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+---- Thread: [Training] psychological warfare (/showthread.php?tid=11923)
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psychological warfare - Elizabeth - 08-18-2025
The sunlight wasn't too harsh today, and Elizabeth was comfortable in her maroon sweater and long cream skirt. Her book bag hung over her shoulder as she walked next to Maea, admiring the crystalline waters of the Miana Pool when it came into view. Her mouth cracked into a grin, brown eyes turning bright. [Say]"Wow. This is beautiful. I should come out here to read some time."[/say] Last time she'd done that in Torchline, she'd wound up on an island too far from the main land. This seemed like a safer option.
Stepping onto the small shore of stones, she turned to the Ancient, a warm smile on her lips as she spoke, [Say]"How about we start with some exercise to loosen up our bodies and minds? Then you can tell me all about how things have been recently."[/say] Considering how they hadn't seen each other in some months, Elizabeth was curious to hear how Maea's progress was coming along, but sometimes some movement helped to break any barriers that had formed over time. Plus, the weather was too enjoyable to spend sitting around the whole time.
RE: psychological warfare - Maea - 08-19-2025
A distance lingered in albino eyes, gazing across the far horizon where the colors seemed less oppressive. The vivid hues of a spectacular scenery asked for more than she had to give of enthusiasm on this day; the idea of retreating with a book was more than a little bit tempting, though in her case she would have chosen the mottled shade beneath expansive canopies, to the soothing whisper of wind through autumn leaves. She missed home with a dull ache, missed the scent of mulch and evergreens, the constant chirp of birds and the gleam of will-o-wisps when dusk fell - and she longed for the steady warmth of her partner, who no doubt would have a lot to say about her sudden absence.
But the skyship home wouldn't depart until the following morning, and it had been so long since she saw Elizabeth that even the dolor couldn't justify passing up this chance. At least she didn't need to feign anything around her, as a rare exception among friends who was entrusted with the true stirrings beneath the otherwise so put together facade.
Slowly reigning in those far flung musings, she turned her attention back to Elizabeth when she spoke again. Without the usual black dress she seemed smaller than usual, somehow, lighter like the ivory top and flowing trousers that billowed in the wind might whisk her away at any moment. A white silk robe shielded exposed shoulders from the sun and whipped around her legs, casting ruddy highlights whenever the red-gold lining flashed in the light. Like the bark of some Halo trees, silvery and soft yet bleeding when sliced open.
[say]"Alright,"[/say] she murmured, when the other suggested some exercise. [say]"Would you mind if I focused on wielding fire? I've been neglecting it for some time..."[/say] Which was unfortunate, given the versatility of the ability as both offense and a deterrent, not to mention all the non-combative utilities. [say]"If you could give me some feedback on how to improve the deterring effect, I would appreciate it very much."[/say] Being a short woman with limited reach, the further away opponents remained, the better it would be.
RE: psychological warfare - Elizabeth - 08-20-2025
Maea had definitely changed since the time she'd seen her. It was hard to pinpoint what was different, but there was a shift that almost had her distracted, a delicateness that made it seem like she might float away with a strong enough breeze. Elizabeth couldn't say whether it was a positive change without knowing what was going on, however, she didn't miss it and she didn't shy away. If anything, she leaned in, hanging on the woman's every word.
Her eyes widened slightly as she tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. [say]"Sure, although I don't have many means to combat fire, and I don't have the magic myself, so I'm not sure how much use I'll be in the 'advice' department."[/say] She smiled, hoping it didn't discourage Maea from the activity and the benefits it would provide. Even if it wasn't the exact method she was hoping for, Elizabeth tilted her head. [say]"Perhaps I could throw targets your way? Or direct lightning near you?"[/say] She'd leave it up to Maea to decide, happy to adjust to her needs.
RE: psychological warfare - Maea - 08-20-2025
Rolling her shoulders to loosen up had a few responding pops going off, whispering of deep seated tension with no place to go. At least the act of moving reduced that faraway look about her; drew her back to the present to think over over Elizabeth's suggestions.
[say]"How about a combination? If you use any means you have to get close enough to tag me, I'll do what I can to stop you. Don't worry about getting burned, I won't aim for you directly."[/say] She even slid the robe from her her shoulders and offered it to her friend. [say]"This is enchanted. It will keep your clothes from burning, if you close it over them. Just in case."[/say]
There would be no accidents today. No mistakes, no carelessness born from the belief that she could control her powers enough and pay attention enough or react in time to correct mishaps. There was a grim sort of determination about her as Maea created space between them and nodded to show that she was ready, like she suddenly doubted all of her her capabilities and double checked every motion and decision before going through with it. The usual graceful confidence (or haughtiness?) in her motions was nowhere to be found - for the best, in her opinion. Because she shouldn't be trusted, and had lost all faith in her ability to tell what the correct thing to do was at any given moment.
RE: psychological warfare - Elizabeth - 08-21-2025
Biting her lip, she considered the idea, a little nervous to be running at fire that she had no control over. However, she supposed it would be a good trust exercise, and when Maea offered forth her robe to protect her clothes, Elizabeth didn't have much in terms of excuses.
She offered a smile that attempted to be encouraging, although she couldn't fully hide the concern that rimmed her eyes when she reached for the protective robe. [say]"I could give that a try, but keep your expectations low, I'm not much of a fighter."[/say] Which meant her speed, footing, skills, and everything else would be rudimentary at best, abysmal at worst.
Gently placing the garb over her shoulders, she tied it at the front then threaded her fingers through the fabric, fidgeting as she thought through her approach. [say]"If you're ready, I'll go ahead and start..."[/say] And once Maea gave the all clear, Elizabeth would send a nearby branch flying towards her, flipping through the air with the help of telekinesis.
1/4
RE: psychological warfare - Maea - 08-21-2025
Was she asking for too much? Was this inconsiderate towards her friend? Elizabeth didn't say no, but the hesitation was obvious even to someone as emotionally incompetent as Maea and it had her wondering whether she ought to call this off after all. She should probably add magic to the list of things she required reality checking of...
Unfortunately she wasn't able to make a decision before the spar already started. The size of the branch Liz was able to launch at her startled the ancient. An explosion of summoned flame was barely enough to knock it off course enough to miss her; not quite the thoughtful, moderate application she had been seeking.
Heart racing uncomfortably, she thought for a second about what a deterrent might look like - that discouraged without directly harming - and responded by extending a ring of fire about fifteen feet away from her. Swirling gently, it was narrow like a rope, about waist high on Liz, and didn't connect to the ground. Like the gilded rope restraining a queue to some glamorous event, more suggestion than actual barrier; you're not supposed to cross. Please don't come closer. Stay on the other side if you please.
Whether it was actually discouraging enough for someone who just claimed to have no practice with fire... remained to be seen. Even without experience the therapist struck her as a woman of many surprises - as the branch had indicated.
1/4
RE: psychological warfare - Elizabeth - 08-22-2025
Apparently, her method was not what Maea had expected, and she watched as the Ancient gave a panicked response to the flying stick. Elizabeth gave a sheepish smile, biting at her lip and tucking a stray strand of hair behind her ear. [say]"Sorry. Maybe that was a little much. I meant to give you a target to aim for, not scare you."[/say]
The ring of flame that appeared gave her pause, and she took a moment to calm herself, to trust in Maea. Glancing up cautiously, she did her best to smile. [say]"Okay... I'm going to walk forward now."[/say] Taking a deep breath, she held the robe tightly around herself to protect against the licking tendrils of fire. When she stepped forward, it moved harmlessly over the material, even as she felt the heat in the air. She narrowed her eyes to combat the warmth that pressed against them but managed to step through to the other side unharmed.
Releasing her breath, Elizabeth forcefully relaxed the tension in her shoulders then continued with the other part of their lesson. She gave Maea a nod of her head in warning then lunged slowly in an attempt to tag at her shoulder.
2/4
RE: psychological warfare - Maea - 08-24-2025
Mouth quirking sheepishly, Maea waved off the apology. [say]"It's fine, I did tell you to do whatever you could think of. It was just bigger than I expected. "[/say] That's what she said. Her own telekinesis back in the day had barely been able to move more than pebbles. Feeling the old envy bubble low in her gut, Maea focused on the circle of fire, reassuring herself with the bending of it, how it responded to her intentions; soothed by the evidence that she still had access to the spark, even if the manifestation looked different. She was still a mage. Just... one with horns and a tail.
Even if her barrier wasn't as powerful as she could have fashioned it, that Elizabeth passed through it at all still offered useful information. If a simple ribbon of flame wasn't discouraging enough, perhaps something that moved would work better?
Reshaping her flames, Maea molded them into the shape of moths, five palm-sized ones that snapped and crackled as they came swarming to intercept Elizabeth as the woman lunged for her. Avoiding her face, the fiery bugs crashed towards her robed torso; uncomfortable enough even if you knew you couldn't burn.
[say]"Which one of those two would make you hesitate more?"[/say] The still, unmoving barrier, or the unpredictable, moving one?
2/4
RE: psychological warfare - Elizabeth - 08-24-2025
Her lunge was already a failure in speed and overall effort, but she didn't get a chance to finish the motion. A barrage of fiery moths came for her, making Elizabeth stumble backwards in surprise. She hadn't been expecting fire to come at her and the heat had her blinking to clear the discomfort as she raised her hands to protect her face, but her offensive footing wasn't prepared for the hasty retreat. Pebbles snagged at her soft boots, disrupting what little balance she had to send her sprawling to the ground with a soft umph. She'd at least managed to cushion her fall with telekinesis, but the tiny stones dug relentlessly into her backside, making her wince.
Chuckling at her own clumsiness, Elizabeth slowly moved to stand, rubbing at the soreness developing beneath the robes. There was a slight flush to her cheeks from the warmth, but she was otherwise unbothered enough to offer a playful smile. [Say]"Definitely the second one."[/say]
3/4
RE: psychological warfare - Maea - 08-24-2025
The moment her friend stumbled and fell, the fire vanished with a forlorn sputter. [say]"Are you alright?"[/say] Maea asked, worried that she had overdone it. [say]"We can stop - I shouldn't have asked this of you when you're not used to fighting with magic."[/say]
Closing the distance between them, Maea reached out to help her up. A sinking feeling turned her pale complexion ashen and rendered her limbs into water; useless, incapable of anything but doing harm to those around her. Or herself. It was the same thing over and over again, of not knowing how to listen, how to read between the lines, when to quit –
It was Asta all over again, the memories of the hurt she'd caused him sharp as broken glass, layered over Lena's frightened face and the residual wrath and angst in Noah's eyes as he gazed down upon her, bloodstained and dazed where she lay within the healing fountain. Mending from wounds that could have been avoided, had she only listened better.
RE: psychological warfare - Elizabeth - 08-24-2025
Shaking her head at Maea's panic, she straightened to a sitting position amongst the stones. [say]"No no. I'm fine."[/say] There was a smile on her face, any signs of pain or harm having been wiped away in her reassurance. Not one for pride or independence, Elizabeth reached forward to accept her hand, laughing lightly. [say]"I've fought with magic before - "[/say]
She was about to explain that it wasn't the magic but the element that was hard for her to combat, but the moment their skin touched, Elizabeth was overwhelmed by the fuzzy images that flashed through her mind, confusing and disorienting as they overlayed her vision of Maea. Most were people she didn't recognize, faces filled with fear, pain, betrayal with such intensity that they pulled on her emotions. One blinked to another then the next in blinding succession, leaving no time for her to process what she was seeing beyond the initial instincts of concern and panic for the people.
Recoiling at the flood of information, Elizabeth ripped her hand from Maea's and crashed back into the pebbled beach, shaking slightly from the experience. She blinked away the afterimages that had seared into her eyelids, more than a little scared of whatever chaos had risen in those short breaths, but not really sure where they'd come from or what to do with herself. Biting her lip, she gave Maea an faint smile, curious if she had seen it too. [say]"S-sorry. I don't know what that was."[/say] With a few deep inhales, she stood up, dusting the fear from her clothes and collecting herself.
When she straightened to look at the Ancient again, she was composed and her voice smooth, although her brown eyes were still rimmed with an inkling of uncertainty for what had transpired. [say]"Let's keep going, just maybe a little slower."[/say]
RE: psychological warfare - Maea - 08-27-2025
Barely had their palms connected before Liz tore her hand away, tumbling back to the ground with a look on her face Maea had never seen before. Not on her, the unflappable one, who was always so composed and put together, so in control that the ancient oftentimes felt a bit silly for her own displays of emotion. Like now, when cold agony seared her insides from what she saw as a clear rejection of her aid, like a confirmation of her quiet fears. She had asked too much, and now Liz was being polite, smoothing down ruffled feathers by pushing through anyway.
Inhaling softly, Maea straightened. Glued on the usual mask with the same habitual resignation as she locked her feelings into the ribcage, out of the way of the immediate task of finishing the spar. [say]"'That'? It's nothing, don't worry about it,"[/say] she replied, thinking Elizabeth was talking about taking her hand back. [say]"If you're sure... Slower it is."[/say]
Backing away, this time as Maea summoned her magic, what separated her from the therapist was a complex puzzle of flame consisting of moving parts. A column of jets shooting from the ground into the sky, then silence, only to return again. A ring of fire rising from the ground and upwards, then back down again, in a loop. Blocks of flame that traveled from the far edges of her reach, met in the middle and then separated once more. While it seemed chaotic at first, there was a pattern in there. A way through, if the woman could spot it, and moved with enough determination. It was supposed to be a deterrent after; if it made her turn away at this level, then Maea had won already.
It certainly forced her to concentrate, to separate her energy and attention in order to keep the different parts moving at the same time. Perfect timing: she was grateful to be spared the need to think about what had just happened.
3/4
RE: psychological warfare - Elizabeth - 08-27-2025
Elizabeth gave Maea a puzzled expression at her words, wondering if maybe the Ancient had seen it. But she dismissed it with such ease - like it was something she was used to - that confusion pulled at her features. Maybe it was a new Ancient thing that she hadn't heard about yet. She'd have to make sure to ask about it after, the fear already dissipating to make way for academic curiosity.
Brushing away the little anxiety that remained, she watched the obstacle course of fire come to life. Her eyes widened, uncertain of her ability to cross safely before her analytical mind spotted the pattern. Elizabeth tightened the garment around her and ducked her head as she prepared to run, letting Maea know in the process, [say]"Something random would probably be more effective, but I'll give this one a try."[/say] Then she moved forward in a rush, doing her best to dodge the columns. She wasn't the fastest, but she was highly motivated to not be near the fire despite the robes, and the self-preservation put an extra gear to her speed as she lunged for Maea again.
4/4
RE: psychological warfare - Maea - 08-29-2025
Accepting the critique she had requested without the same enthusiasm as before, Maea watched the other woman begin to traverse the burning labyrinth, and had to agree. What began as doubt soon turned to determination, with nothing to force her to reconsider. But at the same time, Liz had just asked to slow down, which ruled out explosions or moths and any other of her favorite tricks.
In the end, when only a short distance remamined between them, her last attempt to dissuade the hand reaching for her - with an onslaught of trepidation that was a bit too real, in the wake of the rejection - Maea resorted to simply setting herself on fire. Without her robe to shield her clothes, a slim margin had to be maintained between the flames and her skin, so it took far more concentration than it should, but it was the only thing left when her opponent was this close.
A sea borne breeze ripped at her hair, tugging strands out of the bun and scattered embers across the pebbles surrounding the pool. Vaguely, Maea recognised that she was returning to an old pattern, locking her feelings behind icy barriers instead of expressing them - and realized too that it had been quite a while since she'd done it. Long enough that what used to feel safe and comfortable now only left her sad, lonely - quietly wishing for her flaming armor to fail so that she was forced to properly face whatever it was that happened here.
It was in Liz's hands, though. Nothing much Maea could do but wait and see what the woman would choose to do
4/4
Scorch (Ancient): Can generate and manipulate flames within a 30ft radius, pulling heat from the environment or their own body.
Type: Dark | Rank: Mastered