Honora Castellum

"Well hey, surprise and misdirection is a vital part of how my fighting style works. I mean I could show you about a 100 things in my bag and you'd only be able to guess the function of the bag itself, I bet!"

Misdirection? This could work.


She nodded in approval, lip curling with her smirk. 'That's probably true. I guess we both have our tricks.' Amaya had not used the ability handed to her by Lukas for a long time, she simply hadn't needed to. 'I'm not keen on revealing mine though, ruins the fun.' 

i probably should, though. 

"Well everyone's entitled to their secrets so I'm not going to pry." He promised her as they reached a large stone arena that towered above some of the homes below.

"Okay so how's about this? We do a quickie sparing match?" He announced dramatically, "A painter can't know what to do without seeing the whole canvas MM!"

She nodded, slinging her backpack over her shoulder and following behind him. 'Are there any rules? Because that would be boring.'

Already she began to focus, fingers itching for her knives as they approached the stone area. She wasn't afraid of heights, luckily.

"Well not killing me would be ideal. I mean, that would just ruin my whole week." He waved his hand like he was speaking of a trivial matter, "Other than that, go nuts!" He brought his pack to the ground and opened it up, "Now where are you?" He muttered to himself as he rummaged through his numerous inventions.

she cast a reducto - a rather shaky one - towards his bag, hoping to distract him long enough so that he couldn't reach his inventions.

It knocked his bag away but not before Artisan pulled out what he was longing for. He had what looked like a golden statue of a beetle with emerald encrusted eyes. He pulled out a cord at the back of the beetle and it flew forward toward her. 

It's six legs sprung out and got ready to contain her.

She saw the contraption heading towards her, deciding to use her swift reflexes rather than her other... powers to evade it.

Waiting only an instant, she dodged the immediate attack of the beetle, trying to inch herself closer to Artisan's bag, which wasn't in either of their hands at the moment. A single knife sailed out of her hands, trying to focus on running.

OOC gtg ttyl!

ooc c ya!

Artisan leapt out of the way of the dagger and made a sliding gesture with his hands. As he did, the beetle reacted as a marionette would to the pull of it's strings. 

It shifted it's direction in midair to turn around to her. It stuck it's rear section toward its target and a stinger burst out of the hind. And then it shot out like a projectile. 

Artisan's fingers started moving frantically, as if the surrounding air was just buttons that he was pressing. As he moved his fingers, the stinger seemed to shift it's trajectory to pinpoint on Amaya. His hand was covered by a black glove with golden finger tips, the same color as the beetle.

"How do you like my Megetranette? It's my newest piece!"

'Great.' She grunted, still dashing towards him. She calculated that the thing coming towards her - whatever he called it - would reach her the moment she reached Artisan. 

Hurtling towards him, she took the risk, wondering just how intelligent the projectile would be in tracking her movements.

if i'm wrong, i'm splitting. 


Amaya was still aiming for his glove, fully prepared to just collide with him.

'Damn, guess she saw through it.' 


While his beetle was an effective weapon for creating distance between him and his foe it was less than useless in a close quarters fight. He made it to help with his deficiency in that area, to constantly keep his opponents at bay so he could access to gear at leisure. 

But that didn't amount to much if she was faster than the beetle. 

He made one more gallant leap for his bag so he could have access to the endless arsenal of magical items of his own design.

She blinked when she realised that the beetle had dropped its chase, managing to reach Artisan's bag before he did.

She held it out for him to take, smiling. 'Come on, that hardly seemed fair on ya. didn't actually think your bee thing would stop.'

"Who said it did?" Artisan mused as he pulled his hand back and the beetle hit her on the back and it's legs reached out to encase Amaya.

Shit.


She felt the thud on her back, feeling its legs begin to stretch and capture her. Amaya collapsed to the ground, defeated.

That wasn't before she'd copied herself, though. 

Reluctant to reveal her ability, she'd closed her eyes, body shaking slightly before the second Amaya sprung forth from her stomach. However, one was still captured, the other one dusting herself off.

'Now which one-'
'-Is the real Amaya?'

"Wait wha- but..-" Artisan stammered as he tried to make sense of what just happened before him.

And then realization struck him, "Self replication!"

The first Amaya - the one who was currently ensnared - nodded, still laying on the floor in their defeat.

The second Amaya grinned at Artisan, still preparing for another attack. 'It's my little trick, picked it up from a kitsune a long time ago. Don't use it often; just didn't want to lose to you.'

"Well I've got bad news. Make all the selfs you want!" He announced proudly as he picked up his bag from the ground, "But even a hundred of you can't beat me!"

He picked out what looked to be a regular muggle shovel. With no shortage of force, he slammed it into the earth next to him. As he did, the ground began to shake, with terrible power. The tremors grew stronger and stronger as the shovel remained in the ground. 

Next he pulled back his hand, releasing the imprisoned Amaya and latching the beetle onto himself to fly off the ground. "Seismic Shovel! Like it?"

'Oh dear.' The previously imprisoned Amaya murmured, staring at Artisan with blank eyes as it disintegrated.

'Oh dear indeed.' The second one shot a grin at the flying Strayer sibling, shooting a curse before it also got reduced to dust.

The real Amaya was nowhere to be found, it seemed. She hid in a tree near the stone platform, waiting for her broom. 
wizards can fly, god dammit 

OOC Artisan: But my way is cooler  

IC

"OLLY OLLY OXEN FREE!!" Artisan shouted out as he flew around the stone arena to locate Amaya. So none of them were the real Amaya. But when did the switch occur? Did she do it before even meeting him there? If she did, he had to give her a lot of credit for forethought. 

Well, those quakes ought to lure her out of any hiding place she may be in...

the quakes were starting to get worse, and she praised the Goddess that her broom showed up, just before the earthquake would make it impossible for her to remain still. 

Flying straight towards Artisan, she sent her knives towards him, alongside a blasting curse. Removing the tools from his grasp were her main priority.

He narrowly evaded the curse but one of his wings got hit by the blade of one of her knives. He cursed to himself as he divebombed to try and get behind her.

The wings were by far the most fragile part of the beetle. He couldn't afford more hits there.

Literally, that material was expensive. 

Once he was underneath her broom, he aimed his wand at the brussels, "INCENDIO!!!" A blazing, yet controlled ball of fire flew out of his wand and jetted toward the broom.

Before the flames engulfed her trusty broomstick, she leaped off it, hurtling herself towards the ground. Angling her body to land in the least painful way possible, it only took her a mere moment to get back up, ready to attack him again. She was shaken, but still standing.

A flurry of knives escaped her belt, heading towards her still-flying opponent.

"DEATH FROM ABOVE!!" Artisan shouted down to her dramatically as he fired a barrage of spells down upon her as he hovered closer and closer to her.

He dodged as many of the daggers as he could but even he had to admit she was really good at that. 

Who the hell trained her the throw so well? Babe Ruth?!