A strange pair. (Job Izayoi/Mao)

Job Dets:

Izayoi had signed up for a job that she felt was mildly pressing, something about a team of scientests or something that had gone missing or something. She didn't really know much about what was going on in the nation of Fiore, but she was making a effort to get involved. First off she had to get involved with her new guild, so far nobody had held the fact she was once in a dark guild against her. She sighed as she walked to the place she was suppose to meet the client, some bar in Magnolia. She was dressed in some ratty, unwashed clothing, her hair a mess again. Not as bad as the last time she went out since she had brushed her hair when she asked the Aiyana out.

Izayoi's trip on the train was short, she had slept a good amount of the trip. She had woken up a while ago as the train started to slow down, she sat in her seat staring out the window. She watched the city go by as the train moved toward the station, she watched all the people she could see. She smiled gently, she was no longer the bad guy to all these people and that made her happy. She still didn't understand why she had joined Tartarus, perhaps cause they were the first ones to take her in. Perhaps they were the ones she felt would protect her, she felt the trains brakes apply. She sighed and waited for the train to stop, upon which she stood up and headed out. The city was alive like Izayoi had not seen for quite some time, Tartarus's city was a ghost town, though at the time it suited her just fine. She walked down the streets, watching all the people go about their day, smiling as she did. 

"Hey young lady." A voice came from behind her and a hand was put on her shoulder, Izayoi tensed and drove her claws into her own hands. "Ma'am?" the man withdrew his hand.

Izayoi relaxed and turn around, she was visably shaking as she did. "Can... i help you?" she looked at the man, her eyes fierce. The man held out a small note, Izayoi took it and opened it. Inside was directions to a bar where she was suppose to meet her client. When she looked back up the man was gone, she scanned the crowed to no avail. She looked at the note again then moved to one of the shop's, "excuse me." The shop keeper turned to her, "where is...." Izayoi looked at the note again to get the name. "The Wayfarer."

"Oh yeah, its down the street on the left."

Izayoi nodded and headed down the street to the bar, she enter the bar and looked around. It was a nice place for the most part, had a undertone of barf she could smell though. Izayoi looked around and found a spot at the bar, the note told her to wait for her companion first, then the client would contact them. Izayoi had been unaware that she had another accompanying her. She motioned to the bar keep whom came over and asked what she wanted. "Rum and Coke please." The man nodded and moved off to get her drink, shortly after it arrived and Izayoi started drinking it.

Word count: 561

The paper stashed away in her little travel satchel concerned the woman even as the train’s lulling rocking kept her more or less asleep for the bulk of the ride. People were disappearing left and right, and though one or two would be enough to be concerned there seemed to be entire groups going unheard from again. She felt awful for the families and loved ones who couldn’t receive a definitive answer on why they would never see one again, and forced to experience the hope of someday seeing them again. If they could be found and returned she would be happiest, but…’I can’t let myself purely hope for that either. The world isn’t always a kind place…’ However there remained the possibility at least a few might still be alive, so she’d hold onto that glimmer if nothing else…

Normally one to bury herself in books the notion of perhaps scoping out some ruins did sound somewhat fun. Some of the novels she’d read certainly made it sound appealing…until she recalled the brief stint of going through one with Niyol…’Two actually. Almost forgot about the one with the traps. Though I guess there’s reason to have a bit of a blank there, hopefully this one is infested with less things than the other was. I don’t fancy dealing with that mob again. I feel like there’s another instance I’m forgetting.’ Perhaps the ruins weren’t something to be so excited about as she frowned in her sleep a bit, lightly waking from the dream of being attacked by a hoard of spiders in ancient rock walls. ’Really hope there’s none of those.’

As the train came to rest at her stop the girl pulled herself off the decently comfortable bench and left the locomotive, sighing as the throngs of people milled about. ’I probably should’ve brought someone with me.’ If not for the hood holding down her long ears the long appendages might’ve drooped at the thought as she made her way to the edge of the crowd and did her best to skitter around it without bumping into too many people. Nobody she knew had been free that day, most others already out on jobs or errands of some sort and she hadn’t felt comfortable enough to burden others with helping out. ’Maybe it’ll be an opportunity to prove myself?’ Dubiously she looked behind her, the oversized, dark canine helping shield her tail from possibly being squished by the waves of people, even providing something of a bubble for them to traverse. ’Well, not totally alone at least.’

Before she’d left the train there’d been a scrap of paper on the table, one the curious girl couldn’t help reading mentioning an establishment of sorts as a passing attendant explained it came from someone claiming she was there to perform a job. If they knew then…well she’d trust it in the meantime. Now outside of the station however she found herself a bit unsure where to go, ”Hmm….should I ask?” Rather than consult another person she instead turned to her faithful companion Nocshanks, the horned beast looking down at her with an expression that spoke his thoughts aloud: you have to ask? As another person started to pass she managed to get their attention, though probably more due to the intimidating presence of her pet – that she long ago became immune too – and managed to get some stammered directions even if he seemed to be unable to look away from something else.

Paying it little mind as she’d received directions, she had Nocshanks plant himself next to the building – and taking up some decent alleyway space as he laid down – and entered the dingy building. ’The tavern out in the mountains is cleaner than here…’ Almost immediately Mao wanted to leave as the smell assaulted her poor nose, a sleeved hand coming up to shield the poor thing until it could acclimate. If this was where the person wanted her to meet them then so be it, but hopefully it could be a quick little get together and she could be on her way. At the bar someone else already sat – curiously with tails - and she wondered if they might be the person. Taking a nearby stool – though keeping one between them, not wanting to crowd her – Mao spoke up after asking for a simple non-alcoholic drink (and received a glass of water she wasn’t sure she could trust), ”Erm…are you the client I’m supposed to meet by any chance?” She kept her hood up, but turned to look at the other woman, green eyes plainly curious.

Izayoi was about half way through her drink when another person entered, she heard the door open, her ears snapping to the direction of the sound. She didn't bother looking at them at all, she didn't really care for idle chatter and halfway wished she had brought some of her research notes to review. Izayoi sighed and took another drink of her beverage, she hear footsteps approch her then the sound of someone sitting down, she didn't bother looking though. Izayoi heard the person order a glass of water, which caused Izayoi to snicker, who in the hell goes to a bar for water. This did drew her gaze, she looked over right as the person, a woman who had bright green eyes, Izayoi looked her up and down.

"Erm...are you the client I'm supposed to meet by any chance?" The girl asked as Izayoi reguarded her.

Izayoi raised a eyebrow and shook her head, "Nope... I'm here to meet a client as well... er wait... are you here for the job in the ruins?" Izayoi asked as she turned back to her drink, "Cause if so i guess that makes me your partner..." Izayoi took another drink of her beverage. "Izayoi Burakkurozu of Sabertooth." she said as she set the now empty glass down. Izayoi slide off her stool and streached, "The not i got." Izayoi held up her note. "Said that i would have a partner that i have to meet up with. After i met up with them the client would contact me." Izayoi was used to this kind of thing, she had done enough cloak and dagger stuff in her life time that it was second nature.

Before Izayoi could continue speaking another man arrived, this one was well dressed in a full suit. He scanned the bar until he caught site of the two then made right for them. "Good... your here... please follow me." The man motioned for them to follow, he would lead them outside to where a bunch of other men in suits were waiting, all guarding a man in a a white suit. Izayoi sighed as she caught sight of the group of men, she was now a little worried they were working for some criminal orginization. Izayoi sighed and looked around at the group, they all were armed and from what she could tell had some kind of armor on under their clothing. The man would lead them down the road a bit to a small building which Izayoi didn't know about, the name on the building is Bralla Medicine's. They were led inside and offered chairs, upon which the man explained the job.


Total Word Count: 1005/4800

’How unexpected,’ her eyebrows raised a bit, though likely hidden between her long bangs and low hood. She hadn’t expected anyone aside for Nocshanks to accompany and yet this woman already knew about the ruins…unless she happened to be going to some other ruins in the area? ’Wouldn’t be the first time I accidentally ended up on the wrong job.’ She’d been careful since the sewer job that hadn’t quite been her actual job to double check she was on the right one. To find out she came from the same guild probably stood as a taller shock though, Mao’s ears bumping against her hood as they attempted to stand up and found resistance in the act.

’Err…not that I really know a lot of people.’ In her time being there Mao figured she’d been somewhat bad about interacting with actual guild mates, though at the same time she was glad this woman treated it as their first meeting. ’I guess I didn’t forget as many people as I’ve feared….just…a few important ones.’

Between them it would seem Izayoi received the more informative and interesting note, Mao again hoping she wasn’t stumbling in on someone else’s territory when it came to work. Before any questions could escape however a well-dressed fellow approached them and demanded the pair follow him. The fact that a group awaited them set the woman’s hair on edge, her already large tail puffing up a bit at the threatening sight. She didn’t quite like something about the way they smelled either, but the woman could only chalk that up to instinct at this point as nothing in particular stuck out either. Just a general dislike for them and this situation despite her ability to keep a neutral face. Mentally telling her canine companion to stay hidden – though maybe they already knew about him – the group escorted the pair to a different establishment.

Along the way Mao found her voice and managed to murmur to the other woman, ”I’m Mao Nakiri, also of Sabertooth.” She didn’t wish for them to remain strangers especially in these questionable circumstances. If nothing else they were bound by their shared guild, and hopefully they could find some camaraderie and shared interest in that fact. However the crystal user couldn’t be sure when they’d have a moment to discuss anything as they entered the supposed medical facility.

Accepting the chair once in the room, Mao sized up the man across from them: he appeared far too comfortable despite the supposed gravity of the job as he mentioned the various missing groups of people. As he spoke about them Mao held the impression he was more annoyed by their disappearance than worried, like a machine failing to work for some reason rather than the possibility of lost human life. Even when the impeccably dressed man – not so much as a hair out of place – spoke about at least discovering the remains or what might have happened for the sake of the families it all felt rather rehearsed.

”I don’t like how this smells…”

”Same.”

Relaying the information to Nocshanks as the man supplied it, both couldn’t help wondering how much might’ve been doctored for the mages. Then again, the possibility of some “curse” being placed upon the ruins to dissuade thieves wasn’t entirely implausible…

Izayoi listened to the man as he explained, though her face clearly gave her away, she knew something was amiss. She knew that curse magic was a thing and that sometimes it persisted over the ages, but anyone doing delving like that would account for that, she knew there was something they weren't telling her. Izayoi threw a glance at the girl Mao, Izayoi could not read her through. She frowned and yawned, she tapped her swords and thought.

*There could be all manner of things this could mean...* Izayoi looked at all the men in the room, they were all wearing the same type of suit. Izayoi stood up from her seat and spoke. "Right so basicly you lost contact and want us to check it out?" The man in white nodded. "Anything else?"

"Excuse me?" the man replied, he put his hands together in front of him. "What do you mean by that?"

"Come now... a large buisness like yours has its owns guards and people yet your sending in guildies. That means one of two things... Your own forces were not enough or something is up that your not telling us..."

The man narrowed his eyes and motioned to one of the guards, "bring me the files on Alpha one." The man motioned to another. "you get us some tea." The man remained silent until both the tea and the "file" arrived, Izayoi had returned to her seat as they waited. A few minutes later both the tea and a packet of papers were delivered. "Right so your first guess was correct... we sent in a security team first." The man pushed over the stack of papers. "That is all the profiles on the team we sent in... please look them over."

Izayoi picked the first file off the stack and opened it, it was thick, very thick. "Victor Lancer... Ex-Military... Ex- Rune Knight..." Izayoi read the list of things the man could do, it was alot. She spent the next ten minutes going through 8 other profiles with similar credentials. Izayoi pushed the last one aside and sighed. "right... so 9 heavily armed men and women with skills like that just up and go radio silent... i would go to mages too..." Izayoi looked at Mao for her opinion. Two things still bugged Izayoi, one... the equipment they had was cutting edge... far beyond what a company like this should have for just a basic secruity team... Two... the fact that a team armed like that was sent anyways... Izayoi frowned again and tapped the files again, "their equipment was as listed in the file correct." Izayoi looked at the man.

"Yes..." The man narrowed his eyes, "why do you ask." Izayoi cocked her head at the man and raised a eyebrow.

"They are quite heavily armed for just a security detail... Some of this tech is magitech that the Rune Knights don't even have..." Izayoi countered, "And you just handed it off to them like its no big deal..."

"Ah..." The man intertwinded his fingers and stared at the two, "On of our top representives is on the site... losing him would mean disaster for our company..." The man's face didn't even show a hint of concern as he spoke. "And thus to rescue him from what ever happened we sent the best."

Izayoi suppressed a laugh, from the reports they had not even sent a basic team before to check. She could think of any number of things that could go wrong in such a place, all of them something minor. Izayoi tapped her finger and put it all together inside her head, "right we will check out the camp and the ruins..." Izayoi paused and looked at Mao. "yes?"

"Just check the camp... what ever is in the ruins could be dangerous and we cant risk loosing mages like you two to whatever it was." the man picked up his cup of tea and took a sip. "Just check the camp and come back..."

That sinched it, he was hiding something, Izayoi smiled and nodded. "right avoid the ruins..." Izayoi had ZERO intentions of ignoring the ruins, they clearly had something that they didn't want them to see. With the team the sent in before hand it mean that something... was extremely dangerous...

Total Word Count: 1777/4800

The other tailed woman – Izayoi as she’d introduced earlier – summed up the job for the most part when the man’s (vague) explanation came to an end. It didn’t end there however as she almost expected, the foxish woman challenging him and his lack of information. On top of everything it seemed simple enough, but it was hard to ignore that instinct telling her “there’s more.” She hit home, the man giving in readily enough, Mao believing he might hold out more. Yet he acquiesced, commanding one man to fetch some files as another went to prepare and bring in tea. They were…impressive to say the least, Mao’s interest piqued after Izayoi’s mutterings from the first one, her growing sense of wrongness filling the pit of her stomach as eyes roamed over the details.

’These are not simple guards by any means…these people know how to fight even when not armed to the teeth.’ While she wasn’t as versed in Rune Knight training or their equipment, she had a feeling only the top tier or elite brigades might be able to match this setup. ’And yet…’ her mind wandered, missing the cue from her partner for input, ’…complete radio silence? These people wouldn’t go down easily. They may very well be alive still, but whether due to interference or equipment failure are incapable of communication. If they’re completely locked on target for their mission then they may not compromise on returning without their target…but they may not have received everything upfront either…leaving the possibility of an unknown element coming into play. I can only hope it’s the former in this instance.’

Hope may have been meaningless in this instance, but she’d hold onto the shred as the pair continued to battle with words and information. Coming back to the present she caught her guildmate’s question, not even able to agree before the man decreed they only check the camp. His tone struck her as a little insistent about the camp, try as he might to appear casual in his sipping of tea. Then again, she couldn’t feel an ounce of sincerity in his voice when he insisted they not risk their lives, feeling he cared about their lives as much as the ones he wanted them to search for at the site.

Mao nodded as Izayoi agreed to avoid the ruins. ’Though it might become a necessity if we’re to truly discover what happened to the previous teams…I’m sure the families of both the extraction team and the researchers would appreciate it.’ her loyalty at the moment lay with the other people rather than this man, seeing no reason to abide by his ruling. That didn’t mean she was stupid enough to disagree while they were surrounded by his men. She’d rather avoid unnecessary fighting after all.

”Thank you for sharing these,” she finally spoke, lightly dropping the last file back onto the pile – absentmindedly straightening the pile out as well, ”we can proceed with more caution now and can hopefully avoid fighting them. Hopefully only a few will have to be ‘identified’ from the photos…” Though who could say how many survived, she’d retain that thought even as she refrained from voicing all her thoughts. ”We’ll be taking our leave now as we can find our way there without assistance.”

Even as he acquiesced to letting them go on their way – minorly offering assistance should they want it – Mao asked Nocshanks to stay behind them as they left his facility, anxious to ensure people didn’t follow them. Large as he may be, when something like the horned canine appeared behind people their focus tended to shift even as many underestimated his speed. ’Then again his roar alone can be quite deafening at close range.’

Only when she was sure they weren’t being followed and had gotten far enough away did Mao finally open her mouth, ”Dumb question that it is…how bad do you think this is? This is quite the equipped team…so surely someone should have working communication lacrima…and if they could hunker down at the camp they could probably find a way to get away or at least slip someone through to report back from whatever’s keeping them locked in place, but if they had to fortify themselves more…” She let the thought trail off, the conclusion obvious enough: they’d opt for the ruins over a more open setup.

A chill raced down her spine at the notion of being made a scapegoat. Something about it struck an odd cord, though it was as if Mao’s mind couldn’t focus on the thought long enough to grasp it and eventually gave up as she settled for dreading the idea. Whatever it was, the two would have to beat these people at their own game somehow. ’Except we still have to find out what’s going on…’

Paying for tickets, Mao purchased a special one for Nocshanks, the beast catching up with them at the station since she didn’t want to leave him behind – especially close to such questionable people. The horned behemoth would unfortunately have to sit in a different compartment of the train, but knowing he’d be along for the ride afforded her some comfort as the tailed woman followed her partner into the private room.

In a fair trade Izayoi revealed her magic first, the woman a wielder of minions, though most commonly referred to it as summoning Mao couldn’t help tilting her head as she stared at the thing and wondered how it compared to others like Celestials. She’d heard of some magic that placed souls into objects, but she pondered about the sentience level out of pure curiosity rather than any sense of doubt, the flash summoning aspect sounding nifty for a quick edge or to throw off foes with an air of unpredictability. ’And a good assortment so she’s ready for multiple situations…’ At her beckoning the thing took a seat, leaving Mao to simply decide it probably held some will and mentally applauding Izayoi for showing it hospitality where some summoners treated their magical partners less…than stellar at times.

The tables turned on the girl as a small spurt of nervousness welled up, long ears drooping a bit. It was hard to feel completely down about it, the magic what it was and out of her hands really as she settled for summoning up an emerald spire that fit securely in her hands, ”The simple side is that I deal in crystals. I find meaning in them, like with Emeralds…I’ve attributed them to memories and memory holding. Not as flashy as rubies or diamonds, but I draw forth a sort of purpose or multiple purposes from them. I guess it’s a bit open-ended as some come with more offensive stances, though a lot of them sport defensive ones or can be used in a defensive way, and others are purely support choices. Like sunstone became a healing spell, but ruby’s remained on the offensive even when I divined another form from it.”

It sounded a bit odd to her still when actively describing it, sounding a bit more like she spoke actively to pretty, glittery rocks. Except for Mao when the time was right it was as if she simply knew what to do with the gemstone and how to alter it to perform what it wanted to do. Yet there was a part of her deep down somewhere that also scoffed at this, as if it wasn’t truly meant to be, always muffled beneath the soothing influence of the crystals. ”As for Nocshanks he tends to be in the thick of things like me as I’m accustomed to being more in the front-lines of things. Umm…if you use your legions, do you prefer to steer away from combat yourself?” She wondered then if she and her canine companion would need to look out for the fox-like woman, at least to some extent as the dark-haired mage imagined Izayoi would’ve adapted a quick style for herself if such were the case. The woman seemed quite knowledgeable on combat, or at the very least on equipment as the meeting could attest too.