Welcome to Adventu, your final fantasy rp haven. adventu focuses on both canon and original characters from different worlds and timelines that have all been pulled to the world of zephon: a familiar final fantasy-styled land where all adventurers will fight, explore, and make new personal connections.
at adventu, we believe that colorful story and plots far outweigh the need for a battle system. rp should be about the writing, the fun, and the creativity. you will see that the only system on our site is the encouragement to create amazing adventures with other members. welcome to adventu... how will you arrive?
year 5, quarter 3
Welcome one and all to our beautiful new skin! This marks the visual era of Adventu 4.0, our 4th and by far best design we've had. 3.0 suited our needs for a very long time, but as things are evolving around the site (and all for the better thanks to all of you), it was time for a new, sleek change. The Resource Site celebrity Pharaoh Leep was the amazing mastermind behind this with minor collaborations from your resident moogle. It's one-of-a-kind and suited specifically for Adventu. Click the image for a super easy new skin guide for a visual tour!
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[attr=class,bottomlyric] And where there is no Echo, there is no [break] description of space or love.
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“Thus Echo suddenly assumes the role of god's messenger, a female Mercury or perhaps even Prometheus, decked in talaria, with lamp in hand, descending on fortunate humanity. [break]Look to the sky, look to yourself and remember: we are only god's echoes and god is Narcissus." - Mark Danielewski Kuja
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[attr=class,bulk] She could sense the time was drawing near for her to return to Kuja. He could hide most of himself from her, but she found there was still some things she could sense. She could feel the presence of his soul like a soft thrum. The estimate of distance and direction was discernible until it faded when he was too far or... It was then she thought of Garland and how she felt his life force fade. She shook the thoughts out of her head. [break][break] And it seemed just like with Zidane and Garland, she could feel when her presence was needed. It made her feel attentive and wanted. Such a bond was not something either the Gaians or the black mages could fathom. Even Zidane became oblivious to its meaning after being away from Terra so long; his mind bewitched by the blue moon. And it seemed to her, Kuja resisted it. [break][break] But Mikoto neither forgot nor resisted. She simply appreciated such bonds that held them together in understanding and cooperation. [break][break] And it led her here. Long shadows were cast by the stone formations, which made the sky too bright to look at above the towering stones. It was sweltering out, but it did not appear to bother her. The sand crunched beneath her feet as she spotted the sparse vegetation that found the parts of the ground where the shade lasted long enough for them to survive the sun. And life also found burrows and thrived beneath the sand, especially near where the dew collected on the plants. [break][break] She felt gritty and, especially, dusty from the sandstorm she encountered. Her hair and dress were still covered with sand that she couldn't brush off. Her footwear was filled with it and caused discomfort in walking. But there was no point in changing to softer, cleaner clothes until she was done with her current business. She could endure a little longer. It was time to resume training and voicing her unease was too much effort that would yield little results. Instead, her eyes trailed along the stone pathways trying to visually find her tutor. She needed little else than the knowledge he imparted her and her dagger. Now to put it into play...if she had such energy within her. Confrontation was still relatively new to her and there seemed to be a knot in her stomach at the thought.
A dry wind ran through Kuja’s hair as he stood at the precipice of a pillared rock formation at least fifteen feet above the sands. From here, the desert panned out beneath him in rolling dunes, the maze of multicolored stones jutting in all directions like a cacophonous sunset. It was almost poetic, and in that moment, he couldn’t help but appreciate its harsh beauty. Even in this most oppressive of places, there was still life beneath the soil, lurking in dry caverns, or sprouting from determination alone. There was a reason he had always claimed the desert as his own. It was quiet, deadly, and far too stubborn to die.
There were growls below him, and Kuja sighed, waving a hand and rearranging one of the stone pillars he’d toppled into a rectangular formation. From it, he’d fashioned a kind of pen made of thick, unyielding slabs. Within it were various creatures he’d collected throughout the course of the morning, all separated out into quadrants of their own. The effort of submission and transport had been no small task, but it wasn’t as though he was unused to the process. His work in bioengineering had required all manner of live subjects that he’d kept subdued in the lower chambers of his Desert Palace until their disposal, and those had included monsters of a far grander scale than this.
It had also included any intrepid explorers unfortunate enough to stumble into the wrong antlion pit. But that was, at the moment, irrelevant.
He felt her approach before he saw her. He didn’t even bother to turn his head. He merely felt and he listened and he sensed that dull, infant soul gravitate towards him with all the passion of a dead flan. He still had no idea why she insisted on following him. By all accounts, she should have hated him like all the rest of existence.
He flicked his wrist and telekinetically shifted the final slab into place. That would hold, he thought. If not, he’d quickly put an end to whatever chaos ensued.
”I don’t know how you’re alive,” Kuja said as she drew closer to his vantage point. ”I didn’t think you’d be stupid enough to come this far alone. You have no idea the kind of monsters that lurk beneath the sand. I’m surprised you weren’t skewered by a cactuar. Or an antlion.”
Kuja swept back his hair, pushing it over a shoulder with a haughty flourish. ”But I suppose it saves me the effort of finding you. I just finished.” He looked over his work, eyes scanning it for weaknesses. The makeshift battle arena wasn’t exactly polished nor was it anything near the construction of the same on Terra. Still, he thought it would do. Well enough, anyway. ”You insisted on learning magic. I’d rather not waste my time.”
Kuja waved a hand, trailing a glimmer of magic around himself before he hopped off the pillar, his float spell bringing him gracefully down. He landed lightly, his hair and skirt settling behind him as he finally turned to look at her. She was windswept and dirty and coated in sand. He couldn’t help but smirk at the state of her fur. There was more than one reason that he kept his tail safely sheltered away.
”Let’s see how you do under pressure,” he said. ”I scrounged up a few weapons that you might find useful. Better than that worthless dagger, anyway.” He gestured to a mat he’d unfolded at the base of the rock formation. On it were three blades, each set carefully apart. It was mediocre work at best, the kind that he’d never let see an esteemed marketplace for fear of his reputation. He’d have tossed them eventually, he thought, if he couldn’t find some lowly merchant to pawn them off on before then. Still, their charms were nothing to scoff at for a beginner. Not perfect. Not his best. But it would do.
”There’s a rapier for precision, a shortsword for offense, and a set of daggers if you prefer agility. Like Zidane.” He scoffed. ”That one’s already genome approved. Though really any would do.”
[attr=class,bulk]She heard his voice before she saw him. Her eyes sparkled in the sun as she tried to look up for him. He was not wrong. She didn’t know the different types of life that lurked beneath or on top of the sand. But much like she did on Terra, she simply stepped warily and evaded harm's ways. Avoidance was the best defense. Plus she had a little help along the way thanks to a passing stranger in a bandit encampment. [break][break] Though, she wondered why he fussed at her. Despite his tone, it sounded almost like a scolding for her safety… Curious that he would care enough for a late warning. [break][break] She had found that if she remained silent, he would fill the silence. And so he did. She wouldn’t dare waste his time. There was a ripple above her and soon he descended from the sky. And he was still so beautiful in the bright light of the sun. Where the desert had taken a toll on her appearance, he seemed well acquainted in this domain. [break][break] And he came bearing items for her. Her eyes turned from him to the direction he gestured. Lightly, she padded over to the mat for a closer look. The weapons were laid out meticulously. He made these and she got to pick one for herself. Her tail snaked behind her in quiet excitement. She would take very good care of her predecessor’s work. A memento of their time together. [break][break] She did not feel her strength was in offense. And though she was tempted to take what worked for Zidane, she felt she had been ineffective at using the dagger so far. She took the rapier in her hand, and gave it a test swish. Though it was very obvious she was nothing but a beginner with no knowledge with it. The weight felt nice in her hand and she had a feeling it would be less pressure on her small wrists when impacts were made. [break][break] Then she brought it down to admire its glint in the sun. She found that warmth in her chest again. “Anything else you would have me know?” She meant about the weapon and the arena. A few seconds longer, and she turned back to Kuja to show she had made her choice. “What would you have me confront first?”
She didn’t say anything as he spoke. It was both refreshing and slightly irritating. On the one hand, she didn’t contradict him. On the other, it was like talking to a brick wall. Or a hollow genome as it were. He’d had enough of that in his first twelve years in Bran Bal.
Still, she at least listened which he couldn’t say for the worthless dolls that populated their home world. At his order, she plodded dutifully over to his weaponry, examining them in expressionless thought. Kuja crossed his arms, waiting. He felt his tail give an impatient flick. Then she made her choice, reaching for the rapier and testing it in her hand.
Well that was a surprise. He’d fully expected her to march dutifully in Zidane’s footsteps. Some small part of him echoed with something like respect. Though only a small part.
Kuja shrugged. ”The rapier is best suited for magic. It will give you some manner of defense close range, but you should treat it more like a staff. A magical focus in other words. It should channel your power like a conductor. Its charm is the strongest, after all.” Almost strong enough to sell though not quite given its nature. Once again, he had to remind himself that she was nothing more than a novice. A sharpened piece of metal hawked off a street corner would do more than she’d started with.
In answer to her second question, Kuja strode past, clearing the nearest wall of his self-made arena without much difficulty. His overseeing pillar would have done just as well, but he didn’t think it worth the effort of climbing it. Or the indignity of scrabbling up its side.
”It’s nothing special. A few flans. A fang or two.” Kuja’s eyes drifted towards the pens where he’d confined them. ”The flans will only respond to magic. Fire in particular. The fangs are wolves.” Highly aggressive wolves, but nothing more than that. ”I doubt you’ll have much trouble.”
Not more trouble than he’d gone through to round them up. Thankfully, he’d found a cave near the city where all manner of pests lurked. The hardest part in restraining them had been to not kill them in the process.
Kuja waited for Mikoto to climb inside and gave her a moment to ready herself. Then he touched at his chin, head tilted and smirking.
This had the potential to be highly cathartic.
After a moment, he waved a hand, lifting one of the pen’s walls with a telekinetic force. A single flan oozed its way out the space, setting its ogling eyes on Mikoto. It charged her. Slowly. It really was far too easy on her.
[attr=class,bottomlyric] AND WHERE THERE IS NO ECHO, THERE IS NO DESCRIPTION [break] OF SPACE OR LOVE. THERE IS ONLY SCIENCE.
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Confrontation is hard. She is outside her comfort zone. Kuja
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[attr=class,bulk]She gently listened to his explanation on how to use the rapier. A simple nod showed her understanding. Though, she tried to think of the best way to use it as a magical focus. Did it automatically conduct her magic? Or did she have to focus her intent into it? But, before she could even ask for help, Kuja was already clearing the wall. She simply started as he made it in a bound. He seemed eager to begin. [break][break] She soon followed suit, bounding up the side of the wall with less grace as he, but with plenty of momentum to carry her through. Her eyes studied the arena as he spoke. She could make out the sounds of the beasts in his makeshift pens. He did all this for her? This had been beyond her expectations. She absorbed his explanations and she found herself gripping her rapier a little harder. [break][break] ”I doubt you’ll have much trouble.” [break][break] She felt her cheeks burn. He did not doubt her abilities? She knew she did not perform well at her previous trials. Her head hung low to observe the arena, her eyes peeked from under hair to glance at him. [break][break] Then, she leapt to the sand below. She felt herself grip the rapier closer to her. Though her stance was unguarded as he released the flan. She felt repulsed by it. Though it was less visually offensive than the Terran Hecteyes, it was more gelatinous than fleshy. It wiggled and squirmed with a scent that made her stomach curl. She fluffed and took no action at first, other than steps backwards. She turned to jump the barrier again, only to be stopped by Kuja’s gaze on the arena, as well as his words telling her to prove herself. [break][break] Silence passed between the stares. [break][break] She gave nearly the expression of an annoyed cat harassed into action - even though she agreed to this. She turned to face the flan as it neared her with a dripping maw. She tightened her grip. Fire. That’s all she needed right? It felt like the spell she was most attuned to. [break][break] It was hard to focus while being enclosed in a space, someone gazing at you, and you never really confronted a monster before. But, if she could cast spells while hiding behind that stranger in the camp, then this wasn’t too different. [break][break] Except there was nothing between her and the towering thing. [break][break] At first, she did nothing as she merely kept out of its distance as it tried to slam its head into her. It found nothing but sand. She tried to remember how to well the fire up in her. Gaians were annoying and confusing, hadn’t those thoughts helped? Quina eying her tail for consumption and its imperfect physical creation was terrible to the senses. The creator must have been faulty to make sure a creature. Then, it contaminated the life crystal with its tongue. She felt herself prickle at this last thought. Moreso, than she had when she had witnessed the act in Bran Bal. She was unsure why it stirred such fire in her now. But she felt her heart rushing, her blood boil with the magic now. [break][break] This flan looked like something that came out of the pink creature’s pot. Perhaps, that’s what reminded her of it. [break][break]
On instinct, she found herself directing the magic with her rapier. Amateur motions were gestured as the magic spoke and she directed the fire spell to hit the flan. It didn’t miss such a large target. The smell of burning flesh filled the air. Mikoto took another step back. Had the spell been strong enough? Her gaze seemed unsure as she shrank back from it. Her tail fell low, though she tried to keep a tall position.
For her part, Mikoto didn’t complain. She accepted his words and hesitated for only a moment before hopping dutifully into his makeshift arena. She was nervous. Even with her muted sense of expression, her fear was worn on her sleeve. Or rather, in her tail and her shoulders and her tight grip on her inexperienced sword. Maybe she should have had some training in the thing before throwing her to the literal wolves. Well Kuja certainly wasn’t the one to ask for that. She’d have to figure it out on her own.
The flan charged her with all the speed of cold molasses. Mikoto appeared to take the strategy of freezing like a startled Mu. Then she turned, looking up to him pleadingly. Kuja raised an eyebrow. She wanted his permission. As though he was in any position give it. As though he was just another overseer on another planet playing the lives of hollow dolls to his whims. Well he wasn’t (not currently anyway) and there was absolutely nothing stopping her from vaulting over the side and entirely changing her mind on the matter.
Nothing but his endless mockery. Perhaps that was enough.
She gave him an annoyed look as though this was his fault before turning around to face the monster. If it had been any faster than a dead snail then it likely would have jumped her while her back was turned. As it was, it had merely closed the distance. If she chose not to get out of the way then her inevitable maiming was entirely on her own hands.
She took so long with her spell that Kuja thought he’d be subjected to watching his own pathetic successor fall without raising a single finger. This one truly was perfect, wasn’t she? A perfect tool, that was, by Garland’s perspective. Her life was on the line (as far as she knew) and she’d hardly taken three steps. She had all the survival instincts of a dead slug, he thought, but then she did something which infinitely surprised him.
She took action.
Sort of. She still hadn’t moved. But a ball of fire had erupted from her hands, and that was something, he supposed. It wasn’t as strong as the one she’d summoned back at the gaudy play park, but it did the trick. The flan gave a little wiggle, mouth slack, before melting under the heat, its entire gelatinous form collapsing into a pool of foul-smelling ichor. Kuja was infinitely grateful that he wouldn’t be at risk of stepping in it.
”Congratulations. You’re alive.” His voice was a dry drawl. It wasn’t sarcastic, but it wasn’t exactly sincere either. ”Though might I suggest moving out of the way?”
He shook his head, thrusting his hair behind his shoulder. ”You’re using magic. You have to keep your distance. You can attack at range. They can’t.” Not in this case, anyway. It was trickier without that particular advantage. ”You have this whole space. Use it. Unless you’re still intent on succumbing to death.”
Kuja waved a lazy hand. Another stone slab moved aside. Four pairs of ogling eyes oozed their way from behind it and started towards Mikoto. Two flans this time. Truly an impossible foe.
”You’re fast. They’re slow. Try to actually do something this time.”
[attr=class,bulk]At first, she was unsure of her success. The thing threw its head back and gave its watery cry, before collapsing into itself. The scent of the burning ichor made her stomach curl. She was quicker to step to avoid the pool, than she had the actual monster. Her tail lifted enough to keep it out of the muck. Luckily the sun was already drying it back out to be nothing but crusty dust on the wind. [break][break] She just stared at the pile with a narrowed distant stare. She had done this? She took an aggressive action of her own volition? She gripped the hilt a little tighter. [break][break] His voice was as dry as the desert itself. Her bright eyes turned up to look at him. She gave him the same narrowed stare. Silently, she listened to his instructions. He made it sound like moving out of the way and attacking would be two easily mergible actions. Especially to one who thought them as equally separate. But she would try. She turned to inspect the ‘whole space’, for a moment, she debated if she should just stand on the arena’s edge instead of all the effort it would take on the ground. [break][break] ‘If I succumb to death, will you recycle me?’ A sincere question and one without a shy tone. Part of her doubted he would, but surely genome genetic material was hard to come by here. [break][break] ‘Or place my soul in the forest?’ If there was no place for her soul to return to or rest, then being with the inhabitants of the forest would not be so bad. Or she could be placed in a jar on his shelf to light his books with her pale red glow. Regardless, she did not fear it much for herself. [break][break] She heard the sliding of slabs and the slithering sound of two of the larger flans. More? [break][break] Why was she here again? If she cared not about her own life, then why had she asked to be taught these methods? Kuja’s voice wafted back down to her. He wanted her to act and do well. [break][break] And if she did not learn, then she could not protect him. That was why she wanted to learn, wasn’t it? To protect what was left of them. [break][break] She felt her resolve strengthen a little more. The flan suddenly felt like they took up less of the arena now that she found a bit of her courage. After all, if she fell here, then who would be left to protect him? [break][break] The two flans figured out the location of their next sustenance. They began to charge at her, maws wide and stretching their grotesque bodies to try and reach her. She tried to circle them and found that they seemed unintelligent in strategy. They simply followed where she went and tried to reach her in the closest trajectory. [break][break] Keeping her distance was not a problem now. But she was still trying to unstick the magic in her and an extra enemy made it even more difficult to find the time to cast her first spell. She stopped long enough to find the fire in her, now fueled by her new determination to protect. The fire seemed to burn a little brighter, as it hit the first flan. [break][break] Then suddenly, she, herself, seemed to fizzle out as it took too much time. The second flan stretched itself the moment she stopped to cast the spell. She tried to dodge out of its range with a lunge, but her foot caught on the crusty mess left by her original contender. The eager flan clamped down on her tail. A soft sound escaped her, and her eyes watered at the injury. Then, it seemed to start slurping her up. [break][break] She just dangled for a moment, trying to process her predicament. Then, realizing what was happening she tried to focus the next spell into the sword. Not yet, she decided. There was still a task left for her in this world, wasn’ t there? [break][break] Something seemed to click in her mind at that moment. She felt sparks in her fingers as she stabbed her now electric rapier into the monster. Her being seemed to hum with magic as the electricity sparkled across the flan. She felt her own spell zap her as well, though her sweater was equipped to absorb most of the spell. [break][break] Then, she found herself suddenly released. She fell to the ground with an unceremonious thud. She found the sound she heard was her own panting, the adrenaline now racing and leaving a prickling in her skin. [break][break] Worse, she felt herself even more covered in sand. She really didn’t have an affinity for this locale.
This might have been the most effective strategy he could have tried lol
Why should the world exist without me?
Mikoto wasn’t doing well. Kuja wished he didn’t have to sense it, but he did. Even if he hadn’t possessed a direct line into her inner consciousness, it was obvious to see on her shoulders and tail and nascent expressions. She wasn’t doing well, and while he didn’t particularly care for her emotional wellbeing, he supposed it irked him a little.
Hadn’t she been the one who’d wanted to learn to defend herself? What had she thought that would entail? She could have at least saved him some time.
She did better for the second fight, he supposed. She bothered pacing around for the best angle at least. If she’d had any ounce of intelligence, she would have bothered moving quickly, but it was a start. She stalked around without any real urgency then stopped to cast. The spell took so hideously long that the flan had nearly cleared the distance between them before she’d finished. The fire spell was nothing of note. A little hotter than the last. Maybe.
The second flan struck her while she was distracted. Mikoto stumbled to get away, failing utterly. Kuja watched it all impassively. Learning to take a hit was almost as important as learning to deal them though she was quite frankly embarrassing him. Was this the natural strength of a genome?
There went any sense of inherent superiority.
She stabbed it in self-defense. The thin blade pierced it straight through. It was ineffective to say the least, and Kuja sighed, raising a hand to save her when she inevitably failed. Perhaps the experience would be enough to dissuade her from the pursuit entirely. It was of no matter to him. Still, she wasn’t quite out yet, and he felt the slightest tinge of magic on the air. A thunder spell. Conducted through her blade.
One could have thought it ingenious. He thought it accidental. The electricity shot through both the flan and herself, seeking its proper grounding. She had a natural resistance to magic. The flan didn’t. It melted around her.
”Hmph.” Kuja flipped back his bangs, tilting his head as he considered the sky. She was safe for now. Sort of. She was also injured, electrified, and coated with foul-smelling slime. He supposed that was punishment enough on its own.
”Cure.” The spell knit her back together, clearing her system of harmful magic and healing anything else that needed patching up. He hopped into the arena, landing lightly. He might have overestimated her abilities.
”That was...something.” She’d taken action at least. Congratulations on clearing the lowest of bars. ”Flan are slow and vulnerable to magic. You won’t stand a chance against anything more competent.”
He crossed his arms. ”I’ve gathered a few fangs from the depths of a desert cave. They’re weak but fast. Your greatest weakness.” Quick decisions. How impossibly insurmountable.
”I’ll draw their attention. You deal with them. Does that sound fair?”
It didn’t matter. He was doing it anyway.
”Stay back so they don’t notice you. And try to aim.” He smirked wryly then strode forward, standing past her and directly at the attention of any monsters with undue aggression. He didn’t give her time for any objections. He simply waved his hand, grasping the stone with his magic and setting it aside.
The fangs burst out of the space like a racing chocobo, snarling and charging for their prey. They were, as their name suggested, fanged with snapping jaws and wild eyes that quickly found him. He simply waited, almost bored, as the two of them darted towards him, attempting some kind of pack tactics on instinct.
He’d dodge them easily. Or raise his almost imperceptible magical shield at his fingertips. More concerning was the unstable magic at his back and the thought that Mikoto might miss her target and strike him by mistake. Still, her magic was weak. At worst, it might singe his hair.
AND WHERE THERE IS NO ECHO, THERE IS NO DESCRIPTION [break]
OF SPACE OR LOVE. THERE IS ONLY SCIENCE.
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...She went into magical berserker mode...with random level 2 spell. So that happened... Kuja
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[attr=class,bulk]She did nothing but lay in the flan gunk and sand. Her eyes closed as she tried to shake off the shock. The young genome didn’t understand why her magic was so stuck. The knowledge of elemental physics didn’t work. She thought learning from another genome would make more sense. But she didn’t fully understand the emotions he used. They were hard to relate to on a constant basis. Especially, for a young girl still coming into herself.
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She heard Garnet’s voice again in a whisper, ‘Kuja isn't like you or other Terrans. Look at how he dresses, how he thinks, he has... a different mind.’
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Mikoto felt herself prickle at the memory. Garnet didn’t understand how Terran he was either. And Mikoto looked up to him because he was so different. She wanted to understand his differences and see how he lived on his own terms. Just that alone was fascinating to her. A genome defying his own fate. Such a possibility had not crossed her mind until that fateful day.
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Ah. Focus.
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Was it because he was different she was having trouble learning? The source of their magic was the same, but was their different mindsets the obstacle?
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What had Kuja said… ‘Magic is fueled by the soul, and each element is a force of will.’
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Kuja’s will was strong. Her’s…
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Was that what she was lacking? The magic was waiting for her will? But how did...
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Suddenly, she felt a warmth spread throughout the form. The ache in her tail vanished, though it felt stiff. She would have to give it extra attention tonight. The bruising impact on her body faded with the warm light. She sat up and looked towards Kuja as he spoke. Her body was mended, but she found she was tiring. She felt a slight ache in her chest, feeling she might have let Kuja down.[break][break]
Was she simply wasting his time?
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She absorbed his criticism. A part of her wanted to explain her revelation of why her magic was stuck, but he was already moving to the next round of monsters. Before she could stop him from unleashing these ‘fangs’, the fight had begun. She let out a gasp and leapt to her feet.
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Time suddenly felt like it slowed down.
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Snapping jaws and sharp teeth. Snarls of rabid animals as they leapt toward her predecessor. She felt the energy rise in her, as if she was raising her hackles.
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Without thought, she blatantly ignored his orders as if her vessel lost control of itself.
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She lunged forward, kicking up the sand in her hurry. In a heartbeat, she brushed passed him and stood between him and the fangs. Her rapier raised high and her shadow loomed over the yapping mongrels. A shimmer of her psychic energy flashed out of her in a blue glimmering wall. The protect spell put a halt to the fangs that ran into it, surprising them with its suddenness.
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She wasted no time. The light in her eyes darkened with her now murderous intent. Her rapier flourished in an arc that led down and across. It sliced at the maw of one of the dogs. She leaned towards the dogs to openly swipe forward again, the protection magic pushing forward with the movement to slide the dogs back away from the two genomes.
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Magic seemed to guide her free hand as she dispatched the first dog with a fire blast. However, her tunnel vision did not see the second dog lunge at her. It burst through the protect spell. She caught it with her arm, her expression unchanging as it’s fangs sunk into her skin. The glimmering spell took the brunt of the physical attack, and she slid across the sand to take on the attack.
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Her cool stare met the creature’s wild, ravenous eyes. Then, for a second, the beast itself seemed to comprehend its own mistake in its meal choice. The creature swallowed a lightning spell and it loosened its grip on her. She flung it off her. The creature writhed on the ground, spasmed, and stopped moving.
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The threat expelled, Mikoto found her adrenaline dying off. Suddenly, she felt hot and dizzy, and collapsed to her knees in the sand. It felt like her soul was burning her from the inside after such exertion. She panted and yet, softly, ‘Please…’
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‘Please don’t put yourself in harm’s way.’
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She tried to shake off the feeling to stumble back to her feet. ‘I don’t want to see you hurt ever again. I will work harder.’ It was a commitment. She trembled softly. This was selfish of her, wasn't it?
He had expected some poor excuse of a spell while the fangs were thoroughly distracted with him. He had also expected that said spell might very well strike him by mistake. He’d prepared himself equally as well for the possibility that such a spell might never come and he’d waste some indeterminate amount of time toying with the things before swiftly putting them down and turning on her with a critical eye. He could imagine it just as well, and the thought of her dejected face brought him some flicker of amusement as he danced around the snapping jaws with a careless ease. Would she fail him entirely? How strangely satisfying.
But that was not what happened.
Instead, the girl snapped to attention, dashing forward with little regard for her own safety. A sword flashed in a metallic glint and she’d thrust herself in front of him, blade held confidently before her. There was a shimmer of magic. A protect spell?
He had not taught her the protect spell.
She used the combined force of magic and steel to thrust the fangs away. She followed it with a cast of fire magic far stronger than any he’d seen. Fueled by adrenaline, perhaps, or her body’s natural instincts finally kicking in. It was almost as though the girl had tranced without all of the flashy lights and colors that came with it. Her soul had responded with a violent passion.
Interesting.
The second fang ambushed her from the side, biting down hard on her arm. Mikoto merely took the attack, eyeing it without surprise before sliding into it, and pressing her hand against its snout. There was a harsh electric snap and lightning burst from her palm, coursing through the beast without mercy. She freed herself from its grasp, swaying on her feet before finally falling to her knees. Her strength was fading.
Kuja simply stood there, eyebrows raised.
’Please.’ Without the gasping breath to express herself, she resorted to psychic communication. ’Please don’t put yourself in harm’s way.’
Kuja’s eyebrows inched higher.
Mikoto staggered upright. ’I don’t want to see you hurt ever again. I will work harder.’
”What?” Kuja burst out in hard laughter. What was she talking about? ”I wasn’t in harm’s way.” Him? In danger from two fangs? Hilarious.
”Your reaction was unexpected however. Does seeing me ill-disposed really motivate you so?” He couldn’t help his almost scientific curiosity. He’d spent years recording, studying, and perfecting the default internal machinations of the black mages. He couldn’t alter her instinctual reactions by means of engineering, but he could exploit them. And there were always the more traditional methods of manipulation.
He was equally skilled in those.
Kuja laughed softly, bringing his fingers to his lips. ”Then it’s decided.” His eyes found hers, glinting bright with an almost mocking amusement. ”You’ll act as my guard from now on.” His lips twitched maliciously. ”When attacked, I won’t raise a finger to stop it. I think you’ve proven yourself more than capable of handling it yourself.”
