Ice 2

[19:14] Agnimazud approached the bench looking a lot healthier than he had the last time. He was a bit winded and the streaks of sweat visible on what could be seen of his skin indicated he'd definitely been doing something physically intensive, but he wasn't downright exhausted.

On the other hand... there was a certain limp to his step if she paid enough attention to catch it. Blood spatters were also soaked along the back of his cape. When he finally allowed himself to collapse onto the bench, he lifts his arm closest to Astelle, bringing it around her shoulders, to pull her closer in a sort of embrace.

"Yo."
(Agnimazud Ishwaratu)
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[19:19] Astelle didn't mind the embrace. Far from it! She leaned on his shoulder and actually started dozing off on the spot, showing just how easy it was to comfort her. The slightest of snores could be heard from her, but only for a moment, as being addressed caused her to snap back into consciousness.

"Hi, Agni!"

Even Astelle could catch up on the streaks of sweat on his skin, piquing her curiosity.

"What have you been doing?"
(Astelle Nora)
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[19:24] Agni couldn't help but smile when she leaned into him and nearly dozed off. It was adorable--almost too much so, given his smile was gradually widening without him even noticing it while he gazes down at her. When he snaps back to reality (oh, there goes gravity) a light scarlet color runs across his face. He coughs, looking away and turning his head so his hair more or less obscures any view of his face before he answers.

"Oh, I was exploring the mines to the north. I didn't realize they went down so deep. There were monsters I'd never seen or heard of the further I went down... and they were strong. One of them got me good."

The young Drakanite pats down at the sternum section of his armor. "Big gash right there. But I'll be fine."
(Agnimazud Ishwaratu)
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[19:29] Astelle looked visibly shocked at the wound, but the reassurance that he'd be fine managed to calm her down. Perhaps taking such a thing at face value wasn't a wise decision, but Astelle was hardly one who was concerned with making wise decisions, as has been established by now. And luckily for Agni, she didn't notice the red on his face, either, sparing him the embarrassing confrontation.

"Are... are you gonna be able to train today, then? Or should we do something else?"

She did really want to train, mind, but she didn't want Agni to get even more hurt.
(Astelle Nora)
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[19:33] Agni perked up at her words, and replied in a tone that almost sounded as if he were offended--not that he actually was. "Of course we'll be able to train! Something like this wouldn't keep me from practicing with my pupil. It'd take a hell of a lot more."

This... wasn't entirely empty bragging. Agni himself, even if he'd sustained worse wounds than this, would definitely be eager to train even still. Whether his body would hold up with the boy choosing not to let it properly heal, though? That was another matter entirely!

"Do you wanna go to the spot now? Or..."

His head conveniently shifts with his wild bangs blocking view of his face before he speaks after the deliberate hesitation. "...do you want to stay like this for a while longer first?" The words almost came out mumbled as they progressed.
(Agnimazud Ishwaratu)
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[19:37] Astelle wiggled out of Agni's grip and leapt up off the bench, answering his final question for him.

"No!!! We have to train! I have SO MUCH stuff I wanna try out!"

With that, she reached towards his hand, aiming to grab him and haul him off to parts unknown. And by 'parts unknown,' I mean the same spot as always.
(Astelle Nora)
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[19:39] "E-eh?!" he was surprised at how swiftly the girl popped from his arm and transitioned to taking hold of his hand.

He quickly intertwined his fingers with hers and let himself be whisked along, keeping up with her pace once he was able to get proper footing since it all happened so fast. He was a little disappointed--but being the training addict he was, the alternative was appealing enough that it didn't last for long. In fact, a big grin formed on his face.

"Stuff to try out, huh? Now you've got me excited."
(Agnimazud Ishwaratu)
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[19:46] Astelle took a moment to appreciate just how dark it was out, as well as the fact that she had a working torch that somehow never burned out. As they made their way to the beach, Astelle made sure to get as close to the water as she could. She was likely going to use it a lot, after all.

"I'm gonna practice the cold thing."

Ice, Astelle. Ice.

"I want you to attack the water I control. I'll try to make it more and more still and cold and maybe it'll eventually freeze and be harder to slash through. Does that make sense?"

It actually did, surprisingly.
(Astelle Nora)
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[19:50] It honestly did make sense--an astounding amount of sense for who he was dealing with. "Wow. That's possibly the most coherent idea I've ever heard you say. I'm proud."

Jests aside, the idea was intriguing, and it seemed like a natural first step after having already established that she wanted to branch from simple water magic into ice magic. The Drakanite boy reached over his shoulder, retrieving his iron longsword from the leather sheath strapped diagonally along his cloak.

The blade was held in his unarmored, left arm, and pointed at a slant so the tip of it was poised for Astelle's chest. "I'm not going to hold back, so you better hurry up and create something really solid!"
(Agnimazud Ishwaratu)
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[19:58] * You have been awarded 5 Roleplay Points! *
[20:11] Astelle's whips and various water beams were somewhat different this time. While water was normally turbulent and had this tendency of dripping everywhere even when directed, this time her water was far, far more focused. It hit harder and had an ever-so-slight chill to it; nothing close to being ice, but noticeable enough to clearly indicative of progress. It wasn't enough for her though, as she stood over Agni after blasting him away with a water beam, waiting for him to get up.

"...I want you to just hit my water this time, okay? Like batting a baseball. Or cutting a cutting bag!"

Did punching bags have sword equivalents?

They did now.

"In-fight practicing can wait!!! I'm not really there yet!"
(Astelle Nora)
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[20:18] Agni shook his head, pushing his body to get up.

Come on, get up, damn it...

With an extreme display of willpower, his hands plant into the sandy surface beneath him and spring himself up onto his feet...

Yeah, he was going to feel that one tomorrow, for sure.

The bandaging for the wound he'd suffered from the almost otherworldly monsters in the depths of the mine ripped, allowing him to start leaking a generous amount of his blood beneath his armor. Agnimazud reaches from behind his cloak, pointing at Astelle with his stylized, claw-shaped gauntlet. "Not yet! One more fight, then we'll practice outside of it! I'll show you a trick that works like what you're describing..."

When the boy sets his scarlet pupils upon Astelle now, the draconic, slit-shaped iris looks more pronounced now, almost. He shifts his feet apart, his body still dripping water from the barrage of water magic that pummeled him. The pain of his wound reopening felt like daggers being stuck in every single one of his skin pores.

But still, he wanted this fight. "C'mon!"
(Agnimazud Ishwaratu)
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[20:18] Astelle Nora says, "Hmmmmmmmmm......."
[20:18] Astelle Nora exclaims, "Okay!!!!!!!!!!!!!"
[20:28] The injury was holding him back; even the normally unobservant Astelle could tell this. Despite this, she still fought all out, and he still did rather well against her, all things considered. Her attacks, as before, had a slight chill to them, but she didn't make any progress with actually solidifying them. She needed that practice, as the pacing of a fight was too much for her to actually improve her skills in, at least for now.

"Can we do it nooooooow????"

Her tone had a slight whine to it, showing a lack of patience.

"Unless I missed something!!!"

Her gaze was transfixed on his wound, even though she made no conscious acknowledgement of it.
(Astelle Nora)
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[20:34] Agnimazud found himself, once more, trashed upon the ground once the last water spell was unleashed. He gritted his teeth once his face was buried in the sand. He was far from being in top form, there was absolutely no shame in this loss. Yet still, he found himself disappointed. Even as his body was screaming at him for reprieve, and setting his nerves aflame to make sure he was well aware, he was disappointed in himself.

Oh well, this was Astelle, who was quite strong from the get go. Stubborn as he was, he just had to admit that his wound played a big part in limiting his capabilities. He could never have grown so rapidly as to be able to keep up with and defeat Astelle while suffering such from such a violent blow. Spitting sand from a mouth, the boy once more springs himself to his feet.

Crimson fluids seep from the openings of his armor, staining the cloth bits of it when they meet the fabric. "Yeah, yeah, okay... guess my scales weren't enough either."

He takes a few steps forward until he was right in front of Astelle, his left hand wielding his sword again, staying at the ready. It was kind of impressive, truly. Even after such intensive fighting, one would never be able to tell the extent of the agony the Drakanite currently felt.

This would surely bite him in the ass one day, though.
(Agnimazud Ishwaratu)
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[20:42] Astelle reached her hand over towards the water and dragged a relatively sizable amount over towards her, causing a pillar of it to form in front of the two of them. Astelle said she was going to make a cutting bag, and she did, but the actual efficacy of this idea had yet to be seen. This might cause any would-be ice to shatter and end up hurting them both, but Astelle didn't think about that.

She didn't think about a lot of things.

"Alright, I want you to swing at this pillar a few times, and every time, I'll try to replace it and make it colder! Okay????"

With that, Astelle's normally hyperactive facial features began to relax, as the slightest chill filled the air, the focal point of which being the water. Right now, cutting through it would be an easy task, as it was just normal water, but Astelle still needed it to be cut so she could see how the water reacted to her shifting emotional state.
(Astelle Nora)
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[20:42] Agnimazud Ishwaratu says, "Before we get to that, though..."
[20:43] Agnimazud Ishwaratu says, "I have a present for my little pupil."
[20:52] Agni had been doing more than just training his swordplay and the subsequent magic needed to enhance it beyond normal physical limits. No, he'd been training his magic in other ways, too.

The boy holds both of his hands out in front of him, the claw-shaped gauntlet covering his right hand releasing light-blue particles of mana. He concentrates a decent amount of his magic in the space between both of his hands, and more and more particles filled the air, drawing in to that point as if vacuumed inward to signify this. Eventually, an orb of solid blue settled before the two of them, illuminating the night sky's darkness around them even further.

The orb remained compacted right there, and then... just erupted. In a blinding flash of light, the sphere was gone as if it never existed in the first place, but in its place was a staff with a crystal-esque blue gem at the end of its shaft, forged from rugged, dark wood. If Astelle were to take hold of the staff, she'd be able to feel the tool radiated water aspected mana itself. It would only be slight, but it'd definitely serve to augment her magic because it was the same element.
(Agnimazud Ishwaratu)
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[20:53] {Item} You picked up Arcane Rod. Dropped by Agnimazud Ishwaratu. .
[20:54] Astelle leapt forward and hugged Agni out of gratitude for the gift. Being given gifts wasn't something she was used to, and she was so overwhelmed with emotion that she didn't even know how to respond. The actual strength of the weapon in question didn't even matter much to her; she was so appreciative of it that she didn't even know what to say!

"Oh my god thank you thank you aaaaa it's so cool!!!"

Aside from that. She always said something like that.
(Astelle Nora)
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[20:56] She leapt through the water she made, to clarify.
(Astelle Nora)
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[20:58] He blinked a few times when the girl embraced him so suddenly. Still, the warmth of having Astelle against him instantly put him at ease, and his arms nigh moved on their own in wrapping around her waist and nuzzling her even closer. "...Ahah, I'm... well, I'm really glad that you like it."

His voice is soft, even moreso than usual. His cheeks were burning again. "I'm going to become even better at that, and I'll make weapons that'll be considered legendary. You'll have my first masterpiece of a staff when I get there, Asty." The nickname came up on the spot, and he was admittedly nervous as to how well it'd be received.
(Agnimazud Ishwaratu)
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[21:02] Astelle was completely oblivious to what a blush meant, as always. And her response to the nickname was a lot warmer and calmer than she normally gave to such things:

"I like that nickname..."

It might be a bit off putting for her to respond in such a way, but it was definitely a positive response, at least in her mind.
(Astelle Nora)
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[21:12] His heart almost skipped a beat at the approval given to his impromptu nickname. Guess it's a thing from now on, then! "Heh, alright. You're still dork, but you're Asty too, now."

Agni unravels his arms from around her waist, taking a few steps back and coughing loudly while gaining his composure. "Ahem--well, we should get to developing that ice technique of yours, I'd say." His gaze is averted, but his sword is at the ready again.
(Agnimazud Ishwaratu)
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[21:14] Astelle Nora says, "...oh right..."
[21:16] With a wave of her hand, Astelle formed the pillar of water once more. Except this time, it seemed even colder than before; it's like the sudden display of affection from Agni actually managed to calm her down. It still didn't freeze over, but it was a noticeable difference.

"Now let's get started."
(Astelle Nora)
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[21:24] He took note of the shift in demeanor, even if subtle, from Astelle after the shared affection. He supposed such things must have been rare for the girl, and yet, with her personality, he thought it'd be strange for them to be. She was such a sweet girl, outgoing, even if overly so at times, but she was definitely one of a kind. And she could be so cute, too... I mean, how could anyone not want to just hug and--

"What the hell am I doing?" Agni mutters to himself, snapping himself out of gushing over the girl before him and shifting his feet apart to enter into his combat stance. Lunging forward, he was able to restrain his movements to avoid exacerbating his wound. Still, he did anything but hold back. The iron blade of his sword came hurdling right toward the cool water emanating from the girl extremely quickly, but he'd halt before striking her should he rip through the liquid barrier.
(Agnimazud Ishwaratu)
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[21:34] The blade still cleaved through the pillar rather easily, forcing Astelle to divert the sword with a quick water whip. If nothing else, her reflexes were on point.

"When something is still enough, it becomes solid. Water is a receptive element, taking a little bit of whatever it comes in contact with. Still enough water lacks heat, causing it to absorb heat... and this is how I'll create ice."

Just where did this side of her even come from...?

There was probably a reason she seemed so dense, usually, and a reason she put so little thought into things. But now was neither the time nor the place to explore that. It was the time to practice, to train, to innovate, and to create.

And thus, Astelle created another pillar of water.

This time, it was even colder and more still than before. And this time, a few ice crystals could be seen within. Cleaving through it would prove more difficult this time, if only because there was solid mass within the water, making it more difficult to land a direct hit. It still wouldn't stop his blade, but it was, once more, visible and obvious progress.
(Astelle Nora)
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[21:57] * You have been awarded 5 Roleplay Points! *
[22:11] Agni drew his sword back, inhaling and bottling the gathered oxygen up in his lungs for a few second, savoring the breath and exhaling it to let it all go. He was able to let his body come to terms with the pain with this motion, giving himself a temporary reprieve from the stressors attacking him from each and every one of his nerve endings.

"You have good reflexes, Asty. But are they needed? To be reflexive, you have to be fast. If the goal is to slow down to a halt, perhaps you should allow yourself to abandon those reflexes. Instead, just trust in the stalwartness of your ice."

He had no idea of if this was good, or even valid advice--but it sounded cool, at least. To him, it made sense anyway. He'd never suggest something he didn't personally believe in. Agni's muscles flexed momentarily when he prepared his grip, heaving the metal blade once more upon the pillar of water that was now inlaid with crystals of ice. He found his sword repelled, and not of his own accord. He actually had to apply more strength, his feet sinking into the sand and carving his boot prints into the ground before ultimately, he'd cleave through.
(Agnimazud Ishwaratu)
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[22:23] Abandon the reflexes, huh? She decided to do just that. Astelle managed to better project her calm into the water, and with it, a markedly cold mist flowed outward. It caused frost to accumulate on the sand below, even, showing her ever-heightening proficiency in the art. When she was still, Agni swung his sword, but rather than doing anything reflexively, Astelle merely opened her eyes, sending a surge of mana through the pillar of water, causing it to freeze over immediately, encasing the blade within.

A far cry from using it in combat, but it was a success if there ever was one. Ice was an element that was easy enough to shatter, rendering it rather impractical for defense if it was well-prepared for, but being able to do this alone was a huge step in the right direction. It was one she felt immensely proud of, in fact, as her eyes lit up, a huge smile finding itself on her face.

"...I DID IT! I DID IT. YOU SEE THIS?! I DID IT!!!!"

Of coursehe saw it. His blade was caught in it.

But holy heck, Astelle was so proud of herself.
(Astelle Nora)
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[22:37] He wasn't surprising her to grasp it so quickly with just his advice, but--well, maybe he did have a knack for this whole teaching thing after all. This time, when his sword met the water, it quickly became something entirely different from water. A new, solid form, the one she'd been after this whole time.

Ice, and exceedingly cold ice at that. A chill ran down his spine due to the sudden change in temperature, but he was grinning widely, baring teeth from how happy he was for her that she managed to produce tangible results. It was a huge leap toward her goal, and for that, the same overwhelming feeling that pushed her to embrace him, in turn, had him spring at her...

...he certainly hoped the pillar of ice would be dispelled before he clung himself to her and nuzzled her into his chest again, otherwise he'd be cuddling a slab of ice.
(Agnimazud Ishwaratu)
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[22:41] Agnimazud ended up cuddling a slab of ice because Astelle didn't dispel it, but it didn't quite matter, as the overly-enthusiastic girl smashed through it and hugged him herself. Much the same effect, except both would end up extremely cold from it.

Astelle's boundless energy was starting to run out, and it showed, as the words she said to accompany this hug lacked any of the energy they normally had.

"We can practice me using it to attack later. I think this is good enough for now..."
(Astelle Nora)
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