After two year of being with Blue Pegasus Ava honestly just let out a deep sigh at her current situation. Here she was, with what she felt were some pretty decent skills, still taking on the baby jobs. Apparently something about a peeping tom complaint this week. Oi vey… she knew that magic guilds were basically treated like the dumping ground of al the world’s unwanted tasks sometimes but was this really what they got reduced to? She could shoot explosions from her hands and she was sent to deal with some rando who made the bushes rustle next to the bathhouse…

Beyond that, she was being paired with the bosses… wife? Or something? Apparently she just had a kid too. Ava was vaguely curious how that happened but wasn’t about to ask such an invasive question straight to the woman’s face, even with her own blunt attitude. With a roll back of her shoulders, she tried to loosen up as she leaned her back into a nearby wall, this woman taking her sweet time checking herself out in the mirror, bringing Ava to roll her eyes.

Now, as a member of blue Pegasus, she made an effort, no doubt about it. Even with such menial tasks she still trained her body to be the peak of physical perfection, or rather, the finest balance one can manage when trying to be both strong and a stylish looking bitch in equal amounts. Even with the pittance these small jobs paid she’d managed to upgrade her wardrobe over the years too, and while she still broke out the ‘streets’ from time to time, now she was wearing a silvery jacket, topping a shimmering blue top with faintly see through black trims over her upper chest and neck, and some sleek black pants with a bit more bagginess around the thighs. Still very much her ‘streety’ style, but definitely more for someone who had a bit of money to spend to it.

Her hair was probably the biggest change. Without her hat it showed just how wild her ponytail and fringe could be, and the golden streaks through it seemed to only highlight it’s shape further now. Clearly quite an intricate bit of work given it seemed to hold a good flow to it even after being tied up.

But… Ava got all this done before approaching her partners for these jobs. She still wasn’t on board with the more lax feeling some Blue Pegasus members gave her. But, she supposed she couldn’t judge. She was the low ranker afterall. “Plenty ready. But… ya sure you need to come for this one? I mean I ain’t turnin’ down the help but seems like a waste o’ your time right? Big boss lady’s wife an’ all?”

Ava gave a mild roll of her eyes at the teasing comment and the situation they’d be… ‘enjoying’ during all this. Quite honestly she wasn’t the kind to hide her looks, but to be so eager to be ‘perv bait’ seemed a little unnerving to her, though, she wouldn’t be so bold as to insult one of the arguably most important people in the guild. Giving a faint “Mmm.” In response as she kept her judgements on her energy to herself, hands sinking down her hips, thumbs hooked against the belt of her pants.

Her brow lifted a little when she was told that she was a curiosity to the higher ranking guild member, tipping her weight to the other side and her brow quirking similarly as she eyed up the woman apparently taking an interest in her. “Oh yeah?” She asked back, waiting for an explanation, but as she got it, she couldn’t help but let out a little scoff.

“You make us sound like we’re old pals who ain’t caught up in a while. No offense but yer the head of the guild’s babe. Thas’ probably all I’ll ever need to know about ya. But if you wanna get chatty, I ain’t gonna pretend to be a mute.” She gestured ahead, knowing that the woman knew the area better than she herself did. “So, if you wanna take the lead, chief?~”

“Oh? I’ll take that as a compliment.~ I get the vibe most of your rookie’s are ex-beauty pagent contestants who wanna spice it up a bit with magic.~” She slyly returned without a sense of remorse, smug little smile on her face and all. Ava didn’t mind at all having an attitude or displaying confidence. If that was what got a fun reaction, then all the more power to herself, but respect, kissing up to the higher ups? That definitely wasn’t on her agenda any day of the week.

She did quirk a brow a bit as she was told she caught the master’s eye, thinking how to respond to that a hair longer than normal before just trying to brush it off with a little shrug. “Hey, she’s got her eye in the right place then.~” She let out, though she did feel a hair more pride in the fact that she supposedly had the boss lady’s attention even though she’d mostly been doing grunt work since she joined the guild. She tried to branch out here and there, but her natural talent didn’t seem to go too well with actual training, so she had yet to advance beyond basic guild requests still it seemed.

Realizing she’d gotten a little distracted with the banter, Ava quickly disrobed from the street clothes she’d worn into the bathhouse, grabbing two smaller towels, wrapping one about her chest and the other about her hips like a two piece number. Her hair naturally done up in a ponytail as is and not minding if it flowed out into the waters a bit as she did what little relaxing she could here, following behind the second in command of her guild in all but official name. “So what’s the plan here? Just wait till we see something shimmy the bushes and burst through the wall in nuttin’ but a towel?”

Ava quirked her brow at the mention of a princess, crossing her arms and cocking her hip to the side, lips parted as if she was to say something to challenge this… but ultimately raising a hand to stop herself. “Ya know what, that’s either a long story, or a very dull one, so I think I’m good.” She chuckled a little and shook her head in disbelief all the same, wondering if all the guilds were like this or just Blue Pegasus of all places. Somehow she doubted magic casters tended to be a sane bunch afterall.

With the comment on Alisa, Ava didn’t shrink away from it and flashed a sharp toothed grin. “Awww. Yer not the jealous type are ya?~ Certainly didn’t take ya for it.~” She winked back across, easily reading this as just a bit of teasing, but even if it got serious she likely wouldn’t find it easy to ‘turn it off’ so to speak, more than happy for a bit of messing about with the second in command as far as she was concerned. That may not have actually been the structure of blue Pegasus, but it was likely in an unofficial capacity at least. Who questions the boss’ wife afterall?

She rolled her eyes a bit at the plan, or lack thereof, but she supposed if she got a free spa day out of it there’d be no reason to complain if it didn’t come to anything, making sure the smaller towel around her chest was tied strongly at the front and the one covering her hips was nice and strong at the side of her hips as she came out into the hot spring, stepping slowly into the warm waters and letting out a soft sigh as she did so. Hard to remain tense and battle ready whether she wanted to or not with waters this nice, finding a place to sit and resting her back against the edge of the spring.

“Heh… is that the motto huh? I mean I’m not surprised given all you lookers in the place. S’not like I signed up for a reason afterall.~”

She gave a playful roll of the eyes at the comments about sharing, reaching out as the floating sake tray ended up coming her way. She had to imagine these must be quite the hazard. The joy of a spring was that it was meant to be pure and refreshing. It would be very easy to tip this damn thing and spoil the experience for the next person. Sake was very… ‘thin’, and as an alcohol likely evaporated quicker than the water of the spring, but Ava wasn’t exactly smart enough to see that as part of the equation. Ultimately, it just seemed like it was a bit of a danger and an extra cost to potentially need to clean the pool.

Still though. Couldn’t complain about free booze.

“Ay, cheers to that I guess.” She lifted up her cup and tilted it back down her lips, wiping her lips on the back of the same arm before placing the cup down, leaning back, trying to seem relaxed, but subtly peering out towards the edges of the spring through the thin gap remaining in her eyelids, keeping her tone lax to try and feign some genuine chatter should the potential perv show. “So what brought you to the guild then, if we’re talkin’ about it’s motto an’ all that?”

Ava was a smidge cautious with the cheers, not used to drinking out of sake cups personally. Just not an experience she’d had. The damn things looked too easy to spill, but she tried to be ‘respectful’ of the air and the environment, tilting her head back to take a sip and quickly catching the tray before it floated away and pouring herself another cup. It wasn’t the best taste but, hey, booze was booze. She wouldn’t get drunk or nuthin’ but a little buzz never hurt for an easy soundin’ job like this did it?

As the woman with her talked on, she quirked a brow, smirking a little and chuckling as she rested her Sake cup to one side for a moment, arms open behind her, elbows resting along the rocky edge of the hot spring pool. “What, just cause I auditioned for the boss themselves does everyone think I got a fetish or somethin’?~” She joked of course, the chuckles between her words making that clear enough, rolling her eyes playfully as she gestured across. “Sure, I’m happy to hear the story, but not just ‘cause it involves the guild master eh? After a couple years here I guess I may as well make the effort and start ‘makin’ friends’ and all that ya know?”

Ava’s eyes did flare a little at that tease, narrowing her gaze as she seemed to take it as a little less of a joke despite the clear tone. Ava’s hand lifting to their side, that golden bronze color of their magical circles forming behind their hand for a moment as if they threatened to cast a spell of some sort, but restraining themselves just to the false intimidation factor, both A, knowing they couldn’t take one of the guild’s higher ups in a fight despite their own bravado, and B, still joking on some level. “Oh? And who’s gonna be needing a dentist very soon for spreading that rumor? Swear, the tooth fairy’s gonna have to take out a loan for that poor fella.~”

The magic circle soon died down, they were on a ‘secret mission’ here on some level afterall, and she got comfortable again, even if she was a little miffed. “For real though, not really. I mean, you’re pretty, don’t get me wrong, buuuuut I don’t mess with people who got kids. Too much hassle.” She didn’t mean to offend, but her opinions flowed freely.

“Heheheh… I see.” She muttered, listening along as she remained comfortable with her company. “So she was a pretty forward flirt even back then huh?~”

Ava couldn’t help but let out a mild scoff and an eye roll at the more poetic description that was given. A cliché. Yeah sure, clichés could be such for a reason, but she heard that line from one too many romantics who’d tried to get her to stick around for a longer haul, or people way too into the latest novels or whatever that were being sold on store bookshelves. She wouldn’t say much for or against it, but the reaction was too quick and instinctive to hold back.

“Well I’m sure you two love birds have lived an interesting life since. I won’t pretend to even know what it’s like to be in love or whatever but hey, so long as it works for you two. And I’m sure being in bed with the person runnin’ the most glamerous guild on the continent probably has it’s perks.” She chimed in a little cheekily, taking another sip of her sake, but careful not to let herself get too indulgent. “Was she the guild leader even back then did’ya say? Or did ya not?” She asked, conveying the story may not have had her full attention, but, given they were on watch for someone, it was only right that she wasn’t perfectly attentive.

“Mmm… you tellin’ me to try being in love or sleepin’ with your wife? Cause I mean the invite is tempting but I tend to stay away from people with kids.~” She teased right back, getting a bit more relaxed, but as their little bounding back and forth in this verbal game continued, a twinge in the air caught her ear, glancing over her shoulder, narrowing her gaze for a moment before refocusing it forward. She felt she caught something but best not to bring too much attention to it in the first instance. If it was this supposed perv, she gave them leeway. They were bait afterall, and in her experience, idiots tended to get cocky after NEARLY getting caught. He was bound to slip up a second time if he slipped up at all the first.

“Oh fair fair, I mean, I doubt she always ran the show, but now that she does I doubt it comes without it’s perks. I mean, gold diggers sleep with old rich dudes for a reason, and I reeeeally doubt it's their skill in bed.~” She joked with a toothy grin, but, not wanting to genuinely insult, she was quick to add- “Not that I’m saying you don’t have the full package in Alisa’s case… that package just has first class shipping on top is all.~”

“You make it sound like quite the time. All the dreamy pauses and what not.~” She chuckled at that drape off towards the end. The story about a demon invasion did sound more tempting than a love story… but ultimately they were here for something, and another rustle reached her ear. Her gaze flickered to the side, and she felt certain she had it this time, cautiously leaning over with her gaze subtle, but clearly hinting at the direction she’d heard.

“So.” She began, quietly. “Before we fully relax… how’dya wanna deal with the perv?”

“Two kids?” She asked with some curiosity, though not so much as to genuinely pry if it was forgotten briefly with the mission at hand. She knew the guild master’s woman had been pregnant in recent history but wasn’t really privy to any words around the guild or personal knowledge about her guildmates. Unless she had twins a second child was a surprise to her. Not that she really cared either way, to each their own so long as she still pulled her weight. “How d’you guys handle it anyway? You got a full time nanny or what? S rank jobs can take fucking weeks of travel afterall. Or so I’ve heard.”

Ava couldn’t help but laugh just a little as the woman admitted she almost forgot the reason they were here. Here she was expecting her to catch the guy before her and have been waiting for Ava to catch on as some sort of show off, but she allowed the woman to lead the scene from here. She herself was ready to bust out a magic circle and let loose an eruption right in this guy’s face… only to look across with some mild confusion as she reached for the soap. What? Was this some special kind of magic for-

“….Oh.”

She just heard a resounding THONK as the soap briefly remained solid before turning into a gel against the poor sod’s forehead. She looked back across to the woman with remaining confusion, a little impressed of course but, all the same. Chuckling even at her implication they could just keep soaking in relaxation. “What? With him passed out on the floor there?”

“Fair enough I guess…” She gently mused. The mechanics of it all begged a lot more questions, but she could understand well enough that ‘it’s magic’ was probably gonna be the answer that she got for a lot of those. She wasn’t exactly one to judge about unique family dynamics though. SO long as you lived a happy life and didn’t judge anyone else, she wasn’t gonna judge you. The worst you’d get from her is the curiosity of WHY would you ever even want to settle down or have bratty kids, but that was something she was aware was her own personal choice. There was no reason for her to shove that in everyone’s face beyond an idle comment here or there when such subjects were first brought up. To harp on her disconnect would just be rude afterall.

With the stun of the soap-zooka still present, Ava gave a cautious flick of her gaze between the woman, who had the upmost confidence in her shot, and the unconscious perv. Her lips parted, unsure what argument, if any, she could make against that given the sound it made when it impacted his skull, but slowly began to sink back down into the water, looking over him from the spring itself, eyes flicking back to Sofia as she spoke.

“I mean if you say so… I’m more just concerned about him spoilin’ the mood but, hey, if you’re sure you can ignore him.” She shrugged, supposing he was a little hidden anyway given he was trying not to be spotted, and turning back to relax, sinking herself a little deeper into the water for a moment, enveloping her lower face as she considered the brief display of just how big a gap there was between herself and high end guild members like Alisa and her wife beside her.