The small red head was en route to her first mission. Her first ever real mission! She was excited, to say the least, as she looked back down at the paper that explained the mission request. She had had Micheal read it to her when she had noticed it on the board.
"A request for all Mages;
I run a small book store that sells magical books. However, over the years my collection and what I offer has expanded, as such, I have recently moved stores. As with many movings, a few of the books were unfortunatly left behind. I had thought them safe in the old store, as I still held the key to it, and that they could sit there and become a sort of back up supply for when I needed to restock my current store. However, what I did not take into account was that the magic within the books would start to turn them into something vicious and dangerous. Last week I sent my grandson to try to get a few of these books, and he came back badly injured, claiming that the books that were left behind were starting to become feral and attacked him. I am worried that if this is left unchecked, then the books may break loose and try to attack other people. I implore you, please help me with my problem. While it pains me to ask this, I am requesting that the books be destroyed so as to protect anyone else from harm.
-Thank you.
--Marlicia Harlem (Bookstore Owner)It had seemed a simple enough task, all she had to do was destroy some old musty books, right? Her father had read to her from books before, and they didn't seem all that dangerous, yes, if you weren't careful you could get a paper cut, and those things tended to sting, but as far as being beaten up by the books, that was just silly! Who could get beaten up by a book? So, the small female had taken the task on herself to help the old woman that ran the bookstore. It was sort of funny... Vincent had said that Raven Tail weren't the good guys, but here they were, accepting and posting missions that had to do with helping old ladies get rid of some old books... That was almost like helping old ladies across the street, wasn't it? It was a good thing, a nice thing to do. They could have just as easily turned a blind eye to the request, said that it was below them to help some crazy old woman and that she should have thought about what could have happened, and should deal with it herself. Instead, they had posted it on their Guild Request board for their members to take care of. It was a nice thing to do, even if Vincent wouldn't admit it himself.
The thought made her smile as she skipped down the street, turning a corner and heading for Mrs. Harlem's new book store, where she would meet with the client and find out what else there was that needed to be done for her. In her left hand she carried her walking stick, which was really just a regular stick that was almost as tall as she was, and as thick around as her arm. It wasn't really a weapon, but she could use it to hit someone with if she had to... Like she had used it to hit the small snakes away when she had stumbled through the group of them in East Forest. The memory caused her to shiver, face blanching as she saw the sign for the store she was heading to. Giving an excited squeak, she hurried her pace, red and black patterend robes flairing out behind her as she ran, coming to a skidding halt in front of the door. Her hand reach up, wrapped around the ornate gold handle to the door, and pulled, turning it and pulling the door open. She was glad it wasn't locked, that would have been troublesome! How would she have gotten in touch with the woman if she had locked her doors!
Stepping inside, she let the door shut behind her, the soft dingling of a bell over head signalling that a customer had arrived.
"Be there in a minute!" came the call from a back room behind the counter. The red head took this time to survey the area. There were shelves upon shelves of books, of all different colors and sizes. Some had colored lettering that shimmered in the store's light, others seemed just plain. In the center of the room was a large, circular wooden table, books set up neatly in a display, multiple volumes of each out so someone could just walk by and take one, and there be more left for others. There was even an upstairs! The little female gasped and giggled softly, running across the floor to the spiral staircase that led to the second floor. She couldn't help herself, she wanted to see what was up there, plus she wanted to play on the stairs. As she clambered up to the second floor, she was amazed to see that there were more shelves, with more books lining the walls! How in the worlds did someone have this many books?! Unlike the lower level, the center of the upper floor was cleared out, a wood railing preventing someone from tumbling over the edge, and in the center was a coffee table surrounded by plush chairs and couches. It looked like the perfect place for someone to come and sit, relax, and read a book or two.
"Oooh..." she whispered in awe, slowly turning around and looking at everything.
Footsteps below brought her attention back, and she ran to the railing, hopping up and hanging her upper body over it to see who was downstairs. A young man, in his mid twenties had came out from behind the counter. He wore a pinstripe shirt with an apron over it and his dark pants, his blonde hair cropped shirt and a pair of glasses on his nose. He also sported a few bandages on his face and hands from what Ram could tell.
This must be the one that got beat up by the books... she thought, watching as the boy looked around. She realized he must be looking for her, and brought a hand out, waving at him,
"Hey! Ram is up he-- Woah!" she squeaked and gasped as she tilted forward, having leaned too far forward over the railing. Her feet swung up and she flipped over, the boy turning to looking and giving a startled noise as he covered his eyes as she tumbled to the floor. Ram however, did not simply tumble and fall in a heap, instead, as she flipped, she held onto the railing, controlling the fall to where she landed feet first, her shoes thudding against the floor, her knees flexing to help absorb the shock, and her arms coming out to balance herself so she didn't fall flat on her face or rear. She popped back up with a smile, giggling as if she had meant to do that,
"Taa-daa!" she gave a playful bow, only to jump as someone unexpectedly yelled as they came out of the back room.
"Oye! What's with all of this racket!? Sam! What's going on in here?!" Ram turned and looked, her eyes widening as an old woman came waddling out of the back of the shop. She was fairly round, with a large, pointed nose, beady eyes, and bad make up. Her hair was frizzy and a mix of grey and black, and on her pointy nose was a set of small rimmed specticles, that she looked over the top of to stare at the small female that was in her shop horseplaying. The boy, Sam, stuttered and stammered, starting to explain that he had came out and seen her fall, but the woman shot him a glare that had him snapping his mouth closed and swallowing.
This woman gives Ram the shivers... she thought, frowning as the lady looked at her again, stepping forward and crossing her arms over her rather large bosom.
"This isn't a playground for kids. Now where are your parents?" This made Ram frown, she didn't have her parents, her father had left and she hadn't been able to find him... But that wasn't what she was here for! Reaching into her robes, she pulled out the Request Papers, stepping up to hand them to the woman,
"Ram is here for your request about the books." she said softly, stepping back as the woman's pudgy fingers came out and grabbed the paper from her.
She glared at Ram a moment longer before pushing her glasses up and holding the paper out, reading it through and making a face,
"I asked for Mages to help, not children. " she said sharply, crumpling the paper up and tossing it at the small red head,
"Now get out and go home. My place of business is not a daycare nor a funhouse for children." she spat angrily, spinning on her heel and starting to walk off. Ram was shocked. She had just basically been told to go home because she wasn't a Mage... The small female stomped her foot in a child like way,
"But Ram is a Mage! She's a real official Mage and part of a real official Guild! She has a Guild Mark and everything to prove it!" The woman didn't even look back at her, instead slammed the door to the back room behind the counter so as not to have to look at the girl anymore. Ram was furious! How dare that pig woman say she wasn't a Mage and call her a child! Her small hands balled into fists as she glared daggers at the door, almost as if willing it to burst into flames! Hearing Sam next to her bending down to pick up the paper, she turned her red and gold gaze to him, pointing a finger at him,
"You! Where's the place for this request at!?" Sam jumped and looked at the girl as her words sunk in.
"You must be crazy... Listen, it's really cute and all that you want to grow up to be a Mage and stuff... But this is something to leave for adults." Her teeth ground together in annoyance. That was twice now! Twice that someone had said she wasn't a real Mage! She growled, showing her fanged canines as smoke started to curl up between her teeth,
"Where. Is. It." She demanded, her eyes narrowing angrily at the young man. He blinked, wondering if he should be afraid of the small female or not, and, deciding it was best not to push his luck with someone that was claiming to be a Mage (not to mention had smoke rolling from between her teeth), he pointed limply out of the door,
"Twelve and Eighth street... Building 284." he replied meekly. Ram blinked, smiled and gave a soft sound of appreciation,
"Thank you!" she replied cheerfully, hopping and spinning around, skipping out of the building and back onto the street. As the door closed behind her, Sam gave a small sigh of relief before cringing, hearing his grandmother calling for him to get back to work.
"Yes Gram!" he called, turning and going to get a broom and duster, forgetting about the crazy little female.
Ram skipped and half danced her way down the street, weaving through and past the people that she came across until she stopped at the corner.
"Twelve and Eighth... This is..." she looked up at the street sign, blinking and squinting as she worked to read it. Reading had never been a strong point for her, yes, her Father had tried to teach her the basics of it, but she had always been too busy trying to catch things or play or learn to use her fire, stuff that was more important. Her mouth worked to sound out the letters that were on the sign, finally figuring that this was twenty-nineth street. So... which way to go? She blinked, looking up and then down the road in front of her. Which way would make it go to twelve... Or to eight? The small female closed her eyes tightly, thinking and trying to decide.
"That way!" she finally said, pointing to her right. She then started down the sidewalk, crossing the street and going down to the next road sign.
"....Thirty... Drats! Other way!" she spun, taking off in a dash back down the way she had came. She was waisting time! What if someone else made it to the books before she did!? Someone that the woman thought looked like a real Mage instead of a kid trying to play at being one.
Stupid old lady... Ram is a real Mage! She's got a Guild Mark to prove it! she thought as she ran past the first sign she had came across, continuing on down to the next street and pausing. Twenty-Eighth Street! Perfect! She was going the right way this time! With a gleeful squeak, she took off running again down the roads, stopping at each street sign to read it.
By the time she got to Fourteenth Street, the small Mage was getting tired, panting and sluggishly dragging her feet as she stopped at the sign, a hand coming out to rest on the sign to hold herself up.
"Why... Does it have to be soo far?!" she wined, pushing off and continuing down the road, this time much slower. By the time she made it down two more streets, she was ready for this mission to be over with. She was starting to get hungry, and wanted something to drink...
"Okay... FINALLY! Twelveth street." Now, what was the other street number...? Oh right, eighth! She turned, looking for the number to the street the connected with it, and went silent.
"......FOURTY SEVENTH!? HOW BIG IS THIS STUPID TOWN!?" People walking past looked at her, a few muttering as they tried to avoid the girl. She gave a light sob, her head and shoulders hanging as she turned and started to cross the street, heading up and searching now for Eighth Street.
Needless to say, by the time she had found it, it was nearing dusk, and the tiny creature was tired of walking around the city. She wanted to go back to her Guild Home and rest, to sleep and forget all about that pudgy woman and her scaredy cat grandson that hadn't believed she was a real Mage... That memory seemed to spark her inner fire, and she grumbled, raising her head and growling under her breath as she finally found the building that she needed. It was old, and a single story, set off from the rest of the buildings. The windows were dark and dingy, and there were spiderwebs scattered across the front. Climbing ivy had started to overtake the outside of the building, it being set by itself in the lot and not touching any other adjacent ones. The brief thought of simply setting it aflame and then walking off crossed her mind. Books burned after all, so it would be all too easy, just set the whole danged building on fire and walk off, job done, right? Well... that would have worked if there wasn't the chance of setting the entire block on fire... She groaned, walking up to the door and reaching out, grasping the old iron wrought handle and turning. Nothing. The door was locked.
"...." she looked at the door knob, wiggling it again, tugging on it, pulling, pushing, twisting, and turning it. Still the door didn't budge. Didn't even crack open a little bit. The small female blinked, as if she wasn't registering why the door wasn't opening, jiggling the door knob again.
Letting it go, she frowned, looking around at the slowly darkening street. There weren't many people around, most were starting to head home, and she didn't have the key to the place, that chubby woman and her stupid grandson hadn't given it to her. She grumbled softly, looking at her walking stick that she was carrying. Well... if she couldn't open the door... Her gaze shifted to the large display window next to the door. Then she would go in through the window. Looking around again to make sure that no one was around or looking, she took a few hopping steps back so she could get a good start, and then ran forward, swinging the stick around like a baseball bat aimed at the window. It smacked against it hard, the stick shuddering and sending vibrations down through her arms that made her teeth chatter. However it wasn't for nothing, as the glass started to splinter and crack where she had smacked it. She grinned, hopping back and readjusting her grip on her stick before running forward and doing it again, this time swinging her entire little body into it. The stick connected, and the glass shattered, raining down in shards that had the little female dancing away to not get cut by.
"At last! Ram will show her. She's a real Mage after all." she said with a nod of her head as she pulled her long sleeves over her hands and climbed through the window, being careful not to get cut.
Glass crunched under her feet as she climbed up onto the display area, pushing the thick dark curtain aside and hopping down into the store front proper. It was dark, and very dusty, the few lingering rays of the setting sun showing the dust floating and dancing in the air like snow flakes. The room was empty, save for a large desk that must have been the front counter, a few shelves, and an overturned chair that was now the home to a family of spiders. Her footsteps echoed in the dark room, and the dancing shadows had her eyes darting back and forth. This place was just plain creepy... No two words about it. But, from the looks of it, there were no books. No big bad, evil monster books here to attack and try to eat her. She stopped, placing a hand on her hip and giggling,
"Silly people... They must have just been scared of the...EEP!" a cracking sound, much akin to that of thunder, suddenly burst the silence of the room. A door directly in front of her flew open, and out spilled millions and millions of... pages? She took a step back, ducking and covering her head while at the same time trying to watch as the papers spun and flew around, plastering themselves to the walls and against the curtain, sealing off any and all light from the room. She squeaked again, but slowly, a sickly purple and green light began to fill the building, which looked like it had expanded and grew when the pages had taken over. The writing and letters on all of the pages slowly started to glow, illuminating the darkness of the room, but other than that there seemed to be nothing else going on.
"What the... This... is wierd..." she muttered to herself, slowly standing upright again and turning to look around. Even the desk and chair had been covered in paper.
Slowly she walked toward the wall, a hand reaching out to touch at the glowing covering, her head tilting to the side. Above her, something rustled, drawing her attention upward. Her jaw went slack as she looked up. There were books... Hundreds of books now hanging from the ceiling like cave bats, slowly opening and closing, as if stretching their wings. The small female took a slow step back, trying to watch all of the books at once. She didn't know what they could do, but they seemed alive... and if they were alive, then they could probably attack. Was this what had happened to Sam when he had came here? Her foot came back, and under it something snapped and crackled, and she froze. Above, one book twitched, then another, and another, until at last, an ear splitting sound, like a screech, was let loose from somewhere within the confines of the books. They started falling from the ceiling, flapping their 'wings', Ram giving a squeak and trying to get out of the way as they began to circle and swarm around her. She flailed, swatting at the books and swinging her walking stick at any that got close. One flew past her face, its pages cutting into her cheek, another across her arm, across her side, her legs, her hands. Each cut stung horribly, but these weren't mere papercuts... oh no, these cut deep, drawing oozing lines of blood and shredding cloth just as easy as any blade. The small female stumbled as a book came crashing forward and slammed into her chest, knocking the wind out of her and causing her to fall to a knee, her hand coming to rub at the now sore spot in the center of her chest.
"Stupid books... Ram never liked books anyway!" She yelled out at them, her hand swiping out much like an animal would swipe at something as another book came flying in toward her. Her fingers touched the book, flattening as her palm connected with it and she forced it down onto the floor, leaning forward and flipping up over her onto her hand her feet kicking out and hitting another book as she did so.
Her fingers curled around her walking stick as her back arched and her feet planted on the ground once more, one foot grinding her heel into a book. She swung the stick around, using it much like a pole type weapon, feeling and hearing the satisfying crack as she hit another book out of the air, sending it screeching and crashing to the ground to flop around. She rolled forward as two more books came at her, coming to her knees and spinning the walking stick around above her head in her hands as she came up, hearing the cracking as it hit yet another couple books. One of them screeched loudly, flying straight down at her. The small female quickly jumped to her feet and held the stick out horizontally in front of her to block the book as it slammed into the dead center of the stick. She felt the stick bend and then give, breaking into two separate halves. She cursed, her knee coming up to slam into the spine of the book before she spun, switching her grip on the two halves of her stick to where one ran along her forearm, the other held out like a sword. She slammed the one against her forearm down onto the stunned book, her other arm swinging around to slap yet another out of the air as it tried to come to the other's aid.
Ram's body twisted, her knees flexing and her back bending as she leaned back, a book barely grazing along her face as it raced past her, had she not moved, it would have slammed right into her face! These books meant business, but so did the small female. She growled, eyes flickering more red than gold as she straightened and slashed at another with her half of a stick, slamming it out of the air as she followed around with her momentum yet again, pushing off with her feet and spin kicking another that was close enough to be hit. As the pile of books that littered around her started to grow, sweat beading the small female's face, the remaining books started to seem more and more hesitant to attack her. Finally they gave an aggrivated squack and flapped away, running to the ceiling and walls, the paper pages that covered them seeming to open and swallow them back into the safety of the building. Ram stood panting, and stomped on one of the books on the ground that was still wiggling around feebly, ending its struggles as she slowly looked around, one arm held up defensively in front of her as she waited. Her hair raised on the back of her neck, and she spun instictively crouching as she did so. It was a good thing that she had, because what shot over her head, bare inches from her hair, was a large ball of paper. Only the paper was flickering, wavering as if alive, and when it hit the wall, it seemed to burst apart, the flickering paper starting to spread along the wall before slowly being consumed by the pages that covered it. She watched it briefly before her head snapped back toward where the attack had came from. A door behind the counter was open, and from within a deep purple glow filled the room, slowly starting to brighten as whatever was emitting it came closer and closer to the door. Purple smoke wafted from the room, curling around the door frame as the
creature came into view.
It too held a purplish tint, its body, if that was what you would call it, was comprised of multiple books and scrolls, all brought together and placed carefully to give the illusion of an actual body, complete with arms and hands, glowing red eyes set under a brow of a very large book that acted as the top of its head. A scroll hung open where its mouth would be, and all around it pages that emitted the strange purple glow hovered and circled it slowly. Ram's eyes widened slightly, and she shifted back as the hands came out, grabbing the sides of the door frame and pulled itself out forcefully, its large body scraping against the wood as it pulled itself out of the back room and into the middle of the floor. Ram jumped to the side with a soft yelp as the large creature landed in the center of the floor with a thud. She spun back to look at it as it slowly started to rise, its purple glow deepening as it started to hover about a foot off of the ground, the papers that floated around it picking up their pace, small symbols seeming to glint off of them in their near frenzied path. Beady red eyes turned to glare at the small female that had dared to enter its lair, and Ram readied herself, shifting her footing a bit as she locked gazes with the creature,
"Alright Book Mage! It's your turn now!" She called out, leaping forward and swinging the part of her stick diagonally, much like she was striking at it with a sword. The Book Mage gave a low growling sound, its body turning to fully face her, a hand coming up as a large page moved in front of it, a single symbol that took up the majority of the page glowing. Her stick slammed into the page, and ripples of purple energy slowly spread outward from it, her attack stopped by the paper. She gritted her teeth, pushing herself off and back away from the book, her stick smoking as she glared at the creature. The page slowly shrank to that of a normal size and began its circlet around the creature, only much slower this time, and no longer glowing as the others were. The Book Mage swung around, floating back and up toward the ceiling, its pages moving at an almost frantic pace as its arms came out at its sides a bit, red eyes brightening as it brought its hands in front of itself, aimed down at Ram. A page came to a screeching halt in front of its palms, the symbol glowing brightly for a moment before it shot foward at her.
It was another one of those strange, flickering paper balls. The girl leaped to the side, rolling as the ball hit where she had just been and exploded outward, the flickering pages spreading. One caught the edge of her robe, spreading up her back. It was hot! Burning so! She squeaked, flailing a moment as she quickly untied the robe, throwing it to the ground and watching as the paper engulfed it, flickering and spreading like fire. It even gave off the same scent as something burning.
Paper...Fire? she had but a moment to think as the Book Mage brought its aim back to her, shooting another one of the paper fire balls at her. She leaped away, growling at it, smoke curling between her teeth,
"Oh ya? Let's see how well your fire does, against mine!" She sucked in a deep breath of air as the Book Mage readied another paper at her, the symbol brightening as the Mage held the spell to strengthen it. Her chest expanded as her cheeks puffed, her hands coming to grasp in front of her mouth as if she were holding something there. As the Book Mage fired its large paper fire ball at her, she released the held breath, a stream of flame shooting from between her hands toward the Mage. It collided with the paper flame ball, the two spells pushing against each other a moment before they exploded outward. Ram squeaked as she was blown back into the wall, the Book Mage being flung up and back onto the ceiling before crashing down. Real fire and paper flames both ignited the pages that covered the walls, the entire room seemed to scream in pain as the Book Mage slowly pushed itself up, the smoke clearing as it looked for the creature that had dared to challange it. From out of the smoke came Ram, streaming forward like a bullet, her head coming to crash into the Book Mages as she headbutted it. The Book Mage groaned and tipped backwards, Ram flipping up over it. As she flew past it, upside down, she again took a deep breath, filling her lungs with the burning fires. This time though, she didn't place her hands in front of herself though, and instead let loose a large blast of flame directly at the Book Mage.
The creature flailed and screamed, a hand coming around and slamming into Ram and sending her flying back against the wall as the Book Mage ignited. She rolled down and landed with a thud on the ground, the pages that had been covering the walls starting to fall away as they too caught on fire. The Book Mage continued to scream and thrash around, its body had caught afire quickly, and there was nothing the creature could do against what happened naturally when paper and fire met one another. Ram pushed herself up slowly, staggering as she stood, an eye closed in pain as a trickle of blood ran down her face. She gave a weary smirk, watching as the Book Mage began to literally fall apart into flaming heaps. It was then that she took notice of what was going on. The room was on fire, slowly spreading out to the entire building!
"Crap..." she darted forward, covering her face and hair as she leaped through the nearest window, the glass shatterng around her small body. She landed roughly on the pavement outside, rolling and tumbling a bit before coming to a stop. She coughed, pushing herself up to look at the building, watching as her fire enveloped it completely. She stood slowly, her chest heaving. She was standing in her tattered Hakama with just a simple chest wrap around her upper torso, her robes having been left to burn. She smiled in triumph, unable to hold the glee at her first successful mission. She thrust a bloodied fist into the air, leaping up in joy,
"Yes! Yes! Ram did it!" The building behind her groaned as it crumbled in on itself, collapsing completely. The small girl ran a hand through her mess of hair, starting to walk away.
From behind her, the still burning building burst apart, the girl spinning around as she watched the burning mass of the Book Mage literally clawing and thrashing its way out. It's entire body was on fire, but that didn't seem to stop it as red eyes bore down on the female.
"Dang it! Why don't you just burn already!" she screamed out at it, panting as she shifted her footing to prepare for an attack. She was exhausted and out of Magic, about ready to collapse herself, and yet this thing just kept coming! She could hear a few of the people that were unlucky enough to still be out at this time of the night screaming and running as the Book Mage roared in rage. It pushed itself up, a large hand raising as Ram prepared to move. The hand hung still in the air for a moment before it started to crumble and fall. Jerkingly the fingers came loose, followed by the wrist and hand, elbow and arm. The shoulder of the other arm that held the Book Mage up crumbled apart, sending the creature crashing to the ground. It's read eyes flickered before they slowly faded to black, the creature finally finished and done. Ram stood there a moment, as if unsure if it were true or not. When it didn't move, and only flames danced from its still body, the young girl fell backwards onto her rear.
She let her mouth hang open as she panted, her hands coming to slide back as she leaned her head back and gave a soft, tired giggle,
"Ram... Really doesn't like books..." she muttered, her gaze shifting to the horizon as it slowly started to brighten with the rising sun. She had been out all night... She needed to get back to her Guild... With a grunt, she pushed herself up, a hand coming to wipe at her face as she started back to where the bookstore owner was. It seemed to take forever, but the girl didn't care, she simply walked, moving almost automatically until she reached the bookstore. It was closed at the moment, but as the girl looked up almost blankly at the door, she heard the familiarly annoying voice of the owner coming down the street. She turned her head to look at the woman as she and her grandson came to a stop in front of Ram, both looking agast.
"Your request. Is complete." she said as she gave them a grin, waving her fingers to them as she walked around them to leave,
"Have a good day." The pair watched the girl, dumbfounded as a firetruck raised by, heading to put out the flames she had started before they spread too badly.
Ahh... First mission down... Time... To go sleep! the young girl thought, turning and making her way back to her Raven Tail.
