Snowflakes

[The Cedar Witch]

Hisakata sat on the roof of the West tower, unafraid of its seemingly unstable condition of the structure. It was midday, sun masked by the clouds of an oncoming snow shower. She flicked her long, purple slender tail anxiously. This was the first snowfall of the season, she had waited too long.

There was no explanation to this annual wait. She simply felt it. The need to look into the sky for the release of the thousands of tiny white crystals. Maybe there was some significance to this, none that she was willing to look back upon. It was as though she were waiting for something other then snowflakes. For what exactly, no one could know.

She gazed up into the sky, or rather, into the distance. She exhaled slowly, sending tendrils of steam into the sky. The sky, she noted, smelled heavy of snow. A clear, crisp scent, unadulterated by any other living creature. She let a smile leak onto her face, the desire and longing for snow coming deep within her heart.

The sight of crimson on white would complete this happy moment. Hisa thought it was time for a celebration, just as the first flake fell. This caused her smile to broaden. A rare sight these days, unless someone was dying. By her hand, of course.

The echo of footsteps on the roof interrupted this thought, along with the tranquility of the silent snowfall. She didn\'t bother to turn around. Just yet anyway.

[Fell]

Neer had felt the snow coming too. He hadn\'t liked that one thing about it, though, and that was that it was just a snowfall. Not a snowstorm, not an icestorm, nothing like that. Just snow. Better than nothing, and gives me something to work with, Neer thought, rising from his cushions and dropping his book to the side. The water dragon had been wanting a good storm for a while, and badly. Maybe this was his shot.

Neer knew that the best place for this kind of stuff was the top of the West Tower. Almost never anyone there to bother you and plenty of open sky to work with. Not to mention it would put him in the thick of it. In truth, that was probably why he wanted to be there so bad - it would be a perfect place to view his handiwork. He made his way to the window, leaping from it without a second thought. The small white figure fell from the North Tower, just the first snowflake of the storm.

It didn\'t take Neer long at all - less than a minute, really - to reach the West Tower. When he got there, it took nothing more than a graceful leap to the top where he found, much to his surprise, a girl. Pages flipped through Neer\'s mental book of species, quickly alighting on "Nekojin." It was just a temporary guess - he would let it hold until it fell. Well, might as well let her know I\'m here, Neer thought with an inward sigh. He took a deliberately audible step forward, then another one. Okay, that should be enough, the black-haired boy concluded, slipping back into his habit of silence.

"Why the rooftop?" Neer asked, walking to a spot a few feet to her side and looking up at the sky. Whyever she was here, Neer didn\'t plan to let it stop him from having his fun. He just might have to put it on time-delay, so that she could get inside before it got too bad. Come to think of it, that\'s a good idea anyway, Neer reasoned, chuckling inwardly at himself.

[The Cedar Witch]

Hisa did not bother to address the new presence directly. She simply stared up into the sky, appearing complacent, as she pondered how exactly to respond. She was in a lazy mood, if one could call it that. But productive to most could be lazy to her. So maybe relaxed is more accurate. Relaxed and restless at the same time - if plausible.

"The first snowflakes hit the highest places." She spoke sharply, as though irritated yet she wasn\'t. Not in the slightest bit. She still refused to face the newcomer, her eyes fixated on the swirling crystals. She let her smile fade, taking a graceful, final bow before leaving center stage, off of her face.

An icy white speck settled on her nose softly. She brought her tail around to the front of her face and brushed the snow off the tip of her nose.

"What brings yourself outside on the roof?" she asked, not really expecting anything.

[Fell]

"Sharp words, when you speak to someone you don\'t know," Neer murmured offhandedly. Normally, he would have taken true issue with her tone, but she was secondary in this instence. Therefore, what she said wasn\'t as important as it would have been otherwise. It was probably fortunate for her that Neer was otherwise occupied at the moment, as he could be very tempermental. She is right, though - the tallest places get the snow first, the dragon thought distractedly. That must mean she\'s another snow enthusiast. There was nothing wrong with that. In fact, Neer liked that about her already.

Dexterous tail, the Master thought. He\'d noticed her motion out of the corner of his eye. Who was she, again? Neer had seen her around... He believed her to be in... Cruori? Or was it Confuto? Maybe it had been Libramen...? Neer had no ideal, really. He\'d never seen her in his classes, but that was to be expected as she was still 4th level. Maybe he would see her in her next level.

Neer considered the girl for a moment, trying to decide whether or not to answer. Did he want to fess up to starting storms? It wasn\'t as though she could stop him, but... "I\'m hoping for a storm," Neer replied casually, though his voice was still soft. The dragon grinned inwardly. I\'m glad I decided to try this, he thought, referring to the lying with the truth. It was just so much fun...

Their pleasantries thus exchanged, Neer began thinking about just how he was going to do this. There were many ways to call a storm up, after all. Circle\'s not a bad idea... he thought, absentmindedly tracing the ground with his foot. We\'ll start there. The dragon drew a piece of chalk from his coat, then lightly traced a circle on the ground about 5 paces from the girl. Neer stepped inside, then focused on the line on the ground. Done, he thought as the circle - not the chalk one, but one of power - snapped up around him. It would keep his magic in and others out until he broke it; it was good for the more complicated spells. That done, though, Neer began to ponder his next actions...

[The Cedar Witch]

"I was hoping for a storm."

Hisa smirked, flicking her tail.

"Aren\'t we all?" she stated simply. The sound of chalk being lightly traced on the roof caused her tail to twitch. She was curious, but did not give into the desire to turn around. She much prefered to let on that she didn\'t care what the stranger did. The truth was she honestly didn\'t. But the sound of chalk made her think of hopscotch. Such a childish thing.

The snow was accumulating at a faster rate now, the cold not affecting her as it may have a simple human. She smiled.

[Fell]

"You might want to go in soon," Neer mentioned offhandedly, as though it had nothing to do with what he was doing - or about to be doing. "Even if you are hoping for a storm..." The dragon let the sentence hang mischievously, accompanying it with a wry smile that the girl couldn\'t see. Well, unless she turned around, but if she hadn\'t by now, why would she? Neer didn\'t mind a blind audience anyway, even if it would mean she wouldn\'t get to see the theatrics of it. And there were always theatrics with Neer.

Neer raised both of his hands to about chin level, moving them in complex patterns. The girl wouldn\'t know what he was doing unless she\'d studied the weather magic of dragons, but Neer was using his hands and the space between them to reflect the entire skies. Each twitch of his fingers was a wind, a cloud, a front of air pressure, all moving at his command. It took a good deal of concentration, doing it like this, but it was the most precise way to try to control the weather.

The wind rose as Neer moved, his half-closed eyes far away in concentration. One part of him was still here, paying attention so as to not get taken by surprise, but the rest was all over the sky. It was an experience both freeing and frustrating for the dragon, but certainly one he enjoyed. What he was doing at the moment was delicate; if he got disturbed now, the storm might be upon them before Neer could even say "Look out!"

He could only hope the girl would leave him be...

[The Cedar Witch]

Hisa\'s tail twitched as she sensed some form of movement behind her. She could no longer resist turning a blind eye to this. Besides, the snow would fall no matter where she was facing, so really there was nothing she was missing by watching the newcomer.

The cat demon cocked her head, puzzled by the strange hand motions that the boy was making. He looked very young, but spoke with an attitude that suggested otherwise. He appeared to be deep in concentration, yet alert at the same time. She noticed that the boy was standing in a chalk circle. This brought a vague memory of her not-so-extensive knowledge of pagan rituals. She had looked into it once of twice, the circle was supposed to be some sort of barrier that one had to cast before attempting any rituals or magic.

It was then she noticed the change in the atmosphere. The clouds were stirring, as though restless. Hisa sniffed the air, feeling the approach of a stronger storm. That thought excited her, almost as much as the thought of spilling blood. She grinned, showing her pointed teeth. So he was manipulating the weather, or so it seemed. But that could very well be a coincidence.

[Fell]

Well, the girl did, in fact, leave him be. It wasn\'t her that screwed anything up. Go figure, it was some stupid bug, choosing exactly that moment to fly up his nose. Neer\'s eyes widened as he frantically tried to continue the magic without sneezing. There aren\'t even supposed to be bugs out when it\'s this cold! the dragon thought angrily. What was this one little deviant doing, aside from messing up his ritual?

Neer was sure he was going to mess it up now, too. He could feel the horrible, uncomfortable tickle of a sneeze coming up upon him, and excuse him, but he\'d never learned how to suppress sneezes. When on Earth would that come in handy? Now, for starters, Neer thought bitterly as the sneeze overtook him, pitching him forward and pitching the bug out of his nose.

Neer straightened quickly, rubbing his nose, and looked upwards. The clouds, which had been merely building beforehand, were now boiling. It sent a secret thrill up Neer\'s spine, and somewhere in the back of his mind he thought that maybe he could have stopped that sneeze, had he really wanted to. The spell was well overdone now, and fully out of his control. It had been released. Which meant that one mother of a storm was coming. Neer looked down on the structure he and the girl stood on; the result of another weather spell gone wrong, or simply Mother Nature\'s undiluted wrath? The dragon smiled. This storm wouldn\'t destroy anything that big.

But something little? Like, say, a student? Neer\'s silver eyes darted downwards to look at Hisa. "We\'ve got to get down, now. You need a ride?" Neer asked, his voice serious. Already the snow was falling much harder, and deep growls of thunder could be heard in the distance. Neer was certain they\'d be here within seconds. The wind, too, had picked up, and was whipping the snow about with a vengeance. All in all, it was Neer\'s favourite weather, but it was also dangerous for anyone not so connected with the elements. And Neer was assuming that Hisa wasn\'t.

[The Cedar Witch]

Hisa peered curiously at the child in response to the strange faces he was making. It didn\'t take long at all for her to figure out that something was going wrong with whatever he was doing. When the boy sneezed, Hisakata couldn\'t help herself, she laughed audibly. It wasn\'t so much that she found the sneeze itself amusing, it was more along the lines of the fact that he could not hold the sneeze in. Even as a child she could do that.

The cat demon noticed immediately the change in the sky, without even having to glance upward. The shift in the air told her so, emitting more of a chaotic aura then before. It was definite now that whoever this boy was, he was controlling the sky. And another fact that became clear was he had indeed messed up. But no matter. The ominous presence of the gathering storm did little to unnerve her. After all, she was a child of the snow.

Unconsciously, she began to finger the details of the hilt of her sword. It, too, was becoming restless. She could feel it shifting with the weather, something it did only when it was excited. Yes, it was very much like a living, breathing soul. Normally, Hisa would quiet it down, have it retain it\'s original forged form. But not today. The girl was excited too. Besides, it\'s not as if there was a battle in her midst. The "ice form" of the Katana was a stunning, almost transparent pale blue. Despite it\'s fragile appearance, the blade in this form is quite durable. The shape itself taking on a rather jagged appearance; but smooth, the flow of the form itself was only slightly asymmetrical. None of this mattered at the moment, however. The sword was sheathed, emitting only a slight change in it\'s aura pattern.

"We\'ve got to get down, now. You need a ride?"
 Neer had asked her with a seriousness that brought her attention from her blade back to him. Hisa smirked at his concern, fighting the temptation to scoff at him rudely. She blinked her black eyes slowly, as though trying to come up with a response.

"I am not afraid." she stated indifferently. And this was perfectly true. If the storm got that bad, her sword would protect her without a doubt. Gripping her hilt, she knew this, but this boy did not. Why should he express so much concern anyway? It caught her off guard. She hated that.

[Fell]

Neer rolled his eyes. What a typical response for this place, he thought peevishly. He didn\'t care whether or not she was afraid, she was coming down with him one way or another simply because Neer would not have student blood on his hands. He didn\'t care how many storms she\'d survived up here, this was not just a storm. It was a storm that could well turn out to be the younger brother of the one that had destroyed this tower in the first place (though at least that one hadn\'t been Neer\'s fault. At least, he thought it hadn\'t...)

"Good for you, you\'re fearless. Does that mean you don\'t need a ride or what?" he asked hastily. Neer wasn\'t planning on leaving until the girl before him did. Call it a stubborn streak, or a flair for the chivalrous, but the dragon didn\'t want to see this girl get hurt because of a sneeze. Most dangerous sneeze I\'ve ever seen, Neer thought playfully, almost making himself chuckle.

A clap of thunder roared somewhere very close to them, and lightning brought the scene into sharp relief. It also reflected itself off of Neer\'s eyes, giving them the same appearance as the lightning. The dragon looked up swiftly and smiled. These were his favourite types of storm... Wild and highly unpredictable. Severe weather - it was so beautiful! The girl before him seemed to share the same predisposition as he, which was nice to see in a mortal. Many did fear these kinds of storms, but apparently not she...

Maybe I shouldn\'t make her leave... Neer thought reproachfully. If she stayed with him... perhaps she would even like to come flying with him, in this storm. Neer knew that he could avoid being hit by anything dangerous, and that he could do the same for anything he was carrying... So maybe...

[The Cedar Witch]

Hisa blinked slowly, again, taking in both his tone of voice and the feeling of the gathering storm. It would be such a terrible waste, were she to retreat into the safety of some secluded area. This was the best weather she\'d felt in a long time and she wasn\'t about to waste the moment on some petty concern for her own well-being. She had enough to think about.

The cat demon tried not to take his haste to offense. He had no way of knowing what she was capable of. When it came to weather, anyway. She wasn\'t trying to come off as haughty, rather she wasn\'t too eager to go inside.

"I\'d much rather stay out here, if you don\'t mind." she paused thoughtfully, as though measuring her words.
"I haven\'t seen a storm like this in ages, I\'d hate to waste it." Hisa blinked thoughtfully.

[Fell]

Neer couldn\'t help but smile; she sounded so much like he had when he was young. Now, the master would try to afford this girl the same luxury his parents had given him. And by "try", he fully meant "would". Neer still refused to leave her on her own, no matter how competent she thought she was. Just that she was in (probably) Cruori was enough basis for the young dragon.

"Alright then, looks like you\'re coming with me," the black-haired boy said with a smile. He stepped out of his circle and stepped towards her. "Because, sorry, but there\'s no way in hell I\'m leaving you up here alone," Neer added with a shrug. He took another step towards her, seeming to melt and grow as he did. When he completed the step, he was in his draconic form.

Neer looked down at her and smiled. He didn\'t mean the gesture to be threatening, but any gesture that showed off a dragon\'s full set of fangs tended to look a little less than friendly. "By the way, I don\'t plan on staying on the ground, either. Hop on," the dragon said, bending his neck down a little bit to make it easier for her.

[The Cedar Witch]

Hisa struggled to keep her composure as the boy transformed into a blue-green dragon. She stared in new admiration at this boy, transfixed by his fangs. The cat demon, of course, didn\'t allow any of this to show on her face.

"By the way, I don\'t plan on staying on the ground, either. Hop on," He said it so nonchalantly that she couldn\'t help but smile a little. Hisa wondered if it would seem a little to eager of her if she were to accept the invitation full heartedly, making her appear weak and maybe anxious to get out of the storm. At the same time she wondered if she could come off as arrogant and even offensive if she did not take up the initiative immediately.

Either way, the storm was growing in intensity. She peered cautiously up at the sky, then back to the dragon-boy. Her fingers seemed curious enough to touch his fur, yet she still hesitated. Tentatively she walked closer to the dragon and reached a hand out automatically to feel his mane. She recoiled sharply when she realized what she was doing, but the movement was so quick that it could have been mistaken for a flinch. She looked at him questioningly, as though unsure of what to do.

[Fell]

Neer waited patiently while she approached, then flinched back and ended up looking questioningly up at him. He chuckled - it was a deep, smoky sound in his dragon form - and rolled his eyes. "It\'s okay to touch, you know. I\'m not poisonous," the Master said, his voice amused. He had to speak rather loudly now, though, as the storm was only getting bigger. Neer lifted his head to look at it, the driving snow collecting on his fur, then melting as it heated.

She\'d better hurry, Neer thought, his tail tip twitching in anticipation. He couldn\'t wait to get off the ground, and Neer was sure hisa would appreciate the storm from a sky\'s view as well. So why was she being so shy? "I don\'t think you want me to carry you. Really, it\'s much more comfortable to be on my neck," Neer told her. Just behind his head was best, as he had horns to hold on to there. Plus, it would make any conversation they required much easier to hold.

"Here," Neer said, leaning his head down and nudging her with the side of his cheek. He was pleasantly warm, and fairly soft. Smooth, perhaps, or silky, would suit it better. It was because he kept so clean. A dirty dragon was a wiry dragon, and highly unpleasant to the touch. But a clean one? Well, that was just fine. Neer much preferred to be the latter.

[The Cedar Witch]

The cat-demon flicked her tail, measuring her next move carefully as the dragon spoke. She smiled pleasently, when appropriate. So the boy misinterpreted her hesitation for fear. She could have predicted that, should have. Flicking her tail absently, she felt her sword swelling with the anticipation of the climax of the storm. She couldn\'t hide a grin.

Upon being pushed by the softness of the dragon\'s cheek, she flinched noticeably. She didn\'t enjoy unanticipated contact and avoided it whenever possible. Although, it seemed apparent that he was planning on taking her for a ride and to be honest, Hisa had never flown through the air before. She couldn\'t pass up this opportunity.

Hisakata, though reluctantly, obeyed and climbed awkwardly onto the dragon\'s neck. The fur was wonderfully warm, and she found herself instantaneously relaxed the moment she mounted him. She never had the opportunity to ride a horse before, let alone a dragon. Instinctively she gripped onto his neck with her legs, anticipating the possibility of falling.