Warm up. (open)

Shikaru stood in a very structured stance eyes closed and just breathing. He needed to calm before he continued with his warm up. Shikaru looked out of the corner of his eye to see his coat and shirt sitting folded nicely against the tree. He did not want to rip has new shirt when he was warming up that would just ruin his day. Though he thought he was alone he was still a little nervous of his scars or anyone seeing his powers. So he had resolved to just hand to hand training today, though if any one saw his scars they might ask questions. Shikaru quickly shook these thoughts from his head, it would be fine. He straightened up his poster and took another deep breath as he breathed out he shot forward in to a straight punch. HE then proceeded to move through his routine following a small amount of punches with several intricate kicks.

As he finished up he retook his stance bringing his hands to his chest and pushing them away from him as he breathed out. At the same time of his breath he relaxed his muscles and calmed himself. “Well that was a nice warm up,” he said aloud as if someone was there to hear him.

He stood in the shade of the deep-rooted willow, finishing off his beer bottle, before throwing it against the tree composedly, splintering the glass with a noisy shatter. He was well hidden, as his features slid in and out of sight as the midday sun shone above him, its beams and rays broken by overhanging branches.

Dev examined the willow in front of him with a mixed feeling of happiness and loneliness. The old tree that shaded him might have been the only living thing around that was older than he was. He inspected the branches pointlessly, as if they were to give some clues into his existence. Instead, Dev found an unfamiliar shirt and jacket hanging over a low branch. He paused for a serpent’s blink, and then turned around sharply as to find clues behind the mystery clothing.

It was then did he notice the man a few metres away from him, aiming punches and kicks towards an invisible enemy. Dev had never seen a man with such a zany appearance, aside from a few thrash metal musicians he saw several years into the past. He found the rings on the man’s back and arms most curious, followed by the snow white hair and the abundant amount of scars over his front, which reminded Dev of his own scars.

After further scrutiny, Dev discovered that the man looked about 18, give or take a few years, which was Dev’s visible, biological age. He lost interest in the man and went back to what he came to the meadow for; mostly for a drink and a smoke, but also to practice a bit of magic.

Devin crouched to the ground, grabbing the willow tree’s shadow like it was a black coil of rope. After standing to full height, he twisted and compressed the black shade until it was a sphere, no bigger than a baseball. The black baseball was tossed with ease through his ghostly pale hands, and then in a second, the baseball melted into a dark, grayish, foul-smelling liquid. Wrinkling his nose, Dev closed his eyes this time, focused on the dark matter cupped in his hands, like nothing else existed.

Here would be the hard part. He did his best to remain still and silent. His hands twitched violently, and then his body joined in. Dev’s eyelids flung open, no longer showing the maroons, but the clear whites. Finally, his hands became fists, and the grayish substance disappeared. But now dark, purplish smoke surrounded him, emitting pleasant odors of things that tempted him…sea water, blood, hempen rope…
He did his best to shake the thoughts away, again looking at the man nearby though the purplish mist.

“Well that was a nice warm up,” the stranger said aloud, and Dev wondered if the stranger knew he was there in the shade of the willow. He assumed the best, stepping out into the sunlight to greet the unknown identity, the smoke following him like a magnet.
“That was just a warm up? Impressive, but what are you actually doing?” the 1009-year-old answered, with a weak smile.

(WHOA, pardon the French, but fuck, this is a long post. Most of its just random crap though. Just so you know (and I should probably go back and edit this on Dev's profile), the smoke is meant to smell like things that tempt your character (for example, the smoke smells like suicide to Dev, who is kinda unable to die.)

Shikaru turned around when he heard the voice as to see when it came from. To his surprise there was a man, a very pale man, but a man none the less. He looked into this stranger’s eye; they where strange and different, maroon was not a normal eye color Shikaru thought to himself. He looked the man over once more before it dawned on him that the man had asked him a question. He seemed rather scrawny but something about him gave the feel that he could still be a threat.

“That was my warm up, every day I practice my martial arts. It has become a necessity for me to keep my body in peak condition, but what may I ask are you doing here?” Shikaru began to put his shirt on not noticing that the man had seen his scars. After he wrestled his shirt on he found that his coat was snagged on the tree, the branch had gone through the metal ring on it. He struggled for a little and then finally got it and put it on. “And what may I ask is your name if you don’t mind,” he said calmly look him in the face.

For a brief moment, the two had eye contact; Dev found his maroon eyes meeting slivery-blue. He suddenly felt calmer, as if he were talking to some long lost friend.
“That was my warm up, every day I practice my martial arts. It has become a necessity for me to keep my body in peak condition, but what may I ask are you doing here?”

Dev scoffed at the stranger, almost impolitely, and watched as he slipped into the shadows of the willow to pull his shirt on. This man was definitely not the first he’d seen doing martial arts, and he also wasn’t the first he’d seen with scars, but something about the stranger was ominous, and maybe even cold. It made him wonder if the man in front of him was one of his kind, but Dev seriously doubted it.
“And what may I ask is your name if you don’t mind?”

“I don’t mind at all. My name’s Dev, what’s your’s?” he said, offering his hand. “I too came out here for training. But I’m training my powers.”
At its mention, the purple vapour swirled around them both, as if to greet the stranger.
“That, and I came out here for a smoke,” he added with a smirk, taking out a packet of cigarettes and a box of matches from a pocket in his pants. “Why keep your physical state in top shape, might I ask?”
He opened the packet, slipping a cigarette between his lips.

Shikaru watched as the man slipped the cigarettes into his mouth, “Well the name is shikaru.” Shikaru nodded politely. He looked at the ground pondering the question ‘why keep your physical state in top state’. Shikaru was unsure how to answer this, he hadn’t showed his powers to any one since he got here. He was still unsure of them and as such didn’t want to show them. “Because if I don’t I’m afraid my body won’t be able to handle my powers. In truth this was honest his powers hurt him and if he couldn’t handle it he would be useless when he needed to be strong. Shikaru took a deep breath and for a second smelled the scent of his mother’s perfume, his eyes closed as he let the sweet aroma fill his nostrils. He was lost of what seemed like forever, but sadly was brought back to reality as the smell faded.

Shikaru turned so his side was facing Dev, “Wow it really is a warm day out,” Shikaru looked out over the meadow. Well now what was he suppose to do. He didn’t know much about this person and got the feeling like he shouldn’t ask much more. “So these powers of yours, are they any good for fighting?” Shikaru turned his head to look at the man.

He lit the cigarette while he listened intently. Shikaru...Dev had never heard of such a name, but it was most likely of Asian origin, yet Shikaru didn’t look the least bit Asian…
“Because if I don’t I’m afraid my body won’t be able to handle my powers.”
Dev found this statement a bit quirky, as he never came across a power that depended on the physical state of a being. It made him wonder what Shikaru’s power was.

He deeply inhaled the cigarette smoke into his lungs as far as he could, and exhaled into Shikaru’s face, which Dev knew was impolite, but he also knew the dark mist around them would sort that out, as he could see Shikaru was absorbed in whatever he was tempted by. Ashen second hand smoke mingled with the swirls of purple, but the wind blew the gray away, leaving the purple behind.

“Wow it really is a warm day out.”
Dev nodded in agreement, but he said nothing. He dragged more smoke in while Shikaru spoke again.
“So these powers of yours, are they any good for fighting?”
He exhaled, this time turning away politely, and tilting his head back at the strange man. Dev chuckled at this, amused.
“Heh, I would assume so. Why? Would you like to fight me?” he said jokingly, almost mockingly.
Dev offered the packet of cigarettes to Shikaru as he said this.

Shikaru looked down at the pack of cigarettes and shook his head, “No thank you, I don’t smoke.” Shikaru looked back out at the meadow staring blankly for a little before walking out into the light. “Maybe I do,” he said joking, he had no intention of fighting him. he was still unsure of this man’s powers and also did not want to expose his. “So your powers, they have to do with the shadows right?” Shikaru watched as the purple smoke stayed in the shadow of the willow, this was what led him to his conclusion. He studied the smoke some more it was different than anything he had seen before and as such was a little off putting.

Shikaru then looked around; the meadow was very quiet and slightly calming. “So have you been here long or you a new student like me?” Shikaru stretched and cracked his knuckles, “What is there to do around here if you don’t mind me asking?”

Devin couldn’t help but smirk a little when Shikaru rejected his offer.
“Suit yourself,” he said, sliding the packet into his pocket with his free hand in a clumsy manner.
“Maybe I do.”
He chuckled lightly, noting the joking tone in Shikaru’s voice. It made him wonder why Shikaru didn’t want to duel him. Was he afraid of losing? Were his powers extremely dangerous? Thoughts circulated his mind as he took another drag of tobacco. Once again, the stranger spoke.
“So your powers, they have to do with the shadows right?”

Dev saw Shikaru’s head turn towards the shade of the willow, and he mimicked. The dark purplish smoke was still churning the air. Dev puffed cigarette smoke out into the sky, yet again turning from Shikaru’s face. But before Dev could reply, the man had fired off more questions.
“So have you been here long or you a new student like me?” There was a cracking of knuckles. “What is there to do around here if you don’t mind me asking?”
He tapped the ash off the Marlboro as he thought of a good, structured answer. He put the stick of tobacco back into his mouth, taking a shallow breath, and then blew the smoke out once more.

“I’ve been here for a little over a month. I don’t know the academy well; I'm not here to stay. The island is told to have spots to explore. You could hang around the aquarium, the greenhouse, the beach, the caves, the tavern…” Dev named the latter place with a simper. “My powers have more to do with scientific conversion than the shadows. But, the shadows play some part in this as the absence of light, if you catch my drift.”

Again, at its reference and calling, the deep plum mist floated towards them. Dev allowed it to linger for a few moments, catching a brief smell of rich wine. He then twisted his free, cigarette-less hand around, mouthing commands silently, and shutting his eyes with focus. The mist seemed to collect in his hand, and began to form the foul smelling grey liquid, which then froze back to a solid black baseball. Dev threw the ball into the air nonchalantly, and it came back down as a black coil of rope. With a smug smile, he placed it back into the shade of the old willow, where it blended into the shadow easily.

“So how long have you been around Foresta, and care to share your power?”

(Big post once again - I suddenly feel to put happy-drunk Dev into this, which might get laughs.)

Shikaru listened intently as he explained his powers all ready contemplating a way around them should the needed arise. His eyes widened as he began to mold the shadows, “well that’s a neat trick quite useful if I do say so myself.” Shikaru watched him exhale the smoke watching it churn in the air. “Wow all that to do around here that’s cool,” he said looking around the meadow again. “I have only been here for about 2 weeks now and I am really at a loss as to what to do,” Shikaru chuckled a little at this. “My powers…yes, those, Well I have only shown them to one person and I left shortly after that. But you did show me your s and it would be rude of me to not show you mine.”

Shikaru held his right hand out with his palm upward. He looked at his hand and something could be seen slivering under his skin, he took a deep breath and as he breathed out the skin in the middle of his hand split open as a metal blade rose from it. The tendril grew to about 3 feet and then stopped; he rotated his hand the blade staying straight up, he grasped the end of it. The tendril straightened up and in almost a second it was in the shape of a katana. “My power is metal mastery to put it simply, I can mold, destroy, assimilate change metal into anything I need as long as it is metal based.” The sword then twisted and wrapped around his arm staying there shortly till it retracted. “You still up for that dual?”

“Is that where those scars came from?” He voiced, slightly horrified by the amount of pain such a power would cause. “And does it hurt?”
Dev cringed at this thought, feeling his shoulders tense up. He relaxed, but didn’t dismiss the idea. All those blades would’ve hurt as much as the time he lost his…
No. It surely would be less painful than that. Dev shook his head at himself, driving the thoughts out to focus on Shikaru’s last question.

He chortled to himself, bringing the cigarette to his mouth. So, he really did want a fight? Dev briefly thought about Shikaru’s power and how fit Shikaru himself was. What were the best ways around this power? And how hard would his punch be? He also scrutinized the meadow carefully, noting the amount of shade in the area. If things got drastic, he’d have to use his own shadow, and maybe even Shikaru’s….

He turned his face away from the stranger, breathing out smoke.
“It depends…” Devin began, eyeing Shikaru’s shadow with a somewhat sinister grin.
“…And this is a serious question – Do you rust?”
He said this with a slight smirk.

“Yes…” Shikaru looked down as he answered the question. He never explained as to why he had them to anyone, it was always good that he never had a girlfriend. Shikaru’s breath stopped when the next question came. “Yes it does not as much as it did when I first had to push them through my skin” Shikaru looked around the meadow once more before the next question was asked. A larger devilish smile split his face, he dropped his shoulders and let his coat hit the floor, As he rose his arms he clenched his fists and his knuckles cracked again. “Steel don’t rust!” He said taking a small stance. “So was that a yes then?”

Dev removed his shirt and threw it down roughly, revealing his pale, bony chest and scarred back. He tugged at the shadow of his shirt and the onyx rope appeared again. With a flick of his arm, the rope twisted and shaped itself into a black sword. He then lunged at Shikaru in one speedy move.
At least, this is what Dev would’ve done if he wasn’t smoking.

Instead, he tapped the ash off the cigarette, took a long, deep inhale, but a quick exhale. He then put the cigarette on his black shoes, then chucked the butt somewhere behind him. It was only then did Devin whip his shirt and shoes off, roll up his long pants up a few times, not exposing his legs, but so his feet could be seen. He chuckle at something – perhaps it was Shikaru’s stance- as he conjured a thin staff from the shadows of his shirt, which lay abandoned on the grass.

“We’re good to go ,” Dev said, backing a couple of paces away, the long black stick in his left hand. “Your move.”

(ROUND ONE - FIGHT! XD)

Shikaru watched as he put out his cigarette, he was taking him lightly and that would be his down fall. ‘Ok so his powers are based on the shadows so I needed to keep the ones I create to a minimum. Shikaru’s Stance dropped low as he summoned the staff and stepped back he wanted to see how fast he was but he was afraid that this would be over soon. “With pleasure,” he said with a big smile. Shikaru darted forward with his fist up. As he closed the distance he dropped left and pressed a vector out from his right shoulder bringing it around to the other side. Shikaru had made the blade as thin as a razor blade as not to cast a shadow he turned the top to the sun. He brought his left fist up in an upper cut and brought another vector out of his left shoulder and let it spread across his stomach, prepped for the next move.

Eyes locked on his opponent, Dev’s hand twitched on the staff. As the first vector shot out, his other hand made a grab for the black pole, twisting it so it was a diagonal line across his body. This would be his protection should Shikaru push out another tentacle. Dev couldn’t help but nod in approval when he saw that the blade was thin enough to not cast a shadow on the earth. His challenger obviously knew what he was doing.
But so did Dev.

He braced himself for pain, and surely enough, pain did get him as he could feel a strong, forceful uppercut hit his lower jaw, making his teeth collide and his body to fling backwards. He could feel his body being slightly airborne, and for a feline's pounce, he wished he had wings again. Nevertheless, Dev knew what to do at this point – he took one hand off the staff and extended his newly freed arm behind his back, waiting for contact with the grass of the meadow…

With an “oof!”, Dev landed on his bottom, leaning back on his out-stretched arm.
"My move," he called, as the arm he was leaning on was already making a quick, yanking movement on Dev’s own shadow. He suddenly felt the cold rope in his hands, and with a final tug, the shadowy rope became a long, fine, whip, which he flung sharply in his competitor’s direction as he stood up. He would've converted the whip into water as he flciked it, but he knew if the grey, dark water made contact with Shikaru's eyes or was accidently swallowed, it would be the end.

So, instead, he flung it, and as the whip returned back to its master it merged with the staff, creating a slightly longer whip. Dev cracked the whip once more in his rival's direction, and it came back as a thick chain.
"Your move again."

Shikaru was rather astonished that he actually connected with that punch. He watched on in awe as his opponent was sent to the ground a short distance away. He smirked a little at the sound that had escaped Dev and in some ways it made him want to laugh. Though this was only momentary as he heard Dev speak, a whip like object came at him, it was fast and shikaru had little time to act. He quickly decided to let it connect with his chest as he stepped into the oncoming blow. He felt the whip connect and the sharp pain of the end hitting his skin was a little more than what shikaru thought but he pushed through the pain. He took forward bringing the vector on his stomach to the floor and pushing off. It propelled him forward into a high speed tackle, he knew what he needed to do, he needed to rob him of his ability, and he needed to take away the shadows. Shikaru flew through the air crashing in to Dev. He scrambled to get a hold of an arm succeeding at getting a hold of his wrist. He wanted to see if he could use his powers without his hands touching them.