Won't you grow up already?!? [Sorano Granon's A-Rank Exam]

GRACE UNDER FIRE

Sorano Granon, one of the younger members of the dark guild Fairy Tail was an odd little character. Known by several guildmates and her team as a brain child, the know-it-all, Sorano is often considered to be a very mature, and dare I say, wise figure. After knowing such a mage for this long amount of time, many forget hat she is still barely a teenager, having just smacked head-on into the unfortunate obstacle in life we all know as puberty. And someone in her condition? Puberty may very well spell the end of her, or the beginning. It would all depend on what changes she went through in this dreaded phase. In the end, however, the point of this story which can't be at more than around a hundred words is that the brain child of Fairy Tail is in no way mature. So, how would she react to a new stage in life? A new stage in ability? Magic? Discovery of herself?


It had most certainly been an odd request. That her guild master would ask her to duel in a test of strength was nothing the letter mage had expected. Coming out of the blue, she would remember that odd conversation yesterday, with the Mother of Fairy Tail coming up to her while she attempted to discuss the structure of a draconic language with Hoshi. A duel? On Tenroujima? Why yes, of course, I'd be glad to. A test of strength? Um, certainly... So, what would it be about this time? Remembering the last time she had sparred, Sorano sighed at the memories of her little rounds with Apollo. An utterly humiliating experience that had been, being outsmarted by the older guild member. Ah, well, it had been a lesson well-learned.

Would this be the same thing? Would her guild master attempt to bring the emotionless child's pride down a notch as well? The answer was unknown. But here she was, carefully picking out clothes more suitable for the occasion. Sorano had never been particularly good with combat, but books told her enough about what one should wear and what would be the end of you on the battlefield. A light, cotton tunic, accompanied by loose leggings of the same material. Good. Close-toed sneakers would do, providing protection along with the buckler shield around her arm. Hair? Pulled out of her face and pinned into something like a bun. And then was the comfortable bag of mirrors, causing light jangling noises when she moved. Sorano nodded at her reflection in the mirror, then moved towards the portal.

Soon, she would find herself standing in the place she had sparred against Apollo before, bordered on one side by crashing waves,and the other by spiders of trees, spindly trunks at sharp-ridged leaves all along the shore. Was that where she was supposed to be?

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Kanix had never been in such a feisty mood like the one she was in now; the inexplicable reason being that Mashyuu had since left her. Ever since the Sabertooth Ace had dropped everything, proposed to her, and left her at the alter in the end, she no longer understood her emotions. At one point, she felt like she loved everything and everyone, but other times she felt like she wanted everything and everyone to die. Her emotions had become so haywire since the day Mashyuu left that it was becoming clearer and clearer in her actions around the guild. No one had asked her what was going on, likely thought perhaps it was just her strangeness from being a Nirvit shaman. Things were starting to get to her, she was slowly going insane from all the bad things had happened and continue to happen to her. Even in her appearance, the ragged state of her clothes and hair was accompanied with the idea that she was not well.

She was standing on the beach with Sorano today, staring head on at the young child with a sightless eye and a guide just behind her. Ancalagon ruffled his feathers, but ultimately remained silent as the woman turned away from the child and grabbed her bō staff from its sheath on his saddle. When she turned back to Sorano, the woman adjusted the position of the staff, so that the trident-like, icy tip was facing upward. Today, she wasn't wearing that frilly, blue dress with the hood and flowing sections of sheering fabric around her arms. No, today she was wearing a different blue dress; this one was shorter, to her upper thighs, had a rim of fur on her chest, long sleeves, and had tails of blue fabric that barely brushed the ground. It was connected with a fat strip of more blue fabric up her chest and around her neck, with tails of tattered, yellow, sheer fabric and fishnet for gloves and tights. All of this was topped off with light brown, thigh-high heels and a brilliantly yellow-and-blue decorated sash at her waist.

Her hair, though once long, straight, and always combed, was now a curly, afro-like mess from when she had first arrived at the Nirvit village. The markings still graced her skin like tattoos, a bright reddish-orange against the pale, though slightly tanned, skin. She tightened her grip on her staff and turned her sightless, blue eye in the direction of the waves as they push and pulled along the shoreline. Kanix's free hand moved toward the waters, twisting her upper body momentarily until a stream of water was pulled free. Slowly, that stream of water wrapped around her waist, encircling itself like it was an Ouroborus eating itself. Moving her hand away, the stream of water began to circle around her on its own accord, flowing and moving just like it was a stream. A blue orb flicked back up to Sorano, staring at her like the hazy cloud of white was just an illusion to make her blind.

"I don't expect you to fight me with strength; this is. . . mostly. . . not what this duel is about, but is a base of the duel. What I expect from you is to use your wits to your advantage, but it will surprise me if you take me down in a different way. Now, to make this duel fair, I told Ancalagon that he is to stay out of the way while we fight; otherwise, you would have no chance. You have a choice, fight me only with a weapon or only with your magic, you cannot use both unless your magic is held within an item," Kanix explained to her.

Battle Tags and Exam Information:

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GRACE UNDER FIRE

Ah. And there it was. The odd twang of a silent note announcing her arrival affected Sorano in a way, the hammer hitting the string at an unusual angle. For when the tuner was out of sorts, how could the notes sound in sorts? And indeed, the tuner had been twisted and dropped upon the ground several times recently, or so it seemed, for the strings and hammers all felt the angles of their contact twist and tilt with her. Though most were fortunate enough to excuse this away as just an oddity of a tuner, one who had been fine-tuned to the sensing of emotions was not so easily convinced.

Yet, now was no time for such thoughts! This was another occasion, where the string would simply have to accept the fact that the tuner wasn't in her prime, and continue on with the tweaking of sounds this occasion would hopefully become. And the so the tightening of the strings began.

Feeling the tensing of her muscles in unconscious anticipation and fear, Sorano let a small frown adorn her face. Where had the proud mother of faeries gone? Aye, the same imposing aura about her that kept her rowdy children in line was still there, but something was...off. With her usual ave of a companion behind her, Kanix approached. A brightly colored outfit she donned, one that the younger mage could barely resist lifting an eyebrow at. In her world, such an outfit was absolutely nonsensical in combat, but then again, the shamaness was more powerful than herself. That wasn't all that odd, however. Among the markings that embraced her skin, slight curls of hair hung down. Blinking in slight surprise, Sorano noticed the haphazard shaping of her guild master's hair. More disorder in the world. Nodding a brief greeting, she waited for Kanix to begin her instructions.

As the dark eyes followed Kanix's motions through with the water, it was naturally led to the raising of the shamaness' head. Staring with an almost curious light at the blue orb, as a student the child nodded attentively along with her teacher's instructions. "Then I choose to use magic," she would reply, knowing it was likely what Kanix had expected. However, she had only two weapons, both of weak power and mediocre mastery in. Yes, perhaps Luna would be of use, but it would only be more dangerous to guide emotion into the elder mage, and time travel was something she didn't seem necessary here.

Carefully removing her quiver with the slim bow inside, she would set it beside a tree along with her sheath in which Kagayaku was stored. There. "May I use my shield as a form of defense?" Was her final inquiry before falling into a ready stance, following her old tradition of allowing the opponent to move first.

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The Guild Master held her rigid stance as naturally as she could, listening intently to her student's motions as she moved around. A soft tapping against a tree's trunk alerted Kanix to Sorano setting down the bow and quiver of arrows she donned. Perhaps she should set her weapon down as well? Make it much more fairer fight on the other girl's end, but no. . . This wasn't about fairness, this was about assuring that her guild members were as strong as they were meant to be. She would not have a single member in the guild who was too weak to fight on their own or could not come to the aid of their friends. As a guild that was focused on the familial and friendly bonds, it just wouldn't do to have someone who couldn't fend for themselves or others. Pressing her staff harder into the ground, the emotionally distraught woman waited until Sorano faced her again.

With it confirmed that Sorano would not be using her weapon, Kanix gave a small nod of acknowledgement in her direction. The slight shift in the direction of the wind gave way to her opponent's position, allowing her to know where and how she stood. Sensing that Sorano wanted her to make the first move, she lifted her staff off the ground and positioned it into a fighting stance. However, the small distraction of a question from the student gave the teacher a brief moment of hesitation to consider the inquiry. Seeing as she had no self defense herself, but she had a weapon, versus she only having magic and a shield, she saw no reason not to. Kanix gave another nod in response to the young girl, "yes, you may use your shield only as a means of protection. If I feel that you are using it as a weapon, then you will automatically be disqualified from the exam and cannot continue on."

Now that everything was said and down, Kanix motioned for Ancalagon to move out of the way as she readied herself. The giant bird squawked slightly and ruffled his feathers, but obediently moved out of the way at the command of his master. Where Sorano was able to see, Kanix would have to utilize all of her senses in order to predict the coming child. She gritted her teeth and gripped her staff so tightly that her knuckles had momentarily turned white against bones. Pressing off her back foot, the woman charged at Sorano, letting out a battle cry that would announce the start of the duel. Her weapon would reach outwards as a means to penetrate Sorano's position and throw her off balance through the use of bronze. Whereas, her free hand reached down toward the water and pulled free a dollop of water that froze solid into an arrowhead shape.

Once Sorano was distracted by the staff, Kanix would use the shard of ice as a sort of dagger-like creation to attack her that way.

Battle Tags:

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GRACE UNDER FIRE

With such a practical outlook on life, it was difficult for many to grasp the fact that the eccentric Litbell, a rather unpredictable woman had been the one to mentor the stony-eyed Sorano. But for the few people who knew this and had fought with or against her, slight elements of her teacher's personality shone through the gaps in her usual mask. Chaos and order, when combined, was an odd way of fighting. Unstable, and prone to change, especially in the actions of a more youthful one, however impossible it seemed in the emotionless child.

A step, a breath. To find your chaos, to find your peace. After confirming the rules, Sorano now prepared for the move to start the duel, the move that would determine her next action. Follow your instincts, a phrase she found hard to submit to was the usual action of one in such a situation. For herself, instincts were still there, yes, simply dulled. And thus, the letter mage would have to rely on what could be called "artificial" instincts, instincts drilled into one's mind after hour and hour of training. Anna Litbell had done enough for that for the beginning move: the next step was observation.

The experienced fighters of observation used every tiniest detail to their advantage. Twitching of the muscle, direction of the eye, and even length of breaths. Sorano had exactly three years of experience in this field, and thus had not the same level of mastery. However, simple little motions could make a difference and therefore she would still run her gaze over her opponent, her guild master. The wind direction? Currently coming off the sea. Terrain? Sandy. Foliage nearby, but several paces it would take to reach. This was a process performed in approximately three seconds, and then her attention fixed itself unto Kanix. Here, Sorano's more comfortable skills came into play.

If Kanix jumped up, instinct told her to pull hard on that dangling and ridiculous strip of fabric that hung below her. That, however, was what Apollo had called "dirty" and not a good move to begin with in a duel such as this. Instead, oil to make slick her landing, or something sharp to disrupt her. Charge? Instinctive slam to the ground, rolling recovery, and instant attack from the side. Teleportation? A knife usually came into play, but improvisation was not an impossible. But ah, no more time to think! The charge was all to fast for the slow calculator, who could barely react in time.

The powerful cry of battle penetrating her thoughts and pulling her from her slight daze, instinct took over and the girl found her muscles reacting without conscious command from the cerebrum. It was only as she found herself flat against the sand did she realize movement had occurred. Taking over again and rolling quickly aside, she found herself faced with a giant dagger of ice pointed her way.

Here, she found a slight disadvantage there was. Seeing as the shamaness was already blind, invisibility would be of no use, something she often began with. Teleportation was a possibility, as was a shield. Ah, but she would stay simple to start with for now! Whisking her finger through familiar motions, fire arose from naught but a pattern etched into being, rising up in a considerably long wall. Sending it hurtling in the general direction of her opponent, Sorano pushed herself upright. Fire... to be followed by water perhaps? Some form of it? No. Observation came first, Kanix's style of fighting was more important than her own musings for now. Staying low to the ground in contrast to the shamaness' current height, she sharpened her senses.

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While it was not possible for Kanix to see her opponent's movements in order to determine how well they were, she could feel them nonetheless. Through the vibrations sent into the ground of the young girl's actions, Kanix could, no doubt, sense what she was doing. She could not pinpoint the exact motions that Sorano was doing, but she could certainly feel that the girl was moving. Her actions did not matter in how she moved herself around the battlefield, that was not what Kanix was paying attention to. The guild master of Fairy Tail was paying far more attention to how she utilized her wits and her strength in battle. What she looked for in a strong member of her guild was none of which would make bronze superior, but the act of friendship and family. Standing before the young girl now, this would be her testament to such a deed, to show Kanix if she was fit for the position of Ace as well.

She adjusted her stance, waiting to see if Sorano would make the first move, just as Sorano would do the same for her. It was almost as if anticipation leaked into the area, suspense the only thing a person could feel in this duel. Her blind eye steadily stared ahead into the abyss of darkness that was her vision, listening and waiting for something. However, it seemed to her that Sorano would not make the first move, that she would be the one to attack her. Yet, her wish and intent had been for the young girl to come forth to her, but that did not falter Kanix's vision of her. Kanix pushed herself forward slightly, listening to see if Sorano was paying attention to her movements at all or if she was distracted. Just as she had a expected, however, the young girl was paying attention to her movements, was observing what she did.


Having Sorano pinned below her, it was extremely easy for the guild master to simply impale the child with the icicle. She knew better than that though; she knew that she should let her opponent have a chance to fight back against her. Perhaps this was because she had slowly begun to succumb to her old dark magus self, to drop down to the "dirty work." Ever since the disappearance of her lover, she had slowly begun to deteriorate from her motherly mindset into something else. Something that was clearly more volatile than the Kanix her guild members knew and thus, a formidable foe to fight. However, she was smarter than they thought despite the deteriorated mentally, and she removed herself from Sorano's body. This was why the woman would allow for the young girl to have a chance against her, rather than killing her on sight.

Yet, Sorano was faster than her and before she knew it, she was backing herself up to avoid the incoming fire. Shaking her head, the blind woman snatched at the ring of water around her and threw an ice shard in the direction of her opponent. She had a feeling that the fire would instantly melt it, but it was enough to keep the girl preoccupied for a bit. The woman sent forth another shard, her first having been melted and who knows about the second by now. A fourth shard would follow suit of the third, and the fourth by a fifth, and so on and so forth until ten had been thrown. With projectiles having already been through and no means of offensive maneuvers left from this spell, it was merely defensive. Her ring around her waist would expand until it completely enveloped her, acting as a sort of shield to defend her.

Battle Tags:

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GRACE UNDER FIRE

Despite being "smart" as she was seen by the rest of the guild, Sorano wasn't exactly smart in the ways they often expected. See, two types of intelligence are present in the world. The one that Sorano had basically mastered, the smart she undoubtedly was was known as being "book smart". She knew the answers to the most random of trivia. If you were to ask her what war strategies a long dead general had excelled at, she could explain it to you in full. However, what mattered most in the world was yet another type of cleverness, the art of being "street smart". Capable of reacting quickly and using experience and instinct together in a beautiful harmony, those who were street smart were most often the ones who got the better in battle. Kanix? The woman had lived long enough to have ample amount of both. Knowing how to use her instinct well enough, and capable of applying information learned to these instincts, this was something normally achievable by experience.

And thus, Sorano made mistakes. A move that had worked on those like Anna who liked to keep up in the air wasn't something suitable with Kanix's heavier frame. After having faced the deadly sharpness of crystalline blade, she would have learned another lesson for progression towards street smarts. Now, observing the shamaness' reaction to flame. Backing away, a simple movement of dodging. Minimal movement, something else that had been learned long ago. However, both Anna and herself had been spotted slight figures, suitable for quick, dramatic movements, Anna with her leaps and jumps, and Sorano with her more down to earth methods. More blades of ice, directed with excellent aim into the dirty wall.

As the fifth hit sizzling blaze, it lost energy. Shining arrow flew through the fading sighs of heat, and pierced towards the letter mage. "Ka..." Crouching to avoid the incoming blades, she found herself with a cut upon the arm from one aimed slightly lowered as she retreated with a cowardly spell. Letting the glyphs fade her into being behind Kanix, she released sets of mirror into the air around her, falling with around equal force as her landing. Getting more into the element, she had to use the opponent's disadvantages to her own advantage, as dirty as it sounded.

Yet, now she knew exactly what to do. Something she had disagreed with her mentor many times before on, was how defense was a weakness. To Anna, defending yourself with a barrier was no more than trapping yourself. A huge user of double-sided defenses, she never defended herself without still releasing offense. Now she would have to use this concept taught to her. Letting a slightly more advanced spell out, a storm of words became reality. As the miniature cyclone gathered upon the shores of Tenroujima, Sorano let it spiral around Kanix. With a normal person, this would easily cloud their sight. With Kanix, it would hopefully provide a barrier which she couldn't escape, and would cloud her temperature and pressure sensitivity with powerful wind and rain. And to break her barrier, lightning was utilized. As the crack descended upon the center of the cyclone, she lay in wait within the storm, watching and waiting upon crouched legs.

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This child... she's a lot stronger than I expected her to be. I'm quite proud of her, the woman thought to herself. She listened to the crackle and blaze of the inferno as it protected the young girl from the harm of her ice shards. However, the fiery wall would eventually come down, having been hit by too many of the ice shards to count anymore. This left the child exposed to what dangers Kanix had in store for her, despite being the motherly figure that she was. A smirk played across her lips as she listened to the motions of the girl carving out a spell into the air. Little did the Guild Master know that this spell would allow for Sorano to get behind her and take advantage from there. It was one thing for the girl to use book smarts, but she was beginning to learn that the world also required street smarts.

A shift in the atmosphere allowed for Kanix to note that she was being surrounded by something... a tall object of sorts. She couldn't decipher what it was, but it was something that blockaded her in, something that would likely be used against her. Whirling around, the Guild Master faced Sorano once more, her single, blue and hazy optic studying the young girl. "Taking advantage of your opponent's blindside, nice going," she praised the child, the smile still on her lips in a more motherly nature. "I love it when my children can display acts of power and strength, but also know how to take an enemy down." The sense of pride she was feeling was overwhelming in her body, a lot more than the depression she had been feeling. Perhaps, if she focused just a little more on her guild than her own personal life the pain would eventually go away.

"I've decided," she exclaimed, the water around her waist dropping to the ground, where it soaked into the sand. "I'm calling off the duel because there is something more I wish for you to do rather than stand here and duel me. Strength is not about power, and power is not about taking down your enemies because of the strength you have. It's quite clear to me you have what it takes to defend the guild when the utmost danger has come for it. What I would like to know is not about what you plan to do when the guild is in need of you, but how you plan to go about it. A guild is not just a guild, it is a whole family and one bad apple in the family can bring the entire thing down with it. You, my dear, have what it takes to be an Ace of the guild; however, bring down your weapons and sit with me."

At the end of her mini speech, the aged woman would drop herself down into a crisscross sitting style and wait for Sorano to join her. Once the young girl did, a wide smile was splayed across her face as if she was the proudest mother there was. "Sorano, our former guild master has taught me much about this beloved guild of his and even though he is no longer with us, I plan to continue his work. I look for nothing more than the strongest of members in the guild who not only want what is best for themselves, but what's best for the whole of the guild. Despite how young you are, you have shown me that knowledge is power; I do not ask for more than that from you. Yet, in order for you to progress in life, you must know that you should never stop seeking knowledge, never stop growing and learning. This is how you better yourself and this is how the guild will grow with you and become a better place than it already was."

While the duel between the two had been extremely short, Sorano not even having been able to land much of a hit on her, it wasn't something that needed to continue. She was not the tyrannical leader she was made out to be, the strict mother who didn't let her children do what they wanted. What she was doing was making sure that her children stayed in line because she wanted nothing more than to continue the legacy Heero had created. "My questions for you are these: if you were the Guild Master of Fairy Tail and your guild needed you in a time of danger, what would you do? Under the circumstance that the current Guild Master is not around, how would you lead the guild until their return?" At this moment, Kanix would pause in her speech to allow for the questions to soak into Sorano's head before she continued. Once she had long enough to mull over the question, Kanix would tear her blind gaze away from the girl and look around at the tiny island.

"You're a smart girl, Sorano, I trust you would know what to do in the guild's times of need," she spoke to her.

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Pellentesque sed dolor tellus. Quisque pharetra erat sit amet lacus accumsan mollis a eu justo. Sed eget nisl at neque dapibus faucibus vel non nibh. Nullam pulvinar, eros sed rutrum aliquet, elit arcu fringilla eros, nec viverra est est in turpis.

GRACE UNDER FIRE

Slight confusion could be seen displayed on the girl's face as she heard what appeared to be compliments coming from the person she currently fought. Could it be yet another strategy to deter her from the ultimate goal of victory? Caution was shown in every part of her expression as the letter mage inched closer, tilting her head to try and get a better view of the current situation. It seemed to be good for the guild master herself, however seeing as the once dulled aura now lit up a rosy, healthier glow. Something akin to happiness, even. Based on the compliments of sort from before, Sorano concluded the emotion to be pride.

"I've decided."

It was a very final, and fateful phrase, the wall of water suddenly dropping without warning to pool around Kanix's feet, dissipating in a shimmer of fine mist. Fleeting alarm could be glimpsed, running a fearful journey across the small face and a rough, messy gesture was performed on instinct. Quickly, the wind and lightning flickered away, leaving marks around the shamaness in the sand, bits of ocean debris strewn about the formerly spotless beach. With a discreet movement of letters, they were carefully lifted away again, leaving naught but the marks of wind upon sand.

With the opening of her mouth, words with the power to decide fate slipped out in a flowing stream, calm and controlled, a note of soft spring breeze interwoven with the words and bringing a surprisingly light tone to the heavy intonation. Professing her opinion on the guild and how the family of Fairy Tail worked, Kanix wove out the introduction for what was to come, laying it out upon the sand in an intricately etched diagram. Customs from long ago guildmasters' and the shamaness's own beliefs were mixed carefully together in a beautiful lesson that drew itself within the innards of Sorano's mind, showing what she was being offered. The word uttered of her possible new rank stunned the letter mage ever so slightly, sending a light chill down her spine.

Ace? Images of old faces glimmered in her mind's eye as Sorano found herself gazing into the faces of people like Brennan, Apollo, Ken, Alyia, even Kanix Laspor herself. These were all powerful people, mages whom she and her teammates all looked up to. Never before would the thought have occurred to her that she might one day join their ranks. It had always been a possibility as she ranked up among the other guild members, yet it seemed only to be yesterday that Sorano had been an awkward child dawdling on Fairy Tail's doorstep. Hands gently putting the wrong in their proper places, she returned to her seat besides her guild master.

She absorbed the information like a plant absorbed light, gazing up at the woman with wonder in her eyes. Never before had such words been said to her, not even in her childhood in the mountains. It was surprisingly powerful a moment to the mind of one who was emotionless, and a moment of thought was granted to entertaining the thought that she could even be feeling such things right now- a thought quick dismissed. But she answered the question in a way that was - to her surprise - quite honest.

"When the leader of a group- any group is gone, it's the most critical time for a family to connect with each other. Even now, I do not consider myself to be a leader, and thus I would depend on a coordinated functioning of guild members to persevere as we have for so long. In other words, I would try and bring the guild together. Together, we can work as a family, a team to decide on the following actions, for that is where the guild's strengths lie."

Not the best of answers, was the thought that ran itself under the microscope of Sorano's brain, but good enough. Honest, at the least.