She Felt The Storm, Too

"AH...Well.." She says while beginning to shift in place, her head tilting slightly in nothing more than thought. "If I were to choose any type of 'casting' for myself...Then I think that it would be the emotional one." She adds, nodding. "Usually in my fights, I don't really tend to think about how I'm gonna beat the person up...And in reality, I don't really think at all..." She says, a mild frown appearing on her lips. "I just feel. And I go with the feeling until my opponents done.." But that could, potentially lead to a terrible, terrible outcome, could it not?

 "I suppose though, that I should strive towards the mixed casting one though- even if it seems really difficult, I...I unno." The flames weren't necessarily meant to be controlled. But, if she wanted to add more power to her hits, she had no other choice...

 She would have to. "But erm-...Yeah. But since we were talking about things-- mainly like 'storm magic'...Maybe we should focus on it entirely, huh?" she says, her smile widening.

 "What do you think about tearing open the sky?"
(Bei Bei)


Chrom Sigma asks, "Do Demons count or not?"

Juvia Shinka says, "My name...is Juvia shinka, also known as Feral."

Ohtli asks, "Feral?"

Juvia Shinka says, "Yeah, I lived in the woods for years, when I was little."
"Feral...like..."

Ohtli mimes a descriptor of the word. She bares her teeth and holds up her hands on either side of her head like claws. Grrr.

"Oh. Then why're you here?"
(Ohtli)

Juvia looks mad.
(Juvia Shinka)


Juvia Shinka says, "Yes, Feral."

Juvia Shinka asks, "That a problem?"

Ohtli asks, "H-huh? No?"
Ohtli shrinks, somehow, further into the speckled fur ruff.

"Nu unh. Not a problem. Why would it be a problem?"
(Ohtli)


Cho Grauhimmel says, "You'd be surprised.."

Juvia Shinka says, "I don't like being discriminated against, just because I was Feral."

Ohtli asks, "There's...something wrong with that? Living in the woods and stuff?"
Arthur was actually going to suggest Symbolic Casting to her.

Part of him was glad that she caught on so quick and suggested it on her own. Based on what he observed about her, it wasn't that hard to tell that she's the emotional type when it comes to fighting, and thus, unleashing a lot of raw power while fighting, even if sacrificing precision for that, did sound like a solid plan.

Yet, in Arthur's fighting style, cold and calculated approach was the one to choose. Especially considering the sort of magics he wanted to master, it only made sense - you cannot weather the Storm if you do not align all pieces precisely, you cannot resurrect the dead if you don't repair their circuits carefully--

-- and you cannot open Rifts without concise consideration either.

"Oh!"

"I was actually going to try and do my first attempts for Storm wielding. I'm still fairly young, but that only means I've got a lot of time to actually learn that."

"Besides, it can't be that dangerous, right?"

...At least, he based such statement on the fact that Storm magic was a thing among some other magi he'd encounter before.

"We could go even now, if you feel like it?"

"You could watch me perform!"
(Arthur Rowan)


Juvia Shinka says, "No...let me tell you a secret..."
Juvia Shinka whispers something.

Juvia Shinka whispers something.

Juvia Shinka whispers something.

Juvia Shinka whispers something.

Juvia Shinka whispers something.

Juvia Shinka whispers something.

Juvia Shinka whispers something.

Ohtli leans in to listen to Juvia's whispers intently. And then the tan little foreign girl gets several shades paler.
(Ohtli)

Juvia Shinka whispers something.

Juvia has a strange look on her face.
(Juvia Shinka)

Juvia reaches up and ruffles the young girls hair.
(Juvia Shinka)

Ohtli whispers something.

Ohtli whispers something.

Ohtli looks torn between half-terrified and indignant as the wolf girl musses up her bristly, bottle-brush hair.
(Ohtli)

Juvia Shinka whispers something.

Drew Idd whispers something.

Ohtli whispers something.

Cho Grauhimmel whispers something.

Juvia smiles
(Juvia Shinka)


Juvia Shinka says, "Good."

Juvia Shinka asks, "Now...what's your name?"
Ohtli whispers something.

Drew Idd whispers something.

Juvia laughs
(Juvia Shinka)


Juvia Shinka says, "No, no."
Juvia Shinka whispers something.

Juvia Shinka whispers something.


Juvia Shinka says, "I'm just joking about that by the way."
Juvia Shinka whispers something.


 She remembers the rain. And the thunder. And the pitter-pattering of feet splashing within the puddles of water. Within that essence, she had realized that well...The storms were just as unpredictable as any other magic. Just as the light had came, away it would go- leaving behind a wake of devastation and bodies just as she remembers it. "...I think that a lot of bad things can happen." The drakanite murmurs, her fangs dipping into the bottom of her lip.

 "But I think that you can handle it...Besides, you said that you would perform?" she questions- her smile widening, hands clapping together... "Then let's see! I wanna see if you can put on a good show!" Maybe..

 It'd remind her more of home. Maybe....It'd bring her back to those days, were happiness was found within the gloom of the weather. When she wore smiles doused in rainwater, mixed in with the scent of cheap potpourri and soothing reed...

 Ah..
 Those were good days.
(Bei Bei)


Juvia Shinka says, "You can trust me."
Cho Grauhimmel whispers something.

The girl reaches up and scratches the back of her head bashfully. She puffs up with the mane of grizzled fur framing her face. Again she makes great efforts to discard her nervousness and gain some tact. And, yet again, she looks *decidedly* conflicted about what Juvia has to say.

"I'm Ohtli. And I'm here to be a real warrior," she claims proudly.
(Ohtli)

Juvia smiles
(Juvia Shinka)


Juvia Shinka says, "I'm sure you can be a great warrior."

Juvia Shinka asks, "Are you a student here?"
It's gotta become dull eventually to just idle around here anyway, right?

But she did have a point. While one attempts to weather the Storm, plenty of bad things can happen - among them, the said Storm simply backfiring back at the caster, especially in inexperienced hands. Even if it was dangerous, however, it didn't mean that such thing would stop Arthur.

You don't get to drink champagne if you don't risk.

"Awesome! Let's get going, then."

Now, they ought to find a big, open space. Obviously, to not injure anyone... it'd be a pretty bad thing if a stray bolt of lightning happened to just strike someone, or a razor wind happened to cut someone.
(Arthur Rowan)

This seemed like a good enough spot.

Out and away from Academy, and to top it off, right next to sea. Sure, it was all magic that compelled the Storm, but it's much easier to summon it if conditions are right - the breeze was already the presence of a wind, salted waters provided humidity--

-- and now, you only have to mix in the power of lightning somewhere along that.

Now, he only had to remember how Storms were exactly formed... what was it again, to raise the cold air, to condense the water vapor and form the clouds, and then use the heat to help the storm grow, right?

Such heat could be drawn from aforementioned lightning.

"Alright!"

Arthur already knew how to create a cold wind like that. Gathering his mana from the circuits, and utilizing it as a visual projection of his magic upon the world by using Cognitive Casting, he slowly but surely gathered enough of currents that were bearing the cold winds.

With only one goal in mind - to raise them high up in the atmosphere.

Of course, it was far from instantaneous. Arthur was rather focused on the task at hand, and as for Bei Bei? She could already feel the temperature slowly cooling, yet mix-matched with heat waves that occasionally passed through.

Something changing in the weather. The wind was howling.

"This... this might take a bit! I, uh... I also suggest to get something warm."

"Do you not have a jacket?"
(Arthur Rowan)

Her focus always seems to be up to the sky for whatever reason. Perhaps, it's because she can only imagine what it's like to fly...Perhaps, it's because she can only imagine what it would be like to control something so vast...A second ocean, capable of tearing asunder entire villages and communities....Capable of bringing both havoc and blessings. Nevertheless, the young girl would stand in place, both hands clasped behind her back as she speaks..

 "I think that you're forgetting that I know fire magic." She says, her smile widening slightly. "If I'm a little cold, then I'll just warm myself up..." In all honesty, she could already feel the lowering temperature...And briefly, would it send a shiver down her spine...

 "Just keep on going...I'll tell you when I think that the storm's getting closer- o-or...At the very least, we'll be able to feel it." Blotting out the sky...To think of it as a goal would be asinine. But it's something that she is terribly, terribly interested in.

 Just how far will Arthur go this time?
(Bei Bei)

She was actually right.

He did forget that she's a fire mage, and that she can warm herself up easily... something slipped his mind when saying that. Maybe he'd even offer up his own jacket, seeing that she wasn't exactly dressed for such weather?

"Oh... right, forgot!"

Arthur's focus shifted back at the weather he was controlling at hand. The second stage of summoning the storm was to create warm, humid currents of air, and that is where the water magic comes in; while the tiny streams of air that were shot separately up in the sky to create the appropriate storm condition were mostly invisible--

-- there was something about the ones with humid particles in them. It's as if almost... they were obtaining a trait of being opaque to them, to some degree at least.

He was certainly trying to condense the air, but perhaps a little too much.

The weather was shifty. At one point, the two of them couldexperience cooling winds that were passing by to send chills down their spine, and at another point, it was the humid heatwave, almost resembling tropical conditions.

And as usually, it was getting slightly harder to breathe in such conditions. Humidity and strong winds typically do not play positive roles in human's ability to breathe, after all.

"Mm--"

"I think it's slowly gathering... yes, it is!"

Despite his excitement and occasional words he exchanged, it was apparent that his focus entirely was locked on the sky, constantly controlling the condensation process, as well as gathering the cold and warm currents of air.

And of course, humidity.

The sky grew darker as raining clouds began to form. It looked like it could begin raining literally any moment.

Just one more push...
(Arthur Rowan)

And then there is light- passionate and ambition, flames licking against the grounds beneath, burning the tangled knots underfoot. It clashes against the darkening clouds above that blot out the deep purples, blues, and oranges of the sky....And it brings about the feeling of anticipation. A matter of intimacy caught only briefly as winds and darkness collide and coalesce. Until eventually...

Drip, drip, drip..

 A simple hand outstretches slightly, the first presence of rain colliding atop of their heads...Bringing nothing more than a gentle smile upon her features. "I...I think that it's working.." It was cool, unlike the fires and light that her body gives off...

 But surely enough, she believe that she, too, will be able to do grand things just like this. If not soon, then most certainly, within the future. "Try to put more lightning in it...I hear that if you do that, it might cause the clouds to burst!" More friction, more heat...If it brings the swell, then it can also bring the flood..

 "Make it blow up!" One cloud bursting into many. A pitter-patter of rain turning into a voracious downpour. She's ready! Ready for it all!
(Bei Bei)

Maintaining such concentration wasn't easy.

It was almost like creating a new life out of magic... except that sort of life is elemental, volatile, powerful. It had no bounds, and it was limited just for as much as the user was - potentially, the power of such element could be nearly limitless, able to raze entire towns.

But in Arthur's hands? He'd have to set for a rain, and in a moment, thunderstorm.

"O-okay!"

Adding lightning was certainly a risky aspect, and Arthur realized as much; one mistake and it could all, quite literally as she said, blow up in his face.

Or rather, his entire body.

Yet, he decided to go through with it. The surges of lightning were reaching to the sky, crackling from his fingertips, all to fuel the heat within the thunderstorm; it was much like creating a responsive lightning rod to this very place that went two ways--

-- and with the energy within clouds increased, as well as the heat, the storm was coming.

A moment of peace, before it all broke down in thunder.

Roaring like a savage animal, the skies above them were representing Arthur's efforts to the maximum. The sky has grown dark, and the crackling lightning could be easily seen happening here and there.

He did summon the Storm, but... was it truly the limit?

"I think... I think I could try summoning something bigger than this..."

He'd glance at her, momentarily. What'd she think about it?
(Arthur Rowan)

The burst of light through the darkened clouds were more than what she needed to see to believe that the Rowan could bring the rain. And within some manner, she almost- almost believes that he'll even be able to bring about blessings to the land if he were truly attempting to practice. Nevertheless though, the drakaness would remain silent to herself...Nodding briefly as the roar of thunder stresses the tops of the realm above the two.

 "I-...I don't think that you should try anything larger. We should not for now, otherwise, it might be a little bit risky.." Getting electrocuted within this weather would...no doubt, be terribly, terribly painful. And all she was trying to do was to somehow...Wait.

 "We'll build up more on it, yeah? Besides...I think if you really wanna weather 'the weather', then you should be angry for it. I hear that it really does make things easier and dangerous..." And he's just not that angry for it...Atleast, not yet..

 "Soon though! I-I mean...Unless you wanna do it anyway." But if that's the case, the the gentle flicker of flame would steadily die out, leaving the girl at the base of the beach, looking out to the rest of the realm involved. Hmm..
(Bei Bei)

She was right.

Weathering the weather was one thing, but to truly command the Storm? He'd need to experience it first hand, to tap into its power, and actually try to bend it to his will. It's not like actual Storm magi simply create a different weather - they do, in fact, surround themselves in Storm's potency and make use of it.

And what sort of practice it would be if he never tried?

"No! No... we can't go just yet! I... I wanna try more! I want to actually hold the Storm in my hands, to actually... use it!"

Another good point that she brought up is, to actually use Symbolic Casting, to actually be angry about it... while anger, as emotion, might not be that necessary, but the fact remains the fact - Cognitive Casting was restricting in a sense that it did not allow much of mana usage--

-- simply because it required a great deal of concentration to be accurate.

A large inhale. Everything that he's ever been angered or sorrowful about, everything that he's been frustrated over, everything that caused him a great deal of turmoil... it flashed in his mind in a single surge, in a single moment that proved to be almost overwhelming.

For just one purpose - to fuel himself for what's to come.

He remembered how Theodore disgraced him, how he was disowned as a brother, how bad he felt that day. The redhaired Valmasian's eyes closed just for a moment, before a burst of lightning was fired into the sky, to accelerate the hit and trigger the lightning as response--

-- and he got one immediately.

Much like the rage of the Lightning God himself, the skies struck back against Arthur, the Storm that he sought to wield immediately present upon his palms - he wasn't entirely ready for it, and quickly overcoming him, the lightning caused him to shake almost uncontrollably, his eyes widened.

" Aaaa--"

"AAAAAAHHHHH!"

To save himself from dying here and now, the shock was discharged somewhere out to the sky, empowering the thunder; luckily, it was shot into distance, so at least there would be no further retribution from mother nature.

But Arthur's fate? He was blasted away, rolled into dirt and grass. His body still shaking, his muscles spasming without much control over them.

And he laid there, silent.
(Arthur Rowan)

She had attempted to warn him about what might happen. That this electricity and lights were more than the child's play that the were already involved in. And yet-- this is where things are. This is how things would end...Yes- it might require a great deal of concentration but...There is also passion within each magic. Because even the waters themselves can become violent- just as the wind, and just at the earth. But this is different..

 The burst of lightning firing into the sky once more- particles heaten up forcing the expansion of not just one, but multiple clouds that were within the vicinity...And soon, just as she had warned him- a single bolt of lightning would lurch from the sky...Jabbing him.

BOOM!....CLACK! Her eyes widen if only briefly...And then, she hears the scream- his body blasted away several feet from the ledge...Leaving the drakanite girl in awe, devastation, and in fear..But despite those things...

 She would rush to his side- almost afraid of to touch I'm...Almost afraid to confirm that death might've been near...But she does. "A-Arthur...! Arthur!" Her hands drift to the child's chest and soon...A wave of darkness would occur...

 Whatever burns that were upon his body would soon be transferred to her own...An attempt to minimalize damage and yet...Not harm herself too harshly within the process.. "W-wake up..." Losing a friend already?

 Did she fail...Already?
(Bei Bei)

It's a good thing that he was a magi.

To any simple man? This would be a fatal blow that would kill them on spot. For Arthur, while it was quite a hefty damage, it still proved not enough to kill him after all, and yet--

-- just how close it came to that was already rather horrifying.

The trails of electricity rushed through his body just for a little longer, but they were soon to leave; if there was one useful thing about the ground is the fact that lightning would inevitably dissipate, leaving his body rather soon.

It didn't stop the fact that he was injured fairly bad.

To Bei's hands, it would feel as if Arthur's heart has gone into tachycardia, a fast pace of heart at uncommon rate, clearly a result of Storm's lightning being directed at him like this. Gladly, it was slowly stabilizing, his magical defences disallowing him to die just like that.

In about a minute, he finally opened his eyes, his mouth wide agape and breathing in deeply.

"That-- wasn't pleasant..."

He could see her above himself, likely still testing out his pulse to see if he was still alive; yet, there was some sort of relief, one that numbed his pain at least a bit.

But wasn't she an Occultist? Did she sacrifice her own life force, then?

Moving up his hand to hers, he nudged it off his chest, with a tiny, but pained smile worn over his expression.

"I'm okay... you don't need to keep it there."
(Arthur Rowan)

"..." It didn't stop the feeling that she had possessed within the pit of her stomach. That she had almost seen death for the second time within her life- at the hands of someone who had refused to listen to advice.  "Y-you're alive..?"  If only for the moment though, does her smile begin to widen...The fluttering of his heart only bringing proof that nothing was a lie...Although, the blush upon her features does deepen when he brings it to her attention..

 "H-huh..?"

THWACK! The hand would have suddenly withdrawn and hit him directly in the chest once more. "You stupid boy.." Saving face was always the trick. "You...You could have gotten killed!" Surely, he knew better than to make her worry.

 "How could I explain to your brother what would've happen if you died right here?-- h-he'd probably kill me." besides, Arthur is...one of her only friends too. And she couldn't stand the thought of being lonely...Let alone, being alone.

 "Tch...Don't be so selfish next time or else, I'll hit you again." Grumble grumble, murmur.
(Bei Bei)

He preferred to remain laying down, still, all for the sake of actually catching a rest after being shocked by such bolt of lighting; the humidity around him was raising, however, as he instinctively coated himself in the healing waters to mend the burn wounds all around his body.

--Yet, his peace didn't last for that long.

Being hit in the chest, he'd just wince, but endure it nonetheless - he could understand why she's feeling this way exactly, and he couldn't blame her for it.

Although, some words did get to him.

"Hey, I'm not stupid... just... curious, maybe a tad too much..."

Slowly sitting up on the grass, he took a large inhale, followed by no lesser exhale; all because he was fairly shocked of course, no pun intended.

"And it's fine... you were not the one to blame eitherway, even if I didn't make it."

"Besides, I think I could do much, much better next time..."

Quite a determined thought from someone who's been at the near-death experience just now. Next time? He certainly couldn't be serious.

Or could he?

"Come on... we should probably get going back, yeah?"
(Arthur Rowan)