Hidden 3 yrs ago 3 yrs ago Post by Write
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Cordelia Whittaker



Cordelia noted the boy’s finely tuned precision, his form reminded her of her instructor from when she was a child. Always leading to a point, but letting Cordelia perform a flourish in order to make it look as though she had been in charge the entire time. Her hands gracefully spun in his as she twirled outwards into the center of the dance floor. Her eyes flitted to her teammates, all dancing with wolves in their own rights. Cordelia felt the hot breeze of dance floor wind brush through her cerulean locks as she spun back in place, towards the boy.

“That’s correct,” she affirms as he inquires with a voice at a low static hum. His voice isn’t a growl, though it took Cordelia’s knowing a man who growled constantly to recognize the minute differences. This voice was just perceptible enough to be heard, but over the live band and the constant chattering and laughter, that was a decision and careful tuning of his own voice. His compliments washed over Cordelia, a foreign feeling as the kind words and concern caught the once maid in surprise. Unlike the low growl of an angered man, Cordelia was not used to such niceties and couldn’t perceive the truthfulness to what he was saying. Her hands drifted from his waist to his neck and chin, holding him as if she was to kiss him like a lover. “That’s very kind of you to say,” she said, gazing into his eyes. “I’m not concerned about, which team I’m placed on.” Her face came close to his, as the song began to slow and she embraced him, her hands pulling the back of his head onto her shoulder, holding him there for a moment.

The song picked back up and Cordelia once more let him lead, pulling her into a dip as he looked down at her. “The tales we tell children are often of warning,” Cordelia said. Looking into his eyes from her vantage parallel to the ground. “I should hope mine isn’t that.”

Hidden 3 yrs ago Post by Plank Sinatra
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"Me? Psssh. I was almost getting trampled in raves before I could walk. This is the same principle, just more champagne."

Nicole let out an easy laugh, a chiming giggle that lilted with all the grace of her element. She immediately liked her dance partner. Her parents had always been politically-minded, sure, but Nicole had never really put much thought into the workings and lives of the nobility before. Having rubbed elbows with so much of it lately...

It turned out she just had a thing for noble girls. Curious.

Curious!

She looked around for Penny, Dana and Vanna, catching each of their eyes for a second as they engaged and bantered politely with their own dance partners. She wondered if any of them had managed to find the fun in this. For Vanna, galas like these had probably come with the territory that was her whole life, endlessly polite chat that led to no engagement and no connections. From the way she talked, that was probably how Aiya felt about them too.

"That sucks," she sympathized with a playful grin and the same conspiratorial whisper. "You would think those are the moments that make guarding someone easier and make you better at it. Dances, inside jokes...the intimate stuff, right? The things that make you give a crap about life."

Aiya was a master of closing the distance between them and then widening it again - constantly keeping Nicole on her toes, as the distance between them bounced back and forth from hairline fracture to gulf.

"The lights or the boys..." she mused playfully during one of the hairline fracture phases. "Well, in all the movies, they say that the people of Hasta are its real lights, so I guess I've got that covered." She winked. "Palmyra has plenty of neon if you know where to look. It's not the same, but if I work hard enough and crank up the charm, I can turn any place in the world into Hasta. The boys..."

Golden, surly eyes beneath bangs plastered down by the rain - they prowled left to right like tigers, discontent inside of cages. Droplets rolling down his full lips. The nostalgia-filtered snapshots that led to what-ifs, and would probably make her feel alone even in the arms of her final, truest love one day.

When she blinked, it was Aiya's face she saw again - exotic and feline, gorgeous and amused at her own exotic partner. Nicole's own playful grin glinted with the sheepishness of the Best Friend Next Door.

"The boys kinda had a catchphrase for babes like me - Ti voglio bene."
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For everyone on the dance floor there are familiar faces that pass by periodically. Priya and Amanda has found partners among the officers, both respectable dancers in their own right. Vanna's roommate Cara makes a brief foray out on the floor before settling in at a lively table with a mix of cadets, and Penny will notice though Blair is lacking a friend like Dana to force her out on the dance floor, she seems to be content sitting with her teammates and chasing off several officers brave enough to visit.









The dance floor thins briefly as the music fades, a small break in activity. It allows more time to mingle once again, to return to tables or find new ones to settle into. The ball lasts for several hours more, filled with more opportunities for dancing, mingling, and other formalities. Eventually all the dignitaries and military officials filter out, and the cadets soon after. Farewells are said as ways are parted, and eventually it comes time for the Laurus crew to make their exit.

The trip back to the dorms is a short one, and from there the Ars Magi can see the lights in the main building gradually dim to their normal night-time intensity. The common room is briefly busy with excited chatter, but eventually it comes time to retire for the night.

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Hidden 3 yrs ago 3 yrs ago Post by Plank Sinatra
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“Come and find me later. I’ll introduce you to some of the officers—but you won’t like any of them as much as me.”

It was surreal to see a member of the Duodecim coming on so strong. Nicole had always flitted through life pretty flirtatiously, casually keeping everyone on their toes with signs of her interest. She was an engaging girl who liked to show her interest in people, but it was as much a form of conversation to her as jokes or heart-to-hearts full of sisterly advice. Aiya was something altogether different; she was a girl who had the whole planet at her disposal, cut from the same staggeringly lucky cloth as Vanna, conceived as part of a grand cosmic plan and born within the winner's circle. It was Nicole's luck that she had been born a carefree girl, a meandering pirate captain whose childhood had been spent navigating a sea of technicolor xenon, with good vibes and cheap street food at every port; it was Aiya's divine right to dance and rule and flirt the way she did.

In that moment, some terrified part of Nicole screamed what Astrelle had been screaming aboard the Laurus at Penny and Dana, with their heads full of cartoons - grow up. No fun allowed.

But that didn't seem like much of a way to live, either. Would the others have made her 'heart of the team,' as Cordelia had put it, if she wasn't working overtime to be their sister figure? It was still work to make people love you, wasn't it?

She'd been having a lot of these thoughts over the past couple days. Not for the first time, Nicole missed Astrelle. Aiya had been taken aside by her own set of responsibilities - responsibilities in this case being defined as stocky, well-groomed guards straight from central casting, a cabal that was uncannily comely and disquietingly faceless, each bodyguard utterly indistinguishable from each other. So following dumbly in her stead, while tempting, was also a no go. Besides, being clingy wasn't a good way to get girls to keep thinking you were hot.




For a while, Nicole sought the company of the other remaining noble in her life. Vanna had survived enough of the pleasantries of the Duodecim over her own life that she was afforded some leeway the other cadets were not; she had found her way out onto one of the balconies adjacent to the ballroom, nursing a single flute of champagne that her pale fingers in a way that reminded Nicole of a woman clutching her a throat. She cajoled and schmoozed her teammate for a bit, trying to get her to come out on the dance floor, but Vanna seemed content with the breeze and the moon for companionship. Nicole's presence was tolerated, maybe even with a hint of warmth, but in the end the Hastan realized that her light wasn't really necessary in such serene company, and she bade Vanna a goodnight.

A dance with her lilac-haired coffee queen was the next highlight of her night; the two chatted about mochas and music for a few minutes, Nicole twirling in her arms, before her counterpart was pulled away for an introduction. Another, less engaging conversation or two followed before she managed to extract herself; Aiya had caught her eye again, gesturing for her to meet some of her compatriots from the officer's academy. On the way, Nicole found herself stopped by a leonine blonde boy, blue-eyed and grinning impishly. He pushed a flute of champagne from his family's table into her hand, along with a napkin containing two chocolate-coated strawberries. "She's the girl!" he called out to Aiya's table straining to be heard over the upbeat swing of the band changing tempo. Nicole giggled; she raised her voice to match his, tingling all over, buzzed and alive. She felt like her whole body had become her Ars Armagus. Maybe it had.

"I'm the girl!" she crowed, taking a big sip of her drink and feeling her arms tingle again at the taste.

She spent the rest of the night there, surrounded by young men she'd never met before and a Duodecim who seemed to hang on her every word. It made Nicole think again about their different life experiences, but this time she hit upon another truth - to Aiya, and to all of them, an Ars Magi must have been equally exotic. The nobility among them had grown up with them as a faceless, powerful fact of life, more beautiful than the guards who had escorted Aiya to her next engagement but equal in purpose and obstinance. They were there to be mysteries, not to be explored and bantered with. So she broke the ice the way Nicole Cognoscenti did best, telling stories from home, mining them each for more things to do in Palmyra, and even explaining again her superpower of free samples magnetism. One cadet had been as skeptical as Penny before another Nova Lux cadet drifted up with some delicious-looking bread and spread. Nicole took a bite out of it and silently freaked out when she felt the familiar texture and flavors of pesto on her tongue; she'd had a humiliating pine nut allergy all her life, and for a few minutes she desperately tried to play it cool...before realizing that nothing was happening, and it was safe to take another bite. A passive effect of her metamorphosis into a magical girl?

Holy crap. Holy crap!

Aiya had been half-right; for the rest of the night, the de Mars' heiress' table was the one she'd stuck with, and she liked each cadet equally, but none so much as her one-time dance partner herself. When it was finally time for the glittering jewels of Nova Lux to return to their chambers, Nicole did so with smuggled armfuls of pesto bites, strawberries, and a rich girl's number.




The Ars Magi had partied with various levels of enthusiasm, and for a time they relaxed in the common room, with Nicole sharing her snacks, stories, and plenty of giggles with Penny and Dana. Somewhere in all that mingling, one of the many unseen Powers that Be that made the campus run must have moved Cordelia's things into Nicole's empty dorm. The butler's things had all been meticulous tucked in and the sheets on both beds had been freshly changed - obliterating any traces of Astrelle Lennox that might have remained, save perhaps in memory or races of aura that Nicole was not yet attuned to. With that in mind, and as the buzz of the evening turned to a general feeling of drunken sleepiness, she tried her best to make her shower prompt - and made sure how to explain to Cordelia beforehand the necessity of fiddling with the shower knob to get the best potential water temperature. It would save her from going through the scalding initiation that Nicole and Astrelle had.

As the water plastered her scarlet hair to her forehead, her fingers brushed her bare stomach and touched the emerald inlaid there. Maybe the rest of her life wouldn't be filled with nights like this one...but that was all the more reason to treasure them. That thought - and the hot water - teamed up to cut through her drowsy, inebriated haze, and she focused hard on the feeling of every droplet that broke or clung to her bare body. Through trial and error, and endless curses, she had found the dark alchemy required to coax a perfect shower out of this damn thing every morning and every night. Such a perfect shower deserved to be remembered, and she wanted to commit every second of it to memory - every second of the whole night to memory.

She focused hard, biting her lip and smiling dreamily, until she felt like she'd succeeded. Only time would tell if she was right. Tomorrow morning would be the first test. She turned off the shower and dried off, only barely remembering before opening the bathroom door that she actually had to begin getting dressed before bed again.

After all, she had a roommate to consider.
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Hidden 3 yrs ago 3 yrs ago Post by Write
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Cordelia Whittaker




As the song stopped, and everyone was ushered off the dance floor, Cordelia’s dance partner was signaled to by an onlooker. Someone who’d likely been serving a role similar to her own once upon a time. She stood doe-eyed as he sauntered away from her, as if he was still dancing, with a partner invisible to everyone else.

Her senses were returned to her as she felt a hand clap onto her shoulder, she recognized the girl as one of her new teammates. “You good?” she asked. Cordelia thought she must’ve looked almost as though she was looking through her teammate.

“Yes, my apologies.” Cordelia said, still staring out at the dance floor. It was an odd thing. This was something she’d dreamt of for years. To take the stage in a gala like this one. To be swept off her feet like she’d seen happen to so many girls before her. But after tasting battle, something had changed. She’d expected her dance partner to stab her in the back, to leap out into the floor and shift into some hideous beast. For the first time since she’d seen combat, Cordelia had become aware of a weight she’d been holding, one that she felt the need to rid herself of all of the sudden. It was an indefinable sort of thing. Its presence was permeable, enveloping her entire form, clouding her perception. Yet, at the same time it was a wisp, flitting away from the corner of her vision as soon as she tried to hone in on the feeling.

The fear of defeat, the feeling of being hunted. The more time Cordelia spent on the battlefield, the less and less she’d feel those senses creeping away during rest. She awoke with the thought of was she in danger. She drifted off to sleep at night considering where she could escape to if she were to be overwhelmed. She watched her dance partner rejoin an older man with gray hair, and a tall figure. He was joined by another raven-haired woman, though she was clearly in his service. She recognized traits she’d not often seen, but embodied. The eyes that darted around a singular figure in a crowd in anticipation of any needs or commands that may be approaching. Still that old beast reared its ugly head once more. She examined the woman’s body language and found hints of aggression. A sort of confidence that was only reachable when one felt well and truly safe. In this world there’s only one way to feel that safe.




Cordelia planted herself at the table she’d started at. She felt a stiffness in her nose as her sense of safety was slowly tugged on. Her hairs stood on her arms and neck, as she watched Nicole and the others flit around the room expertly, if not aimlessly. As if they were capable of just, enjoying themselves. Existing in a moment with no thoughts of what they’d do if Void had come crashing through the roof of the building, tearing nobles and innocents apart with each movement. How they’d approach defending an evacuating crowd while they fought off the daemons of the night.

A long shaky breath found it’s way out between her lips, just barely escaping the shaky confines that held it for so long. She stood up forcibly, accidentally knocking the table and drawing stares towards her as cutlery clattered mutedly against tablecloth-covered wood. “Pardon me,” she hissed. Her feet carried her faster than her legs felt they could move while still maintaining a gait that resembled walking in the peripheral vision of an onlooker. She walked and walked, slowing when she’d reach her first door and opening it. By the final door that barred her exit to the cold night air she through her weight behind it and burst out of the room. She felt the cool air assault the nape of her neck, now slick with sweat as her clothes clung to her breast while it heaved. She buckled over, eyes wide as she stared at her own shoes, her hand bracing herself against the coarse brick wall she found herself nearby.

In this moment of weakness, she thanked the heavens for the night cover she was afforded. Only the stars could pity her inability to socialize out here. For all the experience she had been accruing in battle over these weeks, it was a minute of introspection and socialization that would bring her to her knees. Shame washed over her cerulean locks now draped down in front of her face, obscuring her like a veil. The moonlight punched through, however, and shone brilliantly into her misty eyes, not letting her truly vanish.

Enough.

Rose water dripped from her crimson lips like honey as she regained her full height, teeth sunken a centimeter into her lip. She could feel the scolding she’d deserved from her previous employers. The imagined strikes carried her back into the ball until it’s end. When she was given the grace of retiring to her new room, where she could at least change her clothes.




The powers that be at this school had taken the liberty of removing what had undoubtedly remained of Nicole’s previous roommate, and replaced it with Cordelia’s personal affects. They were a hodgepodge of knickknacks, none of which looked as though they really belonged to her. The bed she’d be sleeping in was uniformly made as if it was being graded on its appearance.

After a short tutorial on the shower’s operation, and how best to use it, Nicole began to partake in a warm one for herself, once more leaving Cordelia alone in a space that she was both familiar and unfamiliar in. Her previous room looked almost exactly like this one, down to the smallest details, to a point that she had begun searching with her lazy gaze in order to find some new imperfection. Perhaps a torn-up piece of carpet, or a stain on the ceiling.

The white noise of Nicole’s shower lulled Cordelia into a trance where she lost herself in the ceiling, spinning as though she’d been drinking an hour ago. Daydreaming as her vision swam in the noise of the shower, lazily drifting around the room. She found her mind intruding on her once again, asking itself if she was resented as the newest member of the team. If she was hated for replacing what had almost certainly been a cherished cog in this machine. Someone that the other girls had formed a bond with through blood and sweat, who was now being replaced with someone they had no real knowledge of. She hadn’t earned her place on this team, she imagined them thinking. She was naught but a consolation prize, a stop-gap to ensure that numbers on a chat in someone’s office they’d never met maintained their needless symmetry.

A sharp whistle blew through her lips as she closed her eyes, robbing them of their lackadaisical illusion. "What are you doing to yourself?" The voice was hers, though the words felt like they belonged to another, kinder person. Before she could examine the thought much further, Nicole re-entered the room signaling that Cordelia was free to shower. Her crimson hair had been slicked to her skin, tightly bunched into scarlet icicles that trailed down her features directing Cordelia to her lilac eyes. They were kind, Cordelia's mind decided before a stricter more disciplined thought could replace it.

”I’ll be quick,” she said meekly. An instant after she’d entered the bathroom, she’d thrown her clothes aside inelegantly and soaked herself in the water, set to the best temperature she could swing, just as Nicole had shown her. She let the water trickle down her breast, across her stomach and over the brilliantly dull diamond now inlaid there. It felt heavy there, in her abdomen as it reflected the small beads of water gathering on its surface. As though it felt her apprehension that had threatened to swallow her towards the end of the night, and hated it.

She exited the bathroom in a pair of men’s boxers she used as pajama shorts and a large T-Shirt she had been given quite a while ago. It was mostly featureless and about three sized too large which in Cordelia’s mind, meant it fit perfectly for sleepwear.

Her body still felt too warm for blankets after the shower, so she laid atop her sheets, the diamond in her stomach catching a bit of moonlight and reflecting it up at the ceiling, revealing in its glow a small chip in the surface. Cordelia felt a small smile creep on her lips, as she realized she’d found her small difference she’d spent that time looking for. ”Good night Nicole,” she whispered quietly enough that she hoped it wouldn’t wake her if she was sleeping.

I’ll do better tomorrow. She promised her new teammate.
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Hidden 3 yrs ago Post by Ponn
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“Yeah, she’s from house Diana,” Dana replied with a nod when Noah inquired about Vanna. “I’m not really sure how rare it is for nobles like her to become Ars Magi,” she conceded, never having given such matters too much thought. “But it kinda makes sense, doesn’t it? I mean, they are descended from the first Ars Magi, after all.”

Noah went on to marvel at her ability to fight an actual Void, and Dana couldn’t help but grin when the cadet gave a hearty laugh, before lamenting his own inadequacy, when compared to the supernatural creatures.

“Well, like I said, it was more of a team effort,” the upbeat Ars Magi replied with a giggle. “I mean, with as scrawny as I am, I probably wouldn’t last two seconds against a Void up close, but thankfully, my teammates are great at keepin’ ‘em occupied! I’m more of a long-range-support-fighter-slash-medic,” Dana explained. “But, like, Penny, for instance, well, she’s a one-girl wrecking crew!” the cheerful Norban added with an excited grin. “Like, during the battle against the C-Class, she blasted herself into the air with her rocket hammer, saved Nicole from falling, and then smashed it right into the Void’s jaw! Talk about an uppercut! She really sent that thing flyin’! In fact, it’s only thanks to her that I was able to get a clean shot on it to finish it off,” she concluded. “Yep she’s pretty much the Ars Magi version of Thor, if Thor was a teenaged girl who raced around on rollerblades,” the cheerful Norban added with a laugh.

“Working with us?” Dana echoed when Noah expressed his interest in a potential collaboration between Officers and Ars Magi. “That’d be pretty sweet!” she agreed. “No offense to our current set of instructors,” Dana whispered. “But most of ‘em have been pretty cold and stony-faced. I can’t speak for the rest of my team, but personally, I think you’d be a big improvement!”

Then Noah mentioned the robots…

“Have I?!” Dana asked when he inquired if she’d seen any giant robot shows, an enormous grin spreading across her face. “You better believe I have!” she added, images of all her favorite mecha anime racing through her mind. “Are… Are you tellin’ me that you’ve got real mechs?! Seriously?!” The energetic Norban’s eyes seemed to glitter with joy, and it looked as though she could barely contain her excitement. “And they don’t even need a pilot?! Holy freakin’ crap! That is SO awesome! Hey!” she asked as a fantastic idea occurred to her. “Do ya think we could see ‘em?! My friends and I,” she quickly clarified. “Do ya think we could, like, take a tour, or somethin’? ‘Cause my roommate and I just LOVE that kinda stuff!”

After the repercussions of his robotic revelation had been dealt with, Noah asked Dana if she’d like to take a break, almost apologizing for monopolizing her attention. “Sure, that sounds great!” the cheerful Norban replied. “And don’t worry about me,” she added as she followed the imposing cadet back to his table, smiling up at him and linking her arm around his in the process. “I’m havin’ lots of fun hangin’ out with ya, and I’d love to meet some of your friends, so if ya wanna get rid of me, you’re gonna have to try a lot harder than that!” she added with a playful giggle.

The rest of the evening was spent in animated conversation, as Dana’s irrepressible amiability made her a popular presence at Noah’s table. Eventually, however, the festivities drew to a close, and, bidding her new friends farewell, Dana rejoined her teammates as they headed back to the dorms.

“So, how are ya feelin’, Penny?” Dana asked her roommate during the short walk across the campus. “Did ya have at least some fun?”
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Hidden 3 yrs ago Post by shadowsaint007
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"Yeah, I think I've seen a few of the posters over the past weekend, when I was out with the girls," Penny replies, thinking back. "But yeah, okay, we'll talk about that later..."

'Assuming we get to see each other, that is,'
she thought to herself. 'Not sure if I'm ready for a steady relationship yet... Wait, why am I even thinking about this?!'

She catches Nichole looking at her, the Hastan social butterfly seemingly busy with another girl, this one a fancy-looking officer, maybe even a Duodecim from the way she carried herself about. She sighs; the redhead seemed to just ooze natural charisma that pulled others in. Nichole may not be an attention-seeker, but she seems to be in her element here.

"Hm?" she turns back to Dima when he asks about her mother. "Yeah, like I said, she's a Seargent First Class, 3rd Platoon, 51st Infantry Division. Her troops call her 'Iron Jane', and yeah, she's a tough old bird. Great mom, though.

"What about your folks? Any military among them?"


Looking at the camera crews and the bigwigs, Penny gives a slight frown.

"Ah, I dunno about that," she replies. "I suspect I'd just get nervous as hell. Probably just follow the lead of my teammates and pray I don't leave a bad impression."

She then realizes her dance partner left her, but finds herself awkwardly looking around, not sure what to do next. She thinks about rejoining her table before she catches sight of a familiar Hastan redhead - not the chic social butterfly, the other one. Blair McKenzie was spending the dance down at a table scarfing down food and drinks, talking to her teammates, generally nonchalant about the whole thing, an interesting contrast to the bubbly Dana or the adaptive Nichole. Penny chuckles as the rough Celt scares off a few sorry bastards who try to work up the nerve to talk to her.

"Oh man, those guys didn't know what hit 'em," she mutters under her breath. She then realized there was someone behind her - Dima was back with drinks.

"Oh... thanks, I was really getting thirsty," she says, taking one of the drinks. "It's not alcoholic, is it? Ah, screw it, old enough to fight, old enough to drink, like Mom always says."

She takes a healthy swig, grateful for the hydration. She then guides Dima to a table for the two to sit down and relax a bit.

"You know, I think we should take a seat," she says. "I think my feet are beginning to kill me..."

She engages in pleasant talk with Dima about an assortment of topics, mostly casual conversation. She pauses a bit, trying to see where her teammates had gone. Vanna's off to the fancy section (well, the really fancy section), the new girl is... somewhere, she finds herself wondering what happened to Astrelle, whereas Nichole and Dana were...

Oh, there they were. Nichole's the star attraction at the table of a few officers, drinking a whole champagne flute as the eager young men cheered her health. And Dana was at Dima's old table, chatting up a storm and generally being hard to miss.

"Nice to see them fitting in so well," she says. "They seem to be having a blast. Yeah, never really gone to a formal occasion like this before. Always thought I'd flub something big, being this working-class girl stumbling along among a whole room of fancypants nobility. Hell, I kept trying to find ways to get out of this shindig, but Dana kept dragging me back here. Don't ask me where the off switch on her is, I gave up trying to find it. Not that I mind really; she's... well, she's got the sort of energy to brighten up a room, if you noticed. It's nice, actually; makes you feel like the world's a bit brighter with her in it. Maybe some find it annoying, but eh, screw 'em. She's fine by me.

"And Nichole... I don't know how she does it. She already had the city mapped out by our third week here and just seems to turn heads wherever she goes. It's like she's born for the spotlight, y'ask me. Me? I'm just fine with trying to get along, but I'll be honest, it's nice to be in this bunch. The other two, Vanna - sorry, Lady Khay Vanna - and Astrelle are more aloof. Yeah, Vanna of Diane. It's kind of intimidating around her sometimes, to be honest, the way she constantly carries herself, but then again, she's Duodecim, so I can't imagine how her life's like, so I'm not passing judgement. Astrelle... I dunno, she just... she got transferred one night, that's all I know. No news, no goodbyes, just... she's in a different dorm and a different team."


At the end of the ball, she bids Dima good night.

"Thanks for the dance, Dima," she says. "It's been a fun night, maybe we can meet again soon. Thanks for the company, it's helped me keep my mind off my anxiety."

She then notices they're passing by a vending machine as she moves to leave. She crackles her knuckles as a mischievous grin draws on her face.

"Hey, Dima, wanna see a neat trick?" she asks. "Here's a drink on me, hope you like surprises. Oh, and keep a look out in case anyone notices."

She snaps her fingers, summoning an arc of electric, before smacking the machine with the palm of her hand, causing it to shudder strongly (Penny is clearly seriously strong for her size) before a clatter of cans results, spitting up two free drink cans without Penny having to insert a single coin.

"How's that for a magic trick?" she says to her partner, giving him whichever flavor he prefers. "See you around..."



The fresh breeze on the walk back to the dorm was sobering and soothing, allowing her to relax properly. Overall, the dance wasn't as bad as she was worried it would be, so she guesses she owes Dana an apology. She spends the walk savoring the outdoors, the sights, and slowly sipping her root beer along the way, thinking about the stars and her folk back home. She should really write soon. She almost misses the approach of a particularly bubbly girl.

“So, how are ya feelin’, Penny?” Dana asked her roommate during the short walk across the campus. “Did ya have at least some fun?”

"Well, it certainly wasn't as bad as I thought," admits the Siscian. "It was actually sort of fun. Dima's a nice guy, good to talk with, bit dorky, but I think it's nice, really. Though I clearly didn't have nearly as much fun as you or Nichole. Don't think I didn't see you at Noah's table, chatting up a storm like you always do. And Nichole being the toast of a table of officers. Seriously, I have no idea how she does that, just catch all the attention like that."
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With the ball done and over with, what comes next is more training. Both schoolwork, physical, and magical exercises fill the remainder of the month and the next after. Now that each cadet has greater control over their transformation and abilities there’s more room for magical training, though the exercises remain simple for the most part--no fighting Voids again, at least for now.

Of note, during this time teams are made official. The group from the Laurus, now plus Cordelia, is designed Magi Team 3. Astrelle’s absence, when investigated, seems to be a family matter. She has, perhaps, achieved her wish to be rid of her responsibility to the Imperium.

And then there are things to attend to outside of school. It takes some time before Aiya De Mars makes herself available, but when the time comes she makes good with Nicole on her earlier offer. During the neon-lit evening she and Nicole spend out on the town the Hastian is treated to places even she’s not seen before, clubs filled with thrumming music and rooftops sporting breathtaking views of bleeding neon lights that stretch across the city’s harbor.

The Duodecim girl is as flighty and flirtatious as the first time they met, complementing and thriving off Nicole’s already vibrant energy. The dark-haired girl has the confidence of someone who both knows what they want and has never been denied it, and a ravenous enjoyment for everything that’s available to her. When they part, sooner than it seems, she does so with a kiss on the cheek and a promise to rendezvous at another date.

The redhead isn’t the only Ars Magi that has a courter, though. Unfortunately neither of the two officers are able to secure permission to visit the robots, but both Penny and Dana receive invitation instead to go out into the city and see the new Magical Maid Altea movie. It’s a much less intense evening than Nicole’s, but not unpleasant. The offer is left open to go out again later, but neither of the officers are particularly insistent on the issue.

Throughout the month there are also rumors swirling around, mostly based on gossip overheard and stories traded at the ball. There’s talk of the new anti-Void machines, and of the upcoming joint exercise between the academies. The latter is confirmed by Nova Lux’s instructors soon enough, the date set for the end of the month.

The time passes quickly for most, until the day draws near.




𝙽𝚘𝚟𝚊 𝙻𝚞𝚡 𝙰𝚌𝚊𝚍𝚎𝚖𝚢
𝙱𝚛𝚒𝚎𝚏𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚁𝚘𝚘𝚖

𝙹𝚞𝚗𝚎 𝟸𝟿𝚝𝚑, 𝟷𝟷𝟽 𝙰𝚅
𝟺:𝟶𝟶 𝙿𝙼
Dana Noel, Penny Grenoble, Nicole Cognoscenti, Diana Khay Vanna, Cordelia Whittaker



“This will be your field of operation.”

The screens in the center of the briefing room flicker, cycling through green-tinted images until an aerial view of Palmyra’s abandoned district appears on the central monitor. From above the tall concrete walls cordoning off the district are made visible, towering above the desolate half-structures that fill the empty streets. The Nox diffusers, tall pylons that stretch above the streets, glow a pale blue in the afternoon light. The cadets will recognize at least some portion of the district from their entrance exam, and one of the observation towers is still half-destroyed from the incidents during that exercise.

The officer presenting, instructor Drier, gives her audience a moment to digest the image. The cadets from Nova Lux are arranged in a circle around the central monitor, all seated in neat rows and sorted according to their established teams. In the dim evening light the monitors are clear and glowing, and Team 3 has a good vantage from their place near the front row.

“In this exercise you will be clearing and securing several key structures, marked here.” On the monitor buildings begin to light up, their skeletons highlighted in fluorescent yellow. “Accompanying you will be several cadets from the Officer’s Academy, who will act in a supporting role as your operations team.”

She continues on, beginning to point out routes and instructions. Several for teams that aren’t those of the girls from the Laurus, though she gets to them eventually:

“Team 3. Your first objective will be to escort your operators to target C—” Drier motions again toward the monitor, which zooms in on a half-collapsed high-rise near one of the district entrances. “Where they will set up their base of operations and direct you to the rest of your targets.”

The screens flicker again, the images of ruined buildings and debris-filled streets vanishing to make way for something new: Pictures of machines. Tall, bipedal constructs with boxy looking bodies, rectangular heads, and long flexible legs.

“As Voids would be too difficult—and dangerous—to coordinate, your opposition for this exercise will be automated drones, provided by Juno’s Defense Force. Their magitech armaments have been reduced to less-than lethal capability for this exercise, and you are allowed to use any amount of force within your means against them.”

Discussion and planning continues for another hour, until the cadets are dismissed. The next evening, the mission commences.





𝙿𝚊𝚕𝚖𝚢𝚛𝚊 𝙼𝚒𝚕𝚒𝚝𝚊𝚛𝚢 𝙴𝚡𝚎𝚛𝚌𝚒𝚜𝚎 𝚉𝚘𝚗𝚎
𝙰𝚋𝚊𝚗𝚍𝚘𝚗𝚎𝚍 𝙳𝚒𝚜𝚝𝚛𝚒𝚌𝚝

𝙹𝚞𝚗𝚎 𝟹𝟶𝚝𝚑, 𝟷𝟷𝟽 𝙰𝚅
𝟼:𝟶𝟶 𝙿𝙼
Dana Noel, Penny Grenoble, Nicole Cognoscenti, Diana Khay Vanna, Cordelia Whittaker



By the time Team 3 arrives at their rendezvous point the evening sky is grey, overcast, and very wet. Sheets of rain wash over the empty streets and run down shattered buildings, forming deep puddles in the pockmarked streets. As the Ars Magi step out of the transport they find that their partners from the Officer’s Academy are already arrived and waiting, shrouded in cobalt colored cloaks to protect them from the downpour.

There are familiar faces hidden in those cloaks. Among the three figures waiting is Aiya De Mars. Accompanying her are two other cadets: Garnier, a wiry, dark-skinned, bespectacled young man, and Holst, a short and severe looking blonde girl. Dana will recall Garnier as the third of Noah and Dima's group, one of the cadets she spent time speaking with at the ball after the dancing finished. There’s enough time for a few brief greetings as the red LEDs on everyone’s clocks slowly count down the remaining minutes until the exercise commences.

“Team three,” Eventually comes the static-laced voice over the groups radios. “You’re clear to move. Escort your team and secure the target.”

The target building is visible in the distance, a the half-standing silhouette of a parking garage that looms over the surrounding area. Between the group and it are several hundred yards of ruined street, piles of rubble, and—something else.

Lights begin to flicker to life in the dim evening, specks of red and blue that are soon followed by cones of fluorescent yellow. Spotlights begin to move across the streets and the faces of buildings, and the heavy sound of metal crunching through debris can be faintly heard in the far distance.

“Garnier, would you tell our heroines what we’re looking at?” Aiya’s voice rises smoothly, the dark-haired girl motioning toward her companion.

It takes a moment for the other cadet to grab a sleek looking display from their pack, and after a few keystrokes and Garnier relates: “Target’s about 300 yards. Opposition is unmanned drones. Not very smart, but they come with sensor arrays and communication relays. If one spots us, they all do. They’re designed to kill Voids, so they’ll probably be good at picking up anything that uses a lot of magic.” A significant look is thrown toward the team of Ars Magi.

“Holst, get me a count of how many there are, pretty please.”

The smaller cadet, when asked, quickly finds higher ground. She's nimble, scrambling up the side of a ruined building before reporting back a moment later: “Eight, I counted. Could be more hiding in the rubble, though.”

“And it’s up to our heroines to protect us from them.” Aiya smiles, a sharp grin that cuts across her face as she turns to address the team of Ars Magi. “We’re at your service.”
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Hidden 3 yrs ago 3 yrs ago Post by shadowsaint007
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shadowsaint007 ♪Let's do the time warp agaaaaaiiiinnn....♪

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The few weeks after the ball marked a turn for an increasingly hectic school program. Between the military and combat training, the Ars Magi specialized training, it's been a pretty busy time. However, Penny wasn't anything if not hardworking and diligent, and the desire to prove herself kept her going forwards. It helped that she was a smart cookie and workaholic who thrived under rough conditions. However, she'd soon learn that sometimes, maybe "no pain no gain" was a tad overvalued.

Through her diligence, studying the curriculum (and a bit of luck), she managed to land an appointment with a dueling instructor, a Mars native by the name of Instructor Xiang Baozhai, Armagus name Shimmering Flowing Sapphire. However, she had been so caught up with the idea of testing her skills against an experienced Ars Magi she forgot about a prior agreement she had with Blair McKenzie, who demanded to know if the "wee Yank c*nt thought she were be'er than ta talk ta some Sco'ish hooligan". Of course, once Blair found out about the training duel, she used her usual charm (i.e. stubborn insistence) to join the match. To Penny's surprise, Instructor Xiang was polite and even accommodating to the idea of taking two Ars Magi on.

With hindsight, that should have been a massive red flag.

Come the duel, Instructor Xiang promptly spent the next ten minutes pounding the two girls into the arena and the walls, not using her Elementum until the eight minute mark and just deflecting everything with skillful swipes and strikes from her gladius, the extensible spear Shifting Water Serpent, parrying both Penny's rocket hammer and Blair's burning claymore with deceptive ease. Penny learned to respect the range of a gladius, the skill with which one can fight without an Elementum, and how an effective defense can suddenly switch to a vicious counterattack and vice versa. What Instructor Xiang learned was how surprisingly stubborn two first years can be even under extreme abuse, and how well they could take a beating - which of course encouraged her to use her Elementum, at which point the real pain began. It ended with both students being knocked clean through a solid concrete wall with a power blast of high-pressure water, followed by a short congratulatory speech on their courage and determination, just to try and work better together and work on their individual skills and abilities; Elementum is useful, but it isn't everything.

Dana would find out about her roommate's experience when she gave Penny an innocent hug that caused the other girl to flinch in refreshed pain. Penny, in turn, would explain the fresh welts across her body and the slow, almost crawling movements she was forced into; maybe her Ars Magi recovery abilities would mean the bruises would be gone in a few days, but it still stung like crazy.

"So basically," Penny concluded to her concerned roommate, "if you ever get the chance to duel an instructor, remember three things. One, take the chance to learn as much as possible, it's what you're there for. Two, ask the teach to take it easy for crying out loud, they mean business. Three, for the love of God, learn to dodge."

Fortunately, by the time Dima asks her out on their date, the pain's mostly subsided (with help from Dana's healing powers) and there's only the faintest stiffness in her joints, so it didn't bother her that much during the outing, and she could explain it by 'had a rough week of training'. During the movie, she stayed mostly quiet, following the events of the story, even though she was nervously aware of Dima's larger frame next to her. Still, it was a nice experience all round. Afterwards, she started asking him more about his hobbies and plans for the future.

"I mean, it's probably still rhetorical at this point, but," she starts, "let's say the whole Void thing ends tomorrow. A hundred years of conflict over. And humanity comes out of the sanctum cities. Hopefully in a good place for the future, and we're all thankfully alive. What are your plans then? Me, I'm not sure whether I'll still be an Ars Magi or not, but if not, well, I'll just settle down and work electronics for a living. Pretty good at it, been fixing stuff since I was twelve, helping my dad around the workshop."

She got the chance to prove it when Dima's watch stopped, so she pulled out her miniature toolkit from a pocket, and fixed the watch in a couple minutes. Turns out, it just had a bit of cleaning and recharge, which took no time, before she handed it back, good as new.

"Of course I keep a toolkit on me," she says. "I mean, I like magic girl shows as much as the next girl - well, maybe a bit more than the next girl, unless you're talking about Dana - but I occasionally fix stuff for the other girls. Phones, PDAs, mostly small stuff and under warranty so they can move on with their lives quicker. I like being the handygirl, I like helping out."

They talk a bit more about personal hobbies, interests and goals before calling it a night, and awkwardly saying good night and proposing to go out on a later date.

"Oh alright, it wasn't that bad," Penny would defend herself to her teasing teammates later. "It... was... actually kind of nice. It's just... well, it's the first real date I've ever been on, okay? Just... didn't know what I should do, and tried to be pleasant about the whole thing. Dima was a gentleman about it all, so yeah... I might see him again."

The revelation that Nichole was going out with a Duodecim girl, on the other hand, induced wry mocking from the Siscian.

"Seriously?" she chuckles. "You must really enjoy teasing the boys. I mean, half the officers at the dance ball were fawning over you, you could have had your pick.

"Then again, maybe that's the curse of the Hastan beauty,"
she continues, assuming a melodramatic pose and tone out of a cheap girl's romance. "To be desired and loved by all, but oh, what cruel fates, only the worthy may reach her, for she has been cursed - cursed! I say - by a terrible spell that the unworthy shall wither at her touch, while she remains forever alone, trapped in her own radiance! Oh who shall be the Prince - or Princess! - Charming to release her from her mournful fate...?"

The news about the new fighting machines is a bit of a surprise to Penny; while she does find the idea intriguing, she does wonder if it's feasible, especially since resources were pretty stretched in the ongoing Void war. Eventually, though, her curiosity overcomes, and she tries to find out as much as possible from whatever leaked information she can lay her hands on. From then on, it's a constant internal debate between her professional Ars Magi pride and her geek side on whether on not she should be glad there are new weapons in the war.

Soon, though, comes another major field exercise, one meant to test battlefield cooperation and tactics...


𝙽𝚘𝚟𝚊 𝙻𝚞𝚡 𝙰𝚌𝚊𝚍𝚎𝚖𝚢
𝙱𝚛𝚒𝚎𝚏𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚁𝚘𝚘𝚖
𝙹𝚞𝚗𝚎 𝟸𝟿𝚝𝚑, 𝟷𝟷𝟽 𝙰𝚅
𝟺:𝟶𝟶 𝙿𝙼
Dana Noel, Penny Grenoble, Nicole Cognoscenti, Diana Khay Vanna, Cordelia Whittaker


Penny listens to Instructor Drier's briefing on the training mission. It's good to know that while the drones will put up a fight, they're not actively going to try and kill them, or at least not going to go all out on it.

An escort mission, she thinks, one of the worst you can find in a video game. Still, I think our VIPs would probably have a lot more sense than your average NPC, so it's not going to be that bad. Hopefully.


𝙿𝚊𝚕𝚖𝚢𝚛𝚊 𝙼𝚒𝚕𝚒𝚝𝚊𝚛𝚢 𝙴𝚡𝚎𝚛𝚌𝚒𝚜𝚎 𝚉𝚘𝚗𝚎
𝙰𝚋𝚊𝚗𝚍𝚘𝚗𝚎𝚍 𝙳𝚒𝚜𝚝𝚛𝚒𝚌𝚝
𝙹𝚞𝚗𝚎 𝟹𝟶𝚝𝚑, 𝟷𝟷𝟽 𝙰𝚅
𝟼:𝟶𝟶 𝙿𝙼
Dana Noel, Penny Grenoble, Nicole Cognoscenti, Diana Khay Vanna, Cordelia Whittaker


The weather, unsurprisingly, was being uncooperative. Rain was pouring heavily, meaning Penny would have to be a bit careful with her Elementum lest she cause unwanted collateral damage - like shocking the hell out of their VIPs.

After a brief round of greetings and introductions in case they hadn't met already, Penny gently nudged Nichole.

"No flirting with your girlfriend on the mission, alright?" she teases.

"Hmm, eight, probably more, and you say they're networked?" Penny muses on Holst's summary. "Means we can't just go blasting in. We need to make this fast and try to be quick about it, but also need to keep our eyes peeled. Probably won't be able to pick them off one-by-one, they'd pick up on that, and we probably need to do this quickly. Still, if we could make a quick ambush, take out a few on a first strike, then move quickly, we could prevent them from ganging up on us..."

She turns to the other girls.

"Okay, girls, any ideas on how to go about on this?" she asks. "I could take the brunt of the attack, that's pretty much my forte, but I don't think I can take on a whole swarm. Should we soften them up first with a quick strike, or just make a break for it with a flying wedge and beat feet to the objective? I say we should try and take the quickest but clearest route, blitz the first patrol we meet on our way, and then make a break for it. I can run interference, Dana offers ranged support, but we also need to keep at least one or two people next to our VIPs to ensure their safety. What do you think?"

She also turns to the VIPs to see if they have any suggestions, though she suspects this part of training is on Team 3.
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Ponn

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See? I told ya you’d enjoy it!” Dana said with a happy laugh as she and Penny walked back to their dorm after the ball had concluded. “Yeah, she’s really somethin’ else,” the cheerful Norban agreed when the discussion moved to the subject of Nicole’s rather magnetic personality. “Oh! But you wanna hear somethin’ that’s really crazy?!” she asked with an excited gleam in her eyes. “Noah told me that the officers are gonna get to work with actual, real-life giant robots! Isn’t that awesome?!”

Penny had agreed that it was, in fact, very awesome, and the two had spent the remainder of the evening geeking out about the new machines’ potential capabilities. Unfortunately, hard information on the robots would prove difficult to come by, and sadly, but perhaps predictably, Noah was unable to gain permission for the two Ars Magi to see the drones in person. He did, however, manage to acquire tickets to see the new Magical Maid Altea movie, something Dana knew her bespectacled roommate would certainly be interested in. Penny had indeed been interested, but she had also been somewhat hesitant about going on a double date. For her part, Dana wasn’t really the romantic type herself (at least not on the level of the redheaded whirlwind that was Nicole). No, she just enjoyed making new friends and doing fun things with them. Thus, she had done her best to assuage her roommate’s trepidations, although, as Dana soon discovered, Penny’s social anxiety wouldn’t be the only thing the bespectacled Ars Magi had to worry about…

As it transpired, about a week before their double date, the gung-ho Siscian had taken part in a 2-on-1 sparing match against a veteran Ars Magi, a match that had left her a bruised and battered mess. Dana discovered just how bad a shape Penny was in when she tried to give her roommate a friendly hug upon her return to the dorm, which saw the normally tough as nails Penny flinch in pain at the relatively mild contact.

“Oh crap! Are you okay?!” Dana asked, her voice filled with concern as she quickly released her roommate.

Penny went on to explain everything, after which Dana offered to reduce her bespectacled friend’s pain as best as she could. Even with the minimal amount of magic she could employ in her mundane state, the upbeat Norban managed to take away most of the soreness, although Penny would still be moving rather slowly for the next several days. Thankfully, by the time of their double date, she had almost fully recovered, and Dana eagerly led her to where Noah and Dima had agreed to pick them up.

The movie itself (although nowhere near as action packed as a Guardian Gunslinger Alexis film) was a lot of fun, and after it had concluded, the quartet decided to go out to a nearby pizza place for dinner. While waiting for their meal, Dana and Noah paid a visit to the restaurant’s small arcade. Dana had been to the place before, on one of her various outings with Nicole, and although it was rather small, it was still the only arcade in the city that had one of her favorite games ever- Area 51. The light gun game was nearly two centuries old, but this particular example looked as though it had probably been made during a resurgence in appreciation for classic arcade games, shortly before the First Void War. The fact that it had survived the apocalyptic conflict, and the following hundred and seventeen years, was nothing short of a miracle, and Dana couldn’t help but wonder at the journey it had taken to get to its current location.

“So, care for a game?” Dana asked, pointing her thumb at the archaic machine. “I promise I’ll go easy on ya!” she added with a playful grin.

To Dana’s surprise, Noah proved to be quite the skilled marksman, and the massive cadet had little trouble keeping pace with his diminutive date. Not that it bothered Dana. The cheerful Norban enjoyed the challenge.

“Wow! You’re really good at this!” she told him with an exuberant laugh. “Those Voids wouldn’t stand a chance if the two of us ever teamed up!”

The remainder of the evening went smoothly enough, and almost before Dana even realized it, she and Penny were back at their dorm. Despite Penny’s initial reluctance, it was clear that the bespectacled girl had enjoyed herself, probably due in no small part to the outing’s relaxed atmosphere. Much like Dana herself, Noah and Dima had been content to keep things at the level of simple friendship, and although someone like Nicole might be disappointed at the lack of romantic elements, Dana knew Penny was glad the evening had been mostly devoid of them. Indeed, the Siscian had said as much herself, when Nicole met them the moment they passed through the dorm’s entrance, wanting to know everything.

She really is like a big sister…. Dana had reflected with a giggle.

It was also unsurprising to learn that Nicole had received an invitation to go out with the Duodecim girl she’d met at the ball, something Penny had wasted no time poking fun at.

Dana couldn’t help but laugh at her roommate’s overly dramatic teasing. “Hey, Nicole’s welcome to her fairy tale,” the upbeat Norban told her roommate. I’m more interested in an action/adventure story!” she added excitedly. “Noah’s one heck of a shot, and I’d love to get the chance to fight alongside him!”

As it happened, an opportunity for just such a paring arrived only a few days later…



Sitting in the briefing hall, Dana’s anticipation grew with each passing second. Oh sweet! So we’re gonna be fighting the new robots?! the energetic Ars Magi thought to herself, a gleeful smile spreading across her face as Instructor Drier continued to enumerate the details of the upcoming training mission. And I’ll get to team up with Noah, too?! This is gonna be SO awesome!



Unfortunately, the actual mission would prove to be somewhat disappointing in that regard, for while they would indeed be teaming up with a trio of officers, Noah and Dima were not among them. However, one of their friends, Garnier, was present, and despite her slight disappointment, Dana cheerfully greeted the bespectacled cadet. In addition, none other than Nicole’s new paramour appeared to be leading the officer contingent, and a small smile crept across Dana’s face as she glanced at her redheaded teammate. “It’s good to see your amazing luck is as strong as ever,” she noted playfully, before Penny followed up with a “warning” not to flirt during the mission.

Talk then turned to strategy and tactics, with Penny mentioning a few possible courses of action.

“It’s probably best if I hang back with the officers and provide some covering fire,” Dana suggested. “I should also be able to knock out a few of the drones’ optics before they realize they’re under attack, which should give you guys a better chance of takin’ ‘em out up close. Hey, Garnier,” she asked the bespectacled cadet as a thought occurred to her. “Got any idea what these things are armed with?”
Hidden 3 yrs ago Post by Write
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Write Currently Writing

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Once the ball had concluded, Cordelia chose not to examine why she’d had such an eruption of emotion during that night. Instead, she threw herself headfirst into a strict regimen of self improvement. Cordelia came back to her and Nicole’s dorm room each night with a new bruise, scrape, or tear. Cordelia was always doing at least two things at once, if not more. During her studies she was reading while manipulating a pane of glass, practicing her control without having her eyes on what she was changing. She noticed when Nicole would go away every odd night, dressed up at times, others dressed in her typically light-effort but still impressive attire.

At first, Cordelia mourned a social life she could be having, but instead redoubled her efforts on her studies. She’d be studying when Nicole would leave their room at night, the amber glow of sunset complimenting the pinks of the skies. She’d be studying still, when Nicole would re-enter, the morning frost and dew coating their window, Cordelia’s eyes growing dark with sleep deprivation. However, as time went on and Cordelia was especially single-minded in her studies, she’d feel Nicole’s hands gently kneading at her shoulders. Massaging them in an effort to get the girl to relax some. It often worked, and so Nicole had seemingly picked up a kind of awareness of a line that Cordelia would cross, or so she assumed. When she felt most closed off and obsessive about her studies, Nicole would start to relax her by asking for help with the work she was currently doing. She’d first get Cordelia to explain a concept, then the conversation would be effortlessly directed somewhere else. Nicole would ask her roommate to accompany her, and somehow, they’d end up at a theatre or arcade. Cordelia slept best after a night out with Nicole, but still struggled to recognize the importance of that balance, and never initiated a night out herself. Always waiting for the bubbly girl to work it into conversation. Even once she’d realized her roommate’s tactics, she didn’t stop them. She’d never admit it to herself, but the comradery was something she yearned for some nights when Nicole was off wandering embodying the wistful nature of her power. Cordelia remembered falling asleep one night, wondering what aspect of her personality reflected her own ability. Glass, easily shattered, reflective, made in intense heat and pressure. She fell asleep before coming to any meaningful conclusion.



The briefing room’s electrical lighting hummed in a way that made it feel like Cordelia herself was making the sound. She watched as green-tinted imaging was presented to them, making mental notes of general layout, windows that were present as well as where her teammates abilities may be constrained. The tight halls and escorting nature of the task at hand made Cordelia weary of her own fighting style, her greatsword may not find purchase in a narrow field, and the anti-magic abilities of the robotic opposition may or may not nullify her ability to deflect their blows with her mirrors. Cordelia’s knee bounced against her elbow, as she tried to slow the adrenaline flow until they were on-site for their training exercise. She always got like this before an engagement. She deftly manipulated a piece of glass between her fingers, thinning it, sharpening it, widening it back out again. Over and over, she transmuted it like a wizard of yore, focusing entirely on the instructions not so much on the basic manipulation in her hand. While she’d been with the team for a little while now, she was still very much the odd duck. The thought stuck in her mind like an ace of hearts in a hand full of spades. No matter what she thought, it kept sticking out to her.

She could feel herself winding around a coil, tighter and tighter still. Ready to snap.




The sound of rain formed a thick layer of white noise around the exercise, their payload behind them, and each of the girl’s forming a phalanx around them, strategy began to be formed. Cordelia’s lips curled upwards as Penny quietly asked Nicole to keep things completely platonic during the excursion, the thought of Nicole flirting over comms was so odd Cordelia could hardly hold back her chuckle.

Penny offered the concept of a quick blitz upon first engagement, and then rushing before reinforcements appeared. Cordelia generally found the strategy to be serviceable. Dana was quick to add to the strategy, noting that she’d be able to disable the optics of the first patrol so the rest of the team could efficiently deal with them.

Cordelia had been thinking since departure about her own plan, and for the first time since before briefing, decided to air it.

“I believe Penny’s strategy is sound. May I propose a pawn sacrifice? I believe if we blitz the first patrol, we should be able to discern the relative combat effectiveness of each of us in the face of this enemy. Afterwards, once we make a run for the exit, I believe we should leave one member behind to distract any oncoming opposition in order to not sacrifice any speed, and not give the opposition time or chance to injure one of our escorts. I believe the order we should be leaving members behind is by least effective to most. The least effective of us can distract, evade and distance themselves from the opposition, such that should the final member of our team come against opposition, they are the most effective against this type of enemy and have the greatest chance of defeating them.” Cordelia took a deep breath, understanding that what she was suggesting may not be a popular suggestion. She considered the operation in its entirety. “Once we have our escorts to their forward operating base, we could send out a signal or message, and all rendezvous there in order to receive our secondary task. In an ideal scenario only one or two of us would have to branch off from the group before we reach our destination, this strategy puts us at more risk, I understand that, but it effectively eliminates as much risk as possible for harm coming to those in our charge.”
Hidden 2 yrs ago 2 yrs ago Post by Plank Sinatra
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It was hard for Nicole not to bob in place, a buoy rocked and animated by adrenaline, at the outset of their first group combat exercise. It was controlled, of course, but that took none of the fun or anxiety about it; during the weeks at a time their training was limited to classwork or limited class exercises, it often felt like it would be a cold day in hell before they were even allowed to head to the MEZ again. How did her friends see fit to celebrate the occasion with her?

By mogging her over her popular phase, of course! Their good-natured ribbing brought a sheepish grin to Nicole's face throughout their briefing, as they ragged on her for her date with Aiya. Not that Nicole would return fire, of course! She was, after all, a cool, down-to-earth kind of girl, flippant in social situations and composed on the job. She was an Ars Magi, an example to humanity - hardly the kind of girl who was going to stick her tongue out and nag Penny and Dana about their movie date to see the new Altea movie, or to harass them about not being given an invite. Especially not after she'd devoted some of her precious off-time to catching up on the Alteaverse too, manga, spinoffs and all. She was nowhere near that callous to act like that in front of nobles like Vanna, Aiya or Cordelia.

But the wink she gave them both in response to their teasing was proof she was capable of it, at least.

She weighed all their suggestions and stood, stretching a long limb and brushing her fingertips against the roof of their transport. The briefing weighed heavily in her mind, and though it was nice to know they weren't expecting Void combat, her memories of the nasty shock they'd received during their last trip to the Exercise Zone were heavy in Nicole's mind. So was the scrape she'd taken along her midriff, which had scarred her spirit if not her stomach.

"If it comes to that, Cordelia, I can draw them off," she appraised, looking over Team 3. It was nice and simple, in her mind. Would it be cool to have a team name or emblem? Probably. But it was also a lot of effort to design that sort of stuff, and she only really trusted Dana to come up with something suitable anyway. All her stuff would look like old stills from horror movie productions, or remind people of devils and succubi more than Ars Magi. "I can outfly anyone here, and with all this rain I could probably blind their sensors by blowing sheets right into them. But they're trained to detect our magic output, too. So we can't just throw Penny at the problem and hope for the best."

She even surprised herself with how authoritative she sounded. Instinctively, what she knew of politics told her she should be letting Vanna dictate all this, but...something about what Cordelia's words when they'd first met, the unsung leader of the team, had stuck with her somewhere. Even if she didn't see herself that way, if others did, wasn't it her job to live up to that standard? "You heard what they said in the briefing, the second one drone sees us they all do, and they'll harry us the rest of the way until we're home free. We should keep the element of surprise as long as possible somehow. Harsh their sensors, use Cordelia's glass, and if it comes to a fight I know I can bank on Dana's support at range. Especially if their sensors are goofy. Penny, you can do what you do best, babe."

She pumped a fist at their bespectacled highlander and winked again. She tried not to look at Aiya or the Officers Academy cadets, for fear of blushing in their direction. The quiet one was kinda cute, too.

"Vanna, you're our nuke. The long we can keep you from exerting yourself, the better - you can help Dana and Cordelia if our VIPs are being pushed too hard, but ideally we'll really be able to let you cut loose at the end, so we have a clear trip to the finish line. That make sense to everyone?"
Hidden 2 yrs ago 2 yrs ago Post by Onarax
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A day, a week, a month, time marched on and soon enough the ball became memory. Thankful? She may have been. Truthfully for a Duodecim daughter last month's premier event had had very little import. She was not privy to the same relaxation and glamour her fellow students indulged in. If anything it was

A chore.

Those social gatherings were rife with politics: who to dance with, who to show interest towards, who to shun. Politics she was glad to be rid of. So she spent most of the evening on her own. Enjoying the night sky and patiently waiting until she could once again dance with her blade under the moonlight.

By contrast, the training in the days to come was far more relaxing. Well... Mentally, far more relaxing mentally. She was not one to slack after all. Physical exertion was a must when it came to properly building herself up. In that sense, she was never quite physically relaxed during her training. Not if she wanted to reach the lofty standards she held herself to; to do right by her family name. She was a Diana, from the vaunted name came responsibilities and duties aplenty.

Unready.

She still had a long way to go. Her older brothers would probably laugh if they saw how unrefined her elementum control still was. Sure it wasn't like she was lacking behind her peers and by itself the formulation of Aether was exactly failing. But combining everything she was learning in training with her own swordplay? That was laughable. At least for her standards. Everything felt half a second disjointed, not quite the smooth motions she had come to expect. There was no tandem, just a flow that felt wrong.

Unbalanced.

For those outside her family the disconnect between Elementum and sword was probably unnoticeable. But for Vanna it was a feeling that persisted. Becoming an Ars Magi had granted her a new tool with which she would achieve even greater heights, so to have a part of her being not yet fully under her command? Frustrating. Frustrating indeed. She knew she'd eventually master the power and blend it with the rest of her abilities and until then she'd continue to train and work, making this new power her own. Til blade and magic truly became one.

Outside of training there wasn't much change in her daily life after the ball. Still the same invigorating morning drills, the same diligent schoolwork during the day and the same novel evenings whenever the others decided her presence was necessary. Oxymoronic. Perhaps, but every such excursion with her teammates did prove to remain novel for the young lady.

And yes, that's officially what they were now: teammates.

Which brought her to the present day and their first official exercise as a team. Protection detail was a job any Diana would be happy to take on. The VIPs in her charge consisted of cadets from the sister academy including Nicole's current paramour. Combat drones would serve as the exercise's opposition, and Team 3 would work with their charge to secure a few key locations. On the surface a fairly simple exercise and one quite relaxed from the dangers her team had faced thus far.

The catch? She wasn't sure yet if there was one, but she didn't put it past the instructors.

Since there was no immediate danger, like they had experienced on the airship, Vanna was more than content to allow her fellow Ars Magi to converse and devise their plan of attack. Commandeering in every situation would be excessive. Besides, how could her peers ever grow if she always took charge.

Penny and Cordelia were the first to chime in, both with strategies of their own. Penny Grenoble, ever stalwart and self-sacrificing, immediately offered her own body as a shield. Forever steadfast, the young girl always seemed determined to set up as a strong vanguard. Cordelia Whittaker, the newest member of the team, quickly built upon the strategy by proposing, in her own terms, a pawn sacrifice. It was a solid strategy, one that prioritized the lives of their charge first and foremost.

But...

Words first spoken by her father rang out in Vanna's head: A lesson he had instilled in his daughter years ago.

"Do you know the mark of inexperience I see most often in new officers? Fresh out of training and ready to serve. And mind you some of these kids are actual geniuses; at a tactical level I'll never catch up to."

She could still hear his laugh.

"They treat real combat like it's a game. Lives will be endangered in the pursuit of efficiency. Soldiers will be asked to take on risks just because it can save time or manpower in the grand scheme. And sure, the strategies are sound and there's a time and place for them but, well..."

The somber look on her father's face, a reflection of years spent on the front, never left her.

"Even if it costs me more time and bullets, I'd rather get everyone out without a scratch than risk my gunner losing his hand because his focus waned. I guess what I'm saying is, always remember you're dealing with real lives, real people. If you don't get them home in one piece you have real families to answer to."

Sure this was all an exercise, but that didn't mean she wanted her comrades to pointlessly endanger themselves.

"If I may," Diana's daughter finally took the stage, "I do not believe we should split up or expose ourselves to excessive danger unless it becomes an absolute necessity. I agree with Miss Cognoscenti, evading the drone's notice by using the tools at our disposable should be our primary focus. Whether through the methods already discussed or by taking advantage of their sensitivity to magic and providing false positives."

She paused, somehow she had found herself taking charge once more. She could never back down from her duties, even if she hadn't planned on being such a domineering force in the conversation.

Responsibility.

Turning toward her ranged focused teammate, she had one last advice, "Miss Noel, I believe you should keep your sights on the nearest drone at all times. Thus, should we inadvertently trigger them, we can rely on you to take one enemy out of the fight before the battle even begins."

And then turning towards the team as a whole once more.

"If we must fight, stay close, cover each other's backs and make sure no one gets overwhelmed. As Miss Cognoscenti illustrated we all are well aware of each other's strengths. Play towards them, don't overexert yourselves and victory is assured."

Inscrutable as always on the outside but the fire had long begun burning.

The next challenge was here.

And she would win.
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Hidden 2 yrs ago Post by shadowsaint007
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Penny listens to the other girls' plans, carrying Groß Eisenon her shoulders. While Cordelia's plan seemed eager to use herself as bait (then again, it wasn't like Penny's own plan didn't have her basically take the brunt of the attacks), Nichole and Vanna voiced caution. She listens to their plans, thinking them over.

"So I guess we're going with Nichole and Vanna on this one?" she asks. "More on the caution-slash-stealth side, but then again, we're escorting VIPs, so stealth and speed are more important here.

"Good plan, really,"
she says with a shrug. "So we're all agreed? Stick to cover, move quietly, snipe drones when they get too close, and keep heading for the target area."
Hidden 2 yrs ago Post by Inedible
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In the distance, over the static hiss of rain, the sound of metal and debris crunching underfoot of the patrolling machines can be heard. Two pass by the distant perimeter, red and blue lights flickering at the tops of the prong-like heads that protrude from the sentries boxy bodies.

“Magitech machine guns.” Answers Garnier to Dana’s question. “Missiles as well, it looks like. Considering the size of those things, you probably don’t want to get stepped on either.”

Lightning lances in the distant sky, flickering and leaving a vivid afterimage in its wake.

“Excellent plan, dolcezza.” Supplies Aiya, the dark-haired girl’s lips curling into a cat-like smile at Noel’s suggestion. She nods at Vanna after before noting: “Just tell us what support you need—our show starts once we get to our building.”

The other two officers seem to be in agreement, as they offer no suggestion or objection of their own. Holst, the blonde girl, does step up to Dana’s side and note: “I can spot for you.” She indicates the pair of binoculars she carries.

Garnier, on the other hand, gets majority of the officer’s equipment. It looks like a fairly heavy load, meaning he won’t be moving very fast if pressed.

“We’ll move when you give the word.” Says Aiya. “After you.”
Hidden 2 yrs ago Post by Plank Sinatra
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Nicole felt an electric thrill lance up through her chest as pride, a superior's approval, and the excitement of flirting all mingled together into one pleasant sensation. She grinned back at the praise from Aiya and then stepped up to the cargo doors. The door opened for the Ars Magi with a hydraulic hiss, albeit one that was lost in the noises of the storm as the hatch yawned open to greet it. A sheet of rain was bisected into strips by howling wind, and one such strip splashed across Nicole's face and chest. She licked her lip to taste the rainwater, remembering vividly how storms like these had blanketed the neon of her home. It felt good, knowing that even on the other end of the planet, the rain always found its way to landing on the lights of Hasta.

The wind is on my back.

It was only talked about in stories, of course, but in the days before the First Void humans had leapt from transports like this for fun. Skydiving, it had been called, in the days before the skies had become a hunting ground of the Void. People had jumped in tandems or groups, taken pictures, posed garishly as they plummeted to earth like missives from God. Of course, for anyone not guarded by an Ars Magi, a recreational jaunt through the lower troposphere was just as likely to end in meeting God as it was to greet your family on the ground - and the Ars Magi, even those who guarded the nobility, usually had better things to do than guard their charges on a ship-less flight. If they didn't, doubtless Aiya would have tried it by now.

May my sword cut like my smile.

But Nicole Cognoscenti, unique among all the girls in the world, had a chance to take her one day. Maybe when it was sunnier, but to a girl who commanded the winds and welcomed the rain, no inclement weather would have made a difference to her. In her heart, she felt like she could jump and fly right now, just as gracefully as their plane.

"Vi faccio vedere come lotte un Hastano."

And at her murmured declaration, made husky by her native tongue, the wind began to howl backwards. A small crease of concentration formed on the redhead's brow as the wind began to blow the rain into the direction of the drones, buffeting the sensors of the drones intent on making their evening harder. She couldn't make many of them out with the naked eye, but with the other officers in the corps and Dana providing spotting, Nicole was confident she could keep them blind.

"Cordelia!" she called out to her roommate, voice radiating strength even over the noises of the storm. "Shine for me, babe!"
Hidden 2 yrs ago Post by Inedible
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The rain moves at the behest of the wind, and the wind at the will of Nicole Cognoscenti. Sheets of water reorient in the direction of the rumbling machines, wind and rain mercilessly buffeting their metal exteriors. The downpour, earlier an unforeseen inconvenience, is transformed now into a potent weapon against the Ars Magi’s would-be hunters.

One that becomes even more effective when Cordelia calls her mirrors. There’s enough shattered glass and broken windows for her to make adequate use of her talents, enough to camouflage the small party of Ars Magi and officers. The later group fall in behind their protectors, Holst peering through her binoculars and calling out the directions to Nicole, ensuing that she’s redirecting the rain toward in the direction of the largest groups of drones.

The going is slow, careful steps and routing required for the group to pick their way across the rubble and ruined streets in front of them. It takes some thirty minutes before they begin the final approach to their destination, the parking garage that looms up over the smaller surrounding structures. They’ve managed to avoid the drones so far, giving wide berth when able and letting the heavy machines clunk and crunch past on their patrols.

It’s on the street adjacent to the garage that the group runs out of luck. Two of those hulking machines are clanking down the street, their heavy legs carrying them in long strides. They slow as they draw closer to the camouflaged group, their square-shaped bodies turning to regard their surroundings.

It’s clear that they don’t ‘see’ the group--not exactly. The interference to their sensors and lack of visual feedback mean that the machines are likely working only off the ambient magic in the area. It’s enough to draw suspicion though, in whatever algorithms the things run on. They begin to circle, drawing slowly closer, the weapons mounted on their exterior rotating and scanning for targets.
“If we take them out quick we could make a run for it. They might not even be able to put out a signal.” Garnier suggests, the boy casting a glance toward his companions. Aiya nods in agreement, while Holst makes a grunt that could be taken as assent.

“Hard and fast,” Aiya repeats, “Can you girls oblige?”

The drones draw closer still, illuminated bright by an arc of lightning that cuts close across the sky. Their metallic green hides are clearly visible now, armor plated and lined with blinking lights. A different beast entirely than the alien Voids, but still formidable.
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"Cordelia!" she called out to her roommate, voice radiating strength even over the noises of the storm. "Shine for me, babe!"

"Of course, please, allow me."

A fire burned in Cordelia’s stomach Blazing heat surging through her blood from her core to her cheeks, fingers and feet. It was that feeling again, Cordelia noted to herself. Cordelia thought back to her home, to her earliest memories. She remembered watching young ladies be taught their lessons, and then mimicking everything she had seen to herself at night. She remembered what it felt like to reflect not only the beauty, but the imperfections as well. Her consciousness expanded, she felt small pin pricks in it each time it found a small shard of glass. With the wind buffeting and the storm ahead soaking the grounds they walked, Cordelia’s command over glass had begun. That fire was embers now, a feeling she had to hone in on exactly.

“Let thine light be cast away,” her whispered words, licked from her lips by droplets of rain and taken to each shard surrounding them. One by one, each fragment of glass each having served a different use during its previous life begun to float into the air. The light refracting off of broken bottles, mirrors, windows, and finery sparkled in the rain. “Come, allow me to give you new purpose.”

Over the course of less than a half a second, Cordelia did many things, all at once. She brought each floating piece of glass to her side, stitching them together like a weaver making a tapestry. A piece of bottle here, a window’s shattered shards there. What looked like blades of glass flying towards the group of girls, was in truth, art. Cordelia effortlessly composed the wall of shards in front of them, the bits of light peeking through all shut out by perfectly molding the glass into a wall as sturdily built as if it was made of concrete. Still transparent on the side of Cordelia and reflective on the other.

The wall of stitched together glass, all different shades and shapes fit together like a fully completed puzzle. Cordelia sighed, stepped towards it and passed her hand along the length of it, shifting its hue to meet exactly the colour she needed. “Okay,” she sighed, a puff of hot air fogging up the mirror in front of her for a moment. “We need to be quiet, there’s only a small amount of magic in the construction of this wall, so I’m unsure if they’ll be able to sense it through Nicole’s winds.” Cordelia looked at the rest of her teammates. “The wall will interpose between us and them.”

Cordelia watched through their one-way mirror as the machines began to grow weary. It was a directionless suspicion, but they were suspicious nonetheless. Cordelia's entire body locked rigid in place. Her hand flicked as a bit of the glass from the top of the wall, where it was least needed, began to slowly turn in the robot’s direction. Ready to fly towards the machines at a moment's notice, though not unless they were provoked. She looked to her team, waiting for the signal.
Hidden 2 yrs ago Post by Plank Sinatra
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Nicole bared her teeth in a proud grin as Cordelia manipulated the fields of ruined glass to guide in their extraction. Her roommate had made a poorly kept secret of trying to fit into Astrelle's shoes, but clearly she didn't suffer from a lack of ability as an Ars Magi. It wasn't just pride that made the redhead grit her teeth, though; she was doing as much as Cordy was to keep them masked from the drones, and though her adrenaline was doing much to keep the winds at her beck and call, she was beginning to feel the tugs of effort upon the muscles of her limbs and face.

It was enough strain to give any average girl some unsightly, premature wrinkles. She had no idea what the benefits of an Ars Armagus were when it came to the aging process, but Nicole wasn't about to use the core in her tummy as a crutch. Her fate and her skin care were just where she liked them - in her own hands.

Her eyes landed upon the two larger machines that Cordelia and the officer cadets pointed out. As much as she would have liked to completely ghost this extraction, she recognized the two machines and their specifications, at a glance, as the much gossiped about mecha from the gala. If she were a bit fresher, maybe she could have done more to completely mask them - but it was just as likely that, being such cutting-edge prototypes, they would have been found no matter what. That was more likely, given the parameters of the exercise. So she quit beating herself up over the unattainable dream of a "perfect record" and continued delegating.

"Alright, Cordy, I think we've done all we can to trick them from here. Focus on confusion instead of evasion with me, we'll see if we can keep them from targeting us directly. With our firepower we won't even give 'em a shot to react. Penny!" she called out to Team 3's smallest member, giving her the same exhausted, wolfish smile and sticking a thumbs up. "It's time to do what gotcha to the dance, babe. If you can kill them, great. If not, focus on weak points. Let's crack the biggest, most expensive parts we can eyeball wide open and let Dana shoot 'em up, yeah?"

Man, I love this.

Being alive?

No. Something way less obvious than that.

Being an Ars Magi?

No. Something even more egotistical than that.

I feel like such a boss.

Yeahhhh. She loved that.
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Hidden 2 yrs ago 2 yrs ago Post by shadowsaint007
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Penny feels Groß Eisen's hilt in her hands, waiting for the right moment to either sneak by the mecha along with the rest of the group, or to deliver one hell of an opening powerblow. It's nerve-wracking, facing an unknown opponent - one admittedly much bigger than the team combined, and possibly one that can counter their abilities - but it was their job to test its abilities. Perks of being drafted into this war, she guesses.

The anxious silence is cut by Nichole issuing orders with her usual bright energy.

"Penny! It's time to do what gotcha to the dance, babe. If you can kill them, great. If not, focus on weak points. Let's crack the biggest, most expensive parts we can eyeball wide open and let Dana shoot 'em up, yeah?"

This in turn gets her a wolfish grin from the Siscian.



"'Bout time," mutters the brunette through her grin, and fires up her rocket and rollerblades, running around a corner picking up speed, before jumping into the air directly at the first mecha's head, Groß Eisen charging up with lightning as she swings it for a mighty blow.

"KAISERSCHLAGEN!!" she roars as she slams the rocket hammer with the force of an anti-tank missile directly in the robot's head, hopefully taking out the sensor equipment and possibly the control unit as well. Lightning Elementum flows through the strike as well, reaching into the sensitive circuitry within to fry it and take out the damaged mecha. She then leaps into the air, pirouettes with Groß Eisen firing to increase her striking power, then takes a diving strike at the other one and delivers a powerful blow at what she hopes was the comm unit.

"Whoops! That looked important!" she calls out mockingly.

As she rolls down the mecha in her rollerblades, she delivers one final strike to the second mecha's knee joint, trying to throw it off balance and hopefully toppling it into the other one.

"Well, that looks expensive!" she calls out as she slams her mighty rocket hammer into the joint. "Hope ya didn't need it too bad!"
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