Again.

1:16 AM
Death City, Nevada
9/15/2016

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A sickening crack echoed through the training grounds as one of the large trees deep within toppled, hitting the ground and sending a small impact-wave through the ground. The base of the tree and the stump were both blackened, as if burnt. Laying on her back beside the stump was none other than Mrs. Levinson herself. Her right hand was as black as the tree's base, her eyes closed. The burden of exhaustion tugged heavy at her muscles, urging her to stay down... And for only a moment, she listened, beginning to drift off into a slumber... However, only minutes later, the woman shot up, her blackened hand moving to cover over her right eye, running it up through her hair with a look of terror in her eyes. Her breathing was heavy, her movements sow and shaken now. The charcoal black smudged her face, stained her hair, but she seemed to give no mind.

Taking a deep breath, the meister tried with all her might to collect herself, taking only a moment to transition to calm, but only a moment to turn to anger and frustration as well, punching the ground, creating a tiny crater where she hit as a flare-up of her wavelength occurred. The crimson droplets began to flow, dripping from her hand to the ground as she took to her feet, turning to face another tree. The hand lit up, the blade she'd now honed as her right hand taking shape as she approached the tree, lifting the Rose-Colored Blade to give it a solid blow. Thwack! The blade sunk in, darkening the area of impact and creating a notch in the tree. She pulled her arm back as that all-too-familiar vioce chimed in from the bottom of her soul. Again! Thwack! Again! Thwack! Slowly, with every hit, the blade carved deeper into the tree... How many trees had she felled now? 3...? 4...? Her hand burned... Over-use of her Rose-Colored Blade, no doubt... She didn't care... She had to push... She had to...

Again! Thwack!

A commotion in the training grounds was always unremarkable; people trained there all the time. The place was torn up and nobody batted an eye when more of it was being shredded by a meister or weapon training themselves to fight. The reason that the man known as the Corsair was drawn to the grounds was not because of some random student, but because of the rose-red glow emanating from the site. When he arrived to see Tessa, just as he expected to, he watched from a distance.

He watched up until his personality seemed to change as it often did; he started approaching her, a refined gait fit for someone noble or otherwise very pompous. During this approach, he lifted his hat and twirled it on his finger and rolled it from one hand to the other across his shoulders. It was quite the feat, considering the height of the hat. Soon as the had landed in his right hand, he threw it towards the woman, aiming to have it land on her head.

Agai- The feeling stopped as the hat landed on her head, Tessa's body freezing as the familiar voice filled her head. The red glow stopped as she turned to face the man, looking him in the eyes. "...Corsair." She mumbled, pulling the hat from her head to observe it. "The Demon Drill, Autonomous Death Scythe. You bloomed as a weapon rather late, but you changed out there, and quickly adapted to your new weapon powers. It's no wonder I had a hard time keeping up... Did you want something from me?" She rambled, flipping the hat once before tossing it lightly back to him.

The sight of him made her soul burn. There were still people out there that could keep up with her, even pass her. He was one of them. She hated him and yet... He was oddly interesting to her... Deep, deep down she had another feeling... A warmth... Was she glad to see him...? No! That didn't make sense... She had researched him, but nothing that came up was useful... Just pointless tidbits on the few things the school actually knew about him...

A quiet chuckle came from the Corsair as he caught his hat and flipped it back onto his head, a grin slowly appearing as he sat himself down on the ground, legs crossed. "I see you did some research." The tone was much faster and not at all refined like the previous one. Rushed, probably. "What the academy knows about me is what I know about me. I could have had a great life before I turned into what I am today, but I wouldn't know. It's one of the things I think about when my head clears a little. What I could have been. It's never clear enough to remember." He went on at length, but it didn't take long to say at all. He gave a quick laugh before he continued to speak again. "I did some research too, you know? I was so interested... A meister, alone, able to take on a Death Scythe and an autonomous one at that? That's amazing. You injured me, I was amazed at some point after the fight. Can't remember when." He continued rambling and only stopped for whatever it was that was so amusing to him. "Oh, yes, Tessa, I looked you up." He seemed to remember his original train of thought. "A dead weapon, sorry for that loss, that seems to explain exactly why you act so recklessly." 

His tone changed completely before he shot up off of the ground, into something resembling anger, but something that wasn't actually really angry at all. It definitely wasn't anything to do with the current situation, anyway. "What are you doing? Couldn't find that out from any files. Why?"

Tessa sighed, giving a light shrug. "I'm training. I'm an inactive meister, but I'm thinking about going after a witch to test my limits... I dunno... Might resign altogether. Travel for awhile..." She replied, the steady dripping from her hand had not stopped. Beneath the black soot from the trees that coated it, the hand's skin had been mostly burnt away... Not that one could really tell that by just looking.

The Corsair stepped around Tessa, once, in a circle. He stopped where he started and stood for a while, looking at her as if trying to figure something out. In the end he ended up circling her again and tutting once. "You know, revenge isn't going to do anything for you if it's not against the person who killed your partner." It was the only conclusion that Corsair could have thought of; it was quite obvious he tried to think of others, too. He even entertained believing Tessa's explanation at face value. "You'll get yourself killed, you know. I beat a witch all alone and you couldn't completely beat me."

The words obviously cut deep, Tessa's eyes flaring up red... Literally. "I've come a long way since then! Besides...." Tessa's eyes seemed to fade to realization. "She's dead... The school killed her..." She sighed, gripping her fists tightly. "I can do it... I'll prove it..." She muttered, the voice tearing it's way from the bottom of her soul once more. Show him! Draw all the power you can!

Flicking his hat off towards a low hanging tree branch, Corsair stepped back from Tessa and transformed his right arm into his weapon form. A fight was unavoidable. At this point, it would end much worse than it did the time before. Nothing as minor as broken ribs and a hole in the side. No, not at all. Corsair's face twisted into another grin as he took on a stance. "If you did your research right..." The Corsair spoke as his drill revved up, beginning to hum from the speed. The 'exhaust' which seemed to protrude from underneath his elbow spurted a black smoke and licks of red fire. "You'd know that I pulled my punches. Beat me and I'll leave you alone. If I beat you, or if it ends like last time... Well, we'll both have something to work for, won't we."

.
    A young and aspiring meister who was training nearby was covering himself in sweat as he strained his body and his wavelength when he heard the loud revving of an engine. He had heard a woman trining for quite some time, but he, for the most part, was inspired by her hard work. He had assumed that she was cutting up trees based off of the crashing sounds he had been hearing, but now it sounded like there was a chainsaw involved now. Leaving him wondering if she was just cutting down trees and not training. Plagued by curiosity he headed to the sound wearing little more than his pants revealing a scar from a deep cut on his throat and many more on his chest and back. A hat was thrown in his direction, and he ducked under it as if it was a arrow headed for his face because he knew full well that it could have been one.

Tessa quickly took a fighting stance, her still-searing right hand glowing red as the blade formed. Her eyes lit up red, engulfing themselves as she gave a smirk. "Okay.... You want a real fight...? I'll give you one." She stated, the wind around her picking up for a moment before settling eerily still. Her wavelength cast an uneasy veil across the area, and any who could sense souls could tell that hers was unstable, resting on the edge of a very fine balance. Without hesitation, she made a line straight for her opponent, no... her enemy. He was in the way. He was in her way. He had to go...