The Tragedy in Clarity (Spicious) (Open by request)

[SapphireIceDragon]

Cia trudged through the rocky forest, her feet sore and blistered from travel. Her breathing was somewhat labored. She had hardly had any sleep the past few nights. So far, she hadn't been able to find any mages who could pinpoint a person's location. It was more difficult than she thought it would be, and she sighed. At this rate, I will never find my brother... She leaned against a tree in defeat. If she wasn't well rested, she would most likely fail. She sat down on the cool grass, freezing the morning dew. Her eyes fluttered shut as her breathing evened out. It wasn't very safe to sleep out in the open. However, she didn't have time to find shelter before she would've fainted, anyways.

Right before she fell asleep, a part of her wished that she wasn't so alone.

[Arthuriel]

During the cloudless night in the Thunderblacks, a strange being wandered aimlessly through the forest. Its eyes were glowing orange orbs, dancing like a hungry fire in its onyx face.  The air was cool, and with a fanged smile, the creature thought of a coolness it'd come to love on its dark skin.

A wolf howled in the distance, but the fiend- and it was a fiend, indeed- didn't mind it. It knew without a doubt they'd leave him alone. The only benefit his hellish appearance afforded him was that hostiles tended to ignore him. Well, everyone tended to ignore him.

With a bittersweet smile, the fiend's thoughts drifted to the one that hadn't ignored it. Oh, if only she was here.

[SapphireIceDragon]

Cia slowly opened her eyes and surveyed her surroundings. It was the dead of night, and it was so dark that she could barely see. She could only make out the outlines of the trees around her. A bird stirred and fluttered to a nearby branch. Approaching footsteps could be heard. Any normal person wouldn't be able to hear it, but Cia was different. She was an assassin.

She slowly stood up, ready to flee if need be. Her heart hammered in her chest as an icy dagger manifested in her hand.

[Arthuriel]

The fiend, stuck in his own thoughts, was oblivious to the danger. In fact, he didn't even know she was there. But the dim glow of the ice weapon caught his attention, and he manifested a dagger of his own, but of fire.

A spaded tail twirled itself around the weapon's hilt, the fiend taking a casual stance.

[SapphireIceDragon]

"Look what we have here," There was a chuckle, followed by a rugged man emerging from the shadows. A jagged scar ran from his temple all the way down to his jaw. He was most likely a thug or a thief. He was twirling knives in his hands nonchalantly, a grin on his face. "A little girlie sleepin' alone, with a pretty little pendant. This must be my lucky day."

"You probably shouldn't try your luck on me," Cia said, smirking. She honestly didn't want to fight at the moment, but acting like a coward would make things worse.

[Arthuriel]

The fiend took a step back, jaw dropped. He knew that voice but didn't know what name it belonged to. His shocked expression changed to a curious grin, however. She was an assassin, he knew, but how good was she?

He extinguished his weapon, then slinked up behind from where her voice was. He crawled up the tree, careful to blend into the shadows perfectly. He observed the thug, hoping he would look up. He never tired of the reactions mortals gave when they saw into the living fire of the hells themselves.

[SapphireIceDragon]

Always alert, Cia's eyes flickered upward to where a pair of familiar, fiery eyes watched the scene. She tried to keep her expression calm. Her heart was thundering in her chest, but she had to deal with the thug first. He grinned even wider.

"What? You scared?" He sneered. In a flash, Cia was behind him, forcing his arms behind his back with one hand. With the other, she held the dagger to his neck and forced him to look upward.

"No, but you should be,"

[Arthuriel]

Maverick opened his mouth wide, setting his forked tongue ablaze. He crawled down the tree, using his spaded tail to balance himself. The thug tried to backpedal, a scream rising in his throat. An onyx hand shot out from the darkness, clamping itself around the thug's thick neck.

"Oh, I do suggest you leave her alone." He said, his still flaming tongue waggling in front of the thug's face. "She's got the fire of hells protecting her."

[SapphireIceDragon]

"D-Demon!" The man shouted, his voice strangled by the pressure on his neck. Cia's grip on him loosened.

"If you run now, we'll let you live," she said coolly, giving him enough room to escape. He elbowed her in the gut and sprinted off in a flash. Silence filled the forest for a few moments. Coughing, Cia couldn't help but smirk.

"Well, hello there, Maverick. Nice meeting you here," she said.

[Arthuriel]

"Fiend, actually. There is a difference." Maverick said to no-one in particular as he dropped down from the tree. He held up his tail, showing it off with a proud smile. "What do you think?" The air seemed cooler around her, as it always did and Maverick found himself moving slightly closer, wanting to get near her.

[SapphireIceDragon]

Cia couldn't help the small chuckle that escaped her lips. She tilted her head slightly to get a better angle of the tail he was so proud of. Suddenly, she wondered what it would be like to touch it. Would it hurt? But then again, animals always got angry whenever someone would pull their tail.

"It's nice," she said finally. He seemed to be radiating heat, like a miniature fire, and she took a small step towards him. "So, how did you find yourself around here?"

[Arthuriel]

"Oh, I find myself lots of places these days," He said, his tail returning itself to the favored position around his left leg. He stared at her for a moment before gently touching her face. A strange coldness instantly was in his hand, such a difference than the fire that normally burned. Unbeknownst to him, his tail unwrapped itself from his leg, and moved over to Cia's, it truly had a mind of its own.

[SapphireIceDragon]

Cia's eyes widened in surprise, glancing down to see his wayward tail. At the moment, it wasn't doing anything to bother her, so she decided to let it slide for the time being. She looked back up at Maverick.

"Well, I'm glad you found yourself here. What a coincidence..." She heaved a sigh of relief. She tiredly closed her eyes for a moment and allowed herself to enjoy the warmth of his hand. To be honest, she had missed his spontaneous heat.

[Arthuriel]

He grinned. "Oh, as they say, 'Speak of the devil and he will come,'" He took a step forward, breathing the cool air deeply. By happenstance, he looked down and noticed his tail. He blushed but hoped his dark skin would hide it.

"Heh, sorry," He said sheepishly, stepping away and taking his reluctant tail with it.

[SapphireIceDragon]

"It's alright," Cia replied, a smile pulling at her lips. However, she shivered in the absence of heat. She remembered why she was here in the first place. Her hand instinctively reached for the pendant on her neck, finding peace in its cool surface.

"I still haven't found anyone who can find my brother," she said, her eyebrows furrowed in frustration. Her grip tightened. The last thing she wanted to do was go back to the necromancer.

[Arthuriel]

"Oh, well, I may be able to help with that," Maverick said, his tail raising itself to the pendant. He gestured with his head towards the item, silently asking to see it. He wondered if she knew there was an enchantment on it,  but she most likely did.

[SapphireIceDragon]

Cia took off the pendant and handed it to him. There was something odd about it, but she couldn't pinpoint the exact reason. As her hand passed over his, she relished the small amount of warmth that he put off.

"Is there something wrong with it?" She asked, eyeing it. "It seems...different, somehow."

[Arthuriel]

Maverick focused on the item, then spread a flame over it. When the fire burned away, a simple bone remained. It looked like a rib, probably from a raised skeleton.

"Oh, well, that's what is wrong with it," He said, holding the bone to Cia as his tail snaked around her ankle.

[SapphireIceDragon]

Cia stared at the bone in shock, dread settling in the pit of her stomach. So that means...the necromancer still has the real one... Her senses became blurred, and she rubbed her arms in an attempt to calm herself. That bastard! The necromancer couldn't even honor her last request to him.

"I'll be...right back," she said, leaning down to remove the tail. She took a deep breath and turned around. "Just...wait right here," With that, she walked deeper into the forest in hopes of calming her anger and frustration a bit.

[Arthuriel]

Maverick frowned as he watched her leave for the second time. No, he decided, not this time. With just a thought, he transformed into a Nightmare. He rushed forward, easily overtaking her. He turned to face her as he passed and shifted back into his humanoid form.

"Fight me," He said, a set of two daggers appearing in his hand and a flaming sword held by his tail.