Fiore's holy capital is the envy of lesser cities everywhere, both domestically and abroad, and one of the major reasons for this was the gardens. Beautiful and impeccably maintained, it served as an attraction that could be enjoyed by both tourists and locals and featuring plants from all over the country, it was every botanist's dream, but at the same time, could be enjoyed casually. After all, you didn't need to know the genus, name and history of a plant to appreciate its flower in full bloom. The Fire Dragon Slayer had always intended to visit the gardens one day, but had been unable to do so in his first few visits to the capital; now though, it looked like he had enough free time to hang back, relax, and actually do some touristy things - it went without saying that his first order of business for the morning was to have a relaxing walk down the august gardens that Crocus was so well known for.

The Fairy Tail mage was no nurseryman, and with the exception of the most commonplace of flowers, he knew not a single name of anything he was walking past. The thought that even a single one of his fire spells could probably set this whole garden ablaze if left to burn did cross his mind once or twice, but he forced such dark workings into the back of his mind once he noticed that the place was beginning to fill up with families, young and elderly couples alike, and the occasional student excursion group. There were people there enjoying the sights by themselves as well so Houren did not look or feel out of place, but he couldn't, for the life of him, think of a reason why this place would be so busy at this time of morning.

He supposed it didn't really matter though, since he could enjoy himself even if things weren't as quiet as he would have hoped. The spasmodic crying of a young couple's toddler took away from what should have been a tranquil and serene atmosphere, but the Fire Dragon Slayer found himself pitying the parents as opposed to being angry. "Crocus tommasinianus," he read aloud from the information boxes beside the blooms - this must be one of the flowers the city took its name from, and what a beautiful flower it was.

The arrival of another magus caught the Fire Dragon Slayer's attention, and subtly, he directed his gaze towards them; he wasn't ogling her body per se but her unusual hoodlum style of dress caught the Fairy Tail mage off guard, and his curt glance lingered longer than he had intended it to as he watched her attempt to pronounce the words etched on the information board. It was an offensive thought, but Houren was under the impression that she looked more like a rock star that had wandered into the wrong place, or a ruffian who would rather vandalize the flowers than appreciate them. He was probably wrong on all accounts, of course, and it seemed like she was earnestly trying to figure out the name of the flower they were both admiring. Deciding to take a page from his late Master's book, and characteristically of the average Fairy Tail mage, he decided that he would lend her a hand.

"Tommasinianus. Quite a funny word, isn't it?" he couldn't say he appreciated the casual way in which obscenities left her mouth, but he could still see the funny side of it. It was one of those words where, even if you were knew how to pronounce it, you'd end up fumbling it or biting your tongue one out of every seven or eight attempts. Fortunately for the Fire Dragon Slayer, this was not one of those times and he was able to articulate himself without looking like an idiot. "You could even say the crocuses are the gardens' main attraction. This city is named after them, after all," it was a fact that she probably already knew, but the Fairy Tail mage thought to reiterate it anyways, having run out of things to add.

Houren turned his attention back to the flowers on display, continuing his admiration of them with a child's subdued cries as the background music. Families in Crocus often came to visit these gardens at least once a week, and he could understand why they were able to do so without getting bored of these sights; there were countries where the land is too barren for any flora to grow, so when you put things into perspective you would realize there were places in this world where such beautiful sights weren't even possible. Perhaps, having come to that conclusion, the residents of Crocus found themselves cherishing these gardens as a symbol of the potency of Fiore's land, and of its prosperity.

"I never thought about it that way," the Fairy Tail mage mused.

The flower motif wasn't really something that Houren thought much about. The holy capital was a city that existed long before the Fire Dragon Slayer's birth, and assuming the Kingsguard and Rune Knights did their job properly, it would be standing long after he was gone. The name of this city was something that had been decided by councilors and statesmen who's names have probably been lost to history, and Houren did not believe that it was his place to question their taste. In that regard, this woman was quite childish; not necessarily in a negative way, but in the way that she thought to question things that people like Houren did not, because they had already been set in stone so many years ago.

It was very much a child's way to ask ''why?'' much to the chagrin of their elders, who either did not know the answer or did not want to explain. "You can bet that there's  some long winded, semi-mythical, probably inaccurate, story about the naming of the city or something along those lines written on one of these information tablets," the Fairy Tail mage tapped lightly on the board that had the flowers' names written on it. Fiore was an old country, but the land itself had been inhabited by humans long before the conception of the nation called Fiore; a land with such deep history that stretches back to antiquity, it was only normal that there was an abundance of stories, some true, most exaggerated, and the occasional complete falsity.

The Fire Dragon Slayer shrugged. "Your guess is just as good as mine though," he allowed an uncharacteristic chuckle to escape his lips, as he moved slightly closer to the woman. These gardens were popular with tourists and locals alike, but he could tell from their conversation thus far that she probably wasn't from Crocus. He couldn't be completely sure though, so he decided to confirm his suspicions for himself, with as much sincerity as he could muster. "You don't seem like you're from Crocus. What brings you out here, then?" he inquired curiously.

At first, from the way she had said it, the Fairy Tail mage thought that ''grims'' was some sort of slur for a minority group she was chasing, or actual church grims that you read about in folklore stories - after all, Crocus did not boast only the most extravagant and beautiful gardens in the country but also the finest cathedral. A building with that much history was sure to come with an abundance of specters, goblins and grims, it was practically a given at this point. The Fire Dragon Slayer's misconception was corrected almost immediately when she mentioned the name of the most notorious dark guild in Fiore, and suddenly, it became all too clear to Houren her reasoning for being in Crocus in such times of unease.

With that said, he was quite surprised to learn that she was a member of the Rune Knights. If your everyday law enforcer was being pulled from his or her station to come to Crocus, then it only meant that the top brass running the country were taking the threat of Grimoire Heart seriously, and just as well. Mages were the foundation of Fiore, so it was appropriate to say that the country was anything but stable right now, one strong breeze away from completely toppling over. In one fell swoop, Grimoire Heart had taken the lives of Fiore's most influential guildmasters, destroyed the Etherion Cannon and busted a highly dangerous criminal out of prison.

Houren's own lack of ability contributed to the breakout, having been unable to prevent Thesus' comrades from rescuing him, and he had a score to settle with the 'Grims' for the former as well, having lost his own Master to their machinations. Cecilia had been the last of the guildmasters to fall, a testament to her unparalleled strength even when compared to monsters like the late Aguero and Lance. He might've been more of a hindrance than a help, but the Fire Dragon Slayer would always regret not being there when Grimoire Heart set their sights on the Fairy Tail guild.

''I guess we both have the same reason for being so far away from our homes," his eyes darted up towards the clear sky, almost half expecting to see the dastardly villains that had taken his Master away looking down on him. "They say the Ark's getting close and the Royal Family are shivering in their linen boots. Every guild's been formally asked by the Crown to report to Crocus," he revealed; it was information she might've already known as a Rune Knight, but there was no way for him to tell just how important of a figure she was in the organization.

"Fairy Tail normally ignore calls like this, but this time is different," he cracked his knuckles, suddenly remembering that he only came to the Gardens in the first place to try and placate his own rage and frustration.

"We've got a score to settle with those guys," Houren added.

"They've done plenty," he agreed, recalling that the other guilds  had a bone or two to pick with the members of Grimoire Heart as well.

Their conversation then moved, of course, in a fairly predictable fashion as the two of them prepared to exchange names. Generally, you'd exchange names first before talking about wanting to fight criminals, or dropping your occupations, but it seemed like the two of them had been moving along fairly unconventionally up until now. He repeated her name in his head a couple of times, taking care to remember it since names had never really been his strong suit. She had said she was in the Rune Knights but Fia wasn't a name that he had heard before, but at the same time, he could disregard the fact that Fia was just the short form of her actual name.

In any case, even if she wasn't a high ranking officer of the Rune Knights, Fia seemed young, and full of possibility. Hell, if the Fairy Tail mage had chosen a different path and ended up as a Rune Knights, he would have seen the Ark's coming invasion as the perfect opportunity for personal advancement. If she could put Thesus back behind bars or even take the head of Grimoire Heart's boss, then her name would be on everyone's lips tomorrow, and it'd be her name that would be on the headlines. Of course, even attempting something like that would be incredibly dangerous but a Rune Knight shouldn't have been any stranger to dangerous situations.

"I won't forget it anytime soon, Fia," he nodded, perhaps appreciating the simplicity of her name. "We might even find ourselves fighting alongside one another when it all kicks off," he added.