Make a man out of you [Job/Aayla]

Job:

“Hey! They are at it again!” A man rushed from the busy evening street and entered the tavern before giving a news that suddenly made the tavern cheered loudly. Noir who was sitting near the food stall noticed the man and tilted her head, wondering what kind of news that the man brought. The girl would then slurped her noodle again, giving back her attention to the food and enjoyed the unique taste that it gave before the cook speak to her. It seemed that he noticed how Noir was curious about the news that the man had and was kind enough to inform the girl about what it was. He started with a laugh, “Well, it means that those warriors are at it again, asking people from the capital to come and test them.”

“Warrior?” Noir asked as she put the bowl on her thighs, wanting to know more about the information. The cook laughed again, adjusting his apron that was wrapping around his fat belly before answering his customer’s question. “Yes, there is a village in the mountain which is a home for a large warrior’s group. They took a really harsh treatment and training to bring their martial art skill to perfection.” He said as he started to make some more noodles, stretching it and twirling it. “Once in a while, they will invite some people to come and fight with them so they are able to test themselves.” Noir listened tentatively and nodded, absorbing the information to her head before she started to bring the bowl of noddle to her face again as she tried to finish it.

Although her blank expression didn’t show it, she was really interested to try and go to see this warrior group. However, many would be interested to come as well so maybe Noir should rush now and head to the mountain at instance.

---

WC: 314/1500

As usual Aayla had been renting out one of the rooms within the tavern as had been her custom. She still didn't feel comfortable enough to spend money on a home of any sort, seeing as she wasn't an official citizen...yet.

She was walking down the steps to the tavern adorned in her new guard armor which clung to her body rather tightly, allowing her a lot of freedom of movement as it was apparent a few pieces had been left out or altered, when the man came in crying about the news. It wasn’t very informative as to what was going on exactly, but the barkeep had been kind enough to explain it to another woman eating her noodles at the bar.

“So… anyone can go?”
Aayla asked the barkeep gently, pondering the idea of going out to face this clan of warriors… She had been having horrible dreams lately where her strength had failed her and was rather anxious to try out her skills in a real fight. Something she hadn’t done in a long time.

“I think I might give it a try… can you hold my room for me in the meantime?”
Aayla asked of the barkeep, pulling out more than enough coin and handing it over to him as if this was just another regular transaction. The barkeep wouldn’t even mention that she had given him too much, and instead just taking the money and assuring her that her room would remain untouched for a week.

---

WC: 259/1500
Magoi: 70/70
Stamina: 230/250

The black haired girl started to pack her belongings, getting ready to head to the mountain on that day before informing the landlady that she would be out for several days. The landlady seemed notice the reason why Noir would be away for some time since most of the warrior left for several days as well to go to the mountain and meet this warriors, she assured the magician that she would keep the girl's room as it is as long as she had pay for it. After making sure that she was set, she started to head towards the mountain alongside with her beasts.

It was not the first time for her to be in Kou actually although she was here for several years ago, being a slave for an excellent master if she could say. He was kind and patience enough to teach Noir some stuff although their time together didn't last for a long time until some men came and killed her master before taking her back to the slave ship and confined her there. He used to bring the girl to the mountain, hunting boars and harvesting unique plants, a quite interesting hobbies if she could say but what did she knew about nobleman's hobbies.

The path towards the mountain shouldn't be too hard but she needed to be careful as well. Luckily for her, both of her beasts were reliable and it wouldn't be a problem for them to head to the village at all. She would start hiking the mountain by using her own feet instead of mounting Haku because she wanted to preserve his energy just in case, she got a pretty good stamina now as well so she wouldn't be a burden. Wind and traces were important for them as they were following it, hoping to get to a correct path. After spending several hours walking, Noir felt that they wouldnt be able to fight the nature as it got darker than before and the torch she made from fire magic was not being more helpful than it already was. Perhaps it would be better for them to rest, so Noir would create a bonfire from woods that Kuzunoha gathered and then snuggle up with both of her beasts so all of them could be warm. Maybe with all the warriors that were heading towards the village, one or two of them would pass where Noir was. She just hoped that they wouldn't cause any harm while they were resting, but she would offer them a place to rest for a bit if they wanted to.

---

WC: 782/1500
OOC: Let's meet and rest together there so we can head together to the village if you want o:

Aayla didn’t wait to head out after paying the tavern to keep her room. She had ordered some rations for the road, packing them carefully into her pack before heading out with the intention of finding the village. The only problem with that was… she didn’t really know where to go! At least not until she found the man that had first shouted the announcement that the village had been looking for more warriors to challenge. She managed to procure a map from him, and set off on her way.

She would only refer to the map every now and then when she felt she had travelled far enough, which turned out to be quite often as the Fanalis travelled rather quickly even at a relaxed pace.

“Hmmm”
She would say softly as she walked along, the sun setting behind the tree line. She held the map in one hand, and a bread roll in the other. She nommed away at it hungrily as she tried to make heads or tails of where she was on the map. She had been fine moments earlier when the sun was out, but now that the tree’s were hiding the sun and casting it’s shadows, she found she couldn’t see very much at all, barely able to make out the shadowy outlines around her.

‘I suppose I should make a camp of some sorts… I was hoping I’d be there by now… I can’t be far though…’
Aayla thought to herself, looking around her immediate area for supplies she could use to build a fire. There was plenty of wood, but that wasn’t was suddenly distracted her. There was a sudden scent in the air, some kind of furry animal was nearby? More than one maybe? She wasn’t sure as there were a few scents bunched up together. She eyed her surroundings carefully but wasn’t able to see anything in her immediate area, so instead she chose to quietly follow the scent. She was as careful as she possibly could be in this situation, sneaking in close to the scent and finding a little man made temporary camp. There was a girl lying against the beast she had been smelling and aayla gave a little sigh of relief. At least there wasn’t some wild predator lurking around as she tried to make camp in the dark.

She didn’t bother to disturb her though, the last thing she wanted to do was startle her of her beasts. Instead she stopped trying to be so stealthy and allowed herself to make some noise as she climbed a nearby tree, perching herself on a low hanging branch facing the small camp so she could keep an eye on them. There was no point making a camp of her own when she was so close to this girl… she was sure that if she was discovered, she wouldn’t mind the Fanalis spending the night nearby.

Lying her head against the trunk of the tree, Aayla relaxed, letting her senses wander and take in the forest around her until it would lull her to sleep.

---

WC: 525
Ooc: Why are our characters so damn anti social!! Lol Noir/her beasts would have been able to see Aayla. I figure it’ll be funny to wake up and she’s actually just in plain view when she thought she was somewhat hidden huehue.

The beasts tensed up and Noir noticed it, she slowly opened her eyes and saw a red haired girl just passing through them. No dangerous intention if the black haired girl could say, in fact, the red haired girl seemed trying to not make any sound as she climbed a nearby tree to rest. The magician didn’t mind actually if the redhead asked if she could rest there, she would gladly let her rest there and enjoy the warmth from the fire. But there was no use to stop the redhead now as she got ready to sleep, Noir would just let her sleep there and greet her later when she wake up.

When the morning came and the sun started to rise at the horizon, Noir woke up for her slumber and looked at the tree to check if the Fanalis girl was there. If she was still there, the black haired girl would wait until the redhead wake up and she would greet her. “Greetings.” She said with a flat tone but not because she was annoyed, “I wouldn’t mind if you want to rest near us last night actually.” Noir stood up and fold the blanket while preparing to continue her journey, not only that, Aayla might find herself being wrapped with a blanket as well whether she noticed or not when Noir used her magic to float the blanket. Kuzunoha would stretch her tiny arms together before hoping to Haku’s neck, sitting there comfortably. The liger didn’t seem he mind it at all, in fact, he stood up on all four to make sure that the fox didn’t fall off from his neck.

“I assume you will head to the village as well? Do you want to travel with us?”

If the red haired girl agree, Noir would give her a little smile and she would introduce herself. “My name is Noir, the fox is Kuzunoha and the Liger is Haku. Pleased to meet you.”

WC: 1111/1500

OOC: Yeeeesh XD But you can lead us to the village now so we can start fighting em lol

Aayla stirred when the light of the sun started to filter through the tree's, one particular ray of light shining directly on her face. The Fanalis grumbled as she shifted away from the spot of light, pushing herself up to a more comfortable sitting position only to find herself covered in a blanket. She looked at it curiously, trying to remember where she might have gotten the thing, when a voice spoke up and caused the red head to jump.

A light sigh escaped her lips as the panick passed, seeing the familiar face of the girl who's camp she had taken shelter in. She seemed rather nice, which was a strange thing still to Aayla as she was so used to being hunted down or belittled. She pushed up a smile though, gathering the blanket in her hands and neatly leaping off of the tree, walking up to Noir and offering her the blanket back.

"Thank you, for the blanket. I'm not really used to talking to people I don't know so I thought... I should just make it obvious I was here and hope for the best..."
She said a little awkwardly, her eyes dancing over to the two furry creatures near her. The small one was cute enough, but the ligar had Aayla hesitating. It reminded her of the beasts her master kept back in the troop, and while she knew they weren't the same (heck they didn't even look similar) it was still unsettling.

"Oh, uhm yes I am, you're headed that way too? I suppose I should have expected that. I wouldn't mind joining you, I don't think we are very far off now... oh, and my name's Aayla. It's nice to meet you miss Noir. Oh and you two Kuzunoha and Haku."
She would say politely, bowing just a bit more out of respect then anything else.

With the introductions out of the way Aayla would lead the wayt owards the vilalge, the path being much easier to follow now that it was daylight. They truly weren't all that far away, as Aayla had predicted. It had taken them roughly an hour to reach the main gates of the enclosed village. Once there, Aayla walked up to the two warriors guarding the gate, each looking at her with a smile and a raised eyebrow, recognizing the uniform and armor she wore as that of the Kou Empire's warriors.

"Well now this is a surprise. We don't often get soldiers make their way up here, usually too afraid to get their butts kicked!"
One of the warriors jested, laughing heartily as he turned to open the gates for the two women and the beasts.

"Ignore him, you two are here for the challenge right? Head on inside to the courtyard, it's hard to miss with how many people have turned up this time."
The second warrior said. And with that, Aayla glanced back to Noir before leading the way in through the gates. From outside it didn't look like much, but the village hidden by it's walls was nothing short of beautiful! The tall buildings weren't rich looking but immaculately built. The village seemed to be split up to allow for multiple training area's and a tall shrine over looked the courtyard where they were supposed to gather.

She led them right over there, standing at the back of the group as the Warrior standing on the balcony of the shrine began to speak.

"Welcome fellow warriors! We are honored that you would accept our challenge! There is quite the turnout this time around, but I am confident we can clear you all out of here in a timely fashion."
The village warriors seemed to chuckle at that statement, understanding that he meant they could beat their butts rather quickly.

The speech went on for some time, explaining the rules of engagement as well as the pairings. In most cases it would be a 1 vs 1 battle, and sometimes a 2 vs 2 battle, but as Aayla looked at those picked to fight first... well they were doing rather poorly...

---

WC: 705
TWC: 1,489/1500

With a nod, Noir replied to the redhead’s words, “The more the merrier.” Her tone was different than before,  it was more like a relieved and somewhat happy and that was all because Aayla agreed to walk together with them. She was always fascinated by Fanalis, their burning red hair,  their strength as well as the beauty that they held despite of their monstrous strength.

Noir would raise an eyebrow when she heard one of the guard mocked them and stared at the guard with a sharp glare. Her dagger of glare was sharp enough to make him look down and shutting his mouth, preventing it to speak more nonsense. But it was not really because of Noir's glare, it was truly because of Haku who was growling with a threat and staring at the guard like a hungry beast that would be ready to pounce and eat him. She didn't really hear what the other person said because of this but she would follow Aayla when she lead the way into the village.

It was clear that the warriors were underestimating the girls, looking down on them and clearly stated that they would be able to take them down quickly. Another nonsense from those warriors and Noir thought that they were only good at opening their mouth but probably not so good in a fight. She would then step forward and raised her hand before saying,  “I want to request for 3 on 3. Give us your best warriors.”

The warrior who was standing in the balcony laughed and shook his head, “But a lady need to be protected,  perhaps our new recruits could please you?” The black haired girl tilted her head and quickly replied with a soft smile, “Perhaps your best 3 warriors aren't brave and manly enough to fight us,  women? Funny because i heard that this place is filled with warriors, turns out it's just filled with big talkers…” She was glad that she learn that from Yakuroro, that kind of thing and mockery was really useful in some occasion. Because of that, now three strong looking warriors were now stepped into the arena like ground and looked at Noir with an angry glare. “Shall we go?” The magician said to the redhead as she walked towards the arena and motioned Haku and Kuzunoha to follow her.

It seemed that the warriors were specialized in martial arts, so perhaps being in a close range with them would be dangerous. But Noir had a powerful physical attacks now thanks to Medea and she believed that Aayla was very strong as well so fighting 3 men wouldn't be that hard...maybe.

One man began to dash towards Noir and one more dashed towards Aayla right after the battle began, preparing their body to deliver some fierce attacks with their fist. The other one was standing, as if he wanted to observe the fight first before he joined the fun. The black haired girl pointed her staff towards the warrior (A) and cast four thorny vines towards him, but it was quickly deflected with his blocking skill. He got closer and Noir let him being close to her on purpose,  wanting to let him to punch her borg, cracking it. Then she prepared her fist before delivering a basic punch to the man’s abdomen and knocked him down, making him unable to stand up as he was experiencing a severe pain because of the punch.

---

WC: 1500+/1500
Magoi 450/480
Stamina 200/200

Skill Used:

Aayla stood silently as she watched her surroundings, perking up only when Noir made her hand and requested a 3 on 3 battle with a light glance her way. Noir didn’t need to say anything for the redhead to understand. Noir meant for her to fight by her side. Well, she didn’t know her in the slightest, so had no idea what she would be like in a fight… It would be difficult to find her place in group combat but she was sure she could do it… she worked with Daisy before after-all didn’t she?

Her seemingly innocent look turned into a light scowl as the man continued to belittle them, truly believing that these two women wouldn’t stand a chance against their warriors. She was really getting tired of people underestimating her strength. She was a girl, but she was now a fighter and it was about time she proved it.

She stepped up to the little fighting arena where they were greeted by the 3 warriors. They were barely given any to talk and come up with a strategy when 2 of the 3 men charged them. Easy enough… only one good way to test out how strong they were. Aayla charged right towards the enemy intent on punching her, her feet creating indents in the ground beneath them as she took off.

She only just noticed Noir’s magic from the corner of her eye as she approached this warrior. Neither seemed willing to be the first to dodge, and as a result their fists collided with one another. There was a sickening crunch as bone hit bone, but neither warrior flinched. Instead, they both solidified their footing and aimed to use their free fists to punch one another, only to end up with both hands locked onto one another. The two warriors seemed to be evenly matched as they stood firmly squared off against one another as Noir battled the second warrior with her magic.

“Huh, impressive strength girl. I guess that should be expected from a Fanalis.”
She couldn’t decipher if the warrior was flattering her or insulting her… instead she kept her serious look for as long as she could, before she couldn’t help but to smirk.

“I’m surprised you aren’t already crying.”
She said rather flatly, making her comment a little more terrifying than she had intended. The stalemate would continue for long moments before Aayla finally shifted her balance as if she was about to kick her enemy. This caused him to shift his own balance in response, but instead of kicking him, Aayla used the shift to smack her head directly into his own, gritting her teeth tightly as her own head began to ring painfully. It ended the stalemate though, and the two warriors took only a moment to recover before they closed the gap once more and began to trade at a rather quick pace.

Blow after blow was struck, one, two, three times and finally, the warrior would would receive a powerful strike to the side of his head, sending him reeling and falling to the ground, exhausted and unable to continue the battle.

By this time however, even Aayla looked tired. They were equally matched in strength, therefore, the only reason she had been able to beat this guy was because she was faster, and therefore managed to land more blows than him. She looked up from her fallen enemy, her eyes landing on the third warrior that had been watching their fight. What was he doing? Had he been able to come up with some sort of plan to beat them? For a brief moment the arena was silent, giving everyone a much needed break. Aayla didn’t let it linger long though, kicking off from the ground once more towards this second warrior, aiming to bull rush him and drive her shoulder into him.

---

WC: 645
Total WC: 1500+
Stamina: 195/250 (-25 Explosive Barrage, -10 Bull Rush)

I hope I bolded these things right...

abilities used:

The last warrior standing looked confident even when Aayla was charging towards him, but Noir wouldn’t miss the chance. She would definitely strike when the time was right since it might be dangerous now her spell might become a friendly fire. The warrior readied himself, he had seen how the girls’ fought and he knew better to not underestimate them. When the Fanalis closing in, the warrior used his blocking blow to stop Aayla and right after that, attempted to deal an attack. He attempted to kick the redhead but Noir who drew a rectangle with her staff managed to create a Volt Stream Wall that she enhanced twice. The kick from the warrior cracked the wall open and the water inside burst into him, dealing some damage to him as well as paralyzing his leg.

Now that he was paralyzed, it was time for both Noir and Aayla to strike back. So the black haired girl would dash towards the man and prepared to attack. Unfortunately, the man still have his arms and he attempted to strike her with it. Noir’s borg protected her and shattered into pieces as it took the strike but the black haired girl’s fist was making its way to the man’s abdomen, giving a powerful punch to him. It should have been enough to bring the man down, but Noir hoped that Aayla would attack the man too just to make sure that they defeated the warrior.

---

WC: 1500+/1500
Magoi 410/480
Stamina 200/200

Combat Details: Scaling Volt stream wall twice

Skills:

Aayla had little time to try and protect herself as she rushed the man, her shoulder colliding with his arms as he blocked her advance, stopping the Fanalis’s advance dead in her tracks. The young girl would grunt at the sudden impact but was quick to try and take some steps away from him to create a little bit of distance between the two. Not enough however as the man came in for a swing, and only missed her due to Noir’s strange spell. It seemed to shatter yet still ensnare him, stunning the offending limb.

That was definitely a good start towards beating him, one limb out of commission could be devastating to even the most trained warriors. She wouldn’t waste this advantage. She stepped forward just as Noir charged forward and landed her fist into the man’s abdomen. She would suddenly let herself drop to the ground and kick out her leg, using his paralyses to sweep kick him off his feet just as he got hit. The combined impact of her strike and the fall to the ground should be enough to take the man out completely.

Standing back up, Aayla looked back to Noir and couldn’t help but grin, glad that the girl truly had her back.

“You’re a great fighter… what was that just now… magic?”
She asked curiously with a tilt of her head, having never seen magic before in her life.

---

WC: 1500+
Stamina: 195/250

Noir nodded towards Aayla, "Yes, that was magic." She tilted her head as well and wondered if the Fanalis had not seen magic before, "You never see a magic before?" The black haired girl asked straightforwardly before approaching the redhead so she would be standing beside her. However before Aayla could answer, the referee finally gave in and swallowed his pride, announcing the victory of Noir and Aayla. Most of the warriors cheered for them, amazed that a fragile looking girl could be this strong. Some was ashamed, recalling how they mocked both Noir and Aayla secretly before and could only look down now.

"You have proven to us that we should not underestimate women, not only that, you made use realize that we still had a long way to go to become a strong warrior." The man who was standing on top of the shrine bowed, showing his respect. Noir nodded, accepting it before mounting Haku and grabbed Aayla's hand to signal her to mount Haku as well. "If both of you dont mind, we want to invite you to stay here for several days and enjoy the nature with us. Of course, if both of you could give us some wisdom to achieve a greater strength that it would be appreciated greatly." The magician tilted her head before deciding to ask the Fanalis about her opinion. "What do you think? Perhaps we can stay the night for a bit here?" If Aayla agreed then Noir would smile at her, thinking that probably she could be friend with the Fanalis if they spent more time together.

"No... I haven't. I've had a pretty sheltered life..."
She said in hopes to not reveal too much about her... although she doubted it was a great mystery. It seemed all those of her race were targeted as slaves, and only a handful were lucky enough to escape that life.


"It looks very useful. Maybe you can show me what other kinds of magic you can do? It's really cool."
She would continue, a smile creeping up onto her face as she spoke to Noir. She hoped she hadn't misjudged the girl and could continue to trust her as she did today. It would be nice to keep moving forward with a friend by her side. Hers was a pretty lonely path at the moment.

She would fall silent as the man overseeing the tournament spoke, apologizing in his own way for having misjudged them as warriors. It was nice to finally see them show a little bit more respect, and just strange to her that after all of that, they would want to learn from them.

"I'm afraid my skills aren't something you can teach."
She would say as a quick apology to the man, turning towards Noir once he offered them a place to stay for a while. Noir seemed inclined to offer, and so Aayla nodded her head as she followed suit.


"I think that would be alright... oh but only for a few days. The commander hasn't given me a very long leave to be here..."
She admitted though was glad that she could at least spend a night with her new companion. Whenever Noir extended her hand to help her jump up onto Haku. She hesitated as she first looked at the large beast, dead in the eyes as if silently asking it's permission first. It wasn't until she felt some form of confirmation from Haku that she would take Noirs hand and get up onto the beasts back. Instinctively she would wrap her arms around Noir, having never ridden a beast such as this one before.

---

WC: 354

Noir could feel Aayla’s hands wrapping around her and she didn’t mind, this girl might not use to mount a huge beast like Haku. Although it might be strange for a Fanalis who was as strong as a beast themselves to be feel awkward riding one but the black haired girl wouldn’t judge her, Aayla’s words made the magician feel a little bit connected. The monk would show the girls to a place that both of them could use to rest, it seemed that this village often offered the warrior who came to challenge the villagers to spend several night there because at the moment, both the magician and the Fanalis were being escorted to an empty house that was fully furnished.

“Thank you.” Noir said to the warrior that lead them there before climbing down from Haku and closed the door. However, without letting the Fanalis to climb down from the beast, the magician command Haku to follow her to check the room where they could sleep. The place was pleasant and the girl was sure that they could sleep just fine here. She would sit on one of the bed before starting to speak, “I too, was a slave.” It might be awkward for them to start their convo like that but that was just how Noir was. “I managed to run away though.”

The ride wasn't as bad as she thought, and Haku didn't seem to mind her extra weight so Aayla soon relaxed her grip on Noir, straightening up as Haku took them to the little home the two were to stay in while they stayed at the warriors village. Aayla's first instinct was to look for traps, her eyes already scanning the area for escape routes and possible traps to ensnare them. Nothing immediately came to her eye though, and she didn't smell anything suspicious. Even as Noir got off of Haku, she was glad to see the great beast do his own sweep of the room before Aayla too jumped off of the beast.

She would walk towards the still vacant bed and start taking off her armor with a heavy sigh, setting it down next to the bed. She would immediately stretch with a large yawn escaping her lips as she did so. However, she immediately tensed up as Noir went right to the heart of the matter.

"I... I never said I..."
Her face immediately started to flush, and you could see the subtle movements of her eyes darting to the way out. She didn't immediately move however, instead choosing to play this discussion out for a little bit.

"H... how did you get away..? I mean... well I never really wanted too..."
She started to explain, rubbing the back of her neck nervously.