Yuurei had followed Sofia as they were going to continue their hunt for the pirates. This was something he was fine with as he felt like doing this would allow him to become stronger. They moved through the town as they made their way to the port, which eventually led them into a boat. He wondered how they were going to catch up to the pirates, but he shouldn’t have thought that when he knew this woman was able to use water. It wouldn’t take long for her to use magic to push them forward, and he was surprised about this. It seemed like they would reach the pirates quicker than expected.

He grabbed onto a part of the ship as he didn’t think the boat would be rocking this badly, but it did. His eyes widened with this surprise even though she had warned them.

“I still wasn’t expecting that, but it seems like we’re going to get to them in a matter of seconds.” He said out loud so everyone knew to be ready.

Renji held onto Yuurei and at one point the Exceed would grab onto his shoulder real tight. He felt the claws digging in, and he would squint from the pain. It seemed like he didn’t see that coming as well. When he understood what he was doing, he would be released the tight grip on Yuurei's shoulder and look over to the woman.

“Holy hell, you’re mad!” Renji would say, which would catch Yuurei by surprise.

The light mage would look at him and wondered if he was going to be tossed overboard. He hoped not as they had a weird bond. Still, what was to come next would be interesting as they were going straight into the hornet’s nest.

311

By the time the squad had reached the docks, the wind mage had calmed her nerves, her cheeks no longer crimson and the flustered expression had faded. All too soon, however, they'd somehow found themselves sailing towards the enemy. Instinctively she'd find herself covering her eyes with an arm as she heard the plash of cannon striking water beside them, resulting in a sudden flood of seawater pouring over their ship.

"UGH!" Nimbus spluttered, his claws digging into the wind mage's shoulder in fear of being thrown overboard at any moment. With a shake of his body, water ould fling off his black and white fur, but his outfit was still unfortunately dampened.

Her own purple pigtails now drenched, Kailani didn't have the time to dry either of them with her magic as she heard a female voice call out in warning. Something about a 'bumpy ride'?  The next moment the boat beneath her feet lurched forwards, now racing through the ocean. Thankfully, her elven heritage allowed her to catch herself before slipping, her lilac eyes scanning for the cause of disruption as she noted the brunette's own water magic at work. The young woman was certainly full of surprises, her power far exceeding Kailani's own. Definitely someone she'd no doubt find herself idolizing as long as they all got out of this alive.

"She's crazy!" Nimbus cried out in agreement with Renji, clearly not a fan of Sofia's methods, as he earnt himself an annoyed glance from the wind mage who disagreed entirely with both of them. Rather than dwell on their choice of rude language however, Kailani instead had to do as Yuurei suggested and ready herself for the incoming battle that would no doubt be more difficult now that the pirates would have the 'home' advantage.

Brone had followed his comrades onto a ship. Once his feet touched the deck, he took a moment to catch his breath. He cursed the pirates in between deep breaths. It wouldn't be until the first near-hit cannonball hit water beside the ship that caught the dwarf's attention and for him to realize his allies were planning on chasing the enemies down by sailing. "Better than running" he said in between breaths.

Suddenly the ship jerked forward before he could untie the rope that connected the sail. It was then he noticed Sofia's body movements that he connected the movement of the sudden wave to the brunette, [i]"A water wizard"[/color] he thought. A smile crept on his face as he held onto the portside railing as they were gaining speed, all the while dodging cannon fire. Then he realized something was rattling behind him; he looked and realized it was the tiller at the rear of the ship. He quickly made his way there and grabbed onto the tiller and with all his strength he held it straight, making sure the rudder would keep from having the ship turn while Sofia moved it with her magics.

"Ram them!" Brone laughed out loud, his adrenaline high and his muscles aching to clobber some pirates. Two more cannonballs missed their mark and he suspected it was because the wave they were riding on might be throwing off the pirate's aim, he wasn't sure, for the dwarf never took a magics class or studied sailing, he only knew the basics. "Kailani! If you want, you can drop the sail and use your magics to throw wind into it!" Brone wasn't sure if his suggestion was possible, but he figured if a water wizard can use water to move the ship from beneath, then a wind wizard could push the sails.

311

Their distance between the ship had been closed, and all in the time, Sofia would protect them with the magic of her own. The things he saw her do, had brought light to Yuurei that there was still a lot of growing to do. It was interesting to see a spell being able to suck up attacks like she was doing with the pirate’s cannonball, which brought ideas into his mind for the future. His eyes widen when he heard a large amount of screaming amongst what could have been an explosion. He wasn’t sure what was happening, but the fell of large power had come from the ship. It made him nervous, but at the same time, he was anxious to see what it was.

Did someone beat us to the pirate ship? He thought to himself as the boat they were on would stop moving. He would shake his head doing his best to relax and when he felt ready, Yuurei had two magical circles appear, revealing three stars. Each star entered his body before he found himself jumping off the boat everyone was on, and onto the ship’s deck. When he looked around he would see the damage that was caused everywhere. This was crazy and whoever did this must have had the same if not more power than Sofia.

Renji would look around confused about what the fuck had happened here. His eyes scanned the area to reveal a woman in the middle of the ship. Her beauty was second to none and the Exceed was surprised about the look it took him a second to speak.

“Yuu, I think she did it.” Renji would say this out loud.

Yuurei was going to look, but before he could do such a thing, one of the pirates had appeared from the midst of all of this. He was hurt, badly wounded, but it would seem like he had enough life in him to try and fight for his life. The half-elf was able to catch a glimpse of this, and when he turned to the pirate he was close. The light mage didn’t have enough time left, but the pirate’s movements were sloppy and because of that, he was able to come out with just a scratch.

He saw the little wound on his arm that he received, clenching his teeth before rotating and delivering a roundhouse kick straight into the neck of the pirate and putting him down with the kick. His attention turning to the woman he would now see the beauty of who had created this disaster. Still, he wasn’t sure who she was but knew that they weren’t enemies. He went to approach her, but he wouldn’t be able to. He was met with two more pirates, but once again they look like they were on their last legs.

Yuurei would dash to them this time, not giving them time to attack him. Their eyes widen one second, and the next rolled back as they both flipped back and fell to the ground. Yuurei doing a double lariat to make sure he didn’t make unnecessary movements. When he felt he was safe this time, he figured he would speak up this time.

“Nice work on taking out the majority of the pirates. Who are you?” He asked curious to hear what she had to say.

He only knew the guild master by name, but never really met her.

596
50/600 Mana used

Spoiler:

Kailani's head jerked towards the stout man as he spoke up, suggesting she use her wind magic to aid them in their speed as well. Contemplating the plan, she certainly could do so, but then she ran the risk of tipping their little fishing boat if she placed too much force that high up, considering they were riding Sofia's wave. Still, Brone had shown his ability to think quickly in such a situation, he really was growing on her quite quickly despite how his enthusiasm often left her speechless.

"I think my mana would be best conserved for the actual fight." The wind mage finally replied with a smile that quickly turned into a frown as she gave her attention back to the ship ahead of them. The sounds of screaming as a large magic circle formed on the ship, visible from the fishing boat that was quickly closing the distance. Was someone was already fighting the enemy? Her own question soon answered as a rain of crystal began to shred the enemy ship. An incredibly powerful spell that left her hypnotized momentarily until her best friend leaped from one boat's deck to another, jerking her thoughts back.

"Right, now's the time..." Kailani muttered, both of her hands lifting as she clicked once with one and twice with the other, focusing on her two targets simultaneously. Four magic circles appeared one on each of her hands and one on each Yuurei and Brone. The first on her best friend's back gathered the purple-tinged wind upon his back, aiding him and boosting his speed even more. With the second spell, her magic swirled around Brone's feet, granting him an incredible burst that would allow him to easily enter the fray with style. Her arsenal of spells was still quite limited, but they were at least useful for aiding her allies.

"Are we not jumping aboard as well?" Nimbus asked, curiously tilting his head.

"Not yet." Kailani replied curtly, her plan was to ensure those with more offensive abilities were between them and the enemy again. Preferring not to run the risk of being attacked.

"Cool, cool cool cool." The exceed cooed, honestly preferring it this way as too, he really disliked the idea of having to do any work. His golden eyes fixed onto the stranger that seemed to be on their side, "Who's that?" he asked paw pointing in the woman's direction.

"What?" The wind mage frowned again, irritated her focus had been taken away while trying to concentrate on her magic. Her eyes ultimately followed his, the woman before them was just as beautiful as Sofia, a face that seemed familiar, like she had seen them around, but couldn't place where.

"Don't know but they seem to be on our side, so there's probably nothing to worry about... probably..." Kailani muttered uncertainly, for now, they seemed like a friend and not foe, but someone with magic as powerful as theirs would be a challenge if they chose to turn against their group.

Spells Used:

Brone kept his focus on keeping the tiller straight while also looking towards the pirate ship as their own ship crept closer, hot on their tail. Kailani called back to the dwarf and her reply confused the dwarf, "Oh right, sorry" he called back, feeling a bit embarrassed, he had not thought about the possibility that such a spell might tire her out, but then again he wasn't sure how magic worked, it all seemed so complicated; at the end of the day, he was thankful that Blue Pegasus had accepted him though he had no talent in magic.

Cannons continued to fire and just as Brone thought about possibly manipulating the rudder to try and dodge the cannon fire, a magical hole appeared above the ship, drawing the cannonballs and swallowing them whole. The dwarf stared at the anomaly with an open mouth. He would have continued to stare at the hungry spell if it wasn't for the other large caliber spell that drew his attention; the pirate ship was being coated in a storm of crystals. The show was short, but it managed slow the ship by tearing up the sails.

Soon enough the distance between the ships had closed up close enough for Yuurei to jump ship without a gangplank, "Oy! I don't think I can make that jump!" Brone looked over the portside railing to see the gap between the two adjacent ships and to see the drop into the water below. Then the scent of lavender filled his nose as he felt the purple wind lift him slightly under his arms, "Nevermind!" he laughed as he let go of the tiller before jumping off the railing; his body lifted so high up, he was able to not only clear the gap, but the other ship's railing as well, below him he saw crystals scattered everywhere, Yuurei downing a pirate, a dark haired woman who seem to be drawing attention, and then a pirate trying to dash from a staircase that led below deck towards Yuurei, but the dwarf wasn't going to allow that. His hand gripped the handle of his battlaxe, then from his back, the axe arced and was brought down upon the unsuspecting pirate, downing him as the dwarf touched the deck, "Must thank Kailani, such a handy spell" he gave Yuurei a smile before turning to the black hair woman, wondering who this beauty was, and wondering if she was either an ally or enemy. Either way, he readied his axe.

423

Yuurei speed had come from Kailani’s magic and his own. That much he would always be grateful for. They had worked together in the past, but now their group had gotten bigger, which meant that they were going to do their best to work with others. While he was on the ship, the woman would introduce herself as Alisa, and his eyes would widen when he would look into the eyes of who now identified as his guild master. He noticed that she was greeting him, and he was glad that she did because he was going to shake her hand indeed.

Still, with the entrance of Brone and Sofia, alongside the constant appearance of pirates, he knew things wouldn’t go smoothly. The light mage did make his attempt to close the distance between him and his guild master, but in return, he was met with a few pirates that blocked his path. He had gone from walking casually to quickly getting into a fighting stance to take out the ones that were coming straight for him.

“You guys couldn’t wait a few seconds.” He would say to them out loud.

Renji figured he would do some fighting of his own, but it was just to catch the pirates off, so it would be easier for Yuurei. He could see that the pirates that were around him were the foot soldiers as if the captain had shown up, he was sure that it would be a difficult time for him to take care of. Still, two pirates had attacked him at the same time, which caused him to evade both of their cutlasses, by bending back to avoid the attack towards the upper part of his body, and at the same time, finding his legs being lifted into the air and bent to his abdomen to avoid the attack towards the lower part of his body. He would find himself falling on his back before pushing his body back up with his hands and onto his feet.

This caught both pirates off guard, which allowed Yuurei to do what he needed to do next. He knew where they were as he would lift his leg up and kicked the pirate to his right twice in the same spot before slamming all his weight into a back kick rotation with the same leg that slammed the pirate down to the ground. Renji would jump off Yuurei’s shoulder scratching both pirates on their faces before noticing that pirates were coming after the small cat.

Yuurei saw that their attention was away from him, which made it that much easier for him to catch them. His hands spread open as he rushed straight to the pirates and gripped both of their faces before slamming the back of their heads to the deck. It brought a sudden silence to all of this as he would look over to see who was going to continue with their attack. Renji rushed straight to Yuurei and climbed on his shoulder, so he could have his friend’s back.

"We have to continue your training Yuu. I feel like you could do so much better if you were able to use better magic." Renji would tell him this.

Yuurei would have to agree with him on this and he would hope to do just that, better himself, and use magic that was stronger than his current one.

100/600 Mana used

579

Kailani was unsure whether to be impressed or terrified at how quickly and efficiently the team was dealing with the pirates. Each member used their own strengths to defeat each enemy that approached them. Now that everyone else was aboard, her lilac eyes glanced about, finding a spot to leap to herself, using a small breeze to help stabilize her silent landing onto the wooden planks beneath her feet. The fact their brunette companion seemed to quickly become friendly with the stranger calmed some of the wind mage's nerves, definitely friend then.

"Guildmates, huh?" Nimbus mumbled under his breath, causing Kailani to grow distracted as she followed the trail of his golden eyes onto the black-haired beauty. Had he heard something she missed? It was very likely his hearing far exceeded her own and she had been far too busy ensuring the battle went their way from afar. If they were a guild member that would explain the sense of familiarity she had experienced earlier.

In that one moment of distracted thoughts, the wind mage completely missed the sounds of an incoming attacker as her mind was elsewhere. All too late, his sharpened cutlass was slashing down towards her with little to no time to react. Raising her arms up to at least save her face, her eyes clenched shut as she waited for the painful stinging of being sliced up by the sword. Instead, the feeling of the weight on her shoulder disappeared. Slowly one lilac eye pried itself open. Before the wind mage was her beloved exceed clawing furiously at the pirate's now butchered face. He... protected her? That was definitely a new one. There wasn't time to thank him as more sets of footsteps signaled three more pirates charging towards her.

"Ah... A little help!" a squeaky nervous yell escaped the young woman's lips knowing she couldn't take on three at once alone. She could at least remove one of them herself. Thrusting her arm up towards the sky a magic circle shined from her palm as the lavender wind drew in towards it, becoming a sharp dagger in seconds which she instantly tossed towards the closest of the enemy trio the moment it finished forming. Striking its target, the pirate would feel a sharp sensation in his gut before being sent flying back the way he came, knocking them flat on their arse. Her offensive magic wasn't strong enough to completely knock them out, but at least it could keep one of them at bay to buy time for her allies to finish them off.

Spells Used:

The battle was ongoing even though many of the pirates had been defeated and out for the count; every so often another pirate would crawl out of the crevices of where they are hiding to strike at any given moment. Brone, ready for the battle, still had his attention drawn to the raven-haired woman who referred to them as "Guildmates", "Pleasure to meet ya, lass!" the dwarf felt relief now knowing that another one of the Blue Pegasus guild members arrived. In the beginning, he was worried he wouldn't be able to make another social interaction, and now he has formally met four members, 'Formality' the dwarf then remembered he had to represent Blue Pegasus properly, so he lowered his axe and faced Alisa, a closed fist slammed against his armor where his heart was, then he hesitated, remembering he needed to practice 'genteel', so he replaced his closed fist with an open palm over his heart as he gave a bow, "Good day to you, miss" his tone was lowered to try and meet the proper etiquette he had read about.

A pirate jumped out a nearby barrel with a cutlass ready in hand. The blade was brought down upon the bent-over dwarf, the pirate, hungry look in his eye, intended on decapitation, but instead the blade slammed against the base of the helmet, causing a ring of metal on metal to echo out. The helmet was big enough to cover the dwarf's short neck, so decapitation was a failed attempt. Brone lost his composure and shot back up from his bow, fire in his eyes as he swung his battleaxe towards the interrupting pirate, "You ruined my first impression!" he yelled as the blade slammed against the pirate's chest, leaving a gash, but also sending him over the railing and into the water below.

Kailani cried out for help; Brone turned to his companion and seeing her being ganged on furthered his anger, "You dare to fight unfairly against a lady!" the dwarf ran towards the group. One of the men were pushed back by a wind dagger hitting's mark, Brone pushed passed him and targeted the second pirate who was ready to strike his sword against Kailani. The dwarf jumped up and as he came down, he slammed the flat of his axe against the head of the pirate with such force, the wood beneath the pirate's feet cracked and caved, sending him straight into the cargo hull below. Brone looked up from the newly made hole to the third pirate who was closing the gap between him and Kailani, knowing the dwarf's short legs wouldn't get to them in time, "Yuurei!" he called out, hoping his friend would have the speed to save their mutual friend.

466

While things were going smoothly, there were certain things that did not. Kailani had been struck from unfortunate events, and while Yuurei was taking care of himself with eh fights around him, his eyes had laid off his best friend for a second. He could see that the guild master and his senior had a thing going on. They were definitely flirting, which caused him to fluster because he had never seen someone in action before. Of course, he would hear his name being yelled out, and when he looked over to Brone, he would also see Kailani. She had been harmed and his eyes widen as he didn't enjoy the visual that he had seen.

Then there was also the pirate that was approaching her. His eyes changed, filled with anger and his mind blanked out, he started running as fast as he could towards the pirate that was close to his best friend. It wouldn’t take long, but someone would stop him on his track, but the ruffian was still on his feet. It brought Yuurei to approach him and he would tackle the man onto the floor. A loud thud could be heard as he was now on top of the man, and his facial expression angry as anybody would have ever seen him. The half-elf proceeded to strike down the pirate under him as he continuously punched the man in the face even though he would soon be unconscious.

Renji would see this action, and he would shiver throughout his body from how dark this young man could be. The thing about it was that he wasn’t stopping. The Exceed would squeeze down on Yuurei’s shoulder to do his best to get him under control. The light mage would feel this and look towards the Exceed with a glare like he hadn’t seen before. It wouldn’t take long, but Yuurei would continue doing what he was doing prior, which brought Renji to have to think about something else to do to stop him.

“Pay attention around you Yuu. There seem to be more pirates coming and they might hurt Kailani if you keep beating this one pirate up.” He said as he hoped that work.

Yuurei’s fist would stop right in front of the man’s face before he got off of him and looked around wondering if they were done or if Renji was telling the truth.

412
1898/1350 (10% Reduction from Companion)
[exit]

With bated breath, Kailani prepared herself in case her friends were not quick enough. As the last of the enemies around her were defeated she released a long-winded sigh of relief. 'Thank goodness...' they had been dealt with swiftly thanks to all their teamwork. Lilac eyes lingered on her best friend, as he furiously continued to beat the poor soul trapped beneath him. His anger completely caught her off guard; he seemed almost like a stranger at that moment. With a glance, she'd note the hole in the deck that penetrated down to the cargo hold beside Brone. His strength truly was a force to be reckoned with. Lastly, her purple orbs landed on the flirting duo, it seemed they were incredibly close, their words and body language suggesting perhaps they were more than simple guildmates.

"Thank you, everyo-" The wind mage was partway through a bow of gratitude, only to be cut short as she heard the ginger exceed's words. Her eyes anxiously danced around the boat as she tried to perceive the threat he mentioned. Her stance grew rigid, magical energy from her body flowing to her fingertips in case one of her spells were required. Internally cursing herself for thinking it was all over already, she made a mental note that once they were done here she should take some time off to train. Her magic lacked a lot of things compared to the rest of the party, she needed to grow stronger if she was going to keep her promise to help Yuurei with his future plans.

"I really am the weakest link, aren't I?" she muttered under her breath, barely loud enough for any of the others to hear over the sounds of the ocean around them.

"You're not wrong." The black and white exceed at her feet concurred, confirming her feelings on the matter and causing her brows to furrow as another sigh escaped her lips. Well, at least he didn't bother with kind white lies she supposed.

Brone pulled to a stop once he saw the pirate who was closest to Kailani become incapacitated. "Good" he said, though his earlier smile did not return to his face. The indecency of this terrible crew had prodded at the dwarf's nerves and now he wanted to lay down the hurt so they could remain down and surrender, but judging by how the tension was still in the air, he figured he would have to keep swinging until the silence filled the deck of the ship or until he himself calmed down from his anger spike, whichever happened first.
A club slammed into the back of Brone's helmet. It didn't hurt the dwarf, but it did take him by surprise for but a moment. He looked behind him and saw the attacker swinging on one of the ropes that controlled the sails; he figured the pirate must have dropped down from the crow's nest or something in order to get that sneak attack. Brone was about to chase after the swinging monkey, but noticed the pirate was circling back, trying to get another hit in, so the dwarf waited. When the pirate came close, he spotted Brone's irritated face, but since he was in full swing, he couldn't change the momentum, so he connected with the dwarf's axe which then sent him flying over the railing and into the water.

The dwarf had taken notice of Alisa and Sofia conversing with one another and judging by their flirtation, they had not known of one another either, or so Brone had thought, before he could give that another thought, another had stepped up to the deck, and though the person with the long coat had approached nonchalantly, the dwarf readied himself, gripping the handle of his battleaxe tightly and gritting his teeth, ready to pummel whoever dares to take on Blue Pegasus.

Although, there was something at the back of Brone's mind, telling him that the battle had barely begun and the weight of it had just gotten heavier.

339 words; 1,539 words total
[Exit]