Through the Air and Ice (Zorolo)

Noisy. That is usually the best word to describe any city anywhere. At least, that’s what Ronin decided upon. He liked peace and quiet. Now, the whisper of the wind or the flutter of a bird was the kind of noise that the thief could handle. It was the constant noise of people talking, bartering, walking, running, and shouting that he didn’t enjoy. Not that he didn’t like people, either. They were must better company than what he usually had. It was just when there were a lot of people that he had trouble with patience.

The boy had situated himself atop a two-story building. This city, built in the desert, was a bit different than most he had seen. For one thing, the structures where made out of stone instead of the usual wood and some mortar. They also had flat tops which was nicer to sit on then a slanted roof. The people all dressed in robes and turbans that looked terribly hot for the dry sand. However, Ronin figured that it was more for protection against getting burnt than keeping cool. The shops that lined the bazaar all had colorful shades pulled over them while the merchants kept calling and leaping at people to buy their wares. The thief sighed.

If they bug you that much, I could just kill them all, Notus offered happily. The boy ignored the demon’s assistance. This was the reason he didn’t particularly mind the company of other humans. Otherwise all he had was the murderous wind demon to talk to. Their conversations usually never lasted longer than one or two sentences each.

Deciding it was about time to get off the roof, Ronin calmly rose to his feet. A strong breeze shoved against him from the west, threatening to push him off the side. He flailed slight before regaining balance, This is the last time I decide to perch on a building like a bird. Glancing down at the drop only a couple inches from where he stood, the boy gulped and stepped back. Then he looked in the direction of the wind. Dreary storm clouds were piling up. While they were probably a glorious sight to the desert people, the clouds looked like nothing but trouble to the wind boy.

The demon chuckled, Heh, if I had my full power, it would be easy to blow those clouds in another direction and create a sandstorm for these vagabonds.

Shut up, Ronin groaned. He wasn’t in the mood for hearing the creature’s proclamations of power and death.

What’s wrong with you? Notus asked not out of concern but because he didn’t particularly like being snapped at. The boy’s stomach growled in answer. That’s why your in a bad mood? Get yourself some food, you stupid human.

I am not in a bad mood, he insisted. Though, the thief hadn’t eaten last night or this morning. An empty stomach did tend to make someone slightly more irritable. Letting out a small breath, the boy jumped off the building and into an alleyway. Right before he landed, Ronin created a small whirlwind to soften the arrival. Dusting himself off, he walked out into the main street doing his best not to appear conspicuous. To be accused of being a thief before he had even stolen anything was the last thing he needed.

However, actually stealing something in the midst of this crowd would be almost impossible. People littered every part of the street and all the stands faced outwards with their shouting merchants. The thief looked left and right as he traveled but saw no openings to run off with foodstuff. It was rather disheartening. I suppose I could use my wind magic to create a distraction but... well, using his magic to steal never struck him as a good idea even if its source was a demon. Then again, when your nourishment depended on it, I hope no one notices too much. Summoning up a bit of wind, he caused a chair at the nearest selling stand to tip over. While the man was concerning himself with righting it, the thief discreetly snatched a bunch of grapes. Then he moved through the crowd as quickly as his feet could carry him without drawing attention. Sneaking off into another back street, Ronin moved along until he was sure the area was unattended. Letting a breath of relief, he laid his back against a wall and slid down into a sitting position. Then he brought out his freshly stolen grapes and started devouring them. Delicious.

"WHY AM I HERE?" the ice innate roared as he looked around at the barren surroundings. The desert was, without doubt, one of the many places Zachary would never have placed himself as being, even if it meant being in a forest, which he held disdain for. The heat was unbearable to the wielder of arctic magic, and even being here sapped most of his power. The lack of cool, refreshing breezes sternly removed his control, however small, of the wind, and the lack of water vapor in the air made creating ice, even with his sword, a near impossible feat.

The coarse grains of sand, the cactus, and the dry atmosphere made the boy utterly annoyed, being in such places was not a good idea, especially if someone, such as the green haired man, attacked. Despite practice, the ice innate still had only basic training with his sword, and with his magic drained, it seemed impossible for him to fight against someone on a fair level here. The youth dragged on.

Trudging became the swordsman's only thought. Trudging though the sands to somewhere where he could relax; trudging from there somewhere where the ice innate could train himself; and finally, trudging from there to fight that green haired man, the one with the golden sword. His very existence seemed to wane, and yet, his determination drove him forwards with a temperament that could rival that of steel. His mettle would not be broken, by heat or by man.

Drip, drip, drip, was the sound that came from the sweat drops beading from the boy's hair as he continued to walk though the endless seas of earth and heat. The youth's undershirt was covered in sweat, and the sweat even dripped from the sleeves the ice innate was so hot. His sweater tied firmly around his waste, the outside almost as soaked as his undershirt, even in the intense heat of the sun. The boy's pants were just as worse for the wear, the sweat beading off the pant legs worse then on the swordsman's hair.

The ice innate suddenly pondered whether or not he was imagining things as a town appeared within his line of sight. The building were unique, mostly because the ice innate had never seen flat topped buildings before; yet, this could not have been a mirage, especially after a passerby on a camel knocked the boy over. Civilization, he told himself, standing up slowly. I'd best find a place to rest and clean myself up, I'm disgusting right now, he whispered to himself, standing up and dusting himself off.

As the youth entered the city, he took note that several of the locals were in a stir, apparently an unexplainable wind had appeared and something had been stolen, but Leos paid no attention to it, only intent on finding a place to rest and dry out his drenched clothing. He moved on, searching for an inn or some place of the sort to rest, but nothing stuck out as being a place of rest.

The ice innate clenched his hand tightly, but in his dehydration, concentrating his energy was hard, and he became woozy after a few moments of trying to think of something. As his mind stumbled, so did his body, and he fell onto the door a of building, crashing though it as he did so. The family inside looked at the boy as he lay there, sweat gathering on the floor, and one word escaped the red head's mouth. "Help..." he whispered at an almost lost tone as he fainted.

The family looked at the swordsman oddly, but after a few minutes, they picked him up and carried him inside, intent on making sure he was okay. So was the creed of the desert, to help any in need should they come to your door.

Ronin popped the last grape in his mouth and enjoyed the sweet, juicy goodness. I’m surprised they actually have grapes out here. It’s hard to believe that anything could grow in this environment, he pondered. Then he realized, They probably trade for them. Something as juicy as grapes couldn’t possibly grow in a desert. Letting out a content sigh, he stood up in preparation to gather some supplies and head out of this town. While the desert wasn’t too bad, it definitely wasn’t a place he wanted to stay in for too long. Far too hot and dry for his tastes even if the wind was completely free out here.

Speaking of the wind, a rather cool breeze buffeted him from the west. Looking that direction, he saw the storm clouds were coming faster than expected by him. Already the intense sunlight has diminished to a dull glow which was still plenty bright enough for the thief. It was also cooler. The boy shivered slightly under his cloak, Jeez, first it was an oven and now it feels like fall. What’s with this place? His like of the desert, which was more a dislike, dropped even further. At the rate the storm was coming, Ronin would probably have to stay the night somewhere. Unfortunately, that meant sleeping in some sewer or basement since he had no money for even a cheap inn.

Well, I then at least need to find some food for overnight, the wind thief decided and walked calmly out of the alley. He entered into a less crowded street that only a vendor about every block instead of every inch. The sounds of bartering were more prevalent here mostly because these sellers weren’t quite as stingy with their prices. About any sale was good enough for them. Ronin walked slowing down the streets, surveying what went on around him. It was hard to decide whether it was easier to steal stuff in a large crowd or a small one. A large crowd had more witnesses but was easier to disappear into. A small crowd was the complete opposite.

Maybe you ought to try and work for your food once, Notus boringly commented, Either that or just kill the people and then take the food. At least you wouldn’t have to worry about them coming after you. Nothing bored the demon more than nothing. He hated it when everything was calm and orderly. It was especially boring when Ronin wasn’t even thinking of anything of interest. The wind creature was busy thinking of someway to oust control from the boy and do something fun when a strange presence crossed his mind. Stop! Notus hissed loudly.

Ronin winced slightly, Whaaaat? It was painful whenever the demon decided to shout inside his head.

Notus, however, ignored the thief’s discomfort as always and feel around the area for where or even whom the presence was coming from. It was so faint and even chilled the demon. It was an icy feeling, literally. Finally, he managed to pinpoint it. It’s coming from the right, he declared. Ronin turned.

Are you sure you aren’t imagining things? the thief had to ask as he looked at a relatively nice inn. It was hard to believe anything that caught the demon’s attention wasn’t tearing up people. That was about the only the wind spirit cared about.

I’m positive, the demon rebuked since it irked him to be questioned, It’s something belonging to the ice element. There’s even a slight demonic tint around it. Notus smiled maliciously. This could turn out to be a fun day after all. The thief started heading down the street again. What are you doing?! the demon howled.

“If it’s something you’re interested in, forget it,” he murmured, drawing attention from a couple of woman who passed him by.

The ice innate woke up about an hour after he had passed out from the heat, finding himself in tan colored clothing in Arabic fashion, as a young girl walked over and placed a cup of water on the table next to him. One eye of the red haired boy opened, looking at the girl, who hadn't noticed he had awoken, and merely walked back to the door and left his room.

The youth slowly pushed himself upwards and looked around, finding his sword resting against a wall to his left, next to a window. The boy looked around the room, finding nothing but the bed and the table next to it. This appeared to be the guest room to a middle class family, and the ice innate faltered suddenly, falling back, still very tired from his foolish venture through the desert after the fencer of Tasogare.

"Where am I?" he asked himself lowly, looking at the cup of water as a man walked in.

"Oh, you are awake, I'm very happy then," the tan skinned man told the youth, smiling at him. This man was probably no older then about thirty, and he was slightly muscular, but not apparently so. He wore clothing similar to Zachary's, and moved slowly towards the youth, holding the cup to the boy. "Please, drink this water, you'll feel better. Please take some of what we have, you are our guest. It isn't every day we have someone pass out from heat exhaustion in front of our house. You must have been sent to us by Gazi for some reason. Well, whatever the reason is, we are happy to have you as our guest."

The boy looked at the man quizzically, and slowly moved his hands out, grabbing the cup of water and moving it slowly towards himself, taking a drink from it. "Zachary, and thanks for your hospitality," the ice innate responded as he placed the cup back upon the table. "By the way, who is Gazi?" the youth pondered, looking at the man.

"So you can speak, and my name is Abba, and I am a humble merchant of this town. As for Gazi, he is the God of this Desert, and he has bestowed man gifts upon me and my family. My wife and daughter, whom are downstairs, along with all we need to survive. Please, allow me to get you some food, and you and I shall speak, I wish to know why Gazi has sent you to my household," the man told Zachary, who merely watched him leave.

The boy sat up again, sliding his feet of the bed and finding a pair of slippers waiting for him. "Man, these people are really, almost scarily, kind. I'd better leave before something bad happens to this kind family that has taken me in. I still don't understand why they did, even if I did pass out on the stoop of their house?" the ice innate asked himself, sliding his feet into the shoes and walking towards his sword as the door opened again.

"Ah, my young friend, I am doing as Gazi has told me and all the people of this desert to do. Be kind to those who are needy, and shelter them should they need it," the man told Zachary with a smile. "No need to rush, please, sit down, have some bread, and tell me what brings you to this trading post."

"I'm here because I'm looking for someone. A man with green hair, he's the reason I traveled way out here. I heard a rumor he had stopped here."

"A green haired man you say? I've seen a green haired man in this city just recently. Yes, it was in the merchant district, and a powerful wind blew past, and he was gone. I'd imagine he's probably still somewhere in this city. Why are you looking for him?" Abba asked, examining the boy.

Zachary picked up the bread and ate some of it before putting it back down and standing up, moving back towards his sword. "I have to talk to him. I need to know something. Thank you again for your hospitality, but I must go, this my be my only chance to find him before he leaves," the boy told the merchant, smiling widely. "May I please have my clothing back?" the boy asked.

"Of course, my wife has just finished washing and drying them. Luckily, Gazi gives us the sun to dry our clothing quickly," the man said as he lead the boy downstairs.

Abba's wife, a woman in her early twenties, looked over at the boy and smiled. "So, he's awake," she asked, smiling widely at her husband and the warrior, who held his sword by its straps.

"Yes dear, and he desires to have his clothing, he is looking for the green haired man that was around when all those strange things happened in the market place."

"Oh really? well, I hope you find him then," the woman said kindly as she handed Zachary his clothing.

The boy quickly moved into another room and got into his normal, comfortably fitting clothing and began moving towards the door, smiling. "Thanks again everyone, and may Gazi protect you and your home."

"Thank you, and good bye and good luck to you as well," Abba said as the ice innate left the house and began walking into the streets again.

The ice innate walked about the streets, which had cooled considerably as the sun moved from noontime to the nearing evening time, but a sudden chill set the ice warrior off, and he turned, finding nothing behind him. What was that? he asked himself, feeling a strange breeze seeming to move about him.

Magnus noticed this as well and became annoyed. "A wind demon, in the middle of the desert, who would have thought?!" the exiled demon asked himself as he began to transmit information to the boy. Boy, it is necessary that you find that force and destroy it, for it is one of pure evil, the demon whispered, and the boy seemed to respond.

"I can almost guarantee that this is one of the green haired man's tricks. Come out you!" the boy yelled in the alley way he had found himself in, hoping to find Zorlo within it.

OoC: My post isn't exactly great but let's breath some new life into this thing. ^^;

BiC:

Go back there NOW! the demon screamed at Ronin, causing another wave of pain to sail through the boy’s mind. Because of the fit the Notus had been putting up ever since the thief walked past the inn, the demon had taken to blasting Ronin’s mind. He was now sitting quietly on top on another building, his head held between his hands in pain.

Make me. he muttered at the wind creature, too wore out to say much else. Unfortunately, that was the wrong thing to say. Notus’ conscious slammed against the boy’s with almost enough to force to knock him out. Ronin growled and slammed back. Suddenly, their argument had turned into a mental shoving match, which neither won, and left them angry and tired.

The demon growled, At this rate, we won’t have enough strength to fight that demonic power.

Fine by me, the thief answered, Because we’re not fighting him. Any fight you’re interested in is one that’ll end badly. He sighed and fell on his back, relishing the cool wind enough though the firm roof had hurt slightly. A peal of thunder echoed off in the distance. It was going to rain in maybe the next hour or so and the human wasn’t interested in getting caught in a rainstorm, especially one in the desert. He stood up, rocking slightly at the pain in his head from the suddenly movement. Now, where exactly could I find a place to stay tonight? he wondered while her surveyed the city from his vantage point.

“Come out you!” someone hollered through the air. Looking down, Ronin saw a head full of red hair run through the alley below. Just looking at the boy sent a chill down his back like someone had put ice cold water there.

It’s him! Notus yelled and sent another headache through the thief. This time, when Ronin rocked, he didn’t managed to balance himself soon enough. With a yell, he fell through the air and landed on the sand below.

“Ah...” he moaned. Every part of him was aching now.

The wind creature sighed, That was intelligent.

“I could’ve broken a bone and that’s all you have to say?” he mumbled. While he new Notus didn’t care for him, the demon did care if he died. Notus would have to try and break his bonds again in a new human. Thankfully, for both of them, nothing appeared to be broken. The boy managed to sit up, a movement that seemed to take more energy that it should’ve and examined himself. Other than a few cuts on his hands and legs and dirty clothes, he was absolutely fine, Now if I could only get rid of him...

“You,” a voice stated with clear maliciousness. Ronin looked up and saw the point of a sword aimed at his face. The person behind it was the same red-haired boy that had been yelling down the alley. “Where is the fencer?” the red-head demanded.

The thief stared at him, “Fencer? What fencer?”

The sword-owner glared, “You should know. Your green hair matches his.”

“Hair?” Ronin asked again and rolled his eyes upwards. He never imagined his hair color could get him into trouble. Not to mention that this boy was also the one Notus was so interested in. This was not going to end well.

As the ice innate searched for the man he believed to be the man he was hunting, a sudden person falling nearby sent him turning, taking note of a boy with dark green hair. The position of the sun made it hard for the ice warrior to notice the difference in color, and he drew his sword, moving in on this person. If luck prevailed, the red haired warrior had found the man he needed to kill, since how many people have green hair?

"You!" he yelled down the alley, looking at this man that had green hair, that, from how the light hit it, made the warrior appear like the man the ice warrior was hunting. "Where is the fencer!" the ice innate asked, looking at his foe, whom he knew appeared far too young to be the man he was hunting. Even so, his dark green hair appeared like the fencer's color of hair, although only because of the sun.

"Fencer? What fencer?" the youth asked as the swordsman slowly moved towards the young warrior.

"You should know, your hair matches his!" the red hair boy roared as he approached, noticing his foe's hair was a different color then the fencer's. Okay, his hair is a darker shade of green. Even so, the green hair could be a family trait that has varying? the ice warrior told himself, holding his sword tightly.

"Hair?" the boy asked, looking perplexed at the brown eyed warrior.

"Yeah, you've got green hair like he has! The only difference I can tell is your hair is darker green. The man I'm looking for has eccentrically green colored hair that sticks out in public. Your hair, at least you can kinda blend in, but his, it sticks out. Odds are he's an older brother of yours or something," the ice innate stated, drawing his rune blade from its sheath at his side.

"What are you babbling about?" the strange, young boy asked the ice innate.

"Don't play dumb!" Leos said as he swung his sword down towards his foe, and a sudden powerful gust of air threw the ice innate into the air. The red haired boy landed on his back and stood up, looking at the stranger person he had just encountered. "Wind magic? Interesting, to say the least," the red haired warrior stated, creating an ice shard. "But I've got a few tricks of my own!" the swordsman said, throwing an ice shard at the green haired boy, who rolled to the side and evaded it.

"What is it you want?!" the wind innate asked, looking at the red haired ice innate.

"I want the location of Zorlo. I want to find and kill him, and I think you know where he is. If you tell me where he is, it might spare your life," the swordsman stated, creating two more ice shards. He would find out where the fencer was, and he would defeat him, that was all there was to this. If this boy knew and wouldn't tell the brown eyed youth where the fencer was, that would be his problem. Zachary didn't care, in the end, he'd know where Zorlo was.

Ronin simply couldn’t believe what was going on. This... whoever he was, was ready to kill the boy just because of his hair color. Apparently, green hair was about the only thing this swordsman related to the fencer Zorlo. Zorlo... That name sounded oddly familiar. The thief didn’t have any more time to think about that name as two more ice shards shot in his direction. Being liberal with his magic, he created a gust of wind to blow the two shards into the side of the building. He drew his twin daggers but quickly glanced over the battle area, This alley’s way too small to have a battle in. There’s barely room to dodge and, he looked over the rune blade, there’s now way I could beat that thing. So he did the best thing he could think of. Ronin turned and ran.

Do you have no shame? Notus commented with displeasure as the swordsman’s shouts of “Come back here!” resounded behind him.

Not when it comes to staying alive, the boy replied and darted down the open street. A loud rumble of thunder growled in the dark clouds that had settled over the outskirts of the city. The weather was going to turn ugly soon and Ronin wanted no part of this face of Mother Nature. He still heard the footfalls of the swordsman behind him. The street was nice and deserted so the thief considered turning and fighting or simply trying to out-run and lose the fighter.

He seems like the persistent type, the demon noted through Ronin’s indecision. He knew the wind demon only wanted him to fight so he could see exactly what that demonic force around the swordsman was. Then again, Notus did have a good point. From his declarations, the red-head was determined to find out what Ronin knew which, disappointingly for him, was nothing.

The wind controller stopped and faced the cold innate with his dagger up in a defensive posture, “Look I don’t know anything about this Zorlo you keep talking about. I’m not interested in a fight so let’s just forget we ever met each other.”

“Never,” the ice controller stated boldly, “You’re the only other person I’ve met with green hair. You must know something about that fencer and I’m going to have that information. Tell me now and maybe we can avoid this fight you don’t want.”

“Grr! I told you, I don’t know!” Ronin shouted, frustrated by the opponent’s lack of understanding. His twin runes glowing, the thief held up his hand and summoned a wind underneath the ice innate’s feet, almost knocking him over. Like his tattoos, his eyes had also changed to a bright green shade. However, the swordsman recovered quickly and swung his sword in Ronin’s direction, sending several small ice shards at the thief. Undeterred, the wind innate darted towards the ice innate, dodging the shards or blowing away the ones that would hit. Vaya and Fujin rang against the rune blade. Hoping his speed would give him the advantage in close combat, the boy continually slashed against the sword, more to drive back the swordsman than hurt him. If he could maybe set the cold innate off-balance, Ronin could end this battle early.

You surely can’t end it before I’ve had a chance, Notus commented with an amused feeling.

He's fast, Zachary thought silently as he watched Ronin's movements. Very fast, even. I think he could even give Zorlo a run for his money in speed, but I'm not too sure about that, the ice innate thought as he moved the flat side of his sword to block an oncoming thrust from his foe. "But speed doesn't' mean everything," the ice fighter told himself as he spun quickly and swung his blade hard towards his the thief.

Ronin held his swords up and blocked the rune sword, but was sent skidding on the heels of his shoes backwards a few feet. Even though Leos wasn't as physically strong as some warriors, the weight of his blade provided enough force to produce momentum when it hit a foe, or in this case his foe's weapons. The ice innate's spin continued until his sword dragged lightly along the ground and the swordsman's spin finished, staring at the green haired youth.

With a mighty heave, the ice warrior lifted his sword in front of him, ready to strike at his nearby foe. The cool breeze of the coming storm allowed the red haired warrior's body to relax slightly. If there was anything he hated, it was the heat here. Heat, he could have surely lived without, but the nearing rains meant another thing. Well, the normal thing they meant, anyway: terrain advantage.

The wind innate didn't take long to recover and was almost striking at the ice warrior moments after being struck back. The green haired youth's blades cut through the air with all speed, forcing the ice innate to move his sword quick as he could to block and deflect them. Several attacks from Ronin slipped past Leos' guard, leaving a few small cuts along the boy's arms and upper body, but that was all they were: cuts.

He doesn't seem to be all that strong either. In physical strength, we seem about even. Maybe I can use this to my advantage, the ice warrior told himself as he rashly swung his sword down towards Ronin, who hopped out of the blade's path. Leaving no time to recover, the thief charged at the ice fighter again, who quickly manipulated the runes on his sword and created two ice shards that he quickly sent towards the green haired fighter.

With the flick of his wrist, the wind elemented warrior cast the shards aside, but it bided the swordsman all the time he needed to turn his body and swing his sword horizontally at the wind innate. Ronin was all too prepared for this and quickly unleashed a blast of wind that threw Zachary backwards. The ice innate hit the ground and rolled backwards slightly, slowly rising to his feet after hitting the ground.

Leos held his sword tightly and looked at Ronin with a feeling of pure annoyance. "I can keep this up all day, kid. If you just tell me where Zorlo is, you'll save us both a lot of time," the ice warrior called over, heaving his sword so it rested on his shoulder. The ever cooling air and the nearing rains meant that soon, no matter how powerful of a wind innate this kid was, the advantage would be Zachary's.

OoC: I felt kind of inspired to post here. ^^ Though, inspired doesn't necessarily mean a good post. If I didn't get something right, just tell me and I'll fix it. ^^;

BiC:

Ronin bared his teeth as the ice innate, “I already told you, I don’t know where this Zorlo person is! Why can’t you believe me!?” Normally, the thief wasn’t one to get angry. In fact, any other emotion except maybe fear wasn’t a common occurrence. But he had just been attacked by someone he didn’t know about some other person he didn’t know. If anything, that gave him a clear right to be mad. “Why don’t you just leave me alone!” he shouted and called a gust of wind under Zachary’s feet. The force heaved the swordsman into the air and back a couple of feet, much further than the boy had wanted to do. Surprised by the wind’s power, all the wind innate could think was, “Oops.”

“You don’t think oops when fighting,” the demon sighed, “Isn’t your intention to win this fight or would you rather have him pummel you?”

I don’t want to fight period. But I don’t want to really hurt him and give him a real reason to fight harder. I just... want to leave. The boy slumped a little. He hated fighting but sometimes, like right now, it seemed that the only other choice was to get hurt. Zachary had gotten back up from the blast of wind, his rune-inscribed sword held out in front of him. “I am leaving,” the thief declared.

“I won’t let you. Not until you’ve told me where that fencer is,” Zach stated, “I’ll do anything to find him and defeat him.”

Ronin sighed, “That’s nice but I’m not going to be helping you with that.” With that sentence, he cast the Tentarin spell and let the wind lift him off his feet. “Even if you catch me, I’ll only tell you that I don’t know anything.” He turned and started gliding down the street, sand billowing slightly on each side of him from the wind under his feet.

“Why leave now? I have yet to get acquainted with that demon you hold inside.”

The wind innate stopped dead in the street, his eyes wide and body shivering slightly. It was like someone had trailed an icy finger down his spine. The voice had been articulate, calm, and filled with a calculating malice. Worst of all, that demonic voice had come from the swordsman he had just left behind. Turning, Ronin had just enough time to block the runesword with his daggers.

“I thought you were leaving,” the ice innate questioned, “so why did you stop? Just for me to catch up to you?” Two more shards of ice formed beside the man and darted at the thief. Unable to move quickly enough under the weight of the bigger weapon, the ice made twin cuts on Ronin’s arms not deep enough to be any real concern but that didn’t mean blood wouldn’t leak out. The green-haired thief jumped back and eyed the swordsman with a bit of disgust.

“Your sword,” he muttered, “it’s covered in a demonic aura.” Maybe he would have to stay and fight Zachary. Anybody who used the power of a demon couldn’t do anybody any good. Including myself. However, as he dodged aside to escape another of the red-haired man’s attacks, he felt a light drop of water on his arm. Then his head. Why now? The storm had finally reached the desert town.

Drip, drip, drip.

Rain... here? It had been long since the parched desert had last tasted the sweet delights of the falling water from the heavens. Once every so often, the rain would fall and the people would fill their buckets and keep a supply for the dry season. However, in this case, the rain was a bad sign, well, at least for the green haired thief. Somehow the fates seemed to conspire against the young demon possessed boy. Every time rain had fallen, it had awakened within him.

Quickly, the air cooled to a point where breath formed a visible vapor, the sand turned to a mud-like substance, and the people all vanished, not that the two warriors were anywhere near any other people. Even so, that didn't matter at this point. The ice innate had set his sights, and his objective would be met. He had to find Zorlo, he just had too, and no green haired kid would tell him otherwise. This kid had to know where Zorlo was, he just had to!

Suddenly, a cold wind blew through the battlefield, and not a natural wind either. A sudden shiver passed into the battlefield, brought about by the ice innate. The arctic winds that followed him had taken their place in this battle, as a second burst of the icy wind froze some of the rain and created frozen raindrops. Before long, the frozen rain began to gather into blades of ice, and slowly grew longer and longer; before long, the ice innate had amassed three sharp ice shards ready to strike.

Ronin shivered slightly, thrown off by the cold wind for a moment, but quickly shaking it off. Perhaps the green haired boy wondered how the ice innate had done it, but it mattered not to the avenger, for he was here to find a link to his job. He'd use this boy to find Zorlo, and then kill Zorlo. After all, when Zorlo was dead, he'd no longer have to fight. No longer having to fight... how rewarding a though that was. It wasn't so far off either. Just a few more weeks, perhaps months, and all would be over.

"Why are you doing this?" Ronin called over to Zachary, breaking the youth out of his day dream of after Zorlo had fallen. "Why are you so recklessly attacking someone you don't know with a demonic sword?" the young thief asked, holding his weapons tightly.

"Because," the firebrand began as his eyes began to burn with his determination. "I must avenge those that have unjustly fallen. Give up Zorlo's location and I won't kill you. If you refuse... well... what happens after that is your fault," the ice innate stated, his eyes darkening a bit.

"I already told you I don't know where he is!"

"Then you are of no use to me. I'll simply beat you until you tell me," Leos said, thoroughly convinced that this kid knew where Zorlo was. Without another word, the ice warrior charged, the shards flanking him as he began to attack and throw shards at close range. He'd see this young warrior shredded into bits if he wouldn't speak.

Argh. Doesn’t this guy understand that I don’t know anything. And I definitely won’t be able to tell him anything if I’m dead. Killing me seems to kind of go against the point. The thief barely managed to dodge the ice daggers but had to block the rune sword with his own daggers as the ice innate barreled down on him. The air around the fighters had taken on a chilly bite, far too cool to simply be caused by the rain that was pouring on them. It definitely had to be the power of this Zachary. He’s much stronger than he let on. Or... perhaps it’s just the power of that sword. The thief wove around the swordsman renewed fury, barely managing to keep body parts connected. It was only when he had to quickly move to the left to avoid a cleaving blow did his feet slip in the mushy sand. Ronin let out a small cry of surprise and, hearing this, Zach reversed his sword to come straight at the boy’s mid-section. His duel runes glowing, Ronin conjured up a gust of wind to push back the blade and to help it him keep his balance. However, the wind suddenly shifted and turned on the thief, blowing him to the ground in an icy blast. Then he had to roll to the side to be missed by another furious attack.

Ronin started to rise so he could better counter the ice user when a pain swept through his head. “He would use the wind against me? How impudent. I was born of the wind itself and yet he would dare use it against me?” A powerful wind swept through the battlefield, whipping up the sodden dirt and even changing the direction of the rain. The thief could see Zach’s eyes narrow at him. Several shards of ice had begun to form around the swordsman but they only held for a second before the new wind blew them away.

The boy struggled to his feet. Stop. You... you can’t fight here. Not in a place like this.

Notus laughed. “You think I would let this human get the upper hand using my element? He will die today for such an insult. The demon’s urge to battle was almost overpowering. He knew this would be a fun battle; to see this stupid human cower before his might.

NO! Ronin shouted and shoved the wind creature back. The wind that had been circling the battlegrounds died away into the frozen whip it had become earlier. He shook his head to clear away the demon’s urges and brought his daggers up to face the swordsman. Wet sand clung to his clothing and his soaked hair laid flat against his head. Before he knew it, more ice daggers hurtled towards him. Even though his wind manipulation was now unreliable, he still used a gust to knock them away and made his own charge at Zach, “Fine. If you won’t listen to what I say, I’ll just have to get rid of you.” He brought Vaya and Fujin against Magnarune. A chilled wind pushed against the thief, making contact short-lived. So he simply attacked the swordsman again, trying to push him off-balance, trying to get any advantage. His flurry of knife attacks only lasted until he was forced to remember about the ice daggers. One had shot at him and managed to make a medium-sized cut in his arm. Blood started to lead down slowly, slowed even more by the chill in the air. Ronin jumped back and started to use his magic to heal the wound until Zachary leaped at him, forcing his concentration into dodging and parrying. The thief tried to use the wind the get the swordsman off of him but, like earlier, it turned on him and threw him back to the ground, to the mercy of the ice innate’s blade.

His power was simply over flowing. That was the only way that Zachary could explain what he felt at that moment. The icy winds had grown strong enough to push his feeble foe back; the rain supplemented his supply of ice daggers, making it more then easy enough to create a large number of them; and even the ground played to his advantage as it made moving difficult.

It was easy. Too easy in fact. This boy was strong, but the ice innate was stronger. In comparison, the only advantage the green haired lad had was his power, which he couldn't even fully use due to the major power boost that the ice innate had gotten from the rain.

The swordsman quickly began creating excessive amounts of sharpened ice shards, getting them ready to skewer his foe into nothing more the slivers. That would take some time, but hell, it would work, right? The ice warrior swung his blade down, aiming to split the wind innate in half, but he young boy rolled out of the way and began spinning his daggers, blocking the ice blades that soon flew at him. The two daggers were quick and matched the ice with ease, but evading the large sword that came slicing through the air after the daggers had gone wasn't so easy.

Ronin was easily faster and more skilled the Zachary, who was clunky to say the least, but that skill and speed didn't mean anything in this slightly restrictive space. For a warrior that needs space to out move, evade and escape his foe should he be outmatched, he would need to find a place to fight that was better. The green haired youth looked up and saw the flat ceilings. The perfect place.

With a powerful gust, one so strong that it blew the ice innate back, and allowing him to land on the flat ceiling, waving the ice innate up. Zachary growled as he grabbed an ice dagger and stabbed it into the wall, and began to climb up the wall, following his foe. Like hell the ice innate would let his foe escape, and the red haired man would defeat him. He wouldn't let anyone to defeat him. Especially not some pompous kid that could control air.

After a few moments of climbing the ice innate through his sword up on the ceiling and pulled himself up. The ice innate stood up and began freezing the rain as before it hit him. The droplets slowly united into daggers of ice, and the battle was about to continue. This green haired kid was dead. Or at least, he was about to be.

The thief shivered slightly under the chilled air, even colder because of the ice innate’s influence. He tested his boots on the roof’s surface. The bottoms moved swiftly over the wet stone, meaning Ronin could have to be careful that he didn’t slip while attacking or dodging. However, that problem could be remedied to the point that he wouldn’t even have to worry about it. He muttered the words of a spell and the wind lifted him slightly off of his feet. Even if Zach could control the icy winds blowing around, the Tentarin spell was weak enough that the boy could fight back and control the wind if the swordsman tried to do anything with it. With that finished, Ronin launched himself at Zachary, swiftly dodging the ice daggers and flew at him. The metal of the two daggers and one sword rang against as the wind innate darted around the ice user, looking for any kind of opening. Thinking he found it, Ronin thrust both his daggers at the opponent’s side. A red line of blood through the torn fabric and the thief knew he hit his mark. However, he didn’t have time to register the hilt coming for his head. Magnarune hit the boy at the base of his head where it connects with his neck. Everything went black for a second.

“Hmph. Can’t you defend yourself against a weak attack like that, human?” the demon snarled, embarrassed. “The only reason you’ve survived this long is because of me. You wouldn’t have wind to protect you if I wasn’t around. In fact, you would just be another fatality of the war if I hadn’t managed to come out. It’s no surprise you’re parents are dead. You’re all weak.”

What?! The thief roared at the demon and pushed him into the recesses of his mental cage. Ronin did see the flash of metal this time and managed to roll out of the way before Zach’s sword pierced his stomach. He jumped up and crossed his Vaya and Fujin in front of him, muttering, “I don’t need you’re help.” Then he once again directed his attention to the swordsman, “So, Zach, you really want to kill me, huh?”

“If you won’t tell me about Zorlo, it’s the only choice I have.” The ice innate surrounded himself with the deadly accurate daggers.

“Well, then,” he tensed his body in a position that look like an attack but suddenly sprinted away from the other innate, “you’ll just have to see if you can catch me first.” Sure, it was pretty much exactly what he had done at the beginning, and failed miserably at it, but it was about his only strength. He darted to the edge of the roof and leaped, crossing over the emptiness and onto the next roof. “I don’t care what grudge you have against Zorlo or whatever he did to you,” the boy shouted at the swordsman then rolled backwards as several ice daggers converged on where he had been standing. He ran as fast as he could, hoping Zachary would have at least some trouble seeing how the ice innate wasn’t quite as nimble as himself. He wove from left to right as more sharpened ice threw itself at him. But as he leaped over to the next roof, a gust of arctic cold wind caught him and slowed his movement. The thief reached out and managed to grab the edge for just a second before falling to the street below. This time, he didn’t get back up.

My turn.

The ice innate fell to his knees, completely exhausted. The ice energy that had once flowed like a river had been reduced to a trickle. The swordsman was breathing hard, feeling the complete strain of such exertion. The young warrior stuck his sword into the ground, sweat and rain dripping off of his hair and down his arms and shoes. At least it was over.

Images slowly returned to the ice warrior as he fell onto his backside, catching his breath. The last time he had felt this way was when he had fought Louis Fritz. That old veteran had proven himself a worthy foe. This kid had proven simply to be annoying. The ice innate stretched his legs out and laughed hysterically as he laid back. It was over? Yes, he'd killed that little bastard.

The red haired youth felt his eyes close as he laid on the ground, absolutely devoid of energy. Even so, something seemed to be stirring where the wind innate had fallen. The ice innate didn't notice the disturbance in the air, he was too tired laying down, letting himself drift into sleep. He'd killed an idiot kid, so who cared? This kid was as much an orphan as Zachary was, and if no one watched over them, they'd die anyway. The two were no different... except in one case: Darwinism.

Natural Selection had made it's choice, and even if it had drained the ice innate greatly, at least the battle was over. The red haired you stood up and used his blade to help him to his feet as he turned his eyes to where his foe had fallen. He felt something sinking in his stomach. This battle wasn't over yet.

OoC: Bah... Very short, but hey, it's better then nothing, right. ^_^

The wind in the immediate area swirled around the demon’s body, caressing him like some lost lover. A chuckled escaped from him, “I’ve missed you, too.” No longer would that pitiful ice innate turn the winds against him. The winds were his domain, his being. And, like the wind, Notus didn’t appreciate being cooped up in the thief’s body while a fight was going on. He was suppose to be free, like now. Unfortunately, once the stupid boy woke up, the demon would be forced back inside only to wait until Ronin lost his will once more. As such was the case, the demon would relish his freedom, causing as much havoc as possible. But first, that swordsman needed to be dealt with. His use of the wind was a personal insult to Notus and he didn’t take insults well.

He cocked his head and glanced sideways at Zach. The red-topped head had been peeking over the edge and now his brown eyes widened at the sight. Oh yes, this was going to be oodles of fun. The demon held out a sword-arm straight at the swordsman and then, with a fluid and fast motion, brought the arm down and launched his Sesso spell. Zach had enough brains to move out of the way; where he had been was reduced to rubble from the hundreds of wind daggers. “Well, at least you’re not completely incompetent,” the wind creature chuckled and flew up to land on roof. He observed the ice manipulator’s movements; how his sword was held straight in front of him and how the ice element revolved more slowly around his body than before. “Heh, heh, heh. I’ve got to hand it to Ronin, he took quite a bit out of you. Why, you’re barely worth my time.”

“So, that boy summoned up a demon to fight. How cowardly,” the boy spat.

Notus rushed forward in a split second, his right arm clanging against the metal of Magnarune. “Don’t take me for some petty servant of that boy. I am a great demon that has no master. Besides,” he would see the demonic energy swirling inside the runic sword, “you shouldn’t speak against demonic power if you use it yourself.” He raised his left arm and brought it down upon the human, meaning to cleave an arm off.

OoC: Whoo for short posts!

Zachary's brown eyes met with the demon's eyes for but a moment as the monster's left arm came barreling down. The red haired boy lowered his eyes and smiled, laughing soon after. "You don't have any idea what you're up against," the ice innate noted as he opened his eyes, revealing dark blue eyes, and a powerful fierceness that had been bottled up.

Suddenly, a powerful pulse of ice erupted from the ice warrior's body and threw Notus through the air, although not phasing the ice demon too much. "So you want me to show you the powers I have. I'll show you every bit of demon energy contained in this sword," the swordsman said as he held his sword in front of him with one arm. It felt lighter suddenly, and the ice warrior knew why.

This form was so much stronger then he was normally. The red haired youth had been training his body to handle this power, and he knew he could defeat Zorlo now. Nothing could, and nothing would, stop Zachary when next he and the Aura Master crossed paths. The only thing that the fencer had to look forward to was death, and that was certain.

The ice innate raised his sword above his head and began spinning it around his head like a helicopter blade, building up ice energy in the swords blade, along with gathering up additional ice from the falling rain. It was time to see just how tough this demon was, and the swordsman knew he could handle it. Now was the time to show off just how powerful the ice warrior truly was.

With a sudden, yet powerful, slash, the ice innate unleashed a fierce blast of razor lined wind and about three spears of ice. All of which aimed entirely at Notus, but Zachary wasn't finished there as he, himself, charged right behind his attacks, brandishing his sword for a downward strike shortly. This fight wouldn't last very long at this rate.

Notus grinned, “Stupid human. The wind is my domain and you will not turn it against me.” Summoning his innate powers, the demon swept his arm out in front of him. The wind that streaked towards him suddenly reversed direction, sending the three spears of ice in wild directions. Zachary, however, kept up his charge and even knocked way one of the spears without taking his eyes off of his opponent. The wind incarnate had to give it to the ice innate and gleefully met Magnarune with his own blades crossed in defense. The strength of the blow reverberated through the demon’s arms but he kept his stand against the boy.

“Don’t take me so damn lightly,” the swordsman stated. Suddenly, several ice daggers, though they were big enough to be swords, formed around Zach. At point-blank range, the ice shot into the demon’s body without him being able to dodge one. As soon as the crossed-guard faltered, the ice innate knocked Notus’ blades aside and slashed across the demon’s chest, spilling fresh blood.

The wind manipulator stumbled backwards, “How dare you!” He blew the human backwards in rage and stood to full height, blood still running down his chest. “I am not some creature that you can so easily defeated.” Notus rushed the swordsman, appearing in front of him to quickly to for Zach to form a solid defense and instead clumsily blocked a slash. The sword directly in front of him, the demon brought a leg up and forcefully kicked the boy in the left, knocking him to the ground. Then, in a lazy motion, he summoned a wind that forced Zachary off the edge of the building. The ice innate barely managed to grab the ledge with his free hand. Notus chuckled, “You know, you might be able to pull yourself up if you dropped the sword.”

Zach glowered, his dark blue eyes piercing the demon’s form. Instead of dropping it, he lifted Magnarune up and shoved it into the building for a handhold. A line of ice also shot along the stone from where the sword touched but Notus easily glided around the attack. “Pitiful,” he stated and aimed another Sesso spell at the red-haired boy. The daggers of wind shattered the stone Zach had been hanging onto, sending him to the street below.

Falling. Falling. Falling... That's it, now I'm pissed! Zachary thought as he moved his hand over his sword and took pure ice magic and threw it into the ground, producing a massive tower of ice that the red haired warrior landed upon, looking up towards the demon. The ice warrior was breathing hard now, his magical supply straining out a bit. The physical strain of all of the damage that the ice innate had taken, double with the amount of magic he was expending in order to simply keep up with demon wasn't worth it at all.

The ice innate had to think quickly. That thing had two sword arms, could create insane wind magic attacks, and pretty much seemed to outrank Zachary in everything he did. Well, there was a problem, and all that needed to happen now is the solving of it. Come to think of it, how did he create the pillar of ice? Zachary hadn't really thought about doing that, he had just done it, it seemed. Perhaps there was something he could do. He'd just need to muster up all the magical energy he could, and put it into one attack, and hope it would freeze the demon solid long enough to allow the ice innate to defeat him.

The red haired warrior leapt backwards, landing on a nearby house and looking over at Notus. Quickly, the demon began to launch daggers of air, but the ice warrior quickly conjured up daggers of ice to stop the air daggers. The clashing of ice and air rang out gently into the air as the two elemental forces collided with everything they had, trying to over power one another desperately. Now, hopefully there was time enough to ready this attack. All it would take is some focus, and the most magical energy that Leos could muster.

The ice warrior focused all of his energy that wasn't being used on defense into his sword. A sudden change in the weather alerted the ice innate to something going wrong, and he moved quickly, blocking the demon's two blades with his rune blade. The runes glowed more and more powerfully, the ice innate nearly having all of his energy mustered. Almost there.

With a mighty push, Zachary threw back Notus' arms slightly and leapt back, swinging his sword fiercely and releasing a mass of ice energy. The red haired youth fell to his knees, his eyes returning to their normal brown color. The magical energy was gone, but still, hopefully it had done its trick. Hopefully it would freeze the demon, and end this battle.

"Damn you!” Notus roared at the swordsman but could make no move against him. It was unbelievable that a human had managed to release such an amount of magical energy, even if it was augmented by his demonic sword. He had released such an amount that most of the demon’s body was encased in a thick sheet of ice. Only the edge of his right sword-arm and a corner of his cloak was free from the ice. Otherwise, he was completely encased. A growled came from his throat as he watched the ice innate steady himself. The dark blue eyes had returned to their brown color and he seemed to have trouble keeping the blade straight. The growled turned into a chuckle, “Do you even have enough energy to run that sword through me and the ice?”

“More than enough,” Zachary stated with a glare.

The demon would like nothing more than to rip off the human’s face so he couldn’t make that expression. Then he smiled. Hmph, he’s not worth that effort. The wind spirit made an effort to calm himself. His anger only got the better of him a few times but he would rather not add another instance. “Know that, if you run me through, you’ll only succeed in killing the boy. Wouldn’t that sit well on your conscience, child-killing.”

The swordman didn’t miss a beat, “I only fought him to get information. Since he refused to give any to me, that’s his fault. I made it clear I wasn’t interested in showing mercy to anyone in league with that fencer. Besides, he’s hardly a child. His has already come to and gone past the age of manhood.”

Notus snorted. He considered Ronin as manly as a mouse, and just as intelligent. But, better to keep the swordsman speaking and listening. “But I’m sure killing a boy who can’t defend himself goes against some moral. After all, how are you going to explain to the people of this city that you killed someone in cold-blood.”

“Cold-blood? Hardly. Anyway, I’m sure the people would probably thank me for killing a demon. It could be worse than one casualty.” He raised his sword but lowered it as the demon began laughing loudly.

“Kill me? Hah! If that cleric couldn’t do it, you certainly couldn’t. You don’t have near the power she had. She could’ve reduced you to a babbling idiot and all she could do to me was trap me in the bodies of humans. If you run you’re blade through this body, Ronin will be the only one to die. I’ll simply inhabit another human, living forever.” The demon continued to cackle. Sure, Notus might not be able to create the influence in the next human that he was able to do with Ronin. But he would be able to eventually. He really didn’t have to fear death. The wind incarnate never had and, in his opinion, never would.

Zachary laughed, raising his sword so the flat side of the weapon rested upon his shoulder. The ice innate couldn't help but laugh. Even if that were true, at least this thing would be stopped, right? After all, this thing would disappear for a little while. Still, was that entirely worth it?

Can I allow myself to kill that defenseless kid? After all, his daggers and magic weren't much of a challenge to my powers. The only thing that kept him alive thus far is that thing. The ice innate stepped back, raising his right hand to his face as his vision blurred a bit. That, and I'm way too tired to smash this guy into small pieces. This fight settled itself, and I'm just gonna get out of here. I've wasted enough time, and if Zorlo was here, he'd have shown up by now. Especially if this guy were a friend of his.

"You're lucky, you know that?" the ice warrior asked as he stood himself up again. "I'm gonna leave you and that green haired kid to go about your own business. If you're lucky, you'll be able to move when the sun comes up tomorrow. I'm not gonna waste my time killing you. Not worth it," the swordsman mocked as he turned towards where the pillar of ice he had created was and stood at the edge, turning his head back towards Notus.

The rain dripped off the wounded ice innate's fingers, the tip of his sword, his nose, and off of his hairs. "Oh, and keep in mind, my name is Zachary Leos. I'm an avenger, and nothing will stop my quest. So, what exactly do you have to say to that?" the red haired youth asked, turning a bit more around, trying to muster the energy to jump onto the pillar and then land onto the ground afterwards. He just needed a little time and the hope that this thing didn't get free at the last second. That wouldn't end well.