The Guild Ranking Ceremony Trial One(pt.1)

 "Oh great. The very first trial and we're already at a disadvantage." Nikolos Frost said as he drank from a wine glass in the guild master's box (which was really almost it's own house, and a fancy one at that) watching the ceremony from the comforts of one of the many large chairs.

Wearing only the minimum amount of clothing and a top hat with a pair of entwined tails sewn onto it was an auburn-haired Homo-Bestia woman hoping to pounce on what appeared to be an unsuspecting guildmaster sitting comfortably.

"Meline." The frosty haired man said to the guildmistress of Kin of Bestia, bursting her bubble without even a glance. "Aren't you worried? Your guild's at almost as much of a disadvantage as ours."

"How'd you know I was there?" Meline pouted before pouncing regardless and hanging off of Nikolos' chair. "Never mind, don't purry about us."

"You know I hate it when you make those terrible puns." Nikolos Frost groaned with disdain only making Meline smile with pride.

"Master Master Frost." The elven, green-haired, mistress of Specialty Maid exclaimed with a bow and flushed cheeks, as she casually threw Meline off of Nikolos' chair. "I didn't know you'd be here."

"How many times must I tell you Cena. Just one master is fine." Frost replied with an exhausted sigh.

"But you were the one whom I swore to serve, and now you're a guildmaster too. Oh, great when did my life get so complicated?!" The maid continued, stressing over virtually nothing.

"It really isn't. Now shush. I wanna watch this." Frost answered, as he took another sip of his drink.

********

Our flag was located deep in a green forested area where the trees were tall and large enough to block out the sun. Which was probably a good thing strategically speaking. But all I could think about was how easily I could get lost.

"Nosora. How fast do you think you can find the other flags?" Kenki asked as she began strategizing immediately.

"Judging by the area of the arena I'd guess, around five seconds." Nosora answered as he slid his hands into his pockets coolly.

"Then go already!" Kenki shouted.

"Right." Nosora said before running off with speeds quicker then even the Dart.

"We need people to stay with the flag, preferably long-distance fighters. Jex and Lilac that's you."

"I suppose I can go long distance if I must." Jex said in response.

"Once Nosora returns, he'll go with Robius and Shade. I'll go with Aceil and Okami." Kenki continued her plan just as Nosora arrived.

"Whew! Four seconds." Nosora bragged as his long dark cloak flapped dramatically in the air, along with his braided hair. "Anyways, the closest flag is Lunastray's. It's just West of here."

"Great, my team will go after that one. Seeing as you're the only one who knows the location of the other flags your team will go after whichever flag is the easiest. Once you return the flag wait for me." Kenki finished.

"And that's it for the ten second head start! The trail now begins!" Cion shouted. 

********

As soon as the timer ended, we all split up without even a speck of doubt in Kenki.

"When did Kenki get so bossy?" Nosora asked as he guided us to another flag in a leisurely pace.

"Are you complaining? Imagine if Robius came up with the plan. We'd be dead before we hit the ground." Shade answer, deathly serious.

"Hey! I can strategize! I was just being polite and letting Kenki borrow the spotlight for a while." I argued validly as I narrowly dodged a low hanging branch only to trip on a root soon after.

"Okay guys I'm afraid that if we keep going this slow, we'll have already lost by the time we get there." Nosora said clearly bored of walking.

As if to prove his point Cion's voice echoed through the air. "Kin of Bestia has already acquired the Specialty Maid flag and returned it to their base earning them a point. I have a feeling this'll be a good match!!"

"See what I mean!? Just follow me, I'll try to go slow." Nosora said before he picked up speed making me due the same using my Bolt Dash to improve my speed with lightning.

"Shadow Tether." Shade said as he also kept up with us by tethering his ether to our shadows, like surfer being tugged along by a boat.

"That's so cheating!" I exclaimed.

"Shut up. We're getting close." Nosora said. "The Golden Chariot's base is right ahead."

********

"So uh, how's that lotion I got you, darling?" Jex said as he kicked a rock out of boredom. "Hmm? Nice 'n' slippery?"

"Shut up, Jex I'll have you know I used it on Nosora." Lilac replied as she scanned the area with her recurve bow ready to be drawn and shot.

"Wow. That's explicit, got any pictures perhaps? I bet he's like a rabbit have you ever seen rabbits fu-" Jex stopped mid-sentence as he noticed a twig on the ground, break without sound.

"Oh, come on you pervert! I obviously didn't mean that!" Lilac replied flustered before Jex put his finger on her lips.

"Shh. There's someone here. I think they're using stealth, I can't hear their footsteps, or see them."

Just as Lilac was about to argue about Jex's sincerity, the flag suddenly vanished.

A pillar of flames erupted from the location of the flag revealing a small boy gowned in a long-hooded cloak and raccoon mask, completely obscuring himself.

There was a single piece of his equipment that wasn't black and stuck out quite a bit. The crest of the Golden Chariot.

"Oh, this will be fun." Jex said with a fire in his eyes.

"Aww. He's so cute! He's like a small(er) Shade!" Lilac said as she hugged the boy engulfing him in her breast.

Though his face was hidden. Jex could've sworn he saw the boy smile arrogantly and wink at him.

"Oh, that's it you little bastard! You're going down! Those are V.I.T. Very impressive ti..boobies! Not a child's toy!" Jex shouted whilst being sure to refrain from swearing.

********

Meanwhile we finally arrived at the base of Lunastray located atop a hill in a lightly forested area, surely the location would've been easy to defend, yet there wasn't a single person there, which was equally intimidating.

"Be cautious everyone, this could be a trap." I warned, falling comfortably into the role of commander.

"Yeah yeah. I already suspected as much." Aceil said as he readied his tanabo. 

"I can't believe you separated me and Shady." Okami whined as she drug her feet dramatically. "How cruel can you be? We're clearly in love."

"Again, with this? He's clearly not interested. I'm sorry but you have to get over it. Besides he's an elf you can never be a-" Upon seeing tears well up in Okami's eyes I stopped myself, thinking I might've let my lack of patience get the better of me.

"You don't get it. You can't, it's not possible. After all you and Robius get along so well." Okami continued, forcing my face to twitch uncomfortably.

Even though she was horribly wrong for even thinking something so inconceivable, I didn't feel the need to dramatically complain like an overused cliché.

"He saved my life, and he told me he'd never let me go again." Okami said emotionally, as she fell to her knees muddying her beautiful dress.

"What? Are you sure that was Shade? Our resident edgelord?" Aceil commented in confusion as he remained on guard. "Did you forget your one of our Betas or something? What could an edgelord elf do to help you?"

"I can't tell you." Okami continued with a smile as she wiped her tears away and stood up instantly cleaning her dress with wind magic. "It's our little secret."

"I'm sorry for saying what I did. You obviously have a connection with him that I don't understand. But right now, we need to capture this flag." I concluded as we approached the flag mined our every step.

********

"I suppose you are doing fine." Nikolos Frost spoke in surprise, to the Homo-Bestia girl hanging on his shoulders as he enjoyed a drink in the guild master's box.

"Of course, I am! I told you so! Meow." Meline said before getting hit on the head by Frost's fist making her stumble back in dramatized shock.

"Didn't I say that was annoying?" Frost asked in annoyance, to which Meline answered by sticking out her tongue.

"But why my guild? Azure Ursine would've been easier." Cena pouted childishly.

"Cause we're rivals of course! We both love Niko, meow!" Meline said before Frost punched her in the head again, seeming to only invigorate her.

"What? I don't know what you're talking about. Sure, he's my Master, and I'll serve him through hell and back." Cena said as she blushed more and more with each word. "And of course, I do like being by him... Oh no I really am in love, aren't I?"

"Oh boy." Frost said with concern as he watched his guild with a projected screen positioned in the box.

"Don't tell me your worried about the ceremony? Remember Niko you can't lose to anyone but me." Kris said as he entered the box and winked at the girls making them shrink back. "Most girls love that."

"Most girls just like your big...thick...dark...wallet!" Meline teased while making a face before she hid behind Nikolos.

"Anyways, I'd keep a close eye on Lunastray. Rumor is they're in the pants of some sus characters." Kris said brushing Meline's insult to the side as he stood beside Frost with his own beverage of brandy.

"You think I need your help?" Frost asked though it was more like a threat.

"Of course not. Just be careful is all I ask. And look out for the smiling mask." Kris answered cryptically as he left the box, with a courteous wave.

"It can't be. How are they here?" Frost said in shock as he shattered the glass in his hand inadvertently.

"Who? Meow?"

"Who." The girls asked synonymous.

"I can't say I'm afraid. But if it's what I think. We have to stop Lunastray, this is bigger than the Guild Ranking Ceremony. This may involve the entire Islands."