What's Your Seal?

[Animegurl5]

The young girl sat on the roof of her home, eyes gazing up at the blue sky that expanded before her. Her fair skin was soaking up the warmth of the sun's rays, something many in her family enjoyed. Today it was just her, however, and so she sat in the best place at the time. She wore very little to cover her body, a thin strapped shirt and bottoms that where quite short indeed. But no matter the outfit, you were sure to find the detached bell sleeves with dragons embroidered in gold on the fabric. The cloth had been dyed black in order to absorb more sunlight efficiently. Some always joked with her about being just like a lizard, how right they were. A bird soared over head, her eyes scanning it's small form. Then her eyes turned to slits and the color became twice as beautiful to look at. The creature that had seemed only just a speck seconds before now appeared as close as her own hand. She smiled as her eyes returned to normal and she lay back against the warm shingles. Her eyes drifted shut as she became quite lazy in the warm sun, and with an enormous yawn, she drifted into a short nap on the roof of her home.

[selfexiled]

The thermals are excellent today. Thought the great bird as he hovered high above the clouds, staring down to the lands below to a human's eye all that moved below were ants scurrying about thier short lives before its often abrupt end. To the bird, however, details could be made out, male, female; hair color, clothing color and the like. With a great lazy bank did the bord make his descent the wind licking at his feathers with a delightful tickle that caused such a euphoria he couldn't help but shiver a little in exctasy. About ten feet from the ground he threw his wings wide halting his drop to a near stop. The sunlight catching the brillient colours in his wings seeming to light the very air on fire with oranges and reds and golds. In this flash of light more happens... the bird is gone, replaced by a young man dropping to the ground with ease. He stands the sun's light reflecting off his wild hair of deep auburn and brighter orange and blonde highlights. Considered quite handsome by many his face was a fine chiseled example of his heritage, his eyes a complete opposite to his hair, a deep enveloping blueish green with a gold ring about the irises. He wore little, atleast for his status, a loose white tunic the laces at the neck hanging limp in the breeze. Aged hard leather bracers on each wrist, each engraved with a flying pheonix. A sturdy belt that seems to be more decoration than necessity, close fitting pants of a deep, deep indigo that some would consider black. His boots seemed the most expensive of the clothing, like the bracers they were hardened leather but with several gold buckles and small plates most with ornate engravings of plants and flowers. A large plate on the front is again engraved with a soaring pheonix surrounded by flame.
The boots make his place in the house as servants are not permitted to see the faces of the family without permission, footwear is how each family member is labeled for the servants. His boots name him hier to the master of the house, the next in line for the greatest power the house holds.
The place he landed was not by chance, he was here to check on the farmers as was his duty...

[selfexiled]

"Good day to you farmer." An aged man turns to the young lord with head lowered but after a moment of recognition he raises his head to look the young man in the eye, "Ah welcome young master how is your day treating you?" "It is good Nicoli, how about your own?" "Ah well you know my age is catching up to me but I can't really complain." "Good, how are the fields looking?" "Well the far south fields are a little dryer than the rest but still suitable for proper growth. Though if a natural rain doesn't come through soon you may need to help it along. Our lumber forests are thriving though, these eyes haven't seen such growth in a decade." "This is good, the Master will be pleased... hopefully he'll step down soon, and then I might be able to help you with your age." "Haha ooh boy you flatter me with such a statement. But I have no need to live beyond my natural years. There's something peaceful about knowing your end in coming and you've lived a good life." "Perhaps if I had lived a different life I might agree with you old man." "Ha get out of here before someone starts looking for you." "Fine then, be well Nicoli." With a gust of wind the young man leaves ground changing back into the great bird he pumps his wings until he disappears into the clouds.

[Animegurl5]

Skylar's eyes snapped open as she caught the scent of something rather delicious. "Roasting chicken, my favorite." Her eyes snapped to the sky, searching for the flaming bird, but she was not so lucky. The scent hit her again and it was seriously lacking in the smokey flavour she enjoyed so much. "Not the master then, but I might as well tease his son." She laughed as two tremendous wings unfolded from her back and she kicked off the roof heading straight for the clouds. She didn't bother with the full shift but she knew that she still only had the two elements under her control as if she hadn't shifted at all. She grumbled at her rotten luck, having been so close to being the prodigy child but only the ancient master of her house had the ability to shift with all the elements in command. "Practice makes perfect." She recited to herself as her grandmother's words whispered in the back of her mind. Reaching the prefered altitude, she paused and hovered for a moment, her wings flapping lightly to keep her in place. She spun around in a circle searching for the bird she knew to be around. "Come on, where are you?" She hissed raising her hands above her heads calling forth the element of water. She took control of the water molecules of the clouds that obstructed her view, sending them swirling to the ground like a fog. She smiled at her little trick but that smile was soon lost as the scent of her Pheonix prey hit her.

[selfexiled]

Lazily floating through the clouds, Igneus's thoughts wandered about to the many different tasks required of the Master of the family most of which he had taken over now. One of the first steps toward taking over the position, as with all of the family he wondered both when he would be granted the new position, and how it was to happen... his talents exceed most of his family part of the reason he was chosen, now he sensed a change in the moisture of the air nearby. Turning about he watched a few clouds disperse, on the other side of them at the edge of sight was a flying... girl. Webbed wings protruded from her back, an odd feature to be sure. She was the source of the cloud change, this was displeasing, his family could do the same but made an effort to not alter the natural order of things. This girl was arrogent of nature and that was wrong. More for flair than necessity he shifted back to human form holding his position in the air for a moment, smiling and then dropping from immediate sight disappearing into the other cloud he shifted back and worked his own gifts... the sky and clouds around the girl darkened and thickened, lightening bolts began to trace back and forth between the clouds, a wind will have picked up whipping her hair about her face. The wind brought rain, cold, hard and stinging. Igneus had placed a miniature thunderhead about this girl. We shall see how well she handles this, Igneus thought. The master would be displeased that he acted so but would see the purpose behind it.

[Animegurl5]

Everything was quite amusing until the clouds came back to attack her and this displeased her greatly. This was her fun and it was a bad idea to mess with her amusement. Then the thought occured to her that the one who was messing with her fun was also the one she had been searching for. "So, you finally show your face... Sort of." She hissed as the storm raged around her and her alone messing up her hair and giving her a chill. She wrapped her wings around her human body and completed her shift. As she gained the scales and the talons and the many sharp teeth, she could almost feel any control she might have had over the element of water slip away as a knew one was replaced. She snapped her wings out and let out a tremendous roar as her full dragon body emerged. Using her ability over air she called a protective tornado about her body as she cast the winds away from her and higher into the air. Her wings had grown larger than they had been when she was just partly shifted and these were twice as powerful. Her eyes flashed a brilliant blue as her red scales shimmered with power and her black scales seemed to pulse in a never ending void. "I do not appreciate you messing with my fun. It wasn't as if it were going to harm anybody." The voice sounded was deeper than that of her normal but it was quite recognizable and beautiful all the same though it did not come from her mouth. The dragon's spoke no single tongue and so they spoke with their minds in an automatic translator for all that heard her thoughts. "I came for roasted chicken but all I got was a flying rat. Begone with you." The sound had a hint of amusement but mostly annoyance. She flapped her wings once to turn in the way of bird.


((She looks like this:
))

[selfexiled]

As Igneus flew away from the thunderhead he heard a low rumble that certainly was not thunder. It carried on far longer than a thunder clap for one, and also held a small bit of malise to it. The girl then was a little irritated, that's fine. Suppose we'll have a little fun then. With a strong thrust from his wings and a "sudden" tailwind he soared up and out of sight to another dense cluster of clouds. High into the sky to the point of the air thinning and shortening breath Igneus stops and holds position, though he can't stay long the air is to thin. But there atop his thunderhead the girl or dragon now seems to be resting, looking for him. Soo she can shift too. She's from one of the great houses, Igneus's family didn't really focus on the other families much so he couldn't really recall which house it was. But it had to be nearly as old as his, which means they are likely just as strong. This could be a fun duel.
She seemed to still be searching for him, suppose he should introduce himself. He tucked his wings in and dropped aiming for the spot right between her shoulders...

[Animegurl5]

She heard the ruffle of feathers but much to late to prevent the pain that erupted from between her wings on her back. It sent her falling for a few seconds before she finally got control back and spun around to face the bird. "You are really starting to play at my nerves, boy." Her voice was followed with an unearthly screach. She pumped her wings once, jumping past the body of the bird but her tail whipped behind her in an attempt to either damage her foe's wing or to grab a hold of the creature. It had been quite a long time since she had dueled anyone, let alone someone who had taken her by surprise but despite her annoyance she found that she was enjoying herself.

[selfexiled]

He had lost himself in the drop and the adrenalin that duels always bring. He meant to pull up slightly at the last moment and latch on to her back but instead slammed into her like a boulder. The impact forced her down several feet and himself back up. "You're really starting to play at my nerves, boy." She said. "Ha, you know better than any those fish scales if yours saved most of your nerves from that hit." She thrust herself upward with a quick strong beat of her wings propelling her above his head. The whip of her tail nearly taking his wing had he not reflexively rolled away from her leap up. Using the roll to make a quick drop to gain momentum and then sweep up in a long arc to meet her head on talons out front with a great screech.

[Animegurl5]

"Fish scales? I ought to pluck every last feather from your scrawny body." She hissed though now at the higher ground, so to speak. She watched closely as he turned about and came towards her talons at the ready. "Back off!" She blew a cloud of fire before her with an equally terrifying roar. Pulling her back feet in front of her as she latched onto the bird's own talons and gripped tightly. "You forget that I have four legs rather than just two." She pounded her wings downward and back to send her up and forward at a fairly high speed. With her front two feet she attempted to scratch at the creature she now held in her grasp.

[selfexiled]

The burst of flame caught him off guard but his speed pushed him through it with little harm but a least a few feathers were singed. Talons met and locked in place neither were leaving now. "You forget I have four legs rather than two." she bellows, obviously irritated by the fish scale remark. No matter, striking out at the palm of the closest foreleg his beak draws a fair amount of blood. "Now you have only three! Care to make it even! Hahahaha! Your scales are not as tough on your feet child!" Igneus strikes out at the other foreleg...

[Animegurl5]

She bellowed out in pain pulling her other leg in close to her as she dove for the ground. Somewhere below she caught sight of a farm and decided to loose him there, falling straight down for her target. "I'm rather hungry, how about a snack?" The ground was coming closer and closer, it wouldn't be long until they reached it. The question was, could she stop?

[selfexiled]

Looking towards the ground and recognizing the field. "Sure, we can have a snack. But that field isn't ready yet, are you sure you don't want a different one?" Looking intently at the beast and at the concentration on her... face. He took a moment to check his feet, currently locked together... A shift will loose the grip and free him from her grasp. In a blink, he changed back to human form and kicked away from her then changed back to the bird and swooped away turning to the girl as she continued to drop, "You may want to pull up soon kid." Though that may be hard since the dragon's body is heavier than the bird....

[Animegurl5]

"Coward!" She hissed attempting to pull up but she was already going to fast and had no time. She spun her body around so that her back hit the ground and she slid for a few meters before she stopped and rested on her side. The large beast form disappeared and left behind the youth completely covered in dirt and filled with rage. "You are just an over grown chicken!" She yelled standing to her feet. Without taking her eyes off of the bird she drew the water from the surrounding plants which made a ring around her right wrist. "Get down here." She shot the water she had collected towards the foe and watched as it took a shape quite similar to her beast form. It hovered just below him before rocketing forward...

[selfexiled]

"Quite a hard landing little one." "You are just an overgrown chicken!" she screamed. She created an orb of water which changed shape to match her own dragon form which hovered for a moment then rocketed towards him. He attempted to roll away to dodge the blast but the "wings" of it stretched out further than he anticipated. Wing striking wing he spiralled to the ground landing hard. His natural instinct to shift back kicked in though he lost consciousness on impact. Waking and coughing in the dust "Well girl, at least you can hit." Stand he turned to face her while slowly flexing his arm to test it's damage. "Though now the gloves are off." The sky went black, rain began in sheets, heavy and hard and near frozen. Then the lightening started, erratic at first then it became more and more focused to their field of battle. He held out his hands and caught one bolt then threw it at the girl, "Catch!"

[Animegurl5]

She hardly had any time to react and was most deffinately caught in between awe and terror at the lighting her opponent now had possesion of. She dropped down with her palms on the earth, closing her eyes and praying silently. Just before the bolt hit her, a sheild of the surrounding plants and the earth itself came to her aid. "Thank you." She whispered standing straight once more. Placing her hand upon the sheild that protected her, it now shifted into a shape quite peculiar indeed. The mass of earth dropped through the ground in the form of a shark that sank below out of sight. "Hm, now we face quite a delema. When I set one of these out of my grasp, I'm not as in full control as one might think. I have no way to know where this will come up, but watch yourself for it will still feed on my energy and probably do as I wanted it to in the first place. Just thought I would warn you since you were so gracious for the heads up on the lightning bolt." Her smile was innocent but around her was the air of rage that was only satisfied with a victory.

[selfexiled]

"Oh the fish scales summoned a fish. One that you can't control and hope it comes after me instead of you, smart... Well suppose we should hurry this along then, wouldn't want you to have to say you lost because your plan backfired." Looking around Igneus realized that the downpour he caused was coming so fast the ground wasn't taking it in and it was pooling at their feet. No warning this time, raising his hands high lightening struck them both and anyone who noticed saw a small grimace as it happened. He then raked down his hands like claws leaving trails from fingertips, driving the lightening bolts into the ground and the pools of water they both stood in. The lightening was so concentrated as it dispersed across the pools it could be seen arcing fromti another and to the occasional rain drop. The bulk of the charge screaming towards the girl....

[Animegurl5]

The male's comment about her summoned fish sounded distracted her somewhat and her thoughts wandered. "You know, now that you mention it, it really doesn't make a whole lot of sense!" At the word 'sense' she was jolted back to reality... literally. She made a move to jump out of the way but she ahd realized her mistake way too late. The charged particles hit her dead on and sent her back with a scream. She lay on the ground motionless for a moment, then suddenly she sprung to life. Very comical and quite enraged, she yelled at her opponent with an out of place energy. "ARE YOU OUT OF YOUR MIND?! YOU HAVE GOT TO BE COMPLETLY INSANE!! DO YOU KNOW THAT YOU COULD HAVE KILLED ME WITH THAT?! NOT TO MENTION YOU HAVE OFFICIALLY RUINED MY HAIR!" She began spazzing out in an attempt to fix her hair, which now was sticking out in a couple of places. She attempted to call forth water but every time she tried, she ended up zapping herself with the excess charge. "You are so lucky that I don't have enough energy to shift. I would take your head off!" She growled, placing her hands on her hips in defiance.

[selfexiled]

"Hahahahaha." Waving his hand the storm disapated. "Dismiss your ground shark and I'll help regain your composure." A light wind blew up ruffling clothes and hair. "Perhaps this will broke a littel good faith. A breeze to dry yourself."

[Animegurl5]

Rolling her eyes she sat on the ground with her legs crossed and placed her hands flat out on the ground before her with her eyes shut. You could almost just see a ripple in the earth, not unlike that when a droplet of water strikes the still waters of a pond. For a moment nothing happened but then there was a counter ripple and the large shark appeared before her, not in a happy mood at not getting a snack. It looked at her for a moment before she snapped her eyes open and extended her palm out to it's nose. With a loud, unearthly sound, the creature roared and disappeared. She let out a sigh as the slight tie with the creature was broken and the last of her energy dissipated with the large fish.

[selfexiled]

"Good, thank you." Walking to her and offering a hand out to help her off the ground, "Now then lets move to some drier ground where we can see to your pains and frustrations better. Then perhaps I shall give you a gift for being such a talented duelist."

[Animegurl5]

Accepting the extended hand, she pulled herself up off the ground with more difficulty than she had anticipated. "Great, gifts for getting my ass kicked and destroying a whole section of a feild. Whoes is this anyway?" She looked around her, unable to focus really on anything around her. Somewhere in the distance a loud thundering roar sounded above the clouds. "Oh crap, better not let him see you. Kind of over protective of family, especially his younger sister. I think we should hurry and get inside, before he finds out that I lost to a flying rat. Hey, for the sake of my head.... Can we call that one a draw?" She smirked, though more at self disappointment.  "The name is Skylar, by the way, but you can just call me Sky." She added, looking at him expectantly for his name.

[selfexiled]

The bellow was certainly not a friendly one and the fact that she knew it didn't help matters. "It is a pleasure to make your aquantience Lady Skylar. I am Igneus and you may call me whatever you wish, if I take exception I'll let you know. This is one of our fields but which one I'm not sure, my bearings are off at the moment. Let's move over to those trees and we'll talk more." As Igneus gestures with one hand the other reaches into a pocket to retrieve two small vials but says nothing about them yet.

[Animegurl5]

"Oh, sorry about that. I hope it recovers from this." She said, turning her steps in the direction of the trees. She noted the vials and pondered over the possibilities of their purpose. When they reached the cover of the trees, Skylar collapsed to the ground and leaned against the rough bark with a sigh. "I haven't had that much fun in ages, and I have you to thank for that Lord Igneus. Your fighting skills are definitely something to admire. If you don't mind me asking, are you the one to inherit the secrets of the Phoenix crest? It would be good to know that we have a good ally or a formidable opponent."

[selfexiled]

"It was fun. It's always the best when both are highly skilled. As to your question of who i
I am in line to inherit the final secrets of my house if the master chooses to relinquish his seat." Offering her one of the vials, "Here, take this you'll feel better." Taking the other vial, Igneus uncorks it and swallows the contents. With a long relieved breath/sigh he visibly looks better.