Flash of Light (1x1 with Xion)

Face Nemesis

Face Nemesis

Artificial Blade
Somewhere in the depths of a large forest of twisted trees and vicious monsters, a lone woman stumbled through the growth, doing her best to keep hidden. The woman, a human girl named Fiora Fulmen, did her best to drown out the growls and other noises coming from all directions. She didn't have time to accept her fear. She had to find the griffin egg.

Fiora slunk through the shadows, though her favorite red cloak clashed with the green scenery all around her. as if it wasn't already a little tattered, the branches and twigs caused a bit more damage to it as well. I'll have to patch it when I get back... If I get back. Fiora had spent her life barely scraping by, taking on quests for whoever was desperate enough to choose her over someone who could really fight. She didn't have a home; she grew up in a small village in the plains, but after being forced to leave, she'd just slept wherever she found space. Her dream was to raise enough money to live in one of the major cities; she'd heard incredible tales of the technological advancements and excellent living conditions there, but it was much too expensive for anyone in her position. She'd even settle for getting some sort of vehicle to go around in. All of the flying ships she'd seen would always amaze her. She knew these dreams were out of her reach, but they gave her a reason to persist in her journey.

Aside from potentially finding a way to save her father, assuming he was still alive at this point.

Fiora continued moving through the forest, being careful to not make too much noise. She knew of the dangerous beasts that lived here. Her mission would likely involve meeting one, but she hoped she could sneak by and take the egg without drawing attention. As she pushed deeper into the forest, she found what she was looking for. The griffin nest was nestled snugly in a clearing in the trees, providing plenty of space for the beasts to take off and fly to the nearby grasslands. She looked around, seeing that the adults must have gone out to hunt. Fiora began inching towards the nest, getting ready to grab an egg and slink away. She came close to it... then a horrifying screech filled her ears.

Just above her, a large griffin was swooping in to strike. She rolled out of the way, barely dodging its talons. She drew her twin daggers from their sheaths, facing down the beast. It lunged forward at an impossibly fast speed, and she let out a cry, unsure if she'd be able to dodge in time...
 
"Seventh Seal of the Goddess - Ruination of the False Sovereign."

Like a railgun, something pierced the Griffin's side. It was torn in two from the force of the impact, it's carcass slamming into the ground with a terrifying wet splat. It managed a few movements before finally dying, leaving the spear hanging in the air, motionless...then a woman, her body barely covered with what seemed like small strips of armor, landed on the spear. Her batlike wings fluttered, before light engulfed her body, rendering her modest with a miniskirt, and a white upper jacket with a shoulder cape. She looked down at Fiora and let the spear slowly descend, then hopped down and walked towards her, the light from the trees occasionally illuminating her rose-colored hair. She slowly raised her hands as she approached.
"Are you okay?" She asked calmly, hands in plain view at all times.
 
Fiora shrieked as the sudden attack killed the griffin She began wondering if whatever caused that would be even more of a threat. Luckily for her, it seemed more like the woman who threw the spear was only interested in protecting Fiora. The girl let her guard down a bit, taking a moment to breath. She studied the woman. Her tone and appearance suggested that she was harmless. However, Fiora remembered the brief glimpse she saw before the flash of light. Those wings... they... they were like a... She did her best to remain calm, though she was slightly trembling. "Yes, I'm... I'm fine. Um... thanks for the assistance... but I... have a job to do." She scrambled towards the egg, still untouched after the fight. She lifted it, having to hunch over if she wanted to take it. It's much heavier than I thought... She did her best to keep steady while carrying it, but the trembling only made it tougher.
 
Eclaire landed beside her. "Would...you like me to carry that?" She asked, eyebrow raised. She rolled her shoulder, making sure the cape fell a bit better. Her weapons, wings, and traces of magic gone, the girl tilted her head. "I'm Eclaire. What is your name?" the question hung a bit, Eclaire keeping pace quite easily.
 
Fiora began to stammer as the girl approached. "I would... um... appreciate it if you took it..." She tried to pass the egg off to her. Regardless of Fiora's fears, the woman did save her life. She figured that trying to ease up a little bit would show her appreciation; that, and she wasn't sure if she could actually carry it back to town safely. "My name... is Fiora. It's... nice to meet you," she huffed, still struggling to hold the egg up.
 
She easily picked the egg up, holding it without problem. "Why did you come out here alone?" She asked, tilting her head. "I mean...those are dangerous beasts...you don't have any weapons...you'd be dead right now if I wasn't nearby." She frowned. "...why are you even alone in the woods? Aren't girls your age usually guarded day and night by uptight fathers?"
 
Fiora frowned as Eclaire asked her last question, but she spoke up again after a pause. "I... live on my own. I travel and do whatever jobs I can to help people. There's a village on the edge of this forest... every year, they hold a festival to celebrate the founding of their home. That egg is an important part of the festival." She paused for a moment. "They didn't have anyone around to help them get it, so... I offered to retrieve it. I do have weapons..." She showed Eclaire her daggers. "I was hoping I could sneak by without it seeing me, though." She sighed. "Thanks for saving me... and, um, I'm not that young," she blushed a bit as she said it. A lot of people seemed to mistake her for a kid these days.
 
"..." She didn't say anything else, just holding the egg. Eclaire was now more focused on keeping an eye on her surroundings than anything else, but did listen to Fiora...not that she agreed with anything said. People letting a girl go alone...with daggers...and....
How old was she?
 
Fiora kept walking through the forest, now keeping silent. Eclaire wasn't really focused on her; Fiora let her guard down for the moment and walked ahead. Maybe she only imagined the form? Even if she hadn't, Eclaire didn't seem very interested in her. She would have had every opportunity to do that by now. For now, Fiora could trust her. She figured they'd probably end up parting ways at the village, anyway. Any companions she met never really stuck around for long.

After a few hours of mostly uneventful travel, Fiora successfully navigated the two back to the village. It was small; around 20 little huts surrounded by a wooden fence. Fiora walked over to a gate. "We're here with your egg," she told the gatekeeper, who promptly let them inside. A few kids ran around in the streets, chasing each other and playing around. In the center of the town was a well with a few tables set up around it; a banner marking the village's anniversary was held up by two poles near the tables. "We need to bring the egg to the town chef..." She pointed out a hut that was a short distance away. "Are you still able to carry it over there?"
 
Eclaire nodded. The entire trip she had been watching their surroundings, Fiora, and the egg. Now at town, she looked....uneasy. Extremely uneasy. She stayed close to Fiora, then looked at the hut she pointed at. The rose-haired woman, looked away. "...please lead the way." Eclaire requested, adjusting her hold on the egg. "...I'd rather stay with you for now."
She didn't like being around people, to be honest. And it just made her feel...nervous.
 
Fiora was a little confused by Eclaire's sudden anxiety. Then again, she wasn't all that great in social situations herself. "Right... I was going to go with, I just wanted to make sure you could keep going..." Fiora led her into the hut. Inside, a woman with an apron was busily preparing all sorts of food as she spoke with another man.

The man turned as he heard the door shut, and he gave the two a wide grin. "Fiora, there you are! Just in time, too." He looked over Eclaire. "I see you brought a friend, too?"

"Um... we just met... she helped me retrieve the egg," Fiora responded.

"I see," the man nodded. "It's a pleasure to meet you, ma'am. I'm Gregory, the mayor of this little town."

The woman walked over to the two. "I can take this off your hands," She said, quickly taking the egg and bringing it back into the kitchen. She wasted no time, quickly getting back to work on preparing the food.

"Don't mind her, things are getting busy. The festival's tonight, and we've still got a lot of preparation to do." Gregory informed the two women. "As agreed Fiora, we'll let you stay in the inn for a little while." He looked over at Eclaire. "You're welcome to stay here if you need it, too. We don't have a whole lot of space, but I wouldn't want to turn down someone who helped us. You're both invited to the festival as well!"

"Thank you, sir," Fiora bowed.
 
Eclaire was quiet as the Mayor talked. She bowed respectfully. "My name is Eclaire. Thank you for your hospitality." She didn't really want to stay long...but she was tired, and a warm bed sounded fantastic. Especially if she could be alone. She didn't say anything about the festival...but she wasn't planning on staying. Festivals only would lead the trouble for her.
 
Gregory smiled at Eclaire. "It's not a problem at all! You helped save our festival, this is the least we can do."

Fiora glanced at Eclaire. She began to speak in a soft tone. "I can lead you to the inn, if you'd like... They can get a room for you, too." While she was still wary of the woman, she did save her life. She at least owed her directions to getting a room. Fiora just hoped it wouldn't lead to any trouble...
 
Eclaire bit her lip and turned to Fiora. She nodded quietly. "...please." She inched away from everyone in the meanwhile.
 
Fiora gave Eclaire a curious glance as she inched away, but decided against bringing it up. In fact, seeing her so seemingly nervous put the woman at ease. It at least helped her to slowly realize that, despite that first impression Fiora had of her, Eclaire didn't want to cause anyone any trouble. Fiora nodded back. "Then... let's go." She slowly extended a hand to the nervous woman; as much as contact tended to make her nervous, she could tell from Eclaire's actions that she probably needed a bit of comforting. "Thank you again, sir," she said to Gregory.
 
Eclaire looked nervous at touching, but gently took Fiora's hand. She pressed closer and started to inch away from everyone, just following the smaller girl. "I...I prefer....a far room...l...least amount of people." She was a bit slow with her speech, trying to find the best words for the moment without saying something by accident.
 
She's having a harder time talking than I do... why did she get so nervous suddenly? Fiora nodded once Eclaire finished speaking. "Let's see what options they have available... Hopefully there's a room like that somewhere," she said, giving the woman a somewhat awkward smile. While her trust issues had pretty much vanished, Fiora's usual anxiety hadn't. She led Eclaire off to the inn.

The building itself was small; it looked like it only had a few guest rooms between its two floors. The inside was cozy, with a little pub in a room near the check-in desk. A few chairs surrounded a fireplace in the lounge, and a couple travelers were seated and reading through the news. The man behind the check-in desk waved to the two women as they entered, and Fiora approached him. "Hello, sir... um, I already have my own room for the night, but she needs one, too... could she get one that's farther from other people?" Fiora asked carefully.

The man shook his head. "Sorry, but we're all checked out. We've got a lot of tourists coming for tonight's festival. I'd love to help, but we've even got some people who are spending the night out here in the lounge."

Fiora sighed. "It's fine... thank you, sir." She turned back to Eclaire." U-um... if there aren't any rooms, I'd be fine if you stayed in mine..." She blushed a bit as she explained it. Sharing a room with a complete stranger was new to her, but this woman did save her life. It was the least she could do for her.
 
Eclaire looked nervous...scared nervous, not embarrassed nervous. "I will take the floor." She stated. "Please lead the way." The entire walk, Eclaire had kept close, avoiding contact with anyone, dodging bumps and brushes, aiming to avoid people in general. The only person she so far had let touch her was Fiora....for now.
 
Fiora led the way to her room; it was on the second floor, with a balcony overlooking the town and a distant lake. Inside the room was a desk with a couple chairs, a small bathroom, a television set (a luxury in this part of the world), and one fairly large bed. A smaller nightstand by the bed held an unlit candle. Fiora entered the room, sitting down on the bed and taking off her tattered cloak. "I need to patch this up when I get the chance... at least it isn't too cold," she muttered to herself, hugging the thin, worn shirt she wore beneath the cloak. She picked up a small bag at the foot of the bed, digging out a small sewing set. She glanced up at Eclaire. "Um... make yourself at home, if you'd like. I know you said you'd take the floor, but... that isn't very comfortable..." She sighed. "I think the bed's big enough for us to both have plenty of space to ourselves..."
 
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