? You ran off earlier after smashing a hole in the deck. Don’t tell me nothing is going on.” Aria was thinking hard at this point. It seemed she freaked out when she mentioned Chrys and Koa, though Chrys didn’t say anything about a sibling... but Koa... Understanding came over Aria and she let her arms fall to her sides.. she didn’t know if she was right, but she had a feeling she was. “You didn’t think someone was still around... did you?” She chewed the inside of her cheek and rubbed the back of her neck. “I wanted to check on you and see if you were okay... but if you don’t want to talk about what ever is bothering you, that’s okay.” Aria shrugged her shoulders and yawned. “I’m here though... if you ever want to tell me what’s going on. I mean, we’re friends, right?” She offered a small smile and then went to the staircase to head back up top. “I think some sleep will do everybody some good though...”
"I did not become a guild master to go out on missions like everyone else," Master Midarah said with a little laugh. She scratched Artemis's head, knowing that's what the rabbit liked. "Everette is there," Master Midarah stated as she nodded her head to the Guild Hall entrance where Samuel walked in with another S-Class Mage. She was honestly proud how far Everette had come over the years. First it was Samuel pushing the boy to do his best, now it reversed and it was Everette pushing Samuel to join him in the higher ranks. She sighed out and fluffed out Artemis's fur with her fingers. "Ask anyone, my dear. It doesn't hurt to approach anyone and ask if they would want to go on the same quest as you. That group of four you were looking at earlier, Conrad, Lakoda, Zephyr, and even Thea would be good to start out with. They're always willing to go with someone else. They haven't officially established a team, you know. Yukyo would be good to ask too, if you can find him that is. Samuel is not S-Ranked yet, and so he might be willing to go. But I have a feeling he will take that new mission I just posted on the board." She smiled and adjusted herself in her chair a little. "You just have to be brave and go and present your mission to them. After that, who knows. Maybe they'll join you."
