RP:A Mage Guild Duel, Abridged
Glistening Azure Fluorite Bridge
With a pebble of fluorite in hand and a foot in the icy waters, the spell is awakened and the pathway between cavern and manor is revealed: a delicate bridge leaping from shore to shore in the blink of an eye, filling the expansive gap perfectly. This is no simple bridge of rock or wood, either, but is instead as unusual as every other feature found in this strange location. Seemingly crafted from a solid piece of fluorite--the main crystalline theme, it appears--this bridge is clear and blue as flawless ice, and as treacherously smooth. Light footwork is required to cross, as the bridge provides little room for error within its meager width, and no handrails exist to catch oneself before plunging into the waiting arctic waters below. Tread carefully and you'll be able to reach your destination in short order, be it the cavern's black sand shoreline or its glorious centerpiece: a behemoth ice floe eternally anchored to the bottom of the lake, and the foundation to an icy manor luxuriously sprawled atop it like a dozing dragon. Although the glistening structure shows no signs of wear it still exudes an air of a truly ancient building, seemingly constructed almost entirely of ice and fluorspar-crystal. Just who built this? And is it still occupied now? Large double doors, again crafted of a pale blue fluorite, await to answer such questions, and there seems little else to explore upon the trapped glacier aside from this unusual manor.
Svilfon appears on the other side.
Svilfon makes fun of Satie's fur to fat ratio. It's on.
Satoshi has -had- it with the wizard's sass about her fluff. Her breaking temper gives an almost audible snap in that moment, the smallish kit whirling around with teeth bared in a snarl to face the teasing covenmate, lyrical words already leaking out from between clenched fangs. The melody pulses through the air, provoking ripples along the lake beneath them that swiftly begin to build into waves with the northern song. Frigid waters lap and crackle eagerly as they rear up in pulsing columns, four on each side of the fluorite bridge, bent to Satoshi's will. When they've reached their peak, the magus voices a shrill whistle, commanding the octant of pillars to bear down upon the bridge in a synchronized barrage, each half-frozen torrent slamming into the dangerously smooth surface in the same instant, fully intent upon catching the wizard beneath their hammer-blows. And even should they manage to miss the wily man, they've left the bridge drenched and created treacherous footing in more ways than one: for not only will the puddles prove tough to navigate, but any feet that descend upon them will find enchanted frost crawling rapidly up the limb in the icy form of thorned ivy, ripping and shredding as they strive to lock the trapped soul in place.
Satoshi shouted, "It's -fluff-!"
Svilfon is becoming use to the ice magus' unique way of summoning her magic, but he fears he'll never quite be used to the spells that it brings to life. The hammering pillars of ice are not so easily avoided, especially by the ungraceful wizard, but with the gift of vampirism he is at least a little faster than he once was. So he leaps back from one, its hard edge missing him by inches, as he lands his feet begin to skid on the ice, directly into the path of another pounding hammer. It smashes him from his feet, driving him to the bridge. He remains in a heap, his hands spread-eagled, until something begins to insidiously crawl up one of his extended limbs, and eat away at his flesh. It seems it remained in the pool of water and the frozen liquid is sliding up, freezing in its wake. He gets to his feet with a painful cure, and with the depths of his fire lost to him, the wizard has to resort to using his more obscure magic. Something which only worries him a little; often it doesn't go to plan, but his plans are rarely smart anyway. So without much bother he speaks out a strange series of arcane words, almost a chant were it not routinely interrupted with the wizard clicking and clacking his tongue about his mouth. Nevertheless, his little spell is soon brought to life: He opens his gap-toothed mouth wide and from somewhere within comes forth a swarm of glowing little insect-things. They flutter in the air until the group is about the size of Svilfon's head, and only then does he purse his lips and blow into them. Like a dancing cloud of dust they scatter before his breath, all in the direction of Satoshi. Were they to find her, they'd begin to feed off her magic like arcane mosquitos, until they get big enough to pop into little magic explosions. Only when cast as a distraction for her does the vampire begin to shake his hand, trying in vain to remove her icy liquid as it tears into his flesh like a hungry animal...
Satoshi allows herself a moment of quiet delight--and mild concern--when the wizard is ensnared, only returning to her alert and wary state once he drags himself back to his feet. It's like this that the summoned arcane swarm will find her, words rapidly spilling from her lips as she strives to outcast their rapid approach. Stinging bites from the first to arrive prove nearly distracting enough to halt her spell, but with a dulcet hiss Satoshi forces its completion before the entire mass can descend upon her. With a roaring rush her bewitched waterweave scarf floods around either side of her tiny frame, its ends forming into wide glacial claws that swat out at the worst of the pests, engulfing them in the waters before freezing solid. The ones that have succeeded in biting her complete their tasks however, knocking the little kit backwards with a series of small, painful explosions. From where she lies sprawled upon her back, Satoshi is able to spy the remainder of Svilfon's swarm within her scarf growing, feeding off the enchantments that hold them, and she gives a cry, her arm swinging out in a hurling gesture. In answer to word and motion, the scarf is propelled away, sent flying straight for the wizard. As it approaches, the entire swarm ready to burst, the scarf's waters expand vertically to create something of a liquid net to better capture the wizard and deliver back his gift--along with the insidious bite of Satoshi's charmed waters.
Svilfon decides to be as crafty as he can, and test the ice magus' own magic against herself. He wraps up his tortured hand, which has begun to leak more blood as the thorns tear into barely healed wounds, into the folds of his enchanted fur-lined robes, using it to wipe off as much of the insidious liquid as he can. It only works so well, but at least he doesn't think he'll be losing his arm to her unique blend of literal frostbite. Triumphant in his own way, he looks back over at his mini-opponent only to see her scalr bearing down on him, filled as it is with his own little nasties. He reacts with surprising speed, a gift of his vampirism, dropping straight down onto his stomach, thankfully not fully onto a pool of her liquid. The scarf catches on the point of his wonderful hat, and as it begins to wrap down the little insects explode. Svil's back is scorched with the heat of the explosion, moments before the scarf would ensare him, it's own liquidy nature helping to cool the burns. Swearing, the wizard reaches into his robes and pulls forth three vials. All done beneath her scarf. He mixes them hastily together into one: A fire-breath potion, a Frostmaw Potion and a love potion. A weird mix, maybe, but when the now-purple vial is rolled along the bridge, only to explode as it nears Satoshi, the truth of little trick would be clear. The fire potion, which would usually be nullified by the Frostmaw Potion, instead has mixed with it - that love potion the bridge the two powers needed to finally become friends. But such a friendship is bound to end in disaster; such mortal enemies can only remain as one for so long. As was well known when the explosion ripped out; a thunderous force that is neither hot nor could, but could well be strong enough to either knock his opponent out, or knock her off the bridge, into the liquid below... Beneath the scarf the wizard is saved most the force, though he does hope it's enough to blow that bloody ever-flowing thing off his body.
Satoshi watches with almost dumb fascination at the mixture of potions, whiskers giving an ominous twitch even before the concoction is thrown her way. Perhaps that's why her arm is lifted to shield her face seconds before the explosion hits, the pulse of raw energy buffeting into her diminutive form and sending her hurtling violently off the bridge with only a strangled cry of protest. Well, not -entirely- of protest, as there's an arcane command woven into the sound, a call to the scarf clinging to Svilfon's hat that provokes instantaneous reaction. While the kit plummets towards the lake, one of the scarf's claws sink as an anchor into the bridge while the second half slingshots out, palm expanding to catch Satoshi in a rough mitt. Satoshi groans from her place sprawled across the frosty hand, blinking stars from her eyes and murmuring a befuddled spell. Whether it was actually her intent or not, the magus is engulfed within the waters of the scarf then before it freezes over to leave her suspended in a globe, and from there it recoils upon itself, backtracking to its other half. Or more accurately, the nearby wizard. Akin to a cannonball, the sphere of ice and the foxkin within hurtle at Svilfon's form with every intention of crashing into him and sending him sailing off the bridge in a favor returned. But even if the wizard manages to evade the projectile, the globe will still have a fluorite bridge to hit and promptly erupt open in an explosion of frozen shards and bone-chilling waters, depositing Satoshi upon the gemstone expanse with a wet plop.
Svilfon watches the oncoming Sato-ball with a hint of admiration on his face; this was his kind of attack. Foolishly distracted by her ingenuity, he hardly has time to cross his forearms over his face before he's struck true by the Satiesphere. If his body needed air it'd have been knocked out of him, but instead a pouring of blood is coughed out as he flies backwards. Scrambling in a stunned sort of way, he grabs onto the gemmed edge of the bridge with his less-wounded hand, desperate fingers saving him from plummeting into the water beneath, and his new position thankfully saving him from the shards of deadly ice that explode outwards. Were he human he'd have fallen to his death, but as a vampire he possesses enough strength to pull himself back onto the bridge and yet again get to his feet, as stubborn as ever. He sways a little standing there, his expression murderous, well family murderous, before he snaps through some words in a guttural, disgusting tongue; filth almost tangible as the words ring through the icy bridge like an offending stench. As his hands begin to twist before his body, a spell is born in the air above his pointed hat. It rains down over his finely-robed form a sprinkling of foul smelling, gunky liquid that sticks to him like a hobo's smell. For a long moment Svil remains in his 'shower' until, at the last, he appears more like a swamp-monster than a wizard - his only thing still pristine is his hat; not even his own magic is strong enough to dull that fine piece of headwear. With a garbled, gurgled curse the Svil-beast begins to charge at Satoshi, leaping over her puddles of insidious water like a hurdling athlete. As he nears her he extends his hands in a welcoming hug, and prepares to tackle her, hoping his greater size would aid in evading her evasion, rather than the reverse being true - were they to connect, mini-magus and wizard, the disgusting snot-like substance would begin to cover her, to corrupt her beneath its malignant stench until she was so utterly disgusting she'd feel the inescapable desire to peel the substance off, which would result in her tearing off the skin beneath with it... if she didn't just kill herself for being so degraded... Lucky wizards have no dignity.
Satoshi is in the midst of dragging herself back to her feet when a Sven-awful stench reaches her sensitive nose. Wide eyes are turned toward Svilfon then to watch his charge in growing horror, the scent coming off him alone enough to floor the kit as ears, tails, and whisker wilt. When his arms open in a hugging gesture, all resolve leaves the little fox and she does the only thing she can do... she turns tail and bolts, scrambling frantically to stay ahead of the wizard; but his strides quickly outmatch her much shorter legs and when his monstrous shadows looms over her in preparation to snag her, the kit voices a panicked squeak of dismay. A sound that quickly becomes a drawn out yelp when a heel strikes one of the many puddles covering the bridge, instantly stealing her feet from under her and sending the smallish magus careening right off the side of the bridge. There's no scarf to catch her this time, and the fall is a graceless bout of frantic flailing that ends in a harsh collision and splash, but in the end she'll take the pain of impact with the icy surface of the distant lake before enduring a hug from -that- foul entity. Just looking at Svilfon's current state is enough to make Satoshi want to take a long bath, but an impromptu soak in the lake will have to suffice.
Svilfon wastes no time in following Satoshi off the bridge. He dives ungracefully into the water beside her, remaining deep within the frozen liquid until he's finally cleaned of the goopy substance. When he eventually surfaces, his hat a little droopy, he looks around for his mini-friend, if only to congratulate her on that canon-ball. He was most impressed with it! Reckless, just his cup of tea.
Satoshi eventually surfaces just enough to peek out of the water and send a suspicious look Svilfon's way. She's not getting any nearer until she's sure all that gross is gone.
Svilfon lifts his arms above the water to show he's all clean, before flashing a bloody grin at his coterie mate. "I took a bath!"
Satoshi lifts her head above the waterline to say, "Good~. You-" and under she goes a moment in a struggle to maintain her one-armed paddling, but soon enough she's back and spluttering out the rest of her remark, "needed it badly."
Svilfon swims himself over to Satie, before taking her arm and awkwardly dragging them both up onto the ice. He lays on his back, the ice soothing his burns, while he coughs out a mixture of blood and water. "Damn canon ball... Gotta teach me that one!" He grins at her and goes to tip his hat, before realizing his hand is a bloodied mess. So instead he nods, "Picking on me when I'm injured! You're lucky Percy is too far away to call." He gives half a laugh before relaxing back onto the ice.
Satoshi already feels like one big bruise from that explosion and plunge, and can't help a groan as she stretches out on the ice. Svilfon's remark earns him a tongue stuck out, and a retorted, "-You- started it."
Svilfon sticks his own tongue straight back out at the snow queen. "Noooo, you did!" He flashes her a quick wink, before looking up at the bridge. "Errr, can you get us up there?"
Satoshi eyes the bridge and the nearby shore equally, calculating. "Mmm. I -could-, but I -won't-~." It's the foxkin's way of saying she's too lazy to put in the effort, and with another groan she climbs to her feet to begin the trek across ice floes back to shore. A 'trek' that looks suspiciously like skipping and hopscotch.
Svilfon groans as he gets to his feet. "You're little! You're supposed to be full of energy..." The wizard does a poor job of ringing out his robes and straightening his hat, before he plods on after Satie, wisely calling out as he does, "It was just a joke, too. You fluff to fur ratio is perfect... well.... you're all fluff little, but you know what I mean..."
Satoshi has paused to wring out her sodden tails when Svilfon's words reach her. In response she whistles to the waters she's twisted from a tail, coaxing it into a snowball to be promptly lobbed at the wizard's head in silent retort before she continues on.
Svilfon is 'oomphed' by the snow ball. This will not stand! He begins to run after Satie, mumbling as he does a small chant, before he yells out, "I'mma get you!" Hopefully this causes her to look back, because just then he teleports himself across the ice until he's just in-front of her, there he was poised on one knee for a mini-tackle. To learn her not to throw snowballs at him! Again.
Satoshi does indeed look back, a look of dread on her face as she half-expects a repeat appearance of that sludge-coated wizard. But there's no wizard at all behind her... which might explain why her scurry has been brought to a dead halt when she slams into him looming in front of her. And her being half his height would certainly explain why she's sent sprawling backwards head over tails by the impact. Damn wizards, like running into a brick wall.
Svilfon waggles his finger at mini-Satie. "Little kids shouldn't throw snowballs!" He grins at her, before getting up to his feet and offering her an arm up. "When you're big, you're going to kill me... aren't you?"
Satoshi accepts the help up while shaking her head. "Naw, I won't kill you." Flashing a grin, the kit suddenly aims a kick at Svilfon's shin before she dashes off across the ice toward the nearby shore, calling back, "I'll just make you -wish- you were dead~."
Svilfon is foiled again by the sneakiest of sneakys. He eeps as he hops around, holding his shin between both his hands - apparently it's worse than his bleeding limb. "I'll get you!" He quietly snickers to himself, before hobbling off after the snow queen - silent promises made to ensure her next fixing potion is a toadstool-creating one. <<
Satoshi skids to a halt on the black sands to whirl around and stare at Svilfon with wide eyes. Had she read his thoughts? Considering their general closeness, hazarding a semi-accurate guess at his idea of revenge isn't too farfetched a thing. Thus it's a look of dread that the smallish kit turns upon the wizard now. "You wouldn't!" is half-pleaded, and... are those little tears welling in the corners of her eyes?
Svilfon tries to come to a skidding halt on the ice, but just manages to slide along it with all the grace of a sack of carrots, until his feet hit the sandy shore, which sends him sprawling onto his face. "Ooomph." With a shake he gets back to his feet and flashes the mini-lady icicle a grin full of fangs, "I wouldn't..." He seems to take her knowing his thoughts in stride - they have spent a lot of time together, after all. He drops to one knee, "You made me these robes!" He stretches his arms, "And ya healed me. Even if you keep kicking me in the shins, I won't ever toadstool you. Promise." Damn her little tears! No one could stand up to the epitome of innocence she has become.
Satoshi's tears vanish as quickly as the pleading expression, replaced by a delighted grin. She doesn't offer an verbal response, but she does reach up--made possible by his kneeling--on tippy toes to press a chilly kiss to his forehead and, upon descent back to flat feet, tug down the wizard's hat over his eyes. Snickering, Satoshi bolts once more, this time with the bridge as her destination.
Svilfon was fooled by that delighted grin, and her frosty peck to his forehead, so when the world suddenly goes dark he lets out a little flail. Before pulling his hat back to its rightful stop and getting up. He snickers to himself again, before trudging on after the snow queen at a much more sedate pace - those youngin's, too much energy for an old battered wizard like Svilfon.
Satoshi is pretty sure wizards get old too fast. Should have been a mage. We stay young forever~.
Svilfon thinks wizards get hats. We win!