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Post by Arashi on Sept 9, 2021 13:24:56 GMT -8
The boy wasn't even sure what to expect right now. His spell seemed to have done its job empowering those he marked with his spell. So that was good at least, those few people were safe, and they even used that benefit to continue helping the other people on the beach, leaving this location. It seemed they would be allowed to leave without any further hindrance. He wasn't sure why Lilith decided to let them go at this point, but he was glad all the same before turning back to her, listening as she spoke. He was confused by her suggestion that they had used him and abandoned him. Why should they have needed him in the first place? The only reason he'd been involved at all was that those men had little in the way of defending themselves against her spell. Using their very bodies to shield the innocent people to who Lilith had extended her wrath towards. At this point, Lilith seemed to have decided that if she could not punish him she would punish those around him when he didn't obey her. It was a strange decision. Although it did show him that perhaps he cared more than he wanted to. At first, he'd been fine to simply watch the first few men freeze to death. He hadn't complained, had not attempted to stop her at all. Simply took noted while she explained the magic being used. It was only when he felt some attachment to the man HOIHOCHI, that he'd felt the desire to step in and try to end things peacefully without anyone dying. He wasn't even sure what he'd gone so far, why had he made it his responsibility to defend the man at that point? Thinking about it, it was because the man had shown even a drop of honor, and kindness. He'd stood before the witch aiming her wrath at him and calmly took it all, taking the blame, and asking forgiveness for things of which he had little to no part. Bowing his head to her. Inspiring Arashi enough that he'd even put his own head to the sand in mimicry asking forgiveness. Her words cut him though. Her disapproval frankly bothered him more than her attacking those people did. But he didn't understand the point she was trying to make. Why did she think it was so important to teach him this lesson when it went outside of magic? What was this strange and hopeless lesson she seemed so wish to solidify within him? "I'm sorry I disappointed you... But I don't understand." He said simply looking up at her. "What does any of this have to do with magic? Why is it you're so keen on ensuring there is no light to be seen? You've said it a few times now. There is no light. It seems as though this is somehow an important lesson you wish to press upon me. But why does it matter? How can you believe that while serving someone like Ty who would almost certainly do everything in her power to defend you if she had the chance to do so? Do you really think that Ty would abandon you aside so easily, that you are just some sort of useful tool to be used and tossed aside at her convenience?" He asked deciding that whatever she was hoping to teach him here, he needed to try to understand. Even if he didn't accept what she said, he wanted to understand. He wanted a glimpse into this woman's mind. He was also wondering what he could do to better ingratiate himself to her. He had little doubt that desire would be difficult, especially if there were points in her lessons where he would practically work against it, but even so, he wanted her approval. However, it was clear to him that he could not do as she desired mindlessly. If he disliked what she was telling him to do, he could not be expected to perform tasks reliably. He supposed he just wished that whatever she ended up asking him to do later would not be so controversial as attacking people that had wronged her. He did not wish to be a tool. Did not wish to be sent like an arrow to deliver death to those she pointed him at. He wanted to learn from her, but he also wished to use his magic how he saw fit, not how she or anyone else thought he should use his power. WC: 757/5,908 Natural PL at the start: 8,585 Tags: Lilith Nevermore
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Post by Lilith Nevermore on Sept 9, 2021 22:36:25 GMT -8
Lilith’s glare remained unwavering when the dragon boy tried to apologize. So easily he tossed that word around, yet he clearly didn’t comprehend the full meaning of it. She clicked her tongue irritatedly. “Tch... For someone boasting about his inherited intelligence, you are utterly ignorant of even the most basic magical theory.” Honestly, she had learned about all this as soon as she had been able to read. Granted, her heritage may have had something to do with it, but... That was beside the point! “Did your mother read even a single book on the subject? Or should I rather ask, did your mother even know how to read?” She was guessing no on both accounts. Sadly, the witch had made the mistake of promising someone above her position she would teach the boy... So she had no choice. “Now pay attention, because I am only going to teach this once.” She opened the massive tome again and showed it to the boy. The pages were blank, but... As if turned by unseen hands, they started fluttering. “Magic is the power of will and emotion combined. It acts as the bridge between your intent and reality.” She had expected him to know at least this much, since he knew how to manifest magic... But evidently he did it subconsciously. How foolish. Suddenly, the fluttering stopped and ink appeared on the pages. It formed little illustrations to go with the teacher’s words. “To put it in terms even you can understand... If you wish to hurt someone, your spell turns into a harmful hex.” The pages depicted a bolt of lightning striking a stick figure. ...Art had never been her strong suit. “Conversely, if your wish is to protect someone, the spell comes out as a protective charm instead.” Another illustration showed a bubble forming another stick figure. Simple, but it got the point across. Hopefully. The page turned and more ink appeared on the pages. Next, the book illustrated various magical runes and feelings commonly associated with them. “The key is controlling your emotions and focusing them on a deserving target.” She tapped the page insistently, underlining one point in particular. “Trying to force a spell against your mental state weakens it or even causes it to fizzle completely.” Perhaps the same could be said about all ki techniques, but one should never say that to her face... Lilith snapped the book shut and glared pointedly at the boy. “So how do you expect to cast even the simplest curse or hex if you cannot muster proper hatred?” Getting attached to mere mortals who were beneath even a mongrel like him... Foolishness beyond foolishness. “You clearly harbor the notion that mere mortals have any value beyond simple labor. Allow me to dispel that illusion, they do not.” Her voice sharpened, gaining an unusually icy and hateful edge. “This mortal trash all around us... They only exist because we allow it and they should perish when we demand it.” That was the natural order of the world. And that brought them to the second part of today’s lesson... Since it was clear the ignorant dragon didn’t understand the first thing about the world, the noblewoman took it upon herself to educate him on the subject. “Social standing defines everything in this world. You are served by those below you, while serving those above you. Climbing up is all but impossible, while falling down is all too simple.” She clutched the book tighter, almost like... hugging it for comfort... “Do you honestly believe I want to serve Queen Ty? That I have any choice in the matter?” She missed the times when the highest authority had been the council of witches... Including her mother. The witch composed her thoughts, trying to put this in the simplest terms possible. “Her majesty, Tiger Lily, is an actual Queen by her marriage to King Cayle. That means she is above both of us. Her word is the law, whether we like it or not.” Holding a hand to her petite chest, she puffed it with that familiar pride. “My noble lineage elevates me above the common rabble, while my magic further elevates me above common nobility.” Finally, her slender finger turned onto the boy. “In a similar manner, your magic elevates you above mere mortals. However, you will never be a noble unless you marry above your social standing.” Which, frankly, was impossible. It only happened in sappy stories. Words: 744 | 5864 Natural PL at start: 16,723 Tags: Arashi
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Post by Arashi on Sept 14, 2021 19:40:38 GMT -8
When it came to his intelligence he'd set the bar pretty low when he'd mentioned it. As he had intelligence beyond his years, via his mother's memories. Which was to say he considered himself significantly smarter than a month-old infant. While he wanted to believe he was smarter than plenty of adult humans, he didn't have any evidence to verify such a claim in this instance. All the same arguing with Lilith was a rather pointless endeavor on his part. It didn't seem to matter what evidence he had to the contrary of her lessons, he was just supposed to eat her lessons like an infant being spoon-fed. Open up, chew, swallow. No room to complain, argue, or question the logic without being ridiculed for possessing a mindset different from her own. Being told that his logic was wrong, though her explanations of why he was wrong didn't fit with what he was seeing. "She knew how to read, though she only knew a few languages, none of which exist in this world outside the common tongue. She never touched a magical tomb, however. She, like me, had memories passed on to her to help share the knowledge needed to use such powers. Every generation makes the next one stronger, or so they would have said." Arashi noted lightly. He did open his notebook to write down what she said after that though. Magic is the power of will and emotion combined. It acts as the bridge between your intent and reality. He didn't have any inherent issue with this line of reasoning, though he did question the level of emotion required to activate a spell with an intended purpose. He didn't think he would have any problems casting a hex, at least not so long as he wanted to. It wasn't like he was innocently exactly. Much like Lilith, he had acted in a similar manner at the amusement park. Although he had decided not to kill the person that bothered him out of concern for Ty then as well. He's frozen them, but not to death. They would have just needed help breaking free from the ice he trapped them in. So it wasn't as if Arashi would avoid hurting people to teach them a lesson about being careful who they bumped into. Although now... Maybe if he had the same mindset he did now back then, he would have held back even more. But he could not be sure of that. Obviously, when it came to protecting the people on the beach this time, he'd created a helpful charm, rather than a hex. He had not held any desire to see those people harmed. "Mortals have no value beyond their labor," Arashi repeated and considered it, but sighed. "What about knowledge then? Or does that count as labor? I would be amazed if there wasn't at least one human in the world who didn't at the very least possess more knowledge than you. Perhaps that knowledge wouldn't be useful to me or you, since our domain is magic. But in this world, science is a considerable power." He said pulling out a capsule. It had a transportable home inside it. "Without any magic, something like this was created. Perhaps magic can do the same thing this does and has been doing it for many years. But I still think it's impressive that something like this could be made without magic." He tilted his head. "Otherwise, I would question what it even means to have value. Some people say that you can't put a price on life, but others would say the price of a life is how much it costs to remove it. Although from what you said, it sounds as though you would go beyond that and say that no life but your own has any worth." He considered tucking the capsule away once more. "Or perhaps, no life that doesn't have the strength to defend itself is worth keeping." "At the moment, my value for life is only apparent because I care what Ty thinks. I want her to be proud of me, I want to be able to tell her what I have done and for her to praise me for it... I respect those men, or at least, that man. But if I didn't have Ty, my respect for them might not have been enough for me to have the desire to save them. In that case, I might have simply considered it an act of nature that they should die..." He chuckled. "In nature, the strong thrive by dining upon the weak. That was my default premise before meeting Ty at least." He shrugged. "I don't know what I want yet, at least not beyond praise and respect. I don't care to spend my life toiling to save the lives of others I care nothing for, and who have no personal value to me. But I value Ty's opinion more than I value my inherent lack of motivation to do what others might perceive as good." He said, speaking while trying to consider his words. When Lilith suggested she didn't actually want to serve Ty, Arashi tilted his head to her. "I can't speak for your feelings. It sounds as though the answer is in the negative, however. You do not wish to serve Ty." He sighed. "As for choice. Yes, you do." Arashi said simply and with total confidence. When she went on to explain nobility though, Arashi shook his head. "I guess it maintains an order of sorts. But it seems to me that even kings have fallen to commoners when push comes to shove. There was a history for such things in the world I came from at least. Kings killing each other, kings killed by commoners, kings killed by monsters, and by gods. Warlords with no royal authority destroying kingdoms with nothing but a keen mind and raw might, declaring themselves a king and for a lifetime working to build an empire." Arashi shrugged. "I Cayle had all his power, and no royal title, would that make him any less fearsome to you? I like the idea of being a king. I just don't think that it had much weight in a world where there are people strong enough in it to kill everyone and destroy everything if they wanted to." He hummed. "Moreover, neither Ty nor Cayle demand I address them by any such royal titles. They welcomed me into their home with no strings, and I admire and respect them for that. I don't know what happened to make you serve them, but it's difficult for me to imagine that it was something Ty demanded of you. I can't imagine she did anything but offer you her hand and ask you to follow her. It's difficult to imagine she would demand anything. Does that mean it was Cayle who made demands of you? Demands you felt you could not deny?" Arashi asked intrigued by it all. Even as silly as it all was, he really did dislike how helpless Lilith seemed to describe herself being in this scenario. He could not believe that Ty or Cayle would not let her go to do as she wished with her life. Even if it was destructive or cruel. Chaining her seemed the cruelest fate that Arashi was not sure he could agree with. It seemed if anything better to offer her a quick and painless death. That would be what he chose rather than chains and a collar. He was not bound to anyone, he freely followed. WC: 1,270/7,178 Natural PL at the start: 8,585 Tags: Lilith Nevermore
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Post by Lilith Nevermore on Sept 15, 2021 3:38:36 GMT -8
Twitch... Twitch, twitch... Irritation started tugging at the corner of Lilith’s lips again. Her sharp teeth gritted together. Wicked, violet energies flared around her into a gloomy, threatening aura. Of all the foolish, annoying, utterly pointless topics in the world... This brat absolutely had to bring up... Technology.To say the proud witch despised human science and all it had produced would be an understatement of the century. “Tch, mortal knowledge is worthless.” She snapped. Hatred dripped like ink from her venomous tone. “Science and technology are crutches for fools.” Her pale finger aimed a sharp point at the capsule. A spark of lightning crackled on her fingertip. “Mortals need these ridiculous toys to mimic a mere fraction of my power. It is disgusting.” Yes, she took the whole thing as a personal insult. The caster folded her arms and grumbled curses -not the foul language sort- beneath her breath. Nearby, every modern invention from parking meters to street lamps crackled with malicious magic and had a spontaneous malfunction. It made her feel a tiny bit better. ...Well, enough to keep quiet while the boy gushed about Ty, at least. However, when Arashi dared to imply he had even the tiniest inkling of the situation, Lilith’s eyes widened. The fearsome, gloomy aura flared to full blaze. “Do not sass me, child.” The cold command was the only warning he would get. Touched a nerve there... “Servitude or death is not a choice, it is an ultimatum. A small, but important distinction.” She knew the difference all too well.Taking a deep breath, the wicked witch reeled back her killing intent. She considered the boy’s claims about kings, before scoffing. “Hmph, your inexperience is showing again...” There was a world of difference between their respective experiences. Especially when it came to Cayle and Ty... And she would set the record straight. Lilith regained her icy composure, hiding her roiling emotions behind the frigid mask. It was a painful subject, but... Necessary for the lesson. “When I first met Cayle, he tried to kill me... Nearly succeeded too...” Admitting it, even if only in a reluctant mutter, hurt her very soul. She locked eyes with the boy. “In fact, he threatened me with 'a fate worse than death' if I failed to obey him.” No exaggeration, no understatement. Only the cold, harsh truth. ...Well, perhaps she left out the context, but that was irrelevant. The wicked witch averted her gaze, looking somewhere far beyond the horizon. “Yet, of the two of them, Queen Ty is far more insidious.” A memory of the first meeting with the woman flashed before her eyes... And was promptly suppressed again. “Her mysterious influence worms itself into your mind, until you are unable to refuse her requests. Even I myself am not immune. When we first met, she dragged me through one humiliation after another... And still... I cannot say no to her.” Despite all her studies in charm magic and demonic control spells, she couldn’t fully explain it. But she had a theory... Glancing back at the student, the teacher allowed herself a smug, knowing smile. “You are the walking proof of her power. Just now, you declared how badly you want her approval and nothing more.” He had gushed for a good moment about it. “You claim that you do not want to disappoint her... But the simple fact of the matter is that you are physically unable to disobey her will. She has you under absolute control. That is her power. Simple, yet effective.” She refused to admit that she hadn’t figured out how it worked... None of her countermeasures and protective charms were working against it... Lilith’s smug smile slowly faded and her tone gained a sharp edge. “Know this, child...” She drifted closer, looming over him, emphasizing her position. “Were Cayle not a King, I would have found a way to kill him already.” Glimmers of magic crept across her dark robes. She was not one to make empty threats. Soon, the Lady’s bravado deflated with a defeated sigh. “However, a true King is the sum of their power, their wealth and their following.” That was true with every noble cast, from the lowliest baron to the greatest of emperors. “Thus, when you face a King, you face everyone supporting them as well. Trying to kill Cayle would bring the wrath of his people upon me, including Ty and you.” She had no delusions about her own abilities. Cayle had violently beaten those right out of her. Still, if nothing else, this would serve as a good lecture for the ignorant child. The teacher took it upon herself to clear the misconceptions. “Kings and nobles never fall to mere commoners. Only pretenders wearing a crown of lies succumb to such a pathetic fate. It takes traitors, assassins, even catastrophes to bring down someone who is worthy of their title...” She trailed off, before falling quiet completely. Her words were spoken with the pain of experience. Not even the icy mask could fully hide it. With another pause and another deep breath, the witch gathered her composure. “There is an order to this world, a set of rules one must follow.” She aimed a pointed glare at the point, trying to drill at least this one lesson through his thick skull. “And those rules are absolute.” Perhaps it was too much to expect from a wild child, but the sooner he learned, the sooner he could assume his proper place in the world. Words: 920 | 6784 Natural PL at start: 16,723 Tags: Arashi
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Post by Arashi on Sept 22, 2021 20:03:31 GMT -8
He wasn't sure why she thought that an ultimatum lacked a choice. An ultimatum was still something you ultimately had to accept or reject, only with the knowledge that either outcome would likely be unfavorable to the one being given the terms. He did understand that her situation was not one she had not wanted to choose. And that she was suffering as a result. She had chosen to live by the chain rather than die by the sword so to speak. Neither of which she would have wanted. Although he found it rather comical upon further consideration that she almost certainly would do the same thing to anyone else who might bother her. Listen and serve lady nevermore, or be frozen to death by her hex? It seemed a likely scenario. Her recent actions seemed to demonstrate her lack of value for humanity in general. If they didn't have any value to her, they were pigs to be slaughtered for her amusement. If they had value, then perhaps they were hounds to be trained for her benefit? "I do want to make her happy. I do want to please her and make her proud." Arashi agreed although he wondered about the rest of it. Just how far would he go to make that happen? He didn't think that Ty would ask for anything she didn't think he could handle. She seemed to have faith that he could learn from Lady Nevermore. And she seemed to have some sort of strange faith in Lady Nevermore as well, though the woman had admitted easily enough she killed people, or had killed people with no remorse about it. Was this the kind of person that Ty wanted as a friend? Kings and nobles never fall to mere commoners. He had no idea how she could think that! A rebellion was often exclusively made up of the common people, and together like a hoard of ants, they could slip between the cracks to make their goal a reality. Whether that was by assassinating a king, or forcing their way through the front gates, and dragging said king to a gallows or guillotine. A rebellion was the direct act of resisting a power or authority. "Absolute rules." Arashi considered. "I wonder how true that really is. With our power time and space may be bent to our desires. The only absolute rules would be those made by people who have absolute power. Yet I wonder if even gods had absolute power. Certainly cosmic power. But then all I know are tales and legends of such things." He shrugged. "But for now at least, I do intend to do as Ty wants, and to act in a way I think Ty would desire me to act. I suppose that will cause a conflict with you though because you want to demand that I hurt people. But I do not think Ty would wish me to act in such a way." He sighed. "I suppose that hearing my loyalty to her is greater than my loyalty to you would be troublesome or a bother. But you haven't really given me a reason to want to trust in you more than I trust in Ty. So far any praise I have gotten from you has been shallow if it could be called praise at all." He chuckled finding the situation rather humourous. "Well, I suppose that Ty would not want me offering my life, or offering myself to be punished by you either..." He considered. "Well, I was hoping to make a statement as good as that man-made. I felt respect for his actions. But I suppose I was mimicking him more than following his example." He hummed. "Well, maybe not entirely. I was upset that I could not comply with your desires while also doing as I believe Ty wanted. And I would have accepted a punishment if you gave me one..." Tilting his head as he looked around and grimacing. "Well, I suppose that my presence was never desired by you in the first place. It's probably silly of me to think I could ever earn your respect, let alone your friends. Since I suppose in your eyes I belong to someone else anyway. I'm not your loyal hound, but someone else's." "Ick, this is stupid." Arashi finally decided. "I'm just wasting time with all this. I want to keep learning magic from you, that's all that matters to me at the moment aside from conducting myself in a manner Ty would like. So do you have more magical lessons to teach me? If you want me to kill something with magic then it doesn't really need to be a person does it? I could go slay a beast or something instead." WC: 798/7,976 Natural PL at the start: 8,585 Tags: Lilith Nevermore
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Post by Lilith Nevermore on Sept 24, 2021 3:33:02 GMT -8
There it was... The famous last straw. With several poorly chosen words, the dragon boy marched past the point of no return. He got free reign to assert his points. For better or worse, he also held the audience’s undivided attention. Every single word was heard, but went unanswered. Only... The temperature was rapidly dropping... When Arashi finally finished his speech, Lilith took a deep breath... And smiled. Most smiles showed some semblance of joy, but this one only held cruel contempt. “At last we agree on one point. This has indeed been a giant waste of my time.” It pained her to think how many potions she could have brewed this afternoon if not for this pointless distraction. The noblewoman’s hollow smile died on her lips. Her tone grew colder than the air around them. “You continue to question my methods, reject my lessons, insult my noble heritage...” Upset? No, not quite. Oh, she was just a little bit ABSOLUTELY LIVID. “...And worst of all, you have the absolute nerve to act as if you are in the right.” It was one of the main traits she had always hated about the heroic types. Another calming breath kept the wicked witch from casting something Ty would make her regret... Her furious glare was like a dagger trying to pierce the boy’s eyes. “You are right, you could never earn my respect, much less my praise.” Not with all the verbal mud he had been flinging at her for the past several minutes anyway. “I do not respect traitors.” The word was spat out with such venom it was a wonder it didn’t leave a mark on the ground. Friends... It was strange how a single word could cut so deep. Perhaps, for a brief moment, the lonely lady had been... humoring the thought. Meeting others attuned to magic was rare... So, maybe she had been hoping... No, nevermind. This was what she got for being so disgustingly naive. She would not make the same mistake ever again. Lilith turned her gaze away and her broom followed the motion. “My lessons are for those who are actually willing to learn.” Her library of magic and all matters related was vast, but only shared with those she deemed worthy. “Since you are so enamored with Ty, go learn ‘magical lessons’ from her.” With that bitter comment, she soared to the skies, leaving the boy behind. Words: 404 | 7188 Natural PL at start: 16,723 Tags: Arashi
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Post by Arashi on Oct 5, 2021 10:37:09 GMT -8
Well, she took what he said quite a bit farther than he had intended her to. When he said that this was all stupid, he'd meant more that he was just wasting time spouting unimportant nonsense. There was not much point in telling her how he felt, and the result was pretty much exactly what he expected. She didn't listen, didn't care what he thought, and then to top it all off she ran away after calling him a traitor, as though he'd ever been loyal to her. He took what she said in silence, considering how he had responded to at least her "life lessons". He had no major disagreements with her magic lessons at least. But these lessons on nobility, on the bleak hopelessness of life, the unimportance of people who didn't serve a purpose under you, and the worthlessness of anyone who wasn't "noble" in general was all entirely too supercilious to him. Even being a dragon, and perhaps believing he was superior to most people in general, he still had more respect for life than Lilith seemed to. And watching her fly off he wondered if it would be worth chasing her down. It certainly wouldn't help anything. There was nothing he could say with any degree of honesty that would convince her that he was sincerely apologetic. The only thing he could concretely say he was sorry for was upsetting her. But even as he stood there watching her fly off, he did think the woman was utterly full of herself. But he wasn't sure that he was that much different. Was he inflexible? Unwilling to listen to what she said? But even disregarding her noble opinions; so much of what she said just seemed silly and wrong. There were good people in the world who could and would do their best to help you, even save you given the chance. You might not be able to rely on people you trust being there to save you. But it was a possibility. But there was plenty he didn't know or wasn't sure about. His mother had never learned magic in the way he had just attempted to. Most of the learning process at least for his mother had been some level of instinct. Though the lessen ended sooner than Arashi might have wished since he more or less refused to accept her non-magic related lessons, he still personally wrote today up as a partial success. He wasn't sure how things would be between himself and Lilith in the future. Today would likely result in a black stain on him in her eyes, but even after all this, he felt more indifferent than much else to the woman. Mournful at the potential loss of knowledge perhaps, and the fact he'd upset the woman so much. But he didn't think he'd bother insulting the woman in the future even if he saw her again. When it came to magic at least, she had been a fine teacher. In the end, he decided that there was nothing he could do to sway Lilith in a more positive direction at least in terms of his magical growth and education. The lesson, and perhaps her mentorship was over. He could not be the obedient servant she seemed to desire him to be, who would accept her every word without question. With that being the case he decided to turn away and start walking back home. "Well, Ty isn't going to be happy about this I guess, but I don't think she will be too upset either." He considered the kind of expression she might make, but he'd never seen her with anything but a smile on her face. He honestly expected that she would just smile at him, pat his head and tell him, "At least you tried your best, right?" to which he could certainly agree. He had tried his best. It just wasn't enough. Still, in the last few minutes, he had spent walking off the beach he glanced to the sky, and hummed. It had been a very nice day. A shame he hadn't come here to swim. It might have been nice. But if the lesson was over, then he intended to keep working in other ways. He still had a lot of growing to do. WC: 720/8,696 Natural PL at the start: 8,585 Tags: Lilith Nevermore
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