The Orphanage (Lehanna)

Lehanna did not wait a second to begin dredging on ahead of Elara and her summons. She was trying to remain as calm as she could, but at the same time she felt as though she had hit such a height of anger that it turned into a feeling of calm rage. The need to want to kill something just to relax her was the biggest indication that she felt this way, however there was no way she was willing to stop either. She was forced to hurt someone who she felt close to in this orphanage and now there was no stopping her until she confronted the source of this act of derangement and sick experimentation. It didn't matter to her at this point if Elara or her summons came with her or split up to try and cover more ground, but she couldn't help but overhear them as they talked prior to the musically inclined spirit to leave them. It didn't even occur to her that Taurus had tried to join up with her, more so that she just tried to shake the spirit.

As the summoner did catch up to the two, she had quickly agreed to that anything inhuman had the ok to be ended without so much as a second thought. A point of clarity seemed to snap through her mind that came from Elara's mouth and she stopped for a brief second. She was right. If this was in any way reversible, she had to find out and see it done. Her head turned to the punk teen and she shot her a quick glare over the tantrum comment. With a quick scoff, she began to walk ahead for several steps before they came across a split in the hallway. Three more corridors had now begun to split away from the original path and something seemed off about it to the slayer.

This hall was never there before... or at least this direction never seemed to be a thing in her mind. If she could recall the place enough, the hall never had a third hall here. If anything, it was always straight and to the left. They should be up against a wall on their right, but did some kind of illusion make them think there was a third option? No matter, she knew where to go and that's all she cared about. "I think we should split up to cover more ground. You go left and I'll continue straight ahead. If we don't find anything, we can rejoin here and devise a new plan to go on." Her tone was more "set in stone" and non-negotiable as she quickly began to move ahead straight, not even waiting for so much so as a word from Elara before she headed off. She was headed for the directors office and knew at best the only thing Elara's direction would lead her to was the playground out back. But who knew where anything was anymore...

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14000/14000 reached for S-rank FF
376 leftover words

The summoner sighed and shook her head as she watched Lehanna sprint off. She wasn’t all that sure if it was wise for them to split up but Elara knew that trying to use reason was probably a hopeless cause at this point. The slayer was overcome by her emotions and the black haired teenager knew that trying to offer a different plan was just going to cause more problems. Deep down, she was concerned for her job partner and everything just seemed to be building and building. Lehanna had already had one meltdown and the girl shuddered to think what might happen if the brunette had another one, especially if it was in the middle of combat. Elara truthfully didn’t know what Lehanna was capable of, having seen so little of her magic and it worried her. If her partner lost her temper again, it could mean the death of all of the children that had been corrupted, a thought that bothered her greatly. She might have been training to be a dark mage but that didn’t mean that Elara was a complete maniac. Corrupting children was wrong and she wouldn’t hear another word on the subject.

“Please Lehanna.” She uttered to herself once the brunette was gone. “Don’t do something you’ll come to regret.”

With that, she and Taurus would set off down the left hand passage towards who knew what. If the children were simply a vanguard then it was only logical to assume that there would be far more threatening creatures lurking among the halls. With that thought in mind, Elara would summon a pair of celestial wings from her back which allowed her to take flight and hopefully protect her a little better. She was well aware of the fact that she was physically fragile and the summoner had no desire to get beaten up by whatever was skulking through the halls. The axe wielding spirit easily kept up with her and the two were fully prepared to take on whatever was going to stand in their way.

However, as the two reached the end of what seemed to be an endless corridor and came out into what seemed to be a playground, both spirit and summoner raised their eyebrows.

Standing before them was a bizarre creature, a mass of magical energy that didn’t have any real shape. It didn’t look like any beast that Elara had seen before and as Taurus charged forward and swung for it, the bull’s axe went straight through, dealing no damage at all. Startled, the zodiac spirit would roar with anger and try a second time, her mighty cleave powerful enough to cause the earth to shake. Yet, still the axe went through, leaving Taurus completely bemused. The being would then try to counter attack, flying towards the spirit and trying to consume it but Taurus was swift and managed to evade although as she tried to catch the being with a counter of her own, nothing happened once again. It truly did seem impenetrable to the bull’s attacks.

“What is this thing?” Taurus snorted, putting herself in the way of Elara, defending the teenager from harm.

“Looks like your normal attacks aren’t going to work regardless of what it is.” The summoner responded calmly. “Maybe another spirit will work?”

“Perhaps Malzahar?” The spirit replied. “She is a being of the void.” As she spoke, the zodiac would start to shine with light which caused her eyes to widen. “Damn. My time’s up. Of all the possible times…”

With that, the zodiac spirit disappeared, leaving Elara alone against the twisted being. The creature suddenly formed a mouth and laughed at the teenager, seemingly aware of the situation. Moving quickly, it would launch an attack at the girl, trying to envelop her. All the teenager could do was try and fly higher, so that she could get the space she needed to summon her next spirit.

(657 Words)
(1033 TWC)

Step after step rung through the staircase as she moved upstairs. The mini enclosed area had cobwebs and small critters scattered about, even so much so as a tiny spider made its web on one of the steps. As she stepped further up the feeling of anger and hate welled up inside of her. She hated this place so much. It felt like another rehoming back to this place all over again, so much so that she could feel herself nearly moving towards the room they practically made for her. It felt like such a slap in the face despite them telling her that this was meant to show that she was always welcome here. As much a home as an orphanage could be at least. No, it was humiliating and defeating to think that in the back of her mind nobody would ever want her. That she was just being reassured every time they brought her back that they were right. She was doomed to never be a part of a family.

It was that soul crushing thought that snapped her suddenly from her thoughts and her flashbacks. When she had, she found herself having gone the wrong way. Instead of moving up the steps again to the office, she discovered she had auto pathed herself in font of the door that held her name. Bold, black letters in a girly font of sorts engraved into the door. The churning of emotions in her head was driving her insane, her fist balled up so tightly she had begun to drip blood from the nails digging into her skin. Once her eyes managed to pull away from the door, she noticed the blood, lifting the hand up and looking at it. Why was she letting this get to her so quickly and this much? She knew how this was supposed to be, she was prepared... and yet, when push came to shove, she had no real control over herself. Maybe some of the things she was teased about over the years were right. Especially that dreaded nickname.

Her hand reached for the door and found it to be unlocked. Not only that, the door was slightly ajar after all and it creaked open slightly. A smell hit her nose, whiffing of magic and... death. Pushing the door open more, a woman sat on the bed, staring out at the doorway. Long, ebony black hair cascaded down her back and a small section gently being twirled around her finger. She wore an equally black strapless dress that seemed to show a strange symbol above the split between her breasts. "Well if it isn't 'Lonely Lehanna'. Did someone abandon you again, sweety?~" Her tone sounded both motherly and mocking at the same time, which only left the teen to glare silently. "Oh? Not in the mood to talk, are we? That's ok little one, come to me and let momma come make you feel better~" She patted the bed she sat on, wanting the slayer to join her.

The grip on her sword tightened and with it, flames grew from the blade and illuminated the room. Without saying a word or making a sound, she had raised the sword and took it with her bloodied hand as well. The woman only smirked, looking into the eyes of the orphaned girl before they flashed red for a moment. With a gasp, her head began to become filled with visions of the most gruesome death. Her eyes widened and she became fixated on the visions running rampant in her mind until she felt something suddenly grip tightly around her body. Trying to shake her mind of these thoughts of death. The tight grip constricting her made her scream in pain, flashing her mind to the idea of being crushed to death by the hand.

In the midst of it all, she was thrown suddenly through walls and ground and crashing through the outer wall until she hit the ground of the playground, slamming through different constructs including a jungle gym. As the dirt around it cleared, the metal bars and rusted equipment tore into pieces. Pushing rusted bars off of her body and brushing dust off, the teen began to sit up when she felt a shooting pain through her leg. Looking down, a metal bar broke off and pierced through her leg. "Sh-Shit! That's not good..."

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It was tough for her to keep her composure as she desperately tried to avoid the dark creature and Elara began to panic. Never had she found herself without her spirits since she’d left home and for it to happen in the middle of battle only caused her to become more worried. The dark monster was quick and the summoner was unused to using her wings to flee. Normally, she’d just use them to watch the action rather than to actually escape her foes and her inexperience was catching up with her now. The monster seemingly could feel that and became more and more confident as it chased her, getting closer and closer to her. In desperation, she would close her eyes and cause her magical power to surround her and in a moment, she’d suddenly disappear and then reappear nearby, teleporting in a flash. It gave her the distance she needed and without any further thought, she’d grasp the key she needed and shouted. “Malzahar! I summon you!”

With a burst of light, a cloaked figure would appear beside the girl, her features hidden almost completely by a Desertian like attire. Eyes blazing with a purple light, Malzahar would step in front of her summoner and speak, her accent heavily accented. “I see why you summoned me, Elara. A creature like this is something that not one of the others could deal with. It is a being of the void and one that can only be defeated by another of its kind. Step back now and I shall defeat this abomination.” With a dark chuckle, Malzahar would form a ball of purple coloured energy and launch it towards the entity, hitting it with such force that it was knocked to the ground. The masked spirit was one of her strongest and although Elara didn’t summon her often, the two had formed a fairly close bond with one another. The creature wasn’t beaten though and got up again but Malazhar was prepared, unleashing a powerful blast of energy from her eyes that paralysed the figure and forced it to remain still. It began to pulsate and grow in size, before exploding in a powerful blast of energy, well and truly defeated.

“Nice job, Malz.” Elara replied, pleased with her summons work.

“It’s not a problem. May I stick around for a bit? It has been some time since you last summoned me.” The spirit replied, turning her gaze towards her summoner.

“By all means, I have a feeling that we’re going to have a lot more fighting…”

Elara was cut off as Lehanna suddenly came flying through one of the orphanage walls and sent clattering into the old, rusted playground attractions that littered the place. It was a nasty collision and without any hesitation, she’d quickly pull out yet another key and shout. “Nami! I summon you!” It was an instant decision and later on, she’d think back on just why she’d been so quick to summon her healer. She knew that Lehanna was tough but still her hand had gone instantly to Nami’s key by reflex.

Another burst of light and a merwoman would appear, wielding a staff and elegantly flicking her tail in the air. “Hello there, Elara. You called me?”

“Take a look at her would you?” She said softly, nodding her head down towards where Lehanna was laying. “She took a nasty blow there.”

Without another word, the mermaid would turn and descend down towards Lehanna, her keen eyes instantly drawn towards the piece of metal that had pierced through the girl’s leg. A slight frown crossed the spirits face as she surveyed it, before her gaze turned to Lehanna. “It’s going to have to come out before I can heal the wound. I’m not going to lie to you, it’s going to hurt.”

“I’ll pull it out.” Elara suddenly offered, appearing beside her spirit, her voice containing just a hint of worry as she placed her hands around the metal. “You ready?” She then asked the brunette, prepared to pull when needed.

(677 Words)
(2446 TWC)

She had laid amongst the rubble for a moment, trying to think of what she was going to do to get this metal rod out of her leg, but it seemed to be harder than she thought. Her body was wracked with the pain from the impact of the slam and more so being thrown in such a manner. Each time she moved, a sharp pain shot through her body and simply set her back down to the starting gate in terms of getting back into the fight. One eye winced shut from the pain, her other barely able to clearly see the woman standing at the hole made in the wall of the orphanage, staring down at the pair with a cocky smirk on her face. As if she had already won, that smug look on her face only drove the brunette into an anger filled rage that could light any extinguished flame.

She turned her head to see Elara and some mermaid looking creature had quickly ran over to her. Giving a light shake of her head, she had looked up to the mermaid whom warned her of how the removal of the bar would hurt. "No shit, sherlock..." She said, agitated from the pain. The fire slayer forced herself to try and sit up, her eyes settled onto Elara's hand placed on the pipe. "Take it off. I'm not pulling it out." She had no tone for anything but a barked order, but after the other teen would take her hand away, the pipe would glow a bright color. Taking her hand on either side, she shook from the pain coursing through her leg and body before she pulled the pipe through either side of her injury. Tossing them aside, she would fall back, huffing as the stinging pain hoped to be ceased with whatever healing would come from this.

"That pipe... I was not risking... metal poisoning and death. The wound is c-cauterized too." She tried to speak through her pain, the shaky tone showing just how much pain she felt from it. Meanwhile, the woman watched in silence, her eyes glaring happily at the event that had unfolded. "My oh my. Such a lovely scene~ It's nice to see your little phase hasn't changed you all that much, you lonely little thing~" She mocked. Her body slowly descending from the higher floor down to the dirt coated playground while still watching the two girls and the summon. "I just wonder how long it'll be before you get returned by that little guild you belong to." A light chuckle came as she pointed to her own wrist, the same one that showed her guild symbol.

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Nami wasted no time and began to spin her staff, resulting in a current of water to burst from it and travel towards Lehanna’s injury, before starting to gently surround it and with any luck, both soothing and repairing the damage. The mermaid didn’t utter a word in reply to the brunette’s attitude and simply focused on her work, having experienced enough already with Elara in the time since they had met. Young people were always so sure of themselves and simply refused to believe anything other than their own opinions. She took it in stride though and would admit that being the black haired girl’s spirit wasn’t too bad a gig. She’d had worse masters in her time and Elara at least treated her well, even if she was a little cold on occasion. “Your leg should be better in no time but you’re going to need to give my spell a little time to work properly. Save the heroics for a few minutes and rest.” Her tone was a little smug and the flick of her tail was another sign of that.

Elara turned towards the new speaker, leaving Nami to it. Standing above them momentarily, before descending to the floor. It was obvious that this woman and Lehanna had some prior history and the summoner could sense the magical power of this witch. She was definitely strong and the green eyes of the teenager narrowed slightly. Truthfully, she didn’t know what she was up against here but with Lehanna down, it was up to her and her spirits. For the most part, it seemed that the woman was ignoring her and focusing entirely on the fire slayer. Perhaps that would give her an advantage?

She would reach out telekinetically and contact Malzahar, who was moving towards her. “Don’t wait for my order. Just bury her where she stands. She’s obviously tough but we’re strong enough to beat her. Send her to Hell like you did her monster just now.” The spirit smiled under her robes, her face well hidden by it as she turned her purple gaze to the witch, before creating a sphere of void energy and hurling it towards the evil being.

Unfortunately, the witch simply caught the sphere and laughed, before hurling the sphere straight back at the spirit, resulting in Malzahar being launched backwards and slamming up against one of the rusting pieces of equipment. With a cackle, she would then cast a spell of her own, causing a portal to appear behind the spirit and a skeletal hand to emerge and grasp Elara’s summon. The bone creature would then throw Malzahar directly at the teenager, which the girl was unfortunately not quick enough to dodge. With a screech, her spirit would slam into Elara and launch her up against the playground fence, before falling in a heap.

“I’m sorry I was so weak.” Malzahar quietly said, before turning to dust and disappearing back to her realm.

Unable to aid her mistress due to her healing Lehanna, all Nami could do was watch, putting as much effort into healing the slayer faster.

(519 Words)
(3419 TWC)

Her head laid back against the rubble hearing the medical advice from the mermaid summon. She truly wanted to jump back in, but she had to be patient. It pained her more to practice patience in a time like this than to jump back into the fray as she had planned, but the logical point in her brain had told her that she was better off listening. If she weren't and it became a more serious injury, she could face long term consequences and frankly she just didn't want to hear anyone scold or worry over her and her rash choices. "Fine... whatever." She replied, rolling her eyes and trying to leave Elara to the fighting for the meantime. But the moment gave her a chance to think about what she could do to get around this woman and her over protective summon.

With her mind taken away from the fight for what only seemed to be a brief second, a loud scream made her look up and towards the woman first. The same skeletal hand hand had been summoned and immediately Lehanna turned around the other way to see Elara and her summon upon a bit of broken and bent fencing. The sight of watching the summon vanish into dust as it seemed to have been defeated and returned made the teenager snap. That look of shock on her face quickly seemed to change her expression into one of no emotion at all. Against medical advice, the brunette began to stand up from where she originally had been laying and as soon as her hand was removed from the rusted rubble, the color of the metal was a bright orange. Soon, it had begun to drip in a liquid metal... A sight that only Nami could see currently.

"Go tend to her... now." She ordered, grabbing up her sword dragging the blade along the ground for a moment. "Are you giving up already?~ Going to return to your room to think about who you've hurt with that little attitude of yours? It may be hard with your room turned into rubble, but if you just come with me, little one, then I'll make you feel much better." As soon as those words left her mouth, a black shot of fire seemed to fire right passed her head. Only a few loose hairs singed from the heat, the look of surprise had caught her off guard. "Shut up..." She whispered, lifting the blade of the sword from the ground and as fire pooled beneath her feet, she used it to propel herself forward like a rocket, sword at the ready to swing.

As she anticipated, the hand had been summoned forth to protect her and that's when she knew she had it right down to the marker. Normal colored fire engulfed the blade and even slightly extended past the tip of the blade's length. As she swung the blade, it cut through the hand like butter, quickly dismissing the otherworldly object and the same fire struck the woman. She had missed any vital points sadly, however the entire left side of her abdomen was bare of clothing now and her skin was severely burned. The woman screamed in sheer agony from the burn, but that was hardly the end of what Lehanna wanted to do to her. For hurting Elara, for taunting her of the past, for reliving the nightmares of Prada... She was going to do whatever she felt would bring her a sense of justice no matter what the consequences had been.

The woman stumbled back a bit and as Lehanna had turned towards her, there was a different look in her eyes. From what Elara would be able to see of it, it harbored so much anger that even the air around her was beginning to burn up the ground, walls, and dirt. It was akin to a hypnotic trance type of look. Truly she'd snapped from the pent up feelings over this place and all she sought now was to cause an eternity of pain and misery. Her sword held hand would raise up, ready to strike her down if she or Elara didn't act fast or at all.

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Her body hurt all over and as Elara tried to sit up, her vision blurry, the summoner couldn’t do much of anything. She wasn’t made for this. Her role was to command from the backline, not the front. The teenager knew that and up until today, she’d never thought anything of it. Her eyes had been well and truly opened to the fact that she’d been naive and things would have to change. Her powers as a summoner were not enough and she promised herself then and there that she’d get rid of her weakness. She’d find a way to be able to fight on her own, no matter what sacrifice she would have to make in order to make it so. The shame was building fast and as she watched things develop, she wiped away a solitary tear, the only sign of her embarrassment.

Before she could attempt to move further, Nami was behind her side and instantly began to heal her. Elara barely reacted, her mind completely numb, staring at the battle between Lehanna and the witch. It was obvious that the fire slayer had been healed enough for her to fight and so the black haired girl didn’t ask the obvious question. Yet, what did surprise her was the sheer heat that was coming from the brunette. Even at this distance, Elara could feel her throat dry up and see the waves of fire that were bursting from her job partner. She’d always made fun of Lehanna for her temper but as she watched her now, she realised just how ominous the girl truly was when she lost control. Her former foster sister was going to turn the witch into little more than ashes but was that the right thing to do? Elara could understand the hatred that Lehanna had for the woman, feeling such a way about her own family but could she simply sit and watch as the brunette gave in to her emotions? Should she?

Elara sighed and slowly stood up, against the wishes of Nami who desperately tried to keep her still. The truth was that she simply couldn’t bear to see Lehanna to give in to her demons in such a way. It pained her to see the slayer in such a state and the black haired girl knew that this was a moment that Lehanna could well come to regret. If she gave into her anger now, what would become of her? Would it be the start of her descent to a darker way of life? Elara had already started on that but she didn’t want to see Lehanna go through the same thing.

On unsteady legs, she’d awkwardly sprint towards the brunette from behind and wrap her arms around her. The flames were almost unbearable and she could feel them start to burn her but she didn’t let go and whispered desperately into Lehanna’s ear. “I know you hate her but killing her in a furious rage is going to do more harm than good. It’ll lead you down a path of pain that’ll eat away at you until you’ll be nothing but an empty shell. We can hand her over to the authorities or whatever it is you want to do but don’t kill her. She’s made you suffer enough, don’t give her the pleasure of having her death on your conscience too.”

(565 Words)
(4692 TWC)

The brunette simply paused in the moment Elara's arms wrapped around her body. She made no movement, her glaring, albeit empty gaze continued to be so laser focused on the woman that it seemed to strike a bit of concern on her face. With the fire around her sword gaining more and more fire, building up to be an inferno all its own, the slayer was ready to burn this entire area into nothing but a smoldering crater to stop her from ever hurting someone again. To show herself that she wasn't something used to gain others goals. She was about as prepared to show the world as much as she could herself, but something was wrong. Why couldn't she move her arm? One arm was pinned to her body by the ebony haired teens grip, but that wouldn't stop the blindly raging girls plans... So what was?

The words she spoke into her ear brought some light to her mind. A small point of clarity that was beginning to break through the clouded fog of absolute rage, fear, and every other anger that could provoke ones body to act in a violent manner. Was there a truth to the girls words? Would killing her prove to be nothing but causing problems to her? Would she surely become nothing but this empty vessel trying to make sense of the world again if she killed her? The more the girl tried to talk her out of it, the more her raised arm began to shake. Fighting with herself to go through with this act or to make herself unable to do it at all. Whatever the case might have been to the other two girls, the older woman saw her opportunity in the wake of her hesitation.

"That's it, Lonely Lehanna! Let it out! LET IT OUT AND KILL ME! PROVE TO THE WORLD YOU'RE NOTHING BUT A BURDEN TO THE WORLD THAT EVEN YOUR PARENTS WANTED NOTHING TO DO WITH YOU!" She yelled, cackling loudly.

Her sword aimed down to point at the woman and with a slight shift in the blink of her eye, she unleashed a blast of fire forward. An inferno that struck the area around the woman. At first, all that Elara could see was that of the inferno that tore and burned through the orphanage like it was simply traveling through the air. Then... a crash. A figure covered in flames collapsed to the ground and one laid down the path down to the ground near the two. It was.. skeletal and arm shaped. The woman had shielded herself and even then it tore through a portion of that as well. However, the colossal creature she attempted to summon was reduced to cinders. Its summoner looking at the pair in utter shock. "...You can stop hugging me. I want you to let Nami heal you. This bitch is gonna go to jail, but not without a few really pretty burns to remember me by." She looked down to the other teen, smirking a bit. Of course, reinforcements was something she didn't say Elara could help with.

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Abilities Used:

At first, Elara didn’t let go and simply watched the powerful display in front of her. The heat was horrendous and the black haired girl thought that she would be set alight by the sheer force of it. Yet, the way that Lehanna looked down at her then showed her that her former foster sister had heard her desperate plea, a realisation that sent a comforting tingle through the teenager’s body. She had truly been worried that her friend would actually kill the witch and although Elara could fully understand the reasons as to why she should die. In the end, she just couldn’t allow it to happen by Lehanna’s fair hand. Murder was a slippery slope, one that the dark haired girl new. On the streets of Motor City, there were constant gang battles going on, resulting in the deaths of dozens of men. Her guild was the same. All happily murdering and slaughtering people just for the sake of gaining power or that was the excuse that they used for it. Was it true? Elara honestly didn’t know or care right now. All that mattered was the brunette’s well being.

She soon felt a pair of hands upon her and after a moment or two of resistance, Elara let go of the brunette and allowed Nami to carry away to safety. She was laid down beside the remains of one of the rusty playground attractions and soon covered by the healing currents of her healing spirit, her wounds handled by the gentle mermaid. Nami was an expert in her field and had little issue with repairing the damage but that didn’t stop her from clicking her tongue and uttering to her summoner. “That was a silly thing to do, Elara. You could’ve made your wounds even worse by performing a stunt like that. You’re lucky that you weren’t burned to a crisp.”

“I could not just sit there and watch as she lost control of herself.” Elara replied softly. “She shouldn’t have to live with that horrible creature’s death on her conscience, even if it is deserved. I don’t want her to have to live with that…”

“Like you are?” Nami asked gently, her yellow orbs focusing on Elara’s green ones.

“Yeah, like I am. When I left home, I knew that in order to survive on the streets, I would have to order you guys to take lives. It was what had to be done but that doesn’t mean that I’m always good with it. Spirits like Taurus don’t know the difference between a threat and an innocent and she slaughters them all the same. All that I’ve been told by Plumed Serpent is that it is how things should be. Is it right to believe that, Nami?”

“I can’t answer that for you, Elara.” The spirit answered. “That’s something that you have to decide for yourself. I don’t condone everything you’ve done and I don’t think that guild of yours has your best interests at heart but what you do in your life is your decision and we will be here to aid you in whatever ways we can.”

“Thanks. That means a lot.” The summoner responded, sitting up a little to watch Lehanna and the witch’s confrontation once more.

(545 Words)
(5760 TWC)