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    [Job] Shimmering Feelings (Akeya/Nymara)

    Nymara
    Nymara

    Player 
    Lineage : Prodigy of Nyx
    Position : None
    Posts : 163
    Guild : Fairy Tail
    Cosmic Coins : 0
    Dungeon Tokens : 0
    Mentor : Akeya
    Experience : 21,875

    Character Sheet
    First Skill: Fire Dragon Slayer Magic
    Second Skill:
    Third Skill:

    [Job] Shimmering Feelings (Akeya/Nymara) - Page 2 Empty Re: [Job] Shimmering Feelings (Akeya/Nymara)

    Post by Nymara 2nd December 2022, 3:43 pm

    Well at least Akemi was skilled enough to navigate the intricate conversational ways of the nobles. It honestly shouldn't have surprised Nymara that much, given how much knowledge she knew Akemi had, though it was still interesting for her to listen in on. Of course, Nymara couldn't stop herself from tensing up slightly with every lie Akemi said, though it seemed to come so naturally to her that the other noble didn't even appear to notice. Or at least if he did, he was very good at conveying the opposite. "Quite true indeed. Sometimes only the intervention of the gods can stop someone with enough motivation." Harringoth would chuckle slightly in response to Akemi's first statement, though there was a hint in his tone to suggest he wasn't entirely joking. "Hehe, though these days I've heard even the gods have met their match. Such strange magic some of these 'Slayer' wizards can get ahold of, and boldly named." Harringoth would continue before taking another sip of his wine. With that last sentence, Nymara would resist the urge to look back and shoot her mentor a concerned side glance, if only because the tall noble was staring directly at both of them. Could he have somehow known about their magic or was he simply making conversation? Nymara had to hope it was the latter because if anyone found out they were wizards it could make their job at this party much more difficult. Instead, Nymara would pretend to not notice his comment and continue filling up her plate. In a ladylike manner of course.

    "Ah, I am deeply saddened to hear that Lady Akemi. Perhaps we shall meet yet at some point." He would say in a polite tone regarding the news of Akemi's "father". Nymara had to assume she was lying about that too, though she could never be certain with Akemi. Nymara still knew almost nothing about the twilight dragon before joining the guild, so who's to say she wouldn't thread some of the truth with lies? Not that it mattered much at the moment, though the fact that it was even brought up got Nymara thinking. Sadly none of Nymara's burning questions about her mentor's mysterious past were likely to get answered, at least not anytime soon. It may have annoyed the hell out of the firebrand, but she respected Akemi enough to leave the matter be. If the twilight dragon ever trusted Nymara enough with that information, she would likely tell herself.

    THANK GOD Akemi stepped in! Nymara was nervously chugging all the water in her glass before her mentor broke the awkward silence with a plausible-sounding story. One that at least offered more context than anything Nymara was about to blurt out. Their fathers were hunting partners, great! She'd need to remember that in case the firebrand was forced into any other awkward conversations with the nobles. Consistency was key in this sort of place! The last thing Nymara wanted was to put the entire mission at risk because of her poor memory or conversational skills. At that point, Akemi would have to treat her as dead weight and try and salvage the job herself. Clearly the the darkest timeline in Nymara's opinion. She took notice of Akemi's glance, signaling that the firebrand was at least doing something right. It was probably the safest option to let the twilight dragon do most of the talking anyways, Nymara's social skills aside one of them needed to remain alert. Even if the mountain of food and drink was making it a little difficult for Nymara to focus. Akemi continued their fabricated story by mentioning some of the differences between their parents, though from what Nymara could tell it didn't appear as though Akemi was fully lying. What she said about Nymara's "father" was true. Ignoring the fact that he was a dragon, Nymara was allowed much personal freedom in her upbringing. So long as she didn't wander too far, the magma dragon could always sense where her footsteps were. "And I am very happy to be invited!" Nymara would attempt to add to Akemi's explanation with a smile. "She's right, I've never been to a place like this before. It all looks and smells so wonderful!" She'd say rather truthfully, prompting a slight head tilt from Harringoth. With a bright smile, Nymara eagerly locked her arms around Akemi's for a moment in a display of friendly affection. "I'm just happy Akemi and I could make the trip!" She'd continue energetically. Harringoth would simply chuckle before responding. "Well, you wouldn't be the only one." He'd say with a warm smile, raising his glass to the two girls. "I can only speak for myself at this party but I am very happy I was able to meet you two." He would continue. However, something about Harringoth's demeanor changed. For the first time since the night had started his constant smile had begun to fade ever so slightly and a look of concern flashed across his eyes. "Hehe... Though I've only just remembered there were others I had promised to meet here. I must apologize for my abrupt departure." He would say rather suddenly, causing a look of confusion appears on Nymara's face for a moment. He politely bowed. "Lady Akemi, Lady Nym. It was a pleasure." Once standing straight again his gaze would meet theirs. "And I eagerly anticipate our next meeting." He would finish in a more serious tone, the cold stare he gave the redhead apparently not lost on her before the black-haired man turned his back and quickly departed through the crowd. "Huh... What a strange man. He seemed nice for the most part!" Nymara would say with confidence as she turned her attention back to the table of food. "Want me to take a walk around or something? Or should we stay together?" She'd ask her mentor again while putting more food on her plate. "What was that loud bang anyways?"

    Just one floor above the party the feline eagerly peered through the darkness of the room, now only softly illuminated by the glow of the moon coming through the now-broken door. Lucky didn't spot anything immediately suspicious, just what appeared to be a normal-looking office space. He briefly considered gazing at the exposed paperwork and books, though fought his urge to invade his client's privacy. He had already destroyed a desk on accident, he didn't need to give the job-giver any more reasons to deduct their pay. In response to Akemi's message, Lucky would nod to himself, though thinking internally about how his time with Nymara may have formed some bad habits. Normally he would never have considered using his pursuer as a means to gain entry, but he had no choice but to think at the moment.

    "Everything appears to be normal here... Maybe I can-" Lucky whispered into the shadows, hoping Akemi was listening. However, his own speech was cut short by the sensation of rushing air directly behind him! His ear flicked slightly before instinct kicked in and the feline dove out of the way just as an invisible force impacted the ground he had been standing on just moments before. "Oh again? Seriously?!" He'd grumble to himself just as the exceed rolled. He turned to face his aggressor only to be met with more confusion. Where were they? With no time to react, his senses picked up another change in the air directly ahead of him so Lucky extended his wings and flew straight into the ceiling just as he witnessed the dust floating in the air be violently cut aside. "Gah! Some sort of invisible assailant is up here, I will attempt to lose it!" Lucky said between breaths, not knowing where or when the next strike would come from. He had some tricks up his sleeve he could potentially try to outclass this unknown enemy with, though taking Akemi's instructions to heart about not causing any more destruction he figured it was best he didn't risk destroying the office. Not wasting any more time the feline spotted an air vent in the ceiling and took the opportunity, flying straight into it! He had no idea if he would be chased, so the feline continued flying through the maze of vents until he was confident he could take a breather.  "Not my proudest moment but I think I lost them." He'd say, peering through the cracks of another vent only to see an empty dark hallway. "I have now infiltrated the ventilation system, I can probably use this to my advantage." He'd say again. From what he could tell these vents gave him near unrestricted access to the entire building, if they needed his eyes or ears anywhere specific he could oblige fairly easily. Of course that still didn't solve the problem of the invisible attacker.

    "Whatever that was they know they've been discovered now." He would stop before seeing some small pileup of dust within the ventilation shaft. "Though I may have a plan to expose them..." He would say again, an idea formulating in his mind.

    1519 Words | PWC: 14218/7000


    _____________________________________________________________________________________

    [Job] Shimmering Feelings (Akeya/Nymara) - Page 2 2ohu3XJ

    Akeya
    Akeya

    Twilight Dragon


    Twilight Dragon

    Dragon VIP Status- Quality Badge Level 1- Quality Badge Level 2- Quality Badge Level 3- Dragon Slayer- Rich- Veteran Level 1- Character History!- Magic Application Approved!- Get A Pet!- Character Application Approved!- Complete Your First Job!- Obtain A Lineage!- Join A Faction!- Novice [250]- Player 
    Lineage : Hic Sunt Dracones
    Position : None
    Faction : The Luminous Covenant
    Posts : 1385
    Guild : Fairy Tail (Ace)
    Cosmic Coins : 0
    Dungeon Tokens : 0
    Mentor : Whedalsin
    Experience : 1,269,023

    Character Sheet
    First Skill: Twilight Dragon Magic
    Second Skill: Twilight Dragon Magic
    Third Skill: Twilight Dragon Magic

    [Job] Shimmering Feelings (Akeya/Nymara) - Page 2 Empty Re: [Job] Shimmering Feelings (Akeya/Nymara)

    Post by Akeya 1st January 2023, 11:36 am

    Hmmm... So far Lord Harringoth had given the impression of being someone who was quite ambitious himself, despite having been born into a wealthy environment. For him to say that only the gods could stop an ambitious man could be his way of saying that he wouldn't let anyone get in his way.

    But more curious was his direct reference to Slayers and the feats they were capable of. Akemi had been carefully hiding her magic to avoid being discovered, but maybe he'd noticed somehow? It was always possible that Nymara had let something slip: capable as she was when it came to combat and survival, stealth and subterfuge were areas where she still had a lot to learn. Even so, it would be best to play dumb for now, Akemi inclining her head to agree with the male. "Magic intended to allow for humans to challenge those they would otherwise be helpless against? A true example of humanity's will to overcome any obstacles."

    However, she couldn't help but sound a tad sharp as she spoke those words. It was a source of annoyance for her that humans truly thought that dragon slayer magic was something that humans themselves had designed to fight dragons with. The dragons who had first decided to share their magic with humans had invited their own deaths, and Akemi didn't pity them for anything other than their short-sightedness, but the fact that humans truly thought it was their own invention was a display of their conceit and self-centeredness. "Of course, how often does a deity deign to interfere with worldly affairs?"

    Dragons existed in this world as a matter of established fact, but deities rarely directly got involved in the realms of mortals. In that sense, developing a type of magic with the primary goal of challenging deities was excessive: Akemi herself wouldn't mind obtaining a power that could cut down deities, but she'd rather it be an extension of a more expansive skillset that was applicable to more common scenarios.

    "Thank you, Lord Harringoth. Fortune willing, I too hope that the two of you shall meet." Of course, Akemi's hypothetical father was already old enough that if Lord Harringoth didn't hurry the man would already be too senile to serve as a good conversational partner. She lightly sighed, but at that point Nymara had apparently decided that it was time for her to carry some of the weight in upholding their deception.

    Well, she certainly was carrying out the party of the daughter of nobility who'd never been taught much about attending such events. Akemi raised an eyebrow at the cheerfulness Nymara displayed, but didn't resist when her redheaded apprentice locked arms with her. "Your company does make the journey much more worthwhile." She'd smile as she agreed with Nymara's words, although her expression became a bit more stoic as Harringoth also voiced his approval. His focus on the redhead was bothering her increasingly: mere interest wouldn't justify his attitude.

    But it seems even his curiosity towards Nymara couldn't keep him here forever. She didn't fail to notice a sudden change in his demeanour, especially since it coincided with another event happening in another part of the building: Lucky's fight with the gargoyle, and the invisible assailant the exceed was now trying to escape from without getting hurt. The timing was uncanny: was she overthinking this?

    "No apologies needed: it was a pleasure to meet you, and I look forward to when we shall meet again." Akemi inclined her head in response to the lord's words, then watched him leave before turning towards Nymara. "Lucky is investigating the rest of the manor and encountered a gargoyle. Let's hope you're the only one who noticed." A vain hope, since she'd already seen other people look confused in reaction to the bang, but hopefully they'd quickly dismiss it as irrelevant. "As for that man... it'd be better to avoid him for the rest of the evening. He's hiding something important." If Nymara had known anything about the man that could have been useful she probably would have said so already, so it was better to have the firebrand stay out of his way without confusing her with mere speculation.

    "There's someone on the upper floors with Lucky who appears to have an interest in this gathering. For now just keep an eye on things here while I talk with Lucky. There's a chance we'll have to ditch the act if things get worse." She'd been keeping track of what happened with Lucky upstairs through the shadows, and the invisible figure clearly had been aiming to kill. For them to resort to such extreme measures they were either desperate or planning something big enough that letting the corpse of an exceed be discovered was not great enough of a deterrent to their plans.

    Taking a glass Akemi would sip from the wine even as she once again used precise control over her magic to shape the shadows around Lucky to communicate with him without revealing herself. It was a good thing that shadow magic was already one of the most subtle of elements, otherwise this type of communication wouldn't have been feasible without the assistance of some kind of device. Which did remind her that these days everyone was walking around with those things... Lachrima that could connect to any other lachrima of similar design? She'd have to look into that.

    "Don't expose them if doing so endangers you. Observe their movements, and call for help if needed. Our job is to protect the guests and the host: we can let the target escape if that helps keep the people here safe."

    It was tempting to dedicate all their resources to capturing this invisible figure and interrogating them to see what they were up to, but the job came first. As long as the gathering finished without any incidents they'd have done what was asked of them. Of course, Akemi's own curiosity meant that she wasn't about to let this invisible figure escape, but she didn't need Lucky going overboard because she was egging him on.

    "What plan do you have to expose them?"

    Appearance:

    WC: 1,027
    PWC: 13,053/7,000 (Completed)
    TWC: 26,650/14,000 (Completed)

    @Nymara


    _____________________________________________________________________________________

    [Job] Shimmering Feelings (Akeya/Nymara) - Page 2 Akeya2
    Between the Sun and the Moon, where it is neither Day nor Night, the Dragon of Twilight sleeps.

    Character|Magic
    Nymara
    Nymara

    Player 
    Lineage : Prodigy of Nyx
    Position : None
    Posts : 163
    Guild : Fairy Tail
    Cosmic Coins : 0
    Dungeon Tokens : 0
    Mentor : Akeya
    Experience : 21,875

    Character Sheet
    First Skill: Fire Dragon Slayer Magic
    Second Skill:
    Third Skill:

    [Job] Shimmering Feelings (Akeya/Nymara) - Page 2 Empty Re: [Job] Shimmering Feelings (Akeya/Nymara)

    Post by Nymara 11th March 2023, 2:55 pm

    While the moon continued to climb higher in the sky, the party itself showed little signs of slowing down. The soft music that had been playing from some unseen part of the house seemed to never cease, as if it was stuck to some sort of magical loop that would constantly pump out new melodies for the party guests to enjoy. Probably something almost nobody else noticed, though thanks to Nymara’s enhanced senses the sound of the music was beginning to become more and more noticeable. Of course it was still very hard for the firebrand to focus on one thing in particular, as so much was going on! If the giant plate of food she had gathered for herself wasn’t distracting enough, the fact that they were simultaneously supposed to be on the lookout for suspicious activity and playing the act of a clueless noble made things a little more challenging. Of course Nymara didn’t exactly need a ton of help with the clueless part, though that wasn’t entirely a good thing. 

    The firebrand did feel a small wave of relief when the taller lord finally left the two ladies alone, though she couldn’t entirely figure out why. He definitely seemed polite enough, though Nymara could tell Akemi was getting more and more suspicious of his antics  based on her words after he left them so abruptly. “Oh so Lucky finally managed to find some trouble, eh? That should be some good solo experience for the cat!” Nymara laughed somewhat when Akemi told her what had transpired on the floors above, though she quickly realized the volume of her voice may have extended what was considered ladylike and Nymara’s expression dropped once more into an apologetic look towards her mentor.  What Akemi had to say about Harringoth though did perk her interests, if ever so slightly. However the twilight dragon made it clear that they were to ignore him for as long as possible. “Yeah, he smelled somewhat strange, though I couldn’t quite tell why. Maybe he was wearing some weird noble perfume or somethin..” Nymara trailed off, her attention briefly pulled away by the food on her plate. “You don’t think the perfume is what he’s hiding, do you?” She asked between bites, the tone of her voice sounding genuine. Though Nymara only thought about what she said for a moment before the redhead shook her head as if internally scolding herself for letting something so stupid be said out loud. 

    Akemi mentioned that Lucky was still dealing with more of his own problems, which Nymara couldn’t lie made her feel somewhat nervous on the inside. Of course she didn’t doubt Lucky in the slightest, though the fact that he was getting all the heat didn’t sit right with her. Obviously there was more going on at this party than anyone else aside from Akemi and her seemed to realize, and it seemed like Lucky’s experiences were proof enough. Of course Nymara’s twilight mentor was vague on the details surrounding the feline’s predicament, though the firebrand could tell his situation wasn’t ideal. Apparently there was someone else with the cat and it was throwing a wrench in their plans. Akemi ordered Nymara’s attention on the party, but the twilight dragon made mention that there may be a chance they would need to ditch their disguises. That certainly sounded problematic, given the fact that this mission involved a great amount of stealth. Of course Nymara was never one to decline a decent brawl, though she was knowledgeable enough to know that throwing her magic around was supposed to be the last resort. Akemi may have been a different story, given the very nature of her magic itself. Nymara was confident her mentor knew how to use her shadows in a much quieter manner than Nymara’s own flames, but that still didn’t change the fact that they had a potential problem on their hands. 

    “Keep an eye on things, eh?” Nymara would mumble to herself as Akemi refocused her attention on the exceed. Gazing at the partygoers while munching on her food didn’t exactly feel like she was doing the most with her time, so Nymara awkwardly stared at her mentor for a moment while she was convening with Lucky before sighing and glancing around the room once more with her ruby eyes. Her stare settled on what appeared to be a set of magical instruments floating in the air above a small podium. Standing across from the enchanted orchestra looked like some sort of fancy dressed composer, wielding a magical wand? Nymara had no idea what he was using, though she didn’t really care. She had found the source of the party’s music and with it a thought popped into her mind! 

    “So the crashing sound was our friend? I know what’ll hide his blunders.” Nymara chuckled to Akemi without saying another word. Quickly downing the rest of the ice cold water in her cup Nymara attempted to make her way through the crowds away from Akemi and closer to the orchestra! After some brief and awkward nods and greetings from passing nobles Nymara had finally pushed her way right next to the composer, an older gentleman in a white wig. “Hey! My name’s Nym.” She’d say somewhat abruptly, nearly causing the composer to jump in fright after being interrupted so suddenly! “O- Oh! My lady, I did not notice you, forgive me.” The man would respond, still trying to maintain control over the magical violins and harps while conversing with Nymara at the same time. “So I have a very wonderful friend with me here today, and it just fills me with such joy to see her happy! Y’see, she’s just over there!” Nymara would continue with a friendly smile, nodding towards Akemi who noticeably stood out among the crowd, even among the other nobles. “She certainly looks lovely, My Lady.” The composer would continue, though it was obvious he was struggling to maintain composure over his magic while being distracted by the firebrand. “Unfortunately she’s been a bit glum recently.” Nymara would continue, a forced look of sadness washed over her face. “A recent family tragedy put my poor shade in the dumps! I hoped bringing Akemi to this party would cheer her up, yet alas, nothing has worked yet!” Nymara lied, though it was obvious she was having a lot of fun with it. “I- I’m most sorry to hear that.” The composer would respond awkwardly, trying to keep focus on his work. “Oh don’t be sorry! At least not yet. I have a plan!” She’d snicker. “She REEAALLY likes the fast and loud music, y’know? The melodies with that burning passion!”
    “I- Is that so?”
    “Yeah! You get what I mean!” Nymara said, nudging the man’s arm as he almost dropped his wand. Finally a look of frustration appeared on the man’s face for a brief moment before he turned towards the firebrand with a forced smile. “I’m not normally supposed to take requests from guests but…” The composer sighed. At this point he’d do anything to get this distracting woman away from him. “I suppose just this once I can change the tune.” He’d say with a defeated tone, relenting to Nymara’s request. “Oh really? You’d do that for her? THANKS!” She’d say with genuine enthusiasm, even going so far as to hug the composer before leaving the blushing man to make her way back to Akemi. Once returning Nymara eagerly returned to her plate of food. “There! Now if Lucky runs into any more trouble, noise won’t be an issue.” She said in a cheery tone just as the party’s music took a noticeable change. Now the orchestra performed in full display, drawing the attention of several nobles who gathered nearby to watch the instruments play. Thankfully nobody seemed bothered by this change, but merely saw it as additional entertainment for the party as the music swelled and filled up much of the room. Now it was playing something akin to a dramatic opera piece rather than simple background music, yet it only seemed to invigorate some of the more bored nobles. 
    Upstairs Lucky felt the vibration of the ventilation shafts react with the growing music, arching an eyebrow in confusion but didn’t think to really question it. Instead he opted to focus on his mysterious assailant instead, peeking through the vent plates periodically at the empty dark hallways looking for signs of his oppressor. It wasn’t long until he had noticed Akemi’s instructions, warning him not to engage if it put him in danger. She was right after all, they had to prioritize the guests. However this invisible opponent had already tried to kill Lucky once for merely showing up which told the cat that whatever they were doing was supposed to be secretive. They desperately wanted to keep their actions hidden, but for what purpose? 

    When Akemi asked what Lucky was going to do he scanned the hallway once more before whispering in response: “These old vents seem to have a lot of dust piled up in here, I can barely make it through without sneezing.” He would say. “With one flap of my wings I can send just enough flying out of the vent to cover whoever is sneaking around up here, though I first need to figure out where they are…” He would say again, squinting with focus. “You two be careful, I get the sense this person isn’t working on their own. The scent I picked up when I was attacked was also something I smelled briefly when I was downstairs. That may not be much to go on, but I have a strong feeling something else is going down tonight aside from a fancy arms-deal.” 
    1628 Words | PWC: 15846/7000 | TWC: 28278/14000


    _____________________________________________________________________________________

    [Job] Shimmering Feelings (Akeya/Nymara) - Page 2 2ohu3XJ

    Akeya
    Akeya

    Twilight Dragon


    Twilight Dragon

    Dragon VIP Status- Quality Badge Level 1- Quality Badge Level 2- Quality Badge Level 3- Dragon Slayer- Rich- Veteran Level 1- Character History!- Magic Application Approved!- Get A Pet!- Character Application Approved!- Complete Your First Job!- Obtain A Lineage!- Join A Faction!- Novice [250]- Player 
    Lineage : Hic Sunt Dracones
    Position : None
    Faction : The Luminous Covenant
    Posts : 1385
    Guild : Fairy Tail (Ace)
    Cosmic Coins : 0
    Dungeon Tokens : 0
    Mentor : Whedalsin
    Experience : 1,269,023

    Character Sheet
    First Skill: Twilight Dragon Magic
    Second Skill: Twilight Dragon Magic
    Third Skill: Twilight Dragon Magic

    [Job] Shimmering Feelings (Akeya/Nymara) - Page 2 Empty Re: [Job] Shimmering Feelings (Akeya/Nymara)

    Post by Akeya 19th March 2023, 9:09 am

    Akemi shook her head as Nymara suggested that maybe Lord Harringoth's secret was tied to his perfume. It wasn't a bad guess, but as the firebrand quickly realised it was probably more complex than just the perfume. "It's possible that the perfume is being used to hide something else. Amongst nobility it wouldn't be considered strange to wear perfume." The members of high society assigned a lot of importance to appearances, and that included one's scent. The raven-haired assassin took great care not to actually look at the man, instead keeping her gaze on her companion for the evening. "But try to memorise the scent so you can identify it later on. It might still be important." Perhaps it was nothing more than a dead end, but Akemi would rather give Nymara something to do so her apprentice wasn't left trying to remain inconspicuous while also being bored from the tame nature of these gatherings.

    Of course, such worries were only heightened when Nymara seemingly had formed an idea for how to hide Lucky's activities better. Akemi would have asked for an explanation, but before she could take her glass away from her lips the red-haired beauty had already departed for where an older man was using magic to fill the room with music all by himself. Left with little choice if she wanted to remain unnoticed Akemi could only listen from a distance as her apprentice spun some tale of Akemi being depressed and requiring more lively music to be cheered up. It was, admittedly, more creative than Akemi would have given Nymara credit for, but she still frowned as she turned towards the table where Nymara had left her plate of food behind.

    But her internal criticisms didn't change the fact that Nymara's idea worked, so the assassin could do nothing but accept the now much grander and passionate music that was replacing the steady tune that had been providing some background to the gathering. It would be difficult for the guests to ignore this, and already some of them were remarking on it. For now they seemed more intrigued than anything else, which was good.

    Still, when Nymara returned and cheerfully claimed that she'd taken care of the issue Akemi raised an eyebrow. "It'll do for as long as Lucky doesn't end up fighting a full-blown battle. Still... "my poor shade?" Her ears were sharp enough that she'd been able to listen in on Nymara's conversation even from a distance, and she was rather amused by her apprentice's choice of words.

    She silently stepped closer to Nymara, taking the opportunity while the fire slayer was distracted by her food to place her hand on the woman's shoulder and speak softly. "There's much better ways to cheer me up, you know. I'll show you one once we're done here." Removing her hand she turned her attention back to where Lucky was busy trying to deal with the invisible intruder. Whether Nymara knew what Akemi was alluding to or not... she'd find out later tonight anyway.

    Using dust to reveal the attacker... it was certainly worth trying, although it might also be possible that whatever magic the intruder used would also allow them to quickly get rid of any dust. But they had to make do with what they had, not waste time wishing for what they didn't have. Akemi quickly formed more words in the shadows to respond to the exceed.

    "I'll create a decoy. And we've also caught a strange smell in here, but it might be something different. Remain cautious for now."

    It could be that the figure Lucky was currently dealing with was somehow connected to Lord Harringoth, but even if both the intruder and the noble had a strange scent that didn't mean it was the same scent, or that they were working together. When you had little information it was important to not assume too much. Right now the best they could do was try to capture the intruder and see if they held any useful information.

    Without disrupting the gathering downstairs, of course.

    With Lucky having disappeared into the vents the intruder was back to trying to remain unnoticed, skulking about invisibly both in search of the winged cat and in pursuit of their true objective. For Lucky, who had to remain hidden inside the vents, it would be difficult to pick up any signs of the intruder's presence. Akemi did her best to help him pin down the invisible figure's location by forming shadow arrows to guide him towards the figure's presence, but even she couldn't with full confidence say where exactly their target was at the moment.

    That was, until she thought that Lucky was close enough that he should be able to seize an opportunity if she created one. Relying on Nymara to keep an eye on the situation inside of the ballroom she concentrated on the third floor, in one of the rooms right above the ballroom. Manifesting one small shadow tendril she used it to push a book from the shelf, the leather-bound volume hitting the ground with a muffled thud, too soft to be noticed by the people downstairs. Lucky, however, would see that same haze that had attacked him before entering the room, moving straight to the wall and towards the fallen book, the presence appearing to be scouting the room for signs of the winged knight.

    Appearance:

    WC: 902
    PWC: 13,955/7,000 (Completed)
    TWC: 29,180/14,000 (Completed)

    @Nymara


    _____________________________________________________________________________________

    [Job] Shimmering Feelings (Akeya/Nymara) - Page 2 Akeya2
    Between the Sun and the Moon, where it is neither Day nor Night, the Dragon of Twilight sleeps.

    Character|Magic
    Nymara
    Nymara

    Player 
    Lineage : Prodigy of Nyx
    Position : None
    Posts : 163
    Guild : Fairy Tail
    Cosmic Coins : 0
    Dungeon Tokens : 0
    Mentor : Akeya
    Experience : 21,875

    Character Sheet
    First Skill: Fire Dragon Slayer Magic
    Second Skill:
    Third Skill:

    [Job] Shimmering Feelings (Akeya/Nymara) - Page 2 Empty Re: [Job] Shimmering Feelings (Akeya/Nymara)

    Post by Nymara 25th March 2023, 2:08 pm

    Akemi didn’t instantly dismiss Nymara’s bold claim which was nice, though predictably informed the firebrand that having a nice smell was a popular concept among the nobles. Still, she committed the scent to her memory just like Akemi had suggested. After all, it was always useful adding more smells to your collection as a dragon slayer. 

    Well, at least the twilight dragon didn’t seem bothered by Nymara’s attempt to be useful, even if Akemi seemed more unsure at first about the firebrand’s plan than anything else. Of course you could never argue with the results, and that fact seemed to reflect greatly on Nymara’s face while she hummed a playful tune after rejoining Akemi. “And if he does get into any brawls then we may have to switch up our strategy a bit!” Nymara would reply to Akemi once she returned, facing the orchestra with admiration as she watched her plan work swimmingly.  Of course the firebrand should have expected Akemi to respond in a similar way to how she did, though this was Nymara. When Akemi made mention of Nymara’s little nickname for the twilight dragon the girl’s ruby gaze glanced at her mentor for a moment with a flash of red on her face. “Well uh…” Nymara stammered slightly. “J- just trying to play up the part!” She would say while trying to keep herself distracted by the food on her plate, though it was obvious that Nymara wasn’t even sure if she believed in her own words. "I just thought it suits you! L- Like your dress!” Nymara continued, doing her best to try and give Akemi a compliment about her looks but clearly regretting how it came out. Though she hadn’t been fully lying to the composer. That conversation didn’t require a lot of acting, at least it didn’t for her! It all felt too natural, which is why the seeds of doubt were planted within the firebrand’s mind once Akemi brought it up. However thankfully Akemi seemed much more amused rather than put off from Nymara’s choice of wording, so that was a bonus at least. The firebrand often had trouble containing her intrusive thoughts or wording, and she had paid the price many times for such blunders. It was a breath of fresh air when her word vomit didn’t elicit feelings of confusion or awkwardness. At least when it was concerning people she actually liked. The firebrand couldn’t care less about what the rest think of her. 

    Nymara’s distracted state of mind could only last so long however when she felt the light touch of her mentor’s hand upon her shoulder, followed by her soft words. If Nymara’s mouth hadn’t been full of food she probably would have said something incredibly stupid, but thankfully that wouldn’t happen just yet. Instead the firebrand could only give her mentor a puzzled stare for a moment before some suspicious thoughts started to creep into the back of her mind. Just what had Akemi meant exactly? Whatever conclusion Nymara came to would remain hidden only to herself, though oddly enough the longer Nymara thought about it the stuffier the room appeared to get. A few windows had even started to be opened up in response, letting the cool night air flow into the gathering. Whoops. She thought too much. 
    Meanwhile upstairs the feline knight was having a much different kind of experience. Between trying his best to move around within the cramped ventilation system and stay silent at the same time he was certainly working for his pay. It was times like this he envied his human companions, getting to play the part of distinguished nobles at a fancy party while he crawled through enclosed dusty tunnels. Of course it would be unbecoming of a knight to give voice to this opinion, especially since he did volunteer to do this job. Still, that didn’t make things easier but the job wouldn’t exist if it were simple. All he could do now was hope he could find this invisible foe before they found him. Fortunately Akemi was skilled enough to lend him a hand while simultaneously acting her role at the party. A most taxing job he could imagine, especially when you had to keep an eye on Nymara as well. Of course Akemi usually had much better luck reigning the firebrand in than Lucky did, but he was starting to learn. 


    Within a few moments of Lucky’s assessment of the situation the twilight dragon appeared to respond with several new shadows, forming out a message for him to read once again. Akemi was prepared to cause a distraction for the feline. Good. His sense of smell may have been better than most, but even he wasn’t good enough to determine the exact location of an invisible magic user. Situations like this required precision, which was something Lucky knew the twilight dragon specialized in. Apparently Akemi had also noticed the smell downstairs as well, though it was too little to go on at the moment. Right now the exceed’s only lead was the invisible assailant, which meant he needed to prepare to take them down. “Of course, I’ll be ready at a moment’s notice.” He would whisper in response to Akemi’s message, his eyes widened slightly when the shadowy arrows began to form before him. The shadows eventually led him to what looked like some sort of small private library. Unlike the office he had seen before this room had many shelves lined with books ranging from all genres. It must have been the owner’s private collection. Not thinking much on it Lucky refocused on the situation at hand, scanning the room through the vents with intent to find any irregularities. And then he found one! Seemingly out of nowhere a shadowy tendril appeared within the air near one of the books, pushing it out of its perch and sending it tumbling to the floor! Thankfully the rather loud music below seemed to drown out nearly all other forms of noise, disguising Akemi’s distraction perfectly.

    Lucky prepared himself, extending his wings and flapping them ever so slightly as to corral the dust around him into a singular area that he could send bursting forth from the vent all at once. Luckily Akemi had thrown the book near the vent, preparing the perfect ambush for the inevitable foe who’d come looking. Sure enough they did. Lucky could see the haze as he did before, if only for a fleeting moment. When the feline’s eyes noticed the pages of the fallen book move from the changing air current he knew his time was now! “Making my move.” He’d whisper to the darkness before sending a massive flap of his wings through the vent! A large rushing sound of air could be heard for a second before the vent cover violently flew off and a cloud of thick dust rained from the ceiling, covering nearly a quarter of the room in a thick gray haze! Sure enough the faint outline of a humanoid figure could be spotted covered in the gray mist, frantically brushing as much of it off as they could! Lucky could see them and needed to take this chance now! Grabbing the split second of confusion they had wreaked upon their foe, Lucky intended to take full advantage of their distracted state! Before the figure even realized Lucy was in the room he flew out of the vent, coughing but determined! Without saying a word the exceed flew full speed directly into the torso of the dust covered assailant, sending the figure careening back into a nearby bookshelf! More books fell from the impact of the figure, toppling on top of them without warning! Including a massive looking encyclopedia! With a loud thud the giant tome fell straight on top of Lucky’s opponent as the exceed rolled out of the way just in time!

    Lucky could only hear the slumping sound of what he guessed was someone’s unconscious body falling to the ground. Coughing he parted the dust to see a fully visible person! Only, something was very strange about them… They wore odd clothing, as if they were a jester of some sort. Not to mention the slightly disturbing smiling mask that covered their face as well. Lucky noticed within their weakened grip was an angry looking dagger he could only assume was meant for himself but what interested him more was the clutched scrolls within the masked figure’s other hand. Before Lucky could act on his suspicions he thought it prudent to identify this assailant first. However, once the feline knight touched the smiling mask the body vanished completely! In a cloud of purple smoke the figure’s person seemed to dissipate entirely, save for the odd looking mask which now fell to the ground. Lucky stood bewildered for a moment before his eyes spotted the dagger and the scrolls still left behind as well and the realization dawned on him. This night might have just gotten a lot more complicated.

    “Your distraction worked, my lady.” Lucky started, quickly making his way over to the doorway of the room to make sure nobody else was around. Thankfully the new loud music seemed to hide his little bout with the brigand, as not a soul could be spotted in the hallways. “Though I’m afraid I may have some troubling news.” Lucky would continue, leaning down to take a look at the scroll the masked assailant had. It appeared to be some sort of business ledger? There were numbers and dates listed everywhere, as well as products. Weapons to be more specific. “I managed to take down the bandit threatening the party, but now I fear they may not be alone. It was a magic construct. A puppet. Their form dissipated the moment I removed the object bounding them to this plain.” He would continue to whisper to the shadows while holding the smiling mask, hoping Akemi was listening. “And they certainly seemed to be targeting the arms deal. They were in possession of stolen documents detailing almost everything and everyone involved.” He’d continue.
    “I’ll remain scarce but immediately begin my search. Who knows how many more puppets could be hiding around.” Lucky would say. “Whoever was responsible for this is likely aware of what has happened, so we must work quickly. I’ll try and narrow down that scent’s location or any more like it, perhaps you and Lady Nymara can do the same?” Lucky would ask, knowing he likely wasn’t enough to find and deal with any more hidden troublemakers himself.

    1761 Words | PWC: 17607 | TWC: 30941



    _____________________________________________________________________________________

    [Job] Shimmering Feelings (Akeya/Nymara) - Page 2 2ohu3XJ

    Akeya
    Akeya

    Twilight Dragon


    Twilight Dragon

    Dragon VIP Status- Quality Badge Level 1- Quality Badge Level 2- Quality Badge Level 3- Dragon Slayer- Rich- Veteran Level 1- Character History!- Magic Application Approved!- Get A Pet!- Character Application Approved!- Complete Your First Job!- Obtain A Lineage!- Join A Faction!- Novice [250]- Player 
    Lineage : Hic Sunt Dracones
    Position : None
    Faction : The Luminous Covenant
    Posts : 1385
    Guild : Fairy Tail (Ace)
    Cosmic Coins : 0
    Dungeon Tokens : 0
    Mentor : Whedalsin
    Experience : 1,269,023

    Character Sheet
    First Skill: Twilight Dragon Magic
    Second Skill: Twilight Dragon Magic
    Third Skill: Twilight Dragon Magic

    [Job] Shimmering Feelings (Akeya/Nymara) - Page 2 Empty Re: [Job] Shimmering Feelings (Akeya/Nymara)

    Post by Akeya 26th March 2023, 11:27 am

    "Let's hope it doesn't come to that, as it would mean that we've failed part of our task." Akemi commented. While Nymara most likely was looking forward to the opportunity to get into a fight Akemi would rather ensure that they completed the job without any difficulties or complications. Technically they could still claim to have done their job if they managed to keep their client and his guests out of harm's way, but interruptions of the ball would still result in penalties.

    As boisterous and passionate as Nymara was, Akemi couldn't help but find it quite endearing to watch the firebrand be flustered and nervous for once. Well, her apprentice usually was rather bashful when reprimanded, but her current behaviour was something different still. The compliment Nymara threw out in an attempt to defend her choice of words made Akemi raise an eyebrow in mild surprise, but she couldn't hide the smirk on her face.

    Although it was a different matter when the fire slayer became so worked up about what Akemi had just said that the assassin could feel the temperature in the room rising. Fortunately, nobody had worked out yet that Nymara was responsible for the unstable temperature, otherwise they'd have to answer some awkward questions. Still, Akemi snapped her fingers to get Nymara's attention, frowning lightly at her. "Focus. If you keep that up you might start a fire." She doubted that Nymara would actually start a fire, but it was a reminder that the firebrand couldn't carelessly let her temperature grow out of control. "Go get something to drink if it helps."

    While giving Nymara the opportunity to recompose herself Akemi focused on what was happening upstairs. Lucky was following her instructions flawlessly, which definitely made this a lot easier. Being in two places at the same time was... taxing, in a way. Her abilities were suitable for it, but multitasking like this would drain her if she had to do it for too long, especially if she also had to prevent anyone from noticing that she was using magic while in a room full of people. One downside of having a lot of magic power was that you were like a beacon for those sensitive to magic.

    But so far everything was going to plan. Lucky was in position, the fallen book caught the attention of the assailant while being unnoticeable in the ballroom (although Akemi's sharp hearing would still allow her to hear a dull thud), and once he made his move the exceed knight managed to both reveal the assailant with his dust trick and knock them out. The assassin winced to herself as she heard a small pile of books hit the ground on the third floor, glad that she and Nymara were the only ones whose draconic senses allowed them to realise what was going on now that the ballroom was filled with much more enthusiastic music. She'd have to compliment Nymara for thinking of that: it wasn't Akemi's style, but she had to acknowledge a job well done.

    Unfortunately, that was the end of the good news, as Lucky reported that the assailant was a magical puppet, and one which revealed that the enemy had access to all the details of the arms trade that this gathering was supposed to facilitate. Akemi's eyes narrowed quickly, wiggling her fingers as she rapidly wrote some more shadow script for Lucky to read.

    "Hold the documents to the shadows, then begin the search. Now that you've taken out one of their tools they're not going to wait any longer."

    Only a fool would expect the enemy to retreat at such a crucial moment. Especially when that enemy was most likely someone like Lord Harringoth, who'd bluntly stated that he wasn't going to let anything stop him.

    Closing her eyes Akemi placed her index and middle fingers against her eyelids while supporting her elbow with the other hand, giving the impression that she was being pensive while waiting for Nymara to return from getting her drink. In truth, she was reading the documents Lucky had found, gazing out from the shadows as if they were extensions of herself. Depending on how one looked at the nature of magic, that might not be far from the truth either.

    Numbers, products, dates, costs, names... Akemi had known that their client was hoping to strike it big with tonight's plans, but this truly was a grand undertaking for an independent merchant. One that someone else clearly wanted to interfere with. This trade deal wasn't going to determine the fate of the conflict between Bellum and Pergrande, but wars were won through the accumulation of numerous small victories. No doubt that similar trades would be facing the risk of sabotage as well, even if Akemi and Nymara could only do something about this one.

    She'd memorise the details more thoroughly later on, but right now the priority was everyone whose name was on the list. With that information in mind Akemi opened her eyes and turned back towards Nymara, her expression now tenser than before.

    "Keep an eye on Lord Harringoth. Try to do it without being too obvious about it." She tried to explain as quickly as possible. "There's no proof as of yet, but it's possible that he's connected to the assailant Lucky was fighting. Do not cause a scene unless he starts trouble first."

    She hated acting on limited information, but it was part of the job that you worked with what you got, not what you wished to have. And the reason why she had Nymara keeping an eye on the only noble to have approached them so far was that she had to cast her net wider. Remaining at the edge of the room where she could watch everything her golden eyes swept the room, keeping track of every movement. Most of the people were acting as you'd expect high society to behave when they had the opportunity to attend a gathering like this: enjoying the food, holding conversations which seemed polite and friendly on the surface but which were devious and treacherous once you listened closely. Some of them seemed to enjoy the change in music more than others as well, even going so far as to swing a little bit.

    Amusing as all of that was, Akemi's eyes were on those who were acting differently. Those who remained on the sidelines like herself, those whose behaviour betrayed anxiety, those who looked like they were waiting for something. Not all of them would be guilty, but the guilty would be amongst them.

    And beyond the ballroom there were the presences that Lucky was now trying to track down, and which Akemi could sense if she concentrated. Like the first presence she couldn't accurately pin them down, whatever magic they used or were crafted with being designed to hinder such detection methods as Akemi employed. But they were there, and now that the first puppet had been disabled they weren't being as subtle as before. Which made it easier to at least notice them, but was also a warning that at any moment things could start happening.

    The truly annoying thing was that any move she made which would scare off the enemy would also disrupt the gathering. The best she could do was react quickly enough to any trouble to keep the discord to a minimum.

    Appearance:

    WC: 1,235
    PWC: 15,190/7,000 (Completed)
    TWC: 32,176/14,000 (Completed)

    @Nymara


    _____________________________________________________________________________________

    [Job] Shimmering Feelings (Akeya/Nymara) - Page 2 Akeya2
    Between the Sun and the Moon, where it is neither Day nor Night, the Dragon of Twilight sleeps.

    Character|Magic
    Nymara
    Nymara

    Player 
    Lineage : Prodigy of Nyx
    Position : None
    Posts : 163
    Guild : Fairy Tail
    Cosmic Coins : 0
    Dungeon Tokens : 0
    Mentor : Akeya
    Experience : 21,875

    Character Sheet
    First Skill: Fire Dragon Slayer Magic
    Second Skill:
    Third Skill:

    [Job] Shimmering Feelings (Akeya/Nymara) - Page 2 Empty Re: [Job] Shimmering Feelings (Akeya/Nymara)

    Post by Nymara 22nd April 2023, 2:27 pm

    Nymara could only frown like a pouting child as Akemi reiterated their need for stealth and guile, though the firebrand was well aware of the reasons why. Still, all this walking around in tight clothing and putting on a constant act was fairly nerve-racking! Nymara was eager for an outlet to let loose some stress. However she figured as part of her own training she’d need to learn to reign in her chaotic habits at some point, and she wasn’t eager to ruin the plan her mentor had created for them. “Okay okay! But if anyone needs to get their manners checked…” Nymara awkwardly leaned closer to Akemi before smashing her balled fist into the palm of her hand. “Lemme know!” She grinned, quickly straightening her posture again as another noble couple walked passed and politely nodded at the women. 

    It appeared as though Nymara’s feelings didn’t exactly go unnoticed by her mentor. If the firebrand was being honest with herself she wasn’t sure if that was a good thing or not, at least until she noticed Akemi’s soft smile. Unfortunately for both of them, the more Nymara thought about it the higher chance they had of being exposed, as Akemi was quick to try and regain the girl’s attention. “Uhh R- Right! Sorry!” She chuckled nervously as her mind quickly came back to reality. At the twilight dragon’s suggestion for more water Nymara eagerly took that opportunity to regain control of herself. “Mhm!” Was all she said in awkward response before quickly making her way back to the drink table as fast as she could without drawing too much attention. Without hesitation Nymara grabbed another cold glass of glacial water before noticing it was already starting to steam in her hands! The cursed thoughts wouldn’t leave her alone!

    Upstairs Lucky carefully did as the shadows instructed, holding the ledger out in plain view of the darkness. Lucky had to remember to thank Akemi for this after the mission, being able to communicate with him through the shadows while maintaining a disguise in the party must have been a challenge. At least, to someone like him he thought it would be, yet the Lady had proven to the exceed many times by now that she was far from an ordinary wizard. 

    Based on the extended silence Lucky had assumed the twilight dragon was taking in all the information on the ledger, possibly even memorizing it. Not a bad idea, if she was capable of such an act. Unfortunately now that Lucky had these documents in his possession he suspected he became a target for whoever was interfering with the arms-deal. Not that he wasn’t being attacked before, but now his enemy may have some newfound motivation to make a rug of his hide. Taking in a deep sigh the feline strapped the documents to his belt knowing he couldn’t leave them here. At least not until their problem was dealt with. As promised Lucky would begin his search, using his feline senses to see within the dimly lit halls of the empty floor and look for traces of the scent on the puppet. Thankfully the magical construct that had been chasing him was in possession of the papers for some time, leaving a faint smell on the parchment. It was odd. Lucky thought that a magical puppet could leave behind a smell, but magic was extremely varied and unique in his experience, meaning nothing was ever off the table. 

    The scent was memorable enough, smelling like some sort of cologne or other fragrance that humans often liked to apply to themselves. That on its own would not be strange, given the nature of the event they were at. What struck Lucky as odd about the scent though was it had a small hint of what he could only describe as brimstone? Certainly not something you would expect from your average noble. After darting through the halls for some time in silence trying to get a lock on the smell, Lucky’s senses finally started to lead him somewhere! “I’ve got something, going to try and investigate as quietly as possible.” Lucky would whisper to the shadows. Hoping to avoid another gargoyle situation Lucky instantly returned to the nearest ventilation shaft and snuck his way through as close as he could get to the source of the smell. “I’m not sure if you noticed the scent earlier, but it had a strange hint of sulfur. If you smell that please be careful.” Lucky thought to warn his companions as he crawled. It was a shame he didn’t think to use the vents earlier to reach this floor, though the exceed suspected he would have had trouble climbing in inconspicuously. 

    As Nymara had nearly cooled herself off her mentor quickly stepped in to regain her attention. Based on Akemi’s tone she could tell something serious was happening, prompting the girl to tilt her head slightly as the twilight dragon pointed out their potential enemy. “Really??? But he seemed so nice!” She would say before remembering where she was and lowering her tone. “W- What makes you think so?” She would ask in a more hushed voice. Apparently Lucky had been holding his own, but with his secret communication with Akemi it became challenging for Nymara to know exactly what he was doing unless the twilight dragon informed her. Of course Nymara knew that even if she didn’t get an answer now it was her duty to do as instructed. “I’ll watch him, don’t worry! Uh.. Just gotta find him first.” Nymara trailed off, her ruby gaze scanning the crowd of people in front of them. “Well I can remember how he smells, so maybe that’s a start!” She would say before downing another glass of glacial water in one motion. Several empty glasses lay beside her on a nearby table. Nymara wasn’t exactly sure what she should be looking for when she found Harringoth, though the firebrand figured she’d know it when she saw it. Nodding to Akemi the girl did as instructed, meandering her way through the crowds as she tried her best to differentiate all the unique smells of perfume and cologne. Lord Harringoth’s was very distinct, she remembered! 

    Strangely enough Lucky’s search was taking him to some odd places. He couldn’t see a whole lot within the vents, though he would occasionally come across grates he could peer through. When the vents stopped the exceed was forced to eject himself from the nearest opening once he had determined it was clear, stealthy following the trail as best he could. Soon enough the scent brought him to an open window, one that had been done so recently and in a hurry. Lucky quickly hopped up onto the small table near the window, noticing how the locks had been forced open from the inside. Gazing out the window he could tell the trail continued outside, though he couldn’t figure out why. Were they abandoning their mission and running? Unlikely. Though his eyes quickly widened when he saw what was outside the window. On this side of the mansion they were situated closest to the estate’s extensive stables. Nearly every person present at this party had their carriages and horses stored there for the duration of the event! Whatever the puppet wanted there couldn’t be good. “One of them is making a move towards the stables, and I don’t think he’s trying to escape!” Lucky said. Though he gritted his teeth and hesitated to follow. “Though I can still smell others in the vicinity of the house… Should I pursue it?” Lucky thought to ask. If Akemi was in a position to intercept he would allow her to while he continued his search, though if the twilight dragon trusted him with the stables he would not hesitate to follow. 


    WC: 1308 | PWC: 18915 | TWC: 33484




    _____________________________________________________________________________________

    [Job] Shimmering Feelings (Akeya/Nymara) - Page 2 2ohu3XJ

    Akeya
    Akeya

    Twilight Dragon


    Twilight Dragon

    Dragon VIP Status- Quality Badge Level 1- Quality Badge Level 2- Quality Badge Level 3- Dragon Slayer- Rich- Veteran Level 1- Character History!- Magic Application Approved!- Get A Pet!- Character Application Approved!- Complete Your First Job!- Obtain A Lineage!- Join A Faction!- Novice [250]- Player 
    Lineage : Hic Sunt Dracones
    Position : None
    Faction : The Luminous Covenant
    Posts : 1385
    Guild : Fairy Tail (Ace)
    Cosmic Coins : 0
    Dungeon Tokens : 0
    Mentor : Whedalsin
    Experience : 1,269,023

    Character Sheet
    First Skill: Twilight Dragon Magic
    Second Skill: Twilight Dragon Magic
    Third Skill: Twilight Dragon Magic

    [Job] Shimmering Feelings (Akeya/Nymara) - Page 2 Empty Re: [Job] Shimmering Feelings (Akeya/Nymara)

    Post by Akeya 30th April 2023, 8:47 am

    Akemi raised an eyebrow at Nymara's suggestion. "This isn't a bar where people just start brawling with each other over an argument." She replied dryly. "I appreciate the sentiment though." She nodded back at the nobles that passed by them, although her expression remained as impassive as always. It was truly fortunate that nobles considered apathy to be a sign of self-control.

    Communicating with Lucky was a lot easier now that she didn't have to interact with Nymara at the same time. The exceed seemed to be making more progress than the two slayers at the moment, following a trail which forced the assassin to wait for the knight to report any updates.

    The revelation that Lucky had smelled sulfur was both good and bad. From what she remembered Lord Harringoth didn't have the smell of sulfur on him, so he wasn't the target. However, that meant they still didn't know who was responsible for these puppets, making it harder to stop them. Overall, it might have been easier if it had been Lord Harringoth, but Akemi didn't deal in possibilities. The reality of the situation was that someone was trying to set up puppets to have them interfere with the ball in some way, and the three of them had to prevent that without causing a ruckus.

    "No sulfur down here yet. May be outside."

    One of the main benefits of using puppets and minions was that the caster could achieve their objectives without being physically present. The assassin let out a small sigh as she looked towards Nymara, who was still trying to negate her own high temperature with copious amounts of ice water. From the looks of it her efforts weren't yielding good results.

    Nymara's description of Lord Harringoth was... not entirely surprising, but still disappointing. "His type always seems so nice up until their dagger is between your ribs." She said a bit sharply before continuing. "As I said, we don't have any proof as of yet. However, he clearly has magical aptitude, and he doesn't seem to be here for the same reasons as most of the guests." Her gaze went to Nymara's necklace for a moment before returning to her apprentice's eyes. "It's just a precaution. Don't jump before he does anything."

    She was a bit hesitant to leave it up to Nymara to keep an eye on Lord Harringoth, but it wasn't like watching someone from a distance was that difficult... and Akemi couldn't take care of everything all at the same time. Nymara was also on a mission here, and she had to prove that she could be subtle when the need called for it.

    Watching as Nymara moved through the room to figure out where Lord Harringoth had gone Akemi checked up on Lucky. The knight exceed had made some progress, and it wasn't much longer until he reported that one of the presences he'd been trying to stalk had escaped the manor... and was heading for the stables. Akemi grabbed her elbow with the other hand and rubbed her upper lip as she considered their next step. Lucky was probably correct that the presence wasn't trying to escape, especially if it was a puppet. Which meant...

    "They might be planning to disable the transports so the guests can't escape. Protect the transports."

    Lucky's role had been to look for trouble, but if there were now multiple presences moving around and inside the manor there wasn't much point to having the knight wandering about keeping track of all of them. He'd do more good preventing the transports from getting sabotaged.

    Which meant that it was time for Akemi to get more involved as well. Glancing over to see what Nymara was doing she headed for the doors which would lead to the bathrooms. Maybe a couple of walls would help keep others from figuring out what she was up to while she tried to keep the ball from getting interrupted.

    However, when she was about to exit the room her nostrils flared, catching the scent of sulfur, as Lucky had described. Unless one of the puppets was inside of the room... the puppeteer was also here, and had only just now joined the party. Turning around sharply her golden gaze travelled across everyone partaking in the festivities, doing her best to distinguish between dozens of different scents to figure out who was the owner of the sulfury scent...

    The presences which Lucky had detected were now moving quickly, apparently trying to get the next phase of their plan started. The three of them would have their hands full if they wanted to prevent pandemonium when their adversary clearly was planning to cause as much trouble as possible for them.

    Appearance:

    WC: 788
    PWC: 15,978/7,000 (Completed)
    TWC: 34,272/14,000 (Completed)

    @Nymara


    _____________________________________________________________________________________

    [Job] Shimmering Feelings (Akeya/Nymara) - Page 2 Akeya2
    Between the Sun and the Moon, where it is neither Day nor Night, the Dragon of Twilight sleeps.

    Character|Magic
    Nymara
    Nymara

    Player 
    Lineage : Prodigy of Nyx
    Position : None
    Posts : 163
    Guild : Fairy Tail
    Cosmic Coins : 0
    Dungeon Tokens : 0
    Mentor : Akeya
    Experience : 21,875

    Character Sheet
    First Skill: Fire Dragon Slayer Magic
    Second Skill:
    Third Skill:

    [Job] Shimmering Feelings (Akeya/Nymara) - Page 2 Empty Re: [Job] Shimmering Feelings (Akeya/Nymara)

    Post by Nymara 13th June 2023, 2:09 am

    The music had continued to swell within the large chamber, yet it had not been enough to drown out the twilight dragon’s words as Nymara listened closely to her assessment. Akemi had seemed far more suspicious of Harringoth than the firebrand could understand why, though she simply chalked it up to her own inexperience. Nymara had learned to trust her mentor’s instincts thus far, so she had no intention of breaking that trend now. “Ohh, that’s right! I did sense the magic on him, he isn’t completely regular.” She would reaffirm as Akemi pointed out the noble’s wizard status. Of course being magic didn't indicate guilt, as it wasn't uncommon here, but it helped. As for his reasonings, well Nymara wasn’t exactly sure what could have drawn him out here, though Akemi seemed determined that it wasn’t for something good. Taking one more subtle glance around them Nymara would smile at Akemi before nodding. “Got it! I’ll try and remain innocuous and out of sight!” 

    Lucky’s side of the evening seemed far more intense at the moment, the feline awaiting a response from his shadowy companion before moving onwards. Thankfully Akemi was fast, and the cat noticed the new writing quickly! Much to his relief she suggested he pursue, not wanting to risk anything happening to the transports. This course of action from a puppet had troubling implications, and Lucky was going to try his hardest to prevent them from coming to fruition before it was too late. He just had to have faith that the two women could handle the remaining puppets, whose numbers were still a mystery to him. Wasting no time Lucky’s wings extended and took him back into the cool night breeze, his small shadow blocking the moonlight far below. He tried to maintain a fair amount of height, both to provide himself with a better view and read of the land. Of course he still needed to keep his own presence in mind, as he didn’t want to tip off the puppet to his whereabouts. 

    “Now why exactly would they want to cut off transportation? Clearly the opposition was interested in obtaining these documents, though that obviously wasn’t their only goal. Unless this was simply a backup plan in case the theft failed.” Lucky thought internally to himself as he flew closer and closer to the stables near the edge of the property. Hopefully he wouldn’t need to deal with any more magic gargoyles, though he kept his senses sharp just in case. As the feline finally began to descend he didn’t notice anything out of the ordinary. The stables themselves were quite large, obviously meant to house the owner’s own animals in addition to the many guests he would have. Strangely enough though the puppet had chosen a crowded spot to perform the next stage of its plan, as Lucky noticed the presence of several armed guards patrolling the perimeter. Of course if this puppet had been like the one he encountered earlier, it likely also had an invisibility charm active, so it wasn’t surprising that the guards didn’t appear alert. “Place seems quiet for now, so I'm going to take a closer look.” He would whisper. Lucky was honestly not sure if Akemi could still hear him, now being so far from the mansion, though he didn’t think it hurt to try. She was after all extremely talented, so he wouldn’t put it past her to be able to maintain contact. Now he had gotten into an awkward situation. The feline silently landed near the edge of the roof overhanging one of the large stall doors, his eyes sharpening in the dark to notice any discrepancies. Part of him desperately wanted to warn the nearby guards of the impending danger, though the chances of them believing him were likely slim, due to his simple appearance as a talking cat. And even if they did, the guards would be likely to send a message up to the mansion, resulting in panic or provocation of the puppet and its plans. Lucky felt his best chance at stopping this magical construct would be to take it by surprise like the last one, though that unfortunately meant he couldn’t afford tipping it off by making the guards aware. For now he would need to trust his nose, maybe he would be able to use his newfound knowledge of the sulfur connection to find his target before they completed their mission.

    Meanwhile back at the mansion Nymara found herself almost lost in the sea of people! All these faces and smells mixing together was overwhelming, and the fact she needed to single out a specific person didn’t help things. However the firebrand knew her task had to be important, so the girl had a cautious gaze periodically scanning the room around her for any signs of their target. However thankfully the girl didn’t need to look for long, as the Lord’s scent soon came to the woman accompanied by another rather strange smell. Something familiar. Nymara’s gaze sharpened while she looked for the source, soon finding it as Harringoth stood some distance away near the very large windows that covered nearly the entire wall. He appeared to be in mid conversation with another lady, though over the sound of the music and people conversing Nymara had trouble making out what was being said. Nymara attempted to make her way closer without drawing his attention, slowly walking through the groups of people around to the noble’s flank all the while inching towards the lord. That strange new smell was certainly coming from him alright, which was odd considering Nymara could not remember smelling any brimstone before. The scent was nearly enough to make Nymara scrunch her nose in reaction, though it seemed nobody else around her had noticed. 

    “Now why would you be smellin’ like that unless you’re up to somethin’.” Nymara would mumble to herself as she kept a careful watch on Harringoth, trying her best to remain beneath his notice at the same time. What seemed to surprise Nymara even more was the fact that as she got closer she could make out the scent trailing off in different directions from him as well. This instantly raised flags in Nymara’s mind, and she knew she had to investigate further. Doing her best to sniff the air when nobody was paying attention the girl would allow the odd scent to guide her. Clearly it was originating from Harringoth, but she could smell something similar coming from the nearby kitchens, and that certainly wasn’t the smell of any food Nymara knew. Part of her knew this had something to do with whatever Lucky had to fight upstairs, but even she knew better than to confront the Lord with nothing more than her word. However, in Nymara’s temporary moment of distraction it appeared as though she had lost sight of Harringoth. That was until the strong smell of sulfur seemed to be right on top of her! “Ah Lady Nym, was it? Glad to see you’re still enjoying yourself.” 

    The girl nearly froze in place, being taken completely by surprise from Harringoth’s sudden appearance! How did he escape her sight and find her so quickly? Putting on a rather forced smile Nymara quickly turned around to face the much taller man. Without Akemi nearby to do all the talking she felt her nerves bundling up! It was odd. Put Nymara up against a vicious beast or pack of raiders and she’d have the gall to laugh at them, yet place her in simple conversation with the upper class and you could nearly see her knees buckle beneath her dress. “Did I catch you at a bad time, my lady? You seem a bit on edge.” He would ask, his crimson eyes quick to notice most details. “U-  Uh! No, of course not! Just new to these kinds of gatherings, as my friend had mentioned.” Nymara said with a small chuckle. The firebrand had been making her way towards the kitchens to follow the scent of brimstone, though now it seemed that wasn’t an option at present with Harringoth here. Nymara just hoped her mentor had also picked up on the smell. Maybe she could investigate while Nymara was currently indisposed. “Ah, well yes they can be quite overwhelming. I do apologize for my abrupt departure earlier however, I realize how unbecoming that may have appeared to a pair of fine women like yourselves. Speaking of which, where is lady Akemi at the moment? I find it surprising she’s not currently with you.” He would say with a slick tone. The question only sent off more alarms in her head, though Nymara knew she needed to think quick if she were to get through this! “Well, I believe she went to catch up with some old friends… She’s around somewhere.” She would say, a slight look of panic in her eyes as she tried to spot any familiar faces in the crowd around her. At best, Nymara could keep Harringoth distracted while Akemi did what she did best. “Though join me for a drink? This stuff’s supposed to be great!” She would say somewhat suddenly, putting her hand on the man’s shoulder as she guided his attention towards the large table near the center of the room, keeping his back towards the kitchens. 

    1547 Words | PWC: 20462 | TWC: 35819


    _____________________________________________________________________________________

    [Job] Shimmering Feelings (Akeya/Nymara) - Page 2 2ohu3XJ

    Akeya
    Akeya

    Twilight Dragon


    Twilight Dragon

    Dragon VIP Status- Quality Badge Level 1- Quality Badge Level 2- Quality Badge Level 3- Dragon Slayer- Rich- Veteran Level 1- Character History!- Magic Application Approved!- Get A Pet!- Character Application Approved!- Complete Your First Job!- Obtain A Lineage!- Join A Faction!- Novice [250]- Player 
    Lineage : Hic Sunt Dracones
    Position : None
    Faction : The Luminous Covenant
    Posts : 1385
    Guild : Fairy Tail (Ace)
    Cosmic Coins : 0
    Dungeon Tokens : 0
    Mentor : Whedalsin
    Experience : 1,269,023

    Character Sheet
    First Skill: Twilight Dragon Magic
    Second Skill: Twilight Dragon Magic
    Third Skill: Twilight Dragon Magic

    [Job] Shimmering Feelings (Akeya/Nymara) - Page 2 Empty Re: [Job] Shimmering Feelings (Akeya/Nymara)

    Post by Akeya 25th September 2023, 10:49 am

    Akemi's senses were extremely sharp, allowing her to notice many things which others didn't. However, an entire ballroom full of nobles, many with perfumes as if some kind of olfactory plumage, meant that picking out the single person who smelled of sulfur wasn't something she could do when she was in the middle of going to the bathrooms. What she could tell was that the smell came from the same direction as where Nymara had gone, which made her mind go to Lord Harringoth. She didn't have any evidence that it was him, especially since when she'd been face to face with him there hadn't been a hint of sulfur. She could only chalk it up to him being rather suspicious all around, but that wasn't enough to accuse him of everything.

    If it did turn out to be Lord Harringoth she'd have to rely on Nymara to figure that out. Leaving the ballroom behind Akemi entered the bathrooms, finding an empty stall where she'd be left alone while she focused. Now that Nymara was moving about on her own the dark dragon didn't have to put herself on display any more. Now she just had to make sure that nobody noticed that she was messing around with the shadows.

    Although she did also have to stay in touch with Lucky, now that the exceed was heading out to protect the stables from one of their targets she'd have to be ready to assist in case his next encounter doesn't go as well as the first.

    Closing her eyes Akemi leaned against the wall, expanding her consciousness. A mansion was just a mass of shadows with spots of light, and outside the world was dark as night had conquered the skies. Calling forth her own shadow she let it rise from the surface it was usually stuck on, taking on an independent shape mimicking something much bigger than the dragoness herself. Dark lines and planes formed and connected, until before Akemi a shadowy miniature of the mansion and its surroundings hovered at chest height. Inside the ephemeral model, countless smaller shapes moved around, the ballroom filled with them. That said, those were the least interesting parts of the three-dimensional display.

    Opening her eyes Akemi studied what lay before her. Unfortunately whatever technique the puppets used to hide themselves also made it difficult to catch their shadows, so rather than having a concrete view of them she could only infer their actions from oddities within the model. The ballroom was safe... although she could tell that Nymara had made contact with Harringoth again. Hopefully her apprentice could stand her ground without her mentor to take the lead.

    At the stables nothing was out of the ordinary yet, but she could see that Lucky was at work. She could hear him through the shadows as well. She quickly wrote out her response.

    "Be careful. If trouble does start alert the guards. They should've been told to handle disturbances without alarming the guests."

    For someone like the host of this party reputation was everything. He was smart enough to hire some powerful assistance from a guild, but at the end of the day had still demanded they do everything to keep the guests from noticing something was amiss if they did spot trouble. The guards would be no different in that regard.

    What else... minor oddities were occurring in several places as the hidden targets were disturbing their surroundings without otherwise getting spotted, but none of them showed her much of what they were actually doing. What she did notice was that Nymara had been moving towards the kitchens before Lord Harringoth waylaid her. Under different circumstances Akemi might just have thought that her apprentice was hungry, but she trusted Nymara to not get that distracted during an important mission such as this one.

    Unfortunately this shadow model couldn't mimic scent or sound, so if Akemi wanted to investigate the kitchens thoroughly she'd have to go there herself. Under normal circumstances it'd be strange for one of the guests to head directly for the kitchens... especially with Akemi drawing quite a few stares with her appearance. Dismissing the shadow model she let her shadow return to its usual position before falling into it, matching her shadow to one of the larger shadows in the kitchen.

    Staying hidden for the moment Akemi transferred herself to the shadow in the kitchen, looking around with concealed eyes and sniffing the air. Here there was an abundance of scents, yet it wasn't as confusing as the mess of perfumes in the ballroom. She could distinguish the various ingredients and condiments that were being used to feed the guests... as well as that same scent of sulfur. That must've been what attracted Nymara to the kitchens.

    The assassin sharpened her senses. Her target was a puppet which was difficult to notice, so she had to make sure she caught them. She was confident that her own magic was sufficient to keep her from being found first, but that would mean little if she let her prey escape.

    Appearance:

    WC: 848
    PWC: 17,026/7,000 (Completed)
    TWC: 36,668/14,000 (Completed)

    @Nymara


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    [Job] Shimmering Feelings (Akeya/Nymara) - Page 2 Akeya2
    Between the Sun and the Moon, where it is neither Day nor Night, the Dragon of Twilight sleeps.

    Character|Magic
    Nymara
    Nymara

    Player 
    Lineage : Prodigy of Nyx
    Position : None
    Posts : 163
    Guild : Fairy Tail
    Cosmic Coins : 0
    Dungeon Tokens : 0
    Mentor : Akeya
    Experience : 21,875

    Character Sheet
    First Skill: Fire Dragon Slayer Magic
    Second Skill:
    Third Skill:

    [Job] Shimmering Feelings (Akeya/Nymara) - Page 2 Empty Re: [Job] Shimmering Feelings (Akeya/Nymara)

    Post by Nymara 8th April 2024, 2:13 pm

    While the evening dragged on more and more strange things seemed to be revealing themselves one at a time. If you were just a regular noble at this gathering you likely wouldn’t have given most of these discrepancies a second glance, though that’s exactly why the host of this gathering decided to hire outside help. Quite literally, in Lucky’s case. The feline was still hovering around the stables, staying as silent as a shadow while he awaited the response from his companion. Thankfully it didn’t take long for Akemi to leave him another message, one he could agree with. If things did get out of hand it would be unlikely that the exceed could take care of everything himself, so it may have been smart to make sure the nearby guards were aware of the situation. Of course, that would likely be reserved for the worst case scenario since Lucky was trying his hardest to make sure the puppet wasn’t aware of his interfering presence. It was highly likely that whoever was controlling these constructs was already aware of the first puppet’s failure on the third floor, so he wouldn’t be surprised if the others acted more careful. If he made his presence known right now by informing the guards there could have been a chance the puppet would accelerate its plans, whatever they may be. His ears flattened in response to this thought, as Lucky still wasn’t sure what the puppet’s play was here. As far as he could tell none of the carriages or their animals had been tampered with, so what reason would it have to be here? Begrudgingly, the feline would silently drop to the ground and hide behind one of the nearby wooden beams, attempting to get a closer look at the stables. Everything appeared to be normal at first glance, although one thing did stand out to the cat. “Odd." He would mutter to himself. On the opposite end of the long building from him one of the animals seemed to be slightly distressed. It wasn’t anything too unusual, as horses were known to sometimes grow restless when being confined in new places, but he thought to give it a closer look anyways.  

    Harringoth’s blood red gaze didn’t falter from Nymara’s eyes as she directed his attention towards the large table of refreshments before them, politely nodding as Nym grabbed two glasses at random and handed one to him. “I suppose I could indulge myself a little, though I must warn you some of the drinks here are stronger than others.” He would say with a small chuckle, prompting Nymara to smile in response. She wasn’t entirely sure what he meant by that, but soon received a sense of clarity when she took a sip. Nymara had nearly forgotten that up until this point in the evening she had only been drinking iced water in order to keep her senses clear, whatever she just grabbed was definitely not water. It also wasn’t beer, judging by the tingly feeling it left on her tongue. It must’ve been a champagne of sorts, though despite her hobby of consuming alcohol Nymara hadn’t actually tried this kind before, if only because she didn’t make a habit of spending time with fancy folks. That and the slayer likely couldn’t afford most of this stuff to begin with. She resisted the urge to give any kind of reaction to the odd sensation, though it was obvious that her poker face could have used some work. “Eheh.. Gotta lil’ bit of a kick doesn’t it?” She’d say, putting on a forced laugh to hide her inexperience, though with Harringoth’s unchanging expression it was impossible to tell if he was fooled by her or not.

    With Nymara being right next to him it was obvious that the intense smell of sulfur was coming straight from Lord Harringoth, though strangely enough Nymara did not remember smelling anything like this when they had met earlier in the night. Akemi was right to put her suspicions on this Lord, as it was obvious something strange was going on but nobody else appeared to have noticed. It would be difficult for Nymara to keep herself focused when such a strong scent was now assaulting her enhanced senses, but for the mission’s sake she couldn’t afford to falter now. “I must admit you look rather stunning tonight, my lady.” Harringoth would speak up again, his voice as smooth as velvet. “From your dress to the way you’ve done your hair, it seems to suit your figure very well.” Harringoth would continue in a noble tone. Nymara only smiled in response, pretending to act thankful for the compliments. “Why thank you, my lord. My friend actually helped pick it out!” She’d say truthfully. “Well she has very good taste, I must say.” He said. “Say, did she also pick out that amulet you have around your neck? I couldn’t help but notice it earlier and found myself curious about its design.” He would say before taking a sip from his drink, his eyes flicking down to the pendant around Nymara’s neck. At this inquiry Nymara’s confidence was put into question and she found her curiosity rising, though she soon dismissed it as simply a passive interest the lord must have had. “O- Oh! This old thing? No actually it was a gift from my dad, a little keepsake, y’know?” She would respond, telling only a half-truth. Harringoth’s face was as stoic as ever, completely unphased by her response. “A magical keepsake? He must love you very much.” He would laugh, causing Nymara’s head to tilt slightly. She had never mentioned magic within the item, yet it appeared as though the lord had sensed it himself. Before Nymara wasn’t entirely sure what magic was in the amulet, but whenever she tried to take it off it would fight her to remain around her neck so the arcane was obviously at play. Part of the girl instinctively wanted to ask Harringoth about the amulet, seeing as he was able to feel its presence but she had to stop herself. She was on a mission, not some personal quest. “Keeps him close, yeah? Did your parents ever give you anything to hold onto?” She would say, attempting to divert the conversation away from herself. In response Harringoth simply chuckled yet again. “I’m afraid not, aside from poor memories.” He answered somewhat vaguely. “Still, I keep those close if only for motivation. I find that in troubling times remembering where one started can help. After all, when I was younger I never imagined I would find myself in this kind of setting, talking to beautiful women like yourself.” He’d say with honeyed words. Despite how he carried himself though Nymara was starting to feel what Akemi had with her much deeper experience. If the scent of sulfur wasn’t enough to draw her suspicions his mannerisms felt off to her. It may have just been because he was a noble and they were all shady bastards but there was something more about him. Nymara wasn’t sure what exactly, but he had a careful way of choosing his words and actions that told her he had his own motivations for this conversation.

    Back in the busy kitchens everything appeared to be quite normal. Great fires periodically roared from the different stoves and what looked like a dozen workers hurriedly moved back and forth to cook and prepare the copious amount of food that was required for such a gathering. It appeared as though they were tasked with replacing anything the nobles ate as soon as they were finished, making sure the large tables within the gathering were constantly overflowing with different delicacies. A large space in the kitchen had been put aside for finished meals, waiting to be picked up by the servants and delivered out to the nobles. Still, the hint of sulfur was still present despite the overwhelming smells of the feast being prepared, and it certainly didn’t belong in the kitchen. Nothing out of the ordinary was really noticeable, at least not at first. With all this steam and smoke in the air of the kitchens it could have been hard to see, but something moved swiftly between the workers. Invisible as before, yet its presence in the physical world meant it was still bound by its laws. Unusual wisps of cloud and smoke could be seen ever so slightly parting unnaturally out of the way for something that didn’t appear to be there. Yet in their busy state none of the cooks seemed to notice. It moved expertly between them, but the steamy air would betray its presence to one who was observant. The unusual movements of the air would begin to stop once it got close to the table of finished meals, and sure enough the scent of sulfur got stronger in that location. With the chefs being too preoccupied to notice they would ignore the tiny sprinkles of mysterious dust appearing seemingly out of thin air, slightly covering many of the finished meals. Whatever the substance was it was clear that it didn’t belong on food, but like the puppet it mysteriously vanished as soon as it landed, concealing any tampering with the feast that had been done. Worst of all nobody seemed to notice, and a servant just walked into the kitchens with the intent of taking the tampered food out to the gathering…

    1,577 Words | PWC: 22,039 | TWC: 38,245



    _____________________________________________________________________________________

    [Job] Shimmering Feelings (Akeya/Nymara) - Page 2 2ohu3XJ

    Akeya
    Akeya

    Twilight Dragon


    Twilight Dragon

    Dragon VIP Status- Quality Badge Level 1- Quality Badge Level 2- Quality Badge Level 3- Dragon Slayer- Rich- Veteran Level 1- Character History!- Magic Application Approved!- Get A Pet!- Character Application Approved!- Complete Your First Job!- Obtain A Lineage!- Join A Faction!- Novice [250]- Player 
    Lineage : Hic Sunt Dracones
    Position : None
    Faction : The Luminous Covenant
    Posts : 1385
    Guild : Fairy Tail (Ace)
    Cosmic Coins : 0
    Dungeon Tokens : 0
    Mentor : Whedalsin
    Experience : 1,269,023

    Character Sheet
    First Skill: Twilight Dragon Magic
    Second Skill: Twilight Dragon Magic
    Third Skill: Twilight Dragon Magic

    [Job] Shimmering Feelings (Akeya/Nymara) - Page 2 Empty Re: [Job] Shimmering Feelings (Akeya/Nymara)

    Post by Akeya 14th April 2024, 9:20 am

    Akemi frowned as she tried to keep track both of what her companions were up to and the kitchen where the sulfurous smell was seeping through amidst the myriad of scents emitted by the various dishes the cooks were preparing to keep up with the guests. While it was customary in these gatherings to not eat too much, to avoid looking gluttonous or slovenly, their client had invited enough influential individuals that all of them together still consumed enough food for the kitchen staff to be occupied.

    From what she could tell nothing strange was happening between Nymara and Lord Harringoth yet. As convenient as it might've been for the strange human male to be responsible for these disturbances, Akemi also was suspicious of things being too convenient. Though regardless, she preferred to stick with the truth whatever it might be, so she'd have to rely on Nymara to figure out whether Lord Harringoth needed to be dealt with or whether the problem lay somewhere else.

    Especially since if he had nothing to do with the situation getting too obsessed with him would just blind her to the actual culprit.

    As for Lucky... He seemed to be doing all right so far, even if that meant he wasn't finding any useful traces of their prey either. The exceed certainly was brave despite his stature, but Akemi would rather he be careful and return alive so he could remain useful in the future than that he were caught and eliminated.

    But that did leave her with little choice but to remain in the kitchens for the moment, hidden inside the shadows as she tried to track down the source of the sulfurous smell even as the air was thick with the scent of cooking and the sound of clattering cookware, not to mention the babbling of the kitchen staff as they tried to keep everything organised. Akemi had heard more than once that professional kitchens were some of the messiest places you could think of when it was busy, and from the looks of it that hadn't been an exaggeration.

    However, careful study did allow her to perceive the hidden figure amidst it all, unnoticed by the humans that staffed the kitchen but unable to evade her notice entirely. While the puppet Lucky had encountered before had been able to move through solid objects when needed it seemed this ability wasn't limitless: smoke and steam was pushed aside by the invisible figure, its form tangible now that it didn't need to move through obstacles to reach its objective.

    Said objective being the food that had already been finished and was ready to be moved to the ballroom for the guests to enjoy. It appeared that the ones who were attending the guests in the ballroom were also supposed to retrieve these dishes from the kitchen, which left them in an unenviable position with too much work to do and too little opportunity to do it all.

    Which gave the invisible intruder an opportunity to perform its enigmatic task. Akemi observed with more than a little curiosity as it sprinkled a strange powder across the displayed dishes, said power quickly becoming indistinguishable from all the other spices and condiments said dishes were already adorned with. Her first thought had been to interrupt the invisible puppet, but quickly thought better of it as she realised that the contaminated food could become a valuable clue.

    She suspected that the powder was some kind of poison, but despite what some people might believe not all poisons were the same. There were a myriad of poisons, harmful in different ways even if the method of application was the same. And while some poisons were very common others were rare indeed: rare enough that they could help provide information about the person using them.

    But that still meant that she had to snatch the dishes before they were brought back to the ballroom and eaten by the guests. Whatever it was that the puppet had used, she highly doubted that it would be good for the guests, or something that could be ignored. Even as one of the servants managed to find the time to retrieve the dishes from the kitchens Akemi carefully wove her magic, hidden inside the dark shadows before reaching out towards the shadows cast by the plates upon which the food was displayed.

    Even as the servant looked back towards something in the ballroom the shadows underneath the plates darkened, and within a split second all the dishes had disappeared, fallen inside of their own shadows which quickly slithered down towards the floor to merge with the shadow of the table. Just as the cooks had been too busy to notice somebody tampering with the prepared dishes they didn't notice Akemi's trick until the servant arrived at the table and asked where the dishes were. Some of the cooks shouted back that they were right there, only for a minor shouting match to erupt as the cooks started yelling that someone must've taken off with the food while the servant accused them of pulling his leg.

    The assassin dismissed their clamouring. The contaminated food had been stored in a safe location, and while the cooks and the servants might be a bit put out now the guests would think little of the staff arguing amongst one another. Part of being nobility was to pay little attention to the peasants, assuming that whatever concerns they had were beneath your notice.

    Disdain for the nobility aside, Akemi still had to deal with the puppet who'd tried to mess with the food. She'd let it go the first time around, but assuming it was still around it'd probably try to repeat its work now that its plan had been obstructed. Puppets, effective as they could be with their precision and lack of emotions, also lacked creativity and problem-solving capabilities. If they'd been given instructions and said instructions didn't work the first time they would usually just repeat the instructions until the desired effect had been achieved.

    Which she could take advantage of. Whether they were happy about it or not, the cooks would rapidly try to compensate for the missing dishes, producing more food to be delivered to the ballroom. They were clearly working even faster than before, cursing and complaining about whichever trickster had decided to steal so much food at such a busy time. The first couple of dishes were immediately brought to the ballroom, but once the immediate crisis had been averted the table set aside for prepared dishes slowly began to fill up with more food once more.

    While the cooks worked Akemi also prepared her trap, subtly and stealthily to avoid anyone sensitive to the flow of magic noticing her work. The shadow underneath the table suited her purposes perfectly, her own magic slowly saturating it until she could move it like an extension of her own body. The cooks, even busier than before, were in no position to check the shadows on the floor for suspicious activity, although even if they had Akemi doubted they'd have the expertise to notice.

    Within mere minutes the trap had been prepared, and Akemi waited patiently for the puppet to once again approach the food to sprinkle it with more powder. Once it did she'd spring her trap, carefully prepared: the table's shadow would quickly grab the invisible puppet and pull it into the floor, transporting it to the third floor where Akemi would soon join it so she could take care of it without any witnesses.

    Appearance:

    WC: 1,263
    PWC: 18,289/7,000 (Completed)
    TWC: 39,508/14,000 (Completed)

    @Nymara


    _____________________________________________________________________________________

    [Job] Shimmering Feelings (Akeya/Nymara) - Page 2 Akeya2
    Between the Sun and the Moon, where it is neither Day nor Night, the Dragon of Twilight sleeps.

    Character|Magic
    Nymara
    Nymara

    Player 
    Lineage : Prodigy of Nyx
    Position : None
    Posts : 163
    Guild : Fairy Tail
    Cosmic Coins : 0
    Dungeon Tokens : 0
    Mentor : Akeya
    Experience : 21,875

    Character Sheet
    First Skill: Fire Dragon Slayer Magic
    Second Skill:
    Third Skill:

    [Job] Shimmering Feelings (Akeya/Nymara) - Page 2 Empty Re: [Job] Shimmering Feelings (Akeya/Nymara)

    Post by Nymara 9th May 2024, 7:20 pm

    Silence hung over the stables with an eerie stillness. Lucky knew better than to trust the appearance of the place based off of sound alone, especially when the evidence he had found pointed him in this direction. Still, there was one small oddity that stood out to the feline, enough to warrant further investigation at least. With the guards doing their usual rounds and the animals being kept in their stalls Lucky figured it would be best to make his way over to one stall in particular. He had noticed the horse inside acting strange, chuffing and whining to itself as it scraped its front hooves along the floor, periodically shaking its head. It seemed as if some of the guards had noticed this strange behavior as well, though they opted to ignore it, assuming that the animal was just stressed about being confined into a small space. Lucky’s suspicious mind however wouldn’t be satisfied with such a surface level assessment, not with what was at stake. Knowing he’d only have to explain his presence to the guards if they saw him meant that Lucky preferred to stick to the rafters of the stable, silently gliding from beam to beam above the guard’s heads. While it would be beneficial to have these guards alert to the situation, Lucky didn’t want to risk anything until he had eyes on this puppet. With any luck the puppet had no idea the exceed followed him here, so he wasn’t going to risk it accelerating its plans if Lucky revealed himself too early.

    Once he had gotten closer to the stall he observed the horse silently from above, looking for any odd movements among the hay covered ground that could potentially betray the presence of his adversary, though nothing stood out. Instead the horse only seemed to grow increasingly agitated, as if some invisible force was aggravating the beast. Lucky was no animal expert but he safely assumed simple stress wasn’t enough to warrant such actions from the creature. As time went on the horse only seemed to grow more restless, prompting Lucky to frown slightly and descend from his hiding place to take a closer look. Predictably the beast was not amused by his sudden appearance and it quickly reared up on its back legs, letting out a distressed noise in the process! Lucky cursed himself and was about to duck back into his hiding place when he noticed something out of place on the creature’s underside… A magic seal! It was small, but glowed in a sinister purple light and reeked of sulfur. Without warning the horse brought its legs back down, attempting to stomp directly on Lucky! Grunting to himself the feline quickly dove out of its way and ascended back to the roof. He was about to call to the guards when more trouble started. With unnatural aggression and strength the horse broke from the constraints attached to its bridle and proceeded to barrel through the half-fence protecting its stall! The loud noise quickly attracted the attention of several of the guardsmen who rushed to the scene, spears drawn! “What the- How the hell did it get loose?!” One yelled in confusion, trying his best to keep himself between the angry animal and the main doors to the stable. They kept their weapons ready but were hesitant to react, if only because their jobs were to protect these animals. Before Lucky could even make his presence known another horse proceeded to show heightened aggression, knocking down the wooden door to its stall. With a sense of dreadful clarity Lucky began to understand the intentions of the puppet. Through some means of magical manipulation the fiend had caused the horses within the stable to go berserk, effectively sabotaging the means of escape for the group of nobles within the mansion. That itself wasn’t the worst part, but what it implied made Lucky worry. If the puppet was trying to cut off reliable means of escape than just what was the full scope of its plan? He’d need to think about that later however, as one by one more and more horses seemed to lose control of their senses!

    “Stay alert, soldiers! An invisible puppet prowls the area, it is likely the cause behind this phenomena!” Lucky would finally say, cursing himself for not speaking up earlier. Perhaps if he had not tried to discern the puppet’s plan before acting they could have found something, though Lucky knew that was a moot point at present. “And who the hell are yo-” One guard would say but was quickly knocked to the ground by the charging horse in his moment of distraction! “Woha, go get the wranglers!” Another would respond, trying to fill the gap. Lucky quickly zipped through the rest of the stable, looking for any horse that seemed not affected. From what he could tell the beasts were losing control one by one, which made Lucky theorize the puppet could only place a manipulation seal one at a time. A few of the guardsmen would drop their spears as the horse only continued to get more angry and tried to desperately hold onto the broken ropes attached to its bridle, struggling to keep the horse in one spot while others went berserk! Knowing there was little the exceed could do himself to halt their rampage he instead decided to focus his efforts on figuring out where the puppet was. With a quick glide he made his way over to the main doors of the stable and used what strength he had to pull them shut! With that taken care of he grunted, flying back towards the roof and through the barred walls looking into the other stalls. By this point about four of the different horses had all behaved erratically, while the rest looked on in discomfort, obviously feeling confused and stressed about the behavior of the others. Now all the guards in the stable were springing into action, each of them trying to corral and calm the angry animals without hurting them though it appeared to be a one sided affair, as more than a few of the guardsmen had been heavily kicked or trampled by the raging beasts! Knowing full blown chaos was about to erupt if more horses broke free Lucky hurriedly looked for anything unusual! He heard the distinctive chuffing whining of one animal that hadn’t broken free just yet and the exceed sprang into action, determined to catch the puppet red-handed!

    Watching from above he saw the animal shaking its head from side to side while the chaos raged just outside its stall and Lucky couldn’t be sure if this was just normal stress or the magic at work. He hesitated only for a moment however, as the stench of the sulfuric presence that had been haunting their mission this entire night quickly returned, and so did the glowing! It seemed that even though the puppet itself was invisible, the magic it used was not. His eyes widened when he saw the same magic seal he spotted on the others starting to form underneath the animal and it only grew more aggressive with each passing moment! The puppet had to be in this stall! Cursing himself Lucky wasn’t sure what to do but he knew he had no time to formulate a clever plan. If he didn’t act now these animals seriously threatened the peace of the event should they escape, and leave all the nobles with little means to evacuate should something happen. Finally he acted, descending from his hiding spot in one fell swoop!

    As predicted the horse did not take kindly to Lucky’s entrance and like before it began to back up and rear! At that moment he noticed the magic seal begin to flicker, as if the magic was interrupted! Sure enough Lucky felt another change in the air like he had in the mansion, and he could tell the puppet was in the same stall as him and preparing to take him out! In that split second of time Lucky had the idea to dive straight under the horse as it brought its weight down to try and stomp him, only to hit something else entirely! With a loud thud the horse’s hooves struck the body of someone who had not been there before, and suddenly a clattering noise echoed throughout the stable as what appeared to be a large dagger and mask fell to the ground! Just like in the library it was a strangely dressed construct who’s entire body evaporated into purple mist once it had been hit with sufficient force, leaving behind only a crude weapon and a disturbing mask. It was clear the puppet was just about to strike Lucky before the horse intervened, and for that the feline was very grateful.

    With the puppet dealt with, the rest of the horses began to calm down. Of course they were still confused and agitated somewhat after what just happened but they were for the most part back to normal. Breathing heavily, Lucky observed the stables. They were a complete mess, with many of the stalls broken and torn through and multiple guardsmen lay on the ground, either knocked unconscious or severely bruised. Still, none of the horses had managed to escape so Lucky concluded he had successfully foiled the puppet’s plan. Of course that only reminded him that it was just playing a small part in a much larger scheme, so the exceed thought it prudent to warn Akemi as soon as possible. “Situation in the stables is calm.. Puppet neutralized.. Though it was attempting to cut off means of escape for the nobles. I would advise extreme caution, I think they’re preparing for something big at the mansion and it can’t be good.” Lucky would whisper to the shadows through ragged breath, hoping that wherever Akemi was she was still listening.

    Nymara was seriously starting to question whether conversing with Harringoth by herself was a good idea. While it was true she was keeping him distracted, her nerves were rising with every passing moment. Internally she was terrified she would slip up and make herself seem suspicious, though she had no idea if Harringoth would even pick up on those things. It was nearly impossible for her to tell what he was thinking but even Nymara knew by this point that something seemed off. His interest before hadn’t really crossed her mind, though while he spoke the girl felt as if he was hunting for something. She needed to be careful with what she said. As Akemi had tried to teach the girl many times, information hygiene was just as important to protecting oneself as a flaming fist. “I’m sorry to hear that my lord. I’d say that having a pair of loving parents is key to making someone respectable but you appear to be fine as is.” She’d respond, trying her best to make polite conversation without giving away anything important. “I thank you for the compliment my lady, though honestly I would find such logic to be.. Naive.” He’d respond before taking another sip of his wine. “We may all be a product of our upbringing, though we don’t need to let it define us forever. Take you, for example!” He’d say with the same polite smile he’d been wearing all night. “Despite being raised up a noble like the rest of them you seem to have a rather distinctive personality. I must confess that speaking with these types can get quite boring over time, yet occasionally I meet someone like yourself who defies expectations. Though from what I remember Lady Akemi mentioned you were given quite a lot of freedom growing up, so perhaps you’d have a point after all.” He’d say, recalling an earlier conversation they had. “Though I never did catch the name of your family..” He’d finish, taking another long sip of his drink while his eyes stared her down. That look seemed to be more than simple curiosity and Nymara was starting to catch on. Her spine froze when the silence lingered, signaling that the lord was waiting for a response from the young dragon slayer. “To be honest you probably wouldn’t know them.. We aren’t as uh.. ‘High’ in the ranks of noble society as most of these folks..” She chuckled slightly, hoping the anxiety she was feeling wasn’t showing. Unlike Akemi, Nymara was a terrible liar. Quick thinking mid conversation was not one of her strong suits though it appeared as she had little choice in the matter. She couldn’t rely on the twilight dragon for every interaction after all. Harringoth was quiet for a moment after this response and only continued to stare into her eyes while he thought about what he was going to say. “You may be surprised.” He’d say somewhat cryptically. Though before Nymara could even formulate a reasonable lie to respond, another look flashed across his face. This time it seemed as though he was feeling some slight irritation towards unseen forces. With a heavy sigh he placed his glass down once again, clearly miffed about something. “I must confess I forgot to inform the servants to offload the wine I had brought for Lord Carleson to the kitchens. I deeply apologize, my lady. Though I fear the night will be reaching its conclusion soon anyways, so perhaps you should think about getting home?” He would say somewhat suspiciously. That was the second time Harringoth left mid-conversation, and Nymara already knew some type of trouble was brewing with what Lucky had encountered upstairs. Though what she found even more troubling was his comment about her departing. Nymara didn’t know much about noble balls or gatherings but from what she could see the evening didn’t appear to be slowing down. No.. His tone and body language suggested something else. As if he was trying to warn her, but about what she couldn’t guess. She was determined to find out, however. Waiting for Harringoth to disappear back into the crowd Nymara placed her own drink down and would use her senses to remain on his trail through the sea of people, the lingering scent of sulfur never failing. Wherever Harringoth was headed now didn’t seem to be the servant’s quarters like he had claimed. No, his scent was descending underneath the building. Nymara stopped when she found herself at the foot of a dark but empty stairway leading to what looked like a basement. It was dark enough that Nymara felt confident she could let her mentor know. “Fancy noble man was acting even more suspicious and is now on the move downwards.. I will attempt to follow.” She’d whisper into the darkness before silently descending into the shadows herself. Funny, the air was much warmer down here.

    As the twilight dragon diligently prepared her trap for the puppet interfering with the kitchens she’d notice a mark increase in the scent of sulfur that had been stalking the group the entire night. Its source was undetermined, though the presence was unmistakable. Though before long Akemi’s predictions regarding the puppet’s actions seemed to be sound, as not long after the air moved slightly and the invisible figure prepared once more to enact its plan that had been interrupted. However something happened that the puppet was obviously not expecting. Without any kind of warning it was dragged into the shadows underneath and into darkness, quickly reappearing somewhere on the third floor! For a moment the construct seemed completely dumbstruck, processing what had just happened to it which left it in a temporary state of distraction. While these puppets were capable of working independently it seemed pretty clear that they weren’t the smartest of assets. Not being able to plan ahead really worked against them in this case, so it took a moment to reorganize itself before looking for the problem.

    However, as Akemi brought the construct to the upper floors the music in the main ballroom began to swell in intensity as it had before, drowning out the noises from everywhere else. It was in this moment of rising sound that new sensations could be felt. The rise in sulfur only grew stronger, almost nauseating to one with the enhanced senses of a dragon! And multiple sources seemed to be the cause this time. They darted from one spot to another, before suddenly four more magical presences came rushing upwards to Akemi’s location, seemingly converging on the same spot she had taken their friend. Though as they passed through the empty hallways the candles and torches along the walls were lit one at a time, giving light to the shadowed halls! The presence was coming from both sides of Akemi and the soft glow of the lights turning on only seemed to grow brighter the closer they got. The twilight dragon certainly got the attention of the puppet master, and it seemed they were determined to find and stop her meddling at once! Though even the puppets weren’t capable of seeing through the dark as well as the twilight dragon, so the lights betrayed their presence as they got closer, soon trying to converge and overwhelm their target now that they could guess where she was thanks to their innate ability to track one another. Of course, the puppets had no real indication of who they were hunting, but their orders were absolute. The twilight dragon would need to think quickly before the light and the constructs arrived!

    2,922 Words | PWC: 24,961 | TWC: 42,420



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    [Job] Shimmering Feelings (Akeya/Nymara) - Page 2 2ohu3XJ

    Akeya
    Akeya

    Twilight Dragon


    Twilight Dragon

    Dragon VIP Status- Quality Badge Level 1- Quality Badge Level 2- Quality Badge Level 3- Dragon Slayer- Rich- Veteran Level 1- Character History!- Magic Application Approved!- Get A Pet!- Character Application Approved!- Complete Your First Job!- Obtain A Lineage!- Join A Faction!- Novice [250]- Player 
    Lineage : Hic Sunt Dracones
    Position : None
    Faction : The Luminous Covenant
    Posts : 1385
    Guild : Fairy Tail (Ace)
    Cosmic Coins : 0
    Dungeon Tokens : 0
    Mentor : Whedalsin
    Experience : 1,269,023

    Character Sheet
    First Skill: Twilight Dragon Magic
    Second Skill: Twilight Dragon Magic
    Third Skill: Twilight Dragon Magic

    [Job] Shimmering Feelings (Akeya/Nymara) - Page 2 Empty Re: [Job] Shimmering Feelings (Akeya/Nymara)

    Post by Akeya 2nd June 2024, 12:36 pm

    With her sharp senses, Akemi could tell that the situation was slowly approaching its climax, whatever the intended plan was for their opponents. Enough puppets were moving about that the ones directing their movements had to be hurrying: no doubt Lucky's work had been disrupting their schedule. Now Akemi was also directly interfering by preventing the puppet in the kitchen from adding that suspicious powder to the new dishes.

    There was the possibility that some of the earlier dishes had already been poisoned, but there was little she could do about that. Given that the stench of sulfur had only grown noticeable minutes ago odds were that the powder had been carefully timed, to avoid guests showing symptoms before the puppeteers were in place to take advantage of it.

    She doubted that the plan was as straightforward as just killing everyone present at the ball. Unless their opponents were fond of overly complicated strategies, which... wasn't an uncommon trait, she had to admit, especially amongst these highborn who were practically raised to see themselves above others, showing off their supposed intelligence with unnecessary complexity and risks.

    Regardless, she and the others had managed to keep their prey off-balance. Even inside the manor, she could hear commotion from the stables, only for it to die down again while Lucky signalled that he'd taken care of a puppet trying to mess with the horses. She could hear Nymara talking with Lord Harringoth in the ballroom, although the music and all the other guests were too noisy for her to make out all the details.

    Although it was obvious that the enigmatic lordling was paying too much attention to Nymara for Akemi to be comfortable with it: rational as she was, she could be rather possessive at times, on top of the much more pragmatic concerns she had concerning her firebrand of an apprentice trying to navigate her way through political intrigue.

    Not that she didn't have her own problems to deal with: the puppet she'd relocated wasn't going to stay in place forever, and the other puppets were also on the move. She didn't have time to give her apprentice more detailed instructions, instead just forming words in the shadows in front of the firebrand.

    "Remain cautious."

    She doubted this Lord Harringoth could actually take Nymara in a fight, but he was definitely the type to rely on tricks and traps, and if Nymara got overconfident she might not realise the danger until it was too late.

    As for herself... if she could use her full strength without alerting the guests she could have dealt with the puppets within seconds. Unfortunately, while she was quite good at remaining hidden there were limits, and using enough magic to eliminate all the puppets in a flash would draw attention, at least from the more attentive of nobles.

    Stepping out of the shadows she reached back and grabbed hold of the dark, pulling it with her and draping it around herself like a cloak. Her form shimmered out of existence even as on both ends of the hallway lights began to spring to life, closing in on her while unseen puppets approached with hostile intent. The disguised dragoness narrowed her eyes as she flexed her fingers: now that she was standing here in the flesh she could see them whether they tried to hide or not, and if they were so kind as to come to her she could take care of them even without magic.

    Even as the puppet she'd relocated managed to regain its bearings she dashed forward, a dagger appearing in her veiled hand. The puppet's attempt to block the strike with its own blade ended up fruitless as Akemi suddenly halted, spun, and changed her charging stab into an upwards slice which slipped underneath the puppet's arms and split its mask in twain.

    Before the puppet had time to dissipate into the same purple mist Lucky had observed Akemi was already moving, soundlessly jumping over the puppet to land with her bare feet on the wall, the shoes she'd worn for the ball left behind for the moment. Fortunately, her dress wasn't an issue on that front: she might have to straighten it out afterwards, but it wouldn't get in the way.

    Launching herself from the wall she shot towards one end of the hallway, where the lights were announcing the presence of the other puppets. Akemi's golden eyes, hidden inside the dark veil she'd crafted for herself, peered through their invisibility as they were now face to face, or face to mask as it were.

    They might be able to hide from her when she tried to perceive them through her shadows, but her eyes weren't so easily deceived.

    The puppets were fast enough to notice her approach. Coming to a halt they raised their blades, ready to intercept. Akemi's jump from the wall had her flying right underneath the ceiling, coming in from above... until she spun again, planted her feet against the ceiling, and abruptly shot towards the ground right in front of the puppets.

    Catching herself with both feet and one hand she was low enough to the ground that she was almost touching it with her body, which meant she was far below where the puppets had expected her.

    If her blade had been visible it would have left a trail in the air as she swept it forward in a wide arc, the sharp edge severing the puppets' feet from their legs. Letting go of her weapon (which embedded itself into the wall) she grabbed the floor with both hands. Continuing the momentum of her wide slash she kicked her feet off the ground and spun, driving the heel of her foot into the side of one puppet with enough force to smash it into the other puppet and have both unliving soldiers smack into the same wall the dagger was currently embedded in.

    Finishing her spin Akemi pushed herself upright. Lashing forward she pulled her dagger free from its impromptu sheath. An upward slash split the mask of one puppet, after which she spun the dagger around in her hand and drove the tip into the forehead of the other puppet's mask.

    As an assassin, Akemi didn't care for prolonged fights. Her swift movements and her inclination towards lethal strikes meant that the puppets on one end of the hallway had already been disabled before the two lifeless minions coming at her from the other end of the hallway had time to join in.

    Pulling her dagger free from the mask of the now quickly disappearing puppet Akemi turned towards her last two opponents, ignoring the clatter of blades and masks hitting the floor as she shot forward again. The puppets had clear orders to get rid of anybody interfering with the plan, and their lack of independent thought meant they couldn't decide to retreat until it was already too late.

    Many years of training allowed Akemi to leave the floor behind and jump from wall to wall even as she closed the distance towards the remaining puppets, and yet more years of training allowed her to do so without making a sound. The puppets had refined senses, as they were meant to be able to deal with nuisances, but in the current situation, they were simply outclassed. Taking a defensive position they were still trying to figure out where Akemi was when she jumped from the wall to the ceiling and towards the floor right behind the puppet in the back, along the way spinning around her horizontal axis so her dagger could bisect the marionette vertically like a sawblade cutting up a log.

    To its credit, the other puppet reacted quickly enough to spin around to strike at its target. Unfortunately, its blade only found its fellow puppet, beheading the unliving sod even as its body evaporated. Before the last puppet could regain its balance Akemi's dagger shot through the purple mist of its fallen compatriot, striking its mask dead centre and putting an end to its non-existent life.

    As the last of the puppets fell apart, leaving only a pierced mask and a weapon of such poor quality that it had to be either crudely formed with magic or mass-produced, Akemi retrieved her dagger and released her breath. The entire encounter had been short enough for her to hold her breath throughout, although she remained cautious as she glanced around. There were no other puppets in her direct vicinity, but the stench of sulfur was still spreading throughout the manor. If this kept up the guests would start noticing it even if nothing else happened.

    Keeping her gaze on her surroundings Akemi began to shape the shadows around Lucky, contacting the exceed while she let her dagger disappear into nothing.

    "Enemy has noticed me, five puppets eliminated. Nymara following suspicious guest into basement of manor. If no other threats are present in stable assist her."

    There was some risk that if Lucky left the stables undefended another puppet could show up there and wreak havoc again... but she suspected that Nymara could use the help. If not for combat, then to keep an eye out.

    Appearance:

    WC: 1,534
    PWC: 19,823/7,000 (Completed)
    TWC: 43,954/14,000 (Completed)

    @Nymara


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    [Job] Shimmering Feelings (Akeya/Nymara) - Page 2 Akeya2
    Between the Sun and the Moon, where it is neither Day nor Night, the Dragon of Twilight sleeps.

    Character|Magic
    Nymara
    Nymara

    Player 
    Lineage : Prodigy of Nyx
    Position : None
    Posts : 163
    Guild : Fairy Tail
    Cosmic Coins : 0
    Dungeon Tokens : 0
    Mentor : Akeya
    Experience : 21,875

    Character Sheet
    First Skill: Fire Dragon Slayer Magic
    Second Skill:
    Third Skill:

    [Job] Shimmering Feelings (Akeya/Nymara) - Page 2 Empty Re: [Job] Shimmering Feelings (Akeya/Nymara)

    Post by Nymara 9th July 2024, 2:42 am

    Nymara descended deeper and deeper into the darkness of the manor’s basement, and all the while she did so the air began to heat up. One would be natural to assume that the firebrand was the cause of this random temperature spike, though the dragon slayer was seemingly puzzled by it. She was a little curious and nervous at the same time, though that didn’t seem to be enough to warrant any kind of heat change. Besides, she was usually able to determine if the heat around her was caused by her magic or something else, and in this case it was certainly something different. As the dark stairs only continued downwards the girl spotted a message from her mentor, telling her to be cautious. “Understood. I won’t let him get the jump on me.” She would whisper back into the shadows, assuming that Akemi was still listening. Though Nymara knew she wouldn’t be able to rely on her mentor for everything, as she likely had her own problems to deal with. In this case Nymara would need to remain vigilant and keep all her senses open. This man was mysterious and had an air of suspicion that made him a valid suspect, though that didn’t take away from the fact that the firebrand still wasn’t sure what she was up against. She could tell from his previous story that he was likely lying, as the servants would have no reason to go so deep. At least, none that came to mind. She wasn’t quite sure what Harringoth was up to, though she’d be prepared to catch him red handed if anything happened. That and the fact that the firebrand had little to no other leads at the moment, so keeping an eye on the lord seemed like the best she could do while Lucky and Akemi had their hands full dealing with other problems. It was kind of funny. Despite her raw magical power and her skill when it came to combat it appeared as though Nymara was completely out of her element when it came to fancy noble parties, a fact that was obvious since the start of the evening. While Akemi excelled in the shadows and Lucky could use his smaller frame to move about unnoticed Nymara felt almost like she was the least useful person here. A fact she was determined to change. She had no idea what she was going to find down here, though she’d be damned if she let Harringoth’s plans come to fruition, not after Lucky and Akemi worked so hard to make sure everything remained calm.

    Back at the stables Lucky was still trying to catch his breath, but he wouldn’t need to wait long for a response from his ally. Reading the words quickly Lucky would nod before extending his wings once more. “Got it. I’ll see that she’s not alone.” He’d respond quickly, knowing that with Akemi’s current circumstance she likely wouldn’t have time for a long drawn out conversation with the shadows. It appeared as if they were doing something right, as Lucky surmised that whoever the puppet master was they were starting to feel the heat. They wouldn’t send such a force after Akemi if they weren’t concerned about their actions. Still, the exceed couldn’t help but feel impressed that the twilight dragon was able to dispatch so many invisible opponents at once. Despite being limited himself due to his nature as an exceed he knew that fighting just one of these puppets was challenging enough. He couldn’t even begin to imagine how she dealt with five of the blighters at once. Still, Lucky had learned not to question Akemi’s skills over time and thought little more of it, flying back to the manor with all haste.

    “Has our guest been more cooperative? We have less time than I expected.” A soft voice that sounded like Harringoth’s echoed through the dark halls of the basement. Nymara’s senses perked up and she walked slower, attempting to keep herself silent. “Not yet, but close. Shouldn’t be long now.” Another voice responded. One Nymara did not recognize. She had finally reached the bottom of the stairs and the heat only grew more intense. A regular person would be sweating buckets in this kind of heat, but thankfully Nymara was far from a regular person. Ahead of her was a darkened hall, only illuminated by the soft orange glow leaking from a half opened doorway further ahead. The same direction the voices were coming from. “My helpers have gone silent. We’ll need to speed things along.” Harringoth’s voice said again. From the distance Nymara thought she could hear some muffled cries, though she couldn’t quite tell. She’d need to get closer. She inched her way to the edge of the doorway, barely peeking inside. What she saw was not something she had expected.

    It seemed as though she had found some kind of large boiler room. The entire chamber was filled with the metal casings of primitive boilers, responsible for keeping most of the manor warm as they pumped hot steam through the pipes. At their bases were large metal grates, the blazing fire within feeding off of coal to keep the energy alive and produce a light that covered the entire room. Littered across the floor looked like the remains of unconscious or incapacitated guards and workers! Her eyes widened slightly at the sight, but slowly settled on the figures gathered around the main boiler. She saw four people. Harringoth and three others she didn’t recognize, two men and a woman. Though the most notable distinction was one of these men appeared to be hanging by his arms from the ceiling, thick metal chains wrapped around his hands and body! He wore what looked like some fancy clothing more akin to the nobles upstairs, and his face appeared severely bruised and cut. He was obviously some kind of prisoner to these others. She knew Harringoth was suspicious before but this certainly cemented Nymara’s ideas about him. Something was going down and she wasn’t sure what exactly, but perhaps if she listened a bit longer she’d learn something.

    Upstairs the music only seemed to grow louder, loud enough for even Nymara to hear it through the ceiling, faint but vibrating. “Well, it appears as though your guests are enjoying the festivities Lord Carleson. It’s a shame you need to spend the evening down here.” Harringoth would say, clasping his hands behind his back as he walked closer to the hanging man. Nymara’s eyes widened slightly at the realization that this man was the lord of the manor! How did Harringoth and his cronies get him down here? And what did they want with him? “We already know from the documents in your office that it exists. Do you honestly believe that we’re the only ones who will find out too? You can save yourself a lot of time and pain my friend if you just tell me the incantation.” Harringoth would say again, staring into the Lord’s eyes. Carleson for his part seemed covered in sweat and blood, though he was still functional enough to talk. “D- Damn it all! You’re heathens! The lot of you! D- Do you have any idea what would happen to me if I told you?” He sputtered. “It won’t be as bad as what’ll happen if you don’t.” The man standing next to Harringoth said. He was large and muscular, wearing what looked like heavy armor with a large and strange shaped weapon on his back. The woman hanged back, but snickered slightly at Carleson’s face after that statement. She was dressed more modestly, containing long blond hair that swept down over her back, covering part of the dress she wore. “We’ll make things easier for you. Here.” Harringoth would say again, his voice sounding less gruff than the man next to him. He turned over and lifted a hand towards the empty air. Soon another puppet revealed itself, its invisibility enchantment vanishing as it stepped closer and placed something in Harringoth’s hand. It looked like some kind of small black pyramid, fitting in his palm. It had strange runes marked across its sides, ones that Nymara did not recognize. “I understand how valuable an object like this must have been, so no wonder you kept it hidden within your very own bedroom. Couldn’t store it with the rest of the weapons for this business transaction?” He chuckled sinisterly. Carleson’s eyes only widened when he saw the pyramid, struggling slightly in his bindings as if the fear was growing stronger. “Now… All I need are the words. Your mouth still works, no?” Harringoth would ask. After a long moment of silence Harringoth would sigh, looking over to the woman who had been leaning nearby. “It seems as though the good Lord Carleson means to force our hand. Are your spells ready?” He’d ask. “Been that way for a while, just tell me when.” She retorted with a grin. Carleson looked frantically from Harringoth and back to the woman, clearly understanding what was about to happen. “N- No you can’t! All those people will die!” He yelled, only causing a slight eyeroll from Harringoth. “Well, that’s the point, silly! Your hired help has certainly been annoying, though they’re too distracted by what’s happening up there to pay any mind to you.” He’d chuckle slightly.

    Nymara felt her anxiety begin to rise. She could no longer just stand back and watch if these lunatics were preparing some kind of dangerous spell. She needed to act! Though before Nymara even had time to formulate a plan Carleson spoke up once more. “P- Please! My daughter’s up there! F- Fine I’ll say it!” He would relent. “Boiler room. Basement. Three perpetrators have Lord Carleson hostage. They have some kind of dangerous artifact.” She’d whisper again into the shadows, hoping Akemi was listening. Harringoth would lean closer to Carleson and the man whispered something in his ears too quiet for Nymara to properly hear, though judging by Harringoth’s reaction he was certainly satisfied. “Ah.. So it was so simple after all.” He’d say again. The runes on the pyramid would begin to glow slightly, causing Harringoth to straighten his back and look at it with renewed interest. “We have what we came for. Turn the place to rubble.”
    “N- No please! Don’t!”

    “There’s someone else here..” The woman would speak up again, interrupting Harringoth and Carleson. She looked towards the doorway with narrow eyes, seemingly picking up on Nymara’s presence once she spoke, despite the softened whisper of her voice. Cursing herself Nymara knew she had no time left to watch. Steeling herself the girl clenched a fist and slowly pushed the doorway open, revealing herself to all in the room. “Ah.. Lady Nym” Harringoth would say, his eyes narrowing slightly at her presence. “As you can see here we’re very busy. I’m not sure why you would wander all the way down here.” He’d say again, though Nymara didn’t answer immediately, sizing up the group. The two next to Harringoth stood in front suddenly, the man placing a hand on the large weapon on his back. “The party is upstairs lady, I wouldn’t stay here long.” The man would grumble. Carleson had a brief flash of hope within his gaze, but his nerves were still high. “Let the lord go. I won’t ask a second time.” She’d say, her voice sounding noticeably darker. The three would look at each other before Harringoth would sigh. “I trust you can deal with this uppity hero? I have places to be.” He’d say, looking back at the glowing artifact in his hands. “It was a pleasure to meet you, my lady. I’m sure your uncle will be saddened to hear of your untimely demise, but alas, these things can’t be helped.” He’d grin. Those words struck confusion within the dragon slayer, prompting her to forget briefly about what was happening and tilt her head slightly. That moment of distraction was all that her two opponents needed however, as with incredible speed the man with the blade rushed forwards, his weapon already drawn! Harringoth would turn and walk out of view, the pyramid in hand, leaving Carleson to hang by the ceiling as he watched the battle unfold before his eyes! It appeared as though Harringoth had made his way to a nearby sewer hatch, the tunnels running deep and connecting with the rest of the town that lay some distance from the manor. If he got too far Nymara was afraid she would lose him, but currently she was powerless to pursue with these two wizards blocking her path!

    2,113 Words | PWC: 27,074 | TWC: 46,067



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    [Job] Shimmering Feelings (Akeya/Nymara) - Page 2 2ohu3XJ

    Akeya
    Akeya

    Twilight Dragon


    Twilight Dragon

    Dragon VIP Status- Quality Badge Level 1- Quality Badge Level 2- Quality Badge Level 3- Dragon Slayer- Rich- Veteran Level 1- Character History!- Magic Application Approved!- Get A Pet!- Character Application Approved!- Complete Your First Job!- Obtain A Lineage!- Join A Faction!- Novice [250]- Player 
    Lineage : Hic Sunt Dracones
    Position : None
    Faction : The Luminous Covenant
    Posts : 1385
    Guild : Fairy Tail (Ace)
    Cosmic Coins : 0
    Dungeon Tokens : 0
    Mentor : Whedalsin
    Experience : 1,269,023

    Character Sheet
    First Skill: Twilight Dragon Magic
    Second Skill: Twilight Dragon Magic
    Third Skill: Twilight Dragon Magic

    [Job] Shimmering Feelings (Akeya/Nymara) - Page 2 Empty Re: [Job] Shimmering Feelings (Akeya/Nymara)

    Post by Akeya 20th July 2024, 7:22 am

    Even after waiting several seconds Akemi didn't notice any further suspicious movement either on this floor of the manor or the others, leading her to suspect that whoever was behind the current situation was running out of puppets. Given how sophisticated these constructs were that was hardly surprising: even amongst nobility it would be difficulty to acquire both the magical talent and the materials to create entire squads of killer puppets, especially ones that could hide from most forms of detection.

    On one hand, that was a good thing. Collecting the broken masks left behind by her unfortunate opponents Akemi dropped them into her shadow where they disappeared before slowly making her way to the nearest stairs. The puppeteer clearly wanted to remain hidden, so if they ran out of marionettes they might give up.

    On the other hand... It might also force them to resort to more drastic measures if that was necessary to achieve their objectives. It depended on how determined they were to succeed, which was difficult to determine with how little information Akemi had on hand.

    For the moment her plan was to remain on the lookout for further trouble and rely on Nymara and Lucky to take care of whatever the firebrand had found in the meantime. The exceed had already informed her that he'd be backing up his partner, and together the fire slayer and the feline knight should be capable enough to handle whatever plot they were facing.

    That, and Akemi couldn't rush to Nymara's side every time her apprentice was facing even the smallest amount of difficulty. The redhead would also get upset if her master never allowed her to show off or prove herself.

    As she walked Akemi fixed her clothes: her dress had been designed to be... well, very revealing, and her fighting style was acrobatic enough that the combination left her looking rather provocative. Of course, she was currently still invisible, the a veil of dark preventing any unwanted stares, but once she returned downstairs she'd have to mingle with the self-important mortals again-

    She shook her head. While accurate, letting her disdainful thoughts rise would affect her behaviour. Even if Nymara and Lucky were taking care of whatever was happening underneath the manor, there could still be other actors moving about and trying to find weaknesses to exploit.

    Silently her legs moved her down the stairs as she went over what they knew so far. The scent of sulphur, invisible puppets that were trying to prevent the escape of the guests while at the same time feeding them suspicious substances... And, of course, Lord Harringoth's movements. Overall, it looked like somebody both wanted to disrupt this event and make sure nobody escaped.

    “Boiler room. Basement. Three perpetrators have Lord Carleson hostage. They have some kind of dangerous artifact.”

    Nymara's voice came to Akemi through the shadows, interrupting her thoughts and making the assassin's eyes widen slightly before her glare hardened. With the right artifact the entire manor could be reduced to rubble... but in that case the drugs in the food wouldn't be necessary.

    Were the puppets a distraction?

    In different circumstances Akemi would immediately have joined Nymara, but they still had to avoid drawing attention, and moving herself from the top of the manor all the way to the deep-down basement could alert the more magic-sensitive guests. Which meant she just had to rely on her feet.

    Abandoning her plan of waiting and seeing Akemi shifted from walking down the stairs to jumping all the way to the bottom, folding herself to mitigate the impact and prevent any sound from betraying her presence. Without breaking a step she spun around and swung over the railings of the next stairs, repeating the process until she was back on the ground floor, barely touching the ground in the process and moving even faster than if she'd fallen the same distance straight down.

    Nymara's presence was easy to catch for Akemi, so the assassin needed little time to find the same entrance Nymara and her quarry had used to leave the surface world behind and descend into the dark. The path down was long enough that she couldn't simply jump. Flitting invisibly through the air like a ghost Akemi repeated the same trick she'd used against the puppets: bouncing between the walls to move forward at incredible speed without ever touching the floor, her years of training as a silent killer allowing her to perform such a feat without even the slightest tapping of her bare feet brushing against the stone walls of the tunnel.

    As she travelled this way she noticed that the temperature was steadily rising... but a more sinister magical presence was also growing far below. Something both enigmatic and ominous, far more prominent than anything either Lord Harringoth or any other guest should have been able to hide with Akemi in such close proximity. Most likely it was the artifact, and if the power contained within was becoming more noticeable the perpetrators were planning to use it for something.

    Akemi didn't need to study the artifact up close to know that its powers wouldn't cause flowers and rainbows to appear.

    However, even down here, she had to be careful. At full power her magic could be sensed far and wide: one of the biggest downsides of accumulating so much raw power over the years. As such, by the time she entered the boiler room Lord Harringoth had already disappeared, and Nymara was facing off against the noble's two companions, a muscular human male wielding a strange bladed weapon and a blonde female human coated in a familiar shimmer of magic. Clearly they had a strategy where the swordsman would go in front and the spellcaster would bring devastating effects into reality while the enemy was too occupied to stop her.

    Which meant that their plan was vulnerable to disruption.

    The flames which stocked the boilers from the space below the room bathed the boiler room in dancing reddish-orange light, fierce yet volatile. Whatever lights had been placed to allow for proper illumination could not prevent the dancing of shadows on the ceiling. And as the blade-wielding hunk approached Nymara Akemi jumped out of the shadows above him.

    "One."

    From the same dancing shadows black needles rained down. Each was focused on the running swordsman, who was suddenly forced to halt his advance to instead defend against the new threat. Letting out a startled and angry cry he threw himself to the side... and then let out another shout as the dark needles changed direction mid-air to chase him.

    Putting his blade in the way of the assault most of the black needles harmlessly deflected from the metal barrier, but others found their mark and dug into the male's muscular limbs. Successful hits were met with grunts of pain, the affected limbs growing numb as muscles and nerves were severed.

    With one leg completely disabled and one arm only half-functional the swordsman's plan of taking Nymara down while she was still processing Lord Harringoth's parting words had been foiled. Rather than sticking around to land the finishing blow Akemi disappeared as quickly as she'd shown up: her form dispersed into shadows that spread around the room until they were indistinguishable from those cast by the lights and the flames.

    Both swordsman and sorceress now were wary, no longer just eyeing Nymara but also looking around to try and catch a glimpse of the unseen enemy, the dark-haired female who'd suddenly shown up without warning, and was now certainly still in the room.

    Appearance:

    WC: 1,265
    PWC: 21,088/7,000 (Completed)
    TWC: 47,332/14,000 (Completed)

    @Nymara


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    [Job] Shimmering Feelings (Akeya/Nymara) - Page 2 Akeya2
    Between the Sun and the Moon, where it is neither Day nor Night, the Dragon of Twilight sleeps.

    Character|Magic
    Nymara
    Nymara

    Player 
    Lineage : Prodigy of Nyx
    Position : None
    Posts : 163
    Guild : Fairy Tail
    Cosmic Coins : 0
    Dungeon Tokens : 0
    Mentor : Akeya
    Experience : 21,875

    Character Sheet
    First Skill: Fire Dragon Slayer Magic
    Second Skill:
    Third Skill:

    [Job] Shimmering Feelings (Akeya/Nymara) - Page 2 Empty Re: [Job] Shimmering Feelings (Akeya/Nymara)

    Post by Nymara 23rd August 2024, 7:55 pm

    Lucky was frantic in his return to the manor. For some time he had been too preoccupied by everything else that was happening it didn’t even occur to him that larger plans may be at play. Of course, the more he thought about everything that had happened here tonight the more it made sense. Obviously, this was more than a simple information-gathering mission for their opponent, otherwise, why bother sabotaging the stables? That and the rising scent of sulphur had been on his mind since the start. It appeared as though none of the guests had noticed the smell just yet, though that was likely due to their lack of feline and reptilian senses. Part of him wanted to ignore the parameters of the job and just start warning people to evacuate, though even if Lucky did would anyone take him seriously? One of the drawbacks to being a flying cat in this world was that the inhabitants usually found him funny or endearing and little else. Unless they were a member of his guild it was unlikely that anyone would actually know who he was, let alone listen to his words. With this factor in play the exceed felt it necessary to stick to the shadows and do as the twilight dragon had suggested, help his companion who had apparently found another lead. Not that he doubted Nymara’s expertise, though she could only benefit from his assistance. With haste the knight glided back to the manor, determined to make it to the basement where Akemi had instructed him to go. Inside the music had risen even more from when Nymara had convinced the composer to take it up a notch, though for some reason this fact didn’t comfort the cat. If anything the increased volume and higher tempo only added more stress to the situation, making it hard to focus. Regardless the knight made his way through an open window in the main ballroom and silently floated in the shadows near the rafters, looking for the stairs that led to the basement.

    Within a split-second of time, Nymara felt the presence of someone very familiar before the swordsman even had a chance to strike her in her distracted state! Just as it appeared as though the red-head was about to receive a crippling blow the darkness grew above them and suddenly a rain of shadows came crashing down accompanied by her mentor! The needles were unexpected, but most welcomed in Nymara’s eyes as she witnessed the dark magic save her and push back her assailant! Nymara’s initial look of shock was quickly replaced by a bright smile, knowing now that Akemi was here meant these losers were about to get quite a thrashing! “T- Thanks!” Was all that Nymara had time to say before the battle continued. Now the swordsman was forced on the defensive, trying his hardest to block off Akemi’s attacks and stand his ground, though it was obvious he was struggling to contain her onslaught with the amount of shadows that were finding their mark! Completely forgetting about what Harringoth had said just moments before Nymara regained her focus, and the room’s temperature suddenly rose to dangerous levels! The heat of the boilers was already enough to make one sweat, but now Nymara only added to that feeling as flames began to appear around her arms and hands! However, the mysterious woman did not stand idle during this display. Seeing as the twilight dragon was focusing on the swordsman made her switch her focus to Nymara, narrowing her eyes slightly before raising an arm in her direction. As Nymara was about to charge forward a large magic seal suddenly appeared out of nowhere directly beneath her! The fire dragon only had a moment’s notice to evade as she sensed a dangerous buildup of magic power and before long the seal exploded with a brilliant light, completely vaporizing the stone ground it had been placed on! Quickly rolling from the impact the girl grunted, looking back up at her opponent and blasting forward with a flame-infused boost! In response, the woman simply vanished from sight just as Nymara raised a fiery fist to demolish her, instead her hand crashing into the stone wall with an explosion of flame! The entire room shook from the impact, though thanks to the rising volume of music upstairs few would notice aside from the odd shaking of tables and glasses from some unseen vibration.

    Using her enhanced senses Nymara instantly turned to follow the woman’s scent, seeing her standing on top of one tall boiler with a smug expression. Damn, Nymara really hated wizards that could teleport. It made her entire fighting style obsolete if she couldn’t even land a hit! At this time the swordsman was crippled, though not ready to give up just yet! “D- Damn! There’s two wizards? Where did they get this much p- power?” The man sputtered, still in shock at how effective Akemi’s ambush had been! Though his awe only lasted a few moments as he quickly steeled himself and attempted to fight back! Despite having half his body torn up by the shadows the magic power within the man’s weapon began to steadily rise! Not sensing any magic beforehand this had been extremely concerning to the firebrand whose gaze quickly flipped toward him, though it was too late to stop his plan! An unseen gale began to whip around the room, centring around the blade and causing some of Nymara’s flames to trail toward the man. Before she could react he yelled and suddenly a roar of air filled the room, as if they were standing directly in a hurricane! With two heavy strikes, the man used what strength he had to send massive torrents of wind throughout the room, creating an enormous gale that temporarily threw Nymara off balance and sent wind rushing toward the walls. He was a little on edge now, seeing the twilight dragon vanish into the shadows made him extremely paranoid. He had no idea how this woman's magic worked, though he hoped that creating a whirlwind would at least hinder her next move, wherever she decided to appear again. Though he still hadn't clued in that Akemi was using the shadows specifically, everything happening so fast that he just noticed her appear and then vanish just as quickly. He could have diverted his attention to Nymara, but with the red-head's mysterious friend sneaking about he was far too concerned with which direction she would come from next, eyes darting across every surface from the ceiling to the floor, doing what he could to prepare for her inevitable second strike. it was certainly annoying, he was being forced to play defensive since his opponent had all but disappeared before his eyes and had already proven that she could reappear anywhere she wanted. At least there was a chance the intense magical wind would slow her down when she appeared again, but nothing was certain.

    With the intense wind filling the room Nymara suddenly found herself distracted when yet another magic seal quickly appeared on the wall directly next to her, exploding in a beam of light that sent the slayer flying straight into a boiler, the impact of her landing denting the metal case considerably! “Nnghh! Oh you cheeky-” Nymara’s gripes were interrupted by another flash, but this time it was the woman teleporting directly over her! The firebrand had just enough time to cross her arms and block the attack, the lady using some kind of light-based magic that had considerable striking power! There was a brief blinding flash that filled the room when Nymara’s flames met the light, but it only lasted a moment as the slayer successfully blocked the attack and followed up with a flame-infused kick! Not expecting Nymara to react so quickly had left an opening in the woman’s defences, feeling the impact of Nymara’s boot dig straight into her ribs as she was thrown across the floor, rolling several times before getting up on one knee and holding her burned side. Deciding to keep the pressure on Nymara rushed the woman, intending to give her zero time to recover as she leaped into the air with flames covering both her arms! Of course, her opponent was slippery and deceitful, putting a magic seal directly beneath her own feet and teleporting once more just before Nymara’s attack made an impact! The fire slayer’s eyes widened when she saw the new seal, and soon it erupted into another beam of light right underneath Nymara!

    As Lucky finally made his way downwards he could hear the sounds of battle more clearly, and got worried, flying faster to catch up! When he finally arrived at the door to the boiler he stared with wide eyes at the site before him. Several bodies, a chained noble hanging from the ceiling, and Nymara in combat against two separate wizards! He figured Akemi was around as well, considering the state of the swordsman, but the cat knew enough about her magic to determine she was staying out of sight. Of course, it appeared as though the shadow dragon’s opponent was looking worse for wear but Nymara was struggling to take her foe down. That’s when Lucky had an idea! Not saying a word he extended his wings once more and flew to the ceiling, the only person noticing his entrance being the restrained Carleson who observed him with a confused expression upon his beaten and bruised face, the others far too distracted by their own battles to even acknowledge the flying cat. Of course, the intense wind in the room made it difficult to fly, but he eventually found his destination atop one of the boilers. Seeing Nymara trade blows with the light mage caused him some concern but if his plan worked he suspected the fire slayer would need little assistance. Quickly he walked along the large pipes that disappeared into the roof and walls and found several pressure valves along the way! Using what strength he could muster the exceed turned them with a loud hiss, steam blowing from the seals as he appeared to be closing the valves all leading to a single boiler. With every valve he found and managed to pull shut the boiler in question would begin to react more and more violently. Of course, the rising temperature would be of little notice since Nymara was already using her magic but the other effects would be hard to ignore! The metal grate holding the coal hatch shut began to redden as the heat inside the boiler rose to chaotic levels, the pressure building with every second! His plan was risky, but if he didn’t overdo it the manor should be safe. Soon it would be impossible to ignore as the metal around the grate began to rend and warp under the intense heat, appearing as though it was about to burst!

    Nymara was getting increasingly agitated by her opponent’s tricks. It seemed as though whatever magic she controlled allowed her to place invisible magic seals that could be detonated on command. As if battling her wasn’t annoying enough the implications were troubling. Not to mention the scent of sulfur around the magic was also strong. Nymara had thought that odd smell had originated from Harringoth but the more she thought about it the more it began to make sense in her mind. This woman could have seals placed throughout the entire manor, and all it would take was her focus to obliterate it and everyone inside! Whoever she was, her magic was obviously connected to Harringoth’s in some way, though Nymara had no idea how. Unfortunately, she had no time to contemplate that now, as the woman needed to be taken down before she had time to spring her trap! The simple fact that the manor remained intact told Nymara that this girl likely needed to spend some small amount of time to detonate all of her seals, time Nymara was intent on not giving her! “Harringoth!” Nymara yelled somewhat abruptly as she closed the distance on her opponent once more, though it was clear she was speaking to Akemi. “The sewers! He’s getting away!” She would grunt, dodging another explosion of light before punching the floor and releasing a shockwave of fire! As much fun as it was to finally let loose during this mission, Nymara couldn’t lose sight of the goal. Even if they defeated their opponents there was no telling what would happen if Harringoth managed to get away with that artifact. As far as Nymara was concerned these two were just very irritating roadblocks that she couldn’t quite get past.  

    Akemi’s opponent was not doing nearly as well as his companion, still feeling the effects of the twilight dragon’s overwhelming power. His wind magic was usually incredibly useful, but even he knew it did not affect the shadows. Instead of trying to overpower his opponent, the man struggled to turn his head and see the hanging lord, a small smirk forming on his lip. “Heh.. Kill me if you like assassin but you won’t stop what’s coming!” He’d yell with confidence, another burst of magical energy erupting from his blade as he used his strength to turn and hurl it through the air! Not at Nymara, but straight toward the Lord they were hired by! If he couldn't find and attack the twilight dragon he would at least try to lure her out. Carleson could only watch helplessly with wide eyes as a magical blade boosted by the wind flew through the room straight at him!

    2,277 Words | PWC: 29,351 | TWC: 49,609


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    [Job] Shimmering Feelings (Akeya/Nymara) - Page 2 2ohu3XJ


      Current date/time is 9th October 2024, 12:52 pm