The next morning was quiet as the group was escorted down the mountain. Slowly they made their way, small conversations here and there about nothing important. Laura and the elder fairy were the two ones waving goodbye as the rest departed for their next stop. Tinz lingered for a moment before continuing; the past few days were but a blur for him, and yet it felt odd to leave so soon.

"So, where to next?" Magnolia asked, leading Ferry who carried Tinz around in circles. "There's still some stray towns around we could stop at…"

Tinz stopped zoning out as he listened to Magnolia ramble. 

"I heard there's a town further…" he gestured vaguely, "That a way. It's known for lots of different kinds of people gathering there… We could use another person to run around with I guess?"

Magnolia's eyes lit up. "New people! That sounds exciting," she grinned.

"Yeah. Plus we could use someone on the offense since… well."

"Yeahhh, I can't send birds after anyone and everyone, huh?"

Tinz simply nodded. The two wandered off in the vague direction Tinz made note of.

…

Before long, they saw a few houses on the horizon, and as they inched closer more quaint buildings came into view. It wasn't exactly bustling, but there were quite a few people running around doing whatever they were up to.

"Wow… there's a lot of taverns. Tinz, you're old enough to drink aren't you?" Magnolia whistled as they passed their probable third tavern.

"I mean yeah, but that doesn't mean I should start drinking. I'd probably explode," he shuddered at the thought. Magnolia hummed in response.

"Oh! A billboard! Let's see let's see…" she mused. "Hoho, looks like this is for people looking to join parties, wanna list us two?"

Ferry barked. "Oof, right. Us three," Magnolia corrected herself. 

"I guess we could," Tinz agreed.

The process to put up a flyer was short and sweet. There was a hub building nearby that housed… yet another tavern along with a bunch of adventurers that hung out there; as they walked in, the smell of booze immediately hit their senses.

"Man, I wonder what they have for sale…" Magnolia wondered aloud.

"I don't even wanna imagine what you'd do with my phone while drunk. You already play way too many gacha games, I don't want any more charges on my card…" Tinz complained.

"Relaaax dude," she laughed. "Let's just ask around if anyone needs party members."

And so, they asked around. The amount of glares they got after they mentioned their roles as party members were unmatched. Nearly as bad as the tavern Tinz went to in the mountains, except this time they weren't met with mocking laughter. 

They were met with a good old 'Get kicked out of the hub and don't come back!'

"That went well," Tinz huffed. Magnolia whined incoherently.

"They don't take us seriously! Just because potions are advanced doesn't mean healers aren't just as good! Ugh," she dramatically held a hand over her eyes in defeat.

The two of them began to bicker about what to do next. …And completely ignored the quiet voice coming from behind them.

Then, all of a sudden, a big booming voice caught their attention.

"Hello there!" the voice exclaimed, causing the two of them to whip around. There stood a young man with green and yellow hair, who waved at them enthusiastically. Standing beside him was a teenager who looked extremely out of place with their long, dark messy hair in a ponytail and armour that was much too big for them. 

"Uh… hi," Tinz sat there, a bit shocked.

"Couldn't help but overhear the mess in the pub earlier, you guys are looking for a party to join?" The man asked. He completely overshadowed the younger person and their ability to stand out. "This one seemed to be interested too!" He then pointed at the teen.

Tinz and Magnolia looked at each other before looking back to the other two.

"Yeah! Were you like, offering to join? We're a combo of a healer, a-" Magnolia started before she got cut off.

"Oh I definitely heard you talk about all that in there, I know about you guys by now," he interrupted. "I'm Dolce by the way! Pretty interesting to see a healer in this day and age," he held his hand out for Tinz to shake. Tinz squinted and took his hand only for it to be shaken too enthusiastically. He then managed to get a better look at Dolce; he was an ant person wearing a suit without the jacket. He would say his expression was hard to read, not due to his red sunglasses that were practically sliding off his face, but due to that he simply seemed way too friendly. 

The teen finally spoke up. They had a quiet voice that could barely be heard above the chatter of the town. "I'm Plum… I'm looking for a party as well," they nodded at the rest of the group. "I think healers are cool, I think- Ah! I repeated myself. Um," they stuttered. "I tend to get hurt during battle," they took the claymore off their back with little (yet clumsy) effort, "So I can't drink potions when I'm trying to fight. I think… a healer would be a good mix. For me."

Tinz itched at the side of his neck nervously. He wasn't expecting anything to go his way while looking for a party to join. Then again, things have been a rollercoaster as of late. Ups and downs. And more ups and downs.

"So what can you do?" he looked to Dolce as he opted for ignoring his train of thought about the ups and downs.

Dolce lifted a finger up, and what sprang forth from the tip was a small bundle of flames. "I can use fire magic pretty well! Kinda comes with being a fire ant," he shrugged. Tinz nodded before thinking to himself some more.

"It seems like it'd be a good idea to team up. We're just kinda… exploring as of right now, but I could use the practice for healing skills," he explained. Dolce's hand turned into a thumbs up, and Plum smiled softly.

"Deal! I've been slacking off in this town for way too long, I need to get started on doing things again," Dolce grinned.

"I'm good with that… but I need to go tell my mom I found a party to join first," Plum admitted shyly. They held up a hand that meant 'Wait', and brought out a flip phone before dialing a number on it. The rest of them looked at Plum while they whispered into the phone. A small "Eek!" was heard before they slowly shut the phone.

"..." Plum looked back at the now newly formed party. "My mom wants to meet you all."

Tinz' jaw dropped for a moment before stifling back laughter. Magnolia slapped his leg lightly.

"Of course we can talk to her!" she responded in an attempt to ease Plum's nerves. "Let's all go … uhhhh. Where is she?" she asked. Plum pointed in a direction towards a more residential area of town. "Alllllright gang, let's go say hi!" Magnolia cheered as she lead the party alongside Plum.