The Hunter

"Hmmmm...." Crimson eyes flickered over the job description once more. The job itself seemed to be a rather simple thing to the likes of Gil. He had merely plucked it off the job board by chance. After reading it he was more than satisfied. "Keep a singe item from a treasure trove of items previously used by the wizard saints of old? Finally an item worthy of me." The arrogant thought caused an equally arrogant smirk to cross his features. The conceited man seemed almost out of place on the worn dirt road. Blonde hair slicked back perfectly, crimson eyes like rubies, and most of all the expensive looking clothes. He was obviously not some ragged traveler that often frequented the dirt roads of Fiore.

The road however, was not a usual dirt road. Rather it lead to Ancient Ruins long forgotten by most of society. "To think the Magic Council is turning to anyone to do this job." He scratched at the back of his neck, where the crimson mark of Tartarus lay exposed for the world to see, "They're aiding the enemy. What imbeciles!" He let out a bark of a laugh at the thought.

The male mage continued the long trek in silence. He didn't want to waste any mana on a summon just yet, the possible opponents listed were enough to even have Gil thinking twice about wasting magic. While he was incredibly confident in his ability to defeat such enemies, he preferred that victory would come to him easily. Though not having a summon to carry him to the ruins was rather irksome and made the journey far longer than it should have taken. It wasn't until a few hours later that the blonde mage had arrived at the ruins. The sun was high in the sky glaring down at all those who stood in the sun. It was bright enough to even have Gil's crimson eyes squinting. "At least there will be some shade in these ruins." The place was so destroyed that it was hard for Gil to say what the ruins might have been years ago. The man was just about to enter when he spotted something or rather someone underneath the shade of a tree.

"A child?" Gil mumbled mildly surprised that some kid had made the journey out this far. "A treasure hunter more than likely. Or some treasure hunters brat." Gil was obviously staring at the child making no move to hide his gaze. Finally, after what felt like an eternity Gil spoke up and spoke his mind like he so often did, "I'd run back to your mother if I were you. This is no place for some child to be running around!" It came out as a harsh sneer.

The mother comment went right over Gil's head or rather he allowed it to. He had no response for the comment and wasn't offended in the way that a normal person might be. It wasn't the fact that the young boy was speaking of his mother vulgarly, no if anything Gil took it as an insult towards him. "As If MY mother would take in the likes of him." There it was, his classic self-absorbed attitude. None the less as the two stood there in a somewhat agitated silence, something clicked as he looked at the child's face.

Gil hardly recalled anyone other than himself, only if they were beautiful, interesting, or had offended him in some way did he recall others. When it came to the other members of Tartarus, Gil had made somewhat of an effort to try and recall as to what each of them looked like. Some members were easier to recall than others, as they were beautiful and stood out in his mind. Lyserg was an easy face for Gil simply because he had a bit of a grudge towards the man and his trickery.However, Gil only recalled this particular member simply because he stood out from the rest. Out of all the members of Tartarus that Gil had the displeasure of glimpsing, the boy who stood in front of him was the youngest or at least appeared to be the youngest. "Oh. It's you." He couldn't sound more bored if he tried. "I'm here for the Treasure Hunter job. Don't tell me you took it as well?" He seemed almost annoyed at the others presence and the fact that they had both managed to grab the same job. There was only nine members in Tartarus, and countless jobs to pick from, what was the likelihood of them both deciding to take the same job? "I shall allow you to accompany me on this job." It was only because he was curious as to what the child-like member of Tartarus could do, "Just try not to get in my way." His arrogance was quick to return, but it wasn't nearly as bad as usual. He figured he might as well make an effort to be be tolerable to his guild mates, unless of course they challenged him. Though Gil was curious as to what his guild mate was capable of, he was also somewhat relieved though would never show it. Having a second hand met he could push work onto the boy rather than having to do it himself.

For a brief moment the conceited man thought that Jubei was being serious. Which pleased Gil until the young man burst out into laughter. At that Gil's regal features turned into a frown of the utmost disgust as the young man hit the ground laughing. Letting out a huff of air, Gil turned on his heel not wanting to watch the young man roll about in the dirt laughing at Gil's own expense. Once the laughter died down and the young man had straightened his already dusty clothes, Gil followed along after the boy. The hunters certainly would not kick their own asses. "I suppose I'll allow you to call me Gil." Was his response to Jubei's own informal introduction. While Jubei moved quick for such short legs, Gil was not far behind. His own long strides managed to keep up with the adolescents pace.

When the two entered Gil let out another huff of air. "Finally out of that heat." The man grumbled, having not enjoyed being in the sun for such a long period of time. Though only a few feet within the ruins entrance the drop in temperature was easily noticeable, the farther down they went the more the temperature would go down. "They've already entered." Gil commented as Jubei grabbed a torch, something Gil had not thought of or rather refused to carry. "If we're lucky they're lost down there." He continued on forwards and into the darkness of the ruins, not waiting to see if Jubei would follow. The sound of his boots upon the stone floor, echoed down the seemingly endless hallway. "We'd be even luckier if they all got crushed by some traps in here. I have no doubt the wizard saints had to have left a few to protect their treasures." The thought was a surprisingly helpful one coming from the likes of Gil but that was only because it was something he himself would do to protect his own treasures. The man suddenly stopped at the realization before turning to face Jubei once more, a sly grin spreading across his features. "I'll allow you to take the lead." He moved his hand out in a sweeping and extravagant motion. If there were any traps Gil would prefer the young man to take the lead, so as not to risk Gil's own well being. He had no doubt that Jubei realized why Gil wanted him to take the lead.

"Indeed they should count themselves lucky." While Jubei had his own belief in his magic against the treasure hunters, Gil had just as a strong belief. At least between the two of them there was no doubt or shortage of confidence. Though, it was rather difficult for there to be a shortage of confidence in any situation in which Gil was placed. Crimson eyes rolled themselves as Jubei took the lead. Not being one to simply stand back and let the boy seem better than him, Gil had a rather snarky reply, "Oh do you now? I just wanted to put you in the front so I don't lose you. It is rather hard to keep track of something so small." If Jubei were to glance back he would see a rather feline like smirk cross over his features.

The man continued after the boy, never straying to far from him. He was always within the small circle of light that the torch had cast. He was only half-listening to the boy's commentary on traps. At the steep decline and chilly air, he wrinkled his nose in distaste before following after the boy once more. The blonde, only half paying attention nearly walked right into Jubei when he suddenly stopped. Gil was about to lash out in anger when he realized why Jubei had stopped. He almost commented the boy on his good eye but thought better of it. "Don't want him getting full of himself." Gil thought as he watched Jubei purposely go slow over the trap wire. "As if I need him to show me where this stupid wire is." He stepped over the thin wire. One foot made it over but the man suddenly stopped.

"Jubei." Irritation was thick in his voice. If the young swordsman was to turn around he would see Gil frozen in place, one foot on either side of the trap wire that was close to the ground. The main problem was the silvery wire pressing against his temple. While Jubei had managed to clear through with ease, Gil was nearly a foot taller than and a full grown man at that. It was only natural that Jubei's own childlike stature would make it through, and he wouldn't notice the wire nearly a foot above him. None the less Gil held Jubei responsible for it. "Well I suppose we get ready to run." The man grumbled, the wire was already pressed and at this point it was just waiting for Gil to move.

Gil felt a vein twitch in anger at his childlike teammate's sound of annoyance. "How dare he be annoyed with me. If anything he should be begging for forgiveness." He was mildly surprised when Jubei began to laugh and slowly but surely back away. He knew he told the kid to run but at the same time he thought that Jubei would at least try to help him, not that he needed help or anything. "My what? I'll have you know that this is what a perfect head looks like!" Gil growled out in anger as Jubei turned around still laughing. "Do what I gotta do?" Anger was thick in his voice now. Clearly, Jubei could care less as to what became of his guild mate. "Two can play that game." Gil pressed forward the wire snapping against his forehead. For a brief adrenaline filled moment, Gil waited and prepared himself for whatever may come from the trap.

"Oh it didn't go off." As if on cue a sudden rumbling from above caused Gil to turn. "How cliche." A large boulder was rolling down the same way in which they had came. Not one to pause for a moment longer Gil sprung into action. “I command thee Cheetah to defend and protect your rightful King. Come to my side.” The cheetah appeared by his side in a flash of golden light. "Go!" Gil commanded and the spotted beast took off, its master right behind it. He had summoned the feline for one reason, the massive increase in speed he gained. Soon enough Gil had caught up with Jubei and snagged him by the collar. "Count yourself lucky that I'm not like you." The boulder was rumbling behind them, the stone floor shaking from its weight as it rolled towards them. "I don't leave people behind. Sometimes." Tightening his grip on the boys collar, he ran forward and faster pushing his speed to the max, half dragging Jubei behind him. "At least he's light." While the path continued on forward, Gil spotted a sudden turn into another hallway of sorts. "Turn!" He shouted to the spotted feline in front of them, the cat dashed into the hallway and Gil followed after it.

Finally, the man paused for breath and released his grip on Jubei's collar. The large boulder rolled past them and continued down the path they had originally been travelling.

"It'll take a lot more than some cheesy traps to kill a man like me. You best remember that boy." His red eyes narrowed down at the child, before turning to check over his own appearance. Brushing off any dust that might have speckled his clothes, and slicking back his golden hair Gil had returned back to normal as if he did not just run for his life from a boulder. Not that the whole ordeal truly startled him if anything it was simply viewed as an inconvenience. The cheetah disappeared from his side with a flash of gold, Gil not even batting an eye at the feline's disappearance.

Just as he had taken his first step down the corridor, a sound of sorts caused him to stop. Glancing back Gil could only let out a sigh and bring a hand to rub at his temple, where a headache was beginning to form. "Yes let's play the flute to let all of the bandits know that we are here." He growled under his breath, apparently the flute would alert them to their presence more so than the boulder that he had just sent crashing down the hall. Still, the instrument did have a nice sound to it though Gil would never admit that aloud. "Where does a kid his age find the time to learn to play such an instrument and be a mage at the same time?" His curiosity was like that of a cats, but much like a cat he kept his distance from the boy leading them down the hall. "If I wanted to I could play better." The arrogant thought slipped through his head just as fast is had initially came. Abruptly the man stopped, holding a hand up stop Jubei as well. "Do you hear that?" He was certain he had just heard a sound that was not coming for Jubei or even himself, rather it was something down the hall.