[color=#c8c7cc][right][sub][@Xaltwind] [@Zeroth][/sub][/right][h1]Parin Kia[/h1][/color] [h3]Coliseum Interior[/h3] [hr] "That would be my question, too, hah! But, I think the lady means 'cute' like, say...a little dog. Not the same kinda 'cute' I'd use for, say, a pretty face. Am I right...cutie?" Parin jumped in shock when she'd heard the man's voice. She only now realized she'd been thinking out loud - an unfortunate habit of hers, to be sure - and she would have winced in embarrassment had she not been face-to-face with her target. And gosh, she was pretty! Whatever frown would have raised itself was instantly erased by her disarming smile-- [color=powderblue]"It's not him, but the little chicks flitting about and chirping around him who're cute. Oh, to be young again..."[/color] But that didn't matter because she was damn-near jumping in shock again. She likes girls, straight like that? Where Parin came from, you'd have to pine for months to get that info, even when it was the most obvious thing in the world. Alas, that was a rant for another time. [color=powderblue]"You shouldn't listen in on when others're talking though, sweetie,"[/color] [i]Meow?[/i] Parin felt herself shrink lightly when Camila started to address her. [color=powderblue]"It's a bad habit that could land you in all sorts of trouble if you get caught by the wrong person."[/color] That much was true. Parin had been acting uncharacteristically carefree. She'd never act this way on a normal day out. Perhaps this was a result of her not taking the exam seriously? Or maybe she felt safe due to the amount of people who'd came? Parin profits off of people making that sort of mistake all the time - she shouldn't fall victim to it so easily. A welcome warning, to be sure. She met the other girl's eyes with vindication, ready to show off her humorous, quippy nature. And... [color=#c8c7cc]"Mhm,"[/color] Parin replied, quieter than she'd intended. She'd become a Bashful Billy in a matter of milliseconds, but there was a girl with pretty purple eyes that Parin was looking into, so it didn't truly matter. It double didn't matter when the exam finally started to start. Parin let out a disappointed whimper as her attention was brought to the captains. They all looked cool, as captains do, but the rumors floating about made a few stick out to her. The pirate, the witch, and the... knight? Well, they were all knights, but... the blonde one who was strong. Each captain seemed an interesting character. The more Parin goes along with the Magic Knight thing, the more it starts to stick. The idea of training under any of these people sounded fun. So did meeting new people. Hmm... It might do her good to put some more stock into this after all. She returned Camila's wishes before she shifted her focus to the officials laying out the laws. She hummed a song to herself as she waited. Parin's name was called and she rose to the occasion. She heard no voices directed towards her, but a rogue cheer that sounded once she'd walked up to the proctor almost broke her focus. She carried on, bouncing and swaying as the proctor explained both tests to her. She felt prepared for this first test especially. You see, the use of magic was no doubt discouraged in Parin's orphanage. But rules might as well be schmules when it comes to a group of children, so of course they still harassed each other to no end. The youngest ones would splash water on the others or blow wind in their ears, small things like that. The older kids, however, would often have other interests -- many of them held this pipe dream of becoming a Magic Knight that Parin was planning to fulfill. As a result, rather than just simple pranks, they would practice their magic in and around the orphanage. Many of Parin's earliest memories involve her and a group of friends going down several blocks until finding the abandoned mansion with an equally abandoned backyard. They would climb the gates and find themselves an open arena to play with. This was where Parin learned to use magic; in the trenches. The game consisted of a Magic Bullet fight, where two parties... fight using magic bullets. The first rule: you can't hurt someone. Some people were babies and flopped after getting tapped with a single pebble, so they quickly amended the new rule: no bruise, no foul. This made it so that you had to make sure the magic bullets were harmless, either by way of density/quality or speed. The second rule: you can only get hit three times before you're out. The third rule: you can't go out of bounds. It was fun, and cliques quickly developed based on things like playstyle or what type of magic bullet they used. But most importantly it was an invaluable foundation for Parin to learn from. How to concentrate mana, how to use it and the feeling of it within your body were all lessons that stuck with the girl. A small fascination with magic grew within her from a young age, the sort which naturally comes with having something so powerful at your disposal. Old memories flashed back in front of her eyes as the tiles began to float. Balls of water formed and floated around her in response. The targets were large to her, and the bullseye made identifying her target easier. She worked each shot out in her brain before she let it ring, following the motions of the target and calculating her shot accordingly. It was as it was, target practice. There was nobody putting any pressure on her. Her body would sway and step lightly with the motions of her target as she shot. Instead of stone tiles, she would start to see familiar faces, running and diving and smiling all around her. She kept her pace throughout the challenge, comfortable and focused. The first challenge was no problem; she'd seen it completed with maybe one or two close misses and a couple bulls-eyes. It was this second one she'd seen an issue with... Parin's magic hadn't the most destructive power to it, so using it to break that whole column seemed daunting to say the least. But seeing as this was one step to becoming a magic knight, this was also for Hari. For Hari, there was nothing she couldn't do. So she made a plan. She placed a hand on her chin once infront of the stone pillar, as if thoroughly examining it. Parin looked around behind her and took several paces back as she saw it was clear. She then inhaled deep, held it and exhaled, repeating it while trying to relax her body as much as possible. She felt the mana running through her body as she went about her routine, circulating in tandem with her blood. She began stretching while focused on her breathing and fell into a trance, the concentration of energy within her building more and more. Parin was finished with her stretches after attending to her right shoulder. She crouched down and set her hands on the ground, her front leg leaning forwards as she took one last deep, conscious breath. She bursted out violently into a sprint. When she neared, Parin planted her feet firmly and launched herself into the air, throwing her arms up behind her head. She extended her legs forward, aiming her soles towards an edge of the pillar. The mana which coursed through her all flowed directly into her feet. It was released at the same time as Parin's kick made impact. A mini-torrent raged out from her soles, with enough force to bounce Parin back far away from the pillar into the air. Her body swung through the air with knees tucked until she began to descend, feet facing the ground. She released a burst of water from beneath her feet which countered the pull of gravity, slowing her descent. Her grimoire flipped through pages on its' own as she conjured an oval-shaped bubble below for her to softly land on. Parin was hardly more than six feet off the ground. She sat down on her platform and hung her legs off it as she squinted towards the pillar. Leaning in more, she'd discovered that she had broken a chunk off the left side of the pillar. It couldn't have been bigger than her own head, if that. [color=#c8c7cc]"Yes!"[/color] She exclaimed, pumping her fist and smiling brightly. Her legs swung back and forth as she happily hummed a song of victory. It may not have been much, but it was honest work. She heard an official call her name and tell her where to stand, so she hoisted herself down and followed. The legs were a tad jellylike, but truly only a tad - nothing that couldn't get walked off. She thanked the orphanage delinquents for her timing. There was much to learn from her new vantage point. Everyone's magic was just so cool. Parin felt genuine awe at all the different techniques and skills she'd been able to see just from the first test. Every spell was beautiful, skillful, personal. She wondered what it was about the person that made them able to use their magic. Some of them fit the vibe, like, oh... The girl with big, bright flames looked sort of brave. The guy with the [i]snake[/i]! The [i]magic snake[/i]! Looked pretty, um, hm... Parin didn't want to say shifty, but somewhere in that ballpark. And there was the ox from earlier, who Parin had overheard being just as loud as his spells were hot. But then there were some that didn't quite fit who's magic was impressive all the same. Like when Parin almost had a heart attack after feeling a gigantic explosion go off, and then right after she saw Camila walk over to join the group (Parin gave her a personal round of applause). Or the kid who'd used sun magic, who didn't look like the wielder of something so bright. But the saying does go not to judge a book by its cover - if she were to play this same game with herself, she'd be stumped. Nothing about her really screams water. Parin figured there must be a deeper reason why these people can do what they do. Regardless, she waited for further instruction, with newfound enthusiasm and perhaps a bit of drive. [hr] [hider=tl;dr] parin has a "chat" with camila and gunnar she takes a trip down memory lane while taking the first test she kicks her pillar with the power of water! and takes a chip off the old block admires the others, entertains herself with her thoughts while she waits [/hider]