Breeding Dens [Job/Ariella]

Job:

The sun hung high in the sky over the busy streets of Reim. Birds chirped amongst themselves, ignoring the loud sounds of a large city. Azix was dressed in a middle-class merchant outfit, a bright blue shirt tucked into some black pants. His leather belt was notched tight to keep the shirt in place as he moved along the streets. Sheathed at his hip on his right side was his Deviant, a short sword he had received as a gift from Madam Trixie, a true pirate blade. On the left, his Staff of Refraction was held secure in a loop that hung from his belt. His outfit was completed with the black eye patch that covered his left eye.

Azix walked without a destination in mind, he was simply moving with his thoughts as he pondered over recent events. Finding Lavicus' sister was a top priority, but Azix needed some time to formulate a solid plan to rescue her. So he had decided to walk around the city, while the pieces came into place.

Out of his peripheral vision, a wooden board caught his eye, bringing him out of his thoughts. Azix moved closer to see that it was a job board, where citizens could leave ads asking for help with certain matters. There were many notes on the board and Azix scanned over them. One in particular interested him, a job from the owner of some nearby copper mines asking for help removing a pest. With a shudder, Azix remembered the Dormunga Creeper and was about to turn away when he saw that it was a different creature this time.

A pack of Tigras seemed to have settle into the mines, using it as their den. There was a good reward for removing the pack as well as capturing any babies for the owner to tame. Confident that the job wouldn't be nearly as bad as dealing with the creeper, Azix reached out to grab the posting. He didn't want any other competition, so he planned to remove that possibility by taking the details of the job.

[350/1500 words]

Ariella hummed a tune as she scanned the job board. Her meditation practice for the day was done and she was fairly upbeat as she looked at the different jobs. She wanted to pick up something that would give her a chance to test out how well her meditation practices had been working. She had dressed simply, simple pants and a light shirt covered with a cloak. The sleeves and hood of the cloak hid her hands and face fairly well, though her purple hair and brilliant gold eyes were easy to pick out. She was not trying to hide her appearance, but she was attempting to keep from intentionally drawing attention with her looks. Her wand was tucked securely in her sleeve and she fiddled with the handle of it idly as she searched the board.

She was drawn to one about a special animal and her eyes brightened. The job sounded challenging and she reached up to grab the paper. Before she had a chance to tear the page away, a man snatched it away and she turned to him with a scowl. As she was about to open her mouth to berate him, she noticed two weapons hanging at his side. The sword did not interest her, it was the staff that made her curiosity spark. Another magician… perhaps she could convince him to let her assist. Pulling her hood back, she offered up an engaging smile, the sunlight glinting off of her golden eyes and the small triangle necklace hanging from a thin chain. She made her voice light and bright, burying her initial irritation at him snatching the job away from her.

“Sir, I see you have decided to take that job. Would you mind terribly if I accompanied you? I was hoping to do it myself, but why not share the rewards and half the risks by letting me tag along?”

[317/1500]

As Azix grabbed the paper, he noticed another hand reach for it. A smile twisted on Azix's lips and he turned to discover a girl scowling at him, beneath her cloak. He noticed that she became friendlier when her eyes caught hold of his staff. Her golden eyes reminded Azix of his once trainer, The Instructor, and he pondered her offer. Azix wondered if the girl was a magician, if her interest was simply in strength, the sword would have caught her eye more.

With a flourish, Azix bowed deeply, "You make a fine argument, you may accompany me. I believe I know the area the copper mines are in. Follow me." He began to head in the direction and continued to talk. "The name is Xenos. Do I have the honor of meeting a fellow Magician, Miss...?" Azix wondered how advanced the girl's connection to the Rukh was, if she was truly a magician.

If the girl proved to be a magician his smile would stretch into a grin, "How interesting! I wonder, what color are you? Let me guess, hmm...I'll judge by your hair, you are a purple magician?" Azix would lead them out of Remano's city gates, responding to any conversation along the way.

[558/1500]

Ariella perked up when he agreed to take her along, her eyes still discreetly eyeing his staff. She briefly considered giving an alibi, however her name would not hold much weight in this end of the world. Though her family was fairly well off and well known around Magnostadt, they were by no means famous, so giving her name would not matter.

“My name is Ariella, and yes, I happen to be a magician. Though, not very experienced yet, I plan to become much better.”

She laughed at his guess of purple before shaking her head and following him to the city gates.

“No, I am a yellow magician, I dabble with lightning. One day, I hope to expand that to other areas, though.”

As she followed him, trusting when he had stated he knew the location of the mines, she turned a curious gaze on him, asking about what type of magician he was and why he carried a sword, nodding at any answers he gave. Perhaps once she was done training with Figuro, she could convince this man to train her as well. She privately wondered at the patch covering his eye but made no comment, aware of how irritating questions could be about extra or damaged body parts, glad her tail was securely hidden beneath her cloak. She began looking around in caution, not trusting the man enough to let her guard down on their trip. She mentally prepared for their coming conflict, remembering the unique species was relatively dangerous. She did not want to be caught off guard.

[579/1500]

Azix was pleased to hear that he had been correct about Ariella being a magician, but was surprised to hear that she was a yellow magician. Azix's first encounter with a yellow magician was recent, the Street Ninja leader Alexander. Thankfully he hadn't personally experienced an electric spell, his Borg had deflected it.

"Nice to meet you Ariella. I guess my magic type is like a bumblebee. I'm an orange magician, but I have begun learning strength magic as well." Azix wasn't sure why he was being so open, but he supposed she intrigued him. He wondered at her potential and if her skills proved useful, if she would be able to handle joining his operation. Azix planned on improving the Grumptoes so they could defend themselves, as well as properly training them. For now, he would wait to see how Ariella handled herself.

They arrived at the copper mines to find the place deserted of people. About twenty meters away, two tall and muscular Male Tigras sat, guarding the entrance of the mine. They let out deep growls, warning the two magicians to stay away. Azix knew that if they moved any closer, then the creatures would take it as a threatening gesture and spring into action. A thought to use invisibility came to mind, it had helped against the Street Ninjas, but he questioned its effectiveness on animals. Most were known to have good senses, in fact humans were quite weak in that regard. Azix wondered if magicians had a way around it as well and a memory of Garret's observations at the Street Ninja Warehouse flashed in his mind.

Azix noted the memory and turned his attention back to the Tigras. There was the option of using his shadow magic as well, but Azix would prefer using that later. The emotions associated with drawing on the shadows was too risky with Ariella around. If they proved too powerful, he might have no choice in the matter. "I'm going to attack first, stay out of the way until my first attack is done."

With a quick motion, Azix released his Staff of Refraction from the loop on his belt. While moving slowly forward, he began muttering commands to the Rukh. Ariella would be able to notice that the Rukh around Azix flashed orange. A wide ten meter diameter beam of bright yellow light formed above his staff. Azix was prepared and turned his vision away as he let his Bright Beam launch towards the two Tigras.

The creatures noticed Azix's movement and stood up, muscles tensed. With a burst of speed they began to move forward, howling in anger at the orange magician's trespassing. When they were within ten meters of Azix, side by side, he let his Bright Beam fly forward burning the beasts. They let out a roar as the light blurred their vision and dealt second degree burns to the front of their bodies.

Taking a chance to distract them, Azix followed up with another spell. This time black and orange Rukh fluttered around Azix's staff as they provided magoi for Phantasm's Redirection. Azix created a solid illusion of Azix five meters in front of him. The illusion began to move to Azix's left and around the Tigras. Hopefully, this would distract one or both of them, allowing Ariella a chance to attack. Azix took a moment to observe the situation and plan accordingly, ready to use another spell depending on Ariella's actions.

[1136/1500]

Male Tigras:

Azix:

Ariella nodded at his answers, spotting the creatures ahead and tensed slightly, whispering softly to the rukh to begin to gather. The tiny yellow flickers responded quickly and she was glad to see her meditation exercises were indeed improving the way the rukh responded to her commands. When Azix told her to stay back until his attack finished, she nodded, noticing the orange rukh fluttering about and looked away with her eyes tightly closed. Adius had once cast a rather brilliant light spell in her face when she was younger and she had learned her lesson then not to stare at the spell of a light magician unless you wanted to be seeing spots, and nothing else, for a decent chunk of time.

She kept her face turned away until she heard the angry, pained roar of the tigras, cautiously slipping her eyes open to see both tigras scarred with second degree burns. Her eyes went wide when she saw Azix cast a copy of himself but pushed her awe to the side as she shook her wand into her hand. She whispered to the yellow flutters of rukh, directing them to build a charge at the tip of her wand as she moved closer, thankful for the distraction of the illusion. She doubted she could take out both of the tigras, but hopefully one of them would feel the pain of her attack. She cast Shock Ball at the tigra closest to her, watching the one meter ball of crackling lightning fly forward and strike the distracted animal in the side. The tigra roared again, falling to the ground as its two left legs lost the ability to function. She grinned as she watched it fall, enjoying the sparking of the spell for all of its beauty.

Edging slightly closer, she whispered to the rukh again, asking them to take the form of a whip. The other tigra had turned towards her at the falling roar of the one she had taken out and was tensing its muscles to attack when she lashed out with her Electric Whip, being careful to avoid Azix as best she could. The whip of lightning wrapped around the tigra’s back leg, paralyzing it and doing a small amount of damage. The animal’s head darted around in angry confusion, a deep growl playing in its throat as it tried to protect the entrance of the mine. She turned her head to Azix, hoping he had something to deal with the second creature blocking their path.

[Magoi 170/200]
[1000/1500]

Abilities Used:

Azix's curiosity piqued as Ariella used her magic, the teenage girl was right, she wasn't experienced, but she had potential. His previous reservation about not using shadow magic lessened, it appeared that Ariella too, enjoyed using her magic to cause pain. Azix noted the use of her abilities and the damage she dealt, before reacting. One of the Tigras had been taken down by Ariella, but the other male tigra still had fight left in it.

While the illusion of Azix didn't seem to distract the creatures because it had no smell, the light did partially blind them. Azix used the Tigra's disinterest by sustaining Phatasm's Redirection, commanding it to charge into the Tigra. The strength magic that held the illusion together and made it solid inflicted blunt damage to the beast, knocking the fight out of it.

Azix grinned at Ariella, "I admire the use of your magic, darlin'" He motioned for her to follow him, as he stepped over the Tigras and entered the mine. There were still cubs to rescue, which meant there were females to deal with as well. Azix kept his guard up, dealing with the Dormunga Creeper had taught him that was necessary.

They didn't travel very deep before they heard angry growls, Azix motioned Ariella to wait. The light barely penetrated into the mine and it had gotten fairly dark. It would do no good to wander to far and get ambushed from the shadows. Azix dropped his Phantasm spell and began forming Flicker, a one meter diameter orb of blue light, that pushed back the shadows. Azix controlled the light so it wouldn't blind, but simply reveal their surroundings.

Ahead of them, two Female Tigras stood, baring their fangs. Behind the animals, there were two more, guarding the young. Azix stepped forward towards the first pair of females, "I will provide a distraction, you handle the other two."

With several commands to the Rukh, a mad expression came over Azix's face as a mass of shadows began to form at his feet. Azix had used Makihige, a shadow magic skill that created two seven meter long shadow constructs within five meters of his location. Two tendrils, radiating black light, formed around him as the two female tigras approached. Azix allowed them to swipe at him, each roaring as they attacked him once. His Borg shattered, but it did not bother Azix, they were within range now. With two jerks of his staff, the tendrils stabbed each Tigra in the throat, cutting into tissue.

While they began making wet noises as they breathed, Azix looked up to see how Ariella was handling the situation. Azix noted her performance before turning his attention back to the Tigras in question. He slid Deviant from the sheath at his right hip and sent several horizontal slashes to each, making sure they were defeated. Azix didn't want to take chances, or he was enjoying himself.
[1500+/1500]

Male Tigras:

Female Tigras:

Azix:

Ariella stuck relatively close behind Azix. When the tigras came into view she started moving to the side, slightly away from the other magician, ensuring he had enough room for any spell he might cast. While he distracted the first two females, she steered clear to the side of them and moved closer until the back two beasts were in range. She murmured to the rukh, subtly weaving a thanks into her spell for their cooperation as she directed them to the tip of her wand. As she built up her Electric Field, she waited for a split second before releasing the spell, building the field up to five meters as she urged it forward, the sphere making everything in its radius crackle with a charge. The hairs on her arms raised as the charged field moved forward and zapped and crackled at the tigras, dealing electrical damage to them. They let out a roar of discontent and she maintained the spell even as she whispered to the rukh again.

This time, she directed it to form an arc and she used her wand to direct the Chain Lightning to one of the tigras, giving it a jolt as she murmured to the rukh to arc the lightning over to the other tigras. She saw the fur of the creatures stand on end at the static from the lightning, miniscule zaps jumping between the hairs in a pretty display. Shaking off the slightly distracting visual effects, she had the charge bounce from one female to the other once more, waiting for the female protectors to collapse before she released the electric field, muttering thanks to the rukh once more. She figured if they responded well when she meditated with them, maybe thanking them for their service would give her a better connection to the tiny flutters.

Once the animals were down, she turned to Azix to see his two tigras dealt with. She took vague note of the blood dripping from his blade and saw the thoroughness with which he had taken care of the females, her brow arching as she grinned broadly. She always enjoyed using her magic and the display lightning often gave off was always a thrill to envision. She could still feel the electric in the air crackling as it dissipated and smoothed a hand through hair that had begun to raise away from her head.

“Well, that was quite fun, if I do say so!”

The sound of pitiful mewling drew her attention and she smiled at the cubs the mothers had been protecting. So these were the creatures they wanted to train for their personal army? Pretty cute, but after seeing how ferocious the creatures were, she could see the value of having trained beasts on your side. She turned back to Azix and nodded at the cubs. The cubs seemed terrified but unharmed. Undoubtedly they had felt the charge of electricity in the room and smelled the singe of fur and the unique scent only an electrical charge left in the air. Their cries grew louder and more desperate when their mothers did not come to their frightened summons.  

“Looks like they are a little panicked but otherwise alright. Job complete?”

[Magoi 150/200]
[1538/1500]

Abilities Used:

Wiping Deviant off on the Tigra's fur, Azix turned to Ariella with a smile on his face. "I agree. You have the potential to be disastrous to an opponent in the right circumstances. I imagine with hard training you would be even more potent." Sheathing the lion hilt blade, Azix moved over to the cubs and picked the rest up. The mewling baby tigras cries pulled at a softer side of the orange magician and he whispered an apology for killing their pack.

He turned towards the entrance, glancing back at Ariella, "Come, let us get our reward!" With a skip to his step, Azix began moving to exit the mine.

It would be nightfall when they arrived at the location the job posting had revealed. They would come to a small house and upon knocking on the door, learn that it belonged to the owner of the mine. Upon seeing the cubs, the man became extremely friendly and grateful. They would exchange the cubs for money and depart unless they had questions to ask.

Azix waited until the man went back into his house to gesture to Ariella for a moment. "It was a pleasure working with you. You asked why I have a sword?" He let out a sigh, "I needed to get stronger to help a friend. Deviant, my sword, reflects the sum of those experiences and the training to get there. If you lack the strength to move forward, you will fall behind and fade away. I plan to keep moving forward and will keep training so I have the strength to survive. Hopefully," he focused on a distant point in the darkness, "i will collect like-minded individuals to follow me down fate's path."

Azix gave a respectful bow before stepping into the shadows, with a hand around his staff. He whispered a few commands before Vanishing into the night. After taking a look back to observe the yellow magician, Azix headed towards the Grumptoes safe house to leave orders to watch Ariella. He was curious to see what she did and who she was, if she proved a possible ally, he would recruit her.

[140/250 magoi]

Spoiler:

Ariella followed the other magician to collect their reward, gently nuzzling one of the animals. The poor things had lost their family, but a job was a job. Once the reward was collected, she turned to Azix, listening to his explanation of the sword. She hummed softly in thought at his words and nodded in understanding. The praise he had offered made her smile until thoughts of her parents drifted back to her mind. They would not have praised her for such underpowered attacks and sloppy use of rukh. She still needed to get stronger, she knew this. She would learn all she could, she would prove to them she could be a magician the Negri family would be proud to show in Magnostadt. A flicker of doubt crossed her mind, a nagging voice asking her why she was still trying to impress people that had essentially thrown her to the side, but she ignored it.

When Azix mentioned like-minded individuals, she arched a brow and gave a smile.

“It was a pleasure working with you as well, Xenos. I hope that our paths may cross in the future. And thank you for the words of wisdom. I will keep them in mind during my training. Hopefully, the next time we speak, I may be a bit stronger.”

She gave him another bright smile as she tugged her hood back over her slightly frazzled hair, her eyes widening when the man disappeared from her immediate vision. She chuckled at the display of his magical prowess before trudging back to the inn she was staying at. It was time for a nice long bath and some time to reflect upon her magic usage for the day.

[exit]