"So, a spear [i]could[/i] get through," Marod thought out loud. "It would merely punish anyone getting close."

"Something is not right," Sabine said. Her tone was dry from her attention being split. "She knows Meesei's form is an advantage up close."

Bringing up an obscuring cloud proved a double-edged sword. Meesei's sharp hearing could pick up Teroiah's movements enough to hear her cast another spell, but no magic lashed out to attack Meesei, nor did Teroiah take any more steps.

Only as the lightning spell was almost ready did the logic come together in Meesei's mind -- the instant before Teroiah's determined face leapt out of the cloud at an impossible speed just a fathom to the left of where she was before. As Teroiah thrust out her spear towards Meesei's upper body, her feet fell silently on the pavement with the small dark blue wisps of a muffling spell.

The spearhead flashed with an unusual violet aura. Meesei had only that moment to react.