The Economic City of Vatus

"Ehehe, I thought you liked to play with fire, silly face?" A sweet giggle parted Mao's lips, eyes brightening just a little bit more underneath the ivory fringe. "Now now, bitch is a mean word to pass between females! Only men deserve that term, right? Ehe~" Pleased to see her simple attacks inflicted some damage to the book, a moment was taken to enjoy the full effects of the battle so far; sure, expending her magic so frequently was tiring, but the rewards of an amusing battle were consolation enough. It appeared the little witch in front of Mao wasn't too terribly weak, and as the darker red symbol in the ceiling took form, Mao was finally in true pleasure. Dark Magics! This little witch was more interesting than she thought, when her temper flared. Seeing as the attack was aimed from the ceiling, it was instinctive to draw up magics of her own for protection. And so, as quickly as possible, the fingertips drew forth new symbols within the sky, hands lifting into the air and rotating in semi circles as the symbols were cast in clear silver form. As if a ring of wind had entered the room above and around her form, the meteor-like rocks were sucked into the swirling wind, diffusing the flames, and reforming into a narrow shoot, aimed to send the rocks straight back at the mage who had cast them. Unfortunately, some of the rocks were naturally knocked off course, tumbling across the room; a small chip flying down across her shoulder. Crimson drops sprung forth quickly, and though there was underlying pain, an amused giggle once more flitted from her lips. "Oh, oopsies! You made me get my shirt dirty, silly mage!"


It was hard to deny, even through the excitement and amusement, that Mao was also starting to tire just a bit; the battle would have to end soon, or she would probably earn a headache from this little event, which she didn't like the thought of; not one bit. Fortunately, the blood dripping slowly down her arm and onto her creamy hands proved to be useful; fresh life, live energy, right at her fingertips. This would help her pull off one more interesting, solid attack; hopefully this would be the last. With a quick glance around the room, her eyes darted to the cups and bottles of water adoring the councilmen's tables, 'Thank Gosh!'. It was much easier to bend the elements from a fresh source, rather than thin air, which would help to preserve her energy a bit longer for the second half of this ensuing attack. "Sorry boys, I'll be needing these, but I'll pay you back later~" And with a small smile, blue symbols were cast into the air around her, the water around the tables lifting, collecting, and sweeping across the room; the free weapons laying around the room were lifted by the water, almost as if small fairies were within the wave, armed and ready for attack. With this, a large grin spread across her lips, blood dripping from her fingertips as they drew the last of the symbols, and sent the water, stock full of sharp weapons, cascading all around the mage; the water meant to taint the pages of the book, and the weapons, meant to mame. "Ehe, is this checkmate?"

To hope for her attacks to work, and to see them live in action straight through her hazy violet eyes, heightened things to a whole new level for Mao; a tad gruesome as the blades pierced the mage's flesh, but that's what she got for being too cocky and spastic, she supposed. Mao knew the little witch was done for, and so she made mere games of the vines that were sent to lap at her body as a last resort. The whole battle had been played to a tune for her, and that melody was finally coming to a close, sadly. 'How's your dance skills, little girl?!' This sent Mao over the edge, diving into almost pure hysterics at the irony of that statement. Well, the woman wanted to see her dance, and seeing as how Mao how seemed to do some substantial damage, she had no problem with giving the woman what she wanted. Tapping her fingers over her ear lightly, a simple spell was cast, bringing the song within her head to life. And so, her feet started to move, weaving her little form through the ravenous vines in a dance so simple, yet full of such energetic life, she couldn't help but to audibly burst with laughter as the mage fell into an unconscious heap in front of the Tuzi Witch. "Bam Ratatata, Tatatatata~"

Dull throbs pulsed themselves slowly through the veins strung through Mao's temples; if a pain so subtle could be explained as the heightened throb of blood behind a bruise, this would certainly elucidate the slowly ensuing prelude to a perfectly imperfect headache for Mao. Mana having dissipated noticeably, and the euphoric beat subsiding substantially, she was left simply with the beginnings of an unwanted affliction, and a rather sleepy stature to match. Slipping away from the battle stage, which so much seemed to be more of dance floor, she seated herself into the chair cast off away from the others, threading the crimson cord once more through her fingertips to start on a calm sense of mind. There were certain advantages to being the 'Tuzi Witch' no one wanted to sit next to; a calm, quiet little area of the room all to yourself, space for stretching any which way she pleased in the plush chair she now cuddled into, and freedom to cast any magic with her strings without affecting, or harming another person in the process. And so, the fact that the two new people among them were seated so easily beside her, without the slightest care in the world, was a bit of a disappointment to Mao. It couldn't be helped, but for the council to place them next to her... 'You'd think they'd consider it risky, at the least~ Silly men...' The internal thought warmed her mind just a little, though; obviously they trusted her not to mess with their seemingly prized new toy, or his elfin friend.


Speaking of which... Mao, being the rather unobservant, or rather, uninterested person she was, hadn't taken one look at the two of them yet; and considering the fact that they would most likely be around for a while, a glance would probably do her good for the moment. And so, as they were seated, she took a moment to lift the plum haze of iris' under the ivory fringe, letting her eyesight adjust to the details of each silhouette slowly. The nearest of the two, the female elf, seemed to have a few redeeming qualities worth note; physically she was quite pretty, and fit for battle, it seemed. Internally it seemed she was much the same, as the compliment she posed to a woman she knew naught of was taken considerably. "Ah, thank you~ fighting is just a form of dance, so I'll take the compliment likewise, okie-doki? Ehe~" And with a cheeky grin, her eyes fluttered a bit, refocusing on the man beside this elfin beauty, the supposed 'Dragon Born' that would lead them into a new age. His build was that of a younger boy, maybe in his late-teens at best; corporeal wise, he seemed not even an element of comparison to most of the other physically stacked men among them. Underneath the youth of his muscles, however, Mao could spot areas of definite potential; this was shocking, to say the least, and perhaps a bit enlightening. It wasn't, however, until her eyes lifted to the boyish features of his face, that Mao was truly stunned; his eyes, such a deep gold it was easy to find yourself searching for a deeper treasure buried within their depths, the ivory layers of hair framing his face, and the wondrous, adventurous gleam underlying his expression...


'Kayis...?' The name was murmured to herself, too far away from ears other than the elfin girl beside her to hear, as the boy was whisked away into a fight and the council members remained distant. 'Kayis...' this time repeated in her head, as the eye-site she previously worked to focus blurred around the edges, until the people among her were nothing but black and white silhouettes. "He's here, of all places? And a Dragon Born? He's no Dragon Born... He's not the savior these fools think he is... is he?' It was true, last they met he was none of the things they claimed him to be now, as he stood before her, attempting and failing to hold up in a simple play spar. He was so obviously not her Kayis, the friend she had made possibly years ago, if her inaccurate sense of time was in any way close now, in all the chaos that was now her mind. So then who was this familiarly masked unfamiliar before her tired, violet eyes? "Hm..." Just another murmur, more of a sigh, as the threaded shapes and symbols between her fingertips started to take affect. "Oh... I forgot..." Since the two had been seated next to her, she planned on letting the cast go and withstanding the headache until she was alone again, but once she had been taken by the thought of Kayis standing before her, she had lost track in the cast itself, continuing subconsciously. The slowly succumbing haze of peace settling over her mind instilled some calm between the chaos, and for this she Mao was thankful. It was just calm, anyway, which it seemed these two needed more than anyone right now, so she eased herself, allowing her fingers to continuously move, for not just her, but the three of them at this point. Settling comfortably into the plush cushions, the eyelids hovering about such bright violet irises dipped, shielding Mao from the outside world for just a little while. Whatever the council decided to do with her now, whether Kayis recognized her, whether her presence was even acknowledged, she would just let it pass for now, rest easy, and deal with it later...

The violet haze drifted for a while, dipping back and forth between blurring shades of black and white; movement stirred, voices dipped and climbed, life was taking place. Life, that Mao had no interest in for the short moments of peace she could maintain. Her eyelids continued to shadow the orbs that so loathed to see such lack of beauty in the world around her. Her ears remained unfocused, no beats connecting to those drums for the moment. The only tangible bridge carrying her over to reality now, was the slim, cool ribbon between her fingertips; cords connecting her so carefully to the world she carelessly ignored. In her own mind, there was another realm in which she lay; strung between the shores of sanity and reality. "The grave yard of memories, Death's deep tomb; Why enter such a place, for such a young beaty of mysterious nature?" Those words once spoken to her by Kayis himself had forever resonated within her mind; long before, and much longer after she had even become aware. 'Silly Kayis, what you didn't know, is that I've always been strung between those lines, drowning in such deathly memories...' This place was where here thoughts truly drifted, branching out like lonely vines, desperately searching for some proof that there once existed a man, and a memory, that Jezza-Bell DIDN'T have to pretend with, that Mao could return to her old life with. "So close..." But a whisper in the otherwise chaos of the world around her. "I didn't choose this path, I realize that much..." 'In fact, I wish I had the choice to choose my own path a long time ago...' The words that drifted into her ears were the very same as the thoughts she held inside; in a faint, murmured thought, she replied as such. "... But I don't understand exactly what gave you the right to choose it for me, either." This part, however, seemed less like her inner thoughts... 'Whats going on?'


Slowly the plum irises refocused, searching for the origins of these stray thoughts that only partially met up; once her eyes fell upon the moving lips, the haze was cleared. "Oh, it was Kayis speaking, not me..." And so, slowly, her stature straightened into a more sociable posture, fingertips gracing the ivory strands in such a way as to straighten the bunny ears and shield her eyes from direct light. Paying attention as best she could, she picked up rather quickly on what the current conversation revolved around; soon enough to let an audible giggle sound through the room, as her councilmen scrambled to make sense of Kayis' sudden back-bone. 'Just like the old Kayis...' she mused, a tiny smirk tilting the tips of her lips. Stringing the cord once more around her neck, she took the short pause as an exit-stage, stepping out of her seat to stretch, before dancing over to tap on Kayis' shoulder from behind. Quirky dimples popping the frosty, fair cheeks, she lifted onto her tippy-toes with a light murmur. "Good boy, make sure they know you're not their new toy, Ehe~" And with an amused giggle that seemed to ring throughout the room, she gave a cheeky grin and wave to the elfin girl, with a simple "We'll be good friends, 'kay?", and danced herself out of the room; she would retire for the night, rubbing her eyes with a sleepy yawn as she walked down the corridor and into darkness.

A silent giggle elapsed unseen lips; a small breath snatched from the banter-filled air of the dining hall, to be taken in by cherry-pink lips. 'So many insults being thrown, so tiresome...' Pulling a crimson cord from the circlet of her neck, nimble fingers wove through the binds with practiced gestures. Hidden panoramas of twisted and tied proportions were created and deconstructed in time to build anew. Masked within the shadows of the large amphitheater's far-sided corridor, the Tuzi Witch stood, secretly casting an interlude to the arguments that now tainted the sleep-sated ears tucked carefully under Mao's ivory hair. Moments passed, the spell building with every thread of the lace string within her grasp. When the time came, and the final symbol was cast, a Mona Lisa smile would come to curve the sakura pillows of Mao's lips, just a little bit. "Cats Cradle~" she whispered, so softly as to speak only to the string itself. With no more delays, Mao's considerably small form broke away from the shadows of the corridor, stepping into the technicolor glow of the torches' flames; her ivory locks tinted a soft, sweet sakura hue by such romantically lit customs. "Instead of ranting and raving to each other, perhaps you should simply enjoy your aliments in hoopla of the dawn of a new age, yes?"

By this time, the cradle had been cast to a great portion of the room; a spell so simple, yet so unnoticeably intrusive to the many unconscious minds around her. The cats cradle, simply, was one of the many illusionary spells the Tuzi Witch could cast through the conduction of her strings, and the depths of her dark magic. It was a spell that, with a small enough distance range, would weave its way into the strands of the individual's unconscious mind, planting thoughts or emotions with a simple pluck of the strings. In a way, Mao was a musician; playing the strands of people's minds like a pizzicato violinist would his delicate instrument. Of course, such an ability could be used in a multitude of ways; for now, the cats cradle was simply meant to cast a calm, collective mood about the otherwise pandemonium of the room. "I'm too sleepy for you all to yell now." And with a quiet giggle, flitted her little feet over the floor, eyes scanning the crowd for someone interesting enough to amuse her until she was fully awake. As she did so, it was to her content so see her fellow councilmen relax in their seats, as well as a large portion of the generals gathered around the area she had cast with her spell. It seems they didn't quite know it yet, but as they calmed, and their recognition of Mao's presence in the room took precedence, a couple of the higher ups, whom were well versed with her abilities, gained a knowing glint to their eyes about their new-found, calmed minds.

"I'm sure you know by now, Tuzi Witch, that casting upon your fellow councilmen could be considered betrayal..." It wasn't shortly after the head councilman had stepped up to correct her actions, that he found himself calming once more. Purple haze lifting to meet the head councilman's eyes, a childish glint to her eyes and a toothy grin settled itself into her expression, a small giggle parting ways from her lips, as to be the prelude to her innocent words. "Ohoho, am I in trouble then, Mister councilman? Oopsies~" It was undeniable to him by now, the peace in which she had granted him; even though the means were considered wrong, him fighting it would only leave him conflicted within his own mind. And so, along with the others, the councilman gave a sigh, murmuring in a much more even tone than prior. "Well, I suppose its fine for now. At any rate, we are to be having a celebration this night, in honor of the coming days of grace for our cause! Let us toast, to our new comrades, the Dragon Born Kayis, and his Elven Lady, Chloe!" And in the next moment, glasses lifted, sloshing with their individual contents as the rims then came to the lips of those gathered in toast. Mao lifted her own, though currently empty, an amused giggle reigning from her lips at the irony. Her plum gave spotting the still figures of Kayis and Chloe, a large grin spread across her childlike face, cheeks dimpling once more in their frosty, fair glory, as she made her way over to the both of them. Stopping beforehand to fill her glass with a cherry-pink liquid the color of her lips, she danced herself over the floor, stopping short next to the both of them; raising her glass into the air once more, she tilted her head upward toward their taller heights, violet eyes reflecting an ethereal glow by the torch lights for them to see. "Here's to you two, yeah? Ehe~" And with this, she took a long pull of the liquid, settling herself at the table close by them. Small, bare feet propped up on the table's edge, she took a bowl of fruits from the table, nibbling on them like candies, her eyes tracing over the room in silent wonder.