An Offer from the Crows [ Job | Rima / Noir ]

“Well, it looks like we have enough money to spend the night somewhere now.” Rima would mumble to herself, shuffling a couple of golden coins she had looted previously in the palm of her hand. Faint chattering of Set, her companion, could be heard from under her hat as if he were responding to what she had mumbled. As Rima walked down the darkened road, the clacking of her geta could be heard loud and clear, echoing throughout the empty night time streets of Kou. She had only arrived in this village a few days prior, but had just about explored the entire place in a single night.

The purple haired girl would shuffle through her bag, taking her eyes off the path laid out in front of her. “Hm, I wonder which one I should read tonight…” she would grumble to herself, eyeing the new books she had bought earlier that day. Her concern for reading material would be short lived however, as her balance was completely broken by a stray stone laying in the middle of the street. The fall would carry her headfirst through a set of doors, leading into a nearby inn and flinging her bag of belongings across the room. Along her bag, the magician’s hat and bat companion would wind up directly at Diana’s feet.

“Tch, tch, why am I so damn clumsy?!” Rima would cry out in pain, pushing herself up off the floor to get back on her feet. Her dazed eyes would begin scanning the room she was in, taking in the mess she had made from her bag spilling out. “Damnit, I’m sorry about that, I'll be sure to clean it all up in just a sec.” The magician would say aloud, placing her hand where her hat normally was and bowing towards the unknown figures in the rooms. She would raise her head up in a fast manner, showing off a toothy grin to everyone in the room. As her eyes open, her brain would take a few seconds to process the people in the room.

“Di-Diana?!” Rima would shout out, mouth agape and her face beginning to turn a bright pink. Her eyes would wander the room once again, landing on the black-haired maiden next to Diana. Her mouth would begin to widen even further from shock, before reacting. “T-Teacher?!” The sight of these two would be enough to bring tears to the young magician’s eyes. Her body would then begin to move on its own, rushing towards both Diana and Noir. She would stop directly in front of them, ignoring the enemies that were now directly behind her. Her eyes would widen as she scanned Diana’s body, noticing the katana she had at her waist. “Woah, where did you get that?”

magoi: 380 / 380 | stamina: 80 / 80
WC - 464
7D0552

A sudden gasp from the red haired woman sounded as a large feline had successfully pinned her down to the ground. The woman would struggle but it was no use as the beasts strength and weight was much too powerful. Diana was unable to concentrate due to the amount of things that were going on at once. Vita, in a panic, shot her explosive arrow directly at the feline along with a netting arrow to hopefully stop it's assault on her comrade. Brutus, however, was primarily focused on Diana. He swiftly approached her and spun his body around, slamming his hammer into her side. The impact made her step a few paces back and gasp for air, hunched over in pain as he lifted up his hammer to strike again. But suddenly, a figure of a woman stood between them. Her vision was too focused on Brutus to decipher who it was. "Tch," she would spit, lunging forward to shove the figure out of the way before unsheathing her sword and slicing it upwards, cutting his torso deeply but not enough to kill him. The blood spurted out of his wound, the liquid hot on her face. However, the hammer he had up in the air came crashing down still but with less force than intended. He would drop his hammer and grab her face roughly, only her eyes peered out in between his thick fingers. His other hand would rest on the gaping wound on his chest. As he coughed, he would laugh.

"You haven't won ye--!" His speech was cut off by his scream as she crushed his wrist, twisting it until he was on his knees. "For the sake of the gods-- Agh! Mercy!" Diana would let go of him, pushing his hammer far away from him as she turned to the other scene that was going on beside her. A purple blur passed through the corner of her eye as she turned her head. "Rima..?" she mumbled, focusing her raging eyes on the girl. Diana squinted her eyes at her as a knot welled up in her chest. However, this wasn't the time for a reunion. Vita was preparing another arrow to fire at Rima, notched and ready to fire. "Really?" pondered Diana, staring directly at Vita. The young archer was clearly afraid but fired a perfectly aimed arrow at Rima's arm despite this. In order to bring punishment to her actions, Diana would whistle loudly over the commotion. After a few moments, a pair of feathers would fly through the window, sticking Vita in the back. The girl would cry out in surprise and scurry underneath the table, sobbing. Diana shook her head, bringing her attention to Rima and bringing her into a warm embrace. "You were lost," she mumbled, pulling away from her and grabbing a book from out of her bag, "Here." Diana would hand it to the magician. "Write in this when you're lost."

She would then turn slightly to see Brutus grasping for his weapon. Diana walked over there, placing her foot upon his other wrist. "It's over." The man sighed, giving Diana the dirtiest look. No matter what she did, she was certain there was no respect to be given from him. "Will you inform me now?" she asked, in a kinder tone than what she had been speaking in. However, the man just looked away from her in disgust and pain. Her foot pressed down on his arm harder but his attitude didn't waiver. "Rima, could you heal him, please?" Diana would let go of him, picking up his hammer for him and placing it in his bruised hand. The gestures she was showing confused him. "I don't want your pity!" he spit, glaring up at her. "You're still on my side. Whether you like it or not. And you will tell me what you were sent here to," she barked back, leaning down closer to his face. "Do you understand?" Brutus gritted his teeth and growled. As she would a beast, she twisted his ear and gave him a light punch on the head before walking back over towards Rima and sitting herself down. However, she felt a pair of eyes lingering on her. Despite the now dispersing crowd, this was a different feeling. Diana would scan around the room to see yet another familiar face. She would stare back at the woman. It was someone she had met before.

Diana’s warm embrace was something Rima had longed for, causing her to burst into tears right away.  Even though the magician had been careless and was almost shot in the back by an arrow, she couldn’t care less at the current given time. "You were lost," she mumbled, pulling away from her and grabbing a book from out of her bag, "Here." Diana would hand it to the magician. "Write in this when you're lost." As Diana pulled herself away from their hug, Rima would wipe away the black makeup trails streaming down her face. She would then begin investigating the book her friend had given her, quickly realizing that it was some sort of magic tool. “Th-thank you Diana, I’m sorry for getting lost..” the purple haired girl would say, wiping away the remaining tears in her eyes.  

Picking herself up off the ground, Rima would begin scanning the room for the stuff she had dropped. “Rima, could you heal him, please?” Diana would request from Rima, despite her still rough-housing the man. “Oh, yeah I can do that, but I’ve gotta find my wand first.” The magician would say, scratching her head in confusion. Where did her wand go? Everything else seemed to have only been knocked slightly away from the bag, except for her wand, which seemed to be missing entirely. That was when her eyes caught Iulia, who had now been bound by Noir’s thorns. Sometimes during the scuffle she had snatched up Rima’s Headless Caster.

“Be careful, Rima.” Noir’s reaction towards Rima’s klutziness was reasonable, as the magician should have been much more aware of her surroundings. That was something she needed to work on desperately, that and actually planning things out in a fight. Rima was not dumb, she knew perfectly well how to create tactics during a battle, but her emotions always seemed to get in the way. Once Rima’s emotions leaks out in battle or her bloodlust kicks in, she will always ignore reasoning and charge straight into a fight. If she didn’t fix those two things soon, she would wind up dead soon with how dangerous Kou had gotten recently.

“Of course master, I was being careless.” Rima would bow towards Noir, showing a high-level of respect to her previous teacher. “Now then, I need to get my wand back.” she would say, laughing and placing her hand behind her head. However, she was going to have to rely on her allies for now, as she was absolutely useless without her wand.

magoi: 380 / 380 | stamina: 80 / 80
WC - 885
7D0552

Vita was frozen in fear as the magic collided with her arrow. However, Iulia was still trying to resist the beast that held her down but to no avail. The moment he let go of her, sharp thorns pierced her hands and legs, pinning her in place. She screamed in agony and frustration as she pulled against her bindings. Diana didn't care much about the two girls. But it was clear to her that Brutus held some sort of alliance with them. She could see it in his eyes. Coldly, she ignored that fact. Her gaze lingered on Noir for a moment, trying to get a good picture of the woman. They hadn't seen much of each other but she looked slightly like someone else she knew. Rima had called her "master". It was something that needed to be inquired about at a later date so she made a mental note of it. "I think I have everything handled here," she said. "You should rest as well, Rima. I will not see you for a while still... there are still things I must take care of."

Diana turned back to Brutus, holding her hand out. "Get up." Reluctantly, he grasped her hand, wearily lifting himself up. His hand was still in disrepair but he would be fine. "Can someone get these off me?!" Iulia was aggravated, still struggling against her bindings. Yet her pleas would fall on deaf ears for the most part. Though if released, she wouldn't be aggressive any further. "Now... tell me what you know." Brutus shot her yet another glare before limping over to the table, sitting himself in a chair. "All we need to do is kill some slaver. He's in town so it'll be quick work. We don't need someone like you so just stay out of our way." Diana was surprised at how easily he gave this information. However, it was enough that he agreed to let her tag along. She would respect their wishes so long as they were not in danger.

"You should rest as well, Rima. I will not see you for a while still... there are still things I must take care of.” Hearing this put a frown on the magician’s face, though, she knew better to interfere. While she would rather keep an eye on her friend and protect her, she knew that this new and improved Diana could fend for herself with ease. She didn’t even need to rely on Pluto a single time in this scuffle, a feat that she couldn’t have done in the past. It was as if she were in the presence of an actual warrior now. Rima couldn’t help but feel happy. She was glad that her friend had become so strong, something she couldn’t say for herself. “Di-” before she got her words out, she would be cut off by one of the ruffians in the room. It was better to wait a little anyways, before asking any questions.

Watching from a short distance, she noticed Noir would finally release the redhead from her thorny grasp. Her Headless Caster falling from her hand to the floor. It was her chance to go snatch it back up, as she had finally finished picking up the rest of her belongings. Walking over towards it, she would notice her raven-haired friend already taking her leave. Before entering her room, Rima would give her a wave and a “See ya later, teach.”. They had all just met back up, and everyone was already about to leave her alone again. Even though this saddened her, she still knew that it was just bad timing for everyone.

After the room was a bit more cleared up, Rima decided to finally speak-up. “That book you gave me, we can contact each other with it? I didn’t give it a good look yet, but I think I’ve seen one like it before. Um, anyways..Diana I would like to ask you something. I wish to become stronger. I’m asking you this because I know you’re like, super skilled at communicating with animals. Could you possibly teach me how to do that? When you get the free time, of course.” Rima would nervously ask, scratching the bridge of her nose. If she were to become stronger, she’d have to expand her arsenal in some way. Perhaps, this was a good chance at doing so.

magoi: 380 / 380 | stamina: 80 / 80
WC - 1,000+
7D0552

The spell had been released from Iulia and the woman grunted in some sort of relief. The bindings were not at all pleasant. Suddenly, a violet glow pulsed out from Noir, healing everyone in the vicinity. Everyone was in such close quarters that the light hadn't left anyone injured not mended. Brutus would look towards the woman as if to thank her before reuniting with his crew. Diana left them be as they spoke among themselves. She bowed her head gently as Noir gave her leave, turning back to Rima who had been scrambling for her belongings. It was clear Rima had something on her mind. She was upset about something. Perhaps their departure. It was still apparent she knew the other magician which didn't surprise her. But Diana was unsure as to why Rima would have needed a teacher as she was already strong.

Looking her over briefly, she noticed that Rima had matured considerably since they last met. Had it really been that long? Being dragged into this war, the chances they would ever see each other again were halved. She would have to go into battle soon. Diana figured it wouldn't hurt to spend a small amount of time with her before they parted ways. She sat across from her friend and to her surprise, the girl began to speak up.

“That book you gave me, we can contact each other with it? I didn’t give it a good look yet, but I think I’ve seen one like it before. Um, anyways... Diana I would like to ask you something. I wish to become stronger. I’m asking you this because I know you’re like, super skilled at communicating with animals. Could you possibly teach me how to do that? When you get the free time, of course.”

A smile crept across her lips at the mention of training. It was a perfect opportunity to usher her into her family. But it may be a long time until that were to happen. However, after her duties were fufilled here, she was ready to get on the next boat out of here. Anywhere would do; anywhere but here. "This has been a screwed up vacation... hasn't it?" A somber expression formed on her face and a weak chuckle followed. "The book is as I had told you. But I will show you." Diana rummaged through her belongings to find the book. She opened it and took out one of her quills. They were endless no matter how many she broke as Bellona went into molt every so often. "Now... watch." Diana began to write in the book, concentrating her magoi into it. Text magically appeared on the page before her and hopefully it would also appear in the other. What she illustrated was a quick doodle of Rima that seemed a bit silly. She shook her head before she got carried away and closed the book.

"With that... I think I must go. I promise I will see you again. But when I do... we will train. Be prepared." Diana got up from her seat and walked a few steps over to Rima. She smiled, placing her hand on her head, rubbing her thumb against her forehead once before gently pushing it back. It was a gesture that would most likely leave Rima confused. However, it was one of departure. The last she would see of Rima for now was in that place. She turned away, placing the book back into her bag. Her chest felt tight with an emptiness but it was what had to be done. Brutus had been ready to leave and as Diana walked towards him, he gestured to her and they all left the building. Bellona stayed a while to comfort Rima before returning to her handler.

"This has been a screwed up vacation... hasn't it?" Rima couldn’t help but frown at the gesture. While she hadn’t particularly gotten into too much trouble during the trip herself, she’s seen enough of this damned civil war to be sick of it. What had Diana been put through? The thought of someone hurting her Diana had made her stomach upset and feel quite queasy. Luckily, Diana changed the subject quickly. "The book is as I had told you. But I will show you." Rima was quite sure she already knew how it worked, but she would continue to be silent as she watched. She wasn’t about to be rude to her best friend, especially after being separated for so long.  

"Now... watch." Diana would say, scratching the inside of the book with her quill. The magician could see a small amount of white rukh flutter about her hand, signifying that this tool was legit. Rima couldn’t help but feel a tad bit relieved that the rukh around her was still white. She remembered back to their fight with Zadi, how she felt malice and anger coming from her friend. Emotions such as that attract the tainted-black rukh, the kind of rukh that continue to burden herself. Even now, during a peaceful moment such as this, Rima could feel them speaking to her. They whispered horrible things.

Diana's Drawing:

Upon seeing the image in the book Diana had given her, Rima couldn’t help but burst out laughing. She did her best to cover her red face with an elongated sleeve. It definitely helped lighten up the mood. However, this feeling would soon leave the both of them. As she remembered that they wouldn’t have much more time together. Not yet, anyways.

"With that... I think I must go. I promise I will see you again. But when I do... we will train. Be prepared." With that, their parting was finalized. Diana would get up from her seat and begin walking towards Rima, whom was now lost in thought again. With teary eyes, the purple-haired girl would look up at her beloved friend. Diana had placed her thumb against her forehead, almost as if she were massaging her temples, softly pushing her head back. What did she mean by doing this? Rima couldn’t help but feel as if it were some kind of final goodbye. However, her friend did not have a look of dismay on her face. As per usual, Diana’s face looked stoic as always. Though, the girl could feel other emotions in there as well. Sadness. Happiness. It was complex.

Rima would wait until Diana was out-of-sight before expressing her true emotions. Tears streamed down her face and onto her sleeve. She couldn’t help but feel sick as her stomach turned into knots. She wanted to be along her side, she wanted to protect her friend. What if she was poisoned again, and the only help she’d be able to get was from one of those shady people she had just recruited. They’d most likely just let her die. Overwhelmed by grief, Rima felt something soft nudge the back of her head. It was Bellona. Diana had left her here to continue comforting Rima until the time was right. After bonding with the fowl for a good minute or two, she would finally let her go back to her master. Picking herself up off the bench, Rima was ready to head back out. Though, the feeling of sorrow still lingered, she knew that she had the power to overcome it.

magoi: 380 / 380 | stamina: 80 / 80
WC - 1,000+
7D0552