A battle with half of his mana against an injured opponent.
Seems fair.Plus, it's only practice.
A mental image of Arria swinging Mondir into a tree, slashing her knife with wild eyes at Ink's arms flashed through Amos' mind. He shuddered.
Practice...
"So, what?" Arria called, "You invulnerable like Ink as well, Amos?"
"No," Amos said. He jumped up and down to loosen his muscles.
"What's your zodiac then?"
Amos smiled. "That's a complicated answer."
"Fine," Arria pushed back her hair, "you don't have to tell me. I'll win anyways."
Amos flexed his hands. The burns from his battle with Enoch in the Infinite Lake made his skin crawl. He wouldn't be going all out tonight, no sense in hurting himself here. He didn't particularly want to burn Arria either.
"Are you sure we have to do this?" he asked.
Arria didn't grace his question with an answer, but started advancing in the same boxer's stance she used on Ink. The only difference this time was the knife she held, winking a mischievous promise in the moonlight.
Amos sighed and approached her cautiously as well. He didn't want to let her choose the terrain of their skirmish, and being around too many trees would be bad for him - Arria had shown how she could use the environment to her advantage. Before he got close enough for her to swing, he spent some of his mana and summoned his golden wisp - the manifestation of Cancer's power at Rank One.
Arria eyed it with suspicion as it swirled in the air, twisting around Amos' body. It seemed to have a personality as it curled protectively around his right arm.
Then they met.
Arria's fists flashed out without hesitation. She wasn't using the knife, yet. A flurry of blows streamed at Amos' face as he brought his right hand up protectively. Arria bounced off of the golden-wrapped arm with grunts of frustration. She hadn't done any damage, but the force of her blows had sent Amos backwards.
"What is that?" she asked.
"Cancer," Amos said. "Protective magic."
Arria nodded appreciatively, then re-engaged. Amos tried a sweeping kick as she came forward, but she jumped over it and jabbed at his left side. Amos blocked the hit with a crack of knuckle on bone and stumbled. Arria took the opening, advancing with an overhead blow.
Amos went to block her strike with his boosted arm, but it was a feint. Her real attack was a jab with the knife at his stomach on the left side - completely unprotected. Amos was unable to move in time to protect himself with his body, but he sent a mental command to the golden energy.
Immediately, it unravelled itself and formed into a flat disc where the knife would have struck. The blade bounced off of his energy with a shower of sparks, injecting flashes of orange into the golden glow.
The move surprised Arria, and she wasn't ready for a counterattack. Amos kneed her in the groin, forcing her to double over and groan. He smacked an elbow into the side of her face and sent a splatter of blood onto the earth around them. She rolled away and sprang up. Seeing the knife would be ineffectual against magical shields, she flung it in what Amos perceived as frustration.
Arria's aim was perfect. So perfect, even Mondir whistled as the knife sailed through the air at Amos' temple. Amos wasn't fast enough to dodge, and if he didn't block, he would surely die as the knife embedded itself into his skull. So, he took the only option available to him.
Amos placed his Cancer shield in front of his face. Again, the dagger bounced off, but the sparks it sent flying temporarily blinded Amos. He wasn't able to determine Arria's approach as she threw another uppercut under his shield and rocking his chin.
Amos stumbled backwards, blinded and dazed. Arria gave him no reprieve, sending lightning quick punches into the open areas. Amos' golden tendril was whizzing about his body frantically, trying to predict the blows, but it was impossible. He just couldn't see. As soon as his vision returned, Arria's fist thumped the side of his head.
Amos fell to the ground. The world went dark for just a moment, then he was face down in the dirt.
Where am I?
Dirt... Blood...
Huh.
Fighting again.
Amos pushed himself up and saw Arria standing over him with hands on hips. His short term memory returned, but his head was still swimming.
"You need more practice with that. It's useful, but a good defence won't matter if you can't fight back," she said. "We done?"
Can't fight back?
Amos' anger flared, and he snarled. A tiny voice in the back of his head fed his rage;
<
Amos held his hand out, not channeling his mana, but pushing it. Forcing it out.
Arria began to mock him, but before she could finish her sentence, a burst of flame was born into the world from Amos' palm. It burned him first, briefly, then reached out to lick across Arria's form.
It was only a short burst of fire, but enough to blister Arria's skin where it touched her, and the smell of burning hair was accompanied by a scream.
<
Arria was rolling in the dirt, trying to put out the fire. Amos watched, emotionless. He stepped forward, his eyes catching the glint of her knife in the distance. A body stepped in front of him and he pushed it aside. It was saying something.
<
It didn't matter what was around him. Nothing could stop him. Amos was a force of nature, pure rage, he was-
"Amos!" Ink came crashing through the woods holding a bundle of twigs. His voice was joined by Mondir's, the sound swimming to his ears slowly as if from the bottom of a lake. Jasper was following suit. "What's going on?"
Amos blinked. The voice in the back of his head was still there, but the presence of his best friend shocked him and he realised what he had been about to do. He looked at his hand: Black.
...
Nobody wanted to be the first to go to sleep. Crickets chirped, filling the palpable silence between Amos and Arria. Ink was munching happily on some edible leaf he had found. Amos didn't care enough right now to remember the name of it. It tasted like dirt, anyway.
"Ah, don't you just love the crisp night air?" Jasper tried with a nervous laugh, rubbing the back of his head.
"Shut up, Jasper," Mondir snapped.
The group fell into silence once again. The logs Jasper found in the campfire popped and crackled. Something in the canopy rustled.
"So..." Arria was the first to breach the silence in earnest. She didn't look up at Amos. "What's your zodiac?"
Amos looked at Jasper. He decided Arria deserved an explanation, whether the money grubber was here to listen or not. "Cancer and Aries," he said.
"Which one?" Arria asked.
"No, both. I have two zodiacs, two sets of Drai abilities."
Ink smiled and nodded. "That's why we're going to the Avidia Institute!"
Arria looked up, eyes darting from Amos to Ink to Mondir then back, looking for any sign they were messing with her. She nursed an injured arm, but the burns weren't too bad overall, save for the blackened state of her hair. "How?" she frowned.
"I won't say with him around," Amos jerked his head at Jasper, who threw his hands in the air with exasperation. "But it's true. Shields and fire, it seems."
"Interesting... Yak is-" Arria began, then cut herself off with a glance at Jasper. She ground her teeth. "Nevermind. What happened in the fight?"
"I... lost control. There are voices in my head sometimes, and it feels like... a physical command. Like when you're a kid and your dad yells at you to do something, you know?"
Arria nodded. "That's why the Trenmir kill the Drai."
"I never thought it would affect me."
"No one ever does," Arria looked like she wanted to say more on the topic, but kept her mouth in a straight line.
"I'm sorry," Amos said. "I won't let it happen again. I'll be stronger."
"You better not," Arria smiled. "Seems like you're plenty strong though. I noticed the fire burns you too."
"Yeah, it's a pretty bad deal," Amos said.
"Why don't you try and protect yourself with the golden tendril?" Arria asked. "The same way you had it wrapped around your hand at the start."
"I..." Amos looked at her with surprise, "don't know. I've never thought of that."
"Nobody else that I've ever heard of has had two zodiacs. That could be your advantage! You just need to fight with your head!"
"I don't want to fight anyone. I just want to get to Port Ryndem and be safe. There are... other things I have to do."
"Oh, buddy. You are going to have to fight, no matter what. The Trenmir are coming for you. You need to be better than that to beat them, you barely beat me with your trick."
"Barely," Amos scoffed, "alright."
Arria stood. She was getting fired up, but still cradled her arm. "We'll train everyday from here to Ryndem. I'll teach you boxing! And how to use your brain, if you have one."
"I see why Yakob likes you," Amos rolled his eyes.
Arria winked. "We start tomorrow."