[21:11] Astelle Nora says, "...hnnnn."
[21:12] Astelle Nora says, "That was a nice nap."
[21:14] Agnimazud Ishwaratu says, "Finally."
[21:16] Astelle Nora asks, "Was the conversation we just had a dream? Or was it real?"
[21:16] Astelle Nora says, "It's hard to tell."
[21:16] Agnimazud Ishwaratu says, "It was very real."
[21:17] Astelle Nora says, "Just making sure."
[21:20] Agnimazud Ishwaratu says, "We should wake you up with one last spar."
[21:20] Agnimazud Ishwaratu says, "Something came to me during our conversation."
[21:20] Agnimazud Ishwaratu says, "I want to try it out."
[21:22] Astelle Nora says, "Uhhh."
[21:22] Astelle Nora exclaims, "Sure!"
[21:22] Agnimazud Ishwaratu says, "Hmm..."
[21:22] Agnimazud Ishwaratu says, "Blood's boiling... but not out of anger."
[21:22] Agnimazud Ishwaratu says, "It's--"
[21:28] Agnimazud feels something pulsate in front of him. He can feel every ounce of blood inside of him in that moment, feel the trajectory it trickled and oozed throughout his body. His eyes open wide, lime green eyes emitting a shining glow that completely erases the darkness of his helm's eye sockets.

He reaches up for the helm, in fact, and tosses it right off of his face. His head is thrown back, and with mouth open wide, he roars.

No, truly, he roars. A great roar bellows out that shakes the nearby trees that is completely bestial, a sound impossible for a mere man to make. As if in direct response to that roar, an azure streak of lightning is called down directly from above, even with the sun shining as bright as ever. It strikes Agnimazud himself, but it doesn't damage him.

Oh no, on the contrary, it empowers him. Dark brown, draconic wings rip out from the back of his armor and spread wide like they've been waiting the teen's entire life to surface. Similarly, ivory horns tear through the surface of his skin at his forehead, and simultaneously, a long, scaled tail extends and wraps around his waist, whipping down at the sandy ground and causing a cloud of the grains to disperse at his feet.

The young Drakanite hyperventilates, opening his hands wide. To match the aesthetic of his claw shaped gauntlet, real, thick black claws are fully manifested on his unarmored hand. There's a wide, toothy grin plastered in his face, and it reveals very sharp, serpentine teeth. "...It's like something that's been there for so long just can't contain itself anymore, haaaah…"
(Agnimazud Ishwaratu)

[21:33] Well, that's one way to get her attention.

A smile found its way on her lips, as she felt happy that he finally managed something like this. Whether or not it'd actually win him the fight is another story entirely, nor did it matter much to her; she was just happy to see that something he did bore fruit. But that big smile gave way to more subtle one, perhaps even a smirk, as Astelle exhaled a single breath of frigid air.

"I guess I'll have to cool you off then."

And thus, ice crystals and snow began to surround her body, a chill surrounding the immediate area. She felt something. She wasn't sure what that something was, be it anticipation, pride, or perhaps even excitement, but she knew she felt something.

And so she acted on those feelings, letting her heart guide her in the ensuing fight.
(Astelle Nora)

[21:45] Fighting this way, well... it felt like fighting as he should have been fighting all along. Being in this form, what he was before felt hollow, as if it'd been missing this side of himself all along.

He felt complete.

The scales he was able to invoke through willpower and magic were now latently covering his skin, even if at greatly reduced effectiveness. However, on top of that, he could still summon them as he did before to make him sturdier than ever before once the scales were fully fortified. In this state, he looked more dragon than man, even.

He managed to close the fight out by standing his ground across the ice mine field, then warping with breakneck speeds right at Astelle before she could manage to keep him at range and at bay with her magic. The final blow was a blunted sword strike to her gut, sending her flying into the sand's surface and on her back. The other part of this transformation was that he hit harder. A lot harder--to the point where that finishing blow was far more impactful than he was intending.

His wings spread outward again and he cocks his head back, extending his arms out at the sides and clenching his claws into fists. He roars again--not of anger, but the proud victory call of a dragon that is reveling in its own strength--a strength it takes great pride in. He feels the rush from adrenaline fading, and with it, his wings, horns, and tail slither back into his body while he rushes over to the subdued girl.

"Ah, sorry--didn't mean to end on that hard of a strike... you okay, Asty?"
(Agnimazud Ishwaratu)

[21:52] Astelle found herself being overwhelmed, this time.

She was getting more used to ice, and even went as far as to skate and dance around the battlefield in it. To the untrained eye, it could even appear as if she wasn't taking this fight seriously. But both her and Agni knew otherwise; this was her, maneuvering around the battlefield in the most fluid way imaginable. Even when she was on the losing end, she was learning, and Agni's sudden boost in power didn't make him clearly superior. It merely gave him the edge.

Astelle acknowledged this, and she knew it, so when she lost, she didn't feel bad.

The blunt blow to her gut caused her to exhale a large amount of frozen mist, throwing her back. It didn't take her long to jump back up on her feet, but rather than an expression of pain, of disappointment, or of bitterness...

She actually had a huge, happy smile on her face.

"I'm so proud of you, Agni! Oh my gosh!!!! This is SO COOL!"

She was so enthusiastic about losing that it might even be a little off-putting.

But this was Astelle; this was who she was. She was not a person to hold grudges or have her pride injured over a loss. She was a person to be happy that those close to her showed improvement, even at her expense.

"You were like RAWR and I was like OOF and the ice was like ice noises and then you won! I'm so happy for you!!!!"
(Astelle Nora)

[22:10] Agni scratched the back of his head nervously at her reaction. I mean, he should have expected this... well, sort of. She always found a way to take the behavior and mannerisms he was familiar with of her and take them to a new level he didn't think would be possible. But, that was part of her appeal to him. She wouldn't have made him fall head over heels so quickly if not for that very part of her.

He felt his cheeks starting to burn up, which made him snatch his helm from the sand and slam it down on his head as quickly as possible, scrambling to tuck all his hair and get it under control to hide his face. Indeed, were it anyone else, he would have felt like there was an agenda, or that they were patronizing with that kind of reaction, but this... this was just his Asty.

His Asty… oh, come on Agni, she hasn't even agreed to anything official of sorts, don't get that attached already. He grumbled, shaking his head furiously while berating himself, and snapping himself back to the scene at hand. "Gosh, your dork levels are off the charts today, but... thanks. It was fun. Not just because I won. But... I dunno, it felt really good to fight like that."

He opens his arms and brings them around her waist again, but this time only to huge her against his chest firmly.
(Agnimazud Ishwaratu)

[22:24] Astelle Nora says, "It felt good to fight like that for me too."
[22:24] Agnimazud Ishwaratu says, "I'm glad."
[22:31] Astelle Nora says, "...today was weird."
[22:31] Astelle Nora says, "I take it you're a member of that thing we spoke about."
[22:35] Agnimazud Ishwaratu says, "Yeah."
[22:35] Astelle Nora says, "Don't get caught."
[22:35] Agnimazud Ishwaratu says, "Of course not."
[22:35] Agnimazud Ishwaratu says, "I wouldn't want to be kept from you."