Enter Elrowan [open]

Ah, the port of Hargeon. Seagulls flying above lazily, people walking here and there on the docks, and plenty of boats both docked or sailing on the ocean. A peaceful day in the port of Hargeon. Abruptly the waters by a pier rippled and parted, a human emerging from it with a great gasp. He struggled to exert himself out of the water, painfully climbing his way up onto the solid pier. Twice he slipped back into the water before finally emerging, collapsing upon the wooden planks. The boy sputtered out water and lay gasping. His clothes were completely soaked. The long cloak behind him was not the best swimwear, and he should have unclasped it. But he couldn't. That would mean surrendering it to his foe.

"Sir.... are you okay?" A man asked him. A few people had paused to watch the strange scene. It wasn't every day they saw someone fully garbed emerge from the ocean, to lay panting on the docks.

"I am victorious!" The red-haired boy lifted his head and shrieked proudly. The kindly man who had stopped backed away uncertainly. Slowly Elrowan lifted himself to a sitting position, coughing up more water after his last outburst. "My friend, you would not believe the battle I was just engaged in! It was a terrible monster, the likes of which mortal man dare not challenge, yet I refused to bow to her rules! Her presence was practically endless, her arms and form wrapping around me at every corner, yet my courage never once dwindled! Onward I plunged, our terrible battle ranging all the way from Shirotsume, her awesome powers carrying to this place... This place!"

The man had been edging away slowly as soon as Elrowan began speaking. By the time the wizard had finished, he had already disappeared. "Where is this place?" Elrowan wondered. He rose unsteadily to his feet, took a few steps, before crashing back to the ground. He had just swam all the way from Shirotsume to ... wherever this place. He was in poor condition, and even he knew he was close to his strength's limit. "This is no good... I am very weak right now......... I need a sword to protect myself!" He nodded at his judgement. Weapons were supposed to make one safer. Swords were coolest looking ones; everyone knew that the main character carried a sword. So where was his sword? He needed to get one, ASAP!

The peach-haired young woman called Kayoko was in a bit of a pickle. Her sister had made her go out on her own in order to ‘teach her how to interact with people’ full-immersion style. And she had to figure out what to do about it. Sure, she was the older one. Sure, she was technically the mother-figure in their general relationship. But that didn’t exactly mean Kayoko had a spine, socially speaking. As she passed through the streets, she couldn’t help but hear the shouting of a young man who seemed to be excitedly yelling about something. What was that all about?

Kayoko glanced at the red-haired boy, looking at him rather than where she was going. She had a bad habit of this lately. Her shins had the bruise to prove it. As if on cue, however, Kayoko bumped straight into a lamp post, a loud clang rang out as she rubbed her forehead. “Owwww,” she complained, taking a step back and trying not to start crying. She hadn’t cried when her parents kicked her out, she didn’t need to cry now… no matter how much that hurt… She reached back with the hand that wasn’t covering her forehead and steadied her oversized sword. Even if it was light in her hands, it was still a bit awkward when she shifted her weight unexpectedly.

The loud smack was enough to get Elrowan's attention. He looked up in time to see a lady plastered against a lamp post, before she retracted herself and rubbed the swelling on her head. Elrowan's eyes widened as he gazed upon the enormous sword upon her back. Now that was a sword, a king of all swords - what could match its weight and splendor? "Fair lady!" Elrowan cried out to her. He made to dash to her side, only to trip on a soggy shoe. He plowed face-first into the very same lamp post she had suffered under.

"...!" Elrowan's hands flew to his head, as he bit back the pain. For a brief moment he was stunned, trying desperately to make the pain stop throbbing. Eventually it subsided. Right, he had something important to do! "My fair lady, are you injured?" Elrowan asked, truly concerned. Even though he had just suffered the same plight. He judged from her beautiful appearance that she could possibly be one of the secret princesses. Or that sword - perhaps she was a knight. Perhaps she was a knight from a royal family! Yes, yes that seemed very likely. But wait, he had nearly forgotten something important!

"I am sorry to trouble you, but I find myself in need of your assistance," Elrowan told her, his tone very serious. "As you can see, I have just finished combatting a terrible monster," he gestured to his soaking wet clothes. There was a little trail from where he'd originally climbed out of the pier, all the way to where he was speaking to Kayoko now. "I was victorious, but the monster is not slain, and might return to attack. It is to this end that I require a sword to protect myself. And I could not help but notice your grand blade. It would be far too great a request to ask you to give me such craftsmanship which belongs to you - in this, I fully understand. To compromise, would you instead allow me to accompany you? Certainly my foe would be too terrified to attack when facing such a grand sword!" He shivered a little. Between swimming for so long and his currently wet clothes, he was both tired and cold. The sun was out thankfully, but it was still a bit chilly to walk around completely wet.

Kayoko kept rubbing her head until she heard the phrase “Fair lady!” followed by a loud clanging in front of her immediately after. She parted her fingers that had been covering her left eye as she pressed her hand on her forehead to see a red-headed young man who looked like he’d recently gone swimming in his clothes. She yelped as he recovered and continued to address her, asking if she was injured. “…” she opened her mouth, but her shy nature caused her to falter just long enough to be overshadowed by his asking for assistance. People actually asked Kayoko for assistance? When did that happen? She couldn’t actually… Wait was he talking about a monster?! Kayoko’s eyes widened. The only monster she’d ever fought was a Vulcan in a cave outside of her home town, and she had never even tried to slay one… only to beat it away and run.

He asked for her sword as he continued to ramble, and despite him not pausing to listen, she responded with a stammering “I… but you couldn’t…” lift it. She was going to say he couldn’t lift it, but he’d already decided perhaps she wouldn’t just give him her sword and asked her to accompany him. “B-but…” she wasn’t able to finish. She simply hung her head. Kayoko did not have a spine when it came to social interaction, especially with strangers. “A-are you sure I should? C-come with you I mean… I couldn’t swim with a sword...” Not to mention she didn’t exactly have swimwear on her. She wasn’t even a very good swimmer. “… OH!” Kayoko slung her bag off of her shoulder and pulled out a towel. She thankfully had that in case she was traveling and had to dry off, at least. “H-here. Don’t freeze,” she told him timidly, blinking her strangely orange eyes.

Elrowan was still shivering when the kind lady actually took out a towel and offered it to him. He was shocked by her kindness. "You have my thanks," he gratefully accepted the towel. Leave it to a caring noble knight to not only notice his plight, but to provided assistance even without being asked. It was the true and humble spirit of a knight, and Elrowan knew instantly that she was the very epitome of sainthood. Elrowan squeezed out some of the water from his clothes, before using the towel to dry off his face and the rest of him. He was still going to be damp, regardless of what he did without a change of clothes, but the towel had helped tremendously. At least he wasn't as terribly cold and he wouldn't drip (as much) everywhere.

"I would honored to accompany such a kind-hearted knight as yourself," Elrowan assured her. He laughed loudly. She thought they would go swimming? Swimming was hardly the profession of nobles such as themselves! "And no, there is no need to enter the water. In fact, I would rather prefer it if we didn't." Yes, he had had quite enough of swimming with his fight against the sea. He didn't plan to challenge the sea's might again anytime soon, although he would fight her again if she insisted.

"Now then... I believe it is time for introductions," he nodded sagely, flipping the now wet towel over his shoulder. "I am Elrowan de Sabeur!" Dramatically he flipped his cloak, hand out as he posed and announced himself. Maybe it would have been cooler if his cloak and the rest of him still wasn't so wet. Still, he took his announcement very seriously, and his face was equally as serious. Eventually his hand lowered though, and he turned back to the orange-eyed woman in front of him. "Might I have your name, fair lady?" He asked more quietly and respectfully. Though his very serious look almost made it seem like a matter of life and death. Indeed, names were the embodiment of one's soul. Surely this woman must have a beautiful name to match both her fair appearance and kind soul.

The peach-haired girl nodded timidly as Elrowan thanked her with his usual flowery sentence structure. She’d not heard anyone talk like that except for in books she’d studied under her tutor. He finished drying off – as much as he could anyway, and seemed to stop shivering, at least. Kayoko felt a little bit better about his safety, at least. Kayoko began to ask for her towel back, but before more than “May I-“ got out of her mouth, he was continuing on his previous rant…. Only this time he seemed to be offering to accompany her. Wait, wasn’t she supposed to accompany him? What was going on? “B-but I’m not a… and I thought…” Kayoko was already confused, not to mention less than articulate.

Elrowan introduced himself as Elrowan de Sabeur, dramatically flipping his wet cloak over his shoulder, though it only made a wet ‘slop’ sound as it flipped around to his back. It would have been comical if Kayoko wasn’t, well, terrified of this intense young man. In response, Kayoko couldn’t help but shrink back slightly. At least he was polite. He was so counting as her entire days’ socializing when she went back and told Calico about her interactions. She blinked, her cheeks blushing red as he asked her name, calling her a fair lady. “I-“ Kayoko gulped. She needed to speak up, and she knew it. “I am Kayoko Sasaki, of the Sasaki family,” she told him politely, once again forgetting to leave out the part where she was the rather valuable daughter of the famous owners of a sizeable Fiore-based merchant empire. “A-and I’m not a knight… I’m not that brave…” she told him, poking her two index fingers together as she blushed.

Elrowan nodded dutifully as the knight introduced herself as Kayoko Sasaki, of the Sasaki family. Yes that was a worthy introduction. She seemed to stutter a bit here and there, but clearly she was proud of her heritage. He had never heard of her before, but he was certain that she was from a royal family befitting of her name. Of course, he had already known as such the moment he laid eyes upon her.

"Never fear," Elrowan insisted when she said she lacked the bravery of a knight. "True courage only manifests itself when your friends are in danger. I am certain that, if you were in such a scenario, you would not hesitate to place your life on the line. You are much stronger than you believe yourself to be." For having just met her, he was extremely confident in her character. After all, she was a noble knight of radiant beauty - surely someone such as her would make the right decision. Regardless of how timid she thought she was, Elrowan knew she was very powerful.

He handed back the towel. "This served me well; you have my thanks again." He was truly touched by her ability to help despite the odd set of circumstances. It wasn't every day that someone climbed out of the sea and into a waiting towel. Although he might know some basic water spells, the sea was still a great opponent to him. "Now then, I am afraid I do not know where exactly I have landed. Pray tell me, what is this land?" It was certainly a port town of some kind. Perhaps he had found his way to Cerulean? Ah, the Lamia Scale town of Cerulean... now wouldn't that be something. They were his rival guild. Fairy Tail was too of course. He was working very hard for Blue Pegasus to become more well known than either of them - an unfortunate fact that people tended to name the other two guilds more than his own. That would change in the future, mainly due to his heroic deeds which he would perform in the future.

(color switch so I don't have to remember the new one!)

Kayoko responded to Elrowan’s ‘never fear’ remark with an ironically fearful gulp. She feared a lot of things. She could fight when she had to… the scar hidden on her stomach under her sweater was proof of that. But she certainly didn’t do it because she was courageous… she did it because she didn’t want to see herself or people she cared about hurt… Kayoko adjusted the sword on her back nervously, reaching out to take back her now wet towel, which she only draped over her arm for now, holding it close to her despite it getting her shirt a bit damp.

“Now then, I am afraid I do not know where exactly I have landed. Pray tell me, what is this land?” Elrowan asked of her, prompting another confused look. Had he really swam from somewhere? That was… wet… and a lot of swimming… Kayoko looked back over where Elrowan had emerged (or at least where she’d spotted him talking to the man afterwords), then back to Elrowan. “Y-you’re in Ha-Hargeon town,” she informed him politely. “I… I haven’t been here very long…” she was a little bit lost. It wasn’t a big down but a sense of direction was not one of Kayoko’s talents. Actually she didn’t think she had many talents, apart from her ability to draw. She opened her backpack again, this time pulling out her hand-drawn map of Fiore she had copied from a wall when she’d come across it – she’d lost her old map in an early misadventure involving a rain storm and a swamp. “R-right here, see?”

Kayoko smiled gently despite her nerves. He seemed to have forgotten that he was trying to drag her off to fight some unnamable horror. That alone was cause-enough to feel a little happier, even if it was only temporary. She wouldn’t be able to say no if the young man insisted, though.

Kayoko's eyes flicked over him quickly, too nervous to take in many details despite this. Still, her eyes lingered a bit on the symbol on his hand. He belonged to Blue Pegasus. This crazy kid was a guild mage. Kayoko barely considered herself a mage, since she required the sword, but she was reminded that technically she was. Especially since the sword only worked properly for her. "Y-you're in Blue Pegasus then?" she asked him, her curiosity overcoming her anxiety.

Tessa had entered Hargeon town as she had so many other towns, looking for the Fairy Tail mage that had saved her from the magic council goons that had been harassing her. She thought she remembered him introducing himself as Tatsuma, but she couldn't really be sure until she met him again to confirm it.

Her reason for coming to this place finally in her search for him was because A.) When she had stopped in at magnolia to see if he was there he was apparently on some job somewhere or something for whatever reason, meanwhile, she was left with no other clues that he would most likely be passing through the port city which brought her to B.) if he was going to some area not connected by land Hargeon was a good place for her to try to find him. After all he was likely to pass through there. She connected the red strings of where she had been and where he could be, with blue strings for places he was likely to return to, and green dots for the areas she had been. It was part of her visualization process and she was able to map in her head what most people used walls to do.

Still her search here had brought up about as much useful information as anywhere else, he had been in Hargeon but it was only so that he could find a boat to Galuna, and that had been a while ago so there was a chance that he wasn't even there anymore. That aside, Tessa had absolutely no plans of going anywhere near that place. She was still trying to figure out how best to use her magic and was not able to find any method of building a better repertoire of spells than what she already had.

After about an hour of pointless wandering and sightseeing, she happened upon a girl and a boy, talking about... well she hadn't actually been close enough to hear them. By the time she finally did all she got was the girl saying something about Blue Pegasus.
"I'm... sorry to interrupt whatever this is.. but I was wondering if you knew anything about a boat that went to Galuna and a boy that was on there with white hair. I think the boat was headed to Galuna island but-" She cut herself off when she saw that the guy of the duo was still pretty wet. She smiled and held out her hands, focusing on heating up the molecules in the fabric by reaching out with extra low frequency waves to cause the water molecules to break down into hydrogen and oxygen gas. "Sorry I couldn't help but notice you were wet, anyway..." She just stopped. It would be a really long explanation and she wasn't actually sure about them knowing anything.
"What exactly happened to you anyway?" She asked him, ignoring the girl for the most part since she figured the guy would know more about the boats... at least that was one school of thought. Also because she didn't know Tatsuma very well, it had never occurred to her that he would be a flirt whore which would have immediately gotten her to pay more attention to the girl than the guy, still she decided she had better make up for having ignored her.

A few awkward stares from other people were cast their way as she spoke when her outfit was noticed by guys. She wore a loose fitting, high cut, white shirt that revealed her stomach, and a black skirt that was split at the bottom going up to her mid-thigh so she could move in it.
"I'm sorry I haven't gotten to talk to you yet... and.. arrg so lost. My name is Tessa, I probably should have introduced myself before I started questioning you guys... She said before leaning in to whisper to the girl. "I think their staring at you." She said, completely oblivious to the fact that her own outfit was an attention whore's dream.

"Hargeon... So I traveled that far, did I?" Elrowan shielded his eyes and scanned the town. He had never been in Hargeon before. Honestly he was quite surprised he had come so far. "I have never been to this town before, so even your short time here is more experienced than mine," Elrowan nodded. "I will trust you to lead the way!"

That's when she showed him the map. He gasped, startled at the surprising beauty. Everything was hand-drawn. "This... this is truly amazing! Your artist is very talented!" He had never before seen a map that was hand-drawn. Her wealth must have been vast to afford a private artist who drew portable maps! Curiously he followed her hand, noting their current location. He lifted his hand, before realizing that he shouldn't dare touch the map. Although he had dried off enough to probably not get the map went, he wasn't about to take any chances. Even the smallest drip could smear the expensive artist's work.

The blue tattoo of Blue Pegasus was easy to spot on his hand. In fact, Elrowan wore it on the back of his hand for that very reason: so that the world would know his guild affiliation. "Indeed!" He lifted his hand so that his palm faced his nose, the pegasus-tattoo proudly displayed to the fair lady in front of him. He adjusted his feet and very much appeared to be posing before her, a daring smirk across his face. "With this mark I carry the hopes and dreams of the rising star guild, Blue Pegasus. We are champions of good that fight against evil, always aiming to help those less fortunate, striving for-"

He cut himself off abruptly when he noticed a strange girl approaching them. She was dressed as though she were not dressed. Elrowan stared at her, and not by any means of seduced logic like the staring men around him. She started talking to them, of what, Elrowan barely heard - especially when she raised her hands and an unusual sensation swept over him. "What devilry is this?!" He cried out in surprise. Suddenly all the moisture around him had vanished, and his clothes were as dry as if he had never touched the sea. "You!" Elrowan's eyes narrowed. He knew her kind; knew how dangerous and unpredictable she could be.

Protectively Elrowan shoved himself between the new girl and Kayoko, interrupting whatever whisper-conversation that was going on. "State your purpose!" He demanded of the witch. This was not a simple magic, from her advanced technique and strange appearance, Elrowan knew that she was a witch. Not a simple practitioner of magic, but one of the witches from folklore who rode upon brooms and stirred their cauldrons of ill potions. While not inherently evil, witches had a mischievous side to them which could lend itself to unwanted danger.

Hard of hearing? She already stated her purpose; she asked you about a boat headed to Galuna and some white-haired boy.

"Yes, I... I already knew that!" Elrowan accidentally answered Alastor out loud. Mentally he cursed him for making him sound like an idiot. "I, Elrowan de Sabeur, have only just arrived. As such, I have no knowledge of boats heading in any direction nor men whose hair color fails them! And Lady Kayoko here has also arrived recently, so I doubt she would know either," he flipped back his now dry cloak behind him dramatically. If they simply gave the witch what she wanted, perhaps she would refrain from casting cursed spells upon them.

Elrowan complemented Kayo's map, telling her that 'her artist was very talented.' She actually grinned a bit, a little bit amused by his assumption, at least until she realized he could tell she was… used to be… rich. “I-I don’t have an artist…” she informed him gently, “I drew it… by myself…” Then the pair got onto the subject of him being in Blue Pegasus, which caused him to suddenly pose, which was a little bit odd. Kayoko flinched back slightly again, her posture saying she was intimidated, not defensive. He cut himself off, causing Kayoko to turn around, seeing someone standing behind her.

At first, Kayoko thought that maybe, just maybe, the woman would ignore her. She was fine with that. It had taken a lot out of her to start talking to Elrowan without running away. She’d literally run away crying from boys who tried to talk to her before… she was doing better. Not that it took a lot to show improvement over that. The woman asked about a boy with white hair who went to Galuna Island – a place she’d only heard about in stories. She, too, cut herself off mid sentence, walking up and placing her hands near Elrowan and using some sort of magic. Kayoko shrank back behind Elrowan, keeping a distrustful eye on the woman. Ironically, she would probably believe anything the woman said… but she hadn’t said anything yet, and she scared the peach-haired ex-noble.

As she somehow dried of Elrowan, she commented on noticing the boy was wet, then asked what happened to him. Elrowan responded as if she’d practically attacked him, telling her to state her business. The woman seemed to ignore his reaction for the moment, turning her curiosity towards Kayoko. Kayoko practically hid herself behind Elrowan when she was actually paid attention to. She introduced herself to both Kayoko and Elrowan as Tessa, then told Kayoko that everyone was staring at her. Had she not been so terrified, Kayo might have realized they were staring at the woman who was… embarrassingly underdressed. But instead she believed the woman, and not knowing why they would stare at her, she shrank back again, using Elrowan as all the cover she could get and looking like she was trying not to cry.

From behind him, she quietly told the woman “I-I’m K-K-Kayoko,” since the woman had introduced herself. She couldn’t get out the rest of her name, or any other words. Fortunately (Or unfortunately for other people, perhaps?) Elrowan suddenly said he already knew that, drawing attention back to him. Kayoko thought he was talking to her. “S-sorry,” she told him as he re-addressed Tessa and gave his name. He told the woman what Kayoko would have said… in vastly different words. That neither of them knew ta thing about what the woman was after. She nodded, her legs literally shaking at this point. “I-it’s true.” She stammered.

Tessa was, not mildly, but extremely surprised at the reaction of the boy. Devilry? Did he think she was a dark mage? She had already had the run in with the magic council, and had only barely been able to escape other guild mages that had taken to hunting down the guildless as if they were dogs hunting foxes with the magic council riding the horse. She dared not run the chance with these two. But with the girl, Kayoko, stuttering she figured she had at least an advantage in that regard... despite the wicked looking sword she carried.
"Okay seriously? Devilry? Dost mother knowest that thou wearest her drapes? Who talks like that? Are you a time traveler?!?" She asked excitedly at the end, seriously doubting it, but entertaining the notion of a wormhole or quantum non-locative event of some sort that had thrown him through time. Still she sighed as she acknowledged their admittance that they didn't know anything about the were about of Tatsu.
"And if I'm really using 'devilry' why are you now just dry instead of curled up in a ball? Seriously, it's science at its finest with all the power of knowledge... which you are lacking, at its base. Plussssss I already stated my purpose... which you answered... after saying you already knew.. which is why I'm not confused about whether you do know and are lying or you don't know and are crazy levels of rude to the girl you're walling up." She said snidely to "Elrowan de Sabeur", holy knight of blue Pegasus whom she was convinced had learned to speak from an ancient book about princesses and castles.

Once she was done with her remarks to him, she simply spoke past him to the girl he was trying to form a castle wall to defend.
"And you! She said pointing at Kayoko "Speak with conviction! Although I guess that's not why I'm here..." She let herself trail off, honestly it was a little depressing to be constantly searching for now someone instead of something with no assurance she was going to find whatever it was her life was pulling her towards, nor the person that had saved her from what could have been a deadly situation. To add insult to injury, almost literally, she had alienated at least one if not both of the duo by letting her mouth override her thoughts as she tended to do on fairly frequent occasions. A few seconds of silence was the prelude to a long sigh of contrition as she headed away from the docks. She just couldn't bear to make herself get on a boat again that was headed for another mysterious island, not after the last time.
"Sorry to bother you both, I'll continue looking for clues on my own. Try to stay out of the water from now on." She stated, honestly not sure where to go or look for at this point, but not content to give up on everything completely since she had come all this way. Surely someone knew something.

Now it was Elrowan's turn to look confused. He completely failed to understand one of Tessa's sentences (and also missed that she was imitating himself), and it was like she was speaking some kind of foreign tongue. And now wait what... a time traveler?! He had no idea where she'd gotten such a ridiculous idea. Clearly the witch needed to have a reality check. Time travelers ha... such things didn't exist. At least, as far as Elrowan knew. Maybe they were out there, somewhere, but he had never met one before.

Elrowan looked at his clothes at Tessa's question. Hmm well they were indeed dry... and he appeared unharmed... however disillusioned this woman was, at least she was trying to be helpful. It was regrettable that her actions had caused such confusion, but perhaps she didn't intend them trouble after all. The rest of the insults also flew over his head, mainly because he lost her at some point and wasn't entirely sure of what Tessa was saying.

"Wait," Elrowan commanded her, as she turned towards the docks. She did have a point. She had come to them asking for help. Although her background seemed a little dubious, her request was innocent enough. "Let it never be said that Elrowan de Sabeur turned down a request for help, even by a witch," he said seriously, meaning it to be encouraging. "I apologize if my manner of speaking has offended you in some way," he concluded, deciding that was why she seemed a bit upset at him. "If you would but tell us why you seek the man with dying hair, I will consider aiding in your search. As long as your intentions are benign, I would be glad to help you." He had, apparently, already forgotten his request to Kayoko from earlier. However, he very much still knew she was there. Especially since she was blatantly trying to hide behind him.

"Lady Kayoko! Do you not agree?" Elrowan half turned to the cowering girl. "An adventure would be a fine opportunity for you to work on your braveness!" His fist clenched with his conviction. Already he could see the adventures in his mind. Lady Kayoko was understandably terrified of the witch, but perhaps she truly held no ill intentions. Certainly this was an opportunity for them to experience a grand adventure! An unlikely trio, united for a common cause!

Kayoko watched, wide-eyed as Tessa had words with Elrowan. She claimed she wasn’t a witch, at least, and Kayoko would have giggled at the foolishness of believing Elrowan’s mistake had she not been so horribly overloaded with her anxiety at the moment. She kept going, lecturing him and talking about him ‘walling up’ Kayo. Kayoko wasn’t actually sure what that meant. She didn’t have long to ponder it though as Tessa rounded on the peach-haired girl. She lectured Kayoko, saying that she needed to speak with conviction before deciding it wasn’t her business. “I...I know…” she mumbled as if she had been lectured by her parents, her eyes cast to the ground as Tessa started to walk off with an apology for bothering them.

To her surprise, Elrowan didn’t just let her go like Kayoko would have been glad to do. At this point she would have been rather happy to just have to deal with the boy who talked like he was from one of her literature books. He told her to wait, and that he wouldn’t just turn down a request for help. Unfortunately, Kayoko couldn’t turn down a request either, be it battling sea creatures of some sort or looking for a boy with white hair. It wasn’t in Kayoko’s nature to turn down help, at least once she had enough control over her knees to actually do anything about such a request. Elrowan asked Tessa to talk about the boy so that they could help before rounding on Kayoko.

Rounding was an exaggeration, but accurate in Kayoko’s mind. “Lady Kayoko! Do you not agree?” he asked her, telling her an adventure would be a great way to work on her braveness. Kayoko stepped back from Elrowan. Being repeatedly yelled at, even with friendly intentions, was certainly not going to do it. She drew her arms close to herself, looking like a deer caught in headlights. “I… um…” Kayoko looked from Elrowan to Tessa then back from one to the other a few times. “I…” Kayoko visibly gulped before forcing herself to relax. The relaxation looked as forced as it was. “I… would.. l-like to help too,” she told Tessa earnestly. “I like helping… I’m just not very brave…” She gave Tessa and Elrowan a quick, low bow. "I'm sorry," she apologized for her still shaking legs and general cowardice.

Request for help? She had only asked them if they knew anything... and then went off on them as she was known to do. Still, the idea of getting help with her search wasn't exactly off putting, even if the guy offered to help and called her a witch in the same breath. Still he even went as far as to apologize for his manner of speaking which she didn't really care about, and was just giving him an earful for temper's sake. Even the scared girl, Kayoko, agreed to help, though Tessa wasn't sure how much help she would be, it was still better than running around alone just waiting for magic council goons to track her down again.

She turned and answered his question about Tatsu, and to thank them, even though she had originally intended to follow them anyway using her radar.
"Thank you both, you don't have to help, though I won't turn it down. The guy I'm looking for saved me from some magic council goons. He may have gone a bit overboard, but I wanted to thank him and see if maybe he could help me search for... I'm not sure what. She explained. It was actually pretty simple and straight forward and she couldn't begin to go into detail about the things she was more worried about than the magic council.
"It's become harder for me to move around on my own because of the magic council. And the rules they have put into effect." She added, her face displaying a mixture of fear and anger. She had never done anything to hurt anyone and it was wholly unfair the way they treated her like a criminal.
"Maybe I can help you guys with whatever you're doing too." She added with a smile.

Elrowan was beginning to wonder if this was going to work, only because none of them seemed to be understanding each other. For one, Elrowan didn't understand why Kayoko was apologizing. "No need to apologize for such a matter," Elrowan decreed. "You have already decided to lend your aid, and that in itself proves that you have brave heart." Despite her stuttering and submissive posture, Elrowan was certain that Kayoko was far braver than she gave herself credit. "After all, even if you feel frightened, the fact that you continue on and refuse the fear to stop you... That is a certain kind of braveness in itself," he said sagely. Lady Kayoko would certainly have opportunities in the future to prove her bravery. It was just a matter of believing in herself.

Elrowan listened intently to Tessa's next words. If he even suspected her of foul play against the fellow, he and Kayoko would refuse to help her. But it seemed like... she wanted to thank him. Perhaps she had some future need of him as well, as Tessa stated she was searching for 'something'. He could sympathize with her, though. The search for her target had garnered ill attention. "Not everyone is as open-minded as the two of us, unfortunately," he sympathized. Most people would panic upon seeing a witch. She would certainly cause a stir in any of the towns she visited, both with the general townsfolk and Magic Council.

"I am but a humble agent of justice," Elrowan informed Tessa very seriously. "A good deed is its own reward, and so our purpose is to help you find the one you seek! Now then, have you anything more to work with about this man, perhaps his name or somewhere else you think he might be? Galuna island is quite far." Even Elrowan knew that Galuna was a dangerous place. It was supposedly haunted, and could cause their group a fair amount of trouble. If possible, he would rather search there as their last option.

As Kayoko apologized, Elrowan told her that she had already decided to help, and that proved she was brave. Kayoko didn’t see how. Heck, half the time she wasn’t volunteering so much as giving in. Fear got her into more dangerous things, not less… at least in her experience. It wasn’t that she didn’t believe in herself. Her sword’s mysterious powers had taught her how to use it, even if she wasn’t very experienced. She seemed, and was, actually far more confident when it came to matters not dealing with talking to strangers, even if in reality it was more dangerous. Unless, perhaps, if they were sea monsters.  Well, really she hadn't been nearly as confident in general since she lost her home... so maybe that wasn't true... She only gulped and nodded timidly to Elrowan, forcing herself to be slightly less timid looking, even if she was feeling as defensive as ever. It might get him to stop being excited in her direction a bit less, at least.

Tessa thanked the two of them at that point, telling them that she was looking for some heroic man who had saved her from the Magic Council. What had she been doing to get chased by the Magic Council? While Elrowan was delusional… the truth was… she stayed away from places that had up the posters about guildless wizards. Between that and her lack of talking to people, she had actually not heard much, if anything, about the fact that she was technically illegal right now. She would probably be hiding in her inn wondering what to do if she knew. “W-what new rules?” she asked, perking her face up to look at Tessa. “And… I-I’m not… doing anything important…” she told her in response to offering to help her in return.

Elrowan only responded that not everyone was as open-minded as the two of them. What did that mean? It certainly confused kayoko again. Fortunately, she got to hear his little speech about justice instead of being allowed to dwell on his misguided thoughts. Good deeds did make her feel good about herself. It was rather rare that she felt good about herself ever since she got kicked out of her home. She wasn’t good enough to feel good about herself, after all. Not that she complained, or even let her sister know how she felt most of the time. “I…I couldn’t go to Galuna…” she said too quietly for anyone to hear her properly, poking two fingers together and staring at the ground.  She had a companion she couldn’t leave long enough for a long boat trip, not to mention… that place was haunted. “M-maybe… someone would remember white hair? And… he would come back to the same place he left from soon…” she suggested semi-helpfully, though that was also quiet.

Tessa thought back but first decided to answer Kayoko's question about the new rules.
"The new rules the magic council placed on people. All guildless mages are required to join guilds, those who don't are being harassed and arrested. It's the dumbest rule I've ever been subjected to." She said, turning her head to Elrowan.
"and his name is Tatsuma. I know he's a Fairy Tail mage, but I've been there and everything else I've been told has led me to Galuna. The only problem is, I don't know which port he left from or which port he's going to be returning to." She admitted, leaving out any details about her own family problems that she was going to ask him if he would help with. These two seemed pretty well meaning, but she didn't know if they would be able to hold up against her older brother... Actually she didn't know if Tatsu would be able to either, but at least she had seen him in battle.

The two were right though, Galuna was a long distance away, and the rumors and the like made it unwise for them to just take off for such a place... not to mention finding someone to take them there would be a bitch and a half. As much as she appreciated their help, it was unlikely they were going to be able to help her, at least not with this.
"On a completely different note, how exactly did you end up drenched Elrowan?" She asked truly curious, even though her main goal was to switch topics to something that might give her a chance to distract herself as well as the others.

Elrowan placed a hand on his chin, eyes halfway closed as he appeared in deep thought. He listened to Kayoko's wise suggestions, while contemplating the best way to go about finding Tessa's friend. He only looked up when Tessa began explaining the ban of guildless wizards. It was a strange rule... Did that mean the Council saw guildless mages as being lawless? Well even those without a guild and the laws could very well be good people. "That is a strange law," he agreed. Holding out his hand lightly, he gazed upon the mark of the Blue Pegasus. Apparently he had been following the law without even realizing it. Certainly rules shouldn't be like that... If a rule wasn't inherently good or evil, he didn't understand why anyone would be obligated to obey it.

"If you know he hails from Fairy Tail, why not wait there until he comes back?" Elrowan gave a surprisingly sound suggestion. "Even should he be out on a mission, inevitably Tatsuma will return to the guild hall at one point." There was a chance that Tessa's friend was on a longer mission, but he assumed that would be easy information to find. And if he wasn't on a long mission... then he would likely return within a week or so. Wandering around only increased her chances of missing him along the way.

Elrowan returned Tessa's curious gaze. What was so mysterious about being drenched? "I was fighting against the sea," he said, as if it were a very common thing to do. Of course, fighting such a ferocious monster meant he inevitably would be soaking wet. Sure, getting out of the water was a little hard, but... the fight had to take place. It wasn't one he could run from. Water itself wasn't a strong fear for him, and he was an adept swimmer. But swimming and fighting were two different things. "I found my foe east of Shirotsume, and she seems to have brought me all the way to Hargeon. I was impressed by her determination to bring me down, but I cannot sink so easily." There was a chance the sea could strike once more, but Elrowan would be well-prepared before he dived into her depths again.

Kayoko couldn't believe what she'd just heard. She... was... breaking the law? Her eyes widened again as she whimpered. "I.. but I don't want to break the law...” she said quietly, feeling like a bad person no matter how ridiculous the rule might have been in reality. What about Cali? If they caught her without a guild tattoo… She shook her head. They’d been okay so far. Avoiding people helped. But right now she wasn’t avoiding people… and she’d already said she would help.

In reality, Kayoko was actually quite out of the loop. She didn’t know what was going on with the world. She never had. When she’d lived in her family’s mansion she had stayed there and kept to herself and only worried about her tiny little world without strangers and Vulcans and who knew what else. Now, she had so far managed to keep out of the loop while still going out and learning how to live on her own. The fact that she hadn’t died said either she was learning… or Calico was far more helpful than Kayoko had ever realized.

She blinked when she realized Elrowan was talking again. She’d missed his suggestion completely, but did hear him saying he battled the ocean. The ocean wasn’t a sea creature…. But Kayoko wasn’t one to argue against almost anything, so she said nothing. “Y-you must be a good swimmer then…” she commented. As she’d said before… Kayoko was not. She could swim, but not for very long. She didn’t even know how to float.

And now Kayoko was distracted. Between being an accidental criminal and battling the sea, she’d nearly forgotten what she’d promised to help with. She managed to remember after a moment of looking confused and lost, but she was far more worried about herself and Calico than she wanted to admit, and it kept her distracted. She also realized Tessa was breaking the law too, though. She wanted to ask why she hadn’t joined a guild if she knew about it. But she got the feeling Tessa was against joining a guild, at least right now. She instead stared at the ground nervously, wondering what would happen to the three guildless wizards.

Tessa shook her head at Elrowan's statement.
"I already went there. He apparently goes out on missions all the time, and doesn't always come right back, sometimes even goes to complete missions in other guilds to do missions for them. He apparently has an apartment, but no one knows where it is, I could be waiting there for months, last anyone knew he was doing a mission on Galuna Island." She explained. She wanted to question about his fight with the sea, namely how, but she decided not to. Either he was being poetic, or he was insane, though she didn't care which. Instead she commented on Kayoko's statements.
"Indeed, a VERY good swimmer... Also yes, you're- we're breaking the law. We can't just traipse around because any city that has the magic council in it will be a trap for guildless mages. If they see you casting they will start harassing you. I was being harassed by five when Tatsuma helped me. Some of them are just following orders, but others are just enjoying this and we're being hunted down like we're the ones that are recruiting Dark Mages." She explained, her voice rising slightly in anger as she spoke about it. They pissed her off when they started this stupid hunt.

She had explained what was going on with her, she had explained how she felt about it, but it was dangerous to think that anyone was going to simply line up and fight against the magic council, though she was of the mind that it was possible someone might one day soon, fight for the little people who had done nothing wrong.
"So the only question remaining is, what do we do now?" She asked.

Kayoko's voice was so soft, that a lot of times Elrowan failed to catch everything she said. But he did catch her whimper - that she didn't want to break the law. Of course not; that was a normal reaction. It was a strange law, but one that could easily be fixed. "Don't worry, Lady Kayoko," Elrowan beamed encouragingly at her. "You are with me, and I am in Blue Pegasus, so you cannot possibly get in trouble. When we finish helping over here, I can take you to Blue Pegasus - perhaps it is a guild you would find favorable," he offered. There was much he wanted to tell her about Blue Pegasus; much he was proud of there. But with Tessa still around, he didn't want to get sidetracked with such matters. It seemed pretty clear that she wasn't interested in a guild at the moment.

Elrowan thought of where Tatsuma could possibly be. So she had already gone and waited at Magnolia... yet that wasn't enough. This guy seemed like a hard one to track down. Elrowan was still thinking of possible methods... when both of them commented on his swimming. "Well... I am good at swimming... but that is not the point," he frowned slightly. "There is a fine distinction between just swimming and battling the sea," he told them very seriously, just to make sure they understood properly.

He stroked his chin thoughtfully, once more resuming the plan to look for Tatsuma. "Oh!" He hit his palm with his clenched hand in realization. "Lady Kayoko, you were the talented artist who drew that map, aren't you?" He turned to her. With Tessa's entrance, their original conversation was a bit blurry. But he did seem to recall her mentioning that, even if it hadn't fully sunk in. "You could draw a picture of that Tatsuma guy, and we can post it on the job bulletin. People look at that board all the time, and might leave information... Plus, if that fellow is taking jobs all over, even he might see the advertisement. Then he would at least know someone is looking for him." If Tatsuma and Tessa really did know each other, then certainly Tatsuma would be interested in meeting with her as well... as soon as he found out that she was looking for him. Just asking people might not be enough. But at least, this way, they could spread more information about Tatsuma and hopefully get some other leads...

Tesstarosa’s words hardly made poor Kayoko feel any better about her illegal situation. She was told all about how she was breaking the law and how they could get arrested at any time. That wasn’t even mentioning being told she could just be hunted down like a dark mage. Kayo didn’t want to be hunted down… The Magic Council was here to protect people, and she didn’t want to hurt the people who were out to protect people, even if they were probably being unfair. Kayoko was sure they had people’s best interests at heart even if not all of the people doing things were the best kinds of people. She whimpered again as Tessa spoke. “B-but…”

Elrowan quickly told her not to worry, and that since he was with Blue Pegasus nothing would happen. He even went so far as to say perhaps she would like Blue Pegasus. Did he want her to join the guild, too? Kayoko wasn’t even sure she’d be able to get herself to sign up for something like that with so many strange people around. She only knew Elrowan… She said nothing though, partially because Elrowan was already on the subject of Kayo being the one who drew a map, and who could draw a picture of Tatsuma to put on a job board. Kayo brightened up at this, grinning widely as her mind turned to the one thing she knew she could do okay.

“Y-yeah!” she told Tessa excitedly, “If you remember what he looks like… you could describe him… I can draw people pretty well…” she insisted, pulling a pencil out of her bag and a blank sheet of paper before sitting down on her knees on the ground in an out of the way spot.

It was cute that the guy thought he was protecting them because he was in blue pegasus, but she figured she should be honest if he was going to be traveling with them. She listened to what both of them had to say and then resolved to agree to it, but they needed to know what they were getting into first.
"You would think that, but no. If we're caught they'll lump you in with us, and if you defend us... I've heard of the council sending hunters specialized for this kind of problem. It'll be dangerous for you to travel with us, and I have no intention of joining a guild, especially not with some dark power commanding us to." She explained. While it was true that if Kayoko joined Blue Pegasus, or if they all just said they were going to join up with Blue Pegasus, they would most likely get some amount of clemency, it was going to last and it would only bring heat down upon them. It was dangerous.

After her explanation was finished, she looked to Kayo. Now that they knew what could possibly happen she could let them help.
"If you still want to do this, to travel with me knowing that it's going to be dangerous, I'll describe Tatsuma to you so that you can draw him. As long as after that I can repay you two for taking this on." She said honestly. Life was difficult these days, and someone needed to do something... maybe... possibly they would.

Elrowan grew a very serious and thoughtful expression as Tessa described the Magic Council's strategy. Even wizards in guilds were at risk if they traveled with guild-less wizards? He just really didn't understand what the Magic Council was thinking. He probably didn't understand the extremity of which Tessa spoke of, either. "If trouble does find us, we shall deal with it then," he decided. The Magic Council's whim of a rule really didn't affect Elrowan much. If Tessa wanted to remain without a guild, Elrowan felt no need to convince her otherwise. Besides, it was rather hard to picture a witch joining a guild in the first place.

"I never shrink from danger!" Elrowan declared proudly. "Especially when it involves doing good. Try as it might, the law cannot ultimately determine the nature of good and evil." Under an evil king, it was very possible for the laws to benefit evil-doers. Fiore was a peaceful land, one of blessings and a particularly benign ruling family, although regrettably they had fallen out of power since the Magic Council had taken over. Otherwise, as a prince, he would have little need to worry about laws impeding his hero routine to begin with. "Now then, do hurry and tell us more about Tatsuma, and let the search begin!"