A Second First Chance [CLOSED]

The Noir isn't usually spread as thin as it was today. Usually there are multiple Devotes still there at the main headquarters, but that wasn't the case today. Only two Devotes were around now—Masamune Fujiwara and the woman who scares the ever-living shit out of him, Luxanna Luminere. The Noir was exceptionally busy, which normally would be a great thing for them. But when a courier ran in with a mission of an extremely high difficulty, it wasn't the best of days.

The courier ran first into Masamune. Masamune heard the mission and he quickly dragged the courier upstairs and to the "Lady of Doom" as he calls her. "Luxanna!," Masamune yelled as he ran to her. "'ey! We got a pro'lem!" Masamune was practically out of breath as he shoved the courier in front of him. As the courier explained, Masamune heaved to breathe.

The courier presented a familiar wanted poster. It had a black-and-white sketch of a one-eyed, dark-skinned, bald man. He had a cocky, smug grin and he actually looked like a nice guy. The poster read "WANTED: BRAKAS L. MURPHY. WANTED FOR THE CRIMES OF ARSON, ILLEGAL MANUFACTURING OF POISON, SMUGGLING, DESTRUCTION OF PROPERTY, IMPERSONATING A LAWYER, IMPERSONATING A DOCTOR, AND DISRUPTING THE PUBLIC. CONSIDERED ARMED AND EXTREMELY DANGEROUS. REWARD 10,000 GOLD PIECES." The story of Brakas L. Murphy was well-known in Arcadia, but few actually believed it. It was simply too outrageous even in a land of magic.

"We heard from the village of Kirkland that Brakas L. Murphy," the courier unconsciously used the man's full name as was common, "was spotted fleeing towards Arcadia's southern border with the Empire of Zakat. He was last spotted in the Silverwood Forest near the Ford mineshaft." The courier said all of that in a single breath.

Masamune took advantage of that break and spoke up. "Luxanna, we've been huntin' him fer a year now. This is our chance." Masamune looked excited. Brakas L. Murphy had outsmarted Masamune quite a few times in the past. "I'd normally go am' do this... But I jus' took another job that is pretty time sensitive. Luxanna, I trust you can do this. Yer smarter than me too, so he won' be able to outsmart ya." Masamune smiled his normal goofy smile. "Ya got this, Lux." Truth be told, Masamune wasn't going on one of his assigned jobs, but one of Nadia Cyanea's. That's why he was in such a rush—so that no one would realize that he had taken that job.

Knights generally swear loyalty to a group or an individual. They are in it for the prestige, and see it as a career. Then there are those that swear loyalty to themselves or an ideal. They are in it for the adventure, and see it as a lifestyle. Tsubine von Zarkonheinz was among the latter. She rode atop a maple horse, her armor shining in the morning sun. The sun didn't get in her eyes thankfully, as she was traveling north. Specifically, she was traveling to the Zakat-Arcadia border.

Tsubine was on a mission. A small village on the outskirts of the Silverwood Forest had been hit by a strange bandit over the past few days. He would only steal planks, nails, and matches. He'd run into town, hold someone hostage and demand they hand over the supplies he requested. He'd then run back into the forest. They tracked him to an abandoned mine, but the government was reportedly waiting until he came out of the forest. Because they were standing around with their fingers up their asses, someone had to act. And this time, Tsubine was on the case.

She had finally made it to the border after a two-day travel. Tsubine was kind and enthusiastic as she entered the village. She was given a map and directions to the mine. She thanked the villagers and asked if they would watch her horse while she was gone. Of course, they agreed.

It took about two hours for her to find her way to the cliff face the mine was carved into. Wooden beams outlined a square portal leading inside the cliff. A freshly-painted sign reading "KEEP OUT" hung above the entrance. Tsubine breathed in, and extended her arm. A large bird landed on it. This was Aquila, Tsubine's Peregrine Falcon that was her closest (and currently only) friend. "Nothing stalking about?" The bird seemed to understand her and adjusted itself on her arm. She nodded in response. "Good. You can go rest now, but find me if something goes wrong." And the mighty hunter spread his wings and flew into the forest. Tsubine turned back to the entrance and drew her sword.

The mineshaft was spacious and almost completely silent. There were sounds of water dripping and wood creaking, but no sound of people—at least not yet. Lanterns lined the walls. Each one was spaced evenly from the last. It was meticulous work, but it was recently done. Whoever did it worked fast. Tsubine kept walking forward, deeper into the unnatural cavern. Each step echoed down the tunnel.

Tsubine kept walking for about five minutes when she finally heard someone talking. Around the corner, a flame cast flickering shadows across the walls. Tsubine tried to creep further up but a sudden thud against the back of her head sent the woman to the floor as her vision faded...

Tsubine awoke tied to a chair. Three men, none of whom matched the description of the strange bandit, sat in front of her. A fire danced to her left. One of the men noticed her and turned towards the helpless woman. "Good, you're awake. I was afraid I'd hit ya a little too hard back there." Tsubine tried to speak but the same man interrupted her. "Nah lass, I'll be doing the questions. What is a young, pretty woman doing down here?"

Tsubine scowled at the man. This was a combined anger. Half of it was directed at the bandit, but the other half was directed at herself. She had been stupid enough to not check behind her. It was her fault she was in this mess. She'd have to get out of it herself —just like always. "I am here to put a stop to the rampant barbaric acts that have been committed against the citizens of the village south of here. I request that you come peacefully with me to the local military police outpost and turn yourselves in." Tsubine spoke sternly like a new pet owner scolding a puppy.

Unfortunately, these puppies still had teeth. They all cackled in unison, and the man sitting in front of her leaned in. "And lass, why would we do that?" Tsubine's eyes narrowed. "Because if you do not, I cannot guarantee your safety otherwise."

He came into the room and handed her something. A mission? Right, Brakas. That insane bastard. Luxanna leaned back in her chair, one leg crossed elegantly over the other. She set her elbow on the desk and her chin in her palm as she read through the letter. "I see." was her only reply. Luxanna chewed on the back end of a pen, rolling the plastic between her teeth as Masamune explained. "And I'm the only one here to take care of it, of course..." she said out of slight annoyance, "Alright. I'll get going then." Luxanna accepted and folded the paper, sliding it into her shirt through the collar and right into her bra. She didn't seem to care about the overdone 'you got this' speech that Masamune was giving her. She heard it enough and it really felt like his way of convincing her just to do it. Since she often gave in, some people wondered if his little speech actually worked on her.

The days went on and Luxanna found herself closing in on her target. Luxanna kept her guard up while she was alone in the wilderness. She paid attention to every sound. The click of a breaking twig or the rustling sound of moving leaves weren't ignored. Even if it was nothing more than a small rabit, she knew the moment she let her guard down it'd be a snake or something more dangerous. As she traveled through, she picked up on a trail that led her on to a cave. It looked like the perfect hideout for a man like Brakas. His insane and explosive behavior made this an easy trap. Luxanna did take a quick look, but didn't want to linger. If she did, she'd be spotted. As she walked through, she missed the readied explosives at the entrance. Spotting a small piece of metal, likely a building tool of some kind, she picked it up and cast her own bit of magic. It began to glow in her hand.

"Time to vanish..." she muttered quietly. With a wave of her hand, the glittering bend of light followed along with the tips of her finger tips. Like spreading a sheet over her body, the light moved to her will and fell around her. To her, a thin and mostly transparent layer of shimmering light surrounded her. To those looking on, there was nothing more than the cave, air, and ground behind her. Invisible to the naked eye, she moved slowly through. The glowing thin sheet of metal in her hand was now her only weapon. Deeper into the cave, signs of recent travels caught her eye. A trail of large humanoid footsteps with a thick line next to them is what she found. "They were dragging something..." she thought as she followed the trail through. She came to a single man first. She stopped and watched him get closer as he was wiping out the trail that would lead her where she needed to go.

"Hey." she whispered eerily into his ear as he passed her by. The man immediately jumped and swung out in her direction but missed badly. "No." she whispered again and suddenly a hand appeared in front of the poor frightened little man. The shining metal swung toward him like a sword, striking him on the side of the head. Upon impact, a light burst out and blinded him, though it'd be temporary. He fell unconcious and Luxanna continued on. She could hear the light laughtered of someone and headed in that direction. Little did she know, a light string caught her and let a certain person know that she was here. Unaware of this, she stepped around the corner to see a woman tied up and a man a little too close to her for comfort."And lass, why would we do that?" Luxanna raised an eyebrow at the rather gutsy woman. "Because if you do not, I cannot guarantee your safety otherwise."

As if the woman knew she was there, interesting. Could she have been given a better opening. The men laughed again, only to suddenly freeze as the sound of ripping flesh and the smell of burning skin lifted into the air. Lined up perfectly for her, Luxanna sent out a thin beam of light so condensed that it pierced their bodies as easily as steel. "She warned you." Luxanna said. She dispeled the cloak and with the gentle fluttering of thousands of tiny lights, the cloak vanished and revealed her. A stern expression, long blonde hair, pale blue eyes, and a figure that many women were jealous of is what greeted them. Luxanna retracted the light that was peircing through them. All but one fell and this final one glared at her as he spit up blood. She aimed well and she knew it. He would only say a final word, "Bitch." "The Noir have found you." Luxanna said with a sense of pride. The man died.

"Are you harmed?" Luxanna stepped over to the woman. She examined her, looking the female up and down. Hair... Eyes... Zakatian, like her. "What's a Zakatian doing in Arcadia?" Luxanna asked as she stepped behind the woman and unbound her. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw something move quickly and toward the exit of the cave. "Brakas..." Luxanna said, but continued untying the woman. Once she was, Luxanna moved casually and walked toward where she saw the man going. Luxanna would not run; that got way too many killed when it comes to chasing this insane man.

Indifference was in every part of Luxanna's tone as her and this woman's conversation sort of continued. Luxanna still had a mission, so friendliness was on the lower end of her priorities. The beauty of the woman she was aiding was not on her mind either. The only thing she took more care to note was this woman's height. "Holy shit..." It took a lot of self control for Luxanna to keep her expression blank, but she was thankful for her success. She sighed and continued on through the cave, back toward the entrance. "You are welcome. And that was stupid." Luxanna replied bluntly, "Don't go looking for trouble just because you hear a few rumors. One wrong move and you end up in the dark with your hands tied and your body at the mercy of the lesser sex." Luxanna's statement was both offensive to this tall woman that she had just met and to the men that captured her.

A strange sound echoed in from the entrance to the cave. Luxanna raised an eyebrow in confusion, having not heard such a sound before. The tall woman rushed forward, calling out about some sort of... drink? "Uh..." Luxanna watched the woman go forward and then shook it off when she realized it was likely a trap. She heard the voice of Brakas L. Murphy and realized her suspicions were correct. "HEY! GET BACK!" Luxanna ran forward and slapped her hands together, "YOU IDIOT!!" Luxanna jumped in between the explosion and the woman as she spread her arms wide. A bright light shined from her palms and spread through the air like ripples in a still pond. The condensed light created a barrier that lasted through out the entire explosion and lit up their side of the cave into a dim light. Moments later, the excitement ended and the destruction ceased, at least for the moment.

"Damn it..." Luxanna muttered in annoyance when she noticed the cave's entrance was blocked by rocks she knew too heavy for her to move. She heard a light rumbling and immediatley looked up. The walls, ceiling, and ground started to shake again. "RUN!" Luxanna yelled and turned back into the cave. The aftermath of Brakas' explosion took hold and more rocks began to fall. She grabbed the woman's hand and jerked her along as they ran. The falling rocks only a few feet behind them and closing in, Luxanna kept up her speed and made a leap into a side cave. If the woman followed, good for her, but Luxanna was not going to die for some stranger today. As she made that leap, the final rocks fell and blocked the area even more. It was dark. Luxanna lit up a small shining light that acted like a bright torch. She looked around, noticing the only path went deeper in the mountain.

"Well... That's the only way we've got to go..." she muttered and then looked back to confirm that the woman had lived through that debacle, "You comin'? Staying here won't do you any good."

The dive into the side cavern had Luxanna sitting in the dirt. She lit up the cave with a spell. She was sitting on her legs, using the orb of light over her palm to see clearer. The woman was alive and seemed to be unharmed. Good, the two of them made it, but for how long? Depending how far these caves went, it was possible that it would get hard to breathe. "Twice?" Luxanna broke from her thoughts as the woman explained. She was surprised by the gratitude and looked away, her eyes returning to the orb of light in her hand. "I wasn't going to leave you to die." Luxanna explained with the slightest of blushes, "If you had fallen or lagged behind, that would have been a different story. I won't sacrifice myself for someone I do not know, though I will not abandon them either." Luxanna huffed as she pushed herself to her feet and dusted the dirt from her clothing.

They started off in the only direction that they could go, forward. The cave was dry and the air felt thicker the farther they went. Luxanna's concentration stuck to the path ahead. She kept to herself, not saying a single word. After some time, her current traveling companion spoke up. How could such a large woman be so shy? Luxanna raised an eyebrow and turned her head slightly toward the conversationalist. She asked Luxanna's name and was immediately met with narrowed eyes. The woman caught herself and introduced herself first, so Luxanna nodded and spoke up. "I am Luxanna and I'm from Caydale of Arcadia." she introduced herself kindly. The next question Tsubine asked would have felt like it was ignored. She stared straight forward, allowing the tall woman behind her to freak out over the obvious implications. Zakatians... Luxanna stopped walking and turned to Tsubine.

"You're a lively one, aren't you?" Luxanna said, putting her free hand on her hip, "Yeah, it should be obvious, but I'm an Arcanist. I know Zakatians aren't fond of my kind, but I don't entirely care. If you had a problem with me, I'd knock you on your rump again, as you so... innocently put. If you are an Arcanist, then you likely received the same disgusting descrimination I did. Zakatians disgust me..." Luxanna looked away in anger, her narrowed eyes fixating on a random spot along the cave wall. She calmed herself down by sighing and looked back to Tsubine. "Look... We're trapped down here and need to find a way out. If we don't do so soon, it's possible to run out of oxygen, get attacked, or for another cave in... I'd rather not stick around for that, and I'm sure you'd agree with that. So let's stop wasting time and get moving." Luxanna turned away and continued into the caves.

"Yes, I see it." The large area they stepped into was indeed beautiful. The multi-colored crystals shined brightly and resonated with magical energy. Luxanna could feel it. Their humming slithered along her skin as the Arcana-thick air moved passed her body. With every step, she felt the light vibration moving through the ground and air. It was like the cave was alive and almost speaking to her. "It's quite beautiful." Luxanna stepped over to a blue colored crystal formation and lightly touched along it's surface. "The air is thick with it..." she replied about the air as she moved along to touch the other crystals. She came to a brightly shining bunch that were shimmering yellow and white and stopped. She stared at it for a moment. It was odd to her. It was shaped no differently than the rest, but this particular crystal felt different to her. Like she was connected to it...

"About these... I feel like I've read something about them before... If I'm right, they're Arcana enhancing crystals, also known as Amiphite." Luxanna explained as she continued walking along. She stopped in front of another bunch of crystals that shimmered yellow and white again and set her hands on them. She couldn't describe the feeling she had, but it was pleasant. She felt almost refreshed, light on her feet, and powerful... The combination was wonderful and she really didn't want to let go. "Yeah... They're Amiphite alright..." she spoke up again, forcing herself to remove her hand, "They pertain to the elements and a few other things... Fire, water, earth, air... But also metal, light, darkness, and even lightning..." Luxanna almost seemed disappointed as she spoke. Amiphite could make you feel wonderful and raise your power, but they had another effect that was less pleasurable.

"The problem is that in large quantities, like we're in right now, they can be dangerous..." Luxanna explained as she took a few steps away from them, "Someone like me, who is in-tune with one of the elements... If I got too close to crystal that corresponded with my power, I could become obsessed... It's similar to the way drugs effect people. It makes you feel wonderful, but too much of it can and likely will destroy your body and Arcana. Arcanist and scientist alike have tried using these to give non-powered people the ability to use Arcana... while also trying to enhance the Arcana of those who already have it without causing permanent damage. It was proven to be impossible." Luxanna looked around as she explained and found another exit. "Come on, we should get out of here before something bad happens..." Luxanna waved Tsubine over, not wanting to stay here too long.

The quick sound of a zap hit Luxanna's ears when she turned back to see what had happened. Tsubine was on her ass. "Apparently the crystal didn't like her..." Luxanna thought with a short snicker as she put a hand on her hip. She watched curiously as Tsubine laid there. The shock seemed to knock the wind out of her, but since Tsubine was still breathing, Luxanna assumed she was fine. Luxanna was about to continue on and call Tsubine forward when the screaming started. Luxanna froze in her tracks and watched Tsubine writhe around in pain. Luxanna saw the changes in Tsubine's face and cautiously got closer. Her eyes narrowed in confusion and curiosity, she kept a safe distance. Tsubine dropped the top half of her clothing and armor and revealed something that made Luxanna raise an eyebrow. A lacy blue bra for someone dressed like a knight? Ha... Not entirely surprising...

"Definitely Zakatian..." Luxanna thought with a light chuckle in the back of her mind. Her name was called. "... Yeah?" Luxanna obviously hesitated. The behavior currently shown wasn't one she was used to seeing, especially from a Zakatian. Maybe from Masamune during one of his adventure stories, but it wasn't expected from this woman. She pointed out something on her back and asked how it looked. "Uh..." Luxanna raised an eyebrow. She was confused and her tone showed that. After a moment she shrugged and said, "Nice tattoo." She wasn't aware of it's magical properties and with the current environment, sensing such would be increasingly difficult for anyone. "Water? What stream?" Luxanna looked around. She couldn't hear anything. She rolled her eyes and motioned for Tsubine to follow. "Come on and get up. You've got two legs and a heartbeat;  Nothing's stopping you."

"Yes, it is." It was the only reply Luxanna could muster. This was normal for her. She had been in Arcadia long enough that magical tattoos were normal. Some did glow, others did move, but the singing thing was still being worked on. Either way, Luxanna's reaction toward the glowing tattoo was indifferent. Luxanna continued this attitude as she watched Tsubine struggle. The reason that the Zakatian woman gave behind it struck her as odd. Well, odd was a nice way of putting how Luxanna was thinking. She thought it was stupid, very stupid. Then the begging began and Luxanna sighed. "Alright, alright." she shook her head and walked about twenty feet away. She picked up a rock, looked around for the stream and lit the rock up. "This is just..." Luxanna muttered quietly as the rock began to glow, infused with her own power. She found the stream and tossed the rock beside it.

The power behind this light was greater than the previous light she had summoned, so it's glow lit the cave well. Luxanna found her way back to Tsubine a few moments later, but she did not have water with her. She just leaned down and grabbed onto the woman's shoulder. With the shimmering of light, a sudden blink, and another shimmer, the two appeared right next to the stream. "I don't exactly carry a bucket around with me and my camping gear is closer to the entrance that was blown, so obviously I had no way of bringing water to you. And I doubt a few trickles from a wet hand would do the trick..." Luxanna explained as she sat down on a rock. Tsubine reappeared a mere foot from the stream. Luxanna cupped some water into her hand and tossed at the glowing mark on Tsubine's back. She repeated this process twice before standing up again and watching her.

"That seal is a little... inconvenient..." Her words were poorly chosen, but only because they were a lot nicer than what she wanted to say. She wasn't going to call this woman, or who ever put the seal on her, an idiot. "What happens if you're in the desert? Or on a mountain? What happens if you aren't near any water? If this was a problem, you should probably start carrying a canteen with you." Luxanna said. Her words were sarcastic and annoyed. She was obviously doing a bit of judging, her pre-determined prejudices taking over. If Tsubine began talking, Luxanna would stick quiet and listen, but after a few moments she noticed the water was moving a certain direction and at the end of that was a tunnel. "There might be a way out over here..." Luxanna said, her tone softer than it had been, "Can you walk?" Luxanna then started following the stream through to see where it would lead.

Tsubine hid herself so quickly. Luxanna's thoughts ran rampant for a moment about the possibility of this woman enjoying the better gender over the lesser males. If so, she's gain a little more respect for this blonde haired woman than she had before. Men, disgusting creatures. The proof was in their actions today; Men were the reason the two of them were stuck down here in the first place. "Do not bow to me... please." she added the last bit on quickly, not wanting that comment to sound too rude, "You're not in Zakat anymore. A handshake or a thank you will suffice. I am no queen, no princess, no emperor... I do not need to be showed the respect of a royal." Soon, the two of them were heading out of the cavern, following along a path near the stream. "No, that's not what I meant..." Luxanna replied, "My stuff is just closer to the entrance than here. It's hung up near a large tree."

Luxanna didn't feel the need to be paid back, but if that's what this woman was going to do she wasn't going to push some free stuff away, or whatever. Maybe Tsubine would just offer a favor? Who knows? Resources are useful. "Yes, that was his name." Luxanna spoke up as she kept closer to Tsubine. The trek upwards was slippery, so she did her best to prevent the woman from falling back. That fall would not be fun. "I was not sent... Someone sent in a request and I accepted it." Luxanna explained. She didn't like the meaning behind being 'sent', like some sort of servant. "I am a Devote of the Noir Guild in Caydale." Once again, she did not decline the repayment like most people would. After some time of preventing some falling and almost falling herself, the two of them finally made it out of the cave, but... they weren't as close to the entrance as Luxanna would have liked.

"Alright. Let's go then." Luxanna replied to Tsubine's suggestion. As they walked along the cliff face, Luxanna stayed quiet at usual until Tsubine spoke up. Luxanna stopped in her tracks and looked back to Tsubine with a raised eyebrow when she heard the 'Miss' added to her name. "Hm?" was all the reply Tsubine got at that moment. The request was surprising and slightly odd. Would Luxanna be okay with having this woman around for more time? She wasn't a bad person, though a little clumsy at times, but Luxanna dealt with that a lot with Nadia. Luxanna took in a deep breath, letting it out with an "Um." She thought for a moment more, blinked, and shook her head. "Why not? ... I guess that's fine." she said, wondering if she'd regret this decision, "Let's pick up his trail back at the entrance... The bastard probably assumed us dead, so he likely won't be hiding his tracks as much."