Spar it Out

Tia's wing's quiver by the end of the class, Felicity running her through the course twice as hard as her peers. As she trudges her way to her next course, Tia questions whether the cause is her paltry performance or Felicity's distaste for their family. Her clothes and feathers are singed along nearly every edge, her aunt unfraid to enforce "proper form" and punish disatisfactory techniques with her flames, claiming pain is the best teacher! She had quickly come to understand the nervous behavior of the senior recruits in her presence.

The sparring grounds are littered with recruits by the time Tia arrives, divided up by units. Each group occupies one of the many marked fields, each stretching one hundred feet long and fifty feet wide. Tia hesitates at the sight of her own unit. Longwei and Orin are in each others faces again, Orin wearing the slightest of smiles in response to Longwei's irritation. Meanwhile, Ifani hovers nearby dispassionately, restricting Albert from intervening, but she draws in a breath as Tia approaches. Tia cannot look at her face, reflexively grasping her previously injured hand.

The six of them line up on opposite sides of the field and manifest their magic forms. Longwei resembles his appearnce from the previous night with white hair, yellow eyes and dark slate blue skin from head to toe. He makes no effort to hide his crooked smirk, eagerly gripping his glaive. Meanwhile, powder blue makings resembling clouds and snow appear across Bolor's upper body, especially his hands, and stripes of the same color run along the shaved portion of his scalp. In fact, Bolor shuffles the top half of his deel from his shoulders, leaving his upper body fully exposed, and the air surrounding him immediately chills at the touch!

Ifani and Orin are openly confident while Albert is far more nervous, readied just behind them with flute in hand. Ivory white markings frame his face while teal stains his mouth, throat and hands. Ifani doesn't convert her skin into metal yet but her markings are exposed nonetheless, amber and metallic brass smearing together across her entire body. Her hair and eyes also turn orange! Finally, Orin's markings are partially concealed but both of his arms glow pure, searing white all the way up to his shoulders. There is also a faint vermillion sheen in his eyes, emanating from his pupils.

Tia springs up, gasping at the brilliant sight of her allies as they come to her rescue, immensely relieved and grateful. Both Bolor and Longwei have gained a few burns, cauterized and distinct, but Wulong is entirely uninjured. Tia beams at the both of them, finding Wulong particularly magnificent after rescuing her. She is wholly unaware of Ifani missing her strike, believing her allies arrived just in time to stop her.

Bolor spots Tia's warped weapon tossed aside and as Ifani scrambles off the ground, still coughing, Bolor holds a hand over the markings on his shoulder. These arctic blue patterns glow in response, an icy hilt emerging from them. Bolor grasps this hilt and slowly pulls out a sword made entirely of ice! Longwei transfers it to her as he dismounts and Tia marvels at the transparent, almost crystalline blade. Yet the ice immediately numbs her fingers. She nods to Bolor with a grateful smile, wrapping the cloth of her belt around the hilt as they all refocus on Ifani.

Longwei nods back to her slowly, tenacity catching in his eyes as if Tia's were contagious. He grips his glaive with both hands in renewed resolution, lowering his body into a practiced stance. Longwei slashes and jabs at Ifani with his polearm while remaining out of her striking distance. Bolor responds wordlessly, loosing a barrage of ice shards and arrows from within the remaining fog. These zip in from alternating paths at unpredictable angles, attempting to throw Ifani off balance or destabilize her movements with a peculiar accuracy. The pair fight seamlessly together, already accustomed to the other's patterns, and Tia can already see contrast in their experrience against her own!

Tia tries to land a few hits of her own, despite the ineffectiveness of both her weapon and technique. It slowly chips off more ice with each hit. She even attempts to electrocute Ifani again, Ifani bracing herself at the gesture, but to Tia's frustration the charge won't connect. Ifani fights as if Tia and Bolor aren't present, focusing entirely on Longwei. They engage in a skillful and elaborate dance, leaving Tia to step aside in awe as their pace increases. Longwei jabs a final time, Ifani catching the pole of his glaive under her arm before grasping his weapon and pulling Longwei into her sword. Yet as she attempts to run him through, his entire body gives way to mist!

As Longwei blends and disappears into the surrounding fog, Ifani finds herself holding his weapon uncontested. Ifani turns to Tia then, losing control of her temper, and the air around her heats abruptly, a hot wind crashing against their cheeks! Tia takes to the air just as swiftly, her wingbeats throwing Ifani off balance.

Albert can't help but grimace seeing Ifani's state, clearly worn from such a dramatic use of her kaithur. She is unable to maintain her form any longer, her metal skin fading, leaving her breathless and pale. However, Longwei and Bolor also appear to be at their limit, having faced Orin as well. They respectfully defer to Tia as they catch their breath, allowing Tia to finish their original match. Tia's sword is chipped and cracked but still manageable. While her body is tired, Tia's energy is far from bottomed out, not having made much use of her magic in this bout. Still, she questions whether Ifani might still have some kind of immunity. She's equally unsure of her ability to project her aura.