[Training] what I do is none of my business

Melita

Eating fire is your ambition
to swallow the flame down

They hadn’t walked too far from the stretch of Haulani, but these days it didn’t much matter in the wake of potential threats from Starfall; with all the work done, the void creatures had no way of venturing into their midst. Not that it much bothered Melita, constant hunter of monsters and amused by chaos, but for others the notions would still cause a scene.

Regardless, along the approaching dusk the white sands remained warm to the touch, and it’d be some hours yet before they even began to cool. With ample daylight still on display, the Honeybee chose a spot with some large outcropping of rocks, placing her bag down and beginning to knot the ends of her dress for easier movement. Her companions opted for the same boulder, settling within to guard and watch, Sila especially perched while Fangorn tossed his vines about. “What’s your preference?” She asked Thal, figuring she had multitudes of options at her disposal. If the Ancient chose shifting, the demigod could shrug it off and choose her own incantations and their variety of bedlam, or some weapons, she supposed.

to be lit up from within, vein by vein
to be the sun

Thalassa

They created the monster

Following the redhead onto the sandy beach, Thal rolled her shoulders in preparation for the coming activities. The sunlight was slowly dying in the sky, but all exhaustion had vanished from her body, leaving only adrenaline to course through her veins. At Melita's question, she considered her arsenal. Daggers were always a fun time and fire seemed to constantly burn beneath her skin, asking to be released, but she had a more interesting ability that she had yet to experiment with and it begged for attention.

Putting some distance between her and the demigod, Thal gave the woman a fanged grin before giving her answer in the form of a shift. Her skin hardened into dark blue-black scales that reflected the ocean's dusky sparkle. Her spine lengthened into spiked ridges and a long tail that supported massive muscles. Her fingers grew sharp daggers of their own that dug into the warm sand. Her shoulders expanded into wide membranous wings that flapped once to test their strength. Her lyvern form settled on the ground as her jaw snapped closed in a snarl, an invitation for Melita to do her worse.

and then asked why I bite.

Melita

Eating fire is your ambition
to swallow the flame down

Waiting for an answer and not receiving it yet, Melita shrugged and chalked it up to Thal being MyStErIoUs, and pondered over weapon selection. She could use the bow and arrows, the knives, the staff…

Though, when she turned around, the pirate had shifted into a god damn dragon-looking thing, so there was that – the response in full. “Neat,” she uttered with a feral grin, because it was, and now she knew exactly what she’d go for.

Drawing back her bow string, she reached in her quiver for the icy elements contained within. “I hope you’re fast,” either on a warning or perhaps a side of caution, for it seemed both would be playing the dodging and evading game soon thereafter.

So from atop her rock, she shot the arrow towards Thalassa’s wings.

to be lit up from within, vein by vein
to be the sun

Thalassa

They created the monster

Watching Melita pull out her bow, Thal prepared for the attack. She reared up on her hind legs, letting out a deafening roar and flapping her strong wings to create a gust of wind that would make it difficult to push an arrow through. The whirlwind whipped up sand and ocean spray, making the air around them sparkle. 

Thal took the opportunity to drop back down, charging forward in a zig-zag pattern to avoid any blind attacks. She kept her wings tight and head down, barreling quickly towards the demigod. When she was within a few steps, her scaled head came forward to snap her jaw closed, trying to get anything soft between her eager teeth. If someone looked closely, they could see the edge of her reptilian lips curved up in the semblance a vicious smile.

and then asked why I bite.

Melita

Eating fire is your ambition
to swallow the flame down

On a very long, impudent sigh, Melita watched her arrow go flying outwards on the gust of wind. Lame. She’d have to bolster other tactics then.

Unbothered by the size and magnitude of Thalassa’s shift (soz, she’d seen a lot and battled far scarier things), the Honeybee ran across the sands, intending to get wildly out of range of the Ancient’s teeth.

And then, of course, employed her own smirk, before becoming invisible.

With the recent upgrade, Thalassa wouldn’t be able to detect her via footprints either, thank gods, so even as she tread and ran, she left no trace. Only then, did she aim to fire off another arrow, icy again, at the Ancient’s hind end.

to be lit up from within, vein by vein
to be the sun

Thalassa

They created the monster

As Melita darted out of her range, Thal let out a low rumbling growl. It was annoying to see her attack miss, but unsurprising. She was still learning this new shift and all its limits. The larger size definitely made it harder to be quick, so she'd have to employ other tactics. 

Although she'd never admit it, a small amount of panic gripped her when she lost sight of the woman. How had she vanished? Thal had barely blinked and she was gone. Even as she wanted to whip her head around and search for the flash of red hair, she decided that perhaps height would be a better advantage. She flapped her wings, quickly taking flight. It wasn't quite fast enough to fully avoid the unknown arrow as a sharp feeling hit her back leg. Thal let out another roar, fleeing to the skies to get a better vantage point for an attack, rage coursing through her at the injury. The small twig of an arrow stuck from her leg, but she ignored it, eyes peeled on the sand below.

and then asked why I bite.

Melita

Eating fire is your ambition
to swallow the flame down

The only thought that ran through Melita’s mind immediately after was that perhaps she could convince Ludo to give her some flying magic next. Because Thalassa just taking off was fucking irritating, and despite having an invisibility advantage, there’d be a point where she’d be entirely out of reach. Annoying.

Keeping her huffing to a minimum, since she didn’t want to be detected, she considered her options. She could use wild magic and have it either be a disaster (like taking a nap or throwing confetti around), or hilarious (lightning strike right at the lyvern), she didn’t want the possibility of any missing. Best to fling another arrow and go from there.

Only she’d be a bit more clever, and do it on the run. Well versed and practiced in her archery, she honed in all the accuracy she’d ever coursed through her veins, grabbing one of the icy armaments again, notched it, and ran while firing towards the Ancient – opting not to give up her location lock, stock, and barrel.

to be lit up from within, vein by vein
to be the sun

Thalassa

They created the monster

Despite scanning the ground intently, Thal couldn't spot more than glittering sand and the two companions observing. She didn't even see the arrow coming her way, but luckily the flapping of her wings proved helpful again, pushing the projectile out of the air like a flicked toothpick. It made her lyvern shift produce a grumbling growl somewhat like a laugh. 

She hadn't seen where the arrow had come from, making it difficult to formulate a counterattack. As much as she didn't like it, she was going to have to resort to other tactics. If Melita wasn't going to reveal herself, Thal would just have to expose her. In an instant, Thal dove straight down, the wind whistling around her head in a thrilling sound. It was hard to stop as she lifted out of the downward spiral, flapping her wings hard to upset the sand in a small sandstorm. With any luck, she'd be able to spot a demigod shaped outline.

and then asked why I bite.

Melita

Eating fire is your ambition
to swallow the flame down

Her eyes narrowed, intensely irritated, as her arrows was flicked away again. Those damned things had felled many a beast; but maybe she was just too far off. Gritting and grinding her teeth, she prepared to make another movement, when Thalassa seemed to be orchestrating her own onslaught.

As the Ancient dove down, the Honeybee’s gaze widened, and she scattered, swift, certain, and desperately trying to get out of the way. Quick, brisk movements brought her to the rock where her companions stood guard, and she ducked down behind it as sand filtered and flew. Covering her head, invisible just the same, she wondered if from here…she’d be able to hit the beast.

It’d ultimately give her current position away, but then she could move as she’d done before.

With those notions in place, the demigod drew back her bowstring again and launched another icy arrow on the fly – hastening over to the right.

to be lit up from within, vein by vein
to be the sun

Thalassa

They created the monster

The disrupted cloud of sand and saltwater spray obstructed her vision as much as it blanketed the beach. She had to squint her eyes to see through the debris, but no figures or human-shaped silhouettes caught her attention. Her head swung around while her tail continued to lash out in frustration. Had the woman left? There didn't seem to be any place to hide, other than the - 

Thal spotted the companions and the rock, realization hitting her just as the arrow appeared, flying straight towards her vulnerable wing. She tucked the membranous appendages in as quickly as she could, but the arrow proved too close. It pierced through the thin tissue, causing the lyvern to erupt in a painfully loud and deafening roar. 

Anger coursed through her, giving her an extra bout of speed as she rushed forward, half gliding half running over the sand to the rock. She swiped her claws out in a blind rage, precisely where she'd expect Melita to be.

and then asked why I bite.

Melita

Eating fire is your ambition
to swallow the flame down

Kudos to Melita’s companions for having far more intelligence than their bonded; for as soon as the wyvern came even remotely close to them, they were off – Sila’s talons latching onto Fangorn’s vines and hastening him to a much further area, his tendrils wrapped around the Honeybee’s belongings.

Which left the Honeybee alone to counter semantics and shit. Claws raked outwards, and she dove into the chaotic semblances of her magic…

To be an invisible frog.

It kinda worked out – in that she couldn’t take damage as an amphibian. Couldn’t do much else either.

Save for hopping much closer to a bunch of other rocks and trying not to ribbit out her movements.

to be lit up from within, vein by vein
to be the sun

Thalassa

They created the monster

When her claws provided nothing, and being completely unaware of the demigod's unfortunate transformation, Thal growled out again in frustration. She could have sworn Melita had been right here. Without much more information, she only really had two options, keep swiping blindly or fly back up to get another view. However, when fighting an invisible opponent, height didn't seem to help. 

Decision made, Thal lifted up on her hind legs, her tail flicking madly in the sand. If the woman was behind her, she'd get the whip of scales across her legs (in a human form). Meanwhile, she lashed out with her front legs, giant forearms and glistening claws swiping across the rock and sand. Her eyes stayed peeled for any flashes of movement that might indicate another dangerous arrow.

and then asked why I bite.

Melita

Eating fire is your ambition
to swallow the flame down

It would end up being a bizarre interim of nothing at all. Not that it was Melita’s first choice in the whole situation – but she also didn’t mind not taking any damage. As Thalassa’s roar of frustration echoed, the hapless amphibian could almost echo the sentiment; though she only offered a small, invisible flailing of non-shoulders to commit to the deed.

So instead of waiting her rotation of frog time completely still, she opted to duck around the momentous walls of sand and rock flying everywhere, hippity hopping her way closer to the water. A few times the stones were close calls – knocking into her frame, but she felt naught at all (neat, kinda). With any luck, once she was allowed to transform back, she’d be out of the lyvern’s wake.

to be lit up from within, vein by vein
to be the sun

Thalassa

They created the monster

Not much time had passed since the last arrow, but it was still too long without any visual cues for Thal to be certain that Melita was still participating in their spar. Her companions suggested that she did, yet the strike of her claws against air and the utter lack of attacks suggested otherwise. What was she supposed to do at this point? Should she just leave? Take off into the sky? Thal had never been a patient person, and this was trying what little she had. 

This time, as she roared out onto the beach, it was one of challenge mixed with the lingering frustration. She no longer threw out her legs in blind rage, instead whipping her body around, using her tail to sweep the area as she tried to goad the demigod into an attack so they might finish what they'd started.

and then asked why I bite.