Outside The Gutter, on the wall nearest the parking lot.
A girl with milky skin, freckled cheeks, pitch black lips, and a boat shaped cap upon her extremely lightly shaded a line haircut stood while beaming from ear to ear. She clung to Bie's side like glue, directly to his left side, while a boy with pitch black skin and fine features, with an ankh on his glabella and long locks of black hair that fell like rectangles as they reached slightly past the back of his neck, coupled with beaming yellow eyes like a wolf and a pink Hawaiian shirt with a black open suit jacket standing to his right.
From the rightmost Guide, Gyuho was the tallest, standing a head above Bie, and Wanxi was the smallest, a head and a half below Bie. Wanxi kept on asking questions, to which Bie gave miscellaneous replies, and every now and then Gyuho spoke up, making simple observations with his gruff manner of speaking.
Cam Ha Zel finished his popsicle, cracking the stick in two small pieces before a clear cyan aura engulfed them whole. After the aura touched it, the sticks themselves dissolved into nothingness, and the man was simply remaining silent ever since the other two Guides arrived. He decided that he would inform them about their assignment after the last boy showed up, which happened mere minutes later.
A meek looking boy with periwinkle skin and hair dotted by white polka dots wearing what appeared to be a school uniform, the white pockets of his shirt hanging low and unbuttoned. At his right side was a metallic hilt, and his fairy-like face revealed a generally downcast expression. What's more, no mentor had followed him here, instead, he walked up to the four alone with small lilac streams flowing down from cuts.
"Hey, what happened to you?" Gyuho asked, his eyes trained on the wounds the periwinkle boy had suffered. The boy gave a sad smile, thinking to himself as he looked at the two other Gides that were his peers as he spoke.
"Oh, you know my mentor. He thinks that I should get out there and do things myself, so I had to get here alone, haha. Oh, my name is Lulac, by the way..."
Wanxi barely looked over while Bie gave him a small wave, remembering that he was the first kid he fought in that tournament that seemed to be years back for him. Maybe Lulac was really good, and was just unfortunate to be paired with him at the start?
His brows twitched as he puzzled this over in his mind, strands of hair slightly writhing around with miniscule movements. He brought his topaz yellow orbs back to Cam Ha Zel, though, as the Backstreets King had stood up and brought his arms to his chest.
"So you're all here now? Good. I think it's time for us to get started then, wouldn't you say so?" he paused, his gaze drifting over the faces of the children before him before he began speaking again. "You four will depart from this Open District and make your way to the Phimia Swampland, which should be a day or so's worth of travel to get to. Familiarize yourself with each other on the way, and enter the Path of The Morisian Demon Hunters."
"Oh, though I should let you know that you'll be having no help from anyone else. I will get Camilla to teach you four how to open Paths by utilizing your Torches, so wait here." Cam Ha Zel then abruptly left, his floating hair flowing in the air as he entered the doorway that marked the entrance of The Gutter.
The four decided to speak, at least giving each other introductions, though it seemed as if that was unnecessary. Gyuho and Lulac already knew each other, as they were chosen by mentors at the same time, and Wanxi and Bie had already familiarized themselves with each other. Of course, that wasn't to say that they each knew everything about each other, but rather the fact that they at least had a starting point in order to get to know each other better.
Camilla and Cam Ha Zel left The Gutter, emerging on the parking lot where the four stood. They immediately directed their attention on the two, before Camilla stepped forwards with hands in his pockets. He withdrew his rightmost hand, and a white plus sign materialized before his palm.
"This is your Torch; it should look the same as mine in shape and color. It's supported by the Sconce, which fuels it and acts like a container. In order to open a Path, all you have to do is approach the opening and withdraw your Torch, before willing in your mind that it will open. It's relatively simple, and after you children receive your Uthrem Recognition, you can exchange merits to learn how to utilize your Torch in other ways." That was all Camilla said before shuffling his hand back in his pocket, briskly reentering his bar, while Cam Ha Zel shrugged.
"That's really the gist of it, yeah. Anyways, the time dilation isn't that big, more like 6 months for one day. All you have to be there for is a day by the way, and I'm pretty sure there isn't any big requirement to finish the scenario of the Path. This is just to teach you four the importance of teamwork when it comes to notable events, as us Guides rely on each other quite often."
He brought his hand to his chin, before massaging it as he looked at Bie. "That isn't to say you can't be a lone wolf you know, but rather that some things you'll do will require you to at least partner up. It's best to get used to it, little yaksha. Anyways, I'll leave the matter of the leader and the squad's name to you guys. Be on your way and have fun~"
He then waved goodbye as his hair gleamed, and his feet shone with cyan streams of light. His footwork became similar to the fleetingness of a ghost, or a low howl heard in a forest at midnight, and it took him less than a second to escape their perception.
"Well then, I guess we've gotta get going, huh?" said Lulac with a sheepish smile, as he rubbed his hands over his arms and frosted his wounds over. Bie and Gyuho nodded, while Wanxi let her leathery ears similar to the fins of a fish wiggle in excitement.
"Hey, hey! We've gotta make a name first, though? It'll be a whole uniting thing. I'm good with names, so let me name it, please?"
Lulac nodded along, while Gyuho remained silent and Bie gave a soft 'sure'. Wanxi's lips curled as she gave a big smile, getting ready to voice the few names she had already thought of.
"What about The Mysterious Four? Or, the Wondrous Quartet, or the Well-Dressed Fellows, or the Pinions of Ire!"
"One of those four was not like the others, huh?" Said Bie, giggling as he covered his mouth, and Wanxi looked proud as she emitted small clouds from her mouth while she proudly snorted. Gyuho grimaced, shaking his head, and Lulac looked at her with a sidelong glance, before deciding that she had lied and was not very good with names at all!
The three boys remained silent, so Wanxi picked her favorite out of the four. "Pinions of Ire it is!"
And so the Pinions of Ire made their way out of the Open District, heading towards the Phimia Swampland in order to finish the second half of their Introductions.