[Center][img]https://i.imgur.com/Gli5XnJ.png[/img][hr][hr][b][colour=dcf3ff]Event:[/colour][/b] Visiting Friends [b]|[/b] [b][colour=dcf3ff]Location:[/colour][/b] Ersand'Enise[hr][hr][/center]
Oksana found herself being picked last, which was a little expected. She wasn’t one of the students from Ersand’Enise, after all, and when standing next to obviously powerful individuals, the choice was clear. She didn’t hate anyone for their choices; she simply accepted it for what it is. She used moments to leave the team house to visit her friends when the opportunity struck her.

It was good to visit Ashon; the big oaf was up to monkey business as usual. His silly antics always brought a smile to her face. What was even more special was that in the year since they last met, he had got together with Penny! She recalled how Ashon was really shy and embarrassed at the auction house when they teased him, especially as Penny was sat there behind him. In the year together, they are now engaged, and she has babies on the way, three of them, even! She gave him a big hug and wished him the best, even if the Penny wannabe looked on in envy.

Esmii was very pleased to see her, the Yasoi girl, wanting to learn more about hand signals used for communication during hunting. They spent a good time together, exchanging jokes, laughs, playing with the animals, and other merriment. The Sanguinaire lover in the background kept muttering and complaining passively about Esmii consorting with the enemy, but they made the most of it. It was great seeing her again.

Oksana managed to get a good ride through the various scenic sites around Ersand’Enise on her Glacial Elk, as she accompanied Ayla on who was on Gina, the cute little Shetland Pony, and Zarina, mounted on the mighty stallion, Riesco. The pair even had a little race; Riesco definitely had the home advantage, and poor Ayla was trotting far behind them on poor Gina, complaining about them galloping off.

Last, and certainly not least, was Maura. The girl’s smile lit up the room when Oksana approached, as she offered her arms out towards her, inviting her for a hug. [colour=C0C0C0]“Sana! You are here,”[/colour] the pair embraced tightly. [colour=dcf3ff]“Druh, how be keeping?”[/colour]. She looked at the girl’s face, becoming easily bemused, as she had forgotten just how much Maura loved to talk. She wasn’t able to catch most of the conversation, but the important thing was that the boy nearby was her boyfriend, and she has been in ReTan recently. Sana indicated and said about meeting a few from the school in Kirimansk, and the issues with Sanguinaires over there.

[hr][center][img]https://i.imgur.com/ubDydDb.png[/img][/center]

It was as if on cue; Taleja had appeared, and with a silver platter, began to serve hot tea to Maura and her guest. Oksana shivered a little as she felt the presence of the Venomhand amongst them. It certainly brought back memories of Kirimansk and the anti-magic devices.

She looked up toward the pretty white-blonde-haired girl with full lips, striking green eyes, and a bruise? She raised an eyebrow toward Taleja. Taleja noticed the gaze; their eyes met, as it appeared she was about to make excuses to leave. Maura was about to comment before Oksana spoke up, [colour=dcf3ff]“Ztsilennya?”[/colour] as she indicated with her hands the mark on Taleja’s face with a rubbing motion. [colour=C0C0C0]“Sana is offering to heal your bruise, Talia,”[/colour] Maura conveniently translated.

Taleja simply smiled, politely declining the ornamental women. [colour=006633]“I don’t require your services; I am able to tend to it, though I am choosing not to at this time.”[/colour] Oksana peered towards her in confusion as she turned toward Maura, who sighed, then did a sharp cross motion with her arms, [colour=C0C0C0]“No ‘silennya.”[/colour] Oksana appeared to understand, though not quite understanding why, as Maura spoke up toward Taleja, [colour=C0C0C0]“She is Deaf; you have to make it simple for her. She is nice as well; you might like her.”[/colour]

Taleja sweetly smiled as she brought her hand towards Oksana to attract Oksana’s attention. She then began to reduce her name to simple terms, using her fingers to spell out the letters, [colour=dcf3ff]“Ta. Ley. Yah. Ta-ley-yah.”[/colour] The blonde smiled and gave a little clap at the success. Oksana began to blush a little as the blonde smiled warmly towards her, [colour=dcf3ff]“Hi Ta-ley-yah, I am Oksana. Call me Sana.”[/colour] Taleja gave a wink towards her as she turned to leave, leaving Oksana and Maura together.

[colour=C0C0C0]“She is pleasant enough; it is just that we find ourselves stuck in the most inconvenient of locations when she is around. As for the bruise, she was attacked by Sanguinares last night, who fled the scene; she wants to send a message to whoever it was that she is not scared of them.”[/colour] Oksana nodded as she tentatively followed the conversation, [colour=dcf3ff]“No Sanguinaires, like her.”[/colour] Maura smiled, hiding her true feelings as a certain face came to her mind. [colour=C0C0C0]“Yes, they really can be the worst."[/colour]

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Taleja was on an errand as she journeyed through the city, making sure to pass by the market for the freshest ingredients for her latest batch of elixirs. She had been careful on her route, as she had meticulously prepared herself for anyone following her. She felt her heart skip a beat as she realized she was being followed already. The individual was very good at hiding their presence.

Her mind began to race; she never expected their attention to be aroused so quickly. As she began to set off towards a darker section of the workman quarter, the figure followed. She turned around the corner as she hurried into position. The figure turned around the corner as Taleja stood there in the dead end, her back towards them. She clicked her fingers as the wall made with binding magic rose up behind the figure, trapping them within range of her venomhand.

[colour=006633]“Who are you, and what do you want?”[/colour] Taleja commanded, only to be met with an eerie silence. After a moment, she turned around to face the figure, only to see Oksana stood there sheepishly. Taleja looked towards her, both visibly confused and annoyed, [colour=006633]“Why did you follow me?”[/colour] using a hand signal of a person walking with her fingers towards her other hand, then pointed towards herself.

Oksana appeared to beam at the hand signal, as she created a five-legged beast with one hand, moving towards a lone finger, then did a chop motion on the beast, [colour=dcf3ff]“Protect from Monsters,”[/colour] pointing again towards the bruise. Taleja sighed, then smiled, placing her hand over the bruise as she healed it with binding, and it faded away. [colour=006633]“There, it is gone.”[/colour]

She shifted uncomfortably, especially as the annoyance of the situation crept in her, [colour=006633]“Why are you trying to protect me?”[/colour]. Oksana smiled wide, with a blush, [colour=dcf3ff]“Ta-ley-yah is nice, and she is pretty.”[/colour] Taleja looked towards her, a little flustered at the rationale, as the other girl playfully flexed, [colour=dcf3ff]“Kozaky Strong, Protect Ta-ley-yah,”[/colour] The blonde fluttered her eyelashes as she removed one of her gloves, [colour=006633]“and what about being unable to use the gift?”[/colour] as she gestured around Oksana as she indicated the disrupted magic.

Oksana smiled as she shrugged her shoulders, [colour=dcf3ff]“No need,”[/colour] as she moved back her cloak and revealed her sword, clapping her hand upon it. [colour=006633]“Well, this pretty one doesn’t need a strong defender.”[/colour] Taleja walked towards Oksana as she laid a finger on her hand for a couple of seconds. Oksana could feel the manas in her hand recoil in pain, a burning sensation, as it feels like she had her hand stuck in boiling water, as she brought her hand away.

Taleja smiled sadly towards her, as she used her gift to remove the barrier she made. Oksana looked towards her, as she could sense the loneliness in the other. She placed her hand on Taleja’s shoulder, as the blonde turned around. [colour=dcf3ff]“We battle, you go no easy.”[/colour] She signed as them fighting, the pair of them together.

Taleja pursed her lips, as she contemplated, then relented, [colour=006633]“North of the Field Gate.”[/colour] She pointed in the relevant direction, indicating a wide-open space, [colour=006633]“Be there. We duel.”[/colour] She winked as she departed.

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Taleja was sat on the blanket as she had a picnic basket beside her. She didn’t particularly know why Oksana wanted them to have a duel. Was this as simple as some ploy in an attempt to seduce her? She had attempted to question Maura, who was unhelpful in providing her any kind of relevant answer, and her probing led to accusations of interest toward the girl. She wasn’t quite sure what to make of the situation, those heterochromia eyes and goofy smile, and she had no interest in taking pushtail oil to sate the whims of some infatuated girl. From what she gathered, Oksana was not particularly strong and has been traded frequently between teams, so the fight should be relatively one-sided.

She was drinking from a glass as she saw the girl approaching on a Glacial Elk. The sight of the white hide against the green certainly made it stand out compared to back in its native lands. She smoothed off her dress as she stood up to meet her, hooking the picnic basket underneath her arm. [colour=006633]“I see you came,”[/colour] smiling up to her as a cheery blonde, patting lightly on the basket.

Oksana smiled back in return, a forced smile, as she unfastened her white cloak and drew her sword. [colour=dcf3ff]“We fight.”[/colour] She pulled on her Elk as she rode to create distance, then she dismounted from it wearing her dark leathers and tucked her braids in with a cloth that she wore like a mask. The Kozaky drew from the environment as the air began to rapidly cool down as a mist enveloped the battlefield, as she prepared herself for combat. She moved her hands as if pulling on a bow, as an icicle formed between them, as she released, firing it with her kinetic magic towards Taleja.

If Taleja didn’t take the opening shot seriously as it flew past, the feint disguised a second came straight towards her, causing Taleja to rapidly create a shield with binding to protect her from the lethal attack which narrowly missed the mark. She cast the shield to the side as she sees the ice-wall before her, concentrating on it with the touch of doom as she disintegrated it into its base elements and water, only to reveal nothing behind it.

A gust came from the side of her as Oksana came swinging her blade towards her, the momentum getting sapped due to the proximity with venomhand, as she was to be met by a blast of faceless thunder, causing her to divert away from the last moment back out of range. Taleja took one of her vials as she catches Oksana with it, the glass exploding as the other girl disappeared out of sight. The Kozaky cursed as she used binding, feeling her skin and clothes melting with the foul liquid acid.

Taleja waited for the next attack, which didn’t arrive. [colour=006633]“If the fight is over, allow me to attend to your wounds.”[/colour] Her voice tentative and cautious, those green eyes surveyed the surroundings as nothing appeared to move through the wisps of mist. She was about to drop her guard when she felt it. A strange and powerful sensation as she was finding herself drained of her magic and rendering her gift useless. She could feel the tingling sensation in her cells as she looked around, for perhaps another venomhand. Then she saw Oksana, standing with her sword drawn, and her leathers damaged, as the other girl charged towards her.

A sly smile played on Taleja’s lips as she calculated the implications of an opponent being completely disabled. An interesting party trick. Her eyes watched the sluggish movements of someone charging without kinetic magic towards her, having the time to move her hand into the picnic basket as she pulled out her pistol. Somewhat a hand cannon in truth, as the flintlock mechanism clamped down as she fired it towards the other girl.

Oksana had decided to evade as she saw the pistol rise towards her, as Taleja’s shot went wide. She hadn’t considered her opponent to switch to conventional means so easily, and aimed to move closer as she was reloading. She began to charge again as it fell short; the pistol had been reloaded and fired, only narrowly missing her, but importantly, she was able to make up some ground. Furthermore, she was forced to try to flank Taleja, as the other cast a vial in her direction, using the pistol to cause the substance to rain down in the area. However, this led to an opening as it appeared Taleja was struggling with the pistol.

Taleja expressed frustration as she tried to pull back the lock on the pistol due to it being jammed, or so she wanted Oksana to believe, anyway. In fact, the pistol was already loaded, and she was creating her opening. Predictable, Oksana came towards her priming the sword for a swing, a downward cut. With her hand pulling out a knife, she moved to intercept the blade as swung the gun up to fire it from the hip.

The metal clanged together as the knife splintered and snapped. She couldn’t stop the blade as it came down on her, cutting into her arm as the gun shot fired wildly, causing her to drop as she took a significant wound. She looked up toward Oksana as she cursed out in pain. [colour=006633]“You win.”[/colour]

Oksana moved the blade towards Taleja’s neck, the one flawless sheen now stained with blood. She nudged the blade under her chin to cause Taleja face to face her, the venomblood’s life now firmly in her hands as she crouched down before her. Her gaze met those defiant piercing green eyes, [colour=dcf3ff]“Kozaky strong.”[/colour] She leaned forward as the blade continued to press against Taleja’s neck as she kissed the girl. Their lips tangled together as she smooched the blonde in a prolonged gesture that easily took over five seconds. A fact Taleja became very aware of as this had been the longest contact with another for a very long time. Oksana broke the kiss to lean back and raise. [colour=dcf3ff]“Ta-ley-yah to stop, no more plans. Now Ztsilennya!”[/colour] She gestured for her to heal herself as she began to walk away till she is sufficient distance before she deactivated the anti-magic device, enabling their use of the gift to return. Taleja used the moment to heal as the Kozaky rode off on the Elk, her eyes watching the other leave.

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