The landscape before her didn’t seem merciless at first glance; in truth, the kingdom had a fairy comforting scenery, if not for the presence of conflict that hung over their heads. There was a sense of restlessness here and there, among the civilians, due to the demon incursions that occurred not long ago, but the stranger in a pale hood paid no heed to it as she observed the people beneath her from the rooftop of a building. A favourite pass time of hers was to navigate the tricky surface of a town’s roof structures, leaping off from each one with ease now that her abilities had been restored thanks to her daily training sessions at dawn. Her significant growth in power was an achievement that she quietly mulled over, and she knew that it was not to be taken for granted, which is why she ceased wasting her idle days, but instead, picked up her routine once again.

Her journeys were very rarely mundane, unlike her personality, at best, quite gifted in assuming a stroll whenever the times were most interesting. It was as if there had been a compass implanted into his head that always directed the woman into a fascinating venture in wait, where greater adversaries were seemingly wriggling in their impatience, allies bound to be part of the scheme, and she was surely more than willing to involve herself when an opportunity such as that came to present itself. This instance being no exception to that timely fact, her leisurely thoughts stopping as they yielded to a familiar figure wandering through the streets that she could spot overhead from his spot atop an Astera Inn, where her legs hung loosely over the edges of the red-tiled roof. With a curiosity burning sharply into her thought process, she’d narrow her eyes at the man whom she’d had a rather interesting encounter with.

”Is that…?” she mumbled under her breath, the figure’s uncertain appearance beckoning her interest further.

A soundless sigh escaped from her lips as she leaped off the roof, her body falling aimlessly from quite the height, her white cloak flipping around her furiously. Thankfully there hadn’t been any spectators to her stunt, as the townsfolk were busy tending their business, which was what fuels her strangely calm expression as she gazed straight at the direction of the man walking towards her. And with a second to spare, she spoke one word that’d break the silence.

”Hi.”

A faint smile danced around the firm line of her cupid’s bow upon seeing the man. She hated to admit it, but she couldn’t lie the fact that his attractive visage and figure was rather pleasing to a young maiden’s eyes so when he leaned closer into her to catch a glimpse of her face, the woman blinked nervously and refused to show anyone that heat was rushing up to her neck. Up close, she could see his rugged beard and the stench of alcohol from him wafted into her nostrils.

Snowflake hadn’t expected to see a familiar face, least out of all faces that she knew—certainly not him, but rather, it was a pleasant surprise to be honest since the last time she saw him was several months ago, where she had to actually bail him in the middle of eating tacos. Quite the experience, you’d say, but in truth, she enjoyed the time they’d spent despite the lack of frequency that she’d met him. There was nothing much she knew about this stranger, other than his name, his profession as a mage and where he came from. Truth to be told, Caius was quite different from the people that she’d met; he’s an enigma, and it only made her more curious to discover who he really was, despite all the facts that she’d given him. For that, she’d save it for the next day.

”It’s just Snow,” she corrected the man, as she heaved out a frustrated sigh. ”About last time…” the woman circled her wrists repeatedly—a habit of hers that she’d yet to remove when she had quite a few things on her mind, for she was one who abandoned him in their last encounter. ”My apologies to leave you like that, I was in a rush.” Part of her felt guilty, albeit, another part of her felt he deserved that for reading her journal without her permission. One could possibly tell that she was petty and quite the scornful person; that embarrassing incident was certainly never to be forgotten from her mind.

”I just came to see what all the fuss was about, but I think Astera is a very boring location.” She rolled her eyes in exaggeration—she disliked the place so much that she couldn’t wait to get out of town and continue her journey elsewhere. ”How did your business go?” she folded her arms across her ample bosom, curious as to what excuse he might come up with. Surely, his responses would keep her entertained.

Astera was pretty much a shithole to her, albeit, as Caius said, she couldn’t deny the fact that the sea views from this town were spectacular and more so, rumour has it that the Astera cliffs were the perfect location to enjoy the sight of a sunset or for those who had an adventurous spirit within them, just like herself. ”The buildings are alright, I suppose,” she spun around to take a quick glance at the buildings that enclosed around them. It was rather minimalist and the style of architecture mostly emphasized on only one kind, nonetheless, everyone had their own taste in preference.

”I have to agree, I heavily dislike crowded streets.” To say she felt the drowning in crowds was incomparable to what she feels whenever she’s surrounded by too many people; the people moving like enchanting shoals of fish, loud chatters between sellers and buyers, friends catching up and so on. The hustle and bustle was what brings life to the town, but that almighty swell of humanity was also one that made her feel as if she was confined in a cell.

Man…meat? Did that mean there were edible humans at this place? Bewildered, the woman produced a simple nod to indicate that she was up for whatever he was suggesting at her. ”Seems like your business is thriving.” She was almost taken aback as to how much she was talking with this stranger. It was very unlikely, but she enjoyed the different topics that would be brought into discussion. In truth, for a woman with little words, she was quite the boring person in nature—or so she was told—but somehow, this man appeared to be complement negligent in regards to that.

Her lips parted slightly in awe at the sight of a bottle of whiskey. She certainly wasn’t an alcoholic but when Caius reached into the brown bag and drew out the whiskey, she could almost feel her inner self skipping with excitement, for it has been far too long since she had last taken a sip of alcohol and despite the anticipation she felt, the emotions were indistinguishable on her features, and to the naked eyes of those around her. ”Lovely. Let’s go right away,” she didn’t opt to even hesitate a second as she immediately swept off her legs to proceed towards the beach.

Though it had been brief in reality, the journey to their destination seemed to have stretched on for eons to her, as if time was thinned out into a linear form that made her steps just a tad bit slower. Thankfully, the idle chat between the two filled the time and somehow, made the trip a lot more tolerable and soon enough, the pair was by the shore with the vast sea before her eyes.

The sand was the most gentle hue of gold almost earthen and muted, the humble star of the scene, She watched the water rise up onto the coast; the cool water laps at her feet, fizzing and bubbling like brine. Basking under the rays from the bright, yellow orb that gleamed in the skies above, she watched beyond her, as the wind caresses her face, silver hair sailing behind her like a kite, the sun catching it and turning it gold at the ends. It’s been far too long since she’d last visited a beach and for that reason, she was going to thoroughly enjoy the experience when she had the chance. So, here she was, grabbing the nearest picnic blanket that laid nearby, without any regards to whoever it might belong to, and laid it below her for them to sit.

The woman couldn’t help but heaved out a sigh of frustration when Caius repeated the odd name he’s given to her once again—most likely on purpose, as she whispered ’It’s just Snow’—this time to herself because she’d already given up, knowing that no matter the attempts she tried to correct him, he would still use that nickname to address her, perhaps to irritate her. ”I’m just a regular mage in the guild.” It was the truth, partly; excluding the fact that she was also once the master of the guild, but what was the point of mentioning that now? ”Well, initially, it was just to get stronger. Now, I suppose it feels like home to me.” Her eyes were on the blue-green sea again and her thoughts wandered almost immediately as her memories came back flashing before her eyes.

”Hm, interesting. Why’d you want to know about me?” the female turned around to look at the man, gazing straight into obsidian hues as if she was demanding an honest answer from him. Snowflake was more of a listener than a story-teller; she’d rather have others share a part of their history, that is if they were willing, than disclosing her personal information and her affairs to strangers, rarely even to her closest comrades. ”Also, how am I supposed to drink without any glass?” She shook the bottle in hand, thinking that there was no way in hell she was going to gulp it down from the bottle itself. That would be very inappropriate for a dignified lady like herself.

Almost half the population was a mage at some point in this world—it was that easy for someone to be a mage right off the bat, but it takes years to get better at the job. Majority of the time, people simply do tasks that wouldn’t require an ample amount of effort, such as delivering a pizza or just helping out someone in need. ”You also get to be a mage for a living, from what you said before,” she raised a curious brow. ”Besides, it’s as easy as flipping a penny to join Blue Pegasus, or any guild in fact.” She added, ”If I’m not wrong guildless people can also take quests as well,” she assumed that he was guildless, since he did give her some information about himself during their last encounter, that he was in a guild once but eventually drifted towards the business industry.

She wasn’t sure how much she could trust the words that came out of this man’s clever mouth, but she certainly wasn’t going to believe any of it—at least not completely.

Unbeknownst to her, the motive of this man piqued her interest; what did he want with her? It surely couldn’t just be pure coincidence that they’d met, but for now, she’d just play along for the sake of it, wondering what she might get out of this. ”Battles? No, not at all.” Her prior months have been mostly nothing but unproductive, so much that she had almost lost touch of fighting or even holding her blades. It wasn’t until recently when her idle days have grown into something more rigorous and strict, bidding her own laws and returning to her routine of her daily training. ”Wasn’t there a demon incursion here recently as well? Did you help fend out the foes?” she turned to face the man, her question directed to him.

When Caius answered sarcastically at her, she couldn’t help but roll her eyes in irritation—he clearly couldn’t understand the taste of finer things in life. ”Fine, whatever,” she uttered with an apparent hint of distaste in her voice, as she brought the bottle to her rosy lips and let the amber fluid sit in her mouth a while before swallowing. She closed her eyes, dwelling only on the flavour. She was no alcoholic, but she certainly missed the alcohol; the feeling of the keen burn on her tongue and throat—a burn that made her recoil like a girl. Yet, it was a feeling she longed for during her forlorn days.  

Supposedly, they were just getting to the good part of their conversation, especially when she thought she was going to get some information about the most recent incursion that occurred in Astera since she wasn’t there to participate with the rest of the Fiorian mages. It wasn’t then a mobile lacrima buzzed from a pocket, which certainly wasn’t hers. Perplexed, the woman blinked—she wasn’t even aware that these lacrimas, where one could communicate with another over a distance, existed on this land. It was quite the discovery that she’d made on this day, she’d say. Whilst Caius tended to his matters on his, the woman simply enjoyed the whiskey and the unobstructed views out over the sea before her eyes.

It seemed that their encounter came to a rather quick ending, seeing how her guest appeared to be in a hurry to be at a destination. She was curious as to what kind of business he needed to handle, though perhaps she might save it for a later time. ”Seems quite urgent,” she spoke, before waving with a bottle in her hand. ”Thanks for the whiskey!” By the time she uttered, the man had already headed off, silencing her words with the loud whistle of the gales that blew across the land and she would be there left on the shore holding onto a half drunken bottle of whiskey, which she had all to herself.