Her lack of capability wore her down, chaffed at an ego she didn't even know she had. The itch of the healing would was a constant testament to it too, as were the ruined buildings and structures that lay crumbling around her. The Shimada wasn't even sure if they had actually killed the demons the two Knights had faced or simply stalled them from achieving their true purpose. For all she knew, their remains simply floated back into that rift and returned to the abyss, only to enjoy its safety and recuperate. Was her alleged sacrifice even worth it? She clenched her fist and swallowed, trudging on through the debris to evaluate the various locations where the rifts had opened.

It was something she'd decided to spend her time investigating, mostly to test her merit, now that her magical prowess had seemingly vanished. Additionally, she hoped to keep herself occupied. If the young Shimada could find something that connected the locations to one another, perhaps that knowledge could be used to predict the incursions in the future. She believed the the Holy Knights were in possession of something that offered them better insight on such matters, but of course those religious fanatics were keeping it to themselves, using it as leverage against the council, no doubt. It truly was a struggle to maintain this pro-church facade.

Her hands rested on her hips, the outline of her newly acquired wand faintly visible as her fingers forced the fabric to cling to her form. The cold made her face and her digits numb, as she stood and surveyed the wreckage. The brilliance of her orb was diminished now that it didn't have the glow of the sun to reflect. The light of the street lamps was too scattered by the fog to work effectively in the stead of those rays. The skies would've been graced with that lovely hue of orange that the Shimada favoured so much, instead the thicket of grey clouds left it bland. Mist hung thick, snow was probably in the forecast for the day.

There were heaps of clustered rubble all over the place. This particular section of the market place, reeked of its own brand of eerie. It was the location of one of the more powerful rifts. While her vision was hindered, her other senses were not. Akira was wary and could sense the presence of others... Not just one, but a few others. The air carried hushed whispers and there was that distinct crunch of gravel under footsteps. She remained silent.

The Shimada was surprised by a voice behind her. 'State your business.' a woman asked, she felt the tip of something sharp by her spine. While she knew her orb would protect her, she chose not to risk it yet. From the sounds she could discern, it seemed that the woman was accompanied by her own little posse of people. 'Same as yours.' she tried. The Shimada's eyes narrowed as she considered her options.

The attack by the demons was still fresh. The damage scoured the city streets to the forest outskirts. The people had not yet come to terms with the devastation that happened. Many left areas abandoned and torn down, as they were filled with fear, sorrow or a mixture of both tormenting them.
 
Even with such a fresh assault there was already strife to be had amidst the chaos. He should have expected as much. Dark manipulations would move under the guise or aftermath of another. Like a sandstorm concealing an army. Some of the fellow pages had spread word about a strange  group roaming the battle grounds where the demons had been slain. 
 
Hopefully they would be nothing more than petty scavengers. As Kazimir was one of the few Rune Knights that assisted  in shutting a portal he was sent out to find out what person or group lurked around the tainted grounds. 
 
He made his way to the markets. A section of it was in ruins from a great battle. Collapsed walls and debris were strewn about the street. Streaks of blood stained places, where people once bartered for prices and browsed down long walkways. Dreams were cut short that day.
 
 
He leapt onto the partially crumbled walls of the buildings to get a better vantage point. The sun faded away behind the thick mist and heavy clouds. Sparse street lights struggled to shed dim light on a dismal scene. With each step he took small rocks toppled under his weight. He moved from flimsy rooftop to the next. Only surveying the remnants of lives lost.
 
 
It was not long until he came upon a ripple in the airways that was not his own. He stopped his movement gentle on a half-toppled roof near them. Close enough to make out some words and see who was standing there. His old ally…Akira. Perhaps she heard word of this too or was she out her for another reason.
 
 
Regardless of how they arrived her it was plain to see that the group did not mean to interact peacefully. It was still a little difficult to see but Kazimir made out around five people that did not look like the usual thugs and riffraff. Upon closer inspection he could see the sharp sword edge pressed against Akira’s spine. Maybe these are the people I'm looking for, he thought.
   
Kazimir stood up on the building and made a circle with his arms, to prepare a spell. A white seal appeared beneath a few of the members of the posse behind the one holding the knife. It emitted a small wind that lightly blew away some of the fog. Hopefully that with his speech would provide a distraction for Akira to make a move if she needed to.
 
 
“I don’t know who you are, but if you would be so kind as to drop your weapon and let me ally go that would be appreciated,” His voice was polite, but his eyes showed something a bit more aggressive. His words garnered their attention. The one that held the sword looked over her shoulder yelling out, ”What now!”
 
“I am with the Rune Knights,” he began to speak as the posse started to move. They knew they were in a magic circle but didn’t seem like they had any intention of surrender. As they moved to an attack formation Kazimir released a whirlwind damaging them a bit but they proved more durable than that."The usual method then."

Tension hung thick in the air. She smirked bitterly, an expression that was certainly missed by her assaulters given she was still facing away from them. The sword against her spine caused her to stiffen unnatural, which put strain on her muscles and worsened the throbbing ache that ran across the injury on her back. The tautness of my muscles is probably hurting me worse than the damage they'd be able to inflict. 'And what do you think we're doing?' The woman had a deepness to her voice, a sultry timber of a sort. Aki made needless observations trying to glean whatever she could using all the senses available to her.

So they were willing to talk, either that or they'd recognised the Shimada. Her deduction was based on the fact that they hadn't even attempted an attack yet, despite outnumbering her. She was still to learn how many she was potentially up against. She had never been someone to invest much in her strength, so without her magic, they could potentially overwhelm her. Aki hated being blindsided by such circumstances and cursed herself for jumping into a situation she clearly wasn't ready for. The recklessness borne out of boredom reminded her that she still had much to learn.

She didn't know the extent of their powers either. They could be biding their time for an entirely different reason. That's when she felt a soft gust, it caused her heavy coat to billow as it brushed past her, causing the fog to dissipate and leaving clarity and an odd sense of warmth in its place. It was like the winds had the way of letting her know they were friendly... That or she was delusional and grasping onto any tendrils of hope. But the unexpected breeze carried with it a voice. While the tone and the warning were not friendly for the attackers, it marked her as an ally.

It wasn't too tough to recognise the source of the voice. It belonged to Kazimir. A host of questions coursed through her mind. Were the Knights expecting trouble? Had they been following her? Or was this merely a coincidence? He must either have similar instincts to her ex-partner, or he had influenced the Sinese's approach when it came to his duties, because within moments he announced his affiliation with the force. Aki rolled her eyes and resisted the urge to smack her forehead. Don't they know that the organisation hardly instils the fear in their enemies?

At least the scuffling behind her promised a divide in their attention. The attack he unleashed, caused the blade that was held against her to shift ever so slightly. The pressure of the weapon against her garments was lifted and it was enough for her to take advantage of the distraction created by her fellow Knight. With a swift leap and skid, she was a fair few meters away from the group. She turned to assess the scavengers and the one who had aided her.

Five very disgruntled looking people stood caught among the two. She clenched her fest, feeling the magical energy course into her palm like it had in the past. But recently, that was all she could manage. Her magic wasn't quite extending beyond herself. At least that is what she believed. She'd even managed to summoned a magic circle, one that was similar to her exp-partner's but it amounted to nothing more than that. Once they saw her form, unimpeded by the fog she was sure they had recognised her. 'Five against two...' her words were a soft and redundant mumble.

The distraction had worked. Akira was able to put some healthy distance between herself and the attackers. He had expected as much from the group when they made their move. Anyone that sneaks up on a person with a sword and a group of minions probably doesn't mean to back down from anything they could try and kill. 
 
The attackers spread out from the blast and Kaz tried to keep an eye on as many as he could, while seeing what was happening with Akira. He would need to ask her what she was doing here once all had settled. For now, was this troublesome group, that was more and more likely the ones he was sent to find out about.
  
Akira looked poised and ready to go, a magic circle appeared around one of her fists, emanating with power. He was excited to see what kind of attack she possessed. Before he could ponder anymore, one of the assailants dashed up the side of the wall he stood on. Their magic carrying them screaming up towards him.
 
Kazimir kicked of the wall and launched a slicing blade of wind downward. A mix of ruble from the wall was carried with the gust of wind toward the attacker, who threw their arms up to block the attempted wind slash.
 
Debris speckled about the ground with tiny clicks as Kazimir landed with them. He chose to be on opposite sides than Akira creating flanking formation. As he landed one of them immediately lunged forward slashing at his arm, the blade gleaming under the solo lantern light above, and cutting through the fabric of his outfit. He jumped back to compose himself. A thin line of red showing on the blade and coloring the dark black sleeve of his GI. That attack wasn’t nearly as fast as Haru even when he held back though. If he was more alert he felt, he could have dodged it entirely.
 
 The strike was only meant to serve as a deterrent, so they could all gather back together in a more defensive position now that they faced two opponents. The leader with the long sword facing Akira took a few steps back giving a sword flourish.
 
Two of the five faced Kazimir with their own swords drawn and ready. There was a tension in the air, saturated with the near infinite possibilities of how this scenario could play out. The group seemed to recognize Akira and they were at a small disadvantage. They may know of her capabilities and Kaz already revealed himself as a wind mage, but he had no idea what they were capable of besides swinging sharpened hunks of metal.
 
 
Kazimir stood ready to cast another spell. There was enough distance to create another whirlwind and leap back if he needed to, so he prepared himself. Although there was a faint thrill he felt in the idea of being up close in the thick of combat. Nonetheless, he waited, to see their next move and Akira’s.

“Perhaps we could dispense with combatives,” his tone was politer and more formal now that Aki’s safety was ensured. “It would be easiest if you explained why you were here,” he stated in an interrogative manner, his posture still ready in case things escalated further. 

They were all masked, from their figures it seemed that she and Kazimir were up against four men and a woman. The woman faced her, two of her mates stood behind her, by her flank. A magic circle had appeared, it wasn't her usual purple nor was it the favoured gold. Instead, it odd sort of grey and it formed in front of her clenched fist. Whether she was able to channel her magic through it or not was secondary. For now at least it bought her some more time.

The three facing her looked shocked. Was it because they'd expected her to use light or darkness and Aki didn't? But somehow, it felt as though their surprise ran deeper. Were they expecting things to be easy because rumours about Akira's dysfunctional magic had seeped out from the chuch? It wasn't entirely impossible... But still felt unlikely unless there was an affiliation. Of course, the Shimada hardly had the time to make such deductions on the spot. Such analysis would have to wait.

She squinted, her face was all screwed up as she tried her best to effectively focus her magic through that screen of a circle. From the corner of her eyes she noticed that Kazimir was already dealing with two others. She wondered if these foes were going to be too tough for the man to handle. She hoped that his years had offered him the skill and wisdom to handle this, even though the Knights hadn't bothered to promote him yet. As he held his own and to the point that he found himself in a position to attempt another bargain, Aki felt a renewed sense of confidence. She also was stabbed with a pang of guilt at not being swifter with her attacks.

'Why would we? We don't owe you filthy Knights an explanation.' the man responded as he began charging towards the Sinese man. Aki wanted to help, but the woman had side-stepped and was now charging towards the Shimada along with one of her comrades. In the heat of the moment, something happened. Aki finally felt some sort of a wave of energy leave her fist. Nothing was visible though. This had happened only once before and it had seemingly resulted in nothing. After the shortest of delays she opened her palm to attempt channelling the energy better.

That's when she noticed all three of the attackers and the fourth facing Kazimir were all launched several feet  away from one another. The force of whatever impacted them must've been pretty large, for they all landed with resounding thuds and crunches. Kazimir's attacker landed almost at the guy's feet. 'Okay...' she said, having surprised herself. She sighed softly and cocked her head. She streaked through the zone her magic had just blasted towards her fellow Knight, just as the five began getting to their feet ever so slowly. 'What are you doing here?' she asked, Kazimir curtly, having covered the vast distance between them swiftly.

The answer he received was one he expected. It was always quick tempered responses that led to attacks. He felt it was at least courteous to offer a verbal compromise even if the odds of it failing were  great. He didn't want to be known as a man that was unwilling to talk. "Of course. Shall we begin then," he replied stepping his foot back and raising his hands ready to cast or defend. 

The two he faced readied themselves for a series of slashes and ran in a zig-zag route, toward the wind mage. He opened his hand ready to launch a slash of wind when something he was not ready to defend against erupted on the battlefield. The explosion nearly eclipsed the area they stood. Debris showered over Kazimir, who brought his sleeved arm up to cover his eyes. The force began to slide him backward even being outside the blast radius. He thrust one hand forward and a strong gust of wind sent him a few meters backward to safety. 'Aki? So this is your power. That of a Cpt. Commander,' He thought to himself.

As the blast ended, all five people were strewn about the ground. Their formation was  decimated. Graveled sounds skidded to Kazimir's feet bearing one of the men along with it. "ugghhh," the man grumbled while he was on the ground still. 

Kazimir shrugged, ever the opportunist, "Since you're already here," he said as the man was staggering to his feet. Kaz let loose a wind slash that sent the man rolling back to the ground and away from him. 

Within almost an instant Aki had appeared beside him. She moved as fast as Haru...if not faster. He hadn't really caught up with  Akira since their brief encounter two years ago and had heard more than a handful of rumors about her. Her question was frank and one he could ask her as well. 

"There was word spread around the Pages, that some suspicious people were seen at the rift sites. I decided to do my rounds and check it out," He kept most of his attention on the five that were returning to their feet. "Chose to start with one of the bigger ones. What about yourself?"

As he asked his question the squad of enemies were up again and ready. They staggered alongside each other shocked by the immense power that hurled them across the battlefield. Their movements were more cautious and timid now. 

One of the men yelled out to the leader, "We have to get outta here! We have what we need for now."

The woman gritted her teeth and nodded in compliance and stood in the center of them. She rose her hand and a dark magic circle formed around all of them. A strange magical energy began to swirl in her hand. 

Kazimir was at a stand still waiting to see what would happen and attempt a counter attack if some strange spell shot forward at them.

There was a lightness to her step, the foundation of which lay in the fact that she had just discovered that she did still possess some magic. Unfortunately, this was hardly the time to gloat, though the gratitude seeped into her being and took the edge of her usual pessimism. There were a few things that had changed about the way she channelled her magic. It was just more difficult to control, more... aggressive some how. Not as tame and pliable as her darkness and light had been separately. On top of that she couldn't see it, so she'd have to first learn to consistently use it and then find a way to confirm if her spells were working as she intended, without relying on her sight. A fresh start, I guess... It'd probably work out well, because a lot of people around Fiore, good and bad were quite aware of her trademark Lunar spells, whatever this was, could potentially provide the element of surprise if she was ever to be caught off-guard.    

She leapt over the man that rolled towards her as she approached Kazi, she rolled her eyes and stifled a grin at the way he treated the man, mostly because she had to curb her friendlier instincts. 'Are the Rune Knights that short on people?' she said, a slighting edge to her tone. This was clearly not something a page could handle alone. She wondered if Kazi was supposed to be accompanied by more people, but either chose to play the hero and sneaked away alone, or the others backed out of the dangerous mission. Curiosity urged her to find out which one it was. 'That they sent you out here alone?' she finished, as she came to a halt beside him, enjoying the way her legs stretched as she moved, relishing the opportunity to be in the field again.

Both of them watched as the people she'd knocked back stirred. She grit her teeth as her fingers clenched into a fist again, but she wasn't quite able to harness her magic the same way again. A soft groaned escaped her throat. She didn't quite want to admit how incapable she really was, but if Kazi dove into something assuming she'd have his back and an unfortunate fallout was to follow, she wouldn't be able to forgive herself. 'I can't really pull that off again, so I do hope you came out here with a plan.' she mumbled softly, her eyes darting between her targets. Her hand inched towards her wand, but she wasn't sure how it'd work against multiple targets, plus, if they got away, the last things he needed was these vermin to know the dangerous capabilities of what she held. She had a big enough target on her back without that fact being common knowledge.

To her surprise, the ones who had suffered at the hands of herself, slowly got up and started regrouping again. She'd expected them to use the scattering as an advantage and use a multi-directional approach. The Shimada had predicted as much, because it was rather apparent that her magic and Kazi's would serve to hinder multiple people if they stuck together. Unexpected things were a rarity around her and they really set her on an edge. Her eyes widened as they all rallied to the woman again and large magic circle appeared under her. This could end rather poorly...

She was met with an urge to put as much distance between them and the duo, but yanking Kazi away wasn't an option. The act was supplemented with the intent to get out since they had apparently had what they wanted. Before she could make her decision, the lot of them simply vanished into thin air. 'Damn it.' she hissed, still on guard, wondering if they'd materialise somewhere unexpectedly. When enough long seconds passed, she eased up again. 'Think we lost them.' she muttered softly. There was a risk of failure becoming a pattern around Kazi. At least they got off easy. She turned towards the wind mage, with a slightly sombre expression, that betrayed a fraction of guilt. She did have a knack for blaming herself.

Aki jumped over the rolling body with an eye roll before standing next to Kazimir. She questioned the situation that he had gotten himself into and what the rune knights were thinking. It didn't really hit him until she mentioned him being sent out here alone. It wasn't a mission at all and was supposed to be something a bit more casual. After all he was just following up on some chatter from the other pages. At most he thought he would have to get rid of some lowlife bandits or urge some more than curious civilians back home.

"Well, truthfully this wasn't a mission at all. Just following up on some chatter. Wasn't supposed to be  this dangerous," he wanted to add more but the people they faced began to gather. He could tell Aki's impression of how the Rune Knights handled things wasn't better than the vague way she approached the inquiry two years ago. 

Beside him, she clenched her fist and Kaz took it as a sign things were going to continue on the battlefield. If they did, he didn't want to be anywhere near that explosive power she wielded. An attack that he couldn't even see happening. Although it did make him wonder if he could use his own magic to feel its vibrations. A query for another time. Then it was something odd that Aki whispered to him. That she couldn't do that again. Did she not have complete control over her magic, he thought to himself. He ran the comparison between her statement and what was happening with Haru. Surely a coincidence but he wouldn't bring it up. Instead he simply glanced her way and  responded,"I see. Last bit of mana." 

He turned back to face the attackers. She asked about a plan, but he had not anticipated running into  a  situation like this. Kazimir always had a plan though, and that was to evaluate and react. He believed no matter how well thought out a plan was, it always went off the rails and relied on a clear mind and reaction in the end. "As prepared as I can be," he said plainly

The group converge on the leader who was midway through casting the spell. Kazimir didn't want to take any chances. He made his familiar circle with his arms and thrust his hand out at their location. He focused on the wind blowing around him, trying to push as much mana into the attack as he could. Trying to reach a new height with his attempt. A white magic circle appeared overlaying the one they already stood on. 

They were covered in a strange dark blue dome of light. Not even a second later the white magic seal erupted to life sending another whirlwind tearing through the spot they group stood on. Kazimir waited cautiously to see if he had landed the spell before theirs. As the wind settled the group was no where to be seen. Aki scanned the area for a few seconds and concluded they were long gone. 

He did not expect the solemn expression she gave, and replied with a small one sided grin, "That look doesn't suit you captain." He said as if nothing in the past two years had changed. He walked across the damaged terrain to the spot the group escaped from and knelt down in it. "There's been some talk from the other pages about a small group roaming rift sites. I had to do rounds anyway. Most of the pages are on clean-up duty and most of the higher ups are preparing for the next attack. I figured it was some bandits or nosy civilians." He shook his head as he realized how much more serious the situation had just become. He would be in over his head as a mere page but he was a still a knight.  

He then perked up as he pulled something from the debris, "At least we have something to work with." He held up one of the attacker's mask and brought it back to Akira to look at. Maybe in her experience she had seen something like this before. 

WC 682 (beginning of spell training)

As usual, she'd kept a mental tally of all the information the man shared with her while they ended up waiting for the group to assemble and then vanish. She turned towards him as he referred to her as captain. 'Kind of you to address me as such. Technically, Captain-commander, but I suppose that role is behind me.' she said, offering the briefest of wry smiles in return. It was just nice working with someone without the heavy presence of awkwardness, borne out of incidents in the past. Kazi, while known did not bring with him such weight. As he explained his presence in more detail, she chewed on her lower lip. He had a knack for following up on such things. It was more people like him she wanted to see amidst the Knights.

'In such perilous times, I'd be more careful about what I step into...' she said. Her brows furrowing as she pinned Kazi with an intense gaze. To an outsider, the scene was probably amusing, she was shorter and clearly younger than the man in front of her. Despite the slight bite to the ring of the words she'd chosen, it was probably obvious that her words came from a place of concern. She was hardly the authoritative sort. She scuffled around again, warily on the lookout for any more company. It was eerily quieter now, perhaps it was safe to assume they were the only two.

'I sort of lost my magic after the fight against the demons... I took a hit and it-' she sighed softly, trying to find the right words. To call herself cursed just had such a negative connatation, one which definitely wouldn't sit well with her holy endeavours. 'And it just changed somehow, I've been working on getting whatever I have left under control. Can't say I've had much success.' she added, muttering softly as they parted ways just a little to split and investigate the area for clues. He seemed quite confident, but not overly so. It was refreshing to have someone prudent by her side.

She trudged towards the spot where the group had vanished. There seemed to be nothing worthy of notice around. But she was not going to accept another failed mission. Her proclamations against the Rune Knights were bold. The least she could do was lead better so the worthier candidates within the organisation rallied against the subjugating rules. That's when he spotted the masks one of the members had lost. It was an odd sort of a piece. She could swear she'd seen it somewhere. 'Something indeed...' she muttered as she peered at it with intrigue. The she held out her hand, wondering if her other senses could help identify the affiliation better.

She knew she couldn't shake off Kazi's presence. Besides, a small part of her didn't want to. While she had grown accustomed to working alone, company wasn't all that bad. Besides, if he was going to continue down this path regardless, he was probably still slightly safer with her. At least her orb would help stall matters if they ended up biting off more than they could chew. She flexed her own fingers, contorting them into several shapes. It was an idle experiment to see if the magic within her stirred and responded to any of the gestures. While she did so, it felt like a good idea to discern what Kazi could offer. 'Well, if we are going to go at this together, you'll have to show me what we'll be working with, since you're probably going to be our steady source of power.'

Outside of pages, Akira was one of the few higher ups he had encountered in the Rune Knights. Despite the changes that happened recently, Kazimir cared about his relations with people more than the dance of politics in the organization. He would always see her as a Captain Commander unless she betrayed him or put innocents in danger. "My apologies Akira," he said her name with the same respect that he would have said Cpt Commander. A way of letting her know his position on the matter before he continued. He was not entirely sure what caused her to be in this situation but losing her as a figure of importance in the knights was a hard it for the organization. 
 
Her sharp words were unexpected. A whisper of concern accompanying the harsh glare that came from the younger woman with a smaller frame. He would have been stung by the words harder if they had not both found themselves in the same situation. He appreciated her concern, but this was something he could not turn away from. Part of him thought that Akira was much the same way, "I believe in perilous times we often have to take the biggest steps," he spoke softly knowing that her words came from compassion and worry. 
 
He tried to conceal the heartache he felt in her explanation of losing her magic. In losing a part of herself. Had the demons mutated it in some way? It left a lot of questions in the air, but magic was as fickle as the wind. A different breeze for each person. “It’s good to hear that you’re still connected with it. You seem to be getting a better grasp on it. I’ve never seen anything like what you cast earlier. Or that powerful.” He was still in confusion about what it was as he didn’t see anything, just felt the strong force behind it.
  
He watched Aki walk away, briefly thinking about all the hardships she had faced, from the knights and now with her magic. Despite being so young she had the strength of veterans. It was an inspiring sight.
 
Kazimir wasn’t much for coincidences but between himself and now the other mages he encountered, magic seemed to be changing for lots of people. In fact, all the mages he talked to about magic had undergone a change. A question for another day.
 
The masks brandished some ornate designs. Aki rotated the mask in her hands. Her fingers sliding around the smooth edges, searching for something. She didn’t look at it like a strange thing but something familiar. Her hands and eyes hunting for a memory of the item, hoping the touch would jolt it to the forefront of her mind.
 
Kazimir stood patiently, it seemed they were back on a case again. Hopefully one that would fare better than the last. It was a pleasing thought to be working alongside a pro again. He was trained to work in two-person teams so this was on some level intrinsic to who he was. Ingrained in him since his youth. Regardless of her affiliation now, she would always be a welcome partner. The case is what was important.
 

Her response solidified their team-up. She was quick to want to gauge him, but an obvious next step to take given what she said about her own situation. The wind mage was not entirely sure how to demonstrate this or what she wanted. Whether that be a spar or a showing. “Alright then. Makes sense,” he said plainly as he kicked his foot down creating a gust of wind that sent him a few meters back from her and adjusted his scarf. “How shall we do this then?” He asked as wind billowed his clothing, “My magic has changed since before, and I focus almost completely on offensive and movement spells.” He stood ready for whatever route Aki preferred to take in the moment. “I also have no upper body strength so close combat is…not to my liking,” he added just as matter of fact as his positive statement.


WC 680
Total WC 1362

When he curtly apologised, Aki grew just a tad embarrassed, suddenly acutely aware of how her words probably sounded and how chaffing her demeanour could be, at least in perception. She didn't mean to throw her weight around, it was almost instinctual. Coupled with the requirement to distance herself from her old faction, her words probably came out sharper than she intended. She just waved her hand dismissively, to remedy the situation. 'For the record, just Akira is fine.' she said.

While not exactly demure, she was more contained than before. After all, the situation echoed the saying; pot calling the kettle black. On several occasions, she'd taken similar risks, today included. She was still injured, she hadn't recovered entirely, her magic was dysfunctional and yet here she was. The only thing she had going for her, was that she had no idea that there would be trouble of this kind. It wasn't a very reliable excuse though, because she was smart enough to know better now...

His response was definitely not inaccurate. 'Well, it does go to show the mettle of some over others.' she muttered. His words echoed her sentiments. Only when there was a risk, could one be courageous, it was easier to comply with ones duties when things were comfortable. But the line between bravery and foolhardiness was a very blurry one. She'd usually had Tsuru's support in their early ventures. For Kazi to be absolutely alone, didn't sit well with her. Perhaps, she was expecting LeeAnn to accompany him. A part of her was glad she hadn't, this interaction would've reeked of the same tenseness she'd built with the others, then. But at the same time, there was that natural surge of concern.

She bit her tongue and stifled the question that sprung to her lips. From the way he'd interacted with the redhead, Aki could discern that their level of comfort with one another was greater than between the usual colleagues within the faction. She wanted to ask about LeeAnn, but was wary, for her words would probably betray emotions that would hamper the progress she'd made towards slowly severing ties and creating distance albeit temporarily. Maybe she could slip in the question in time. There were more pressing matters, a Captain-commander would definitely not allow for idle chatter that amounts to gossip, right?

The mask was still held between her fingers as she tried to place where she'd seen it. The memory of it felt alien, like it wasn't something she'd witnessed herself, but knew off anyways. That was her first clue, but she'd still not put the pieces of the puzzle together. For the moment, she allowed her attention to split, while in her subconscious she continued searching for an answer, her gaze shifted to Kazi again. 'You try and hit me with the strongest force you can muster with your altered magic. If my deductions about the changes that I sense in my own magic our correct, our repertoire and style may end up being similar, Kazi.' She spoke evenly, perhaps even a little flatly, but internally, she was keen to see how he'd grown.

She clasped her hands behind her back, squaring her shoulders in preparation. Her hands continued making gestures, though Kazi couldn't see them now, in an attempt to channel her mana. Finally, as she stuck two fingers out, as though she was making a gun, her source of magical energy stirred and finally responded. A finger gun... Why didn't I think of that one before. she though amused, realising that perhaps in her subconscious, she missed her gun. 'If I respond with spells of my own, considering I don't have full control, I'll make sure to not aim for you.' she stated, it was more an instruction to herself than reassurance for him.

Her eyes widened in realisation. She had just come to identify where she may have seen the mask. It felt like it may be something she'd seen in a fleeting glimpse when reading Adel's memories... it was more based on derivation that absolute memory, but the alien feeling of recognition could only allude to that. While she couldn't be certain, it did serve as a fair starting point. But if this was truly the same cult that managed to capture Kon and Adel, then they may truly be biting of more than they could chew. It only made the assessment of their strength and weaknesses more imperative. For the moment, she wanted the Sinese to focus on that, channelling their spirits and souls into identifying what they were capable of. She decided to offer her insight on the mask, after they had both learned more about the state of their offensive capabilities. If they managed to coordinate, she could cover for their defence alone.

"Akira it is then. You can call me whatever you want as long as its not page," he said with a laugh about how long he had gone without a promotion. He had settled back into a normal rhythm of working with someone even if she was not technically in the rune knights any longer. Both of them stood in a situation they had not anticipated. But they were here now and needed to make the best of it. The Akira reacted about it only served to bolster Kazimir's own feelings of discontent steering with the knight organization the more he learned about it. Not enough to ever turn him away from it though.

It was pleasing to hear that Aki more or less agreed with him about peril and risk taking. he concealed the fact that sometimes it was about pushing himself harder and seeing what new heights he could reach on his own. If it was a more difficult situation then it would be a greater opportunity for growth. Even so, he was still ever cautious. "Just doing my job," he ended with. He took a moment after having seen her concern and knowing the concern from the other knights of notoriety he met. They all seemed to have good hearts and compassionate ones.

Something else lingered on his ally's mind. A question dangling on the tip of her tongue. Kaz was going to address it but as she pushed it aside, so too would he. When she was ready she would ask it. it didn't seem like her to let something drift for long without bringing attention to it.

Now that he thought about it, Last he had heard about Aki was that she nursed an injury. Had she already healed or was she feigning at strength. He never knew the severity of the wound she suffered but it would have had to been one of substance to take her down. It was another topic he didn't touch on. They had just reunited and he wouldn't want to push her on anything that would make her uncomfortable.  

Right out of the gate she wanted a full force attack. Without a doubt she could handle it with ease but it her flat tone about it was striking. Then again it was a way of speaking he also had a tendency to use. He smiled as he remembered being laughed at about it by LeeAnn, before pulling his mind back to the task at hand. "Alright then. I'm fascinated in seeing what comes of yours. I could learn a lot from it." Whatever her destructive magic turned into, with her experience and if she was right about their magic being similar then he hoped to gather some pointers from her. "We do both seem to favor wide spread attacks," nodding with his eyes closed. He re-opened them and looked at her more focused now, "Well then, I'll use my best," his own response was nonchalant.

She stood with her hands behind her back. Kaz tilted his head. 'She wasn't going to take a defensive stand. She was just going to let it strike or perhaps put herself in a place where her magic would have to kick in. His confusion and concern were visible. A dangerous but potentially fast tracked and effective strategy. He hoped it worked. he would usually not condone such a seemingly reckless act but she knew better than him. besides even a full power attack would still leave her standing in good health. He shook of the concerned look with one of hope and respect.

"Feel free to let it rip in my direction. I have to learn to react better to things like that and if you need to fine-tune your aiming I'll aid with it." He was to interested in seeing what her newly forming magic was to pass on that chance.

Kazimir kicked the ground and a gust of wind sent him backwards. it was intended to go farther but he landed 7 meters away and he lunged back creating a 10 meter distance between them. A white magic seal appeared around his hand, "I'm going to throw two so you can see both my main moves," he called out so she didn't think he was trying to cheap shot one in there.

He swiped his hand forward and launched a slash of wind 1 meter wide and long that would deal b-rank damage on impact. As that blade rushed forward and was within striking range he made a circle with his arms to practice another one of his new spells. it was still untamed and untested. It was more powerful than he was used to and took longer than what was typical for his spells to cast. He felt the wind rushing against his skin frantically.

He settled his hands in closer together and the winds calmed. A white magic seal appeared around Kazimir and an 8-meter diameter circle appeared around Aki. A moment later the wind began to pick up around the seal. It rustled at her feet. A side-effect of him still mastering the spell, "I can do smaller ones but I'm trying to get this one going," he said.

He gave a small sigh of relief and whispered to himself, "Got it." The wind erupted in an 8 meter whirling tornado dealing a-rank damage to everything in its area.

WC 890
Total WC 2258

'Oh, I kind of already took the liberty of calling you Kazi...' she muttered, more to herself than to him, wondering if she'd perhaps crossed a line in assuming she could, before he'd explicitly allowed her to. Not that it'd matter anymore, given that he had now. 'Ranks are overrated and just a mark of how slow paperwork can get.' she said, not mincing her words. It was like once she started down the road of dropping little complains about her faction, she couldn't just stop. It couldn't hurt too much, given everything, but she really did learn to regulate that. Overdoing such a thing could mean there was no coming back ever... and as much as she wanted things to change, she'd always hoped to change them from within.

Kazi seemed taken aback by Aki's request. For some reason, that amused her. She had grown used to handling things alone, but rarely did she get to see appreciation or even surprise like she did today. The concern she noticed was welcome too. She couldn't allow herself to get to used to this comfort, it'd make it far harder for her to abandon it when the time was ripe. 'First I need to learn what it is.' she retorted, allowing herself a little respite from the cold demeanour and just throwing out a playful jest. Sparring was something she'd never quite indulged in with anyone except for Tsuru. While urgency demanded a quick assessment of her abilities and Kazimir's, she was looking forward to the experience.  'Good catch.' she remarked, it wasn't said in a tone that was praising, because that would surely come off as patronising. It was just natural admiration for someone with a keen observant eye.

When he did finally accept her challenge, she was the one left mildly shocked when his tone turned flatter too. She absently cocked her head and wondered if they shared more similarities than she had deduced so far. 'I'd expect nothing less.' she said in a soft whisper, preparing herself. He seemed to be drawing bravado from her, which made her want to tell him to work on his self-preservation instinct. She had the orb, which was the reason she took this calculated risk. They'd only had a glimpse of what her magic can do, she was definitely not going to take those words into consideration. 'If I wanted you to play a moving target, Kazi, I'd not have asked and declared otherwise.' she chided, shaking her head.

When he mentioned he was going to throw two spells instead of one. Aki chortled, she was tempted to retort by saying 'overkill.' but knew it'd be fool-hardy and disrespectful to not take his warning seriously. While she may not sustain damage, Aki didn't want to rely on the powers of the orb and was aiming to see how well she could do in terms of dodging, despite the injury. They were about ten meters apart now and braced herself. Her legs tensed, one stepped forward slightly so she could evenly distribute her weight and launch in any direction she needed to. She leapt diagonally towards him, dodging the first spell. Whipping around she noticed the pile of rubble it struck behind her... which scattered violently. 'Oof.' she said, quite impressed and sorely missing the reliability of her darkness and light.

She had deliberately dodged towards him, so she still remained a viable target, but that changed swiftly. The moment the threat of being hit by something so powerful, in the guise of gentle gusts at her feet, became too real, her instincts took over and she dashed to the full range her body allowed, away from Kazi. It was a good decision too, because her eyes were riveted onto the monstrosity of wind he'd created. It swallowed the debris around her and caused it to fly in random directions, it howled and roared eagerly ravaging everything in its wake. 'Ok! No one should be calling you a Page.' she exclaimed, trying to talk over the spell. She'd seen such destructive properties before, but he was still allegedly low ranking, they really needed to notice such skill before it was too late. At least the Sinese man was the loyal sort too. 'Can you stop it?' she asked, it was more a curiosity than a demand. The two could certainly work with this.

Once his tornado stopped whirling about and she had the chance to catch her breath from all the dodging, she let him know her own intent. 'We should be able to do a lot with what you have, I'll try throw something out too, following which I think have an idea who we are dealing with, I'll tell you more on the way.' the walk would provide time for debriefing.

He chuckled a bit at the nickname. It was an abbreviation he had not heard in a long time outside of his clan until he came to Fiore. "No...that name is just fine," nostalgia echoed in his voice. He shrugged his shoulders, "I'm actually not in a hurry to climb higher. Seems to be a lot of storms in the peaks," he commented about conflicts he observed in the higher ranks and how relatively benign things were for pages. Being a low rank had disadvantages but also an odd bit of freedom to move around unseen.

It was good to see that she had relaxed a bit and even let out a small joke. He wanted to help her find out whatever magic she held maybe as much as she wanted to test him. After all they were both mages and pushing each other would be beneficial. For him that's part of what it meant to take this journey. "Thank you," he added, not offended in the slightest by her comment on his observation. He said it mostly just for conversation as they could both clearly see some of the similarities.

She met him with a cold rebuke to his request of her casting back at him. He could understand her hesitation especially after its destructive force displayed earlier. But he wondered if she knew his request was equally for his own benefit. He wanted to learn more about whatever magic he could and facing various challenges was his way of striving to improve. Despite her cold remark though, he felt it was her way of showing restraint or concern. "As you wish. There is a time for a gentle breeze and time for harsh winds," he said both in comment to her magic and her fluctuation between her soft whispers and abrupt responses. Not intended to poke at anything just a plain statement within an observation.

She leapt to the side of his first attack. A tactic he was used to after relying so many times on heaving that attack. He redirected his whirlwind to the place she moved to and let it loose. Again the skillful Akira evaded the attack, putting distance between both her and the spell and the two of them. He had hoped to see an attempted magical counter to the spell so he could try to see what her magic looked like but she played it defensively. 'She must really be worried about the state of her magic,' he thought to himself.

He held his hands ready for her next move, in case it was a dash towards him like she started before. His body preparing for the next spell and to make a move of his own be gathering wind around his legs to dash off with. Instead she paused and called out to him. Upon her request he concentrated on the small tornado and dispersed it down to a gentle breeze yet again. "Thank you," he smiled at her exclamation about him being better than a page. "Now that I have the hang of it, it won't take me much build up to conjure it next time."

He approached her as she gave him the assessment of his abilities. "If it comes to it, I'll keep the pressure up the best I can. You moved around the field so effortlessly. Even without relying on magic I'm sure I'll be safe with your skills," Aki didn't seem like the kind of person who took compliments well so he said it as more of a fact than anything.

"I see. Let's move then. Who do you think they are?" He began to walk and listen to her idea about their foe. Still circulating in his mind was the tension between LeeAnn and Akira. It was something he pushed aside. Whatever problems they faced with each other they would need to sort out. Kazimir was more concerned with the mission at hand but it would be a lie to say he was not curious about the incident.

-exit-

WC 660
Total WC 2918/2700 (10% reduction from Int)
Spell trained: Whirlwind of the White Tiger B-rank

She was happy to even have someone to refer to by a nickname. Once again, it was an acute reminder that she missed Tsuru. Though they'd had a chance to reunite, rekindle old emotions and even recreate the comfort the two shared while on duty, she knew she'd seen have to work up the courage to nip things in the bud. She sighed as he mentioned the storms in the higher ranks. She couldn't fault him for his concern and deduction based on what he'd witnessed. She could only huff about it softly. There was no motive or way to explain what caused the turmoil.

Despite having serious reservations about Baldanti, she didn't want to make things tough for Kazimir by attempting or... or worse, succeed in colouring his opinions about some of the higher ups. He'd either have to arrive to those conclusions himself, at which point she could only hope he could display the resilience and tenacity she and Tsuru had managed initially... and wish that it didn't wear thin like it had for her and seemed to be for her ex-partner.

Besides, her words would probably be discounted, at least on this matter. Given that they were unfortunately preceded by her false praise songs for the church. Any discussion would only open wounds that she didn't want to deal with. Considering that LeeAnn was quite terribly caught in the crossfire of Aki's duties, twice now, it could easily become a point of contention. The Shimada could see a healthy respect brewing for Kazi, and so hoped that there wouldn't be a third that'd force the two to deal with a rather tarnished relationship before it even had a chance to blossom.

It was interesting to have him present his observation as an intensity of the winds... It seemed his magic (much like Aki's had in the past) had quite a hold on him. She would've attributed it to a mere coincidence, but twice in a row seemed like a pattern. She narrowed her eyes, deciphering the possible contexts that his words could be referring to. But once again, she held her tongue, despite her curiosity. Her hesitance was borne out of the same concern as before.

Finally, as his winds dissipated and he thanked her, she was left a little inspired. Unsure if she could recreate something similar, the Shimada though there was no harm in trying at the very least. She created some more distance between Sinese and herself, before closing her eyes and making elaborate motions with her hand, settling on a curled fist that flicked in a direction with her intent. She peeked to notice the magic circle that formed at the front of her fist. Something form of magic was unleashed, she squinted to get even a hint, but neither saw, nor heard anything.

It wasn't until a pile of rubble was violently knocked away, and then another.... and then another did she notice the course her own vortex was taking as it revolved around her, knowing Kazi would soon be in it's path she instinctively pulled her fist closer to herself, somehow, whatever she had created seemed to respond and the next pile that got knocked was closer to her than the others. She cocked her head, before cancelling the spell a little amused.

Having allowed him a glimpse of her capabilities, at least she hoped he thought she truly had earned her spot among the higher ranks. The last thing she wanted him walking away with, was the belief that she was a burden among the Knights and had just gotten lucky, or worse, used some snide way to make her way to the top, like Baldanti often implied. She closed the distance between them again, with as much swiftness as she displayed earlier, but all the stretching of her back made her wince as her scar opened up a little. She huffed as she staggered to a halt in front of the Sinese.

A small grin split open her usually expressionless face. 'I should thank you, I think watching you work with your wind, help me channel whatever I have into something... similar.' she admitted, sheepishly. She was glad that she wasn't going to be useless in their venture they'd chosen. 'I think I'll be able to hold my own after all.' with this new discovery, she was tempted to go after the masked people by herself, but that would be dishonourable to Kazi, who had spotted the mask after all. She went on to respond to his question regarding the task at hand. Her words were vague, simply because she wasn't entirely sure and would hate to lead him astray. 'I have my suspicions, but I hope you can trust me and offer me the few days I need to find a way to confirm them.' She said, her words soft and serious again.

She allowed a small crease to form between her brows as she considered how much she should leave him with and then decided against revealing anymore, which would hopefully prove as a test of his loyalty and trust towards her. If he was willing to take her words at face value and leave her to her own devices at such a juncture, her faith in him would rise and she'd surely be able to keep her word. 'I could use the time to find out more about my magic, if what I've deduced is true, we're not dealing with our average hooligans.' She said, probably offering the temptations of a conversations, but turning away to hopefully avoid it. With that she bid the Knight farewell, opting to seek him out when the time was ripe.