The Root of The Problem! (Job/Lucia)

Trouble stirs in Spooky Forest yet again, it seems. Reading the details of the familiar old couple's troubles, Ahote sipped a small, paper cup of black coffee, sitting on a cushioned train seat closest to the exit. The old couple had become a familiar client to the boy, seemingly the only residents of the Spooky Forest. But these woods also seemed to invite trouble here and there, whether it be mischievous critters or an abundance of dead leaves on their lawn. Though, to be completely truthful, these weren't necessarily problems to begin with. Ahote agreed to spend time doing such things for the jewels and the excuse to get outside and indulge in nature.

An hour had passed since he had boarded the only train that goes from Mt. Hakobe Settlements to the Spooky Forest and the boy had been lost in thought as he usually was. The unusual absence of Basilisks he could not name had him feeling rather heavy. The unusual silence, the unusual inactivity, all things normal on most days but incredibly prevalent as of late. But these were not the only qualms on Ahote's mind. Where to go from here, I wonder. . . there's no longer room for an innocent, harmless little boy in that fortress anymore. . . and these jobs only make me an errand boy, no more a man nor mage than the next guy. . . I need to take bigger risks. he thought, twiddling both his fleshed and metal thumbs together.

The details of this particular job was to cut down a tree infested with an invasive species of Bark Bug. So, of course, Ahote brought his trusty ax with him, which was carefully wrapped in cloth and held on his back. It seemed to be a simple and easy job on paper, so the boy didn't care enough to bring any protective clothing besides a short sleeved black T-shirt and dark green shorts with his usual black, leather boots.

The usual duration of the train ride had come to an end, and Ahote had made way from the vehicle into the Spooky Forest, passing his quiet clients' residence and over into the groves of leafless trees and woods. He had a vague idea of what he was looking for: a discolored tree with any visible open wounds or soft spots, or perhaps one of its twigs with deadwood. It would require a little exploring is all.

Leather boots crushing dead leaves beneath it, their crunch ringing in his ears. He looked about, searching for the tree. Though, the silence bored him nearly to death. Nothing ever seemed to happen when he was with himself, but he's always had some interesting encounters in these woods. Quietly, Ahote wandered deeper into the woods, aimlessly, "Let's see. . .
where is this tree. . ." he mumbled to himself.

WC: 477/1,250

Lucia often made her home inside of the Spooky Forest. The atmosphere was quiet, peaceful,
and it made for a great place to play with and lure scared children who came to explore. The forest spirit often had fun playing with the children and then making them suddenly dissapear when her appetite was there.She lay in a large tree deep within the woodland and stared up at the sky. It was a rather sunny day, bright enough to make the spirit, in her more cat-like form, squint a little bit at the sun. Often by now she would be playing with the animals or some people she had found, but she found no such thing today. In fact the forest was oddly empty. She sighed, closing her eyes a little bit "Boring..."

Her tiny ears twitched a little at the sounds of crunching leaves. Dismissing it at the wind, she kept her eyes closed. She heard more crunching and as her ears twitched more and more, she eventually slid her eyes open and crouched on the branch, looking down at the figure she saw below. A boy. He looked a bit to young to be traveling this far into the woods by himself. The spirit observed the boy carefully. Seeing his metallic hand she cocked her head, confused at the fact that such a young boy would have anything metallic on him. The next thing that she noticed was enough for her to be triggered into seeing him as a threat rather than a toy, the ax.

She put her palm out in front of her and used Burning Shot, sending four fire balls to fling down, hitting a little bit in front of Ahote, and following with the other three sides. She did not intend to hurt him... yet. She hopped down of the branch and landed with a thud on the ground, kicking up dust as she did. When the dust cleared she would beon her butt with a painful look in her eyes. She was quiet for a second before letting out a big cry "OOOOOOOOW" she exclaimed as she sat there, rubbed her legs.

WC:360/1,250

 

The crisp autumn breeze tickled against his pale skin, rubbing off against his left, metal arm. Ahote enjoyed warmer weather when he could, but by settling on the peak of Mt. Hakobe, he was requesting a season that would never come, for that mountain was an everlasting winter, a world of its own. Regardless, he had grown used to the harsh, icy winds and the several feet of snow that soaked your boots and froze your toes, the cloudy skies and the storms that came and went as often as the sun rose. With such desolate scenery and an even emptier, colder fortress, the heavy mood that always remained on that mountain became a state of normality to him. Mt. Hakobe and the Basilisks that lurk there could never provide the fluffy, pleasant feelings that his previous life in Magnolia Town with the Faeries could, only peace among themselves and the settlers of the mountain.

The stress of that heavy atmosphere seems to lift each and every time the raven haired youth set foot elsewhere, feeling more at home in these woods than he did on that snow covered rock. It was one of life's pleasures he had been denied since he was just a babe. With these thoughts in mind, Ahote ambled through the woods with one shoulder cushioning the shaft of the ax, his metal arm loosely hanging against his side. I guess since now I've killed a man and've come out with it to Mom, I shouldn't have to keep sneaking out doing errands like this. I could just leave whenever I pleased. . . but I'd rather be safe than sorry. he pondered. There wasn't a lot he kept from his mother, there wasn't a lot to keep. His life, until recently, had been an open book for his family to read whenever they pleased, chose which pages to turn and which to ignore. The idea made him feel lethargic, angry, upset, even if it were only for brief moments before returning to his usual state of calmness and softness.

These errands? Disappointing. It was not the sort of life he envisioned himself to do. It was the sort of action he experienced when raiding that one place with Sol and the others, on the boats. He had only small memories of that time, of the scenery, the name. But the smell of the sea, the salty taste of the air, the cries of battle and the insurmountable amount of pressure he felt when sneaking into the boat, passed the guards. It was that sort of rush of adrenaline and thrill he yearned for. Not hunting skunks, cutting down trees, finding critters.

These upsetting thoughts were interrupted when an abrupt rush of heat kissed his toes, making him skip back upon seeing the orb of flames flicker and crackle just inches ahead of him, surrounding him. Instinctively, Ahote wielded the tree act defensively, holding it with both hands, close to his chest. . . .Wh. . . what is this?. . . he thought to himself, topaz eyes locked on the supposed threat ahead of him. But to his surprise, the flames did not spread or lunge forward as he thought they would. Instead, they remained still in their shape, only seeming to threaten him if he moved onto them. But he wouldn't test that idea.

With his guard still up, he flinched at the sudden thud and cloud of dust and dirt that would rise from the nearest grove of bushes. The raven haired youth jerked his head to the location of the noise, a cold sweat layering over his forward.

He hugged the ax close to his chest as he faltered, slowly, over to the bushes. His breaths were quick and heavy, and he legs trembled as if he were about to give way. His brows scrunched up and his lips quivered, wide topaz eyes struggling to stay open, afraid that something or someone may lunge out at him.

Quickly, quietly, he held out his metal arm to push away the bushes, digits grabbing its twigs, "Whatever you are. . ." Ahote sputtered, "prepare yourself!" quickly pulling away the twigs and leaves, the chocolate threaded, ruby eyed woman sat there in apparent pain, while Ahote's face went as white as a ghost, "EEK!" he squeaked before quickly realizing that he was, perhaps, in no danger at all.

Quickly, Ahote regained composure and looked at the woman in better view with a furrowed brow, "Oh, it's just a woman. . ." Ahote's eyes climbed to her head, noticing her strange features, ". . .with ears. . ." he mumbled, topaz hues climbing back down to her's, "You shouldn't scare a guy with an ax
like that. That's the kind of stuff that gets a man charged with manslaughter. . ." Ahote grumbled, raising the ax back to his shoulder and away from the woman.

He wasn't quite expecting to see a woman of her peculiar features so soon, though it'd be a lie if he thought he wasn't expecting some sort of strange encounter. And strange, this was. Perhaps the strangest. The youth thrust his metal arm forward, offering to help her up, "Are you alright, by the way, miss? You didn't hurt yourself. . . doing whatever you were doing, did you?" he queried.

WC: 1,368/1,250 (completed)

The spirit looked at the boy through her ruby eyes, mouth gaped open a little bit. When he offered his hand forward she gently reached up and took it. She held the cold metal in her hand for a second before looking up at the boy with curiosity. Her aura was almost one of child-like innocence in this form. She shook off her curiosity and took a step back, snickering "Prepare myself? You look like you couldn't hurt a fly..." she muttered with a hint of sarcasm. Messing around with people, young and old had become a past time for her even though she didn't really know how to speak to people all that well.

She placed her hands on her hips and puffed her cheeks out at the boy at his comment about the ax and if she was alright and blew up at him "Well I wouldn't have had to do that if you hadn't come into this forest with a freaking ax in your hand like some kind of psychopath!" she yelled before getting quiet and twiddling her thumbs, avoiding eye contact with the young man "and I am alright... thank you for asking..." she blushed for a second, her child-like innocence returning to her for just a second before snapping out of it and getting upset again "Who do you think you are! Just barging into a young ladies home like... like... Some kind of burglar!" She stopped and thought to herself "But he's just a young boy so he couldn't be doing anything bad." she muttered before turning away and pouting "L-Look, this is my home okay? J-Just tell me what you're doing here!"

She glanced behind her and blushed a bit before turning away quickly "Dammit Lucia, this boy is cute..." she said softly yet out loud. One social skill that Lucia tended to lack was the ability to think to herself, often times coming out of her own mouth softly. Anyone could still hear her if they were listening though.

After her whole outburst, she took a few second to herself to breath and calm down, her blood red eyes never leaving her gaze on the boy who had intruded on her territory. She thought to herself for a second and looked at the boy in the eyes then glancing to the ax. All at once she started to realize what was happening "You didn't come to destroy my home did you?..." she muttered softly, looking like she was about to cry. Lucia had not had company in so long and now this boy, the first person she had seen in weeks, walks into her forest and tries to destroy it. She was now on the offense and would attack would she see that he was causing trouble.

WC:825/1,250

 

Ahote had greeted the stranger with a soft smile as she raised to her feet, standing at a height only what seemed to be a few inches inferior to his. However, upon her comment on his own harmfulness, his smile scrunched up into more of a weary frown and furrowed brows. Following that comment came another, apparently justifying her attempted assault, or whatever it was. "Yes, uh huh, right. Because taking an ax into a forest full of trees is completely insane. I completely agree." Ahote playfully retorted with a roll of the eyes and a chuckle. It was clear that she was not well acquainted with these tools and why they were used. It was cute and amusing to observe this behavior, yes, but also provoking a fit of guilt in him for making fun of her.

Almost as if someone had pressed a button, the woman had switched from a sarcastic broad to an insecure nature lover and now into this conceited person. Ahote's weary, soft expression remained, but brows raised in shock of the sudden change. How does one appease such a moody person?

The raven haired youth raised his metal hand, flailing it left and right in denial, No, no, no, miss! I'd do no such thing!" Ahote insisted, absorbing her complaints and anxieties like a sponge. He ended up becoming more nervous than he suspected than the woman before him was under so much pressure and tension, like being held under a blinding light in a dark, empty interrogation room. But those worries were washed away under a wave of surprise as she would think such embarrassing thoughts aloud. Instantly, Ahote's panicked expression returned to a weary one, deciding not to comment on her own, understanding it might spark a new kind of flame in her if he acknowledged it.

The outburst came and went, much like a storm, and all things seemed calm again. In fact, the stranger had settled into a state of sadness and worry, speaking softly with glistening ruby hues, as if she were about to cry. Ahote simpered kindly, "Of course not. I'm a nature lover myself, so I'd never do such a terrible thing. In fact, I came to protect it." He spoke in his usual soft, quiet voice, pausing to question her age. Maybe it wasn't a matter of her youth and more of the fact she was simply just moody. The boy didn't know and left that to jog his mind later. "Listen, there's a tree here that's holding some bugs, making it kill the other plants around it. I'm gonna chop that thing down and all will be well again. You're welcome to come with me if you want to, miss." He offered, extending his metal arm out once more, "My name's Ahote. And you are. . .?"

Lucia thought to herself for a second, looking to boy up and down again before looking back up at the ax. The boy was barely taller than her but she sensed a fair amount of strength beneath his weak exterior. "Fine, if you truly are a nature lover then you can continue on. I will take up your offer to travel with you as well. " she placed her hands at her side triumphantly like she had just won a battle or argument before blushing again, realizing what she said and immediately shaking her hands in front of her frantically "D-Don't get the wrong idea! I am only travelling with you in order to make sure you only cut down one tree! And also, I have a duty to protect my home so I need to help you!" she freaked out as she spoke before placing her hands at her side and staring at the ground "Sorry..." she took the boys hand "L-Lucia." she didn't dare make eye contact with the boy as she grasped his hand lightly.

This was the first human hand she had actually touched before, it was soft and smooth. The warmth of Ahote's hand in hers warmed her heart a little bit and made her blush a bit pinker. She smiled a little bit before letting go.

"So, where is this tree you were talking about." she looked around with her hands on her hips. "I don't even know if this is the correct forest, I have been all around here and have yet to sense anything out of the ordinary." she said to Ahote, glancing over to him every now and again. Lucia couldn't believe that she was walking with another human at this point in time, she had never worked together with a boy before. The last person she had worked with was a girl by the name a Kathrine but that was a few weeks ago. She had been alone ever since then and seeing another human, especially a young boy, caught her off guard a little bit.

WC:1,171/1,250

 

The young woman was truly a spectacle. Ahote has had his fair share of strange beasts in the shape of men and women, but nothing quite as lighthearted and inviting. Her large, fluffy looking ears had him itching to pinch and pet like he would with any other cat. In fact, it took a lot of his patience to keep his eyes from wandering over to the features, leaving him to stare at her face.

They both would exchange a gentle handshake and release, the now named Lucia reverting back to her exaggerated, blushing self. If anything, it was comedic relief for the boy, never usually having such a warm and fluffy conversation with someone. With his usual soft smile, Ahote nodded, "Nice to meet you, Lucia. Come on, lets get going." he began to step out of the grove of bushes and into the open direct path, turning back to face her once more, "And the tree? Well, I'm not quite sure, so I was hoping that after a bit of wandering I'd find it. That and I'm pretty sure this is the right forest. A lot of weird things happen here, anyway." he answered.

The pair would then trail down the dirt path, which was submerged in dead leaves from autumn's harsh cycle, and nothing seemed out of the ordinary. But as they strolled deeper into the forest, the feeling deep within his gut became more apparent. The deeper, the closer, according to the teenager's intuition. But despite his attentiveness to finding any signs of the tree's toxin, the silence between the two had kept him unsettled. With topaz orbs searching between leaves and twigs, he spoke without eye contact, "So, what do you usually do around here?
Climb trees? Fling fireballs?" Ahote chuckled, briefly turning to look at her as they paced.

Lucia chuckled a little at the comment about the forest "Oh and I guess you would now what happens in the forest?" she stuck out her tongue playfully and let out another giggle. He sure seemed to be a charming young man and while it was hard for her to be shown attention, she knew how to play with people.

The pair walked in silence for a while, neither of them making eye contact with each other as even Lucia would keep an eye out for any strange happenings within the trees. When the boy spoke up she was snapped out of her state of wonder and let her eyes drift towards the back of the young boys head. Lucia tilted her head at her question "I mean, what do you do on the daily?" she shook her head slightly "I'm pretty sure that my life isn't that much different from another person that lives in the city." she kept her confused yet innocent tone in her voice as she spoke. She had been to small towns before but never really venturing out of her territory and into big cities mainly because she wanted to stay close to the wilderness.

She thought for a second before continuing her statement "Actually now that I think about it, I don't know much about what happens in cities. I only go out of my forest and into small towns. I don't really feel comfortable with leaving the wilderness..." she muttered before letting out a melancholic chuckle. She was silent for another minute before speaking up again "Ah, But enough about my life, what is yours like?" she smirked mischievously "Do you always venture into people's home and destroy them." she teased. "If I didn't know any better you might kill someone with that ax... or worse, me." she playfully added this last comment with a bit of a poking tone.

WC:1,488/1,250 [Done]

 

The pair would continue forward down the dirt path with no particular destination. Despite its name, the Spooky Forest was not very spooky at all. In fact, it was quite charming. The sound of wind running against the leaves, and those leaves brushing up against each other, rustling. The chirps of small birds and the thumps of rabbits that would dart across the bed of dead leaves, hurrying to their whining offspring. Standing here, one could witness life, observe nature at its peak. But despite the picture perfect setting of a tranquil forest, the forest was not at all tranquil. Harmful trees, disruptive critters, poachers, the forest had it all.

Topaz eyes returned to Lucia's as she would respond, "What do I do? Well, I don't fling fireballs at strangers. That's for sure." he giggled, a soft simper cracking his lips, letting the woman continue on with her questions. She was an awfully curious one, seeming like the type that would get lost in thought mid-conversation or letting her imagination get ahead of her. She was a cute girl.

The chocolate threaded woman would continue on, eventually bringing forth more questions after her own tangent. Ahote raised his head and held his chin in thought, "Well, I do come here a lot to do some busywork. Lots of labor and animal control." he turned back to Lucia, "But I certainly don't live in the city. I can't say I live in the country, either. More like a wasteland, really. It's a snowy mountain, way colder there than it is here. But, there was a time in my life where I lived in the city. When I was smaller." he sighed, recalling the warm and fluffy memories of when he and Kanix were still together, he and Fairy Tail. But now, the fluffiness he once remembered was overshadowed with a sense of longing. A bittersweet melancholy.

As they exchanged words, ahead of them would appear a large tree surrounded with mushrooms and bare patches on its trunk. It would obviously stand out among the rest. Quietly, Ahote came to a halt and pointed, "Hey, look. I bet that's it. Lets check it out?" he smiled, looking back at her.

The cat girl listened to the young boy with a sort of glow in her eye. When he said he used to live in the city she looked away for a second, remembering that she didn't really have anyone to keep her company let alone call family. She opened her mouth to ask the boy a question but the words where halted when Ahote came to a complete stop.

She looked at him for a second, confused as to why they had stopped walking. He pointed and her eyes followed his finger all the way to a tree that was bigger than the others and noticeably had more creatures living on it. Lucia placed her index finger on her chin and cocked her head "That seems to be the tree that you were describing... strange how I didn't see it before." she sighed and placed her hands on her hips "Unless there is another sickly looking tree, I say we have found our suspect!" she clapped her hands together and nodded at the boy "Since this is your job I will let you lead the way to victory!" she took a step back and patted him hard on the back.

She did not want to be the one to initiate anything, not because she was afraid but because she was particularly interested in what Ahote was going to do. Other than Kathrine she had never seen another human fight and do damage to something before, especially someone who looked as weak and frail as this kid.


 

Ahote would smile proudly in his discovery of the suspected tree, not that it was difficult to find it in the first place, but it didn't make him any less proud. The tree had been short in height, but was the thickest of all the plants in the grove. Its dry leaves were a mousy brown weakly attached to the branches, the wind occasionally plucking them away. The boy could only imagine how beautiful the tree must've been in life.

Ahote twisted to face Lucia, who seemed mildly disappointed in overlooking the figure, and nodded. "Cut this guy down and it'll be mission complete, huh?" he grinned toothily, though abruptly stumbled forward as Lucia would slap his back in encouragement, "Alright, alright, I'm going!" Ahote giggled, rubbing the patted spot sympathetically and began to excitedly walk over to the trunk of the tree with an ax in hand.

The dry leaves crunched underneath his boots as he approached the figure, taking the ax and bracing himself for the swing. Briefly, his topaz hues flickered between the waiting Lucia and the dying, if not dead already, trunk. He sucked in a large breath of air and held it in as he swung, the metal end of the tool slicing through the bark like a hot knife and butter. It had nearly gotten a fourth of the way through the trunk, leaving Ahote fairly satisfied by his progress. So satisfied, he paused and turned to Lucia for some sort of recognition, "Did you see that?
Look how easily it went through! I bet the thing's hollow, that's probably it, don't you think?" the raven haired youth would laugh heartily, pulling the ax from the bark and preparing to swing again.

Before the metal could strike again, a buzzing sound had emitted from deep within the wood. Ahote paused, a quizzical expression screwing his face. But as the silence between the two had increased, so did the buzzing. The boy had tightened his grip on the ax's handle and prepared to swing again, when suddenly a large bug would leap from the depths of the trunk and lunged at the boy.

Ahote shouted, frightened by the abrupt appearance, and swung the ax at the lunging bug like a baseball bat, knocking it into the trunk and onto the ground. But he chose not to stop there and stomped on it until he himself was exhausted, and the bug had been nothing but the twitching figure submerged in twigs and leaves.

He would pant and hold his chest, finally taking in and releasing one large, relieving sigh, "Damn. . . what was that all about?" he mumbled, the ax resting on his shoulders.

The young fire mage sat on a nearby rock, placing her chin in her hands as she watched the young boy get to work on the tree. While she did grow up in this forest, and she didn't exactly appreciate him coming in and disturbing the peace of it, there was something about this boy that was cute and she couldn't find it in herself to be upset with him. She smiled a little bit as she watched him laugh and cut down the tree again.

When she heard buzzing from the tree she stood up and readied for a fight but it seemed that the boy had it handled because he squashed the bug to bits... Multiple times. She sighed and shook her head, walking over to the boy "Don't you think that's overkill?" she asked placing her hands on her hips.

She looked back up at the tree and nodded "Well, I don't like you coming here and disrupting the forest like this... but it seems this tree was already doing it... so thank you." she slightly bowed her head to the bow, talking softly as she gave him her most humble thanks.


 

Ahote smiled towards his furry companion with warm eyes, twinkling with sunlight. He felt as if his blood had been coursing with testosterone and adrenaline at the swing of his ax. Truthfully, he had felt like a true man in a boy's body, and it filled him with a mild glee.

Exhausted, Ahote turned to face the excitable Lucia, "It's quite alright, Ms. Lucia. Like I said, I am a lover of nature and all who inhabits it myself, so this is a pleasure. . ." Ahote grinned toothily, waving the ax around playfully, "But we must part ways, for now, miss. Best of luck!" the boy began making way down the path in which he walked, waving his hand mindlessly as he did so.

[END]