The dawn of the adventurer guild

Raven ran trusting that she could leave Fuwa behind, she hadn't behaved like this since she was a kid, but, for mocking Fuwa it was worth it. But as most of the things in Raven's life, it didn't go according to the plan.

"Fuwa is a cow!" She shouted as she ran, taking by mistake a wrong turn.

"Wait until I catch you!"

Raven laughed and kept running, evading passers-by as she kept going until she realized her mistake, she didn't go to the blacksmith square as she intended, she went to the riverside and stopped in confusion right before she fell to the water.

'That was close!' Raven thought relieved, she turned to put an end to the silly game but it was too late, her eyes grew wider as she saw a familiar human girl with blue hair jumping towards her.

"Got you!" Said Fuwa happily.

Then both of them fell to the river with a loud splash, putting an end to the game.

As both of them fell into the river, Raven noticed something strange, she was still sinking, she didn't remember that this place was so deep, and then she started panicking, the place was a bottomless pit of darkness and coldness. The water... For some reason, she was unable to float.

"Lovely" Her ears picked up a familiar voice "Look at this, the tides dragged a cat back home"

Raven's heart beat fast in her chest, pounding as she felt her blood go cold.

"Undine..."

The spirit wasn't visible, but she could hear and more terrifying, she could feel her lurking nearby. She felt as if she was being analyzed by the spirit, and she could feel her disapproval 

"Time is running thin dear cat" Said the spirit "You better be ready..."

"Wait... Time for what?" She said but only silence answered her question "Hey! Time for what!?"

She wanted answers, but she got expelled from the water and opened her eyes... She gasped for air as her lungs recovered, as she spat the water that had gone inside her mouth, it seemed like Fuwa had dragged her out of the water.

"T-thank goddess" She heard her companion sobbing.

Raven coughed, sputtering as she struggled to catch her breath, her lungs burning from the sudden rush of air. The memory of the icy, bottomless depths lingered in her mind, making her heart race even faster. She could still feel Undine's presence, cold and haunting, as if the water spirit's words were etched into her bones.

"What happened?" Asked Raven to Fuwa.

"You almost drown!" Fuwa said still pretty scared.

"Of course I'm alive, I would die such a pathetic death..." Raven said trying her best to sound cocky "Even if I'm crushed by a cow underwater"

Raven smiled like a sassy kid, she thought her companion would get annoyed and drop the subject, but she threw at her again, but this time she wasn't angry or annoyed, she was openly crying.

"I'm sowwy!!!" She said surprising the cat.

Raven's smug grin faltered as she stared at Fuwa, who was openly sobbing now, tears streaming down her cheeks. The playful banter Raven had used to deflect the tension clearly wasn't working this time. Fuwa's usually tough, carefree attitude was gone, and in its place was genuine fear and guilt.

"Wait... what?" Raven stammered, completely caught off guard "Fuwa... what are you talking about?" She sat up quickly, feeling an uncomfortable pang in her chest as she watched Fuwa struggle to speak through her tears.

"I-I didn't think… I didn't mean for it to get that bad!" Fuwa sobbed, wiping her eyes with her soaked sleeve, her face flushed with embarrassment "You weren't coming back up! I thought I killed you!"

Raven blinked, completely disarmed. This wasn't what she expected at all "Fuwa, come on, I'm fine!" she said, trying to sound reassuring, but the sight of her normally fiery companion in tears was making her feel more shaken than she cared to admit "It was just a stupid mistake. You didn't..."

"No, you don't get it!" Fuwa interrupted, her voice cracking. She looked away, clearly struggling to keep it together. "I was just playing around, I didn't realize you… I didn't!" 

"That's enough!" Raven said "It's not your fault, ok, maybe I'm just stupid" She crossed her arms flustered. 

Fuwa's sobs quieted for a moment as she glanced at Raven through tear-filled eyes, her brow furrowed in confusion "You… stupid?"

"Yeah, yeah, stupid" Raven grumbled, trying to shake off the tension. She crossed her arms tighter, feeling the awkwardness rise inside her like a wave "I ran too fast, and didn't look where I was going. It's not like you made me trip into an unknown abyss or anything"

Fuwa wiped her eyes, still sniffling but now staring at Raven as if trying to process what she was hearing. Raven shifted uncomfortably under her gaze, her tail flicking with agitation. She had almost forgotten about the visit of the spirit at this point. Fuwa blinked, her sniffles slowing as Raven's words sunk in "But…"

"No but's" Raven said firmly, though her tone was much gentler than usual. "I'm not dead, Fuwa. Not even close. I mean, I swim on this river all the time, I won't die cause I drank some water"

Fuwa's lips twitched, and for a second, it seemed like she was on the verge of laughing. But instead, she just let out a shaky breath and wiped the last of her tears away "You're so… annoying" she muttered, though her voice was softer now, and a faint smile tugged at the corners of her mouth.

"Annoying is my specialty" Raven replied with a small smirk, though inside she was relieved to see Fuwa calming down "Took you this long to figure that out?" 

Some people that were near them came closer to see what was happening, after all, it was a curious show what had happened, and eyes were upon both of them trying to figure out what was the big fuss. Raven stood up, her lungs didn't hurt as much as when she breathed fresh air after almost drowning, that was dangerous, even if she tried to calm Fuwa down, she had almost died for real, that damned spirit. But her words her words, now they sink in, she was trying to warn her about something. She grabbed Fuwa's arm and helped her up.

"Let's get out of here" She said. 

"Nnn" Fuwa responded with a nod and ran right to the side of Raven while she cleaned the tears from her eyes with the back of her other arm. 

Fuwa stayed close, still sniffling, but her tears had stopped. She kept glancing at Raven as if making sure she was really okay. Raven was trying her best to act normal, but inside, her thoughts were racing. What had Undine meant by "time is running thin"? Why had the spirit appeared to her now? And why did it feel like she had barely escaped something far worse than drowning?

They walked in silence for a while, the cool breeze drying their soaked clothes. Raven's ears twitched in irritation; she hated feeling vulnerable, and even more so when Fuwa was around. The whole situation had spiraled out of control so fast, and now she was left with more questions than answers.

After a few minutes, Fuwa finally broke the silence "Raven, are you really okay? I mean... really?"

Raven sighed, running a hand through her damp hair "Yeah, I'm fine" she said, though it came out more curtly than she intended "It was just... weird" Then a thought crossed her mind 'Should I tell her?' 

As the duo made her way, they ended up in the main street that circled around the city. A big multitude was reunited, both Raven and Fuwa looked at each other. It seemed like a bunch of dungeon challengers, adventurers, and mercenaries alike, they were listening to a young human, he looked around his mid-twenties. 

"...And thus we invite you all to join the recently formed adventurer guild" Said the man raising a hand "We will help out novices and provide support to advanced adventurers as well" The man bowed in front of the crowd causing diverse reactions. 

"An adventurer guild? What a bunch of crap!" Said Raven laughing. 

"So cool!" Said Fuwa simultaneously. 

"Ehh!? Lame! What's cool about being controlled?" Raven was really confused, but Fuwa eyes were brilliant with emotion, it seemed like the news brought by the man had totally shifted her mood. 

"Join now!" Said the man raising a hand, the crowd was somewhat silent "The founder of this group is Devon Flair, the best adventurer of this city with the backing of the biggest clans!" 

That nonetheless, caused a massive uproar. Raven looked with suspicion, the man he mentioned was a legend, he was probably the strongest person in the entire city by a big margin, a lone wolf who had been challenging the dungeon for a long time. 

"I don't know who that is but I wanna join!" Cheered Fuwa.

Raven herself was, at a loss for words. For the first time in a long time, she felt really confused, the man was iconic, but she didn't know much about him. Why would a loner bastard like him, now, of all times try to create such a big group?