The man referred to as Guild Master, with a chiseled jaw, an ageless face, light brown eyes, and dark brown hair, looked at her kidnapper as if he had a loose screw.
He glanced at Azalea, " What is he going on about, if you don't mind my asking?" in a tone that sounded friendly but was not implying friendly intentions.
"I was told-" A hand covered her mouth stopping her from talking.
The gruff man interrupted rolling his eyes in annoyance,"The receptionist was playing tricks again. This little thing said that unless I got her a job she would continue to bother me. Can't have that. If I can't sleep, how am I supposed to work?!"
His attitude was of one trying to get a task done as fast as possible regardless of other opinions. It was as if he were in charge, Azalea would have already signed on for the job and he would have moved on with his day.
A scrutinizing stare took note of her while this conversation was happening, but she looked away to keep her nerves.
Taking in the office while the two bantered back and forth, she came to the conclusion, the office was smaller than she had originally thought it would be. Very simple but practical, along one wall were windows, in the middle was an organized desk and chair, and on the wall to the right was a wall of filing cabinets. The walls white, the ceiling white, the desk white, the cabinets white, the chairs white, and everything was white with the exception of the windows and carpet. The carpet was a light gray and the windows tinted glass.
She continued avoiding the stares until the Guild Master cleared his throat.
After looking at Azalea in more detail, the Guild Master clearing his throat asked in a concerned tone, "You are not awakened. Why did you come here for a job?"
Azalea looked at her shoes and spoke honestly, "I came here for the…the hazard pay. That can pay for my comatose brother. Someone once told me that civilians can make a lot of money here."
She drew all of her courage to look at the Guild Master with her face blank in expression, but her eyes were begging for any opportunity to prove herself.
"I know that I am not a hunter and that I may never be a hunter, but please I will do anything. Clean, uh organize, anything. Please."
At this point she had exhausted all of her courage and looked down at her shoes.
The Guild Master looked at the pathetic but eager to prove herself girl in front of him, then looked at the short tempered and impatient Repair Master. 'This would be an interesting combo. Maybe repairs will get done faster with her help.'
She said that she may never awaken, however unknown to the public, but common knowledge to hunters, the more you surround yourself with portals the higher the chance for awakening. This also applies to anything going in or out of portals.
'She might never awaken, but…'
It wasn't everyday that a civilian walked through the door for a job. Often hunters had to do the menial jobs that a civilian could do because no civilian would be willing to work with hunters. If civilians started taking over those jobs hunters could focus more on the masters at hands.
"I'll draw up a contract for you Miss. Was there a particular job that you are looking for?"
As Azalea stuttered to say she would take whatever was open, the gruff man interrupted, "She wants to be my assistant."
" Miss is that true, we have other jobs you can choose."
"I-ah, uhm a y-yes?"
"Miss, are you sure?"
Not knowing how to answer a question she had previously answered without repeating herself, she just shook her head in approval to get her point across.
The Guild Master snapped his hands and a long contract appeared before her. It was brought to life from thin air and clearly not drafted up ahead of time. 'Hunters and their abilities never cease to surprise her.'
"This will be your last chance to say no, walk out that door and never look back, or sign this contract."
She read diligently at the beginning but halfway through gave up entirely only going through the motions of reading.
Azalea nervously signed her name, biting on her lips to concentrate.
The Guild Master took the contract from her after she signed, "It may be outside of your experience, but welcome to the Hunter's Association!"
"I suggest that you learn fast and fall in line quickly. You will find this type of work unforgiving for faults. Issues with repairs could kill people. I suggest you learn as much as you can and be grateful for this opportunity from Repairer Chandu."
'What had she gotten herself into now? Well it is too late now to go back.'