[center][h2]A Friendly Spar[/h2][/center]
[center]A collab with Zarkun and hatakekuro[/center]

Damian turns to face the God Slayer when he calls out his name and cocks his head to the side questioningly. Nolan wasn't exactly lining up to speak with the Blade of Phoenix Wing, or spar, if Damian thought about it long enough. But the request was met with a nod. [color=FireBrick]"Sure. Not got any jobs lined up at the moment anyways."[/color]

[color=00746b]"Then meet me out back whenever you're ready. Just don't make me wait long."[/color] Nolan said with blunt gruffness before he headed out back to the courtyard area of the guild. At least there, there would not be collateral damage... Well, not serious collateral damage. 

He unzipped his hoodie and tossed it onto a bench, revealing he was just wearing a black t-shirt though in the grand scheme of things, being neigh shirtless outside in the late autumn day was probably not a good idea, but he didn't want to ruin it. He only just got it after his previous one was destroyed between clash with Indigo and he sure as well was not going to shell out more cash for another. Damian took only a moment to follow after the Ash God Slayer, retrieving Andor from where he'd rested it against a nearby table and carrying it out, the metal that made up the bulk of the great sword's edge shining in the winter sun. Taking up a position at one end of the courtyard, Damian settled into a relaxed position, as he wanted his opponent to move first here.


Nolan unsheathed Kaso from her scabbard, gleaming from the light of winter day and almost felt like the sword itself was taunting Damian to come and fight. He then entered a very strange stance; he stood on the tip of his toes with his arms held up in the air with one hand holding the hilt with his other hand pressings it palm against the dull side of the blade. It looked like he was about to perform a pirouette. 

His eyes closed for a second and steam from the cold air escaped his mouth with a exhale. [color=00746b]"Not taking the first move huh? Alright then."[/color] With a burst of speed Nolan came straight towards him with a newfound grace that almost seemed like he was gliding above the ground. In range of his sword, Nolan was about to swing his sword towards Damian's neck with a horizontal from the left, but this was a feint. Nolan had turned his entire body inward and in that same motion he flipped and swung his right leg down towards Damian's head for a crushing blow with an axe kick. Damian didn't make a response, opting instead to bring the great sword up in defense when the feint came, but as it turned into an axe kick, Damian caught the blow with Andor's flat, pushing Nolan's foot up and off as he moved into a spinning low kick, aiming to take his opponent off his feet and put him on the ground.

[color=00746b]"Tch!"[/color] Nolan used the momentum of the push to perform a back flip, avoiding the the sweeping kick. He landed on his lands and while performing a one handed handstand, he spun his body around and brought down a vicious kick hooking towards Damian's head in a way that was reminiscent to a street dancer. Damian rolled to the left and brought Andor around in a wide, sweeping arc that threw dust up and hopefully into Nolan's eyes and makes a quick and powerful dash forwards, shoulder first. Should the blow impact like he intends, he follows it up with a pommel strike and then an overhead slash. Thanks to his magic, the blow would be far from lethal, but the welt would be insufferable for a couple of days. If it missed, he'd flare a cone of Field of Blades as he slashed upwards vertically, the sword and spear blades coming up out of the ground up to twenty feet from the Blade of Phoenix Wing, spreading the widest at the twenty foot mark.

Nolan cussed from the sand hitting his eyes and leaped back to gain distance away from Damien, but the Sword of Phoenix Wing was fast and rammed his elbow into Nolan's chest, knocking the wind out of him and forced his eyes open wide. He stumbled back, but saw in time that he would step to his left and just had enough time to get his footing back and slammed his blade against Damien's. 

As Damien summoned his field of blades, Nolan's sword erupted with ashes and he swung it towards the incoming cacophony of blades, releasing a massive Ash God's Flying Fang, creating an explosion of ash and ethereal blades colliding together. The ash clouds that came from the collision may have obscured Damien's vision, leaving Nolan with a possible opening to take advantage. 

From the cloud of ashes came a barrage of bullets of ashes going at high speeds and while they will not pierce his flesh, it will leave a series of bruises if he doesn't find a way to protect himself. Sticking his left arm straight out to the side, he summoned a Shield Blade, the wider than normal sword blade appearing to place itself just like a shield would be, and then kneeling down behind it, the tip anchoring itself into the ground to prevent movement. Timing it, eventually Damian would dive to the right, though not without a couple of new bruises, and unleash three Piercing Blades towards the last place that the Blade of Phoenix Wing knew his opponent to be, the high speed sword-spear tips were non-lethal, but the welts would once more not be worth it.

To make sure that he knew where Damian was, Nolan was using his Shaman Magic to see his soul through the dark ashes. That is how Nolan was able to clearly aim for Damian in the first place. However, that did not mean he could see the attacks that Damiam was dishing out. The three blades flew out of the ashes and Nolan swiftly took out two of the blades with precise slashes though he barely dodged the third one in time with a side step, but he got bruised from the attack. 

It was about time Nolan decided to really let his abilities shine. Slayers, despite having a common ability, also have their own unique traits. Sky God Slayer's can heal themselves, Iron Dragon Slayers can turn their bodies into metal constructs, White Dragon Slayers make use of holy status effects, and so on. The Ash God Slayer's ability was to manipulate the ashes that were already cast before, turning the battle field into their domain. 

The wall of ash that was blocking their vision was suddenly flying up towards the sky, turning into compact little balls. With a wave of Nolan's hand, they rained down at high speeds towards Damien. Should they hit them, it would probably leave his body with bruises as if he was being pelted by marbles. Damian countered with his Rain of Blades, the varied myriad falling towards Nolan to deliver welts and bruises of their own,  before shifting to a more defensive stance, using the flat of Andor to keep the bulk from reaching him. After a moment though, he lunged forwards into melee range again and leapt over the Ash God Slayer, aiming to deliver a Helmsplitter attack to the man's temple.

Nolan took the same defensive measure as Damian when he brought down his Rain of Blades on the slayer. The younger mage summoned the massive and inelegant gun sword, Ragnel, and used to shield himself from the onslaught of blades from above. However, he must have had the same idea as Damien because he dismissed Ragnel and charged straight towards him swung Kaso for a helmsplitter. The blades ended up colliding though ashes erupted by Nolan's elbows apply even more force to Damien in an attempt to break his stance. As the two swordsmen clashed, Damian could feel something come to life within Andor just a moment before it manifested, a spectral dragon's paw that swung at Nolan and knocked him away despite his ashes. But as soon as it was there, it was gone, as was the active magic within Damian's great sword. Damian, surprised by what had just happened, attempted to find the source, though he didn't have much luck, finding nothing. He didn't drop his guard, however, as he was fully aware the Nolan would quickly rebound from the surprise.

Nolan skidded back from the surprise strike came from Damian's sword. It was too sudden for Nolan to take notice of what the form was exactly. [color=00746b]"Well that's new."[/color] Nolan mumbled to himself, cracking his neck. Whatever it was, Damian did not have any idea of what it was either nor did he have any control of it so he had no reason to fear. 

Ashes were swirling violently like a miniature hurricane in his free hand. Nolan swung his hand and summoned a violent twisting tumult of ashes that were meant to capture its target and throw them straight to the ground, a technique known as Ash God's Wayward Wind. If Damian was caught in the attack, well, he may not like being tossed around. Seeing the attack, Damian spun in place a moment before unleashing a Bladed Whirlwind, the attack clashing with Nolan's and exploding once more. Following through the smoke was a Triangle Pincer Strike, leaving the Ash God Slayer only one way of escaping it's grasp, by jumping up, unless he got incredibly creative. If he went airborne, he would find Damian had used the pincer to flank him and leap into the air as well and grapple with him, tossing him back towards the ground before following, his great sword's tip aimed for the God Slayer's midriff for the landing. If none of that came to pass, Damian would simply do the plummeting thrust without the throw, leaving Nolan time to dodge or defend as he pleased.

A pincer attack, huh? Just like when Frenzy Plant used Riot Lily on him, but an attack like this isn't going to work this time. Nolan did indeed jump with a high pirouette to avoid the incoming trifecta of blades, but saw that Damian was coming towards him. In a split second decision, Nolan created a small explosion of ash from the tip of his toes to propel himself over Damian, flipping over the Swordsman of Phoenix Wing. 

Once he was behind him in the air though, he threw a hard roundhouse kick amplified the inertia of Nolan's rotations straight towards the back of Damian's head. Damian spun in mid-air at the trick, bringing Andor between himself and his opponent once more. The kick, however, still sent Damian rocketing towards the ground. Using a trick he'd come up with after his crash landing during the Grand Magic Games a couple of months prior, Damian summoned a Striker Blade that rose up at an angle to meet his back, repeating this several times until he could flip to land on his feet on the ground. Taking advantage of Nolan's airborne state, Damian unleashes a Storm Blade spell, the central giant blade rising tip first towards the Ash God Slayer, with several smaller blades branching out and up from the bottom of it at an angle before it spun. Following that, the Blade of Phoenix Wing would unleash a Blade Wave, which was a horizontal slash that sent a wave of several blades flying towards the target.

Seeing that blades were flying towards him, Nolan decided that the best course of action was to blow it all away. Ashes were seeping from his mouth violently before Nolan let loose an Ash God's Bellow, the wild tornado of ashes collided with the blades and caused another explosion.

Nolan landed on his feet, skidding back until he finally stopped and regained his footing. [color=00746b]"Not bad. You live up to your rank after all, but I know you got more in you than that."[/color]Damian slid into an easy to settle ready stance, though after a moment, he placed Andor on his back and summoned a pair of Ares Blades to his hands, sliding into a stance more fitting a master of duel wielding weapons. 

[color=FireBrick]"It's going to take more than a taunt to get me to come to you. He who strikes second often controls the flow of battle after all."[/color] Nolan sighed irritably and sheathed Kaso back into her sheath by his waist.

[color=00746b]"Don't put me in the same league as Joshua. I am not taunting you, I'm telling you to stop holding back and show me what you can really do. Any less than that is a waste of my time."[/color] Red lights flashed by his hands, forming into two of Nolan's god slaying blades. One was Hermes, the sword that boosts his speed and the other was Ares, the broadsword that increased his physical strength. 

[color=00746b]"If you won't, then I will simply force you to."[/color] Nolan's right foot was straight forward while his left was behind and horizontal. He raised one arm up, holding Ares over his head while Hermes was held forward on a lower plane. Damian retained his own stance, a blade held in reverse while the other was held in a more standard fashion.

[color=FireBrick]"Going all out all the time isn't as much a strength as you think it is. But all the same, I'll choose when I go full power, and not a moment before."[/color] Switching to his Hermes Blades, Damian closed the distance with Nolan quickly, making it seem like he was going to go for a spinning whirlwind series of slashes, but then switching to the Hercules Blades at the last moment, turning his rotation into a powerful overhead slash with both swords that was made stronger by the Hercules Blades' strength boosting effect. Seeing as Damian was going for an overhead attack, Nolan decided to not give up ground, but rather force his opponent back. Nolan dashed forward past the striking zone of the slash, seeing that Damian's overhead strike left his torso open for a body blow. Nolan went to ram his elbow deep into Damian's chest, making use of his enhanced strength thanks to Ares. If this attack worked, Nolan would follow up with a pommel strike to Damian's temples.

Midstrike, as Nolan moved, Damian's blades changed to his Hermes once more, allowing him to flip gracefully over the intended elbow and land on the other side, spinning around on his heel and delivering a series of rapid thrusts with the sword blades and finishing with a sweeping blow that smoothly transitioned into a crouch as he flipped the swords around in his hands before going into slashes from the dagger blades on the bottom of his Hermes Blades' hilts, alternating between low and high strikes to force Nolan into a defensive. The length of the dagger blades would keep the Ash God Slayer from bringing his swords' full length to bear, making striking more difficult. He spun back to meet Damian's multiple strikes, matching him blow for blow with their blades, but Nolan could not make full use of the range of his swords due to those damned daggers. The slayer blew out a cloud of ash from his mouth at point blank to Damian's face, trying to blind him just as he did to Nolan earlier.

The sudden cloud of ash caught Damian off-guard, blinding him in turn as he'd done to Nolan earlier, however he immediately danced back a bit and released another Field of Blades in Nolan's direction, keeping them apart while the Blade cleared his eyes. Once they were, he swapped one of his swords back to the Hercules Blade and took a ready stance as the Field dissipated. [color=FireBrick]"You're expending energy too quickly. Focus your power."[/color] The field had erupted with blades, causing Nolan to jump back to avoid the onslaught.

[color=00746b]"You should be taking your own advice. You haven't been very conservative with your own power."[/color] Nolan cracked his neck and dismissed Ares and Hermes. He unsheathed Kaso, deciding to use a weapon that does not need a constant supply of magic. Damian smirked, spinning each blade in his hand. 

[color=FireBrick]"The only magic I expend is that to create them and dismiss them. But, since you're done with the magically summoned blades,"[/color] Damian dismissed the Hercules and Ares Blades before reaching back and pulling Andor free of it's resting place, sliding into a stance that would allow for both quick defense and powerful offense with the weapon, [color=FireBrick]"then so am I."[/color] As the words left his lips, something about Damian's demeanor changed, and suddenly his magic aura flared black, the limiter he normally keeps in place to keep from wearing himself out broken before he closes with Nolan once more.

Andor's first strike was a feinted diagonal slash, going from Nolan's right shoulder to his left hip, that changed into a surprisingly quick thrust at his abdomen, followed by a backhanded horizontal slash. Damian's skill with the blade was surprising, as he rarely drew the weapon except to maintain his skill with it at a constant level, and begged the question of what his own training between jobs had consisted of. Nolan saw the intial slash coming for him and went to block the attack, but realized that it was a feint. He was able to shift his stance to the side in time, letting the blade go past him, but it came back for another bite at Nolan. Their blades collided once more and Nolan pulled Kaso's sheathe off his belt and swung it towards his head as a bludgeoning weapon. Despite it being a sheathe, it was made of an actual deity and held a durability that surpassed many of the highest grade weapons.

Damian pushed off just before the sheath could connect with his head, shoving Nolan back and himself as well. Brandishing the blade, he unleashes a powerful Bladed Inertia, which is a high speed thrusting attack that upon impact transitions into a vicious uppercut. Following the spell, whether it connected or not, would be a Damocles Slam, the blow impacting the ground and sending several six foot tall blades forward in a line. Stepping back from the push, Nolan barely had enough time to block the initial strike from Bladed Inertia, but he was not prepared for it to turn into an uppercut, breaking his guard and sending his weapons flying out of his hands. The next thing he knew, he was sent flying into the air by the rising blades below him. 

A violent burst dark green energy from his body. It was just like when his rage got the better of him during his battle with Zander and Xyster, yet this time it was different; it was controlled rather than just fueled by pure rage. The training that Nolan had undergone for the last two months was not to control his newfound power, but to also control the power he already had. While it was not perfect, it was far better than the violent torrent that came from his anger. There was also another issue though that will be evident soon enough. 

Emitting ashes from his hands and feet, he regained his control in the air and just as his feet touched the ground, a deafening boom resounded throughout the area. Nolan moved straight towards Damian like a bolt of lightening and initially threw a punch straight towards his face, but that was not his real goal. The initial punch with Nolan's left whiffed by Damian's face, but Nolan had kept his body low and threw his weight for a right punch covered in ashes towards Damian's liver. As the blow whiffed past Damian's head, he dropped Andor towards the ground, sliding into a hand-to-hand stance reminiscent of a form of Jujitsu. Spotting the right hook, Damian would summon a small Shield Blade, no wider than his forearm and not going past the wrist, and catch the blow with his left forearm just inside Nolan's guard before countering with a punch of his own aimed at the Ash God Slayer's adams apple. While he didn't have strength enhancing special spells like a Slayer did, but his natural physical strength was more than enough to make even a six foot tall, 350 pound wall of muscle named Joe the Bouncer reconsider pissing the mage off

Nolan had swung his right arm outwards against the punch towards his throat, not blocking it, but changing the direction so that he could feel Damien's arm skid against his own. Using the new opening created from Damien's punch, Nolan stepped in close to limit Damien's mobility and in that same step he threw a quick ashen jab with his left towards his solar plexus. Not only would this be incredibly painful, it could be enough to hinder Damien's own breathing. Damian was able to lean back just barely in time, avoiding the brunt of the blow, but still taking some of it to his chin, causing his intended backflip kick to miss Nolan's chin and sliding him back a couple of extra feet further than he'd normally go, not to mention he'd have a bruise to explain away for at least a day and a half now. Recovering, the Blade of Phoenix Wing summoned a trio of knife blades between the fingers of his left hand and threw them at the Ash God Slayer. However, before they reached him, the fractured into dozens of smaller, harder to track blades and began to move in random directions, forcing Nolan to focus on them and try to focus on Damian.

The opening this created allowed Damian to flank Nolan from the left, closing and delivering a series of fast jabs and finishing it up with a powerful uppercut aimed for the Ash God Slayer's gut. When this finished, he'd roll to the right, retrieving Andor in the same motion, and land on his feet, ready to defend or attack once more.Such distractions would be useless against Nolan. With an upward sweeping motion, ashes shot up in a stream by his feet and due to their combined density the blades only dug halfway through the ashes. Flicking his wrist, the ashes dissipated and he turned quickly to his opponent who was throwing a flurry of jabs at him. Nolan matched him blow to blow, but as soon as Damien threw an uppercut towards his gut he changed tactics. Ashes sprung from the ground just as before and compacted into barrier harder than most metals, most likely damaging his hand. 

Nolan dashed over to Kaso picked her up from the ground. [b]'Why the hell did you leave me on the ground for so long?!'[/b] The Goddess, Kaso, as Nolan began to refer to her as, reprimanded him via telepathy. 

[color=00746b]'Quit complaining.'[/color] He slashed the blade through the air, casting its dirt and dust off. Nolan took a deep breath and exhaled, trying to concentrate his magic power. While he tries to play the straight man, his emotions are intense and that only made his immense magic power even more volatile. It took a conscious effort for him to keep himself in line and it was not just his regular magic power. 

[color=00746b]'It burns.'[/color] Nolan thought to himself though he grimaced as if he was in pain, the back of his neck glowed dimly gold. His frustration and anger acts as a catalyst for God Force, but in the end that great power will drain him to absolute zero. [color=00746b]'I've got to stay calm. I have to keep it from leaking out.'[/color] 

His eyes focused on Damian, keeping his eyes on his target. Damian spun Andor around over his head before unleashing another Damocles Slam, the straight line of rising blades rushing towards Nolan while the Blade of Phoenix Wing zig zagged between them to close the distance before clashing with Nolan's blade, then breaking off as another blade rose between them and clashing against it from a different direction. He could see that the Ash God Slayer was putting everything he had into maintaining his focus, which worked both for and against him. He continued with his attack style for another fifteen seconds before changing it up. This time when he came around the freshly risen blade, Damian  spun low and lashed out with a low kick to try and trip Nolan up before unleashing an unexpected Rising Slash, a spell that lined Andor's edge with a special form of Damian's normal Blade Magic that caused it to rise up at high speeds. Following that, he spin and unleash another Piercing Blade at Nolan, be he on the ground or in the air.

Over and over again Nolan had to block a variety of slashes coming from each direction, shifting his stance constantly to keep up with Damien. However, Damien changed his tactics and tried to trip him and sent a rising slash towards Nolan, but that did not work against him. Nolan had slammed his leg against Damien's sweeping kick and he swung Kaso down with ashes seeping from it, causing the two attacks to clash. 

Ashes accumulated around his blade again and he swung his blade, the arc of ashes collided with the flying ethereal weapons. The collision destroyed both attacks and Nolan charged forward and swung his blade horizontally towards Damien's chest. Damian didn't bother trying to block the attack, instead spinning underneath it and slashing at Nolan's back before once more dancing back to force the Ash God Slayer to him. Nolan spun around and their blades collided again, but rather than turn around and strike with his blade, Nolan threw his right leg for a back kick towards Damien's chest.

Backflipping away from the strike, Damian closes with Nolan again, only instead of a sword slash, he goes to headbutt Nolan before aiming a kick at his jaw which he follows up with a heavy slash aimed to go across the Ash God Slayer's belly followed by a shoulder check and finally a heavy overhead slash that would crack the ground between the Blade of Phoenix Wing and Nolan.

Unexpectedly, Damien slammed his forehead against Nolan's. It was at this was when Nolan lost control of himself. His eyes turned into golden orbs and he swung his blade down, creating a massive blast of golden ashes that had surged forward and collided with the barrier that made sure that the spar was contained, but that barrier could barely contain that attack. 

As the attack finally died down, Damien could see whatever power that Nolan lost control of; his left arm was covered in glowing, golden cracks that went up to his neck. It radiated so much heat that his own arm was steaming against the cold air. There was even a partially formed golden dharma wheel floating his back. 

Nolan glanced down at his arm and grimaced as he forced the power to recede; the cracks traveled up to the back of his neck and the golden dharma wheel shattered. He looked down at the ground, his arm shaking from the nerve damage. [color=00746b]"I yield."[/color]

He chuckled bitterly and then said, [color=00746b]"I know what you're going to say. Don't waste your breath on telling me something that I already know."[/color] What Damien saw was not the prideful, grumpy mage that the guild knew, but a young man, barely just a kid, full of self doubt. As the golden ashes formed, Damian's reflexes kicked in and he summoned a Shield Blade to his left arm and braced behind it once more, a bunker formed from the blades that the Blade Magic used for both attack and defense. For the first couple of seconds, the bunker seemed to be holding, but it wasn't one of his stronger forms of the spell, having been summoned in a haste to avoid the worst of the damage, and soon enough the spell shattered, leaving the Blade of Phoenix Wing to take the brunt of the assault. He used Andor to defend his face, but there was little else he could do as the ashes tore at him, burns and scrapes appearing on his cheeks while small chunks of leather and metal alike vanished, or were melted in the metals case.

When the storm died down, Damian was up once more with Andor in a defensive position before he spotted the state his opponent was in; the golden spiderweb up his arm to his neck and the partially formed dharma wheel on his back to the steam radiating from his arm against the cold. As Nolan came back to his senses, he willed the beginnings of some strange transformation to vanish, the yielded the fight. Damian, his instincts not allowing him to completely relax, lowered Andor before his aura turned a light blue as his limiter was replaced, then faded away completely as he replaced the weapon on his back, convinced Nolan was being honest.

A bitter chuckle came from the Ash God Slayer, causing the Blade of Phoenix Wing to frown.[color=00746b]"I know what you're going to say. Don't waste your breath on telling me something that I already know."[/color] It was in that moment, Damien saw not the prideful, grumpy mage that the guild knew, that Nolan pretended to be all the time, but a young man, barely older than a kid, full of self doubt and perhaps even some small amount of fear. For several minutes, the Blade magic wielder didn't speak, simply watching Nolan pick himself up and look at himself. When Damian did speak, he wasn't as cold or harsh as he was sure the man who had nearly destroyed the field around the training field had likely been expecting.

[color=FireBrick]"'Arma autem motus iste fortissimum.' Emotion is the strongest weapon, one you seem to have trouble controlling. What is it you're hiding, Nolan? And don't think you can lie to my face and walk away. Even at full strength, I was holding back."[/color]

Nolan had picked up Kaso's sheath and placed her back into it. It was about time for him to leave, but Damien had other plans. The slayer gritted his teeth and turned around to look at the Blade of Phoenix Wing. [color=00746b]"And why should I tell you of all people Damien? This is the longest we've ever interacted with each other."[/color] This was actually true. Their encounters had only been glancing, which is true for most of his relationships with everyone else in the guild. The only person that had a deeper understanding of him was Ariel, his girlfriend, but he was a mystery even to her. Damian raised an eyebrow.

[color=FireBrick]"Because my father taught me you can learn more about a person by crossing blades with them or trading punches than their words or any other action would tell you. For all the wall of indifference you put up, all the tough guy part you act, there's a pain inside you that shows in your technique, your approach to your attacks, and your effort to tame the wild beast that is human emotion, a pain you hid well until you asked me to spar. Now, you're right,"[/color] Damian says as he summons a Striker Blade to sit on, also summoning an Ares Blade to inspect while he spoke, [color=FireBrick]"this is the longest we've ever spoken before, hell longest you've acknowledged I'm here outside of throwing that roll or butter knife at me during the Games a couple months ago. And that's a two fold problem. I haven't taken the time to try, and you put off that you don't care to try. 

But to answer the question, I thought it was something you weren't ready to share with Ariel yet, not until you've worked through it somehow. But if you really don't care to share,"[/color] Damian's eyes met Nolan's, something hidden behind his mask of indifference, [color=FireBrick]"then go ahead and go. But I want you to know that I do care, because this guild is my family, and you're my brother as far as I'm concerned. And family doesn't turn it's back on family."[/color] A pain crept unbidden into Damian's voice in that last line. [color=FireBrick]"Because that's a pain I know all too well, and refuse to push on anyone else."[/color]

Nolan spoke through gritted teeth,[color=00746b]"Shut up...Just shut up."[/color] It has appeared that Damien has struck a nerve now. [color=00746b]"Family this, family that. God dammit, you insufferable people. This is what you bloody people do! You sneak into people's lives and make them give a damn and for what?!"[/color] Realizing what he said, Nolan quickly shut himself up. He nearly let it all come out, but he can't tell them about the awful things he had done, the things that he had seen.

Nolan glanced up at him and looked like he was about to spit in Damien's face. [color=00746b]"Don't give me that look. I don't need your pity."[/color]

[color=FireBrick]"You stood in the guild hall the day I told everyone I was a child soldier, that I stood on the battle field and took the lives of grown men with families of their own who never saw them again, futures that never came to be and dreams that remain unfulfilled because they found their end on the tips of my swords. By all accounts, there is nothing redeemable about the things I did, and yet I still came out with it and was judged no differently. Because, dark past or no, we are there for each other. So let me ask you, so why is it you fear sharing your past? Is it judgement you fear? Or are you scared to face the darkness inside you and damn well PROVE that it does not define you?"[/color] Damian stood and through the Ares Blade into the ground between them, the weapon vibrating slightly from the impact as Damian's eyes grew hard. [color=FireBrick]"You can walk away right now, Nolan, leave your past hidden and keep up the tough guy act. But a man who fears his past, fears facing it and TRULY putting it to rest, is no better than a coward. And I'll be damned if you're going to stay a coward the rest of your life."[/color]

[color=00746b]"Because I'm not ready to lose everything for a third time in a row! That's why I'm so fucking terrified!"[/color] Nolan's eyes widened when he realized what the words that came out of his mouth were. Not knowing what else to say, he just stayed silent though his body was shaking like a branch in the wind. Damian frowned at what Nolan said, letting it process in his mind. Admittedly, he knew very little about the God Slayer other than he'd learned his magic in a temple or something like that. Still, he approached Nolan and rested a hand on his shoulder, his gaze softening.

[color=FireBrick]"Then take it one step at a time. Start with me. I swear, on my honor, that I will not forsake you no matter what dark secrets rest in your past. I told you, I wouldn't force that pain on anyone, ever."[/color] Nolan was just going to let the shoulder touch slide for now though he did shrug it off. His gaze turned back to Damien and he sighed.

[color=00746b]"If you're going to make me tell you my life story then I'd rather not do it out in the open."[/color] Nolan said with defeated tone. Damien wasn't going to let him go off easily. Damian nodded, humming thoughtfully for a moment.

[color=FireBrick]"Well, the most immediate place that comes to mind is my place. I never get any visitors and only a couple of people in the guild know where it is exactly. I guess the only question left is if you want Ariel to be there."[/color] He beckoned for Nolan to follow him. [color=FireBrick]"Oh, and do you want something to eat? I should have eaten a bigger meal after working out earlier."[/color] At the mention of Ariel, his face went pale.

[color=00746b]"No... That's something I'll have to do on my own."[/color] How in the world will he bring this up with her? She already had an extremely vague understanding of his past, but they never really talked about it. Maybe it was because she knew he didn't want to discuss it.

His thought was broken when his stomach roared a mighty, guttural roar. [color=00746b]"Uh...food I guess?"[/color] Damian nodded.

[color=FireBrick]"We'll figure out what to eat when we reach my house then."[/color] And with that, the Blade of Phoenix Wing was walking down the street, making sure to avoid going through the hall so that Jamie wouldn't demand to know why he and Nolan had made so much racket. The duo had left a now completely destroyed training field and were definitely trying avoid the wrath of their guild master. If memory served him, Jamie was dealing with the other guild masters. At this point, it was better that they had left the scene of the crime until one of their guild members decided to tell Jamie who used it.

[hr]

[center][h2]Hunter Jorgenson|Striking while it's Hot[/h2][/center]
[center][@Joshua Tamashii][/center]

Hunter stopped as she vanished and sighed. She wasn't going to get better by hiding, but it seemed that at this point, it wasn't a concern for her. Turning to Jackie, he indicated where she disappeared. [color=DarkGreen]"So that's all she can do then, huh? Redirect and run away? Won't do her much good against someone who can nullify magic."[/color]

[hr]

[center][h2]James Hunt|A Student's Tribulation[/h2][/center]
[center][@Lunarlors34][/center]

Nodding to his student, James heads the opposite direction from Cody, making the short walk down to the train station. On the way, he stops to pick up something more to drink, as he didn't get to finish his one in the guild hall, and then purchases his and Cody's tickets while waiting for the young man to catch up.