Inconvenient Shopping Trip

[Ava Brooks]

It could be said a hundred, or a million times over that Ava was not a fighter. It no doubt had been said a hundred times over, so that was nothing new. The point was that… it became no less true as it was repeated. It also became no less true as she aged. She was sixteen years old. She had been fourteen when she decided that she was going to live her own life and no one was going to prevent her from that. Still, she wasn’t a fighter. With her blood pressure condition, she could never be a fighter. She would need some sort of magic just to keep her from passing out from running too long. That did not give her an edge in combat. Nothing would give Ava an edge in combat, except her keys. She viewed her new friends as combatants, sure. She had a Porcelain doll under her arm, and that girl was definitely a combatant. She only had one actual attack, and yet she was still quite impressive when it came to fighting. Virgo was also quite amazing. Not just amazing, “quite amazing.” Speaking of Virgo…

“Mistress, should we stop in town and get something for you to eat?”

206/1000

[Ava Brooks]

Some people might ask her not to word it that way. Ava was used to it. She had learned that people had no reason to call her “mistress” as she was not in her parents manor anymore, but if Virgo wanted to, Ava wasn’t going to complain. This delightful young woman treated Ava like her boss. She would guess what Ava wanted or needed and rush off to do it, sometimes without letting Ava know. She didn’t suppose she minded but it was surprising behavior from a celestial key. A Zodiac key of all things. She was becoming fast friends with Virgo, and loved having her around. Unlike her other keys, Virgo did not stick out when they walked around together. For this reason Ava usually kept Virgo summoned, almost like an additional roommate. She was lucky that Astra did not mind.

“That is a good idea, Virgo. I do not believe there are any fine dining restaurants in the area,” she said idly. She was teasing, and yet…

“Oh!” Virgo said, sounded greatly distraught, “I am sorry. I can cook you up a lovely meal,” she insisted.

“Virgo, dear,” Ava said gently, taking her pink haired friend’s hand, “You are fine. Do not stress. We will pick something up, and if you would like to cook dinner, by all means we shall tend to that after we find a place to stay tonight.”

440/1000

[Ava Brooks]

“Yes, yes of course mistress,” Virgo said with a nod. She sounded so grown up, but also so juvenile. Not in a bad way, but it was there. She had the form of a sweet little girl around Ava. They both wore dresses, but while Ava looked classy and no doubt a bit uptight, Virgo looked casual and cute. “Shall we go to that store? I believe they may have foodstuffs,” Virgo said, pointing to a warehouse. Ava wasn’t sure they had food, but she would check.

She nearly told Virgo it wasn’t polite to point, but resisted. She was no pointing at a person, it was a building, Ava could stand to be less critical. She was very fond of her new friend after all. “Yes, that looked like a good idea, we will check it out.”

They two girls neared the large building, but to Ava’s surprise, they heard some shouting inside. It was faint from the outside, but Ava approached to get a better idea of what was happening. Virgo looked a bit worried and kept close to Ava. They quietly opened the door and stepped inside. Ava immediately realized what the trouble was, and her heart began to race a bit. No. Calm, Ava. You will be fine.

652/1000

[Ava Brooks]

Ava was by no means a fighter, again this came to mind. She saw a few masked men pushing down customer’s and yelling at them. She grabbed Virgo’s hand. They could just step outside and pretend not to see anything, but that was not happening. There were a lot of them though, based on the shouting. They moved along the wall, trying not to be seen. She heard an aisle crash and Ava tensed up. Another being pushed over. People asking not to be hurt. Ava held Virgo’s hand tighter. They noticed a man being pushed down near a cash register. He was very tan and tall, but he went crashing into a glass tank. Ava winced and had to take a deep breath. She could see he was bleeding now and her head hurt.

“It is alright, mistress. Should stop them?” Virgo asked, tending to Ava first, of course.

“Someone stop this!” The man who had just been knocked down said. Someone laughed at him and started stuffing things into a bag.

“Y-yes, you should stop them. With help.” Ava fumbled with her keys quickly, grabbing one and summoning it. Sparkfly appeared. “Stop the masked men,” she told it. The little ball of energy rushed off after Virgo. It was a bit odd, but Sparkfly actually looked more intimidating than Virgo.

874/1000

[Ava Brooks]

“Hey, girl, get down,” one of the men snapped. He went to shove her, but she easily stepped aside from him, frowning. Ava continued fidgeting with her keys. She felt lightheaded and she wanted to calm down before anything bad happened. If she passed out, her keys would go back to their plane, and she would accomplish nothing. She needed more experience with high tension situations, that was for sure.

The man was apparently angry, and another man came over, but the ground began to shake around her, and those two men fell to the ground. Nearby a men tried to punch Sparkfly and was hit with the creature’s lightning. That made him angry. Suddenly he punched Sparkfly and sent the little ball flying. Ava gasped, feeling horrible for her friend, but noticing he had more power than expected. The other men were still collecting their loot. Well if they were going to be mean to her friends… she grabbed her Glacial Renard key, summoning the ice fox. Sure, it was draining to use this much magic at once, but she could handle it.

The white wisp of a fox yawned, stretching. It then ran up to the man that had hit Sparkfly, inhaling before exhaling a blast of icy air. The man was incased in ice. Well… one down, sort of.

1096/1000

[Ava Brooks]

The air around Glacial Renard cooled down and ice crystals formed near it. They turned into shards of sharp ice and shot at one of the men. One slices into his leg, but he immediately put up a barrier. Ava realized he was casting spells on his friends to boost them. He grabbed his bag and went running, shield still intact. A couple of others began running, but the man who had been knocked down called to Ava’s Celestial spirits not to let them get away. She nodded at them. Glacial Renard used its ice-slip, knocking down the rest of them on the slick ice. They went sliding into things. One hit a precarious aisle and it fell on him, knocking him out. Glacial Renard went after another, and along with Sparkfly subdued it.

Virgo dealt with the men she had just knocked down, punching them and molding the earth to protect her. At one point she dug a hole and let a robber trip into it. Two more down. One more man managed to escape, chasing after his friend. Ava gathered herself and went running after them. Running in a dress was not the best idea ever, but she was going to make it work. Virgo ran with her, but they soon heard the train blast its horn, getting ready to depart. It was an easy guess than the men planned to escape on the train.

1334/1000

[Ava Brooks]

Glacial Renard and Sparkfly were too drained. Virgo was a bit too weak right now. At least she wasn’t going to be able to reach the men at the train. Ava was still holding her doll, so she grabbed at that key and summoned Porcelain. The doll moved to the air, transforming into a life sized porcelain figure. She looked at Ava, and then turned to see the men. Without a word she just stared. The man stopped, turning around in surprise and seemed to lose his previous thoughts. The other man said something, but Porcelain began humming softly, her head tilting to the other side. She adopted a slightly unnerving smile and slowly walked in rigid steps toward the men. The train blasted its horn again, and as the men came to their senses, Porcelain waved her hand in a swift motion.

She had gotten close enough to them, and the slice in the air struck one down. He got up, but Virgo now had enough time to use her Rock Blast and keep them down. The train departed and with a few more blows, the men were subdued.

“Mistress, what should I do with these men?”

“I would suggest you bring them back and we shall see about the proper authorities.”

1547/1000

[Ava Brooks]

“Very well, Mistress.”

Porcelain walked slowly behind Ava, but when they returned she turned back into a doll in Ava’s arms. Virgo looked quite funny, bringing back two grown men and all of their loot, while looking to be only a young child. Ava actually smirked at it.

When they returned to the warehouse Ava went looking. The owner, Dane, was still on the floor, but had moved out of the glass. Ava put her hand to her mouth and hurried over. “Are you alright?” She felt sick seeing his blood.

“Yes, I-… is your friend dragging them?” He asked in surprise. Virgo was pulling all of the men into a pile nearby.

“Heh… yes, she is… quite impressive, isn’t she?” Ava asked, proud of Virgo.

“Um, yes. Quite.”

Someone arrived and took away the robbers, and Ava was left to deal with the man himself. He wasn’t badly hurt, bruised and cut up, but not badly. He sent Ava to get some bandages he had in stock. She brought them to him and he bandages his wounds. He appreciated her help and eventually offered anything in the store. She mentioned she needed dinner, and he suggested she have some of the fish he had in stock, and cooking tools. They came to an agreement and Ava left him happily. Her heart was still racing, and she collapsed at an inn when she arrived, but she have survived.

1785/1000

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