Sanel The White Knight! ...Wait, What?

Sanel The White Knight! ...Wait, What?
Date of Scene:	18 May 2013
Location:	Traverse Area - Bodhum - Beach
Synopsis:	Taking Alma to Bodhum Beach, Sanel showed her of his origins of where he woke up. Then came Akari. ...Things spiraled down from there.
Cast of Characters:	Sanel, Alma Hyral, Akari Seran

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Sanel has posed:
The place that was once a beautiful beach to say both day and night has been trapped in a place where the eternal night rests. Yet, it has been through the efforts of various citizens to help make the area more appealing in spite of its current state.

This is Bodhum.

Most of the roads are covered in soft golden sand with the generous scattering of large and tropical trees. There are outdoor pools, spas, and hot springs all around the area with artificial lighting.

Within the shoreline, a beautiful sight of the sea is shown.

Sanel is standing at the shore near the water, his bare feet taking in the sand as he lifts his gaze high.

"...This is where Sanel woke up." His eyes lift up towards the sky.

Alma Hyral has posed:
Traverse Town was always a peculiar place for the astronomer. The stars were always out, but the town was so lit up as a result, that she didn't conduct much of her research here. The gas lamps and street lights combined with the new additions from Datapoint Security made it difficult.

So she'd put away her things in Costa Del Sol, prior to coming. At this time she was only wearing her typical dowdy robes, and carrying a satchel at her side. Sanel had led her here after they spoke in their encounter on where each had awakened once they escaped from the darkness. She'd been happy to come, it made for a nice little break from being the official corporate doormat of the Murasame Zaibatsu.

When they arrived at the exact spot that Sanel had awakened, she could only smile, approaching Sanel, she put a single hand on his shoulder as she stood beside him. "And you remember nothing from before..."

She'd gaze out over the sea, before looking up to see how the starlight reflected off it. "It is beautiful here... so many I spoke to awakened out by the sea. I wonder why.."

She'd point out over the sea, to the horizon, where the night sky joined the waters. "Maybe, it's because the Creatrix lit your way.. from the sea of darkness, to the sea before you.. the stars. They're little divine sparks of her creation, which have led people home since time immemorial."

Akari Seran has posed:
The last week has been pretty rough for Akari.

She had taken a well-deserved nap after pummeling some wanna-be heroes who thought they'd try to 'put her in her place', probably at the behest of one of the teachers or in an attempt to make themselves look good. Not that their reasons were important. They challenged, she answered. The results were the same as they always are: a pile of unconscious losers who barely even gave her a workout and a bored Akari.

Then suddenly there's screaming and shouting and explosions. She didn't remember there being a sports game or parade scheduled and anything to distract her would be nice. The sight of the Heartless ravaging the school was far beyond anything she could have anticipated but she knew a good fight when she saw it.

And so she threw herself into the fray, immersing herself completely in battle in a way that had not happened in years. She lost track of how many of the creatures exploded into ash and vapor beneath her fists, of how many times they piled atop her in an endless wave only to be thrown back. It was glorious.

But eventually even her legendary stamina began to wane. Her fists grew tired and she started to get overwhelmed. Anger welled up to counter this failing but even that could sustain her only so long. And finally, she fell, consumed by the darkness.

When she awoke in the hotel, she remembered little of her ordeal, believing it to be a dream. But as Souji's irritating arrogant voice continued to dig into her skin like nails, it all started to come back to her. She had little time to spare on reflection after the battle as the local authorities swept into the docks to counter what they believed to be some sort of invasion based on the amount of destruction. Still full of vigor after her extended rest, Akari smashed all opposition aside and made her way into the countryside to be alone with her thoughts.

And so she wandered, allowing her feet to carry her across the vast expanse of open road and rolling plains of grass. She thought about what her fellow student had told her, that their world was gone. Such knowledge brought a pang of loss to her that she could not explain and the young loner had angrily shaken it off. Whatever. She needed no help from the others.

Akari immersed herself in the land, learning the feel of the soil and the cut of the stone as her bare feet took her through miles and miles of terrain in a single night. She needed no rest for the earth itself lent her strength and stamina and by the time she paused to get her bearings once more the feel of cool grainy sand crunched softly between her toes.

Akari wanders down the curving crescent of the beach in silence, enjoying the sensation of the wet sand and the gently lapping waters of the ocean against her legs as it surges in and out with the tide. She cannot see the beautiful stars twinkling overhead against the canopy of endless night but the cool salty breeze drifting inwards gives her an equal sense of peace.

She ignores the presence of bodies all around her, feeling their vibrations in the sand. Normal people often had little to do with her, nor she with them. There are times she feels lonely because of this. Perhaps the loss of something familiar is enhancing her meloncholy and that in turn only frustrates her. Akari frowns darkly at nothing in particular, slowly making her way forward.

Sanel has posed:
"Nothing."

Sanel lifts his head up, is eyes glistening out for the stars. However, they are marred by the man-made lights that adorn the beach area. Sanel tilts his head over to see the woman. Turning his head over towards the lights around, the boy extends a hand into the sky.

Snowflakes poured from his hands, carried off by the wind. They start spiraling around as the temperature becomes slightly cooler. The snowflakes travel towards the lights until the frost covers them, slowly dimming their presence.

...If for only a few moments, so that Alma can get a better look of the stars.

Sanel tilts his head towards the young girl, but his head turns towards horizon of the sea. "Ahhh!" Pause. "What's Creatrix?"

However, any explanations that Alma will likely give in response will fall on deaf ears. Why? Sanel's single eye has locked onto a particular wandering passerbyer. A barefooted young woman with white gauze wrappeda round her chest. In particular, Sanel is noticing a right stump.

Sanel doesn't say anything. Instead, he just watches with curious interest.

Alma Hyral has posed:
As Sanel dimmed the lights, in his own way. She giggled, venturing a smile. Yes, it was a beautiful night after all. "The Creatrix.. is Cosma, she created.. everything. Reality itself. All that exists.. but for every light, there's always equal shadow, Sanel. The Destroyer undid all of her works, everything she breathed life into... and in the end, he attacked her, and she was forced to sacrifice herself to create a lasting reality, a lasting creation..." She sweeps her arm around, as sort of an exaggerated gesture to indicate, everything. And then she noticed Sanel's attention was elsewhere.. she followed his single eye, and froze in horror.

While she was in school, she was terrified of Akari. That didn't change when Akari came out of the darkness, and immediately started doing what she always did.. fighting anyone, and everyone.

Souji had requested that she attend to Akari's wounds in the aftermath, which she did.. predictably, to her at least, Akari woke up and attacked Souji when he informed her of her situation. And with Souji's life in danger, Alma Hyral was forced to do something she'd never before actually done in her entire life.. she'd fought. Moreover, she'd fought /Akari/. This didn't mitigate her terror of her in the aftermath. It'd been strictly necessary at the time... and in the state she put herself in to use her magic, she didn't feel fear, not in the same way she normally did. No, that fear had returned to her after the battle when she'd found that Akari had broken four of her ribs, her collarbone, and given her a small pneumothorax, and that's with regenerative magic functioning the whole time, during that battle.

She'd place both hands on Sanel's shoulders, terror visible in her eyes, and she whispered urgently, "S-Sanel, p-please listen to me. P-Pay that w-woman no mind. L-Let her move on. S-She's d-dangerous. She i-injured me t-t-terribly not long ago."

She'd continue to give Sanel a pleading look, trying desperately to get him to ignore her.

Akari Seran has posed:
The soft supple sand deforms beneath the young delinquent's feet as she wanders with no real destination in mind. This had been her entire life for nearly a decade after her parents sent her away to the big cities of Ramuh, pushing her problems off onto a distant relative. Cast aside. That's how she had felt at the time. So rather than be looked down upon by an uncle who saw her only as a burden, she just left and wandered the Great Span.

It was a liberating feeling to have no ties to anyone or anything. While she certain enjoyed the finer things in life: good food, fine booze, the comfort of another in her arms; these were all fleeting distractions that brought only glimpses of happiness. Nothing seemed to be able to give her any real joy - nothing, save for a good battle.

And so she fought, always seeking out that sensation of exhiliration and excitement that came from putting her life on the line. But with each passing day, she grew stronger and stronger and the world grew a little duller.

Akari pauses as two sets of eyes shift onto her from a short distance away. She cannot see them looking at her but the loss of her visual senses has magnified all of the others. Her spiritual training further enhanced these perceptions and the sense of fear she feels wafting over her makes her curious.

Slowly the young woman's head swivels to the side and her empty eyes settle on Sanel and Alma both. Her frown does not lessen as she extends her power into the flowing wind, drawing upon her geomantic talents to form better 'images' of them in her mind by reading the displacement of air about them. It is a slow process, her skill at manipulating this particular element quite lacking, but after several seconds the picture that she forms forces a wry grin onto her face.

"Well... this world must be much smaller than I had come to believe. That or I've found myself a new fan. How about it? Come for a rematch, little rabbit?"

Sanel has posed:
Seeing Alma happy was important. Sanel wanted to make her happy. However, Sanel could not help but to keep his eyes on the very stranger out of sheer curiosity. Perhaps it is the stump on her arm, or perhaps she is barefooted as well. Nah, it's mostly the stump. Sanel looks over at the woman, not paying attention to Alma for a while longer.

...Until her hands rest on his shoulder.

Listen to her? Sanel looks at Alma, noticing the terror in his eyes.

For some reason, Sanel is getting angry already. However, the boy does hear her plea for him to ignore the girl and move on. Sanel reaches over to take her hand with a smile. He gives her a reassuring smile that he'll do whatever she'll ask him to do.

...At least, it was until she mentioned that the stranger INJURED HER.

Alma will notice that in her desperation, she actually INSTIGATED the situation; the boy's single eye widens. It's in shock. Deep shock.

Then, his eyes narrow.

Someone hurt his Almmy.

Suddenly, Sanel doesn't like Akari.

Sanel is stomping over towards Akari pretty quickly. The boy grits his teeth before the boy winds his hand back, "Sanel does not like White-Eyed Stranger. She hurt Sanel's Almmy. Sanel hurts White-Eyed Stranger." His fist balls and the boy takes a swing up towards the taller girl's face with full bore of anger behind it.

Alma Hyral has posed:
Alma Hyral lets out a muffled gasp as Akari notices her, hastily blurting out in a terrified voice, stammering terribly, "N-No! I n-never wanted to f-fight you in the f-first p-p-place. I o-o-only did b-because you w-were a-a-attacking S-Souji. P-Please A-Akari. I d-d-don't want any t-trouble!"

She'd wrap her arms protectively around Sanel, as if trying to attempt to keep him from antagonizing Akari, if he weren't here, she'd already be running. But she is quavering, notably, he'd feel it, and Akari likely would as well through her geomantic sight.

And in that brief moment between when Sanel slips away, and approaches Akari, she realized in her horror that.. Sanel was attacking Akari because she'd told him that she'd been hurt because of her.

"NONONONONO!"

And then Sanel punches Akari right in the face. She was completely panicked now. "AKARIHEDOESNTMEANIT! HESJUSTAKID! DONTHURTHIM!"

She continues to plead, trying not to instigate the situation, but in the end.. she knew what would happen, and so in acceptance of the situation. A soft white glow spreads over herself and Sanel. And yes, she was still blubbering plaintively.

Akari Seran has posed:
"Oooh?" Akari's eyebrows raise at the approaching boy, her voice rather flat as she questions his outrage though the subtle undertone of amusement is also present. Her hand goes to rest lightly on her slender waist and her grins widens a little into a light smirk. She snorts rudely at Alma's pathetic excuses but turns her attention mostly to Sanel for the moment.

"Listen, kid, why don't you go wander off and go play with your dolls or something. I've got bett--"

The woman's voice is cut off abruptly as the small fist smashes into the side of her jaw. The impact snaps her head backwards due to the size difference between them and Akari is actually forced to take a single step backwards to keep from staggering. There is a moment of intense silence as she stares upwards, her mouth slightly agape from the numbness that is already starting to creep through her face. And then her brain catches up with reality.

She just got punched. In the face. And it actually /hurt/.

The stream of desperate pleas that pour from Alma's mouth fall on entirely deaf ears. Akari's jaw clenches against the pain, her lips peeling back in a silent snarl as her teeth begin to grind. The empty white eyes narrow into bunched up slits, windows to the cataclysm of rage that is already beginning to form within her. Her single fist curls up tightly into a ball, quivering just as much as the frightened mage, but out of anger instead of fear.

Slowly, Akari tilts her head back down to stare with barely restrained anger at her attacker. And then she returns the favor.

Her body moves with incredible speed, Akari's head dropping down atop Sanel like the hammer of Thor as she slams her forehead into his. The power unleashed is incredible and even if he should manage to move in time, an explosion of sand and grit erupts into the air like a geyser as the pressure wave of her fury strikes the beach like a bomb.

Sanel has posed:
It is unfortunate that Alma's words fall on deaf ears. The young boy was not too happy to hear that this very person is reponsible for his Almmy being injured. So, Sanel will make sure that the girl is hurt in the same way, if not worse. After all, Sanel is a person who believes in payback.

As Akari murmurs a prayer, there is a white glow that spreads between herself and Sanel. That white glow is ever present on the boy, giving him a brighter glimmer. The young boy gazed Akari, watching her movements.

He can feel her anger rise.

And then she charges straight towards the boy with her head slamming towards the child's face.

Instead, she will find herself intercepted by a sheet of ice that suddenly rises from between the two. That sheet of ice slickly smashes against the woman as she collides her head against it. However, her sheer power breaks /through/ that ice. It releases the explosion of sand and grit around the boy.

The young child has those ice shards spray against his skin. They pierce against his chest, but he doesn't seem too disturbed by it. Instead, the boy swoops behind Akari, leaving a trail of ice right behind him. Then, the child brings his hand down towards her back.

Akari will feel a nice, slipping of a cold energy around her, but then she will also feel the fact that the boy has his arms wrapped around her waist. Should the boy get a good hold of her, he is going to whip her back and then suplex her onto the ground. ....Though what awaits her will be the formation of the ice formed along the sandy ground. That icy ground will next result in a blast into the air.

Alma Hyral has posed:
Alma Hyral just could not deal with this. She was a pacifist at heart. Every single fiber of her being screamed at her to run, to hide, to do whatever she could to get away from Akari.

She knew that Akari wasn't a Chaos worshipper, she just liked to fight... but she still regarded her as a force of Chaos. Everywhere she went, destruction soon followed.

And now this eccentric boy she'd befriended was attacking her... because of Alma. She felt guilty. She hadn't known Sanel well enough to have predicted it, but it still felt like her fault. Completely her fault.

And so she had to try and stop this.

She allowed her mind to just slip away, into that state of serenity that she rarely allowed herself to reach. Another hand removed her glasses, folded them, and tucked them away.

A radiant yellow aura began to lim her body, and a split-second later she was beside Akari and Sanel. Except she was suspended in midair. Her voice seemed calm, far too calm, given the pathetic state she'd been in before.

"Sanel. Akari. For Cosma's sake, stop this right now."

And then an icewall forms, and she hastily zips off to the side. Followed by a suplex.

Right, there'd be no talking Akari out of this now.

Flying higher, she moved in a circular pattern over the two at a more deliberate pace than usual, as she reached each point in the sky, a hand would lightly touch the air, and a sigil would form. Inside were magical arrays which shone brightly against the back drop of the night sky. And once they were complete..

"Dark from Light. Light from Dark. All must remain in balance for creation to be preserved. The encroaching darkness.. must be halted."

They joined in a circular pattern, small lines of energy coruscating through each of the sigils. Like a circular constellation, which shined down as five seperate columns of light, which then all combined in one large column of penetrating luminescence. And then that brilliance reflected off the ice below, back upwards, ascending towards the heavens and through Akari. It was like immolating Akari with light, and though Sanel too was caught up within it... he was unharmed.

Akari Seran has posed:
Akari doesn't even flinch as her head strikes the wall of solid magical ice. Such pitiful barriers are of little use against the sheer power that courses through every inch of her slender body, strength that defies the very laws of nature that it draws upon. The explosion of sand fills the air with particulate matter and in that rain of gritty crystals the geomancer's senses are for a moment extended to the world around her.

She twists as Sanel flies overhead, swinging her fist outwards to smash him aside but in her angry haste, she fails to notice the ice forming below her feet until it is too late. Akari slips as her body spins and the deadly surface of her fist goes wide, merely glancing the boy in his shoulder. It throws him off course a little but not enough to save her from being latched onto by his own freakish strength.

Both of them go down, Akari dragging her diminuative attacker down as his suplex turns into more of a body slam. She hits the ice with a grunt and growls as shards of frigid shrapnel errupt all around her, scoring the surface of her skin with thin scratches. The cold permeates her body, sapping some of her strength and the holy light from above hammers her flat, keeping her fixed firmly in place while the strange magic does its work.

Akari lets out a bellow of rage, unleashing her chakra in a surging wave that hammers aside the ice and the light, digging out a small crater in the beach. She hops to her feet easily and hunches over, flexing as she draws up power from the ground beneath her bare feet. Sand is a little more complicated to worth with for a geomancer. It's like trying to put a jigsaw puzzle together that has a million million pieces. But, as with everything else, brute force does wonders in Akari's hands.

Sand flows through her body, forming shifting piles on her back and at the stump of her missing arm. Then with a resounding crunch, she forces it all together, compacting the countless grains into singular chunks of crystal. Shimmering like the stars above in the moonlight, the woman flexes her new arms, six in total, each piled atop the other in a strange totem-pole fashion. She turns to look at them, first at Sanel then at Alma, grinning like an idiot.

"You see? YOU SEE? I knew you had it in you, little rabbit! Come then! Show me your STRENGTH."

Sanel has posed:
Sanel is making no efforts to stop. Given that Akari is standing and has not learned her lesson, Sanel will continue the beatings until morale improves! Wait, no. It is until she learns the error of her ways.

As Sanel had moved to slam the woman, she managed to smack him across his face with her wide-fist. It prompts the suplex to become a body slam. Not just that, her weight is shifting to even throw him off course.

Nevertheless, the boy grits his teeth and he starts to stand back up. What catches his attention, however, is the calm voice of Alma.

"...Ah...?" She tells them to stop. And not just that, but Alma flies higher in a circular pattern. The boy gazes upward, filled with awe. As those sigils form, the light shines down upon himself and Akari. As the light shines down on him..

He is unharmed. At first.

However, /something/ gives off a hiss that Sanel reacts to.

"Ngghhh!!" His eyes widen, his hand moves towards his chest. Particularly, it is where his heart is at. As the boy clutches his heart, the eye that is obscured by the mass of blue hair glows.

That ominous red light shines beneath the hair.

It passes, however, when the woman reacts to the earth that she now has six-arms.

"...Lots of arms. Army has lots of arms."

> Akari Seran has earned the name, 'Army'.

Nevertheless, Sanel frowns knowing that this person still has not learned her lesson. So, what does Sanel do? He charges full bore, lunging forward to charge at the woman's way. Sanel swoops over to the other side once more, then he extends his hand out to give her that freezing, brittling aura.

And then, Sanel lunges forward to chuck her off of her feet. "Nggghh!"

Alma Hyral has posed:
She would just reply calmly to Akari, in a serene voice, that seemed steeped in sorrow.

Power is meaningless without purpose, Akari Seran. This strength.. is not my own. It is meant to be used for others.

Alma would descend rapidly, like a meteor falling to the beach of Bodhum. But before she hit, she pulled up, rapidly banking and turning around as she zig-zagged in random directions. The artistry seemed Chaotic, but in truth there was an ordered beauty around it. Every movement was purposeful, like a brush stroke on the canvas that was the night sky.

When she stopped, she was in mid-air once again, with her back to Akari. It looked like she was entirely exposed..

Nine sigils joined at once, in the shape of a great cat, a constellation from Ivalice

Leo, Noble Lion of the Zodiac, let your ferocity shine forth.

Another sixteen sigils joined, in the shape of an ethereal lady, a constellation from the Land of Dragons.

Immortal Fairy, glittering lights of the Black Tortoise of the North, and the White Tiger of the West.

She'd turn suddenly and then she'd cross her arms, a large array would form above her head, followed by a giant whirling orb of light taking its place. It was brilliant to behold, and far brighter than any of the arrays she'd formed.

Altair, brightest light of her empyrean majesty. Guide of the Southwestern skies. Shine your light down upon the lost.

Simultaneously all the sigils would blaze forth to erupt into streams of light, as each would descend straight towards Akari, ending in a brilliant explosion of radiance.

And then the large orb suspended above Alma's head would streak down, as the climax to that little display, causing an even larger explosion of burning radiance.

She weeps for you.

Akari Seran has posed:
Akari bares her teeth at the boy as he charges in a half snarl, half grin in the anticipation of a good brawl. She had most certainly not been /looking/ for a fight today, in an odd change of pace, nor did she expect to find one in this pint-sized pipsqueak. But by the gods, she is going to enjoy what comes her way.

Sanel's attempts to confuse the berserker are twarted by the fact that she cannot see his body like he might expect. Her senses follow the flow of his movements and she is able to tell what direction he will go from the angle of the impact his feet have on the sand. She spins to face him directly, a hand reaching out to engulf Sanel's smaller fist in her own and the cold aura is stopped 'cold' by a wave of chakra that blocks it at the source.

Akari's lurches forward, hunching over her opponent as she brings another of her crystal fists slamming down on him from above but again his strength surprises her and she finds herself being heaved into the air midswing. Unfortunately for Alma, this manuever thwarts her own display of dazzling magic. The woman sails into the air even as the holy orbs detonate below and the surge of power throws her even higher - on a direct intercept course for the mage.

Akari gives a battlecry as she sails out of the blinding glow, her fists already drawn back to strike out at the floating girl. She swings from above, attempting to belt the buzzing gnat from the sky and plant her down in the sand, perhaps even directly into Sanel. The air hardens under her feet as she flies past and she kicks off, launching herself downwards as well, dropping on the both of them like a meteorite.

Sanel has posed:
Lifting his head up, Sanel watches Akari fly in the air with a curious glance. "Ooohhh... Army flies...~" The young boy keeps a goodeye at the berseker. Even if she managed to stop the cold aura short by the chakra, Sanel is happy to get hr off of the air and out of his sight. However, his eyes shift towards Alma, who had been in the air the whole time.

It was a wonder watching Alma from that high. He tilts his head over, watching the orb suspended in order to come down at Akari. However, it looks like his maneuver made Alma's attack ineffective.

Frown.

Sanel will remedy this.

As Aakari dives the sky with her intentions to drop on both himself and Alma, Sanel looks up at the woman with sheer determination. His visible eye hardens and he springs off of the ground with his battle cry.

"NIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIINNNNNNNNNEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!"

Sanel moves to grab the woman once more with a glare at her descension. As she rams into the boy briefly, her foot manages to knick against his face, but the boy had quickly held on to each side of her with his arms and he comes down to 'assist' Akari's landing.

...By giving her a nice back-breaker.

"BUSSTTAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!!!"

Sanel does not plan to stop there. No. The young boy moved to get a good grip of her leg and start swinging her body around. His intentions will be to slam Akari from side to side with his arm while she is likely off balanced from the Nine Buster.

"BAD! ARMY! BE NICE! TO! SANEL'S! ALMMY!"

Alma Hyral has posed:
In this state, Alma had complete control over her personal gravity and momentum. She would serenely watch as Akari hurled herself straight at her. And when Akari reached her position, she just wasn't there anymore. A little yellow glowing orb curved around her and then below.

As Akari sailed towards the ground, the girl would zip all over the sky. Drawing her sigils, inside each arrays. By the time Akari landed.. it was already finished.

Eleven sigils joined to the left of Akari's position, in the shape of an flying horse, a constellation from the world of Olympia.

Pegasus, legendary mount of the Champion, soar forth from the heavens.

Seventeen sigils joined to the right of where Akari landed, this time in the shape of a great dragon with a gaping maw. A constellation from both the World of Manhatten, and her own.

Draco Bahamut, Guardian of the infinite clouds. Blaze forth.

And then another seven joined above Akari in a straight line. A very simplistic constellation from their world known as the Seven Virtues.

Seven Stars, Seven Virtues...

Simultaneously all the sigils to the left and right of Akari would explode into little blossoms of light, while the seven stars above her rained down tiny slivers of radiance in abundance upon her.

..all must be judged by their adherence.

Akari Seran has posed:
Akari hits the young boy with the force of a comet dropping from the sky. Even her momentary contact is enough to drive them both down into the ground hard enough to throw another wave of sand into the air. The strange martial manuever works well on her wild plummet and she finds herself twisted to the side, her back cracking painful over the upraised knee.

Her mouth snaps open in a pained yell as she contorts backwards. The grip on her leg tightens and she is helpless to do anything as Sanel begins to slam her back and forth against the ground for several seconds. However, with each hit, her fury builds until it overwhelms the pain and she lashes out with a primal scream, slamming three of her fists into him from below.

The impact causes a cacophanous explosion of brilliant red light. The boy's grip on her body is shattered as he is pushed away by the thunderous strike and with a yell, Akari channels her fury into the chakra flowing through her arm. A beam of pure red heat lances out from her fist, the friction from her movements and her geomantic power igniting the air.

The initial explosion blossoms out around the pair in a sphere of condensed energy upon which the golden stars collide. Akari grits her teeth as she pushes against both the unsusal strength of her melee opponent and the great power attempting to overwhelm her from the outside. The struggle persists for several seconds, the woman's muscles bulging as she strains, her body hunching over. But she refuses to submit and with a final great yell, pushes them both away.

Akari falls to one knee, her chest heaving as she attempts to regain the stamina lost in the titanic contest. "Nrgh... such... power..." Her fists clench and loosen in tandem as she attempts to force words through gritted teeth. "Why hide it?"

Alma Hyral has posed:
The wave of friction heat would lash out at Alma, her robes would catch on fire... And she would shriek in agony as the kinetic force ripped through her, causing her position in the air to waiver and dip before she corrected herself.

And then the flames would just.. die, within the confines of her aura. But whatever happened that quenched them, appears to cause her even more suffering.

The girl was sobbing now. Her focus broken as she hung suspended in the air, clutching at her chest. A soft white glow would appear over her, and Sanel once again. She looked up at Akari, and spoke raggedly, her voice suddenly timid once again,

"B-Because it's n-not s-something we're m-meant to h-have. I-It's my s-sin. M-My shame."

Sanel has posed:
Once the boy begins slamming the woman from side to side multiple times, Sanel sought to continue he impac until Akari lashes out with her fists striking onto him from below. The impact causes an explosion of the brilliant red light.

The impact gives a devastating pain on the boy as he finds himself beaten and pushed back by the thunderous strikes. That Tiny Titan sails back nd he skids across the ground. He twists around and he shifts his stance a bit.

Once Alma's explosions collide, the boy sees the muscles bulging and the woman merely tries to recover herself.

Panting a bit, Sanel tilts his head over with curiosity. His attention drifts to see Alma herself, who is now sobbing.

Alma is crying.

Sanel's interest in Akari is dropped. Instead, Alma is crying and hurting. Because of that, Sanel is leaping into the air, drawing upon his magic to form ice wings as he moves to give Alma a hug from behind.

She wanted Sanel to stop fighting before, didn't she?

"Sanel is sorry for making Almmy cry."

Akari Seran has posed:
Akari lowers her head towards the ground as she sucks in a breath, spitting furiously into the sand. "Shame? Ridiculous! There is no shame in having power!"

Pushing to her feet, the woman grunts and throws her head to the side, tossing her ponytail behind her where it belongs. Her hands all clench for a few moments as she regards the two youths but already the joy of this fight has begun to bleed away despite the strength displayed by the boy.

"Tch." Her lower arms cross over her chest and she shakes her head from side to side. "Stop crying. Crying never solves anything. The world isn't going to conform to fit your expectations just because you pout a little!"

Alma Hyral has posed:
She feels Sanel hug her from behind. She doesn't seem to register it at first. She was crying for one simple reason...

She really was that delicate. Akari's counterattack had broken several bones from the sheer force, and caused her terrible burns. She wasn't a warrior, this was only her second battle ever. And as her White Magic began the process of knitting back her bones, in a setting which she couldn't fully concentrate it.. it caused her even more suffering.

Eventually she turns around and begins to hug Sanel in return, gently. Ow, her ribs... She just murmurs to him, "I-It's not your f-fault. I s-should be a-apologizing to y-you. I'm s-sorry Sanel."

She'd look over her shoulder at Akari, her expression plaintive, "I d-don't e-expect it to c-conform to my e-expectations. It n-never has. W-Why should it s-start now? And t-this p-power..."

She'd gently start to lower herself down to the ground, with Sanel, still hugging him like he was her lifeline through this madness. "...is not m-my own. I-It's meant to be u-used for the s-sake of others."

Sanel has posed:
Alma had suffered quite a lot during her use of her power. Sanel can see it ever so present. The young boy is now keping her into his arms. In fact, Sanel is fluttering towards the ground as she starts lowering herself.

As soon as Sanel's feet touch the ground, the young boy shifts the hold about to where Sanel is craddling her. He'll carry her somewhere else.

"Almmy is hurt, Sanel will take Almmy to inn to rest." Akari is pretty much forgotten now. Even as Alma is talking to her, the boy is dotting on the frail girl who is not much older than herself.

Nevertheless, Sanel is a litle winded, but he is still unmoving in his intent. Taking Alma away, Sanel is starting to make his way past Akari and out towards Traverse Town. Of course, he forgot his boots. Oh well.

Akari Seran has posed:
"Relying on others makes you weak," Akari says with a hint of annoyance, her eyes narrowing slightly. Her face twists up into a disgusted scowl at the girl as she clings to her friend, as if looking at a prime example.

She can't remember a time that she was ever like that. Her life has been a string of challenges and misfortune, trials that would have broken a normal girl who wanted nothing more than to be coddled and play with dolls. Those hardships had forced her to grow strong on her own. Other people were just a crutch, an excuse for the weak to lean upon for their failure.

This power that she had attained is hers and hers alone. Akari does not need justification to wield her might save that it pleases her own desires. To devote herself to the service of another, to submit to the whims of others before they even demand it... such a thing is completely alien to her mind.

Akari watches them leave without a fuss. The two upper sets of crystal arms seem to crack and fall apart suddenly, turning to sand once more and scattering on the beach. She ponders for a time where it is she should go next and in the end begins to make her way up to Traverse as well. Perhaps someone will know where to find a decent jacket here.

Alma Hyral has posed:
She would just reply with a plaintive sort of defiance, "Y-You're w-wrong. I-It makes us s-stronger than you can i-i-imagine."

That was her only response, and then Sanel picks her up, and begins to cradle her gently. She was.. shocked right out of her sobbing. This gesture would have been too much, too forward, for anyone else. How strange that Sanel was acting the part of her White Knight in this story.

She was hurt, and tired so she didn't try to resist or give him any sort of reproval. A soft white glow spread between the pair as they walked back to the inn. As she concentrated, focused... and knit the pair of them back together. It didn't take long, when she didn't have to keep her mind on the battle.