"..And that should do it, you're now fully registered, my dear. You should be able to start the training program next week." The old man addressed her, a glint of excitement in his eye and a wide smile plastered across his face. "You know, I was a hunter once too, in fact, I actually worked for this very guild. " The old man mused, spouting the words in a way that to her seemed as if it were a fishing line hoping to snag an unsuspecting fish.
"Sorry sir, but I'm in a bit of a hurry, so may I please just have my registration card?" She tried to sound polite as she hurried him, hoping her excellent manners would distract him from her slight rudeness.
He let out a hearty chuckle, telling her she had succeeded in not offending him. "I was always in a rush back then too," he said, shuffling around in of the drawers of the large cabinet next to him, "well, at least until I lost my knee, along with half of my wondrous set of calves." He lifted his leg onto the table to reveal a brightly coloured prosthetic leg, decorated in pink flowers and tied up in purple ribbons.
She tried her best to avoid eye contact, simultaneously doing her best not to stare at his out-of-place prosthetic.
"Umm…the card?" She reminded him.
"Right here, my dear. It's only a temporary one, but it should do the trick for the time being. " He seemed to admire it for a second, turning it a few times in his hand before handing it to her, a seemingly nostalgic smile covering his face. "Now don't go losing it, you're not allowed anywhere past reception without it. And don't even get me started on the hassle of getting it replaced, trust me, I made that mistake more than once back in the day. Now go, explore, you've listened to the ramblings of this old man long enough."
She actually wanted to ask him a bit more about his leg, but decided it might come across as rude and that it was better to leave the subject alone.
"Thank you, sir."
"Edmund, Edmund Parker." He offered his name, without being asked. "But most of the younglings here just call me Uncle Eppy."
"Thank you, Mr Parker." She greeted him, setting out to explore the premises.
The Guildhall hadn't seemed like much from the outside, but wandering around proved it was much larger than she had originally thought. She wandered from room to room, taking note of the layout of the building as well as any important locations she would need to memorise. Starting from the door exiting the reception, you could either turn left to access the briefing hall, which consisted of twelve separate, smaller rooms, as well as one larger, main room. Or you could turn to the right, where you would find the bar, several endorsed food stands, and a rather sizable med bay, which wasn't exceptionally packed, but it was still on the more lively side.
This was all interesting, yes, but to her, the real centrepiece was straight ahead. Just out the back doors were one big, open, practice dummy filled field. It was roughly the size of four football fields, surrounded by a very high, likely very durable steel wall. Dotted around the area were dozens of people, all about her age or older, all hard at work testing their various new spell ideas. Before her she saw an ocean of colour, twisting and bending and climbing through the air, accompanied by a chorus of mismatched chanting, everyone's word all blending into one endless hum. Focusing more on individuals, she noticed a girl, leaping through the air as if she was an astronaut jumping around on the face of the moon, a twisting green aura dancing around her legs, darkening as she lands, and once again brightening as she ascends back skywards. Across the field in the far corner, her eyes caught a boy, vigorously yelling words out of her hearing distance, as a practice dummy seemed to wriggle and writhe itself to life, only to collapse back into its stiff, lifeless form moments later, much to the apparent frustration of the boy. She took gazed over the entire field, joy and excitement filling her with every new face she observed. She loved every second of it.
That is, until she noticed him, his messy blond hair bouncing in the wind. Her lungs seemed to stop for a second as she felt her forehead burn up where his lips had touched. Her pent up aggression fuelled her thoughts as she started deciding a course of action. Her legs outworked her mind as she sprang into full stride; unsure herself as to what she would do when she reached him.
"Stay right where you are!" She picked up her pace, mentally comprising spell commands she could use to prevent his escape. "You owe me a sparring match!"
He locked eyes with her, seeming to lift his hand to the cheek she had slapped him on. He appeared to shoot a few glances at the people around him, followed by him hastily bolting off.
"Get back here! You don't get to run from this!" She altered her course, determined to stay on his tail.