[Maruem]

~ Mood Music ~

Unseen to the sleeping world of Gaia, the cool air was waking up. Far to the east, a sliver of copper and violet slowly peaked up over the black void of night sky. It smiled over the distant peaks with the delicacy of a single brush stroke.

Soon enough, the entirety of the distant sky was violet, with the ever brightening horizon a mix of marigolds and bright tangerines, and a line of crimson along the bottom of the horizon. Birds began to peak up their heads as the night was chased away, and the blazing sun climbed over the far off mountains, pushing its light into to the tree tops of the forest.

The golden light pierced through a gap in Maruem's blinds. His dark wood walls weren't enough to absorb it all, and it quickly overwhelmed the darkness and lit up the room. Eventually, the rays reached the head of his lance, resting against the wall not far from the foot of his bed. The gleaming metal flashed to life.

Mostly blinded by the full brilliance of the dawn sun flashing his eyes while he'd been sleeping comfortably, Maruem sat on the edge of his bed in recovery mode. He yawned loudly as his arms stretched high above his head, his pectoral and abdominal muscles feeling the strain of the stretch only at the tail end.

He rose from his warm new old bed to a slight breeze coming in his open window. His bed. He sighed at the strange new thought, a smile curling at the corners of his lips. That was something new. Gaia had made him used to owning nothing save for what was on his person. Having a home, having a bed, having even a blanket was a new joy in this world. He shook the warm covering and draped it carefully over his new bed, smoothing any wrinkles out of the soft fabric as he worked.

His blinds were now fully pulled open and his room shone brilliantly in the earliest hour of dawn. His UI told him it was just a little after six thirty now, and the light breeze told him today would be a gorgeous day, or at least it would have been were Maruem not so intently focused on a single little icon. He looked at it closely, his brain trying to make his eyes see something other than what he was looking at.

Sure enough, there was a little bubble with Kat's icon on it, and next to it a little purple notification bubble letting him know that his friend had not only likely listened to the whole message, but also replied. By default the notification would have been a bright red, but the gods of Gaia were kind enough to offer customizable UIs.

Maruem stared the little bubble down for a long while, challenging it to go away and exist only as an illusion, but it stayed locked in place before him. Anxiety welled up in his chest as a slow dread filling his being. Had he been too needy in his message, had he been to rude about Kat's idea to split up a week ago? He didn't have an answer to those doubts. He'd made a habit of facing his concerns head on, but there was a nagging fear here. There was too much at stake.

He couldn't shake the fear that he would alienate himself from her. They'd known each other for years. He was basically another brother for her twin. Sure, they'd never met in person, but the countless late nights they spent trying to work around each other's time zones to game and chat, and the growing depths of their vulnerability with each other were precious to him. He loved both of the Summers twins dearly, and he'd been in love with Joel for a while now. A love he was convinced he'd never act on. He had such a good friendship with both the Summers twins that risking a confession was an impossible ask.

And now he was panicked that he'd ruined it with who he was in Gaia. Who he'd become and who he wasn't ready to be. Kat was, for all intents and purposes, the only person in Gaia he had any real bond with outside of the game. Somehow the fear of his feelings or behavior in any way distancing that connection was too unapproachable, too unbearable to let himself see the response. Would she see him for how he felt right now? Immaturely relying on others again instead of being a leader of his own?

He sat paralyzed, barely breathing as he processed everything he was risking. For a moment longer, he hesitated, before closing the interface with a wave of his hand and returning to the tasks ahead of him. He let his head go empty as he fell into routine. He did some stretches to limber himself up before walking out of his room and into the Guild Master's office, the door shutting with a small thud behind him.

He opened the long expanse of blinds that covered the windowed overhang. The room was painted immediately in golden light, and looking out the window, Maruem could see the entire manor still bathed in shadow from the forest beyond, but much more visible than the night before. It looked ready to be lived in, the courtyard in desperate need of people lounging with cups of tea and training their skills and weapon proficiencies and others still just playing games or sports together. He could see it playing out before his eyes, and a warmth filled his chest and he smiled down at the potential future this home had waiting for it.

Maruem turned, straightened the sturdy desk out a bit, and step by step made his way down the stairs and out of the lonely room. He made his way across the balconied third floor of the tower, an empty platform overlooking the library. A door at the end of the balcony would have led out onto the roof, but he descended further and from there he made his way to the first floor of the library and out a sliding door into the courtyard.

A light breeze blew above his head, and he heard leaf and tree alike sway in the wind as it danced over them. In the shade down there, surrounded on three sides by tall building, it was a bit chillier than it had been up high, and Maruem felt a light shiver take his spine from his shoulders and neck down as he made his way toward the living room, directly under the second story living quarters.

He looked around and found a scrap pit of paper that looked relatively unsoiled behind the bar. Making a little note for his new house mate, he placed it on the table nearest the door in the mess hall, and made his way out into the mild weather out front. For the curious reader, the note read: "Dear Ciriodhul and Sola, Good Morning! I hope you found your new home a comfortable place to sleep. Feel free to deal with whatever business you may have in or out of the house, and to explore the grounds to your heart's content. I will be out for a few hours this morning to handle getting some supplies for the house and to register my new guild mates. If you have any questions or concerns, or if anyone comes to the house while I am away, feel free to send me a little message and I will do my best to get back to you as soon as I can. Have a wonderful morning in your new home! Yours truly, Maruem. P.S. Sola, keep him out of trouble alright?" The post script had a little smiley face with a winking eye looking up at the reader, a clear sign of the jest intended with it's writing.

Word Count: 1329 (claimed at 1069)
Total Word Count: 1329 (claimed at 1069)

[Maruem]

Maruem shut the grand double doors of the front entrance behind him and walked down the steps of the stone porch, turning toward the front gate of the city when he reached the bottom. The gate lie only a short distance from his own front door. A prime location really. He could easily imagine travelers or caravans stopping by on their way out to hire an extra guard from Astra before they crossed the river Aniene and went off into the unknown dangers of the forest beyond.

As Maruem stepped off of his new property and onto the main road, he noticed a young fellow waving him over. The young human of short blonde hair seemed concerned and skittish as Maruem approached the small grove of trees by which he stood.

"Anything I can help with young man? Are you alright?" He asked earnestly of the boy.

"Aye, I am, but my friend, he uh... he's been hurt. Our pops is sick so he can't bring in money right now. We figured we could go out and hunt a few of the fetter boars for some meat and sell the rest, but my brother... he's hurt pretty bad." The boy drifted off with the ending.

It was clear that the young man before him was stressed and anxious, and Maruem quickly asked that he take him to his brother. They walked away from the dawn touched North-Eastern gates of Romalia, across Balthazar's Bridge, the large bridge which crossed over the Aniene river and, among other roads, connected the main road from Tivoli to Romalia. The bridge, unlike its sister structure in the form of Maruem's guild hall, was well maintained, and it stood sturdy and strong, with no large cracks or points of notable wear for one to concern themselves with. The young lad led the guild leader across the structure to the other side of the river and into the start of some more heavily forested area.

"How far?" Maruem asked, intentionally keeping his question short as they moved quickly down the road. The young lad seemed nervous as he responded, more out of breath than he should have been.

"N...not far. Just o..off the road over that w...way." He pointed off in the distance to a bit of clearing between some of the denser bushes and tree growth of the area.

They covered the distance quickly and turned into the clearing to find more than one person there, none of them visibly injured save for one with plenty of bandages on his limbs, though he seemed to be in good shape given how he comfortably leaned off the side of a cart.

"Oh, what a relief! You've already been tended to! That's your brother isn't i-" Maruem was cut short as he turned to face the lad who had led him out a ways from the city. A heavy blunt object had slammed him in the back of the head, and he could not move, at least momentarily.

The bulky man lowered the his shield after the activation of Shield Bash and chuckled.

"Too easy, good work Rikhart, I wasn't sure you'd be able to pull it off." He said to the boy.

Maruem was stuck looking at only his former guide, completely unaware of his surroundings in his stunned state. It did not take long for the consciousness to return to his body, but there was already a burlap sack over his head once he did. He could hear coins clinking as a sack was tossed into the boys hands not far to his side, and felt the unfamiliar sensation of cold steel cuffs around his wrists.

A firm palm found its way onto his shoulder and squeezed it roughly, and he presumed it to be the Lizard Faunri that had struck him. Based on the skill Maruem assumed had been used on him, he was dealing with someone who was more likely than not a vanguard.

"Sit." The vanguard said, his scaled palm would have been enough, but his sharp talons dug into Maruem's flesh as he pushed him down to sit on the ground. Maruem offered very little resistance.

"You. You're in trouble now buddy. You messed with the Blazing Drakes and we won't stand the disrespect. That old rundown outpost you decided to make your home in? That was our turf."

Maruem suspected that there had been squatters living there, but he'd hoped they were the sort the respected property law enough to just move on once he became the rightful owner. "I legitimately purchased an abandoned property, it wasn't an act of disrespect. If you're squatters that were living there before I bought it, I'm sorry that inconvenienced yo-"

A scaly hand striking across his cheek cut the sentence short. "Oh shut up. We know the town guard warned you about us. Speak when given permission, Got it?"

A heat rose in Maruem's chest. He bite his tongue trying to hold back but it didn't help. After an uncomfortable silence Maruem retorted. "...Is that permission then? Or were you just gonna stand there like a moron until I died of boredom?"

Another smack connected with his shrouded face, but a voice laughing at the exchange broke past the pain. The Vanguard turned to focus his frustration on his companion instead, roaring at him to shut up too. After a frustrated huff he returned his attention to Maruem.

"Anyways, you immortal types, rumor has it you're valuable merchandise nowadays. Know why? Certain unfavorable types can suck you right dry for a price and you just come right back. They'll pay a pretty penny for an unlimited supply like yours. Don't make the mistake of thinking this is our first job or anything. Even if you're just an Alv with dirty blood, there are certain clients who consider your type a meal fit for a refined palette, not that that means much to us. We'll find a way to make your life plenty miserable, don't you worry about that."

Maruem had to hope it was a bluff and call it. Any doubt among them could not go unchecked. "There's legal ways of getting the same thing done, and much cleaner too. And if the Nozgorim want an under the table meal, so to speak, they can definitely do better buying from established suppliers than a couple small timers like you with little experience and sloppy technique. How many guards do you think saw your buddy lead me out here?"

A harsh growl of barely restrained rage came through gritted teeth as the vanguard tried and failed to contain himself. It didn't help that one of his companions seemed to agree with Maruem enough to make the vanguard roar at him instead of Maruem. "Shut up, they don't know anything about us, and once we sell this pissant we'll build even more of a reputation as a couple of guys who get stuff done. If this little shit backtalks me once more though, so help he gods, I will tear that sack off and strangle him myself. We'll see how long his stupid face can handle my claws."

Maruem shrugged quite visibly from his cross legged sitting position and said "Sure thing. If you don't want me looking smug under here, should I start frowning? Maybe a grumpy face while we're at it? Anything for you boss."

Again an angry noise through clenched lizard teeth at the commentary from the captured Gladiator, and again his friend laughed.
"You know... I was trying to be po-lite. I was trying to hold back so as to not spoil our product, but It seems you're incapable of holding your tongue. I'll just have to hold it for you."

"Leon, don't go too far, they want him alive, he's no good to us if he respawns in town.."

"I know that already! He'll heal, eventua-" He began to say as he lifted the burlap from Maruem's head, but the moment the Gladiator felt the fabric begin to rise, he sprang into action. By the time he could see, he was well into mounting his counterattack.

While they had been speaking, Maruem was taking stock of his situation. His lance was still up in his room in the house. It was useless to him. His dagger was in his bag, too inaccessible at the moment. His fingers fidgeted around the cuffs and he felt something familiar. A coarse powder came off the metal along with tiny flakes, and he knew exactly what he was dealing with. Rust. Rust and an angry moron trying to make a bit of gold off human lives. He didn't have any info on the companion but he couldn't afford to hold back any longer.

Maruem jumped up enough to swing his arms under him, and brought the chain behind the lizard man's head. With a harsh tug he slammed the lizardman's face into his knee, a loud crack resounding from the impact. With the sharp twang of mild steel shattering, the cheap, rusted, and worn restraints sundered with ease. His wrists screamed from the motion, but his hands were free to move once more. The vanguard tore his head away as a spray of blood came from his snout and a groan escaping his mouth.

Now able to get a bearing of his surroundings, Maruem could pick up details on the other individual who had spoken. His forearms, shins, and neck were all wrapped in bandages but they seemed more for style than for function. Aside from that, he wore a loose robe and was fumbling for his tome. A mage, and judging by the colors and symbols he bore, a pyro. His theory was confirmed when a bolt of red heat flashed past him.

"Only two dragons then? I see. To you two fools who dare hunt unfamiliar prey, learn this lesson now; No fire burns nor wing flies in the void of space, and I am its pinnacle, The Eclipse. Stay yourselves and your lives will not be forfeit, but chose to fight and I will teach you the meaning of fear."

"The Eclipse? Fuck you! We're after Maruem! Using cheap shots like that is a cowards way to fight!" Groaned the vanguard.

Maruem was taken aback for a moment. If not for the shear stupidity of the response he got, he would have almost been pleased they misunderstood. Did the guy expect him to just take the beating and let himself be sold into slavery? Just how dumb were these guys? The Pyro fired a few more bolts but the again missed their mark.

The vanguard made a few very slow attacks with a log he had picked up and tried using as a makeshift weapon but it just was not working out for either of them. Maruem backflipped out of the way of another of the wide swings from the vanguard and then lunged into his belly, wrapping his arms around the faunri's torso. With a roar he lifted the heavy man up onto his shoulder and swung him down, slamming him onto his back with a rush of air being forced from the vanguards lungs upon impact.

The sorcerer seemed desperate and fired bolt after bolt, but his aim was terrible, a stray one even hit his own ally on the ground and he paused his casting to apologize. Maruem rose from the dazed vanguard before him and charged the other foe, his hand held at his hip, palm facing forward. As he reached the inept caster he brought his palm forward and slammed it right under the mans sternum. The force behind the strike, combined with the low weight of the opponent, was enough to lift him off the ground a few inches. The sorcerer stumbled and fell backwards into the cart.

"These guys barely knew what they were doing. They didn't even use their skills in the fight."

Maruem tried to understand how they could be so incompetent. The was no reasoning an explanation for it. He couldn't let himself stagnate on the thought for too long. It was after all, to his benefit that they were so weak. Much less concerning for Ciriodhul if he came back after shopping and told him that he was attacked by two idiots than by dangerous men. The Lizard man began to slowly try to get up again, but Maruem grabbed one of the manacles in the cart and smacked it against the lizard man's forehead with a loud rattle from the chain, knocking him back on the ground with a light groan escaping his now unconscious mouth.

He locked the sorcerer's wrists in one set of manacles, the vanguard's in another, and then a third set joined the two men together by the ankles. The lad who brought him there was hiding behind a tree, and Maruem grabbed him by the scruff of his shirt, thankful that at least he did not have to give chase. "Now it's you're turn. Sit." and he put him into the cart with the other two. An additional set of manacles squeaking shut. Three sacks later, Maruem was more or less alone, save for some whimpering from the boy who'd deceived him.

With the quiet settling in after the rush of adrenaline left him, Maruem fell to all fours and vomited. A shiver took him as he thought of how close he was to a truly hopeless situation. He had gotten lucky, and that was all there was to it. If the Pyro had any aim at all, if the Vanguard hadn't overestimated him, if the kid had joined the fight, any one change would have made it a lot harder on him. He heaved as he held himself up off the ground, trying to accept that things were okay now, that he'd handled it and everything was fine. Realistically, maybe it was. The squatters were dealt with, he didn't have any other enemies to consider, the guards had warned him of the threat and he had just been unprepared, but it worked out. So why didn't it feel fine.

---

It was unusual to have such a guest, and especially not so early in the morning. Guardsman Brom had received a request the day before to give one of the nobility a tour of his section of the wall. Whatever their reasons, it did well to work with the politicians of the city rather than against them. And besides, he was usually up early anyway.

Brom guided Count Salafia through their facilities and up the wall to overlook the river Aniene and the forest beyond. The guardsman missed Maruem disappearing into the woods with the blonde man. They stood and discussed recent events up there for a short while, Brom humoring the noble out of an abundance of good manners and caution. He had heard the whispers about the count's reputation.

Not long after he disappeared with a young blonde Gaian, a large man could be seen dragging a cart on his own, with three bound and hooded men in the back. Without the sacks the two would have looked dazed, and the last looking like he was regretting all of his cowardly life choices up to that moment.

Brom, recognizing the man approaching shouted down to him, partially out of concern for the Adventurer and partially thankful for the escape from the noble's intimidating company. Brom excused himself and descended to process the prisoners. After his guide left, Count Salafia, relieved to be rid of his idiot companion, looked down at the scene below with narrowed eyes and a calm smirk.

"Interesting... So his name is Maruem." The count mused softly. This was going to be fun

---

Maruem walked up to the front gate and was greeted but the friendly guard who had met him the day before when he introduced himself as the new owner of the old barracks. "I found my squatters, or rather, they found me." He said with a bit of a forced chuckle. He was trying to get over the situation. "For all their threats, I think it's pretty clear they did not have a clue what they were doing, the big one did mention past victims though, so please investigate that."

The guard looked them over and seemed simultaneously impressed and cautious. "What did... what did they threaten you with then?"

"Something about selling me to the underground Nozgor market, but it really did not seem like they had thought through the process fully, I really hope they didn't know what they were trying to get involved with."

"Well, whatever they were hoping to achieve, they're in custody now. There was a reward out for these two for petty theft, but what's the other lad got to do with this?" The guard inquired, pointing to the blonde man.

"Oh, well he was the one who tricked me into going into their trap. Seems like a relatively new partner since they paid him on the spot for the work."

"Alright then, we'll take it from here I suppose, for what its worth. There haven't been any reports in the area of kidnappings recently, so these guys are probably amateurs on that front at the very least." The guard said as he snapped his fingers and a few guards came out to take charge of the cart and it's passengers. "Now about that reward, if you'd like to come into the gate house so we can get that sorted?"

"Oh no no, no need for all that. Keep the gold reward for future bounties, maybe get your men a good breakfast on me. Just do me a quick favor instead?"

The guardsman hesitated, hoping the noble was not listening in too closely. "What did you have in mind?"

Maruem shook his hands reassuringly. "Oh nothing untoward, I was just hoping you could spread the word that Astra has already started to do its part."

The guard considered the offer for a moment. "Astra you say? That's that guild of yours? Sure... I guess that wouldn't be unreasonable."

"Oh actually, to add to that, If just a bit of the gold from the reward could be used to pay for a messenger to deliver that same message to Lord Parcis in Tivoli, that would be much appreciated."

The guardsman begrudgingly agreed to the second half as well, after a moment of careful consideration.
"So rumors are more valuable than gold to you Adventurer types?" The guard though aloud.

"I don't know that I would go that far, Guardsman Brom. It's just that letting people know that there's another force fighting for hope out there can help both to bring peace to the minds of the people and to bring money to our coffers in the future." Maruem replied earnestly. Making gold was not the main goal of Astra, but he'd be a fool to neglect its value both in equipping his allies and in helping to help grow relations with the public.

Word Count: 3171 (claimed at 2500)
Total Word Count: 4500 (claimed at 1069+2500=3569)

[Maruem]

Maurem stepped away from the cart full of captured attackers. As guardsman Brom's men took charge of the criminals, the higher ranked guard waddled alongside Maruem, his robust and plump physique stretching his tailored uniform just a little as it sat snuggly upon his form. Maruem had thought that their business should be done but it seemed the guardsman had other ideas while they walked closer to the gate. "So... uh, How did it all happen?" he said with some hesitation.

Maruem paused under the arch of the tall gate and turned to face his temporary travelling companion. "Oh, the thugs? pretty simple really, they were complete amateurs, but they sent the blonde one to claim his brother was hurt and I went with him to help. They ambushed me, but couldn't really take a hit so it was over before it could even begin more or less. Hopefully-" He was interrupted by the guardsman stammering just a little. "No not that! You seemed like a nice enough fella when you moved into Great-Granny's old barracks yesterday, but I've been hearing rumors here and there. Some folk have been saying that there'll be a warrior's guild? What's all that about, makin' fine folk nervous like that, an' right under me nose too."

Maruem stepped forward with a hurt smile on his face. "Friend Brom" He began, raising his right hand and resting it on the tubby man's shoulder. "When we spoke yesterday, and again just now, I never lied nor intentionally hid anything. Astra isn't a warriors guild per say. I've started it with the goal of being a shield more than a spear. Astra is not there with the goal of getting into fights or starting conflicts. I wish for my guild and its members to serve as an ally to the people of this world. If we need to fight to stop conflict so be it, but wanton violence is far from what I stand for. It simply will not be tolerated under my leadership. It is sad to me that some currently fear what it may become, but it is understandable with how new we are to this world. You have met me and shown me kindness and friendship, I hope that that can expand and more of us can get along and overcome that fear and unease that seems to have spread. I can only promise that I will not sully the name of the some barracks your great-grandmother once commanded."

Brom shook his head a little. "You didn't seem like bad people. I suppose trusting you with that place won't be the worse thing in the world. Just do me a favor?" "What do you have in mind?" "Don't go catching criminals at dawn anymore, it means I have to get out of bed early and we both know I need as much beauty sleep as I can get." He said with a hearty laugh, his bushy grey mustache dancing from his breath. "I'll do my best. I try not to make it a habit to wake up before the sun, but something about life here this past week has had me up and running earlier than is normal for me."

Maruem had met the rotund guardsman the day before when he introduced himself to the guard in charge of the north east gate. Guardsman Brom seems like a good hearted fellow and they came to getting along quite swimmingly in no time. He seemed devoted to his work and the legacy it carried in his family, but was one of the kinder hearted Landers who viewed Adventurers not as strange threats, but more so as poor people in a tough spot, shunted from their homes. It seemed like just maybe, his family history made him feel some small kinship or empathy for that feeling.

The two men shook hands as the time to part ways came closer. "Thank you much for your help with processing the knuckle heads and getting that message delivered to Baron Parcis. Hopefully all remains peaceful at your gate for the rest of the day, Brom." Brom tipped an imaginary hat at the adventurer and said his own goodbye to send him off safely through his day.

Maruem passed under the shadow of the gate's arch and into the Housing district. "As much as I love the guild hall's location, it's too far from everything useful to me today." He thought with a silent chuckle, realizing just how much walking was awaiting him to do the chores of the day. He had to walk to the center of the city to reach the guild registry and formally add Ciriodhul, Sola, and possibly Axey to the guild. Thinking about it, Maruem realized he also had another person to potentially add to that list, though he was still nervous to open their message.

Mareum walked the main road from the gate at a casual pace, and without listing a finger his menu was opened and he willed for his messages menu to open up and select the lucky target of his communication. He began to think the words onto the menu and soon enough he had a draft up and ready to be sent to Axey. First things first after all, he had to confirm with the member he was almost certain was on board before checking with the one that was a dark horse in the scenario. It was just more prudent.

"Good morning Axey the Axolotl Faunri Bard! Shoot, that was a note, how do I delete that part with my thoughts. Oh gods this is not going to plan at all, I'm just going to restart.
Hello and Good morning to you Axey! Hopefully I'm not waking you with this notification, but I just wanted to pop in and let you know that I'm in the city and will be headed to the Guild registry later to register a couple members for the guild! I know, I said I have to wait but I was a little impulsive and purchased the guild hall that evening and suddenly here I am with two new housemates... and a house! Their names are Ciriodhul and Sola, and we all live at the formerly abandoned barracks outside of the north eastern gate, the one that leads to Tivoli. If you're interested, please do feel free to stop in!. Oh, but back to the point of this message in the first place, I'm headed to the guild registry, if you're still interesting in joining Astra I would love to get you officially registered as well! Do let me know when you get the chance. It will be really nice to see you again and on a more stable basis than just randomly running into each other at a bar after a week."

Maruem mentally imagined hitting the send icon and the message disappeared into the aether if his menu. He looked at the notification that had been sitting there since he had woken up, and decided that waiting longer was only going to torture him, better to just rip the bandage off and deal with what ever the message was. Kat was a kind person, he would not be overly cruel or mean even if it was a rejection, and there was always the hope that he was actually very excited to join the guild. Maruem was about to consciously open the notification when a new one appeared,

"Wow, that was fast..." He thought as he saw that Axey had already replied to his message. Clearly he had not been asleep as Maruem had feared he may be. He opened the new notification with a thought and began to read it silently as he continued down the dawn lit road.
"Waking up? Shit, I didn't realize it was already morning. I'm down to join your guild, but I'm closer to Tivoli than Romalia right now. I think I'm gonna get a couple hours of sleep there and drop by your house in the late afternoon if that sounds good."

"Huh." Maruem thought as he read the message. He was surprised at how quickly his new guildmate had replied to the message. It was a little concerning that despite the sun alright risen a little over the horizon, the bard had yet to realize it was day, but who was Maruem to question the sleep patterns of an axolotl. He quickly began his reply as he began to near the center of the city, not having any excuse to take the long way by going shopping first and then registering his guild mates.

"Excellent! Thank you for the speedy response Axey. I hope you have a great night's... or should I say a great morning's rest today. I look forward to introducing you to Ciriodhul and Sola once you drop by later~ Take care until then!"

It was a good feeling, getting important stuff done. He had one thing left he had to handle before the chores, and it was one he had hesitated on long enough. He reached up slowly and was steeling himself to press the icon. A bit of movement to the right caught his eye. "Ah, miss? May I help you? that laundry seems like quite a lot for just one person." he said, lifting a damp rag from the cool stone road beneath his feet. A pretty lander woman stood not far off with a light glaze of sweat on her forehead, her brilliant ginger hair ablaze in the morning light. She did not stand very tall, likely only about four foot ten inches, or about 147 centimeters, and wore a rather simple long sleeved beige dress, though the sleeves were rolled up, and a brown accent around the waist. With the weather as mild as it was at the time he felt it was clear that she must have already had a busy morning to have worked up a sweat.

"Alright then, lend me your arms stranger." She spoke to him with a mild accent. Maruem obliged and stretched his toned, tan, iron muscled arms out to the woman. She plopped the damp laundry basket into them with a small grunt and they began to walk down the road together. "So, why are you helping me? I haven't the gold for a servant nor the patience for a pet, and my husband would disapprove of anything else." Maruem blushed for a moment at the joke. "Nay miss, nothing of that sort, I'm just something of a new neighbor for the people living in this north eastern sector of the housing district. I'm the new owner of that guild hall outside of the gates you see, and I'd hate to get off on the wrong foot with any of you around here. My name is Maruem by the way." He finished his introduction by shifting the laundry from his face a bit to get access to some eye contact with the woman he was helping. "It's a pleasure to meet you miss."

The woman walked with a surprisingly casual gait, her heels hitting the ground long before her toes as she seemed to almost lean back against her arms, which sat crossed behind her head. After a short pause to thing she responded to him "Odd fellow aren't you? Most warrior guild types tend to focus on their training and monster hunting. What kind of warrior helps carry laundry? And so polite too. I'm the one who should be thanking you here, Mr. Maruem." She accented the ending and stretched it out just a little bit, flirtatiously teasing at his name with the added title.

"I'm not really a warrior anyways. More of a humble shield. Good for carrying things and blocking out your problems. How far did you want this stuff carried by the way? It seemed like the public drying ropes were hanged a bit that ways weren't they?" He indicated with a jab of his head in the general direction behind them and to the right. "Shit! You distracted me!" She pouted at him, looking very flustered. "Alright, as recompense you have to help me hang all of it up. You're taller than me anyways, it shouldn't be very hard for you." Maruem bowed to her with feigned seriousness, a chuckle and smile fighting for control of the corners of his lips. "Of course milady. Anything to make amends for my blunder."

They retraced their steps back to the collection of dangling ropes and Maruem set the wicker basket of clothes down onto a bench. The young lady handed him some clothes pins from her apron's front pocket and grabbed an impressively large shirt to begin hanging. Maruem reached down and found a rather cute looking dark blue sun dress with a floral print on it. He paid little mind to the design outside of noting that it was a dainty and small dress, in contrast to that large shirt, and hanged it up without a second thought.

"So you call yourself a shield huh? Is that what your guild is then? A bunch of shields that carry laundry and help pretty young girls instead of training and fighting monsters?" She paused for a moment before correcting herself. "Sorry, that came off as more aggressive than I intended it. I didn't mean to imply that you weren't doing your part or anything." Maruem had almost interrupted her, but he was not a big fan of interruptions and waited to say his part, hearing her side concluded was nice to, not that it changed his thoughts much, he was entirely unhurt by the accusation.

"I took no offense miss. My guild is admittedly a bit outside of the typical mold. I went in knowing the idea would see some resistance. I think there is a space between helping young ladies like yourself and fighting monsters, one that allows for my guild to exist and me to be proud of it, to see hope in it's future. Non stop training will only serve to tire one out. Non stop fighting will only serve to make one more aggressive. People need balance. The world isn't just fights and preparing for them, anticipating them. Astra, my guild, isn't about that. Instead, I wanted it to look for the humility and humanity. For me, servitude, even in the mundane tasks like laundry, is just as valuable as killing the monster on the street. It is the counterbalance to the brutality of war and slaughter."

He paused before going on. "...It's scary to be in a fight. It's not a fun thing for me, but it's also something I am good at. I've seen the people who get too good at it, the people who realize they like the feeling of that power. I don't want to ever enjoy the fights, to live for them." Maruem felt her eyes staring at him as he wore an expression sterner than he would have liked for a casual conversation with a stranger. "My apologies, that got a bit too serious. Needless to say, Astra will hopefully find the balance between training, monsters, and chores around town."

It did not take long for his companion to ask another question to follow up. "So you said you're good at fighting though? If it is something you don't want to enjoy then why did you get good at it?" She clearly did not hold back on the tougher questions. Maruem considered it for a moment, giving the question the proper respect and thought it deserved instead of just brushing it off.

"I do not live in a world built for me." He began. "Unfortunately it seems the state of the world is naturally to lean toward violence in times of difficulty. I fight the weaker fights because it keeps me in shape for the tougher ones. I fight the tougher ones because if I don't put myself on the line for them, others may get hurt in my stead, and because I know I am strong enough to take it." "Kind of cocky if you ask me, but ok." She said with a roll of the eyes and a tone that very clearly told him she was teasing him again.

Maruem hanged up the last of the big shirts and turned to find that his new acquaintance was already holding the empty basket tucked under her arm. The began to walk back toward the branch that had split off from Maruem's previous path. "I lied to you earlier, you know." She spoke up. "Oh?" Maruem chuckled a little "Did you now. Can't say I blame you for it, big scary stranger out this early in the morning, but out of curiosity which part was the lie?"

She hesitated, which Maruem felt was not like her, though he had known her for only a short while. "I'm not married. I was just ordered to do the laundry for pops today because mum was busy with some errands of her own off a ways in the city, a sick friend or something like that." They reached the intersection not long after that revelation, though it surprised Maruem little, she seems young enough that marriage was possible but not likely. "Well I appreciate your honesty with me now. I can't say I have anything of my own to correct, but I can also understand why you would lie about something like that." He bowed to her with an arm at the waist. "Apologize for leading you astray earlier. Hopefully you find your way home safely. As for myself, I must away to attend to my errands of the day. It was a pleasure to meet you miss. I hope we meet again." "Yeah, thanks for the help, take care."

She exchanged the goodbye rather hastily before wandering off in the opposite direction. Maruem started down the road a ways, thinking about what it was he had been doing prior to catching the stranger. He had been looking at his menu, and there it was, the notification from Katarina, still staring back at him. "No more distractions." He thought as he reached up to press it.

Instead of a text based message for him to read out to himself in silence, it was a recording, just like the one he had sent Kat the night prior. It seemed that Kat had decided to simply reply in kind. Maruem paused the recording and looked around for a place to sit. Not far off was a little public garden with a bench under a young tree. He walked over to the relatively serene looking spot and sat, pressing play to begin the message. He sat there, one second, two seconds, his anticipation growing in the silence. He watched as the recording ticked on and began to wonder if this was Gaia's equivalent of a butt dial. Maybe he had been anxious for the wrong reasons, it wasn't that she was not going to respond favorable, it was that she was not willing to reply at all.

Silence, and yet more silence. Maruem knew he would sit through the whole thing to hear even one word from his friend, but with each second that ticked by, he began to worry more and more what that first word he heard would be. As he was about to begin playing over the options in his head, it was interrupted by a small voice speaking quietly enough that he could not make out fully at first. "guess I'm really doing this, huh?" he thought he heard her say as he tried in vain to make out her murmur, which was followed quickly by a much louder clearing of her throat.

"Well… uh, hi, Klide. Er, Mroczysław. Or, I suppose it's Maruem now. Which do you prefer at this point? God knows I haven't decided when it comes to me. We can probably leave figuring out that mess for another time, though… uh…" Maruem could feel his cheeks tighten up slightly as a smile crept its way into the corners of his lips. A short pause followed, seemingly as she gathered her thoughts just a little bit.

"Seems like my words are failing me at the moment, so I guess we'll start with your situation. I'm glad to hear you're doing alright. Very glad you ended up getting shelter in the end. Suppose it's not really all that much of a surprise that you took to this like a fish to water; you always did seem… huh, how do I put this…?" There was a momentary pause and then the small snort of a diminutive fox girl humored by her own thought. "Well, you're pointedly less of a colossal fuck-up than I am, that's for sure."

The smile on his lips faded away slowly as Maruem listened on and began to pick up on what was going on here. What it was he was being allowed to listen to. Kat had very clearly had a rough first week, one far worse than Maruem's, and all the snark or self-deprecation in the world wouldn't shield him from that.

She continued on praising him. "Seriously though. Look at you. You've already got your shit together to the point where you're buying property in the city. You're a goddamn Romalian home owner. First week in a brand new world, let alone city and culture—which would be hard enough on its own, mind you—and somehow you've managed to swing that. Incredible. Honestly, how on earth do you do that?" Maruem would have blushed at the praise if not for the feeling he had that there was a 'but', a negative reflection to the positive here.

Kat scoffed. "Compare that to me. I could barely last a couple days before managing to fuck everything up. Everything that could have gone wrong, has gone wrong, and I just—" It was crushing to hear. Maruem's pride got the better of him. He was so excited about his new home and guildmates that he had not been nearly considerate enough about the other side of the coin, about how Kat would feel hearing him boast about what he had accomplished. The Thought was halted with a sharp breath.

A few more ticks of the message progress bar, and the voice returned. "…Look, I'm sorry. This really isn't how I wanted my happy little reunion message to go. I… I'm happy for you. I really, truly am. I'm so, so glad you've managed to land on your feet with this." A momentary pause interrupted the message, but not for long. "…Wait, no, no, that's definitely not what I meant to say either. I know you about as well as anyone who's only ever really held a conversation with you over voice chat possibly can. You didn't just get lucky here. I don't want to diminish the sheer impressiveness of what you've managed to achieve already, because you worked damn hard for this, I know you did. A hell of a lot harder than I have, that's for sure. Ever since we split up, I—"

Another silence followed. Maruem sat unmovingly, as if he were petrified. Waiting in silence for whatever came next. "Ugh. I 'spose I probably ought to come clean on what I was thinking with that masterful plan, huh? 'Let's explore what the new world has to offer on our own', God, it's almost comical how strongly that statement stinks of pure bullshit, really." Looking back at it now, Maruem could not help but feel that Kat was right in calling it such. "…Look, the truth is, I've got no idea what I'm doing. Everything I've done from then to now has just been to sate my ego. To try and… God, I dunno. Prove I'm in control, or some stupid shit like that. Prove I've got any control over this situation." Maruem hung onto her words as they trailed into another pause. Hearing it said by her, he was beginning to realize that he felt like he never gained control over the situation. He had barely enough control over himself to stay out of trouble this past week. "Saying it aloud hurts. It's not like it's news to me, I knew damn well why I suggested it. But saying it aloud just feels like proof. Proof that I really don't hold a candle to the other Adventurers stuck in Romalia."

Under her breath, she muttered something even fainter than the first words of the message, and Maruem could not make it out at all. The muttering was followed by the longest silence yet. Maruem was almost worried that the message was over, there was little enough time left on the progress bar that it could have theoretically ended with that, but fortunately it did not. After a long while of waiting, as Kat had presumably been mulling over what she wanted to say the night before, the words finally returned again.

"Look. I think it's fairly safe to say that you've done damn well for yourself. I'm proud of you. I really am. There's… well, there's a lot we should talk about. But not right now. Not like this. I… well, I don't know whether you really still want to talk to me in person after this hot mess we're dubbing a voice message, but if you do, just tell me where and when and I'll be there. I promise. Can't guarantee I'll be nearly this chatty and willing when I'm not indulging in that extra spicy cocktail we call heavy sleep deprivation and high stress, but… well, I'll try. I can promise you that. We can talk about that guild you mentioned as well. As bad as I am at life in general, we both know I'm a godsend when it comes to managing these kinds of things. I'm more than happy to help you guys if you need me. I was heading to Tivoli, see if my luck's any better outside the city limits, but… I suppose we'll see what happens. Hopefully I'll be talking to you later. Ciao."

Maruem let the last second of the recording tick away before he tapped the little red 'X' and let it close. He sat there looking at the stone path, it's creases filled to the brim with dirt and gravel. He did not really have much in the way of choices anymore. He was mentally kicking himself for waiting with the message, for not checking in earlier, for being inconsiderate when he did check in. Of course, it all led to the opportunity to have this conversation now. He opened his menu and typed out to Kat. "Meet me in Romalia ASAP. I'm on my way to the forum as we speak. I'll meet you there."

Maruem hit the little send button as he stood, took a brief moment to stretch out just a little and limber himself up, and he was off, headed at a decently paced run toward the center of Romalia's cityscape, inside the inner wall where he had first met up with Kat. The Forum of Romalia. For now, his errands could wait.

Word Count: 4532
Total Word Count: 3569 + 4532 = 8101