ooc: Takes place before Aza x Maj x Fish fight, also a selfie thread for the post contest. :P
Azazel felt alive and well, quite happy with himself and life in Origin Cave. It was The Bone King's insatiable curiosity and affinity in Magicka that drew the ave to seek more from it, to push the limits of what it could do. What exactly those limits were was yet undecided, but he'd find out soon enough.
Stretching great appendages and flapping them with powerful strokes, the bird picked his way toward the desolate tunnel, seeking isolation and silence for his practice. He didn't want to bring harm to another Gembound while he worked, and certainly didn't want a group of golems to coalesce, thus why he wasn't going to Polaris to practice. Oh heavens no, he may as well walk in with wide open wings if he wanted to die.
Landing with a hollow click-click of talons, Azazel looked about with carmine eyes. Dark pupils scrutinized the mist that coiled around him, clouding his vision. The perfect subject for the male's tests. Magical essence ebbed through the ave's veins, flowing from his wings. Unfortunately, this was almost a mortal folly, for that essence simply fell to the floor, clearing only a small bit of the spectral mist with its power, not useful at all. Azazel frowned, narrowing his gaze. He'd have to try again, and harder.
Word Count: 217
Miserably small breezes blew from his wings, and he grunted. How disappointing. He knew he could do better... much better than what he'd just lazily pushed out. So his magic was going to be stubborn and not work right off the bat. Practice did make perfect, as well as discipline. He did attempt to use jetstream, for it was far more powerful than just a gust and would keep the fog at bay. He'd try again.
Giving a deep sigh to the cave, Azazel channeled his magicka once more, feeling it flow from feather to feather, filling every ounce of his being. It would explode in small bursts and crackle like elecricity the longer he held the power in his wings. It became unbearable, and the ave would flap his wings in a mighty blow. Gale-force winds screamed away from the bird, sending ethreal mist in every direction. Soon, the general vicinity of The Bone King was free and ready for some serious magic practice.
Satisfaction surged through the bird, and he puffed out his chest in pride to noone in particular. He was all alone in this passageway, but he did have he, himself, and he, eh? Maybe not. Now, to decide what to do next...
Word Count: 207
Perfect, just perfect! The cave's pesky wreath wouldn't be a bother in practice for at least a few minutes, and if it was an annoyance, he could definitely try again to pry off the tunnel's veil of fog. Huffing again, the bird wiggled with excitement and nodded to himself. What next? Pursue some ambition, perhaps? That alone sounded like an excellent idea, and maybe it would turn out to be good practice for his higher intensity rites and incantations.
Azazel mustered the magical essence that he contained, feeling the ubiquitous energy surge through his bodice, filling his feathers with power and his bones with magic. Inhaling deeply, the bird took to the air so he was higher up and thus less... loud. Finally, he parted his beak and gave a loud screech, one that broke the sound barrier and echoed all around in the cave. Each echo of the cry dulled in strength, until it was soon gone. This time, the bird hadn't made himself deaf and simply was left with a dull ringing sound in his ear. He didn't know that his sonic booms could be much louder than what he had just summoned, some capable of shattering eardrums and breaking rock if they move fast enough.
Word Count: 208
With the screech, the bird had gotten quite the stroke to his ego, which elated his mood even more and gave him the energy that he needed to continue. What now? There were so many things he could bend the atmosphere to do at his own will. There were so many limits that he could push and test, and so many spells to explore. Maybe he'd discover a few new ones in this endeavor as well. Maybe not. Who knew?
Azazel decided then that he'd practice his mimicry. The last few times he had tried to do it... they either didn't work or were very faint and intelligible. The only way he'd improve in it is if he tried, and he may as well amuse himself while he was at it. Throwing magicka to the air, he gave several loud chuckles and they echoed in the thick layers of magicka. Now... to make it vibrate. He threw molecules against one another, but they made nothing but a low purring noise, and that disappointed him.
What further upset him was that the cursed fog was coming back. It clung desperately to the cave with spindly fingers, as if it knew it was about to be blown away again.
Word Count: 207
The cavern's fog was persistent, returning at every chance it got, and now that the field of air that the ave had summoned faded, the veil was draped over his vision once more. Azazel grunted, shifting his wings and glaring at the mist, as if that alone would scare it off. Highly unlikely, but he could try. The ethereal wreath made no movement, simply swirling around the bird and spiralling in random spots due to regular thermals in the cave. Now, it seemed mucn thicker due to the increased heat in the caves, for some reason. It also seemed to condense on the bird's feathers quicker, much to the chagrin of Azazel. It was one thing to get licked, but the fog seemed to be licking him.
Willing his magic to the surface and feeling it flow through his being, The Bone King stroked the air quickly, but only a small poofing noise was heard, magic dancing in the air lazily. Another failure? Ugh. That was annoying and would likely nag at the ave's being, but he had to try again. Sitting down, he decided to recover his magicka briefly before trying again. Perhaps it was his quick use in succession of magic that caused his downfall and failures. Definitely.
Word Count: 210
Settling down next to the wall, Azazel gave a small croon and absently picked at the floor. He yawned, a little tired from the effort put into so much magicka use. It felt simply amazing to relax, and it was almost euphoric to just let the world and time pass right on by him. Someday he'd catch up to the flow of time, but for now, he'd succumb to the wile of the past. It was alluring in a sense, and he wanted to live in it forever. If you did... you could always fix your mistakes before the present came, right?
Perhaps that wasn't the case, but Azazel didn't mind. He was, in fact, quite content with his own naivety and fantasies sometimes. It was an escape and elysium away from the harsh realities of leadership and life. Sometimes, life didn't feel like it was a gift, but a curse. To the ave, it was the greatest gift of all. It was a beautiful thing to hold in your core and in your hands. Azazel didn't feel like he regained any of his magicka, but he was perfectly fine with that, for he was at ease and calm. He didn't feel angry with the world or anything at all.
Word Count: 210
— an hour later —
Awakening and feeling renewed, the Ave flapped over to a stone, smiling. Perhaps he could condense the pressure around the rock, splitting it. Surely he could split stone with the flick of a wing... or maybe he couldn't! Oh dear. The Bone King definitely had to get up and try. Rubies blinked, magicka welling up and filling every ounce of his being. He felt it come, and the rock groaned once as the pressure on it built up... but there was nothing. "Of course." He sighed, shaking his head. One more time, maybe.
One more try, then maybe he would quit trying to break formidible rocks with air. Exhaling deeply then gazing at nothing other than the rock, Azazel calmed his nerves. Magic filled every ounce of his being, reaching out to the granite stone with invisible fingers and embracing it in an extremely tough grip. Pressure dramatically increased, and soon that very stone split cleanly down the middle, then shattered into smithreens when Azazel did not loosen his grip. The spell was complete, and the Ave scurried over to observe his handiwork. "Wow."
Stepping into the stone shards, Azazel nosed one aside and a shimmering object caught his eye. It simply sparkled once, but it was difficult to see what it was in this low light and dense mist. The ethereal essence had settled back in, and The Bone King's vision was obscured. There would be an attempt made to clear the fog. Wings beat in strong strokes, Azazel forcing his magic to the very tips of his feathers in attempt to blast the fog away from him, almost like a sonic boom... except not quite breaking the sound barrier.
Perfect! The air around him was dispelled, taking the thick blanket of fog along with it. Surely those ethereal fingers would not envelope him once more... or at least when he still stood here. Subconciously, he had called upon his magicka, and the air may have vibrated. He was more focused on the shimmering object in the stone, a gemstone having once been embedded into the smooth granite. It was now cracked due to all of the pressure it had just gone through, but it was a smooth and sparkly diamond in the raw. Gorgeous. Nosing it quietly, he wondered if it once was a Gembound, living and breathing just like him.