The Next Step (Job)

The only mode of transportation Katherine had ever taken was her legs. And now she sat in what modern people called a 'train.' It was a strange, but wonderful thing, built entirely of metal and plastic with windows all around. She'd been fidgeting with the curtains of their car's window when Saryn asked her a question. She'd been waiting for this to come up and now it had. The question was whether she had ever taken a life, something the girl wasn't proud to answer honestly, but honesty was her policy and she must stick to it if she ever wished to keep her will to live. Guilt wasn't a friend of hers and she'd rather not attract it like flies to horse shit. She let go of the fabric and turned to look the doctor in the eyes, her lips pressed tightly together in a moment of hesitance.

"Yes," she said quietly, her expression more serious and rock-solid than a brick wall. "Though I have been told I do it well, I am not proud of it. I take no enjoyment from it whatsoever, but if I must, I will." She paused for a moment in thought. "To be quite frank with you, the act of killing people disgusts me. If only because part of me seems to enjoy it, the feeling of someone else's blood on my hands..." Katherine trailed off, looking down at her hands and remembering the warmth that had coated them several times in the past, the thick ooze of a person's most precious bodily fluid dripping from her fingertips. Blinking out of her gross memory, she looked back at her new companion.

At the next thing the woman would say, something sank inside her. Something heavy and painful, a weight of the past, older than anything that had happened in the last decade. She spoke again, her voice coming out flat and low, a tinge of fear tainting her calm. "We're going to Shirotsume?" Her eyes had unintentionally blown wide and she felt a cold sweat coat her skin, or rather, the memory of it caused one. There was a stutter inside her chest and a flash behind her eyes that left an ache as it passed, even in her blind side. She hadn't ever wanted to go back; not so soon. If soon was nearly two or three years. She'd stopped counting, even though it was her habit to count the time that passed. And only one word cycled through her mind while she waited for Saryn to reply, her breath held painfully in her lungs; WHY.

The thundering of her pulse rang inside her head and she swallowed to clear it until she could properly hear what the doctor was saying to her. "O-okay..." she stuttered, taking the hand that Saryn offered and squeezing it as the woman pat her knee reassuringly. She blinked hard and took a deep breath to push down what memories tried to surface as they grew closer to the city where her beginning and end met to destroy her. But only if she let it. Even though they'd just met not too long ago, Katherine couldn't deny that she'd had a quick connection to Saryn. She wanted her to be proud of her the way a mother would be, the way her mother hadn't been. The girl sighed and rubbed her eyes roughly, pushing away the thought of her mother. Nothing good would come from thinking about that woman. "Alright, yes, I can... I can hold it back. I can try." She didn't let go of her hand until the woman stood and pulled it away herself. When she looked up at Saryn again, she started. In a split second her aura had changed and the coldness her features held was enough to send a chill up her spine. She nodded through her stun in response to what the woman told her and the twitch of a frown pulled at the corner of her lips when she smiled. It was a smile she didn't particularly care to see again, especially not on the face of someone she kind of liked, but there was nothing Saryn had done yet to lose her favor so she stayed quiet. This was going to be an interesting day.

"You look great," the girl said, wearing an awkward smile. Saryn's guild mark was undisguisible on her chest and Katherine stared at it. It looked a lot nicer than hers... And so did they. Her lips morphed into a small frown and she looked down at her own chest, which was far less pronounced and even flat compared the other woman's. Absently, her hand when to it and patted, like she was looking for something. But of course, there was nothing to find in the first place. With a sigh, she dropped her hand and followed the doctor off of the train and onto the streets of Shirotsume. The weight of her memories was suffocating and she had to take a deep breath, blinking away her emotions to focus on their task. She could deal with her pain later.

Katherine felt Saryn grab her hand and on instinct her fingers tightened the grip. She hadn't gotten this amount of physical contact in a long, long time and even though there wasn't anything really affectionate about it, she felt warmth blossom in her chest.

"I am no stranger to brutality..." she mumbled in response to the woman's warning, but nodded. From then on it seemed that she would be going it alone. Anxiety prickled in the back of her skull at the thought and she swallowed hard. "Alright. I'll do my best." She looked down at their hands and reluctantly pulled them apart, immediately feeling the absence. It wasn't pleasant in the slightest, but she dealt with it all the same. Her fist clenched at her side, she waited patiently for her cue.

Katherine watched the woman work, her mass destruction raining down on those unsuspecting soldiers like-- She blinked away the subject of her comparison, crouching down to sit back on her heels and stay out of sight. Her expression had darkened during her observation, her chin tucked and her head bowed low, watching the scene play out from under her thick eyelashes with her lips stamped into a straight line across her mouth. The feeling it drew from deep inside her was old and forgotten, and equally as unpleasant. It was almost tangible and she had to crush it with her tongue and swallow it, the sharp fractures piercing her concentration. The girl took a couple of steps back and pressed her back against the wall behind her, taking a breath before she stood and left Saryn to her 'fun.'

In a crouched walk, she snuck around the outside of the manor, looking for an opening of any kind that would let her in unnoticed. She was quiet and kept herself as hidden as possible until she came to a window that had been cracked open. It was too high up for her to crawl through from ground level, but she could climb. Looking around to make sure the coast was clear, and finding that it was, she stood. She stepped up on the bricks that stuck out far enough until she reached the window sill. Carefully, she swung her legs over the sill and slipped inside the room soundlessly. Upon steadying herself and wiping her hands on her pants, she looked up. The room was empty and she sighed in relief, but wouldn't let herself relax long enough to stay and potentially get caught by the manor's staff. She left the window open behind so as to leave as little evidence that she'd entered as possible. Tip-toeing across the floor, she walked up to the room's door and opened it slowly, only enough that she could slip through the crack and avoid making a single sound. With how silent she was, one might be able to hear a pin drop. In the manor's corridor, Katherine wondered what she should do now that she was inside. It would be good to look for the noble, but they were likely protected and there was no way she would be able to fight alone; she needed Saryn. There was an objective; find a way to sneak her in. Luckily, Katherine remembered where they had been outside and would easily be able to back-track within the house.

With this thought in her mind, the mage ventured through and found her way to the closest possible entrance Saryn would be able to get to. Not a door, a window, but that wouldn't pose any issues from what Katherine could gather. Once again, she checked her surrounding and found them clear. She brought her knee up onto the window sill and undid the latch before she pushed it gently open, feeling the outside air of Shirotsume brush against her skin. She would see the woman and call out to her, or make an attempt to grab her attention, waving her over to join her inside.

With Saryn having joined her inside the manor, Katherine should have felt comfort, but the first emotion that struck her was worry. The woman fell to her knees, her aura downtrodden and cold with sadness. The girl's eyebrows furrowed in concern and she knelt down in front of her friend, ducking so her line of sight would be level with hers. There was only one thing she could think to do; pulling up her dearest memory of her father, it filled her with a loving warmth and she touched her hand to Saryn's cheek, fingers lit with flames colored soft pink that soaked into the woman's skin. All of this would only take a short moment, but her way of helping was to share her emotions. She hoped it would work. Katherine took her hand away and sat back, watching and listening as Saryn spoke. She would nod politely and do as she was told when the time came. Honestly, she would much rather stay and fight by her side but... In her current state, the risk was just a little too high. Living within the freezing halls of Basilisk Fang had weakened her, and with no constant method to regain her strength she wouldn't be able to help much. She was in a healing period of sorts.

"...chip?" Katherine mumbled in question,but snapped to attention just as Saryn did at the sound of another approaching. The woman beside her guarded her with her hand across her chest, and with a focused gaze told her to remember what she'd said. Katherine nodded. "Of course."

As soon as those that approached were within their vicinity, Katherine was pushed forward and past them. She stumbled but caught herself against the wall of the corridor, turning to look back at Saryn and the two maids that stood between them. The girl's eyebrows were furrowed and she did little but nod when the woman put her trust in her to have her back. She watched in silent awe as blue mist began to form around Saryn and she stepped away from it out of instinct. With grit teeth and pressed lips, Katherine watched again as the woman did her thing. It was strangely fascinating, but disturbing all the same. With one maid down and the other now wary, Saryn made sure to warn Katherine about this mist. Her retreat from it was smart then.

As the last standing maid backed away, the girl stepped up behind her and shoved her forward into her friend's range. Though she felt slightly bad about it, the action would help further their progress. She could do little but assist and right then that seemed to be enough. The maid stumbled right into Saryn's proximity, right where she needed to be and Katherine stood back to watch what would unfold before her. As a last thought, she spoke up for once; "Do tell me if there is anything I can do to help. I can't help feeling useless while you do all of the work."

At the thanks that were given, the girl smiled. However, the compliments after made her give off a blush-like glow in her cheeks, rosy pink just as if her blood still flowed through her veins and could in fact rush to her cheeks. She touched the spot where Saryn pat her and 'blushed' further, ducking her chin to her chest awkwardly. "N-no problem," she mumbled and then brushed off her moment and ran after Saryn, avoiding the mist that still followed as she did.

They entered a library, one of the biggest she'd ever seen personally, and in it they found armed men. She'd seen the likes of them in some of the towns she'd visited and could come to the conclusion, without assistance, that they were what modern people called 'butlers.' It was a funny thing to title someone, she thought. But this instance was a little to serious to think of something amusing and laugh about it. And then... Katherine looked at Saryn with wide eyes. "Y-you want me to... But... I'm not as strong as I used to be what if-" she stopped herself before she could ramble and furrowed her brows, depressing her nervousness to deal with it later. Down it went with the prickling in the back of her mind that reminded her where they were every. Damn. Second. The girl took a deep breath to collect herself. "Alright then," she conceded.

Katherine relaxed a little when Saryn said she wouldn't need to kill them. This was good; she wasn't confident she would be able to like she had nearly a year ago. Oh, now that was a good trigger actually... The memories of such events would help her out in this situation significantly. She could already feel the old emotions bubbling upward with the recollections...

Suddenly, as if a light had been switched on, her fingers glowed and her hands became surrounding with bright crimson wisps of flame. Weaker than before, but still useful. It was perfect timing too, because as she was revving herself up, Saryn shout out, "GO!"

She leaped forward eagerly, ready as she could be to knock the butlers down. Their iron defense would be no match against her furious flames; they burned hot enough to melt through mountain rock a foot deep in less than two seconds. Now... if she could just get one of them to egg her on...  Katherine would get her wish when she slammed her hand into a pressure point of one's neck, successfully knocking him down with ease. In order to avenge his coworker, another would throw at her a tin platter, the wide metal dish smacking her in the back of the head before it clattered to the floor. The blow didn't hurt much, but it was enough to allow her to fully unleash for the time being. She would whip around to face the culprit, slamming her fist into an oncoming butler's nose as she passed him and went to that which had mistreated her. There was a sickening crack at the impact point of her knuckles against his skull and he flopped down in agony. He wouldn't be getting back up. The man barely flinched as she got close to him, but he would never get the chance to because... while she hadn't wanted to kill anyone, she would just this once, if only by accident. Recklessly, she gripped her flaming hand around his throat, burning through his collar and tie all the way down to his flesh. She could feel and hear and smell the sizzle as he cooked under her palm. He went limp after a moment or two and she dropped him, kicking him aside so she wouldn't have to look at what she'd done any longer than she already had. That left two; one was readying to attack her and the other was already well ahead and behind. Katherine slammed her elbow into his abdomen, drawing a barely audible grunt from him, and turned around to finish the job. She grabbed him too by the neck, but briefly enough that he wouldn't burn to death, and smashed his face into a desk. The final butler was on her now and she took him down almost too easily; a low blow with her knee and then a hard hit with the same pan she'd had thrown at her to knock him unconscious.

With an tired sigh, she tossed the thing aside, hearing it clang against a shelf. Task complete.

The girl felt her insides cool, her magic ebbing slowly into a placid calm as Saryn hugged her. Her momentary rage slipped away and left her tired, but not so much that she would need to sleep. Katherine followed behind her silently through the now dead silent library and up the stairs. When they got to the landing though, Saryn looked back at her and the girl raised her eyebrows in question. Again the glowy blush would rise in her cheeks as the woman put her hand on her head and fed her what she needed to know before handing her a slip. "W-wait, Saryn I can't read this! What does it-" She tried to blurt in a panic, but she would have no time to finish. She was already out of sorts to give the girl an answer, so she would have to figure something out on her own. "Fuck!" Katherine spat out the curse and looked frantically at the slip in her hand, trying hard to decipher something and drawing a painful blank. The black scrawl just meshed together into a confusing blob and she whimpered hopelessly, running her other hand roughly through her hair. However, it wasn't the time to fret so terribly, she knew this. She looked up and-

Her heart sank into the pit of her stomach. Saryn yelled for her to run and she did, though at first hesitating for a moment too long. Katherine swallowed hard and rushed, grabbing the unsuspecting noble roughly by the arm and dragging them out with her like she'd been told. She ran from the scene, the noble pulling and crying out at her as they got further away. She whipped around with teary eyes, the stress of the situation weighing on her as much as did on them. "SHUT UP!" She ground out. "Keep up if you want to get out of here alive, damn it!" The noble stopped whining and stared at her wearily. "I... am just as afraid as you are so please-" she urged. "Please just cooperate." They blinked and she took that as an agreement, whether it was one or not. Turning back around and moving at fast pace, she flung her arm back to shove the slip in their face. "Read this, I don't know what it says. And don't even think about lying to me." They read it for her in a shaky voice, quickly. "Thank you. Now let's go."

And to the designated rendevouz they went, Katherine's non-existant heartbeat pounding in her head and giving her a migraine of worry as she thought about how she'd left Saryn behind.

The delivery point was another mansion in the city, though this was errily quiet and desolate compared to the others. Any and all furniture inside it was covered with white sheets and all that lit the room Katherine sat in with the noble were a few candles, flickering shadows across the bare walls. She sat cross-legged at the foot of a covered sofa, her arms crossed over her chest and a frown on her mouth. Anxiety plagued her as she worried and worried and worried. Her nails were chewed down, a mistake on her part because she knew they wouldn't grow back. Maybe Saryn would be able to help her with that- Saryn... The girl buried her face in her hands and stabbed her elbows into her thighs. Worry, worry, worry... She hoped she was okay. She hoped she would come soon. And not just for comfort; the noble was getting on her nerves. Katherine had always thought men were supposed to be strong and willful, but this guy... She really wanted to knock him off of a cliff. The man wouldn't stop crying and begging her to let him go.

"Please, please miss. Let me go, I'll give you anything you want just-"

She shoved a flaming hand out in front of his face and he shut up. As she took her hand back, she said a prayer.

Dear God, please bring her to me soon so I don't ruin the job for us both by killing this man....

As soon as she saw Saryn, Katherine bristled and jumped up to her feet, looking the woman over restlessly. There was so much wrong with what she saw that she couldn't react properly and was left with just a panicked stare and trembling hands that itched to help, only they didn't know how without bringing harm to the person they were attached to. She began to cough violently, blood seeping past her lips, and the girl was still speechless. Her chest felt tight and mimcked the memory of a rapidly beating heart inside it. She inhaled sharply. "You're not fine," Katherine said, her voice being darkened by her worry. "Saryn, you-" Only she was interrupted by those that would meet them to take away the noble. Some small part of her was glad for this; the man was annoying. The rest however, was consumed with a plethora of negative emotions and only one positive. That positive being that she was glad Saryn was still alive.

As she watched the people go, her magic spiked and a sick, pale yellow aura wrapped itself around her for just a moment. When it disappeared, she turned to her friend, a deep frown set onto her mouth and her eyebrows furrowed. "No, Saryn. We will deal with me later, right now you are my concern. My diaster of a past can wait until I know you're not in pain."

"Yes, with my past it's somewhat of a necessity that I know first aid. Perhaps outdated by modern standards, however..." Katherine spoke monotonously, trying to keep herself cool in case she would need to touch Saryn. "Healing you with my magic should be no trouble at all. I would advise though that you not worry about my own wellbeing during this process. My curse will do its work and repair me quickly enough." Finishing her speil, Katherine would kneel next to Saryn and take her hand in both of her own, pressing their palms together and focusing her magic to move between them. The contact point grew warm and glowed faintly for a moment, the light disipating soon after. As the gentle surge settled, the affects of her ability would begin to sink in and she cringed, bending at the waist and letting go of Saryn to hold herself. For no more than a few minutes, the woman's wounds became hers and they throbbed painfully as the curse sewed her back together. The girl sighed when it was over and leaned forward to rest her forehead against the cushions of the couch, next to Saryn's side. The success of the procedure was clear and by then she should have been feeling brand-new.

The girl hummed as she was hugged and pet, exhaustion taking hold of her and making her numb. This would only last for a bit she hoped. There was still conversation to be had. When Saryn spoke, simultaneously letting her loose, Katherine raised her head to meet her gaze. This would be interesting.

She took a breath, however unneeded it might have been. "This city, before it became what it is now, was my home. A village of sorts," She began, preparing herself for the inevitable pain that would come with this story's telling. "My family consisted of just three; myself, my mother and my father. We were very poor, almost chronically so. Nothing could fix it. No matter how hard we all worked, I from the age of six and my parents for much longer before then, we couldn't escape our poverty. Because I had to remain home and help provide, I didn't get a proper education until I was 13 years old. When I did it was thanks to my master, the man who taught me my magic.

I wasn't gifted from birth like most. I learned magic to protect myself from my abusers..." Katherine paused to touch her left eye, the one that was faded and dead, lacking all ability to see. "Before I was taken in by my master, the nobler children in our village wanted me gone; dead. They thought I was a waste and that I tarnished the good image of our little society." She scoffed. "They made two attempts to take my life, but only one was almost successful. I'd made some good pay working one day and was on my way home during a storm with dinner; bread. Quite a rarity considering... I wanted to take a short cut to try and avoid them, but they had every path and alley covered. I'd prefer not to go into detail but..." She lifted her shirt to show her scars that wrapped her sides and extended from her neck to her lower back. She touched them with shaky hands, almost as if she were afraid to. "I would have bled out that night if it weren't for him. They left me in the alley once their amusement had run out and he found me, half-way dead and soaked in my own blood.

After that... He took me under his wing and taught me Phoenix Flame so I could fight back. I'd mastered the art in just five years, even opened my own guild. Everything was going smoothly for once until... Until a dark guild came and wiped us out, to put it shortly. That guild's master is the one that cursed me. A last minute decision on his part as I'd just dealt him a life-ending wound. This curse he had concocted covered the entire village and took me with it. I'm not sure if there was anyone else...

I slept for more than a thousand years and when I finally woke up? I was laying in a dead field littered with the crumbling remains of houses. A ghost of my past just a few minutes walk from where we are now."