Aliza
Alina
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Aliza had to admit that her current situation was less than ideal. For the Unkeepable to be kept in a cell wasn't a good way to live up to her reputation. The fact that she was about to be executed didn't really help either, of course. Then again, she had already pummelled into the wooden walls surrounding her until her hands bled and she was quite sure that a few of her toes broke in an attempt to kick the stupid planks down not too long ago. Fair enough, falling asleep in a tavern, after drinking too much, hadn't been her best move... but come on. How could she know she was that high on the hit list, or that they had this special kind of holding-cell-cage thing waiting for her? For them to drag her off and put her in something that she couldn't even earthquake down… It was truly less than ideal.
Off on one of her many adventures, Alina suddenly heard a shocking rumor. Maybe somebody had just invented electricity? No, this was a rumor that one of the most famed halfbloods in the area, Aliza the Unkeepable, had finally been captured. Alina took another bite out of his steamed vegetables as she pondered what to do about the situation. The information was almost certainly true, considering the sources and the agreement between them. Now the only question was how to rescue someone so high profile. Sneak into their prison? The guards would probably be too numerous. Stage a dramatic rescue during the execution? Fun, but Aliza would probably be a bit annoyed if Alina arrived late. Well, Alina had never asked a dead person whether death was annoying, but it seemed like it would be. That only left trying to rescue Aliza while she was being transported between locations, when the cage itself would be at its weakest and the guards the least numerous. Still, it would be difficult to pull off.
This called for Alina's amazing fashion sense to be put on display. Item number 1: a big cloak! Wait, were cloaks still in fashion? Maybe a half-cape would be better this season. No no, focus. The guards would probably be too simplistic to keep up with trends anyway. Best to use the cloak so it would conceal more. Item number 2: the key to whatever cage Alina would be trapped in. Well, that was harder to get ahold of. Maybe it was time to start a trend of wearing skeleton keys fashionably? And finally, a jar of grade-A dirt, harvested directly from the dirt fields of Dirtsville, Empire. Dirt… Hmm. Even with Alina's amazing fashion instincts, it was hard to think of how to incorporate that into a new outfit. Ah well, it can't be helped.
The next day came for Aliza, and if just being locked up in a wooden prison hadn't been bad enough, they decided to make it worse by transporting Aliza as if she was some sort of exotic animal, to be treated with care. Care, in the sense that nobody should give her as much as a chance to do anything, rather than to make her the slightest bit comfortable, mind you. Well, it was the type of care she was used to, but even so, for them to be talking about her as if she was some sort of wild animal was more than a bit rude.
"I can still hear you, you know." She said, as the voices from the other side of the cage first stopped for a moment, then turned into curses and insults directed at her.
"Oh, come on, if I was a real dragon I'd have already burned this all to the ground." For some reason, one of the guards was convinced that it was only a matter of time before she'd ignite the cage and its guards. Of course, she realised that telling them she couldn't do so wasn't the most tactical, but alas, she had already done so. Ah well, it seemed like there wasn't much else to do, other than to wait out the ride. Maybe she'd have a chance before her execution, or maybe not. Only time would tell.
The appointed time came. A wagon carrying a massive hunk of wood, surrounded by guards, passing through the town where the execution would take place? It could only be Aliza. Unless nobles had taken to transporting their valuables in undecorated wooden containers now. Well, only one way to find out. Sword? Looking sharp. Outfit? Flawless as always. Dramatic breeze? Hmm, a little lacking, but nothing a tiny bit of magic couldn't fix. There, all ready for action.
The beautiful Alina stepped forward on a roof just to the right of the wagon's path, dramatically pulling off his cloak and tossing it to the side, her hair and sleeves fluttering in the breeze. A deep breath for good air support, and then:
"Greetings, everyone! Its the world's favorite fashion savvy, justice-loving hero, Alina Diarmuid Lucius, come to save the day!" Alright! Perfect as always!
Alina leapt down onto the wagon, muttering rapid incantations to manipulate the air around him into forming four near-invisible walls just around the wooden cage and Alina herself. The lock… Too sturdy to cut through. That meant time for plan B. Alina hopped up onto the top of the cage and found the air-holes that had been carefully placed so Aliza wouldn't die en route. With a quick
"Watch out for glass shards, 'kay?" Alina pulled out the jar of grade-A soil and cracked it open on the wooden roof, letting the dirt trickle into the cage through the air-holes.
"See if you can do something with that while I distract the guards!"
Aliza's waiting-time was interrupted when she heard a faint voice from the other side of her wooden cage. She couldn't quite make out the exact words, but she could make out enough to realise she might need to stretch a bit. The cage didn't allow her much room for movement, but she was still able to stretch well-enough to start feeling hyped up for what might come. Sure enough, she heard someone land atop the cage. A sound that was followed by a warning for glass shards. Wait, glass? The self-explanatory actions followed up on it soon enough, as some grade-A soil started to trickle through.
"Oh, that's the good stuff!" Whomever this stranger was, they had great taste, truly someone worthy of rescuing a dirty girl like her. She was quick to gather the soil around her hands, so she could pummel the planks and bars with a lot more force, until she realized that there was an even easier option. Now that they were moving, the entire cell was on a wagon, which meant, if she was correct… She gathered the soil around her feet and soon slammed down on the bottom of the cage. The first impact wasn't doing a whole lot, but with the second came the sound of creaking axles. The third impact didn't just come with the sound of creaking axles, but with the sound of breaking ones. Soon enough, the cage landed on the ground, with just enough force for Aliza to find an opening through which to bring up some more soil. Sure, it wasn't grade-A, but it would do. Now within range of the soil below her, it was only a matter of time before the wooden cage was broken from all sides by a tightening push of dirt from within it.
Vaulting off the cage with a mighty bound, Alina cleared her invisible fortifications and anchored himself in midair for a moment. Six soldiers behind the wagon, two on either side, and eight coming from the front. Alina didn't have much in the way of destructive magic, her's was primarily good for things like creating platforms and walls. He decided to leave the larger groups to Aliza and start by picking off the ones on the sides. Her sword made a heroic "shiiiing" noise as it was pulled out of its scabbard and leveled at the enemy. Pushing off his midair platform, Alina descended upon the first guard, her sword impaling the soldier through the right shoulder and Alina's weight forcing the soldier down to the ground. Nobody was ever ready for Alina's first strike, though after he had lost the element of surprise, it was another matter.
Alina's boot slammed down on the man's face, keeping him from getting up and giving her leverage to pull out her blade in time to parry the sword of the second guard. Alina balled her left hand into a fist and slammed it into the second man's nose, which hurt his hand a lot more than she remembered. Maybe he'd have to practice punching people more. Anyway, while the second guard was distracted with a bloody face, Alina swung her sword in a clean horizontal slice to give the man a bloody neck too.
Man, I forgot how much of a pain bloodstains are to clean out Alina lamented as she slammed the pommel of her sword into the first soldier's skull to make sure he was incapacitated.
The sound of the cage exploding into a million billion pieces (well, at least several pieces) told Alina that the first part of the plan was successful. He hastily dispelled the walls of air that had been erected around the cage to make sure they didn't interfere with Aliza's efforts. Then, Alina hopped back into the air, using hastily produced platforms of condensed air to go over the wagon and land on the other side. As expected, the guards over here had caught her first attack on the other side, forcing Alina onto the defensive as soon as she descended. Still, he could use that against them, as when their two swords descended on hers, she slipped out from under them and threw them off-balance. A roundhouse kick to the helm of the first and a pommel slam to the skull of the second was enough to take them out of commission and free Alina up for the next step. Back to the air.
As Aliza appeared from the cage like a chick hatching from an egg, just with a load of dirt, the first thing she noticed were two groups of soldiers. One behind the wagon, one in front. She smiled, as she gathered dirt around her to form a bit of an armour.
"Remember how you called me a dragon? I might not be able to breath fire, but I sure can pummel down some guards like I am one~" She sounded as cheerful as a child in an ice cream store. Unlike her saviour, she had enough dirt on her hands to be able to pummel people without issue. To that extent, she was quick to send a minor earth-quake wave towards the group in front of her, and even more quick to use the unbalancing effects of it to knock down the first few soldiers faster than they could wonder if she really wasn't a dragon. The plenty years of experience she had in knocking people out paid off, while a combination of agility and dirt managed to deflect the few whom were able to counter-attack.
Sadly enough, even Aliza wasn't entirely unbeatable, as she wasn't able to defeat these guards before the six from the back of the wagon caught up. It placed her in a bit of a surrounded situation.
"Might I suggest you guys take turns?" She figured it was worth a shot, but alas, her efforts failed. Now, being as dirty as she was, she had a fair bit of defenses to stop the attacks from all angles, but the constant jabbing and slashing and stabbing didn't give her a lot of time to counter-attack. To that extent, she was glad she could at least sent the ugliest of the guys surrounding them down with a sudden rock to the face. It made the scenery surrounding her at least a bit prettier whilst she was defending herself.
Aliza was in a spot of bother. Well, it wasn't like Alina honestly expected her to take on all the rest of the guards alone. And their fight had attracted the attention of more than just the guards here; shouts could be heard from a few streets over as reinforcements closed in.
"Seems like we've overstayed our welcome. Aliza, JUMP!" Alina shouted down to the surrounded girl. Hopefully, Aliza would have enough time between attacks to do so, as Alina wouldn't be of much use against that crowd. The air, though, that was Alina's domain. If Aliza were to jump, Alina would use his air magic to create a platform beneath Aliza, preventing her from falling back to the earth.
Aliza's focus on defending herself was interrupted by a remark from her saviour, followed by the request to jump. Well, someone with as great taste in dirt as her saviour would surely not tell a girl like her to jump just to see a wiggle, she Aliza figured she'd obey. Kicking down the dirt surrounding her in a goodbye-mini-earthquake to buy some time, she jumped up at full force. It was a great way to obtain new heights, especially after having been stuck in a cage for so long. To her surprise, it wasn't even a temporary high, as she landed on some sort of platform.
"Phew, that was quite an exalting rescue."
With both rescuer and rescuee in the air now, Alina's magic reserves were starting to drain pretty quick. Maintaining two platforms at once wasn't easy.
"Jump towards a roof, I'll make sure you don't fall down again." Assuming Aliza followed instructions, Alina would do her utmost to keep a platform under Aliza until she reached a roof, at which point the platforms would stop. Alina would then follow after Aliza over to the same roof. After that, it was what any true hero did best: flee with grace and style!
It turned out Aliza spoke a bit too soon, as she was asked to jump again, which she ended up doing. Luckily enough, with Aliza's size-able jumps, only a few platforms were required, and she was soon able to take to the rooftops. Although she was rather out of breath by the time they finally stopped hearing their attackers follow them, she was utterly overflowing with adrenaline.
"That was great, thanks~" She said, as she finally had the time to take a good look at her saviour, between heavy breaths.
"Wait, you're my saviour? Oh my, you're like the cutest girl ever! If I knew someone like you would come to my rescue, I'd have gotten myself captured way earlier~"
Alina finally came to a stop, bending over with hands on knees as she tried to catch her breath. Whew. This hero of justice might need to cut back on the sweets. Well, at least Aliza seemed tired too, so either they were both out of shape or it really was that tiring. Suddenly, it was compliment time, one of Alina's favorite times.
"Aw, why thank you!" she said with as cutesy a smile as she could muster while still breathing heavily.
"You're quite the looker yourself. I wish my hair would grow that long. And besides, it was an honor to get to rescue someone as popular as you." Then again, Aliza's hair wasn't the only sizeable thing Alina was a bit jealous about.
She didn't expect the return-compliments from her saviour, so it made her smile all the more. She had to resist a strong urge to pick up this girl and hug her.
"Oh no, I've just got the genes, you've got the genes and the outfit~ Besides, if you rescue people in this style, I'm sure your fame will surpass mine! Wait.. Am I famous?" She hadn't really been paying too much attention to her growing fame, as being captured and escaping had become more of a routine than anything.
"Am I famous?" Was Aliza famous?
Was Aliza the Unkeepable famous? Actually, that was a good question, come to think of it. Alina thought she was super famous because she had heard so much about Aliza, but Alina also made a point of researching and locating halfbloods. Maybe Aliza wasn't actually that famous to the general populace? Such horror! Maybe they could fix that. Or wait, wouldn't it be better for a halfblood to not be famous? Well, at any rate, Alina was just glad the rescue was successful.
"I mean, I think you're pretty famous. I've heard all about you, at least. Though I try to keep track of halfbloods, so maybe I'm biased."
Aliza raised an eyebrow, hearing that her saviour kept track of halfbloods. Come to think of it, she hadn't the slightest clue whom her saviour was, even though they seemed to know all about her.
"So… you're like a hero of sorts?" She didn't know a much better word for someone that kept track of halfbloods just to come to their rescue like she had done for Aliza.
"Yup yup, that's me! Everyone's favorite fashion-savvy hero of justice, Alina Diarmund Lucius! V!" The V statement was, naturally, accompanied by a V sign. What was the V for? Uhh… Alina actually couldn't remember. She didn't have a vendetta she was pursuing right now, so that couldn't be it. Valor, maybe? Heroes were valorous, right? That didn't quite sound right, though.
Guess I forgot what I meant for it. Ah well, it can't be helped!
As the girl finally introduced herself, Aliza couldn't help but note that the name and introduction were a perfect fit. Yes, if this was adopt-a-hero day, Aliza would've fallen horns to toes for her. Well, even without adopt-a-hero day, that was still pretty possibly. To that extent, she figured every hero needs a side-kick. Well, not that, she just figured she'd be more than interested in helping out this hero. I mean, come on, someone that cute couldn't just be let go. Then again, was kidnapping your saviour rude? Yeah, it probably was, so she figured it'd be better to allow the rest of the world to experience this heroic cuteness and to help stimulate that happening.
"Well, if you ever need some walls brought down, or some earthquakes, or some general pummeling, I'd more than down to join you~" Aliza said with a smile. For a moment, she wondered if she should add 'generally pleasurable company' to the list of things she could be called upon for, but her remaining sense of decency prevented her from being too straight-forward. Or maybe it was the fact that she was still gasping for air.
Aliza seemed to be admiring Alina's heroicim. Perfectly understandable. Alina knew she had botp impeccable moral fiber and fashion sense. And it seemed like Aliza wanted to offer her services as a hero of justice too! More heroes were always welcome to the cause, but Alina wasn't certain if she was ready to take on an apprentice yet.
"I'm glad to hear it! The road to justice for all people is a long one, so having another friend to aid my journey is heartening." Alina thought for a moment before continuing with hesitation in her voice. It was honestly difficult to say this; Aliza seemed like such a fun person to be around. And honestly, fighting for justice alone could get a bit lonely sometimes. But it couldn't be helped.
"It might be best if we go our separate ways for now though. The guards will be looking for us, after all, and its harder to hide two people than it is to hide one. Still! As long as we keep justice and cuteness in our hearts, we will be sure to meet again!"
Aliza had little knowledge about the road to justice. The road to cuteness, however… That one seemed pretty straightforward. It was a little disheartening to end up in the friendzone, but then again, the cuteness would last through it. However, with such a promise from Alina, there was little else to be said. Yes, their destined meeting was destined to be destined, or something along those lines. Honestly, Aliza figured that if all the destiny-stuff wouldn't work out, she'd just get herself captured again. Until that moment, however, there was one last request to be made.
"Yes, I understand, and I will be eagerly awaiting that moment! However, if I may be as rude to make a final request, can I hug you?"
Aliza had one final request for Alina. Something about the phrasing "final request" made Alina a bit suspicious, but she was probably overthinking it. Especially considering the request.
"Of course! Friends should always feel free to hug each other!" The bond between friends was a crucial part of being a hero, after all. Alina knew this thanks to all the heroic tales she had read as a child. Heroes always had friends, and friends hug each other. Though, Alina had never been hugged by a Draconian before. How did it go? Was it like talking to short people? Does the short one get picked up? Does the tall one crouch down? Well, Alina would find out soon enough.
With the only request Aliza could ever imagine wanting to make, hence it being the first and final one, being accepted, Alina was in for the full course of a good Draconian hug. Of course this included being lifted off of the ground and being held firmly for a rather considerable amount of time. Now, normally, this didn't quite include some silent taking in scent, but this wasn't that normally, so this did include even that much. Yes, if cuteness was drainable, Alina would've been left empty. Luckily enough, it wasn't.
Ah, the warmth of a loving embrace. There was nothing quite like it to prove that justice did exist in the world. Well, except maybe for cute dresses. And the soft, supple objects on the other side of Alina's clothes. Yes, truly Aliza was a future hero of justice. Naturally, Alina didn't let Aliza do all the work; Alina hugged back as vigorously as she could in reply, though it wouldn't be up to Draconian standards of course. Still, with how long the hug lasted, Alina started to wonder if her cuteness was at stake. Could it be? Was Aliza trying to steal the purity and virtue of this hero? Nah, that was far too devious for someone like Aliza. Well then, once Alina finally escaped from Aliza's hug, it was time to part ways.
"If you ever get caught again, I'll come a'runnin, so don't you worry!" Alina's eyes weren't watering from parting with her new friend. There was just some ninja chef hiding in the corner cutting onions. What was a ninja, anyway? Seemed like a real just-sounding title. Anyway, now that the farewell had been said, it was time for this hero of justice to ride off into the sunset on her noble steed. Or stroll away under the midday sun on her tired feet. Besides, a noble steed meant a noble sum of money being spent, and chasing both justice and perfect fashion was hard on the wallet. Ah well, it couldn't be helped.
Aliza realised she'd have to convince herself not to get captured tomorrow, as the very high chance of death only barely outweighed the small chance of being rescued by Alina.
"Ah, likewise~" Even though she had currently needed a rescue, she was still the Unkeepable. She figured that next time she could save her saviour. Yes, that would definitely work. She only needed to wait for Alina to be captured, as turnaround was fair play. With that, and a final wave goodbye, Aliza too, walked off towards wherever she knew the guards wouldn't be looking for her.