The Copycat's get eaten (Job: Iniki, Aedre)

As she walked forward, the serrated mountains loomed in the pools of her red irises; the rock was flour-white and brooded over the land. At some tricky points in her amble around the Phoenix Mountains, chutes of mud and rocks detached themselves and went trundling down one of the mountains sliding over the knotted edge and then crashing into the chasm below. The silence that followed was spine chilling. It was enough to freeze the marrow of even a professional mountain-climber; but here she was, scouting about it, her keen vision out for any sign of the so-called Copycat Gang.

Aedre still remembered the mustached devil of a man behind the counter, who'd handed over the parchment which had all the job details inked into it - "You better not disappoint me, young lady." His gruff tenor reverberated in the confines of her mind and Aedre couldn't help but smirk at his sorry ass. She'd made a decision right there and then to confront him a day later, when the black metal cuff that was tightened around her wrist would come off. Limiter, as they called it. If what she'd heard about it was true, it would restrict her magical output severely, thus making the job of eliminating some low-level crooks and goons a challenge.

'Challenge, my foot.'

The white-haired lady also remembered his other sputtering though, the mention of some other mage having undertaken the job before her. In that moment of silent contemplation on the weather-beaten road, she wondered if her predecessor had already accomplished the task before her. But, as it stood, they were only a couple dozen minutes apart on signing themselves up at the client's - so the chances of having completed the job so quickly was paltry.


The heaven-touching apex of the mountain was drenched in brilliant light. Spikes of thin light impaled the mountain in a bristling, moving line. One would assume that the heat had displaced the dirt and the mud from the hip of the time chiseled mountain. All across her line of sight, the tips of the mountain range stuck up like a row of thorns. Swaddled around them were necklaces of powdery dust. It was a cosmically divine sight, indeed. But enjoying that nature was not what she was there for, and perhaps, even fate didn't want her to let her clock tick away just like that.

"Damn these guys didn't even a leave a scrap for me to nibble on." A female voice spoke, and as Aedre's consciousness zoned in on her presence - a few feet ahead of her, she felt the pulsating magical ambiance wafting around the girl's lithe frame.

"Are you, by any chance, named Iniki and work for Tartarus?" Aedre questioned, her voice an eloquent contralto - jabbing her knife straight to the point.

A bemused expression replaced one of constant nonchalance, watching the one she was conversing with flipping her neck in a way that allowed her to observe the silver-clad woman, "I might have to eat that soul of yours later." A sentence directed at her, with a harrowing curve of lips accompanying it that made Aedre almost break out in an impolite chuckle. But she restrained herself enough to only let a mirthful smirk grace her lips, as she spoke in a voice as playful as possible - considering her standards of dispassion, that is, "I wish you the very best for that task."

The mention of a gang perked her interest, as it allowed her to come to the conclusion that the white-haired female before her was indeed the person she was meant to tag along with. And from what she had observed till that second, it would be a hella amusing take. Perhaps, she hadn't made a mistake as big as she was guessing she did - low ranking jobs came along with intriguing partners sometimes. The lady's next statement made Aedre's mouth to assume a perfect circle of fascination, soon to be replaced by a barely perceptible smile, "Insects don't interest me, so you can have them all to yourself. I just lend a hand in getting the job done in an expeditious way - you can claim authority of their souls."

With that, the woman ambled forth, closing the gap between the two mages, but actually aiming to pass the other person and proceed forward, "But you should try and keep your hands off me; I promise that it will come off as a mutually beneficial sacrifice." By the time she completed speaking, Aedre's body was being elevated off the ground at an alluring pace - stopping at a height that would successfully serve as a vantage point from where she could look for her targets. Spotting a small group a few meters away, the woman lowered herself, while heeding to the inquiry of her identity, "Aedre." A single-word reply, one that could be called short and direct - thankful to the fact that she was too involved in figuring out the next set of actions. The moment her feet connected with earth again, the woman questioned back, "And what do you go by, my dear?"

She noticed the increased proximity initiated by the girl and almost broke into a smile after hearing what she had to say. There was only one reply to the captivating behaviour, one of defiance, "Too sad you're never tasting it."

Now, now, Aedre Crawford didn't bend that easily, 'Better luck next time.'