CHAPTER FOUR: THE GUILD'S NAME.

Kaira had spent the entire night hunting. By the time she had staggered back home, she was practically a zombie.

"I hate…Sienna…I hate that witch." She mumbled as she dumped the fresh meat in the cooling pit.

The most challenging animal to hunt was the silent pig. As its name suggested, it was light on its hooves, and its hide was too tough for arrows to pierce. In addition to that, they had a nasty habit of shaking off their prey from trees, and that was the only way to safely hunt a silent pig. Taking them head-on is a hustle because they are very aggressive.

Yes, for a few minutes, Kaira had actually thought that she would die by the hooves of a pig, all because she was too exhausted to think straight.

"Where the hell is Sienna anyway?" Kaira asked herself as she yawned into her hands.

It was dawn now, but the cabin was empty. This in itself was not unusual, but there were barely any signs that Sienna had slept in the cabin.

Kaira walked to the living room and threw her body on to the three-seater couch with deep red cushions.

"Just…just for an hour then…I'll train..." her eyes slowly closed, and she drifted into a peaceful slumber.

After about a few minutes later, noise filled the room. It was the sound of joyful laughter and cheerful conversation. A deep voice, male. A soft feminine voice, not Sienna's and then Sienna's voice.

'Did we have guests?'

Kaira's brows furrowed.

Couldn't they just let her sleep for five minutes??

-What gives?-

"SHUT UP!!" Kaira growled, then turned her body to the other side of the couch.

"How long are you planning to sleep? At this rate, you'll be arrested for treason." Sienna's voice announced.

"Nyat nyish nyate nyou'll nye arnyested nyor nyereason,” Kaira mocked her voice heavy with sleep.

"Are you a kid?" Sienna's voice sounded as though it was far away.

"Shut up,…let me sleep, you monster!" she responded.

Sienna didn't respond, but for some reason, her presence began moving towards Kaira.

'well, good.'  Kaira thought she would punch Sienna once she got close enough. Just a little more…a little closer.

Sienna's presence completely vanished, and a chill ran up her spine.

-Oh no!-

"Aaarrgh! What the hell!?" something excruciatingly cold burned its way down Kaira’s back. "Ice? Really? Are you serious??"

"Yes, I'm serious! You've been out since yesterday!" Sienna had her hands crossed on her chest. She had a green apron on and tight-fitting blue pants.

The room glowed orange thanks to the fire and all the surrounding candles.

"What do you mean since yesterday, I've literally just fallen asleep!?" Kaira defended.

Kaira's gaze roamed the room and noticed the owners of the voices. A petite girl, about twelve or eleven with peach hair and dazzling red eyes. Haru, she was definitely the owner of the soft voice.

Haru smiled brightly when their gazes met, and before Kaira could introduce herself to the auburn-haired boy next to Haru, the girl had already jumped on her.

"Kaira!! It's so good to see you again!" The girl hugged her tightly.

"Haru? Geez, it has been a while. I thought you were coming on Sundath with your brother?…today is Sadath. Were you that excited to see us again?"

Haru was a merchant, well, not officially but she just had eyes for exotic herbs. Perhaps it was related to her healing magic, but she seemed to be an expert in potion-making as well.

Last winter, Kaira and Sienna had just completed a job, and on their way back, they had found her lying next to a stream that flowed from the mountains. Apparently, she had ingested some toxic herbs while she had been searching for its properties. She was lucky in two ways, one, there had not been a blizzard, and two, that Sienna had the antidote to the toxic plant.

"Isn't Sundath today?! We have just arrived, though." Haru proclaimed, looking a little confused.

"It's SUNDATH!! Nooo! Give me back my time! I still have things to do here! I just fell asleep, please Gods!" Kaira folded her hands and closed her eyes. "Please..let's go back in time, or just make Haru confess to lying!!"

"Now that you are up…how about-?"

"No...no more devilish tasks that steal my childhood away!"

"Calm down. You'll be going with Spade there, so it'll be fast."

"Spade?"

It was then that Kaira turned to fully assess the boy who was across from her. From the looks of things, he had been staring at her for quite a while. He turned away and swirled his cup's hot contents, causing more steam to rise out of it.

He was large in build. Even seated, Kaira could tell that he would easily tower over her. But that was not his arresting feature. It was his hair that captivated her the most. It was a deep auburn that made it look almost red with traces of dark-brown, or was it black highlights? His hair was almost shorter than shoulder-width, but instead of it looking untidy, it fell with grace.

He had deep red eyes with specks of light brown and a green tint around its outer ring. Simply put, he took her breath away.

"Oh, right, I never introduced you guys. This is my brother Zen."

The boy cleared his throat then whispered something that sounded like 'Spade.'

"Oh, I mean, Spade! Sorry, Zen is a childhood nickname."

The boy finally turned and waved at Kaira, but before Kaira could respond to the gesture, a wooden spoon landed on her head.

"Ouch!” She turned to Sienna. “What?"

"So…we are out of wood, why don't you two," She pointed at Spade and Kaira. "Go get some for us, ladies."

"Ladies? You're more of monster than-." The wooden spoon landed on her head again.

“‘Than’ what?" Sienna smiled, and a chill ran up Kaira's back.

"N-N-Nothing," Kaira replied. "I'll go wash my face first."

"And don’t forget to respond to the note your piette has," Sienna said, turning away. "Come on, Haru, we have a lot to cook up."

The peach haired girl got off from Kaira and followed Sienna into the kitchen.

Kaira stood and headed to the bathroom when she spotted something black move swiftly from the corner of her eye. She grabbed the blade attached to her outer thigh, ready to throw it, when Sienna cleared her throat loudly.

-Right, it can't be anything dangerous when Sienna is around.- She thought and loosened her grip.

A small black bird landed on her shoulder as she proceeded to the bathroom. Kaira lit the candles, then stared at her reflection. She still looked tired. The bags under her eyes were still noticeable. Had she really slept for two days, or were they just playing a prank on her?

The blackbird with deep crimson markings in its eyes landed on the washbasin, clearly tired of being ignored. There was a tiny barrel-like thing tied to its leg.

"Hey, little guy, may I?" she asked the bird.

The bird tilted its head to the side before placing its left foot forward.

Kaira untied the attached item and brought it closer to her eyes. The moment she tried opening the tiny 'barrel-like thing', it enlarged itself to up to twelve times its initial size.

"Oh, it's enchanted. Well, that makes it easier. Let's see." Kaira scanned the official document. It had the royal guild crest both at the top and at the bottom of the page. She had had no idea that the crest was a silhouette of a maiden with white roses around her. It was simpler than Kaira had anticipated, and that threw her off. Had she missed seeing the crest at the offices?

"You know, little birdie, royalty doesn't come around here often. I thought the official crest for any royalty would be swords, or I don't know. Something that catches your eye at first glance. I didn't think it would also pull you in emotionally."

"I bet all you do is deliver, huh birdie?" Kaira sighed. "You probably don't even know what you are dying for. Is that sad, though? I'm not sure. I'm better at knowing how others feel than knowing how I feel, so I'll just read it to you."

"Dear Kaira

We are happy to inform you that you have been selected as a candidate for the following weaker guilds: Black Butterflies, Phthalo Niche (Western Branch), Desert Oasis, and Night gladiators.

The locations and previews of the guilds have been attached to the containment tube.

You can view a picture of the guilds in the communication crystal inside the tube.

You are advised to respond before midnight; otherwise, a delay may result in false punishments. Non-reply may result in death.

                                                                             From: The Royal Guild Association."

"May result in death? See birdie, death is treated as a side-effect, like when you eat the yellow mushrooms on Apple's grove, it calms your nerves, but you also get gassy."

Kaira pet the bird under its chin.

"Since we won't meet again, do you wanna pick for me?" She showed the bird the letter then pointed at the choosing slots.

"Stomp on the guild you want me to go to with your cute little foot."

The bird tilted its head as if it was asking her if she was stupid.

"Okay, calm down. No need to be rude." She sighed.

"KAIRA! HURRY UP BEFORE IT STARTS TO SNOW!" Sienna's voice called out.

"GOT IT!" she yelled back.

"You heard the lady! Now pick birdie!"

The bird shook its head as though it was disappointed in her.

"Huh?! You rude little-." Before she could finish, it stamped its foot on the letter.

"Oh, Night Gladiators?" the bird shook its head again, and Kaira frowned. "You clearly picked Night Gladiators!"

The bird sighed.

-Did this bird just sigh!? Who raised this thing?!-

Kaira examined the paper again. "Oh, It's Night Gladiolus."

The bird nodded.

"Alright, do you have a quill or an extra feather? That, you know...you are not using?"

"tch!"

-Tch? Did the bird just click its tongue at me?-