It had been a long day to say the least, and a long day made it really easy to work up an appetite. Kazumi was in Hargeon on business with her guild, but she was sure they wouldn't mind if she slipped away for an evening to get some food. Of course, she had packed some snacks for her journey, and Guild Master Cecilia herself had packed some lunches for her and her fellow Fairy Tail members, but Kazumi was looking for a meal while she could still get it. She was on her way to a remote island, after all. She doubted there would be much in the way of restaurants. Better to find a place now that she was in the city than eat all of her rations instead of saving them for later.

It was for this reason that she and her faithful partner Kira would be out exploring the port town. Besides, it wasn't like she had ever been there before, so this was a new experience too. Her jacket flapped about behind her and her axe hung on her back as she walked against the cool breeze as day sunk into the night, hoping that tonight's little mini expedition would be fruitful in the end. Maybe she would pick up some souvenirs for her fellow guild mates while she was at it.

While on their exploration exploits, Kazu and Kira came across a wonderful scent that they could almost see, cartoon style. Well, Kira technically noticed it first, being a fox and all, but she had lead the young crystal mage to it until she had caught a whiff herself. She couldn't tell what it was, but is smelled like some sort of meat and it sure smelled tasty. Naturally the duo had to continue to follow it. A good local meal WAS her ultimate goal after all, how could she even dream of passing up something that just smelled so good?

Well, she almost did pass it up, upon seeing where the aroma had originated. There was a young girl sitting outside on the sidewalk with a large pot. This began Kazumi’s internal battle. She lingered nearby, weighing the pros against the cons. The line is really long, this is a bit of a wait. But that must mean it’s popular, right? Oh, but id rather be sitting indoors or something…. Ah! Look how cheap that is! Ugh but I don’t know, street food? Street food that smells really, REALLY g— “Hey Twin Tails, you in line or not?” Her thoughts were interrupted by a rather impatient man. “O- oh, yeah, sorry!” Without any further thought she stepped into the line. “Welp Kira,” she looked down at the little Vulpix. “Looks like we’re eating here tonight” Kazu got a few jewels ready and waited her turn to see just what kind of food was being prepared here.

When it was her turn, she was surprised to get a closer look at this chef who seemed quite young. Kazumi couldn’t help but be interested. “Hmm, I'm not from around here, are street vendors as young and as,” Kazumi took a bite of the meat and rice combo, her face melting in response to the wonderful flavor. “Mmm, talented as you common?” Kazumi continued eating as she waited to see if she would get a response. She would occasionally give some bites to Kira, who also really seemed to be enjoying herself.

Kazumi was interested to find that this young lady also was not from the port town of Hargeon, though the Fairy Tail mage was not told why she was there street vending. Of course, it was not as if Kazumi had asked. maybe she would have earlier, but when she opened her mouth to respond, she was surprised to find the young girl offering another bowl of her delicious dish, completely free of charge. Something about loving animals, so she supposed she had Kira to thank for being there. "Oh wow, really? Thanks!" She happily dug into her second helping, continuing to offer Kira every few spoonful. All the while The girl heated up her pot using her fire magic. The crowd around them seemed very impressed, which reminded Kazumi that this wasn't a normal thing to everyone like it was for her. Maybe she had already been Travelling with her guild's resident Fire King for too long.

Seeming to want to keep the conversation running while she worked, The young lady offered an introduction to the Crystal wizard, Giving her name of Ikana. She also mentioned that she was "an Aspiring Practitioner of the arts". "Ohh, so you want to be a mage, huh?" Kazumi smiled, glad that she had found someone with a common interest. "My name is Kazumi Kiseki, but I usually go by Kazu or Kaz. I'm a mage with the Fairy Tail guild in Magnolia. Actually, I'm In Hargeon for a big guild mission. My Companions are hanging around... Somewhere I'm sure. Oh!" She gestured to her fox, not wanting to leave her out. "And this is my Partner Kira. She absolutely loved your food, by the way." Kira nodded rapidly in agreement with happy little yips. "So, If you're not from here, what brings you to Hargeon?"

Ikana seemed pretty impressed at Kazumi's status as a Fairy Tail mage, or maybe just a guild mage in General. She assumed that the Crystal mage must be super strong or something, which Kazumi did not quite believe for herself. "Nah, I think I could do so much better, most of my combat experiences could have turned out more... favorably..." To be fair the last Time Kazu fought, she had been attacked by a monster that, last she heard, took several mages to finally take down. "But you know, That's why I'm in a guild in the first place. It's important to have a place to practice and train."

Ikana then went into sharing her story, explaining how she came to love cooking and magic. Apparently, She came to Hargeon to check out the local Guild, which if Kazumi remembered correctly was Blue Pegasus? Maybe? She had never seen it herself. Perhaps she would check it out at some point too. After all, she did know someone in that Guild. It wouldn't be a bad thing to visit, probably. After her tale, Ikana began to thank Kazu for the business, getting ready to pack up for the day before she realized; Oh no! Her jar of money had been stolen! "Wha- We were here the whole time how did we miss that?" Kazumi was usually at least more observant than that. Looking over at the young Chef, she seemed quite depressed, as anyone would be in this situation. "Hey, Cheer up, You're with a guild mage. Catching Bad guys is my job!" She looked down at the fox sitting next to her. "Right Kira?" The Vulpix Yipped in agreement and began sniffing around, alerting the girls when she found a lead. "Alright! Looks like we have a trail. Let's go get your money back!" Kazu Gestured to the Fire mage, inviting her to come along.

With Kira as their guide, it did not seem to take very long to find the culprit of this caper. It was a man very conspicuously holding Ikana's jar of money, using it to pay for some other eatery. The man was strangely heavily armed for a petty thief, so maybe some caution would have to be exercised. Of course, Kazumi could not help but be a little confused as well. "Seriously, how did we miss this guy?" She muttered to herself under her breath. He had such an obvious presence, and though he didn't LOOK particularly suspicious (Heck, Kazumi was armed with her Axe herself), he didn't seem like someone that could walk around unnoticed. But alas, here they were, chasing him down.

Now, the fact that his initial reaction was to run upon seeing the girls was interesting. Two weapons, one long ranged, and he still ran. So this meant he was not necessarily a violent person, and probably didn't want to actually fight. That could probably be arranged, seeing as Kazumi herself didn't want to fight either. Of course, that was mostly because there were too many people around. As Kazu slowed to a quick stop, Ikana used a spell to dash forward in an attempt to catch the guy. However, it was not enough and he hopped a railing to get away. They would need continuous speed. So then why had Kazu stopped? She tapped her foot behind her twice as Ikana activated her own dashing spell, and a pair of crystal roller skates appeared on the Fairy Tail Mage's feet. NOW she could go. Kazumi could already move pretty fast on her own, a solid 15 meter per second run speed last time she timed herself, but the skates would make her just a tad faster, in case that was needed.

"Stay behind and keep our new friend safe Kira!" Kazumi instructed as she began her own chase, leaping over the guard rail that the man had just crossed. Slowly but surely she was catching up, and as soon as she was within 5 or so meters, she noticed that he dared to try to pull out his katana. "Nope!" Kazu exclaimed, holding her hand out with authority. From her open palm a flurry of crystal butterflies formed, rushing to the man's face. They weren't strong enough to do any serious damage probably cause a few cuts, but they weren't there for that. The man dropped his weapon back into its sheath and immediately started batting away at the butterflies, which Kazu saw as an opportunity to trip him, grabbing his arm as he fell forward and pinning it behind his back on the ground. "Gotcha!" Unfortunately, His fight with the butterflies also made him drop the money jar, but  Kazumi would have to deal with that When Ikana caught back up.

Kazumi could not hold back a laugh at the thief who had the audacity to ask to be let go after stealing an innocent girl's money. "Haha, well I don't really have much to do with this situation you got yourself into, I'm just a bystander. But you want my opinion on this, you should be asking this question to the authorities. I'm sure they'll have some questions." She then leaned over to Kira, asking her to run off and find some law enforcement. Afterwards, Kazu used her crystal magic to create a little figure that simply said 'help' and gave it to the young Fox and she was on her way. "Well then," She started, Looking up at Ikana, "I guess we wait here for Kira to come back. Though as soon as she does, I suppose it will be time to part ways. I've been away from my guildmates for a bit longer than I expected." Kazu chuckled as she said this. Her only goal was to get food, and now here she was, sitting on an incapacitated thief, talking to the young chef he tried to rob. Definitely a bit of a crazy afternoon. "Hey, you said you wanted to be a mage right? Why not join my guild? A place to practice with fellow wizards would definitely be beneficial. It's up to you of course, but as soon as I'm done with this request I'm on, we could maybe train together. I'd love to see more of what your magic could do."

Ikana seemed overjoyed to have been offered a spot in Fairy Tail, which was, of course, exciting even for Kazu. Opening her messenger bag up with a bit of a laugh, she rummaged through it until she found the guild stamp that every member carried. She would then ask Ikana where she wanted the tattoo to go, and the twin-tailed mage would stamp the mark of Fairy Tail wherever it was that the young chef desired. "Alrighty then, with this stamp I officially name you a member of Fairy Tail. Welcome to the guild!" Kazumi smiled wide, excited to have made her very first recruitment, and for someone who seemed really nice, too.

Shortly after that, Kira came back with the authorities, prompting Kazu to get off of the thief to turn him over. "Okay, Ikana, I hope to see you around the guild hall soon! For now, I have to go meet up with the rest of my guild." Kazumi waved and began to leave, glad to have had an excellent meal, as well as made a new friend. It looked like no matter what happened on her island adventure with her guild mates, this trip was not for nothing.

-exit-