A Baaahd Batch [Job Request]

Travelling around the world, Taiga hasn't had any need for many personal belongings, in fact, the only thing he ever carried around with him on a regular basis was a toothbrush. However, since decided to stay around the Sabertooth Guild for longer intervals, Taiga decided that it would be best to start collecting some personal items. Taiga lives in the guild dorms, rather than renting a house or hotel room and their bedding was less than satisfactory even though the residence was free. He hadn't been sleeping great of late, the night's temperatures had been swiftly changing each night, sometimes leaving him too hot or too cold. It was a fellow guild member who mentioned that there was a store in town that could have a decent blanket for him to purchase.

When the young mage had arrived at the store in Ace of Spades, it was easy to tell that the shop had seen better days. It seemed that it was low on funds and wasn't getting much business considering there were only a few blankets available. "Hello?" Taiga called, not finding the owner by the counter. Instead, a young woman exited the curtained partition at the back of store. "Oh I'm sorry dear, I didn't here you come in. How can I help you?"


Word Count - 217 / 1,500
Job Link - The World's Fluffiest Catch!

The store owner was a woman in her late thirties. She was pale and wore a grey dress that looks like it had been worn and washed every day of the week, likely to be her uniform. The woman was also incredibly skinny but naturally skinny and not due to lack of eating such as an eating disorder. "Hi there, I am a member of the Sabertooth Guild and a fellow member said that this was probably the best place in town to buy myself a new blanket." Taiga stated as he took another look around the store with a raised eyebrow. "You see, I live in the dorms and their bedding is something to be desired and I actually would like to get some sleep this week." The young mage smirked and the woman couldn't help but return one as well.

The store owner stepped out from behind the counter and walked over to a couple of blankets on display in the far corner. "Well, I have these few options here but I am afraid that this is all I have at the moment." The selection was very... Lacking. Taiga didn't particularly like any of the designs and just by touching the fabric along he began to feel itchy, something he didn't want to feel while trying to sleep. "You have nothing else to offer?" He asked, trying not to sound rude. "No offense".


Word Count - 453 / 1,500
Job Link - The World's Fluffiest Catch!

The woman hesitated for a moment, obviously weighing the possibilities before mentioning anything to the young mage. "Well, I could make a blanket from scratch for you if you really wanted me to." She paused for a moment before walking back over to the counter of her store. "Though, you would have to get the wool needed on your own." Taiga turned and watched as the woman walked back to the counter, only to nod in the end. "Sounds good to me. Where do I get it?" The woman chuckled, knowing already what his reaction was going to be. "You get wool from sheep... Where else?" Hearing those words, a sudden sense of dread fell upon Taiga and trickled down his spine. "I-I have to get it from the actual animal?" The woman laughed lightly, nodding in response to his question.

"Fine." Taiga stated in a serious tone, turning to face the entrance to the shop and walk out. Only to be stopped by the woman who had taken hold of the back of the young mage's shirt. "Wait." She said softly, peering over his shoulder at him. "This is a specific breed of sheep. They can't be domesticated so they can be quite violent." The woman expressed her concern but Taiga simply pulled his shirt from her grasp and smiled, raising a thumbs-up in her direction. "Don't worry. I am a member of the Sabertooth Guild, I can handle it." The woman proceeded to write down some additional information for the young man, informing him of the other animals he will encounter in the same location he would find the Ram he was looking for and once he placed it in his pocket. Taiga began making his way to the location.


Word Count - 745 / 1,500
Job Link - The World's Fluffiest Catch!

The young mage had left the Ace of Spades immediately after speaking to the store owner, but the Ram was located in Spooky Forest which was a fair distance away. In fact, Taiga didn't arrive at the forest until the very next day in the afternoon. The young man stepped off the train and onto the platform, only to quickly leave the area and follow the path into the forest. It was an eerie location and he had heard rumors of odd things happening in this forest, but he wasn't concerned. All he wanted to do was to get this Ram and it's wool so that he could have a decent blanket to take back to the guild dorms.

He continued along through the forest, following the path that became more and more engrossed by the surrounding plant life until he heard a particular sound in the distance. "Chickens?" Taiga questioned as he listened out again. The piece of paper the woman had written down on had indicated that he would likely come across some other farm-like animals in the forest that he would have to keep and eye out for, particularly the chickens as apparently they had rabies. He continued forward until he came across a small clearing to which he saw what he had heard. Chickens. Five to be exact.

Word Count - 967 / 1,500
Job Link - The World's Fluffiest Catch!

The young mage stepped out into the clearing where the five animals were and as soon as he took those steps into the area, the chickens immediately turned their attention from pecking the ground to death staring Taiga. The young man looked at them for a moment, only to immediately jump into the air as the chickens pushed off and charged in to attack. Although he had to defeat these feathered creatures, his primary objective right now was to avoid being pecked by them. "Shooting Star!" Taiga called in mid-air, thrusting his fist downward at the chickens as he jumped over them. A magic circle appeared in front of his fists just before a multi-colored beam of cosmic energy fired and struck one of the chickens, causing it to explode into a pile of feathers.

The chickens watched the young man land on the ground on the opposite side where they once stood, turning to him as they charged in for another attack. This time, Taiga clenched both of his fists and put both of his arms together, a magic circle forming in front of his his combined fists and a cosmic energy engulfing his arms. "Double Star!" The young mage called, firing a large white beam of cosmic energy at one chicken, then another, then another and then another. All five chickens were defeated relatively easily but Taiga still need to gasp for air, as if he had been running a marathon. "I'm strong magically... But I need to become more stronger physically."

Word Count - 1,221 / 1,500
Job Link - The World's Fluffiest Catch!

Taiga took a rest for a short moment before making his way further into the forest. The path he once tread on was now behind him and the was no continuing path for him to follow so from here on out, he would have to rely on objects that stood out to find his way back. In saying that, he also had to keep his eyes peeled for anything else that might come out and attack him, the last thing he needed was for one of those chickens to appear and peck him. Just one peck would give him rabies and considering how far away from the nearest hospital, he would likely die from it too.

After walking for another fifteen minutes, the young mage came across another clearing, only this was a lot larger than the previous and was filled with occupants. Three pigs, three sheep and... The Ram. The Ram that Taiga had been looking for was standing towards the back of the clearing and grazing on the grass along with the other sheep. Taiga stepped out into the clearing with clenched fists and watch as the boy and the Ram's eyes met. The other animals were then alerted to his presence and took a defensive stance in front of the Ram. "So you guys can coordinate." Taiga smirked, stepping into a stance more suit to start fighting. "I'm sorry... But I want you fluffiness!" Taiga immediately threw one, two and three fists forward, releasing three beams of multi-colored beams of cosmic energy at each pig, his Shooting Star spell doing plenty of damage but not enough to take them out completely. Instead, the attack only aggravated the pigs and sent them charging in for an attack.

Word Count - 1,511 / 1,500
Job Link - The World's Fluffiest Catch!

Taiga never thought that he would ever have to get into a fight with animals, especially farm animals but here he was, in a spooky forest, fighting chickens, pigs, sheep and soon, a Ram. The pigs continued to charge at him and Taiga wanted to stay out of harms way. The same multi-colored energy that had been his attacks began to engulf his legs, levitating him off the ground and creating a stream behind him, allowing him to fly into the air. From this new height, the young mage began directing his attacks down to the ground, throwing three more Shooting Star spells down at each pig and then firing three Double Star spells, one at each pig.

The pigs fell to the forest floor motionless, indicating their defeat. The pigs weren't too difficult but he knew that at his current level that the rest of the battle was going to be difficult. The sheep and Ram looked far more dangerous and he knew that he had a tough fight ahead of him. "Magic of the Cosmos: Judgement Bolt!" Taiga called out, throwing both of his arms forward with palms opened, directly aiming at one of the sheep. A magic circle appear directly above it and a beam of cosmic energy fired down upon it. The blast itself cause the earth to shake and the sheep to loose their footing for a moment, unfortunately there was nothing they could do. The mage was in the air and the sheep were unable to attack him from long distance. The beam of cosmic energy defeated the sheep instantly. Only two remained and the Ram was starting to realize that it will eventually have to fight too.

Word Count - 1,796 / 1,500
Job Link - The World's Fluffiest Catch!

Taiga continued to throw everything he had at the sheep, it took almost half an hour before the two remaining were finally defeated and the young mage was becoming incredibly drained of magic power. The young man levitated back down onto the ground, breathing heavily and sweating. "Okay, this is a lot tougher than I thought it would be." He said, still trying to catch his breath. The Ram was watching the boy carefully, shaking lightly at the sheer force Taiga was about to command.

"Okay, I think break time is over now." Taiga stated, staring at the Ram deeply. "Shooting Star!" The young mage called, firing a single beam from his right fist at the Ram which only just barely hit considering the damn animal leaped out of position. It took Taiga a little by surprise which only made him grin. "So, you are faster than I thought... Still, I need that wool. DOUBLE STAR!" Taiga shot another beam of cosmic energy at the Ram, waiting for it to leap into the air before firing so it caught it in mid-jump. The Ram fell backwards and hit the ground with a thud, only to roll back onto its feet. Digging at the ground, the Ram charged forward towards the young boy, clearly angry now.

Word Count - 2,012 / 1,500
Job Link - The World's Fluffiest Catch!

The Ram and Taiga continued to fight for what seemed like another hour, the two of them throwing everything they had at each other. Now, the two of them stood at either end of the clearing, both trying to catch their breath, their heads lowered and clearly warn out. "Your a tough bastard aren't you?" The young man didn't expect a response, it was an animal after all but if it could actually talk, he assumed it would say the same about him too. Neither one had much left in them and they were both down to their last chance at defeating each other. "I'm sorry, but I still want your wool and I am not leaving without it." Although he struggled, Taiga stood up straight on both feet and raised one hand into the air above him and the other straight forward at the Ram. "This is my most powerful spell, no one has every managed to withstand this." One after the other, seven magic circles ranging from different sizes and colors appeared in the sky above the clearing. "Constellation of the Stars:" Taiga grinned and closed his eyes, knowing the battle had been won. "URSA MAJOR!" Each magic circle fired a beam of cosmic energy that directly hit the animal Taiga was targeting. The entire area was engulfed in a light that could blind someone who wasn't prepared, but when the light diminished, the Ram's lifeless body only remained.

One day later, Taiga carried the Ram's body into the woman's store back in the Ace of Spades and placed the lifeless creature on her counter. He was covered with bandages, dirt and the smell of ointment flowed in the air. "Make that blanket please."

Word Count - 2,298 / 1,500
Job Link - The World's Fluffiest Catch!