K ateri hadn't fully recovered as of yet. Her magic power was embarrassingly low, even lower than the newest of mages to join the guild. But she had finally regained some of her physical strength. At least, enough to get off the bed and down to the main hall without collapsing from fatigue. It caused Dribble, the goblin Kateri had interrogated in the guild's labyrinth before telling him that he could become a member if he needed a home, to be constantly worried about her. To the gobling, Kateri was a goddess among humans. She wasn't afraid of anything, she was strong when he met her... and despite easily killing off his entire group back then she didn't assert any form of authority over him. She didn't command him as a master, but rather treated him as a friend. She was kind, caring, and pure just as her name meant. So for him, seeing his master, his deity so weak that she needed help to stand, to get dressed, and get out the guild doors made him fear for her. For that same reason, Dribble stopped her at the door and told her that he refused to let her leave. He told her that she needed to rest more, and let the rest of the guild do stuff, and let them get as strong as she was. "You won't understand Dribs. I gotta get stronger myself, which means I ain't stayin' in some room and waitin' till my magic comes back. I got guns, I got ammo, and I got shadow. Those three things are all I need." she said, forcefully making herself seem less sick than she actually was.
Kateri had used up all her magic power when she fought a massive black dragon in the labyrinth that Ni Ju showed her was connected to Lamia Scale's kitchen. The fight was longer than any fight she'd been in before. She had to utilize tactics that her father, Niyol and her uncle, Dmitr Kazakov had taught her. He father taught Kateri to never stop moving, always look for the weak points on your enemy and target them. Dmitry taught her never fight hard, to always let your opponent be their greatest weakness. Both of them seemed to constantly move around when they fight, which seemed to minimize the damage they would take had they fought like sock-em machines. Even though Kateri exploited all that dragon's weak spots, even though she created more weak spots and exploited those too... even though she had Shadow fighting his hardest, and Kateri herself was at the absolute peak of her power... She used every last bit of magic power she had. It was the reason she was so weak now. "Master, are you sure you want to do this? You could always wait just a few more days." Shadow said calmly. He too was concerned for Kateri. To the black half dragon, Kateri was more than a master. She was his best friend, and above all else, his true mother. Kateri and Shadow were together from the very start, she had became a mage when he hatched, and the two were together since. "My lady, what the others say is true. You must remain and rest more." Kazimir's voice came from Kateri's shadow. He was the reason Kateri became a mage at all. She always had magic powers, but it was because of him that her powers developed beyond that of the average six year old. "Look guys, thanks... really. But this isn't something I'll debate on. I'm fully confident that you two will be enough for this job, and Dribs, I'm confident you'll keep the guild hall from falling upside down while I'm gone." she said with a warm voice, trying to hold back tears of joy for having friends that cared to this extent.
Dribble tried to say something, or come up with something to get Kateri to stay but he stopped and decided to trust that his 'big high war chief' would be able to fend for herself, even with reduced power. Kateri walked down the streets of Hargeon, looking around at all the people who had no idea what was below their feet up till recently. All of them... thinking that they were safe from harm would have been annihilated if Kateri hadn't killed that dragon. Her old self would have been smug about it, gung-ho and gloat every chance she got. But for some reason, she didn't even want to tell the others in the guild about it. She didn't want to tell them about how she'd heroically faced a massive beast, using cunning and agility to over power a fire breathing aquatic dragon. Right now, Kateri was just happy to know her town and her guild were safe from that danger and be content with no one knowing. She walked past her favorite stores, candy shopes, and bars giving them nothing more than a passing glance while trying to to expel and unnecessary energy. While her task was fairly easy, it was the first time she'd be going on a job without any magic. Normally, she had a partner and just opted to not use magic for fear of hurting someone... but now she was obligated to rely on her weapons, knowledge, and instincts to get this done. The doors to the guard station were opened, a bell seated above the door rang to alert the men someone was entering. All of them looked at the white haired mage with great smiles on their faces, no longer awe struck at the sight of her hair turning to a glacial blue color when she entered. "Ha ha, hey there kiddo!" one of the paper boys shouted from his cubicle. Kateri shot him a smile, his expression instantly turning from joy to concern. The norm was for her to shoot him some snyde comment, something along the lines of 'stop yappin and get my baguel' or something of the sorts that would prompt him to fire a witty remark. Her simply smiling let him know something was up, either that or he was in deep shit.
Kateri grabbed a flyer from the billboard, pulling off a notice for a person who was killing off the guards when they came to apprehend him. The actual picture was the silhouette of a man, but was completely blacked out with a question mark on it that meant no one knew who it was. It described that the bodies retrieved were all either burnt to a crisp, or covered in burn marks akin to those from flash steaming the fuck out of your hand. Except those guys had their entire bodies experience it. Kateri couldn't even find a name for the person on the page beyond the fact that he killed everyone who enters the sewers. "This would be easier if you could use magic." Shadow commented as he looked over the same flier. Kateri nodded in agreement, her lack of talking was unfitting for how she used to be prior to the dragon fight and made Shadow worry for her further. It was then that the guy from earlier had came up to Kateri and asked what was going on, to which she simply told him nothing. Unfortunately, her lie was vain since she was pretty well known for being much more energetic. Kateri wasn't annoyingly upbeat, but she normally had a bit more spunk in her than the soft, gentle, weak voice she was using now. She gave the man a forced smile, saying "I'm perfectly fine, no need to worry bud." with a voice that did the exact opposite of what she told the man to do. The other guards had noticed by now that Kateri wasn't standing up tall and proud as she normally did. She was different from how they remembered her... no one, not even the paper boy was able to pin point the exact difference, but everyone knew it was there. Kateri gave a quick wave as she left the guard station. It was a small, half assed wave that left everyone inside with dumbfounded looks having never seen Kateri so... mellowed out before. It was like she was lifeless, or nearly lifeless at the least.
Walking out the guard station, Kateri was hit the the sea breeze that normally bathed Hargeon in a distinct, briny smell. She didn't always appreciate the smell, but she did enjoy how cool it normally kept the place. Though personally she preferred it in winter since the humid air made it feel even colder. It also gave Kateri an excuse to toy around with her magic and try to fight the snow storms when they came in. She always lost, Dmitry normally telling her that she'll never be able to win against nature... "Hippie..." she said under her breath as she remembered those fun times.
Walking past the docks, Kateri got stuck waiting for a hug crowd of people to finish passing. Most of them were people either coming to live in Firore, or visiting family and friends. Others were here for business, and some were here just because 'why the fuck not' reasons. Kateri felt something give a gentle tug on her hair, marveling at how long and white it was. A cloud passed ovehead, coating the area in shade that caused the white locks to turn color to glacial blue. The small girl stepped back, not having expected it to happen but then looked at Kateri with a big smile as she realized that she was a wizard. The girl was olive in skin tone, a small black dot on her forehead, accompanied by desert attire and her beautiful black hair let Kateri know she was from desierto. That, and the little girl was a wizard too. Her parent flew up to her, giving a small scolding for having disturbed Kateri's day. "I'm so sorry, she's young and s-" Kateri interrupted the woman by placing her hand up signaling her to stop. "It's fine, she's aweful pretty. I don't see many mages coming from Desierto, what brings you to Fiore?" she asked with a soft, caring voice. "W-well, back home they don't take kindly to wizards." the woman said. "I see, so you came to make a new life. I welcome you to your new homeland." Kateri said in the woman's natural language making her put on an astonished face. "Your speak our tongue so well!" she exclaimed joyously. "This is a busy port. I live at the local guild hall so learning multiple languages came from just living here. You'll find it's a very diverse city, but if you wanna see the most beautiful one I advise Rose Garden. It's a city where magic is everywhere, even the lights are magic based." she said with a generous smile. The woman nodded, thanking Kateri for the information and said that she'd definitely visit there. Kateri kneeled down and rested her hand on the little girl's cheek, feeling her magical presense through sensation. "You'll be a great wizard one day hun. When you're older, promise me you'll joing Lamia Scale and I promise you they'll teach you lots more than any other guild. 'Kay?" she said with a smile. The little olive colored girl's cheeks turned a slight shade of pink as she nodded in agreement. The crowd finally passed and Kateri waved to the two ladies goodbye while she coninued making her way to the entrance to the part of the sewers she had to get to.
Suddenly as Kateri was just a rock's throw from the grate she needed to enter, a being made entirely of flames shot out, sending the manhole cover flying. She immediately snapped into 'fight' mode, drawing both her revolvers from their holsters and handling a shot on the elementa's head. Instead of it dying like most her enemies do, the elemental's head just took the hit. 'Fuck. How dare that thing not die when I shoot it!' Kateri thought while watching the creature turn to her. A series of fire balls were shot at her, all of which she dodged by quickly jumping into a sideways commando roll. Bringing her revolvers back up while recovering from the roll, Kateri began firing them in rapid succession one after another. While she pulled the hammer on one, she fired the other and repeated the process until both six shooters were empty. The elemental began glowing brightly, changing to a shining orange hue before exploding. Luckily, anyone who would have been hit by the explosion had already hauled ass to hide in a building. "No body panic, Lamia Scale is taking over this arrest!" she shouted as scared civilians poked their heads from their hiding spots. Kateri walked to the man hole, looking straight down saw it ended in the nicer parts of the sewer thankfully. She jumped, landing on a metallic surface with holes punched in it to allow water to go in. Below that, was the stuff she really didn't wanna step in even if it was only rain water, and she was wearing boots. Kateri slid the revolvers in their hoslters, reaching for her back under the black woolen cloak and pulling out her trusty assault rifle. Her instincts, the only thing she was able to use to sense enemies at the moment, told her to move. Kateri followed the natural order, jumping forwards and rolling as she spun around and aimed down the sight of her gun. A being made entirely of water rose from under the grate, launching a blast of water at her. Her first reaction was to duck, feeling the heat as the scolding blast of liquid went right over her. "Well, that answers where the non-fire burns came from." she said under her breath to Shadow. Kateri opened fire on the being, riddling its body with magic bullets that made it begin disintegrating on the spot. After a half a clip was in the being it simply fell apart, leaving a small crystal on the hole covered floor. "That would most likely be its heart. Try aiming for those, we may be able to move this along faster my lady." Kazimir said while Kateri was looking at the object. Kateri nodded, agreeing that getting this over with may be a good thing. "Shadow, I want you to go find where their master is. When you find him, let me know." she ordered the half dragon. Shadow flew out from under the cloak and began darting down the way to find their target.
Two more of the water elementals popped up accompanied by a being made of fire. These ones had formed a type of phalanx with the flame elemental in the front and the two water elements behind it on either side. Kateri dropped her assault rifle and pulled out her rocket launcher. While it wouldn't be nearly as useful without magic as it would be with it, the round would be enough for a temporary distraction. She didn't need to aim for the enemies directly like with a gun, just point at their feet and pull the trigger. When she did, the round flew from the tube and Kateri began putting the launcher away and picking up her assault rifle. The explosion set off was enough to tear chunks from the elementals, and Kateri began unleashing bullets straight into the fire one. As it died, just like the last one, it began glowing bright orange before exploding. This time, the explosion was much closer to Kateri but she was still out of range, though it was just barely as she could tell from the heat on her face. The water elementals had taken the full force of the explosion and been evaporated enough to where their heart crystals were. Upon seeing them, Kateri fire two quick, well aimed shots at them and shattered the items causing the water to fall back where it belonged.
Another three water elementals came out accompanied by another of the fire ones, this time Kateri didn't have her rocket to help her out. Like a couple of her guns, her sub machine guns and her assault rifle to be specific, the rocket launcher was a magic weapon. It charged up energy and required a bit of time, even while holstered, before it can blast another round off. Kateri dropped the assault rifle as she reached to her back on the opposite shoulder, and to her side to grab both her sniper and her sub machine gun. A quick spin would end with Kateri aiming directly at the fire elemental, a tap on the trigger and the fourteen point five millimeter round had blasted through the fire elemental's core but missed the lacrima. As the hole got wider, the lacrima was exposed more and more. Kateri finished the turn ending with her sub machine gun pointed directly at it. It took a bit of focus to compensate for the recoil of the gun, having high fire rate caused it to kick up a lot even if the rounds were on the smaller end of the spectrum. A few round knicked the stone, but it didn't fully shatter until the whole clip was inside it. The elemental exploded, but instead of the explosion taking out the three water elements, it was absorbed by one that fused with the other two to make a big, flaming water elemental. "Well fuck... that's cheating." Kateri said feeling a bit unhappy with how her plan got wrecked. Kazimir felt a bit less concerned seeing as his old master was still there amidst the lack of magic.
The elemental fires a shot of flaming, scalding hot water at Kateri that nearly hit her. However, it didn't want to hit her with that as Kateri found out when she looked and it was gone. A red dot formed under her, blasting its way upward only to narrowly miss the girl as she was forced by by a demonic had extended from her own shadow. "Thanks Kazimir." she said while getting up. 'Of course my lady' he replied in her head, utilizing the telepathic bond the two shared. Kateri pulled out her revolvers just in time to notice a set of flaming orbs being launched at her. As with the fire elemental from above ground, Kateri alternated between pulling the hammer of one gun and pulling the trigger of the other. Each fire ball exploded as soon as the bullet hit them, some were close enough to the elemental to injure it. Kateri pulled out her rocket launcher after hearing a distinct high pitched sound that let her know it was ready and took aim at the elemental. She fire the shot in time for it to dodge by going back into the water, as well as in time for her target to turn the corner with her flame thrower pulled out. The woman fired at the rocket as a type of automated reaction, hitting the rocket and making it explode directly in front her. The force of the explosion ruptured the tanks for her flame thrower, which then eploded and covered the woman in napalm, burning her to a crisp. The flaming water elemental never resurfaced, letting Kateri know she got her target. Though it was a bit bad that she accidentally killed her...
Kateri commanded Shadow to come back, letting the creature know that the target was killed by accident. Instead of dragging a burned corpse through the streets of Hargeon Town, Kateri simply returned to the guard station empty handed and told them to send a few guys to bag the body. She also let them know the arsonist was actually a female with enough magical ability to charge lacrima with fire, and water magic. It was reported to them that the resulting elementals were capable of combining when in significant numbers, which gave the guards something to look into. That kind of magic would work wonders for protecting the city, or just acting as patrols to replace guards for a couple hours while they got shit faced.
Kateri returned to Lamia Scale Guild Hall where Dribble, the goblin that worshiped her as a goddess, was waiting eagerly. He approached her, happily holding a glass of her favorite drink that he spent the entire time of her being gone preparing. It still tasted shitty, but Kateri took it with a smile since he put so much effort into it. She still let him know it tasted god aweful, and then had Kazimir run him through making and mixing beverages. Not just alcoholic ones, but juices, flavoring waters, and other stuff. Kateri had decided that she would take another day or two to rest since she was feeling extremely tired all of a sudden. It felt good for her to get back out in the field and do some work, but she knew she'd gone and pushed her personal limits too much. Kazimir happily made sure to it that she made it to her room without falling while Dribble practiced using a drink shaker without losing grip on the top and sending the content all over.
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![Novice [250]](https://i.imgur.com/lrYlde6.png)
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