Fated Encounters

Fated Encounters
Date of Scene:	03 January 2013
Location:	Balamb Area
Synopsis:	The wheels of fate are turning and, after quite a bit of time, Raiya and Avira meet up again. Unrecognized at first, Avira manages to convince Raiya of her identity before the samurai attacks. Whatever pleasant conversation was to follow is unknown as Makenshi shows up to demand information on "The Black Wind."
Cast of Characters:	Raiya Fujihara, Avira, Makenshi

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Avira has posed:
With an open road like this consisted of sprawling grasslands with the occasional large tree, it was difficult to not spot other travellers from quite some distance away. For those of the more sneaky persuasion, this was a terrible place to be. Little cover to use and little place to hide unless they were creative.

It is early afternoon and the sky is somewhat cloudy. Shadows are cast from the clouds all throughout the plains, seen from a high enough hill or tree. There is a light breeze that occasionally stirs the blades of grass in water-like ripples.

Over the hills, a creature travels. With her dark brown fur and unusual bipedal shape, she tends to stand out. A headstrong adventurer would likely, upon sight, assume her to be one of the "random encounter" roaming monsters or fiends. The slowly unmutating Avira is anything but such.

That is, if she really was reverting back to her human form. As she looks right now, it's obvious she'd have a very long way to go. She travels south, to the beach-or more specifically, to Balamb Garden itself.

Raiya Fujihara has posed:
Even with SeeD protecting these lands, they could not be everywhere at once. Dangerous creatures still roamed these lands and preyed upon travellers that were caught unaware. It is this danger combined with the natural beauty of the landscape that draws Raiya Fujihara here. The wayward ronin travels these roads looking to see if she can in turn ambush some monsters at their own game. Having not spoken with Avira in some time, she knows nothing about what she had to deal with recently involving her transformation.

The samurai only knows that a foul wind seems to be blowing.

Ill omen aside, the straw-hat wearing swordswoman walks slowly down the twisting paths and spies upon something moving off in the distance. Was it some shadows playing tricks on her eyes? Raiya was unsure, but she was intent on investigating this mysterious creature a little closer. For surely it could mean no good to allow roaming beasts to run free over these plains.

Makenshi has posed:
The meadows are peaceful at present, the shaggy fields of wild grass rustling faintly in a cool breeze that rolls in from the beach in waves, almost like the dark water that laps at the sandy shores. The tangy bite of salt on the air is a constant reminder of the Garden's proximity to the ocean, bringing with it not only the promise of fresh seafood but the aquatic variety monsters as well.

The broad openness of the plains and its lack of cover is indeed a challenge for those creatures who stalk the lands, however, the small being that current spies upon the wanderer and the mutant is not constrained by such things. High up in the air, a fairy drifts on golden gossamer wings of light, her pink armored form gliding as easily as a leaf.

Crux's broad childish eyes sweep across the ground as she seeks out the object of her current orders, coming to rest upon Avira's twisted form. She blinks twice, her magical nature assimilating the nessecary data and comparing it to the desired result. Yes, this was the one he sought.

Quietly, she turned and zipped off into the horizon again to relay this discovery.

Avira has posed:
Foul indeed-at least, in appearance, could easily be attributed to the mutate version of Avira. She was fortunate that the integrated darkness that had originally come with this transformation had been banished by the supplied "cure." At the same time, she could feel this form considerably more difficult to manage without it. As if to remind her of this fact, her stomach lets out an audiable growl as she walks.

Avira briefly pauses to poke at her belly in dismay. Tilting her head upwards, she sniffs at the air, catching the ocean breeze and the smell of...something else. Someone else, specifically, and decidedly human. Her eyes narrow and she sharply turns in Raiya's direction, the wings on her back already ruffled and partially unfolded.

As the ronin nears, she'll find the creature coming to her position as well. The beast was clearly very aware of Raiya's presence. Her approach is slow, easily mistaken for predatory though far more attributed to wariness. At this distance, it was impossible for Avira to recognize the lady samurai, though not for lack of trying. The "scent of Raiya" was something never experienced by the human Avira.

Raiya Fujihara has posed:
If this was the 'cured' Avira, then Raiya would never had wanted to see the fully mutated one. The creature was much, much larger than her, had numerous sharp fangs to use as weapons, and had wings which could prove quite problematic for the swordswoman who was sorely lacking any supernatural skills to fight creatures such as this. Her only answer to this threat would be to beat it using superior swordsplay.

Avira might not be able to recognize Raiya yet, but the ronin had little chance of recognizing Avira even as she drew ever nearer. The blonde samurai's chisa-katana is drawn from its sheath in a flourish and held over her head with two hands. This is where she wait for the creature to make the first move so that they can begin this deadly dance.

"Creature of Darkness, I will be the blade to banish you from this world." Raiya states stoically and keeps herself firmly planted on the ground in her fighting stance. She only moves in small counter-movement should Avira/beast attempt to circle around to either side of the Wutai ronin.

For a brief moment, Raiya could have sword she had seen something glittering off in the distance. But it was folly to go looking for such a thing now that there was a very real threat coming ever nearer to her.

Avira has posed:
As the mutate nears, her brows begin to crease in recognition. That straw hat she's certainly seen before, though Raiya is not the only one to own such a headpiece. The blonde hair is pretty telling.

Recognition finally dawns when Raiya draws her katana on her. She knew that stance and steel, having fought beside it previously. As a burgeoning warrior, it would be remiss of her to fail to recognize someone she's shared a battle or two with. In spite of the clearly armed and primed weapon, Avira continues her approach, raising her hands up. "Raiya! I-"

'Creature of Darkness...!'

Avira does attempt to circle at this point, her eyes narrowed. "Raiya, it's me, Avira." She waits a few moments, then seems to come to a realization. One of those raised claws reaches behind her, gripping the familiar hilt of the Spine, which had been concealed behind one of her wings. The weapon is pulled from its sheath and held, one handed, in a defensive position.

"Please." she says her voice low and firm, "Let me explain."

Raiya Fujihara has posed:
It talks? Blink. It -knows- her name. And it calls itself Avira?! The fact that this creature is now wielding Avira's signature weapon causes Raiya to pause even longer. Could this beast have slain Avira and taken her weapon? Tch. Raiya was becoming too cynical in this day and age. This creature, whatever it was, was trying to parlay with her. She shouldn't be so quick to condemn at this point.

The katana is lowered from its aggressive over-the-head stance to a much more reactive stance which involves Raiya keeping her katana behind her and tilted towards the ground. "If you had intended hostilities, you would have struck by now. I will hear you out." That's the best that the still skeptical samurai can offer right now.

Makenshi has posed:
The strange reunion between the two women is both intriguing and utterly irrelevant to the man who watches them now from the sky. Their problems are trivial compared to the true threat that faced Wonderland and, by proxy, all worlds. However, there was one person in particular who he was very interested in, a man from his past he had thought dealt with long ago.

If rumors and Crux's information gathering were to be believed, one of these individuals knew of that man. Indeed, he could feel the lingering presence of his magic on her. The subtle scent of Soil was unmistakable.

Makenshi pauses for a moment to watch their confrontation play out. It seems like they might be intending to fight each other. He cannot allow that - not until he gets what he came here for.

All across the grassy plains a deep white mist begins to materialize, billowing up from the ground and out of thin air. It sweeps rapidly through the entire zone, obscuring all sights beyond a few meters while making the air heavy and difficult to breathe.

The fairy slowly hovers at her master's side, watching the two women with idle curiosity. "Kukuruyu?"

"Thank you. I will take it from here."

In a burst of light and speed, the albino man vanishes from the sky, driving towards the ground like a meteor. An explosion of wind and dirt assaults Raiya and Avira upon his landing, throwing up a roiling whirlwind through the mist that clears it out just enough to see his silhouetted form.

Arms crossed, her stares at the two of them with piercing green eyes and a disinterested expression, awaiting their reaction.

Avira has posed:
'It talks!' was sadly a reaction Avira had been getting /quite/ a lot of since her mutation. Angantyr had also assumed that some monster had killed Avira and stolen her weapon but fortunately, she had managed to convince him of her 'issue' before he struck. In that vein, she tries to work quickly to make sure that Raiya doesn't just up and decide that she's some trickster and attack.

"Thank you." Avira offers when Raiya claims she'll hear her out. At the same time, the mutate has not lowered her signature weapon, keeping it at the ready in case her explanation is not deemed sufficient. "I was hit with a curse that's slowly wearing off. It changed me into -this-. I assure you, I am Avira. After all..." She holds up two fingers. "I owe you."

Avira's nose twitches and after a few seconds, she sneezes. Her free hand lifts to pinch her nose, then wave at the air. It's at that point, she notices the mist around them has grown extremely thick and it's become hard to see the next hill over.

Her hair stands on end. "Something isn't right." she points out, looking around. The lupine ears of hers twitch and swivel, searching the area for sounds as her eyes are now useless. There is the faint sound of wind, then the ground nearby them explodes.

Immediately, she hops backwards, glaring at the white-haired man that has literally dropped from the sky before them. "...who are YOU?" she demands of the intruder.

Raiya Fujihara has posed:
Sorry Avira! But a lot of people do judge a book by its cover. Especially when that person looks like Avira's still somewhat mutated form. It is Avira's reminder to Raiya that she owes her twice that causes Raiya's guard to lower even more. She stands back up tall on two feet instead of being dropped down in that combat stance of hers. "That's right. You do still owe me, Avira." Not only does Raiya use the other woman's name, but she even smiles.

Everything is seemingly ready to be defused when Makenshi happens. The sudden appearance of mist and the subsequent meteor-like impact of Makenshi causes the samurai to leap back from the impact site and drop into an offensive stance once more. Nothing like something like -this- to keep someone on edge! She keeps two hands steady on her chisa-katana as Avira calls out the question that was on Raiya's mind too. There was no need to be redundant here.

Makenshi has posed:
The thick mists continue to swirl about lazily in the wake of the strange man's dramatic arrival, thin wisps of the cloudy substance drifting out like streamers across all three of their bodies. A long white cape flutters at his back, billowed sideways along with a thin blue ribbon bound to his neck by a steady breeze that seems to only touch him.

Makenshi's bold stare drifts from the samurai to the monster, lingering on each of them for a few moments but ultimately settles on Avira. Silence reigns as his gaze bores into her but then the mask about his face suddenly snaps open, splitting down the middle as each half retracts up his cheeks and vanishes from sight.

"The Black Wind..." He says, his voice soft but firm, staring at her intently. "Where is he?"

Avira has posed:
There is only a momentary bit of relaxation when Raiya seems to recognize fully that Avira is indeed who she says she is. Though there is a tiny bit of dismay that Raiya does indeed remember her owed 'favors' or whichever the samurai deemed appropriate in exchange for her help. "It's funny though, you haven't explained what, if anything, you want."

It is assumed that she meant just 'from her', but Avira's statement implies a bit more than that. What did Raiya want period?

Unfortunately, for the moment, the white-haired man robs their attention. Though mysterious, his arrival after the rather supicious fog left Avira feeling uneasy. Such a feeling is reflected in her face as she starts right back into the eyes of the half-masked man.

The Spine is lifted just slightly as the mask snaps open. "The Black Wind?" Avira repeats. "Who are you talking about?" After a moment, irritation rises within her, "Who are you?"

Raiya Fujihara has posed:
This may be against her better judgement, but Raiya does some side-stepping of her own now. She attempts to make her way over towards Avira's side when this creature from the heavens is seemingly looking for her. But to perhaps Avira's delight, she does raise a third finger out towards the huntress/monster to declare this another favor owed.

Raiya does not want for a lot of things, but she knows it is always handy to have powerful friends owe you a boon from time to time. Things were heating up in Wutai and she mind need to collect on those owed favors perhaps soon. Avira once again asks the most pressing questions. "You need not answer anything from a stranger who demands answers before courtesies." She intones in a calm tone towards Avira with her eyes never really leaving this potentially powerful and dangerous newcomer.

Makenshi has posed:
The mysterious stranger offers no response to Avira, instead turning to look at the samurai woman as she draws in closer to protect her friend. He could care less about their opinions of his manners but their dodging of the question would not do.

His gaze is drawn to their weapons, helding menacingly in his direction. He couldn't help be feel a sense of amusement and pity for these poor fools. No matter. They would learn and he'd have his answers.

"I have no patience for your games." The elaborate sword at his side clatters, seemingly coming to life on its own as it seperates from Makenshi's belt. Twirling like a pinwheel, the weapon floats in a swift circle into the air, hovering over his head in a vertical line like the hand of a clock striking twelve.

"The man with the magun... you have seen him." The man's eyes narrowed slightly, on Avira once more. "Tell me where."

Avira has posed:
Alas, this entire interaction could easily be blamed on Kaze's complete and utter lack of WORDS. At the same time, Avira was actually fortunate enough to not be shot with the true power of the magun. It's unlikely she'd still be alive if she was. So as this man continues to demand information from them, Avira continues to be confused.

Now with Raiya's interjection of an extremely good point, she's further convinced that this rude behavior should not be stood for.

"Well I have no idea who you are." The woman counters, eyes narrowing as this mysterious interloper summons his apparently animate sword. "And I am not answering any of your questions, including your obtuse ones, until you tell me."

Avira suddenly steps forward, thrusting out the spine in front of her. She expects this man to dodge or parry, honestly, and very much intends for it to be a warning strike.

Raiya Fujihara has posed:
Here we go again. Raiya cannot help but to smile grimly as things being to escalate. It seems that trouble just follows Avira and Raiya is seemingly there to witness it most of the time. And once more, it looks like they are to be allies in this struggle. But who exactly was their mutual foe?

This strange man who made quite the entrance seems willingly to use violence to achieve results. Or maybe he is just trying to intimidate them by summoning that weapon of his. But before Raiya can ponder this too much, Avira rushes in to attack. "Tch!" The samurai lets up in a guttural yell as she tries to grab a piece of the monstrous Avira to hold back. But she was simply to fast to stop. What's done is done, but this does not need to escalate any further.

The Wutai ronin hangs back for know and lifts her katana up. She is ready to defend Avira, but she looks in no rush herself to start stabbing this new person even if he is a little rude. But with speed like Raiya's, it would not take her much to transition into a quick assault if need be.

Makenshi has posed:
As Avira rushes in to strike, the albino warrior merely turns his head away from her dismissively, eyes closing as if she were nothing more than a gnat buzzing his way. The shimmering ornate blade hovering overhead explodes into action, swooping down to parry the thrust with blinding speed as it transitions to a streak of white, punishing the mutant's foolishness by smashing her away with ease. The counter strike is weak and gentle, almost mocking its its dismissiveness.

The blade returns to its watchful position overhead moments later, spinning lazily in the air. Makenshi opens his eyes, staring off into the distance as if they don't even matter to him.

"How pitiful."

Casually, the white-haired youth reaches up and grasps the hilt of his weapon, taking a proper grip on the sword instead of allowing it to float about. He turns to them, uncrossing his arms and gives them both a cold stare.

Slowly, Makenshi opens his mouth and exhales, his eyes rolling up slightly as more of the thick white Mist billows out from within. The magical fog swirls around them, practically tingling with raw power as it seeps into their bodies and clouds the warrior from their sight. Immediately the effects can be felt, their bodies becoming heavy as some overwhelming pressure presses in on them from all sides.

Even as they struggle with this new challenge, the Mist parts violently, a line of blue magic ripping across the ground towards them at frightening speed. They have only moments to defend themselves before the air wave detonates explosively, shattering the earth and sending deadly stone shrapnel in all directions.

Avira has posed:
This guy was easily as nontalkative as Kaze. If either of them just SAID something, all this trouble could just be avoided!

She hadn't expected her warning shot to be responded to so violently. A simple dodge, maybe, but not his sort of response. The few words he does utter gets a small sound of annoyance. "You're clearly not the type to give out information to freely." Avira scoffs, glaring right back at him, nonplussed. She manages to maintain that glare, even as the mist tightens around her and all but immobilizes her. A growl escapes her as she struggles against it, unable to move significantly enough to evade the magic that parts the mist afterwards. The blast sends her flying sideways, tumbling onto her front. When she lifts her head again, her ears have flattened in anger.

"So much for getting our questions answered. What a jerk." Avira growls, letting her ears do the work to locate this man in light of the thick mist around them. When she thinks she's found him, she darts after him in the mist, surprising him with a low sweep of the sword aimed to knock him skyward. Avira's quick to leap up after him, exchanging the hand she fights with between each strike, passing the Spine between them.

Raiya Fujihara has posed:
The samurai sentinel frowns slightly when she sees that further violence will not be avoided. This just may be the way of things now. But it seems that Makenshi's aggression does not start and end with just Avira. Whatever force this being is generating is being aimed towards Raiya too! The Wutai warrior rolls -into- incoming attack so that she will be in the ideal position to launch her own counterattack.

Whatever the outcome may be, Raiya intends to use this close distance to her advantage. She brings her upswung sword back down at Makenshi in a series of sword strokes that have her moving in a half-circle around Mack should she be successful.

When her assault is finally over, the blonde swordswoman looks to the huntress. "It seems that force will be required afterall. Let us work together again." A grim smile reappears on Raiya's face. "Trouble has found us yet again it seems."

Makenshi has posed:
Talking is for people less cool than Unlimited.

Makenshi's blade lashes out as the monstrous mercenary unleashes her magic in retaliation and an explosion of air intercepts it several feet away. Ice shards scatter wildly in blossom of shimmering crystals, one of them biting into the meat of his biscep as it rips past. There is no blood from this wound, however, and the white warrior shows no signs of even acknowledging it.

The combined assault of the two warriors is met with a furious flurry of motion, the magical longsword dancing in their opponent's hand as if it were as natural as breathing to him. Every strike is countered masterfully, his arms whipping back and forth to create an impenetrable wall of defensive parries.

The sword finally ceases to move, reappearing in before them as Avira brings her strange weapon up to launch the two of them skywards. Makenshi rides the momentum from her attack, pushing away after a few moments as he easily floats through the sky, still giving them that impassive stare that still manages to look condescendning.

Going on the offensive again, Makenshi airdashes towards Avira, easily closing the gap between them in moments as his deadly blade begins to is brought down with both hands in a powerful slash. Immediately, he spins in a circle and, after a dramatic delay, another explosion of air erupts in every direction.

The Mist is once again parted as he holds the blade up over his head, pointing it towards the sky. When it comes down, a blue line of magic power erupts from blade, carving through and past her into the samurai below as well with an even greater explosion upon impact than before, leaving a crater of truly immense size where their battlefield used to be.

Avira has posed:
"Fate conspires against us." Avira murmurs, letting her wings unfold and keep her aloft for a much longer time than would normally be allowed by gravity. All the while, she works against this man, almost managing to land a hit, only to be denied at every turn. She begins to wonder, though.

Something about this man. Just the way he looked and the skills he used. But it couldn't be, could it? This guy, the White Cloud? It'd been so long since she heard those words from Kaze, she wouldn't even bother thinking them if she hadn't recently received some Gaudium Lord heat.

It quickly seems that taking to the air wouldn't be to her advantage this time since the man can float. To her own credit, she lifts her blade and manages to prevent his initial slash from simply cleaving her down, meeting it, but being thrown downward from the impact.

As she stands, Avira moves in front of Raiya, as if to shield her from the explosion, and braces herself. This actually does very little, besides put her in the epicenter of the explosion that leaves her mangled. Brown feathers and scales are strewn throughout the crater and Avira is struggling to stand.

"This doesn't look good." Avira murmurs, reaching out to place a claw on Raiya's shoulder. There is a steely gaze in her eyes, "But we must persevere. I have a bad feeling about this man." There was something to be said about resolve, especially when it came from the heart.

Raiya Fujihara has posed:
Whatever this creature is, it is not human and not by a long shot. Raiya just does not seem fast enough to connect with any of her sword strokes. She has dealt with inhuman speed before but she was always able to compensate in one way or another. But this being seems to be simply outclassing her. The frustration from this is met Makenshi cocksure attitude that seems to be pulsating from him. She had only witnessed such behavior once before and that was from a Shadow Lord.

The magical explosion rips into a blocking Raiya and causes her to stagger down to a knee from where she was knocked back by the blow. She looks intent on staying there for a moment, but it is Avira's assistance that emboldens her now. "Fate tends to conspire against us all, but there are times when we can still steal a victory or two." The claw on the shoulder causes Raiya to look her way. There is a rather grim look on the ronin's face, but she then winks towards Avira. "A warrior is always prepared to die."

The blonde samurai rolls forward up onto her feet and leaps up into the air. She swings a two-handed downwards blows towards Mack and follows her first attack with a series of swords strikes that are aimed towards the mystical being's extremities.

Makenshi has posed:
Gazing down upon his opponents, the white warrior crosses his arms, the magical blade spinning back into place over his head. He does not interfere as they collect themselves in the aftermath of his devasating attack, unconcerned with the bolstering magic or rallying words they share. No matter what they do, they are simply beneath him. And by proxy, they are no threat to Chaos, either.

From overhead the little fairy doll makes herself known again, swooping down to hover at Makenshi's shoulder and peer at the two unfortunate women with her excessively cute eyes. "Kukuruyu..."

His head tilts slightly to regard the doll for a moment, pondering something quietly as his eyes slide shut. With a sharp his the mask close over his face again. "I understand."

Suddenly, however, the samurai launches herself at him once more. The katana is met by dancing white streaks as his sword swiftly intercepts her attack yet again while he stands there, completely unphased. Not a single stroke penetrates the wall of parries nor even causes him to give her a look of concern.

As a final strike is knocked aside, the sword spins swiftly, orbiting around his back before plunging directly into Raiya's side, slashing at her exposed side and knocking her back to the ground. Makenshi floats slowly back to the ground opposite them, his mask withdrawing once more.

"Your resistance is pointless. Tell where the Black Wind may be found. Otherwise..."

A hand goes to the strange belt at his waist, resting lightly on one of the empty glass bottles that ring it like bullets in a bandolier. He fixes them with a meaningful stare, exhaling further mist into the air. "I shall not be merciful."

Avira has posed:
Though she may mean it in jest (or does she?) when Raiya shares that line about being prepared to die, Avira shakes her head. "Not today."

While Raiya lunges forward to attack, Avira remains hanging back, not quite stepping forward as she gathers magic of her own. Her own dominion is over ice and it seems to magnify the chill already in the air from the choking mist. She falters for a few moments as Makenshi speaks, pausing to look him in the eye. Realization dawns at last.

"I. Don't. Know." she says truthfully. The destruction in Mullonde was weeks ago. Her fight with Kaze in the Jungle even longer. That man could be anywhere right now and as long as he wasn't around HER, she was perfectly fine with that.

Suddenly, gigantic icicles drop from the sky, shoot up from the ground, and fly sideways at all directions. They come through the mist, perhaps trying to use Makenshi's own mist cover against him. Each piece of ice is centered on the man and as long as Avira remains concentrated, the ice keeps coming.

Raiya Fujihara has posed:
Raiya always goes into battle knowing it could be her last, but she has no plans on dying this day in truth. She has already came so far in attempting to free her homeland when there are very few who still care about such things. For her to die now would spell doom for this rebellion.

The brutal counterattack does horrors to Raiya's unprotected side. The samurai only wears leg guards and arm guards in order to maintain her speed. Speed that is not helping her in the least bit here. Once more she staggers to her knees when the swords is withdrawn from her side. Her katana has never left her side throughout all of this and she is able to deflect this creature's strange attack with her blade. Once more, she dashes forward and slashes out at Makenshi with a mighty swing that will propel her past Makenshi through sheer momentum.

Once there, she turns and holds her katana up with both hands despite her still bleeding from her side. "Avira knows nothing of what you ask, unholy demon." She drops back again into the combat stance of Wutai's warrior class. "Now leave her alone!" The samurai demands with a shout. There is not attack from the winded warrior as she must save her energy for whatever comes next.

Makenshi has posed:
Makenshi's eyes narrow slightly as she continues to bark defiance at him. It was perhaps the truth that she spoke. The Black Wind touched many lives merely by passing them by according to the rumors. That man was certainly capable of destruction on such a scale. It was this very suggestion that Crux had spoken to him moments before and he had been considering letting them go.

But then the magic surges from the Mist, taking shape from the very source of his power. The irony was not lost on the albino warrior. His sword lashes out, shattering several of the icicles as they continue to assault him from all directions with the same deadly precision he had displayed until now.

Unfortunately, everyone has their limits. As he turns to counter the slash from Raiya, another wave of ice surges up from the ground. Makenshi's eyes widen in surprise as he leans out of the way - but not quite fast enough. One of the sheer crystalline spikes punches into his unarmored flank, tearing a ragged line across the pristine white of the skin-tight suit that adorns his body.

With an annoyed grunt, the man leaps away and looks down at his wound, clear displeasure on his face for the first time. For such pathetic warriors to wound him so - his pride was on the line now.

Glaring up at both of them with those cold green eyes, Makenshi draws forth one of the empty bottles, holding it between his thumb and middle fingers. The bottle is slowly raised up to eye level as he speaks words of magical power, calling upon the summoning magics that are the birthright of all Misterians.

"Embraced by the magical tune played by the Mist..."

The bottle is tossed into the air, spinning as it shoots up directly above his head. The magical sword is gripped, a single vertical slash following the transluscent and seemingly empty container, cutting it neatly in half.

"Now sleep!"

The two halves of the bottle begin to shine as the Mist within reacts to the linear motion, drawing upon a natural force of the universe to unleash its power. The sparkle becomes a blinding blue ball of illumination through the mist, drifting upwards as it expands to incredible proportions.

Silver Etude!

The energy explodes brilliantly, taking the shape of a monstrously huge segemented dragon. The entire front of the beast's face appears to be made of a giant sword and its entire body glistenes with shimmering white scales.

Hovering in the air for a moment, the Blade Dragon turns upon the two women and roars, their only warning before it dashes at them with incredible speed. It's body becomes a gleaming streak of blue light, a spear of ultimate precision and power that lances towards them with no regards for remorse or pity.

Avira has posed:
Sadly at this point it had stopped being defiance. Avira's defiance can be reflected in her continued drive to fight. Her words were the truth.

Persistance pays off. Through Avira's concentration and Raiya's swordsmanship, she manages to draw blood from their arrogant aggressor. For the first time, she sees something other than disinterest reflected upon his face though that particular expression makes her triumph short-lived. Avira's magic ceases and as he ilfts the bottle, Avira takes a step backwards. This man and that other man fighting allegedly destroyed a world. 'Now sleep!' makes her think a sleep spell is coming, which frankly scares her a lot more than being attacked with a sword. Capture was not an idea she wanted to entertain lately. "Raiya! I think we should retrea-"

The massive blade dragon appears above them and Avira's eyes widen. There's no way to dodge THAT. Instead, Avira swallows, plants her clawed feet firmly on the ground, and braces herself as the creature descends as a lance of blue light.

It strikes through her and by virtue of her willpower, she not only remains alive, but manages to remain standing. Mutation or not...Avira /had/ come a long way since that fight in the forest.

Immediately afterwards, she runs for Raiya, reaching for her hand, "We need to get out of here. I know who that man is now. Fighting him is a terrible idea. /We need to leave/."

Raiya Fujihara has posed:
It seems that fate has abandoned Raiya this day as bad turns to worst. This entire fight was nearly ludicrous in how it was playing out. And now that a massive blade dragon was summoned, worst has transended into hopelessness.

Unlike Avira, Raiya did not have the power to generate such a shield to protect herself. She had to make due with attempting to dodge every whichaway to avoid getting dealt a fatal blow. The always bruised and bloody samurai is humiliated even more when she receives additonal wounds from this summoned creature. Avira was right. There was no way to dodge that.

The idea of letting herself just die is shaken from her when Avira's claw grabs the samurai's much smaller hand. This jostles some sense into her and she turns to Avira with a firm nod. "Agreed," confirms Raiya in a weak tone as she prepares to flee with her.

Makenshi has posed:
As the massive dragon spears into the warriors and then the ground, it explodes in a wash of bright blue light, fading back to the Mists from whence it came. The thick fog that had heralded the arrival of the mysterious man, who's identity may be more obvious to atleast one of them now, quickly evaporates with it.

Of their taciturn assailant there is no sign. He appears to have vanished just as swiftly as he arrived, leaving them with nothing but pain and questions. And maybe some resentment.

Overhead, Crux watches the women for a few moments longer, noting their rather impressive tenacity and resilience. Ofcourse, Makenshi had not been trying to kill them; the doll had seen him fight for real. This was merely a warning who's message was very clear - stay out of my way.

"Kukuruyu..." A little sad at how things had turned out, the fairy turns and whooshes off into the horizon, disappearing in the dark clouds that overcast the grassy plains, which now sports a rather tremendous crater. Nothing walks away from an Unlimited unscathed, not even the planet.