Reim Empire

[Apollymi]

Both Nasira and Yasmin nodded that they'd enjoy staying here as well. This gave a great deal of relief to Shadiya who smiled. "Alright then, I'll enjoy having everyone around." she said swiftly only to turn towards the house and see the scarlet haired woman while the other two young women went to begin retrieving things from the cart which everyone could or would use within the house. In the meantime when they came out it was obvious that there was a new person among them, a scarlet haired warrior type who seemed to be familiar with Malik. "Oh, did you? That's great and all but I am not here for that. I am here because I set up this Villa for... she said looking at the girl who stepped up with her purple hair. "You." she said. Looking to the girl who nodded. "Yes, I'm Shadiya, thank you very much." she said knowing this woman had been the one in charge of the restoration of her house. She scoffed just a little and shook her head from left to right. "You're late." she mentioned. Though taking a look at the rest of the people she figured them to be reasonably capable so she just shrugged in reply to Malik she had but one thing to say.

"You know the old man has to look into all the rest." she mentioned of the Gladiators, of the villa she explained a bit more. "Basically this is a prime spot, right next to the Coloseum and within walking distance of a very good market. The place is fully stocked and the nearest public bath is only about a block away. "

[Bloodedge]

"Ugh, really? Gramps is such a stiff, though. I don't think he'd be open to just letting a bunch of new people be around while we're training," Malik said. This old man of whom they spoke was apparently not the friendliest of people. Of course, the same could be assumed of the red-haired woman who'd so recently appeared to the group. "Perhaps this man you speak of would be interested in letting us train as well," Fudo interjected. The teal-haired prince approached the woman called Erza, extending his right hand to her with a smile upon his face to begin his greeting. "You're with the Yambala Gladiators, right? Fudo Shakir. My friends and I came from Parthevia to seek guidance in improving our Magoi Manipulation."

[Apollymi]

Erza looked at the pink haired boy and rolled her eyes. While it was true the leader of the Gladiators was a seemingly stern individual, that didn't mean he'd be totally opposed to new people. After all, he'd taken on the pink haired boy at some point. Before she could point this out though the teal haired young man was walking up, and extending his hand in greeting the scarlet haired young woman could do nothing but accept his outstretched hand and firmly shake. "I'm Erza Nicolaides." she mentioned the young woman who was obviously not from this place but still here. "And yes, I am one of the Yambala Gladiators." she said acknowledging what this young man had to say she could only shrug. "I am not one to say whether that would be permitted or not. But talking to the old man is your best bet. I'll take you to him if you'd like. He's supposed to be meeting this one anyways." she stated finally gesturing to Shadiya. She was apparently not a mean person, just a bit withdrawn as far as her interactions with people.

After these words were spoken, Yasmin and Nasira returned from settling a few of the things out of the cart and into the villa. "What'd we miss?" questioned the female dungeon capturer.

[Bloodedge]

"There's no need for that," spoke an elderly voice teeming with masculinity. From the rear of Erza, a very short male who seemed to be bordering a hundred years old, approached. He wore a cloak lined with white fur matching his mustache and what remained of his hair. This midget of a man was all but imposing to the naked eye, but there was something about his presence that made Fudo's brow quiver momentarily. "Pleasure to meet you, Erza. No worries; I understand you wouldn't have the final say. I take it this is the man you're talking about," he said while looking toward the elderly male to hear his next words. The old man had his eyes fixed not on Erza, not on Malik, but on Shadiya alone, even as he spoke to the general public of the area. These words would come just as Yasmin and Nasira revealed themselves. "I don't care why any of you have come here. I agreed to take on one final pupil, and no more than one. Who I take is my chosen successor in the art of Magoi, and so help me I'll not show another soul so long as I draw breath."

[Apollymi]

"Master." Erza said as the old man spoke up apparently he'd been nearby this place. It was kind of funny to see such a small old man approach with such authority. His appearance made Nasira and Yasmin glance at each other. His words to the girl Shadiya made her look at her new friends. She could appreciate someone wanting to only teach their technique to one person, but she also couldn't really abandon them to fate either. "Well, I get that, but I can't really abandon them in this either. So, if that's the case, teach either Fudo or Yasmin... " whatever this girl was about to say was completely lost.

Shula had been talking with Samiya on top of the cart, but now that she was finished she'd approached the group only to see the tiniest most adorable old man she'd ever seen in her life. "OH! HE'S THE MOST ADORABLE THING EVER!~" the young magi interrupted her immediate actions involved her aiming to capture the small old man and pull him into her bosom and smother him with her doting affections. Such a thing was so random it completely broke the concentration of all the females present. Even Erza was frozen and had to quickly cover a grin which spread across her normally stoic face.

[Bloodedge]

Though Malik did not know how to sway the old man from his decision, he came to the realization that he had never been able to bring Shula along with him to the Yambala Gladiators, so she had yet to meet the old master. With this in mind, he knew mostly what to expect from the moment she laid eyes on the man, and the confirmation of this came swiftly within a few moments of the Magi's outburst. "WATCH OUT WATCH OUT WATCH OUT!" he shouted. He was, however, too late. The next thing Malik saw was the grabbing of the master, and the subsequent smothering of him betwixt the Magi's bosom. 'Aaand Shula out of nowhere. I'm actually kinda jealous...' he thought.

"Insolent child!" said the elderly male as he pulled himself away from Shula's grasp. "Who do you think you are to approach me like that!? I am the greatest gladiator to ever grace the Reim Empire! Now, you," he went on, looking toward Shadiya once more. "Come again, child?"

[Apollymi]

And just like that the most comical moment that Nasira, Yasmin and Erza had ever witness happened before them. All while Malik tried to warn the old man of the presence of the coming Magi. His foreknowledge of the kind of behaviors this young woman had made, Yasmin wonder just how often the young Magi had done something like this prior to this moment. Still it made her chuckle as she tried for a serious face but couldn't manage right up until the old man managed to pull the young girl off himself. When he went on to say that he was oldest and most decorated Gladiator made a spark fly in the pink haired girl's mind. "Oh?! That means you're... Makarov Dreyar!" this moment of recognition made Nasira look to the pink haired girl in a questioning manner. "What, it was in the book Shadi handed me when I asked about the stuff earlier." she clarified. Still he seemed like an exciting man, if not a lot more tiny than his biographical information made him out to be.

Meanwhile, Shula took her scolding with all the care of an impetuous child. "My name's Shula, and I'm a Magi. I picked him and her." she said pointing to Malik and Shadiya. In this moment of craziness it took a moment for the attention to return to Shadiya bu when it did she seemed to be even more resolved than she had been before. "I said if it's the case that you would only teach one, then you should choose either Fudo or Yasmin. Both of them are more suited for it than I would be... besides they'd be able to put it to better use. I don't really want to be the one to learn it if only one of us can. Especially not when they didn't abandon me when they could have." she finished rather firm in her decision about this. Yasmin seemed a bit shocked. "Wait, Shadi, that isn't even necessary, you were the one coming here to learn this... there's no need to give that up for us." Yasmin was always very surprised by the kindness she was shown by people, and though she understood all aspects of this, she also didn't want to be the sole person learning any skill when more deserving or better suited people stood among them.

All the while this conversation happen Shula was grinning widely. She always liked the spine the purple haired girl showed in the face of adverse situations. And this was one such moment. It made her happy she'd been the one to choose her. "Aww, and I was all jealous 'cause I didn't choose the future legends. I forgot you were your own kind of legend." said the Magi as she sprang from her current position to spread her doting attention to Shadiya.

[Bloodedge]

"Yes, that would be me," the man replied. "I will allow a Magi's presence. Magi are far beyond the simplistic teachings I have to offer. However!" Shadiya's clause was noble indeed, but Makarov seemed disinterested in the others in the vicinity, bar Shadiya and Malik. When the purple-haired girl offered her training up to the other two, he looked at them individually for a few moments each, then shook his head. "They do seem stronger than you by a large margin. And that is exactly why I won't train them! Malik is stronger than the two of them after a year of training, but the Tao boy I took in was another strong one when he arrived, and I don't like how he turned out. I am willing to grant strength, but I will not add to it!"

[Apollymi]

Shadiya looked at this old man as if she was confused. "Tao?" she could only think of one person with that name and had been in meeting with her brother on behalf of the Ko Empire before they had arrived here. Even so, she couldn't go along with such mediocre reasoning. "Sounds to me like you're simply afraid of what they will do with what you give them. But not wanting to help them because they could go on to do great or horrible things without knowing their intentions is demeaning to them and me. It makes it sound like you'd help me because I am too weak to help myself, but discount them because they were strong enough to help me. You are making it sound like people who are strong are innately off to do something wrong simply because you've had one bad experience. One would think that one as old and wise as yourself would be beyond that."

Watching this girl argue made Yasmin kind of proud. She found it interesting that this girl was willing to go so far. She had to admit in this moment she had a great deal of respect for the girl who was a few years younger than herself. 'I'm glad she's on our side... I am not sure I could win an argument against her.' the pink haired girl thought. Given how passionate the other girl seemed, Yasmin didn't even want to make her stop until she was satisfied with the whatever answer she was going to receive from the old man.

[Bloodedge]

"Oh, the ignorance of youth," Makarov said with a sigh. With that, he began to pace in a circle around the group, holding his head up and looking into the open sky above. "Power is corruption itself. No one with power seeks discipline; only more power. Those without power can be taught discipline and restraint as they grow. I do not teach for the simple sake of making others strong. I teach to keep the knowledge and understanding of Magoi alive, and nothing more. To abuse this by instigating war and the like is not what I want from my pupils, so I will take no more chances!"

Though Fudo sided with Shadiya in this matter, he could see Makarov's resolve from this interaction. So, he approached the purple-haired Dungeon Capturer, placed a hand atop her shoulder, and leaned toward her ear. "It's fine, Shadi. He's not going to budge, no matter how hard you try. You deserve the training from the master," he said. And with that, he looked toward the master and spoke openly. "Besides... Though he won't teach us, there's no saying he doesn't want any of the other Yambala Gladiators to show us what they know. He's just hiding the secret he hasn't even shown them. Right, Master Makarov?" When Fudo spoke, the old man's eyes widened, then immediately narrowed. He had nothing to say about this, but the fact that he said nothing brought a smile to Fudo's face. In this very moment, Makarov's intentions became blatantly obvious. "My gratitude goes to you, Master."

[Apollymi]

Shadiya found this old man's arguments interesting. He didn't want people learning his special skills instigating war, to be fair, by that logic alone he should probably be giving said information to the two people most likely to try and avoid it at all cost. But before she could open her mouth to speak this point, Fudo interjected. His words in this moment were similar in tone and cadence to how he'd spoken to her the first time they'd met and since both he and Yasmin had already expressed that they weren't pushing this issue she let it go. Her hands raised up to him as he said his peace. "Fine, fine. If you're sure I won't argue about it." and just like she was done. "I guess, I'm the student of choice then. I'll try my best." she said bowing to the old master.

Yasmin was now standing apparently alone only to look over to her right and see Nasira standing beside her with a smirk on her face "You know he's always been like that. Even when we were kids... I suppose we should settle in for the long haul, we are going to be busy I assume." Nasira finished speaking and bounced on her toes. It would be Yasmin who spoke a second later, only after giving an encouraging thumbs up to Shadiya. "So, I see. This kind of makes me happy. If both of them were against me I'm pretty sure I'd collapse... I am not really made to argue like that." mentioned the pink haired girl as she stretched happy to be moving past the roughness of this initial meeting.

[Bloodedge]

"Of course I'm sure. You trust me, right?" he asked of Shadiya. If there was one thing Fudo always was, it was a man with a plan, so to speak. And of course, he had a plan. What Makarov said was true; Shadiya did seem a bit physically inept for a Dungeon Capturer. He and the others were looking for increased skill with their Metal and Household Vessels, but if Shadiya could learn even more, it would only make her a much better asset for the group as a whole. No matter which way he thought about it, this would be a win-win situation for everyone.

"So, we've got some new young'uns?" spoke a white-haired male with tan skin, seeming to be near middle-aged. His approach was made with folded arms and a stern expression, his steps firm and purposeful as a sword on either side of his body swayed to and fro with his movement. "Dibs on the one with the rack," he said as he took a side to Erza.

[Apollymi]

"Of course I do. Do what you feel is best." Shadiya said. She could trust in this man's plans because he was so good at making them sound good and beyond that she believed in his goodness as a person. If he was fine with this she was as well. It would seem that more and more of these Gladiator type people were emerging to going the group as a whole. And while Yasmin and Nasira talked over the less important bits, a man appeared beside Erza. "Obviously." she said when he stated his intentions to train the one with the rack. This would make the scarlet haired woman aim to nudge the man in the ribs with her elbow. "You're disgusting. But... I think I will be taking this one." she said inclining her head to Fudo.

[Bloodedge]

"Thank you. I'll do my best not to disappoint," Fudo said with a smile. Now, things were all set to begin moving forward at a reasonable pace. The only thing to address, was the training itself. This new arrival somehow managed to rub Fudo the wrong way from his introduction, but the teal-haired man thought it to simply be an off hunch.

This white-haired man received a swift elbow to the rib-cage. The following statement from Erza, though, caused him to shift himself directly into the woman's line of sight. "Ohh, but I'm the disgusting one. Got a thing for the freaky eyes, huh?"

[Apollymi]

A bright smile beamed from the younger of their group. Shadiya wasn't at all good at hiding herself properly and as such when she said she had faith in Fudo she meant it. With it already worked out who she would be learning from she was interested to see who the others were picked by. It would be the conversation between the scarlet haired woman and the white haired man she'd just nudged which would continue and determine who would be training whom. "Ew, of course not. Unlike you, I am thinking with the head on my shoulders. He's the only one visibly armed; I want a challenge." Erza mentioned, intending apparently to get some sort of stretch out of teaching Magoi Manipulation to Fudo.

Yasmin seemed to be astutely aware she was being talked about. But she was always aware of that anyways. She felt no particular way about anything and with that in mind she simply waited for whomever decided she was worthy to be trained. 'And talking about me... again. This is kind of maddening.' she thought as she pushed pink locks out of her face. Nasira watched this entire group of people ready to move if she needed to but stuck between the pairing of Fudo and Yasmin about equally distant from each of them, as if she intended to be within arms reach of either at a moment's notice.