Sacred Gaia in: The Dragon's Challenge.

Details:

As far as Mashyuu knew the siblings of Kaede and Miyuki were gone from the world. But once, offhandedly the Slayer recalled a small talk about the Sky Tower and having to do something there. Mashyuu decided the least he could do was check it out for them. So after asking Itori to meet him there at her first chance and placing a flyer up in the Sabertooth Guild Hall asking for one other Wizard to help out. (Just in case) Mashyuu took Rocky and headed out for the Sky Tower.

Together the two soared through the night sky well until the morning and landed just a bit away from the tower as the sun started to rise up and cast a beautiful orange hue over the world. Rocky landed Mashyuu on the ground and the Slayer strolled to the front door to wait for anyone else to show up. He figured he would give it a day before he made his way inside.

Swiftly Mashyuu plopped down on his grey pants covered rear and grasped his black armored boots. Since the two Members of Sacred Gaia had gone missing Mashyuu blamed himself. He should have stuck around and not trusted them to handle that knight alone. Surely he could have helped in that way right? Honestly Mashyuu wasn't sure but as often as they fought he did consider everyone in Sacred Gaia a friend and family.

Casually Mashyuu rolled his shoulders under his one sleeved grey jacket and glanced up at the Sky Tower. He could feel the magical power coming from inside the Tower and was greeted with the idea that maybe Mashyuu and whoever came to help him were not ready for whatever came next. "I'm not gonna let you guys down again. I'll settle whatever you had to do here then find your bodies." The Earth Wizard muttered to the sky.

WC: 315

It was already quite some time since the job which had, from Itori's perspective, ended in disaster. They accomplished the official objective of granting that dark knight rest, and Itori had to admit that knowing the story behind the man completing the mission had some real value. However on the other hand the mission had resulted in the death of two of the team's four members: Kaede, who together with Mashyuu had formed their frontline and who had been able to provide excellent protection thanks to him combining extraordinary physical prowess with a tendency to carry around multiple types of shields. Of course it hadn't been an absolute defence, as Kaede himself regrettably had found out on the last job, but sometimes instead of magic barrier and tricks a solid slab of metal was very reliable indeed. The other victim was Miyuki, who Itori felt a lot closer to and who had been able to do some very...strange things. She still didn't really want to talk about those things, since Miyuki had wanted to keep them a secret and her apparent death hadn't put a stop to that. Aside from her more exotic skills Miyuki had also been able to handle herself rather well with swords and uncanny speed.

When Kaede had died Itori had been able to interfere with the course of fate by drawing his soul to herself using her voice and then encaging that soul inside herself, where it should be safe unless she herself came to meet misfortune. While she didn't have the ability to do so yet as long as she looked after the soul she would be able to bring Kaede back to this world and give him a second chance, something which Miyuki would certainly have wished for had she been aware of what Itori had done. She would have done the same for Miyuki, except that while Kaede had simply died from being pierced by several deadly spikes Miyuki had used her trump card to defeat the knight, and after that had seemingly disappeared into nothingness. Itori knew where she most likely was, but she didn't know why Miyuki hadn't returned and also didn't know how she could get into that world to either find Miyuki's remains or save her. Last time she had managed to enter it purely by coincidence, as Miyuki hadn't bothered to close the world and had used it in the open where Itori had noticed its presence quite easily. This time around she couldn't enter the world simply by walking towards the spot where Miyuki had activated her trump card: the world was shut. There was most likely a way to get in there, but Itori currently had no clue regarding the method involved. She had plenty of knowledge regarding the realm of spirits and how to either interact with it or reach it, but the realm of spirits was a unique case. She doubted that knowing how the realm of spirits worked would be of much use in reaching Miyuki's personal world.

However while she couldn't retrieve Miyuki's soul and prepare it for revival in the future she at least could do it for Kaede, and she also believed that even if she had no way of accessing Miyuki's world right now she would be able to do so in the future at some point, and with some luck that would be of some use. If all failed she could even try to find Miyuki's soul after she had already passed on... although that was a very risky thing to do. Itori might be one who communicates with and controls spirits, and who knows that death doesn't have to be final, but she also knows that sometimes it's really better to just leave things alone.

Beyond reviving Kaede she could also help do something that the siblings had been wanting to do before they met that unfortunate fate. She didn't know why the two of them had wanted to go to the Sky Tower, but Mashyuu had brought that particular conversation to her attention, and she had agreed with him that whatever reason the siblings might have had they might as well honour their memory by doing it for them. Or at least to go there and see if they could figure out why the siblings had thought of it as important. Granted Itori didn't have the same ease of access to the tower as Mashyuu, who could use his earth elemental Rocky as a flying transport. As such it took a bit longer for Itori to reach the tower. Well, that was one reason, at least. There was another reason, a completely unrelated one, although the fox was very curious just how closely this reason was connected to the siblings.

Itori wasn't travelling alone. She might not have a pet, but right now she did have somebody following her who could be seen as something of a pet because of the way that she was behaving. The rather petite girl clad in red, who behaved more like a frightened mouse than anything else. Itori didn't know where she had come from or who she might be, but it was clear that she wasn't a normal person in any sense of the word normal. Not only did she seem to have appeared out of thin air but she didn't seem to have any experience with being alive. The fox girl hadn't been there at the time, but apparently she had to be taught to eat to survive, which indicated that up until recently the girl hadn't needed to eat at all... or she was brain damaged and just constantly forgot. And it wasn't just eating. The girl knew how to move her body and had some magical powers, but everything she did seemed to be done without any real thought put behind it, and beyond moving about and throwing magic when in a panic she didn't seem to know anything, in as literal a sense as Itori could imagine any intelligent being achieving. The only reason that the girl hadn't died from lack of oxygen is because even if she didn't know she needed to her body would automatically breathe. She didn't know how to read, she didn't know how to speak, she didn't know... anything. It was very strange, and the fact that this girl had appeared at around the same time as that the siblings had disappeared made the Kumiho suspicious. For now she was the one assigned to look after the girl, with as main reason that she was the only one who could really make the girl feel at ease. She would use her years and years of experience with cooking to ensure that the girl would both have enough food and enough motivation to eat the food (namely said food being delicious), and whenever the girl would start to panic or otherwise become problematic she could sing lullabies to calm the girl down. Actually she also just sung lullabies and other songs to the girl whenever she wasn't busy doing something else. Having somebody to sing to was a very good feeling for Itori.

Regardless, using public transport Itori and her new follower arrived at the Sky Tower about half a day after Mashyuu and Rocky, the Kumiho politely bowing towards the Earth Dragon Slayer before gently nudging the red clothed girl forwards, currently keeping the girl feeling comfortable by curling two of her long and fluffy white tails around her.

"I bid you greetings. Allow me to introduce an unexpected companion on our latest journey. She appears incapable of proper speech so I have been calling her Fumei. Seeing how I am one of the few who can help her feel at ease she will be accompanying us, unless you have any objections to this arrangement."

Of course Niinii was also there. After Itori had helped Fumei get used to the little creature's presence it seemed like a good idea to keep the two of them together. After all, the only reason that Fumei was afraid of Niinii in the beginning was because she didn't know what Niinii exactly was and that she wasn't a threat. Now that she had become accustomed to Niinii the pet should help Fumei feel at ease as well.

Lineage: Gain +1x Strong(+) Weapon/Armour/Magic Item

(OOC: click the layout and scroll down to read my entire post.)

Itori kept a careful eye on Fumei as she introduced the girl to Mashyuu, only for the Earth Dragon Slayer to explain that he had already met her. That actually came as something of a surprise, because ever since Itori had met the girl it seemed like the only reason she had a chance of getting Fumei to not run away was because she had the ability to calm the girl with her song, and draw her attention with her food. She had watched the way that Fumei interacted with the rest of the people of Sabertooth, and the vast majority of the time her response to anybody but Itori being in the room was to curl up in a corner and pretend to not exist, which didn't really speak favourably of her being either willing or capable of interacting with others. However according to Mashyuu they had worked together before, which made the Kumiho curious. Just how had Mashyuu managed to bring this girl along to a job, this girl who so far as Itori knew was afraid of almost everything and people above everything else? And even if she had been brought along, Itori wasn't sure if Fumei could have been of any use to Mashyuu... the red-clothed girl only seemed to throw magic if she was in a panic and trying to get away, which meant that the only method of getting her to help in a job was to throw her into the middle of it, and she was pretty sure Mashyuu was not that brutal with his methods. She would have to ask him about that later.

As for Mashyuu, it looked like he was bothered a lot by the fact that the siblings had died on that last job. Itori couldn't really blame him, since she herself wasn't feeling particularly good about how that job ended either. The siblings had practically demanded that she and Mashyuu wouldn't interfere, and the two of them had little choice but to agree. At least, that's what it had felt like at the time. Mashyuu had left, having enough faith in the siblings that he shouldn't have to worry about whether they would emerge victorious or not. Itori had stayed behind, because while she didn't doubt the siblings' skills she also wasn't going to underestimate that ominous dark knight, and she also was just very aware of how a small mistake or even just pure bad luck could turn a flawless victory into an irreversible disaster. So she had stayed behind, hoping that she would be able to help the siblings out of it turned out that they were out of their league. Honestly she didn't think she would fare that much better against that knight, but at least the knight would have to deal with three people instead of two, with the newcomer being one who would help make it hard for him to focus or notice things properly. However when it went wrong it went wrong fast enough that, fast as she was, she couldn't do anything but watch. And now Kaede was dead and Miyuki was trapped somewhere that they couldn't access. It was no wonder that the two of them, Itori and Mashyuu, both regretted that immensely and were bothered by it even now. From the looks of it Mashyuu was being haunted in his dreams, and Itori... well, she had trapped Kaede's soul inside herself in an arrogant attempt to defy his fate. She wasn't sure if she should tell the Earth Dragon Slayer about that though. Mashyuu wasn't exactly stupid, but humans have a different perspective than the Kumiho herself. From her point of view taking Kaede's soul was at most arrogant and possibly risky. Humans might call it blasphemy and revolting that she would oppose the cycle of life and death. Worse, Mashyuu might be one of those people who found it serious enough an issue that he would try to force her to release Kaede's soul, something which she was unwilling to do. She couldn't risk the conflict it could cause, so for now she could only nod as her companion explained how after this he would find Miyuki and inform her when he did. Yet another thing she couldn't really talk to him about, because Miyuki had wanted that to remain a secret and because it wouldn't help Mashyuu to know.

"I too feel regret at the course of events that led to the demise of our allies. If doing this will help honour their memories and help their souls find peace I will give it my all and feel no hesitation doing so."

When Mashyuu mentioned that the tower was emanating a strange magic and that they would have to be careful Itori's ears twitched as she sensed something approaching, but it was so fast that the only thing she could do was pull Fumei close and wrap her tails and arms around the girl (and Niinii in the girl's arms) before they were picked up by some mighty creature and carried upwards at high speed, the fox girl trying to figure out what she could do in this situation but not really getting any ideas. The creature had a firm grip on her so she couldn't move easily, and the time she took to begin thinking of a way to get free using her magic was enough for the creature to finish ascending and to drop them onto the top of the tower, the fox girl using her tails to somewhat cushion the drop while keeping her arms wrapped around Fumei. Once they hit the floor she rolled before pushing herself up with her tails, both to recover from the fall faster and in an attempt to avoid an attack that might have come at the position where she had fallen. However she then noticed that there was no hostility in the air, leaving her rather confused as she slowly stood up and checked to see whether Fumei and Niinii were all right before letting go of them, at least with her arms (her tails, of course, once again wrapped around the red girl). There were several dragons surrounding them, but instead of attacking or even looking menacing they just stood there, appearing to wait for something. That something was an even larger dragon, one who gave off a very strange and powerful sensation, the Kumiho taking a step backwards as she eyed the creature wearingly. From the way that the thing spoke it had been expecting the siblings, which meant that at least they had found what the siblings might have been looking for.

Hearing the large dragon's words and seeing him raise his claw Itori had something of an idea of what was going to happen, but didn't really have the time to do anything but once again grab Fumei and Niinii. Mashyuu could take care of himself, but the Kumiho had no real evidence to support the belief that the girl and the little creature would be all right on their own. Falling through the hole the dragon created Itori could feel the heat blasting them from below, a heat which was far more than just from a tropical location. Once they landed Itori quickly looked around, her vermilion eyes taking note of a scene which was rather... hellish. The earth here was charred and cracked, devoid of all water or life. There wasn't a sun or a moon, the only lighting they had coming from below and being orange-red in nature. Looking down Itori saw why: the ground was covered in countless holes, and one look into a hole told her that wherever they had ended up, below this place there was a roaring sea of fire. As if to affirm her observation a couple of meters away a pillar of fire erupted from one of the holes, roaring and bathing the area in its threatening light before disappearing. This place didn't appear to be artificial either: the hole that Xiuhcoatl had created had disappeared, showing that this place was inside a dome of charred rock, with one of the walls close by. In the distance, in what appeared to be the centre of this dome-shaped arena, was a pillar made of a strange red crystal, the only really notable feature of this otherwise hellfire-and-brimstone scenery. The fox began to sweat as the warm got to her, and she became worried when she saw that fire pillars kept erupting throughout the place. Focusing some of her energy she created an illusion which would make them feel as if the air around them was colder, but beyond that she couldn't do a lot here other than hope that they could complete the challenge before they were either caught by a fire pillar or the extreme heat would make them succumb.

Itori wasn't a fan of the heat. Seeing how she had three tails covered in thick fur it tended to do a number on her. They helped her deal with the cold, but heat? The fox was glad that she could at least give herself the illusion that the air was colder than it actually was. Of course since it was only an illusion it would only give her a momentary reprieve. Her mind may believe that it was cold right now, but her body would still have to endure the heat, and while having a clear and focused mind helped complete tasks eventually she'll begin to feel her body begin to suffer from the heat anyway. They'll have to complete the challenge of this place before it reaches that point, even more so for the sake of the others. She was used to her various senses telling her different things because she was an illusionist but she doubted it was the same for Fumei or even Mashyuu. Feeling yourself begin to sweat heavily even though it was chilly could be a very disconcerting and confusing experience. If you weren't prepared for it that kind of conflict of sensations could send a person into a state of utter shock and confusion, their mind rebelling as it tried to listen to everything their body was telling it only to be unable to figure out what was going on. It was possible to learn how to bypass that state of confusion, but you couldn't just pull that kind of trick out of nowhere.

She looked at Fumei. As expected the girl was completely unprepared for this. She only had offered to take her along because so far it seemed she was the only one the girl could be comfortable around other than Niinii, but now she was beginning to have doubts. Maybe it would have been better if she had told the girl to stay home so she wouldn't be exposed to this kind of thing. Judging from what that dragon had said and how strong it was these challenges weren't going to be easy or completely safe, as already proven by the fact that the very first challenge had them fall into an earthen dome with pillars of fire erupting from the ground periodically. This wasn't the kind of situation you placed somebody like Fumei in. She barely knew all the things everybody else learned as a child or knew instinctively to survive, was easily scared by almost anything, and didn't seem to have many skills either. She had some magic ability but she only ever used it in a very raw manner when she was panicking and trying to get away. All in all she didn't have the knowledge, the skills or the mentality for this kind of thing. However the fox had the suspicion that now that the challenge had begun she couldn't ask that dragon to let Fumei leave, so she would have to do her best to ensure that the girl would come to no harm.

At Mashyuu's suggestion of her making her way to the crystal with her speed while he protected her from the pillars of fire Itori nodded. She was clearly the fastest in the group now, especially since Miyuki was no longer there to compete with her for that particular title. The crystal was the only real thing of note in this arena. Blatantly so, even. There was no way that the crystal served no purpose in this challenge unless that Xiuhcoatl liked to play deadly pranks on people. Once she reached the crystal they could figure out what to do next, although Itori had a feeling that reaching the crystal wasn't going to be easy no matter how fast she might be. After all, this was supposed to be a challenge coming from dragons. Dragons, being as powerful as they are, would not make any kind of challenge easy for mortals who were usually far beneath them. The only way that could happen is if they went too far in their attempts to make the mortals capable of completing the challenge and didn't know just exactly how strong the mortals were. The fox girl released Fumei and turned around to look her in the eyes, her own vermilion vulpine eyes meeting the girl's crimson eyes.

"For the time being you will have to remain close to Mashyuu. He will ensure your safety. I will return without delay, but until then you will have to trust Mashyuu to protect you. Understood?"

She asked Fumei whether she understood, but honestly the girl's answer didn't matter. Itori would have to make her way through this field of fire whether Fumei wanted her to or not. The only advantage here was that Fumei was probably too scared of the fire to try and follow the fox as she made her way through the exotic minefield. Nodding at Mashyuu Itori took a low stance, gathering her energy. The illusion of the cold had costed her nearly nothing because of how weak and simple an illusion it was, so she could spare some more to help her move fast enough to avoid getting torched as she made her way to the crystal. The other four would be able to see the fox's entire body become ghostly, all colours fading except for those vermilion orbs of hers, with wisps of white trailing from her body. Having made her body ethereal like this Itori closed her eyes before opening again, at which point she suddenly dashed forward with great speed. From the perspective of the others she would nearly appear to have turned into a streak of white with only her vermilion eyes standing out, although they might also see her as an actual white fox racing through the field towards the crystal, her three tails trailing her as if streaks of fire from a comet.

Feeling a surge of heat coming from in front of her Itori swerved to the side, a pillar of fire erupting where she would have been running if she hadn't been able to predict it. At the start there weren't many of pillars of fire, but as she got closer to the pillar Itori noticed that they were becoming more numerous, and focusing on her location as well. As fast as she was if the difficulty kept ramping up like this she would be at serious risk of being charred to a crisp. At least she had Mashyuu to watch her back, his pillars of stone acting as shields for the assault of flame and also seeing him erect walls of stone and blocking holes where possible. The spirit fox kept dodging and weaving her way through the flames towards the crystal, being clad that at least in her ethereal form she wasn't bothered as much by physical heat. Still, it didn't make her completely abandon her flesh, and she could feel sweat forming on her body even as she also felt flames lick at her occasionally. She would have to heal those burns once this was over. She felt clear relief when she managed to reach the crystal, without any hesitation touching it to mark that she had in fact reached it. As soon as she did she could feel a soothing light envelop her, countering the effects of the heat somewhat although it didn't heal the burns. The others would be teleported as well, brought to the next stage which honestly looked somewhat similar to the first, except that instead of the only light being the flames from below there were no holes in the ground, and the lighting was the more usual white. What was unusual was that it seemed to come from every direction at once, as if this entire dome was just filled with light. And nothing else but rocks.

When she managed to touch the crystal Itori exhaled, a sigh of relief as she could feet the building heat around her almost immediately disappear. There were still some scorch marks on her clothes and some minor burns, but nothing that she couldn't heal, and at least she no longer had to worry about overheating. Having three tails covered in thick fur was very useful under normal circumstances and during the winter, but being placed in a place which only became warmer and warmer as time went one was not pleasant at all. At least she had touched the crystal before the heat of the arena managed to overwhelm the illusion of cold air that she had surrounded herself and the other with.

Looking around Itori noted that this arena looked nearly identical to the previous one, except without any of the fire-related parts. No holes in the ground which were connected to a sea of fire, and instead of that ominous lighting of flames the entire place was filled with gentle white light that seemed to come from every direction at the same time, with no real source other than maybe the air itself. There were also rocks scattering throughout the arena, and once again the circular room was enclosed by a dome of rock and earth, although the ample amount of lightning and the cool air compared to the previous challenge still somewhat made it feel like they were outside. It took Itori a couple of seconds to remember that this was a challenge set up by dragons, and thus couldn't be very easy or gentle. This new arena didn't look threatening at all. It looked like the kind of place you might set up for some light sparring, if for some reason you felt justified in creating a dome of rock instead of just finding yourself a nice open clearing. Mashyuu and his pet rock dragon most likely felt great here, since it was filled with their favourite element. Whatever the challenge here was, she was pretty sure that this time around it would be the Earth Dragon Slayer who would be able to show what he was worth and carry them through it. After all, even if the task was not something as straightforward as fighting, which was his speciality, he still had plenty of earth and rock to use here, not to mention consume to regain his energy. And if it was an earth based arena, the challenge would probably also have to deal with earth, so it should suit Mashyuu just fine.

The fox only looked looked around at the others when Mashyuu suddenly called out to her, telling her that it looked like Fumei had disappeared. At the same time a glass of water, filled to the brim, appeared in the fox's hand, Itori looking at it with some curiosity before holding it firmly and paying more attention to Mashyuu. The Earth Dragon Slayer had said something about Fumei apparently having failed the challenge, and what Itori saw was that the girl was indeed gone. Frowning the fox girl tried to figure out what to do about that. Looking at the glass lying on the ground, the water that had spilled from it rapidly being absorbed by the dry earth underneath it, it wasn't much of a challenge to figure out why Fumei had failed the challenge. So this time around instead of having to fear being scorched they weren't allowed to spill any of the water in the glass? That sounded... well, not quite as difficult. Not that not spilling couldn't be considered difficult, especially with how the glass was really filled to the brim, but it was still preferable over having to make your way through a field which kept throwing up pillars of fire to impede your progress, pillars which became more and more frequent as you got closer to your goal. Unless... Where had Fumei disappeared to? If spilling even a single drop resulted in being killed this challenge would suddenly become a LOT harder, especially since that kind of thing would bring a lot of mental pressure. On the other hand, that kind of punishment for failing this particular challenge would be strange. As Fumei had demonstrated just now it was very easy to mess up by accident. Just because dragons would create a harsh challenge didn't mean they would create an unfair challenge. Sighing Itori knew that she had no choice but to continue with these challenges and hope that they would be able to find Fumei and if necessary rescue her. She didn't want to see the girl get hurt, after all.

When Xiuhcoatl spoke and affirmed that the challenge this time was to not spill anything the fox girl smiled slightly. Not knowing when exactly the challenge would start or end made it a bit harder, but other than that she was pretty sure that neither she nor Mashyuu would have any trouble with this task. Mashyuu was primarily a brawler, yes, but he was also a bulwark and the sturdiest of the people she worked together with. As long as he wasn't distracted by anything he could probably stand there for hours without ever risking spilling a single drop. As for Itori herself, she had countless years of experience handling all kinds of liquids as she steadily became proficient with more difficult recipes and complicated cooking methods. There were people who could learn how to become cooks even though they had shaky hands, but seeing how the Vulpine Siren always pursued perfection in everything she did she wasn't among those people. If the task was to avoid spilling anything then she, a master cook, should be more than up to the task.

"Only one of us is required to succeed for us all to pass the test. As such I advise that we both ignore the other to decrease the chances of us being distracted. I am doubtful of the challenge being so easy as to stand still, so we would best be prepared for what is to come."

With this said to Mashyuu, who was already taking a very solid stance to ensure that nothing would shake him, Itori ignored the Earth Dragon Slayer for the rest of the task as she took a much more relaxed stance, almost as if she was just waiting for something to happen. Mashyuu's stance was one which would help him resist anything which might come at him, standing like a boulder against which the waves could only beat in a futile effort to break it down. However the fox didn't have the kind of build for that approach. Instead she would use her own advantages, her agility, elegance and precision. Mashyuu would endure. She would try her best to flow with anything that might come at them.

As if to answer her expectations suddenly the entire arena seemed to come alive, the ground shaking underneath their feet even as the rocks and boulders that were scattered throughout the dome moved up and then towards the two mages, moving fast enough that if they didn't do something about them quickly they would find themselves knocked over. Fully trusting Mashyuu to be able to handle this kind of challenge Itori focused fully on herself. Dealing with the shaking ground wasn't much of an issue. With her relaxed stance it wasn't very difficult for her to absorb all the movements of the ground with her flexible legs, keeping her upper body motionless. However the dragons had thought of that. The flying rocks would be a bit more difficult. She would have to dodge them without spilling her water, which would be a bit trickier. The Kumiho placed one of her hands over the glass of water, her large sleeve helping her cover it entirely, before she began to dance among the rocks, feeling her hair and fur move in the winds caused by the solid objects passing her narrowly. With her sleeve covering the top of the glass and her hand holding the sleeve in place her water wouldn't spill easily, but even now she had to move carefully. As long as she moved smoothly, matching the movements of the shaking ground, she should be fine, but with a challenge like this it was only a matter of time before a single mistake would be made...

Itori would be impressed by how Mashyuu seemed to have absolutely no difficult with this challenge, if she wasn't busy trying her best to succeed as well. Mashyuu, as the Earth Dragon Slayer, definitely was at the advantage here. Aside from the fact that he could just eat some of the rocks to make things a bit easier this entire challenge was also based on the ability to endure and deal with a kind of threat which is rough and constant, both traits which an earth dragon would be used to. After all, the earth embodied raw physical strength and toughness. Metal might be harder, but the earth was always taken as the symbol of sheer insurmountable physical dominance. Which this test did a pretty good job of embodying: you had to show that even when your surroundings were thrown into utter chaos and no solid footing could be found you would still endure and be as solid and unmovable as always, like a mountain. In that aspect Mashyuu was performing brilliantly in this challenge, whereas Itori was completely ignoring the actual purpose and using her own method instead.

However Xiuhcoatl only ever told them that it was important to make sure not a drop was spilled. He had never said anything about how the intention was to endure and be like a mountain. Which was probably intentional, since the chances of succeeding would go down for quite a lot of people if their only choice was to just stand there and try their best to not fall over. Itori had always trained to improve herself in ways that focused on skill, subtlety and grace. While the earth and those who could be called the children of the earth had many respectable qualities being like a mountain was none of these three things. It wasn't skill, it wasn't subtle, and it wasn't graceful. It was pure and simple raw strength and toughness. Which meant that for the Kumiho doing it the same way as Mashyuu did would be a guaranteed loss. Not wanting to lose just because it would be in the spirit of the test the fox continued to elegantly dance her way between the flying rocks even as she accepted the quaking of the ground with her lower body, keeping the detached sleeve of her kimono jacket over the glass of water even as she kept her movements smooth and thoughtful, keeping in mind the flow of the water inside the glass. Even if she managed to avoid all the flying rocks and received the movements from below with her legs it wouldn't be any good if she disrupted the water in the glass too much. Her sleeve was acting like a barrier for the water but it wasn't a very solid barrier. The cloth would get wet and if she acted too recklessly the water would still flow out. So far she was managing quite well but she couldn't keep this up forever. The dragon had purposefully not told them how long it would take so they wouldn't be able to tell how much longer they would have to last, which in turn could cause them to become tired earlier as they wouldn't have the blessing of a visible ending to help them keep going. Once you got used to the initial surprise of being assaulted by flying rocks while the ground shook endlessly it wasn't too difficult to keep up the pattern of moving between the boulders while accepting the tremors with your lower body, but it was a rather exhausting pattern to follow, especially since the pattern wasn't completely static so there was the mental pressure of having to constantly keep on your toes for any changes. The Kumiho had plenty of training with staying focused but she also knew that to keep this up endlessly was a foolish request. However right now the only thing she could do was keep going and hope that she wouldn't slip up before Xiuhcoatl interfered and told them the challenge had ended.

Fortunately she did in fact manage to hold on for long enough, as eventually the amount of rocks that flew at them decreased and the shaking of the ground became weaker, until eventually the arena was just as calm as it had been when they arrived. Although the challenge had left its mark. Before rocks had been spread throughout the entire arena and the ground had been flat and even everywhere. Now it was clear that almost every single rock had been thrown at them as they were surrounded both by the boulders and the fragments that had been created by the stone either shattering against the ground or being pulverized by Mashyuu's special techniques. Beyond that the arena was no longer flat, as the shaking and quaking had caused the ground to tear and shift, large slabs of the ground having sunk while others had risen up, overlapping each other as cracks spread throughout the dome like a large and utterly anarchic spider's web. Mashyuu and Itori had survived, Mashyuu by being too enduring to be brought down so easily and Itori by managing to dance her way through the hazards for long enough, but the arena itself had suffered quite a lot.

Itori wasn't in the best state either. Now that the challenge was complete she calmed down, but her breathing had become heavier and her hair, fur and clothes were dishevelled. She might have made it but compared to Mashyuu this was clearly not her speciality nor her preferred kind of challenge. She looked at Mashyuu and smiled slightly, but the way that her shoulders went up and down (and her chest as well) made it clear that this test had taken its toll on her. However before she could say anything or even walk up to him they were both once again enveloped in a soft light as they were transported to the next arena, Niinii also being moved. The three of them ended up on a vast expanse of nothingness in the middle of the sky, far higher than any human would ever have a chance of being otherwise. The wind howled up here, and beyond that it was also both cold and the air was thin. This challenge wouldn't be very pleasant, if only because of the conditions they would have to complete it in. At least the other two challenges didn't have such thin air which would make gathering enough oxygen for excessive movement a lot harder.

Itori looked around, taking in the arena where their next challenge would take place. High up in the sky, so high that she couldn't even see the ground because it was so far away and there were clouds below them as well. The air up here was rather thin, the fox frowning as she felt that she gained less air from every breath. She hoped that this test wouldn't include something exhausting, because in that case the thin air would become a true obstacle. Then again, that sounded exactly like the kind of challenge that the dragon might devise, to see how the mortals would fare when stuck in a situation where they didn't have optimal conditions. At least Itori was fortunate enough that she didn't suffer from a fear of heights, otherwise this challenge would already have become terrifying from the very beginning, especially since it appeared that they were standing on absolute nothingness. Even with Itori's sharp senses the walls and the floor were all utterly invisible, which meant that if you looked down you would get the feeling that there was nothing keeping you from plummeting to your death. A very unnerving sensation, even if you weren't afraid of heights. The Kumiho could only imagine what kind of terror somebody who couldn't handle normal heights would experience here.

Looking at Mashyuu she guessed she at least had a light example to observe. Mashyuu didn't look like he was about to faint, but it was very obvious that the Earth Dragon Slayer wasn't too happy with the idea of walking about on something invisible so high up in the air. Which she couldn't blame him for. As an Earth Dragon Slayer he was probably further away from any form of earth than ever before, which meant that right now he was at his most vulnerable. No rocks to control, no earth to eat, their latest challenge would find place in an area utterly devoid of his preferred element. No wonder that he would show clear discomfort up here. Itori would have to try and finish this particular challenge quickly so they could all return to an arena which was less disconcerting. Even the arena of fire had been easier to deal with because that at least was a situation you could find yourself in if you visited a volcano. This arena up in the air was just... strange. And threatening. In the arena of fire you just had to deal with the fact that there were holes, and if you went too close to those holes you would get torched. And the place was hot. But that was it. Up here you had to deal with the fact that you couldn't see where there was floor and where there was empty space, and most likely there weren't any walls either so that just made it worse. Unable to know which spot was safe and which wasn't, and given such a blatant view of what would happen to you if you fell, many people would find themselves feeling very uncomfortable and uncertain.

"If I had failed the previous challenge you would have been required to face this challenge on your own, and I can see clearly that you are finding this location quite uncomfortable. It might have been tiring for me to endure the previous challenge, but I should recover quickly enough for this to not be an issue, and my presence in this challenge should be highly beneficial."

Itori couldn't say that she felt completely calm up here (seriously, looking down and seeing that there was absolutely nothing between you and a fall from high up enough that if you landed you wouldn't just collide with the ground, you would go splat wasn't something you could easily ignore), but at least she was used to unusual and worrying sceneries because she had created quite a lot of them herself. She wouldn't be at ease, but at least she could focus on the actual task and complete it without constantly being distracted by the worry that she might take a wrong step, fall and end up as a smear on the ground far, far below. Hearing the dragon's voice explain their task Itori nodded. The lachrima had been the only thing worth noting in the area, so she had already guessed that this challenge was somewhat similar to the fire challenge, although she was pretty sure that she had preferred the fire challenge since at least she could see the threat. Hearing that there were walls was something of a relief, although on the other hand if there were no walls she might have been able to reach the lachrima faster... if she could think of a way to avoid falling through the holes that were spread throughout the maze. The fox frowned as she thought about the problem at hand, her frown deepening when Mashyuu finally drew attention to Fumei. She hadn't forgotten about the girl, but their surroundings and the task set before them by the dragon had occupied her mind as she was trying to think of the best way to deal with the problem. However now that she had noticed Fumei and how the girl had returned to the fetus position she tended to assume whenever she felt overwhelmed by whatever strange despair had taken a hold of her the fox girl immediately rushed over to the girl, like Mashyuu quickly learning that there was a barrier surrounding Fumei. Fumei had failed the challenge of earth, so now she was stuck in there until they finished the challenge of air.

Sitting down in front of the invisible wall separating her from Fumei Itori closed her eyes, feeling her magic surge through her. The previous task had costed her in the form of mental exhaustion, but she had already recovered quite a bit, and more importantly it hadn't actually costed her any magic to pass through. Physical exhaustion also played a factor, but the fox still had more than plenty, and seeing Fumei once again despairing she already knew what she should prioritize. She felt bad for having to push the challenge onto Mashyuu, but Itori had already learned that for her at least it was very important to make sure that Fumei would be able to feel safe. It wasn't because she thought Fumei would be of use to her, or because she owed Fumei. The girl just acted a lot like a very scared child, and Itori's motherly instincts tended to kick in where Fumei was concerned.

"It is unlikely that Xiuhcoatl would allow us to affect the arena in our favour. She failed the previous challenge, so she will most likely have no choice but to stay inside this barrier until we have completed the current challenge. I'm afraid I must ask you to take care of this, even though I understand that this place makes you uncomfortable. I will be occupied with Fumei, and you can't take my place in this matter."

With that Itori began to softly sing, repeating the lullaby that she had already sung to Fumei quite often. It wasn't the only song she used, but it had worked pretty well on Fumei the first time she encountered the girl, so it was part of her standard repertoire whenever she had the time to sing for Fumei. As she sang she began to craft an illusion as well, her eyes closed as she focused on both the song and the illusion. Fumei would feel that the air around her became warmer and thicker as it returned to what she would encounter down on the ground. At the same time she would find that the invisible floor below her took the appearance of planks, wooden walls raising up from the ground until eventually Fumei and Itori were both inside a wooden cabin, the fox also having added the illusion of rain repeating a pattern on the roof, walls and windows. She couldn't do a lot about the fact that she couldn't go to Fumei's side, but at least she could help the girl forget where they were for a moment.

Singing and keeping up her illusion Itori paid close attention to the one that she was trying to comfort. If she knew that failing the previous challenge would result in that person getting trapped inside a barrier for the duration of this challenge she might have considered failing the previous challenge on purpose. Mashyuu was sure to succeed there, and even if he didn't succeed the first time they had multiple tries, and she highly doubted that he would take more than two. Now she had to suffer the fact that Fumei needed her help in not freaking out, and the most she could do was sing her songs and create a comforting illusion in the hope that would be enough. If she had been in the barrier together with Fumei she could have embraced the poor girl, since at least she had managed to get Fumei to realize that Itori's touch was there to comfort her, not something to be frightened of. She hadn't made a lot of progress in unravelling the mystery that was Fumei, so she didn't know everything about why the girl was constantly so afraid, but if she had been warned in advance she would have stated with absolute certainty that trapping the red-clothed girl inside a barrier where there was absolutely nothing, not even solid ground or a corner to hide in, would only have negative effects on Fumei and that she should be in there with her.

However she had believed that she could complete the previous challenge and didn't want to lose, so now she had to endure the fact that Fumei was curled up behind a barrier where she couldn't reach, trying her best to make sure the girl was all right but unable to get close enough to help her properly. At first just like when they first met Fumei didn't react to her voice, a testament to just how strong that fear gripping her must be, but fortunately it looked like her actions were managing to slowly get through to the girl, as she could hear how Fumei's breathing was slowing down, becoming more regulated and easy-going. She could hear how Fumei's portion of the song of creation was stabilizing and becoming smooth again, as eventually Fumei entered a deep sleep, induced by Itori's lullaby and the comforting illusion that she had set up. Which was probably for the best, seeing how the fox couldn't imagine Fumei being awake having any real use right now. She knew that Fumei's dreams weren't always the most pleasant (after all, ever since she had encountered Fumei and taken her in she had realized that it was best if she tried to always keep Fumei with her, even at night. It hadn't taken a genius to quickly learn that the girl's fears didn't only terrorize her while she was awake) but at least right now she could somewhat help the girl have good dreams, and at least her dreams were somewhat under her own control. As long as Itori made sure that Fumei felt safe and comfortable her dreams should also be acceptable. In the waking world, however, Itori couldn't be as thorough, so having Fumei stay asleep was overall better for her, and the fox girl wouldn't dream of making Fumei help when she has her own problems to deal with.

While she was looking after Fumei she could hear that Mashyuu was getting on with finishing this challenge. Once again she had to depend on him, and once again it looked like that trust was well-placed. Since she had her eyes closed and was focused on Fumei she couldn't pay close attention to the Earth Dragon Slayer, but her sensitive ears were still picking up on the fact that he was very quickly heading up and then towards that lachrima at the other end of the large invisible maze that they had been placed in. She was somewhat surprised that simply going over the walls was an option, but then again, flight wasn't that common an ability and these challenges had as goal them showing their skills to that dragon to see if they were 'worthy', not to actually place them in front of an impossible obstacle. If one of them had the ability to fly over the maze and quickly get to the lachrima, that meant that they had the ability to deal with issues such as these. Dragons might never make things easy, but at least in this aspect Itori was pretty sure that Xiuhcoatl had left the easier solution in on purpose. Although there was the issue that she didn't know where they would end up after Mashyuu touched the lachrima...

That question was answered rather quickly, and as Itori had expected she didn't like it. Especially because this meant that while she was singing she suddenly breathed in a mouthful of water, leaving her desperate to swim up for air before she coughed and sputtered, trying to expel the water from her lungs and fill them with clean air. Only once she had overcome the initial shock and threat of drowning did she look around and see the true challenge. They were surrounded by water on all sides. The water seemed to go on endlessly in all directions, except for one where there was land, about three miles from their position. Itori didn't need Xiuhcoatl's suggestions to tell her what their latest challenge would be. However before she got to swimming over there she would first have to help Fumei. The girl had been asleep when they were teleported, which meant that she would be in real danger of drowning.

Itori looked around, in something of a panic, but sighed in relief when she heard Rocky's wings beat and Fumei's breathing above her. It looked like Mashyuu had looked far enough ahead to ensure that the red-clothed girl wouldn't be in danger. The fox would have to thank him for that once they were no longer busy with these challenges. Speaking of which, Mashyuu had already warned her that he would be unable to complete this challenge, so it was up to her to complete this one. Which might be something of a problem: Itori had expended energy getting through the fire challenge, had tired herself suffering through the earth challenge, and while she hadn't completed the wind challenge that was because she had been focused on helping Fumei. Which meant that she might not have enough energy left to swim the full three miles. However she had to try, so the fox began to swim for the island. At least she knew how to swim well, so she made a good pace quite easily. However her ears twitched as sensed seven souls approaching them from down below, and it was accompanied by a feeling of dread. Looking down Itori saw through the surprisingly clear water that seven sharks were approaching, at which point she realized that this was most certainly not as easy a challenge as the previous three.

"Mashyuu, we are being hunted by sharks. This challenge contains more than merely a test of our stamina."

With that said Itori stopped swimming towards the island and gathered her magic. She wouldn't be able to escape a shark in the water, so instead of running away and getting hunted down for her troubles they would have to deal with the sharks first.

Itori's brain was racing as she tried to think of the best approach to dealing with the sharks. Looking at their situation she doubted that they could actually defeat the sharks in a direct confrontation. These were large and powerful sharks, in good condition. On the other hand Mashyuu's powers didn't work properly inside this water, and Itori herself just wasn't a fight, and beyond that hadn't reacted too well to the energy loss she had endured to get through the previous couple of challenges. She was the only one of the three mages in the challenges who had been putting effort into every challenge, and it showed itself even though Itori's total energy pool was quite respectable. The fox wasn't exhausted just yet but she was definitely feeling the drain, which also made her somewhat annoyed as she tried to think of a way to deal with the sharks. A direct assault wouldn't work: she wasn't a fighter to begin with. She could try controlling them with her voice, except that she had yet to gain enough control over her voice that if she released its full power she wouldn't affect her allies as well. And beyond that, did sharks even hear? Itori was quite knowledgeable thanks to her longevity, but that didn't mean that she automatically knew everything she needed to know. Sharks didn't have any visible ears, which didn't immediately mean that they couldn't hear but it did raise the question. And even if they did have the ability to hear that didn't mean that they heard things the same way as creatures on land did. Now, if they could hear Itori was pretty sure she could control them, but it was a bit tricky, especially since she wasn't exactly capable of breathing underwater, never mind singing.

Which meant that she would have to use illusions. She'd have to be careful there as well though. Information was carried differently in water, due to the atmosphere being a lot heavier and thicker. Illusions were very versatile in some ways, but in other ways very limited because they could only really create what the creator could imagine. If Itori wanted to make a believable illusion underwater she'd have to quickly take into account all the ways that the water altered the setting and include those alterations in her illusions, otherwise the sharks would immediately sense that there was something awry and remain interested in their location. Not an impossible task thanks to Itori's observational skills, powerful mind and ability to perfectly memorize and visualize. However it wasn't something she could just do with a snap of her fingers and she didn't have a lot of time before the sharks would get to them, and there was also the fact that she didn't exactly have the energy to just throw a giant illusion. Well, she could, but they were going through a series of challenges, which meant that she had to keep a very wary eye on her energy levels. If necessary she could save the three of them in this challenge, but if she went all out it meant that in the following challenges she would be completely dependant on Mashyuu and Fumei, and Fumei wasn't somebody who you relied on. The fox was quite sure that Fumei would try if necessary, but the girl just wasn't the kind of person who protected others. She had too many issues herself to cope with for her to also look after others...

It was at about this point that Fumei landed in the water while holding onto what Itori recognized as a load of raw magic energy contained in a lachrima, a lachrima which didn't look very sturdy. The fox didn't need a lot of time to figure out what that was going to do. When Fumei made the lachrima explode Itori activated the enchantment put on her muffler, which created a pulse of magic which nullified some of the damage Itori would otherwise have taken from the explosion. Nevertheless the fox was launched into the air together with Mashyuu and Fumei, honestly astonished at Fumei suddenly moving and acting so decisively. She just hoped that the girl had thought this plan through, because she doubted that one explosion would wipe out all the sharks. When she saw the girl's cloak turn into rose petals which then made a boat the fox girl blinked, but managed to land with enough care that she didn't harm herself in the process. She looked at Fumei, whose cloak reformed itself... except that the hood was gone. There also was something strange going on with the girl's eye... Shaking her head the fox prioritized. It looked like Fumei was suffering from a headache, Itori quickly moving towards Fumei and embracing her tightly. Everything else aside she was glad to see that Fumei was still safe, unless that eye turned out to be dangerous. Which Itori doubted, since she was pretty sure that she knew where she had seen that particular eye before.

"Well done. You can rest now."

What Mashyuu most likely wouldn't realize was that Itori was addressing two people at the same time there, and he was neither of them. Itori would hold Fumei until the discoloured eye and the headache disappeared, after which the fox would get to rowing, at the same time appearing somewhat annoyed at the fact that even after having left the water she was still completely drenched. At least her thick muffler ensured that nobody would be able to see her chest through her soaked shirt, but even so it wasn't very comfortable, especially since her tails could hold a lot of water, making them heavy.

While rowing Itori tried to do something about all the water by covering herself in a very thin layer of Kitsunebi, which slowly warmed the water up and turned it into steam which crawled its way into the air. She had to do that slowly and carefully, otherwise her clothes and fur would be messed up and it would take hours to fix that kind of thing. Worst case her clothes would shrink, and she wasn't willing to go through that challenge as well. At least the rowing gave her something to do while she worked on drying herself, relying on Mashyuu to keep them safe. It looked like the sharks weren't giving chase too eagerly, maybe because now the only thing they could pick up on was the boat moving through the water, and sharks were only interested in food and not too smart.

When they finally reached the island (even with a boat it was still three miles of rowing, and Itori wasn't about to exhaust herself trying to sprint that distance) the fox looked at the other two, letting go of the oars and stretching to get rid of some of the cramps.

"It appears that we once again will have to confirm our success by touching the lachrima. However I suggest that we delay heading for the next challenge. We can rest on this land where the sharks will be unable to reach us, and I desperately need the opportunity to recover and regain some of my stamina. I realize that it would be preferable if we finished all the challenges with haste, but I would rather not risk exhausting myself completely in the process."