The landscape before her did not seem merciless at first glance; in truth, the city had a fairy comforting scenery; if not for the advent of war that hung thickly over their heads. There was a sense of restlessness here and there, among the civilians and in the middle of the crowd was a stranger who gathered herself a crowd of stares as she passed by. The town would know her by the name of Snowflake, a fellow Blue Pegasus mage that was involved in the most recent conflict. The consequences of the battle against Grimoire Heart was the destruction of the town itself and a few other minor losses in the town’s population and the death of their guild master.

Yesterday, at lamplight, the female received a letter, sealed up neatly with a stamp. It was dancing idly across her gloved hand and more so, it had a familiar name scrawled across the front. Stormy hues glided over the lines written on the brittle sheet of paper, which informed her to attend a small gathering held at a café near the guild hall. At the bottom of the sheet signed the name of her old comrade – Alisa Vollan. She assumed that it was urgent, most likely regarding the recent events that occurred to their guild and perhaps, they might be required to discuss what to do for the future. For now, the most important thing was to restore their guild hall which was entirely wrecked during the battle.

It seemed that there were way too many things occurring at once; firstly, the conflict and next, her transformation. Though she was not injured heavily from the fight against her enemies, she was required to alter her body due to a reason that no one else but only the woman, herself knows, nor did she intend to share it to anyone else, unless the time comes. The feelings she felt towards her own transformation was something close to confusion more than anything, where her inability to comprehend the situation seemed impede her from further expressing anything about the circumstances. For all she knows, she was relocated inside a host body of someone who was once a demon.

Her arrival at the café was greeted by the sweet aroma of coffee and bread lingering in the air, accompanied by a soft chime from the bells that hung above the doors. By the entrance of the store, she noticed her teammate, Chelvaric, loitering around the area before she would give a gentle tap on the shoulder. ”Are you not taking a seat, Chelvaric?” With that, the female walked past him and towards the table where Alisa was seated.

”Hello, Alisa. Good to see you again.” The female took a seat right across her other teammate, assuming that they would remember her since she had a drastic makeover, after all.

Upon seating herself in a vacant chair, the young woman would cross her legs as Alisa commented on her new appearance. ”Indeed.” She’d say, nodding in agreement and somehow, no matter how different she looked each time, her Blue Pegasus comrades seemed to be able to pick her out from the crowd with no problem. The facial expressions on Chelvaric’s face was enough to indicate that he had a million questions for her regarding her change, however, the topic of discussion was of little concern at this precise moment. The female glanced around the area, as if she was in search of someone until Finn emerged behind them with just two words.

The four gathered, seated at a table as silence reigned supreme within the area. How long has it been since they all met together? – that she could not remember, nevertheless, she was glad that the strongest ones from the guild were able to present themselves at the little meeting. After the four was seated, a waiter passed by their table to collect their orders and she felt the sudden urge to have a strong coffee to calm her nerves. ”Cappuccino, please.” She'd say and the waiter would walk away once their orders were taken. The ambience was slightly different than what she had expected but she did not let her doubts pass her lips since she was highly aware that this was a rather emotional situation for all of them, especially for Alisa and Finn, in spite of not knowing what sort of relationship they had with guild master Lance.

In her case, as well as Chelvaric’s, the only time they met Lance was when they decided to join Blue Peagasus and not once after that, did they ever meet each other again. The female stared down at her pale hands resting on her lap, a sense of guilt grew within her figure, regretting all the times that she had missed the opportunities to encounter Lance once again, before he passed away. The voice of her other teammate broke the silence between them after they took a moment to grieve their guild master’s death, quoting the last words of their master. The death of Lance had caused a turmoil within the guild, which was probably why Alisa had chosen to hold a meeting right there and then – to discuss the aftermath.

”I’d say we kill their guild master just like what they did to us, but this would mean starting a war.” The female paused, hesitating for a brief moment as she tried to gather words to her lips.

As much as she wanted those from Grimoire Heart pay for the death of their guild master, war would not be the smartest idea as it would bring many deaths of hundreds and thousands of innocent people, including the mages and themselves. Even if war had broken out, the question still remains – who benefits from all of this death? In fact, the guild master of Grimoire Heart was most likely on an entirely different level compared to themselves but if the other guilds had decided to assist them, just like Chelvaric had stated, it would be another case. Nonetheless, if all of them had made a decision to go war against their enemy guild, then she would most likely follow the idea as well.

Thoughts occurred in her mind yet, the female left her doubts unspoken as she sipped onto a cup of cappuccino that was located in front of her by the waiter. She’d mouth the word ’Thank you’ while the waiter nodded in appreciation before scuttling away to tend to other businesses. The female blew the fumes of heat that rose from the cup and took a sip, savoured the taste of it on her lips, the warmth of the coffee spreading within and quickly to the rest of her body, which soothed her like no other. She quietly listened, to the opinions of each and every single one of her guildmates. It seemed that most of them were all on the same page – at least in the idea of returning the favour to their enemies. For now, rebuilding was the most important, just like Finn stated.

”But, are we strong enough to assassinate their guild master?”

The woman gazed down at her cup of cappuccino, her words directed to no one in particular. It wasn’t an issue of confidence, rather, it was something more akin of her habit to over-think things and simply put, she was very much inclined to believe that even with the four combined, they might not be able to defeat the guild master, yet. A soundless sigh slipped from her lips as she picked up her cup and took another sip once again. Regarding the subject related to the opponents they had fought, the female took a long moment to reminisce on her battle alongside Chelvaric. She allowed her teammate describe the details first before taking her turn, after taking note of Alisa’s description.

”Yes, we fought against a water mage and a blood user…” The woman trailed off, recollecting her memories as she rubbed her chin in contemplation. ”The man looked similar to that of a clown’s appearance, just more sturdy and he was very observant as well….very analytical.” She nodded, after trying to search for the right word to describe the man. ”He wouldn’t answer my questions, nor did he tell who he was,” she added, and uncrossed her legs only to cross them again on another side.

Each one of them would describe their enemies as much as they possibly could remember and how they had fought. In all honestly, when Snowflake had encountered her enemy, she was not aware that they were members from Grimoire Heart – not to mention, their reasoning for attacking them until she was notified of the words sputtered by their guild master in his last breath. The creature that remained by Finn’s side, which she assumed was his companion, highly impressed her with the level of maturity it had. In fact, she was surprised that it had the ability to speak since it wasn’t often that one would have companions that could communicate with their owner.

”Neither will I.”

The female spoke, a weak smile growing on her lips as everyone promised each other to protect one another. Blue Pegasus had given her a new meaning to life, an entirely different outlook on people and she was learning; much more about herself and those around her. The guild was all that she’s left and those seated in front of her were her only family – the only ones that mattered to her. Friends are an amazing gift in life, aren’t they?, she found her inner self questioning her and she couldn’t help but agree. ”When the time comes…” She repeated Alisa’s words and looked over to all her guildmates, her determination growing stronger with a new resolve. With a little bit of support and encouragement, it seemed that the atmosphere had clearly lifted up compared to when they had entered the café.

”Hm, the election.”

The young woman lifted her cup to take another sip from her drink, only to realise that it was empty. As much as she needed another cup to wake her senses, she decided not to make any further orders. Regarding to the election, she reflected upon the abilities of each one of her teammates and it was no doubt that Finn and Alisa were the strongest ones in the guild but would they feel different upon receiving the title? – she wondered. ”I’ve already made my decision.” She began, glancing over to Finn then, Alisa and Chelvaric. ”My pick would be Finn or Alisa.” Both were known as the oldest members of the guild and can be easily recognized as the powerhouse of the guild; one who deserves to be the ace; hence, she figured she didn’t need any other explanations for her choice of selection.

Now that Snowflake had casted her vote for the guild master position, she would lean back into her seat and awaited the responses of the rest of her guildmates. As the snow haired woman pressed the cup against her pink lips, she’d gulp down the final drop of liquid before she found herself spitting coffee back into its cup immediately, after hearing both Alisa and Chelvaric’s choices of selection. The female froze in her movements for a brief second, wondering how she should respond to the entire situation. Getting herself picked for the position was something she had least expected and she felt that Finn or Alisa might be best suited for the title – but, perhaps she was wrong and apparently, they had different opinions.

The youth sank back in her seat, her shoulders slightly drooped and from her lips, escaped a sigh of exasperation – clearly doubting of herself of whether she was suitable enough for the guild master position. Surely, being a leader was something she wished to become and it was not as if she found her abilities any less than average but receiving the position of becoming a master was something else. Snowflake wondered if she would be able to operate the guild by herself; but, it was when she realised that she wasn’t alone. After all, there were reliable guildmates and friends seated right in front of her that she could ask advice for any time. With such amazing friends backing her up, there wasn’t anything that she couldn’t do, apart from killing the master of Grimoire Heart – which would take quite a while for them to prepare.

Confidence rushed through her veins and the cloud of darkness faded away from her vision. The young woman sat upright, and the features on her face showed nothing but decisiveness. ”I understand.” She paused, a brief hesitance in her words before she added, ”I shall try my best to become worthy of the title. If there is anything that I have to learn, please, do assist me in trying to better myself as a person and as a guild master.” With that, she concluded her sentence with a firm nod. There were still many things that she has yet to learn from now on.

Snowflake was glad that she had her guildmates with her at the moment, she knew that she would need their support, especially in the near future. She almost felt as if her dreams were fulfilled, and as much as she was delighted upon receiving the title, she couldn’t celebrate for herself, not yet and there was still more to come in the future; whether they were good events or bad ones. But for now, she could already feel the burden of being a guild master on her shoulders but she didn’t want to think too much about it. The female managed a small smile as she stared at the empty spot on the table until Alisa declared that she had something to tend to afterwards.

The snow haired woman bid farewell, followed by a small wave of her fingers to the other female as she departed, leaving a hefty amount of jewels on the table to pay for all their meals that they had. Perhaps, next time would be her turn to treat all of her guildmates. The only ones left at their table was Chelvaric and herself (assuming Finn had already left), and once they were gone, she breathed out a sigh of relief, all the stress pent up in one single breath and somehow, she was restless after what just happened. It was one hell of a meeting, she thought and turned towards Chelvaric who gently rested his hand on her shoulder.

”Yes. I might have to leave Hargeon for a while. I’ve been staying here too long, after all.”

After all the things that occurred, Snowflake just desired to leave the town and perhaps, go somewhere where she would be able to sort things out herself. Besides, she didn’t like staying in a single place too long either, however, she would return to Hargeon sooner or later since she had matters to attend to.