Despite how busy the guild was, Clara seemed mostly unbothered by the crowd at large. The older girl was quietly working at her station, dealing with paperwork from the look of things as Lucas approached the desk.

  Once he got close, though, Clara's attention snapped to him and her eyes widened a fraction with recognition.

  “Oh! You're the one that Fay and Mr. Stella brought around to get his affinities tested! I don't think I got your name before.”

  Even though he knew the conversation to come was going to be rough, Lucas found himself smiling a bit at Clara's cheerful attitude.

  “We didn't get to introduce ourselves since I was in a bit of a rush to find out my affinities,” He apologized. “I'm Lucas, it's nice to meet you.”

  When he offered his hand, the older girl was quick to take it and shake it with a beaming smile. “I'm Clara, the guild's ‘receptionist’.”

  “Receptionist? I'm surprised the guild needs that,” Lucas commented.

  “Oh that's not what I really do here, but that's become the running joke over time. That and that I'm the guild's mascot,” Clara explained with a little laugh. “I'm actually the assistant to Guild Master Leonidas. I help him out with any of the guild's paperwork that doesn't need his signature.”

  “Huh. Most people would stay as far away from paperwork as they could back home. You seem shockingly happy to do it,” Lucas joked.

  “Because it lets me help,” Clara replied. “I can pay Master Leonidas back for all the help he's given me and my family.”

  “What do you mean?” Lucas couldn't help but ask.

  For the first time during the conversation Lucas watched Clara's grin fade, replaced by something more fragile and somber.

  “My father was part of the guild, and he was one of Master Leonidas’ favorites. When he passed away, the Guild Master was quick to offer support to my mother. He even offered me a job as well to help us out. So, I'm happy to return the favor and help him all I can.”

  Her somber tone lightened a little as she lifted a sheet of paper. “Plus, I don't really mind paperwork. It's easy!”

  “‘Easy’ she says…”

  “Keep that stuff the hell away from me…”

  Lucas chuckled as he heard a few mutterings from some nearby guild members when they heard Clara's comment. He couldn't help but agree with them. The last thing he wanted after graduating from school was more paperwork.

  “Sounds like he's lucky to have you,” Lucas replied.

  That seemed to be the right thing to say, as the dark-haired girl eagerly beamed at him.

  “Thanks! So, how do you know Fay?” She asked.

  “I'm a bit new around here,” Lucas replied with a shrug. “Fay saved my life and Magnus has been teaching me to fight ever since.”

  “Oh! You're in good hands, then! Mr. Stella used to be a hunter as well. He worked with my father a lot before… everything happened.”

  She trailed off and Lucas bit the inside of his cheek. He knew if he wanted to try and fix things, he needed to dive into some darker topics than Clara might have wanted.

  “What happened with that?” He asked carefully. “Fay hasn't told me much about you, but it almost looks like you two had a falling out or something.”

  The mood shifted immediately and Clara frowned as she looked at her hands. “It happened after my father died. Before then, I used to babysit Fay when she was younger since our families were really close. I'd even call Mr. Stella my uncle sometimes. We became friends as Fay got older and didn't need a babysitter anymore. I'd even sneak her some ice cream when her parents weren't paying attention.”

  The nicer memories seemed to counteract the bad for a few moments, but in the end, the topic wasn't a bright and happy one.

  “Once dad died, things fell apart. Unc-Mr. Stella wasn't in a good place, and my mom didn't make it any better. We were all grieving and my mom said some things she couldn't take back. Ever since then, our families have kept to themselves, and we don't really talk anymore.”

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  “I'm sorry. That's a hard situation for anyone to go through,” Lucas apologized. He wished he could say more, but what else could he really say.

  “It's alright,” Clara shook her head a bit and gave Lucas a small smile. “Master Leonidas offered me a job here not long after dad died, and the guild here has become another family to me. Even if mom doesn't like it.”

  That got Lucas’ attention. “Your mom isn't happy with you working here?”

  “She's not really a fan of the guild anymore,” Clara explained sheepishly.

  “That must be rough,” He mumbled.

  Clara shrugged. “I'm an adult, so I can choose where I work.”

  Clara seemed eager to shift the conversation away from her own family and turned her focus on Lucas.

  “So, what are you doing here, today? Need your affinities tested again?”

  Lucas chuckled at the joke and shook his head. “No, I'm here to support Fay. She's taking her test to join the guild.”

  Clara perked up immediately at that. “I thought I'd heard Fay's voice! But I couldn't see anything with the crowd blocking the view. So she's finally taking her test?”

  Lucas nodded, gesturing back towards the Guild Master's office. “She's getting tested now.”

  “I hope she does well. Fay has wanted to join the guild ever since she was a kid.”

  “She was pretty nervous about it this morning. Almost backed out at the last minute,” Lucas joked, getting a little laugh out of the dark-haired girl.

  ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

  For the next few minutes, Lucas and Clara chatted about anything and nothing. It wasn't hard to see why the older girl seemed to be so well liked by the guild. Multiple times he saw members greeting or waving at her and she would always smile and wave back at them.

  About twenty minutes after Fay and Leonidas had entered his office, the doors to the back rooms burst open and Fay stepped out. Her head whipped around, looking for something and when she spotted Lucas, she became a blur of motion to the raven-haired teen.

  Then he had a blonde-haired missile slamming into his chest at full speed. The force nearly sent him to the floor as Fay wrapped her arms around his neck and suddenly slammed her lips to his in a long, drawn-out kiss.

  The guild had gone quiet when the door slammed open and Fay rushed out, but as she began to make out with Lucas in the middle of the guild, many of the members began to laugh and wolf-whistle at the couple.

  Once she realized that they were very much in public still, Fay ended the kiss and buried her red face into Lucas’ chest. He could feel his own cheeks heating up and knew he was probably just as red as Fay after the sudden kiss. But if Fay had reacted like that, it meant good news, right?

  A throat clearing drew all attention to Leonidas, the towering man standing in the doorway to the back and watching the young couple with a playful grin.

  “Now that you're done with that,” He joked, making Fay bury her head even deeper into Lucas’ chest. “I think it's time to announce the results of the test.”

  The guild swiftly fell silent, with everyone looking towards the Guild Master to hear the results. Plenty of them had a good idea what the news would be, but they still waited for Leonidas to confirm it.

  And the man was more than willing to confirm those suspensions. “I present to you all our newest hunter, Fayth Stella!”

  The crowd erupted in cheers as the entire guild celebrated their newest member. Dozens of congratulations were offered to Fay and Lucas smiled as he watched his girlfriend practically glowing from the pride and excitement she was feeling.

  She was already so happy, but out of the corner of his eye, Lucas could see Clara smiling sadly at Fay. There were risks involved, but he wanted to try, at least.

  “I'll be back in a second,” He whispered into Fay's ear as he slipped away. He let the crowd come and greet their new member while he went and approached the Guild Master for a moment.

  “Can I borrow your office for a few minutes,” He asked as he stepped up to the man. Unlike the rest, Leonidas was hanging back and watching over the crowd.

  “My office?” The man raised an eyebrow as he looked down at Lucas with a skeptical look. “Why do you need to borrow my office, kid? And why should I let you?”

  Lucas looked at Clara and then looked towards Fay, surrounded by guild members. “I want to try and help them be friends again. But they don't need everybody listening in.”

  Following his gaze, Leonidas’ stern expression softened. After a moment, he nodded.

  “I’ve watched those two girls grow up. When Markus died, it was a huge loss for everyone here,” The older man sighed tiredly. “You’ve got good intentions, kid. You can use my office for a few minutes, but don’t break anything. Grab Fay and head on back, I’ll send Clara after you in a minute.”

  “Thank you,” Lucas replied gratefully.

  Pushing through the crowd around his girlfriend took a bit of effort, but soon Lucas was able to get to Fay's side and took her hand.

  “Sorry, guys! I've gotta borrow her for a bit!” He called out. The crowd groaned and laughed, making a few jokes about the young couple going to find somewhere private for certain reasons.

  “Lucas?” Fay was confused when Lucas pulled her away, leading her back towards Leonidas’ office rather than towards the exit like she'd expected.

  “Do you trust me?” Lucas asked softly as he turned to look at Fay, staring deep into those beautiful green eyes he'd fallen for.

  Fay looked back at him and nodded after a second. “Of course I do. With my life.”

  Pulling Fay along, Lucas led the way back into Leonidas’ office and gave his girlfriend a small, nervous smile as he closed the door.

  “Then please trust me that I'm trying to do something good,” He pleaded.

  He could see how Fay got even more confused by his request, but she still nodded in agreement.

  Then the door to Leonidas’ office opened and Clara stepped into the room.

  ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~