![Squirrels and Storms [B-Rank Exam] Empty](https://2img.net/i/empty.gif)
It seemed like any other normal day at Sabertooth, the rising sun waking the girl who had now been given the title of "Storm Goddess." Mai woke, getting out of her pyjamas and putting on her dress, ready to head out for a quick breakfast before lessons in magic with Luna. She tiredly wandered over to the endtable nearing her bed, preparing to grab her last remaining evidence of Papa's existence, only to find it missing.
"Eh?" Mai tiredly muttered, the gravity of the situation not yet settling in. "Eh?!?!?!"
She turned her room top-to-bottom, looking for the necklace with Papa's scale on it. No matter where she looked, whether on top of her bed or underneath the end table, in each drawer, in each crack and crevice, nothing.
As the tears began welling up in her eyes, she heard a light chuckle from her windowsill. Turning around, glaring with the most intent to kill she had ever possessed. Sitting there was Ratatoskr, Mai's precious memento hanging around his neck.
"What're you lookin' at, kid?" the squirrel chirped smugly.
"You..." Mai's only thought at this moment was one of pure hatred and death. "GIVE BACK PAPA'S NECKLACE!"
Without a second thought, she powered up Galeforce Boots, rushing out the window to chase after Sabertooth's strange guardian. He had run out the window by then, dashing across the rooftops of Ace of Spades. Mai was in quick pursuit, but, as she had been warned, one must not underestimate the squirrel, who kept a good pace in front of her despite the initial burst of speed Mai gained. He rushed out towards the portal that would lead them to Yggdrasil, flashing through it, necklace and all. Mai was in there a few seconds after, bursting through the portal to arrive on one of the many branches of Yggdrasil.
"You want your little necklace back, you gotta find me, kid! Think about it like hide-and-seek. You're a little kid, you gotta like hide-and-seek, so it'll be no different than playing with your mom or pop." Ratatoskr's voice mocked from inside Mai's head. She was seething with rage, tempted to try to destroy some of the branches of the tree in anger.
Stay calm.
Mai's eyes popped open in shock. The voice was familiar, but distant, but all the same unmistakable. "Papa?" she called out, frantically searching for her guardian.
Focus, and stay calm. I know it's difficult for wild souls like us to do, but sometimes you gotta bear it.
A tear ran down Mai's cheek. It had been months, sure, but she could never forget Papa's voice. She wiped away the tear, resolving herself to seek out that last memento his existence bared.
She closed her eyes, calming herself. Her initial plan of attacking the World Tree was a foolish one, she realized. She could not harm it, and even if she could, Ratatoskr would reveal himself and crush her in an instant if Kenna or Ryo did not first. The guardian was small, but quick and smart. Amongst all the trees, he would certainly be difficult to find. He could be a single branch away and she would be none the wiser.
"Fine. I'll play. Are you going to stay in your same spot or are you going to run away again?"
A moment passed before Ratatoskr's voice returned into Mai's head. "Yeah, yeah. I'll stay. You wouldn't have a chance of finding me if I moved at all."
His laughter rang in Mai's ears as she took a seat on the branch, her feet dangling dangerously off the edge. While Ratatoskr was a troublemaker, he was still protective of the members of Sabertooth. If she simply waited until nightfall, Ratatoskr would certainly give the the necklace back. Of course, Mai could not accept that, both for the already longing sense of disappearing from Papa's memento and for stubborn pride in not wanting to be beaten by a squirrel. She closed her eyes, her small, young mind racing through the possibilities of how she would go about searching for Ratatoskr. She could simply look for the rustling leaves, which she certainly would be able to hear as well. But those were too unreliable. There were squirrels outside of Ratatoskr, certainly, and even the wind could rustle the leaves. There had to be some way, she was sure.
Suddenly, an idea flashed into Mai's mind. She took a deep sniff, taking in all the scents of Yggdrasil. As expected, it had a very natural smell; leaves, bark, even the calm, tiring wind. As expected, even a few birds and squirrels without a hint of magical power. But one smell in particular stood out above the rest. It was a scent too familiar to Mai, a damp smell of power. The scale itself! It had been with Mai so long that she had become numb to any scent it may have borne, but now that it was gone, its smell was a blessing to the girl.
As Papa had taught her with her magic, she tried to isolate that specific scent among the cacophony of other smells filling her nose. It took time, but eventually she could begin to search for it. As the nibbling sense in the back of her mind suggested, it drew her close to the middle of the tree. After the walk had brought her to the tree's core, the scent led her further on the path. Her eyes were closed, the only sense guiding her path being that of her Slayer-heightened nose. As she neared the branch directly opposite Mai's initial branch, the subtle scent of Ratatoskr's power slowly seeped into her senses. She opened her eyes, at the foot of the branch. It split into three smaller branches at its edge, all of which were obscured by leaves. Ratatoskr and, more importantly, Mai's necklace, one of those, Mai was certain. She closed her eyes once more, trying to grasp Papa's scent. As she slowly tightroped her way towards the fork in the branch, her eyes closed to focus in on the scent, it bounced from path to path, unable or unwilling to be pinned down by anyone larger than a squirrel.
Left.
Mai opened her eyes in shock, dropping to all fours to ensure she did not fall off the branch and tumbled to the hard forest floor below. Following Papa's instructions, she clambered onto the left-most path, her breathing rough from the height. The ground seemed worlds away, and it certainly would kill her if she fell. She closed her eyes, trying her best to calm herself down. Her heart beat fast, the fear sinking into her heart. It was a dangerous task, to be sure, but it was worth it for the reclamation of Papa's necklace.
"Sheesh, kid! Stop! You're even scaring me!" Ratatoskr's voice came from outside Mai's head. She opened her eyes, looking up to see the squirrel staring at her face-to-face. "You found me, alright? You won the game this time. Next time, though-"
At his mention of a next time, Mai's eyes turned into daggers, staring a hole into Sabertooth's furry guardian, who scampered away after placing the necklace back around Mai's neck. Relieved by the return of her Papa's last remnant, Mai clambered off the tree, finally ready to get breakfast.
WC: 1221
"Eh?" Mai tiredly muttered, the gravity of the situation not yet settling in. "Eh?!?!?!"
She turned her room top-to-bottom, looking for the necklace with Papa's scale on it. No matter where she looked, whether on top of her bed or underneath the end table, in each drawer, in each crack and crevice, nothing.
As the tears began welling up in her eyes, she heard a light chuckle from her windowsill. Turning around, glaring with the most intent to kill she had ever possessed. Sitting there was Ratatoskr, Mai's precious memento hanging around his neck.
"What're you lookin' at, kid?" the squirrel chirped smugly.
"You..." Mai's only thought at this moment was one of pure hatred and death. "GIVE BACK PAPA'S NECKLACE!"
Without a second thought, she powered up Galeforce Boots, rushing out the window to chase after Sabertooth's strange guardian. He had run out the window by then, dashing across the rooftops of Ace of Spades. Mai was in quick pursuit, but, as she had been warned, one must not underestimate the squirrel, who kept a good pace in front of her despite the initial burst of speed Mai gained. He rushed out towards the portal that would lead them to Yggdrasil, flashing through it, necklace and all. Mai was in there a few seconds after, bursting through the portal to arrive on one of the many branches of Yggdrasil.
"You want your little necklace back, you gotta find me, kid! Think about it like hide-and-seek. You're a little kid, you gotta like hide-and-seek, so it'll be no different than playing with your mom or pop." Ratatoskr's voice mocked from inside Mai's head. She was seething with rage, tempted to try to destroy some of the branches of the tree in anger.
Stay calm.
Mai's eyes popped open in shock. The voice was familiar, but distant, but all the same unmistakable. "Papa?" she called out, frantically searching for her guardian.
Focus, and stay calm. I know it's difficult for wild souls like us to do, but sometimes you gotta bear it.
A tear ran down Mai's cheek. It had been months, sure, but she could never forget Papa's voice. She wiped away the tear, resolving herself to seek out that last memento his existence bared.
She closed her eyes, calming herself. Her initial plan of attacking the World Tree was a foolish one, she realized. She could not harm it, and even if she could, Ratatoskr would reveal himself and crush her in an instant if Kenna or Ryo did not first. The guardian was small, but quick and smart. Amongst all the trees, he would certainly be difficult to find. He could be a single branch away and she would be none the wiser.
"Fine. I'll play. Are you going to stay in your same spot or are you going to run away again?"
A moment passed before Ratatoskr's voice returned into Mai's head. "Yeah, yeah. I'll stay. You wouldn't have a chance of finding me if I moved at all."
His laughter rang in Mai's ears as she took a seat on the branch, her feet dangling dangerously off the edge. While Ratatoskr was a troublemaker, he was still protective of the members of Sabertooth. If she simply waited until nightfall, Ratatoskr would certainly give the the necklace back. Of course, Mai could not accept that, both for the already longing sense of disappearing from Papa's memento and for stubborn pride in not wanting to be beaten by a squirrel. She closed her eyes, her small, young mind racing through the possibilities of how she would go about searching for Ratatoskr. She could simply look for the rustling leaves, which she certainly would be able to hear as well. But those were too unreliable. There were squirrels outside of Ratatoskr, certainly, and even the wind could rustle the leaves. There had to be some way, she was sure.
Suddenly, an idea flashed into Mai's mind. She took a deep sniff, taking in all the scents of Yggdrasil. As expected, it had a very natural smell; leaves, bark, even the calm, tiring wind. As expected, even a few birds and squirrels without a hint of magical power. But one smell in particular stood out above the rest. It was a scent too familiar to Mai, a damp smell of power. The scale itself! It had been with Mai so long that she had become numb to any scent it may have borne, but now that it was gone, its smell was a blessing to the girl.
As Papa had taught her with her magic, she tried to isolate that specific scent among the cacophony of other smells filling her nose. It took time, but eventually she could begin to search for it. As the nibbling sense in the back of her mind suggested, it drew her close to the middle of the tree. After the walk had brought her to the tree's core, the scent led her further on the path. Her eyes were closed, the only sense guiding her path being that of her Slayer-heightened nose. As she neared the branch directly opposite Mai's initial branch, the subtle scent of Ratatoskr's power slowly seeped into her senses. She opened her eyes, at the foot of the branch. It split into three smaller branches at its edge, all of which were obscured by leaves. Ratatoskr and, more importantly, Mai's necklace, one of those, Mai was certain. She closed her eyes once more, trying to grasp Papa's scent. As she slowly tightroped her way towards the fork in the branch, her eyes closed to focus in on the scent, it bounced from path to path, unable or unwilling to be pinned down by anyone larger than a squirrel.
Left.
Mai opened her eyes in shock, dropping to all fours to ensure she did not fall off the branch and tumbled to the hard forest floor below. Following Papa's instructions, she clambered onto the left-most path, her breathing rough from the height. The ground seemed worlds away, and it certainly would kill her if she fell. She closed her eyes, trying her best to calm herself down. Her heart beat fast, the fear sinking into her heart. It was a dangerous task, to be sure, but it was worth it for the reclamation of Papa's necklace.
"Sheesh, kid! Stop! You're even scaring me!" Ratatoskr's voice came from outside Mai's head. She opened her eyes, looking up to see the squirrel staring at her face-to-face. "You found me, alright? You won the game this time. Next time, though-"
At his mention of a next time, Mai's eyes turned into daggers, staring a hole into Sabertooth's furry guardian, who scampered away after placing the necklace back around Mai's neck. Relieved by the return of her Papa's last remnant, Mai clambered off the tree, finally ready to get breakfast.
WC: 1221
