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Sai saw the arrow coming from the corner of his eye. He quickly locked their blades and then pushed, thrusting them apart so that the arrow passed harmlessly between them.

"What the hell was that?" He asked, no longer concerned with a mere sparring match.

He looked harder in the direction that the arrow had come from and could see what looked like another airship, far off in the distance. Another arrow came streaking from it, but was far off its mark.

"I think we should head back to the ship." Sai said. "C'mon." He sheathed his sword and held out his hand for her to take so that they could both move back to a more comfortable sitting position.



Stratus responded.

"Thank you for the gift sir!" Damiano called back as he deftly reached out and caught the device. Both he and Ark could sense the danger in this little encounter seeing as enchanted arrows weren't common weaponry, especially for the common pirate. Quickly measuring the trinket he had only seconds before caught, Damiano figured it would fit on his staff like a focus gem. Quickly fitting it, Damiano issued a mental command to Ark to start heading for their allies. Ark did as he was told.

Damiano watched the scene carefully, looking for the enemy ship. It wasn't long before he saw it in the distance, advancing rapidly. Damiano thought in a cold and calculating fashion. This wasn't just a fun duel anymore; this was a battle that could render either of them dead. Damiano, for one, did not wish to die here or now. Ark replied in a similar, calculative manner.

Damiano and Ark had reached an understanding and hurried to complete their current task. As they reached Stratus, Damiano held up his staff, preparing himself to activate the trinket of magical power now mounted on it. "Sai, Vilya, we're needed back at the ship quickly. Stay close to me; I have been given an item of some magical power that should prevent those arrows from piercing our flesh and our dragons' wings. I should warn you now that they have been ensorcelled with death-inducing magic," he said while keeping an eye on the sky. If any one wayward arrow were to strike them before he could activate the item, the consequences would be dire. Prepared to activate this shielding magic whenever a threat became present, Damiano waited for the others to move within range before heading back himself.

Kin finally stood up on account of the commotion. Kin yawned but not on purpose and then ran to the side of the ship to get a clearer view of what was going on. So something is finally happening. I was starting to think nothing would happen. Kin thought.

Kin thought to Vix. I'll use the temporary flight spell like last time. Kin thought.

"Fuga." Kin asserted. A fairly large pair of feathered wings grew from Vix and Vix wasted no time taking flight, though a rather irregular sight seeing a snake fly.

Kin very athletically jumped into the air onto Vix in a sort of surfboarding manner on Vix's scaly body. Kin and Vix now did a straight flight toward to approaching enemy ship, wasting no time having any conversation with his allies. Arrows were flying towards him and Vix, but Kin's eyes seemed as if they locked onto them in a quick cat-like way and shifting Vix's entire body side to side to dodge each time like a surfboard. Kin and Vix were falling fast toward the ship, the wings Vix had were merely used to glide to get as close as possible.

The amount of weaponry firing at Kin was beginning to increase as he got closer. It seemed like most of the defense they had not focused on him as he became within about thirty feet of the enemy ship. Continuing to maneuver and dodge all of the arrows shot at him, Kin had to figure a way of landing. The entire deck of the enemy ship was swarming with enemies who appeared to be waiting for him.

Vix ordered.

Kin's eyes narrowed and grunted in a growling fashion and followed Vix's words, heading straight for the deck.

Sai watched as Kin flew towards the deck of the enemy ship, thinking that the mage was out of his mind.

"I think it might be a little late to tell Kin to keep out of the way." Sai said to Carryway, gesturing to the opposing ship.

Sai turned his attention back to Stratus, who began to glow and then dematerialized into solid light, which was then absorbed into the stone in the necklace around Sais neck.

"Hold off on those cannons for now." Sai said, once again, to Carryway. "Two mages at close range are probably more destructive anyways. If it looks like the tide of battle is turning against us, then we'll be right back, and you can away with those things."

Sai turned his attention back to the opposing ship and looked at where he thought Kin would land. Many men on the deck were rushing to meet him. They'd never expect an attack from behind. Sai focused his attention of the open deck behind the gathering pirates. "Permoveo Tractus." He said to himself.

His view of the world suddenly shifted as a large amount of his magical reserves were drained by the spell. He was suddenly standing on the deck of the other ship, pirates standing in front of him, all watching Kin as he descended on the deck.

Here we go...

"Ventas Laedo!" Sai yelled out as he thrust his hands forward, towards the pirates, gathered at the rail. The burst of wind collided with the men there, tossing a few of them over the rail, though most managed to brace themselves against it.

Sai darted forward across the deck, drawing his sword with on hand and keeping his staff, which he had retrieved from the deck of The Destiny before departing, in a defensive position. As he came within range of the enemy men he swung the blade at the nearest of the enemies. The blade was quickly deflected, though, by the mans own sword. He was a large man, with a thick blonde beard wearing clothes befitting a traveler. Sai could tell by the way that the man handled his weapon that he was quite proficient with it.

Well, guess I'll have to uneven the odds then...

Sai swung his blade at the man again reciting an incantation as he did. "Onus Meum Vesica." The man blocked the blade, as expected. The lightning charge that Sais spell had endowed his blade with surged up the mans sword and into his body, making him jerk violently. That was all the opportunity Sai needed. His staff swung in and slammed viciously into the side of the stunned pirates head, knocking him, unconscious, to the deck. Sai moved on to the next opponent.

Raidek eyes scoured over Jania, his hand hadn't moved from the scythe on his side. At this very moment, he could probably end her life a few spells and a single stroke could do it, but he sensed something.

"If we are to travel together, you will no longer refer and or treat me as your apprentice, I refuse to be the student any longer. I will refer to you as Jania, and you will refer to me as Raidek, unless I tell you a name that you need to refer to me as depending on the situation. You will learn to control your anger, you attack me anymore without us agreeing to so much as a spar, depending on the attack will lead me either to retaliate and possibly kill you, or to leave you to wander. If we are to continue traveling together we will be partners. You will still teach me how to silent cast, but you will not assume that role. Am I clear."

Raidek stared Jania down, waiting for her response.

It was like a tremor, however slight, Raidek felt it.

"I will not call you master, without offending you, it would be a disgrace to my master's name. You have to understand I must honor his name more so in his death, and it pained me enough the few times I did call you it. I'm fine if we decide together on where to travel, and in our training sessions I will listen to your instruction. No one is ever equal, I am strong than you in certain areas, and I'm sure you are stronger than me in others. It's simply a fact. I do not expect you to think of me as better than you, or 'equal' as you so put it, but I do expect you to respect me, and as such I you."

Raidek looked to the city they were about to leave and then back to Jania.

"If we are to travel together it is you joining me, if your coming with, I am going to the desired destination. If you chose to not, then so be it. We can discuss further travel after we reach the next city. This is not a matter of you may being willing to be my partner in travels. Either you are, or you are not. What say you?"

Raidek sighed, "Since we're agreed, lets get out of here." ...before the Imperials decide to show up. He wasn't certain if they would come here, but he figured he could be certain that after the events a couple days ago, they'd be looking for him, and with each passing day their search would likely spread out farther and farther.

Raidek turned away, keeping an ear open for anything that might happen. Keeping himself on guard.