Who Said I Was a Snake Charmer? (B Rank Exam, Kaori, Private)

Exam Info:

A dream, that is all it was. A dream that she had thought had no meaning until it had started to repeat itself. Standing upon an abandoned dock in some location she had never seen before was usually how it started. The surrounding village was also quiet and abandoned and through the swirling mist covering the buildings Samira could recognize the buildings were of the form typically used in the country of Midi. The water was still and unmoving, only rippling whenever a breeze blew by. With the breeze also came the voice of a man, gentle at first to match the soft flow of air that brushed across her form. “Why do you fight?” In the dream Samira would open her mouth to speak but she was unable to make any words audible. She was a silent participant even in her own dream. The breeze picked up speed, carrying with it whispers of possible answers to the question asked of her. To protect oneself, to save the innocent, to destroy those that should not have existed in the first place, fame, money, glory, atonement, retribution, justice. “Is there a reason? Or are you a slave to the flow of the current?” The wind suddenly became harsh, as if she were stuck in a strong storm. The water below her began to form into large waves as the wind blew, some of them rising above the dock to make impact upon her and lose her balance. It started to rain as the wind picked up the water, making it hard to see much of anything. Through the chaos of the storm Samira did manage to make out several glowing orbs beneath the water, and it was not until right before she got pushed into the water by the wind that she realized they were eyes. Eight pairs of large and yellow glowing eyes that belonged to who knew what. She landed in the water with a loud splash, and once she had fought the force of the churning water to reach the surface her eyes could see that she had been taken far away from the safety of land by the current. A sense of fear coursed through her, not because of the storm or the likelihood of drowning, but for the beast she knew was in the body of water with her. She forced herself to swim in the direction she knew the land was but the waves kept pushing her back. Darkness then enveloped her, the reptilian beast having raised its open jaws above the surface and taking her whole. “Are you strong, or are you among the weak?”

Back in reality, Samira’s body jolted up as she woke. She was back in her room, sitting at the desk she remembered being at before the dream. An open book lied across the surface of the desk and it was with that evidence she concluded she had fallen asleep during her personal study time. She had not even changed out of the clothing she had worn the day before. A slight sigh of relief escaped her as she wiped the sweat from her forehead. A dream she had had for a couple of weeks and yet she was still not used to it. She had asked her spirits for their inputs on it but oddly they refused to answer or say much about it. The general consensus was that she would know fully in time. Samira closed the book on her desk. She had slept through the entire night and a new day had begun, and she had no intentions of staying in her room the entirety of it. She needed to get out and allow her mind to think in the fresh air. To the next room she went to take a bath and put on a change of clothing, which actually was not all that different in color or design than what she had worn the day before.

Once ready to set out, Samira went for her door but soon realized a type of letter was nestled in the slot between the door and the wall. Curious, the summoner gently took hold of it and began to open the envelope with no sort of caution or suspicion. Inside she found a small sum of money and a folded up paper that she began to read. It was a hunt mission given by the guild master herself. Lamia Scale was known for its hunting mission but she had never obtained a task to hunt something down so directly like the one she had just received. The picture of the creature gave her some concerns. It was a serpent, but thankfully with one head rather than the eight that was in her dream. The poison the letter advised to watch out for would be an issue, but not as much as a normal person. For some reason such things were not able to stay within her bloodstream for very long. Still, weren’t Titano known for being very large snakes? Was it a coincidence that she would be put up against a snake after dreaming of being swallowed whole by one in a dream? Or was the guild master secretly a dream reader and had one twisted sense of humor? Maybe she was also being mistaken as some sort of snake charmer. Nevertheless, it was put on her shoulders to help the people of Hosenka deal with the terror regardless of her own personal issues.

Samira gathered her things to prepare for the journey to Hosenka as well as the hunt. Just as she was about to open the door she was stopped by a distraction like before. The sound of small object hitting the surface of her desk reached her ears and upon turning towards the piece of furniture she noticed the chest with her inactive keys was opened. One of the keys that always remained locked within the chest was now lying on the desk. There was no one else in the room, she was sure of that, and she felt no magical presences. Then again, sensing others was not one of her strong suits, especially when they did not want to be. As far as she was concerned the key was useless at that point in time. It was inactive and the spirit it connected to would only allow itself to be summoned whenever she reached a point in power to do so. However, something within her told her to take it with her, and so she did without even knowing the reason why. Maybe her spirits were putting on some sort of test just as her guild master was doing. Her life was beginning to be filled with all too many mysteries.

She opened the door that led outside her room, finally free of distractions and allowed to leave. It was time to begin the first part of her task, reaching the town of Hosenka.

(Word Count So Far: 1159)

Samira had been making good time through the town. She had wanted to get to Hosenka as quick as possible and get the snake hunt over and done with to put it behind her and as such her normal patient pace was quickened. After a certain point though things started to get a bit weird. The civilians around all of a sudden had strange looks of terror as she came towards them. Shop doors and windows closed and were soon locked, people ran away for the nearest hiding spot, etc etc. Eventually she was alone on that part of the street. Odd, but she kept moving regardless. It was then a blast of air similar to that of a breath could be felt at the back of her neck. Samira pretended to not take notice for she thought it was just a simple foolish human playing stalker. That she could handle easily. Her right hand slowly went for one of the chakrams hooked to the hip of her clothing and gripped it. She mentally counted the seconds that went by, giving whoever it was behind her a chance to move away and quit following her. When it did not happen she concluded the person to be a possible threat. The chakram unhooked as she quickly spun around to face what was behind her and defend herself.

Unfortunately, what would be behind her was no simple human stalker but some sort of large demon-horned and gem-like scaled beast with rather sharp looking teeth. Instantly the chakram she held dropped the the ground and began to roll away from her and towards the beast. Well so much for that one. She grabbed the second one but in her rush and panic she somehow managed to lose her grip on that one as well. The woman had always been sort of a clutz when it came to handling weapons, but she had been getting better due to practice. That had actually been the first time she had managed to drop them in a long while, but doing that meant she still lacked experience when handling...surprises. Not a very good trait to have when faced against...well whatever that was. Learning about different types of monsters was still on the to do list. She knelt down and attempted to reach for the second chakram she had dropped while also keeping her eyes on the beast that kept getting closer. The growling noises did not exactly help her nerves settle down either. Her hand was grabbing nothing as it searched for the weapon and so her gaze had to be lowered to accurately find it and take hold of it. A triumphant smile appeared as she stood up to face the beast now that she was equipped once more. What happened the moment she focused on the unknown beast? She got pushed over by its snout. Interesting method of attack indeed.

Her hands went to cover her face as if that offered any sort of protection. Typical defenseless human reaction. She could hear and feel the sniffing the creature did but all in all the push was about as harmful as the creature got towards her. The fingers of her hand spread apart, allowing her to peek through them just in time to watch as the creature rested its head upon her stomach. The tail even waved similar to that of a more domesticated animal. She was reminded on how a kind dog would act. Perhaps there was no danger at all to begin with. Surely the creature did not follow her to make her into some sort of cuddle buddy though. "I am not a pillow," she told the creature as she uncovered her face. Her typical composure had returned as did her calm nature. The only thing different was how silly she felt for her reaction.

The creature removed its head and stood up, giving her time to do so as well before nudging against her like a dog wanting to be petted and gain affection. Samira patted his head, although still uncertain of what exactly was going on. Did anyone even own him? The creature even seemed to want her to use him as a transport. Really now? Nothing in her letter suggested it was supplied by Gisen, and even then the bunny girl likely would of had an even worse reaction to the creature than she did. So, who was controlling him? "I am sorry, but I have to be somewhere," she calmly told the dragonhound as she reclaimed her weapons. Her intent was to leave him there while she continued to the normal transport station, but things were not going as planned. He was quite insistent. "Fine, I suppose I will ride you." It would not be good if the creature tried getting on the train. No, that would actually be slightly embarrassing. There was no telling what would happen.

'Throw something and take off when it goes to fetch it!'

'You are not serious with that suggestion, are you?'

'Even if he was, Samira tuned us out days ago. I doubt she heard it.'

'Eh? I go away for one week and that happens? What'd you guys do?'

'We just refused to answer about that dream. You know how she gets. When she gets pissed she'll hold it over your head for as long as you live, which with us is a freaking long time!'

'The actions of an impatient brat. I do not even have the pleasure of placing total blame on her either. Being around that ninja woman has caused too many unanswered questions to exist within her mind. She at least trusted us to be more willing to give answers rather than keep secrets.'

She is going to summon us to help take on that snake, right? She isn't going to completely ignore us and try and take on that thing herself...right?'

"You do know the way to Hosenka, correct?" Honestly it felt odd talking to something she expected no response from. Many creatures were intelligent so there was a chance it knew what she was speaking of. Then again, there was also the chance she'd end up getting some wild tour of Hargeon instead. Her answer came in the form of him taking off rather suddenly out of town and in the direction of Hosenka.

Hosenka was reached rather quickly due to the pace of the creature Samira rode upon. Her hair was far from the straight and neat design it normally took. Due to the swiftness the strands were all over the place and she was sure she felt slightly queasy. That form of riding was not something she was used to. The guards of the town were busy evacuating the citizens and did not take notice of the rather intimidating looking hound. They had just got done fending off another attack of the Titano snake, but its retreat would not last for long. Many buildings were heavily damaged, and from where she was she could make out a conversation between two guards mentioning on how a few of the town's villagers were missing, possibly swallowed by the snake if not taken away. She was too late to stop that attack, but it was obvious the snake did need to be dealt with before it could strike again. Hopefully it had not gotten very far.

"Um, can you track snakes?" Samira felt a little silly asking the question of the creature she rode upon. He had a bit of a personality that reminded her of a dog but that did not mean he was one. It likely was an insulting comparison. She had to try though.

(Word Count: 1281)

Well it seemed the creature that had tagged along with her had understood her question, after all. At least, that is what she had concluded from how he had begun sniffing the air. She had already removed herself from his back when he began and she stepped back to allow for some space as the towering creature picked apart the many scents in the area. Soon he had emitted a snarl, possibly as a signal that he had found the scent of the Titano. Once again she was being reminded of a dog, particularly those trained by hunters. He had to of belonged to someone to not only not be dangerous towards strangers but to also be trained. Although why someone would be commanding him to aid her was unknown. A wiser person may not of put too much trust on the creature to begin with, but at that moment she needed its help.

As the Dragonhound walked forward she too began to do so as well, following its movement until they had reached the far end of town where a building that seemed unharmed from the earlier attack stood. Samira glanced over to her left and then to her right but saw nothing. The more vicious snarls of her temporary companion told her otherwise. A breath of flame was launched at the doorway of the building and from within loud hisses reached her ears a moment before her eyes caught sight of the large serpent slithering from the building. The flames that touched it barely did anything against its reptilian skin, being more of an annoyance than anything. The tail end swiped part of the burning building away as the front end raised to stare down at its new foes standing before it. Its jaws opened as it hissed in response to the snarls it was receiving. Large drips of venom fell from its fangs and onto the ground, creating small pools that steamed upon the ground in an almost acidic fashion.

Samira's teeth clenched as she stared at the massive snake and readied her weapons. The yellow eyes only reminded her of her dream, causing fear to swirl inside her. The serpent and Samira stared at each other in silence for a moment, one pausing from caution while the other too afraid to make the first move. The titano's patience would be the first to disappear. The snake hissed once more before unleashing a breath of its own in the form of a poisonous cloud.

Samira's fear broke to prioritize self preservation. The cloud had been rapidly coming towards her and in its own way was slowly melting whatever it touched from the acidic properties. The cloud was easily enough to avoid as it only went in one direction and most of it had went too far to the side. She just had to quickly take a few steps away. The ring-like weapons were then thrown at the snake's head, making two cuts along its neck. Unfortunately, even though the cuts bled a small amount of blood they were not at all fatal and only served to piss the serpent off. It made its own hissing snarl as it lashed forward and made a snap at the girl with its fangs while its tail went for the annoying Dragonhound that had found its hiding place.

(Word Count: 557)


Added due to a comment made on discord =3

The dragonhound had made several attacks towards the snake with each one just pissing the serpent off more and more. At the very least the serpent was being weakened each time. Still, with all the attacks it had received from the other creature it was more interested in dealing with the human woman. It was still hungry and it could feel the power of a mage within her. Devouring her would only allow the power she wielded to absorb into it and make it more powerful. That was how it grew to be worthy of its Titano namesake to begin with. The reptilian hound was just a nuisance and useless.

With its tail busy entertaining the hound, the serpent opened its jaws again and a glowing bright purple ball of energy formed. With a commanding hiss, the ball split into tiny beams of energy the size of needles and each filled with a dose of poison. The needle beams went towards Samira, who raised one of her chakrams to block the attack from her face but it did nothing as some of the needles hit the rest of her body. They made no visible wounds and left no entry marks. Each one had magically passed through the layers of clothing and skin to enter the bloodstream. Samira had begun to feel the effects of the poison almost immediately. She lowered her weapon from her face now that the attack had ended and it was time for her counter attack. Her mind commanded her body to move, but it barely responded and moved in a sluggish manner. It was even hard to keep her balance just from standing still.

The dragonhound had bought some time for her recovery, although likely unintentional. The claws that had pierced through the snake's skin caused the serpent to emit an ear piercing hiss. Its head left the human woman and snapped back, now completely focusing on ridding itself of the Dragonhound that dared injure it in such a way. The snake flailed around wildly and made many attempts to snap at the creature attached to its hide.

'Serqet, get out there! You are supposed to be over venomous creatures like snakes. Go tell it to die.'

'Hmmm, wouldn't that be kind of cheating? And I don't think it works that way. Pretty sure things don't just die because I tell it to. Can I test it on you? Kali often refers to your company as toxic.'

'...Nevermind.'

'Shut up! I am busy trying to break that girl's mental wall so I can tell her how stupid she is.'

'Please tell me you are joking.'

'Do I ever joke?'

Samira stood there, bringing a hand to her forehead as parts of the conversation between her spirits filled her head. The poison must had weakened her to a point that she couldn't even tune them out properly. Well it was what it was. They would continue to be ignored and she most certainly was not going to summon them. She could do the mission of ending the Titano's attacks on Hosenka on her own, without the aid of those she had lost a bit of trust in. With her determination to do just that, Samira ran towards the snake despite its wild movements and managed to make a few slashes across its scaly skin with the edges of her chakrams. The blood of the creature sprayed from the wounds as evidence that some damage had been caused. The snake would have none of it. It was furious and had a reason to be so. With the girl refusing to use her magic power it was clear she was the weakest. Put her out for a moment while it dealt with the annoying dragonhound and then afterwards it could begin its feast on the town once more. The serpent quickly coiled around Samira, ignoring the pain caused by the other creature. Its tail wrapped around her body and squeezed but rather finishing her off right then its body uncoiled itself, and she was thrown towards a nearby building where she crash landed onto its roof. There she lied, the voices of her spirits turning into whispers as she entered the world of unconsciousness.

(Word Count: 705)

Samira was completely unaware of what was going on within the normal world as her unconscious sate took her into the realm where her dreams existed. She found herself in the setting of the reoccurring dream, once again standing on the dock of the silent water that surrounded the misty village behind her. A soft breeze blew by as it normally did in the repeated dream, but there was a change to it. It was colder than she remembered. The first breeze of the dream was usually warm and soothing until the storm started. Now it was already cold, like ice gliding over her skin. "Tell me, is it really your plan to die? Ignoring your spirits can only lead to that end. They are fundamental to who you are, the very core of your magic. Am I wrong, celestial summoner?"

"Who are you?" Samira demanded, surprised to hear her own voice considering she could never make words in past versions of the dream. The question of whether it was really a dream came to mind and as if the voice could read it answered.

"It is a dream, although different than the one I created previously. We all can do that, you know. The others just don't like to do so. It ruins a sort of...privacy boundary. But you don't really mind invasions of that sort, now do you?" A soft laughter that seemed to mock her filled the air surrounding her. Thinking back, she did recall back in the Ancient Ruins how she took no issue with abilities that could invade the mind. She was just so used to her spirits knowing her every thought when they were around that she saw nothing wrong with using such skills to extract information from others. "Ah, you think that, but really you are the type of girl that believes anything should be on the table to do so long as good intentions are behind it. You do know some of the worst outcomes come from that sort of thinking, right? And yet knowing this you continue on that path, feeling no sort of guilt at all. You are a wicked little thing, aren't you?"

Samira's eyes flickered with a wave of anger that she made herself force down in an attempt to remain calm. "You are a spirit." Like the spirits she could summon the one in the dream knew what was going through her mind and to know what had happened in the past the others would of had to give that information.

"And bright too!" Another chuckle to match the mocking sarcasm. A strong gust blew through her, nearly knocking her over into the water. "Careful. You're having a hard enough time dealing with a one-headed serpent. You wouldn't want to play with the one in that water." Samira would have to give him credit for that stab. She was relying on herself to get the job done, and even relying on another creature she knew nothing about rather than summon her own spirits for aid. "I have been keeping an eye on things due to the connection from my key and I will be blunt when I say this because I don't believe in sugar coating things; you are terrible when it comes to fighting. No seriously, you are really bad. You even have to cheat to aim. Who does that?" The green haired summoner's eye twitched. By that point she was ready to jump into the water and let the snake below take her so she could wake up. All that spirit wanted to do was make fun of her. At least when Kali was mean she wasn't laughing!

The unseen spirit's laugh came to a slow stop, or at least tried. Every time he tried to speak more chuckles followed. "Ahem!" The wind around Samira pulled away from the dock and into the direction of the water, as if a deep breath was being taken. "Sorry, it was just too ridiculous when saying that out loud. Embarrassing even considering you're supposed to be signing a contract with me. I mean, you dropped your weapons the moment you say that dog-lizard type...thing. You're terrible."

"Am I really here just so you can continue to poke fun at me?"

"No, you're here because you're stupid. Well at least right now. You were here before as a sign that you were strong enough to make contracts with the next set of spirits destined to follow...you." The voice then began to mutter something along the lines of there had to be some sort of mistake and that something in the celestial paperwork had gone awry. "I am the representative."

An eyebrow raised at the mention of celestial paperwork. Such a thing existed? That question would be best saved for later, assuming she ever got out of that place and saved Hosenka from the serpent. "Because you are the strongest?"

"Because I drew the short straw."

"You really do not hold back the truth, do you?"

"No. Coincidentally, I am actually the best choice given your current circumstances. A serpent you fight and in the tale I represent a serpent was also fought. Witness! The battle between Susano and the eight headed serpent." Above the water an imaginary scene played featuring a man with a sword and a serpent with eight heads. Eight tubs were filled with some sort of liquid and as the serpent came and drank from each tub the creature fell asleep. The man then came and sliced it into pieces. "Now that is how you handle a serpent!"

Samira stared at the scene with wide and confused eyes as it came to a pause at the end. Was that really it? What the hell was he doing mocking her when he practically tricked his way into a victory?! "I.." She began to say but cut herself off as she formed her hand into a fist and coughed into it. It was probably best not to actually anger him. "I do not think that will work for me."

"You forget I know what you are thinking. Forming mental walls does not work here, summoner. You are not a true fighter, not in the physical sense. Some enemies require allies to defeat and you are ignoring yours. Your spirits did not answer your question because they were not allowed to do so. Even we follow a power hierarchy, and when a higher power makes demands those beneath them should listen or face the consequences. Not everything runs on the sunshine and rainbows that are so common in your world."

"So, you are saying I should forget they kept something from me?"

"Of course not. Keeping secrets is very unacceptable!" More confusion spread over Samira, completely missing the sarcastic joke. "I am saying accept it for what it is. If we are to keep secrets it is in your best interest. We are here to do what is required to aid you in your goals and to keep you safe. Tossing spirits aside is an insult that I am surprised they tolerated. Now leave. Beat the serpent as your guild master requested. Prove that you can work with your spirits to end that monster and I will consider it proof that your skills as a celestial wizard are strong enough to handle the next set of spirits that are to be yours. That is what you are, after all. Correct, summoner?" The sound of fingers snapping could be heard and within the next instant Samira opened her eyes in the real world.

She sat up, groaning slightly from the aches in her body from the landing, but strangely it was not as bad as she had predicted it would be. The dragonhound was beside her and seemed to had been licking her arm where a now closed wound was. She even felt a little more energized than she had before, as if she had obtained some magic energy. A pat was given on the hound's head to reassure him that she was fine. "Thank you for watching over me," she calmly said towards him before setting her focus on the slowed down snake before them. Serpent playtime was over. It turns out being a ragdoll was not all that enjoyable. Go figure.

Doing as the spirit in her dream suggested, she reached for one of the keys hooked onto the spirit keychain and held it out before using it to slash the air and open a rift between the planes. “Open, gate of the Avatar, Cernunnos, The Horned God!" While she was not very impressed with how the eight headed serpent was dealt with in the dream it did give her an idea. The time spell she could tell was wearing off and the sleep mist from the flora that grew around Cernunnos portal made the snake drowsy, its movements becoming slow even without the slow of time. "Cernunnos, I will summon Kali and the two of us will keep the snake distracted while you focus your energy into that charged attack of yours." The animal-like humanoid spirit gave a nod, having no audible response nor any indication he had anything against her for ignoring the others. It wasn't as if he were the one that had an ignored voice. He never talked anyway.

The next key was taken from the chain and the actions performed as before. "Open, gate of the Avatar, Goddess of Destruction! Kali!” From the open portal appeared the blue skinned and four armed woman spirit. She looked pissed, was likely pissed, but that seemed to always be the case. "You are joking," Kali stated, hardly believing that out of all the spirits she was the one chosen. She had a mind to cut Samira's head off right then and there, but then who would she call foolish and stupid? Agni's normal persona was too obvious a target.

'Isn't that my line?'

"Quiet, Chaac. I am trying to think, and before you comment, Agni you stay quiet too." Samira knew the fire spirit would only mock the water one for getting in trouble and she wanted to prevent that before it even happened. Why the two couldn't have an argument outside her mind she had no idea. Now that she thought about it, she did not feel as weak as she used to when having two spirits out. It did not hurt at all and the most that she realized was that her movement was still slightly sluggish from the energy drain. "Kali-"

"I do not need you to tell me what to do. Isn't it obvious? Destroy that oversized worm and go home. The thing will die of old age before you manage to get your instruction out of those lips of yours. I will not allow it that pleasure." With that said, Kali jumped from the roof and made for the snake. A scimitar sliced through its skin as she ran by, creating a large cut within its hide. Cernunnos remained on the roof, charging up a spell as his body became covered with a green colored energy. As for Samira, she slowly made her way down from the roof, carefully watching her step and making sure she held onto something during her descent. Once on the ground she made her way over to the glistening light of her chakrams. They had landed on the ground when she was thrown and even though they returned to her after using them to attack, they did not follow that same magical guideline if she dropped them. The snake hissed from Kali's attack but otherwise ignored the spirit. It noticed the human girl once more and as it lifted its head high into the air, began to form another poisonous breath like before.

"Disgusting!" Kali had made her way back around as she jumped up she jammed the trident she held in her third arm through its lower jaw until it pierced the upper. The poison attack ceased as the snake began to flail about. The tail smacked Kali over into a nearby building but as a counter the spell Cernunnos had been charging up was unleashed, creating a powerful beam of nature energy that struck the large serpent along its neck. With chakrams now held, Samira used their power and tossed them into the air. The pointed rings began to spin rapidly around her and the snake, and while she was unharmed by the magic, the snake was getting several cuts from the weapons as well as the trail of blue colored energy within the tempest they created. The serpent's blood began to pool onto the ground and as the attack ended the snake wobbled back and forth before it fell forward, its head landing right in front of Samira. Her weapons returned to her grasp as she stared down at the creature, which was very much still alive. All she had to do was finish it off. Or at least that would of been the thing to do if Kali had not decided to steal the kill. A scimitar came out of no where and sliced through the snake's head, creating a massive spray of gushing blood that got all over Samira. The summoner could only glare at the spirit, not wanting to open her mouth and get a taste of the blood.

"Do not look at me like that. I did not attack to help you. My anger and frustrations had to be taken out on something. Be thankful you are in a town full of spas. I suggest you use them to clean up. Well I would, if the place wasn't half destroyed and evacuated." Kali then disappeared to return to the celestial realm. Cernunnos had made his way over and gently placed his clawed hand on her blood covered shoulder while shaking his head. He too then disappeared. Damn spirits. Now she was going to get confused as some sort of psycho murderer. At the very least the Titano threat had been eliminated.

"Mission accompl- Hey stop that!" Normally Samira likely would not enjoy the idea of creature slobber getting on her face, but she was already covered in blood anyway. Not like she could use hygiene as an excuse. A few giggles escaped her as she attempted to push the creature away to no avail. Suddenly she was then lifted up by his snout and the dragonhound proceeded to playfully head towards the edge of town. "Wait, no! Put me down! I cannot leave looking like this!" The creature may of removed some of the blood from her face but she was still practically covered in it. "Are you listening to me?" A shocked scream replaced the complaints as she was tossed into the air and landed on the dragonhound's back. He then took off before she could gain any sort of balance and grab anything to hold onto. Another shocked scream followed up with a "Slow down!" There really was no reason to rush back to the guild castle and yet the creature she rode showed no signs of slowing down.

Upon reaching bridge leading into the guild, the dragonhound stopped and allowed her to get off before vanishing from sight. The ride back was just as wild as the ride to Hosenka. Her hair was everywhere and she could feel her stomach churning. That form of riding was not going to be something that became routine. At the very least she hoped not. She was still unsure of where the hound had come from or who he belonged to. He was gone though and at that moment all she cared about was taking a bath before reporting her success to the guild master.