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"Things are a lot easier when you have spells to do the work for you."
Vilya was sitting calmly on thier balcony, perched on the railing with one leg hanging over the side.
Tura stood on the ground below her companion, turning her head away in a disapproving manor. Vilya had scaled the wall using the creeping vines that snaked their way up the castle stone work.
Vilya ignored her. "Good morning you two. How did you sleep? Sai, I expected you to be out for longer with the amount of energy you used."
She stood and went to lean against the door frame, her arms crossed and a look of slight concern on her face.
"You know, there's really only so much one's body can take. You'll need longer and longer to recover the more you do that to it."

((Sorry for the long delay. I have been temporarily defeated by a combination of work, lack of energy, D&D, writers block, and procrastination...))

"Ah morning, Vilya." Sai said as he turned to regard his other companion. "Kin's right, I tend to bounce back pretty quick. My master insisted on very rigorous training, and that I always give it my all, so I'm used to recovering quickly. I am really hungry, though" Sai said. His last statement was punctuated by a loud growling from his stomach. "We should see if we can't find something to eat. I'm sure Souun is hungry, too. Plus I need to get my staff back from him."

Damiano thought as he walked the empty cooridor toward the dining hall. Ark stated with some excitement in his voice. Damiano wasn't too pleased at the tone but silently agreed that their lifestyle had been rather dull before meeting their new companions.

Ark interjected. Damiano could feel that the dragon spirit was right. He also had been feeling a tad restless, for a good while now. He first felt most alive when he had fought off the two imperial soldiers that had attempted to sieze him and that shadow-spirit child. Damiano caught himself sighing as though remembering a nostalgic moment.

"Well, I just hope I feel better after eating something..." Damiano said flatly, hoping to change his focus from the fight ahead to his hunger.

((So sorry for not getting this done sooner. Writer's block had the best of me sweatdrop ))

"W-what? Oh, hello Vilya," Damiano was more than a little caught off guard though he did his best not to show it; he had a feeling it wasn't very convincing. Seeing how enthusiastic Vilya was today made him remember exactly what they were getting into. He sighed inwardly and figured he would at least answer her with a half-truth. "I'm just a little nervous is all, and more than a little hungry," he confessed sheepishly, trying to make the chuckle that followed sound genuine.

scolded the mind-voice of his companion. Damiano ranted in his mind, realizing perhaps a bit too late that he still displayed some expression while speaking to his companion through their mental link. Damiano nervously hoped Vilya wouldn't pick up on exactly how nervous he was.

"S-so, Vilya, I take it you're prepared for the match today?" Damiano said trying to spark up cheerful conversation. If he couldn't escape this topic then he would at least reassure himself that he had a competent teammate in the tag-team match ahead of him. He had only really seen Vilya fight in the pirate battle before arriving at the sky city, and even then he had only managed one or two spells before retiring to the hold of the ship where the wild magic cargo lay. He had been so drained either by the surrounding field of wild magic or by his earlier spells that he had gone unconscious trying to cast another one.

"As ready as I'll ever be." She admitted. "Truth be told I haven't faced sages this powerful before, but...I have confidence."
Tura interjected.
Vilya shot back.
"You know, I'm a little hungry too, lets find the dining hall."
It didn't take the companions long, Tura's sense of smell lead them straight to the kitchens and from there they were pointed to the dining hall.
Vilya caught sight of Sai coming in with the serving man and waved him over.
"I hope the sages are doing all right. Will they be joining us for a meal?" she asked Windstrom politely as she chose a seat at a long marble table.
Tura lay down beside her seat, her head coming level with Vilya's.

Ark stated through the mental link he and his master shared. Damiano had only just thought, for a brief moment, that Ark may want to stretch his wings. The fact that his companion was so withdrawn from the situation meant something. Perhaps Ark had already thought of an idea for their tag-team match with the sages? Damiano replied keeping a steady tone. He sensed the dragon had many reasons for not wanting to exit his stone, one of them being that he had yet to be revealed to the sages. Arkanathalasana, as Damiano noted to think of him then, was serious. A battle like this was nothing like those they faced on the roads. Bandits were nothing, even those pirates were just a practice run, getting the kinks out of their joints. Damiano could feel his comrade's strength flowing through him via their mental link. He was no longer nervous, but eager.

Seeing Sai come in with one of the honoured servants, and Kin follow behind them, Damiano came back to his senses in the world around him. He couldn't help but grin upon seeing Sai, after yesterdays battle, he was sure the magus would be in bed for a week. "It is good to see you well, Sai; and you, Kin. After the performance yesterday I was certain neither of you would be awake to see my turn in the ring," Damiano said quite pleasantly. He bowed slightly more out of custom than anything, honouring the victorious in his own way.

((No worries, Raitlin. In case you hadn't noticed I have been conspicuously absent lately myself. Though that is due more to exhaustion than anything else. It has been suggested that I may be an undiagnosed diabetic, as I seem to never have any energy...))

Sai was led into the dining hall by the servant man, Winstrom. He entered the great rectangular room to see a single massive table running the length of the entire room. There were high backed and padded chairs spaced regularly around the table, with ten feet of open space between each edge of the table and the wall nearest to it. There were elaborate tapestries and painting decorating three of the walls. One of the long walls was almost entirely glass, looking out on the storm wall that surrounded the flying city. From this side the wall was well lit by the sun, and brilliant bolts of lightning in many colors could be seen arcing throughout the dark clouds.
"Thank you." Sai said to Winstrom, and proceeded over to where he could see Vilya gesturing for him to join her at the table, and Damiano seated next to her.
He walked over to her and plopped down into the seat to her right. Stratus followed immediately behind him and curled up in the space behind his chair.
"Morning again, Vilya.Good morning to you also, Damiano." Sai said, and began poring over multitude of trays and bowls of food that were spread out about the table. "Amazing place these Sages have here, isn't it. School like a palace, and in a city in the clouds."
Sai began piling one large plate with a wide variety of typical breakfast foods. He paused long enough to pass an entire tray of steaks to Stratus, who grasped it in one dexterous taloned claw and set it on the floor before him.
"So, do the two of you have a plan for your match today?" Sai asked as he began digging into his food.