Walking With Ghosts

Spoiler:

Haraka finally got the courage to face the job board again since his exam to the next rank. 'you can do it, deep breath.' He told himself before walking over to it. It seemed almost expected for him to get nervous at this point and grab something random. The job... was actually in a climate he could do well in. It sounded like something he could physically handle, trouble would be easy enough to avoid running into in such a climate. The only thing that made him not want to do it alone? Ghosts. The idea of running into someone he had met hundreds, or thousands of years ago still walking around was unnerving. What if they recognized him? That would be terrible. What if one of his cousins who had run away ended up there? A cold climate was certainly closer to home than many other sorts of places. Maybe he shouldn't think that way, but the possibility was still there. Why should it matter who among the dead the demon runs into though? Those cousins never saw him as family, never as anything of worth. Those he might recognize would not be anyone he was close to. All of those people died somewhere very different. If anything of them remains at all, it lays deep under the ocean. Even if the young looking ancient man tried to whisper rationality to himself, it was was swallowed by the voices of fear that sang within the gates of his mind. This is how he ended up requesting him on the job. It must have looked strange? Maybe he was the only one who thought so. Maybe nobody would notice.

His excuse for requesting help was simply the need to learn teamwork better. That was something he did need to learn anyway. Getting to the location where the client waited was easy enough. The area didn't feel that cold when comparing to the place he was born in, but certainly it was much colder than most other places. Looking at the client more, she was certainly looking quite elderly. The only worries that would need be on her mind are likely dealings with the past, as much of her future has already been whittled away. Why did most people live brief lives? Then again, who was he to judge? Perhaps she actually had many years ahead of her. He was dressed in normal work attire, a grey dress shirt, white dress vest, white dress slacks, black shoes, and his ink black hair tied in a high pony tail. Looking around, there didn't seem to be trouble nearby, not in the traces of snow, nor in the sounds. Relying on vision isn't the most reliable thing when an areas cold enough. The cold can play tricks on the mind, or perhaps it was the things within the cold. On his back was a bag full of various supplies, just in case something happened and they needed some basic supplies. Would everything be okay? Maybe Omaras was just over thinking it all... Deep sapphire blue eyes focused back at the person at hand before speaking. "Good morning Miss, I'm Haraka from the West Fiore Trading company."

One step at a time, this was how things should be done. Keep calm, keep cool. "I will do my best to be of assistance to you today." 'Don't let your fear of the possible get the better of you.' He internally chided, externally still smiling and looking as calm as ever. Than again, facial expressions didn't really say much on what the demon was feeling when he was trying to put his best face on for a client. A good face had to be on near strangers, not everyone took well to demons.

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Someone was asking for help on a job? That's what Tammy had told Adalina a moment ago. "Yes! I can get more money finally!" Ada had, unfortunately, gone on a drinking and gambling spree, spent all of her money. She was sure Yuudai would be upset with her, as well as the guild if they found out. Normally she was so good about it, but the stress that her babies would be born soon finally smacked her like a ton of bricks. Tammy wanted Ada to go on this job to help improve her ability to work with others mainly, money was just a great incentive for her mage too.

Ada steps up to the snowy area where she was to meet up with her partner, as well as the client. She came up in her nicely buttoned up white shirt with it's blue trim, tan gloves on her hands, her brown pants on her legs, with her sword on her hip, as well as her leather boots upon her feet. Near the collar of her shirt, was the pin signifying that she was from the West Fiore Trading Company. She gave the woman a small smile. Behind her, wrapped up in a scarf and a thick jacket, was a little purple Exceed who was still shivering with boots on her feet, and mittens on her hands, and a nit hat upon her head. "Hello! I'm Tamaria! And this is my partner Adalinda! We're from West Fiore Trading Company." The exceed piped up. Adalinda had been silent, and gives a slight nod to Haraka when she saw it was him whom she was helping out. In honestly? Ada was still tired. Her trip was exhausting... riding all the vehicles... She wanted to take a sip of her alcohol, but she didn't want to do it with their client looking right at her. Tammy glances to Haraka, then clears her throat. "And this is our fellow member, Haraka Omaras." Ada nods slightly to Tammy, she hadn't heard the third member speak his name to the woman as they came up to the meeting area.

"My! You three look so young! I appreciate you coming out here to help me. I hope you're not afraid of ghosts or anything. I fear they may be a tad rowdy today on our journey." She tells them quietly. The old woman had a soft smile and clearly seemed to have been doing this for quite some time on her own, and lived quite an eventful life. "I'm Jazzabeline Morrian. You can just call me 'Jazzy' if it's easier. Pleasure to make your acquaintance."

Adalinda grins to the woman. She liked the sound of a ghosts lurking about them. "I'll be sure to help keep them at bay then, ma'am. You can count on us!" She softly chuckles. Boy, did Ada want to have a sip of her drink... She was too 'chipper' sounding. Or she felt like she was being a flake on the woman. Tamaria was quietly snickering below her, causing Ada to look to the exceed with a glare. "Whenever you're ready, we'll be ready to follow suit and protect you."

Jazzy puts a hand on her chest and smiles to Adalinda. With a nod, she gathers her bag of tools for the ritual, and holds it over her shoulder. "You're such a kind group of children... I'm afraid I'll be a tad slow with you." She tells them, but her legs were saying opposite as she was walking just as fast as any normal, healthy person.

Adalinda's jaw gaped for a moment before she quickly yanked off her hilt of her sword, leaving the blade and cross-guard in the sheath, and popped off the pommel of the hilt to have a sip of her alcohol before she assembled it back together again. She shakes her head with a quiet 'whew!' and felt relieved again, and more energized. "Keep up, Haraka!" She chuckles as she grins to him and was quickly jogging up behind the old woman to keep with her fast 'slow' pace. She wondered where exactly this little old lady was getting her energy from.

Tamaria looks over to Haraka, and raised an eyebrow to him. "What happens to be in the bag, Omaras?" She didn't exactly know what to call Haraka still, but she tried to roll with it still. "How have you been lately too? I don't think we really went on any jobs together, not till now." The little exceed said as she was tempted to fly after her slayer. She had been trying her hand at magic herself. But she hadn't gotten it yet... Soon she'll get it. Soon. That thought got Tamaria excited, and she did a small skip as she went after Adalinda, whom Jazzy was telling stories to of her younger days as an explorer.

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rolling for our monstas cuz I lazeh

The member 'Adalinda' has done the following action : Dice Rolls

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'Monster Dice' :

It was weird having his name repeated to the elderly looking woman after he said it, but maybe they just wanted to be sure that she heard his name? Things can be harder the more the body starts to break down and not all youths know how to handle being around older people that actually look their age. Well, it didn't bother him either way. If the demon let such small things get under his skin at this point in life, there would have been a lot less joy in it. What's the point in that? At least the client hadn't met him before, it always made him feel a little old when someone physically aged could recall meeting him from an earlier time in their life. Then again, she didn't exactly look the type to venture to bars or restaurants anyway. Rowdy ghosts? 'calm down, it'll be okay.' He was going to ask something but.. that client really knew her way around the snow. How one moved on snow effected how fast, or slow they would move. Similar to sand, moving the right way would get you to easily run atop, but moving the worst possible way would make you sink. Most not from a heavily snowy area like this normally had some amount of trouble moving in the snow, making their tracks sink a bit deeper. He looked at the Exceed after spoken to, smiling a bit. "The snow is a little unpredictable, so it's just a few things for just in case certain things happen. I know the cold well enough to not fully trust it. Though... it doesn't feel or smell like anything drastic will be happening for awhile."

He didn't really say one way or another was the right way to call the demon. To Haraka, one name or another didn't matter. He started rushing along, catching up easy enough. While not fast, it was easier to move along the snow as a whole. Being easier for him, it gave the illusion of a speed that.. he really didn't have. It was similar to smelling the area, all it took was a normal strength nose to tell things like weather that mind come, you just needed to know how to tell what certain things meant. His dark sapphire blue irised eyes looked back at 'Tammy'. "I'm doing okay. You're right, we haven't. I haven't really been on many jobs so far since joining the guild. It'll take me time to adjust to the big changes of becoming part of a guild, but.. I think I'm doing okay at that. How are you Tamaria? What is your favorite kind of climate? How are you?" He didn't want to tell her that his mind had been lost lately, deep thinking on old issues that hadn't really helped him reach a conclusion. That wasn't something one should just bring up, at the least not at the start of a conversation. Maybe if the situation felt more serious? But t the moment, the weather was calm. The client said the spirits had been a tad rowdy though, should that be looked as a concern? Maybe it wouldn't hurt to ask, as long as he wasn't afraid.  "...Miss Jazzabeline, May I ask what caused the spirits to become rowdy? In snowy areas it may be easier for spirits to wake up, but...

Normally they don't become rowdy, unless something happens that stirs them up." He didn't know if the client would know, but it certainly filtered to the mind. As long as nothing happened to disturb them, ghosts in the snow normally kept calm and quiet, save for the few outliers. There was something about ghosts that gave extra strength to those who had lost their lives in it and hadn't been properly put to rest. After a spirits put to rest though? Even in the snow, they normally star quietly at rest unless something happens, like desecration to sacred land, or a snow storm that pushes something over. Sometimes though...? Sometimes a dead person never fully rests, occasionally waking up and kick a few others awake in the process. People that hadn't met any family or friends that had been close to them after death, thus could not fully go in to a final rest as a result. "...I hope none of my family came here around the time out country was being evacuated before its fall..." This was said especially soft and quiet, even for him. A low whisper hushed meant mainly for himself. It was a silly worry that he couldn't hush fully, a nagging that he was not sure how to stop. Maybe it would stop when they got there, then he could see for himself that there was nothing to be afraid of. There would only be ghosts of strangers, only strangers...

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Tamaria nods to Haraka in awe of his his preparations for this mission. "We should have thought of bringing things for a 'just in case' too, but Ada was too quick to want to come and get the job done and over with to want to bring much. At least her work clothes are warm enough for here." She chuckles a bit. She shivers a little as she continues walking on. As the fish demon said it would take some time for him to get accustomed to the guild scene, she smiles rather widely. "Even though Ada won't say it, she tends to get scared about the guild a bit too! But she managed to push pass that by jumping on any jobs she can get. And look at her now! She has the CEO as her mentor and is getting stronger every day! With babies on the way too!" She laughs a bit. Ada looks back over her shoulder a bit, indicating that she hears the exceed talking about her. It was really prominent in the fact that the dragon slayer was glaring daggers at her exceed. Tammy snickers quietly and looks back to Haraka. "I also don't like cold weather. I'd rather be back home in Tolgalen than here any day, but we have a job to do!" She laughs a little as she rubs her arms to keep warm

As the demon asked the client about the spirits, she had stopped a tale that seemed to be going off of the original tracks and looks back to the only male in the group at current. She turns her head to make sure she was walking straight, and then shrugs her shoulders. "They just seem to always be rowdy! I think they think we're going to take their things! But I simply am there to shush the foul things and keep them in their place! Soon I'll have an apprentice and she'll take over my job." She muses as she starts rambling about what she looks for in her apprentice and Adalinda couldn't help but snort at the woman. She seemed to be a delight to the slayer. But then again, most old people seemed to be to her.

The trek wasn't something that was too terribly treacherous for the group, and it was all too calm to Adalinda that she seemed to have gotten a bit uncomfortable with it the farther they went. She seemed to have stopped paying attention to the old priestess, and was letting her ears perk about and wiggle as she was searching for any signs of danger. The tips of her ears seemed to be getting a bit pink from the cold though. Tammy sighs as she jogs up a bit and jumps onto her slayers back. She puts her paws on the back of her ears, and smiles to her as she warmed her for her. "Need to keep quiet Tammy... I kinda hear something." She murmurs before she turns her head and looks back to Haraka. "Hey! Keep your eyes and ears open. I'm feeling uneasy about this place now..."

"Well I'm not surprised you are. We're nearing the cave." The older woman mutters to them aloud as she points her hand up to where the cave was. The cave wasn't too terribly far away from them, just on the north side of a slightly frozen delta. The path before them was now stony, but it had a thin layer of ice on it. Jazzabeline had started to walk a bit ahead of Adalinda, and glances back to them. "We just have to follow this path, but be careful, the ice is easy to slip on." She looks ahead of them and takes a deep breath. "The delta here leads into our beautiful oceans here, and comes from deep within the mountains! You must be careful when we get inside the place too! The paths are frozen there too, as well as a small river, but it moves slowly, so you just have to be careful since it can also freeze over as well."

Adalinda seemed to be getting into a serious mode, and nods in understanding of what's going on. From behind the woman, Ada quickly yanks her flask off her sword again, and takes a sip of her alcohol to keep her both warm, and focused on this mission. She looks back to Haraka again, and simply smiles as she felt ready for this. "Ready to keep some spirits at bay?" She questions the demon as she slowed down just enough for Haraka to walk next to her. Jazzy had stopped as well, noticing the two were a bit slow compared to her, and simply waits. She was more accustomed to the path here than them, so she knew she had to be patient and wait for them, that, and the path as soon narrowing to be that of a single person path.

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Well, it wasn't too surprising that the older one should be more likely to think ahead in a climate they knew about well? "Well we're a team right now so consider my supplies to be everyone's. Everyone brings something different and useful." He had seen the shivers, even if the exceed had said they were warm enough. The demon wouldn't say it out loud, she was being polite and maybe she really was fine. Still, the offer was up. Though, that brought up another point. A certain impressive dragon slayer, another reminder out of countless that age meant little when it comes to strength or skill. "Adalinda is very impressive, I'm surprised that she would get worried about the guild." Ahh... didn't like the cold? Maybe it was just a matter of preference. "Where I was born was colder than silent glaciers... so I know how to handle it well enough." For once his voice started sounding uncertain in words. How much was really alright to share, how much was inappropriate? For some reason, mentioning too many private details of that old life felt taboo. This wasn't a cultural thing, maybe emotional scars? Bumping the wrong memory really hurt sometimes, so it was better to avoid the minefield all together. That was the sort of person the young looking man was, avoid possibly painful subjects and smile. Try to look at the brighter side, despite how undeniable the darkness is, or perhaps to spite that darkness.

Ah, the ghosts were always rowdy? Trying to take their things? That sounded... Well, in the end she was the one that knew more of the ghosts. Maybe it was the case? But she sounded uncertain, that or like she was ready to wash her hands of it all as soon as her student finished training. Moving along and following the client was easy enough, even if he wasn't exactly rushing things. "It sounds like a rough job, working with such ghosts, you're really amazing Miss Jazzabeline." The warnings of ice didn't feel very needed to Haraka, but he did understand that others would need it. While he wasn't very good with sweltering hot weather, the mantis shrimp demon was born on the snow, in a country built on ice and cold. The ice could be slippery, but his shoes moved against it without much issue. All the man had to do was change movement a bit during the times that ice popped up. Too slow or too fast would make someone slip, so Omaras slowed to a more goldilocks speed during those parts as well. "How does a river move in a cave in such cold? Is it due to being in a cave?" Part of him was a little excited and curious, another had a growing pit of concern. Would any of the dead have familiar faces? How does he ask for help if he needs it but can't find the words? Ah, maybe he needed to trust wind to find the words when he could not.

Though good or bad, twisted or mellow, the elemental is a firm voice when it come to the demons emotional well being and growth. Adalindas question almost caused more concern. Should these fears get voiced? ... No, it wasn't proper, especially not so near the client. "As long as I don't see anyone I know in there." He responded with a smile and a partially amused tone. Humor was one of the emotions he was worst at faking, though the humor was alive in his heart in a bitter way... it didn't mean it naturally released in the voice and face. The caves entrance was finally so near, after this short time of traveling, after fearing it before they even arrived at silent glaciers. He took a slow and deep breath, readying himself before going in. Inside the cave, there was a familiar scent. It was a perfume that many of the highest class would wear in the country, but that didn't make sense? It hadn't been made in thousands of years, how was it even made? The world may never rediscover such obscure information, that or it was hidden away in an old and forgotten book somewhere. For some reason, the demon found himself following the scent. It didn't travel far, leading to a jar of ashes and a icy looking sphere. The sphere changed into the figure of a man with dragon talons on his fingers, scales in many places on his body, ice blue skin, white hair, and deep sapphire eyes.

White dragon wings were attacked to the prideful standing ghost, a cool colored dragon tail flicking behind him in agitation. They had a pair of long and slightly curved horns, a shorter pair under that one. This dead persons clothing certainly looked far from recent, silks coated in fine metals and enough jewels to make some flush with envy. "Vethirilnom? Kii re wux tenpiswo? Kii re wux takh? Wux jalla ti vorq zyak ghergo."
There it was. Where some might feel joy of finding such a person, a chance of closure, Haraka didn't feel this way in the slightest. "Wux re throdenilt saeetha ekess visidark sia gahhr loupon ekess huven ve bensvelk?" It was hard to not feel emotional, to not feel upset. The words betrayed the feelings that the tone of his voice could not capture. But... the ghost either didn't notice, or just didn't care. "Si jalla doege zahae dout yinigeld usv lotocra? dout iejir ui kiri shashtiup. Dout zi trekis dronilnric weatonan." Those words... hurt, like old familiar needles that he had forgotten about until the reminder arose and fired. Why did it still have to be this way? "Re wux gethrisjir ekess widegoa jilgir shafaer ekess dout pride tangis jaka? Loex persvek vi thaczil batobot jahus ti dout okarthel. Svanoa throden eorikci tepoha confn vur zulf li coi wielga sari wer qumadosfan?" Why was he even doing this? Using a language that was far from common tongue.

"Can't you treat me like family for once?" But of course, the voice was fainter than his normal quiet tone, softer than his already soft voice. The deep and bold voice of the older looking male gave a laugh, as if he was just told a joke. Were they trying to be cruel? "You would have been dead before the trash could have dragged you around the country like a beat up meat toy if you weren't family. It's one thing if demon blood infects a were person or a human, but our kind should be above that. I tolerate you out of love." Those took all his words away. Those old wounds, so many sensitive emotional wounds were torn open and left raw in the cold of the words. Haraka couldn't find words to speak, a response to the harsh words. Still, it didn't mean silence remained around him. A blue wind moved around the demon, coiling around its person in such a way that the wind demons rage was practically scenting the cave. "YOU'RE NOTHING MORE THAN A COWARDLY LOW LIFE PIECE OF CRAP!" the wind spirit let out an eerie laugh that sounded much like voices caught in a wind of madness.
"And you wondered why I didn't pick a 'better' person of your trashy family? The 'low class' one with the outsider mother figure was the one who didn't run away. He could have ended his life and escaped that way at any time, but he knew they would just grab another child! Instead of taking the easy way out, he removed the piece of his soul that allowed him to express his emotions in order to fool them into becoming bored and stopping. You were the ones with the power, but the majority of you ran. Each one of you who died deserved the worst of deaths. I hope yours was humiliating. I am a high class wind spirit that demands a master with a high class heart! You're below my standards!"

Now Omaras was stuck between the rants of an angry wind spirit and a increasingly angry ghost of a dead cousin. "Please I don't want to fight you! I can't stand the thought of fighting you... I... I just... can't we... talk? Wind is just protective, he's just very protective..."

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As Haraka mentioned that his stuff was everyones as they were a team, Tamaria smiles up to him. "Yeah, she's told me that West Fiore Trading Company was the first place to make her feel at home and has kept her out of too much trouble. I should stop talking about it to not tick Ada off too much." She laughs softly. When Haraka mentioned that he was born someplace even colder than this, Tamaria blinks. "Wow! That's awesome! I'm glad we took the job with you now!" She laughs a little and claps her paws together a bit.

While hearing the compliments from the demon, Jazzabeline snorts and waves her hand. "Boy! This is nothing. I've been doing this for over seventy years now... or was it ninety? A while. Been doing this for a looooong while." She chuckles as she continues on walking ahead of them. Adalinda was walking as fast as she could on the ice, nearly slipping a few times from it. At the demons questioning, Jazzy smiles. "Just a bit. The cave blocks the wind, as well as gives it a way to go through. Nothing too fancy unfortunately." She chuckles while she looks around. Her peppered grey hair was lightly blowing in the breeze as they walked. She didn't seem to be paying attention when Ada asked Haraka about keeping the spirits in check.

Adalinda blinks to his response, and raises an eyebrow. "See someone you know? Huh... Maybe I can punch them for you if we do?" She chuckles a little and manages to step faster to be caught up to the client. Once they were in the cave, Ada smelled the scent, and was confused. This was supposed to be ice smell, not... whatever this was? She blinks as Haraka seemed to start following the scent down the only path in the cave. Adalinda followed him as they were still behind Jazzabeline and she wasn't going too fast right now. "Well that looks like a mighty nice jar..." She scoffs as she rolls her eyes, till that sphere near it changed, and she backed up a couple steps. She looks at the ghost before her, and starts laughing a bit. "Oh boy! This looks like fun." She grins as Tamaria backs up to the mouth of the cave. The spirit gave her the creeps. Adalinda quietly listened between the two, but she wasn't able to understand the words quite well. She blinks when they switched back to the common tongue, and has a hand on her hilt of her sword, ready to grab it if need be.

Clearly the dragon slayer wasn't too pleased with this apparently old family member of her guild mate. She let up a growl and pulls her sword off of her hip, scabbard still attached to it. The words of the ghost pissed her off. When the blue wind came about, Adalinda was a bit shocked, especially when it spoke. She lowered her sword a bit as she didn't know what exactly to do, and notices Jazzabeline staying out of site of the spirit and waiting for the mages to get this over with for her. As the demon spoke again, Adalinda snorts. "Haraka. 'Wind' is correct though... He's lower than dirt, probably quite literally now since he's an actual ghost." She snorts as she looks to the ghost before her. She puts the sword on her shoulder a bit as she grins to Haraka. She could feel the anger radiating off of the ghost, and she grins even more to it. She was enjoying pissing it off a bit.  "You wanna play ghosty? I'll play with you."

Haraka's cousin turned his gaze at the dragon slayer. She could feel the cold coming from him as she grins. "What? Didn't think Haraka could make friends and join a guild? You're funny." She says as she lowers her sword off of her shoulder and suddenly there was a flame on it She grins and quickly goes after the ghost as he started throw a burst of ice at her. Adalinda snorts as she instantly gained scales on her body.

Tamaria quickly goes up to Haraka, and grabs his arm to pull him away and out of danger. "Ada did say she would punch someone you didn't want to come across with earlier, right? She doesn't go back on her words." The exceed grins to the demon as she clings onto his back to watch her slayer fight. Her tail was wagging a bit as she felt in awe at the slayers power.

Adalida cackles to herself as she charges faster at the ghost. Her complete lack of concern to that burst of ice made the dragon slayer snicker happily. "Guess whaaat? You're my lunch!" She cackles before she jumps at the ghost and jabbing both the fire scabbard and the corkscrew blade into the ghost to make it simply disappear. She stands before where the ghost had been, before she turns to look back at Haraka and Jazzabeline. "It's gone... but we should stay alert for more..."

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Eyes looked at the exceed as the tall person allowed himself to be pulled. Feet moved easily on the cold ground, avoiding from bumping into objects on the ground. "She.. did say that." He answered Tammy quietly, a shaking broken into the soft voice. Part of his was grateful for being helped, it's what he wanted. Another was disappointed that more questions couldn't be asked. It wasn't his fault, or Adalindas, but it still hurt. When was the next time he could get certain answers? Or settle certain feelings. Maybe the complication and dephs of his feelings wouldn't be noticed? But it was likely unavoidable at this point. A few things he normally ignored and hid away were now open raw in the cold of this silent cave of unresting dead. This wasn't what he was expecting, not even in faces he might have found familiar. Reality had a way of tampering with his expectations. "He was one of my masters dead cousins. I'm Harakas wind spirit, he is my precious child. I use the voices of the dead to train his mind!" The blue winds started to slow down before vanishing away around it's user. Haraka would have made a face at the wind spirit if he could, instead just letting out a heavy breath. One moment the cousin had been there, the next he hadn't been. "I've had a contract with wind, fire, and lightening ever since I was small. They are all high class elemental spirits that could have also been used by a summoner, not just a medium like me. My cousin... He..."

The demon took a pause in order to better steady his voice. "Thank you Adalinda."Another pause, Omaras tried to get the heavy feelings from his throat. Those emotions were making it far too difficult to say things that should be so simple to express.  "Please don't tell anyone the exact reason i need to use ice dragon slayer lacrima to fix the hole in my soul. I... I just want to be seen as a demon, as only demon." Wait, she might get the wrong idea. His voice was still soft and quiet from the confidence dive he had taken before. He needed to explain, it had nothing to do with mr double dead dragon. 'Try to keep your eyes on her Haraka, try to feel brave.' The young looking man urged himself, but the attempt to boost confidence did very little, if anything at all. "My grandmother and aunt both tried to save me, it feels like their deaths are... I... It... it... my fault. I just... They were the top matriarchs of the family... and auntie was the queen of that entire country. I just... it's complicated to explain." He wasn't sure that was a good argument, actually it was a very crumbly one. The more he had tried to build it, the demon felt like it just started to make a hole in the argument. The blue skinned person had thrown away the possibility that racist dead relatives were under his skin. On the other hand? The argument put there was more of a shaky opinion that not everyone might agree with, especially when put by shaken nerves.

"...You're related to that asshole?" A voice from behind? The blue skinned person turned, seeing one ghost poke another up. A husband and wife? They looked human and didn't seem to hold the presence of magic. "He ate me and my wife just for asking why he smelled like a lady!" Omaras was certainly a lot more ready for dealing with this than anything his cousin could have done. Still, his reaction was something that would have never happened in the shrimps emotions hadn't been so raw and hurt. He let out his wings and tail, the natural armor neutralizing some of the damage from the attack. But it was still an attack from two angry ghosts. The massive pair of wings moved from its position of covering their owner to hitting the two ghosts away. While neither ghost looked all that hurt, he did at least have a little space. He moved, but froze briefly. For some reason, memories flooded through his brain. His grandmother patting his tiny head and apologizing, trying to find the best way to tell him that the others in her family didn't want to have itov dryicir with him, the sort of feast meant for family. They even debated on if they should or shouldn't go to his Kear Di Naam when it was supposed to happen, a ceremony that happens when a child hits puberty. That ceremony that family and dear friends go to, an intimate ceremony... Being as gentle as she could with her words, but back then?

In that memory, he still ended up crying quite a bit back then. The burning pain of feeling so rejected, certainly it was still there to some degree. But he knew back than that they were not bad people, they were not bad people... So why did he feel so betrayed when so many of those very family members had chosen to leave him to suffer and save themselves? Those that were older than him back than, strong people that might have been able to do something. His attackers even laughed about it while the capital burned, right? They Considered him less important than the unrelated citizens that they helped escape. He meant less to them than complete strangers. Why was he getting lost in these memories now? By the time his mind came back, the two ghosts had already made it back to him, had already started attacking him again. Was he really this out of it? This really couldn't do. The demon touched his wings behind himself before delivering a strong kick to the female ghost, only to have the male one use the kick as a good chance to hit him square in the crotch.

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When the wind spirit spoke, Adalina and Tammy seem to look at it in awe. They didn't know what to make of it at first, but they just accepted it though. As he told them he has a contract with them, Adalinda smiles and jabs her thumb up. "That actually sounds pretty cool that you have a contract with some spirits. And you don't have to tell me about your family. Some pasts are there for a reason sometime." She says as she softly smiles to him. When he thanks her, she just gives him a brief nod. As he told her to not tell anyone about him being an ice dragon slayer, she blinks. "What? I didn't know you had a dragon slayer lacrima?" She sniffs him and chuckles a little. "Guess all this snow is messing with my sense of smell!" She laughs. a bit to him. As he went into his backstory a bit, she blinks as she opens her hand up to him. "Uh... I'll probably sound insensitive, I've been told I have my moments of that, but I doubt it was your fault, and it was just fate... whatever it was that had happened in your past." She grimaced to him, rubbing the back of her head. She had felt like he was about to explain his backstory to her.

When the two ghosts spoke up, Adalinda blinks a bit as she honestly wasn't expecting to see more ghosts so soon. She was about to say something as Haraka had his wings and tail pop out again. She looks at him, and scrunches her face in confusion for it. Was he scared again? She only saw him pop those out once, when he was freaking out over Kyran when he first joined. She watched the shrimp demon take a bit of attack from the two ghosts, thinking he might be able to fend himself off. When he froze though, she got worried. She held up her scabbard, that was still on fire, and her trefoil sword. She was readying them to attack. She quickly jumps after the ghosts just as the male ghost kicked Haraka in the crotch. "Fighting one-oh-one!" She cries out. "Don't let your mind wander, unless you want to die!" She growls out before she quickly lets her corkscrew sword separate into three iron swords. Two of the swords go into the man, while the last one and her flaming scabbard went into the woman. She grabbed hold of the part of her Trefoil sword that went into the female ghost, and yanks it out before she noticed the two disappear. With a deep breath, Ada held all four weapons in her hands.

"Need me to carry one, Ada?" Tamaria questions curiously. Adalinda smiles softly and nods as she hands a couple of the Trefoil sword to her companion to simply hold. She wasn't ready to use them, but she could easily temporarily hold them though. Adalinda looks to Haraka, same with the exceed. "I think you did very well, Haraka! I would suggest taking a few lessons on how to fight though, physically. And maybe getting a weapon or two. Or trying to make a spell or two to help you fight." The little purple cat says with a grin. "But don't get rid of your healing spells! I'm sure they'll be useful still!"

Adalinda nods to Tamaria. "I agree... Just a bit more to your form, may be good." She chuckles and goes over to Jazzabeline. "You're not hurt, right?" She asks her. The old woman simply smiles and shakes her head. "You two are amazing escorters! I'm safe. Thank you." She says as she grabs Adalidna's hand, keeping the flaming scabbard pointed away from her, and patted the back of her hand. "We're almost to the ritual site now... Come. It's just at the end of the cave. Only one way there, and one way out." She laughs as she continues to walk forward. Adalinda is following behind her again, and Tamaria waits a moment for Haraka to come as well.

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Well, it seemed like Ada was getting that wind was his own person, that was good.  She didn't need to know that he had something similar to a contract with... a lot of plants. A whole lot of plants. Or were they plant versions of contracts? Well, now wasn't really the time for contemplating such things. Should e say the only one he has that can talk is wind? Well, that probably doesn't need saying. None of the others under him have vocalized yet, wind himself wasn't exactly all that chatty either though. Still, "The cards were already in the open, I just wanted to be sure you didn't tell anyone the faces." Maybe that didn't sound very trusting, but it wasn't about trust. This wasn't something he was sure he could deal with right now. His tail curled a bit at the end as Ada looked surprised and... why? Oh. She thought he used it? Did all people with that sort of thing just use it as soon as they get it? Well, maybe it would be better to clear that up a bit. The end of the elegant shrimp tail uncurled itself a bit, but not fully just yet. "I haven't used it Adalinda, that's why I need to use it... but I do own one. It's complicated, I'm just guessing it will work.. It has similar properties, combine that with a slightly modified version of a certain medicine that helps patches take hold and I think it will work to use the lacrimas shape and properties to mend some of the damage, enough that the remaining damage would fix itself... I don't think anyones tried anything like that? But... I'm very positive it would work."

For something he hadn't done yet, it was very well thought out. He wasn't planning to just use it and hope for the best, but had an actual plan for everything. The item wasn't new to his possession, but the demons thoughts on wanting the hole repaired stretched far back. It was internal argument of what mattered more, what was of higher value? But the reasons were personal and related to more family matters. Then again if Haraka let dead people sway his heart, was the blue skinned man any different than the ghost that had still latched to the past? The cousin who had looked and sounded so... outdated. How much better than his cousin was he acting right now? "Sorry, what he said did bother me... but... I think I needed that. Thank you. From now on, I'll try to listen to my own thoughts above the words of the dead. Those two ghosts, I should have been able to do a lot better... Though still not the best." Honestly Omaras didn't even know how to use the wings and tail effectively in anything. How could he when they were always stuffed away? Though at least he did have some amount of practice with everything else, even if it came with a few stabby thieves and some vulcans. Now the exceed was commenting on his fighting? The end of his tail curled a bit more again. Try getting a weapon or two? With how big and hard his nails were, he couldn't use anything heavy. "If I do take lessons, it should be in close combat. Mantis shrimp are creatures that excel at destroying things as a whole with their arms, close range."

He wanted to use fighting that went well with his animal, the deep sea mantis shrimp. Well, without as much murder... also without the flying, it seemed pretty unlikely to find a teacher for that anyway. These wings, this tail? He didn't want to use them. At the same time? He was pretty sure they helped him take less damage from those two ghosts. Just a bit more to his form? "There was something positive in my crappy broken mind lead fight attempt?" This was a question he aimed at both Adalinda and Tamaria, eyes darting from one to the other briefly. At least it was better than the time he had tossed salt in the wounds of an angry hurt vulcan? But.. as crazy as that had been... it was a pretty good distraction at that time. Then again, if he had used wind? It probably would have woken up more ghosts. He was very noisy... very... very... "Would you tell me where I would look for a fighting teacher after this job?" It was a realization. If a fighter saw something positive at all in that broken minded everything, than clearly he didn't have the eyes to spot that. Tammy was also around Adalinda a lot, so likely knew a bit on fighting too. The only notive at fighting between the three of then? Haraka himself. That was especially bad considering how much violence he had seen. Then again, its hard to soak up valuable information when you do your best to look away or forget.

On to another topic, he was glad that Jazzabeline was fine. The dragon slayer had pretty much murdered every danger so far. He had only been good at... following a familiar scent into trouble and getting his brain broken by a person who wasn't even alive anymore. He nodded to the Exceed that waited for him before following the client. Maybe he could fight a ghost now... but honestly? It was hard to say, but he wished emotional issues were as simple to solve as seeing the possible causes and realizing what you shouldn't be doing. It would happen, just not over night.

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Adalinda shrugs her shoulders to Haraka. "I don't need to tell anyone. Kyran's kinda the same, even though his is kinda known among us now..." She shrugs her shoulders as she takes a deep breath. As Haraka explained that he hadn't used the lacrima yet, she nods. She wasn't going crazy. She shrugs her shoulders to him. "I dunno, I just had Cirven help me and he absorbed it into him, then helped it get into me." She shrugs her shoulders as she grins a bit to herself. She was proud of how she got her slayer magic. She was still a bit rickety with it, so she wasn't going to use it on a job and risk hurting the client, or Haraka and Tammy. While he talked about what the ghost said bothering him, and that he should have done better with the weaker ghosts, she simply snickers. "Learn from your mistakes! Just don't zone in the middle of battle, thought that was something everyone knew. Oh well." She shrugs her shoulders as she was listening around them. When he comments on the type of fighting he'd have to do, Adalinda nods a little. "Well that's interesting! Maybe you can learn something really amazing since you can destroy things."

When he questioned his 'broken mind' fight, and Ada shrugs her shoulders a bit. "Yeah, how you used your wings to block the ghosts, and then using them to push it back. That was pretty cool of you to do!" She muses to him with a grin. She actually had been impressed by it. Tamaria was quickly nodding and grinning to Haraka. After his question of finding a teacher, Adalinda shrugged her shoulders. "I'd suggest me, but..." "Ada's not teacher material. She trains too much with Cirven, and has her own babies to worry about. So her hands will be full with those three." Tamaria quickly interjected. Adalinda nervously smiles and scratches the back of her head. She couldn't argue that she would be pretty busy here soon with her personal life. "Maybe you can find some books in the library or something on fighting? I have no doubt that that library has everything!" The exceed was seeming excited as she talked about the library in the guild.

Adalinda and Tamaria smiled to one another as the Exceed quickly caught up to her friend, and followed after the old woman. They soon made it to the end of the cave, where it seemed an ice altar was made out of the ice and rock here in the cave. The woman went to work unpacking her belongings and finished setting up the altar. Adalinda looked around the area, hoping there wouldn't be any more trouble as she hears the old woman starting the ritual. She grips her swords in her hands and points towards the back wall. "Hey Haraka." She calls out to him. "Want to try your hand at another ghost? We have to keep it off of Jazzy while she does her thing." She asks as a teenaged wayward ghost was there. He seemed like he had been another civilian and got trapped up here from the cold. It was starting to come after them now that it fully noticed them. Ada glances to Haraka, ready to jump if he didn't feel he could take care of the ghost on his own. The boy was shorter than Haraka, but she didn't know how skilled he was.

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The demon smiled at Adalinda. It sounded easy to use a lacrima if all you wanted was power. It sounded like she had bonded with their leader through absorption. "Lacrima is usually easy to use if you just want power, but doing that the normal way wouldn't guarantee the hole getting fixed. How yours was absorbed sounds very special though." Don't zone out in the middle of battle? He knew that already, but it was no use to try to argue on behalf of the emotional trauma. The would would be a better place if all the remains of his family fully decay into nature and the spirits be at rest. Back then he couldn't burn all the bodies, he was to small. those who had survived had done so by running, a common survival tactic it seemed. This had left those who had not been eaten left unburned, unconsumed by trees that had no longer stood. It was against their culture to leave bodies like that, but there was nothing else that was to be done back then. In a country where most powerful elites know nothing of teamwork and those without great power or rank are the ones that do? It was doomed by design to fall under the hands of a strong enough group of people. His wings had been a good thing? Okay, maybe he needed to get out of his comfort zone. All was fair in the game of a mind broken still trying to put the pieces back together. Its when things break a bit that its easier to realize some habits are not as healthy as others.

Another ghost? He looked over at it, sapphire iris's spotting the teen. From the clothes, Haraka would guess that the boy hadn't died that long ago. If he did everything the same as before, the demon might get lost again. What could be changed? Only one thing the blue skinned man could think of changing. "I would like to try, I'll do it in my female side. It might be easier to handle these emotions and fighting that way." Was there proof? No, not really. This was the first time Omaras had even considered one side for fighting, rather than just trying to stay in the more comfortable male side. The switching from one sex to another wasn't exactly difficult for the demon, nor did it create any amazingly large changes in appearance. Shapes changed for the gender, but she still had the same sizely hips and a small chest. A body built for mainly swimming, thus held little fat visible on his form. It was there, just not much of it. In any case, the young looking womans body was build to move well. Though the person hadn't practiced enough to take full advantage of that, to the point that he could be slow... It was a little different now. This side thought more of lessons learned from all those years, lessons that involved combat and movements. Their tail curled tightly behind her and winged tucked behind before she broke into a run. The boy ghost looked surprised, but still ready to fight back.

The demon jumped onto her hands, using her talons to aid in the steadiness in such a cold area. This might have seemed strange... if she didn't immediately use this to smash the ghosts face with their tail. It uncurled and made the attack the teen was about to try... fail before it could even reach Haraka. She put one more harsh tail slap in before the teen ghost decided to back up a bit. Instead of getting off her hands, she moved her legs into a folded position,  curled her back a bit, and unfolded her wings a bit... so her long tail would be positioned better to hit and body would have enough balance to not fall over from doing that. This was how another tail slap smashed into the teen ghost, who backed away a bit more. Her tail curled up again, getting one more hit in before the ghost was fully out of range. Now Omaras moved her body more, easily getting back on her feet to continue after the ghost. They now seemed less wanting to fight, but the demon refused to not finish what she started. A kick could reach first, so it was the first thing she did when close enough. When he grabbed the leg to try to stop the blue skinned woman, she merely used it as an excuse to punch his face. With that final hit, the ghost faded away. The young looking woman went back to being a man. That was definitely a lot smoother in fighting, but it was a bit too unnecessarily brutal for his taste. The tail was the only body part that he could say rivaled his torso in muscle.

His female side had basically gone out of its way to smash the boy down as fast as she could without using any magic. He turned a bit to look over at Adalinda, Tamaria, and Jazzabeline.

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As Haraka said he was going to try in his female side, she held up her hands. "You don't have to tell me. Just do it!" She laughs a bit. She then points to the ghost again, indicating that it was coming. A grin started to form on her face as she saw how Haraka seemed to go after the ghost with a bit more of a fierce attitude. As the demon fought, Ada crossed her arms over her chest. "How is she able to fight better than the male side? Aren't they the same person?" Tamaria questions Ada. Ada looks down to Tamaria and simply shrugs her shoulders. "That's a question for him... her... them?" The dragon slayer didn't exactly know what pronouns to call Haraka if she were to be honest.

Jazzy had her back turned to all of them while she did her ritual, so she didn't see the fight Haraka did. She sure heard it though. Adalinda couldn't help but clap slowly to him as she grinned, walking over to him. She was still on alert for other ghosts though. "That... was really impressive." She tells the demon as she nods. Jazzebeline let up a sharp noise and struck a bell sharply, not letting it ring for long. Ada looked back at her to see what was going on. The woman had her head leaning back while she held her bell up. Her eyes were closed as all was silent. After a moment, she started to open her eyes and takes a deep breath. Slowly, she blew out her candles, and begun to pack everything up. "You're... done?"

"Yup! That's all there was to the ritual! Now I hope you kids can protect me leaving this place, and from animals on the path on our way back. It's a tiring ritual..." She sighs as she packs up her bag. Tamaria quickly runs over and begins to help her get her things together. Adalinda grins to the little helper, and smiles quietly as Jazzy rubbed her exceeds head some. "Thank you for helping me out, darling..." She tells the purple cat.

Ada leads them out of the cave and looks around the area. "Haraka, keep your eyes open for wild animals." Adalinda tells him as she let her iron sword disappear. She felt it was going to get in the way for the time being. Tamaria was glad to not be holding the two pieces of the sword anymore. Ada takes a deep breath and looks down to her grey arms. She wasn't going to put down her scales yet. If Jazzabeline was warning about animals, she might need to protect herself from them. Tamaria was up on Ada's shoulders again, and didn't seem like she was going to get down so soon.

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Haraka wasn't sure if he should feel happy for the praise. It was good, but it was also too brutal. "I guessed my female sides confidence might help, just... didn't expect it to that much." He spoke softly and quietly. This time his voice was back to the normal soft and quiet, nor any tones lower, nor any wavering. In any case, it seemed like that side had helped him stabilize a lot faster than before. Perhaps the confidence had leveled out the pain? no, it was still as bad. Then it had simply made it easier to deal with. It was a bit of a relief when Jazzabeline finished the ceremony. Though the cold was welcoming, the demon would rather not risk the possibility of running into yet another dead relative, one was enough for a very long time. At least listening for animals would be easier. Her job must have been hard and its unlikely that she hired protection every time traveling to this place. He hoped that her student would be able to be just as impressive and live to an old age as well. Well, maybe one day the ghosts there wont be quite as fussy. Will someone else be doing this same job a few hundred years from now, or will the old tradition become forgotten and the ghosts no longer being managed? Somehow, that sounded very dangerous... But also possible. How often were old ways forgotten? A lot. More and more cultures fall into obscurity as different cultures change an grow.

It leaves good changes, but it also commonly leaves useful knowledge bits and rituals behind. Why? Because people stop believing in old stories told, not thinking on the why outside of the excuses of 'old', 'outdated', or 'superstitions'. Those felt less like real reasons to the demon and more like ways to not think deeply on a subject. If there was not too much deep thought, there would be no admitting they are wrong, no admitting just how little they understand a certain topic. Once it was addressed as their time to leave, the blue skinned male started to walk. This part would be a lot easier. Soon the job would be over, their client would be able to rest, and everyone could go home. "Most in cold areas blend amazingly well, so other senses are more useful in near spotting animals." That's what he said, though as the traveled out of the cave it seemed like everything was pretty quiet. While some animals neared, none actually fully approached. For some reason, animals tended to avoid him or be friendly... and with the wings and tail out? Probably not going to approach. Maybe they felt Adalindas strong spirit, but all of this was just guessing. He honestly had no idea why they weren't coming close, but it was fun to think about. Quiet creatures that blended well with the snow and ice, but they moved, the wind and air gave away a presence being there. The mantis shrimp was almost disappointed when they all got back. The cold and snow had a comforting feeling it gave him. "Why does the cold feel so comforting?"

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Ada clapped Haraka on his back when he spoke quietly. "That's good your female side has confidence! She looks cute! If I wasn't with Yuudai, I might of given you a chance." She couldn't help but tease him a bit. She walks on with her eyes scanning the area for an animal or two. She did spy a couple wild animals, but they never came after them, scurrying off into the forest away from the group. As they approached the destination from their walk, Adalinda looks to Haraka while he questions the cold. Tamaria raises an eyebrow at him as she shook her head. "Who says the snow is comforting?! It's freezing! And uncomfortable." The little purple exceed whines aloud. Adalinda takes a deep breath as she grabs the cat by the scruff of her neck and puts her on her shoulder. "Not everyone finds it uncomfortable. Besides, he's a water guy... or they're?" Adalinda shakes her head and growls a bit. "What the hell do I call you since you go by both genders?" She questions Haraka while puffing up her cheeks.

Jazzy starts to come over to the group, and smiles brightly to them. "Thank you for accompanying me to the cave for the ritual... here." She holds out two pouches of jewels, and grins. "I'm grateful for your help, and may call upon the West Fiore Trading Company again in the future." She nods slowly and takes a deep breath. She looks over as a little girl, who was dressed similar to the old woman came running up. "Did you do the ritual?! Were there ghosts?! I feel I'm ready and want to come with next time!" She says rather excitedly. Jazzy laughs as she hugs the little girl to her as she grins. Adalinda smiles softly to the child, then pats Tammy's head as she starts to turn around to leave after motioning for Haraka to follow her.

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