20 Desperation

A small blue glow emit from Miiha's unlit magicite light, blue wisps of magic landing softly on her head and glowing a dim blue. To the sleeping girl, it felt like someone was gently tugging on the edges of her consciousness, growing more and more insistent until she eventually opened her eyes. The waking was gentle and gradual, the dream slowly leaving her head, easing her gently into wakefulness. The blue wisps faded as Miiha awoke like a sleeping princess, tresses falling gently down her shoulders.

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And yet, still, she scowled as she slapped her light off the desk. Despite having slept a full eight hours of quality sleep, she wanted to sleep more. It couldn't be helped, though, she had to open the guild.

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Rubbing her eyes, she slowly got up and opened the trunk at the foot of her bed, getting out a white shirt and her blue guild uniform, starting to slip her arms into the sleeves and button up the shirt.

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She almost tripped over a little ribbon on the floor. Where did that come from?

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Oh god.

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Her face quickly turned red. What had she done! Ugh… the fey girl's cuteness got the better of her. If word got out, then she would get fired from the guild! Speaking of the fey girl, why wasn't Aisha here? Oh god, she hadn't weirded her out had she? She had invited her into her room, and there was no other place to sleep other than with her... Had she ruined her chances with Aisha?

She moaned into her shirt.

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Miiha walked downstairs to see a black-dressed figure rifling through the forms in her desk behind the counter, hair noticably down and missing a ribbon. Miiha sighed in relief, shaking her head as Aisha turned to look at her, taking the ribbon she held out dumbly in her hand

"Where are the contracts?" Aisha interrogated, standing unashamed in the large pile of papers that she had thrown onto the ground. Miiha frowned in annoyance, but just sighed as she made her way over to her chair.

"They're right here."

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She reached into a little cubby at a high shelf, pulling down a stack of papers.

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Curses. High shelves. Aisha's only weakness. Whatever. It was a good thing she had Miiha.

"Hey! I have to put these up first. Then you can grab them."

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Aisha made an adorable little whine that almost made her give the entire stack to her. She turned and looked crossly at Aisha.

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Miiha pulled the guild doors open and returned to her desk, where Aisha was waiting for her with a brown contract. She activated it, and Aisha was on her way, bumping into Fenix, who grunted and made his way to his corner.

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Miiha slumped over in her break chair. She usually didn't sit during service, but during breaks she liked to just sit in her break chair hidden behind the counter and complain to herself about stupid adventurers.

"What's wrong?" Came Fenix's voice, who had walked behind the counter to speak to Miiha.

"I slept with Aisha yesterday." Miiha moaned into her hands.

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"WHAT?!" Fenix roared, echoing across the empty hall.

"I'LL KILL HER!" He shouted, spittle flying out of his mouth. "FIRST SHE TAKES MY COIN, AND THEN SHE JUST LEAVES AFTER VIOLATING Y-"

"Calm down Fenix! Not… that kind of slept together. We just slept in the same bed."

"...What?" The older man repeated, frowning as his brows creased in concentration.

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"W-well, it turns out that she's been sleeping on the roof to get to the guild hall faster, and to avoid getting a room, and I found out yesterday, and I thought she just looked so cold, and then I invited her in, and then there was no space in my room, and so I invited her into bed with me, and then I woke up this morning, and she wasn't there, and I'm just worried that she might have been weirded out andi'mworriedimightlosemyjoband-"

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Miiha started to hyperventilate. Fenix rolled his eyes. Teenagers. It was his turn to calm her down.

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"Calm down girl. Sleeping with someone is a personal matter. They're not going to fire you for that."

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Fenix looked at the empty guild hall, coughing.

"...There isn't really anybody who's going to tell anyways."

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Miiha covered her face and sighed in relief, feeling her heartbeat slow. Fenix was right, she was overreacting. More blatant rulebreakers had never been punished, or rather, she was the one who was supposed to punish them.

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It was difficult, though, telling big grizzled men that they couldn't bring weapons into the hall, or smoke. It wasn't like Fenix was going to help her either, despite his soft spot for her, he was old, and even if he wasn't old, he was thin.

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"You said the girl is homeless?" Fenix frowned.

"Aren't most adventurers?" Miiha mumbled, crossing her arms and resting her chin in them. The boredom was beginning to set in, and with the excitement wearing off from her lapse in judgement, the empty guild hall was beginning to wear down on her again.

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"Most don't start out that way." He mumbled. "For a lot of people, adventuring starts as an escape from their menial jobs. They want to do something exciting."

"I guess." Miiha mumbled back. "So what, though?"

"Fey usually don't leave the tribe." Fenix adjusted his glasses. "Especially high fey."

"I don't know what that is." Miiha sighed. "And I don't really care."

"Oh."

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Fenix shut up, although the blonde girl didn't even know if she preferred the silence, regretting it instantly. Fenix was just trying to make conversation, it wasn't like he had any malicious intent or anything.

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But it would be awkward to attempt to start a conversation after she had rudely told the man off, so they just sat in silence, for what felt like hours, and what could have possibly been hours.

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Eventually, the boredom got to her.

"Haugh… what am I going to doooooo!"

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"...About what."

"I like her. She's cute. I want to ask her out. But I don't want to get… attached again." Miiha whispered, her posture shrinking. "I know I won't be able to stop her."

"Like that other boy, right?" Fenix asked softly.

"..."

"..."

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Aisha plucked her 19th flower for the day. It was Misha's contract again.

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She sighed. Only two more days... Two more half-days of picking flowers, and stomping on slimes. Speaking of the small monsters...

She stomped on the bubbling earth beneath her. God. Those things were starting to get annoying. She looked forward to when she could ditch these contracts for something else.

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She recalled one of the silver contracts that she had seen on the request board. What had it been?

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[Kill 20 slimes - Misha]

Aisha crushed a flower underfoot by accident.

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"Hey! It's you again! Haha!"

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Speaking of annoying...

Aisha turned to see that annoying boy from the guild. She wasn't good at names in general, but she made a concerted effort to not remember this one's. Everything about him just annoyed her slightly - the energy, the persistence, the arrogance.

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"Hey!" He called out again, getting closer, despite Aisha's wishes. "What are you doing out here, in the middle of nowhere!"

"..."

"Hey, you know I still don't have your name!"

"You don't have to start every sentence with hey." Aisha scowled.

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Calen laughed, making Aisha wince. It grated on her ears like industrial welding equipment, and it made her want to move away. She would have, too, if not for the fact that her contract was right here.

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A woman's voice shouted from far away, exasperated and tired.

"What are you doing over there, Calen!? We still have four slimes to go!"

"Just catching up with someone!" He yelled, right next to Aisha.

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He knelt down and put his hand on Aisha's shoulders, looking away into the distance as if he was... wiser. Aisha looked at the hand, her eyes narrowing, before leaning away and letting the hand fall off.

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The hand returned.

"You know, they rip on me for taking the wolf contracts, but slimes arent exactl- UH!"

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Aisha punched him in his face and walked away, his shield not protecting him, since they were already in contact. His laugh grated in her ears as she walked somewhere else to find her yellow flowers.

.

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"Calen! What happened! Your nose is broken!"

"Yeah. Haha-ouch."

Calen started to laugh again, sending a jolt of pain down his nose and prompting his three party-mates to rush over. A girl in white bent down and placed her hands on Calen's nose, and with a furrowed look of concentration, white magic began to flow from her hands and into his nose.

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The two others loomed over him, a tall, plush woman in a thin robe, and large hat, and a large, heavily armored knight, covered head to toe in plate mail. It was a wonder he could even move, especially in the heavy sun.

"You're such a kind girl, Thassiel." The large knight sighed. "You know he probably did something to deserve it."

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"How'd you break your nose fighting slimes?" The mage frowned. "What were you doing? Why did you even split off from us?"

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"It was the girl from the guild." Calen sighed. "The cute one, you know, the one that Thassy likes."

"You weren't supposed to tell anyone that..." Thassiel mumbled, frowning timidly as she finished healing Calen's nose. "I..."

"It's fine." The mage reassured. "Everyone likes her. Or I mean, at least, you can't deny that she looks really good."

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Even the knight nodded in affirmation. It was just a fact that the girl was attractive, there wasn't any way to deny it.

"Were you being annoying?" Rumbled the large man.

"Probably." The mage mumbled, her face furrowed in a restrained, annoyed expression.

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The air grew awkwardly silent as the last wisps of healing energy disappeared into Calen's face. He sighed in relief as he took a deep breath through his nose, before sitting back, addressing the rest of his party.

"Hey guys… what do you think about getting a new party member?"

"Aren't you going to thank Thassy?" The mage narrowed her eyes.

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"Oh, uh, sure, Elza." Calen said sheepishly.

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"..."

"..."

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"So?"

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"Oh, thanks, Thassy."

"Oh..." Thassiel mumbled, shifting uncomfortably. "Don't worry about it... it's not necessary, we're... friends, right..."

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"Whatever." The large boy mumbled. "What's this about a new party member?"

"Well I was thinking... you know why we started adventuring in the first place?"

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Nobody said anything, the air growing stale and uncomfortable. It didn't stop Calen though, as he looked around expectantly, looking for someone to answer, despite obviously knowing the answer.

"Jorral?" Calen asked, turning towards other male in the party.

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"That was a long time ago." The boy said quietly. "We didn't even know-"

"So what!?" Calen interrupted. "You wanted it, right?"

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"YOU wanted it." Jorral mumbled.

"So it was never a question of understanding what we wanted!" The blonde boy insisted. "We what, we saw that it would be harder than we thought, and we just quit?"

"You know exactly what happened the last time we tried."

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"No, Elza -" Calen insisted. "Listen, I overheard from Miiha - the girl doesn't have a soul! No spells, no mana shield! And the first thing she wanted to do when she got here, was take a gold contract!"

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There was a unanimous exclamation of "What?!" from the three party members.

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"Did you hear Miiha right?" Elza asked, her voice betraying the disbelief that the mage felt.

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Calen just laughed again.

"I know right!" He said, holding out an arm towards Elza animatedly. "Isn't that crazy?"

"We can't even do contracts as a group of four people..." Thassiel mumbled.

"Yeah, but what does that have to do with-"

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"Wanna hear something even crazier?" Calen interrupted, again looking expectantly at his party members.

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The large knight sighed.

"What.".

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"I think she can do it!"

"You want her just because of a hunch?" Elza asked, her expression full of incredulity. "That's it?"

"I do!" Calen insisted. "Just look at the way she walks around, the way she holds herself. I heard that she beat Fenix in chess, that means she's got to be pretty smart. I think she would be a great addition to the team!"

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"We don't know her." Jorral mumbled.

"See, her intelligence would be a great compliment to your dumbness!" Calen smiled wryly, as he prodded his larger teammate.

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Nobody laughed, but the air stayed casual - the joke seemed to just be expected. coming from the boy.

"Are you sure it's not just because you think she looks pretty?" Elza sighed. "Jorral is right. And taking on a gold contract is another thing altogether."

"We can talk about that later." Calen said dismissively, literally waving Elza off. "She just started. There'll be a lot of time to get to know her and her strengths."

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"I guess..." Thassiel mumbled. "If Calen wants her, then I'm okay with it..."

"Whatever." Jorral mumbled.

"Looks like you're outvoted, Elza!" Calen laughed, much to the annoyance of the mage.

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Elza just frowned at the blatant dismissal of her concerns. But she didn't care nearly enough to fight Calen on this matter.

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Aisha wiped the muck off of her gloves onto the walls in front of her. Why was there even contracts for things like sewage cleaner?

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(Shouldn't someone's job be to do this?) She scowled. (Or I guess it's my job.)

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This was her life for a few more contracts. Then she would get to get more scut work. Grumbling, she exited the large tunnel, finally seeing sunlight. At least it had been a fast job. If she was lucky, she could get back to the guild and there would still be a copper job left.

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Actually, she could see why there were contracts for these terrible jobs. There was no need to hire people when these desperate adventurers were so eager to do them for single silvers, barely living wage. A single contract was at least a few hours of menial work, and she had yet to see one that would pay for anything beyond a cheap meal.

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But despite the fact, the contracts were snatched off the board like they were made out of literal gold. It wasn't a ton of people vying for the contracts, but Aisha counted at least four, somewhat mangy looking brats, all who were constantly taking the contracts throughout the day. It was annoying, since Aisha was unfortunately gunning for the same ones.

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Whatever. She wouldn't be interacting with them anymore, after she finished her next contract.

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She entered the guild hall, and saw the annoying guy and his "party." He had his arms crossed, pinning a copper contract underneath. Aisha did not need to look at the board to figure out that he was trying to get something from her. She stared at Calen with her cold, indifferent expression. He gave that annoying grin back.

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"So, I heard you want this!"

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He held out the contract. Aisha attempted to swipe at his head and take the contract from his unconscious body, but her open hand met Calen's mana shield, leaving cracks. He was visibly taken aback, looking shocked.

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"Damn. That's some power!"

"What do you want." Aisha growled, in a foul mood.

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"In exchange for this,"

He held up the contract and waved it around, annoyingly.

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"I want you to join our party. This contract is your ticket to silver, right?"

"Why do you want me to join your party?"

"I like the cut of your jib!"

"I don't like you."

"Ha!'

"..."

"..."

"... Is there any way else you're going to give me the contract?"

"No."

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Aisha sighed. She swung her arm towards Calen's head, smashing through his shield, shards of mana flying across the hall. Her fist connected with his chin, snapping his head back and sending him flying across the table, which was flipped by the force of his body. His partymates gasped as his body landed with a thump on the ground, a loud crash echoing through the hall as the table slid on the stone floor.

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Thassiel and Elza quickly rushed to Calen's side, who was chucking weakly, while Jorral just stood silently, looking at Aisha.

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She could vaguely hear a "Hey!" come from the front desk.

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Aisha grabbed the contract and walked towards a disappointed Miiha.

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"You shouldn't have done that!"

"Can I still sleep with you tonight?" Aisha whispered.

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Miiha looked at Aisha with a deep frown. Aisha's face twitched, trying to make puppy eyes, but she was not very good at it. She sighed.

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"I'll join your party." She shouted behind her.

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Aisha laid her head on Miiha's shoulder, wrapping her arms around her chest. Miiha's face turned bright red. Even though this was the second time they had shared a bed, Aisha's complete lack of regard for… personal space still left her flustered. She shivered as Aisha pressed her nose into her neck.

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"Why'd you punch him?"

"I wanted to. He's annoying."

"A lot of people find him endearing. He's a nice guy! Even Fenix thinks that he's got a future. He's pretty strong too!"

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"I don't like him." Aisha mumbled. "I see no reason as to why someone would actually like him."

"What do you mean?" Miiha asked curiously. "He's got a lot of friends."

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"I can't see why." Aisha mumbled. "So far, he has only pressured me into joining his group by extortion."

"I'm sure he's a nice guy." Miiha insisted.

"You're sure?"

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Miiha turned, her face almost touching Aisha's.

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"Enough about him. You're copper 5 now right?"

"Mhm."

"We should... celebrate!"

"Celebrate how?"

"Um…. well, i-if you want to… I-I-I could… take you o-out to dinner?"

"Ok."

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Miiha let the breath that she had been holding, right on to Aisha's face.

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"Oh my gosh! I'm so sorry!"

"It's ok."