Pigs, Dancing Blades; Amazon and Magician Unite!

Erika had entered the Forest Path at the behest of the mission she accepted from the Conquest Hall. She, along with another who she hadn't seen just yet, were supposed to hunt down a total of six creatures that were plaguing the Esperanza area. Erika wandered down the forest path a bit and took a long look at the creatures she were supposed to be hunting. 3 Wartusks, car-sized hogs that seemed to have an aggressive streak about them. Then, there were 3 Bladed Mantis, six to seven feet tall Mantis that have bladed wings and all four of their arms are bladed. Not only that, they had skin that was as tough as steel and were quick to boot.

"Eeeeeew! How can we have something like those mantis running around? Not only that... They're preying on people who stick to the main road. I really need to watch my back..." She said as she continued to read the description. Erika then put her description and pictures of the creatures away and focused on finding her partner. She didn't stray too far from the forest path and looked around for the other ninja or magician she was going to work with.

Quite a sight to behold indeed of such creatures that, off meters away from Erika, Alethea would be scoping out herself while sitting behind natural cover as to not be spotted easily by her prey. They were marvelous specimen indeed; a bunch that were not native to where she came from and thus were as rare as gold in her eyes. Oh how happy she was that she ended up taking this mission. I mean, to resist the temptation to hunt in the first place would simply be against her nature without a valid reason.

"Hmm...?"

She murmured after taking note of who she figured to be her teammate speaking to herself. It would seem that she had a different opinion on the creatures of this land, though it mattered little to her. What did matter to Alethea was the girl's rather small size that she somehow still couldn't get over even after being around people for weeks now. It was certainly a weak trait to have in her heritage. Still, they were sent on this mission together and that's how they would get it done. With a wave of her arm, Alethea would signal her location to the girl who would more than likely be surprised at the sight of her partner.

Alethea was smart in her approach in hiding in the bushes, to scope out her prey. As unintentional it may have been, Erika could be potential bait, as she stayed on the main path looking for her partner. Nevertheless, the dense Forest Path was home to many wildlife that thrived upon one another. However, certain predators left their own lands due to shortage of food or out of misdirection in their own movement patterns. This usually proved a problem for many civilians, ninja and magician alike, as it made the area a lot more dangerous.

Lately, the Bladed Mantis have been preying upon all sorts of people and have become a big problem for the usually peaceful path. One of the mantis strayed from its group and was in the general area where Erika and Alethea had plotted to meet up. The creature used spotted its prey, the lone Erika who searched for her partner. With watchful eyes, it focused on her and used its natural color to quickly move about the trees and bushes, without much trouble, but dropping off key sounds that broke the unnatural quiet of the atmopshere. The beast was fast and soon closed the distance between it and the young girl. With all four of it's bladed mandibles at the ready, it lunged forward and attempted to come down upon the magical girl, for a fatal blow at her backside.

Erika didn't have to search long, before she saw the large, muscle-toned hand of her genin partner. Her eyes widened a bit and she was a bit shocked at the fact that her partner was a lot bigger than how she first envisioned. The young girl was just about ready to walk on over to the bush, when she suddenly heard an uneasy and hurried rustle coming from nearby. Erika quickly turned in the direction of the noise and was startled to see that the creature had lunged at her and tried to come down upon her with it's sharpened, scythe-like appendages.

"EEEEEEEEEEEEK!! Oh benevolent earth hear me and DEFEND ME SO~!" She chanted and raised her wand quickly. The wand glowed brightly with earthen power and it raised up a large, durable shell of earth to protect her from the lunging attack of the mantis. However, due to how fast and forceful it was, the beast would have managed to break through a bit, something that startled Erika a bit more. She fell on her butt, but was otherwise okay. At the same time, however, she wondered if the creature had managed to get its appendages stuck in the shell.

Damn! How careless could she have gotten in her time away from the hunt to allow such an incident to occur? The mantis had slipped away from its group just as Alethea had devoted the majority of her attention to her partner. After turning back she had noticed its missing presence and looked about to return it to her sight. However, with its natural camouflage, this would prove to be a challenging task to accomplish. One that seemed to be completed too late.

"Tch..!"

She had spotted it in all of its viciousness ready to clamp down onto Erika from behind. If it weren't for her quick reaction, due to the noise the creature made, Alethea was sure it would have been her end. Luckily her partner was more competent than to die in such a way but now it was Alethea's turn to act. She would leap up and rub towards the scene, closing the distance between them in mere second. Once she reached them she would continue to leap over Erika using the Mantis' failed attempt on her life to catch it off guard and grab it by the head and neck. Alethea would then use her superior size to take it to the ground while crushing its neck and head if she were successful in the act of catching it.

The Bladed Mantis's attempt on Erika's life had failed when it's blades entered into the solid earth dome, instead of the flesh of her body. The beat still had it's full attention on the girl and attempted to pulls its blades out of the dome's interior, rear it's appendages up again, and come down upon it with strong and violent slashes that would no doubt break the wall down this time. However, before it could destroy the dome, the large Amazon woman closed the distance between her, the dome, and Erika. The Mantis could only manage to look up at its attacker, before it was grabbed by it's head and neck, then forced to the ground.

The beast stumbled back and attempted to gain its bearings, but the large size and the brute strength of the woman proved to be successful in toppling the beast. Though the mantis's skin was as hard as steel, it was still pretty light compared to the woman and thus when she aimed to crush its more vulnerable areas, she was successful. With a loud crunch, the beast had it's life taken away. However, in its last bit of life, it went into a frenzy and attempted to slash Alethea up with it's mandibles.

Erika heard the commotion outside of her earth dome, followed by a loud crunching noise. She shuddered at the thought of what might have happened, though the scythes from the beast never came back. Erika really didn't want to chance it, but she brought down her earth dome and viewed the sight before her. A large woman, with well-toned muscles, yet keeping a very womanly charm to herself, had wrestled the beast down and crushed it underneath her. Erika looked in awe as she beheld the image of the Amazon and her mouth was left agape. That attitude soon changed when the mantis went into its last frenzy and tried to slash Alethea up.

"Kill it, kill it, kill it!" She said frantically and kicked away from the supposed dead beast and its murderous frenzy. It was clear from this display that she was afraid of large bugs, so one would wonder why she even chose the mission in the first place.

As expected from a beast it would try everything within its power to live even if there dying action led to no avail. In its frenzy of slashing mandibles, Alethea would tuck her head down towards the face of the Mantis in order to protect her own while still maintaining her grip on it. She would no doubt be sliced though mainly along her back and arms with surprising results to most. With such a tough physique, the unskilled flailing of the Mantis would cut only skin deep causing minor bleeding before its life had ultimately been taken away from it. It was a satisfying experience though one that would be short lived considering the trouble she'd have to deal with now.

"Hey, calm down and pull yourself together!"

Alethea tried to say as quietly as she could while keeping that feel as if she were trying to shout. She mainly did this out of instinct as the group creatures still alive were more than likely alerted to their presence during this ordeal. She supposed it didn't matter in the end as they'd all have to be dealt with when the time came so why not get it all over with at once? A challenge only for the bold to take on it would seem. One that Alethea would gladly accept as she stood tall and with a firm stance; her clothing cut into tatters.

The mantis died after a few short moments of barely harming the skin on Alethea's back. The beast settled down and finally lied still. Surely enough, due to Erika's scream from earlier, she might have alerted the rest of the mantis in the group and they would soon be on the prowl for the two. However, this would take a few minutes, so Alethea and Erika had enough time to meet and greet, plus discuss a plan, before they had to into combat once more. To further this, the tense air from before had lessened, but the sense that a threat still loomed about remained.

Erika watched as the mantis finally died and how its frenzy barely even phased Alethea. The magical girl shivered a bit at the thought of having to fight two more of those things. Not only that, but she was sure that she screwed up something, due to Alethea trying to shush her. The girl figured that she'd pipe up immediately and she shook the fear of bugs out of her. Erika got up to her feet quickly and patted off any dirt that clung to her orange and white dress. With a settled sigh, she gave a small smile to her partner.

"I'm terribly sorry about that, though, an apology won't do much given the situation. I'm guessing you're my partner, seeing how you totally kicked that thing's ass! The name is Erika, it's a pleasure to meet you, Ms...?" She asked sweetly and held out her hand for a handshake. All the while, she looked upon the clothing of the Amazon woman, as she stood there with a look of pride on her face. Her body was definitely in shape and Erika blushed in embarrassment from being small in every literal sense compared to the woman. She was pretty much an ant when looking up at Alethea. "No doubt those things will be coming back because of all the noise. We should do well to prepare to our fullest."

Alethea continued to watch the forest in which the group stayed even after being alerted. It wasn't rare to see creatures hesitant after one of their own were killed in front of them. In truth they were probably devising a plan of their own against the duo. This was time she would certainl take to become more acquainted with Erika in a sense of getting a feel of her. She'd extend her hand to meet hers for a shake, Erika's hand minuscule in comparison.

"Yeah, I'm your partner. You can call me Alethea."

She would say with a voice common to that of an average woman holding a hint of irritation before returning to her stance towards the creatures. She wasn't really angry with Erika, but more so worried for the safety of the girl. It had been some time since a comrade of her became severely injured on a hunt and she wasn't planning on reliving those memories.

"Alright, since you don't seem to be the physical type, you'll back me up from a distance while I get up close."

Alethea spoke once more, coming to this conclusion after taking note of her skill with the wand weapon Erika wielded. Well, that and the fact that she was also quite thin even for a small human. If she had any objections it would be advantageous to speak her piece as soon as possible while the beasts remained idle for the moment.

The mantis stared down their prey for a moment more, before they decided to mobilize. One of them took off in a quick sprint to circle around Erika and Alethea, preparing itself for a flanking tactic. The creature utilized it's wings to get a higher vantage point on the two, as it continued its circling of the forest area. The one that remained behind, would try to confuse and cover it's ally's tracks, by going into a fast, forward flight towards the two.

The beast spread its wings and revealed their blades, before it took off. The mantis reared two of it's scythe-like appendages, moved in an erratic zig-zag pattern, and aimed to come in with a quick, clean cut to the neck of Alethea.

It's ally in the meanwhile, traveled so that it aligned itself directly behind Alethea and Erika. Perched atop a thick branch, the mantis opened its bladed wings and took a lunging jump towards Erika. It flew low and fast, drifting off to the side, so that it wouldn't have to directly fly towards Erika in order to cut her. The creature would instead use it's extremely sharp wings in an attempt to cleave her cleanly in half. Not only that, but it would also try to cut through the girl and aim for the large Amazon woman, as she more than likely dealt with mantis that charged forward earlier.

Erika practically dead-panned at the size comparison between her and Alethea's hand. They were definitely on different leagues from each other. The girl could only chuckle nervously, but was more than glad that somebody like Alethea was on her side and not the other way around. The magical girl smiled towards her partner and nodded, though she did notice a bit of the irritated tone that the woman spoke with. That was when she kicked herself back into her super-serious mode and readied her wand.

"I have crowd control that will help us! Those things are fast, but my chanting is faster." She mentioned and would make good use on that. Right when Erika concluded her statement, that was when the battle began once more. The mantis all began moving and Erika was hearing movement from what sounded like all around them. From where she stood, she noticed that a mantis had charged forward and was flying in the air towards Alethea.

Erika placed a large amount of faith into her partner and decided to focus on the second mantis, rearing around her head to the source of sound that she had heard earlier. She could only assume it was sneakily running around and observing, but she gained her answer once the beast flashed its blade-like wings and flew towards her with a sudden burst of speed.

Erika quick with her reaction imbued her wand with fire chi and swiped it in a large arc. The ground in front of her would gain an orange line, before it burst into a large wall of fire, that would serve as both an offense and a defense. Should the mantis try to continue its charge, it'd more than likely burn its wing and crash onto the ground next to them. However, if it decided that it'd avoid the wall all together, it would have to fly around, reveal itself to Alethea as well, and join its comrade on its frontal assault.

It was a faith that Erika would have hopefully not misplace as Alethea faced off against her share of the danger that approached. She hadn't expected much intelligence from these creatures given there habits she took note of while scouting them out though still she was not surprised in the slightest upon seeing their cooperation with one another. Instead she would ready herself for the second Mantis that had it sights set on her after choosing to leave the first to her partner. Something she truly did not want to do yet Alethea would find little other option in the matter.

Now, with the movement of the Mantis erratic and somewhat unpredictable it would become a bit of a challenge to deal with. There was too much to risk if she were to meet its actions with a straight forward physical counter of her own as it was much too agile and thus some sacrifice was the optimal route to take. She'd shield her face with her arms which would also cover her neck from the Mantis' fierce blades, cutting deeper into them than did its deceased ally. It was at this moment that the creature would find it had potentially made a terrible mistake as Alethea tensed up and caught its appendages within the thick of her muscle. It was painful yes, though she had suffered far worse in her years and learned to cope with it accordingly. Almost immediately after this she would latch onto its body while also binding the other two bladed limbs with her legs and go on to apply great pressure to it in between her muscular thighs. A force much greater than that of which she disposed  the other with.

The Bladed Mantis Alethea dealt with had thought its attack successful. When it caught its blades into the muscles of the woman's arms, it attempted to slice on through and get to the neck. However, it didn't expect the Amazon to tense her muscles to the point of trapping the blades and preventing them from going any further. That same instance, the woman wrapped her legs around its other mandibles and started a powerful crush in-between her legs. The creature struggled as best it could and even tried to use it's bladed wings to cut at the woman's legs, but it was all for naught as the force she exerted was strong enough to crush its steel-like exterior. The mantis died and it's body looked remnant of a half-empty toothpaste tube. Alethea was no doubt covered in some sickening bug blood.

That left the final Mantis who attempted to cut through Erika. It was met with a large wall of fire and normally, it would have flown throw it and be reduced to ash, however its positioning during the attack allowed it to veer off-course and strafe around the wall. The mantis then re-aligned itself after getting to the side of Erika and Alethea and revealed all four of its scythes, as it went in for a full frenzy assault. This occurred after the mantis found itself the last one remaining and that its ally had been killed in front of it. The creature, on its flight path, swung it's bladed mandibles with much speed and ferocity. It aimed to shred both Alethea and Erika into ribbons.

Erika smirked at her control over the battle between she and the mantis. The beast only had so many options, but she managed to condition it using its speed, to go in the more favorable direction she wanted it to go. What she didn't expect, however, was its sudden, fast, and violent frenzy. That wouldn't deter the girl, though, for she had one particular target in mind. The head. She remembered when Alethea killed the first creature, that it's head seemed to be a bit squishier and possibly served as the creatures weak point. However, this was only a hunch, but she didn't have much time to test out all of her options.

Erika judged the speed from the first time the Mantis flew at her and figured that this time around, the frenzied creature was going at a faster speed, if not the same speed. She decided to capitalize on this and when the beast neared her and her partner, Erika spin her wand in her hands before coming down hard on the ground with it. The earth rumbled beneath the two of them and a molded spike of earth quickly shot its way out of the ground. The speed in which the spike came out, rivaled that of the mantis's forward speed itself and aimed to skewer its head.

It would seem that Erika wasn't the only one with with a smirk on her face as Alethea was beginning to enjoy this hunt quite a bit after the successful killing of the second Mantis. It brought her a sense of dominance over these creatures that made her feel unstoppable. The fact that she had been covered in its rather unappealing blood hadn't even really bothered her at all. What did catch her attention however was the sight of the other, and final, Mantis as it flew around Erika's versatile wall of flames. And boy... did it look angry! She couldn't possibly deny such a creature the chance that was given to its fallen brethren and so would be happy to give it that privilege if anything as she pry the lifeless blades from her arms. This would induce constant bleeding from the wounds which was something she had not caught onto right away being too engrossed in the hunt. She readied another stance for its approach though at this point her partner was already a step ahead of her in the assault.

The frenzied Bladed Mantis was in too much of a rage to try and in that folly, it's high-speed attempt on the lives of Alethea and Erika would fall short, as the magical girl's quick wit and thinking allowed her to pull off a fast strike, that rivaled the mantis's. Due to this, the beast had little time to dodge and what time it did use, it tried to veer off to the side again. However, this proved detrimental, as the beast had part of it's mouth ripped off and one of it's wings shredded by the earth spike. The Bladed Mantis came crashing down and unfortunately it landed a few feet away from Alethea.

The mantis had twitched a bit and tried to move its wings, but to no avail. The creature was too damaged in all the right places, to even think about moving. Blood oozed from the destroyed mouth of the mantis, but it fought to stand back up and readied its weapons against the two for a final strike so to say. The beast ran forward swung its scythes as fast as it could. However, the speed in which it tried to fight was cut down due to its injuries.

Erika's smirk soon disappeared, when she saw the result of her attack. She had missed the weak point, but ended up striking apart its mouth and destroying one of its wings. The beast had fallen near Alethea, but Erika was so peeved at the botching of her own attack, that she gritted her teeth and readied her wand when the creature stood back up. The thing attempted to make one last strike at them, but Erika wasn't having any of it. She knew she was going to kill the creature with her next attack. Erika imbued her wand with fire chi and wiggled it hastily. This caused the appearance of five fireballs, that she ended up launching towards the Bladed Mantis, as it charged at them.

"Die, die, die, die, die!" She announced as each fireball flew forward and aimed to strike the beast and set it ablaze. She didn't know why she didn't use this attack on it the first time, but better late than never in her opinion.

Now this was indeed a notable aspect of the Mantis. Not often was it that Alethea would come across a creature who would stand against multiple foes even in such a damaged state. Its odds of success were slim to none though this did not sway its mind in running away at all. Instead she saw its will to kill that drove it through the pain and towards its desire for their demise. Was it due to them slaying the others? Or perhaps it was just instinct? Either way, Alethea's admiration was with at as she turned away and shielded her eyes from what she was certain would become of the Mantis' fate.

The Mantis saw all five fireballs speed towards it and knew it was the end. Each fireball impacted it and caused it to stumble out of its frenzied attack and slumped over on its legs. The creature had caught fire after that and began to burn. The body of the mantis writhed in pain as it began to shrivel up and turn into a burnt crisp. The flames lasted for several moments, before the charred remains of the creature stood still and sizzled in the now calm of the forest path. No longer will civilians, children, ninja, and magician alike have to worry about a few mantis coming their way for a while.

Erika sighed and wiped her brow. She was finally glad to see that the Bladed Mantis had been taken care of. A small since of accomplishment went through the girl as she felt that her skills in this particular since, synergized well with a person like Alethea, who took the brunt of the attacks. However, she also felt like she lacked in other areas and this thought hit home when she saw the bleeding of the Amazon woman. Erika looked in worry towards her partner and took a look at how deep the slashes were on Alethea's arms.

"Oh gosh... Those darn things cut into you badly and yet you're not screaming out or anything. How are you feeling? Do we need to get your wounds treated?" Erika asked with her worrisome self and wanted to physically show the worry, but didn't do so out of the personal space and respect she had for the large woman. Nevetheless, Erika admonished herself on the inside for not having much in terms of curative spells.

It was over already huh? A little too short for Alethea's taste, but she enjoyed all the same. Her opponents weren't very formidable either now that she had a chance to think about it. A thought that would be interrupted by the sound of Erika's voice. She'd turn towards the girl before looking at the wounds in which she referred to. Huh... Maybe they were more challenging than she had previously thought.

"Oh, there's nothing to worry about. I'll be perfectly fine."

Alethia said trying to calm the girl's worry. She hadn't really felt any different so maybe not much blood had been lost yet. Not wanting it to continue, she'd go on to rip apart pieces of her tattered clothing into rags to be tied around the wounds. For most this would do little to solve the problem, but all she really needed to do was slow down the bleeding enough to where it could clot and these rags would help do just that. With that taken care of she would walk over to Erika and give her a firm pat on the back with a light smile, unintentionally applying a bit too much force than needed.

"Looks like we did well!"

The Amazon woman continued to impress Erika more and more. Not only was she tall, toned, and beautiful, but she was tough as nails and maybe even a bit oblivious. Erika watched as she walked over to her and patted her back firmly. Though it was a small, firm pat to the grand woman, it was a bit of a hard push compared to the small framed girl that was Erika. She got patted to the ground in a comical manner and would be a bit dizzy.

"Y-Yeah, we sure showed them!" She said in dazed tone. The magical girl soon shook out her head, stood back up quickly, and dusted herself off. Erika gave a small giggle and looked up towards her partner, giving her a thumbs up and a wink. "We make a good team, though I am worried about your wounds. However, you said its fine, so until you keel over, then I guess I'm taking your word for it!" She said, giving her trust in the woman's words.

Erika looked around the forest path and felt that there was a calming air in the forest. They would have some moment of respite to catch their breath, before having to confront the Wartusks. She looked back towards her partner and smiled.

"Sorry about my carelessness by the way. I was reading the mission description on the go and it just so happens that those Mantis traveled along this path. Oops!" She said in an apologetic tone and truly meant it. Despite how goofy the sentence was structured, she didn't really want to create tense air between her and her partner, so she apologized for the shortcomings of earlier. After apologizing, the young girl fixed her long, brown pigtails and made sure her dress was on right. She had the worst luck when it came to her fashion being in check during battle.

Alethea couldn't help but let off a hearty laugh as the girl recovered quickly and dusted herself off. This Erika was beginning to become quite the character in her eyes. One that she definitely could find herself getting along with in the future. That was only if the girl lived long enough to have a promising one. Her skill was certainly formidable, but she seemed to lack a warrior's mentality when it came down the fight. Well, that's what Alethea thought anyway.

"It's alright, but let's try not to panic so much next time. The best thing to do in these kind of situations is keep calm no matter how dire it may be."

She'd respond with a smile and thumbs up of her own. Alethea hadn't quite known what the gesture meant, but it couldn't have been bad considering how Erika displayed it. With that taken care of she would walk over to the first Mantis she had slain. It was an unruly sight to see for the civilized yet, to Alethea, a sight of commonplace. She'd continue to kneel beside it before grabbing onto its bladed limbs and tearing them off one by one. Nothing went to waist when it came to the hunt.