Gotta Catch 'Em!

❝

Once you find your light, I'm sure it will lead you back here.

Cordelia didn’t really experience negative emotions well. That wasn’t to say that she didn’t know what they were or never felt them. There were plenty of times that she had been hurt and cried because of the pain or felt sadness when someone had gone away or died. She’d even experienced fear when she was much younger, as she took on challenges that seemed insurmountable. She was brought up to never back down from opposition in any form, no matter how scary it was. That’s not something one just picks up and embodies without going through trials. Luckily she had the kind of parents that believed failure was always a lesson in which to learn from and provided love and support when she did fall. It was that faith in her that always got her back to her feet and up against the challenge once again, with a little boldness than before.

But the hard truth of the matter, and one she was conscious of but didn’t quite confront, was that she had grown up in a semi-safe life. Her father and mother were always there as a strong foundation and she had plenty of friends growing up so she never experienced true loneliness. She never ventured beyond the borders of Ca-Elum so the world was a big, magical place full of adventure and wonder. Even her dating life had been casual, with only a handful of men and women willing to take her out. But she never got into anything serious, her eyes looking beyond the limits of her home to the lands beyond. Cordelia was a girl born for adventure and having grown up in a shell only made that desire to go out and explore grow faster and wider.

Finally she had managed to branch out into the world and, unsurprisingly, she found herself already attached to a wonderful and noble guild. Meliora Vitae was exactly the kind of institution she hoped to work with; a guild that sought to keep the balance of the world in check, countering the weights that shifted between man and nature. Plus it wasn’t strict on attendance or housing, allowing her to travel to the world she wanted to explore and often with a mission to do some good. She truly reveled in her new life, proud to showcase her guild mark and her guild’s mission to any that would ask. And while a part of her wondered if she had put down roots in an attempt to keep some semblance of solid ground, the greater portion of her spirit told her that Meliora Vitae provided the freedom and stabilization that she had sought for all her life. It was scary but that was far outshined by how utterly exhilarating it was.

And now she had adopted an abandoned baby bear as well to be her comrade. The injured animal had been patched up in the medical bay aboard Meliora Vitae’s main base, her minor injuries tended to easily and without complication. But apparently Cordelia had already imprinted on the young bear, as it refused to behave if she wasn’t around. It was a challenge at first, figuring out how to tend to a cub. Yet with a little research, reading and studying, she was able to figure out a game plan for becoming a mama bear. It took some time and jewel to get the food needed to help the bear grow and teaching it to behave and relax on its own was a challenge in its own right. But her bond with her was strong and with each new lesson, she could feel him understanding her better. Soon enough he was confident enough to leave at her camp by himself, on the rare occasion that Cordelia needed to go on a mission. He was still a bit too young to bring out on jobs but soon enough, she would take to teaching him how to defend himself.

“Bowzer!” she called out as she approached her campsite, calling out to the cub by his given name.

The bear roused from his nap, yawning and bounding out from her tent. Giggling, she knelt down and wrapped him in a hug as he strode up to her, his jowls squelching as he opened his mouth to sniff and lick her. “Good boy, Bowzer. Now I have to run down and do a job for Percy. He’s one of the aces for the guild, part of the R&R department! Apparently some mean monster has been picking on people out near Oshibana. He wants me to go and capture it so that he can study it and figure out what to do with it. How exciting is that?!”

Bowzer made an appreciative noise, one that appeared to imitate her excitement. “Maybe if I do this well enough, I’ll be able to pick my department! I’m thinking R&D. While I don’t mind doing research, I’m much more of an outdoorsy kind of gal and I’d love the chance to go out and get my hands dirty, you know?” She beamed down at the bear as she rubbed her hands through his fur. “You stay good. If you have any trouble, Cassi is a short walk that way. She’ll be able to help you out.” Grabbing her purse, she gave the cub another small nuzzle before she departed, giving the bear a wave as she left.

Oshibana was another new place that Cordelia had never been to. And while every instinct in her body yelled at her to go out and explore, it was hardly the time to walk around the town and take in the sights. The creature had made one heck of a mess of the town, hurting and even managing to kill a few of the townsfolk. The survivors had fled to the center of town in hopes of finding safety in numbers but each night the creature apparently got closer and closer. There was no telling what it would do once it found the majority of the people. Percy had offered to provide her with some equipment to help capture it but she had politely declined most of his suggestions, stating that she had everything she would need. The only thing she asked for was the cage to store the animal for transport after the fact.

She did take some time to look around the town, if only to gather clues to what the creature had done and what its patterns were. No one had an apt description of it but they did know it struck hard and fast whenever it attacked. It seemed to melt into the dark of night and rush its prey without losing the shadows. The town wasn’t necessarily big so it was probably using the alleys and the rooftops to get around without being seen. “Hmm…” Cordelia wondered out loud as she stood at a four way crossing between some buildings. “This is probably the best place to trap it. I’ll need some tranquilizers to slow it down and eventually knock it out but I’ll definitely need a net. If I store the cage nearby, I’ll be able to transport it in there. Yup! Should be easy enough!” With a plan in mind, Cordelia rolled up her sleeves a bit and began preparing her trap.

Night came soon enough and the villagers took sanctuary in their temporary town within a town. There was only one person left; Cordelia, seated at the edge of the town. She had pulled up a rocking chair, her purse slung over her shoulder and a windpipe in between her hands. As the evening chill settled upon the land, she continued to blow merrily into the flute. For the greater part of an hour and a half, she was resigned to sit and play her music, her cheerful tune  a stark contrast against the winter night and the dark that seemed to cover everything. But then she heard it; the sound of massive feet clawing against the ground and a giant body moving in the darkness several yards ahead of her. Her music came to a stop and so did the movement of the beast, her eyes darting about the shadows for some kind of sign of it. But she saw nothing.

Slowly her fingers pried off the holes from the pipe, taking a more combative hold upon the instrument. In one swift motion she stood and waved the pipe in front of her, much like one might wave a wand. From the tip of the instrument emerged a flurry of colorful light, green and red to match the holiday season. The streaks of light split the darkness and illuminated the immediate area. And what Cordelia saw before her caused her breath to catch in her throat. It was a massive lizard of some kind, easily standing several heads above her. It was reared back from the sudden burst of light, its thick green scales reflecting the illumination all the way down its body. Massive talons flexed from its feet as beady, yellow eyes glared down at her. There was dried brown crust around its lips, which could only be blood from its feasting.

Cordelia obeyed her fight or flight, turning down the alleyway she had purposefully set herself beside and racing through. She stuffed the pipe back into her purse and pulled out two different objects; one was her staff and the other was some kind of sled. She tossed the sled onto the ground, landing on its flat surface with her feet. She spun around to slam her staff onto the ground behind her and saw a looming darkness, the creature having caught up to her and now upon her. A heavy explosion detonated from the tip of her staff, sending her flying forward and the creature back on its hind legs as it screeched. Through the alley she skidded, her sled bouncing over the dirt and kicking up a thick cloud behind her. Her eyes remained forward, even as instinct screamed at her to look back. Her blood was pumping loudly in her ears as she focused on the street ahead of her. That’s when she spotted it; the streetlamp on the corner of two passing roads.

She could hear movement behind her, the heavy creature quickly slithering through the streets in pursuit. Just as she came to the corner, she leapt off the sled to the streetlight, wrapping her staff around it so that she captured it between her body and the metal pole. This provided her a means to swing onto the opposing street, pulling her out of the gaping maw of the creature just as it snapped at her. She pulled the staff back and rolled over the ground, sprinting now towards the fourway spot she had been at earlier. She could hear the creature readjusting itself, turning onto the street she had leapt to and chasing her down. It was by some miracle she managed to pass through the intersection before the monster got her. Just as he came upon her, the net sprung up from where it had been buried in the ground, wrapping the monster up tight and sealing the rope structure shut. Cordelia slammed her boot into the ground and spun around, her hand flying to her purse and pulling out a small firearm from it. She took aim and fired it into the rapidly swishing body of the creature, the syringe thick enough to pierce its scales. The monster continued to thrash for a few more minutes before it finally settled, its entire body going limp.

Cordelia stood there, heaving heavily as she watched the lizard creature hanging in her trap. Her heart was beating a mile a minute, her blood pumping through her veins on overdrive. The very real fear of what could have gone wrong played back in her head over and over. But all of that was outdone by the sheer excitement and thrill that overwhelmed her. A vibrant smile broke across her face as she leapt in the air for a silent cheer, doing a small dance in her spot as she celebrated her victory.

Oh yes, R&D was definitely for her. Now to get the big guy into the cage.