Inspiration [Mission] (Finished!)

After her latest mission helping some lovestruck teenager, Eve was ready to take on something more challenging. Maybe not anything too difficult; she still wanted to keep all of her limbs, thank you very much.

So that was how she stood before a man's home, knocking on his battered front door warily. The house was odd, to say the least. An assortment of colors seemed randomly thrown onto its walls, and Eve was certain that the neighbors didn't approve. I know I wouldn't approve...

Suddenly, the door opened and Eve was pulled inside by an arm appearing out of the darkened house. When Eve gained her composure, there was a striking elder man before her. Despite it appearing as though he hadn't slept in a few days (and the fact that he had ink smudges on various parts of his body and clothing), she found him quite attractive. That wasn't a good thing.

"E-eve Furey," she stammered, immediately feeling a rush of crimson plaster her cheeks. "Lamia Scale mage you requested." She could feel her heart hammering in her chest as she waited for the man's response.

His face lit up, and he looked instantly relieved and less edgy. "Good, good! My name is Sorbet Sato, and I am an Art Mage." He paused, seeming to desire a moment for awe. His beamed a self-loving smile at Eve, but it faded all too quickly. "The problem is," he began, his eyes searching the many discarded drawings scattered across his home. "My deadline is approaching and I just can't think of anything to use for my manga to save my life! This is where you come in." Nodding, he gave a small smile.

Eve felt her heart leap at his smile, and she gave a tiny one back. "You need me to help you gain inspiration," she muttered, gazing at Sorbet.

He nodded once more, this time leading her towards the back of the house. They exited through the building through a sliding door, and once outside, pulled out an art pad and began drawing. Before Eve knew it, two opponents stood before her, each wearing a not-too-kind smile. He then drew some form of a creature, and this appeared as well.

Sorbet chimed in then. "I'll need you to defeat these opponents~" he sang lightly. The two men don't have any magic; they just use their fists. The creature is basically harmless."

At this description, the three opposing players moved forward to attack. Eve quickly pulled out a card and dropped to the ground. "Earth Shake!" she cried, slamming the tiny item onto the ground. The ground before her began shaking lightly, and Eve watched the two men bump into each other. The creature seemed unaffected, though, so Eve picked up her card and put it back in its holder.

Without a second to lose, she pulled out two different cars, this time holding them in front of her. "Trip up!" One of the cards glowed, and a tiny metal wire appeared behind the two men. It was being held by a lawn chair and a nearby tree. Eve activated the other card now, and as it glowed, she yelled "Wind Breaker!" A tiny gust of wind shot out of the card, pushing the two unsteady men into the wire and causing them to topple over.

Eve watched them "poof" out of existence, leaving her with the creature to deal with. She pulled out another card, upon returning the other two to her holster, and held it before her. "Diamond Strike!" Four cards "poofed" into existence, and each of them (including the card that was summoned) sharpened into throwing weapons. Eve, with a sweep of her arm, sent them flying towards the art creature. "Gotcha," she cried, as four of the five struck. The cards (except for her original one, which missed and was now lying on the ground) disappeared, leaving the creature to fall to the ground with a thud.

"Looks like we're done here." Eve, the fight having cleared her of her nervousness for Sorbet, started to approach him.

Muhuhuhuhu...

Freezing in her tracks, Eve slowly turned around to find the creature rising. He had cuts in four places, but he didn't seem to mind too much. It changed its appearance, gaining a more devilish look. Fire, Eve noticed, shivering. She feared fire more than anything else.

"Just let it smack you around a little bit," Sorbet called, watching the event intensely.

Let it smack me around a bit?! Eve cracked her knuckles and watched as the creature cackled loudly. It summoned a fireball in its palm and threw it at Eve, and she did a sidestep to dodge. The creature summoned more fireballs, with both hands this time, and manically threw them at Eve. She stumbled over her own feet and narrowly dodged half of them, but at one point her shirt sleeve caught on fire. "AHH!" Patting it out, she had to dive do dodge another attack.

"Sorbet! This isn't funny anymore!"

Eve was met with cheers from other onlookers, and she did a double take to make sure her eyes weren't deceiving her. They're cheering for me? Sorbet caught her eye and nodded, seeming to encourage her to finish the battle.

"Right," Eve muttered, determination setting in. She hastily pulled out a card and held it before her. "Transfer!" A human-sized, white card appeared beside Eve, and she jumped into it. The monster looked around, seeming confused by his opponent's disappearance.

Eve, having also summoned a card about 10 feet behind the monster, appeared behind it and held out a different card. "Water Slicer!" A narrow slice of water appeared and hit the fire demon, causing it to fall to the ground in agony. "Cool off, you piece of--" The monster disappeared, and Sorbet, along with the crowd, congratulated Eve.

"Well done, well done," he praised, clapping Eve on the back as he approached her. "My manga will be a success!" Smiling, he reached into his pocket and pulled out Eve's payment. As he did so, the crowd disappeared in a puff of smoke, and Eve smiled at Sorbet. "If you need any help again, just let me know."

The truth was, she had enjoyed the attention from those fake people more than she should have.

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