An Offer [Intro/Open]

Once again, she was experiencing culture shock. Grema Fen was born and raised in a country of metal, fumes and constant noise of machinery. Fiore, this town in particular, was the exact opposite of that. All of the buildings were made of a mix of wood and stone, usually dropped in flowers or other plants. The air was clean and sweet tasting, and while the town wasn't quiet by any means the lack of the constant noise of cracking metal that Grema had listened to her entire life was incredibly unnerving. It was hard to get used to the lack of high-tech equipment that Fiore had as well, but at least they weren't savage enough to not have good plumbing. Grema wasn't sure she could stand that.

But getting back to the reason she was in a backwater place like Rose Town. While the Bosconian was banished from Bosco due to... unfortunate situations, Grema thought that being a magitech expert from a more advanced society would earn her some bonus points in gaining a job. Quite the opposite, many of the magitech researchers here either heard of the mages exploits (how with the bad relations between their countries, Grema would never know) and did not want their own lab blown sky high. Grema also managed to botch other interviews due to sheer force of personality alone. The Mage Guild Black Rose wasn't Grema's first option, but it wasn't her last either. Bosco didnt have many mages, let alone guilds so as far as Grema knew they were just magical mercenry groups. But she had heard of great knowledge stored within the Guild, and she also respected what she heard of their ambition. At the very least going on a few of these 'jobs' will earn her more jewels for her experiments until Grema gains the recognition she deserves.

'Hopefully there's not too many beautiful people' Grema thinks bitterly as she opens the door to the Silver Moon Inn and limps in. To Grema's disgust, most of the people looked beautiful compared to her disfigured self. Not that people could tell she was disfigured with the outfit she wore, but it was the philosophy behind it that mattered to the blooming mage. Trying to stand as straight asher hunchback allow her, Grema marches up to the bartender. "This is the base of the Black Rose Guild, ya? The names Gremalin Fen." Pause. "Call me Grema. I'm looking to apply to your guild. Any requirements?" She demands, leaning onto the counter.

Appearance:

A tiny sigh escaped from the small form that was sitting at a stool along the counter of the bar. A couple different drinks sat at her place; a single shot glass of alcohol, a highly intoxicating one for most people that would mirror if not have been better than elven wine. The next was a pot of ginseng tea. The leaves ground down to flavor the drink to the perfect taste of the person it was intended for, if not a little stronger for those with the liking of things with much flavor. The tea pot itself was very antique looking from design, but well managed to appear as though it was just crafted not more than a week ago if that. Along with the pot were several cups, one of which had been by the edge with the steam slithering up into the air where it dissipated into nothing. Still silent, even through the sipping of her drink, it had seemed the small blonde would have been more like a ghost whom hadn't left her seat ever, but much less to the point it had been. Her eyes peered through the light afternoon crowd of people, enjoying the quieter atmosphere before the "happy hour" took the fun away with loud groups, drunks patrons, and the least favorite of an agitated bartender.

As the tiny girl had picked up her pot of tea to refill her cup, she heard the bell chime. For some reason, the bar had dimmed in noise volume. It wasn't much to really have picked up on, however in some observational people, even the slightest change would make them notice something was amiss. Once her cup was filled, she set it down as her attention had come onto that of a cloaked person. The hood covering their face obscured any chance that Sakura had to knowing if she'd met them prior to this, or if perhaps it was a guild member she had not yet known. As this mystery figure spoke, they had a muffled bit to their voice, though still sounding mostly feminine, had made her a little harder to notice as compared to any other.

While she sipped on the newly boiling hot tea with no issues, the blonde had heard her ask the bartender some questions. The idea that she knew where to find Black Rose wasn't really the part she found odd, but more over why she was covering herself up. He would eye over to the little one in the corner, knowing she'd be watching and listening for the most part. Of course, other things caught her attention, but her hearing never laid off the pair as well. Making public ic guild affairs wasn't so much the idea of it all, so much so that it was that the guild wasn't as physically out there as others were. Namely having their own hall standing out for any dark guild to waltz in and attack it. It was intricate planning and that was one of the more positive things that drew the doll to this guild in specific. "It would depend on why you're here. You can never really be certain who you tell things to anymore it seems." With a tiny shrug to follow her reply to the question she knew was directed at the bartender, she had stood up onto the bar stool. Of course, being only the few pounds and 3 feet of ceramic, cloth, and hair that she was, hardly a dent was pushed into the seat she stood on. This position allowed for her dress to cover the rest of her body, not showing the parts of her that could be viewed and seen as the joints of a doll's body. "But.. Grenma was it? I'm Sakura Kisagami, and if you'd like until someone a little more experienced than I am comes around, I'd like to have you join me for some tea." She motioned to the set on the counter and would slide over a cup should she agree.

Grema paused when a soft voice answers her question, and Grema turned her head to see who it was. Then stared. And stared some more. Because in front of her was a little girl with the oddly serious eye's wearing an adorable pink outfit. 'What the heck...?' Grema thought, since to her there were several things wrong with this scenario. For one, wasn't this a bar? In Bosco children were forbidden from going into bars, even during daylight hours. Another thing was since this child was answering her question, does that mean she is a mage of this guild...? Was this guild desperate enough for manpower to hire children? Admittedly Grema has very little experience with other mages, so this could be perfectly normal. Also, the girl counted as cute, not beautiful, in Grema's head so there was no real reason not to talk to her until she grew into the beauty she would obviously become.

Wearily approaching the other girl Grema gave a stiff nod to her offer of tea and quickly reassessed her prior thoughts on this girl, because either she was the smallest and least lumpy midget Grema has ever seen or something else entirely because she couldn't be more than 4 feet tall. 'Doesn't show any signs of being a robot... so what is she?' Curiosity was overcoming her and Grema slid off the bottom portion of her mask and drank the tea offered to her without a second thought. Then promptly almost spat it out since it was scalding hot. Putting a hand over her mouth and making some sputtering noises Grema forced herself to swallow the odd tasting tea, then immediately went into a small coughing fit. She shakily accepted a glass of water someone was offered and chugged it down. There goes good first impressions.

Grema decided to ignore that last bits very existence. "Ms. Kisagami, are you a mage of this guild are you not? And this is your... guild hall yes? I was instructed by a stranger to head here to join your guild. How long am I to wait until a 'more experienced' person arrives?" She demands, patience not being her virtue when it comes to social situations. Grema blows on her tea while waiting for an answer.

'' Do not worry nor fret, for I never let my fans wait all that long!''. The voice was loud, unnecessarily so and spoken right behind the one that referred to herself as Grema. Behind her stood a man of peculiar design, being clothed in a fancy suit and top hat reminiscent of times long gone donning a grin that could only be explained as rather wicked in nature. In expectation of the person turning towards him the man made a theatrical bow before continuing on in a more reasonable tone and volume. '' My name is Horatio Strange, and I believe you wished to speak to a more experienced member of this establishment and guild. I can assure you there is none as experienced as the very ace that holds this guild together. Now I don't mean to brag of course, merely stating some true and necessary facts, but I AM the ace of the universe and unarguably the strongest mage within the guild.''. The man who introduced himself as Horatio seemed confident in every word he spoke, and gave off a certain aura of bravado.

A silence fell over the two of them as Sakura seemed to stare at the mask that was this stranger. Grema was more of a cautious person it seemed, so much so it was more insecurity to show her face or something. Maybe... something more honor bound like a tribe of assassins? No... No, that seemed to be a little excessive in thought. As the blonde girl seemed to just observe how the woman was looking on, she gracefully accepted her invitation to some tea and took a drink of it. A smile started to curl onto her porcelain face before that quickly slid away. She became rather confused and slightly concerned from the sudden coughing fit the masked female had gotten into for a moment, seeing nothing more than the bit of skin from her face before she could cover it back up and left that to be nothing more than what she could see of her body. The rest was covered by cloth and whatever material was used to shroud her face.

Her head slightly tilted as she listened to her being called rather mannerly before being questioned just a bit. From the way the woman had put it, she seemed to be rather impatient to join and not willing to at least relax and enjoy the company of others whom offer it. She couldn't very well blame her. After all, when she joined, she was rather confused and shy about it, as she really hadn't been exposed to the world of mages until recently. "That's right.. I am. You know... You don't need to be in such a hurry though, miss." She paused and pushed a few bits of her hair from in front of her shoulder to behind her. "Now, I may be a doll... But I'm no child when it comes to being talked to, so please at least relax and enjoy yourself."

A loud, sudden, and unfortunately familiar voice boomed out into the bar. The patreons inside all took a shot of their drinks and even Sakura reached for the shot glass she saved, holding it in hand as Horatio yelled out his narcissistic commentary. "And this... Is why I'm glad I have no liver... or actual body parts for that matter. Sometimes this is a gift more than a curse." She muttered aloud, taking her shot like a regular alcoholic and slamming it down onto the bar. With not too much physical strength to her, she wasn't able to shatter it or even crack it. It could only make a loud thud as a sigh of relief left her lips. "Much.. better. Don't worry Ms. Grema, I can't get drunk." She would step around to look toward Horatio, the showoff of the guild and shake her head. "Will you not be such a pain in the ass? You sound more immature than my physical body's age was... and that's saying something at least."

Grema paused in her blowing when the child began to speak again, doing a good job of keeping the newbie mage surprised. A doll? What in the Tech Council's brain? Is that a Fiore term for a robot? No, Grema had noticed that the combination of technology and magic was a lot less common outside of Bosco so she guessed this creature must be mostly magical in the making. Scientific theories and calculations began to run through Grema's head, filling her with curiosity.

"Just how-" She began to question the other female(?) when out of nowhere, a strange voice boomed from behind Grema, causing her to spill half of the tea onto her lap, the other half onto her left hand. With a yelp of pain, Grema leaped to her feet and began wiping the wet material with another section of her cloak. Thankfully her entire left arm was artificial so she didn't even react as the bandages wrapped around it began to get soggy from the tea and slide off, revealing glowing red magitech. Several of the bar patrons who had been watching the show made noises of amusement at this development. Grema was not so amused.

Setting the cup down after drying off, Grema turned to face the one who yelled just as he bowed and was greeted by a man in the same type of outlandish outfit as the doll. Strange indeed. Then stranger as he continued to compliment himself. While he was what she wanted, Grema had never had to deal with such an... energetic person before. She turned her head towards Ms. Kisagami (no, Sakura, she gave leave to be less formal) and gave what she hoped to be a helpless look. And was shocked once again as the childish figure took a shot of what Grema assumed to be alcohol, and noticed that everyone else in the bar did so as well. Must be a tradition. Why? Grema had no idea.

"Ah, I see. I can sympathize a bit as well." The engineer said after the curse comment, glancing down at her own artificial body parts. A good portion of her left lung, liver, kidney, and gallbladder was magitech as well. She could still get drunk though. Grema also noted not to refer to Sakura as a child anymore as well.

The Hiri-something Strange man was finished his tirade. "My Name is Gremalin Fen, but call me Grema. I am a mage and I wish to join your guild." She states clearly to the man then paused. "What is an ace?" She asked, then she promplty decided that asking that question was probably a mistake if he answers it.

"An Ace is something Horatio isn't." the voice rang out from one corner of the room, sharp and confident in the way it carried while the tone was somewhat suave, smooth and appealing. Though nothing was there to be seen. "For Black Rose Ace's are a title or position of sorts within the guild, we have four of them, Kiru The Ace of Hearts, Charlotte The Ace Of Diamonds, Aruzati The Ace Of Spades and then myself, I'm Jiyu." considering the very transparent theme established by the priorly mentioned Ace's, the woman speaking did not bother mentioning which Ace position she possessed. It would be shortly after she finished speaking that she first became visible, a light out of place breeze blowing across the restaurant, carrying some dust with it, the dust swirling near everyone else eventually leaving her standing where it had collected.

The woman who stood before them was shockingly short, only five feet tall if she was lucky barely reaching it if that was her height, she was also clearly light built in a very petite manner in spite of her ample chest. All that clothed the Ace? Was a simple bra top and a pair of daisy dukes that were cut far too short, no sign of any footwear or such. "It's good to be getting someone new in the guild." her pale pink lips held a sincere smile as her purple optics gleamed in something of a friendly manner, lavender hair falling to her waist where it gave way to a trait that was inhuman as her elfin ears and claws, a large thick lavender dog tail swishing idly around behind her. "Where would you like the Guild Mark and what colors?" as she spoke the girl idly reached into her bra top, pulling out a piece of candy, a lollipop.

"How much experience in doing things like missions do you have? I can help show you the ropes for a while if you need." The female spoke calmly the whole time, once in a while casting Horatio an annoyed glance, but otherwise being well mannered as someone almost nude and sucking a lollipop could be. Also, her Guild Alliance could not be questioned because Jiyu had the Black Rose mark sprawled across her bared stomach.

In a swish of dust and mystery, another person joined the conversation and the scientist wondered if over-dramatic entrances (other than Sakura's, but she wasn't given much of a chance) was a mage thing. If so, Grema decided to work on hers. They seemed important somehow.

For Jiyu all the immature mage felt for the fellow woman the instant their eye's met was dislike. Grema's entirely personal and rather illogical hate for beautiful people rose within her for all of the Ace's shortness (she was shorter than someone permanently hunched over for goodness sake) and oddities (The Magitech Mage was beginning to write it off as a guild trait at this point(one Grema would be adding too)). Jiyu supposedly flaunting her good looks with little clothing and a lollipop didn't help much in Grema's entirely bias opinion. So all Jiya gained initially was a cold look barely seen through a mask and a defensive stance.

Which changed to a slightly incredulous look at the Ace of Clubs words. 'Was this woman clubbed over the head with her own name or something?' The banished mechanic wondered as she was let into the guild, almost literally no questions asked. This was officially the weirdest job interview she ever participated in, and the last one featured a giant talking owl. 'Don't they want to see my face first? Or at the very least some form of identification?' Grema was officially suspicious, used to being bullied by those thought to be superior than her, mostly in looks. It probably showed in her body language.

So the scientist stood her group and glared, mechanical arm in front of her like a defense. To Grema kindness and trust are never given without an ulterior motive, mostly to someone like her. "Do not take me for a fool. What are your intentions for so easily letting a stranger join your organization? Not even questioning my identity or intentions. It makes no logical sense. Just what kind of mercenary group are you? Are you really that in need of manpower to be so..." Grema didn't know how to finish that sentence. For all of her dislike, she recognized that someone in Jiya's position could easily off a fledgling mage like her. Even the thought of such a scenario made her give off a small shiver of fear, upping her wariness of a scam.

Hooooooly Tech Council, another weirdo? And this one was some sort of fox. Not that she really knew much about animals from hardly ever seeing any live ones until very recently in her life. But still, what’s next, a cat eared woman in a maid costume?  

But something about her felt… off. Grema wasent about to take any chances, these people were suspicious enough. “Eye of Magitech.” She mumbled under her breath, and it took all of her stoic nature not to take a step back, though she did give swallow and her mouth was suddenly very dry. While the holder mage didn’t have any imputed data on this animal woman, her scan claimed that this girl was of all things a slayer mage, a magic Grema knew to be exceptionally powerful even with what little knowledge of magical culture she had. The scientist’s wariness went up by several levels.

But that began to lessen as the girl, Izayuki, continued to talk. No wonder she had such strong magic, the animal hybrid was the leader of the guild Grema was attempting to join. Her logic made sense, yes they allowed random people into their guild, but they only revealed important facts to those they deemed trustworthy, or at least that’s the conclusion Grema came to while reading between the lines of what the guild master had said. Her words had earned a tad of Grema’s respect, though the hunchback didn’t feel guilty about being suspicious in the first place. It was the logical thing to do.

“My apologies for the mask, I wear it to not discomfort others and to attract less attention.” Grema said, taking on a more polite tone though it wasn’t very sincere, just professional. The mage didn’t really care about ‘discomforting’ others, just that she hated how they stared. But nobody else needed to know that. Without further ado Grema took off her mask, revealing her mechanical eye and burn scarred face, then got down to business seeing as the one in charge was here, along with Jiyu. “If you didn’t hear already I’m Gremalin Fen. Call me Grema. I am a holder mage of, magitech, magical technology, and an expert in the scientific field surrounding its qualities.” She explained.

The fledgling mage then pulled out her mechanical arm, typed some commands into its small keyboard that brought up a holographic screen. She then turned the screen to face Izayuki and moved so that others could see if they wished. “These are a copy of my Fiore immigration records. As you can see I am from Bosco, and was educated there in the ways of magical technology. I do not have much experience in terms of magical combat, but I am highly intelligent and have spent years researching and developing magitech. I wish to continue my research on this subject with the aid of your guild. In return, I offer to use my skillset to help with what you or your guild requests of me, within reason.” After all, Grema didn’t want a repeat of why she was banished from Bosco in the first place. The woman didn’t mind revealing some things in an actual inn where people could overhear, she figured if the guild members felt comfortable doing the interview here, her information was safe. But this was it, her offer to the guild, even if she was still hiding some things.