Prized || Flame + Val ||

Okay where are you wanting to start? With the creature taking custody?

Ok do you want me to take first post or you?

Sure but it might have errors and such on my phone. One sec.

The day had passed without event, the midsummer sun's heat slowly cooling as the sky darkened. She reached the city walls as the last of the citizens returned to their homes for dinner and sleep.

The only people still out were merchants closing up shop. Except the cart... the cart didn't belong there. She looked it over with scrutinizing eyes, trying to gauge their business. She realized one side of the cart was composed of bars and she knew immediately. Human hunters. They must have found something, and if they were still here and not at the tavern, then odds were they had yet to sell their catch.

With only some consideration, she decided to head over. The hunter in command spotted her approach and waved her over. She recognized the strategy. Talking up their catch before letting her see the mortal inside. The beast simply waved a gauntlet-covered hand to dismiss him. He stopped mid-stride, wary of angering any creature sporting heavy plate armor and various blades.

The beast was a mercenary, and a successful one at that. The city knew her as the bandit-slayer who kept the traveling roads safe, as the creature who'd gone into the forbidden woods alone and returned coated in blood that was not her own. She was not to be trifled with.

She took a few more steps toward the barred side of the cart, peering inside from behind her helm.

Upon seeing the human's expression, she gave an unseen grin. Her amusement led to a heated glow emitting from under the armor, visible from the outside and hot enough to be felt from a distance.

"He gives no quarter, he sits ready to press any advantage." She stated, a few cinders escaping her lips as she spoke. "No untrained beast would be safe taking this catch." Her head turned to the hunter.

The hunter hesitated, uncertain of what to make of her words. She lacked the patience for an answer and continued speaking. "State your asking price."

"Seventy gold."

"Done. Unlock the cart and I will take him from here." She answered, passing over a bag of coins. How the cloth hadn't ignited from the heat within the armor would remain a a mystery. The hunter checked it briefly then nodded. He took the key from his belt and opened the door, waving for the human to get up.

The she-beast only grinned again under her helm, the light radiating more intensely. "Perhaps mortals have forgotten how things began? Your kind preformed the same actions long ago, thinking you could conquer the arcane and occult. Or has your kind chosen to forget the old ways on purpose? Mind your tongue, runt. There are those within this city that might make a single bite of you." She planted a hand on his shoulder to direct him along the correct road, the heat of the armor blackening the fabric beneath and threatening to burn further.

"The mercy I show is not of pity, but of ambition. Forge yourself to match and make yourself an asset to me lest you be burned away by my wrath." She warned. Her armor clanked heavily with every step as the two headed toward the city's nearest inn.

(Alright, I'm home)

They approached the front steps of the inn and she light inside the armor settled down, the heat fading away. She released the human's shoulder and moved forward, stepping up to the door and walking inside. As she opened the door, the tavern keeper offered a loud hello, waving a scaled hand for her to come in. She waved back to the dragon-like creature and checked behind her to make sure the human was close. "This is where I stay, and where you'll be staying as well. For now, at least." She told him before heading forward. She put her hand up to her helm, removing it.

Her skin was dark and glossy like charcoal, and below the cracks and breaks of her skin glowed a white-hot light. The beast set her helm down at a stone slab table, seating herself. The tavern keeper's smile dropped slightly when he spotted the being walking behind her and he gave the elemental a questioning look. She nodded and spoke up. "Bring a plate of whatever your special is for the night." She told him.

"Four Silvers." He replied quietly, stepping back to the kitchen.

She nodded slightly, starting to unequip her gauntlets. She reached back into the pouch on her belt and pulled a few coins out. Again, she took a passing glance at the human to be sure he wasn't about to start trouble.

"Alright, then." The elemental cleared her throat quietly, letting out a small wisp of smoke. "How old are you, and what do you go by?" She asked. She could see the tavern keeper on his way over with the plate and a glass filled with what she guessed was probably some sort of fruit juice. She moved the coins over to the edge of the table where he'd be able to collect them quietly as he set the plate and glass in front of her. She turned her gaze back to the human, waiting.

"Tobias." She echoed quietly to make sure she had it right. She placed a hand on the edge of the plate and pushed it over in front of him, then she moved the drink to follow. "My name is Soli. I'm a salamandar, one of many variations of fire elemental." She answered. "I'm something of a blade-for-hire here, and I've been looking for an assistant. Of course, if you can't keep up, there'll be a different use for you. We'll start training tomorrow."

Soli made a gesture to the blades on her belt and in her scabbards. "For now, you'll be learning to fight. Attacking, guarding, dodging, and we'll see how you do about armor." For now, she suspected he didn't have the strength to carry plate like she did, but maybe he'd manage with scale or chainmail? If not, she could try to set him up with hide or leather... something to protect him. "When we take work, we'll be fighting whatever they ask us to. If you don't put everything you have into it, you won't walk away in one piece."

Well, maybe the rules might be different for him... A set of bandits might try to profit off of him. Being a creature of anger and destruction, she'd be eliminated, but some other city wouldn't know that the human had already belonged somewhere.

Soli listened to him speak, nodding quietly. "Even so. Like I said, if you don't meet the cut, I'll have a different use for you." She replied. "Next question. How long were you in the cart?"

Soli raised an eyebrow slightly, but let it go. So they'd taken him this morning, then... She hadn't thought there would be a human within walking distance of the city. "When they took you, you were alone?" She guessed.

Soli shrugged quietly at that. "Well, for now, finish your meal. I still have the room key on me, so when you're done, you can sleep for the night. Shops won't be open until tomorrow. Just don't mess with my things. I'll probably end up staying down here." She explained simply. Tomorrow she'd get him a change of clothes and some basic equipment, but for now they just had to wait.

The other patrons at the tavern turned silent when Tobias raised his voice, all of them turning heads to look at the human. Their eyes were cautious and scrutinizing, trying to gauge if he might act up. Most creatures were old enough to remember when humans were more common, and they way they had lashed out in the past. A few even remembered the years when creatures were more rare than humans.

"My only order was to not touch my stuff." Soli replied flatly. "I'm just telling you how things are going to go. But if you're going to be indignant about living with me, there are plenty of vampires in this city who could use a living blood-bag or demons in need of souls. I took you. Because that anger you display so readily will be the death of you anywhere but in the field of combat." As she spoke, smoke began to spew in great clouds from her mouth as the light within her began to radiate heat. She caught herself and suppressed the flames before she could singe the floorboards, but she kept her eyes on Tobias. "I am the boss of you. I'm your mentor now, boy."