Chapter Five: Filler Part Four

Julian and I walked quickly to the door, me because I wanted to get to fight as soon as possible, but Julian on the other hand because he seemed to want to get out of here as soon as possible, the looking over his shoulder every couple of steps really gave it away. I could see why some of these women in here looked like they’re on the verge of attacking him...and some of the guys.

I didn’t really see the big deal about him, sure I wanted to attack him too but I wanted to do so in the more literal sense. He certainly not mr. tall, dark, and handsome, like yours truly, but more like mr. short, pale, and pretty and some lightings, like a bar or club per say, could be mistaken for a girl. Anyway Julian’s circumstances drifted out of my head as soon as we stepped out of the club.

I tensed my legs and jumped a good twenty feet back, and faced Julian, bowed and said “Thank you for the chance to spar.” He raised an eyebrow, but didn’t say anything. “Alright are you ready to begin?” When you’re sparring it’s polite to ask that and a habit I picked up a while ago.

He responded by sending a huge blast of force at me. His motion for the spell was quick, but not impossible to see, and I could feel him gather the powerful magic for it before releasing it, and the air that was pushed forward by it, would made it easy to tell where to dodge away from his magical suckerpunch. And dodging away from it, I rushed towards Julian, and found myself sailing through the air, the first blast had been a decoy to a subtler lance of force that he had been collecting, and then I hit the wall behind me hard enough to knock the breath out of me.

It was a good thing the one was weaker than the first, I could sense how much magic he had put behind it and if it had as much as the first I would be on the next block over wall or no wall. Usually when a mage is doing subtler magic, like what Julian had just hit me, with will be weaker than on the fly magic because it’s more controller unless they’re an enormously powerful mage or a full blown wizard.

Before I fell I shifted by center and tensed my legs and launched off the wall, feeling it crumble under the force, and at Julian. As I flew myself at Julian, he seemed suspiciously open, I mean sure mages are not exactly great at close quarters but even this was a little much, so right before I shifted my weight and flipped to ground right before him, right as a great wall of fire appeared before him, and burning all the trash on the ground causing a terrible smell and oily smoke. I felt the heat and jumped back, and I did so at the right time, as a the wall became a flaming orb and sent a whip of fire of where I stood. I smiled, I think I might like you Julian you don’t hold back.

The orb of fire floated aloft from Julian’s hand, and looked a little smaller, but a burst of magic later it was the same size, no bigger. I guess since the cats out of the bag no need to keep it a secret right?

Julian then sent waves of sweltering, white flame snakes at me. Making me dodge from, one position to the next not letting me rest, but that is the best way to beat a close quarters expert like me, to keep a distance and wear down their stamina till they’re helpless.

But as I got further away from Julian the serpents grew less powerful, til they’re not much more than dangerous than candle flames I didn’t even bother to dodge them. I took a look at where Julian is, he hadn’t even moved and his orb is around the same size as it was since he amped it up. He seemed to have to stopped his assault for the moment but I could feel the magic build up, I didn’t have long. I started thinking fast, causing yet another nosebleed, the fact he hadn’t moved yet was either a good sign or a bad sign. It meant that either he couldn’t more while handling that spell or he was an enormous badass that who was playing with me. I choose the former, and formed a plan.

I reached down grabbed a couple of rocks and tensed my legs and jumped up into the air, and none too soon because a giant hand of flame slammed into my former position burning everything. I shifted my center again, and flipped to the wall and started running on it. My sudden defying of gravity surprised Julian, and I threw a rock at him. Once he saw my movement he sighed and let the orb disappear, and the rock hit a shimmering wall of air. This confirmed my suspicions so it was the first option, he couldn’t move the orb.

I kept launching rocks at Julian, and getting closer to him at the same time. The rocks kept hitting his force shield and turning them into dust. Once I got within twenty feet of him, I launched off the wall at him and prepared to throw a jab at his force shield. The moment I was about to hit his shield though, he smirked. Oh shit.

He motion one hand and angled another. He sent his shield of force at me launching me into the air above him. He smirked and then gather a wave of force and blasted at me, I felt it coming and dodged. He kept sending waves of force at me but I dodged as I felled, I was grinning as I fell. Once I was fifty feet above me he stopped and started gather a massive amount of magic, my grin grew even bigger.

He did nothing as I kept falling, and the moment I came within ten feet of falling distance, I flipped and axed kicked at his shoulder. But the moment I was about to connect with his shoulder, he released the magic and I hit a newly made force shield that shimmered all around him. I jumped off the shield and started to launch blow after powerful blow at his shield looking for a weak spot, though it didn’t seem to have any I felt it weakening. I tossed my last rock at him breaking his shield with a resounding crack, once I heard the crack I rush at him, who’s face is panicked at the breaking of his shield.

I stopped before right before him, planted my feet and swung a heavy punch at his gut. And then before the blow connected a great force hit me in the side breaking some of my ribs with a disgusting crack, I yelped as it hit and I hit a building sending me through and into another building and another, and I stopped after what felt like another block…. I don’t know I was just sent through like a bunch of buildings.

I staggered up tasted some blood in my mouth and spat it out, I staggered out of caved in wall and walk through the several me shaped holes. I came back to the alley and saw Morgan cradling Julian in her arms. She smiled, and said sweetly “If you think that you can harm my little Julian in front of my establishment, then you my idiotic brute are retarded.Oh and your food is ready.” She then turned to Julian looking at him softly.

I spoke up a little angrily “I wasn’t going to harm him that bad, plus we were sparring, and he agreed to it-” She cut me off before I could say anything else, the bitch. “I don’t care, what you call what you were doing back here I can tell you this, It’s not sparring.”

She then gestured to the ruined and smoking alley, there are holes in the walls where I was running and gorges from throwing rocks and Julian's magic. It looked like a warzone, but not the worst one I’ve seen, but she had a point we may have gone to too far with this little battle.

Morgan spoke as soon as my gaze returned “That power you two just showed is flat out abnormal for kids your age, and just think how much you two can grow,” She said softly “But just because you're strong doesn’t give you the right to break down the city and trying to kill each other.” I choose to ignore the hypocrisy of her sending me through several buildings.

“Ok then, I’ll just go eat then, if you don’t mind I’ll bring Julian in with me-” she slapped my hand as I reached down to pick up Julian, who I don’t know passed out from exhaustion or Morgan suffocating him.

“I quite do mind, I hardly get anytime with Julian so I’ll bring him when I’m done.” Julian woke up once she was done talking, and looked even more panicked than from my punch, he looked at me with eyes screaming for help. I just smiled weakly and turned to go inside.

Once I got back to the table, I saw George and Damon tearing into their food, and once I tasted mine, buffalo wings with fries, I did so with little hesitation. Once we all finished our meals, George and Damon looked at me and said respectively.

“Woah you look like…. Well you just got your ass beat, what happened? I know Julian is powerful, but... woah” George said concerned.

“I would expect nothing less from my master! But where is he? He’s not dead is he you didn’t kill him you bastard did you?!” Damon asked pridely and then with rage.

I raised my hand to them and cleaned my nosebleed, and answered “It wasn’t Julian, it was Morgan she sent me on a surprise trip to the other side of town when she saw I was about to hit Julian, Julian’s alright but a little tired he used some fun magic, I’ll show you guys it later. But Morgan’s got him for now. ” I then turned to George and said

“Hey what’s the story between Morgan and Julian?” George was still processing what I said and Damon looked ashamed and panicked.

George spoke a moment later while sighing “Let me tell you, I brought Julian here as a joke actually because Morgan had been looking down, she’s my second cousin actually,” Know that I think about it she does look a little like George.

“Because It’s always been a joke in the family since I was little that she liked little boys, and since Julian looks the way he does, and she gets mighty riled up when someone brings up the joke, I thought I could get her out of her funk.” Damon then spoke angrily

“You think to use your betters as jokes, and now he’s some wench’s toy, I should slay you right here you-”

George then turned to Damon. “But I didn’t think that It would end up like this. I mean the first time she saw him her face lit up and turned flush, and she just about raped the poor kid, well not so poor he’s a noble, anyway It took a whole squad of guards to pull her off. When I asked her about it later and she said she thinks it love at first sight, so anyway I bring him here to get free food.” Damon then started to strangle him.

I pulled him off a moment later, and he flashed me thumbs up, and spoke

“Anyway let's here what Julian-”

“You shall address him as Master Julian-”

I said my piece “Get your stick out of your ass Damon and stop interrupting George or I’ll bring Julian here everyday.” He blushed and then shut up. George continued to speak unharmed “Atlas I do that anyway, and Let’s hear what Julian has to say about this...situation with my cousin.” I was fine with waiting on Julian, turns out my rest ability amplified my ability to recover when not moving, and I need to recover.

Julian didn’t appear for about an hour later, cover from head to toe in black lipstick but otherwise fine. He sat down and eat his cold food unbothered.

After he was down Damon spoke to Julian “Master, this cur here,” he gestured to the smiling George “say’s he brings you here to get free food, is that true?”

Julian nodded his head. “And that woman molests you for the free food, he’s given is that true?” George spoke “Hey, I didn’t say that!” Julian continued to nod, and Damon shot him a withering look and was just about to start strangle George again before Julian spoke “The food here is worth it though, I get free food here too, and George helps me get here. Please don’t kill him Damon.” He then fell asleep against the wall and Damon’s jaw dropped and Georges just looked smug, and my ribs still hurt.

We left soon after and carefully avoiding Morgan.

Damon and George looked at the alley a little slack jawed, George recovered first and smiled “Glad to be friends with you Atlas!”

We made it back to Julian's lot. We placed him in his earthen mansion, I talked with George and Damon some more and just as I was about to leave, Julian woke and he said “Atlas.”

I responded “Yes?”

“Today was fun, please come again.” He said with a grin.

I returned it, and left.

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Later at night as I'm in my tent, mind drifts toward that mysterious power again and something tells how useful it would have been during my battle with Julain today. My mind begins to focus on it again, and I sit cross legged, controlling my breath.

I can fell sweat drift down my back, as I focus and try to call upon the power, to let it cover me. To exude it and crushing the weaklings who dare to fight me. The name is on the tip of my tongue again, and my lungs are straining. I can almost feel the power building upon me but I can't call out to it yet. Like a man dying of thrist during a rainstorm, It's all around me but I can't touch it. With it building up under my skin and so very close to remembering the name, I began to tremble and shake as the power is so close to me that I might be crushed under it's weight and power.

And then like a lit fuse reaching its end, everything blows up. I feel myself sail throw the air, but I don't mind, I know what that power is and how to call it forth. I hit my pine a second later, and before I let the darkness claim me, I whisper a word "Aura." Then everything goes black.

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I wake up with a throbbing pain all over, and can see my camp wrecked, the ground blasted apart and noticeable wound on my tree. I sigh and then begin cleaning up, but not before having a smile crack and letting out my aura and looking at it's honey sheen.