Thieving Ideas (Open)

[Kuro Otome]

Today was very trying. Her and her hiree, Catalina, encountered many dangers along the way, but one in particular sparked interest. On the way through the woods, a magical manifestation of a monster appeared. Kuro was hardly doing any damage to the red elemental, meaning Catalina did most the work to dispatch it. Nevertheless, Kuro noticed that Catalina’s rod had a special ability to absorb magical attacks during this battle. This ability was very useful and Kuro hoped no one else would notice this ability since it could lead to thieves causing trouble for them.

Kuro, for this adventure, was going by the name, Daiyu. She wore a faded black jean jacket over a black tank top. Her belt held many files, pouches, and a set of daggers and throwing stars. Black jeans wove into her leather boots. Her wavy brown hair was stuck un-neatly between her shoulders and the backpack of supplies. Silver eyes looked pass Catalina into the wilderness.

The day became weary with every step of the two travelers. The horizon in the distance began reflecting the colors of gold, navy, and violet. Kuro took these colors as a time to pick a spot to set up camp for her and Catalina.

“Catalina, there is a clearing up ahead we can set up camp ahead. I will meet you there.”

Kuro, or rather, Daiyu, responded and went ahead to take the lead and show Catalina the way. Once she reached the desired grassy spot, she set her pack down.

“We will reach Junon tomorrow. In the meantime, can you look for dried sticks and leaves so that we can start a campfire?”

As Daiyu spoke, she was taking out the tent supplies for the night and hammering stakes into the ground to set it up.

“But try to stay in ear shot so that I can hear if you are in trouble.”

[Beebee]

Cat was exhausted. There were times when she wished she could use a physical weapon, like a sword or even a dagger. Unfortunately magic was her strong suit, and the world was pretty unforgivable if you weren't strong. It seemed to be attack after attack after attack. It was almost as though the monsters were timing it perfectly. Cat took a deep breath to try and relax a bit as she turned to stare at her new ally, Daiyu. She gave an irritated toss of her head to dislodge her bangs from her eyes before Daiyu spoke to her.

Turning in place as Daiyu moved passed her, Cat shook herself out of her stupor and quickly followed. "You know, nobody really calls me 'Catalina'. You can just call me 'Cat'. Everybody does." She dropped her bag next to Daiyu's, and nodded at the directions she was given. She could even start the fire. At this point it wouldn't be too draining. "I'll be careful." And stay close.

Cat was completely out of her element, and nearly completely dependant on Daiyu. It didn't bother her as much as it should have, after all if anything happened to her, Daiyu wouldn't get any more money from her. At times she felt herself missing the simple life she had in Thamasa, but it would be easy enough to go back. Physically anyway. Mentally and emotionally was a whole other story, but she wasn't at that point yet.

The clinking of the stakes being driven into the ground was a comfort to her as she made her way into the small forest. Inspecting various sticks laying on the ground, she picked most of them up and made her way back to their makeshift camp. Some were longer, and some were fairly small, which would be perfect for their fire. Though they would likely need to find something bigger to keep the blaze going. Or she could just light the ground on fire. The thought made her giggle to herself as she made her way back into camp. Cat dumped the pile of sticks on the ground and started arranging them (away from the tent of course).

Turning to look around the area, she found a fallen tree not too far from where she sat. Grinning widely, she made her way over to it and inspected it closely. It was dry, and would be perfect for their fire. But...it was far too big. Looking back over her shoulder towards Daiyu, she frowned a bit. She wanted to prove that she could manage on her own. She had to be able to figure this out for herself. "Of course!" she said as she snapped her fingers. Moving about halfway down the tree, Cat closed her eyes and started mumbling the opening lines of her spell. "Thundara!" she finished and pointed to the centre of the tree. A great bolt of lightning shot down from the sky and struck the very spot she had gestured to, and the tree split in half. She hadn't been sure which level of spell would be necessary, but the second level seemed to do the trick.

Cat laughed to herself and moved further down the tree, casting her thundara spell at regular intervals. By the time she reached the end, she was panting heavily and a little dizzy from using so much magic. But she had gotten the job done. Taking a deep breath and closing her eyes to compose herself, it was then that she heard a rustling coming from the bushes nearby. Her eyes snapped open and she turned to look at the greenery. Relax, it could just be another person.

But it wasn't. A low growling filled the air and Cat took a fearful step backwards. Why did I use so much magic?! "Daiyu! Something's here!" she shouted as she continued to move away from the current threat. A large cat-like creature crept out of the brush, hackles raised as it stalked her. It looked like some sort of a coeurl. The idea of running away was very appealing at the moment, but that would mean turning her back on the creature. She still had a bit of fight left in her, and she pulled out her Magus Rod as she backed away. Maybe if she made it difficult for the monster, it would leave.

[Feel free to have it attack in whatever manner you like...whoever posts next ]

[Kuro Otome]

Daiyu looked at Catalina from the corners of her silver eyes. At first, Daiyu did not respond when Catalina said she wanted to be called by her nickname. This was a form of comfort in Daiyu’s opinion. In Wutai, only friends called each other by nicknames. In addition, calling a hiree by their first name seemed a very odd concept. Using a first name with the client made matters feel more intimate. Most of her clients usually wanted to be detached from the situation they hired her to create. Interestingly enough, this girl seemed more pure than the other clients did and much more trusting. Nevertheless, she indulged the girl by using her full first name. Now Catalina wanted her to use a nickname.

Daiyu watched as Cat placed her bag down and finally responded to her. “Why would you want to shorten such a beautiful name? It seems a waste.”


It baffled Daiyu why such a girl would travel on her own. She seemed like she came from a community that cared, but she certainly did not seem she was rough enough to take on the adventures that lied ahead. Hence, that was why Catalina hired Kuro. At least that is how Kuro’s current persona, Daiyu, reasoned the purpose of being hired. Honestly, Kuro never asked unnecessary questions as long as she was paid well enough.

Daiyu continued to hammer the stakes into the loops on the bottom of the tent. With the tent firmly in place, she began to assemble the tent poles. The Wutai War and the years of traveling made the process of tent building less irritating. To Kuro it was an almost meditative experience. The process was something she could do mechanically and without thinking.

With the tent near completion, she looked up to see Catalina dump some sticks on the ground. She watched the girl seemed to giggle at some thought before the girl got up. Ah! This made Daiyu wonder what it must be like to be young and innocent. In all honesty, she had been young, but never innocent. Ever since day one she was fighting off a society who hated her for being half Midgardian, or, in their eyes, half the enemy.

Suddenly there was a loud booming sound and the snapping of bark that made her stop laying out their sleeping bags in the tent. Her head quickly snapped in that direction of the sound, a hand on her daggers. It was in the same direction that Catalina left, but Daiyu did not note any sounds of distress. Either Catalina instantly died or she cause the spell herself. Daiyu felt relief when she heard the sound return at regular intervals. Intervals meant it was a controlled situation, not a chaotic dangerous one. Well if the girl wanted to waste her magic on simple tasks, what did Daiyu care?


Resuming organizing the camping site, she used a dagger to dig a small pit for the fire. Once the pit was completed Daiyu DID here a distressed cry from Catalina. Springing to her feet she cautiously but quickly made her way over. If only her client had yelled a better description of the enemy. At least then Daiyu could better prepare for the fight before arriving at the scene. Her client must have attracted the threat with all the noise she made.

Daiyu silently appeared at the scene, but remained hidden behind a tree to evaluate the situation. The enemy was indeed a coeurl. The yellow and black leopard-like fur and the two long whiskers…this was indeed a formidable foe. If that cat used its blaster magic, it could be instant death or one could turn to stone. Her client REALLY wanted Kuro to work for the little money she offered. Lucky for them, this coeurl still looked young and in experienced.

Daiyu made her way around as quietly as she could. Once she was flanking the coeurl, she grabbed a throwing dagger. At this point, the coeurl was growling at Catalina. In fact, the large cat was nearly about to pounce on her. Daiyu instinctively pulled out a poisoned throwing dagger, and threw it at the coeurl. Taken by surprise, the coeurl growled in pain as the small dagger sank into its flank. Unfortunately, the poison would take a while to work due to its entry location.

The coeurl, agitated at the pain and the interruption of easy prey, turned to Daiyu, teeth bared. Daiyu could see the sparks of magic on the tips of the coeurl’s whiskers. This time, Daiyu drew an attack dagger from a sheath. The inside of the sheathed was lined with sponges full of poison. With teeth gritted, she began circling the coeurl like a threatened wolf. The coeurl, refusing to remain still when is new prey was a threat. There was electricity in the air. Daiyu’s hair on the back of her neck pricked up and this cued her to dodge out of the way of the blaster magic. Unfortunately, she had been so pumped with adrenaline, for an instant she forgot that her circling maneuver had put her between Catalina and the coeurl. Meaning the blast was heading toward Catalina.

There was nothing she could do to get Catalina out of the way. Therefore, she did the next best option. She lunged at the Coeurl, slashing it across the shoulder. If Catalina got out of the way of the blast somehow, then Daiyu would have to finish off the threat before it got a second chance.

[SAILA WEI]

The raven-haired had come across the two women roughly a couple hours prior and kept her distance since then. She encountered them fighting off a woodland creature but still let her presence remain unnoticed, seeing that both seemed capable of fending for themselves. One wore black and seemed the fiercer of the two judging from her fighting style. The other was white-haired, and was oddly dressed, even for Ony's standards. When nightfall came, Onyveth continued to stalk them by hiding several yards away behind the trees. Onyveth held onto her katana tightly so it wouldn't clank whenever she moved as she crept closer for a better look .The one dressed in black elected to build the camp site while the other was tasked with obtaining firewood. How convenient! Now was the time to make her move.

There was something about that staff that she just couldn't take her eyes off of it. Onyveth wasn't exactly a skilled magic practitioner but her knowledge of it was pretty basic, if not sub-par. For all she knew, materia could be found anywhere, can be used by anyone, and could do almost anything! But that rod wasn't powered by materia, and perhaps it was that fact alone that intrigued her so much she needed to get her hands on it. Nobody said that was gonna be easy though; One, the woman had it equipped with her at all times. And two, she had to be up-close and personal snatching that thing, that is, if she could find her way through the dark without rustling so much as a leaf, twig or other woodland debris laying about and without revealing herself. A little too much to ask, she sighed despairingly to herself.

The woman, Onyveth had come to learn who went by the name of Catalina, came back to gather more firewood and somehow during the process had attracted a Coeurl. Not good! Ony thought to herself as she quickly hid once more as the commotion had attracted the attention of the dark-clothed lady. Slowly coming closer to where all the action took place, she remained in the shadows waiting for that opportune moment. Simply watching the one who called herself Daiyu fight left Onyveth awestruck, having considered herself an average fighter for the longest time. But the fight didn't seem to end just yet. The Coeurl was preparing to blast a hyperbeam at Catalina - now was that oppertune moment she was waiting for...

''Get outta the way!!'' she ran at top speed and threw herself at the white-haired girl knocking her on the ground, the beam missing them by several feet. As they both tumbled on the grass, Onyveth took this opportunity to snatch the rod, hoping the girl was still distracted by the sudden impact. She tucked it behind her back, underneath her black leather jacket so she appeared to be carrying nothing. It was rather uncomfortable, and bulky especially at the top, but Ony had to bear with it for now and had to remember not to lean back on anything. Hopefully, the leather jacket and the fact it was dark would aid her in concealing her newly acquired trinket. Ony tucked a bit of hair that obscured her sight behind her ear and dusted off her jacket as she propped herself up. ''Hey, you okay?''

Without waiting for a response, Onyveth added, ''You should stay here, I'll go help out your friend.''

Perhaps being caring was Onyveth's only, if not greatest flaw, but the truth of the matter was she didn't want to see anybody get hurt, even if she did obtain that thing she sought for to begin with. She ran to Daiyu’s side with her katana unsheathed and raised it at eye level in an offensive manner. She summoned a medium-leved ice-spell and hit the panther-like beast right in between its eyes. “If you’re gonna strike, now’s your chance! That will only daze it temporarily…”

It was a magnificent creature, no doubt, and it broke Ony's heart to do such a thing. But out here it was either kill or be killed. In this case – she let someone else do the dirty work.

[Beebee]

[Cat will have missed Kuro's question about her name Just so we don't have to go back too far...and also she's pretty absent-minded haha. Doesn't pay attention as much as she should ]

As she held her Magus Rod defensively in front of her, Cat kept her eyes on the...cat. Where's Daiyu? She inhaled shakily as she shifted her rod, continuing to back away from the crouched feline. It was still creeping forward, looking like it was ready to pounce. Her rod was extremely heavy in her hands, and it was all she could do to keep it up. Maybe I should cast a spell, and scare it off. Just as she was about to start reciting her spell, she saw movement out of the corner of her eye. It's Daiyu! But...the coeurl was still focused on her.

Holding the rod in front of her, Cat started to chant. Before she finished, however, the coeurl growled and jerked to the side before turning to focus on Daiyu. Losing her focus, the spell lost all its power and faded into the air around her. Cat rested the bottom of her rod on the ground, her arms shaking with the effort of keeping it raised after expending so much magic on something as silly as firewood. That'll teach me. She watched dumbly as Daiyu and the coeurl circled each other.

When the cat attacked, she wasn't prepared for it at all. She had felt the magic energy concentrating around the feline, but when the blast headed her way her eyes widened in surprise. Far too late she attempted to turn out of the way, the shout for her to move coming from an unfamiliar voice causing her to slow in her movements. Thankfully whoever had yelled at her hadn't wasted any time, and the two women fell to the ground roughly. The impact knocked Cat's weapon from her hands and it rolled one way while she rolled the other.

Attempting to catch her breath, she coughed and held a hand to her chest as she struggled to her knees. Whether she was dizzy from the hit or from pure exhaustion, she didn't know, but she stayed on the ground. Glancing up as her saviour questioned if she was alright, she stared at the dark haired woman curiously before nodding once. Another cough erupted from her, before she could answer verbally. "Yes. I...thank you." she whispered, but the woman had already run off again. That's right! Daiyu!

Looking around agitatedly, Cat groaned as everything seemed to move in slow motion around her. Thankfully, she knew approximately where her protector had been standing, and it didn't take her long to find the more experienced warrior. She took another shaky breath before pushing herself to her feet, nearly doubling over again as everything spun. I definitely pushed it too far this time. Panting with the effort, she slowly shuffled over to the pair of women. At least their new ally could use magic. It would likely only anger the feline, but it would get the cat's attention for Daiyu to strike the killing blow. Hopefully.

At least she was ok. Letting out a relieved sigh, Cat sank back down to her knees. She wouldn't be any help. It was at this point that she realized her Magus Rod was missing. Carefully turning around on her hands and knees, she tried to find it. Where is it? She definitely had it when she had fallen. But...where could it have landed? She couldn't see it anywhere.

[Kuro Otome]

The young coeurl was having difficulty fending off the poison. Daiyu only had to stall long enough for it to die. She heard a shout and some talking, making her believe a third party helped Catalina. Well, it seemed she would still be getting her money. Daiyu weaved out of the way of the cat’s attack. At least she tried to. A claw came down and got her on the back of her calf. However, Daiyu did not feel it, nor was it a serious wound. Adrenaline seemed to push all the pain away at this time.

In the next moment, the third party interfering with this affair decided to help Daiyu. Realizing the coeurl was now stunned due to an attack between the eyes, Daiyu lunged forward, plunging a dagger through its eye and into its brain. The coeurl, not going down without taking someone with him, staggered backwards. It shook its great head and in its final attempts to bring someone to the grave with him, lashed out. Daiyu dodged to the side and let it lunge headlong into a tree. It was there it finally fell over onto its side.

Daiyu casually walked over to the dead coeurl and pulled the dagger out of its eye. She made a sharp movement with the dagger to remove the gore from it. She then found a big leaf and wiped the res t of the gore from the weapon before re-sheathing it.

It was only then she turned to Onyveth. Judging by her actions, this newcomer did not mean any physical harm to her and her client. Daiyu would trust her for the time. She silently surveyed Catalina’s condition as well. She had expended too much of her powers to be of any use here now.

“You.” She pointed at Onyveth. “Take her,” she now pointed a slender finger at the fragile mage, “to the camp over in that direction.” She then gestured to the general direction of the camping site. “Wait for me there.” There was a piercing stare to go with the words she spoke and there was a hint in her tone that she should not be disobeyed.

Realizing she was being rude, Daiyu quickly added, “Oh. And thank you for your assistance.”

With those words, she turned her back to the girls and began to reap the rewards of Catalina’s work. She stacked wood upon wood to bring with her back to the camp. So, this was what created the sound she was hearing at camp. It was also what created the sound that attracted the coeurl. She frowned slightly as she looked over the large cat. It was inedible due to all the poison now simmering in its cold blood. Tonight they might end up just eating the rations they brought with them.

The sky was continually darkening. There was no way she would be able to hunt for food before it was too dark. In addition, campfire would need to be lit soon or they would not have very much light. If Catalina used up all her magic and was unable to do it, then Daiyu brought her tinderbox. With a soft sigh and an armful of wood, Daiyu began heading back to the camp. There was a stifled limp when Daiyu walked due to the wound the coeurl gave her. But Daiyu would patch that up as soon as she got back.

[SAILA WEI]

The beast was surely dead, she thought as she winced and turned away as Daiyu took the final blow. Onyveth wasn't afraid of the amount of blood or death for that matter but rather the severity of the attack. She could neither bring herself to commit such an act nor would she ever attempt to. It just seemed so... heartless. Onyveth sheathed her blade and tightened the tie firmly against her waist, as cerulean-blue eyes scanned their surroundings. A commotion like this would have scared off a few smaller creatures, which explained the eerie silence, but it might have attracted larger ones. It was time to move out. Her thoughts were then interrupted when the woman called out: "'You. Take her over in that camp in that direction. Wait for me there.''

Ony caught a glimpse of that cold stare and grey, no, silvery eyes and it had confirmed the foreboding feeling she had gotten from this lady - she was surely one not to be messed around with and for a moment there, Ony felt compelled to follow her to the letter. However, it also gave her more reason to get the hell out of this area - if it were known that she stole the rod from her little friend back there, Ony had the terrible feeling that she would be facing the consequences by Daiyu's hand.

''Yknow what? I would love to do just that, hang out, sing kumbaya around a fire and maybe talk about guys and all that,'' she said in an almost cheery, sing-song kind of tone as she dusted off her jacket once more, making sure her newly acquired magical rod was still out of sight and in her possession. "But its getting late, and I've done enough meddling around for one day. You take care of yourselves, ya hear?''

And with that, she turned on her heel making her exit. She gave a warm smile and a nod of farewell towards Catalina who was still looking around for her weapon.She looked away instantly, hoping not to feel too guilty about it. After all, she still had 'Madam Mean' back there, so it wasn't like Onyveth was leaving her completely helpless... right?

She walked towards Daiyu, bumping her in the process. It was intentional of course, but had to make it seem accidental. Ony wanted to make one last check if there wasn't anything of value left. It was a risky move, yes, but she just wanted to make sure... there were a few gil that Ony had managed to pickpocket, roughly 80, 85 judging by the weight. Junon was just a day away and the money was enough for a cheap and hearty breakfast, she thought eagerly, allowing a smile to form at the corner of her lip.

Bacon. Definitely bacon and eggs for breakfast.

[Beebee]

Cat was still scrambling around on the ground, frantically looking for her lost weapon. It was nowhere! She looked over her shoulder to find Daiyu and the new stranger seemingly working together to take down the coeurl. At least they're ok...but where could it have gone? Almost in tears between her exhaustion and frustration, she growled lightly under her breath. Hearing a yowl of pain, she quickly turned and overbalanced, shifting from her knees to her butt. Blinking in surprise, she watched in morbid fascination as the feline took its last breath.

Looking around in a daze, she scoured the area once more. It just wasn't there. She could hear Daiyu give directions to the stranger that had helped them, and Cat's eyes widened. Maybe she knew where it had fallen! As the woman shot her down, in what seemed like the nicest way possible, before giving Cat a nod goodbye. No, she can't leave! "Wait!" she yelled out, her voice cracking with fatigue. "Don't go." Not yet!

Pushing herself back up to her feet (and swaying fairly alarmingly), she righted herself and moved as quickly as she could towards the two women. The new woman was walking away from Daiyu. "Please...wait!" she pleaded, and picked up her pace. Eventually she caught up to the woman in question and latched onto her arm, partially to hold her back and partially to keep herself upright. "Please...I need to know..."

Tears blurred her vision as she dropped down to her knees, her hands sliding down to hold onto the woman's hand instead. "Did you see...where it went?" Cat knew she was talking in half sentences, but she was just so tired. She turned towards Daiyu desperately. "I can't find my Magus Rod. I dropped it...and I can't find it. Have either of you seen it? Did you see where it landed?"

She turned back to face the newcomer, pleading with her eyes. She had bet her mother's weapon to get that. She needed it. Her hands around her saviour's were shaking with the effort of holding on. "Please...help me find it?" Her voice was tiny at the final request. "Please?"

[SAILA WEI]

"Wait! Don't go."

'Crap! I've been caught!'

Onyveth suddenly stopped dead on her tracks the moment she heard the girl speak. Her shoulders went rigid and the hair on the back of her neck began to stand on end. She instinctively gulped, felt her heart starting to race wildly out of anxiety, and bit her lower lip as if getting ready to enter into a state of panic. Her thoughts began to run away wild her - they had found out, what will they do to her? Will they beat her up like they did that Coeurl? Teach her a lesson about stealing? Perhaps leave her black and blue in the middle of the woods in the stillness of the night with God knows what lurking out there?!

'Would they kill me for it? No... No way! But what if the--!'

The sudden grasp from the white-haired girl brought her back to reality, and shook her head upon realization each thought was getting a little more farfetched than the last. For the first time she had to look into those sad, pitiful, brighter-than-blue, tearful eyes. Onyveth averted her gaze, wishing with every inch of herself that she would rather face a hundred of those beasts than to be put into a spot like this. Onyveth would look back at the dark woman then back at this sad, almost pathetic sight. The way she clung onto Onyveth's right arm, was almost pleading in a way and she just couldn't take it...

'Maybe she doesn't know... maybe she just hates goodbyes...'

"Please...''

'She knows!'

''I need to know..."

'She knows! I'm dead! I'm dead! I'm dead!'

"I can't find my Magus Rod.''

'I'm dea-?'

Did she hear that right? Ony thought she felt her heart skip a beat. Like for a moment the whole world had stood still and that fate itself was mocking her, simply because she was getting all worked up over nothing! The raven-haired woman wanted to let out a slight chuckle of a sort but found inapropriate to do so, considering the situation. Regardless, Onyveth couldn't let the guilt overwhelm her.

''Please... help me find it? '' said the girl, and her hands were clasping onto Ony's now. She should not let the guilt overwhelm her! ''Please?''

Onyveth groaned silently and mentally beat herself up; she hated acting like an ass, but sometimes...

"Listen, I'm really really sorry about your weapon but... these things happen. I'm sure you'll find a new one'' she faked a smile and gently removed the girl's grasp apologetically. Ony then patted the girl on her shoulder comfortingly before heading off into the woods once again. Once several yards away from them, Onyveth quickened her pace The night was looming and the stars began to peek through the sky almost one by one. It wasn't safe travelling around at night, but she felt it was a helluva lot more safer than when those two finally caught on.

[Kuro Otome]

Daiyu frowned as the girl decided NOT to stay. However, Daiyu figured as much from the girl. Next thing she knew, this third party bumped into her. The wood fell from her arms and thumped against the woodland ground. Daiyu was no fool to such parlor tricks of thieves. They were the same ones she used. However, Daiyu did not carry much gil on her person, thus did not say a word. Pity though. If the girl stayed, Daiyu may have enticed her with more gil. Well, it was her loss.

Daiyu stooped down to pick up more of the sticks, while observing the scene between the girl and Catalina. It seemed the girl stole Catalina’s rod too. Daiyu was judging this by the way Onyveth’s shoulders went rigid and how she just left without much more to say. The final reason for this conclusion was the fact that a small bit of Daiyu’s own money disappeared as well.

Daiyu guessed that the girl was going to end up in the same city as Catalina and herself. After all, it was the closest settlement, despite being a couple hours away by foot. This would be a good excuse for Daiyu to confront the girl about a certain job. Of course, Daiyu would make it worth the girls while.

When Daiyu finally finished picking up what wood she could carry. She looked at Onyveth and shook her head. “You shouldn’t be so trusting. That girl is the one who stole your staff.” She attempted to sound more like a mother.

Daiyu did not have a priority to keep Catalina’s belongings safe. She only had a priority to keep Catalina safe. It would not be hard to track the girl. In the war, she had to track down the enemy when there were no stars or moons in the night sky. However, tracking down this mystery thief would leave Catalina vulnerable.

Shaking her head, she began making her way back to camp again. What an odd thief that girl was. Why would she steal from two people when there were much more valuable belongings to get at the unattended campsite? This girl needed much more training to be a professional thief.

Looking over Catalina as she walked she asked, “Are you otherwise unhurt? Do you need a potion?”

[Beebee]

Cat watched in disbelief as the stranger pulled away, patting her shoulder in condolence. If you're sorry, then stay and help! She didn't voice her selfish wish, however, simply staying on her knees as she watched the woman walk away with her mouth agape. When Daiyu spoke to her, Cat's eyes slid sideways to look at her hired bodyguard, though they widened in response to the other woman stealing her staff!

"What? But...how..?" She had been there the whole time! The only time she lost sight of it was when they...fell... "Oh." she said in a tiny voice, and her eyes filled with tears. No, I will NOT cry. Closing her eyes, she shook her head to get rid of the tears. It was difficult, but eventually she managed it. The only problem was that it made her even more tired. She could curl up right where she was, and think nothing of it.

Cat's eyes snapped open again as Daiyu questioned her on how she was faring. "No." she mumbled, before looking over at the woman (who was still being productive, unlike herself who was simply sitting there). "No, I'm...not hurt." Just tired. A potion wouldn't help her now. An ether would, but rest would do the same thing and they wouldn't have to waste a precious item.

Taking a deep breath, Cat struggled to her feet and walked slowly over towards Daiyu. She had brought over the wood that Cat had wasted all of her energy on, and she gave the other woman an apologetic look. "What about you? You had to deal with that monster for a lot longer." It was then that she noticed the slight limp. So she had gotten hurt. "Why don't you let me see?" she asked, but she couldn't keep the exhaustion from her voice. She just hoped Daiyu wouldn't take offense to it. "I'm not a healer, but my mother was." Though she hadn't picked up the magic part, she could treat a wound well enough.

Cat moved to a crouch, which quickly changed to dropping back to her knees. She didn't have the balance or strength right now to stay crouched. Staring at the injury, she glanced up at Daiyu. "Do you mind?" It would keep the focus off losing her rod, for now. But they would have to purchase another weapon at some point since the thief had left. Cat wasn't sure they had the money for that, and nothing they could purchase would match the quality of the Magus Rod.

She let out a depressed sigh as her eyes filled with tears once more. How did I let her take it from me? She had screwed up, first by using her magic wastefully, and then by allowing her weapon to be stolen right out from under her. Turning her attention back to Daiyu's leg, she hoped that the other woman would allow her to help. She needed to do something right. Then, she could make the fire, and rest.

[Kuro Otome]

((I am not going to call Kuro,' Kuro' and not 'Daiyu'. But we all know she is going by the name Daiyu,so I thought it would be okay.))

“It must have been before she started helping me fight. I can think of no other time before that.” Kuro was beginning to piece things together her mind. By judging Catalina’s expression and voiced ‘oh’, Catalina was too. It had to be around when the stranger saved Catalina from the blast. However, it really was baffling to wonder why the girl would help them from a dangerous enemy only to steal their items. In fact, it was easier to steal amidst that chaos or off dead bodies. This must mean the stranger had ‘good’ in her somewhere. Just not ‘good’ enough to give a frantic girl her staff back.

‘Good,’ she thought, as she looked Catalina over and listened to her response about her well-being. ’Only her pride was hurt.’

However, Kuro found it interesting that Catalina was not mad at her for not retrieving her staff. Perhaps the girl was too tired to argue, or she understood Kuro’s job was to protect her.

“If it is any consolation, we will probably see her in the near future. There is really only one place she can go from here, if I guess correctly.”

Kuro finally relieved her woody burden next to the fire pit and began stacking them in a certain order so that it would burn longer. While lost in thought she heard Catalina say something, and before she knew it, Catalina was looking over the wound on Kuro’s leg. She gave a slight frown at first.

“Are you sure you should use magic to heal me? You have expended all your energy getting all this wood.” Kuro was trying to console the girl. Kuro was hesitant about the girl using more magic, but she wouldn’t stop the girl if it gave her some kind of comfort. At least, that was the ‘Daiyu’ mask Kuro was putting on – someone who was caring and understanding. Kuro did not respond whether she minded or not. She only left those words for the girl to make her own decision.

Knowing the girl needed SOMETHING to keep her mind off things; she decided to make a few suggestions. “I think it would be best if you retrieved my pack for me. You can get the rations out of the pack and start eating. You need to eat up to regain your strength. You could also bring me my tinderbox so I can start the fire, or if you think you can handle it, you can start the fire with the tinderbox.”

Kuro had seen mages over expend themselves and it was a truly dangerous thing if not careful. She looked over Catalina, “Don’t worry too much okay? There is no shame in being sad over something you are attached to, but I think we may come across it sooner or later.” Kuro nodded to herself, but otherwise stopped talking.

The sky itself was now becoming black, the stars were peeking out through the cloudy sky. The sound of nocturnal wildlife was clear in the quiet. But soon the sound of crackling fire would resound.

[Beebee]

Though what she had said was simple fact, Cat couldn't help the wince at the blunt statment about just how wasteful she had been. "I don't need to use magic. I can cleanse it and wrap it to protect it though. I have an ointment that should stave off any sort of infection." Cat crawled over to her dropped pack and rifled through it before crawling back to Daiyu's leg, bringing Daiyu's pack with her at the other woman's request. Her bodyguard hadn't said to leave her leg alone, so she started to get ready to clean the wound in question. The fire could come after. As she was just about start, she looked up at Daiyu's words of comfort. How would they come across it again? She was gone. "Thanks." she whispered aloud, but Daiyu's words did little to comfort her.

Three distinct claw marks were all still oozing blood when she returned her attention to the injury, and Cat moved as gently as she could. First she used water to clean away the caked on blood and make sure there was no dirt in the area. "This...might sting a bit." The ointment she had was basically a simple antiseptic, but it generally did the trick. As far as she knew coeurls didn't have poison claws, and she couldn't see any discolouration other than the bloody scratches, though they looked a little deeper than she would have liked. Working the ointment into her hands, she ran them over Daiyu's leg trying not to flinch with sympathy. "Almost done." she mumbled more for her own benefit than Daiyu's.

Taking some bandages out of her back, she worked a bit more of her ointment onto one side before wrapping them around Daiyu's leg snugly (but not too tightly) with the ointment against her leg. "That should keep it clean until later tomorrow." When we'll have to redo it all over again. Cat let out another heavy breath, still feeling guilty for Daiyu's injury, before she looked at the wood which was ready to be lit. She had strength enough for this. Closing her eyes, she focused her energy on fire, but only the most basic fire spell she knew. "Fire." she whispered as she pointed towards the wood, and smiled tiredly as it burst into flame.

It was close enough that from where she knelt she could feel the heat comfortably. Cat looked over towards the tent, before deciding that she was fine where she was, at least for now. Without a word to Daiyu, she curled up on her side and pulled her knees close so she was all balled up, and almost instantly fell asleep as a tear made its way from her eye to the ground she laid on.

[Kuro Otome]

Kuro noticed that she made Catalina wince at her bluntness. She gave a slight frown. Kuro was used to dealing with back alley doctors and underground syndicates. She was not used to the various emotions expressed by a young woman. Deciding that she should try to be verbally gentler with her client, she allowed her client to feel useful and patch her leg. She held still and spoke not a word during the entire process. Even when the antiseptic stung, her muscles tightened, but not a complaint spilt from her lips. When the girl finished she smiled and uttered, “Thank you. I very much appreciate it.”

The fire illuminated the entire campsite and she shook her head at the stubborn girl, who now suddenly fell asleep by the campfire. She seemed so carefree of the potential dangers of the forest. Oh, what Kuro would give to approach life with reckless abandon! But no, ever since the war had twisted Wutai she had given up on humanity. In order to live, she had to kill. What was freedom if you had to kill for it? Moreover, after the one person who gave a rat’s bottom about her died saving her, she had buried all her emotions and grown numb. She now lived life as a ghost without purpose, only doing jobs to get by.

She shook her head, attempting to shut out such thoughts. She rose and went to the tent grabbing both blankets she so thoughtfully laid out. She placed a blanket over Catalina, so that when the girl woke up, she would be more comfortable.

Kuro wrapped herself in the other blanket, staring into the fire lost in her own thoughts.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Soon enough, morning arrived and Kuro was just finishing snuffing out the fire and shoving the tent supplies back into its designated space. By the time she packed up everything except the blanket on Catalina, Catalina was already up.((I thought this would be okay. If I assumed too much or you do not approve let me know.))

Kuro handed Catalina some rations of bread and cheese, imagining that the girl was hungry. If Catalina decided not to eat it, well, that was up to her.

The morning sky put on a beautiful display of bright blue and clear white. The forest around them looked much more jovial and green as she continued on their path to Junon. There was much to do in Junon and many people to avoid. She could see the cesspool of a city tainting nature off in the distance. Soon enough, she would have the girl to her destination and Kuro could continue some other business.

[SAILA WEI]

She ran until the darkness finally overwhelmed her. The raven-haired stopped on her tracks and for the first time looked over her shoulder. There didn't seem to be anyone following her. No hint of anyone's presence, no sign that their camp was nearby or anyone else's; nothing. Only her heavy panting and the gentle rustling of the leaves against the wind filled the air. She pulled out the concealed rod to make sure it was still in her posession. It was! She couldn't believe it, she thought wildly as she smiled. I got away with it! Onyveth licked her lips as she tried to catch her breath, wiping a cold sweat off her brow - she always did have a low endurance and stamina. She then pulled out the ice-based materia she had used earlier. It emmited a faint glow, but a glow nonetheless and used it to find her way through the darkness without attracting too much attention. Onyveth couldn't help but feel as if someone was there watching over her, but shook her head at such nonsense. There's no-one here, Ony! Don't be so paranoid... She looked at her surroundings; nothing looked familiar but didn't worry her however. She looked up at the night sky and found her way through the stars. ''So north should be... This way I guess...''

Several minutes of walking later, the woods began to look a tad bit familiar. It wasn't long until she came across a large oak tree; she rummaged through the fallen leaves at its base and reacquired her rucksack, just where hid it just before following those two women. She didn't want to follow them with such excess baggage, so what other choice did she have? Stuffing the rod and her belongings into her rucksack, she flung it over her shoulder and carried it up as she climbed the tree. She was much too tired, but it was rather rest comfortably or don't sleep at all! Once she found a strong, leveled yet high enough branch (probably 20-25 feet above the ground) that would support her weight, she pulled out from her rucksack what seemed to be a makeshift hammock. It was an unorthadox method, and perhaps strange even for experienced campers, and she knew it! But it was one that Onyveth learned from Natsuki and had saved her life in several occassions. It had taken a while before she tied it up in place, and another moment or two before she felt confident the makeshift hammock was secure to hold her, but eventually, and without incident, Onyveth had managed to rest comfortably with her feet dangling over sides, the rucksack as her pillow and her jacket as a blanket. She was away from any predators and prying eyes and above any nosey passerbys.

For the first time admired her new trinket, and took careful inspection of its design, especially the way it would gleam in the moonlight. She had no intention of using it as her own weapon but rather a bartering tool. This was gonna be her ticket to finding him, she thought naively to herself. She just needed to get in touch with the right people. But how? Onyveth stifled a yawn and brushed away all those thoughts. They could wait until tomorrow. As she tore her gaze from the weapon and to the moon instead, Onyveth gave a defeated sigh thinking about that white-haired girl and the sad look she had given. It was so pathetic! Gut-wrentching even, and as hard as Ony tried to put it off her mind, she knew she couldn't. She just had to believe that what she was doing was for the better good. It was nothing personal but she needed this. To find him. Somehow. As the night wore on, her thoughts seemed to drift on their own. She wondered if those two strange women were around the woods looking for her. Or if they've returned to their camp and turned in for the night. She wondered if that tearful white-haired girl was crying right now and if she'll ever forgive her. She also wondered if he, wherever he was, was looking at this very same sky at this very moment, thinking about her. Before she knew it, she was fast asleep.

The following morning Onyveth woke up feeling drained; she had just realized only now she had been sleeping with her boots on the entire night! ''Yep, I'm gonna be feeling that all day today...'' she murmured half-wittingly to herself as she prepared to get down. It was 5:30am (but Ony didn't know that) and the sun was just about to rise. The air was dense and moist, the forest animals were just about to awaken and scurry about; it was time to go. After her morning ritual and upon finishing her last measly rations of bread, Onyveth set off again heading north-west, hopefully towards Junon. If memory served her correctly, she would be able to reach the dim city by seven or eight, according to her body-clock (she still has no idea what time it is). It seemed like a good idea for a workout at the time, considering she was still eyeing on that hearty breakfast since last night. Her own grumbling stomache, however, had thought otherwise.

''Maybe I should've at least collected some of those berries...'' she had wondered aloud as she looked back as if to say goodbye to that godforsaken forest. Nonetheless, Onyveth trodded on and all she could think was whether if she should go find weapon's shop to sell her piece, or if she should go find a place to eat.

Whichever she came across first, she decided as the entrance to the city grew ever so closer..