Chapter 3: Chunky Nala
Malik threw the butt of his cigarette down from the large tree branch he was lounging on. He stared up at the greenish-blue skies above, thinking of more important things than the Green Bog guild members down below.
Oh. That cloud kind of looks like Nala. That one too. And that one.
He slowly blinked with a tilt of his head, staring at a particularly big cloud that just looked like a ball of cotton.
Chunky Nala.
"SECURE THE AREA!" He sighed heavily ag the too loud sounds coming from the Green Bog Guild reinforcements down below.
It was why he'd moved to the tree in the first place once they'd made it to the outskirts of the swamp. He didn't want to deal with people if he could've helped it.
"WHO'S UP THERE?!"
If I stay perfectly still, maybe he'd move on.
"It could be another monster or a hound hiding." He sighed again, knowing where that train of thought would've landed him if he didn't respond. Lucky for him his hearing was as good as it was or he would've missed that warning from so far below.
But he'd just gotten so comfortable.
"I'M GOING TO GIVE YOU TO THE COUNT OF THREE TO REVEAL YOURSELF IF YOU ARE FRIEND INSTEAD OF FOE!"
Brother, please. This ain't some historical play. Talk normally.
"What?" Malik said simply, not bothering to move from his spot.
"Ah. It's human." Malik heard several weapons be put down and huffed out a quiet laugh. They were really gonna just shoot him down like a bird.
"PLEASE LEAVE THIS AREA! IT IS A SECURE ZONE AND CIVILIANS AND NON-PARTY MEMBERS ARE NOT ALLOWED!"
"Part-timer." He even waved his hand at them, the action more than he'd usually provide. What could he say? He was in a good enough mood.
"Sir, I think that's the part-timer Lady Cynthia was talking about," he heard one of the back-ups say and it almost made him laugh.
Lady Cynthia? Hold up.
Malik sat up on the branch and looked down to see a group of twenty Green Bog members wearing knight-like armor. He rose an eyebrow at their choice of armor, wondering if they were just stupid.
His uncle had shown him a relic of a story regarding an Arthur and his knights but seeing that get-up within the thick vines and trees of a swamp within New Orleans made little to no sense to him.
They also looked flustered, part-timer hunters having become a valuable resource what with the death toll within minor guilds. The big guy at the front said to him with a more cherry attitude, "Well we appreciate your assistance! We'll take care of things from here!"
"Yeah," was all he had to say. He was ready to go back to watching the clouds, thinking about his cute ball of fur back home, when he was interrupted yet again.
"MAL!"
The gods have abandoned me.
Marie hopped up the large branch he was reclined on, standing in front of him with folded arms and her forever pissed off expression.
He found her exhausting to deal with. More so than most people. The D-ranked hunter in front of him was known across many bayous as a pain in the ass, and he could've easily seen why.
"So this is where you fucking disappeared to again," she snapped, throwing a medium sized black sack at him.
He used his ability with water to make it float towards him instead on landing on his stomach like he was sure the older girl intended.
He didn't need to check the contents to know that it was filled with the hides and claws of the big hounds. Not exactly worth a lot of money but enough for him to get by for another two weeks.
Malik sat up slowly, a little excited at the possibility of another two week vacation.
"Where the fuck did you go to during the fight?"
He looked up at her with his usual tired stare, wondering why exactly she was still there.
"First bomb."
"How'd you know there were more of them?"
"Water."
"What?"
"Saw with water."
"Use more than three fucking words, dammit!"
Malik sighed again, wishing the laws didn't forbid everyone below B rank from doing missions on their own.
"I can use my blessing to track things. If there's water, I'll see it. Anything else?"
Malik watched as her thin eyebrow twitched violently and wondered how she was doing that.
"Can't fucking believe Cynthia wants me to recruit your annoying ass."
That's my cue to leave.
He got up, pulling out his homemade hoverboard from over his shoulder and got on it. The board activated and glowed a bright blue as soon as he got on top of it, the machine lifting slightly as it connected to his outdated solar suit.
"Tell her I declined."
"Where are you going?! There's still reports to be made!"
"Sent the money to my hunter account?" he asked as he tied the bag of items on his back, pulling out another cigarette and lighting it.
"I mean yes, I have but—"
"See you around."
He glided through the trees and was moving over the old Interstate 10. From the pictures he'd seen through his visor, the road used to be filled with cars of the time, speeding through as the older generation went about their lives. Now, it was just a piece of land covered with thick vines, otherworldly plants, and the occasional rat monsters.
Malik closed his eyes and took a deep drag of the cig, breathing it out as he slowly opened his eyes.
The sky above zoomed past as he moved in the air solely off memory and instinct.
I should visit him, Malik thought. His blank expression shifted into one of mild distaste at the thought, however.
The man he was thinking about was too loud, too touchy and too damn happy. Malik always left his shop with a pounding headache and sore arms from the guy's tight hugs.
His uncle was a pain in the ass to deal with, though he couldn't deny that he loved the old man.
The upside was that he got free food whenever he went there, and as a single 19-year-old bachelor with a child—Nala—to feed, every coin he could've saved was something.
And of course, his thoughts were back on his little girl. He remembered that chunky Nala cloud and an unseen smile appeared on the tired man's face.
I should take that vacation. Spending more time with the kid would probably be more worthwhile than trying this save the dying world business.
At least it puts food in her bowl.
Gifts
-- Gift
received Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone