First Day Antics

"I... I want to become the best Magic Knight, work my way up and become the Wizard King, and w-when I am one, I... I want to move you, Melanie, and Mr Melanie's Dad to a castle where we can all live together!"

These innocent words from an eight-year-old Lucas were ringing through the Light mage's head as he slept comfortably in his single bed. He slowly turned his head towards the window next to his door and a slight ray of sunlight peered through and hit him. He was awake immediately and jumped out of bed.

"Wh-where am I? I don't recognise... Wait, no. I'm a Magic Knight now!" Lucas wiped his eyes as he re-familiarised himself with his surroundings. He still couldn't believe he had joined the Golden Dawn.

After a few moments, he freshened up and put on a new set of clothing, along with his very new squad robe that had been on his bed waiting for him last night.

"Th-this... is a dream come true. No, this is only the start!" He punched the air, but as he did, he heard a few soft knocks from outside his door.

Lucas jumped at the sound of it, he realised that he would have to be surrounded by more people due to the nature of being in a squad and having to help people, but that actually happening was what startled him. He quickly tried to compose himself and went to answer the door.

The 15-year-old slowly turned the doorknob and opened the door. On the other side of the door, was a fellow Golden Dawn member. She had long vermillion hair with bangs that covered her forehead. She wore a puffy cream-coloured sweater with long sleeves and white and puffy short pants, with a brown corset over them. Her dark brown-coloured high boots went up and above her knees. Her light green eyes that had a tint of yellow to them looked towards and into Lucas's bright blue eyes, and she smiled. The girl wore the signature Golden Dawn squad robe and a dark red mantle that extended back into a cape that sat behind her. She then started to speak.

"Good morning! You must be Lucas. Captain Vangeance asked me to get you as the morning briefing is about to start soon. You must be hungry so we should have breakfast together!" She spoke cheerfully towards the new mage.

Lucas, however, was frozen in place. He couldn't manage to find the words to reply with, but he was immediately infatuated by the girl in front of him. He was staring deep into her warm eyes before she spoke again to gain his attention.

"Um, are you okay?" She asked worriedly to which Lucas shook his head in embarrassment.

"Y-yes I'm f-fine! I wasn't st-staring at you, sorry ab-about that!" He waved his arms to imply that he wasn't staring deep into her eyes, even though he actually was.

"Haha, that's fine! You must be wondering who I am. Why don't we start walking towards the breakfast area and we can talk on the way?" She stepped back to allow Lucas to leave his room. The Light mage did so after grabbing his grimoire and shut his door.

The two started walking. The vermillion-haired mage was in front whilst Lucas was just keeping up with her. Despite being able to speak to her before, he was still scared to talk in a proper manner due to his troubles.

"I am Mimosa Vermillion by the way, sorry for leaving it so late to tell you! It is a bit embarrassing to say but the Captain has tasked me with showing you around to make you more familiar with the place. Looks like we'll be together for a while". She giggled and walked on.

The dual mage gulped. "Mimosa, huh?" He thought. He was still infatuated by her looks, and now her upbeat personality, but he didn't actually realise what the feeling meant. He then started to speak as he realised it would be rude to have her continually talk the whole time. "Um... It's n-nice to meet you... I hope I'm no trouble for you!" Lucas spoke quietly at first but the last part he raised his voice and spoke quicker to get the talking out of the way.

"It'll be no problem! I hope we can be friends". As the two got closer to the breakfast area, that one word stuck with Lucas as the rest of the walk was silent.

"Friends...". He thought to himself. "Can I really do it?" He worriedly thought. As he thought about that specific word, the two Golden Dawn members arrived at the destination.

To the right of Lucas and Mimosa, Yuno, now with the signature squad robe, also arrived with a tall, blue-haired man that wore glasses. He also wore the Golden Dawn robe which indicated that he was of the same squad. Whilst Mimosa brought Lucas, this man brought Yuno. The two new rookies nodded at each other.

"Good morning, Klaus". Mimosa spoke happily.

"Good morning, Mimosa". He replied, fixing his glasses. He took a short look at Lucas and turned his face away almost as if he saw something disgusting.

The four then walked inside.

"Th-this food! We've never had bacon and eggs like this!" He thought as he quietly ate. After half an hour, everyone had finished their meals and they walked out of the breakfast area and into the common room.

The common room was a huge area. The floor they stood on looked like it stretched out for a mile and at the end of the mile, there were a set of stairs that led up to two individuals looking down at the squad members. Behind those two was the Golden Dawn squad logo, the rising sun.

As everyone gathered amongst each other, they all knelt down to be ready to be addressed for the morning briefing. Lucas and Yuno both took suit and knelt down as well, and the briefing began.

"Good morning everyone. I hope you are well to start the day off right. As you know we have two new recruits officially joining us from today and they are Lucas and Yuno. I've set Klaus and Mimosa as their guides and I hope everyone can welcome them to the squad". William Vangeance spoke in a calm manner, but in a way that made everyone respect him. The man with the golden mask continued. "All of you have missions and other duties to get ready for and I wish you luck". The commanding captain stepped backwards, and the Magic Knights started to disperse. Yuno went with Klaus whilst Lucas started to walk away with Mimosa.

"Lucas. Can I speak with you in private?" Captain Vangeance spoke and projected his voice towards the young mage who jumped at the sound of it. A few bouts of laughter emerged as a response to Lucas's timid behaviour, but he turned around regardless.

"Y-Yes, Sir!" He quickly turned around and followed the captain into his office. As he walked in, he shut the door behind him and saw the man, who accepted him into the squad, sat at his large desk that had a stack of papers ready to be filled out. The room in general was fairly large with two big windows that let the sunshine in. "Y-you wanted to see me, Captain?"

The captain breathed in and out, slowly. "You can relax, it's nothing too big. I just wanted to talk about what happened the day before with Richard Kira. There was no reason for him to talk about your scars in a way that was so horrible. Believe me when I tell you this, I understand the hurt and turmoil that people can go through in regard to their past. If you find anyone in the squad speaking to you in a manner similar to that of Mr. Kira's, you let Mimosa or me know, okay?" William smiled as he relaxed into his seat. It seemed like he had been enraged by what Richard said about his recruit's facial scars and wanted to rectify that feeling of sadness.

"C-Captain..." Lucas teared up. "Thank you s-so much... I think I'm fine for now, but if anything, h-happens... I'll let you and Mimosa know!" The dual mage bowed, and a few tears rolled down his face as a response to the Captain's heart-warming talk. He walked out the room and saw Mimosa waiting for him. She saw the tear marks on Lucas's cheeks and didn't press any further but instead carried on outside.

The rest of the morning consisted of the cheery, vermillion-haired mage showing Lucas around the base. The two mages walked around visiting every main room or point of interest. The squad base was like a mini Capital in itself. Lucas became familiar with where everyone would be during resting hours, and also where the squad would goof off from time-to-time. Even though the Golden Dawn were the highest-ranked squad in the Clover Kingdom, its members did know how to have fun. Mimosa told Lucas that the ones who really know how to have fun are Hamon Caseus and David Swallow.

"I didn't th-think... people in the Golden Dawn would goof off like th-that...". Lucas spoke softly, he was confused because his expectations about the Golden Dawn were a little different compared to the reality of it.

"Of course! Everyone needs to take a breather sometimes, and even Captain Vangeance is okay with it... just...". Mimosa lowered her eyes.

"Hm? What's the matter?" The Light mage asked and wondered.

"Just be wary of one of the Seniors here, Alecdora Sandler and also the Vice-Captain, Langris Vaude... they're a bit strict when it comes to order in the squad. If you make friends with anyone else, then everything should be fine!" She quickly perked up and smiled as they walked on.

One of the last things Mimosa showed to Lucas was the training area that was situated near Lucas's room. It was just a bit further than the fountain opposite, but it was a great area that stretched quite far on a plane of grasslands. It was basically a huge, open space with fences surrounding the perimeter.

"Whoa! This is so cool... is this for training... really?" Lucas jumped up and down in excitement. He had forgotten all of his troubles and left his nerves behind as he looked on all around him. The dual mage enjoyed training a lot since it was what all he was doing for seven years of his life.

"This is the first time I've seen him smile properly... it suits him!" The Vermillion giggled to herself before continuing. "Yes, it looks like you like the place already! This is where we train... or should I say a handful of us train. As you know, to put it bluntly, there are a few hard-headed members that look down on training due to them having a lot of mana already, but a lot of us think that training is something important... so we do come here sometimes!" She winked to the Light mage who was still in a half-trance as he admired the area.

"I see, Mimosa! Well... is it okay if I train by myself for a bit? I'm sure you'd rather have somewhere else to be...". The ginger-haired mage asked politely.

"Oh no, I don't have anywhere to be! Why don't I joi-". The mage was interrupted by a familiar face that was walking up to the two people.

It was Klaus and he was accompanied by Yuno who was also having the tour around the base. The final destination for Klaus to show Yuno was the training ground as well, and so the four mages converged.

"Well if it isn't the other rookie, tsk". Klaus crossed his arms together and looked down at Lucas through his glasses. "I was just showing rookie number one to the training ground and I see you two already here. Hmph, peasants like these... should never be allowed in a squad like this!" He shouted. It was as if he was keeping this bottled up inside and finally had let it loose. His words shocked Lucas who had began to think that there were nice people in the squad. This talk from Klaus made Lucas whimper.

"K-Klaus... you shouldn't say stuff like that to our teammates!" Mimosa shook her fist in anger.

"Not you too, Mimosa! As a member of the Royal House of Vermillion, should you really be with these two?" The blue-haired mage adjusted his glasses.

Both Lucas's and Yuno's eyes widened at finding out that Mimosa was a royal. She hadn't told Lucas yet so finding out from someone else was quite the shock. Although, their shock was quickly alleviated by the mage herself.

"Well of course I'm a royal... but we royals should strive for a better society with peasants, commoners, and whoever else. Th-that's just how I feel...". Although the royal started off brightly, she quickly retreated back into her shell as she felt Klaus's stunned glare on her.

Seeing the two like this, Yuno walked forward and proposed an idea that was, quite frankly, uncharacteristic of himself. He stood beside Lucas and looked towards the royal and noble and started speaking.

"If us two demonstrate a bit of our power, will you call us by our names and treat us with respect?" He spoke coldly towards the blue-haired mage. He reacted in a shock and Mimosa did too, though hers was slightly calmer.

"Just wh-who do you think you are? Hmph, fine... go on then". Klaus retorted.

After a few minutes, Klaus and Mimosa stood to the side whilst Lucas and Yuno were opposite each other in their battle stances. Yuno was stood with confidence, while Lucas was sweating heavily.

"Wh-wh-what?! How did I end up having to fight Yuno? I d-didn't want this!" Lucas screamed internally; he had no idea why this was the right move to take but had to agree as he didn't want to argue. "I guess it can't be helped...".

A cool breeze swept the area as the afternoon sun was above the two young mages. The hot rays shining directly at them as they were about to start sparring. Initially, this was just to show off their abilities, but it ended up being a little sparring session which no one argued against. Though Lucas didn't argue just because he didn't want confrontation, but he couldn't help that feeling.

The two mages looked at one another. They had hardly spoken but with the blades of grass swaying in the wind, Yuno made the first move.

"Wind Magic: Towering Tornado". The Wind mage summoned a powerful tornado and shot it towards the dual mage who was concentrating at the attack. The strong force of the incoming attack was going to strike Lucas.

"This spell is the one he used against that noble yesterday... so I'll use... Light Magic: Angelic Strike!" Lucas, instead of running away, as Klaus and Mimosa thought he would, he instead charged for the tornado and shot his left arm forward. As soon as the light-enveloped arm met Yuno's attack, it dispersed and vaporised the winds.

"This guy... he's quite good. I felt some powerful mana from him yesterday but seeing it this close is quite something". Yuno thought, and also admired the mage's capabilities.

On the other hand, both Klaus and Mimosa were shocked at the display in front of them. They weren't expecting such a performance from the two, especially Klaus as he had doubted their abilities to even form basic attacks.

"Woah, that was c-cool... Yuno is something alright. His tornado grazed my knuckles a bit...". The Light mage eyed his left hand and saw the cuts that were plastered due to the Wind mage's attack, but instead of feeling bad, he was smiling. "I f-found someone... who I want to beat!"

The two composed themselves and were about to carry on but were interrupted by another Golden Dawn member running towards them.

In the distance, it was a light-green haired girl walking towards the group of four at the training ground. She had square glasses and her hair was tied in a neat ponytail at the back.

"Oh, hello!" Mimosa spoke first towards the fellow squad member.

"Nice to see you here, Letoile". Klaus spoke, adjusting his glasses as he was still taken back with the Lucas and Yuno's display just a few minutes ago.

"Hi guys. I have a message for the rookie. Let's see... ah yes you". Letoile looked towards Lucas who was surprised, and a bit worried. He didn't know why someone would want him as he had done nothing wrong.

She looked at the dual mage who had retreated back into his shell he had at the start of the day. With the amount of people surrounding him, and him being the focus, he just didn't like the attention.

"Now, what is with that look rookie?" She smiled and then relayed the message. "I know it's a bit early for missions, but we have one for Lucas here. It's to... ah yes, you have to do a simple patrol mission just outside of the Royal Capital".

"... Huh?" The only word Lucas could say was a simple one at best. He did not expect a mission right from the start of his days as a Magic Knight.

"You can take a partner with you if you feel comfortable, but all the mission needs from you is to see if any bandits or anyone else have tried anything". Letoile smiled.

"... Huh?" Lucas was stuck in a state of disbelief. Even though the mission sounded very easy, the Light mage was still surprised.

A few seconds of silence had passed. Letoile, along with Klaus, Mimosa, and Yuno didn't know what to say to alleviate the awkwardness in the air, but eventually, the Wind mage spoke up.

"I passed the outside of the Royal Capital on my way from Hage Village. Lucas and I could go together". The tall, black-haired mage spoke his thoughts and Letoile agreed to what was said, and she went on her way.

The Wind mage then turned to face Klaus. "Besides, if two peasants can do a mission like this then Klaus-senpai should at least recognise our abilities". Yuno smirked as he spoke. He emphasised the 'senpai' honorific to make sure he got a reaction out of the blue-haired teammate, and he was successful at that. Klaus was grinding his teeth and shaking his clenched fist.

Another moment of silence had arrived, but Mimosa broke it. "Well this is a good opportunity for you both... and on the first day! If you complete this mission, then a lot of the others will accept you. I, for one, already think of you two as friends so I know you can do this". The royal smiled and winked.

Lucas, although in disbelief at everything that had just happened, knew this was a good opportunity to show the squad that he is the right fit for the Golden Dawn. "If I can do this... then they might accept me... and I c-could make f-friends with Yuno". He slightly smiled.

The two new recruits left for the mission at once.