Balsam Village

[Shuren]

Hayama was enjoying his meal. No, enjoying wouldn't quite be able to express it. This steak... it wasn't just a steak. It was, in fact, so much more than just a steak. Even his first bite—oh, what heaven that first bite was. The outmost layer, like a finely cooked breast of an angel, resting gently on the sauces and the siding below, flavors mingling in a seductive pas de deux. And then…a curly kale! The most playful little curly kale! Then a slice of tomato, a leaf of lettuce and a…a side salad so exquisite, it swirled in the mouth, broke apart, and combined again in a fugue of sweets and savor so delightful. This was no mere meal of grilled meat and carefully prepared salad. This was God, speaking to Hayama in food. As he continued to enjoy the steak further, the lad eventually noticed Ren, who was sniffing the air and mumbling. He quickly raised his left arm to cover his face. “Shit. I think he noticed me.” was the only thought that crossed his mind. He seemed to be sniffing the air to track down his scent, and knowing that Dragon Slayers had enhanced senses, Hayama knew he would have no escape from it. Yet, he did think of a way that could get him out of this. Bringing his face closer to the steak in front of him, he let the hot steam hit his face directly and get covered with it eventually. He displayed a sly grin upon doing so, knowing he smelled like meat now.

[Bloodedge]

"That's cool and all, but if they're going to leave us each at the top of that list, they could at least be smart enough to build up a bit of jealousy," Ren said. For the longest time, he had been called the "Mage you want to have as your boyfriend" in Sorcerer Magazine, and his counterpart had been the same of the opposite gender. The way Ren saw this, things would have been much more interesting if the two of them did their shoots together, as to possibly perpetuate the jealousy aspect of the fan girls and boys. But, this was not his decision to make. Now that this little show of theirs was over, Ren began looking around for the Sabertooth Guild member he'd sniffed out a few moments ago, but he could no longer smell the man. All he could smell besides Ran and the others in the immediate area, was the food coming from the restaurant. "Kuso... I can't smell him anymore. And now I'm hungry."

[Apollymi]

"Yes, but it seems there is enough jealousy without them playing it up." said Ran, thinking only of the situation that'd she'd walked into this afternoon. "I know what you're playing at though.. you should pitch that to the editor, they love spicy little ideas like that. And at the very least it will keep the photo shoots from getting overly boring for us individually." she mentioned thereafter. After this it would appear their show was over, and though they'd discussed finding one of their friends, it would seem his trail had disappeared. As if to double check this, the red haired young woman would sniff the air again twice but this time her nose was simply full of the smell of food, encouraging her stomach to rumble in response. "Eh, I lost him too... wanna have something to eat instead? I'll be nice and let you buy it~" she offered with a huge grin. Not that it mattered to her either way who paid for the meal or even if it was paid for at all, it wasn't uncommon for meals for the pair of them to be waived completely, since their presence alone usually brought more business to any place they chose to patronize.

[Bloodedge]

"They'd probably want us to do something weird. But... I think it would be fine. What's the worst they could ask for if they approved it?" Ren's stomach was beginning to feel as if it were turning flips in his body. He could certainly go for a decent meal right about now, and he was also fine with paying for the lot. Of course, he still managed to reply with a quick "hmph" to Ran's idea of being nice and letting him pay. "Sure; I'll buy. I just got a bit of Jewel from my last mission anyway." As he spoke, Ren began pushing through the crowd en route to the counter at the end of the restaurant. A male chef with an abnormally long head approached as the redhead seated himself and pulled up a stool to his right for the lass. With the stool out, Ren extended his arm as if he intended to guide the red-haired young woman into the seat. "That steak smell is driving me crazy. I need that in my life," he said both nonchalantly toward Ran, as well as toward the chef to place his order.

[Apollymi]

"It couldn't be much weirder than the perpetuation of the idea of the pair of us being twins." mentioned Ran as she rolled her eyes. It was more than obvious that this was at least one of many things the pairing of them dealt with on a regular basis. But as she thought more she decided what would likely be the sort of thing the Sorcerer Magazine would ask for from a dual shoot of the pair of them. "Neh, probably something odd, like a semi nude shoot, with the two us wrapped in each other's magic." she finished up this statement as if there was nothing wrong with it, much to the utter surprise of a passing woman. Beyond that she didn't really have a problem with what would have been considered this odd shoot, and given the detail she'd come up with on the spot one might have thought she'd been thinking such things to begin with. But as this conversation was moving right along, it came down to the bits about them catching a meal together. Since Ren agreed to pay, a large smile on her face as she joined him in the seat he'd pulled out to his right and heard what he had to say about the steak and her rumbling stomach agreed. "Yep, make that two." she said her last comment directed at the odd looking chef as she leaned against the counter and waited for what had to be a more than reasonable meal coming her way.

[Bloodedge]

"It could be. They could start thinking we're incestuous with the kind of shoot you're talking about," Ren chimed as he placed his left arm against the counter where he sat. "But, the shoot itself sounds pretty fun actually. You should pitch that idea when we-..." Ren paused there. As he spoke, he casually looked toward his left... and there, he saw the very same man he'd been smelling previously: Hayama Kotarou. His eyes widened, and he blinked repeatedly when he realized why he had stopped being able to smell this man. The bitter truth was, he had simply been masked by the intoxicating bouquet of the meal he'd come to consume. "... Roku-chan."

[Apollymi]

"Yeah, that is exactly what they and the rest of the population will think." she said with a nod. "But it's so marketable. Though it will make our meet and greets with fans much more... troublesome." she finished up now leaning against the bar, it became obvious the woman known as Ran would probably be pitching this particular idea the next time they were going to speak with the editor for their next photo shoots. As the conversation progressed to this point, she was almost inclined to agree with Ren but he'd stopped talking. "When..." she said expecting the man to finish his sentence but the words that came out of his mouth next made the woman look around him at the young man on his other side and she chuckled just a bit. "Ah, his food hid him from us..." she said feeling a bit abashed. Perhaps she was too hungry, if something as simple as steak was enough to hide a comrade in plain sight from her enhanced senses.

[Shuren]

Glancing at the duo over his shoulder, Hayama noticed the uncertainty in their expression. It seemed that his little tactic of nullifying his scent with that of the majestic steak in front of him, he let out a smile and enjoyed another piece of his meal. He refreshed his throat with water and continued to nibble one of the curly kales, stretching the sense of pleasure to its utmost limits. At one point, he leaned forward on the counter only to spot the duo making their way there. Eventually, they interacted with the chef and ordered two meals of their own. It was true that Hayama preferred isolated places more, even when in communities. As much as he liked avoiding conversation, Ren and Ran were still two of the people he genuinely cared for. And he really meant it, since his usual approach would be strongly in the opposite direction. “Bartender-san.” He said, snapping his fingers to get his attention. Once he did, he would continue while pointing at the duo without making it obvious. “Those two are going to order something. Whatever they do, it’s on me. Okay?” he finished with a smile. Just as the man was about to turn around and go, he added. “Though don’t tell them it was me that paid in their stead.” Unfortunately for him, however, the man would not hear his last sentence and tell it anyway.

[Bloodedge]

"... When we go back to the editors," Ren said to complete his yet unfinished clause, though he was quite sure Ran had come to the conclusion in her mind already. This made it a bit unnecessary for him to finish, but he was too distraught by the random appearance of Hayama after assuming the man had vanished from the restaurant. Once the orders had been placed, Ren went digging for his pocket to retrieve the payment, but he was stopped by the man at the other side of the counter. Apparently, the meals had been paid for, presumably by one of the twins' fans. The barkeep decided to clarify the exact person, and pointed at Hayama. "Eh!? Guy masks his scent from us... just to drop his Jewels on our food a few minutes later. Roku-chan confuses me."

[Apollymi]

Her order had arrived so she was unworried. Beyond that she had nothing to say in response to the final sentence spoken by Ren as she fully understood, where he'd been going. She was sure she'd remember the idea, if only because shoots with Ren would make them less boring for Ran herself. In fact, there was nothing more on this young woman's mind than starting her meal. She seemed not at all, perturbed by Hayama's apparent antisocial behavior. In fact she was quite sure it was normal for him to be such a way, still she figured she'd take a shot at explaining it since it was so disturbing to the young man with her. "Well, I am pretty sure that Roku-tan just doesn't like crowds. He's pretty nice though. Let's not turn down his kindness.... let's eat already~" she mentioned with a marked bit of impatience. It would seem the young woman known as Ran had no problem stuffing her face in the company of men, especially when she wasn't the one who paid for it. With this in mind she prepped knife and fork over steak with all the happiness a single individual could muster, she didn't want to eat by herself though, so she'd wait just a bit for her partner of choice to catch up.

[Shuren]

As Ren noticed him thanks to the fail of a person he had entrusted his wish on, Hayama facepalmed himself slowly and finished the rest of his meal. Just when the said man was about to go back into the kitchen, he signed him to come forwards. When he did, he was already ready to share his thoughts. “Well done, you brainless fuck. What part of not telling them was unclear? Surely just being around me makes you cleverer by osmosis, but again, you managed to surprise me somehow with your incalculable amount of stupidity. Have my congratulations, or make it up to me with free scotch. You have a minute.” he whispered slowly. He slid his dish towards him with an annoyed expression on his face, whereas the bartender stood without moving, shocked by the scolding he just got. With that out of the way, Hayama could think of not other way than socializing at this point. So he made his way towards the duo and sat on the empty stool on Ren’s other side. “Hello.” He greeted, and grabbed the glass of scotch that was now in front of him.

[Bloodedge]

"I guess I can understand that, but we're out of the crowd now. Even this lot knows when to back off." Without further ado, Ren grabbed his fork and knife, choosing as well to begin the consumption of this high-quality steak. As he did so, Hayama approached the space in which he and Ran ate, greeting the pair with a simple 'hello' to the both of them. Whether it was true or not, Ren thought Hayama to be the least talkative person he knew by a long shot. The thought of this made the man's greeting laughable. "We aren't broke, Roku-chan. We could have bought our own steaks, even though Ran would never pay if she could get out of it. Thanks, though. What'cha been up to?"

[Apollymi]

As they finally started eating Ran shook her head from left to right. "Not exactly what I meant. Roku-tan doesn't socialize in general.. not just with our fandom. He strikes me as the sort to not talk to more than one person at a time. Could be awful, what if he has a crush on one of us, but can never catch us alone?~" she posed this teasing query while taking a bite of her steak. Her eyes lit up with an unknown bit of glee and she'd continue on from then pausing only when the man known as Hayama spoke to them directly with a very simple greeting. A huge grin crossed her face, even so she had to address what had been said by Ren before she could get to the actual greeting. "Oi, don't make it sound like I'm some sort of cheapskate. I am simply accepting of gifts that are given to me." she said rolling her eyes at the man who looked as if he could pass for her twin brother. "Hi there, Roku-tan. Thanks for the food.~" and having nothing else to add to the conversation she went back to eating happily.

[Shuren]

Hayama listened Ren, and how he pointed out they could have bought their own steaks. Well, of course they took. Even if they weren't mages that regularly took highly paid missions, they were both charming enough to make enough money for a desirable life. “Mondainai~” he addressed both of them, before continuing to answer Ren's question. “The usual. Coming from a mission, will be of to another shortly. An S-Rank infiltration mission to a guild called Grimoire Heart, to be specific. Not like I never do those but...” he took a short pause, wondering if this was secretly a double S-Rank assignment. The guild master had that side of not telling them the entirety of the details, which would eventually turn up good for them. Sipping his scotch, he carried on shortly. “Yondaime himself assigned this one to me. So I suspect something's up.” he said with a nod while setting his gaze upon the duo. He didn't have enough time to make a background search about the said guild, but perhaps the Twin Dragons knew something about them. “Do you guys know anything about said guild?”

[Bloodedge]

"She says she's accepting gifts that are given to her, but she pretty much begged me to pay for her meal when we were on our way here," Ren said nonchalantly just before shoving another bite of steak into his mouth. When he heard the details on Hayama's situation, he became quite interested in what the man had to say. He would not have thought lightly of such a mission regardless of the specifics, but the fact that the Guild Master had assigned it directly made things much more serious. Ren took a sip of water to wash down his steak, and when that was done, he chose to address Hayama's concern. "There's definitely something up. Grimoire Heart is the Immortal Guild. They've got some monsters on that airship of theirs. If you're going, you might have some problems ahead of you... if you can find the airship."