The Stormcaller and the Skydancer [Private| Skylar and Velvet]

"Where am I..." Skylar wondered to himself as he walked through the unfamiliar streets. Last night he'd flown with a heavy storm all the way from Magnolia, enjoying the exhilarating feeling of dancing with the wind and the rain. The only problem was that he lost himself in the sound of thunder and had no idea where he'd ended up once the storm dissipated.

As the last of the storm rolled overhead, dropping a light rain, the Stormcaller wandered the streets. He started by looking for any sign of where he was, but eventually lost himself once more, staring at the sights of the town in wonder. There seemed to be a large castle atop the hill, and he decided to head towards it without paying too much attention to where his feet were falling. His old explorer's nature was calling to him, like the day he'd discovered an ancient tome of magic.

Skylar's ruminations were forcibly interrupted when he abruptly collided with another person. He reacted instinctively, wrapping himself in wind even as he stumbled back, keeping himself upright. He did the same for the other person, only to find the tendrils of his magic deflected aside as they attempted to envelop the other, which he saw now was a young girl, as she hovered upon a windstream of her own. That startled him enough to distract him from the expanding envelope of her magic until it buffeted him, almost knocking him down. Instinctively, he reached out with his magic in an attempt to divert the airstream, but felt an odd resistance, as if her magic would not respond to a will other than her own, as if it were more integral to her than Skylar's was to him. That was curious. So instead of directly attempting to control her wind magic, he met it with his own, slipping the airstream harmlessly to the side as his current met and mingled with hers with enough momentum to deflect it. The by-product was a small dust devil springing up to the side of them as the opposing windstreams collided, but it quickly dissipated.

Skylar returned his attention to the girl just in time to hear her apologize to him. He shook his head quickly, brushing a bit of dust they'd kicked up from his jacket. "No, no, that was my fault. I wasn't looking where I was going. Are you alright?" he asked, giving her a once-over. Noticing her feet hovering a few inches above the ground, he quickly suppressed the quivering feeling that spawned in his belly. This woman can fly, like him. But now wasn't the time for that.

Skylar relaxed slightly as the winds died down around them, likely from the other mage's effort. However, a very fine breeze continued to brush against him, which his senses told him was unnatural, flowing slightly against the prevailing winds in the area. It wasn't coming from him, so that meant that the girl was sustaining a current, for some reason. It didn't seem hostile in purpose, so he decided to set it aside for the moment.

"Sabertooth? Is that where I am?" he asked. Of course, he'd heard of the wizard guild Sabertooth, and their near-legendary town, Ace of Spades, that once housed their guild hall. "No, I am a mage of Fairy Tail. I blew in on the storm earlier and... got a little lost." he admitted. "This is Ace of Spades?" As he watched the other wizard, he noticed something very strange. Though her voice seemed to emanate from her direction, her mouth didn't move at all while she spoke. Which meant... she was using wind magic to speak? That thought astonished him. To have such fine control over the movement of air so as to produce sound was... Well, until now, he would have thought it impossible. Even his father hadn't had such masterful control.

Skylar barely stopped himself from taking a step back as she stepped towards him. He didn't think her likely to attack him, at this point, but his nerves were always a bit twitchy when he wasn't flying. At least he wasn't in an enclosed space. Were that the case, he might have instinctively attacked her. Slightly ashamed of his knee-jerk reaction, he rubbed the back of his head.

"Nice to meet you, Velvet. My name is Skylar Silverwind. And yes, I have come a long way. I... sometimes get distracted when I'm riding stormwinds. Which reminds me, I'll have to call up another storm this evening to get back home..." he said, speaking the last sentence in a low mutter as he rubbed the back of his head more in consternation, looking down and away slightly. "I'll try not to make it too big of one, but there are no guarantees."

Skylar was still considering how to get home when Velvet's words sank in, and he froze. This... vision of a girl wanted to spend more time with him? It was then that he realized something about Velvet, perhaps something he'd been deliberately avoiding realizing. She was adorable. And not in the 'Oh, look at that little girl in the dress, she's adorable' way. Velvet was... Skylar lacked the words to describe it. But if there was one thing his father taught him, it was that when a pretty girl wanted to spend time with you, you made time. The Stormcaller immediately discarded thoughts of going home. That could come later.

"Oh, uh... Of course." he said. "I would like that. Do you know a place we could go? I'm new here, obviously." As he said that, a faint grin spread across his face. He was suddenly very glad he rode that storm last night.

Skylar listened as Velvet muttered to herself, watching her with that faint grin still stretched over his face. He wasn't sure why, but he was happy that the girl was happy. That big smile on her face tugged at something inside him, made him smile too. When she sputtered to a stop and flushed in embarrassment, he couldn't help but chuckle quietly to himself. Her red cheeks just made her look more adorable.

"Well, I have an idea. It's easier to see things from the air, so why don't fly up a bit?" he said, then backpedaled a little. "I mean, I'm assuming you can fly. You kind of hovered there for a little, so... And you use wind magic, like I do..." This was his first chance to fly with someone else, to share the joy of soaring upon the winds, and he was afraid he'd bungled it already. "If... If you can't, I could just fly up myself and scout out where the park is, then come back..."

Skylar tilted his slightly in confusion, then shrugged after a moment and accepted it. "Alright, I'll take a look and be right back. Don't move too far, alright?" he said. Then there was a rush of wind and the Stormcaller was borne aloft, stirring the dust on the ground in another mini dust devil as his windstream carried him upwards. He rose high above the city and leveled off, bobbing up and down slightly. Maintaining a perfectly steady altitude was difficult on the best of days, and with the wind currents still moving about, following the storm he'd ridden on, he couldn't hope to stay in one place. But this was fine for now.

He looked down at the town, shielding his eyes from the wind and the rain until he spotted a large blot of green with a dot of blue near the center. With a negligent gesture, he cut his windstream and fell like a stone, the green blot growing larger until he could confirm that it was indeed a park. He kept free-falling for a little longer, until he could make out the streets below. He then caught himself in another windstream and began slowly, methodically tracing the path they would have to take to get to the park, committing the turns to memory. He'd done his best to go straight up and down, so as not to lose his place. When he was done, he drifted downwards slowly until he reached the street and touched down, only to find that he'd drifted slightly and he was now behind Velvet by a few meters.

Skylar strolled up behind Velvet, brushing some rainwater from his coat. "I found it. It's about a five or ten minute walk west of here." he said.

Skylar tilted his head slightly as Velvet jumped, then turned around and looked just to the side of him. That was peculiar. Even more peculiar was when she tried to point west and ended up pointing south. With one hand, he reached out and gently pushed her hand until it pointed in the right direction. "That way. I memorized the way there, so whenever you're ready, we can go." he said.

As they walked, Skylar would begin putting things together. He'd always been good at solving puzzles. First was the way they had run into each other. As he thought about it, he could remember seeing her out of the corner of his eye just before they'd stepped around the corner and collided. Her head had been up and straight forward, as a person's normally would be as they walked. She should have been able to see him in time to react. The only reason Skylar hadn't seen her in time was because he was looking up and to the side, at the castle on the hill. Then there was the constant breeze he'd felt blowing against him as he spoke to her, of which she was certainly the source. There was no reason for her to maintain such a constant, fine current, unless she was using it to monitor him. Then there was the way she seemed unfamiliar with this town, which was odd, as she was a mage of Sabertooth, who owned the Ace of Spades. It could be explained if she was new, but she knew the guild well enough to immediately know he wasn't a fellow member. Finally, there was the way she hadn't looked directly at him when he'd startled her, as most people would when they were surprised. She'd looked to the side of him instead of straight on.

Skylar mulled all this over in his head, thinking of the possible answers to her mysterious behavior. After some time, he came to the conclusion that the poor girl was blind, or at least near-blind, and used her wind magic to 'see', the same way she used it to 'speak.' He couldn't be sure, of course, but it felt right. But if that were true, it would mean she'd lied to him at least once. Which, after mulling that over for a time, he realized he couldn't fault her for. A young, pretty girl who couldn't see? She must live in constant fear of being taken advantage of. If he were in her situation, he wasn't sure he wouldn't also lie to everyone he met. Skylar's immediate, knee-jerk reaction was to protect her. Which surprised him. Where did this sudden protectiveness come from? He barely knew her. And if she was a mage, which she clearly was, she could probably fend for herself. Or at least run away before anything bad happened to her. His sense of her magic was that it was more powerful than his, at least at the moment, and seemed to come as naturally to her as breathing. If she was using it to see and to speak... Her control over the wind was finer and more substantial than he'd ever heard of. She could probably easily deal with some thug trying to get the jump on her.

The thing was, he could think of no tactful way to ask her if she was blind, and simply asking her outright would probably scare her off, if she's so wary about keeping it a secret. He definitely didn't want that. He wanted to spend more time with her. More than that, he wanted to fly with her, if that was even possible. So, he could do nothing but keep quiet. For now, anyway.

"Of course." Skylar replied, then set out. After a little while of walking - in silence, as Skylar pondered the mystery of Velvet's actions - they reached the park, and the Stormcaller decided to go to it's center, at the edge of the small lake. There was an island near the middle of the lake, but he didn't know whether or not Velvet would be able to make it there. So instead, he sat down at the edge of the water. There was no one around, given that it was still raining. This was an ideal place and ideal time to speak in private.

"So, Velvet. What do you want to know about me?" he asked her, looking into her beautiful blue eyes. Eventually, he would have to find a way to bring up her lack of sight, but in a tactful way.

Skylar nodded in response to Velvet's question, then scolded himself mentally. Such a gesture was useless with her. He would have to get used to speaking more.

"Yes, that is correct. I use Storm Magic. Specifically an ancient version called Stormcalling. I can summon storms and manipulate them at will, as well as use wind, water and lightning at will." he said. "Supposedly, people used to use it before civilization took hold. Stormcallers would use their powers to fertilize fields, keep storms from ruining crops, things like that. Eventually, it became something more, as Stormcallers were forced to use their powers against monsters and invaders. Now... I suppose I am the last Stormcaller." He sighed softly and looked down.

"As for how I can fly... I don't really know. I've always been able to fly, as far as I know. Even before I found the tome that gave me my magic." Skylar shrugged slightly. "Maybe I got it from my dad. Maybe wind magic just runs in my family. I don't know. All I know is that I can soar upon the winds, and nothing feels better."

Ho boy. Here was Skylar's chance to ask about her apparent blindness, served on a silver platter and wrapped up with a bow. But... He couldn't just outright ask if she was blind. If she wasn't, she'd probably slap him, or at least get angry. If she was... Well, he didn't want to see her sad. He needed a clear head to think about this, and the clouds above weren't helping. He could sense the tension in the air, the shifting wind currents. Another storm was coming, and the pressure on his senses was starting to make him feel erratic.

With an absent flick of his hand, he called upon his magic. A gale barreled down from the north like a freight train, smashing right into the storm overhead and slicing through it like a knife. Remnants of the wind he'd summoned carried away what was left of the rainclouds, and just like that, the sky was clear once more, as was his head. The sun, freed from its prison behind the clouds, shone down on them, setting the waters of the lake to shimmering. It was beautiful.

"How do you cope with not being able to see?" He said, the words just slipping out as he beheld the beauty. No, wait. He didn't mean to say that. "No, um... I didn't want to say it like that." he said, backpedaling. "I... Just... Can we forget I said that?" he pleaded, not wanting to upset the gorgeous girl in front of him. Oh how his plan backfired. He should have just let it rain.

Skylar sighed in relief as Velvet began laughing, letting the tension that had built up in her moments of silence drain away. He too began laughing, then, a quiet chuckle to counterpoint her belly laughing. He was glad she wasn't upset.

When she described her life without sight, he felt bad for her, but only for a moment. "I suppose... It's better that you didn't lose your sight later in life, isn't it? Knowing exactly what it is you lost would make it worse." He fiddled with his hands for a moment, then gave a quiet sigh. "I could always... Try and describe things to you, if you wanted."

As he opened his mouth to say something else, an obnoxious voice cut him off. "Well, lookie here. Why don't you dump scrawny here and come hang out with a real stud, babe?" Skylar looked up, his face darkening as he saw a young man, more a teenager really, standing over them, leering at Velvet. Suddenly, he found himself on his feet, squared off against the kid.

"Listen, buddy - " he began, but was cut off again as the kid gave him a dismissive snort and wave of his hand.

"Just shut up, little man, the adults are talking. Run off before I cook you with my fire magic." he said with a sneer. "Besides, she's way too good-looking for you." The bully then turned back to Velvet, his sneer becoming a leer once more. "So how about it, baby? How would you like a real man for a change? I heard that Joyans like you are better than anyone at sucking d-" Rage boiled inside Skylar, both at this dismissiveness of the kid and his comment about Joyans. Not too long ago, Skylar had been to Joya, where he'd rescued the Princess and her handmaids from Pergrandian Paladins. He had been impressed by their kindness and joyful outlook of life. To hear this man talk so degradingly about Joyans piled onto his frustration at being ignored.

So, this man claimed to be a fire mage, huh? Well, time to see how he handled a little wind. Fury roiled in Skylar's gut, and the wind responded. An immense gust came roaring in from behind him, splitting around his body like water around a rock, not even stirring his coat. The blast of wind caught the supposed fire mage full-on, carrying him into the air and flinging him into the like like a child would toss a stone. All that was left of him were his surprisingly high-pitched shrieks, then a tremendous splash.

Skylar was somewhat taken aback when the man he'd catapulted went farther than expected. Either his wind blast had been more powerful than he'd intended, or... No, there it was. He could feel the eddies in the air that bore Velvet's distinctive signature. He couldn't feel them until his own had died away.

He was about to say something about it when another blast of Velvet's wind magic slammed the man into the bottom of the lake. The Stormcaller gave a quiet chuckle and looked over at the girl, rubbing the back of his head a little sheepishly. "I guess you can take care of yourself, huh?" he said. Any further conversation was interrupted yet again as the fire mage - apparently he was telling the truth about that - erupted from the lake in a cloud of steam and hurled a fireball straight at Velvet, caught up in his rage. Skylar waved his hand neglectfully and the lake itself rose up, contemptuously slapping the fireball out of the air and absorbing it. When the water crashed down again, it flung the man onto the shore. He climbed painfully to his feet and looked like he was about to attack again, but the Stormcaller raised his hand.

The air thrummed with energy, and the sound of thunder tore the air as electricity sprang into existence, coiling in Skylar's hand and forming a spear of pure lightning, quivering with leashed, barely restrained fury. The fire mage took one look at the blindingly bright weapon and took off running as fast as he could, screaming something that was lost in the sound of humming energy and the dying remnants of thunder and roaring wind.

The Stormcaller let the lightning spear go and dusted off his palms, then looked at Velvet again. Suddenly, laughter bubbled out of him unbidden. Not the quiet chuckle he usually gave, but a full belly laugh, reminiscent of Velvet's laughter from just a minute ago.