Maiden Snatcher (Job / Solo)

Nessa sighed deeply as she stood at the edge of the forest, her expression moulded into a slight frown. She was not normally this solemn, normally she was perky and upbeat. But this was no time for playfulness. A girl was missing.


She taken on a job from a Client named Isabel, whose little sister Eliza had been snatched away. Witnesses in the area, claimed to have spotted a Vulcan, carrying a screaming girl into the forest. That was their only lead, it had to be her. The girl was only sixteen years of age, she must have been petrified. This made Nessa angry, to think some evil create would think it's in their right to take an innocent little girl. We've got to save her She thought to herself.

In order to prepare for this mission, Nessa had worn her usual white battle clothes, however instead of a dress she had gone for a white top, and white shorts. Figuring their would be easier to run with, there was definately a fight ahead. Who knows what they would run into. She had on white boots, and a backpack. In the bag was water, food, change of clothes, things Nessa may need if this mission were to drag on. Sebastian stood at her side as they stared into the forest. It was the first time they would be doing something like this together. But she had decided if she was fighting and she found the girl, Sebastian could potentially get her to safety.

"Are you ready Nessa?" Sebastian asked, his tone serious for once, she looked at him and nodded. 

"Let's go." And the two off them set off at a quick pace into the forest. 

The two of them sped through the forest with haste, darting through the trees. Feet pounding the forest floor, Nessa scooped Sebastian up, Then producing Starlight comet, her few began to glow as she ran at much greater speed. They had to get there as quickly as possible, who knows what state the girl could be in, Nessa prayed at the least she was still alive. Following this Nessa summoned Starlight guide, a relatively new ability. A single star appeared beside her head as she ran, floating and yet moving with her. It awaited her instruction, she spoke.

"Find the missing girl." She told it, the star moved forward floating ahead of them but still in their line of sight. The two chased the star, turning with it as it adjusted it's path as necessary. The star was slowly getting brighter and brighter, that meant they were getting closer to their target. however as they ran Nessa could hear something in the distance, crashing through the tree's behind them. Whatever it was it clearly intended on attacking them. Sebastian, moved up in her grip to look over her shoulder.

"It's gaining on us!" He yelled, she glanced over hr shoulder with him in disbelief. Her spell gave her speed. She could outrun things with ease, but that had usually been humans, these were monsters after all. Whatever it was that was chasing them, there seemed to be a group of them. A multitude of demons. Were they chasing her to stop her saving the girl, or were they just targeting them for food. It was probably the latter.

The demons were an assortment of shapes and sizes, wearing a mixture of tribal attire. They were a bizarre combination of human and animal. With limbs, head and features mixed in a unsightly concoction. They were carrying human weapons too, knives, axes, even hatchets. They had clearly taken them of off people they had come across in the forest, People they had probably killed.

"Starlight shower!"

She pulled Sebastian under her top to protect him from her spell, looking forward as she ran. Light began to rain down through the trees, little showers of stars, only these weren't gentle showers. She heard the screeches and wails of the beast behind her, as the attack did it's damage. She heard the sound of chasing footsteps, grow less as some of them slumped to the ground taking out by the attack. It wasn't pleasant, but it did the job. As she gonna to move away, watching Starlight guide fluttering almost playfully in front of her. She allowed the spell to continue, a means of protection.


"Nessa, I have to tell you, as a human you're really not my type and this isn't comfy." Sebastian who had been covered by her top and was resting against her bosom peeked up at her through the neckline of her top.

"Just bare with it a few more minutes until the spell stops, I just wanna make sure we're clear for a bit, until we get closer to the girl." She asked apologetically, Sebastian sighed, shuffling against her as a means of getting more comfortable.

Nessa watched as Starlight guide grew brighter and brighter, slowing in pace, she allowed the shower to stop. The light faded from her feet as she was no longer running, the girl was here, she could sense it. Pulling Sebastian out of her top, the exceed gasped for air. Jumping out of her arms, he stretched his limbs and shook his fur.

"I probably wouldn't have mind, it you hadn't have been running so fast. Reminded me of the time I was sleeping in a barrel that was push down a steep hill, but that's another story." Nessa ignored the cats rambling as she made her way over to Starlight guide. The star had stopped over what appeared to be a cluster of branches in the shape of a sphere. As she got closer, she realised it was a wooden cage, and inside, unconscious was a young girl.

"Eliza!" Nessa breathed running up to the cage, having realised what was ahead Sebastian quickly followed. As she reached the branches, she began to tug as them, yanking them. it was tough, they were woven together intricately. Summoning her Starlight sword, she hacked at the branches, her starlight magic causing them to burn away. As soon as the hole was big enough, Sebastian darted forward, approaching the girl. Nessa stopped and watched as he checked her breathing. He listened against her chest, then looked at Nessa.

"She's breathing!" he told her happily, Nessa let out a sigh of relief, the girl was alive. That was a good start.

Sebastian leaned over the girls face, she was so young and fragile,  An easy target for an evil beast. Her purple night gown torn and dirty. She didn't looked injured which was a realise, but had hadn't been taken care of either. Sebastian pressed his face against her cheek, nuzzling it gently. "Eliza, Eliza wake up." He called softly to her. The girls eyes remained close, her breathing steady. He nudged her once more, sniffing the air around her before turning to look at Nessa. His voice serious once more as he delivered his suspicions to the Starlight Maiden. "She's under an enchantment, probably the Vulcan that took her. Once we kill the beast that took her, she should wake up. There's no point moving her until we get rid of it."

Nessa eye's shifted to the ground, her fists clenched in frustration. She had admittedly hoped she would be able to find the girl and bring her back without confronting the Vulcan. It wasn't that she was scared to fight, but more that her lack of experience would prevent her from protecting Sebastian and the girl. She had never taken on a Vulcan before, not to mention she only had Sebastian with her. He could fight but she didn't want to risk him getting hurt by such a large creature. He was only small in size after all. There was rumbling behind her, she sighed, it couldn't be helped she would just have to fight. Nessa turned to see what she would be facing.  

Trees were pushed aside like blades off grass as the monster came into the space in which they were standing. It stood at over twice her height, towering over her with ease. It was shaped like an oversized ape, it's arms and legs as thick as tree trunks. It fur was brown, covered with patches of moss. Its fists clenched and it's face scowling, it seemed displeased to see someone disturbing it's prey.

From the description she had been told from her Aunty before heading out into the forest. This was a wood Vulcan, still pretty beastly, but one of the weaker ones that she could have got. It could have been worse, she could have stumbled across a mountain Vulcan. Those were supposedly to be unbelievably strong. But still, a Wood Vulcan was bound to do enough harm if she wasn't cautious. The Vulcan grunted and huffed angrily ready to kill whatever it was that had wandered into it's lair.

That was until it saw Nessa.

It was no secret that Vulcan's favoured women, and Nessa with like long white hair, delicate features and shaped figure was exactly what the Vulcan liked. It's primate face lit wit with glee, as it looked as if it couldn't believe it's luck, a woman had entered it's home willingly.

The primate monster almost seemed to drool as it stared down at Nessa, it was digusting, reminding her of a pervy of man with the way it looked at her. She scanned the area, taking no care to hide the concern on her face. This was no good, they were too close to the girl, if they fought she could get hurt. Nessa would have to lure the creature to a safe distance before taking it on. She began to walk towards the creature, speaking to Sebastian as she did so. "Stay with Eliza, protect her body while I'll handle this thing." She told him, not looking back. She stepped right into reaching distance of the Wood Vulcan, sword in one hand, the other placed cockily on her hip.

"Like what you see huh? Come and get it then." She challenged, panting with excitement, the Vulcan reached down to pick her up. Only to have her dart out of it's reach, it looked confused for a moment, reaching for her once more. But as those giant fingers got close to clasping her, she hopped back out of it's grip. The ape monster growled in frustrating, it's swiping more furious. She lead it away from the caged girl and Sebastian, dancing it away with skill and precision. It was long before the beast lost it's temper and began to speed up, moving faster and faster until they were both running through the forest. Further and further away from the monsters lair.

Once she was satisfied she was far enough away from Sebastian and Eliza so that they wouldn't get hurt from her fighting the Vulcan. She darted around the trees, moving back around the Vulcan so she was behind it. She leapt into the air, grabbing hold of the Vulcan's mossy fur. She gripped onto , holding as tightly as she could, the Vulcan stopped it's chase. Confused, it looked around, then it realised something was climbing it's way up it's back. Nessa barely dodged as the Vulcan reached it's arm round to grab her, she quickly scaled up it's body. It wasn't easy although it's hair was thick, the moss was damp and was making her hands slippery. She pulled herself up onto his shoulder, summoning Starlight Spear. The light javelin formed in her right hand. Bringing it upwards, she thrust it downwards into it's shoulder, burying it deep in the monster's flesh. The Vulcan threw it's head back and let out a pained roar. Reaching up, Nessa felt it's giant hand envelop her, yanking her off of her feet. The Wood Vulcan brought her face to his and roared at her. It's putrid breath hitting her full on along with flecks of it's saliva. The beast then raised her into the arm, and threw her downwards with all it's mind. Nessa felt her entire body slam against the floor, knocking the wind of her. She wheezed, trying to push herself off of the ground, that had hurt a lot.

Nessa tried to stand up, that had taken her by surprise, shaking her entire core. She pushed her hands against the ground, lifting her body off of the soil. It was hard, her body hadn't be prepared for such a heavy blow. Unaware of what was coming. The Vulcan had taken a few steps back before starting a run, lifting back it's foot. It drove it forward directly into Nessa's stomach with a powerful kick. The force of the Vulcans foot sending her flying across the forest. She soared through the air, like a rag doll thrown by out toddler. She flew pass a blur of tree's before her body crumpled with a loud crack against a tree. She let out an agonized moan, as she slumped down, rolling along the bark towards the cold ground. Her body flopped to the floor, pressed against the soil, unable to move for a moment. The pain was overwhelming, her vision was blurry and as she coughed she was sure blood came out. She tried to lift her head but she couldn't, she stared at the forest floor. The Vulcans footsteps drawing nearer, each thud a daunting indication of what was about to come. She felt her body lifted off of the floor, the Vulcans grip lighter this time. It probably was checking to see if she was still alive, she couldn't focus her eyes or even bring herself to look dead. She felt the Vulcan's breath on her face once more, as it sniffed her. This was it, it was going to kill her.

Through some miracle of fate, the Vulcan decided not to kill her. Instead it appeared to carry her, back to his lair. Her body had taken a great deal of shock from it's two blows, and although she could feel her constitution returning, she was still not ready to do anything rash. She needed to think about this more carefully. She had only managed to deal one blow on it so far and yet the beast had nearly taken her out of the equation with only two. The damage in comparison had been massive, she couldn't allow another attack to hit her. If it did it would sure kill her. Then she wouldn't be able to help anyone. She needed to stop it from getting back to the lair too. She had lured him away to avoid fighting near them, she wasn't sure If the creature knew the connection between her and Eliza. Did it know she was there to rescue her, or did it think she had just stumbled by randomly. Vulcans weren't particularly intelligent creatures, and a Wood Vulcan was one of the weaker types. She couldn't imagine what it would have been like to take on a Mountain Vulcan, she probably wouldn't be alive at all. A single blow like the one the wood Vulcan had delivered to her probably would have killed her in a instant. But it hadn't, fate was still on her side for now. She just had to play her cards right, she allowed magic to fuel inside her growing stronger whilst remaining still in the monsters arms.

There was one attack she could use, one that was bound to bring a great deal of damage to him. Her strongest spell, she just needed it to charge. Hopefully it would before they got back to the lair. Nessa closed her eyes, she knew how far they had been from the lair, fortunately she had managed to get them quite far so it would take a while. Especially as the Vulcan was in the rush to get back but was walking at an almost leisurely pace. She took a calming breathe, her body was starting to recover it's sensations. Getting over the initial shock of the attacks, like pins and needles it itched. Wanting to move, but she had to wait, wait until the spell was ready. Once it was she would need to escape the Vulcans grip and manoeuvre her body in a way so that she could throw the spin at it. .

Nessa reached for her magic with her mind, going inside of her spirit. She felt her spirit reach out, like little tendrils searching. It reached the core of magic inside her, a glowing light. She could almost see it in her minds eye, glowing, and growing. A ball of pure starlight more beautiful and dazzling that any light she'd seen. She caressed it, coaxing magic from the stars towards it. She felt the shift in the atmosphere, the stars were bright tonight and although the trees were providing a great deal of coverage. They could still reach her. The magic pouring down, and reappearing inside of her. Building up slowly, for a release of magic power.

Nessa's eyes popped open, this was it, she was ready. Lifting her head up, she made her first move, in order to get the Ape monster to let her go. Opening her mouth, she leaned forward, closing her lips over one of his fingers. She brought her bite together, her teeth sinking into the Vulcans flesh. She tried not to gag as the creatures fur filled her mouth, she had to hold on. She bit down harder than she'd ever done before, feeling the strain on her jaw. There was a howl of pain, and the grip on her loosened. Before the Vulcan had the chance to throw her against the ground again. Nessa leapt, swinging onto a nearby branch to break up her fall, She allowed herself to slide down the tree towards the ground. She landed firmly, turning to face the Vulcan. This was it, the Vulcan would not give her another chance at life, it would be death next time. But she was ready now, she knew what it had in store, and she had a plan. Bringing her palms together in front of her, she allowed the magic to surge forward. 

"Starlight Pulse!" She commanded aloud, the magic flew out of her. Creating ripple effects of light magic, hitting the Vulcan at full force and sending him flying through the trees. From where Sebastian sat with Eliza in the distance he could see the light flickering through the trees indicting to him that Nessa was still fighting. 

Sebastian sat on the cold forest floor, watching from a distance. He didn't know how he could tell, but he knew. Nessa was hurt. He wanted to run to her, to help her. But he knew he shouldn't. She would only be mad, and it would leave the stolen girl exposed to the beasts of the forest. It wasn't just Vulcans and Demons, there was smaller sneakier beast. The cage had been a guard for the girl, preventing them from coming near but Nessa had torn open the enchanted cage with her sword. All manner of creature could enter, but they feared the wrath of the Vulcan. Sebastian could sense them, watching, hoping that the Vulcan and the Mage finished each other off. He had no fear of that, Nessa would defeat the beast, he knew it. From the moment he had awoken that day, seeing her lying on the couch snoozing. Exhausted from worry, worry for him. He had sensed it, the girl had a great destiny, and he needed to be a part of it. He looked down at the stolen girl, Eliza. So young, so weak. Her destiny had been extended today, thanks to Nessa's hard work. He place a paw on the girls chest, feeling it rise and fall. The girl was alive, but she was dehydrated, and extremely fatigued. They would need to take her straight to a doctor. Sebastian brought his eyes back to the light in the distance. The next word came out like a breath, "Nessa..."  his master, for the rest of his existence.

Nessa body admittedly still ached a great deal from the Vulcan's attack but she had managed to pull herself together to continue to fight. Starlight Pulse continued to crush the Vulcan, pinning it to the ground with it's immense pressure, the heat of it searing the Vulcans fur. The Vulcan looked to be in a lot of pain, it's eyes shut, it's mouth open in an agonized cry. Normally the sight of suffering brought an ache to Nessa's heart, but not today. Nessa's face was blank as she looked on, her grip unwavering as she held onto the spell. She couldn't allow herself to feel sympathy for such a creature, the evil beast before her, had done nothing to warrant it. This wasn't like the imps. They weren't exterminating a pest, killing creatures that had just wanted a new home. This Vulcan had made the conscious decision to take something that wasn't his, and not just any replaceable object, but a human girl, to take and keep her for it's own. An innocent human girl. A girl who would undoubtedly be traumatized from the experience. Who would probably have nightmares for a very long time about being kidnapped by a monster. She could not show sympathy for such a creature, a creature that did not value the lives and well being of others, didn't deserve it. This wasn't the circle of life, it had been pure selfishness. Nessa would not stand for it, for humankind she had to protect people from beasts like this.

The spells effects disappeared, leaving the Vulcan lying there panting. Severely weakened. Nessa took another breath, she would not give the creature a chance to recover. The spell had done it's job of taking most of the Vulcans strength, dealing a great amount of damage all over it's body. She closed her eyes, pulling at her magic once more, Nessa summoned her next attack. Eyes popping open as she called out the words for her next spell.

" Starlight orbs." Her words firm, showing not hesitation. Magical spheres of star light appearing around them, she showed them their path with her mind. The Orbs obeyed her command, flying forward towards the Vulcan. The orbs slammed into the Vulcans body, one by one, hitting the beast randomly. The Vulcan had attempted to push itself off of the ground but the blows from the orbs knocking it down. There was so many and being so weakened from her previous spell, meant it could not escape the attack. The orbs would just keep reappearing for the duration of the spell, having receive their target. They would continue to aim for the Vulcan. Unless Nessa gave it a different order, but she wouldn't. The spell had a good range meaning she didn't need to get close to attack the beast. That she had learned from it's first two attacks, if she could take it out without getting close. She would be fine. She had it all mapped out in her mind, each step she would take until she delivered the final blow.

Nessa was well on her way to making her next move. She turned away from the Vulcan, rushing over to a nearby tree she grabbed onto a low hang branch. Gripping the bark tight and using it to lift herself up. Hoisting herself, onto the branch. She put her feet on it, lifting herself to a shaky stand. She reached up for a higher branch, repeating this step. Allowing Starlight Orb to continue its course, she used it as a way of keeping the Vulcan occupied for the time being. As she climbed she could hear the angry roars of the Vulcan, she couldn't get distracted though, she needed to get up the tree quickly. Fortunately, the tree had a lot of limbs, enough for her to scale it, getting higher and higher. Until she got to a point where she was at east ten metres above the ground. She positioned herself at the base of a thicker branch. One she knew would hold her weight. She turned to look at the Vulcan, she could see its frustration. It had managed to lift its torso, and was looking around swatting at the orbs. Although this didn't do much to stop their damage. Swatting the orbs away may have prevented them from crashing it to its body, but it still seared the skin on his palms. So far so good, everything was moving in her favour. All she had to do was complete the next few steps in her strategy and this would all be over.

Nessa issued a command for Starlught orb to stop. The orbs ceased to appear, the final few landed a hit before fading into the air completely. She held both her hands apart. Her magic taking on another new shape. The light moulding in each of her hands, a bow in her left and arrow in her right. It wouldn't take much, the Vulcan had been greatly weakened by her attacks. She could tell from its body language. All she need was one shot, the right shot. She raised her bow of light, positioning it in front of her. She twiddled the arrow so it was between the grip of her finger tips. She moved into an archers stance, her breathing calm. Her eyes locked at the Vulcan that was pathetically trying to get to its feet. There was a moment of peace as she stretched the string of the bow and then. Release. The arrow of light shot through the air, making its way to the Vulcan, like a single shooting star in the forest. Mess awaited with bated breathe, willing the arrow not to miss. Finally the arrow struck, the Vulcan stilled from a moment. Raising its hand to its face, unsure of what had happened. Then a moment later, it's eyes rolled back and it's body slumped to the floor. A single arrow if light embedded in its forhead, buried into its brain, leaving it for dead. Nessa had done it, she had succeeded in killing the Vulcan.

Nessa stood there for a moment taken in what she'd achieved. She had killed a Wood Vulcan, another living creature, but this time she acknowledged the cause. She hadn't done it for the selfish benefit of human law. This had been to save someone, she had saved someone. Yet the exhaustion and pain in her body took away the joy she should be feeling. She turned towards the tree and slowly made her way down, careful not to lose her grip. The last she needed was to fall now and break her neck. As she landed on the soil, she decided to double check the Vulcan was dead first, it wouldn't do her any good to go back to the girl if the beast wasn't gone. Especially because of that enchantment. She needed to make sure the job was done properly. She made her way over to the body of the Vulcan, cautiously approaching it's head. As she stepped up to it she inspecting it. There was no sign of breathing, it's eyes rolled back and it's tongue lulled out of it's mouth. It was definitely dead, she cringed at the sight of it. Quickly turning away, that was it. Now she just had to get the girl back to the family and it would be over. She began to walk through the trees, back to the clearing where to knew Sebastian and Eliza would be waiting. She hoped desperately that nothing had happened whilst she had been fighting the Vulcan.

Sebastian heard a crash in the distane, louder and greater than the ones he had heard so far. He looked through the woods, desperately trying to make out what had happened, but he couldn't see anything. Through the intertwined branches of the cage and the amount of trees in the forest, his vision was too blocked. It was then he felt a little movement beneath him, the exceed's gaze shot down. The girl's eyes were twitching, her body stirred. She was awakening. Sebastian felt himself light up with joy, Nessa had done it. She had killed the Vulcan, just as he'd trusted she would. Sebasitna moved back a little as a means of giving Eliza some room. The girl stirred and slowly her eyes opened, blinking a few times before sitting up. She looked around, "Where am I?" She said aloud, asking no one in aprticular. Then her eyes fell on the exceed. "...A kitty..." She said looking at him with confusion.

"Hey there, Eliza, my name is Sebastian. Now before you freak out about a talking cat, I am an exceed. My friend Nessa and I came to forest to rescue you from the Wood Vulcan that had captured you." He explained, recieving all the expected reactions. First she looked terrifed at the sight of a talking cat, then as he's words set in. She looked around in trying to validate his words.

"You're saving me...?" She asked softly, Sebastian nodded.

"Yes, my friend has just defeated the Vulcan and now we're going to take you back home to your family."

Nessa came through the clearing of the woods, arriving to see the girl sitting up already awake, and talking to Sebastian. She smiled with relief, thank goodness, she thought as she made her way over. Sebastian looked up and saw up, standing up onto his paws, the exceed ran out of the cage and jumped up. Landing in her arms and nuzzling her chest.

"You did it, Nessa, you did it." He said happily, she smiled, cuddling the kitty in return.

"I did..." She looked up at Eliza who was staring up at them, still dazed and confused. "We got a request from your sister Isabel, you went missing a few days ago. Wood Vulcan tend to put their captees under enchantments so you wouldn't have known. Here I have food and water," Nessa reached into her satchel and pulled out a flask and a loaf of bread wrapped in foil. It was then that the girl must have realised how hungry and thirsty she was. She took the water first, swigging it back, before letting out a gasp, then she ripped into the bread and began to eat. Nessa allowed her to finish them off, whilst she did so, she proceeded to rip open the gap in the cage. Making it large enough for Eliza to climb out. The three of them left the clearing and began to walk through the woods. There past by the body of the Vulcan, Nessa was careful not to lead them too close. As Eliza saw it, she realised the full truth behind their tale. The sixteen year old began to cry,

"T-thank you," She said threw her sobs, Nessa reached out and took her hand in hers.

"Come on, let's go home." And the three of them made their way through the forest, arriving home the next morning.

 
END