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The sky was clear, the sun peaking out from behind clouds and shining its gentle warmth down onto the earth. The sunrays touching your skin felt warm and relaxing. Closing your eyes to capture the feeling in its entirety, a soft breeze dragged the earthy smells of nature towards where you basked in the sun. The scent of rain still clinging to the air, the grass damp and cold from the night's downpour.
Stretching your arms high above your head, a yawn left your lips. With a small sigh, you began heaving yourself off the ground, brushing off bits of dirt from your clothing in the process. Pulling down the hood and allowing dark hair to begin flowing in the wind. Now freed from the confines of your cloak, the strands swayed with the wind.
Quietly glancing around the clearing while humming a small tune, you mumbled softly, “I guess I should get back to work.”
While reaching into your bag to retrieve your wand, you open your cloak in the process. Its dark fabric is warm, almost a little too warm from the summer sun. Letting a small huff of annoyance leave your lips, you pull more of the fabric away from your skin. When it's gone, you sigh in relief, feeling the cool breeze touch your skin. Finally have fished your wand out of your bag, you stare at it for a few moments. It was smaller than most, lightweight in your grip. The handle, carved with intricate floral patterns, along the edges, the ocean waves were carved in. The wood texture felt rough under your finger tips. Fitting perfectly within your petite hands, the polished surface of the handle smooth and cool to the touch. The silver engravings stood out against the deep blue colour of the handle.
Looking back up from the wand, you spotted it. Your target.
A short distance ahead of you stood a pack of wolves. There had been reports of excess attacks in the area, scaring away travelers and livestock. It seemed that this was the reason. Not only did the pack contain a much larger number than average, they resided in a deeper and more dangerous section of the forest. A section that not many people would be able to go to in order to eliminate them.
“Why’d they have to settle here? This is going to be so much work.” Groaning loudly, you kicked aside a rock in frustration. “I really should get going…” With a sigh, you headed out, scanning the area carefully in case there were any other threats to be weary of.
Creeping through the forest, you listened to the sounds in the surrounding area, ears perked up at the sound of leaves rustling. Taking a moment to investigate the sound, the leaves rustled once more, and out came a squirrel. “Hah, of course it’s just one of you.” clicking your tongue in mild annoyance, you quickly turned back to the task at hand. Once again beginning to slowly trek through the foliage, careful not to alert them of your presence. “Okay… about 10 or so, maybe 15. I should be able to take them out with one attack.”
Channeling magic into your wand, you began preparing a large-scale spell, one you didn’t use often. A large flame began to form, and flicking your eyes up to the spell, something in your brain clicked. “I shouldn’t have done that spell…” Just as you were about to finish casting the spell, one of the nearest pack members lunged for you. As a result, the spell flickered and a nearby bush lit on fire. Concentration broken, the spell fell apart, dissipating into the air like it had never been there. “Damn it.” Sharp teeth dug into your leg and with a hard kick, you were just barely able to shake off the creature. The sound of howling and barking began filling the air, the rest of the pack waking up from the sound. “I guess casting such a strong fire spell wouldn’t be that subtle. I’m still too slow in casting that kind of magic to be using it like this.”
Gritting your teeth, you forced your legs to move. Blood was beginning to drip down your leg, and swarms of wolves started to pour out of the forest behind you. The growing fire definitely wasn’t helping.
For a moment you just stared blankly at the destruction you caused, “That was so dumb of me.” Soon enough you were fully surrounded, and letting out a sigh, you started to cast what you specialized in.
Ice magic.
While considered one of the weakest spells, you wielded it like a true professional. It was one of the first spells taught to those learning magic, yet in your hands it was a truly destructive force.
Without a moment's hesitation, ice rained down on your enemies. Each spell, cast with such efficiency and precision, leaving no room for them to react.
As quickly as the enemies were defeated, another set would take their place, slowly approaching your position. “So persistent.” Looking around, most of the enemies that had been surrounding you had perished. In their place stood a wall of flames, so instead of being closed in on all sides by those beasts, you were closed in by fire. “This is just great.”
Using a blast of ice, you carved an opening through the fire, and as soon as it opened up you took the opportunity to escape.
For a moment, without the pack of wolves hunting you down, you sighed in relief, taking a few deep breaths. Once your heart was calm, and your breathing even, you looked around at the forest blazing around you. “This really is a mess. Maybe I should practice casting different kinds of magic.” Raising your wand, you covered the forest in ice, the fire whipped out in an instant.
Your opponents however, did not give you a moment to rest. As soon as the path was clear, they started moving, all charging towards your position. Dogging attack after attack, jaws snapping shut dangerously close. It was quickly draining your energy, and you had no weapons to fight back against them in such a close range. “Maybe I bit off more than I could chew.”
Sweat dripping from your brow, breath coming in heavy pants, you were worn out. It hadn’t been that long, about 5 minutes since this whole thing had started. Yet, despite that amount of time, you had only taken out a small portion of the enemies present.
This was too much for you to handle on your own.
Surrounded by a hoard of monsters, all you could do was stand on wobbly legs, surviving off of sheer determination. You had a plentiful amount of magic left, that wasn’t the issue here. In fact, you had more than enough power to blow up a small town. What the real problem was the fact that you were out of shape. Despite having been working on your own for years, out in the wild slaying monsters and honing our skills, your stamina was complete shit.
Taking a brief pause, you closed your eyes, trying to catch your breath. A sudden sense of dread filled your limbs and your eyes flew open.
The ground beneath you darkened, and looking up, you quickly realized the cause. There, looming above you, stood a living tree, ready to pound you into the ground. Eyes widening in surprise, your mind went blank. “What the hell is that thing doing here!? I wasn’t told that those resided in this forest! Note to self, do NOT trust the reports.”
Suddenly it swung, and using the remainder of your energy, you dogged at the last second. “That thing is NOT happy I lit its forest on fire.” Recovering as quickly as you could, you began bombarding the creature with an ungodly amount of ice magic. There was so much that it was blinding, as if you were trying to make a mini sun.
Under your onslaught of attack magic, the beast fell with a loud thud.
“Damn it… I should have taken the backup.” gritting your teeth, you raised your wand, closing your eyes in concentration. Just before your eyes closed, you caught a glimpse of strawberry blond hair. Confusion filled your gaze, and taking a moment to look again, it was gone, vanishing among the hordes of enemies as quickly as it had appeared. Taking a deep breath and refocusing on the task at hand, you once again began channeling magic into your wand. In the blink of an eye, Pillars of ice burst from the ground, the entire area was covered in ice, each enemy having been skewered or frozen solid. Spears of ice rained down from the heavens, killing anything that had somehow escaped your onslaught of magic. They were produced in such high numbers that it was almost impossible to believe it was the result of one person's magic.
“I really didn’t want to have to do that…” you mumbled, looking around at the carnage caused. A hint of coppery hair peaked out from the forest, and before you could contemplate too hard, your body gave out. Flopping down onto the icy grass, it was cold and icy from your magic, pleasant against your skin. Cooling you down from the excitement of battle, the sun blazing and burning your skin.
Breath beginning to even out, your eyes being pulled down by their own weight, it made you realize how exhausted you truly were. “I definitely should not be falling asleep here…” however hard you tried, your body just didn’t listen, tempting you with the sweet embrace of sleep.
The world slowly began to fade away, falling into darkness. Just as your consciousness was about to slip, loud bickering reached your ears. Peeling open your eyes, forcing your vision to clear and focus on the figures approaching.
“Damn it Dazai! You almost killed me back there!” his voice was booming, greatly irritating in your exhausted state.
“Do you truly not trust me Chuuya? I’m deeply offended.” The second voice was teasing, carrying a light, playful energy despite being in the middle of what was previously home to a massive pack of wolves –and living tree apparently.
“You knew they were going to do an attack like that didn’t you?!” running a hand through his coppery hair in frustration, he took a deep breath. “I just hope that whoever made this,” the man named Chuuya, gestured to the surrounding area before continuing, "isn't going to be hostile.”
Before you could hear the rest of the conversation, your body finally gave up, consciousness slipping as the world went dark.
<===>
The first thing you woke up to was a pounding headache and a dull ache in your leg. Pulling off the bedsheets placed over your form, you saw carefully placed bandages wrapped around your injured leg. It still throbbed painfully, causing you to furrow your brows with disappointment. “Couldn’t even bother to use healing magic…”
Sitting up and swinging your legs over the bedside, it creaked and groaned under the movement. Furrowing your brows, you began looking around to see where you were, sunlight filtering through a nearby window left you temporarily blinded. Blinking rapidly and letting your eyes readjust to the light level, the room came into view. It was unfamiliar, the soft mattress grounding you, as you took in your unfamiliar surroundings.
With a sigh, you closed your eyes, flopping back down on the bed, letting it creak in response to your action. “I got myself into trouble now didn’t I? Such a pain…”
The sound of a door opening caught your attention, opening your eyes and looking at the source, there stood two men. One was dressed rather casually, dark wavy hair messy, almost as if he had just rolled out of bed. The other was quite short, at least compared to the man standing beside him. Strawberry blond hair framed his face, a hat placed atop his head. He was dressed as if he had just come from some kind of fancy event, a stark contrast to the man he was currently glaring at.
“Why are we even coming in here so soon? There is no way they’ve woken up yet.” grumbled the shorter man, clearly irritated.
Without a word, you sat up, staring directly at them. “Where have you taken me? What have you done with my wand?” Something felt off about them, and you narrowed your eyes in suspicion.
“Now now. We aren’t here to hurt you.” The dark haired man spoke, holding up both your cloak and wand. “It is quite rare to find another elf after all.”
Gritting your teeth, you said nothing at first. Instead, after taking your wand back, you cast a quick bit of healing magic on your leg. Once you had finished with the task, you began carefully and gently fitting your wand into your bag, slinging it over your shoulder once it was successfully inserted. When that was done, you quickly began pulling your cloak over your shoulders. “Well thank you for… the help.” Reluctantly acknowledging their help, you stood, readjusting your cloak as your eyes darted across the two men's features. Eventually setting your gaze on the dark haired man. “What’s your name?”
A smile curved his lips before proudly declaring, “My name is Osamu Dazai!” Gesturing to the short man beside him, he continued "And this is Chuuya Nakahara.”
Chuuya raised a brow, his face twisting into one of mild confusion. “That’s all you have to say? surprising.”
Giving a small bow to them both, you spoke quietly “Then you have my thanks.” Straightening your back, you stepped forward, however the sight of pointed ears made you pause. Furrowing your bows and tilting your head, you stared at Dazai “I see, so that is why you said ‘another’ elf. I have not come across another of my kind for quite a long time. It is hard to believe that I would see one mingling with humans of all creatures.”
In response to your words, all he did was chuckle. “You have not seen enough of them if that is still your view. They can be quite entertaining.”
“Tch, to hear this filth from another elf. Truly a disgrace to your race.”
“So young and immature.” Sighing quietly, he shook his head as if in disappointment. “There is much more to humanity than you have been led to believe.”
A small huff of annoyance left your lips, and without a word you pushed past Dazai, the other man, Chuuya, having politely moved out of your way.
Before you could make your exit, a hand grasped your wrist, their hold tight but gentle. “Hold on, our conversation hasn’t finished yet.” With visible frustration, you turned to look at the culprit. “We so graciously informed you of our names, so may we have the pleasure of learning yours?”
Staying silent for a moment, you said nothing. When he didn’t release you, you sighed and relented. “My name is Y/n L/n” tugging your hand out of his tight grip when he finally loosened it.
“Y/n?” The man that had stayed quiet all this time spoke up, face filling with recognition. “ You mean that you’re the famous Frost mage?”
“You didn’t figure that out when we picked her up from a battlefield encased in ice?” Dazai raised a brow, voice now carrying a more teasing lit.
“Shut up! I wasn’t talking to you.” Chuuya barked, voice rising as irritation and embarrassment began to colour his tone. “I just didn’t expect to meet them in such a way. To think that one of the top mages would be found collapsed in the middle of battle.”
“I didn’t realize I was famous.” you hummed, staring back at them both with a blank expression.
“Of course you’re famous!” Dazai piped up, “It’s completely unheard of for a mage to rely entirely on ice magic, and for you to be so successful while working alone.”
“Is it really that unbelievable? I’m sure there have been multiple mages to do it by now. There have been in the past” Tilting your head in confusion, you continued, “and I do believe that there are a multitude of mages above my skill level. Was there not another mage that specialized in ice magic? I am unable to recall their name, but they were quite skilled, more so than I.”
“The mage you’ve mentioned has already died. They were slain in battle about… two or three decades ago. There have yet to be any other frost mages in this generation.”
“Ah… how fragile the human body is. He was quite good, I wish we could have interacted more.” For a moment you were lost in thought. “How old was he again… I think he was around 40 or 50. Didn’t have much time left, did he?”
“That’s just how it is. Although it is rather disappointing, I wished to meet him as well. Alas, he died before I was given the chance.” Shrugging his shoulders, he sighed simply. “Well, since you’re up and moving around now, we’d like some money for the cost of your care and dragging you back to town.”
Chuuya’s calm was instantly broken, instead he looked as if he was about to explode “What the hell?! This girl just woke up and you’re already trying to shove our bills on them? We have money.”
“You're the one that has money anyways. Should you really he complainkng if you made me pay out of my own pocket? I have nothing left!"
"You don't get to use my money when all you do is just waste it." Grumbling under his breath, he sighed. "All you bought were bandages. That can't have been that expensive."
"Exactly the problem Chuuya! Now I have no money to replace my bandages. You can expect me to walk around without any to spare!" Dramatically waving his hands around, he gestured to himself. "If you know they're so inexpensive, then there's no issue. They’ve already recovered don’t you see? Plus for someone so famous, I'm sure a little bit of money is no problem.”
The only thing Chuuya could do was pinch his nose in frustration. “Whatever… you won’t listen to me anyway.”
“Money?” staring blankly, you didn’t respond, thinking about what they had just asked. “I don’t have money…” Rummaging through your bag for something valuable, all you could come up with was a few rocks, where they came from you had no idea. “Or anything valuable apparently.”
“What a shame.” Dramatically shaking his head in disappointment, Dazai placed a hand under his chin, posing rather dramatically like he was starring in a film. Eventually, after a few seconds he snapped his fingers, exclaiming, “I guess you’ll just have to work with us so you can pay it back!”
“You’re joking right? There is no way I’m agreeing to that.” eyes darting to Chuuya, a small bit of curiosity sparking before you pushed it down.
In response he pouted, ears drooping “Why not? Is it because of our dear Chuuya here?”
“I am not working with a human.” Arms crossed over your chest, saying nothing more as you waited for him to move out the way.
Humming in thought, Dazai glanced at Chuuya before turning back to you. “How about you work with us for a few days? That's all you have to do. We can even share some money since you’re in such desperate need for it.”
“What else would I get?”
“Tch, so ungrateful.” grumbling under his breath, the copper haired man remained leaning against the wall.
For a moment you glared at him before turning away. “I don’t understand how you can handle standing so close to that… that thing.”
“You really do hate them huh?” Twirling a lock of his hair he seemed to reach a conclusion. “How about, you work with us for a bit and I show you how amazing humanity can be? After all you would have me, another elf to be with! No need to get up close and personal with this human here.”
The longer that you stood in this room with the two of them, the more your curiosity grew. “What makes you think I would accept that offer?”
“With that reaction I can tell you already have.”
Narrowing your eyes, you turned away. “Fine. It’s not like you could change my mind anyway.”