“Priestess...is it a- oh..”

Words had fallen on deaf, fuzzy ears. As a rather haughty woman took another swig from a large bottle of Sake. Ayaka wiped her mouth with the back of her hand then licked her lips with a dart of her tongue.

“What? If ya gonna fuckin’ complain. Do it now.” Came the annoyed response.

The nekojin winced at her reply. His own much furrier and scraggly ears swivelling down flat against his wispy white hair. Always with the snappy responses… “We’ve barely made it out the temple. It may not reflect well on you if the others see the high priestess drinking so early in the m-”

“FUCK them.” Ayaka retorted. “They didn’t spend all fuckin’ night cooped up with a buncha dead bodies praying to a fuckin’ handful of beads to alleviate superstitions. They get to sweep the floor and sell good luck charms to tourists and call themselves a shrine maiden. They can suck one of my fuckin’ bouncin’ tits if its a big issue.”

The old man coughed to clear his throat as he sped up to match Ayaka’s increased pace. She was always like this after the three nights of prayer. He had to admit, it was a difficult task, especially for someone who couldn’t simply pull the souls out of the dead bodies and have them move on that way. How someone so crass and bold became high priestess escaped him. It was like she waltzed up one day to the temple said ‘I’m in charge now’ and boom, bam, thank you ma'am she had the position. With all her flaws...Ayaka was a good high priestess perhaps the most effective Kugoshima had seen in a long time. Her bitterness stemmed from sleep deprivation, and a bristly personality. He couldn’t blame her.

“I don’t think anyone wishes to ‘suck one of your bouncing tits.’ Miss Ayaka.”

Ayaka halted in her steed abruptly and the old man teetered as he tried to avoid knocking into her. She swivelled around on one heel and glared at him wordlessly. The fuck did he just say? Rude. “Tch. You can leave me now Kajima. You don’t have to escort me any further than the temple gates. Your job is done.”

Kajima’s yellowed eyes shifted to the big red gate behind her. Two tall pillars stood either side of the road and met in a large straight archway above it. Some say that the gates were built so large so the Thaynes themselves could freely walk beneath it. They also say one should never, ever walk the middle of the path, for that was where the Thaynes walked. Even he and Ayaka had been walking to the left hand side.

The sharp, constant clicks of Ayakas fingers snapped Kajima’s attention back to her. Her eyes looked tired, not entirely noticible with her darker skin but he had been her attended for years. He noticed the subtle changes.

“Are you sure?”

“Did I fucking stutter?”

Kojima sighed. There was no reasoning with the woman. “No. As you wish.” He gave her a low sweeping bow and turned on his feet, back up the hill toward the temple. Ayaka was in a bad mood today. He thanked the stars and the sun that he was not the unlucky one that had to deal with her.


’CLACK, CLACK, CLACK’

The loud footsteps of wooden shoes hit the cobblestone pavement as Ayaka headed toward her small Alchemist store. She had already pulled all the herbs she needed from her garden and had hung them up on the rafters before the cleansing ceremony. It had been a few days so by now they’d be ready for grinding and adding to the store stock.

“Worst part is, I ain’t gonna get any fuckin’ sleep. Gotta go do my second job.” Ayaka snorted at the thought. The last thing she wanted to do was deal with a bunch of half sick, half witted people comin’ into her shop asking for help. Fuck it. Money is money. She’d charge anyone who came into the store today an extra 10% just because.

As she neared her storefront she noticed a few guards. No. These weren’t Akashiman soldiers, they held none of the elegance of a warrior. At least not an Akashiman one. Dressed all in thick robes and dark garb. Loitering about her storefront as they shoved their dirty pig noses against the glass pane.

“Oi! Fuckers. The FUCk do you think yer doing?”

One of them straightened and turned to her then. Oh hoo boy. The dirty blue eyed bastard had the audacity. The sheer fucking audacity to look down on her. On HER!

“We are the -”

“I am the owner of that there shop window you messing up with your grubby hands. Not open yet. Fuck off for an hour and come back later.”

The other two had joined him with hands on their weapons. Ayaka raised an eyebrow as she took another swig from the near empty bottle of Sake and shifted her weight to one side. “What?” She crossed her arms over one another.

“Don’t get your dicks all in a twist. Ya’ll in a sleepy town. Yer threatening the High Priestess of that there town. Yer snooping around her, MY shop. Now. I don’t give two shits who the fuck you are. Tell me in as few words as possible what the fuck you are doing.”

The tallest of the three took a step forward, his hand still on his blade. Ayaka’s ears swivelled forward as she heard the click of metal, he wanted to? Oh. Oh fuck no. Ayaka hissed as she took a step forward and threw the Sake bottle at the guys head.
The bottle was made of a thick glass and didn’t shatter on impact. But by the swear and sudden outcry of the dark skinned Drow. It had hurt.

The other two also drew their blades. Ayaka was not a fighter. She did not want to deal with this shit. She was tired. She wasn’t drunk enough, and she damn well wasn’t paid to be some warrior. “He came onto ME!” She snapped. The second came at her but before he had the chance to strike Ayaka did one better. Her hand whipped out and grabbed his balls. Hard. He quickly fell to the floor and whimpered.

The third of the strange men stopped in his tracks.

“Now. Kitty’s got claws. Fuckin’ try anything and those claws will pop your balls. Why. Are. You. Here.”

Another figure came out from round the side of her shop, emerging from an ally. The sudden tension in the air dropped as did the men. To one knee...ahh this man was their leader. His gaze swept across the scene with a disapproving stare.

“Miss, may I ask why one of my men is bleeding from the head, and the other has his…-ahem- encased in your grip.”

Ayaka snorted as she squeezed for good measure. The unlucky drow in her grasp yelped. “Suspicious men around my store drew their weapons on me. Look at what the fuck I’m wearing.”

The leader’s eyes gazed over her outfit. Long flowing red pants, a loose fitting white top. Red ribbons adorning her wrists and tail. He lowered his head in respect. “Ah. A high priestess. I apologize. My men are looking for a dangerous magic user in the area. They may have thought he entered your store to hide.”

Ayaka scoffed as she finally let go of the mans gonads. She picked up the discarded Sake bottle before standing. “Unless he can walk through walls he ain’t in there. But, if you got coin - and I see him I’ll shout real loud for ya all to come running. Deal?”

The drow narrowed his gaze and signalled for the others to get up and join him at his side. With a sharp snap of his fingers they lowered their heads toward Ayaka. Good. About time they showed her some damn respect.

“A reward will be given if he is found. We will be stationed throughout the town and promise not to cause a scene, Miss high priestess.”

They left, in quite the hurry. Good. Ayaka didn’t want to deal with them anymore. In a huff she turned to her store, unlocked it and headed toward the bench toward the back of the store. Pulling the hanging herbs that had dried from the rafters down as she went. “Fuck me…” She muttered. “Today is not my day.”

The halfbreed Nekojin pulled a stool up to the counter and sat down. She gave herself several minutes of silence to digest just what happened. Her heart beat hard and fast in her chest. She was not cut out for this sort of thing. Fighting. Magic.The whole lot of it. Their souls were old, and refined. They were strong, disciplined and foes she should not have messed with. Thank fuck the old guy came out and diffused the situation.

Ayaka pulled a second bottle of Sake, followed by a small ceramic glass out from behind the counter and poured herself another drink. She stared down at the clear liquid and swirled it in her hand.

“The fuck is wrong with suckin’ a bouncing tit…” She muttered under her breath as she pushed her short fringe up with an annoyed sigh. “Too many ass men these days. Fuckin’ stinkers. Literally. The lot of them.” She threw back the glass and slammed it down on the table.

She stared out her window. The guardsmen were still roaming the streets. It was early morning on the weekend so not many civilians were out. Most businesses didn’t open until midday. It was a time of relaxing and sleeping in, spending time with your loved ones and family. Course… Ayaka didn’t have that.

She did have a sister...but she was busy bouncing around with another alchemist. Ayaka still wasn’t sure how she felt about that. She bit her tongue to avoid travelling down that route. How was it fair that Eteri, dumb, happy-go-lucky Eteri

“Fuck today.”