It probably hadn’t been the best decision they could have made since they left for their mission to split up to find their target, but it was the only lead they had and if one of them could just get answers... maybe in the moment of desperation and impatience they decided in such a manner go ahead with this choice, but she would have to pay for this greatly now more than ever thought.
The job began to be a simple one for the most part and with it, the two cursed mages were sent together with no back up. That, however, was a bit more of their own safety than for others. Neither Aoi nor Kalama would have wanted for another person let alone a guildmate to get hurt over something that they could not control. This though, was more in the brunette farm girls than it had been for her fair haired companion. Still, they looked out hard for one another and to be fair, the idea of this type of bond would cloud the help of others or need to help and or trust the others that were with them. It just felt something she couldn’t risk herself and frankly it scared her to think of what could happen if someone wasn’t strong enough to handle her when she was out of control.
What led Aoi and Kalama to this job was the first trail of their curses type of actions and destruction being placed upon others. She couldn’t believe the idea, but neither could she really contend to the idea that it wasn’t a possibility either. No matter that reason, the ambassador sent the pair out to investigate and deal with any immediate threats that they could find there. A simple enough job if you asked any other mage, but this was more than that for these two. This was personal and it was a slew of other emotions —some of which she couldn’t even begin to list. Did Kal feel the same way? They didn’t talk much since they left the island and whatever time was there she spent with her sword. A treasure for her and the only real reason in which she felt useful to their endeavor for a cure.
What would life be like if they had been able to? Would Kalama’s abilities vanish with it? But would she be happier that way? The reality of these questions weighed heavily on her mind. Staring into the reflection of her own weapon, she wondered what really lies underneath her. Kalama could use the lunar rays themselves to do nearly anything. The only blessing of her curse, really... but Aoi? She had nothing. Well, not nothing. She had this strange ability in a fit of anger that her physical strength and speed bolstered. But was that all she had to her? How much of a burden was she becoming to her, or rather to everyone around her? It hadn’t become so apparent until they were settled into the guild, but it was a thought that sat with her since they had begun to explore their curses together and it felt magnified surrounded by such strong, confident souls.
Arriving into the cursed lands as the ambassador had put it was a bit of a vague term for her, but it was enough to start with. And it was not any more than a moment before they heard frantic screams in different areas. It was a mutual nod in agreement as they knew what they had to do in splitting up to deal with everything at once. With her sword brandished at the ready, she darted her way over to the location that she had split up towards. A small tree line had given her ample cover to stop for a moment and peek around the trunk of the tree as the sight caused her pink orbs to widen. Several large, inhuman looking creatures surrounded by slaughtered remains of people, all surrounding one remain girl.
“Let’s eat her already!”
“No, they want at least one alive to turn. Don’t you listen?”
“Yeah, but if they don’t succumb to it, won’t they just be killed anyway?”
“Tch. That’s what we have those shackled servants for. Now hurry up and turn, you dumb human!”
The leader of this trio kicked the girl, causing her to be knocked prone entirely and with a single cry of pain, she had listened as they laughed over it for a brief moment. Her eyes began to shift around looking so she could think of something fast and finally she settled and took her sword, smacking it into the bushes and shaking it. Still covered by the trees, it caught the attention of the three as they had now turned to face the shaking brush. ”Another one? I guess we have more things to bring home. If you come out of there, we won’t kill you!” The leader called out. Then, their eyes seemed to widen from the bit of a shocker from whom emerged. A brunette haired girl, hair pulled back and braided, a leek shaped mouthguard in her mouth, a scimitar held in hand and rested upon her left shoulder, and a red and white patterned uniform attire fitted to her body. The officer of Dies Irae glared at them momentarily while they seemed to be rather shocked by it all.
That all changed quickly however. First the monstrosity on the left of the trio had begun to laugh loudly, then the leader, then the last. ”Well well well! If it isn’t farmer brown hair! We thought by you and that little bitch of a friend of yours would have offed yourselves by now.”[i] The left one spoke up first, having bellowed an old nickname that she had been ‘given’ by a trio of thugs in the village. Just a group of immature punks who were much too old for the antics of some prepubescent pranks and intimidation tactics. ”Ohhh, I see it now. Looks like that curse got to you too, huh? I can smell it. Sadly, this place is nowhere near as potent as the village, but oh well.”[b] The next spoke out, but the brunette remained silent, unmoving as well. She simply glared on at them.
These were nothing more than power hungry pawns in someone else’s game and from the bit she heard, whomever was behind this was manipulative enough to jerk these fools around easily. [b]”What’s wrong? Curse got your tongue?~” The leader joked, beginning to laugh loudly before the others joined in. However they thought they were funny, they were only beginning to anger her. Finally, the farm girl began to walk closer to them. Her eyes never leaving the trio, they had quickly ceased their entertaining mood to see that she was intending on fighting them... or so that look in their direction aimed them to think. In all of this, the sole surviving person had begun to make a run for it when a group of several tentacles began to shoot in her direction.
In one fell swoop, the projectiles had fell to the ground before quickly turning into a black, cloudy ash and then dissipating. Screaming came from the group as one of them held a slightly dismembered arm before growling angrily. [i]”You little bitch! You two can’t save everyone, you know! Eventually, we’ll kill all the humans who don’t bend to-!” The others became instantly surprised as an arrow shot through the throat of the cursed delinquent. Then, he dropped to the ground and quickly turned into a pile of black dust. [b]”N-No, they sent him! Hurry, run!”[b] And as soon as those words of warning left, screeching arrows pierced through the knees, ankles, slower spines, and shoulders of the two. That look of fear in their faces and eyes watching emotionless as they were quickly shot down by two more magical arrows were sunk into each of their skulls.
There had been no remorse for them in her reactions to it, but the girl cling to Aoi’s back for a moment before she felt a tapping. The brunette pushed for the girl, motioning for her to quickly make a run for it. As she began, two arrows flew across in their direction, quickly hearing a metallic clang as they were met with the blue hued blade of the cursed woman. [b]”You who is cursed, defy... yes... must feast on.. traitor.” The shadows raised its bow into the air, firing it into the sky and arching over in Aoi’s direction. The officer watched closely as it had broken into pieces from what it seemed and began to reign down. A swing up from her sword brought with it a ring of embers, catching the attack before erupting into the air, sending it back in almost an identical way before crashing into the ground where the shadows once stood. ”N-No... stop... control it!” She screamed I her head, trying to suppress a growing hunger. The mouthguard began to drip from an excessive amount of building saliva from her hunger, soon pulling it free from her mouth and breathing in the air heavily as if she’d just emerged from a long dive in the ocean and unable to breathe at all.
Arrows began to fly around her incessantly and without mercy from all angles. As best she could, she had been able to pick out most of the vitally aimed arrows while moving around to keep these highly efficient attacks from landing properly. Still, her legs and arms, sides and shoulders began to be cut up from narrow avoidances, but not enough that the blood would not begin to trickle from the wound or pool up into the cloth of the uniform. With her body becoming exerted more than usual, she could feel the lands around her had begun to take their toll on her. She was feeling the curse growing stronger and stronger, more than she knew she could handle. But... she had to kill him. This growing bloodlust was raging, unable to control herself any longer, she let out a large, bellowing roar and then unleashed several blasts with a fury she didn’t know she even had. The surrounding shadows became coated in a black area of clouds. ”Found you~” She spoke, grinning and then pouncing off in a direction. Sensing the shadow was just as easy as seeing him, and as she swung her weapon, he was quick to dodge her attack and without a retaliation at all.
What was weird to her was with ample opportunity to strike back, he let her go. It wasn’t until she had finally tried to stop herself to go back for a second try did she find out why he stopped and why he didn’t try to attack her. Where he stood was his bait. What laid behind him was a cliffside that led into a ravine. Falling at an alarming speed to her death, Aoi’s life slowly began to flash before her eyes. ”Do something... do something! Curse, DO SOMETHING!” She screamed internally. What came next was nothing short than a miracle. A harsh push of the wind halted her descent to her death and only had her fall hard enough to let out a small oof of pain. Climbing to her feet, she finally noticed the wings and her eyes widened. The shifter look of her orbs was much more feral, and a toothy grin from the deteriorating stability of the officer had gotten her to with each ability.
Giving herself the moment to get the hang of how to operate these new wings of hers, Aoi was ready to take it to the next level. This curse was eating away at her quickly and the thoughts of murdering this nimble thing was all that was on her mind. As a blur of speed, she shot out of the ravine to the air, where the wings expanded to their full length to halt further movement. There, her eyes spotted the still vulnerable creature and began to gather whatever energy poured out of her into the wings and her hands. The nerves in the temples of her head expanded, pushing against her skin and her body began to tense up from the pouring in of strength she was gaining at this point. Then, the brunette shot herself down like a bullet, letting out one energy filled hand forward, connecting to the stranger and then slamming him into the ground. From the impact into the ground, his head split into pieces as if it exploded and the body crashing into the ground. As her hand connected, a wave of energy shot into the ground, causing a large crater to form into the ground and even to shake the ground around the whole area.
The scent of blood rushed to her nose. Be it her own and that of the man she just crushed into the earth. Her breathing slowed and eyes settled solely onto the corpse before she caved to the curses’ feral instincts. Crawling over, she began to rip into his body and starting to pull out and eat muscle and organs. She continued on for several minutes before suddenly, she stopped. The once crazed look in her eyes has mellowed out and then the sight got her to jump back. Her mouth was full of ‘food’ as well, which she spat out and let out a gut wrenching screech. She looked on in horror as she had looked upon the scene of her having eaten this stranger as though she were a starving animal on its pray. The sight made her sick to the point she had turned to the side and threw up. Quickly, the woman grabbed her sword and stumbled to her feet where she was hit with a bout of weakness in her whole body, falling down and laying there, gasping for air while her eyes laid on the bow that was used against her. Her hand reached out and grabbed the weapon before she had passed out where she laid... emotionally, physically, and psychologically drained. Just what did she force this curse to do to her?
2,369/2000 words
The job began to be a simple one for the most part and with it, the two cursed mages were sent together with no back up. That, however, was a bit more of their own safety than for others. Neither Aoi nor Kalama would have wanted for another person let alone a guildmate to get hurt over something that they could not control. This though, was more in the brunette farm girls than it had been for her fair haired companion. Still, they looked out hard for one another and to be fair, the idea of this type of bond would cloud the help of others or need to help and or trust the others that were with them. It just felt something she couldn’t risk herself and frankly it scared her to think of what could happen if someone wasn’t strong enough to handle her when she was out of control.
What led Aoi and Kalama to this job was the first trail of their curses type of actions and destruction being placed upon others. She couldn’t believe the idea, but neither could she really contend to the idea that it wasn’t a possibility either. No matter that reason, the ambassador sent the pair out to investigate and deal with any immediate threats that they could find there. A simple enough job if you asked any other mage, but this was more than that for these two. This was personal and it was a slew of other emotions —some of which she couldn’t even begin to list. Did Kal feel the same way? They didn’t talk much since they left the island and whatever time was there she spent with her sword. A treasure for her and the only real reason in which she felt useful to their endeavor for a cure.
What would life be like if they had been able to? Would Kalama’s abilities vanish with it? But would she be happier that way? The reality of these questions weighed heavily on her mind. Staring into the reflection of her own weapon, she wondered what really lies underneath her. Kalama could use the lunar rays themselves to do nearly anything. The only blessing of her curse, really... but Aoi? She had nothing. Well, not nothing. She had this strange ability in a fit of anger that her physical strength and speed bolstered. But was that all she had to her? How much of a burden was she becoming to her, or rather to everyone around her? It hadn’t become so apparent until they were settled into the guild, but it was a thought that sat with her since they had begun to explore their curses together and it felt magnified surrounded by such strong, confident souls.
Arriving into the cursed lands as the ambassador had put it was a bit of a vague term for her, but it was enough to start with. And it was not any more than a moment before they heard frantic screams in different areas. It was a mutual nod in agreement as they knew what they had to do in splitting up to deal with everything at once. With her sword brandished at the ready, she darted her way over to the location that she had split up towards. A small tree line had given her ample cover to stop for a moment and peek around the trunk of the tree as the sight caused her pink orbs to widen. Several large, inhuman looking creatures surrounded by slaughtered remains of people, all surrounding one remain girl.
“Let’s eat her already!”
“No, they want at least one alive to turn. Don’t you listen?”
“Yeah, but if they don’t succumb to it, won’t they just be killed anyway?”
“Tch. That’s what we have those shackled servants for. Now hurry up and turn, you dumb human!”
The leader of this trio kicked the girl, causing her to be knocked prone entirely and with a single cry of pain, she had listened as they laughed over it for a brief moment. Her eyes began to shift around looking so she could think of something fast and finally she settled and took her sword, smacking it into the bushes and shaking it. Still covered by the trees, it caught the attention of the three as they had now turned to face the shaking brush. ”Another one? I guess we have more things to bring home. If you come out of there, we won’t kill you!” The leader called out. Then, their eyes seemed to widen from the bit of a shocker from whom emerged. A brunette haired girl, hair pulled back and braided, a leek shaped mouthguard in her mouth, a scimitar held in hand and rested upon her left shoulder, and a red and white patterned uniform attire fitted to her body. The officer of Dies Irae glared at them momentarily while they seemed to be rather shocked by it all.
That all changed quickly however. First the monstrosity on the left of the trio had begun to laugh loudly, then the leader, then the last. ”Well well well! If it isn’t farmer brown hair! We thought by you and that little bitch of a friend of yours would have offed yourselves by now.”[i] The left one spoke up first, having bellowed an old nickname that she had been ‘given’ by a trio of thugs in the village. Just a group of immature punks who were much too old for the antics of some prepubescent pranks and intimidation tactics. ”Ohhh, I see it now. Looks like that curse got to you too, huh? I can smell it. Sadly, this place is nowhere near as potent as the village, but oh well.”[b] The next spoke out, but the brunette remained silent, unmoving as well. She simply glared on at them.
These were nothing more than power hungry pawns in someone else’s game and from the bit she heard, whomever was behind this was manipulative enough to jerk these fools around easily. [b]”What’s wrong? Curse got your tongue?~” The leader joked, beginning to laugh loudly before the others joined in. However they thought they were funny, they were only beginning to anger her. Finally, the farm girl began to walk closer to them. Her eyes never leaving the trio, they had quickly ceased their entertaining mood to see that she was intending on fighting them... or so that look in their direction aimed them to think. In all of this, the sole surviving person had begun to make a run for it when a group of several tentacles began to shoot in her direction.
In one fell swoop, the projectiles had fell to the ground before quickly turning into a black, cloudy ash and then dissipating. Screaming came from the group as one of them held a slightly dismembered arm before growling angrily. [i]”You little bitch! You two can’t save everyone, you know! Eventually, we’ll kill all the humans who don’t bend to-!” The others became instantly surprised as an arrow shot through the throat of the cursed delinquent. Then, he dropped to the ground and quickly turned into a pile of black dust. [b]”N-No, they sent him! Hurry, run!”[b] And as soon as those words of warning left, screeching arrows pierced through the knees, ankles, slower spines, and shoulders of the two. That look of fear in their faces and eyes watching emotionless as they were quickly shot down by two more magical arrows were sunk into each of their skulls.
There had been no remorse for them in her reactions to it, but the girl cling to Aoi’s back for a moment before she felt a tapping. The brunette pushed for the girl, motioning for her to quickly make a run for it. As she began, two arrows flew across in their direction, quickly hearing a metallic clang as they were met with the blue hued blade of the cursed woman. [b]”You who is cursed, defy... yes... must feast on.. traitor.” The shadows raised its bow into the air, firing it into the sky and arching over in Aoi’s direction. The officer watched closely as it had broken into pieces from what it seemed and began to reign down. A swing up from her sword brought with it a ring of embers, catching the attack before erupting into the air, sending it back in almost an identical way before crashing into the ground where the shadows once stood. ”N-No... stop... control it!” She screamed I her head, trying to suppress a growing hunger. The mouthguard began to drip from an excessive amount of building saliva from her hunger, soon pulling it free from her mouth and breathing in the air heavily as if she’d just emerged from a long dive in the ocean and unable to breathe at all.
Arrows began to fly around her incessantly and without mercy from all angles. As best she could, she had been able to pick out most of the vitally aimed arrows while moving around to keep these highly efficient attacks from landing properly. Still, her legs and arms, sides and shoulders began to be cut up from narrow avoidances, but not enough that the blood would not begin to trickle from the wound or pool up into the cloth of the uniform. With her body becoming exerted more than usual, she could feel the lands around her had begun to take their toll on her. She was feeling the curse growing stronger and stronger, more than she knew she could handle. But... she had to kill him. This growing bloodlust was raging, unable to control herself any longer, she let out a large, bellowing roar and then unleashed several blasts with a fury she didn’t know she even had. The surrounding shadows became coated in a black area of clouds. ”Found you~” She spoke, grinning and then pouncing off in a direction. Sensing the shadow was just as easy as seeing him, and as she swung her weapon, he was quick to dodge her attack and without a retaliation at all.
What was weird to her was with ample opportunity to strike back, he let her go. It wasn’t until she had finally tried to stop herself to go back for a second try did she find out why he stopped and why he didn’t try to attack her. Where he stood was his bait. What laid behind him was a cliffside that led into a ravine. Falling at an alarming speed to her death, Aoi’s life slowly began to flash before her eyes. ”Do something... do something! Curse, DO SOMETHING!” She screamed internally. What came next was nothing short than a miracle. A harsh push of the wind halted her descent to her death and only had her fall hard enough to let out a small oof of pain. Climbing to her feet, she finally noticed the wings and her eyes widened. The shifter look of her orbs was much more feral, and a toothy grin from the deteriorating stability of the officer had gotten her to with each ability.
Giving herself the moment to get the hang of how to operate these new wings of hers, Aoi was ready to take it to the next level. This curse was eating away at her quickly and the thoughts of murdering this nimble thing was all that was on her mind. As a blur of speed, she shot out of the ravine to the air, where the wings expanded to their full length to halt further movement. There, her eyes spotted the still vulnerable creature and began to gather whatever energy poured out of her into the wings and her hands. The nerves in the temples of her head expanded, pushing against her skin and her body began to tense up from the pouring in of strength she was gaining at this point. Then, the brunette shot herself down like a bullet, letting out one energy filled hand forward, connecting to the stranger and then slamming him into the ground. From the impact into the ground, his head split into pieces as if it exploded and the body crashing into the ground. As her hand connected, a wave of energy shot into the ground, causing a large crater to form into the ground and even to shake the ground around the whole area.
The scent of blood rushed to her nose. Be it her own and that of the man she just crushed into the earth. Her breathing slowed and eyes settled solely onto the corpse before she caved to the curses’ feral instincts. Crawling over, she began to rip into his body and starting to pull out and eat muscle and organs. She continued on for several minutes before suddenly, she stopped. The once crazed look in her eyes has mellowed out and then the sight got her to jump back. Her mouth was full of ‘food’ as well, which she spat out and let out a gut wrenching screech. She looked on in horror as she had looked upon the scene of her having eaten this stranger as though she were a starving animal on its pray. The sight made her sick to the point she had turned to the side and threw up. Quickly, the woman grabbed her sword and stumbled to her feet where she was hit with a bout of weakness in her whole body, falling down and laying there, gasping for air while her eyes laid on the bow that was used against her. Her hand reached out and grabbed the weapon before she had passed out where she laid... emotionally, physically, and psychologically drained. Just what did she force this curse to do to her?
2,369/2000 words
