Djinn of the Sands (job w/ Kite)

It had been a while since Gaia had decided to sit down for a while within Ace of Spades. She had been doing various odd jobs here and there, hoping to get her magic back. Every day that she practiced with it, she could feel it start to blossom, but there were no outwardly effects. The block was still there, but she was close. She could feel it. She needed a shove somehow. Taking a deep breath, Gaia looks around the tavern. It had been a while, but she felt like she enjoyed being in where it was lively. A grin was on her face as she had recalled her reading on her being in the guild in this tavern. It had pleased her, and the reading hadn't disappointed her either. Already, in the matter of a few month, Gaia knew she had grown less shy, and was getting more comfortable around the guild. Especially since it was someplace she could call home, and mean it.

After doing a modeling gig for about five weeks, Gaia had a bit of mail to read though, and brought what she thought wasn't too big of a deal with her to the tavern to read while she drank over a glass of wine. She felt she deserved it after that modeling job. She had read through her letters quietly, and takes a deep breath while she was bored. After a moment of flipping through the letters, she came across one she didn't recall seeing before. After she opened it, she begun to read the scribbles carefully. The more she read, and reread what was on the paper, the more her jaw dropped. She quickly stuffs her things in her bag and went in search of Kite. She may not have known him too well, but she felt that he would be able to help her out on this, or that she needed his help. She gripped the letter that she had been reading in her hand, crumpling the paper as she felt her anger boiling over the words that were on that paper. After her cards had granted her a bladed staff during her fight in Rose Garden, she carried it with her nearly everywhere in case she needed it, and boy did she feel that this staff was needed for this.

As soon as she found the guild master of Sabertooth, Gaia stood before him, right hand on her staff, as she seemed to grit her teeth a bit. Her face scrunched in a bit of anger. "Kite. I need you to help me with something. I need you to come with me to Desierto and stop a slaver." She looks down to her hand holding onto the crumpled paper. When she looks back up to him, her hand is gripping the staff tighter, enough to make her knuckles. "I got a tip, from a friend of mine in Bellum, that someone is going around kidnapping people in the desert to do a sacrifice of some sort with them, and I want to stop it. Immediately. My magic is still blocked, but I feel I could still do this... just not alone." She tells him. She slightly adjusts her cloak over her usual turtleneck sweater and skirt with panty hose attire. The little fluffy ferret, Noya, looked up to the guild master with just as much intensity as her master was from her usual spot on her shoulders. They both were seeming like they were ready to go that moment, which wasn't a lie, but they were wanting his approval first.

The tarot reader stuffs the letter in her bag on her hip, tired of holding it as she moves to hold her staff with her left hand now. She seemed determined to go, and regardless of his answer, like she was planning to go to Desierto one way or another. And in truth, she would, but something was telling her to bring her guild master regardless. "I need to go do this. Please? Come help me." She mutters.

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As soon as Kite mentioned having the same information she was telling him from the magic council, Gaia's face dropped in surprise over it. She honestly didn't expect the magic council to be involved, but now she was rather grateful that they were. Noya had given a soft growl as he put his hand on her shoulder, but Gaia lightly patted her ferrets head before Kite had touched it as well. She hung her head as she was told she didn't need to plead like she did. "I'm sorry. I usually feel like a nuisance right now since I have yet to unlock my magic still..." She mumbles and grits her teeth a little. She always was angry with herself as she hated not being able to use the magic she unlocked once at her families home a good few years prior. She then shakes her head and looks back up to Kite apologetically. As he walked on to the opposite side of the room, she followed suit, her boots lightly clicking on the ground. "Pardon? Tailspin?" She wasn't too familiar with the name, but she was eager all the same, especially now that Kite was going to help her regardless of the fact that he was going to take the job anyways.

Seeing the ship come up after the guild master called it forth, Gaia gasped a bit with a small smile. The ship had looked rather interesting to her now that it was before her. The little tarot reader watched Kite go on, and bit her bottom lip for a moment before she went after him, her steps quick as she went to catch up with him. As she wasn't aware of the layout of the ship herself, Gaia had decided to follow the guild master to wherever it was he was going on the ship. "I should tell you... One of my old friends from my... past... is one among the group who were slaved. I don't know how she was able to sneak a letter out, and how it managed to actually get to me... But I'd be grateful if she's still alive." She looks around the area of the ship they were in, before looking to kite. "Last she knew, they were near the Bellum boarder and going further in the country. To the furthest most area from all countries and water around it." She says as she leans on the staff. She was feeling antsy, and wanted to get there immediately, but knew she would still have to wait for the travel. She only hoped it wouldn't be too terribly long of a ride.

Gaia had been antsy the whole ride there, constantly rereading the letter she had gotten from her friend, and getting angry over it all over again. She had found herself sitting in a chair with her staff between her legs and leaning against her shoulder as she thumbed the paper. Noya was rubbing Gaia's cheek a bit with her own cheek, and was trying to comfort her upset master from this whole thing. "How easy do you think it'll be to take this guy out, Kite?" She asks in a quiet voice. To be honest, Gaia was just a bit scared, but she wouldn't admit that it was because of how close to home they were getting for her. She hoped Kite would think it was nothing but her nerves getting to her over the slaver guy, which was kind of true. She didn't know what to expect from this, especially with how unequipped she felt she was for this. All she had was her cloak to protect her, and her staff to jab at the guy, nothing too special on her own besides Noya to slow the guy down and heal her her and Kite if they needed it.

She looked out the window as they eventually were making their way over Desierto, and she frowns at how the country was. She had never been there before, but already she knew the place wouldn't be good for Noya. She stands up a bit and goes to the window. "You have any idea of where they could be now? It seems like miles and miles of desert now..." She was concerned about being able to do this now. The desert of Desierto was more vast than she could have imagined. Noya let up chirps of eagerness as she was wanting off the ship and to find the man they were after.

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Gaia listened to Kite as he tries to lift her spirits a bit by telling her that her magic doesn't make her, and that it's her who makes the magic instead. A small smile formed on her lips already, and she nods a little. The little tarot reader should have remembered that. She softly laughs and pulls out her deck of cards while she had a small blush on her cheeks from him calling her 'his kind of stupid'. "I already know what kind of magic I have. It locked itself though, so I can't use it till it decides to unlock itself once again." She tucks her cards away again before she watched the ship a bit.

Gaia had sat down in one of the chairs. She wasn't sitting in it all the way, barely sitting on the edge of the chair in all honesty. The sudden jerk of the ship had caused her to lurch forward out of the chair and into Kite. The girl was glad he caught her, and she blushed profoundly as she scrambled herself into her seat again. She nods a thank you to him though, and a slower nod to his understanding for her wanting to go, and willing to make sure her friend is safe along with the other people whom were enslaved. Him questioning where her friend was, makes her shake her head. "The letter was sent in Desierto, near the boarder of Bellum. She's no longer near there though as they were moving in towards the center of Desierto, across the dessert." She nods though when he mentioned searching the dessert around caves and ruins. She was feeling ready for this.

After a while of them being in Desierto and flying around a bit in search of the slaver and the group of people he has, Gaia taps her chin. She was wondering how they could find the slaver in all this sand. "Noya's going to be exhausted from all this heat..." She mutters to herself as she takes a deep breath. Gaia looks over to Kite as she frowns. She was trying to think of the best way they could get to the slaver. She walks over to the cockpit and looks out the window lazily as she thinks, but was startled by Noya's squeak of anger while she growls out the window. Gaia blinks and leans in towards the window more while squinting to see what was out in the distance. They were about a hundred miles from the boarder of Bellum in Desierto by now, and there seemed to be a group of people in the far distance from the ship. Gaia wasn't quite sure what exactly she saw, and quickly goes back to the dining area to see Kite again. "Hey Kite... You have a telescope or something? I see something out here." She points to the cockpit area while she looked to him. She wanted to know if she was seeing things, or if those specks out in the distance were actually people like she was thinking. She opens her mouth to speak when she thought of something. She turns her head back to the cockpit, and bites her bottom lip while she thought about it.

"You have any idea how to get close to this guy? If not... I think I do." She walks away from the entrance to the cockpit and unclasps her cloak to remove it. She lays it on the back of the chair she was sitting in before she starts taking off her bag she usually had on her hip, and coaxed Noya off of her to rest on the table. "How about... I be bait? My friend said she was relatively modest looking and had nothing much on her when she was nabbed, maybe I should look somewhat the same so I can be grabbed, and when the slaver has me, you can come after him to see what all he does at first." She glances over to her staff leaning against the table. She takes a deep breath as she runs her hands through her hair. She sat in the chair she was sitting in before, and starts to kick off her boots before she starts pulling down her pantyhose without exposing herself to Kite at all. She then removes her sweater, revealing that she was wearing a tank top underneath it after her boots were back on, and she shivers a bit. Gaia felt uneasy without the cover of all her clothes, but she looks up to Kite. "Do I look like I'm defenseless and nothing but a 'weak little girl' to you right now?" She questions him as she stands up again. She honestly hated how fair her skin was, so her having dark pantyhose on usually made her feel better about herself. Gaia's burnt sienna eyes looked worriedly at the pieces of clothing she normally wore day in and day out. She takes a deep breath as she rubbed her arm some. She honestly wondered if she could go through with this, even though it was her own plan.

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Gaia softly snorts as she slightly rolled her eyes about half the amount of work for her as she already knew the magic she had. "Yeah... Nearly eight years looking for it, now I feel it's going to take another six to unlock it again." She sighs deeply. The little mage takes a deep breath as she shakes her head a bit. Kite mentioning that he'd carry enough water for Noya, made Gaia smile as she nodded. She liked hearing that, and felt a bit touched that he said he'd make sure that her precious companion was kept healthy. After she asked about a telescope, and the shipped answered instead of Kite, Gaia was caught a bit off guard. She blinks a little, and slowly nods. At least she was right that it was people out there.

Kite voicing his dislike of her plan, makes her shake her head while shrugging her shoulders. "You don't always have to like a plan. But if it's all that we got, then it's all that we got." She mutters. When she had finished undressing, and questioned Kite's opinion on how she looked, she was a little more than pleased with his response. "Normal is good." She says as she taps her chin a little. His second comment made her blush up to him and raised her eyebrow. She looked up to the guild master as he approached her, her mouth going into a small 'O' formation for a second before she closed her mouth and tapped her cheek. She hadn't thought of where they could drop her off. Or how exactly she looked. She opens her mouth again when Kite touched her cheek, and she felt her face grow warm from him touching her. She usually didn't let anyone touch her face besides her boyfriend.

Noya sensed Gaia's uneasiness, and was instantly right next to her, slightly growling at Kite for touching her. Gaia had quickly reached up to grab Kites hand and removed it to quiet the ferret down. "Sorry for her..." She murmurs as she scratched the back of her head. "Well... Um..." She glances down to her bag and thinks for a moment before she nods. "Yeah. I was originally thinking of just getting myself dirtied up to look like I've been walking for a while... but maybe me posing as a traveler looking for my friend will also help. I also think we should drop me off out of sight of him, but where it seems like he maybe going too." She quickly goes into her bag and starts pulling out crystals and a bag of raw meat, and a dragon themed square bag that held her tarot cards. She closed the bag tightly to make sure that the cards wouldn't fall out, and looks back to Kite. "I need some small foods I can stash in here, not a lot to seem like I've eaten them, water, and a small first aid kid to stick in here too." She nods as she grabs her cloak again. She was actually relieved to be wearing her cloak. Noya looks up to her master with confusion and pouts to her a bit. Gaia smiles and pats the ferrets head. "I can't let the guy get his greasy hands on my cards. If he does, you can bite his head off to your delight." She tells the ferret before kissing her head.

When Gaia's bag was all ready, she slipped it on across her body, then her cloak over her shoulders. She felt much more at ease with her cloak on, and takes a deep breath. "Lets get this show on the road then..." She mutters before she kissed Noya's head. Gaia had gone to the front of the ship, and used whatever topographical map that was on the ship, and took a guess at where the Slaver and the people he captured could be. Once they had a guess, Gaia let herself get off the ship however Kite would allow her and she walked a little bit. "It's hotter here than in Bellum..." She couldn't help but grumble to herself. She had bent down to sit in the sand a bit, purposely getting herself sandy and dirty to make it seem like she had been in it a while. Even getting some in her hair and shaking the sand in it. When she felt she was dusty enough, she gets up and starts walking through the desert in the direction she believed she saw the slaver from. She brings up her hood to cover her face from the sun, and takes a deep breath. She felt this was going to be a while...

As she predicted, it actually took a good couple hours, and Gaia could already feel the sunburn setting in on her white legs through the sand on them. She groans to herself as she looks around, and saw a group coming towards her. The head of the group was a rather fat man, that instantly set off alarms for Gaia, and she wished like hell Noya was with her already.
The guy had a toothy grin as he walks up to Gaia and leans forward. "Hey pretty lady... What are you doing out here all alone in the desert?" His breath was unbearable to Gaia as she couldn't help but look away from him for a moment. "I'm looking for my friend... We were separated, and I'm trying to find her." She replies back in a small voice. "I'm Bladdi, maybe I can be of assistance... or you can for me... You'll help me get my djinn." He grin was wicked as he was suddenly grabs Gaia's arm and was holding her up by her bicep. Clearly she was too weak to push him off and was defenseless to him. He then noticed her bag and ripped it off, shaking her in a way to knock her hood off and undoing the buckle on it, causing the cloak to reveal her face and body to the rest of the group as the cloak fell to the ground. There had been a gasp behind her, as her friend noticed it was her, and she covered her mouth. The man didn't seem to notice, and just grins to her. He then drags her to the back of the line of people, in which Gaia was able to see that they were all shackled together. The tarot reader was utterly shocked at the condition the people were in. She was yanked to the back of the line and then shackled with the rest. When he let go of her bicep, there was a bruise already forming of the mans hand with how hard he gripped her. The only good thing about all this, her friend was in the back and was right in front of her.

Bladdi had decided to go through the contents of the bag, dropping everything on the ground, including the bag when he felt nothing of use was in there. Gaia actually had gotten hungry and thirsty, so there was less food than there was before. "Not too much for someone looking for their friend, eh? Or did you get hungry yourself?" Gaia nervously blushed to the guy as she looked down to her shackled hands. She hoped like hell Kite would be not too far behind, and could break them all free of the chains, or that she wouldn't be in them long, and grab her cloak and bag that were left to Desierto's sun. Bladdi started barking orders for the others to walk on in the hot sun, and they slowly started to move, with Bladdi at the front. The girl ahead of Gaia turned her head to look at her. "What are you doing?!" She hissed at her. Gaia just smiles and shrugs her head. "In the middle of a rescue mission, Bianca. Just trust me. My guild master won't let us get anymore hurt than what's happened already." She had whispered back. Gaia was slightly shuffling her feet to make an obvious path in case Kite were to lose track of them, and only hoped the wind wouldn't blow it away.

As they traveled on, the sun beat down on Gaia and the rest of the slavers. She wished she had water, and licks her already dry lips. Bianca and a couple other captured slaves stumbled, and Bladdi had whipped them for doing so and slowing them down. Gaia was seeming a little panicked when she saw that happen, being reminded of her past some. "I hope you guys are all comfortable now! The party will be getting a bit more fun here when the sun starts to set." He chuckles as he looks up. Gaia hadn't realized that the sun was working on going down, and she slightly feared that it would get cold now as deserts could get cold rather fast during night compared to the day. Bladdi had everyone stop and Gaia felt like her legs were screaming at her from how much she walked. Bianca turned to look at her, and smiled meekly to her little friend. Gaia gave her a grin and looks around, trying to find any sign of Kite anywhere. They were in an area that was mainly dunes, sand, and more dunes. Bladdi started to do some sort of chant, and was holding one of the slaves. "No!" Gaia had involuntarily shouted. As soon as the words left her mouth, she regretted it and wanted to shy away.

Bladdi looked at her and raised an eyebrow. "No?" He shoved the slave back and was walking towards the back of the line of shackled slaves. Gaia grits her teeth as she shoves her arms down and stiffened her legs while glaring up at Bladdi. "No." She repeated. "You can't hurt them. Any of them." She hisses. "Oh? And who's going to stop me? You?" The fat man was laughing as he grabbed Gaia by her other arm now, just as hard as before. "You'll be the first one I use to sacrifice to Mutura of the Sands." He cackles as he yanks her, and the rest of the chain a bit. Gaia's face now didn't show any of the bravery she was just showing a moment ago. She was frozen with a bit of fear and screaming mentally for Kite to be there now as tears started to stream down her cheeks, making a slightly cleaned streak on her dirty cheeks.

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Gaia was quite aware of her attitude towards the plan was completely different from her normal attitude, but she had gained a bit of confidence in her leadership skills with Ryo a while back, and she figured how to be somewhat tactical about the whole thing. Gaia nods to his reluctant reply, smirking slightly as she did indeed feel she was right. She took the supplies Kite gave her to use, and stuffed them into her bag as best she could given the small space. As they landed, Gaia was holding onto a bar above her a bit. She was trying to regulate her breathing a bit. Not wanting to be chickening out now. Before she went to the door, she gave Noya a quick kiss before allowing the ferret to jump onto Kite's arm and perch herself on his shoulder while she walked right off the ramp. Gaia looked back and gave him a nod to his advice, and then his warning to be safe. "I'll try." She couldn't help but grin to him. She hoped she could be as well. While with Kite, Noya softly chirped at him, the worry in her chirp and wide black eyes. The little ferret couldn't help but being worried and anxious. She was rarely ever separated from her master for too long. She did sniff the gun though, confused by the scent, and the look of it.

As it was time to go, Noya eagerly set herself in Kite's duster, and snuggled herself close to him as she waited for them to go. There was no way the ferret was going to miss getting to her master again, even with the heat. The ferret was pleased with the fact that Kite grabbed Gaia's cards and her staff. Those would be the important things besides her bag and cloak, which Noya wasn't aware that she didn't have anymore. When Kite decided to jump from the ship, Noya freaked out a little. She wasn't used to that. Them being on land, Kite might feel the ferret shivering on his neck, and gripping his clothes with her claws a bit. She continued to hold on as Kite ran, eager to see her master again.

Gaia gasped a little as she noticed Kite out of the corner of her eye. By the time the slaver noticed him, the thorn projectile had went through his arm. He had screamed out in pain, in a rather high pitched voice, as he grabbed his arm and had let go of Gaia. Gaia grinned brightly as he spoke, and nods to him before she glances to her friend. She went wide eyed at Kite, and Gaia simply snickered. "Oh hey, I'm in Sabertooth. A guild of mages." She says rather casually to her friend. "That's my guild master." When she was handed her cards, Gaia gasped and gabbed them eagerly as she hugged them to her, before Kite broke the chain. She had wiped her tears a bit and couldn't help chuckling a little. "The Death card doesn't represent 'death' outright..." She pulls out the card and grins a little. "It means the end of a cycle, new beginnings, or even change..." She grabs her staff and looks over to everyone else who was chained up. "Food and water, and something to sooth sunburns at most is what they'll need." She glances to her friend again, who nodded a little. "And something for our wrists where the chains rubbed our wrists raw..." Bianca says quietly.

Gaia glanced over to the slaver. He was glaring at them and raises his good hand to the slaves. Gaia had quickly shoved past Kite and Bianca as she quickly has her staff out and goes to throw her bladed staff at the man. She manages to clip his arm, and he hisses at her. "You bitch! You're ruining everything!" He shouts and put his hand to his head. "Nevermind! If I want to get something, I'll achieve it myself!" He let up a scream as he had managed to kill himself. The sands around them started to rumble, and Gaia had to spread her legs a bit to keep her balance.

A whirlpool of sand starts to appear a distance from where they all stand, along with a sand tornado forming at the center of it. When both the whirlpool and sand tornado disappeared, a djinn stood before them, and seemed to just glare at them, before he noticed the slaves, as well as Gaia. "My my... tasty treats..." He mutters with a grin. Gaia grits her teeth as she held her staff tighter, going to stand in front of the slaves as she holds her staff out. "Sorry bud." She says as she shakes her head. "You're wanting to be my first snack? Great." He chuckles as he throws his hand out. Sand had suddenly came up and smacked her off to the side, making her lose her staff as she tumbled over in the sand a bit. She groans a bit as she looks up to see him going after the slaves. "Damn it! No!" She growls. She noticed her tarot bag open with her cards half out of her bag. Something about the cards this time was screaming at her to grab them. She grits her teeth as she quickly yanks part of them out and throws the tarot bag to the side. She hadn't been too thrilled about the sand knocking her away as she did, and it wasn't because it had gotten in uncomfortable places. It was because she was shoved away from Noya, Bianca, and Kite. She didn't want to be too far away from them.

She looks down at the cards as she takes a deep breath. "You guys better be right..." She mutters, as if the cards had been talking to her. The tarot reader holds up her right hand with the cards in her hands, and closes her eyes for a second before she felt a sudden surge of power, enough that the djinn got distracted by her. She had her fingers at the top and bottom of the cards and slowly begun bending them to make them fly out in front of her. All the while she's doing this, she's chanting over and over;

“Fogah Supri Lasauic,
Si relgr acht wux ekess letoclo ve,
Voenllyl sia relgr vur confn zexenuma ini ve,
Fogah Supri Lasauic,
Nymuer sia ulnot vur nar sia irlym!”

Her voice sounded off as she spoke, as if she had others speaking with her. When she stopped, a mist started to fall over everyone within the area. The djinn looked confused as he saw the mist. This wasn't native to his desert home. A smirk was on Gaia's face, as behind her stood thirty-eight, half transparent, dragons of various heights, and colors and ranks from the major arcana, as well as the Kings, Queens, Knights, and Pages of the minor arcana suits. Gaia had probably what could be considered her most serious determined expression on her face than she had yet. Without her even moving, the dragons all seemed to just know whom the enemy was, and a blast of energy came from them all, aiming right at the djinn rather harshly. Gaia seemed to wince a bit as she felt her energy sap from her a bit. They were using a bit more energy from her than they were supposed to, but the next instant, the djinn was gone, the dragons and the mist were gone, and Gaia was falling backwards onto the sand. "Gaia!" Bianca cries out as Noya quickly jumps off of Kite's shoulders and runs after her master. She was on Gaia's chest and licking her face, trying her hardest to heal her master, but the heat wasn't helping her much. Gaia was laughing a little as she lay on the ground. She grabs Noya and hugs her rather tightly.

"My magic!" She laughs happily. She sits up again and was crying as she looked over to Kite. She was seeming a bit excited as she looked around. She quickly waved her hand and the cards seemed to move on their own and slip themselves back into the bag. She quickly grabs the pouch, and Noya jumped away to nose out her staff a bit, and she picks it up as she goes back over to Kite. She was using her staff a little like a walking stick, but she still had a big grin splitting her face in half. "I unlocked it!" She giggles excitedly as she glances down to her cards. She lets out a huff as she glances to the people who were chained together, and takes a deep breath. "Lets get them out and on the ship?" She questions Kite as she goes up to her friend. Bianca was staring wide eyed at her friend with her jaw dropped to the ground. "You have magic..." She breathed. Gaia grins and nods to her before she threw her arms around her. "We'll get you out of these cuffs!" Gaia says as she lets go of her friend. Bianca was a brunette with brown eyes, and slightly tanned skin, and was a good three inches taller than Gaia. The tarot reader looked back at Kite once more, and takes a deep breath, trying to get over this high of excitement from realizing she unlocked her magic.

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