Weasel-chan!
Weasel-chan
Fianna stood near the lakeshore, breathing heavily. It had been a tough fight and she had a few injuries, but nothing too serious. There was no need to treat them right away either.
Turning around, she saw the fire demon she had just defeated die. It was still radiating flames, but they were too weak to cause any harm. She merely stepped back to escape from the heat that was still lingering in the place.
Even though the demon was defeated and close to death, it was still quite a sight. Fianna knew that its flames would not die down for hours. Sadly, she had to wait all that time now, since she wanted to collect the flame essence that would be left in the ashes.
Killing the fire demon had been an order given to her by a local village's mayor. It had been wreaking havoc over the past few days, but the mercenaries that were hired to deal with it failed at their task.
Normally Fianna wouldn't have cared about their problems, but the offer they made was exceptionally good for such a small village, it seemed to be abnormally rich. (She suspected that the inhabitants were smugglers, but she really couldn't care less.)
A nice addition to the reward was, of course, the flame essence (it was rare and thus she could sell it for a lot) and the flame bow she was holding, it was barely visible due to the brighter flames the demon was radiating. She was going to sell it as well.
She sat down with a quiet sigh and finally started to treat her injuries. They didn't exactly hurt, but she didn't like the feeling of blood dropping out of them, and she didn't want to have to clean her clothes more than necessary. After she was done, she got up to get her bag, which she left a few steps away to prevent it from taking damage during the fight, took out a slice of bread and started eating. Fighting had made her hungry.
Several hours later, the demon had finally died. Fianna grabbed the flame essence and quickly went back to the village. Waiting for so long had waisted enough time already.
When she arrived at the village, she immediately went to tell the mayor that she had killed the demon and get her reward. Even though it was already quite late, she decided not to spend the night here. She didn't like sleeping with other people around.
Off to another village, to another job then.
In second place, scoring 50K and a Luna Incense...
SwordsmanChris!
SwordsmanChris
[Of all the sad words of tongue and pen...]♠
John sat down on the bed in his room and wiped a bead of sweat from his darkened brow. Keeping the clan in shape had been harder than he expected. He sighed, ran a hand through his unkempt black hair, and then fell back onto the mattress. As both a leader and a soldier, he’d been working diligently. Training was tough, he thought, but at least there were no real problems. At least everything was good for now.
Then the phone rang.
Riiiing…
----
Chris stood on the beachside, watching the water ebb and flow against the coastline. He was a black silhouette against the pastel colors of the beach, dressed conservatively in a dark suit with a browned fedora. Darkness muted his features; even in the sunlight, hunched over his phone, he appeared more shadow than man.
Riiing…
The phone rang a second time. He cast his gaze across the water. Ordinary people might have mistaken the water for tranquil or calm, but he knew better. He could see the ripples, read the waves. That’s why John had sent him, of course. He noticed these things.
Riiing…
The phone rang a third time. Chris adjusted the phone’s positioning, wondering if he was getting poor reception. It was a problem he was used to by now. Despite his knowledge of communications, sometimes his messages simply did not get through to people.
“Come on, John, just pick up, will you…”
Riii- “…Hello?” John’s voice crackled to life on the other end of the line.
“There you are,” Chris replied, speaking loudly into the receiver. “It’s me. Did I catch you at a bad time?”
”Nah, not at all.” Chris heard a creaking noise in the background; John sitting up in his bed, no doubt. ”What’s up?”
Chris stood perfectly still. Though he talked into the phone, his gaze remained fixed on the distant horizon. “I’m sorry that I haven’t been around the clan lately,” he said. “I’ve been out doing some reconnaissance work. One lead leads into the next lead…” he smiled grimly. “You know how it is. Hope things are going all right over there.”
”We’re doing good,” said John’s voice. ”Holding down the fort, getting back into the routine.” There was a pause. ”But… you didn’t call to just catch up, huh?”
Chris shook his head, even though he knew John couldn’t see his gesture. “Afraid not,” he replied. “I’ve been following those reports we got about the disturbances in the east. I’m out east right now, actually.”
“You get around, huh?” John replied jokingly. ”Did you find anything?”
“You could say that,” Chris said, his voice suddenly growing distant.
”What did you-“
John’s voice was drowned out by a roaring explosion. A mushroom cloud blossomed up from beyond the water, where Chris had been staring. The cloud expanded, growing big and gold, shooting out as though it were attempting to eat the whole blue sky. The explosion was accompanied by a mighty wind; it blew back the edges of Chris’s coat, but the man himself stood still, unfaltering.
”What… what was THAT?!” John’s voice crackled, both with static and surprise. ”What is going on over there?”
“Something big is happening,” Chris said, his voice unwavering. He stood, unperturbed, as if the explosion didn’t faze him at all. As though he’d been waiting for it. “It might be a while before I make it back.” He turned his back to the cloud, which cast its billowing shadow over him. “But when I return… I hope you’ll be ready.”
He hung up the phone.
----
John stared at his phone, frustrated with the dial tone that played out of the earpiece. He didn’t like this at all. What happened out there? What was Chris talking about? He sighed; he didn’t know why Chris had to be so cryptic about things. But, knowing his friend, there had to be a reason.
He stood up and stretched, smoothing out the wrinkles on his training clothes. John’s body was still tired, but at the same time, he was filled with a renewed sense of purpose. Chris had warned him to be ready… and John planned to be ready, no matter what. Even if that mean training until he dropped.
John opened the door and headed back to the training area. I’ll be ready, he thought. Just you wait, Chris… just you wait.
♠[...the saddest are these: &It might have been.&]
In first place, obtaining 100K and a Luna Incense, it's...
Xelhaspixiestix!
xelhaspixiestix
It wasn't that she wasn't pleased that they'd vanquished their foes. Whatever foes there were this time (she didn't keep track, just went with what Fearless Leaders said to kill and agreed with whatever they said. It simplified matters, and it wasn't like any of them were bad people.
Besides, she got in less trouble if she didn't talk.
What didn't make her happy-- what never did, really-- was the stupid after-battle victory poses. She felt that they had about as much sense as those stupid, two minute long transformation scenes, or the slow power ups for finishing moves.
Then again, she could admit privately-- with the wind blowing her hair back and the eclipsed sun spraying light in a prismatic rainbow from the edge of her knife and the rock just so under her boots-- that there was something about a victory pose that just made the heart beat a little quicker and the adrenaline take care of some of the aches and pains from the battles.
So maybe they did have something there, after all.
Prizes will be given out by the end of this week.
Well, that's it for now. If you didn't win this time, don't fret. We'll be having plenty of little contests like this over the summer, so you'll have lots of chances to compete! Stay tuned, folks!
~John
