[OOC: continuing training from: https://www.fairytailrp.com/t51605-unearth-kaiser - 1275 words]

Okay, now… what a strange event that was. The whole spectacle with the ruined fortress rising up from the earth at the edges of Astera. From what the Fire Mage had experienced, it was definitely the work of magic, but all he could assume was that the orb from the bottom was causing it all on its own. Luring people into its core and stealing their energy wasn’t new to him, though, as the glove from approximately a year ago or something did the very same… or did it? He scratched his head with a finger in deep thought, unsure that it was the same case back then. He needed to work on his memory, that was for sure - Coda’s constant pecking seemed to harm his brain’s functions.

But alas, he got an idea for a new spell that he wanted to finish. He still had time to test it out again, so after having moved further away from the small building that rose up, Daiko channeled his magic and transformed into his Takeover. His body shrank a tiny bit, and his muscles slimmed out as if a lot of weight had been thrown off his entire being. Feathers grew out of his face, arms and legs, and his toes grew crooked, black talons and yellowish scales. He resembled a sort of harpy in this form, especially with the deep-red wings that jumped out from his back and tore through his jacket. That wasn’t actually intended, though, and he forgot that he had his jacket on right now, which meant that he just destroyed his own clothing once more. “D-Darn it, not my green jacket…” he sighed in slight pain as Coda chuckled.

Forget that. The wings weren’t able to lift him up in the air yet, for he hadn’t trained them enough. However, until he reached that point, he figured that he should try and aid the wings’ buoyancy with his Fire Magic. His channeled magic power travelled to the wings and manifested waves of heat that lifted them up, and at the same time he basked them to start up his next attempt at flight… and perhaps he needed a small jump to get some height. He didn’t assume that his wings could lift him up on their own right now, only slightly allow him to hover above the ground for some time. Maybe he would fall down too quickly…

But he saw progress compared to last time… The wings managed to bask quickly enough, combined with the heat waves also known as ‘fire’, for him to soar above the ground for much longer. His mouth left opened for a while, he spoke up: “C-Coda! Are you seeing this? I’m flying, I’m actually flying…!” He punched the air in joy and tried to dash around in the air, but he soon realized that the height held a role, for the higher he went, the more difficult to became to control his wings. At one point, they just died out - the flames, that was - and his slappy wings let him fall straight down to the ground. Ouch…

WC: 521
TWC: 1275 + 521 = 1796/2100

Slowly picking himsefl up from the ground by his wings, Daiko cancelled it and plopped back on the rocky floor on his feet. He sweated a little due to the heat that he generated, but it was far from unfamiliar to him. This was his heat, his magic. Coda was soaring around the sky, far away from the dangerous training regime that Daiko was doing; playing with fire was a hazard in itself, and it was good that he wasn’t near any trees and that there was an ocean nearby. One would think that he should have burned down Orchidia or Worth Woodsea a long time ago with how reckless he could be with his magic, but that tended to just play on his luck and turn out to be worthless of worrying about, since both places were unharmed. Really, he wondered if the forests resonated with his magic in one way or another. As if they had more sentience than he thought, and that they actively gave space for his magic and made sure to stay away from his unaware harm.

Okay, he would have to try one more time. This time, he wanted to try and soar above the waters from Astera’s shore, so he picked up his speed and waddled towards the beach where not many people were finding place to sunbathe - at least not right here near all the spiky stones. A beach needed more sand, a soft surface that didn’t plan to harm you and that you could put your carpet or towel on. Either way, Daiko was out of any chance of being distracted, so he continued with his plan and focused again. He had to focus a little, for he had accidently dropped out of his Phoenix Form. It appeared that his body found it unnecessary to stay in it if he was out of combat or if he wasn’t using magic, for it wasn’t anything that he could directly control yet. He couldn’t summon feathers on his body at will, it appeared. Anyway, his body changed according to his intention of using the spell again; muscles slimmed down, feathers grew out, his hands and toes grew talons, and his eyes also turned into those of a raptor’s. His hair was set ablaze, and he was ready to aid his wings once more. He began basking them to ready for a leap, and by lowering down by bending his legs, he activated his spell as a magic circle appeared. Heat rose up to his wings and manifested a sort of silhouette of bigger wings, and with them he leapt up and began flying faster. He was now soaring above the waters, and it appeared that he wasn’t going to fall down anytime soon. He had begun to approach the abilities of a bird’s flight once more; the freedom it gave him was intoxicating, and he wished that his magic power could keep it up all day long. Imagine flying from waypoint to waypoint like this, sheltered by the sunset that appeared in the background as the sun dipped down into the ocean…

WC: 520
TWC: 1796 + 520 = 2316/2100 (Firefly Learned! Continuing to learn Fire Force with 2316-2100 = 216/2100 Words)

He wasn’t paying attention to the time anymore. Once he managed to grow accustomed to his flight, Daiko was in a whole new world. His arms were spread out, and he dashed right over the waters in hot pursuit of Coda. The little raptor challenged Daiko’s new abilities in a kind of game of tag in the air without touching the ground. Gladly, Daiko was more than quick enough to catch up on her and gently grab her entire, feathery body with his arms before finding a good place to land. The rocky stones were a hazard to plant your feet in, but some places were far more habitable than others, and the reason that Daiko had that in mind was because of the fact that he was going to camp out here for tonight. The training had taken all of today, and the sun had already passed into the horizon and dipped into the ocean.

It was too hot outside. Daiko quickly took off his jacket and t-shirt before heading for a good spot to build his camp. He had hide from oxen in his bag as well as tusks to use as bolts to hold the tent, and it was about 35 meters away from the shore where the stony ground met saltwater. The tent was raised up with one long tusk that came from a mammoth-looking creature from Sieghard, and while it held the tent’s tallest point up, Daiko smashed the smaller tusks down along the edges of the hide, so that his tent got a very ‘tiki’ like fashion. Aaaand… that should be about it. His tent was up, but he still needed two holes on the ground for cooking reasons. One hole for some water to flow through, and another to hold his kettle.

Usually, there would be holes filled with saltwater below the rocks, right? Given their formation at the beach, Daiko assumed that small cells of water were stored beneath the gravel-like surface; he just had to dig deep enough. It would prove more difficult than he assumed at first as he jabbed his hands deep into the gravel ground. This wouldn’t do, he had to get a deeper impact. One, big jab could do the job, and he began gathering magic power again throughout his entire body. However, he was way too exhausted, obviously; he couldn’t undergo his Takeover Transformation, so the magic power left in him just emitted from his skin as a reddish flare. With it covering his entire body like a cloak, he jabbed his hands down again only to make such a heavy stab that the impact lifted up the tent and released the tusks. Daiko panicked for a moment, now attempting to grab the tusks midair and bolt them down again before a mess was made. A wave of hot air spread out in every direction, too, and Daiko waited for it to settle before sighing in disappointment. That was when the salty water leaked up from the small crater beneath his feet…

WC: 506
TWC: 216 + 506 = 722/2100 (Learning Fire Force)

That was strange. And yet, it felt very familiar… or, well, a better word to express the feeling would be nostalgia. Daiko had tried this type of spell before, hadn’t he? Because, listen, having a Takeover Magic was already this much different from ordinary Fire Magic that he donned back in the days - and who knew what might change in him tomorrow - but it still held some core elements that inspired him to recreate some spells from a distant past. It was always a good idea to cover yourself in fire during battle, given that the fire didn’t directly injure you like it would injure whoever touched it. It felt like a very generic ability, but even here while doing daily harbor, his body couldn’t help but replicate it. A spell that covered his body in fire… yes, just like back in the days. When was the last time that he used such a spell? He began wondering over a past that not many people would remember; back at Worth Woodsea on the day when he met Aguero…

It was getting late, though. He didn’t have time to think back to the past, since his tent was ready and it was likely time to let Coda empty her belly before sleeping. Birds didn’t go to the WC during sleep, and… urgh, Daiko didn’t want to worsen the morning poop. He would have to start training this ‘fire body’ spell tomorrow. That was what he decided as he laid down near the small pond inside the tent at the open beach, void of any sounds but the distant town buzz and faint light districts…

And the night passed by quietly; no random ruin bulging up from the rocky surface during Daiko’s and Coda’s peaceful slumber inside their fancy tent.

WC: 300
TWC: 722 + 300 = 1022/2100 (Learning Fire Force)

-EXIT-