Ita Shad 1

[23:04] Barracks were used and no such thing as privacy; not even for the next destination chosen. Just north, the exist to the small hills that lie outside the gate.

It had it's own privacy, it's in the cover of dark.

"Well good luck seeing." He offers words of advice.

The servant takes his rapier from his hip - a lithe black blade cast in dull silver. The tip is aimed to his shadow, raising the blade his shadow rose, solidifying into a dark for of himself. No eyes, no face, just pure darkness.

"I haven't fought you before. Maybe you're strong. Maybe stronger than me. I don't want to admit that so I really don't want to give you that chance. Anyway-" He shrugs. "I'd suggest you get a feel for my shadows, it will make it easier for you."
(Juri)
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[23:06] Ita doesn't look like much. But really, that's always been the point. She takes the simple steel sword from her back and assumes a simple stance. While it's not going to win her any awards she at least looks as if she knows where to put the pointy end.

The copies, the illusory clones, are something she's fairly accustomed to seeing, but watching one being made of formless shadow with no features is unsettling.

"I uh. I doubt that. But I'll do my best," Ita offers simply, bracing herself for combat.
(Ita)
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[23:17] Juri doesn't fight on someone's terms. With a small blade to his arsenal he needed to learn to be more precise, stealthy and not give his opponent too much leverage.

For Ita, she lacked a way to keep the illusionist pinned. Sand worked in an area like a trap, but nothing else kept him still. He danced around her, his blade style and dance and swift, agile and moving about.

When he's caught by sand, he blends with the dark, attacks phasing through him as if he's just a shadow; just part of the night.

There's one thing he could tell for certain, he didn't want to take strikes from her blade. While he's quicker she had more output of force.

Was it cowardly to keep his distance, bait her then strike? Move in when he's certain?

The rules of nature said only the strong survive. Be a coward if you must.

And for his opponent, he returns a gesture, a reflection of her technique. Like the sand that trapped him, her shadow lunges forward to encase her form, trapping her in darkness. It's no illusion, it constricts, keeping her bound.

"I did something similar to Arlo, Ita. Whatever you felt of my mana, well I don't know if you learned from it. So now is a test and I'm forceful with tests. For magi, violence is progression." He states harshly.

Unlike with Arlo, it doesn't tighten, only keeping her trap.

"It's your shadow. Feel my mana within, take back your shadow, manipulate it. It's yours, not mine, reclaim it."
(Juri)
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[23:27] Ita is used to being the quick one; in that area she's met more than her match in Juri. It's something she's none too pleased to be on the opposite end of. He goes in, strikes when he's certain, and then retreats.

Combat in general still is not her forte. Survival for her for so long has relied on avoiding notice and any hint of trouble. The more she does to further their goals the less that seems like an option.

That docility is something she just might have to grow out of.

In a cruel and shadowy mimicry of one of her tricks the darkness rises to constrict her, a shadow made real and solid and just as capable of doing harm as her own spell.

It could be anything- a sign of potential, a fluke, or a mixture of any number of variables- but Ita is able to focus in on Juri's mana within the shadow. Arlo had taught her to feel out the signature of others and it applies here a great deal.

With a force of will, a mental tug, she struggles to wrest control of the construct and make it disperse. If there's anything a pickpocket loathes, even a partially reformed one, it's a prison.
(Ita)
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[23:32] While it's not the same treatment as Arlo, why make it easy? With her struggle to break it he retorts back by enforcing it with his mana. Eventually he'd have to give in as he'd waste mana quicker, still he makes sure to not give the girl an easy escape ticket.

As she tries to disperse he doubles it back. It drains him quickly but he continues his retaliation until he was too tired to even bother with it.

But which would happen first: her breaking free or his mana running dry?
(Juri)
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[23:38] It's not going to be a smooth ride to freedom. Oh no. Juri is making her pay dearly for every little bit of wiggle room she can get in the shadowy vice, and the more it persists the more she panics.

That doesn't serve her well in the slightest. In fact, it makes it all that much worse for her. While the shadow isn't squeezing her it's not letting up on its hold without some serious effort.

That fabulous headstrong start she had in breaking free. It breaks and she can get no further traction. The magi's struggling weakens considerably.
(Ita)
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[23:43] Arlo learned the more violent way and a way that didn't train Juri as vigorously as his method with Ita. He was certain that she should overcome it, it wasn't his shadow.

What he didn't foresee was his control over mana being greater than hers. If was brute force she'd likely surpass him but he was always training for control...

While it proved positive in all other times, it was a negative today. While he kept control and reinforced the shadow cocoon, it zapped away his mana. Casting magic was one thing, keeping control was different can of worms.

Sweat drops from his brow, fatigue making its way across his vessel. "Ita, please hurry. Understand the mana, take it back- manipulate it. Manipulate it for you. Break through mine then manipulate it." He says still calm yet growing weary by the second.
(Juri)
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[23:46]
{LOAD GAME}

[23:50] Arlo was quick on the intercept as soon as he detected Ita's struggling in the midst of a shadowy magic clutch. The urchin springs forward on his feet from his rather nice nap, scrambling practically on all fours initially to get to her.

"Oi! Ya can't just snuff her like that!" He grits his teeth and all but snarls towards Juri. All told, of course, the success of this lesson was far more contingent on her merits. Tempting as it is for him to just charge in and break the magical fetters himself, he suspects nothing would be accomplished.

So, he hesitates, before stepping out in front of Ita. "Oi... What are ya doin', Itty? Ya gotta break outta that! I can't -- I won't always be there, yeah?!" Much as he hated the idea, he had little more to do than to cheer her on. He at least trusted Juri enough that, if the lesson was taking a far more dangerous turn, he could break off the cast.
(Arlo Waters)
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[23:57] A strong start is followed up by an equally impressive backslide, fueled by a dash of panic as the constriction wasn't so easily broken.

It's a good thing Juri doesn't respond with violence. It's more like polite insistence, unless you count the fact that he's the one controlling her shadow in the first place.

Ah. And then Arlo is there and his words bring a twinge of deep shame, whether intentional or not. She averts her eyes and digs deep into her mental reserves.

It is her shadow, after all. In theory it ought to be easy to wrest it back, but reality is never quite on the same page as that. One final proverbial tug and its plucked from Juri's command; his intruding mana is separated from her own.

The shade is gone, back to being little more than her shape on the ground, but the weariness and chagrin are still very much alive in her.

"I uh...sorry..."
(Ita)