Boots and dresses

Cloudy day, dust slams into eyes thanks to the strong wind. Karaza inhales smoke from her pipe, looking aimlessly at somewhere in the horizon. All of her pink curls slams into her face as she exhales the smoke, not bothered at all, she looks at the ground, falling asleep until she heard footsteps on the grass.

"Not a nice day to be outside."

She stands up as soon as she hears the duke speaks, bowing in her dress. He studies her expression before letting out a small, sad little sigh.

"I suppose today is the last day."

"I will be coming with the last elixir today, your grace."

"You still have more hours before you give me your final answer. Everyone hopes you will join our family."

"I am afraid that I am past my prime as a mercenary."

"Then you can train the new knights."

She glances downward, charging up the vigor to speak the right words.

"I don't think I am useful outside a fight. Above all, Thank you for the last ten years, I will be forever grateful for you and the Duchess, you didn't need to, but you took me in."

He looked at the ruffles of the brown dress, a look of someone recalling many memories.

"Just know you can come back anytime or if you need me to recommendation."

She bows again then proceed to make her way out of the garden. The duke waits for a long moment before asking.

"Where will you go tomorrow? " He almost shouts.

She turns back to face him, and shrug her shoulders with a smile. She faces forward, walking to her last mission, with a gash in her leg hidden under the pretty brown dress.

Not so far away, in a different land the sun rose beautifully in the sky, the gentle breeze pushed the paper planes to their destinations. the smell of rain still lingering in the air.

Roxanne was looking at the trees in the corner of the park, at the people starting their morning and at the clear sky, with a faint amused smile.

"Morn'n Roxy. Finished running already?" An older woman asked.

"Morn'n. Be careful, it's a little wet from yesterdays' rain."

"Thanks dear."

On the way back she greeted the greengrocer, the restaurant lady and two neighbors in the building. She entered her apartment, her normal human pupils melted into a disjointed shape. She greeted the houseplants near the window before heading to the bathroom. 

One side of the small apartment was filled with exotic plants, embroidery works, small boxes and trinkets and a huge plush of a garlic in sunglasses and cowboy boots. Plus a colorful suitcase functioning as a closet.

The window was exactly at the center of the room, and the other side of it had a suitcase as well, gray and somewhat messy. A pile of art textbooks and a pair of prosthetic legs placed next to it.

The gray blob was sleeping on a fancy velvet pillow. He opened his eyes, pupils thin and sharply narrow. He soon rolled away.

Roxy gets out of the bathroom to a guy laying on the ground of the small apartment, his snake like pupils looking at the ceiling.

" Dude..." She blinks.

"I forgot how to move my limps." He states flatly. 

"That's why you shouldn't stay in your human form for too long." She chuckles.

"I hope this still funny when you need my help." He sighs.

"My greatest apologies." She says holding back a laugher.

Gray tendrils were cooking eggs on the stove, others cutting the bread while he is putting on his prosthetic legs. He started eating while staring uncomfortably at the huge pair of googly eyes on the fridge while she is struggling to pick an earrings to wear.

"What do you think Mr. Garlic?" She asked the plush, handing different earrings for it to see. 

"Don't you have a final exam in half hour?" He asked while leisurely cutting another slice of bread.

"Nothing better than a flat close to the academy!"

"Okay?"

"Isn't the auction committee visiting ya today?" She asks while choosing a necklace.

"Probably."

"You gonna finish your piece in time?" 

"Probably."

She stops combing her bang and looks at him for a second before commenting.

"Is your conversation skill getting worse?"

"Wasn't my strong suit to begin with."

A mental shock wave disturbed them like thistles stabbing their brains. He looked at the clear sky, confused.

"What was that?"

Nothing was there to be seen for the human eye.

"Something radioactive coming in our direction." She said casually. He shrugged and went to change his clothes. 

"Oh. Well, gotta go. Don't fail your exam." He said, about to open the door.

"Dude your veins!"

The gray veins under pale skin disappear, and the narrow pupils turned circularly human again.

They dismissed the calamity as soon as it announced itself.

In a place where no human should be. A desert where the sand is crimson red Karaza was walking out of a scorpions' den. Blue blood drenching her hair, staining her dress. Many deceased scorpions behind her and last one ahead. With cold eyes on the target she plucks out the scorpion's golden stinger that stabbed her arm. With one hand she poured the valuable drops in a bottle. Trained fingers close the lid and slide it in her pocket. 

She tightens her grip on her double axe. The scorpion takes a step back as her empty gaze pierce through it.

Happy shouts filled the agriculture academy's landscape as fourth year students finished the last exam. Roxy made her way out of the academy as students were hugging each other and their teachers. A teacher handed her a donut.

"My, thank you, Mr. Frank!"

"Young lady, this is not a party. You can't wear these sparkly boots in the academy." The other teacher commented.

"You know teacher, life itself is a party!"

"Cut her some slack, this is her last day." Mr. Frank smiled.

"But you're a second year... ARE you dropping out??"

"No, I am graduating." 

"She went the fast track."

"Oh, why though?"

"I got bored. I have to go now, Thank you for the donut!"

"That girl is weird."

"Smart people are like that sometimes." Mr. Frank chuckled.

She looked at the clear sky while biting the pastry. Thinking to herself, placing some dots in her mind.

'I should try to use this..'

High in the sky, she was flying on her broom, heading toward a faint, far, slightly purple point in the horizon.

'It still quite far, it's not even in the red zone yet'

Some bloodlust from below stole her attention. Blue blood on the red sand, her trained eye can see the red blood too.

"Oooo, it's a fight! " She whispers in amusement. Broom flies lower.

In a last effort the injured scorpion throws itself on the smaller human, attempting to suffocate her to death, much to its effort. The small double axe pierces through its back, dropping it dead on the sand. A pool of blood mix with the sand, forming a mud that is slightly purple. Karaza bleeding leg does not effect her unfazed expression. She walks toward the stinger, cuts it and puts the precious drops in the bottle. Her guard's drop for a second before it rose again. On the sight of a human girl being relatively close.

"Can I help you? Parasite." Karaza stated, pointing her axe at Roxy.

'I didn't feel any presence, sense when she got here?'

"Just watch'n. " She puts her hand in the air, palms open.

"Oh, don't do that, I can tell you're strong. I could use another opponent right now." She takes steps towards her.

"Please Please Please. I worked hard on this outfit! " She says, looking at other's bloody hands.

In a split second the axe was about to hug Roxy's neck. She dodged, moving her whole body to her opponent's left side. Karaza raised her arm up, not expecting that she would give her a light flick on her shoulder. 

Her vision flipped on its axis, falling to the ground she realized that she is paralyzed. Eyes closing as she passes out.

"Fweh." Roxi said in relief, until she sees a blue drop on her overalls.

A high pitched scream of a damsel in distress fills the desert.

Karaza joilted up in terror. Trying to estimate how long she was out. Looking around to see Roxy wiping her clothes in panic. Barely managing to sit down. Her heart beats violently fast when the disjointed pupils settles on her.

"Post fight adrenaline? Happens to the best of us." 

She looks at the battle scene, at her wounded leg and the bottle she's clutching on.

A mental shock hits them. Karaza looks at the sky behind her, taking minutes to register the nature of the calamity.

"This is bad." Her voice trumbled.

"Desho?" The inhuman giggled.

A close fear replace the far one as she locked eyes with Roxy. She was experienced enough to know the other can kill her any moment.

"This loses its effectiveness quickly by the way." Roxy eyed the elixir.

An even closer fear dawned.

"That’s what I get from forgetting my mission." She almost laughs at herself.

"Wanna a ride?" Roxy hops on her broom.

"Why would you do that?" Karaza asks. 

Roxy’s eye wondered a bit, then settling on her again.

"Do you know who benefits the most from good deeds?" She asks, faint polite smile like she doesn’t know the answer.

"The one who do them." Karaza looks down.

Roxy chuckles.

In a cabin in the art academy a dragon made of stained glass was surrounded in colorful, melting flames of glass. Ryu was looking at his work, head tilted in dissatisfaction. He gets up to stretch then picking up the glass clipper, looking at the sculpture like a hunter looking at a prey.

The teachers and the auction committee judge entered the cabin to a headless dragon.