A Chance Meeting [Ryoshi and Arya]

Ryoshi Morgenstern, master of the guild Draco Maledicte, a guild that is officially classified as dark, was taking a leisurely evening stroll through Crocus, the capitol of the country of Fiore. This was a bold move, as if the Rune Knights regularly patrolling the streets were to be made known of his true identity, he would be arrested almost instantly. However, Ryoshi was walking around as if nothing in the world could worry him. What could he say? It was a lovely day in Crocus, the Blooming Capitol. Looking absently up at a cloud lazily drifting from horizon to horizon, Ryoshi dodged around a courier riding a bike as easily as one would lean over and pluck a blade of grass from the ground. As he returned his gaze to earth, the man swearing violently back at him, he smirked. Off in the distance, he could see an unoccupied bench overlooking part of the capitol, facing west. Just in time for the sunset over the beautiful city. Weaving through the crowd as quickly as he could, accompanied by curses and many other complaints as he brushed by people with bare centimeters to spare, Ryoshi made his way to the bench and slid into it on the far left edge, resting his right arm on the back, his left arm on the armrest, and crossing his left left leg over the other in a relaxed, nonchalant pose with a matching grin on his face, onyx eyes sparkling darkly in the light of the setting sun and long hair casting thin shadows on his face.

It was quietly that the blonde Guildmaster walked down the streets, her sundress shifting in the wind. She'd been busy today; Mrs. Nilinne's house had been broken into, and Pygmy Rabbit needed to check it out in case there was more thieves about. They'd been at that for fifteen hours. Sighing, she slowed down, her hair pouring over her face as she looked down. Being a Guildmaster was a taxing job, all the stress was killing her. Eventually, she came to a stop, deciding to sit on a bench to her left. Arya slid her hands into her hair, a deep sigh passing over her. After a few moments, she realized there was someone sitting on the bench with her. She looked him over, her eyes peering with scrutiny. He was roughly her age, with black hair and eyes of the same color. She swore she recognized him from somewhere, but couldn't place her finger on it. "Oh, um, hello." She greeted, looking away into the sunset. It was quite beautiful, an- 'Oh god, where do I know him from?' She screamed to herself, looking back at him; it was gonna drive her crazy if she didn't find out. "Um, excuse me?" She asked, her hands on the bench. "Do I, um... Do I know you from somewhere?" She didn't want to come off as creepy, but it was going to kill her if she didn't find out; her curiousity tended to be a problem sometimes.

Ryoshi took little notice of the woman taking a seat next to him, continuing to stare at the sunset until she spoke to him. Smiling easily, he looked over, his hair shifting to cover the left side of his face. Carelessly he reached up and brushed it out of the way as he gave the woman a quick once-over glance. With his face turned away from the sun, deep shadows were cast over one half while the other was bronzed by the fading light, which also caught the fragile strands of his hair and painted them a dark orange. Blinking the spots away from his vision, Ryoshi took a better look at the face of the woman sitting next to him.
"For your sake, I hope not. I can be rather dangerous..." he thought to himself before replying.
"No, I don't think so. Should you?" He spoke easily, without even a hint of nervousness or shyness. As he finished speaking, he glanced back at the setting sun.
"Beautiful, isn't it?" he said so softly it was almost a sigh, nodding at the sunset before looking back at the woman.

'Hmm, I'm still not sure.' She thought, her eyes narrowed. 'Still, nothing I can do.' She decided, looking out to the sun again as he mentioned it. It was beautiful, but it was a sight she saw usually everyday; or was it? She was always so caught up in her own business, she never really admired the beautiful sight she saw all the time. The flower petals passing over the red sky, landing onto the streets of Crocus. "Yeah, I guess so." She murmured, looking down at her hands once more. "Are you new to the city?" She asked out of curiousity, her hands wringing. She hadn't known very many citizens of the city to comment on it, no matter how beautiful it was.

Ryoshi chuckled softly at her question.
"Not really. I visit from time to time. But, if you take the time to look around you, you'll find yourself noticing things you've never seen before. Or even appreciating the beauty of something you'd find... commonplace." he said, voice growing softer and softer as he spoke. While he was speaking, he never looked away from the sunset, watching it with almost intense focus, until his last sentence, when he looked over at the woman and smiled easily. His gaze lingered with the same kind of quiet focus that was in his eyes as he watched the sunset for a moment, until he glanced away once more. Suddenly noticing that his chest was almost too exposed, he subtly, nonchalantly shrugged to cover his characteristic guild mark, as well as his X tattoos, with his jacket, where they would be hidden to all but the most careful scrutiny. It wouldn't do for his true identity to be revealed in a city full of people who wanted him in prison.

Nodding, the blonde guildmaster settled down into her seat, following his gaze into the sunset once more. It was an incredibly beautiful sight, but she wasn't entirely certain what he was talking about. 'Taking the time to look? I know this city like the back of my hand, I've seen everything.' She was certain of that fact, but somehow she doubted it at the same time. 'Appreciate the things you'd find commonplace...?' She was peering into the sun now, most likely making herself look like a lunatic. Still, she couldn't see what he was apparently seeing. 'Hey, who is he to highroad me anyway?' She was flustered now, and she shifted her body to study him for a moment. After a while, she deemed it appropriate to stick her hand out, motioning for a shake. "I'm Arya, by the way. Guildmaster of Pygmy Rabbit." She introduced herself coolly, still studying him. She swore she recognized him from somewhere, but... It wasn't coming to her.

Out of the corner of his eye, Ryoshi watched the woman study him for a moment. The left side of his mouth, the one that would be the hardest for her to see, curved upwards into a grin, then straightened back out when she extended her hand. Turning his head, he nodded once then took her hand in his with a firm grip. If she held on long enough, she might notice that his skin was very hot, above feverish for a normal person. However, they were dry and rough.
"A pleasure to meet you, Arya. My name is.. Elias. I'm a wandering mage." he said, hesitating only slightly before he gave his name. He wasn't lying, technically, as Elias was his middle name, but he was reluctant to share his first and last name, as well as the name of his guild, in case she had seen any of the wanted posters or heard of him somehow. The last thing he wanted was for her to be scared of him and run, or even worse, turn him in. As he spoke, he smiled pleasantly, hoping she would buy his quick lie.

She froze for a moment as he paused before telling her his name, her eyes narrowing. She was suddenly uncertain on whether or not it was smart to give her real name to this suspicious stranger. Still, it was too late to do anything about it now, so she had to go along with it. Besides, there was a million and one reasons why he would pause before giving his name. Retracting her hand, she settled back down into the seat, her eyes staring ahead. "Things that are commonplace..." She murmured allowed, her eyes almost glazing over from staring at the sun. She would figure out the secrets it held; the secrets that allowed one man to sit here staring at it for no particular reason at all.

Ryoshi's heart stopped for an instant when Arya froze and he could see fear and suspicion in her eyes, but it started again when she seemed to accept it and returned her attention to the sun, muttering what he had said to her earlier. Allowing himself to grin, he chuckled.
"You're thinking about it too hard. To truly see things, you have to relax and become receptive to what the world is trying to convey to you. If you're focused on finding meaning in what you see, you'll never find it." he said, trying to act wise. He too looked back at the setting sun. "Just relax, breathe deeply, and watch. Try not to think too hard, if at all." As he sat watching the last bit of the sun slip below the horizon, Ryoshi reflected on how his life had changed even in the last week. Just three days ago, at this time of day, he was slitting the throats of a group who had gotten in the way of his ambitions. Now, he was sitting in the capitol, the place where his enemies were strongest, watching the sun set and giving life advice to a girl who was one of his enemies. And it wasn't just any advice, either. It was the wisdom of his adopted father that he had shared with Arya, and that wasn't a part of his life he tended to reveal to others. Even giving her this one simple piece of advice had Ryoshi feeling edgy, goosebumps that had nothing to do with the cooling air appearing on his arms. He had the sudden urge to fade into the growing shadows and never see this girl again, but he resisted it as best could.

As a Maguilty Sense mage, Arya was familiar with emotions; more specifically, she was able to feel powerful emotions emanating from other people. And she felt something... dark, for such a small sliver of time she couldn't even tell what it was before it was gone, hit her hard in the chest after she'd uttered the words aloud. She blinked at him, her mouth opening but no words leaving; she was in such a state of shock, she could barely move. It was an involuntary reflex to her, to search the emotions of others, but what she felt she had just tapped into was beyond anything she'd ever felt before. Her mind went into overdrive, searching for where she knew him, all while she attempted to main a facade of relaxation. Finally, it hit her: the wanted posters in the guild, the ones she'd put up so many times, clearly depicted his face. Ryoshi, the guildmaster of Draco Maledicte, one of the worst Dark Guilds in Fiore.

Unfortunately, this left Arya with a moral dilemma. Her guild's philosophy, and her mentor's, would be to call for the Rune Knights and have him arrested. But Pygmy Rabbit wasn't the most powerful guild in Fiore, especially after the death of Elcombre, and who knows what would happen if he rallied his guild against them. She'd have to outwit him. "So, Elias, what city do you hail from then?" She questioned nonchalantly, looking down at her hands. The Guildmaster was scouring her brain for all the info she could remember on the dark guild.

Oblivious to Arya's revelations about his true identity, Ryoshi smiled and answered her easily, looking into her eyes.
"Oh, I'm from a very small village near the Forgotten Desert. I don't think it ever really had a name, we just called it 'the village.' Not very high up in the real estate or tourism world, but I liked it. It was peaceful, and everyone cared about everyone else." he said. This was true, and Ryoshi didn't feel any hesitation saying it. The village was remote, and really quite tiny. Finding it was difficult, and finding anyone who remembered him would be even harder. Not long after he finished speaking, the last sliver of the sun disappeared and the world was plunged into darkness, lit only by the magical street lamps that had come to life earlier in the evening. Despite the darkness, Ryoshi felt no compulsion to leave and make his way back to Hell's Valley and his guild. Instead, he settled himself back into the bench, easing the tension that had built up in his muscles. He was, realistically, in no danger. Now that it was dark, he could make a break for it and never be found.

Arya felt the light snuffed from the world as the sun fell over the mountains, and suddenly realized how much danger she was in. She had no idea how strong this guy was, and he could easily attack her under the cover of darkness. The wind blowing against her back, left open by her sundress, chilled her to the bone, and she took this moment to study him. He looked so relaxed, so calm. She'd told him she was perhaps the most powerful mage in one of his enemy's guilds, and yet his confidence hadn't dropped once. She could feel it exuding from his like vapor, filling the air. 'Oh god...' She thought in horror, her eyes widening. 'Just how strong is this guy?' She felt herself panicking, but with a few deep breaths she calmed herself down. She needed to stay calm. While she couldn't arrest him here and now, due to the danger it might pose to her guild, she needed to gather enough information to find out where his hideout was and give it to the Rune Knights. Settling back down in her seat, she looked at the hole the sun had left in the sky, her blonde ponytail falling over the other side of the bench. "So... do you still live there then?" Somehow she doubted it, with his use of the past tense, but hopefully it would prod the dark guildmaster to talk about his current whereabouts.

Encouraged by Arya's lack of hostile response, Ryoshi grinned wider as he responded.
"Nah. As I said before, I'm a wandering mage. Like a nomad, I move around from place to place frequently, lending aid when I see fit." he said, a hint of smugness in his voice. As he spoke, he shifted his body around to face more towards Arya, being careful not to expose his guild mark as he did so. If he could just keep her talking, he had it made. He was sure he could convince her that he was a not a threat as long as he could remain calm.
"How about yourself? Have you always lived here?" he asked, injecting a sense of calm content into his voice. As he waited for an answer, he thought about what Arya had revealed about herself and what it meant. She had said that she was the guild master of Pygmy Rabbit, an incredibly upright group of mages, all strong, located in the heart of the country. That meant that Arya herself must be powerful, most likely above even Ryoshi's level, and that she held tight to a strict moral code that probably held lawbreakers like him in the deepest disgust. Meaning, if she figured out who he was and made a move against him, he was in deep trouble. His best bet was, instead of fighting, to flee at the first sign of trouble. However, if forced to run, Ryoshi will make damn sure that Arya will live to regret invoking the wrath of Draco Maledicte.

Blinking, she settled into her chair, a small smile dancing across her face. Man, that was a loaded question. She didn't allow herself to relax, but she settled at least, deciding to play it more cool. "Nope, not really. I've only lived here for the past three years." She explained, her eyes staring where the stain of the sun had once been, her fists closing slightly. She had one unseen advantage; she could tell if he was going to attack and could, in theory, counter quicker because of it. Of course, this was on the basis that he knew nothing about her. Considering he hadn't recognized her initially, it was safe to assume he didn't know much. She couldn't find anything more to say- her mind was blank at any possible attempts to divulge information from him. Suddenly, an awful, awful idea formed in the blond guildmaster's head. It was highly unlikely that it would work; hell, 9/10 chance it would work. But now that he knew who she was, there was no way he would give away information so carelessly. Taking a deep, shaky breath, she gave a sigh, one slightly too large to be real. "You know what? Sometimes I've considered joining a Dark Guild. Leaving the goody-two-shoes life behind me and saving the world from itself through force. I know that's treasonous talk, but as a fellow mage, you understand, right?" She admitted, her eyes turning fully towards him, sparkling in the dusk left by the sun. "The desire of power." It wasn't like Arya hadn't thought about this stuff before. In fact, it crossed her mind that she thought about it too much. Still, she had too much love for Pygmy Rabbit to leave it behind. She had too much love for him.

"Oh, you have? Thought about the dark path? Sure." Ryoshi thought to himself, smirking inwardly. He knew that the master of Pygmy Rabbit, the guild rumored to be the most lawful guild in all of Fiore, was not likely to stray from the light. Not like he had. In addition, this could be some clever ploy. So there was no way he was going to talk about Draco Maledicte to her.
"Is that so? I can't say that I haven't felt the same, but I could never walk in the dark. If you want to change the world, I believe it's easier to do so outside of the construct of guilds entirely. But if you're into that kind of thing, I hear that a dark guild called Caduceus Scale is making moves. Perhaps you could join them." he said. He thought the red herring at the end was pretty clever. Of course, everything he was saying more or less contradicted his beliefs, but that didn't matter now. Not in this situation, which could be potentially life or death depending on what he said. Now was the time for caution and cunning.
As he ended his miniature speech, Ryoshi looked directly into Arya's eyes and was stuck by a sudden realization that she was really quite pretty. Grinning a little, he shook his head mentally. She was way too young for him, he could tell that, and she was too far on the side of good. However, when the revolution came, he might find a way to make sure that Pygmy Rabbit wouldn't be the first against the wall. He considered it repayment for the kindness, however real or fake it might be, that she had shown him on this night.

The Guildmaster blinked, her eyes widening for a moment as she was thrown off her game. 'Wha- I could have sworn... Oh damn it.' A lazy smile crossed her face, and she shook her head with a chuckle. He'd put her in checkmate.. "Well, I don't really think I have the strength to do it. I suppose it isn't up to me to lead the world in that direction." She replied, sitting up in her chair. She'd failed her mission; she had no chance of getting any information from him now. All she could hope was that she hadn't invoked his wrath. "Well, I should take my leave. She responded, her eyes looking at the spot on the horizon where the sun had disappeared. Standing up, she nodded to him and began to walk away. Stopping, she turned back to the other guildmaster. She'd already revealed her knowledge of his identity; it was time to make a gambit. "I'll see you, Elias. Or should I say... Ryoshi?" It was a risk, and she may have just doomed her guild, but it was one she had to take.

Standing as well, Ryoshi caught Arya's parting words and smiled grimly. It seems that he had revealed his identity after all. However, since she had decided to make it known, he disregarded what he had thought about her. When Draco Maledicte rose, Pygmy Rabbit would be at the top of his list for destruction.
"You foolish girl..." he said, chuckling and shaking his head. As he spoke, black flames began to gather around his body, spiraling upwards.
"If you knew who I was, you should have just played nice. That way, I might have given you a little leniency. But know, you have invoked the wrath of Ryoshi Elias Morgenstern, and all of Draco Maledicte. Because of this, you will fall. One day, you will fall by my hand. I swear this to you this day in the name of my guild. Farewell for now, Arya, guild master of Pygmy Rabbit. This will not be the last you see of me." As soon as he finished speaking, the pillar of ebony flames coalesced in front of him, forming a barrier of sorts. Behind it, Ryoshi darted into the shadows of a nearby alley. If all had gone as planned, he will simply fade into the night and make a clean getaway, while leaving Arya behind afraid for her life and the lives of her guild.