WHO COULD EVER LOVE ME?

". . . Did you get that this time?"

"Hold up, repeat it one more time, but slower."

The doctor rubbed his temples, growing more and more impatient as the girl stood there, absorbing so little of his words. He reached to his notebook and opened it, only to show a highly detailed sketch of the lizard. He held it between himself and the woman, sighing as he did so.

"Go to forest. Find lizard. Trap, or kill lizard. Protect tail. Bring tail, or living whole lizard to me." He stared into her face, wondering if this time, she would understand her mission.

"So kill the lizard and bring him to you?" Chi asked, feeling like a child, but still was entertained with the job none the less.

"Yes, but don't harm the tail. I need that part, if not the whole lizard." He sighed again, it was becoming more and more of a hassle. He considering hiring someone else for the job.

"Oh alright. That's easy. It's a small thing right?" She laughed, it was finally making sense to her. All she had to do was track the damn thing down. It was easy enough.

He lifted the picture and tore it from his book to hand it to her. "This is far from what the actual size is. This lizard is the size of a baby."

". . . Baby lizard?"

"A baby human."

The doctor and Chi would sigh in unison. He only hoped she wouldn't screw the job up, and Chi was finding more and more that her simple task was much more complicated than she initially planned.

She begun to leave the man's shop. The note was i her hands and she would fold it and place it within her breast. As she exited, she would grab a net and a few other various potions the man had. As she picked up the second, the man would poke his head out, only to tell her that both of them were highly explosive, and would cost more than her own payment for the job. With another sigh, she would place the flasks down, only to exit with a net and a piece of paper. With the sun still out, she would make her way out of the city.

She walked on the common streets and roads, looking at the shops wondering what cheap trapping equipment she could find and use. It wouldn't be beneficial to spend more than she was getting paid. With the net propped on her shoulder she explored what else she could do with her funds.

When she made her way past the local market, she would find herself with no new merchandise and less of a plan than what she had in mind at the small shop.

She would look for the tree line and make her way to the woods to find this rare lizard. It was rare surely. It was going to be hard to find, and even harder to catch.



501/2000

WHO COULD EVER LOVE ME?

Following sounds and any hint she got of the creature, she would wander into the dark of the foliage. It was day, sure. But with the density of the leaves and trees parts of it was as if it was night. It was the theme of her life, to be cast into the darkness when light was all around her.

She didn't mind it too much, it was just something to further motivate her to move on. With her guardian. she was protected and guided into the right path. Without her, she would be lost and living without a cause. But even so, her pilgrimage granted her enough insight for her own task. She would unify this land to ensure another massacre would never happen. Not to her, not to anyone.

But she knew that her own god had begin to gather a following. She wasn't alone any longer. She wanted to be the one to kill that man, but if it was by a Manji's hand, then she would still find peace. She would not lead a life of anger and vengeance. She sought her own redemption, just as now she sought this lizard.

She didn't know much about alchemy or other man-made magics and things. To her, it was something far above her comprehension. She didn't care though, her mission was to catch an animal and to bring it to a man. What he did, or what became of the city afterwards wasn't her concern at all. She didn't care. For now she served her mentor and her deity. For now she worked any job she could find. She had to pay and fund her own life. Without Shura, she would have to find a way.

"Like a way through this damn forest." she thought the words to herself as she continued to embark on her path. She would have to find this tiny animal. It was green right? Yellow? Green spine? Whatever it was, it was a baby sized lizard and it was going to make some annoying sounds.

She would continue to make her way past branches and brush and bushes and leaves. It seemed to be never ending. It was as if she had gone in circles this whole time. It felt like the entire day had gone by, but still the sun was held high in the sky, and Chi Lau was left without a lizard.

"Tchtchtchtch. . . "

The sound was faint, but she would try to find where it came from. There was no bears or raccoons here. The largest animal would be this dammed lizard. She had to find it.

And then she would.

It would lay there, belly up, taking in the bright and warm sun light. She wanted to laugh at its nature, but she had a job to do.

She had found her target, but now she had to find a way to sneak up and track him. What could she do? What options did she have? She wasn't armed by any means, she couldn't harm the creature. She had to find a way to trap and distract him . . .

1026/2000

WHO COULD EVER LOVE ME?

"I invoke, Gwon-wi." she spoke, pointing at the creature before her. With it, a red light would surround the lizard and Chi Lau herself. The dark markings would etch themselves onto the ground, the light absorbing the sun, taking in extra heat. Chi Lau would regret her choice, growing warm within the ring, but she would see that the lizard had taken full enjoyment of it.

She didn't plan her capture of the creature. She was using it as no more of a preparation to find the creature if it ran away to hide. The light would alert the lizard to Chi, but she could be right on his tail, as a light would surround him too.

As she neared the lizard, his body would begin to glow a faint red. The closer she got, the more vibrant his color would grow. She was sure it was her magic, the aura casting warmth to the lizard, just as he wanted. But she could swear that it was his scales that were changing, not just her magic's side effects.

She would take the net, only to carefully drape it over the lizard. Surprisingly he would not move nor fight her. Did he know that the warmth was caused by Chi?

She didn't care to know, and she didn't know to care. She would lightly lift the lizard, tying the netting around him, but loose enough to allow him to wiggle and stretch. If he was harmed, it was useless. It was all a waste of her own efforts.

it was so simple, so easy. But then thoughts would flood her mind . . .

The eerie light of the streetlamp illuminated the ground around the fountain. Still, even in the afternoon before, not a single soul would approach or talk to her. She felt as if she waited for the perfect moment, the perfect person. It had been a few hours since she last visited her god's shrine and spoke to her god. She would return later that night perhaps to have another word with them.

Still, even if the candles she found lit up the dark, it would never be enough to keep her warm. She would waste her own energy just trying to light them. So she wouldn't bother. She would hold them within the box she held. She would keep everything she needed in the single case.

The sky would be a great darkness. but to her luck, there was not a single light gust or breeze. Perhaps she would survive.

Here, she would have to make do with the life she was dealt with. It was her own fate. Today was the start of her upbringing. But still, her mind would wander about what she could have done to save her family, her heritage. She had to stay strong , for them. The suffering of one cold dark night alone in a park would be nothing compared to the torture of their village. She needed to find a hope.

The thoughts of being so alone, so lost. Did this lizard share these feelings? She would be sure to care for him as she made her way to the scientist, or doctor or whatever the hell he was.

But as she neared the city streets, she could see Rune Knights as well as various other legal mages. How could she forget. This animal was endangered. it probably didn't care for it's own life was there was no possible mate. Maybe, just maybe, the doctor was a collector of these lizards. maybe he would be smart enough to house them and reproduce them as he would need for his projects.

It was all a dream for her, for once she cared, but still it was her mission to bring him back.

With a sigh, she would lean against a tree, waiting for the people to pass by, allowing her to move across the street unnoticed. It would be counter productive to be captured and arrested, this anime freed, or worst yet, killed for being tampered and captured.

As they would finally look away, Chi Lau would run across the road with her lizard in hand, the both of them covered in a red light. She was trying to sneak around as a giant beacon of light. It would be absurd under any normal means, but she knew enough that this city was filled with crime and thievery. Phantom Lord was here somewhere, and their members and reputation would be enough to keep anyone on their toes. Chi just had to make it back safely.

She would begin to run, the sun beginning to set, an orange light setting upon the town. For Chi, it meant almost unnoticeable light. She would have to continue to sprint to get back to the shop.

When she did, she would slam into the door with her own back, bursting it open. . . Which thankfully was unlocked and actually opened inwards.

"I BRING YOU YOUR NEW LIZARD BABY!" she would say it just as the door shut, the netting in her arms as the lizard lay there in a ball.

From the back of the shop, the sound of glass tapping each other and soft metal wires were heard, followed by a man peeking his head from behind a counter to see the foolish girl at the front of the store, almost admitting she had committed a crime.

"Must you always act this way?" he would ask her, her aura fading away into nothing as she stood there, holding the larger animal.

but it wasn't really a large animal, nor something small. It was a house cat sized lizard that ate babies, or something like that, right?

She didn't care. Her job was done. handing over the live animal over to the man, be begun to care a little less with each second away from the creature. If it was truly important, Nameless would have advised her to do something else.

But her voice was gone.

Where had she gone?

2033/2000