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"Aaalexanderrr my old friend," Ethan said with a broad smile and clasped the more burly gator in a tight hug. Alexander simply rolled his eyes, turning Ethan's head away, and peeled the shifter off of him. "You're acting awfully cheery for someone who changed our plans last minute. I hope you understand that since I had to reschedule important consultations, there should be an equally important reason for doing so," he said, tapping a clawed finger on his crossed arms.
"Yeah, you're right. I should have opened up with apologies first." "I don't need petty sorrows, what's the excuse?" He growled.
Ethan rubbed the back of his neck with a nervous laugh. "Well, there are lots of reasons why I shifted our plans, but you can say the biggest reason was cause I just couldn't wait to get started." He said with a grin that was no more convincing than the hollow reasoning.
Alexander let out an exhausted sigh, pinching the bridge of his nose. Taking one more deep breath, he let up his hands. "Alright. The plans were changed. Just don't expect them to change again." He growled while turning to their silent teammate. "And what about Feathers? Did you even bother to ask about his schedule at least?"
The corvid simply let out a small huff as his only response, but the glaring at the ground, distinctly away from Ethan, made his dissatisfaction clear.
"Well, we are certainly glad you were able to join us." Ethan smiled through the party's agitated energy while wrapping his arm around the raven. "And if not both of us, then at least one of us, that's for sure. I can't always speak for Alexander since you never know what's going on in that lizard brain of his," he joked while ruffling the long sweeping feathers.
If there was anything Ethan was certain about when it came to their silent third, it was that he was truly grateful he had joined. Without him, they never would have been able to form a team three years ago.
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"I'm sorry, sir, but you need three people in order to apply as a team." The clerk at the local Adventurers' guild sighed exhaustedly. They weren't the first lump of new adventurers that were too stubborn to understand technical problems, and they certainly won't be the last.
This time of the year in Salone was always the worst for the exact reason she can see before her. A crowded lobby, bright new faces ready for adventure, too impatient for paperwork, too stubborn to listen, too many to handle all in one day, and too loud and too-
"Well, what if we apply as a team for now, and then later, when we have a third teammate, we can then update the team to accommodate the 3 man requirement." The young man in front begged, as if repeating himself would somehow make their useless argument worth extending any longer.
"No, I can't do that. What I can do is sign you both up as independent adventurers, and if you want to work on a mission together, then you'll both have to come in and fill out the necessary paperwork to register in collaboration. This would also mean-"Ok, but what if we started the application process and then hold off on submitting until there's a third person?" He interrupted again.
The Clerk's eye twitched in annoyance at the specule shifter. If she didn't know any better, it almost looked like he tried making himself look more like a sad, lost puppy dog begging for food. But no, according to the lack of illumination along the arcane etchings, that's just how he looked. Pathetic.
The clerk was mentally preparing herself, composing her emotions, so that she could explain the procedure all over again when the Alligator rolled into a hearty laugh, patting the beggar on the shoulder. "Well, you really gave this whole adventuring a real good shot, champ. It's been quite the whirlwind. I can see how you truly put your whole heart into it," he almost roared with laughter, wiping tears from the corners of his eyes. "After that grand speech you gave, I now truly see all those exceptional qualities the teachers were always talking about. I can close my eyes and look back fondly on all those memories we made while on our walk over."
Unamused, Ethan stared at Alexander as the howling laughter rang out at his expense. It only made the disappointment, caused by Ethan's lack of logistical foresight, worse.
"Well, since there's only the two of you standing in front of me, without a third teammate to speak of, I'm going to need you to step to the side while you get your affairs in order, please." The woman behind the desk smiled in her biggest, people-pleasing, service smile. She was so eager to get rid of this troublesome group, only to then begin working with the next group and their inevitable problems.
The sound of a plastic card tapping against the countertop was almost inaudible over the crowds in the hall, barely catching the clerk's attention. "I'm sorry, sir, but you're going to need to get in line just like the rest of the others that are waiting to be helped, then the first available staff member will be with you." She said while disguising a slight leer beneath a tight smile.
The guild staff was never really pressured to convince anyone who was ever unpleasant or argumentative. That's because if someone was dumb enough to try, there were usually plenty of adventurers in the area willing to help their comrades learn proper Guild Hall conduct. Instead, to her surprise, though, he tapped the card against the counter again, more adamantly this time.
"Sir, if you could wait, I am currently helping these two-". He taps his card again. "Unless you're Actually Joining them, then sir, I can't help you," she said while turning to face him fully.
From the look in his eyes, she could tell that he was determined, not in the way any other adventurer came in wide-eyed, as if they were struck with stars or an excitable puppy that's out for a walk, but true and raw determination. There was a fire in his heart, so sure of himself and ready to fight for the inferno inside him. She could see it all in his gaze. Those round black eyes pierced through the darkness before him, even the shadows within her heart, till she could finally see him in kind.
It wasn't immediately obvious, hidden beneath the dark cloak of mystery, but he had this way about himself that was simple, yet enchanting, she couldn't quite put her finger on. The iridescent sheen that rippled against the black feathers, the way they gently billowed with the sweeping air of passers-by, or the way the corners of his mouth were pressed in his hardened and serious expression that just drew her in, but whatever he was willing to convey, she was ready to listen.
Now with her attention, he tapped the card against the counter and gave a curt nod before tilting his head towards the direction of Ethan and Alexander. "Would you like to join their team as their third party member?" she asked, her tone completely shifted into one that was much more pleasant and kind, catching the observing paladin off guard from their readied position to educate this raven.
He nodded again, answering her question with a quiet resolve, letting her take his card to begin the process of registering their new team. It took only a few moments before she slid the first two IDs towards the duo that were shamelessly staring at this point, but gently handed back the corvid his ID. "Quite the lucky group they are to have thee Obsidian Quill working alongside them. The rest of the registration process will be sent to your extrapulator devices, and you can decide the rest of the details from there," she smiled. It was only after she realized the awkward stares she received from the next team in line did she finally let go of his hands. "May the stars guide you and the goddesses align with you. Safe travels, dear adventurers," she said, waving after the trio until the line cautiously moved up.
"Duuuude!" Ethan tackled their mysterious new teammate in a neck hold. "What kind of charm did you use on her? Isn't that, like, illegal? Forbidden? Restricted in here?" but the crow only shook his head. "Wait, it's not illegal?" Ethan asked more stupified while receiving an unamused half glare. "Oh, you didn't charm her?? Then how did you convince her so easily?" he asked, more mesmerized, while Alexander chose to ask the more logistical questions.
"And what's your name, bird meat?" Alexander asked, amused by the nickname, and earned the focus of that silent half glare. "What, do you not have a name?" The stare somehow seemed to grow colder. "Alright, what if I called you Feathers, since she was staring at your feathers for so long?"
He huffed his response and turned away, half rolling his eyes. Alexander followed the direction of the stare, walked to the side of the desk, and caught a quick glimpse of the clerk's screen while she bickered with the next team.
Ethan watched Alexander's face shift from amused curiosity to puzzlement, flashed with bewilderment, before ending with a defeated shake of the head as he walked back. "Yeah, I won't be calling you that. Feathers fits you just fine. I saw it said you graduated this year from the same academy we both went to, so you'll probably know I'll have to ask. Where did you rank in the overall leaderboard?"
Sometimes, the way Alexander asked questions made it clear he wasn't really looking for an answer—he just wanted an excuse to share something. In this case, it was his academic placement, which he was clearly confident about—and Ethan knew it.
Feathers held up three fingers. "30th?" Alexander asked, a bit cocky but unrelenting and the three fingers were pushed forward again. "33rd?" the gator looked to his first partner, who shrugged. Frustrated now, Feathers shoved his three fingers into Alexander's scaled chest before pulling out his holographic extrapulator screen and turned it towards Alexander pointedly. Right there before his eyes was Feather's certificate of graduation and that year's evaluation score out of the entire graduating class. 3rd place.
Perplexed, Alexander looked between the raven and his screen. "3rd? I don't remember seeing you in the match-ups or any of the after ceremony." The only answer he got was a swipe, slide show of the pictures that were taken of what is most certainly both that year's graduation tournament and ceremony. "I don't remember seeing you there at all." "Neither do I," Ethan said, peering around Alexander's large forearm to get a glimpse of some of the pictures. "I do remember I did have one really hard match up with a guy right before our fight, Xander, but I don't exactly remember what he looks like…" Ethan trailed off, thinking back on it hard, while their teammate blatantly showed the pictures that were taken of Ethan's fight against Feathers's.
"Huh, well, I guess it was you!" Ethan said jovially while patting him on the back. "Sorry, I didn't recognize ya there. I probably was so focused on the big fight at the end that I hadn't paid much attention to the ones I was having right before, huh?" he laughed, but Feathers only sighed exhaustedly.
As they talked, the information for registration had filed through the system, and they all received a notification.
"Congratulations, your team is now recognized by the Adventurers Guild! Please fill out the remaining information."
"That's right!" Ethan jumped to a start, "There are three of us now and that makes a team!" opening the extrapulators, they all looked over the remaining information that needed to be filled.
"The Team Lead will be___"
"____ is the official name for your team."
The leader of the team was registered by vote. With more organization, the vote would have been unanimous, but for the trio, the first cast of votes came back as a tie.
"One for each of us, huh?" Ethan laughed while looking around. "Who voted for who? And why so?" he asked more nervously while looking between the three of their screens. "I voted for myself." Alexander answered first, "While sure, you gathered most of us together, I just don't trust that you would be capable of handling such responsibility," he stated blatantly while crossing his arms.
The criticism wasn't entirely misplaced, but it visibly took the wind out of Ethan's sails before he turned to Feathers. "And what about you?" he asked nervously. The bird then pointed to Ethan, who then nodded in understanding. "That would make sense because I voted for you," he gestured back. "But why did you vote for me?"
Feathers shortly replied by simply pointing to Ethan and then holding up a number one, acknowledging that it was Ethan who earned first place in their graduation.
"That makes sense again," he laughed. "I voted for you because if you hadn't joined at the last moment, we wouldn't have a team at all. And your timing was perfect, otherwise we would have to wait in that super long line again or worse… be put on a waiting list."
Feathers nodded while refreshing the voting process for the team leader. While Alexander put in his vote right away, Ethan paused a moment to think about it, but it was a moment too slow. The quick, clawed hands of the corvid reached over and voted on Ethan's screen for him silently and almost unnoticeably, if he had blinked at that moment.
"Hey!" he retaliated and reached for the other screen, only to find that all 3 of their votes had been cast and the results were in.
"The Team Lead will be Ethan Lupisulvian."
"____ is the official name for your team."
Alexander groaned while craning his neck back. "I have a feeling that this will be a horrible idea," he muttered. "So what will our team name be, Captain?" he said with a mocking salute, a salute that robbed almost all the glee from Ethan's eyes as they glazed over in a soft haze. Alexander didn't even care to notice, but Feathers did. He recognized that look before Ethan was able to mask it away.
"Well," Ethan started with a cheerier version of himself. "Since we wouldn't have had a team if it wasn't for Feathers, what if we named it 'Soaring Feathers'?" He emphasized the name with his hand arching above him as if it were written on a neon sign.
"I refuse to be a part of a team with a dumb name like that." Alexander turned to walk away, but Ethan stopped him. "Hey! Hey, wait, I was just trying to think of a way to incorporate us all in together, you know, as a team?" Ethan stammered. "Then why don't you name it off of your little speech from earlier?" the alligator retorted, and the life lit back up in the shifter's eyes. "That's it! 'The Soaring Dawn'!"
Before Alexander could say anything, the name was already being typed into the form and sent without a moment's notice. The information was immediately received and registered into the system, letting their new party know with another unanimous notification.
After having stopped, Alexander slowly turned back towards the entrance of the Guild Hall. "Well, no point in trying to change your mind on that now." Shoving his hands into his pockets, the transparent extrapulator screen fizzled away as he made his exit. "Let's see how far will this 'Soaring Dawn' will take us, huh, kid?" he muttered to the newly appointed team lead.
Feathers and Ethan watched the alligator leave. When they realized the other was also watching in silence, without a word or attempt to stop him, Feathers gave Ethan a more suspicious squint. "What?? Don't look at me like that, he's always like that. He always grumbles! And he always broods!" Ethan called after the raven while trying to catch up with his quick but fluid pace.
One by one, they exited the Adventurer's Guild Hall, each following after the other as the sun was beginning to set in the skies, a dawn was beginning to break in their new horizon.