I was gonna use "Hay in the Needlestack" but that name isn't as creative as I thought it was...

When one door closes...

The door to Frederick's office slowly creaked open as a small set of fingers with soft looking, creme colored skin and healthy looking nails grabbed the edge and wrapped around it. Namine slowly, hesitantly peeked an eye into the room to see the usual faces weren't present. The one who was second in command, normally accompanied by a large furry creature, was absent this time and in his place was a man with brown hair and a brown leather coat. "I was wondering when you'd get here Red, you didn't break the messenger's back again did you?" Fred was obviously trying to make a joke, but his only response was seeing Namine slink back behind the cover of the door. The guild master let out an exasperated sigh while pinching the bridge of his nose between his thumb and index finger. "Come in here." he said with an authoritative tone.

Namine slowly walked in, hesitantly closing the door behind her and staying near it, giving a very wide gap between herself and the new face. "Mashyuu, this is Red. Or 'Little Red' as some of the others call her. The same day the other two members of your team..." he paused knowing Mashyuu felt somewhat at fault for what happened. Fred cleared his throat "... The same day that happened this girl appeared in the hall. There was no traces of her using magic to enter, and from what we can tell she has no ways of flying. She doesn't seem like she can speak, hence the nickname we had to give her, and she doesn't seem to have much of a spine either." Fred paused as Namine had moved behind one of the many pillars in the room, using it to hide from Mashyuu.

"I'm trying to get her comfortable with the guild so I want you to take her with you on that job out in the cursed lands." He said with an agitated tone. While at first Namine's guts, or lack there of, was somewhat cute to him, he was finding it to be extremely troublesome. Recently she had only ever hidden from people, refused to interact with anyone outside of Itori and the small thing that followed her around, and she was extremely reluctant to even come to his office without some form of persuasion. How Itori made her do it Fred honestly wanted to know... Though her dislike of him was well deserved since it was him who assigned her to go on a job in the Silent Glaciers where she learned what death was.

If Mashyuu would attempt to approach Namine, she would move to keep the pillar between them both at all times. If he would simply walk out the door, Namine would wait a bit of time to make sure he was very far in front her before heading out. She didn't want to stay near him since he was rather large compared to herself, and from her experience with things that were big, they normally killed smaller things; or at least, that's what happened at the Silent Glaciers.

Notes

Marshy @ THQ

When one door closes...

Namine had followed Mashyuu through the guild hall, giving him no less than fifteen full meters of distance at the bare minimum, just in case he decided it was a good time to attack her. Granted Mashyuu never would hit her unless she did something to provoke him, Namine had been essentially programmed to perceive every human-like being as a potential threat to her personal safety.

While normally very reclusive, and almost unwilling to deal with Mashyuu, the appearance of Niinii, the former pet to a certain pair of siblings who were disposed of unfortunately, had caused Namine to be somewhat less on edge. The small creature had a satchel with it, the contents had originated from the guild's armory and included a set of explosives that had multiple settings, some smoke balls, some flashy thingies, some bombs that sent people flying, a set of magic rocks that stored magic inside them, two bottles of a strange smelling liquid, and a pair of flat rocks that Namine wasn't entirely sure what they were for... Niinii had rested the bag at Namine's feet and waved her tail, making it so Namine had no fear of the contents at all and picked it up to equip it under her cloak. The small fox-like creature jumped on Namine's shoulder, Namine herself showing little to no concern with the action...

While Namine was in fact terrified of... everything... Niinii was the first animal that she had a positive experience with, and she found herself having grown attached to it rather quickly. It didn't make her any less wary of Mashyuu, but it did allow her to be less afraid of her surroundings since she could sense that by no means was Niinii afraid, meaning that she was generally safe.

The man in leather had stopped at a large creature with wings that made a loud sound in Namine's direction. Naturally, Namine's first instinct was to stop in place and back up with a morbidly terrified look on her face while her eyes looked like they were on the brink of erupting into waterfalls. Niinii had jumped from her shoulder, Namine reaching her hand out sheepishly with a disheartened look as she watched the small creature running off. She jumped on Rocky's back, running to stand on its head and letting out a happy sound and waving her tail to let Namine know it was alright.

Namine took a hesitant step forward, not even a full one, just half of one before stopping. She was conflicted and it showed on her face, in her eyes, and even in the way she was trembling slightly. It took a full ten minutes for her to force herself to make another step, the whole time Niinii was patient. She let out a small happy yelp every few minutes to convince Namine that it was fine, and all she had to do was keep going. After another ten minutes of Namine walking forward excruciatingly slow, with her eyes shut tight, the small girl in the crimson cloak felt her hand rest on Rocky's side. She was shaking as she touched him, remembering what it was like the last time she went flying on the winged lion that Lynn used, and knew she didn't want to go through it again. But she also wanted to be stronger, she wanted to be less afraid so she could start learning about the things she didn't know. She forced herself to mount the winged dog, laying flat on its back and keeping her eyes essentially welded shut, her body stiff as a board as she clenched the dog in hopes she wouldn't fall off it mid-flight.

While flying, Namine didn't dare loosen her grip. If anything at all, she tightened her grip on the creature multiple times, displaying a level of strength that many wouldn't expect of someone so petite. Upon landing, Namine displayed a level of clumsiness that could only be accomplished by someone who was stupidly unaccustomed to riding animals when she finally let her grasp of Rocky go and instantly fell of, landing face down in the dirt. Niinii was riding comfortably on Rocky's head, managing to not even fall even with the couple harsh gusts that happened on the way and jumped down, sitting next to Namine's head and letting off a joyous yelp. It was as though the small creature was telling Namine to get up, and Namine replied by forcing herself to her feet. She was told a trick to getting around labyrinths while she bent over and picked Niinii up, holding the small creature against her chest and taking a few steps back while avoiding eye contact with Mashyuu. She would wait for him to start walking before moving herself.

Notes

Marshy @ THQ

When one door closes...

Namine had seen the man asking her to come closer, her immediate reaction was to take a step in the opposite direction, moving slightly away from him despite his instruction. Niinii knew that Namine would react like that, though the small creature had no idea why Namine reacted that way to other humans. While such a reaction coming from an animal was normal, since some animals have instinct to avoid humans, and others have reasons why they personally are afraid of them such as abusive owners or other traumatic experiences, Niinii was almost certain that Namine was also human... it was rare for members of the same species to be truly afraid of one another like Namine was towards Mashyuu. He had stated that if she's distancing herself from him, he'd be unable to protect her, but the word 'protect' didn't have any meaning in her mind. She didn't know what it meant, or if it meant anything at all, so her natural reaction was to take yet another step away.

Niinii had wriggled and jumped out her arms, running to stand a few feet away from Mashyuu and letting out a yelp while tapping the floor with her paw. It was a type of commanding sound, one that implied she was ordering Namine to come to her, while at the same time implying no consequence for any lack of compliance with said order. Namine hesitated, looking at Niinii and then back at Mashyuu as though Mashyuu were some sort of monster, waiting to kill her. She had to force herself to go to Niinii, since at the moment, she would be the only form of comfort she can find in this new hell hole. Namine picked Niinii up and held her against her chest, keeping her eyes to the floor to avoid looking at Mashyuu.

Mashyuu had made a gesture for her to stop, but actually had managed to scare Namine into taking a full five steps away while tightening her hold on the small fox like creature. He said something strange, another word that held absolutely no meaning to her at all. He said 'Demons' but Namine didn't know what it meant, or again, if it meant anything at all. However, she soon got an answer, or rather, a definition for the word 'demon' when some creatures wearing human skulls as decorations came up. Mashyuu had taken most of them on, but one of them had decided to go after Namine instead of the much more aggressive member of the group. Namine began backing away slowly, her innocent, crimson eyes quivering as she saw the creature approaching.

Niinii had dropped into the bag under her cloak and sifted through the various lacrima before poking her head up and holding one of the ones with several buttons. Namine panicked a bit, but took the item in her hand to watch Niinii press the red one. The fox thing then clamped her teeth on a pin and pulled it, pointing with her paw at the demon that was approaching. Having taken the hint, Namine made a horrible, pathetically weak throw that barely got within range of the demon. The lacrima exploded and the demon was sent flying back, getting up it began shrieking and running around as its body was set of fire.

Watching the creature in pain, Namine looked as though she were about to run up and try to put it out while crying her eyes out, but Niinii had let out a growl when she took a step forward. Namine looked down at the creature while her heart started racing, she took another step but stopped when Niinii began growling even louder at her, delivering a direct order to Namine to not take a single step forward. Namine closed her eyes and curled into a ball on the floor while covering her ears to try and muffle the sound of the demon's crying, but only being able to reduce it slightly. Tears streamed down her face, though no sounds came from her... not even a whimper.

Mashyuu: 1,339/5,400

Marshy @ THQ

When one door closes...

Leaning against a wall in the fetal position, shaking while crying, trying her absolute hardest to ignore the sounds of the demons as they were killed, their screams filling her mind... the only thing Namine could think Mashyuu of was a monster worse than anything this world had seen. The demons were here, in this labyrinth long before Mashyuu, Namine and Niinii ever were. They were here so long that they had run out of food, and were beginning to starve, but they were here trying to live their own lives. Mashyuu had came in, he saw them before they saw him and instead of being stealthy, instead of simply walking straight and stay silent about it, he had decided it best to end their lives.

While not directly the cause of one of their deaths, Namine was remembering the first time she'd seen something die... The silent glaciers, a place where those unable to adapt to the cold would find it unbearably hard to survive. The guild master had, had Namine accompany Lynn on the task where she had met a strange man who wore no shirt, and a strange girl who was unexpectedly kind. Some creatures had attacked the village that had asked for the wizard's help, and this was where Namine had learned the grim side of having magic... She bore witness to several people being killed by wolves, and the saw the nice girl who accompanied the shirtless man turn into a very mad girl who went and killed the wolves. Namine was less unsettled by this since she could at least understand killing something in the name of survival, but there was no guarantee that the demons would have noticed the group if they would have kept walking...

Suddenly, Niinii had jumped on Namine's knee and began licking at the young, crying girl's forehead. Namine had looked up, holding the small creature to keep her from tickling her face with her tongue. Namine knew she had to keep going, but she honestly wanted nothing to do with the monster, she wanted to go back to her corner in the guild hall, back to Itori's singing, back to not having to see things die... Still, Namine forced herself to get up and walked behind Mashyuu, but gave him much wider girth that even Niinii knew she wouldn't be able to make her lessen...

Mashyuu: 1,339/5,400

Marshy @ THQ

When one door closes...

Namine had followed behind loosely, not wanting to stay in this place any longer and only staying because she didn't know how to get back to the guild hall. Were it not for Mashyuu being more of a monster than the monsters themselves, Namine would still want to leave this hell hole of  a gods forsaken labyrinth. It was eerily quiet, she didn't have any idea where in the hell she was, and nothing in here seemed friendly. While Namine couldn't navigate Sabertooth's Guild Hall to save her life, at least she had Itori and Niinii to show her around, and while she avoided just about everyone besides the aforementioned individuals, none of the people in the guild ever tried coming across as a threat to her. If anything they all seemed to be good natured people that Namine should trust but simply couldn't force herself to.

Hearing more footsteps than just herself, Mashyuu, and the rock dog 'Rocky', Namine had looked up to see that she was being charged by four men with swords. Niinii had loosed herself from Namine's arms again and jumped into the bag containing the various lacrima, pulling out one that was similar to the other one, except this one had no buttons. Namine took the item with a shaky hand, remembering what happened the last time... Niinii quickly pulled the pin, Namine's eyes turned into small dots on her face as she realized that if she didn't throw it then she'd turn into a ball of fire just like the demon before. Her arm reeled back and she threw the item with a bit more power than the first one, the small rock tapping one of the swordsmen on the head before going off, releasing a powerful wave of energy that sent all of them flying either to the side, or straight back.

Namine had been too close to the shockwave bomb when it went off, and as a result, went flying herself. Her back hit the stone ground pretty hard, but ultimately landed a bit off to the side, but still behind Rocky. She was in pain, but this time didn't cry since she had started getting used to it to an extent. Namine tried getting up, but her back hurt so much that she slipped when she flinched and ended up falling back down. Namine knew that Rocky was assigned to guard her, courtesy of the earth monster, so she decided to just look at the ceiling and try to catch her breath while waiting for the pain to subside.

Mashyuu: 2,384/5,400

Marshy @ THQ

When one door closes...

As the battle ensued between the rock-dog, Mashyuu and the multitude of swordsmen, Namine felt a sudden urge to sleep. It's as if all the energy had been sucked out of her body, and was forcing her eyes shut as the world faded to black, the sound becoming nothing more than a blur... Then for no reason... It was cold... the air was still and Namine could feel the ice burrowing into her bones. Normally her cloak prevented such things, but for some reason, the air was so frigid even her cloak couldn't keep it out. Something brushed against her back, spinning around she saw an enormous wolf with fur that was white as snow, with an enormous, still bleeding gash running down its flank. Another one had appeared behind the girl, brushing against her to get her attention. This one however, was missing its entire head... Another that had been cut into two pieces, the top half was missing, leaving only four legs, attached to a torso with no tail and the bottom half of a head. The three wolves circled her, stalking around her slowly as she covered her mouth for fear she'd throw up again... Namine had remembered these wolves, they were the ones from the Silent Glaciers that Hana Lich had killed...

Suddenly they disappeared, showing something in the distance... it was nothing more than a black silhouette, but from what Namine could see, it was the body of a human female. However, on its head were a pair of animal ears, the kind that were normally on predatory creatures like wolves, similar in shape to Itori's. The reason Namine knew it wasn't Itori, was the distinct amount of tails, or insufficient amount to be specific. This woman had only one tail, but it was much thicker looking than Itori's...

A sharp pain interrupted her sleep, causing Namine's eyes to fly open and Niinii lifted something up, setting it on Namine's chest and yelping loudly. In a daze, Namine had lifted the object, one of those lacrima things, and looked around to see an enemy approaching from the direction her and the others had come from. The fox creature reached into the bag, holding another lacrima, the one from before with the multitude of buttons, and waited for Namine to use the one she had already given her.


Namine picked up the rock, pulling a small tab that she'd seen Niinii pull before having her throw it and then tossing it at the creature. A bright flash and a loud bang caused whatever it was to reel back, covering its eyes and staggering about. Niinii put the next one on Namine's chest, pressing the red button and expecting her to throw it. However, it was rather apparent that Namine had no intentions of doing so, since she knew the exact consequences of doing it.

Mashyuu: 2,384/5,400

Marshy @ THQ

When one door closes...

Namine quickly spun, smacking the hand from her back as she started standing up and backing away from Mashyuu. Her eyes, filled with the purest, most refined quality of fear any human could produce would let him know that touching her did more harm than good despite his noble intentions. She turned around, seeing the humanesque tree looking plant monster behind her and tried to figure out the best course of action... An opening was spotted and she immediately began running, blazing past Mashyuu and running around the first corner she could find. She quickly turned another corner, and then a third before stopping and leaning against the wall while breathing heavily. Niinii had bolted after her, making sure to keep pace so she would at least have someone with her in case things went tits up...

While it was all fine and dandy that Namine had parted with the earth manipulating monster known as Mashyuu, she had managed to get herself lost in the maze... She looked around with a confused look about her, not even able to scream for help due to not knowing how to scream... hell she didn't even know how to squeak. Dizzy... the world was spinning for Namine, her not being used to running and forgetting to breath while doing so. She didn't know basic biology so she didn't know that she needed more oxygen when she was running. Namine allowed herself to slide to the floor. Niinii had walked onto her lap and laid down, the small fox was more than intelligent enough to understand Niinii, not that it required much intelligence to begin with...

She had looked up, relaxing her neck and staring at the sun overhead as it filtered through the gaps in the walls of the labyrinth. She questioned why she was being forced to do these things... why she had to do jobs just to stay in the guild hall, why she didn't just leave the guild hall and live somewhere she won't have to go along on these things. Naturally she had no fucking clue why, and due to her being so dizzy she confused it for being tired like last time when she stayed awake for three days straight and the guild's nurse had to tell her that sleeping was required for staying alive. Namine closed her eyes and let herself drift off to the dream world...

The world around her was filled with water falling from the sky, darkness everywhere and all she could see was a stairwell leading down. Namine looked around, trying to understand how she'd got here, but felt like she was supposed to follow the stairs down...  Doing so, Namine saw a blue light leading down a street in a single straight line, following it she went past scores of houses but none of them had any lights turned on. It wasn't know why, but when Namine lifted her hands she'd noticed she could feel the water touching her skin, but she wasn't getting wet in the slightest. The light pulsed, as if telling her to return her focus, and her curiosity getting the better of her, Namine resumed following it.

At the end of her road, Namine found a large building with many lights turned on. Small figured moving about inside, but none of them being visible through the rain. She walked up to the door and pressed her hand on it, retracting her hand when it creaked open and showed the building had a large number of very small humans with a few larger ones inside. From what Namine could see, the larger ones were telling the smaller ones what to do, with the smaller ones either heeding the order or doing refusing to do as told... The smaller humans had all turned into black figures, all except two that had silver hair. One had silver eyes, the other had hazel eyes and both of them were very close.

Namine had felt a strange attachment to them almost instantly, similar to her and Itori but different at the same time... She felt a familiarity, but couldn't remember if she'd seen them or not... she figured if she'd met either of them she'd definitely remember, but she wasn't afraid of either of them so she must know them... It was so confusing to her, but unlike the usual Namine didn't feel afraid. The two of them were talking to each other, but Namine couldn't hear what was being said, and before she could approach either of them she saw them both walk away. Namine followed them both down a set of halls, hiding behind the corners not knowing they were unaware of her presence entirely. At the end of her little journey, she found them in a room with two beds. The one with long hair was sitting on one of them with the short haired one's head on her lap. Her lips were moving, judging by the way they were moving Namine could tell she was singing. At the same time, the long haired one was rubbing the other's head with that one's eyes closed. Then the long haired one turned and looked directly at Namine. "Is there a reason you're following me?" she asked...

Mashyuu: 3,170/5,400

Marshy @ THQ