[center][img]https://i.imgur.com/acCZCUg.png[/img][hr]Jocasta [@Force and Fury], Yalen [@pantothenic], Ysilla [@Pirouette], Zarina [@YummyYummy], Kaspar [@Wolfieh][hr][b][color=7ea7d8]Event:[/color][/b] Hugo's task [b]|[/b] [b][color=7ea7d8]Location:[/color][/b] Torragonese Desert.[hr][hr][/center]
[center][youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=chzHd1uSP_A[/youtube][/center]

 As the inks are sprayed upon the encroaching Halassa, identification for communication became remarkably easier and the class seemed to naturally respond to what felt instinctive to them, a natural reaction from the pheromone laced within the dyes. This was perhaps a secret to the party, but whilst the Torragonese greeting was given a personal touch, it allowed her to become close enough to gather the information she needed for her performances. With the instructions provided by Ysilla, she used this information to direct the class like a tactician, watching over their progress with interest, directing her abilities as necessary.

Ayla watches Ysilla, as the puppets come upon display. Though what drew her envy was that warm-looking cloak billowing behind her, almost willing to do anything to huddle up under these cold conditions. The jester puppet Khamsei cackling in an unnerving manner, an uncanny valley, a facade of life that borders upon the grotesque, as the Hoopoe draws the pair upon the Halassa adorned with violet hues.

Ayla would think that under other circumstances, Kaspar would take the opportunity to take out his sketchbook to draw these creatures, though thankful he wasn’t overwhelmed with artist inspiration in this moment. The red-painted Halassa drew his attention, matching the crimson gleam present within the boys’ eyes. The sand engulfs around the tortoises’ legs, slowing it further, but a powerful beast and the boy’s mana limit were in direct contention. Thankfully, Kaspar erected a powerful barrier to stop its advance… a very powerful barrier by all appearances, as the red Halassa slumped, momentarily stupefied, leg spasming.  

Ayla felt the shift in her drawing almost immediately with a Halassa being downed already caught her off-guard. Her focus shifted to the priest boy, Yalen, hearing how he spoke the blessed words of his gods and in the spirit of divine retribution, a blood curdling shriek departed the yellow Halassa’s mouth, as if the creature had defied the will of the gods. She could see how the eyes of the creature boiled within its skull, swelling, inflating, the steam erupting from the sacs. She was thankful that she forgot to eat before attending the study, as she dry-heaved upon the sand in front of her. Air becomes thick with the scent of boiled Halassa, the red mist of its blood bubbling out with wet pops as it escapes through the eye sockets and ears of the creature. If she ever had ever questioned the power of the Pentad, she immediately apologises there and then to avoid their wrath.

Ayla could feel the battle dance of the Zarina upon the sands, the swift and agile movements as she stalked her prey, evading the attacks in rhythm, flexible in her bobbing and weaving, striking to constantly draw its attention, baiting the beast like a Matador to create the ideal opportunity to end its misery. She couldn’t help but give a smile when she noticed it, Zarina naturally targeted the biggest Halassa out of the group without encouragement, the proud nature of the Virangish girl unable to resist the challenge to display her talents in front of the others. Even as skilled as she was, it seems ever so subtly the girl couldn’t stop the dancer inside of her from moving in time to the sounds of her flute, keeping pace with the variation in tempo, seeming to time for the appropriate moment to flow into the next movement.

The final Halassa’s were approaching herself and Jocasta, the pair still residing near the spot where they arrived. The animals were thankfully charging wildly, but sluggish and disorientated under the effects of her magic. The green Halassa was taking the lead, seemingly approaching Jocasta out of the pair. It was approaching too fast for Ayla to do anything about it, but thankfully the other girl was willing to pull out her trump card. She could feel an incredible draw of energy, stunting her own magic, and with a flail of her arms, Jocasta directed it towards the Halassa, watching the poor creature flip, going through the air in a backwards somersault, cartwheeling over itself till coming to a stop fifty yards away on its back. Truly the girl in the rollerchair displayed some impressive raw power in her assault, it wouldn’t surprise her if Jocasta turned around and suggested she was RAS 9 in that very moment, and Ayla would believe every word of it. Though the acting afterwards was good, the skill failed when in such proximity to a fellow performer. Ayla could empathise with Jocasta, she understands what it means to be physically weak compared to others, and the parts they play to survive in the world they live in. With great power comes great responsibility, and Jocasta must find herself burdened under that heavy load.

The final blue Halassa is stumbling towards the pair, and with Jocasta in her weakened state, it was to Ayla to step up. This would be her first ever confrontation with a wild beast like this outside of the Circus petting zoo of Varrahasta and the safari’s organised as family trips by her father, under the protection of an armed escort. The beast’s features were distorted, pained, as something truly maleficent has blighted this perhaps one noble creature. The residual effect of Jocasta’s drawing allowed her the time to prepare, and with the others finishing off the other Halassa, she could now be afforded the opportunity to use her magic for herself. Whilst she was seemingly not trained in combat like her classmates, her time entertaining as allowed her to pick up a few skills. Unlike other performers who liked to enhance their stage presence, glowing and shining like a beacon on the stage, Ayla always stayed in the background, the conductor hidden in the dark as the audiences’ eyes were upon the play. It is through her performances she was able to develop the beginnings of how to use her powers obfuscate, and whilst these skills have yet to be nurtured under the tutelage of an experienced Master or Arch-Zeno, she has enough for the purposes she intends to use them for currently.

[color=7ea7d8]“Stay still”[/color], Ayla starts to play her flute as she begins to draw upon the energy around her, Kinetic, Arcane, and Chemical. From the perspective of the blue Halassa, if it was a sentient creature, events and its awareness would start to follow along these lines. It would feel the creeping darkness as it starts to decrease its awareness of its surroundings, that feeling it is embarking on autopilot towards its destination, having the urge to travel over in that direction, but starting to lose focus. The air is starting to fill with the sounds of a flute, omnidirectional, instilling a constant presence. The tortoise will start to look around, not seeming to make out any distinctive or recognisable shapes in the desert, having a feeling that there is something there, as if something is missing, but not able to conceive on where it is. It starts to look around, disoriented and confused, and frightened as an animal would be in this situation, would start to lash out blindly around it. The Halassa would start to notice something, a shape, moving towards it to attack, only for its actions to slide through the liquid mass. The mass starts to form a shape, something that begins to resemble something like a miniature Halassa made of ink droplets and strokes levitating in the air, giving out a gleam which rivals the stars in the bright sky. The creature would try to approach it, but it always moved backwards, a charge would result in the ink dispersing around and reforming again elsewhere. Constantly attention is drawn to this.

Ayla continues her performance for the creature as it now seems to be trapped in a world of its own, its actions being delicately controlled through the subtle uses of multiple magics working in tandem, being rotated within intervals to the effect to be managed so the others may rally together to finally give the beast the peace it deserves. To the rest of the class, they could see how Ayla appears to hypnotise the creature like a snake-charmer, playing the flute to subdue the entranced Halassa, guiding it away safely from Jocasta and herself with her ink splot acting like a carrot-upon-a-stick before it.


[hider=TL;DR Summary]
Ayla summaries everyone elses actions for the reader to create a narrative of events to the 'present'.
Ayla performs advanced hypnotic-based magic, using the combination of sound and visual effects. Has effectively made the Halassa helpless in preventing it from attacking those within the class.
[/hider]


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