ooc: this is gonna be a selfie thread for Cancer to practice his magic. You can join, if you want, but the main focus is magic practice. x3
He'd left Giggle and her fortunes behind. Now, Cancer entered the last unknown cave on his map. Cetus. This place was filled with a soft hum, and mist, and trees... and the cat felt comforted by the mysterious and lonely feeling here. It was peaceful. Finally. Time for some one on one time, Carci. Let's do this thing proper. He'd pause in the entrance of the cave and let out a bellowing call, accompanied by a magical push- to both make sure he was indeed alone, and to sense for any life in the cave...
...and to his delight, the echo came back clear enough to tell him only lesser gembounds were here right now. Only prey, and some stirred away from his voice, but most were unconcerned and stagnant. The cub walked in more confidently and took a seat, tail curling around his paws and chest heaving up in a sigh. Quix slept peacefully in his armor, so he slid out of it and placed it gently over a fallen log, to keep its shape and give the kitten a safe place to doze. Then, he pulled out the tablet and set to work adding the details of this new cave to it...
Satisfied with the image sketched onto his stone tablet, Cancer returned it back to it's pouch, safe and secure. Then, he turned back to the cave. He'd have to practice some more magic... but which spell? He'd felt his ability increase overtime, thanks to that new Blood Hold ability. He could practice that... but on what? His eyes narrowed in the mist of the cave, and he willed them to see. That red glow returned yet again...
...and to his delight, Cancer spotted a land hopper amongst the foliage. His night vision faded as he released his magic, and despite that, he noted with delight that he could still easily see it, now that he'd spotted it the first time. It nibbled away on a leaf and he crouched, ready to practice his magic on it- and in turn, ready for a decent meal afterwards.
The cat lay in wait, willing his magic to gather, focusing on the hare. As his horns began to glow, however, just as he willed the land-hopper to stop and stay still, the thing shot off like a bolt. His magical glow was a double-edged blade, and as he watched it go, he released his spell with a groan. The tingling feeling behind his horns was back, so the cat rose to his paws and turned away. He'd find something else to hunt.
Luckily, and to his delight, it wasn't long before he spotted the lake, and beneath its surface, fish. Fish had blood, right? Yeah. He could practice on them! The cat settled in by the water's edge, his armor and belongings, and Quix, just visible from the corner of his eye as he lay still beside the lake...
[short posts does it matter though it's just me XD]
Cancer focused his magic again once he felt sure he could. He focused on the school of small fish that swam below. He focused, and that magical red glow returned across his horns and in his eyes. He could briefly note his reflection in the water, glowing eyes looking rather spectacular to him, despite his dislike for the color red. The distraction was enough to upset the ritual of casting, and suddenly, he felt himself release that magical hold, and to his great surprise and dismay, the water in front of him exploded. With a shout, from both the pain of the sudden release and the shock of being splashed, the cat shimmied backwards.
The rain that fell from the explosion beneath the water wasn't clear or thin like water. The cat looked up in horror as the splash-back rained blood and fish parts down on him. He'd made the whole school of fish explode! Blood dropped onto his face in a splatter of gross wet red, and he wailed in terror and disgust. He tried hard at first to wipe it from his face, but as he came to the water's edge to wash off, he was met with a horrific sight- his face was covered, right down to his shoulders, in splattered red guts and scales. He wretched, gagging once, then his vision swam and he dropped like a rock.
The cat whose magic allowed him to manipulate blood, fainted so easily at the sight of it. It'd be some time before he woke again. For now, he lay docile and still at the water's edge, pathetic despite his mighty seat of power. How sad.
An hour later, Cancer stirred to wakefulness once more. A disturbing memory lingered on the edge of his consciousness. He could feel the slick wet on his face, and it reminded him of the event, triggered a replay of the scene behind eyes closed tight. The teen curled in on himself, groaning groggily in his instinctive fear. He reached out, but this time, in his blurred state, something new happened. The red glow overtook him, and he found in a strange way, Quix, asleep in his bag near by. The cat imagined that peace, what it'd be like...
...and to his surprise and delight, the dread washed away a moment later, like a warm blanket. He felt confined and safe, and with this feeling dulling his phobia, the cat managed to drag himself blindly, eyes shut tight, over to the water and into it, wading as far as he could before he began treading water from the depth. He was slow and silent, at bliss with his eyes closed, his focus on Quix, his magic a steady glow, cherry red over his horns, and now the water. It was beginning to strain him, though. The cat took a deep breath and ducked beneath the water quickly, just as his connection broke from distance. He'd spin beneath the water, twisting sideways and resurfacing with that twisting motion, facing the shore again. Finally, he dared to open his eyes.
The mess was a muddy brown now, and most was already carried off by lesser 'bounds. Cancer sighed in his relief. His coat was clean - asides from a few water plants - and he could return to the shore again, dry off, and perhaps just hunt that traditional way he knew was safe. Yeah, that sounded good. His stomach churned as he swam, and waded back to shore. Once back beside his belongings, the cat settled down to groom away the wet. It would be some time before he tried his magic again- he felt tired and sore as it was. He'd spend the night, then maybe try again in the morning. But first thing's first, groom, hunt, sweet sweet sleep.
A night's rest was just what the Bevy had ordered! Cancer woke the next... morning? Some hours later, at any rate, feeling rather refreshed and enlightened! The cat sat up with a mighty yawn, and glanced over to his bags to check on Quix. The fox was gone, but her scent was fresh- likely exploring the area, or some other caves. As much as Cancer worried for her, he knew she knew enough now to stay out of trouble, so he'd stay put and get back to work on his training.
The cat rose to his feet with a long stretch, and headed over to the edge of the water again. No, not fish this time. He'd try something else. After lapping from the lake and quenching his morning thirst, the cat turned his attention to the rest of the cave. He willed his sixth sense to detect blood-life around him, and that familiar glow returned...
...and to his relief, magic replenished, he found his next target easily enough. Another land-hopper, possibly the same one by the brown color. He crouched behind some reeds and began stalking...
Cancer crept behind the land-hopper with some sense of feline stealth, and for a few minutes, the pair were silent and still. He crept closer, closer, then willed his magic forward again. Just as he cast the spell, however, the land-hopper yet again caught sight of him and with a stamp to the ground, sped off into the brush. He cursed, standing upright with a hiss and a snarl, then turned away towards the water again. It was easy enough for him to use the damn spell when in a panic, but he couldn't manage it otherwise! It wasn't fair! Frustrated and now tingling from the effort, the cat stomped back towards his belongings and settled down with a sulk. He'd have to try something else... or maybe... find some other target.
((ooc -- joining by request! ))
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Another target soon presented itself, though whether Cancer would see him as prey or comrade remained to be seen. A very young alligator hatchling, barely nearing two feet long, was rushing through the reeds at the edge of the Heart with a scurrying, hurried gait. He wasn't taking any care at all to remain hidden--and why would he? He was obviously the strongest thing in Cetus. He was the same thing Aquarian was! He was a DRAGON!
No, Dragon was unconcerned, focused instead solely on his task of gathering prey, himself. He paused to lift a long reptilian head and sniff, bright golden-green eyes peering about, and then scurried onward with a splashing of water. Then he was up in the reeds, crossing a little hillock, grass swaying to give away his passage.
He didn't realize how close he was to the leopard when he eased himself far more slowly down to the water's edge, eyes searching the black. He was still for a time, and then, abruptly, he lunged down--jaws open to reveal tiny pointed teeth--with a heavy splash into the water.
Like Cancer, however, he failed in his pounce--whatever he'd been after, probably a fish, had gotten away. With a growling hiss the tiny alligator emerged from the water, bobbing at the surface and slowly paddling in a half-circle, looking down and around to see where it had gone.
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Cancer startled at the sound of splashing nearby. He sat up and glanced over, spotting the circling lizard as he swam about.
Lizards don't usually swim do they? Maybe this was some sort of weird fish-lizard! Fish weren't really intelligent, so maybe this one was just another lesser 'bound like the other prey things! It was certainly small enough to be. New target spotted, the cat crouched and began his stalking approach.
I can do this. Just... focus really hard, Cancer. Focus and focus and focus...
Focus he did. Those horns and eyes glowed red, hidden by tall reeds this time, as he crouched on the shore. He'd hope to grab and pull the creature into the shallows, where'd he'd be able to catch it without any danger. Yes, that seemed right. He'd grab the thing by its heart and yank... if his magic worked...
...and to his delight, he felt his vision fade to black as his mind found the creature's pulse, the blood flowing steadily through tiny veins... and he held tight to that. The link was weak, so rather than grabbing the heart like he'd hoped, the reptile's whole right side would suddenly become stiff. Then, with a mighty effort, Cancer pulled back and hopefully brought the lizard-fish with him, to the shore line.
Round: 1 of 5
Attempt: Cancer uses Bloodhold on Dragon to pull him to shore. Grips the right side of his circulatory system.
Defense: N/A
Injuries: Slightly drained from prior magic use.
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He was still searching frantically for the fish when suddenly the entire right side of his body... BETRAYED him. It went buzzing and warm and red and pulling, and he found his legs on that side stiffly dragging him to shore. What the?! A roil of the closest thing to swear-words tumbled from his maw as he whirled to face the direction he was heading, hissing and snapping his jaws.
"DAMN STINKING FISH-STINK DEAD ROTTING FILTH-RAT WATER-SCUM--"
The moment he was on dry land--or as dry as land got, in Cetus--he could see a large, hulking dark shape just ahead. There was no time for fear--instead he tried to call his own magic, to tap into that smoldering heat deep within his chest and let it come pouring out in a searing blast the two meters or so to Cancer's face.
Out it came, erupting like a hissing belch of shimmering burning air, blasting toward the cat-thing in the dark. It would burn like hell, but not ignite or even smolder the fur--like sticking his face into a blast of boiling steam. Or so Dragon hoped.
I'll teach THIS thing to mess with a DRAGON!
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Round: 1/5
Attempt: Heat Wave to Cancer's face.
Defense: Open jaws, somewhat armored scaly skin.
Injuries: Healing Cave Rat bite wounds to back of neck & to snout