Half my heart

Job info:

It was a warm day at the vacation capital of Crescent island. Many tourists came to the crescent shaped island this time of year to escape the cold climate. While cold was a part of Nature, even the Nature Fairy needed to get out of the cold for a while so she was more than happy to take the job that came in urgently and from the Magic Council directly no less. From what she heard she was not the only one. who accepted the call from the Sabertooth guild, and that they would be meeting up at a outdoor cafe on the beach at the edge of town. Luna and Amelia had arrived earlier in the day and had most of their luggage delivered to the prearranged hotel room. The duo of the pink haired Fairy and the blonde artificial life form had spent much of the day going back and forth trying to support the other through the journey to the resort.

Starting with Luna suffering a bad blow when a wealthy passenger on board the ferry refused to remove her Fae Silver jewelry considering it would pose a danger to all fairies on board and during a bump in the sea, she fell over and her sharp earrings slipped off, flying out and cut into Luna, causing her to have a small bit of Fae Silver poisoning. Amelia had made sure that the authorities on board were well aware of the illegal jewelry before supporting her partner as Luna was vomiting over the deck of the ship. Since it was a nick, the poisoning wasn't so bad but the motions of the ship left her more susceptible to motion sickness.  Later on during the ferry ride, a child had dropped a toy off the edge of the ship, Amelia using her lightning body quickly flew down and restored her body just above the water, kicked the toy out of the water and back onto the ferry before quickly returning but she missed her mark by a few seconds and reformed early, hitting the rail and fell into the water.

Luna had quickly used the fire whip to latch onto the Gynoid's ankle and pulled her back onto the ship. After the ship docked, Luna was trying to ignore a rather obese and balding wealthy man that had a poor attitude, who was persistent in trying to court the Fairy. Amelia had befriended a lady who happened to be the owner of a makeup company, and the wife of the man who was clearly trying to court a very clear uninterested Luna. In a hilarious confrontation, the man was told that he can go after Luna all he wants because his wife claimed she was through with his lazy and cheating behavior. The man would soon try to chase after his wife, visibly breaking down and terrified instead of flaunting wealth.

Lastly Luna and Amelia dropped off their luggage with a service to send it right to the prearranged hotel while Luna only took a small shoulder bag, carrying her equipment, her last Qipao and combat shorts, and two spare sets of clothes for Amelia. As the two were walking through the streets, Luna could see Amelia being incredibly uncomfortable, sweating in the streets in her usual attire in the heat of Crescent Island. Frustrated, when Luna reached the meeting point she pulled out a lighter outfit that she had planned out for Amelia in case her normal black dress would be too hot for the weather. She given the outfit to Amelia and shoved her inside a nearby change stall and waited nearby. "Huh, just my style, thanks Lulu." the Gynoid said before she came out, appearing more relaxed and less overheating in the environment. "Thought that would look good on you, but damn. Good thing I packed this just in case, we really need to modify your internal cooling systems one of these days."

Amelia smirked as the two walked back towards the beach side Cafe, Luna ordered iced tea while Amelia ordered a Long Island Iced Tea. "I suppose but still, shame we couldn't take the kid with us on this job. Having another electric user would be great." Luna knew who Amelia was alluding to, and both girls recalled the same argument they had about whether or not to even invite Mai along. "We both agreed that since it's the peak of tourist season, and Mai is a good kid, but since we can't exactly verify how she'd behave or her abilities in case there are bystanders or anything that can receive possible harm from her actions, or if she'd even be able to handle this job. If the Magic Council put an urgent request for a dangerous power to be retrieved, one that can easily end Mai if she underestimates anything."

The two sat down at a table for four, waiting for the other two to arrive and soon their drinks had arrived. "Well, maybe in the future. Although for now, let's focus on the task at hand. A siren, I think we got this handled." Amelia took a sip of her beverage as Luna was checking information on her ILac. "I guess mostly I wanted to get out of town, as far away from town, since I heard that Solaris was going to be at a party in Ace of Spades. I told my mother to talk her out of it, as she might cause me trouble when she gets arrested and she spills my name to Kenna or whoever is detaining her." Luna admitted as she was scrolling for bad news and was glad that there was none as of yet.

Amelia was well aware of Luna's family life, and how it had it's many problems. "Didn't your mother ever send her to rehab? Like she ruined all your lives and she still hasn't even met half her siblings. She got in trouble needing urgent help otherwise she would die, halfway through your mother's plan to evacuate you and your siblings after her human guise contracted a deadly condition that seemed fatal halfway, like right after she faked her death, to go and save Solaris, who was in trouble for getting drunk yet again and committed offenses not limited to assault, arson, public indecency, public lewdness, and immense disrespect for a royal body, twice with one dead. By the time she was able to return, it was way too late for her to swoop in and extract you and them forcing a life without a mother. Frankly, you need to send her to rehab."

Luna's grip on her glass seemed to nearly cause it to crack but she managed to regain control. Her face seemed to be devoid of emotion but her emerald eyes were sharp and piercing with a dark anger that made the blonde Gynoid shiver. "Too far Amelia, to far."
Was all she said before she closed her eyes and took a deep breath. After taking a moment to calm down she spoke again. "Yes, my mother has tried, but as Vishda Fae we can't really force our own into rehab, and she has gone willingly twice, but she's never gone four minutes outside of rehab without a relapse."

Amelia felt bad at pressing against the old wound, Luna normally seemed that she had come to terms and accepted the reality but whenever others pressed it, Luna's dark side tended to show. "Sorry, didn't mean to hurt you, just, seems like she's got a real problem and suffers no consequences, you and your mother spent about ten million Jewels on her bail money.
Has she ever payed either of you back?"

Luna soon fell silent as her gaze was at the tides gently landing on the coast of the beach.

WC 1302

Luna's outfit:

Amelia's outfit:

Itori knew quite a bit about sirens. Of course this was for a large part because she was old enough to be knowledgeable about quite a wide variety of subjects but the tenko also had a personal interest in sirens in the past. Her interest had started upon hearing that a siren's signature trait was a song so enchanting that it would lead experienced sailors to drown themselves by jumping off of their ships in a desperate attempt to reach the source of such an enthralling song. For Itori this was worth investigating because for most her life she had struggled with a voice which had a similar effect even when she didn't want it to. Eventually she'd learned to control it after which she'd actually become quite the enthusiastic conversationalist, but before then it had been a curse which had rendered her effectively a mute as she preferred to remain voiceless rather than bringing the people around her to disaster.

Unfortunately her research into sirens hadn't been of any use at the time. There definitely was some kind of magic involved with the mystical and elusive creatures but it appeared that actually tracking them down and studying them was a difficult task. Even if someone found a way to protect themselves from the siren's song they had a habit of making themselves scarce if they were approached by someone of sufficient strength to subdue them. What little information was available on sirens had been next to useless, with no indication of their supernatural voices having a similar origin as Itori's.

She'd long since given up on the sirens being the key to her own issue, long before she'd learned how to control her voice so she could speak without rendering everyone within earshot enthralled. While fascinating creatures you just weren't likely to encounter them unless you were (un)lucky or invested a whole lot of effort into it. Itori's curiosity had been great but once she learned that they couldn't be of any use to her she had decided in ages past that she wouldn't start an entire expedition just to encounter one.

So the knowledge that she did have on sirens was almost entirely second- or third-hand. Even so that was already plenty enough to have a good idea of what they were dealing with. Sirens, despite their habit of drowning sailors and anybody else who heard them sing, weren't necessarily psychopathic or murderous. There was at least one story of a siren who fell in love with a human who managed to resist her song, in contrast to most sirens who would flee if their song didn't work. You could ask why that one siren would behave differently but Itori would have countered that humans didn't all behave exactly the same either, and assuming that everyone from another intelligent species would behave the same way was the kind of discrimination which wasn't so much malicious as just... ignorant.

A more interesting tidbit for historians was that there used to be different types of sirens before the modern variant began to dominate. More prominent in what humans would call ancient days was a type of siren which had avian features rather than the aquatic siren which was famous and infamous these days. However those were almost never seen these days. Itori actually wasn't sure whether those had died out entirely or not.

Regardless, today's mission required her to deal with a siren who was, going by the reports, not only rather mean-spirited but also extremely sloppy. For one thing after her love had spurned her she'd decided to lock her heart away but had only bothered to lock half her heart away, which was simultaneously a worrying indication of the siren's mentality and should leave any sane person wondering how she'd accomplished that in the first place.

The kitsune and her phoenix companion landed on the coast a bit away from the town proper, Itori returning to her humanoid shape while Nenet stretched. The nine-tailed fox didn't have anything against going by ship but Nenet had a strong preference for flying herself so the tenko indulged her friend and flew alongside her. Of course since Itori preferred to not broadcast the knowledge that she could fly she made herself look like a seagull so only someone who'd watched her transform would realize that something was up.

"Wow, This is a really nice place." Nenet looked around and then up at the blue skies, feeling the warm sun on her skin as she spread her arms and wings to catch as many rays as possible. "I wouldn't mind staying here for a while." She looked over at Itori, the tenko dressed in her usual attire despite the warmth. The spiritualist wasn't a fan of hot weather but she had gotten used to enduring it. Although that didn't mean she couldn't occasionally change into something else...

"Agreed." She nodded to show her assent with her friend's proclamation. Crescent Island really was a beautiful place, perfect for relaxing and enjoying good weather. "I would not be opposed to spending some time indulging ourselves and enjoying the opportunity presented to us by visiting this island... Although I would suggest that we first complete the mission. Not only is it the reason why we came to this island in the first place but if we allowed ourselves to procrastinate the knowledge that we have yet to finish it would constantly hang over our heads."

Nenet finished her stretches and nodded in return, planting one hand on her hip. "Yeah, I guess you're right. Much better to have fun without having to worry about chores." She shaded her eyes with one hand as she looked out over the beach. "Although I've gotta say retrieving half a heart from some half-hearted siren is one of the stranger jobs you've dragged me along for."

"While it definitely is unusual even half the heart of a siren is already a dangerous magical item which must be retrieved and secured at the first opportunity. There is reason to believe that the siren herself might be guarding the heart, so we might be able to ask her the exact details behind this situation."

"Right, right. Let's find our friends first then! You said we should be looking for a hot chick right?" Nenet turned her attention towards the town, pointing towards it and beginning to walk even before she finished asking her question. The tenko didn't bother remarking on this, instead matching Nenet's step as she joined her friend while the town steadily got closer. "I described her as an attractive woman with long pink hair and clear green eyes. I do not remember calling her a 'hot chick', given that is the type of description you would give."

"Sounds pretty hot to me. I wonder if she's any good at holding her drink." Nenet gave Itori a wink before laughing, the kitsune's lips quirking slightly upwards. "You will have to discover that on your own. I doubt Kenna would approve if I got myself involved in such an endeavour."

"Far out of sight and you're still thinking of her? You sap." Nenet laughed again but this time made a quick soothing motion with her hand "I kid I kid, it's good that you're looking out for your lover. Me though, I prefer having a little fun when I can~"

This much was undoubtedly true. On paper Nenet was Itori's companion, supposed to travel with her on every mission and fight by her side. In reality Nenet was usually doing her own thing and only occasionally came along with Itori. That wasn't to say that the phoenix didn't have a working ethic: it was just that when she didn't have work that she had to do she was quick to find some form of entertainment, which usually included some amount of drinking. Itori didn't resent her that, since she herself would encourage everyone to use their spare time however they liked and it wasn't like she always needed Nenet around to protect her.

She just hoped the phoenix could sometimes just be a bit more serious. The only time she dropped her confident, playful attitude was when things were already in the process of getting dicey. Not ideal.

Reaching the edge of town Itori paused for a moment, closing her eyes and swivelling her ears before guiding Nenet in the right direction. She could hear much better than she could see, which also meant that when she wanted to find a friend she was better off listening than looking around. As always her hearing was spot on and soon enough Luna and Amelia would see Itori approach together with a fiery, winged girl, who had her hands behind her head and was striding bold as daylight despite her clothing leaving little to the imagination. Itori gave the two ladies at the café a nod and a small wave. Nenet on the other hand gave a much more enthusiastic wave, followed by her quickening her step and motioning for Itori to come along.

"So you are Luna." The phoenix girl stated without hesitation as she came to stand before the fairy. Tilting her head to the side she folded her arms and studied Luna for a moment before nodding. "Hot chick all right. Ito's description was spot on." "I have already stated several times that I did not describe her as such, regardless of how appropriate or inappropriate such a description might be." Itori hadn't actually met Amelia before, so now that they had joined the two at the table she gave the android a small bow. "Greetings. I am Shirokawa Itori, and it is a pleasure to meet you. My enthusiastic and passionate friend here is Nenet." She straightened up and gave both Luna and Amelia a smile even as she sent a glance towards Nenet. "She likes to play around but I assure you that she means well."

"Oi oi, stop making it sound like I go around embarrassing you." Nenet moved to sit down, then frowned slightly as she counted the chairs and looked at Itori. "Say Ito, didn't you say that there would be another mage coming along?" Itori answered with a simple nod, at which point the phoenix promptly reached out and grabbed a chair from another table. "Well then, problem solved!" Sitting down she leaned backwards and let one arm dangle over the backrest of her chair, grinning at Luna. "Let me guess, thinking it's too early in the day to be drinking something stronger?"

Itori also seated herself, although she first thanked Luna and Amelia for going through the trouble of preparing a seat for both herself and Nenet while diplomatically avoiding the little tidbit where she guessed the two of them hadn't anticipated Nenet's presence. Not surprising given how the phoenix was often somewhere else entirely. "I trust this day finds you well. Have you heard anything from Miss Nassar?"

WC: 1,827
PWC: 1,827
TWC: 3,129/22,000

"Ms. Nassar! I'm glad that you could make it on such short notice." A fancily dressed older gentleman said as the known mage entered his Era office. He motioned for her to take a seat at his desk, on the opposite side of himself. The two knew each other well enough by now, so it was by no strange circumstance that she was there. As an assocaite of her late grandfather, he knew his research well, and more often than not required a skilled mage he trusted to look into the strange places that mess of a mystery went.

"I do not recall ever having declined one of your calls, Easton." The Goddess of Ishgar told him matter of factly as she took her seat. "Though, it would be nice if they were friendly social calls once in a while instead of always being a summons to discuss business matters. What am I needed for this time? Another one of my grandfather's projects?"

The man chuckled, finding minor amusement with the assumption. For once that was not why he was calling. "Actually, no. This request has nothing to do with him that I am aware of. You do not have to worry about another one of those going onto your agenda." Easton stood up from his desk, walking over to a series of shelves and grabbing hold of a folder. "This is something that requires a bit more precedence, I'm afriad." The older gentleman passed over the folder filled with some documents and reports to Samira. "The details are in there. Go ahead. Take a moment to look through them."

A thin brow arched curiously upon hearing those words. It would have just been faster if he told her the details, but okay. Samira gently took hold of the folder and opened it to get a glance of the contents. After some moments of silence, with even Easton being quiet to allow her to read and absorb the information, Samira closed the folder and looked up. "You are sending me after the heart of a siren?"

"Half a heart technically. Legend has it that the heart of a siren is very powerful, probably more powerful than anyone here can comprehend fully. Even half a heart could be devastating in the wrong hands."

"And those wrong hands have shown interest in obtaining it."

"That is correct based on the reports. We believe that it is in the best interest of everyone if the heart was claimed by the Magic Council before it fell into the hands of a dark organization or worse. Even destroying it would be preferable. You have dealt with matters of a heart before when it came to that friend of yours. It should be a simple enough task."

Samira frowned deeply. "That was another matter entirely. That friend had pieces of her heart embedded into others because of how her magic worked, and it was no simple matter to remove those pieces to put them back. It was more of a magical manifestation of the heart than a physical object. Do the reports even say what sort of 'heart' this is? A literal one cut in half or something else?" Samira had the thought that it had to be the latter option. The half a heart being some item created by whatever sorcery was used for that result. Although, to say Samira knew anything about the anatomy of sirens or their ability to stay alive with only half a literal heart would be over stating things. She knew very little about that. The closest would be her knowledge about lamias. So, maybe it was actually possible that there was half a beating heart somewhere just waiting to be found. Odd, but possible.

"Not really. It is more of a fictional legend that has recently been proven to be real."

"And I suppose this story is getting the spotlight because the siren is actually still alive and well, and is guarding this heart, yes?"

"That is what it looks to be, yes. Those that actually make it out alive have mentioned either seeing or being attacked by this supposed siren." Easton sensed a bit of disappointment coming from the mage. Disapproval even. "It should not be such a problem for you though, or the other two that have taken this mission."

"That is not what I have a problem with, actually." Samira put the folder onto the desk and sat back in her chair with a light sigh. She didn't like where the given mission was going. "If this siren is still alive and well, what you are asking me to do is steal something that rightfully belongs to her. And it is her heart, no less. That is crossing a very personal line that I am uncomfortable with." One could argue the siren had tossed it away freely, so it was unlikely the creature would care about it being taken, but then if that were the case the heart would not be guarded. It likely would have been tossed away at a random location in the ocean even instead of being a part of some treasure loot in her lair. Then again, it was pointless to apply her own logic on a species she knew nothing about.

"Ah, I see." Easton returned to his chair. He didn't judge the concern Samira had about certain detail. It was unfortunate, but understandable. "Then just go along with the others on this mission. At least help them through it by providing any assistance required. Deciding what happens to the heart can be saved after you have had time to take things in and gather information. That or allow the others to take the heart. It doesn't matter who retrieves it so long as it is a team sent by the Council."

"Out of curiosity, who are the others that I will be meeting for this task?"

"The guild of Sabertooth has been hired. Only a Legal guild was trusted with this, and out of those we felt Sabertooth was the best one for this particular mission. You will be accompanied by one of the leaders of Sabertooth, recently promoted to Ace if I am not mistaken. Shirokawa Itori was her name, I believe. Luna Mira was the other. Do you know them?"

Samira slowly shook her head. "No. I have not met many of the others within the guild yet. My priorities have been elsewhere ever since joining."

"Ah, well, they will be meeting you at Crescent Island. I'm sure they can both tell you a little about themselves once you're there. The Council reports aren't always the best way to get to know others."

"I never did say that I was being a part of this."

"You would have left by now if you weren't interested. It's something your grandfather always did, and I have picked up on that trait in you from our past interactions. Crescent Island. Shirokawa Itori. Luna Mira. I suggest you hurry before you make them wait too long. They already had the details and likely departed some time ago."

That had been earlier in the day, and even after having some more time to ponder the mission details Samira was still not comfortable with it. At other times she had taken artifacts and wandered into ancient ruins she probably had no real business in as far as the original residents that built and died there were concerned, but this was hardly the same thing. They were all long gone, and if one of them had shot out of their grave and demand she leave with nothing then she probably would have. The siren here was alive and well, and would be fully aware of what would be taken. The half a heart that she had removed and tossed aside for whatever reason. They would all be some of the lowest thieves if the mission went through the way it was intended. Honestly, Samira would have preferred putting it back where it belonged over just taking it for the Council or destroying it just because it could become a dangerous tool for someone to use. Perhaps there was little point in worrying about that specific detail at that moment. Things could change as the mission went on and new developments and intel became known like Easton said. Maybe. Probably not. It was most likely going to be something that bothered her throughout the entire mission.

"You are starting to give me a headache," the winged lion that was flying through the sky and was currently being used as a way of transportation spoke up, clearly annoyed and not kidding about the migraine he now had from being linked to Samira's overactive mind. Anhur, as that was his name, had already been in a foul mood for being asked to fly from Era all the way to Crescent Island. The teleportation abilities of Janus were unavailable at the start of the journey, and there was no way the winged serpent was going to offer. Thus the task of getting Samira to the meeting location fell onto him. It was far too late to see about using the more public methods of transportation, and Samira hated to make others wait for any reason. "The siren, if that is what she truly is, should have known people would eventually come barging through her door to get something that ancient and powerful. So she loses it like any other irresponsible fool in the end. It is nothing to mourn over."

"You certainly have your opinion about it."

"It is just a consequence of her actions. One that should have been expected. I have no use for tragic stories that are the result of stupidity."

"No, I do not suppose you would." Samira let that topic drop. Anhur wasn't the type to feel any sort of sympathy over random creatures, or people for that matter. His empathetic skills were also pretty low compared to that of an average person. Beyond Samira he just did not care, and even with her it was pushing it. She knew this well enough for he had been a part of her little spirit team for quite a while now. It was of no surprise. Not that she really liked it, but it's who he was, and she was not about to go into a debate over the topic. Her gaze and focus shifted down below to see the beach of the island now getting closer. Further observation would allow her to take notice of the town. "I think I am supposed to be meeting the other girls at a cafe near the resort."

"A cafe?" The lion scoffed and rolled his eyes. Was this a mission or a vacation, he wondered. Nonetheless he kept track of the buildings as he slowly began descending, looking for any sign of something even remotely similar to some outdoor cafe along the beach. Samira had pointed to one just as he saw it himself, and he swerved back towards the beach for a full landing there. Once it was safe to do so, Samira hopped off and began to head towards the cafe to find her fellow Sabertooth guildmates. That is, until she noticed that Anhur was not following. Her steps came to a stop as she partially turned to face him, seeing him lie there in the sand comfortably. "You are not coming?"

"No." The lion had planned to end it there, but apparently the summoner was not going to be satisfied with just that simple enough answer. "I have no need to be there. Meeting others is of little interest to me, and I can listen in through your mind if I wanted. Remaining here is satisfactory."

Samira shrugged her shoulders and continued on without him, waving her hand while departing. "Suit yourself then, I suppose." It was what he wanted so she didn't see the point in trying to encourage him to join the rest of them.

It wouldn't be long after Itori's inquiry that Samira could be seen approaching the cafe, and eventually the table. Finding them was not at all difficult for they all stood out in their own way. Itori's species was one that Samira had seen very few times before. They were not common by any means, and the chance of two sitting in the same cafe would have been very slim indeed. That and technically Samira had already seen a picture of her before. While she had never actually met or communicated with the kitsune before, Samira still kept up to date of those that led the guild. She would be one failure of a member if she didn't even know that much.

As for Luna Mira, Samira did not know much about her at all. There was a point in an older issue of Sorcerer's Magazine where she was mentioned, but it wasn't exactly on a good note. Easton likely was unaware that Samira knew that much, which is why he had swerved away from the topic by suggesting she just meet her for herself. Not that Samira would have put judgment over whatever details were involved with that issue of the magazine. Luna was a Sabertooth mage now, and an ally for the task at hand. Aside from recognizing the name of the former guild mistress of Aurora, Luna had pink hair and that was all that was needed as a unique trademark. Samira could count the number of people she had seen with pink hair on one hand.

Slowly she walked towards the empty seat of the table and held onto the back of it before doing anything more. It was funny really. Even with her past experiences and station as a mage she was still able to feel awkward when it came to dealing with those she didn't know. Any confidence she might have had before the encounter immidately turned into uncertainty. "Ms. Shirokawa? Ms. Mira?" Samira's emerald gaze went from one to the other as she said their name, making sure that they were who she thought they were and was not mistaken with her assumption. Once it was confirmed she was correct with their identities, Samira nodded in acknowledgement. "In that case, hello and nice to meet you both. I apologize for the delay. I am Samira, and as far as I know the last one to join you two for this mission." The woman had in mind to take her seat but stopped, clearly puzzled as she took notice of the two others that were at the table. Another seemingly normal young woman, and a winged girl with feathers similar in coloring to fire itself.

"I am sorry, it would seem that I was not properly briefed on the recent update that included you two. Are you members of Sabertooth as well?" Well now she felt stupid, and a bit ashamed for not having noticed them immediately. She had been too focused on making sure that she was even at the right table by recognizing the two that she could pick out from a crowd. If nothing else, she hoped that she had not come off as rude towards them. But, these things did tend to happen when even a few minutes late to the party and introductions were missed.

(WC: 2557)

Luna could sense some strong and unusual life force approaching the beach side cafe. The first was like a avian variety but she could not pin down any species of bird based on the source. The larger one seemed to come from some form of Kitsune, but there was something extremely deviant about the sensation. "Something wrong, something unnatural. Her life force is looped in a single moment, aging one second and reverting to the previous second." Amelia frowned a bit as Luna was unaware she was broadcasting her thoughts through their archive link. She knows Luna is not one for breakdowns, but usually something that defies nature tends to send her through unease. Amelia grabbed Luna's and from across the table. "Breathe dear, she's just immortal, that's all."

Luna managed to calm herself back down as the Kitsune and her partner would approach within close visual and audio range. Since the communication did not mention anyone was bringing their non guild member partners, it would seem there would be an awkward dilemma, one table with four chairs. "This is why I hate on site meetups, especially with no briefing ahead of time. If we met and arrived together we wouldn't have this issue. There might be six of us now." Luna vented out towards the Gynoid telepathically via Archive Link right before the Kitsune and her companion arrived closely.

Amelia had let go of Luna's hand and stopped leaning across to her partner and turned to greet the duo. Luna had heard that the Ace was an ancient Kitsune, however the sheer glitch in her life force would generate that possibility. "Indeed, I am Luna Mira, this is my partner Amelia Thorn. Pleasure to meet you miss Itori, are you immortal or is your life force just caught in a knot?" She covered her mouth instantly at the Freudian slip. Amelia sighed as she caught onto it. "Forgive her, unnatural life forces tend to put her on edge for a moment, apparently such a Freudian slip a common thing among children of her Nature Fairy kin, but since she was stuck as a human for the first seventeen years of her life, she's prone to slip ups when she senses oddity. Driven from both curiosity and instinct to preserve order."

Luna did not typically enjoy Amelia's downplay of her slips. She took a moment to regain her composure. "Indeed, I apologize for the intrusive question." She did her best to try and compose herself around the phoenix, especially after she was bringing up alcohol. She cleared her throat. However midway through speaking she would be unable to look at Nenet and was blushing a bit."It is, too early for drinking, and I don't drink often, especially when members of Sabertooth are concerned..." Amelia snickered and figured she should explain before Nenet got any ideas. "According to her, she got drunk with a member of Sabertooth in the past on a few occasions, ended with a trashed hotel room and Luna doing the walk of shame as she was forced to apologize and pay on his behalf, and this was when she was a member of a different guild and not even his lover. Some Lightning Dragon Slayer named Indra if I recall. Luna's got a thing for dragons and their slayers, so it's not you, it's just her overwhelming hidden shame. Just in case you got any ideas Nenet. Since I am an artificial lifeform, I can drink all I want without consequence."

Luna had buried her face into her hands, her face had turned red out of embarrassment. "Is that story necessary for them to know?" Amelia shrugged. "You might find him sooner or later, plus you can't use worried about someone stiffing you with a hotel repair bill every time you try to avoid a drink. Especially when the room was in his name, c'mon, you weren't even a member of the guild then yet you stuck up for him and the guild when he ruined their name even at a four star Hosenka hotel. That's gotta count for something.

Luna had sensed there was a monstrous presence that felt like a reigned in raging storm. When Itori asked about the last participant. "The Goddess? Would that slowly approaching suppressed apocalypse level strength blue haired individual approaching behind you be her?" She said a minute before Samira would approach the group. Luna again silently wished they met at Ace of Spades at least once prior to the job. As the obvious questions on trying to explain the other parties.

"Yes, I am Luna Mira-" She gestured towards the blonde Gynoid. "This is my partner, wizard work partner and at worst my work wife, Amelia Thorn." Amelia waved at the Goddess. "I'm not affiliated with the guild directly for reasons, but I am not human, I am an artificial life form made from an advanced form of Archive magic and fueled by a legendary lightning lacrima. I'm either her plus one or luggage depending on the view of who's asking. The law is iffy on if I am a person or property but still force me to have an 'owner', in this case Luna. Was a person a year ago, back to luggage status. Actually last I checked when Luna signed up she did say she was bringing a plus one."

WC 893
TWC 2195

While Itori couldn't read minds (at least, not just like that) she was quite adept at reading expressions. Even subtle cues could tell you a lot if you knew what to look for. Even from a distance she noticed that there seemed to be a moment of mild panic once Luna spotted her, or maybe panic was the wrong word... At any rate the fairy clearly had observed something which shook her, and Itori's sensitive ears allowed her to hear Amelia's words and get a good idea of what it was. If the pink-haired mage could spot such thing as lives then an immortal like the tenko might disturb her.

Nenet for her part was less observant. Of the two of them the phoenix was more likely to focus on her own thoughts. And then voice them loudly. And usually they involved doing something like drinking. Sometimes Itori wondered whether all phoenixes were like this or she'd just befriended the rowdiest of the fiery sunbirds. Not that she regretted her decision in the least. Nenet could be noisy, exhausting and irritating, but she was also a good friend who never shirked from a fight when the chips were down.

In response to Luna's rather blunt question the tenko raised an eyebrow questioningly, but when Amelia tried to apologize on the fairy's behalf the nine-tailed woman shook her head, lifting one hand to hide her mouth behind one of her large sleeves. "I take no offence to the question Miss Thorn. It is only to be expected that a kin of the forest would have her interest drawn by one such as I... although I am not sure if it is entirely correct to declare my life force unnatural, as I am quite sure no rituals or other artificial means have been used to extend it." Of course Itori was ridiculously long-lived even for a kitsune but she still considered herself as natural as the next person. Like Nenet. "To answer your question Miss Mira, I am indeed immortal. However I suspect some of your confusion might also arise from my being existing in the spiritual realm as strongly as in the physical realm." All living things had a presence in the spiritual realm, but usually that presence was weak when compared to their physical body. The souls of the living often ended up lost and confused if separated from their body, possibly even forgetting who they were. For Itori the spiritual realm and the physical realm were practically the same, which might cause her life force to appear odd or otherworldly.

"Translation she's both dead and alive. Which is a pretty neat trick." Nenet grinned as she listened to the other three women talk. She had no issues with Itori's unusual being, which might make sense considering phoenixes were effectively unique in how they cycled between life and death rather than eventually transitioning from one to the other. Maybe that helped draw her to Itori? "No worries though she's still warm to the touch."

Nenet blinked as Amelia went on a bit of a tangent about why Luna would be opposed to drinking. The phoenix definitely didn't have objections though, laughing as the android explained how the fairy had let herself be pulled into a rather embarrassing situation due to her liking of dragons. Itori on the other hand shook her head and bowed her head. "I apologize for a member of the guild having forced such a burden upon you before you were even a part of the guild. Unfortunately has not been heard of by any member of Sabertooth for some time now. It is safe to assume nobody in the guild has any idea of his current location."

"Also you're a made person huh? You're definitely a talkative one. So if you can drink all you want you could just win all the drinking contests?"

Itori turned her head as Luna noted that Samira was coming up behind her. Swivelling one ear she nodded as she also picked up on the third mage's presence. "She does fit the description, so it is most likely her."

The tenko got up before Samira arrived, giving her the same small bow she'd given Luna and Amelia. "Greetings Miss Nassar. As you have already correctly deduced I am Shirokawa Itori. My companion here goes by the name of Nenet."

"Sup" Nenet merely raised a hand in greeting, the phoenix looking quite comfortable in her chair even if she had to negotiate with the backrest for her wings. "I'm not really part of Sabertooth but I follow Itori around and make sure she's got someone to keep things lively." She put both hands back behind her head as the tenko nodded.

"She certainly does that. However you are quite on time, given that we do not have a strict schedule to keep. Nenet was so thoughtful as to provide a fifth chair." Itori indicated the chair which Nenet had appropriated from another table so the blue-haired mage could join the four of them.

Once everyone was seated again Itori would begin. "Now that we are all here we should discuss the task at hand. While we did not hold an official briefing I assume everyone here is aware that our task is to obtain half the heart of the siren Bamila Babello. Why she hid half her heart, and only half of it, is not entirely clear, but we do know that it is hidden in a cave somewhere on the outskirts of this island. Given the magic power that the heart of a siren possesses, whether it has been bisected or not, we must retrieve it before it is obtained by a person of questionable morality or it is otherwise misused."

"You know someone who cuts out half their heart and then hides it in a cave is either a genius or an idiot. Or both." Nenet commented idly. Seriously, what the hell was that siren thinking?

Itori politely ignored that as she instead looked at the other three members of the party of five. "Our first task will be to locate the cave which contains the heart. This should be a relatively easy task as Bamila Babello, while undoubtedly a siren of great power, is not known for being either thorough or particularly clever. Does any of you have a suggestions for where we should begin our search and how we should proceed?" The obvious choice would be to split up to cover more ground, but Itori was not fully aware of which capabilities her companions possessed so it was possible that they had a better trick up their sleeve.

WC: 1,110
PWC: 2,937
TWC: 7,689/22,000

"I see." That was about the only comment Samira could come up with after Amelia had been introduced. While grateful for the more detailed information regarding what she was, Samira had to arch a brow curiously when it came to the part about being thought of as "luggage". That was a law that she was not very familiar with, or even knew existed. In fact, she could have sworn there were some mages that were considered as artificial life forms and were considered to be much more than some person's carry on. Though, it was an amusing piece of imagery of Amelia being placed with actual luggage on the flying ships Samira had been on in the past. For her own personal standards, it wasn't appropriate or should have been something considered as normal. As for the other unexpected companion, she reminded Samira of others she knew well, including some of her own spirits. That one she expected would indeed live up to her description of making things more lively. If she was correct with her assumption on the similarities between Nenet and some of her spirits, there was never a dull moment.

"In that case, hello to you both as well." She gave a nod to the two companions that were now also a part of the mission. Surely if Luna and Itori had brought them along and worked with them as much as they said then the phoenix and questionable luggage life-form would prove to be valuable and trusted allies for the mission. "And thank you, Nenet, for bringing the extra chair to the table. I appreciate it." With that said, the summoner wasted no more time with her questions or comments and took her own seat in the empty chair. Introducing Anhur was of no concern to her at that point given he was on the beach elsewhere, and had shown zero interest in approaching the group of women at the table. If it came down to requiring his aid later on, he could just be given a quick introduction then. For now, she preferred moving onto more important matters and skipping the remaining introductory pleasantries.

Samira remained silent as Itori spoke and began the more official briefing before they got started. Though, she remained completely focused and respectfully kept her gaze on the Ace. Even during Nenet's more unnecessary comment, which did have a ring of truth to it regardless. Once the Tenko had finished speaking and had asked for suggestions on how best to proceed it was only then that Samira felt it appropriate to speak. "The story of Bamila Babello, her heart, and her lair of treasure is a legend even outside of the Crescent Islands. Our reason for being here is because of the Council's worry that someone would get to it first, even after all of this time that the story has existed. There are likely many clues within the story itself that gives the location of her lair, or close to it. I suggest, however, that we skip over the storytelling we know and ask the locals around here for any information or clues they may have. No doubt they have more accurate and recent information than what we were given before coming here, including suspected locations." The obvious choice of splitting up and just looking for any and all random caverns was something Samira did not seem necessary if they took that approach. Even if they tried that they might never find it that way. Of course, that could be given the siren way too much credit to be that clever. Others were already thinking that she was incredibly foolish and likely did not do a good job of hiding her lair and treasure. Though, if that were truly the case then the half a heart would have been taken before the tale became legend. "I am sure there is even someone working at this very cafe that could give some details. With its location on the beach and frequent customers coming in it is a guarantee they have value insight and clues." Samira took a moment to let that suggestion sink in before adding another.

"If not that route then we do have the option of taking into consideration the supposed power of the heart. If neither of us can sense that sort of power, there is a chance something else might and either be drawn to it, or avoid it completely. That sort of abnormality would be easy to notice. Of course, there is also the third option of seeing what we can find by ourselves. Getting an outlook of the island would be simple enough. We can cover land, air, and sea, and I have more eyes than just my own to help us with that a great deal." Having a small army of spirits did have its benefits. Even if they were not summoned they were all tied to their keys in such a way that they could influence the object and even see the world through it. Releasing the keys from her keyring to do that was a simple matter. "This could prove to be the more time consuming option, assuming anything of significance could be found at all this way. We are not even certain what other sort of treasure is in that cavern. Other powerful artifacts could be in there as well that have kept her lair hidden all this time until she wants it to be found." With her part spoken for now, Samira relaxed and leaned back in her seat, waiting for other suggestions and comments to be said.

(Word Count: 938
Samira Total: 3495)

"Magazines don't do her looks justice." Amelia accidentally communed to Luna through Archive Link, Luna slyly giggled. "So she's your type? I'm hurt." She responded to let Amelia know her thought wasn't particularly private, Amelia struggled to avoid blushing and kicked Luna from under the table. Luna closed her eyes as she was listening to the Kitsune and Goddess talk, trying to open her senses to the life around her and see if she could find anything unusual. A slight frown of confusion seemed to scowl her face as she was sensing a rather odd life force in the area, Amelia rolled her eyes as she was able to predict what Luna was thinking. "Lulu's got a few good recon spirits, although none that can cover sea. Although I think she's already found something. What is it? Testimony from a shroom? Are the trees gossiping again? Oh, is it a flea in someone's tail or feathers?"

Luna shook her head and opened her eyes. "Neither, plus none of the fleas around would know anything. I am not sure how to say this, but there are, Penguins in the area." Amelia stared at her bluntly for a moment, looking the Nature Fairy in her Emerald eyes at first with disbelief but then leaned over to check Luna's pulse followed by examining for a concussion. "Are you sure you're alright? Are you smelling toast? Are you still suffering from the Fae Silver from earlier? What's seven times fourteen divided by nine?" Luna pushed off the Gynoid who quickly returned back to her seat, not really welcoming the smothering. "Yes I'm fine, yes I am smelling toast because someone is eating it at another table, I am over the poisoning it was just a cut, and three point eleven. My mental faculties are in order."

Amelia was still confused by the notion of Penguins on a tropical Island. "So did Penguins and Puffins take a wrong turn back home, or does your Life Force sense need glasses? Luna grimaced for a moment as she rummaged through her bag, and pulling out a vial of purple liquid. "Only one way to find out." She said with great hesitation and nervousness. Amelia saw the vial and giggled a bit, recognizing the formula as something Luna created on her first job. "So the Queen of the Penguins rises again." Luna did not appreciate the giddiness shown by the Gynoid as she put the vial down on the table to explain to the others. "That title is only valid in certain settlements on Mt. Hakobe. Anyways, this is a vial of a concoction I made that is a lure nearly irresistible to Penguins. Splash it onto the ground and Penguins will come, get any on your clothes or Shirain forbid drink it, and you will be the fixation of any penguin into your sex." She looked over towards the water, where sensed the Life Force in the distance. She was starting to worry that the Island itself would be asking her to make a trip escorting the Penguins back to their native habitat, although she knew if it happened she was most likely to comply from her instincts.

"If I were a betting girl, I'd wager that this Siren brought Penguins over, for a half hearted person that would have required a lot of effort." Amelia joked in as she herself was struggling to find the rationality of bringing Penguins to Crescent Island. She couldn't understand the benefit of taking the snow and ice based bird into a tropical paradise, and it only seemed to have more negative drawbacks. "It was probably a half hearted idea that she ordered others to bring about. Either that or lost Penguins. I'm willing to bet it was the Siren Bamila though."

Luna grabbed Amelia's drink and finished the half glass of the alcoholic drink before standing up. "Either way might as well start with the abnormality. Gonna make it a safe distance before using this." She left Jewels to pay for the drinks and a tip for the waitress before walking away from the cafe and civilians. "Well, bust out the popcorn. Even without the potion Penguins seem to like Luna."

Once a safe distance, Luna opened the vial and poured some of the potion into the sand and took a step back, took a deep breath and put the cork back on the vial and waited for the inevitable. She could see there were black masses emerging from the bushes and trees before she could clearly see the black and white birds emerging making a delightful sound. However Luna saw a red color in the bodies and was concerned they were injured until her eyes fully registered the crimson color to be three sticks of dynamite tied to each penguin with a loose knot with a thin string.

Amelia was five meters behind Luna when she noticed the Penguins. "Um, Luna, are these penguins your stalkers that you turned down, or are they brainwashed?" Luna shook her head as she looked around. "Must destroy all unworthy, must destroy all unworthy, must destroy all unworthy..." was all Luna could hear from the penguins telepathically. "Brainwashed into being suicide bombers, try not to kill anyone please, I can revive them if I must but their hearts and brain must still be connected, otherwise it becomes a gray area."

Amelia stepped forward cracking her knuckles. "Should be simple then-" Suddenly a group of the Penguins stared at Amelia. "Not worthy!" They thought before diving and sliding through the sand at Amelia. "-oh hell." She said before she started to run, but the penguins chasing her seemed persistent as the slid through the sand after her. "Not so funny now is it Amelia!" Luna called out to her partner, relishing the turned tables. "Bite me!" Amelia replied as she tried to maneuver around, trying to look for an angle to remove the dynamite without setting it off on the Penguins on her tail.  "I don't think I wanna skip the Penguins in that line."

WC 1011
PWC 3206

Nenet gave Samira a thumbs up in response to the display of gratitude. The phoenix was a rowdy type of gal, but she definitely wasn't a bad person. Although a gesture as small as making sure there were enough chairs for everyone wasn't something you really needed to put much thought in.

Beyond that the phoenix woman kept quiet as the others discussed how to proceed, more focused on her drink and listening to what they had to say. She was never that much for deep planning and strategy, and fortunately Itori was so Nenet didn't have to worry about having to pick up the slack. It definitely was convenient to have such a thoughtful friend, even if she wasn't so selfish as to take advantage of the tenko beyond letting her do all the planning. Itori did a better job of that anyway.

The nine-tailed fox, meanwhile, listened carefully as Samira gave her own suggestions for how to best handle the situation. She gave a nod as the goddess suggested asking the locals about the location of the heart, but she politely waited for both her and Luna to finish adding their parts before she'd once again speak up herself. Although she was somewhat caught off guard when Amelia and Luna began to have an argument about the possible presence of penguins.

"Penguins? Really?" Nenet stared at the fairy and her companion with no small amount of incredulity. She wasn't terribly familiar with the creatures but even she knew that they weren't supposed to inhabitat warm climates. Children knew that they lived in frozen environments. "Maybe they got tired of the cold." She grinned as she considered the thought, although she knew that it was a rather silly one. Of course penguins weren't just going to suddenly want to move to a warmer climate. Animals didn't display that kind of behaviour unless some external source prodded them into doing it.

"Given the lack of leads that we are facing investigating the penguins is most likely the best course of action for the moment." Itori added her own two cents, then continued. "Even if their presence is merely a coincidence and is entirely unrelated to the heart of the siren it would be better if we learn why they are here and help them return to their home if possible." Just because they were on one job didn't mean they should turn a blind eye towards any other strange phenomenon they came across after all. As legal mages anything out of the ordinary and which could turn out to be a problem was worthy of their attention.

The two of them watched as Luna went out to gather the attention of the penguins with her self-made concoction, Itori standing up and following the fairy and her gynoid companion whereas Nenet stuck with Samira for the moment, her expression amused as she waited for the penguins to show up. When they did appear she whistled silently through her front teeth. "Well, would you look at that..." It was simultaneously adorable and hilarious to watch the monochrome birds waggle towards Luna, although when she noticed the dynamite strapped to their bodies the phoenix raised her eyebrows and straightened up a little. "...The hell?"

Itori, who was several meters away from Luna and Amelia, watched with more concern as the suicide bomber penguins came closer. So far they didn't appear to be hostile, but... well, the artificial girl managed to draw their attention and soon the blonde was running over the beach with a line of penguins sliding after her. The fact that the birds could keep up their momentum while moving like that was quite impressive in its own way. However Itori didn't think it in their best interests to keep watching.

Closing her eyes Itori shifted her attention towards her ears and her own voice. Starting softly she began to hum, slowly increasing the strength behind her voice as she listened to the various rhythms and melodies that helped construct the being that was a penguin. She could sense their souls, their bodies, their thoughts... and with the right tones she could help modulate them. In the past she hadn't been able to control the effects of her voice, but with intensive and extensive practice she now could make sure that only the penguins would endure the effects of her humming.

As her enchanting humming weaved through the air the penguins that were following Amelia around began to move more sluggishly, more slowly. It took less than a minute for them to stop sliding completely, after which they began to stand back up and waggle over towards where Itori was humming with her eyes closed. The black and white birds formed a large circle around the tenko, all of them silently as they seemed to be absorbed into listening to the nine-tailed fox's voice.

Nenet observed this from a distance, then looked at Samira. "Well, I don't think you were imagining penguins when you suggested that we look for abnormalities, but this is probably as good a clue as any. Although either you or the fairy will have to do the investigating, Ito is going to be busy keeping them pacified." She turned her gaze back towards her fluffy friend. "If she's still keeping them calm there's most likely something pushing them to be aggressive, so she has to keep cancelling that out." Nenet knew Itori well enough to be able to guess why the tenko saw it necessary to keep singing. Standing up she began to walk over towards the other three women on the beach. "But you seriously have to wonder why a siren would decide to use penguins..."

WC: 950
PWC: 3,887
TWC: 10,588/22,000

Admittedly, Samira enjoyed watching the interaction between Amelia and Luna after there was a mention of penguins in the area. It took a bit of restraint to not rudely giggle as she watched the Gynoid comically check Luna's mental and physical status. The humor aside, penguins being in such a warm climate was strange indeed. Samira could understand why there was doubt in what Luna said. She thought it a rather odd fact herself that was difficult to believe, but well, she knew well enough that she did not have the abilities required to sense different life forces. Nenet had made her own joke as to why the penguins were there, one that Samira very much doubted was accurate but was entertaining to hear all the same. In the end she agreed with Itori's statement. Even if the mysterious penguins were not connected to the siren it was best to check in on the abnormal circumstance regardless. Who knows? Perhaps they could solve two problems in one mission.

Samira watched curiously as Luna dug through her bag and brought out a vial of some concoction she had made. After the pinkette explained what it was, Samira was flabbergasted. Bewildered. Puzzled. Transcending the boundaries of ultimate wtf. Why would anyone need to make such a thing? AND carry it around? Well, it actually did come in handy in that particular scenario... oddly enough. But, it was one heck of a slim chance that such a thing would be needed. If not for them being on a mission, Samira would have wanted to hear more about the tale relating to the "Queen of Penguins." For now, she kept silent and sipped her glass of water, allowing the confused thoughts and questions to pass on by.

What happened next was evidence enough that Luna had been right. There were penguins in the area after all. What was not calculated was the fact the penguins had sticks of dynamite attached to them. "I cannot even say that is the strangest thing I have seen," Samira commented as she watched the scene play out. Penguins. On a beach. Waggle walking with sticks of dynamite like miniature suicide bombers. Yep, not the strangest of things, but it was right up there near the top. The interaction with the penguins got even more out of hand when set their gazes on Amelia. Then they started to slide right through the sand towards her just as easily as if it had been snow. This, naturally, resulted in the blonde taking off in a run and the penguins chasing her. If not for the dynamite it would have been fairly comical and Samira could have let it go on all day without her providing any assistance. But there was dynamite. To do nothing but sit there and watch as if it were a movie on the lacrima net was inappropriate. Before her thoughts to intervene were complete, Itori had already begun to act. A soft hum came from the kitsune that grew in strength the longer it went. The hum was enchanting and mesmerizing to the penguins. As if in a trance they all began to slow down until they stopped chasing Amelia completely. They all turned as a group and begun to waddle over to where Itori stood, forming a large circle around her and continuing to listen to her voice. Samira watched and listened closely as well. To say that she was impressed by such an ability was an understatement. It was not only not used as a massive spell of destruction like many of her own spells were, but it was actually quite pleasant to listen to. It was also amusing to run the thought of a showdown between Itori's voice and that of the siren's. After listening to Nenet's words after, it was clear that amusing thought technically was already occurring.

"You are right," Samira replied to the pheonix woman, still not taking her eyes from the scene some distance away. "This sort of abnormality was not what I had in mind when I brought it up. I did not think penguins were the sort of creature to be used as siren minions or companions. This siren is starting to be an odd sort that is far from the more traditional stories and knowledge of the species." The teal-haired woman paused for a moment before continuing. "I believe Luna would be the best fit to investigate the penguins. It was her idea to use that potion, and I think she is better suited with her abilities." Samira had a different idea in mind for her own information gathering. She had mentioned before that asking the locals might help and so she was going to do just that.

One of the many cafe waitresses walked by, holding a tray of empty smoothie cups and piling on more as she cleaned off a nearby table. "Excuse me," Samira said while raising her hand to get the attention of the passing waitress. When the waitress walked over Samira wasted no time getting to the point. "What can you tell me of the siren Bamila Babello?"

The overly tanned waitress clicked her tongue. Her green eyes shifted from Samira to Nenet and even towards the three that were on the beach surrounded by penguins. "Are you all like another one of those hunting parties looking for that legendary treasure everyone seems so obsessed about? Not that I mind. Those rumors are good for business. But after the first one hundred groups just in this past decade I would have thought any information that was to be known would have spread by now. You hunters either really don't know your stuff or you guys have one serious communication problem. Just like try making a lacbook group or something so you can all stop asking the same questions every time."

Samira remained passive, seemingly unaffected by the words and sarcastic tone used against her. "The suggestion is noted for the future." Noted and put away to never be heard from again. A lacbook account was not necessary for one that rarely even used their iLac for social communication. Not to mention they weren't a group of monster or treasure hunters so a group for that was also redundant. "This time though I would like the information from you personally. Or another employee here would also suffice. Anyone that is here frequently and is knowledgeable about the topic."

The waitress rolled her eyes and sighed in exasperation. "Fiiiinnneee. Bamila Babello, right? Believe it or not she's a type of celebrity here. Has been for literally centuries. It's actually kind of annoying."

"Heeeyyyyyyy!" A blonde haired man just as tanned as the waitress had heard the conversation and walked on over without invitation. "Are you talking about Bamila Babello?! I love that one song. The one that goes nanananananananana." The man moved and swayed as he continued to repeat that same word over and over.

Samira blinked at first, surprised that the man was going into dance and singing... what was supposed to be a popular song? She grimaced and her brows twitched. "That... Is not an actual song, is it?"

"Oh it's a song." The man answered, finally ceasing his repetitive dance and singing. "The greatest song I have ever heard. You listen to it and it's almost as if you have entered another realm. It's so... peaceful. Like a trance." He looked serious and paused. The silence from him quit suddenly as he let out a laugh and shrugged his shoulders. "Or maybe I am just really hammered when I hear it. I never remember a damn thing after. I only remember the song because it's one word."

"Ugh go away, Travis. I'm talking to customers." The waitress shoved him away with her free hand and returned her attention back to the two at the table. "ANYWAY!" She glared over at the disappointed man that had been removed from the conversation, and as a result he scurried away before the piercing glare could somehow inflict bodily harm on his person. "Yeah, it's an actual song. Like I said, local celebrity even with those horrible lyrics. But the treasure hunters, monster hunters, tourists following the rumor mill, all of them bring in big business to the resort so it's whatevs." The brunette shrugged. "Anyway though, if you're looking to get her treasure or try to get a personal concert just go to the caverns on the other side of the beach. She's not exactly trying her best to hide from the world so if you were expecting some hard to solve puzzle with a trail of clues that would lead you to the entrance, surprise! There isn't one. Just prepare yourself for the drop in IQ. That's the only challenge. If you think those penguins over there are bad just you wait until you see the other things I have heard about from those that came back. I'm convinced they only failed to get the treasure because they couldn't afford to lose anymore points with their brain." The waitress started to pick up some of the empty cups on their own table to keep busy. "So do you two like need more drinks or something? I need to get back to work."

Samira declined on another drink, not that she was drinking much of anything to begin with, and thanked the waitress for her information. The cafe employee waited in case Nenet had any questions or required a drink. Well, they now had a supposedly easy to find location for the siren's lair. Now they just needed to figure out what was up with the penguins. Maybe they could even be used as a way to get into the lair and move around without running into... whatever else was supposed to be there besides penguins.

(Word Count: 1643
Samira Total: 5138)

Luna watched as the immortal kitsune had taken it upon herself to save the Gynoid from the suicide bomber penguins and was quite astonished with the method she used to subdue. Coming on a job with an Ace and a Goddess of Ishgar, Luna was slightly concerned that the two would have incredibly violent displays of power. However she herself was nearly enchanted by the gentle tone that allowed the kitsune to gently halt the penguins before they wandered over to the Kitsune and neatly gathered around. Amelia stopped for a moment, bent over clutching her knees visibly appearing to try and catch her breath. "I think I'm starting to understand your resentment to being called queen of the penguins..." Amelia said annoyingly as Luna walked over towards the circle of penguins.

"Anyways, while Itori has them distracted we should probably get a move on, clock's ticking, at best Itori can keep that for eight hours if I'm right but we don't got that time. I got the west you got the east. " Luna said as she knelled down and gently untied one of the explosives from a penguin. Amelia nodded and followed suite as the two partners worked simultaneously and quickly untied each and every one of the explosives from the penguins. Luna handed them all to Amelia who walked towards the water bundling them all together before starting to sprint, as she got to the water she stopped and with all her strength tossed the explosives out far towards the water. Once the explosives were far out Amelia converted her body into lightning flying towards the bundle, but before getting close Amelia reformed herself mid air. Amelia grabbed the bundle again tossing it even further before pointing at it with her other hand's index and middle fingers.

A red ball of energy formed between her two fingers before a bolt of red lightning shot out and through the bundle before it exploded far away from the shore, the shrapnel falling into the water harmlessly. Just as her foot was about to touch the water Amelia reconfigured herself back into her Lightning body form as she returned back to the island, reforming into her humanoid on the edge of the water. "Alright, disposed of."

Meanwhile Luna had gotten close to the penguins as she got onto her left foot and right knee closely examining the penguins. She was growingly concerned as she was hearing the exact same line of thought from each of them, while synchronicity was common in many natural groups, Luna had a feeling that what was going on here was nothing natural, especially when they were thinking about protecting. She looked deeply at one's head, her fingers gently resting on the top as she closed her eyes and focused on her ethereal senses of magic and life force. On the Life Force side she noticed that the brain activity of all the penguins had the same distinct abnormality. "Holy mother of Shirain... the frontal lobes of these poor birds." She said before focusing on the magic aspect, and she was able to senses the lingering aspects of a magic similar to her own but much different. She guessed that Fae and Siren magic have similar aspects. "However there is deffinitely a magic cause, not strong enough to be a curse, so..."

She firmed her grip onto the penguins head as it's body glowed pink. While Nature's Mercy isn't directly opposed to curse magics, it does have calming properties. as Luna suspecting the calming properties seemed to help the bird overcome the impulses an the lingering effects of the siren slowly dissipated. Luna smiled before she repeated this process with each of the penguins around the circle. "Alright Itori, they should all be clean by now." She informed the kitsune before she took a pause to breathe preparing herself to handle this situation as the penguins started to blink and look around confused. "Not home!" "Too warm!" "Too rough! Why is the snow yellow?!" Luna could hear the penguins thoughts as she prepared herself for a rough conversation.

"Hey, you all were lead astray and under the influence of a Siren, you were hypnotized to be suicide bombers but you're safe now. would you mind answering a few of my questions?"  She said gently to the penguins, who started at Amelia beside her with distain before looking back at Luna with slight admiration. "For our freedom and lives, we will follow you to hell!" All the penguins thought in unison. "Would you like us toss this trash away?" They thought in sync, Luna shook her head as she was really starting to regret using her potion. "No, No, No. She's a friend. But can you tell me, do you remember the siren?"

The penguins started to squeal as they fell out of sync as they all had different stories to explain. "Back at Zoo siren sang! Siren sang and sang and I forget! Then we on small land!", "Siren appear one day and make us strap weird stuff to each other!" "Siren watch for a minute before pulling out brown liquid and drink it and wander away! Siren come back and tell us destroy any human as human bad, human no good, especially if human want her!", "Siren go north while we went east!" No Siren go up while we go south south west!" "No Siren go down while we go sunset!" Luna managed to barely get all their stories straight in her mind as she pieced the story together.

"Alright good news, bad news, worse news. Good news is these are alright and remember most of the story. These are Zoo animals from a Fioran Zoo, I'm guessing from the main land before the Siren had taken them here. Bad news is that they are from a zoo, so they aren't exactly able to fend for themselves so we need to find care for them for the meantime. Babila hypnotized them and made them arm themselves and asked them to destroy any humans that try to find her or her treasure." She looked around at the party and noted the diversity. While she couldn't fault the Siren for believing guilds are predominantly human, especially given that this individual probably lives in reclusion it was still incredibly faulty logic to frame defense only against humans. "Apparently she didn't expect a Kitsune, Fae, Phoenix, or Gynoid to chase her. But yeah. Worst of the news is that they have a worse sense of direction then a drunkard after a barrel."

Amelia cocked an eyebrow to that statement as she was confused. "I mean you don't look any less human then me or Samira without your wings there, why not target either of you two?" Amelia asked half confused and half offended. Luna gave it a moments thought and drew only one immediate conclusion. "Well this is a faux human form and animals are less violent towards Nature Fae, and they probably didn't believe Samira was real or she emitted a too powerful aura for them to want to attack her."

Amelia wanted to argue but at this point she knew she didn't have the time as she looked at the birds, slightly annoyed as she was trying to figure out how to proceed with these birds. Luna sighed and reached into her shoulder bag and pulled out the glass bottle that contained her elemeanie, Charlene. Taking a moment to consider she opened the bottle and a green mist came out of the bottle before gathering around a point as it took humanoid shape before solidifying and taking form of the green haired djinn spirit. "Alright what discount you going for now-" Charlene said before opening her eyes and realizing that Luna was actually on a job with the guild, embarrassed for a moment before covering for Luna. "Oh, Luna, oh it's you, thought it was your sister again, ha ha ha, yeah, she used me to get senior discount at a deli a few times- I'm just going to shut up now."

Luna groaned almost embarrassed as that small detail was exposed. Rubbing her temples with one hand she gestured to the penguins. "Zoo Penguins stolen, send them home, forge a letter in my name explaining that they were stolen and Sabertooth has returned them at zero cost and send it to the director, and give them something to eat. In that order please."

Suddenly a beige and pink giraffe appeared wearing a platinum harness and a rainbow pencil mustache. Attached to the harness was a golden wagon in the shape of a skull with all the penguins inside. The giraffe turned to face Luna and softly said, "Se hara al atardecer mi hermosa reina" before turning out towards the water before running at normal speed, and once the beast and carriage got to the water, they seemingly ran atop the water.

Luna watched slightly astonished and left beyond wordless as she could hardly process the situation, while Amelia was not better off. "Did he just say 'it shall be done my queen' in Desertian? What the hell?" She asked confused before throwing her arms up in the air. Charlene shrugged as she was not understanding the confusion of the mages. "Luna asked for the penguins to be sent home, she didn't say how. It was left open to interpretation." Charlene tried to explain but Amelia was not really satisfied with that answer. "Geeze at this rate I won't need to even consider drugs as being around Luna makes me see some weird stuff." Luna chuckled a bit as she herself was giving up on order at this point. "Well sometimes you just have to bow to the absurd but this is crazy..."

"Well call on me if you need anything else!" She said before turning herself back into a green mist and entered the bottle again before the mist reached out, grabbing the cork and sealed herself in her bottle.

WC 1664
PWC 4870
TWC 13895

"Maybe not the strangest but I'd bet a lot of jewels none of us expected this when we got out of bed this morning." Nenet replied cheerfully when Samira stated that she'd seen stranger things. She didn't think that the mage was trying to downplay the oddness of a bunch of suicide bomber penguins: she just wanted to make conversation. She glanced over at Itori, who continued humming the same tune without showing any sign of stopping any time soon. "On the bright side, if this is the best that the fish lady can do to bother us this should be a peace of cake." She raised one hand into the sky and clenched it into a fist. "Not that I would have minded the opportunity to knock some heads, but the less time this job takes the more time I can enjoy the weather and the beach."

At that point the blue-haired woman seated next to her asked the waitress whether she knew anything about Bamila. The initial response was... scathing, to say the least. While the waitress claimed to not care the phoenix found it strange that she'd be that condescending if it was actually good for business. Not that she was going to let a couple of mocking words bother her. "Sorry, lilacs are not my style." She replied cheerfully as she gave the woman a smirk. "Besides, that would rob us of the opportunity to talk with a pretty girl." She wasn't actually interested in hanging out with the waitress, but if it pacified her some the girl with the fiery wings would lay down the compliments until the tanned woman was a blushing mess.

For what it was worth they did get the information they needed, even if the waitress was still rather curt about it. Nenet quickly gave the singing man a thumbs up before he was pushed away, then listened to the explanation. "Jeez, even if she can hypnotize people she sounds so airheaded that it's a surprise she hasn't accidentally sold her treasure already." She sighed before shrugging and putting her hand behind her back, leaning backwards in her seat. "Oh well! More jewels for us! And yes, I'd like another drink please. Gotta stay hydrated in this weather." She laughed as if she'd said the funniest thing in the world. A phoenix who was worried about dehydration. Other people might consider it too easy, but for her it was a hilarious thought.

"So, how about you go and tell the others what you've learned. I gotta finish my second drink first." She pointed at the three women on the beach and the whole horde of penguins. Shading her eyes from the sun she watched as Luna and Amelia began to get rid of the sticks of dynamite. "Looks like they'll have that little issue done with soon as well, so once they know where to go I'll be right behind you."

Itori, meanwhile, was listening to the thoughts of the penguins the same way Luna did. Underneath their surface thoughts there was mild confusion, but just like the fae on the surface all she heard was the same thought repeated over and over: protect Bamila. Of course the penguins didn't recognize words the same way humanoids did, but she could gather from the combination of sensations their thoughts conveyed that it referred to the siren, the one who had entranced all of them. It didn't seem like the siren had used the kind of dark magic that would enslave one's entire being: rather it was similar to Itori's own ability. Harmless as long as you didn't actively use it to order the victim into harm. Of course strapping bombs to someone and then ordering them to blow themselves up definitely counts as sending them into harm's way, so the tenko wasn't very happy with Bamila currently.

It was fortunate that the enchantment that controlled their thoughts for the moment wasn't so strong that it couldn't be suppressed by Itori's own voice, and as long as she was singing Luna and Amelia could safely get rid of the dynamite. Without those explosives the penguins should be safe: even if they were to continue attempting to defend Bamila the worst they could do was peck people, which for adventures on the level of Luna, Samira and Itori was at worst a mild convenience.

Her humming continued until Luna used her own magic to break the enchantment in a more permanent fashion, after which Itori's humming slowly died off until the nine-tailed fox was standing there silently, listening to the conversation between Luna and the penguins. Curiously the arctic birds appeared to have a rather negative opinion of Amelia even without the hypnosis forcing them to behave aggressively. The vixen wondered if there was a cause for that, or if they just recognized her as not being biological. Animals could have oddly strong senses: civilized folk often thought that the creatures of the wild had a sixth sense, allowing them to know things which should be beyond their awareness. Itori knew better: her own hearing was an example of a way to appear omniscient.

"I would surmise that as long as we do not expend too much time retrieving the heart of the siren we should also be capable of rendering aid to these penguins after we have completed the primary objective of our mission. While unsuited to this climate the water should help them mitigate any signs of hyperthermia." Itori didn't want to abandon the penguins, but she herself didn't have the ability to quickly send them back to the zoo from which they came. At least, none which didn't require a sizeable amount of her mana, and while she wasn't exactly worried about the difficulty of the job ahead of them she hadn't lived a long life just to be reckless and careless.

Fortunately Luna had this covered, as she summoned some form of wish-granting spirit who promptly transported the penguins back to the mainland in what was positively one of the strangest carriages Itori had ever seen. It was... well, even if her memory wasn't already as sharp and precise as a razor she would have remembered that particular thing quite well.

Of course she could also hear Nenet laughing her ass off at the sight, the phoenix nearly choking on her drink as she watched the penguins get carried away across the water.

The tenko kept her face smooth, although she allowed the corners of her mouth to curl up into a politely amused smile before she covered it with the wide sleeve draped across her right arm. "Well, I believe that resolves that particular dilemma most succinctly. I suggest that we return to our friends and confer with them regarding our next course of action. We now have sufficient information to find the lair of our target, but I believe the other two obtained some information which could be useful in deciding how we approach the siren in question." She looked back towards Nenet and Samira, Nenet raising her arm at the trio standing on the beach. "As Samira already stated prior, we should approach this mission with tact."

With that she began to walk back towards Samira and Nenet, the phoenix finishing her second drink and standing up to stretch. "So, what do we do now?" Itori looked at her companion before turning towards Samira. "I believe it is time that we pay Bamila a visit. I could hear the conversation the two of you had with the waitress, so I would appreciate it if you traveled ahead and procured additional information. But please do avoid hostility." The last two lines were directed at the phoenix, who nodded and grinned. "Got it." Spreading her wings she jumped into the air, circling twice before heading towards the other side of the beach, where Bamila was supposed to be awaiting visitors.

WC: 1,321
PWC: 5,208
TWC 15,216/20,000