"Wait isn't that the performer?" Asked the hobbit girl near the armored man.
"Don't be disrespectful Mary" Said the human "My name is Arfes, we are members of Radiant Wick, and you are...?"
"My name is Fuwa" She said proudly and then signaled her companion "And her name is Raven"
Both Mary and Arfes looked at each other a little bit confused.
"Your dance was a marvelous girl" Said Mary "You have talent"
Arfes was a little confused, why would a performer and her companion get near her after hearing them, then he realized, that if they were street performers maybe they were bound to know many people, maybe even among them a healer.
"Indeed that was very passionate" He said with a smile "But miss... Fuwa right? Did you mention something about a healer"
Fuwa stood there proudly poofing her chest, she then pointed at Raven once again.
"My friend here is a healer" She said without anything to hide.
There was a moment of silence. Arfes and Mary exchanged glances, their expressions shifting from confusion to cautious curiosity. The silence stretched for a beat too long, and Raven raised an eyebrow, clearly picking up on the tension.
"Give us a moment please" Said Mary with the most fake smile that there could be.
Both Mary and Arfes moved a few steps behind, their warrior friend looked at them with confusion while he munched on some bread he bought from the vendors who were attracted to the spectacle that suddenly started.
"They are scammers!" Said Mary alarmed.
"Shhhh!" Said Arfes pleading her to keep her tone down "Don't be mean, what if they hear you!"
"She looks like a rascal from a gutter canteen!" Mary said even more alarmed.
In her mind, healers usually were people who delved into the mystical, they wore robes and had this soft hair around them, meanwhile Raven looked like she could heal your pain by finishing you up with some stabs in the gut.
Meanwhile, they panicked and talked among them, Raven and Fuwa looked at each other.
"Hey let's get out of here" Said Raven, her ears twitching, from this distance she could hear them pretty well.
"No way!" Said Fuwa "Remember what the spirit told you!"
"I will be stabbing those bastards in the back if I go to the dungeon with them!" Raven looked at the pair, who looked back at her and put even more fake smiles on their faces.
"Raven, please!" Said Fuwa "Everyone would be suspicious, healers are scarce, and you..."
"And I what?"
"And you look more like a rogue than a healer"
"Ahhhh!?" Said Raven clicking her tongue.
Raven's tail flicked in agitation as she crossed her arms, narrowing her eyes at the pair who were whispering furiously behind her "A rogue, huh?" she muttered under her breath "Maybe I should just act like one, then" Her voice was laced with annoyance, but Fuwa stepped closer and gently placed a hand on her arm.
"Come on, don't take it personally" Fuwa said, trying to soothe the rising tension "We know what you're capable of, and soon they will too. Just give them a chance"
Raven grumbled under her breath but didn't pull away from Fuwa's touch. Her ears twitched again, catching snippets of Mary and Arfes' hushed conversation.
"I mean look at her!" Mary tried to reason with Arfes "She has that nasty poisoned dagger! It looks like something those bastards from the brotherhood would use! We got attacked by them just a few days ago!"
"Mary... we can't judge them just because we had some encounters with the enemy in the past days, if you are on guard against everybody, then we already lose" Said Arfes tried to reason with her.
"Hey guys, this bread rocks!" Said the big guy munching on his loaf.
"Shut up Argos!" Said Mary.
"You are just jealous because they are pretty and you are just a tadpole" Said the warrior shrugging and walking away.
"Say what again!?" Asked Mary now angry.
Mary turned to chase after Argos, her face flushed with embarrassment and anger, but Arfes quickly grabbed her arm, pulling her back before things escalated further.
"Enough, Mary" he said firmly, keeping his voice low "This isn't helping. Look, I understand your concerns, but we need all the help we can get. You know how scarce healers are" He glanced over his shoulder at Fuwa and Raven, who were watching them with clear suspicion.
Mary folded her arms, huffing "Fine. But if something goes wrong, I'm holding you responsible, Arfes"
Both Mary and Arfes came back to Raven and Fuwa who were by now eating the same bread that Argos.
"This is good!" Said Fuwa "What the hell!"
"I can't believe you are eating again Fuwa you will grow fat" Answered Raven while eating her own piece.
"I'm eating everything!" Said Fuwa with a mocking smile imitating Raven.
"Ehem" Said Mary trying to cough to call their attention.
"What?" Both of them said, Raven even had a piece in her mouth as she watched the small woman in front of her.
"We have decided to give you girls a chance" The man who seemed like the leader looked at both Raven and Fuwa "You both have been in the dungeon, correct?"
"Yes, but just to the second floor" Said Raven "We are both level 2 tho"
Mary and Arfes shared a worried look, but then the warrior came from behind them and surrounded his leader with his massive arms while smiling, he was dying to go into battle once again.
"What are we waiting for then!?" He asked happily with a radiant smile on his face.
Then some other adventurers walked toward them, two of them to be precise, a girl who looked humble carrying two heavy bags, which remembered Raven her second expedition when Kyle had come with her and Eruru, it seemed a common practice to bring some support in charge of collecting loot and carrying various items, then there was an elf with a bow, he had long blonde hair and a look of calmness, he looked like the most dangerous for Raven perspective.
"Hey guys" Said the leader, Arfes sighed and gathered everything in his head "Gather up, I know we were making progress into the intermediate floors, but these are our new trial members, Raven the healer, and her companion Fuwa, since it's too risky to go into a floor over the 10th we will just go to the seventh floor to test if this works out, is that okay with you two?"
Raven and Fuwa looked at each other, they didn't expect to go that deep but if what Undine said was right, this was for the best outcome.
"Yes, but we don't have experience on those floors" Said Fuwa.
"You both don't have to worry, Raven will be at the middle of the formation, and Fuwa will be in front of you as a support to the main guard" Arfes said, he was a little insecure about this, but they could probably handle the floor on their own if worst come to push... since those fools created the guild many people deserted from their clans to join, and now there the healers were even more scarce than what they already were.
[Arfes lvl3 has invited you to join a party]
[A party has been detected, Arfes lvl3, Argos lvl3, Eisir lvl3, Mary lvl2, Fuwa lvl2, Raven lvl2, Yineri lvl1]
Yineri the girl carrying the bags looked at Raven and yelped, the intimidating gaze of their new healer wasn't like the lazy ass healer they had on their past expeditions, but then she spoke without raising her voice too much.
"We have supplies for the mid floors... there shouldn't... be any trouble... at the 7th floor..." She said barely audible.
As the warrior started marching merrily into the maws of death that were supposed the dungeon, Raven grabbed Fuwa arm and told her.
"We are not done yet, if we don't die we will keep talking"
"Aaayeee~!" Said Fuwa cheerfully.
Mary looking at both of them had a chill that traveled down her spine, by instinct she ran near her leader looking at him as if he was an idiot, he just smiled back and kept walking.
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