[Trakadon]

Trak was relaxing on the sandy beach. The salty cool air kissing his cheek as he watched the clouds float by. Sitting up Trak couldn't help but lose himself in wild day dreams of freely wondering the open sea once again. Slowly Trak took a deep breath and exhaled. "Ah~ ... Nothing like the smell of the ocean air." Trak rested his back on the soft sand and continued to watch the clouds float by.

[Espy]

If there was anything Espy hated, it was water. Water. A necessity for all life.

Why in the world was she walking, no, trudging, through the sand, then? The answer was simple. The open sea brought in lots of fresh air, and the plentiful sand lent itself well to her alchemical experiments.

She had just uncapped her first vial of a catalyst when she noticed that she wasn't the only person out on the beach who stuck out like a sore thumb. She made a few cautious steps toward the man under the pretense of finding something in the sand.

[Trakadon]

Trak smiled softly as he closed his eye. The sound of the waves breaking upon the rocks in the distance was a sweet lullaby to him... But something was changing in the air. A smell Trak didn't recognize was coming closer to him. The sound of feet hitting the soft sand and the way that those sounds where gapping in between each other. Agitated he sat up and opened his eye. "I've lived by the ocean all my life. I've learned many things in that time." Trak slowly turned his head to face the direction of the person coming closer to him. "Like the subtle changes of the smell in the air." Trak stood up facing the the black haired newcomer. "Who are you and what are you sneaking around for?"

[Espy]

A better sense of smell than mine? It must have been because the brackish odor from the sea...She wasn't used to it. That surely had to be the case.

"A rebel like you, and only looking for supplies...sir," she added as she noted the man's fineries and mentally compared them to her own rough jacket. Hmph. Such a man...he surely can't fight, she mused to herself.

"Anyways." She threw out her free hand as a gesture of camaraderie. ...Che. Not.

[Trakadon]

Trak softly glared at the black haired girl. He noticed her eying him and the rude manner of her hand gesture. "You obviously don't have much in the ways of manners do you?" He smirked as he pulled a small round pebble out of his pocket and rolled it in his right hand. "But I suppose if I looked like I was raised in the mud I wouldn't either." Trak stopped rolling the pebble in his hand. "Accept this as a reminder to be more polite~" Trak flicked the pebble at the black haired girl, aiming towards her forehead.

[Espy]

Paying only slight attention, Espy barely had time to jerk her head to the side to dodge the pebble, which made its course through her wispy side bangs and landed behind her. Now annoyed, she stuffed the vial back into her pocket.

"Polite, my ass. That won't help you win battles. Neither will lounging around, doing nothing." She spat out her words, the disrespect seeping through. It wasn't that she hated this stranger, but that she hated people who could afford to have both luxuries and decorum. That was linked, in her own mind, to the ruling class, something which she utterly despised.

With a slight *shlick*, one katar slid out of its cover, an unconscious result of her anger.

[Trakadon]

Trak jumped back just out of reach of the girls weapon. It was obvious she was angry at him from the start, but what the reason was was a mystery to him. Sighing Trak reached up to his tie and unfastened it from his neck. With his tie firmly in his hand he smiled at the girl. " Oh but being polite can win battles. " Trak opened his hand and let his tie blow away in the wind and at the same time 3 golden orbs appeared beside him. Slowly the floated around him leaving a smoky trail behind them. With the smile still ever present on his face he held out his left hand and let one of the orbs land on his hand. " I'll give you one more chance to apologize before I blow you away."

(( I just woke up o xo ))

[Espy]

The assassin knelt as if in apology...then pulled a hand up, tossing a handful of sand into the man's eyes, leaping away at the same time. Apologize...that was something she hated doing and saw no need for in this situation. Suddenly, the flying sand caught her eye. Not good. Every step she made here, even when hidden for that brief instant during a Dash, would be obvious. And there are no trees here...no obstacles.

This time, she consciously pulled a combat knife out of its sheathe on her waist, hoping to be able to dodge those...flying...orb...things. What the hell are they...?

((Whoa...that's really late...especially if you aren't in my time zone XD))

[Trakadon]

Trak brushed sand from his cheek with his free hand as the smile on his face disappeared, and in its place was a more stern look. "From the looks of it your not accustomed to fighting on the sand." Trak clutched the orb in his left hand and shatter it into pieces, but as soon as he shattered it, the pieces began to circle around his fist. " I'll let you in on a secret. I can create four of these orbs in the course of 24 hours, and each one of them are highly explosive, but don't worry, they only explode when I want them to." Slowly the shards of the broken orb started to take the shape of small needles. "I'm also able to divide each one into several smaller pieces and change their shape." Trak raised his left arm and pointed at the girl. "Lets see you dodge 25 small explosives~!" No sooner did he say those words did the small needles shoot out towards the girls legs.

[Espy]

"Now when did I say I'd dodge them?" Espy muttered, kicking up a decent amount of sand thrusting her hand into the flying mess. A thin sandy wall congealed at her fingertips, only to be blown apart by the explosives....Fast! she thought, realizing that if she hadn't been even slightly faster, the shield wouldn't have been the objects blown up.

She brought her hand across and threw the dagger forward, hoping that the man had been distracted enough by the sand to not notice it until it was too late.

[Trakadon]

Trak was only just able to dodge the dagger enough to avoid it from striking any vital points, but the dagger still managed to enter his right shoulder. Trak took hold of the daggers handle and pulled it out of his should. Glancing at it for just a moment and then discarding it into the ocean. "So you are skilled it seems... To be able to both attack and defend in such a manner..." Trak once again smiled as he called over his second orb. "Who are you anyways... I doubt everyone can just make a shield from sand like that."

[Espy]

Tracing triangles...the result was too weak to hold off more blasts. Augh. I forgot he has two other orbs... Not bothering to answer, Espy thought about her surroundings. Hot sand had heat, and the clean air had oxygen... The fire would be weaker due to the moisture in the air, but she had to prevent the explosion of twenty-five, or maybe fifty, more needles.

She formed a triangle, pointing upwards, with her thumbs and forefingers. A spark, then a small orange flame...

Espy shot thin spidery tendrils of fire at the man, hoping to destroy the orb before its pieces turned into miniature bombs.

((Maybe I should explain some of Espy's alchemy...She always needs, in some form, to make the symbol of whatever element she's transmuting. I forgot to write it down, but she'd been tracing an upside-down triangle, for earth, with her free hand when she formed the shield. And she only can transmute two elements, and has a difficult time with anything large-scaled.))

[Trakadon]

Trak held out the orb in his hand and watched as the flames were absorbed into it. The orb grew in mass, and was now 2 times the size from before. " Oh now that's curious... So your an alchemist." Trak reached into his coat and pulled out a five chambered revolver. "I may not be one for weapons, but sometimes they are necessary sometimes. You should be honored~ I don't use this weapon against anyone you know." Suddenly five shards broke off from the massive orb and flew into the revolver. Trak smiled at the girl once again. "By the way... I didn't detonate all of those needles." Needles suddenly began to fly up from under the black haired girl.

(( The orbs Trak uses are pure energy. The reason he can only make four of them in the course of 24 hours is because in order to make them he sacrifices his own energy to make them. If someone uses energy based attacks the orbs absorbs the energy and grows in size. But there is so much they can take in. Also after he breaks an orb they can't be reformed. He can also use the orbs to increase his own abilities, like a bunch or kick because he is briefly adding that energy back into himself. The gun is just air powered and add speed and impact power to the shards that are loaded into. Also... when a shard is broken off the power is weakened. So the smaller the shard the less power it has. I hope that helps you... And remember he can make four orbs, not just three ))

[Espy]

...What?! Espy kicked off, pushing herself backwards in hopes of dodging the explosion, but not managing completely. It was a good thing her boots were metal-plated around the ankles; running barefoot in the sand would mean sinking. A lot. More tatters to her jacket...bleeding tail...Demo will not be awfully happy, she thought as she fell backwards into the sand. Espy massaged her legs, also hurt by the explosion.

She snorted at the mention of honor. It wasn't something she cared too much about, what with using underhanded tricks to win duels.

Espy scrambled to her feet, took a short run, then disappeared for a split second to materialize behind the man. She'd probably fare better up close, she figured, as she swung one bladed hand at his neck.

[Trakadon]

Trak only just managed to block the incoming blade with his revolver. The speed in which the girl used to get behind him took him by surprise. If he had not noticed the trail of sand and blood the girl was leaving behind he would have lost his head quite literally. "That's was an interesting plan. Did you think if you attacked me up close that I wouldn't detonate the orbs?" Trak pulled the trigger on his revolver and as soon as the bullet shard left the barrel he detonated it.


(( I really need to try and sleep earlier o xo. ))

[Espy]

Espy jerked her hand up reflexively to protect her eyes. Her poor footing from Dashing gave way, and the blast forced her back several paces.

Ow ow ow... Espy undid her bandana and tied it around her left arm. She wiped a ragged cheek with her right hand. With no other clear options, she started sprinting again, even though she knew she'd drain her energy. She suddenly sped up and swerved as she got close, then flipped into the air with both hands, landing behind the gunner.

Crouching, she swept her leg in an arc, hoping to knock him off his feet.