Mice?? (Mercurial Storm/job/closed)

Finding a board in the middle of nowhere was quite a surprise for the poison mage. Finding it nearly empty was not. A single, battered request fluttered on the board. With a heavy sigh, "I guess the next step of our journey is decided, Ci. The fates have intervened."

She looked down at the battered parchment. "The winds got to this one." Scratchy sandstorms were quite common in the dry, desert terrain they'd been traversing. "I hope they still need the help... Though it wouldn't be there if they didn't, hrm."

"'Requesting at least two mages to deal with a rodent problem in Oak Town. Everyday, another batch of mice appear to terrorize our lovely home. Please come get rid of them and make sure they don't return. We'd like to host visitors.~Carrie and Tony..'" Nemuru sighed, "mice... nearly as bad a problem as those fruit flies." She grumbled to herself.

"I believe in the fates, though. Besides, its not like we have anywhere else to go at the moment. Oak town is supposed to be full of ancient secrets and a library and stuff. Maybe they'll have a museum of ancient armors or something." Her eyes sparkled with delight at this thought.
(203)

"Mice? well, those shouldn't be terribly hard to deal with...." He paused a moment as they walked, adjusting the straps on his backpack and chuckling again. "Then again, if i've learned anything in this line of work, its never underestimate what can go wrong, or how big the smallest problem can be." He wiped the sweat off of his brown and gave a chuckle. "Is it near to here at least? Or are we going to be tracking all the way across Fiore for this mouse job?

He adjusted the ties and straps of his armor, and the place where his hammer hung on his belt, a dozen little details that could be important if they got attacked. Preparedness was the watchword. If you were prepared, it was harder for something to take you out by surprise. And as long as he was standing, he could protect his partner, whatever might come.

(WC: 152)

"It's only in Oak village, just to the south of us. Near a river, I think." She pulled out that worn map of hers and pointed. "I think we can get there in a few hours. Still an awful long hike for mice of all things. At least, Oak town has stuff worth looking at after."

The trek passed relatively quickly and soon enough they found the address. Before they arrived, Nemuru insisted on picking up some mouse traps and peanut butter. "Mom always swore by peanut butter over cheese. It's stickier bait and they're less likely to escape." She looked up at the house, "it is rather pretty, isn't it?"

"Ms. Redheart?" She addressed the elderly woman who answered the door. "I'm Nemuru and this is Ciran." She gestured to the redhead at her side. "We're here to deal with your mouse problem."

"Carrie, please, dear... Let me just get my purse and I'll be out of your way."
(160)

While nemuru talked to the woman, he went around the outside of the house with the eye of a crafts man. He paused, taking note of a few things, like holes near the basement window, and bushes he saw a few mice disappear into. things that could be patched up to get rid of the mice problem, or at least help curb it.

Once he'd done a full circuit, he approached nemuru again, humming softly. "so mice...I spotted a few holes where they had chewed their way in, and I think some of them might be nesting in the bushes on the other side of the house...What do you say we do a walk through of the inside, see what we can't find out?" He smiled a bit and held the door open for her, letting her go first...Hopefully she wasn't afraid of mice... Though that could be quite funny, come to think of it

(154)

"Holes in the walls, eh? Sounds like a good job for you to go mold some of that siding back over..." She walked through the door and fumbled for the light switch. A high-pitched scream escaped the mage as the light came on. nearly a half-dozen large mice sat on the counter eating the remains of someone's dinner. As she yelled they ran in separate directions. "I- i guess we don't need bait there, eh?"

Cocking her head, she grinned as she saw the mice scurrying back towards the plate. Thrusting the bag of supplies at Ciran, she walked over to the rather disgusting table ware. Some of the mice squeaked at her, and began to approach, worried their precious dinner would be taken. Nemuru's hand gleamed with greenish magic. Grimacing, she stroked the surface, doing her best not to gag. Envenom! The deed done, she ran back to the door and flipped off the light to stand near Ciran. "Give that a few minutes."

A chorus of high-pitched squeals could be heard from the darkness.
(176)

He set the bag down and nodded, going back to the holes in the siding. Pulling out a few strips of metal that matched the siding, he started to repair the holes, humming as he went, happy to be working again. Work meant jewels coming in. Jewels meant more food, and more supplies to keep him forging. And more money to keep traveling with Nemuru. Leaning back, he looked at the patched holes, smiling a little. Good as new. Seeing some movement out of the side of his eye, he brought his hammer down on two mice that had been creeping out of the bush to see what was going. "Sorry my little furry ones. You picked the wrong house to be interested in." Scooping up the dead bodies to put in the garbage, he grimaced and scrubbed the blood off of his hammer. He needed to get or make a real weapon sometime soon instead of using his forge hammer....

(161)

Nemuru dared a peek inside the dark house. Flicking on the light, resulted in a disgusted face. Four mice lie dead in the bowl and two drunkenly stumbled towards the sink. "Oh, ughh...," she mumbled to herself. "Ciran, we've got a little mess to clean up..." The poison mage called as she rounded the corner to check on him.

She took the bag from him and sat down. Carefully, she baited the black snap traps with gobs of peanut butter. The last trap got quite the yelp from her as it slammed shut on her finger. Thankfully it's a new trap, she thought as she nursed on the pinched finger. Nemuru turned the digit this way and that as she inspected for blood. "Ciran, dead mice... on the counter..." She looked a bit pale for someone who'd savagely attacked the Wave mage the other day. "Help me, clean up please?"
(150)

"I got em. Got two others outside. Lets scout out inside, see what we can't find." taking a bag for garbage, he scooped the four dead mice into it, and lightly thumped the two dying ones with a fist, just hard enough to put them out of misery but not enough to damage the counter top. They were then added to the bag as he continued to look around for signs of more of the furry beasts.. Giving a smile he pointed the trail in the dust built up around the edges of things

"Looks like there might be more in the house somewhere with us...Hopefully its just mice at least...Not in the mood to fight something big and bad, especially as we are trying to not damage the house...Harder then it sounds, sometimes." He shook his head a little, following the trail to the stairs down to the basement. "Looks promising...."

(152)

"Two more outside, eh?" She eyed the trail in the dust. "Well, I have these ready if we need them..." Nemuru carried the set traps carefully, lest they bite her fingers again. "We probably should wash up those dishes on the the counter before the owner returns, as well." Nemuru followed him downstairs and pointed into the darkness at two pairs of reflecting beady eyes.

"I hope those are just mice. I'm not wanting to deal with anything bigger, either.." Carefully, she walked down the stairs and set the traps out of the way. Grabbing a mouse with her bare hands would be difficult, if not impossible. "Poison spray...," her voice came out as a mere whispered as three bolts appeared from a green magic circle. One shot wide, the other two landed solidly in one very surprised rodent. His fuzzy comrade ran towards the wooden staircase where they stood in a mad attempt to return to the elative safety of the house.
(163)

Giving a grunt and a kick, he kicked the fleeing mouse back towards its partner with a thump. "Yeah...likely are a good number hiding down here...This might take a little while." He sighed, sitting on the steps and looking around as he thought a little "At least the outside holes are patched, so they can't duck out then back in. they are stuck in here with us...Just a matter of patience I suppose." He stood again, stretching. "You go left, i'll go right, and we'll see what we can find?" A smile, more of a smirk really, crossed his lips. "If I hear a squeal I'll know you found one. Really, i didn't know you could make so girly a noise...." He ruffled her hair a moment then leaned in to kiss her cheek. "Nice to know you arn't tough as nails all the time." With that he started off to his side of the basement, looking high and low, stopping a moment to squish a mouse underfoot and add it to the bag.

(174)

"Of course I'm not. I also fear things like heights and bugs..." The poison mage shuddered. "Is there something wrong with me sounding girly?" The kiss sent a blush across her cheeks.

Nemuru began searching the old wooden crates scattered around the basement. Eventually, she'd meet her partner. Plenty of dust got kicked up, yet no evidence of more mice. "No luck, Ci-, think we got 'em all. I just want to go back to the kitchen and check. Maybe you can do that while I wash the dishes for this woman? Speaking of dishes, we should probably politely mention that may be why they are coming in. Then, we can dispose of the mice and wait for her to return for payment."

She headed back up the stairway to get to work. Nemuru assumed her partner would help her finish this off and look for anything else that might need done if he could think of it.
(159)

"Nothing wrong with you being girly at all. I like you exactly the way you are Nemuru. Do not let anyone change you except yourself. You keep being you, because you rock." He took the sack of dead rodents outside, and came back inside to wash his hands, making a face. "Can't say I care for mice either." He took the broom, and started to sweep, tidying up as she did dishes. As he did, his mind wandered a little bit, to the day they might have their own house, and nothing could stand against them. Mice would not dare come. One, because they were not silly enough to leave out dirty dishes, and two, because they would be mighty mages that even mice would fear.

"Well, that should do it. Lets get out of here, collect our pay, and go someplace a little...cleaner. We have earned a little bit of rest and relaxation for once. Have anywhere in mind?"

(160 and Fin)