His last day in Crocus, and this is how he chose to spend it. Searching for someone's lost sword in the whole town.

He brought the quest paper back to his eyes, and re-read it. He stopped in his tracks, and with a sigh, turned on his heel, heading towards the park. Sometimes, he wondered what would have happened if he was born stronger. Maybe he'd be taking quests about stopping a revolution in an unnamed village- Or defending a town from large beasts.

As he walked, he thought about the next few days, and what they would bring. He knew that tomorrow, he'd have his travelling backpack all ready and nicely done, but he wasn't quite sure of one thing. If he wanted to leave the town. In all honesty, Ri loved the capital, but there is always a time to move on, even from things you like. "Must be nice living here." He'd mutter, twirling the paper around his fingers. His gaze set to the sky, and he seemed to be thinking about many thing- but in reality, he'd just be considering whether to eat or not before leaving.

With a sigh, he marched on, the large Crocus Gardens soon coming into sigh. He'd never be able to find that blasted sword, even in this limited space. Who knows if it even is there anymore? Someone might've stolen it by now. Then again, he didn't run into any thieves in short stay in the city, so he might be wrong about that. As he entered the park- Or however it's called- Ri began looking around. Well, it could be described as lively, that's for sure, and not because of the abundance of leaves and plant-life. It seemed that many people wished to see the nicely-grown vegetation, and he had to admit. The garden was well taken care of. There was no trash on the ground, and no one picked any of the beautiful flowers grown there.

Another soft sigh escaped him as he looked around. It looked liek he had a long day ahead of him. He began by searching through the bushes, yelping, when one of the branches hit him square in the face. A few muttered curses after, and he was back to his search. Next- Came the flowers. They were grown right next to each other, so the sword had no chance of actually blending in the surroundings. The might hunter was on the prowl. He looked at every flower, every corner that he could find, and yet, he couldn't see where the blasted weapon was hidden.

At one point, he even resorted to asking complete strangers. Thankfully, some actually saw his guild mark, and were able to see that he wasn't a bad guy. Most answered truthfully, and some kids decided to play some jokes on him. Like he had time for jokes. He took a deep breath, and calmed himself. "Right. It can't be that hard to find. It's a damned sword, after all. It's not small." He muttered to himself, in hopes of getting his own spirits up. He didn't want to dump a mission he had just barely started after all. No, he'll be able to find that, if it is the last day he lives.

He might want to hurry up, though. To actually wake up at the hour he wanted to, he'll have to go to bed early, and the way this quest was going, it didn't seem like luck was by his side.

Groaning loudly, he brought his hands to his back and popped it, before repeating the action to his knuckles and neck.

To his groans and pops, a growl responded, and the mage turned in its direction, to look at the one who dared threaten him.

Before him, a scruffy dog stood, barking happily. Ri smiled, and almost turned his back on the animal. He didn't even get to do that, before it began growling, once again. Once he locked eyes with it again, he could properly see what it held. In its mouth, the handle of a long sword, which he seemed to happily drag around the mage.

By then, Ri was quite tired of searching for half a day for a sword, and he bent down, aiming to pick the weapon. Truth is, it didn't seem to be as easy as he thought. The dog held onto it with dear life, and at one of Ri's mighty pulls, the dog would pull harder- Until the mage let go, that is. The animal stumbled back, before landing in one of the bushes he checked not long ago.

He -did- feel bad about it. It was a harmless dog, after all. Swiftly, he rushed to it's landing place and placed a hand on it, trying to see if it- he- was still alive. By now, Ri was able to get a pretty look at him.

But, that didn't mean that it was over. Once Ri decided to reach for the sword, that's when the mighty beast sprung to its feet, and began running away. The mage had to follow it. There was no other way. They both ran through the now lamp-lit roads, that became narrower and more winding as they passed through them. Ri could swear he'd seen the same flower about two times, since he started following the dog.

He had to admit, the mongrel knew how to hide. Even with that sword in his mouth, he could still easily run through canals, and fences, and Ri was even scared that he might lose him at one point.

But, it all figured itself out when the dog rushed into an alley, only to find himself hitting a literal brick wall. He turned around, and looked at the mage, who slowly approached.

Ri took this opportunity to finally breathe. While he chased the damned brat, he didn't even realize just how much he tired himself out.

When he finally got close to him, the dog obediently dropped the weapon, almost as if he was taught to do that, and began to give a few soft whines. He couldn't resist this. Ri bent down and ran his hand through his fur, before patting his head, taking the sword, and finally, heading off.

All in all, maybe the day wasn't so bad. He found a cute dog, and got himself some more jewels. Maybe now, he'll be able to actually buy an apart- No, he won't. Taking one last look in his wallet for that day, Ri realized just how much he has left to pay for. The inn, mainly. And the supplies.

He sighed as he thought about it, but figured that hey- He's a mage. It's not like he'll ever have a permanent home.