Low, leaden clouds piled one atop the other in the sky, on the horizon, in the very air. They held a gravity that pressed down upon the earth, a cold stiff aura that froze the ground and grass with a feeling of ominous and foreboding thoughts. Distant. Uncaring. Impassive.

Seen from the windows of the town, icy tendrils of air curl ’round each and every corner, shuddering windows of bustling business as a calmness and silence was within them. Moving and flowing, searching for a way inside. A gap. A breach. An opening to slither their way into. A contrast look was growing, one different from the usual vibrant look. No colorful lights, fresh and alive nature, no energetic yet calm people. There was instead...dead leaves, empty and abandoned businesses currently, and restless children. Dying to be out and among the festive culture that was their home, but also to be away from the poison air that was etching itself into the vibe and atmosphere that was against their norm.

A red head would be seen walking in the middle of the empty street, leaving the people and on its way to the open land outisde. Oh, how of a long forgotten Spring it was. Whispers and scratches in the corners of people's minds, wind moaning through empty trees, boughs bend and twist. Stark and black, calling for a distant Summer unremembered. Ignorance not disturbed.

A shadowy denizen was she, simply wanting to enjoy time away from Fiore. But it seem that was no longer going to be the case...at least for the next few weeks.

Wc: 270

"So gloomy..." Toma sighed with his hands in his pocket. Keeping pace with Jikan his eyes casually took everything in. The cold wind ran a shiver down his spine but he did his best to fight it. Had to keep some type of face he thought. His Beakcloak armor didn't make it any better despite being good for its magical purposes. He massaged the bandages on his face from their last encounter with a dragon.

Toma thought back to their last encounter and quietly looked to Jikan. She was truly menacing. Almost like a monster yet he remembered he was a demon in his own right. The two took down a dragon all on their own and he was but a upcoming mage. What was the rest of the guild like. Coughing into his hand he began to speak. "I've been meaning to ask Jikan. I noticed you used more than one element. I want to do the same if you have any advice." He put it all out there and it has been something on his mind for awhile. Lightning was all he knew how to use. However if he could get more elements in his arsenal it would broaden his battle prowess.

WC:206

Jikan heard a sigh near her. Along side a short sentence something about gloomy.She supposed that was correct, the environment right now was calm for her but also a little bit dark and eerie. A soothness it was to be in the darkness, to be in the abyss and stare back at it. Feel its reach, its power, its coldness that slowed the muscles and nerves. All of the annoying things in the world around you that did not matter beyond what you cared about and held dear.

Or maybe that was just Jikan in her aloof coldness.

Either way she new it was Toma, the man's voice an easy stand out from Mia's. It had been a month new since Jikan and Toma sparred against each other, and a few days now, perhaps a week even since Jikan and Toma had ran into and fought that medium sized dragon. Jikan had healed up during the time and even though Toma still had to were some bandages, she thought he was okay given his movement and talking mostly like normal.

They moved forward through the isolated wide path. A cough sound came before she heard Toma's voice speak again. She spoke as she continued to move. Letting the icy wind blow her red hair back. "To use more than one element is not easy. For one, sometimes one's magic, the signature of their being, can only use one element. If they have the aptitude for more than one, lets say two, it is usually only able to be done either one at a time or their magic forces a blend of two elements. To diverge from this and to even be able to use more than one magic requires magical power obviously, but even more so knowledge. One has to study and know their magic before they can add more to it. Especially another element. One must know the way the circle forms, its mana within, the writing of the circles. And train their body to learn the other element over time".

Jikan spoke these words smoothly and calm. As if she was giving a piece of information in a lecture to a student. It would not be seen unless Toma was walking besides Jikan and watching her face closely, but there was a small hint of interest and approval on her face. She liked to see people gain power and knowledge, to gain a way to further themselves. And asking was the first step in her thought about going about it when it came to getting experience and knowledge about it.

Wc: 440
Twc: 710

Raising his hand in front of him Toma attempted to summon some darkness. However, only a few wicks of it appeared and then dissipated. "I had a nightmare from the past and I was consumed by shadows." Dropping his arm back to his side he continued to walk before throwing an arm in front of Jikan as he took a defensive position. "Hear that..." He quietly spat out as small trembles and crashes could be heard. But it was too far away to pinpoint as his eyes were alert for the source of the sound. The trembles came from his side and would seem to stop almost mysteriously for a moment.

It couldn't be another one of the beasts on the prowl again. They had barely managed the last one but another so soon. No, he could not falter with such thought. They had slain the dragon, and he aided in the venture barehanded. He was ready for anything. And to answer the call, a dragon had jumped into their sight on top of the building to their right. It roared and announced its presence to the two. But it was much smaller than the other." Shall we." Toma beckoned to Jikan as his hands slipped out of his pockets. Clapping his hands together, a yellow magic circle appeared underneath his body. A thicker and stronger coating of lightning coated his arms as the dragon gripped the ledge of the building and pounced at the two. Toma would stand his ground and sigh as he turned towards the dragon, his face melting into nothing. Zoning in on his target, he executed his next plan of action.

A small step in as he cocked back a palm creating a magic circle. He would slam it underneath the jaw of the small dragon for a 10m knockback. The force generated was enough to throw the beast off balance since it was mid-air and send it crashing and rolling back towards the building. "Pathetic.." Toma let the words slip with venom before taking up a proper fighting stance.

WC:347 TWC:553

Spoiler:

After speaking to Toma, Jikan continued to talk. Listening in on the start of the words Toma spoke in response after trying to form dark magic in front of his hand unsuccessfully. A nightmare from one's past and almost being consumed by darkness. Hearing this, it was a bit ironic in her thought that Toma would be trying to use dark magic of all things. Jikan had thought about making a comment about this when Toma suddenly stopped, sliding his arm out in front of Jikan halting her movement. Her body and chest bumping into his arm slightly before she took a step back. Her stance standing up still and neutral while her Toma took on a defensive position.

Her eyes moved as she began to pick up what Toma was speaking about. Shaking, crashing, trembling. The earth was moving, or rather something on top had moved some of it. The sound was far, but still able to get a sense of its direction and intensity. It came from their sides, but...it stopped...almost like it vanished from existence. "...", she turned her head towards the direction, silent and watching.

She was sure something large was present. A magical beast or just a large wild animal. That sound had to be it, or some idiot made a mistake and just cause a big accident that caused some destruction. As if it answer some type of challenge the beast Jikan assumed was present came into their world. A dragon appeared! The wrathful creature onto of a building to their right, Jikan's head turned up to meet the beast. Its claws and tail cracking pieces of the infrastructure off as it eyed them. Letting out a roar to let them if they had not realized yet that it was here. It seemed to have a lot of sass in it even though t was much smaller than the medium sized dragon they had fought and slain.

"Shall we".

"Let's go", Jikan spoke as she turned her body towards the dragon. "I think this time I'll do more support. I think you can have come fun with this one more than the last". At this point she had watched Toma remove his other hand from his pocket. His hands clapping together unleashing a yellow magic circle under his body as a pwoerful magic coat of lightening went around hs body. Far stronger than the one she had witness him used in their spar and the fight against the last dragon.

ooooh, it seemed he gained power just from those fights alone.

It was thicker, bigger, better, stronger. She guess what did not kill Toma, only made him stronger. At that moment the dragon gripped the ledge of the building it was on and pounched forward down toward its targeted preys. Toma stood his ground in front of Jikan, moving towards the dragon as he responded. His foot step with quick and lift, moving an arm back as a magic circle appeared. As the dragon reached them Toma reached out and slammed it into the jaw of the dragon. Aiming underneath the force and angle of the blow sent the dragon flying back, going back and up as it crashed into the building.

"Hmmmm...it may be in comparison to the last one. But. A dragon is still a fierce beast. Do not let your guard down or get cocky. It. Won't give you a second chance if you make a mistake". She spoke smooth and calm in a monotone voice, eyeing the spot where the dragon landed.

With that she lunged forward traveling at a bluring speed of 17.5 m/s, jumping into the air and grabbing the dragon's tail as it laid in the building. Her foot rested on the ledge and another close to the dragon. She looked at the dragon with a blank face before moving. She had decided to take this fight elsewhere. If she wanted to see Toma face this beast she could not let distractions get in her way. Or have the blasted dragon use the building to get in teh way for a true battle. Keeping a tight grip on th dragon's tail, she swung it into the air before throwing it out of the town. It was not much of a feat as the group were pretty much at the edge of two. After doing so, Jikan would follow, running down the building and towards the dragon slowly picking up speed.

"Toma!".

Wc: 777
Twc: 1487

Toma felt a swift breeze move past him after his slight warning or gentle reminder. She was absolutely right, and he appreciated her keeping him level-headed. But honestly, he was too scared to let his guard down despite him never expressing it as much. His fear kept him focused and his mind sharp for combat. But with a remarkable feat of strength, Toma witnessed Jikan pick the dragon up by its tail and fling it towards the outskirts of town. Toma followed after it moving as fast as he could before reaching a speed of 20m/s after about 4 seconds of running.

The dragon landed in an open environment as it rolled through the dirt. Toma had static whisking off his body as he moved as the dragon rolled onto its feet and swung its body to attack him. Since he was moving so fast, it was to hop off into the air 2m floating over.  As the dragon came out of its whipping motion, Toma took a quick step back before exploding off the ground.

He threw a high kick driving the tip of his foot into the dragon's jaw, snapping it back ever so slightly. He followed through with the kick as he showed off his great flexibility, keeping his upper body straight up. Toma followed up the momentum by lunging outward 4m to his left at 10m/s per second. Toma shuffled backward ever so slowly with palms up on the defensive but not blocking his line of sight.


The dragon was irritated clearly as it snarled and drooled. It lashed out at Toma's body, but he was able to dodge it by hopping back easily.
Toma was agile and smaller, using it to his advantage. Staying just outside the dragon's reach. It was starting to get desperate, and reaching out and fully committed. Seeing how it threw caution to the wind, it was now time to strike. The next time the dragon over reached Toma inductively stepped inside its claw strike going underneath its arm. Making a claw with his left hand, a yellow magic appeared as Toma swiped releasing a  2m arc of lightning. It traveled at a speed of 40m/s creating a flash of lightning slicing into its left shoulder. Toma tumbled forward ignoring a back swipe from the the left arm of the dragon.

Doing what he did last time he had rolled underneath the dragon using its own body to hide from its line of sight. He used this method with the last dragon forcing it to blindly try to tramp him. However this dragon was a lot smaller which is why he was stuck rolling along the ground as it tried to look from underneath. Luckily the intelligence of this dragon was lower so it wasn't immediately lashing out as Toma was out of its sight after it overreached and was struck.  However he miscalulated as the dragon lept into the air and  created a large magic circle but Toma had already his hands and created one of his own.  Toma launched a large  2m sized dragon fired forth to meet the arcane beam fired from the dragon. The spells clashed but Toma's spell broke though slamming into the dragon for D rank dmg after the difference.

WC:554 TWC:1,107

Spoiler:

Jikan did not waste much time after she called Toma’s name. Her feet finished their decline down the building, not losing momentum or time as she continued her running. Moving towards where she had thrown the dragon outside of town. Reaching her top speed of 35 m/s after 3 more seconds had passed. Her feet slid to a stop and then she turned, in a second later she heard a crash and thud. The dragon’s body had landed. She watched with an unamused look on her face as she watched the small dragon roll through the dirt in the open environment. She was a bit away from the dragon, far too far from it to think of going after her, not when Toma had just arrived before the dragon. His electric magic flowing around his body and sparking, gaining the attention of the beast.


Rolling onto its feet, Toma's battle with the dragon began, jumping into the air to avoid a swinging attack. Landing he exploded off the ground, throwing a kick to the dragon’s jaw. It was a short sharp kick. Dealing good damage. She eyed the rest keeping her arms crossed over her chest as she did not jump in. She was sure that Toma could handle the beast and would end it shortly. She would just watch and eye the growing seed of Calamity. Through the flow of mana, in seeing how he moved, in how the beast struggled to counter and just react to Toma. She had no doubt in the man’s ability to beat the dragon alone. “TOMA, finish it. You’re more than capable enough of doing that”.

Wc: 280
Twc: 1767
wc met, post met

Toma vaulted to his feet before taking a deep breath and standing shoulder-width apart. "Wind Form..." The words escaped his mouth as he slowed down his entire bodily function. Another combat technique he was taught while growing up. He waited for the last second as the dragon fell on top of him. But with a simple lunge, he glided out of distance 2m to his right. Always leave into the enemy's blind spot. The dragon had attempted to rend Toma but would find him missing. Toma effortlessly drove his foot into the knee cap of the dragon's right front leg.  It wasn't strong enough to snap the leg but enough to make it lose its balance. Now he move on to finish it off.


A jump off the foot with the help of the Beakcoat flew upwards of 5m as he spun effortlessly to build momentum. His victim was below as he created a magic circle as he reached his apex. To conserve on magic Toma released his Vajra spell. There was simply no need to maintain it.

Making a knife-hand with his right arm, his arm would coat itself with intense lightning magic granting it blade-like properties. He let momentum carry him from here as he gracefully fell, sliding through the air. His eyes were aligned with the target. As the dragon looked up, it was too late as it personally was greeted by death. Toma rammed his arm through the entirety of the dragon's skull and dropped his feet onto its neck for added force. The slam was powerful, leaving a crater in the earth. Swift and precise, the lightning man had taken out another target with ease. Pulling his arm free with a hefty tug, a spray of blood followed. Standing up Toma spit on the beast ripping off the tip of it's horn. He examined the piece before jumping over to Jikan with a leap.

Having flung most of the blood off, he walked next to her before stopping. "That was a bit underwhelming. I expected more, sadly. But Regardless, we should take our leave." Then he extended his hand to offer her the horn. "Here's a trophy for you, by the way. I figured you could turn it into a cup or something." He smirked before walking off, but he stopped and looked back at her harmlessly.  He would wait for her to join as they would leave on to better things.

WC:416 TWC:1523

Spells

Spoiler:

After calling out Toma, Jikan stayed off where she was located as she watched the duel between the Small Dragon and the Sleeping Calamity warrior. She held her arms up, over the stomach as she crossed her arms over each other. The lengths of her arms staying hidden and tucked in under her black Calamity Cloak. Th red clouds on the garment flowed softly as the wind shifted. Dust flowing to the side in a low swirl.

Jikan did not hear a verbal response from Toma, but seeing as the man kept fighting with no delay she would just take it that he heard her statement. He had grown since that last fight with the decent enough medium sized dragon. He was faster, stronger, smarter. Better. She knew this for sure as she watched his body shift, vault, and jump about easily around the dragon. The beast helpless in its attempts to attack Toma, let alone defend themselves. He was flawless in his swift execution, removing the dragon's skull from its head. And as Toma hopped off and walked towards her, she had to give a nod of approval at a job well done.

Having flung most of the blood off, he walked next to her before stopping. Extending his hand to offer the skull to her. A dragon cup? Hmmmm. She reached out her hand slowly and picked up the cup from his palm. "I could. Maybe I shall", she spoke as he began to walk away. Bringing her hands to her side she walked forward after him. Heading to leave the area.

[exit]