Sinister Origins (Repeatable Type One) [Quorra & Kincaid]

It was the dead of the night, apparently a new moon judging by the reddish glow of light that filled the area, otherwise it was clear skies allowing the full view of stars despite occasionally being covered by the numerous trees which perpetuated the forest. It would seem someone was leaving a mission request at the guild a tall figure who say nothing to anyone simply walking in posting something up and walking out of the guild doors. Under normal circumstances that would simply mean they were too afraid to be seen posting up a mission request to the obviously dark guild.

Then again one didn't simply just walk into Tartaros like that especially being clad in nothing more than a button down shirt a large screw inside of his head. But that didn't really cause the girl who was sitting in the back gazing at the sky much distress. Instead she had made up her mind to take the newest mission request, mainly because she needed to get a move on and start to make a name for herself. She would wait until he exited before she would get up, slowly deliberately so as to see if anyone else was interested.

However seeing no one getting up or paying any mind to her as usual she made her way to the mission board before stopping in front of it her eyes scanning the board until she picked out the mission request that had been freshly pressed to the board, it was crisp obviously he was some sort of control freak. Her lips would move as she silently read it out, apparently it was a retrieval mission. Something called a Death tree was within the forest and she needed to go pluck one of it's fruits.

It seemed easy enough, the only warning was for zombies that liked to flock around the tree, nothing she couldn't handle on her own though company would be tolerated, she would reach forward before grabbing the pamphlet pulling it off the board to signify she was taking it. She would turn before looking around raising it into the air to see if anyone would volunteer to accompany her, though if none answered she would simply go on her own.

Word Count: 375

Cyrus had been watching the man from his perch on the railing overlooking the few people scattered about below. In his hand was of course, another book. This one had an obsidian cover with silver inlay designs. There were no words on the front or back cover, just the silver designs and the pages seemed to be the color of fresh blood. Quite a strange book indeed, but no one inquired him as to what he was reading. Cyrus didn't sit above the group because he thought he was better than them, he simply sat up there because it was comfortable to him and quiet compared to the noise down below. People drinking and eating, small talk about world domination and their latest kills, he had no care for that.

Meanwhile out of the corner of his eye he had seen the man come and leave and with it the rise of a woman to tackle the mission. The woman being none other than the girl he had given a tour to not an hour before. Of course there had been a mix up so the tour didn't really count as Quorra had evidently been in the guild a bit longer than Cyrus, but that hadn't been his fault. He had been following orders, nothing more. As he watched her rise and begin to travel across the length of the room, Cyrus closed his book with an audible snap and dropped down to the ground below. He dropped without a sound, how, no one could be sure, but he too made his way to the mission board.

Cyrus and Quorra arrived nearly at the exact same time but just as she went to reach for it, he grabbed it instead. Pulling it free with a tear, he turned his back to her and scanned the messily written request. He didn't mean to be rude, he simply didn't really acknowledge her existence. He was intent on getting that mission and so he did. However, Cyrus did take note that Quorra had also been interested in the paper and so, as he scanned it and folded it up neatly, he turned his head to the side so the corner of his eye was the only thing looking out at her from behind the ivory mask, Let's go. Cyrus folded the request neatly into a square and tucked it into the folds of his crimson shawl before walking off towards the doors of the guild.

Words: 412/1500

As she moved to reach it the paper would suddenly be snatched up from her sight, with Cyrus claiming it as his own. She wasn't mad or anything she simply would look over at him her eyes looking him up and down and taking in his strange appearance as to confirm that it was him. Odd get up and mask, check, yes it was him alright then again she should of known that he would be the type to attempt something like that seeing as most other guild members tended to ignore her actions outright.

He on the other hand seemed not to notice her perhaps he had wanted the mission too, a fact that was confirmed when he turned to her and implied that they would be leaving together. Quorra would look at him blankly before nodding with Angelique screaming at her to tear him apart..that crazy bitch. She would turn before walking forward seeing as the short time that it took for her to read it allowed her to grasp where exactly she needed to go.

She would continue walking this time ahead of his pace so that he would be the one to follow her, she would open the guild door her scythe lightly tapping it upon exit while she extended her fingers outward to hold the door for him. Once he passed through she would point to the east and set out towards their goal moving at the same steady pace without saying a word, after all there was nothing to say.

Though if he began another conversation she would be compelled to answer, as she was polite. As she walked she would see this part of the forest was rather bland however she noticed various body parts sewn around indicating zombies had frequented the grounds, she really hated these types they were so stupid, sure they would make good cannon fodder for now but she got the indication when she had explained her goal that it seemed rather stupid if he had only seen this particular type.

"Perhaps I should enlighten him on the different types. Actually no. If he was curious he would simply ask me." Quorra thought to herself her face unchanging as her lifeless eyes strayed upon a random arm with Quorra kicking it to the side just to watch how far it would fly. It didn't go all that far and would make contact with a tree making a dull thunk which echoed a bit and was answered by a low moan providing her with the answer she was seeking. Whether or not any of the weak zombies which filled the area were around though judging by the moan it was either solitary or a pair..not much of a threat.

Word Count 459

Cyrus walked through the open door, a nod of acknowledgement in Quorra's direction and nothing more. The two walked together, heading away from the guild and in the direction of their mission. The taking of a fruit wasn't exactly his ideal mission, in fact he really took it out of boredom. However, upon reading about the zombies and seeing that Quorra was also interested in the same thing, he found a new sense of curiosity. He wanted to learn more about this woman, her magic in particular.

Perhaps you'll have a chance to give me that demonstration you mentioned earlier. Cyrus said without turning back to look at her, he simply stated it and fell back into silence like before. And that's how the two continued, other than his one statement, not a single word was spoken between the two. As they walked, Cyrus pulled out a book and began reading. He somehow managed not to trip or stumble once, which was a moderately impressive feat considering the body parts strewn about as well as the gnarled roots and stumps.

Out of his peripheral vision, Cyrus could see Quorra playing with a body part, an arm perhaps, kicking it about as if it were nothing more than a stone. Such a curious woman, strange too. He was about to turn back to ask her if she knew where they were going when she kicked the arm she had been playing with into the bushes. The arm smacked against something and the bushes rustled. It had smacked against something living, or rather dead but still moving....

In a flash, Cyrus produced several senbon needles from...well somewhere on his body. It had happened so fast it'd be really hard to tell where he had gotten them. He held them up, body facing the bush and ready to pepper it with his needles. This is how the man lived, always ready to survive and fight his way out of anything if need be. It was better to be cautious than brave, bravery lead to death, caution lead to survival. Hostile? He muttered, waiting for a reply from the woman. She seemed to know more about these creatures than he did, so Cyrus would rely on her for any information regarding them.

Words: 790/1500

Quorra would walk forward walking up to the deceased being in question the creature moaning and walking towards her, she would look at it with a critical eye before tapping it and pushing it back a bit causing it to stumble and fall to the ground. It would moan and try to pick itself up and she would crouch next to it placing her fingers on its chest as her eyes would lock with its own both sharing a similar lifeless gaze.

Ssh... Quorra said the creature becoming more withdrawn for a moment and would remain still as she got up and would look over to Cyrus her face blank as she saw that he had taken out weapons possibly to slay the creatures. No. Just startled. she said as she continued walking sparing the downed undead a glance and seeing that it had calmed down for now.

Of course not all undead could be handled in such a way, but she noticed that around the tree area the undead seemed to be much more content with simply existing than eating everything in sight. It was an odd phenomenon but she accepted that it possibly would have something to do with the Death Tree, though her partner would most likely think she had something to do with it.

Either way was fine for her in actuality as the more he assumed about her abilities the better, seeing as she knew little to nothing about his own. Her scythe would clink against her back and she would be broken out of her thoughts as it had hit a low hanging branch a glowing fruit being out of her reach but would be easily able to be cut down with her scythe. This is it. she would say looking back at her companion before she would remove her scythe and cut it down the fruit falling and landing on the ground with a thump but being perfectly in tact.

Quorra would bend down after placing her scythe back in its holster and would pick up the basketball sized fruit before staring at it as it pulsated with magic energy. She would look upward and see that it was the only fruit of it's kind on the tree and would frown due to the fact that it looked, interesting. She would turn and stare at Cyrus with her usual blank look as if waiting for him to be ready to go. She didn't know if he wanted to stay in the area longer, she on the other hand didn't.

What she did want to know was what the connection between the undead and this tree was, and why the fruit pulsated more frequently around the living, it was fascinating and at the same time very disturbing. What did this Dr. Stein fellow want with this fruit and what would he be able to do with it, she wanted to keep the fruit but it would be for naught seeing as she had no idea what it was for.

So instead she would be forced to return it, and bide her time until the person who had put up this mission returned with possibly another mission request as she was sure it would most likely coincide with this one which would result in a sort of clue as to what he had in mind. If it was something that she could use she would kill him and take over his research, if not then she would leave him alone and continue taking his mission requests until he dabbled into something that interested her. After all messing with the dead was sort of her thing, and she didn't exactly like others trying to understand what she specialized in.

She would continue being deep in thought until Cyrus did something to snap her out of it possibly a high pitch in voice or contact then again he didn't have to bother as if he left her to her own devices she would eventually find her way back to the guild to drop off the mission item. Getting back wasn't exactly difficult or anything like that.

Word Count: 689
Total Word Count: >1500

Cyrus kept the weapons in his hand for a long minute after Quorra had spoken. She may think it's just spooked, but that didn't mean he did. Besides, she specialized in the handling of these creatures, for all he knew when she touched it to calm it down, she had actually commanded it to attack him once his back was turn. He didn't trust the zombies and he certainly didn't trust her. Still, after another minute he eventually returned the throwing needles to their rightful place on his person and he followed Quorra over to the tree. Cyrus kept a weary eye on the zombie to make sure it didn't come after him. However, once the creature was satisfied that Cyrus and Quorra didn't mean it any harm, it simply stood up and lumbered off to do some sort of, well, zombie thing Cyrus figured.

Whether there was something else in the area or the zombies around here were simply more docile, Cyrus couldn't be certain. In the back of his mind he assumed Quorra had something to do with it, even if it wasn't magic. He didn't exactly know much about her. Who knew, perhaps she had lived around zombies and had a familiar scent to them because of it. Which would mean the zombies would be less likely to attack her. Still, she hadn't exactly informed them not to jump Cyrus so the fact that he was still standing surprised even him. Obviously it wasn't her doing. Besides, it was never good to jump to assumptions, you know what they say, assuming makes an ass out of u and me.

Cyrus looked at the fruit in Quorra's hands and watched it glow dimly in the evening light as the sun sank behind the black forest. I've never seen this type of fruit before. Do you recognize it? He asked but upon looking back up at Quorra it was quite apparent that she was already lost in her own little world. She looked deep in thought and very intrigued by this strange fruit. So, Cyrus assumed she either did know something about the fruit and just how powerful or dangerous it was, or like himself, was pondering just what the heck it could be and do. Regardless, she was out of conversation for the next few minutes, that much he could tell.

Cyrus looked to the sky, noticing the setting sun and knowing the region, knew that there would be more dangerous creatures out and about in the forest the darker the sky got. This was a simply D-rank mission, the last thing they needed were hostile creatures to come and try to actually suck their brains out unlike that stupid zombie from before. It wasn't safe in the forest at night, they would have to get going and fast. Still, Quorra was off in la-la land and had a death grip on that fruit. He didn't care if he left her behind but the fruit was needed for the mission and so he'd simply have to wait for her to snap out of it. So, Cyrus did what Cyrus did best, he pulled out a philosophy book and began reading while Quorra finished her thoughts and anything else she had to do while they were here.

Cyrus found it hard to read though, what with the fading light and the fact that his mind was still questioning everything around him and anything about the woman in front of him. They had talked briefly when he had been instructed to show her around the area, only to find out she had actually been in the guild a few months longer than himself and there had simply been a mix up in orders among the higher ups. Tartaros was in such a state of disarray. They hadn't been the feared guild they once were in so long it was quite disappointing. The old members had either left or died off at some point leaving only new, and inexperienced recruits with a few of the old stragglers to teach and watch over them. Cyrus was one of the new ones, he had the desire to be one of the greatest but still had a long way to go with his magic before he could change the tides for Tartaros.

Cyrus closed his book after only about three minutes or so of trying to read and finally got bored of waiting for Quorra. He walked over to her and took the fruit from her arms, It's time to go, the sun is setting and we need to return the fruit to the guild. With that, Cyrus turned and began to walk away. He knew that the taking of that fruit, which had obviously inspired her deep thought would knock her out of it and she'd come to her senses. Besides, Cyrus was OCD about turning in missions with another member of the guild. If he didn't have what they needed to complete the mission, he got antsy and quite volatile at the smallest of things. It was actually very funny to watch sometimes.

[/exit]

Words: 1641/1500

Quorra would be snapped out of her thoughts and would stare at him briefly before she would look up an see the setting sun, he was right the more powerful undead came out at night. Sure eventually she wouldn't fear even them..but right now...it would be best to leave. She would nod before she would set off sprinting at full speed towards the guild as if she was possessed by something.

(Quorra Exits)

Closed and moved.