Chaos is known as the being that never became a star. It is everywhere and yet nowhere at the same time.
Neither good nor evil, the ultimate expression of nothingness. The antithesis of the cosmos, creation itself.
Although Chaos claims to be the very state of existence from which the first entities appeared, it cannot form into the entity it wants most.
So it has been cursed to stay in the form of a dark and shapeless void. Floating between existence and nonexistence.
Longingly watching as stars are constantly born and lives are lived. The seeds of malice had been planted, flourished and transformed Chaos into the purest form of evil.
The urge to elbow him was there, that was for sure. And she could chalk it down to exhaustion, cause hey surprise her job was kind of tiring and stressful imagine that. But it was more of how odd this little man named Julius was. Weird...wasn't exactly the right word, carried a little bit too much of a bad meaning for the word to really fit him. Odd. Odd was about right. Odd was the guy who had a blank stare on his face as Ayakka tried to get a rise out of him, even the smallest one. Odd was the guy who never saw the sarcasm flying clear as day over his head. And odd was the raven haired boy pulling her up and helping her out of the alley he dragged her into. Sentences, and situations, like that rarely came by in her life. That said, there was the matter of payback later for scaring the hell out of her but that was for another time. [break][break]
Listening to Julius' instruction, Ayakka moved her left foot in tandem with the thin man. Surprisingly thin even. To be fair, she wasn't sure what her expectation of prosecutors was before this but...she was fairly sure that a prosecutors were like...cops right? Or something along the lines of that. Tough, that was the word she was trying to think of. She thought they were supposed to be tough as brick fast talking snake charmers. Ayakka looked sideways at her living crutch.[break][break]
"Heh." A dry, exceptionally amused chuckle escaped Ayakka. Not that she tried to hold it in that much. Shelving a joke that had popped into her mind Ayakka listened to Julius' next, fantastically politer, question.[break][break]
"Do you...use it...often?" Ayakka chuckled. Conversation 101, that's what this kid needed. And maybe a good smack on his back every now and then, or hell anything that let the guy loosen up. ...Or was this him loose? The, somewhat terrifying, thought struck like a shooting star as Ayakka ran their conversations back through her head. Better not to let him know you doubt his speaking skills while he's carrying you like a sack of potatoes, Ayakka concluded. But, she did still have that joke she didn't use yet.[break][break]
"Only if you tell me if this how you usually pick up girls?" Ayakka grinned, hoping to see something anything break through the brick wall that was the thick skull of Julius. "Gotta say, not a fan of the aggressive type. Or getting tied up by your rope thing."[break][break]
"But...I mean...often-ish?" Ayakka titled her head back. "I use them kinda often. That little boost of speed and agility is a lifesaver, and I'm not gonna lie its gotten me through a couple of fires that would've taken a lucky wish a particularly overzealous Evoker." Hopefully a generous one too, Ayakka silently thought to herself. "So how'd you like riding through my fire portal by the way? Never had anyone I could actually tell, so I'm always curious what other people think of it."
If Ayakka were sober, she would wonder why the man acted so nervously. And then brush it off and keep talking, albeit a little slower. Even if the person she was talking to was hardly talking back, that was fine. Oddly enough, something about him made it easier to have a heavily one-sided conversation, almost like she expected him to only grunt, nod and speak in only a handful of words. She even only made a small face at the fact that he also seemed to miss her dig at trying to find out what his name was. Ayakka stopped half-step as the word 'also' dug into her brain. [break][break]
"Meh." Shaking it off as nothing, she continued following the black haired man that was yet to be named. Talking his ear off as per her favorite pastime.[break][break]
"Well.. You see... I almost got into a wreck... Walking, seemed safer.." Oh, Ayakka fished around her pockets as looking for a notepad. Somewhere in her addled mind, she had a thought to write down that tidbit and try and report that later. As it was, all she accomplished was knocking out the silver flask she held in her pocket. "Yo-you..." Barely paying, Ayakka turned around and picked up the flask, taking a quick swig as she felt the chill creep into her bones again."I-I don't really know?"[break][break]
"Eh it'll sort itself out right? I don't see anymore burning trashcans so that means its good right?" Her fuzzy brain somehow blurted out.[break][break]
"You.. uhh help save people right? So, is that why you're out in a blizzard....Saving.." Ayakka hiccuped, the action interrupting the words she was forming. "People?" Instead she chose to wave halfheartedly. [break][break]
"You see, normally you'd be right." Ayakka proudly presented the silver flask in her hand. "However today was my day off! And I wanted to forget something so I decided to be a responsible adult and drink my troubles away Mister! Oh!" Noticing the man gulp, Ayakka sighed dramatically. "You should've said something if you wanted some. Drink up my friend! Drink! I've had plenty already!" Thrusting the silver flask into the man's hand, Ayakka watched expectantly as she continued talking. "Oh oh, before I forget what's your name? You seem kinda...familiar...?"
It was the alcohol talking, she was fairly sure about that, but something about the guy seemed off. A little off, but eh what did she care? Human contact in this kind of weather was exactly what Ayakka was looking for, and lo and behold! Some poor, unfortunate soul was stuck out here like her! And they just happened to be stuck in her path! Never look a gift horse in the mouth indeed. [break][break]
Ignoring the surprised yelp that came out of the man's mouth Ayakka unabashedly looked the man up and down. Something about him looked oddly, intensely aggravating. Like he couldn't catch a hint to save his life. Shrugging to herself, Ayakka went back to bothering her fellow wanderer. Except...[break][break]
"Uhh.. well no.. My home right over... there..." Her face slightly soured, feeling the heat in her cheeks drain a bit. She needed more whiskey to make it through this storm. "Who.. Who.. Are you?" [break][break]
"Hmm, local fire fighter Ayakka Atland at your service." Ayakka grabbed the man's freezing cold hand as she vigorously shook it. Grinning broadly, she continued her little shtick. "Currently lost in a snowstorm, but worry not citizen. I shall escort you to your home and make sure you arrive safely." And to entertain her, but that was more of a bonus for her rather then for the black haired man. "So do you wander around blizzards often or is this a once in a while kind of thing Mister.....?" Checking her pocket, Ayakka confidentially noted the little canister sitting in her pocket, full of that precious liquid that made this whole freezing cold a lot more bearable. Just enough to walk the nice man to his house and make it home. "You didn't happen to see someone set a trashcan on fire did you? I have to make a report when i start tomorrow..."
What exactly went on in that head of his, Ayakka wondered. What sort of clockwork made the gears in his head tick? The same sort of person that would run into a blazing house would then drag his savior into an alleyway for an interrogation? What kind of upbringing did he have?! And then there was that thick skull of his. Ayakka mentally rolled her eyes. Figuratively speaking of course, the boy seemed like was the textbook definition of the word fragile. No, no it was the easily apparent thickness that came whenever the boy spoke. All her jokes, all her banter...god forbid even her sarcasm flew far over Julius' head. Sliding slowly down the wall, Ayakka was content to sit in her thoughts, only barely paying attention to what the boy was saying. [break][break]
"....Io." ...Today was a long day. Ayakka decided on that. She rescued two people. One of those people forced her into an alley, and she pushed the limits of her magic to a point where she wasn't sure she could go. That was all it was. Yeah, that was it. No needing answers for questions you didn't ask, wasn't that how it went? No hunting down good people for making a wish you might've made in their place. Not even stupid, shortsighted little idiots like the darker then black Julius standing near her. Because he was stupid, that much she understood. But he didn't need this sort of thing in his life. And the less both of them knew, the better the both of them would be. Do you...need help?" A snort escaped the girl. Not a very proper thing to do, but the prosecutor in front of her wasn't about to lecture her on manners was he?[break][break]
"Not as much help as you need." Ayakka responded, propping herself up on one shaky leg after another. An unsteady hand pushed up against the wall as her she willed her feet forward. Her free hand tapped the side of her head as Ayakka lurched uncertainly. "You really need to learn how to take a hint sometimes, boy. At least once." Now certain of just how far she could push herself, Ayakka sighed. She could still make a push for the end of the alleyway, see if she doesn't collapse in front of her engine or somewhere on the way. Or...she could ask the boy standing behind her. Ayakka checked to see if her hand still hurt. To no one's surprise it did.[break][break]
She could swallow her pride some other day, she a goddamn point to prove. "Sayonara sucker." Ayakka waved, taking a few tentative steps as she crashed into the ground and grumbled to herself a more meaningful power. "This is not my goddamn day...JULIUS GIMME A HAND!"
Ayakka squinted at the smoldering embers of the trash she had spotted on her way home. For the life of her she'd never understood how the hell fires managed to burn so much during the middle of winter. Even in the middle of a blizzard like this. Still, a few handfuls of snow and some good aim solved that one quickly. Except...[break][break]
"Oh find me in the alps...." Ayakka squinted, trying to find her way back onto the road she'd been walking home on. Granted, walking through a blizzard was...well it was asking for it, but cab fair was expensive. And she'd a bit to drink so it was at least kind of warm. "Tally ho I guess?" Ayakka paused midstep, a though striking her as she considered what country she was living in. "What would I say in French?" Shrugging to herself, Ayakka continued on what she hoped was forward. [break][break]
"Huh?" Straining her eyes against the elements Ayakka saw, to her delight, another person! A Christmas miracle, the fire fighter concluded. "HEY! HEY YOU! WAIT UP!" As quickly as her feet would carry her slightly drunken self Ayakka ran forward, leaving a flurry of snow behind her. "ARE YOU LOST TOO?" With more energy then their dismal surroundings called for, Ayakka came to a screeching halt as the excitement washed over her.
He seemed like a nice person. A good person even, Ayakka thought. And he was a prosecutor. And he ran into a burning building to save someone's precious person. [break][break]
And now he seemed cold. Decisive. Almost merciless even. Ayakka realized it was his eyes. Where the benign eyes once sat, now sat orbs that held no such passiveness. Now they seemed like they had locked onto a target, trying to reach the destination with little regard as to how. The idea to run again made its way to her mind, but Ayakka dismissed the thought. Even she realized that this was her limit, and that anymore would likely cause permanent damage. Even as the pain in her arm and chest, it lingered for far longer then it had before. Her muscles complained as well, voicing the aftereffects of her abuse on them. [break][break]
"Really no running away from this one huh...? Ayakka muttered to herself. She could always bit him, the Magi thought. [break][break]
"Magi," Surprise written across her face, Ayakka nonetheless stayed silent as Julius continued his drawl. "now..who...did you...make a contract with?"[break][break]
"Don't I get an attorney first Mr. Prosecutor?" Ayakka felt the sarcasm drip from her mouth. "Couldn't just ask like a normal person, no you had to drag me to an alleyway and brand me first." Ayakka sat up slowly, wincing slightly at the muscle fatigue in her legs. "I think she said her name was Calli. Or he...I don't know I was kind of busy at the moment what with my house burning down and everything."
She couldn't call him a power ranger...could she? Ayakka bow string slacked as she eyed the...man? She didn't know what was under there. At the very least, Ayakka was caught off guard when he stepped into the light. Something about his armor screamed, hero of justice in all caps...at least that was how Ayakka saw it. [break][break]
"Calm down! I'm a friend..." Ayakka squinted suspiciously at the armored man, though she had to admit her apprehension was already leveling out. "I've been trying to stop them."[break][break]
"Oh. Oh that makes things a lot easier." Ayakka sighed in relief, stowing away her bow. "Well Mr. Super Sentai, you came at a great time." Pointing out at the blistering snowstorm, Ayakka continued. "As you've no doubt noticed there's a storm of these little things running out there. And this one here... Ayakka pointed at the youma panting on the ground. "Dragged me into the middle of this...and I'm kinda stuck...." [break][break]
It was somewhat odd, this situation. Oddly enough, the snowstorm would actually make things easier for Ayakka...somewhat. She could offset her heat absorption drawbacks and even have an easier time disabling youma's. ...Except that was nothing to absorb any heat from...at all. Except the youma's, and they weren't exactly generous enough to let her steal some away without taking a finger or two. Which left her, in her worn out jeans and jacket, dashing through the snow after just one of these creatures. [break][break]
"Wanna team up? I'll even cough over most of the grief seeds if you want!" Ayakka held out her, doing her best not to ask the man if he liked cosplaying a little too much. "Name's Ayakka Atland, Mister.....?" Honestly though, she was perfectly fine calling him super sentai for the rest of his, or her, life. [break][break]
As soon as her brain would allow, Ayakka began clawing her way back to the street. The less she knew about anything the better she thought. Really, better to leave this sorta stuff to better Magi. And...maybe stop overusing those powers she had acquired. Although the girl could hear Julius mumble something, the most her exhausted mind could make out was something something truth me. [break][break]
"I'll truth you good!" Ayakka yelled, failing to realize that her words were not exactly a coherent sentence. But it was the best she could manage at that moment. Refusing the helping hand that Julius offered and acting like a spoiled child? That, the worn out Magi was still perfectly capable of. Huffing turned to the gravel and refused the offered hand, leaving her other hand awkwardly hanging in midair. If only for a second, Ayakka considered biting his hand to see if the lasso rope thing would loosen. But only for a second.[break][break]
"Who did you make a contract with?" Ayakka's mouth made an O shape as she realized what the socially awkward man was getting.[break][break]
"Oh you're a Magi too?!" Despite her situation, Ayakka couldn't help but be...a little excited. First Magi contact and all, you know? And yeah, it was the overheat talking but she felt like this was the start of a good friendship. "Why didn't you just say so? Ha, I mean you were scaring the hell out of me with all that IS THAT MAGIC and stressful silence and junk." Ayakka waved her constrained arm, not paying attention to the golden ropes binding it. "I mean I'm not gonnna lie, I was gonna bite your hand back there if you started scaring me anymore. And whats?" It was burning. Her hand was burning. Like a thousand flames were raking over her hand, stoking an unceasing storm of pain. Her brain kicked into overdrive, and Ayakka's trapped hand grabbed Julius' hand as she drained heat from his in a desperate gamble. [break][break]
I don't want to die. A fire burned inside Ayakka. More a primal fear then any sort of anger made her jump, trying to get loose from the strands that gripped and burned her so. No plan in place, no grand strategy, no idea if this would work. Nothing more then simple instinct made Ayakka throw the both of them into the wall, trying to break free of the rope that burned more intensely then any fire she'd run through. [break][break]
Ayakka thrashed on the floor, still feeling the burning on her hand. Her insides were on fire, her hand was on fire, everything was on fire. In a corner of her mind, Ayakka realized she had pushed her powers too far today. Multiple portal jumps, an almost near constant use of Ex Animo, and then this. None of this was helping. Wasn't he supposed to be one of the good guys? [break][break]
She was exhausted. Her arms were heavy. Her head was heavy. Vaguely, Ayakka realized that she was probably developing a fever. With what little energy she could concentrate, Ayakka looked at the person on the other end of the golden string.[break][break]
"Are you a Corrupted?" Why else would he do this? She had saved his life...and yet...and yet.......
She gripped his hand a lot harder then she had intended to, but Ayakka figured she could apologize later. Fixing her eyes on the fire licking up at them, Ayakka breathed in slowly and closed her eyes. Panicking here wouldn't help. A nice, deep breath and a simple step forward. That was all they needed, and they'd be in the clear. Easy peasy.[break][break]
Opening her eyes, Ayakka took the step forward and steeled herself. Jumps like theses were always...odd, and rough on her sense of falling. Dryly, the girl wondered if this sort of thing would ever give her vertigo. That or an intrinsic fear of fire, as odd as that seemed. And yet...only around fire were her powers useful, and that meant only when someone's life was in danger could she do her best. If a youma had caused the fire...or worse...a corrupted...what would she do? Ayakka idly thought as she guided the three of them through the depths of the fire. Would she carry the corrupted through the flames to...or just...[break][break]
For better, their little journey through the flames was cut short as the fire spat them out in the lobby and Ayakka urged their little group on by tugging at her charges. [break][break]
"Phew, I need a break. And ice cream, ice cream would be nice...." Ayakka muttered to herself as she watched the little kid scamper over to his sister. A chuckle escaped her mouth as the kid brother collapsed into her arms, sharing the tears rolling off his older siblings cheeks. "...But this ain't a bad reward either... Ayakka whispered to herself as she started back to her fire engine. Started being the key word.[break][break]
"Come with me." Ayakka made a face as Julius began to drag her off. Normally, this sort of upfront action would elicit a very different response. A lot more bantering and shoving ideally. But normally, she wouldn't have had to abuse her powers this much. As it was, she there was an exceptionally tempting looking water bottle nearby that was asking for some attention. Sure that bottle belonged to her partner, who was currently manning the hose, but he wouldn't mind. Until after he found she drank it anyways. [break][break]
"...So is this the part where you tell me you fell for me orrrrr?" Ayakka asked, letting herself be dragged around like the world's largest dead weight. Which she felt justified in being, considering she had literally jumped through hoops of flaming building to save them. "Because if you're paying its still a no but I will take the freebie dinner."[break][break]
Ayakka waved at the passerby's that stared at them as Julius dragged her by, giving the man a look of confusion as he flashed...a prosecutor's license? Huh, did that mean she got a get out of jail free card for saving his life? That would be nice, if unnecessary. As Julius came to an abrupt halt Ayakka let herself enjoy the, somewhat, cooler air outside. Grinning at Julius as he opened his mouth, Ayakka wondered if she managed to fluster the young man. [break][break]
"Was that magic?" Opening her mouth, Ayakka found no words would come out, a rarity to be sure, and promptly closed her mouth again. ...Hopefully Calli wasn't omnipotent or she'd have to explain this in a fantastically awkward situation. Scratching the back of her head, Ayakka let out a loud, short laugh. [break][break]
"Aha...ha...haha w-what do you mean Julius? Magic? That's silly buddy, magic? Nah that's...that's kid stuff isn't it?" As she spoke, Ayakka's eyes vividly looked around for a way out. Anything to get out of her screw up, preferably. "I mean, what is magic anyways? What is this, the tenth century? Magic is so Dark Ages...." It was then that the last, non overheated, rational part of her mind politely informed Ayakka that she would be better off eating her foot at this rate. At least that way, she might choke on it and not make the situation worse. Well, there was always plan b.[break][break]
"LOOK A CRIMINAL!" Ayakka yelled, pointing over Julius' shoulder and turning to run. And, much to her credit, Ayakka made it three steps before tripping over her feet and running into the wall of the alleyway. Collapsing onto the floor, Ayakka rolled over to face her questioner. From the floor, Ayakka began yelling at Julius. "I WANT A LAWYER! I HAVEN'T DONE ANYTHING! I DON'T EVEN JAYWALK!"
She hated this. The taste of blood in her mouth, the rush of adrenaline and the fear in her stomach that gnawed at her like a hungry wolf...this feeling of battle, she hated above all else. [break][break]
"Back off goddammit!" Ayakka yelled, stringing another arrow in her bow and aiming at the doglike youma that crouched before her. Deep down, she knew. Let this one go it'll attract more...or worse. Worse it might go find someone to hurt, to kill. And she couldn't let that happen. That wasn't what a good person would do. That was why she chased when she saw the youma slink off into the night. [break][break]
In the corner of her mind, Ayakka knew that this was much easier said then done. Face your enemy, kill your enemy, move on rinse and repeat. That was easy...for other Magi. For a plethora of reasons, other Magi could gloss over the little details that Ayakka felt she could never escape. How they whimper when they're wounded. How they cry out when they feel afraid. How their eyes shined brightly when she looked into them, trying to make herself deal that finishing blow. ...It didn't help that it was never quick for her. No one shot kills no, nothing easy like that. Even for one youma it was always a sustained battle of attrition, wearing them down until her arrows could finally take that last bit of life saving heat from them and send them into a hypothermia induced coma. ...As it was she hadn't yet killed any either. Maybe...maybe she could just...leave it here? It was snowing after all so...she didn't have to push it too far? The crack of footsteps in snow snapped the girl out of her wishful thinking as she wheeled towards the sound of the intruder and aimed her bow a bit unsteadily at the newcomer. [break][break]
"Step out into light where I can see you!" Ayakka yelled, fixing her eyes on the newcomer. "Last warning! Her breath came out in short, sharp breaths as they fogged in the worsening weather. It had been a miracle that she had found the youma much less fought it down in the storm, but hey perseverance was one of her many virtues right? "Friend or foe?" [break][break]
Ayakka cracked a smile under her mask. The man really could do it if he tried. Talking that is. Even if it was that dry, stilted words of a man that was clearly not well practiced in them it was at least an effort, and that counted. Ayakka cracked her knuckles as she laid the last piece of debris to the side and nodded in satisfaction. Calling out to her two charges in the bedroom, she joyfully announced herself once more.[break][break]
"No ones dying today kid. Not you, not the guy next to you, and no one else." And then the ceiling cracked. And caved in. And before she think, her feet pounded the floor as her left hand grabbed the axe on her belt. "Julius! Julius! Goddammit man this isn't the time be quiet! For fu-! And it was there that she stopped dead in her tracks, staring dumbfounded at the two emerging from the room unscathed. [break][break]
"Huh." Ayakka scratched the side of her head, idly wondering if she had imagined the ceiling giving way and was currently suffering some form of heatstroke. Wouldn't exactly be the first time, in all honesty. Well, better not to look a gift horse in the mouth. As it was, her mask was getting unbearably hot with how much she had been abusing her magic. ...And as it was she might have to abuse it a little more. Pulling the tank off her back, Ayakka handed the oxygen tank to Julius and strapped the mask to the child's face. "This thing's getting a little too hot for me anyways."[break][break]
Wiping the sweat off her face with a gloved hand, Ayakka ignored the soot she smeared across her face. A nice soak in a bath. That's what she needed after this....but....there was the little matter of the stairs. Tramping over to the stairs, Ayakka confirmed her suspicions. The fire had already reached the bottom of the stairwell. Try to go down and they'd burn to death. Go up...and they'd probably asphyxiate and pass out. Neither was exactly a good option. [break][break]
"Plan C it is..." Fishing a pair of googles out of her pockets, Ayakka strapped them on and nodded to herself. Hopefully Julius was naive enough to believe her. Down they were going, if she wanted to abuse this power a little more and give them a chance. Motioning to Julius and the child, Ayakka called to them.[break][break]
"Three things. One, and above all else, we're going down. Two, we're going to go through a lot of fire so i need you to close your eyes and follow me. And three, take my hand..." Looking back, Ayakka smiled and held out her hand. "Trust me."[break][break]
"Don't wear my name out, I still gotta use that for awhile you know?" Ayakka joked, patting an ashy, gloved hand on Julius' shoulder. [break][break]
A blink. Truly a master of spoken craft this one. Ayakka waved the blink off, thinking nothing of it as she continued on and glanced up the stairwell. What was it someone had once told her about climbing higher and higher into the sky? Something about getting closer to heaven. Ayakka found that she was sincerely doubting the truth behind those words seeing the flames licking to and fro above them. Still, with her raven haired companion moving forward into certain danger there wasn't really much of a choice there was there? She shook her head, chuckling ever so slightly at the brave attitude of the man clearly out of his element but followed anyways. [break][break]
With the helmet and protective mask limiting her field of vision and hearing, Ayakka ran into the back of Julius as she did her best to look for signs of life. Thankfully her impromptu partner was less inhibited by his, or lack thereof, of equipment. [break][break]
"A scream?"[break][break] Brightening up at the first good sign, Ayakka looked up to a somewhat dismaying scene. Yes, while it was good that he did hear that scream, what was not okay was the sprinting down the hall! How easy did he think it was to find him?! ...Granted it actually was fairly easy, but that was dumb luck! Her fire jumping was better for escaping not chasing after idiots in long coats sprinting downs halls that were in the midst of intense immolation! [break][break]
"Oh for, stop running you idiot! You'll get yourself killed! Obituaries remember?!" Against her better judgement, Ayakka stomped down the hallway after Julius. Catching up to him, she had half a mind to swear him out and disappoint her mother again by breaking her promise of being less of a potty mouth, but there were things that needed doing. Namely, a kid to save. "Alright, so this is a little more complicated." Ayakka muttered to herself, surveying the scene. "No worries kid, the heroes are here to save you." Ayakka yelled as she flashed a thumbs up at the kid, mind racing at what options to pursue. [break][break]
As luck would have it, the fires hadn't yet reached the room. And yet as their shitty luck would have it, the fire had already burned through parts of the floor above them and caved part of the ceiling onto the kid's bed, which he was hiding under. And trapped under that debris was a scared little kid, waiting for a miracle.[break][break]
"Know what? I'm actually kinda glad you ran into here Julius. Would've been a lot more complicated without you. So, here's the plan. I grab this crap on top pinning the kid under the bed and you pull him out when there's enough space, got it? Nothing here should collapse if i start pulling it away, there isn't too much debris he's pinned under. Bad news is, fires above us and we need to exit quick? Got it? Good, get your ass ready." Wishing to god she had a strength skill again, Ayakka set to work pulling the bits and pieces of the ceiling off the top of the bed as the child whimpered below. To be fair though, she did cheat. A lot. The sweat in her body started to build as she ran back and forth, discarding the garbage to the side of the hallway so as not to block their, hopefully, timely escape.[break][break]
Thinking idly to herself as she watched the man she now knew to be called Julius, Ayakka nodded slightly to herself. There were people who had names that fit them, and there were people that didn't. For what it was worth, Ayakka thought the man looked very much like a Julius. [break][break]
"Hey-" Ayakka started as Julius made his jump. "Hey!" Scrambling forward, Ayakka launched herself at the outstretched hand and grabbed it as Julius fell short. Surprisingly, and thankfully enough, the girl found that the man named Julius was much lighter then she had thought. As she grunted and heaved, Ayakka still found time to engage in her favorite pastime. Banter.[break][break]
"You-" Heaving the man higher and higher while the boards under her creaked threateningly, Ayakka found herself wishing that she had some sort of strength magic that let her bench press buildings. "You might wanna think about a gym membership before you run into your next fire."[break][break]
With a grunt Ayakka dragged Julius back onto the ledge and began dragging him into the hallway where she let him go, not wanting to test the durability of the ledge anymore then she had to. Escaping was looking more and more like a magical solution then anything...but hey it was a better option then burning to death, right? [break][break]
"Well Mr. Julius, name's Ayakka. Resident hero and savoir of your ass as of this moment. Hold the applause." As things stood, Ayakka doubted that Julius needed any sort of calming banter or jokes to keep him from panicking. That being said, Ayakka had done this so many times that she had already settled into the routine so....why change what isn't broke? Or broke yet anyways. "Goddammit i can't hear sh...er...anything in here." Ayakka muttered to herself as she strained to hear for cries of help or crying. Anything in the fire that'd let her find the kid. Turning to her companion Ayakka looked him over quickly to see if he had any injuries as she talked jokingly. "Don't suppose you have any magic powers that let you find people or anything do you?" [break][break]
Granted, talking would entail using up more oxygen and possibly breathing in smoke but still...Ayakka had to admit. She was not used to having such reticent company. Granted, her company was usually less inclined towards running towards burning buildings but, semantics. If he was the strong silent type so be it. Brick walls gave in before she did. [break][break]
"No,"[break][break]
Ayakka sighed, watching in real time as her joke sailed over the boy's head. Kids these days.[break][break]
"I can't keep calling you Mysterious Man X forever you know? Ayakka said. "What's-?" The Magi turned her head, feeling the hard tug on her hand as her temporary partner pulled her backwards and a piece of the ceiling caved in the floor in front of them. "Huh."[break][break]
"Can...you jump?" Gauging the distance, or rather guesstimating with her eyeballs, Ayakka nodded firmly and backed down the hall. It was a small jump, sure, but no telling if the floor around the hole would give. Besides, it would seem a little odd to the stranger if she suddenly jumped clear across the hole with no start. Better to make it seem like a massive herculean effort rather then a bit of magic assistance. [break][break]
"Give me some space, then follow me after I get out of the way."[break][break]
With a grunt, Ayakka ran down the hall, draining the heat as she ran along the hall and hoping that the stranger wouldn't pay too much attention to the slight temperature drop as she ran by. She could just tell him that he was suffering from carbon monoxide poisoning, yeah that would work. With more then a bit of sweat running down the inside of her mask, Ayakka cleared the gap easily and looked back at the stranger. [break][break]
"Not to tempt fate but, you never gave me your name if that's alright with you." Ayakka motioned for the man to jump over, waiting for him just in case he fell. "I mean I can keep giving you nicknames, but I'll run out eventually you know? I ain't exactly an English teacher." [break][break]
Friend ➲You know how the old saying goes right? Can never have too many friends, and its one that Ayakka wholeheartedly agrees with. Whether its a buddy from work, or a random person that she meets on the street that has just the right connection she'll hit it off with you pretty much right off the bat. And if she doesn't at first, what's a failed first attempt but a second chance in the waiting? That being said, Ayakka tends to trust her friends a bit too much, making up whatever convenient lie for herself that'll let her believe that they're good people.
Enemy ➲A rather difficult endeavor as Ayakka finds it hard to hate someone enough to call them an enemy, to the point that she doesn't even despise the monsters that roam the world. As it is, the sure fire way to make her uncomfortable at your presence is to go after her friends and family. Or continually make fires across the town, that'd probably do it.
Lover ➲...Honestly you'd have to hit me with a muse stick to give me any ideas on this as Ayakka isn't really concerned with looking for some love like that in her life right now. Not to say that isn't impossible but, you got me there.
The skin LIGHTS OFF was made by JAWN of WICKED WONDERLAND.
HALATION was created by KOJIHIME. Images belong to their respective artists. All codes and scripts belong to their respective coders. Please DO NOT take anything without the owners' permission.
Friend ➲ 
Enemy ➲ 
Lover ➲ 
