Spellheart [Luna & Jakers]

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Astra accepts Shibo's proposal. "If you feel this person would make a suitable teammate, then I couldn't see a reason to delay. Let's depart right away."
 
Hopping up to her feet again, Shibo called down to her mother. The two didn't shout at each other in an aggressive manner, it just seemed to be how they liked to do things.
"MOM? WE'RE HEADING OUT FOR A BIT." Shortly, muffled from downstairs came:
"...DIDN'T YOU JUST GET HERE?"
"YEAH, BUT WE'RE GOING TO LOOK FOR SOMEONE."
"WHO?"
"SARA."
"OH! THAT'S NICE. GOOD LUCK."
"BYE."

Exiting the household and gently closing the door behind her, Shibo began to lead the way to the library, giving a brief explanation as she talked.
"Sara's always been a good friend. Not the closest, but... close enough that she won't ball up and be lost for words. She's quite shy to strangers." Shibo warned. "...She's helped me a lot in the past with preparing for my tests, and in return, I've got her out of quite a few situations. But, ah, anyway. Her spells might be just what we need to fill in this missing link." Shibo said, the library coming into view.
 
Astra looks at the walls filled with plaques and weapons on their way out. Although she seemed to be mindful, she also had the look in her eyes that a person gets while spacing out. Even Shibo's yelling didn't seem to break Astra's gaze. Even after leaving the household, Astra continues to look at the surrounding buildings and sky. She doesn't make eye contact, "It probably won't mean much that she is shy. I don't think I'm the sort of person who approaches other people, but I guess that is a perk to this occupation. Though, I likely would have found a partner sooner if I were more outgoing. Although, I could hardly complain considering how things have transpired..."

Refocusing her conversation, "But, just out of curiosity, what makes you think that Sara is a good fit? Do you think her shyness will prevent us from communicating effectively?"
 
Shibo shrugged.
"Her shyness really isn't a major issue. If you were a boy, then... maybe it'd actually be a problem. Hehe." Shibo broke into a smile. It seemed like she was actually starting to get over the incident, slowly starting to become herself again on the topic of old friends and good memories. "Don't be surprised if she's very quiet around you at first. But I think she likes types like you."

Lifting a finger, Shibo carried on.
"As for why I think she might be useful for us. I've sparred with her more than a handful of times... she's an absolute menace. She fights in such a weird way, but... it really works, and I think it'd compliment what we have already quite well." Shibo explained. "It's hard to explain... maybe I should let her do it, but... basically, her fighting style revolves around using a special, turqoise-coloured gel that she can create quickly and effectively." Shibo shook her head. "I don't know how she does it, but when Sara herself runs on this gel, she can 'skate' on it in a way, getting around areas very quickly, basically creating slipways for herself. It's really something else to watch. She sticks to it at the same time, so uneven terrain isn't a problem for her. I think I've even seen her do it up and across walls. Don't worry about it being disruptive for us, it only effects her."

"As well as being quick and very slippery to hit when she wants to be, she has a different type of gel she can use. This other gel, deep blue gel I think, can engulf an enemy. This gel is very sticky, and will slow them down considerably, even if it deals little damage. She can fire this as a projectile at close range to you, or even make traps on the floor that are hard as heck to get out of... it's..." Shibo squirmed a bit. "...Not good to be on the other end of. As well as that, she uses a staff-like weapon that might as well be a big mace. She's quick with it; a few hits will knock the wind out of opponents. She can basically make people easy targets, get in and out of places fast, and be a little force to be reckoned with herself. Don't let the shyness fool you." Shibo suddenly squinted, rubbing the back of her head. "...She had something else up her sleeve, too, but... uh... I-I... forgot. It'll come to me when we meet her. Come on, we're almost there."

~ ~ ~

Entering the library, the smell of fresh wood, paper, and something cinnamon-y lurked in the air of the large interior of the place. Through the mazes of bookshelves, Shibo checked numerous places, nooks, and crannies, where people of all sorts lurked within the silent building. Just when there seemed to be no more places to look, Shibo seemed to exhale with relief, privately nodding towards a girl in the distance.
"There she is."

Sitting at a desk, a quill that never seemed to run out of ink delicately held in her hand, and an unusually large, black, blue-trimmed hat laying delicately to her side on the small sofa, the girl that must've been Sara seemed to be writing, lost in thought, with various filled-up pages neatly arranged on the desk she was sitting at; a stack of blank paper ready for a new page of whatever book or journal she was writing.

A small pair of reading glasses were delicately pushed up to her turquoise eyes, giving her a sage yet frail look in the moment. Her hair was of a darkish-silvery colour that seemed to have a turqoise tint to it, and her clothes, whilst somewhat casual, were still fancy and complimented her body's shape perfectly, the black and blue colours going perfectly with her hat, though she currently wasn't wearing it.

Wide-eyed and seemingly lost in the moment of writing, only until Shibo went quite close to her did Sara begin to notice the nearby presence, jumping quite violently in her position in surprise as she did.
"E-Eep!" Sara squeaked like a mouse, dropping her quill and hurriedly trying to pick it up again in the moment. It instantly became obvious she was quite easy to scare. "...O-Oh. M-My deepest apologies... please pay no heed..." She quickly cut off as she looked up after retrieving her quill, realizing it was Shibo.

"Hey, you." Shibo smiled slightly. "Whatcha writin'?"
"S... Shibo?" Sara blinked, pushing up the reading glasses on herself. Awkwardly pausing, then jittering in surprise, Sara suddenly flailed her arms over her written pages, seemingly trying to hide them. "Um, n-nothing... important...! Ah... I, I didn't mean that evasively; d-don't get me wrong, it's quite the pleasure to see you again! It's been quite a while, right? Ahaha... haha??" Sara spluttered, though she sounded elegant and delicate even when panicking.

"Is, is there something I can assist you with?" She huffed, half her body over the desk. Sara's voice was high and soft, with elegant grace entwined within it, very different to Shibo's boyish voice.
"Relax, Sara, I won't look at your story. I still remember the promise I made." Shibo said offhandedly. After a while of hesitation, Sara eventually gave up on her slumped position over the desk slightly. "But, anyway... I'm actually here for something that might be a big ask. After everything you've done for me, if you don't want to do this, then it's fine. But before I get into all of that, first, I'd like you to meet my friend, Astra."

Sitting up, Sara seemingly only just managed to notice Astra's presence. Shyly unsure of what to say, the dainty girl curled up a bit in her seating stance, blushing a tiny bit. As Shibo had previously explained, Sara seemed very nervous around new people.
"...H... Hi." Sara whispered, avoiding eye contact.
 
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Astra dutifully follows Shibo all the way to the library where Sara was located. From the description that Shibo gave, she'd probably be an interesting person to meet. Astra herself clearly wasn't the type of person to come to the library, giving even further hints as she looked around much the same way she had done at Shibo's home. If one didn't know better, they might assume that Astra had completely forgotten about the objective of coming here, yet even as she wandered, every step she took brought her closer to Sara.

When she did get to Sara, she didn't make much of an effort to make direct contact with her. While she was talking with Shibo, Astra had been looking at the bookshelves, seemingly staring them down to form some sort of pattern. Interestingly, she didn't stop when prompted to introduce herself to Sara. "Hello Sara. My name is Astra, as you've heard. I recently made Shibo's aquantance, and have become her arena partner. As such, you can expect to find us together much more frequently..."

Astra thinks to continue for a moment, but ultimately just glances over towards Shibo to signal that she should be the one to ask.
 
Sara's eyes fluttered a little between Shibo and Astra, before she gave a meek nod, as if to say: 'I see'. A bit of an awkward silence hung over the air, before Shibo realised she should probably be the one to ask her about the whole thing. Whilst Sara's eyes seemed to look over Astra more curiously at the mention of her name, she was still, ultimately, very timid ever since she'd walked into the scene.

"Oh, right. Erm..." Shibo tapped the ends of her two fingers for a moment, before sitting next to her friend. "Me and Astra were discussing our abilities today for the arena. We sorta figured out that we need more of a variety if we're going to be successful. We need someone fast, as that would be our weakness... and..." Shibo paused, looking at Sara as her turqoise eyes looked up meekly. "...Well. You get it, right? I know you've done a lot for me, and I know this is a big ask, but... how about it? We'd be happy to have you; we can work as a three. If you don't want to, that's fine, I guess."

Her eyes glossing over Astra again, both of Sara's hands nervously came up to her chest level as she thought about it. As she thought, she seemed to gently fondle with the turquoise stone of the necklace she wore.
"I, um. I suppose I could." Sara looked up, seemingly quite serious. "But please don't pretend it's me who's done everything for you, Shibo. I... I owe you one, too. It really is nice to see you again, and... I-I... I'll do my best to try and meet you, too, As... A-A-Ast... Astra..." She whispered, her eyes still evasive. "But... I... I should mention. I have never battled in more than a duo before. Being a trio is something I am not used to, and I wouldn't want to weigh you down-"

"No, no. I know what you can do; I've experienced it firsthand." Shibo chuckled. "It's definitely the sort of thing we need against the enemy team. And don't go pretending you're bad. Remember how our last spar went?" At the thought, Sara seemed to smile a little with light humour.

"I remember. You said something along the lines of 'stop turning me into a jelly baby!'" Sara giggled elegantly, and seemingly wanted to giggle a bit more, but stopped herself. "...That was funny."
"Oh, well I'm glad you enjoyed it." Shibo responded sarcastically. Sara smiled a bit, but didn't giggle again, seemingly too in-thought.

Focusing her attention from Shibo to Astra, Sara hesitantly spoke directly to Astra.. "Um. I..." Sara seemed to be using all her courage to talk, and even still, she sounded petrified. "...I... I... I mean we. We haven't seen each other in the thick of it. Me and Shibo h-have a gist of each other's abilities, but... ah. W-Would you... like me to explain, or... show you, by..." Sara cut off, going red with shyness, and gently grabbing her braided ponytail as some sort of comfort or defence mechanism.

"She's asking if you want to spar with her so she can show you what she can do, or if you'd rather have her just explain." Shibo explained to Astra. She paused, before leaning in to Sara in a banterous manner. "I'd recommend the latter."

"Wh-what is that supposed to mean...?"
"It means you're a minx. And a pain to fight."
"......" A slight smile was visible on Sara's face. "....I know. Hehe."
 
Astra looks over casually towards Sara, addressing her concerns alongside Shibo, "Trio fighting is a different beast than duos, especially when it comes to understanding the flow of battle, but your lack of experience shouldn't be a problem in the early fights. So long as you commit to learning quickly, we should do well enough. If nothing else, you and Shibo should have a synergy and understanding of each other that I won't have starting out. So please show me patience when it comes to that regard."

Addressing the concern for a duel, "However, I'm afraid a match between us would be terribly one-sided. You see, my magic is completely unsuited for fighting by myself. Without a team to provide pressure, I could simply be picked off with no way to defend myself. For this reason, you should simply demonstrate so I can return in kind."

Astra looks toward Shibo, "Do you happen to have an illusionspace we could link to?"
 
At Astra's first sentences of advice, Sara gave another meek nod, still a bit wide-eyed.
"...I-I'll try my best." Sara paused. "Even if all this is out of nowhere, I'd be lying if I said I wasn't a bit excited to fight in a trio. Three versus three fights are some of the most enjoyable to spectate... i-in my opinion." At Astra's mention of the duel, Sara seemed to droop a little guiltily for some reason.

"O-Oh... I see." Sara seemed a little concerned for a moment. "I'm sorry, I, I don't want to make it seem like I enjoy picking unfair fights..." Sara mumbled, seemingly a bit insecure all of a sudden.
"We know that, ya' knucklehead. It'd just be better if you showed her in a way she can analyse it, rather than using it against her." Shibo shrugged. "...I'll be your 'test dummy' for your offensive spells if you want. It's a lot easier to explain your... stuff... when you use it firsthand."
"Oh. Ah. ...Are you sure?"
"Yeah... course." Shibo said somewhat unsurely.

When Astra asked Shibo if she'd bought an illusionspace sphere with her, Shibo seemed to be mentally kicking herself.
"...Ah, crap. I had a feeling I was missing something." She groaned. "We could go back to mine... I have a ton there, but it's quite a trek back. Or we could see if-"

"...I-I... have one in my bag." Sara quietly spoke up. At these words, Shibo seemed more than relieved, though she still had that 'annoyed-at-self' look all over her. "...It's... mostly for me practicing getting around tough areas. So I apologize about the strange look of the area. But I could use it as an impromptu way to show you everything... Astra..."

Taking a small, stylish, black leather handbag studded with some pretty, small blue, glowing gems, Sara's bag seemed to be a pocket dimension, holding a lot more items than it appeared it could. Rummaging around in it delicately, Sara withdrew the little orb, holding it inbetween her finger and thumb.

"H-Here it is." Sara anxiously looked up at Astra. "W... Would you like to go now? You can, um, show me everything you can do as well. ...If... that's alright..."
 
Astra responds while reaching out to the sphere, "I'm sure that if trends continue as they have, then you have nothing you need to apologize for. In fact, we should thank you for keeping an illusionspace on your person, and saving us a long trip back to Shibo's home. I'll look forward to seeing what my newest partner is capable of."

Astra touches the sphere, looking forward to seeing whatever strange world was contained within.
 
Sara blushed a little, giving a dainty bow of her head in response to Astra's compliment. Delicately placing on her large, signature hat, Sara and Shibo were quick to follow Astra into the illusionspace world.

The illusionspace within was, simply put, a sandbox. There was no colour scheme, and no coherency on where everything was placed: every thing seemed to be made of the same, white, silky-smooth material with occasional arrows and targets painted on various areas, and some pools of absolutely pure water here and there. The place was a big cluster of ramps, walls, buildings with ceilings, loops... anything seemingly needed for someone like Sara to practice her set of skills.

"A-again... I am sorry it looks so drab." Sara mumbled, holding her stave behind her and rocking her hips a little. "But, um. I focus best with everything white like this. Additionally, making everything look simple like this is a lot easier to create. The setting was designed for my practice... I... don't believe many other people could find a use for such an area, so I ensured not much trouble went into its creation."

Shibo looked around the area, her eyes shifting to Sara briefly as she finished that sentence. ...She had an idea of somebody who might have fun here. ...But that was a topic she needed to forget, now.

Turning to Astra, Sara gave a long bow for a moment.
"I, I... I would be delighted to give you a tour of what I can do. Please follow me." Leading the way, Sara first took Astra to what looked like a simple, straight runway, with a long, perfectly horizontal wall carrying on in the same direction at the end of the runway. Letting forward a spell circle, and holding her stave with two hands, Sara seemed to be controlling the path of the spell circle as it speeded forward.

"This is the only fun part I'll be getting." Shibo whispered in Astra's ear jokingly, though a little bit of nervous anticipation was in her voice. "But what she's doing here is one of the main reasons why I think she'll be good. Or worth a try at least."

After a short delay, a turqoise, slick, semi-transparent gel seemed to emit from the spell circle, essentially creating a pathway from gel. It looked like a really big snail trail, in comparison, except the gel looked quite elegant and pretty, and one could see their reflection in it - like water. Sara set the trail across the highway, and with a gesture, sprayed a straight line across the side of the wall at the end of it, before curving it back down to the floor, marking a path of some sort.

Then, she seemingly readied three spell circles, one for each, making an anxious gesture for the other two to join and stand near the start of the trail. Shibo seemed quite up for it, hastily making her way over.
"Um... when I say 'go', Astra... just... stand on my gel. I, I... I apologize in advance if what I'm about to do frightens you a little, but... we will essentially be going very fast." With that, Sara offered out her hand to Astra, with Shibo holding her other one, bracing herself in an excited manner, as if she was about to start a rollercoaster ride.
 
Although Sara was sure that Astra would find the place boring and drab, to her surprise, Astra seems to be exploring her surroundings with as much interest as ever. "It certainly seems appropriate for training. If this landscape tells me anything, it is that it is about traversing a large variety of terrain. Well, except for the loop, that is probably just there for fun. I take it that we are about to go for a ride?"
 
Sara softly giggled when Astra mentioned the loop being just for fun.
"Guilty as charged." She whispered. "I'd be fibbing if I said that was ever going to come in handy." Giving a pause, Sara reached over, hesitating a lot before taking Astra's hand in hers to gently stabilise her, and move her to the correct starting position.

"That we are. Please ready yourself; the spell circles are about to commence...!" Sara warned. Turning, "Are you ready, Shibo?"
"Eh... ready as I'll ever be." Shibo chuckled. "Besides, this brings back good memori- O-OH, CRAP-"

Without even a second's delay, the three spell circles activated, making the trio of girl's feet glow green for a moment. As if a reaction was happening between both the girl's feet and the gel that they stood on, the gel churned a little, before sending them zipping across the trail at an incredible speed, splashing the turqoise gel steadily behind them.

Despite going so fast, the journey seemed stable, and the girls' feet stuck firmly to the gel. Falling off would be much harder than it looked, and when it came to turning corners, the gel did most of the work for you.

As the girls reached the end of the highway, suddenly, their bodies flipped over sideways, so that they were still firmly following the trail even at such an angle. And despite the weird feeling of being the wrong way up at such an incredible speed, everything still felt perfectly safe. It would take the calmest of minds to say that this wasn't exhilarating, to say the least.

Eventually, the trail ended, putting the girls to an abrupt stop when it did, launching them forward a little at the end. Sara managed to effortlessly land on her feet, though the same couldn't be said for Shibo. Laughing, Sara helped Shibo back to her feet, as well as Astra if she'd hit the floor, as well.

"I forgot that you got thrown off at the end... ugh... why didn't you warn us?" Shibo groaned.
"...Oops. Hehe." Sara wiped a little excess gel off the bottom of her legs, before turning to Astra with a slight smile. "This is my main method of navigating arenas. Whilst I'll usually be the one using this method, I can get other people out of sticky situations with a little co-ordination and planning." Sara explained. "...I can also get enemies into sticky situations, if I'm able to force them onto the trail and prepare a spell circle on them beforehand. Once you are on, there's no getting off, unless one is hit with a violent force."

Pausing, Sara took her stave in both hands, starting to turn towards Shibo.
"I would like to show you my Caeru Gum next; Shibo here has volunteered to be a test subject of it." Sara explained, Shibo's facial expression turning a little resentful, a quiet 'oh boy' audible under her breath. "But first, why don't you show me one of your integral spell circles? ...I-If that is okay with you."
 
Jakers said:
Sara softly giggled when Astra mentioned the loop being just for fun.
"Guilty as charged." She whispered. "I'd be fibbing if I said that was ever going to come in handy." Giving a pause, Sara reached over, hesitating a lot before taking Astra's hand in hers to gently stabilise her, and move her to the correct starting position.

"That we are. Please ready yourself; the spell circles are about to commence...!" Sara warned. Turning, "Are you ready, Shibo?"
"Eh... ready as I'll ever be." Shibo chuckled. "Besides, this brings back good memori- O-OH, CRAP-"

Without even a second's delay, the three spell circles activated, making the trio of girl's feet glow green for a moment. As if a reaction was happening between both the girl's feet and the gel that they stood on, the gel churned a little, before sending them zipping across the trail at an incredible speed, splashing the turqoise gel steadily behind them.

Despite going so fast, the journey seemed stable, and the girls' feet stuck firmly to the gel. Falling off would be much harder than it looked, and when it came to turning corners, the gel did most of the work for you.

As the girls reached the end of the highway, suddenly, their bodies flipped over sideways, so that they were still firmly following the trail even at such an angle. And despite the weird feeling of being the wrong way up at such an incredible speed, everything still felt perfectly safe. It would take the calmest of minds to say that this wasn't exhilarating, to say the least.

Eventually, the trail ended, putting the girls to an abrupt stop when it did, launching them forward a little at the end. Sara managed to effortlessly land on her feet, though the same couldn't be said for Shibo. Laughing, Sara helped Shibo back to her feet, as well as Astra if she'd hit the floor, as well.

"I forgot that you got thrown off at the end... ugh... why didn't you warn us?" Shibo groaned.
"...Oops. Hehe." Sara wiped a little excess gel off the bottom of her legs, before turning to Astra with a slight smile. "This is my main method of navigating arenas. Whilst I'll usually be the one using this method, I can get other people out of sticky situations with a little co-ordination and planning." Sara explained. "...I can also get enemies into sticky situations, if I'm able to force them onto the trail and prepare a spell circle on them beforehand. Once you are on, there's no getting off, unless one is hit with a violent force."

Pausing, Sara took her stave in both hands, starting to turn towards Shibo.
"I would like to show you my Caeru Gum next; Shibo here has volunteered to be a test subject of it." Sara explained, Shibo's facial expression turning a little resentful, a quiet 'oh boy' audible under her breath. "But first, why don't you show me one of your integral spell circles? ...I-If that is okay with you."
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Astra gives the first truly animated expression she has given in the time that Shibo has known her. While Astra hadn't seemed surprised or concerned about matters like the future of Spellheart, it seemed that the improvised rollercoaster ride was thrilling enough to make her widen her eyes and smile. Most importantly, she found herself looking at Sara. Instinctively, Astra cast Glimpses during the ride, just to satisfy the curiosity of learning more about this situation.

Towards the end of the trail, Astra didn't know if she would stop safety or not, but playing it safe she prepares to jump off and continue running to gradually slow her momentum. Her guess ended up being on the money, laughing softly to herself as Shibo fell unceremoniously to the ground.

Responding to Sara's commentary, "I think more interesting is that you have such a different personality while you are riding along like this. You could hardly get a word in before. I can tell, you really have a love for your magic. It is nice to see that when the norm is to think of magic as a tool to accomplish tasks." Shifting to a more explanatory tone, "As for the spell I'm going to show you, it is currently being prepared. Glimpses is a spell that allows me to absorb spiritual energy from my surroundings. The primary purpose of this is to power my other spells, but it has a side effect of giving me insight towards what everyone is trying to accomplish. For example, if Shibo wanted to defeat me before trying to take care of you, I'd learn this information and be able to adapt accordingly."

Glimpses bursts, and Astra comments, "For example, I just learned that you are worried about the recent admittance of the foreigner Mio."
 
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By the way Shibo briefly looked at her old friend, she hadn't known Sara's thoughts on Mio beforehand. And by the way Sara's facial expression slightly changed, the manner in the air suddenly shifted from lighthearted to serious completely. With both sides not knowing what to say for a moment, surprisingly, Sara was the one to break the silence, adjusting her hat slightly and resting the butt of her stave on the floor.

"...That is correct." Sara mumbled, her voice still quiet, but losing it's usual anxiousness in the topic. "Whilst I wish no ill of her, her admittance is indeed something that worries me." Sara gently rested her hands over the top of her staff, her fingers passing onto the large gemstone sitting at the top. "It is not the fact that I think she'll cause trouble. ...I've seen her, and... well... she just seems really lonely. Which could be seen as unjust, because I would bet she's quite sweet." Sara's turquoise eyes were covered up by the wide, black brim of her hat. "But foreigners are so unheard of, such a... well, new, addition to this city, who can blame her loneliness situation? But, regardless, what I am more concerned about is the future; things that could happen prior to Mio's admittance to Spellheart."

A long pause followed, before Sara's voice peaked with a somewhat intimidating curiosity.
"...That was certainly a very interesting thought for you to find."

Shibo looked like she wanted to say something, but she didn't. Her eyes lay steadily at the perfectly white floor, the three girls standing in the white space. The Aozoa girl's eyes seemed on a shifting border between frustrated and introverted, but she didn't seem to want to inform Sara of the things she'd recently learned. It was too topical, too controversial, to bring up in the middle of a sparring practice session. And a girl like Sara, a girl of such an important family, certainly wouldn't want to dabble in these topics. Her views on the matter were clear; Shibo thought she would've had a neutral standpoint on everything at least. And it was rare to see a girl like Sara act in such a way... trying to drag Sara into being anything aside an arena partner seemed... dangerous.

"Ah. Sorry... I... probably talked a bit too much there. I tend to do that on my... um... deeper thoughts." Sara mumbled, taking the butt of her stave off the floor, and her hat uncovering her eyes again as she looked at Astra. She certainly seemed much less anxious around Astra, despite knowing her for very little. "We were, um... showing abilities off, weren't we. If... if it's okay, could I see how your 'Glimpses' powers your other spells?"
 
Jakers said:
By the way Shibo briefly looked at her old friend, she hadn't known Sara's thoughts on Mio beforehand. And by the way Sara's facial expression slightly changed, the manner in the air suddenly shifted from lighthearted to serious completely. With both sides not knowing what to say for a moment, surprisingly, Sara was the one to break the silence, adjusting her hat slightly and resting the butt of her stave on the floor.

"...That is correct." Sara mumbled, her voice still quiet, but losing it's usual anxiousness in the topic. "Whilst I wish no ill of her, her admittance is indeed something that worries me." Sara gently rested her hands over the top of her staff, her fingers passing onto the large gemstone sitting at the top. "It is not the fact that I think she'll cause trouble. ...I've seen her, and... well... she just seems really lonely. Which could be seen as unjust, because I would bet she's quite sweet." Sara's turquoise eyes were covered up by the wide, black brim of her hat. "But foreigners are so unheard of, such a... well, new, addition to this city, who can blame her loneliness situation? But, regardless, what I am more concerned about is the future; things that could happen prior to Mio's admittance to Spellheart."

A long pause followed, before Sara's voice peaked with a somewhat intimidating curiosity.
"...That was certainly a very interesting thought for you to find."

Shibo looked like she wanted to say something, but she didn't. Her eyes lay steadily at the perfectly white floor, the three girls standing in the white space. The Aozoa girl's eyes seemed on a shifting border between frustrated and introverted, but she didn't seem to want to inform Sara of the things she'd recently learned. It was too topical, too controversial, to bring up in the middle of a sparring practice session. And a girl like Sara, a girl of such an important family, certainly wouldn't want to dabble in these topics. Her views on the matter were clear; Shibo thought she would've had a neutral standpoint on everything at least. And it was rare to see a girl like Sara act in such a way... trying to drag Sara into being anything aside an arena partner seemed... dangerous.

"Ah. Sorry... I... probably talked a bit too much there. I tend to do that on my... um... deeper thoughts." Sara mumbled, taking the butt of her stave off the floor, and her hat uncovering her eyes again as she looked at Astra. She certainly seemed much less anxious around Astra, despite knowing her for very little. "We were, um... showing abilities off, weren't we. If... if it's okay, could I see how your 'Glimpses' powers your other spells?"
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Astra watches both Shibo and Sara with interest. Although she hadn't intended to dig up such a landmine so early into the relationship, she at the very least seemed satisfied with the outcome. Astra pats Shibo on the back, "I tend to find the thoughts that are most relevant to the current situation. Sometimes I will find things that even surprise the one having the thoughts. A neutral perspective on the thoughts of other certainly is a powerful thing."

Astra bows her head slightly to Sara, "Please pardon my intrusion. This is an unavoidable side effect of my spell. It will likely cause me to become acquainted with your more private thoughts. However, casting this spell gives me access to extremely efficient spells that are more powerful than their costs would suggest."

Astra casts Spiritual Barrier (10, Defense). "This is my ultimate defense. I'm required to have spiritual energy from Glimpses to use it at all, but if I do, it summons an extremely durable field which diverts spells away from me for a brief period. In addition, enemies who enter the field will find themselves disoriented. This barrier is extremely useful, but since I need spiritual energy to begin casting it, it is also quite slow. The main use for it is to efficiently deal with extremely high-cost spells or to deal with multiple midrange spells."

Spiritual Barrier bursts, and Astra's hair and eyes begin to shine and change color. This light extends to about 6 feet in every direction. Astra, from within, looks completely distorted as the very space around her seems to bend inward on itself. The power of the technique is obvious just from watching. Nothing that entered that field would be able to move perfectly straight except for Astra herself.
 
"N-No. That is okay." Sara bowed her head slightly in return. "I should apologise; I shouldn't have said so many words on the matter. I-I made a big deal of it in the middle of training." Sara seemed surprisingly unphased of such magic, as if she either knew about it existing or she'd come across it before.

When Astra moved on to cast her barrier, Shibo in particular seemed to be impressed, whilst Sara watched with a thoughtful yet blank expression, still seemingly somewhat in thought about the whole Mio matter. Shibo was doing her best to erase it from her mind, pushing herself to be enthusiastic to try and negate the situation. She was getting better at forgetting things, and after hearing Astra's soft laugh, after seeing Sara's little smiles again after all the years, maybe it was better to do her best not to mope about things, and strive on to be the best she could despite the circumstances.

"That'll come in a lot of handy if my defensive spells are still up, or if I run outta ways to keep blocking. I can slightly negate the effects of spells by hitting them with the blade of my jagged sword alone, but it might not be enough. It's nice to know we have a second line of defence." Shibo noted. "Oh... have you seen my defensive spells in action, already, Astra? I think I explained them to you; they're pretty basic, but I might as well show you Redwing Guard so you know what it looks like in combat. You might mix it up for something offensive."

Positioning herself closely behind Astra, Shibo readied a spell circle.
"Don't worry, I'm not planning to tickle you or anything." Shibo chuckled. "Hoy, Sara, try and hit Astra with a gumshot, would ya'?"
"O-Okay." Charging up a spell circle of her own, Sara seemed to have absolute control of when she fired her spells, suggesting her flow matched her control perfectly.

Out of Sara's spell circle, a thick glob of blue, glue-like substance made its way towards Astra. Before it did though, Shibo's Redwing Guard activated. Two short wings formed purely of red smoke sprouted from Shibo's back, both wing enlarging to a considerably large size. The wings of smoke quickly curled around herself, shielding Astra in the process within the wing-cocoon of Aozoa smoke. As Sara's Caeru Gumshot connected with the red smoke, instead of being reflected or losing velocity, the blue ball of goo disintegrated on contact with the smoke, being cancelled entirely.

After a long duration, the wings faded away.
"A big wrap-around shield for me and a few others, basically." Shibo mumbled. "I think it'll come in handy with three of us around. Maybe I could even do it whilst riding one of your trails, Sara. I think that'd look cool, at the very least."

"...I think It would look silly." Sara replied with one of her little smiles. "But I feel safer knowing I'm with allies with defensive spells. I have no means of answering a spell aside from dodging it on my gel, a-and my ward can only take so much." Sara paused. "As for my gumshot I used there... unless you'd like to see Shibo somewhat humiliated, I think it would actually be better to just explain instead of using her as target practice."
"Oh, yes. Please." Shibo wheezed.

"Hehe, quiet you. You got lucky." Sara turned back to Astra. "It's essentially a very sticky ball of semi-liquid, like a strong glue. If I shoot it at their feet, they won't be able to move for quite a while, as you might guess. It lets me make people easy targets, disarm them, or even suffocate and blind them if I'm somehow able to get a direct face shot. I can also burn it off their skin to do some damage to... them..." Sara paused, looking a little anxious as she swallowed. "...Oh my, u-um... it actually sounds quite gruesome when I describe it like that. I-I promise I'm not a sadist."

Sara regained composure, gave a dainty clear of her throat, and adjusted her hat.
"If you'd like to see that in action, Shibo here would love to help me demonstrate. But I think someone of your calibre can get it." Sara paused to cock her head slightly. "Perchance, do you have something offensive to charge up with that Glimpses of yours?"
 
Jakers said:
"N-No. That is okay." Sara bowed her head slightly in return. "I should apologise; I shouldn't have said so many words on the matter. I-I made a big deal of it in the middle of training." Sara seemed surprisingly unphased of such magic, as if she either knew about it existing or she'd come across it before.

When Astra moved on to cast her barrier, Shibo in particular seemed to be impressed, whilst Sara watched with a thoughtful yet blank expression, still seemingly somewhat in thought about the whole Mio matter. Shibo was doing her best to erase it from her mind, pushing herself to be enthusiastic to try and negate the situation. She was getting better at forgetting things, and after hearing Astra's soft laugh, after seeing Sara's little smiles again after all the years, maybe it was better to do her best not to mope about things, and strive on to be the best she could despite the circumstances.

"That'll come in a lot of handy if my defensive spells are still up, or if I run outta ways to keep blocking. I can slightly negate the effects of spells by hitting them with the blade of my jagged sword alone, but it might not be enough. It's nice to know we have a second line of defence." Shibo noted. "Oh... have you seen my defensive spells in action, already, Astra? I think I explained them to you; they're pretty basic, but I might as well show you Redwing Guard so you know what it looks like in combat. You might mix it up for something offensive."

Positioning herself closely behind Astra, Shibo readied a spell circle.
"Don't worry, I'm not planning to tickle you or anything." Shibo chuckled. "Hoy, Sara, try and hit Astra with a gumshot, would ya'?"
"O-Okay." Charging up a spell circle of her own, Sara seemed to have absolute control of when she fired her spells, suggesting her flow matched her control perfectly.

Out of Sara's spell circle, a thick glob of blue, glue-like substance made its way towards Astra. Before it did though, Shibo's Redwing Guard activated. Two short wings formed purely of red smoke sprouted from Shibo's back, both wing enlarging to a considerably large size. The wings of smoke quickly curled around herself, shielding Astra in the process within the wing-cocoon of Aozoa smoke. As Sara's Caeru Gumshot connected with the red smoke, instead of being reflected or losing velocity, the blue ball of goo disintegrated on contact with the smoke, being cancelled entirely.

After a long duration, the wings faded away.
"A big wrap-around shield for me and a few others, basically." Shibo mumbled. "I think it'll come in handy with three of us around. Maybe I could even do it whilst riding one of your trails, Sara. I think that'd look cool, at the very least."

"...I think It would look silly." Sara replied with one of her little smiles. "But I feel safer knowing I'm with allies with defensive spells. I have no means of answering a spell aside from dodging it on my gel, a-and my ward can only take so much." Sara paused. "As for my gumshot I used there... unless you'd like to see Shibo somewhat humiliated, I think it would actually be better to just explain instead of using her as target practice."
"Oh, yes. Please." Shibo wheezed.

"Hehe, quiet you. You got lucky." Sara turned back to Astra. "It's essentially a very sticky ball of semi-liquid, like a strong glue. If I shoot it at their feet, they won't be able to move for quite a while, as you might guess. It lets me make people easy targets, disarm them, or even suffocate and blind them if I'm somehow able to get a direct face shot. I can also burn it off their skin to do some damage to... them..." Sara paused, looking a little anxious as she swallowed. "...Oh my, u-um... it actually sounds quite gruesome when I describe it like that. I-I promise I'm not a sadist."

Sara regained composure, gave a dainty clear of her throat, and adjusted her hat.
"If you'd like to see that in action, Shibo here would love to help me demonstrate. But I think someone of your calibre can get it." Sara paused to cock her head slightly. "Perchance, do you have something offensive to charge up with that Glimpses of yours?"
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Astra shakes her head in response to Sara's apology, "You said what was on your mind because you were unsure of what to think. You talked to us because you sought some form of either validation or confirmation. I took it to mean that you trusted us, and wanted clues as to what to think on the matter. When someone shy starts talking, I'd never discourage them to stop, as it tends to be quite important to them. We need to be a good team if Shibo wants to accomplish her goals, so we need to be able to speak when it is important to speak and listen when people are speaking. After all, wouldn't it be worse if you were worried and nobody noticed?"


Astra moves on to comment on Redwing Guard, "I can definitely see that spell becoming a cornerstone of how we fight. Since I will be out on the extreme ranges, we need a defensive spell for the purpose of defending Sara. Since it could also be used offensively on someone whose ward broke, it has good flexibility. I can imagine us leading with this spell in basically any fight where we start out in the open."

Then she talks about Sara's sticky shot, "If you can trap someone, I'm quite a good shot. Call it out, and I'll force them into a situation where their only option would be to block my arrows with magic. Even if it is unlikely that I'll actually kill them, I'd consider it to be a huge advantage when one of their team does not have the option to attack while our entire team has that option."

Lastly, Astra talks about herself, "I do have a single offensive attack, but it runs purely on spiritual energy. The mana is only used to facilitate the creation of the spell circle, so it is a null cast spell. I must be extremely wary of people who are able to inflict spell damage. However, it is a devastating attack. Should I be given a chance to charge it 3 times with Glimpses, I could likely wipe out the opposing team through weak defenses. Would you like a demonstration?"

After getting the all clear, Astra begins to cast one set of Glimpses after the other. While at level 1, there wasn't a noticeable difference, at level 2 Astra's hair and eyes began to glow again, and at level 3 the very air around her began to tremble. Looking out at the horizon, Astra casts her awakening. In the calm before the storm, Astra stops glowing, and the air grows eerily calm. Then, it bursts. An explosion of pure spiritual energy engulfs the entire horizon. From Shibo's perspective, everything looks white. The raw power of the technique tears through the landscape, leaving a gaping hole. Although the technique only happened for about a quarter of a second, somehow the sheer power of the technique seemed to have lasted much longer. Soon, color is restored and Astra falls to her knees to catch her breath.
 
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Lowering a hand from in front of her face once Astra's spell had finished, Shibo's eyes were wide in a slight expression of bewilderment. It was clear she was expecting the spell to be powerful, but not at such a terrifying power for the seemingly relatively low cost. Whatever Astra's technique was was perfected, although the major downside was the very long time it took to charge.

"...Wow. Um." Sara straightened the hat on her head, it being tilted slightly after the force of the blast. "If I can immobilise someone and they get hit with that, erm... the outcome is quite obvious. Using that spell is certainly a tactic we could work around. Shibo has her own powerful spell, but..."
"...Yeah. I'd rather save up for defensive spells, now that we're in a group of three. And I'll save my effort for trying to stop flankers, or anyone trying to stop you from charging your spells, Astra. Sara can get in and out of places pretty easily, rendering them helpless for you... we won't form our entire game plan around that one spell; that might be unreliable, but..." Shibo brushed a hand through her hair, smiling to herself slightly. "...What we can do, on paper, looks pretty promising."

"It is." Sara agreed with a nod. "We'll have to see how everything works out..." She paused. "Um. Thank you both for having me, by the way. Fighting as a three, or four, or a generally large number, has always been something of my interest." Sara's meek smile turned into one that grew quite wide. "And now that it is happening, I'm quite excited. Especially, um... after seeing how talented you are, Astra. I already knew you were good, Shibo."
 
Astra takes hold of Shibo's hand, wobbly on her feet at first, but quickly regaining strength and balance. "That spell represents half my total mana pool. It takes me about 30 seconds from start to finish if I am able to focus purely on casting this spell While it may not seem like a long time, in battle, that is a considerable obstacle when you consider that I cannot prepare any other spell circles. However, I believe that I could instantly defeat any enemy that strayed too far out from cover. If we intend to use it at all, we should decide very close to the start of the battle. I can also cast it earlier if needed, but the effect works with an exponential relationship to the number of times I've cast Glimpses. It would be an efficient attack if I used Glimpses twice, and would be extremely weak if I only used it once. Because this is my only offensive spell, I avoid fighting one on one."

Astra smiles, "Although, that isn't the end of my tricks. If needed, I can also be disruptive to an enemy. For example, using my Lockdown, I can temporarily halt the flow of a target. Against most mages, they will find themselves completely unable to use magic for a brief moment." Astra brings forth a Lockdown spell circle, "Shibo, pretend that you are trying to attack a target out in the distance with one of your attacks before they hide behind a wall."
 
Unsheathing her sword, Shibo readied herself, but the realisation suddenly set in as Shibo took up an awkward expression.
"Uh... I... actually don't have any long-ranged spells. My Crimson Ultraslash reaches kinda far, but... it's still not a projectile. That's why I usually wait for people to come to me, or focus defending other people." Shibo scratched the back of her head.

"I suppose I could pretend instead, then." Sara said, raising her staff. "Are you ready? That person running to cover would be stopped dead in their tracks if they were hit by this, under normal circumstances." With a pause, Sara readied two Caeru Gumshots, the spell circles quickly filling up and looking like they were about to cast if left unchecked.
 
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