[Job] Testing the Temperature (Akeya/Nymara)

Job Details:

It was about an hour after Nymara had proved herself worthy of being a member of Fairy Tail. She'd received her stamp from the guild master, after which the entire affair was official. While the girl might cause a lot of trouble with her energetic nature and lack of restraint, Fairy Tail welcomed her with open arms. After all, the guild had a history of accepting adventurers who became equally famous for their success and infamous for the amount of property damage said success brought with them. As a fire dragon slayer Nymara would most likely be no different in that aspect, especially once she got going and her power would begin to grow.

At least, that was Akemi's plan. While Nymara was definitely still young and inexperienced the raven-haired assassin saw potential in the firebrand. Her control over her flames was rough, but said flames were potent and she was quite good at using them in a fight. Her physique was also promising: not a ball of muscle, but athletic and fit. Dragon slayers were taught to use body and magic as one, after all. It wouldn't be achieved within a day or even a month, but as time progressed and with proper guidance Nymara could become a true force to be reckoned with. And Akemi was all too willing to provide that guidance: she was interested in seeing how far Nymara could go, and how she would face the... side effects of being a dragon slayer.

That, and she was quite the attractive young woman. Akemi might be pragmatic and levelheaded to the point of being cold-blooded, but she did still have a distinct preference for her companions being aesthetically pleasing. Not that this factor was in itself sufficient, but it helped.

And so Akemi prepared to test Nymara's abilities herself. The guild had a perfect location for sparring, after all, and as an experienced user of dragon magic Akemi was one of the best options Nymara had for a mentor (from her own perspective, anyway). Although she did give Nymara an hour to get familiar with the guild and enjoy her successful recruitment. Given how energetic the younger woman was she probably needed that much time to burn off some of her excitement. Akemi was worried that, if she were to immediately drag Nymara off to train, the redhead wouldn't be able to concentrate.

During this time Akemi spent some time putting away the stuff she'd been working on before Nymara's arrival had caused an abrupt change in her plans. She didn't want to be walking around with a piece of paper detailing her next assassination target all day. That, and she had to find something appropriate to train Nymara with after the sparring lesson. Fire dragon slayers enjoyed a lot of energy, so Akemi figured that even after having tested the newcomer's abilities she'd still have enough left to go on a job immediately after. That would also give her an idea of what being a member of the guild truly meant.

---

Returning to the entrance hall of the guild Akemi looked around to see where Nymara had gone. The guild hall wasn't too big (at least, not if you discounted the secret parts), so Nymara should have had plenty of time to explore the entire building and then return to the entrance hall. This was where she could get food and drinks, after all, something that Akemi suspected was right up the fiery slayer's alley. She did give every impression of being one of those people who liked to party hard and feast hard.

It almost made her think of Heero. It also made her wonder if which element a dragon slayer possessed influenced their mentality, or if there was some grander design which caused dragons and mortals alike to obtain magic abilities which suited their nature. There were some exceptions, of course, but you'd expect there to be fire dragon slayers whose personality was solid and steady like the earth.

Current Appearance:

WC: 666
PWC: 666
TWC: 666/5,000

@Nymara

Well. As Akemi had suspected, Nymara had quickly made use of the opportunity to start drowning herself at the bar. Given a slayer's enhanced fortitude she probably wouldn't quite drink herself into a stupor, but at the same time she was already going harder than what Akemi had been expecting. Of course, Nymara had already behaved lively and energetic in a rather careless manner before she got drunk, but the alcohol seemed to only exaggerate those personality traits.

"You haven't even been in the guild for an hour and you've already made yourself home." Akemi said as she approached Nymara, cocking her head when she was called the redhead's 'best friend'. Given they'd only known each other for, well, a little longer than an hour, that must be the drink speaking. Especially since Akemi wasn't exactly the most sociable and friendly of people anyway. Placing a hand on her hip she let out a small sigh. "It must be nice to approach life with such a straightforward outlook." She herself wouldn't stop being cautious, but she could see how Nymara's mentality did help prevent a lot of stress. If you figured everything would work out anyway you had little reason to worry.

"I don't drink often, and we've got better things to do anyway." She motioned with her free hand as she explained. "I did say that I'd like to test your strength for myself after you got registered, which you did. Normally I'd think that your inebriated state would hinder your abilities, but given that you're a fire dragon slayer, and taking your fighting style into account, I suspect you'll be just fine." A small smirk at that part. "In fact, if you can land a solid hit I'll humour you and join you drinking afterwards." She figured that wasn't going to happen anyway, but it might motivate Nymara without being too horrible a fate should the redhead actually manage to accomplish this feat.

"The guild hall has a specialized location where we can spar without having to worry about our surroundings, so once you're done with that drink we can leave immediately." Given that she wasn't planning on joining Nymara Akemi remained standing, glancing at the other patrons of the bar before returning her golden eyes to her new apprentice.

Current Appearance:

WC: 382
PWC: 1,048
TWC: 1,346/5,000

@Nymara

Akemi shook her head when Nymara suggested that she should try being carefree and straightforward. "No thanks. Such a mentality leaves you full of openings." While Nymara's attitude might be good for preventing stress she did make herself vulnerable with it. For example, Nymara getting drunk out here in the open would make her an easy target if someone tried something funny with her. And since she was new there was no guarantee all the other guild members in the room would help out: in fact, some of them might be part of it as some kind of hazing ritual.

She gave a simple nod as she studied Nymara. The fire slayer behaved the same as always, but there was something curious about the way her facial expressions moved while she was drunk. It almost made her wonder if the fiery redhead was merely pretending to be drunk. On the other hand, it wasn't a secret that alcohol could make people act in funny ways, and nothing said that sinister smiles were out of the question either. Akemi would remain guarded as always, but she didn't think she had to be exceptionally paranoid around Nymara. Even when she wasn't drunk she acted like she didn't have a care in the world beyond what was in front of her.

Once Nymara was done emptying her last mug Akemi would motion for her to follow before turning around and walking away from the bar, her raven hair swaying behind her and obscuring most of her form. "Come on then. It might also be a good way to get the alcohol out of your system." Honestly Akemi wasn't even sure why people would want to get drunk.

She would lead Nymara to the back of the guild, where a large portion of the building was sectioned off with seemingly only a single entrance. Coming to a halt in front of the entrance Akemi turned around to face Nymara. "This training room has powerful wards on it to prevent anything which happens within affecting the outside. Aside from that it's got some enchantments so we'll be able to change the insides to match our needs. Any questions?"

Current Appearance:

WC: 363
PWC: 1,411
TWC: 2,001/5,000

@Nymara

It seemed like Nymara was ready for what would come next. Or at the very least, she wasn't worried or nervous. The alcohol must help with that, although knowing Nymara maybe she would've been just as enthusiastic and eager if she was completely sober. Akemi didn't mind: it made it easier to achieve her own objectives, and she did appreciate someone who was passionate about pushing her limits. "Right. I'll open the door then." Given that the sparring room was carefully designed to not allow anything that happened inside to affect the outside opening the door was a bit more complex than just turning the doorknob, but Akemi quickly finished the steps and let Nymara inside, closing and sealing the door behind them.

At first, the room looked like a pale, empty, rectangular space, but as Akemi stepped forward their surroundings shifted. "Don't get nauseous." Akemi warned Nymara softly. Within seconds the sparring room had turned into something like a crude arena: the ground was made of sand, with a ring of stones on the ground forming the edge of the fighting zone, a circle larger than the cistern Nymara had cut loose in earlier that day. Around the arena there were rings of what could have been steps or seats, but which had been worn down by time. Around these, in turn, there was a ring of standing stones about twice as tall as Nymara and Akemi, with some of them holding horizontally laid boulders aloft.

What might interest Nymara more, however, would be the fact that they were no longer indoors: the sky was blue with streaks of white from cirrus clouds, and a faint breeze was enough to make the hair of the two combatants dance weakly.

"The rules are simple: don't move out of the ring, and don't try anything nasty. At your current level, I should be able to handle anything you can throw at me, so you don't have to hold back, but if you try to choke me or anything like that there'll be consequences." Akemi moved to the other half of the ring and turned around to face Nymara, taking a stance: knees slightly bent, right leg in front and left leg to the back, and slightly to the side. left hand balled into a fist and held level with her stomach, right hand extended and motioning for Nymara to approach. "Also, we go until one of us surrenders, gets knocked out, or I decide we've been going for long enough." She wasn't planning to knock Nymara out, but it was better to be clear about the possibility.

The sun was at its zenith, clear daylight beaming down on the two combatants from above. Akemi's shadow, however, looked darker than it should, and wisps of dark were seeping from underneath the bandages wrapped around her left arm, like droplets of ink swirling through the water. However, she wouldn't be the first one to make a move: she'd wait for Nymara to attack.

Current Appearance:

WC: 500
PWC: 1,911
TWC: 2,900/5,000

@Nymara

Akemi raised an eyebrow when Nymara proudly proclaimed that she might end up burning down even this arena. "I would be impressed if you could burn sand and stone." While for full-blooded fire dragons it was generally child's play to turn sand into glass and stone into magma, Nymara was still young. If she could perform such a feat Akemi would have to elevate her opinion of the younger slayer's capabilities. However, seeing would be believing: Akemi had never expected Nymara to surrender or do anything less than her best, so the fire slayer's declaration was a foregone conclusion.

What was more interesting was how Nymara used her abilities. First, she spent some time charging up. In a real fight that would have been a large detriment, but given that Akemi wanted to see what Nymara was capable of there was no reason to interfere. She'd have to make sure Nymara didn't make a habit of spending time charging up powerful attacks if she couldn't ensure that her opponent couldn't exploit such a moment of weakness.

Next up, was... a rather surprising move. Akemi had been expecting Nymara to go for a straightforward brawl, but instead Nymara used all the heat she'd accumulated to turn the arena into a charred wasteland. Akemi could feel the high temperatures surrounding her body. Akemi's endurance allowed her to shrug it off, but against weaker opponents this would be an effective method to sap their stamina and drain their strength. Not a bad move, and more intelligent than Akemi had expected. Still, the assassin hadn't moved from her spot yet: she wanted to see what else Nymara would bring to the fight.

What came next was several blazing waves, followed by a ring of fire. The dark which had been seeping out of Akemi's bandaged arm burst furth in greater quantity. It quickly shaped itself into a malevolent claw. She met the waves with a large sideways swipe of her claw. Where claw met flame the dark swallowed everything.

However, the ring of fire was too big to bat away. Akemi shifted her weight to her front leg and dashed to the side. The fire wheel crashed into the spot she'd stood before. Lifting her claw to aim at Nymara Akemi let out a sharp exhalation. From her claw came a myriad of dark shapes, each looking like a raven's feather. Releasing her attack each feather shot forward towards Nymara. A barrage fell upon Nymara, each strike looking like it was a wound in reality itself. Under normal circumstances these strikes would pierce through their prey. However, because this was meant as a friendly spar, instead each dark projectile Nymara couldn't dodge, block, or deflect would just sting and knock her back. The barrage also covered a sizeable area, so Nymara would have to do more than just step to the side to evade it.

While the barrage was intense it was also brief. It only lasted a couple of seconds before Akemi let up. Instead she'd close the gap, once she was close releasing a dark pulse from her claw to blind Nymara. Within the pulse Akemi would spin on one foot, intending to sink her other foot into the fire slayer's side and knock her to the edge of the arena.

Current Appearance:

WC: 549
PWC: 2,460
TWC: 4,171/5,000

@Nymara

As Akemi had suspected, a single strike wouldn't be enough to make Nymara surrender. As a dragon slayer, she had the endurance and vitality to resist being knocked out, and the girl's fiery spirit meant that she most likely wouldn't give in unless she already had one foot in the grave. That kind of persistence could be an immense boon in a fight, although the assassin would have to explain that depending on the circumstances it might be better to admit defeat to obtain a better position in the future. However, that was just Akemi thinking far ahead. For now, she just needed to see what else Nymara had to show her. "Turn up the heat as far as you can then." Holding her dark claw in front of her Akemi waited for her pupil to begin the next assault.

First Nymara flooded the entire arena with flames. In response, the dark assassin slammed her claw against the ground. From the black stone a shockwave of dark energy burst forth, pushing the flames away from Akemi. Lifting her claw the raven-haired combatant saw Nymara close the gap by boosting herself with flames. Her golden eyes narrowed as the first strike came. Stepping to the side Akemi was forced to duck as Nymara quickly followed up with a kick. The air, which was already filled with the sound of roaring flames, whistled as Nymara's leg passed overhead. To evade the next attack Akemi rolled backward. Pushing herself up with her hand and claw she landed on both feet, in time to watch Nymara prepare to punch the ground even as she was spinning in the air.

"That's enough." Akemi was pretty sure she'd seen what Nymara was capable of at this stage. That, and she didn't want to drive the redhead to exhaustion just yet. But she could at least give the younger woman a taste of what kind of strength she'd have to aim for in the future.

Extending her hand forward her darkened shadow shot towards Nymara. Where the firebrand had been aiming to punch the ground she was instead held aloft as the dark formed a sphere around her. Holding her claw behind her Akemi gave Nymara a split second to behold the sight of the claw growing bigger. What followed next was a slash at blurring speed. The dark sphere was torn asunder with Nymara trapped inside.

Under normal circumstances, this attack would have ripped Nymara open as well. However, to prevent serious injury, Akemi had carefully controlled her attack. Instead of her body being sliced into ribbons Nymara would experience a sensation akin to four whips striking her body at the same time, leaving angry red lines across her skin. The force of the impact, however, was also sufficient to launch the young slayer backward. She would barely have time to register what had happened before her back would slam against one of the rough pillars surrounding the arena.

With a quick swipe of her hand, Akemi dismissed her claw, revealing her bandaged arm once more. She silently walked towards where Nymara had ended up, standing in front of the fiery redhead with one hand on her hip. "Not bad, but you should be careful with long combos. They're good if you can suppress your opponent with them but require setup. Otherwise, the enemy will just evade and counterattack." Of course, technically Nymara had tried to set up the combo by using the two streams of flame as a kind of smokescreen, but evidently that hadn't been enough. "There's a good chance it would have worked against someone of your own level though."

She tilted her head. "Are you all right?"

Current Appearance:

WC: 615
PWC: 3,075
TWC: 5,500/5,000 (Completed)

@Nymara

Akemi blinked as the pillar she'd smashed Nymara against then collapsed on top of the firebrand. Maybe she'd launched her apprentice a bit too hard... Eh, she was a slayer, she could take it. Even as she wondered if getting crushed by a big boulder might not be good for Nymara's health the fire slayer was already pushing herself up, even if she clearly wasn't in the best of states. No serious injuries, but nevertheless battered and bruised by the force Akemi had used to end the fight. She raised an eyebrow as the younger woman complimented her combat skills. "Thanks. I do have quite a lot more experience than you." Her words were rather dry.

She shook her head and let out a small sigh when Nymara claimed she'd be winning the next fight. "You'll need a lot more training before you'll have a good chance of winning. You've got talent and potential, but you're just not experienced enough." She folded her arms. "At your level you might be able to win with your innate ability alone, but if you want to stand a chance against me you'll have to work hard. Beyond a certain point only those who have both potential and determination can go any further."

"Well, it's good to hear that you aren't hurt too badly. Being a slayer does have a lot of advantages." She gave Nymara a once over once the redhead had finished getting up, noting how she was favouring one side. "Nevertheless, before we continue we'll give you some time to recover. I don't know if you've eaten anything at the bar or if you've only been filling your belly with alcohol. Either way, a meal should help you recover faster. Then we can talk about what we're doing next."

Turning around she motioned for Nymara to follow. As she walked towards the centre of the ring their surroundings changed: the outdoors turned back into the pale, empty room they'd originally stepped into. Reaching the door Akemi once again spent some time undoing the wards so they could pass through, opening the door. "Do you have any jewels on you? If not I'll take care of that, but I'll expect you to pay me back after." Some mentors and students had an agreement where the mentor would pay for the meals. Others had the opposite, where the student showed their gratitude towards their mentor by taking care of such things. Akemi for her part was willing to pay for Nymara's meal since she wasn't lacking in jewels, but she was curious to see if Nymara would accept the offer or insist on taking care of herself.

Current Appearance:

WC: 444
PWC: 444
TWC: 850/14,000

@Nymara