The Will to Train (Open to One!)

[Yukina]

It was early in the morning in Radasanth. The sky was a careful hazy blue with a touch of orange to suggest that the sun had just recently rose and the quiet gentleness of the late night was about to fade. Yuki had been lying in a wooden framed bed with a cotton blanket lying over her. It wasn't too long ago she'd stopped at this inn. In her dream she remembered even more of her life from long ago, as she wasn't really an early riser and preferred to sleep in much, much longer.
*************
Yuki and her friends Asch and Illiena were sitting on white stairs which went up a bit higher to a large dome with white pillars in front of it. There were people bustling all around and the three of them were just talking and laughing. Chatting about anything you'd think a few teens would think up. Then all of a sudden Asch bursted out into a fit of laughter and said, "Yuki! You can't be serious... We're a bunch of kids and we're not that balanced you know... I'm proficient with swords, you're a versatile battle-mage and Illiena here is a fist fighter who can jump through fragments of space... Where do you think that would sit us in the EA?" Yuki poked him in the forehead and smiled, "You can't expect the Elitist Arena to be THAT full of power-crazy juggernauts!" Illiena in turn poked HER in the forehead, "You're PARENTS were the previous rulers of the arena! As a Duo team! You can't even touch your dad in sparring!" Yuki sighed and sunk her hands into her palms. She said, "But---" And Asch said, "No buts! We aren't entering! No way!"

A moment later three figures are spotted at the arena registration desk. Asch and Illiena almost spoke in perfect harmony, "I don't know how you roped us into this..." She gave a cute little, but subliminally demonic, smile and filled out the registration consent forms, being a master of forging her friend's signatures in case something like this ever did come up... The clerk told her that they could enter their first fight by heading over to the queue room. They did so and sat around just waiting for what seemed like forever until a knight donned in silver armor carrying a spear approached them, "You must be Yuki and the Dynamic Duo?" Illiena shot her a glare, "You named the team without our input?..." Yuki sweat-dropped and tried to seem like she didn't hear, Asch just shrugged.

The knight lead them into a large double door. The arrived in an unfamiliar looking room. You wouldn't expect this to be what an arena in a heavenly realm would look like but, eh, beggars can't be choosers. It was a sand floor with stories of seats surrounding it. All around the base of the seats were grates, putting at least 10 feet between the seats and the ground. The three looked around, feeling quite flustered and stared at the double doors on the other end of the arena. Until the crowd's demands were met and the other doors opened. Out came a girl with long brown hair carrying a gold staff with a cross on the end. She was in robes with a hood which were white, save for red crosses on them. The next was a boy with blond hair that went down to his neck, He wore plate armor all on him that was red, but no helmet and carried a large broadsword. The third was a girl in a blue rippled mini skirt, leather boots, a navy blue long sleeve shirt that rippled at the center of the chest and she carried a microphone. Her hair was brown and her eyes were green.

Yuki began thinking this wasn't a good idea. Her and her party drew their weapons. Asch drew a one handed sword that was silver but laced with black. Illiena put on her black leather gloves with the steel knuckles, and Yuki drew the weapon she used back then, a spear with three tips, one going up and one going left, one going right. A fiery rune inscribing on her forehead. She yelled, "Let's get down to business you guys! They don't stand a ghost of a chance! Illiena! on the caster! Asch! blade-to-blade the brute! Leave the songstress to me...!"

Yuki drew her wings and flew at the girl with the microphone, Asch charged the swordsman and Illiena jumped into a purple elliptical portal in front of her and jumped out of one behind the girl with the staff. Yuki called out "Rain of Flames!" and fireballs the size of kitchen tables fell from the sky onto her enemies. Asch attacked his target with a flurry of slashes and Illiena had trouble hitting the girl with the microphone because of her agility, but she tried. All of a sudden. They all froze, and in a flash of light. Yuki and her friends where gone.

At the palace, the three spirited away teens apparated before the king and queen. There was a flash of light the the flustered three of them appeared to a very angry robed man and woman. The man's face turned red and he called to Yuki, "Yuki! What have I told you of battling in the arena! I don't want you to be harmed!" Asch and Illiena slipped out, sensing that the planet was probably about to shatter from all the yelling that was bound to come. Yuki's stance stiffened and she said, "But dad! It was all for fun! And besides, my coming of age ceremony is in a week! I can do whatever I want!" The man replied, "I will have none of your arguing Yuki! If you can't obey your parent's rules then you don't have any business leaving your home until your ceremony!" A tear almost escaped Yuki's eye but she refused to show weakness. She ran to her room screaming, "I hate you!" The man sat back down and sighed heavily, he sad to the woman, "Sometimes I wonder, if protecting her really is for her own good..." The woman responded, her expression turning grim, "Reki, I know you want what is best for our little girl, but I don't want to lose her... Not again..." Reki averted his gaze to his feet and said, "Things may only get better... after her birthday...." The woman stood and began to leave the throne room, "Do not cast aside the Naralian Lyric, her birthday will not be the best day." She hastily left and Yuki's vision went dark.
**************************
The sun shone over Radasanth and into the window of the room Yuki had been residing in. She groaned and said, "Alright, I'm up... I'm up!" She sat up in the bed and rubbed her eyes until she realized it wasn't a person waking her up, it was the sun. She silently went over to the mirror and straightened herself up. Almost thinking she saw a purple and black aura emanating from her. She shook her whole head and rubbed her eyes, and then it was gone. She heard a word in her head. It almost made her shake. It was, "Oz'Aneg Rilahn." Or translated, "Demonic Bloodlust." And she thought she was crying. An inward part of her knew what it meant, otherwise... Nothing.

She remembered her dream, and how it was apart of her past. She thought about how strong she tried to come of to people, and then thought, "But I need to be strong now..." So she figured that all she could do was head to the Citadel and train to be stronger. She head out of the door and payed the man at the front of the inn the money for staying the night. Upon exiting the main door she was hit in the face with sunlight. Recoiling from the blinding light, but enjoying how good it felt on her skin. She almost did a little happy dance in her head and started to go down the main road, noting the towns-folk and greeting them all equally as kindly as the last person. Yuki was feeling spontaneously happy today, for no reason she felt.

She passed an alley-way on her path to the citadel and could've sworn she saw a girl with her body except red eyes and emanating purple shadows. A dark reflection of herself almost. She stopped and waved to the girl, but the girl simply reached her hand out to Yuki, at first disappearing, then reappearing, in Yuki's face. The girl said, "You're day is coming... The ritual was not toll free..." And walked right into Yuki, almost molding with her and causing Yuki to lose her balance. Falling right to the ground. Yuki stopped and opened her eyes, looking around to see that it was like nobody had noticed what had just occurred, so she simply moved onward.

Walking up the black stairs and into the citadel, she spoke to a monk who simply said, "For those with the will to battle, strength is a given." Yuki smiled at this statement, because it was almost what Asch used to say, "For those who have the will to train, growth will come naturally." He didn't even ask for where she wanted to fight, he just lead her down many halls and into a doorway. Yuki felt a little scared coming to the old wood door. It was rotting and felt wrong for some reason. The monk grabbed the iron handle and swung it open for her, she stepped in and looked around, the open door disappearing behind her. Yuki felt some sort of happiness at the cool mist hitting her face, she felt like she was melting the way it was so soft. All around her was a green forest and she was standing on a rock. In front of her was the dark night sky and a beautiful moon setting on the glimmering ocean.

Yuki saw silhouettes of girls dancing on the water, it moving with their hands. She felt safe for some reason and took but one step onto the water, and noticed she was floating, she took step after step until she was at least a foot and a half from the rock she was standing on. She then turned to face where she had just came from and drew her sword, gave it power, and pointed out towards the huge rock the size of a swimming pool that was compressed into a complete circle, awaiting her enemy. She repeated a line she read from a book long ago, at her home.

"Good things come to those who wait, but doom comes to those who hesitate. Do not fear the change, fight it with all your heart." Her face became strong and stern as she readied herself.

[Rebellion]

"...an angel, you say?" Rose heard the men's voices, their conversation obnoxiously loud in the small tavern. She stopped, her eyes no longer searching the board for any requests for a bounty hunter, and instead stood lackadaisically off to the side of the table, pretending to be interested in something out side the dusty pub. In truth, it had been her ears that had searched; the best jobs were found not to public eye but to those who searched for them. However, as Rose picked up this particular snippet of conversation, she found herself listening to it rather than moving on. "In the Citadel?"

"Yeah, and its said she's not half bad." One of the other men answered, and Rose heard the sound of a mug hitting wood. "I mean, she fought that bastard Vincent Winterscar twice, and even won once." A nervous chuckle went through the group like a shudder, and all of a sudden the ex-dragoon was a lot more interested than she had first been. Who was this Vincent Winterscar, and why had his name sent such an ominous chill through the group? She had never heard of him before. Then again, she hadn't heard about a lot of things, as most of her life had been locked away behind the cage of Dheathain. "How she won against that monster I'll never know, but she's gotta be quite the fighter."

"I agree. I don't want to fight another monster, though..." The first voice spoke up once more, and the others murmured with their consent. "I mean, I'll fight in the Citadel again, but if its someone like that Winterscar character...well, I know I'll stand no chance of winning."

"Is that so." Rose's emitted from her soft, cherry lips, and she turned around to face the group, cold emerald eyes glittering down at the four men. They started and looked up at her in surprise; apparently they had thought their conversation private. "Weakling." She spat at the first man in disgust. "If you don't reach to confront those of greater power, you'll never grow strong enough to fight them on equal ground."

The man grew defensive, not used to be insulted, and by a woman of all things. "Who're you to speak? I don't exactly see you going down to fight the angel either."

Rose held her head up regally, peering down her nose at the insolent human. His companions had slightly backed away from him, noticing the huge glaive the scarlet haired woman wore upon the back of her black armor. Indeed, it wasn't wise to tempt the bull. But, for the moment, she held her draconian anger in check and simply gazed down upon him, both literally and figuratively. "I'm not the one with something to prove, boy." She sneered down at him, preparing to move away. This conversation had proved useless, after all. "I know my strength."

As she turned her back on the quartet, however, the second man's voice rang out through the tavern, stopping her in her tracks. "You're just a a bloody freakin' coward! At least Derix here knows he c--" He was cut off when suddenly the tip of her glaive was by his throat, the shining steel reflecting the light of the tavern.

Infuriated green eyes glared down the weapon's length and at the speaker, who gulped nervously as he looked around at his comrades. None of them seemed willing to touch the weapon, nor go near the woman wielding it. Her lips were bared in a snarl as she spoke. "What did you call me?" she hissed, a vulgar note of fury entering her voice. "What did you call me, you pathetic duine daonna*?"

He jerked back, trying to avoid the tip of her weapon as the room grew to silence. All eyes were trained upon the two figures, the moment belonging to the bounty hunter and the human that had insulted her. Rather than repeat his words, however, he managed to become defensive himself and frowned, throwing down a small sack of money on the table and making the ex-dragoon blink. "I bet twenty-five gold that you can't beat that angel girl." He said, trying to seem confident in his decision. It must have worked, for others began nodding and making their own bets, whether for or against her.

She blinked, her anger dissipating with the rush of voices and body as bags began piling up on the table, two different piles. The bartender had joined in as well, using a tally book to keep track of the bets. Soon she stood in front of a wooden table covered in little bags, each containing a small amount of money. "There..." the bartender said once the chaos settle down. "...the bettings are closed as of now." He looked up at the stunned face of Rose. "The total is this; this group here has bet five hundred gold against you."

A low whistle went through the small crowd, and the ex-dragoon could feel her cheeks burning. Damn. If she backed away now, she would lose face, and her pride for that matter. But if she won..."I'll take that bet." She growled, and slid her long polearm back into its slot on her back. She gave one glare at the man who had started the whole business, a silent promise that she would indeed win, before walking out the door of the tavern to head towards that silent sentinel called the Citadel.


~+~


The monks had wasted no time in finding her prey. It was pretty easy; there were only so many angels in Radasanth, and even less in the Citadel for that matter. Within seconds she had stepped through the creaky old door leading to the arena, and was momentarily blinded by a flash of light before her eyesight cleared.

It was beauty incarnate. High tall trees surrounded the armored warrior, piercing the blue sky above in all of their majesty. A soft mist caressed the draconian's body, leaving soft trails of the stuff in wisps behind her as she slowly moved, examining her arena with impressed eyes. She sighed despite herself, momentarily allowing a moment of weakness to enter her body, and breathed in the humidity of the air while closing her eyes. Ah, this place reminded her of home. The forests of Dheathain were almost exactly like this...the cool touch of the mist...the soft feel of the saturated air...indeed, it felt like home.

But then she remembered where she was, really, and reopened her eyes, her emerald orbs staring out in sharp clarity for her opponent. Drawing her own weapon, the large glaive upon her back, she spun it around her armored fingers for good measure before marching onwards, hard feet crunching twigs and leaves beneath her.

After a couple minutes of hard walk, Rose found her prey. The angel stood, waiting, on a rock in the middle of a huge pond, a sword of light at the ready. Her hair was like golden silk in the beams of sunlight that crashed down, illuminating the very air around her opponent until it seemed the angel stood against a backdrop of light. Rose stood silently about thirty feet away, watching her opponent carefully, noting the way her wings lifted in the light. She has the advantage...Rose murmured in her mind, and slowly also drew the short sword at her side with her left hand. "So...you must be the famous angel that took down Vincent Winterscar, eh?" Rose called out, to get her opponent's attention.

*She called him a "human being", but in the vulgar way so it was an insult rather than a statement.

[Yukina]

Yuki's whole body tensed and a shiver went down her spine, suddenly remembering where she was. She stiffened her grip on her blade and threw her arm down to the side, not daring to let go of the blade. The cool icy water holding an air of danger, a very subtle danger. She all of a sudden heard someone call to her, it had the subtext of a taunt, but the direct sounding of a question. She opened her eyes and said, "My first win was a fluke, and our second battle ended in a tie, quite a beast that one is..." She suddenly felt angry for no reason, perhaps the heat of battle, but this time there was something wrong with her anger.

She turned in the direction she assumed her opponent's voice had come from. It is rather foolish to call to your enemy when you are the one who had hidden, but since Yuki wasn't concealed, she answered. "Who are you to judge my caliber anyway? My name is Yuki, and I won't hesitate to harm you." She slowly flapped her wings back and forth, as to not take off from the water's surface, but it always made her feel relieved for some reason. She took a few steps forward and tried to hear something, anything. Her opponent's breathing, steps, movements, something to give her an active advantage.

Yuki heard the voice of her friend Illiena again, A memory.
"You make it look so easy to be strong!" She said, Yuki just responded, so long ago, I guess I'm a good actor then, Huh? Yuki thought, That's right... I promised myself... and it was apart of my pact to the grimoire... I vow to become stronger... Heh... I was far too vague. She sheathed her sword and pulled out her bow. Drawing back an arrow and utilized her 'Piercing Shot' technique. The arrow, coated in golden light, flew towards the direction in the forest she merely assumed her opponent had come from. Hopefully she'd receive some reaction to the arrow. If she heard metal block the attack, she knew it would be time to charge.

[Rebellion]

"My first win was a fluke, and our second battle ended in a tie, quite a beast that one is..." The angel's voice called back out to Rose, a soft melodic sound that twinkled in the air. There was no anger or regret in the sound, only a sad recollection of a harder time. The draconian was about to respond when the angel continued to speak. However, Rose's eyes opened as the lack of anger or irritation in the first sentence became known in the angel's next words. "Who are you to judge my caliber anyway? My name is Yuki, and I won't hesitate to harm you." The armored warrior saw her flap her wings as if to take off into the air, and Rose was prepared to dash back into the forest when she saw the angel sheath her weapon.

What? Rose questioned Yuki's actions with one red, crimson eyebrow, and the muscles within her body tensed up in preparation. Something was obviously wrong. She was proved right when suddenly the angel whipped out a bow from nowhere and drew an arrow in one, smooth motion. Damned be she! She uses a bow!? Throwing herself down in reflex, Rose felt the smooth motion of the arrow as it streaked a path right where her torso used to be, embedding itself into the trunk of one of the massive oak trees around her. She glanced at it and saw that it was coated in golden light, probably an effect of the bow itself.

Rose rolled to her feet, her armor moving seamlessly with her body as she spun her glaive around in her fingers once more. Without a second thought, the ex-dragoon burst forward, holding the longer weapon out to the side as she prepared her short sword before her. She said nothing this time around, as there was no need. The hunter need not introduce themselves to the prey.

Once she got in range, she leaped forward towards the angel, swinging her glaive around in a deadly arc to try and decapitate the being from the torso. Her armor did not hinder her at all; her draconic ancestry gave strength to her bones beyond that of a normal human, allowing her to move at the speeds of one without the protective shell. It was with this advantage, she hoped, that she would bear Yuki down.

[Yukina]

Yuki heard her arrow hit a tree trunk, Failure. she thought to herself. Then she heard leaves rustling and armor clanking, Success, perhaps? she thought back into her mind. Then she heard the sound of a weapon, her greatest advantage would be the stillness of the zone she had been directed to. Her opponent was clearly no longer making an effort whatsoever to conceal her movements. Yuki could only assume it was a woman because of her voice, though. She quirked an eyebrow at her enemy giving off her location, and now had a weapon coming towards her, she didn't have the time to redraw her sword so she held her hand that wasn't holding the bow in front of her and created her Holy Barrier.

The small multi-colored luminescent pieced together hexagons appeared in front of her and were being used in an attempt to block the attack, while she quickly moved her other hand back in front of her for an added personal defense.

[Rebellion]

Rose cursed under her breath as her glaive hit nothing but some sort of shield the angel managed to put up. Her red hair flew out behind her, a flame in the golden sun as she moved closer still. Emerald eyes pierced out from black irises and met her opponent's azure ones, glowing with the intent to kill. The bounty hunter wanted to let this girl know that she was serious business, not some fly to be brushed aside. Call me a coward now...She thought to herself, and thrust her short sword out at the angel's exposed torso in an effort to skewer her upon the steel point. Her feet touched rock, though, and she lost her balance, making her thrust move past her opponent and striking air instead. "Gah!" She managed to make out before steadying herself upon the hard ground.

Dammit...Rose cursed again, using her glaive to steady herself once again. This isn't suitable ground for my armor. The air felt cool between her armor as it touched her skin, the surroundings silent except for the sound of the girls' breath. The warrior stole a glance to her left; all she saw was the forest, peaceful and serene against the back drop of golden light coming from the sky, and the expanse of the plains beyond, wavy strands of green flowing in the slight wind. The forest it is then. With a sudden burst of speed, Rose dashed off of the rock, jumping to avoid the water as she landed with a slight THUMP on the earthen ground. Keeping her eyes on the angel, she ran off at her top speed, sheathing the glaive upon her back but keeping her short sword out. Without saying anything, she ran off into the forest, her black cape flapping noisily behind her.

[Yukina]

The woman's attack just hit her shield, putting a huge crack in it before she attempted to swing again after it had disappeared. For some reason, she just fell off her feet. She's serious about this... not to graceful though, eh?... Who am I to talk though... Heh... Yuki was a little flustered from the swift motions she had made before running into the damp looking dark forest. Is she running away? Yuki shook her head a little before replacing her bow and drawing her blade. Now the question is... Do I chase her...? If her opponent had gone into the forest, it was obviously to get an advantage. Yuki drew her wings close to her and held her sword across her chest in a defensive position. She slowly crept into the shadowy woods. Step by step, the rustle of the leaves beneath her shoes scaring her half to death every time. She was hoping to hear her enemy before she gets found first.

This is no good... right now im just a big fat candle! She thought angrily to herself.

[Rebellion]

Rose continued running, even though she had distanced herself away from the angel far enough. Her steps were heavy upon the soft ground, and twigs and leaves cracked beneath her feet. The cool air whipped through her hair and stroked her skin, shivering slightly from the feel of it on the exposed scales on the back of her neck and on her cleavage. As she dashed past, the bounty hunter noticed something; there were no signs of life here other than her and the angel. This shouldn't have bothered Rose, but it did; what happened here to have gotten rid of all the wild life in the forest?

Finally, she saw what she had been searching for: about twenty yard away was a clearing, surrounded by the huge oak trees that stood like silent sentinels. It was a perfect circle, about thirty feet in diameter, with a single stone jutting out of the middle of the clearing. It was made of marble, with a single decoration engraved into the flat of the stone. It was three circles all overlapping one another to form a glowing design that pulsated slowly, like a heartbeat. Moving to the far side of the clearing, Rose looked around, still searching for any signs of life. Finding none, she went and hid behind a tree, taking off the glaive on her back so it wouldn't poke out past her hiding place and betray her position. Her breathing slowing, she listened, expecting the tell tale sign of her opponent's approach to come with the crack of a leaf...

[Yukina]

Yuki could feel it. All sorts of strange energies and magics. She was getting close to something. A deep oddity down in her heart told her so. The little whisps of her hair swaying slightly in the cool mist-ridden wind. She knew that this fight was a big defensive battle for her, and that definitely wasn't a good thing. She thought, If only... If i set this wild forest ablaze with what access I have to fire magic... That may give me an advantage. Neither of us would have a very good area to fight in... We might even have to go onto the water! Yuki slightly grimaced at this thought. Did I just rationalize burning down a forest? Even if this is the citadel... let's make that a last resort... She used the force from her wings to lift her feet off the ground slightly, and moved forward quietly. The trees swaying all around her.

Then there was something extremely odd. A flash. It was like the lightning had split the sea. The roaring sound of the lightning and the screaming boom of the thunder. The ocean violently shook at this fierce exhibition of nature. However, she wouldn't let her guard down, not even for a minute. She went forward just a bit more and then thought of a better idea. I can't use fire, I don't think igniting the forest is the best idea.... however... She noticed the clearing with the strange formation ahead. Light magic is definitely not out of the question... and if this woman is not a complete imbicile, she'll have noticed the opening ahead. Yuki ran to the nearest side of it she could and conjured light in her hand in the shape of a sphere. She threw her hand forward with powerful strength. Shooting a 'Pearl' right to the center of the stone monument. She then pushed about 10 feet back on her wings, hitting a tree gentley enough not to make a large noise. She was hoping this would startle her enemy and force her to rush in.

[Rebellion]

Suddenly, an odd phenomenon distracted the warrior. There was an echoing boom as a humongous flash of light went through the forest, startling Rose out her concentration as she looked towards the source of the light, aways off in the distance where she could not see. What was that? She wondered, half moving to go and see before the swish of wings stopped her movements. Damn it! She's here! Throwing herself against the tree once more, she heard a loud crack as something hard struck the stone in the clearing. Peering around the tree, Rose saw the angel looking around with one hand holding her blade of light. The other hand glowed slightly, wisps of golden light rising from it like smoke.

Rose didn't know why she was being so cautious about her opponent. She had fought in many battles, had hunted creatures and men far more powerful than this girl, and had survived to tell the tale. But as emerald eyes peered out at this Yuki, Rose couldn't help but slow her steps and leave her headstrong self behind. The angel stood against a tree as well, Rose being on her left side not fifteen feet away. She closed her eyes, and whispered a small prayer to the Dheathain gods as she held her glaive to her forehead, pressing the skin to the weapon's cool metal. Upon finishing, she bent down and scooped some of the forest's dirt into her metal gauntlet, clenching a fist around it as to not let the earth clip from between her grip. Spinning out from behind the tree, Rose rushed her opponent and once she got in range, cast the dirt she held at her opponent's eyes. As soon as it left her hand, her glaive was in motion, the bladed weapon coming down in an overhead strike as she swung with both hands. Her face was one of intensity, a fierce glare piercing the angel's eyes as once again combat was engaged.

[Yukina]

Now she heard it, the sound of something moving towards her at a high speed. The sounds of the leaves crunching and the small branches and twigs breaking beneath her pursuer's feet echoing throughout her ears. All of a sudden, dirt and crushed earth was thrown towards her face and she had to close her eyes and push back to quickly avoid a serious sight problem. She knew her opponent would use this chance to strike at her. I mean, who wouldn't use a chance of an enemy's perfect vulnerability to attack them? Yuki knew this enemy was intelligent enough to add variety to her attacks. If the last lunge was a horizontal slash... This one is likely to be vertical. She thought, quickly sliding to the side, only to get a cut on her right leg.

She used her weaponless arm to brush the dirt from her face and threw a sphere of light at her enemy and yelled, "Face the holy power of the white Pearl!" She quickly pushed herself back after that attack, raring to use her new spell on this opponent, losing interest in the fact she was in a forest.
Can her stamina honestly last forever?... No... she'll tire... but being more of a caster type of person, once my magic power runs down I'm through... Magic is getting precious, however... until i learn how to make those damned potions I have no other choice. She began to charge the energy necessary to let off 'Flame Ring'. When light magic gathers in a single place... it increases the effectiveness of light spells... what did Ayazumi sensei say light branches to... Darkness works with water and earth whereas light works with... Ah! Fire and wind! I shouldn't have a problem here...

Yuki's waist began to glow a fiery red all around and it slowly expanded to form a ring of three small flames. She would fire them on her opponent's next move. The gentle mist from the ocean still calling out to her and managing to take her breath away.

[Rebellion]

Rose pushed forward on her armored feet, cape flowing like dark wings behind her. She wasted no time in seeing how deep of an injury she had struck upon her opponent; if the angel was not slowed down, then she had not struck deep enough. That was a simple rule of combat. Too many died because they had distracted themselves with unimportant details, trying to win through brains when really what they needed was the brawn. Brains didn't matter after you were dead. Darting forward, the ex dragoon heeded this rule as suddenly her opponent lifted one glowing hand, shouting "Face the holy power of the white Pearl!"

The draconian almost laughed at the obviousness of the attack. Shouting out your attack was about the stupidest thing you could do; not only did it warn your enemy of an impending strike, but also it gave away the nature of the attack, if one's opponent was not a fool. And Rose was no fool. Immediately as the words left the angel's lips, the armored woman ducked, and a small ball of light shot overhead where her chest had been a couple moments before. It flew behind her, only to crash into one of the trees with a small explosion. Paying the sound no heed, Rose looked up only to see three flames instantaneously combust around her opponent's waist, expanding into a ring that circled around the angel like a shield. Two consecutive spells? Damn! Rose opened her mouth, as if to speak, then suddenly her visage became one of intense fury.

Erupting from her mouth came sort of a primal roar, a sound that had been heard and made ever since the dawn of time. It was not one of a woman's; rather, it had the power and sound of a giant monster's, a sonic boom of force that echoed from her throat and launched itself at the unprepared angel. It was a gift from her own heritage, a throwback to the ancient creatures that had once been feared as invincible gods amongst ants. A sound that had once struck fear in the hearts of men everywhere.

It was the roar of a dragon.

The sound was sudden, the force so strong that at this range it would blow out the angel's eardrums, if she had any. It would only be for a couple moments or two, but Rose planned on using the confusion and disorientation from the sudden blast of sound to her advantage however she could. Without a second thought, Rose burst into the air, propelled by strength beyond that of a normal woman's as she leaped high into the air. Another gift given to her, this time from her background as a dragoon, it allowed her to jump to heights beyond that of a normal humans and increase her attack power as she came down, the kinetic energy doubling with the fall. Gritting her teeth for the expected impact, the ex dragoon swung her glaive like a sword, so even if the angel managed to recover soon enough to conjure up one of her magic shields again the force from the swing would smash straight through it and and cleave her opponent in two, ending the battle right here and now.

She doubted it would be that easy...but it was worth a try.

[Yukina]

It was at that moment that she heard it. An unbearable sound that would cause the eardrums of even the strongest man to dissipate instantly. However, Yuki was no man. She could survive this roar but she was in no mood to be bright eyed and bushy tailed to face the oncoming onslaught of a battle. She was starting to run out of magic and wasn't prepared to get into a blade to blade fight with a foe like this. The roar, the scream--- the horror. This sound was unbearable. Strong and fated for a great power. This was a roar of courage, anger, and most of all-- a battle cry.

By the time Yuki could stop holding her hands by her ears and open her eyes, she was damn well near stabbed to death, rend in two, if you will. No, a total severing just won't do now, will it? She immediately cut all support and energy she was putting into her wings to allow her self to head straight down, she attempted to lean back as far as possible, and the incoming glaive did something truly impossible to even imagine. It scarred her face. Yuki could immediately feel the scarlet drops slowly going down her forehead, right in between her eyebrows and up to her forehead she had a horizontal scar dripping from blood.

Upon landing she lost her balance slightly and attempted to jump back. It didn't totally backfire, but she figured that when her opponent fell, Yuki wouldn't be right there. She healed the wound to the best of her abilities, it stopped bleeding and looked more like a scar she'd gotten a week ago now, That wasn't as bad as I expected... Oh! The Spell! Yuki knew time was almost up but managed to clumsily throw two of the fire balls at her enemy before the last one faded.

The expression of satisfaction immediately faded from Yuki's face. She went completely pale and gained a look of intensity.

I can't under estimate her. She's truly an opponent to fear and has some serious skill I can't even comprehend. It really does make you wonder why she attacks so... Amateur like... Not that I'm really one to talk but her potential shows more then simple thrusts and assaults. I'll need to be a little more creative...

She held her sword out in a defensive stance and prepared to block some sort of attack, a little light headed after all the rapid battle events that just occured.

[Yukina]

It's been about a month so I guess i'll submit it.

[AdventWings]

Due to the extreme lateness of this thread, I would forego the usual comments.

However, as a note on Continuity, the scores will be low due to the incompleted story. Sorry. ^_^;

Yukina

Story
Continuity - 2
Setting - 4
Pacing - 4

Writing Style
Technique - 5
Mechanics - 4
Clarity - 5

Character
Dialogue - 4
Action - 7
Persona - 7

Misc
Wild Card - 4

FINAL SCORE – 46!

Rebellion

Story
Continuity - 3
Setting - 6
Pacing - 7

Writing Style
Technique - 6
Mechanics - 5
Clarity - 7

Character
Dialogue - 7
Action - 6
Persona - 7

Misc
Wild Card - 5

FINAL SCORE – 59!

Yukina receives 150 EXP and 150 GP
Rebellion receives 550 EXP and 550 GP

[AdventWings]

Due to the extreme lateness of this thread, I would forego the usual comments.

However, as a note on Continuity, the scores will be low due to the incompleted story. Sorry. ^_^;

Yukina

Story
Continuity - 2
Setting - 4
Pacing - 4

Writing Style
Technique - 5
Mechanics - 4
Clarity - 5

Character
Dialogue - 4
Action - 7
Persona - 7

Misc
Wild Card - 4

FINAL SCORE – 46!

Rebellion

Story
Continuity - 3
Setting - 6
Pacing - 7

Writing Style
Technique - 6
Mechanics - 5
Clarity - 7

Character
Dialogue - 7
Action - 6
Persona - 7

Misc
Wild Card - 5

FINAL SCORE – 59!

Yukina receives 150 EXP and 150 GP
Rebellion receives 550 EXP and 550 GP

[Taskmienster]

Exp and GP added!