Snow Angel [Nova/Open]

[Guillermo]

The Ilian border was vast, and forested densely. Mountains rose from amidst the trees, spiking the horizon with cold stone spires.

It was also cold.

Guillermo was unpleasantly cold, and so was his Griffon, Elegancia. Both were shivering slightly, despite the heavy cloak Gui wore and the one draped over his mount as they tramped through the woods, using the trees to shelter them from the falling snow. It was madness, this country, and the people who inhabited it probably equally mad. Where were the lush vineyards, the wide forests of oak and birch? Instead there were branches of scrawny pine, clumped together like travelers pressed in the hold of a ship. It was a gloomy, depressing scene, and Gui was just about sick of Ilia. He'd barely even entered Ilia. Maybe he'd come back in the summer. Actually, yes. Venturing into Ilia in the winter was a fool's errand, fit only for masochists, fugitives, or those with thick fur coats and a layer of insulating fat. He was none of those three.

The Griffon Rider absentmindedly hacked at low branches as they tramped around. At the very least, maybe they could find a cave with beautiful paintings, or a small, quaint hamlet, or even a fair maiden in need of rescuing. That would make this all worthwhile.

For now, though, there was little more than the wind and the snow, chilling the man to the bone and causing him to scowl bitterly.

"Elega, we're getting out of here. Come on, let's head back."

The Griffon gave an approving snort, and the two turned back, pushing through the trees and beginning the long trek back out of the woods. This was to be a waste of time, effort, and body heat.

[Nova Rayner]

Nova lightly made her way through the snow. She was finally almost out of Ilia. The further she got away from her former home, both the better she felt and the less snow there was. Win-win. In fact, she had even shed some of her heavier layers. Sure, it would still be freezing to non-Ilians, but to Nova it might as well be Ilian summer. Not weather for some of her more revealing cloths, sure, but she could get away with a more form-fitting outfit.

It's not the type of outfit that Sophia would approve of, but she wasn't here. In fact, Nova had abandoned both of her sisters in the night a while back. It wasn't out of hate or anything, she just understood that her sisters would be better off without her. Sophia wouldn't have to worry about her antics and Chloe would have a better role model to look up to. Besides, they could probably go home now. Whether Sophia would admit it or not, it was mostly Nova's fault they had had to leave in the first place. Their step mother had clearly hated her the most, because she reminded her of their real mother. Heck, Nova would have left by herself in the first place, but Sophia had suggested they all leave together first.

But now she was finally alone. Or, almost. As she made her way forward, she spotted a man walking with some giant beast. It was probably one of those griffons she had heard about. Huh. What was that doing way up here. Shrugging to herself, Nova continued to quickly move through the snow. Much faster than the man and his giant bird thing, for sure.

[Guillermo]

The trek continued, made slightly easier by the fact that going downhill was almost always easier than going uphill. In fact, it was always easier, wasn't it? Yes, there were few situations in which up would be easier than down, and none of them were feasible. Thus, downhill was always easier. What a revelation. It was such a striking thought that the tall man almost hurled his sword to the snow in exasperation. It was clearly bad if he, Guillermo, was thinking through the implications of upward and downward travel. In fact, if this kept up much longer, he would more than likely simply collapse from lack of mental stimulation and TOO MUCH DAMN SNOW IN HIS BOOTS.

Oh, look! Color! Was he finally out of the woods?

A quick survey of the scene revealed that he was neither out of the woods nor hallucinating, but in fact was being overtaken by a young woman wearing green and sporting a shock of purple hair that shook as she somehow seemed to glide through the snow, rather than plowing it aside as Gui did. Now that was a remarkable skill to have. He might have to invest in snow-walking boots if he ever came back here.

On second thought, he was never coming back here. But that didn't mean he had to be unfriendly.

"Hail, traveler! I'm amazed at your speed in these drifts... How on earth do you move so gracefully throughout this onslaught of snow and ice?"

The Rider kept plowing along, churning through the snow alongside Elegancia, who sniffed curiously at the scent of the other traveler. At this rate, though, she would quickly outstrip them and leave them far behind, such was the disparity in their speeds. It was quite disheartening for the usually agile and athletic man.

[Nova Rayner]

Nova came to a stop as she heard a voice call to her. Before she even turned she knew that it was the man with the griffon. It was kinda obvious; who else could it be? Turning to him, she was finally able to get a good look at him. He had a tan to his skin that told Nova that he was from somewhere far south of here. Huh. Interesting choice for someone from the south to come all the way up to Ilia. She figure there must be a reason for it, but still, she didn't understand why anyone would come to Ilia if they didn't have to. But then again, she was biased against this place and would be more than happy to leave it and never look back.

Putting her hands on her hips, the purple haired Ilian tilted her head. It was a simple enough question, but it still seemed like it had a rather obvious answer. "That's because I'm from Ilia, silly. I was raised in the snow, so it's like second nature for me to move through it." She raised an eyebrow. "I'm guessing you haven't dealt with it very much, though. Otherwise you'd have taken all that heavy armor off before you tried walking through it."

The girl gave a small shrug. "But hey, who am I to judge. Trudge around in there snow here all you want. I, on the other hand, am getting out of here. I'm going someplace warm where I don't have to wear twelve layers of clothes."

[Guillermo]

The young woman cocked her head at him, looking in puzzlement at Gui before chirping a response laden with sardonic sting. Well, yes, she was from Ilia, and well, yes, she would have experience with snow and ice... but wasn't there some advice she could offer? Some sort of suggestion to ease his travel? Ah, well. He would be out soon enough anyway. It was just so blasted hard to walk, almost like wading through waves. Mapping Vinland had been much easier than this... no wonder everyone up in Ilia flew around on little winged horses. There was no other way to feasibly get around.

His armor? But then how would he protect himself from attack? How would he defend from ambush? No, there had to be another way. It would be foolhardy to simply abandon all of one's protection. But this Ilian was quite comfortable with trekking alone, without guard or armor, and from his cursory and polite glance, no obvious weapons. Well, she wasn't swinging anything around. Perhaps she was a mage, or something.

The least he could do was quip back at her as he approached.

"Well, I thank you for your advice. If only I could choose my land of birth at will, or stride around confident in my ability to avoid all oncoming danger. What if I had been a bandit? Forget twelve layers of clothes, m'lady, you're barely wearing two. And unless you've got something hidden that I can't see, I don't know how that shirt would stop a bandit's axe if he came charging for you. Either you're much faster and more attuned to the world around you than I, and can detect an oncoming ambush, I can't fathom how you have so little fear. Goodness, it's almost foolhardy to me, and I'm a man often called reckless."

By this time, he and Elegancia had caught up to the purple-haired Ilian, and Guillermo gave a short bow and a gesture to his Griffon.

"Guillermo del Edificio del Barro secado al Sol. You may call me Gui, if it pleases you. This is Elegancia, Griffon of Vinland. May I ask your name?"

[Nova Rayner]

Nova couldn't help but roll her eyes. She had just gotten away from one person who liked to lecture her, only to have somehow stumbled onto another. What was it about her that made people want to tell her how to live her life? Her face hardened. "You asked how I move through the snow easily. I told you. There's no special secret like walk sideways or skip every third step. It's years of dealing with it." Sure, she had always been better at it than her sisters, but there wasn't any kind of trick. Maybe it was just because she was lighter. Who knows. At this point, it wasn't even something she thought about, so there was no way to explain it.

As for his second question, Nova didn't even bother using words to respond. She simply lifted the ax that he mother had given her all those years ago off her back. In one fluid motion, she spun towards two tree behind her and slashed at them. Turning back to face the man, she reattached her ax to her back as both trees fell apart and landed on the ground. "That's what would have happened to you if you were a bandit. And my shirt doesn't need to protect me if nothing can hit me. There's not much I can't dodge."

The man had caught up to her by this point. Great. He introduced himself as... some really long name that there was no hope of her remembering. Gui it was. Ah, so he was from Vinland. That explains the tan. "You seem to have wandered quite far from home, Gui. Don't know why you'd choose to leave the warmth and come to Ilia, but to each their own." She turned and started to walk again. She wasn't much in the mood for standing around and talking all day. That was more Sophia's thing. She gave a little wave without looking back. "Nova Rayner, actively walking away from you."

[Guillermo]

Ah, he had struck a nerve, it seemed. Her face closed slightly as she gave a terse and frigid response, fitting to their environment. So you just do, hmm... Well, he could give up on snow-walking then. It looked like he would forever be outclassed by young women who had tongues sharp as knives.

And then she did a nice little pirouette and slashed down two small trees with an axe she produced from nowhere... oh, a spine holster. How convenient. Much like his. Heh, she possessed strength in abundance, and what appeared to be a full and overflowing measure of cockiness. Not much she couldn't dodge, hmm? Gui knew enough to avoid such blanket statements, as they tended to leave the speaker with at the least a few bruises. Experience was a good teacher. But it was not his place to nag; certainly she would do as she pleased.

Far from home he had gone indeed, and though it seemed she was nearer to home, it was clear she held no particular love in her heart for her motherland. Interesting, but a discussion to be held after he had made another point. He would not be so easily scoffed at, not by... Nova Rayner.

Perhaps it was simply the insolent arrogance, perhaps it was the wave, or perhaps it was a combination of both and the cold slush in his boots, but no matter the causes, the effect was clear. Giving a quick click of his tongue, he leaped upon Elegancia, who burst up out of the brush in a whirl of pine needles and tawny fur and then banked, turning so that the flying Griffon faced the Ilian, who still was resolutely traversing the snow. Rider and mount dove, and then the Griffon curved up again, making another pass before descending and blocking the narrow thoroughfare, quite insensitively.

The Rider had leaped off on the first dive, and landed with his sword slicing downward in a fluid motion. There was a crack as a stump near the path's edge split cleanly, and then the man swiveled, lifting his two-handed sword and pointing it straight towards the oncoming Ilian. The space, barely over two meters, was such that the small smirk upon his face and the eyebrow he wore arched upward would send a clear message.

"So you can dodge the axe of a bandit, and the lance of the soldier... But does a girl dodge the talons of the Griffon or the sword of its Rider so easily? Or has a girl perhaps taken on more than she can handle?

I mean not to be incendiary, m'lady, but you have ruffled my feathers, and so I found it only fitting to warn you that not all blows come from before you, behind you, to your side... Wary must you be of enemies from the air, for we descend to ambush with nary a wingbeat's notice.

The Rider kept the sword pointed straight and still.

"If you too are leaving Ilia, I would be willing to accompany you, or give you a lift, if it please you."

[Sashay]

"Ah...wonderful and always so frigging cold Illia." Sashay said to himself as he crossed a snow covered forest. He had been traveling for a day or two, in search of knowledge and growing his powers into that of a full fledged Shaman. Curious about Illia, he figured that there must have been some form of magical knowledge there. After a few minutes of walking he decided to take a break along with a meditation session that he thought he would try.

He brushed the snow off of a nearby boulder before carefully sitting down and crossing his legs with his tattered black robes as his only protection against Illia's climate. To combat the wind and keep his focus he decided to leave his hood on as he took out his Flux tome. As he laid one hand on the open book, he closed his eyes while keeping his breathing as calm as possible. The gem embedded in his right hand began to glow with a purple hue as a mass of darkness slowly rose from the ground and forming a ball in front of him. The ball of darkness was crude in shape, but slowly became much sharper in it's black color and shape as Sashay's concentration grew.

Slowly Sashay called for more and more of the nether's energy, making the ball a little bit larger with each calling. Small beads of sweat began to appear above his brow as he became using his influence to split the ball in two. In response to this, the gem began to glow much brighter as the all began to lose its shape, slowly splitting apart while Sashay's muscles started to ache along with his mind. He managed to keep it together, albeit barely, as the ball of nether energy became two. With the needed concentration, the two could barely be considered round in shape. As time went on he could hear a faint conversation in the background, it became apparent that he wasn't the only one at Illia's border today.

[Nova Rayner]

Nova groaned as she heard the griffon take off. Clearly Mister Fancy Armor Man hadn't liked her attitude. Shocker. Add him to the list. I she had to guess, he was gonna fly around, land in front of her and give some sort of speech aerial attacks. Oh hey, look, she was right. At this point in life, she had had so many people telling her what to do with her life and how she was wrong around something or another that she could tell when it was coming.

She just stared forward as he made his big show of attacking from the sky. Sure, the griffon was cool, but this whole exercise was pointless. Nova didn't even blink as he pointed his sword at her face. In fact, she looked bored by it. Heck, she was tempted to yawn but she couldn't be bothered to put the effort in. She listened as he lectured her about sky attacks, all the while keeping his sword pointed at her. When he finally stopped, she reach up and use a finger to push it out of her face. "Thank you for that lecture about sky attacks. I've never thought to worry about them in Ilia, land of the pegasus knights." Having pushed the sword from her face, she continued passed the man.

As she walked away from him, she called back. "It would please me if you didn't treat me like some helpless maiden. I can take care of myself. Stick around if you want, but please leave the lectures back in Vinland."

[Guillermo]

The Rider's eyes widened slightly as the young woman poked his sword away and offered yet another snide remark. Her confidence was truly astounding; it was as if she'd seen the world and already claimed to know all of it. Gui could not help but chuckle, especially as she began to walk away. Indeed, she had her own mind and would not take too kindly to his chivalrous, generous protection. What an unusual specimen. Women were usually not so bold and independent, right? They usually were grateful for the protection of a gallant knight... Well, no need for any more discussion. He would woo her another way. He just had to figure out *how* and then he, Guillermo del Edificio de Barro secado al Sol, would succeed. It was a foregone conclusion!

Then he saw something most peculiar. His Griffon was crouching, wings flattened back in an attack stance. The hostility was evident and Gui was immediately put on edge. He hustled in front of the axe-wielder, who was still strolling along blissfully. He swung his arm back, unafraid of offending her now, and pointed his sword towards a thicket of trees that obscured a bend in the path.

"You there! Whether you are bandit or bishop, traveler or trespasser, come forth with your weapons visible. I am escorting a young woman through these woods and will not offer you another warning. Emerge or I will strike to ensure the safety of my ward!

Another click of the Rider's tongue and Elegancia gave a deep, long, and generally menacing growl.

"You might not fear me, but I warn you, fear the lion and the eagle, and even more so their fusion."

Would this elicit any response from the hidden other?

[Sashay]

Sashay became alert when he heard the voice of a strange man call out to him, demanding that he show himself. He clenched his teeth for a moment when the man mentioned a beast of some kind that was the fusion of an eagle and a lion. He wondered what kind of animal it was, and much to his curiosity, Sashay focused the nether energy into a regular flux spell before peering from behind a tree. Much to the stranger's words, there was an animal that he'd never seen before with a body of a lion with the features of an eagle.

Despite not knowing that such a creature could exist, he slowly recovered from this recent discovery. He carefully stepped out from behind the tree with his spell and tome still in his hands. "Do you always greet people you've just met like this? Doesn't really seem like a good first impression to me." Noticing another well armed woman close by, Sashay decided to crush the flux spell with his right hand, allowing the gem to absorb it. "In any case I guess I shouldn't be difficult since I'm the one outnumbered here." Sashay closed his tome and slipped it back into his tattered black robes, eyeing the creature that the warrior had brought with him with caution as it growled at him.

As he put his hands up to surrender a gust of wind caused him to hold his robes close to his body. As he shivered the wind blew back his hood, revealing his crimson eyes, and black hair. "Either way I'm just heading into Illia, you don't have to take any extra caution with me...that is if you don't have a problem letting someone like me in there."

[Nova Rayner]

Nova stood by at Gui threatened the newcomer. The new kid was holding some sort of tome, making her think he was some sort of mage or magic user. Not that she really cared. She was just interested in getting out of Ilia. It seemed as though this Gui was more interested in 'escorting' her through the forest. This guy. Seriously. She glared up at the man. "You aren't escorting me anywhere, let's be clear about that. I'm not your ward either. We literally met each other like five minutes ago." She rolled her eyes as hard as she could.

She then gave the new guy an annoyed look. Granted, he hadn't really done anything, but Gui had gotten to her. Man, he was so much like Sophia. Well, with the added benefit of chivalry to be extra annoying. "As for you, do whatever you want. Feel like freezing to death? Go ahead, enjoy. I'm getting out of here." She turned her back to the two and began making her way through the snow again. She was so done with Ilia. So done with Gui. Heck, she was even done with that new kid. She just wanted to get somewhere warm, where she didn't have to worry about snow ever again, and was populated by attractive people for her to droll over. The only benefit of this whole encounter was it had served to take her mind off of her sisters. But, she now had to deal with Gui, who she was sure wasn't going to just let her walk off like this. Ugh. Men.

[Guillermo]

The hidden figure emerged - a wisp of a spellcaster, it seemed, holding his Nether-fueled weapon poised to defend himself. The young man was cooperative, however, lowering his guard and moving forward even as he too threw Gui a mouthful of acid. It seemed as if Nova and this one would get along just dandy... They both were more caustic than was good for them. But the black-haired youth, clearly cold, insisted on pressing forward into the frozen wilderness. His call, Gui supposed. As a young man, his life was his own, not for Gui to guard and shield.

"Ah, young friend, I wish you luck and warmth, then... Ilia is cold, and braving its forests requires resolve and many layers of clothes. I would caution you against moving much deeper through these drifts, impassable as they are now, and recommend you retire for the time being. But you must make your own choices, I do suppose."

Turning to Nova, Gui was quick to rebut her claims, gently shaking his head. Oh, poor girl. Clearly she could not see how necessary it was that he protect and accompany her through this treacherous expanse of trees and hail. She might be native, but she was too vulnerable. What if danger arose, or tragedy befell? No - he, Guillermo del Edificio de Barro secado al Sol, would defend Nova.

"Young woman, you must surely see the foolhardiness of your actions. I am escorting you - I serve as your protector and your shield from misfortune. And while it is true we have only recently met, that is no excuse for a respectable knight not to defend and guard a young woman in need of aid. "

Nova gave her parting argument and then began to walk off, showing no end to her foolishness. He needed to accompany her, but did not want to be rude by merely abandoning the dark-haired boy. So he offered a choice, extending a hand in a beckoning gesture as he too turned to follow the impudent axe-wielder.

"Caller of darkness, accompany us. Leave this frozen wasteland and prepare better for its perils. There is safety in numbers, and you too could lend your power to assisting Nova down to the next town, out of this frigid expanse of snow and ice!"

[Sashay]

Leaning against a tree, Sashay listened to the Griffon Rider's advice. It was an interesting proposition at first glance. After all there was indeed strength in numbers. Though while the cold certainly effected him, he wasn't even sure if he even could freeze to death. Come to think of it, he also wondered if he even had any fluid left in him to freeze since Bern.

Nonetheless he could see that the woman walking away was more than capable of handling her own problems. But if they did stick together....well he didn't really know, but it was certainly a nice thought to not be wandering all alone like this. Not to mention the amount of weapons that had been pointed his way in such a short time really did drive this thought home. He rubbed his chin in thought before nodding in agreement with the rider. Besides, he could always come back to Illia at any time.

"Alright then, if we're heading out then lead the way." He said with his time still held in his hand. "Sorry about the cold first impression by the way." Sashay then closely examined the Griffon's wings, taking in as much visual information as he could for now before slowly petting the back of it's neck.

[Nova Rayner]

Why won't he just give it up already? How many different ways could she tell Gui to just leave her alone? She didn't want him and she didn't need him. All she wanted to do was leave Ilia. Why was that so hard? Why did the world seem to want to keep her in this snow-covered wasteland?

No. She was leaving, whether Gui and his new friend wanted her to or not. Nova kept pushing her way through the snow, keen to put as much distance between her and the griffon rider as possible. She looked over her shoulder and yelled, "I don't need your aid. I don't need you to escort me anywhere. I don't need to be defended. What I need is to get somewhere warm and not called Ilia. And I intend to do that by myself."

Nova went back to pushing her way through the snow. She was getting angry now. She almost wished something would attack her so she could hit something besides a tree with her ax. But the snow prevented anyone from sneaking up on her. So the most she could do was kick at the snow as she walked. Sure, it slowed her down but as long as Gui decided to remain on the ground, she was still faster than him. But if previous experience taught her anything, Gui would jump on his giant bird and fly after her. Maybe she should just dive into the snow and hide that way. Nah, that would just make her colder and the point was to get warmer. Ugh.