"Eugh, sun..."

Tomoe sneezed while looking up at the golden rays enveloping the land beneath it. It was a mysterious phenomenon that occurred where people who saw the sun or its light would feel compelled to sneeze. In his old life, the brigand would succumb to its temptations all the time. At this point though, it was merely reactions to things of which his body no longer had. With his new biology, there was no need to sneeze - nor would anything come out anyway. There was cause to be thankful for that though, because hocking loogies was something that the former human never enjoyed.

Setting aside his emotions towards such silly things, Tomoe turned to the objective at hand: the church containing his next mission. Rather than actually entering the church himself, finding it uncomfortable and causing his back to tingle, Tomoe requested Father Jerad's presence outside. After a moment the priest popped his head out and stepped graciously yet quickly outside.

"Oh yes! The request, correct? I am so glad you could lend your services-"

"Yeah, buddy, whatever you say. Some flowers, right? Just point me in the direction."

Jerad nodded his head solemnly, not appreciative of being cut off in such a sharp way but nevertheless continuing without losing face.

"Blessia Flowers. They can be found in Magnolia's East Forest. I would like for you to procure them and return them here for the sake of the sick families."

Tomoe nodded his head carelessly, a gaze giving way to the notion that he may not have even been paying full attention. Part of him just wanted to see how much he could get away with before the priest broke character - if it was a character at all. Perhaps this Father was genuine, but it wasn't easy for Tomoe to believe. They always seemed so fake. In the brigand's mind, there might not even be an actual sickness going around in the first place. Probably just greedy nobles being as they are.

That is, until Tomoe saw a little girl clutching a stuffed elephant peek out from the doorway to observe the men talking. She was sickly pale and coughing, and when Jerad noticed he quickly waved his hand to signal Tomoe to begin with a concerned expression, before immediately turning to a warmer gaze to guide the little girl back inside.

The girl locked eyes with Tomoe for a moment, and in her eyes all the Joyan could see was pain and fatigue. Once the Father and girl disappeared back into the church, Tomoe ruffled his hair and gave himself a mental kick in the ass.

"So there really are sick people in there, eh? Shit. What a dickhead...", Tomoe muttered under his breath, embedding the girl's expression into his mind before continuing forward towards the East Forest.

---

[470/1000]

Soulless bastard..., Tomoe thought to himself, clenching his hands into balled fists in frustration at himself.

There wasn't anything to be said about the innocent; Tomoe, the rogue that he was, didn't give two shits about them. But when it came to children, he couldn't stand seeing them in pain. Looking at that girl, he saw a portion of his younger self - weak and pitiable. Easy to harm if the wind blew too strong in the wrong direction. Children were where his moral compass drew a line. He wouldn't allow life's curses to ruin their own.

Tomoe moved about the forest, gliding more than walking while mentally repeating the description of the flower. Many were picked, ripped apart and tossed to the wayside in frustration. While he was hoping to find traces of it in the early shrubs on the outskirts of the forest, there was no luck for the Joyan. He was raised for combat as an assassin, not to dress in frilly outfits and frolic through the flowers giggling like he had a crush. Yet even so, it was money and to save the lives of people who didn't deserve to suffer such illness. He pressed on further into the forest in search of more bountiful harvests.

Eventually his eye caught the exact description - delicate, small, red center with orange petals. Tomoe's eyes lit up with glee so much so that he almost didn't even notice the thorns.

"There's always a catch."

The eager brute force tactic of ripping them out was replaced by finesse that surprised even Tomoe. Perhaps over time he was learning more and more the ways of a vampire's touch? Nevertheless, he cast the thought aside to pick as many flowers as he could manage. Without a single scratch he emerged with more than enough to treat multiple families, or so he hoped.

"Now to get 'em back."

---

[774/1000]

With the sun beaming down on him, Tomoe covered his eyes by using his hand as a makeshift visor to block out the sun as he approached the church. Walking up the steps, he entered the intimidating structure of holiness and found Father Jerad in an adjacent room. The Father's eyes lit up when he saw the bundles of flowers Tomoe was carrying with him. The vampire would avoid direct eye contact, still unnerved to be in such a place and deeply wishing not to be discovered among so many priests.

It'd be like a whore in a gangbang..., the Joyan thought to himself, and proceeded to laugh lowly at his own perverted humor - of which seemed to calm his nerves somewhat as he approached the Father.

Flower-covered arms extended forth to Jerad, which almost seemed to bring a twinkle to the priest's eye. Tomoe's brow raised and his expression turned upwards.

"Geez. Wipe yourself off there, bud.", he blurted out towards the Father, who Tomoe at the very least respected for his determination and empathy alone.

Jerad nodded, regaining his composure and raising a finger towards the Joyan in a commanding manner.

"A moment please. I'll be right back with your reward."

With that, Tomoe was alone with the little girl from earlier, who was now unconscious in the bed. Her complexion was worsening, but Tomoe knew it wouldn't stay that way for long. Jerad seemed the capable sort through it all, and if he was a fake he was doing a good job of the charade. Tomoe smiled and knelt next to the girl's bed.

"You're gonna be okay, kid. You'll pull through.", he muttered lowly, not wanting anyone to hear or for her to wake but nevertheless needing to reassure himself that he did his part to keep her safe.

Footsteps dictated that Jerad had returned, and the Joyan thug turned to accept a bag filled with the money he had been told he would receive - every last bit.

"It's been a slice, Jer. Put those herbs to good use, eh? I ain't goin' flower picking again for a while.", Tomoe spoke after putting a hand on Jerad's shoulder in camaraderie, and turned back to see the little girl smiling in her sleep. Jerad responded with a mere nod, and got to work mixing the Blessia Flowers.

As Tomoe left, he found it odd. The girl was smiling despite not receiving the medicine yet? A mystery for another time, perhaps. It was a weight off of his soul that he had helped save people, no matter how little glory he would get for it.

---

[Exit]

[1000+/1000]