Ever since the war had ended Esperia found herself pondering about what to do next. In the end, sitting idle for days was not something that suited the playful trickster, and with the people of Crocus in need of help, she was quick to figure out a way to help them out. On this particular day, she had found out that the apprentice of the famous Lady Merlin had spilled a potion over a rat and the creature had grown massive and aggressive in size and now was looking for people to help her deal with the problem. In the end a one meters large rat was enough cause for concern, and this was the reason why the Demon Lord of Perverts found herself standing in front of Batra's inn, waiting for the arrival of a certain closet pervert and a feisty Titan Girl. Fortunately for them, even if the rat proved to be a nuisance, Sebastian had volunteered to accompany them, under the explanation that it would go against his nature to allow one of the fair ladies to stain their hands on a lowly creature like a rat...

"Guess I should start thinking of how we'll find the rat till the girls arrive..." the girl mused softly while looking at the demon butler that was standing against the nearby wall...

222/2000

"Is there a reason I have to be dragged along to this?" Salem Saberhagen sighed as he begrudgingly trot alongside his fiery companion, sobbing as he walked along. "And I was having such a nice catnap too..." The discontent feline groaned.

Fia glared down at him as she trudged along from a shift, off to help Esperia and Liana with a certain little quest of theirs. "Yer comin' so ya can make yerself useful... I need to remind ya who's keepin' you fed, furball?" She'd growl at him, stepping along the street that lead to Batra's Inn. "'Sides, maybe I'll need somethin' as bait fer the rat..." She'd add with a downward smirk, earning an offended look from the cat.

"You wouldn't dare! Lure it out yourself, you beast. But be careful... Because it might just know... Ka-rat-e... Huehuehue!" Salem continued chuckling to himself for a few more moments, as Fia groaned harshly and rolled her eyes. She walked only a bit further before spotting Esperia waving to her and walking.

"Hey there, Princess." She'd greet with a warm smile. She'd been a shift for the past few hours, and hadn't seen her lover's face in far too long.

"Greetings Madame Esperia, and Mister Manservant." Salem gave his own introduction too, earning yet another glare from Fiammetta before she turned back to the other two.

"So, uh, you said Greenie's comin' with us too?"

WC: 235/2000

It didn't take long for the girls to arrive, clearly to Esperia's delight for when Fia arrived the little trickster bounced straight toward her in an attempt to do a frontal tackle similar to a koala-bear, nuzzling against her. "Morning F~i~a~ Geez you really need to tell the knights to make you work at better hours~ Getting you to leave so early in the morning was sad~" The girl pouted playfully while noticing Salem, making the girl turn toward the cat, crouching down in an attempt to gently pet the feline's head in an effort to scratch behind his ears. "Morning Sal~"

Sebastian merely gave a little bow before the cat before she rose back onto her feet and approached Fia. "Yes~ Lia is coming also! She should be here any minute now. But till that minute arrives---" The trickster hummed softly as she stopped right before Fia, seemingly looking as if she was expecting a gesture of affection when all of a sudden a familiar voice caught her attention right afterward. "Lia! Good morning~ Nope, it's just us three, Sebastian and kittycat here who will do the hunting~ It's a big scary rat that we need to hunt down before it causes troubles."

206/2000
Total WC: 428/2000

Fia grinned softly as her lover proceeded to koala glomp her, patting the other girl's head as she pouted. "Tell me about it..." She groaned in response, being no fan of the early hours of work herself. Yes, Fia was a bit of an early riser, but she'd still rather spend those mornings sleeping in with Esperia. Salem, meanwhile, was also glad to see Esperia, smiling and purring contentedly as she scratched him behind the ears. "Oooooh yeah, that's the spot... Madame Esperia is so much nicer than this beast, with their mean cat-itude..." The cat lamented and sighed, earning another glare and growl from his begrudging owner.

Ignoring her companion, for the time being, Fia then received confirmation on the third member of their party, who arrived no sooner after the query, interrupting a hand that begun to reach down to rub Esperia's cute little head. Hearing the familiar voice from behind, Fia turned on her heel to face her elven friend, giving a short wave in greeting. "Mornin' Greenie. Don' worry, we ain't been waitin' long." She'd state simply, before letting Esperia take over in providing more details about their quest. It sounded simple enough, basic monster hunting. The kinda shit that was bound to be done and dusted in no time, or so Fia thought.

"Aight, sounds easy enough. We got any idea where this right might be, or we need bait to draw out?"

"Don't. Even. Think about it."

WC: 243
Total WC: 478

With the three of them gathered it appeared their adventure was soon about to begin, which meant that she would need to explain the details of their quest first. However, before such a matter could be done the obsidian-haired trickster had her priorities elsewhere, namely the hand that crept closer to rub her head. With the nimble swiftness that one can to expect from the little trickster Esperia's hands shifted upwards, trying to playfully lock the hand in place on top of her head while she explained with a sheepish grin. "No take-backsies on head pets~"

Indeed, it seemed she was adamant about Fia expressing her affection more openly like they often did between the two of them, but at the same time, she turned her focus toward the conversation about the rat, and the fate that would await it. "Uwawawa~ We can't feed Sal to the rat! although Sal might be smart, this is a one meters large rat we're talking about~" Yet noticing Liana's concern Esperia smiled kindly at her, finally taking a step forward toward the elf girl and trying to gently grasp her hand in a reassuring gesture. "I know that is your kindness speaking Lia, but this rat has been infected by a dangerous chemical that made it not only become a huge rat, but it's also rabid. Think of all the innocent people and animals it could hurt. Would that rat have actually wanted that? Wouldn't it be more merciful to allow it to finally rest in peace knowing it can no longer hurt anyone?"

WC: 261/2000
Total WC: 689/2000

Fia raised an eyebrow at the adorable little grab of her hand upon Esperia's head, doing her best to surpress a smile at the unbearably cute sight. After a moment, she just let out a sigh, as she continued to rub her lovers head affectionately. "Ya really are spoiled, ain't ya..." She uttered lovingly, making it clear she didn't mind being the one to spoil her. Moments later, it would instead be a certain black cat being spoiled, not only by Esperia, but also her elven comrade, who inquired about Fia having someone else to follow her around.

"Yeah, unfortunately..." Fiammetta huffed, though Salem just rolled his eyes and instead embraced the headpats coming his way, giving his greetings to the new arrival.
"Salem Saberhagen, at your service, my dear~" The cat would speak up, completely oblivious to how surprising its speech might be. "Please, do keep patting me, no need to keep your hands to your-elf! Huehuehue~" Another audible groan was let out by Fiammetta at the terrible joke, but fortunately, the attention soon shifted away from Salem, and to the task at hand.

Fia snickered at Esperia's reaction to her suggestion, as well as Salem's scandalized expression. "Bah, I'm sure he'd find a way out of it" Fia assured jokingly.

Regarding Liana's own concerns, though Fia didn't quite empathize, she was starting to understand the elf's viewpoints more and more. Fortunately, Esperia pointed out that Liana's own naturalist views didn't have to clash with their mission, and that they could still dispatch this rat for the good of nature, rather than as an act to harm it.

"Espy's right, this thing ain't gotta suffer anymore if we take it out." The Barone girl uttered, nodding in agreement. "If we let it be, no tellin' what those chemicals might do to fuck it up even more..."

WC: 307
Total WC: 785

Purring softly at the headpats Esperia was quick to remark with a grin. "Of course~ Fia pats are best pats~" the girl mused softly as she enjoyed the feeling of comfort and security the headpats were giving her.

Raising a hand the obsidian-haired trickster decided to gently caress Liana's head if permitted while giving her a last word of advice. "Try to gather your resolve Lia, if we are to travel around the world there will be times we will have to kill to survive or protect those dear to us. Danger can come in a lot of forms, from vile bandits to wild animals that are hunting us down as a result of their hunting instincts. But you can leave things to us this time."

Esperia explained with a gentle smile as she pulled back her hand and explained the strategy she had in mind, quite a simple one really: "Since we don't really have a solid grasp of its location our best course of action... is to ask around!"

The girl bounced off, seemingly expecting the others to do the same. While at first they would have little success in their search, it was after a while that they started to hear about various sightings in an old neighborhood, and after a young woman stated having seen the giant rat inside a large abandoned house near the outskirts of the city.

"I guess that explains about 'where' exactly the rat is..." Esperia mused softly as she and the other girls reached the abandoned house. "But how do we lure him out?" A hand raised to her chin as her gaze drifted down to Salem. "hmm..."

WC: 277/2000
Total WC: 966/2000

Fia couldn't help but look down a little as Liana nodded faintly and agreed to help them slay the beast. Even though their reasoning had been sound the Barone girl still felt a little guilty for persuading her to act counter to her beliefs, if only because Fia understood so little of them herself...

Fortunately, she got a greater indicator that things were OK from Esperia, who - as Liana's childhood friend - seemed to know the girl much better. With her better understanding, Fia felt a little more able to say that Liana's beliefs could still be upheld. Esperia agreed with Liana's terms, just this once, to not have her slay or see the slaying of the rat, and Fia too nodded in agreement.

"Yeah, we'll take care of it. I'll try to make it quick." Fiammetta added, offering what consolation she could, even if she was unsure how effective it actually might be.

Overall, it seemed Liana had reached some kind of reconciliation with the tasks of the quest on her own beliefs, putting a relieved smile on Fiammetta's face. The now determined elf suggested they head out, and Esperia revealed that they didn't actually quite know where the rat was yet. She then bounced off to rectify that problem, Fia and presumable Liana close behind.

The location of the rat was an easy enough problem to solve, with the trio gathering bits and pieces of information as they asked around, eventually leading them toward an old neighborhood and then to an abandoned house on the outskirts of the city. With location handled, one matter was left... Strategy...

"Nuh-uh, no way, not happening. Not meow and not ever." Salem uttered insistently as he noticed Esperia's gaze drift down to him.

"For fucks sake... What if we reward ya, huh?" Fia groaned, clearly more than used to dealing with Salem's shit by then.

"...I'm listening..." The black cat said skeptically, eyes narrowing at the girls. It seemed he'd need just a bit of convincing...

WC: 333
Total WC: 1118

It was rather difficult for her to figure out a solid plan to lure the rat. Although the abandoned house was on the outskirts of the town, and there was a spacious walled off garden in the back, it was most likely the rat was inside what meant they needed something to lure him outside. A hand raised for her cheek while she tapped it lightly with her fingers. A way to lure out the rat... Seemingly figuring out a strategy Esperia turned to Salem, her hands attempting to scoop the feline in her arms while she hugged him a bit closer, whispering with a mischievous glint in her eyes.

"Salem~ If you help us lure out the rat I will 'accidentally' forget to lock the door to the inn room. Imagine~ you'll be able to enjoy that show in all its uncensored glory, purrfect source for your witty choice of comments, am I correct?"

Of course she knew the cat wouldn't be able to resist such a temptation, in the end he loved to tease Fia just as much as she did, and so after they came to an agreement Esperia explained with a smile to the others. "So for this strategy, Sebasian and Salem will be entering the building, and Salem will hiss REALLY loudly~ this should make the rat try to scurry away into the garden~ Of course, if he was to attack Sebastian can just protect Salem."

A little hum followed before she stretched her arms with a grin. And now they just had to wait. It wouldn't have taken long for the rat to be revealed, or rather shortly after Salem and Sebastian had entered the building a loud hiss and an accompanying crash followed as the wall collapsed and the rat was seen reeling straight through the air, landing on its back in the garden right before the three girls. "That's... a bit of an overkill, isn't it Sebastian?"

The demonic butler made a small bow as means of apologizing while explaining in his usual polite tone. "I'm afraid the rat was offended by Salem's remarks. However, I fear the collateral damage was unavoidable."

A soft snicker followed from Esperia as the large rat scurried back on his feet, causing the young Eisenberg to take a step backward. "F-Fia, I think manhandling him is more your territory?" The girl whispered meekly as the rat snarled at the girls, seemingly preparing to attack! Hopefully the others had some plan in mind, because the rat was clearly looking as if he was about to whip a certain elf girl with his tail, and take a nibble off the taller of the trio!

WC: 445
Total WC: 1411/2000

The rat and the cat, both were proving a little problematic. The former, because of their difficulties in creating a plan to lure the beast out of the house itself and into the surrounding area, and the latter due to his unwillingness to cooperate with their admittedly risky plan of action. Even Liana seemed to realize the danger, voicing her concerns for Salem's wellbeing. Fia forced herself not to say that Salem getting hurt would be a benefit to the plan if anything, instead opting to assure the cat would be safe.

"Don' worry 'bout 'im Greenie. Cat's tougher 'an he looks, I'm sure he'll be fine." Fia grunted, knowing full well there was a lot more to the mage-turned-cat than me the eye. The dark feline didn't seem quite as convinced, though. "Tough or not, I'm not about to risk becoming rat food without some prrroper compensation!" He exclaimed in exasperation, clearly quite against the idea in spite of how confident in his own abilities he apparently was.

Fortunately, he got that compensation promised to him as he was scooped by Esperia. Before he could even voice his protests to the girl's scoop, her whisper found itself in his ear, painting a devious smile on the cat's face that had Fia more than a little concerned. Salem glanced at Fia, grinning maliciously as he chuckled. "Huehuehue... You've got a deal there, 'Princess'~" The feline declared cheekily as he was set down.

"...Do I wanna know what she told ya?" Fia groaned, already realizing it probably involved embarassing her in some way.

"Why, nothing much. She just made me an of-fur I couldn't refuse!" Salem explained, causing Fia to just roll her eyes and refocus on the plan. Esperia explained that Salem and Sebastian would enter the building, and attempt to scare the rat out into the garden. Easy enough, or so it sounded.

Well, things didn't quite go that smoothly. As the trio of girls waited outside, Salem and Sebastion entered the building, the jet-black feline keeping an eye out for the rat. Evidently, he found it, and one might've been to able to hear the phrase, "I guess calling you ugly is pretty accu-rat!", followed quickly by a loud hiss and crash was prompted by those same words, sending the rat sprawling in front of the three girls.

Esperia mused on the overkill of her butler, who simple responded as though he'd done little more than what was necessary. Salem was right behind him, looking more than a little exasparated. "IT TRIED TO BITE ME! I was almost down to 8 lives left back there..." He moaned, already sobbing a little from the experience.

Fia was smirking herself, until the rat suddenly got back to its feet. Esperia voiced her concerns, and Fia was already leaping into action. "BRING IT, YA FUCKIN' RODENT!" She uttered accurately. Charging toward the rat, it attempted to bite toward her, but fortunately, the Titan girl managed to raise her gauntlet in time, causing the rat to bite down on the hard metal. With the rat now stuck to her, Fia raised her arms, and slammed the rat down onto the ground, stunning it for the other two!

WC: 535
Total WC: 1653

Poor Esperia, although she had been prepared for the fact violence would have to happen at some point, the idea of fighting a giant mutated rat was still somewhat terrifying, and if she was entirely honest, it was also extremely unpleasant. Fortunately for them Fia was quite ready and willing to brawl, using her gauntlet to shield herself from its sharp fangs, but still the fact it attacked Fia? That by itself was setting the rat up for a dead flag. Her eyes narrowed slightly as her lips moved to whisper a phrase that the two of them would be more than familiar with. "Luxuria." It happened just around the same time Fia had pummeled the rat onto the ground, a cocoon of darkness cloaking the girl from view, and by the time the cocoon cracked open it revealed an all too familiar demon lord, her usual pleasant smile upon her lips while her hands swept lightly through the air.

Petals of flowers started to gather, manifesting around her into the shape of two long lances made of sharpened flower petals, and then she moved. A swift sidestep along the stunned rat led the first lance to skewer its leg, making it topple sideways onto the ground while a light upwards swing of her hand led the second lance to shift upwards. "Liana my dear~ you might want to close your eyes for a moment." Whispering the ominous warning she finally made a downwards swoop with her hand, making the lance thrust downwards to impale the rat's neck for a quick and clean death. It was after that the Demon Lord of Lust sighed playfully, the petals dissolving. "Interesting, first time I sensed such anger in the little girl, even more powerful than when the Lycans attacked her sister... heh I'm almost jealous of how much she cares about you Fia~"

A little giggle escaped her lips while she turned toward Sebastian and mused softly. "Sebastian, go and find a shovel will you? It's time we put the poor little thing six feet under." Sebastian made a formal little bow, replying in his usual polite tone. "As you wish master."

Meanwhile, as the demon butler started to prepare, seemingly going inside the house in search for a shovel, one he clearly found after a few moments of searching, the moment he started digging Asmodeus turned back toward the girls and hummed softly. "I think I overstayed my welcome, any longer and Esperia might get annoyed, well once she gets bored of dreaming about naughty things."

At least it seemed that for the time being they had no longer need to worry about the rat.

WC: 444
Total WC: 1855/2000

As she slammed the overgrown rodent down, Fia threw her other arm around the massive beast, holding it down in iron grip and hopefully exposing it for the other girls to finish the animal off. Well, for Esperia to finish it off, as it seemed Liana was still unwilling to assist in the demise of the mutated creature. Fia wouldn't say anything at that moment, but was starting to grow concerned for the young elf, and the tests she might face with that nature of hers...

Esperia, or rather, Asmodeus, was not quite as a hesitant. Lances, formed from flower petals, pierced the great beast, one skewering its leg and stopping its struggle from Fia's grasp, causing the Titan girl to step backward and let Esperia finish the rodent off, as it wasn't going anywhere anytime soon. And surely enough, the second spear staked it through the neck, swiftly dispatching the overgrown pest once and for all.

Panting lightly from the physical exertion, Fia noted Asmodeus' words as the demon approached, voicing her amusement in Esperia's anger and care for the Barone girl "Yeah, yeah..." Fia just groaned, not quite in the mood for Asmodeus' sly words after the fight, even if she did find Esperia's apparent concern endearing.

Asmodeus ordered Sebastian to gather a shovel to bury the dead rat, before the demon lord herself indicated she didn't plan on sticking around much longer. "Thanks for the assist, Asmo..." Fia commented with a light nod as she leaned against a nearby fence, awaiting Sebastian's removal of the rodent. She didn't wanna take any risks.

It was about then that Salem emerged from nearby, having hidden from the fight, as he strolled past the corpse. "Guess I should've figured it'd be weak to a fighting type..." He mused as he eyed the lightly sweating Fia, having witnessed her manhandling of the rodent.

The Barone girl herself looked to Liana, who was hopefully not looking at the dead rat, as she offered some simple but considerate words.

"It's out o' its misery now, Greenie... Ya don' gotta worry 'bout it no more."

WC:351
Total WC:2004/2000

It was rather fortunate that Sebastian possessed inhuman strength, and as a result, once he started shoveling away it didn't take long for the grave to be dug. However, there was still something that seemingly needed to be done, for Asmodeus mused softly. "No need to thank me~ Just lending my adorable little vessel a hand. Now if you'll excuse me, I think a certain trickster still has something she wants to do."

Bringing her hands toward her chest in a prayer-like motion strands of black energy started to come from her, similar to vapor as her body started shrinking back into the familiar form of a certain obsidian-haired girl who rushed over to Fia's side, worriedly grasping a hold of her arm, but after confirming it was indeed the gauntlet that was bit a sigh of relief escaped her lips. "I'll be right back~" the girl added as she darted off toward the nearby streets, seemingly without telling her companions about her plans.

Not that she needed to, for after a few minutes the girl returned with a large cube of cheese in her hands at the same time Sebastian had buried the rat. "As instructed I have given the late rat his six feet under young master."

Meanwhile Esperia placed the large cube of cheese onto the grave and clapped her hands together in a prayer. "Now you don't need to worry anymore Lia~ with his favorite snack he can now peacefully cross into the hereafter and play with other rodents there."

A sheepish grin lingered on her lips as she approached Fia after reassuring Liana. "F~I~A" a playful chant of her lover's name followed as Esperia leaned closer to her lover and seemingly expected to be praised for being so considerate of their former enemy. More headpats inbound?

WC: 303
Total WC: 2158/2000
-topic left in case everyone finishes the WC this round-

As the demon lord had promised, she was soon replaced by her host, a familiar dark cocoon wrapping around her form before presenting Esperia von Eisenberg back to the world. The dark-haired trickster quickly rushed over to Fia, grabbing her gauntlet concern. "Don' worry Princess, ain't got a scratch on me..." Fia huffed, watching as Esperia breathed a sigh of relief before scurrying off to do something all of a sudden.

No sooner did she return, with a cube of cheese in hand. During the time of her retrieval, Sebastian had finished up digging the grave, upon which that cheese was now placed. After a quick prayer, Esperia made clear to Liana that her actions were to allow the fallen beast to find peace.

"Really?" Salem, now beside Fia, scoffed quietly, raising an eyebrow and grinning to himself. "Seems a bit much. One might even say it was rather chee-"

"Don't." Fia uttered lowly, preventing the obvious pun. Truthfully, she thought it was a rather nice gesture herself. And one that certainly warranted a reward as Esperia hopped over to her, giving a look that indicated exactly what she wanted. "Geeze, yer a spoiled one..." Fia sighed, as she smiled softly and brought her hand down to pat her lover's head.

With the praise given, Fia cracked her neck, stretched her arms and looked to the other two. "Well, that's that job done. Time fer to get our reward then reward ourselves, huh?" She said with a sly grin.

"Drinks are on me." She uttered simply. Nothing quite like a cold, refreshing drink after a good day's work. Hopefully, it'd help take Liana's mind off things too.

/Exit

WC: 277
Total WC: 2231/2000