Log, complete

[saunturing-down.livejournal.com]

When; Mid-day, Feb 26th, No Inner Monologue day
Rating; pg, for Crowley's mouth
Characters; Zaheela henkonasuisho and Crowley saunturing_down
Summary; Crowley wants to learn how to combat Holy Power, so he and Zaheela spar
Log;

Crowley arched his back, stretching, before he snaked an arm out to retrieve his armour. It was quickly strapped on, along with the sword at his side, before he stepped out of the apartment, on his way. It was much better, in his opinion, with so many dangerous things that could be said, that he was out of the apartment and gone. Sparring would not only help take his mind off things, but get his resistance back up. It wasn’t a bad thing in any way at all.

Zaheela sighed as she walked up the beaten path. Her own black armor shone and on her back was her light staff, the orb on the top as white as snow. She bit back a grumble but was glad that she had agreed to spar with Crowley. Today was just too much for one mind to hand and falling into the senselessness of battle was she needed. She didn't come as a white mage however, it was far too early for that, but as a bard.

Crowley blinked as he rounded onto the path, spotting Zaheela ahead of him. Hn...better to start off with a bang then a whimper? Besides, he was pretty certain she’d be able to either dodge or block his attack, if not retaliate. He leapt, rebounding off a couple trees before hooking his arm on a branch and swinging himself around, aiming a kick near the middle of her back.

Her ears flicked once and she sighed, and expected that before flipped forward, her own foot rising in time to counter the kick and push him off.
“Interesting. Sneak attack.” She muttered before tossing him a velvet pouch.
“Put that on.” She continued, knowing full well that the stud would match his requirements, if not look pretty. It had taken her over 2 hours to carve the rune into the base, as tiny as it was and another 3 to find a perfect aquamarine. “He'd have better appreciate it.” She grumbled, knowing full well the curse was forcing her to speak.

Crowley flipped backwards from the force, prepared for it, and landed easily. He did blink, however, as he caught the pouch, before chuckling as he noted Zah’s grumbling. “I’d appreciate it even if it looked absolutely ridic….” Crowley trailed off as he pulled the earring out. “Ho-...Go...damn.” he finally got about, after a few false starts. He looked at the earring from all sides, amazed at it’s superb craftsmanship. “That’s...wow. You made thisssss?” he asked.

“Too much free time for one. Two, I've had a lot of experience. Magi are asked to do that a lot.” It was true. She couldn't make the base items as well as a normal alchemist, but in terms of runes and etching, she was an expert. Most of her own personal jewelry had a second purpose, though she didn't wear much. Reaching behind her back, she pulled the staff from it's straps and twirled it before resting it under her arm.
“Ready for the easiest level of the game?” She asked, her smile cocky.

Crowley smirked, and pierced the earring right through his ear, the blood from the wound disappearing quickly. “You amaze me sometimes.” he stated, before he could bite his tongue. Damn curse. Ah well. He shifted a bit as the ward took effect to get used to the feeling of it, before he shifted his stance. “Should I start humming the theme from Mario Brothers?” he asked with a smirk, though she probably wouldn’t get it.

Zaheela blinked. “I Have no clue what that is, but if you'd like music I could provide it.” She said before darting forward, swinging the staff at Crowley. The orb brushed his side as the holy energy sparked to light, burning at the darker energies.
“No Magic from me, just the staff. Easiest level for now.” She said, the smirk on her face bright.

Crowley sighed, slightly. “It wassssss a joke. Never—“ His sentence cut short, however, as Zah swung at him. He darted out of the way, but not quite in time, as the staff brushed against his side, crackling with holy energy. Well. This should be interesting. He landed in a crouch, one arm out for balance before he straightened, returning her smirk. “Ah. Level one it isssssss, then.”
She smirked before darting inwards again, bending one knee and twirling her body in a backwards spin, the staff lashing out to brush against him again. She had chosen the staff due to the Holy magic engraved into the orb itself and the fact that it was the least damaging thing she could use other then Dia, which was far faster and harder to dodge. It also gave her the benefits of defense. The perfect starter weapon.

Crowley twisted, attempting to move out of the way of the staff, and he breathed out harshly as it missed him by mere inches. He ducked one hand going to support himself as he swung himself around, aiming a healthy kick at her side.
The staff was swung behind her back, her free hand grabbing it as she angled it so that his foot slammed into the wooden surface, the enchanted wood easily taking the damage. She nodded before sliding the pole downwards, his foot gliding down the polished wood and pushed off, straightening her knees. She hoped to disbalance him as she grabbed the staff with one hand and jabbed at him, like the staff was a spear.

Crowley’s wings appeared, open for a split second and rebalancing him against the change, before they disappeared once again. As the staff came at him, he leapt up, flipping over the tip that was coming towards him and pushing his hand against the wood of the center of the staff to propel himself forward and up and over Zaheela’s head. As he fell, he spun, his intent to bring his fist at her face.

Eyes narrowed and she leaned backwards the fist blurring over her face. A drop of sweat rolled down her face as she smirked.
"You'rrrre verrrrry good." She purred, not caring that it was curse-lured. He had nearly hit her that time. "But issssn't the purrrrrrpose of this excerrrrisssse to BUILD that rrrressssssissssstance of yours?" She swung the staff upwards from where it had slammed to the ground due to the weight, once again throwing him off balance and darted backwards, swinging the staff in the air. A glimmer of light, and something slammed into Crowley's middle, hissing with weak holy power.

Crowley smirked slightly at the compliment, but didn’t reply just yet as his wings extended again momentarily, balancing his weight, before they disappeared again. He landed, but before he could move out of the way, holy power slammed into his middle, hitting against his armour with a crackling sound. He hissed in reaction, leaping back away from the power and landing on a tree branch, where he crouched. “You’re pretty damn good yoursssself.” he stated.

“I've got many secrets and a lot of experience.” She stared before swinging again. The flicker was shorter this time, but she swung shortly after, a burst of power following after.
“Besides, if you don't get hit, how will you build up that tolerance?"

Crowley attempted to dodge the power again, though it skimmed against his shoulder with a crackling hiss. “Ssssso I should let mysssself get hit, then?” he asked, an amused lilt to his voice.

“One way to look at it. I mean I am holding back a lot of aces” She bit her tongue again before swinging the staff again.
“Resistances are often build after numerous blows, but dodging them is better. Up to you, I'll deal out the damage regardless.” She answered, her face somewhat amused. She hummed softly to herself, letting the mana shift and forced herself into a trance, her eyes more focused as she improved her evasion. It had been a while since she brought out her bard, but at least this was good practice.
“Choice is yours, dodge or block.” And with that she swung again, a more condensed wave aimed to hit.

Crowley only raised an eyebrow at Zah’s comment about her holding back a lot of aces, but did watch with interest as her form seemed to shift the slightest bit to something...different. It was still Zaheela, of course, but it smelt and felt just a little different. He frowned as she prepared to attack him again. She...had a point. He needed to build up his resistance. He promised Aziraphale, after all. Crowley had barely thought this when she aimed another wave of Holy power at him.

It was a split second decision, but instead of dodging, he brought both of his arms up to cross in front of him, allowing his armour to take the brunt of the blow, and the ward on is earring acting as a bit of a cushion. He hissed as the power crackled and sizzled over his forearms, the force of it causing him to slide back an inch or two. It would have been more had he not braced himself before hand.

She smiled. He had chosen correctly. If he dodged, what was the point of this spar other then stress relief?
“Well then, time to play Paladin my dearrrrr!” She purred as she swung the staff downwards, letting another holy wave blast.
“Get a feel forrr the powerrrrr. Know it... Brrrreathe it, absorrrrb it.” She said, eyes focused. She may have been mortal, but she knew a lot of things. Being the altered crystal had taught her a lot about building up resistances anyways.
“Take my fangssss, and ignorrrre them.”

“What the fuck is a paladin?” Crowley muttered to himself, right before another blast was sent his way. With a grunt, he brought up his arms again, to block the power, wincing as it singed slightly, and not in a good way. Her words floated past his ears. “Ignore them?” he growled. “How am I supposed to ignore something like Holy Power?”

“Paladinsssssss, the sssssssshield beforrrre the powerrrrr. The besssst way to underrrstand is too know. All enerrrrgy has a sssssignaturrrre. Undersssstand them, and you can beat them.” She growled back, her eyes flashing a brilliant sapphire blue as she talked. She kept swinging though, letting him feel the power of each blow.
“It issss parrrrt inssstinct, Parrrrt experrrrrience.”


Crowley hissed as he was bombarded by wave after wave of Holy Power. Understand an energy’s signature? He had built up a resistance last time over a couple million years; this was a whole ‘nother ballpark. However...it was likely Zah knew what she was talking about, and perhaps there was an easier way to go about a resistance than the way he had gone before. He attempted to let some of the tension bleed out of his muscles and try to feel the signature of the Holy Power, to absorb rather than avoid. Unfortunately, all this did was shove him back into a tree.

Zaheela frowned as he flew backwards. He wasn't getting it.
“Throw fire or dark energy at me. I'll show you then.” She growled, relaxing her stance as she let her mana curl outwards in controlled waves. It hissed, relaxed, and waited. It knew not what element would be thrown, but it would respond.

Crowley only raised an eyebrow in response, but did as he was asked, gathering a ball of fire within his grasp before pulling back his arm and throwing it straight at her.

She took in a deep breath as the fire engulfed her, her own energy curling around the fire and absorbed the spare energy that she could. It still stung slightly, but elemental energy was something she could handle with ease. She stood straight up easily, blowing off the fire as if it was merely a breeze. Barely singed, she stood there.
“Got anything more powerful?” She asked.

Crowley made a ‘hmm’ sound in the back of his throat. “Yeah...but I don’t use it that often. But I suppose...” He withdrew his sword now and held it in front of himself. The blade, normally a regular silver, turned slowly black, the color running down the blade from tip to hilt like ink dripping down a page. “Sure about this?” he asked, as the blade crackled a bit with the energy.

The energy of the blade was indeed powerful. She would need a better focuser then her own will in that case. She could battle elemental energy of weaker level in this form easily, and as a white mage, her natural magical barrier proved to provide more defense. A bard was an enchanter, the illusion shatterer, it was not a caster.
She eyed the energy and lifted her hand to the sack on her back. The magic of the pouch opened and she reach into it's depths as the staff was slid back into it's halter. Her hand grasped something within and when she had taken her hand out of the small pouch, a flute appeared in her hand. The flute was made of dragon bone, her most powerful instrument. She lifted it to her lips, she let the melody of the Dark carol be born.

Crowley watched with interest as Zah pulled an item out of her bag and began playing a melody on the flute-shaped instrument. Crowley really didn’t have any idea how that would help, but... “I’ll take that as a yes, then?” And with that he drew the black sword back and swung it, releasing the demonic, dark power stored within the blade in a wave towards Zaheela.

With a note, suddenly a crest of darkness appeared before her, eagerly absorbing the energy. Some passed through, forcing her to dig her feet into the ground, but it did not send her flying back. Exhaling softly, she lifted the flute from her lips and opened her eyes.
“Every attack has a pattern, a signature. If you learn it, you can anticipate it, absorb it. THIS is how you grow tolerant.”

Crowley cocked his head to the side slightly, watching as the wave hit her and was absorbed by whatever it is that her flute had created. “…I…ssssssssee.” He sheathed his sword and folded his arms over his chest, looking contemplative. “So...what was it you cast to absorb the energy? ‘Cause I can’t cast anything that’s Holy power.”

“It's called dark carol, it's actually a song using dark energy. It's opposite is the light carol, which controls light energy. But You can't use it unless your a bard, but the theory remains the same. All elemental energy has a signature. If you can control your own power to absorb that specific trait of the energy, then you gain a resistance. Bards are work though sound, and make it easier for the listener to instinctively react to these energies by subjecting them to it. It takes more will to do it without the aide of a bard, or a white mage.” She shifted and placed the flute back into the pouch before taking out the staff.
“Close your eyes and focus.”

Crowley listened with a light bit of skepticality, but... “I hope you’re happy, Az.” he muttered, before he closed his eyes, though he still seemed fairly tense.

She smiled softly as she shoved the staff into the ground and made an archer like pose, a thin line of light appearing in her hands. She let the holy energy shine through and let go of the Dia spell. The energy arched and streaked past the demon. To his senses, it was like a thin whisper, a flap of feathered wings, hard to grasp, but there.

Crowley almost flinched as the energy went sailing past, but held himself steady at the last second. He frowned as the energy went past, trying to recognize the patter or whatever it was that Zaheela was trying to get him to recognize. But somehow...it was just beyond his grasp.

“Relax. I'm not going to kill you. This is how my own teachers taught me. Try and feel the energy around you.” She said, before making another bolt of holy energy spring to life, but this time she forced it to pulse stronger. Another bolt of holy energy wizzed by the demon.

“Yeah, I know that subconsciously. But I’m a demon, and demons don’t trust easy. Automatic reation.” he muttered, speaking aloud again because of the curse. But none-the-less, he forced himself to relax, shoulders loosing their tension, limbs relaxing. He didn’t even flinch as the next bolt of energy flew by and he felt it this time, the pulse, different from his own demonic aura, far different. But the pattern...the pattern still escaped him.

She sighed before closing her eyes and grabbing the staff again and swung it, the energy whipping by the demon, the pulse strong. She would force him to recognize the power if she had to. The orb crackled with energy, and it hissed at his power. The obvious difference, the void they created. What was outside that energy?

Crowley almost did flinch that time, but clenched his jaw at the last second, feeling the wave of energy pulse over him, crackling and sparking against his own natural demonic energy that radiated out from him. "Ng..." he grunted, the energy from the orb singeing his cheek slightly, but still he didn't move

Suddenly something different, something far more... earthly had streaked by his head. It was not the same, it did not feel the same. She had switched to the staff of Terra.

Crowley's brow furrowed as he felt the energy streak by, but it did not react to the demon's aura the way the holy power had. "That wasssss...different." he stated, though it was rather obvious.

"Good, you can sense that. What did that feel like compared to the other?" She asked, looking behind her as she hig the staff once again in the pack, her hand, however, not leaving the opening. Her grasped something, but she didn't pull it out.

"Like...more calming than the holy energy. Grounded." Crowley stated, after a moment's hesitation.

"The energy of earth, stable." She drew the light staff again and walked close, placing the orb close and let the power seep out.
"Compare them. This will be the last blow I will give you chance to observe."

Crowley allowed himself to relax as the holy power drew close to him, but it came to him slowly, so he had no need to flinch. The difference between the two powers became slowly obvious...Holy power felt a little bit like Aziraphale often did, but…Az’s was never this strong. He almost tensed up as the orb came closer, crackling and hissing against his aura. How could he absorb something when it only saught to...

And yet he wasn’t hurt when Az touched him or when the angel had used his healing power on the demon. So…what was different? When Az had healed him, he had absorbed the power then, in a way, hadn’t he? So he just needed to figure out how to...

“That’s it.” Crowley’s eyes opened. “Okay. I’m ready.”

She nodded before leaping back and swinging the staff once again, the light clearly visible as it surged towards the demon. It hissed and growled in a way only he could hear. It wanted to purify, remove, destroy all the taint.

Crowley's yellow eyes focused on the wave of light coming towards him, however, instead of letting his armour take the brunt of the attack, he held out one hand towards the wave and closed his eyes, focussing on letting the power heal him, instead of do him harm. To let the power in to heal what it had inflicted, as Aziraphale had done to the wounds he had sustained before. He gritted his teeth slightly as he only managed to absorb a small amount, the rest pushing him back a couple inches. However, what he did manage to absorb did heal the singe mark on his cheek from before.

When she saw that, she clapped. In most cases, Magi would only been able to redirect or swallow the power, but he had managed to use it to heal. In this case, he was superior, as her theory had predicted. After all, she was merely the teacher. He would be able to use the power to heal, unlike she would. Something twinged in her, but she ignored it.
"Good. We'll stop there. Level two next time." Slinging the staff over her shoulder, she grinned. "Took you long enough to get the idea."

Crowley grinned as he opened his eyes once again, though his grin was tinged with smugness. "Hey...so I'm a little slow. At least I got it." He stretched, arching his back, before he returned to normal. "Wanna get lunch? My treat."

She smirked and nodded. "Not like things cost anything here. But if you know a good place, I'm willing to try anything!" She slipped the staff into the tiny satchel. A lot of things were piled onto her plate at the moment; Masaki's magic lessons, intolerable assholes, her own training, and of course, now working with few million year old demon. She stretched, looking up into the sky. At least it wasn't boring any more.
"Ah right... I forgot..." She said before biting her index finger, a sharp canine tearing into skin easily. A bead of blood pooled up and she pressed it against the earring. It glew red for a moment before dying down again.

"I was thinking--" Crowley stopped midsentance as Zaheela went and pressed a drop of blood to his earring. He blinked once, twice. "...what wassssss that for?" he asked.

"Didn't want the ward to make the lesson even harder." She answered, watching the wound close up. "I just turned it on, thats all."


Crowley blinked. "I....see." He shrugged it off rather quickly, however. "I don't know about you, but I've got a hankering for sushi. How's that sound?"

She smirked. Magic words they were.
"Just don't mind me stealing off your plate then."

Crowley laughed, and began heading down the path. "I'd like to ssssssee you try!" he stated, with a grin.

"You're gonna eat those words. I'll be eating your sushi though!" She countered, but grinned, heading down the path herself. Yep, No longer boring.