orange juice [frog] (Read 424 times)

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“You know what I could go for?” Marso words were forged for but himself. Just himself. “Money. That'd be nice.” With that thought, he readied himself to venture out into the guild to find himself a job posting. He came to a halt, directed his eyes towards the bulletin board and proceeded to look through what was there – at least, the majority of what was there. Well, really, just a few, and one read, “I'd really like some orange juice.”

“Welp, gonna take this one,” he said to himself as he snatched it from the wall. He was soon to be on his merry way, hands tucked within his pockets – though, such could only be guessed at. His physique was concealed in a cloak, his head beneath a light-brown cowboy hat. No matter when he went, his short stature and odd fashion sense made him stick out like a sore thumb.

He moved out from the hidden paths leading to the streets. He only had on him essentials such as a wallet, the job posting he took from the guild. That was about it. He looked ahead in a very apathetic manner, however was rather aware of his surroundings. HE WONDERED WHO HE WOULD BUMP INTO.

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Letting a roaring yawn casually slide through his lips, a solitary figure would gingerly make his way through the streets of Magnolia. With his tall stature and rather non-conventional appearance, the boy would be easily spotted among the generic flow of human traffic. With his hands resting by his sides, this individual's lavender hued orbs would dart from left to right, searching for someone that he had been told to meet. Being new to Raven Tail, the leader of the guild thought that it would be a good idea for him to begin integrating into the group and today would be his first chance to do so.

Now that he was close enough to the hidden entrance of their guild, Kuja would straighten his posture, tighten up his hands into lightly balled fists and attempt to locate his first partner. A light rumble would come from his stomach, an obvious sign that he had been lacking in the financial department as of late. Hopefully the person described to him would come into his line of vision soon enough. "I sure do need to eat..." the boy would groan under his breath as his eyes momentarily lid to the side. Images of meat and potatoes danced in his head as a mass of saliva would accumulate in his mouth.

Shaking off the hunger, the boy's lavender orbs would finally latch onto a cloaked individual. This person was odd in appearance... though he did match what Kuja was looking for. Now pushing his way through the marauding pedestrians, the pale skinned mage would close the gap between the two Raven Tail members. Now looking down towards the figure in the cowboy hat, he would simply ask, "Are you Marso?"

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OH, IT WAS KUJA. However, Marso had yet to learn of his name or appearance. All he knew was somebody was referring to him by name. It was either a member of Raven Tail, or – well, that's all it could have been. His eyes, obscured by a pair of glasses always gleaming with too much light for those looking upon them to see where the boy's eyes were at, looked the man over. “That be me,” was his response as he secretly eye-molested the man in front of him. He possessed an enticing form, yet looked as if he's rip him into seventy different pieces if Marso were to so much as touch him.

Marso's all-encompassing tastes were likely the only thing that gave him a sense of sociability for regardless of gender, he liked being with others so he could just ogle them all day long. “You a Raven Tail Member?” He snorted. “Nah, stupid question. You wouldn't know me by name if you weren't.” He sniffed, the subtle rise in elevation bleeding into the act of fission out the paper he'd placed in a pocket. “You wanna help me with this here? This guy wants orange juice. Sounds stupid, maybe phoney, but I've seen worse and it was a legit job too. We just need to get oranges from the directions it gives us here, then make the juice where it says to, then bring it to him. Yeah?”

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Kuja would take int he strange form of his temporary partner. His eyes would quickly squint as they caught a flash of glare off of the young man's lenses. He sure was an odd looking fellow but then again who was he to judge. "Sure am," the dragon slayer would quickly respond when asked of his loyalty to raven tail.

As Marso would hand him the paper, Kuja would grab hold of the parchment. Dragging it upwards so that he could get a good glimpse of the fine print, he would merely nod a few times and hand the paper back. "Kills two birds with one stone... I can get paid and I can finally eat..." he would trail off with a sign. No more than a few seconds later, a loud rumbling would emerge from his stomach. It had been quite a while since he had downed some food. "I don't care how stupid the jobs are... I've got to start somewhere and it might as well be picking oranges for some lazy guy..."

Sliding his hands into the inner linings of his half-worn robe, the boy would spin on his heels, slowly beginning to stride in the direction of the oranges. "How long have you been with the guild?" the boy would inquire as his eyes slid downwards and to his right. Kuja needed to make allies if he was to survive in this world.

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Aw...what did he mean by 'I can finally eat?' The implications were saddening, but Marso was hardly one to show sympathy – at least not right after meeting the person he was supposed to be sympathetic to. Food was always there for him in lives and chapters alike past. Then, food became not so important and its fattening effects eventually wore off. Woo, weight loss success stories.

Then, there was a rumbling even Marso could hear – not that he was that far away, but once stomach growling became audible to those around you, it was time to put something in there. “Cool, cool,” he said as he trailed off. He thought for a moment that, maybe, he should offer to lend some money, but then dismissed the thought. 'He would refuse it. No doubt,' were his inner thoughts. He was annoyed at himself for all of the wussy thoughts he was getting. It was a good thing he started walking. Marso would do the same.

“Uh – I'm pretty new. Maybe a month or two ago. Sorry, didn't really keep count.” Their strides were bringing them, or at least would eventually, bring them into the wooded area beyond the city. Don't worry, they weren't far from the city's borders.

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Kuja's lavender hued orbs would wander through the changing landscape as a slight smirk slid over his face. Now outside of the city, he could finally feel bits of gravel and rock under his bare feet. "This is much better..." he would state with a pleasurable sigh. This was more of his terrain, even if he was surrounded by trees. With the Earth under his feet, the boy felt at home to say the least.

"So where exactly are these oranges supposed to be?" he would inquire as his head began swiveling from side to side. His hands would now slowly creep up the lengths of his torso as excitement overwhelmed his mental state. He was so hungry that even the smell of oranges would more than likely force him to run in their direction. Wait... what was he thinking? There was a viable food source right below him...

"This is the good stuff..." he would mutter, dropping down to one knee before plucking a golfball sized rock from the ground. Tossing the rock into the air, Kuja would tip his head back and catch the mass of minerals in his mouth. Now bringing his head back down to its' normal level, the boy would begin to chew the rock into sediment before swallowing the debris. The pains in his stomach would fade as a wave of light euphoria slid over his body. "Mmmm...."

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He was wondering for a while why the man's feet were bare. Marso glanced toward them more frequently as the somewhat tamer ground transitioned into one unkempt, belonging to the soils outside Magnolia. He learned such a terrain was his preference, but for a different reason, Marso supposed it was also his. His breaths proved rather silent, but sporadically grew deep, syphoning what coolness he could from the notably sweet scent the winds often possesses – at least to him.

“Just a little further this direction,” Marso replied. It wasn't long before Kuja plucked a stone from the ground and fired it into his mouth. He proceeded to chew it and swallow it. Marso cringed at the sight, only able to imagine the fracturing of teeth as a result. There obviously was none, however. “You're a slayer?” There seemed to be so many, himself adding to the ever-growing heap.

Their steps led them to a tree. It certainly had oranges on it, but as soon as they stepped near it, the immediate area took on a glow. White feathers took to the air and a definite music could be heard. Marso looked around quickly, grabbing the front of his hat as if expecting a sudden wind to blow it from his head.

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Kuja's eyelids would slightly perk up when the word "slayer" was mentioned by his partner. Turning his head to the side a bit, the boy's lavender hued orbs would narrow in the direction of the cloak clad child. "You know about us?" he would inquire with a puzzled tone.

His attention would not settle on Marso for long as a congregation of musical notes fluttered into his ears. Kuja's face would straighten out, now witnessing the spectacle of feathers dancing in the breeze. This is was truly odd to him... the combination of plumage and music surrounding the orange tree. It smelled like a trap... but then again this mission wasn't supposed to really involve much combat... unless....

"We've been set up..." Kuja would begin as a light smirk covered his face. "The person financing this mission must have known about whoever is watching over this tree... and didn't want to deal with them." As those words exited his lips, Kuja's right arm would rise to cover his line of vision as a gust of breeze swept over the terrain.

"Why have you entered my domain!?" a voice would bellow from beyond the treeline. A shadow, a silhouette lurking about from trunk to trunk. "Those oranges are mine..." the voice would continue on as the ominous figure now moved into the light of day.

Kuja couldn't help but burst into laughter as this came into view.

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“You know about us?”

“Yeah, I was given knowledge about slayers – among other things,” was Marso's answer. He would have went on, but the situation called for his attention. After all, the field was beneath a heavenly glow and song. Focus was lent to Kuja for his warning proved daunting. Set up? Maybe so. His silent response amounted to little more than a finger placed at the bridge of his glasses. He pushed them up slightly as he considered the possibly situation his partner was explaining to him.

“Huh, wouldn't that be fun.” He response was dry, hinted at sarcasm rather than some kind of sadistic pleasure to be had. All in all, the dragon slayer appeared to be right. Something approached, but it wasn't human. It wasn't surprising to Marso for reasons unknown, but it was completely and utterly hilarious for his partner. Marso just did not see what was funny about a ninja ostrich standing in a field of singing grass decorated with feathers and heavenly light.

“You dare laugh? Humph! Fine! Taste me Perfect Pecker attack!” With that, his beak started glowing. Marso had yet to move. He was standing there waiting for this undoubtedly formidable attack.

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Laughter was flowing freely from Kuja's lips at this point. A sharp pain would emerge in his stomach from the hysterics, forcing him to double over all the while continuing to laugh. He couldn't help himself, nor did he really know why this was so funny to him. Perhaps it was the fact that an ostrich was threatening him... or maybe it was his cute little outfit.

As the words "perfect pecker attack" was mentioned, the level of laughter would drastically intensify. The boy would fall backwards onto the ground, rolling from side to side as tears flowed freely from his shut eyelids. How could this situation get any funnier? And then... it did.

"ENOUGH!" the ostrich would shout before bursting forward. As the bird quickly cut the distance between the two, he would curve his head backwards before slamming his glowing beak into Kuja's genitals. A quick lung backwards from the beast followed by a glance at his target would slam a puzzled expression on his face.

Kuja merely continued to roll from side to side laughing. The words "as if that would work," were shouted between bouts of hysterics. Little did the creature know of his father's gift, skin as hard as a rock... even down there. Once the laughter began to fizzle out, a couple of deep breaths would escape from the slayer's lips before he slowly rose to his feet. "I'm sorry... I really am... you're just.... so... stupid looking!" As the last two words were stated, a second round of uninhibited laughter would emerge.

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"Oh, I get it," Marso snorted, finally settling into his own short-lived chuckle. It was about that time their bestial advisory shouted at them in an effort to get them to persist with their irksome ridicule. The chuckle proved distracting enough to dull his reactions. So, Marso was not available to offer the man protection as the over-sized bird delivered onto him a low blow. That quieted Marso right quick, but a shock surfaced just as it did on their opponent for he simply did not react whatsoever to the blow. Even if nothing was there, it was a sharp beak. It also glowed. You know that something is dangerous when it starts glowing.

'What's with this guy?' Marso thought as he observed the apparent imperviousness his partner harboured. He had an idea. He witnessed him eat a stone, then endure an attack effortlessly. His Lost Magic seemed to give him more than the ability to eat stone, assumedly produce it. Its qualities seemed to even be imbued with his skin.

He was back to his feet, but his laughter was revived. It was undoubtedly annoying for it to have its attack nullified and to be laughed at afterwards. So, while it's attention was tethered to Kuja, Marso's tongue played with a small marble of black behind the curtain walls of his mouth's flesh. Casually, he spat the small object out. The marble of condensed winds struck the ground around the creature's feat and in an explosion fury, expanded into a tornado of chilling, black gales.

Those caught within its clutch required formidable strength to pry themselves from it; so, it became evident that such was not the bird's strong suit as it rose through the spiraling vortex, wounds opening as if caught within a storm of razor blades. As that was happening, he turned to Kuja. "Are you really not hurt?" Marso asked.

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The roars of laughter would slowly subside as the spectacle that was unfolding before Kuja's very own lavender set of eyes enthralled the young man. Now rising from his hunched over position, the slayer would eagerly watch the torrent of raven winds surround the bird as it the magical forces severed through its' skin. [Black wind...] the boy would think to himself as he looked over to Marso for a bit. Through his travels he had yet to hear of black elements... he had only heard of those matching their proper hue as his did.

"Not at all..." Kuja would state in response to Marso's posed question. The slayer would casually begin traversing over towards his companion, completely ignoring the shrieking bird with each step that the took. "My skin kind of... grew attuned to my element I guess you could say. It takes a lot to do any physical damage to my body." He would pause for a moment, his eyes sliding to the left to take one last look at the razor sharp black winds before turning back to Marso. "What about you? I've never heard of black wind before. Are you special like I am?" His tone was generally intrigued as Kuja was rather lacking when it came to a broad knowledge of the World's magics. He had known for a while that Dragon Slayers were unique to the world, but this... his father had never spoken of anything like this, nor had he seen it before.

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His words confirmed his beliefs. An element had become incorporated into his own skin, resulting in increased durability. It was something anybody would wish for and like them, so did Marso. Being naturally able to withstand a much greater degree of damage than usual was certainly alluring. However, if suddenly blessed with such a thing, Marso possessed no doubt whatsoever that he would begin to rely too much on it. Things were better as they were.

"I guess you could say that," he replied; though, such was a gross understatement. There was not a single thing about Marso that was not odd. "I was taught something called God Slayer Magic. It's a magic closer to the origins of magic itself - or so I've been told." There was a thud as the bird struck the ground. In the meantime, Marso conjured a small amount of black wind around his hand. "If that's true, how ominous is it that the magic is always tainted black?" The faintest of simpers emerged before he dismissed the elemental display.

"Now for oranges." Marso walked over to a tree. Upon pressing a hand against it, the whole area was sucked into his hand before turning into a bright, glowing, big, plump orange - well, the surrounds weren't really sucked into it. What was left behind was a normal looking environment. The grass and trees were glowing and there were no longer any oranges in site. Even the bird was gone.

"Oh, wow. I get the feeling this is somebody's shitty idea of a joke..." Marso said, but even still, began to head in the direction of the next destination.

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Kuja was still a bit entranced with Marso's words. As his father had explained to him, Dragon Slayer magic was also fairy ancient in origin. In the days when dragons freely roamed the land, it was how they attacked one another and fought for control over territory. Eventually, they would pass these skills onto humans that they had befriended in order to protect themselves. Was this form of magic like his... except passed on from a God?

"Hrm..." the boy would murmur before his peripheral vision would force his train of thought to extinguish. Turning from Marso, he would watch the environment drastically change. Where once the terrain was littered with feathers and that obnoxious bird, it now just seemed... plain. Kuja's lavender eyes would then settle on the large orange that sat dead center in the clearing, forcing a sigh to escape from his lips. "I wanted some to eat... whyyyyyyy!" he would shout before dropping to his knees. With a look of utter defeat lingering on his face momentarily, the boy's eyes would spy a delicious substitute snack. Reaching down with his right hand, the boy would latch onto another large rock before shrugging and placing the mineral into his mouth.

"Much better..." the slayer would state between loud, cracking chews. Now hopping up to his feet, Kuja would watch Marso begin leading the duo off to their new location before striding over to the large orange. Picking it up with both arms, he would scurry behind his obscure companion so that they could wrap up this oddity of an assignment. "I wonder what that was all about," the slayer would inquire as he walked a few strides behind his fellow Raven Tail member.

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The orange appeared real enough. Its creation, however, was a little too far to the surreal side. Nevertheless, there was only one remaining step to their two-step job request. They secured the large orange. What remain was the juicing aspect. That wouldn't be too far from the location they'd just departed from. What was found poking up from the treetops easily caught Marso's attention. When he arrived, he tilted his head to stare up at an oversized juicer. It towered overhead.

"This is where we're supposed to juice that thing?" Marso questioned. "Can't wait to meet whoever sent this job request." Marso looked over to a set of stairs. They led all the way up to the juicer's top, which wasn't present. It seemed all there was to do was climb the stairs and drop the orange into the juicer's top.

"So, you just gotta bring it up there, I guess?" He looked to his left, already having looked to the right. He saw a jug that was empty, just lying by a tree. Marso squinted at it, moved towards it, and took hold of it. Nothing strange happened. "...I don't get it," he commented to himself.