Tonight things were going a lot better. She had things under control. There were a pack of the little brutes, and Jascadei'd managed to bring 'em together within the first couple of hours. Had the proper head-gear, too... you lose an ear-bud with one of the half-dead monsters around and they'd pull one of those hypno-stunts, the whisper-shriek thing they were known for that pretty well turned your mind to moosh and made you one of their tools. This particular mutt dragon was not about to become anyone's tool, especially not some slimy half-see-through wraith-runt that looked like it'd been sitting out in the sun for a few years too long. Peh.

You're getting better at the hunt, a familiar mind-voice sent to her as she began the first of the spells she'd need to wipe the suckers into oblivion. Fin', well Finatravaillent Sesscatiem was his whole name, but that was a muzzle-full, approached carefully, using the gold staff that was half his trademark as support. He was a dragon, kind of... wasn't called that, but he certainly wasn't a biped, he was older then rocks, and Jascadei'd been damn lucky to get picked up by him when she was still a part of that multi-kid bonding complex shindig. She'd come a long way from mashing bullies with bad attitudes and bad spells to boot, to the pretty-well grown dragoness like this, almost ready to go out and take her first job as a demon hunter. Fin knew it, she knew it... soon they'd part ways. It made her feel kind of funny, excited and sad at the same time and something else she couldn't put a name to.

You gonna let me finish this spell or am I going to have to drag puke buckets around for the next year again? The dragoness shot back, good-natured if not mildly irritated. She'd never mastered that peacefulness that Fin could muster up under high stress, and had a hard enough time dredging up enough tact to look like a peace-loving pansy life-preacher, at least enough to get people to trust her. So far it was more times then she could count across both paws that Fin'd had to drag her tail out of the fire for messing up with clients. Stay in the background, help me round up this zombie-horde, keep quiet. The first and second had been relatively easy, it was the third she hadn't figured out, yet. Back to business, she'd finished etching out the symbols in the cracked earth, the ones that'd keep any spill-over in check--some demon-spawn mutated, give it a blast of magic, and it'd go completely batshit nuts impossible to control... well, that's what Fin'd said, she hadn't seen it...--and began pulling up her latent demon-destroying abilities. Easier to control, these, even if they required more concentration. Fin' watched (from a safe distance, she noted) as the dragoness leaned back on her haunches and spread her paws over the dome that encased the Screamers. It was odd, ears plugged and eyes closed, the smell of dust predominant with a hint of evil that always trailed undead scum... she felt kind of like she was free from it all: this was what she was meant to do, this was her purpose. It felt good, breathing quietly just then and working the energy out from somewhere inside to out into her palms, like maybe she was actually grasping that zen shit, like maybe she was at the center of it all.

There wasn't any physical manifestation on her end of the spell. None of that mumbo-jumbo holo-vision you saw, people threw fire-balls made out of flaming skulls or angels had those conductor-looking halos and that resurrection freak-show jive going on. Yeah, some people did that, but it always seemed so strained. This was all natural. The Screamers, though, put on a display. They pounded against the magic dome, dissolving and flaking and generally pucifying where ever the spell touched them. Dissolving apart from their natural forms, they oozed together, component parts working to defend against the dragoness. The dome shuddered, held, and Jascadei made that final push, clamping around the Screamer mass and finally silencing it, crushing it into non-existence without a second thought.

She paused for a few moments, a cold wind rushing past and ruffling the tangled and dusty hair hanging in her face and off her tail. Silence. The pleasant oblivion of neutrality that smoothed over her senses when her quarry'd finally been laid to rest, or destroyed once and for all. The chills that ran up her spine at somewhere between midnight and dawn, when her body told her, 'sleep', but her mind told her she was way beyond that. Jascadei slowly refocused on the task at hand, searching for any residue that she'd need to clean up, any last curses or hexes that had been left behind that'd have to be dealt with. This time around, she was lucky... at one point, a mischievous ghost had gotten angry with her and left her with this horrible bugs-under-the-skin deal... not like it was her fault that she'd gone and insulted his ancestors or anything... Fin'd managed to cure her of it, but she'd remembered, ever after, to watch for nasty tricks like that. Ugh. Bugs.

It's clean, the dragoness finally declared, with some satisfaction. She pulled the buds from her long ears and stuffed them into a pack on her side, scratched the symbols she'd so recently etched into the earth until she was sure that they were unreadable, and grinned as the protective magic dome broke and shifted back into raw energy, diffusing with an electrostatic tingle before disappearing completely.

"Excellent job, child." The old priest had reverted to verbal speech, and now crossed the rest of the distance to his young charge. "You're skills have increased exponentially since you began training."

"It was only a pack of Screamers, Fin, nothing impressive." Jascadei replied, unfolding her blue-webbed wing to scratch at the wing-pit. She grimaced and continued, "not like they're worth dealing with, anyways. Gimme something that can think properly to pound the shit outta, maybe that'd be harder. It's like catching rabbits." A pause as she resettled her wing and began dragging claws through the knots of her tail-plume, "well... nasty undead brain-robbing moss-rabbits... still..."

"Yes, yes, you want to beat up the bad-guys and save the day," the priest finished for her, his voice toned with no little sarcasm. There was a twinkle of amusement in his beady black eyes, however... he always had a good sense of humor, at least.

Jascadei snorted. "And while I'm at it, I'd better get some noble prince and a sturdy steed, and maybe one of those funny hats with the butt-groove in the top like you see that Croste guy wearin' all the time, and maybe tonnes of credit on the side, too, huh?" Standing, finally, the young (if much larger!) apprentice shifted the equipment strapped to her sides and back, and nudged her teacher. "I'll be "Jascadei: Warrior Priestess, Avenger of Rich Bloaters Who've Got Their Asses Haunted By Too Many Enemies, Etc.", rich and famous, just like you."

The reptilian biped broke into a dry laugh, this rumbling sound like thunder in the distance. "Oh yes, people will travel far and wide so that you don't have to, and you can sit and get fat off of your own wealth."

"That's not what I meant!" The dragoness exclaimed, then stuck her tongue out at him for good measure. "I just don't understand why you're so modest all the time. Got all this opportunity to make like you're the king of this business--and you are good at it--but you still play this whole poor-nomad skit, this whole 'respect thine enemies' crap." She wrinkled her muzzle at him, frustrated.

"It puzzles me that, after all of these years, you still haven't grasped that unlife is inseparable from life," Fin said slowly, contemplatively.

"I get that, I just don't get the other part."

"By fact of their close relation, they both deserve respect. By the fact that you vow to uphold life and good, you must first thoroughly understand death and evil--"

"I heard that shpeel, old man, but it's still not clicking. You go out, you bust zombie-butt, you get paid for it, you go out and do it again the next day. What's the point of wasting so much energy communing with 'em if you're just going to end up wiping 'em off the face of existence?"

The priest sighed, shook his rounded muzzle. "Jascadei," he began, "you have learned well the instruments of this trade, of this life-path... but you have failed to grasp the concepts behind them. Like a hand without a trained mind to guide it, you can not use these tools to their fullest potential." He went quiet, and the dragoness grimaced again, began walking back the way he'd come, forcing the mutt to keep pace beside him. "I have done what I can to help hone your natural talents, but it is only you who can take these lessons and tests and put them to their best use. You must understand everything as a whole before I can let you practice on your own."

"But," and here Jascadei fumbled in her foot steps, "but I thought I was almost ready to leave! I've been good, haven't I?"

"You're getting better at finishing the tasks I assign to you without complaint, but they aren't sinking in." Fin replied.

"Well... but you don't understand," she retorted, heat rising under the fur on her cheeks, "I just don't get it. It's not that I don't try or anything."

"I understand, child," the priest soothed, scaly lips lifting into a fond smile. "Your drive to succeed is admirable. That's why I think that my plan will work." He picked up his pace, moving into a light trot. Sliding the staff he'd been using as a support across his back, he threw his charge a grin more mischievous then she thought she'd ever seen him.

"Wait... what plan?" Worried, now, the dragoness followed suit. The zippers and tags jingled on her packs, reflecting moon-light against the otherwise dark land. Phosphor lights glittered in the distance where the city began, and halogen points marked the towering cable that supported the station above them... but that was some distance away, and the dry air had a way of making everything seem so much further anyways. They'd travel back to Driolo by foot, of course, even after the trials on this excursion, even after Jascadei's body felt like it wanted to just lie down right here for a while and use that clump of dead prickle-bush for a pillow... "You never told me of any plan," she added, hoping to get him talking for the rest of the trip.

No, Fin switched back to psionics, because I've been thinking on this for a while. If I remember properly, there was a place that hosted any number of undead creatures--dragons--in a single clutch.

"We get hired to destroy them all?" Jascadei asked, catching up to her small teacher.

Founders, no! I believe that it would be good if we went to visit, and you... became acquainted with some of them--the dragons.

"Whaaat?" The dragoness slowed down enough for Fin to pull away. What're you talking about? I don't want no more bugs under my skin, thanks!

The priest did that rumble-laugh again. I doubt that such an incident would be likely to reoccur. He slowed down, as well, letting the youngster catch up.

"Then what, you're hoping that me getting pally with corpses is going to teach me some respect?" Jascadei asked, incredulous.

In a manner of speaking. Fin replied, and that was about all that the dragoness could get out of him, the entire rest of the trip home.