Light's Advancement [solo/training]

The birds were chirping as the morning sun shined down over the city of Hargeon and the guild hall of Lamia Scale. Lillian was awakening from her interesting night before where she had a rather interesting encounter with the Ice dragon slayer, Kotone. She was the first Dragon Slayer other than herself that Lillian had met so despite how things might have gone or even could have gone she had enjoyed the experience. But, it did get Lillian thinking mostly due to the fact that the girl she had met while so young had done such great things during the war. Lillian wanted to do something to grow stronger which is something she hadn't thought about for a few years now. With a sigh of soft relief and determination, Lillian would throw the covers off of her bare body and throw some clothes on which would be her normal, non-stand out set of plain clothes. Once she was dressed Lillian would walk down stares into the main part of the Lamia Scale guild hall, giving a soft smile and nod to a few of the members who were awake at this hour before she walked out the door.

Luckily for Lillian and perhaps the reason she enjoyed waking up so early in the morning was the fact that so few people were awake at the crack of dawn save for a few guild members and the sailors. This allowed for Lillian to enjoy the calm and some what baron mornings in peace as she took her normal route out into the eastern forest which is where Lillian did the vast majority of her training. Lillian had resolved to do more than her normal training today, to actually try to make some of the ideas bouncing around in her head into a reality instead of just a pointless fantasy or perhaps even trying to refine some of the spells she already knew into a more usable or effective form. It only took Lillian around seven or so minutes to reach the very edges of the forest and about another two minutes to find the trail she had made for herself due to her constant walking back and forth to and from.

Following the trail Lillian would come to her favorite little spot for training; An opening in the forest that had a good eight foot or so area with no trees. It was pure flat land which was covered in roses and other various flora some of which were rising as high as Lillian's knees. Butterflies and other beautiful little insects such as bees could be seen flying around and if nothing else it really completed the ambiance of the area. Lillian adored training hear because of the natural peace the flowers and clear view of the sky gave. Taking in a deep breath then exhaling with a smile, Lillian would walk to the very center of this field, sitting down with her legs crossed and her soft eyes coming to a close as she rested her hands within her lap. Lillian was readying herself to go into a meditative state, to cleanse her mind and prepare her self mentally for the training ahead. It was something Celtor had made Lillian do since she was a child to make sure she was ready mentally to absorb all the information and experience of her training. In a way, it was her version of stretching.

The meditation would last for about ten minutes. Her breathing would be steady, her body completely still. Lillian was so at ease and relaxed in this state animals such as butterflies were landing on her as if she were a flower. However, Lillian's calm meditative state was interrupted by the sound of a snapping twig. Lilly's eyes shot open and looked over her right shoulder, sniffing the air as well. There were three humans all of them held magic and she didn't know any of them from Lamia Scale. This could be trouble to say the least and the fact they were in her private spot made Lillian oddly angry. The normal shy and timid girl stood to her face and looked out towards the three Male mages who she was able to make out now in the distance. They were rough looking, two of which actually had physical weapons. Perhaps for show perhaps holder magic, which it turned out to be was impossible to tell right now.

Growling softly the normally timid Lillian stomped forward as she watched them tear up the flowers with no care, laughing as they walked along and showing no regard or respect for the little lives around them. This was one of the rare moments where Lillian was openly bold and completely forgot about her fear of people. In other words, she was angry. "Hey, you three ugly bastards! Do you even know what you're doing? What you're carelessly destroying without any thought?" Lillian yelled out in a very angry sounding tone. Funny enough though even when she was angry, her voice was lined with a shyness that seemed just to be natural to her as a person. The people before Lillian laughed out one even flicking her off and responding that they really didn't give a damn. They were looking for a fight and truth be told, Lillian was fine with that. She wanted a change from her normal training after all..this was perfect.

907/7,000 words.

Spells being trained:

"Just who the hell do you think you are little girl?" Said one of the three thugs which was destroying her lovely little training area. He was a scrawny looking fellow, no taller than 5'7". He was dressed in what looked like a red hoodie and slacks. The man stepped forward, grabbing the angry Lillian by the collar of her shirt, pulling her up off the ground to look him in the eyes. Lillian simply allowed this, glaring into his eyes as he continued to speak. "Do you even know who you're messing with girly?" He asked sharply, spitting as he spoke. The guys buddies were chuckling at the situation as he spoke and Lillian simply sighed. "Nope, I don't..but clearly you don't know who you're pissing off either..allow me to show you." Lillian said as she held up her right hand so everyone could see the mark of a Lamia Scale mage. At first they acted a bit startled by the fact but then laughter erupted from the group.

"Lamia Scale? Really? a little twerp like you? God they must be getting desperate or something!" Said the scrawny looking punk who had Lillian by the shirt. She growled sounding very similar to the creature which raised her. These were the kind of humans she hated and who made Lillian be afraid in the first place. But as her anger grew it replaced her fear completely and a rare side of Lillian was about to be shown, the side that made her such a dangerous dragon slayer to mess with. The light in the area seemed to dim a little as Lillian slowly inhaled, gathering light in the center of belly to preform one of the most iconic of dragon slayer spells, the dragon's roar. Once she had enough she simply looked at the man holding her. "You know..you come in here..destroy my serenity..and then you insult my guild who took me in out of the kindness of there hearts?.." Her voice was cold and her eyes were sharp as daggers. Her voice, her roar and now even her eyes looked as if a dragon.

Since she was raised from birth by a dragon it would really come as no surprise to the people who knew Lillian that she would have so many natural draconian traits. "I'm going to make you suffer now.." She said as a small grin came to her lips. The group began to laugh again however it was quickly cut short by a blast of light shot from Lillian's mouth directly into the face of the scrawny fellow holding her. He would instantly fall to the ground, releasing her. He'd be out cold, his nose broken and his cheek bones possibly even his jaw, fractured from the sheer force of the spell. The other two men, both around six foot and wearing black hoodies with skullcaps, looked in a mix of awe and silent shock. Growling the one in the center, a black male spoke up first. "You stupid bitch..the hell did you do to him?.." He asked as he unsheathed the Katana he held at his side, the fellow by him doing the same. Lillian simply shot him a cold glare as light erupted from both her legs as she activated one of her signature spells, light speed.

Although they wouldn't know it yet, this spell drastically increased Lillian's movement speed pushing her far beyond what a normal human was capable of achieving. If someone who knew Lillian was around they might be shocked by how she was acting. She was no longer being the kind, shy and fearful girl she normally was. She was instead channeling all her rage and hate for the world, the source of her pains and fears and allowing them to come to the surface. In a flash she would come up behind the man who had called Lillian a bitch and she was fast to shove her now claw formed hands deep into the man's back, although she was kind enough to miss his spine. Still, the claws would pierce down to his muscle and send him to the ground holding his sides. At this range she could inspect the weapon he held closer and it turned out it had no lacrima in it. It was just a normal katana meaning these were just your normal, run of the mill punks. Her ears twitched as she heard the other man come up behind her in an attempt to attack her by surprise but it would be fruitless.

Lillian turned around in time to grab the man's wrist as he brought his sword down. Using her natural strength she would twist until he kneeled down from the pain of his wrist on the verge of snapping and he dropped his sword, which Lillian was quick to catch out of the air, sending the tip of the blade behind her form so it was pressing up against the back of the black guy's neck. She basically had both men in a vice at this point. "Now boys..why don't you tell me who exactly you are..or I can start giving you some scars.." Lillian spoke in a calm voice that was laced with venom. "You're a damned monster lady...doesn't mean I'll tell you anything though. Do what you will." Said the white guy she had by the wrist. Lillian simply smiled and gave a soft shrug. "Admirable..but foolish." Lillian said as she with a sharp twist snapped the man's wrist, breaking it. He recoiled to his back out of pain. Lillian made sure to put a small cut into the back of the black man's neck to make sure he did nothing while she kept her cold eyes on the withering man.

"Now, lets try this again...you asked me if I knew who you were..I don't. Why not enlighten me? I'm just a little girl after all..what harm could ever come of such a thing?" She asked in her cold tone as she grinned some what. The sad truth was the rare times Lillian got like this she turned into a bit of a psychopath. She was nothing but brimming rage in this state after all, so who could blame her?

1,959/7,000 words

With a frustrated sigh of defeat the black male with the sword to his neck turned to look at Lillian out of the corner of his eye. "Fine, I'll talk. We're apart of a gang called Howitzer. We moved here from Oak town..We used to thrive there but since the Magic council has wiped out the dark guilds they've had a lot more time to be messing with the street gangs..So we relocated." He explained, his eyes moving towards the ground in a mix of frustration and anger that he was forced to talk but such a wimpy looking girl. Lillian let out a nice, calming sigh of relief as she finally got the information she was trying to get and along with the fact she had worked much of her frustration at the situation out. "Now, that wasn't so hard was it? I'll be taking you to the authorities now." Lillian said as she quickly knocked the black man out with the blunt side of the blade and a swift kick to the side of the head of the man with the now broken wrist.

Using her abnormal strength, Lillian would place one man on her shoulders and drag the other two men behind her as she walked them back into the town. Her face was smiling as she was back to her normal self though she was a bit pleased with herself so she didn't even notice the strange looks she was getting from the civilines of Hargeon as she drug three out cold bodies towards the police station. After arriving at the police station she would explain what happened and who the punks where. The cops seemed as worried as Lillian was getting of the prospect of a dangerous gang of punks moving to there city. Once her statement was taken and the thugs were booked, Lillian would walk out with her hands held behind her back and a smile on her face. As she was walking back towards Lamia scale guild hall though she couldn't help but shake this sense of foreboding she was getting from the story the men had told her. Hargeon was generally such a peaceful town and she didn't want a gang coming up and ruining the tranquility of the entire town. So, with a hefty sigh she decided that she would have to take care of this problem before it got out of hand.

The cops shouldn't have a problem with it so long as no one was killed or at the very least that was Lillian's thinking on the matter. But, the fact remained that Lillian still knew very little about the gang. She didn't know the location of there headquarters or how many there were. Lillian knew she was strong but she also knew no matter how strong you were when you're out numbered you're at a bad disadvantage. Truth be told just with three she fought if they had happened to be mages she might have been in serious trouble. But, luckily for Lillian she knew a famous war hero who would be more than eager to help her out if only for the fact she enjoyed fighting. Hoping that her new friend was still around, Lillian walked up the stairs in the guild hall that lead to the living quarters, walking down to the last door on the right and knocking on Kotone's door.

Lillian wasn't sure if she was up yet or if she had already split town but she was hoping she was still resting inside from there little spar last night. "H-hey..Kotone...are you um...are you awake?..s-sorry for bothering you but I have a job that might interest you.." Lillian said, a touch of shyness tainting her voice once more as the prospect of waking someone up rudely kind of bothered her. It was funny sounding though considering the events that had just transpired not to mention the fact her face and chest was covered in blood which was mostly from the man who she shot in the face with a dragon's roar. But considering the point blank blast it really shouldn't be all that surprising that she would have some of his blood on her, she simply just didn't care enough to clean it off right now. Her plan though was subtle.

She was going to get Kotone to help her gather information on the gang track them down and kick them out of town. Of course asking them would be the nicest thing to do but chances are violence would be required. But as Lillian knew based off there encounter the night before, Kotone liked a good fight so she hopefully would go for it. Lillian however was an odd one out. She usually avoided this kind of confrontation but she couldn't just ignore the fact people could get hurt if she left them alone. She just hoped she could keep her cool in front of Kotone when the fighting started. She didn't want her friends to see her bad side as it was a rather drastic change of personality all considered. Sighing at the delayed response from her knocking, Lillian would turn her back on the door, leaning up against it and sliding down it.

Now that everything had calmed down and she could think clearly she was starting to feel some guilt over how she had handled the other three guys, the man who's wrist she broke being the main point. One of her biggest flaws was her lack of control over her own destructive abilities due to the fact Lillian knew very little about restraint and when she is angry like that it shines through brilliantly. Lillian knew she went over board and was just glad she didn't kill anyone. That perhaps was a new fear growing within Lilly's heart. She was afraid one day she might go to far and hurt someone beyond recovery and then she would have to live with there death for the rest of her life. It was a depressing thought but a real one none the less. Sighing, she pulled her knees up into her chest, her arms wrapping around it as her chin nestled into herself, relaxing in her thought.

"Come on..answer already.." She'd mutter to herself in volume so low it would be near impossible for anyone to hear. Lillian was really hoping to bring Kotone with her. She considered and saw Kotone as her first real friend after all not to mention she was actually fairly strong.


3,052/7,000 words

Kotone groaned as the heard banging on the door. She hated to be woken up before she was ready, and healing from an injury meant she recovered less energy than normal with her body concentrating on making her well again. At least it hadn't been as bad as it had seemed before she'd cleaned it up. After a moment she sighed, sitting up and swinging her legs over the edge of the bed.

"I'm coming..." she mumbled too quietly to be heard. She sighed as she gathered the strength and will to get out of the bed properly. She wanted nothing more than to sleep for a good twelve more hours. As she got up, she remembered the events that transpired the night before. The dragon slayer who had fought exceptionally well and hard. That was who was banging on her door. She could smell her from here. As well as the slight coppery smell of blood. Now, normally that would alarm her or at least put her on guard. Right now though, she was about seventy-five percent asleep.

She shuffled over to the door, scratching her stomach before pulling her tank top down properly to her short shorts she slept in. Reaching out, she slowly opened the door. The door opened to reveal a very tired looking Kotone, her long hair messy and disheveled from tossing and turning. Her bandaging was hidden under her white tank top. She had black short shorts on under that, and no socks or shoes, having just woken up.

"Lilly... what do you want?" she mumbled as she glanced down. Her eyes widened when she saw the blood on the girl. Not a lot, mind you. Kotone had killed people before, and at a rather young age. Not that she was proud of it. It was simply a reality of war. So the blood didn't phase her so much as the fact that it was present when it shouldn't be, as far as she knew. The blood wasn't hers or Lillian's either.

"What's going on?" She asked, already sounding more alert. She wanted to figure out if something was going down she should know about. Part of her was glad she'd stayed if something was going on. Part of her inwardly groaned at having to get involved in someone else's problems yet again. It was something the girl couldn't refuse to do if it meant protecting someone. As she crouched won, arms wrapped around her knees as she faced Lillian, she stared into the girl's eyes, waiting to see what was going on.

She'd obviously been fighting. The girl was vicious enough to get into fights a lot, but based on her initial personality she probably avoided it even though she enjoyed a fight once it started. She was as weird as any human, as far as Kotone was concerned, but if she needed help she was there.

484/3500 words

484/500 Talons of the Ice Dragon

Lillian smiled when she saw Kotone's face, her worries of the girl having left out on Lillian vanishing. She seemed tired, more than likely having just been woken up by her knocking which under normal circumstances would have bothered Lillian but not this time. Standing up to her feet Lillian would brush herself off, holding her hands back behind her back as was per normal for her as her regular personality was already set back in place from her earlier deviation. "S-sorry for bothering you but I um..kinda need your help." Lillian said as her eyes drifted towards the ground a little, her feet rubbing together in her regular nervous manor. It was then she would go on to explain everything that had transpired earlier in the morning back in the private training spot Lillian went too, the same place her and Kotone had there little bout the other night.

She explained from the three punks tearing the place up to her own private thoughts on the situation that could be brewing in the city and why she felt they needed to take care of it. Lillian even was detailed enough to describe her rather dramatic personality switch since she was so angry. Taking a deep breath as she would have been talking some what fast, her eyes moved back up to Kotone, still fidgeting around nervously although a small smile would be forming to the side of her lips as she was still some what proud of herself over taking down those thugs earlier. "So um..that is why I was thinking it be nice to get your help..I don't know where the rest are or there numbers..and they might have mages too..So.." Lillian's voice trailed off into vivid silence as she awaited her friends response, her hands unclasping from behind her back to run through her pink hair, twisting and playing with it out of a nervous habit.


3,376/7,000

The seventeen year-old girl had stood up along with Lillian, listening semi-patiently to her rambling. Fortunately, Kotone was more than willing to listen when it came to trouble makers. The personality switch didn't surprise her half as much as it seemed to surprise Lillian. She'd seen it when they were fighting. Kotone thought to keep an eye on her while she was in Hargeon, unsure what that personality switch could mean under the wrong circumstances. At least she was proud of doing good work. Kotone understood that. She was usually more proud of herself than other people were of her. It was sad how under appreciated a girl like her was.

When Lillian was done with her explanation, Kotone gave her another one of her cocky, fang-bearing grins. The grin could be a bit unnerving to people who weren't used to it. She had to grin pretty widely to do it. But it was Kotone's own cocky grin, so that's what she did. "Finding and kicking out a few low-life thugs? No problem. I could do that in my sleep," she told the girl in front of her, completely serious. "And after our earlier bout, I just might."

She let lillian into the room, walking over and picking up a skirt and a shirt, along with long stocking and her shoes, with which she disappeared into the adjoining bathroom for a moment, before returning, an ice comb being run through her long hair. She looked much more awake and bright-eyed, though she still exuded that overconfident personality she had given off the night before. The truth was she was sure she would have won, and hadn't wanted to had to hurt Lillian to do it. Whether that was true or not wasn't a factor in her own head.

"Okay, Lillian. I'll help you with this before moving on. Because I can't just ignore a problem in a town I'm in. Now, what sort of information do you have? Got any leads other than they might be in town? Or am I going to have to sniff out some dirty thugs?" She was serious about that part. She was sure she could find whomever she wanted in the small town. And as thugs they probably were stupid enough to stand out.

She handed Lillian a cloth she'd found in the bathroom, wetted down so Lillian could wipe the blood off of her face. "Clean yourself off and we can get started." Sid, her cat, had woken up by now and wanted her attention. She picked him up in her arms, snuggling him to herself as they walked out the door. "This little munchkin is Sid, by the way. He occasionally naps in my bag while I travel. It's why you didn't see him earlier."

945/3500 words

500/500 Talons of the Ice Dragon
445/1500 Ice Shuriken

Lillian couldn't help but allow a smile to form to her lips as she heard Kotone's response. Honestly, Lillian wasn't one hundred percent sure that she would help but all in all it seemed to have worked out for the better. Kotone had allowed Lillian into her room as she walked out of sight to dress up and get ready. While she waited Lillian would walk over to and then sit down upon the bed awaiting for the girl to get ready. When Kotone had finally walked she asked Lillian a question in regards to information on the thugs they were supposed to be hunting. Slowly Lillian would rack her brain, placing a single finger upon her chin and her eyes looking up at the ceiling as she thought carefully. Sighing though she simply shrugged and returned her gaze towards Kotone.

"No, I'm afraid not. The guy who grabbed me was out cold, the skinny white guy was to busy screaming in pain because I snapped his wrist and I knocked the black guy out  to fast to ask anything else." Lillian explained as she jumped up from the bed, stretching out and catching a wet wash clothe that Kotone had handed to her. "Thanks." Lillian would respond as she started to wipe off the blood that had covered her. Honestly, Lillian had almost forgotten about it but truth be told it must not have been that attractive looking on her. Letting out a calmed sigh now that she was clean again, Lillian threw the dirty rag over into the bathroom to be picked up later.

"All I really know about them is that they're called Howitzer. They used to be in Oak but when the magic council moved in there, they were forced out. Seems the MC is so bored with the lack of dark guilds they're focusing down your common street gangs now." Lillian finished her explanation before turning her attention back down to the little kitty to which Kotone had just finished introducing. Lillian's eyes lit up instantly and she swooped down, picking the cat up and snuggling it. "He's so cuuuuute!" She'd exclaim as she nuzzled her cheek up to Sid. Lillian was one to love nature and well..cats are a weakness. They're so damn adorable after all. Finally getting her senses under control however, she'd place sid to the ground and opened up the window of the room allowing a fresh breeze to blow in.

Lillian was scanning the streets, curious as to where they should start looking. Normally she would do as Kotone had suggested and just attempt to sniff them out similar to a dog, however under the circumstances she didn't even know who she was supposed to be finding so she wouldn't be able to single out there scent. She also had little to no idea just how large of a group they would be. It was honestly starting to become regretful that Lillian had dispatched there men so fast, but then she had a bit of an idea. "Kotone..What if we arranged with the police for one of the guys I caught to escape. We could follow him back.." Lillian suggested as she looked over her shoulder, a small smile on her lips. It felt weird speaking so comfortably to someone. But it felt nice to not be scared for once. Lillian only wished it was like this around all people and not just Kotone.

3,952/7,000

As they began to walk, Sid followed behind the two young women soundlessly, used to trotting to keep up with humans. Kotone shrugged on her black jacket and nodded to Lilly's suggestion. "We'll go down to the jail and have them let him out. We can hide out of sight while we wait for him to leave. He's a petty criminal so the first thing he'll do is go where he's comfortable, and that will be where his friends are."

The pair walked out of the Lamia Scale guild hall into the bright warm sunlight. Kotone's stride was purposeful as she thought. She grinned a fangy grin as she looked up and over at Lillian. "With two dragon slayers a gang of wizards wouldn't stand a chance. We've got this in the bag." As stated before, Kotone didn't think she ever needed help, but she did acknowledge that bigger numbers meant more strength. And whether Lillian needed her help or not, she would certainly be strong enough with Kotone there.

Soon enough, they entered the jail, walking up to the person at the desk. He had been napping idly at this point in the day. Not many people visited the prisoners, after all, but they needed someone there in case it happened. "We'd like to speak to whomever is in charge of the thugs Lillian brought in earlier," Kotone told him seriously.

"Why? You a friend of theirs, kid?" The man asked as he ceased his snoring and sat forward in his overly comfortable chair. Kotone, for her part frowned and crossed her arms. "Kid? I'm Kotone Hoshino, the ice dragon slayer. I'm not just some kid for you to belittle." The man eyed her skeptically. He had obviously bought into the stories that made her older as well. "Go play pretend somewhere else. This is a jail, not a playhouse."

Kotone was about three seconds from doing something rash at this point, and her rage was evident on her face. Yet another person was disrespecting her, and she didn't take it well. She slammed  her fist down on the desk, a jagged icicle sticking through it, causing the man to recoil in surprise. "I'm no kid! Now tell me who to talk to!" she told him heatedly. It was probably a bad idea to threaten a policeman, especially since these days they were probably tied to the magic council, but Kotone tended to lose her head rather easily.

1354/3500 word count

500/500 Talons of the Ice Dragon
854/1500 Ice Shuriken

"You know what? Nevermind. I'll find them on my own! Good luck, Lill." Kotone then stormed out of the police station before she could get into proper trouble, deciding to sniff out the gang members on her own.

-Exit-

Trained: Talons