[h2]Saria[/h2]

The mage's fired volley met the same immobile obstacle as every other ranged attack so far--an unwavering, white barrier. Regrettably, with the Higashi-looking girl taking to the air that far above her, there was definitely no way to get a strong enough barrier to cover her without just standing and slowly building an entire wall.

Maybe if she jumped at the right time? No, the girl was comfortable in the air and in battles like this, she wasn't showing any sign of nerves. Saria could trust her to avoid the attacks and counterattack.

Sure enough, Sanae had a counterattack prepared. Like her other displayed arts, it seemed strangely indirect and wide-ranged, slow enough to dodge if you were able to ascertain some sort of pattern to it. This time... some sort of snakes in a spread? Almost all of them were guaranteed to miss, except when they hit a plane level with the mage--

She understood, now. This attack cut off most avenues to dodge, even with the extra dimensionality granted by flying. A slow retreat, or an extremely careful advance. The enemy caster would show some of preferred response, whether dodging in one direction or blocking, and once she predicted the trajectory...

White rock gathered around Saria's fist, forming a sharp, [i]pointed[/i] shape, relatively aerodynamic. Wait for the enemy, predict their location, and--now, punch!

Ranged combat wasn't her forte, but she could still contribute.