Welcome to Gaia! ::

Talanah stared out over the ocean as she waited, toes curling into the sand. It had been a little over a month since she first kissed Evanon in her bedroom (and subsequently gotten caught by her father). About a week, if even that, after the incident, Evanon had asked Tala to be her girlfriend. Caught off guard, Tala had thought that the girl was teasing her but Eva had assured her that she wasn’t teasing and that she was very much serious.

At the sound of the sand crunching under footsteps, Tala glanced away from the ocean and grinned as she caught sight of Eva making her way towards her. The two of them had decided that they’d spend the day at the beach, practicing their magics and then relaxing afterwards, maybe even going for a swim to wash off the sweat. The latter Tala was looking forward to the most.

They greeted each other — a small, quick kiss and a hug — and immediately began talking. Not only was Eva now her girlfriend but she was also her best friend — only coming in second to her sister. It didn’t take long before conversation faded into sparring and their magic was arching through the air. It helped Tala to practice with someone of oblivionite blood, as it helped her better tune her oblivionite magic. Evanon also helped her with the task of incorporating her kiandri magic into her oblivionite magic — using the shadows to carry her electricity farther than it could otherwise travel.

Because of Tala’s kiandri magic, the presence of some wondering kiandri dragons went unnoticed for quite some time. It wasn’t until they were almost upon them and Tala heard a low rumble of a growl that she stopped mid casting and jerked around. Stumbling back, Tala’s heart beat against her chest as she saw two kiandri dragons not even fifty feet away. She stumbled back into Eva, fingers searching out and lacing between Eva’s as she turned and yelled, “Run!” She didn’t give Eva time to react before she was tugging at her.

The dragons were close behind and though both girls were used to the desert sand beneath their feet, the added stress of being chased caused them to lose their balance several times. Tala jerked to a stop, tugging Evanon back in close, as a shadow passed over them and one of the kiandris landed right in their path. Tala turned, half expecting to not see the other kiandre. Her shoulders sank when she came face to face with it. Glancing to Eva she frowned and looked back at the dragon in front of her. It seemed like they had no other choice but to fight.

Having practiced enough together, the two girls were comfortable fighting each other. It was going up against kiandris that worried her. The last time Tala had done so had been with her sister and she’d had her own sword with her. This time, her sister was nowhere close and she’d left her sword at home. Her magic was her only weapon and, while she was confident in it, she also knew her kiandri magic wouldn’t do much good against magic of the same clan.

So her oblivionite magic was what she resorted to, being sure to keep the lightning in check. Eva and her fought together, fending off both dragons. Their magic wasn’t strong enough, it seemed, and before long they had both been knocked to their feet and the dragons were hovering over them. Tala scrambled backwards, grabbing hold of Eva and tucking close as the dragons stalked forward, eventually backing them up against a rock. “I’m sorry Eva…” Tala whispered as they both clenched their eyes shut and prepared themselves for what was surely to come. When it didn’t, and Tala heard another screech up in the air, she chanced a glance up. Both kiandri dragon’s attention was on the sky and the dark figure flying over them.

Tala sucked in a breath when fire escaped the shadow and she knew, instantly, what the dragon was. “Firani,” Tala whispered to Eva as the shadow dropped and swooped down towards them. The kiandris hissed and growled, unhappy that their dinner had been interrupted. They decided, though, that it wasn’t worth the fight and were soon fleeing, taking off up into the air and quickly out of sight.

The firani dragon, however, wasn’t as easily distracted. It had already caught sight of the two of them. Another fight ensued as the dragon dipped down and went after them. Tala and Eva scrambled away from the rock just as flames shot out of the dragon’s mouth and pounded against where they had just been sitting. Tal’s heart beat against her chest as she breathed deeply. She pulled at her magic, interweaving her kiandri magic into her shadows and sending a stream of the magic at the dragon’s head, distracting it from Eva.

Unlike Tala, the other girl had not forgotten to bring a blade of some kind and was instantly on the dragon’s back. The firani did not like this and started to screech and flail the moment Eva had climbed on. Tala watched as she sunk the small dagger’s blade into the dragon’s neck. This only seemed to enrage the dragon more. Tala jumped back, barely avoiding the dragon’s tail as it flailed around. She thought fast, holding back her kiandri magic and using her oblivionite shadows to engulf the dragon. She knew that Eva would be able to see — one of the perks of being an oblivionite.

It took a long time but between the two of them, they finally overpowered the firani dragon. They walked away with an orb each and plenty of wounds for Tala’s father to heal once they arrived back home. Thankfully nothing too bad — a few bruises, scrapes and burns — and after some healing and food, Eva had eventually headed back home, one orb richer.