She flew forward, landing with a grunt on her hands and knees. "I must admit," she said, rising to her feet, "you are a good fighter. Honestly, today I've seen more different fighting styles than I ever have. I'm sure I could learn a lot from you guys." She poured more heat into the flames, and the burned a beautiful, cloudy blue color. Her hand held behind her back, a flaming knife gradually grew. "I had to teach myself, so maybe I'll add some of your moves into my style. Would you be okay with that?" She lashed out suddenly with the knife, aiming for his throat.
The flames the man controlled started to form a shield like shape which completed itself just before Adara reached it, guarding him from the attack which might have ended up and pushing Adara back.
”That’d be—“ the flames from the aura shield were separated and surrounded Adara in a consuming way ”—completely fine—” when the flames came down to both burn her slightly and block her view, the attacker used the ceiling as a supporting pad while using his other leg’s ankle as a flaming hammer which nailed her shoulder, pushing her down. With that, he stood up quickly and jumped away from Adara, back to where he was before. It seemed like some of his flames have cooled down or have lost some of their heat.
When the knife rebounded, she scowled, stumbling back slightly from the force of it. "Thanks," she said, throwing up a dome of her own fire around her to block his as he tried to squeeze it in on her. "I'll have some new techniques then." She couldn't avoid the blow from the hammer, though, and grit her teeth as it struck her, pain lancing through her.
And unlike the fighter, her fire was growing hotter, turning a blinding sky blue, mized with swirling flames of gold and red. With a sudden rememberance of a fight she had had not too long ago, about a year or so, her flames swirled around her, moving to her hand to shape a deadly, glowing black scythe, made of the fire of rage. She felt a twinge of sadness at the shape of it, but didn't dwell on it, raising it abover her head and slamming it into the floor.
As soon as it hit, flames rebounded through the hall, of all colors, aiming straight toward the figure.
The figure was taken aback by the weapon but was more shocked about its attribute. He didn’t have anywhere to go but to try to beat the weapon’s heat to which he believed would be impossible with his current state. With that, though, he smiled and opened his arms, embracing the flames and their raging heat. When the smoke cleared, the man remained in the same position yet parts of his clothing were burnt. Not long after, he fell to his knees only to soon completely lay down on the floor.
”Th-That was quite fun eh…?” he managed to speak out with a small laugh, unable to move due to the overheating inside him. It seemed like the man has fainted, though.
(Go to check on the Flame Knight?)
(Go back to check on Matthew?)
Adara glanced warily at the figure, moving toward him before bending down, making sure he was unconscious, before standing. Once he had fallen, her scythe had vanished, as had her flame. She glanced at the guy. He looked so vulnerable, she could just kill him now. She shook her head. No, she wouldn't kill him. She had respect for her fellow fire-user, and besides, he had aquired enough damage anyway.
But how did he absorb her fire? She could take back her own, but never another persons'…
With a small sigh, she moved back toward where she had last seen Matthew. She was hoping that he hadn't been watching, but knew that it was unlikely. Her clothes were smoking, and flames still danced in her eyes. It had felt good to get it all out, she had to admit.
(This will be the last reply from me in a couple of hours)
Matthew was still on the floor of the hallway, grunting to get his back… well, back in shape. His abilities were nature-based and were obviously vulnerable to fire-based abilities. Yet, he wasn’t hesitant to step in when the first roar of flames came from the attacker.
When Adara walked back, he glanced at her.
”Sorry I couldn’t help you…” he said in an apologetic tone.
”I’m supposed to be the stronger one here and look at you, doing all the work… oh how I respect your courageous actions” the Knight ruefully sighed when he finished, slowly standing up.
”Now that that’s done with… I think we can finally go meet that scientist friend of mine I told you about… maybe he can help you with somethings” the Knight mentioned, softly walking towards the hall that the fight had happened in. As the building was large, it’s likely that none of the scientists heard the fight.
Adara gave him a tight smile when he said "courageous" and grimaced. "That wasn't brave." She helped him up and walked next to him. "What would he help me with? I don't need help." She thought back to how helpless she had felt on Earth and pursed her lips. "Why do you say I do?"
With every blink the figure disappeared then reappeared, the cycle repeated until Kye was to be met with another figure who was watering the flowers.
The butler-like entity stepped out of the way, gesturing for Kye to approach the gardener.
He slowed to a stop when the other figure came into view. Not entirely sure what he was supposed to do, he glanced at the first figure. Noting that they seemed to want Kye to approach the gardener he took a few slow steps towards them. "Excuse me," he made his presence known by those words. And waited for the figure to notice him.
"Yes, thank you," Hinata said, nodding in acknowledge. She noted what happened with Ichika, glancing at him once before making her way over to the chairs and sitting down gracefully.
Matthew noticed the change in Adara’s action and shook his head.
”He can help you get out of here… theoretically that is” the Knight needed to rephrase his sentence. The first one sounded a bit too commanding for his matter.
The gardener looked over at Kye, his face similar to that of the butler; covered in red spider lilies. The only difference being that the gardener’s attire was blue and not green like the first butler and it seemed like every time Kye blinked, the blue butler-like figure stayed… until Kye would have taken a breather or two.
Every time he exhaled, the figure disappeared and reappears again every time he inhaled.
Same case for the green butler, the blue butler started to guide Kye somewhere.
”Now—“ the man in the pavilion started as he sat down and poured tea for both himself and Hinata.
”—I’m aware that you are friends with Matthew, which is already unfortunate as it is, but that you’ve also sustained quite a friendship with him. Unfortunately—“ the man took a sip of his tea before setting the cup down ”—he’s going to be salvaged soon…” the man gave a suspiciously sinister smile.
”Now, what I mean by that is that we’re replacing him with a new and better Knight as he lacks the capability to be… critical… with his actions” the man said, putting a clear emphasis on the word ‘critical’.
”I’ve got to tell you first, by having this salvaging action take place, it doesn’t necessarily mean that Matthew will be… dead or gone or whatever like that. It just means we’re having someone replace him and his job as the Dimensional Zookeeper… see? It’s wonderful don’t you think?” the man said the last part with a natural smile.
"Well, that's good," she said cooly, although when he said that her heart raced. "But what about the stuff you said before? Isn't there stuff I have to do to get out?"
Matthew nodded, knowing fair well that that specific problem would pop up.
”By ‘help’, I mean ‘guide’ you through the necessary steps towards exiting. I’m sorry if I’m not making sense here” the Knight apologized humbly.
He, though, felt a pang of pain ring through him from his heart up. He gasped for air, one arm resting on his knee and the other grabbing his heart in a painful and trembling motion.
”Curse you…” he muttered softly under his breath, not at all referring to Adara.
"That doesn't make any - you okay?" She knelt down next to him.
”Yeah… yeah… it’s just my Master in command playing tricks on m—“ he soon coughed out blood, his pain not decreasing at the moment.
”He’s really wanting someone to replace me huh…?” the Knight chuckled ruefully that the words he said.
"Your Master…?" She blinked. "Why? Are you doing something wrong?"
”Not… necessarily… it’s just that he’s found someone more worthy of my job than myself and he’s trying to kick me out from my position…” the Knight answered, slowly raising to his straight position.
”It’s just life after death I guess…”
"That's… that's not right." She held out her hand to help him up. "He just wants to replace you because he found someone better? Why don't you just leave, then, if your master keeps doing that?"
(How could I forget, Merry Christmas everybody!!!)
Matthew wasn’t expecting such a question to come to him this early on.
”That… I’m afraid I could not answer that… not until you meet her that is” the Knight answered, limping gradually down the hall towards where his friend was supposed to be at.
”Now—“ the man in the pavilion started as he sat down and poured tea for both himself and Hinata.
”—I’m aware that you are friends with Matthew, which is already unfortunate as it is, but that you’ve also sustained quite a friendship with him. Unfortunately—“ the man took a sip of his tea before setting the cup down ”—he’s going to be salvaged soon…” the man gave a suspiciously sinister smile.
”Now, what I mean by that is that we’re replacing him with a new and better Knight as he lacks the capability to be… critical… with his actions” the man said, putting a clear emphasis on the word ‘critical’.
”I’ve got to tell you first, by having this salvaging action take place, it doesn’t necessarily mean that Matthew will be… dead or gone or whatever like that. It just means we’re having someone replace him and his job as the Dimensional Zookeeper… see? It’s wonderful don’t you think?” the man said the last part with a natural smile.
Hinata listened, a perfect poker face keeping anyone from knowing how she was feeling. More than anything, she was concerned- especially when the man have a sinister smile. She held her tea in both hands, not drinking any yet.
"Then what exactly does it mean for Matthew?" She asked when he had finished. "What happens to him now?"
The man took another sip of his tea and set the cup down, letting out a soft sigh.
”We haven’t decided yet but… for me… I might extract his Aura to feed the newcomer, I think that’d be beneficial to them. Oh, but of course, Matthew will most likely die in the process but I could only care less, he’s getting scrapped anyways so what’s left for me to care, right?” the man said apathetically as he took another sip of tea before setting the cup down and refilling it.
(Oh yeah! It is today! Haha I'm smart, guys. Merry Christmas to you too!)
As he moved ahead a little ways, Adara muttered, "Her?" in confusion, then hurried after him. She almost asked if he wanted her help, with all the limping, but thought better of it. She certainly wouldn't want anyone to offer help.
As he moved down the hall, Matthew eventually was able to sustain his straight posture. His pain was likely gone at that point. He started back towards the hall with his natural speed.
Upon coming across a sliding door, he opened it and turned the lights on.
”You can wait outside if you want, I just need to get something first” he said before walking in.
(Head inside the room?)
(Wait outside?)
"I'll wait." She sighed and leaned against the wall, picking at her nails while she waited. Glancing around to make sure she was alone, she let a fire dance along her open palm, grinning. It felt so good to get her flame back. When she closed her palm it vanished, and she tapped her foot impatiently.
As Adara waited outside, a humanoid figure walked into the same she was in. He was a tall figure, around 6’4” or something. He wore a crimson colored coat, one which was long enough to reach his kneecaps. He had a pair of dark skinny ripped jeans on alongside a leather pair of shoes. He was also smoking a cigarette while playing with a dark red flame which formed on his palms. His hair was a bit messy as it gave off a shiny, jewelry vibe of something similar to a Ruby. One last thing to note about the figure was the fact that he had red, demon-like horns coming out of his head. He stopped near Adara and without turning to face her, asked:
”Who’s in the room?” his voice was raspy, a bit hard to understand.
She ignored his appearance, going back to studying her nails. "No clue. Honestly, Ive been here for a day and I have no idea where anything is or who anything is, so you probably shouldn't ask me."
The demon-humanoid figure turned slowly to face her and shrugged, peering into the room.
”Ah, Mat” the figure muttered just quietly before walking down the hall where he was headed.
Soon, Matthew would come out of the room. He turned off the lights then closed the door. In his hand, he had a small wooden box.
”Alright, he should be up ahead now” the Knight said, leading the way.
The man took another sip of his tea and set the cup down, letting out a soft sigh.
”We haven’t decided yet but… for me… I might extract his Aura to feed the newcomer, I think that’d be beneficial to them. Oh, but of course, Matthew will most likely die in the process but I could only care less, he’s getting scrapped anyways so what’s left for me to care, right?” the man said apathetically as he took another sip of tea before setting the cup down and refilling it.
Hinata had finally taken a sip of her tea, crossing her legs and setting the cup down in her lap. When the man said Matthew would probably if he had his way, her group tightened on the cup, easily shattering. And not into large pieces; no, it was in hundreds of pieces, the hot liquid spilling into her lap and a shared cutting her hand. The wound closed quickly however, and she was unbothered by the tea on her legs.
"Dreadfully sorry," she said, no sincerity behind her words. She had hair a mind to do that to the man, to just wrap her hands around his neck and squeeze until his brain popped out like a pimple core.
"What is that?" Adara asked, nodding her head at the box. She didn't say anything about the guy who had passed. He had seemed unimportant, and already, her mind had forgotten him for the moment.
The Viscount mentally noted down Hinata’s actions as he waved his hand around again, creating a small image of the four foxes, the amber Maine-Coon, and a… parrot? From the looks of it, these were all of Matthew’s ‘pets’.
”If that time does come, though, these will have to go with Matthew as well… their souls are all linked together, meaning that if Matthew were to… well, die, these entities will also follow him. I don’t make the rules here, I’m just saying that he will more likely be dead than not” the Viscount claimed, waving his hand again and causing the image to disappear.
”Well, that’s all I have to say. I just need to warn you about our situation right now. That’s for you to get over it—“ the man took a sip of his tea ”—Matthew’s upcoming last farewell that is”
”Oh, it’s something I need that scientist friend of mine to examine. It’s not mine, actually. I found this during a mission and thought that I’d have him take a look at it” the Knight claimed as they would pass by a hall of many, many doors, all of which were labeled differently.
Hinata listened, barely noting the parrot sure to her forcing herself not to burst out on ironic laughter. Of course the others would die too. She needed to get it out there to blow off some steam, quite literally. She brushed her hands over her pants, the tea evaporating.
"I see," she finally said. She stood, still managing to hold onto her poker face. She'd need to talk to the foxes about their plan.
