Gatling Rain on a Steam Filled Morn

Waltz came out of his cabin with a sigh. The ever-ready flow of magic coursing through his body was actually overwhelming at this point. Six entire subjects of magic have been crammed into his skull, six webs of infinite magic weaved over his body, he practically felt like hair-thin wire were wrapping his body all over. For a book full of infinite magic, it sure does not explain any precautions or warnings. A glance at his own armored arms showed that he were wafting steam off of his form in the cold night air. Tonight, he will put away the book until he can speak to a seasoned magic user. A short thought of the mare he fought before glanced his mind, but he simply sighed and shook it off before double checking his bag of belongings.

"Looks like you're stressing your mana pool."

Waltz recognized who it was, and remembered their fight like it was the day before. Thanks to the passage of time sent askew, it really did feel like the day prior.

"It's been weeks. I can't even conjure up so much as a spark."

"Uh-huh. I put eight seals on your magic. One for every school of magic."

She hung her head, clenching her jaw.

"You want them back? You help me and I will let you earn them back."

"I would...do almost anything to get my magic back. So a maid to do your chores, if that is what you wish..."

"No need. I don't have a house. I don't live in Gaochang. Although...I do plan to stay here for some time. Look. I'm not a bad person. I'm actually the hero. My job is to save peoples' lives and help people. Fight the bad guys, etcetera. Sometimes I even bounty hunt."

"Bounty hunting?"

"Not just bounty hunting. Being the hero. Ya know, saving peoples lives, like I just said. I guess the best way to say it would to say, think of a story book hero."

"You can't tell me you're not here because of me.", Night stepped past Waltz.

"Hey, Night. Nightmares and Sweet Dreams, meet...Uh....", Waltz paused.

"Silver Lilac.", the mage-ette sighed.

"Oh hello, I watched you get blasted off of the side of this ship the first day I was on board! Who'd you piss off enough to get a cannon to the face? Oh wait, don't tell me, because he's standing beside me. This guy, the hero. So, I would guess that you're the bad guy. Which...doesn't make a whole lot of sense, considering you two are talking about who's maid is who."

"He took my magic, you flying rodent!"

"Waltz, I'mma stab yo maid."

"Don't stab my maid. She's not even my maid. She's going to be helping me be a hero. Whenever I fight, you fight. Whenever I go somewhere to save someone's life, you better be helping me save one person's life, or saving another person's life. Got it?", Waltz cleared with the silver mare.

"Crystal. I'm still not really sure of this, oh wait, that's right, I am offenseless. Not defenseless! I have basic armor, thank you. This isn't just some sexy get up, it actually functions as armor should!", she scoffed. "I have no magic. My skill is in magic. No magic, no conflict. If you're going to make me fight without magic, then no, you can forget it, I don't need to help you, I will figure out how to get my magic back, and now that I know that it's seals, I can do a whole lot about that."

"No you can't. I sealed your magic. Only I can break those seals."

"Try me. Force enough magic flow through something and it makes the lines of the magic bleed into unstable cacophony. It will hurt, but they will be gone."

"Or be the hero.", Waltz countered. "You want the book of the mages, then you can earn it. By proving to me that I should ever let someone like you grace the sight of it's pages. I protected it's contents with no hesitation, without holding back. If I so decided to, I could have simply killed you in the doorway, but I saw something of an opportunity, such as an ally. What better an ally than another hero?"

Silver stared on in awe. "Wow....I feel....uncomfortably inspired. This is new."

"Heh. If you don't want to, you don't have to. But the quickest way to get your magic back is to earn it back, or do me one good deed to earn it all back."

"Reeeeeeeeally?", Silver ask with a clever stare. She bent forward, tugging on her top. As she took a breath, Waltz interrupted.

"No."

Silver hmphed.

"Wow, you must be desperate.", Night took a breath. "Alright, well, hero, I'm headed into Gaochang. Ya didn't see me all cruise because I was too busy stealing things. I just made two fortunes. One off the dress, one off the loot. Ciao.", she waved him off. "Oh, and before I forget, if you wanna find me, just ask for a nightmare in the baddest part of town. I here that place, the Black Dragon, sounds like a fairly criminal bar."

Night disappeared around the next turn.

"Alright. What school of magic gives you those wings."

"School of wind. I know three spell of the school of wind only. Wings, wings, and wings. The third pair are better."

Waltz put a hand on her shoulder, smiling. "And now you can have them back."

Silver flinched, then took stance, bursting a pair of wings from her back, still the same ethereal pair as before. She suppressed a squee of delight. Then her expression changed immediately, "That easy, huh?"

"Nope. You just need flight to get where I'm going. I don't take refuge in the inns or hotels. No. I sleep in clock towers. the one place always vacant in big cities."

"Clock....You have got to be kidding me."

"Nope. Kid you not. Now. There are, oddly enough, three big clock towers here in Gaochang. One sits above a brothel on the north side, which is...terrible in my eyes, we're going there."

"The brothel clock tower?"

"I've got business, and finding someone who knows Gaochang, we can find a blacksmith the fastest. That way we can get your scythe reforged."

"My...I had forgotten about my scythe."

"How good are you with that scythe?"

"I used to be called the Shadow Thief. Steal your soul, shadow, whatever. I barely understood where they got it from, but it was a village I frequented which had very terrible basic english-equestrian.", she shrugged. "I've killed very many things with it."

"Good."

"But I'm not settling for any blacksmith, and it's my weapon, so I get to choose where it is reforged."

"Only the best for the best. If you have skill in something, use only the best equipment. Now. We need to get going. Gearing you up comes first. Take flight, we don't go by foot, can't risk being seen."

Waltz bolted off the side of the ship, taking wing to the night.

"You're the boss...", Silver leapt over the side as well, tailing behind.

And then they flew for an entire two and a half hours. Not crossing the city, no, Waltz simply flew for two and a half hours. Not Lilac though, she didn't stick around. He even made Lilac lose sight of him many times as he dipped in and out of narrow alleys, dove through narrow gaps, the whole badass thing with the closing wings part, yeah, Lilac couldn't do any of that. She ended up breaking off and flying to the north of Gaochang only thirty minutes after they had began flying, and just waited on the clock tower face until Waltz came around. He backwinged onto the face as well, dodging the second hand.

"Oh man, it's great to be in Gaochang!"

"Yeah, don't wanna be seen, huh? This clock face is a big light and we're two silhouettes."

"Yeah, well no one can make out details on a shadow. Gaochang city is full of winding streets and narrow alleyways. If I need to lsoe someone, it will be easy, but if you need to lose someone, you need a trump card. Mine is my wings."

"And what happens if someone cuts your wings off?"

Silence followed. T'was a grim statement, made Waltz think.

"Uh-huh. Yeah, didn't really think of that, did you. Keep in mind, criminals like to take away things that you like, and that seems to be one of them."

"I have pride in my wings.", Waltz sighed. "We need to get inside. Tonight, we do nothing. We just got into Gaochang, a beautiful place, I'm not gonna make you work just yet."

"Yippee, a day off before actually doing a job I didn't want."

"Hey. Should not have threatened me. Judgment on sight, first impressions mean everything."

"You're right. So, what now? Inside the clock tower? Oh wait, it's impossible. I tried, it's sealed off."

Waltz looked at the yellow light of the clock face and nodded. "Alright, tower two, then. If none of them, I'll find a place for us to stay."

"I'm rich! I own a fortune everywhere in this world! I'm an alchemist! I could just pay for a place for us to stay. Well, I don't know about letting you in."

"Be bitter. And stupid. You stay somewhere a criminal can easily find you, and you get assassins in the midst of the night."

"I take it you're talking from experience."

"Had that problem once. Oh right, business. Brothel below. I have to say hello to an old friend of the legendary sniper.", Waltz fished the small bauble from his pocket. Still no idea to what it is or what it could be used for. But it looked like it fit inside of Gaochang city itself. He pocketed it. "Lets make this quick, I don't like whore houses.", Waltz stepped off the ledge. He backwinged onto the alley below, almost stepping into the direct line of fire as someone were, very forcefully, thrown out of the brothel. His clothes were thrown at him.

"Come back again, and I will stab you!!", one mare shouted before slamming the doors.

"Hah.", Waltz stepped in through those same doors.

"I thought I said- Oh, hello, welcome to the Jade Saddle!", the same mare whom stepped out cleared her act up quick, adopting a homely smile.

"I'm here to talk to the owner and only the owner. Alone."

"No. You can turn around and leave. If that's all you want, you're most definitely NOT getting it."

"And what if I said, Arrrrrrrr?", Waltz played the perfect rumble of the old salty dog whom asked him to do the same thing.

"Elizabeth, you get your ass in here, NOW little missy!!!"

The young mare glanced guiltily at something out of sight, chuckled nervously to the two, then bolted. Not but a moment later, she returned. "I apologize greatly for what I have said, please take your shoes off at the door, this is a Gaochang household, my mother- I-I mean mistress will be expecting you in her...personal room.", she stood properly.

Waltz smiled, then obeyed, removing his grieves. Lilac removed her slippers. As The young mare, Elizabeth, lead them away from the door, the air began to take on a heavy...slightly musky but also very very perfumy scent. It brought an uncomfortable feeling to Waltz's lungs. Lilac on the other hand changed pace, walking rather shamefully close to Waltz. As they rounded the first bend which lead to this 'personal room', the mare inside, clad in nothing but a blanket wrapped about her, poured a small cup of liquid into a steamer, and colorful puffs of smoke wafted upwards before dispersing through the air magically. Very Powerful and heady fumes hit both Waltz and Lilac. Waltz felt an unnatural warmth in his chest, mayhaps his lungs freaking out over the foreign chemicals. Lilac, same as before, acted completely different, even taking a moment to immediately sit down on the sofa just outside of the owner's room.

Waltz stepped in right after Elizabeth, and the mare situated on the bed simply turned slowly, and uncovered her upper body as she laid down seductively in her luscious, silk covered bed. Then she gave him a look that didn't scream, 'bend me over' as she came to simply not recognize the stallion that had entered her personal room.

"You're not Eldritch.", she covered her chest. "Who the hell are you?"

"Well, I guess I did play that hello pretty well. The name is Cloud Waltz, and I am the adoptive son of none other than the legendary sniper of the far skies...Eldritch Stone."

She mouthed a short swear. "I guess the appeal doesn't fall far from the tree, even if you're not really his son."

"Pardon?"

"You're cut like a diamond. Just like he is...", she swooned, sighing. "Oh, I overdid it with the perfume."

"Let me help you with that.", Waltz held his hands open, then motioned for the rushing wind to filter throughout the entire brothel, airing the whole building out.

"Whoa. Getting hotter every second. So why are you here, and Eldritch is not?", she responded.

"I know your name."

"Hooooot! Er...Than before. Keep going, you just might make it."

"Not here to make it anywhere. I came here to do a favor for Eldritch and say hello. Well, really it was the burly yarr. But that was wasted on entry. Kind of lost it's touch."

"Not to me. Every time I hear that voice of his curl up in that single syllable, I practically m-melt. Oh!", she took a breath. "Damn, I used way to much of that stuff. Ugh. Is hello all he wanted you to say? Not uhm...something...more personal?"

"Nope. Sorry to say."

"Well, if not he himself, then you and I should chat...sometime outside of tonight. Right now really wouldn't be a good time to...talk to the son of...oh by the night's stars you don't have to be him."

"I assume that this unnatural heat inside my chest is from the perfume, which I would also assume is laced with aphrodisiacs, so I'll throw this out on a limb and so No, Stop, and Don't."

"Oh, fuck you you little errand boy. Fuck me. Look. I just might lose myself in a moment, I was hoping to have lost myself already, so, if you could just go, please..."

"Two questions. Where's a good blacksmith, and when can we meet next?"

"South side, Stallion by the name of Black Steel, and tomorrow, just not toniiiiiight. Oh please stay."

"I'm not one for debauchery, it simply rubs me the wrong way.", Waltz turned away. "You have a good night, Lilac lets go."

She meeped, standing up and briskly walking out. She were stiff as a board.

"You ok?", Waltz asked as he exited the brothel.

"Yes! Peachy! Just uhm...please don't look at me."

"Ok, I won't. I'm headed south to see if that blacksmith is still working."

"Here, take my scythe, too!!!", she pushed her bag of metal shards into Waltz's chest. "Take some money, too, jsut don't look for me!!", she dropped a bag of bits on top and began pushing him down the street.

"Wait, I still need my grieves, mare!"

She scoffed, hurriedly retrieved his metal boots, then bolted into the nearest alleyway.

"Alright, you do you, just...oh wow, you are defenseless. In a city of criminals." Waltz hung his head, dropping the items so to put his grieves back on. "Please be safe.", he picked both bags of metal back up, and took flight. He had a place to be.