1.1 Day 1

The young couple arrives, tired from their long journey. 

Well, at least Taras is tired. Nozomi shoots out of the taxi, eager to move again. 

"Come on, slow poke!" she teases. Taras sighs at her almost annoyingly high level of energy, but follows her nonetheless. 

They make it inside their accommodations together. As always, Nozomi leaves Taras to the bargaining for their room. He's always had a way with people. 

While Taras charms the manager, Nozomi begins planning. While they still have quite a bit of money left over from her last few street performances, their budget could definitely be higher. 

She glances around cautiously. This nectary is nice enough, but nice usually means pricey. She itches to hit the streets and get a bit of cash.

"I'll go check the room," Taras calls over his shoulder, their room now secure. With Taras occupied, Nozomi knows this means she has free reign to go out. 

Without even saying goodbye, Nozomi dashes out the door. 

Taras finds the room easily enough. Getting an affordable price meant having to compromise on some luxuries, like a bathroom. Fortunately for them, they rarely spend time in whatever accommodations they get. 

Still, some precautions are necessary. 

While Nozomi is almost certainly a better mage than he is, Taras has always had the upper hand in casting protection hexes. He swishes his wand through the air, mumbling the spell to himself. At a high enough level the verbal incantations are unnecessary, but Taras is not nearly that proficient.

Still, he gets the job done. Pink sparkles and strange, thick bubbles fly through the air, denoting his success. 

It didn't take long to find what she was looking for. She stares at the stage and its wooden city backdrop. It's not nearly as impressive as the stages in Starlight Shores, but it still gets her heart pumping with anticipation. 

She cracks her knuckles non-chalantly, trying not to let her excitement show. If this is anything like Starlight Shores, over-eagerness will definitely lower her chances of getting a gig here. She can't seem like a newbie. 

She makes a beeline for the propietor. 

"Have any spots open for a magician?" she asks casually, completely bypassing a greeting. While she has done this before, her palms still sweat. What if Riverblossom Hills doesn't hire outsiders? What if the entertainment industry here is even more competitive than the one in Starlight Shores? 

She shouldn't have worried. 

"Well, let's see what you've got, first," the propietor says, seeming caught-off guard. He must not get many performers. If this had been Starlight Shores, he might have given her a once-over and laughed in her face. 

She starts off simple and makes an apple appear from thin-air. 

Well, of course, she doesn't literally make the apple. That would be insane. She merely conjured an already existing apple from somewhere else. 

The propietor is barely able to hide his surprise. Before he can even offer her the job, she whips out her "magic wand". 

"I can even make my own special effects!"

He chuckles. "Alright, alright. You've got the job." 

Just what Nozomi wanted to hear.  

Back at the nectary, Taras chats with the manager after hexing their room. Cleo, as he has learned is her name, is incredulous about Taras's claims of forseeing the future.

"I predict lots of...dancing...in your future," he announces melodramatically. 

She laughs. "Well, I did just get invited to a party...how did you know?" 

Taras shrugs and flashes an innocent smile. "The cosmic forces are mysterious. If you want to know more, you'll have to give them some incentive..."

She laughs again. "Are you some kind of fortune teller?" 

"Perhaps," he says vaguely. He breaks into a grin, which she mirrors.

"You're like those guys at the gypsy wagon...do you work there?" 

Taras perks up. They have a caravan here? His financial situation suddenly looked a lot better. 

"No, I do not, but I'd like to pay a visit. Do you know the address?"

While Taras looked into a new avenue of income, Nozomi stayed firm in her own, preforming for tips. Being a mage certainly made these slight of hand tricks much easier. 

With a flourish, she produced a bouquet of roses seemingly out of nowhere. She theatrically gestured towards the flowers, showing her...

...audience...

that magic can exist among the mundane. 

Unbeknownst to her, Taras had a very similar goal. He walked with purpose towards the caravan, drinking in the familiar sight.

It almost felt like destiny. 

Eventually, Nozomi had to admit defeat and walk home empty handed. Still, preforming again felt good. 

"Is my...husband...still here?" she asked Cleo. 

Cleo quirked an eyebrow at the hesitation, but chose to let it drop. "No, he went out."

Ah, he must be at the library, Nozomi thought, somewhat relieved. She didn't want to discuss finances or their trip plans just yet. 

Sure enough, Taras was at the library. While Riverblossom Hill's public library was not nearly as large or impressive as the ones he'd seen during his travels, they did have a vast collection of skill books. Sighing contentedly, he settled down on the couch and flipped through the pages. 

Maybe we don't have to leave here right away, he thought as he skimmed through the dense manual, not before my first pay-check, anyhow...

Back in their room, Nozomi wolfed down a conjured apple. 

I like this town, she decided, glancing out the window, I should talk to Taras about staying here a bit longer. 

AN: Welcome to my random legacy! I was originally going to blog about a different family, but that save ended up not working out so I had to scrap it.