A Storm Moves Into Port

The midsummer's heat glared down the residence of Hibiscus Village, many fanning themselves as they went about their daily activities. Despite the blistering heat, a young ivory haired woman seemed completely unaffected as she walked briskly from her dorm toward the guild hall where she was to meet up with her good friend. In her hands were a total of three objects, in her right hand she carried a small job flyer which detailed a dire situation in the town of Cedar, located on the opposite shore from Akane Beach. In her other hand were two boxes wrapped in a red cloth which she had taken the liberty of wrapping around her hand a few times to ensure she wouldn't drop its contents.

She entered the guild hall to see not many people were there, many of them probably having made their way to the beach in hopes of escaping the heat. She quickly located Kalina sitting the table furthest from any windows as the shade was noticeably cooler than sitting directly in the sunlight. She sits the cloth containing the two boxes down on the table before moving to sit across from her, "I brought us some lunch, I'm not much of a cook so it's nothing special, grilled salmon with rice and steamed vegetables," Yukiko said with a bit of cheer in her voice as she took her seat, moving one of the boxes toward her and leaving the other for Kalina.

A warm smile was plastered on her face and aimed at the Chestnut-haired woman in front of her, hoping dearly that she would like her cooking after the several burns on her fingers she'd endured to make it. Despite her nearly nonexistent ability to feel heat, she still felt the pain of burns, often making cooking very difficult as she relied heavily on thermometers to tell when things were done. "I looked at the job you told me about, the pirate one." She said as she sat the flyer down on the table, "I'm up for it if you are. I mean, They really seem like they need help and who better than The Raging Storms of Archer's Cross, right? The two of use are more than capable of putting a few pirates in their place." Yukiko said, punching the palm of her other hand.

Kalina put's down her pencil, moving her sketch pad and stump away to make room for the box of appealing description to make it's way in front of her. She had been passing the time by doing a basic pencil sketch of the scenery before her in a way to practice her blending abilities and shading techniques. The rest of the room was filled with sunlight; it acting as a flamboyant guest, not waiting for an invitation to pass through the windows and flood the building with heat. Luckily Kalina had managed to grab the spot out of the way of it's fiery reach, but as soon as Kalina undid the cloth and opened up the bento box she could feel the steam from the meal hit her in the face like a sauna. With a huff of air she blew quickly over the meal to help cool it off, as she was already on the verge of sweating and didn't need to fill her body with something hot. ''I wonder if Yukiko ever gets hot? What with her ice magic and all...'' Kalina thinks as she takes in the girl's outfit: a black tank top could be seen silhouetted underneath a white shirt that hugged Yukiko's gentle curves. Kalina's eyes then move to glance to the side of the smallish table to see a blue skirt gracing Yukiko's legs in surprise. I guess she might get hot...or maybe she is just wearing that so she doesn't look weird... She does look really cute in skirts though... Kalina thinks as her eyes seem to unconsciously make their way up toned legs to the hem of the skirt; her attention quickly diverted as Yukiko begins to talk of the job Kalina had mentioned to her earlier.

Kalina smiles at the notion of their team name, a small hint of glee rising up in her at the fact that she had finally found someone who actually wants to be on a team with her in the guild; not just accepting the fact that she wanted to tag along on their jobs. "That's right!" She says with a confident grin, "I feel like it would be the perfect job for us to take, so I'm glad you're up for it. Plus it will be nice to help the people of Cedar from those crooks... The reward isn't too bad either." She giggles as she uses the chopsticks to cut and pick up a small piece of salmon with some rice. Her eyes widen in surprise at the delightful flavor of the meal as she quickly takes in another bite. "This is delicious, thank you so much Yukiko!" She says before she continues to take in the delectable meal as her hunger consumes her; not realizing how long it had been since she last ate this morning. "So when did you want to head out for this job?"

She watches as Kalina begins to put away her sketch pad, catching a glimpse of her drawing of the inside of the guild hall. She is surprised by its attention to detail, the finished parts of the drawing looking as though one could reach through the page and touch or grab any of the objects there, "Whoa, you're a really good artist. I haven't seen levels of detail like that anywhere besides the old medical journals my father had. That being said, I'd much rather look at the peaceful scenery piece than a detailed diagram of the human reproductive system, " Yukiko said with a slight chuckle. She had caught Kalina's eyes checking out her legs but didn't bring it up. After all, it wasn't as if she was innocent, having been caught staring at her friend's attractive features on more than one occasion and yet was never scolded for any of them. So why not let her look as well if she wanted? Like some kind of silent agreement between the two friends, a look that spoke I don't mind if you don't always shared between them each time their eyes met after the other had been caught. She had found it odd that she hadn't noticed how attractive the brunette in front of her was before the two had officially become friends, perhaps she had and she pushed the thoughts away just as she had the physical person. After all, before Kalina opened her eyes she hadn't cared much for anything besides what book just so happened to be in her hand that day.

Kalina's cheery voice cleared her mind of her thoughts and her eyes came to focus on the smaller woman's confident smile. Seeing Kalina's smile had forced Yukiko's to grow, There's no need to think about it too much, just enjoy it. She thought to herself before nodding in agreement to her friend's words, "Right, hundred thousand each and tickets to the resort they have there is more than enough, I'm surprised it didn't get taken faster. I heard that the hot spring was underground in these caves lit by these glowing stalagmites. I really want to see that at night. But first thing is first, we gotta kick those pirates outta town." She said with a slightly excited tone in her voice at both the prospect of the hot spring and the chance to punch a pirate in the face. She watches Kalina's eyes widen as she begins to scarf down the meal, surprised by her compliments. "It's really that good? I've only ever learned how to make rabbit stew from my dad. Thank you for liking it." She said, happy to have made something her friend had enjoyed. Looking down at her watch she saw it was just past one in the afternoon, "I'm ready to leave after we finish eating if you'd like. I just have to head back to my room and grab some extra clothes. If a train headed that gets here soon we should be able to make it to Cedar just before sundown. Then we could grab a room somewhere and start fresh tomorrow morning how does that sound?"

Kalina raised her eyes in interest at the mention of the glowing stalagmites, curious to see the luminescent beauty as well. Finishing off the last of the vegetables she laid her chopsticks down neatly across the seemingly empty box. Seeing Yukiko be excited about the job and its reward made Kalina that much more eager to get her things together and take off with the women before her to the beach across the way. "Well I need to pack some stuff as well, but I should be ready in a few since I don't think this job will take more than a day or two." She said as she reaches down to grab her sketch book and supplies, examining it briefly before decided to show her friend a more clear view. "Thanks for the compliment by the way. Drawing is something I've been doing for awhile; mainly landscape and still life, but I've been trying to get into portrait drawing as well...I would hope it was a bit more captivating than a scientific diagram," she giggles out, "but I'm sure your dad's work was wonderful if it was half as good as the cooking skills he passed on." She thinks to the similarities of their past that her and Yukiko share. Kalina had taken up art because of the nights spent watching her mother paint views of city from their estate's highest room. She had loved the way the simple act of stroking a brush across a page can bring something so beautiful to life. It was from this same women that she learned the skills of cooking, helping prepare meals to feel the family and share stories over the dinner table. Though a bit different in circumstance, they both had learned so much from what has now left them for the heavens. Kalina had always been afraid to bring up the subject of Yukiko's dad, but had always been interested in the man who has helped shaped her into the wonderful girl Kalina has come to admire. Brushing the thought aside and figuring it was best to focus on the job at hand Kalina stood up and pulled out her Lacrima Phone from the back pocket of her jean shorts, tapping a few buttons on it before she speaks up once more, "Looks like there is a train leaving at two forty-five, think we can make it?"

She raises an eyebrow at Kalina's slight pause, wondering if comparing her friend's art to that found in medical journals had been a mistake. It would no doubt be the result of her own inexperience in interacting with others that would have led her to possibly offend her friend as she had personally always found the level of detail found in the different diagrams to be something worth striving but hadn't known others might see it differently. She considered apologizing but Kalina moved forward before she had a chance. So Yukiko shook it off, deciding she would simply do her best not to make the same mistake again. When her father was brought up Yukiko shook her head, "my father wasn't a doctor, not a physician anyways, and he was a terrible artist so he didn't write those journals." Yukiko said with a smile and a wave of her hand. ''They were my mothers. At least, that's what he told me.'' Yukiko thought to herself, unsure of why she hadn't just said it out loud. She tucks the thoughts away for later and beams a smile at her friend. "Anyway, You really are an amazing artist, Kalina. I'd really like it if you could show me more of your work some day." She said as she got up, "I think we can make. I'll meet you at the station in a few." She said leaning over and plucking a piece of rice from the corner of her friend's mouth and popping the single grain into her own, "just don't be late," she says in a hushed tone before she stands straight up again, her playful flirting having quickly pushed the thoughts of her mother to the back of her mind. After grabbing the two boxes and the cloth she makes her way out of the guild hall and heads back toward her dorm.

Yukiko opened the door to her room, a waft of cold air escaping as she entered and closed the door behind her. Her room was at least ten full degrees colder than the others and for anyone who could feel the days heat it would be a paradise but for the snow woman it was exactly how it always felt. She stepped over a pile of books on the floor, her eyes being drawn to the several stacks that littered her room. She knew she had to clean up but she didn't have anywhere to put all of them. The small bookshelf in the corner of her room overflowing already. She couldn't worry about the tidiness of her room at the moment, having to pack for the job she would be leaving on in a little more than an hour. Grabbing a backpack she began throwing a few changes of clothes in, not really caring which considering what she wore made little difference. She stops and considers her former train of thought, wondering if she should wear something she thought Kalina might like. Smacking her own cheeks she pushes the thoughts out of her head and questioned why she even thought them at all. They were going to be on a job and Kalina was her friend, the last thing she should worry about is anything like that. With a heavy sigh went through and picked clothes she thought would be practical, still packing one outfit she thought would look cute on her. It's just in case we decide to stay another day or something after we complete the job she convinced herself before throwing her backpack on the bed to go take a quick shower and change.

After her packing was complete she checked her watch to see that it was two ten. Despite this, she decided to go ahead and walk down to the station. She purchased their tickets and took a seat on one of the many benches, crossing one leg over the other. She wore a gray T-shirt with blue denim shorts and black tights, an outfit that she deemed to be the perfect mix between the look she was going for and the practicality she needed. Reaching up, she tightens the pick bow which kept her hair in its ponytail before pulling out a book to wait for her friend.