Horridon x zPepe 1x1

[zPepe]

◤╱◢ l ◣╲◥ l ◤╱◢ l ◣╲◥ l ◤╱◢ l ◣╲◥ l ◤╱◢ l ◣╲◥ l ◤╱◢ l ◣╲◥ l ◤╱◢ l ◣╲◥ l NAMA SAYA...

Upon hearing Alice's compliance, Lucy couldn't help but sigh in relief. It was hard to deny the fact that the weapon was tired. Physically, she couldn't do much because she was still injured, but mentally, her day was rather tiresome. Before Alice could pull herself away from her, Lucy managed to sneak in a loving kiss on the top of her head. Once they were finally apart, Lucy took Alice's lead and began to change into more comfortable clothes. Lucy stood up and grabbed her own clothes out of the closet before she stripped to put them on. Following Alice's lead, she dropped her street clothes onto a pile on the hardwood floor. Her typical sleep wear consisted of a pair of boxers and a tank top, which was exactly what she was wearing presently. The meister joined her weapon on her bed and pulled the covers over them both. Her arms wrapped around Alice's smaller body while her head rested on the soft pillow. Just before falling asleep, Lucy heard Alice make one request. With sleep looming over her, Lucy let her physical needs take over her emotional ones. The answer would have to come in the morning, for the fifteen-year-old was sound asleep with her partner in her arms.

With the passing night brought daylight, which brought Ms. Tengku to wake from her rather deep slumber. The light that crept into the room between the slits of the shades slowly brought her to consciousness. As her senses kicked into action, she could hear the sound of an alarm become increasingly louder. She turned her head to face the obnoxious noise and slammed her hand on the top of the device to bring silence to the room once again. The new day brought the promise of yet another day of school, which Lucy and Alice both dreaded, especially after a night they had. Lucy slowly pushed herself to sit up and rubbed the morning stars out of her eyes. With her free hand, she reached out to her side, and began to gently shake the sleeping girl beside her. "C'mon Alice," she said briefly before standing up from the bed. It was time for her daily routine to begin. Since Lucy was typically awake first, she was usually the first one into the bathroom in the morning. It was especially helpful for her now that she had bandages she needed to replace every day. Once she finished getting ready, Lucy did just that. Before putting on her over garments, Lucy sat on the edge of her bed in her bra and panties as she re-wrapped her injuries with fresh bandages. The three remaining injuries weren't serious anymore, however the meister didn't want to risk anything at the cost of her being able to be active again.

Showered, bandaged, and clothed, Lucy walked into the living room to kill time while Alice finished getting ready. An idea suddenly popped into her mind, and Lucy found herself walking to the front door. She opened the door and picked up a single key on the hooks by the door as she stepped outside. She then turned immediately to open their mailbox. Lucy pulled the two envelopes from the box and closed it before locking it back up. Looking down, she looked at the senders of both pieces of mail. One was from the school, bearing the symbol of Shinigami in the center and as the wax seal design. The other, however, was from someone Lucy didn't expect to receive mail from. The meister walked back inside the apartment and set the key back on the hook before closing the door. Without hesitation, she then opened the second envelope and began to read the script written on it. Reaching the end of the letter, Lucy couldn't help but smile. She looked up to see Alice preparing to leave and said, "Ma and Pa sent a letter. Apparently the farm is doing okay and Ma is working on a winter pelt for me."

[Horridon]

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❦xxShe had been happy to sleep through the morning light filtering through the blinds, and she had been happy to sleep through the alarm. However, it was more difficult for her to sleep through her Meister rousing her. Slowly she sat up and regretted it. With consciousness she felt the awful nausea brought by the massive amounts of stress from last night's events. She watched as Lucy disappeared into the bathroom and sighed. It was going to be a rough day and she was less than excited. More than anything she wished she could lay down and go back to sleep. But it was getting to a point where she didn't feel right missing anymore school. Lucy had made her stay home the day following her last panic attack and that combined with the amount of school she had missed for injuries and the week they got when Lucy arrived late. She wasn't about to miss anymore school if she was calling the shots.

Once her Meister was out of the bathroom, Alice forced herself out of bed and managed to not stumble her way into the bathroom. Exhausted, she streamlined her routine as much as possible. Her shower took less than five minutes and it was as she stepped out of the shower that she saw herself in the mirror. She was pale, much more so than usual. There were dark circles under her eyes, giving her eyes a dark, sunken quality. She looked about as great as she felt. She knew she wasn't going to feel any better as the day progressed. It was going to be a day where she was going to get by with the bare minimum because anything more felt like it would kill her. The Weapon dried off and combed out her hair but didn't bother putting it up the way she usually did.

She emerged from the bathroom wrapped in her towel and shuffled to the closet to pick out something to wear. Her wardrobe for the day was a hoodie that was probably five sizes too large and a pair of old sweatpants that were also a bit too large. Hidden beneath her hoodie she wore the carved necklace her father had sent, something she wore everyday since receiving it. When Alice walked into the living room, she was greeted with the sight of Lucy sitting on the couch with mail. She managed to smile as the Meister told her about the letter from her family. She sat down on the couch next to Lucy and managed to tease her good-naturedly. "How am I going to recognize you if you aren't wearing this?" She tugged lightly at the fringe of the pelt her partner wore everyday. Looking up from the pelt up to to Lucy's face she felt herself unable to look away, momentarily overwhelmed by her own emotions. She was so impossibly drawn to this girl, finding everything about her beautiful and incredible. She loved her in every sense of the word, as a friend as well as a romantic partner and as her Meister.

This was what she hated about the aftermath of her anxiety attacks. She was emotionally raw, easily overwhelmed by her own emotions. Suddenly, she leaned forward and kissed Lucy hard, her hands holding the Meister's cheeks as she lost herself in the moment. Alice kissed her partner passionately but just as quickly as it had started, she pulled away just far enough so their lips barely brushed. She opened her eyes again to read the other girl's expression, neither advancing nor retreating. She would let Lucy decide what happened next and would revel in the closeness.

[zPepe]

◤╱◢ l ◣╲◥ l ◤╱◢ l ◣╲◥ l ◤╱◢ l ◣╲◥ l ◤╱◢ l ◣╲◥ l ◤╱◢ l ◣╲◥ l ◤╱◢ l ◣╲◥ l NAMA SAYA...

After reading the letter, Lucy couldn't help but be excited. Her mother had only made one coat, and it was the piece of clothing that she wore every single day. The pelt wasn't exactly traditional, as it was worn mainly by western cowboys and the like, but it helped the meister as she was growing up. Being born into a rural area meant being raised in a farm. At the coming age of ten, Lucy was put to work on the farm to help her parents. Because most of her day consisted of working outside throughout the whole year, she was in need of sturdy clothes. Her mother decided to make her the leather jacket as soon as some of Lucy's shirts started to wear out. For five years, Lucy has worn the jacket every day for both utility and sentiment. During the colder months on the farm, Lucy would simply wear a sweater with the leather jacket over it. Having a new winter jacket would be tremendously helpful, as her current one was already showing signs of retirement. Upon hearing Alice's comment, she chuckled and gently shoved the girl's shoulder with her own. "Just follow the sounds of me teasing you, and you'll recognize me no problem," the meister teased.

Lucy folded up the letter and tossed it onto the coffee table in front of her. Sitting back against the couch, she turned her head to look at Alice. She simply wanted to ask her if she was ready to depart on their way to Shibusen, but found the girl staring rather intently toward her. Lucy's eyebrows furrowed in confusion. She playfully waved her hand in front of Alice's face and teased, "Anyone home?" Suddenly, all expressions on Lucy's face were wiped clean as she found herself being pulled down to meet the lips of her partner. Eyes wide at first slowly closed as her body gave into the hard kiss. When Alice's pulled away, however, Lucy leaned forward slightly and was met with disappointment when she felt nothing but air. Soon after, she felt Alice's lips lightly brushing against her own. The burst of passion was enough to set Lucy off. Her body craved Alice, and she made no hesitation to make it known.

[******** school," she said before quickly returning the rough gesture. Lucy's hands made it to Alice's cheeks and pulled her close into a hard kiss. The meister was well aware that she couldn't afford to miss any more school days. It was bad enough she was a month late. Put that on top of her medical leaves for the few weeks she had been in Death City, missing school was not an option anymore. If Lucy had been living alone like she had planned, she would be on her way to school right now, but there was a gorgeous, loving girl in front of her that she just couldn't ignore. The fifteen-year-old had the same hormones as any other teenager. It was hard not to act upon her feelings especially after a move that Alice pulled. Slowly, Lucy leaned forward as she continued to kiss her girlfriend. Once they were laying down on the couch, she trailed her kisses along Alice's jaw and down her neck, eventually reaching her collar bone. Her teeth nipped at her skin as her hands moved all over her partner's body. No more words had to be said, Lucy's body did all the talking. She had never been this rough with Alice. Overcome by her feelings, the meister wouldn't stop her advances unless her weapon stopped her.

[Horridon]

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❦xxOf course part of her knew that neither of them, especially Lucy, should be missing anymore school. At the same time, she remembered her mother's advice about her mental health. She would always say to the young Weapon in the aftermath of an episode that she wouldn't go to school if she had the flu. Her mother had always stressed that her mental health was just as important as her physical health. It was a difficult thing to remember considering most audiences weren't nearly as understanding. The last thing Alice should have done was kissed Lucy, at least as hard and desperately as she did. The damage was done, however, and the both of them were hopelessly wrapped up in a desperation the likes of which only teenage hormones could create.

The passion with which her Meister resumed the kiss was infectious, quickly spiraling out of control. There was no blushing, no fumbling or embarrassment this time. She had become well versed in this interaction, comfortable and at home even while caught in the moment. The feel of Lucy's lips and the taste of her tongue had become two of Alice's favorite things. The last time they had gotten this caught up was after being released from the hospital, and as before Lucy had control. Briefly Alice had managed to take control last time before they were so regrettably interrupted. Today, however, the Weapon was happy to let the dark haired girl have control. She happily allowed Lucy to lay the both of them down. She tangled their legs, anchoring them together. It was reassuring to feel her partner's weight on top of her, the closeness and the fever pitch they were simultaneously achieving.

As lips began to wander, Alice tilted her head to the side, giving Lucy as much access as she could. Her breath hitched at the attention paid to her collarbone, the sensation of teeth grazing against her skin. She reached up and ran her hands through her partner's hair, tangling her fingers in the dark strands. She knew part of her would be happy to let Lucy go as far as she wanted, but there would also be a part of her that would get scared rather quickly. And more than that, she wanted to make sure this was something her Meister really wanted to do. There was a good chance that if they went too far too quickly someone would end up regretting something. And, somehow, she found it difficult to believe that Lucy would be happy to let themselves get too out of control when she still hadn't been able to say "I love you" yet. It was this reality that helped sober Alice up a bit. "Lucy." The Weapon untangled her fingers from her girlfriend's hair and placed them on her cheeks again to help gain her attention. "Lucy, slow down. I don't want you to do something you'll regret."

[zPepe]

◤╱◢ l ◣╲◥ l ◤╱◢ l ◣╲◥ l ◤╱◢ l ◣╲◥ l ◤╱◢ l ◣╲◥ l ◤╱◢ l ◣╲◥ l ◤╱◢ l ◣╲◥ l NAMA SAYA...

Lucy's feelings began to overwhelm her. Her hormones overrode her rational thought as she continued to ravage Alice's skin. It was the first relationship for both parties, so they were playing it by ear. Times like these were experiences that needed to happen in order for them to learn and adjust their behavior accordingly. Had it not been for Alice, Lucy would've easily continued her advances. The feeling of Alice's fingers through the meister's hair made Lucy go crazy with lust. A warm, familiar sensation suddenly struck Lucy as she found Alice's hands on her cheeks while she called out her name. Almost instantly, as if Lucy was a new puppy that was scolded for the first time, she stopped. Her head shot up as she looked up at Alice, a rather embarrassed and dumbfounded look on her face. The moment she realized what she had done, Lucy pushed off Alice and said, "Right." She repeated the word rather frantically, obviously showing her flustered embarrassment. She then replaced the word with a couple, quick 'sorry's. All the while the meister rapidly apologized, she pushed herself off the smaller girl and simply sat on the couch next to her. After she then realized how flustered she was being, her embarrassment peaked a new high and she felt a red tint burning her cheeks. In an attempt to calm herself down, Lucy took in a deep breath and let out a long sigh before saying, "Sorry love. Got a little carried away there."

Lucy stood up and walked in front of Alice while she was on the couch. She then leaned down and gave her a sweet kiss on her forehead to seal the apology. It was for the best that the two didn't go any further than just neck kisses. The two had only been dating a couple weeks and their relationship moved astonishingly fast. Alice was right, if Lucy had kept going she was inevitably going to regret it later. In Lucy's eyes, the whole relationship seemed somewhat unfair for Alice. She felt as if it was one-sided all because Alice loves her and she doesn't quite feel the same yet. The meister simply needed more time with Alice. She could see and feel herself slowly progressing to dropping that famous three word phrase, but she wanted to be more than one hundred percent certain that she felt that way. If there was anything that Lucy didn't want to regret, it was to tell Alice she loved her and not mean it. The dark-haired girl couldn't bear doing something so cruel to the girl, giving her false happiness like that. For now, Lucy had to settle with the one-sidedness of her relationship with Alice.

As much as Lucy wanted to just spend time with Alice at home, school beckoned. It was for the best after all, that the two attended as much school as they could. The Lucy/Alice partnership was the very last to be formed, causing them to be behind on almost everything except their studies. All the other first year students at Shibusen have already completed at least five missions. It wasn't a good reputation for the two, but it couldn't be helped. Lucy could only hope that more missions would pop up on the mission board at school. The beginning of the year marked when all the small missions were up for grabs to get first years accustomed to field work. It wasn't until the middle of the year where there would be long-term missions available. Even then, first-years could only be approved for so many higher leveled missions. The higher leveled missions were typically for the older students. The higher your year, the higher difficultly your mission. It was the system at Shibusen that encouraged the "only take what you can handle on your plate" mentality. Despite this, the first years always jump on any mission available on the board, making it hard to find new missions after the first few weeks of school. Lucy couldn't blame her fellow students though. They wanted to gain as much experience as possible, and Lucy was no different.

Out of the blue, Lucy heard steps outside the front door. Her head turned toward the direction of the noise before turning back to Alice with a puzzled look on her face. "You expecting anyone?" she asked rhetorically as she walked toward the door. Upon revealing what lied behind, no one stood before her. The meister poked her head out and looked around before the mailbox caught her eye. She opened the box and reached into it to pull out the only paper that was inside. She then walked back inside and closed the door behind her as she opened the envelope. The skull symbol on the envelope was more than enough to tell her what contents lied inside. "I guess Shinigami-sama really wants us to catch up with the other first years, cause I haven't seen a single mission on the mission board in days," she said as she sat herself back down next to Alice.

[Horridon]

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❦xxIn spite of the fact that Alice had been the one to stop their heated encounter, it was still a little difficult to get herself out of that mindset. It would be a lie to say that she didn't want to continue; even if they didn't progress further than that stage, she would be happy to do that for a good while longer. It was hard to keep her eyes from straying to her partner's neck and lips, wanting so badly to attack them again. Needless to say, she was a horny teenager and while she was good at keeping herself in check most of the time, after a scenario like that one she was a little slow to return to normalcy. However, regardless of the level of her distraction, it did wonders to raise her spirits. She always adored physical contact, to be able to touch and hold and feel Lucy and to be held in return. It was something to fall back on when words failed her and even though last night she had been a trembling mess and had initially shrank away from her Meister's touch, it was what she wanted more than anything in the world that morning. She would spend the school day seeking comfort in Vera, leaning against her when she could or holding onto the hem of her shirt like a child. Due to their similar backgrounds and shared culture, Alice and Vera were as close as sisters. Vera helped Alice during the day, helping her feel as comfortable as possible in these situations when she was drained and ill from an episode. Today would be one of these days.

The Weapon smiled at the kiss to her forehead and assured her partner that it was alright. She looked to the door as Lucy approached it, shaking her head at the rhetorical question. When Lucy returned with an envelope, she eyed it curiously and watched as she opened with lovely hands. "We have been given the short end of the stick quite a lot. At least he's benevolent." Alice leaned against her Meister as she sat down next to her, slipping one of her hands around her elbow so she could loosely hold her arm. After last night's catharsis, every moment of contact felt like it was soothing each individual nerve, repairing the damage that had been done one kiss, one innocent touch at a time. Reading over her shoulder, it was another night mission. This time their target was named Orthrus who, like their last target, Kitsune, was not the sort of humanoid monster most first years had come to expect. Unlike Kitsune, however, this one had no humanoid form. It was described as a behemoth two-headed dog the size of a cart horse. Shinigami went on to imply that, should they meet with success, they might be working on cases linked with Orthrus in the future.

Part of Alice was excited but at the same time she was worn out and the thought of going to school and then having to go out that night to hunt this monster was already exhausting. Of course this wasn't the sort of thing they could put off until next week. This monster was killing at least two people each night and devouring their souls, one for each head. "Another long day, I guess." The Weapon reluctantly released her partner's arm and pushed herself up off the couch. If she didn't know better, she would have sworn she could feel her whole body aching and creaking. She waited for Lucy to get up and hugged her, hugging her desperately tightly for just a moment. It was something she desperately needed, something to help steel her resolve. It was only with great reluctance that she eventually released the dark haired girl and sighed. "I suppose we should be going then."

[zPepe]

◤╱◢ l ◣╲◥ l ◤╱◢ l ◣╲◥ l ◤╱◢ l ◣╲◥ l ◤╱◢ l ◣╲◥ l ◤╱◢ l ◣╲◥ l ◤╱◢ l ◣╲◥ l NAMA SAYA...

As Lucy sat on the couch next to Alice, she silently read over the details within the contents of the envelope. The mission was simple, search and kill a monster before it turns into a kishin. It was the cookie-cutter of all missions offered at Shibusen, yet Lucy had practically zero motivation to do it. With recent events such as Alice's previous anxiety attack and their last mission with Kitsune, a mission was the last thing Lucy wanted. It couldn't be helped, however, due to the fact that Lucy and Alice were the only first-years that were behind on missions. The meister herself wasn't completely confident in her fighting capabilities at the moment with her healing injuries, but she trusted Shinigami's judgement. Her main concern was how Alice felt. She knew her injuries still worried the girl and she didn't want to raise her anxiety levels anymore than she already has. As she read the mission details, her worries kept piling up in her mind. Her worries were swept away the moment she felt Alice's hand hold onto the crook of her elbow. Almost subconsciously, Lucy leaned her head to the side to rest on top of Alice's. Last night's incident made it so every little touch was a piece of heaven.

After moments of silence from reading the mission details, Lucy snapped back into reality when Alice pushed herself off the couch. The meister tucked the paper back into the envelope and tossed it onto the coffee table in front of her. "Yeah, let's just hope that school is kind to us today," she said jokingly as she stood up to follow Alice out the door. Before she could take a step, however, she was met with Alice's embrace. Shocked at first, Lucy simply looked down at the smaller girl with her arms slightly raised in surprise. She quickly smiled though, and returned the gesture, wrapping her own arms around the shoulders of her partner. Lucy didn't want to let go, but Alice was right in doing so. School beckoned, and the two couldn't afford to ignore it. Lucy reached down and took Alice's hand in her own, interlocking her fingers with her own. "Yeah we should," she said before leaning sideways to give Alice a kiss on her temple. And with that, the two set off for another day at Shibusen.

The school day was as normal as any other day at Shibusen. Lucy parted with Alice for the majority of the day, spending most of her classes with her meister friend Nama. In an effort to prepare herself for the mission later in the day, Lucy and Nama spent their physical classes sparring. Lucy was obviously not her usual self, her teachers even making note of it. In reality, it wasn't her physicality that hindered her, but instead her worry for Alice. That was all squashed, however, the moment Nama realized it. On their way to their last class of the day, Nama said, "Luc, I know those wounds are chicken s**t to you by now. Alice will be fine as long as she sees you doing your best. As long as you're confident, she will be too. Partners, man, they know." Lucy wasn't completely confident even after Nama's pep talk, but walking into her last class and seeing Alice made her chest float and solidified that what Nama said was right. When class ended, Lucy stood up from her seat and immediately walked to Alice's seat. "Ready, my dear?" she said sweetly as she held out her hand.

[Horridon]

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❦xxShe had dreaded having to separate from Lucy. Her Meister was her motivation for the morning, having no desire whatsoever to partake in academic activities if left to her own devices. Fortunately for her, however, she was not left to her own devices. Vera had anticipated a lethargic, debatably ill Alice and was ready to receive her. She was a perfect combination of motherly and tough on the other Weapon, helping make sure she was not only taking notes during lessons, but taking comprehensible notes. During lunch, all Alice wanted to do was sleep. It was Vera who made sure that she ate before letting her sleep the last few minutes before they had to return to classes. One thing that did surprise Vera a bit--and the rest of their classmates quite a lot--was Alice's reluctance to speak Russian. It was while they waited for their last class to start that Vera finally questioned her on the matter. "It's so I don't pull s**t like that again. I was stupid and I wasn't even really thinking about it as lying or being dishonest until I saw how upset Lucy was." "You're not punishing yourself are you?" "Only a little bit? I mean, it's not the reason I decided to do it." It was when her friend sighed that Alice got frustrated and kicked the other Weapon's foot under their desk. "I feel worse about my episode than anything else. She had every right to be mad but of course I lost my s**t and ran away and then she felt bad for having a totally justified reaction. Do we really have to play therapy here? Right in front of the whole ******** school? Can we do it some other time?" Alice leered at her partner, crossing her arms across her chest. All Vera could do was laugh before class was begun.

Class went by in what felt like a crawl. Perhaps the worst part was knowing that after school was over they had to go straight to their mission. She thought she might pass out when, mercifully, class was ended. Vera went on her way with Nama as Lucy was approaching. Alice smiled and took her partner's hand, ignoring her fatigue. "Of course." They went straight from Shibusen to their destination, this time having to monitor the edge of Death City nearest a thick copse of trees and forest. It was in this area that Orthrus usually appeared from every night, thought it was hard to imagine some sort of massive, two-headed hound hiding in the dense forest. The monster kept them waiting for quite a while, long after the moon had risen and had even reached the peak of its zenith. Long enough for Alice to start doubting the information they were given. Her face shown on her blade, chewing on her bottom lip. "Are we sure this is the right place?" As if on cue, from the distance came the distant sound of howling beast. Alice disappeared again, focused. She wasn't going to let this be a repeat of Kitsune. She wasn't going to make Lucy fight alone again.

It erupted out of the trees like a phantom, turning to smoke where it should have collided with trees. It was indeed massive, standing just short of eight feet tall. Its coat was what Alice imagined hell would like. Dark, bleak, red. Its eyes glowed like hot coals in a fire. Again Orthrus bayed in the night, eager for another meal of souls. Already the Weapon's thoughts were racing. Was it truly incorporeal? If so, how were they supposed to kill the damned thing. After turning over a million thoughts, finally Alice spoke again. "Lucy. Go for its eyes." It was a hunch, the only possible idea she had. But the whole things' body seemed dim in comparison to its brightly burning eyes. If they could hit any part of Orthrus, she was willing to wager it was its eyes.

[zPepe]

◤╱◢ l ◣╲◥ l ◤╱◢ l ◣╲◥ l ◤╱◢ l ◣╲◥ l ◤╱◢ l ◣╲◥ l ◤╱◢ l ◣╲◥ l ◤╱◢ l ◣╲◥ l NAMA SAYA...

The meister smiled at she took the hand of her partner. Her pep talk with Nama had already made her feel better about tonight's mission, but Alice's smile was just the extra push she needed to solidify her confidence. With her partner in hand, Lucy walked with Alice to the edge of Death City. Luckily for Lucy, the mission took place in a forest-like setting. It had been weeks since Lucy had done anything parkour related. She had gone through physical therapy in her physical classes with her teachers and occasionally Nama, but she never went above simply running. Her wounds were almost completely healed. The stitches were gone, but the skin was still thin. The aftermath of deep cuts were bound to leave bumps in her skin, but the skin had just mended itself. The thin layers of skin that replaced her wounds were still factors that needed to be considered during the mission. Despite these circumstances, Lucy refused to rust away.

As the two partners entered the forest, they assumed their combat stances: Lucy on alert and Alice in weapon form. Because Orthrus was a night predator, the two had to wait a while in the woods. Lucy passed the time by sprinting occasionally, throwing in some jumps off trees and swings from branches every now and then. The swings bothered her body the most, making her sides sting slightly at the weight of her body pulling the skin apart. When she landed, she had to take a minute to relax. With her free left hand, she rubbed her side where her wound was and said, "I guess I shouldn't use my arms." Lucy had been warming up her body for the fight to come, but hadn't realized how long she'd been doing it. At the sound of Alice's voice, she looked up at the sky and noticed the grinning moon was already at its peak in the night sky. "This is the place the mission said we should b-" said the meister before a howl in the distance cut her off. Lucy and Alice's partnership showed its synchronicity in that instant as they both stopped talking and focused.

Lucy began to put her foot out to try to quietly hunt the beast, but stopped in her tracks when she felt a malicious presence in the shadows. The meister's eyes tracked Orthrus' as it walked through the trees, phasing through them as if they didn't exist. Lucy had prepared to bolt in, but held herself back the moment she heard Alice speak. Upon hearing her intuition, Lucy simply rose an eyebrow at the thought. Wouldn't I just go through it...? she though to herself. Almost instantly, however, Lucy shook off her hesitations. She trusted her partner's judgement, she trusted Alice. The meister simply said, "You got it."

And with that, Lucy finally bolted toward the beast. Her speed was indeed excellent, but nothing to leave craters in the floor like she usually would. She needed to save her energy, in case Orthrus had something else up his sleeve. Before colliding with the beast, Lucy jumped diagonally onto a tree trunk and pushed off it to launch herself across the front of it. She held out Alice's blade to the level of its eyes, but found no contact as the beast simply jumped backwards, back into the shadows. Lucy landed on her feet in the middle of a grove of trees. "Gotta speed up," she said aloud to herself. Just then, Orthrus jumped out from the shadows of the trees, lunging at Lucy. The meister dove forward, rolling as she hit the floor to ease the fall. She then utilized the momentum she created and turned her body around to face Orthrus before pushing off the ground to once again bolt at the beast. This time, she put more force into the push, creating a small crater about the size of her foot. The two-headed hound was caught off guard at the sudden increase of speed and let its guard down slightly. Lucy disregarded the beast's body, willingly dashing through it as she predicted he would use that strategy. Lucy ran through the black coat of the hound, but her blade managed to slice through one of its eyes. The beast let out a painful howl as Lucy jumped out of the way of his swipes from his claws. "Not so tough if you can't keep up, puppy," she teased with a grin on her face. The progress in the fight caused Lucy to make a decision. She didn't want to drag this out with three more strikes, she wanted to end it in one.

Lucy brought Alice's blade in front of her and grabbed her hilt with both her hands. Lucy needed no words to express her intentions. She closed her eyes and began to focus her soul wavelength to match Alice's. This mission gave a complete opposite feeling from the last mission the two first-years had. Lucy's confidence in Alice made their soul wavelengths to match in no time. In an instant, Lucy's eyes burst open and she yelled, "Soul Resonance!" There was an invisible aura that surrounded Lucy, creating small winds that blew around her. "Catch me if you can, puppy," she said as Alice's blade began to glow a bright, shining yellow. Suddenly, Lucy pushed off the ground, creating a large crater in the floor as she dashed toward her target. She didn't slash at the beast, however. Instead, Lucy began to bounce between the trunks of nearby trees surrounding the hound. The constant sound of tree bark breaking and the air that stirred up in the grove made it hard for Orthrus to track Lucy's whereabouts. After a couple seconds of bouncing between the trees, Lucy found a high branch to bounce from. The angle created a perfect opportunity to slash all three of the remaining eyes as the heads alternated in levels. "Sengalang Burong!" yelled Lucy as she held Alice's blade out, slashing the three remaining eyes in a row. Orthrus let out yet another painful howl as it feel over in pain. The beast's body eventually relaxed on its side as it began to deteriorate away.

Lucy landed safely, slowing her speed down with another roll that lead into her feet grinding into the grassy floor. Once fully stopped she walked over to the dying hound. Soon enough, a lone, blue soul remained hovering in the air. "Well, that was the easiest mission yet," she said in a relieved voice as her body began to relax, easing down from the effects of soul resonance. With a smile on her face, Lucy said, "Eat up, Alice," and tossed her weapon into the air towards the floating soul.

[Horridon]

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❦xxAs nervous and anxious as Alice was throughout almost every aspect of her life, missions were one of the few situations during which she could ignore her worrying thoughts. Even after how disastrously the last fight had gone, she knew Lucy could handle herself. And even though she was emotionally exhausted, they were still a formidable team. And while their first few missions had been met with some unfortunate mistakes, now that they knew what they were doing and had learned, they were practically unstoppable. Even though she enjoyed watching her partner fight, she remained focused on their opponent. If something were to go wrong, every second was vital.

Much like her Meister, Alice didn't want to drag this battle out any longer than they had to. Of course the damn thing's weak point was its eyes. It had four of them. So when the Soul Resonance was initiated, a mixture of relief and exhilaration flooded her system. The feeling of the resonance was incredible, something she reveled in. As the fight carried on, Lucy's speed gained. Not as lightning quick as she was when in top form, but much faster than anything Orthrus could attempt. To the hound, they were untouchable. Its slavering jaws and wicked talons were too slow to so much as graze Lucy and in one massive sweep, the other three eyes were slashed and the beast felled.

And there was her other favorite thing about missions. As Lucy tossed the weapon in the direction of the prone soul, Alice's human form replaced the blade, landing on her feet. She eagerly snatched the soul out of the air and ate it. Eating souls was debatably the best thing about missions. They were inexplicably delicious, the flavor and texture indescribable. Alice turned back to her Meister and her anxious, mother hen-like disposition was back. "How are you feeling? Did you strain your side?" It took a great deal of self control to keep herself from lifting her partner's shirt to get a look at the almost-healed wounds. She was tired and couldn't wait to lay down and fall asleep with their legs tangled together. She was grateful the mission had gone well, that neither of them had gotten hurt for a change.

[zPepe]

◤╱◢ l ◣╲◥ l ◤╱◢ l ◣╲◥ l ◤╱◢ l ◣╲◥ l ◤╱◢ l ◣╲◥ l ◤╱◢ l ◣╲◥ l ◤╱◢ l ◣╲◥ l NAMA SAYA...

Lucy couldn't help but smile as she watched her partner eagerly consume the floating soul. As a meister, she couldn't eat souls as it was physically impossible. She had always wondered what they tasted like. Every weapon she's asked so far has said that it's indescribable, but one thing is certain: it's delicious. The mystery would remain unsolved for the rest of Lucy's life, but she didn't mind. Just seeing how happy Alice was every time she ate a soul was enough satisfaction for her. Alice's happy expression left as soon as it came. Lucy's physical condition wasn't anything to be concerned about anymore, especially after the fight they were just in. Lucy felt as healthy as ever, she just knew she had to take it easy on the parkour involving her arms for a little while longer. However, Alice didn't know this. All Alice knew was that Lucy was still "injured" and that she needed to do everything in her power to ensure her safety. Upon hearing Alice's worried questions, Lucy couldn't help but chuckle at her mother-like demeanor.

The meister looked around at her surroundings. No one appeared to be nearby, making her devise a rather mean plan. Taking advantage of the situation, Lucy moved her hands to her shirt and began to unbutton the corset-like piece that sat under her breasts. "I don't know," she said as the piece became unbuttoned. She then hooked her thumbs onto the bottom hem of her white shirt that was underneath before puling her shirt up and over her breasts. Revealed under the shirt was Lucy's bare skin as she wore a pink, lacy bra. Underneath her right breast was a long scar that ran from under it to about the same spot on her back. With a grin now on Lucy's face, she said, "Whaddaya think doc?" Their makeout session this morning had left Lucy's hormones unsatisfied. Teasing Alice was just the cherry on top to satisfy the urges she had this morning. The meister's grin never left as she put her shirt back down and re-buttoned the top piece. This would without a doubt continue when the two would return home.

Lucy, now fully clothed again, walked up to Alice and gave the shorter girl a kiss on her forehead. She then linked her fingers with hers and gave her a genuine smile. "I should be okay by the end of this week, darling. For now, you just worry about keeping quiet the next time I devour your neck," said the meister, winking at her partner. Lucy then began to walk back towards Death City. It wasn't terribly late at night, which left time to grab dinner and possibly just relax in the apartment. It's been a while since the two have had a calm night.

[Horridon]

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❦xxShe should have known Lucy would take this opportunity. Alice became suspicious as soon as she saw the girl working at her clothing. She could feel her face flushing, eyes focused on the lacy undergarment. Part of her marveled at the fact that her Meister could work the way she did in a regular bra. She was the Weapon and she wouldn't go on a mission in anything but a sports bra. The fact that Lucy could do it in that rather distracting bit was respectable. Even after the other girl had redressed, she could only stand frozen with a rather dumb blush on her face. If this had happened while they were at home, she wouldn't have been taken so much by surprise as she was now. She had been expecting sass or a salacious joke perhaps. Even though it was late and no one was around, that display was the last thing she had expected.

It took the kiss to her forehead and the familiar feeling of their hands held together to shake her out of her momentary state of shock. The suggestive commentary was something she was more accustomed to and could react easily enough without turning a shade of red that would make a raspberry jealous. "You cannot even begin to comprehend the amount of self-control it's taking to keep me from jumping you right here and now." Though she managed to make her sentence sound humorous and long-suffering, the emotional exhaustion still weighed on her from last night's episode. It was as she began to mull over her own thoughts as they walked that she remembered that keeping things to herself, intentionally or otherwise, was bad for their relationship. Romantic or otherwise.

Alice glanced at her partner before looking down at the ground, worrying her bottom lip with her teeth. "Lucy..." She felt her throat close up, anxiety trying to fill her whole body. It wasn't an episode, some awful anxiety attack. But this was something that she was scared of; talking and confronting her problems and inhibitions. Some unrealistic part of her mind was worried that she might upset the Meister or anger her or offend her or some other unpleasant outcome. She knew it was irrational, but that didn't do anything to soothe her. She felt her heart hammering in her chest, feeling like it was trying to climb up her throat and out of her mouth. She held Lucy's hand tighter and found that she lacked the courage to look any higher than her shoes. "Do you think we should... I mean... Do you think we should hold back on our rather... uh, enthusiastic make out sessions? I'm just worried that we'll both get so caught up in it that we'll do something we might regret. I don't want to do anything that you aren't comfortable with or perhaps don't realize you're not comfortable with until it's already happened." It wasn't too terribly far fetched considering that morning she had had to catch herself and put on the brakes.

[zPepe]

◤╱◢ l ◣╲◥ l ◤╱◢ l ◣╲◥ l ◤╱◢ l ◣╲◥ l ◤╱◢ l ◣╲◥ l ◤╱◢ l ◣╲◥ l ◤╱◢ l ◣╲◥ l NAMA SAYA...

Lucy continued to walk back towards Death City, but stopped in her tracks when she felt resistance against her arm. She turned around to see Alice looking down at the grassy ground. Lucy, confused and slightly concerned, approached the shorter girl. Her hand continued to hold onto hers, linked fingers and all. Upon hearing Alice's tone of voice when she said her name, Lucy had a feeling it was about what had just happened. The meister wasn't scared of moving forward, in fact, she welcomed it with open arms. When it came to the physical part of the relationship, she didn't care how fast they went as long as they were both comfortable and consensual about everything. It was the emotional side of a relationship that she feared. Lucy feared more than anything to fall in love only to be heartbroken. Lucy could commit to one person, she just didn't know how far she could go. Alice was and still is her very first girlfriend; the last thing she wanted to do was rush her feelings. The 15-year-old wanted to be completely certain about how she felt before she said anything remotely close to 'I love you' to her partner in battle.

Lucy waited until Alice was done speaking before she spoke herself. "Alice," she said to get the girl's attention. Her words not being enough, Lucy let go of Alice's hand and placed both of her hands onto her cheeks. She gently motioned the shorter girl to look up at her. Before saying anything, Lucy leaned down and pressed her forehead against Alice's. "We don't have to do anything you're uncomfortable with. So, if you want to slow down, I'd be more than happy to do that for you," she said, trying to comfort the girl.