The Azra-El Series Ch. 18.1

After a few minutes, Ragna approached him, with a mug in her hand. "Want some mead?"

He sat upright, wordlessly took the mug, and downed it in one go. It didn't have much alcohol in it, but its sweetness brought some vigor back to his body.

"Thanks, Ragna," he said, getting up. "I guess I will head over to the Uluru rock. See you in the evening."

Ragna stood watching his shrinking figure in the sky, with a touch of disbelief and admiration. She hadn't expected him to recover his will so soon after such a beat down.

"You were as dedicated once," she heard her mother's voice from behind, making her jump.

"So were you, I presume."

"Yes," she replied nostalgically. "But I guess both of us have found a different calling."

"Anyway, she does live up to her name, doesn't she?"

***

The Uluru Pena was an inselberg; a two-thousand-foot high, cylindrical mountain of greyish-white granite. Though it was a few yonders away from town, it was still clearly visible. Blaze only had to fly straight to reach it.

The walls of the mountain were completely barren, but its top contained a steaming caldera surrounded by lush vegetation of grass and flowering shrubs that grew over volcanic ash and dust brought over by sea and land breezes.

Blaze found Siofra and his two aunts on the banks of the mountaintop lake. Siofra lay sprawled over the grass, completely drained of her energy, while Rebecca and Jie Er sat by her side.

"How was Fulla's demonstration, Blaze Er?" Jie Er asked him when he landed by their side.

"It was good. I can't wait to learn to fight like her," he replied before pointing at a heaving Siofra. "Is she alright?"

"Yes. We just finished some light exercises," Jie Er replied nonchalantly. "Becky, I think she's had enough time to rest. Why don't you take over her training for a little? I need to teach Blaze a new trick."

"Huh?" Siofra exclaimed in disbelief. She had expected a longer rest.

"Haha!" Rebecca snickered, manifesting her wings. Blaze was sure he saw a glint of evil in her eyes as she made her way towards Siofra.

"Wait! I need a little more time!" Siofra waved her hands.

"Let's go little pixie," Rebecca said, grabbing Siofra's arm and jumping into the air.

"Herrrp!" Siofra screamed at Blaze, reaching out her hand towards him as Rebecca took her away.

"Is that alright?" Blaze asked Jie Er, unsure but nonetheless amused.

"She said she wanted to get strong," Jie Er said getting up.

Blaze sighed and shook his head. Rebecca couldn't be worse than aunty Jie Er, can she?

***

"Blaze Er, have you wondered why my technique is called the Swift Wing Style?" Jie Er asked, as they hovered over the lake.

Blaze nodded in acknowledgement. 'Steel Wing Style' would have been more appropriate to what he had learned thus far.

Jie Er focused on her wings and they gained a shiny gleam. "It is because hardened wings were never intended to be used in our attacks. They were only meant to serve as a defensive tool. The core offense of our technique comes from our dashing techniques," she told him as she raised her wings.

"Huh?"

The moment she flapped her wings, there was a loud boom. Jie Er disappeared from where she was and almost instantaneously appeared in front of him with her fist stopping inches off his nose.

"The problem with this technique," she said to a dazed Blaze, her ability to cover fifty feet in the blink of an eye, seemingly out of the realm of Physics, "is that it puts a tremendous toll on your energy resources. You will also temporarily be unable to use your hardening. I reckon you would be able to use it only once or twice in any fight. However, it has the potential to be your finishing move in the upcoming tournament."

Jie Er waited a moment for the gravity of her words and the situation to sink in.

"How..." he said, still trying to process what he had just seen.

"You will spend the rest of these three weeks trying to learn the Swift Wing Dash. It is not easy. Not only is it technically a hard move to master, but it also requires impeccable timing to maximize its efficiency."

***

That evening, Rebecca carried Siofra back to Fulla's mansion and the enervated pixie fell asleep in her arms. They woke her up for dinner, and after pouting through her meal, Siofra stumbled her way to the bedroom she was meant to share with Blaze.

Blaze followed her and flopped down beside her on the bed.

"What is this?" she said, choking on her words. "This is a nightmare. I thought I'd have fun hanging out with you and aunties..."

Blaze took her little hand and gently rubbed it. "It's how I got that strong over our first break. I won't judge you if you want it to stop, but I don't want you to. And, I don't think you will want to either."

"Damn you, Blaze! You should've been clear about how harsh Aunty Jie Er's training can be. I would've been more prepared!"

"Where's the fun in that? It was pretty hilarious watching you cry out for herrp!"

Siofra twisted his finger.

oOo

A week later, Jie Er gave Blaze and Siofra a day off. Ragna approached them that morning and told them about a party at the mayor's mansion.

"I asked your mother. She thinks it will be a good break in training. I am not really fond of parties, but I would love to have you two along with me. The party will definitely be good, if either of you two are into such social occasions."

"Will I need formal clothes?" Blaze asked her.

He had the clothes that he had worn to Sekat meet, but he couldn't wear them whilst pretending he wasn't himself.

"Don't worry about it. It's a casual party. You can wear whatever you want. If anyone has an issue, to the Hela with them."

As the evening set in, the trio flew over to the mayor's place, a typical Aranyan chateaux surrounded by gardens, trees, and verandahs. However, unlike the party at Sekat, this one was indoors.

They walked through the mahogany doors of the building and they found themselves in an archetypal party from the 1920s.

Posh angels dressed in stylish clothing flitted across the shiny black granite floor of the central hall, holding wine glasses and making conversation. From the ceiling of the hall that arched over the second floor, hung a massive crystal chandelier, dimly illuminating the angels below in a rainbow of colors.

Two flights of spiral stairs ran up to the second floor, separated from the hall by a circular balustrade of pearly white plaster. Waiters, dressed in black and white, hurried back and forth from the kitchen, serving rich hors d'oeuvres and wine.

A trio of angels stood at the center of the hall, playing music that reverberated against the polished walls of stone. An angel in a short, deep-lilac dress sang with a lucid, deep, and melodious voice that was accompanied by a zither and a piano. As she sang, her arms sensuously moved to the rhythm of the music while her song echoed against the ceiling.

"Oh, wow! Is that from the Blazing Fury collection?" exclaimed a pink-haired bubbly girl, approaching the trio of angels who had paused at the entrance. She wore a gorgeous red skirt and her white frilly top displayed the words Blazing Furies over her chest. "I love it! Where did you get it?"

Blaze was currently wearing a cream-colored denim dungaree over a red shirt. The chest portion of his overalls displayed his epithet.

"Er..."

"Hey Clara. Nice party," Ragna spoke to the girl. "These two are the daughters of my mother's friend from her academy days. They are visiting and I decided to bring them over. I hope you don't mind."

"Of course not! The more the merrier," the mayor's daughter said with a genuine smile. "Welcome to Riverbridge. It's not the most exciting town in Aranya, but I try my best!"

"I find the town and its people quite lovely!" Siofra chimed, while Blaze smiled and nodded. Smile and nod had always been his motto at parties on Earth. It usually worked quite well.

"I never thought I'd say this, but this is a groovy dungaree," Clara said, reaching out to feel the straps of Blaze's clothing. "The Blazing Fury brand is simply fabulous. They somehow even bring life to old and insipid styles. Where did you get it?"

"Um... Varan, I suppose. My mother picked it up on the way..." Blaze muttered, noticing Siofra roll her eyes.

"Neat! Isn't that where Blaze Er Lokra is from? Are you a fan?" Clara asked excitedly, giving Siofra a sideward glance. She seemed to take an affront at her lack of interest in the Blazing Furies Collection.

"Er... I guess I am?"

"Yep. She is definitely her biggest fan," Siofra snickered, receiving a kick in the shins from Blaze.

"Oh, me too! I can't wait to see her in the tournament. Come, I will introduce you to the rest of my friends," Clara hooked Blaze's arm and lead them inside.

Clara introduced them to the rest of the rich and the nobility of Riverbridge. They were a convivial lot, but none of the threesome were extroverted enough to go and meet all of them. Ragna ran into a friend and the four angels bee-lined towards a cozy corner table.

Picking up a few drinks and snacks from the servers, Ragna and her dark-haired friend, Velli Borgia, soon began to talk about the economic affairs of Riverbridge. Blaze and Siofra payed attention until the potential benefits of expanding Riverbridge's borders became too esoteric for the non-locals.

The two siblings at heart, sat by each other's side and let themselves go at the rich wine and the delectable cheese that seemed to be available in an inexhaustible supply.

Aranya had a cultural disinclination towards alcohol consumption, while the Caledonian empire had completely banned it despite an age-old cultural disposition towards drink. Riverbrigde, as a port town that connected these two nations, was luckily free of both influences.

"Slow down on those drinks, Siof," Blaze warned the pixie, who reached her fourth cocktail in a span of twenty minutes.

"Meh. I'll be fine. Besides, I have my Big Bro around, don't I?" she replied, exaggeratedly patting his back as she chugged down the contents of her glass. "Haah!" she smacked her lips and let out a breath.

"I am only the Big Bro when it suits you," Blaze complained, popping a piece of sharp blue cheese into his mouth. Siofra laughed and lolled her head on his shoulder, rubbing her head against him like a cat.

"Careful, your ears might show."

"Who was it that said that I should display my ears with pride?"

Blaze shook his head. The pixie was already drunk, and he had a good buzz going. Setting aside his empty glass of wine, he looked around the hall to see if anyone else was as drunk.

Then he spotted her -- sitting by herself at a lone table by the second floor's balustrade, drinking a deep-crimson wine from her wine glass. The red of the liquid lingered over her lips as she brought the glass down.

Her narrow pensive eyes scanned over the angels, silently observing and measuring each person. If she had a cigarette in her hand, Blaze would have been convinced that she had stepped out of a noir movie to be the heroine of his story. Her pink lips were plump, but her nonchalance had them drawn pressed like a single line

He gaped at her for a minute or two, before managing to tear his eyes away from hers and take in the rest of her.

She was wearing a short, black velvet skirt over a white, frilly-sleeved cotton top. A straw hat with a small red bow rested over her lustrous black hair that reached past her shoulders. One could not claim that she had a titillating feminine charm, but there was something exciting about her. The eyes and lips were narrowed in some contemplation that Blaze was not privy to.

Pushing Siofra's head away from his shoulder, he stood up and handed his glass to the pixie. He took in a deep breath and made his way up the stairs. He wasn't going to let her disappear on him again.

The girl's eyes widened as he approached her. Wordlessly, he pulled up a chair in front of her and sat down.

"Hey, do you have a map?" he asked.

"Huh?" The girl's expression turned from surprise to confusion.

"I keep getting lost in your eyes, and I badly need a map to find my way out."

She remained as bewildered. I guess cheesy pickup lines don't work on angels. "Do you remember me?" he asked after a moment of awkward silence, readily pretending that he had not said any of his earlier words.

"How can I forget the Blazing Fury?" she replied in an accent that sounded Caledonian. He clearly remembered that her voice had carried a different accent when he first met her. Maybe it's the character she is playing now.

"You know who I am?"

"Of course, Ms. Lokra. Did you really think that merely changing your hair color is a good enough disguise?" she grinned. "But what would I know? Seems like you recognize me, despite my best attempts at disguising myself."

Blaze tried his best to not stare at her lips as she brought up the wine glass to take another sip.

"What do you mean?" he asked.

"I am pretty sure I look different than usual. If not, I am in trouble."

Blaze scanned her face. She had a pair of slightly upturned, purple eyes that seemed to have been shaped by the brushstrokes of a master painter, their perfection almost too pleasing.

Thin black lines of mascara swept along the curves of her eyes, ending in sharp edges. Her black brows were also like sharp thin brushstrokes, dark and wide enough to splendidly adorn her eyes and pale white skin.

He couldn't tell which parts of her thin, heart-shaped face were manipulated. If he had to guess, he would've said that she had added some extra weight to her nose and cheeks, but she looked beautiful even with the changes. The thought that she could've made herself prettier and not less, did not even cross his mind.

"I think this is the first time I've really seen your face..." he finally sighed.

She raised her brows in a lovely arch. "I thought you saw me when we flew past each other at that mining town."

"I did, but I was too distracted by your eyes."

"My eyes?"

"Yes, they are simply enchanting," he blurted out. Oh god! That was cheesier than the pickup line.

The girl's eyes widened again, and she finally seemed to understand Blaze's line from before. "Well, Ms. Blaze, I think your eyes are enchanting too," she said with a slight smile as her cheeks turned a little red.

It was Blaze's turn to blush. "So, who are you?" he asked, falling back against his chair and trying to change the conversation. He was sure that her cheeks and cheekbones were massively altered along with her hair and he had no idea how she looked, but he was sure she was tall, smart, hot, and mysterious. Damn. Shouldn't that be my description?

"Lynn Streltsy, daughter of a merchant from D'Warka. Who are you?" she replied, making the meaning behind her words obvious.

"Rachel Arianrhod, and that's my sister, Siofra Arianrhod," he said, pointing at his group below.

"The pixie?"

"You recognize her as well?" Blaze asked, taken aback.

"Just a guess from the name. Everyone's heard of the Blazing Fury and his pixie."

Blaze laughed as he looked at Siofra waving her hand to grab a waiter's attention. He was pretty sure Siofra would be annoyed at being termed as his pixie.

The conversation abruptly ended after that, and Blaze suddenly felt strapped for words. Unlike his usual self, he felt like a flustered teen who got the chance to talk to his crush for the first time.

As they sat facing each other in awkward silence, the singer started singing a new song.

~Just a small town ivka

Livin' in a lonely world

She took the midnight carriage goin' anywhere

Just a city ina

Born and raised in south 'o Sekhat

She took the midnight carriage goin' anywhere

A singer in a stuffy room

The smell of wine and sweet perfume

For a smile they can share the night~

Blaze pulled out a piece of reed from his space ring and put it between his lips like a cigarette. Why did he have a reed in his space ring? Well, he had been pretending to be a wandering samurai over the week. Sitting by the caldera lake during his downtime and musing over the vagaries of the world with the very reed between his lips.

It goes on and on, and on, and on

Strangers...~

Despite the hint of nostalgia and longing in the lyrics, the tune was upbeat, and Blaze found himself tapping his foot to the beat. With his arm over the railing, he peered over to watch the musicians. A trombone player had joined the earlier group of three, and a few angels gathered around the performers began to dance.

"Like the music?" he asked, glancing at his companion.

"I like this one..."

He raised a questioning brow at her.

"The music at events like these is usually just there to enhance and supplement everything else - the food and the wine. Good music has nothing to do with where you are or what you are doing. It's an experience by itself."

An image of Lynn sitting in a lonely room and listening to Bach or Chopin on a gramophone popped into Blaze's mind. "I don't agree," he told her. "It's good music if people like it."

Blaze waited for the singer to finish her song before he spoke again. "Would you care for a dance with me?" he asked as the musicians began to prepare for their next song. He hoped a little jig on the dance floor would reawaken his usual suave.

She seemed uncomfortable with idea and struggled with it. "I don't dance much..."

"Neither do I. Come. What do you got to lose? It's not like anyone here knows who you are."

Lynn let out a breath. Blaze stood up and offered her his hand. Glancing up at him unsurely, she hesitantly took his hand and stood up. He suddenly found himself tilting his head to look up at her eyes.

He didn't notice it while they were sitting, but she was strikingly taller than him -- over six feet was his estimate. He observed her energy makeup and found her to be around Elyssa's age; maybe a little younger.

Her height bothered him a little, but he pushed the thought aside. In a hundred years, it was likely he would be taller than even Fulla. He had measured himself recently, and he was pretty sure he had grown at least half a centimeter since his hatching. His growth rate was enough to put him a few inches over Jie Er by the time he hit a hundred. That's all he wanted. He didn't need to be a giant of a man.

A new song began as the two angels walked down to the dance floor. The pianist began to play a slow and steady tune, followed by the zither, and ending with a clash of cymbals.

The angels around them began to sway their bodies to the rhythm, and Lynn intended to join them and meld into the crowd. However, Blaze had other ideas.

~It's a portended small affair

He pulled her towards himself and gently wrapped his other arm around her high waist. Even through her frilly top, he felt the tautness of the skin underneath. Despite her lean figure, Blaze could feel the strength in her as they swayed around with the music.

To the ivka with the mousy hair

Her eyes widened but it wasn't an unexpected sort of surprise. Their fingers intertwined and her free hand hesitantly moved over his shoulder. Her fingers were long and lean, but they felt strong. He could feel the callouses on her palms and fingers. It spoke of years of training with weapons. Yet, all he could think about at that moment was how natural it felt to be here with her in this moment. He hoped that she could not hear the pounding in his pulse that just wouldn't go away.