[b][u]One Week Ago[/u][/b] Only a day had passed. After the events that transpired regarding Yunin, the Augustine Town group, and all the other present factors, Nicolas had found himself sulking. So much had happened and he'd been useless. It had been foolish to think that he could help. He was upset. It was disheartening really. Fear, weakness, the list of excuses could go on. [color=red]"No... I don't wanna be like that."[/color] He could have asked a number of people. Trisana maybe. One of the powerful wizards who'd fought during the incident. He remembered some. [color=red]"On second thought..."[/color] He stopped himself. Most were pretty scary. He tried to think. What could he do? Who had some experience and could... [color=red]"Ow..."[/color] He bumped into someone. [color=red]"Oh... Um... Hi... You're Xavier right?"[/color] He asked as he stumbled back a bit as looked to see who he'd hit. He'd been so deep in thought he hadn't paid much attention. Then it hit him. [color=red]"Hey... You're pretty tough right? Used to fighting?"[/color] He didn't really wait. [color=red]"Would you mind helping me get better? Help me train? Spar?"[/color] It was abrupt, but that's because his nervous and timid attitude had been overrun with his hopeful optimism in regards to having a chance to make a new friend and get better than he was. Xavier was still a bit shell-shocked at all that had happened at Augustine town, all he had witnessed. He didn't even feel bad about not fighting in this battle. If that demon at Ira had been way above his level, that Savage God guy wasn't even a blip on his radar of possibility. Some god slayer he was. Add on to that the fact that his demon powers were basically on the fritz and nearly unusable, a product of the awakening process being interrupted if Cassandra could be believed, he was a little frustrated to. He had been so close to getting that big leap of strength he wanted, that he needed, and now it was further from his reach than ever before. So wrapped up in his thoughts, he didn't notice Nicolas until he bumped right into him. looking up, he listened to the boy's proposal to be training partners, and swirled the possibilities around in his head. If he wanted to get stronger faster, it was good to have a partner that can grow with you as well. Sable was all right, but he was already really strong. Nicolas, however, looked like he could use some help and was more around his level. [color=f26522]"Normally, I'd say yes to the fighting part, but after what we just saw, I'm not so sure any more. As for sparring, I'm game. I didn't really think I'd find anyone around my own age when I came here, so I'd actually be happy to."[/color] Nicolas's eyes lit up. [color=red]"Really?! Are you sure?!"[/color] He wasn't expecting it to be that easy. Especially not after what had happened at Augustine. Still he wasn't about to argue. [color=red]"That's great!"[/color] He was a bit more cheerful, having perked up at the favorable reply. Maybe they could begin today. Of course, Nicolas's first task would be to get his body into fighting shape and not be so frail. [color=red]"Do you have any tips on exercises and workouts to strengthen a person's body to be more combat or physically oriented?"[/color] Was this the vocabulary of a person this young? Probably not most. But he'd read a lot AND he was an official guild mage, much like his new friend. Was it too early to call Xavier a friend? Maybe... He wasn't used to socialization. [color=red]"Oh... I'm... Nicolas. Nicolas Grimmond."[/color] He said as he realized it might be important to introduce himself. Even if the young man before him already knew his name. After all, he only knew Xavier's first name. And that was because it had been said quite a few times in Augustine Town. Though he did look considerably... Different. What had happened with that? He had gotten many details. None so that he understood anyway. [color=f26522]"Xavier Lyone, and as far as training tips, the best I can give is to just train hard, diligently, and most of all, correctlly. Practice makes permanent, you know, meaning if you practice to do something the wrong way, it'll create bad habits for you in the future."[/color] Xavier nodded, before taking another look at the kid, this one a little more apprehensive than before. [color=f26522]"Uh, you're in Harpy's Wing, right? Before we stat training, I was wondering if you knew to find a guy named Revan. I kinda have something I want to tell him, and you can come with if you want to, so we can jump right into a spar afterwards. Got to see what your current level is before we do any kinds of exercises."[/color] Nicolas listened intent of picking up anything important or useful. What Xavier said was pretty thought provoking. He'd never considered the idea of training or exercising wrongly. What if he'd learned some points of his magic wrong? Sure the books were detailed, but the thought was now there. But he had to shake that off when his knew comrade spoke once more. [color=red]"Hm? Oh yeah. I'm a member of Harpy's Wing. But I'm sorry I don't know a man named Revan. I only just joined a little while after the Clover City demon attack.”[/color] Thinking back on it he shuddered. [color=red]"That demon girl was crazy."[/color] He mumbled quietly before shaking his head. [color=red]"But I wouldn't mind joining you. My friend thought I should meet more people and be more confident. I think... Either way. If you wouldn't mind me tagging along I'll definitely join you."[/color] Xavier shivered at the mention of those demon attacks, the memory of that demon from Magnolia still fresh in his mind, even after all this time. [color=f26522]“I see, I had a similar encounter around the same time. . . I don’t know about your demon girl, but I don’t think she’d hold a candle to the guy I faced. He was able to fend off S-ranked Mage and a highly skilled assassin with almost no trouble. It wasn’t until the famous Erza and Grey showed up that he actually left. Hmph, since I’ve joined this guild, I’ve been in two major battles and have been less than useless in both of them, reduced to hiding like a fuckin’ coward.”[/color] Xavier’s hand’s tighten into fists as he spoke, an intense anger leaking through for a moment, though it was easily seen to be directed at himself, but he took a few breaths to calm himself down. [color=f26522]“Anyway, yeah, let’s ask around, someone has to know where he is, right?”[/color] And so, Xavier and Nicolas began looking around the Vyper Guild Hall, searching for Revan. It took awhile, but they were finally able to catch him at the gates exiting out of Crocus, sent there by a merchant who said he had seen some one matching Revan’s description as he entered the city. Xavier walked up to Revan, clearing his throat to make his presence known, and giving Nicolas a gesture that said ‘stay back for a bit’. Revan turned to see two redhead kids coming up to him, one bearing the Vyper Guild Mark in the exact place Revan had his Harpy Guild mark, his left eye. “Huh, didn’t know I had a fan. Listen kid, I’ve got to go right now, so if you’re here to ask for autograph’s, you’re outta luck.” Xavier scowled at Revan’s comment, but put it aside as he worked up the will to say what he had to say. [color=f26522]“I’m not a fan, just thought it would look cool there, okay. And I have something I need to tell you.”[/color] He took another deep breath, and let the bomb drop in one big rush. [color=f26522]“My name is Xavier Lyone, son of Alexandra Lyone and your son.”[/color] No sooner had the words left Xavier’s mouth, revan froze, looking down at the boy in front of him with surprise, shock, disbelief, and fear. He backed away from him, shaking his head. “No way, there’s no way you can be my kid, but you look just like here, and given your age, and . . . but if that’s true. . .oh my god what have I done.” He ran his hands through his hair, a panic expression on his face. “This is a fucking disaster, the biggest mistake I’ve made in my entire fucking life. If the wrong people knew you existed. . god dammit this is fucking horrible.” As Revan continued to panic, he was unaware that Xavier was no longer listening, walking back over to Nicolas with his hair covering his eyes. [color=f26522]“Sorry for dragging you into this, man, I. . . I didn’t know what to expect but it wasn’t that.”[/color] The amount of emotional pain he was feeling was clearly heard in his voice, but so to was a deeper sense of anger that seemed near it’s boiling point. To be honest, hunting around for information, even though the time was short. It was kind of fun. He'd only really ever spent enjoyable time with Trisana and his mother. So hanging out, even if it was mostly business, with another guy, and someone near his age, was pretty great. Still at the time he couldn't have imagined how things would turn out. It was heart wrenching to watch and overhear to be honest. He wanted to say something. To speak up. To maybe say something to Revan. Or perhaps comfort Xavier. But... He didn't know what to say. Still when Xavier came back he took a breath. [color=red]"Don't apologize."[/color] He said as he pat his new friend on the back. God knows he wasn't an expert on parents. God what would his mom... The woman he recognized as his true mother say. Mom... I could really use some advice... He wasn't expecting an answer. And he didn't get one. [color=red]"Come on. Let's go. And... You know... Maybe... Maybe that was just the shock talking... Or... Or something... I mean..."[/color] He stopped. It sounded like he was making excuses for a man he didn't know. A man who could probably hear him. But he wasn't. He was just trying to help spare Xavier's feelings. Even if only a little. [color=red]"I'm sorry."[/color] What was he apologizing for? He didn't know... But right now it was all he could really say as he began walking with Xavier away from Revan. Revan, upon hearing Nicolas' words, and realizing how his words might be interpreted in this instance, turned back around to say something, but was cut off by the glare that Xavier gave him, only one eye being visible. And yet, that one eye held such a vast amount of anger and pain, it was clear he wanted to lash out against Revan, to assault him, maybe even kill him. Instead, he looked away, as if Revan wasn't even worth his attention, and that hurt more than any words that Xavier could've ever said. A part of Revan was glad to hear that he had a son, but a bigger part of him was thinking of the implications of this revelation, how badly this could effect the entire world if the wrong people got a handle on this information, not to mention the danger the child himself possessed. If Revan had been such a monster after beung changed into a demon, how much chaos could be wrought by his offspring, who would gain such power and more from the fact that it's truly apart of them that can't be removed. So many reasons, yet they all died before they could exit Revan's mouth, each one sounding like an excuse for the inexcusable. And so he watched as Xavier and Nicolas walked away in silence, before turning around and making his way to his designated training area, feeling like he had just fucked up in a big way. Xavier gave a sigh as Nicolas began to talk, giving a final glance at his fa-. . . no, at that man's retreating figure, wanting for all the world to throw a ball of burning ash at him. But he had been raised better than that, and more to the point, that waste of space wasn’t worth the effort. [color=f26522]“It’s fine, I really should’ve expected something like this, but I guess I let my hopes get too high. All the people of the guild seemed so nice, despite their quirk. . . I thought that he would be to.”[/color] Xavier took another moment to sulk for a bit, before slapping himself in the face, hard. When he brought his head back up, everything he was feeling was locked up deep inside of him, and he gave Nicolas a smile. [color=f26522]"Anyway, let’s get to the Vyper Guild, man, we’ve got some sparring to do, am I right?”[/color] Nicolas took a breath and sighed while looking at Xavier. He wanted to say or do something. Maybe things with his father didn’t have to be this way. But really it wasn’t his place. And he had no idea where to begin regardless. Maybe for now that best thing to do would be as Xavier said. They could go back to Vyper’s guild and spar there. [color=red]”Right.”[/color] Was all he could muster as he continued his steady pace with Xavier. He glanced back in Revan’s leaving silhouette. Was this really alright? Well it wasn’t like he had much advice to offer in the parental department. So he figured it best to let sleeping dogs lie. At least until he was properly able to handle a bite or two. --------------------------------------------------- [b][u]Present Time[/u][/b] Nicolas was breathing heavily. He was exhausted, covered in sweat, and wanted nothing more than to sleep. However, he had to keep going. Giving up wasn't an option. He was done slacking. [color=red]"One... One more time."[/color] He said as he wiped the sweat off his brow. His hands began to glow before magic in the form of wave-like matter resembling a tomoe engulfed them. He had been practicing using his magic more offensively. That and how to take a hit, or at least predict or take one without flinching. He had grown a bit. [color=red]"Alright Xavier. This time I won't lose."[/color] He said before charging forward. The swiped his left arm, sending the ball of his magic flying at Xavier. However, before it got too close to the young mage, it exploded. The little blast kicked up dust and dirt causing a bit of a smoke screen. And through that smokescreen came Nicolas lunging at him. It was a bit more calculated and strategic. He was getting better for sure. He had even willed that first sphere to explode. That was something he'd not done before. Progress! But right now wasn't the time to cheer. He was throwing a punch now. A punch enhanced by his magic. That had a great effect. Raw power encasing his fist to added something of an explosive amount of power to his otherwise weak fist. At least he was quick. That helped. To think a week ago he could barely do this much, if anything at all. "One more time." Xavier agreed, giving only a small smile to his new friend's exclamation. He wasn't as tired as Nicolas, being a much more physical fighter than his opponent, but they had been doing this for some time. Getting into a fighting stance as, he prepared himself as Nicolas sent an orb at him. This magic was a tricky one to be sure, and Xavier was never sure what to expect from it. When it blew up in front of him, scattering dust and debris, he knew that it was probably a decoy, and was proven right as Nicolas fast approached him. [i][color=f26522]He's gotten pretty fast rather quick, but he isn't the only one that's grown.[/color][/i] Xavier thought with a smile, taking a split second to focus inwardly to bring out his inner power, one of his eyes turning demonic as he attempted to use his Demon King Curse. [color=f26522][b]"Demon King's Rook!"[/b][/color] He exclaimed, forming a cross block incase the magic failed. . .again. The power he had unlocked in Augustine, while available to him outside of his demon form, was not even close to being as reliable or strong, and he had been unable to enter his demon form since Augustine. Cassandra said that it was due to his lack of experience, something that urked him to no end. Strange as the experience had been, he had felt stronger than ever before in that form. It hadn't amounted to nothing in the end, but it was something he craved with a desperation. Luckily for him, the rook form, a wispy shadowed tendril that formed into a shield in front of him. It was destroyed by the explosive power of Nicolas' fist, but it had also taken a good portion of the damage, the attack barely pushing Xavier back a couple inches. [color=f26522]"Good job,"[/color] Xavier said, his connection to his demon side fading as soon as his focus was broken(again something he need to work on), [color=f26522]"But you're going to have to do a little better than that,[b]Tephra God's Bellow[/b]!"[/color] Xavier took a deep breath before blasting out a stream of ash at Nicolas, the force behind it being enough to push him a ways back if it hit. Xavier was careful to aim low, as he didn't want Nicolas to inhale the stuff. That would be very bad, his magic was very dangerous to those around when used haphazardly. But even with that being said, he didn't hold back with his attacks anymore. The slightly older Harpy Boy had grown a lot in his strength in a week. Nicolas cursed under his breath as the barrier took the brunt of his attack. And just like that Xavier was making his counter attack. He couldn't let himself be hit by it. Not this early in the fight. A small sphere of his magic appeared under his right foot. The way the bubble burst made it obvious that it was not made to inflict damage. Rather, it simply propelled him upwards. Still it was possible that Xavier would shift his focus and send an attack upwards. However, another tomoe like shape appeared as he flew upwards. He went back first into the shape and it closed. [color=red]"Over here!"[/color] He shouted as another appeared behind Xavier, nearly five seconds later as he appeared. His momentum hadn't slowed either. He emerged quickly a magic enhanced kick headed straight for his opponent's back. Nicolas wasn't leaving it at that though. He was continuing onward with this chance he'd made. Too bad a move like that wasn't something he could do continuously. It took a lot of concentration, calculation and, if he tried to make more than one at a time, knowledge of coordinates which were much harder than a person might think. Thus he couldn't do it that often. Still that wasn't what he was going to follow up with. He'd made his presence known on purpose. Xavier could block or avoid the kick somehow, but he form a basketball sized sphere in his hand. This wasn't a punch though. [color=red]"Ih Ragdo!"[/color] He said as the sphere formed into a beam like blast aimed directly at Xavier. His friend had helped him better sharpen his battle sense and his physical abilities. If not for this past week he likely wouldn't have done this much. Though a spar with an ally was far from a real battle. Xavier watched as Nicolas avoided his attack and slipped into one of his tomoes. [i][color=f26522]Dammit, this magic is fucking annoying to go up against.[/color][/i] Xavier kept his eyes peeled, constantly looking out for when Nicolas would pop up. So when Nicolas came at him from behind, Xavier was ready, turning around to block the kick and pushed him away, only to curse as the Harpy sent a beam of energy his way. Concentrating a large amount of magical energy to his fist, he swung it forward to meet the beam, causing a large explosion and raising up a large plume of ash. For a second, all was quiet, a little too quiet for too long, and just when it got to the point that Nicolas might've begun to worry about his partner, a shout came from the slowly descending plume, flowed by a sharp spike in magical energy. [color=f26522]"[b]Tephra God's Obsidian Tears[/b]!"[/color] The plume of ashes suddenly imploded into a single, concentrated massive above Nicolas' position, but it soon exploded violently into a barrage of small, sharp obsidian shards raining down on his position. As that was happening, Xavier was running around his opponent, watching how he reacted to the attack, wincing slightly at the pain in his right hand which was slightly burnt from the colission, though it could've been worse if Xavier hadn't had his natural resistance to heat. As soon as he saw an opening, he would launch another Bellow Attack at Nicolas, before following it up with a charged up punch that would explode on contact. Nicolas grinned when his plan seemed to work. The kick was blocked and though the beam had been taken head on he was sure he had reached a checkmate of sorts. Still as the silence dragged on he began to fidget. What happened? Had he hurt Xavier? Maybe he'd gone a bit too fa... [color=red]"Oh no!"[/color] He was met with a shout and an attack coming for him from above. [color=red]"Not good, not good, not good!"[/color] His eyes widened further as the one large shard separated into many little ones. He moved quickly staying low as he left his position. The shards sliced along his arms, and legs, his torso and even one or two cuts got on his face before he got out of the obsidian rain, lunging forward and landing in a roll. [color=red]"Ye... NO!"[/color] He couldn't even cheer as the Bellow came his way. He lept just a few inches off the ground and formed a shield out of his magic directly in front of him. Not enough to stop the blast, but enough to take the brunt of the damage. Though he would be sent back into the nearby wall. [color=red]"Dammit!"[/color] He coughed as he dropped back to the floor. [color=red]"Ih Ragda!"[/color] He called out as he saw Xavier coming closer, fist at the ready. This time though it wasn't a beam. A bubble went his way at high enough speed. Surely it couldn't be so easy to avoid. Hopefully he'd be caught. If not, it was Nicolas's loss. Xavier smiled as he saw his rapid-fire attacks throw of his attack, but stopped his charge as he saw Nicolas launch some sort of bubble at him. Thinking that it was most likely some kind of containment spell, he acted fast, stopping his charge and increasing the amount of magical energy he had in his hand, causing another sharp spike in energy as he plunged it into the ground. [b][color=f26522]"Tephra God's Wrathful Upheaval!"[/color][/b] The ground beneath him began to glow, as dark-ish orange light spilling from cracks in the ground. Xavier’s grin, slowly began to fade as the cracks got brighter, which they weren’t supposed to do. [color=f26522]“Oh Fu-”[/color] Was all he had time to say before the ground erupted with an impressive amount of force, and unless the bubble wasn’t negated by the attack, he would be sent flying way up high for a second, before coming back down to earth at a fast rate. he just avoided death by launching a Bellow attack at the ground, but still hit the ground pretty hard and came to a rolling stop right next to Nicolas. Whatever happened, Xavier would still say the same thing afterwards. [color=f26522]“That was exceedingly stupid, wasn’t it?”[/color] [color=red]"Dammit..."[/color] Nicolas grit his teeth as Xavier stopped his charge only to have his eyes widened by the following events. [color=red] "Wait... Xavier! Sto-"[/color] He coughed hard at his own sudden shout and movement. Luckily when all was said and done Xavier was alive and right next to him. [color=red]"Stupid... Even with the word exceedingly in front of it... It's one hell of a huge understatement..."[/color] He panted a bit before moving to sit properly against the wall and small grunt of pain escaping his lips. [color=red]"I... Think we've earned a rest... For now anyway..."[/color] He said as he turned his head to look at Xavier. [color=red]"Wouldn't you say so?"[/color] He chuckled slightly. Still now he was in pain. Tired. Exhausted really. But even so one thing beat all of those feelings. He went to speak again, but his stomach made the noise for him prompting a slight laugh once more. [color=red]"I'm hungry."[/color] He said breaking the brief silence left after his stomach growled. [color=f26522]"Yeah, same here."[/color] Xavier groaned, agreeing to the call to rest and the call to food, his stomach making a similar noise. God, he wished his mom was here, she was a damn savant when it came to cooking, nothing he had ever eaten had come close to matching her cooking. Xavier got up himself, groaning a little as his body protested the motion, [color=f26522]"Anything to get the taste of dirt out of my mouth. Damn, I thought I had that move down, but I still need to work on the control a bit, that one had way too much power in it."[/color] Xavier got up, then went to help up Nicolas. Looking at the smoking crater that had been left from his attack, he made sure to solidify the Ashes into a solid mass of obsidian that made a substitute floor where the hole was. It would make do until they had time to fix it, so it wouldn't do for them to leave the training area at Lamia Scale in such a state. [color=f26522]"So, now that that's over, do you have any idea where we can go to get some grub? Isn't that one Lamia S-class, Annabeth I think, a really good cook or something?"[/color] Xavier was really enjoying this foreign exchange program, as his time in a new place and new people had really helped him take his mind off the events of a week ago. Plus, the Lamia Guild member seemed really friendly and peaceful, unlike the rowdier members of Vyper Bolt. Though he had to admit, he did miss the guild already, even if he hadn't been there that long, he still loved it like it was home. And sometimes, the peacefulness got a little boring to him, as he found the guild lacking in the constant frenzy that he had loved about the Vypers. Nicolas accepted Xavier’s help. Normally, he’d force himself to his feet on his own, but this was a true sign of his exhaustion. He didn’t want to move at all. His body was screaming for him to stay down. Well, most of his body. His stomach was arguing with the rest. It was laughable really. Still, he wouldn’t accept help further than this. To him, it was part of his training. There would be time when he didn’t have someone to help him. [color=red] “I’d take anything over the weird mix of dirt and blood going on in my mouth right now.”[/color] He stated with a slight chuckle. Then Xavier said it. [color=red]“Aw man… If that’s true I definitely want her to cook for us.”[/color] It had been so long since he’d had anything resembling a true home cooked meal. That is, disregarding anything he or Trisana had tried to make when they couldn't afford to buy something. [color=red]“I don’t think it’d be better than my mom’s though. She was the absolute best cook.”[/color] He laughed a little as he walked holding his side a slight look of pain showing on his face for a brief minute as he stepped. Still it faded fast. [color=red]“But then again. I don’t think anyone’ll ever come close to being better than her’s.”[/color] He was pretty comfortable here. He wondered if he wouldn't have joined Lamia Scale had he not come her first. Still he wasn't about to doubt his choice. Harpy’s Wing was pretty amazing in his eyes. People were kind for the most part and cool. Some strong. Plus there he and at Vyper he wasn't so worried about messing things up and causing trouble for another guild and misrepresenting his own like he worried about here. But most were quite welcoming. So perhaps he was just over thinking things. His mind was wandering, but he quickly came back to Xavier. [color=red]“By the way, what do you think of this exchange thing?”[/color] He would have let Xavier answer, but something occurred to him as the made their way to the Lamia Scale guild hall. [color=red]“You know... We should probably find Reian, Niti and Yuuka. I mean... Bonding over food might be good.”[/color] In all honesty he was more focused on the food then finding people, but now that they were back in the guild hall it couldn't hurt to find those they were paired up with.