"Don't look down on little beginnings, huh... or how do they say that again?" the mage muttered as she headed for her destination at a brisk pace, through the light rain. She'd been rather bored of late, and wanted to get herself some good, tasking mission. Unfortunately, however, all the good missions had been taken, and only the E ranked ones were left. Having nothing to do, she had reluctantly taken the one that had the most 'action'. At least, the money would be put to good use, however meagre it was. Mauveine didn't need to go along with her, and since Mauveine wasn't in the 'outdoorsy' mood, she had opted to stay behind. Best to get this done with, and get back home.
She arrived at the designated door, which had a doorbell, and so she made use of it. From the looks of things, the person who lived here was kind of well-to-do, although they didn't seem to have an eye for aesthetics. Hearing footsteps coming towards the door, she took a step back and waited. The door opened, and a man with a scarf on his head stood there, giving her a quizzical look.
"Uh, can I help you, miss?
"Mr. Joules, no? Well, I think I'm here to help. I came concerning the request."
"Huh?" He looked confused.
"Something about delivering a package to someone downtown? A request sent to Fairy Tail?" Aeon offered, trying to help his memory, though she wondered whether she had come to the right place. For a while, he didn't seem to comprehend, then at length, he snapped his fingers and said, "Oh, you're the mage from Fairy Tail! Why didn't you say so?"
Aeon stared at him. "I thought I did."
He waved nonchalantly. "Well, never mind that. See, I've got this artifact that I need delivered pronto. I'd have gone myself, but I'm too busy and I don't need any physical stress." He dashed back into the house, shortly returning with a wooden box about the size of his lower arm. "Give this to my friend and colleague, Watts. You'll find directions to his place on this note." He handed a piece of paper to Aeon, with the box, and continued. "It's simple enough, but a particular road to his place is occupied by some thugs who are looking to collect some toll from everyone who passes. You could avoid them, though it will likely take much longer. They're small fry, though it might not do to go engaging them in combat. They might be friends with other thugs who could get angry and... chain reaction... and..." He trailed off, looking into space. Aeon waited for him to go on, but he did not.
"Um, hello?" she said, waving a hand before his face. Joules snapped back to reality. "You haven't gone already? Dear me! What else are you waiting for? When you're done, return here for your pay. That's how it works, right?" He paused again, then turned abruptly and headed back indoors, leaving the door open. Aeon shook her head and closed the door for him.
She read the directions. She actually knew the way to Watts' place. An idea began forming in her mind. Given the rain, the ground would be slippery and there wouldn't be many people around on the streets, and Watt's house was located in a depression, meaning that there were quite a number of stairs and downward sloping streets on the way to her target. Aeon broke into a run.
As she approached the first flight of stairs, she jumped them, and focused her magic energies to generate a spell. A large 'bowl' of purple energy solidified beneath her, and she crouched in it just as it impacted with the road. With her initial momentum and the slippery state of the road, the Safeguard Shield in which she was took off at a very fast pace. Aeon smirked. She wanted to see just how anyone would try to stop her with that speed. Down the streets and stairs she went, people stopping and staring as she went on. At a particular lane, about three or four rough looking fellows jumped to their feet as she dashed by, but their surprise actually stopped them from actively pursuing her. Hmmm, must have been the punks Joules had talked about. Well, she was past them, so they were gone and hopefully forgotten. As she approached the last flight of stairs, she channeled magic again, creating a gauntlet of energy over her right arm, with which she caught the banister of the stairs and ground to a jarring halt. That hurt a bit, but it sure had been fun.
She walked to Watts' door and knocked. Unlike his associate, Watts was less vacant, and very businesslike. He received the box, and with little ado, sent Aeon on her way, after writing a note to Joules that he had received the artifact. That being done, she decided to take the longer route to avoid the road roughs, since they might be a little more prepared if she came by that way again, not to mention that returning to Joules' house was going uphill. Besides, she had made good time with her inventive transportation.
About fifteen minutes later, she returned to Joules' place, and fortunately for her, he was expecting her. She gave him the note. "Oh, that's very good. Very, very good. Here's your reward. Now, is there anything else? No? Well, good day, then." He was back in his house, and this time, remembered to close the door. Aeon looked at the small bag of jewels in her hand, then left. "Okay. Mission accomplished. Should like a warm cup of something after all this rain."
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Word Count: 962... or thereabouts.
Tue Apr 05, 2016 4:10 am by 
