Hunting Mortimer

She had found a piece of paper. It could be hers. The place it had been found was inside what Masha had been told was her room. The redhead remembered how to read. That had come in handy. The paper had a name on it. Mortimer. There was also the word 'Bounty'. Her memory couldn't come up for a definition of that word. Masha scratched her head trying to figure this out. Her medical textbooks - something that felt familiar and calmed her down - weren't doing the trick anymore. A sensation constantly nagged her to do something about this paper. Perhaps one of her guildmates would have the answer?

A complication arose with her asking guildmates. They avoided her entirely. Every time she called out to them, they scurried away. A small worry wormed its way into her chest. Perhaps they'd discovered her secret. If you could call it a secret. She didn't even know herself if it was true. One of the dark mages on a recent mission recognized her. He had called out to her even and provided a few clues to her background. Apparently Masha had been a dark mage at some time in her life. Quite the prolific dark mage if the man was to be believed. The mere thought of it made Masha want to run for her medical textbooks. She wanted to bury her head under her blankets, hiding away from the truth of her past.

A small voice inside her mind urged her away from that path. It was why she wandered the halls, trying to find someone that would help her understand the paper. The redhead couldn't come up with a single reason other than her secret. However, if her secret was out, wouldn't they try to eliminate her? This was all so confusing. Whoever or whatever had taken her memories clearly didn't want her to function. Masha squared her shoulders. She'd try this one last time. "Hey, is there anyone that can help me?" She called out bravely into the empty hallway. "I found a paper in my room and I'm not sure what it means. I think it's important though!"

WC: 361

In this fine morning, Nathaniel found himself still in bed in his room within the guild hall of Dies Irae. A bit unusual for the crusader because he was normally would be already up and at 'em, seizing the day and trying to make a difference wherever he can, banishing evil from the world. But today, he had decided to take it easy as rest was necessary. A reward so to speak in his mind for all the hard work he has done lately. This hard work he thought was evident by the fact that he was having a hard time getting off of bed, groaning with every move he was making. Indeed his body was sore but he thought it was not a valid excuse to do what must be done, For the Guild, For Earthland.

He slowly got up to a sitting position, moving his blanket to the side. Once he was in that position, he took a deep sigh and slowly bathed himself in the light of his magic, healing himself from his pain but not so much as it would be considered cheating by some, and especially, by himself. There was no honor in it, he thought. That he would not immerse himself in this pain, pain is gain as the saying goes after all. Yes, he had come to accept this as the norm of this day as he sat there on his bad bathing in healing light sighing at his thought's conclusion.

He got up after that, not even eyeing his room for anything because he knows there was nothing to see in it. He had kept his place simple and minimal, there was literally only the bed, an end table and his bag leaning on said table, and underneath it the sword Ashbringer in its scabbard.

He went directly for the door, turning its knob to be greeted by an announcement made in a girl's voice asking for help on a piece of paper. It was not that hard to miss really, given it was directly in front of his door that the announcement was made.

He had not known this woman yet and was more than happy to assist in the cause he called her out by saying "Excuse me!" loud enough for her to hear and followed it up by saying "I can help you with that." smiling at the end and reaching out his hand for the paper.

Post WC: 408
Nat's Total: 408
Thread Total: 769
@Masha

The opening door startled Masha. She leaped away from it. Magic involuntarily filled her palm. Seeing a friendly face, she was ashamed of her reaction. The magic trickled away again. She had to stop reacting like that when she was surprised. However, after the recent events, the reaction couldn't be helped. Masha had been ambushed repeatedly on a mass guild attack against a dark guild. This guildmate actually looked a little familiar from that time. Hadn't he been around the Seventh Ambassador?

Holding out the piece of paper, Masha beamed. "Hi! Thank you for helping me. It's not that I can't read it, there are just some words I can't seem to remember the meaning of. Like bounty! I thought it meant many of something but many of-" She checked the paper quickly. "Mortimer, doesn't make much sense. So that can't be the right meaning of the word. Can you enlighten me?" The DI soldier caught sight of the man's room under his arm. Thoughts fled her head for a moment.

"Oh you poor dear. It seems they forgot the furniture in your room. Perhaps you'd like some of mine? At least until you get your own. Though you might like pink, I don't know. Anyways, I have lotsa extra furniture for you to borrow." Masha said, speaking rapidly. She realized she'd forgotten to make introductions. The redhead gently bopped herself in the head. "I'm sorry, I forgot my manners! My name is Masha Dymonrel! ...I think it is anyway. Its the only thing I could remember when I woke up a week or so ago. That and this symbol on my chest-" Masha pulled her blouse down for the man to get a good look. "Were the only clues I had to who I was. Or am... I'm not sure which it is." She giggled, covering her mouth with a hand. "So, what's this paper all about anyway?"

WC: 320
PWC: 681
TWC: 1089

Nat blinked several times at the woman’s reaction. It was concerning as well, he did not mean to startle his fellow guild member. Upon seeing the woman’s face when she turned, Nat saw that it was not just some fellow guild member, but in fact Masha, a friend Nat had made during the guild’s skirmish on an island. Now that they have been reacquainted, Masha gladly extended the paper to Nat, happiness evidently beaming from the young woman’s face all the while she explained to him what it was as best she could, which was an effort he truly appreciated, giggling at her continuous banter as he looked her in the eyes, making sure she knew he was paying attention.

After her quick summary of what she thought it was, Nat quickly looked on over to the piece of paper that was now in his hands, skimming through its details instantly because he knew where the important details would be if this were indeed to be a bounty notice. And indeed it was a bounty notice for one person named Mortimer. He was honestly impressed and proud at how she was able to remember that. For Nat can recall, Masha’s memory wasn’t exactly in tip top shape.

While he was going over the finer details and description of her bounty, Masha took notice of Nat’s room and commented about how he needs more furniture to which he agrees. Dies Irae is going to be his home, and he had to at least make his room feel a bit more homey. But he had to decline Masha’s invitation of pink furniture as he tried to be respectful about declining it, a sweat drop evident on his head while he was trying to be.

He tried to get back to reading the paper, but was once again, his attention was called when Masha suddenly remembered her “manners”. Tho it would have been alright at this point because they already knew each other, and were certainly past the point of these manners of formality. However, there was one tiny detail that was all new to Nat. Particularly, a symbol on her chest that made Nat look and nod her way but quickly recalled that moved when she proceeded to unbutton her blouse even waving his hands in front of him, truly avoiding to look as it was inappropriate. ”Oh no, that won’t be necessary. Just a picture would do, please.” he replied immediately. After he had insisted on not seeing her chest, Nat sighed and continued slowly. ”I’m Nathaniel. We actually met before in an island mission. And you’re right, this is a bounty for a person named Mortimer somewhere in Lavantir Port City. Would you want some help in this? Stealth is essential in this from what I can tell.”

Post WC: 474
Nat’s Total: 882
Thread Total: 1,971
@Masha

Masha tapped her chin, trying to remember Nathaniel. His face was a fuzzy memory. Something she couldn't quite grasp that was in connection to Ambassador Seven. Yes, that was the correct name. The Ambassador had yelled at her for 'Seventh Ambassador.' Nathaniel's reaction to her showing off her guild tattoo was amusing as well. She was struggling to hold back her giggling. "Island mission... I don't... oh, you mean that great big mess. Could that really be called a mission? Seemed more like an eradication. Not that I mind that." The memories of that 'mission' sobered her up real quickly. She was starting to ramble again too. Her mouth seemed to inherently run itself if she didn't watch it. Masha cleared her throat. "Anyways, I remember you. Somewhat. I think my mental facilities are still struggling to make memories."

The name of the city, Lavintir Port City, sent a strange shudder through her body. It felt like she wanted to run away, freeze and hide all at the same time. Odd. Perhaps something really bad had happened to her previous self there. It must have been so terrible to carve a reaction into her body. The redhead ignored it steadily. Whatever had happened was only a clue to who she had been. It made her want to go to this city all the more. "Seems like it'll be fun! There might be a clue about who I used to be in that City! Also I would love the help. I'm not really a quiet girl and I don't like the idea of sneaking around. It's much more practical to deal with a situation head on, ya know?" She inspected her fingernails really quickly for some reason. "Besides, I don't think I've hunted anyone down. Also can't trust my summons cause they have their own agendas. So, help is good, help is very good." She smiled at the blonde haired man.

She frown moments later as a thought came to her. "And how are we going to get to this Lavintir Port City? Can we just borrow a boat? Ooo! Or one of those floating things that looks like a ship, but isn't a ship because its in the air! Wait, what would you call that? Air ship?" Her mouth fired off again, letting her speak rapidly. The redhead got excited at the prospect of flying to their destination. Masha seized Nathaniel's hand, forgetting to check her strength in her excitement. The slayer began racing down the hallway toward the outside. As she ran, dragging Nathaniel, she asked over her shoulder. "You know how to fly one of those things, right? We don't need one of the big ones. A small one will do."

Masha stopped as memories collided together. She halted, going from a full sprint to a dead stop. Images rushed through her mind. They were almost too fast to comprehend. She saw a great fleet of flying ships. The airships hovered over an equally massive naval fleet. Behind the docks was a winding staircase. The stairs led to large mahogany doors set into the side of a mountain. Before she could grasp the images, they shattered. The redhead looked around in a daze. "What happened?" She asked groggily. Her eyes landed on Nathaniel. Her features brightened as a smile lit up her face. "Hi! My name is... wait." Her brow furrowed. "We just did this, didn't we? Nathaniel?" Masha put a hand to her face. "What were we doing? Why are we here in the hallway? Why can't I remember?" Tears started falling from her eyes. The frustration had rapidly welled inside of her to a breaking point. "Why can't I remember?" She asked again, brokenly.

There was a terror that gripped her heart. What had happened? Was this going to be a common occurrence? It felt like someone had reached into her head and yanked something out. It wasn't at all when she'd woken in a pool of blood, nothing but her name in her mind. She'd been surrounded by her summons then. They'd helped fill in some information. Now, it felt like things had been stolen. Something big had been removed, tearing away her new memories. Would it stop there? Or would things keep disappearing from her brain? An almost crippling fear wormed its way into her heart. The slayer wanted to crawl into a hole and hide from her deteriorating mind. She didn't belong in Dies Irae. After all, what good was helping others when she couldn't even help herself?


Masha tried to stem the flow of tears. She wouldn't let fear drive her down. This new problem had a solution. Just like her missing memories, the redhead would find a way to overcome it all. The slayer slowly raised her head, her spine straightening. "I'm sorry for my breakdown. Its terrifying having everything ripped away and then have it repeat unexpectedly. Or at least feel like it repeated. Then you're left wondering how often it's gonna happen and if its worth moving forward." She wiped away her tears. A smile struggled to brighten her face once again. "How about we find a way to Lavintir Port City. Then you can teach me a little about stealth and we can capture ourselves a bad guy! Or eliminate him, whichever the bounty calls for!" It would have been obvious to an observer, she was trying to act brave. It should also be clear that the redhead was hanging onto her courage by a very thin thread. Masha was struggling to put her best foot forward and move down the path life had placed before her.

WC: 942
PWC: 1,623
Thread Total: 3,594

All the time Nathaniel had spent with Masha in the island, despite it not being the best scenario of a first meeting had made him very fond of her. He could just stand there and listen to her talk on and on it was the closest thing to an ambiance, and a soothing one at that, that he could get from the halls. Her cheeriness makes him reaffirm his crusade. That the innocent like her must be protected and be able to live free of any evil. On the other hand though, she makes him think that there could be a different approach to the extinguishing of evil from the world. Maybe. Maybe.

Nat also made a promise to Masha to help her regain her memories while fighting in the island of Kenrojima. So when he heard that there could be a link to her past there, he got more stoked to help her, obtaining a gleam in his eyes that was evident. He really wanted to help her now. "Then let's get to it then! I'm more than happy to help you now more than earlier. Especially when I find out I could be helping you about your past. he happily replied excitedly. With that, their partnership has been established and Nat followed closely behind the leader of their party, even listening to whenever she would speak with having a lot to say. He was about to reply to Masha's question regarding transportation after giggling at her enthusiastic energy. But before any word would be formed, she grabbed his hand, firmly at that. Very. Firmly.

He was contemplating if this would leave a sore mark and if he should use his magic to heal it. This girl has strength in her that he shouldn't mess with as he was being literally dragged through the halls of Dies Irae's castle. Unfortunately, the front of the "train" came to a full stop, and with a limp connection, Nat bumped to Masha's back. He quickly stepped back and help his hands up exclaiming "Oh my! Oh my, Masha! I'm so so-" he stopped mid sentence when he realized something was off, that something was different. He looked at Masha's beautiful face and saw a blank expression, before it seemingly sprang back to life in Nat's perspective, introducing herself once again in her usual enthusiasm. Nat couldn't help but feel bad for her, having to live with shattered memories like that. He stood there frozen, not knowing what he can do for her that will really help.

He tried to approach her slowly. Reaching out his arms to wrap around her into a hug but then he thought to his mind, "What would Trinity think if she saw us?" that made his hugging stutter as it approached Masha, not wanting go through with it. So he pulled back and just tapped her in the shoulder and thought of what to say. Stuterringly at first, clearly figuring out what to say along the way, all Nat came up with was "There, there Masha. It's going to be ok. Uhmm... uh... I'm Nat." he said nervously as he continued to tap on Masha's shoulder and eventually her back.

It eventually passed and Masha was able to get back up on her feet which Nat smiled, trying whatever he could to provide some semblance of support. With a smile, Nat held up a thumbs up and assured her that everything was ok, and from there he took the lead in procuring an air ship for them to Lavintir Port City.

The people in charge of the ships were accommodating to the pair and they were easily able to get on one without a fuss. They were even assigned a pilot that instructed them to take their seats and steered them towards their destination. color=#DDB649]"Now."[/color] Nat exclaimed as he stood up as soon as they were in a safe and stable altitude. "Sneaking's around simple... I think. I don't sneak around myself. But the general idea is to not be heard, or seen, or both. It depends on our surroundings, really. But basically don't be seen. I know that's contradictory to what I said.... That's what disguises are for. They can 'see' you, but they're not really seeing you. Am I making any sense?" he said, trying to scrounge up a crash course on sneaking around from his personal experiences. "But uh... is there anything you particularly wish to learn?" he asked.

WC: 745
Nat WC: 1,627
Thread: 4,339
@Masha

Masha found Nathaniel's reaction to her crying peculiar. Once her memories realigned and she knew it was Nat anyway. He moved as if to hug her then pulled away and patted her shoulder. She couldn't figure out what made him do so. Was it an odd ritual of his homeland or village? Or did her fellow guild mate regard her crying as ugly not worthy of true comfort? Maybe Nathaniel found Masha repugnant. The thought almost made her cry harder. It must be so tough to be stuck with an amnesic partner.

Masha was impressed by Nathaniel's efficiency. He procured an air ship quickly. They were on their way without too much hassle. When the blonde popped up, enthusiastic about teaching, Masha favored him with a smile. "I want to learn everything! I've tried to learn by reading books but it seems they aren't always accurate. There is something called Fiction? I wish someone had told me about it earlier. I wouldn't have studied those notebooks so much." Her cheeks flamed. Those notebooks had been fiction written by her former self. Raunchy stories about guildmates. It filled her with many questions though she wasn't sure who to ask. Seven hadn't been too happy to see the notebooks.

Masha adjusted herself, readying for the slew of questions she wished to ask. It was a long list, she didn't expect Nat to answer them all. Maybe it was better not to ask them all at once. She'd choose a few. "Alright, here are just a few questions." She took a deep breath. "Is it better to use a weapon or one's fists in combat? Why? Are all men hung like horses or is that only in books? Does reversing someone's bloodflow cause them to explode or create a brief moment of increased power before they collapse? Can one travel via a black hole?" The redhead took another breath. That didn't even scratch the surface. Masha was extremely interested in the answers to the next set of questions. "Do men prefer a thong or bikini style underwear on a woman? Is it always painful to go without a bra or are there ways to mitigate that? Are you an ass or titties man? While I've read about it, how exactly does sex work? There seems to be many different kinds of it and I'm not sure what qualifies an act as sexual. And finally, would you be willing to show me how it works?"

The redhead realized she'd forgotten to address Nathaniel's teachings on stealth. Her cheeks reddened rapidly. "I apologize, I forgot to ask questions about stealth as well. Your offer of knowledge caused me to get carried away. Uh, how would a disguise help on be stealthy? Seen but unseen as you put it. And uh what exactly qualifies as a disguise as well?" Masha tapped her chin. His lesson had blurred a bit in her excitement. The redhead scratched the back of her head. There was something she didn'tquite understand. "How do we plan to locate Mortimer? He's evaded the authorities long enough for him to be placed on our Blacklist right? Or is that not how the Blacklist works?" Maybe she should have checked how the Blacklist worked first. How embarrassing.

WC: 542
PWC: 2,165
Total: 4881
@Nathaniel Stratford