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Tsubasa thought dispiritedly as Sora flew her over Haruki as he dealt with the various problems of the landscape.

When she landed next to the cat-boy as he reached the summit, Feather was just as depressed as before. It was all too confusing. She wanted to protect everyone. Sure, there were varying levels of protection, like she wanted to protect Haruki more than the headhunter, but she still didn't want to see either of them hurt. The girl remained lost in her thoughts, oblivious to the pressure her companion felt until Haruki addressed her. The first response that came to Feather's head was, "What's wrong with a monster?". Being the type to see everyone equally and be willing to befriend everyone, Feather didn't really understand why Haruki was warning her that he might turn into a monster.

However, she did understand that while she was lost in her own thoughts, her friend had gone through something. Feather wasn't sure what, but she knew that this something was not pleasant. She felt a pang of guilt for not having noticed it sooner.

As she felt guilt, Haruki turned his head in the other direction, seeming to think his mother was there. Feather thought as she looked curiously over at where her friend was looking. Even if no one had spoken, surely she would have heard the steps of Haruki's mother. She asked curiously, no suspicion or fear present in her mind, "Haruki?".

In contrast to Feather's obliviousness, though, Sora was starting to get both suspicious and fearful. He couldn't feel what Haruki was feeling. However, he could definitely tell that something was up. When people started looking, saying things, and acting like Haruki was, that usually meant something not very good was either happening or about to happen.

(OOC: Oi, oi, be careful. No one, not even Haruki, should now that Feather is a siren stare .)

"Haruki? Haruki?! Haruki!" Feather called out Haruki's name several times in different intonations as he went through his phases. However, nothing she said seemed to reach him. She wanted to know what was going on, but her mind was too scattered from confusion to ask him verbally. Although, even if she did, he probably wouldn't have heard her. She physically took hold of him and shook him while continuing to shout his name.

It was while Feather had reached this phase that Haruki finally seemed to realize that she was there. Although, he didn't seem to have come to from anything Feather did. Those lifeless eyes didn't seem like they could sense anything from the outside world. "Uh? Huh? Who? She who? D-don't be scared. Sh-she's not leaving you," Feather stuttered, not even sure of she was saying herself. She just had the need to comfort her friend. As Haruki opened his mouth to speak again, Feather stopped. Then her face paled.

Sora reacted immediately. Even if Haruki had said that he wasn't going to kill Feather, the fact that he said that meant that something in his mind of trying to convince him to, and the guardian was not going to take the risk. He slid from Feather's shoulder and quickly expanded his wings, pushing the two children away from each other. Neither Haruki, who was dazed from the madness, nor Feather, who was frozen with guilt and shock, were in a position to stop him. After separating the two, Sora took several jumps back so that he was closer to Tsubasa and took a defensive position, growling menacingly at Haruki.

Tsubasa, meanwhile, remained pale and frozen. Haruki... something was telling Haruki to kill her? What could it be? The girl, even if Haruki were to be convinced to kill her, would not raise a finger to her friend, but that wouldn't mean she would understand or accept her decision. As one who avoided and couldn't understand any killing, her's was no exception. Then, there was the guilt she felt. It was natural, so until now, when Haruki had insisted so strongly that she wouldn't leave him, Tsubasa had never given a second thought to the fact that she was planning on leaving Pronta some time in the near future. Here was Haruki, who was feeling so much pain from just the thought that she might leave. However, leaving was also a normal part of Feather's heritage. What was she to do?

Feather, who had curled up and began hugging herself after Sora knocked her away, clenched and curled herself even tighter when Haruki insisted, once more, that she would never leave him. She closed her eyes, a part of her childishly thinking that doing that would make all the bad things go away. She couldn't bear to shatter his hopes. However, at the same time, she couldn't go against her own needs.

Her eyes flicked open a moment later when Haruki finally agreed to whatever was trying to convince him. The girl looked up, sorrowfully. She didn't want to fight. She especially didn't want to fight Haruki.

Then, the next moment her eyes were closed again as Haruki kept up the same thread of thought that had her feeling guilty. This time, with her hands clasped over her ears. Although, that really didn't help with anything and the next moment she put them down at Sora's insistence. The guardian knew that in Feather's current state she would easily forget the boundaries between human and siren; that she would reveal hearing things no human should be able to hear. Was Tsubasa friends with Haruki? Definitely. Would she be devastated if she lost him? Definitely. Would she able to live without him. Definitely.

Tsubasa thought, recalling what she had been taught herself, She wasn't siding with the unknown other side of Haruki. Feather knew herself the importance of relying on others, that was what she had been doing in all her fights. However, the girl also knew the importance of being able to rely on oneself when no one else is around, of not hesitating to leave the past, and the dead, behind to move on to the future.

Tsubasa held doubts about herself and feelings of guilt. However, none of them had to do with the single request Haruki asked. Yes, she would leave him, only physically though, in the near future. However, right now and right here, she was in the same place as Haruki and in a position where she could help. The answer was obvious: she would do everything she could. The girl stood up and began to approach Haruki the moment he asked if she could save him, only to be blocked by Sora. From there, a one second conversation between the two ensued.
{Let me through,} Tsubasa insisted with a frown as she tried to side-step the wing.
Sora remained defiant and blocked the girl's attempts, {Can't you see?}.
Tsubasa responded, {I see Haruki needs me.}
{He's dangerous!"} the summon snapped, sending a focus of Haruki's blank face and toneless voice.
"He needs me!" Tsubasa snapped back, verbally this time.
Sora growled loudly at Haruki, wings ready to strike should he come within reach, {I won't let you endanger yourself! The brat needs to learn to stop clinging onto other people like some kid!}. Now, not only was Haruki was starting to get close, but he had also mentioned forcing Feather. Sora was not going to stand for something like that. Right now, Haruki was about to of Sora's current wing-lengths from the summon.
Being linked to Sora's mind, Tsubasa knew that Sora was completely serious. He wasn't going to back down. That meant, unless she backed down herself, Haruki could get hurt.

Tsubasa was torn. She turned to music. The girl brought out her ocarina and began playing a soothing melody on it. Energy wasn't imbued into it, but perhaps just the emotions that were sent through it would calm Haruki. Tsubasa could not reach him physically, not with Sora, so she was going to reach him with music. Feather wasn't sure about Haruki, but the music did calm herself down. Now, she could sort of see that this might indeed be the best way. That calming down Haruki while avoiding physical contact might just be the only way the girl could successfully soothe her friend. She couldn't be physically besides him always, and he would need to be prepared for that.

When Haruki began singing something completely different, Feather stopped playing. Her eyes had been closed in concentration, so she hadn't really seen what Haruki was going through. Although, she could tell his general movements from the sounds he created. What greeted her eyes when she opened them, was a shock to her. Haruki seemed to have changed completely, even more than when he had been replaced with Sabal. He still looked like Haruki, but the way he held himself, his body, was completely different.

At Haruki's insane ramblings about killing everyone and then himself, Feather took an instinctive step back, only to step forwards once more with a worried, "Haruki!" when he grunted in pain. Then, she began to shiver. Haruki looked like himself, but there was still that look of violence on him, the look that chilled Feather to the bone. Part of her wanted to run to Haruki; part of her wanted to run away from Haruki. Sora was preventing the former and supporting the latter with his spread out wings, which kept the girl from approaching her friend.

Sora's suspicions were right. Haruki came charing and the summon quickly dodged the blow with a turn to the side that also served as a jump to begin flying. The turn to the side caused Sora's wings to rotate around, hitting Feather who was so close. Having already been pushed towards the edge of the summit once already, this hit pushed the girl even closer so that now she was precariously close to falling off.

As Haruki recovered from his wild swing, Sora took the chance to use what little altitude he had gained and did a shallow dive towards Feather, tackling into her. Tsubasa, still stunned, took the tackle without complaint and the two fell completely over the edge... only to reappear again, Sora's large black wings jutting out from behind the still-shocked Feather. The pair were far from the edge, though. Too far for Haruki to try and attack unless he wanted to risk taking a jump.

Feather shivered as Haruki inflicted wounds on his own body. That kind of self-violence just wasn't right. It was just wrong. She wanted to go to Haruki, to help him, but she didn't want to go to Haruki. Besides, she couldn't, not with Sora holding her back. "No! No! Stop it! Stop it!" Feather finally broke out screaming, "You're wrong! You're wrong! I don't hate anyone, I can't! Definitely not you, so stop hurting yourself! You're wrong! Dying hurts! Dying really hurts. Haruki, what would you gain from everyone dying? Wouldn't it make you more lonely? Killing isn't good!".

At this point, Feather was crying. She took several gasps to try and control her tears and her thoughts. She needed to say it, she absolutely needed to say one thing to make Haruki understand. "Haruki," she started, voice still broken by a small, occasional sob, "Haruki, people come and go. Sometimes you can protect them. Other times you can't. That's natural for life. But you'll never lose anyone, you'll never be lonely. Haruki, please, stop, you're being so weak and because you're so weak, you're becoming cruel. The Haruki I know isn't weak. The Haruki I know wouldn't be brought down just because a person or two has left him physically because he'd know that they'd left their mark on him, and that mark would make him never be alone. Please, Haruki, I know I could just end all this by coming to you, but what would that do in the end? Nothing, I can't solve this problem for you. You need to solve it yourself."

Feather thought as she took a deep breath, "Haruki, I won't promise you I'll always be with you because that would be a lie. However, I will promise you that when I am with you, I will do everything in my power to help. No matter how dark you become, I'll be your friend and I'll try to help you. Why do you need to ask?". She smiled sadly. However, fear was still apparent in her expression. The fear, though, wasn't directed at Haruki, not even his dark side. The fear was the pain and suffering that was inevitable. She added, "It's perfectly fine to be weak at times, and sometimes it's better to follow one's emotions than just cold logic. Haruki, you are not some perfect being, you're just like any other being in Axiom. Therefore, don't convince yourself that you're alone. I'm here with you. Let me help."

Tsubasa waited patiently as Haruki began the preparations. Even when Haruki's mental struggles became verbal, the girl held back from doing anything. For as long as Haruki could stand up for himself, she would let him stand up for himself. Even when Haruki began moving physically to his mental thoughts, Feather refrained from helping; although, she was starting to shake from holding back. This pain, it was too much. She wanted to go and help Haruki, at least tap his should or something to tell him that he wasn't alone.... she realized,

{He's ready now,} Sora commented, knowing that Tsubasa wouldn't be able to see with her eyes closed in thought.
Tsubasa nodded as she opened her eyes and looked down at Haruki. Not intentionally. It was just that, strategically, it was best for Sora and Feather to be at a higher elevation than the Kiranu. That way, it would be hard to reach them. Sora's planning, of course, not Feather's.
Sora, being forced to help the situation (he knew that no matter how much he'd try to convince Feather, she'd insist on staying), suggested several ways to go about calming Haruki.
Feather picked one, the one that involved ignoring the insult to Sora, which Feather had actually been thinking of retorting rashly to. She voiced in a falsely confident tone, "Yeah, we mean to be in your way. Sorry, but whatever it takes, I'm going to stop you until you return to your senses Haruki. I'm not going to baby-sit you all the time, but when you're about to hurt yourself, I have no choice to interfere."
As Feather spoke, Sora moved the two of them three or four feet further away from the edge of the cliff.

{Arguing is useless,} Sora reasoned.
Feather, as much as she disliked it, had to agree.

Rather than wasting breath, the two defended instead. When Haruki prepared to simply punch in their direction, simply punched, Sora knew what was happening and through Sora, Feather did as well. The wings were folded so that the body dropped like a dead-weight and an air shield was placed to deflect the attack to the top. The evasive maneuver combined with the air shield allowed for an easy dodge. After dropping a feet or two, the descent was stopped. Both summon and summoner were still out of reach of and higher than the Kiranu.

Tsubasa knew it probably wouldn't do any good, but she couldn't help it, "I don't think I will. Haruki, snap out of this, please. I don't want to hurt you." As she spoke, she brought out her lute.
{Feather...,} Sora murmured in her head, {I have the feeling that the only way to go about this is to knock some sense into his head by hurting him.}
{We'll just see,} Feather thought as she waited for Haruki's next move, {We have the advantage in the air.}

Air Shield
Rank: D (Energy usage is equivalent to the rank of your enemy's attack)
Description:
The most common defensive tactic involves circling enemies, suddenly changing direction when attacked and evading by physical movement rather than bending. However, the user can still deflect as needed by throwing up gusts of air close to their bodies as a shield. This is rarely to stop attacks directly and more often pushes the attack aside and away, conserving energy and allowing them to turn the movement into an attack at the same moment. Since air can affect almost all physical objects, it can also be used to enforce the momentum of thrown objects or manipulate other objects.

750/900

350/450

(OOC: Air element attacks take one rank less energy.)

(OOC: Just what do I need to do to end this stage?)

Also, I assume Haruki would be slower since there's a stronger, quest-only skill that grants the ability to travel in the air at the same speed as on the ground.)

Feather understood that much.
Sora finished,
Feather understood, {As much as I hate it. Are you sure there's no other way?}.

The attack to the head was easily dealt with. Here was where Feather's aerial advantage came into play. Haruki could move and levitate in the air, but nowhere near as quickly as if he was on the ground. All he could do was glide and remain lifted up by his spout of wind, neither of which were necessarily affected by his ground speed. Furthermore, since it was an attack to the upper extremity of the body, the girl simply had to dive, and unlike before, she performed a true dive, not some simple fall. She shifted from standing upright to laying down in the air just as the sword swept over her. Before the claymore had finished it's stroke, she was diving headfirst. True, a bit of her hair was cut, but she never really cared for it. As Feather was on her back in preparation to drop, she plucked a certain string on her lute, releasing the Soundwave skill. She wasn't really flying as there no wings (neither her's nor Sora's) moving, so she was able to use a bard skill despite moving in the air. It wasn't aimed at Haruki, though. Instead, it was aimed at his claymore, where it would disrupt the stream of air that maintained the sword and so cause the claymore to vanish. That is, of course, assuming that the skill struck.

For now, Feather's tactic was going to be to stay as far away from Haruki as possible. As a defensive measure while free-falling, Sora surrounded both himself and Feather with Wing-shield

Soundwave
Rank: E
Description: It is a simple pluck of the correct string. Upon plucking this string you create a strange blast of force capable of knocking a human a step back a step, slowing down stronger people and knocking away arrows.

Wing-shield
Energy cost: C
Description: By surrounding his entire wing with blunt energy, Sora can use his wings as a shield. While it can be used while flying, the rule of physics still apply so this skill is somewhat restricted while in the air. Wing-shield can stand up to three B-rank attacks and one A-rank attack before breaking and exposing the actual wings to the blows.

740/900

300/450