Sword and Snow

Emery

Emery and Avuri left the Basin's protection side by side at full speed, with their connection blazing between them. They had used it in training fights before at its full power, but never in a real fight, though neither were sure that whatever this disaster was going to be would qualify either.

Their thoughts bounced between them as soon as they thought of them, with little true separation between their minds except for the few moments when they wanted there to be. It was strange and overwhelming, but something they had worked to grow used to because during moments of action like this, the ability to communicate without actually needing to communicate was about as useful as anything could be.

What're the plans when we reach them? I'm not against scaring them off, I think that's a solid enough plan, honestly. If there's a genuinely high Realm Cultivator there, I'm not sure we can let them escape. That's fine. If they're truly set up on the side of the Peak, they put themselves in danger presumably knowing the risks. And they deserve what's coming to them.

We need to make sure we don't kill any Earth Realms. Or, really, just avoid killing altogether if we can. Even the higher Realm Cultivators - if we can avoid killing them outright, it'll send a stronger message. Maybe that really is the way to go. We tear their little camp apart, scatter them all to the winds and send a message.

A warning.

That seemed to settle things well enough for both of them. As long as nothing prompted them, they would kill no one. And they were glad to have settled on a shared plan so quickly, because at their speed, the camp that they had been looking for was found by their fully extended Domain quickly. With a thought, they closed their eyes together, utilizing Avuri's First Snow technique to get a quick visual on the camp from above.

It was piecemeal, as expected. Nothing more than a scout's or spy's camp, made of makeshift tents and little else. It was no war camp or field camp for an army. But, they allowed, it was also the type of camp that a few outrider Cultivators might set up.

And among the people in the camp, they felt a singular Domain react to theirs. It was pitifully weak in comparison, shuddering under the slightest bit of pressure and yielding with little protest. They could both feel when the single Sky Realm in the camp fell to their knees in their tent, completely overwhelmed.

They left the vision of First Snow as their bodies approached the camp. With a quick flash of shimmering Qi, Emery and Avuri left their human appearances behind, gaining their scales, horns, wings, and tail. When they finally alighted on the camp, they were both aiming to leave an unmistakable impression.

They chose two large trees from the edge of the camp that looked sturdy. The trees had grown quite large, thanks to the rampant wood Qi on the Verdant Peak, which suited their purpose perfectly. She sheared through both of them in an instant, leaving a cleanly cut platform for each of them to stand on to look over the camp and the stunned onlookers within, who had felt and heard their arrival as the tops of the trees slammed into the ground.

Emery stood tall on one of the trunks, fully clad in her scaled form. The dark red glow of lava emanated from just underneath her scales, making her glow slightly, even in the fading sun. She kept her tail cinched around her waist, and had the tip of it wrapped around a sword that looked like it hung at her waist. Around her, a variety of weapons were floating in the air, held aloft with her Qi. She hadn't limited the weapons to just swords, either; spears, axes, and bludgeons were just as common among them as they slowly rotated around her in a lazy orbit.

Avuri's landing on her tree trunk had frozen a large section of it with solid ice. Her draconic features were as stunningly beautiful as ever with her blue-tinged but brilliant white wings folded nicely behind her, framing her entire appearance. Her very existence seemed to chill the air around her, leaving flurries of snow spontaneously forming in the air around her, only to drift down to the ground.

They paused there, overlooking the camp, for a long few moments. No one moved, merely staring at them in some combination of awe and fear, not quite sure what to make of them yet.

All except for the Sky Realm Cultivator in their midst, who had been feeling the overbearing pressure of their Domain since they had gotten in range. The man burst from his tent, stumbling, and screamed incoherently as he tried to run away from them.

That seemed to break the hold they held over the people in the camp, as they all seemed to realize that whatever the two draconic visitors were there for, it couldn't be good. More than half of them stood their ground against the sudden intruders, but several of them turned to run, following who was almost certainly the most capable fighter in the camp.

Emery scanned the camp for any identifiable markings to show who the group was. She didn't expect anything to link them to Bouquet - even the worst scouts and spies would hopefully be smarter than that. If anything, she and Avuri agreed that the camp's reaction to their appearance was enough of a reason to act, especially given they didn't plan on killing anyone. If there was any sort of ledger or correspondence in the camp, they could find that after everyone there was taking a nap.

Emery leapt from her perch without warning. She landed in the middle of the camp, her weapons still swirling around her. Knowing full well that leaving an impression and threat was more important than being efficient in this situation, she chose to direct her weapons around with her hands.

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She flicked her left hand to the side, sending a spear hurtling at one of the enemies running away. At the last moment, she twisted her wrist, sending the spear spinning so it would catch the man in the back of his knees with the haft of the weapon. He collapsed while the spear continued to spin off into the trees beyond the camp. Her right hand directed a massive two-handed spiked cudgel around to slam into someone's back. She pulled back on the speed just before impact, making sure not to shatter the opponent's back, but instead just drove them to the ground.

Both of those attacks were followed with a chui to pummel them into unconsciousness. They would be in pain and sore whenever they eventually woke, but they would be alive. Once the 'fight' was over, they could even perform some minor healing to be sure to catch any internal bleeding if they had to.

Emery felt like she was dancing with just her arms as she directed her weapons around the battlefield, sweeping legs, knocking people off their feet, and knocking them out cold the best she could. For safety, she held her sharpest weapons in reserve, trying to avoid any accidental grievous wounds.

Avuri, meanwhile, gracefully moved through the camp like a fairy. She slipped around Emery's flying weaponry with ease, knowing exactly where they were at all times, and where each was headed. Which also meant she knew exactly which targets were left for her.

It was rare that Avuri didn't simply use her ice Qi techniques to incapacitate her enemies, but while she could have likely ended this entire 'battle' in a single move, they wanted to scare their opponents. So, instead, as she maneuvered around the field, she pulled from Emery's hand-to-hand combat experiences to grapple, throw, disarm, and disable anyone she passed.

With the clear difference in abilities, Avuri was more of a physical menace than she had ever been. Opponents were thrown over her shoulders in a heap, only to be frozen to the ground by their clothing. Her graceful, dance-like movements combined with her flowing clothing made her difficult to read for the outclassed enemies, with trips they could anticipate and punches, kicks, and grapples that they couldn't track.

The decimation of the camp lasted less than a few minutes. They had arrived just before the sun dipped below the horizon, and had finished before the dark had settled. The floating weaponry had dismantled all of the tents, blunt weapons breaking supports while sharp ones cut through the cloth. Unconscious bodies laid everywhere in various states of bloodied, bruised, and disabled.

Not a single enemy had managed to throw any sort of noteworthy attack, and the lack of resistance made it easy to hold true to their idea to avoid death. As they stood amidst the chaos they caused, Emery pulled a small flickering bit of flame from her Qi to light up the camp. She even waved a few of the embers from their campfire to leap onto some of the tents, quickening the blaze.

They had sensed the Sky Realm Cultivator returning. Once he had left the immediate vicinity of the camp, they had pulled their Domain back enough to stop putting pressure on him. Apparently, he had had enough mental fortitude to try to return, even if it wasn't to fight.

Emery and Avuri would take full advantage of the gift.

Together, they reached out with their Domain toward the fire in the camp, pushing it higher. They wanted it to be a solid blaze, and quickly. But they also made an effort to keep it contained, not allowing the fire to spread to the trees and bushes that surrounded the camp, or to the unconscious bodies within it. Avuri's talent with water and ice Qi helped on that front.

They both wrapped themselves in fire Qi to protect their bodies against the heat as it grew, all while waiting for the enemy Sky Realm to break back into the clearing.

They felt slightly ridiculous, putting on such a dramatic, archetypical performance, but such things were stereotypes for a reason. And they wanted to make sure that their warning was received. And remembered.

Avuri took it upon herself to slowly walk out of the conflagration they had caused. She had timed it so the enemy Cultivator would see her silhouette in the flames when he first entered the clearing. She ever so slowly emerged from the burning wreckage, her arms spread a bit wide, hands turned up toward the dusk sky. Despite wearing loose, flowing clothing and her long white hair, nothing on her was so much as singed by the fire.

She even put a little Qi into her body to enhance the cold that emanated from her to create a glowing, shimmering effect around her that looked divine and otherworldly as she strode through the fire untouched by it.

The sight had stopped the Sky Realm in his tracks. Emery couldn't fault him from staring, really. Avuri was stunningly beautiful, even when she was trying to be terrifying.

As Avuri neared the edge of the flames, Emery jumped from the center of the burning camp, landing just a few steps away from the enemy with a dull thump. She put extra Qi into her draconic features as well, making sure that he could see the roiling lava underneath her scales, the heat mirage slowly rising from her horns, and her glowing, smoldering draconic slit eyes.

Lazily, she drew her weapons to her. She diverted them across a variety of paths to make it look like she was collecting them from every direction. And once they were hovering behind her, she dismissed them with a quick gesture, allowing them to puff away into so much smoke, blending in with the fire.

"Consider this a warning." She growled, finding the deeper, raspy voice easy to use in her draconic form. "This place is protected. Watch your step."

With a quick burst of Qi, she created a sharp, double-edged sword directly above her head that flung itself directly into the ground at the Sky Realm's feet. The blade touched the edge of his shoes, but didn't quite cut into them.

Then she took the singular gamble of the show, truly hoping that they were, indeed, sent by Bouquet.

"Tell your…employer that if they want a fight, they'll have a fight. But stop skulking in the shadows. It's unbefitting of Cultivators."

Emery took a single step toward the man. He stumbled back, lost his footing, and fell backward, only to spin around and scramble away on all fours into the forest of the Verdant Peak.

They watched him go through their Domain, waiting until he left its reach. Twice they pushed it a bit further, just to be sure he didn't double back. But at no point did his run so much as slow down.

Once they were sure he was gone, they turned back toward the camp, which had mostly burned to cinders. Emery slowly closed the window of their bond, untangling herself from Avuri as her wife did the same.

Avuri reached out to quench the flames with raw cold, flash freezing much of the camp.

"Alright, let's make sure they're all alive." She said, eyeing the unconscious forms laying around the camp that they had meticulously kept the fire away from.

Emery nodded. "Yeah. There's three people in particular that I think I hit really hard."

She couldn't see it, but Emery could feel Avuri's eye roll at her. "Alright, show me where."