Sea-king Sea Monsters

Sea-King Sea Monsters

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Cresent Island was well known for many things. A resort, beautiful beaches, untouched wilderness and other wonders people came for end of the summer fun. Zachary realized he had much he wanted to do here, but he came here with a goal. A mission. A job for Fairy Tail and he had to follow through on it before he go and have fun.

However, not all of his company were as disciplined.

Weeeee! a telepathic chirp came to all those around like a clear voice. Flying through the air near the beach's misty air and warm breeze came the flying Star Fairy-- Astral. Zachary found him after a meteor crashed in Magnolia's East Forest. After a long events of finding out his origin and saving him from a psychotic snake-witch who wanted to eat his heart, they became steadfast friends and Zachary's personal companion. As loved as any of his Spirits.

"Heeey! Get back here, buddy!" a gruff but light voice called out. Chasing it in a game of silly tag was a small bear creature, wearing straps along his paws and a cap with the word "Bears" on it. THat was Garnet Grizzly-- or Grizzly he called him for short. Another spirit of the Ursa Major constellation. While he was a fierce and powerful earth spirit in battle-- in his familiar form he was much like the cub he appeared to be who loved to have fun.

They were outside of a small port town-- which normally led to a fancy resort and other attractions vacationers would go... but something else was there, and Zachary was just waiting for his friend Arcadia-- the little girl Dragon Slayer who had introduced him into Fairy Tail. She probably would have a field day with his new spirit and Astral of all things.

The job was something odd. On the far side of the island, people and nearby small ships were 'attacked' by a large Krakken. A sea monster of some sorts that liked to stay in a cove on the far side of cresent island. The resort had urged people to stay away from it-- and it oddly stayed in one place. Hopefully it wouldn't be hard to spot.

While he hated to have to fight excessively, if a hungry sea-beast was trying to cause harm, he couldn't turn down people in danger from such a creature. With any luck, Arcadia could be of help as it was close to her element.

WC:417

Not long after Zachary and his friends arrived at the resort, it begs to snow without a cloud in the sky. A sure sign Arcadia was nearby in dragon form. Along the shoreline, closest to the hotel, a sizable iceberg was floating just of the beach. Children and other resort guests appeared to be swimming around and playing on the iceberg. They were climbing on and jumping or sliding off back into the water.

The whole area near the iceberg was set up and decorated for a special weekend-long event that was themed 'Santa on Vacation'.  Resort workers were dressed up as elves in swimsuits and one actor bird to be Santa cursed board shorts and a Hawaiian shirt. They wandered the area offering themed beverages, trinkets and souvenirs for sale, tokens redeemable at the various resort restaurants and other promotional goodies. Though it looked like they were wrapping things up. Many of the workers were heading in, others were helping break down the temporary booths that had been set up. A few were starting to direct guests out of the water away from the iceberg.

Once the water and iceberg were clear of guests, a small brave crew waded out to wake up the iceberg. Playing some music underwater, they brought the 15 meter (49 foot) ice dragon serving as the iceberg out of her nap. The most senior member of the staff assigned to waking Arcadia up, called out, "Sorry to wake you Miss Fairchilde, but it has started to snow around again. If you could call it off like usual that would be most appreciated. There's also some good news. Your last shift is over. I hope we can work together again sometime. You were a hit with our guests, especially our guests with children. They especially liked that waterslide you made a couple times. Plus if it weren't for you, I'm not sure we could've risked so many guests in the water, even on this side of the island. Management has been more cautious lately. As arranged, you can pick up the vouchers for free stays back at the manager's office. They should be good for a free four days and three nights stay each."

Arcadia yawned as she rose from the water. Her icy bulk creating waves the jostled the staff around. As soon as the staff chief mentioned the snow, Arcadia re-suppressed the snowfall. A move that would prove redundant, since she would resume human form only a few beats later. With so many hours in the water for the Santa's Vacation event, her human form was of course already dressed for the beach. Her usual, for her, blue bikini with all important magical accessories. Dimensional scissors holstered at her hip, an extra colorful ring and a silvery and sparkling charm anklet. She even had the crystal rose tucked behind one ear. Her almost ever present iLac though, was for once nowhere nearby. It was safely stowed back in her hotel room.  

The ice dragon slayer's presence was mostly to reassure guests since the kraken problem was mostly contained tip the far side of the island, but Arcadia personally felt better knowing she was ready just in case. Each accessory did its job to make feel more prepared. The rainbow colored ring though was especially critical in jobs that required long periods underwater. It let her breathe in oxygen free environments, among other things, which made indefinitely playing the role of half submerged iceberg a snap.

Arcadia stretched as she awoke further, and smiled to the resort staff waking her. "Hey thanks. I'll pick those vouchers up later. They are gonna be handy for wooing a couple bands we wanna sign. Besides its always nice to help out. I just hope we can do something about the real problem, once my friend gets here."

It was then Arcadia happened to glance up on the shore to see Zachary Ann's his spirit friends. There was at least one she didn't recognize. She bowed and bid farewell to resort staff she had worked the Santa's Vacation weekend with, and headed up onto the beach.  She waved and smiled to Zachary, Astral and Grizzly. "Hey Zach! Hey guys! Awww, you have such a knack for finding the cutest spirits. And here I am without a brush and my supply of ribbons to make them their cutest-est."

WC: 732
Arcadia WC: 732/3500

Zachary watched as the two played, till he heard the sound of a familiar voice. He turned, seeing Arcadia no doubt. He was surprised that the little girl was indeed a Dragon Slayer, but it took nothing away from her happy and cheerful attitude. What surprised him was that Arcadia was dressed in a bikini-- which only made her look preciously cute that made Zachary blush a bit. While he wore a simple blue short-sleeved shirt, shorts that went to his knees and sneakers. It was clear Zachary didn't come prepared for any summer fun as he was focused on work. Curious, the bear spirit and the Star Fairy made their way to Zachary.

Arcadia soon joined them that made Zachary wonder what she was up to. "I was starting to wonder where you were. I thought we could do this mission together but you seem... busy?" Zachary asked, seeing she was not really dressed for work?

At the mention of his 'spirits', he looked back at them. "Um.. only one is a Spirit. This is Grizzly-- my bear spirit, yes-- but this one isn't a spirit." Zachary explained. On cue, Astral came flying right up on top of Zachary's head-- to see Arcadia better from the higher point. Compared to Grizzly, the star-shaped creature was far cuter than any spirit Zachary would have thus far. "This is Astral. He is a Star Fairy, from a distant galaxy far away. It's kind of a long story. "

Astral's story was complicated but while on Earthland, he was hunted by evil witches and wizards who wanted to use his heart to obtain Immortality. The catch was, they had to kill Astral to do it-- a fate Zachary never wanted to see befall his friend. As such, he vowed to protect him-- and the star critter wished for nothing more than to stay by Zachary as a loyal companion. Childlike and innocent, one would have to be a monster to want to eat his heart.

Zachary glanced up to the top of his head to Astral. "Astral, this is Arcadia... she is a friend. She is with Fairy Tail, like me," he said.

His eyes were wide with wonder as he tilted his head. Aw...cadiwa? Friend? he spoke in telepathy-- clear to her mind as she would catch on how special he was. His puzzled face bloomed into a happy smile as he levitated off Zachary's head and flew to try and hug Arcadia. Fwiend! Fwiend! HUGGIES! he said happily and tried to hug Arcadia.

Zachary rolled his eyes, knowing just how Astral was likely throwing gas on a flame with Arcadia. She would hug and cuddle cute creatures to death if she wasn't careful.

As Astral reveled in meeting a new friend who probably would metaphorically eat him for being so cute, Zachary just laughed. "Are you still up for this mission? I didn't know you were taking another job here too if it is too much for you,"Zachary asked.

WC: 500

Arcadia's initial bright smile fast faded into a flat frown of annoyance. The barefoot slayer folded her arms. "It's not like I can wear any of my dresses to work in the water."

Annoyed Arcadia:

"That's exactly what I was doing until a few minutes ago. Thankfully that gig is all wrapped up. Posing as an iceberg for hours on end is hella boring. Anyway, I'm free to join you all. Besides from what I understand of this mission, it should involve a lot of time around, on our even possibly under the water. Unless this sea monster you mentioned when you sent me note about the mission is actually a land sea monster that only goes out to sea when it feels like it, I'd say I'm ready for this job too."

With two bundles of cute at hand, she could not stay annoyed. Meeting Astral and Grizzly brought a smile back to her face.

Happy again Arcadia:

Arcadia smiled and nodded to the bear spirit, "Happy to meetcha, Grizzly. The little pale blonde slayer smiled and nodded to the Star Fairy also, "Good to meetcha too!
She giggled softly hearing Astral in her head. "That's a sweet little trick. I think ghosts like Kyuken or my mom and maybe a certain dream demon who shall remain nameless in my head like that. And yepyepyep. I'm a friend."

She laughed and was beaming the instant Astral tried to hug her. The Star Fairy was super adorable, and Arcadia did have an overwhelming urge to smoosh its cheeks. The barefoot slayer made do with a gentle one armed hug instead.  Astral's small size and the angle she intercepted his hug at, made a giant, crushing two-armed hug difficult. The Star Fairy escaped that hazard, because Arcadia was too lazy to shift him more toward her center.

Super Happy Arcadia:

Arcadia let Astral go, smiling back to Zachary. "So tell me more about this mission. Are we gonna need a boat? And if we do, we should prolly get the largest one available. I can't imagine much worse than hunting a sea monster and finding out mid trip that you need a bigger boat."

She had worked around Crescent Island before shop she was familiar with the area. Still, before this past weekend, it had been awhile since was last here. The barefoot slayer was curious to find out how much had changed. The job of playing an iceberg at a resort festival does not leave much time for exploration. Arcadia loved the beauty of the whole area ever time she came. One of these days she would have to make the trip to Crescent Island purely for fun. Business trips usually limited the sights she got to take in. It felt like she had been taking far too many of those lately, not just to Crescent Island. As long as she was Executive Manager though, they could not really be helped.

That's why she was looking forward to this mission more than usual. It was more the kind of mission she used to take when she first joined Fairy Tail. Also, it held the promise of exploration. Might almost be like a vacation. Almost.

WC: 527
Arcadia's WC: 1259/3500

Zachary hesitated at the snippy look Arcadia gave him. He had the bad habit of commenting at Arcadia that would at time rub her wrong. Normally, she probably would understand but still... the fact that she could turn into a giant vicious ice dragon made him try to not underestimate or say the wrong thing.

Of course, Astral had no clue about this as the star critter hugged Arcadia back with as much force as his little body could cause. The Star Fairy was charmed by Arcadia's appearance, and even more charmed how accepting she was to give a hug and comment how cute he was. Astral was akin to a baby or toddler in maturity, making him innocent and curious as he fluttered when Arcadia let him go. Without any hesitation, he got to know his new friend by floating up and flopped down on Arcadia's head. The little star rested easily among her golden hair, his ribbons on his back draping over her lightly.

Zachary gave a nervous chuckle, never seeing him so accepting to a stranger up till now. It seemed he had a good sense of people at times.

Returning from his thoughts, Zachary heard Arcadia's question regarding the sea monster and the mission. "Well, according to the resort-- about a week ago, a mysterious sea monster moved into the coast on the eastern end of the island. " he said as he walked, Grizzly walking beside him as they made their way down the road. "It first attacked some boaters around the island, then reached up to scare hikers along the sea-side trail near the cliffs. Whatever it is, it has, well... nested? It found a place it likes in a cove on the island and now stays in that place. " Zachary explained to Arcadia.

The bear rose his paw to scratch his 'muzzle' in thought. "What does it look like?" the bear asked. "Honestly, I don't know how much good I'll do if it is under water. I'm an earth spirit bear, not a polar bear."

Zachary smiled as he patted Grizzly on the head. He hated it at times but he loved to nuzzle Grizzly in "Familiar Form". "Hard to say. The resort said the witnesses described it as a shadowy mass under the water, or tentacles reaching out to try and grab them. Of course many were probably terrified to really focus on a real description if it did loom out. " he explained.

All the while, Astral just listened without really knowing what was going on. He tilted his head upon Arcadia's head, cozy among her curls. No doubt she would feel Astral up on her head fidgeting about lightly. If Zachary had not found him, Arcadia would of probably be another member in Fairy Tail who would of cared for him-- or at least just eat him for being too cute.

While the comment was there-- the real fear that someone would try to eat Astral's heart terrified and he would prevent it at all costs...

WC: 508

Arcadia crossed her sparkling faerie green eyes trying to look at Astral atop her pale blonde head. She laughed and tried not to jostle the Star Fairy sound to much. He really was a KYOOT little thing, and she probably could have spent a whole day smooshing Astral's cutie face. Cute things just had to be squished. It was practically a physical law of the multiverse. Sadly, there was no time for that.

With a job to do, Arcadia turned her faerie green gaze back to Zachary, and listened intently. She would need to know all everything possible about this creature. The barefoot slayer quietly wondered if just two wizards would be enough to deal with something big enough to take down ships. That really depended on the size and nature of the shops that had fallen prey to this sea monster. Only one way to find out if they would need back up or not. They would have to find the creature first, but Arcadia would be ready to call in back up if the creature proved stronger than she feared.

She nodded sagely at each important mission detail stated. Arcadia even opened her mouth as if going to speak. The barefoot slayer closed her mouth and continued to listen instead. The super cute bear spirit gave voice to her question, so she had no need to speak up yet. The way Arcadia clasped her hands, and briefly had stars in her eyes watching Grizzly that made it look like she wanted to hug up the bear spirit too. Maybe hunt down some ribbons and her brush, but even Arcadia had some self-control. She let Grizzly be in peace, shifting her focus once more back to Zachary.

Arcadia tapped and rubbed her chin in thought. A couple different ideas were coming to her that she might suggest. The first and most straight forward way to come to mind was to simply walk over to the island's eastern end, and watch the water for any sign of this beast. They could possibly fly over the cove waters for slightly safer vantage point to watch from. There was no guarantee they would catch sight of anything out of ordinary without a way to lure the creature out.

That brought her to her second idea, to avoid watching nothing but the waves all day long they might need bait. They could rent a boat to take out on the cove and make themselves the Kraken bait. Arcadia would not feel right asking anyone else to take on a task as dangerous baiting a giant sea monster. From the sound of it they would be Kraken bait just standing on the water's edge anywhere along that cove too. That would save some jewel to skip the boat and possible loss of the boat in any resulting fight.

Arcadia laughed when she saw part of the Star Fairy atop her golden head. So kyoot! Smiling, she glanced back to Zachary, "I got a couple ideas how to start. We could just had over there and watch the water, maybe make couple fly overs of the cove. Or if we use ourselves as bait, we might be more likely to lure this monster out. We'd just need to hang out on the shore or maybe rent a boat to take out to the cove. See if acting like its previous victims will draw it out."

WC: 571
Arcadia WC: 1830/3500
Thread WC: 3255

Arcadia had waited and listened to Zachary up till now and he was grateful to get his ideas out. All the while he was aware how Arcadia could act, involving her spirits. Luckily Astral was the best company for her as he sat there without issue and semi-napped upon Arcadia's head.

Scouting the area was likely the best avenue to find this creature. Using bait might be risky and he had no such spirit that could lure one out. Best thing they could use was a bird's eye view. "It's probably best if we use the former of those options. I don't have anything that we could use as bait for a giant sea monster, and rather not risk us like that. But I know a Spirit with the eyes of a hawk... sort of speak," he said as he took out one of his keys.

By then they were near the outstretch of the western part of the island. The shoreline was peaceful for now but the high cliffs caused the roar of waves that smashed into the stone below. While the scene seemed serene, the risk of the sea creature anywhere could make things a lot less peaceful. As he stood on the hilltop, Zachary raised the silver key with a symbol of the eagle inscribed on the key. "Open, Gate of the Eagle! Aquila!!" he cried, causing the key to shine in the sunlight and release a bright glow of light above him.

From the flash and the chime of the gate-- the brown and brilliant eagle flapped his wings and let out a loud caw into the air. Arcadia would see the eagle fly overhead, with brown feathers and white plumage-- golden armor like accessories over its wingtips, and as a collar-- with brilliant blue gems in them. The eagle let out a caw as he flew overhead of them. "Hey! Z-boy! How you doing? Nice day to stretch your wings, am I right?" the eagle, Aquila said as he flew overhead.

Very likely if Arcadia had arms reach to catch the flying eagle, she probably would hug him too.

"Nice to see you too, Aquila. But right now we need your expert eyes if you don't mind," he explained as he looked to the eagle. "There is a sea monster who has gotten comfortable around these shores. Can you look around and see if you can spot signs of it?" he asked.

"Sure, Z-Buddy! Though maybe can i have some to eat when you're done with it?" the eagle asked.

Zachary rolled his eyes and shrugged. "Always a catch with you, Aquila? Come on..." he sighed.

"Okay, okay. Don't get your tail feathers into a mess. I'll give a look around," the eagle replied and began to soar high to start his search.

Zachary turned to Arcadia with Astral upon her head. "Sorry about that. Aquila is... friendly but also a smart-allic. Be glad we don't need Sirius. He would rewrite that Red-Riding Hood story to suit you." he commented. Zachary cringed at what the wolf would do to try and hit on poor Arcadia.

Either way, clearly Arcadia got a good idea of the spirits Zachary carried, not just the ones he met when they both met Leo at the ruins.

As they talked, Aquila continued to look over the shore. He flew up and down in small figure eights to find any details. Shadows in the water, odd shapes on the shore, movement in the shallows. So far he didn't see anything... but he did see something his eyes 'zoomed' in on. A large cove that seemed like a half-basin in the cliffs. The rocks and surrounding cliff seemed to have taken a stronger beating and worn out more than any part of the shore, as if something ground into it.

He let out a soft caw and turned to return to his master...

WC: 652

Arcadia was rather impressed at Astral's balance. She focused on trying to not to dump the cute little spirit off her head. That mostly meant she avoided extraneous cartwheels or rushing around too much. A t the same time she did not keep balancing the Star Fairy her sole focus. If he wanted to stay up there, he would have to do the active balancing on his own. The barefoot slayer mostly did her best to provide a somewhat stable platform as she moved about. Her faerie green eyes partially crossing to glance up in his direction from time to time to make sure he was not about to teeter off.

As she walked along, a song that had recently been playing through her head off and on came around again. She hummed it softly herself, occasionally she would slip into song, only to drop back into humming the tune. If asked she would simply shrug, not knowing where she remembers it from. o/` Gomen ne sunao janakute. Yume no naka nara ieru. Shikoukairo wa SHOOTO sunzen. Ima sugu aitaiyo. Nakitaku naru youna moonlight. Denwa mo dekinai midnight. Datte junjo doushiyou. HAATO wa mangekyou. Tsuki no hikari ni michibikare. Nando mo meguri au. Seiza no matataki kazoe. Uranau koi no yukue. o/`

Like many songs that get stuck in anyone's head, it was a certain section of the melody that replayed itself, just not able to get all the way through. Arcadia came close once or twice, but the melody would skip back to the beginning, and she would beginning humming from the top. o/` Nakitaku naru youna moonlight. Denwa mo dekinai midnight. o/`

Right about the time they were near the western part of the island, the melody quietly faded from mind, her focus shifting to the Zachary and the eagle spirit was summoning. She squinted a little at the shine of the key, watching as Aquilia emerged. Her faerie green gaze shimmered at the squeezeably cute majestic eagle that flew up safely out of reach. She did not really fret over it though. A cute Star Fairy balanced atop her head was all she really needed for her recommended daily dose of cuteness. The barefoot slayer smiled up at Aquila, laughing a little”Hey there. I'm sure you can have all the calamari you want. Havta find and real with it first. Though I wouldn't be surpised if it's not an edible sea monster.”

Arcadia put a hand up to her faerie green eyes to shield them from the bright sky as she tried to follow Aquila around on his search. She glanced over to Zachary, the Star Fairy still perched atop her head, ”Not to worry. He's kinda funny actually. And if anyone can find the sea monster from here, an eagle can.” Her expression looked more surprised for a moment as she let her imagination try to imagine a wolf wanting to play out Red Riding Hood. She flushed lightly and only briefly, before laughing, ”There's one version of that story I'd only play out with Rui. Every other version I've ever heard does not usually turn out very good for the wolf. Especially when Red is a dragon who has bigger eyes to see with, bigger ears to hear with and bigger teeth to eat with.”

Her gaze returned to the skies to see how Aquila was faring in his search. She nodded upon noticing the eagle returning, ”Looks like he might have found something.”

WC: 576
Arcadia WC: 2406/3500
Thread WC: 4483

Zachary smiled at her reply to the Red-Riding Hood situation. It was easy to forget this girl was easily probably one of the stronger wizards in his guild and let alone one who could turn into a massive dragon. "Then I won't worry. Just saying its embarrassing when I have to summon him and he goes all girl-crazy. Glad to know you could probably not be bothered if we did need him. " he replied, but still was embarassed. The sheer thought of how rude that wolf could be almost made him regret forming a contract with him... but under it all he was a nice dog.

FInally, the caw from Aquila drew his attention up. Astral too looked up with a soft coo as he saw the white and brown eagle soar overhead to their general height. He soon flew downward-- and this time went to reach for Zachary.

Awaiting him, Zachary extended his arm and Aquila obediently perched himself on it-- being gentle with his talons on Zachary's skin. Now Arcadia could get a better look at the bird if she wanted. "So, yeah... I didn't see any beastie around but I did see an odd area of the shore. Like something bore into it. If i had to guess, I bet your sea monster is somewhere there. Or at least find clues there. Though be careful not to get gobbled up," the eagle commented, his tone being of the more kidding angle.

The Bear, however, gave a grumpy growl at the bird. "Easy for you to say, buzzard. I think I may need to sit this one out, Zachary." Grizzly said, looking a bit bashful at the situation.

"It's okay, Grizzly. We can hang out later. Get some rest,"Zachary said kindly.

"Adios-- fuzzbutt!" the eagle called out just as Grizzly vanished, causing a grunt from the bear in the middle of his return to the Celestial World. Zachary rolled his eyes, knowing how Aquila loved to tease his fellow spirits at times. He gave an eager flap of his wings, but stayed on Zachary's arm. "Anyway, its just up the road here. Trust me, you can't miss it."

"OKay, lets just try to keep an eye out." Zachary commented, his expression becoming a bit more focused at the task at hand.

The eagle turned to Zachary, almost offended. "Heeellooooo! Eagle-eyes here! Trust me, will ya? " the eagle squawked.

Zachary rolled his eyes and glanced back to Arcadia, with Astral still snug on her head. Feeling reassured by them both, Zachary gave Aquila a light 'toss' into the air and the eagle took flight again. They soon headed for the shore, where Aquila had suspected their target could be nearby.

It took them a few minutes, but after rising over a hill and reaching the ocean edge, they soon found it. The bedrock had turned into a sea-side cliff that clearly had taken a beating. Upon closer look, it looked like water and impacts had weakened the ground. If one had to guess it could of been viewed as a giant mouth had taken a bite out of the cliff--- but that was more for Zachary's own overactive imagination to picture that.

A gulp escaped Zachary, at the mental image of such a creature taking a literal 'bite' out of the island.

Still, for the moment, they didn't see anything odd or any sign of a giant 'sea monster'.

WC: 573

Arcadia nodded thoughtfully, "Sounds like it might be smarter for me not to mention anything about brushing and free ribbon bows. I wouldn't want to encourage him to be a bad dog."

She turned her faerie green eyes up to watch the eagle fly down to Zachary's arm. It was a bit more awesome to see an eagle up close.

Smiling brightly, part of Arcadia wanted to hug the little raptor right up, but she settled for simply admiring him. "He's just like a little baby dinosaur!"

Her attention turned back to Grizzly, a little sad to see him heading out already. Arcadia smiled and waved after the vanishing spirit, "Seeya soon, Grizz! Good meeting ya!"

Turning her attention back to Astral sitting atop her head, Arcadia followed along to the shore. She concentrated a smidgen of magic power into one hand, held it up over Astral. It was just enough magic power to dust a couple snowflakes from her fingertips. The barefoot slayer shook the scissors com her fingers to let Astral catch them on his tongue, if he wanted, as she walked.

The melody also started back up in her head, so she hummed it aloud once more. A few of the lyrics would escape her lips, but she still could not remember them past a certain point. No matter how hard she tried.

o/' Gomen ne sunao janakute. Yume no naka nara ieru. Shikoukairo wa SHOOTO sunzen. Ima sugu aitaiyo. Nakitaku naru youna moonlight. Denwa mo dekinai midnight. o/'

A couple of times going up the hill she dusted a couple more snowballs from her fingers for Astral to catch. She kept on humming or softly singing the whole way up. Occasionally, she threw out snippets from a different part of the song haunting her.

o/' Moichido futari de weekend. Kamisama kanaete happy-end. o/'

Upon reaching the top of the hill with Zachary though, she went quiet again. In disbelief and puzzlement, she scrunched the right side of her face. She heard Aquila's brief description, but this 'bite' was not quite what she had pictured. "I get the feeling there used to be a bit more island right here than there is now."

She gently reached up to move Astral from her head, and let him down for a moment. "Wait here a second, little guy. I've got an idea." Arcadia glanced back to Zachary and Aquila, "Be right back." The barefoot slayer charged the sea cliff's edge. She charged right over it, diving as far away from the cliffside as she could.

Her transformation into fifty foot ice dragon complete well before she was more than half way down. With s few powerful beats of her icy wings, Arcadia managed to pull out of her steep dive, just skimming the waters below. She flew out a short ways before she banked left and began to climb in altitude again. Her wings beat heavily to climb back to the cliff, the great ice dragon circling around the 'bite' a couple times while she did. She kept right on circling and climbing well above her friends down on the hill, and did not stop until she appeared rather small in the sky.

Arcadia circled around a couple times more, then and her wings to take her icy draconic bulk into a controlled spiraling dive. She tightened her speak as she's closed in on the cliffside. Taking one deep breath, the great ice dragon used the speed and path of her diving spiral to cover the whole 'bite' from the island and the waters within it in one mighty roar. Her frosty arctic breath blasted base of the cliff and surface waters leading away from it. The cliff base was coated in ice and sea ice had frozen over the waters around it, forming a miniature ice shelf.

The ice dragon circled back around, again climbing higher back to the hill. Overhead of her friends, she returned to the young blonde human she usually appeared as. To keep her wingless human form from plummeting on top of Zachary, Astral and Aquila, she sprouted two magical dragon-like wings of hoarfrost. She held them wide, slowing her descent to the gentlest of touchdowns.

Upon safely landing back on the hill, she smiled and let Astral perch back on her head of the spirit was so inclined. "If it's down there, that should get its attention. Or at least, if we watch the ice for where it breaks, we should be able to see where it is coming from a little earlier."

WC: 762
Arcadia WC: 3168/3500
Thread WC: 5818

On the trip to the sea cliff, Arcadia was kind enough to play with Astral upon her head. Giddy at the first sight of snow, the little critter happily waved his tiny arms for the falling snow crystals. He tasted one and cheered with a giggle in its telepathic speak. She could feel him wiggling and squirming on her head, happy with the snow.

As they reached their destination, Aquila flew nearby as Arcadia examined the area herself. As Zachary was examining the depths of the cliff and the pool of water caved in at the bottom, he saw Arcadia walk up to the ledge. She removed Astral from his head and when 'let go' he just let out a small cartwheel rollover in the air, Astral now levitating in the air beside them both.

Once more, Arcadia transformed into a mighty dragon, which surprised Astral by the sudden change in her size, power and the ability to fly. The little star fairy's mouth went into a perfect "O" and let out a sound of awe as Zachary watched curiously at what she did.

Her dynamic dive soon was met with a chilling blast of ice that easily swept artice air past them, making Zachary brace himself, Astral clinging to his jacket to keep from blowing away, and Aquila flapping his wings rapidly to keep from being blown away as well. In those brief moments, Arcadia was back, returning as swiftly as if she had done some sort of amazing acrobatic feat in a few seconds worth of time.

Zachary felt his head spin. It was hard for him to see her as both a powerful dragon and wizard, and not an adorable little girl as she appeared. However, Astral's eyes glittered with amazement. Oooow... pwetty! Astwal wanna be that big and tawl! he chirped in telepathy.

That was a frightening image.

"Whoh, a big dragon for a little girl-- where do you think she puts it all?" the eagle commented in a sarcastic manner.

Zachary flinched at the comment could have been misinterpreted as Aquila calling her 'big' or 'stocky' or another word that is bound to turn the eagle into a frozen turkey, if you catch the euphemism.

Before Zachary could laugh too much at the eagle's folly, he felt a sense of unease at the now frozen 'hole' that made up the ice cliff now. Arcadia's ice breath had froze much of the water over and made the shelf icy. However, something felt odd-- and movement under the shadows of the ice and water.

CRACK!! BRWOOOSH!!

In a violent eruption, something burst through the ice, puncturing through it with a violent cry. It was like a shriek and squeal of something deep. Though what emerged was eclipsed by a cloud of ice crystals, what came next was not unseen. Tentacles-- looking to belong to a octopus or squid emerged out. Arcadia's method paid off, but whatever was down there was angry!!

Though far down in the cliff, the tentacles freely reached up to try and grab prey or its attacker! As the Two large ones, blindly seeking something to grab. It lured its arms towards Zachary-- and by being nearby, aimed towards Astral who hovered nearby.

"KAWW!" Aquila cawed as he slashed with his talons, trying to divert t he tentacle away from Zachary. Though with no eyes, its violent thrashing would indeed become a problem and could possibly knock or crush them if they were not careful.

Getting back, Zachary dug into his pocket and took out his keys. A part of him wanted to re-summon Grizzly-- but knew he couldn't do much good with an enemy submerged in water. He took a second to think, and realized he had a spirit he could depend on for combat. "Arcadia, hang on for a second. Cover Astral!" he said and took out an odd silver key. "Open, Gate of the Fox! TAMAMOHIME!!"

The chime and cry of the gong went off, revealing a fox creature. She was covered in yellow fur with violet markings on her body, and stood like a humanoid fox, with two gloved claws. She was beautiful and regal in appearance, all the way to her fluffy large tail. "How might I serve you, Master?" she asked in an overly formal and calm demeanor.

"Tama, please help us!" Zachary urged, pointing to the lashing tentacles.

"With Pleasure," she said and fearlessly charged into the fray. With a single claw swipe she was able to knock the first one aside, her being a far faster and stronger spirit in terms of combat.

WC: 768

Arcadia was both amazed and horrified at how well her plan had worked. Sparkling faerie green eyes were wide and tracking the angry tentacles, "Well, that worked better than I thought it would."

She focused mostly on staying out of the tentacles' way. The wheels of her mind were were also busy deciding on what to do next. Arcadia had anticipated it would be a little harder to lure the creature out of hiding. Instead, it looked like the kraken had decided to turn the fishing around on the wizards.

Arcadia did not have to think twice when asked to cover Astral. Maybe she could brainstorm a way to regain the upper hand in the meantime. She hugged Astral out of the air, protectively cradling him to herself. The slayer rolled out of the way of the second tentacle just a beat later, keeping Astral tucked safely away.

It felt like the kraken had a second sense, because Arcadia was forced to roll away from that wildly angry tentacle almost immediately after. She managed to get to back to her feet with Astral still safely cradled in her arms before the tentacles would nearly thrash her again.

The barefoot slayer was kept on the run, bit she was able to stay on her feet now, bobbing and weaving between the tentacles. Arcadia was sure it would hurt to be slammed by one of them, but she was sure she could endure it. It just was not something she wanted to risk while shielding cute little Astral.

Arcadia needed to her Astral to a safe distance. There was no way to counterattack even one tentacle until he was out of harm's way. Getting out of the tentacles' reach was easier said than done. Avoiding them brought her closer to the cliff and tentacles as often as it got her anywhere toward ultimate safety.

Tama charging in and slapping away one tentacle opened up her first real opening for escape. It was the only one she needed. Arcadia dashed in a beeline in the opening Tama provided, getting out of tentacle range.

Arcadia set Astral down, offering a hopefully reassuring smile, "There ya go, little fella. Now you can do your thing or just hang out here where it's safe."

Zachary and Tama would probably need help, especially if any the kraken brought any more tentacles to bear. Arcadia rushed back toward the cliffside, jumping and transforming back into an ancient ice wyrm. She climbed steeply to circle back above the cliff. The ice dragon summoned a protective sheath of ice around herself, and grabbed on of the thrashing tentacles. Even with her full draconic might, Arcadia's hold was greatly tested. Her icy talons dug in, and Arcadia did not let go. She beat her great ice wings, trying to start pulling the kraken up out of the water. One tentacle was not enough leverage, but it was a start.

She would try and catch other tentacles that might come her way. Ultimately, she only cared about keeping her wings free, so she might allow a couple tentacles to wrap around her tail, legs or where ever they might aim for. The barefoot slayer saved her icy breath and deadly jaws for fending off any tentacle that might come too close to her wings. As long as her wings were free, Arcadia could keep up her end of the titanic tug of war. Even if she could not raise the kraken completely free of the water, she could keep a good share of the tentacles busy, and give Zachary and Tama breathing room.

WC: 600
Arcadia's WC: 3768/3500
Thread WC: 7186

Zachary was glad Arcadia was able to focus on keeping Astral safe. Though she got him far enough away, he was oddly not afraid. The little star fairy, while Arcadia ran and dodged the tentacles, Astral's little arms kept trying to get closer, as if he wanted to 'play' with it. Perhaps he knew something that the others didn't. Even as Arkadia put him down, he gave a soft Friend, friend! call out, but wasn't very clear.

Meanwhile Tama got to work using her magic. She crossed her arms and from them-- launched a barrage of light-shards that shot out towards the tentacles, repelling them from reaching Zachary. All the while, Aquila flew just out of reach of the appendages, a bit close for the bird's comfort.

However, that was when Arcadia got to work and became a large dragon again. At times like that, he envied she was a Dragon Slayer. Dragons were amazing to him. As the Krakken latched on to her, it apparently worked in either of their favors. As she tried to pull the Krakken out, its tentacles started to try and grab on to her, now focused on the large dragon. However, no matter how much Arcadia would pull-- the Krakken wouldn't lift too far. There was not enough give and wouldn't be pulled up past a certain point, its main body only partly exposed.

TBC

WC: 231
TWC: 3649