Bullets and the Birds

Train Track Trio
"And I thought James was hard to deal with by himself…" A voice echoed in a simple train cart, moving along the road to get to Cedar. While the scenery was astounding, lively with a variety of trees, forests, flowering plants that produced a myriad of colors, and within that cart were three people: Carolyn Wallace, Emil Rokudan, and James Lovelock. And yet, Carolyn felt more alone than with company; James and Emil were having a blast, listening to music, singing along, occasionally dancing, and even drinking beer.

All the while, Carolyn sighed in exasperation. Even if this was her first mission...even though she should be happy...she felt nervous. She found her own insecurity eating her from the inside, and she needed some new company. So, she left the train cart without acknowledging anybody's presence, and went to watch the sky from one of the major compartments.

"Something wrong, girly?" An elderly man asked, bowing his hat towards Carolyn, who appeared to react somewhat shyly to the situation. "Uh...nothing at all, mister…" Carolyn struggled to say, to which the man simply smiled, "If you are tense, simply breathe a few times. Trust other people; you might be perched on a branch like an owl in the night-time, but perhaps looking at the light won't be all that bad?"

Carolyn was suddenly a bit relieved when he said those words, and yet slightly annoyed, "While I'm not fond of dramatic speeches, sir. I'll keep yours in mind." She reverted to her stoic, cold self, to which the old man simply smiled, "Hehe, youngsters these days." And while Carolyn heard those words, she turned once more in order to say a well-deserved thank you...to which she saw nothing more than a feather lying on the ground. She picked it up, looking towards the clear sky where a flock of birds were heading towards the same direction she travelled...and she smiled, ever-so-slightly.

Returning to the train cart, she noticed on the monitor that their new destination was very close. Nodding her head in approval, she went through the curtains and pulled James by the ear, "Oi, we're reaching our destination now. Shut up, clean your mess, and get into your uniform." James and Emil sighed in unison, before beginning to pack up as they were ordered. While packing up, James noticed a photo lying on the ground, and picking it up, there was a boy with glistening white hair besides a girl with lavender-tinted white hair;

"Uh…-!?" James was about to say, before he was cut off and the picture was taken by Carolyn and put into the pocket of her outfit. "Don't touch." She said coldly, before taking her luggage as the bell of the train went off. "We have reached Cedar Station, all passengers for Cedar Station please depart now." The announcer said; the trio complied and got off the train; few people wanted to go to Cedar it seemed.

"Right, where are we going?" Emil asked James, who then asked Carolyn, "Miss Carolyn?" Carolyn sighed once again, "Dimwits," she merely scoffed, before heading North; the duo shrugged, as they prodded along behind Carolyn.

Desperate King?
"Oh come on! Why can't I join?" The brown-haired, fairly muscular Almos Velius pleaded towards the members of Desperados, specifically Garrett, who was simply sitting on the table, drinking beer, with his erotic Yuri magazine open. What the image was...Almos didn't want to describe at the time. "Because, you're not a mage. Non-mages are weak, and they're burdens we don't want."

Randall, on the other hand, simply nodded in approval as he was lazing about doing his own thing; Artemis yelled, "You tell 'em Garrett!" to which Priscilla simply sighed. "You lot are quite unfair, you know?" She said, looking at Norma specifically, "You let this zombie in, and you won't give this guy a chance?"

"Ugh, stop patronizing me, Priscilla." Garrett moaned, to which he kicked the table he was sitting at, down. "Right, you want to join us? Follow me, I'm giving you an opportunity." Garrett told the visitor, whose eyes gleamed, while Randall's eyebrows raised, "He's taking an interest in someone?"

As they went to the outside, where there was a large, rather barren space with only a few trees spaced around the guild. Garrett smirked, and drew his pitch-black blade; the draw created a whistle in the wind, to which Almos' interest was piqued, "Is that because of your blade? The sound, I mean."

Garrett gave away nothing, as he instantly swung his blade downward with both of his hands, creating a thin wave of pure pressure that threatened to cut Almos. In that moment, Almos' senses piqued, and he quickly rolled towards the side, while he equipped his Type 57 Mid-Range Pistol: Sword Cutlass. He kept his shooting arm steady, and shot three consecutive bullets, each travelling behind one another to create an illusion of a single bullet.

But Garrett wasn't exactly stupid either, and quickly utilized a black flame as a means to dull the bullets' impact, while he side-stepped and headed directly towards Almos, quickly attempting a crescent, horizontal slash towards the man's neck.

Almos reacted to the slash by taking a short backflip, before drawing a unique sword from his back. The sword was very broad, as well as multi-colored. After widening the sword's already impressive width, Almos drew two thinner blades from within the initial blade before charging towards Garrett, parrying his impressive swordplay with one hand, while he quickly attempted to stab him with the other.

Utilizing a shadow, Garrett quickly parried the blade, before using a slash of concussive force to push Almos' blade away from Muramasa, and took two steps back, to which Almos did the same. And then, rather strangely, Almos threw both of the blades towards Garrett's position, which he quickly blocked with two instant slashes. What he didn't expect however, was a man coming at him with a knife.

Quickly, he blocked the knife by raising his sword slightly, to which he snickered, "That all you got, Almos boy? A petty knife?" Almos simply smirked in response, and on his command, the blade was elevated upwards slightly, before rotating anti-clockwise beneath the hilt, immediately making a 'click' sound as it reattached. "This is the power of a knife!" Almos shouted, before slashing the arm of Garrett with a swift slice, causing him to move backward a few steps.

"Looks like we're done here!" Randall clapped his hands, greeting Almos with a smile. "You're a clever kid, Almos. I'd love to have a little bird like you with us!" Artemis frowned at the prospect, while Garrett devilishly grinned, "Oi, dude, that was some good battling. I'd love to have a rematch." Almos smiled genuinely back at everyone, and referred to Garrett, "Of course; Garrett, was it?" Garrett nodded, "Garrett it is."