Got A Map?, ISO:open

[Ecstasy]

Great. Just great.

Alicia look all around but the she saw the same scene in either direction. Trees, trees and more trees. She was lost, there was no doubt about that. What was she thinking wandering around the woods by herself and so close to nightfall.The dark was already starting to set in as she sat down on a rock trying to figure out what to do. If she attempted to find her way out she could end up deeper in the forest. Of course, sitting on this rock would get her nowhere. It's not like my knight in shining armor will pop out from behind a tree. She sighed and brought her knees to her chest contemplating her next move but her mind soon wandered to current songs stuck in her head, whether or not she should get a pet and what her brother was up to. As she thought about Jake she pulled the letter back out of her pocket and read it again. I can't believe he's getting married. Married! She was still trying to wrap her mind around this tidbit of information. She was happy for him of course, but saddened that he had that special someone in his life while she was still alone. Alone and lost in the woods.

She hopped off her rock, closed her eyes and spun in a circle. When she stopped, she opened her and walked in that direction . Hopefully it would lead her back to the village. " I'm just a summer girl. I wear my flip flops and when i wear my hair down, thats when the party starts..." she started to sing as she walked through the maze of trees. It helped to keep her mind off the fact that she could be wandering around in the woods all night.

[HinoKaze]

"Singing? That's not something I meant to hear at this time near the night..." Shin thought to himself, walking through the forests and also releasing his grip on his sword hilt which hung strapped behind Shin's waist. He was pretty sure he didn't need it on this path, but it wasn't good to let his guard down in this forest. He stopped for a second and looked around, tracing the sound back to direction it came from. It was pretty faint, but he felt he could make out where it was coming from. By the way, where was he anyways? He didn't particularly pay attention to where he was walking a lot in the forest save for the paths he memorized to be dangerous, and that was actually quite a few of them. He didn't really need to know much else since he could teleport himself back to around the village or his own house even, which came from practicing the teleportation spell for years.

Shin stopped to concentrate once again on the direction the singing was coming from before judging roughly the distance. "....Alright then, this should work." Shin said before he simply disappeared, then reappeared not far from in front of Alicia via teleporation. He opened his eyes since he didn't enjoy the scenery around him while teleporting, but at least he wasn't rocketed out like when he first started using magic. "....Ah. Good, it worked. Are you lost?" Shin asked the girl in front of him. He also looked her over. He didn't look particularly threatening with his simple attire of jeans, a white t-shirt and a blue vest, but this girl seemed rather ill prepared, more like she was on a casual stroll through the forest rather than really knowing what could happen around these parts. He at least had his longsword to defend himself with should the need arise. "You might wanna reconsider going this way, it can get kinda dangerous here." Shin said, somewhat remembering the area. He checked the trees and found a mark he had put on it with his sword. Yep, this was one of the paths he generally kept away from.

[Ecstasy]

The sky had gotten much darker since she had begun singing on what she thought was her way back to the village. She had moved on to a new song now, telling herself that the darkness mixed with the eerie feel of the forest was not freaking her out. As she walked farther on the path she had a feeling that she was going the wrong way to get to the village. Or maybe it was the howl she heard coming from the direction she was heading that made her change her mind. As she was about to turn back the way she came a figure popped out in front of her causing her to scream in fright.

"....Ah. Good, it worked. Are you lost?"

Alicia's heart pounded from the surprise visitor. She didn't want to admit that she had no idea where she was but he might leave if she pretended she wasn't. "Um...yeah. I'm trying to find my way back to the village." The man took a quick look over her and she could tell he did not approve of her attire. Sure she didn't exactly dress properly for a stroll through the woods but it's not as if she planned to wind up here. She had just been wandering the town when she came across it and decided to take a quick walk through. She hadn't thought about the fact that it was close to being dark and that the woods were huge, dangerous and easy to get lost in.

"You might wanna reconsider going this way, it can get kinda dangerous here."

Alicia nodded her head in agreement. " I suggest you lead the way since I have no idea where I'm going."

[HinoKaze]

Shin looked a bit surprised when Alicia screamed at the sight of him and wondered what was going on when he remembered most people couldn't use magic, even in Feather Valley. Seeing someone just suddenly appear wasn't normal after all, and would frighten most people, or at least surprise them. "Ah, sorry. Guess you're not used to seeing something like that..." he said apologetically. "...Well, actually, most people wouldn't expect something like that. Ah well." Shin had a mysterious smile while saying this.

"I kinda figured you were trying to find your way back. The forest can get pretty dangerous during the night, and although it's just my opinion, you don't look ready to fight off monsters and the like." Shin motioned with his hand for Alicia to follow him. "Though it is getting dark quickly. We should hurry back." As Shin said this, he quickly went over a spell in his mind, causing a ball of fire about the size of a tennis ball to appear in front of him. With a small waving motion, the ball moved up to his shoulder, illuminating the area around them a bit. Now that he could see better, he got a better look at the girl's face, and a slight spark of recognition arose in his mind. He had met her before, and quite awhile ago, but he still remembered her face vaguely. He thought back a bit trying to remember when he had met her. It was most likely before he opened the cafe, which meant....

"....Ah! Now I remember! You're name's....Alicia, right? We met once in front of the village gates when you first arrived!" Shin said with a grin. NOW he remembered, though he also recalled he might have said too much about himself to a stranger back then. And also that was when he was still unable to speak, yet now here he was speaking with confidence. "...Ah, but back then I couldn't talk, could I? Well, that might be a story for later. Come on, I'll lead you back to the village in no time." Shin waved for Alicia to follow along.

[Ecstasy]

Alicia's heart had relaxed some since the intial startle from her visitor. She had forgotten that many villagers knew spells and other magic. Alicia had never learned magic because she did not have the patience for it. "Yeah, the only magic I'm accustomed to are parlor tricks like pulling a bunny out of a hat." She smiled slightly at her comment.

"you don't look ready to fight off monsters and the like."

Monsters. Alicia had forgotten that the forest was inhabited by monsters and such. Probably cause she had yet to see any but still she should probably purchase a weapon of some sort to protect herself against them. "Yes let's get moving. I'd rather not be out in this forest any longer." Shin nodded and and cast another spell casting light all around them with a ball of fire. She could now get a better look at him.

"....Ah! Now I remember! You're name's....Alicia, right?"

"Oh my god, Shin!" she flung her arms around him and embraced him in a big hug. "I haven't seen you in so long, but what happened? You couldn't talk before and now you can? What changed?" She remembered their meeting at the gates perfectly. He was playing a beautiful song on his keyboard and they had a nice conversation, but of course he couldn't talk and had to write everything down that he wanted to say. She wanted to know everything that had happened since their last encounter.

[HinoKaze]

"Parlor tricks huh? Figures. That's the kinda tricks most people are used to seeing in their lives. Take it a step beyond the illusion though, and you have some more...Special, and real tricks." Shin said waving around his right index finger a bit, the small ball of fire moving around accordingly to his motions.. Suddenly however, he was hugged by the now recognized Alicia.

"Whoa! Hello to you too." Shin responded, slightly surprised by the rather open gesture. She had done this last time as well when they first met and she had learned a bit more about him. He wondered to himself why he had told his background so early for a second, then brushed it off as unimportant. Shin raised an eyebrow when Alicia had asked him what changed him. What changed him? Well, as corny as if was, love for a person changed him. He couldn't go around shouting that though as that would embarrass both him and Elizabeth as well. Why it did, he didn't quite understand, but of well. They were lovers now, that's what played a big part in their odd relationship. "What changed me? Well, a lot of things happened. Walk next to me, I'll tell you on the way back." Shin said, breaking up the hug then beginning to walk along his memorized route, motioning Alicia to walk with him as he went..

"Well, I can tell you some things, but 3 years worth of stuff is kinda long for a single trip back, so I'll explain bare details and some more later. I opened up a bakery/cafe, though recently it's also a bar. I've also met a very special...Erhm. 'Friend'. She helped me set some things straight. Along with that, I left the village for a year, changed my last name from Seisuka to Kieria, returned around a season ago, and...Umm....That's about it unless you want more details." Shin said, scratching his head, thinking of anything he missed. He then remembered his change of physical appearance as he looked at his head, which instead of waist length, was now barely shoulder length. "...Oh. And I don't have a ponytail anymore. Cut my hair while I was away." He added in quickly.

[Ecstasy]

Alicia walked next to Shin on their way back to the village with the small ball of fire lighting their way. She listened as he shared some details of his life since their last encounter. Had it really been three years since she moved here? It didn't feel like it. Maybe it was the fact that she had maybe 3 or 4 friends in the village. Well they couldn't really be called friends, more like acquaintences. It was sad really, she was usually such a talkative and social person and yet she was a lone in this village. Maybe she should have her brother come visit her.

Contrary to her own life, Shin's life had been very eventful. "Wow, you have a bakery. I've always wanted to own a bakery, well actually i just like cooking, So maybe I should just be a cook. I don't think I'd be very good at actually running a store." She giggled.

I've also met a very special...Erhm. 'Friend'"

"A special 'friend'?" She made air quotes when saying the word friend. "You must mean a special little lady, huh? Well I'm sure she's nice and she must mean a lot to you. But why did you change your last name? Did something happen?" she asked. "Or are you part of the Witness Protection Program?" she added jokingly.

He motioned at his shorter hair as well. "Yes I can see that. I think I like it better this way."

[HinoKaze]

"Er....Yeah....." Shin glanced sideways slightly nervously at Alicia's comment about Elizabeth. Somehow even though both of them acknowledged it, he still felt strange calling her his girlfriend or anything close to it. "Eh? Why'd I change my last name? No, I'm not part of a witness protection program. Just....Some things happened while I was away from the village. I just changed my surname to my mother's side of the family." He answered, not quite ready to discuss the details of what kind of things happened while he was away from the village. As much as he tried acting it, it still bothered him, and Elizabeth also noticed pretty quickly. He was pretty sure he made it clear that was as much as he wanted to discuss about the matter for now.

"Anyways, you said you liked cooking didn't you? If you'd like, why not work in my bakery? I am short on staff, and by that, I mean I'm the only one working there." Shin said, determined to change the conversation around to something that could perhaps benefit the both of them. She said she had always wanted to run a store, but might not be very good at it. The next best thing then if she still wanted to cook, was work in one, which would benefit him since the workload, while he was fairly used to it, was still staggering sometimes. "If you'd like to manage your own store one day, the best thing to do is get a feel of the work and have experience in it. If you just like to cook, that's fine as well, though a lot of it is interaction with customers since, well, I don't have any waiters and I have to serve everything myself."

"It can take awhile to think about, but what do you say?"

[Ecstasy]

"Work? At your bakery? I'd love to." She wrapped her arms around Shin in a huge embrace again. "But you don't wanna see like a resume or have like a test run? What if I'm a horrible cook and poison everyone? Then you're gonna be known as the guy who tried to kill everyone by hiring a bad cook. You don't want that, right?" She laughed at her own stupidness. Of course she wasn't going to poison the customers. She had been cooking her entire life, in fact it was the only thing she was really good at.

She had gotten use to the idea of this job and was starting to wonder what his bakery looked like. "Can I go see it now? I mean if I am going to work there with you I should probably see it. And maybe you should think about hiring around person or two. I mean I'm sure it can get busy there and that way you don't have to work so much and can have more time with your girl."

" But if it's too late to go tonight we can check it out tomorrow. I'm just kinda excited to have been offerred a job. My money supply has been running quite low." She was embarressed to have said this but it was the truth.

((OOC: Sorry it's kinda short. long day and writers block))

[HinoKaze]

((It's fine~~))

"Of course I'd test you, and if I did judge you weren't good enough, I'd teach you myself. A good thing to know is that resumes don't matter too much in this village, and they matter even less so to me. Experience is nice, but it's also a learning experience as well." Shin said, this time less surprised about being hugged. He would give Alicia the same kinda test that everyone went through. All...2 of his former employees that is. Just thinking about this made Shin have to resist sighing, but he shook off quickly.

"Tonight? Well...Depends how quick we can get back. From here, I'd say it'd take around an hour or so to get back. I could probably speed that up to around 20 minutes I guess, but I'm not sure you'd like my way of doing so too much." Of course Shin was referring to teleportation, and while he was quite good at it by now, he had only teleported once with another person, and he wasn't quite sure it'd work out as well the second time. Plus he doubted Alicia would be used to the feeling of teleportation.

"Up to you, but if you choose the shortcut, I suggest you close your eyes and hold on. Magic can be a bit uncomfortable." Shin said remembering the first time he teleported. He ended up in the ocean rather than the beach, though luckily he wasn't TOO far out and managed to swim back. The rest of the time he had just been shot out at his destination head first, resulting in painful landings. At least now he could vaguely control distance and destination, plus he could land upright just fine.

[Ecstasy]

"Well, I'm proud to say that I'm positive I can pass any test you throw at me. Well except math but why would you give me a math test," she joked. She had been cooking for a very long time and was sure that Shin would find her skills to be suitable for the position he wished her to fill. "But I am always willing to learn. I'm not stubborn enough to think I know everything."

"but I'm not sure you'd like my way of doing so too much."

Teleporting. Alicia wasn't quite sure how she felt about this form of magic yet. It did seem useful at times like this but also dangerous. "Um, yeah I guess we can do your way. It's not gonna hurt or anything is it?" She was nervous about using his way to get back to the village quicker but she also really wanted to see his bakery tonight. It could wait until tomorrow but Alicia was too anxious to have to wait another day.

"OK,I think I'm ready let's do this," she said grabbing hold of his arm.

[HinoKaze]

"Good. If you weren't confident, I would have failed you already. Gotta be confident in yourself to learn properly and work properly." Shin replied. Well, at least it was good she was confident she could pass, though in reality, not much of his test about actual cooking, but rather on the person's attitude. He didn't need someone with a bad attitude as an employee, no matter how good their skill was. "And don't say that about math, you gotta know how much ingredients to use don't you? You need math in cooking as well." Shin said with a slight chuckle.

"Anyways, no, teleporting doesn't hurt at all. Unless you land wrong. It can be a bit uncomfortable though, but you'll be fine." Shin gave a reassuring smile. "Trust me for this one, yeah?"

"Well, if you're prepared then, we'll end up around the beach in a few seconds. You may want to close your eyes." As he said this, a gold glowing circle appeared, surrounding the two, several runes also appearing within the circle. "Off we go then." Shin said, before disappearing all together, along with Alicia. To him, it felt like his entire body was spinning extremely quickly in several directions, and he could also feel his feet were no longer planted on the ground. Suddenly the feeling stopped however and he felt his feet land in soft sand.

"Here we are then." Shin said, glancing at his side where Alicia was, almost half expecting her not to be there.