Squatting down, hands on his knees and rocking back and forth on the balls of his feet, Finn stared at the ground in front of him. Down below, scurrying around the moss that was clinging to the base of this random tree for dear life, were a civilization of insects. The occasional worm had made its way across the fuzzy carpet of the earth, a nice change of pace from the overflow of beetles and ants that seemed to take that very route. It wasn't something that was necessarily interesting, but it seemed like everything had grown more dull in the heat.

As the sun beat down and the humidity made his clothes grip him with a damp desperation, a deep sigh found itself from his lips. It was a sign, as much to no one as it was to himself, that he needed something to do. Magnolia had certainly turned out to be a lively place for him, giving him both new acquaintances and the luxury of reconnecting with old ones. Still, no matter how interesting the life there would come boring days. It was an inevitability.

As he reached down and poked at the moss, he heard the sound of feet approaching. Normally he may have missed it with how tuned out he was, but the sound of flip flops smacking against bare feet offered enough of a jar to his attention. Standing and turning, the sound of a few cracks came from his back. "Wooah man," he grunted, stretching his back into itself and putting a hand on his spine. "How long was I like that..?" Asking the question in a mumble to the wind, he turned and edged around the tree, looking at the familiar face that was currently half buried into her handbag.

"Hey Alisa!" His voice sparked out with excitement, a hand raising up to hail her attention before dropping back down, walking a bit closer to her. "It's been a while, how've you been?"

Alisa had always been a member of Blue Pegasus whom Finn felt a special relationship with. She was without a doubt one of his best friends in the guild, and likely one of his best friends in general. She was also likely the ace of the guild in his eyes. While he had absolutely no doubts of his own physical abilities and latent potential with his sword, the fact still stood that she was a mage. As much as she worked to take care of her physical health as well, he wouldn't be surprised if she had more power output than he did.

With those things in common, she was one of the people who he fully let his guard down around. No apprehensiveness, no feelings of idiocy, simply the enjoyment of her company. As she greeted him and patted the seat next to her, he smiled and nodded before making his way into its vacancy. "Same to ya," he started with a laugh, resting his hands on the bench to either side of his legs and looking at her with a smile plastered upon his face.

She inquired into what he had been up to while she produced something to begin working on. It was red, looking very similar to a crystal. The only crystals he had seen though were blue or white in nature, not this vibrant and almost translucent red. Aside from that, she was sculpting through it as if it were not there at all. "Not much," he started to answer her question.

His mind raced back to when they last parted and the things that had happened in between. Much had happened, and yet for the first time ever he felt like he didn't hold onto them as memories. Each occurrence still felt ongoing, as if he were still being sculpted by it even now. "Went into some dungeons. Killed some junk. Found a new sword. Fought some bad guys in Era." He was listing the things off as if he were recounting a day at the office before flashing her another smile, locking eyes. "What about you?"

"That sounds interesting too though. It's a good thing you've stayed busy, I think." The briefest of moments he ran through what she said in his mind again. When her comment on the pervert replayed through his mind, he could not help but imagine her her as an angry recipient of the perversion. While no wild images bore their way into his mind, the idea itself was enough to tilt his cheeks pink and cause a little bit of a laugh. "The guy had no idea what was coming his way." Alisa was not just one of the strongest mages in Blue Pegasus, she was arguably one of the strongest on the continent. If she got her hands on that pervert, he could only imagine what she'd done to him.

"Definitely!" His voice had a bit of excitement in it as his mind wondered through the adventures he had been on recently. For a moment, Finn's joy seemed to falter. Something had obviously popped into his mind and caused him to pay it particular attention. This was not to say he looked upset or anything of the sort, merely that the happiness had been shifted.

"Hey," he started, glancing at her. "Have you heard of anything strange happening since we last met up?" As he asked it, he stared at her momentarily. It was as if it took the slight pause for him to realize that he had not given enough information. In reality, he hadn't thought of a better way to expand upon it. "There was some weird stuff that happened in Magnolia. Explosions, and strong people. Jake actually got really hurt there, and so would I if he hadn't been so ready to act."

As he spoke, his mind began racing back to the events. "I was about to kill the one guy who did it, but then..." His nonchalant way of addressing death was one that put many light mages into a bit of an uncomfortable position. As good a person as Finn may be, his views on life and death were certainly different than others.

"Someone strong showed up. Every instinct was telling me that I had to put him down then and there, or a lot of people would be in danger. But then I was asleep. It was weird... Have you heard anything? About weird groups, or strong people?"

Alisa was one of the few who would not just dabble in something serious. She would devote herself to it, hearing someone out completely and making sure she gave it proper attention. It was who she was, and it was a trait that made her both a great friend and a great member of Blue Pegasus. One thing she did though, regardless of whether or not she realized it, was assume others viewed some things in a similar way. Or, at the very least, she projected her views onto others.

For while Finn spoke of nearly killing this man, although he did not know that her mind went there, she felt a sort of empathy for the man. As if killing was some grand taboo, something to never be approached. She was treating death as a last option, something to be avoided, or something to be looked at critically. While she was not necessarily wrong, it was not at all how Finn thought. That was not to say that he would enforce his beliefs on her or anyone. He was not that type of guy, and wouldn't resort to such methods in this situation. It wouldn't even bother him that she thought of it that way.

He certainly didn't, though. To him, life and death were things that went hand in hand. Those who wished to enter their world of prey and predator knew full well what they were getting into. Even if they did not, they would learn soon enough. One did not become a mage without acknowledging, even if only subconsciously, that their life could become forfeit at any time. They had to understand that it was not a guarantee that they'd come home safe every single day. They entered a world that transcended the bounds of the ordinary, and they did so while surrounded by others of the same caliber who all wanted different things. Whether or not it was their intention, it was a real risk. It was natural.

To Finn, it was an expected result. One didn't spend their life growing up in the woods learning to fear taking a life. One did not swing around a sword with the intent to ensure his enemy lived. To her, it was something solemn and to be looked at as a serious act. To him, it was a fact of life.

Regardless of that, her words soon came in answer to his question. It was not necessarily the answer he wished to hear, but it was an honest one that at least crossed off one place go get leads. Furrowing his brow and crossing his arms, he thought about the subject again. He hadn't delved too much into it once it happened, but it was something that had never left his mind. Even now, the whole incident with the being known as Cell was something on his mind. Was he somehow connected to the thing at Era? It was so much to process...

Too much.

With a grunt, Finn brought his hands to his head and ruffled his hair in frustration. Soon, she asked a rather important question. Glancing at her with soft eyes and a grateful smile, he nodded. "Jake's fine. He said he has a scar on his arm, but it's so thin that it can't even be noticed. He was hit while his body was gigantic, so it's not too surprising... But even if it was bigger, his hair covers it up completely." He didn't know if Alisa knew of Jake's titan magic, but even if she didn't she'd likely be too respectful of the subject to press- Or not.

"So," he began, deciding a change of subject was in order at least for the time being. "What brought you to Magnolia? Anything in particular? Or anything interesting enough to make you stay long enough to run into me?"

Her sigh of relief was a sort of wake up call for Finn. The emotion in her voice, albeit quiet and baited, made him look at her with a minor amount of concern. Sometimes, in his travels, it was easy to forget that he had friends in the guild. Friends who cared about him. Looking down at his hands for a moment, he wondered whether or not he was a bad friend. After all, while he certainly cared for them and would go out of his way to assist them, he would do such a thing for a complete stranger. There was very little in what made them different from just random people on the street. Perhaps it could be argued he shared more information with these guild mates, but other than that?

As she moved on the conversation, Finn looked up with an inhale of relief. Exhaling slowly, as if to allow all those negative thoughts to take their time leaving, he smiled at her and sat back in his seat. "Sounds good to me. If you say so she must be a pretty good person." Though he and Alisa had not shared all their most intimate secrets, he was not so oblivious as to remain in the dark of all her quirks. She was not comfortable around large crowds, nor was she too receptive to strangers in small doses. For this person to have gotten to know her well enough to be invited to the guild, they must be an interesting individual indeed.

Their eyes had met for them to exchange a few words. As she winked and chuckled, Finn's cheeks tinted a delicate rose color as he nervously laughed. Hand going behind his head and ruffling the back of his hair, he shrugged. "I'm not sure I can make Magnolia much more than what it is though," he said with a sigh, looking out at the park before them. "Don't get me wrong, it's a beautiful place. I like the nature, and the park gives me a feeling of home in a weird sense... Though home was never this organized." His voice trailed off with a bit of a stale undertone, as if criticizing how well kept the area was.

Before he could continue on with his complaints, she handed the sculpture she had made. He looked at the dog that was depicted, elegant and howling at an unseen moon. Offering a quick laugh, Finn rested it on his lap and placed both hands on it. "Thanks... Jake might be a little jealous when he sees that you prefer other dogs, though." With a laugh, he could practically imagine Jake beginning to defend himself. "I'm noble! I'm handsome! I can be sculpted!" Likely not the exact words he'd use, but Finn wasn't the best at putting his own thoughts into Jake's words, even if they were never made audibly and kept within his head.

"Well what would you be feeling up to? I leave any and all plans up to you, I'm no good at that junk."

"You should visit sometime- My home that is. It's in Worth Woodsea, near its center. If you're ever in the area and you see a house in the trees, shout up for me. If I'm there, I can give you the tour with Jake. We're planning on making our way back soon." As she spoke on of Jake and her lightly teasing response, Finn couldn't help but let a small laugh escape. Jake wasn't one to get easily offended, but he was one to find obscure reasons to pout. It was odd. Knowing him well enough, Finn could tell he didn't do it due to genuine disappointment. The exact reason though was lost on him.

As she spoke of the fairy tail members, Finn crossed his arms and leaned back in the bench. It was true, another light guild called this place home. Finn had not seen many of their members, perhaps none of them. The idea that they were here consistently made him wonder of their guild hall would be a fun place to go. He could try challenging some people there for sparring matches. Maybe they'd accept, maybe they'd laugh him off. It would be better than doing nothing regardless the outcome, and if he let himself become too stir crazy it'd only result in negative consequences.

Her suggestion then came as a positive idea for him. The thought of exploring more of the nature that Magnolia had to offer, however limited, made him excited. It wasn't as if woods were scarce within Fiore. He had seen many of them, traversed them both alone and with others. It was one of the events that one would assume had become boring for Finn, but it was quite the opposite. He loved being in nature, exploring new aspects of it, and getting to interact with people throughout.

For a moment Finn paused, and then a laugh erupted from his lips. Covering his mouth to try and stop it, he quickly found himself unable to do so. Leaning forward, one hand on his knee and the other reaching up to her shoulder, he pat her a couple of times. "Alisa, I just tried to imagine you camping and it was one of the funniest things I've ever thought of," he said between chuckles, sitting back up and wiping tears from his eyes. "Don't get me wrong, you're tough and all. But I know how much you value your appearance too. I just imagine you looking for a shower behind every tree."

With that statement, the chuckles were back as he stood up. Turning towards her and offering her a hand of assistance, he offered a grin. "Lets go!" Regardless of if she allowed him to help her stand, he would begin leading the way towards the forest. He knew of it, and its location. He'd simply not gone yet. It was one of those events in which someone had become so bored that they avoided doing things that would end the boredom. A terrifying paradox that often plagued adventurers, it seemed.

"Sounds like we're going to have to test it out then," he said with a grin, the joy and amusement being heard in his voice. She was one of the members he was closest with, and after this meeting he felt as if they were actual friends. Not to say that he didn't enjoy her presence before. He also had always given her a certain level of trust. To say that they were friends before now though would be quite the statement, considering they hadn't particularly bonded before as they did now. Unlike before, there was no sense of awkwardness between them. They shot back and forth with comments and enjoyed each others presence fully.

As they made their way from the area, he wondered whether or not they'd ever get the chance to take on a larger challenge together. They had always been in talks of doing something together. A quest or an adventure, finding a dungeon or job that pushed them both to their limits. Neither one of them knew if it'd ever happen, but the world had a tendency to act crazy. For all they knew, there was something coming up soon. Something that would force them both to act, and something that would put them both at risk.

Until then though, they would both be doing their own thing.

[exit]