Mashyuu and Kanix in: Forge of the Heavens!

Holy fire burns again

the magic circle is all around it, burning like the innocence of love

Waves of golden grains wafted in the air and at the center of it all, a young maiden stood tall and proud, back to the viewer. Yellow sunlight basked down upon her, lighting up the tanned skin that was her body, only covered by mild clothing. Attire that, too, drifted delicately in the wind; the broadcloth dancing in the breeze and the long, bone necklace shifting barely against her chest. Her raven-feathered hair tangled itself in the passing zephyr, carving and shaping her face as it caressed her features. She reached toward something, something that couldn't be seen to the naked eye, but could clearly be seen by her. Luscious lips were partially parted and slender fingers curled gently, as if they were trying to grab hold of something. The Nirvit beauty stood in the silence like a statue, frozen in time with the wondrous world around her as the background.

A closer look and an Alice blue orb of light could be seen floating gently around her in spirals all over her body. It was blown occasionally from side to side as the breeze picked up and danced with it as well, but quickly returned to its post. Enticingly, it would move forward swiftly, then go back to the shamaness, as if begging her to come along with it. When she did not move, the sphere would twirl around her head, keeping to her ears, like it was whispering dark deeds to her. One, lonesome, Bleu de France visionary blinked mindlessly and the luscious lips would press together momentarily before parting again. She was deep in thought with her hand lowering back to her side, the other gently holding onto the twisted, wooden caduceus she bore. Her head turned ever so slightly, signaling that she was, indeed, listening to the words that the spheroid murmured to her.

"Come to us, please," the orb susurrates, coming close to the woman's head before bouncing back with the wind.

"But. . . where are you?" she inquires, moving her head a little more to stare into the bright light of the spherule.

"Please, save us," it urged on once it was able to push through the rough wind again and reach the woman's ear.

"How do I save you," the shamaness iterates, her entire body bursting with urgency as she fully turns to the orb.

"The Wakusei Portals is where we'll be; hiding behind the light of Kyoka," it finally answered her supplicating.

Just as it replied to her, the world around her grew a torrent of dangers; a howling pack of wolves growled in the distance. Screams of horror resounded in the now darkened skies with yells of men and women calling to each other, ordering a decimation.

---

Kanix sucked in a harsh breath of air as she sat up on the dirt floor of her tepee, then scrambled harshly to her feet. She pushed past the heavy flaps of the conical tent, her ears instantly filling with the chirp of crickets and croaks of frogs. It was still nighttime, which meant that she'd be able to reach Wakusei Portals by midday at the latest.

"Ancalagon!" the Nirvit shamaness shouted into the night air, calling to the Thunderbird that was greatly known as her pet. As she called, thunder could be heard rolling in the distance, a sign to the woman that her bird had heard her. She whistled sharply and before she knew it, the dragon-sized creature was landing in front of her with a heavy thud. Hastily, the woman ran toward Ancalagon and grabbed hold of the horn of the saddle, swinging her leg up and over.

Settling onto the saddle, she dug her heels into the feathered sides of the beast and clucked her tongue, urging him to fly. The beast took quickly to the skies, beating his wings and forcing a much faster speed than what she was normally used to. In fact, Kanix was not even area Ancalagon was able to reach speeds such as this, certain it was not in his nature to. After all, he was a creature of thunderstorms and while they moved fast, they were not as fast moving as this. Patting the sides of the bird, she'd calm him down, so that his speed would come down to soft gliding motion. At this rate, she'd be at Wakusei Portals even before it was breaking day, which she knew could have been far off.

"I'm in a rush, Ancalagon, but not that much of a rush," she chuckled over the winds that rushed past them.

The bird seemingly cooed at her, ruffling his feathers and slowing down is pace, so that she could enjoy the ride. His wing beats were the only sound in the air, carrying the sound of rolling thunder as they flew over the landscape. This was something the blind shamaness always enjoyed about riding Thunderbirds, even when she was smaller. Ancalagon had been her only source of transportation ever since he had been given to her as a young adult. He carried her anywhere she wanted to go and then some; the 'then some' being he took her places he wanted to go. Now, they were inseparable by nature, as if they were conjoined in some way, where one could not be without the other. Two peas in a pod that worked in harmony, one that was order and the other that was the chaos of the world.

---

As day broke, lighting the world, the Thunderbird delicately landed on the golden plains that had been seen in her dreams. It was only when a familiar voice called out did the blind woman lift her head from the neck of her beast to look. The voice of the person that she needed to see most came as a surprise to her, just as it came as a surprise to him. Kanix slid off the side of Ancalagon and landed barefooted into the soft, golden grass of the world around them. Her lingering fingers against the Thunderbird allowed for her to connect her vision, so that she was able to see the man before her.

"Mashyuu," she breathed out his name happily, running toward him, where she would jump onto and hug him. Muscular arms would wrap around her as the man caught her short stature in the leaping hug, holding her there before setting her down. One of her hands would slide down his arm until it connected with his hand, entangling their fingers together. "Mashyuu, I have something important to tell you. . . well, a few things, actually, if you don't mind listening." Kanix took in a deep breath and let her blind gaze fall upon the handsome facial features of her beloved lover. "I want you to know the real reason why I was so overly protective of you on our previous job, and that was because I can see into the feature. There are many things about this world that are frightening to me and what terrified me the most was losing the father of my child to it."

With that hand that she grasped in her own, she'd move it to the lower abdominal region of her torso and hold it there. "Mashyuu," she said his name again in a more loving tone, smiling and looking down at her stomach briefly before looking back to his face. "I'm pregnant."

@Mashyuu , 1,235 words , counts as three posts

Holy fire burns again

the magic circle is all around it, burning like the innocence of love

Seeing the shock and the joy on Mashyuu's face was far more pleasing than when she had to break the news to Jaeger. She squeezed his hand lightly, only to feel it slip free of hers as he fell to his knees and pressed his face against her abdomen. Her hand moved away to entangle her fingers into his hair and a soft smile traced her lips as she looked down at him. Wet warmth touched her skin as tears from his eyes fell upon her tanned complexion, filled with the happiness of knowing he was a father. Kanix untangled her fingers and pet the top of his head, letting a choked giggle leave her lips as red tears mixed with salty tears. This was unexplained happiness, this was what she looked for in someone who was able to love and be with her. Someone who wouldn't skip out on her for months at a time doing "jobs" to support them, when in reality he was drinking his nightmares away for all she knew.

"A healthy, little girl," she murmured softly to Mashyuu, still petting his hair and smiling as joyously as he felt. "Beautiful, blue eyes, just like yours. . ." Her sentence trailed off as he asked her why she had come to Wakusei Portals. "I came here for another reason; in fact, I had a dream that someone was telling me to come here to Kyoka." She shrugged her shoulders and stopped petting his hair, her hand dropping to her side when he now called to Rocky. "Mashyuu?" Kanix pursed her lips, seeing as he wasn't going to be paying attention to her very well right now. A sigh escaped her lips as she came to realize that he would quickly obsess over her and make sure that she was not going to get her. "You're forgetting that I wouldn't be able to go to Sabertooth because I don't know where it is and thus, Ancalagon wouldn't be able to fly me there."

Kanix bit her lip as she was swept away by Mashyuu and led to a stone bench that he had created just for them. She settled down on the bench simply to entertain him, though was now clearly getting frustrated with him. "Look, Mashyuu, I'll be just fine and so will the baby; please, don't overwork yourself thinking you have to protect us." Gritting her teeth the woman looked way from him and tapped the tips of her fingers lightly on the stone seating. "If the child wasn't going to be all right, I would know; my future vision has a tendency to disturb me with such information. There is utterly no reason for you to wait on me hand and foot, like a slave, just because I'm carrying your child." Her hands would move forward to cup his, holding them there before leaning forward to give him a peck on the lips.

"You really do have pretty blue eyes," she whispered, removing a hand from his to rub a thumb gently over his cheek. She let that hand drop back to her side and she was stand to her feet then, bringing Mashyuu up to his as well. "I will talk to you more on this subject later; however, there is a mission ahead of us that we must complete. So, no more talk of babies and keeping things safe because now isn't the time for that anymore, it's time for daily life." Kanix squeezed his hand again, not letting go as she whistled for her Thunderbird with the other. As Ancalagon sidled over to the duo, she would hop onto his back, taking Mashyuu with her if he wanted, and stepping through the portal. The feeling of being swept through a current would wash over them before they would exit the portal into Kyoka.

Upon entering this new world, a feeling of being refreshed would swallow them whole as the magical energy empowered them here. Kanix breathed in deeply and placed a hand on her stomach again, not out of any reason rather than happiness flooding her. She had hope, hope for a true family, hope for this mission, hope for a perfect life for this new bundle of joy. Looking around at this new place, the woman's gaze would come across that same Alice Blue orb of light. It danced, swirled, and floated delicately off a few feet from where Ancalagon was standing with the two mages. The spherule acted as if it wanted them to follow, and out of instinct, the woman pressed her heels into the bird's sides. With a low grunt, the Thunderbird slowly trailed after the spheroid as it floated away and drew them deeper into Kyoka.

"Do you know the reason why this orb wants us here?" Kanix inquired, eye never coming off of the small sphere. It was strange to her that it would come in a dream, but perhaps that was its only way of being able to communicate. In fact, the orb looked like it was able to speak at all, aside from being able to whisper sweet nothings to her in a dream. She let out a sigh of defeat and leaned back, either again Mashyuu if he was on Ancalagon with her, or spread out on Ancalagon's back. Her vision would sweep away as she disconnected it from her Thunderbird's, shattered back to complete darkness. Vibrations were the only thing that kept her aware of her surroundings and being able to know what was there. "This world. . . is different. . . the energy here, it's stronger. . . refreshing, almost, and I'm curious to know more about it."

A smile traced her lips again and she found herself stretching and breathing in deeply, enjoying herself. Hopefully, this mission wouldn't be hell and she could truly enjoy her time here with Mashyuu and their pets. She was never able to truly enjoy herself around him, even back when he had taken her out for dinner after they first met. An indulgence that she had been wanting for a while, but couldn't truly have with all of the jobs they were on.

@Mashyuu , 1,032 words , counts as three posts

Holy fire burns again

the magic circle is all around it, burning like the innocence of love

A name for the child? She hadn't thought about a name yet, considering it was so early into her pregnancy still. However, if she had to choose a name, she wanted to go with a traditional Nirvit name; something to keep her heritage. Staring ahead of her, the woman thought momentarily about what she could name the child, given it was ever born. An inkling of fear was settled in her stomach that if she chose a name now, something terrible would happen to the child. Perhaps, that was just her traditional views on children from when she had lived in the tribe of the Nirvits. Whatever the case was, Kanix was slightly hesitant in answering the Sabertooth mage the question he had asked her.

"Zan tzinitzcan impetlatl ipan, ohuaya; on tzinitzcan iceliztoca oncan izan in ninentlamatia, in zan icnoxochicuicatica inocon ya temohua ya ohuaya, ohuaya," she mumbled to herself in her native tongue at first.

Translation:

"I would like to name her Amaia or Nayeli," Kanix finally answered him, "Amaia because it means 'the end' or 'night rain' and Nayeli because it means 'I love you'."

Her head perked up a little when she heard what Mashyuu said next, smiling a bit at the idea of going to his place. "No place is too small for me, my love; if you do not know already, I have lived countless years in a tepee. If your place is as cramped as you say it is, it will be no different than living in a small, conical-shaped piece of fabric." She technically had a home in Magnolia, but many bad memories resided there, where her firstborn had been taken from her. Not to mention the terrible breakup with Jaeger had happened there shortly after their first day; a connection since broken. Heero had bought the home for her and she did not want to be rude to him by reselling it since no one lived there anymore. "But I would love to be able to go to your home at some point in time, simply to see where you live on your time off."

". . ." That was right, Mashyuu wasn't aware that she was able to see by use of others' sight if they allowed her to connect to them. "In our time apart, I had gone on an enlightenment journey and my eyes were opened up to a world of a possibilities. My magic was further enhanced from what it was able to do to what I am capable of doing with it now. By connecting to someone else's vision, I'm able to see what they are seeing, but I have to touch them first." She leaned her head back and cupped her hands onto his cheeks, pulling his head down a little to kiss him on the chin. "Any sort of touch will allow for me to see what someone else is seeing and by doing that, I am now able to see what you are seeing." A soft laughter left her lips and she stared head of them, focusing on what the Sabertooth mage was looking at.

"I suppose you are right though, gathering more information about why this orb wants us here is the better route," Kanix repeated his words. They had both been drawn here by means of a dream, but both dreams had very little and very useless information. The only thing that they had been told was to go to Wakusei Portals and enter into Kyoka, a planet Kanix had never been to. Watching the Alice Blue orb, she began to wonder what it was that the spheroid wanted them to do in Kyoka. It could neither speak nor gesture what it wanted to tell them, so it would end up being a game of charades and guess who. Biting her lip, the woman glanced the other way, looking around at what was available via Mashyuu's vision. Unfortunately, even the surroundings didn't offer information on why they were here in Kyoka and what they needed to do.

Likewise, the fact that Kyoka was a planet emitting and made entirely from magical power, it was no surprise that they felt more powerful here. She could feel the essence of the world's own magic empowering her and giving her a feeling of being refreshed. Kanix liked the feeling it gave her, but she didn't know if it actually did something to them or if it was just a sensation. If the feeling was just a feeling, then that was too bad, as she had her own feeling that they needed all the magical power they could get. Following the Alice Blue orb didn't help that sensation either, as she could not know if impending doom was coming or not. Without knowing where they were heading to, she could not guess if something bad would happen or not. It made her fret a little on the inside, but there was nothing that she could do in order to tell where they were being taken.

"It's a great feeling, don't get me wrong, but I can't tell if it's just a sensation Kyoka is giving us or if it is actually helping us," Kanix responded. She shrugged slightly, not going to let it bother her since there was no issue with the feeling being given out. However, as they proceeded along, the orb had subsequently taken them to an old, rundown baseball stadium. Kanix stared at it wide-eyed, having never seen such a huge structure as the one that was standing before them. Her entire body perked up as she leaned forward and tensed her muscles from excitement, staring at what Mashyuu was seeing. "It's. . . it's so beautiful! I've never seen such a thing like this! What is it for? I mean, what had it been used for?" Scrambling her feet a little, she climbed up the length of Ancalagon's neck and settled on top of his head to get a closer look.

Entering the stadium was one thing, but entering the field in which games had once been played on was another. Still wide-eyed, she looked around at their surroundings offered by Mashyuu's vision, though gazing upon the three dark wizards in the end. "Áiac xictli in tlaltícpac!" she called to the red-haired woman dressed in similar robes, frowning at her goons and her.

Translation:

The woman's head swiveled in Kanix's direction, and a snarl curled her lip before she flung herself in her direction. A red liquid formed at the palm of the female's hands, forming into a small orb that was quickly shot at the shamaness. "Up!" she shouted at Ancalagon, who, with a sharp beat of his wings, lifted up into the air and flew over the dark wizard. "Star Scream!" Kanix ordered next, feeling a sudden burst of energy as lightning crackled in the air and drew together at Ancalagon's talons. In a matter of seconds, the first bolt of lightning struck down on the blood mage, lightning coursing over her body. Minutes after the first strike, a second came bolting down to the woman, striking her yet again as she blasted a stream of blood at Kanix. She cried out in surprise as the burst of blood coated her in the red liquid, leaving her drench in warm, sticky blood.

Arms raised up slightly, droplets of blood dripped down from her arms and fingertips, raven hair sticking to her bodice from the blood. Her nose was wrinkled up in disgust, then flared out from anger and she stood to her feet, drawing her left hand in a semicircle, followed by her right hand. Lightning trailed in her motions like a tail behind her fingers, and crackled at the point of connection, where her middle and forefingers met. Stepping forward lightly, a quick burst of blue lightning shot forward and down toward the blood mage, striking her dead in the chest. A scream escaped the victim's lips and her body became momentarily paralyzed as the spell took away her sight.

"My vision! My eyes! I can't see!" the blood mage wailed in fear, covering her eyes with her hands and whimpering.

"That is so you may feel how it is to be without sight! Many years I have lived as the same and you, too shall suffer!" Kanix called back.

@Mashyuu , 1,389 words , counts as three posts

Holy fire burns again

the magic circle is all around it, burning like the innocence of love

"I. . . have a confession to make about my name, actually," Kanix responded to Mashyuu after he had stated the baby would be given her last name. Unfortunately, what the Sabertooth mage wasn't aware of was that her entire name was a fake in itself. She didn't know her real name, but she did have a single connection to her past that she was sure to ask the next time they met. Taking in a deep breath, the woman kept her gaze locked ahead and steadily staring at the blood mage across from her. "Kanix Laspor is not my real name; it was a name I gave myself before I had joined the Nirvit tribe and they had given me my tribe name. I'm not aware of what my real name is, but I do know of someone who I can ask if they know what my real name is. . . But I can't ask them because they're from a guild who absolutely hates my guts, so I can't just waltz over there and ask."

She breathed in deeply and glanced momentarily aware from her attacker, which had ended up being a huge a mistake. The next thing she knew, her arm was bent in a weird position, moving not of her own accord, but rather the blood mage's. Kanix let out a pained cry of both surprise and hurt as the blood mage quickly took control of her body and held her against her will. Wriggling in her place upon Ancalagon, the blind shamaness found that no matter how she willed herself to move, she never budged. This frightened her, and Kanix found herself moving into a position that she was well aware of as being dangerous.

"Stop, what are you doing?" the Fairy Tail mage ordered her opponent, her hands raising upward as they forcibly summoned the crosshatching of holy pillars. Tears of fear trickled down her cheeks as she heard the harsh screeching of the beams as they rose from the ground and attacked her instead of the woman.

Many of the beams of light grazed against her skin, burning her, and narrowing impaling her as they rose up. A terrible scream of fear and misery erupted into the air from Kanix's lips, and as quickly as the spell was summoned, it ended. If it wasn't for the blood mage still in control of her body, she would have limply fell against the feathered beast. She smiled from her stiffened place on her pet, then laughed as blood trickled down the left side of her mouth. Lines of tears streaked her face on the left and streams of blood caked the right side of her tanned face. "You can batter me, beat me, and tear me down, but if you so much as think you're capable of killing me, think again." Her blue eye narrowed and her nostrils flared; Kanix tore one arm free of the blood mage's binding, then the other.

Pushing against the pain that she felt throughout her body, the Ace of Fairy Tail aimed to set herself right. Once she had entirely pulled herself free of the woman's hold, she grabbed her staff from its hitch on the saddle and swung it rightward. Three, 1.5-meter-long, crescent-shaped blades fired out from the dangling feathers of the staff she held in her hand. Her assailant cried out in misery as one of the blades dug deep into her raised arms, very nearly slicing it off. A second caught her in the stomach and pushed her backward, causing her to keel over and cover the injury with her uninjured arm. The third slammed into her face, cutting up the pretty features held there and forcing her to fall onto her back. Kanix breathed in deeply, harshly, and her eyes rolled to the back of her head, her body tipping off to the side.

Her hand released the staff she held and it went tumbling from the height, at which Ancalagon was flying, to the ground. She, herself, quickly followed: her body weakening from the attacks and her footing slipping so that she fell off the Thunderbird. Sensing the weightlessness, Ancalagon's head sharply turned to the side and the pupil in his left eye dilated as he noticed his master falling. In a quicker reaction time than thought possible, the giant beast dove downward, folding in his wings to move faster. The second that he was beneath the shamaness, he snapped out his wings and felt a heavy thud as she landed on his back. Kanix let out a groan of pain and rolled to her side, feeling a head rush coming onto her as she moved her sore body. He shook his body in response to her action, ultimately forcing her onto her back again and keeping her there.

At first, her pet moved to make a B-line toward the ground, but something forced him upward and to the fire mages. His eyes sparked with a black lightning that was outlined in red, crackling at a high intensity before it was gathered at his talons. Once enough of it had been gathered there, the Thunderbird swooped over the two fire mages and Mashyuu, a screech announcing his presence. Thunder seemingly rolled with each beat of his wings and he opened his talons to release a bolt of lightning. This bolt of lightning somersaulted in the air until the sharp end pointed downward and struck upon one of the fire mages. A second lightning bolt followed after, dealing the same damage that the first had to the other of the fire mages. Ancalagon would not tolerate the injury of his master, as little as the injury may be, and would see to it all paid.

"Ancalagon, stop. . ." Kanix croaked out, "if you're not careful enough you're going to hurt Mashyuu, please. . ." She was begging her pet by now, but it seemed that he was intent on throwing down bolt after bolt of lightning. With one fire mage already down because of Mashyuu, his focus had shifted to the man at third base in the stadium. That terrible scream echoed in the air again, like it was nails on a chalkboard and a woman screaming in pain all at once. Kanix covered her ears from the screeching and pulled herself weakly to her feet, the beating of thunder echoing in the air. He swooped toward the last of the fire mages and released another black lightning bolt down upon the unsuspecting mage. The man cried out in agony as the bolt struck him down, the intensity of its heat crisping the man into ashes.

@Mashyuu , 1,112 words , counts as three posts

Holy fire burns again

the magic circle is all around it, burning like the innocence of love

Kanix grabbed hold of the feathers on Ancalagon as he dove downward again, swiftly and literally at the speed of lightning. The bird nearly crash landed as he violently shook Kanix off his back and thrust himself back into the air. Her grasp upon her pet had loosened and she tumbled off the thunderbird in a matter of seconds, hitting the ground. She groaned at the pain, certain that Ancalagon was putting her in danger rather than trying to protect her. In fact, she wasn't even certain what it was that had caused him to go berserk like that, but something had to of done it. Grimacing, the injured shamaness pushed herself carefully back to her feet and staggered where she stood. With nothing to hold on to, she was certain she would simply collapse upon the ground again in just a few moments

However, the next thing she knew was a magical presence familiar to her residing at her side and words uttered to her. "I don't know what's gotten into him; I knew he was an aggressive creature, but I didn't know he'd take it this far," she whimpered. She didn't know what to do as the thunderbird roared overhead and sent electricity bolts shooting down toward them. Mashyuu had drawn up a barrier around them, some sort of earthen dome that she was certain wouldn't help. "You don't understand, Mash! Ancalagon is not as strong as you and me. . . he's stronger than us both!" How she had managed to obtain such a powerful creature was beyond any recognition of those in power or weaker to her. Kanix would scoot a little closer to and lean against him, her head resting on his shoulder as they waited out the tantrum.

"I know I'm strong," she uttered the words as thunder rolled over their heads from the beat of Ancalagon's wings. "She was a formidable foe, considering she had the ability manipulate blood and even took control of me once. In fact, her ability to control me was what put me in fear as she forced me to cast that one spell I hate most. There was a gut feeling in my stomach that told me she was going to do something like that, I just didn't know if she would." A sigh escaped Kanix's lips and she'd think over the former actions of the blood mage that she had slaughtered. It was not intentional that she had killed off the woman, she didn't want to in the first place, but she had. Now, Ancalagon was running rampant in the stadium and she feared that his actions would get her caught by the Magic Council.

She moved her head a little as he brought up the subject of having a name fitting for the both of them. "Can we think about that stuff after the job, please? I know you want to discuss it and all, but now isn't the time," Kanix stated. Moving a little more, the woman would pull Mashyuu into a hug and give him a peck on the cheek before pulling away. Certainly, a job like this wasn't one where they wanted to think about their child and just how dangerous it was for her to be here. Another sigh escaped her lips and she lowered her head in a reprimanded way, like a cat with its ears against its head in fear. "He's normally never like this; I really, truly don't know what had gotten into him to cause him to do this," she answered. "I want to say that he sensed the fear and danger that he was in and he's known to get extremely aggressive toward my attackers."

Eventually, Ancalagon crash landed on the stadium grounds and gave out a pleasurable screech at turning the place into a wasteland. The dome was removed from its place and Kanix was helped back to her feet and led back toward her pet. Ancalagon flapped the edges of his wings a little and shook his head, ruffling the feathers along his neck. She reached a shaky hand outward, in which the thunderbird was able to tell that she was a tad fearful and gave off a screech. Kanix sucked in a shaky breath and placed her hand on the bird's side with ease, being lifted back onto him by Mashyuu's hands. "The orb. . . it wants you to follow it out of the stadium and into the forest beyond," she spoke up once she was settled down. Her fingers entangled themselves into the thunderbird's feathers again and held on more tightly than before.

As they exited the stadium, the group was quickly met by a forest, which was foggy and thick, hard to see in. The orb shifted colors, so that it could be better seen by Mashyuu, but Kanix merely listened to its presence. Being attuned to nature, having lived in forestry since she was 14 years old, it was near impossible for anything to get pass her. Her head swiveled in one direction, then the others as her ears picked up sounds from within the forest shrubbery. She shuddered a little and held on tighter to her pet's feathers, wondering what it was that was following them through the forest. "When you have no sense of sight, your senses become more highly attuned to your surroundings to make up for the lost sense. Not to mention, I've lived in forests since I was 14 years old and I was trained to hunt in them when they were at their foggiest and thickest."

Ancalagon, on the other hand, would bend his neck to snag his beak onto the back of Mashyuu's jacket collar. He lifted him up off the ground, so that he didn't have to struggle through the grass and slow them down more. "Just. . . I get the feeling that something's following us, and I'm not entirely cer-" her sentence was cut off as a howl echoed into the air. The lonesome cry was followed by two more and the snarling, barking, and snapping of hungry wolves entering the zone. "What is that? That can't be. . . Mashyuu, be careful! Those are wolves and they're looking for a big dinner and I think that might just be us!" Dropping Mashyuu back onto the ground, Ancalagon lifted his head up and tilted it slightly, giving out a blaring screech as warning to the wolves. His feathers were ruffled even more, standing on edge, and black lightning sparked around his eyes and talons.

@Mashyuu , 1,094 words , counts as three posts

Holy fire burns again

the magic circle is all around it, burning like the innocence of love

She wasn't stressed out, she was simply fearful that her bird would go on a rampage again and take her with him. Truly, she dearly loved the beast, but at some points in time, he tended to go a bit haywire with protecting her. It hadn't even been that bad of an attack, though she now knew any sort of control over her would result in the bird obliterating everything. In all honesty, she was a tiny bit scared of just how powerful the beast would be when he was at his full strength. Right now, it was only her rank limiting just how strong he was, and that alone gave her the amount of fear she had. The stronger she became, the more unpredictable and violent Ancalagon happened to be; at what point would he become untamable? Would he rise up to the power of true storms or would he remain that loyally strong creature he currently was for her?

Not to mention, just how much stronger would her own magic get? If it became just as powerful as her pet's, what violence would she face? Her magic already allowed her to do things beyond that of a normal mage's control; allowing her to see into the future and communicate with the afterlife. This was how she was so closely connected to the orb, given that it was a spirit searching out those to help it. She didn't know what for, but whatever it was that it wanted them to help with, she would find out eventually. For now, her connection to the world belonged as it was to the orb, despite how useless the orb actually was being. Eerily enough, the orb seemed to know what it was doing, despite not having the ability to talk or otherwise. It made her wonder what exactly this spirit needed help with and why it had chosen Mashyuu and her out of everyone else in the world.

Blinking, the woman honed in on the battle with the wolves again, patting her bird lightly on the side of his neck. She could feel the tension rising on him and she wasn't liking how he was suddenly getting so worked up about everything. Kanix gingerly slid off his back and landed lightly on the ground, listening intently to the steps of the wolves and their heartbeats. Just as Mashyuu had said, twelve wolves were coming out to step onto the battlefield with the two mages. They were hungry, so starved that they had resorted to hunting down anything that moved as a means of a meal. In a way, Kanix pitied the creatures, but at the same time, she knew that killing them was the best thing to. It would put them out of their misery and neither Mashyuu or her would have to face the idea of becoming a meal.

She drew a hand off to the side, a bright, green-colored strip flowing from the air with a smell similar to putrid dead bodies. It seemingly pulsated with the toxic glow, and as the wolves bounded closer to Mashyuu and her, she cracked it at the nearest wolf. The whip's thong quickly wrapped around the chest of the first starving wolf to launch at her job partner. Kanix yanked her hand the opposite way she had originally moved it, resulting in the wolf being toward away from him. Quickly thrown into the trunk of a tree, the wolf let out a yelp as a sickening crack could be heard when its back hit the tree. Her whip released its victim and swung back to a second wolf, one that wasn't as near to Mashyuu as the other two. This wolf was snagged by the poison whip as well, and swiftly flung off into the distance, like a shooting star across the sky.

With two wolves down and out for the count, only ten of them remained, all of which happened to be just as hungry. Kanix breathed in deeply and focused in on her opponents' breathing and heartbeats as a mean to locate their positions. Mashyuu could easily deal with the two he had on him, considering she had alleviated him of one of his burdens. A wolf's growl broke her train of thought and her head jerked upward slightly, her attention drawn to the growl. Footsteps caught in her ears and she snarled a bit as if she was communicating with the wolf approaching her cautiously. Her hand twitched, which caused the beast to jump a little, like it had seen the strength of the green strip in her hand. However, that whip soon dissipated from her grasp and she smirked a little, shifting her stance into a roundhouse guard.

Shifting her body's weight into her right foot, she moved forward slightly and sharply brought up her right arm. A large body of ice, sharpened to a point, rose up from the ground and quickly impaled the wolf that was nearing her. Kanix charged up the smooth shaft of the icicle and stamped her foot down, summoning another of the icicles. This brought it close to another of the wolves in the surrounding vicinity, but did not lay a scratch on it. She leaped from the icicle she was on to the one just risen, then flipped off the icicle and landed a heavy blow to the wolf with her foot. The creature let out a yelp of pain as the attack was brought down upon it, then snapped its teeth onto her leg. Wincing, the shamaness tore her leg free of the beast and slammed the side of it into its chest, just near the heart.

It caused the wolf to stumble to the side slightly, and her attacks were relentless, one followed after the other. Finally, a head shot came around with her fist slamming into the cranium of the creature and knocking it down. Kanix lifted her head up and listened to her surroundings again, then shifted her weight to her left foot and snapped her left arm up. Icicles drove across the ground in a straight line, though the icicles themselves were strewn in different directions. If any wolves had been near the icicles, they would have quickly been impaled or injured by the icicles' orientations. She breathed in deeply and brought her arms down to her sides, letting out the breath in a slow motion. Now, which of the beast did she have to focus on next? Because they weren't going to get away that easily.

@Mashyuu , 1,090 words , counts as three posts

Holy fire burns again

the magic circle is all around it, burning like the innocence of love

Ignoring the wave Mashyuu motioned toward her with, the woman turned back to focus on the four remaining wolves at hand. Each one was snarling and growling, and if she listened hard enough, she swore she could hear their stomachs howling. She had one more plan up her sleeve, but it was going to take a bit, and by a bit, a few minutes for it to charge up. Avoiding the wolves as the four of them charged at her, the woman back-flipped and landed back onto the icicles. Kanix smirked at her pursuers, her feet skidding along the cold surface as she planted them down in place. Her muscles stiffened and she extended her right hand in the wolves direction when they began to circle her. They gnashed their teeth at her and let out threatening barks, even jumped up to try and get on the ice, but to no avail.

At the tip of her fingers, a candle-like flame sprouted, while her other hand moved through the air as if it was gathering something. It wove the air around her enticingly, pulling the spirit of air from the wind and placing it around the flame at her palm. With each passing minute, the flame seemingly grew in size, though the size difference was subtle and near unnoticeable. She kept her attention on the wolves, who continued to snap and growl at her, scratching their paws on the ice. Where she stood, the ice began to melt from the extensive heat that was forming at the center of her palm. More so, she could feel the burning sensation across her skin as the flame grew stronger and more volatile as time passed. Yet it had barely grown in size over the couple of minutes that had gone by, leaving it as just a tiny bit larger than a candle flame.

No longer able to move, the shamaness was planted on the ground, focusing all of her will into the tiny flame of fire. A soft breeze trickled around her, shifting the bone necklace around her neck and the broadcloth that clothed her groin. Her hair tangled around her face as the wind grew stronger, whipping it around and blocking her ability to see. However, she was used to never seeing at all, so it did not bother her with what the wind was doing around her. The more wind there was, the more powerful her spell around grow, and she could already feel the effects of it starting. While the flames burned at her hand, they did not deal any damage to her, not even a slight burn across her skin. And the wolves? Well, they were beginning to notice her spell as well, starting to back away from the sharp icicles.

The wolves could sense the danger that was impending from the tiny flame as it continued to grow in size. Kanix only grinned widely as the wolves that had once been circling her had come at a stop in a horizontal line. Their ears were lowered against their heads and they were whining as they tried backing away from the icicles. However, they could not go much farther before they had bumped into another of the large icicle creations she had made. They were cornered and were awaiting their doom as the flame that had once been candled size was now torch sized. Her fingers wiggled, as if they were enticing the flame to grow ever larger in the palm of her now brightly reddened hand. She could feel the fear they were feeling emitting from their pelts, their shudders nothing more than enticement.

It would be just a little bit longer before the flame was ripe for the picking, before she could blast it upon them. Mashyuu could likely feel the heat of the flame now as well, as it had grown quite large simply from charging up. Twisting her hand a little, Kanix was able to face the fire in the wolves' direction, her blind eye scanning over them. Maniac laughter spilled from Kanix's lips, a laughter that was supposedly unheard of from ever coming out of her. Perhaps her dark side had truly come out now, the embodiment of hell that was about to be unleashed on the wolves. The grin as still splayed across her lips, but it was pulled up in a way that appeared much like the Joker's grin. Oh, but it wasn't ready yet, even though the heat had by now become highly unbearable even to the shamaness.

Curling her fingers, the flames were given a burst of energy, causing them to splash outward before dying back down. This gave a burst of heat toward the wolves that caused them to howl out in fear and spin circles as they decided what to do. Another burst of heat outward and the flame had turned into a small blaze of fire, reaching out toward the wolves. At long last, Kanix could tell that this spell was at its maximum, with it flashing outward, as if wanting to grab the wolves. The laughter seemingly left her lips again and she pointed her hand at one of the wolves that would first be victim. Her eye widened and as the heat of the flames intensified to the amount of which they were capable, she released its power. She breathed in deeply, coursing her hand over the air, so that the fire blast grazed over each and every wolf left.

The wolves yowled out in pain as the fire's intense heat grabbed at the fur and burnt it to a crisp, leaving nothing. When all four of the wolves had become piles of ash, the shamaness dropped her hand to her side and ended the spell. Kanix breathed in deeply again and patted her thighs with her hands, just now noticing how painful her right hand felt. She pouted a little and lifted the hand back up, holding it close to her, where it was clear to see the burn marks over it. It was unavoidable, but likely, the spell, itself, had caused her any sort of serious damage when she had cast it. Turning away from the ashes on the ground, she looked to Mashyuu and Ancalagon, giving them the kindest of smiles.

"So, where are we supposed to go next? Have you seen the spirit orb at all?" Kanix would question the two of them.

@Mashyuu , 1,073 words , counts as three posts

Holy fire burns again

the magic circle is all around it, burning like the innocence of love

Kanix nodded toward Mashyuu, not saying a word to him, since he had taken off quicker than she was able to speak. The icicles she was standing on had melted from the intense heat of her spell and she had hopped down from them. Waving her hand, the icicles dispersed, then she clicked her tongue, beckoning for the thunderbird to come to her. When Ancalagon sidled over to the young mage, she pulled herself up onto his back and took flight, bursting through the trees and into the sky. Once he was high enough in the air, the bird folded his wings inward and dove toward the ground in a spiraling fury. As he neared the ground, his wings burst outward, lightning coursing over their length, and his talons extended as he flew over a few of the wolves. Snatching up two of the wolves in his talons, the massive bird took off with both them and Kanix back into the sky.

The bodies of the wolves came tumbling back down from the sky, followed suit of the bird doing another dive bomb. A screech left its beak as it dove below the falling wolves and opened its maw, the dogs free-falling into its mouth. Its beak snapped shut, blood splattering from the two wolves that had been cracked in half by the bird's teeth. One, two, three bites and the wolves were swallowed whole by the beast before it went swooping in for another grab. This time around, the creature would snag up three of the wolves, repeating its actions from earlier and swallowing them whole. Of the twenty wolves that had come to attack Mashyuu, only 15 of them remained alive and well, excluding the alpha. In turn, Kanix would slither off the side of Ancalagon and land on the ground beside Mashyuu, steady in a roundhouse guard stance.

Her right fit came slamming forward in a semicircle, a blaze of fire following in a trail as it scorched one of the wolves closest to her. The trail of fire was followed by a front kick and forward punch that sent another blaze of fire toward the wolves. Last, but not least, it ended with a burst of flames from her open left palm, burning the wolves that were around her. Kanix breathed in deeply and brought her hands to her sides, looking to Mashyuu briefly with her blind, blue eye. Ancalagon was still flying over the wolves, raking them up into his claws and taking off with them into the sky. Occasionally one could hear his soft screeching of playfulness as he snatched up the wolves and swallowed them whole. Before long, the number of wolves was quickly dwindling, leaving very few for the two mages to have to battle.

Among the bushes was the alpha wolf, rummaging in his hiding place, waiting for the perfect moment to strike. "There's about ten or so of them left, I would assume," the mage stated, her head swinging in their direction. Ancalagon backed off from the wolves and settled on the ground, just behind the two mages, snapping his jaws open and closed. Blood trickled from his maw where the wolves had been snapped in half and their innards entangled in his teeth. In fact, the smell of death had wrenched the air and filled it, making it so that it was near impossible to smell anything else than blood. The bird nuzzled into his chest, ruffling the feathers and letting out another satisfied screech as he cleaned himself.

@Mashyuu , 590 words , NOTES

Holy fire burns again

the magic circle is all around it, burning like the innocence of love

Kanix laughed heartily as Mashyuu stated that her bird may have an anger management issue with its recent actions. She dusted her hands off and let them fall to her sides again, giving a small shrug of her shoulders in response to her boyfriend. "If he has an anger management issue, then it is most certainly not my issue," the woman stated in a matter-of-factual tone. "Thunderbirds are creatures that rarely ever become tame and if they are tamed, they may hold some sort of resentment to their owner. Ancalagon, here, chose to be with me on his own, so if he has anger management issues, it's simply part of his personality. After all, Big Boy, here, is the rarest of Thunderbirds; I mean, who sees a Thunderbird that's melanistic and shoots black lightning?" Again, she would shrug her shoulders and turn back to the wolves, determined to take them out in the next few minutes.

However, Mashyuu had launched himself at the wolves long before Kanix had managed to summon one of her own spells. A frown creased her lips, but she remained stationary on the earthen dome as he rammed into the alpha wolf. She winced only when she heard Mashyuu cry out in pain from being bitten by the wolf, and out of reactionary reflex, the woman raised her right arm. Placing her left hand on her right bicep, she breathed in deeply, closed her eye, and began muttering strange, foreign words. Golden light showered her in a ring, rising from the ground; seconds later, runic symbols circled around the shamaness. As each of the six lines rotated around Kanix, a runic symbol would lock into place in front of her and turn a light pink. The moment nine runic symbols had locked in place in front of her, she opened her eye, which began to glow a bright white.

Around Mashyuu, a shimmering layer would coat him, healing him of the wound that had been inflicted upon him. A sense of invigoration would overcome the Sabertooth mage as the spell Kanix cast reversed the effects of damage done to him. Once the shimmering layer faded, the shamaness would leap down from the dome of earth and direct her pet toward the wolves. Ancalagon, sensing that his owner wanted him to do something, shook out his feathers, clambered back to his feet, and charged the remaining hounds. He stretched out his neck and gave out a hissing cry similar to that of a Tyrannosaurus Rex's roar, and snatched a wolf up in his jaws. In a matter of seconds, the wolf that had been caught in his maw had been downed whole before he raged after another one. The next wolf in which he was chasing had quickly been snagged by his teeth and torn to pieces, leaving blood strewn across the ground.

When Mashyuu finished off the large alpha wolf, the remaining pack followers began to retreat at the sight of their fallen comrades. Ancalagon, not realizing the wolves' retreat, would chase after them, as if hoping he would get a bit more of a treat. Unfortunately, because of his great size compared to the wolves, they were much faster than the thunderbird and easily escaped. Defeated, the beast returned to Kanix's side and nuzzled his bloody beak into her ribs, pushing her a little and giving out a purr-like sound. She was quickly coated in the enemies' blood, but didn't mind a single bit, reaching out to stroke Ancalagon's beak. Yet, as Mashyuu picked up the orb that seemingly fell from the wolf's body, the spirit that had once been leading them appeared once more. It swooped around the Sabertooth mage, then spiraled around Kanix, causing her to lift her arms away from Ancalagon.

Her pet would nuzzle her harder, lifting her up onto his head and sliding her down his neck and onto his back. The orb would zoom away, whisking through the trees and bushes, leading the two mages and pets out of the forest. "Where do you think it will bring us next, Mashyuu?" Kanix inquired from her place on the beast's back. "To be honest, I'm still not understanding exactly where this orb is trying to take us or what the goal of this job is." Her head turned a little, looking back in the direction the orb was heading, then urged Ancalagon to move a little faster. The bird picked up his pace, kicking up dirt as his claws dug deep into the earth and upturned it from his movement. In a way, he sort of looked like a very large, black chicken running through the forest for who knows what reason.

The orb led them to a small gas station, which looked to be in ruins and long since abandoned like the baseball stadium. Noise could be heard inside of the old building, like someone was rummaging around in it, looking for something. Even soft talking could be heard from where the mages were now standing, causing Kanix to slide off her pet and walk toward the building. Her eye was narrowed and she listened intently to what was being said, but couldn't make out what was being said. Moving her left hand in what would be the direction of the gas pumps, left over oil would pop out of the pump and slithering a stream toward Kanix. Wrapping around her hand, the oil would form a whip-like weapon, dragging along the ground and leaving a deepened mark. "Who's there?" she shouted, hoping to gain the attention of whoever it was that happened to being the building.

From the shadows of the gas station's entryway, hooded mages would exit, their faces concealed by the red cloaks. They did not hesitate in launching attacks at the woman, one throwing bullets of blood in her direction, the other casting a blaze of fire. Sensing the first of the spells, the blood bullets, Kanix was able to easily dodge the attack without being hurt. However, the stream of fire skimmed across her bare back, leaving a bright red burn mark in the center of it. She gave out a cry of pain, used her heel as a pivotal point, then launched the oil whip at the fire mage for the first attack. It wrapped around the sleek figure and yanked them toward the gas pumps, causing the stream of fire to falter. Flecks of fire sparked down on the oil, causing it to quickly ignite and become a more volatile weapon for her to use.

@Mashyuu , 1,093 words , counts as three posts

Holy fire burns again

the magic circle is all around it, burning like the innocence of love

Kanix gave a small shrug in response to Mashyuu, figuring where it was leading them to didn't matter in the least bit. As long as they were following it, they would get the job done in a jiffy, whatever the heck that happened to mean. However, he did bring up a great point; it seemed to be having them collect things, which made her ever more curious. Like Mashyuu had brought up, was it possible that this orb was a trapped spirit and the things they were collecting would release? That didn't seem right though, she would have known if it was a trapped spirit or not. To her, it was just a light orb. Sighing, Kanix didn't bother to think too hard on it, as she knew it would result in a headache and stress her out. None of that was what she needed right now, for if she strained herself too much, it could potentially harm the child.

Focusing her attention back on the fire magic, the oil that had once been a whip splattered to the ground after. The frown increased on her face and she flicked her wrist again, causing the whip to reappear in her hands. She yanked it from left to right, causing it to latch onto the fire mage once more and launching him into the gas station building. His body smacked hard into the wall, a sound similar to cracking bones resonating into the air as he slid down. However, Kanix did not stop with just flicking him away, as stepping closer, the blind woman would snag him in her grasp. Sucking in a deep breath, her cheeks puffing out from the extensive air that she was inhaling, she released it. A blaze of fire emitted from her lips and scorched the face of her opponent enough that he was crying out in pain.

She tossed him away shortly after, his head cracking against the cement of the gas station grounds, blood pooling around where he hit. The man did not move from where he had landed on the ground, causing Kanix to believe that she had killed him. Smirking a little, the stout woman swung her hips and turned away, but a strange sound coursed through the air. It was a moan of sorts, one that sounded like it was a bit strangled or as if it was trying to be a haunting ghost. Pausing in her tracks, the woman tilted her head a little, listened more closely, then spun on her heels to face it. Standing before her was a weakened atronoch, a creature very womanly in nature, but had lava and fire coursing over its body. Grunting a little, Kanix placed a hand on her hip and stared at the creature's direction, cocking an eyebrow at it.

A groan emitted from the creature's maw and it started running toward her, sort of like it was running like a zombie. Just as she was preparing to fight it, however, Ancalagon seemingly swooped in and snatched the creature up. Kanix pouted a little and crossed her arms over her chest, not wanting her bird to have all of the fun with her opponent. Ancalagon, on the other hand, had taken off with the atronoch, gobbling it into its mouth and trying to swallow it down. The heat of the creature seemingly bird his throat though and he came flying back to the ground, regurgitating the beast. He cried out at it, hissing a little, then aimed to try and eat again, only to remember the last time he did, it burned his throat. Instead, lightning sparked at his eyes and he released a bolt from his mouth, letting it course over the atronoch.

Kanix laughed a little, hearing her bird struggling to eat the enemy, when it was clear all he wanted was a small snack. Flicking her right wrist, a flurry of light blades would swung out into the open and head straight for the weakened beast. Each one quickly landed upon it, one followed after the other, that would force the atronoch to stumble backward. Bouncing toward it lightly, the shamaness's wings snapped outward, their brilliance of color lit by the planet's sun. Bringing her hands to her chest, she pushed them outward, palms facing the atronoch, as a series of rings launched toward it. These rings carried an awful sound, and shrunk in size the closer they came to the atronoch, though still dealt decent damage. Again, the creature was pushed back, until it fell to its knees, and Ancalagon bent down tearing its head off.

In the distance, howls could be heard, as if the pack of wolves they had just scared away were back for round two. Kanix's attention was brought to the sound the wolves were making, wondering if perhaps it was that same group. Something told her though that it was not what they were looking for, that these wolves would be a lot more difficult to fight. Rushing over to Ancalagon, the woman flapped her wings and pulled herself atop the large beast to sit on him. Her single, blind glanced around as if she could see from it, though what she was really doing was listening to the wolves. The howls seemingly grew closer and she was certain that she could even hear a bit of growling now that they were nearer. "Finish the guy off, Mashyuu, c'mon! We've got a bit of company heading our way," she called to her partner.

@Mashyuu , 920 words , counts as two posts

Holy fire burns again

the magic circle is all around it, burning like the innocence of love

Ancalagon outstretched his maw as the last of the wolves came charging toward him, lightning sparking off his feathers in excitement. His head twitched like an excited feline stalking its prey, feathers ruffled, so that he looked twice his natural size. When the wolf was finally close to the ancient thunderbird, the mythical beast snapped its jaws shut around the wolf's bodice. A high-pitched yelp escaped the snack that now lay lifeless in Ancalagon's jaws before he lifted his head up and swallowed the creature whole. Shaking out his feathers again, the bird plucked at his chest as a few of the feathers fell out from his molting. He turned his head slightly, looking at Kanix and Mashyuu, though didn't make a move to continuing the journey any farther. The bird cooed at them, much like that of a Morning Dove, though it sounded rather strangled and demonic than not.

"I'm not having our child on a rundown planet at a rundown gas station," Kanix muttered in a rather angry tone of voice. She quickly shrugged his head off her shoulder and removed his hand from her waist, then clucked her tongue at Ancalagon. The bird glanced away from the couple, stretched out his wings, beat them once, and took flight like a lightning bolt. They soared high into the sky, overlooking the baseball stadium and the gas station that was not far off from it. Forestry that they had crossed through wove around the stadium and station like an intricate design for a mosaic. Looking down at the scenery, one would be able to quickly tell that they were flying over what looked to be an old town. It was strange how Kyoka looked much like an older version of Earthland, like. . . perhaps. . . Earthlanders had once lived here.

"I would feel much safer going back to my old tribe and giving birth there," the woman stated in a more matter-of-factual tone. "The last birth I had was horribly painful, not because it was a difficult pregnancy, but because of what Sol had done to me. His toxins very nearly killed Ahote at birth, I don't know what I would have done if the poisons had actually killed him." Her teeth gritted at the thought of Sol and their final encounter when he had taken her eye and poisoned her. A hand rest on her stomach as her memories flooded her, as if she was standing there in Spooky Forest once more. Shaking her head, the woman blinked her eye and peered down at the landscape Ancalagon was flying over.

Not long after they had taken flight, the massive bird was reaching what looked to be a large body of water. It stretched long and far, but it never reached what would be considered an ocean, rather it ended in a circular formation. At the center of it was an island, one that appeared to be small, but perhaps that was because they were high up. "There's a lake just below us, I feel like we need to go down there for some reason," she spoke up after moments of silence. A feeling itched at her spine, like it was that orb that wanted them to go down on that island and look for something. Grabbing hold of a chunk of Ancalagon's feathers, the woman tilted her body weight, indicating to the bird that she wanted to go to the land formation. Ancalagon let out a screech in compliance to the woman, tilting his own body and soaring down toward the land mass.

After a few more seconds had passed by, the mystical bird landed gracefully upon the ground, folding his wings in. Once they were at a full stop, Kanix perked up and listened to the surroundings, like she knew something was there. The orb, which had no followed them when they left the gas station, seemingly popped out of the shrubbery from nowhere. It quickly skidded around Kanix and floated into Mashyuu's face, then darted back toward the darkness of the island forestry. Curiously, the shamaness slid off of Ancalagon's side and tugged at his neck feathers, beckoning for him to follow along. She quietly entered the depths of the little island, her gaze searching for whatever it happened to be that was there. Whereas, the orb seemed to not be leading them anywhere specific, like it was trying to follow something that continuously moved.

A rustle in the bushes caused the tribeswoman to stop in her tracks, forcing Ancalagon to pause in his as well. Her head turned slightly to the right, as if her ear was picking up what it was that had made that sound. The formation of a whip molded into her hand, snaking along the ground until it stopped at the 15 meter mark. She snapped her wrist without hesitation, sending the whip into the bushes and wrapping around its victim. Pulling the stalker free from their hiding place, a Dark Wizard Master would be revealed from the shrubbery. Kanix looked to the wizard angrily, the whip of water tightening around the man's bodice and holding him there. "Looks like we've got ourselves a visitor," she spoke to Mashyuu, smirking a little at the man she held captive.

@Mashyuu , 879 words , counts as two posts

Holy fire burns again

the magic circle is all around it, burning like the innocence of love

It wasn't that she hated everything he wanted, it was that she wanted what was best for her child in the long run. If it meant giving birth here on Kyoka, then she would, but since she had a choice, she didn't want to come back here. The planet was strange and she didn't trust the high levels of magic power that radiated through the planet's core. Ahote hadn't turned out that great of a child, despite how much affection and attention she had given to him. She didn't want the same thing to happen to this child as well; perhaps, she felt that this was her second chance at a better motherhood. So, remaining here on the planet until she gave birth was something that she did not want to happen in the least bit. In a way, she felt a bit terrible that she told Mashyuu no to this, though hopefully, he would understand why she had.

If she told him what was going to happen, he would be right there with her, but in the end, she didn't know. She claimed she knew everything because of her lineage, but half of the time that was always a bluff spoken. In a time like this, she wasn't all too sure what she was expecting because the future wasn't ever a solid thing. Everything could be seen and guessed at to which would happen, though it may not always be right at the end. Her mind gave her all of these clues as to how her future would turn out, yet she never once thought they could change. Kanix had always assumed that once something was told to her via her magic, that it would come true anyhow. When it came to her own life and her own children, things were not as they seemed to her; in that each child had a different outcome.

Kanix let out a genuine laughter as Mashyuu made a sound at the spirit orb and swatted it away before falling to the ground. Her eye darted toward the man's direction and quirked an eyebrow, but she wasn't given time to really say anything. Instead, her attention was focused back on the Bloodfire wizard, tossing him to the side with her whip into a tree. The man groaned and rubbed his head as he landed on the ground, weakling standing to his feet and looking around. She grinned in his general direction, the whip dissipating after it had been used, then raised a hand and launched blades at him. Unfortunately, he managed to dodge the attack and cut himself in the meantime, using that blood to form a sword. After which, the man let out a battle cry and charged Kanix, only for her to swiftly move out of his line of sight.

With her staff, the woman bashed the man in the back of the head as he ran past her, then side-swept his legs out from under him. The man toppled to the ground and she pressed the sharp end of her staff into his chest, holding him down as he flailed his blood sword at her. Kanix smiled wider and twisted her staff a little, causing the man to cry out in pain before she released him and kicked him away. Sending him flying into another tree, the bloodfire wizard growled and peeled himself from the indent he made in the tree. Turning around, he faced the woman, then launched a series of blood blades at her, each of which managed to hit her. Angry, the shamaness lashed a hand, a poisonous substance forming in the air in the shape of a long whip. Its tail end smacked against the bloodfire wizard's face, causing a corrosive burn to appear on the man's cheek.

In retaliation to the attack, the man formed a flicker of flames over his hand which quickly grew in size. All at once, the blaze of fire shifted into an orb shape and was launched at the woman, who had to dodge swiftly. Harshly, Kanix lashed the whip again and wrapped it around the arm of the wizard, pulling him toward her and down to the ground. Flicking her wrist, the woman sent a blaze of fire down the length of the poison whip, causing the man to be set ablaze. A cry released from the wizard's lip and Kanix let the poison whip fade into nothingness, leaving the wizard to burn. Crossing her arms over her chest, she smirked a little more, then turned to face Mashyuu's general direction again. "So, was that everything we needed to do on this job because I'm getting really sick and tired off all these monsters," she stated.

@Mashyuu , 787 words , counts as two posts