"Argh!! Get it offa me! Shoo, you stupid bird!"
"Jake, relax. It's only a Picky. Its one of the lousiest monsters around here."
"Just kill it!! Owie, it bit me!"
Lena Zamoria picked a smooth and shiny stone off the desert ground and deftly flung it at the Picky who was angrily chasing after a screaming Jake. The Picky stopped in mid-squeak and promptly collapsed on the sand.
"Phew. Thanks mom. Can we get home now? Pleeaase? I'm thirsty!"
"Jake, it's only been half an hour you know. You'll never become a thief I you continue training at this rate. *Sigh.* Well, I guess you have one more week before you have to go for your Thief Ability Test. C'mon, let's go home."
Lena was one of the most respected Assassins in not just Morroc, but almost the whole of Southwest Rune-Midgard. There was only one Assassin well-trained then her, and that was her loving husband, Raven Zamoria. They had both expected their almost-superhuman talent to rub off on their twelve- year old child but so far, his greatest talent was growing desert flowers. Jake had a huge collection of desert plants in his room, maybe a bit too much for a Thief. He was also amazingly non-streetwise.
"Ooh, a pretty cactus, it looks so nice!"
Lena's well-trained desert-sense immediately flew back to her first lesson on desert creatures. "Do not be fooled by this cactus' guise, or you'll end up decorating its spines"
"Jake! Get away from it! It's not a cactus!" Jake immediately jumped back in fright, just as the Muka sucked in air to become a huge yellow balloon. The next moment, it immediately used its accumulated air to blow out all its spines at breakneck speed. Lena Zamoria grabbed Jake and pulled him to the ground, causing the spines flew past harmlessly overhead. She used her foot to kick the cactus viciously, causing it to double over. She flipped up and threw three knives at it in quick succession before landing on her feet. Before the Muka hit the ground, she already tied her jet-black hair back into an impeccable ponytail.
"Jake? Where are you? JAKE!!" Lena swung around wildly, expecting her son to be caught in another life-threatening struggle with another desert creature. She saw her son and immediately let out a huge sigh of relief. Jake was crouching on the ground, admiring a small patch of violet desert blooms. She grabbed his hand exasperatedly and dragged her whining child home.
"Jake, we have to talk. We have to leave home tomorrow. We will be leaving you with your Aunt Yaori for three months. I hope you won't make life too difficult for her." "What!! Aunt Yaori? She's a crazy old Alchemist! She'll make me drink all sorts of weird health tonics and her house is creepy!! It's totally filled with weird bottles and experiments!! Please, don't make me stay with her!!"
"Listen Jake," Raven Zamoria grabbed his son by the shoulders and glared at him with his striking purple eyes, "We really hate leaving you here too, but King Tristan III has personally asked us to help slay Baphomet. You know how deadly it can be to people, even entire cities! We are the most experienced Assassins in the area, so we have to help. I hope you understand."
"No I don't! Both of you are always too busy with your own work to notice me! I hate both of you!" With that, Jake flung himself out of his chair up the stairs, rushed out of the front door and slammed it angrily. His stinging remark left both his usually quick-minded parents stunned with shock. For two of the most powerful killers in Morroc, taking care of young children was not something they were particularly good at.
"Jake, relax. It's only a Picky. Its one of the lousiest monsters around here."
"Just kill it!! Owie, it bit me!"
Lena Zamoria picked a smooth and shiny stone off the desert ground and deftly flung it at the Picky who was angrily chasing after a screaming Jake. The Picky stopped in mid-squeak and promptly collapsed on the sand.
"Phew. Thanks mom. Can we get home now? Pleeaase? I'm thirsty!"
"Jake, it's only been half an hour you know. You'll never become a thief I you continue training at this rate. *Sigh.* Well, I guess you have one more week before you have to go for your Thief Ability Test. C'mon, let's go home."
Lena was one of the most respected Assassins in not just Morroc, but almost the whole of Southwest Rune-Midgard. There was only one Assassin well-trained then her, and that was her loving husband, Raven Zamoria. They had both expected their almost-superhuman talent to rub off on their twelve- year old child but so far, his greatest talent was growing desert flowers. Jake had a huge collection of desert plants in his room, maybe a bit too much for a Thief. He was also amazingly non-streetwise.
"Ooh, a pretty cactus, it looks so nice!"
Lena's well-trained desert-sense immediately flew back to her first lesson on desert creatures. "Do not be fooled by this cactus' guise, or you'll end up decorating its spines"
"Jake! Get away from it! It's not a cactus!" Jake immediately jumped back in fright, just as the Muka sucked in air to become a huge yellow balloon. The next moment, it immediately used its accumulated air to blow out all its spines at breakneck speed. Lena Zamoria grabbed Jake and pulled him to the ground, causing the spines flew past harmlessly overhead. She used her foot to kick the cactus viciously, causing it to double over. She flipped up and threw three knives at it in quick succession before landing on her feet. Before the Muka hit the ground, she already tied her jet-black hair back into an impeccable ponytail.
"Jake? Where are you? JAKE!!" Lena swung around wildly, expecting her son to be caught in another life-threatening struggle with another desert creature. She saw her son and immediately let out a huge sigh of relief. Jake was crouching on the ground, admiring a small patch of violet desert blooms. She grabbed his hand exasperatedly and dragged her whining child home.
"Jake, we have to talk. We have to leave home tomorrow. We will be leaving you with your Aunt Yaori for three months. I hope you won't make life too difficult for her." "What!! Aunt Yaori? She's a crazy old Alchemist! She'll make me drink all sorts of weird health tonics and her house is creepy!! It's totally filled with weird bottles and experiments!! Please, don't make me stay with her!!"
"Listen Jake," Raven Zamoria grabbed his son by the shoulders and glared at him with his striking purple eyes, "We really hate leaving you here too, but King Tristan III has personally asked us to help slay Baphomet. You know how deadly it can be to people, even entire cities! We are the most experienced Assassins in the area, so we have to help. I hope you understand."
"No I don't! Both of you are always too busy with your own work to notice me! I hate both of you!" With that, Jake flung himself out of his chair up the stairs, rushed out of the front door and slammed it angrily. His stinging remark left both his usually quick-minded parents stunned with shock. For two of the most powerful killers in Morroc, taking care of young children was not something they were particularly good at.