Re: Tension project

by **Atrum Furea** Sat Jan 25, 2014 3:04 am

"I did not expect you to get out of that, you're more agile than I gave you credit for." He said shaking his hand from the dull pain that he had inflicted upon it. He had to get her pinned if he wanted to win, he put a foot back and pushed forwards charging his opponent. He crossed the distance between them a bit slower than he had hoped to but his large stature made up for that his stride taking up more distance than the average person would have. He only had one spell that he could use at the moment, and he needed to be a bit closer if he wanted to use it properly. He preferred an up close and personal style anyways, much easier to fight your opponent the way you wanted when they were within arms reach.

"Here I come." He growled keeping his eye on the blade in her hand, throwing a punch aimed at the hilt of her weapon. He needed to separate her from it. Push her back and keep her from utilizing her advantages against him. The first was her sword, targeting it should put her off balance, just enough to pin her and remove her agility from the equation. He was prepared for a counter attack, his left first prepared to strike with the enhancement of the Mars Crash spell if she tried using the sword offensively. He needed some sort of weapon to use against those with blades as his hands could only do so much when facing a sword, he came into this fight without one he'd have to make due until the bout was over. He could feel time running out though their match would undoubtedly caught someone's attention by now. He predicted that he'd probably get in one more attack at the most before someone showed up to their show.

by **Kotone** Sat Jan 25, 2014 2:15 pm

Kotone brought up her hand to try and stop Atrum's attack on her sword, but unfortunately for her, the tactic was a success. She couldn't move quite fast enough at this point to stop him, and her sword soared into the air. As he grabbed her, her sword glinted in the sunlight and embedded itself in the ground a few feet away, where it disappeared as she stopped sustaining her spell. Kotone grabbed at his hand to try and break his grip, but she didn't have time to formulate a plan.

It was probably for the best, because at about that time, a small group of Paladins rounded the corner, spotting Kotone and Atrum. "Showtime," A disappointed Kotone told Atrum as she continued to make a show of struggling. She'd been so sure she could win the fight if it had been the real deal. Stupid Paladins getting in the way. The look she gave him said as much before she rolled her eyes. "Stupid guild wizards! Let go of me! You've got no right to tell me how to live!" She kicked at him halfheartedly, since she didn't want to actually make him let go at this point. She whispered to him as one of the men walked up to them. "Remember, follow and when you get a chance, break me and anyone else they've caught out."

"What's this? It seems you've caught the troublemaker!" the approaching guard informed Atrum with a smug look on his face. "Gave us a bit of trouble, she did. But we'll take it from here."

by **Atrum Furea** Sun Jan 26, 2014 12:27 am

Annoyance showed in his eyes at the interruption of the fight, unfortunately it was for the best. He'd rather fight Kotone when she was at full strength anyways, if he won this battle it would be a hollow victory. Definitely not one he could be proud of, that was to be sure. He turned his attention to Kotone as she flailed half heartedly against his grip. Well it seemed she could act as well, a skill that would serve her well. He wasn't sure if she would be able to fake being captured when they started but that seemed trivial then and it still did now. She was correct it was indeed showtime, might as well go all in with the performance.

"I don't care about your lifestyle miss, but causin' trouble around here like you did is my problem." Atrum stated switching his speech pattern with a bored look in his eye the soft smile almost gone from his face. To anyone who didn't know him this would probably be seen as an apathetic look. When the man walked up to them and kotone filled him in one last time Atrum gave her a soft smile and turned to talk to the guard as he took her off his hands. "You're tellin' me, I think she gave me a few new scars to show off. She doesn't like bein' cornered much at all." He said the polite tone in his voice entirely gone at this point, he didn't interact much with the guards of this town and didn't talk much overall they wouldn't remember how he talked later on. "You'll be takin' her off my hands then?" He asked giving a thoughtful look. "Aight well that's fair this is your job rather than mine anyways." He chuckled.

by **Kotone** Sun Jan 26, 2014 1:07 am

When the guard grabbed Kotone's arm, he cuffed her with the Magic Council's special magic-suppressing handcuffs. "You bastards won't get away with this!" she said, making a show of struggling, but not trying very hard to get away. "Yeah yeah, just shut up and come with us so we don't have to hurt you." The goon replied, yanking her towards the group.

The look in Kotone's eyes as she turned around to follow was one of pure rage. Even being her plan, it was humiliating to be captured by such weak fools. But she had to find out where they were keeping the guildless mages... and perhaps why they weren't following protocol as well.

They led Kotone through the streets, past onlookers and a few other Council guards who were on duty in various places, eventually stopping in front of what appeared to be a small storage building. Looking around as subtly as possible, she noted that the building had no windows. It was both convenient and obvious, now that she thought about it. Letting out a sigh, she grinned a fangy grin. "When I get out of here, you'll pay." She told them confidently as they shoved her inside, closing the door behind her.

It was dark, but her heightened senses allowed her to survey the room well enough. There was one other person here. "Hello. I'm Kotone. Kotone Hoshino. I was sent to rescue you," she told the figure. She could tell the figure was a young boy. Maybe twelve. The bastards had actually arrested a child! "B-but you're captured too," the boy stammered, pointing out the obvious. "Don't worry. There's a plan." she winked. Kotone tended to be nice to kids even if she wasn't to adults. She couldn't help but like them.

Kotone gave the boy a grin even though he couldn't see her, going over and giving him a quick, reassuring hug. She could practically smell his fear. Now she just had to wait for Fancy Pants to make his move. She just hoped he planned to make good on his word.

by **Atrum Furea** Sun Jan 26, 2014 2:25 am

Atrum waved off the guards as they took Kotone away feeling robbed, all things considered things had gone exactly as planned still his stomach had some sort of pressure on it almost like he needed to puke. He briefly thought about returning home and resting but he couldn't just leave Kotone after he had practically given her his word to help. He sighed and kicked at the ground annoyed and pulled his hat down so it's shadow covered his face. He followed the guards and kotone with his hands in his pocket not making much noise as he walked. He simply acted like he owned the place and no one gave him any trouble the guards that had taken his sparring partner hadn't even glanced in his direction since they left. He would've laughed if he wasn't trying to keep himself from attracting undue attention.

Getting in however was a bigger issue, he needed a distraction to get most of them out of his way as much as he would've loved to fight his way in he needed to make sure he could get Kotone and her friend out and not have the backlash fall on Fairy Tail. Not as easy as one would think but he thought he might have an idea, he just had to take a little bit to set it up. The large man grinned with his sharp teeth and went to go ask a favor of some of the locals.

"Come back here you!" Came the shout from the obviously angered guard as a group of kids ran from him pelting him with shots from sling shots and small spells. Atrum had only asked them to draw the guys out front away from the doors, they were having a lot more fun with it than he had expected. He made his way towards the power source of the building easy find these buildings were constructed under code they always had them in the same spot. He only had a minute or so before the guards returned to their posts, he had to work fast. He took The lacrima that served as the generator and removed it from it's place plunging the building into darkness.

"Right then, I am on my way Kotone." He spoke taking the magical generator with him on his way out.

by **Kotone** Sun Jan 26, 2014 2:40 am

Kotone would have really liked to have the use of her hands. Not to mention her magic. The mage cuffs were both uncomfortable and highly annoying. Oh well. She'd worry about that when Atrum arrived. "Why did they take us here?" Kotone asked the child as gently as possible. "Have you heard anything?"

"I dunno," the boy answered quietly. "The leader man said something about a deal with some man." Well that was vague, but Kotone didn't expect a lot from a scared child. It sounded like the captain was crooked and could make some money on wizards for some reason. She'd heard of some underground wizard groups who experimented on and with people's magic. Maybe it was one of those? She hardly thought the Council had done a good enough job going after the real criminals to waste their time on people like her or the boy.

Kotone got up, looking around. There were boxes everywhere, though she doubted any of them would be that useful if the Council was stashing mages in here on their captain's orders. "Come on, Atrum..." She mumbled impatiently. As she said this, she heard the guards run off shouting about some kids. This had to be it. Kotone got up, backing away from the door, telling the kid to do the same. "Looks like he's here." Kotone told the boy, her smile once again revealing her fangs as she anticipated her revenge.

by **Atrum Furea** Sun Jan 26, 2014 3:13 am

Atrum was definitely more at home in the dark than some of the men who had come to investigate what had gone wrong, his senses were far better than the average persons though probably not as good as a Dragon slayers he definitely wasn't to be taken lightly when it came to this sort of thing. He just had to find where she was being held, he could go after someone with a key but he had something to work with without a key if it came to it. The next step was simple the building wasn't really that big all things considered and with it pitch black like this he was able to move around practically invisible. he made his way to what he was sure was the cell and looking to see if any staff members were alone for him to nick a key from.

"Not one guard standing by himself," He grumbled not bothering to hide the amusement on his face. "You would almost think they were professionals or something." He chuckled walking up to what he was sure was the cell door, he pointed a finger at the doors handle. "Kotone if you are in there back away from the door I rather not burn you by accident." He said as he activated his dancing flame spell overcharging it so the entire door suddenly heated up with most of the heat focused on the lock. It took a bit maybe more but the locking mechanism was definitely no longer working. he grinned and brought his foot up slamming it against the door kicking it in. "Right then someone call for a Jail Break?" He asked shaking the flame from his hand.

"Arresting a kid seems just a tad bit out of character for the council officials does it not?" He asked looking over at her cell mate, he was sure his entrance did nothing to sooth the kids nerves. He looked a bit like a giant wild animal and was the size of a shaved bear. He hoped the kid could be quiet otherwise they might have their hands full once they realized he had broken in.

by **Kotone** Sun Jan 26, 2014 3:34 am

When the door burst open, Kotone positioned herself between the kid and the door in case something went amiss. She stood back up from her defensive-as-possible stance as Atrum made his entrance, grinning. "About time you showed up. It's not nice to make a girl wait, you know." She looked back and winked at the startled child. Walking forward, she listened for signs of the guards. It was certain they'd heard something, though it might take them a moment to figure out what it was in darkness like this.

She didn't have long, and was formulating a plan to both get a chance to vent some frustration and get the child out safely. She might need Atrum for both. She could take care of herself, but she wasn't sure she could guard herself and a kid from harm when they were treating him like a wanted criminal.

"Turns out their captain here is crooked. Someone wants wizards no one else is keeping track of for something." Kotone told Atrum this matter-of-factly, her tone changed to the one she normally had when she was focused on a mission. The child was silent, adding a nervous nod to Kotone's statement as he stuck close behind her. Turning around with her back to the man she barely knew, she added "Now get me out of these stupid things so I can knock some skulls in for being idiots."

by **Atrum Furea** Sun Jan 26, 2014 3:57 am

Atrum placed a hand on his chest and gave a small bow, smirking at Kotone's response. "My apologies, it shall not happen again." He said righting himself before going over to make sure they were more or less okay. He made a small growling noise when she told him that the captain was crooked, there was always something complicating things. If they had proof he could just go and beat the hell out of him it'd be a lot simpler. He gave her a look and could see the cogs in her head moving. This should be interesting, he thought to himself as he prepared his dancing flame spell again he was pushing his luck with the timer by this point.

"Right let me get these things off of you two." He said, as a small flame burst from his finger. "I can see these guys having a corrupted official, they are just a tad bit lazy should be easy to catch them by surprise." He chuckled as he burned through her cuffs. "Sorry if I Managed to burn you flames aren't easy to control." He said moving to get the kids cuffs, it took a second and he had them both free and ready to go. "Right you looked like you had a plan mind sharing?" He asked dusting himself off and adjusting the pack he had put on his back.

by **Kotone** Sun Jan 26, 2014 4:10 am

Kotone rubbed her wrists as the cuffs fell off. Maybe a slight tiny burn. Kotone already had a few from the earlier fight so it wasn't like it made a difference. She didn't mention it, however, when he apologized. "Actually I was just trying to decide what order to crack skulls in while we made our escape. Though I'd rather not put our friend here in danger." Kotone grinned at the boy again before looking around quickly.

"We don't have anything to prove the captain's a crook," she decided as footsteps grew closer. "I say we just get the kid out of town. You can talk to your GM to see how to get back at him and I'll keep the kid safe. Got it?" Finally, several Paladins stopped at the entryway. It may have been dark but that didn't mean they were clueless about the layout of the place. It probably didn't take much to see the still slightly glowing outline of where the door used to be either. Another charm of fire.

Kotone didn't have a lot of magic left after the day's events, but she doubted she would need much, if any, to beat up these bozos. Especially not with someone like Atrum assisting. "Halt!" they shouted, straining to make out the figures in the dark properly. It seemed they hadn't counted on a power outage. No one had any equipment to see in the dark. Good. Kotone grinned as she prepared to attack. It was time to get her revenge.

by **Atrum Furea** Sun Jan 26, 2014 4:52 am

Atrum cracked his knuckles and grinned, getting the kid out was a good idea to be honest. Today was just filled with the kind of excitement he was looking for, he planned on enjoying himself thoroughly. "Alright then. What are we waiting for? Let us get out of this place." He chuckled smashing his fists together, as he heard the approach of footsteps in the dark. Time to get to work then, he thought rolling his arms and stretching his muscles. He couldn't wait to butt some heads, these guys weren't that strong last he checked but there were more of them which made up for it. "Let us give them a show then, shall we?"

When the Paladins steeped in the doorway the light from the heated doorway illuminated their faces for Atrum to see just barely in the darkness of this stupid building. Still he had the advantage of it being so dark, they could only barely see into the room and he could be on them in a second. He briefly wondered why no one had any magic that allowed them to see in the dark but he was rather thankful he was the only one who could just produce light on demand. He took a chance and jumped on the one closest to him tackling him out of the doorway and into the hallway, propelled by his strength and size faster than they could react. Immediately he set about dragging his new punching bag into the darkness further down the halls, was trying to avoid using his magic if only to save it up for the harder fight he was sure was around the corner.

Atrum personally thought his chosen method was a bit tacky but the other paladin would be so distracted by him that he wouldn't be able to see Kotone coming until it was too late for him to do anything about it. He had a love for tatics like these he was sure Kotone would be able to see her opportunity and follow up on the attack.

by **Kotone** Sun Jan 26, 2014 5:13 am

Atrum dove after the Paladin, dragging him off into the dark without the use of magic. Kotone, for her part, didn't think she needed magic at the moment. She jumped at the distracted paladin, rewarding his lack of vigilance with a swift kick to the head. He thudded against the wall near Atrum, sliding down. It had only taken a single blow. She could see just fine in the near-darkness, and her sense of hearing and smell made up for whatever she lacked. There were more people around, and likely they had a way to see by now. At least they weren't so stupid.

Unfortunately for them, the paladins on this side would be down before they could do much to help at this rate. Kotone punched another paladin hard, easily dodging his mostly blind flail with his weapon. She disarmed him, following up with another punch that threw him to the ground. "Stay close, but don't get too close to them," Kotone instructed the boy as she lept away and countered a third grunt. None of these seemed to have magic. At least not any that was useful in this situation. The Magnolian Council guards seemed to be entirely too reliant on their new antimagic cuffs they'd been given. The stronger ones were probably around the corner though. She'd be ready for them too, and actually looked forward to seeing them. It was great how therapeutic beating on people she hated could be. She was actually in a pretty good mood again, given the situation.

by **Atrum Furea** Sun Jan 26, 2014 8:51 am

Atrum picked up the Paladin he had taken down and chucked his body over Kotone's head and into the new grunt that had come to investigate. Today would be a very bad day for him, Atrum thought as he felt parts of him protesting to the heavy lifting. The beating Kotone gave him was still affecting him he could still fight without any trouble but just because he could ignore the pain she had inflicted didn't mean it went away. Hells she hit harder than he had thought, he needed to fight some more the get his mind off the disappointment from having their fight interrupted even if it was the plan. He cracked his neck and strode forwards stretching his arms out getting ready for a brawl.

"You ready for some more fun then, Kotone Hoshino?" He asked smashing his fists together, as some more paladins rounded the courner. Atrum threw a punch as soon as he saw a target being surprised to find on fast on his feet as he ducked to the side and ran past him. "Blazing Hells." He cursed defending himself from his partners attack, it was like a mirror of what they had pulled off not a minute ago except now it was a straight up fight. "It does appear that I have a strong one on my hands. This should be enjoyable." He grinned throwing himself at his new opponent. "I shall enjoy taking you apart."

by **Kotone** Sun Jan 26, 2014 1:05 pm

"I'm always ready," Kotone told him in a strangely chipper voice. It seemed the guards who had arrived this time actually had the magic. Unfortunately for the one that wasn't fighting Atrum, he seemed to be an ice wizard. As he hurled his magic at Kotone, she easily devoured it, feeling even better because of the regenerative effect it had. "You picked the wrong girl to mess with, bub." She told him as she wiped her mouth off as if she'd just taken a big, long drink.

Apparently they didn't know much about dragon slayers. That or they just hadn't known who she was despite earlier boasting. Either way, a punch to the gut sent the ice user to his knees Three other wizards had just rounded the corner, and Kotone was prepared to deal with all three at once. "Ice Dragon Roar!" she shouted, catching all three of them with her arctic blast. A combination of cold and the impact it brought caused them to stagger and slowly fall, unable to remain standing in the face of her strongest attack.

Behind her, the Paladin she had punched had gotten up, and thwacked her in the back of the head as hard as he could with her baton. She'd thought he was down, and was taken by surprise. She stumbled forward, her vision momentarily blurry, though she didn't fall. She turned around, a frown on her face. "You bastard." She spat, kneeing him in the stomach again as she recovered faster than he'd expected before elbowing him in the back of the head as he doubled over, this time out cold.

"When you have a spare moment... we should probably make our way out of here." Kotone told Atrum as if she were suggesting they take a walk rather than them fighting for their lives.

MP 95/200:

MP: 70/200:

by **Atrum Furea** Mon Jan 27, 2014 9:13 am

Atrum jerked his head to the side striding forwards so the paladins club slapped down harmlessly on his shoulder, Atrum grinned and grabbed the man’s arm keeping it from moving from its resting place. He punched the back of the man’s elbow, there was a satisfying crack as his arm became useless. Atrum gave the man a smile and pushed him into the oncoming storm that was the Ice Dragon’s Roar. He dusted his hands clapping them together grinning. As he stood back up regardless of the injuries he had just sustained, Atrum chuckled to himself and took a few steps toward him.

“That was rather impressive, Let us proceed.” He grinned pulling his hat down as the man raised his one good arm in his direction. Atrum blinked as there was a flash of light temporarily blinding him, though the more pressing concerning being the impact on his stomach causing him to bend forwards and slid backwards a foot. Atrum stood there unmoving as the man approached him looking rather happy with himself, and that was definitely a lighting attack hurt pretty bad too.

“Got you that time, big guy.” He said chuckling at Atrum expense. “You got me pretty good though.”

“Of course I did.” Atrum chuckled standing upright, grinning pulling his hat over his eyes as his left arm became suddenly engulfed in flames. “I told you did I not? That I would take you apart?" Atrum grabbed his opponents face and pushed him against the wall and drew his fist back. The determined man in his grip grabbed his hand and casted another spell flowing lighting into the giant pinning him down. “Grrr, Mar’s Crash!” He shouted throwing his left flaming fist into the man’s head, the spell detonating and the explosion reaching out a full meter around the point of impact. Atrum shook himself and turned to Kotone as she addressed him. “ Of course you are correct, the place is not actually that large… But I’m sure they have the place locked down by now.”

Atrum picked the bag he dropped and pulled out the power Lacrima to the building. “However, there’s always a backdoor.” He said grinning.

Mp:

by **Kotone** Mon Jan 27, 2014 10:32 am

Kotone finished off her small group of goons as Atrum took out their stronger partner, clapping her hands together as if to remove dust from them. "Heh," was her only remark at this point. She was panting. It had been awhile since she'd had to work this hard. If it hadn't been for Atrum she would have had a lot more energy at this point. Ah well. It couldn't be helped now.

Atrum turned, pulling a power lacrima out of his bag. Probably the one that had been powering this building, if Kotone were to hazard a guess. She wiped her hand on her sweaty forehead, brushing aside the long hair that had stuck to her face. "So, you kept it eh? I take it you have a plan then?" She asked him in an impatient tone, hearing the Council guards saying something about preparing to enter in force. She didn't have the energy left to take all of them, and she doubted Atrum did either, despite how he acted.

The child scooted closer to the tired dragon slayer now that the fighting had stopped temporarily. "What's your name, kid?" she asked the boy. "Grant," he answered, eyeing the guards on the floor. "Well, grant, don't worry. You're in good hands. We'll have you out of here in no time." She walked closer to the boy and ruffled his hair gently to reassure him. Kotone planned to escape the town for awhile and hide nearby until things calmed down. She would return Grant to town and let Fairy Tail take care of him once she was sure they wouldn't beat down the guild's door to get to him.

She could take care of a kid for a day or two, until Fairy Tail dealt with the corruption problem. She wished she could, but she knew that a guildless wizard doing this would only look worse for Magnolia, and despite being independent she was fond of Fairy Tail. Not that she'd ever tell them that. Once they were done taking care of the mess, she'd drop him off at the guild hall where he would be taken care of until this whole thing passed.

by **Atrum Furea** Mon Jan 27, 2014 1:32 pm

Atrum chuckled tossing the thing up and down in his hand, he did indeed have a plan. He gave Kotone a smirk and turned towards the entrance. They only had a little bit before they got swarmed by paladins which meant he only had a little bit to think this through. That wouldn’t be much fun though, he thought to himself grinning as he spun the power supply. He set it down and ushered Kotone and the kid away from the hallway. Paused a moment to toss the knocked out grunts closer to the entrance, had to give them a fighting chance. “Alright we don’t have much time, there is a back door down that way that we shall be able to make proper use of. “ He said, picking up the orb and feeling the wear of the days events finally hitting him. “I love multi-purpose Lacrima.” He chuckled, tossing the magical item into the air.

“Thunderous flame!” He shouted, as a bolt of lighting impersonating flame shot from his fingers into the lacrima the item stopping mid-air and absorbing the spell. Atrum blink and started backing away slowly from the power source the smirk still on his face. “Things are going to get exciting here.” He chuckled turning towards where they could get out of the building. He ran towards Kotone and Grant, they may have just over stayed their welcome. “We should be running.” He stated a gleeful look on his face, as he looked back to see the paladins breaking in. They charged down the hallways towards the now flame based lacrima and were met with a hail of his Thunderous Flame spells. It was definitely tiring setting it up but damn if he wasn’t proud of the results.

Atrum liked to think himself a clever man, and in some ways he definitely was. This was probably the best he had done on the fly with little time to spare. He had store a lot of his own spells in that thing and used the last one to set the entire bundle off. If the Lacrima wasn’t specifically designed to hold and release magical power he probably would’ve wasted his magical power. He might have over done it as well as he was pretty sure the building was now burning. Set ablaze by the spells he had jammed into that thing.

MP: 50/200:

by **Kotone** Mon Jan 27, 2014 2:24 pm

As the lacrima rained the strangely electric-seeming fire magic on the Paladins rushing in, Kotone took Grant's hand and scrambled away from the spell at just about the time Atrum said they should be running. She was pretty sure the lacrima wasn't designed to hold fire-based magic. Things might get even more explosive than they already were... and yes, things were already on fire. She could smell the building burning, and it wasn't pleasant. Ah well, at least the bastards were getting punished for being sheep to this captain guy.

As they rounded another corner, Kotone resummoned her sword, slashing at the pair of guards who had been trying to sneak up on them from the back. as they sprawled to the floor, she didn't miss a beat and kept going. "So," Kotone looked back at Atrum with a grin. "Think you can still beat me? You look even more tired than me at this point." She was teasing, both because they had no time to finish their bout and because she was still convinced she would have won. Kotone had regained a lot of her energy when she'd eaten the spell, and was currently sitting a little better than Atrum. Without it, she would have been even closer to his level. Still, she was sweating and exhausted from the mission, and needed to find a place to rest. She couldn't use all of her energy if she was going to protect a child.

MP 60/200:

by **Atrum Furea** Mon Jan 27, 2014 3:59 pm

Atrum smirked at Kotone, in high spirits despite his condition. He was sure that dragon slayers enjoyed plenty of health benefits he was just going to miss out on, but he was sure that his chances of losing their match were nil considering the handicap she had. “Geh heh. Turnabout’s fair play, if you ask me.” He retorted, when this was over he was going to eat and sleep which would top off this perfect day. “Thinking isn’t a part of fight. You either fight to win, or you fight to not lose.” He chuckled, breathing out his stress flowing out of him. They needed to find a place to rest up and hide out for a bit before doing anything else. Atrum had just recently gotten used to the town, he knew a few places they could hang out before returning to the guild.

“Here, follow me there is a store nearby that makes some rather delicious food. We can hide out there and rest a bit. Maybe get something to eat as well.” He said motioning for them to follow him, pausing only for a second due to his injuries. He growled annoyed at the sensation, he overdid it a bit with that lacrima trick. He was probably going to get an earful for causing as much damage as he did, that would be an annoying. “Well I may not be exactly at full fighting form, but I am no less dangerous for it just because I’m a bit worn.” He chuckled more to himself than anyone else, he shook himself to get his head back into place. He pushed his discomfort to the back of his mind, he had a job to do and there wasn’t any time to waste.

by **Kotone** Mon Jan 27, 2014 5:05 pm

"Maybe not, but I'm like a cornered wolf. The more hopeless it is the harder I fight," Kotone retorted to Atrum's last statement. She had fallen back slightly to follow him to the place where he had in mind. "You have to go with your gut when fighting. Thinking takes too long and you get yourself hurt." She agreed after answering his retort. Up ahead she could see their exit. With all of the paladins rushing to help those who were caught in the fire there wouldn't be very many to fight on this side. Though she couldn't tell how many she would have to face with the smoke blocking her sense of smell from working so well.

As they burst outside, there was nearly half a dozen guards still waiting for them. Not as bad as it could have been but it could have also been a lot worse. Kotone planted a boot in the nearest one's face, grabbing the hair of another and dragging his face down into the hard ground as well before rolling back to her feet to avoid the retaliation. She slashed with her sword, causing a few deep cuts to appear on the third who had attacked her as he fell to the ground in pain. The sword was draining her remaining energy though, and she slammed it into the shoulder fabric of one of the guards on the ground as he started to get up. He dropped again out of fear, though the sword dispersed after a moment and she placed a foot on his back while Atrum took care of his new friends.

MP 55/100 sustain Frostborn; end frostborn at the end of the post.

by **Atrum Furea** Tue Jan 28, 2014 11:27 am

Atrum rushed towards two of the grunt grabbing at their faces and slammed them into each other attempting to get a quick knock out. Unfortunately either he was more worn out than he thought or these guys were a bit tougher than he had expected. Either way they didn’t go down from his attack and tried a counter attack. Atrum didn’t dodge, not that he couldn’t, nor was it that it did not hurt him either. It was just that he was beyond caring about their attacks, beating these guys had lost its charm and now he only saw them as obstacles. He grabbed the first one and hip checked the second shoving him back so he had a second to deal with the first. He brought up and hand and smacked it against the man’s throat closing off the airway just long enough for him to pass out, and tossed him at his friend. While the still conscious guard was pinned under his ally Atrum walked over and grabbed his head knocking it against the ground leaving him unconscious.

“Right, I’d say that was fun but that would make me a filthy liar. Fighting these men is beginning to become tedious.” He said cracking his fingers, he had an annoyed look in his eyes that did not reach the smile on his face. “I was under the impression that the council employed competent fighters, Or maybe it is simply that we are too strong for them.” He mused, he decided that it didn’t matter anyways those that had been defeated here would probably be better for it later. That is if they stayed with their profession afterwards.

by **Kotone** Tue Jan 28, 2014 12:23 pm

Kotone finally bent over to lean on her knees as the last of the nearby guards were disposed of. "Nah. They save the strong ones for more important things. These are just their lackeys." After a moment, she stood up straighter again, letting out a deep breath. "I think we've taken care of any that will be a problem. Care to take me to that fancy dinner you were talking about?" Kotone teased Atrum with a wink.

It was time for them to rest. They were strong, but even they needed to rest when they fought through nearly two dozen people. Atrum's spoken thoughts were right though. It was getting old quick. That fire had drawn nearly every guard in town. But now they'd be fighting the fire more than looking for them, at least. And once they'd rested, Kotone was sure they could sort everything out.

They'd caused more trouble than she'd meant to. But at least it would be blamed on her rather than Fairy Tail. She didn't give a crap what the Council thought of her though. At least more innocent people wouldn't be targeted for her escape. They were doing enough of that already, she thought dryly to herself as she awaited Atrum's response.

by **Atrum Furea** Tue Jan 28, 2014 1:46 pm

Atrum smirked at her teasing, and gave her a small bow. “Why yes, I believe we have had enough excitement for now.” He spoke giving Kotone and Grant an earnest smile. Today had been worth it, battles, intrigue, next up was food. “It is a short walk from here, and the authorities will be too busy dealing with our parting gift to search the local shops until later.” He said, leading them away from the burning prison building and towards the place he had mentioned earlier. The walk there wasn’t long, as he had said the place was definitely nearby. It was lucky for them that it was, as there seemed to be a few straggler guards that had not yet reached the commotion they had caused. He lead the two guildless wizards through the streets until they reached a small two story building without any distinctive markings upon it. The Building could be easily mistaken for a simple living abode for it plainness, and in truth It was what Atrum liked about the place.

“Welcome to ‘The Crossroads’.” He said opening the door to let them in. “The only place where you can find decent food, maybe a sparring partner or two and not get ambushed and stabbed for your efforts.” He said a joking tone to his voice, it was a bit obvious he was only half joking. Inside was a simple set up of chairs and tables, a standard bar to the side of the room. In the back was a small shop selling meds and other goods. “They could probably benefit from a better name though.” He said smirking to himself, as he thought of the implications of the name to himself. “So where would you like to sit?” He asked the sensation of hunger gnawing at him even more now that food was nearby. Well at least he’d get to eat.

by **Kotone** Tue Jan 28, 2014 7:27 pm

Kotone walked over to a seat in the opposite corner of the establishment. As she took off, she turned around with a tired grin. "You're such a gentleman," she teased, fully aware of both how he acted in a fight and the fact that they were both battered from several fights. As she sat down, her twelve year old charge took a seat beside her quietly, looking worn out from the day's events. Kotone looked back at Atrum once she was settled. "Now, what's good to eat in this place? I'm starving."

Kotone's appetite was much bigger than a girl her size normally had. Maybe it was her dragon slayer magic. No one had explained it to her and she'd never asked. She was just set on finding something she could devour. maybe several bowls of something. Or a horse. Nah, she didn't want to eat a horse. They never looked tasty. Sweat dripped off her forehead as she sat there, recovering from the day's events. She could pass out right here and be perfectly happy. But first... food! Kotone's stomach growled embarrassingly loudly. She grinned a slight grin that suggested she was a bit embarrassed by it, which was strange despite her general lack of manners.

by **Atrum Furea** Wed Jan 29, 2014 8:26 am

“Thank you.” He responded simply. “The cooks are very good at what they do. I can not say that I have ever disliked anything that they have ever cooked for me in the time I have been in Magnolia.” He said smiling as he considered what he wanted to eat. He chuckled to himself as he made his decision on what he wanted. “Honestly I am just going to tell them to make me pretty much everything they have, I eat more than a normal person anyways so it is not a bit of trouble on me if I order a lot of food.” He said shrugging, there were three of them anyways he was sure they could finish a huge meal by themselves. “Now would be the time to tell me if you have any allergies so I can black list them before they make our meal.” He said waving over one of the employees.

“Welcome to the Crossroads Atrum, the usual I assume?” The man said causing Atrum to shake his head in disagreement. He had others to think about after all and the usual wouldn’t even fill him up in his current state. Better to grab as much as he could while he had the chance, he wondered how much the kid could eat.

“Not this time I have brought guests and could use a bit more than what I normally eat.” He responded simply, he only got something other than his usual after he had been in a fight. He gave the man a polite smile, as employee gave the group a small nod in response. “As much as you can manage for me if you please.” Atrum felt his stomach growled, he was going to enjoy eating his fill.

“Ah, I see. That makes sense.” He said as he took Atrum’s order, causing the giant man to look around. The place seemed a bit more empty than normal, he guessed their commotion drew some of the patrons away as well. He was definitely going to get an earful from someone for this later down the line.

by **Kotone** Wed Jan 29, 2014 11:06 am

Kotone simply waved her hand nonchalantly as she relaxed when Atrum told her to tell him about any Allergies. Grant had already passed out at the table, apparently more tired than hungry. Kotone didn't have the heart to wake the boy. It suited her fine anyway. Kids had a way of censoring how she acted, and even if she liked him it could be a bit inconvenient. "As much as he can manage, huh?" Kotone asked as Atrum looked around. "You're big but not whole restaurant big. Unless your real secret is that you break down food into fuel for your flame magic," she joked, though she was probably as hungry as he was. She looked at the waiter. "I'll have what he's having."

The waiter looked surprised, to say the least. Have what he was having? She was so much smaller! Could a child afford this much?! It was like she could hear what he must be thinking. She couldn't of course, but that was what she imagined. It made her grin a knowing grin at Atrum as the waiter scrambled off to start their orders. It would take awhile to cook that much. "At least it'll make up for their lack of customers today," she shrugged.

Before long, she was brought a glass of water, which she was rather glad to have. Placing her hand on the glass, it frosted over like a mug of root beer. She never failed to appreciate the little things she could do with ice magic. Taking a drink of the extra chilled water, she let out a contented sigh, leaning back and letting her head fall back for a moment.

"So how does a guy like you join a guild like Fairy Tail anyway?" she asked curiously, raising her head again. "No wait scratch that. How does Fairy Tail attract so many strange people?" She actually meant to ask both questions, but the second one was even more entertaining to ask. She was pretty sure there wasn't a normal person in Fairy Tail. It was probably why it was her favorite of the guilds.

by **Atrum Furea** Wed Jan 29, 2014 2:17 pm

Atrum chuckled drawing a chair for him to sit down, getting comfortable at his seat. “No I just eat more food in general. Something about my body means I need a larger food intake to operate like normal.” He replied to her joke with a smile on his face, he didn’t talk about it unless mentioned. He didn’t really understand the specifics of it, and honestly didn’t care. To him it was just another thing he had to deal with, more of an inconvenience than anything else. He was more interested in her order, she had basically declared a kings feast of this little outing. He sighed and knew that he would be doing work for this place later on to pay for this meal but whatever he didn’t mind helping out the Crossroads.

He took up his glass of water when it was brought to him and raised it above his head before taking a drink. He sighed as Kotone asked him about his past and the Fairy Tail guild in general, he didn’t really think of the past but she did ask it would be a shame not to fill her in. He cracked his neck and smiled, feeling pretty okay with sharing. “Well you did ask and it might help me explain your second question.” He chuckled, taking another drink from his cup. “I ended up joining Fairy Tail some years back when my family fled our home country before that war ended.” He said shrugging; he wasn’t interested in that part of his life and wasn't sure what to say concerning it. "Until then my entire family had been running for our lives, kicked out of our home by an enemy we didn't understand and then running here in the middle of a war? We must have had the luck on our side to survive it all." He frowned for the first time in a long time. "I was sick of running and this place was our new home so I joined Fairy Tail and I fought."

“On the subject of Fairy Tail, I am not sure what to tell you. There could be plenty of explanations. ‘Bird of a feather.’ ‘Like minded individuals.’ Honestly I have no idea what truly draws people to this little corner of Fiore, if you want my opinion that I can give.“ He said finishing off his water, before giving Kotone a smile and continuing. “Many guilds are essentially extended family, but I feel like there is definitely something deeper when it comes to Fairy Tail. I mean even among family you tend to be scared when your life is in danger, but among my guild mates that fear does not exist.” The smile on his face turned to a grin.

“It is almost as if the guild itself is sentient and calling to those who belong, though that just might be the speculation of a foreigner trying to make sense of the local phenomenon.” He said as leaning back in his chair, the grin changing into a cock sure smirk. “Or, and I would find it much more interesting if it were true, that Fairy Tail is simply the proper result of people coming together. Not for a cause, we have no overall goal. Not because we are all the same, we are all different from each other. Just people, joining together despite not having any real reason to do so. If you ask me that might be our guild’s secret to getting all these ‘strange people.’” He said shaking his empty cup too keep his hands busy while he waited.

by **Kotone** Wed Jan 29, 2014 2:57 pm

The teenage girl might not have looked it when he spoke, but she was actually rather curious about Fairy Tail. No, she wasn't going to join it for multiple reasons, including both that she was tired of being abandoned by 'family' after twice in her life and the fact that she often did things that would reflect badly even on Fairy Tail, and had enough respect for it's Guild Master to not want to get his little guild in more trouble than he already did. There was just something about the place that was different. She'd visited them all since she started traveling at eight years old. She figured he probably had a point though, with his guessing. It was very accepting of even the most different and strange people. So long as they weren't truly bad people.

"I suppose I stick around a bit when I come here. Though I usually overstay my welcome and get in a bit of trouble," Kotone admitted, grinning as if she were proud of driving Ranor Taiga and his Ace completely insane. She actually probably knew Ranor better than most guild members did. Which was funny considering they'd only met a few times. "Perhaps it does have some sort of spooky magical draw," Kotone grinned mischievously, "Or curse." she added the second one because of her own outlook on joining a bunch of misfits who would insist she pretend they were her family.

Kotone ruffled the sleeping child's hair gently with a grin, before she recalled people often wanted to know about dragon slayers, and didn't want him thinking her asking made it fair game. "I expect you'd probably be interested in me as well, since I asked you?" she decided, leaning back and throwing her feet on the table despite the obvious rudeness of doing so. It wasn't like there was anyone here anyway. "But I'm afraid there's not much to tell. It usually ends up sounding like some sort of sob story when I tell it in my head and I'm not looking for your pity."

Kotone hadn't explained to anyone about her life with Krendall the ice dragon, nor had she ever felt the need to give the harsh truths of a young girl caught up in a war over the more romantic stories people told. All in all, her life - her real one - was a complete mystery. The very beginning of it was even a mystery to her. Her arms were crossed again, as they often were, once again giving off the attitude of wanting to be independent and aloof, despite her being more social with him than most people she talked to. Not to mention less rude. Rude kept people a safe distance away, which suited the dragon slayer just fine. She wasn't a fan of people in general to begin with.

by Sponsored content