dev 2 - test of hunder

There isn't any point to wait around here, really.

With that, he only grabbed onto Thalia's hand and pulled her elsewhere. This was about time to actually learn such things, and they shouldn't waste it either.

"Now would be alright!"

And off they go... already hurrying off somewhere.
(Keitaro)

Rising heat and boiling rivers.

The volcano was a merciless embodiment of the scariest elements there are, those that can burn the living within split seconds. It was something fearsome, something that he hadn't quite visited before or thought of, but... long before they had a chance to mull it over or discuss anything, the Drakanite already swept them both off into far distance.

To travel and rush.

With amazing speed that he displayed in the past, they moved to make it to the furthest reaches of volcano. Climbing, ascending all little cliffs and separating stones, the two of them made their way to the top impressively quick. And there it was, the highest reaches of the volcano, with the rumbling rivers of lava all around them.

Wasn't it beautiful? And scary...

"Woah..."

"Uh... I think we got the place we needed, right?" He says, looking up at what would no doubt be dark skies. Due to simple evaporation around here, with the smog and particles from lava, there's no doubt that the clouds above would be like this.

Surely holding in the thunder that's about to break out.

"I might need your help, actually..!"

"I heard thunder appears if there's condensed heat and cold in the clouds. You wield both fire and wind, so... combining that with lightning, we might summon it efficiently."
(Keitaro)

It was a snap decision, without a doubt. Nearby Keitaro, she would move alongside of him and aim to scale along the mountain with the other. The sweltering heat was enough to be cause for concern as they scaled, moving along. The caldera of the volcano to be reached and she would give a look around with wide eyes.

It might've been night time once more, but the illumination of the lava was certainly undeniable. "Lightning comes from hot and cold?" She echoes the words as her brows raise upwards, then she lifts a hand upwards, soon showing off the spin of an orb of wind. "I can help." She says as she tries to control her mana into the small orb, to give it a slight condensed motion.

The finer tuning of her wind magic, of course. Above all else, she knew that grand and large displays of her magic were cool, but if she didn't master out her wind magic properly? She'd make a fool out of herself in the longrun!

So, pushing her fingers upwards, she would allow a stream of cooling winds to move upwards, she looked toward him.

"Say when!"

It was exhilarating. Atop of a volcano, conjuring magic, more.
(Thalia Elisheva)

The sparks around Keitaro began to make their way all over his body.

It wasn't just defense, but it was something greater than that. Ultimately, he was aiming to fuse the defensive properties of holy magic all around himself, to empower his own body to a greater degree as well, all while letting the lightning take upon offensive properties- that surge of energy was palpable, but for someone of his age, still weak and unable to properly conjure what he wanted to.

"Okay..."

A pause, and a silent inhale. He knew that this would be difficult, dangerous even, but there was no backing out for him. If he wanted to be a hero, he had to get much stronger than he currently is - even if it meant subjecting himself to this danger.

Essentially, he made himself a conduct to electricity, standing out like a metal rod in thunder with gravitating energy; the holy magic was aimed to also shield Thalia away, to make sure that she isn't going to be struck, but he will be. Although, would that really be anything to worry about?

He's a Shenlong. He should be able to handle that.

"Do it now!"

"Stretch the winds to the skies and warm it up too, so it's cold versus heat in the skies!"
(Keitaro)

Her other hand lifts upwards, and there's a haze of fire that comes along with it as she draws in a careful breath. Volatile, able to spread, but she'd still bring her fingers together, the two palms meeting as she would allow the cooling winds to mix with the fire upwards into the air. To the clouds above them and she would attribute the dual temperatures into the magic.

Control, control, control.

It was all so important to have as she stared upwards, forcing it all upwards with her breaths evening out. She was getting stronger with her magic, she was making it more lively. Drawing upon the power within her blood, she tried to attune, to tap into the likes of what was offered to her to make this more of a reality.

And with a harsh force upwards, she would make the heat and the cold clash, collectively bursting forward with the sheer hopes of drawing out that lightning to the Drakanite that was standing nearby!

This was the magical force that she'd pour forward for someone that wanted to work alongside of her. Dedication and more...
(Thalia Elisheva)

There it is.

He could feel the heart of thunder stirring in those dark skies; with the time passing, one could hear a clear rumble of lightning amidst the clouds, intending to create the maelstrom of chaotic lightning. And it was up to Keitaro to tame that lightning and actually make something useful out of it.

Suddenly, he directs his own lightning to the clouds, a spark of light that generates an audible sound; it supercharges the clouds even further. The rumbling becomes more threatening, like the nature begins to rage against the efforts of two children, but he does not falter.

"Almost there..."

In fact, he makes a connection with the skies above. If he wanted a true taste of pure lightning, of pure thunder, then he would need to provoke the very nature that bestows such gifts upon them - not the silly imitation with mana, but something pure.

"Make for one last push! It should strike out like that."

And Keitaro stood there, with connection of his own lightning to the skies. There's no doubt that out of them two, he would be the conduct of this energy... but that's what he wanted, right?
(Keitaro)

Her eyes can't particularly close as she watches, as she directs her mana's flow and the magic within her grasps. Fingers would continue to wiggle, and the conduit of the magic wouldn't particularly be denied as she felt it all ride along her circuit. Intermingling fire and wind like this was her niche, it was what she loved to do above all else. One could even see the way that her circuits began to glow beneath of her skin with an orangish-gold hue.

Fervor to be felt as she stances, holding her heels against the ground as she focuses from every portion of her small stature. The rumble of thunder within the beast of the clouds wouldn't deter her as she found her hair whipping around her features, the braid that falls down along her back moving along with the wind that had been pushed out.

One last push, and she would dig her feet in harsher as she listened to the crackling, the chirp of lightning next to her, and she would give a deep breath inwards...!

Every ounce of power within her would be called upon, dragged out-- the divine touched blood that flowed through her veins would be called into question as she forces her palms upwards and flat.

The sudden rush of fire and wind would force upwards, blasting into the sky above them to coax out the lightning that they sought. To make the storm lash right back out at them.

Her last push? It was heavy handed, certainly. Control, however, had been her main objective, so it wasn't everything it could've been. She was hoping for just enough.
(Thalia Elisheva)


And then, it strikes.

Ruthless, brutal, without mercy. The lightning sought out Keitaro immediately, considering that he made himself a living conduct of its energy that would only attract such attention. In a single motion, the boy right next to Thalia was set to excessive lightning circling through him; it was the pure thunder that struck him, that coursed through his body without any hesitation.

But he was far from simply surrendering like that.

Abruptly shaking as the electricity coursed through him, the Drakanite was trying his best to contain it. Letting it pass through his circuitry, attuning himself through the means of ancestry as Shenlong, and putting himself in what would be perhaps one of the most important trials of his years, he embraced thunder for what it is - wild, untamed energy.

Despite his resistance, the first scream came through.

It was pained, no doubt; he could barely contain it within himself,save alone direct anywhere at all. But as much as he held onto that spark of thunder, he also knew that he had to eventually let go and direct that energy somewhere else - the longer he held onto it, the more he would wind up damaged and quite literally fried.

A powerful bolt of lightning shot out, piercing to the long distance, somewhere in the skies.

It was at that moment everything nearly went pitch black, like the sudden brightness of lightning that blinds everyone who could even take a glimpse at it. By no means this was a toy or anything to be safely trifled with, but Keitaro was willing to test it - and he paid the price. Suddenly, he collapsed.

Steaming, staring upward with wide open eyes, he breathed in monotone pace that only suggested shock he had to undergo just now- occasional sparkle of lightning still coursed his body, a leftover of that overwhelming energy he tried to tame.

"Haaaah…"
(Keitaro)

Perhaps it was stupid, perhaps foolish, all of the above. She had suggested such a thing to him, but there was no learning without a little bit of pain, she had found. Even her own fires had bit at her, and well... The quick lash of lightning outwards toward Keitaro causes an audible gasp to leave her, and the tunnel of fiery wind would snap downwards, clinging to her arms instead of anything else.

It nearly took her off her feet, but the buffeting winds would keep her standing as the harsh blast had been deflected away from her body. The scream that came along caused shock to form along her features, and she would bring one of her hands up to her mouth, giving a shocked look. "K...Keitaro!" She gasps out as she stares in his direction, but she knows better than to touch while he was conducting this energy.

The lightning blasts into the sky, and her heart beats to the rhythm of the shock within her. Her nerves felt frayed, and she felt like there had been so much that they probably should've done differently. He had captured and rode the lightning, didn't he?

That was a goal.

Shifting, she would drop down to his side as she stared down at the boy, wide eyed all the while.

"A-are you okay?!"

Her hands come up, cupping at his cheeks. There would be sparks that would nip at her skin, but she was trying to make sure he wasn't, you know, dying.
(Thalia Elisheva)

Whether it's natural affinity or his own talent, but for one reason or another, he managed to survive. More than that, he actually rode the lightning, and with the final jolt of lightning dissipating and disappearing somewhere along the lines, he began to make his recovery. His breath was being stabilized, no longer under assault of the volatile energies that he could only dream to tame.

Though, it was worth it. Now he knew how the true thunder is like, and he would know how to replicate it in the future. It's something that no doubt anyone would be willing to know, provided they dabbled in lightning... but Keitaro? He was aiming to become the absolute best there is. There would be no point in beating around the bush and trying to be anything less than that.

Still, it came about with a gasp and a cough, slowly awakening back to his senses from that wild ride he just experienced. There's no doubt that his head was hurting like hell, for a simple reason that he preferred to just close his eyes for a bit, and only then open them again, slowly.

"That hurt..."

A simple exclamation, before he slowly sat up. Still struggling to maintain the right balance of his breathing, he gave any of the words he would say a pause, before speaking up again.

"Yeah... I'm okay, I think..." Tapping around the ground, he had to make sure that his nerves weren't fried and he could still feel things. Thankfully, that was actually the case.

"Well, uh..."

"Let's go home?"
(Keitaro)