Kaori & Tia; The Great Wolly Mammoth: B Rank: Private

This tale begins in a small tribal settlement in a frozen hallscape known as the Silent Galciers. For the longest time Lady Ceostra wanted to obtain a rarity from the land here as a means of showing her clan's capability. It was a beast no other clan had caught, and very few mages could fight without sustaining many injuries. Kaori had taken up the task after entering Lady Ceostra's room and spotting the notice on her desk. She didn't want any of the others to go since it was dangerous, and didn't tell Lady Ceostra for the same reason. Upon 'borrowing' the page, Kaori had set out to the settlement to make her preparations for the hunt.

Much to her luck, the local people were welcoming of outsiders. The notice Lady Ceostra had didn't include many details, only that she wanted to obtain a Wooly Mammoth. Kaori had met with the leader of the local group and spoke with him about the task, stating that she wished to bring glory to her ally's clan. "If it's glory you want, then you'll want to bring in the alpha. He's the biggest of them all, and no one dares attack him." were his exact words. That was how Kaori decided she'd go after the biggest and baddest of the herd, and knew that she'd need a plan for it.

Kaori had spent several months in the village preparing for the hunt. She'd worked up a plan, and even made arrangements for transport. The tent she was given on the far side of the settlement contained twenty, twenty-five foot long reels of rope and an equal number of thick spikes for each end of the rope. She'd gotten in touch with a man from Neutral Ground to have a shipment of guns made and delivered that'd fire the spikes deep into the ice to tie the target down. Lady Ceostra wasn't a cruel woman, and neither was Kaori; neither could harm an animal light heartedly.

In the time Kaori was waiting on the shipment, she'd used one such weapon she already had with her for use on smaller game to train some of the tribe's hunters. At first they were awful at aiming them, and lacked the ability to compensate for recoil; but, in time they learned. The only problem was that there was one extra gun and rope, and the shipment was yet to arrive. As noon hit over the tribe, Kaori pulled out her iLac and called the manufacturer. "Hello?" the man replied on the other end. "This is Kay, I ordered twenty-five rail cannons from you a few months back. I was wondering what the status of the order was." Kaori replied, getting straight to business. "Ah, yes. I finished the order and sent it off a week ago. It's traveling by foot, so I hired one of those guildmage folk to escort it. I explained they were being used to capture a dangerous animal without hurting it so they'd know they weren't escorting weapons of mass destruction; though I do hope they didn't get lost, or worse." her contact responded. "Thanks, I'll await the arrival." Kaori said before hanging up the line. It was roughly a week and some spare time from Neutral Grounds to Rose Garden, and from there a ferry could be used to avoid some walking.

The village was fairly small, only consisting of thirty or so adults and five children. The outside of it was lined with whale ribs, arranged so they curved outward to prevent wild animals from hopping the wall. The houses were made of logs with the exception of Kaori's which was a fur tent since it had to be quickly set up. A fire inside cast a warm, orange glow and kept it from getting cold. The townsfolk were all wearing thick, fur coats and had a decent tan to them; showing they were frequently outside. Being so far north, the settlement got several months of sunlight before getting several months of moon so the sun exposure warranted a darker complexion. When the escort arrived, she would be lead to Kaori's tent where the masked woman would be combing over some documents at a makeshift desk.

Lava Hawk
Motorcycle
Job Info
Word Count: 706
Mana: 100%

The sound of someone speaking came through the tent door as Kaori was almost done with organizing the price estimates for a special investment she was making. She'd set her pen down and got up from the desk, moving to the tent door, which was really just a leather flap held in place by magnetic clasps, and partially opened it to see a woman who was quite pale. She'd introduced herself as an ally to Lady Ceostra's clan, and requested entry into her tent. Through the slits in her mask, Kaori examined the woman to assess her threat level but ultimately determined her to be moderately threatening and not worthy of suspicion. She opened the flap and pressed herself against the girl's body, wrapping her arms around her in a very warm embrace. She was taller than Kaori by quite a bit, so the ninja's head ended up just above her bust.

While to most, the hug would look like a greeting, and in many ways it was; it was also a means of Kaori checking Tia's mental and emotional stability. She would notice a feeling of neutrality come over her while Kaori was hugging Tia. It was a sign that Kaori had used her natural born ability to link the minds of others to gain a better understanding of each other. The girl was... sweet, but not so sweet as to be naive. She'd have problems if this were a different mission, but this one would require no bloodshed, so her disdain for cold blooded murder wouldn't be a problem. That was the extent of intrusion Kaori was willing to exert on her, and Kaori released her, sliding her hands from the girl's back to hold one of her own and lead her in. "Please, come in Miss Haiku." Kaori said warmly, her voice slightly muffled and distorted through the mask. A table inside would have a chair available for her, and next to it was an empty cup on a saucer. Kaori would walk over to the fire and pull the kettle from it, pouring the water into a nearby tea pot. It was obvious that Tia wasn't the person Kaori was expecting, but she was down a man and she said she was here to help. A few moments later, one of the guards had poked his head through the curtain.

Guard: "Excuse me, another person arrived looking for you."
Kaori: "Does he have any cargo with him?"
Guard: "Yes, twenty-five rail cannons."
Kaori: "What of his escort?"
Guard: "Wolves."
Kaori: "Understood, have him rest here while we work. I'll take him home when my contact gets here with the metal bird."
Guard: "Ja. One last thing... is... Is she okay?"

Kaori looked over to Tia and knew exactly what he was referring to. She let out a small sigh while looking into the tea pot, watching as the tea was drawing. "She was born in a place that was as snowy as this one, but not as sunny. Because of that her skin turned white so her tribe could blend in better during hunts. Please relay this to the others so they aren't too concerned." Kaori answered. She knew it was most likely not true, but the explanation was something easy for tribals to understand and accept. The guard accepted the reply, and apologized to Tia for the misunderstanding before exiting the tent. Kaori walked over with the tea and began pouring it. "This is Saffron-Chai tea with ginger root, I hope you like it." she said with a humble tone. While she went to get the sugar, Kaori said "My name's Kaori; you can call me Kay. Allow me to clear up a misinformation you were given..."

Kaori set down a small pot with sugar in it, and placed a small spoon next to it. She then sat down and crossed one of her legs over the other in a very lady-like position. "I'm not a member of Lady Ceostra's clan. I am an associate of her's, a good fr-" she stopped herself, not daring to label Gisen or anyone else as such "-Ally. I assist her clan where possible. Our task is to capture the patriarch of a herd of mammoth." Kaori paused and walked out the tent, coming back in with a massive gun that weighed considerably less than it appeared to. She set it down on the table and walked over to the sets of rope, and the three foot long spikes that were set aside and brought them over as well. "We'll be using these to do so. I have many issues with injuring my targets and letting them live, so I'm going for as little damage as possible. Each end of this rope will have a spike attached to it. These guns fire the spikes into the ice, and the ropes keep the animal held down. Once immobilized, a contact of mine will come with one of those metal bird things to pick it up and transport it to the eastern coast. This will cause as little harm to the target as possible, as well as endanger as few lives as possible. The only trouble will be getting the first few ropes in." Kaori would explain, after which she'd ask if Tia had any questions.

Lava Hawk
Motorcycle
Job Info
Word Count: 1,592
Mana: 100%

Kaori hadn't replied earlier when Tia thanked her. The fact that she didn't scold Kaori for lying so grandly, but rather praised her, meant that the girl wasn't as much a saint as her looks would imply. She had mentioned that she didn't know her way around, and that Kaori would need to lead her. "I'll be splitting off from the main group. If you're coming with me, then you should know who you're working with. Earlier you thought I was a member of Lady Ceostra's clan. Understand that I'm nothing like them. I was born covered in blood, from a woman who was also covered in blood. I lived a life where blood and grass were always together. If I see an enemy, they die. If I find a loose end, they die. If I feel threatened, I attack. I lie, cheat, and steal whenever I'm required to; and do so very well." Kaori's tone was very matter of fact as she spoke. She pressed her hand to her mask and continued. "This mask is a representation of who and what I am. I'm nothing more than a shell, a means of deception, and above all; I am not a human. I lost that privilege a long time ago..."

Kaori let out a sigh and walked held the rail cannon out for Tia. "But understand I'll never attack an ally while they're still my ally, or sell them out; I'd rather die. I show those under my protection more kindness than they'd ever expect of someone nicknamed 'Demon of Wrath' and I do so with little effort. If you're willing to come along knowing death will follow, then grab one of these. If not, you can leave and be escorted by one of my clansmen with guaranteed safety." Kaori's tone was softer, and carried no signs of deceit. In the corner of the room, sitting on his knees would be a man with black hair. He wore a shihakusho on his body, and over his face was a dark grey mask that had no features at all, its surface barren like a sheet of blank paper. He was silent the whole time, so it'd be understandable if Tia didn't notice him. If Tia took the cannon from Kaori, she'd notice it only weighed a few pounds- 3 kilograms to be exact, despite being four feet long. Kaori would say "Welcome aboard." with a satisfied tone. If she decided to avoid the mission, Kaori would order the man in the corner to escort Tia to the nearest city.

After their exchange, Kaori would exit the tent. If Tia were coming along, she'd look at the man in the corner and say "Iku, assemble the hunters." with a commanding voice. The man would stand up and reply "Yes, my lady." and exit. If she were paying attention, Tia would notice that neither Kaori or her fiend made a single sound while moving around. The crunch of the ice wasn't heard even though they left footprints behind.

Kaori would wait in front the village for the men to assemble, a cart with more rail cannons in it awaited; all of them loaded. The twenty four men and women all lined up in four rows of six and looked very strong. Kaori would pace back and forth between the first and sixth man while speaking in a very strong voice. "For the past couple months you've all trained for this purpose. You survived sparring matches with someone labeled as a demon, as well as a man who earned the title of Dragon. You mastered using weapons never before used by your people, and are now going to take down a foe never before taken down." the warriors all let out a very short 'Ah-ooh' and stomped as acknowledgement of the truth in her words. "Ikuchi will be leading you into battle. Let any man or woman unwilling to follow him step forth and challenge him for his position." Kaori looked to the group, scanning for volunteers. After several seconds, no one had stepped up. "I'm glad we're all in agreement. Miss Haiku here and I will be moving ahead, clearing out anything that'd hinder you. Come up and grab your weapon, give it a name, and treat it like your woman; because just like them if you lose it, you won't get another." Kaori turned and walked to Tia. "The fun part's over. Guess it's time to work for a living." she said with a somewhat sarcastic tone and began moving forward.

The first set of enemies would come after a good thirty or so minutes of trudging through the snow. From afar, Kaori could see the outline of their white, scaly hides as they lay partially submerged in the snow. "Miss Haiku, do you see those Glacier Reptiles?" she would ask while crouched down and pointing to their location. Kaori looked around the area, and it seemed that the only direction to go was forward. To the left were cliffs that lead to mountains, to the right was an entire colony of them. "There's only four in the middle there, it'd be the easiest path. I'm not a fan of harming animals; so you wouldn't happen to have a plan that doesn't involve me skinning them afterwards, would you?"

Lava Hawk
Motorcycle
Job Info
Word Count: 2,475
Mana: 100%

It seemed that Tia had taken it upon herself to dispatch the four enemies, to which Kaori gave no signs of being against. She watched the woman go down the snow covered hill and confront the four reptiles in a fairly calm manner. 'She's got balls.' Kaori said to herself mentally, giving her ally credit for being able to approach wild animals so casually. She watched as the fight began, and quickly seemed to end. Kaori's eye was drawn to something slowly moving across the field of white, camouflaged quite well if Kaori were another animal and not one of the ones that could see shadows. The creature was using the distraction the reptiles provided to get a source of fresh meat.

Kaori vanished from her position and began reappearing every ten yards before instantly vanishing again to reappear a bit closer. Kaori began channelling energy into her fists, causing her hands to begin glowing bright white. The large cat was closing in on Tia, preparing to pounce at her as Kaori closed in. Kaori reeled her arm back, preparing to strike. She locked eyes with the snow leopard as the world seemed to slow down for both entities. Kaori's fist lit ablaze with a massive white flame that cause the surrounding area to heat up rapidly. It was a spell she hadn't been able to cast properly during training, but even if the same thing happened here as during her training it would be beneficial. Her fist collided with the leopard's shoulder, and Kaori could feel it, a surge of energy going through her. However, as always, the energy was too much for Kaori to control. "Shit." Kaori audibly said just before her spell exploded, sending her and the leopard in opposite directions with a cloud of white smoke between the two.

Kaori landed on her knees and got up quick, but also began coughing from inhaling the smoke from her failed attack. 'That's what you get for using magic you don't even know.' the voice of one of her companions echoed in her head. The snow leopard had recovered as well and turned to face Kaori while snarling. "You wanna get turned to Mayaa no Ushiru?" Kaori asked in a somewhat ticked off tone. Her white over-coat had been completely destroyed by the explosion and as a strong gust of frigid wind passed her, the remains of the white shirt with blue trimming had flown off Kaori's back while burning away. Kaori held her right hand out and caused a series of tan, brown, and black particles began forming around her and converging on her outstretched hand. A magic circle appeared and began moving away from her hand, leaving a sword in its wake.

Kaori began walking towards the predator with a rather calm demeanor, and no signs of fear for being eaten. The leopard began charging forward but Kaori only stopped in place. She held the bone sword to her side in a very relaxed position and waited. When the leopward had gotten within a matter of feet from Kaori, so close, but yet so far; Kaori vanished and a massive red line appeared from the tip of its nose to the base of its skull. Kaori reappeared behind the leopward and flicked the bone longsword in her hand, splattering the leopards blood on the ice. The sword vanished, turning into nothingness as it returned to its rightful owner.

Kaori looked at the four reptiles that were still partially alive, but too weak to move. Four versions of herself appeared over them, all ramming katanas into the backs of their skulls to ensure their lives were ended before vanishing in a puff of smoke. She walked over to her first victim, the leopard and got on one knee while gently rubbing the fur on its stomach. "Gomen'nasai." she said in a soft, sorrowful tone. "Watashi wa anata no tsugi no jinsei de heiwa o mitsukeru koto o negatte imasu." she added, providing a small prayer for the beautiful predator.

As Kaori stood back up, another copy of herself appeared behind her and took off the white shirt with blue trimming she was wearing. A nonchalant toss to Kaori who caught it without turning around to look would precede the copy beginning to get to work on the leopard. Kaori put her new shirt on and looked to Tia. "Are you alright, Miss Haiku?" she would ask in a calm voice. "Perhaps the next enemy should be approached as a unit." Kaori would recommend before pressing on. While walking, Kaori would speak with Tia. "Miss Haiku, I envy you all... Did you know that?" she would say calmly, as though such things were normal to say. "You people from the magic clans can use magic at will. I'm nearly unable to control mine to such an extent. Some spells are remedial enough for me to use, but others are... well, you saw what happened earlier. It's another reason I could never be part of one of the clans from this place; I simply don't belong." she would say while moving a branch out of her way.

Lava Hawk
Motorcycle
Job Info
Word Count: 3,328
Mana: 100%

Translation:
I'm Sorry. I hope you find peace in the next life.

Kaori listened to the clueless girl as she gushed about how amazing the magic clans were, driving the spike deeper into Kaori's spine. She couldn't dream of being part of one, not one that housed good people at least. "Must be nice..." Kaori said in a soft, saddened tone that was muffled by her mask. Not much further along, the two had come across a scene normally found on a postcard or calendar. A large expanse of coniferous trees, gently covered in ice and snow as the orange rays of sunset bathed them in its warm light. The other girl had lived a good life in Kaori's opinion. She was able to be numb to many things, and remove her focus from the mission to appreciate her surroundings. Kaori had continued walking ahead, saying "The sunsets last several weeks this far north. There's no shortage of time to appreciate it after the mission." with a soft, gentle, respectful, but cold tone.

Kaori wasn't trying to be cruel, or ungrateful towards the other woman. While Kaori didn't request any outside assistance, she knew the girl had been asked by someone to come and make sure she didn't do something dangerous -again- and get almost killed. Her reason for being so cold was that she was beginning to realize the difference between people in Fiore, and people from the Lareci Clan. She grew up with the privilege of seeing the world around her through eyes untouched by war. Kaori's every day was a fight for survival... She grew up fighting the other kids because she was different. She fought the predators in the wild. She fought people who were sent to kill her as a means of forcing surrender. She fought adults from her own clan to get the slightest bit of credit. Then, after all that fighting, she fought wars and armies. Even now, she was fighting a war alone; she had no time for watching the sunset. This girl... she had time for it, meaning she wasn't fighting anything, just enjoying life. Kaori envied that.

After a while of walking some more, Kaori had come across a tree with a large net nailed to it with a rather large spike. She knelt down and picked up the part where the net was torn and began examining the ends. Further ahead, she could see several large gashes in the trees, and some that had been completely crushed. There were no bloodstains in the snow, but there were some on a couple trees in the area. "Whatever happened here, it happened a while ago." Kaori commented in a thought consumed voice. The rest of the group was still a good twenty or thirty minutes behind Kaori and Tia, so she had plenty of time to investigate. Kaori moved back to the net and placed her hand on it, focusing her mind on the flow of time around the object.

A pulse of energy would expand from the net, and all the damaged trees and blood stains on them had vanished, and were replaced by a normal looking forest. Tia, if she was still with Kaori, would see the same thing as Kaori was projecting the past into the present as an illusion. Several small wolves with snowy white fur shot through the trees, one running straight through Kaori. Behind them, a massive wolf that was taller than Kaori- taller than Tia even. The large wolf was blindsided by a net fired from a gun. One of the spikes impaled its leg and pinned it to the trees, but its smaller friends came back and ripped the spike from its leg. The large wolf used its weight and slammed into one of the men, breaking the tree it pinned him to and killing the man. The wolf then took off, bumping into trees as it tried to run on its injured leg. Kaori's illusion slowly faded away, returning to reality. "Two hours..." Kaori said, noting how old the memory way. "The poachers are likely dead, or holed up somewhere... but the wolves might not be..." Kaori began muttering to herself, thinking to the injured one. Kaori began looking into the past again to see where the wolves were headed, though, not projecting it outward as she did before. It seemed they were going in the same direction she was, meaning it was likely that Kaori could find them and make sure they were okay without straying too far from their path.

Lava Hawk
Motorcycle
Job Info
Word Count: 4,077
Mana: 100%

Kaori looked at the two paths before them and was faced with one hell of a decision. To the right was the path the wolves had gone, and the left was the way to the mammoths. "I better not get eaten for this." Kaori said with an exasperated tone as she turned to the cave and began walking. Kaori stopped and ducked behind a large ice formation, using a hand signal to tell Tia to stop. He pointed to another formation, instructing her to get hidden. "Do you think 'she'll' show up here?" a voice said. "Of course she'll be here. She's practically drawn to lord Saia." another voice replied.

Kaori stood up and walked out from behind the ice, standing in plain sight. If Tia would begin coming out, she'd here in her mind Kaori's voice saying 'Don't move.' and unlike before, it wouldn't be altered by the mask. This was Kaori's telepathy, another psychic ability she was lucky to be born with. "That her?" the first voice asked, looking at Kaori. "Opulet clothes, snow white hair, cat mask... yeah, that's her." the second said just before she began drawing a sword. Kaori held her right hand out, materializing a golden katana with a blue ribbon tied around the base where a hilt should've been. The ribbon trailed off slightly from the bast of the sword and flickered elegantly in the wind. "We saw the wolves run in. It'd be a shame if they died here... the big one was so beautifu-" the woman stopped talking when her head hit the ground, followed by her knees soon after. "What the hell!?" the man exclaimed, looking back where Kaori was originally standing to notice she was gone. He suddenly found it extremely hard to move, and his chest felt like it was burning. He looked down to see gold sticking out like a horn, and Kaori pressing her blade through his back. He didn't even notice her move, didn't hear a thing, and didn't know the rumors of her speed were more than just propaganda. Kaori ripped the sword from his chest and flicked it, sending a splatter of blood on the icy floor while turning to go deeper in the cave. 'Stay there if you have a weak stomach.' Tia would hear in her mind, every bit as loud as if Kaori had been right next to her when she said it instead of walking away.

Kaori had gone three or four hundred feet into the cave when she found a dead end. On the far side were four wolves. Three small ones were standing around a massive one, the latter laying down on the icy floor with blood still coming out of its leg. The small ones were snarling and growling, trying to keep a group of six ninja from getting any closer. One of them had collapsed out of nowhere, his legs suddenly vanishing from under him in an explosion of blood. The wolves had all jumped back, none of them knowing what happened. Kaori appeared momentarily, long enough to slash the stomach of another wide open and vanish. The third ninja was cut from sternum to groin, his blood erupting from his front like a raging volano. The other three tried to run, thinking it wiser to retreat. Three metallic arrows were let loose from Kaori's bow, the first finding its home in the head of one of them. The second slammed into the back of the knee of the second ninja, and the third arrow was deflected by the third ninja. It hit the leg of one of the wolves, cutting it but not impaling it. Kaori fired another arrow, this one seeming to phase through the ninja's sword and getting stuck in his heart. She approached the ninja with an arrow in her knee as she was trying to crawl away. Kaori slammed her foot on the ninja's back. "May we meet again when the sun rises on fields of embers." she said grimly before slamming her sword through the woman's skull, ending her life.

Kaori turned back around and approached the four wolves, stopping when she saw the three guardians begin snarling at her. She held out her bow and gently set it down and began moving very slowly. The one with the cut leg that was hit by her deflected arrow had charged in and Kaori quickly ducked while spinning, grabbing the back of its neck and slamming the wolf on the ground. The wolf let out a yelp as Kaori slammed her knee on its back, and the other wolves began going in for the attack. Both had been frozen mid air as Kaori used her telekinesis on them to keep them in place. She hovered her hand over the wolf under her knee and a white magic circle formed over the wound. The wolf at first was squirming quite a bit, but as it felt Kaori's heart through her spell, it slowly relaxed and let itself be healed. The other two guardians stopped fidgiting and Kaori gently set them down, letting them watch her heal their comrade. When she was done, she slowly got off the wolf and let it get up. There was a moment of tension as the three wolves decided what to do, but then all three moved aside and looked to the large one.

Kaori walked over to it, making sure to pass within its line of sight so it didn't think she were sneaking up on it. Kaori kneeled down near it and began rubbing the side of its cheek, which was larger than Kaori's hand. The large wolf let out a short whimper as it had begun coming to terms with death. "Have no fear. Your time in this land is yet to conclude." she said softly, closing her eyes behind her mask and focusing on healing the large creature's wound. The wolf adjusted its head to rest on Kaori's knees while closing its eyes. Kaori continued rubbing its fur while doing her work. The mana crystals in her toolbelt were quickly being used up, but Kaori continued healing it. Soon, the blood on the floor had begun vanishing as it returned to the wolf's body and the large wound in its leg was beginning to close.

If Tia had followed Kaori, and witnessed her brutality; she would also see her heal the wolf. If she had stayed put, after thirty or so minutes, she'd hear the sounds of massive footprints being formed as something came from the direction Kaori went. She'd see the large wolf walking behind Kaori, completely uninjured. If she wanted to, the wolf would allow Tia to come near it and even feel its fur regardless of if she came with Kaori or stayed put.

Lava Hawk
Motorcycle
Job Info
Word Count: 5,213
Mana: 100%

Kaori looked to Tia and said "Incorrect. Had you not expressed a desire to aid her, I would've continued the mission and come back at a later time; she would have been dead by then. You have some credit for her life being saved." While Kaori was being modest, she didn't feel like taking full credit for the save was a good thing. Tia was her partner for this mission, so she deserved half the credit even if the workload wasn't split so evenly. "We should get going. The mission is still incomplete, and I don't want the others to arrive first." Kaori mentioned and gave the wolf a final rub on the nose. The wolf extended its tongue that was as big as Kaori, and licked her, causing her to be knocked over. Kaori held her hand up and said "I'm okay, a bit wet, but I'm just fine." before vanishing and reappearing standing up once more.

Upon arriving at the mammoth herd, approximately half a mile from them that is, Kaori began looking over the groups. She was able to spot the leader, the largest of them all with a massive set of horns on it. "They're too close to him..." Kaori said in a thought consumed tone while examining everything. Not too long after, the others had arrived and gathered around Kaori and Tia. "What's your plan my lady?" Ikuchi asked, expecting her to have already come up with a plan and ten contingencies for it. "I don't like it, but the best plan is to get it alone and setup a runway trap. I accounted on the herd being nearby, but I didn't foresee there being thirty of them."

Kaori materialized a cutlass in her right hand and drew four lines to form a square in the snow. "First, you'll all line up and form a box. This will leave two people without anything to do, don't worry; you'll be put to use too. Those of you making the square, I want you to drive your spikes straight below you and then, top unit, switch places with the person directly across from you and drive your last spike there. Those on the bottom of the box will switch with the left side. Left side switches with the right side, and the right side will take the place of those who were up top." Kaori drew lines in the box to show how the trap will look from above. The patter was a cross hatching with a second, diagonal cross hatching above it; a perfect net. "The remaining two from earlier, I want you to make two lines below our trap. This'll trip the mammoth up, making it roll into the net rather than trip on the net and potentially break a tusk. It'll get tangled up safely and we can move it off."

Kaori looked at Tia. "I'll be trusting you to coordinate them with Iku. I'll handle getting the alpha's attention." Kaori said calmly with a confident tone. Kaori then vanished and reappeared much closer to the mammoth herd. After a few minutes, Kaori would begin. She had projected a vision from her dreams onto the world, one where a volcano was eruption. The herd was cut off from their leader, and forced to run in the opposite direction as the ground below them spewed forth lava. The leader began running towards the net, looking back to see if the lava was following him. If Tia was ready with the rest of the group, the plan should go off well enough to not cause any permanent damage to the massive beast.

Lava Hawk
Motorcycle
Job Info
Word Count: Complete
Mana: 100%

Kaori appeared next to Tia, looking down on her as she stood overhead. She kneeled down next to her torso and poked the woman's side to confirm she wasn't dead. As soon as Tia would provide any form of a reaction, Kaori would say "Nice save." with a friendly enough tone. She'd then stand up and materialize the same cutlass from before in her right hand, this time, in its active state. "Set sail, White Mermaid!" Kaori announced, causing a large, white magic circle to appear not far from them. As the circle rose in the air, the bottom revealed something to be forming. The bottom half of a ship was coming from under the circle, and it was nearing completion the higher the circle came. Once it finished, a decently sizes ship was in front Kaori and the rest of the group. Afterwards, the cutlass Kaori used to summon the ship had vanished.


A rather old man in a white sailor's suit had walked out as the cargo bay door opened from below, and he stopped at the end since his cane wasn't snow approved. "My, my Miss Lareci... that there really is a whopper!" he said in surprise, his voice sounding as old as he was. "Good thing I cleared space. Do your friends over there need a ride?" Kaori looked to the tribals, who all turned the ride down on account of being capable of walking back. Ikuchi walked to the mammoth and grabbed the rope ends, the rest of the natives helping him to pull the large beast inside. It was a tight fit, but the mammoth was too tired from the adrenaline rush it just had to move. "Excuse me Salty, but my ally will be needing to make use of your facilities. Would you happen to have a room available?" Kaori asked politely. The old man looked at Tia for a moment. "Looks like a land lovin' whipper-snapper, she does. A few trips with you and she'll be questionin' her sanity." the old man joked. He turned and began heading in the ship. While moving up the ramp Salty said "Come on Miss Tia, ol' Salty'll show ya to your room. Gonna be a long trip so ya got plenty-a time to rest."

If she would follow, Salty would show Tia to a somewhat small, but comfy room. It would have a twin sized bed in the corner, a nightstand with a drawer next to it, and a desk sitting at the foot of the bed against the wall. The sheets would smell of lavender, and were soft as cotton. Salty would point her to a door on the wall, stating that it was her bathroom. Inside, she'd find a series of expensive, high quality body washes and a full-on bath tub. The body washes, shampoos, and conditioners were all held within a container so they wouldn't fall during travel; but it was obvious that the ship she was on wasn't meant for fighting, only for getting around. During their interaction, Salty would be polite to her and even try throwing a few old-person styled jokes out there.

If at any point Tia would fall asleep, she would wake up to find Kaori in bed with her. Once of her hands would be on the middle of her stomach, holding her garment and the other would be on the other side of her. Kaori would be fast asleep, cuddling up to the fancy woman and losing all aspects of being a vicious assassin. She'd used a lot of energy recently, her inability to use magic as well as others was taxing. If Tia would wake her up, Kaori would explain that she was really tired but couldn't sleep alone. Tia looked so warm and soft that she couldn't help but use her as a teddy bear. If she left Kaori alone, the ninja would explain it in the morning. However, if Tia had opted to walk back home in the cold instead of take Kaori's offer for a gentle ride back to Hargeon, she wouldn't be forced to come along and Kaori would bid her farewell respectfully.

Lava Hawk
Motorcycle
Job Info
Word Count: Complete
Mana: 100%