Puppies+Vulcans=Recipe for Disaster(JOB/Javel)

Javel never found missions to be exciting and he most likely never would. But he still went on them for the sake of money and exploration as there was no use in just sitting around and doing nothing while time flies by. Missions filled in the dull void and he had learned a lot about Fiore as well as earn himself a living.

This particular mission deviated from the ones he'd been enough, specifically that it took place right outside the guild's doorsteps into the Spooky Forest that separated Savage Skull from the rest of the world. Javel took a good look at the mission slip and carefully looked over it; his mission was to find a lost puppy that somehow stumbled out of town and into the lost woods. This was a recent event, and it had to have taken the most terrible of luck for the puppy to end up here. Based on prior experience, the forest was very unforgiving to trespassers and the dark mage has heard plenty of implications given by Viktor that not many make it out alive once trapped in the Spooky Forest. If humans had a hard time in these woods, Javel could only wonder just how a small helpless puppy would fare in those odds. It would have to take a miracle for him to even find the puppy alive.

That said, the dark mage focused his thoughts back on the mission paper. Apparently, many other flyers have been passed around town in hopes of getting other mages to help with the search. It wouldn't be surprising if they did accept, but Javel wasn't expecting help from a job partner any time soon. Any poor soul entering the Spooky Forest unaided would probably end up dead in a matter of days. The same would go for the puppy in question and the dark mage knew he didn't have much time left. Ready for the search, Javel left his guild building and trekked into the Forest.

Navigating through the dead woods was no problem for him, a benefit that was taught to him when he joined Savage Skull. The former more or less knew his way around the area safely, but the problem now lies where the puppy would possibly be and whether or not it would stay in the same place by the time he gets there. Where should he start? Is it a good idea to take a detour? Should he signal? When should he give up? Many questions popped into his head and he found no answer to any of them as he looked around.

Javel had not taken into account the potential situation of being greeted so soon by another living being in the middle of the forest so soon. One moment he heard the crackling of branches from above as well as a high-pitch voice; the next he was face-to-face with...a young girl?

Upon hearing the rustling, the dark mage immediately gripped his weapon still slung on his back and was more than ready to take a swing at anything that would come near him. Of course, he had to pull himself back from doing so since the antic was coming from none other than some child. Still, child or not, this sight made Javel feel very much unnerved. A minute before he was deep in his thoughts about how dangerous the forest is to both humans and animals and not too soon after some girl shows without even the slightest trace of trouble or despair that many would've faced and felt when stuck in these woods. Just what kind of country was Fiore if little girls were allowed to wonder the nation without restrain or even the little bit of care or supervision from adults?

Then, the girl spoke to him, her chosen selection of words giving a hint why she was here in front of him before the former smiled toothily at her. The strange aspects of her sharp teeth indicated she wasn't any ordinary young girl, but Javel was not the least bit amused by her unusual optimism. Her dangling of a piece of paper similar to his own mission slip confirmed his suspicions; she was a mage and it just so happened that they were assigned to the same job. While not trusting of strangers, Javel relented his initial hostility but still kept his hand on the grip of his weapon in the case he needed to draw it out if things go south.

"Who are you?" the dark mage coldly asked, a touch of curiosity in his voice.

The girl's unusually optimistic attitude was offputting given the area they were in. Even the way she introduced herself, she sounded eerily confident in herself and the dark mage couldn't tell if this was a facade or that she was just that go-lucky by nature. Tsubasa Hane was supposedly her name, and happiness was apparently her game...or at least initially

Once she answered, she proceeded to ask for his name. The dark mage's answer was vague and simple compared to the girl's cheerful one. "Javel." As he answered, he had a strange feeling the girl was eyeing at him in a peculiar manner. For all the happy blubber she's showing in terms of exterior, Javel caught her enigmatic silver eyes seemingly scanning him for head to toe, an act not very discrete given the way she was looking at him, his clothing, and weapon in no particular order. Why was she observing him like he was the enemy?

It came as no surprise to Javel why she would think that, after all he himself was a dark mage and he already has a bad rep for his association with the dark guild Savage Skull. The question is whether or not the girl knew about it and if she was marking him as suspicious or not. Surely, those who lived in Fiore would've thought Spooky Forest and Savage Skull as synonymous with one another  by now; it certainly was the case of the rune knights and the Council so to think that this girl didn't trust him wouldn't be much of a stretch and very much understandable. Of course, a job was a job and it still needed to be done, even if it involved cooperation between enemies.

"So, any idea of where to find this puppy? I've scouted above a little bit, but not to much avail. Perhaps down here, it would be easier to find clues."

Javel himself had been wandering for his share of time, and he didn't really get anywhere in his mundane search. As such, he decided to agree with her and responded. "Anything's possible at this point. Lead the way"

Making note of her physique, he also asked her "You made your way around by flying?"

Javel watched and followed the genki-girl as she cheerfully skipped about the woods without a second thought. She was queer - very strange indeed. But her guess was as good as his without a proper lead on the dog's location...or least so he thought.

The dark mage followed Tsubasa silently, but without any warning, she changed her pace not long after they walked. Going from a simple waltz to a full-on sprint, she quickly broke off into the distance and left the dark mage to bite the dust. Such an act caught Javel by surprise and shock.

"What's this?" the dark mage muttered in mild disbelief and picked up his pace just as quickly. Why exactly did she run off like that? Did she see something? What's going on?

Javel ran up to the mage and the duo found themselves within a part of the forest the dark mage didn't seem to recognize. It was a small clearing devoid of the dead vegetation that surrounded them, leaving a very open corrider in its empty wake. Why would the girl run up to here? There was nothing to see and the puppy they sought after was no where to be seen. Unamused, the dark mage began to speak "Running off like that is very unwise. What exactly did you see?"

The girl's personality seems to have drastically changed when she spoke, her cheerful demeanor gone and replaced by a sense of focus and objective. Javel was mildly taken by surprise by her sudden seriousness, but at the moment like this it was much more preferable than the cutesy non-sense. Her heightened competence was also noted and Javel could see her looking past the set of trees of font of them at the ground. He followed her line of sight and noticed beast-like footprints and stray fur strewn ahead of them. He replied to her concerns, "Let's not keep them waiting then."

The dark mage took point and headed towards the given path, following the footprints as he went. He cautiously paced his footsteps, staying light on his feet and listening in to the creepy atmosphere for any changes in the eerie silence.

Vulcans, nasty ape-like suckers that were more of a nuisance than an actual threat. Though they were strong, they were equally just as stupid and dealing with one shouldn't be a problem. The only obstacle was the puppy the damn baffoon was holding in its arms and that meant attacking with caution; accidentally killing the poor dog would make the whole mission all for nothing.

So the first thing to do was obvious - get the dog out of harm's way. Javel was quick to charge into battle; the more athelete mage raced past the younger 'Tsubasa' leaping in the air and without a second thought blindsided the vulcan as Tsubasa attacked from the front. Deliberately using his own bodyweight, Javel grabbed the monster by the neck from behind and clasped both his hands together for a choking headlock. Done right, the monster now either had to let go of the dog to deal with him or face suffocation. Expectedly, it let go and the puppy quickly jumped out of its grasp and towards safety. With its full aggression now on the dark mage on its back, the vulcan roared loudly, extending its massive arms backwards in a vicious attempt to grab him...

Javel finished off the vulcan with one final stomp to the head. He had underestimated the girl; she was strong and much more powerful than he would've thought and it comes to show that looks weren't everything. However, he was mildly disturbed by her unusually sadistic nature noted by her gleeful smiles as she attacked the vulcan. Even Javel, who although ruthless and cruel, did not take enjoyment in killing and merely saw it as necessary. For now none of that matter, since the monster was dead and with the dog safe, it was best they get going immediately.

Yet, although they won the fight, he was not optimistic about his situation. How could he? The initial roar from the vulcan when it was alive surely would've been heard by others of its kind elsewhere nearby. Chances are things wouldn't have been that simple as killing one; predators in this particular forest never tended to travel alone. His intuition was right...

Roars sounding like howls echoed through the foggy night and breaking the silence. Javel unsheathed his weapon and prepared himself for war. It was time to put his abilities to the test and he could only hope that the girl was as ready as he was. Fooling around was no longer an option...

Her skill with her magic was impressive for someone of her rank. In a brilliant flash of white flames, er grace and careful execution of her spell managed to effortlessly down one of the powerful vulcans, which would've taken regular mages a lot more work to do.

Of course, the dark mage was not to be outdone and he had a more pragmatic approach to taking care of his opponents. He contemplating about equipping his armor for the situation, but decided  against with the presence of another mage nearby. Instead, he will improvise and holding his arm outward, he summoned a new weapon in the form of an antique lantern.

Edison's Lantern had proven to be a valuable asset in Javel's arsenal and he intended to utilize it to its fullest potential. He quickly unsheathed his weapon off his back and held it at the middle. He aligned his newly summoned lantern to the front of the weapon, cocking and pushing the slider of the latter forward like a shotgun. True to its name, the Berserker's Hand, the weapon's eponymous function closed at gripped the lantern tightly, practically transforming itself from a blunt weapon to a pseudo-mace in one mechanical motion.

The dark mage followed up with Tsubasa's initial moonfire spell. She managed to land a decent hit on the next vulcan and left an opening for attack, one to finish it off. Javel aimed down on the monster and immediately fired off a powerful bolt of yellow lightning at its general direction. The bang of the voltage rang through the cold night as it surged through the creature like a impaling sword. The vulcan dropped dead seconds after and Javel quickly marked his next targets, none other than the charging vulcans angered by the fall of their brethen.

Javel shifted his position and parried one of  the oncoming fists thrown at him by one of the vulcans. He knocked his arm aside and swung his improvised mace at the other vulcan with tremendous force, a crackling of electric sparks igniting from the point of impact. It backed up in pain and Javel took the chance to swing again, this time going for its leg and knocking it off balance. The dark mage raised his weapon and brought it down on the grounded creature before it could put up any more resistance. As expected, one hit was not enough to slay it so he struck again. And again. And again - each consecutive blow more vicious than the last on the poor victim of his silent fury.

Javel was still swinging at the mutilated body of the vulcan he was still attacking, only stopping when he heard Tsubasa call to him with her cheerful voice. The dark mage relented and took a glance at his now-bloodied weapon. The lantern faded back into his pocket dimension in a flash of light and he re-sheathed his Berserker's Hand onto his back before finally turning around.

The girl scooped up the frightened puppy from the bushes and happily suggested that they finally get going back to town. Javel found himself nodding and he followed closely behind as the duo made their way to the client's hometown. The woods were huge and unforgiving, and with their pace it seemed like a few hours worth of walking. Fortunately for them, Javel knew his way around to take point and lead them safely out of the forest afterwards. The road to the town was an easy path to follow when they made it out...

Javel accepted the money given to him by the girl and he curtly nodded to her. She was certainly a queer one and would've never expected her to survive in those woods, but oh was he very much proven wrong. Javel had a level of respect towards her conviction and skill, a shame it had to hampered by that ridiculous personality of hers. Perhaps when she gets older, she will become a more mature person by then.

Of course, that still didn't change the fact that going alone into the Spooky Forest without supervision was a reckless thing to do. Javel experienced it first-hand himself and did not want anyone else to end up in his situation. But lo and behold, the girl leapt in the air and back into the forest and taking off before the dark mage could even warn her not to do so. He sighed in frustration and decided to get a move along, as he needed to get back to Savage Skull. He, too, entered the Spooky Forest and headed towards into the fog, and faded away...