Aayla's Secondary Magic Training [Private]

In recent day's, if you were looking for Aayla you had best start looking by the Sea... any Sea, it was never the same... normally she could be found by the calm sea where the young dragon slayer would normally go to find her mother deep at the bottom of the ocean, but lately, her mother had gone missing and Aayla searched everywhere for her, tears always in the young girls eyes.

Today, she sat tired by the side of the cloud sea. The beach here was beautiful, the sand felt wonderful on her skin, the water that touched her toes were just lightly cool to the touch and yet, it seemed no one ever came here... the clouds hung so low, so close to the edge of the water that no one ever wanted to come to this beach. Today, that was fine with her. She had just searched as much of the ocean as she possibly could over the last few days, using all of her senses to try and track down her dragon but to no avail.

She groaned loudly as she let herself fall onto her back, staring up at the thick white clouds that hung from the sky.

"Mom where are you..."
She said with mild anger. Her vision was suddenly obscurred, both by the tears welling up in her eyes, and the face of the very large serpent that came to make sure she was ok. She reached up, placing her hand against the side of Zinnath's face, gently rubbing her hand against her scales as she let the tears fall from her eyes. Not only was Hydrianna gone... but Zinnath... she had watched the Serpent grow from the size of a small snake to what she was now... Serpents aged quickly... at least, from what she saw... how long until she lost Zinnath too...

"Nidhogg, say something to me. Anything!" Deniel stared down at his trusted weapon, and only considered friend. A black katana sheathed inside a black scabbard, the thing he took with him everywhere he went, the thing that he trusted to get him out of tough situations, and the one thing that he always counted on for advice. But recently, the sword seemed to have lost its magical power. It used to always talk to him, keep him company, It used to always change its forms according to his Take Over, and it used to always be his only friend. Now, it was just a dull blade that didn't say a word. He sighed and pressed the sheathed blade against his forehead. He closed his blood-red eyes and felt something that was all too familiar: "Sadness". He spent some time mourning the unexpected loss of his only friend on the beach, as the sight of the sunset and waves comforted him, and the fresh sea air seemed to lighten his mood a bit. But no matter what he did, nothing could ever replace the only friend that he had lost. He opened both of his eyes and lowered the blade down to his side, carrying it in his left hand. He knew that he would never hear his friend again, but it wouldn't hurt to just try and see if he could get an answer.

He stared at the calm, soothing waves, but it didn't seem to soothe him anymore. Sadness was slowly starting to overcome him, and he didn't think he could deal with the loss of his blade. He remembered the first day they met, how violent it was and how deadly Nidhogg sounded. And then, the two began to grow fond of each other, and acted like best friends, despite one of them being a weapon and the other a living being.

With the waves no longer being able to soothe him, Deniel started to walk along the beach with his shoulders slumped and his head low. His left hand was clenched tight around the sheathed blade, which not only didn't speak to him, but was now nearly completely dull. While he was speaking, his eyes suddenly caught sight of another person, a girl. She was laying down on her back in the sand, with some kind of...snake wrapped around her neck. Is she in trouble or something? He continued to watch her, although the serpent around her didn't seem to do anything. In fact, from what he could see, she was running her hand along it. A bit hesitantly, Deniel approached the girl laying down on the sand and looked down at her. "Ummm...hi?"

Zinnath rested her large head against Aayla's hand and didn't move. That was, until she could feel, and sense someone else approaching them. She raised her head, her tongue slipping forward as she tasted the air. The Serpents blue eyes stared at the oncoming form, not menacingly but carefully.

Aayla's eyes slowly shifted, looking over at the form of the man who walked up to her, carefully addressing her as if she was being strange... or simply he was unsure of how to approach a stranger. At first, it didn't click in that there was another human being on the beach... when there was however she sat bolt upright and quickly brought her hand to her eyes to try and hide the fact that this whole time, she had been crying.

"H...Hi... sorry.. there's uhm... sand in my eye..."
She lied as she continued to wipe at her eyes. Her young face gave no signs that she had cried, no tear streaks on her face, no red eyes, only the visible tears that fell from her face. Sh did have a body made of water after-all, therefore water wouldn't leave traces on her.


"I'm not... in your way am I..? Sorry... Sorry I didn' think anyone really uhm... came here..."
She muttered as she pushed herself to her feet so that she could get out of this man's way and let him continue his walk. Frankly, she thought he could have just walked around her, but she only now realized how strange it must of seemed for someone who ddn't know her, to see a huge Serpent and a girl lying by the cloud sea as if they had just washed ashore.

At first all she did was stare back in silence, and that's when he noticed that she was crying. He wasn't able to notice earlier from the fact that he was a few feet away, but now that he was standing over her, it was clear as day. Before he could ask what she was crying about, she stood up and gave him a lame excuse as to why she was. "Right..." He watched her wipe away the tears from her eyes, so all he did was cross his arms and stare at her. Her face left no signs of tears, but he was more concerned about the fact that she denied it. Humans are strange creatures...every time I think I've figured them out something else comes up. He tilted his head to the side at her and then tilted it the other way.

He became even more confused by her when she assumed that she was in his way. If she was, there was plenty of space to walk around her. He became more curious about her. "No...you're not in my way." He said to her and uncrossed his arms. "However, I do have a question for you. Why is it that you denied the fact that you were crying? Not just you, but humans have done it before. You are all so strange, why do you do it?" Deniel revealed to her the fact that he wasn't human, if his eyes didn't give it away already. He wasn't a halfbreed of a species, either. He was a hybrid.

"..."
The fact that he caught on, and called her on her lie caught the young girl off guard. Normally she would have blushed, stuttered another half assed excuse and probably hopped on Zinnath to fly away, but for some reason, she stood right where she was. Her eyes looked distant, as if she herself were in some place far away from their current spot on the beach.

"...Because I'm weak... I... I'm always crying, and getting in people's way... I try to get stronger, I try to find real strength but every time I get close... I lose it..."
Her throat felt tight as she spoke, wanting nothing more than to let lose another torrent of tears as she looked up into this strangers eyes. They were red, a crimson like she hadn't seen before, and when he spoke of her being human she couldn't help the light laugh that escaped her.

"and you can barely call me human... not anymore."
She clenched her fist as she swallowed hard, trying to get rid of the knot in her throat.

"Dragon's cry... but you never hear of their tears, because they put on such a strong face... I guess... I guess im trying to be more like my dragon... I want to be strong so I don't have to cry anymore..."
With a light sigh she turned to look at Zinnath who's wings suddenly seperated from her body and she spread them wide, getting ready to take off.

"I...I'm sorry... I didn't mean to vent on you like that..."
She said softly, lowering her head in apology.

"Huh..." Deniel listened to the stranger ramble on respectfully, but he was somewhat bothered by what she said, and a bit annoyed. It wasn't from the fact that she kept going on and on, but it was what she said. He clenched his fist, but waited until she was completely done speaking before he finally made his move.

When she lowered her head in apology, all he did was take his sheathed blade and whack her on the head with it. Since the katana was sheathed in a scabbard, she wasn't going to be cut, but she would probably be hurt from the feeling of wood being smacked against her head. "Tears do not make a person weak, they make them strong. Tears are signs of suffering, and suffering is what makes a person strong. Trust me...I would know." He sounded very grim and depressed at the last part, and he literally could know. He shed tears a lot as a little kid, but that only made him into what he was now.

He took the sheathed blade off of her head and lightly tapped it on her again. "Secondly: Dragon Slayers are just as human as anyone else! Don't you dare think that you're not human. You were born from the blood of two humans. I know you slayers: raised by dragons. That doesn't make you inhuman. I would know." He sounded a lot less sympathetic this time around, almost angry. And he was, he was completely insulted. He wasn't anywhere close to human, and that's because he wasn't born from them. Slayers declaring they aren't made him sick. "Just look for yourself."

He removed the scabbard off of her head once again, but instead of whacking her again, he closed his eyes and focused his energy. The arm that carried the sword slowly changed from pale skin to black scales, and the nails buried underneath his glove showed themselves to be razor-sharp fangs. His arm wasn't that of a humans, it was a demon's. "This is being inhuman."

She hadn't been expecting the strike, as soft as it was and therefore the blade struck her in the head. She wincd as she moved to look up at the man as he spoke only to get wacked again. She bit her lower lip as she listened to him speak of how human she was. It wasn't just becasue she was a dragon slayer that she didn't think she was human... when she was young, something happened with her magic and she had begun to change... not as a person but her physical appearance. 

"It's not just being a dragon slayer..."
She began but her eyes grew wide as she watched the partial transformation take place. Something about the way he changed like that struck a chord with her. When she had been very little, she had accidentily taken over something she had found in the ocean... something much stronger than she had been at the time. This had caused her body to change, growing scaled much like the ones on his arm, claws even horns, and a tail.

"A demon..? This..? You?"
She asked, temporarily unable to find her words. She carefully reached up to touch the scales on his arm, actually smiling softly as she felt the scales there. 

"I was always called a demon... when I was little... before I became a dragon slayer... I... had scales... like this? Is that a... takeover?"
She asked curiously, now looking up at the man with a look of curiosity. here was no way she was standing before a demon... the demon's she had faced throughout her life wasted no time in killing those they came in contact with, or at the very least sorrupting their surroundings. This... looked familiar to her, and the feel of the scales even more so...

He let her feel the warm scales that covered his body. Although most scales would be cold, and the creature cold-blooded, Deniel's blood and scales were very much warm, like they were lit on fire or something. "Take Over is what most call it." He placed his unchanged hand on top of his one that had become that of a demon's. He ran his hand across the scales that covered his own body. "I call it becoming what I truly am. I don't become a demon. I am a demon. Partially, at least..."

To show her what he meant, he took his arm that was touching the scales on his other arm off and held it out. On that arm, his skin became grey and much more muscular, and white golden trimmed armor covered his hand all the way to his wrist, where a grey gauntlet similar to the color of his skin covered up his hand. "I am also an angel." He made the clawed hand of his demon form and the covered up hand of his angel form touch. Nothing happened of the two. No reaction, not explosion, nothing. "Through means of magic, I am able to become what I truly am: an angel and a demon. I am the offspring, the spawn of an angel and a demon. I am a Nephalem."

After explaining what he was, both of his arms went back to normal with the pale skin and the gloves running all the way up to his elbows. "It is impossible for anyone to mimic what I can do, because no one else is a Nephalem. That is why I can consider myself inhuman. There is no humanity within me. Do you understand?"

Aayla nodded as she drew her hand away from his as he began to move about, demonstrating both his arms, and describing just what he was. He said he was a demon, but also an angel, he said he wasn't human... but as a smile continued to grace her face she couldn't help but look up at him.

"I understand... but... I still think you're human...."
She said softly, wondering just how she could keep her head level in a situation like this. In her head, she wanted to scream and run, to hide away from this man, and from everything that was happening to her... but then... if she did that then she'd surely start to lose herself...


"Being human... it isn't the way your born. I think it's what's in your heart... because I don't think all humans can even be called that... you. You're a Nephalem and yet, you took the time to stop and make sure that a crying little girl was ok... that's more human than most."
She continued to look at the scales running up and down his arms and took a deep breath before looking up into his eyes.

"I wish I could be like you... I know you said you can't...you can't teach people to be like you... but  wish I could learn..."
She said calmly and seriously as she looked up at him. Not only was this man something completely different, he had the strength to go on day to day, accepting what he was, embracing it, and not fearing what others might think if they saw him. She envied that, she still hid the fact that she was a dragon slayer from most people in her guild... let alone be as strong as this man was...

"What!?" That was something that caught Deniel completely off guard. After he just proved to her he had no humanity in him, she still just called him a human. He didn't know if he should feel insulted, or take it as a compliment. He placed his hand on his chest and clenched it. What's in my heart, huh? He sighed to himself when she brought it up. He didn't know it when he was younger, but it was only a matter of time until he figured it out. Too bad I don't have one..." He knew he couldn't tell her that, though. Who would believe someone when they said they didn't have a heart? He didn't know how he was kept alive with the lack of one. He still felt a pulse, but he knew nothing was there. "It's just the angel in me..." It was the best excuse he could come up with, and it seemed logical to him. It's what an angel would do, after all.

He was caught off-guard when she said that she wanted to be like him. This caused his somewhat depressed look to widen in surprise. "Huh?" He was going to ask her if it was a joke, but the look on her face said otherwise. His widened eyes lowered themselves, and he simply stared back at her with an equally serious face. "You don't want to be like me. And you can't. However, I can teach how to become what you truly think you are: I can teach you to use Take Over Magic."

She looked back up to him in suprise. Sure she had hoped the stranger might help her face herself... but the fact that he had accepted to teach her take-over magic took her by suprise. She didn't know what to say to him, how to thank him.

"T... thank you! I would like that very much..."
Sh sated as she lowered her head politely to the man who offered to teach her a whole new kind of magic. What he said when he accepted to train her, his words couldn't be any truer. She had always believed herself to be more than just human... maybe she was a demon, or a monster or heck even a dragon... but she was more than just human and it terrified her. Her hope, was that with a magic to represent that side of her, she could come to terms with what she was, she could accept herself and move forward... maybe if others saw what she really was then maybe... maybe they would accept her too. In her mind, the Aayla they had accepted wasn't her... at least not all of her. Finally, she took a deep breath before looking back up to Deniel.

"My name is Aayla Mizune...I will do my best to learn everything you have to teach me. Please, don't go easy on me."
She knew she would regret those words later, but she could feel a fire burning in her that she had never felt before. A rising determination to better herself, to discover herself...

Deniel held his hand up in protest to her, "Slow down a little bit, Aayla. The hard part doesn't come first. Sit down." He sat down in front of her on the sand in a meditative position and took a deep breath. "Alright, now, the first step it to know what you truly are. Now do as I say, and do what I do." He placed each of his hands on his thighs and closed his eyes. "Deep breath."

He inhaled a deep breath through his nose, and then exhaled out of his mouth. "Don't try to clear your mind. Let your thoughts run free, they will help you." He took another deep breath in his nose and out his mouth. "Now I want you to think of yourself, imagine yourself, what are you? What is the beast that represents you? What do you see?" Because Deniel was a master at his own Take Over magic, none of this was new nor did he have a problem with it.

"I'll tell you what I see for myself: I see two sides on one coin. I see a demon, and an angel. The demon is black, with pure red eyes, and a cruel look on his face. He is ruthless, merciless, and very aggressive. However, it's evil is balanced out by the angel. He is white, glorious, and shining. He is very judgmental, but only targets evil. He seeks to purge the world and leave nothing but good. That is who I am." He opened his eyes and took another deep breath.

"Now you do the same. Tell me what you see."

"Oh... sorry"
She said quickly, her cheeks going a light red as she grew slightly embarrassed at her sudden eagerness. She listened to him speak, and sat down on the sandy beach whenever he asked her two. For a moment, she just sat there and looked at him as he closed her eyes and concentrated and spoke to her, letting her know what she should be doing...


'Deep breath...'


She did just that, taking in a deep breath, filling her lungs with the salty air of the ocean and smiling slightly as she did. She loved being by the water, for obvious reasons, but it helped her a lot to calm down and concentrate on what she was doing.

'Let my thoughts run free...Imagine myself? What am I?'


The thoughts stuck her as strange but she tried to do as he asked of her. She let her thoughts wander, and it wasn't long until they found their way back to Hydrianna... The large dragon that had taken her in after being captive for so long... the mother figure she didn't have for so many years. She ran through her memories with her and her mother, how the pair hunter underwater, how they even played pranks on the large fishing boats that went by, both testing her manipulation of water and speed... the night they slept at the bottom of the ocean in their nest.

She clenched her fists as the thoughts of the empty nest suddenly struck her once more, how Hydrianna had gone missing, how the dragon had just left her behind.

'Deep breath... deep breath...'


She took a few more deep breaths before trying to guide her thoughts back on track. She had to see herself as something? Like how he saw himself as an angel and as a devil... Suddenly, a pair of blue eyes was looking at her through her memory, they weren't human, in fact, she could see the blue scales, and horns of this creature begin to form out of water.

"Water...Lots of water... and... eyes? mhm... they're blue... and I think... I think it's a Sea Serpent... it kind of looks like Zinnath only... different..."
She said gently, scrunching up her eyes as if trying to force the image to make itself clearer.

After he had opened his eyes, he didn't feel the necessity to sit in the position anymore. So, he stood up to his feet and started to circle around her. She was taking deep breaths just like he asked, but he was waiting for her to see the beast within her. He was being as patient as he could, as it probably wasn't as easy for her as it was for him. He was a master of his own magic, and this was completely new to her. In fact, he was surprised to hear her begin her description. Has she found it already!?

In just a few short seconds, he was proven wrong. Her description wasn't detailed enough, she needed to give him more. "Keep thinking! It's not good enough, you need to see more. You need to see it as clear as day. Come on! More than just its eyes, what about it's body? What is its personality? What does it do? You need to answer all of these questions if you want to know what you truly are."

Deniel sat down in front of her once again and awaited her next response. He was being a little pushy with it, but if she ever wanted to find the beast within, she would have to see it as if it were a memory and not her imagination. "Once you find the beast, I want you to explain it to me once again, and then I'll begin the next phase of the training, and it won't be as easy as sitting around and thinking."

A light pout crossed the small girls lips however she never opened her eyes. She was trying hard to focus on the form she saw, but every time she thought she got close to seeing it, it just faded back into her thoughts. She gave a sigh before taking in a deep breath and trying to start from scratch. He had told her to not control her thoughts, not to clear her mind but to let her memories roam free... she had to start with that.

She stopped thinking of what she was doing and just let the calming waves of the ocean steal her mind away. At first, nothing happened, no memories, no thoughts, she felt as if suddenly her head was empty but then, she heard a scream. Not a physical scream but something in her mind. She frowned as she looked for the source of the scream and the scene began to fill in around her. She could remember being in her home town when she was very little... everything was just as she remembered it last... exactly while she remembered it last. Her mother lay dead at her feet with a spear gone straight through her chest, her father to her write, his throat slit open as his blood pooled with his mothers. Suddenly, there was a scream again, and when she looked over at it, she was shocked to see the image of herself kneeling into her parents blood. She could remember those tears that her image was crying, and she felt tears of her own start to build up in her own eyes.

She watched as this little girl shakily pulled herself to her feet, trembling so bad that she could barely stand. She let out another cry, however this time, it sounded more like a cry of rage. The small girl pulled the spear from her mothers body and darted towards the shadowy figured of the ones who had destroyed her village.


How was she seeing any of these images? She couldn't remember them... she remembered taking out the spear... but then everything had gone red... she didn't remember...

"A hunter..."

She said out loud before she could even catch her own words. She blinked in confusion at what she had said, but as the small girl attacked the mages, she could see the flash of those blue eyes... the hons she had seen in the image before were there now two, and in flashes, the image came clearer and clearer as she watched her younger self fight for her life.

"I... She's a Sea Serpent... she's so scared and angry that she's striking out at everyone who hurt her... but she's not evil though... no. She's a hunter of Dark Mages... she'll keep getting stronger so that she never lets something like that happen again..."
Once she finished her description she opened her eyes with a look of bewilderment, silent tears still trickling down the side of her face as the thoughts played over and over again in her mind.

"She's got blueish green scales, blue eyes and horns on her head, fins pushing her hair back to look like a mane... great big wings with claws at their tips and talons much sharper than mine..."
She could feel her throat clench as she gave the description, bringing her hand up to wipe the tears from her eyes as she took in another long and deep breath. How did she find the image of this Serpent? She still wasn't 100% sure... but she felt as if this was something she had seen before, something she had been before...

"That's it!" He was completely satisfied with the picture that she explained to him of the Sea Serpent. He wasn't in her thoughts, but he could picture it himself as if it were a painting in front of him. If she could describe it that clearly, then it must have been right before her eyes. "Keep your eyes closed for just a little bit longer." He took several step backs in front of her and took a deep breath himself. Here goes.

He stabbed the sheathed blade he carried in his hand into the sand because he didn't need it in order to do the next step. "Remember, keep your eyes closed and your thougts focused!" As he said that, five glowing magic circles appeared on different parts of his body. There was one at the bottom of his feet, one on his head, one on his waist, and two on each of his fingertips. All five magic circles moved up his body, with each of them ending at his neck, waist, head, and shoulders. After each of the magic circles moved, they all shattered like glass. What was left standing was the full body version of his Black Devil form.

He placed his hand on Aalya's forehead, which was made up of his scales and razor-sharp claws, so it must have felt completely different to her. "Now, you will enter the world in which this Sea Serpent lives in. You must tame it by defeating it." As he said this, his hand was focusing Magic Energy inside of her mind so that she would lose her awareness in reality and be transported to the world of the beast within her so she could fight it and tame it herself.

“Okay…”
She said lightly as she brought her hands back down to her knees and closed her eyes once more. She took in a deep breath as she had done earlier and this time, she could more easily the form of her younger self as this Sea Serpent, lashing out at the dark wizards that had destroyed her family. She listened to the man’s words, she could hear and smell the hum of magic being used, but she didn’t moved, she stayed seated until she heard him walking over to her. His hand was placed against her forehead and she smiled lightly. Although Hdrianna’s claws had been much much bigger, the sensation wasn’t strange to her, in fact, it was quite familiar and she seemed to relax even more as he began to focus his magic into her mind.
 
She suddenly felt very sleepy, her posture relaxing and even slouching slightly as her mind began to wander once more, returning to it’s most recent brought up memory, her fight against the Dark Wizards. It was strange, she was standing in her old village again, but this time was different… she could smell the fires burning down the small houses of the town, she could smell the putrid stench of the blood that stained the ground and leaked from her villagers bodies. There was smoke rising up from everywhere in town, people screaming, crying and fighting for their lives… there were even two dogs running about that looked as if their own flesh was decaying from their bodies.

She walked out from the alleyway she was in, peering out into the village square where a few dark wizards had gathered around the dingle fountain that stood there. There was the form of a water dragon in the middle of the  fountain which normally over flowed with beautiful sea water, but was now cracked, broken and seemed itself to be bleeding with the blood of the villagers.

“NO! MOMMY!”

She heard a small girl cry from the front of the fountain and her eyes instantly shifted to the small girls form. Her blue hair and blue eyes were  unmistakeable… for the second time today, she was playing through her memories of the past. She couldn’t see this without crying… every time she watched her parents die, she would begin to cry. One of the dark mages stepped forward, kicking her father in the face, causing him to crumple over before the dark mage plunged his spear across his neck. Ending his life…

"DADDY! NO NO NO NOOO"
This is where she saw her younger self lose control. She grabbed the spear imbedded into her mothers abdomen and was quick to put it through another mages chest, pulling it out quickly before trying to kill the next dark mage…
 
“S… Stop it… it won’t help you..!”

Aayla ran towards her smaller figure, knowing her presence in her memory would change nothing, her words wouldn’t affect the young girls decision but she felt as if she had to do something. She watched as the young girls form began to change, magic circles appearing over her body as she delved deeply into her takeover magic.

“You have to stop this it wont…”
She stopped dead, staring at the form she had earlier described… she had performed a full body takeover, and the young girl turned Serpent’s blue eyes suddenly landed on her form, causing her eyes to go wide in surprise as her younger self turned to face the only mage standing in her way now… her.
 
“You can see me..?”
She asked in bewilderment, getting no answer from the young girl who launched herself from her position, spear still in hand as she cried out, and even roared at the Water Dragon Slayer.
 
“Wait… Stop! Aayla listen to me!”
Aayla protested but her younger self never did. She was going to kill every single dark mage that had caused her so much pain. She stabbed and stabbed and stabbed at Aayla, even turning herself around and using her tail to reach past Aayla’s defenses and hit her in the face.

“SHUT UP! IT’S ALL YOUR FAULT! JUST SHUT UP AND DIE”
The young girl cried out, giving Aayla no chance to react before she threw herself at the girl once more. Aayla had barely enough time to bring her hand up to her cheek where she had been hit, the physical damage not hurting her water body but she had felt it… what was happening… she could feel pain? She had to react… she had to beat this beast to claim it… but how could she cause her younger self any more suffering?

Tears continued to roll down her eyes as Aayla leaped backwards, placing enough distance between herself and her younger self before bringing her hands up to her mouth, a magic circle appearing there.
 
“Water Dragon’s Roar!”
She cried out, intending to intentionally miss her younger self by aiming just in front of her, to slow her attacks down. However, the young girl wasn’t paying any attention to any harm that might befall her, she ran right into the water Dragon’s roar which knocked her off her feet and caused her to slide all the way back to the fountain in the middle of town.
 
“Aayla please listen… I’m not a dark wizard! I’m y… I’m you’re friend Aayla!”
The young girl would never believe her if she told her the truth… she was in a blind rage, and she doubted anything she told her would get through to the young girl. Especially when the young girl opened her eyes and found the body of her dead mother right next to her once more, her body soaked in her blood, causing her to cry out in anguish once more. The young girl pushed herself up to her feet, extending her arms in front of her. With another cry, she swiped at the air, large blades of water were created and launched towards the Water Dragon Slayer.


Aayla didn’t even have to dodge the young girl’s attacks… she opened her mouth and ate the  blades of water that were aimed at her. She frowned at the small girl as Aayla ran towards her, eating blade after blade of water, even dodging a rock that was thrown at her by letting it pass through her water body.

“LEAVE ME ALONE! NO STOP GO AWAY! “
The young girl screamed at her but Aayla ran right up to her and grabbed on tightly to the front of her shirt. The young girl screamed in fright, clawing at Aayla’s water body, desperate to get the older girl away from her, fearing for her own life whenever Aayla brought the creature against her, wrapping her arms tightly around her younger self.

“Aayla… Aayla shh… I know this is hard…”
The dragon slayer stated, tears still rolling down her own eyes, her throat already hurting from trying not to sob herself. She held her younger self tightly as she muttered a new spell.
 
“Water Lock”
She said as a water bubble began to form around the pair of girls. The younger girl looked up to her elder in shock. She didn’t know what she was up too… but her attacks were completely useless. She tried and tried to cut her, to kill her… time and time again her tail pierced the girls body but she didn’t seem to feel it. Even now, the young girl tried to fly away, only to find herself and the older girl locked in the bubble of water.

“LET ME GO! YOU KILLED THEM! IT’S ALL YOUR FAULT! YOU’RE FAULT! I’LL KILL YOU ALL”
The creature continued to yell, even in the water. Aayla just continued to hug her tightly, her tears disappearing into the bubble of water.
 
“I know it is… I wasn’t strong enough to protect them…. Shh… it’s ok little Aayla… trust me… You’ll grow stronger… you’ll get to fight every last one of them… you’ll protect your friends and your new family… I promise… it will be ok…”
She told the young girl turned Serpent who shook her head angrily, crying out again as she bashed her head into Aaylas shoulder, clutching her tightly and digging her claws into the watery flesh.

“I don’t want a new family! I don’t need friends…! I just… I want them back… Mommy… Daddy… Cirven… I want them all back…”
The girl wailed again and again as Aayla held her against her body, gently brushing the girls hair and keeping them both locked in the water as long as it took to calm the young Serpent down enough to stop her thrashing.

“You’re a strong hunter… you’re an amazing wizard Aayla… just… have faith in yourself… have faith in your friends… you’ll get there…”
She said as she continued to try and soothe the young Serpent, pulling a small trick out of Kiersa’s book and leaning back, kissing the Serpents forehead gently to help her calm down. This had never actually happened to her… and no, her memory soon continued to play itself out. A shorter mage with bleached white hair and a craze dlook on his face approached the pair, raising his hand towards the sky as he chanted his own spell.

“Lightning’s wrath!”
He cried out, a lightning bolt came crashing down from the dark sky, crashing directly into the water lock spell, causing both girls to scream out in pain as they held each other tighter. The water lock broke and both girls fell to the floor, both writhing in agony at the simple spell that coursed through both their bodies. Aayla refused to let the small girl though as the man continued to let loose lightning bolt after lightning bolt on them.
 
“What’s this crap? A little demon!? I didn’t know there was a demon here! OOOOH I bet the boss will LOVE having you as a pet! HEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEERE snakey snakey snakey!”
The crazed wizard called as he continued to shock them. Again and again the girls cried out, but Aayla refused to let her terror let her younger self get captured… as much as that was the reality of her past… she wouldn’t let her go…

In the ‘real world’ Aayla’s body shook and trembled lightly at the sensation of the lightning coursing through her body. Of course, it didn’t really hurt, but her mind was reacting to the events as if they were really happening to her.

Within her own mind, Aayla tried to focus on keeping her younger self safe from the attack, however, she soon found that the young girls eyes had narrowed dangerously into animal like slits,. The younger girl crawled her way out from underneath her protector, still kneeling down in front of her to stay out of the lightning’s reach as the young girl reached up and gently rested her claws against Aayla’s face, tears still streaming down her dangerous glaring eyes.

“Thank you… but… They’ll pay… I’ll h…hunt them all down… Thank you…”
She said, resting her scaley forehead again hers, feeling the waves of electricity course through her body now before she pushed away from Aayla and stood to her feet, charging from her spot towards the lightning mage.

The white haired Dark Mage scowled at the sight of this beast, redirecting his lightning attacks from the normal looking girl, to the scaly looking demon. Again and again he fired off lightning like lances, and every time the lightning hit her scales and danced off of her body. She could feel every strike radiating through her body, it hurt, but she didn’t care… it didn’t hurt as bad as it did before.

“G…Get away! Bloody Demon! Just die!”
He made a circular motion with his arms, a magic circle appearing before his chest as lightning began to gather into a condensed orb, powering up as it got ready to fire at the young girl. Little Aayla never stopped in the face of this new attack, running straight up to face the dark wizard, bringing her arm forward,  her claws speeding forward to pierce the man in the chest while her tail came up at a wicked speed to stab him in the gut.

The man’s eyes grew wide in shock as the spell stopped, the lightning simply disappearing into nothing as the white haired mage slumped forward against his young attacker, his eyes as white as his hair as he fell lifeless. The real Aayla knew this man’s face, and knew this wasn’t how this memory ended, however, a sense of pride coursed through her at the sight of her younger self killing one of the men she had feared most in her life. She also watched however as the young girl stepped away from the body, blood dripping down her scales as she looked down on the mage without an ounce of pity in her gaze. She watched him bleed out, and only stepped away from the man once she was satisfied. She walked back towards Aayla, and with every step she took, the sight of the village behind her began to disappear into a white abyss. Soon, the girl and the Sea Serpent found themselves alone in a completely white world.