[se] in the armory of your soul

DEIMOS And in your darkest hour, I hold secrets flame An afternoon for shenanigans; rather than the condemning weight already storming, ambling, through the back of his mind. With trainings complete, minor paperwork finished, and an another day of avoiding his office entirely, the General set off further down the road. He maneuvered the consuming thoughts and notions out of his way, as if passing within a storm, and strode out along the outer reaches of the Citadel walls, where he’d last set up the sledding party in the cold, darkened winter. Visible by the gates, along the main pathways – an excellent place to instigate rounds of mischief, and catch anyone wandering by off-guard. Whether citizens expected antics and bemusements from the Sword by now wasn’t really in his parameters. Instead, the monolith set to work involving his incantations, water, earth, and creation, to begin adorning a makeshift snow-fort. It rose along waves, cresting within ridges, until he could freeze it again and again, solidifying the aspects. Its height was decent, enough for him to duck down and not have to crawl along the rest of the earth in the potential for heavy fire – fully expecting another to come along, and he could entice them into some range of juvenile foolery before dusk. master of nothing place; of recoil and grace

NOAH

set a fire for tomorrow
set it to your woes

The hunter did not need to be enticed. He grew up in this snow, among the ice, and knew exactly what kind of ploy Deimos was up to. Dropping his things at the gates, with a firm warning not to touch anything inside to the guard, Noah dropped down some and crept around the curve of the wall. Mitten hands skillfully scooped up snow, balling it carefully between his palms. Satisfied that Deimos had not seen that, Noah stood again and strode towards the General with a more natural air to him.

His wrist was turned every so slightly as to keep the snowball in his mitten hand hidden from the behemoth. A smile broke across his face, easily seen even though the hood dropped down and covered a great portion of his head. "Nice fort." Noah gestured with his free hand, hoping Deimos would turn momentarily to look at it so he could take his chance--

--but he lifted his arm and let the snowball fly towards the outlander with one swift moment nontheless.

feel defiance burning through my teeth
it's not enough to drag this blade across the day

MORGAN

Was it undignified for the Warden to join in a snowball match? Maybe, but she had to find ways to off-set the stress of her job. And as someone with very practiced water magic...well, it would be a shame if she didn't use her powers of snow manipulation to completely decimate the competition a little.

She didn't expect to see such an impressively constructed fort for the battle; Morgan stood with her hands on her hips surveying the build. "Well, this is certainly grand." It seemed she wasn't the only one admiring the architecture, as Noah did too - though his compliments were likely distractions to cover up the snowball he was preparing and aiming at Deimos.

"Hey-" Using her magic, Morgan focused on the projectile and had it melt in mid air, water falling down before it reached her General. "-Let's give the General a fighting chance after he made this beautiful Arena."

Oh, my love, don't forsake me
Take what the water gave me

DEIMOS And in your darkest hour, I hold secrets flame Deimos had not seen Noah pressing in, not quite to the point of gauging potential threats while he built and constructed, back turned to the majority of passersby. Placing finishing touches upon the outer proportions, where the wall curved inward, allowing for some manner of shielding from the sides, the voice called out, carried over the wind. Head turning, twisting, over his shoulder, he likely would’ve been the victim of a sudden attack, had the Warden not set foot into those proportions. The Sword only had a singular moment to laugh into the midst as the snowball melted into nothing but pockets of air and vapor – not bothering to stifle it as Morgan’s warning came over the boundaries. A nod of respect followed through, and a very cheeky, Cheshire grin came behind it, piercing stare flickering back and forth between the pair. Only then did he consider and weigh his options, justified in the way a snowball manifested, and lifted, high into the reaches of his incantations, widening, widening, widening, until it hovered over Noah’s head. It'd been bold for Noah to attempt an assault without a proportion of his own defenses; permitting, allowing, for other multitudes to flicker in. “You do seem to be lacking protection.” Perhaps the only warning the hunter would receive, before he subsequently launched the sphere downward. master of nothing place; of recoil and grace

NOAH

set a fire for tomorrow
set it to your woes

Noah's intentions were foiled as Morgan appeared behind him, melting his snowball to nothing. "Hey!" Noah guffawed, turning his torso towards the Warden. "Well," He brought his arms up to shrug, head tilting some with the motion, "I'm just here to keep the General on his toes is all!" He arms stayed up as he turned towards Deimos again, a shit-eating grin taking over reign on his face.

As he spoke with the Warden, however, defending his decisions, Deimos had conjured his own strike. Noah hadn't noticed the snow forming above his head, and it came down upon him mercilessly. The hunter groaned, still good mannered, as he lifted his arms above his head in a futile attempt at protecting himself. "Okay, okay, I deserved that."

Noah laughed as he brushed the snow from his shoulders and shook it from his hood. "Since Morgan was so keen to defend your right for a fighting chance," He shook the last bit of snow from Deimos' assault from his chest, "I'll just take a minute to get set up here." He waggled his eyebrow some, the hunter seeming to fall into his youth. He remembered oh, so many snowball fights out in this same area with the Hales and Pendragons.

feel defiance burning through my teeth
it's not enough to drag this blade across the day

MORGAN

"I'm sure he's well than enough prepared for any sudden attacks...of the not-snowball variety." Morgan said with a laugh, giving Noah a side smile; she'd seen first hand how much of a warrior Deimos was. He needed 'keeping on his toes' as much as she needed a mountain survival course.

Watching, content on the sidelines for now, as the snowball Deimos formed went to hover over Noah's head, Morgan made no move to destroy this one - after all, they were very aware of it this time (or so she thought; it turned out Noah actually hadn't noticed). She laughed when it came down upon him but didn't stay in one spot for long, sensing that soon there would be an attack coming her way.

Ducking behind one of the pillars of Deimos' grand ice fort, she formed a pile of snowballs by her feet within an instant, pulling the flakes up into tight spheres and stacking them neatly. Grabbing the top one, Morgan waited to listen out for anyone approaching - at which point she would launch it at their face.

Oh, my love, don't forsake me
Take what the water gave me

DEIMOS And in your darkest hour, I hold secrets flame A very loud snort followed through on Noah’s proclamation – a flimsy excuse at best – adding more to his juvenile nods of discretion at Morgan’s agreement. Deimos had gone through multitudes of misadventures, trials, and tribulations in his multiple lives; a snowball hazard was something of a novelty at this point. The crash of the silent-spun vestiges upon the hunter was well received anyway; a warm round of laughter bounding from him, exuberant and wild, before permitting both of them an opportunity to find or manifest their shelters. At least a valid attempt, as he pondered over the best way to barrage. “Fine. Let me know when you are ready.” He began to angle himself behind the fortifications anyway, building up a bounty of snowballs, rounding out the edges of snow and water, pooling them into collected formations, at the ready, at his beck and call, when needed. Once they’d all seemed to have angled into their positions, the monolith crouched down. At a disadvantage due to his height, he’d ensured the fortification walls had been enough so that he wasn’t bending too far; and he stretched along the outer proportions, attempting to decipher where the Warden had hidden herself. With no other shelter or sanctuary coiled beyond, save for Noah’s, the General presumed she’d found some angle within his massive, glacial refuge. He quietly stalked the outer reaches, narrowing his eyes, utilizing proportions of attuned bombardments; hound ears appearing along the top of his head, swiveling back and forth, catching any residual sounds. When he thought there was some whisper of movement on the other side of the wall, he conjured his Air proportions, sending the snowballs over the enclosure, and hopefully falling right upon the Warden. Noah wasn’t to be forgotten either, and he mustered the same accord with the projectiles, hurtling them rather blindly from his defensive measures, attempting to fire them at whatever the hunter had mustered. master of nothing place; of recoil and grace

NOAH

set a fire for tomorrow
set it to your woes

The hunter knew he was at an extreme disadvantage when it came to starting a snowball war with these two against him. Each of them could command the ice and snow and water to do as they pleased. Noah had no such powers, only the skins of many animals at his beck and call to use as he so saw. Using what he had, Noah shifted down to his lynx from to utilize its speed.

Swift paws carried him across the field to the furthest of Deimos' structures. He felt no qualm about using the general's shelter. Shifting back, Noah crouched below. At the disadvantage, he had to make his own snowballs. He made a few before Deimos' assault came raining in on him. He laughed and tossed his own snowballs over towards the general, aiming for the top of his head that he could barely make out over the shelter structure.

For a moment the Warden was forgotten.

feel defiance burning through my teeth
it's not enough to drag this blade across the day

MORGAN

Deimos seemed to pause and analyse the scene before him as if he could see through the structure; Morgan stayed still, instincts from days spent hunting coming in, yet it seemed he sniffed her out anyway. The snowball he launched whizzed past her head, pushing through her hair, a very close shot for someone not entirely able to see her. Morgan didn't use her magic on this one, decided not to unless she felt she was actually in some kind of mortal snowball danger in the interests of fairness.

After the one shot towards herself it seemed the boys were engaging in a private battle (or at least Noah was rather single-minded). Using the stealth that this gave her, Morgan took a snowball in both hands and focused before sending one flying at the back of Noah's head, ducking out of her hiding place to do it; then, before there was a moment to think, another one would fly at Deimos.

Oh, my love, don't forsake me
Take what the water gave me

DEIMOS And in your darkest hour, I hold secrets flame Within a matter of moments, the barrage came back down upon him – hound ears taking the brunt, disappearing, and then the rest flickering into his hair, his scalp, and down the reaches of his neck. A wild, exuberant laugh volleyed again as he shook much like a dog, rounding and echoing off the glacial walls, not bothered in the least. These were moments long since lost before; spirited and ridiculous, lighthearted and silly, and it wasn’t often they’d get to return to these filaments. Not with everything else pending. Indifferent to the structure’s press now, the Sword stood taller for an instant, launching a pair of snowballs directly towards Noah, intending to overwhelm. Rallying again, he ducked back down to manifest two more, and propelled them in the direction Morgan’s snowball had come from; presuming he’d been somewhat correct in his earlier calculations. master of nothing place; of recoil and grace

NOAH

set a fire for tomorrow
set it to your woes

It took no time for Noah to be assaulted by both the Warden and the General. One snowball smacked against the back of his head, exploding over blond locks. The other thudded on his chest, and stuck comically to his jacket, half-indented. The hunter's laugh followed Deimos', the youthful spirit of the activity filling his chest. It had been too long since Noah had a carefree moment, let alone a carefree afternoon.

He made more snowballs, quickly throwing them in the direction the attacks on him had come. He threw two towards where Morgan had been, and only one at Deimos, seeming to change his target for a moment. After throwing the three snowballs, Noah crouched again and surged forward, attempting to round in behind the General.

Suddenly, the man leapt over the barrier created by the warlord and his body shifted. As paws hit the ground Noah was charging where he thought Deimos to be as a polar bear. He huffed and finally reared on back legs, crashing down with font paws in an attempt to burry the general in the snow of his own fortress.

feel defiance burning through my teeth
it's not enough to drag this blade across the day

MORGAN

Well, she swiftly saw the comeuppance for her attacks; both Noah and Deimos, though still mostly focused on each other, aimed snowballs towards her. The Warden was good at dodging, at using her powers, but with so many shots from so many angles, one was sure to hit. With a clump of snow exploding in her thick hair, she laughed and closed her eyes as she braced the impact; that would be impossible to get out, only extracted from her locks when it melted.

Taking advantage of Noah and Deimos being distracted again, she looked up at the pillar she had hid behind and put within it several rungs made of ice to climb up. Aiming to get to the top of his structure, to watch from above what would happen and ideally, make it so neither of them would know where she was, so she could launch a surprise when they had a moment of peace.

Oh, my love, don't forsake me
Take what the water gave me

DEIMOS And in your darkest hour, I hold secrets flame Too massive for his own good at this point, the monolith managed to be hit by each snowball lobbed his way. They ricocheted and broke against furs and coats, collars and hair, emitting more laughter than anything else. Ducking down to prepare for the next waves of onslaughts and demolition, he didn’t expect a sudden change of pace. Because within a matter of moments there was a polar bear bearing down on him, and even as he rounded away, tucking himself into a corner of the fortress and incapable of hiding the volley of chuckles; the impact was great and grand. Despite his carefully orchestrated structure, the portion near Noah’s impressive stature and size couldn’t withstand his bulk and menace, immediately coming down, toppling, from the charge. Some proportions caved inward, back onto the hunter, and some over the top of the Sword, burying portions while he leaned against what remained – laughing away in the ridiculousness. The creation would’ve have lasted long anyway – but now he was wholly occupied with comeuppance and vengeance, ignoring wherever Morgan had gone. Incantations manifested as he rose once more, water and earth combining into a gigantic snowball, and then raising it with air concoctions, intending to lob it straight at Noah’s head. master of nothing place; of recoil and grace

NOAH

set a fire for tomorrow
set it to your woes

Snow and ice exploded all around the polar bear. He could hear the general laughing beneath the attack, and his eyes scanned for the body of the mage. Noah growled softly as he scraped and snow with his paw, throwing what was mostly now powder in the direction of the warlord. His lips peeled back and he shook snow from his massive head. Despite bearing great fangs, there was nothing but humor and delight splayed out across the attuned bond that was free for Deimos to feel.

He swept another paw-full of snow at the general just as the snowball created above his head came crashing down. The bear grunted as snow covered him and stuck to hairs the same color. Noah shook out his body, snow flying everywhere, half-melted and half-powder. He turned then, back towards where he had come, and loped away. Shifting back to his human form just before the half-wall he had utilized previously, Noah jumped over it and took shelter.

feel defiance burning through my teeth
it's not enough to drag this blade across the day