Raiding the farmlands!

"Sorry, too was that a tad too lecturey?" asked the Ex-Quip mage before shrugging. "You try spending your time with an analytical Dark Spirit in your skull twenty four seven, whilst also being a lore hound." he said before he watched her keep Vulpix around, and manage to summon out the Twins as well. He gave a low whistle of appreciation. "Nicely done... you holding up alright? You've never summoned two at once, to my knowledge anyways... Especially after taking a knock." asked Za'cha as he observed the trio of spirits carry out their orders. He dispersed his armour and weapon for the time being, content to stand back and observe the Spirits at work.

"So... you've got the Hunting Dogs, the Fox, the Lion, a Black Dragon, and Wrath. I miss anyone?" asked Za'cha before he glared to his side."Yes yes alright I'll ask her." he growled as he swatted the air beside himself before rolling his eyes. "Pride's curious as to how you managed to get a hold of Leo in the first place, let alone corrupt his Key. Bastard would ask himself, but he's too busy "overseeing" things apparently." said Za'cha with a snort.

The Ex-Quip mage would listen to Nakiya as she told her tale, whilst also keeping an eye on their surroundings in case any more Blue Pegasi turned up.

"This is the... first time I've tried to s...summon two spirits outside of tr...aining."
She said, licking her lips as she focused on the three spirits now wreaking havoc in the farm house. Vulpix was having fun running a speedy circle around the house, igniting the grass and trees on fire, blocking their exit. While the hunting dogs ran into the building, Vulpix continued to breath fire onto the higher floors of the house, blocking the windows with flames and then waiting for the smoke to fish them out.

The twin hunting dogs, spread out once they were in the house, Delta staying on the main floor while Gamma leaped up to the higher floor. The dogs barked and snarled at the mages that had gathered in the house, their poisonous drool dripping down from their teeth and leaving holes in the floor as they walked menacingly forward. Of course, the mages fought back, something you could tell from the outside as the glass of the windows shattered from the wing mages while some of the fires began to be put out by the earth mages. Vulpix was quick however and ignited the areas that were extinguished.

"A... as for my spirits... you're missing one...I lost him b...but I'm... going to get him back. Would of been... ironic to have him here... Pegasus..."
At this point, sweat was beading down the side of Nakiya's face, her breath quickly growing heavy from keeping both spirits summoned at the same time. She had to press on... she had to push her limits and test just how far she had come.

"and Leo... well, I can s...sense Spiritual Energy... I got him... in a raid...."
She would have kept going, but her strength finally let up as all her spirits suddenly disappeared and Nakiya let herself fall back onto her butt, panting heavily as she cursed herself for letting her spirits slip.

Spoiler:

Za'cha watched the carnage that unfolded from his suggestion dispassionately. Yes he had come up with the idea to smoke and burn out the mages hiding within the barn, but it didn't mean he had to enjoy it. This was no test of mettle, no trial of combat... it was slaughter through and through. Nothing more than mindless death. The fact that this was also the first live-fire version of Nakiya calling out two keys at once also gave the man pause, and a reason to stay next to her as opposed to rushing towards the enemy... that and he doubted the fox or the hounds wouldn't "accidentally" try something.

He listened to the Dark Summoner as she mentioned a Spirit that had been taken from her, and chuckled at the irony that that particular spirit would have invoked here. "Aye, that would have been a sight to see." he mused before he watched her fall to her backside, and the three Spirits fade away into the darkness. Za'cha turned his attention back to the barn, bracing himself for anyone daring to come out from behind the burning timbers... instead he watched as the barn crashed down on itself, the fire having damaged several of the support beams and structure.

The human knelt down, pulling a flask out from under his robe. "Just water, but figured you could use that a little more than some whisky at the moment." he said, offering it to the girl as he surveyed the area around them. He narrowed his eyes as the fire from the barn began to slowly spread across the fields. "Well... let's hope the client wasn't too eager to start planting... think Vulpy went a tad overboard." said Za'cha as he offered Nakiya a hand up after she'd had her fill of the water, assuming she drank any.

She swiped at the water that was offered to her and drank it in large gulps. She knew the water wouldn't help replenish her magic at all, it it did make her feel better none the less. She brought up her left arm and wiped at her lips, keeping her gaze away from Za'cha as she passed the flask back over to him.

"Thanks..."
She grumbled as she brought her arm down once she was sure there was no water dripping down her face. She felt embarassed, both by the fact that she needed his help, and the fact that she hadn't been able to keep her spirits summoned for any extra length of time... she could have at least lasted a little bit longer to dismiss them herself and save face. She let out a sigh as she gently pushed herself back up to her feet, just as the farm house collapsed in on itself. With Za'cha's comment about Vulpix going overboard she smirked.

"Our contract does... state that he can... burn and use... as much power as he wants... I don't know... h... how Pride doesn't get along with Vulpix. They seem like they... they would make a great pair."
She stated, taking in another deep breath before stepping towards the burning house. She got close enough to the flames that she could feel the heat without getting burned, her eyes scanning the destruction for any signs of someone surviving. It was too bad that little pegasus didn't get to see this. It would add that much more terror to the tale. Finally, she turned back to face Za'cha.


"Not much else to do here... unless we want to...  burn the fields too."
She said with a shrug, not really knowing what the big bosses plans were.

Za'cha rolled his eyes as Nakiya tried to not look at him. "Oh come on. You said it yourself. First time and all. Could have been worse... Could have knocked yourself unconscious from the effort." he said with a shrug, taking a drink of the water himself as he surveyed the damage. He followed her as she walked up to the burning remains. "Yeah... doubt that. Pride's more of a tap power kinda player. Precision and all that. This however..." he said, gesturing to the fires burning around them. "Well, by comparison, its like a dragon came by and just burped all over the place." said the mage as he tried to find a fitting analogy.

"That was the best you could come up with? A dragon burping? Tap power?" questioned Pride, Za'cha scowling at the Spirit. "Oh like you could come up with a better analogy on short notice eh?" he said, the Dark Spirit nodding. "I could have actually yes." Za'cha waved a hand dismissively towards the Spirit before he looked once more at the devastation. "Yeah, not much else to do here... want me to give you a lift Princess? Darkwarps gonna take a little while to recharge mind you." he said with a shrug.

She  still refused to look back at the other man, even though his words were meant to encourage her. She was MADE for this... how could she fail like this? She sighed again, but it quckly turned into a giggle at Za'chas comparison. A dragon's burp? This time she couldn't help but look over at him, a small smile on the coner of her lips as she laughed.

"A dragon's burp? Really?"
She continued to giggle, shaking her head at the offer of being carried back to the guild hall. The last thing she wante was to lose even more dignity during this job. Besides, someone had to get back to 'the boss' and tell him of what happened here, and hopefully everything had been done up to snuff. In fact, she might ask him for extra pay because of the ambush.

"Thank you for the offer, but I think I'd rather walk back. Besides, there might be a clothing shop on the way... im sure they will be sympathetic to such a pretty face."
She stated with a smile and a wink, turning and leading the way back towards the boss who had ordered the strike against the farmhouse.

"So walk with me while your magic gets back up."
She offered, though frankly, she wouldn't complain to having him around... she felt like she might fall over at any given moment, so having someone to pick her up and take her home... well that didn't sound so bad at all.

Za'cha looked over at Nakiya and smirked. "You look a lot better with a smile than that pouty frown." he said before he shrugged and followed the Dark Celestial Mage. "And I have no doubt you'll be able to persuade them." said the mage, raising an eyebrow as Pride merely shook his head. "What's your problem now?" he asked the Spirit. "You two... I will never understand the human need for flirting." he said, causing his host to stumble a little before rolling his eyes. "You're a right piece of work, you know that right?" he asked the Spirit, who refused to comment.

The human walked in silence for a while, pulling down his hood to let the air play about his head. He found himself looking up at the sky above them, the myriad lights blinking across the space above. "Hard to imagine... mages like you command the very stars themselves..." mused the Ex-Quip mage  as he walked. "And then there are Spirits that aren't the stars... one has to wonder just how it all came to pass in the first place." he said. "Most magic you can trace or guess its origins at. Slayers are taught their magic by their respective targets... Ex-Quip or Requip mages are... well, we're magically enhanced warriors mostly. Takeover magi experimented with taking on aspects of beings and beasts they found desirable... But Celestial Spirits..." he said with a sigh.

"Oh I've tried to ask Pride about it before you suggest it, but the bastard won't say a word about it... not even about his own Key. And I've found no records yet on how the Keys were forged in the first place, let alone how they managed to bind such beings to them." said Za'cha before he rubbed the back of his head. "Sorry, I tend to ramble. Force of habit."