Ostrich Yojimbo!

"A C ranked mission? Couldn't we have opted for something a little easier?" Mauveine asked, as she walked down the cobbled street with Aeon. Aeon laughed, her eyes scrolling through the paper in her hand. "Come now, Mauve, I'm a Dragon Slayer. Specially trained by a massive, doom-dealing creature of magnificence. I'm not sure I could bear the boredom of a D rank mission, and I'm oh too cool for E ranks."

"Mm-hmm," Mauveine nodded, though her tone was a little sarcastic, "and you're a D rank mage."

Aeon shrugged. "Gimme a few weeks."

She glanced at some features of the street they were on, then looked back at the paper. She was excited about taking this mission. It was her very first, well, that she could remember, and she needed to start her career with style. While Mauveine did not seem as enthusiastic as Aeon, she too was excited. She only hoped that Aeon wouldn't get ahead of herself by biting off more than she could chew.

Aeon tilted her head to one side and stopped. "Hey Mauve, it looks like we're close. At least this paper kind of has a similar whiff to this place." Mauveine flew up to Aeon's shoulder to get a better view at the paper. "I think it would be that house, right?"

"Indeed, dear. Well then time to look all business-like. It's mission time!"

With Mauve perched on her shoulder, Aeon turned into the compound and headed up to the door. Then she stopped. The mission request stated that he would be outside his house. She didn't seem to see anyone about in the compound, so she knocked on the door thrice, took a step back, and waited.

She hoped that her client, Dobbes, as he was called, would be polite and brief.

Dobbes heard someone knock on the door three times. Who could it be? It was probably the mage he sent for. He walked to the door and opened it. There stood a young girl and a cat. Hello, you must be the mage I sent for. Sorry I didn't wait outside for you I had some things to attend to. I've got these very delicate, prize birds, see? They're renown everywhere for their feathers. I usually ship 'em in from far away without any hassles. But then, just before the carriage gets to Magnolia, a bunch of ne'er do wells always waylay my cargo and strip the birds of their feathers. That usually ends up killing the birds. Well, now, I've got some cargo for a very important client of mine, see? To host for the fair which comes up in the next two weeks. And I don't dare 'not deliver'. Your mission is to ensure that these thugs don't have their way, this time. Watch out for the crooks. There's rumor they've got a mage in their ranks; he's a novice and can be easily cowed, but they say he's kind of tough. His name is Bist. Now take care young lady. He sure hoped this young lady could take care of Bist.

Aeon found the door opened in no time, and a man stepped out and gave her the mission briefings. That was Dobbes, no doubt. She watched him passively as he spoke, listening intently to the information. She wanted to complete this mission as well as possible. That was a very good way of making a reputation for herself. Mauveine, still on her shoulder, brought out a tiny pen and notepad and began taking notes. When Dobbes was done, Aeon nodded and said boldly:

"Consider this mission done, Mr. Dobbes. We'll have your birds ready for the fair."

And with that, she turned on her heel and headed off. The description of the location had been indicated on the request board back at the guild, so she would have no problems getting there. Mauveine put away the notepad, then said: "Well, the mission seems a little straightforward. I think we can do this."

"I never had any doubts about that, Mauve," Aeon replied smugly...

They were outside Magnolia, and the sun was high in the sky. They had just walked into the East forest, and its canopy provided some good protection from the sun. "Hmmm, it's quite a distance from here to Magnolia's gates... enough time for any thieves to pluck those poor birds to death," Mauveine commented, scanning the trees for any signs of movement. "We're supposed to find the carriage somewhere around here, right?"

Aeon nodded. "Yes, and as a matter of fact, here it is," Aeon announced, as a carriage rounded a bend, as if on cue, and came towards them. A short, scared-looking man sat at the front of it, and it was oddly pulled by no animals. From within, an avian head would occasionally poke out, and go back in. The carriage pulled to a halt beside them, and the man looked them over.

"Are you the bodyguards for this mission?" he asked, a funny look on his face.

Aeon, suspecting that he was underestimating them, replied curtly, "What of it, mister?"

"Nothing," he replied, allowing them to climb up and take their seats. Mauveine looked back at the resy of the carriage, then at the contraption the man held in his hands. "It's driven by lachryma, right?" she asked, trying not to look excited.

"Yes... well, that's not very relevant. You know what you're supposed to do, right? The thieves should be coming out anytime from when we cross that bend, so you have to be ready." Aeon nodded, and climbed carefully onto the top of the carriage; at least it looked sturdy enough, and sat there. It would be easier to orchestrate an attack from such a vantage point, should the need arise.

"Wow... sure must be fun to ride this thing," Mauveine called over to Aeon, as she watched the driver with interest.

The Bird poachers were waiting in the shadows until they heard a carriage coming towards them. This was their shot. Bist waited in the back behind the poachers. He knew that body guards from Fairy Tail had been hired and he wanted to see what they could do. Poachers! attack! 5 poachers with massive clubs jumped out in front of the carriage. Hand over the pretty birds and ya won't get hurt! It was just a little girl and some cat. These two would be no problem. They all ran towards the two girls swinging their clubs with no coordination and random movements.

Bist didn't underestimate these two. They had to be strong to protect these birds. He hoped these two didn't defeat him or he would get caught by the law. He was gonna get these birds and become rich!

All three persons turned as one, as the poachers sprang out of the dark areas of the woods. They had big clubs, and Aeon was slightly impressed that they could even carry them about. However, such a thing could be to the poachers' disadvantage, also. Aeon stood to her feet, her expression otherwise bland, apart from the 'predatory' look that her pupils, which had just become slits, gave her. She noticed the carriage rider jump from his seat and head into the forest in the opposite direction.

"Well, that explains where he is when the poachers are at work."

"I don't think these guys might be remotely willing to talk...?" Mauveine said, as the poachers approached.

"Not likely, Mauve. Do you think you could be able to move this thing?" Aeon said, referring to the carriage, and seemingly ignoring the poachers as they came closer.

"I might, but I can't be so sure. Watching someone drive is different from doing the actual driving."

"That should be sufficient..." Aeon slowly swiveled her head to face the poachers. Then she addressed them: "I'll give you one chance to escape with your lives. If you persist, I'm afraid I might not be able to ensure your safety..."

She could smell another person nearby, but he was obviously hidden from sight. That was likely their leader, or something. A better idea began to form in her head. It was very foolhardy, but it just might work.

"Or better yet," she said, suddenly jumping forward to land in the seat beside Mauveine, and kicking the pedal that she'd seen the carriage rider step on to increase speed, "get out of the way, now!"

The carriage lurched forward towards the poachers, and Mauveine yelped. "It's up to you to drive this thing, Mauve. I have a feeling that our friends won't just let us trundle by, and there's someone else out there."

"But... but... Aeon! I used the term 'might', not COULD!" Mauveine yelled frantically, though she managed to tightly clutch the contraption that controlled the carriage in her paws.

Aeon only laughed in reply, and then she clambered back onto the top of the carriage, which was picking up speed, and managed to stay perched atop it. For now, she would cast no spells, but just keep her eyes and ears open, as well as beat back any poachers who managed to hold on to the carriage.

The carriage rolled towards the group of men prompting them to jump out of the way. Some of them cursed and others began to run towards the girl. Bist jumped out of the bushes in front of the men prompting them to stop . The 5 of you! Go to the carriage! I'll take care of her. The 5 men then began running after the carriage and picked up rocks. They threw rocks at the wheels and at Mauve. Bist looked at the girl, she seemed young and probably a D rank mage. Bist however was a C rank mage. So your the mage from Faqiry Tail? I expected someone a bit stronger but I'm sure your full of surprises. He was wearing a black hooded cloak so only his paint covered face would be visible. All od a sudden Bist began to float about 6 feet in the air. This was his feather spell allowing him to float around. Come and get me little mage.

The men were still running after Mauve and the carriage, some even threw their bats at her and the carriage wheels. They weren't really getting anywhere at the moment but hopefully one would get caught in the spokes making the carriage stop.

Quote :

Note that Aeon is still on top of the moving carriage, just for the record...

Aeon smirked as the poachers jumped out of the way. She figured that they'd move to preserve their lives. Mauveine managed to keep the carriage going, without having it crash into a tree, or any other obstacle. However, things began to take a more difficult turn, as the hidden person jumped out and issued commands to his lackeys. They began throwing stones and all what not at the carriage, while they also tried to catch up to it. Aeon would have made an immediate attempt to take them out, but she found herself having to square off against the leader of the poachers. He began to float in the air, easily keeping up with the carriage, as he called a challenge to her.

"So much for trying to outrun this one. He seems confident... 'little mage', eh? Well, let's see if I can't give him a run for his money..."

Aeon held out her hands forward, so that her open palms were facing him. The runes around her wrists began to rotate as she created a magic circle. Then she clapped her hands quickly together and yelled:

"Aura Dragon Rotating Bullet!"

Something totally unexpected happened at that moment. Most likely, Bist would expect Aeon to attack him, and thus, he would be in a more or less defensive position. He would not expect it if the attack went elsewhere. Which is precisely what happened. Instead of firing her projectiles at Bist, Aeon fired all five of them at the poachers. Hopefully, they would collide with either their heads or legs, so as to stop them from throwing all those projectiles.

Aeon was aware that Bist could use that chance to attack, but she had to take that risk. First of all, she would risk no harm to Mauve (a stone could hit her or something), and it was easier to fight atop a carriage that was not veering this way and that.

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Spoiler:

Magic: 90/100

This girl was interesting indeed, rather than trying to stop Bist she stopped the poachers. Very noble but stupid. All of the poachjers were knocked out either by the spell or from tripping and falling down the road. Bist took this time to summon a magic circle and swept his hands across the air. A blast of strong wind flew towards the cat rather than the girl. She had been trying to protect the cat last time but not this time. He hoped that this would give him enough time to float onto the carriage and push the girl off of it. He hoped this plan went through right. If he got caught by the law again he would be in big trouble. Like prison! He was too young and handsome to go to prison. Not to mention he might be rich!

"Crud...! I guessed as much..."

Okay, now was not the time to play around with this guy. From his next action, it was certain that he used his head to think quite well. She had expected him to launch an attack against her, but instead, he had sent the attack after Mauveine. In essence, he was trying to stop the carriage, so that he would get his bounty and escape, rather than stand around and attempt fighting her, which was what many people would have opted for. She would have to go all out on him... once she had figured out how to deal with the air blast...

... and she was definitely going to kill him for attempting to harm Mauve. Well, not kill him exactly, but...

In a spur of the moment decision, Aeon threw herself between the burst of wind and Mauveine, pushing her hands forward as she created a magic circle.

"Aura Dragon Safeguard Shell!" she yelled, as the spell kicked into effect, forming a barrier between her and the magic attack. Thus, the good news was that she would save Mauve from the attack, as well as prevent the attack from directly connecting with her. The bad news was that the wind blast packed a punch and would have still thrust her backwards, if she was on her two feet.

In other words, Aeon was flung clean off the carriage.

Considering her position, since she was on top of the carriage and Bist was also close about that point, Aeon would go to the front of the carriage and ahead of it. She was already forming another magic circle as she flew, and she took in a deep breath.

"Aura Dragon Roar!"

A purple blast of energy tore through the air at Bist. That would give him something to worry about. As for Aeon, performing such an attack at such a time left her no chance to try flipping over and landing on her feet. She formed another magic circle, hoping it wouldn't be too late...

Mauveine drew the carriage to a screeching halt, and remained transfixed on her seat, as Aeon seemingly impacted hard with the road, sending up a sizable cloud of dust to virtually obscure her form. When the dust settled, she would be seen, lying on her back, eyes closed; apparently unconscious. The actual truth was that at the last second, she created another Safeguard Shell between herself and the road. The impact was rather jarring, but it was better for a dragon Slayer to land on her element, rather than on something else.

For now, she would play the possum, her acute hearing telling her all she needed to know. Bist would be in for a dreadful surprise if he came over to finish her off, or went for the carriage.
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Spoiler:

Magic: 60/100

The girl tried to block against Bist's attack but ended up flying off of the carriage. Even though she tried to stop him she had unintentionally helped him by getting off of the carriage. While she was flying through the air she roared at Bist sending some form of energy at him. At this moment in time Bist realized something, he was up against a dragon slayer. Even though she was a lower rank than him she was still a dragon slayer. He wasn't sure whether he could win this so he quickly did something to save himself. He swept his hand below him making the gust of wind blast him upwards and away from the dragon slayer's roar of energy. He would then land on a nearby tree branch. The carriage was pulled to a stop and the girl landed on the ground. she was apparently unconscious and only the cat was left at the carriage. He wasn't sure whether to go for the carriage or the girl but his safest bet was the carriage. He walked over to the carriage as the two remaining poachers finally caught up out of breath. They were in no condition to fight so Bist walked over to the cat. Hey little kitty, wanna hand over the carriage to us? He smiled assuming victory.

From the looks of it, Bist had decided to go for the carriage. Aeon could hear other footsteps; obviously, some of the poachers were still up and about. Well, that was sure to make things a little difficult, but not if Aeon could get rid of Bist in her next move. She considered her distance from the carriage. It was not very far, but she would need a slight distraction, if she was to take Bist out. His wind magic sure was handy for running away.

Mauveine kept staring at Aeon till Bist approached and demanded the carriage. She gulped silently. Why hadn't Aeon just decided to opt for one of the easier stuff? She shook her head with a frown. It was useless to panic. Aeon had taught her that. Well, she would have to act bold, while she thought of something. She was a mage, too, and this mission had been assigned to her as well. She had to do her best.

Her wings forming instantly, Mauveine flew past Bist's head, and back again, this time landing on the top of the carriage. In her most defiant voice, she replied, "Why don't you ask nicely, big chum? I might consider giving it to you, then." She felt she sounded impressive, but her heart was all aflutter. She prayed that Bist wouldn't retaliate with a wind blast or some other painful thing.

The most likely thing was that everyone's eyes would be on Mauveine, as she performed her antics, and so it would be unlikely that anyone would see Aeon, as she made her initial move. Up on her feet as quick as her body would allow, Aeon made a mad dash for Bist, both hands being covered by swirling purple energy. Clamping her hands together, she aimed a haymaker at Bist's head, while yelling:

"Eat sparks, punk!"

Her Aura Dragon Massive Gauntlet ought to take Bist out at once, and even if it didn't, it ought to decommission him long enough for him to be restrained.
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Spoiler:

Magic: 50/100

The little cat grew wings and flew over Bist's head, this made him laugh hysterically. A Cat that could fly, that was some funny stuff right there. I'm not a nice person. He laughed again. At right about this time Bist had heard someone running towards him and tried to use his wind slash to get away but it was too late. He had been knocked out instantly and slammed into a nearby tree. The bird poachers screamed and ran away in fear. This girl had won the battle.

Bist was taken clean out of the picture, and the poachers fled for their lives. That meant that there would be no likely opposition from them anymore, seeing that their leader had been defeated. Aeon didn't bother going after them. She instead carried Bist back to the carriage and grinned at Mauveine.

"Don't do that again!" Mauveine chided, trying to hide her relief behind mock annoyance.

Aeon blinked at her, as she put Bist on top of the carriage. "Don't do what?" she asked innocently.

Mauveine returned to her seat. "Oh, never mind. You scared me back there, though. And I thought that I would have to take on all those guys all by myself."

Aeon shrugged as Mauveine started the carriage and had it continue the journey. "Told you you had nothing to fear."

The rest was easy street. They would deliver the birds, after turning Bist over to the authorities. Aeon activated her Aura sense, just in case Bist would try to use similar surprise tactics as she had used to attempt escape. No matter how much he feigned unconsciousness, if he did wake up before the end of the journey, she would sense his emotions, and that he couldn't hide.
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About an hour later, the carriage pulled to a halt outside Dobbes' house. They had dropped Bist with the authorities, after Aeon had comically lectured him on how a life of crime would never pay off. Now reaching the house, they could safely say their mission was completed. Aeon jumped off her seat and went to peek at the birds. They seemed undisturbed, obviously unaware that they had been close to plucking some time ago.

All that remained was to get paid, right?

"Mission accomplished, Mr. Dobbes!" Aeon called out, walking round the carriage and up to the front door.
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OOC: heh, too lazy to count, but I'll eat my hat and shoes if it ain't above 1000 words.