Remnant. A land bestrode by darkness. Mankind clung to a tenacious existence, fighting for every inch that it could grab from the dark claws of the beasts of Grimm. Bastions of civilization shone on the four continents: Vale, Atlas, Vacuou, and Mistral. Their walls were strong, and sturdy, and cities thrived beyond them as they carved out a trail through the darkness. But not all could be contained by walls, by rules. Many dreamed of a better life, and were willing to take the risks to go beyond and try to blaze their own trail. They established their own settlements, and tried to create civilization in the wilderness. Some survived, many died. For without the protection of the military of the Kingdoms, settlements were woefully undefended against the hordes of Grimm that could come upon them. To hear of a mass slaughter was not uncommon, when there were even survivors to limp back with their tails between their legs. Yet a few managed to survive, and the reason for that was the Huntsmen. Not beholden to any one nation, they could be hired to defend settlements from Grimm attack, so long as one could meet the fee.
This was exactly the case when it came to the settlement of Amlaren. Situated in the foothills near the Kingdom of Vacuo, the warm climate was no deterrent to those who dwelt in the city. It had initially been set up by Dust prospectors, who had turned to mining various metals from the mountains themselves and shipping them back to the Kingdom for a tidy sum. This meant that they were able to foot the bill to have a couple of Huntsmen come out for security, especially when the last one had been seriously injured in a Grimm attack.
That was why Sara was here. Boots crunched on stone as she walked down the winding path from higher up the mountain back towards town. There had been a small incursion of Grimm, nothing too difficult to handle for her. Especially not with her partner Kemuri at her side. The two of them had gone to school together, and since they had proven to be a good team they had stuck together when they became full Huntresses. Her polearm rested on her shoulder, a comfortable weight amidst the sweat and the beating sun from above.
"See, that wasn't so bad," she remarked, the first stone buildings of the village coming into sight as they walked along. "I told you this job would be fine." There had been a debate over whether it was worth taking this job, given there were better paying options, but her good nature had won out in the end. If everything was this easy, then it wasn't a bad idea.
After a moment she glanced over, flashing Ri a grin. "So, got anything in mind now that we have some free time?" One never knew when another Grimm attack might come, but they probably had at least a bit of free time to take advantage of.<|im_end|>
Kemuri hummed thoughtfully, stretching out her arms to thrust her generous chest out as her back popped. "Well, after a fight like that, I was just going to visit that little massage parlor I mentioned earlier," Ri said. "Work out a few kinks, introduce the girls to some, you know, usual stuff." She added with a wink. "Then maybe hit the inn and drink a barrel of wine and shag whomever looks prettiest." Ri had somewhat of a one-track mind, and often spent her free time either lazying about, getting drunk, or getting laid. Add to that the slight tent in her pants that she'd had since one of the serving girls -a curvy, older woman with "bazongas this big, I swear" (followed by Ri outlining the supposedly gigantic breasts against her own)- had bent over a bit too close this morning and practically showed her chest into Ri's face. Something she normally condoned, provided one followed up on it.
As they entered the town, a few of the locals gathered round, praising the huntresses for fighting off the grimm. Ri basked in the attention, making a big show of retelling the story to a few that clung to her as she walked. "-And then I cut through the beowolf in one strike!" Her crowd "ooh"-d as she drew her daisho and swung them both upwards, mimicking her earlier attack. "But, another one had gotten into my blind spot", she whirled around, miming shock "And I didn't have time to block it's swipe!" The crowd gasped, one man asking "what happened", and she leapt into the air, her body dissolving into black smoke, swirling around the delighted audience. She then re-formed, dropping down onto the ground, her swords now combined into anaginata, which she thrust into the ground like a spear. "That's what I did!" she exclaimed as she stood up, raising her hands into the air as the crowd cheered.
After her stories had run out, the crowd dispersed one by one, Ri putting on a bit of a show for the ladies, flexing her toned arms and shooting them flirty winks. As the last one left, she was standing in front of the Inn, and, coming down from her attention-induced euphoria, realized that she'd not at all kept track of Sara.<|im_end|>