[Heianu/Zedd] Fire and Lightning, Very, Very Frightening

[Sparky]

[Refs]

    The wave of electricity washed over the two of them, and through some stroke of luck or thanks to the effort he'd put in while training, the lightning formed Zedd was able to see Heianu prime up for her hit. With lightning thundering around the two of them from the charge, the electrical form of the young man had a split second to react. White eyes widening, he twisted his body in the air just barely fast enough to allow her fist to graze past him. Lightning and flames, one strike propelled by the storm, the other through the primal fury of her element. But this time, lightning was quicker as the boy zapped backwards enough to barely avoid being completely singed by the explosion of flames. 

    The wave of electricity from Thundercrash collided with Heianu's flames from her propel as the two forces clashed violently, creating a secondary detonation of sorts. Raindrops sputtered and hissed against the scorched ground, and evaporated on contact with the electrical second-skin Zedd had grown. The young man slid his foot forwards and spread his arms out as lightning gathered around him once more. Despite being dampened by the rain, Grass that was around the young man quickly lit ablaze as lightning lashed out around himself. 

    This was a skill he'd used before, but it was different now. Stronger now. A true testament to his progress. His dedication. Zedd had fought and clawed his way to get to this point. There was nothing that was going to stop the boy from proving himself to Heianu. Electrified claws tensed, clutched, then sprang outwards again. The boy realed. Drew his arms up and back, then slammed them forth. The grass around him exploded in a blaze as electricity scorched the earth around him, blackening it. In all his training, this was the first time he had a chance to see his magic having an effect on other materials. 

    Crackling and sparking to life, Static blossomed around Heianu, giving the girl just a few moments to react before exploding in a cacophony of thunder and lightning. Zedd roared, voice distorted and almost mechanical. Whether the attack hit or not, the boy flung himself back into the fray, ducking low near the ground. Like an animal, he lunged upwards, showing far more aggression than the wind mage the green haired girl had fought. More fury. More skill. While his abilities were more raw, he was no far ranged coward anymore. Zedd swung wide, appearing to slash toward Heianu's face, but pulled at the last second in a bold feint as his opposite hand came up to drive towards her gut.

    One of Zedd's bigges advantages had always been that no one truly knew what he had up his sleeve. He played the fool, but absorbed far more knowledge than he let on. If Zedd's fist connected with Heianu's stomach, there would be a split second as he looked her in the eyes and pushed it deeper, charging up, and unleashing another blast, just like the first he'd unleashed upon the girl, only this time much, much closer, meaning that shotgun blast of electricity became far more focused. 

SPOILER: Click to show

Spell name: Electrodominance
Spell Main Element: Lightning
Affinity Strength: 3 at base
Function: Caster unleashes a violent storm of electricity around themselves, or directs it in a wide, uncontrollable burst in the general direction of a target. Lightning is more guaranteed to strike an opponent wearing conductive metals. The cluster of electrical strikes and its range is determined by affinity strength.
Affinity:
3- Short range, Average cluster
5- Mid range, Average cluster
7- Mid range, High cluster
Availability: Open

[Heianu]

Heianu hissed a curse and forced a brilliant plume of green fire to propel herself above Zedd to avoid his attack, just barely getting out of his range. It was a sight really, a blinding green light clashing with the vibrant cyan lightning. It was certainly a dangerous rave of the elements. She could feel the electricity forcing hair that currently wasn't alight with flame raise. If it wasn't magic lightning, that would have been Zedd's largest giveaway for his attacks if someone was skilled enough to dodge.

She tilted her body with the last of her spell, flames giving out and Heianu dropping onto the ground in the opposite direction. She managed to get a good look at his face as she made her descent, righting her body to land on her feet and face towards him. Her posture was changed to something less defensive. It wasn't offensive either. Instead she put one hand in her pocket and the other up in the air. A few seconds later the room seemed to catch what the signal was, a forfeit. "Ahhh, what a delicious fight.", she said, lowering her hand and walking over to Zedd. "Can't imagine that's how your fight went with that Damien person though. Hm?" She seemed fairly entertained more than anything.

The flame in her hair seemed to linger, but it wasn't blazing. It seemed more tame, though she did pat it down a couple times to put it out. "Fighting wild suits you. But if the opponent is one with steadied control, it'll be a problem. Those fighting styles clash a lot because they're polar opposite styles. Those with wild stances often are quick to decide on their next move but if the opponent is one in control, they'll read you like a book and figure out a step or two against that for most attacks." She put her hand out to shake Zedd's, a sign of sportsmanship for a fair fight. "Not bad, needs some fine tuning, but not bad all things considered."

SPOILER: Click to show

Spells reused: Propel

[Sparky]

[Refs]

    As the young man watched Heianu dance around his spell, her movements and the color of her flames brought to mind a single word. Beautiful. Despite the raw efficacy of her abilities, she had a strange grace about her that shone through the chaos of battle. It was far more than Zedd could muster, and only made the young lightning mage respect the girl even more. Her ability to dodge and weave out of even the most dangerous of situations made her a formidable opponent. One he'd be hard pressed to beat if he was ever caught in a fight she decided to take seriously. 

    While the world dissolved around them, the boy counted himself lucky that he was able to keep up with her at all. Had the young woman been out for blood, his chances would have been... slim. As though to emphasize that note, the magical skin fizzled and dissipated off of the boy, leaving him falling to his knees. Panting. Sweating. Exhausted. 

    Even with his immense effort, all the stamina training and the meditation to better expand the well of mana he had to pull from, he still had so much more to go. Burning bright, the gems on his gauntlets still flowed with excess magic. Thank the gods that guy's work held up to this stress test. Zedd had the urge to simply collapse. Pass out. Gods did he want to sleep right now. That sensation, however, faded along with the glow of the gems. Pulling him back to reality, the boy looked to Heianu as she spoke to him. 

    "Heh..." Letting out a soft grunt, Zedd pushed himself back to his feet. His legs felt like jelly. This was the first time he'd actively used that ability in a high stress scenario, outside of the first time he'd gone ape shit on training dummies, or the other time the boy had popped it to meditate himself to exhaustion. Weird mix of words there. "... That's the first time I've tried fighting like that. Before today, I tried mostly to fight at range. It's how I fought Damien. I almost won then, so I figure if I come at him like that, he won't expect it. It'll catch him off-guard. Guy's way too full of himself to expect me to improve substantially."

    The metal of the gauntlet was hot to the touch from the electricity that had been pouring into it. Not enough to burn or even make it moderately uncomfortable, but it wasn't like that'd matter to a fire mage as Zedd took her hand in his. He was finding it difficult to stay upright now that the adrenaline had worn away. The young mage actively fought his urge to collapse in any direction. 

    More than anything though, the boy was happy, if not overly relieved, that he'd been able to give Heianu a good fight. She seemed pleased. Not to mention that's the first time he'd heard anyone call it a "Delicious" fight. That had to be good, right?

    "I'm still practicing and trying to improve as much as I can... so, thank's for sparring with me. I know if you really wanted to you could probably plant my face in the dirt, but anything that brings me close to putting Damien in his place is worth it to me." Zedd's lips stretched into a big, sweethearted smile. "I'm glad I met you, Heianu."

[Heianu]

Heianu seemed to stand pretty still, getting enough of a read on Zedd's balance with his weight shifting while they shook hands. "If he's actually the second on the strongest list, even I wouldn't underestimate that he's at least got a decent handle at close range too." Training dummies only go so far. If Zedd was going to get anywhere, he'd need animated dummies or someone to spar with. A good middle was probably a familiar or golem for him to go up against.

"Hey, you should probably sit down and rest a bit.", she said. "You probably won't be able to walk on your own with balance like a newborn faun." The mage guessed that was another thing for him to work on, walking off the field after doing something that extreme. His attacks were mostly solid... It was everything else that seemed to need work.

She let go of his hand and put it in her pocket. For the most part, she wasn't even breathing hard. It looked more like she barely broke much of a sweat. "I'll be right back. Just stay put and rest for a bit so you're able to stand steady.", she said while walking out of the room to seek out one of the vending machines outside of the training area to grab a couple of drinks.

[Sparky]

[Refs]

    A hefty sigh slipped out from the boy as he flopped back down. "I'm still trying to improve my stamina. It's difficult, because most of the energy goes into keeping myself from exploding." The gauntlets were a focus for his powers. However, the gauntlets still took a lot, focusing the mass amount of raw magic and trimming it all into something usable. That meant there was a lot that was left wasted. There was no way to counter act that effect. For the time being, the gauntlets were as efficient as they could possibly get without actively inserting technology into. But that  only increased the chance of device failure. 

    Maybe that techy dude could figure something out?

    That was all for another time. Right now, the best Zedd could do was train. Train hard. As much as he could to build up his well of stamina. The young man certainly lasted far longer than he had ever have lasted before. If he'd ever tried that sort of style before he trained this hard, then the kid would have short circuited and collapsed. There was progress. Zedd just wished there was a way he could show that to Heianu, or to explain it. 

    Zedd slowly shed his jacket, a fitted black shirt underneath. He was sweating, but his breathing had finally calmed down by the time she went off to get a drink. The young man was lithe and slender, but thanks to the extraordinary effort and training he'd put in through the weeks and month or so, there was a noticeable difference. There was definition. It peaked through the shirt and showed on his arms. Readjusting the gauntlets back onto his arms, Zedd dusted the metal tips of his right fingers along the other's surface. He remembered the words of his father. Always encouraging him. Always right behind, rooting for the young mage. 

    A smile formed. Sweet, and nostalgic. 

    I wonder what ma and pa are doin' right now? I should visit them soon. Check up on them. Tell them about how I'm growing. His hands returned to his lap, resting there. Of course Zedd was going to do that. Spend time with his family. But... he wanted to do so when he finally conquered the demon standing in his path. The one thing that he had to overcome in his path to finally becoming a man his parents could be proud of. Otherwise, no matter how hard he tried, that presence would hang over him. Never letting go even outside of school. By the time the green-haired girl would return, she'd find Zedd Lost in though. Calmed down, of course, but still looking a bit ragged from the exertion. 

[Heianu]

“Maybe this?” Heianu guessed as she picked a drink for Zedd from the vending machine. She had cold cocoa herself, something she found had an enjoyable flavour for something cold and not carbonated. The mage made her way back, barely acknowledging some students with a slight nod as they made a greeting her way. That’s right, just a bit ago, she was the school’s newest ‘cool kid on the block’.



Though really, she felt she was given more merit than deserved. That wind mage was a joke through the whole thing. Heianu’s empty gaze gave some students an illusion that her aloof attitude was cool, which she didn’t really seem to care about and only added to that view. Whatever.



She picked up the two drinks and went back towards the training room. The fire mage gave a little whistle to catch Zedd’s attention before tossing a drink his way and then popping hers open with a soft hiss from the can and taking a swig. Hopefully he’d catch the drink and not have it hit him in the head and fizz over. If it did, well.. Those gauntlets were magic, so it shouldn’t make his stuff glitch out. Shouldn’t is the key word here.
"So explain me something. What happens if you just let yourself explode anyways. Then what? Is it easier to control before the next one?"

[Sparky]

[Refs]

   Pulled from his thoughts by the whistle, Zedd reacted just in time to catch the can in both hands. With a small smile offered as a thanks, he cracked it open and took a sip. If the young mage was bothered by the soda choice, he certainly didn't show it as he took further sips. It was safe to say Heianu made a good choice. After resting up, Zedd had bounced back fairly well. The boy certainly didn't look as ragged.

    There was a pause when Heianu asked her question. Fingers tapped against the can, metal on metal sending small tings and dings into the air. "Hmm..." The boy pursed his lips and hummed slightly. It's not like it was a difficult question. Zedd just had to think of how to properly explain it. A finger scratched at the side of his head, and the boy set his drink down beside him. "Well, no. Not really. The last time I, well, "exploded" my gauntlet was pealed open like a tin can and a bunch of melted metal was sprayed all over the place."

    The best way to explain was to give a small demonstration. The lightning mage carefully pulled off on of his gauntlets and set it down on the ground beside him. Under all the sweat from the activity, his hands were terribly scarred. The scars themselves ranged from wide, discolored burn patches, all the way to jagged, dark lines where electricity had danced fervently. There were an equal number of gashes, scarred up but deep enough that it looked as though he'd had multiple cuts that'd gone all the way to the bone. There were still fresh cuts from his most recent detonation, though it appeared they were healing up quite nicely. His finger tips were the worst, discolored beyond anything natural, almost as though they were permanently bruised with the layer of skin around them sunken a level below the rest. 

    Zedd showed his palm to Heianu, fingers splayed out. His palm appeared similar to his finger tips, the scarring ugly and unnatural. "Pew pew!" He said with a smile as the veins in his forearm and hand began to glow with dancing electricity. It wasn't an aggressive burst, but the bolts were scattered and had no direction or guidance. 

    "Electricity, by it's nature is really hard to control, so a lot of electromancers have the same problem I do. It doesn't matter if I were to blow up or not, because the problem is that bare skin is very poor at focusing it. Just like static on your hand, it just buzzes around you unless you-" He hovered his hand over the other gauntlet. The electricity immediately latched onto it, sparkling against the metal. "-give it something to latch onto. It's like a tesla coil. In open air, it just sparks off wildly, but if you put down a few lightning rods you can make music with the bolts."

    "It doesn't matter what the power output is." He stated. The electricity dancing off his hand increased in intensity, illuminating his veins more and more until there was a pop and Zedd pulled back, wincing in pain and holding onto his shaking wrist. A bead of sweat rolled from his brow, as he gave Heianu a weak, pained smile. "I-it s-still is hard to... guide. So wh-when you increase it's power output, wi-without having a focus for it, you just wind up hur-hurting yours-self." There was a now noticeably red spot on his wrist, where the electricity had burnt him yet again. Whoops. He thought to himself between the flashes of pain. Didn't mean to get that carried away, but I suppose that's a good demonstration...? Ow. Ow ow ow ow ow ow. By the gods, ow. It's fine, it's all good. It'll pass, I can- oh my god it's not passing, oh my gods I hate getting burnt.

    Zedd took a breath, sucking in the air through his grit teeth. Then out. Yup. Gonna have to go to the nurse for this one. "B-but yeah. So that's what happens. It's a little different when it's my gauntlets explode, because it's more of like this big bundle of magic suddenly exploding outwards like a bomb." 

    The boy placed his shaking arm into his lap, careful of the new burn mark. Thankfully, this one shouldn't leave a scar. With a breath, Zedd picked up the soda again, took a sip, and then placed the cold metal down against the mark. He winced again at it, but left it there. Soon enough, the cool sensation helped to sooth the pain.