Roman walked down the streets of Crocus with his bag slung over his shoulder. It was filled with all sorts of personal belongings that kept him company while he stayed here. It was time to go home however, he was running low on funds and he needed to get some jobs done. Rumors circulated in the shadier parts of town that several opportunities were popping up left and right in Oak. This was something that peaked his interest as he had not been home in a while. Not to mention with some of his recent endeavors he might have raised some eyebrows with his actions. So it was time to disappear before he became too well known and he would have the authorities breathing down his back on the regular. That was not something he was too fond of. Looking over his shoulder more than usual would only prove to create more anxiety than desired. So he needed to skip town quickly, but the issue was Oak was a good distance. There was a carriage on the outskirts of town that would make the trip a bit easier. He paid what he had left in jewels to hitch a ride. There may be others going on the trip which would be fine. Roman enjoyed meeting new people and possible new targets.

Of course he would not act on anything while on the ride home. Just more or less get to know folks before getting home. Not to mention talking to others would certainly make the trip a bit more enjoyable. It was only a mere twenty minutes before he reached the meeting spot on the outskirts of town. Right outside of crocus there was a giant forest that surrounded the area with various paths that went to different cities. Roman let out a big yawn before looking around and down at his watch. He would only wait near the path were the carriage was supposed to be. It was not long before he heard the clopping of hooves hitting the pavement behind him. Roughly ten minutes had passed by before the carriage arrived. It stopped and Roman looked around for a moment as if he was waiting for others.

The shower seemed to have freshened her up a little. At least she had lost the stranger with red hair called Shin. He probably wasn’t going to try too hard to track her down and the thought made her smile, relieved. Although she was carrying two bags that were sort of heavy for her, the fact that she was going back home gave her some kind of strength. After asking for a map from the lady at the inn’s reception, she found the shortest route to Oak Town. It wasn’t just a route that could be traveled by foot, but several carriages and other vehicles used it too. Maybe she could hire one if she finally got tired of walking with two heavy bags full of clothes, makeup supplies and other stuff that she took with her on travels. Ignoring the curious stares she received from the many people walking around in the streets (probably because of her elf ears) Bianca strode quickly in one direction, determined azure orbs focused forward.

“Hey there, pretty, are you looking for a ride?” said a stranger she just walked past, not even bothering to answer, but the question made her think for a moment and after a few steps, she stopped, turning to face the man who wore a sly smirk.

“How much to Oak Town?” she asked in a serious tone, but the man gave her a confused look and then began to laugh, which revealed the nature of their question. “Pfft, fuck off,” said the phantom with a grimace as she immediately spun on her heels and continued walking.

It took a while, but finally Bianca reached the outskirts of Crocus, where she could see a forest. She wasn’t sweating yet, but she could feel her arm starting to ache a lot. Almost exactly the moment she arrived, she could hear the sound of hooves hitting the earth which caught her attention immediately. It was definitely a carriage. Perfect timing. She almost ran to it, asking the carriage driver if there was an empty seat, to which the driver replied with a nod and just told her to pay. She fished out some jewels from her purse and handed it to the driver, then got on the carriage, dropping her bags in the space in front of her and huffing out of exhaustion. Her cheeks were pretty red and puffy as well.

Roman was taking in the scenery at the point of carriage entering into the scene. At the sounds of hooves he picked up his duffle bag and slung it over his shoulder. He turned to the entrance of the city and just awaited the carriage to stop. The man looked around for a moment and only noticed it was just Roman for the moment. The man on the carriage only gave a shrug and spoke calmly. “Climb on board, you two seem to be the only ones going today.” Roman would only give a nod and climb into the back of the carriage. He opened the door and climbed in. 'Just the two of us? Well I guess I have someone to keep me company for the long ride home.' He thought to himself at the point of climbing in. He would see a foreigner, someone not of this land already sitting with her legs crossed. Looked like she was a bit winded to be honest. Roman did not make any specific facial expression, he just got himself situated. His bag rested next to him on his right side as he sat directly across from the lady. The carriage was a stagecoach model, could carry maybe four people max anyways. Four plus luggage could get a bit cramped so it was a silver lining to only two of them traveling. Roman would only reach out the window and give a tap that would signal the driver that he was in. He would then relax his shoulders back as he sat back on the chair. Thankfully the inner coach was a bit more padded to make the ride enjoyable at least. Maybe Roman would be able to catch some sleep while on the move. Of course this was after having some form of interaction. The man gave a responding “Hyaa!” as he snapped the reigns of the horse to move forward.

The carriage would only tug a bit before pulling off with the two inside as the horses began to move forward. They weren't running so there was no fear of whip lash thankfully. Roman looked around in the carriage before breaking the ice with the female. “The name is Roman Astoria, but you can call me Roman. Pretty nice travel arrangements for such short notice.” His words would come off as a friendly tone to make sure he meant no harm for the moment. For once he started off giving his name, maybe it was she was a female compared to the last few lads he met. He finally was able to examine her quickly as his eyes scanned her up and down. 'Particular ears, yet another new race of beings that inhabit this planet. First the wolf boy now this pointed ear gal.' He was recapping his mental notes but made sure not to draw attention to her differences to not offend her. He could tell there was something different about her just through smell alone. She would not know it but dragon slayer's have a keen sense of smell and he knew when someone was not a normal mage. He would only look out the window for a moment to admire the scenery as they moved past it. Crocus was getting further and further away each moment that passed by. Thankfully they were on a pleasant path so it was not too bumpy of a trip.

Roman would only chuckle for a moment before speaking to himself out-loud. “You would think by now with magic present in the world we would have found a quicker mode of traveling that is inexpensive. Or not a way point transfer.”

978/1300

Soon after Bianca seated herself, a blonde man joined her on the carriage and sat opposite to her. He had a single bag, which she was immediately jealous about. She wished she could fit all her things into one bag too. Maybe he had with him a magic bag that could fit more than what it looked it could. Bianca expected more people to arrive, although she hoped otherwise, seeing how just her bags took up a lot of space in the vehicle. The realisation prompted her to pull her bags closer to her, which might have appeared as though she was worried that the stranger was going to steal her things. “I’m sorry I’m taking up so much space,” she told him with a nervous smile, just to clarify the true intention of her action. Shifting in her seat until she felt comfortable before the carriage took off. It looked like it was just the two of them. The stranger seemed like a friendly person, confirming this thought by introducing himself.

“I’m Bianca Fleur. Thankful that I bumped into this carriage on my way. I actually planned to walk all the way to Oak with these bags because I was in a hurry, but I’d probably have died of exhaustion if I did that,” she told him and chuckled. She noted that this Roman person had a remarkable surname and was dressed quite nicely, she began to ponder upon his social status. Plus, the scent that she was receiving from him told her he was no ordinary man. The phantom turned and gazed at the view of Crocus as it got smaller and smaller. She felt safer now, well at least a lot more than she did a few hours ago when that Shin fellow was chasing her in a park she didn’t exactly know how to navigate out of. Fortunately, luck was on her side and she was able to escape.

The carriage ride was quite smooth, even smoother than the one she had in the city itself, it made her want to fall asleep with how cozy the seat was, but she still felt like having a conversation with this new friend of hers. “Indeed, but they would rather use it to start wars and create monsters,” she said, and then blushed after realising what she had just blurted out to someone she only knew the name of. She kept silent afterwards, eyes cast down to her feet.

Roman noticed the bag comparison to himself and chalked it up to the sex difference. Males tend to travel lighter compared to females for the most part. Men were a simple species but that also meant factoring in life styles also. In Roman's case he had to have things in a certain order. It was something that he always did even when growing up. He also had to travel light because when he had to feed his murderous needs, he had to stay on the move to avoid getting discovered. “There is no need to fret miss.” his tone was a reassuring one to make the nervousness in her voice fade away. It was a farce to hear that this girl was willing to walk to oak with all of her luggage. It would have been a bit much for such a walk. It must have been a hand of fate that led the carriage going to oak to her. He would only chuckle in response to the idea of walking that far from Crocus. “Thank your lucky stars htat you did not have to walk that far.”

It felt nice not having the murderous intent that he usually had. Being a normal human being was nice compared to his usual madness vibe he gave off when interacting with individuals. The ride was fairly nice and the weather was not harsh. This was a pleasant feeling for him compared to some of his past interactions with individuals. She made a comment about starting wars and creating monsters not knowing she was speaking to one. “That is merely human nature grasping at power and nothing less. I can't disagree with the idea of doing such thing. Only the strong will remain and the weak will be crushed under foot.” Just like that his true nature was revealed while he kept a smile on his face. “I myself fancy bloodshed, the world has a way of enforcing the rules of nature.” he would only turn to look out the window while waiting for some response. It wouldn't be long before they arrived.

1321/1300

Fortunately for the two of them, the weather was quite pleasant, adding to the smooth carriage ride. She could feel all her anxieties subsiding as spoke with this man. He replied by saying that it was merely human nature, to which she smiled and nodded. ‘Only the strong will remain and the weak will be crushed under foot.’ These words brought her back to the time she murdered her own parents when they decided to kill her after receiving death threats for harboring a cursed monster. Does this make her strong? Or does this make her weak, for being able to prove to her enemies they were right about her, turning into what they said she was? Although these questions clouded her mind, her facial expression remained the same, then shifted into a slightly surprised one at Roman’s mention of him fancying bloodshed. “You do? Well, I do too, but only if I’m the one causing it,” were the words that she said next. She was being surprisingly open with this stranger. It felt nice that there was someone she shared something similar with, the fondness towards bloodshed? Bianca tucked a stray lock of hair behind her unnaturally pointy ears. People would wonder if it was difficult to tuck her hair behind her ears, because she would have to lift it awkwardly high to get past the pointy part. The answer was no, but people still asked her every time they saw her do it.

As she looked through the tiny window that showed her the view in front of the carriage, and she could already spot the hill that Oak Town rested on. A quick rush of adrenaline surged through her as a wide grin spread across her face. She couldn’t wait to get back to her kitchen, make more butter cookies for the guild and herself. Speaking of, she actually brought a jar with her because she just couldn’t live without one, even though she was traveling. There’s one way you could tell if it was really her (in case you were kidnapped invited over by a fake Bianca, not like something like that would ever happen) you could ask her if she liked cookies. If she said no and laughed at you for asking so damn stupid, then there you have your answer. But now that she remembered, Bianca would lean down to unzip one of her bags and bring out a little jar half filled with butter cookies. You could see the glint of excitement in her eyes. She popped the jar open and grabbed one, handing it to Roman. If he declined, she would eat that cookie herself, but if he did, she would take another for herself and then put the jar back in the bag. “I love cookies, by the way. And we’re almost there,” she said, pointing with one finger at the little window to see their destination - Oak Town.