[Training] [SE] Letting Off Some Steam

Jigano might have been untrained in sailing boats, and utterly inexperienced at doing so on the ocean, but wings were a perfectly acceptable means of travel to distant lands. Fascinated by the seemingly endless expanse of water he had given in to his curiosity and found a good breeze to carry his feathered form out over the blue. Before long the moving islands below had caught his attention and he had watched them for awhile in delight before dropping down to land on one that was perhaps a quarter-mile long and half that wide, bean shaped and sandy with only a few small, tough plants growing in patches at one end of it.

Surrounded by sand and water, he could think of no better - or safer - place to practice his fire magic. Deimos and Edrei had both provided examples of what could be done with mastered flame, but this was the first time that Jigano was able to really let loose with it.

And let loose he did.

Fire bloomed above and around him as he summoned and shaped it, harmonizing the crimson string in his soul with the bronze one to create flowers and fiery-winged birds, and launching a few fireballs high into the sky to see whether they would burn to ash before they came back down, or if he would need to dodge their debris, dancing in between the trailing sparks with a fierce grin, bare-armed and with his signature white hair tied back in a tail.

Saiden didn't come out to the Kuali'i Islands often. Today, however, he'd needed to drop off a package for the Ark. He'd met his contacts, handed it over, and nodded when they told him they owed Jack a favor. That was good enough for the cook.

He was sailing back on the small ship he'd procured for the day when blast of light and fire in the distance. Frowning, he angled his way towards the commotion. It didn't take him long to spot the source. Scowling, he extended a hand to the water to the water below him. It practically exploded out and splashed onto the fire.

"Just what do you think you're playing at?" He landed the ship on the beach and lashed it to a nearby bush, the motions quick and practiced. All the while, he glared at the strange man.

Jigano had been so lost in dodging his fiery rain that he had missed the approach of the boat and its occupant, at least until water had risen up in a wave to quench his fire. He spun in surprise at the growled words, finding the source of the wave and a man he had never met before. He glanced around swiftly, calling the remaining fire to heel and putting it out before he answered, and he took his time to look the stranger over when he did.

"I'm playing at training, out here where's little enough to burn if it goes out of control, and I'm surrounded by sand and water to help put it out if it does," he said dryly. "It seemed safer than doing it on the mainland amidst all the green growing things. Though I thank you for your concern. I don't think we've met before, or if we did it was only briefly. I'm Jigano and you are...?"

A handsome enough fellow by any standard, but his gruff approach and belligerence did take away from some of that for the moment. Still, Jigano had experienced rockier starts with people who eventually became friends. His first disastrous meeting with Loren came to mind, in fact...

Saiden's eyes narrowed at the strange man, more than a bit suspiciously. "Playin' at training sounds about right." Tone as suspicions as the cook's expression, he crossed his arms. "Saiden." His name came out without much inflection, and he stayed a good distance away from the white-haired man.

Glancing around at the tiny strip of land, the Hali smirked. "Just because something looks deserted doesn't mean it is deserted." Cocking his head to one side, he regarded Jigano steadily. "You'd do well to watch your back on these isles. You never know who, or what, might show up." Saiden winked at the stranger, though it was playful rather than flirtatious.

"And just what is that supposed to mean?" the bard asked pleasantly, but there was a sharpness in his gaze at Saiden's tone. He didn't try to get closer, content to leave the space between them for the moment as he studied this strange sailor with the over-eager water magic.

A brow arched at the switch to a playful tone, the warning seeming somehow personal in a way that had the bard's mouth quirking into a smile - one that he very carefully kept any hint of sharp teeth out of. "Good advice, no matter where you are," he agreed easily enough. "And what are you, then, Saiden, out here by yourself, putting out fires? A fisherman? An explorer?" Or something else altogether?

Saiden just arched an eyebrow at Jigano's response. "It's supposed to mean that you're playin' at training. Lobbing some fire about willy-nilly ain't exactly effective, now, is it?" Unlike the Sage, the cook's voice came out in a drawl and his posture was entirely relaxed, though his eyes were sharp too.

Simply nodding at the other man's words, the Hali smiled disarmingly when Jigano began peppering Saiden with questions. "Yes." Winking playfully at the near stranger, the cook spread his arms. As always unless he had a reason to get fully dressed, he was shirtless, and the movement showed off his body, which was covered in small scars he obviously didn't get from fishing. "A little bit of both. How about you? Why come all the way out here to train? You exploring?"

"Effective enough to convince you to throw water on it," Jigano pointed out, voice still pleasant, even amused. He was wary of this strange man, but he hid his tension well as he considered his options. Saiden's half-naked body was hardly surprising in this tropical climate - even the bard was dressed 'down' to a sleeveless tunic over loose linen pants - but the scars it revealed were of an interesting assortment.

"Exploring, a bit," he agreed easily. "Looking for a place to train where things wouldn't catch fire accidentally if it got out of hand. Just because Longheat has passed doesn't mean I want to take chances." He tilted his head thoughtfully at the other man, resting a hand on his hip as he considered him. "You sound as though you're familiar with these islands... do they have a name? Or names?"

Saiden smirked at Jigano's cocky response. "Maybe I just wanted to see who the fool playing with fire was." Unsurprisingly, the cook's tone was unimpressed with the fire mage's reasoning. "But if you wanna heat things up a bit, who am I to say no?" The Hali sent a splash of water at the other man, though it was not enough to do more than annoy.

At Jigano's questions, the Hali cocked his head to one side. For a long moment, he studied the fire mage's body, as the Sage had done to the cook. "Yes." Laughing, the Hali placed his hands on his hips and gave the other man a charming smile.

Hardly the first time he'd been called a fool, and a bard often played the part of one, tumbling and jesting when tales and song weren't flashy enough. Jigano just chuckled, letting the fire bloom in his hands again as his brow stayed arched. "And now that you've seen him? What will you do about it?" There was a playful challenge to his grin, a little sharpness bleeding through the expression.

The splash of water was met with an answering wave of fire, a gentle arc of heat and energy that met the wave and turned most of it to steam, though Jigano hadn't quite judged it finely enough. Some of the spray still splashed over him, a light misting that he pretended to ignore for the sake of dignity - and seeing what Saiden would do to follow up on it. It did dampen his clothes enough to reveal the lean muscle, unexpectedly powerful beneath the long-haired bard's more scholarly airs. His scars were still hidden, however, the golden-tanned skin of his arms largely unmarred.

"Ahhh, there's that rumored Kaiholo hospitality. And what would be fair trade for you sharing those names?" His smile was crooked, a rueful resignation to the humor with which he spoke.

Winking playfully, Saiden dropped his hands to his side. "Like I said. I don't mind a bit of heat." As Jigano expertly deflected the water that the cook had sent the white-haired man's way, the Hali arched an eyebrow. For a moment, he just stood there.

Then he stepped back into the water. Raising both hands swiftly, he shot two jets of water towards the other man, one towards his chest and one towards his face. They were slightly faster and had a bit more force behind them. However, Saiden was a bit out of practice and the one aimed for Jigano's face clearly went wide.

At the fire mage's question, the cook cocked his head to one side. "Information for information seems fair." There was a sly tone to his voice.

Not quite an answer to the question, at least not at first, but the water jets that followed certainly seemed clear enough. Not content to simply stand still and rely solely on his magic, the bard dodged away from the jet aimed (more or less) towards his face, feet sure and steady even on the loose sand of the cay. It was the one aimed towards his middle that he focused his fire on, spinning creation magic around it to create a funnel of flames around the jet, intending to disperse it to steam. These flames were hotter, more intense than the shield from before, and though the water doused them completely the funnel managed to save the bard from a second shower.

"A small contest?" Jigano grinned, fingers flexing as he called two darts of small fire into being in his palm and flung them like knives towards Saiden - one at the man's knee, the other just to the right of his face. Enough to singe fabric and hair should they connect, but not large nor hot enough to do more than annoy and perhaps leave a small burn, as if from brushing a hot pan.

"I'm from the Hollowed Grounds. Can't imagine why you'd want to travel there when you live someplace this nice, but I can trade you information about it in exchange for names of places and people to know here," he offered.

Smiling at Jigano's suggestion, Saiden put his hands on his hips. "And what does the winner get?" Then the jets of fire came in swiftly, far more swiftly than Saiden's ability to block them. Retreating backwards, he managed to get hip deep in the water, which saved his knee, though his cheek got a nasty burn and the smell of singed hair filled the air.

Letting out a small cry of pain, he used the wave that was already coming in to shore and added to its strength, trying to knock the other man down or at least off balance.

Seeing as the names of the isles weren't secrets, the cook supposed it would do no harm to tell the other man what they were. "Deal. Theses are the Kuali'i Isles." The words came out through teeth gritted against the pain.

Fire burned, and Jigano found himself reconsidering his choice of fire as a weapon against someone who wasn't really an enemy. "The winner gets a full, free magical Healing," he called, a touch ruefully.

His regret over wounding the other man - however cocky Saiden had been about not minding the heat - made him hesitate when the wave came back at him. He gathered the energy, but instead of releasing it in another wave to match the other man's attack he waited too long and the water washed up to push at his shins and pull the sand away beneath his feet.

Scrambling back a bit he plucked at the strings of his earth magic to fling a ball of sand - still wet from the tide - at Saiden's chest to distract him. "Kuali'i? Interesting... in the Hollowed Grounds there is a Glade filled with white stones that glow," he traded back.. "But if you remove them, they become just regular rocks."

Saiden laughed at Jigano's offer. "Seems like it might be more useful for the loser to get that. But I'll bite. What does the loser get?" There was something amused about the cook's tone, though his eyes were sharp and had narrowed with concentration.

The sand unsurprisingly slapped into his chest, causing him to rock back on his heels. It was only by windmilling his arms that he was able to stay upright at all. Growling in annoyance, he reached out with his magic for the water pooling around the fire mage's (and apparently the earth mage) feet. Lifting it slightly, the Hali yanked it towards him, hoping to pull the other man off balance.

Nodding, Saiden paused for a moment, a thoughtful expression on his face. Then he grinned. "No one I've met or spoken to has seen the Governor in person for years."