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"I have been doing so for a long time. Of course I can do it. I'm always refining my technique." The naga blinked in suprise, looking at her as if the answer to her question were obvious. "Why, how can I thoroughly judge and use the power of her magic if I don't take all of it? Taking only a partial can't compare to when magic is whole."
He smirked with interest. "Though, I would be most intrigued to see you try to force her magic back into her." He dropped Ashierra's shoulder, letting her crumple to the ground. Flames started sparking on his long arms. "I won't be giving it up easily."

She used a wall of vines to block the sparks, letting it fall to the ground as the flames caught part of it. "A bit? This little breeze?" She called, nearly running into a ground spike. Hearing Alek break through, the growls of the bandits clear, she inclined her head with a taunt. "You wanna wait for your buddies? You might have a better chance at winning then!"

The only signs of life in Ashierra were her shallow breathing and the increasing sweat of exertion on her skin. Did she really hear that? Was Alek there? She tried to open her eyes, but just breathing made her feel exhausted. She felt herself being moved, and even that felt far away, like it wasn't really her body at all.

The naga shook his head. He'd been called that before, and worse. Nothing new to him. His eyes widened once he actually saw Alek approaching. Something was different with this male. He was powerful too, but... his air tasted differently. "You must be the one who broke the wall." He hissed with deranged interest, watching some of the remaining bandits start to run away. Cowards...
"Trash? Oh, dear me, little kitty, I am anything but!" He watched, fully intrigued, as Jade's magic centered as she started at him. "'Snake man,' I'll admit that's new." He chorkled as he held out his hands before him. Clods of dirt rose from the ground around him and compressed near one hand, giving the naga his own shield made of solid rock. His other hand was building large spikes of ice, launching one after another at the charging cattaur.

Sending out spikes of water to drown out the fires, she too turned to keep the male from getting out of sight. If only she had wings!
Tuula shrugged pleasantly. "Well, I figured I'd hold back a bit. Don't want to hurt your ego too much by winning right away!" Thick vines shot up from the ground behind the male, aiming to tie up his legs and arms.

The naga leaned back slightly, tapping a lean finger against his non-existent lips as if deciding what to do next. Snapping his fingers, chunks of stone rose from the forest and flew past him going all at once for Jade.

'Ashy...?'
A strange warmth spread along her skin. It felt rather comforting. The warmth spread deeper, and her breathing seemed to ease. It went deeper, she could feel her muscles. After that, it seemed to turn around. It went deeper, and she felt the actual heat of the fire. By the time it was reaching for her core, she had to cry out. It was burning! She desperately moved her still weak arms, clawing at the ground to get away, forgetting to figure out whoever was holding her. Why were they burning her? Had the naga been the one to grab her again?

Tuula had just opened her mouth to respond when the male started disappearing. Damn! Her mouth clamped shut and she dropped all her magic, the wind and plants settling except for the edge of Jade's wind. This wasn't just invisibility! She held her breath, trying to hear the male, sharp eyes wide and diallated.

"All?" The naga cocked his head. "My dear, you have done little yourself. Why should I put forth more effort than I'm recieving? That hardly seems fair of you. Besides..." He let that word hang in the air, pointing at the blood on her arm.
He spared a glance at the two cattaurs on the ground. Was the male trying to share his magic? Others had tried that before and failed. "She can only take so much of your magic before it starts to rebel." He called to Alek teasingly, though almost encouragingly as well. "Like your little green friend here said, magic is part of you. If I had taken her heart you wouldn't be able to give her yours. As interesting as it is to watch, try something else." He thought he was being nice offering that tid-bit of advice.

Despite the familiar voice, she kept pushing the fire away. It was instinct to shy from pain. "It hurts!" She gasped out, still trying to roll away, her mind dizzy and unclear from pain and the process of her fire being stolen.
The naga's raspy voice grated her ears and she couldn't make out any words. "Shut up." She croaked, throwing a random fireball with her eyes only cracked open. It was far too high though and missed, lacking any control.

"Damn it!" She snapped out loud at the breath on her ear. Tuula's hand slapped at the air even though the male was already gone. What could she do about this? Though her senses remained at high alert, she loosely crossed her arms and pretended to pout. "You meanie face!"

The naga ducked behind his rocky shield, but it was not big enough to hide all of him from the windy knives. He looked at the snake part of his body almost curiously, or with interest, as blood oozed. Considering what he had on his arms though, he hardly felt the sting. This did however distract his from the two cattaurs on the ground.
"So, you're going to do something now?" He asked. Bringing up another shield of rock, he flung it at Jade, but it did not go straight at her. It weaved and rolled randomly, confusingly, before shifting to sit above the female and dropped with the intention to trap her underneath it.

She knew that voice. Who was it? Alek's face floated briefly in her vision, though any concious recognition teased her as it waved on the edge of subconcious.
After a few stuttered words, she managed to speak again. "He annoy. Scratchy." She complained, pulling on her ears with her hands. Her legs continued to kick weakly to get away from the source of the burning fire, even though the flow had mostly stopped.

"What?" She spun around, looking for where the male went. He was leaving? As much as she wanted to kick the guy's face in, she didn't know what to do about the vanishing trick. "Until next time." She whispered before running over the crumbled wall. So, those girls had been here. She paled a little when she saw the naga though. She saw Alek and Ashierra, and it clicked. She touched Alek's shoulder. "Was it the naga?" She asked softly, actually crouching to hide herself behind the male.

Mouth curling into a smirk, the naga actually gasped when Jade reformed before his very eyes. Now that was a power! Without a second thought, he tossed his makeshift shield aside to make himself lighter and shot forward, arms outstretched to grab Jade by the neck.

Tuula winced watching the boulder fall on the female. She turned and focused on Ashierra, petting the other female's flank. "There may be a way..." She mused softly. She looked up in surprise at Jade's voice. How?!
But she didn't have time to wonder. She nodded to Alek, eyes wide as the naga flew at Jade, and she began whispering into Ashierra's ear, holding her tightly.

Rearing short, the naga spun in a circle to stop his forward momentum, raising himself to tower over the cattaurs on his coils. "Hey now, you're just going to run off like that?" He asked Jade, honestly dissappointed. He wanted that magic. When his tongue flicked out, he tasted something new, something about this male cattaur. "Well, I'll find her again. You... you're something else."
He actually started to grin when the flames burst.

Tuula frowned. She had a radical idea, but she didn't think Alek would go for it. She gasped when the flames roared around the males, blocking them off. "Just hold him off a little longer!" She yelled through the fire, hoping Alek heard her. "Just a minute!"
'Maybe brother was righ'. Maybe I am a little goofy. Alone in the mounts too long.' She thought to herself. When the naga had taken some of her magic before, it had been a long process for Tuula to relearn what had been stolen, and even now she felt that space. It wasn't the same. She couldn't let it happen again if she could help it. Besides, Alek was there to help if something went wrong... Snorting at her own assumption, she laid Ashierra down and set to work on her plan.

The naga's eyebrows perked up. "Go? You've already sent the green girl away, and, lest you forget, your little non-fire cat can't move. Her power is mine now. To whom are you speaking?" He tried to look through the dark sheet Alek had created before sending out sensory fingers, completely ignoring the taunts. He nearly laughed when he found out Tuula was there. "You're depending on that brat to protect your red thing? You know, she couldn't even protect herself before."

Tuula worked quickly, trying to find the best way to act on her plan. She shivered when she felt the naga's mental touch, noting that Ashierra had done the same, among her already weak shivers. Shaking her head, again thinking herself a nutter, she pulled Ashierra over to a spot near the woods and whispered in her ear again.