Armed and Dangerous [Mori Free Time]

It had only been one day since Mori's acceptance into the guild, but he was already working himself as hard as he could. He had taken an archery target from the training yard and dragged it out to a nearby forest, much to the confusion of some of the other guild members. While a few of them had been lucky enough to see him in action, the assassin's arm was an identifying feature of his. The last thing he wanted was more people knowing about it.

With the target set against a tree, the assassin rolled up his sleeve and let his arm do its work, shifting gears around and moving different parts to unveil his crossbow. He yanked the sleeve up past his shoulder and flipped the upper arm compartment open. Still enough bolts to last the day. Mori would have to get more made somewhere soon, but that could be settled later. For now, he snapped the compartment shut and readied himself. He dug his feet into the ground and aimed carefully. The first shot was ready to fire.

The sound of nearby movement broke Mori from his concentration, and he quickly hid himself behind the closest tree. With his aim now trained on the source of the disturbance, he lined up a shot, and fired. The bolt sunk into a different tree, right above the head of this new intruder.

"Identify yourself or leave. This is your only warning."

Once her room was set up properly, Alisa decided to explore and get a general feel for the layout of the guild.  Naturally, her journey took her past the training room; she didn't feel like she had as much use for it most other people would, but she did happen by just as one of her teammates was grabbing one of the training dummies and dragging it away.  That seemed a bit suspicious, didn't it? Mori had acted the most... morally questionable out of everyone in their group, and Alisa felt some obligation to see what he was up to.  That aside, she was a little curious about his mysterious arm, and she wanted to find out more about it.  Hopefully he could stop being a total jerk long enough to answer a few questions.

Since  she wasn't too far behind him to begin with, and that training dummy wasn't exactly inconspicuous, it wasn't too difficult to follow Mori into the woods.  She hadn't had any intention of sneaking up on him, and while she was expecting a less-than-friendly welcome she did not at all expect to get shot at.  The crossbow bolt penetrated the tree trunk above her head with an audible thunk, although it was hard to hear over Alisa's high-pitched squeak.

"Calm down! It's just me!" she called out as she lowered her hands back to a natural position, hoping now that she wasn't going to be murdered.  As the fear faded, Alisa felt that feeling being replaced with a familiar righteous anger.

"Geez, don't just shoot at people!!" She exclaimed, stepping forward a few steps with her hands now planted firmly on her hips. "What's your problem?! What if you'd hit me??  And what are you doing out here, anyway?!"

...Not exactly the identification he was expecting, but it was identification nonetheless. Mori kept his weapon primed. It didn't mean much to him that Alisa was supposed to be on his side. He remained stone faced and stared through her, as if he almost expected more company. When at last Alisa brought her hands down, the assassin lowered his arm. If there were more nearby, they would have made a move by now.

His stolid composure almost broke when she tried to chastise him. Who did she think she was talking to? What a valiant little display of courage in the face of fear and death. His crossbow folded and snapped back into his arm, and then his hand reformed in a near-silent display of mechanized precision.

"I aimed above your head for a reason. Warning shots are not meant to be lethal."

With that said, he gestured to the target dummy he had set up.

"I came here to sharpen my skills. Your intrusion interrupted me. When you leave, I will continue practicing. Until you do, you can tell me why you followed me."

Hmph! He was still just as much of an arrogant jerk as he had been yesterday. Unfazed, she glared him down as he lowered his weapon...arm...? Alisa's eyes narrowed and her brow furrowed as she watched it change, puzzling over the strange phenomenon as Mori went on about why he thought it was okay to shoot at her.  That thing was... too interesting!  It was annoying that it had to be attached(?) to someone like Mori, but maybe if he stopped being a paranoid lunatic for five minutes she could find out more about it.  


"I thought it was weird that you brought that thing all the way out here, so I came to see what you were up to."  She explained, still speaking confidently and making it clear that she wouldn't be intimidated by him.  "It seems like a lot of trouble to go through just to avoid training at the guild.  Wouldn't you think that was suspicious?"

"Is it because of that?" Alisa pointed to his right hand, hoping that if her assumption was correct she could finally get the information she was after.

"...Fine. A fair point to make."

Alisa wouldn't be talked down. That much was for certain. Mori couldn't decide if it was the alchemist's bravery or her stupidity that made her so bold. Still, he understood her reasoning. He wasn't exactly the most lawful of the guild's members. Stealing an archery dummy seemed like something he would do, even if they weren't the most profitable thing to fence.

Then the conversation changed. It had slipped his mind that he'd changed his arm in front of her. He'd been so careful yesterday to change in the shadows, away from everyone else, or in the middle of the fighting, when no one was paying too much attention to him. It was inevitable for his team to find out about it, but for Mori to blatantly show it?

...Well, no use trying to hide it now. Mori sighed as he accepted his little loss, shaking his head in self-disappointment.

"In the future, you ought to keep your curiosity in check. If we weren't on the same side, I would have killed you for asking."

Just when she thought she was getting somewhere! Alisa had started to relax when he'd accepted her reasoning, almost smiling a little in relief, but then he turned right back into his usual self and she bristled like an angry cat.  "You don't have to keep threatening to kill me, who does that?!  I already know you don't have any manners, but this is just excessive!!"

She sighed and crossed her arms, trying to decide how she should properly put her intentions into word.  "Look, I didn't mean to touch a nerve or anything. It's just... if we're going to be working together, I need to know what I'm dealing with, you know?  It'd be nice if I could trust you, even a little."  She tactfully neglected to mention any fascination with his arm outright, but--

"So, what is it? A machine? Some kind of transformation spell?" Her curiosity getting the better of her, Alisa started to take a step forward to get a closer look before freezing in her tracks.  If it were anyone else, Alisa would be worried that she might have come off as insensitive, but since it was Mori she was more concerned that he might actually go through with one of those threats...

Mori brushed off the alchemist's angry commentary as if it was nothing... even if it did start to annoy him. The most brazen and weathered warriors shook with fear when Mori threatened their lives. Alisa acted as if his threats didn't even phase her. Maybe it was a good thing to have a teammate who wasn't so afraid of him...

Anyway. Back to the matter at hand. Alisa really didn't mean anything by her curiosity, did she? Again, her reasoning placated the assassin. Mori might have been equally curious with his teammates' unique weaponry. After all, he was all too used to knowing everything about certain people.

The assassin lifted his arm in front of himself, moving his metal fingers with a faint whir. He looked back at Alisa and gave her a curt nod as an invitation to sate her curiosity.

"It's a mechanical prosthetic. One of my business contacts fitted it to me after an assignment. Don't ask me how it works. I wasn't awake when he was doing the job."

Success! Alisa tried not to look too excited, although the sudden widening of her eyes might have given her away.  She moved a little closer to Mori's outstretched hand, tilting her head one way and then the other to get as good a look as she could without touching it.

"Fascinating! So it is a machine... I don't see any obvious magical elements, but maybe internally..." The alchemist continued muttering along those lines as she examined Mori's arm, taking note of whatever details she could: the intricacies of the joints, a small dial on the forearm.  After a few moments Alisa was satisfied and stepped back, crossing her arms once again. She was curious about any other functions it might have, but Alisa decided not to risk overstepping her boundaries for now.

She cleared her throat loudly. "Well, that's all I wanted to know. I appreciate you letting me take a look at it.  Finally."  Her tone was professional, although her last word let a little annoyance come through.  Still, despite all the prodding she'd had to do to get there, she was happy with his compliance.  Maybe they could work together after all. "I guess I'll leave you to it, then.  Don't get into any trouble!"