When the Cliff is Suddenly Less Serene (Job)

A breeze rustled through Neru's hair as she settled herself on a rock, sending it floating off to the side for a few suspended moments. She could certainly see how this cliff had gotten its name. The way the shore curved, creating a sort of alcove surrounded by cliffs when paired with the ocean stretching out into the distance simply gave off a sense of close peace. When one added in the tang of salt in the air, it became a place that Neru had no doubt she could easily get lost in time at. It was a perfect place to play the flute as well. However, today was not the day to sit and play her flute, no matter how much she might want to.

She'd been, frankly, surprised that the Hunter's Hall had requested her help in dealing with a Chickaroo, of all things. Killing wasn't something she ever condoned, and Neru had never been afraid to make that clear. She had no intention of killing anything, and certainly not on something as simple as word of mouth. Not to mention, they'd given her a partner. It would be the first time she'd worked with somebody else on a mission, but Neru supposed she could deal with it. It didn't lessen her suspicion in the slightest that they'd simply chosen among the mages in the guild randomly, however.

The client didn't take long to arrive; they were actually a bit early, given that Neru had ended up arriving a while before to take in the scenery. For a researcher he was rather exotic looking, given the purple hair and the long coat of the same color that practically screamed "look at me!" rather than the more hidden tone most researchers seemed to done. "I was under the impression  that two of you were coming," he began almost immediately, looking somewhat irritated. Neru supposed that was something that could be accepted, given what she'd heard about the job.

"We're early," she replied, expression neutral and spheres of light retaining their peaceful blue color. Her eyes returned to the horizon, scanning the expanse of blue appreciatevely. "The other mage will show up soon."

Serenzo was walking through the woods on his way to the job site that he has been requested to. This would be his first job as a Lamia Scale mage however He was more honored someone thought of him to actually send a person like him on a job with someone. Though as happy as he was to even be included in this he did forget the directions to the place...he was getting sloppy he would have to work on that. He was walking through the woods towards the direction he was told however he was thinking he'd never find the place....which made him worry since it was his first official job. As he gave a sigh he perked up hearing two voices talking. He must be close enough...unless those were hikers....having nothing to lose he decided to walk that way. He was getting closer as he heard a gentleman mention them being late and a girl claiming they were early. It sounded about right but he hoped now they'd forgive him since it was clear they were waiting on him now.

As he got there he could hear them quite clearly. He parted through a bush his chain that went down from his metal neck collar dropping down just past his knees rattled a bit as he walked over, dressed in his normal attire. Though the purple haired man just stared at him, and then his chain, and then at him. He just smiled and waved before bowing his slave mentality kicking in a bit "I'm so sorry for being late...I guess I dropped the directions on my way here got a little lost...." He said waiting about seven seconds exactly before reverting to the standing position.

The researchers just looked at him shaking his head. "Do I even need to ask about why you have a chain on." He said looking at him. He looked at the girl who was probably the one he was mainly going to be working with since there wasn't any other girls around. "oh so you notice...I'm a Slave." He said bluntly looking at him like it was a normal thing. He then looked at his partner "Hello my name is Serenzo...It is a pleasure to meet you both..." he said looking at her then him again standing there now waiting to see what would happen next, Hoping he wouldn't get punished for intrducing himself out of turn.

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Both Neru and the client lapsed into a moment of silence, waiting patiently for the other mage to appear. It didn't take long, the gentle clink of chains reaching them long before he did. Even having heard it, however, she was not expecting him to walk out with a chain around his neck. She said nothing; the client had done a fine job in voicing her exact thoughts. She'd left Sapho behind because she'd been worried about the little fairy getting hurt. Was she left to worry about this guy instead? Slavery wasn't something she condoned, even in the slightest. It was even stranger that somebody would allow their slave to enter a guild. Perhaps it was to make money? If so, she had to assume that, at the very least, this mage was adept, probably even better than her. She had little experience in the circuit, after all.

Pushing herself to her feet, she brushed off the back of her skirt to get rid of any spare dust or rock flecks that had stuck to it. "Neru Faye," she replied. Now that he was here she simply wanted to get the job done. "Nice to meet you as well. What are we expected to do, sir?" She turned the last question on the client, who turned his gaze from Serenzo to her, seeming a bit off-put.

"Ah," he cleared his throat, bringing his hands to his chest and clasping them together. "Well! As you may have bee told, our research teams are having a bit of trouble. Usually, the area around here is quite quiet, but the Great Chickaroo has recently been putting up a bit of a fuss. It's attacking our research teams and riling up the other Chickaroos and several other creatures as well. We'd like you to stop this. Teach it a lesson, at least and at worst, kill it if need be. Beyond that, just try not to cause too much damage to the environment. This is a research area for a reason. We'll be keeping inside the research building a few miles off, if you need anything more." Neru's expression soured at the thought of killing it, but she made no comment. Perhaps she should have brought Sapho. She might have been able to help, perhaps. But now wasn't the time to regret that. At least the fairy was safe at home with a nice supply of food and water to keep her company.

"Can do," she replied shortly, nodding. The client returned her nod, before muttering some phrase and vanishing entirely. Her eyes widened. Teleportation magic? Interesting. At least that left them free from worry that he'd get hurt on his way back to the research building. Neru found it a bit rude that he'd simply popped off, however. What if Serenzo had had any questions?

Turning to the mage in question, she placed a friendly smile on her face. "I guess that's that, huh?" Leaning down as she spoke, she untied and retied her boots, tightening them a bit to make sure they wouldn't become untied. She then reached into her bag and pulled out a simple black ribbon, reaching back to quickly tie her hair back into a messy bun, leaving her bangs free to flutter around her face. Best to keep it out of the way if she was going to move a lot; it'd save her a good bit of brushing later on. That done, she looked back to Serenzo, tipping her head to the side. "Ready to go?"

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The member 'Tex Technol' has done the following action : Dice Rolls

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'Monster Dice' :

Serenzo nodded listening to the researcher speak,  The job seemed simple enough really but still He had his concerns, He really would rather not kill them if he could help it.  He never really did like the idea of ending life but still,  It had to be done for now he would do what he could do for now.  AS the man finished explaining Serenzo was about to speak but hesitated due to his mannerisms and then poof he was gone. Serenzo just shook his head sighing deeply.  Typical,  It was only natural though someone as low as him didn;t deserve to ask anything of such an important person, heck he was happy he got to stand next to him for so long.   He looked at the girl as she prepared herself not wanting to make her worry about him he decided not to bring up the fact that he still had concerns and just roll with the punches.  "Yeah of course if you are"  He said with a smile his eyes shut as he did.  He then opened them thinking for a moment about what they would face her Then the two would start walking.  

As they walking his chain rattled a little,  He could easily make it not do this but he had grown so accustomed to this that he barely notice it,  The sounds of the forest were plentiful,  until he stopped pausing briefly,  seems they have caught some attention.  He looked at his partner not having said anything since she hadn't talked to him first, maybe he should deal with it for now heh didn't want to bother her.  As his echolocation pinged again hearing them running towards them from the south he turn that way looking briefly scannning,  but they are splitting up...great.

We have two creatures that due the there grunting and heart rancing I assume they want to hurt us...they split up so please be ready i'll do what I can." He said forggeting she couldn't hear them,  sounds of them coming haven't registered for about another fifteen long seconds then the one fron the south was in range.  He just rasied his hand even though the creature wasn't in sight and snapped being able to target it due to his echo location.   Then what was a loud sharp snaping noise rang out and the beast waled certainly disoriented from the attack, he could have dealt with the second one but what would he learn from that, ignorance is bliss after all.  He waited wanting to see ow his partner would dispatch his foe.

432/837
hp 100
mp 95

sound snap:

Grateful that he'd been willing to wait for her while she prepared herself (she knew a person or two that would have just left her behind), Neru returned his smile with one as natural as she could manage, even if the action felt a bit strange on her face. "I am now," she replied as they began to walk. She kept her eye out around them warily, one hand coming up to pick at an arm band absently. The atmosphere reminded her of when she was training with Kaian; he'd been fond of little exercises similar to this. The only difference would be that instead of them having to find hidden objects or enemies, they would no doubt be the ones hunted instead. At least that made it a bit more interesting. Part of her wanted to put her headphones down around her neck to help her hear better, but that thought was quickly dashed. Things were always too overwhelming without them, taking them off during a fight, something that would no doubt be very loud, was just a bad idea. It was best to keep them over her ears, where she was comfortable with them staying. Training herself to work better with excessive noises would be something for another day.

Even with the headphones, the only sound she could hear was the faint tinkling of metal, no doubt from the chain around Serenzo's neck. The chain itself saddened her, she hadn't been aware that slaves were still a thing that people thought was okay. It must be something legal, considering that he was in a legal guild. That or nobody cared, which was somehow worse, at least in her opinion.

Serenzo paused, and Neru took a few steps before she realized he'd done so, drifting to her own halt and looking back at him curiously. She followed his gaze into the woods, her ears straining to catch any sound. Nothing was discernable, at first, other than the rustle of leaves in the breeze. Even so, she nodded at Serenzo's warning, drawing her light orbs in, still in a blueish brown state that betrayed her apprehension, but little more. No color was dominant, leaving the orbs around her hands appearing more of a rainbow than definable objects. It was a few more moments before she was able to hear the sound of the creatures approaching. What sort of magic did he have to allow him to hear that far? They sounded like they were running, so Neru could only assume that they were a good distance away when he detected them.

They were closing in; that much she could hear, but Serenzo had already lifted his hand to attack. She crouched slightly, readying her own spell, but he'd already snapped his fingers. Off in the trees, Neru heard a wail.

Questions about his magic jumped to her mind, and nearly out of her lips, unbidden. She was certainly curious at whatever it was he was adept in, but now wasn't the time. He'd said there were two, which meant that (considering the singular wail) there was one left to deal with. It was visible within the next few seconds. It appeared, surprisingly, to be a pig. She'd been expecting a Chikaroo of some sort, though she supposed it couldn't be that easy. Her arms swung forward, regret for her actions already coiling low in her gut. The orbs swirled around her fingers before darting forward towards the pig, forming a sphere around the animal that made it difficult to see the animal itself beyond their (now primarily brown) cast. It skidded to a stop, obviously confused by the sudden lights. Neru dropped her hands. This was a strange spell in that it took a moment to take effect. It was a bit disconcerting to use; it left her with no protection in terms of light spheres, and so she watched Serenzo out of the corner of her eye, prepared should he notice more of them approaching. Hopefully, the one spell would take the pig out.

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