Retrieve My Beads! [Private Mission: Sendo | Natsumi]

Sendo's attack was just a bit too early, he could tell as the blade moved through the air he swung too early. The creature saw the attack coming and sped up to avoid it but did it too much. It was flying right at the side of the blade. It didn't have the time to dodge so it did the only thing it could. It covered its upper body and face best it could with its arms. It blocked the hit sure, but Sendo almost lost his composure as he watched it hit the side of his sword and slide off like a bug. It hit the ground, wings twitching like a bug that just flew into something. She wasn't dead just stunned and probably in pain.

No matter what it was, it was defenseless now twitching on the ground. His face was flat and emotionless, no anger, no sadness. No emotions what so ever showed. He wasn't happy about having to kill this creature, but he also wasn't sad. It was appropriate to say he didn't care either way, after all this was the cycle of life, it just so happens that life for this little creature decided that it would end its cycle by his hand. He picked his sword up and positioned it above the creature, closing his eyes and plunging the blade downwards as fast as he could so it wouldn't have to suffer.

When the blade bit in, not a sound was made. He decided he wouldn't make a sound either, pulling his sword out of the ground, he shook the blood off and then sheathed the blade. Something caught his eye as he sheathed his sword, a small bead was resting in a patch of grass near where he had executed the creature. He bent down to pick it up and dusted it off, it sparkled nicely but he wondered just why exactly that creature had been carrying it. At least he assumed it had it since there wasn't any sight of it, so he guessed that when it hit his sword it dropped this out of where ever it had been hiding it. He shrugged and pocketed it, it was nice and leaving it behind didnt feel right.

Natsumi had successfully plunged her sword deep into the beetle's back, as he had tried to block it with his wings, but that was a stupid idea on the beetle's part. Natsumi sat there watching as the blood flew onto the grass and the sound of the beetle's death by her blade had been a loud crunching noise.

Natsumi looked over at Sendo and she could tell that he felt bad for killing that pixie, even though his face showed no emotion. She could tell because he seemed to hesitate killing her, but there was absolutely no point to it.

"Are you sad because you had to kill a bug? Or is it because she's a woman?" Natsumi said with a chuckle, as she felt that that was a silly reason to be sad.

Natsumi outstretched her arms and let the daggers she had requipped vanish into the pocket dimension in which all of her requip items are stored, then she turned around to walk to the client's house and she accidentally bumped into him, as he stood right before her.

Sendo looked up to meet eyes with Natsumi, saying something about him being sad about having killed the creature that lay before them. She even chuckled to add to the insult. He didn't think she'd be so bold as to say something so stupid. Making light of death didn't matter to him, it didn't mean one thing to him. What insulted him was her assumption that he was sad because he didn't revel in killing it. His mouth kept flat, he shot her a stare that would make even the toughest warriors shake and spoke in a different voice than usual, his tone was deeper and held more strength than it had ever before.

"Don't insult me girl, I have no respect for anyone who enjoys killing the defenseless..." He went silent for a moment and his eyes changed slightly, they glowed red, like fresh blood dancing down a blade. He grinned and his stare changed and became more menacing than before if that was even a possibility. "There isn't any fun in killing defenseless beings, those who enjoy it are just weak... Keh heh heh heh heh..." His voice trailed off and his eyes slowly dimmed back to normal.

He breathed out, his breath hot enough for him to see wafting up into the trees. Then he cracked his neck to the side and walked towards the gate behind Natsumi. An old man that stood hunched forward, using an old weathered wooden cane to make his way around. He was dressed as you would assume an old mage would dress, in long gray robes that were tattered and torn around the hem and the bottom near the ankles from use. He had long gray hair, and it wasn't hard to tell by the way he was looking around that he couldn't see very well in his old age. Sendo watched as Natsumi walked forward without paying any attention to where she was going. She was walking right for the poor old man and he wasn't close enough to do anything to stop it. She collided with him and sent him falling backwards toward the ground, his cane believing it could fly and shooting towards the open air.

Sendo may not have been close enough to stop her, but he caught up quick enough to scoop up the old man with one arm and set him back upright. The old man was scared but like any good wizard, the only real way Sendo could tell this was by the pulse he could feel from the old mans protruding veins in his arms. His heart rate was as normal as they come. The old man hastily licked his lips to moisten them so that he could speak. His voice matched his appearance, but it held strong.

"Who are you people, and what are you doing in my home?!"the old man looked at Sendo, trying to make contact with his eyes even if he couldn't fully see them himself. Sendo spoke in his normal voice, with no hits of softness or pity. There wouldn't have been any greater insult to an aging wizard than to show them pity.

"We're wizards from the guild Eclipse Soul, I apologize for my companion. She didn't mean to walk into you im sure, she just wasn't paying attention". The old man closed his eyes in understanding and nodded his head slightly, then spoke again.

"Could either of you fetch me my cane please I can't see the best in my old age and without it I can't get around very well". The old man hadn't mentioned anything about the job yet, but Sendo was patient and looked to Natsumi with a glance like a nudge, as if to say. You should probably be the one to give it to him and apologize.

Sendo stared at Natsumi, and his eyes had been as sharp as knives. Natsumi stared back at Sendo with an expressionless face and eyes that go just as deep as his, smirking a bit as he said he has no respect for anyone who enjoys killing defenseless beings, as they are weak.

"Weak, eh?" Natsumi said with a sadistic chuckle as her eyes started to illuminate with a hue of red.

She noticed that both Sendo's and her eyes glow a red color when they are in a fit of anger. She turned to walk away, and as soon as she did she accidentally bumped into an old man, which caused her eyes to dim down a bit.

"I'm sorry!" Natsumi exclaimed, but in no time she noticed that Sendo had ran over to the old man and catched him only to set him back upright. The man had wanted his cane and Sendo had looked at her as if to tell her that she should be the one to get it, so Natsumi scurried over and gave him his cane after picking it up from the ground, apologizing again while she was at it.

The old man took the cane from Natsumi and held onto Sendo while getting his balance back, thanking them both for helping him back up. He walked over to one of the lanterns that were glowing around the area and straightened up. His voice changed from what it was a moment ago. It sounded stronger, like that of a much younger man almost though it still carried its age.

"I'm glad the pair of you turned out to be good people and not intruders. I would have had to deal with you otherwise" He opened the strange lantern up and Sendo got a glimpse of the inside, there was no flame just a floating ball of fire like light. He took something out of it and turned around to face him, his eyes no longer glassy like they had been. They were the eyes of a thinking man who could probably see perfectly. Sendo watched as he held his hand out and a large shadow swooped down. Sendo's hand twitched when he saw it, but he fought his instincts back and kept his hand where it was, he was in no danger yet. A bird with large black wings that resembled a giant crow landed on the mans hand, Sendo couldn't imagine how he could hold his hand up with that massive creature on it. It chirped happily and pecked at whatever it was that the man had in his hand then turned its eyes to Sendo and Natsumi. Its eyes weren't right, they had magic in them that much even a novice could see.

"This is one of my summons, had you two turned out to be intruders, well lets say you wouldn't have lasted long". His eyes moved up to the walls and many of the birds just like the one on his hand were around the perimeter looking down at them. It was a chilling thought but then the old man chuckled and waved his other hand with his cane. The birds disappeared and he sighed with relief.

"Its very taxing in my old age to keep such things around for long, which is why I need you both. I was experimenting with some new summoning a few days ago and accidentally summoned three Pixies who carried off with magical beads that I need for my research". Sendo reached into his pocket and felt for the bead that he had picked up, that creature he had killed must have been a Pixie then, well at least he knew that now. The bead it dropped must have been one of the ones the old man was looking for. At least he knew what the creatures looked like.

Sendo nodded to the old man "We'll get started right away". Sendo bowed his head and began back off into the woods again on a separate path. He assumed Natsumi would follow behind him, probably wondering why he seemed rushed to find them. Truthfully it was because he wanted to get the mission over with, especially after the delays they had getting there.

The man had summoned many crows who were ready to attack at any given moment if the two of them were intruders, and if the man had commanded them to attack. His tone of voice seemed much younger, and his eyes seemed to have brightened. He must have been pulling off an act of being weak so he can trick them if they were intruders, and then attack at any given moment.

After the man had discussed the details of the mission, Sendo had handed the man one of the beads that he had retrieved from the pixies, then wandered off into the forest, and Natsumi had quickly scurried to catch up with him. He was walking so fast because his legs were much longer than hers, and it was difficult for her to keep up the pace.

Natsumi had wondered what had Sendo in such a rush, but she kept to herself and just quickly followed behind him.

The member 'Natsumi Mizuki' has done the following action : Dice Rolls

'Monster Dice' :

Sendo could hear howling again, coming closer and closer to them. He wondered if this time the wolves or dogs or whatever the howls were coming from would finally make an appearance and he was right, they were and did. He could see them slowly growling and coming towards them phasing in and out of existence every once in a while. He grinned at them and their vicious curved fangs, it looked like he was finally going to have some fun. He pulled the trigger on his sword and drew it, flourishing it in the air and roaring with a smile on his face at the dogs. To his disappointment, they ran off back into the forest, and here he thought maybe he'd finally get something fun to do. He frowned and placed the back of his sword on his shoulder. His roar would probably attract more creatures though thankfully, so maybe he would have some fun anyway.

The member 'SendoKasai' has done the following action : Dice Rolls

'Monster Dice' :

As Natsumi and Sendo had delved deeper down the path, Natsumi had heard deep growls coming from within the forest. The wolves that had emerged from the forest had been different than usual wolves. They were fading in and out of existence, turning invisible every few seconds. Sendo had resumed the fighting stance yet again, and then he unsheathed his sword and let out a ear piercing roar, which in return scared the wolves away.

Natsumi walked forward, completely oblivious to the face that more monsters may be attracted to them, considering the fact that Sendo just made that loud of a roar. As Natsumi continued just a few feet ahead of Sendo, she noticed that there was rustling in the brush, which in turn ended up to be two more of those ghost hounds as well as a beetle. Natsumi wished that there would be a monster that was more exciting than these ones.

Sendo frowned seeing more of the dogs coming out of the woods with one of the beetles bounding around with them. He was getting bored of this already, he needed some way to get rid of the dogs. He spotted a rock on the ground and picked it up, then he sliced a low hanging dry branch off of a nearby tree. He quickly covered it in moss and then struck his blade and the rock together until the sparks coated the moss and lit his makeshift torch on fire. He put his sword back onto his shoulder and waved the torch around with his other hand. The dogs growled but disappeared off back into the woods. It was a good thing they were easily scared he guessed, it saved them time having to fight them.

He continued walking down the path, they still needed to find those pixies, hopefully it wouldn't take too long.

The member 'SendoKasai' has done the following action : Dice Rolls

'Monster Dice' :

Sendo had been more intelligent than Natsumi had thought, as he had made a homemade torch and then proceeded to lunge towards the ghost hounds with the torch in his hand, leaving them running away and whimpering in fear. Natsumi smiled, because slowly but surely they were finding the enemy's weaknesses.

Sendo and Natsumi had continued down the path, and then down the path came three more hounds, fading in and out of existence. Disappearing and then reappearing. It really hurt Natsumi's eyes to focus on them. Natsumi decided to make a loud pitched screech emit from her throat, which was completely different than Sendo's thunderous roar. She then giggled like a child when she saw that they had wimpered again, and ran away with their tails tucked. She continued down the path, knowing that Sendo would follow.

The member 'Natsumi Mizuki' has done the following action : Dice Rolls

'Monster Dice' :

Sendo waved his makeshift torch at more dogs as they approached, swinging it near their dripping jaws. They growled and snapped at the flame but still backed off back into the woods, probably wanting to go after easier pray than this. As Sendo stood back up, one of the pixies came barreling out of the forest and clawed the side of his face. He moved his head to the side without a sound, a small trail of blood oozing from the small cut. The cut stung but it didn't hurt that much and it wouldn't scar. He swung around to get hit by a branch that the pixie had pulled back. He stumbled back and shook his face, spitting leafs and dust out. In his commotion he dropped the torch he had made into a small puddle near the path. He frowned and bit the inside of his lip, swinging his sword down toward the pixie.

OOC: First roll since roll system change (for personal reference)

The member 'SendoKasai' has done the following action : Dice Rolls

'Block Dice' :

As Sendo swings his sword at the pixie, Natsumi walks over to the beetle that emerged from the woods after the pixie and stomped on its back, the shell and life itself crumpling and crackling under her feet as we speak. The beetle had attempted to create the obnoxious ringing noise from its wings to cause her to fall into hallucinations, but had utterly failed before she had crunched it and killed it. The blood had surrounded the beetle, and spurted out onto Natsumi's boots and leg, as well as on the fresh green grass. The crimson dots accentuated the green grass in a way, the splatters and dots colliding and creating a collage effect.

Natsumi gracefully steps off the beetle and then turns towards Sendo.

"So, you have the other bead?" She asked, hoping that this mission can end soon, as she is starting to feel weary and tired. She flashed an innocent smile, hoping that Sendo wasn't assuming that Natsumi wanted to discard his company.

Sendo's sword hit the damp ground with a squish, the damp earth accepting the tip of the blade in but not easily relinquishing it back to him. Sendo pulled his blade free of the earth and shook the dirt off in anger, the pixie giggling and continuing to flaunt itself around him to taunt him. The cut on his face was starting to dry so he quickly wiped the blood off with his bare arm and closed his eyes. A voice came to his mind, but he didn't know who's it was or when he had heard it. But he knew it had to have been from his past.

“Young man, you must let go of your anger. When you allow it to control your strikes, you become sloppy, disorganized and are destined to lose. You must release this anger and keep your other self at bay so that it cant control you... Take a deep breath boy, breathe in through the nose all of the rage and hate that you feel... Then breathe out through your mouth, slowly and allow the feelings to flow out into the open air and let yourself become balanced...”

The voice trailed off in his mind, even if he couldn't remember the event that it came from it was still good advice. While the pixie danced around him, pulling at his hair and scratching at him to get him even more angry. He did as he had been instructed, he planted his blade into the earth by its tip and breathed in deeply. Then after a second or two, he breathed out and calmed himself. Then opening his eyes, he picked up the blade and made an aimed strike at the aggravating creature that taunted him. The pixie was quick but it couldn't dodge completely, the tip of the blade severing a small portion of its wing. The creature spiralled into the ground in a spiral, something that made him pity it more than hate it. Sendo watched as it scrambled around the ground in a frenzy trying to get away from him. He just frowned and picked it up by its feet. It clawed at his hand but he didn't care, placing his sword back down he flipped through the creatures makeshift pockets until he found the bead he was looking for.

Sendo pocketed the bead and placed the pixie in one of the trees on a branch so it would be safe from the dogs in its wounded state. Then he turned and picked his blade up, shaking the dirt from it and sheathed it. The lack of a torch would make getting around a bit harder with those stupid dogs around, but he could probably find other ways to scare them off. Natsumi asked him if he had the other bead and he shrugged as he walked down the path in search of the last pixie, talking over his shoulder to her. “One left, don't worry. We'll be parting ways soon enough” he smirked slightly as he walked though he knew she couldn't see and that made it all the better.

(first post since new new combat system, for personal reference)

OOC: Man its been a long time, cant wait to get to posting again.

"It's not that I want to part ways. Your company is definitely enjoyable, I just need to rest," Natsumi said, attempting to explain herself to Sendo as he walked further down the trail, not wasting a second to look back. Natsumi felt a bit of sorrow and guilt after she had attempted to rush him and the mission itself, wanting to refrain from him feeling left out or self-conscious.

Natsumi sprinted ahead to catch up with Sendo after she was left awkwardly standing still in the middle of the trail. Once Natsumi was slightly caught up with Sendo she had attempted to explain herself again, this time in a rush, feeling slightly out of breath.

"I really do enjoy your company. Maybe we should go on another mission once I am well rested and ready to withstand longer hours of walking, fighting, and such. Or we could even just casually talk." Natsumi hurriedly explained then immediately regretted the last sentence. She knew that with Sendo's sarcastic mind he would misinterpret that and assume that she was asking him on a date. Natsumi sighed, knowing that when she's anxious she jumbles her words up and there's really nothing she could do about it.

Sendo heard Natsumi yell after him about how she hadn't meant what she said the way he took it or something. He heard her hurriedly try to explain herself, her voice slowly fading as he got further away. He could hear her feet trampling along the damp ground with muffled splats as she raced to catch up to him. She rushed her words out as she followed behind him and he smiled slightly and spun around. He gently placed his hand on her shoulder to stop her from walking further and smiled slightly at her.

“Relax Natsumi, take a breath before you end up knocking yourself out”. He took his hand away and resumed walking and added with a slight snicker.

“And if you wanted to ask me on a date, do it sometime we aren't working Cupcake”. He didn't know at first why he called her that, but it didn't matter that much. He silenced himself when he noticed a fairy floating about ten or so feet away in between some trees.
“Hey Cupcake, you get this one, you need to get some more practice anyway and I can't be taking them all myself”
He stood by a tree, but didn't try to hide himself, the trees near him were too thin for him to just stand behind them and besides stealth wasn't required here.

OOC: I'm not sure if were still required to use the monster dice since the pm went out that the dice werent required anymore. If we are I apologize for skipping it.

As Natsumi had neared Sendo, he had spun around and gently laid his hand on her shoulder. He had soothingly told her to take a breath, and in that moment she began to relax and breathe a little more slowly. Sendo had taken that just as she thought he would, which in turn led her to protest. "Hey! I'm not.." Her voice trailed off when she realized he called her cupcake. Red splotches appeared on her face because that had caused her to blush and become slightly flustered.

She looked in the distanced and noticed there was a fairy after Sendo had told her that it was her turn to take care of the fairy. "Requip; The Blood Huntress," Natsumi said with her blush still apparent on her cheeks. She yet again requipped a red cape, making her look a bit like Red Riding Hood, along with a bow made entirely of ice. The ice had crept it's way up her wrist as well, having no effect on her.

Natsumi shot an ice arrow towards the pixie, watching it hit her abdomen with percision, causing her to hurl towards the ground. Natsumi bent down to pick the bead up after she had walked over to the location, and held it up towards Sendo. "I did it!" Natsumi said with a giggle, slightly jogging back towards Sendo to show him so they could walk back to the man's house and safely return the beads to his possession.

Sendo held his hand over his mouth, he made her blush by having called her cupcake. Despite her wanting to protest about not having meant to imply she wanted to ask him out, she started blushing pretty fast. He watched her change into a little red riding hood outfit, was she getting ready for a parade or something? She took out a bow that glimmered in the dim light and fired an arrow through the pixie. It was quick and probably painless, nice and effective. Sendo smiled slightly at her and started walking towards the house of the person who gave them the job.

“Come on little red riding cupcake, lets get going so we can get the reward and head home”
He waved his hand behind him to gesture for her to follow behind him. He wanted to get home too so he could have some tea and think over his memories. Maybe it would help to calm him and help with remembering things.

Natsumi had noticed that even though Sendo acts tough, he also had a bit of grace added to him. The way he walks, talks, as well as moves. Any small gesture is graceful, but then again rough in a sense. He has the body of someone that has been through so much, but he also carries himself well. He is very agile and swift.

Natsumi followed behind him as they walked up to the cottage from the trail, weary and practically dreading the next footsteps they have to take. Though, considering they are mages, they still have to have finely tuned senses, considering anybody could be out to kill them.

Natsumi took the lead in front of Sendo, skipping a little bit in front of him, as she slightly laughed at her impression of little red riding hood. She knocked on the door in a bit of a melody, then stepped behind Sendo when the old man had approached out of the door, looking a bit hopeful, considering the fact that they have his beads.

Natsumi seemed to be in a very light mood now for some reason, but he couldn't factor out as to why. He watched as she skipped ahead of him down the path, trying to build up her red riding hood persona maybe? When they got into the grotto that held the old mans house, she knocked on the door in tune, she was acting like a school girl that just got her first kiss. How do I know what that looks like? He asked himself rubbing his head for a moment while Natsumi was looking away. As the door creeked open his hand went back to his side. The old man from earlier emerged blinking a few times, most likely because he had just been awoken from a nap.
“Welcome back children, were you able to recover my magic beads from those awful pixies?”
Sendo nodded and reached into his pocket, handing the two he had into the open waiting palm of the elderly man. The man looked at him slightly puzzled as to why there were only two beads. Sendo gently nudged Natsumi and whispered for her to give the man the bead she found. Then they would be able to collect that reward and head home before the sun went down, if it wasnt already. Time was hard to perceive in the forest, with the thick canopy and luminescent fungi, who knew what time of day it was in here.

Natsumi blinked when Sendo and the older man had looked at her in a confused manner. She didn't know what they had wanted, as she had dazed off into dissociation for a little bit. She realized that she had held the possession of his last bead, and she smiled, blushing a bit. "My deepest apologies," Natsumi said as she had bowed slightly with her hand up to her chest, proceeding to hand him the final bead that would match his collection. The older man had granted them their reward, shutting the door behind him after he had gotten what he had wanted.

"It was really lovely meeting you, and rather pleasant to have your company," Natsumi had stated after she had turned to meet Sendo's gaze. She smiled lightheartedly, then looked down and kicked a few rocks to the side. "We should do another mission at some point in time, or, well, like I said, we could always just have a casual hang out." Natsumi paused, and then chuckled when she realized how formal she was making this conversation. "Anyways, to make it short and informal, I just wanted to say that we should probably see each other some other time soon." She smiled fondly and started to walk down the trail.