A Song of Fire and Ice

[Raven Flametongue]

Midday. It was the perfect time to be out and about, chasing criminals and other nefarious, scheming people that sought only to cause trouble. Which was exactly what Raven was doing. A local crook had caused trouble in the wrong restaurant and was now running. Running, running, running... and sweating. And so Raven was pursuing at a calmer pace.

This had, of course, led him a fair bit over Cerulean town. There had been some overturned shops, stacks of crates knocked over, and just in general people disrupted. But Raven knew better than to use his magic in those places. It would only make the situation worse. ...And worse is what he didn't want.

Finally, the fool made a slip up. He ran into a dead end. there was no way to climb out, and the only way out of the alleyway was through Raven. Now what Raven didn't know was that this man had a bounty. And that he was hunted by another. He also didn't realize he looked like he was about to assault an innocent man. "Surrender."

[Kotone]

Kotone had been chasing what sounded like a runaway thief around town. She'd started late enough that she was still trying to catch up, and hadn't actually spotted the criminal yet. She passed overturned stands and crates, and people trying to pick up the pieces of other broken objects from the crook's rampage. She was running. After all, she had to keep up.

That was when she saw it. The crook in an imposing leather jacket preparing to mug someone else in an alleyway. She stopped behind him at the entrance to the alleyway, assuming a 'cool' posture with her hands in her jacket pockets. The situation was pretty obvious. The thief had cornered an innocent man, on a high from his previous success, and was about to mug him. Kotone aimed to stop that.

"Sorry, Red," she started, looking at the thief with an unconcerned stare. "Looks like your luck's just run out." Kotone's glare intensified as she waited for him to turn around. She could tell from his looks that he was trouble. "Because I'm going to put an end to your thieving ways."

Kotone's legs shifted into more of a fighting stance, though her hands never left her jacket pockets. Common thieves wouldn't be much of a challenge, so why treat this like a real fight?

[Raven Flametongue]

"...You..." He turned around to see a girl standing behind him. He wouldn't have paid her much mind except there was a familiar air about her. Something about her sent, and the presence she gave off was vaguely familiar. But she didn't look familiar. Nor did he remember meeting her before.

"You think I'm with him?" Raven's response this time was less confused and lost. Thankfully, in part, to the fact he was now focused on her and not his thoughts. He jerked his thumb back at the man behind him.

"Because if that's the case you're sorely mistaken little girl," He said shaking his head slowly. She was smaller, both in height and frame than he was. So, in his mind, he was justified in saying that she was little.

"...Unless..." an idea dawned on him. She could be purposely mistaking him for the thief to try and frame him. In which case he was walking into a not so elaborate, but highly effective trap. "You're the one working with him. In which case I won't hesitate to take you down either."

[Kotone]

"Little?!" Kotone exclaimed angrily, already set off by this man's words. Not only was he stealing things, but he was insulting her height compared to his. And she wasn't even short for her age! "I am not little you jerk!"

Kotone recovered reasonably quickly after the outburst though, and resumed trying to act cool. She crossed her arms and adopted what she considered a more 'heroic' expression. "And I don't need to work with someone else to take out a jerk like you. We can do this the easy way or the hard way. And you make me hope you choose hard."

The air around kotone started to cool down as she let her magic bleed from her. lines of frost appeared on the ground and the alley walls near her, and she relaxed a little more as she prepared to fight the man. She could practically smell the burning smell the man gave off. He was a fire wizard, or at least a pyromaniac of some sort. It didn't matter. She'd fought fire users before. She would win.

"I recommend you give up now. Otherwise I might enjoy beating an apology out of you for calling me a little girl," she told him, flashing a cocky grin at the red-haired punk in the leather jacket. Sid jumped out of her backpack, diving for cover. He knew what was coming next.

[Raven Flametongue]

"Well, aren't you the little ball of fire," Raven rolled his eyes before grinning. She was pretty eager for a fight it seemed. Well, that was of little consequence to Raven. He had a crook to catch, and if she wanted to stand in his way then so be it. Then he noticed the ice forming in the area. So... she was strong enough to freeze the air around her just by flexing her magic? Well... that made things a little more interesting.

"The hard way..." Raven said quietly as flames began to dance off his body. He took his leather jacket off and hung it off a nearby lamp post. Then when he punched his left fist into his open right palm, the flames completely enveloped his body. His eyes danced with excitement as he stood like that. "Sounds like a lot of fun!"

"You must mistake me for someone who loses," Raven said as the man they'd both been chasing huddled in a little corner, looking on in terror. Raven took a step forward, lowering both hands down slightly, and balling them both into fists. The air around him whipped around a little bit as the air he heated rose upwards, letting cooler air blow in. "Make me eat my words. If you can that is."

[Kotone]

Kotone only grinned her cocky grin at the fire wizard in front of her as he showed off his own fire magic a bit. He was certainly stronger than the average fire user she fought. But Kotone was no mere ice wizard either. She was the ice dragon slayer, and a little heat wasn’t going to melt her. No way. “When I’m through with you you’ll be sorry we ever crossed paths. Now, let's see if there's any skill to go with that pretty face,” She told him cockily as she launched herself at him. She was pretty fast, though not magically augmented in any way.

The man in the corner slowly started inching out of his corner and towards the other end of the alleyway, but Kotone paid him no mind at this point. The candle man in front of her was going to pay for suggesting she was some weak little girl. Kotone threw a simple punch at the man, followed by a kick to his side before backing off enough to try and defend from his return assault, if at all possible. Kotone was an experienced fighter, though she was fighting her elemental weakness, regardless of what her general level of confidence thought. She wasn’t just going to use ice spells until she saw an opening.

[Raven Flametongue]

Kotone's comment only riled Raven up further. She wasn't bad looking as far as girls went. But that was something in the back of his mind. Right now he was facing an opponent willing to face his power head on. Not only that, but they were strong too. There was a familiar scent about her, and it confused him. The echo of a promise made many years ago came to mind for a brief moment, but then he shook his head slowly. He needed to focus on the fight. Such focus meant that he was already ignoring the man he'd been after. He also ignored the fact that such a fight in the middle of a city might draw the Magic Council's attention towards them.

When she came in with her attacks, Raven was mildly surprised. He'd expected magic right off the bat. Well, two could play at that game. He took a more ready stance as she charged, spreading his legs slightly and bringing his arms up to about his chest's level. He held his arms loosely so it would be easy to move and grinned. He caught the punch in his left hand, and her kick in his right. Because of how worked up he was, his hands were burning hot. Not quite enough to cause even a first degree burn. But no doubt Kotone was more sensitive to heat. “What's the matter? Trying to warm up?”

[Kotone]

Whatever caused Raven to shake his head was missed by the hotheaded ice dragon slayer as she assaulted him with the first round of strikes. Her hand was caught, then her leg, but she was hardly defenseless. She was also in battle mode, and didn’t take the time to return Raven’s quips. She had been hardened in a real war, and she took fights seriously when she fought people she considered dangerous. Raven was dangerous. Despite her serious fighting mentality, she did grin slightly rightbefore spitting a bullet of hail straight at Raven’s face point-blank before spinning enough to use her free leg to kick Raven as hard as she could and pull free in a nearly simultaneous motion.

She managed to pull free regardless of what Raven did in response to the kick, tumbling a bit and landing in a crouch on her feet. Her ponytail blew around in front of her her as she slid back back, then she resumed her attack again. This time, she feinted a punch to his gut right before dropping down and trying to sweep Raven off of his feet. If she was successful, she would pop up rather quickly, attempting to pin Raven down despite her smaller stature. She was stronger than she looked, after all, and took advantage of that fact.

[Raven Flametongue]

Her countenance had changed. Before, she was burning bright, fueled by passion and anger. But Raven could tell that had changed a little. She was taking it more seriously... he could tell by the look on her face. Which meant he also needed to buckle down. That was something he could do... It was getting real fun now.

He was then greeted with a face full of hail. This blinded him for a moment, though he did instinctively raise his arm to his face as he stepped back. This acted to soften the blow from her kick that made him spin around.

He moved to block with his hand, falling for the feint. However, his reactions were fast. Extremely fast compared to a normal human. But he was no human. His legs were swept out from under him, but instead of falling on his back he caught himself on his hands. He could see her trying to grab him and sprang off his hands, landing a couple feet away.

He then decided to press forward. She would likely have recovered by the time he attacked, but he was larger and stronger. And there was a surprising amount of speed behind his punch. He tried for a left hook, but kept his right hand low and loose, ready to catch an attack.

[Kotone]

Kotone’s attacks were more successful than expected, really. She couldn’t help but be proud of herself for that. Not that she was worried she would lose to this fire-using chump. Elemental advantages meant nothing if the opponent wasn’t as good as you. Kotone was sure she was better beyond a doubt. Unfortunately, though, Raven’s recovery and attack were faster and harder than she’d expected, even from a man his size. Apparently they were both unnaturally strong. Kotone managed to catch his punch, punching back herself, only to have her own punch caught in his free hand. It was a stalemate that round.

Kotone grinned a fangy grin, not even close to being ready to call this a stalemate for long. “Ice dragon roar!” she cried, attacking him point blank in the face with a blast of unnaturally cold energy. It often left a coat of frost on her foes and slowed them down because of the numbness it caused. As she hit him, she didn’t let go or try to pull away, instead, she kicked at his stomach as well, trying to get in whatever hits she could while still holding onto her opponent’s fist. Kotone liked being on the offensive, and she wasn’t going to stop unless she had to.

MP 175/200:

[Raven Flametongue]

Raven was grinning. This kind of fun didn't happen every day. Not for Raven at least. So he was going to enjoy it while he could. He just hoped she didn't break before he was done. That would be a shame... Or so he was thinking when their fists were locked as they were. She'd actually caught his punch. That amused him. What didn't however, is what followed.

"W-what!?" Raven was taken by surprise. But the energy was there... that was Dragon slayer magic! In his surprise he pulled into his own magic. Flames shot up covering his body, barely covering him before the blast of ice hit him. The deep cold hitting a sudden surge of heat caused the ice spell to explode around them... But Raven didn't let go of her even as she kicked his shield. What neither of them saw, was the corner of the building that had gotten grazed by the blast of ice. Which was now frozen and missing chunks.

He grinned widely, even as the flames dissipated. He couldn't see her face however, and the impact had forced him back a step, which he made into a backwards stomp. The lack of visibility didn't stop him from trying his next move. A circle formed under Raven's feet, and he pulled Kotone towards him into the circle... which promptly exploded after Raven spoke. "Boom."

190/200 MP:

180/200 MP:

[Kotone]

“Boom.” Kotone felt an explosion of fire begin to erupt around her. Even as it did, a dome of ice encircled both of them, barely powerful enough to shield both her and Raven from the impact. It wasn’t that she was trying to rescue him. Her only defensive spell simply covered an area that big. Offense was more her game at the moment, and usually she played it well. This guy had some seriously hot flames, however. She was surprised. The dome shattered and melted around them, steam and flames and smoke filling the air as the stones on the buildings stripped away without either of them noticing as they fixated on their opponents.

Kotone grinned. “Good one.” She chuckled. “But it’ll take more than that to melt this ice.” She ripped her grasp from his, forming a deadly blade of ice even as her arm swung back. By the time she got into a fighting stance again, the blade was fully formed. “Now, come on, Blaze, let’s see who’s the better dancer.” With an aggressive and fast lunge, Kotone swung her blade at Raven, going for the easiest part of him to hit. She wasn’t trying to kill the guy, but she certainly didn’t mind making him regret getting into a fight with her.

MP 155/200:

[Raven Flametongue]

Raven was enveloped in the dome. This was convenient for him, since he wouldn't have been burned it would have revealed he was different. But since she covered them both, he didn't get hit, and thus didn't reveal his heritage. He wanted to admit it... she was a dragon slayer too. Not the shadow one, but another slayer. But he remembered Draco's words and orders. The secrecy was one of them. He'd have to thank her later...

Then she danced back, and an ice sword formed. He raised an eyebrow before grinning and taking a stance again. Flames shot down his arm, forming a rather large flame claw. "I've got enough fire to melt any ice.

"I'll show you then... Let's dance!" Raven saw the sword incoming and the grin widened maniacally. He raised the flame claw and brought it down to block the sword. The conflicting magic exploded once again, adding to the damage in the area. They were standing in a small crater, since they'd not really moved around much in the fight. Stone was seared, frozen, and shattered around them. There was also a thick mist from the ice shattering into dust, water evaporating from melted ice, and smoke.

165/200 MP:

[Kotone]

“I’ll show you then… Let’s dance.” Raven formed what appeared to be claws of ice as Kotone swung her sword down at him. The claws caught the sword, shattering the sword and the claws in an explosion of steam and smoke. It was actually rather hard to see around them at this point, even for the young ice dragon slayer. “Yeah?! Well don’t think I’m through yet! I’m just getting started, jerk!” she told him a little bit hot-headedly.

She began to charge again, intending to use her wing attack to batter him and send him flying, but she was interrupted by the sounds of town guards. “There they are!” one of them shouted angrily. “Get them! They’re guildless and they're terrorizing the town!” This prompted Kotone to look back as the smoke began to clear. There were at least ten Paladins behind them, each probably having arrived as backup while the two weren’t paying attention.

“Dammit,” Kotone cursed, turning back to face Raven and looking less than happy that their brawl was ended so suddenly. “Looks like it’s time to split. Let’s go.” It didn’t matter if he was the thief or not. She’d had fun and she would fight him before she’d just let him get caught. Her ego wouldn’t allow him to just slip away and them not finish this fight.

Kotone took off, easily vaulting the wall with a bit of alleyway parkour and landing on the other side in a crouch. As soon as Raven followed, she took off again. Cerulean was probably not the best place to be right now…

[Raven Flametongue]

Raven opened his mouth to reply, his magic flaring with his emotions. But then voices interrupted them. Angry voices looking for them specifically. This was a problem.... since if the magic council incarcerated him He couldn't go looking for Draco. Or fulfill his duty. And neither was an option for him. His duty was above the humans and their rules. He snarled, but saw no choice but to follow his new enemy out. The battle could be settled later.

So he followed after her, obviously slightly slower, but still keeping up. He managed his way over the fence in the alley as well, landing in a crouch as well with one hand between his knees. Then he sprang up pumping his legs into action, letting them carry him at a running pace. Thanks to his longer legs, he kept up with Kotone shorter form.

Unfortunately the Paladins were out in force. That made their run difficult. THanks to his height, Raven was able to see a group of them marching down the streets at a jogging pace, obviously looking for something or someone important, over the people milling the street. He grabbed her by the shoulder and pulled her back.

"Wait," Raven said in a hushed voice. He ignored the fact that they'd just been fighting for the time being, and leaned against the alley wall. "They didn't see us, but if we come out of the alley in front of them, they'll be suspicious. Let's let them go by for a bit before stepping out."

[Kotone]

Kotone ran at high speeds through the alleyway away from the battle site until the point where Raven grabbed her shoulder and pulled her back with a small yelp. He told her to be quiet and not just pop out in front of the council guards. “You can’t tell me what to-“ The sound of the Paladins marching past got closer, and Kotone cut herself off, placing a hand over her own mouth to stifle her yelp. She hadn’t expected them to be this close on this side. Just how much of a commotion had they caused?

Slowly, the sound died down, and she pulled away from Raven. She didn’t feel like fighting anymore, but that didn’t stop her from glaring as she jerked away. “Don’t touch me!” she told him angrily, clearly not giving up her hard feelings for him so easily. “Just who do you think you are, anyway? Stealing from an innocent shop owner! I should flatten you right here. That’s such a waste of your strength. Ugh!” she was disgusted by someone who would have so much power and just steal from people. There were people who needed his help and would gladly pay for his strength!

Of course, Kotone had no idea she was making a mistake. She had arrived late on the scene, and the actual thief, who was now long gone, had looked like the much less intimidating of the two men she’d encountered. At this point though, she would probably only be mad he didn’t correct her rather than sorry she’d made the mistake.

[Raven Flametongue]

Raven continued scanning the crowd, watching the Paladins go by. He'd left his hand on her shoulder until she pulled away. Normally, such an action would be met with feigned indignation with internal relief, but he wasn't exactly repelling a clingy girl from a bar whom was taken in by stories of his adventures. He glanced back down at her as she went on and glared at him. At least she acknowledged his strength, though given her general attitude thus far, she would probably see him as the weaker one. Oh well.

"I'm genuinely confused here," Raven said as he folded his arms across his chest. The whole situation was confusing. How did he end up in an alleyway with the person he was just fighting as he was trying to catch a thief. He frowned, his blazing eyes peering down at her as if unsure what he was looking at. "You sound as if you weren't working with that thief."

"And if that's the case..." Raven continued slowly as he tried to wrap his mind around the situation. "How did you not know he was a known criminal? There's signs up at the inn and taverns all over town. He's a repeat offender and everything."

He looked out over the crowd and noticed the paladins were all much further down the street and rounding a corner now. He let out a small sigh of relief. Then he motioned to her it was safe, and pointed which direction they should go to look like they blended in. However, he was silent about it so as to not interrupt her. After all, he didn't want to cause another scene with the Paladins so close.

[Kotone]

“Of course I wasn’t working with that thief!” Kotone insisted to the fire-using wizard who was already starting to move down the street. “Who do you think I am? I’m Kotone! You know? The Spell Breaker? Dragon Slayer? Hero?” she insisted, using just about every title she had to get him to understand. “Why would I work with a thief? I was trying to stop him, you dolt!” She let out a frustrated groan as he told her about the posters in the inns and taverns. No, she hadn’t seen them. She hadn’t gone looking for him when she’d left Lamia Scale earlier, or when she’d spent time with Ren.

“I was just chasing the trail of destruction you left!” she insisted in a rather hushed version of a yell. Most people would probably mistake them for a bickering young couple. “It’s not my fault that you look more suspicious than a known thief! You had him cornered and cowering, and you certainly seemed eager to fight someone who wasn’t even the thief! How hard would it have been to say ‘I’m not the thief miss awesome and pretty Kotone! Please don't beat my face in!’ Because I bet it would have been easier than picking a fight!” Her voice managed to sound both shouty and hushed at once the entire time, but she was about one pitch from raising her voice a little too high at the moment.

[Raven Flametongue]

"The destruction was all his doing," Raven defended himself, though it didn't really sound like he was defending himself. Or that he felt wrong, if the confidence in his voice was anything to go by. "I saw no need to use my magic to terrorize half the city to catch one thief. He was using his tricks to try to slow me down. A few knocked over crates can be fixed. Catching innocent lives in the crossfire can't."

"And of course I'd look eager," Raven continued rubbing the back of his head in open irritation now. He gave her a side long scowl as he continued. "He was too weak to fight back. I knew this, he knew this, hell even you knew this at a glance. I was trying to scare him into coming quietly so I didn't have to blow up a part of town using my magic."

"And while we're on the subject," He continued, keeping his words going so she couldn't interrupt him. "You could have asked if I was with him or trying to catch him. Instead, you instantly jumped in to defend him! How am I supposed to take that as "Oh, I'm a good guy too!"?! You were defending my mark, that kinda threw you in with him in my eyes so I don't get stabbed in the back. Again."

"And who cares about titles you don't live up to?" Raven continued, as if driving a point home. He was a dragon slayer too, and so he was speaking to her as an equal. For everything he was saying, there was never any condescending to his tone or body language. Just irritation. Heroes don't protect bad guys from a threatening glare and a few intimidating words. That goes doubly so for a Dragon Slayer. "Maybe when you put away bad guys instead of helping them get away, I'll believe those titles mean something."

[Kotone]

“Bad guys don’t give people a chance if you don’t act!” Kotone growled at Raven, speaking from experience. She was starting to raise her voice to shouting level now. “I’m not some idiotic little girl! I have a reason for doing things!” Not that Raven was stopping to listen to her. It didn’t surprise her though. Even he had to admit he’d been in a compromising position! “You should care since I was about to kick your butt! And I do live up to them! I’ve been in the heroing business since I was ten! I doubt you can say the same, so stop making judgements about me just because you think you know everything!” Sure, it was hypocritical, but Kotone had never claimed she wasn’t. She just got insulted if someone else claimed she was.

Kotone huffed, stomping off ahead of Raven in the parting crowd. At least there were no Paladins nearby. Otherwise they might have come running from her shouting alone, even if they hadn’t been the ones fighting earlier. “Whatever, it doesn’t matter,” Kotone pouted in her rage. “I would have totally kicked your butt and I know it. I’ll just have to prove it to you!” It was beginning to sound like she was thinking of picking another fight with him right there, but just as she said it, a couple of Paladins rounded the corner, still looking for the ones responsible for the earlier damage. “Crap,” she said under her breath, falling back behind Raven to where she was between him and the guards, just in case. She kept following him, fuming.

[Raven Flametongue]

Raven rolled his eyes but didn't respond. She was a prideful, selfish brat in his eyes. She took pride in being a hero? Her ego was bigger than a dragon! They weren't sent to be heroes, they were sent to fix the humans. Or at least try to. Buying into their perception of right and wrong like that was unbecoming of a dragon slayer. But, here she was... definitely like him. The magic was enough of a tell. Although... he had used two dragon slayer spells in their fight, it didn't seem like she'd figured it out.

Soon, she was on about how she was about to beat him. Admittedly... he'd never fought another Dragon Slayer before. He only knew how strong he was. So, who could really say? Though, in all honesty, he had countered every single spell she'd thrown at him. And he still had his roar handy should he have been pushed into using it. He had an advantage at the moment the fight was interrupted.

Not that it mattered, since they shouldn't have been fighting each other in the first place. Their duty to the humans was supposed to be above petty pride and ego. But, he couldn't say anything without revealing what he was, so he was going to stay quiet on the matter. ...Though, it was sorely tempting to push her buttons by pointing out where she was wrong.

"...Tell you what," Raven sighed quietly. He didn't know how many patrols were out. Or why he was about to tolerate her possibly yelling at him for hours. "Why don't you come to my inn room, and we can talk there. If you can keep your voice down there, we won't have to worry about patrols."

[Kotone]

Kotone had resumed her usual calm exterior that barely hid the temper she bore by the time Raven started talking again. She was calming down a bit – the couple of minutes they’d had had helped, and the patrol didn’t seem to be targeting them specifically, so that was good. Go to his room?! Her eyes widened for a second as she grew slightly suspicious of him, but then she decided it was, in fact, a decent place to hide. Staying in some guy’s room was not something she was comfortable with, but she would be fine. She was stronger than him, after all. “Yeah, sure,” she decided as Raven led the way.

By the time they made it to his room, Kotone had grown quiet instead of loud like she had been before. In all honesty, as they approached the room, she started feeling a bit awkward. Even if she hated him, he was still a guy. She’d never spent… time in some guy’s room. Even if it was a hotel room. She waited for him to open the door, then walked inside, still quiet, but purposefully looking completely disinterested. “Nice place,” she commented, noting that he didn’t seem to carry a lot with him either.

[Raven Flametongue]

Raven stayed quiet, leading her around through to the room he was staying in. He opened the door, letting her in before stepping in and closed the door behind her. Then he let out a sigh and shrugged. "I tend not to carry much. I travel a lot so I don't have much to mess up a room with."

He walked over to the kitchen and pulled out some glasses. He turned on the faucet and began filling them slowly letting his mind work. She wasn't working with the criminal. That much he could write off as fact. Could he trust her? Maybe. She was a fellow Dragon Slayer, even if she was a bit misguided. When he finished filling them he walked over to the small table that sat near a couch and set down one of the glasses.

"Feel free to make yourself comfortable," Raven shrugged before setting his glass on the nightstand. They'd both just been fighting, and so water would be good. But he didn't touch his as he flopped back on the bed. Then he gave a wry grin. "Fighting a Dragon Slayer is so messy."

"We're both covered in dust and stuff from the explosions," Raven decided he'd try to keep things light hearted for the time being. If he could avoid a fight with her, that would be better for their whole not getting caught plan. He made no move to get up from the bed, feeling oddly sore after that clash. "I should apologize though. I made the assumption that you were with him based on my training and experience. But... I was wrong."

[Kotone]

Unlike Raven, Kotone hardly moved, even when she was handed the glass. Why did she feel so awkward? It wasn’t like she could even stand the guy, and he hadn’t flirted or anything. She knew she was being dumb, but even Kotone couldn’t help how she felt a lot of the time. Actually, if she were being honest… especially Kotone couldn’t. Façade or not, Kotone still felt the anger she displayed so readily and easily. She didn’t thank him when she was handed the water, and she didn’t move when he told her to make herself comfortable. She just stood there in the man’s inn room feeling far more awkward than she knew she should.

She looked down at herself when he said they were dirty from the explosions, letting out a sigh. Now she wanted a shower. Rough and tumble as she was… she couldn’t deny how much she liked the feeling of cleanliness. “So you did exactly like I did,” she corrected him, not really picking a fight but not admitting she was wrong either. “See? Understandable, at least.” She shuffled a bit, but remained standing. She didn’t want to sit on the futon couch, or on the bed next to him. Both felt awkward. That left her with… well where she was standing worked as well as anywhere else.

[Raven Flametongue]

"For someone so gun ho you sure are being shy," Raven shrugged from his spot. He closed his eyes and visible relaxed. Unlike Kotone, he didn't feel like being awkward or shy. And so he wasn't going to be shy, meek, or quiet. Well, quiet when she was speaking maybe.

"So what brings the famed hero to Cerulean if you weren't after the thief?" Raven asked as he sat up. His tone wasn't mocking or condescending. He was simply curious. And it wasn't like him to make fun of someone's disposition. She dug her own grave getting proclaimed a hero.

After asking he stood up and downed his glass of water before wandering back into the kitchen. He was hungry after expending as much magic as he had. While it wasn't anywhere near his limit, it was more than he usually dished out. So he began pulling ingredients out for a steak he had stashed away for a rainy day.

Onions were also quickly pulled out. The problem with them was his enhanced senses, but they added flavor he liked to the food. Of course, the steak wasn't the only reason he pulled the onions out. He knew what Kotone was, and he knew about dragon slayer senses. He'd share the steak if she was hungry, but she was going to suffer a little for letting the thief slip by. Not that he'd tell her of course. To her, he was a normal human who knew little more than rumors about her and her magic.

[Sponsored content]