The Howling (Job/Yuzuki)

At the edges of the border separating Silver Wolf’s territory from the outside world, Yuzuki squatted curiously. Stretching a cautious finger through the magical barrier, her eyes widened slightly at the sensation of sudden chilling cold, a lash of sharp ice against her fingers. So it was true, huh… Silver Wolf was a rather interesting place, that was for certain. Extracting her now tingling and numb finger from the grips of the storm, the semi-fey pushed herself up to a standing position in a smooth, flowing movement. Piercing silver eyes peered back at the building of the guild hall, head cocking to one side. How did she manage to get herself here anyways? Well…it wasn’t like she had any plans to permanently associate herself with such people permanently. A satisfied smirk on her face, the thief drifted back down towards the guild hall, only to notice the presence of a man and a black wolf, leaving the warm confines.

Two quick, quiet blinks would be all that marked Yuzuki’s thinking process, before her instincts kicked in and the woman slipped her body easily down into the snow. Upon arriving at Silver Wolf, the street rat had found herself gifted with new, fresh clothes that felt stiff and scratchy. Still, one could not deny the increased warmth they offered as opposed to her threadbare tunic of before, ripped and patched times beyond counting. Carefully observing her now fellow guild member, the darting gaze tracked their steps up the mountain, leaving the faintest of tracks in the snow. Hmm…she hadn’t done much investigating since she’d arrived, had she? It was unnatural of her to not instantly scout out any new habitat, and Yuzuki felt a faint pang of disappointment in her dulled senses already. It had only been what, a day or two?

A snort escaped her nostrils, and the semi-fey pushed off into the air, invisible wings giving her a boost into the air before she soared through the air, gravity eventually bringing her down next to the man with a soft indent into the snow. Being naturally light as was typical for her race, the woman’s boots barely left an imprint in the snow, her very landing making almost no sound. “Hey mistah! I’m Zhuu, nice to meetcha!” The cheerful comment came with long years of practice in the slums of Fiore, a fake expression of utter innocence and cheer easily adapted to her face. In an easy move, Yuzuki angled her body so the spiraling pattern of silver tattoos down her arms – including that of Silver Wolf – would be clearly visible to the man.

The man blinked, perhaps slightly startled by her sudden appearance? He introduced himself cordially as Deshitana, then moved the pile of wood he carried in his arms towards what appeared to be a makeshift camp on the mountain. What in the world was this guy doing? Hiding a confused expression, Yuzuki followed him over, watching curiously as he set the pile of wood down. "Well, I'm sorta new, I guess. Been looking around, checking out the whole guild area and saw you over here. It's a pretty cool place to live, huh?" The semi-fey gestured to the magical dome that kept the storm of the mountains outside of the Silver Wolf domain, keeping the guild warm and comfortable.

"Anyways, whatcha doing out here?" The thief flopped down comfortably on the snowy ground, noting the much cooler air out here as compared to within the sanctuary. "It's awfully cold for a campfire night, ain't it?" While her non-human blood protected her somewhat from the cold, Yuzuki's thin clothing didn't provide much protection from the cold. Watching as her tattoos slowly lit up with a faint silver light, burning energy to keep her warm, she turned back to observe the pile of wood that had been gathered. Probably not a fire mage, if he required such traditional methods of fire lighting.

A typical, polite response would be issued from Deshitana’s mouth, nothing of particular interest to the semi-fey. How boring, hmm? Continuing to watch him stack wood, Yuzuki listened on as the man continued speaking while pulling some sort of rune off his skin. Silver eyes sparked with interest once more, watching as the rune was easily crushed, forming a flame that set the wood on fire in a skilled movement. Barely any attention at all would be paid to his following words as the woman stared, a moth drawn to flame at the flickering fire. By the time she looked back up, Deshitana’s outstretched hand was offering a piece of fur, probably for the sake of warmth considering their situation.

Blinking a couple of times, Yuzuki peered down at her own sleeveless tunic, bare arms shimmering with light from the tattoos that covered their length. It was only natural that one might assume her to be cold – no typical human would survive in clothing of this design out in the Phoenix Mountains, but the moonfire simmering within her kept the mage’s body warm, protecting her from the vicious cold. “Naw, I’m good. Thanks for the offer.” Yuzuki flopped down lazily on the snowy ground, eyes fixated on the flickering flames. “Oh yeah, right. You can call me Zhuu.” It was a common street name the thief used – far removed enough from her actual title that it would not be traced back to herself.

“Anyways, that was some pretty cool magic you got. Runic or sumn’?” Easily tossing another question back at her new guildmate, the semi-fey’s eyes would curiously search Deshitana’s skin, as if the secret to his magic could be unearthed through sight alone.

Deshitana appeared to be a quiet, calm kinda guy, looking into the fire with a neutral expression despite the semi-fey’s rather rough manner of action. Her question would be calmly answered, rolling up a sleeve to display the reappearing fire symbol. Interesting, eh? Almost similar to her own abilities. Though his next question would be rather odd to Yuzuki, her eyes narrowing in faint confusion for a moment.

“Magic more than people?” She tilted her head to a side, frowning. It was a weird question to ask a thief – naturally she cared little for people, but magic was something she found interest in only if it suited her needs. In a way, she treated them the same – interesting only if she could benefit. Such was the selfish nature of the semi-fey’s lifestyle, one that had been essential for survival on the streets. “Nah not really, just thought your symbol thingies were kinda cool.” She leaned back, raising her own tattooed arm to the now darkened sky. The stars were breathtaking from up here, high in the mountains where the clouds had become thin, and the rising moon provided a refreshment to the moonlight-powered mage.

“Interesting that your magic uses tattoos too – these on my arm power my own magic, heh.” Even as the semi-fey spoke, thin threads of silvery moonlight trickled form a tattoo, spiraling up to create a small throbbing orb of light in her palm. “How long you planning on staying out here tonight, hm?” At this point, the semi-fey was completely uncertain of how to proceed. After all, socialization had never been her strong suit – the thief typically utilized her ability to speak in order to cuss out an opponent or practice some form of mischief or the other. Talking just for the sake of talking? Awkward…

The man’s question was most unusual, and it took the semi-fey a moment to process what exactly it was he wanted to know. “Uh, well, I dunno man, they’re just interesting I guess.” She shrugged matter-of-factly, then listened on to what Deshitana had to say. “Welp, yeah! Moonlight-based magic and all that, mmhm.” She was practically radiating with energy right now, the light of the moon charging up her magical power. She was a potent enemy at night, with the constant energy source shining high above. However, the mesmerizing light did have rather dislikable mental effects on her kind – if she was lucky though, the state of “lunacy” would not descend upon her tonight.

As for his response to the thief’s question, he responded with an ambiguous reply, causing the semi-fey to nod slowly, shifting her weight to settle in for what could potentially be a long night. “I dunno, maybe I’ll stick around for a bit and head back when I get tired.” Yawning tiredly, Yuzuki peered up at one of the many mountain peaks, towering high above their heads. With a slight squint, the woman would notice the silhouettes of canines, wolves slowly making their way up a neighboring mountain. The dark silver fur glinted in the night, shimmering in a wide range of monochrome under the natural lighting. “See the wolves up there? Whaddya think they’re gonna do?” The semi-fey tilted her head to one side, watching as the alpha wolf reached the peak, gathering the rest around them. She’d heard of wolves howling at the moon, and had certainly heard the phenomenon before. Actually viewing it here under the shimmering light however…surprisingly, in her thirty-four years of life, it was something Yuzuki had yet to experience.

After a couple of hours, the semi-fey would silently stand up, and make her way back to the hall. It was time to go to sleep, for even she could not keep her eyes so long opened.