Monster hunt.

Working the mines and foraging for ore and jewels in the depths of the earth had left much to be desired.

Adelita is usually one to work, work, work, and not complain. To pluck gleaming rock from the dull earth around it is always a thrill for her, especially when she found her favorite metals. The ones that sang to her, tickled at her senses and made it almost feel like a rush to grab find it from the depths, ready to be played with and brought back to her shop to be worked.

But her ores and gems were far away now, nestled at home. Instead, she finds a sense of almost wonder, something she hasn't felt tickle at her in a very long time. This land, this jungle, has much hidden in its rich soil, and she feels almost giddy. As if she were a young girl again, ready to learn and fascinated with every new thing that she came across, or when she learned something new.

A sigh brushes past dark lips, and she pushes away the branches on a path less traveled, following her sense of magic toward something unfamiliar. An ore she hasn't come across? It has to be. It has to be something she hasn't seen, and she's eager to get her metal fingers on it and all of her magic to pour into it. She wants to work with it, play with it, learn it, and it almost makes her heart rush with eagerness. A thump of her heart almost akin to adrenaline, the excitement under her skin that she hasn't felt in eons. It's almost addicting.

The Iron Maiden pushes more branches out of her way, metal feet sinking into a small puddle of mud as she takes another step until a sound makes her stop. It's loud; a piercing wail that sends goosebumps skittering across her skin and causes her to hold still, pausing as if being still would keep her safe. As it fades, the water grows louder again, the rush of white rapids nearby where water crashes against rocks, tumbling down the bend.

Adelita draws in a breath, and her golden eyes trek upward after seeing the water, noticing a change in the sky. What had been beautiful moments before is now dark, as if something had taken claws to the sky, trailing toward the ground. She isn't sure, but… are those streaks moving? Odd. The sight brings with it a sense of dread that falls over her, a heaviness that bears down on her very bones, and she draws in a shuddering breath. Even a second wail that rips through the air doesn't get her moving, as instead the heaviness pushes down on her more. It's almost like she's drowning, fighting for air, a panic that she's never felt in her life. Even when she was dying, her limbs gone, she hadn't felt this. Certainly, she had felt lonely and hopeless in times of her life, but now… Now she reaches a hand, clenching fingers into leather at the front of her chest, clutching over her heart while her gaze scans and scans and – there.

It looks horrendous, but she knows what it is. She knows corrupt mages when she sees them. They may all look different but they all carry the same horror dripping from their very being, like stagnant poison. This one is horrifying, but it has to be the source of what she feels.

Adelita is not one to run, and the fury slowly begins to bubble up under her skin. A heat that combats the dread, bringing her into motion as her hand drops and her fingers clench. Magic ripples down the gold of her arms, etching and moving the plates of gold and shifting them. Her fingers meld, elongating on one hand to become a fine and sharp point, while the other simply grows longer digits, sharp talons that curve. The metal continues to move, each individual part of it rubbing against each other at every pointed and curved tip. It becomes enough of a heat to turn the very edges white hot, held together only because she keeps it there, and she lunges forward.

The beast swings with its beak, slamming into the ground next to her, kicking up dirt while shuddering the very surface she walks on. In an immediate reaction, her feet shift to grow sharp cleats, gripping more onto the ground. This close to the monster, she can see the glittering poison green eyes above her, and the tentacles that come writhing. Both arms draw back, and she plunges all points into a tentacle that comes near, hearing a hiss and sizzle before she rips them out. The metal curves along her arms, creating barbs that rip through the flesh as she staggers backward.

The dread grows, meeting with adrenaline and anxiety, driving Adelita to just want to attack and kill it to make it stop. Anything to make it stop. Anything to ensure she never feels helpless in her life again.