Consolidate [Aidan}

Aidan made his way through the town feeling slightly nervous although as usual his cold exterior didn't show how he felt. The man had received a message the previous day requesting his presence in the town by one Amelia Vietti-Thompson, another of the Quincy Order's Knights and probably one with a lot more knowledge than the reclusive Irishman.

Finally the man reached the destined place, he was dressed as he normally was in a plain black suit with a white shirt over which he wore a dark pea coat. Aidan had briefly considered wearing his Quincy Knight uniform, something Frey had ready before he even joined...and even in the right size.

'Devious child.' he thought to himself with no little fondness.

Eventually the Quincy reached the preordained meeting place, the man glanced around at the various people going about their business throughout the town. It was not difficult to work out which woman was the Amelia he was here to meet, only one amongst there number had noticeable Spiritual Pressure and that one in particular had towering Spiritual Strength. Her Reiatsu was staggering, one of the most powerful Quincy with the exception of a few individuals.

Stepping over to her it was the woman that spoke first and offered a hand to the man in greeting, returning the gesture he nodded politely. "It's a pleasure to meet you miss Vietti-Thompson." he replied.

'What an odd name.' he thought to himself 'Thompson is English/Scottish name although it pops up in Ireland quite a lot. Vietti on the other hand is....Italian? Intriguing.'

The man released her hand and clasped his hands behind his back. "As you already know I am Aidan O'Mongan, probably the newest addition to your ranks." he added. It hadn't been more than a few days since Frey had given him the position.

The powerful Quincy before him was only a few years younger than Aidan himself, she was smiling pleasantly enough and by all accounts she seemed to be a normal young woman with long haired and standing a few inches shorter than him. However that significant spiritual power was enough for Aidan to know otherwise.

"I didn't  know there were many other Knights over here in Japan, I had assumed the majority would be back at the royal castle in Berlin." he responded.

Even as he spoke his eyes flick over her face again and a slight frown creased his face.

'Wait...have I seen her before?' he wondered 'At the castle...when Weylin claimed the throne?'

It had been nearly a year ago and apart from the main stars of that night Aidan hadn't paid much attention to the guests but he was fairly certain this woman had been there.

With a mental shrug he turned his full attention back to the present. "So, what can I do for you Miss Vietti-Thompson?" he asked in his usual detached manner.

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WC: 486
Total WC: 486

Amelia beamed at her fellow Knight as she shook his hand firmly. "It's true that the majority will remain in Germany for the most part but not all of them. I travel a fair bit so you'll be hard pressed to pin me down to a single given location." Chuckling to herself, Amelia brushed a few of the stray strands of her fringe out of her eyes. "Feel free to call me Amelia, there's no need for excessive formalities here."

"So yes, that's a good question and it's one that I'd like to find out actually. What can you do for me? Or more specifically, what can you do for the Quincy Order?"

Aidan O'Mongan was not the first nor was he the last to receive such a question from Amelia. In fact it was one of the most common questions she posed to her fellow Quincy, ever since she started collecting information on her associates. "I'd like to get to know you better. Find out just who Aidan O'Mongan is. I think it's important to know who you're working with so your talents don't go wasted."

It was not only that, Amelia also wanted to find out about the motives of all she spoke to, what drove them forward, if there was anything that she might need to be wary or concerned about. She opted to not reveal that to anyone she spoke to instead leaving that information documented in her files on all the members of The Order. The opportunity to find time to seek out each and every person was not a luxury she could afford. That said, it was probably better said that is was a chore that she did not want to do. It was because of that when moments like this, when Knights' paths converged, it was a good moment to work in the time for one of these sessions. The Karakura Spiritual Network was set to convene and Amelia was going to attend along with other Quincy, Aidan O'Mongan just so happened to be one in that number.

"Why was it that you chose to walk with The Order? And are you satisfied with how things are moving so far? Things have changed quite drastically in short period of time after all."

379/622    

Well she was at least being pleasant, that was a nice surprise, you never knew when it came to his people. They were, of course, as varied as any group of humans but there was a very large percentage of Quincy who simply had far too much...pride? Ego? Well whatever. Far too many of his kind thought far too highly of themselves and not enough of those around them, something that they didn't always bother to try hiding. Of course there was the possibility that this woman was feigning her reactions and warm exterior but that was still better than sneering superiority.

"Amelia it is then." he confirmed with a nod "And you can, of course, call me Aidan."

Having released the other woman's hand he clasped his own behind his back and listened to her intently. He raised an eyebrow as she announced the reason for being here followed swiftly by her questioning of his own intentions.  Was this her role in the Order? Had been assigned by Freyleif to keep an eye on the other Knights? To weight them?

'Unlikely.' he thought to himself 'Freyleif knows more about my capabilities than any other Quincy in existence. Nor would she have been evaluated like this. Her overjoyed reaction at my agreeing to take the role makes that clear enough.'

A faint smile touched the lips of the Irishman as he tilted his head slightly to the side "Are you our Order's interrogator Amelia?" he asked pleasantly "Set out to question each and every Knighthood bestowed by her Majesty?"

Aidan held up a hand to forestall any rebuttal, he understood his muted tones and expressions made him hard to read. "I'm just joking." he assured his fellow knight before gesturing off to one side. "Do you mind if we walk and talk?"

If she agreed Aidan would walk alongside Amelia for a few moments of silence while he considered her enquires and even if she didn't agree the man would still be prepared to answer her questions.

"First you ask what can I do for the Order?" he repeated the question with a thoughtful expression. "Honestly I won't pretend to know what the Order needs. I have only my own mediocre skills and a wish to help my people." as he spoke he held up his hands and clenched them into fists "I don't mind telling you that I don't think I'll be much of a soldier, I don't like fighting and I don't like destroying."

He let those words sink in, Quincy tended to react unfavourably to that so best just get it out of the way, "I grew up in a very traditional and old home. It left me with a very negative view of certain aspects of our society. We have become fragmented and weak. We no longer serve a purpose except to toot the horn of Quincy superiority to any poor outsider who's unfortunate to be nearby. Our people have done nothing to help this world with the exception of a handful of individuals."

Aidan shrugged "What can I do? Very little. But I can press for our people to unify. To actually be one peoples under the Crown of the Quincy once more. To make sure our traditions and histories are remembered by all, not just the old nobility clinging onto past glories."

He smiled faintly "I'm a teacher by trade. Perhaps I can even help the poor Quincy of this world who have no knowledge of what they are." he said thinking of his current apprentice.

He glanced sideways at the woman "As for why? That is a much easier answer. I want to help my people as previously mentioned but above all I am here because her Majesty wanted me to be and I am here because I wished to fulfil her wish. It is that simple."

The man raised an eyebrow "And you Amelia? What do you bring to the Order? Why do you want to walk the path you have chosen?"

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WC: 671
Total WC: 1157

"Ah, I'm just a curious person by nature, Aidan. From an official capacity I have no designated duties as such so simply fill in and do whatever needs to be done in the immediate. Though that's something I suspect will be changing in the no so distant future." Amelia winked and smiled a knowing smile before following alongside him at his bequest. It was a pleasant enough day for a leisurely stroll, the morning sun had risen in the distance providing a gentle warmth that was complimented with a soft breeze.

Not taking pleasure in violence was not uncommon. Although the rush of adrenaline and the release of other hormones made combat a 'thrill' of sorts, it was something which most people did not enjoy. Amelia was someone who sat in the middle ground. A friendly bout was something that could be rather fun for her and continual improvement of one's own body and soul were forms of positive reinforcement for her, especially when she considered that strength was tied to maintaining a firm grip on her identity. On the other hand, serious confrontation was not pleasurable to her. She would get no kicks from it but she would not hesitate too much too engage with others if it was necessary. In that sense, she was quite the pragmatic individual. 

"Being a soldier is not for everyone, I should know. Did you know I was part of the military up to... well not so long ago. It's not something that suits everyone. That said, I knew people who were soldiers who didn't enjoy all the fighting and destruction. Not many people really enjoy the actual nitty gritty part of being a soldier." Grinning, she playfully nudged his shoulder. "There's plenty that you can do even if you don't want to fight. If you have the capacity to teach, the capability and the charisma to unify and build foundations for everyone, isn't that enough? Still, if you think that you're doing too little, I can always put you to task..." She poked her tongue out at Aidan before laughing cheerfully. "That all said, you should always strive to improve yourself. Even if you don't enjoy destruction and try to avoid it, sometimes it comes to find you. When that day comes you need to be stronger than what comes your way unless you want to lose something." Her tone was less cheery at the end, after all it was a painful truth that had effected Amelia more than once now and it was a harsh reality that they of the spiritual domain would inevitably have to encounter at some stage of their lives. Even Amelia Vietti before having her powers awoken had to deal with the unexpected and that had cost her, the price immense.

"As for what I bring, it's an eye for organisation, a physical force to act as our blade if necessary as well as a barricade. Soon enough we'll have a better structure to allow for us to act more effectively as a whole. We need to change. The times are changing and the Quincy have long since fallen behind, I can definitely agree with you on that. We need to adapt and rethink our foundations else we'll eventually get swept away with the times. My motives are quite simple. it's true that this path was somewhat forced upon me. I didn't have the luxury of a free choice but I've come to accept that it's not the worst thing in the world as it allows me to protect my wish to keep my friends and family safe."

Amelia sized up Aidan O'Mongan's power. He was weaker than her in regards to raw strength as far as she could tell from the subtle ripples of spiritual pressure emanating from his body but he still was stronger than most the Quincy Amelia knew. Her curiosity was peaked, if they reached secluded  area, she would be interested in exchanging a few rounds with him. Perhaps she could learn something new.

671/1293

Aidan nodded in response to Amelia’s words. “Hopefully you are correct. It would be best if we were assigned duties sooner than later so that the higher ups can organise the efforts of the order more efficiently.” he replied before smiling slightly “And admittedly things would be less confusing if we were assigned some form of orders.”

The two continued to stroll side by side, to any outsider they probably appeared a pair of friends enjoying the pleasant morning while they went out for a leisurely walk. The man took a moment to glance up at the clear sky and was glad for the good weather despite the time of year.

When she spoke again the man turned his gaze to look straight ahead but listened intently to the woman’s words. He glanced at her when she mentioned being a soldier and raised an eyebrow. “No doubt an experience which you’ve found very helpful in your current role and one I’m sure the Order benefits from.” he replied seriously. Aidan might not like fighting much, hell he was basically a pacifist if a conflicted one, but that didn’t mean he didn’t have respect for people who were able to live that lifestyle especially the discipline it took to be a good military man or, in this case, woman.

When she nudged him the man began to grin but it became a grimace as the image of two dead bodies and a demi-hollow flashed into his mind. Turning away from her he kept his mind away from that memory and instead focused on what the other Knight was saying.

“Don’t misunderstand me Amelia.” he said softly “I might not like fighting but I’m going to make sure I’m as able as possible. After all it takes a superior power to stop a conflict without anyone getting hurt.” he paused and sighed “And if it comes to it I’ll do what must be done to protect those who need to be protected.”

His Queen and friend Freyleif, his cousin Fáelán, his student Calendrea and the innocents of Karakura. He would protect them all no matter the cost to himself.

He shuddered slightly at the thought, the unpleasantness of where it could lead causing him to once again distract himself by focusing solely on Amelia’s words.

Aidan smiled faintly again “An admirable goal. A warrior’s goal” he replied “But I understand what you mean by lack of choice. I’m not really sure if any of our race are granted much of if they’re honest with themselves. I was raised in...a traditional setting and I ended up, foolishly, fleeing. I abandoned all that I was but eventually, even after a decade, it would seem I couldn’t run forever.”

The man chuckled although there was little joy in the sound “So I’m playing catch up I guess. Trying to speed up my advancement to make up for the years were I allowed everything Quincy in me to fade away.”

The former O’Mongan Clann heir could feel the woman’s power rolling off her in waves and he knew she was strong, more than that she seemed friendly. Perhaps this was an opportunity for more than just learning about the Order. “I would appreciate any more knowledge about the Order that could you bestow but I wonder if you would humour an additional request? I would appreciate a little practice session with a more experienced Knight of our people.”

He held up his hands and allowed his smile to become ever so slightly wider “Just go easy on the new guy.”

Even with all this effort at friendliness there was an air of coldness to his voice, a stiffness to his gestures, Aidan really wasn’t good at this socialising business.

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WC: 626
Total WC: 1783

Amelia's mind pondered on what Aidan O'Mongan's assessment. A warrior's goal. She thought about those words carefully. The Quincy had never considered herself a warrior before but the term was increasingly more fitting for her. Considering as a normal human she could be given such a title, it was somewhat appropriate that with the role she had taken as a Quincy had really placed her as one of the vanguards of the Quincy and humanity as a whole against the threats of an origin that were not mortal. It made her think more deeply about how she had changed. She had truly gone through a rebirth. She was born a Quincy but was led down the path of an ordinary human living an ordinary life. That changed as her power grew at a snail's pace, slowly but surely leading to her eventual rebirth as a Quincy in body and soul. Her mind remained that of a typical human's until of late when she began to accept the change. Perhaps she had become a warrior, fighting for her beliefs and for that which she held dear.

The request of his caught her by surprise, a pleasant enough one given that it aligned nicely with her own thoughts. "Sure, we can do that. Though I have to say I haven't been formally trained as a Quincy so my approach isn't exactly traditional. It's an experimental combination of memories from other Quincy, experimentation and that what I learnt as a soldier." Smiling in return she acknowledged that gap in strength. Carefully she adjusted her spiritual pressure to match that of Aidan's. "Don't worry, I'll try not to get too carried away!" Looking around, it seemed the pair had travelled quite some distance from any populated areas so provided they were not too rash, it was probably far enough not to disturb others or draw attention. 

"Here's probably a good enough place." With a short curtsy she grinned whilst beckoning with her hand. "I'll let you make the first move then."

337/1630

"How very kind of you." Aidan replied politely with a slight bow both in response to her allowing him the first move as well as agreeing to hold back, in her own way, as she dropped the output of her spiritual power. Aidan nodded as the pressure lessened considerably and with a faint shake of his head he wondered if he'd ever grow to be as strong as this woman.

'Well you're not as pathetic as you used to be.' he told himself although not quite as bitterly as he once might off. Emptying his mind of such distracting thoughts the Quincy locked his eyes on the other.

Holding out his hand he let the silver Celtic Cross hanging from his left wrist hang loose and began to gather Reishi Particles around it, in a few short moments a pillar of blue light had appeared in his hand which shrank and shaped into a longbow. Dhiaga Bogha, the longbow of the O'Mongan Clann. A beautiful weapon which has a golden grip, and an intricate vine-like golden pattern along both limbs.

Deciding to start off simple the Quincy shot off to the left, although not using Hirenkyaku...that was one of his best moves and he'd rather keep it for when his training partner inevitably got the better of him.

'I'm definitely not underestimating this one.'

As he he ran off to one side the Quincy raised his bow and drew back the string on his bow with a single smooth gesture. The Heilig Pfeil that materialised on the weapon was not the usual blue of his destructive arrows but rather a shimmering silver, his special Caidil Teagmháil. These silver arrows could be destructive or simply shatter harmlessly on impact , this is the version Aidan was employing today, but their power lay that no matter what kind of strike they made they would inject a special kind of spiritual power into the target. With the Spiritual Power of this particular opponent he would be lucky if she even got sluggish after a couple of hits but as long as she didn't know the arrow's power then he had a chance.

'A side benefit is that this will let her know, once the session is over, what my powers are. So she can better help me find my proper duties in the order.'

As the man ran he loosed a silver arrow and then another, the Quincy would keep up such a barrage until forced to react to whatever Amelia had in store.

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WC: 422
Total WC: 2205

Amelia's expression took on one of focus.Over time she had been to understand that the power she wielded was a result of her bloodline as opposed to the Mekkayu she wore. There was no explicit requirement for her to use the Mekkayu that had been passed down for over a millennium to draw out the mantle. Instead she felt that the Mekkayu functioned as a focusing tool to allow one to understand and more easily wield what their birth imparted to them. Of course, it was only the case for four Quincy in their history, including Amelia in that number. That said, she could not help but think that the Mekkayu held other secrets that she had yet to learn of, hidden in its depths.

The variable agglomeration of energy formed around her body in an instant creating the mantle. His weapon was a longbow, one of intricate design. It, unlike Amelia's weapon, was clear in its base function. it was a bow so it would fire projectiles. As Aidan darted off to Amelia's right, her eyes followed as did her senses, feeling his movement with her ability to perceive spiritual pressure. As she expected, what he fired off was an arrow from the bow, a shimmering silver coloured arrow before preparing to launch another at her. In response, the mantle's transformed itself into a shield that formed a barrier in front of her, protecting her body from harm. The shield, though translucent in appearance, was an extremely sturdy defence of hers. It bolstered her body's natural resilience as well as acting as a barrier to prevent attacks reaching her altogether. 

On impact, the arrows merely dispersed, her defence more than adequate for the task. However she was still free to act in other manners. From the entirety of the mantle a number of thin, wispy needle shaped bolts of energy shot out in a continuous flurry towards Aidan. As expected, her attack was restrained as it was not the intention of either of the two of them to do any actual harm to one another. Even still, the attack of Amelia's was a rather standard one of hers. It was not an attack that was a lethal finisher and would mostly serve as a hindrance as they were easy to deal with. Despite that, they were not something that anyone would want to be peppered with unless they wanted to become a pincushion.

405/2035

Even as he moved and loosed the Quincy watched Amelia's response with interest. The woman summoned some sort of cloak of smoke-like Reishi which practically swirled around her and seemed to act as a shield which absorbed every single one of his attacks without fail.

'Not surprising, her power obviously far out weighs my own.' he thought to himself with self-depreciating amusement.

The man was considering ways to circumvent the woman's when her counter came. The surface of her shielding spiritual power seemed to almost ripple as a large quantity of slim projectiles came hurtling from the woman's mantle towards the older Quincy.

'Defence and Attack all in one? Some people are just too lucky when it comes to their gifts.'

Aidan's own weapon was a longbow, he could draw and loose arrow by arrow for a stronger and deadlier form of attack. However he could use a second method of attack, it was hardly unique and most Quincy who could summon even the most basic bow - Kojaku. Drawing back on the string he aimed at Amelia and formed another arrow on his string and without actually releasing the string the Quincy loosed a barrage of arrows at Amelia's own attack, each arrow striking a needle and destroying it upon impact.

Aidan let out a sigh of relief as his counter succeeded as he knew that had his opponent used her full power he would have been overwhelmed but luckily she had been honest about matching his own strength.

As soon as he was done neutralising the other's Quincy's offence the man used Hirenkyaku to flicker out of sight and dart straight upwards in the air. As he arced through the sky above Amelia the man aimed down at her with his Longbow and, with the practice of an experienced Archer, he loosed another series of the unique silver arrows down at the woman hoping her shield wasn't all encompassing.

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WC: 320
Total WC: 2525

One of the advantages Amelia had against her opponents was her capability to operate at all ranges. Whilst she was similar to other Quincy, in that she was most effective at a distance, that was simply the most advantageous position to be in if she took only herself into account. Her capability when it came to combat in close quarters was still a cut above the crowd. The fact that her proficiency with mantle had improved exponentially over time, she still maintained the hand to hand skills drilled into her from her days in the military. 

Aidan had shot up into the sky, high above her with his use of Hirenkyaku. It was an impressively smooth transition making Amelia think that his skill in Hirenkyaku currently surpassed her own. It was one of the first skills that Amelia had learnt as a Quincy and had picked up the basics very quickly with the guidance of Soi Fon, her friend from China, originally introduced to her through Weylin von Wolfenstein. She was a master of the art and was more than happy to impart some of her knowledge and experience to Amelia during her stay there. Since then, Amelia had not placed a great emphasis on improving her skill in the movement art form. Seeing it in action gave her more reason to give it a little more of her attention.

He had left her line of sight but thankfully Amelia employed more than her vision to keep tabs on the movements of her opponents. Her golden eyes darted upwards to the now incoming silver barrage, descending swiftly towards her position. If they were the same arrows as before, Amelia would likely be ale to defend against them in the same fashion she had a moment ago, by simply moving her shield to cover above her. That said, it would be more interesting and more productive for both herself and for Aidan if she executed a plethora of her unique abilities as opposed to merely defending.

Amelia's lips curled upwards as she tensed her body and propelled herself upwards into the sky towards both the incoming assault and Aidan. The shield changed once more, turning into the blade form of the mantle. In her firm grip, a sword of that same obsidian hazy like substance emerged. This time she had pushed more of her spiritual energy into it and its appearance seemed more defined than the shield of a moment ago. It gave off small ripples of energy as she fed into its power. Meeting the attack head on, the female Quincy's lithe figure smoothly twisted to cleanly cleave through the first of the projectiles coming her way. Her momentum directed her blade around to cut through the second and the third with motion that was akin to the flowing nature of water. Making use of her own usage of the technique, Amelia's speed suddenly surged as she blitzed between the rest of the incoming fire with Hirenkyaku, striking out at the few arrows she could not avoid with her Blut Arterie enhanced kicks.

Near immediately after she noticed an odd feeling within her feet where she had struck out but she put that thought did not remain in the moment as she had reached Aidan and swept her blade around to cleanly connect with his floating ribs. The edge had been taken out of her strike though so it was as if a blunt force was swiping for him as opposed to an arc that threatened to slice into his body. 

591/2626

Aidan's eyes widened slightly in surprise as Amelia's shield morphed into a sword, spiritual power seemed to emanate from the weapon even at this distance. She leapt up after him, by his estimate moving slower than he could, however what drew his attention was her form of defence. Through a mixture of deft sword swings, agile dodges and powerful kicks the woman defended herself completely. Although the kicking did mean that hopefully his arrows would start to take effect.

'But why would she not just use the shie-ahh...she'd showing off the variety of her abilities.' he realised as the woman came into range with her sword.

'Well then I'd best not disappoint her.' he thought to himself.

As the blade struck his ribs the man's form shimmered for a moment before dissipating. Nachbild albeit a sloppy one that swiftly began to blur before vanishing from her sword swing. Oddly enough however Amelia would have felt the flat of her weapon connect before the after image vanished.

On the ground below Aidan struck down hard and came up in a roll as his Hirenkyaku accelerated him swiftly to the ground. Coming to his feet he grimaced at the pain in his sides, his evasion had been a moment to slow and his after-image technique imperfect meaning the woman's connect had still connected although not as completely as it otherwise might have done.

However the man had already planned his next attack, he had gathered a substantial amount of Reishi which appeared to glow along his right arm up to, and beyond, his shoulder. In truth he wouldn't have been able to gather enough spirit particles so quickly for a real attack however he didn't plan to use a full strength assault. He focused on the woman above him as he drew back his bow.

"Licht Regen." he said clearly as he loosed the volley of a vast quantity of arrows up at the woman. Each Heilig Pfeil in this particular attack was less a true destructive arrow but more akin to a series of unpleasant pricks with even this huge amount of spirit arrows lacking enough power to leave anything more than bruises and scratches against the target.

Licht Regen was a particular favourite technique of the Irishman's as it allowed him to use his bow to it's full potential as a long range weapon as such he could perform it with reasonable accuracy.

Aidan still had little doubt that Amelia would crush him in a real fight but the woman was holding back for his benefit, to make this less a battle of power and more a training exercise that both could benefit from. More than that he wanted to show her his skills to the fullest of his ability, while it was true that all Knights of the Order were equal in practice Aidan would happily follow the directions of his more experienced brethren.

'But she'll only know how to use me, or even if I'm worth working with, if I show her my ability." 


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WC: 507
Total WC: 3032

The feeling of her strike connecting was a fleeting one before her swing swiped through the air, through the shadow of Aidan's. He was certainly quick, she gave him that. Her gaze trailed downwards to where he had swiftly fled to with a smile on her face. He was capable and could give her a run for her money. The difference was that Amelia could shift up a number more gears if necessary and then it would be a true test to she if he could keep up in that regard. 

Lightly, she shook her leg. It felt like a subtle numbness was trying to creep up from her foot into her leg. With that in mind she cast her mind back to the earlier shots, the silver arrows. It made sense that there was something unusual about them. Perhaps it was then that something was imbued in her from kicking the arrows flying her way. 

'Hm... Interesting.'

For now she would disregard it as she was curious to see just what the effects would do to her before she would go about actively trying to dispel it. For now, her attention moved back to Aidan who was building up a large amount of spiritual energy as he drew a significant amount of particles to himself before a sky blotting barrage was launched her way. Licht Regen, a technique of the Quincy of which Amelia was privy to. She was familiar with the workings of the technique so she was aware of what it could do. Right now though, it provided her an opportunity to test just how resilient she was.

She pulled up her sleeves.

Her mantle morphed once again and the sword became a pair of black wings, flaring with a concentrated energy on her back. This time, it looked more like opaque flames burning on her without the associated heat. Amelia's lips curled as she shot down at a speed surpassing what she had shown before. Her natural speed was enhanced by the particular form of the mantle both granting her flight and a surge in agility and raw speed. She combined that with an instance of Hirenkyaku to make a beeline for Aidan once again though this time things were a little different. There was no form of evasion or any attempt to strike down the huge number of holy arrows flying her way. Instead she braced herself and allowed spiritual particles to rush through her veins unceasingly. Amelia had chosen to make use of Aidan's attack to test the limits of her current ability to make use of Blut Vene. Her skin gave of a faint blue glow just before her body flew through the centre of the hail of arrows, her crossed arms shielding her face.

Arrow after arrow, a seemingly endless number struck Amelia as she flashed through the sea of blue. Her body took relatively few hits as she took a direct approach, her arms instead taking the brunt of the assault. Bruises began to rapidly appear beneath the skin, a few flecks of blood flying  back from superficial scratched to her arms, a couple on her cheeks. Pain ran through her arms and they felt far heavier than they did a moment ago but all in all she was able to resist the storm.

The speed of her landing in front of Aidan fractured the ground though it did not cause her to hesitate. Her fist flew out to his midsection even though he was a metre out of her reach but it did not matter as her mantle followed suit, a giant fist approximately the size of her upper body soared out to cover the distance that her arm lacked. 

620/3247

The sight of the air above him filling with radiance as innumerable arrows arced upwards and towards the enemy filled Aidan with an emotion not unlike pride. These were the powers that mankind had evolved to create the subrace of the Quincy, the peoples destined to defend humanity from the unseen predators of man...the Hollow.

Even as that storm of Heilig Pfeil tore towards their target he could sense the power of Amelia respond pulsing with confident surety beyond that lit up sky. He had expected her to use some offensive technique of equal power to cancel out the assault or, perhaps, try to dodge the attack. What Aidan had certainly not been expecting was for dive straight into it seemingly without harm, even taking into account the weakened power of the barrage that was no little thing.

'Expert use of Blut Vene probably along with that weird cloak of hers.' he thought to himself.

The woman, skin aglow with blue veins, came crashing down towards Earth with dark flaming wings unfurled behind her, enhancing her speed with Hirenkyaku to fall not far from him. Where it not for the special power of his bow, the power that Aidan now drew upon, he might have panicked at the awesome sight despite this only being a training matching.

'That spirit weapon of hers is quite amazing.' this ran calmly through his mind and thanks to Caidil Teagmháil all emotion had been killed except a pure admiration for the woman's skills.

Aidan briefly considered loosing an extremely powerful shot at the woman before she made ground fall, fairly certain he could hit her even at that speed, however the man was more interested in trying another tactic.

Letting his bow dissipate in a flash of blue light leaving only some steam rising off the cross hanging from his wrist he would shove his hands into his jacket pocket. His hands came out holding a number of small silver tubes which quietly swashed as the liquids within the container were jostled around by the contents.

Throwing two tubes into the air between himself and Amelia the man brought his hands together as if in prayer.

"Zeigen Sie Mann seine Übertretungen, und weisen Sie das verdammte zurück - Spiegal-Spierre!" he incanted causing the tubes to explode, the pale blue liquid exploded from the tube to swirl momentarily in the air before forming a silvered mirror between Aidan and his opponent.

A few seconds later Amelia's spirit weapon reformed to lash out towards the Quincy, it was slowed down for a moment by the barrier before shattering it completely.

Aidan crossed his arms in defence, blue veins glowing along his limbs and a split second later Reishi swirled around his forearms to create a set of ethereal vambraces. Aidan was not a robust man...not much more so than a normal human really but the quick use of Blut Vene along with the swift manipulation of Reishi saved his arms from being shattered. Thankfully not only had his defenses been improved but Amelia's attack had also had a portion of  it's offensive power robbed by the Kirchengebet barrier spell.

The man tumbled back, sliding roughly along the ground, before rolling back onto his feet but the Irish Quincy made no further moves to attack although he pulled Reishi from the air just in case.

"That weapon of yours is more...versatile than I'm used to seeing." he noted in a polite tone.

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WC: 579
Total WC: 3611

Her formed fist firmly struck and broke through the defenses of Aidan's. The resistance that it provided was simply inadequate to halt her strike, only slowing for a moment as it shattered through the first layer of defense and heavily landed on the second, a pair of vambraces on his Blut Vene enriched arms. The force of the strike was lessened because of the barrier that it had to break through initially but it was enough to send him skidding back several metres before grinding to a halt, gracefully regaining his posture from the rather ungraceful lead up to it.

Amelia smirked, a slight smug look on her face. Her competitive nature had been drawn out and she had been enjoying herself in their brief exchange. Alas, that was exactly what it was, a brief exchange. It was neither the time nor the place for anything beyond that. Despite that, Amelia felt like she had learnt something from the different skills she employed as well as Aidan's general capabilities so all in all, it had been a worthwhile short bout. 

"The possibilities are pretty much infinite but those at the main combative forms that it is most suited to take."

Nodding approvingly she continued. "Your arrows have a tranquillising effect don't they? I can feel it, it's trying to put my leg to sleep and left alone, I'd imagine that'd spread. It's an interesting ability, very useful. Countless practical uses for that. Your skill in Hirenkyaku exceeds my own too. I'm afraid that I've neglected my practice in that area for some time now. Next time we meet be sure to know that I'll be faster."

'He would be good to bring along for any instances where I'm forced to subdue any Quincy, people or enemies we don't want to harm...' 

Amelia glanced down at her fists before they retracted back into the mantle, resembling more of a scarf in that moment.

"It is versatile. It can make me faster, stronger or more durable. Still though..."

Her body began to release a growing, bright azure aurora, a visible manifestation of her steadily undulating spiritual pressure. The oppressive feeling her spiritual pressure was coupled pressed down with increasing force as it multiplied in intensity, small tremors pulsing through the ground on which they stood. The mantle once again began to morph into another form, this time the signature weapon of their race, a pitch coloured longbow in her grasp that seemed both solid and fluid in nature. Spiritual energy resembling black embers flickered around the bow as it agglomerated together from her own power as well as the ambient spiritual particles into a long, lethal bolt of destructive zeal.The earth at her feet fractured, unable to bear the strain of the female Quincy's exertion of potent spiritual pressure.

"...the most powerful form is that of the bow."

With that she released the arrow and the bow, dispersing like smoke in a gentle zephyr, grinning cheerfully at Aidan. 

"I'm sure you'll be a great asset to us all. Let's look out for each other, okay?"

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