A potential sign

It had been a long few weeks since the unexpected infiltration and attack on Togalen thanks to the summoning seals, he was tasked with helping the area he defend get back on their feet. This included getting them temporary security and comfortable accommodation elsewhere until the repairs had been handled, while at the same time investigating how this happened in the first place while trying to figure out how to stop it happening again. This was easier said than done as he nor his summons had any idea how the mage or organisation in question got through their security measures, defences and protocols. It would however be something they would regret the moment he found out because he would then do a kind of a back trace on it, this would give him the information needed to hunt down the bastards who would dare attack his home. When they were found they would be made to regret their actions, the guild as a whole had decided this no one attacked Onyx Moon's homeland and didn't get what was coming to them; it was that simple.

His mind had wandered from his task however as he began to think about Masha, after the threat had been dealt with he had taken her to the side where they had a conversation. He had apologised for being cold with her, for not keeping in touch and wished that he had been able to but something had come out of the blue that he had to handle. He apologised once more that he couldn't go into it because it was company stuff and explained that while handling this task he had become badly ill, that for the last month he had been isolated for the most part due to it. It wasn't like he was trying to avoid her, he didn't understand the goings on with himself one way or another to make that decision. It was then she had told him that he was going to take his advice and fly from the shadows of her nest, venturing out to find a place that she could call home for herself. This had made him happy, he had even told her no matter the path she took he would support her all the way so longs she was happy. There was no lie in this, no matter where she found peace be it dark, independent like him or legal he would be by her side.

He had made a promise to keep better open communication with her and so they had made an arrangement for such a thing, even though neither of them held personal communication lacrima they managed to make it work somehow. He was wondering if she had found a place but decided not to ask as he was sure that if she had that she would tell him, still he knew she would be visiting Ace of Spade so that meant eventually she'd make her way to the legal guild known as Sabertooth. He hadn't personally had interacted with anyone from the guild to his knowledge but Cirven had and spoke highly of the guild. He had heard of strange things happening within the an old guild hall that was apparently haunted, he wanted to see if it had any merit to such a rumour. In his mind even if it was haunted it couldn't be as bad as the fair that he had visited with Masha in any case. He stopped what he was doing and thought that perhaps she too would like to go with him, it had been some time since they had seen one another face to face after all.

Quickly he moved to the guilds communication lacrima and left a message at Sabertooth's guild hall for her. This was a request for her to meet him at the haunted guild and the rumour of how there was a necromancer, who had been disrupting the natural cycle after abducting people, doing who knows what on these unfortunate souls he had targeted. When this was done he moved to the obsidian patch a little away from anything else "I ssannnnhan thi nnh tshh gairrtiin flinness shaf rredirrtsh" he called out to the sky as he covered his ears as a screech followed by a sonic boom, before he gracefully landed in front of Ruvel whom had been pushed back a foot or two. As was usual Bennu chirped happily and helped him to his feet "We need to get to the haunted guild, it is in the north east of Fiore." he explained before being picked up and plopped on Bennu's back, he barely had enough time to cover his ears as Bennu screeched and took off with another sonic boom.

The flight was uneventful as was usual but he had noticed a few black flame feathers so started to take them out knowing that Bennu would get sick otherwise, as he removed them the rest of the golden flame feathers seemed to brighten meaning that he was in better health; this made Ruvel happy to no end. With the speed they had been going at it was merely a few hours before they had landed near the old guild hall. He stroked Bennu's head after he was lifted off and didn't want him to be in this forsaken place any longer "Return home to mother, she'll be worried about you. Give her my love." he spoke softly to the large bird who chirped as Ruvel once again covered his ears as the usual screech and boom happened as his beloved summon took off. Slowly he ventured towards the guild hall ruins trying to see whom the guild belonged to, if there was a sign then it had been scratched out, faded or destroyed as he couldn't see one. The one thing he did know however was that he was getting a really bad feeling about what was going to happen.

Word Count: 993

Masha hadn't been in Sabertooth long. In fact, she was starting to doubt that she could make it here at all. Her natural impulses seemed to go almost entirely against what the guild stood for at times. She felt more stressed than she ever had at Savage Skull. After her little talk with Ruvel, Masha had begun trying to dress a little more modestly. It was an effort to dress more the way he wanted her to and keep unwanted attention from herself. After all she wanted to stay faithful to Ruvel. Unfortunately, that led to more and more people gathering around her until she had to dress slutty once more. It also didn't help that she couldn't feed the way she was used to. Masha had a way around feeding but it took long stretches of time. It also left her feeling half empty and irritated. Curse the scientists. And curse Ruvel. At least she wanted to curse the summoner. Yet every time he slipped into her mind--which was often--a smile spread across her face. They were doing better at communication for the most part which made her undeniably happier. Her stomach fluttered anytime she thought about being near him. It was an unusual reaction Masha had never experienced before. Clearly Ruvel had drugged her somehow or there was a magical explanation to why she was reacting like this. There was no way she could possibly like Ruvel.

When Ruvel invited her upon a job, Masha leapt upon the chance to see him once again. She spent hours trying to find an outfit that would please him, that would make him desire her fiercely. In the end, pouting heavily, Masha went with an outfit that was casual. She wasn't sure what they would be facing and a day in such a non revealing outfit wouldn't hurt her too much. At least that was her hope as she set out from the Ace of Spades. When Masha hopped onto a train, her outfit proved to be a bit more of a hassle than she had expected. In a crowded environment, the pheromones thrown off by her concealed body effected people much more strongly. They pressed in from all sides, their bodies hungry. Masha was forced to get off well before the stop she needed and walk most of the way to the haunted house. It didn't put her in the best of moods when she finally met up with Ruvel. She had been stopped over and over again by people offering her rides. In addition, a few bandits had tried to have their way with her. Normally, she would have allowed it, even encouraged it to be full on magical power for the job before feeding them her fists. This time, Masha merely knocked them out. It took an extraordinary amount of willpower not to kill those who dared to try and touch Ruvel's property. Not that she liked Ruvel. Or that she was his in any way.

Masha ran up to Ruvel, pushing her hood off her head to let her red hair tumble down her back. His gift from their last job and or date, was anchoring her bangs off to the side. She beamed down at the summoner, happy beyond words to see him. Not that she would tell him that. Probably. "Ruvel. Hi." Was that breathless voice hers? Surely not. Or maybe it was. She had just been running. It wasn't because Ruvel looked dashing and took her breath away. "I haven't missed you or anything but can I get a kiss? Or a hug? I'm good with either but you don't have to. It's not like I want it that much. Just thought it would be, ya know, fun to try...if you want." Masha wrung her hands, looking at Ruvel through her eyelashes. Would he do either? Why did she care if he did either? She tried to forget the other kiss they shared. That one didn't count. It had hurt him, drudged up terrible memories. Masha wanted to feel his lips on hers. Just to relieve her aching body though, nothing more. It wasn't a craving for Ruvel that needed to be soothed temporarily. Not at all. Masha put her hands behind her back and rocked back on her heels, smiling brightly. "What are we going to be doing here anyway? Taking down a necromancer and saving some people?" She had only skimmed the note he had sent. The excitement it had sent through her had sent her running out the door. Not because of the need to see Ruvel. It was just the excitement of her first job as a legal mage. That was it. And there was no heat in her stomach right now or a tightening in her chest now that she was close to Ruvel. Not at all.

WC: 809

Ruvel had been continuing to find signs of which guild use to be or at least its alignment, but no matter how much he checked he found nothing. To him this meant that it was either a legal guild that had disbanded or fallen due to a dark guild, the other side was a dark guild taken out by a legal guild or it was a legal guild that had fallen from grace becoming a dark guild soon to be wiped out both from the face of Fiore and history. The last option made his skin crawl as it meant something bad happened here and the guild became cursed and so haunted that way, this was something that he would have to ask those that dealt in knowledge and death but they didn't have to answer him. He was pretty sure that they wouldn't which irked him but he understood there was somethings that people weren't meant to know as it would interfere with cycles etc. He then started to take a slow walk around the guild hall seeing if there was any way inside that didn't mean taking the front entrance, the one thing he found was that the base of the guild was still standing strong unlike the rest of the place. This made the youth sigh as it meant unless they could fly tempting fate going in though higher floors they would have to enter through the only way in much to his dismay.

As he got back to the entrance of the guild hall ruins he heard Masha's familiar voice making him turn to face her suddenly, he was more than a little surprised to see how she was dressed how she had been dressed the last three times they had met face to face. He knew he should be smiling but he knew deep down that it was him that had caused such a drastic change in her, this change that would cause her nothing but trouble if she was wrapped up the way she was. He walked forward taking his summoning dagger out and looked to her. "Hello Miss Dymonrel, please allow me to make a few alterations to your clothing." he said calmly knowing he would really have to make her some clothing that he seen as suitable but would allow her what she needed. He started by unwrapping the hooded shawl, luckily it seemed that was seperate from the rest of the top. He just dropped the fabric looking over the rest before kneeling cutting the trousers to be mid thigh length and the fabric shoes just to be above the ankles, as before he dropped the fabric and stood untying the outer top before following the pattern showing the stomach area before making a vee like shape at the top so her chest could be seen without being sleazy.

The fabric fell like before as he took off the outer top moving behind her cutting the back of her top in a wide vee shape, allowing it to slightly slip off her shoulder. Putting the outer top back on once more he went to work making an elegant strappy look at the back allowing the back to be seen, this stopped just above the waist. The fabric around them seemed to be slowly building, once done he moved back to the front tying it once more; even though this was a quick fix it would have looked as if it had just came out of a store with how neat the cuts had been and the precision he would have used. A smile was on his face "Do you feel more at peace like that?" he asked hoping this would be a middle ground for them both "Please be honest with me." he said bringing down his own hood not feeling the need for it right now.

It was then the rest of her conversation came into his mind and all he could do was blink dumbfounded "Miss Dymonrel, is that wise? More so as we are here on a job." he sighed gently, he wasn't even sure why she would ask for such a thing, he had however felt his heart skip a beat or two as he thought on it, what the hell was going on with him. It was then he noticed her guild mark, was that a legal guilds symbol? Not just any guild but Sabertooth's "You found a home that suits you then?" he asked his words segwaying the conversation as he moved forward to give her a brief hug as that was all he could really manage at current. "I'm happy for you Miss Dymonrel." his words warm his face gentle and kind as he spoke them. Soon he stepped back as she asked her next question "Apparently they're abducting people and experimenting on them, no idea if this is true but given how much I hate scientists that use people as lab rats I'm willing to investigate." his words cold as he spoke them "Lets get going." he said heading up he crack and broken steps into the main hall of the guild headquarters as the doors seemed to have rotted away, his nose being assaulted by the damp stagnant smell.

"Maera" he whispered soon afterwards a small giggle and a delicate jingle of a bell was heard. "We need to know up or down, also any potential threats big sister." he said quietly trying to avoid the rubble, his eyes looking around at the broken glass, stone and rotted furniture. "Okay little brother." a small voice said to him before the jingle could be heard moving away from him though nothing would be seen. He kept moving checking for anything that might give him a clue about this guild but he was starting to wonder if he actually wanted to know, then again knowledge was power he kept being told and this place may have some secrets that could help his guild; if that was the case then he would keep looking.

Word Count: 1'009
Total Word Count: 2'002

The dagger Ruvel pulled out, frightened Masha for a moment. Had she done something wrong? Ruvel didn't look happy either which heightened her unease. She was about to get ready to fight, obviously going to avoid his beautiful face, but not one to lay down for anyone when Ruvel spoke. "Oh uh sure. Is there something wrong with what I'm wearing though?" She sounded worried when she asked, looking herself over. It wasn't like she really cared about his opinion only that she cared about her appearance. Masha was a bit vain even she could admit that. The dagger cut into her clothing before she could change her mind. Masha kept herself as still as she possibly could while Ruvel went to work. She marveled at his deft movements, the precision of his cuts. With every cut, Masha felt the pressure of the pheromones weaken. Her mood began to uplift. It skyrocketed when Ruvel asked about her opinion on the new look. Not because she wanted his approval clearly. It was because Masha was overly pleased with the new look. She hadn't had to pay a single jewel for it either!

"I do feel better now, thank you!" She beamed at him. A moment later, Masha's mouth curved downward. "How did you know I wasn't comfortable? It didn't show in any way I know of." Had Ruvel been spying on her? Her heart wasn't beating faster at that thought, no it wasn't in any way. She couldn't be falling for this shorty. Masha looked at her feet unable to look at Ruvel any longer. Her cheeks colored slightly when her eyes flicked up to look at him. She liked the look of him without his hood. It was cute. The fabric piled around her feet did worry her. Perhaps Ruvel could use it. "Will you use this extra fabric? Or will it all go to waste now?" Masha toed the fabric. For some reason, she didn't want the fabric to go to waste in any way.

It was hard to deny the thrill that went through her when Ruvel hugged her. Even that brief contact with him was enough to spark electricity through her blood. Masha ignored the craving for more of it that coursed down her body. She ignored the tightening in her chest and the slight dampness she now felt. She would not fall for a goodie...well she was a goodie two shoes now. Maybe it wouldn't be so bad to fall for one. Her brain finally caught up with the present as his words registered with her. "Oh! Uh it's not a home yet but I have high hopes that it will become one. Everyone is very nice. They don't seem to mind that I came from a dark guild." Masha realized she had been twirling a strand of her hair around her finger. That stopped immediately. She had been a little too happy to know that Ruvel had been oogling her chest. It was the only way he could have seen her guild tattoo. She refused to think it was anything else. If Ruvel liked her, maybe she could like him too. They would just have to put down a few ground rules first. "Thank you though. I really do hope Sabertooth becomes the thing I need it to be."

Masha went cold at Ruvel's words. Scientists kidnapping and experimenting? Her vision nearly went red. "I absolutely hate those kinds of people. They have no respect for life and no humanity left within their souls" Her voice was filled with vehement disgust. The jingle that seemed to emanate from Ruvel distracted Masha for a moment. What was that? Then she returned to her previous course of action. Activating her frozen fire fists, Masha rushed the broken down door of the hall. A quick one two blew the door off its hinges. Akane struggled to take Masha's body, to rage and destroy as was her right. Masha was forced to stand still as she battled the most ferocious of the women trapped inside her. The spears that launched themselves from the house therefore caught her flat footed. Masha took the full brunt of the attack, flying backwards out of the door and onto the pavement. She lay on her back, gasping. For once, Masha had a reason to thank the scientists. Most of the spears lay splintered and broken in the doorway after hitting her thanks to her built in durability. They left behind only tiny wounds nothing to truly be worried about. One however had gone a little deeper. It had left a shallow wound upon her stomach, an angry red line that pumped forth a little blood. "Careful Ruvel. There are spear traps." Masha wheezed trying to catch her breath again. That alone seemed to be the only problem. Masha hoped the spears hadn't been poisoned. She didn't want to be a burden to Ruvel.

WC: 821
Total: 1,630

Ruvel hadn't wished to frighten the other and hadn't said anything about what he was about to do, believing she had dressed in such a manner for him and so would argue about the alterations. He didn't want the arguments with her this time not after what happened in the theme park and at Tolgalen. There had been nothing wrong in his mind about the clothing she was wearing but given how she had dressed the first two times he thought there was a reason for it, so wanted to make her more comfortable. "There's nothing wrong with it in my mind, however, as this isn't how you normally dress I can only assume you done this to appease me in some way." he said calmly as he placed the dagger away. He knew that some people were vain and had to look a certain way, he had no idea why Masha had changed her style so drastically he just hoped the alterations made her feel more like her old self or at least herself with a bit of a twist. Hearing Masha's words on her new style made the raven haired youth smile, more so as she stated that she did indeed feel better.

The smile faded as she then asked the question on how he knew of her discomfort, his eyes turned away "I'm very analytical of even the smallest detail..." he said to her "First indicator was on how you dressed, second was how you acted when you believed I thought you a harlot, third was what happened on Tolgalen with the creatures that came from the summoning circle..." his eyes then moved to look to her "The main indicator is the marks on your skin, I seen them when I was younger on another person. They were in so much pain when covered, I thought you may be similar." he finished, he didn't want to bring up anyone's pain but it wasn't like it could be avoided at this point. He didn't say anything as she broke eye contact flushing as she turned his eyes to look at him now and then. When she brought up the fabric he turned his dual coloured eyes down, he had to admit it would be a waste of fabric that could be used in other things, without a single movement the fabric would be gone "Don't worry I can put it to use, I have three fairy summons so I can make them some more clothes or bedding." he said with a warm tone hoping that this would put her mind at ease on the matter.

He had no idea what the hug had her thinking or feeling but he had forfilled her request even though it was uncomfortable, he was glad that if it had made her even slightly happy. "I haven't had much dealings with them as I said, Cirven says they're protectors and believe no one is past the point of redemption. I hope you can find a home with them." he said gently, he chuckled lightly seeing her acting like a nervous teen girl with a crush as she twirled a little of her hair around a finger. He had no idea what was going on through her head, he had shown done nothing to make her act in such a manner. He had only noticed her guild mark while doing alterations nothing more and thought that he should bring it up, he was curious after all on how her journey to find a place she could call home for herself. "It doesn't work like that Masha." he said trying to help her understand "Are you hoping that it will be the thing you are searching for? That it will help you become the person you truly are? It could be both in honesty if you believe you fit into both categories." he said calmly hoping she would find what she needed within the legal guilds warm embrace.

He could only imagine what she was thinking when he said those two horrible taboo words to someone like them to her. "I agree they are wretched people who take pleasure in causing pain misfortune on others and they must pay for those sins so lets get going." he said stoically nothing good would come of getting angry but then he was unable to remain angry for any longer than around two minutes. Before he could stop her Masha had already ran down the hall and kicked a door from its hinges, all he could do was face palm and sigh "There goes our advantage." he called out to her running to catch up "What were you thi-" his words cut off as he seen the spears, Masha laying on her back bleeding from her stomach "Edaenz" he whispered into the wind, beside him a tall woman with a shimmering skin and translucent blue her hair which seemed to be in motion even though there was no wind. "Help her please..." he said to the summon who nodded but Ruvel already knew just being around Edaenz that she had already started healing the wound the other had sustained. "That jingle you likely heard was my summon Maera, she was scouting a head for information so we would have known where the traps are, how best to avoid them and which way we should go. While keeping our presence here unknown, you doing that has likely alerted the person who is using this place for their nefarious deeds that there are people here meaning this just got harder Masha." he scolded the other before helping her up when the bleeding stopped. He hoped this would be a learning experience for Masha as they moved forward as what would she have done if someone wasn't there with her, to help her, to heal her... why did those thoughts scare him so? Was it because of what happened at the facility or was it for some other reason? He had no idea personally but wanted to find out.

Word count: 1'008
Total Word count: 3'010

Masha wasn't sure how to feel that Ruvel had been watching her so closely during their encounters. From his words, it didn't seem like it was unique to her but rather something he did all the time. Something he had to do. She unconsciously ran her hands down her arms when Ruvel mentioned the marks. She hadn't seen them in a very long time. She didn't want to see them. They were a reminder of a terrible time in her life. An image of a young boy peering up at her flashed through her mind. It could have almost been Ruvel, though the boy lacked the jaded feel that surrounded the summoning mage. There was no way. Masha had only returned to that place once after she escaped it at her 'Master's --the incubus'--command. Something the incubus had done had altered her body causing the marks to flare with pain whenever she covered them. That had been when the scientists fixed her ability to emit hormones. "Oh uh well..." She twirled a finger in her hair trying to think of a way to explain. She wanted to explain to Ruvel for some reason. "It isn't painful exactly. Just uncomfortable to me for...reasons." Masha wasn't ready to completely open up. This was just information her partner on a mission needed to know. It had nothing to do with her liking Ruvel and wanting to open up to him. "Thank you again for altering the outfit. It really does feel so much better like this."

A thrill of happiness went through Masha hearing that the cloth would be put to good use. For fairies no less. She remembered the mission she had undertaken with Nyx to save a few of those delightful creatures. That had been a mess. It was rewarding to know that she could help them out once again. Even though she hadn't really done anything this time around. Masha listened carefully to Ruvel's words. Before she could stop herself, Masha muttered under her breath "I hope you are the one I've been searching for and you are the one that will reveal who I truly am." When she realized what she had said, Masha glanced at Ruvel. Hopefully he hadn't heard anything she had said. That would get embarrassing--not to mention awkward--fairly quickly. Masha cleared her throat and said more clearly "I'm not quite sure who I really am. I've been used since I was young, kept at an arms distance from everyone I knew. When I was touched, I was usually hurt. Its why I both crave and abhor touch. A dichotomy I struggle with. I can only hope Sabertooth might show me the true me Ruvel. But hope is all I have. My dreams withered a long time ago." Except for one but that was hers to keep for now. Ruvel didn't need to know the deepest parts of her heart. Not yet. Maybe not ever. Masha gave herself a little internal shake. Of course Ruvel would never need to know. She didn't like him or anything.

Masha wasn't sure why but Ruvel's scolding after her reckless charge, seemed to come from a place of both concern and worry. It sent a little thrill through her. Could Ruvel actually be worried about her? No, they barely knew each other. They had only gone on a single date which had ended disastrously. Completely her fault. She felt bad about how she had treated him, used him to assuage her own fear. "Ruvel." Masha raised a hand, cupping his cheek briefly. She knew he didn't like touch so her hand dropped after a second or two of contact. "I don't work like that. I do as I please. Perhaps its something I should learn to get a handle on but that won't come quickly. Give me time to adjust to this 'legal' way of thinking. I also wish you hadn't wasted your healing on me. The wounds would have closed on their own." Masha snatched up a spear and cut open her palm. Holding it open to him, she watched his face as the edges of the cut knit back together. There was only unmarked skin where the wound had been. "I'm not helpless. I prefer to take a challenge head on. If things will be harder from here forward, so be it." Masha decided to tease the summoner just a little. She put her mouth near his ear, careful not to touch him. "Besides, if I get in trouble, I have my valiant protector here beside me." She reined in the urge to brush her lips against his cheek. They weren't dating there was no reason to do such a thing. When she straightened they headed off into the bowels of the house.

As they wandered into the depths of the house, forewarned by Ruvel's summon--thus able to avoid the other spear traps-- Masha felt the hairs on the back of her neck rise. They didn't do that easily and she had learned the hard way never to ignore it when it happened. A quick glance behind them revealed a nasty surprise. Ghosts of little girls, each wielding a very real looking knife. Masha had no doubt they could cut them. "Uh Ruvel, darling, we seem to have a bit of company. A welcoming committee of sorts. They don't look too friendly though." She ran through her available spells and grimaced. There was a strong likelihood that not one of her spells could even damage a ghost. "I'm not sure I can do much against them... Do you have something to use against ghosts?" She hoped he did. Otherwise they'd be forced to run through the house to avoid impalement by a thousand knives. Seemed like a good way to run unprepared into the boss or into another one of those spear traps. She did not relish the thought of either situation.

WC: 985
Total: 2,615