I guess if we've gotta... (Arc and Rackie) (T)

"He was just trying to help us..." Ana said, lifting her head to look at Luna properly. She didn't really recognise her, as she was. The words that came from her next didn't help either, cutting deep like knives and hurting much more than any magic could ever hope to. She let the girl go and stepped back, gaping like some fish as she tried to find words. "I... I didn't... I didn't... I..." Ana shook her head to deny her words, even if she was partially correct, if only in the loosest sense. Ana turned away from Luna and ran in the direction she came from, suppressing the sobs which still came nontheless. If she didn't feel like she failed Luna before, she definitely did right now. She had done as the sorcerer had said because she wanted to help him help them. She thought that Luna was only upset because of the magic, up until she reacted so badly at her being wielded by someone else. She thought that she could allow the sorcerer to see her weapon form for just a moment, without it being too hard on Luna. She never meant to hurt her lover, not in a million years! She didn't do it to make her jealous on purpose... It wasn't her fault that the idea of Luna wanting her for herself and nobody else made her feel good even if for a moment; after all, Ana wanted to be only Luna's and nobody else's.

If Glyndwr were honest, he was stuck between doing nothing so as to not make the situation worse and going right up to that stupid girl and doing something that nobody here would condone no matter what the circumstances were. She could say what she wanted about him, since she was right about that, but allowing herself to take her anger out on the people closest to her... It really didn't sit well with Glyndwr to let her get away with that, even if it wasn't really much of his business; he didn't do anything, however, staying by the tree.

"Ana!" Aurora immediately started running after the weapon. She felt responsible for that turn of events. So, so responsible and the words part was that she didn't know how to deal with it. The only thing she could do was going after Ana and offering her support.

Fuck... this is really... really... really bad... What should we do now? Argh! Why are the creators so cruel..?! I looked at Luna and clenched my teeth. I must stop whatever is going on inside her head. She isn't herself and I know it! And Glyndwr... argh! He knows fucking nothing about the situation! Fucking white knight. Alright, what should I do know? Hm... I think I should force Luna to break from the control of the sway. It's clouding her mind, for sure. "See what you've just done? You've broken the girl's heart!" I said, glaring at Luna, who kept her cold stare. I'm seriously losing my patience. "None of this would've happened if you accepted who you are! The pull of magic wouldn't be affecting your mind so much right now if you didn't try to pretend your magic doesn't exist!" I said and when I saw that she opened her mouth to say something, I immediately started speaking again. "Don't interrupt me! If you keep going on like this you will lose your friends! Even more, you will lose Ana! Do you really want to lose the only person who ever showed you, love?" Well, perhaps I was revealing too much, but whatever. I need to put an end to this madness right now! It seems like my scolding was effective. Luna started shaking and tears once again appeared in her eyes. She was about to break! I'm sorry, girl, I have to do this for your own good. "What if you were wrong about what you said about Ana? Alright, I'm sure she was happy that you proved that you wanted her only for herself, but you said way too much! She didn't intend to make you jealous! Do you really want to let such misjudgment cause you to become alone again? Just like before you met her?! DO YOU REALLY WANT TO BE HATED BY HER?" With every sentence, I was raising my voice more and more. My words were like swords stabbing directly into her soul. It was cruel, yes, but it was the only way, I'm afraid. It seems that... I succeeded... I'm sorry Luna.

Luna started breathing quickly as if she was unable to catch fresh air. Her whole body started trembling and her heart started aching terribly. It seemed like she was returning to her old self. The realization about what she'd done to Ana broke her. She'd never say such terrible things to her! "No... no... no... no! What have I done?! No! I didn't..! I... I... no..." Luna said. Maybe she wasn't stuttering as always, but her voice was shaking, indicating that she was about to start crying. The girl dropped to her knees and covered her face with her hands. She remembered everything. Every single cruel word she said to Glyndwr and Ana. She didn't mean any of that! She'd never, ever dare to hurt people so cruelly! That wasn't her or... was it? Even though she was controlled by the sway and her own magic, it was still her who said those words. "I... I-I-It's my fault... It's my... fault..." She whispered before she started crying with great, great despair that filled her heart.

She had been defeated. No one will deny that. However... this situation might repeat in the future if she keeps trying to ignore the dangers of being affected by the pull of magic. I know that that's why I must continue. I approached her and crouched on one knee in front of her. "Luna... What's happened... happened. Now you have to learn how to prevent this from happening again." I told her calmly, with a warm tone. "And Ana's newly discovered ability might help you with that... All you have to do is... Well, you must accept that you're a witch. A strong one. This also means that you have to be ready to fight with the pull of magic. The best way to do it is to simply start using your abilities. For a witch like you... well, hunting kishin eggs sounds like the best option to satisfy your hunger for destruction." I told her. I'm not sure if she understood what I'd told her, because she only started crying louder. I stood up and looked at Glyndwr, then shook my head. This thread is far from over...

Glyndwr watched the sorcerer speak to Luna in silence, partway through his speech decided that whatever he was going to do was never going to have the same effect that what this guy said would. Glyn made the right decision in staying put and letting those that know more about what is going on handle things. Stuffing his hands into the pockets of his jacket, he pushed away from the tree and walked up to both the sorcerer and Luna. "It was my fault, asking your weapon to transform for me without asking you. I didn't think about it, at all. Sorry." Glyndwr said, then crouched down so that he wasn't talking down to Luna. "Before you can start thinking about how to deal with your Sway, though, I think you need to go and make up with your partner."

Her partner, who had sat herself down below a tree crying into the knees which she was holding up against her chest, didn't know what to do about herself. She didn't know if she lost the Luna she fell in love with or if it was just an effect of her using her magic. Would she end up saying that sort of stuff all the time? Ana wouldn't be able to take it. When other people said things about her, she couldn't care less, but Luna's words stuck and they stuck hard.

Aurora slowly approached Ana and sat next to her. There wasn't much she could do really. That's why she decided to do the only thing that seemed appropriate. Aurora gently placed a hand on Ana's shoulder and looked at her with a caring look. Words wouldn't help in such a situation, that's why Aurora remained silent, only showing Ana that she was there for her.

"But I hurt her so much..." Luna replied quietly, after calming down a bit. "I accused her of something she... she would never do..." She sounded like her whole world got crushed, burned, destroyed.

"Listen to the man. He's started talking with sense." I said calmly. No, she needs to hear something that will give her hope. "You don't want to keep Ana crying, right? Go to her now. She wouldn't let suffer for too long." I told her and it seemed like it was enough to encourage her to do something.

Luna looked up at them both. Her eyes were red from crying and she seemed so weak and helpless. She was like a lost child who'd lost something very, very important to her. However, what Glyndwr and Raccoon told her was enough to ensure her that it wasn't the right time to cry over something that'd already happened. She needed to go to Ana fast before the wounds on her heart would become too deep to heal them. "T-Thank you... a-and I'm... I'm sorry for causing... all this trouble..." Luna told them quietly before standing up weakly. It was clear that the emotional rollercoaster, as well as the sudden outburst of her magical energy, made her very tired. She knew she deserved to be scolded more. She knew she didn't even deserve to be with Ana. She knew she probably wouldn't be able to fix everything. However, she wasn't going to justify her actions. She was the one who lost control again and she needed to face the consequences of it. No matter how devastating they would be for her poor weak heart.
And so Luna started walking in the direction Ana went, hoping she'd find her as soon as it was possible.

After she was gone, I stood up and sighed. "And to think that none of that would have happened if the mysterious seal on her soul remained untouched" I said, more to myself than to Glyndwr. To be honest, from a certain perspective I'm the one responsible for everything bad that has happened in this thread. That's why I was trying to hard to calm everything down... That's... well, all I could do to help Luna. Good luck.

Ana didn't really react to Aurora's hand, preferring to stay in her own little space and interact with everything outside it as little as possible. Even if that space was filled with her worries. There was also the duality of wanting to see Luna most and least of all at the same time. She wanted the comfort of having her near, but she really didn't want to see her if she was going to be like she was back there...

After Ana was well out of the way and and out of earshot, Glyndwr fell back from his crouch to sit on the ground instead. "Aurora probably didn't envision me fucking up this badly when she brought me along, huh?" he said to the sorcerer. "You dealt with that better than I could hope to. Thanks, I guess, for fixing what's largely my fault."

Aurora shook her head and retracted her hand. After a moment she also stood up, realizing that only Luna can fix the situation. She knew she'd come. She had to.

Luna managed to find Ana quickly, well, mostly thanks to Aurora who was standing next to her. Her heart started beating like crazy. She was scared. Terrified. Of herself and of Ana's possible reaction. She knew that her chances of being forgiven were low and yet... she hoped everything would turn out well in the end. Luna didn't want to look Ana in the eyes. She was scared of what she'd see in them. However, Luna knew that she had to do everything she could to make Ana feel better. The girl took a deep breath and approached her lover. Once she found herself close enough, she kneeled on the ground in front of her. For a moment Luna was unable to say anything. Seeing her beloved one in such state was... a soul-crushing experience. "A-Ana..." Luna said quietly and looked away, scared to look Ana in the eyes. "I... I'm so sorry about what happened, Ana... I... I... I wasn't myself... I swear..." Luna said quietly, barely keeping herself from crying again. It was her time to be strong. For Ana.

I didn't deserve to receive any thanks. Especially not from him. I cheated. Besides... it's all my fault. I broke the curse. I was only managed to help Luna thanks to my own curse... my madness strand. The madness of reality. I put my hands into the pockets of my trousers and let out another sigh. "In a situation like this, should we really blame someone who was provided with insufficient knowledge? You didn't do much wrong. Really, nobody expected Luna to react like this. Nobody expected the sway to... erupt... now. The only thing that you realllllly could be blamed for was lack of caution when you asked to see Ana's weapon form. I merely did what I thought I needed to do." I explained calmly and closed my eyes. I really hope the rest of this thread will go smoothly.

Hearing Luna's voice made Ana's gaze quickly snap up out of her self-imposed isolation. Her puffy eyes were wide open as she looked over her lover for any hint of the coldness that she had displayed before Ana ran away from her. Seeing none of it and hearing her apologise was all that she needed to completely forgive the girl for everything she said. She sniffed and hiccuped before she started to cry harder again, though mostly now because she was overwhelmed by the happiness that came from her Luna having returned back to her standard, meek self. "Luuuunaaaaaaaaaaaa!" she cried once again as she once again threw herself at her, knocking them both to the ground in the process, hugging her harder than she probably had ever before. "You're baaaaaaaaaaaack!"

"That's what I'm talking about when I say it's my fault," Glyndwr said, pushing himself back up onto his feet, then brushing the dirt off of himself. He put his soul protect up, proceeding to then quickly fix his hair after it fell down around his face. "You're alright, Raccoon. You almost turned Allelujah into a pincushion, too, so you're two for two with me," he said as he started to walk back towards the clearing where they were before.

Luna expected to be yelled at, pushed away or worse. That's why Ana's reaction was completely unexpected for her. Not only it seemed like the weapon forgave her, but also was very happy to see her come back to normal. However, Luna's worries and feeling of guilt weren't gone as they should. She needed to forgive herself and for her, she didn't deserve it yet. When she got knocked by Ana to the ground and trapped in a very tight hug, Luna couldn't help but smile in happiness. Her efforts to keep herself from crying completely failed and she ended up crying as hard as her lover. "I'm back... I'm back Anaaa!" Luna replied as if she was trying to ensure the weapon that it was true. The witch wrapped her arms around her partner and hugged her tightly.

Aurora smiled at the scene. It was so cute and touching. They deserved a moment for themselves, that's why, without a word, Aurora left them alone and walked off to find the two sorcerers to share the good news with them. "I swear, these two will make my heart melt from cuteness one day." The fox witch thought and chuckled.

I couldn't help but smirk at the memory of my first encounter with the crazy Death Scythe. Funny times. Well, I'm surprised Glyndwr even remembers my intervention. In the current case though... I feel like a cheater. Seriously, I only did what my creator expected me to do. I used all my knowledge about Luna's character to help her and yet... It still feels like cheating because we're creations of the same person. Oh well, I guess I should just enjoy my little victory instead of trying to deny its value, right?
I followed Glyndwr, hoping the training would resume after all. Luna and Ana still needed to learn a few things and I believe that with the dragon rider's help, everything will be just easier. "By the way, I'm honestly impressed by your fire sword. Such level of control over your powers makes you a true sorcerer in my eyes." I told him with full honesty.

Ana wouldn't let Luna go until she had stopped crying, which took a little while; she then sat up, wiping at her eyes while sniffling. She really didn't do anything to make herself a little more presentable, figuring that it really wasn't going to work. "So then, Luna... Do you want to go back to continue with trying to train, or not?"

Glyndwr stood by at the edge of the clearing, to wait for the girls to come back, or to see whether or not Luna and Ana even would. "Actually, it might seem like I have good control of it, but I need a catalyst to create it when I'm not resonating with Yurio," he said, not bothering to explain who Yurio was, knowing full well that the two of them knew each other. "Like this knife of mine. A bladed edge of some sort. I'm still training to make it on it's own like that sword you were using before," Glyndwr explained. "Honestly, I'm just faking it 'till I'm able to make it. Although, I am proud of being able to create a blunt edge."

Luna needed more way more time to calm down entirely and once she actually did, she still kept sniffling and rubbing her eyes. The girl would surely remain in such a state if Ana didn't ask her a question. A question she preferred to hear a bit later. Some of her worries came back to her causing her to become silent for a moment. After that, she looked at Ana weakly and sighed. "I don't think we have any other choice now..." Luna finally said, though she sounded like she wasn't too eager to resume the training, she knew they had to. To make sure she'd never hurt Ana again.

"I'm still impressed. If you want we can meet with Aurora's sister some other day and just focus on helping you summon a complete sword without the need for any catalyst." I told him. Helping him improve his skills sounds like tons of fun. I'd like to try playing a teacher.

Aurora managed to find the two sorcerers quickly. She approached them with a wide satisfied smile on her face and chuckled. "Everything's okay now. Though I suppose we'll have to wait for them to come to us. Last time I saw them they were hugging each other on the ground." The fox witch explained and giggled happily. She really enjoyed seeing the cuteness of Ana and Luna. They were her favorite ship in Death City.

"Ah, I don't want to bother Angela too much," Glyndwr said, shrugging. He could get this down on his own, if not as quickly as he might be able to with the help of a pair of magic users helping. He could deal with that. Glyn's attention was on Aurora once she arrived, curious as to whether Luna managed everything fine. A smile and a sigh of relief showed how he felt about the news she brought.

Ana leaned in and gave Luna a quick kiss on the lips just before standing up. She smiled down at Luna before she lifted her up too. "It'll be fine," she said. She couldn't say that she liked the fact that Luna was forcing herself, but she couldn't argue with it in the end; for Luna's sake, they needed to get stronger and Luna needed to be able to control her powers and herself. A repeat of all that, Ana knew, would break both of them every time it happened. She took Luna's hand and lead them off towards the most likely of locations for everyone to gather, the clearing.

"Hahaha, I don't know what you were talking about, but know that you'd never bother my sister. Especially when it's about magic." Aurora told Glyndwr before a wide grin replaced her smile. Well, it was quite easy to guess that Raccoon and Glyndwr were talking about improving their skills or something like that.

Soon Luna and Ana finally joined the rest of the group, which was also a sign that they were ready to continue the training (whether Luna liked it or not). With all the new discoveries, they could actually focus on finding the best fighting style for the two.
However, before they could start, Luna had something to say. "I... I... Uhm... I w-would like to... o-once again apologize for all the trouble I... I... c-caused... I promise I... I promise that I'll never let anything like that happen again..." It was a very sincere apology.

"All's well, spilled milk, et cetera. In the end nobody's hurt and you've apologised enough as it is, plus nobody blames you for what happened either way, I'm sure," Glyndwr said, with a smile, "And if anything, you've made progress. Your Soul Protect is still down and you're entirely in control," he then added.

Luna also wasn't the only one that wanted to say something. "Raccoon... Thank you, for helping turn Luna back when she transformed and also sorry, for a few reasons," she said to the raccoon sorcerer. "Anyway... What's the plan, then?"

"Y-You're right! Haha!" Luna said happily. Since the incident she kept her soul protect down and didn't feel any signs of the sway taking control over her actions again. It was a wonderful feeling for her. She started smiling widely, gaining new hope that taming her powers might be easier than suspected.

Another person thanking me for helping Luna? Damn, I really don't deserve it. Really, I only did what my creator wanted me to do! Besides, it was all planned by the creators from the start! Alright, fine, I'll accept those words of gratitude and treasure them as the greatest reward. Being "the good guy" feels good. "Uhm... thanks... I tried my best to help Luna after... everything..." I said, with sincere modesty.

"By the way! At least we finally know what Luna's animal form is!" Aurora said with a grin. It seemed like she wanted to turn the whole thing into a joke of some sort. "She a cute white doggo!" The witch said and let out a chuckle. "Alright, the first transformation might've been an abomination, but I'm sure her normal animal form looks absolutely gorgeous. After all, she's a white wolf!"

Luna seemed a little embarrassed by Aurora's words. On the other hand, she kept smiling, quite happy that she had such an interesting animal form. Perhaps she should practice transformation too? It didn't seem too difficult... especially after watching Ana transform into a weapon on multiple occasions. Oh, right! They needed a plan. "Uhm... c-could I... uhm... practice b-both wielding Ana and... uhm... using magic... A-At the same time, I mean..? If it wouldn't be a problem, of course!" Luna asked, a little bit scared to make such a brave request.

"Of course Luna's animal form is a beautiful one, there was no way it wasn't going to be," Ana said, blushing just a little after saying that but otherwise acting like it was no big deal. She looked across all three of the magic users gathered to help them train. "I'd like to figure out exactly what it was that happened earlier with my weapon form, too," she said.

"Fine with me," Glyndwr said, regardless of the fact that magic training was the thing he'd technically be the least suited for, even if it was mixed with weapon training.

"If something goes wrong, I'll just use my anti-spell so I think we're ready for everything." Aurora told everyone as she crossed her arms on her chest. In a way she was right. Glyndwr was their sword arts teacher. Aurora was their safety expert and Raccoon... well... Raccoon is Raccoon, he was their problem solver (and their troublemaker).

Luna gently took Ana's hand. "Let's figure it out then..." Luna said, smiling gently at her partner. There was also a blush on her cheeks, which was most likely caused by Ana's compliment about her animal form. "Can you transform for me, please?" The witch asked. It seemed like she was more and more eager to learn something new during the training.

Ana nodded at Luna before doing as she was asked and transforming in front of Luna, as she had earlier in the day. "We've gotta get strong quickly, so lets get things going."

Glyndwr moved away from the group some ways into the clearing. Once more, he deactivated his soul protect and summoned a fire blade over his knife, though this time it was a greatsword that when point down in the ground reached the bottom of his neck. It was also a decent amount thicker than a normal sword of that kind usually was. He felt it provided him with a better defense against any magic that might come his way, as even if he did trust Aurora in defending him against the more dangerous things, nobody is infallible. "The way I like to teach is somewhat reckless, I know, but... Do your best to hit me with anything you've got, and I'll tell you what to do as we go along."

That wasn't what Luna planned. At all. Quickly her eagerness got weakened by Glyndwr's going ahead of everything. Besides, she had a few objections about his teaching style. "P-Please let me figure out a few things first...alright?" Luna requested and without waiting for his approval, focused on Ana. "U-Uhm... o-okay... so... When he... touched you... What exactly happened? What did... what did you feel? I... I mean... did you feel magic go through you or something?" Luna asked Ana, trying to figure out how to replicate the previous effect of the weapons' interaction with magical energy. Though it was clear that the topic of Glyndwr touching Ana was still... extremely delicate for Luna. Not to say unpleasant. A part of her was still sad that it even happened.

"All in your own time, of course, I was just explaining," Glyndwr said when Luna told him that she wanted to figure something out beforehand. He stood at the ready, like some knight awaiting a challenger; although he wasn't going to be fighting anyone today but merely defending.

"It just sort of happened," Ana answered, "I wasn't really trying to remember at the time, but I think it really just felt like using a normal wavelength ball, just with the spell being cast at the end of my weapon form," the explanation certainly wasn't the most comprehensive, but that's all that Ana had to say.

"By the way, Luna. Remember what Ms. Coon told you about mantras? It's our way of focusing the energy. You should start using one if you want to really start controlling your powers. " Aurora told Luna as if she was giving her hints. Perhaps she'd figured something out already?

Mantra. Mantra... magical words the witches use before actually using any spells. After hearing some of the mantras from other witches, she came to a conclusion that using them is rather embarrassing. Yet, it was probably her turn to form her own one. So, Luna closed her eyes and focused, trying to figure out what would work best for her. She was apparently a wolf witch, so her mantra should have something to do with her animal form. Probably... Luna started focusing on the magic inside her and gaining energy. The first thing that would come to her head would become her mantra- that's what Luna decided. Focus... Focus... Luna imagined a white wolf. "Wooof, Awoof?" Left Luna's mouth. Though immediately after she heard her own voice, her face turned red. She accepted her mantra despite it being... just silly. Luna cleared her throat. "Ahem, wooof, awoof." She felt that her powers were becoming stronger and yet she had an almost complete control over them. Perhaps it was time to test one of her spells? "O-okay... let's see... Ana? I'll try to send magic through you and... uh... I... I'll try to use my magic to create something, a-a-alright?" Luna said, or rather asked as if she wasn't sure if that was a good idea.

Ana giggled somewhat quietly at the mantra, though since she was in weapon form, she really couldn't hide it from Luna. It was cute, a perfect fit for Luna, she thought. "I'm not so sure you have to actively think about doing it, thinking about what happened with Glyn, but go on. Cast a spell. I'm also curious about how your magic is, so I want to see."

Luna took a deep breath. She wanted to use her powers in a non-destructive way. It was possible... well, it was possible according to ms. Coon and the teacher's word was enough to ensure the young witch that she could try using a certain spell she'd learned. Luna suddenly remembered all those fantasy books with mages in them. Most of them had long staves which they used to cast spells. For a moment she really felt like one of those fantasy mages. Well, of course, from a certain point of view she was one since she was a witch but... to her "mage" sounded better than "witch". "Let's see then... be my w-witch's staff, Ana!" Luna said and realizing how silly her words sounded, also giggled. The witch pointed the weapon towards an empty space, away from the rest of the group and focused on one point. She wanted to create a small object of magical energy. Something that looked like a bit like a brick. "M-Magic manipulation- create object!" Luna chanted, trying to focus all of her energy into that spell. According to ms. Coon simple objects were very easy to create. The bigger or the more detailed the object was, the more difficult it was to create it. That's why Luna started with a magical brick. It wasn't big nor complicated. Luna tried sending the magic of the spell through Ana, instead of using her hand. She hoped her plan would work...

"Of course!" Ana played along with Luna's silly call, since it was a bit of fun and Ana figured that having fun while doing all of this was a much better idea than being all serious about it. The spell which Luna used was captured by Ana's weapon form and recast as normal, though instead of a brick of any random kind, what appeared where Ana was pointed was a brick that looked more ornate than anything and more refined than could otherwise be expected from a beginner.

"Woah! A-Awesome! I-It looks more detailed than I've planned!" Luna said, amazed by the effects. It was like a confirmation to her that Ana was, in fact, a real, properly working witch's staff. Luna was extremely excited by that fact and she just couldn't help but giggle happily. "This is s-so cool!" Luna commented, completely lost in her fantasies. "O-Okay! Time for something m-more dangerous. Be ca-ca-careful everyone" Luna said and smiled like a child who was playing with her dream toy. "T-This time we're using m-my b-basic destructive b-beam, Ana..." The witch warned. With the weapon aimed at the brick they'd created, Luna chanted another spell "Weak energy... b-beam!" It seemed like Luna was getting more and more excited.

"It's strange, how my weapon form is perfect for a witch," Ana said, happy to be seeing Luna being so happy in turn, especially so since she was the source of that glee. The beam that fired from the tip of Ana's form was a standard beam, it simply had more energy than in Luna had cast it on her own. The brick, predictably, reacted as the normal brick would have with the standard beam; they were both amplified by about the same amount.