"Yeah. I don't really feel like explaining that at the moment. Just bring me down!"she shouted, holding onto the base of his neck as she felt his wings fold, marking their decent. He was taking a nose dive and if Aqua hadn't held on for dear life, her body would be somewhere miles away, dangling in the air. The wind was so strong and sharp, it nearly cut her cheeks to hang on. Luckily for her, she used the water vapor in the air to soften the cut of wind. The two of them got closer and closer towards the lake, which Aqua had now defined was Rez Lake. Good. Something familiar. Aqua loosened her grip around his neck but only because she was preparing herself to dive in.
"Just a little lower. I don't want to completely fly in the opposite direction."she said water he had told her to take her land. It was easier said than done. To dive from lake to lake was a trial in its own. You could not just dive from one lake straight into another. The water has different temperatures, paces, and magics within it. The last lake Aqua fully had her body in, was the lake where she killed the white Deox. Her body was also tainted by the lake in the Black Forest. She already had two contributing factors against her, and now she had to return to the purified waters of Rez Lake? In a way, one could tell the girl was fearful. Her dark blue eyes and hair scanned over the light blue water below her.
"This is my stop. I suggest you go somewhere els--" A loud, ear-splitting roar interrupted her thoughts as Desmond roared in pain. Aqua saw a series of ropes fly around him, hooks sinking into his large wings. He thrashes slightly and Aqua had nothing more to hang onto.
"AAAHH!"she yelled, loosing her balance and falling backwards, body plummeting into the water beneath her. Before her body was completely enveloped, her eyes widened when wisps of smoke formed around him. Yuolians?
SPLASH!
The same instance, a beam of white light spewed like a laser to the sky from the direction of Aqua's decent into Rez lake. The beam pulsed and stretched high above the clouds, higher than the eye could see. The shadow people of Yuol were too distracted by the beam of light to fully continue with their capture of Desmond. A steady hum sounded as the light grew thinner until it disappeared along with the sound. The hum was gone. The beam was gone. Aqua was gone. There was not one sound until the Yuolians directed their attention back on Desmond.
"A dragon around these parts. A big one at that. Very rare." One of them spoke out. It was clear that the man was the leader of the raid. The other people with them continued to bind Desmond. Ropes whipped around his large legs, tying them together and binding them as tightly as possible. The hooks continued to sink into his wings, securing them together so he would not catch flight. The lead Yuolian walked close to his chained mouth, but not too close. A dragon was a dragon, after all.
"A rare one, you are. Golden. Just like the gold I will receive for your skin."
"Back away."
The men turned around to see a girl rising out of the light blue water of Rez Lake. Half of her hair was the shade of a dark, opaque black, while the other side was a shimmering, dangerous white. Her eyes were now the shade of light blue from the waters of Rez Lake. Aqua continued to rise until both of her feet were planted on the surface of the water. She now had all 3 parts of the Lakes with her. Black hair for the Black Forest Lake. White hair from the Deox's Lake. Light blue eyes from Rez Lake. The Yuolians dropped their items and faced her, the leader looking over at her through the black hood he wore.
"Who ar--"
"Back away."she snapped again, crouching down on her legs and holding her hand to her side. In a split second, the water beneath her answered her beckoning and swirled around her feet, following the movement of her hand. The water was quicker to control than before and Aqua was enjoying the power. She looked over at Desmond momentarily then let her light, ice blue eyes travel back to the threat before her.
"Now."she said, flexing her fingers and watching the water pulse in return, an angry look pierced in her eyes.
His body dropped hard against the ground beneath his massive size. He grunted words of slander and rage in his native tounge, as they rapidly pinned him down. Had Desmond been focussed on his surroundings they would even a layed a finger on air around him. He probaby would've burned them all alive had it not been for the chains binding his jaws. They were easy to break if he tried but the hook were drawing too much blood from his wings for him to fight back. Desmond was weakining by the second. Aqua had flown into the water, leaving him to believe she'd been knocked unconcoius.
"A rare one, you are. Golden. Just like the gold I will recieve for your skin"
"Scro'manthan Strumah!" he muffled from his locked jaws. Desmond was slowly slipping into a silent sleep from loss of blood, but he was strong enough to endure it. It wouldn't last him long, he may have been strong but he needed to move if he wanted to survive. His scales felt saturated in the dripping streams of his blood, it was no doubt that this may have been it.
As his vision started to blurr up, he heard a familiar sound, agentle angered voice call out to the shadowed men.
"Back away."
"That voice.." he thought, "It sounds so... familiar.." he whispered, slitting his eyes. Out of the corner of his massive green eyes Desmond could see a female figure ascending from the water of the lake, and yet still weak, he could feel power resignating from her body. It was also familiar but felt stronger than last time he felt it. It.. it was Aqua. She subdued these men and stopped them from tying him down any further.
Why was the only thing he couldn't see. What was it that she needed of him? If he'd already delivered her home and have found the native people, why save him?
Desmond felt himself growing a bit more concious inside his blood and bones from her eminating aura. It rose him to endure the pain of the hooks and break the grip of the ropes, destroy the chains of his fire and rise to the challege he has been delivered. Tightly shutting his eyes, Desmond broke the rope around his legs making the holds of the rope break as he rised.
Within his body he felt his fire growing stronger, strong enough until he was able to focus it along the webbing of his wings and form it around his skeleton on the outside of his body. The hooks melted away becoming magma and healing only his minor wounds done to him. A loud growl emerged from his jaws as he broke the remaining ropes on his wing and destroyed the chains on his jaw with his remaining strength. His roar was soon followed by a breath of fire as he faced the ground of his attackers.
Desmond only stayed up for a few seconds until he walked behind Aqua and once again fell to his belly. Loud growls of hard breathing smoothed from his lungs. He wasn't dying but he was still majorly wounded. He slowly slipped into a brief sleep as he whispered.
Well, this is new. Aqua ignored Desmond's rage to look at a reflection of herself in the crystal blue water of Rez Lake. Her eyes were the exact same color...it was her hair that was throwing her off. Half of it was black while the other half was white. She felt all sorts of silly, but then again, she was still not their to impress anyone. If a slight change in hair color was needed in order for her to become stronger, then by all means, she was willing to accept it Her eye brow lifted as she continued to observe herself in the water, still hearing the creams of fear from the Yuolians and the thrashing of Desmond in the water.
Wedged in the side of her hair was an ice blue crystal, same color as Rez Lake and her eyes. She looked closely at it in the reflection of the water and suddenly realized why it looked so familiar to her. It was the same gem that Desmond gave her, but now, it was blue. Strange. She lifted her fingers up and touched the jewel that was wrapped tightly around the white side of her hair. Before she could admire it's beauty any further, a giant splash of water cascaded on her head, drenching her with water. Aqua hesitated and turned around slowly to see the dragon spluttering out her name. Annoyed, Aqua wiped the water from her cheek, looking down at him.
"You're tainting the lake."she said, watching as he slowly slipped into unconsciousness. Once he did, Aqua sighed heavily, blowing a strand of black hair from her eyes. How am I supposed to move this thing? Is there a way that he could just transform back into human form or something? Aqua knelt down and willed the water to clean parts of his scaly skin, healing any wounds that had yet to be healed. Aqua was never one to use her water powers as a healer, but it came in handy just then.
"You owe me one, you stupid lizard."she said, eye twitching in annoyance as she continued to clean him.
The dragon laughed quietly as he fell silently into a short sleep. "I'll... keep that.. in mind.." he whispered. The cool feeling of her water healed his wounds and allowed him to get back to his feet. He stood up straight on his hind legs with fine posture and shook his wings to feel their freedom once again. He looked down at the face of Aqua and saw her funny appearance.
"Thank you," he said looking back at the group. "Now what of these few that stand before us?" Desmond personally wanted to destroy them, but this was still Aqua's call seeing as she knew these people. All he could do was sit back and wait for her command on whether to strike or back down.
"We are from Yuol! We order for you to step away from the dragon and let us go forth with our business with it!"came the coughing reply of the leader. The only part of Aqua's body that moved where her eyes. The light, crystal blue eyes of Rez Lake wandered over to the smoke people before her. She knew some of them. The one on the left that was hunched over with 1st degree burns used to be a peddler. She was reminded of him when he screeched in pain. It was vaguely familiar to the skinny, brown skinned man who used to scream "Korupias! Get your Korupias! Their the fruit of the season! Koorrrrrupias!" The other men did not seem like people she knew, but she was sure she had bumped into them some time when she stayed there. They would've easily recognized her if she held the same appearance she had before, but now she looked completely different. Would they take her word for it?
"I am a Yuolian. My name is Aqua, Daughter of Pein." she said simply. Most of them weren't listening to a word that she said. They were too busy groveling around on the ground in pain or staring into the eyes of Desmond's massive ones. The only one who kept focus on her the entire time was the leader. The identity of the man was starting to get to Aqua. Normally she would kill and proceed, but these were people of her village. Whether they claimed her or not, she was raised there. There was no animosity towards the village of Yuol as a whole. They were a strong and mysterious people, but they alone did not kill her mother. Kraytin did.
Kraytin...
"Aqua? I thought she was killed."the man asked. Aqua could hear the confusion in his voice and decided to play off of that. As long as he was curious, he would not attack Desmond.
"No. I am very much alive. I just don't look...like me."she said, blinking twice at her statement. Way to go, Aqua. Very bold. The man hobbled to his feet, still shrouded behind his hood.
"I see. I can tell by your voice. You were so young then..."he said. Aqua's interest was piqued. Who was this guy?
The man before Aqua seemed to pique deep in the back of her mind, as well as Desmond's mind. He spoke as if he knew her for so long but hasn't seen her just as long. Maybe he was an old mentor of her's or a close relative to her family, a close friend or lover? Either one didn't matter to Desmond as long as he knew who he was and how to deal with him, that way he'll be able to either trust or watch him. He laid on his front wings and held his tail in the air swinging it back and forth, as he stared at the man from a distance, his eyes and body flashed white and he began to have a vision once again. It brought him back to Aqua's child years. Why?
In the vision, he saw Aqua skipping along the green flowered meadows, brushing her hands along the soft brush of grass as she walked in it as a earthly ocean. Her hair was still as long as it was now, her eyes were a darker blue, but the same nonetheless. Then his vision flashed to a gathering in the village, with a man, a woman, and... Aqua. The man held his killer intent at the woman's child. He could here the exact words of what they spoke of. The man wanted to challenge the child and, what seemed like her mother, refused to let him and took up arms instead. Off to the side was a man that was Aqua's father, Pien.
That white-haired man was Kraytin himself, the man who haunted his mind with his name. before all else, he wittiness the savagery of how he killed Aqua's mother in cold blood. In seconds of her gentle voice whisking through the room, a knife was delivered straight to the face. It gave him the same perspective of Kraytin that Aqua probably had. Cold blooded, monstrous, and a persistent killer.
The vision the peered away from Desmond's mind and brought him back to reality in a new appearance of a dragon form. His skin was stone gray and his eyes were a slick tan-ish coloration. He was larger in all dimensions and felt stronger when his tail touched the water along with focusing his fire. View attachment 8339
He turned his attention back to the man before him and noticed something familiar about him from his vision. It was distinct but it was there for sure. Something about his voice and it's tone... It's tone!
"Aqua step away from him!" he shouted, baring his teeth at the group.
The leader was trying to settle the rest of his followers down, and all struggled to do so, except for the one with the very bad burns were starting to do so. Desmond was stilled and growling, but the wounds still needed time to heal, no matter how much healing Aqua did. She wasn't a shaman. Desmond would have to wait minutes before he attacked, is she allowed him. The leader looked back at his men and muttered something silent. Aqua did not chose to listen in because she didn't care about what he was saying. In truth, she was still rummaging through her memory of his name and how he knew her.
"Young? You knew me when I was a child?"she called out. He nodded and took off his hood, shaking his head of black hair.
"Of course."
Aqua gasped when she saw a man with long black hair and red eyes appear from under the hood. While she stood in the water, her knees were shaking so bad that the water splashed around her legs, causing rips and ripples in the lake. The light azure eyes swam over his face and then...she immediately regained her composure. She knew she'd run into him some time or another. Now was as good as a time as any. Aqua opened her mouth to say something before she heard a deep roar and gargle of Desmond's order in her ears. At the same time she closed her mouth and turned back to him.
"....what are you talking about?" Desmond was too slow to answer...so the leader answered for him.
"Do not order her around." Simultanously, a cloud of grey and black smoke rose around the man. Aqua had only seen this happen one time before...and she was 5. Her eyes snapped behind her but she had little to say on the subject, for in front of her, stood a large black dragon with shimmering, blood red eyes.
This wasn't good in the slightest of situations. Aqua was paralyzed with either fear or amazement, but either way standing their left her wide open to a fatal blow. He was struck pretty bad too, but he had to endure it all for the sake of her life and his answers. But he didn't have time to think of a smart move to play, no time to start a tactical retreat either. A fight like this was still fair for him though, he just had to fight through his wounds.
The leader of the attcking group wasn't of his kind, so it was easy to tell black magic from pure blood. He smelled of human blood and birth making it obvious that he was not of Desmond's species. He launched himself at the imposter dragon and drove his talons into it's gut, then held nearl chewed his way through it's neck. The black dragon threw his feet forward and made them roll off into the forest, ripping up trees and dirt of the ground as they tussled together.
The two broke apart from their grapple and stood ready glaring at each other, with the sensation of spilling each other's blood laying deep within. They scowled and growled back and forth, both knowing that one of them was going down.
"Dammit."she swore out loud. She didn't have enough time to explain anything and, before she knew it, the two dragons were grappling with one another. From that distance, Aqua could already tell that Desmond had the advantage, even through his injuries. He was a lot bigger than the smoke dragon and he also had a head start. The black dragon roared before attacking and a tunnel of smoke sifted out of both of his nostrils. The smoke did nothing to Desmond who was already in mid lunge by the time the cloud of smoke wafted around the two of them. They both clashed together and began to attack each other, splashing the waters of Rez Lake around. Aqua was starting to feel the effects of their battle. They were tampering with the water of the lake, a water that is pure and untainted, and now two dragons were wrestling in it.
"Cut it OUT!"she screamed, slamming both of her hands at her side. As a result, the water rose up and splashed along when her hands slammed at her sides. The gesture was enough to make the water splash around her, sprinkling both dragons. It didn't cause any damage, but it was enough to get their attention.
"Stop it! Both of you stop it! Dad, that's not an enemy."she said, eyes darting to Pein and back to Desmond. Pein snorted, smoke rising out of his nose before the dragon form whisked away and he was back in his human stature, dusting his shirt off with no sign of injuries. The dragon, of course, was only a smoke illusion that the Yuolians had formed. They can inflict damage but can't take it. Pein waved his black hair out of his face and rubbed a single red eye.
"Friend of yours, huh? He needs to learn his place. This is Yuol."
"Dad?" he thought to himself, retracting his teeth from the manifestation of a dragon. Desmond's vision was accurate, it was someone from her past, but it was not a servant of Kraytin. When he watched the distortion of her father's illusion and shook himself from head to tail of the water Aqua splashed against him. He crawled out from the space of the water and placed himself at her side, standing on his hind legs with his wings folded at his side.For a moment or two he felt a bit tricked by her father, Pien. Did he do that on purpose for some reason or was he like that with every male creature that came around his daughter? He didn't feel like talking in human tongue, so he'd stay on the path of his own for now.
"Seth rohmah kreemalon, Strumah. Uuh Sokai men drokak sindraste vromah!"
(You human's have the strangest of greetings. Idiots!)
The wounds of his body didn't open any further from the scuffle with her father, but they were still a bit open for the hooks. Not as much, thanks to Aqua, but open wounds can still become greater with time. Obviously Desmond will require a healer if he was to continue flying just 25 miles without treatment. He'd collapse in mid air. So his best chance was to hold his pride and go with Aqua to Yuol.
He lowered his head next to Aqua like a pet an kept himself silent for the time being. If he was going to be brought with, then silence would be key. He'll let his father talk all high and mighty for now, but when he retains his power the false respect will disappear. Plus, he was only a few steps away from receiving his long awaited answers about his dreams. He didn't care what they were there for; he just wanted to know what they mean.
Both Aqua and Pein exchanged glances when Desmond went on a dark ramble in his unfamiliar language. Aqua scoffed and looked to the side but Pein was interested in what he was saying.
"I forgive you for attacking me only because your breed is interesting. Where do you come from, Dragon? And what are you doing with a water mage such as Aqua?"he asked. Aqua heard her name and turned around to face the two. She didn't much care for what they were discussing: her main focus was to get the two of them out of Rez Lake.
"You are both tainting the water. Do you mind exiting?"she asked in a mock sweet manor. Her head was throbbing and swimming in many different directions. She was beginning to lose focus in her eyes and a throbbing headache bounded against her right temple. She did as much as she could to stop her body from swaying to and fro in the water. Rez Lake was as pure of a lake as it can get, and now that the water had bonded with her, if Rez Lake was damaged, so was she in a way. Pein scrutinized her face, confused at the current state of things.
"What bothers you, Aqua?"he asked simply. Aqua's only response was to glare at both him and Desmond.
"Now please."she said, voice waving and shaking a bit. She could feel the tingling sensation of unconsciousness tug at her mind, but she did her best to stand straight forward, waiting for them to depart.
As soon as Aqua finished her 'gentle' statement, he flapped his wings and lifted himself from the lake. He hovered himself high above the lake for a minute, then glided over to land on the ground next to the lake.
"Slen goodah bein chronak Sorah'n Uuhn dragah"
(Be as curious as you wish, you'll never know dragon speech.)
He didn't like the way her father kept starring at him, as if he wanted something from him. What was he suppose to say? Stop looking at me, he thought not. And then he sprung that freaky move on him just because he assumed Desmond was going to harm Aqua, obviosuly it'd be a mile before he liked him. He dug his clawed feet in the ground and kicked up a few gusts of dirt at the group. If he was going to show some respect, he'll do it his way.
"Strumah, where now? Sith rosah." he said, approaching Aqua to lift her out the water.
There he goes again, talking in his babble. It's no wonder I don't like being around him. Not only is he a dragon, but he's a fire breathing foreign one. Pein's face held the same scowl that his daughter's held. Why is this beast so angry? And what is he doing guarding close to Aqua in that manor? The two of the Yuolians held a deep frown and stood silently to gaze upon the dragon. Aqua's mind was swimming off into why her father was here to capture a dragon in the first place. The last person she expected to meet was her dad, but a reunion was better than none. It also saved her a good deal of time of searching for him if he was right in front of her face. But a dragon? Why?
Pein had his mind on different thoughts as well. Like, why was his daughter with a giant dragon? A one forged of fire for that reason. Pein had just heard Desmond speak his first coherent words, so it was obvious that he was not full-blooded dragon as well. Somewhere there was a clan of dragonoids that camped somewhere near the Black Forest. Is that where he is from? What was Aqua doing there of all places? It was getting real quiet between the three of them. Pein's followers had an off leaving the three of them to stare at one another for some seconds on end. Aqua was starting to feel better now that the two men had stepped out of the lake. Still scowling at Desmonds, she flipped the white part of her bang from her eye.
"Now I go home. Follow if you wish, but you may want to get out of the giant lizard suit."she advised, walking out from the water herself.
By the Great Sentinals Desmond did not like her father enough to go along with him, but as long as he roamed around without an answer to his dreams he was helpless. What did they mean to him anyways? Sure they meant answers but was it worth acting like a pet to some group that just attempted to skin him off guard? He was seconds away from just turning around and heading back home, but looking at Aqua and her sapphire-like eyes suddenly changed his thoughts. With a gentle groan, Desmond changed back and gave off a cloak of flame as he changed. His eyes shined a brighter red than usual as his flames took the form of a dragon's soul.
The soul flames soon disappeared and were absorbed back into his body as if nothing had happened. Yet, he still felt as if he was giving off power, maybe something else needed an answer or he was slowly getting stronger. When he approached Aqua he stood highly taller than her by a few inches. From his eye sight he was about 5'8 to her. It was kinda funny enough to make him chuckle as he passed her by.
It was cute the way Desmond thought her could lead the way. Yuol was not an easy place to find. It was a village, much like his own, but he was forgetting one thing. Minus the dragons, ancient shamans, and weird abstract huts, Yuol was the home to the people of Smoke and Shadow, therefore, extremely hard to detect. Even Aqua had a strange eye for her own home town. Even though she was of Yuolian blood, she was a water manipulator, and had the eyes of the element, not of smoke. Pein, on the other hand, had a full scope of the Yuolian village. It lay between Nortaz and Bellan, but was alos shrouded by an area of smoke.
"What brings you home, Aqua?" Pein asked openly. Aqua, who was fondling with the necklace wedged in her hair, brought her eyes up to glare at the road behind her.
"I really wish you wouldn't discuss that right now. It doesn't seem...fitting."
"It's Kraytin, isn't it?" It became ominously silent for a while. Nothing could be heard but the padded footsteps of the three of them.
"Of course. I'm surprised you haven't gotten to him before I did. After--"
"--Later."he said, darting his eyes to Desmond. He still hadn't developed a mutual trust for him and probably would not any time soon.
From how Aqua looked at him, he could tell she wouldn't be able to lead the way. It was up to her father to handle all of the work of finding it. Although, Desmond's sense of smell was strong enough to scent her father's tracks, and give him an idea of were to go. But with him slowly getting weaker, he would be able to keep it up for long. Being of smoke only meant it would give him a good scent, but being of shadows, also meant it would be a thin chance. All could do was keep his nose sharp and keep up with their movement. He stayed especially close to Aqua just in case of another "surprise" from her father came into play. He couldn't help but feel sorry for their conversation though. No one should see the one they love be killed before their very eyes. Desmond kept his gaze forward from Pien the whole walk, why? Because it'd piss him off if he looked back at him just to know what he already knows.
"If you keep staring like that, your eyes will dry out." he said with a cocky tone in his voice.
Suddenly along the road, Desmond's keen hearing picked up a rattling in the forestry. Something was watching them and it smelled like an animal, a big one! To keep himself sure, he stopped in his tracks and held out his arm at Aqua to halt her movement. His nostrils met close with the sudden smell and didn't trust another step until he knew it was harmless.
"Something? Something like what?" Pein questioned.
He and his daughter were going down a road that they both had trouble traveling down, and Pein was ready for it to end. Aqua had always been the feisty and curious not, so he could not blame her for her conversational faults. Did she not see that it pained him to discuss those events of the past? All of the times he spent lying awake, covered in seas of sweat and despair over his beloved. Killed...before his very eyes...before his only child. It hadn't hit Aqua as hard as it hit him. The loss of her mother was a impact on her life, but also an influence. A single, solitary year after her death, Aqua ran away from Yuol. Pein had not known that she had left, and when he returned form his...'job'...he only found an empty hut. Now two women in his life were gone.
But, there beside him, was his daughter, now at the age of 20 moons. A different appearance and apparel, sure, but she was still the young girl he had raised for the little of her life she spent with him. One could say he was proud to see her, even if her quest did call for murdering Kraytin. Still. She was alive.
And with a dragon.
Aqua was also interested in hearing Desmond's explanation for the sudden intrusion in her conversation with her dad. Being out of the water, all Aqua had as a radar source was the water vapor in the air. Desmond probably had a clearer sight on anything that may be lurking in the shadows. Though she certainty didn't enjoy his company, he did help her out to an extent. The least she owed was her attention.
His senses were certainly stronger than before he had his sudden change at the lake. His wounds were secretly healing without him noticing and the more they did, the better his sense of smell got. it reveld at his primal soul as he smell it's prescense, but not exactly where. Then he closed his eyes and re-opened them with a golden glow to them. From anyonelse's perspective, it'd seem like his eyes only changed, but from Desmond's sight he could see body heat. His eyes squinted slightly as he removed his cape to reveal just his gauntlets andvest, activated his claws and grinded them against his palms, then spotted it. A pack of Gronack. Bird-like predators, but they hunt like wolves.
It was a number of eight of them, usually having six meant their pack leader was near. They were identified by the red crest about their head and the deeper roars the admit. But neither type was enough to handle Desmond, in groups or alone. One of them lunged towardss him and met a quick end by a swipe from Desmond's claws. Two more came at him simotaniously. he blasted one with a ball of fire in mid lunge and threw the other to the ground beneath him, then finished it the same way. That was three, but the other five seemed unmoved by his display of power, why? Because they had back up. Immediately after he realised it, tey swarmed from all directions, going after him, Aqua, and Pien. It looked like hundreds of them. Caught off guard, Desmond was jumped on by two and was pinned for a moment. He took them by the throat and came back to his feet, lifting them off the ground and holding them at bay.
Desmond was right. They were being trailed and ambushed by the Gronack. It was a slight surprise that Desmond new about the creatures, seeing as though they typically live close to water areas. They traveled in packs, that's for sure...but this was just ridiculous. Normally they don't attack unless their territory is being penetrated, but they were walking on a trail! That's no where near their territory!
"Again? This is the second time today I had to fight with these things." Pein said while he observed the Gronack that were shrieking and clawing their way towards all three of them. He looked over to Desmond and watched him fight off the Gronack with no problem...for the moment. He was fire, and had a slight bit of an advantage over them, but they clearly had strength in numbers. Two latched on his back and Pein instantly faded away in a wisp of grey smoke, reappearing behind Desmond and punching each Gronack in the face. His fist cracked hard against their rows of teeth and they whimpered away in pain. Just when another set of Gronack sprung to attack, Pein grabbed Desmond's hands and faded them both away in smoke, reappearing behind Aqua who was handling business of her own.
Water vapor was all she had and she would make good use of it. When one would attack, she would grab a sliver of water from the air, pressurize it enough to be sharp, and cut the oncoming Gronack. It was almost as if the water was like a dagger, not the strongest weapon.
"We need a plan to take them all down at once! This one on one stuff won't work for long!"she said, cutting another Gronack in mid air across the throat.
As Aqua was speaking to him, another Gronack jumped Desmond out of nowhere. He was to focused to be pinned, but breathed fire at it. He never could do that before, so why now? He looked at his hands then at Aqua. He bared his fangs at the pack of Gronack, then scowled at them with his golden glowing eyes.
"The plan is simple...." he said positioning himself for a fight . "......Kill them all."
He dashed pass Pien and jumped over the group of Gronack while breathing a breath of flames to split them all apart. As he started to land, he slapped his right hand with his left and turned it into a burning fist. When he touche the ground he punched the floor hard and took out half of the remaining group. Three Gronack emerged from the bushes and leaped at him again, Desmond twisted back and spat a fire ball to crash them back. He lashed to his left and right to smack down his surrounding enemies, then back-flipped beck behind Aqua.
