Job: The Rarest Flower (Malm and Sakura)

The wolves yipped as they all desperately tried to put out the flames. Needless to say, once they had managed to, they were badly burned and injured, quickly running away like the others. Malm kept himself on the defensive for just a few seconds longer. Once he was sure that was it, he allowed himself to sigh in relief.

"Well I'm glad that's over." Malm commented as he sheathed his sword, "We should probably get moving before anymore of them decides to show up. "

He flinched as the adrenaline in his body died down and the pain from his bite wound returned to the forefront of his mind, yet he decided to handle it later as he also remember Sakura's wounded thigh. "We should probably handle that wound of yours first though." Malm added as he plucked some leaves and held them over Sakura's wound. "Remedy" Malm said in almost a whisper. In almost a blink of an eye, the plant life in his hand disappeared and small glow enveloped Sakura's wound as the wound mended itself. "There we go. It should be as good as new. Now let's go find that Moon's Tear."

It was around this time the ferret peaked his head out from Malm's cloak to check the coast was clear. "Well little guy. The coast is clear now. You probably would want to get going." Malm told the ferret as he picked it up and placed it on the ground. The ferret looked at them as if contemplating about something before running down the path some, before looking back at the pair. It was almost as if he wanted them to follow them.

Sakura looked down at her thigh in amazement "Great" she whispered, her leg was completely healed thanks to Malm "Thank you." She felt bad about not being able to do anything to help Malm and his injury and gave him an apologetic smile instead.
"Yes lets go," Sakura said turning around to face the trees once again, she prayed that no more wolves would come... That would be really annoying.
As she began walking she noticed that there was something on the ground by Malms feet. Her first instinct was that it was another wolf... Albeit an extremely small one. As she edged closer she realised that it was infact not a wolf but a small furry ferret.
Sakuras mouth hung open as she saw the ferrets furry little face "...K-kawaii..." she ran over to Malm and petted the little thing before snapping out of her trance.
"Right... Where do you think the flower could be? I'll follow you," As she spoke her eyes kept on darting back and forth between Malm and the ferret.

"Hey Sakura. I know this may sound weird, but I think he wants us to follow him." Malm said as he motioned towards the ferret that was some distance away from them, "I don't know about you, but I don't see any harm following him and seeing what he wants to show us. Might even find the plant we're looking for along the way." With that, Malm began walking towards the Fire Ferret whom, seeing Malm (and most likely Sakura) walking towards him, began leading them somewhere.

As he walked, Malm took the chance to take a closer at his wounded arm, and grimaced at what he saw. "I really hope this doesn't scar, or end up getting infected for that matter." Malm said under his breath as he grabbed a piece of cloth from his pocket and flinched slightly from the jolt of pain as he wrapped it around the bite wound in hopes to stop the bleeding. It was a short term solution, but the best he had on him at the time.

Then, after a little more walking, Malm took notice of something of interest. "Sakura. The Moon's Tear. It's just about 50 feet, well now about 40 feet, in front of us." Malm shared the news with Sakura, knowing she'd be happy to hear that. He then looked curiously over at the little Ferret that has become their guide. Could it be that this ferret was trying to show them where the Moon's Tear was at? It was possible given how he seemed to be smarter then just about any other animal Malm has ever known.

And sure enough, after about 40 feet give or take, they would see the flower they were after. It was very easily noticeable as it possessed silver tear-shaped petals that seemed to shimmer in the moon. The Fire Ferret stood right next to it as he watched the two expectantly. "Thank you little guy. Uhh... Hey Sakura. Do you mind digging it up for me? Kind of don't have any free hands at the moment." Malm asked as he motioned towards his left hand that was currently holding the cloth over his injured right arm, "I would advise you don't just pluck it though. Also try to see if you can somehow pry the whole flower out without killing it. I'm sure the client would prefer having the flower alive."

---

HP: 90%
MP: 80% (3 Posts til regen)


Remedy: 1 Post Cooldown

Seed Barrage: 0 Post Cooldown

Marksman Aim: 0 Posts, 7 Post Cooldown

Sakura thought it was rather curious how the small fire ferret was leading the two mages through the spooky forest however she didnt argue since Malm had just confirmed they were nearing the plant...


"Sure," Sakura said whilst getting down on her hands and knees in front of the insanely beautiful flower. She took a few minutes to stop herself from staring at it, she had never seen something so magical in the form of a plant.
She began to dig with her hands for there was nothing else she could have dug with, if there was she would defiantly be using it. After a minute or so of clawing at the ground Sakuras fingers became caked in mud. However she didnt stop digging for she knew she was getting closer to proving that old man right each time her hand sank into the ground.
"Almost there," She said quietly to Malm, not wanting to disturb any more creatures of the forest.
She had dug under the plant as to make sure it stayed alive, she hadnt snapped a single root and was indeed very happy with herself. She stood up and smiled at Malm, she had finished.

Malm kept a careful watch as Sakura dug up the plant. While there didn't seem to be any obvious threat to them at the moment, Malm wanted to make sure. No point getting caught off guard after all. Fortunately, when Sakura had finished, nothing showed up.

Malm smiled as he saw that Sakura had managed to pull the plant out without damaging it. "Good job. Now I think we should probably be going before something decides to attack us." Malm said before he looked over at the ferret, "I should thank you again. Without your help we would have probably been searching for the plant for who knows how long."

As Malm move to begin their journey leaving the forest, he felt something quickly climb up to his shoulder. He stopped and looked to see the brownish-red ferret on his shoulder, before looking over at Sakura to see what she made of it. "Do you want to come with me?" Malm asked the ferret curiously. The ferret just cocked it's head a little as he looked at Malm before giving what the teen guess was a nod.

"Well I guess that's a yes then." Malm gladly stated as he began walking, glad to have earned himself a new companion.

---

HP: 90%
MP: 80% (2 Posts til regen)


Remedy: 0 Post Cooldown

Marksman Aim: 6 Post Cooldown

Sakura scooped up the plant in her arms with quite a lot of effort then trotted after Malm and the ferret once again. She noticed how much Malm trusted and already liked the small furry guide. He seemed to be treating it like a real person, her was speaking to it and asking it questions.
"This is so heavy," sighed Sakura to herself as she caught up with Malm and the ferret, her arms had started aching bady from the weight of the flower. She was rather embarrassed that the flower was too heavy for her so she didnt ask Malm if he could carry it for her. This wouldnt be fair anyway, seeing as though Malm has a wounded arm still.
Soon the trees around them began to ledden, they were coming to the edge of the spooky forest, Sakuras joy was probably visable at this point. No more dark places or things jumping out at us, she thought happily.
"Nearly there," the fight was beginning to take a toll on Sakura as she walked through the village towards the olf plant shop, her whole body began to ache.

As they walked, Malm took notice that Sakura seemed to be having some trouble carrying the plant. He couldn't blame her for that though. The Moon's Tear was a pretty large plant. Much larger then Malm had initially thought in fact.

"You know, my wound has just about stopped bleeding. So if you need any help carrying that." Malm offered to only have her refuse. He guessed she saw it embarrassing for needing someones help to carry a flower. While he disagreed with that sentiment, he would respect her decision.

As they reached town, Malm took notice that the ferret had seemed to residence inside his cloak. It was a little uncomfortable to Malm, but he believed he could easily get use to it. "I guess I should give you a name." Malm noted as the ferret popped it's head out of the collar of his cloak, "Uhh... I must admit I'm not very good with names. How about Flare? That seems to suit you just nicely." The Fire Ferret didn't seem to give much care as it returned to under Malm's cloak.

Not knowing what to make of that answer, Malm decided to keep with it for now until he could think of a better one for the ferret. Besides they were finally at the pharmacy, which luckily, was still opened. "After you." Malm said as he politely opened the door for Sakura before entering it himself.

This job would soon be over.

"Whos there?" a familiar voice sounded from the shadows of the shop.
"Its just us," Sakura reassured the old man, she tried to put as much kindness into her voice as she could muster up. She didn't really want to get on his bad side again. Not when she had her body ached like it did now.
"Great..." The man replied, ungratefully. He shuffled closer, Sakura could now see his face for he was not hidden by the shadows anymore. He began to scowl at Sakura but then he realized what she was carrying. "My, my... You actually found it..." His skeletal hands reached out and snatched the flower from her hands with apparent ease. Sakura felt extremely embarrassed- an old man like him can carry that stupid plant but she cant!
The old man eyed Sakura with his beady little eyes "Clearly you didnt help that friend of your much, I bet he did all the work on this job." The shop keeper grinned, knowing he had just snapped Sakuras patience.
"Well then!"She said "I believe the job is over now. Goodbye!" And with that she turned and left the shop- not without giving a quick bow to Malm first.

As the two entered enter the shop, they were greeted with a familiar voice. Despite their efforts though, the man did not seem grateful towards the Sakura for giving him the flower, believing that Malm did all the work. This angered Sakura to the point where she just stormed out of the shop saying her goodbye. She didn't even seem to care about her pay for the job. Seeing this, Malm took a deep breath as he stepped up to the counter.

---

"Sakura!" Malm called out as he left the shop about half a minute after Sakura did and running straight towards her. Once he reached her, he paused to catch his breath before pulling something out.

"I managed to convince that man to pay you. Here." He told her as he handed her the jewels, "I know that man can be uhh... frustrating, but that's no reason why you shouldn't be paid. Afterall, if it weren't for your help, I probably wouldn't have made it back myself."

Sakura took the jewels gratefully "Thanks I forgot about this." She shoved the jewels into her bag and sighed in relief. If it weren't for Malm, Sakura would have forgotten all about her reward. She probably would have remembered it later, and then it would have been too late. And that means this job would have been a waste of time if she got no reward. "Thank you," She said again.
"Jobs over now, nothing to worry about."
The sun had set and the streets were now empty and cold apart from the illuminated patches or ground outside houses windows and doors. A shiver ran down Sakuras spine, she thought of the wolves that had jumped out at her and Malm in the spooky forest. At least that wouldn't be happening here in the safety of the town.
"Thank you for all of your help, I couldn't have done this without you," She smiled at Malm and gave a low bow, "I hope we can do more jobs together in the future."
And with that final speech, she turned around and headed off down the shadowy street back to the comfort of her own home. Sakura disappeared into the distance leaving Malm and Flare the fire ferret behind her.

"No problem Sakura. I hope we can do more jobs together too." Malm said with a smile before he walked away. As he did so though, he caught Flare giving him an odd look.

"What?" Malm asked questioningly, even though he had a good idea what Flare's stare meant. Malm sighed as he thought back to his conversation with their client.

---

"Sir. If you must know, she really was a huge help. I probably wouldn't be here now if..."

"I don't want to hear it." The elderly man interrupted, "Look boy, I know your trying to help your girlfriend, but your act isn't fooling anyone. It's obvious from how she struggled to even carry that plant that you were the one who did most of the work. And don't let me get started on that bite wound you have on your arm, but not even a scratch on her. I'm guessing you got yourself hurt trying to protect her because she was in over her head, ehh?"

Malm couldn't believe the man's accusation to the that it momentarily broke Malm out of his gentleman persona. Once he managed to recover from the initial shock, Malm coughed into his closed hand before beginning to speak, "Sir, if I may please interject. Sakura is not my girlfriend. We're just two separate mages who happened to be here for the same job. Nothing more. Also this wound on my arm is from my own foolishness, not hers. So if there was anyone who deserves credit for this job, it's her not me."

"Look son, my patience is beginning to wear thin, so understand this. I'm not paying the girl for doing nothing and that's final." The elderly man said before pulling some jewels from the register and putting them on the table, "Now here's the reward money I owe you. Now if you don't mind, I have some business to take care of with this plant." Seeing that there was no way he could convince the man otherwise, Malm picked up the reward and left the store.

"Sakura!" Malm called out as he then began to ran after Sakura.

---

"Ugh... That man really knows how to get under ones skin. I don't think I've ever felt such frustration towards a person in my life." Malm admitted before sighing, "But what else was I suppose to do? There was no way I was going to convince that man to pay Sakura as well, and attempting to do so could of voided my reward as well. Besides, I'm pretty sure Sakura needed the pay more then me. I guess a benefit of being guildless is not having to worry about paying for housing."

Malm then stretched as he gave a big yawn before looking at the ferret on his shoulder again. "Why do I have the feeling you have no care for anything I'm saying right now? Ohh... Nevermind. Let's see if we can find ourselves a cheap inn to stay in. I'm beat."

With that said, Malm began his search for an inn.

[exit]