Suna was expecting another lackluster showing, but she was surprised by Lilt's competence. They seemed to dance, gracefully, manipulating a constantly flowing stream of water as a weapon. It lashed at the Blue Blaze's conjured walls, leaving deep gashes on the thicker ones and completely severing the thinner ones. Lilt seemed to be capable of destroying them faster than Belle could conjure, so the caped Hunter shifted her strategy. She began dashing towards the small conjurer, her rapier drawn and glowing. Lilt wasted no time in preparing a countermeasure. Waves. Water seemed to flow endlessly from underneath Lilt, lifting them into the air. They seemed to stand directly on a gushing spout of water, one that emitted voluminous torrents of water in every direction. Suna made out a familiar smirk on the face of Lilt's opponent, who manipulated the ground to raise her above the rapids. But Lilt immediately directed his sharp stream of water, which cut all the way through the small pillar. Suna had no idea what Belle would do next, it seemed as if she would fall and be swept up by the endless, crushing waves of water that, at this point, flooded the entire arena. But instead of that occurring, Belle… flew. No, she glided. Her cape expanded to her sides, making some strange shape that Suna reasoned would never actually be capable of producing lift on its own. She noted the usefulness of such a Magical item. She wanted one for herself.
Belle was not safe in the air, however. Her aerial maneuvers were not especially swift, making her an easy target for Lilt's thin yet vicious stream. Yet, with a flash of neon blue, Belle's rapier was capable of fending off the onslaught of ranged attacks thrown her way. Doing so, she was getting closer to Lilt's lofty elevated position.
Lilt seemed to make some sort of rising motion with their hand. Bubbling, gushing… Belle seemed to be prepared for what was coming, but had no way of preventing it. BOOM!! An eruption of water, a powerful geyser, from right under Belle's position in the air. It was massive, flinging droplets of water that pelted and drenched some of the audience members, who were all oblivious, their eyes glued to the action.
Belle was nowhere to be seen amidst the massive waterspout. But as the water fell back to the ground, she appeared, trapped in a bubble of sorts, a sphere of water, one which Lilt seemed to be constricting her with, their hands outstretched and pressing together.
The audience gasped. But Suna felt no panic or defeat from the competent lady. Rather, a competitive, blazing smile.
A fierce impact of sorts hit the audience, as the water surrounding Belle seemed to be expelled forcefully away from her. Blue flames… One would naturally believe that water would render flames rather useless, but such a way of thinking seemed to be misleading in this world, Suna thought.
She could feel it from where she was sitting. That same, oppressive, thick air. The feeling was much lighter over by the seats – she could still breathe, but experiencing it again so soon wasn't pleasant. However, it seemed Lilt had some sort of countermeasure for the wide-scale attack. They surrounded themselves in a small bubble of water, and continued their attacks against the Blue Blaze. But Suna could tell. Their water seemed to get caught in the thick air, moving slower and getting snagged at certain parts. Lilt tried to thicken and strengthen their flowing conjuration, but it never was able to reach the same threatening speed. Belle dodged every single attack, moving gracefully through the air, like an aerial dancer.
Walls. Walls of water, like a miniature tsunami, appeared from underneath Lilt to repel the encroaching threat, which got closer with every second. But Belle did not slow down or adjust her flight. Instead, she extended her rapier and straightened her body, like some kind of narwhal. And before she impacted the wall of water, she tucked in her cape around her body. All too easily, she pierced the water.
Belle was uncomfortably close now; Lilt, positioned near the edge of the arena, had little room to evade or escape. One last desperate attack. Lilt hugged himself and bent down. Water seemed to rise in the air around him, accumulating, condensing. "Haha, No you don't!" Belle extended her hand, and all around Lilt, a furious blaze of blue flame.
"I concede!"
Suna really wished she could make out Belle's advice and words for Lilt. If she was able to gather even shreds of their insights regarding the Magical battle that just took place, she felt like she'd gain a source of light in this world, which seemed completely dark and foreign to her. But no matter how she strained her ears, the words were too soft, and the gossip of the other Silver spectators too loud.
After a short period of time passed, Lilt returned to the seats, a thoughtful look on their face. They sat back down by Suna.
"Aaahh, she's just too strong- Whoa!"
Suna caught his hands, an eager look on her face. It was her turn to lean close to the poor, unexpecting Lilt.
"Haha, did you like my Magic?" Suna nodded vigorously. "Hehe, um, thanks, hehe." Lilt fidgeted, their hands still detained by their captor. They wore an embarrassed smile, their eyes cast to the side.
Suna regained her composure, seeing Lilt fidget. Ahem. She released the poor thing's arms.
"Lilt."
"Huh? Um, what's up?"
"Team up with me."
"Wha, Huh??" Lilt was caught completely off guard once again.
Suna looked to the side. "Unless you don't want to."
Lilt paused, still processing the unexpected sentence. But before Suna could say anything else…
"Of-Of course!!" They grabbed her hands, and shook them. "It'd be my pleasure!! Thank you!"
Suna displayed ambivalence. She herself didn't really know why she extended such an invitation. Her brain reasoned that the meek person could prove useful as a source of information, or a strong ally, but… She knew that wasn't why she reached out to them. No, it was because she was still hurting. She… wanted a friend. Realizing such, she admonished herself for her weakness, her inability to accept solitude, to distance herself from others. She had given in to the stupid nectar once again, or at the very least, the promise of it. She was disappointed in herself.
"Hey, are you feeling alright?" Lilt saw Suna's thoughtful, glum expression.
"...yeah. I'm alright." Suna stood up, Lilt doing the same. As she started moving down the steps, she saw the gazes of the Silver hunters. Respect. Awe. She didn't know how to react to those things, so she tried her best to ignore them. People seemed to make way for them, as if acknowledging that they were inferior to her. But rather than feeling any sort of pride or accomplishment, she just felt… lonely. She gripped Lilt's hand, eliciting a sort of noise from them. She wanted to feel less alone. Less vulnerable, to the onslaught of stares, that she struggled and failed to ignore.
Quickly, they walked, back through the glass doors and into the Hunter's building.
"Ummm… where are you taking me?" Suna came to her senses, quickly letting go of Lilt's hand. She didn't know how to respond.
"Haha, you're probably trying to locate the Rank desk, right? We passed by the stairs, it's in the second floor."
Suna turned towards Lilt, looking to the side, grabbing her elbow with her other hand awkwardly, "I'll, um, follow you."
"Hehe, you got it!"
Suna blushed. She didn't understand why she grabbed their hand, they were basically a stranger to her, she probably made them feel uncomfortable. She rebuked herself, afraid that this person was judging her, that her awkwardness and weirdness were slipping through the cracks, that this person wasn't being honest, that it was all another lie and she'd be abandoned again, she thought about going back to the forest-
"So, this is the second floor, there's usually more administrative stuff on the second floor." Lilt turned around to look at Suna, who tried her best to put on an expression of indifference. "A lot less people, right?" Lilt let out a small giggle. "Come on." Suna followed them to one of the desks.
"Just finished your evaluation?" A receptionist looked at the small mage that walked up to the counter, a silent Suna behind them. "Do you have your slip?"
"Here you go." Lilt gingerly handed over a small piece of paper.
"And your card, too." The receptionist spoke gently, as one does towards kids. Lilt procured their Hunter's card.
"Oh my! It's your first evaluation, and you got Platinum!? Good job, kid, you must have some real talent!"
Suna felt… a bit annoyed. She tried not to feel that way, but it was futile. Lilt chuckled gingerly, flustered. They looked at Suna. "Mind taking hers, too, while you're at it?" The receptionist looked at Suna. She took out her card and slip, too.
"Oh, you also got Gold? Haha, two at once? Now that's just crazy, how very suspicious." The receptionist gave them a joking expression, before chuckling and taking their cards, and placing them separately in some sort of device. It glowed, and all too quickly, their cards were returned to them. They seemed to emit a sort of glow: Suna's a bright gold, and Lilt's a gleaming silver.
"It's funny to ask this of adventurers of such rank, but do you need me to explain the vetting process?" Lilt looked at Suna, who eventually gave a nod.
"It's quite simple. Hunter's need more than just raw skills or spells to exhibit prowess and succeed, they require experience and knowledge. Higher-ranked Hunters usually have years of experience completing quests and hunting Marks, but you two, without those years of experience, have to complete a certain amount of quests of your new rank within a timeframe before you can become official hunters of those ranks. See, that's why it says 'Temp' there, on your cards." Suna made the observation. "You can go downstairs and look through the available commissions and quests downstairs. But just know, you're only allowed to fail one quest, if you fail two, then you'll be demoted, and you'll start the vetting process for the rank below you. For Gold, its 3 quests in a month, and for Platinum, it's 5 in two months. Do either of you have any questions?"
Lilt and Suna looked at each other. "No, thank you."
"Haha, I wish you two boisterous stars luck. Stay safe, you hear me?"
Lilt and Suna bowed slightly to the nice young man.
Suna was a little nervous. She didn't realize how much of a serious procedure this all was. She really just wanted to make a little bit of cash and continue her journey. She looked over at Lilt, who, well, didn't do an extremely good job of hiding their nervousness.
"Hey."
"-Huh?"
Suna reassured them. "We'll get through this. Together."
Lilt looked at Suna. "...Thanks." They seemed to feel a bit better. "But, I mean, I didn't think I'd get placed so high, haha, what if I fail? What if I let people down?"
"We'll do our best not to."
"So, you don't mind taking Platinum quests with me?"
Suna tilted her head. "Isn't it all the same?"
"What? No, they're not all the same, Suna, each rank is exponentially more demanding the higher you go. But, I mean, it makes sense, the rewards are exponentially greater, too. Except, if we fail a Platinum quest, then that's one less quest you can fail for your requirement, you'll go down to Silver!"
"Lilt. I don't care about these ranks. Let's just go do some quests."
Lilt was a bit baffled. They followed Suna back down the stairs.
There was a bit less people crowding the building, now. It seemed that the establishment saw more people during the earlier parts of the day, an observation Suna made note of. She did not enjoy being squished and moved around like she was earlier. Lilt walked up to her side.
"Um… the commissions are over there…"
Suna redirected her steps. She approached an area where groups of Hunters were scattered about, reading pieces of parchment, glancing at a bulletin board, and discussing with their comrades. There seemed to be shelves, labeled with signs she didn't know the meaning of.
"Suna, over there." Lilt gestured towards one of the rows of shelves. It all seemed quite organized, tabs and separators seemed to differentiate folders lined up together in the double-sided shelf. Atop the shelf were important-seeming notices, a large book reminding Suna of an encyclopedia, writing utensils along with a stack of paper with parts of it ripped out, among other things. Suna was a little overwhelmed.
Lilt looked at the motionless Suna. She soon spoke to them. "I'll leave it to you."
"Huh? But, I mean, um, like, what are your preferences for missions? What are you comfortable with?"
"Lilt."
"Yes?"
"How much experience do you have with quests?"
"Ummm… sorry, Suna, I don't have much at all." They looked dejected, as if they were admitting a shameful thing.
"Then I'll just take a random one." It was starting to become a common occurrence. Lilt making a funny-looking face of surprise. "I also don't have much experience."
They were speechless. Eventually, they conjured words. "W-Well, then, maybe we should consider finding someone else to group up with? I mean, if we're both new to this, then…"
"No." Suna pulled a random sheet from a random folder. "Let's just do this one."
"Wait, lemme see, this one's halfway across the continent!"
"...Then you pick one."
It was funny, the way Lilt's mouth hung open, the way their normally reserved self seemed to just fall apart before her. Staying motionless for a bit too long, Suna flicked Lilt on the forehead.
"H-Hey!"
"Let's get going."
"Wait, I don't think we should take a quest with just the two of us-"
"I don't really like large groups. I'll let you decide, if you want to do one together or if you want to go find another group of people."
Suna's voice wasn't condescending, or mean-spirited. It was just a plain question. Lilt struggled with the decision, muttering as if calculating through a tough math problem.
They seemed to make up their mind, a half-minute of deliberation later. They looked at Suna, resolved. They shot a few glances at the different indicators and signs surrounding the shelf, went to a section, picked out a piece of parchment, looked it over, and walked to Suna's side.
"Hunting. It's a beast, spotted around the Kowfan Mountains." They looked directly at Suna. Suna nodded. The two walked to a counter.
"Lilt."
"Yes?"
"Where are you sleeping at, currently."
"Oh, I'm staying at a cheap inn, at the moment. My parents gave me a little bit of money, but I don't want to rely on it too much. I'm fine for now, but ideally we hunt this Mark relatively soon."
"Mind if I stay in your room?"
"Wha-Hah!? That's, Um, I, Uh, Um…!"
"I'll sleep on the floor. I don't have any money at the moment."
Lilt's torment of endless surprise didn't seem to end.
"It's okay if you don't want me to. I can go sleep outside the city somewhere."
"Uh, Um, Suna, you, you don't have any money?? How are you even here?"
"Hm? I walked here?"
"No, that's, I mean," Lilt pushed out an exhale, lowering his shoulders, as if in conceding to Suna's abnormality.
"It's okay. I can pay for a room for you too-"
"No, that's okay. That's just a waste of your money. I'll go sleep outside." Suna started walking.
"Wait, stop! I-I, I don't even know what to say, like, Suna," They got a hold of her fleeting attention. "Suna, I'm, you know, like, you're a, you know…?"
"What are you trying to say?"
"I, I…" Lilt let out a big sigh. "I don't even know anymore… You're not, like, messing with me, right??"
Suna tilted her head.
"Sigh, okay, it's getting a bit late. Let's go over the details of the quest, in my room, and we'll go from there." Suna followed the slouching, defeated Lilt, who seemed exhausted. What's wrong with them…?
The details of the quest were concise, such as the suspected traits of the monster, the amount of people that saw it, the regions and places it was seen at and what it was doing at those times. Only lesser hunters and common folk had lain eyes on the monster, so there was no combat experience to go off of, something which worried Lilt. But Suna didn't care. She was going to go lop that thing's head off. Unfortunately, it was a few day's journey by carriage, but it was unavoidable. She doubted the frail Lilt could dash for days on end like she could.
As the light outside seemed to dim and grow darker, Lilt repeatedly tried to offer her a room. But she didn't see the purpose of that, when there was already a room more than spacious enough to accommodate the both of them. Plus, she didn't want to owe them anything, she didn't like owing debts. So the worn out Lilt was forced to relent. They adjusted their strategy, by offering Suna the bed, but she was confused. The bed was more than wide enough for the both of them. She wouldn't be caught using the bed while the person gracious enough to let her stay in the room slept on the floor, that just wasn't right. So she staunchly refused and retorted Lilt's pleas, getting comfortable on the floor, using her pack as a pillow. But then Lilt wouldn't shut up, trying to get her off the floor. She was getting really annoyed, being pestered when she was trying to sleep.
"Fine. Then I'll use the bed."
"Thaaaank youuu, at last!"
Suna kicked Lilt onto the bed, who flew backwards through the air, his light body particularly susceptible even to Suna's level of strength. They fell onto the bed. Suna leapt onto the bed, as well.
"Now stay there, and shut up already. I'm trying to sleep."
She didn't even bother looking at Lilt, who was completely stunned by Suna's display of forcefulness; all they could do was simply lay there, doing their best not to move. Thankful that the disturbance finally seemed to be resolved, Suna buried her head into the pillow, stilling her mind. Lilt didn't interrupt her, or move. And the two fell into the embrace of sleep, one taking a much longer time to do so than the other.