On the run and on the hunt (woof)

The hammering that filled the halls of Madeline’s castle had become routine. If it wasn’t the normal blacksmiths forging weapons for the queen, then it was little Thalia crafting new unique weapons in her workshop. The armor she had previously been working on had finally been finished. Though there were a few parts still missing to complete the whole set. Because of this, Arcadia’s famed demon hunter was hard at work on a different project. A new weapon. Another hybrid weapon to be more precise. One that combined the fire power of her guns and the quick and nimble style of a rapier.

Thalia was hard at work tempering the blade when a cough echoed from the hallway. Spinning around, Thalia would find her least favorite Arcadian standing in the doorway. “You’ve got work to do.” said the demon before it turned around and disappeared into the darkness. Thalia’s grip tightened around her hammer. He was cryptic on purpose. Any way to screw her over or make her job harder, Spade was bound to find it. Thalia returned to her weapon, finishing off a few more pieces of it before making her way to the throne room.

When she got there, she breath a sigh of relief. Spade wasn’t there. Instead, Diamond and Club were the only souls in the room. Both seemingly delighted to see her. It was nice. Finally having someone other than Club on her side. And seeing Diamond there greeting her, lifted Thalia’s spirits. “So um…I heard there’s a job?” she said confused. Since she didn’t have all the details she was hoping either of the two knights would fill her in. “Nothing to crazy kid. You could probably do it with your eyes closed. Anyway. There’s been sightings of a rogue ‘monster’ around the valley of the kings.” The big mountainous Club would say, as he took a few thunderous steps towards the tiny demon.

“Simple recon job. Right up your alley. If it’s one of ours, well send it home heheh. Otherwise do whatever you want I don’t care. You know the drill. Just make sure it isnt one of ours.” Thalia nodded to Club’s instructions. This was the norm. Some feral Arcadian attacks a small village. Thalia then swooped in and took care of the problem. Since Club and Diamond didn’t seem to have any clues as to what kind of demon Thalia was up against, she’d have to wing it.

Heading to her room, Thalia would enter her closet. There she had all of her outfits and completed armors. She was going to Egypt, so she needed something cool, not like the heat effected her but still. Moments later she’d emerge wearing a beige colored leotard. On top of which she wore a tails coat made of the scales from a slayed Arcadian. Accompanying this ensemble were a few armor pieces, including greaves fashioned from other parts of the demon and some gold. Tying her mass of hair into a ponytail after getting dressed, Thalia would rush down to her workshop and grab the essentials. A weapon, a gun, and some of her tools.

Once Thalia was certain she was ready for the hunt, she lifted her signature metal arm to the air and clenched her fist. A portal would tear open, bright irradiating sunlight would leak through it. Stepping through the portal Thalia would appear on the other side, her feet quickly sinking slightly into the soft desert sand. “Now to just pick up a trail.” she said to herself as she looked out over the desert.[/color]

"Perhaps a car would have been better. But no. I had to insist on walking... It isn't all so bad I guess. Plenty of meals along the way. Heh, gave that Camel herder quite the scare." Walking on the open plains of sand, Euna had been doing this for several hours if you asked her. Truth would be days. She'd often spend an hour cleaning out her hair and armor if she ever decided to nap in the cool night sky.

But this loneliness. She hated it. And the more she ventured, the more she regretted this action to go alone. But then... What she was doing. It felt important to do this alone. No human, or meta, could really understand. Not many could, she supposed.

At least she was learning to talk to herself. She'd have bitten her hand off before long if she hadn't decided to talk as if she were two people, one to speak, one to listen. "I suppose that is no reason to complain. I chose this. Ooh, why do I lie to myself like that. That is... Below me." Angrily muttering to herself, Euna decided to remain silent again once more. Downside to talking to herself, she tended to get angry with herself. If it wasn't someone...

But it seems she was close to where she wanted to go. Letting out a huff of a breath, Euna climbed the last bit of a sand dune and sighted the Valley of the Kings. The previous resting place to a great many kings of Egypt. Pharaohs that believed that their tombs would never be bothered. Sadly, raiders were not to be delayed. Be it a pyramid, a hidden valley, they came and looted like bastards.

If one could ask why she had a vested interest in the ancient, it would be this Valley. It was one of the first places she had encountered on this planet and she would never regret the people she may have killed along the way. They were the ones that led her here.

While the Valley wasn't her true end goal, and really, if she just moved around it, she'd get to where she... She had to go. But she liked the Valley, it's quiet nature when it wasn't a tourist or excavation site. The smell of age and death. It made her feel at peace.

So much so that she was quite happy to walk to the edge of the cliff that led to the Valley and did a little hop, falling a small distance and landing with bent knees. Brushing off her battle skirt, Euna twirled her spear in her hands as she began to walk the Valley, intent of giving herself her own private tour. One where she knew all the best tombs, of the kings and of the nobles. And that one pesky tomb she actually wanted to find. "Damn you Carter!"

Leave it to Thalia to have terrible luck or timing. It was just as if she had Spade following her around. What was the matter? Well the winds had seemed to pick up upon her arrival. This lifted a bunch of sand into the air and made it very difficult for the little hunter to find any sort of tracks. She would have to rely on some other means of tracking down her target. Squinting her eyes, Thalia tried to look around. She remembered that Club had said something about a village near the Valley of the Kings. She was certain she was close to the valley. Without a vantage point however, there was no way of knowing for sure.

“I suppose I’ll just have to hoof it through this storm.” Using her hair to cover her face from the sand, Thalia took a moment to decide which direction she was going to go. With a self assured nod, Thalia would begin her journey. As Thalia trekked westward, the sandstorm would die down, giving Thalia her eyes back, essentially. By this point she was glad the wind had died down. If it hadn’t, she might have found herself tumbling down a cliff by now.

Instead, Thalia found herself perfectly positioned atop a mountain. From here she could actually see the famed valley, just to the north west of her. The resting place of Egypt’s Pharaohs was not her destination though. It was supposedly a small village not far from the location. But in which direction, she couldn’t tell. Sand was the only thing the little hunter could see in every direction, well every direction except south, southwest. At the base of the mountain she stood atop, rested a temple dedicated to the Egyptian god Amun. Surrounding the temple was a bunch of farm land, and further south from that was the city of Luxor.

That couldn’t have been her true destination. Club had specifically said village. Luxor was much larger than a simple village. A strand of hair brushed against Thalia’s chin as she thought. “It was club who gave me the directions. Knowing him, a city and a village are probably one in the same.” Thalia pouted. Why were things never easy. Lifting herself up Thalia reclined into her hair as though it were a seat. She’d have to figure out what she was going to do from here.

Piecing what little information she had, together Thalia had come to the conclusion that Luxor was the village Club spoke of. If that was the case, then the nearby ruins, including the valley would make the perfect dens for a rogue demon. Going with that, Thalia decided to descend the mounting, in the direction of the Valley of the Kings. It was the furthest from the city. She’d just eliminate potential hiding spots till she found the beast.

Euna let out a sigh as she stepped out of a tomb's entrance. These places. They were long known. She wasn't sure why she liked them. Perhaps simply because this was her background. Her... 'human.' Background. Every identity she had made, she was Egyptian if she could help it so. Even her armor, the bits she could heavily make however she want, was based purely on the arts of the Egyptian people.

Looking to the Valley, Euna decided she could move on. She could... She will, she can. "It's just a fecking building. Old and broken and... And.... What. Is that?" Frowning, Euna sniffed at the air. Sand and dust and oldness. But there was something else. Mixing with the air. Strange, not...

It didn't belong. It wasn't human and even then, no humans should be here. Today, this place was meant to be hers, and their was an intruder. Stepping out, Euna started to follow the scent. It wasn't easy. Her nose, was a odd thing. And after the chemicals she had been smelling back at the humans drug palace, with that kid and Jett and Heart.

But she could follow the general direction, and like an idiot, her mouth started before her head could control it. "Hey! Get out here!" Euna called out, before sniffing at the air again with a frown... Maybe it was an old scent. Something that had been here days before, maybe even hours. It was so distant that she... Yea. She was just stressing out. Tapping her horn with her spear, the Arcadian shook her head and started down the Valley to get to the other side of it. Closer to those damn ruins.

The journey down the mountain side took Thalia a little while. Longer that she would have liked, especially given the fact she was using her hair to move rather than her legs. She hated sand. It was rough and course, and it got everywhere. Just kidding, she actually didn’t mind it. She didn’t mind it because Egypt was a good place to her. It was in this country, not to far from where she was now, that she got to meet a legendary champion of Arcadia. And on the same day, she also met a human, who was kinda like her. And they had become friends.

It actually made Thalia wonder how Ashford was getting on right now. It had been a while since they had last seen each other. As nice and comforting as these thoughts were, the little hunter shook them from her mind. She had a job that needed doing. She needed to focus all her attention on the hunt at hand. Letting her mind wander like this was only going to make it harder. Thalia buckled down and directed her gaze to the area in front of her. Though the wind had died out before getting this far, the little clone was doubtful that she’d find any tracks.

While all pygmy Arcadian’s were in some way animalistic, they were still intelligent. This demon could have easily decided to cover it’s tracks. Or it could have just been the type that didn’t leave any in the first place. Perhaps it was a flyer. Or maybe it floated about like a ghost. You could never tell. Not till you finally managed to lay eyes on it. By now, Thalia had reached the far end of the Valley. Just down below was one of Egypt’s main tourist attractions and most hallowed location. From where she was, Thalia still had a pretty high vantage point on the Valley of the Kings. She took this moment to scan the area for any more clues.

Her mismatched eyes managed to locate an outlier. Something she had no knowledge of. Small ruins, parts of an old stone building just barely in view, jutting up through the desert sand. Since this was not only something she had never seen, but also now the furthest point away from the city, it would be Thalia’s first destination before checking the Valley for any signs of the rogue demon.

Climbing up a crop of rocks, Euna laid eyes on the outline of ruins that she hated. She... She hated. Nothing else. She hated them. She hated them with every step, she hated them with every sway of her long hair. She hated them with... With...

Euna paused about half way to the ruins. She couldn't freak out now. Not this time. She didn't just come here because she was bored, or that it was a slip of the mind idea. She wanted to come here. She needed to come here. After the mess with all the Arcadian's... The mere three Arcadian's she had met.

She continued forwards for a bit, but paused again, growing frustrated with herself over these pauses. She wasn't scared. She just... "I'm not scared... I'm not... It's just a stupid... A stupid room. I'm not scared." She finally said, moving forwards even more. But before she could take a step further. She stopped once more.

Maybe she could... Just turn around... Come back tomorrow. Or however long it would take for her to go back to the city, get a ticket, fly to New York, and never come back... No. No no...

Euna soon began to pace to the left and right, angry eyes centered on the ruins she despised. Her spear dragging along the sand as she continued. "Stupid old fecking building. You don't own me! I will go inside, and... And.... Fuck you!" She started to rant, sounding pissed, but in reality... She was... She was something even she didn't want to admit... She was scared.

What at first appeared like a small tower jutting out of the sand from a distance, now came into view as a full on building, or at least parts of one. The stones were old. Worn and smoothed down from centuries of wind erosion. This was going to be Thalia’s fist stop in her quest to hunt down this rogue demon. If she was lucky, the beast would be inside and she’d take of business just like that. But from what she could immediately see, there were no tracks in the surrounding sand. That of course didn’t mean that the demon couldn’t have approached the old structure from a different direction.

As Thalia drew closer to her destination, she could see a figure in the distance. They were moving in the direction of the old ruins. What that the demon she was looking for? The little demon squinted, as though it was going to help her see better. All it did was make the figure look like a blurred mess. Thalia would let out a defeated sigh, as though she thought that was going to work. Well there was no harm in approaching the figure, maybe they weren’t a demon. Maybe they were a meta who knew the area.

From this distance the hunter couldn’t tell. The logical next step was to approach them. Picking up the pace, Thalia would close the gap between her and the other figure. As she got closer, smaller details became more apparent. Such as the girls red skin. And what looked like a singular horn protruding from her forehead. The person was also speaking to themself, or having an argument, it was hard to tell. “Heeeeeeeeeeeeey! Excuse me! Heeeeey! Are you from around here!” Thalia called out from a distance, waving her arm in the air.

It became a dance, she'd take one step forward, two steps back, one to the side, one to the side. A kick at the sand, a swing of her spear, a yell, a roar. Not the kind of roar she could use. Oooh, that was a roar she'd like to let out. But she couldn't. Her throat lodged and bulged with... Something, whenever she tried.

So it was when a voice in the distant yelled out to her, Euna paused. Her dance was broken, intruded. And the broken smell of demon came back. Softly hissing though her teeth, Euna turned to see in the distant, a darker skinned woman, wearing clothes that, like Euna, were certainly not for this land. At least, that's what it seemed like from the amount of leg Euna could see. Damn, that was some fine leg.

Shaking away those thoughts, Euna pondered on this girls presence. What did it mean... What was her question again? Was she from around here? That... That was a loaded question. She quietly laughed at the question. Was she from around here.... Walking away from her tomb and towards the girl, Euna found that her legs had more strength then they had walking towards the tomb... Cowards.

"Who in the hells are... Wait." As Euna got closer, the smell fragmented more and more, till finally, she caught whiff of a scent she knew well, despised well and for all intents and purposes... No... She swore off eating. She'd been breaking that oath as of late, but she was trying to at least keep from the final taboo... Arcadian flesh. "You're an Arcadian? Who the hell are you! What are you doing here! YOU SHOULDN'T BE HERE!" Euna yelled at the girl, hoping to deter her from this place. She didn't need this. Not now. Not another one. Three was enough. At least those three... Those three didn't matter. One was like her, the other was... Whatever Vaedren's situation was, and the third innocent. They were not at fault. She didn't need another reason... "Just go away." Her final words were silent, not even a whisper...

All of the other woman’s features had finally come into full view. She was much taller than the little hunter, by quite a bit in fact. About as tall as the queen. Which meant that when the two were face to face with one another, that Thalia would tilt her head back a bit. Now staring the stranger in the face, she was caught off guard by the sudden defensive attitude they were exerting. The sudden yell at the end of the woman’s sentence made Thalia sink back a tiny bit. Not intimidated, but definitely caught off guard.

Her hair had shot up to shield her ears. It was a reactionary thing. “Could you please not y-” Thalia was cut off by her own thoughts. The red woman had said something that immediately clicked. “So you are an Arcadian. I knew it! I’ve never seen you before! My names Thalia, it’s a pleasure to meet you!” the little hunter said gleefully while inspecting the woman from head to toe. “I don’t know what this place is, or what it means to you, but I can’t leave just yet. Im afraid I have a job to do.” Thalia said, standing steadfast.

While nothing immediately stood out with this mysterious Arcadian, Thalia still had to be sure she wasn’t being tricked. She was never given a description for what this rogue demon looked like. For all she knew, she was talking to her target. “I…I don’t mean to be rude, but you haven’t been terrorizing the nearby city have you? I was told there was a rogue Arcadian or just a monster in the area that was eating people from the city. I think they might be in that building.”

Staring down the small thing, Euna realized just how small they were, she could pat them on their extremely fluffy head. All that hair, and the way it moved, almost as if reacting... Was it a sentient being, or a part of her, an organ of hair. Weird. But the young girl seemed to calm the taller Arcadian. She just...

No. No no no. Euna tried to look angry, but had trouble forcing the emotion. She couldn't... She couldn't like anymore. She wasn't meant to like Arcadian's to begin with. Thr.. Two was enough. Listening out the girl, Euna licked at her lips and looked back at the tomb, stepping back as the girl stated she was hunting for a Arcadian that was eating people. Not her. Certainly not her.. But that meant. There was a fifth one.

"I got hungry and ate a camel yesterday. Besides that. No... I try not to eat hum.. I just try not to eat meat..." Pausing, Euna looked back to the temple and then the little Arcadian. So young and pretty looking. Was it so bad that Euna wanted to pet her? Keep her? Do very adult things with her. "Look, you... You can't go in there. Okay.. No... No one is allowed in there... No. Yo-You just can't go in there!" Her voice broke for a second, but then she looked down at the young girl with an angry scowl, stepping back and drawing a barrier with her spear.

"You're not going in there. If some dipshite has entered... Then I will... I will... I can... I will get them out... Okay!" Euna stated, hoping that she wasn't shaking. She felt like she was shaking... No, she shouldn't. She didn't shake. She didn't shake, shaking was not her. She was Euna, the badass Arcadi- Demon that didn't give a shit about people. She didn't shake.

*A camel? Who the hell eats a camel. That must have been gross* The little knight thought, before realizing that the female Arcadian was in protest of letting Thalia into the ruins. “Why can’t I go in there? Is it off limits?” Thalia questioned before directing her gaze towards the ground. “No that can’t be it. If it were off limits it wouldn’t matter. My rank as knight would bypass that…” the little hunter mumbled to herself. She needed to get in there. She had a job to do, and she wasn’t going to fail it.

It was now, when Thalia looked up, that she could see how defensive and on edge the red skinned demon was. Being the ever astute hunter that she was, Thalia picked up on the breaks in the woman’s voice. From there it wasn’t to hard to tell by her stance that something scared her. “Are…Are you ok? Do you need help? I can totally help you if you’ve got a problem. Is the rogue monster in there? Is that why you wont let me near the building?”

Thalia cautiously crept toward the Arcadian. Her arms were out at her sides to show she wasn’t armed. “Look, I just want to take a quick peak inside and then I’ll be on my way. If you’re worried or scared or whatever, we can both go in together. I’ll protect you!” She said with a cheery smile, as she tried to calm the nervous demon down.

Was the young looking Arcadian thick? Well, the more Euna looked... No. No. Bad thoughts. She needed to focus on the girls words. And one word took form over all others. Knight... Knight...

Of all things Euna knew. A rank of Knight when it came to Arcadian's was sacred. Only four took position of it, and she only knew of two. Heart and Spade. The other two... She didn't know the other two.

But Euna didn't think any further on it when the small thing claimed that Euna was scared, the mere words from the Arcadian enraged Euna, sparks of magical lighting bounced off her skin and spear as she gritted her teeth at the girl, her teeth themselves almost on the verge of being sharpened. "I am not scared of some pathetic Arcadian that eats the easiest of prey. You can't go in there! Because... Because I... I need too first. It's far too late for a knight to go in there without me in there first." Twirling her spear so that the pole rest just under her arm and shoulder, Euna turned back to the ruins and breathed a shaky breath.

"Who are you anyway. Club? No. Too male. Diamond? Must be, a new one at that with how young you look. Spade is a shithead and Heart is... Well. Heart. A bloody parasite." Letting out a huff, Euna turned back to the young Arcadian. Far too young looking. The older Arcadian bet she must have looked like that. Trapped and confined in darkness as she was... She must have looked as young as that once, but she'd never know, that chance was stolen from her...

It was then that Euna realized how close the young thing had gotten. When did she get that close? Euna let out a low growl, like that of a predator, cornered and threatened when the realization hit. A warning to not get closer.

Thalia felt like someone had stabbed her. The Arcadian’s words hurt. She wasn’t a parasite. Why would they say such a thing? The little hunter had to voice her pain. “W..Why would you say such a thing. Im not a parasite! Im a clone. Why do you have to be so mean. Im just trying to help…and do my job.” Thalia said, letting her head dip towards the ground. She was genuinely hurt by the name calling, but also wanted to see if she could garner some sympathy from the red demon.

She didn’t care what the female Arcadian had to say. Thalia could easily hear the hesitation in her voice. They didn’t want to go near those ruins. Either they were hiding something, or they were indeed afraid of whatever was in there. Either way, Thalia had to find out, and she didn’t need the woman’s permission to do so. Just behind Thalia’s back, a strand of hair began to reach into a pouch she had on her utility belt. She didn’t wear the thing often, but as vanity continued to get the better of her, and as her designs for armor became more elaborate, the need for a utility belt became more apparent.

The strands of hair would slowly enter the pouch and wrap around a small shard of bone. If the demon continued to be confrontational, then the little hunter would take matters into her own hands. She’d use the bone to zip over to the ruins. In and out, just like she said. That was of course, if her target wasn’t seeking shelter within the old stone building.

"What? Not you. Vaedren. The Knight Heart. You know. Big, muscle like, kinda not in the best situation... Well, depending on who you ask. I bet he sees her when she showers. The perv... Lucky perv.." Euna trailed off, perhaps day dreaming a little too much... Wait. Why the hell would this girl be offended. Euna was very clear that she said Heart was the parasite...

She hadn't even considered the fact she had stopped growling at the small demon as she thought about the offended Arcadian's words. Clone? All more important things then going inside the ruins right now. "What? If you're a clone. There must be more clone... Are you the female version of Vaedren! Oh that is adorable. He went and got whatever it was that happened to him, so they made a female Vaedren. I love it. Thalia? Mmm. Demon to hunt right? That is adorable. I mean, I'm still going to consider Vaedren heart, since, you know... Clone thing. But ah. Mm. Is it bad I am thinking of some very nasty things right now?" Euna smiled, a cheeky bit of a smile with a tone and body language that would suggest her previous fear was never even a thing.

"How bout this cutie. You walk with me into those ruins. And demon or no demon, I'll help you find them elsewhere. Just as long as you... When we get in there, you can walk in front... Not because I want to stare at your... Assets." Euna said, taking a gracious peek at those thighs while letting out a soft sigh. Oh yea... She could do this. Literally and figuratively.

The Arcadian was extremely dense. At least to Thalia. How could she have been mistaken for a clone of her predecessor? She clearly had a very distinct look to her. There was only one other being in all of Arcadian with a metal arm. That’s when it struck the little hunter. Her arm was covered, that had to be it. “Im not a clone of the previous Heart. I’m a clone of the queen. You don’t get out much do you?” The little hunter was also a bit perplexed by the things the other demon was saying. Calling her ‘cutie’, ‘adorable’, and something about wanting to stare at Thalia’s ‘assets’. Thalia then proceeded to roll up her left sleeve, revealing a dazzling golden arm.

The dessert sun glistened off the polished sheen of Thalia’s left arm. “See! Just like the queen. Honestly I don’t get how you couldn’t tell. Every usually can…And they hate me for it. Well everyone except the queen. Oh and Club! And…And there’s Diamond and Johanna to! Huh…Maybe its just Spade who hates me.” the little one rambled on. She’d quickly snap to, her mismatched eyes looking to the red demon before her. An offer had been laid out. The Arcadian had given a little ground.

While again, Thalia didn’t need the Arcadian’s permission to proceed, it was nice knowing that confrontation had been avoided. This put some spring in Thalia’s step. Or rather her hair as she used it to hoist herself into the air. “So then, shall we get going?”