A Sign in the Stone (A.S, OPEN)

[Pink Moon Wolf]

"No, no, you did fine," Swift gently insisted, raising her hands to the tiny swordsman. "Heck, considering you were fighting solo against a TO'd dragon, I'd say you held up amazingly well. If anything, I feel bad leaving you alone with him while I was down there getting branded. So... thank you."

She gazed back in the direction of the temple and let out a stiff chuckle. "Maybe I should thank Vutezoth while I'm at it. I probably would've drowned if he hadn't snatched me out of the water. Hah... That's the nice thing about fighting someone with that big an ego. Not as gratifying if your victims die by accident rather than design."

Her smile fell as she took in Ranuen's words. His wariness of the magic she had likely absorbed and the powers she had received. She placed her hand on her stomach, the bizarre feeling of her skin turning to stone still fresh in her mind. "I don't know. I mean... whatever happened to me in there saved my life. I-I feel like I should be suspicious, like I should be questioning what's going on... like I usually would... but for some reason... this just feels right. Like this is what I need to do... not just for myself, but... for something bigger."

Her claw traced the outer symbols through her shirt. "And if this tattoo gave me earth powers, judging by the emblems, I'm guessing metal and nature powers came with the package."

After mulling that over for a moment, pondering what sort of abilities this afforded her, Swift shook her head and inched closer to Ranuen. "But I'll deal with that as it comes. What about you? How're you holding up?"

[ColArana]

Ranuen gave a short, but cheerful laugh at Swift's apologies. Short, mostly because a sharp pain from his broken ribs very quickly reminded him that something like laughing was probably a bad idea in his condition. Oops. "It's fine. There's no need to apologize. It was an adventure, I got a hell of a good wake-up call fight out of it, and you didn't get hurt. It's pretty win-win, since you're okay." He replied amiably. And that was pretty much true. Ranuen loved to test his skills. You got stronger by fighting strong enemies and Vutezoth had certainly qualified. The mage had been pushed to and even maybe a little past his limits in this battle, and he was coming out stronger for it.

Swift seemed to be thinking along similar lines, albeit less so for the fight as the dragon saving her. She thanked the dragon for his arrogance that he'd wanted to finish her off personally, and Ranuen nodded in agreement at that. Although exploiting psychology was not his strong suit. In fact, he was bad enough that he would often inadvertently push people to do the OPPOSITE of what he wanted. Fortunately not something that had come up often in this world yet.

"If that's how you feel, then don't knock it. Just... be wary of it I guess. Stuff like this... Either there's a dire need for you to have it, or there's some unseen catch. Neither of which is very good. But it is what it is, and I'm sure you'll make pretty good use out of the power you've been given. If you feel like there's a purpose, hopefully it's the first option, right?" He added hopefully. "Although, it looks like you didn't control that whole stone thing back there. Maybe a good idea to learn how to use them first before you get in too deep?" He suggested, right before Swift asked about his own condition. The swordsman gave a half-hearted shrug.

"I've had worse. I've definitely broken some ribs and I've all but burnt out my magic. So I'm not growing back to normal anytime soon. I probably have a little bit left in reserve for emergencies, but it's not much. Probably not even enough for one second of human height." He admitted. "It'll take some time, but they'll replenish, and I can get to work enhancing my body's healing process. I've had a broken rib before. It sucks, but at least this time I can bear it with a bit of pride. A little more dignity to get my ribs broken by some ancient, evil dragon, than because I was chilling on a park bench and some passerby didn't look where they were sitting, right?" He said, with a bit of self deprecating humor.

[Pink Moon Wolf]

"Tch..." Swift awkwardly gritted her teeth, left ear twitching a bit, taken aback by Ranuen's reveal that his ribs had been broken during the fight. The fact that he was being so nonchalant kept her from making a big stink about it, but regardless, between the injuries and the depleted magic reserves, she had to concede that he was not in a comfortable position. "Still... sorry to hear that, man."

She looked towards the temple again, taking a moment to consider Ranuen's advice. Everything inside her told her that the powers bestowed upon her were a gift. That they would serve her well in the days to come. That she needed them, and in some strange way, the forces that had granted her these abilities needed her too. While she didn't quite understand what that meant yet, Swift could easily accept that these powers would be useful in the battle ahead. After all, they still had those wyrms to worry about, and not only would the power to manipulate nature be a great asset in the restoration of the island, but she had already gathered that they couldn't eat solid rock or metal. Sure, the journey to get here had been exhausting and she would need some practice with her new abilities, but all in all, she couldn't complain about her situation.

Well, except for maybe one thing. She held her hand up and checked her ring. Sure enough, somewhere in the middle of that chaos, her fire soul gem had fallen off, probably buried in the dragon's horde by now. So not only had she lost a valuable, powerful mineral, but she had no means of actually killing the wyrms. Earth and metal could only go so far when it came to fully exterminating them.

But... there were three other temples on the island, weren't there?

Maybe...

Swift sighed, pushing those thoughts aside for now. Regardless of how much water her theory held, she was in no condition for anymore exploring at this time of night, and neither was her new friend. They both needed a break.

Offering a hand to Ranuen, Swift eventually spoke up again, "Why don't we head back to my place? I have a friend who's a mage. He should be able to fix you up. Plus, if you still wanna help us deal with these monsters from the sky, might as well get acquainted with the team, right?"

[ColArana]

Swift's spirits certainly seemed dampened, and this frustrated Ranuen. For her sake. Ranuen tended to form friends as quickly as he did enemies. First impressions went a long way with him, and in most cases, all you had to do for a good first impression with Ranuen was not aggravate him. So he'd already considered Swift a friend, despite knowing her for less than a day. And it upset him that she seemed disappointed with something. "What's wrong? Did you lose something?" He asked, nervously.

When Swift offered him a ride, and a place to sleep, however, the swordsman readily agreed, hopping onto her hand. "A roof over our heads, and someone else to run ideas by sounds like a great plan." He said. As did medical help for his ribs. "As for dealing with the sky beasts, I'm as ready as I was early. Just a little more tired than before!" He cheerfully agreed.

[Pink Moon Wolf]

"It's no big deal," Swift sighed with a light smirk as Ranuen hopped into her palm. "Trust me, after a day like today, I'm sure we're all gonna need rest before we leap back into battle. I just hope that my friends didn't get into as much trouble as we did..."

After casting one last, wary glance at the temple, Swift took a deep breath, checked her surroundings, and pointed herself northward. "Welp, better hold on. This is gonna be a bit of a long trip."

Finally, the hanyo began a brisk sprint through the rainforest, effortlessly weaving through the trees and towards civilization. Despite the apparent concentration and unwavering gait, Swift's mind was all over the place. There was so much going on that she had yet to fully process, after all. The wyrms that had spontaneously appeared from that cloud, the dragon lurking beneath the island, the spirit that had led her to the temple, the elemental powers she now possessed... She had felt plenty overwhelmed by the former threat alone. Now she was starting to feel pressure from so many different sources.

And even though her magical upgrade still felt like a necessity deep down, and a welcome one at that, she had to wonder why. Were the powers that be simply granting her these abilities for the fight against the wyrms? If so, why her? Who was that spirit that felt so inclined to bestow her of all people this sort of control over earth? How much control did she now command? And what of the other temples? Would she have to travel to those too? Would there be more powers for her to receive? This realm of possibilities had been opened up to her, and it was simultaneously exciting and intimidating.

For the time being, though, Swift opted to once again put those thoughts away. If she really did need to visit the three remaining temples, perhaps it was best to wait for a sign before charging off to find them. She had a feeling she hadn't seen the last of that spirit; if it had more to offer her, she'd take it in stride. And though the idea of such an endeavor was enticing, she couldn't allow herself to ignore the present crisis falling from the sky. New powers might've been useful in eliminating the wyrms and the cloud, but acquiring them had to be her second priority.

Still, barely able to contain her enthusiasm, Swift had to wonder... What was Evan going to think when she told him about all this?