[color=C2B280][center][h3]Fleo Plector – Phoenix Backyard[/h3][/center][/color]

Still advancing, Fleo heard Trinity call out her spell, and hypothesized that several arrows would be coming her way.  The explosion of the first fire arrow against her bulwark left a dent, as well as several small chunks of fused dust that resembled quartz, but left the shield itself intact.  Now sure of her plan of action, Fleo continued to push forward, until a slightly whistling noise alerted her too late.  Though the stunning cold of the minstrel's ice arrows eluded Fleo, their effect remained, and out of nowhere she found her progress completely stymied.  Looking down at her feet, she discovered them entrapped in ice.  A quick solution immediately popped into her mind, one perhaps doable given that she was hidden behind her shield.  At that moment, unfortunately, Trinity's barrage of fire arrows pounded the bulwark, trying its cohesion and strength.  It wouldn't last her much longer.

With a shoving motion, Fleo pushed the shield Trinity's way.  It glided along the ground toward her, rather quick but with no capability of changing trajectory.  Taking a chance, Fleo severed the connection between her dust legs and her dust feet, allowing her to step out of the encumbering ice and immediately form new feet for use.  Some of the bandages around her ankles tore slightly, but at this stage in the long con, it was practically instinct to manipulate her bandages to recover the exposed area in less than a second.

That obstacle dealt with, Fleo refocused on her opponent.  Undoubtedly Trinity had dealt with the thrown shield by now, so a new defense was needed.  [color=C2B280]“Dust Craft: Orbitals!” [/color] Miniature, more compacted shields form around Fleo in the air, six of them in fact, and began to orbit her.  Relying on them to catch any arrows sent her way, via straight shot, trick shot, or whatever, Fleo slid forward on a Sirocco to finish closing the gap.  [color=C2B280]“Dust Craft: Morning Star!”[/color]  In the dusty woman's hand appeared a macelike weapon with a round head covered in nubs.  While a typical morning star would have had metal spikes, it seemed that Fleo didn't want to hurt her guildmate.  

If Angelo was paying attention, and had any knowledge of Fleo's abilities, he'd know that she was both playing mostly defensively and using the weakest variety of her spells by making her incantations in English.

[color=DAA520][center][h3]Edith Riggs – the Frenzy Fort[/h3][/center][/color]

Though the sight of Thor succumbing to her Avversario Adagio sparked a great joy in Edith, her happiness was short lived.  Her newly-gained speed boost served her poorly against an attack like Shockwave, which covered the whole ground at once, despite the terrible conductivity of wooden floorboards.  Edith almost tripped and fell flat on her face when the Shockwave surged through her ankles, flaring a sudden pain.  [color=DAA520]“Agh!”[/color]  Just as quickly, however, the pain died away, courtesy of Thor's self-control.  Another chord was on Edith's lips as Thor's Lightning Ball impacted her, jolting electricity through her torso.  Unprepared for such a blow, the girl staggered.

When it came to attack power or defending herself, Edith knew she was beat, but sustain was her strong suit.  From the get-go, it had been her plan to try and afflict her opponent with status effects while boosting herself, and to let Thor exhaust herself, or at least open herself up for Edith's few offensive chords.  Cautiously deciding it was time to recover, she straightened up and sang, [color=DAA520]“Stesso Guarire!”[/color]  The notes she played sounded out a reinvigorating tune, and it washed away Edith's hurt and fatigue to let her face Thor with a renewed smile.  [color=DAA520]“Nothing like a good heal, right?  Try this on for size: Vivace con Fuoco!”[/color]  A strumm of Edith's lure sent a lively but searing red-hot wave at Thor.

[color=d8bfd8][center][h3]Nero – Train Station near Iron Enigma[/h3][/center][/color]

It never ceased to fascinate Nero how Ayame reacted to various things.  Her spirit, though unlike that of most children, shone large and lively.  More than before, he pondered whether or not the girl had magic; he had always assumed so, since wizards tended to associate with wizards and normals with normals, but even at Iron Enigma the young one hadn't shown any trace of her abilities.  [i]And maybe if I do a swell job of looking out for her, she never will have to.[/i]

[color=d8bfd8]“Well, we're bound for Dragon Fang in Shirotsume next.  That's a couple of hours by train, so we'll have plenty of time to figure out how the hex we're gonna deal with the cat moron.”[/color]  Though nearly closed, his eyes twinkled.  [color=d8bfd8]“Get it?  Hex?  Because a hex is a type of mag...ah, I forgot to never explain my jokes.  Jokes are a kind of magic too, you know; depending on how well you cast them, you can make people think the world of you or hate you forever.”[/color]  Looking at Ayame now, Nero was almost startled to see the utterly wonderful expression on her face.  Perhaps he wasn't the biggest smiler on Fiore after all!

When faced with Ayame's following question, however, Nero couldn't help but feel confused.  [color=d8bfd8]“We're here...to take the train?  Yeah, that's definitely it.  Er, after that, I dunno.  I went to Frenzy Plant before going to Phoenix Wing.  With FP, PW, IE, and DF out of the way, I'm not sure who else is participating.”[/color]

Not long after, the dynamic duo were seating on the train, and with a thundering whistle it began to move.  Nero grinned at Ayame as the vehicle picked up speed.  [color=d8bfd8]“Is it everything you dreamed of?”[/color]