Walking a Windy Path [Job:Sky High] (Shu/Akeya)

Akeya's eyes were trained on the horizon as she flew over the mountains, a strange figure high up in the sky. It was day, so her connection to the shadows and the darkness wasn't capable of hiding her right now. Anybody who happened to be looking in the right direction at the right time would be able to spot the half dragon flying up there, her midnight blue scales a stark contrast to the light blue sky above. Yesterday they had ended up inside a horrible blizzard, where the wind was trying to cut them into small pieces with ice cold blades and the snow was attempting to bury them with the warmest blanket they would ever experience. A blanket which if they allowed it to cover them would allow them to fall into such a deep sleep that they would never awake from it.

This day they at least had the luck that the sky was clear. The clouds had disappeared for now, although Akeya could see some in the distance. They weren't in their path at least, so she could keep flying without having to worry about heading straight into another blizzard. Flying while such weather was abound was even more dangerous than walking through it. While Akeya was an experienced flyer by now and was used to the harsh weather of the mountains she couldn't just suddenly become immune to such things as the bone chilling winds of the blizzard, strong enough that even her mighty scaled wings wouldn't be able to keep her aloft. And if you were up in the air that meant you could be smashed against the ground rather hard. That was another reason why Akeya hadn't used this trick before: attempting to fly while carrying a passenger would have gotten the both of them either injured or killed in the weather back then. It was only because they were fortunate enough that this day the weather was calm that she could use this method to avoid the avalanche and at the same time speed up their journey significantly.

As long as there were no strong winds in the way Akeya could fly straight over cliffs and mountaintops without being hindered, which meant that she could fly in a relatively straight line. Compare that to what they would have to traverse while on foot, which would look more like a snake than anything else. Mountains weren't designed with the idea in mind that humans could quickly and easily get from one side to the other. Birds and other flying creatures could be considered particularly fortunate in that department, since their reaction to such difficult terrain was usually just an indifferent shrug. Akeya herself would never dare to not appreciate the fact that becoming a half dragon had granted her something as useful as sustained flight that was available to her at all times, not even requiring magic or the likes to keep it active. If there was one large advantage to being a half dragon flight was definitely one of the top contenders.

Shu would be given the opportunity to see the mountains from an entirely new point of view as the half dragon carried her through the skies, the sun rising high but still casting shadows. After all some of these mountains were very tall with steep sides, in which case the only way for the sun to not cast shadows would be for it to hover at the very top of the sky. Akeya idly wondered how the human female would react to this sight, where they were practically in between heaven and earth. The horizon would be a jagged line, formed by the sky meeting the mountains. The sun high up there, and at this altitude it would be very bright indeed, with no clouds and little atmosphere to weaken its intensity, even though its rays didn't manage to provide as much warmth as one could find on the ground. The mountains a dark grey, throwing many sharp and dark shadows across the valleys and each other. The higher areas white from the blankets of snow that covered the peaks nearly permanently. And all seen from this position up high, where nothing was hidden. It was most certainly a sight that most humans might only see from a painting by a particularly ambitious artist. Who most of the time could not make their fantasies as intimidating as reality.

Whatever the girl thought, it appeared she had enough presence of mind to ask about the travellers, who rather than seeing this were currently stuck inside Korikami's realm, waiting to be drawn back into this world once it was safe to do so. While Korikami could only easily swallow human-sized objects if those objects cooperated, or at least did not resist, as soon as they were inside his realm he could keep them in there for as long as he liked, the only way of escape being his will or the possession of some very powerful magic focused on transdimensional movement. It was a good thing that this mischievous and cunning fox was the pet of this half dragon, who was not willing to let those two human males die of starvation and insanity inside her pet. If they died she couldn't get paid for going all this way.

Nodding the half dragon began to return to the ground, finding a flat location with enough space for all of them. The snow hadn't reached this place, Akeya's feet touching bare grey stone. Putting Shu down Akeya stretched out an arm, the shadows from inside her clothing coming out and wrapping around that arm before jumping onto the ground, turning back into the fox. Without the half dragon even saying anything he suddenly bulged, bursting into a mass of shadows which then reshaped back into the fox. The only difference was that now two travellers were standing in front of the fox, left behind by those shadows as they withdrew to Korikami's body. The two travellers looked pale and nervous, but it looked like they were unharmed and all right. As soon as they recovered from the anxiety inducing experiencing of visiting Korikami's realm.

"They should not have been inside for so long that they would suffer from permanent trauma. As for how long we still have to go today, from what I could see we will be in these mountains for several days still, and I do not intend to take breaks. For now we'll wait one minute for our clients to regain their bearings before we move again."

It looked like the travellers really hadn't been expecting to see such a sight as Korikami's realm during this journey, the way they were still trying their best to recover. To be fair, it wasn't like one got to see such things on a regular basis. Most humans would most likely get through their entire life without having to experience such a thing, unless they happened to be very unlucky. Or lucky, depending on one's point of view. Either way, they'd have to wait, although Akeya was only going to give them one minute.

So far as Korikami was concerned he had retreated underneath Akeya's clothing, disappearing into the shadows as he waited for his master to once again call upon his help if needed. Honestly for his part he just hoped this thing would be finished quickly so they could return home. He was a rather lazy fox, and he just wanted to laze about and eat. If it wasn't for Akeya telling him to come with her on this job he would still be in the guild hall hunting down all kinds of rodents and otherwise just being lazy inside whatever shadow he could find. Preferably a big one where he could stick inside for days without having to fear the sun getting rid of it. That's why he preferred being indoors greatly over being outdoors. The walls made for an excellent defence against the sun.

Akeya herself was standing there with her arms folded as she looked into the distance, her back facing the three humans as she looked at the route they still had to take. They still had several days to go, so they couldn't just hurry. Not that they really needed to hurry. They had made good time so far, covering a lot more ground than Akeya had expected them to. She really thought that having to escort a bunch of normal humans would cripple their speed, but it looked like these travellers at least had healthy hearts and strong legs, the way they could just keep going through the mountains without dropping dead from exhaustion. Of course her own family had also been able to do that, but those couldn't really be classified as normal humans either. Even the most human out of all of them would probably still stand out and be considered weird outside the village. Akeya just happened to be even more inhuman than them. Not that she had been that stronger than some of the others. Her village had always been something of a weird one if you knew what villages normally were like.

Either way, they could dally here too long. The weather might be nice right now but they were still walking through the mountains during winter. If they stayed in one place for too long they would lose the warmth they gained from constant movement, after which getting moving again would become a lot more difficult. Body warmth and good clothing were essential, but so was the warmth generated through exercise. In this case that exercise was walking all the way through the mountains with as few breaks as possible. If you asked the average human from the plains to do that they would probably take the challenge, thinking it an easy task, and then somewhere in the middle of the mountain range collapse complaining that it was too much. The fact that the three humans here were better than that was just a sign of good fortune.

However the minute was now over, so Akeya walked back towards the others and pointed at them with her tail, her arms still folded.

"Time to get moving again. You should have recovered enough from the shadow realm that you can still walk, and you'll recover faster if you feel the real world around you move with your footsteps. Let's go."

Not giving them an opportunity to object Akeya turned around and began to walk down this mountainside, forcing them to either be abandoned by the half dragon or go after her. The travellers looked somewhat uncertain and still nervous, but seeing how so far the half dragon had helped them greatly in surviving this trip they ended up running after her to catch up, once again ending up in their usual gait. Akeya also made sure that Shu was keeping up: if Shu wasn't managing to catch up by herself Akeya would lift her and carry her to the front and place her next to herself before continuing to walk. She wasn't going to leave anybody behind. The only reason she had walked as if she was planning to abandon the travellers if they didn't follow her was because she knew they were fully capable of doing so, and that they in fact would do that. Most humans were pretty easy to read and predict. Shu was a bit different because she was a mage, but the travellers were just average humans. No magic in their bones. They had so far been saved by the two mages, and the half dragon had been leading this expedition, so if she walked they would follow without question.

The sun rose higher as they walked, the day slowly becoming slightly warmer as the seconds and the minutes passed by. However even then it was still cold: the blizzard yesterday had been murderous, but this day, as calm as it was, could still be the end of somebody who wasn't prepared for it. Up in the mountains the winter was always a threat. Even calm days like these weren't moments of safety. Akeya and the travellers both knew this well, Akeya because she had grown up here and the travellers because this wasn't their first trip through the mountains. The question was whether Shu was also aware of this, although in Shu's case Akeya would make sure she was all right anyhow. The half dragon found the female mage rather cute (in sharp contrast to the travellers), which meant she actually had something of a motivation to look out for her besides Shu being the source of the job reward or her guild getting mad or angry if she died up here because the half dragon hadn't been careful enough.

From that point on the journey became a bit easier, as the four of them kept walking through the mountains. Sure, they still had to deal with the constant cold and the blizzards that sometimes showed up, but after they had gotten used to those things they managed to make good time without any real issues. It seemed that the other creatures in the mountains either were busy somewhere else or had taken note of Akeya's nature as a half dragon and had decided to stay clear. A half dragon might not be as scary as a full dragon, but it still meant that the raven-haired mage was not something that most animals wanted to be seen by. A half dragon had as much a carnivorous tendency as a full dragon, so being seen by one could very well result in being hunted down and eaten. The fact that the first couple of critters had actually gone so far as to show their faces in an attempt to steal their stuff was already a testament to one of three things: their sheer hunger, their fearlessness, or their raw stupidity. It could be one of all three, or multiple, but the end result is that they had tried to attack a group which they really should just have moved around in a wide berth. Even without Akeya Shu most likely would have been able to dispatch all of them, although knowing Shu she might have tried to spare them. By having Akeya kill and eat all of them at least they couldn't return and cause more trouble, and with some luck the scent of the blood of their own kind also helped keep other critters at a distance.

All in all, the rest of the journey wasn't that eventful, as the half dragon kept up her job of making sure that everything dangerous was kept at a safe distance while Shu did the job of keeping the travellers comfortable. Even though by now they had realized that the half dragon was going to do her job and look after them Akeya was still not the kind of person your average person could easily get along with and feel comfortable with, even if she didn't have her draconic traits to make her even less easy to see her as part of the group. She was by nature somewhat cold, didn't show too much emotion besides sheer concentration and annoyance when something happened that she disapproved of, her aura made it clear that she wasn't a people person and also wasn't looking for an opportunity to learn how to become off, and didn't really confide in the others. She was just the half dragon who constantly kept finding the path for the other three and steered them clear of anything which could make the mission more complicated, including the time where she smelled a group of bandits and they had to make a detour because the half dragon didn't want to risk the clients or Shu getting hurt while she dispatched of them. She never really got to the point where she told them anything about her past, herself, or anything which made her more than just the one looking after them. They would learn her name, that she had lived in these mountains when she was young, and that was about where it started and ended. She didn't try to join their conversations or discussions, she stayed at a distance even as they made camp as she kept keeping watch even during the night... None of them would really get the opportunity to learn enough about Akeya to be able to claim that they really knew her.

Eventually though the mountains began to end, as their constant walking got them through the mountain range quite quickly, especially since Akeya could make sure they didn't take any paths which would just end up being a waste of time. After the blizzard on the first day the rest of the journey was a lot calmer, so that wasn't an issue either. Akeya personally wasn't happy about the fact that they had to stop and rest every night, but since she was the only nocturnal being in the group and also was the only one with enough fortitude and stamina to keep moving throughout both the night and the day she couldn't really do anything about that. Ahead of them they could see that the mountains were becoming smaller, and further ahead there were just no more mountains to be seen. It would still take a while, but eventually they would reach the place where they would start descending rather rapidly as they returned to the plains, or rather the coast. At that point Shu and Akeya would have finished their job of protecting the travellers through the mountains and could start planning the trip back. It was actually a bit of a problem that after going all the way through the mountains the two of them would then just have the journey of returning to their respective guilds ahead of them. The travellers came here with a reason so they most likely would stay here for a while, but Akeya had no motivation for doing so. She would as soon as the job was done begin to plan the trip back, and if she felt like it she'd offer Shu to come with her. The other female mage was rather small and lightweight, so it shouldn't be an issue to just fly her back to the other side of the mountain range, from where Shu should have no trouble finding her way back. Honestly the half dragon didn't even know what the travellers had to do in this corner of the land of Fiore which was so efficiently shut off from the rest of the continent with the help of the Phoenix Mountains. She didn't really care that much either: she just had to finish her job and she'd have to stop looking after these two humans who had given her no real reason to care any further for them than the money dictated. She didn't really care about their lives, their stories, their personalities, or anything else. Just like she had not given them any real information about herself she had never asked them anything or really put much effort into remembering what they might have told her.

It had taken quite a while, or at least several days, but at last they had reached the point of the journey where the travellers no longer needed escorts. The mountains were quite dangerous and one could never be too careful when travelling through them, but the environment that was hidden behind the mountain range was a lot more forgiving. Since they were still rather high up they could see very far from this position, far enough that it wasn't too difficult to see the settlement that the two clients most likely were heading towards. Not that Akeya particularly cared... They had reached the point where she would get paid for doing her job, and with that her reason to look after the travellers also disappeared. The half dragon just watched the scenery for a while as Shu said farewell to the travellers. Unlike her the human mage had gotten along quite well with the clients, using her social personality and appearance to position herself in a very good relationship with them, at least one where she could treat them as close acquaintances or even friends without it looking strange.

As for the half dragon, she mostly just wanted the clients to get on with the remainder of their journey so she could return to the guild and receive her payment for fulfilling the job pretty much flawlessly. Of course they didn't really have rewards in place for that kind of thing, instead just detracting from your pay if you damaged something or hurt somebody you weren't supposed to hurt. Still, getting through the entire job without actually allowing anything to go wrong meant that she'd receive a substantial amount of payment, enough that Akeya could return to training for a while without being distracted by such things such as needing jewels for the daily necessities. As the travellers turned to Akeya there wouldn't be much interaction between the half dragon and the humans, only some bowing from the humans since it was clear that the half dragon wasn't interested in the kind of farewell that Shu just had demonstrated.

Once the travellers were on their way Akeya folded her arms and silently sighed, somewhat relieved that the job was done. It hadn't exactly been hard on her, but she really didn't like having to constantly be in the present of a couple of humans, especially humans who from her point of view weren't really interesting or worth paying attention to. Akeya looked at Shu, who was still waving at the travellers who were already walking away. She didn't have to wait very long until the other mage also turned to her though, at which point Shu began to talk about how she had enjoyed the mission and how she was thankful for Akeya being there to help her out. The half dragon raised an eyebrow beneath her blindfold at that, shrugging as she used one scaled hand to make a somewhat dismissive motion, the other hand still resting in the crook of her elbow.

"If you are planning to advance further as a mage you'll end up seeing a lot more than just these mountains. That gravity magic of yours looks like it can become quite powerful in the future. Although I do hope that you've taken this opportunity to learn more about how to survive in mountainous regions so you'll have an easier time if you have to visit such a place again."

True enough Akeya did hope Shu at least learned something from all this. She herself had mostly done what she was supposed to do without any real attention towards whether it was educative for her, but Shu gave the appearance that she could use all the experience she could get. The half dragon wasn't lying when she said that the gravity magic the human female utilized could become impressive in time, but right now she honestly felt that the human mage still had a lot to learn. She had done a good job of keeping the travellers happy and mentally stable as they travelled through such a precarious location with somebody like Akeya, who could easily unnerve the average human just by not hiding her true self and personality, not to mention how the mountains themselves could lead to high-strung nerves and easily induced states of panic. But if one looked at the actual use of magic Shu hadn't been too active. Actually she had done more than Akeya, who had gone through the entire journey doing almost everything relying only on her physical prowess, but still. Akeya didn't think Shu was a bad mage, but she still needed experience and more training. Of course from the half dragon's point of view everybody could use more training, since there wasn't a rule about anybody actually having a limit they could never surpass.

At the question of whether Akeya wanted to return to the major portion of Fiore together or alone the half dragon tapped her chin, then shrugged again, looking a bit uncaring about the question even as she answered it.

"Seeing how we both have to first get through the mountains before heading our separate ways I might as well help you return quickly. I couldn't do this with the three of us, since the shadow realm is too risky to constantly use on humans, but if it's just you I can carry you as I fly over the mountains, which should be significantly faster. That is, if you're willing to be carried all the way."