Fantasy Skyheart (1 slot open)

[SilverFlight]

Kari laughed at Aldaf's enthusiasm. "Yeah, I guess I do."
She watched his expression become thoughtful and it was all to easy to figure out where his thoughts had gone.
"Hey, he'll be okay. He's got you, all of us really. I know its only been a few days, but, I can't help but feel that you guys are close to me, maybe its that missing memory...I dunno. Thing is, I don't leave people hanging." She gave him a thumbs up and raised that hand to pull her goggles down over her eyes.
Years of waiting, and now she could finally use them. Her brother's flight goggles.
Sitting on the back of a gryphon, wearing those goggles, Kari felt that awful feeling again, a sense that she was taking her brother's place, that she didn't belong here. She set her jaw and tried not to let the discomfort show on her face.

It wasn't long after that that Aurena, tailed by Ferro, who was supporting his husband as they walked.
Aurena walked past them with a smile and she dipped her head, stopping only when she reached Keshka to speak with her quietly.

"It was an honour guiding you on your proving." Ferro told them, and he bowed. "And fighting beside you. I hope you continue to follow a brave path."
The other man, with a little limp, stepped forward and handed the closest youth a scroll.
"I have a friend in Westeros, another tailor. This is a letter asking her to make you new outfits, if you like. The desert is hot, your furs and leathers will do you a great disservice there...consider this thanks, for bringing my Ferro back to me."

"Are we ready?" Keshka boomed. She and Ord moved to the front of the group, Ord was smiling, excited. He counted the heads as Keshka took flight on Storm, and was the last to take off, bringing up the rear on Pasha.

Kari tightened her grip on the saddle, leaned in, riding Zephyr was easy, their minds synced and she was ready for each move. The gryphon started into a gallop, unfurling his white and black wings, she felt the wind underneath them, felt the pressure of lift. Suddenly he sprang and they were up, wings carrying them higher and higher. The ground shrank beneath them and soon dropped far below. Aurena and Ferro both waved as they flew away and Kari hoped she would see them again one day.

~*~*~

The air was cool up in the sky, it seemed like no time at all before the edge of the island appeared and suddenly they were flying high over the vast ocean of cloud.
Ord had cautioned them before they left to put their warmest clothes on, and he had been right. The air was not freezing, but the wind sucked warmth out of any skin that was not covered. Kari's cheeks were fast becoming numb.
They chased the sun as it arced over them to settle on the Western horizon, and then dipped below it. Keshka flew at the head, and Zephyr fell into line behind Storm, naturally sliding to catch the underdraft of her wings and make the flight less strenuous.
The moon shone above, casting the clouds below them in a ghostly silver light.

The island that she lead them to was shielded on three sides by high rock walls, the exposed side had smaller islands and floating pieces of rock all scattered across its front and spilling away into the night. Water poured from a runoff point, cascading down a word track in the cliff. The center basin was flat and covered in soft grass with a few trees peppering the landscape. Closer to the cliff, falling rubble had flattened the vegetation and created a clear space. It would be very hard for someone flying by to see into this little hiding spot, and Kari guessed that that was why Keshka had chosen it.
The cliff wall looked climbable on one side, deep tracks where rubble had run down creating shallower slopes and there were caved peppering the other cliffside.

"I need to prepare the spell." Keshka announced one they were all on the ground again. "Ord, keep them entertained until I'm done. Why don't you test their combat skills? From what I saw they're all terrible."

Ord shook his head but smiled. Kari made a face at Keshka's back.
"Rest a little first, tend to your beasts." He loosened the saddle on Pasha and took some dried fish to feed him.
Kari did the same with Zephyr, patting his neck fondly.

With his beast tended Ord took a short wooden rod, carved to a blunt bevel on one side, a sword, Kari realized.
"I'd like you to pair up, you can use what you like, fists, rope, staves, keep the blades sheathed, and show each other what you've got."
As Kari looked around she realized that this sheltered island was also an ideal training ground. There was terrain of all types, from the rocky slopes to the high grass to the stony riverside, to the small rocks that floated just above the ground, creating a natural staircase to the top of the cliffs.
Ord himself stood with his sword planted in the ground before him, waiting for his first challenger. Who would be ambitious enough to take on the instructor?

Lioness075 SleepyCreamy AncientBird kase9187 YumenoTsukishiro Naberius Elenion Aura explosiveKitten Saturn_moon

 

[kase9187]

The wind was chilling as they flew, and Aldaf decided to let Spica lead for a bit as he worked. Using a few loose scales she readily dislodged for him, Aldaf made what arrowheads he could and tucked them away. He'd need a bigger quiver, and he didn't want to be out of arrows when he got it.

Aldaf pat Spica once everyone had landed. She took up a small coil on some rocks, out of the way but in view of the grounds.

He chose to ignore Keshka commenting on their lack of fighting experience and stepped forward, taking his daggers out but keeping them sheathed in little carved sheaths he'd had from when he practiced with his father. His grip on the daggers was firm but his wrists were relaxed, allowing him to twirl the blades but maintain control.

"I'll go first, Sir Ord. Please take it easy on me; most of my targets don't fight back with a sword."

And with that, Aldaf slowly crept towards Ord, keeping his weapons between himself and the instructor. He managed to dash forward and catch Ord off-guard, maneuvering behind him and delivering a quick blow to his knees from behind and darting away again.

"Sorry if that hurt more than I meant it to!" Aldaf called out, guard still up.

SilverFlight SleepyCreamy YumenoTsukishiro Naberius explosiveKitten Lioness075 AncientBird Elenion Aura Saturn_moon

 

[SilverFlight]

Ord pulled his sword up into a guard position, but Aldaf was already moving, he caught the instructor in the leg and Ord was knocked off balance.
"Ey!" He laughed, and swung only for his weapon to move through the air that once held his opponent.
"You're quick!" Ord was grinning. He took several steps back, regaining the distance between them.
"Ok, try that again."
kase9187

 

[kase9187]

Aldaf nodded, but deciding not to repeat exactly what he did. A quick dash forward was met with a sidestep and a slash at Ord's side. However, Ord must've seen this coming and blocked his dagger from reaching its mark. After realizing he had been blocked, Aldaf backpedaled quickly to maintain distance.
"Nope, not doing that again."

SilverFlight

 

[SilverFlight]

Ord evaded and struck in two simple movements, fluid, practiced. He gave Aldaf a light tap against his leg with the sword.
"Always keep your opponent guessing." Ord smiled. "Your speed is good, your form isn't bad either. Try a different approach this time."

kase9187

 

[kase9187]

Aldaf thought for a split second, then decided.

He quickly dashed forward and leapt up, hoping to land squarely on top of Ord and hopefully force him to the ground. Ord managed to follow Aldaf again and block his kick with his blade.

Aldaf jumped off the sword and landed in front of Ord, holding his daggers in a defensive stance.
"Well, that didn't go as planned."

SilverFlight

 

[SilverFlight]

It was not hard to see a jump coming, and Ord had a good amount of time to change his stance and block without losing his balance.
"That would have worked against a monster," Ord offered encouragingly. "But when fighting another person you can always expect them to react more quickly. Don't jump unless you are sure they cannot block it."
In an instant Ord was moving again, he feinted to the left and came down with another quick strike on Aldaf's shoulder. He stepped back and turned the weapon, hilt to the sky to signal the end of the bout.
"Good, good, I have something to work with I think. Try sparring with one of the others, I'd like to watch your form without having to dodge it."

kase9187

 

[kase9187]

Aldaf nodded, rubbing the spot he'd been hit at. He decided to spar against someone random, his finger landing on no one else than Zeke.

"Hey, Zeke, want to spar?" Aldaf extended his invitation to Marylka, holding his daggers at his side.

SilverFlight Saturn_moon

 

[Lioness075]

Name: Leandra LaFrae	Nicknames: Lea, Firefly
Clan: Sudenta	Clan Job: Huntress
Equipment: Knapsack, Medicinal Pouch, Bow, Quiver (3/10), Twin Daggers

Spoiler: Momo's Appearance

Spoiler: Falarion's Appearance

Leandra found Caliban within the tent and was surprised to see him still dozing with Mushu curled up beside him. Raising an eyebrow, Leandra leaned over and shook him by his shoulder while saying, "Hey, sleepyhead, we're all getting ready to leave. Hurry up or you'll be left behind."
As Caliban groggily woke up, Leandra set about gathering her own gear and stood up with her knapsack over her shoulder and her bedroll neatly rolled on top of it. She glanced over at Caliban once more and said, "There's temporary saddles for our Skybeasts outside. It'll be uncomfortable for our Skybeasts, but trust me, you'll want it for a long journey."

Leaving the tent, Leandra quickly unpacked the heaviest items from her knapsack and stashed them in saddlebags on Falarion's sides. She also took the knapsack itself and cinched it down on the back end of the saddle where she would be sitting.
Satisfied, she was about to mount Falarion when Ferro approached the group to say his farewell. When his husband held out the scroll, Leandra happened to be the one closest to him and she smiled before taking it from him. She carefully stashed it in a saddlebag before mounting Falarion and joining the line-up to leave.
Turning back, she shouted to Ferro and his husband, "Thank you!"
Then they were all taking off and Falarion dashed forward before he too spread his wings and took flight. Adrenaline briefly coursed through Leandra's veins, as she smiled at the excitement of taking flight. It was such a unique experience and she could not imagine ever growing tired of it.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

The journey had been very cold and Leandra was ever grateful that despite the missing year of memory, she had still remembered to bring furs and layers for the colder weather. Falarion seemed to be faring well and Leandra almost felt jealous of his fur coat. It was not a heavy winter one, but he seemed otherwise unperturbed by the cooler weather. She loved watching his feathers curl and flutter in the wind when he glided effortlessly. It was such a soothing sight. To top it all off, the moonlight was shining off his feathers and Leandra glanced back down at the oddly golden symbols that were imprinted in Falarion's fur. They too glowed in the moonlight and she had to wonder yet again how he had acquired them.

When they approached the deserted island, Leandra was amazed at the beauty of it. The waterfall cascading off the side was something she had never witnessed before and she delighted at the new memory.
As they all landed, Leandra dismounted Falarion and then began rapidly blinking her eyes. She noticed Kari nearby with goggles and suddenly felt jealous of her. She had not been paying too much attention to how dry her eyes could get flying until they had to make that longer journey.
As Ord explained the idea of sparring to everyone, Leandra helped loosen the saddle straps on Falarion's sides to let him get some relief before she then retrieved some of the leftover deer for Falarion from his saddlebags. She followed him over to a shaded spot underneath a large tree nearby and then put the leftovers on the ground. He promptly flopped down and began eating happily, purring a bit when Leandra scratched him behind the ears.
"Enjoy it, Fal. You deserve a break after that."

Turning around to rejoin the group, Leandra caught sight of Aldalf challenging Ord and winced when the fight started going in the favor of the instructor. It made sense that Ord would win against any of them, but it sucked all the same for whoever had to learn that the hard way.
Walking up to the sparring area, Leandra glanced around and spotted Serik nearby. She usually would spar with Caliban since they grew up training together, but she wanted to get to know the others better and she knew sparring with someone was a great way to get to know them. Since she sat with him last night and then they had hung out together in the rodeo, she felt like they were becoming good friends now.
Walking up to him, Leandra gave a cautious wave and then said, "Hey, seems like Aldalf jumped the gun on sparring. Wanna have a go at it with me? I'd like to think I'm pretty good nowadays and I haven't gotten much of a chance to see you in action yet."

SilverFlight AncientBird Naberius

 

[explosiveKitten]

Katja watched as everyone landed and listened to the instructions from Ord and Keshka. Thankfully she had managed to get some sleep on the way to this little island. With Barran flying simply following everyone, Katja had been able to lean forward and fall asleep on the owl’s back.

However, when everyone started splitting up and the mention of “sparring” hit Katja’s ears, she stiffened immediately. The owl sensed the sudden change in her rider’s demeanor and squawked questioningly, finding her attempting to sneak away from the group.

“Nope nope nope nope nope.” Katja mumbled to herself, finding a rock to hide behind, sitting in the dirt and shrinking as far down as she could.

SilverFlight SleepyCreamy YumenoTsukishiro Naberius kase9187 Lioness075 AncientBird Elenion Aura Saturn_moon

 

[AncientBird]

Taking flight with the others, Serik felt his excitement rushing through him. Serik had flown numerous time from his homeplain to Ocris and back, but he never actually had to cross island and fly through the landless sky before... Not the one he remembered at least...

Once he got into the sky. He found himself lingering in the back of the band. Valkyrie wasn’t a fast flier at all. She prefer to soar along the wind instead of actively flapping. Serik had to tell her to speed up her pace several time so they wouldn’t be left behind. Valkyrie seemed annoyed to be urged to fly faster but she obeyed her rider anyway.

Afternoon shifted to evening and the setting sunlight turned the entire sky orange. It was a beautiful sight that Serik wished he could share with anyone back home.

Suddenly, he noticed something with silver gleam moving below him and the band... Like small living piece of metal. Upon closer inspection, Serik found out they were fish, small fish about the size of his palm, but instead of swimming in water, they were flying like birds! Their large, winged like fins flapping rapidly as they shoaled up in large number, repeatly dipped in and out of the cloud. They never seemed to get further down below the cloud much and Serik could guess why.

Small wyverns the size of goose arrived at the scene and they started diving down to catch the winged fish with their talons. In response, the shoal moved in unison, spiraled and twisted through the air to avoid the predators.

Suddenly, Serik felt like something large was catching up with him from behind. Passing right below him arrived a very large stormwing. Unlike the one Serik saw at Mt. Arebos, this one was crestless but it had large bill that filled with brush like teeth the entire length of its bill. It was also much larger, its body was the same size as Valkyrie, but its sheer wingspan could very well be as much as two stork drake’s combine, this was the largest of any wingspan Serik had ever seen in any creatures, saving for only the giant deathborn. Stormwings are generally docile and harmless, so Serik wasn’t worried to be near it. The giant moved pass the band and headed down toward the winged fish. It’s enormous body swiped through the shoal, its bill trapped a mouth full of fish which it then slowly worked them down its throat, the brush-liked teeth prevent the fish to slip from the side of the bill.

Eventually, an island could be seen in sight as night began to roll. The band reached the island and began to set up camp. Serik put his tent the academy staff provided for up and changed his attire to be less dense for the island was significantly warmer than the central island.

Valkyrie lay down next to the tent. It was a long and tiring journey for her. Serik pulled off the saddle and put up a few dried fish for her. Keeping the stork drake well fed was essential, Serik still couldn’t forget the eyes Valkyrie gave to Ezekiel when he was injured...

After that he regrouped with the other. Ord suggested they spar with each other to entertain themselves, as well as getting to know each other better. Aldaf faced against Ord as the first sparing pair but was easily defeated.

Serik was enjoying the fight when Leandra came up to him to asked him for a spar.

“Oh sure! I haven’t sparred in a long time. Might as well just get some bones working... But go easy on me, oh mighty Sudentarian huntress, I am just a mere rabbit trapper...” Serik spoke and smiled cheerfully at the idea. He reached to a large stick lying around there as his weapon, which sadly he had lost most of them during the proving, saving only his father’s knife.

Featuring: Lioness075 kase9187 SleepyCreamy

 

[Saturn_moon]

As they coasted through the sky with nothing but clouds rushing by beneath them, Marylka felt her eyelids get heavy and her mind slowly ebb in and out of consciousness. Several times, she felt herself start to slip only to jolt awake in time to catch herself from falling right off Archimedes's back. She made a mental note to maybe tie herself to the saddle before embarking on the next leg of their journey.

Afternoon slowly turned to night and by the time they arrived at their destination the moon had fully risen to take the sun's place in the sky. The moment they landed, Marylka immediately freed Archie from his saddle inciting excited screeches from the hippogriff who started to bounce around like an excited puppy before turning its attention on a flock of pigeons. She stared at her skybeast with amused bewilderment as he repeatedly ran through the flock for no apparent reason other than to watch them scatter and regroup once more. Archie, why are you so weird? If he had heard her thoughts, which she was certain he had, he chose to ignore them. With a resigned sigh she decided to let him be. After all he'd been through for her, he deserved his fun.

She was struck by how serene and idyllic the little cove was with its cascading waterfall and soft green grass beneath their feet. Ironically, it only left her feeling more nervous and on edge. So far, every time she'd let her guard down thinking they were safe, they had only gotten that much closer to getting mauled to death. Her musings were interrupted when Aldaf stepped up and challenged Ord to a spar. Confidence was something that the boy definitely didn't lack and she envied him for it. Looking around, she wondered who she could spar with considering she had absolutely no experience with hand-to-hand combat. At least, not that she remembered. Lea had already challenged Serik to a fight while Aldaf had done likewise with Ezekiel. Katja might have been the one other person she thought could fairly spar with but their healer was no where in sight.

Her eyes landed on Matthias who had remained relatively quiet since their exchange in the tent. While it seemed to be a rather unorthodox choice, she figured that what she lacked in brute strength, she could make up for it with agility and speed against him. Ultimately, she also trusted the Northarian enough to know he would be able to control his strength and not cause her too much hurt.

Heck it. I'm already fighting off undead skybeasts. What's the worse that could happen? Walking up to him, she reached up to tap Matthias on his shoulder as she had that very first day. "So... you're probably going to think I've lost my mind, but do you maybe want to spar with me?"

Elenion Aura

 

[SleepyCreamy]

Once Azurine’s claws made contact with the new piece of land, Zeke watched carefully as the manticore landed with a soft thud. Zeke took that time to get off of Azurine’s back to have his feet connect with the earth. Zeke took off some of the extra clothing that was keeping him mount during his trek towards the peak of Mount Arebos. He took his time inspecting the simple plain, as the moonlight cascade it’s graceful light across the deserted land. Ever since the group left the ground, Zeke has always been eyeing behind his back, with alert senses. He simply didn’t want to have to replay what happened to him this very morning. Zeke turned his head away, dismissing the thought that clawed his mind. Instead, Zeke made his way back to Azurine and loosened its straps, to which his Skybeast acknowledged with a purr of approval.

Stitt was snuggly sleeping in one of the saddle’s pockets. Azurine decided to lay on top of a boulder and simply basked in the moonlight, with his stomach right out in the open. The sight amused Zeke as it reminded him of an overgrown cat. Just a few distances away from him, he saw a glimpse of a winged panther standing with all its might right next to Leandra, who he still has yet to meet. However, Zeke’s eyes strayed away from the winged panther and landed over to a sparring match between Aldaf and Ord. Zeke silently watched the match as he spied on Ord’s familiar figure. Somehow, Zeke swore he has already seen the two roaming around the academy, after all, being the Librarian of the most prestigious school in Westeros has its own ups and downs. Zeke gets to meet and assist other students in their studies, learning with them as they go. However, as he meets more people, his memories of them become hazier, thus resulting in him having troubles recalling people from his past, except for the ones who he considered to have made an impact on his life of course.

He’d have to inquire Ord or Keshka about their profession as a Professor in the academy he used to have a place on. Zeke wasn’t sure if the headmaster would still accept him as a Librarian as he is currently suffering through the hands of a cruel fate, along with these people whom he still refuses to get close to.

However, his thoughts were soon interrupted as a voice came up to him "Hey, Zeke, want to spar?" Aldaf spoke.

At this point, Zeke has noticed a pattern in their encounter. Aldaf would always be there to interrupt his deepest conversation with himself, and Zeke raised one eyebrow at his observation. "Yeah, sure." He replied with a curt nod as he took hold of his sheathed Damascus blade off of his belt and he decided to take his belt off, for easy maneuvering. He took Ord's advice and kept his blade sheathed to avoid any major injuries. "I'm ready whenever you are, Scar-face." He told him as he fiddled with the handle of his blade only with his fingers, patiently waiting for his response.

kase9187

 

[kase9187]

Aldaf gave a curt nod and a wide grin.
"Glad to hear it, Gryphon-head."

After he had finished speaking, Aldaf dashed across the ground and quickly sidestepped around Zeke when he was within arms reach. He tapped Zeke on the back of the head before backpedaling away, daggers at the ready.

SleepyCreamy

 

[Naberius]

Caliban Lupei

The next morning went by in a blur. Caliban, now freshly re-shirted after being woken by his loving sister, was able to get the temporary saddle affixed to Nerene with little resistance, and after a quick breakfast of dried fruit and nuts, he was ready for their journey. The sky between the islands was even more beautiful and freeing than he had imagined. It was like his very soul had been released from his earthly coil and allowed to roam the vast emptiness of its own accord. Far too soon for his liking, they were landing on the small sheltered island for Keshka to perform her ritual and hopefully buy them all some time. Mostly he was just worried that if the monsters couldn't track them, they would turn to the next best thing and attack their families instead. He had little time to ponder that particular aspect though as Ord stepped forward to declare a sparring session, something that he felt would be rather entertaining and a great chance for some good exercise.

Though, as soon as Ord made the announcement, Katja appeared to vanish. While Aldaf had absconded with the one person here he wanted to challenge most of all, Cal decided that he would try and play the role of teacher instead. There were many hiding places around the area they were in, but checking not too far away from where she had landed, Cal managed to find just who he was looking for. Tracking someone in a place like this wasn't nearly as hard as tracking a beast for days through a jungle.

Cal calmly walked around the corner of the rock she had hidden herself behind and leaned against it, looking down at her with his usual bright smile.

"Hey, Katja, can we talk? There's something we need to discuss privately."

explosiveKitten

SilverFlight SleepyCreamy YumenoTsukishiro kase9187 Lioness075 AncientBird Elenion Aura Saturn_moon

 

[Elenion Aura]

Matthias ​

Matthias and Volos watched on appraisingly as Aldaf and Ord exchanged blows, with remarkably similar expressions on their quite disimilar faces. Riders and Skybeasts... Matthias knew he was meant to find a partner to spar with, but he made no move to do so, even after Aldaf and Ord broke off from one another. He stood there stiffly, Volos leaning heavily against his side, trying with all his might to keep the world from spinning right off of its axis. Volos felt it too, and the effect of their combined queasiness was almost enough to overwhelm Matthias. Their first long distance flight had left the pair less well off, apparently, than their sprightly, energetic companions. He thought of excusing himself from the exercise all together, of lying down until his stomach ceased its somersaulting.

Then he felt a tap on his shoulder. He turned, eyeing the girl who stood there. Marylka. Matthias nodded. ”Sure.” He tried even harder now to suppress any sign of his weakness. Even so, his normally fair skin was pale by comparison. ”With fists or blades?” He asked, pushing himself off of Volos, who seemed relieved to get to lay down.

Tags: SilverFlight Naberius Saturn_moon YumenoTsukishiro explosiveKitten kase9187 SleepyCreamy AncientBird
Lioness075
​

 

[Saturn_moon]

Marylka cocked her head curiously at Matthias. His tone was less gruff than usual and his skin white as a sheet. Glancing over at Volos, she noticed the great winged bear slump down on to the ground the moment his rider dismounted. She recognized the symptoms immediately, her own brother suffered from airsickness each time they had to make the flight to Ocris, and she briefly hesitated wondering if she should perhaps call the spar off. In the end, she decided otherwise. She wasn't going to tell a twenty two year old what he could or couldn't do. Matthias was more than capable of making that decision himself... she hoped.

"Fists then." She said, removing her kindjal and placing it on the ground. If she was going to learn anything, the only way was to throw herself into the deep end.

They stood several spaces apart, facing one another, awkwardly appraising each other before they started. She suddenly realised how ridiculous they probably looked to the rest standing there, his massive frame in comparison to her significantly smaller one. But even while sick, she didn't doubt he could still toss her back a good couple of meters (approximately 5 subway sandwiches long).

Here goes nothing. She lunged forward throwing a punch with her left hand straight towards his abdomen... only to come up short, her fist stopping several centimeters away from meeting its mark. Well, shit.

Elenion Aura

 

[AncientBird]

Serik with his "sword replacement" stick started circling Leandra. He had not taken a melee weapon practice much back in the days at Estendor. All the fight last night was mostly him swinging the wooden staff wildly to repel and shove the mindless monsters that showed no tactic nor attack pattern. As of current, his sparring partner was a human with thought, more importantly, a seasoned Sudentarian huntress that probably hunted large and dangerous game for a living...

In the instant, Serik made his move, charged in swinging his stick. His swing missed, but in that time Leandra dodged his attack, Serik kicked one of her ankle, hoping to trip her over or at least making her lose balance.

Featuring: Lioness075

 

[Elenion Aura]

Matthias ​

Matthias did not smile, but he did threaten to smile, as Marylka’s first flew fell short. He looked down at the fist, a few inches away from hitting its mark. He wondered how anyone hit anything with arms so short. That wasn’t the only short thing, though. Matthias had sparred plenty of times in his youth, against large, able-bodied Northarians (though most of them still looked up at him). He wracked his brain but could not remember ever going toe to toe with someone so much smaller than him.

Then Matthias threw his counter, a punch. Through the combination of his stomach upset and his unfamiliarity with fighting someone so much shorter, the punch sailed, slowly, harmlessly overhead. The merest duck and Marylka wouldn’t even feel the air move. Matthias, felt his body tilt precariously close to losing its balance, carried by the momentum of the wayward punch.

Tags: Saturn_moon
​

 

[Saturn_moon]

Marylka saw Matthias's punch swing, almost as if in slow motion, over her head.
Quickly ducking under his arm, she instinctively stepped towards his blind side and delivered a knifehand strike to the area right under his armpit.
Feeling flesh hit flesh, she panicked and jumped back with a squeak. "I'm sorry!"

Elenion Aura

 

[SilverFlight]

Ord observed the partners with a happy interest, shouting instruction or encouragement periodically.
"They're not half bad you know." He remarked to Keshka, who was unloading more supplies for the magic.
"Don't talk to me." She said flatly. "I need to measure this exactly...and not half bad still means dead when we're speaking of deathborn. Don't you dare go soft on them at the academy, you won't be doing them any favours."

Ord sighed and left Kesh to what she was doing, going back to surveying the fighters. She always got like that when something important was on the line. He watched Marylka holding her own against the much larger Matthias and grinned.
"Nice foot work Marylka!" He came over to them. "You move like you've practiced before." There was a question in that statement. He wanted to know if she remembered training to fight like she was.
Ord looked Matthias over, noting his...condition, but he said nothing obvious about it.
"Make sure not to overdo it." He advised, "I'll go start a fire, get some hot water for tea. I have a blend that does quite nicely after a long flight."
He had said it without saying it, the tea would help with airsickness.
Ord turned to go do as he'd offered.

Kari watched the fights too, leaning against Zephyr as he picked at his last bit of dried fish, tearing pieces off and tossing them up to catch them, making a game of it.
"I guess I should try my hand too huh bud?"
The gryphon looked at her, snorted, and went back to his fish.


Saturn_moon Elenion Aura

 

[explosiveKitten]

“Barran, go away, I’m hiding!”
“Shreeee?”
“You’re not helping me hide!”
A beak clack.
“You’re just making it obvious where I am! Go-“
"Hey, Katja, can we talk? There's something we need to discuss privately."

“AH!” The young woman flinched, looking up to find Caliban standing there, looking down at her with that usual grin on his face. At least he had a shirt now. Honestly, it seemed like the gods were taking every chance they got to shove him in her direction.

“Ah! Oh! Uh... Caliban... Hi! What did uhhh, privately? WHat do we really have to discuss? I mean not that I don’t want to talk to you, or anyone but I mean I thought we covered everything?”

Naberius

 

[Elenion Aura]

Matthias ​

Matthias grunted in surprise. The jab left a smarting patch of skin along his underarm. He was still stumbling. Ord had told him not to overdo it. Matthias nodded the affirmative. He didn’t intend to. Already his stomach was beginning to settle. With every second that passed on solid ground, Matthias felt more and more sure-footed.

Matthias forced his body to right itself, and swung the same arm backhand at Marylka’s flank, fast but not too hard. He didn’t want to hurt the girl. He planted his feet to springboard off of a solid base and drive the blow home, only for his foot to find a slick patch of muddy earth... And slide out from under him. He dropped to one knee as he wrangled his wayward leg back underneath him again. The muscles in his thigh felt stretched, protesting against the unexpected exertion. He huffed, his pride stinging the most, and got up again. Fresh color returned to his cheeks.

Tags: Saturn_moon
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[YumenoTsukishiro]

Gerel wished he could enjoy his first long-distance flight with Jeff. Truly, that moment when the ground beneath them gave way to a sea of clouds filled him with awe. Here, Ventra's power was fully made manifest. The winds gave strength to their winds and direction to their journey. They whipped at every bit of exposed skin, biting with their chill but at the same time refreshing his body.

Despite their earlier spat, Jeff was taking well to the temporary saddle. Through their bond, they shared the same feelings of wonder about the open sky. Jeff was thrilled during those first few minutes of flight that he rushed ahead of the party, did a couple somersaults, and raced with some skybeasts Gerel could only describe as flying silver disks with elongated tails. He quickly grew tired of it all and eventually contented himself with flying slightly above the rest of the party, as if to show his aerial dominance. It was in this lull that he went back to the scene he witnessed earlier before they left.

The two Ocris girls, Zaya and Saran, were clearly nobility, or at least from a family of extremely rich merchants. If the phoenix -- a skybeast rarer than the Kirin -- wasn't evidence enough, the entourage and clothing made sure of it. They were the type of people who could make Gerel's life in Estendor extremely difficult if he stepped on the wrong foot or plucked the wrong string. And he accepted a gift from them. For all he knew, it was layered in meanings and secrets only rich people were aware of. For all he knew, Gerel was entangled in a web he never knew existed.

He kept mulling on that up until they reached the secluded island. He couldn't even appreciate the practicality of the three cliff walls and the beauty of the diverse land formations. They landed, Ord started calling everyone to spar while Keshka prepared her equipment, and the others paired off. Jeff flew off to explore the cliffs, and Gerel was still brooding.

Finally he realized that if he didn't do something, anything, he'd go crazy from overthinking. So he approached the only other person who stood alone. "Kari? Would you mind sparring with me?" Gerel asked with a smile, careful to keep the brooding thoughts back. "I'm not much of a melee fighter, since I try my best to make sure my enemies are down or dead before they reach me. But perhaps you can teach me how to be better. I would be grateful for it."

SilverFlight

 

[SleepyCreamy]

Zeke felt a tap on his shoulder and once Zeke felt it, he tightened his grip on his handle and blindly swung it to his back, only to miss his target. Zeke stepped back and gained some distance between the two. Okay, Zeke, focus! He thought to himself as he planted his feet onto the ground.

kase9187