Songs Collide: Bloodfire (Job, Kaori, Private)

Job Info:

Continuation of:
Songs Collide: Ice Part 1
Continuation of Songs Collide: Soulsmoke Part 3
Songs Collide: Shadow Part 4

Samira had just nearly finished a rough sketch of the newly emerged ice phoenix when a high pitched girly squeal made her drop her writing utensil onto the snow covered ground. Oh, that's right. She was actually there with Kaori rather than by herself. Her gaze raised in time to see the ninja warrior nearly suffocating the poor creature for committing the crime of being much too cute. "I will never understand how she has lived for so long." Samira knew Kaori to be a great fighter who had defeated many enemies. How she got such a reputation when one of her greatest weaknesses was quite literally anything in the realm of cute was beyond her level of comprehension. Throw a stuffed plushie into the arena and she'd be content for a short period of time. Samira closed her book and held it at her side as she continued to watch the scene with a gentle shake of her head.

Upon feeling her shoulder being nudged, her gaze shifted towards the dragonhound who had brought the orb over to her. A grin of her own formed once she saw it and like Kaori began to go into her own sort of nerdfest. A high pitched squeal was let loose from the woman as she grabbed onto the orb, dropping her book in the process, and started to ramble incoherently and in such a rapid pace that it is likely impossible for anyone to keep up with her words. She then gasped. The fact they had found the Ice Gem as well as the Phoenix guardian meant one thing. "The legends are real...Haha! YES!" Proudly she raised the gem above her head, displaying the wondrous object for all to see! Which was really just Kaori, the phoenix, the dragonhound, and Skadi acting as the overseer for that moment since the rest of her spirits were god knows where in the celestial realm.

'You exaggerate gem importance. Unless used to beat man's head it is useless.'

"It is not useless! It's...amazing." She said with a loving sigh as she hugged onto the gem and rocked her shoulders from side to side with twinkles in her eyes. The moment shared between gem and the woman obsessed with anything pertaining to legend passed around the time the phoenix puffed into several million snowflakes. Samira made the attempt to hold in her laughter at Kaori's reaction to the disappearing legendary bird. There may had been sadness within Kaori at losing a potential new friend but to Samira it was all too funny. Of course the bird was going to get out of there in any way possible when it had some insane and rather strong human attached to it while also fawning over it! The whining was also priceless as it made the ninja look as if she were some sort of child. By the time her hound had brought her over Samira's cheeks ached from too much smiling and holding her laughter in.

Karma was a vicious thing. As she was busy putting her book and the rather amazing gem into her bag the dragonhound had gone behind her. No matter of thought was put onto it and she continued to go about her business. Then she felt a shove along her back with the result of her faceplanting into the snow with her arms stretched out in front of her and her bag flying from her grasp to land near Kaori. She also had a mouthful of clumped up snowflakes due to her mouth being open from the awkward and surprised cry she let out. As a bonus, the creature decided to rest his head on her back, making it nearly impossible to get up. Samira still tried before finally admitting defeat and looking up at Kaori with pleading eyes. "Help...me..." she said before allowing her face to land in the snow once more. The giggles Kaori tried to hide were quite obvious but she supposed she deserved it for finding her dealings with the phoenix amusing.

Once she was no longer a human sized pillow Samira sat up and began removing the snow from her clothes and hair. During this Kaori had taken a sudden interest in her book and then made the announcement that they should find all of the stones and birds. "What?!" Samira was astonished to hear the suggestion come from the masked ninja warrior. She had only requested for a ride at the start of the day and now it wasn't she that was adding more onto the quest but Kaori. It could take days or even weeks to accomplish what she was asking! Chaac wouldn't be gone that long.

'Is no worry. Awilix great friend of mine. She say she keep him busy for while.'

"How will she accomplish such a task?"

'Chaac survive skull beating.'

For a moment Samira seemed confused, but then the remnants of the earlier comment made to her back when she had been at the entrance to the Arc of Destiny came back to the forefront of her mind. "I do not think I should comment."

'Good decision. Scary to think about.'

That was not the only thing scary. As soon as Samira agreed to keep going with the journey she began to feel something was very off. Kaori was approaching her but she wasn't exactly sure if that was a good thing.

(Word Count = 901)

The closer Kaori got the more concerned Samira got for her own well being and it clearly showed on her face as a look of confused terror. It was probably the right time to consider taking a few steps back but she was slow to act on it. Not that it would of mattered due to the ice cube so sneakily placed behind her. She was gently pushed back and landed swiftly on the chair of ice. Her eyes went down to look upon the ice furniture wondering just where in Kotetsu did that come from? Although the better question was when was Kaori the type to carry around a vanity kit?! As her gaze returned more surprise took over and her lower jaw just dropped as the vanity set was pulled from the smaller satchel that had somehow contained it. She watched quietly as several more items were brought forth from the bag, proving that such magical items were a blessing to have. Still, as messy as her hair had gotten she wasn't so sure it was the appropriate time or place to be setting up shop to mess with it. Looking classy whenever possible was a preference of hers but she wasn't exactly so unreasonable that she would demand her hair be a priority while in the middle of the wilderness. A simple brush and use of the scrunchie would have sufficed. A small awkward smile formed on her face as Kaori happily spoke about having been wanting to play with her hair for a while, and she felt slightly guilty for feeling it necessary to deny her the pleasure for that moment. She laughed somewhat timidly at the mention of how she should of tied her hair up before leaving. Well she did try to at the very last minute.

"Is the state of my hair really a priority? We should focus on leaving this place before more surprises come our way." In her mind it was a valid point. Where they were was not a location down the street of Hargeon or even another country of Earthland; it was an entirely different planet! Her only response was a growl from the dragonhound, a reaction she did not expect from the creature for he had never shown that type of attitude towards her before. It was two against one. She resisted the urge to shuffle uncomfortably in her seat due to not knowing what would happen if she actually refused to stay still. Being too argumentative was not in her nature and so it looked as if getting her hair done had made it to the top of the priority list.

Kaori truly was having fun playing with her hair, smiling and singing a low tune as she brushed the green locks. Samira remained silent and closed her eyes for a while as the combs went through her hair. The sensation of the process sent tingles through her brain and proved to be rather relaxing. The act of doing her hair wasn't really a thought that resembled torture, although she did hope she didn't end up with some sort of design that consisted of cutesy pigtails commonly seen on children. Kaori didn't seem like the sort that would of had much practice with styling hair, but then she didn't seem like a lot of things. The other woman was like a puzzle with several thousand pieces and slowly those pieces were coming together with each time they met.

The styling came to an end and as the summoner felt the other wrap her arms around her, her eyes opened to look at the mirror that had been turned back on. It actually did not turn out to be some kind of experimental monstrosity that required a hair cut to fix. The style was simple and yet cute. Samira smiled, grateful to have her hair put back in order even if it wasn't exactly a good place. Snow and ice did not exactly make for comfortable or warm chairs. Her butt was freezing! She gave a look into the mirror one last time before it had been put away, taking in how her hair looked with a wide smile. Even though it often looked pretty she never bothered to do much with it when it came to styling.

The knapsack was grabbed where it had landed in the snow before heading over to their method of transport. "One step at a time," Samira told Kaori as she too got on the dragonhound's back. There was more than one phoenix to be found and if they were going to do it then they were going after them all! It would be a while before the final prize of playing with her hair some more. "The next place we need to go is the planet named Shinku. I have heard tales of it being a rather unpleasant place. A place where not many return due to the planet being what is called a phantom zone." The comments were stated with no real tone of concern or worry, they were presented as if they were basic boring everyday facts. They still needed to be said though just so that the knowledge was out there and known. "It is a lawless world filled with dark mages and criminals. I suggest that we do not procrastinate once we enter.

(Word Count: 897
Total So Far: 1798)

And so the trio consisting of Kaori, the mounted dragonhound, and Samira herself were off to the next destination. Once again the ride was swift but with the added difference of hair that remained mostly neat and stayed in place. It was a shame that there was no real cure for the bumpiness of such speedy travel that made her stomach flip flop over and over. If they did go to the locations of each legendary phoenix then she would surely be forced to torture herself a few times more. 'One cannot be too picky, I suppose,' the woman thought to herself rather than comment out loud due to her sentence likely being jumbled into stuttering sounds due to the ride.

'This Kaori person seem like good friend. You should give gift for help instead of complaint.'

'I have a feeling that she wants to run into more baby phoenixes. She probably has forgotten that I even requested the help.'

'Is no matter. You give gift anyway. She is cute and strong girl. I suggest proper mate for breeding.'

'I...honestly if we went by your standards I do not think anyone could survive the beating she would give them. Even if that was not the case I am going to decline on that suggestion. I am not helping in speeding up the process of mini Kaori's entering the world. The idea terrifies me.' No doubt it would be a nightmare to have more than one of her. The scary combat oriented one was enough but then the cute one appeared and was just as terrifying, just in a different way. Earthland was not prepared to handle more of that kind of person. It was impossible.

'Means strong bloodline for future generation. Enemy flee in terror!'

That particular gift suggestion would still come down to a dominate no regardless of how Skadi put it. The ride through Shinku continued silently. The rumors about the place were somewhat correct. Shinku was a dark and barren planet that seemed to also be covered in an ominous red light from the sky. It should of been more of a planet in someone's nightmare than one that actually existed. Samira could only hope the Bloodfire phoenix did not turn out to be some kind of hideous monstrosity from nightmares to match. They mage duo were also left alone as they rode, with no signs of the criminals or dark mages that were known to take refuge in Shinku. Perhaps the area they were traveling through was more remote and the citizens were in a more secure area.

With the mountain being pointed out by Kaori's telepathic voice, Samira looked ahead and noticed the odd even portion of the mountain. She would agree on it being at least a likely possibility of it being the correct location of the next shrine. Once the mountain base had been reached Samira found that she was in for yet another surprise. Rather than take the path that was obviously created for easy travel up the mountain, she would instead find herself hanging on for dear life as the dragonhound she and Kaori rode upon started to climb the edge by using his claws. Forget the diary entries. Adventures with the masked ninja would require several dedicated books just to mark every surprise, mini heartattacks, and events that came their way whenever they were together. She could of mentioned the path but she considered that neither Kaori nor the dragonhound cared about it to begin with. No, it was more likely Samira was the only one patient and cautious enough to take the long, and likely, safer way. She had to suck it up and just go with it. Not like she had a choice to back out anyway unless she wanted to plummet to the ground with a splat.

Once the top of the mountain had been reached Samira had almost turned religious enough to pray to whatever gods existed on Shinku for reaching it without some sort of catastrophe happening. It was an impressive thing for the creature to have such stamina, and as he shot out a burst of flames above himself to prove Kaori's comment about his limits wrong Samira was astounded. Now that she thought about it she never did ask just what he was or where he came from. She had been too focused on reaching the Ice shrine before the day was over. Timing was everything though and as usual it was not the time or place to sate her curiosity. She had been the one to mention not procrastinating while in Shinku, after all.

"Runes? Really?" Samira had been getting over her floaty stomach after having disembarked but at Kaori's words she perked up and headed on over to take a look for herself. During this, the spirit named Charlotte had been called as a translator, but her help had been delayed the moment the dragonhound made his presence known to her. The scene confused Samira greatly for it seemed the spirit did not know of the creature's existence and that he belonged to her summoner. Her head tilted as she watched the scene, amused by it but said nothing. How the spirits never knew of him she couldn't figure out. The creature had to of belonged to Kaori well before the Titano attacked Hosenka and that had been a while ago. Were they really that out of the loop of anything relating to their summoner?

'Strange. Cute spirit scared of sweet hound. She not know is ally?'

"I suppose not. It seems to often be the case with the relationship," Samira said quietly as she focused on the runes. It seemed as if there would be no easy answers from Charlotte. If she didn't know anything about it and if they really were outside of their own dimension then it was also unlikely her own spirits knew anything.

'Hmmm, well not my business. Is not my place to question contract. Runes though-'

"You know what they mean?"

'No. Skip boring translation. Phoenix of Bloodfire. Offer blood and set flame to honor beast. If enough, winged beast will show.'

"How much blood are you suggesting? I am not going to approve of killing someone just to make it appear."

'Depends on beast. May not like human blood. May just want drops or flowing river. Is just guess.'

It was entirely possible for someone paying close enough attention to Samira's muttering to understand her words while she communicated with her spirit. The conversation was far from private, at least on her side of it, and it was an issue that really needed to be corrected unless she desired people to think she was talking to herself. There weren't really many options available. It could take a while to try and translate the runes and they didn't have forever, and she did not want to be in Shinku much longer. She turned away from the runes and towards the rest of the group. "One of my spirits has a theory. It could be completely wrong, but I am afraid there is little time for proper translations. This phoenix is called Bloodfire. It was suggested to give blood as tribute and then set a flame to honor it. I don't even know if a few drops will work or if we need more. Although..." Samira's voice trailed off as her eyes shifted and locked onto the dragonhound. "He is a creature that can use flames and it is in his blood. Maybe he just needs to shoot fire at it...or something." Her hand ran through the hair on the side of her head as her words came to an end, clearly uncertain about any of it and still trying to come up with a different thinking process.

(Word Count: 1303
Total So Far: 3101)

The options were indeed slim and Samira could only sigh, hoping the idea of having the dragonhound use his power was the more favored one. The idea of killing someone and draining their blood just to test out a theory did not sit well with her even if the world was covered with those that would of done it without thinking too much about it. Samira was not aware of Kaori's internal worries regarding the special abilities of the hound and even if they were to be used she would not recognize them. Her mind wasn't exactly calm and stable for a number of reasons. Attack descriptions didn't even make it as a footnote in her diary. With the shout, the summoner put her complete focus on the ninja, crossing her arms below her chest and tilting her head at the sudden excitement. "I do," she said plainly right before Kaori went on to explain that the flames of the dragonhound would not be enough and even decided to make her ethical standards even more confusing than before. She was never going to have her figured out. Never.

Then the orb started to glow purple as Kaori pointed to it. Her green eyes widened as the gem started to levitate. "Wait! We shoul-" Too late. A ball of fire appeared and from it the phoenix of Bloodfire formed. She had expected a little more caution and thought put into the act of doing something so simple. Then again, look who she was dealing with.

'Hm, was good idea. Should have suggested myself.'

What was done was done. At least it worked with nothing backfiring. With a shake of her head she decided to let Kaori handle the bird as she saw fit and took out her book from her bag to start jotting down notes and make sketches. Just as she started to get into the process the phoenix began to fall down like a meteor from space, heading straight for the shrine. She quickly got a little bit of a distance to save herself but it did nothing to save the ancient structure. When the dust of the crash settled she was standing with her facial features turned forming into a look of absolute horror. Everything was destroyed before she could finish! "I...it...what? No..." Samira dropped her book onto the ground and fell to her knees. The thought of such an ancient relic being destroyed and gone forever with no proper evidence of its existence was just too much! Then the runes! What if they explained why the shrines existed? What if the answers for the following shrine puzzles was on them? What if they told the future! Well, all right. Maybe that last one was a little outlandish but at the point of never knowing anything was possible. She honestly felt like crying, as if it were the worst day ever.

'Stop exaggerating shrine importance.'

"If you say its destruction just made more rocks to hit a man's head with in order to find the perfect mate..."

'Was not going to say such thing.'

"Good."

'Is good point though.'

"Ahhh!" To make matters worse, the phoenix was a fire type. Her only spirit that had any sort of power relating to water was Chaac. "Skadi?"

'Not leaving mental room. Fire bad for pale skin.'

"You are not even a vain spirit! Your ice could probably damage it somewhat!"

'Is cute bird.'

Samira could only facepalm as a response. Well so much for using a proper attacking spirit to help weaken the creature. Kali was pissed, Chaac was otherwise being kept busy and she was not going to summon him by choice, Awilix was the one keeping him busy, Susano was likely drunk, Agni was flame himself, Serqet was probably still eating pastries, and Skadi was refusing to even be summoned. A rough day to be a summoner. A more support oriented one that could also fly would have to do. Samira stood up fully and grabbed a key from the keychain she often wore and held it out. “Open, gate of the Avatar, The Oathkeeper! Jing Wei!” A celestial portal appeared above her and a winged spirit flew from it. She wielded a crossbow of elegant design and was more on the small and cutesy side as she appeared to be in the early teen years of age with her hair tied up into a ponytail on both sides of her head. With her very presence the allies of Samira would feel their speed increasing instantly, not that they really needed it given the already quick way Kaori moved, but it was something and Jing Wei had wings to assist with aerial attacks.

Almost immediately the young spirit sighed as she looked at the mess below her. "I didn't actually expect you to call on me, you know." Another sigh followed, but more whiney than the last. "I guess I can do something since I am already here." Contracts were a bitch. She preferred making sure other spirits kept their part of contracts, not being in one herself. That damn fool Susano tricking her into making one! As Kaori would make her moves to weaken the phoenix, Jing Wei would assist while staying in the air. She would make basic attacks with her crossbow and if asked to move or assist in another way she would do so.

(Word Count: 900
Total So Far: 4001)