After what felt like a very short period of time, Panther awoke from their slumber and abruptly shoved aside the cold pillow, which had been pressed to his cheek by the ice mage. Albeit he had regained consciousness, Lesley did not appear to have exited the haze of slumber, for he stared at Hakuren in slight surprise for a moment, as if he could not recognize who was this upside-down figure that stood before him. With their gazes locked in this very strange manner, the green-blue-eyed youngster saw this and could not help but find it humorous, yet before he could comment on the silly cat’s resting position, his comrade spoke with a soft gentle voice.
Lesley said
"My, my. I wasn't expecting the Devil to be such a handsome young fellow~ I wouldn't mind playing Devil's advocate if you were the master.”
‘Too much blood in the head, huh? Nothing gravity can’t fix.’ the young man sighed in his thoughts. Being called a devil was flattering, but playing in the woods with someone who had neither cushions, nor the lock required for the key to this mystery was something he certainly did not intend to participate in.
Speaking of the Devil, which in this case was gravity itself, LaBelle leaned forward in an attempt to reach their beloved Satan, only to find that it was impossible, due to the distance between them. Noting all the hints given from this individual, the winter magician had a pleased, perhaps even pitying and mocking smile across his face. Ready to take a step back so as to avoid any unnecessary contact, he spoke with a friendly tone, despite the amusement being completely visible.
“How about you start by getting down first.”No sooner had he said that did his companion listen to his advice. Or was it fate? One can not be too certain. Due to the desire to grasp the lord of Hell and hold him in their arms, the rainbow-lover had gone to such an extent that their body was no longer well-balanced on the branch, which resulted in their own weight doing them a favor by making them slide downwards. Hakuren had less than a second to react, but he was no Speedy Gonzales, thus he could only stare at the mess, which was coming his way, his mind receiving the information, yet the neural impulse lacking the speed to innerve the muscles quickly enough.
Locks of pink hair came pouring over him as the two people fell to the ground. The black-blue-haired man may not have been able to evade this unexpected ‘attack’, yet was capable of using his arms and legs to ‘lighten’ his fall, in order for his head not to slam into the earth. However, he was still pressed down by Lesley’s body, which had spread out over him, the difference in height now a bit too evident. Having closed shut his eyes before the impact, the psychologist’s eyelids lifted carefully only to confirm what had been comprehended. Face to face, body to body, he could only be thankful that it wasn’t “skin to skin”. It felt like being in a pink forest, for everything to the side was blocked by gum-coloured curls and twirls. Something smelled rather sweet, as if someone had used too much lady perfume in the room, yet the scent was also mixed with a pinch of sweat, no doubt created from the climb up the mountain. The one on top was grinning with delight, honestly enjoying the current situation, whilst the male at the bottom had a peculiar expression. It was neither of surprise, nor of fear, yet the insistent smile had vanished and so had the little warmth that had once remained. His eyes were concentrated on the one in front of him, blinking not even once, calm and relaxed. It was as though he was attentively watching the news or a talk show on television.
With their friend remaining silent, Panther took the opportunity to speak first.
Lesley said
"Are you gonna push me off or are you just waiting for me to go ahead and do something?"
It was rather obvious where this was going, yet with his partner being so mischievous and confident in their dominance over him, the ice mage decided to take up this challenge, seeing as he did not anticipate the chance to come once more in the near future.
Letting out a “heh” sound without even opening his mouth, Hakuren smiled slyly and used his right hand to reach Lesley. His pointer finger gently rubbed up against the other’s neck, slowly reaching the chin where they underlay it for a moment before lightly making their way sideways, which was to his right and to their left. LaBelle’s skin was quite warm, so much one would think that the person had a fever, yet it could have also been that Hakuren’s hand was simply too cold. In this case, it was both, but more so the latter, for the nature of his power not only made him incapable of being affected by low temperatures, but also decreased his own. This being said, the young man’s touch could make you shiver just a bit. It was as if his hands had recently been rinsed with cold water, minus the wetness of course, yet it was not the same as his scepter, for it was bearable.
His hand now pressed against the left side of Lesley’s neck, he pushed himself upwards towards them, only to pass by their face and halt by their right ear. If this human of an uncertain orientation attempted anything ‘funny’, there was no reason to worry. With his right hand now exactly over the carotid artery, mere pressure could close it shut, block the path of a good portion of the blood meant for the brain, which in turn would cause dizziness, and a further shutting of the other artery, which was on the right side of the neck, could additionally lead to loss of consciousness and even death. Even without his magical abilities, he knew that he could murder this person easily in less than a minute in their earthly standards.
“Truth be told.” Hakuren whispered in Lesley’s ear.
“If you had enough holes, it would have been the latter. Since that’s not the case, I’ll ask you to move before I freeze a certain organ of yours.”In the midst of their heated conversation, a voice echoed through the forest, reaching their and a lot of other creatures’ ears. If memory served correctly, it belonged to no other than the flame-wielding newbie, Riley. From down in the undergrowth to the treetops above, critters stirred to life, jumping or flying away as quickly as possible. They had been frightened by this sudden disturbance in the serenity of their homeland and hurried to run away from potential danger. Indeed, regardless of where they went, humans could only bring harm to nature.
In response the two travelers looked away from each other and towards the spirited woods. Yet the riot of the shadows ended as quickly as it had begun and all became quiet once more. Remembering what dead silence had brought them not too long ago, the young man in the black coat realized that the dime would not turn in their favor.
Shortly after, a the sound of footsteps became audible. However, they were too heavy for a human or anything around that size. Far too noisy for a night predator. The closest thing they resembled were a bear’s, perhaps even Big Foot’s.
Luckily for Hakuren, Skittles took note of the red alert and stood up, even offering him a hand, which the ice wizard did not refuse. He did not feel disgusted by them, but he hoped this little incident would teach them a lesson not to mess with the wrong guy, otherwise his irritation would actually become visible and that rarely ended well for anybody.
The both of them now standing on their own feet, the duo did not utter a word. Leon was sitting nearby, absentmindedly looking up at the sky, not paying attention to anything that was happening around him. Before anyone had the chance to comment on the situation at hand, a war cry pierced the air.
“RAAAAAAAAAAGH!”What appeared was no other than Shrek’s evil Asian cousin on steroids. The sound of trees bending and falling shook the entire forest as it made its way towards the group. Everyone’s attention was instantly drawn towards the monster, which picked up a log and threw it at the three boys. All of them ducked out of the way and the object slammed into the trees behind them, making more of its brethren die out. Hitting its wooden shield with the hilt of its huge sword, the orc-like being attempted to intimidate the humans, for it was furios enough to enter battle without any questions.
Whilst this had been happening, Riley and Jasper had appeared from behind a couple of bushes, yet what was more important was that both Leon and Lesley had instantly ran to safety behind Hakuren, cowering in fright one behind the other. This put the green-blue-eyed youngster in an awkward position. Usually, the girls were supposed to cower behind the strong warriors. Instead of a cute helpless damsel in distress, he was stuck with two ridiculous ‘ladies’ who were using him as a shield. With a quick glance at the chicken and the puss’s amulets, both of them could fend for themselves perfectly fine. The liquid in his own had reached a hundred percent because of his rest. All of them were in perfect battle condition, yet those two pets were shivering like a leaf.
Lesley said
"Uh, I think it wants to fight.."
‘No celery, Clouseau.’
Leon said
[b]“Alright, now we’re gonna die. Unless you move away from that thing. Hakuren-san, I think your ballet skills will come in handy here, don’t you think?”[b]
“Put a rock in it, Feather” Hakuren hushed him between his teeth.
He was never truly the type to work in a big team out in the field like this. Usually, his place was high above, watching, directing, manipulating. Range was always required for a person such as himself, who could not stand long in a direct battle of brawns without brains. Such was his class type as well. Magicians needed distance to cast their spells, namely in order to avoid danger, due to their physical weakness. However, there was no meele character in their group. Each and every one of them was a mage. Considering the fact that his team was composed of two ‘handsome princesses’, a klumzy care bear and a reckless flame, Hakuren understood that someone had to bring some order around here and, unfortunately for everybody there, it was going to be him.
Standing roughly at 210 cm in height, the monster that was their enemy was heavily armored and equipped with a wooden shield and a gigantic sword capable of slicing trees like butter. In addition the many spikes on its attire; the long sharp claws on its feet and the elongated lower canine teeth that remained visible even when its mouth was closed, much like an upside-down version of a sabertooth tiger, contributed to its overall barbarian appearance. With a lot of body mass and perfectly formed muscles, it was obvious this being was either a tank or a warrior class. Even in an online game one could never be too sure who would prevail. Sometimes a meele type character could be overwhelmed by five mages, proving that there is power in numbers, yet in other instances the warrior could easily slash through all of them and more, proving that quality is better than quantity. In the end, it all depended on teamwork and dirty tricks.
Hakuren held his staff, which he had picked up prior to getting on his feet, in front him with one hand and smiled like any player interested in a challenge would. If they managed to pull this off correctly, maybe they had a chance against the dragon as well.
“Glacies...” he began by pointing his scepter at the orc, stopped briefly and continued
“Oh, whatever. Кучи студ!”With every swing of the object slashes of ice got sent at the beast. For something of its size, it dodged quickly, but with every step forward it made, it also had to move sideways and sometimes even back, in order to avoid getting frozen. As impressive as these attacks seemed, they were just for show and didn’t truly harness much power within them. They were an act set up by the magician, so that he could speak to his comrades, whilst keeping their opponent occupied.
“Leon.” he addressed the boy behind him.
“Gather dusts from the ground with your wind magic and send it at that thing’s eyes. Blind that fool so he can’t see us.” Obeying the old saying that a man’s body could become iron, but his eyes could not, this would definitely work, if Feather did as told.
“Riley-chan” Hakuren called out to the girl
“Build up enough power and fire multiple shots at the torso. Don’t aim for the head. You’re likely to miss. Lesley, go protect Jasper. She can’t do it herself. Oi, Bear!” last he spoke to the albino behind him, not even once looking behind his back during the entire monologue.
“Heal us up every now and then when you notice we’ve gone down to two thirds of our original amount.”“Everyone.” Hakuren said as a slash of ice finally managed to scratch the monster’s leg and it noticed that this attack was fake.
“Make a wish.” he grinned.
Already having captured the orc’s attention, Hakuren leapt forward and then quickly to the side, sending a couple of sharp ice pieces at the enemy. As much as he would have liked to sit up in a tree and make Hell fall on this thing’s head, someone had to play the role of distraction. Of course, he didn’t intend to do it for long. He would switch with Leon as soon as the blinding wind spell was done. However, for now he circled at a good distance around the monster, sending spear after spear of ice. Every now and then he would jump into the air and land on an ice step, in order to avoid an attack. There was no point in freezing the ground or create a garden of ice roses. If that thing could crush trees, a wall of ice would have to be quite thick to block it and creating one would take far too much effort and time, not to mention enjoyment.
