Making Ground

Haruhi was sitting underneath a tree in a small glade, flipping through the pages her book, trying to see if there is a "deity" in there which suits her wants and needs. She was already looked down upon by her family, and she needed the right tools to shove it in their faces. There were so many aspects to consider. Beast gods or human gods. Grand Gods and lesser ones. Chaotic, Neutral and of Order. Destruction or creation, and none of it really told her anything of what any of it meant. All while browsing through pictures and texts of now dozens of deities, she was starting to get tired of it while Cain was hard at work training and testing out his new spells and skills. *Lucky bastard* she half jokingly thought to herself. She looked up from her grimoire to get a glimpse of Cain's hard work, and found herself pleased to see that at least one of them could get something worthwhile out of this.

Cain panted heavily, letting his Manticore Claw spell dissipate. The blade vanished, leaving only the hilt behind. The trees he had sliced through laid on the ground, it was as if the boy had made an entire clearing on his own; which he essentially had.

When Ari had broken his sword, he had been rather upset. But with the abundance of mana he had and his creative mind, he had developed a spell to replace it. Instead of giving himself the claws of a Manticore, he had transferred it to his hilt, resulting in this spell. And he didn’t even have to use his Grimoire for it! He placed the hilt onto the magnetic scabbard he had acquired, letting it lock in place so he could walk around without worry of losing the hilt.

Cain wiped his forehead with his scarf before plopping down next to his friend. As he did, a few animals appeared. Chameleons and birds to be specific. They played around with Cain, crawling over him or nesting in his hair. But Cain didn’t mind. He looked towards Ari as he absent-mindedly nuzzled his finger against a chameleon. “So,” he began. “You decide on a deity thingy?”

Harhuhi sighed. "You have no idea how annoying this is. I wish there was a guide to this thing!" She half-shouted exasperatedly, slightly frightening the birds, yet they remained, probably knowing that Cain would protect them and as such there was no need to flee. "I am almost starting to wonder if the mage is not the right path for me. Maybe mom and dad was right..?" She muttered aloud, slowly growing a shocked expression. She slapped herself hard. "Oh no, you don't! Don't you dare get second thoughts now! You will pick a god, and you will be great!" she shouted, almost forgetting that Cain sat right beside her.

“Damn right you will!” Cain responsed, getting excited. The animals mimicked him, the bird chirping loudly and the chameleons rapidly changing colour to parallel Cain’s joy. He didn’t really understand the difficulty of which deity to pick; just pick the strongest one. But Cain knew that this meant a lot to his friend as it was her chance to prove her mettle to her family. “Uh,” he began. “Why don’t you just roll a dice or something?”

"Hm, good idea!" She exclaimed with a big smile. "Though I don't have one on me. Not exactly a gambler. Do you-" Before she had even managed to finish her sentence Cain had thrown her a die. "Oh, Thanks! First off, a random page..." She muttered before walking a bit away and throwing her grimoire high up into the air and backing off, letting it fall to the ground with pages open at random. If she was to dedicate herself to a god, might as well let them decide who she should worship. The Book landed upside down, and when it did, she put her hands over her eyes. "Turn it over, but don't show me." She demanded, to which he obliged. She feared that if she knew in advance what she was getting she might do a do-over. "Okay... 1-2-3 is the left page, the others are the right page." She said before casting the die. It landed on a six. Hurrying over back to the book, she read the right page and was less than thrilled.

The page described a colossal skeletal beast who looked all but friendly. "Skrill, God of Rage, Sprits and graves..." Haruhi began to feel doubt before steeling her resolve. "Alright... What now? 'Read the following incantation to seal the pact'..." With a deep breath she continued. "Thick blood, fighters grow weary. The nation endures centuries of hardship, great destruction, men die, wealth is lost, the destitute are shunned. Perilous ruin the people dread, storm upon storm, plagued by misery, heavy remorse, relentless warfare. An evil stir haunts the world. Once again... Skrill walks the earth..." Without warning or signal, a lightning bolt fell from the heavens, striking her grimoire, knocking Haruhi backwards, a sceaming in shock as it happened. Crashing into the dirt, she squirmed and moaned her displeasure.

Cain's eyes expanded in worry for his friend, and he stood up, the animals sticking to him as he ran over. The animals noted his worry, and the birds chirped mellowly while the Chameleons became a deep blue. "Oi," he said, shaking her. "You good?"

She coughed as teh air had been knocked out of her, and she slowly rose back up. "I-I am fine... I think... I don't feel anything." She spoke as Cain helped her up on her feet. Once she was up she slowly walked over to her blasted grimoire, no worse for wear as it would seem despite having apparently been struck by a lightning bolt. As she picked it up she noticed that the page she was previously on was empty. And the next one, and the next. All pages were empty, with exception for the first four pages, two of which contained what sounded like basic spells, and a third one with a rather long chant and nearly undescribed properties. "I... Guess I am a servant of a Chaos God now." She muttered, sounding solemn. She then immediately brightened up. "Shall we try it out?" She said before walking up to a rock, placing her hand on it, with the grimoire floating in front of her face. "Let's see... Why am I the one who need to chant annoying scripts? Anyway: 'Darkest Magics now revealed, Rage and Hatred wrought by pious zeal. Thine own fate thou shalt clasp, for none shall escape the fallen's grasp." She chanted as suddenly she felt a small tingling feeling in her palm. She was about to check when giant tendrils of holy calcium shot out from her forearm, piercing through the rock, leaving it in broken rubble as the tendrils returned into her arm. "I... I did it... I DID IT! I CAST MY FIRST SPELL!"

"Ey!!!" Cain exclaimed in excitement, the animals once more mirroring his feeling. The bird flew off and the chameleons crawled off. Cain unclasped the hilt, letting his mana flow through it. "Manticore Claw!" he exclaimed, causing the blade to manifest. He swung it around graciously with one hand. "Now, if we're going to make your family regret thinking of your poorly," he began. "You gotta practise your spells. So try to hit me and defend yourself."

She nodded with great fervor. She let the grimoire hang in front of her while she began chanting once more, her hand directed towards Cain. "Darkest Magics now revealed, Rage and Hatred Wrought by Pious Zeal! Thine own fate thou shalt clasp, for none shall escape the fallen's grasp!" She shouted as the tingling feeling returned, the tendrils of holy calcium manifested from her arm before rushing forward at stunning speed. Unbeknownst to both of them was that due to the moral inclination of Skrill, this spell would now be even stronger when faced against Cain than when against the rock if it struck its mark.

Cain instantly brought his blade up, letting the tendrils clash into the spine of Manticore Claw. Cain pushed back the tendrils with great force, sending them spiralling into the ground. The mana that Cain possessed was unusually powerful, due to the Four-Leaf Clover Grimoire he possessed. He moved his foot forward, blitzing to one spot before blitzing yet again. He now stood behind Haruhi, his blade crackling quietly. This was **Ballistic Ballroom**, a technique he had learned under tutelage of his grandfather. He patted the spine of his blade gently against Haruhi's shoulder, which would send a tingling sensation through her. "In battle, that would've hurt *way* more." he said, surprisingly gently. He had promised himself years ago that he would always protect his two closest friends, and by training with Haruhi he felt as if he was doing exactly that. He leaped over her, making his way back to his original spot.

Haruhi wasn't the least bit surprised about the speed and efficiency of Cain, she had practically grown up with him after all. She smiled brightly at her friend. "I don't doubt it. I will have to work on making this work if I am ever going to keep up with you guys! Alright, again!" She shouted as she repeated her chant. This time she was a bit faster on the words though. As she completed it, the tendrils shot out once more, and this time she discovered how she could ocntrol them. So two went straight forward, while the three others arced around, trying to snake their way past his defense.

“Oo, that’s better!” Cain exclaimed. Trying to arc from behind him was smart, Ballistic Ballroom was designed to parry incoming techniques. However, Cain was disciplined in the blade. And he had learned that could use Ballistic Ballroom to parry the tendrils into one another, neutralizing such an attack. And so did as such, causing for the tendrils to get tangled up and yet again using the technique to pat Haruhi’s shoulder. He made his way back to his original spot, as if he was thinking of something. “Hey Haru,” he called out. “Your tendril thingies are strong enough to break boulder, so why not go for an attack from below? Like burrow ‘em through the ground?”

Haruhi laughed at the irony. "Yes, I had thought of it, but now you've said it and will just expect it to happen. I think I'll try this instead! Darkest Magics now Revealed, Rage and Hatred wrought by Pious Zeal! Thine own fate thou shalt clasp. for none shall escape from the fallen's grasp!" She cried out, yet the tendrils did not reveal themselves. In reality she was keeping them inside, waiting to release them, yet seeing as he would not know this she instead did something else. "What!? But... It worked all the other times! Uhm... Maybe I should try another spell? She said while looking into her grimoire. "Ah! Let's try this one! Darkest Magics now revealed, Rage and Hatred wrought by Pious Zeal! Phantoms dancing yet around, the dark ones foes be held aground!" She shouted as suddenly she plunged forward at tremendous speeds, almost rivaling Cains own. While not visibly seen as such, she had become like a ghost. Etherial to nearly all attacks. While it would appear that she was just dashing towards him, she was actually aiming behind him. This move would let her phase through an enemy and then lock them down to the ground for a few seconds. If she succeeded she would then unleash her tendrils on him from behind, four straight forward and one from her foot through the ground and up into his chin, hopefully landing a blow this time.

Cain had no idea where Haruhi had vanished too, but moments before she had seemingly vanished, she had burst forward. It was speed that even Cain was surprised, he hadn’t been expecting for her to move like that. But that also meant she was moving in a linear fashion, as there was no way she could control that speed as of yet. It’d take quite some time, as it had with Cain. But it was magical, so he didn’t truly know.

But pure instinct told Cain what to do. Cain wasn’t the most adept at sensing magic, but he made up for it with his gut feelings. The boy brought his blade upwards past his head and brought it catapulting down, the spine facing towards the ground. Even if Haruhi would be able to simply phase through most physical attacks, Cain’s sword was composed of magic; to be more specific raw mana. If collision was made, Haruhi would be slammed into the ground, to which Cain would feel bad, but he deemed it better than going too easy on his friend.

Before Haruhi had managed to register what happened, she felt a smack to the head and she was thrown to the ground. No longer etherial but fully corporeal, she crashed into the ground. Not wanting to let that be it however, she was fast thinking enough to throw her hand to the ground rather than dampen the impact. And once she did, she sent out the tendrils underground, swiftly springing up from the ground, trying to pummel Cain. She just hoped it would be enough to land something.

“Shit.” Cain murmured as felt the ground underneath his feet shudder, the sensation of the ground cracking. He couldn’t use the technique he wanted to without harming Haruhi simply due to the nature of it. As he began to lift into the air from impact, Cain dug Manticore Claw into the ground, using it as an anchor to pull himself out of the way. The tendrils shot up violently, and Cain stared in awe. If he hadn’t had Manticore Claw active as well as his physical prowess, that would’ve been a good attack.

He looked towards Haruhi, pulling the mana sword out of the ground. “Sorry about the whole head-smack thing,” he said. “You’re gonna be quite something if you keep practising all that stuff, Haru.” he finished. "That weird speed invisible thingy especially, you moved *really* fast!"

"Thanks." She muttered while rising up, rubbing the sore spot on her head. "It didn't work as planned, but it apparently would have locked you in place if I had just phased through you. I only have one spell left to try but I don't know... It sounds pretty dangerous. Maybe I should try it on these trees first?" She said before walking up to a tree line opposite of Cain. She raised both her hand towards the treeline and began to chant. "I call the darkness of my heart and soul, to see my foe as cindered coals. From the greatest evils who shan't be woken, I call those who can't be broken. From blackest night to darkest caverns, let me throttle the starry heavens. Blackened heart be my price, to force the good of all be Excised. Stepping forth as my dark auxiliary, cometh forth and grant my victory!"

Haruhi felt an unpleasant feeling within herself. Something she did not care to feel, something she did not want to know of. Anger. Unbridled, unfettered hatred and rage. SHe could barely contain these feelings before it felt like she was bursting in flames. From her body flew innumerable 'spirits' of blackened holy energy. Once they had all been called forth they flew forward like a storm's winds, rattling the trees to their roots before devouring them of life. The trees turned dark and decayed, the leaves turning to naught but ash as the phantoms swept across the land, and in that one instant, she had destroyed a greater amount of trees than Cain had during their entire training period. She fell back on her rear and leaned on her hands as she began to feel nauseous. "I... I feel... I think I overextended there." She spoke with her mana count nearly entirely dried out and nearly feeling the want to just pass out. Too much power used at once and too quickly.

Cain gulped. That much energy was crazy, especially from such a spell. But it clearly drained Haruhi, so it was most likely a one-time per day use spell. Cain let the Manticore Spell dissipate, letting the hilt lock into place on the magnetic scabbard. A sane person would have likely asked to not see that spell again, but Cain wasn't exactly the smartest. "Once you're rested up, try that spell out on me!" he exclaimed. "I wanna learn how to fight against powerful energy blasts, especially since I'm more of a melee dude, ya know? Gotta be able to counter those long-range mages."

"Sure, just... Can we do that tomorrow? I think I need to rest up a bit now." Haruhi spoke as she got up and sauntered over to a tree and leaned against it, taking a bit of a break. "Well that was exciting. I really need to think up some new ways to use my magic if I am ever going to win against anyone. What about you Cain? Have you got any other spells in your head beyond that Manticore thingy-majig?" She asked with legitimate curiosity. Cain may not be bright, but when it comes to combat, he was indeed creative.

He laughed. "Yeah, you gotta rest up, Haru." Cain nodded eagerly, and willed for his Grimoire to float in front of him. It fluttered open and revealed a page of text towards the young mage. "Beast Magic: Chameleon Camo." he said. With that, his Grimoire vanished, and scales shot up on Cain, soon composing of his entire body. And then he vanished; clothes and all. He was completely invisible to the naked eye. He made his way around Haruhi before patting her on the back. "I'm invisible!" he exclaimed.

Haruhi had a wide smile of amazement as she saw her friend disappear before her eyes. She felt a tap on the back and smiled even wider at the sound of Cain's excitement. "That is so cool! We really need to keep working on this stuff, it is just so exciting to see these new things!" She exclaimed. "I wonder what kind of spell I can get to use next... Maybe something that lets me fight close? That would be pretty amazing!"

"Yeah!" Cain exclaimed. "I'm gonna get a hang on my magic and blow the socks off of those Magic Knight Captains. They'll all want me!" he kept yelling, feeling excited. "I gotta get one of those long-range spells like most mages have too...but I prefer melee combat, and they won't be expecting it! I'll be the best candidate of them all!"

Haruhi giggled. "Oh no, you won't. That title will belong to me!" She exclaimed, plopping down entirely on the ground, using her hands to support her head from behind. "I may have been at a disadvantage, but I am gonna catch up. I just need a spell or two more, a bit more excercise, and **I** will be the one to beat. I am gonna get so many offers!" She spoke with a cheeky grin. "Though... I don't know who I would pick when I get the offers..."

"Oh please," Cain teased. "I'll be the top candidate. Just watch!" he exclaimed. But as Haruhi brought up the idea of squads, Cain's eyes brightened. "I was thinking of Coral Peacocks. They're treasure hunters meaning they'd run into some big monsters that I could fight! Plus, their Vice-Captain and that Lady Marie...they're beautiful!!"

Haruhi playfully sighed. "You and your women antics. I swear, some days I wonder how it is that me and Ari haven't lost our sanctity with someone like you always around." She joked in a surprisingly dark fashion. "I think *maybe* Green Mantis? From what little I've heard, they appear to be magic scholars? I could use that I think, all things considered."

"Hehehehehehe..." Cain chuckled. "You're a nerd."

"And you're a buffoon. We all have our problems, Cainy." Haruhi threw back. "What if you don't get Coral? Any ideas of what then?"

"Well," he began. "They're all obviously going to want me, so I'll have choices." Cain said, but in a joking manner. "In serious talk though...maybe Green Mantis too. Their Captain...I don't know, I want to meet him. Oo! Or Crimson Lion."

"That should be easy enough." Haruhi giggled. "Aren't the Lions all stubbord hotheads like you too? Of course that they are going to want you!" She joked. "Honestly I kind of hope that we can all end up in the same squad. I don't know what I would do without you guys around me all the time!" She said with a bright smile, despite what sounded like a somber topic.

"I could do without you guys," Cain teased. "Always blocking me from peep--flirting with girls!"

Haruhi flung her hands over her chest, letting out a yelp of feigned shock and despair. "You are breaking a poor girl's heart here, Cain. I thought we had something strong binding us together!" She let out, sounding legitimately heartbroken despite being a jest.

Cain caught onto her sarcasm and responded with an equal amount. "We did! Until you stopped me from peep--flirting with girls anytime the three of us go out!"

"Wha-I am just doing my job by keeping their vicious claws away from you. I can't just let any girl approach our little Cainy-Wainy." She spoke with a cutesy voice. "Nor let you take a look at the unworthy."

"BUT THE GIRLS!" he exclaimed. "I FLIRT WITH THE BEAUTIFUL ONES! AN--" Cain began, before understanding dawned in his mind. "You're just...trying to get a rise out of me, aren't you?"

Haruhi could barely contain her laughter when he flew to the defense only to then figure out the jest. "Watch out, it's learning!" She spoke, breaking the dam, causing her to be thrown into a fit of laughter.

"YOU WANNA FIGHT, HUH?!" Cain yelled. "PUT 'EM UP, HARU!"

"You really wanna bruise up this lovely face?" She joked again. "You know I wouldn't be much of a sport now. I don't have martial arts training, and I do not have much mana left to spend. Do you really want to be known as the guy who beat up a poor, helpless girl?" She spoke, raising an eyebrow, calling her friend's bluff.

"I'LL GIVE YOU A HANDICAP AN--" he began, suddenly stopping. He leaped back, his head moving through the air violently. "Did you hear that?"

She was about to pull another joke when she noticed the concerned look on Cain's face. "I-I did not. I only heard you. Is something the matter?"

"There's a voice..." Cain began. "It said h--THERE IT IS AGAIN!" he yelled. "Chill? I'm not chilling out! Can you--STOP SAYING BRO! I SAID STOP! LISTEN HERE YOU DAFT BASTARD I SAID STOP!!" Cain began to rant, seemingly talking to himself.

"Okay, Cain, you are... Scaring me right now. What's the matter? Who are you talking to?" Haruhi asked softly. She did not know Cain for a madman, yet now he appearead just as such.

"Can you not hear the daf-- OH MY GOD WILL YOU SHUT THE FUCK UP FOR ONE GOD DAMNED SECOND!!" he exclaimed, interrupting himself. "FUCKING FINALLY. YOU DAFT PIECE OF SHIT."

Cain looked at Haruhi. "It's this voice. Can you not hear it? It's talking to me! Wh-- WHAT DO YOU MEAN SHE CAN'T HEAR ME? YOU'RE IN MY HEAD?? THAN FUCKING GET OUT OF IT!"

Any other person might start backing away by now, and fast, but Haruhi knew better than to think so ill of her best friend. "There is a voice? What does it sound like? Can it tell you its name?"

"IT SOUNDS LIKE A FUCKING HIPPIE!" he roared. "It's re--OH MY LORD I TOLD YOU TO SHUT UP. FU--OHHHH YOUR NAME IS TYPHON? THE AMOUNT OF FUCKS I GIVE IS ZERO. GET OUT OF MY HEAD!"

"Typhon?" Haruhi muttered aloud. The name was familiar to say the least, but it couldn't possibly be what she was thinking it was. "If you can hear me, Typhon, who are you and where do you come from? Why are you pestering my friend?"

"I don't think it can he--OH FUCKING HELL." he yelled. Cain was getting fed up of this damned voice. "APPARENTLY HE DOESN'T TRUST YOU ENOUGH? POI--?? POIKA WHAT NOW? NOW YOU'RE TELLING ME TO BE QUIET? OH MY GOD WHY ARE YOU STILL TALKING?!"

This was odd byeond any comparison she could think of. Telepathy or something? If so, who could it be that would go to these lenghts to pester them, and more, to know who they are? Were there a spy around them? "Typhon, please leave Cain alone for the time being. You are being very disruptive."

"HE CAN'T LEAVE! HE'S IN MY HEA--WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU'RE A PART OF ME?! UNBECOME A PART ME THEN!" Cain wouldn't stop yelling, pacing back and forth as he yelled at the voice in his head. "YOU'RE GOING TO NAP? CAUSE I'M TOO LOUD? WELL SCREW OFF THEN, TYPHON! ANOTHER THING, WHAT KIND OF NAME IS THAT ANYWAYS?"

Cain stayed quiet for a bit before sighing in relief. "So, uh. The voice went to sleep. I think?" he murmured, facing Haruhi. "I...I don't know whats happening, to be honest."

"This... This has been one of my strangest occasions in my life now. And I have seen-... Never mind, let's just keep going. What should we do now?"