The Grand Magic Games... it was like a dream come true. As she absently sipped on the drink that Sera had given her, Sia's mind refused to leave the nomination. The fact that she'd been suggested had come as a pleasant surprise. It meant they thought she was skilled. Being strong was something she'd long since settled on as her initial goal. It was what would get her to the future she dreamed of.

It would change things, she was certain.

"Hey, Valentina," Cross called out.

The pleasant rumble of conversation in the guild faltered, most eyes flickering to the girl in question. She'd snapped from her thoughts within a second, eyes narrowed to thin slits.

"What did you call me?"

Cross scratched the side of his face in a sheepish manner, his teasing grin never leaving his lips, however.

"Well, it's your name, ain't it?" he asked. "Anyways, you looked so serious, I figured it was about the only thing that was gonna get you're attention. When the prin--"

Sera- still close enough to reach him within seconds- struck out a hand and called out a spell at the same time. Magic shimmered in the air as a tube-like binding suddenly appeared and covered Cross's mouth. The man looked indignant, tugging at it with both hands. Whatever he'd had initially been planning to say to Sia was forgotten, as Cross had long since been discovered to have a one-track mind with an attention-span that was about as long as his IQ was high. Sia's hands were clenched on the counter, it and the heavy air being the only indications of the irritation she was currently focusing on shoving away. The moment she'd pulled herself back together the room suddenly seemed to grow lighter.

"Don't let him bother you," Sera reassured her as the conversation picked up once again. Since the danger of being caught in the crossfire was gone, the tense atmosphere was gone as well. "He's an idiot."

She sighed, nodding and turning her gaze back to her drink.

'I shouldn't let myself get worked up so easily,' she childed herself. 'What would Father say?'

"Sia!"

She looked up once again, surprised to hear that it was Sky calling her name this time. Standing at her side were Hawthorne, Ilias, Gideon, Rhett, and Keir. The latter two seemed to be talking amongst themselves, Keir still holding a slight pout to his expression. From where she sat, she could barely make out the words "Waverly" and "Kain" in their discussion.

"Get over here," Sky continued. "Bring Oren and that idiot with you."

"... Oren's not with me," she reminded Sky.

The violet haired woman waved this off and Sia's lips twisted up slightly in response. At the same time, her gaze flicking over the guild. When she'd spotted him, Oren had already begun, albeit reluctantly, to make his way over to where the small group had gathered. Cross, his mouth finally free, simply caught his hand against the top of the bar and easily slung himself over before Sia had said a word to him.

"Sky, be nicer," he whined. "At least call me 'that cute idiot'!"

"That's the part that bothered him?" Sera wondered aloud.

Sia simply shook her head and started across the room.

"It's Cross," she offered over her shoulder.

When she reached Sky, the woman skimmed their group with her eyes before seeming to nod to herself, satisfied.

"This is good enough," she announced allowed. "Listen up, kids--"

"You're not that much older than us, Sky," a voice mumbled.

"--we're going to split into two groups to train! I've got some challenging jobs in here," she announced, pausing wave a stack of papers in her hands that Sia hadn't noticed until that moment. "And we're going to take them on before the games start!"

"Why am I part of this?" Oren questioned sourly. "I'm not in the games."

"Reserves!" Sky answered instantly, her grin wicked. "Not everyone can be as great as me, you know. Someone's bound to get hurt--"

"Not my Rhetty!"

"--so we need you guys to be ready. The more the better, who knows what the games will hold," she finished, easily ignoring the way Keir was suddenly requesting that "Rhetty" rethink the choice to join in. "Before you ask, I'm going to take an S-Class job so I can't join you. What better way to work and train at the same time than to take on a job fitting of my great self?"

Sia could have sworn that someone muttered something in that moment about how the only thing great about Sky was her ego.

"I'll leave these behind for you," she continued obliviously. "Most of these are time sensitive, so you'd be best to team up and pack right away. I've made sure they're fitting for this- you should have enough time to train on the side while working."

"Kain and Waverly are coming as well," Hawthorne added, edging away from where Cross had moved so he was standing entirely too close to the male. "At least, Keir said they were planning to come as soon as Waverly felt better."

Teams...

The twins and their obsessions would no doubt team up together, she was aware. Sky- from the way she was eyeing Hawthorne- was no doubt considering dragging him along on the mission despite the fact he wasn't officially S-Rank. The fact that Lock wasn't in their group most likely meant that either Varya had dragged him off somewhere and wasn't returning him, or he had his own plans on how to prepare. It wasn't as if the guy needed practice anyways. That left Ilias, Oren, Cross, and Gideon.

Seeming to have to come to the same conclusion, all three males were giving equally displeased in the direction of the fourth- Cross. Cross had already abandoned the few brain cells he had and had begun pleading with Sky to be allowed to tag along with her and- most likely- Hawthorne. When he was almost instantly rejected- a response which was followed by him being taken to the floor when he refused to accept it- Sia let out a small sigh.

It would be an interesting team, for certain.

"We're doomed," Ilias commented, echoing Sia's thoughts.

Oren looked as if he agreed with them and made no move to join Keir who had given in when Rhett pointed out that since he was blind he couldn't exactly read the jobs without Keir's help. Gideon, the more practical of their impromptu team, moved to do so instead. Within seconds he'd returned, paper in hand. Oren instantly moved to intercept him, grumbling something about how it better be worth it's pay this time.

"It's an extermination request," Gideon explained. "There's a valley about three or four days travel from here that sends these out about once a month, I've taken the job before. They're plagued by creatures that roam out of a forest further in."

Sia cocked her head, confusion coloring her features. Oren- seeming to share her thoughts- scowled in response to the information.

"Why?" he asked. "Wouldn't it be easier to just take care of the creatures in the forest?"

"The villagers are against harming them without cause," Gideon replied.

Sia's confusion cleared up, her mind easily pulling up the village from her studies as a child. Her home town had laid in the same valley, although closer to the opening than the location Gideon was talking about. From where Wisteria laid, she doubted she would have to worry about them passing through it. Just that realization allowed her to relax- although she hadn't even realized she'd tensed up.

"You're talking about Solaris, right?"

He cocked a brow in slight surprise.

"You've been there?"

She hesitated, shifting her gaze to the paper in his hands rather than the man's face.

"Once or twice," Sia said. "When do all of you want to leave?"

None of the members of their team that were actually listening- Cross still pinned to the ground by Sky's foot- looked all that convinced by her change of subject, but let it be. Rather, Gideon considered the question thoughtfully before looking around their group for confirmation as he spoke.

"In the morning? It usually takes a week to clean up the entire valley area. We would need to leave right away to ensure that we'd return in time to finish any last details for the Grand Magic Games. I would say seven, perhaps eight A.M. would be best."

"We just got back--" Oren began, his tone irritable.

"Sounds good. This should be a fun trip," Sia interrupted, a smile on her lips. "I'll see you, then, I'm going to go ahead and head home, like he said, we just got back."

With that- and a few more parting words- she extracted her from the group. The conversation almost instantly dissolved into Oren irritably insisting that they should get a day or two before they left and Gideon calmly patiently explaining why that wasn't possible. As she started for the door, Sia was careful to wave goodbye to Seraphina as she very well knew she'd hear about it if she left without at least that much. Satisfied that the girl had seen her, Sia instantly slipped out into the chilly night.

Solaris... it was far too close to home.

Hopefully, no one recognized her. She doubted they would, her village hadn't been the traveling sort the last time she'd seen them. Still...

Sia had come too far to be dragged back down by that place.

____________________

With the morning came a renewed smile, as she'd managed to shake off most of her uneasiness. A rechecking of her maps confirmed what she'd thought- if she was careful to make suggestions about their path- ones that made sense anyways- they wouldn't come near her town. Oren was there when she arrived despite the protest he'd put up the night before. His back was resting against the front of the building, his eyes shut. From the way he tensed when she approached him, however, it was obvious that he wasn't asleep.

"The others here?" she questioned.

He shrugged.

"How am I supposed to know?"

Sia gave up on the line-of-questioning, knowing she wouldn't get anywhere with Oren at this hour. He was the sort of person that you couldn't get a civil word until noon- if ever. Instead, she settled against the wall next to him, dropping a small bag at her feet. He didn't open his eyes, letting them fall into silence as they waited for the others. Gideon was next, his soft brown hair blowing around his heart-shaped face as a result of the faint breeze sweeping past the guild. Sia raised her hand in greeting and he simply nodded in turn; his violin case was grasped lightly by one of his hands, a satchel bag hanging off of his opposing shoulder.

"The others?" he asked.

She shrugged much in the way Oren had.

"You know them," Sia replied, pausing before continuing. "I wanted to suggestion something, I'm familiar with the area and..."

The rest of the time waiting for the others was filled with pleasant conversation over the best roads to follow. Oren would pitch in occasionally- usually with a grumbled complaint about something they'd said- but for the most part he simply listened. Ilias arrived at the exact time they'd been set to depart, a sullen expression on his face. Obviously, he still hadn't aligned himself with the idea that they really were going to participate in the games and that he really was considered a possible reserve member.

It was a full half-hour before Cross showed. Oren, grumbling under his breath, shot the man an annoyed expression as the group loaded up their things into the transportation they'd hired. In turn, he simply offered the group a rather bright-eyed smile.

"Sorry, sorry," Cross said as he jumped up onto the front seat of the magic-powered four wheeled vehicle. "It takes time to look this good, you know?"

"We're going to fail," Ilias added, climbing inside.

"Looks like it," Oren agreed.

"Don't be so hasty," Sia scolded. "Even if he is an idiot, he'll at least work as a battery and a decent shield."

Gideon shook his head, joining them and shutting the door behind the group. The vehicle almost instantly jolted into action, Cross at some point having clasped the black bracelet around his wrist. As soon as the riders had straightened themselves- the sudden speed throwing them about inside- protests (Sia), questions about whether Cross knew how to drive (Ilias), and curses (Oren) hit the air.

Gideon simply sighed.

It was going to be a very long trip. 

A/N: Another short chapter! We're getting into some fun action, now, though so things should start picking up! You'll see some familiar faces within the next few chapters as well!