RP:Of Frost and Flame
Never Freezing Fountain
As you step into this area you see a large fountain that sparkles brilliantly with cerulean water. As you move closer towards the fountain to pass or go through the area, a frost biting steam can be seen hovering about its contents, and though the steam is as cold as ice, the water runs purely. The life giving fluid glows with a magical property, but its reason here is unknown to you, and perhaps one day you will find an answer. To your east is a road, to your west is another road.
Cuki was a little tired. After all they had walked from the swamp to the high mountains so quickly. He had only taken a moment to dress against the nipping winds. Yet he was still determined to give Satoshi a proper date. Sans a sandwich at least. The ice was so full of beauty. He knew this very well turning to give the Feline a bright grin. Somewhat careless he almost tumbles over the fresh snow. The newly acquired fur blanket slides against the ground. It starts to unroll, but is stopped by the edge of the fountain. In a silly attempt to keep impressions up he pulls the blanket finishing the process. "I think we should stop here!" Cuki says in a weak attempt to save the situation. The oddity of the fountain is overlooked, but does not overlook them.
Satoshi strolled along behind Cuki, eyes wide and curious as the feline’s head turned left and right to take in the scenic city. She felt at home in the snowy landscape and it reflected itself in her bright, playful mood as she skipped over the monk’s footprints and hardly leaving an indent of her own passing in the powder. She laughs in a high bell-like tone when the silly human trips and sends the blanket rolling, and she adds a short round of applause at his quick recover of the mishap. An act that could be considered almost catlike in nature--that infamous “I meant to do that” reaction felines were notorious for. “It’s a perfectly fine spot for a picnic!” she proclaims and promptly seats herself on the blanket, MDF swooping down to claim a resting place on her lap where he immediately curls up and begins a nap.
Cuki's face burns a bit red at the laughter. Caught in the act. He still had a chance to keep cool. The Human lowers himself to the warmed fur, placing himself between her and the fountain. Such a pretty thing it is in the street. Shaped in a wide bowl decorated by marble faces of men on the edge. In the center is what appears to be a huge wolf with wreaths of fire at its base. The pure water flows from a crystal urn to which the wolf seems to be unsucessfully crushing. The water that flows from it into the silver lined pool is cold, but not freezing. Oh odd in such a place. The Anti-Mage reaches out to the beautiful liquid, trying to catch a handful to drink. A hand ducks down only to come back up covered in ice.
Satoshi watches the human with amusement, her long tail swaying in lazy arcs behind her. She follows his gaze to the fountain and her soft ears perk forward in interest at the unnatural marvel. The little mage was familiar with the similar spells that seemed to enchant this fountain; she herself had learned how to make heatless flames from ice as a source of light and it was a simple enough matter to persuade the surrounding snow not to let this shimmering water freeze. It was the massive centerpiece that caught her attention, the winter wolves were commonplace in this area but why was it standing on fire? The feline tilted her head to one side thoughtfully at the unusual choice of symbols the artist had created. When Cuki reaches for the water she raises her hand instinctively to stop him, pausing midway into the action in surprise at the involuntary motion. So when the monk withdrew his hand encased in ice from the water she was already halfway to him and quickly rushed to finish the halted movement, coming to kneel at his side in a flash--MDF chirping from the upset. She grabbed the monk’s frozen hand in hers, sharp claws digging into grooves in the ice and prying it away in two thick sheets as she gave Cuki a half-smile. “Oi! They use magic to make those things, you know.”
Cuki frowns deeply at the ice now encasing his hand. It always has to be something like this. What is wrong with normal water? He hadn't even thought about it. Luckily he was not completely silly enough to dunk his whole head into the water. That would be a big problem. Willingly he gives himself to the Feline. He knew full well she could easily break the ice. Like a clam the hand is freed. "I do now," Rather embarrassed again he admits, "I would be so helpless without you." Cuki suddenly flinches back. A drop of water from the fountain splashed up to his face. It had gotten hot. Really hot. Distracted by such pretty eyes he couldn't hear the now roaring boil of the fountain. What was going on here? He turns to the fountain. No longer stone. The beast of flame and rock lives. Surrounded and distorted by the heat of steam. Below one of its massive paw is the shattered remains of the urn coated thick with bubbling blood. Inferno of eyes stare at the pair. The ones who had broken such a dreadful prison. The dire wolf of flame and stone and fur lifts its head to let out a howl of freedom. So loud and so fierce it scorches the air with dazzling golden flame.
Satoshi instinctively releases her hold of Cuki when he flinched, she herself drawing back from the sudden overwhelming heat the fountain was giving off. She turns toward the structure to determine the source only to see it suddenly shrink away from her. MDF, taking his full sized and normally inconveniently bulky form, had his thick tail coiled around the pair and pulled them away from the fountain at the appearance of the wolf to stop a fair distance down the street. The dragon hovers over monk and mage anxiously with translucent white wings unfurled, sapphire eyes watching the wolf warily, growls rumbling from deep in the ice dragon’s throat. Satoshi blinks slowly before shaking her head, long locks of hair flowing out with the motion, and she resumes staring at the fiery canine with an almost feral excitement in her eyes. “I’m guessing that wasn’t a simple enchantment on the fountain,” the mage half-jokes. Her hands fly to her ears and press them down firmly as the wolf lets out a howl painfully loud to her hearing. MDF counters with a roar that sounded of an avalanche’s echoing rumble and tightens the coils around Cuki and his master, claws poised over them protectively as his wings fan anxiously at the quickly heating air.
Cuki quickly lost control of the situation. He had freed this creature, but there must have been a reason why it was trapped in the first place. The call to the night causes him to cover his ears. Such dreadful pain and joy in its voice. Him, the wolf of fire bound to the world of frost, cuts his howl short. Shooting Cuki a distinctly wolfish grin. A savage sort of thing those teeth. All wrapped up in white flames above the sharp ivory. From grin to growl it turns to the great white dragon, matching him. The snarl fills its lungs with air. Red and orange fur puffs him up even larger. At once he deflates. Blazing in his agape jaws--they tremble to keep it contained--is a distorted orb of fire. All of the power from his lungs condenced before being set loose. The flare burns bright in its path, sharply curving up to the taller foe. Such anger. Such fury. It wants to tear the beast of ice apart with its beautiful blaze.
Satoshi is left with little option. With the anti-mage so close the feline stood no chance of calling up a defensive wall of ice to shield her beloved dragon. And MDF knew this as well. Glistening talons curling around the pair, MDF knocked them aside to the line of houses on the left of the lane as gently as his bulk allowed before the dragon made to dodge the wolf’s fire by twisting to the right half of the street. He managed to remove most of his frame from the path, destroying a fair section of wall in an innocent building in the process, but a single wing is left exposed to the hungry flames. A high keening cry came from the dragon, head thrown back on sinewy neck as he bellowed in pain. The fiery breath has left little of the dragon’s wing intact, the remaining stub’s edges still glowing red from the heat. MDF growled in defiance at the dire wolf, dropping down to four claws, his body dipped awkwardly as if he meant to bury the wing stub in the quickly melting snow. And so it was exactly his intentions. The ice dragon let out an odd sound very much like a chortle and straightened his body now with once damaged wing fully repaired. Fire could remove as much as it wished of him but so long as his master remained his form could be restored like any battered snowman could. Fortunately, the ice mage had chosen to create a snowman with fangs and claws in place of the carrot nose and pipe. The dragon arched his neck back, jaws parting as he threw his head forward again and with a roar spat a barrage of jagged icicles at his canine opponent.
Cuki watched helplessly at the battling behemonths. A war of frost and fire. This simply can not drag on. Though the dragon had shoved him aside and twisted away, Cuki would not part from his place in the battle. Rather than attacking he runs at his ally, tackling away the lizardly head with his shoulder. The barbed tips of ice spray wide. They stick up from the ground bizarrely. Such a strange thing for the Monk to do. One glance at the dire wolf is explanation enough. Though his foe had deftly dodged to the right he had not followed. From that pedestal he is fixed. Nipping at his own paws. All--save the one coated in blood--are held fast. Long tendrils of stone flesh wrap around its legs. The spell was still mostly there. Feral with terror he gnaws at lupine flesh. Tearing away chunks of finely muscled legs. Anything to get free. Anything for get revenge.
Satoshi faltered in the process of her own building attack spell, torn with sudden a conscience. It was certainly all this time spent with the human. His compassion was rubbing off on the normally self-preserving feline. Her small hold on the enchantment was lost when MDF let out a bewildered trill, his attack altered unexpectedly. The massive beast shrank away from the monk like a scolded dog, his tail tucked tightly around his body and a low grumbling whine coming from deep in his chest. The dragon looked appealing to Satoshi in hopes of a different opinion but received the same decline of further assault on the trapped beast. The dragon heaved a great sigh, the force of his exhale sending up a small whirlwind of snow and debris from the house he still sat on. Satoshi gave the dragon a reassuring smile and strolled towards the wolf, hands held palm up in the universal sign of good intent. She paused a short distance from the animal and looked back at Cuki and Mdf. “If he attacks again, you can eat him. He’s had a chance to play nice.” Her first words clearly for the dragon and the second statement one of explanation to the monk. She wasn’t going to sacrifice her life for any creature, Cuki’s compassion hadn't rubbed off THAT much on her. Turning back to the wolf she looked over his chewed paws skeptically, a hand absently tugging a lock of her hair. “How do we fix this mess? You don’t exactly look tamable either…”
Cuki lets out a sigh. One hand rubs his forehead. Another lovely little mess. "We have to put it back." Is all the Human could say. He couldn't imagine that terror. Being trapped in stone with a living mind and eyes. Set to eternal torture and pain. Set to dream and wonder and lament without even a voice to scream. To feel the touch of cold and the rare faint warmth of the sun. It would almost be more merciful to kill him. The wolf is now scared. He knew words. Understood what they meant to do. The frenzy had ended. Replaced by dread and molten tears.
Satoshi echoed Cuki’s sigh. “Why do we keep finding these creatures…?” The feline’s ears drooped miserably as she watched the wolf’s demeanor change to one of fear and resignation. She stepped forward, placing her hand on the lupine’s great head. It took a sheer force of will not to instantly flinch away from the scorching touch of its fire-hued fur. Without any audible call to him, MDF crept to the mage’s side, his head hovering over the wolf and feline. Satoshi stared into the wolf’s crimson eyes, ice linking with flame for a brief moment. “It’s time to sleep.” She sighed again and closed her eyes as a pale blue light crept from under her hand to flow over the wolf like water. As the light reached the wolf’s paws the dragon drew in a breath and exhaled over the fountain, a swirling cloud of white fog that blocked all from view for a long moment. A piercing howl was the only sound in the streets, echoing off the walls until it seemed to build an invisible chorus. When the mist lifted Satoshi sat cross-legged on the undisturbed picnic blanket, a shrunken down MDF curled on her lap, in very much the same way they’d been before the fountain’s spell had been lost. They only alteration to the scene was the fountain itself. It was no longer of stone, now a glistening golden sculpture of a three-pawed wolf, muzzle turned up to the sky in an eternal howl and tail raised proudly. Satoshi smiled welcomingly at the monk and patted the place on the blanket beside her. “Shall we?”