Dretphi lowers her head from gazing up at the white, fluffy clouds above in the blue sky, and smiles at Bach with a persuading hint in her voice. "I thought we could practice close quarters maneuvers. Weather is supposed to be bad Tuesday."

Shifting her platinum blonde braids, she shrugs her shoulders slightly. "Take advantage now. Practice magic flow when we do not want to be outside."

With blinks of thought, Bach glances around the immediate vicinity and scratches his head of longer, brown hair, guiding the lone white streak to a side. "Uh, yeah. Sure, I guess. The ground mat isn't out here."

He motions with a thumb towards the ranch style house. "Do you want me to go get it? I think I remember seeing it in your room against the wall."

Shaking her head, Dretphi kneels down, picks up a well padded practice shield, and stands up with both hands holding it, a grin growing on her tan face. "No grappling. Punches. Kicks. With this shield. We will take turns."

His stare widening, uncertainty leaks out, and Bach averts his eyes away, searching for a diversion in vain. Nervously chuckling, he struggles to present and maintain a nonchalant exterior. "Well... Uh... Maybe? I'm not that good at the whole close quarters thing... I'm sure you know..."

The smile on Dretphi's face wavers, and she gazes down towards the ground, lowering the shield down. "Yes. I know. We can start slow. Simple. Easy."

Bach notices the shift in Dretphi's body language and grimaces. "I guess. I, uh... I just don't think I'd be the best one for this stuff."

Smiling hopefully, Dretphi bites her lower lip with a shrug. "You are the best I have."

Bach cocks his head to the side and puzzles at her statement. Dretphi sighs, fights back embarrassment, and briefly twists her mouth. "We have similar weight. Height. Strength potential. Sebastian helped before."

Fighting against a frown, she exhales her disappointment. "He can not now. Cideeda tries. Too light. Aristespha helps. Have to be careful to not wear out our medic. Sotalia..."

Both Bach and Dretphi make eye contact, ponder similar thoughts, and roll their eyes. With an understanding groan, Bach nods and snorts. "Yeah... I can just imagine how that would get a bit old after a while."

Dretphi smirks and hides an impish flit of satisfaction. "When I tire of her... Hit the shield hard a few times. She stumbles. Wants to do other things."

Chuckling, Bach shakes his head with an understanding sigh. "Yeah... You do have a point. Well, I'll do what I can. But..."

He musters up a smirk. "Just don't expect that much."

A bright smile appears on Dretphi's face, and she lifts up the padded practice shield along with her spirits. "Thank you. I think I am the best to help you practice. You know how... resilient I am."

Standing in front of Bach, she holds the shield up at the ready, waiting expectantly. "Go first. Punch. Try it out. Take it slow. Work on form."

Bach glances over at the practice pad securely positioned by Dretphi, pausing in thought. He slowly changes his stance and readies himself. Carefully balling up his fists, Bach rolls his shoulders and breathes in preparation. Pulling back arm, he aims his posture and glances towards Dretphi for confirmation. Dretphi quickly releases one hand from the shield, demonstrates the proper form with her free arm, and motions towards Bach's deficiencies. Studying a moment, Bach adjusts his raised fist and waits for Dretphi to return her hand to the shield. He tenses his muscles, drives his punch forward, and lands in the ample padding of the practice pad. Dretphi barely rocks from the meek force. Pulling back his hand, Bach readies himself again and glances over again for confirmation. Dretphi lifts a curious brow and nods quickly. "Punch. Hard."

Bach narrows a stare at the middle of the practice shield, stretches his muscles, and flings another punch into the cushioned surface. He repeats the process many times and switches to his other hand. Dretphi studies each impact, watching the form of Bach's punches. A number of punches later, her stare towards Bach spawns hints of annoyance. She examines the motion of each attack. With another few impacts, she steps back, stands up straight, and focuses her scrutinizing gaze upon Bach. "You are NOT punching hard. Why?"

Gradually lowering his fist, Bach blinks blankly at the examination from Dretphi and fumbles for an answer. "Uh... Um... I... Well, I don't want to hurt you?"

Dretphi cracks a confident smirk, glances at the thick, ample cushioning of the practice shield, and places her hands on hips with subtle flexing of her muscular frame. "Appreciate the sentiment. I SHOULD be able to manage."

Studying Dretphi's imposing figure for seconds, Bach blinks back to awareness, sighs uneasily, and shrugs his shoulders. "Well... I'm just a bit hesitant to go full strength in attacking anyone really. Probably sounds really silly given our current line of work, but..."

A warm smile appears on Dretphi, and she relaxes her posture. Holding the practice shield low in front of her with both hands, she nods understanding and calmly explains. "It is not. Restraint is admirable. A good quality."

She steps forward, turns the shield around, and presents it to Bach. A eager grin sneaks out from the corner of her mouth, and she lifts her eyebrow, observing Bach. "You should not sacrifice potential from over restraint. This is practice. This shield will soften powerful impacts to a small force. Here."

Bach takes hold of the shield. Dretphi gestures with both arms and demonstrates. "Hold it like this. Brace one foot back. Stand firm. Not stiff. Flex with the force."

Nodding slowly, Bach grips hold of the practice pad by thick, well made straps, shifts his stance, and readies his upper body. Dretphi waits patiently. Bach presents the shield in front himself, cringing uneasily in anticipation. Quickly assuming a proper posture and maintaining her form, Dretphi targets the shield with her steely gray eyes, pulls back her tensed tan, faint gray striped arm, and launches a fast fist solidly into the cushioning of the practice shield. The force radiates through the outer fabric covering, and sends a shock wave of air rippling outwards from the center to outer vent holes. The whole shield pushes upon Bach and rocks him back smoothly. Following the force through, Bach bends back and returns forward with little effort. He blinks a few times in surprise, examines the padded shield closer, and smiles amazed. "Well shit... That wasn't that bad at all. Just a general push backward, but nothing sharp or hard."

Grinning eagerly, Dretphi excitedly pantomimes her fists at the ready. "Want to continue?"

With a snort, Bach shrugs his shoulders and holds the practice shield to Dretphi, planting his feet back in preparation. "Well, yeah, sure. Hell, if that's all I've got to worry about, I'll be just fine."

Dretphi unleashes series after flurries of punches into the cushioned pad, waiting for Bach to return to the ready with each volley. She motions for Bach to move the shield to another position, explains her intentions, and patiently waits, with a hint of an energetic squirm. Bach resets to a new direction and she performs a new series of physical attacks upon the practice pad. In between breaks, she showcases the maneuvers in careful and specific detail, and slows the process down to highlight motions to Bach. Minutes later, Dretphi wipes her forehead of sweat, rolls her muscular shoulders, and stands straight, holding her hand out. "Your turn. I will hold the shield."

The two switch jobs. Bach cautiously attempts a series of punches, each repetition growing more forceful. Dretphi smiles encouragingly and utilizes the lulls in Bach's flurries to point out areas of improvement. Rotating through a similar routine, Dretphi leads Bach through the set, changing the shield position for another type of attack. Bach keeps his pace with plenty of panting from the intensity of the work out. Minutes later, Bach flings forth a series of sloppy maneuvers under the influence of tired, heavy breathing. Dretphi steps back with a hand out. "Switch. That was good. This time, move the shield to a position away from the center. I will hit it. You choose a new spot when you feel like it. Repeat."

Nodding, Bach takes the practice shield from Dretphi. He draws in a few deep breaths, trying to stem his panting, and rolls his shoulders. "Okay. Sounds good. I'll see what I can do."

With excitement springing, Dretphi flexes her built form, assumes a readied posture, and waits. Bach grips the padded shield with both hands and keeps it in the center. Watching Dretphi's eager gaze upon the target, he quietly ponders a few moments, a smirk growing. He slides the practice shield in one direction and feels the impact. Quickly shifts back to the center, he chooses another spot and slides the shield over. Leading with a series of slow transitions, Bach speeds up the pace and varies where the next spot will be, breaking up patterns. Dretphi's attention latches upon the developing game between her and Bach, and she smiles happily, the challenge continuing.

From across the field behind the ranch style house, from the corner of the lot, a distant, still audible groan from Tassilda rises out of the natural background. "... Again... You must FIRST perform protective incantations BEFORE you do the other parts of the spell..."

Veevi's distinctively irritated whines peaks up into the airspace, very little traveling the distance remains coherent. Bach and Dretphi both pause and glance over in confusion. Listening a moment, both simultaneously roll their eyes. Bach shakes his head and smirks with a grumble. "Okay. A few more rounds, and let's go inside for a bit."

Nodding in agreement, Dretphi twists her mouth into a grimace, fighting tinges of frustration. "Yes. I like peace when I practice."

The two resuming, Bach shifts the practice shield to a new position, and Dretphi tags it with a swift jab. Tassilda's voice breaks out from the natural ambience into a shrill shout. "... What are- OH GODS! FIRE IT UP IN THE AIR! NOW!"

A small bolt zips up into the sky, past the corner of the backyard. Bach lifts the practice pad up in front of him. Dretphi pushes forth her fist towards her target. A sharp, jarring crack suddenly concusses out. Bach startles, reflexively tensing his upper body, and snaps his eyes towards the source behind him. Dretphi briefly snaps her attention to the origin of the sound. Returning his gaze forward, Bach catches a glimpse of Dretphi's fist approaching, the protective barrier lowered with his tensed arms. Dretphi flicks her gaze ahead and widens her steely gray eyes in fright. She loosens her tight fist, vainly wills her arm another direction, and curls her hand inwards, turning her body away. Against best efforts, momentum indiscriminately carries her forward. The back of her wrist plants solidly into Bach's upper cheek, dragging rigidly across his nose. A wet, muffled snap sounds out. Bach's head turns away from the impact, leading the rest of his body in a stumbling twirl. Dretphi lands on her side upon the ground. Reflexively, she puts her hands down and pushes herself, wincing sharply when her wrist bends. Back upon her feet, she rushes over to Bach. Still on his feet, Bach steadies himself in place between wobbles. Dretphi reaches out her hands to either side of his shoulders. "Are you okay?!"

He pivots slowly in place and faces Dretphi, his blue eyes watering and red streaming out of a sharply bent nose. Snorting out a crimson spray from his nostrils, he blinks through his hazy vision with a pained, unsure tone. "Uh... Maybe? OW..."

Paling in horror, Dretphi covers mouth in shock with her other hand and blurts direly apologetic phrases of Grath. She quickly places her free hand upon Bach's back and gently guides him inside the house.

----

Aristespha lifts an investigative eyebrow and narrows her glowing violet eyes towards Bach's warped nose. Her medically gloved hands carefully guides Bach's head around, both sitting in facing dining table chairs. A few more sways of Aristespha's head later, she trains her attention upon the crooked ridge of Bach's nose. Nodding with a neutral smirk, she hums thoughtfully and perks her ivory brow. "Certainly broken. But, it is nothing too serious. It seems to have fractured cleanly in a few locations."

Narrowing her medically analytical stare, she smiles reassuringly. "Nothing that can not be fixed quickly."

Cideeda passes another clean bundle of paper towels to Bach and plucks the red spotted mass of old sheets from him. Sotalia leans close and curiously stares at the swollen section of cheek and bent nose. Blinking in honest surprise, she glances over to Dretphi with an ill-humored smirk. "Good gods, GIRL. What did he do to get THIS from you?"

Dretphi snaps an unamused glare right back at Sotalia and gently rubs her wrist, standing away from the gathering. "NOTHING! It was... An accident..."

Bach gradually nods, sniffs shallowly with a wince, and glances over to Sotalia. "Yeah. Some loud noise startled both of us at the worst time. I think it, um, came from the other team? At least the yelling from that direction sounded familiar."

Frowning, Dretphi watches Bach explain and rolls her shoulders uncomfortably, keeping her gaze low. "Yes. Tassilda. Veevi."

Cideeda twists her mouth in thought and rests her hands at her hips. Flicking her furry ears, she squints her emerald eyes through the glass of the back sliding door. "THAT explains where that noise I heard came from. Still don't know what it was."

Sotalia crosses her arms, rolls her golden eyes with a groan, and shakes her head of fiery orange, wavy hair. "Gods. Probably yet another magical mishap from that annoying little shit not following instructions. Tassilda really needs to find a way to get out of teaching that pink bitch anything else."

She pauses a moment and sighs. "As nice as it would be for her to blow herself up..."

Swinging her gaze over the gathering, she groans. "She'd probably take all of us out doing so."

Sebastian hovers next to Bach and cranes his head over with a smirk. "Damn, bro. Looks like quite the hit you took. Should be able to get you fixed up."

His ethereal face winces. "But... GODS. THAT has to hurt."

Bach manages a smile through discomfort and breathes out a laugh. "Yeah. But... I was at least still standing afterwards. Even if I stumbled around a few times. To be fair though, Dretphi pulled it as much as she could at the last second. Probably would have knocked me out cold otherwise."

Dretphi's shoulders tense, and she bites her lower lip. Averting her gaze, she tries to hide the growing embarrassment and shame building upon her tan face, guilt obviously seeping out into her body language. Aristespha sighs, adjusts her chair opposite of Bach, and stares with a professional demeanor at him. "Okay. Since it is very recent and clean, I can perform a very powerful series of spells to realign it all back into place. Then, I will fuse the bones and bind the softer tissues enough that it will secure everything. After that, a few alchemical treatments to aid the natural healing process."

Bach nods in understanding, pads up a slow trickle of blood from under his nose, and shrugs his shoulders. "Okay. Yeah. That sounds pretty good."

Aristespha draws in a long breath and sighs, gritting her teeth. "Unfortunately, due to the nature of the spells involved and how much focus and care they require..."

She exhales into an uneasy grimace. "I can not afford any magical pain management during the process."

Bach's stare towards Aristespha slides quickly towards uneasiness, and he awkwardly smiles. "Well, uh, um... Any other options?"

With a calm, proper demeanor, Aristespha explains the situation. "I can not use anything alchemical before the procedure, as it could cause interference. I can give you some mild pain relievers, but those will provide very limited relief and take time for your body to process. Ideally, we need to do this as soon as possible. The longer we wait, the longer it will take to properly align and fuse tissues together, as I will have to counteract more of the body's natural reaction to this injury over time."

She presents a reassuring smile and patient, calm exterior. "There are other options, but they will take significantly more time and effort to perform over the course of two weeks or so. It is fully up to you on how I proceed."

Bach ponders quietly, his eyes searching his mind. Seconds of thought later, he sighs with a resigned grumble and rolls his blue eyes at himself. "Let's just get it done now. And QUICK. We all got bigger things to deal with."

Furrowing his brow, he smirks. "Shit, even I have better things to worry about."

Aristespha nods with a slight, confirming bow. "Understood."

Glancing over her shoulder, she signals Dretphi over. "Dretphi? Could you come over and hold the sides of Bach's head."

Dretphi blinks to attention, nods, and steps over behind Bach's chair. Aristespha gazes with her glowing violet eyes at Bach and precisely gestures out an incantation. Readying her hands near Bach, she draws in a long breath and calmly explains. "I will be as gentle as I can when moving bones in place. Stay as relaxed as possible. Stay as still as possible. You will have some help there."

She gazes up to Dretphi and motions to the sides of Bach's head. "Just keep his head from reflexively turning away. It sometimes happens even when people are trying their best."

Nodding slowly, Dretphi places both hands firmly, gently on either side of Bach's head. Her wrist bends, and she subdues a wince. Bach eyes over to the side, feeling the subtle quiver of Dretphi's hand. With hints of amusement, Aristespha smiles comfortingly and rests her gloved finger lightly upon Bach's nose. "Well. Here is the glamorous part of my job they do not tell anyone."

Each of her pinkie fingers slips into respective nostrils of Bach's nose, and flows of magical energy stream through her hands into a radiant coating upon the nasal structures. Staring at Bach, she signals with a nod. Bach closes his eyes tightly. Aristespha concentrates her full focus and prepares. Seconds of study later, her fingers move swiftly and precisely. A wet series of muffled crunches spike into the air. Sotalia quickly covers her pointed ears, shuddering in full body wince, and wretches briefly, stepping away. Cideeda's furry ears droop back, and she grits her sharp teeth, tensing her shoulders. Dretphi presents a stoic facade, barely hiding her discomfort, and gazes upon Bach concerned. Sebastian twists his mouth, uncomfortable familiarity washing over his ethereal visage. Bach staggers a gasp through his teeth. "G-g-gods... Fuck..."

Aristespha keeps her attention upon the task and pauses briefly, updating Bach. "The bones and cartilage are back in place. Now to secure them to each other."

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She smiles encouragingly. "Hang in there, Bach. You are doing really well."

The energies surrounding and within Bach's nose flash up to a bright prismatic glow. Bach opens his blue eyes wide in shock and painfully grimaces. His fists clench, forearm muscles tense, and he gasps in a breath of air. With a cringe, Dretphi secures Bach head in place against instinctive, reflexive motions to turn. The minutes pass by slowly for Bach and the group. Magical flows fade out quickly, and Aristespha gingerly removes her hands from Bach with a relieved smile. "It is done."

Dretphi gently releases Bach from her hold. Swaying his head side to side in a momentary daze, Bach blinks back to clarity. Dretphi rests her hand upon Bach's shoulder, steadying him in the chair. Bach sniffs up a long draw of air through his nose and flutters his blue eyes. "Wow! Just... Wow... Oh, holy shit..."

With a weak smile, he glances at Aristespha briefly and laughs lightly. "So... Can I get something to help the natural healing process..."

Gasping in a bit of air, he grimaces into a wince. "And, my sanity?"

Aristespha grins in commiseration with a single nod, removes the thin, transparent medical gloves off her hands, and tosses them into a nearby trash can. "YES. Most certainly."

She glances over to Sotalia with a smile. "Could you get me a vial from the latest batch of analgesics we made?"

Sotalia confirms and departs quickly, occasionally shuddering and shaking it off mid stride. Bach pauses in a thought briefly and curiously glances up to Dretphi concerned. "Oh yeah... Um, how is your wrist? Now that I think about it... That's what actually hit me. Not your fist."

Dretphi's steely gray eyes widen, and she glances around in a thinly veiled facade of calm. "OH. It will be fine."

Bach hoists an unconvinced eyebrow up on his light tan face and tugs at the corner of his mouth. "How is it, currently?"

Embarrassment leaks out into Dretphi's uneasy smirk with hints of guilt, and she sighs uncomfortably. Cideeda pulls out a chair from the nearby dining table, slides it over next to Bach's, and motions Dretphi into it. Aristespha turns her chair to face the new seat. Sebastian smiles understandingly and shakes his head slowly. "It's okay. Bach is fine. You're next. Sit down, and let's get it taken care of."

Dretphi sides steps around, sitting down in the empty chair, and presents her aching wrist. Aristespha examines her injury. Dretphi turns her head towards Bach with a soft tone. "I am... VERY... sorry. I wanted the training to be fun. Not end like this."

She frowns and exhales sadly. "I will understand if you are hesitant to participate in the future."

Bach slowly angles his head and faces Dretphi. Shrugging his shoulders, he grins nonchalantly. "Ah. You don't have to worry. As if I'm letting something like this stop me, especially at THIS point. It's not like it's the first injury I've gotten by accident from friends or family."

A wave of relief washes over Dretphi, and she smiles warmly towards Bach. "Thank you."

With a twist in his smirk, Bach groans. "Also... It's not like I haven't been in your position before."

Sebastian rolls his translucent blue eyes and grumbles ethereally, crossing his arms. "No shit there, bro."

Narrowing his glance briefly at Sebastian, Bach grins mischievously towards Dretphi and points generally to his front teeth. "For example, the points on two of Sebastian's canines are... or were reforms."

Snapping his glare upon Bach, Sebastian's ethereal form tightens his arms, and he sneers. "WELL... MAYBE if SOMEONE had remembered to look for the pieces after he ACCIDENTALLY led me into that metal post... I wouldn't have had to sit in that dentist chair for HOURS as they formed new ones!"

Concentrating an accusatory glare at Sebastian, Bach mumbles loudly, flexing his wrist, and holds it with his other hand. "OH. Only fair after convincing me to jump THAT creek with my bike. Again, that cast up to my elbow was SO MUCH fun."

Sebastian's expression blanks, and his eyes search around the area, avoiding Bach's glare. "Uh... Well... In all fairness, bro, I kind of thought you'd make it."

Pausing in thought, he awkwardly smirks. "And, you did... But... I just didn't know that rock would catch your front wheel like that on the other side."

The brothers continue to dig up old sibling battle wounds. Aristespha rolls her glowing violet eyes and smirks towards Dretphi, inspecting her wrist further. Dretphi leans close to Aristespha and smiles, whispering. "Reminds me of my two brothers."

Quirking her brow, Aristespha responds in a similarly quiet manner, directing her quiet voice at Dretphi. "Including the accidents?"

With a slight grumble, Dretphi curls her upper lip slightly and nods slowly. "Unfortunately."

----

A bright orb of light hovers above Meredosia's palm, and she swings it slowly around. The light casts a few meters upon the floor of the massive, cavernous, and dark space. Walking carefully ahead, she shines the illumination upon large industrial machinery and golem parts at many stages of construction. Speckles reflect from surrounding stone, glints flicker from scattered metal, and light diffuses through embedded crystals in the area. Meredosia narrows her dark crimson eyes and peers out into the shadowy space at the perimeter of her light and snaps her stare down upon the floor. Kneeling down, she pulls her gray hair out of the way and over a long, pointed ear. She cocks her head in a mix of curiosity and worry, her ivory fingers tracing out unfamiliar, recent footprints in the dirt and dust on the ground. She lifts her head up, stares ahead determined, and stands up with a growing sneer.

Meredosia maintains a cautious pace, keeping her attention forward towards the tunnel archway past the small building within the gigantic, dark cave. Her gaze shifts briefly towards the wrecked interior of the structure and strewn debris sprawled out in front of its entryway. Squinting through the dim outer edge of her light, she speeds up her pace towards the huge tunnel archway. Stopping momentarily, she studies the disturbances in the dust upon the smooth stone floor. Her hard stare follows five distinct, recent trails upon older tracks matching the outlines of her boots. She closes her eyes, remaining silent. Only the faint sounds of air flowing contrast the eerie silence, her very long, pointed ears twitching. Her eyes open up with a dark crimson glow radiating out.

Each of Meredosia's steps propel her forward at an increasing pace down the tunnel leading to the barely ajar, massive double doors at the end. She grits her teeth and grimaces, concern, dread, and anger mixing upon her ivory face. Quickly slipping through the gap between the doors, she stands upon the dimly lit stone path surrounding a deep, dark pit. She snaps her head to either side and searches the immediate routes down the walkways, focusing her attention to the crystal embedded cave ceiling overhead. Puzzlement overwhelms her, and she mutters a series of confused Evuukian phrases, her expectations remaining unsatisfied. Blinking her glowing crimson eyes, she returns her gaze forward towards the platform. Her jaw drops open. Her eyes widen in absolute horror. She silently gawks blankly at the partially collapsed central platform. A few squeaks of disbelief escape her lungs, and she recognizes the few scattered and strewn parts of the dire wolf golem, draped precariously upon the ruined structure.

Stepping slowly and staggering, she yells out a single word in a dialect of evuukian, and the light orb in her palm dissipates in sudden puff of miasma. Her astonished gawk searches vainly between the devastated mechanical corpse of the dire wolf construct and the torched, tipped central platform. Her attempts at speaking start and stumble to abrupt halts, comprehension evading Meredosia entirely. Horror filling her face, she curls her fingers in her gray hair. Seconds later, her ivory face reddens deeply, and she throws out her arms down in a pained scream of rage. She gasps for air, panting unsteadily, and tenses her whole body. Enraged words shriek from her mouth, each new phrase leaving her with surging levels of spite and hate. She stomps down the walkway towards a twisted central access ramp, diverts from her course, and stops to scream out a single name. "NOXIAN!!!"

Meredosia's bright crimson gaze locks onto an old crate, and she sends a clenched fist into the ancient wood. Pulling out her hand, she kicks another box with all her might and sends dry rotted splinters into the air. Her fury wanes with each outburst, and she drops to her knees. Tears stream from Meredosia's eyes with each wet, angry sob and spatter upon the dusty, carved rock walkway. Doubling over at the mercy of her emotions, she slams her fists upon the hard path, punctuating each charged evuukian word leaving her lungs. Her vigor leaves, and she collapses fully onto the floor into a panting, shaky pile. Minutes pass, and her exhaustion leads her to silence in the massive crystal cave. Over time, her breathing returns to normal, and she gathers some semblance of composure. She gets her arms underneath her and gradually rights herself up into a seat upon the cold stone walkway. Meredosia releases a long sigh and stares distantly, her attention well within her own mind. Her blank gaze wanders aimlessly around her vicinity, and a gradual flow of air flutters a pile of debris nearby. Meredosia's long ears twitch, and she slowly pivots her stare upon a few recent, medical supply wrappers. Reaching out, she plucks the paper off the ground and puzzles over the writing. In a confused daze, she reads the ink stamped writing next to the printed text out loud. "... Sold at Amaranth Valley General Pharmacy..."

She tilts her head to the side and ponders the torn wrapper in her hands, idle silence returning to the crystal speckled cave. Narrowing her stare upon the printed font, her ivory fingers feel the torn paper wrapper. Her gaze drifts off into her mind, and the faint flow of air from the massive pit drifts around her, fluttering the stray strands of her long, gray hair around her very long, pointed ears. Shaking out of her stupor, she carefully sweeps up other bits of fresh trash and examines them closely. Sparks of determination filling her face, she carefully stows away the evidence into a pouch. Furrowing her brow, Meredosia manages to get footing beneath her and stands up, brushing off the dust and dirt from her nature themed outfit.

She draws in long deep breaths, wrestles the swirling emotions off her face, and surveys the massive crystal cavern. Tightening her fists, she summons up her resolve into a scowling sneer and hisses out through gritting teeth.

----

Veevi dons a determined grimace, hoists up her wooden practice sword with both hands, and side steps in a circle around Trakenthin. After a few meters, she stops, the wind blowing locks of her pink hair in her face. Keeping her pink pupil eyes upon Trakenthin and hands on the sword, she tosses her hair back, tenses her muscles, and grits her sharp teeth. A moment of silence falls upon the back lot of the two story house, with only the bored, annoyed sigh from Trakenthin contrasting the quiet. Veevi digs her feet into the grass, charges forth towards Trakenthin, and swings for an open spot upon the tall, large grath. Trakenthin watches halfheartedly, waiting for Veevi to get within a meter, and swiftly swings the mop handle. With a slight shift in his stance, Trakenthin parries Veevi's attack, redirects her momentum, and lightly presses the pole in the exact spot, throwing her off balance. Veevi yips in surprise, her shoulders tipping past her center of gravity, and flops awkwardly onto the ground. Her fuzzy ears flick around, and her short-haired tail wags with her agitation. Lifting up her head from ground, she draws back her hair from her face and spits out a few blades of grass.

Trakenthin glances down at the half-fvalian annoyed and maintains his stoic front. Veevi hops up to her feet, brushes off her tight fitting shirt and shorts, and readies her practice sword again. She ponders a few moments, changes up her pose, and switches up her grip upon the sword. Circling around the stationary grath a number of times, she sprints suddenly at Trakenthin. Her attack swings to another perceived opening. Trakenthin deftly handles the sloppy attempt upon him and guides Veevi back onto the ground with minimal effort with the mop handle. The cycle repeats, Veevi rotates through variations of attacks, approaches, and methods. Each meets a similar minimal effort counter from Trakenthin. Veevi flops on the ground and remains upon the grass, panting.

She grumbles to herself, lowering her fuzzy, pointed ears, and pulls up a handful of grass, frustration flaring up on her tan face. Working the grimace off, she narrows her eyes in thought, glances over to Trakenthin, and smirks slightly. Switching to a lighter expression, she sits herself up on the ground and catches her breath. Trakenthin quirks a curious brow with a hint of hope coloring his tone. "Finished?"

With a flutter of her eyes, Veevi presents a cute smile. "Oh. No. Just taking a break. Having to spar with such a big, tall, powerful warrior is a bit tiring."

Trakenthin twitches his upper lip and rolls his hazel eyes with a long, tired sigh. "Whenever you are ready."

Veevi smiles slyly, props herself up with her arms behind her, and arches her back in long, figure revealing stretch. She extends her legs out, gradually flexing her form, and works herself into a near side split upon the ground. Donning a seductive, sharp grin, she gazes towards Trakenthin. Her facade falters, and she notices Trakenthin's attention poring through paragraphs of text on his aetherphone. With a sneering frown, Veevi sits up, folds her legs, and crosses her arms, petulantly pouting. Her glare examines Trakenthin and settles upon the many faded spots and scars upon his dark bronze arms and legs. Veevi smiles sharply and lifts an intrigued dark pink eyebrow. "You seem like such an amazing fighter. You've certainly shown me your... impressive skill. But, I have to ask, where did you get all those scars?"

Hazel eyes springing wide open briefly, Trakenthin maintains a calm, stoic exterior. Veevi stares blatantly at Trakenthin, rests her head upon her hands, and grins with a seductive tone. "Hmm. I can barely imagine the amazing battles you must have been through."

Trakenthin's cheek twitches, and a frown lightly weighs down the corners of his mouth. With a soft, alluring tone, Veevi sways with her tail and bites her lip. "After all you've shown me, I find it amazing that ANYONE got even a chance to put a scratch on you."

Fighting a curl of his upper lip, Trakenthin lifts his gaze up from his phone and stares ahead with a distinctly unamused tint. "My scars came from no battles."

Veevi blinks surprised and presents an impressed smile. She slides gradually along the grass towards Trakenthin, keeping her gaze upon him. "WELL. That's interesting. Would you tell me how you got them? I'm sure each has a story...

Furrowing her brow, she wanders her stare. "I'm especially interested in the ones that..."

She sharpens a smirk. "I can't see right now."

A wave of discomfort washes over Trakenthin, cracking his stoic demeanor, and he stares distantly ahead. Moments into his mind, he shudders, shakes his head briefly, and plainly states. "No good stories. Came from training. Long time ago."

Cocking her head to the side, Veevi genuinely blinks surprised. She halts her stealthy approach towards Trakenthin, mustering up her seductive demeanor, and dons a sly grin. Reaching out, she moves her hand near Trakenthin's leg and hovers a finger over a faded scar on Trakenthin's thigh. "Wow. That had to be some serious... INTENSE... training. It certainly made you quite the tough, strong man."

Tension surges up in Trakenthin's shoulders, and he grimaces. Shaking his head with a cringe, he quickly regains awareness. His cold, irritated stare aims down at Veevi, and he snarls his upper lip. With loud snort, he raises the mop handle above Veevi and growls lowly. "DODGE."

Before touching Trakenthin, Veevi glances up bewildered. "Wha-"

Her pink pupils shrink, her eyes widen in terror, and she witnesses the tensing muscular arms of Trakenthin, mop handle at the ready. Reflexively cowering backwards onto the ground, she crosses her arms in front of her face, shielding herself. Watching her squirm awkwardly away, Trakenthin narrows his glare upon her and rolls his hazel eyes. He relaxes his arm, sighs out his anxiety, and regains his stoic facade. "Pay attention. Keep your weapon with you."

Veevi peeks out through uncrossing arms, nods her head, and turns, grabbing her practice sword. Facing away from Trakenthin, a satisfied, sinister smile creeps upon her lips. She quickly hops up on her feet and pivots towards Trakenthin with her sword ready and a confident grin upon her face.

----

On the floor in the middle of the garage, Aristespha and Bach sit cross legged upon folded towels. Sotalia touches up the complicated magical markings encircling Aristespha and Bach, draws a few paths near her with a fine tipped piece of chalk, and glances over, reading from an open tome. Sebastian hovers overhead, floats down, and lands next to Dretphi. Patiently waiting and observantly watching, Dretphi stands at the ready with the sword in its scabbard just outside the circle. Cideeda adjusts an electronic camera on a tripod a few meters away and leads a cable up to the holoplayer resting on a workbench near the corner of the garage. Bach surveys the activity around the room, slowly squirming in discomfort, and grumbles lightly. "I know a lot of this is precautionary and for information purposes..."

Wrestling a frown down, he softly huffs. "But, I really can't shake the feeling I'm some kind of dangerous science experiment about to go wrong."

Aristespha presents a comforting smile to Bach and nods calmly. "I know. You are not the only one. I think we have all seen those movies. Still, if you do not feel comfortable with doing this, we should be able to try it another time."

Shrugging her shoulders with her clawed hands upwards at her side, Cideeda smirks nonchalantly. "Yeah, it's not like we park anything big in this garage. We can keep the monitoring equipment set up for a while."

Sotalia glances up from the thick, large book, and smiles with a kind tone. "Don't worry. We'll work with whatever is comfortable for you."

Resuming her examination of the detailed information in the tome, she slowly turns to the page with great interest. Bach twists his mouth, deliberating, and shakes his head with a smile. "No, it's okay. I NEED to do this. Well, at least start figuring out what..."

He furrows his brow. "I can actually do..."

Sighing, he rocks his head gradually side to side in a stretch and straightens his posture. "With everything going on... The golem attack... Whatever crazy shit Meredosia is trying to do..."

He squints at a memory. "Finding all those Elder energy collection platforms, especially at that hidden factory. And, well, Noxian in general. I..."

Drawing in a long breath, he exhales with a faint slouch. "I really just need to stop putting off exploring this more."

Sebastian nods at Bach with a proud grin on his ethereal face and appreciative tone. "Hey, bro. We'll do what we can at whatever pace you choose. Don't think I don't understand the fact you're putting yourself at risk here."

Bach smiles, eases in a lungful of air, and vents out his nerves. "Thanks. Yeah... Okay... I guess I'll try to draw out a small orb of it. A very little one."

Aristespha nods, blinks her eyes to a glowing violet, and prepares herself. "That would be a good place to start. After I prepare a few protective measures and Sotalia charges the circle, you can begin."

She carefully recites a long chain of incantations, precisely gestures out a series of complicated motions with her hands, and concentrates upon Bach. Sotalia places her hands upon the intricate lines leading to the encircling runes around Bach and Aristespha. Magical flows swirl gently around her forearms and sink into the paths upon the concrete floor. A faint glow radiates throughout the protective circle, gradually pulsating idly. Bach glances around at all the activity and notices Cideeda pressing a record button and Dretphi gripping the sword tightly. He closes his eyes for a few seconds, and reopens them to a bright blue. Magical energy from all parts of his body flows out and condenses into complicated structures around his arms and upper body. Layers upon layers materialize from the magical miasma venting forth from Bach. Minutes later, Bach carefully pulls in a nervous, wary breath, and slowly exhales, mustering his focus. Lifting his hands close in front of him, he directs his full concentration towards a space between his palms. Remaining silent, everyone's attention settles upon the point. The growing tension causes minor shakes, twitches, and shudders across Bach's body. Gritting his teeth with a pained grimace, tiny pinpoints of white shine in the middle of Bach's brightly blue, illuminated eyes. The sword vibrates in Dretphi's secure grip, and Sebastian's ethereal form wavers and flickers.

"NEW FLOW DETECTED. FROM FAMILIAR SOURCE."

Hands trembling constantly, Bach's face wears a constant wince, and his breathing staggers. He brings his hands closer, struggles to will something out from within. Punishing moments later, faint threads of white drift out from Bach and travel within the encapsulating confines of the magical constructs around his arms. The flows dissipate into a mist near Bach's hands and condense gradually into a bright white point between his palms. Swirling miasma gathers slowly onto the tiny, hovering orb. With each minute, the ball of Elder energy solidifies larger from the cloud of magic vapor around it.

The threads of flow fade off completely. The final traces of energy haze collapses upon the brilliant white orb. Bach's tense muscles relax slightly, visible pain lessens from his form, and relief sounds out in each of his breaths. The dimmer blue glow in his eyes seals away the bright white. Bracing his arms upon his knees by his elbows, he shifts his hands underneath and cradles the tiny ball of Elder energy. Aristespha studies the orb in absolute, pure fascination. Sotalia gawks in utter, sheer awe. Cideeda stares in astonishment, occasionally switching her attention to the holoplayer's unsteady holographic display. Dretphi gazes upon Bach with concern, noticing a shift in his body language.

Aristespha blinks back to awareness, glances ahead to the exhaustion quickly overtaking Bach, and motions towards the sword. Dretphi promptly drops down next the containment circle and brings the sword close to the small white orb across the perimeter. Aristespha carefully steadies Bach by his shoulders and watches wisps of energy peel clear from the ball into the sword. Sebastian's visage warps, and he furrows his brow, searching his own sensations. The sword vacuums up the last of Elder energy in seconds. Inspecting the vicinity with her glowing violet eyes, Aristespha calls out. "All clear. The sword absorbed it all."

Bach's head sways back, and the rest of his upper body rocks with the motion. Sotalia and Dretphi move in, and each steady one of Bach's shoulders. Aristespha lifts her hand up and signals. Cideeda steps over swiftly with a medical kit at the ready. Consciousness surges up in Bach. He shudders back awake and balances himself. Rubbing his eyes to a pinch of the bridge of his nose, he winces briefly and removes his hand from a tender spot. Glancing around, he blinks off his daze and sighs in relief. "I'm okay. I think? Gods... It's so weird. The second I stop flowing..."

He shudders briefly and flutters his blue eyes. "It just hits FULL FORCE."

With Aristespha performing a routine inspection, Bach wanders his attention around the rest of the group and inquires. "Um... Have to ask. Uh, but, what did you all see and feel? Kind of curious, since I haven't had anyone else around in such a controlled environment."

Aristespha twists her mouth and sighs uncertainly, slowly shaking her head. "It is hard to describe. I will need some time to think through it all."

Sotalia gently rubs Bach's back and presents a comforting smile. "Well, it felt oddly similar... BUT, noticeably different from Noxian's use."

Bach nods in between deep, long breaths. Sebastian hovers close to Bach and deliberates. "Well, from what I've felt so far while in this sword, THAT was a very small amount that got sucked in."

Shrugging her shoulders, Cideeda sighs with an unsatisfied smirk, wagging her long, fluffy tail. "Wish I had something to add. But, the readings were EVERYWHERE. Still, the video looks like it recorded something. We'll just see how good it was later."

Aristespha frowns and slowly shakes her head. "I apologize I cannot be any clearer at the moment. I just... can't... think of the right words, at the moment."

Bach snorts and chuckles weakly. "Ah, it's okay. I've been dealing with this for far longer, and I have less information to say about it."

Standing up from her seat on the garage floor, Aristespha nods in agreement, donning a hopeful tone. "It was just a first attempt. And, I, of all people, should know better than to expect all the answers from the first trial. When you want to try again, let us know. I think this process worked well."

Bach sighs out his relief and lifts himself up with help from Dretphi and Sotalia. "Yeah. Uh, thanks for the assistance, everyone. I'm up for another go..."

Pausing in thought, he wobbles between the support from Dretphi and Sotalia. "In the near future, probably."

Gently patting Bach's back, Dretphi surveys the team. "Dinner?"

The group agrees and departs through the door leading inside to the kitchen.