Somewhere in Hosenka, a sultry thief had received word that a familiar face had entered the city. At this point, Venus Rosé was so infamously famous that she couldn’t go anywhere anymore without being recognized, fawned at and chased after. The Voidling’s guildmate was quite the celebrity, and with good reason – her magical powers were nearly unmatched and her reputation made her both fearsome and admirable. On top of everything, Venus was a total hottie and Nuala’s been having a crush on her ever since Kaiser had introduced them to each other. Unfortunately the dense Voidling hadn’t been able to properly convince the red-head of her emotions and before she knew it, Venus had lost herself in some other man’s arms.

It was kind of the reason why Nuala had thrown herself at Kazimir. How else would she have survived the silent rejection? Anyways, Hosenka presented the perfect chance for Nuala to catch at least some of Venus’ attention and her mind nearly bubbled over with lewd schemes and plans when she was notified of the hunter’s arrival in the city. Finding out where the famous mage resided was easy, as she had willingly picked one of the finer establishments in town. Nuala had completely forgotten about her divine boyfriend at this point (or Venus’ for that matter) and drowned herself in preparations for the perfect date with the fiery red-head.

When Venus left her chambers to do some shopping, the clever thief had broken into her apartment and began setting the surroundings to be both welcoming and oddly romantic, with an eerie touch – they were citizens of Dahlia City after all. Still uncertain as to what type of food her friend truly preferred, the Voidling went with some classic joyan cuisine: sushi. Nuala prepared a large plate of delicious and fresh fish, set it all up nicely on the table by the bed and then hopped on top of said bed to put herself into position.

Actually, maybe this is too much, she eventually decided however, after giving it a second thought and reconsidered her outfit as well. Nuala aspired to look both dashing and casual, not at all like she intended to seduce the huntress, and therefore had chosen a rather simple, black silk dress that complimented her curves and made both her eyes and her hair shine beautifully.

After some more reconsideration, the Voidling threw herself back into the sheets and pulled out one of the magazines she had found on Venus’ nightstand. Reading a magazine would definitely make her look casual, while the dress made her look dashing: perfect plan! Now all that was left for Nuala to do, was to wait for her inamorata to arrive and because she had no idea how long it might take, Nuala began reading through the pages of the magazine she had snatched earlier, only to find out how incredibly boring ‘vogue’ and ‘fashion’ was. Before she knew it, the poor Voidling had fallen asleep on Venus’ bed and was now peacefully dozing off.

ZzZZzzZZZZZZZzzZzzzZzZZzzz

Having a bounty on her head had perks of its own, especially when people often gossiped about her guild, Daeva Eye, whenever they took note of her amongst the crowds and Venus would obtain information with ease on where her members were located. Granted, it seemed coincidence was probably her best assumption, when she overheard the rumours that the majority of her sisters had settled around in the same city as hers; Hosenka. Venus had acted upon the new information that she’d collected, immediately seeking to find any of the familiar faces from her guild albeit, luck hasn’t been on her side so far.

Her face was no longer a new and foreign one, after having her face plastered on posters in nearly every part of the city, and people whispered among themselves as she dug into her pockets. Some stirred from fear (perhaps), she couldn’t tell, but it was no surprise that people liked to stare at odd, shiny things from afar, and she was no different. Awkward and curious stares have always been a part of her day, whether she liked them or not, and the fiery woman didn’t want to acknowledge whatever they found interesting on her features, be it her bright red hair or her uncanny glare, and she simply busied herself with her routine of grocery shopping for the day ahead.

”Ugh, I’m tired.”

The Siren hardly did anything for the day, other than exploring the streets of the beautiful city; the markets that always attracted hordes of people who’d crowd amongst themselves as soon as the morrow drew its first sunrise, but it felt as though all the energy from her body had been sucked out by the crowds that flocked the Hosenka roads like ants. Once she had returned to her establishment, she could barely muster up the spirit to greet the butler or the concierge of the hotel that she had been renting for her stay in town and climbed up the stairs to her room without uttering a single word.

Out of all the things that Venus was expecting, a romantic surprise definitely wasn’t one – at least not from anyone else other than her beau – so, when she opened the doors to her chambers to see the lovely setup that was prepared, she had to recheck the apartment number to confirm whether she had actually entered the correct room or her exhaustion and fatigue had led her to read the number mistakenly. The redhead was convinced that she was in her right mind when she finally saw the beautiful Voidling laying in the sheets of her bed, looking all charming even while asleep. It was strangely odd of hers to make these arrangements all of a sudden and Venus couldn’t help but smile at the sight of her and the efforts that her closest girlfriend had made to perform this little surprise. To say the least, it certainly made her day.

The huntress plopped softly on top of Nuala, her head resting into the comfortable location of her friend’s plump bosom. Sometimes, the comfort of a woman’s breasts were better than a chest filled with hard, toned muscles like her boyfriend’s. ”Hey babe,” she grinned at the Voidling, assuming that she’s woken up from her beauty sleep. ”I wasn’t expecting you to break into my room, or to even find you in here.” Nuala was a master thief, handy with her daggers so it was no surprise to her that she could break into her apartment or any other rooms for that matter. ”Did you prepare all of this for me?” She fluttered her eyelashes sweetly at the girl, hoping that she was actually not imagining all of this orchestration.

The Voidling awoke to the feeling of Venus’ soft bottom plopping down on her, and when she opened her eyes she found the huntress snuggled up against herself. It was a comfortable position to be in, and the cat-like thief stretched a little before putting her arm around her friend. It’s been so long since she’d last seen a familiar face that wasn’t the Captain’s – a guild mate, someone she considered family. The members of Daeva Eye were spread out across the country for the better part of the year, and it was only during significant events such as the Grand Magic Games that they all gathered in the same town for a longer time frame; due to this it had been months since she and Venus had last met, and a sense of relief washed over Nuala the moment she laid eyes on the infamous red-head.

“I missed you.”

Three simple words were enough to convey how Nuala was feeling, and even though the Voidling hid her emotions well a smile had found its way to her lips. “And yes, I did.” A lot of effort had been put into the preparation of this midnight date, and while Nuala usually wasn’t the romantic type she had a feeling that Venus would enjoy the gesture and knowing that was enough reason for her to set up something like this. “The guards announced your arrival in Hosenka with fanfares and trumpets,” Nuala said and chuckled lightly – the huntress carried a massive bounty on her head; on top of everything she was also the most famous sorceress in the country, making it impossible for her to have some privacy or travel places without everyone immediately finding out about it.

“I can’t imagine living like that, honestly. I don’t know how you do it.” Nuala was sworn to darkness, luck and the night; the shadowy thief had built her entire career on being unseen, unknown and unnoticed – she had never received a bounty in her life, because she had never been caught. And Nuala had every intention to keep it that way forever. “I think the royal family should pardon you,” she suggested with a smirk, slowly pushed herself up and reached out for the plate of sushi. “After all you have the power to destroy their stupid castle, but you haven’t yet.” Nuala put the plate of sushi between them and began feeding Venus pieces of it, assuming she would be hungry after coming home during such a late hour of the day.

Venus’ fame came with a lot of inconveniences, such was the lack of privacy and the ridiculous amount of rumours about her, all of which spread through the cities of the country like wildfire. Of course Nuala had gotten wind of one of those rumours too and the possessive Voidling couldn’t help but ask her about it. “It’s been so long since we last spent some time together. I haven’t returned to Dahlia for a while now,” she began and bit down on some salmon sashimi. “Rumour has it you are seeing someone other than me now – I wonder if that’s true?” The Voidling put on a playfully sad expression, and with puppy eyes and a cute pout she intended to make her friend feel as guilty as possible – even if it was just for a moment.

“I want to know how you've been before we have to go our separate ways again and you are back in bed with people that are way less handsome and charismatic than me.” It sounded like Nuala was being reproachful, and in a way she was. The thief and Venus had shared some moments of passion in the past, with their chemistry being especially intense at the beginning of Daeva Eye’s creation. Unfortunately with the guild being constructed, neither of them ever had the time to fully act on it and before they knew it they’d been torn away from each other and thrown down paths that led them to other people.

”I missed you, too.”

It had been far too long since they had last spoken to each other, and having reunited with her most beloved guildmate in her arms only reminded her of the uncountable number of days she went through without a friend by her side. Of course, there was her boyfriend whom she would meet every once in a while albeit, they spent more time apart than they were together. Venus was hardly a person who was dependent on people around her but even then, there were times when she would’ve preferred to have someone with her; someone other than her trusty companion, Blair. The words that she’d spoken to Nuala may not hold much of a deeper meaning nonetheless, Venus was truly glad that she was here with her.

Her curiosity made her wonder about what initiated the Voidling to set up a midnight date for her but the question in her head vanished just as fast as it appeared when Nuala left a remark about her entrance into the town. Venus rolled her eyes. ”Tell me about it. It was so exaggerated, quite embarrassing actually,” she pretended to gag before breaking into a chuckle. Ever since she had amassed a huge number of bounty on her head, her visits to towns have become more and more publicized and invasive to her privacy that she couldn’t travel anywhere without being known. At this point, Venus had already become so accustomed to the attention that she’d found a variety of ways to escape the clutches of the media and bounty hunters in her way.

”That’s what I thought too, in the beginning. I hadn’t realised that all this unnecessary publicity came together with the bounty.” She propped herself onto the elbow, her face cupped into her palm as she laid beside the Voidling. ”There’s the thrill of being hunted, I suppose – running for your life.” The huntress grinned from ear to ear. Perhaps people would say she was ignorant for putting herself out there in danger, wasting her life escaping from those who were trying to catch her, but she would simply just reply that ‘It was part of the fun’. The thief, on the other hand, was in a completely different situation from hers; unnoticed and free, like how she once was before and truthfully, she’d missed that kind of life where she wasn’t watched like a hawk.

The woman let out a sarcastic snort. ”As if they would. The royals are greedy and biased, I’m sure they’ll put my head up on a spike any chance they get to please the citizens.” She sat herself up cross-legged on bed and reached for some sushi that her girlfriend had prepared for her. ”I wasn’t aware you knew how to cook.” Surprised but content at the same time, she’d have her mouth hung open as the attractive Voidling feed her pieces of sushi. Returning back onto the topic with the royals and Nuala praising Venus of her abilities, she added, laughing modestly, ”You flatter me too much, Nuala. Although, that doesn’t sound like a bad idea at all. At least, when I go to prison, I’ll go out with a boom.” Her hands imitated the sound that she made before giggling heartily.

Who would’ve known that the rumours of her dating a fellow wizard was spreading like wildfire that it’s even reached the ears of her guild members? The feisty red-head nervously wrapped a finger around her scarlet hair, unknowing where she should begin her story of how she – a harlot – fell in love with a man on their first date. ”It is true,” she began, anxiously running her hand through her hair, her cheeks flushed scarlet almost the same shade as her crimson hues. For some reason, this entire scenerio felt as though she was admitting something guilty to her parents and was about to be punished. ”His name is Noel Raion. You might’ve heard of him or seen his face on the bounty posters as well. The man’s got a big bounty just like mine.”

The woman frowned seeing Nuala put on a sad cutesy appearance upon finding out that someone had stolen her heart and Venus slapped her arm playfully in return. ”Don’t do that to me. You know you’re important to me.” Venus wasn’t one to show much affection, it also embarrassed her to say things like these to those whom she considered her family but once in a while, it wasn’t all so bad to express her fondness. ”Hey, he’s not that bad.” She crossed her arms across her chest and pouted. ”I don’t know much about him honestly, but he’s dreamy enough to make me fall for him rather fast.” She couldn’t believe herself that she was admitting this to her friend and even more so, she couldn’t believe that the day would come when she was swept off her feet by a man so unexpectedly.

”Now, now, what about you? Are you seeing someone?” A wicked smirk drew upon the line of her lips. Due to her lack of patience, Venus didn’t bother to wait for her response as though she already knew what the answer would be. ”Who’s the man that stole this thief’s heart, huh?” It was truly a shame that both of them now had their own separate lives, and perhaps if the two hadn’t drifted apart and met other people, Nuala and Venus possibly could have been something more than guildmates albeit, the proposal was merely nothing more than wishful thinking.

“You have always been so easy to talk to,” said Nuala, a faint smile now gracing the thief’s lips. Venus Rosé was charming, down to earth and simple at heart, a person Nuala easily bonded with regardless of their differences. Her youthfulness and high spirits made her a likable person, and even though the Voidling was older and more reserved, Venus’ aura was like wildfire and Nuala melted away in its presence. “I hope your bounty won’t get in the way of any of your future plans,” she continued, and slipped a piece of nigiri sushi into her mouth. Maybe Nuala was just too suspicious of the unknown – a woman like Venus could certainly handle the infamy, the publicity and all the little disadvantages those things brought along.

When Venus commented on the royals, Nuala snarled in agreement. “Sometimes I feel like the entire tournament was just a way for them to put us on display.” The Grand Magic Games were an event of the past, but the Voidling hadn’t forgotten about its sparse rewards, and the royal’s failure to hold up to their end of the bargain; perhaps they’d heard rumours, acquired some hidden knowledge but in deciding not to meet Daeva Eye, they’d saved themselves. But of course no one knew this, no one but a few selected members of the guild.

“Oh, I don’t – I ordered all of this from the hotel’s personal chef,” said Nuala and laughter erupted from her chest. “I wouldn’t ruin my only chance at a date with you with my horrendous cooking.” Her voice echoed through the walls and the thief shook her head, amused by the fact that Venus thought her capable of preparing such a lovely meal – even if it was just rice and sliced up, raw fish. The conversation continued and moved its focus to more personal matters, and when her guild mate expressed genuine joy over her relationship, the Voidling felt conflicted, but happy for her friend. “Sounds like a real catch,” she commented and rolled her eyes. Two bounty-carrying bounty hunters, it was probably a good match whether Nuala wanted to accept it or not.

Venus’ behavior showed signs of mild anxiety and nervousness the moment she’d brought up the topic and to be frank, the thief couldn’t fault her for it. Nuala herself didn’t feel entirely comfortable speaking about her feelings and putting her weaknesses up in the open like that, but luckily the conversation wasn’t about her yet. “That name does ring a bell, but I can’t seem to remember where I have heard it before,” she spoke, putting on a thoughtful expression. The Voidling sat up, puffed up the nearest pillow and leaned backwards against the backframe. She crossed her legs and breathed a heavy sigh, suddenly wondering why she’d chosen such a complicated topic to speak about. “Perhaps I should be on the lookout for those bounty posters,” she suggested after failing to put the pieces back together.

Nuala’s and Noel’s encounter had been pleasant, but too brief for the Voidling to remember him, and far too casual for her to assume he could possibly be the holder of such a large bounty.

“You should be careful with whom you surround yourself with, especially if you don’t know that person well. It’s always the easiest to betray those who are closest to you.”

It was a fair warning, one Nuala didn’t speak out lightly, and the woman had meant every word she’d said. Soon the conversation took a turn and drifted into another direction, one she’d hoped to avoid for as long as possible. Running her hands through her dark hair, Nuala pulled out and lit a cigarette.

“I guess I am?”

The thief sounded uncertain, almost as if she wasn’t sure what she wanted anymore. “He’s recently been titled a Wizard Saint,” she took a puff from her cigarette and rolled her eyes, showcasing that Nuala didn’t actually think much of that title. It didn’t mean anything. “I have found myself chasing after him for years now, but now that he’s finally mine there’s suddenly something missing,” she admitted quietly. “He hardly ever showed interest in me, but once he did and I felt as though I’d finally succeeded in stealing his heart, everything suddenly became...bland.” With her lips around the cigarette and her eyes closed, the Voidling’s mind began twisting and twirling, and she was overcome by feelings of uncertainty and guilt.

“I guess much like any item I have ever stolen he lost his charm the moment he became mine.”

The young red-head gave the Voidling a wicked grin, almost as if she had a ridiculous thought in her head and she did. ”Will you come see me if I end up in jail?” People were usually terrified of getting caught mostly because they worry they’ll end up rotting in prison, having their last breaths at such a horrendous place rather than their death bed. But, her reason was different: she was terrified of being alone and caged, again and if it were on her, she’d rather choose death than have her freedom taken away. Nuala made a very significant point and Venus wondered if all this was worth risking her future, but for a moment she wasn’t frightened of it and her worries faded into nothing. Perhaps it was their little reunion that blinded her from everything else other than the elation of seeing her best friend again, but at the same time, she wasn’t worried because she knew that there were people like Noel and Nuala who stood by her.

”I’d say it certainly worked out for them. Look at the attention they received from the tournament but, so did us mages.” The tournament was one that left quite an impact in her life, not just by rewarding her with the fame that she received from the Fiorians but also the shameful defeat that resulted from her match with the Blue Pegasus Guildmaster. ”Tch.” She clicked her tongue against the roof of her mouth as she poured herself and Nuala a glass of orange juice to wash down the sushi that they’d been stuffing their mouth with. Despite their guild placing as one of the winners in the tournament, the loss of her match frustrated her to no end that she’d thrown herself into endless days of training until the day for her to claim victory arrived.  

The royals were selfish bastards, that was true, when the promise to meet the selected Daeva Eye members came unfulfilled. She did occasionally wonder when the time would come albeit, words from the royals have been nothing but silent as a graveyard. Gossiping about the royals was probably enough for the day, as the two shifted their discussion from political to personal matters; one that she’d been wanting to converse about with Nuala. ”My my, how bad can you be. I’d like to be impressed by your horrible cooking skills at one point. I just hope you don’t poison your man at least.” She teased before Nuala displayed her apparent disapproval towards her choice of men. Venus couldn’t help but laugh at her reaction.

The Siren has had her share of dating men in the past; a string of horny individuals whom she’d used only to satiate her sexual desires and Venus had thought Noel to be the same as the rest of them; a one night stand that she’d most likely end up forgetting. Who knew that a harlot would end up falling for simple guy that easily? ”You’ve met him before? Surprise, surprise.” The woman raised her eyebrows in curiosity as she raised her glass of orange juice onto her lips. She nearly spat the juice back into the glass the second it entered her mouth then placed it back onto the table, refusing it to drink it any further – apple juice was definitely better than orange.

The warning that Nuala had given to her had brought upon a solemn expression upon her features as she reclined on the bed on her stomach with her elbows propped up, looking at her guildmate.  ”Hell, you give really good advice,” she’d say. Perhaps Nuala was talking from experience, she couldn’t tell, but her Voidling friend was one who rarely displayed affection and receiving such advice probably meant that Nuala cared enough about her. ”That’s probably the sweetest thing you’ve ever said to me.” Nonetheless, what she’d said replayed inside her head. Venus didn’t know much about her lover’s life other than a few notable facts that he’s mentioned to her before and the current conversation dawned the sudden realization upon her that she wanted to know more about him.

It was entertaining to her talking about their love lives and the men that they involved themselves with and girl talk usually always came along with unnecessary advice, so Venus would offer her own as Nuala did hers. ”Wizard Saint, huh? He better be a goddamn saint to you, otherwise he should know what’s coming for him,” she spoke, nodding to herself that she’d keep her word if the man ever dared to hurt her friend. ”Nuala, you’re a hot piece of meat. You don’t need to chase men.” The woman rolled her eyes and laid flat on her back as she stared up at the ceiling while her fingers idly played with her hair.

”Sounds like he wasn’t entirely worth your chase. That, or something is lacking between you two.” Coming from her, she sounded like she was some sort of love expert as though she knew everything about relationships. Truth was, she was still figuring out her own. ”Maybe try doing something spontaneous, or spice up the sex.” She giggled heartily like a manic at her own statement, tilting her head back to watch her response.

“Of course I will,” said Nuala, and her amethyst eyes locked with Venus’ ruby ones. “If only to break you out.” The thief broke into laughter; envisioning a prison break with someone such as Venus Rosé at her side truly seemed greater than any heist she could ever imagine. Still, the thought of getting locked up in a dungeon in Era or Crocus wasn’t exactly Nuala’s idea of a good time and she’d rather they both stay far away from such instances.

The Voidling noticed Venus’ mood change, and for a moment the purple haired woman recalled the day of the battle between her guild mate and Alisa Vollan, the guild master of Blue Pegasus. Venus had faced a bitter loss that day, but it was a battle no one other than her could have survived for as long as she did. It seemed that Alisa herself was a rather likable person anyways, and because of this Nuala hoped that the red-head didn’t fret too much over it.

“Ah, thank you.” Nuala accepted the glass of orange juice her friend had poured and greedily took a sip. The Voidling liked orange juice unlike the huntress, who spat it back out the moment she’d tasted it. Arching a brow at that sort of behavior, Nuala shrugged it off and continued to drink from her glass. Venus was surprised to learn that she was in fact familiar with Noel, but even after putting more thought into it Nuala couldn’t quite remember.

In the end their meeting had been rather insignificant after all. Slowly she reached for another piece of sushi, calmly chewing on the fish and swallowing it before putting her glass down and letting herself fall backwards onto the bed. Nuala uttered a sigh and closed her eyes. There was still the obvious elephant in the room they had yet to address, but it seemed that neither of them was willing to at the moment. For now the two would simply enjoy idle conversation.

Much to Nuala’s relief, Venus didn’t seem offended that she decided to give her a piece of advice, and perhaps she was even grateful for it. Rolling over and pulling a pillow in between her legs, the Voidling looked at her friend and gave her a weak smile. “If you think it’s good advice, then you should follow it,” she suggested, hoping that Venus would do just that. It was a strange world they lived in, and with how frequently guilds and high ranking mages disappeared, the thief never felt completely safe – even if she had someone like the Captain at her side.

And shortly after the conversation switched over to just that: the Captain. Nuala wasn’t very open when it came to her relationship with Kazimir, and the Voidling preferred not to be seen in public with the Wizard Saint. His fame and reputation preceded him, and wherever Kazimir went he was recognized almost immediately. Of course it was a compliment to his talents and good deeds, but Nuala was a very private person and she didn’t enjoy having her one weakness–a lover–be made public knowledge to the entire country. She often worried if it was too late for that already. When Venus commented on the entire situation however, the thief couldn’t help but snort and eventually laugh at her words. They were blunt, very straight-forward and honestly the damn truth.

“I’ll remind him next time I see him,” she said with a soft giggle and pulled a second pillow under her head.

“I suppose the good news is that he does treat me very well. He’s surprisingly lenient with my thievery, which is proof that the military is corrupt.” Spoken in a matter-of-factly manner, this statement left nothing to the imagination. Nuala wasn’t surprised to see the Rune Knights disbanding, and even her darling Captain wasn’t entirely innocent and as lawful as he claimed to be. But that’s what made their relationship work in the end. When Venus suggested spicing up their love life, Nuala could only roll her eyes at the much younger girl. “You try having an exciting sex life with someone who’s been wearing the same uniform for 5 years now, and refuses to eat anything other than pancakes.” It was only when Nuala said those things out loud that she realized that Captain Kazimir was kinda...lame.

“Anyways,” she continued and breathed a heavy sigh.

“Have you heard from Kaiser recently?”

A content grin spread onto her lips upon knowing that the Voidling would help her escape no matter what – that is, if she were to end up in prison. Nuala wasn’t just another member of the guild or a simple guildmate to her, but rather, a best friend and despite their differences, Venus always viewed the two of them as two peas in a pod. Having not seen her for several months, a reunion like this brought a pang of nostalgia to her, reminiscing to when they first joined Daeva Eye.

Out of all the things that they could’ve done together, the girls simply sat down and talked, catching up all the things that they’ve missed; all the life updates, including the chit-chat about the men in their life. Truth be told, Venus didn’t even know until now that this was what she’d been needing; a girls’ heart-to-heart. Moments like these were rarer than often so she treasured the time that they spent and Nuala’s presence around her for as long as she could, for they were both busy human beings, always tending to business of the guild and on Venus’ case: attending to her clients’ assignments.

”Gods, you picked quite a man there.” The Siren teased, giggling at Nuala’s remark for her own beau. Aside from their leisurely discussion about boys and daily gossip, there was still a lot on the plate that was left to be discussed; one of them being in regards to their guild mistress. When the rogue finally brought the topic into light, Venus let out a long breath that she didn’t realise she was holding. ”Nada. Didn’t receive any mails or even heard any rumours on her whereabouts.” She brought herself back onto her sitting posture with a pillow stuffed under her leg, now that they were on a more serious conversation.

”She’s either actually missing or in an eternity slumber somewhere.” Though there was a hint of sarcasm in her tone, she was still serious about what she said and from what Nuala insinuated, it seemed that she didn’t hear anything from her either. ”I dropped by the guild last time and checked her office – nothing looked suspicious so I’d assumed she was merely busy with her routine.” It was possible that Kaiser disappeared without a single trace and if that was the truth, the state of their guild was unstable and without having a guild mistress, it’d also mean that they’d be welcoming rivals and enemies alike.