Witch Hunt (Beyril and Atlas; Private; Possible Gore)

Addy bolted through the streets at top speed after the figure hovering just out jumping range. She didn't look at her surroundings, narrow-minded and focused as ever, blonde hair like a streak of lightning through the dimly lit streets. So of course she didn't notice when she ran right into another pedestrian, tumbling forward in a full front flip as her feet came out from under her, sliding on her knees and forearm for a foot, scraping off a considerable chunk of skin. She looked up at the stranger she hit, a mix of agitation and anxiety.

Harrison peeled himself from the cold pavement, bleary eyes scanning for the source of commotion as well as the books that had been unceremoniously vacated from his hands. He recoiled when his eyes met those of a young girl whose face portrayed both curiosity and irritation.

"I'm horribly sorry," he started, straightening his tie as he moved to his knees, pulling books back into a crude pile. "The mind and the body rarely occupy with the same space with me, it seems. "

She pulled herself to her feet, picking bits of gravel out of her knees and elbow, "That was my fault... I was.... Kinda in a hurry... Not watching-" she looked off at the witch flying away, then looked to the stranger, reading the stitching on his jacket, "You're a meister? Wanna kill a witch?"

The words froze him as he reached for a nearby tome. He straightened, letting his eyes follow the girl's gaze to the shrouded figure quickly creating distance between them.

"We should go," Harrison muttered, halfway to himself. "I don't care. This is what we were trained to do." He shook his head, turning to the girl. "Let's catch your witch, yeah?"

Addy grinned, excited. The thrill of the chase, and this time with a partner. She pointed to the "weapon" tag on her jacket, the nodded, "How fast are you?"

"Fast enough," he said simply, though a smirk was dangerously close to his lips. "Not quite a speeding bullet...maybe a reasonably-minded bullet that looks before it crosses the street?"

Addy rolled her eyes, "Bite me." She didn't wait a beat, transforming herself into a long staff, that honestly looked quite like a big stick. "Since you're so fast, you run."

Harrison's smirk flattened to a thin line. "If you say so," he murmured, rolling the tension from his shoulders. Tentatively, he grasped the staff, letting his fingers trail over the gnarled wood. Tightening his grip, he opened himself to her, allowing his wavelength to flow forth freely. "Ready?"

The release seemed to reverberate through the wood, shifting the lines in the bark, morphing and altering her form into something straighter, paler, and firmer. The knot on the end twisted into a sort of cage, even and mathematical. A straight point of crystalline blue sapphire formed in the center; even points of golden citrine blossoming like a flower at the base, all still contained and rigid. The bark felt cool and electric to the touch, and a sense of control and power brushed his fingertips like the tender kiss of a lover.

"Always." Her voice echoed as though behind crystal and glass, but clear and vibrant. This was different, but enthralling.

Harrison allowed only a moment to appreciate the aesthetic in her released form, spinning on his heel to face the witch. Exhaling, he sank into a steady run, tucking the staff behind him as he sprinted in pursuit. The kiosks and windows melded into a blur as he passed, his eyes scanning ahead for a possible route. We need to get to higher ground, he intoned, his voice resonating firmly in the shared mental pathway. Suggestions?

Addy paused a moment, thinking and calculating; There's a clocktower nearby. Three blocks to the southwest. She was single-minded in her mentality, and it carried through her wavelength. A repeating consistent thrumming message of the total destruction of this witch.

Harrison veered left into an adjacent alley, slowing to a jog that was further muffled by trash underfoot. Stopping just short of the passage mouth, he slid to the wall, peering around the corner. The witch was hovering in place, eyes scanning the market square that they had just vanished from.

She's doubling back to where she last saw us. Give her a moment. When the witch moved, Harrison moved in kind, peeling away from the wall in a predatory stalk. Dipping to one knee, he kicked off, hurtling towards the roof of the building nearest him. His hand found a crevice in the brick, catching it to hang. He carefully pulled his weight up and over the ledge onto the roof.

Step. Step. Shluk. The dislodged shingle took an eternity in itself to fall, splitting as it hit the pavement. His eyes moved to find the witch, but she was already staring him down.

The witch wasn't about to give him a second to think. She made a series of hand gestures as she charged him, muttering, "Scorpion, scorpion," to herself as she pulled a long whip from her hat with what looked like a large weight with a hook on the end. She whirled it around her head and aimed a shot right at his feet.

Harrison dove right as the hook whistled past, splitting the shingles upon which he had been standing seconds ago and embedded itself in the wood framing beneath them. Staggered by the sudden evasive maneuver, he sent one hand grasping for the ridge of the roof, wincing as the tiles dug into his palm. Cursing the missed opportunity for a counterattack, he swung both legs over the ridge, coming to rest on the opposite slope.

Addy seemed somewhat irritated, anxious to get back into the fray. You have a weapon, you know. She's trying to keep you at a distance, but I can close that.

The witch sped past, looping back around to gear up another attack.

I'm fighting an enemy I know nothing about with a weapon I don't know on a 45 degree slope, he retorted, an irritated edge in his tone. You'll have to excuse me for trying, first and foremost, to not end up as a kabob.

The witch's next attack was a sweeping horizontal cut that would have opened Harrison from shoulder to shoulder -- had he been there to receive it. The meister had seen the attack and responded in kind, leaping in a vaulting arc over her. Let's see what you can do.

Eh, she blew off the irritation, You'd have looked more like a teabag.

Harrison's feet landed a little sooner than he expected, a sort of crystalline icy path forming just in front of his feet, guiding his movements, and sort of whirling him around the witch. You gonna point me at something? she asked, a light trace of sarcasm in her tone, Otherwise the best I can do is work with you. You want something offensive, then point and shoot.

Harrison scowled, brows furrowing in concentration as he slid into a balanced stance, centering his balance as the ice carried him in a wide arc around the witch. Relaxing his knees allowed him to shift weight easily along the icy path that formed before him.

Very well. He slid one hand up the length of the staff, guiding it carefully as he pointed the crystalline end directly at the witch. Go!

A bolt of ice, first just fridgid air that broke off in fragmented crystals rammed full force into the witch, sending her flipping in the air on her broomstick. She looked up at Harrisson, furious as her hands were frozen in a thick block of solid ice to her broomstick. She started to try and run an escape, but was slowed by the sudden heavy front weight of the ice.

Harrison wheeled in place, sweeping the staff in a wide arc as conjured ice melded into a path ahead of him. A second flourish of the weapon scored the ice, allowing Harrison's boots to find purchase as he raced after the fleeing witch.

She's trying to get to higher ground. The ice has almost eliminated her steering capabilities, so she's trying to take the only safe route she can: up.

So? Addy laughed in her head, We can follow her.

Addy's ice started slowly working it's way over his shoulders, cool, but not too cold. It fashioned itself into a sort of pauldron over his shoulders, spreading outward across his chest.

Wanna see something... cool?

Ice cascaded over Harrison's torso like melting wax, shaping into sheets that immediately contoured to his figure. The next kick sent him forward with renewed vigor as he slid into a low skating stance. One foot after another, he pursued the fleeing witch with little more than a wave to condense the ice into a path before him.

Perhaps we can revise the design just a bit... Drawing her wavelength into him, Harrison smirked as shards formed atop the armor in a clear intimidation tactic, jutting like spines along his torso.

Ooh, she mused, reading the wavelength like a schematic, bulking up and out and allowing for flexibility through the joints, I like the way you think.

If we're going to go this far with it, we may as well do so with some flair. Harrison lazily flicked the staff again, nodding appreciatively as vents coalesced down the back of his armor. Drawing her wavelength in again, he pushed kicked forwards, frigid air howling as it was expelled through the vents like a geyser. He was almost disappointed he couldn't see himself from a third-party perspective. She's almost there...just a little closer...

The witch swung a hard right, trying to figure out how to balance the new weight. The clock lit brightly behind her, a slow, resounding 'gong' sound reverberating through the city below them.

Get her!