Treasure Hunters: Search for the Cloak of the Divine Ones

As Shen listened to the horrid outcomes to this terrible condition, she too understood its severity.  Was Enigma so carefree as to not realize this, or was it just that she didn't want to live life in eternal fear of that happening?

When the daughter left, the magical girl gave full attention to Maive, and upon exposition of the worries that lied beneath, Shen's expression changed from sorrow to determination.

"Don't worry, I'll do whatever it takes.  She's given me so much strength and confidence already...  I won't let her leave this world!" she told her readily, knowing inside her heart that the fate of two lives would likely be at stake if she let Enigma...  She couldn't.

She wouldn't.

She would use every ounce of her power to protect her from all dangers; the Soler, the enemies on this world and Enigma herself.  She got up from her seat and nodded to the mother, smiling lightly as confirmation.

Maive smiled and took a step back as Enigma came back down the stair, backpack on her back. She smiled at her mother, who handed her a small box with her meds in it. Enigma looked at Shen and nodded.

"Time to go. You should go get dressed so we can head out!"

"Okay!"

With that simple command, she headed upstairs herself to fix up her hair, smooth pigtails wrapped in special bands tied close to her head, adjust her traditional casual skirt and shirt and threw on one of the warmer coats that Maive lent her.  She bound it around her waist like a robe, and the long sleeves fit well around her arms.  It didn't cover most of her legs like her skirt, but it was enough to keep her upper body warm.  She then layered some fluffy fabric around her long socks, tucking them into her red shoes so they would stay.  She slipped on slick gloves that fit under her special wrist bands, and was glad to know that the lent attire came with a hood.  This was all she would need.  After all, the real powers and weapons she had was on her all the time.

She came down the stairs and sighed lightly, rocking her arms back and forth, a little nervous and anxious to get going.

"Do you want me to carry anything else?" Shen asked as she moved up to Enigma, scratching the back of her head.  "I can't lift much, but I can sure try!"

"This one is for you. Food, some water, other small items that could prove useful. Enigma handed her an extra backpack, loaded with rations and other necessities. She then went to the door and pushed it open, the sunlight streaming through the doorway.

"Time for use to start our own story!"


((Time skip))

Enigma and Shen stood outside the town gates, looking at a map. She pointed to a spot on the map in the southern area; a desert region.

"There's a small village there, and it's the last location that was said to have seen the cloak. we can make our way there, as a start."

As Shen looked over the map with Enigma, she listened carefully, making sure she was getting all the information she could - this was an alien world to her, after all!  She had to know as much as possible in case of something bad happening, but she pushed that back in her mind.  Nothing bad should happen.  Shen wouldn't let it happen, as promise.

"Do you know your way around a lot of these places, Enigma?  You don't seem worried at all about this," she said with genuine curiosity.  "Exactly how many times have you tried to find this cloak?"

Enigma looked up from the map, and sighed. She folded up the map and stuffed it back into her bag before starting to walk.

"This would be the first time I try for this cloak." she explained. "All those chests in my room have things I've found on my adventures. Granted a lot of that stuff is cursed and in need of appraising, but still. This would be the first... holy artifact, if you will."

She flicked her tails about the snow, and looked up at the bright sun. It was a lot warmer then last night, but still quite cold.

"Holy artifact..." Shen repeated, following closely behind Enigma, just off to the side enough for her tails not to hit her.  This girl was very experienced, but if she had never found one of these types of treasures before, there could be some unexpected hiccups in the adventure...

"So you say your father inspired you to become this, but lots of other people other than you two probably want to look for this cloak too, right?  Do you know how many others are out there competing for the same thing?" Shen asked, wondering if there was a specific rival the feral girl had in mind.  Maybe if she had an idea on who to look out for, she could stop them before they got in their way...

But maybe she was getting ahead of herself...

Enigma thought for a bit, her ears twitching. They slowly fell back against her head as her thoughts drifted. Prominent shaking and calling of her name snapped her out of her trance.

"S-sorry..." she muttered. "While it's true that my... father... inspired me, he DID warn me about the dangers of pursuing artifacts like this." her ears slowly perked up. "There may be others searching for it, but I don't think any of my rivals would be brave enough to come after it!"

Shen cocked her head in curiosity; just who were Enigma's rivals?  She didn't want to touch on more personal things so as to avoid more potentially saddening flashbacks, but this might be important to know.

Instead, to make her feel more comfortable, she felt some explaining on her end would help the cause.

"I might not know who your rivals are, but certainly know of a certain Soler who's gotten on my nerves time and time again," she exposited, wishing she could show her who it was... Then again, that would be a BAD thing...

"He looks like a humanish dragon - you know, a big lizard who can breathe fire, and when he walks, the ground heats up.  I thought I got rid of him, but when they captured me, I could have sworn I saw those crooked horns..." she exhaled, her chest tightening up at the mere thought of that guy.  "He calls himself Shyre and if he has as much of a grudge against me for what I did to him as I think, he might try to stop me here, too..."

Shen hoped that this wouldn't scare Enigma at all, but she wanted to make sure that she was aware of this potential threat in case something bad happened...

Enigma paused her walking for a moment, and looked at Shen. She tilted her head to the side, then grinned. She enjoyed a challenge.

"If he ever shows up..." she started, drawing her blade and kneeling. "I swear on my code that I'll protect you. No matter the cost!"

The kitsune grinned up at the magical girl, tails wagging slightly. Friendship was something she cherished heavily.

((OOC: Apparently the dead line date has been extended so I can post here now?  I'm sorry I took so long, Enigma!))

Shen felt the heat rise to her cheeks, feeling happy that she had someone to help her fight off her long term enemy.  Even if she didn't have her family with her... maybe she would find a new one in Enigma?

"I'm-I-I hope he's not too strong this time!  I feel like he would be weaker now," she said, still a little flustered and blushing.  "But there's always a chance that he has a leg up on the situation.  He's from a strong alien race, after all."

Shen brushed her bangs out of her face and looked out over the snowy horizon.  It was hard to see, but from the looks of it... in the distance there was a bright golden glow.  It looked like it was in between some mountains, and moving... but very slowly - at least from her perspective.  The twinkling golden light kept coming without stopping, and the magical girl began to shiver even though she was wrapped up in such warm clothing.

"That light... what is it?"

Enigma smiled and slung an arm around Shen's shoulder.

"Its one of the suns rising. The day is going to be cold, but not as cold as the night."

She drew her sword and pointed it towards the sun, a determined look on her face and strength in her voice.

"This adventure will be a success! We are going to kick this adventure in the ass!"

"I guess I was a bit worried there... I thought maybe it was... nevermind," Shen said, smiling widely as Enigma triumphantly roared her words.  She could already feel the warmth coming off of the girl's fiery aura - or was that the sun she was talking about?  

"Let's get going, heehee!  Where did the map tell us our next destination was?" she asked, curiously.  This energy was very contagious!

Enigma stood next to her friend and looked at the map.... which was blank.

"Oh! I forgot!" She fumbled through her bag and pulled out a small circular piece of stone and looked at the map though it. The entirety of the map was now visible to her, and Shen if she wanted to look though as well. "According to this, the first location we need to check out is down south in the desert. It may sound all nice and warm, but its cold as a Bireta there. Good thing we got warm clothing!"