Rage Against The Machine

Spoiler:

Haraka let out a heavy breath. It was late in the afternoon in the day, it had been a very busy one at that. Work at the hospital, machines, he hated learning machines, that horrible dream, finally mastering making glass using a type of white root, he just really wanted a break. He had left home to buy some dry fish to use in making dinner when he came upon something. "This is what those modern kids call a vending machine, right? They only started popping up a little over a hundred years ago, barely any time at all." Eyes scanned the pictures that had the name of the item under it, along with a button to press if you want to buy that certain thing. "It might be nice to just get something from a vending machine and relax a bit, maybe go to a nearby restaurant and take a break from cooking for tonight." His eyes stopped on one soda, frost dragon fruit? It didn't have much juice in it, but he was curious how close to the real thing it would taste like. Would it taste good? It was his favorite fruit, even if the demons first memory of eating one was because he didn't listen to his mother and took a bite of one. She didn't give him an antidote, so he ended up sneezing and shivering for a few weeks. This was different though, a drink meant for being consumed by normal people with money. Even if he knew it wouldn't have frost dragon fruit in the soda, omaras put the amount for the soda into the machine before pressing the button below it's image.

Nothing came out. "Did I... misuse it?" Eyes focused in confusion, trying to carve up some memories on these things. Did he? Then the answer popped up from a memory a few years back. "No, I used it right. Maybe I need to try again?" Should he try with the same item over, or something different? What else should be done? Part of him wanted to put in some more money and try again. So? He put in a little more money before pressing the drinks button again. The young looking man gave up on the item, deciding to try to get another item instead. Maybe it was just out of that soda and was not saying so. What else to get? Eyes scanned the items, moving his body ever so slightly to and fro in slow motions. He decided on a small fried coconut bread, but after pressing the button? Nothing still came out. He was sure this was how you get the items from the vending machine... or.. "Is it?" Now the demon started to feel unsure and insecure, lacking the confidence they once had. He stopped moviing to and fro, the expression changing to one of confusion. What could he do? The mantis shrimp ended up resting his forehead against a flat surface of the machine, letting it soak in right now that his money now rested within a metal machine that either refused to give him the desired item, or just ate his money twice in a row. What should he do now?

The answer came in the approach of a familiar face, a fellow guildmate. The ice blue skinned man  lifted his head off the machine then moved to face Leylin, waving at them. He waited for the other to get closer before doing anything. Should he say anything? Well, maybe. "Hello Leylin, be careful if you want to get anything out of the vending machine. I think it just ate my money, but I'm not really sure yet. Most machines sort of confuse me..." He took a step back, getting out of the way of the vending machines pictures and buttons. Maybe they would have better luck than the half demon had so far. "I hope its just me doing something wrong, I really want to try that drink, or at least get my money back..." It was better to admit you don't know something when you don't. Maybe he would get the drink, or at least his money back. Either one would be fine, he just wanted to relax after a long day. There were a long of things he would rather be doing, but the man was certainly a little frugal. As such? The very idea of abandoning his money without even trying to get it back felt like it would be ridiculous.

Words: 751

Leylin had spent most of the day training himself, some of it was physical in the Guild's Training Hall while the other part was mental and was spent inside of the Library. The man, throughout his whole life, had believed that a strong mind was just as good as a strong body. Of course, there was only so much that one person could do before losing their mind from all the information they were given, causing the man to need a break extremely bad. On his way out, he'd barely run into any of the actual guild members, instead of exchanging casual glances and motions with the people he passed. It was clear to anyone that saw the man that he was busy thinking about other things, even though he still kept a casual appearance on his face and greeted everyone kindly.

"What should I do for dinner...? I'm sure the guild is offering food but I don't know if the head Chef is back.." He pondered in his mind, gently stroking his chin as he moved down the street. As Leylin came into view of Haraka, the man was dressed in only a sleeveless black shirt and pants to match, no weapons on his person except for the blasting rod on the back of his waist. The wind moved his raven black hair, a casual motion of his hand brushing stray hairs to the side and taking his attention fully for a second. And in that second he heard a voice calling out to him.

Only moments later did his oceanic eyes finally land on the demon-kin, causing him to perk a brow but he waved back while changing his course to meet up with Haraka. Leylin listened to the plight that had befell Haraka and nodded his head in understanding as he took the demon's place in front of the Vending Machine, bending over faintly,"Well, nothing seems to be broken on the outside. But, honestly, I don't think you could mess up using a vending machine, Haraka. Even if machines confuse you~" He chuckled sincerely and grinned at the man, playfully teasing him until he reached into his pocket and pulled out enough money for the vending machine.

"Sometimes you have to hit it just the right way as you put the money in..." During this time his eyes had been scanning the machine before he finally locked onto his target, causing a bit of shock to cross his face. "Smatorade: Blazing Blue Berries" was what he read, a drink he'd not have since... Well, he wasn't in his early teens at the least,"I didn't even know they made this drink anymore!" He'd put his money into the machine and pressed the button for his drink but, as he did, he struck the side of it with a fist to try and get it to work with him. There was no response, nothing but the machine taking the dollar and causing him to groan after he assaulted the button repeatedly, trying to get it to work.

"I don't think this one is on you, Haraka." As he said this, he'd crouch down and press open the flap where the drinks should've dropped, to see if something was there. Assuming things went well, he'd stand up and gently kick the front of the machine,"This is ridiculous, this is the only Vending Machine I've seen around here." He'd turn to Haraka, scratching his cheek a bit,"Sorry about that, seems like the machine is just busted. Do you wanna grab some dinner instead?"

Words: 592

The demons face flushed briefly at the teasing, but he didn't really comment on it. There really wasn't anything to do on that, save for sticking around. His sapphire eyes watched the human at work, smiling a bit and hoping for the best. It was easier to feel better with someone else there that knew more about vending machines. Well, that smile started to fade a bit at the sight of his fellow guild mates money being eaten as well. It didn't seem like Leylin would get back money or item, but in this case it really was a sad thing. "Smatorades blazing blueberries? If we leave now than you probably wont get another chance to buy that for a year. A good while back the owner of the company decided to switch the drink to using all natural ingredients. It has the same flavor balance as before, but now with the full complexity the creator wanted the entire time. The only issue is some of the ingredients are amazingly seasonal, so they make a lot less of it than before and only around certain times of the year. It's so popular though that anyones lucky to spot one not yet bought." Actually this was probably a sign of just how unforgiving this machine was, holding on to coveted limited items like a buried treasure. Wouldn't repairs have fixed the machine though? Their guild kept everything up to date so it couldn't just be broken. The half demon approached it a bit again, poking its metal outer shell. Was it... alive?

The dark blue in his eyes screwed a bit, giving it a confused look. "It's alive. It's a sentient vending machine...?" Those very eyes narrowed a bit before he mumbled, "and an asshole." Apparently it wasn't mumbled quiet enough, no matter the gentle softness that always coated the tone of his voice, making it that much quieter. The vending machine made a buzzing sound that signaled that an item was going to be released. After an awkwardly long pause an item shot out more like the item was being weaponized more than anything. It was a bag of candy, the item hitting and tearing open on one of Harakas horns. The candy was a mix of sugar, garlic, ginger, wasabi, and sweet ripe banana essence. The smell of each ingredient was potent, the sugar being the only one without it's own scent. Each candy from the bag was wrapped, every last one looking adorable and clean. Omaras let out a gagging sound, hitting away all the pieces of candy that had landed on him. It wasn't enough, they were still too close. Hands started covering the half ice dragons mouth and nose before he proceeded to kick at the individual pieces until they were all far enough to not feel like that horrendous smell wasn't trying to invade his nostrils. The young looking man cough a bit, only removing his hands when it seemed like his sense of smell was safe. Should he apologize to it? ...No. He didn't do anything wrong.

A frown appeared on his face, eyes looking back at the machine again. "I'm not trying to make you mad, but if you act a certain way then I'm going to call you out on it! and if you attack me again than I might have to defend myself against you. We just want the items we paid for, not to get assaulted!" The machine didn't react this time, possibly taking the talk less seriously it was worded in such a gentle way. The shrimp wasn't exactly an expert in bothering and upsetting people, let alone sentient objects. His demonic eyes looked over to Laylin, letting out a small sigh. He wasn't sure if he was tired from the day, or tired of being jerked around. "I know a number of quality places we could go to eat that aren't that expensive, but honestly also want what I paid for. It's not even about wanting a break after a long day and seeing what looked like an easy way to get a beverage and snack anymore. I know it has the items I paid for and I want them. What do you want to do Leylin?" Yes, it wasn't just his money that was eaten, or his items that were denied. The half blood was the only one so far physically attacked so far, but that would probably change if they both decided to go down this path. Which spell should he start with? Probably snow breath. Who knows how fast a vending machine can spit out items, slowing it down would slow the attacks. This would be useless on effecting most spells damage, but canned drinks and baked goods were not exactly spells.

Words: 797
Total: 1,548/5,000

Leylin had been trying to shake the machine and struck the side a few times, though there was no outwardly response from the thing and that caused him to become even more annoyed. The fact that he couldn't get the machine to even react to him was aggravating and it wasn't like he wanted to start wailing on it, but it was giving him less and less of a choice. As he messed around with the machine, including even putting in another few dollars, it was clear that he really wanted the drink that it was holding back from him. Of course, that was when Haraka had decided to start talking about how the makers of his drink making them even harder to get, changing the ingredients and then making it even more rare than before. It'd make sense, seeing as he barely saw any since growing up and he did a lot of traveling. It was so rare that he'd even go as far as breaking the machine to get the drink but even as Haraka dashed his hopes a bit, he kept a casually annoyed look on his face.

"That's gotta be some kind of crazy joke, right?" Leylin slowly crossed his arms over his chest as he tried to convince Haraka he was wrong,"That drink was one of the most popular when I was younger and there's no way the owner would lose out on money for actual ingredients..." Of course, it was clear by the tone of his voice that Leylin completely believed Haraka and was actually trying to convince himself that this wasn't true. He'd prefer if it wasn't true but, then again, what could he really do except make sure to get it from this machine? It was around then that Haraka had leaned in and started mumbling to the machine, Leylin's eyes wandering for a few moments before noticing what he was doing and averting his gaze a bit.

"C'mon Haraka, sentient? Doesn't that seem like reaching for a reason the machine didn-" Before he could even finish his sentence, the machine rumbled and buzzed before the bag of candies were launched out and torn open on the man's horn. Leylin watched as the beautifully wrapped candies were flying through the air, seemingly in slow motion and the smell slowly invading his nose. There was a burning pain in his nostrils that caused his face to contort but not before a wrapped candy flew directly into his mouth, which had been open from his speaking and being cut off. Even if the wrapper the tastes that assaulted him caused him to gag and spit it out, quickly ended up doubled over with his hands on his knees. It was clear he almost lost what little food he had in his stomach but was able to get a hang of himself, grunting heavily before he slowly stood up and continued to listen to Haraka try to bargain with the machine. There was clearly anger that was starting to cross over Leylin's face, though very subtle, as he would ball his fists up.

"Oh, I know exactly what you mean, Haraka. I am not leaving until I get what I paid for, even if it means breaking this machine into oblivion." He wasn't going to leave without getting that drink, and even the rest of the ones in the machine, because they were important to him. Well, not nearly as important as almost anything else but this was currently the most important thing going on. Fire swirled around Leylin for only a second as he called upon the power of the Great Fireplume and there was a faint heat coming from his body as he approached the he drove his right fist directly against the glass of the machine, expecting a huge shattering of glass... Especially considering that his punch was accompanied by flames, increasing his damage greatly.

But there was nothing, so in a bit more anger than before he brought his left hand around to strike into the side of it, which would have been a living person's ribs. There was a grunt as Leylin brought both his hands over his head, lacing his fingers together and slamming them down onto the top of the machine. There was just a faint sound of metal bending before the there was a roaring in the machine and the slot opened up, shooting something at Leylin point blank. Of course, as this happened all the air left Leylin's lungs and he let out a high pitched noise. A water bottle fell from his family jewels and quickly after the man fell onto his knees, both hands going to grab the injured area. On his feet in front of the machine was a bad idea, seeing it whirled again and suddenly a coconut custard doughnut slammed into his mouth and finished him in this combo. It was stuck in his mouth and he thrown back onto his back while trying to handle his pain. In that moment, though it may have been a weird sight, fire started in Leylin's hands and it seemingly eased his pain just a pit.


Current HP: 300 - 100 damage + 40 Healing = 240/300 HP
Current Mana: 270/300
Spells Used: Flaming Attacks, Healing Flames.
Flaming Attacks Duration: 1/5

Vending Machine HP: 265/400

Words: 862
Total: 1,454/5,000

A a horrible growl left Harakas throat that either sounded something like the grinding of stones or a very upset dragon. He didn't care what happened to the vending machine now, it had crossed the lines too much. A took in a deep breath was taken in during the growl, releasing it in a rather fantastical way. Around his mouth were shards of ice, but further than that? Snow. It hit the machine, piling on. The white snow and ice looked beautiful, but the spell packed a punch, along with the chilling effect that would cause it to slow. This seemed to have good timing, as a slightly slowed down can started flying right at the half blood. It was enough that he could catch it with his claws, but there was an unforeseen side effect to that block. The talons had sunk into the tin can, a sour smelling pale blue fluid dripping out, releasing a horrendous smell. Omaras practically gagged, getting hit with a fish cake filled chocolate bar in the face. With a groan he tossed the offending can away. "Goats milk with artificial blueberry. Why even... Why does that product even exist?!" There was a rage deep inside him that nothing aside from getting what he paid for would quench. This damn vending machine had the worst possible personality. It was something akin to the sort of person many business workers ended up talking about at a bar, that one guy who always knows how to piss everyone off. This was that guy without restraint, only in vending machine form.

The candy bar had fallen on it's own. Being perfectly wrapped, the demon didn't need to handle whatever horror that was deep within it's wrapping. Eyes looked to the fellow guild mate, wincing a bit at the sight. That hurt a bit just to look at! "Do you want any healing?" 'Please don't let it hit my crotch too.' He spoke, starting to examine the fellow caster before a slowed cupcake started to come in his direction. Coated in sugary frosting and bits of shrimp, he definitely ducked out of the way of that horror. This had accidentally got his face oddly close to the more human looking of the two. Feeling like this vending machine assault suddenly got very awkward very fast, their mouth started to open. Why was the half demon flashing his sharp deadly teeth? To use them to grab the coconut custard doughnut out of Leylins mouth. With that done the half ice dragon got up, moving to the other side of the man. He took a bite of the doughnut, hey actually this tasted pretty good. Custard doughnut with coconut? Perfect when the doughnut had cinnamon and nutmeg in the dough. "Oh, this is actually really good." he spoke, licking some of the custard from the bite that it dripped from. There was no reason to let any of it go to waste, right? The ice blue skinned male licked his full lips before sinking his teeth into it and letting back go of the doughnut. It was fine to have his mouth busy, but not his hands.

This was in the middle of a battle, he couldn't let a great treat distract him too much. The cold from the snow had finally brought a bit of extra color to the caster, white slit pupils starting to form. He started charging for his next attack, but hadn't used it yet. White was swirling around the palms of his hands, black shoes moving along the ground more. He couldn't keep in one spot for too long, that would just make him an easier target. With a move of his head, another bite was taken of the pastry, the half remaining being caught from falling by Harakas mouth. There was some poking out of his mouth, but it definitely showed he could eat something using no hands. Then again it also showed there was a lack of fear in consuming something that had just been sitting in another persons mouth moments before. The vending machine shot a strawberry cream cake, but at the ground. It was too late to stop his foot from hitting the pastry, but now that he had Omaras briefly struggled to not trip and fall on his face. A lava brownie flung out of the machine, hitting his chest and getting moist fudge on the shrimps white vest. This monstrosity! [color=#77e8ff]'Does that thing know how hard it is to wash chocolate out of white fabric?!'[color] The young looking man thought with a rage. There was no way op actually vocalize that with his mouth full though, so thoughts would have to do for this time. Then again, why would a vending machine know anything about washing fabrics anyway?

Words: 800
Total: 2,348/5,000

Snow breath = 80 damage
Vending Machine HP: 185/400
Current HP: -60hp = 340/400
Current MP: -40mp = 360/400

There was a lot of thoughts that had been plaguing Leylin's mind in the moments he was writhing on the floor in pain, though he made sure not to release an unsightly groans or such. He did grunt a few times while laying on his back and trying to heal himself the best he can, the fire that was on his hands burning a bit more as he healed himself even further. Of course, the type of luck that he had never really stopped getting worse and worse, this only further cemented by the fact that he wasn't safe from the disgusting onslaught of the machine. No, Leylin's oceanic hues had been able to barely watch as Haraka started to speak and defend himself, just as the can of Blueberry Goat's Milk was torn open and the foul smell had leaked out... Leylin had started to sit up, before some of the stray liquid would spray across his shirt and just a drop landed in his eye which caused a series of incoherent noises from the man while he was on the ground.

His right eye was watering heavily before his view was suddenly obstructed, this being his demon-kin Guild Member who was suddenly over top of him. This hadn't been exactly what he expected but as Leylin perked a brow, Haraka used his mouth to take the pastry treat out of Leylin's mouth and into his own. Now, Leylin was far from modest so while normal people may turn some shade of crimson, only a playful smirk crossed over Leylin's lips. "Oi, oi, Haraka." Leylin had started as soft banter as he slowly sat up and tried to stand, another bottle of water being launched out the machine and towards Leylin. Barely was he able to roll to the side and to his feet, the motion quick and elegant as he'd roll his shoulders,"You need to be a little more careful with who you show just what you are actually capable of." It was clear that Leylin was teasing his comrade about the 'no hands, mouth grab' from a few moments ago and it was even more clear when he'd teasingly wink,"Makes you wonder what else you can do with no han-"

Of course, just as Leylin was finishing his soft banter, taking his eyes off the machine for a second, that was a huge mistake. With his eyes on Haraka, there was something that struck his cheek roughly and caused his head to bend at an awkward angle for a moment with a few pops. Thankfully they were just the usual noises when one cracks their neck, but it was going to definitely be sore for a bit after all of this. The thing that struck his cheek was a strawberry donut, disappearing into the distance and leaving a pink streak on Leylin's right cheek. It may actually help him look intimidating, like war paint... If only it wasn't a bright pink color. Quickly Leylin had brought his gaze back to the machine and grunted heavily, clearly angry at the cheap shot it had taken and barely managed to dip his head to the side, narrowly avoiding the chocolate donut that was meant as a follow up attack.

"Oh, you think that's funny, vending machine? I've got something for you!" And just as Leylin let his hand fall behind his back, easily drawing his blasting rod out and firing immediately swirling around it and his arm,"I didn't want to have to do this!" But just as Leylin pointed his weapon at the machine, there was an intense whirling and a sudden whirlwind of foods were launched at him. From baked treats, to soda cans, and even more bottles of water. Leylin threw himself to the side and dodged as best he could, barely outrunning the stream as a trail of fire carried him quickly around the immediate area. Though what he didn't expect was for this to actually be a distraction, the machine flickering with a bit of light as several of the cracks and chinks healed over. Just as the assault ended, Leylin's foot came down and landed on the chocolate donut from earlier, causing his balance to shift and a bottle of water to crash against his ribs. There was a faint noise from his bones but he ignored it, spinning with the blow and slamming his foot down on the ground hard before charging the machine.

The man was in front of the machine quickly, trying to clearly protect his family jewels, and his left hand striking against the side of the machine. It dented, causing the machine to whirl and as it did, Leyin raised his knee and drove it against the glass that protected the goods inside and there was a small crack. It was then that treats started to get launched out again, causing him to try to step back and narrowly avoid a few things. But that didn't last long, a donut coming to struck his shin and taking his leg out from underneath him and bringing him to a single knee. Before he even situated himself, another donut came and struck his shoulder, nearly knocking him backwards but through willpower alone he stopped that from happening. He let out an epic scream as he threw his right hand forward, containing his blasting rod and fire swirling around the tip quickly.

As his flaming attack exploded outwards and flew towards the Vending Machine, it shot out two more projectiles that were seemingly caught and obliterated in his attack. The flames wrapped around the machine and stayed like that for a moment, raising into the air but there was no rest for the wicked. The projectiles flew out the flames, a chocolate bar scrapping his cheek and leaving a mark so he had one on each cheek; one strawberry and the other chocolate. The second bar struck his chest in the center and caused him to go sprawling backwards, sliding faintly on his back until he was near Haraka again. He was a food covered mess and was in actual pain from the machine's strikes but instead of letting that show, he laughed faintly and glanced over at Haraka while on his back,"If the offer still stands, I'll take those heals..."

Words: 1,049
Total Word Count: 2,503/5,000

Current HP: 240 + 40 Healing - 20 Donut - 80 Water - 20 Donut - 20 Donut - 40 Bar - 40 Bar = 60/300 HP
Current Mana: 270 - 20BD = 250/300
Spells Used: Healing Flames. Bursting Dash. Fireplume's Breath.
Flaming Attacks Duration: 2/5
Vending Machine HP: 185 + 120 - 45 Punch - 45 Knee - 60 Fire = 155/400

The charging from before had finished, ice forming until one khopesh blade was in each hand. The weapons were made, now he just had to get closer to the machine. It was after that the man heard Leylins flirtatious joke. Haraka nearly inhaled what remained of the doughnut in his mouth, almost choking in the process. His face quickly flushed at the suggestive words being spoken, but the half blood didn't want his fellow guild mate to think he was so filthy minded as to understand those sort of insinuations! But the young looking man was certainly not young nor innocent, nor was he one that was without certain desires. "I have no idea what you're talking about! Large deep sea mantis shrimp demons just happen to be able to take a lot do-" It was hard to play stupid when you knew exactly what you're saying sounds like. "But food, just food!"  Don't give him the wrong sort of ideas! But the words were already out there. So the ice blue skinned persons first ever terrible flirt attempt was born, in the middle of a battle with a vending machine with a horrible personality. Why couldn't it have just let them buy what they wanted? Or even attack them just because one of the two spoke to it like the thing knew how to be reasonable?! What a mistake that was, this machine was anything but reasonable! This thing deserved all the pain he could deliver! But looking over at the other being assaulted, they really needed help.

The half dragon Winced before doing what he could. Blue lightening started to build up in one of his very occupied hands, the chocolate lava brownie slowly sliding down his vest as the man ran at the machine. One blade was tossed to the already full over hand, allowing him to actually create a blue acorn shaped lightening spell being tossed in the humans direction. "This may sound weird but get hit by the flying blue acorn to get healed!" He moved out of the way of a bacon cupcake, tossing the khopesh blade back in the now empty hand. He was ready to attack now, but he didn't want Leylin to pass out. This was why he attacked the machine once with both blades before rushing over towards the other. He was certainly having an easier time dodging items, so maybe what he could do is... try to hit attacks away from his guild mate? He would have to wait a little before using another spell, but that didn't make the spell less active. An ice weapon smacked a banana lime can of soda, the item bursting open as it flung away. He told himself this might work, until a few strawberry and cream cakes were shot at once. How could he help someone else when he was having a hard time helping himself?! He managed to hit one cupcake, but one hit a shoulder and the last one... he caught with his mouth so didn't really do any damage. It didn't help him eat it without any free hands, but it did taste very good at least.

The strawberries tasted fresh, moist, but also a little tart. The whipped cream tasted heavy in the sense that it used real cream, but fluffy enough that it was certainly into a perfect stiffness. They used enough cream of tartar and sugar to help it fluff and stiffen, but not so much sugar that it was overwhelming. The cake had vanilla, eggs, rice flour, wheat flour, sugar, butter, and vegetable oil. It had been cooked to a moist cake that was still very capable of holding the cuts of strawberry and spread whipped cream between the layers fairly well. It was distracting enough that he missed the flying oreo chocolate bar, the sugary wrapped object hitting against the half dragons head before it fell to the side. Still, the taste of this cake made him almost not mind the pain. At the least, it reminded the half demon that he still needed to be alert, the vending machine wont have mercy just because he's distracted.

Words: 693
Total: 3,041/5,000
Snow breath = cooldown: 1/4 rounds - Debuff: 2/3 rounds
Ice khopesh = duration 1/3 rounds
Rising Pulse = +40 HP

Vending Machine HP: -90 = 65/400
Current HP: = -20 -40 = 280/400
Current MP: = -30 -40 = 290/400

Just what kind of hellish battlefield was their whole mess turning into? Leylin's eyes would have watched Haraka closely from the position he was in, on his back on the ground covered in an assortment of treats and delicious snacks... Mostly. It was hard to ignore the way that Haraka seemed to react to Leylin's teasing joke, watching the way he almost inhaled the donut and quickly rose to defend himself. It was kind of adorable to watch the demon-kin try to play innocent, while his face was clearly flushed even for someone whose skin was another color. His words might as well have been falling on deaf ears, it was clear in Leylin's eyes that he wasn't believing the act he was putting on... It seemed that Haraka didn't believe the story he was telling, either because in only a few moments after talking he had cut himself off and sprung onto the defensive again. Despite the hopeless situation that the two of them seemed to be in, this moment of joking between the two of them actually caused Leylin to let out a laugh,"Only food huh? I don't think either of us believe that~"

That was when Haraka had started to charge into battle, giving Leylin a moment to slowly pull himself up from the ground. He felt the soreness that was gently lingering on his form as he stood, a feeling that he knew would increase nearly threefold come the morning. That was when Haraka had called out about a blue acorn, casting another spell that came flying at Leylin. In an overly dramatic fashion, with the spell flying at him, his right hand would come upwards and catch the spell. As it collided with his hand, he'd activate his own healing spell and it caused sparks of red and blue to cascade over his form in an awesome fashion. It was also during this time that Haraka had fully taken on the offensive, giving Leylin a bit more time to call forth on another spell of his and heal his body even further. With the combination of three different healing spells, he could feel the soreness slowly leaving his body and to prove that he started to hop from one foot to another.

The Farlier male was no hog of fame and fortune, though, not planning to smash his way into the battle while Haraka was in the middle of something. He didn't know if his horned companion actually had some sort of plan, or if he was just rushing in similar to Leylin. On the off chance it was the former over the latter, the man didn't plan to get into his way. That was when a pastry was shot at Haraka again and he... Caught it in his mouth. Man, he was making it way, way too easy for Leylin to start poking fun at him but it was still cute that he tried to remain so innocent. He could only wince as Haraka took a blow directly from the machine after being distracted by the delicious food, causing him to grunt faintly because he knew it was going to be his turn.

The Vending machine whirled and it prepared to attack Haraka again, causing Leylin to grunt as he took this moment to run forward as fast as he can. The chocolate bar came from the machine at a rapid pace and, not sure if Haraka could see it after being struck in the head, the man would have thrown himself in front and moved his right hand in front of them, aimed at the ground. It seemed as though he was making an invisible line until, right when the bar was a few feet away, there was an explosion of flames. They ripped up from where Leylin had pointed and instantly melted the plastic wrapper, causing the disgusting smell to enter the air, as well evaporating the water that had been inside. He looked over his shoulder and offered Haraka a teasing wink,"Don't get so excited over something delicious being in your mouth, we are in battle~" And that was all the teasing he could do before he heard the machine whirling once more.

Leylin had already been forced to pull out his strongest defensive spell and that irked him but there was nothing else he could, raising his staff once more but this time to the side. A flaming ball of fire started to form and expand, Leylin's left hand coming up to grab the flames, as though they were suddenly a physical weapon. In a single moment Leylin would pull both his arms away from one another, fire staying in his left hand and increase in length until he was suddenly holding a flaming staff in his left hand, his right hand twirling his weapon and pointing at another space in front of them before he sheathed it on his lower back once more,"Alright, clearly you are doing more damage to this thing than I can. Hopefully you have something up your sleeve, I'm going to defend. You stay behind me and let loose once we get close!"

Leylin had nothing against being on the defensive and he began to take off running, the machine shooting out two baked treats that would meet an explosive wave of fire like before, thanks to Leylin's spell he had prepared before charging. He was ready for whatever the machine was going to throw at him, regardless of what it was. The machine started to let out a series of noises as it would release a bottle of water, the man twirling his staff to strike the center of it was it came towards him. The water from it exploding outwards and coating Leylin, wetting his hair and smearing the chocolate/strawberry marks on each of his cheeks. Several baked treats soon followed but he continued to spin his staff the best that he could, smacking them to the ground and out of the way, hoping that Haraka was still following close behind him. As they got closer to the machine it was harder and harder to block the attacks, which didn't body well for Leylin at all.

During a flurry of incoming pastries, he missed two of them, taking them directly to the chest. He grunted in pain but he didn't stop, but it was clear the Vending Machine wasn't quite over with him either. It changed from Pastries and to candy bars swiftly, more burning plastic smell filling the air as he defended himself repeatedly from them but, as they closed in on the last 10 feet of the machine it was getting too hard to block. He smacked away bars and bottles, each grazing him and getting closer to striking... It was as though the machine had been testing him because in the single moment of opening, a can of crimson can flying at Leylin and passed right through his defenses as though he wanted that to happen. His face showed the shock, eyes barely able to see the can as it passed by his weapon and directly to his chest. On the front of the can his eyes barely saw the pineapple accompanied by a jalapeno, before it crashed into his chest and exploded.

The smell was horrible but the taste was worse, his shocked expression having caused his mouth to open. In pain and disgust, being knocked to the side he'd shout out in a super dramatic way,"Go Haraka!"

Words: 1,250
Total Word Count: 3,753/5,000

Current HP: 60 + 110 Healing - 40 for Dual Pastries - 120 from Soda Can = 10/300 HP
Current Mana: 250 - 30FH + 3 Healing - 30PP = 193/300
Spells Used: Healing Flames. Fireplume's Healing. Protection of the Dark Fireplume. Partial Protection of the Dark Fireplume.
Bursting Dash Cooldown: 1/2
Fireplume's Healing Duration: 1/3
Flaming Attacks Duration: 3/5
Vending Machine HP: 65/400

The half demons face flushed all over again. If not for his mouth being full of a baked good, the young looking old man would have definitely tried to argue against the risque suggestion about what goes in his mouth. That might be for the better though, as that might have just dug him a deeper hole anyway. Omaras was glad that the other got in some good heals, but almost choked when a chocolate bar came rushing over. He quickly sucked up the remainder of the pastry, swallowing it up. It was good that there really was a lot of room in his mouth and throat. How had the medical student allowed himself to get so distracted by tasty food was any wo- well no, not really. His demon side was a creature willing to murder, bash, and destroy for food until it had its fill.

It was a surprise to see the human rush to his aid, melting away the chocolate. That may have made a horrible melted plastic smell from the wrapping, but at least it didn't actually hit anyone. It seemed the two had each others back in any case, for better or worse. All of this trouble caused by a vending machine! At this point the amount of snacks, chips, cans, chocolates, bottles, and pastries strewn all over made things resemble a very strange battle ground. Then again, wasn't that exactly what was going on? Ah! Another comment! The ice blue skinned person moved out of the way of a bag of salted chocolate potato chips. "Part of me just needs to eat it if it's waved in front of me and I'm hungry!"

Haraka jumped over an incoming can of onion ginger tea. "Haven't you ever saw something amazing in front of your face offered up right there and felt like you needed to get it as deep in your-" Say that better, say that in a better less suggestive way! It was a pause, but at least it wasn't that long. "Stomach!" It was better than saying throat, but his voice hadn't carried enough confidence for him to feel it was convincingly what he was actually meaning to say next. All these slip ups and teases really had the mans face red. A quickening of the heart, or maybe that was just battle. Food, fighting, and flirting were not a combination he was used to getting into. A staff? It was interesting to see what the other man could pull from his magic arsenal.

Leylin was going to defend? Part of him felt nervous about that. The attacks were clearly effecting the other more, the barrage they had been getting had taken its toll. Still, who was he to argue with someones choice? If they were to go on the defense to help Omaras attack, than the half demon would do just that. Though almost slipping on a can on the ground, Haraka easily regained footing. Ice blue fingers gripped upon the handles of the two Ice khopesh, rushing in for an attack. Something strange happened after a few strikes, the machine stopped attacking. Was this a trick? the mixed blood felt apprehensive, but had at least stopped attacking. Was this the end? Was it over? There was a slight buzzing sound from the machine, but nothing was fired out.

Why had it made that sound? Though certainly messy at this point, the young looking man took a risk of getting even messier. A deep breath was let out before the half ice dragon leaned down, looking to where items should fall. Strangely, something was there. "The snack and drink I paid for, your drink two. It's here. Leylin, I think our battle is really over." He dropped his ice weapons before pulling the items out of the machine. The weapons remained in tact, though certainly not useful on the ground. He knew that they would eventually start to melt anyway. It felt a bit like a sweet release... until Omaras actually looked over at his partner in the battle. There was food everywhere. If they left everything like this and someone found out from the guild, they would definitely get in trouble.

The reality of things had settled in, slowly burning inside of his brain. Laylin was hurt worse than ever and they had a huge mess to clean up. Still, a slight breather might be nice? The man held out the others drink. Even if they had no time to rest, this was still important. "We need to heal you up and clean up this giant mess. I know you're probably wiped out, I am too. What are we going to tell others though? We had a fight with a vending machine with a bad attitude that attacked us while we were trying to reason with it?" Haraka knew just how stupid and silly that sounded. It would make them both look bad if they decided to just ignore the mess and run. Where would they even begin? What would they do with the food that wasn't ruined but wasn't bad?

Some of the food had their wrappers torn open, or wasn't fired out with any in the first place. This lead to some pastries leaving frosting, cream, custard, and other fillings on the ground. Some of the drinks were open and not all of them smelled approachable. Somehow it was starting to feel a lot easier to plan an attack than to clean up this chaotic mess. Had the machine had the last laugh in the end? "How are you feeling Laylin? You can sit down for a bit if you want to, I can get a head start on clean up." The reason behind the offer? The young looking male didn't want Laylin to pass out over cleaning up after a vending machine, especially right after they had won.

It would be better if they could both celebrate after the clean up. That sounded very nice, he was really hungry for some actual food. "After this is all done I just want to have some nice spicy ramen at the nearby restaurant with cabbage, egg, grilled tofu, carrots, and beef. Maybe some cheese or curry on top. That would be so nice to just sit there, relax, eat, and drink." He wanted bowls of food, to curl somewhere and rest, to celebrate, and  to clean this horrible disaster in front of him. It was a bit exhausting to even look at. Where would they even start first? Easiest to hardest? But then getting o the harder stuff would just build up the dread... But he also wasn't ready for all those horrible smells yet.

Words: 1,115
Total: 4,156/5,000