mystic 6

[14:30:11] Every day, Quinn got a little bit better at magic. She was improving at a rapid pace, much faster than the average magi would. She was doing things that would normally take years, in weeks. The potential that ran through her blood pulsed strong, and it seemed to be determined to make up for the years that circumstances had lost her.

Today, though, was a good old fashioned workout. She had remembered to bandage her knuckles this time as she went out to the training fields south of New Alteros. The dummy stared her down with its cocky grin, and she couldn't help it...!

She just had to punch it. Quinn's fists rammed and struck and blew against the tough hide of the dummy. Each strike shook her to the core, and she put every ounce of energy she had into the swings... but it wasn't enough.

She wanted to knock it over.
(Quinn)
[14:34:27] What was she doing wrong? Was she simply not strong enough? That couldn't be. Xiahcoatl's power coursed through her veins. She could hear the snake hiss in satisfaction every time her fist struck the dummy... so why wasn't she able to knock it down?

She steps back, huffing. Sweat trails down her brow, stinging her pride - she broke a sweat before she could knock the dummy down. Perhaps she was hitting it wrong? Maybe there was a certain angle?

Quinn takes in a deep breath, and then winds her arm up again, fist connecting against the tough leather hide. The sound of her fist slamming against the dummy echoed through the fields, but no matter how she tried, where she tried, or when she tried, it wouldn't work.
(Quinn)
[14:38:43] Frustration boils up inside of Quinn. She can hear the snake laughing, flicking it's molten tongue in amusement at her struggles.

Is Quinn not strong enough~? Xiahcoatl thought that Quinn could take down such a small thing...~

The thought was fabricated but it still infuriated her... not at the snake, but at herself. Her heart was pounding as her fists did, and the thoughts were festering inside of her head.

She was angry.

The emotion was so raw, so unbridled, that even the slightest attempt to draw upon her mana released a huge flare of energy. It engulfed her body as she struck against the dummy, stinging and biting at its hide.
(Quinn)
[14:41:16] And the mana was pulsing through her body, her muscles, and gradually, each and every strike became harder and harder and harder. Her arms ached but she didn't feel it - the surge of emotion flooded her body with endorphins, and all she could do was punch and punch and punch...

...until the dummy teetered off of its stand and fell to the ground.

Quinn stopped. The energy was rising off of her like steam, sizzling up into the air as her mana supply to it stopped. She stood there, arms limp at her side, huffing and puffing.

And goddamn if she didn't do it.
(Quinn)