Note: This story never got a title, so I just call it by what year I wrote it in, or by the codename I used for the RP the story is based off of.
“Oh gods. It’s not dead.”
The thick-furred monster growled as it rose up on its hind legs, staring at the human girl standing in front of it. It tracked her with its eyes as she circled around, attempting to get into a better position. Its ears tilted back as it picked up the sounds of footsteps to its rear.
The girl took that moment to fire her handgun again into the side of the monster. It screamed in pain, dropped back down to all fours and turned to her. She began to take aim again, but the monster charged, sending her scrambling.
“A little help? Please?” she screamed to her partner as she dove behind a pair of trees to dodge a powerful swipe from the monster.
“Oh…um…” the man fumbled, checking his own handgun. “Anything for you, Miss Lysanne!”
Lysanne cringed, unable to get into a good position to shoot and having to dodge again. “Focus! I don’t want to fail this mission! Do something so I can get into position…if I can get a clean shot at the head…”
“R-right!” the man shot at the beast’s legs, causing it to roar and spin around, concentrating on its new opponent. Lysanne reached into a pouch situated at her hip and pulled out a tinted bullet, tipped with a red colored crystal-like material. Opening the cylinder of her gun, she slid it in to an empty slot, closed it, and made sure it was the next bullet to be fired. She took aim, bracing herself for the recoil she knew would come, and fired at the monster’s head.
A trail of smoke left the gun as the bullet flew. As it made contact with the monster’s head, it exploded, searing flames that engulfing its fur. The enraged creature screamed, clawing at its own face and stumbling blindly towards Lysanne.
“Dammit, why won’t you DIE?!” Lysanne shot at it more, emptying her revolver. Her partner also shot at it from behind, finally causing it to collapse at Lysanne’s feet. She kicked its smoldering head for good measure.
Her partner nodded and walked up to her. “Well, that was intense.” He smiled at her. “Where did you get that bullet anyway? Magic bullets aren’t that common…besides, your gun–”
Lysanne waved her hand, interrupting him. “They were a reward for completing a mission I did a while back.” She holstered her revolver at her hip, and also motioned to the one at her other side. “Same with the bullets, they all came with the guns, though I am running low… but does it really matter? Just don’t tell the guild master, okay?” Lysanne winked at the man, who nodded in response.
“Right…hey, about the reward money…”
“What about it?” Lysanne motioned to him to start walking with her out of the forest and back towards the city.
“I’m just wondering how to split it. You did most of the work, but I don’t know what the guild master will say to an uneven split.”
“50/50 is fine, really. You’re already helping me out by not telling him about my guns.”
“All right, Miss Lysanne.”
Lysanne rolled her eyes. “Drop the formalities, I hate them. And they’re not getting you any closer to a date.”
The pair walked into the city of Swynhurst a few hours later. The sun, starting to set, cast a golden-orange glow across the buildings. The hunter’s guild was located in the middle of town, just outside of the main shopping district along the main street.
Lysanne and the man walked in and were greeted by the standard chatter of the other hunters in the guild. Some read the newspaper or guild notes, while others chatted over cards or drinks. At the desk in the back sat the guild master, who lifted his head as the two approached him.
“We’ve completed the mission, sir.” The man said, smiling some. The guild master leafed through a stack of papers next to him.
“The one about the monster raiding farms right? How did it go?”
“Well, we ended up chasing it into a forest, which complicated things a bit but…” The man paused for a moment. “But we set up a trap and killed it with no problems.” He nodded after he finished his statement.
“Right, good.” The guild master stamped the paper, marking it as complete, and filed it away. After briefly going to a back room, he returned with the payment. “Don’t fight over the split, got it?” Lysanne and the man nodded. The guild master then took out a book. “Let’s see…” He looked at the man. “Twenty points for you, which brings you up to the next rank. Congratulations.”
“Oh, thank you, sir!” He was nearly unable to contain his excitement, which almost made Lysanne laugh. “I’ll continue to do my best!”
“As for you, girl…” Lysanne’s bit of cheer was dampened by the fact that the guild master couldn’t bother to call her by her name. “Fifteen points.”
“…What?”
“Fifteen points. It’s not that loud in here, I’m sure you heard me.” The guild master looked at Lysanne with a piercing gaze. “Are you going to argue about it?”
“It’s just…” Lysanne stepped closer to the desk. “The two of us basically did the same amount of work, I just find it…unfair, I suppose.”
“Take it or leave it, girl. If you want to argue, I’ll have to give you less.”
Lysanne sighed. “Fine. Fifteen is just fine.” She leaned on the desk. “I suppose since I’m here I’ll take a new mission…try to make up for those lost points.”
The guild master glanced at her unhappily as he slammed the mission list in front of her. Lysanne picked it up and gazed over it. “Hm. This one, about the monster hunt…”
“Right. You’ve already got a partner for that one, he’s sitting over there. The two of you leave tomorrow.”
Lysanne made sure the guild master marked her down for taking the job before heading over to speak with her new partner at the table.
“So…we’re working together on the mission tomorrow. I’m Lysanne, rank 29…haven’t seen you around much, what’s your name and rank?”
The man didn’t look up at her. “Leon, 25.”
“Well, it’s nice to meet you, Leon.” She sat in the chair next to him and straightened out her long jacket. “You look you’re pretty well off…rich family?”
“Yes.” Leon stood up and started to walk out. Lysanne jumped up after him.
“Hey, where are you going? I kind of wanna know more about you…”
“Out. We’ll meet here tomorrow.” He walked out of the guild, leaving Lysanne standing alone. She grumbled.
“This mission will be fun…”
It was twilight when Lysanne left the guild, still grumbling about her mission and her rather rude partner. She followed the familiar path out of the middle of town and into one of the residential areas. There weren’t many other people out – a few heading home from work, and a group of workers turning the sparse amount of streetlamps on. She watched one as she continued walking as he opened a hatch at the top to replace the electric stone that powered the bulb inside. It wasn’t much longer before she reached her home. Lysanne smiled slightly upon seeing that the old candlelit porch light was lit, as if it was meant as a beacon to guide her home.
“I’m home!” Lysanne said cheerfully as she stepped inside. A younger girl with brown hair looked up from the table in the kitchen, and jumped out of her seat, running to Lysanne.
“Welcome back! Ew, you’re all dirty…I’m not hugging you.”
“Thanks, Briana.” Lysanne poked her younger sister on the forehead. “You home alone tonight?”
“Nope! Dad’s still probably closing up his office, but Mom came home this morning when you were out on your mission. I’ll go get her.” Briana dashed down into the basement. Lysanne poured herself a glass of water and sat at the kitchen table as she waited for the two to return. It wasn’t long before she heard a set of footsteps coming up the stairs.
“Oh, Lysanne…it’s so good to see you home safely.” Katri, her mother, went up to Lysanne and embraced her. “I don’t see any injuries…thank goodness.”
“You say that every time, Mom.” Lysanne smiled. “But it is nice to hear…don’t worry, the mission went fine. Oh, but I’m leaving on another one tomorrow.”
Katri sighed. “I really wish you’d think about leaving the guild…” She said, quietly. Lysanne cringed slightly, knowing she had possibly sparked off another lecture. Katri continued. “It’s dangerous, and…not really a woman’s place to be a hunter.”
“Don’t start with that! There’s a lot of girls at the guild, and there’s more joining all the time. Besides, if I quit now, it’d look bad…I’ve only been there six months.” Lysanne rested her head on the table. “And I thought you were all about women getting more rights…”
“It’s still dangerous, and I worry about you.” Katri sat at the table. “You’re a smart girl, you could have easily taken an internship with your father and me at the bank…become an accountant.”
Briana leaned in. “Yeah, if you wanted to look bad. Lysanne’s pretty bad at math.”
Katri stood up. “I’ll keep telling you to think about it, Lysanne. The option’s open for you.” She smiled gently. “You’re my daughter, and I can’t help but worry, you know that. Now, how about helping your sister with the laundry before bed?” Lysanne grumbled, but obediently got up and went with Briana to the laundry room.
“Hey, turn around for a moment so I can change out of these.” Briana turned around and Lysanne took off her outfit, pulling on nightclothes for a replacement. She tossed everything into the washing machine along with a nearby pile of dirty clothing.
“Idiot, you didn’t even check to see if the colors all match. I don’t want my white shirts turning blue or anything.” Briana reached over and pulled out what Lysanne had thrown in, tossing in darker clothes instead. She nodded, and Lysanne added the soap and closed the lid. “Check to make sure the stones are in place, too.” Briana reminded. Lysanne crouched by the box next to the machine, opening up the latch. Inside sat three stones – red, blue, yellow, each about the size of her closed fist.
“They seem to be fine, so you can turn the machine on.” Lysanne closed the door before Briana pressed the switch. A faint glow seeped out of the box as the machine rumbled slowly to life. The two girls could hear the water begin to flow through the pipes from the box to the machine.
“Mom will get it when it’s done…you should probably go to bed.” Briana walked out of the room, and Lysanne followed.
“Don’t tell me what to do. Besides, you need to go too…get up early tomorrow and do all that homework you probably have.
Briana stuck her tongue out. “I got it all done today, so I’ve got tomorrow off.”
“You…”
“Don’t fight, you two.” Katri poked her head out of the kitchen. “And Briana’s right, Lysanne. Go to bed and rest up for tomorrow.”
“Fine, fine. Good night.” Lysanne waved as she headed upstairs into her room. To tell the truth, she was rather tired. Lying on her bed, she decided she’d wake up with a shower in the morning before eating and heading out. It wasn’t long before she fell asleep, not even bothering to pull her blankets fully around her.