A dark aura made its way through the town that was Oak, causing the bustling streets to part as fear overcame them as the menacing aura grew in size. Mana like black tongues of fire rose into the air, lashing out at the crowd making them jump and streak as a figure could be seen at the source, a frightening figure whom many would dismiss if not for the frightening magical energy being released from them. Just who was this figure? Why an old woman who stood no taller than four foot ten. While she had a short stature she walked with a commanding finger, eyes creased into a frown, eyes closed shut, lips forming a single straight line, the wrinkles on her face pressed as a form of scowl was resonating from her features. With each footstep, her waraji covered feet made no sound at all. Her kimono wrapped loosely around her body didn't make a single flutter nor the sash around her shoulder and waist. The pearls from her earrings or the from the needle that held her white hair in a twin bun made not a jingle as she walked.

To enhance her frightening appearance,  a strange creature loomed over her right shoulder. This creature was small only two foot and floated in the air with no legs at all. It's body cloaked by a black robe, a skull-like mask covering its mask, the skull that was completely real. Floating between the white hollowed eye sockets was a single red orb, the creatures eye. The little beast looked like a miniature grim reaper as if it was the child of a death god. The little beast had its own unpleasant aura, an air of supernatural energy clung to its body releasing a chill into the air, the wind itself became frosted as the temperature dropped as the creature passed. Civilians shivered and others screamed in fright at the creature, many attempting to hide their child for they knew what it was.

The creature was called a Duskull, usually, a nocturnal beast that hid in thick forests, rarely being seen, making it listed as a rare creature. Duskulls most frightening behaviour is that it not only enjoyed the crying of children, but once it chose a target it would haunt them until they died.

While the creature was frightening, if only they knew the truth of the old woman they would be even more so of her. For she was a Dark Mage and member of Grimoire Heart, Yumi, who went by the name Carnage, the oldest member of the Guild. She did not consider herself a Mage, not she called herself a Witch in service of her almost Chaos God, Khorne, a Chaos God of Anger, Violence and Hate. She had slaughtered hundreds in the name of her God leaving a trail of bloodshed behind her with the seventy-five years she had lived on this planet. She had a fiery temper which she kept hidden deep in her psyche, but when unleashed prayers should be said for the soul of the one who earned her ire. It was wildly known in the Guild she had a habit of killing her opponents and taking their skulls claiming it for her throne, a throne she kept aboard the Ark, a throne made out of hundreds of skulls, her victims.

Yumi moved from the crowd stepping into a new pub that had just not long opened. She had heard rumours about the stirring of the pub and wished to see it herself, and as usual, her familiar Venom was following behind. She glided across the streets as she made her way inside forcing the doors open with a single wrinkled hand. The old woman's eyes began to open, revealing within those crimson orbs someone who had passed the test of time and witnessed countless bloodshed. The old woman glided through the bar towards the counter intent to order herself a drink, to see just how the place faired. It had been some time since she had a decent drink. The last time some fool had broken the bottle she ordered and trashed her strawberry sundae. She had repaid in kind tearing his voice box out and destroying his body.

Yumi planted herself down on a stool and spoke in a commanding voice, her magical aura has sealed itself the moment she entered, leaving her the appearance of a simple old woman. An old lady with a unique companion. Yumi would call tot he bartender, "Your strongest whisky, glass and leave the bottle!" Barked out the old woman as she placed a wad of jewels on the counter. She needed a stiff drink, while she also wanted something sweet she could wait. It was a well-known accord in Grimoire Heart that the old woman had quite the sweet tooth.

 

The Oasis-native was in her newly gained apartment, it was in the nicer part of Oak however at times it could be a struggle because a lot of the missions that she took upon herself, were near the Phantasm Castle, or the other side of Oak, Celeste being completely on the exact opposite of Oak. She had readied her shower, turning the knobs to the right position for a lukewarm shower, just the kind of showers she favored. Oh, Erebus. If he was in this shower with her they be so hot together they'd practically have steam coming right off of them. She blushed at the thought of that; shaking her head she made her way to the kitchen prepping it for when she gets out of her shower and for when her hunger kicks in. What she'd really like to get a piece of for breakfast was Erebus, her touch against his, they'd practically create sparks inside of one and another. The woman stripped as she was ready to take her shower, quickly dropping her panda printed blue footie pajamas. As she stepped into the shower letting the warmth embrace her naturally cold body. Mixing her shampoo and conditioner as she scrubbed them both into her silky soft hair making sure to leave no spot uncleaned.  Fast-Forward the woman had began to dry off with her favorite star-printed towel, making sure everything was dry. Next she begun to brush her teeth, even if she was affiliated as dark hygiene was still important and shouldn't be trashed just for being evil. She smiled as the sensation of clean overcame her body. She sighed, this was the best part about the mornings, the feeling of being clean was refreshing. Entering her kitchen she began to cook chocolate-chip pancakes. Bummer she had just brushed and here she was about to eat only half an hour later after just brushing her teeth. Oh well, she could re-brush them, even though it would be practically unnecessary. As time passed her pancakes were ready, the chocolate chips practically melted into the fluffy golden pancakes, she couldn't help herself as the smell became clearly evident in the air. She smiled as she inhaled the smell, it was so divine, even for pancakes they smelt great. Celeste dug into her tasty fluffy lovers.  After finishing her breakfast, Celeste looked over her plans for the day which had been to train but her schedule she had for the day, training was an hour from Midnight. Her other plans was to go hang out at a pub and hopefully meet a bunch of new people that she could hopefully call friends. Making her way to the pub, Celeste couldn't help but notice how great it felt outside. Upon entering the pub, she saw Carnage sitting, Celeste smiled. Running over to Carnage Celeste waved from her side taking a sit by her; near the counter. "Well it's nice to see you here, Carnage!" Celeste chuckled to herself. "In case you forgot I'm Irony." Celeste smiled at Carnage, right before she turned to order a Strawberry milkshake. Once her frozen drink was deliver she sipped on the straw, her mouths perched and too busy to do anything else but suck the sweet nectar from her glass.

Outfit:

It was rare that things happened in Odin's pub that he wasn't aware of, or didn't expect to happen. Servicing the many rogues of Oak town, there were certain things one could expect, such as the incompetence and often arrogance of Phantom Lord trying to act like they owned the entire town, only to be shut down by Odin himself. Taverns brawls too, as many people of different opinions entered the pub, and sometimes those arguments became physical. A normal, physical brawl in the pub was not disputed, it was almost encouraged, as it promoted action and kept everyone strong, despite how much Mac, the former owner and other bartender of the Swineherd, hated the concept. However, brawls involving magic were strictly forbidden, the punishment for which was often Odin himself having to use his abilities to end it, something he much preferred not to do. Owning a pub was most definitely not something people expected a mage to be doing, and so people felt the most comfortable being served by another normal person. Some of the customers, a minority sure but a flow of income to Odin, didn't feel at ease once they had found out Odin's true abilities, but due to the nature of the rogues, there were very few regulars in the Swineherd Pub, most came and went as their businesses took them to other places.

What Odin did not expect was to be greeted angrily by an old woman who wanted the strongest whisky the Swineherd could offer her. Having been serving another customer, with his back to this new one, the owner couldn't help but roll his eyes as another 'loud-mouthed pain in the arse' had just entered his pub, an opinion that changed instantly as he recognised the old face of the woman sitting at the bar.

*Snap*

Many people got confused very easily by the constant finger snapping that the owner was known to do, which wasn't an issue for Odin. The snapping was the only way he knew to stay in his 'bartender' mind-set, and not let his true self out. With a friendly smile, and after serving his current customer, Odin walked grabbed the strongest bottle of whisky available, as well as potentially the most expensive drink in the entire Pub, before also quickly whipping up a strawberry milkshake, a drink he'd normally tell the child that ordered it to leave without delivering, but this was a special case. Having mentioned Carnage's name, and introduced herself as Irony, Odin instantly knew who she had to be affiliated with, and so her brought them both their drinks in an instant, a friendly grin on his face as he did so.

"Greetings friends, welcome to the Swineherd Pub. Does the little guy want anything to drink too? A second glass perhaps to share with yourself?" His questions were directed towards Venom, the strange creature Odin recognised from their last group meeting in Oak, from a time when they had received letters and plans had been made for the future. Back then, the little bugger had certainly surprised the olive haired mage, but now he'd seen too much for another strange creature to evoke any reaction from him.

Being normal became a lot more annoying when you weren't. The Vampire opened her eyes and immediately closed them again out of protection. But today wasn't a sunny day, which was good, if only she wasn't dead tired. She quickly got out of bed, fixed her clothing. She didn't feel the cold but for some reason she would still feel the sun on her skin even when the yellow orb was hidden by clouds. She really had to go out and about and get used to the Sun more especially before Summer.

Dressed in a tight darkblue jeans, with a creamy coloured shirt on top. She even put on gloves today because it was rather early. Normally she would try to continue to sleep a little bit and even though she was tired, it didn't seem to work. There was only a question of where she should go and what she should do, a job was a good idea.

When she was done dressing up, applying make-up on the back of her neck and putting her hair in a high ponytail, she was ready to leave. She wasn't hungry or at least not for normal food. She should maybe find a victim this evening because she was feeling the need to drink blood again. She licked her lips as she walked passed the reception of her hotel and shortly looked at the clerk behind the desk, unfortunately they would miss him. Victoire was running outside to find some place to enjoy herself and Nasty followed her to walk around the town through the forest, to avoid even the little bit of sunshine that was there.

Her feet seemed to dragg her to the Swineherd Pub, a place where she had been more than enough lately if you asked her but she entered anyway. Maybe she could find a victim here. When she entered with Victoire on her heels, she scanned the room rather quickly but Victoire had already run off to great Odin, oh great such a pet that didn't listen to you. She quickly followed to grab her off the floor and get straight back up to see Yumi, Odin and.. someone else. Her face showed no emotions yet but she simply plastered a small smile on it, "I almost feel like I barged into a meeting." she said in a way of greeting, maybe this was Irony? The girl Erebus had talked about.

Venom floated around Yumi look at the bar before the old woman lifted him up and sat him down on the bar, the bar was higher than a meter his maximum floating height. Yumi raised her right hand to pat the creature on the top of his skull mask while waiting patiently for her drink. She did not mind touching the skull, as she had touched plenty overs numerous times before. She was used to handling them that it barely phased her as she patted her companion, familiar in her eyes. Venom responded the affection by leaning into the palm, his single eye floating back and forth between the sockets of his skull mask.

The snapping of fingers drew her attention to the bartender, it was someone she recognised, Lucifer was his moniker in the guild. Yumi found it amusing to see him dressed as a Bartender, but she supposed he would learn all kinds of things by serving drinks after all a drunks lips tended to be quite loose. Especially when it came to retrieving information from them. A female voice then called out to her, addressing Yumi as Carnage, must be another member of the guild. She turned her head as the young blue haired irony approached her. The girl greeted her before ordering a milkshake from their fellow guild member.

Yumi placed her left elbow on the bar, resting her cheek in her palm as Odin approached with the milkshake for the girl and her whisky. "A bowl if you'd be so kind. Unless you wish for broken glass." Commented the old woman in her usual tone, but there was a hint of humour beneath it which was unusual the fossil. She returned to using her right hand to pat her familiar and spoke up to the girl Irony, "And please, call me Yu. While I appreciate the use of my moniker, it is unusual for one such as I to possess it." Addressed the old woman, of course, she also aimed it towards Lucifer. She had picked the name herself when she first joined, but it was an unusual name and might draw attention.

Yumi removed her right hand from her familiar, getting a disappointed look from the creature, but the old woman simply grinned. Yumi picked up her glass after filling it and raised it to her lips taking a sip of the powerful liquid inside. It was smooth as it travelled down her parched throat. Yumi rested the glass back on the bar, at the same time her eyes caught sight of an odd white fox with six tails charging towards Odin, only to be scooped up by someone she recognised, Nastasya. It had been a while since their last meeting, but for some reason just by looking at the way she carried herself, Yumi felt something had changed as if the girl was stronger.

"I see you have acquired your own companion since we last met, Nas. I also discern from the way you carry thyself, something has changed you appear stronger." Commented the old woman with her sharp eyes gained from many years of observation and experience over her life. The old lady raised the glass to her lips taking another sip, by this time if Venom had his bowl of whisky the creature would be happily lapping it up, by shoving his entire face in the alcohol. It was hard to see just how he was drinking it as he had no mouth, truly an odd creature.

Though it seemed the little gathering of members of Grimoire Heart was not over as one more joined their ranks. The member came up beside Nastasya resting a hand on her child the other to his chin gesturing a hello to the old woman. It was Erebus, though he appeared different from when they last saw one another, "You've changed." Said the old woman as she removed her elbow from the bar letting it fall beside her to get a view of the young male, "You've grown much from when I last saw thee. I caught the end of your last fight in the tournament, and I must say you did well against such an overwhelming opponent. But it seems afterwards you've gone through a trial to obtain great power, you're much stronger. It's in the way you carry yourself." Discerned Yumi as her crimson hues gave the boy a once over before returning the glass to her lips to sample the alcohol within.

"Tis a shame we are not all gathered here. Though for us five to be gathered in one location, a coincidence no?" Commented the old woman as she downed the last of the whisky in her glass setting it down on the bar, "Refill if you'd be so kind."

Yumi came to a pause, lowering her glass to the table, she felt a rush of magic course through her veins before a feeling overcame her. Her eyes widened as a glassy look appeared within them before vanishing, the image of a temple flashed within her mind. She felt the urge to travel. The old woman rose from her chair, Venom quickly following, "Apologies, I must leave. There is something I must do." The old woman spoke in a hollowed voice as if she wasn't completely there. Yumi walked away, magic flowing from her body as she left the swineherd pub vanishing into the streets.

After Carnage, who wished to be referred to as Yu in public, requested a bowl for Venom, it was brought to her almost instantly before she stated that she had to leave, downing her drink before she did so, but leaving without paying. Despite that fact that she now owed Lucifer money, the young mage decided not to press it. When Yu left, there was something else on her mind. She was not leaving because she wanted to do something else, there was more to it, and she wasn't the only one. Strategist, Nastasya, even the new girl Irony were all here, and although he would love to chat as much as he normally would, which was very little, he had a job to attend to, and the place was getting busy. Smiling to his patrons, Lucifer left them to talk and drink, while he attended to his other customers.

-Exit-

Victoire was still dangeling in her arms and especially looking around. It was probably smart to leave as the fox seemed hungry. She could find her target here later. As if she would drink blood in such an early morning. Yumi left, so did Irony, Odin had to work and that left her alone with Erebus, "This thing is hungry." She said and held up Victoire a little higher against her chest, "I've got to work on that." and with that she walked around, looked for Odin once more because Victoire wiggled and went outside.

Erebus followed Celeste to the alleyway after making farewells with the others. He saw she was crying, and offered her a hug. Then he walked her home, she'd come far too. It was just a matter of time before her skills shined out amongst the rest of them. He knew that; and soon everyone would. "Chin up." He said, leaning his head against her shoulder. A soft purr escaped his throat and that was the last of him for the day.

-exit-