Synchronicity [Levi]

[Kyrie Blaze]

It was a sunny day, before the rains came that would bring men to track her down, to take her to face her apparent crimes. And to anyone and everyone, this was simply an an ordinary day. And certainly, there wasn't really anything extraordinary. Kyrie was doing her own thing after her patrol run, still considering how she was going to spin her task.

Well, for now, she didn't want to dwell on it, despite the fact she knew she didn't have a very long length of time.

But she was sharpening her own skills at tracking others down. She didn't have the luxury of an ever-present aura map like the person she was tracking down, but she was managing rather well. Her travels took her into the neutral territory.

And from there, to a gym. She wandered through the building, using both eyes and ears to come upon quiet feet to where her target was. Though there was no use in sneaking, she still moved particularly quietly. Not completely silent, but near enough. Kyrie remained just at the edge of the open space leading to where she expected Levi to be. Not hiding, but not making herself known, either.

Just observing.

[Levi Kayamei]

As Kyrie entered the old gym that had clearly been cleaned for use, illuminated by the bright noon sun that poured in through the windows, she would see a red, lightly swinging punching bag with a small pile of sand underneath it. In the far left corner was a pile of what appeared to be spare punching bags, next to it was a number of broken bags and on a bench on the left side of the room was a black gym bag filled with various equipment with a full water bottle sitting next to it. The one thing she would not see, was her target even though he was quite close. Levi was currently bending the light around himself, making his image nonexistent. He waited a few moments before speaking quietly with an invisible smile.

"I suppose I should remember to cover my tracks a little better when I travel...or maybe you're just getting better....."

Levi walked forward, footprints appearing in the sand dusted floor by the bag. Removing his cloak, Levi smiled at the object of his mostly silent affection.

"What brings you here?"

[Kyrie Blaze]

Keen and intelligent blue eyes swept across the gym. Bags, sand, equipment bag, water bottle. And no Levi. Kyrie exhaled quietly, hands tensing and lightly flexing at her sides. It was entirely possible he slipped out the window. The bag was still swinging, and there wasn't enough of a breeze to swing the heavy bag. He was close. The blonde shifted her weight, about to start a pivot, when a disembodied voice drifted lazily into the air.

The slender woman straightened, lifting her chin ever so slightly, turning her head towards the swinging bag.

Though she didn't smile, it felt like there was a small one, just as invisible as Levi himself was. The slight shift of sand and the footprints left behind gave his exact position away, and the edges of those keen blue eyes softened.

"I strive to improve in all that I do. And I am not the only one who continues to improve." She iterated, at ease enough despite the customary inclination, hand over her heart. She straightened, eyes glinting. A hand waved to his setup, though her eyes remained upon him. "Like your purpose here, my own is also to train. With you. We have a unique set of abilities that can come into conflict with one another's, or can work perfectly in tune and balance for great benefit in combat. Will you work with me..?"

[Levi Kayamei]

Levi nodded, with a small smile as he walked over to get his waterbottle. He too had once thought about how related their abilities were and that they could be a powerful pairing if used correctly. He took a quick drink from the bottle before beginning to glow, the light growing slightly bright, but no more so than the sunlight. He set the bottle down and walked to the middle of the room and turned to face the hobbits with a focused look on his face.

"I had thought of this before, hence my offer to train you. OUr power do seem remarkably aligned."

Levi looked up in thought for a moment before returning his steel eyes to his new training partner.

"I suppose we should figure out exactly how strong our Qis are, we can't really work together without knowing that at least."

Levi's bright glow intensified (about Cha 30) as he smiled, hoping Kyrie would catch onto the reason he was emitting such a light.

[Kyrie Blaze]

Kyrie shifted upon her feet, taking note of the slowly intensifying glow. It didn't take long for what he was doing to "click". She widened her stance slightly, keeping her head tilted as though she was curious. Or studying him, perhaps. Blue eyes flicked up to his reflective silver-toned orbs.

She could feel her qi still, easily. She inclined her head with his last words, and as his glow intensified, she swept an arm behind her back, her other tucking behind the angle of her body, near the crook of the arm behind her back. She even went so far as to bow slightly. When she straightened, she had two blades at the ready. The base for the weapons had been her own shadow, but she also created, as the one at her side especially was too small for all of it.

This was just slightly elevated from pulling blades out in the high noon sun.

She knew it was going to become harder, but it was a chance to exercise her qi under a different type of stress. Her eyes were bright and focused...and quickly clapped the blades together and pushed, drawing what could only be considered a curtain of shadow in a circle as she dropped to a knee, her forward hand hitting The floor. The shadow extended even as it devoured her, shooting for Levi's.

Normally she wouldn't bother to be dramatic, but it was a matter of holding it against his qi.

[Levi Kayamei]

Levi was not surprised when Kyrie had to put forth the effort she did to match his own energy as he could already see . He increased the intensity of his light until it was clear that any more would push her too far. This wasn't about seeing who was stronger exactly, but more how strong they were. Levi let Kyrie push herself for a bit before turning it down to where she was able to match his output comfortably (Cha 31).

"So this is us....what we can work with.....I think I might be able to help you.....let me try...."

Levi's eyes closed as he visualized the effect he desired. The white light continuing to emanate from his body as the light around Kyrie completely disappeared. The idea was to essentially "add" darkness to Kyrie's own.

[Kyrie Blaze]

With Levi increasing the intensity to a point that she could no longer contain herself within the safety of his shadow...it became apparent when she could no longer hold it, both for the fact that the shadow was too small and that he overpowered her ability to hold herself to the shadow. She popped out and rolled away, standing calmly with a blade held up, but obviously non-threatening.

The blade flickered, sputtering against the light until he toned down his qi, and she let out a slow breath. A couple beads of sweat rolled down the back of her neck, the feeling shiver-inducing though she shook her head to dissipate the feeling just somewhat.

In a way it was disappointing. And yet, she knew it was for their benefit, and that he had progressed by leaps and bounds where her progress was slower. She couldn't say more patient, as Levi had proven worthy of the script upon the back of his medallion. She gave a slight nod when he spoke, hands lowering to rest at her sides.

When he pulled the light away she blinked, intrigued, and passed her hand within the shadow, moving slightly. It wasn't quite perfect, but she seemed incorporeal as she twisted amongst the darkened gloom in the space Levi had extracted light from around her. It was a rush: the boost; and she was comfortable and at ease, her image flickering like a flame upon a candlewick.

"Impressionnant. Je vous félicite."

[Levi Kayamei]

Levi's light retracted as he maintained the darkness around Kyrie, he was locked on her signature and this effect would able to follow her as long as she was close enough. Levi opened his eyes, the strain of maintaining his light and the darkness now gone, and smile as he looked at the result of his work.

"Seikô""

He wiped a few beads of sweat from his forehead. He had indeed grown in strength quickly, but his mastery over qi was something that would simply take time, despite how fast his strength grew. Now was not the time to stop however as his training was about maintaining a high level of intensity for as long as possible, but not so much that the benefits didn't outweigh the cost.

"Now, let's see what you can do with that power....something you don't normally do if you feel creative."

Levi surrounded his shins, feet, hands, and forearms with a barrier of white, tranlucent light as he took a ready stance. He wanted to see her use her qi for more than weapons as this training was about developing mastery over their powers as well.

[Kyrie Blaze]

Kyrie inclined her head with a slight smile. It was the tone, if anything, that gave their words away. The good thing about language was that body language and intonation of words could be giveaways as to what the speaker meant.

...provided they were not deliberately misleading by acting.

Her head tilted the opposite way as it first had, and shadows drifted from her body, twining around her and then, with an unfurling motion, she snapped her arm nearly straight. Her hand closed around the end of a long shadow tendril. The end cracked in the air, softly, giving it away. When she lifted her hand and 'snapped' it towards Levi's neck, her brow furrowed. Injure, no. The look of concentration upon her face was due to the fact that she was controlling the whip, because of that: she aimed to wind the shadow tendril around his neck, stepping back with her body, free hand up in a guard position with wisps of shadow beginning to coil.

Her intent was to attempt putting him off-balance with one quick motion with her entire body moving as a singular force, though she remained careful with her alignment to his own. He could still easily pull her.

[Levi Kayamei]

Levi smiled as he looked on, interersted in what was forming out of the boosted qi of the small blonde. Her face was contorted in concentration as she worked to control the additional power he was granting her. His eyes widened with a smile as the whip took form.

good....now what Kiyr?

Levi and Kiyrie had little experience fighting around each other so this was another reason why this training was such a good thing. He dropped his guard as the whip came in quickly. He wanted to see what the full extent of Kiyrie's technique would be and had no intentions of stiffling the exploration of her powers.

[Kyrie Blaze]

Unhindered, she followed through. The whip remained as she pulled him forwards and partially crouched, her other arm crossing slightly as what could only be a shield materialized and stretched to 'catch' and throw Levi over her, braced and letting his momentum and that from her hips to throw him, having him land so that she continued the twist that sent him in the direction she desired - away from any nearby equipment - and leaped.

As the blonde landed, the prongs of a trident plunged into the floor, shifted with great care from the shield, no more than an inch or two from his head. Had he been an enemy, doubtless she would have skewered him. As it was, Kyrie's eyes were bright and intense and focused on him.

The trident was used to vault away, he whip fading from around his neck, as did the weapon she released at the apex. She twisted and landed in a crouch, eyes on the target. She hadn't used her much more efficient blades, simply because she was supposed to expand on what she could do.

. o O ( Due to Levi's boost, Kyrie is more easily able to hold her weapons and objects from shadow, lasting her two posts if necessary. )

[Levi Kayamei]

Levi remained calm as he flew the air as he did nothing more than make sure to watch every change in Kyrie's energy, the way she moved, and the intensity in her eyes. By locking his eyes with hers, he could watch everything peripherally and understand so much more than by attempting to resist. A smile appeared on his face as he observed Kyrie's ability to maintain an intense ferocity and yet remain completely in control. As she leaped away his body began to glow while he stood up, his eyes admiring the power Kyrie wielded.

"Indeed, a potential weakness of your daggers in that you must be within melee range to use them. This weakness is obviously most apparent when fighting someone with the ability to deal with your ability to use shadows to get the drop on your opponents....."

Levi paused for a moment as his eyes met Kyrie's, the smile on his face growing slightly, an excited look in his eyes.

"....of course that weakness goes away if I'm with you.....now then..."

Levi looked down at his palms as he contemplated his next move. An idea came to him quickly as he had once contemplated the possiblity, but lacked the power at the time. Levi spread his feet apart, a little wider than shoulder length, a brought his hands together in front of his chest. The area around him began to dim as the light began to gather in front of him, at as a ball, but soon it began to take shape. The sphere slowly molded itself into a humanoid shape with no distinct features and crude limbs. After another minute however, this crude shape had smoothed itself out and now resembled Levi himself, minus the fact that the doppleganger was white, translucent, and luminescent. Levi wiped his forehead clear of the multiple sweat beads that had formed and let out a long breath.

"It worked.....took too long to be practical.....but here it is...."

Levi had the advantage of being able to easily track Qi signatures, and this doppleganger was nothing more than a concentrated form of Qi. Now for the hard part: Levi closed his eyes and visualized the man made of Qi in his mind, ignoring the fact that he could still 'see' him, and began making the image move. Slowly but surely the "Levi" began to move more and more with each minute that passed. By this point Levi had a small ring of sweat along the neckline of his shirt but he was able to move the doppleganger fairly well albeit at the expense of a great deal of his focus. He open his eyes and spoke quickly, clearly straining to multitask with the technique he had just invented.

"Okay, give it a shot, I want to see how it holds up."

[Kyrie Blaze]

Kyrie was far from flawless, but she had a solid understanding and had always practiced control over her own body. Parkour? Yes. one had to be aware of their own movements so everything was in balance. So that everything was efficient and used the least amount of energy as possible. Stemming from that and her beliefs she had let Levi edge in on, she strove for absolute control while the world went mad around her. And it was that that enabled the intensity to shine through even while she seemed to be serene.

It didn't happen all the time, but for the most part, Kyrie was firmly steeped within that, at least.

And she could and would apply that to her life with the Dragons. As a Dragon Core Member. And perhaps someday, as an Elder. She landed lightly upon the balls of her feet and watched as he got up, arms loose and relaxed at her sides. Levi's glow appeared to crystallize the colour of her eyes still more; but this also happened outdoors in bright light...if she allowed one to look.

The petite woman inclined herself forwards in a slight motion of acknowledgement. A tiny smile tugged at the corners of her own lips as she straightened with his words, and then watched. Curiosity--the forefront of everything. If she could possibly see and do and experience and learn everything, doubtless she would. As it was, she was learning and absorbing all she could. Seeing Levi being able to form a vaguely humanoid shape made her eyes widen slightly and she stood, tilting her head this way, and then that way. And then, with much shaping and sculpting, it was Levi himself, and perhaps some of the details.

She nodded quickly, primly, at his words. Fine-tuning had to come on their own time.

Her eyes flickered from the light-bound image moving, to Levi himself, consistently checking up on his condition to ensure he didn't strain himself too much and potentially pass out from exertion. When he told her to take a shot at it, an eyebrow flicked up, but she turned her gaze back to the light-version of him and sprang into motion with one of her trademark moves: darting up, jumping - and Levi was about the right height that she didn't need a huge spring from a thigh of her opponent - to close her knees against the side of its head, twist, and flip him with a solid, brutal torque into the nearest pile of equipment if she was successful.

Of course, she would let go after. There was no need to send herself tumbling. Instead, she rolled slightly if she managed everything, and would go back on the offensive.

[Levi Kayamei]

Levi watched as the attack came in and struggled to move it accordingly at a moment's notice. The moment Kyrie's legs locked in place, "Levi" grabbed the blonde's thighs and pinned them to its' head. The idea was to counter the blonde's throw as she executed it, however what happened next would have been horrifying if it had been a real person. As Kyrie torqued her body, Levi felt the strain on its' neck increasing as he struggled to maintain the grip on her legs while holding the doppleganger together. The strain quickly surpassed Levi's ability to compensate and the luminescent Levi's head snapped off and flying into the pile of spare punching bags, shattering into particles of white light on impact.

"AH!"

Levi caught his breath as he recovered from the exertion he put out to try to maintain the clone's cohesion. The clone slowly broke into flecks of light which faded after floating through the air momentarily. The first test of his new technique was gruesome, but very successful for a first attempt, Levi was satisfied. Levi quickly caught his breath and stood upright, beaming at the blonde and proud of his accomplishment.

"Give that some time and I might be onto something."

[Kyrie Blaze]

It turned out there was no need to go on the offensive. In fact, with the head of light exploding, a protective shield of shadow materialized over Kyrie's eyes, almost without thought, protecting them from the worst of the 'explosion'. Figuratively, her ears twitched and she turned towards Levi, arching a concerned eyebrow. and moving over a step or two.

But not touching.

She offered a hand as he shifted to obviously get to his feet, and regardless of whether he took it or not, drew it back to her side, the shadow 'shades' dissipating. An answering smile began to twitch her lips upwards.

"Pas mal. Not bad. I believe you are correct. Perhaps you will be able to fully replicate yourself and allow it to be more suited to combat if you work on it. As of right now, obviously the cost of using it is not worth actually using it in battle, but with time and patience..." She offered a slight nod and paced backwards. One step. Two. "Is there more you wish to test out? I am not opposed to continuing to explore our utility together."