Insidious Chains | Job | Aedre & Aegis

The glory of the small forest was revealed in the birthstone-bright light of dawn. Almond-brown trees stood serenely, awash with a tender glow; reflecting in the single visible iris of her eye; as the other was hidden beneath a fresh, white lily. In her vision, the bark looked like riffled toast; and gems of amber clasped their crusty exterior. The first blush of the morning gave the leafy bower a green-going-to-gold complexion. Idling past suede-soft flowers, her dominant hand caressed them softly, experiencing tingles in her fingers; while a small twinge of regret washed over her thoughts, the fact that her left hand didn't experience any sensation - it was a cold, metal prosthetic, 'Oh well.'

In that same arm, she held a withering piece of parchment, some important points regarding a job inked upon it. Her vision lazed over the words again and again, hardly paying enough attention to process what she was reading. Back when Aedre had ripped it off a communal request board from Hargeon town, she'd only read a set of two paltry words - Divide Island. A place she'd never visited before, but heard a few words of praise and amusement about; that was incentive enough to accept the task. And it was only now that she chose to pay attention to the finer details, something about a small training camp for the next batch of young mages working for a filthily rich hag. The idea of teaching a set of brats made her groan internally, and she made up a resolution right there and then, 'Lesson learnt, check the depth before diving in.'

Ambling forth in the direction marked on the job sheet, her ears perked up at the metallic, tinkling sound of a stream. It flashed with a tinsel tint through the lace of leaves. When the trees parted, she could see it was sliding into an infinity-pool. The pool looked like a polished mirror of silver, with skeins of swirl-white twisting slowly on the surface. A shiny spillway led to a choppier pond. Boulders colonized the edges of the pond, buffed with pillows of moss. They caused a rocky gurgling as water met stone; a swish, a clunk, a swell and a clop. Sweet fragrances, alluvial and palliative, seemed to flit in and out of her awareness. Sight and smell vied for attention in that soul-enriching dream world, 'I'm ahead of time, anyways.' Aedre's thoughts excused, as her pre-determined path experienced a volte face and made its way to the edge of the pool.

Putting her back against a knobbly boulder, the silver woman leaned her head against the mossy pillow; utilizing the calm of the atmosphere to sustain her attention and read the rest of the job sheet. Or well, that was her rationalization for spending a good while in the midst of the beautifully dewy nature. She was pretty involved into the observation of the surroundings, not even catching a whiff of when she drifted into a very light sleep. It was the sound of muffled footsteps on the sodden ground that made the hairs on her neck stand up, and without the need to open her eyes, she could feel a shadow float above her. Discreet as it was, her hand clutched the hilt of the white blade resting in a scabbard on the right side of her body.

A firm backhand grip - ready for the moment any hasty action would be taken by her seeming assailant. In the next heartbeat, something plunged through the air and her blade swept out at break-neck speeds; successfully deflecting the path of another weapon that was most likely aimed at her chest - a perilous attack. The sound of metal clashing reverberated in the air, as Aedre opened her visible eye in a flash and sprung on her feet; her prosthetic arm flying for her opponent's neck and pinning him down to the ground due to the sudden outburst of her actions, as well as her weight. The blade in her other hand settled on his neck and her expression gave no hint of mercy - it spoke frazil clear, "Speak up, or die."

"M-money, I thought you had money." The burly man stuttered, his thick lips parting slurrily and his breath reeking of alcohol, 'No wonder it was so easy to topple him over.' Aedre mused in her head, a smirk gracing her lips, as her grip on his neck loosened slightly - giving way to a bright concentration of red energy at that spot. It went off like a soundless explosive, sending a heavy wave of Spacial energy rolling in the entire region. The woman stood up, while her blade slashed away the man's throat in a deft motion - spraying the air with droplets of blood. Her eyes swept around, taking in the ravishingly beautiful spread of nature in the area, 'At least, I gifted him an alluring deathbed.'

There was a faint, barely perceptible movement of the water as the fresh flow from one end urged its way to the other. With little ripples that were hardly the shadows of waves, the body moved irregularly down the pool. A small gust of wind that scarcely corrugated the surface was enough to disturb its accidental course with its accidental burden. The touch of a cluster of leaves revolved it slowly, tracing, like the leg of a compass, a thin red circle in the water. The ceremony was complete, for there was no evidence of the heinous act committed just minutes ago. Except for the splotches of blood on the green blades beneath, that is, but her experience had a louder voice than her rational side - nature would be a benevolent blanket.

The woman had assumed a seat next to the water, cleaning her blade of the red liquid while letting her sight roam around; absorbing the picturesque view. Minutes ago, it would've been the most surreal thought to think of liquidation in the midst of such alluring and serene beauty - now it had approached a physical form, thrown carelessly in Aedre's past. She knew she wouldn't give this day another thought later.

Tucking back a strand of her acolyte-white hair behind her ear, the woman's vision soared up to the rapture-blue sky. It was high and bright, a continuum of delight that salved both spirit and soul, as an exodus of banished birds appeared as if out of a Celtic fairytale. She was aware of the squillions of glint-silver dewdrops which were sprinkled on the ground like stardust. The pumping heart of nature was beating, unlike her unfortunate opponent's.

Nature was akin to a defibrillator, a high voltage pacemaker that jump-starts life into the land. It throbbed and thumped to its own high octane rhythm and composed its own symphony of sound. It had a life, a fragrance and a lilting synergy unique to itself. If it were a perfume, it would be called eau-de-Glee.

As she stood up on her feet, Aedre sheathed the sword with a practised flourish, and she actually paid attention to what was out-of-nature in the surroundings; a pressing magical aura, wafting of familiarity. Her gaze shifted in its general direction, spontaneously singling out the figure clad in azure, standing lone in the midst of nature's emerald. She couldn't mistake it for anyone else, it was him. He appeared as petty much a speck, but she knew he'd seen her - for the male was glued to his spot.

A pulsating red aura wrapped the woman's lithe frame, and in the blink of an eye, it dissipated into nothingness - a second later, however, it showed up before the blindfolded male, "Its rude to come upon an acquaintance and not greet 'em, Aegis." The woman teased, her words feigning disappointment, however completely unaware of the man's actual predicament.