-The outskirts of Hargeon Town, early evening-
Blurring into existence on the edge of Hargeon Town, Diana had used her teleport spell to get here from Capital Crocus in a matter of seconds as opposed to the hours it would take to walk here from home. Wearing her casual outfit of purple long-sleeved t-shirt, black skirt with pockets, black thigh-high stockings, and black tennis shoes, Diana looked around her and saw that no one was around except for her. That was good because she wanted to keep her teleport ability a secret for as long as possible so that her enemies could not set up an ambush at a teleport point like seeding the area with landmines or hiding teams of gunmen.
Now that she was part of the physical world again, Diana remembered her mission. She had been hired by a local man named Nathan Jones to watch over his younger sister Natalie, who was a guitarist of great enthusiasm but low skill. After numerous noise complaints from the neighbors Natalie decided to take her practice sessions to the docks so that she would not be complained about nearly as much. It was Diana's job to watch over Natalie and make sure that no harm came to her while she practiced.
Diana pulled the job notice from her right pocket and read the directions to the Jones residence, which was in the decent part of town. The huntress clutched the job notice in her right hand and walked towards the port town to find the Jones residence and meet up with Natalie.
-Twenty-five minutes later, outside the Jones residence-
It took a bit of walking and at least one stop to ask for directions, but Diana had finally located the house on 1314 West Lane and rang the doorbell. Within a minute the door opened and a young man in his twenties with black hair wearing a blue Power Overwhelming band t-shirt, blue jeans, and sandals opened the door.
"
Oh, hi there! I'm Nathan Jones! You must be the mage who answered my job notice!" He greeted her. Diana nodded and presented the job notice. Just then she heard the sound of an out-of-tune electric guitar being played rather badly drifting down the hall. The playing was a screeching noise like a group of bats had flown by. An amplifier was adjusted and moments later the noise went from bad to worse as it now sounded like someone dragging nails down a chalkboard.
"
So you're the one who's going to take my younger sister to the docks and make sure that she's safe while she practices. If you wait here I'll get her so that you can get to the docks before it gets too late." Nathan told her while giving a pained smile as the "nails on chalkboard" sound continued to torment him. Diana nodded and the youth turned around to let his younger sister know that her chaperone had arrived. The awful guitar playing reached a new intensity as it got faster until it reached a level of awful that was hard to describe. After about two minutes and a lot of shouting the guitar finally stopped and Nathan walked back down the hall with a young woman carrying a guitar across her body on a sling and a carrying case for what was presumed to be the amplifier and its cords.
"
Hi there! I'm Natalie Jones!" The young woman introduced herself. She was wearing what looked like a school uniform consisting of a blue jacket, blue skirt, and brown shoes with black pantyhose.
"
Hello, Natalie. Are you ready to go to the docks and practice?" Diana asked the youth. She nodded enthusiastically.
"
Yeah, lady! Let's go!" She said, handing Diana the bulky case and striding past her brother. Diana quickly moved out of the way because the young woman was not going to slow down for anything.
"
Be back in awhile, Nathan!" Natalie said. Nathan gave a slight smile as his sister left the house.
"
Be careful, Natalie!" Nathan called back. Diana hurried to join Natalie, who was walking briskly for the dock without regard for the fact that she had left her chaperone behind. The huntress had to hustle to join the amateur guitarist before she got too far away to easily find.
-At the docks, twenty minutes later-
Diana and Natalie reached the docks just as the sun began to set. Natalie walked through the lower docks and eventually stopped in the middle: the area was empty except for the two of them. Diana stopped about two feet away and waited for instructions.
"
Hey lady! Get my amplifier out 'cause I'm about to rock!" Natalie commanded. Diana wordlessly complied and set the case on the ground, then carefully opened it and brought the amplifier out for the guitarist. Diana carefully got the cords out and Natalie took over from there. She plugged in the guitar and turned on the amplifier, carefully adjusting it so that it did not sound like nails on chalkboard. Diana walked about five feet away from the amplifier and saw Natalie tune the guitar.
"
YEAH! IT'S TIME TO ROCK, HARGEON TOWN!" Natalie shouted to no one in particular. Diana witnessed the young woman pull a blue guitar pick out of her right pocket and take a deep breath. Then the playing started and it was best described as "mediocre." It was a discordant, out-of-tune mess that sounded like either an awful imitation of metal music or a horror movie piece that played whenever the serial killer was murdering someone. Diana was not sure what she was hearing, but after hearing it she now knew that the noise complaints from her neighbors were completely justified.
Diana was also not sure as to whether Natalie had any real musical training like guitar lessons or was self-taught from how-to videos on the Lacrimanet. In any case she would give Natalie the benefit of the doubt because even though the "music" was awful Natalie was giving it her best effort. Diana's situation was also helped by the fact she was being paid to watch over the guitarist while she practiced, so the blonde was willing to endure the awful music for awhile if it meant getting a decent paycheck. The wailing of the guitar continued as Diana watched over Natalie and the sun continued to sink below the horizon and the ocean flowed gently beneath the lower docks.
- Natalie Jones:
[Post Word Count: 1,074]
[Total Word Count: 1,074/2,500]