The Jewel of the Dunes (Solo)

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With another fierce cry from its wielder, a shining, one-sided battle axe had swished through the air as if it were but a rapier with a neat, uniform execution. The motion was as simple as it was the times beforehand: a crosswise backhanded parry with the flat side of the topheavy weapon, followed by a check with the right shoulder that led into a heavy downward smash. The girl that had been dripping with sweat and covered in dust from the wind panted in place as she finished her small string of attacks, straightening herself and wiping her forehead with the back of her hand. She cursed under her breath and readied herself again for the shadow-sparring to continue. Such a meager technique was unacceptable to the girl that was swinging an axe in the outskirts of a Nabatan desert town. Tamaki couldn't accept it if it was anything short of efficient.

Grunting and adjusting her grip on the axe, she glanced down at her palms. The worn leather gauntlets that she wore were scratched, rubbed, tattered, and practically falling apart with all of the practice that she had been doing. Even the animal hide covering the axe's grip was showing signs of damage from weather and pressure exerted by the troubled fighter's fingers gripping them with a deep intensity. Two sea blue gemstones twinkled back at her gaze, unharmed by the rigorous training exercises surprisingly. These, along with the emerald earring hidden under her messy hair that blew in the wind, were what reminded her to continue fighting and a testament to what she felt that she was good for. Now a woman, "Ms. Ane" (or at least what she was called when she wasn't subjected to the taunting brought on by her solitary lifestyle) felt she had no room to delve too deeply into the painful memory that was held within every stone that she kept.

One peek under her gauntlets showed a blister beginning to form on her right index finger near the palm. Her gauntlets were damaged, meaning that they would soon need repair before they tore. Fortunately this was not as much of an issue in armed combat because of her blessing of using her left arm as a driving force behind her strong and calculated strikes, but it would certainly limit her hand-to-hand combat abilities. Though Tamaki often resorted to her fists to settle her problems, whatever force or deity that designated physical traits at birth had "cursed" her with an initially delicate figure that she had worked tirelessly to correct. It would be extremely taxing on her knuckles to even attempt at throwing even a simple jab at full force. The Nabatan spat into her palms, rubbed them together, and slipped the protective garments back on to take up her axe again.

"Well, well, well... If it isn't the cheeky tramp that thinks she's a legend. Take a good look, boys: This is what happens to the peasant girls that aren't fit to be courted. Undesirable back in Lycia, and even the monster invasion doesn't change that," a mocking voice sounded from behind her. Tamaki didn't need to even turn around to know exactly who it was when two other men laughed at the acerbic comment. As of recently, the culprit of the calls and jeers lied within three young men that had also been from Lycia and since migrated to Nabata's desolate sands. Nick was the sword-toting mercenary with a cowlick and a grin that made most want to punch him square in the teeth, Gerardo was the knight that towered above most his age with armor even in the sweltering sands, and Mickey was a shaman flashing his spells at anyone that passed to show off. Their voices had been so deeply engraved into her mind that she could easily identify each one without even a glance with a small glimpse into what they are thinking to boot.

"...What do you want? I'm busy," she stated, slowly looking back to the trio as she clenched her axe. All it would take is a blow to the chin with the blunt end of the weapon to shut him up and get Nick to go away for good, but her gut told her that he would probably end up fighting her- and losing like he always did- regardless of what she did. Tamaki simply brushed her hair off to the right again, waiting for that blissful moment of getting to take a swing at him.

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A sneer brought Tamaki's undivided attention over to the mercenary. Normally she would be greeted by the sound of a blade being unsheathed to initiate the start of a fight, but no such sign appeared. Nick was hardly the type to not attempt to show off in a display of technique and strength with the sword that hung at his hip, so naturally some sort of scheme must have came up. With the snap of his fingers, Gerardo the giant spun his lance around before planting it firmly into the ground beneath them. Though the area was neat enough to be considered solid ground, there was still quite a bit of sand blowing in night after night to keep it from becoming suitable to use for agriculture. The knight pulled a shield almost the size of his broad chest from behind his back and readied it with a low chuckle. Tamaki grunted and brandished her axe.

"Better beg now, because I'm gonna knock the man back into you," Gerardo teased.

"I'll take my chances. You're incapable anyways," she sassed back. The fighter's voice stayed fairly serious and calm, causing the three men to miss the intention entirely and take it as an insult. With a scowl, the armored lancer wound back and attempted to strike out at Tamaki with a sweeping blow using his lance. She returned the gaze with a glare of her own and a vicious roar as she met the lance directly and parried it away. Just as she had been practicing, Tamaki boosted off of the ground and met with her opponent's chest to push him back. The armor he was wearing caused the blow itself to be insignificant, but with her slender, powerful legs pushing him back at full-force, the opening was just enough to keep her enemy off-balance. Fortunately for him, Gerardo had flailed his shield arm to block the axe that was flying towards his chestplate at a surprising speed. His lance had stuck into the floor, causing him to hoist himself upright fully again only to see Tamaki had seemingly disappeared.

"Too slow, swine!" the young woman snapped at him bitterly as she tried to jam the grip of her axe into his side. The knight cried out, only to swing his arm back and catch her directly on the cheek. The Nabatan mercenary stumbled and held her weapon ready, stunned by the sheer force of the backhand. "Ngh... You're strong," she mumbled as she struggled to regain her bearings. No response came from Gerardo: only another attack, this time with the pointless end of his pike. It was clear that his intention wasn't to wound her, but to humiliate her in front of his friends. That much was evident, but the quiet girl could care less about intentions when he was busy taking practice swings at her.

Stepping back to avoid the impact of the lance, Tamaki spun around and knocked her rival's weapon with a ferocious blow. Being slender and light compared to the battle axe she carried, the weapon was practically thrown up from the hilt and spun clean out of his hands. After slowing the movement once the weapon was out of his hands, the "delicate" fighter had redirected the swing to clash once again with the man's great armor. Of course it wouldn't pierce the dense protective equipment, but granted that the blunt end had struck rather than the sharp end, the shock had weakened Gerardo's stance. The woman of few words stepped back a few feet before brushing her hair back into place. "...But I'm stronger." Grumbling came from Mickey, who had joined Nick to stand a few feet behind Tamaki to prevent her from running. The girl had no plans of fleeing regardless.

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The look of pure shock and anger within Gerardo's eyes was blissful to the Nabatan woman. Whether she had built a euphoric response to the feeling of surprising an opponent or she had simply become sadistic in the heat of battle she did not know, but at the moment, caring about it would simply distract her from the matter at hand. Pushing aside the thoughts of whether her reaction was right or not, Tamaki spun her axe twice before resting it on her shoulder and pointing at the lance that lay in the sands. "Pick up your weapon. I'm not done with you yet," she stated in a commanding tone, evoking a vengeful snarl from the knight who had turned around to pick up the polearm. The fighter simply waited in place, seemingly steady as a statue, as her foe was able to recover the weapon and face her once more. Somewhat tauntingly, she beckoned him with a finger, causing the armored siege warrior to instantly lower his shield to charge forward. "Rrgh... I'm gonna squish you flat, you little wench!"

Pulling her battle axe off of her shoulder, the woman attempted to roll to the right out of the way of the charge. Luckily for her, the jagged point at the bottom of the shield had barely nicked her left sleeve and left a cut in the tan cloth. Had the edge struck her arm, it was likely enough to cause a major gash. Planting her right foot solidly into the shifty ground and locking it using the grooves below her boots, Tamaki was able to use the momentum of her left arm to bring the axe around her to strike out at the menace with a battle cry. Gerardo roared in pain and staggered to a stop, turning around to face her once more as he shifted uneasily off of his right foot momentarily. One glance at the blade of the axe gave the mercenary all the info she needed: the last swing had drew blood around his calf, though not enough to strike bone. "You are weak! Give up unless you will give me a fight, insect!"

"Ngh... Just squash her already, Jerry! That little snake thinks she has the nerve to start telling us to move along?!" Nick shouted at his underling giant among men. With a few moments to regain his bearings, the scrapper was baring his teeth and approaching faster this time. It took all of her strength to keep her guard up against the sweeping strike from the lance, but not even she could react fast enough to see the shield drop behind her opponent and reveal a fist flying at her cheek. One blow was all that it took to cause her to stumble back, dropping the axe in the sand and falling onto her rear with a thud and a groan.

"Heh heh heh... No smart comments now, huh? What's the matter? Did this insect just put you in your place?" he chuckled, slowly walking towards the downed fighter. Tamaki gritted her teeth and tried to get up only to be met with a mighty kick to the stomach, causing her to easily roll back clutching her gut with a pained cry. She was far from shedding tears over the strikes of brute force, but it was enough to disorient her considering her rather fragile stature was not meant to take such physical punishment. The heavy metal boot of Gerardo stomped down near her as he bent down to look at his victim with a smirk. The girl gripped at the sand with her right, struggling to find the strength to get up again and retrieve her weapon before she took any more vicious kicks from this juggernaut.

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Looking up from behind her tangled hair that blew in front of her face, Tamaki could see the knight stooping down to get a look at her face. A malicious smirk was plastered over his face as a twisted sense of satisfaction danced about his eyes. She only responded with a grit of her teeth and another attempt to push herself up. Alas, the effort only ended with a forceful shove back down to the floor accompanied by three laughs at her helplessness. Once again, her attacker merely stooped down to a knee again with his mocking smile tormenting her about how weak and tiny she was compared to his massive stature. The fighter remained absolutely silent, merely glaring up at her opponent with her infamously quiet gazes.

"...An eye for an eye, you little tramp. But luckily for you, I'm feeling merciful today: I think I'll only hit you with the dull end of my lance. That way, you can heal up faster to get your ass beat again. Sound good?" Gerardo taunted. Standing up again and gripping the lance in both hands with the hilt facing up, the muscled warrior twirled his weapon around his head and spun around before finally swinging it down to meet... the blade of an axe that had split the wooden hilt of the lance cleanly in two. A gasp from the knight was cut short by a sharp roundhouse kick that had caught the chink in the side of his armor, with Tamaki managing to finish off the small string of attacks with a fierce blunt-ended check between the legs of the giant. With a yelp and a fading groan, two heavy thuds could be heard as the practical Goliath of the town had sunk to his knees and fell onto his side in agony.

"Rrgh, you little... Mickey! Take this stupid girl out already!" the young woman could hear Nick barking orders. Pivoting around, she was already too late as a ball of dark mass had already struck her directly in the chest. Tamaki's vision flashed white, then green and blue from the sheer impact of the Flux spell: although Mickey's spells were certainly one of the last things that she had to worry about given her naturally high resilience to magical damage in the past, the shaman had certainly been practicing to live up to his bravado of being one of her oppressors. Backpedaling to steady herself after the devastating hit would only lead the axe fighter to end up tripping and falling onto her back with a dazed vertigo effect overwhelming her senses. After a few seconds of ringing in her ears and more spinning, everything went dark.

---

"...ake. I ho... adly. I wond... it this kind of act..."

Without even opening her eyes, the woman had already begun to sit herself up and take off whatever blankets happened to be wrapped around her. A small hand had begun to ease her back down. The act was neither vicious (as if Nick had shown pity) nor scolding (as her mother would often do after she worked herself to exhaustion). Surprised, she opened her eyes to come face-to-face with a young girl holding a small canteen filled with water.

"'Ello! Father found you in the desert, ma'am, and he's going to get you something to patch your wounds. Are you alright?" the child questioned politely. She was dressed in a clean green attire with a small hat resting on top of her head. From what the fighter could tell, this girl was the daughter of a Lycian-born commoner.

"...I am fine. Get me my axe, child. I cannot stay," she responded coldly. The response, though not intended to have frightening connotation, had terrified the child into staring at her "patient" with innocent, worried eyes. She sighed. It appears the resume point of her training would be delayed until the girl's father returned.

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Questions flew at Tamaki one after another, with a simple, short response for each one prompty afterwards: what she had been doing out in the desert, why she had been found beaten up, where she came from, and much more. She found it fascinating that a single child could have such a long inquisition for her of all people. All that Tamaki could confirm for her was that she was a mercenary by trade looking for a steady occupation while staying with her frail mother until work with solid pay appeared. There was not much else for her to do in her small, quiet village anyways. She could not venture out alone due to the monster problem plaguing Lycia as well as other complications regarding travel elsewhere, and staying in a monotonous, tiresome life would give her more time to lament what she has suppressed into the back of her conscience. The tall, slender woman shifted umcomfortably and fixed her eyes on a map fixated on the far wall. What truly was in store for her? Was her destiny to remain in the village, constantly swinging her weapon as opportunity passed her by? Or was some event calling out to her, waiting for her to exit the cage that she built around herself?

"Um... Ma'am? Hello? Can you hear me?"

The concerned squeak of the child snapped Tamaki out of her trance. "...Yes. Sorry," she mumbled apologetically.

"Oh, okay! I was just about to tell you that I thought I saw Father outside through the window. I'll go tell him that you're awake!" the little girl said, turning around and hurrying out of the room. All that the fighter could do was nod at her before the child bolted for the door. Not even the young girl's enthusiasm brought a smile to the woman's face.

---

A few minutes later, the little girl came back pulling the arm of a middle-aged man wearing a sling over his arm: this was presumably her father. In contrast to his daughter's attire, the man wore clothes that could have easily made him mistaken for a common thug: convincably due to the fact that the hammer hooked in the harness on his back did almost nothing to make the frayed ends of his shirt look any less suspicious. He sported a very thick and bushy beard to compliment his broad, strong shoulders. One could say that he was stronger than even local bandit leaders if he was not one himself.

"...Hmm. So you're this Miss Ane I have heard about," he spoke in a growling voice. His tone was relatively calm and harbored almost no intention of harm.

"You are correct. What do you want?" Tamaki stated bluntly. The man chuckled slightly at how she tensed up, folding his hands behind his back. She had trouble getting a read on this man and his intentions, so letting her guard down was not an option even with a little girl at his side.

"Oh ho ho, nothing from you, miss. How rude of me to not introduce myself! I am Bertram, a simple forgeworker by trade. This is my youngest daughter, Edith," he introduced, gesturing over to the girl. Edith simply smiled and waved. Tamaki gave no response, thought his was hardly a surprise to the forgeworker. Somehow he probably knew a lot more about her than what she wanted him to know.

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After the fighter had stood from the bed for the first time in the past hour, she had made her way outside of the room into a sort of dining area. Bertram the forgeworker had already prepared the table for a meal as Edith worked tirelessly in the kitchen area to finish the preparations. One glance at the table revealed three plates: this included one for Tamaki herself, as her now repaired gauntlets rested on the chair. It was rather hospitable of this man and his daughter to feed her after finding her in the desert: such a gesture brought a small smile to her face. Had Edith been looking at her, she would have jumped for joy at witnessing their guest's smile. Wordlessly, she took a seat at the table across from the forgeworker who was absentmindedly filling some glasses with water from a tin pitcher.

"You know, Ms. Ane, I was meaning to approach you eventually about this. I'd seen you practicing in the desert alone for a while now and I've been keeping some tabs on your progress as I was working on some armor repairs. It'd always struck me as odd as to why I never see you practicing with anyone. Why is that, child?" he asked in a concerned yet manly voice. He sounded like a grandfather yet with the body of a middle aged father. Edith was not using fire to cook (thank the gods), but the idea of being involved in discussion with a stranger was almost foreign to her.

"I don't have others to practice with. That is all," the Nabatan answered prompty. The response invoked a chuckle out of the man. "Oh ho ho... Come now, child, you must have at least someone to practice with! Your skill with that axe is amazing for your type, so I'm surprised as to why you're not looking for sparring partners." Tamaki simply gave him a shake of her head to dismiss his assumption. More small talk was made, almost too much for Tamaki to keep up with in concise statements. This man would have won an award for getting her to speak for more than five seconds at a time. Holding a conversation for this long was almost more exhausting than her training in the unrelenting desert sun.

Luckily for Tamaki, Edith had interrupted the string of conversation as she came out with a wooden tray holding two cooked fish. "Alright, all finished! I made extra in case you were hungry, ma'am!" the child chimed in as she skipped over and rested the tray in the middle of the table before taking her own seat next to her father. "Well, go on, it doesn't bite! Only you do, silly!"

For a moment, the woman simply locked eyes with the fish on the tray in some sort of staring contest. As fish don't have eyelids, however, she would lose this and eventually resign to taking her knife and cutting a piece for her plate. The taste (from a small chunk cut from her portion) was rather salty yet had a chewy texture: by no means a masterpiece of a meal, but it was suitable enough to sustain her. Edith seemed happy and began chowing down on her own along with her father who had waited for the two girls to begin. Tamaki prayed that she could go the rest of the meal without having to answer tough questions again.