Ruins of Society (closed)

[Cyrus the virus]

((Kitty cat, this is yours))

The wind was sharp, cold, like invisible tendrils that whipped at Luc as he stood atop the tallest of six concrete pillars. Below him were the remains of an ancient society, destroyed utterly by a catastrophic hurricane – that was the tale told to him by the Citadel monk, anyhow, which only meant that the twit had too active an imagination.

Though the pillars were concrete, the structural remains were built from the remains of legendary creatures long ago bleached white from the sun. Luc’s eyes, yellowish in the light of the burning globe in the sky, scanned the massive area of ground below. Where there was shade there was grass, otherwise the ground was hard and dead. Handfuls of weeds grew from cracks in the fallen structures.

He was covered in a green aura, the telltale sign of the Stoneskin enchantment.

Cringing as another chilly breeze swerved around him, lifting his cape to dance in the wind, the mage formed a small figurine in his hand. Crafted of wind, the item was the exact likeness of himself, vibrating quickly as the gas was made visible by its density. Barely amused, Luc let the item fall apart again.

[Artifex Felicis]

There was something silly about how much effort was put into some of the Citadel matches. Once or twice the bone floor beneath his feet cracked, threatening to break through and possibly send him tumbling down a long and rather dangerous fall to a forgotten and destroyed city. There was such a thing as taking pride in your work, but the cat boy didn't really care about the lost city of Austrimany or how a massive hurricane brought on by vengeful gods destroyed it because their muffins were burned.

He kept a grin, not minding the chill of the wind thanks to his fur. His door ended up opening on what seemed like a larger shady spot thanks to higher cliffs. He only had to walk a little bit before seeing what could only be his opponent. A smaller, scrawny looking kid who screamed magic user. It was funny how no matter how much people denied it, everyone looked a little like their profession, be it carpenter, soldier or wizard.

He picked up a couple pebbles, though they were probably bone fragments. He tested their weight, aimed made a mock calculating of the wind by licking his paw and holding it out. It wasn't much, but the wind seemed strong enough to carry away most of his voice before it would reach the mage preoccupied and facing the other way. He threw the bone fragments, or were they stones, into the wind, hoping they would be blown just right into the glowing kid on the piller.

"Oi!"

[Cyrus the virus]

From his high perch Luc could see just about everything. But with nothing to see, the mage became bored quickly and sat down atop the pillar. As Audeamus became more and more attentive to their ultimate goal of ruling Althanas – or destroying it, Luc was never quite sure – the mage could see his independence waning. Whether that was a good or bad thing, he was still deciding.

The ring on his hand, the representation of wrath, glowed red suddenly. Someone had finally arrived.

From below, a fragment of bone struck him hard in the side of the head. Though it bounced harmlessly off his barrier, removing one charge, the attack brought an instant, angry frustration to Luc’s being. He got to a standing position with some help from the wind, turned in the direction of his opponent, and his anger fell away briefly as he laughed.

“What God created you vermin, I don’t know,” he said when he was done laughing. “But I hope to one day find out and send a prayer, thanking Him for all the amusement his silly creatures have brought me over the years. Here, kitty kitty, let’s get this over with.”

Remaining atop the concrete pillar, Luc waved his hands in an intricate pattern before he threw them upward. The ground below Leon rumbled briefly, struggling as the scorched earth reacted to Luc’s command, before a massive maw of dirt and rock rose around the furry, quickly clamping shut in an attempt to swallow him whole.

[Artifex Felicis]

((You're forcing me to be creative >.<))

Leon, for the most part, had one of three reactions whenever he met someone new and actually talked to them. His personal favorite was when they thought he was a big kitten, and would probably forgive him for stealing their wallets. It was amusing that it was mostly girls who acted like that. The other, much less common then the other two, was when they treated him no different then any other creature on Althanas, though perhaps they give a slight up turn of the eyebrow in wonder. The last reaction was the same as the mage's, though often without the laughter and a bit less humor. He could tell when he was being mocked though.

He just chuckled a little, suddenly feeling a little unnerved in the wind atop the dead mountain. He plunged his hands back into his pockets, his mouth closes and tensing like a great coil, ready to spring and strike. The pillar upon which the man stood was too high for him to reach, but a bound and a leap and a bounce was all it would take to cut out his legs from under him. But there was an odd moment, a change in the air as the ground itself seemed to rumble and groan under pressure. The cat boy was already moving as a mouth of earth began to shut behind him, his long tail narrowly escaping the earthen tomb. He flicked his hands up into the air and a pack flew. Cards began to spill out of the small pack and into the wind, coming one after another and annoying. They came nearly all at once and spread out by the blowing wind, though it was debatable if any did anything more then annoy the mage.

Their task as an annoyance and distraction for the cat boy must have worked,. He leaped onto the side of a pillar, then dug the claws on his legs in, shunting them back inside his paws as he pushed up and balanced somewhat on top of another pillar. He plunged both hands into his pockets, throwing out two yarn balls which draped over the other two pillars. One yarn stand began nearly invisible to the naked eye. Without the same cheery grin, he took two leaps, crossing two pillars before his steel headed yo yo smashed forward in a vertical swing, aiming to crack the mage's skull.

[Cyrus the virus]

((Welcome to battles against Luc!))

The maw splashed back into the ground, shattering back into stone and dirt as Luc abandoned the manipulation. Leon was beyond it now, scampering forward like a cat that had just been sprayed with water.

“This isn’t a very impressive trick, kitten,” he muttered to himself, wondering exactly what purpose the silly cards served. Before even a single one struck him, he’d put out a hand, palm up. The wind caught each card and swiftly put the cards in place in his hand, firmly set as a deck once more. The manipulation was embarrassingly simple, a true testament to the growth of Luc’s power over the last two years.

Leon was close then, but the mage was not intimidated in the slightest. He spat, catching it in his hand, and expanded the water to quickly create a long, jagged blade as strong as steel. He made no move to block the yo-yo, thrusting the blade forward in an attempt to catch Leon’s gut during the cat’s descent. Meanwhile, the cat’s weapon slapped harmlessly against Luc’s head, removing the second layer of Stoneskin.

[Artifex Felicis]

((Bunny approved, IM me if you want anything changed.))

The bouncing yo yo surprised Leon slightly, but it was far too late for that now. He never really thought that he would ever need to use it in the first place. He only used his own natural skills and weaponry in most fights. Claws and speed, teeth and cleverness. They got him through more times then he could count on his paws, and things like a deck of cards to distract and yo yo were often only one time things.

Leon jacket, on the other hand, was special. There was hardly ever a time when he went into the Citadel, or outside its walls, without it. The material was a non shiny black with blue flames on the sleeves and bottom. It looked good on the cat boy, but there was more then meets the eye. Nearly every single inch of it was covered by a weightless steel plate, offering more protection then more plate armors at a fraction of the weight.

The mage's Spit Blade slid off his jacket with a slight ripping sound in the fabric, revealing a small part of the steel plate. His weapon did nothing to slow the speeding cat boy however, and his outstretched paw, claws grasping for flesh seemed to bounce off and to the side. His body continued its course however, and collided with the mage.

There was a wide smile on Leon's face. It was only there for a moment, but teeth made for tearing flesh were visible a moment before they went for his prey's trout. His arms began to wrap around as if he were hugging with claws drawn and ready to pierce into the mage's soft body.

[Cyrus the virus]

The protective jacket came as a surprise to Luc, but not so much that he forgot where he was. Leon swiped and removed the last layer of Stoneskin, exposing Luc to potential harm once more. At the same time, the cat’s weight fell upon the mage and drove them both back, falling from the pillar and beginning to plummet toward the ground.

As a man perfectly comfortable off his feet – given that he controlled the wind, naturally – Luc was able to keep his focus on Leon, whose gnashing teeth and reaching paws promised pain. Before either could meet the mage’s flesh, however, the man clad in green exploded into wind, causing Leon’s arms and maw to close on nothing. The cat passed through a mist of green wind as Luc traveled back up to the top of that same pillar, before forming once again into a solid. Windwalk was truly a useful spell.

Leon was still falling toward the ground as Luc became solid once more. Aware of his surroundings, the mage lifted his hands to once more focus on manipulating the earth. In the area where he thought Leon would land, a ten-by-ten foot square on the ground, Luc commanded the earth so that dozens of razor-sharp spikes rose from the ground, awaiting the cat as he fell.

[Artifex Felicis]

There was a hard click as the cat boy's teeth hit each other with more then enough force to pierce through the mage's soft skin. He was suddenly clutching air, though a glance told him of where his prey was and what was now beginning to happen. The flying body twisted in the air, an arm reaching out and grasping a hold on a yarn string. That same string was just called from the pillars, and anchored himself, stopping the cat boy with a jerk that made his arm do a slight pop.

The pain was something his didn't expect. He landed somewhat gracefully and still managed to crack the bone floor he was on, hissing in pain as he rolled and felt his arm slid back into its socket. The pain went down considerably to a duller ache, but he could move his paw. A roar escaped his throat, directed at the mage and making it rather clear what he thought of him, as well as a somewhat looser grip on his humanity. Wicked claws gleamed in the sun, and he bounded towards the man.

The copper string whipped back towards the cat boy, making a wider crack before coiling. It almost seemed to tense, then shot out towards wizard with the intent of harming him. The beast himself came after, wary of moving too quickly on the cliff top he was on. A claw cut through his yo yo's string, and that was thrown, if a little haphazardly, after the strong towards the mage. The cat boy himself, did not do much fancy, and merely swiped at his prey with his good arm, trying not to use the throbbing one.

[Cyrus the virus]

Luc watched in amusement as the cat caught himself, flipping about like a feline trying to avoid falling into a bathtub. “Endless fun,” he mused to himself, making sure it was loud enough that Leon could hear and realize how little a challenge he was being.

The thought left Luc confident, but too much so. Leon’s yarn snapped at him like a striking snake, tearing into the mage’s arm and opening up a wide, clean sliver. He cried out, grasping at the wound. Another piece was launched at him, but was dismissed by a gust of wind.

Then the cat was upon him, attempting a clean swipe with its paw. Rather than try to parry the blow, wary of Leon’s speed, Luc leapt backward and fell from the pillar, allowing the wind to catch him and carry him toward a fallen bone structure. The mage landed on the surface of a white surface, only a few feet from the broken ground.

He didn’t waste time, knowing how quickly the feline could be at him again. Luc lifted his hands, summoning from the ground a half-dozen javelins of earth. Hardened to be stronger than steel, the pointed projectiles soared through the air, incredibly fast, to try and impale Leon one at a time. Should they miss, Luc was prepared to call them back to skewer the cat from behind.

[Taskmienster]

This thread has been waiting for over a year. If you would like to complete it, or work on it further, you can PM myself or another staff member and ask for it to be moved. However, till that time, it will be resting in the Citadel Archive forum.

Thanks,
~Task