No Heroes || Hika & Lynn || B-Rank Exam

A shimmering white light reflected off the metallic surfaces on the gargantuan double doors that led one to the magnificent guildhall of Sabertooth. Licking her full, luscious red lips, the Prestigious wizard belonging to the aforementioned guild placed a slender hand on the smooth railing that ran down the side of a broad staircase. She was dressed in a loose outfit made of high quality cotton that was easy to move around and breathe in. Insecurities washed away by the belief that she was capable of what she was going for this very day. A piece of paper in its folded form rested in her left hand. Breathing evenly although her mind was racing, Tane stole a glance at the fancy mirror on one side of the interior, checking her appearance to ensure her attire was appropriate for an examination. The guards greeted her with slight nods, facial expressions remaining stern, however. Tane, on the other hand, smiled brightly, exclaiming a very sincere greeting to each of them.

According to the letter, Tane was to enter a portal that was located at the center of a desert which, apparently, was quite close to the guildhall. In all honesty, the brunette Saber had never been to this certain place. In fact, she had not even heard of it once before. With a slight frown etched in her profile, she decided on journeying to the portal on her bare feet. Instructions from Hika stated that she should remove any and all forms of obstruction on her way. The illumination from her tender skin and the shaft of sunlight entering the guildhall through a small circular window above the double doors jousted for supremacy over one another before Tane’s form was absolutely bathed in the searing sunlight as she stepped out of the establishment. She would have requested assistance with direction from one of the security guards if this had not been a test. It would be cheating to do so. As Tane was not the type of person to do such a thing, she chose to find out where exactly the desert was, all on her own.

Fishing out a bronze compass that she had kept on her, Tane watched as the pointer moved on its own, slowly in its movements until the head of the short metal arrow directed her to the North. A plan had clicked in her calculating mind, instincts steering her to venture towards the South first, for a reason unknown. Thick, silky locks of dark, chocolate brown hair swayed with the breeze that fondled her frontal features, falling in place delicately on her back. Her bright, sanguine orbs focused on a pathway that would lead straight southwards. For a quick moment, she thought she would have to change course, but it appeared she had come directly to the location of the sand filled landform. A wide grin broke the narrowed lipline on Tane’s face as she hopped a gap in the stone path, descending down the sloping side of a half-dune. A slender hand rose to smooth the cocoa-colored tresses and drape it to the left of her neck. Squinting bright-red eyes to focus on the entity in the middle of the desert. It was reflecting sunlight in a plethora of directions, appearing as a spherule of luminescence. Tane conjectured that she was the only being who the portal was visible to.

Fortunately, the expected sandstorm was not prevalent as she walked towards the portal on the scorching sand her ivory, cotton dress swimming wildly on her frame. Revelation of private parts did not much worry her. In the case of Tane’s soles, the heat was close to nonexistent - a negligible tickle to her feet. Traveling barefooted to practically everywhere she had been to, Tane was used to the different conditions of surfaces that she treaded on. Her foot soles were immune to basically any form of alteration in said surfaces. On reaching the portal, Tane stopped to contemplate how to enter through. After a solid minute of close observation, she decided she would literally just enter it. Slowly, she allowed her body to be consumed by the syrupy feeling of being vacuumed in slow motion through thick liquids, into what she assumed was another dimension.

Tane forgot to open her eyes after closing it right after she entered the portal, setting foot in the unfamiliar location as she traversed through a miniature forest, the quiet, unidentifiable sounds that surrounded her guiding her out of it. Loud, ragged breathings reverberated to her receptors, perking them up. Her head snapped up to face her eleven o’clock, switching her form into a battle-ready stance. Instructions stated that she was to clear any and all obstacles in her way. To achieve B-rank and make her guildmaster and great friend Raven proud, she would do anything that was reasonable for her aimed position. The entities that were the sources of cacophonously disturbing noises shifted in their stances; footfalls ceased. Tane assumed they had selected her as their target enemy. Ready as she could ever be, Tane held her right hand out, curling her fingers inwards - beckoning them forward - the motion indicating that she was fully prepared for the situation that was to unveil itself unto the mage. A single creature that resembled a mutt charged straight for her with its mouth wide open. Sidestepping gracefully, she firmly grabbed hold of its head, mercilessly twisting the cranium of the extra terrestrial dog.

Crack. The sound produced from her swift, murderous action almost made her cringe. The animal’s friends lowered their heads, fear written all over their face, exhibited in order to inform Tane that they did not wish to clash with her. With a satisfied curl at the corner of her lips, the Prestigious sorceress stood erect, head raised in a challenging manner. The mutts, however, did not have it in them to accept the challenge and so whimpered as they retreated back to their source. A sigh escaped through her lips as she proceeded on with her journey to a certain waterfall. Eyes fluttered open, revealing a scarlet jewel behind the lids lined with a thick layer of lashes at its rims. Tane blinked several times before regaining perfect control of her seekers. Muted steps on the soil carpeted by a layer of grass. The portal had brought her to an incredibly scenic realm. Minutes would pass rather quickly as Tane stared at the wondrous beauty of the planet, absorbing the fact that she was not daydreaming. Giggling a bit, the Sabertooth mage hurriedly searched for the waterfall - her checkpoint.

While she was scouring the area, a lean, humanoid figure dressed unco scarcely in animal skin, attempted an ambush all on its own from behind. Alert receptors had already picked up the incoming sound, assisting Tane in dodging its attacks that were not properly coordinated. It was throwing random punches and kicks at her, and as the brunette female’s experience concerning combat was apparently tiers above its, each and every attack of the being was either blocked or dodged. Wondering if it would be appropriate to fight an incapable creature, she made her decision fast. She was given no choice - it was asked of her to do so. Hands risen, legs parted and her body angled so that her frontal features were not fully towards the humanoid. A series of offensive blows using her limbs connected to the aimed parts of the creature’s frame. Its body fell limp onto the grass on its face, unmoving, unconscious now. The summoner was pleased none of erasing the adversaries required bringing out any of the guardians. She could not tell if Hika had more obstacles planned for her, but the entire planet seemed to have fallen completely silent, only the sound of her footfalls resounding throughout the area, as though she were in an invisible chamber with transparent walls. The ambiance had grown into unhealthy gloom, causing her brows to knit into a deep frown. Five minutes it took for the climate to return to its normal state. Tane had explored a large area of the planet already, still not discovering the waterfall, until…

The resonant sound of water cascading down a series of steps danced into her ears like a melody. The waterfall! A parade of elated emotions played out on her facial features, tender hands clapping together once before she rushed over to her finding. It was indeed a waterfall. Perched on top of a boulder nearby, Tane stole a glance of the linn. No fish. As she was directed to search for the waterfall, she supposed it was her duty to bide there until her examiner showed up, unless Hika had already arrived and was awaiting her in a particular spot that was not easily sighted. The Prestigious one gave the plunge pool another look before standing alert, seeking out the proctor with her calculating optics darting from one corner to the other, locking in place at the detection of the slightest movement in her scope of vision. Feet gripping the rough surface of the rock underneath to ensure she would not topple over and into the pool beneath the waterfall.

A trace of blue cyan caught Tane’s attention, causing her line of sight to be raised in order to fully view her guildmate’s figure settled on an edge, legs dangling. Grinning blissfully, the Prestigious Saber replied to Hika’s congratulation on her accomplishing the first part of her exam. “Thank you!” she shouted, funneling her response with her hands around her lips in order to amplify it. Water from the falls did not cease to disembogue, quantity neither lessening nor increasing. Tane stood unmoving, waiting for her examiner to begin the next ‘part’.

“Why do you want to become stronger?”

Eyes unblinking, the brunette wizard glanced above, her sanguine seekers locking on her proctor's frame. A strange question, it was. Is this part of the test? the brunette wondered. She guessed it was. Reminding herself that the test had not ended, she raised her crown of thick brown locks, facing her guildmate once more, cheerfully curving up the corners of her lips into a luminous smile. Grasping the perfect answer - or was it? - before revealing it to Hika, the summoner exhaled, then inhaled.

“There was a time when I was not strong,” she began, straining herself from clenching her fists. “When this was the case, I was reprimanded by the stronger. I will never be weak again.” Each and every syllable of her speech rang through her being holding millions of mixed emotions, the depth of her words unfathomable, but only Tane felt it, for it was constructed of her feelings, no other. A bold and confident expression masked the flood of melancholy sentiments coursing through her veins as she gazed up at her guildmate. Her answer was incomplete. However, she would keep it that way unless Hika inquired further. A small breeze blew eastwards, caressing her features, causing the skirt of the cotton wear to sail to the side.

Tane stood, crown of cocoa tresses raised at the Paragon, half expecting her to question further, that was if she had picked up the loose thread in her words. The fact that she seemed quite satisfied made Tane more confident, shoulders leveling higher, an honored expression on her flawless facial features. What more? She was ready. To reach the rank of B, she was ready. It felt prominent to her, even though it may be just a higher rank for the others in the guild, who do not think of it deeply like Tane.

The question that her proctor asked next caused a small smile to hang on her luscious lips. She had known an inquiry of the sort was to be made. Bowing her head in respect, a traditional action brought over from Fismuth, Tane’s head inclined upwards, together with her line of sight.

“How can you truly care for someone if you do not have the power to protect them? I need to get stronger, attain enough power, because without the power I need, they will most certainly cease to exist.”

She paused for a brief thought, eyes blinking rapidly in deep wonder.

“I will do everything in my power to protect the Sabers. Raven had given me shelter when I was homeless, food when I was hungry, help when I needed it. Her guild is my haven. This is where I belong; this is my family. There is nothing more that I need than the power to be able to protect Sabertooth.”

Bright sanguine optics gazed into those of Hika, sending a message through her speech reinforced by that transferred through eye contact, a message of depth unfathomable. A tingling feeling erupted throughout the surface of her milky white skin, crawling everywhere including the tips of her hairs. Everything felt right, the words she had put together, everything.

A sharp look above at the sound of the monster brought a web of ideas in Tane’s broad mind. Hika did not seem to be completely satisfied with her at the moment. More and more challenges she would throw at the fledgling, each one seemingly more difficult than the one before. The brunette sorceress took no more time to think, and instead whirled around to behind a large boulder nearby, sensing the readying of an assault from the winged beast. A roar that was most definitely not mellifluous initiated the attack. Right afterwards, something - its wings Tane guessed - flapped, and an incredibly strong wind swept everything in its path, leaving no room for escape. Fortunately, the boulder seemed to be quite rooted into the ground, it only slightly budged. Tane received the sound of small earthly creatures creeping along the surface of the large rock underground, in search for shelter.


Tane contemplated about the tricks that she might be able to pull. For instance, since her opponent had beastly proportions and most definitely lethal attacks latent under those massive ailerons that were flapping in a dangerously lazy manner at the moment, the Prestigious could use her lightweight and agile build against it. Since Hika had commanded the creature to attack her, it would aim at her and only her. It possessed barely a fraction of Tane’s intellect (an obvious fact) seeing how the young wizard had the cranial capacity of a Prestigious, allowing her to use it to her advantage against the monster whose brain was close to not existing. Furthermore…


Wait. Just a moment. The creature was...crying?


The Sabertooth mage straightened her back, head perking up to observe the beast’s emotions through its eyes. A pair of sad azure optics stared back at the Prestigious, locking in place with a clear message. It was begging to be fixed; freed. Tane’s communication skills were getting rusty since she had not been interacting with non-humans for a long while. It was begging, pleading, for anything that Tane was capable of doing. Was the beast seeking freedom? Or was it…


Hungry?


“Strange one, why do you suffer?” Tane questioned through eye contact. Without awareness of her actions, she was inching closer towards the seemingly demonic creature, though ironically it had incredibly soft character. Its response was unexpected; ringing through Tane’s being with loud melancholy, touching places she never imagined could be touched. It was indeed suffering, sorrowful of its past actions that played in harmonies to Tane’s receptors as she closed the distance between the skin of her open palm and the creature’s horn. A sizzling sensation erupted throughout her body - she was being electrocuted, but for a strange reason she did not feel any more than a small tingle, for the beast did not intend on causing her pain. “You are free now. Go in peace and find your freedom,” she half-whispered. A satisfied noise was produced as the beast flapped its immense wings away from where they stood. Tane only turned to give her proctor a small smile. Although she had asked her to attack and eliminate the being, she had healed it instead, giving it life and reason to thrive.