Where talents can be seen

Yuzuki grumbled to herself as she slipped out of the Silver Wolf guild hall, tossing a traveling cloak over her shoulders. The semi-fey’s silver eyes glinted sharply in the darkness of the very early morning. The disadvantage of living at the Silver Wolf guild hall included the unfortunate location – high up in the Phoenix Mountains, it was difficult to get anywhere else. Now, there wasn’t really much need to exit the area, these days. The mountains were a habitat perfectly suitable to the woman’s habits. Her fey blood rejoiced at the surplus of nature, adapting easily to hunting and feeding in the wilderness. However, that human side of her longed for the company of others, and a change from the constant environment. Before locking herself down to a guild, the woman had been entirely mobile. She traveled constantly from city to forest, satisfying the urges of the clashing blood within her. But now that she was fixed into one place, she itched horribly for a change in scenery.

Moving back into the instincts that had dominated her life as a thief and assassin, the semi-fey easily rode one of Silver Wolf’s majestic wolves down to the base of the mountain, the magically enhanced cloak shielding her from the weather. It was time to go on a job, and not any old guild job – it was time to go on one of the exciting tasks that had dominated her life before this guild invaded her life, destroying monster after monster. A slight pink tongue ran over her lips at the thought, as the woman slid into the confines of Hargeon Town.

The familiar port city was bustling with activity as the sun came up over the mountains. The journey into civilization was a long one, with Silver Wolf being so far out of the way, but Yuzuki had made good time. Making sure the wolf returned, the woman strolled through the early morning bustle. Shops were setting up, and people were making their way to work on that familiar daily commute. The semi-fey took in a good breath of the nostalgic city air around her, eyes instantly making out her old haunts. The alleyways she had designated as escape routes and her favorite markets to steal from – it was all so familiar. Although her task today would not be one of thievery, the woman gladly snatched an apple from a stray crate, biting into it hungrily as she approached the public job board.

The choices were nowhere near as numerous as Silver Wolf’s but that was fine by her. Yuzuki wasn’t picky when it came to killing. Scanning the board, she snatched one that involved retrieving a magical item that was stolen by some prestigious figure. It took a thief to know a thief, and she doubted it would be difficult. She was about to leave and be on her way, when the woman’s eyes alighted upon the form of a blue-haired mage leaning against the wooden board. Despite looking like a woman, the figure gave off the scent of a male human instead. Raising an eyebrow, the woman marveled over this particular phenomenon before quickly losing interest and beginning to walk off again. What humans did was none of her concern, after all – she’d cut her ties with that species long ago.

552/3,500 words || 1052/7,000 words total || @Kaguya Sumeragi

Yuzuki raised an eyebrow as someone else took the job that she had signed on for as well? Another one of these pesky partner missions? How irritating. All she could do in response was fold the paper into her pocket after memorizing the client’s address, before strolling out of the building. Immediately outside the door, that strange person from earlier stood as though waiting for her. Wait – waiting for her? Yuzuki’s silver eyes flashed in suspicion as the tattoos on her arms, hidden beneath her sleeves began to glow in anticipation of a fight. The stranger had a surprisingly relaxed pose, the look on their face betraying no particular deception so far. Even so, the semi-fey was more than aware that judging someone from their face was not so good a practice as others deemed. Hadn’t Azurius taught her that, the lying angel he was?

In response to Veleno’s cordial remark, Yuzuki merely spat on the ground beside her, bangs covering her face as her head dropped to the side in disgust. Great. A job with a human? Sounded great. Her eyes barely even graced the sheathed item at the human’s side – she held little regard for the piggish species that they were. But, well, a job was a job, and this particular job paid fairly well. It would be a shame to drop – and besides, she’d gotten jobs done before with human partners, right? As long as she got the cash, the woman was sure that it would be worth it in the end.

Accepting her unfortunate fate, she began speedwalking briskly down the street without a backward glance at her partner-to-be. If they couldn’t keep up, too bad for them. “Meet you at the client’s crib,” she grumbled, before turning around the corner and finishing up her apple, tossing the core into a nearby sewer drain.

“Oi, young lady, it’s not good to litter!” An old lady minding a fruit stall called out to the thief before backing off with a glare from Yuzuki’s unnaturally silver eyes. “Oh fuck off, hag,” she growled before heading on her way. The woman was not in a good mood, and talking to her in such a state did not bode well for anyone. Before long, a flowing mansion appeared before her, a good ten to fifteen minutes walk later. Looking positively expensive, the semi-fey could already guess what sort of human scum was to be found inside.  Now, to see if the weirdo human from earlier could keep up…

970/3,500 words || 1931/7,000 words total || @Kaguya Sumeragi