The sun shone out brightly over Magnolia spreading warm vibes over the hard working people. Energy was boosting out of the city with almost everyone working on something on such a lovely evening. The sun was just hitting the city at an angle as it almost set beyond the far horizon. As for Ace and Anax, they were participating in a public event for today. It was regarding cleaning up the city of Magnolia to keep it fresh and litter free. Their day was coming to an end as they walked around, Anax with a bag in his mouth and Ace with the stick in his right collecting trash off the streets. It was a public event run by the noble Medias Syrases and thats how Ace found out about it. He was doing a job for the man just a couple days ago when the man mentioned this public event to raise awareness. Ace and Anax pretty much had nothing planned for the day other than a bit of training, but other than that they went straight to the event dressed in white as it stated in the fliers. Ace wrapped one of his old white t-shirts across Anax's body and made sure it was tied securely.

The event cane to a close with all the participants meeting at the heart of Magnolia just a few kilometers from the fairy tail guild hall. The organizer of the event thanked everyone for participating and asked them to place all their trashe bags at a corner where a vehicle was meant to come collect them. The horde of people stood there with a loud chatting boise coming off the crowd. New friends were made and some people were just getting to know each other. It was a good event overall in the sense that it got the people closer and cleaned the city. Ace looked to his side and saw a man approaching him. He had seen him around the event as a participant as well so he listened to what he had to say. "Hey there young man. Would you like to part in helping keep Magnolia safe? As you've probably heard of the problems going around Era, we wouldn't want the same thing happening here..." The man spoke out bravely while dressed in his white tee. Ace nodded at the man and said "Yeah i've heard about what happened there... What can we do to help?". Ace wasn't ready to disclose all his information with the stranger. He wasn't only aware of what happened in Era, but the young gas mage was part of the members who fought in the incident. The man introduced himself to Ace and his orange furred companion, "I'm Captain Devon of the Rune Knights, and well we're going around trying to recruit members to join the knights. All shapes and sizes... You, young man, can join the training grounds in becoming a future Knight and your first job can be recruiting members." Ace stood there quietly listening to the man not knowing if he should trust him. Would a captain of he Rune Knights just be out in the streets like that? They only made up about five percent of all the knights so that was a bit odd that a man with all this power be down recruiting members or spreading the word himself. Not completely impossible though but Ace had to make sure. "Can we get proof that you're a member of the Rune Knights before we agree to anything? Like you said, with the problems going on around its made it hard for us to trust everyone." Ace spoke out as his piercing eyes stared at the man. "I've not been asked that yet... I like the way you're sharp kid!" Devon said as he pulled out his ID. Ace inspected the small card with his eyes darting over the important information making sure that the card was legit. It was actually true. The man was a Captain, one of the few five percent members of the Rune Knights that has made it this high into the ranks. He returned the card to the man and pulled out his own card as he said "Captain Devon, excuse my rudeness previously... I'm an apprentice for the Knights as well. My name's Ace Brookes and this is my partner Anax. I'll gladly take on your job in recruiting more members." Ace then continued by saying "I've also been one of the members to fight in Era's incident." The older man looked at Ace with a shocked face and said "Way to go Brookes... That's the type of spirit we need with us. Keep it up and you'll not only be a Seated Knight, but you'll even climb higher. Sheesh, at such a young age as well." He patted Ace's back with a firm hand and looked down at his fire breathing partner. "I'll fill you in on all the details, but I'm supposing you know most of this already. Anyway, what we're basically looking for is any kind of recruits. As you've already been through the harsh training, you know that only the tough make it through. So we're going for recruiting all shapes and sizes. It won't matter as long as they pass through our training program. You'll be surprised at how many will turn up in the end. Make sure the message makes it through correctly and we'll prevent any more damage from happening." Ace nodded and saluted the man after asking one last question "So when do I start and where do we meet you?". "Sunset at the South Gate Park. You can start recruiting people first thing at dawn. Good luck Brookes." The captain said with a serious face. "Right... Captain Devon." Ace saluted the man and left with his growlithe to grab a bite going to bed. Their job starts early in the morning.

Ace was psyched to be working for a Captain. He's done requests for Lieutenants before, but this was his first time working for such a high ranked Knight. He wanted to do his best on this job. If not for the man then at least for himself. He wasn't going to let himself be dead weight to the knights, especially not after how far he's gotten. Ace walked with his pet growlithe Anax with their sweaty white tees. Ace walked around shirtless with the tee wrapped around his forehead stopping the sweat coming from his massive afro. While his partner Anax still had it tied around his torso. A quick diner was all they were looking for. Nothing fancy, just a bite before the big mission. After a short while of walking around, Ace and his partner arrived at a decent restaurant and ordered their food as they waited just outside sitting on the curb. They watched the sunset as the nice breeze cooled down their overworked bodies and waited for their order.

"This is nice isn't it? We actually get to work for a captain"

He broke the silence as he spoke out to his partner.

"Looks like joining the Knights turned out well for me... Still got a long way to go you know... But no slacking. We're taking it straight to the end yeah King?"

His partner howled once and looked out into the sunset. He had a lot of work to do as well. The harder Ace worked and the more he pushed meant the more work Anax had to put in to keep up. He was still a young one, but he was sure putting in more work than Ace expected at the start.

"Hey kid! Your dinner's ready!"

Someone shouted from inside the diner. Ace kicked his feet down and walked back into the diner. He paid the lady and walked out with two brown bags in his hand. He looked at Anax from afar signaling the growlithe to come over as they walked towards the inn they were staying at. There they took their food out, unboxed it and devoured the whole thing in a few minutes before getting ready for bed. Ace made sure the alarm was set and they both fell fast asleep only to be waken up in a few hours at the break of dawn.

A few hours later after a bit of a break from work, both Ace and his companion woke up and got dressed to go get the job done. Ace wore his light blue windbreaker and zipped it fully up to keep him from getting cold before the sun made its way up. "Alright A lets go get it. Anyone down for it is good for us." He spoke out loud before opening the door. His partner scurried out and he followed him as he shut the door behind him. They jogged down the street till they got to a more crowded area in Magnolia where they could see students going to school and other older men opening up their shops. Ace started by approaching one of the average looking kids almost his age. He seemed slightly older than Ace and that was only judging by his height. Ace started off by saying "Hey, would you like to join the Knights in helping keep Magnolia a safe place?" The boy seemed a bit confused at first but then laughed it off slightly. "No thanks I'm not fit enough to join the Knights." The boy said then walked away from Ace. The young afroed mage jogged after the boy and said "Well you can be. The Rune Knights training will make a fine warrior out of anyone..." Ace turned away from the boy and said "Well if you change your mind we'll be at the south gate entrance at dusk. Spread the word." Ace walked away from the boy as his eyes scanned through the people walking past him. He wasn't too sure if the boy he'd just talked to would actually show up, but it looked like he wasn't even considering it when Ace left. The young dark skinned mage knew the Knights training wasn't for everyone and thats why he didn't pressure people into it. He would've done the job better than a newbie who hasn't been through the training.

Ace focused on rounding up more people early into his job, so he aimed for the more fit looking individuals. He walked up to a healthy young graduate not knowing how old the boy was and said "Do you ever see yourself becoming an honored Rune Knight?" He paused for a second and let the boy think of his sudden question. He stopped for a second and looked at Ace. "Is this a joke?" He asked with an annoyed look on his face. Ace's naturally angered facial expression didn't help in convicing the man either. "I'm a Rune Knight and I'm here to recruit more members to join the guard." The man looked at Ace and said "Really? I would have never guessed because of your age. I suppose I'd love to participate but I don't think I'd be any help since I'm not a mage." Ace held a straight face as he looked at the boy, "You're as much help as you believe you are. I'll be at the south gate at dusk if you decide to join. Don't be late." Ace made it seem as if he decided for the boy. He walked away with his partner Anax by his side.

The gas mage kept leaning towards the healthier average individuals until the sun was fully up and he started thinking of actually asking anyone since that was what the captain told him anyway. He wanted to ensure some of them actually made it past the training after being recruited. However, most of the people he was asking were either laughing and mocking him or not believing what the young boy was saying. His age wasn't helping with this job, but he was still determined to get it done. His morals aligned with the goal of this job and that motivated him greatly.

He ended his day after asking around a hundred people with only eighteen actually determined to join. It wasn't a very promising number, but then again that was only today and he could have carried this job on with the captain later on. It was nearly dusk as Ace stood there and around twenty people stood at the gate waiting for him. They seemed like an awkward bunch of people but that was probably because they were nervous. Ace saluted the group and waited for a couple more to show up before taking the bunch to meet the captain. He gave them some tips before their training conducted the next day. Surprisingly a lot of the faces that declined still showed up in addition to those who were determined. He took them to the captain, got his reward and left.

~EXIT~
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