It was delightful to laugh away the time that did not exist. Hakuren found Harper’s remark amusing and wasn’t surprised at the fact that the boy could not answer him, albeit it was slightly disappointing that he didn’t even attempt to guess. Seeing as an answer was being anticipated, the mage decided to enlighten his knight companion.
“A laugh.” he told him with a short giggle.
Before the boys could delve into a proper conversation, a loud demanding voice let out a complaint for all that was around to hear. It was Riley and, apparently, she did not find the steady movement of the group pleasing at all. And with good reason. Despite there not being any time in existence, the welkin’s colour was certainly changing in a manner similar to the one on Earth. The two experienced guides were standing further along the path, observing the mountains in the distance. Without a doubt, their route was to go through there. After all, the dragon had been said to live somewhere up between the crags and cliffs, where no foreign foot could reach. It was no secret that their target’s lair was lay ahead.
Serenade, the black rabbit, had chosen to accompany the mercenaries on their journey and, once she had explained the need of the element of surprise, she told everyone to leave their mounts. Although it was not intended to sound as an order, rather as an instruction, the seriousness of her tone made the humans obey and they unsaddled. Whilst some had a rather emotional farewell with their Chocobos, Hakuren simply gave the female bird a good pat on the neck for a job well done, which she seemingly liked, judging by her light chirps of happiness. But it was when all of the avians let out calls at once that it became obvious why traveling on foot was a wise decision. They were noisy critters, their chorus echoed through the surroundings, making it evident that there was someone at the base of the mountain. If they were taken any further, they would be a perfect alarm clock for the fire-breathing beast, as well as for other predators that were lurking around in the woods.
With the last of the goodbyes now given, the creatures headed back to what looked like a blurry miniature figure. It had not felt like a long travel, yet they had made such progress from the castle. It was remarkable, something the green-blue-eyed youngster found intriguing. As much he would have liked to observe the birds retreat and measure the length of the road, his group would not have waited for him, if he had chosen to do so, thus the young man followed suit and began walking up the dirty unpaved path.
Just like any hike up the mountain, this was no easy task to accomplish and it didn’t take too long before the first complaints arrived, as well as suggestions on how to make this climb much easier. Upon one of Riley’s everso energetic proposals, which placed forth the idea of using Leon’s wind magic as a boost, Inadi retorted quickly, stating that it would be unwise to waste their precious energy on something so trivial. Indeed, the lightning magician was correct. It was risky to create a distortion through magic in this area so very early on. It was impudent to find an easy way out of this situation. One had to carry the burdens and endure the pain, in order for victory to taste sweet and be satisfying. But, most of all,...it was rather boring. Quite tedious, if you were to ask Hakuren. He did not think such a decision was foolish, yet found it more or less a waste. If they were given supernatural powers, they were meant to use them and, in battle, it was best to utilize their abilities properly and the only method of learning currently available to the novices was practice. Learning from one’s mistakes was proper education. Whilst they would be able to remain whole until they reached the dragon’s den by following Inadi’s opinion, once face to face with the tremendous beast, it would be as if they were gingermen freshly taken out of the oven. Not at all hardened and easily burning the flesh.
This being said, the ice wizard could not help but go against his comrade’s advice.
During his ascend up the rocky path, he had taken his scepter off his back and used it as a walking stick. In the process of having it assist his balance, the young man had inspected the object thoroughly, yet had not discovered anything astounding or remarkable. The pole itself was black and was as tall as him in height, made of something rather hard and strong, yet light like bamboo. The smiling moon piece was bigger in size than his own head, its gem sparkling lightly, much like his amulet. This was both favorable and not. There would be a source of light when the sun completely sank into the depths of the earth, yet this source of brightness could also attract unwanted attention. Nevertheless, as a whole, this staff had the potential to be lethal if a precise attack was executed with brute force. Whilst he noted how the moon at the top of his possession could serve a purpose similar to the blade of a scythe, he remembered Pinky and that awful smack she had given him with her pipe. If given the chance, the boy planned to gladly return the ‘favor’.
For a moment, Hakuren stopped in the middle of the track, in order to look upwards. Darkness was looming over the mountain tops, a ghostly white mist gracefully sliding around them. One could only stare in awe at these titans of rock, which were forever locked between the sky and land. The forest was quiet, not a bird to be heard, yet the group was not in the very depths of the woods. Rather, they were on a rocky periphery of sorts, a road which had been used in the past, thus local fauna did not dare come near. It was most likely for the best. Unexpected occurrences were not something some of them could handle well.
Taking into account all that was before them, the mage turned his scepter upside-down, so that the moon could face the ground, and mumbled:
“Glacies spiritus tormento”In an instant, a huge piece of ice blasted him forward into the air. More precisely speaking, the ice, which had formed beneath him, was under such high pressure that it sent the human up into the air, leaving an enormous pike-like structure in the place where he had stood. This was quite the predicament indeed. Even for Hakuren, being shot up the trail was a new and rather unexpected way of transportation. Fortunately, the lad wasn’t sent too high, yet the figures of his comrades could easily fit in his hand. Having gained some altitude, naturally, what went up had to come down. As helpful as that law of physics often was, in this case landing on several cold hard rocks was not going to be a pleasant experience. In the nick of time, if there even was one, a solution to this little problem had to be found and, thankfully for him, his mind came up with one.
“Labor lapsus.”It was not something magnificent or elaborate. Simply a slide, which formed rather nicely below him and lead to solid ground. This is not to say that the glide downwards and reaching of the bottom were comfortable. Overall, Hakuren gave the ride a C+ for “cool”, but it was not without its remarks. There were several bumps of improperly formed ice and the surface itself was rather rough, however, the impact was lighter than a flat fall from the heavens. Appropriate for practical needs, such as “quick saves”, yet not something worth adding to a theme park, it was an efficient emergency parachute.
Once more on his two feet, the magician looked back towards the rest of his group. He had not gone too far ahead, for all of the members were visible, their moans and groans still audible, but was currently in the lead. Rather than continue onwards, the young man leaned back on a colossal rock and patiently waited for the rest to catch up. Venturing further into the unknown and being the first in line was foolish, considering the fact that he had drained half of the liquid in his amulet in that stunt. Despite knowing that danger lurked behind every corner, it was a price he was willing to pay. Experimenting with this marvelous power was entertaining and made him even more curious about what he could do. One thing was certain, though. His scepter was not a witch’s broom.
Drop by drop the substance rose. Step by step the humans climbed. Hakuren, who observed in his moment of rest, found the nature that was around them to be very peaceful. There was something mystical about the forest at sunset. It was as if the trees were saying goodnight to one another before falling to sleep. It was as if the light was dying out, soundlessly screaming in sadness. It was wonderful. There had not been a single obstacle to block their way. Odd as it was, the black-blue-haired traveler remembered the cat bus. It had been just as pleasant and in a moment just as this one something out of the ordinary had happened. He could not help but wonder if this would be the case as well. A quiet before the storm.
‘So far, so good. Nothing has come in the way. If we keep going at this pace, we’ll face the dragon and be done with this quickly...Really now, it’s quite a shame. And to think we were given such awesome abilities. Wish we had more ~time~ to use them.’A prophet or a guy who just likes summoning bad luck for his own amusement. It was of no importance.
An anthem of howls began, breaking the serenity of the atmosphere. Something rustled between the bushes. Something slid within the shadows. Paws pattered on hard soil. The sound of Serenade’s call announced the beginning of the attack.
A gust of wind blew from all sides, hitting the unsuspecting party. Growls and snarls came from the darkness between the trees before the enemy stepped into the light.
Wolves. As cliche as they were, these creatures were not at all ordinary if compared to their Earthly counterparts. These beings were magical, each being one of the four colous, yellow, green, white and red, respectively controlling one specific natural ability, over lightning, earth, air or fire. In addition, they belonged not so much to the physical as to the spiritual world, to that of their element. They were ghost-like, as if illusions created by trickery. Merging completely with what they possessed, only flashes of their outlines appeared when the said power was in use.
Lightning struck as one of the wolves snapped at the intruders. Several plants were lit on fire as another’s fur stood on end whilst letting out a low growl. And the wind kept howling on and on.
Both Avian and Serenade prepared for battle and yelled to the humans to take refuge in a nearby cave. Hakuren, who was barely able to hear a word due to the undying air current, made out what had been ordered through the guides’ gestures and terrified expressions and took a couple of steps, only to halt and watch once more as vines sprouted from the ground and took the Nowhereians hostage. In attempt to fend off this threat, one of the girls of a flame, Riley, manifested a ball of fire in order to counterattack. Although it was not hearable, it was obvious by the desperate widening and closing of the black bunny girl’s mouth that she was trying to reason with the young lady. Yet the lass proved just how suitable her magic’s nature was by not heeding anyone’s words of advice. She proceeded with her offensive movements, only to be blown off her footing and off the mountain itself.
‘Ah, another one went down the drain.’ Hakuren sighed in his mind.
There was no use mourning. Best keep those who remained alive. With the storm not even considering a ceasefire, the young man with the moon staff stayed low to the ground as he made his way to the cave. As unthinkable as it was, he actually stopped to look behind himself, in order to check on his companions. The motive was mere curiosity concerning the situation on the field and if there had been any more casualties, but at the sight of a flame tailing after Harper and a couple of others, he couldn’t help but stay awhile.
“Acus gelidus.” he let out a shout, creating a couple of big ice spikes in the fire wolf’s way.
This allowed the retreating group to reach the safety of the cave, but also decreased the liquid inside Hakuren’s charm, which now reached a line significantly below the middle. His head was pounding slightly and one or two stars flickered on and off in front of his vision.
’How bothersome. Seems it’s time to take my leave, stage right.’
‘What’s so weird about you?’ an echo reached from the back of his mind.
‘..? Huh?’Standing in a daze, something temporarily shut the young man’s switch off, isolating him from reality. A voice? It was definitely not his own, but it sounded familiar. Quite certainly, he had heard the line before. Yet who had asked him such a thing? Him, of all people. None of the close friends he could still recall had ever inquired such a thing. Who was it? Someone who couldn’t see the difference between him and the rest? That was new and it made the youngster smirk. How naive, how innocent was that person? Or was it sarcasm? It pestered him, since he could not remember. There was something strange about this one-liner memory, which possessed no visuals whatsoever. A feeling quite peculiar. It made him feel cold.
Just as quickly as it had came, the haze vanished from his eyes, only to reveal to the wizard that he was no longer in his now former position. At present, he was losing altitude rapidly, along with Lesley, Leon and Jasper.
How it had come to this he had absolutely no idea and, with all honesty, he couldn’t care less. Once more, something was required to break his fall. Stretching his hand out and grabbing Leon by the shoulder, seeing as the two were close to each other, and grinned.
“Well, buddy, now’s your time to shine.” he told him, whilst his hair was being blown upwards, which from his perspective was to the side. Darn, that ponytail was out.
(insert Leon commentary)
Without much effort, Leon displayed the capability of his newfound power. It was handy to have an air-bender in a situation such as this one, for he was capable of slowing down the speed with which they fell, calming the air around them. As they descended, they carefully avoided the many branches of the century-old trees, before softly landing on the ground below.
“Nicely done, Leo-kun.” Hakuren congratulated him
“Remind me to give you a cookie sometime around.”Turning left and right, it looked as though they had landed in the middle of the heart of the forest. The trees stood tall, towering above them, their crowns lush and spreading out like an umbrella on a rainy day. Light barely reached the forest floor, where thin wisps of mist crept about here and there. Peculiar lights twinkled from time to time, as if they were fireflies, yet were not yellow. Rather, pink and green could ofttimes be seen, rarely ginger and blue. The air was damp, it felt so to the skin. Only sounds which resembled those of known bugs could be heard, sometimes even something close to a frog’s call. Not a person, other than the humans, could be seen or heard. They were alone.
“Everyone, lets regroup. We’re not out of the woods, yet.” Hakuren spoke, smiling as always. Strolling towards one of the trees, he had noticed that Lesley was lifelessly draped over a branch, and had taken an interest in whether or not the rainbow-lover was still with them. Panter was still breathing, but certainly did not seem like an early bird. Pressing the moon of his staff against their face from below, the ice magician asked
“Oi, Lesley? A rainbow’s supposed to rise and shine.” Just how long this pink-haired individual could stand this freezingly cold pillow and the cold that was being unconsciously emitted from Hakuren was questionable, yet the green-blue-eyed man knew it would not take too long.
