Gods of All Sorts

Æona winced at the pain taking a second glance down at her arm, fire certainly wasn't so hot among plant people. She certainly would have to baby her arm until this pain subsided at the very least a little.

The dryad sighed softly, this would be a lot more trying than she imagined. Perhaps, a more shocking approach. She lifted her uninjured right arm and pointed once again at Naoki. She hoped to hit her mark this time, she hoped it would be too quick for the Demi-Fiend to dodge.

(Asgarde's Stampede)

(Asgard's Stampede - 44)
(Burn Removal - 3)

Naoki took a second to observe what she was doing, before a giant translucent ram, shocking with electricity, seem to spring out of her grasp. He grabbed both sides of the running spectral animal, the impact pushing him back and the tingling feeling going all throughout his body, before flipping the ram over behind him as it collided with the tree behind them and vanished into thin air. Naoki found his movement impaired after the fact, clearly some sort of side effect of taking the brunt of the assault head on and any action he was planning to take he was finding difficult to go through with.
Æona had no time to feel satisfied about her successful hit, however, as the burn on her arm flared a little, clearly still sore from the previous attack.

Naoki: 37HP, Marogareh at 2 turns, Stun
Æona: 35HP, Burn

The dryad nodded to herself, Naoki was much more durable than he looked as he was certainly proving himself to be quite the formidable opponent. Though, she was starting to learn he was a bit of a hothead. Perhaps he needed to take a moment and smell the flowers, the soft scent would be quite calming. "Perhaps this will help you find some tranquility and relaxation." Æona gave Naoki, the warmest, most loving look.

Her hair branches quickly grew soft ivory blooms, each opening to release a warm, sweet ambrosia. The scent was quite strong, but pleasantly so. Breathing it in brings feeling of stillness and comfort, such relaxation. Relish the way it makes the body feel so... intoxicated.


(Nectar of the Gods)

(Nectar of the Gods - 20)
(Burn Removal - 41)

Naoki was still recovering from the impact, just starting to feel full movement return to his body, when he noticed a scent in the air that was...incredibly distracting. It was making his head spin, but something about that...wasn't necessarily a bad thing. His vision was getting fuzzy and hard to focus as he couldn't stop his body from slowly moving towards the source of this sensation, almost passively. It was hard to even think as his body reacted almost instinctively to the feelings around him.

"W-Woaaaaah, I feel super weird...but it feels...really nice...hehehe~" said Pixie who got a massive whiff of the scent as well, a dreamy smile and glazed over eyes painting her face as she found herself floating over to Æona and nuzzling into the side of her face on her shoulder, unable to contain herself as a blush crossed her face. She couldn't focus on much of anything besides how good it felt.

Try as she might, Æona couldn't quite ignore the flares from that burn, as they continued to plague her even as she did other actions.

Naoki: 35HP, Marogareh at 1 turns, Stun
Æona: 34HP, Burn Nectar of the Gods at 4 turn cooldown

Æona only smiled and chuckled at Pixie's reaction to her sweet and attractive perfume. This was not an uncommon reaction to the substance, which she didn't seem to mind in the slightest. Her focus was not on his companion who was currently being a witness to each other bearing their strengths. Æona did not want to hurt this tiny butterfly woman. She did however, scoop Pixie off of her face and place her down onto her shoulder. Hopefully, the little lady would not get in the way of her duel further. Lest she were to get injured.


Æona did move to meet Naoki and wrapping him in a very loving, nurturing embrace in combination with this intoxicating scent, the thought of escape was difficult to focus on. Mayhaps, it was so wonderful that he simply didn't want to.

Æona carefully leaned down to lock lips with him. Despite being a tree her lips were smooth, having a soft, silky feel to them. Even more surprising, she was… Warm. It was a calming sensation, even as part of his essence was drained perhaps one could call this extremely pleasurable.

(Loving Sustenance)

(Magma Axis - 12)
(Burn Removal - 33)

Naoki slowly and mindlessly trudged towards the source of this smell, thoughts becoming harder and harder to form as he walked towards it purely on instinct. He found himself melting into the embrace and feeling a soft presence on his lips as he barely noticed what was a slight draining sensation. His vision was still foggy as he couldn't think of a reason not to just let go and enjoy i-

Suddenly, recollection hit Naoki all at once, as he blew back a fair distance in a single blow, grabbing the ground in front of him to stop his backward momentum. He'd never tell her that, but she had just stolen his first kiss.

"...better than any succubus...impressive..."

Pixie, meanwhile, didn't really notice the slight movement of her body farther down her shoulder, but passively scooted her body back towards her face, humming happily as she nuzzled their cheeks together. "Hey, hey, has anyone ever told you that you're really cute~" she said with a dazed giggle as she lightly kissed her cheek before settling back into a loving snuggle.

Naoki's hands started to grow a bright red as he moved them in a peculiar way, the glow making his body aside from the glowing runes shadowed. Slowly, they moved in a large circular motion, before he broke the circle and made a pulling motion, as the ground underneath Æona shook and burst open, shooting hot magma at the dryad and ruining the ground a good radius around her. The orb shining in Naoki stopped, and was replaced by a different glowing orb at a different part of his body.

Pixie was blown backwards from the impact, spinning wildly through the air before stopping herself with a flutter. "Oh wow, my head's spinning...what happened, I think I zoned out for a little bit..." she said as she started to have some consciousness return to her, even if she had a rosy tint when she looked at Æona.

(The clean, solid soil underneath Æona has been removed!)

Naoki: 29HP, Marogareh at 3 turn cooldown, Magma Impact at 2 turn cooldown, Gaes at 3 turns
Æona: 29HP, Nectar of the Gods at 3

Æona reeled back in a mix of pain and surprise. She certainly didn't relish the magma nor the hot rocks beneath her feet. While the hot Summer sun was quite enjoyable, this was certainly more discomforting to her tree toes.

"You were quite nutritious little one. However I certainly am not firewood… For canines, perhaps you'll be more of a stick." She laughed softly at her own joke, despite the inflicted pain as a strong warrior of the Norse she was certainly having fun with their little duel. She had not seen This level challenge since she'd left Midgarde.

Æona moved towards him a few steps trying to get away from the heat before she whistled loudly. "Freki! Geri! sicc him. " Her normally soothing voice sounding the strong command as cold and ruthless as tundrascape.


Here two translucent dire wolves came into sight and charged at Naoki their maws wide and snarling full of teeth sharp as daggers, it seemed as if they had been standing by her side this whole time, like guards beside a great king's throne.

(Dire Strike)

(Dire Strike - 39, 60)

The two transparent wolves rushed straight as Naoki, moving at a blinding speed. He was able to quickly move out of the way of the first, dispersing it with a swift punch, but the second took the opportunity to latch onto his jaws with a fierce bite. Naoki didn't look too perturbed, however, and slammed the wolf into the ground with his now bitten arm, causing it to vanish on impact. His arm was sore, but she might notice that the sharp bite had somehow not broken the skin.

(Mazidyone -76)

It was then that Pixie appeared between them, her gaze unusually upset at the dryad at through her crossed armed stance. It was practically a glare directed at her, a far cry from the dazed stance she was in originally.

"Hey...I've seen the way you look at me. You think I'm just a powerless little annoyance, don't you?" The air crackled around her with jolts of electricity. "Well, I've got news for you. I'm his partner, and that means I've fought with Naoki with things you couldn't even imagine!" The crackling intensified, perhaps reacting to the fever pitch her emotions were reaching.

"So get off that high horse of yours, and don't...LOOK DOWN ON DEMONS!"

The crackling stopped for a brief moment, right before she expelled all of her energy at once, calling down a storm of lightning bolts around Æona, with one colliding directly with her and passing an incredible electric current through her towards the ground, locking up her joints and impeding her movement.

Pixie was breathing heavily after the attack, her wings barely keeping her afloat. "There..that oughta...learn ya..." she said before dropping, landing peacefully in Naoki's outstretched palm. He slipped her into his pocket for her to rest.

"...sorry about that..she doesn't like to...be looked down on...but she is right..we are a team."

Naoki: 27HP, Marogareh at 2 turn cooldown, Magma Impact at 1 turn cooldown, Gaes at 2 turns, Pixie at 3 turn cooldown
Æona: 26HP, Nectar of the Gods at 2 turn cooldown Stun

"I was not looking down at her or her race. She mistakes me for being prejudice. However all are equal in essence to all but the Yggdrasil. For it is the tie that binds as I will be in time as well." Æona said, looking over Pixie, smiling softly. She did think of her new companion a bit fondly but, perhaps that was what vulnerability she was seeing in the trifling little demon.

Æona went to take a step, but found herself unable to will her body to move. This was rather... Problematic as the dryad had intended to show superiority in power. How she was to ensure the total destruction of everything indiscriminately without showing herself as the stronger force. This was a duel that she must win. And so she struggled against her own tall being, trying to force her body to move .*

(Xeros Beat - 72)
(Silence - 44)

"...she'd appreciate it...if you told her that...when she wakes up. But, don't let that...distract you."

Naoki's body started to glow again, gathering an orb of light in front of him before doing a sweeping kick, dispersing it into hundreds of tiny fragments aimed at Æona's general location.

The move was never thrown with the intent of all of them hitting her, but a good portion of them reached her body, piercing her like tiny needles and going through, almost like specters. The many places of impact seemed to pale for a moment before returning to normal. Any rebuttal she would offer at Naoki, however, would be met with a strange emptiness coming from her mouth. Try as she might, Æona would find it impossible to form words at the moment.

Naoki: 29HP, Marogareh at 1 turn cooldown, Magma Impact cooldown resolved, Gaes at 1 turn, Pixie at 2 turn cooldown
Æona: 23HP, Nectar of the Gods at 1 turn cooldown, Silence

Æona nodded, she would speak about this with Pixie at a later time. Perhaps when their, playtime was over. With the distraction out of commission for the moment, Æona could more or less focus on their duel, though she was getting to be quite damaged. The young goddess knew she needed to finish this quickly.

At the moment of her decision, she was hit by these spectral shards which stung in such a way peculiar way. It reminded her of the time, someone thought they could put a tap down her spine in hopes of collecting sweet syrup. Oh how they were so very wrong.

She grit and bore her own sharp teeth at the pain, taking a sharp breath. " You would want that wouldn’t you Naoki, a youngling does seek sweets after all. " Æona had meant to say, only hearing her words in her head. She was puzzled for a short moment before she realized that was the aftereffect of his last attack. And even sooner came the realization that, he’d cut her off from a few of her attacks.

If she couldn’t summon forth the powers of her pantheon, she would rely on her own pure strength. The dryads took a few large steps onto fresh, unscorched earth and pointed to Naoki, twirling her index.finger in a wrapping motion. Thick roots shot forth from the ground beneath him, attempting to ensnare him in their rough tendrils.

(Nature’s Binding)

(Nature's Binding - 35)
(Silence Removal - 91)

A small trace of a smirk could be seen on Naoki's face as she tried and failed to offer a retort back, the first trace of real emotion she'd likely see on his face. He noticed, however, that she had made an effort to move to undamaged soil. Perhaps that had some significance...

He didn't have long to think about that, however, as she noticed a slight movement of her hands that indicated an attack. She was starting to notice the small tells she had to her attacks, which is good, and what he was hoping to get out of this. He was quick to react to the grasping vines underneath him, moving with surprisingly fast reflexes.

(Spiral Viper - 72)

After regaining his balance, Naoki brought his gaze to hers, the magic building in his head as his eyes started to glow. Suddenly, 2 sickly red, spiraling beams came out of his eyes at incredibly fast speeds, grazing the side of Æona right arm and left leg as she tried to avoid it. It left a strange mark and an even stranger feeling, one that made her sick to her stomach as the impact left a poison in her bloodstream, on top of still finding difficulty forming words.

Naoki felt his current Magatama was spent on energy, the internal glow fading, he shifted and moves his body so that a new one replaced it, the green glow replaced by a yellow one instead.

Naoki: 30HP, Marogareh cooldown resolved, Gaes at 3 turn cooldown, Pixie at 1 turn cooldown, Murakumo at 3 turns
Æona: 21HP, Nectar of the Gods cooldown resolved, Silence, Poison

The young diety screeched or at the very least, she would be screeching if she weren't afflicted by this curse of silence. Everything being stacked together, she knew she was certainly in a tight spot. Æona gripped her arm where she had been wounded, wincing pretty strong on her right side. But this new pain refocused her anger at Naoki. This was getting, a tad personal.

Without so much as a gesture or a twitch, the ground between the pair quaked and rumbled loudly. A small seedling grew from the ground, which was only for a mere second or so before it grew at a breakneck near instant speed. In which this great and mighty ash tree grew to be rather thick and quite tall. When it finally stopped its immediate growth, the kinetic energy it suddenly stopped transferring jolted the tree, starting its rapid descent towards the pair demons.

" Even the great nasty squirrel Ratatoskr was unable to avoid this last time. Or... perhaps he was just getting old? " Æona thought to herself, feeling a bit more sure of this attack with the consideration of all of its results in the past.

(Thundering Timber)

(Thundering Timber - 56)
(Down Chance - 53)
(Silence Removal - 18)
(Poison Removal - 1)

Naoki was caught off guard by the giant tree falling towards him at a breakneck pace. He was unable to move himself out of the way before it toppled over him, feeling rather painful but not stopping him. After about a second of silence, both he and the tree, with his arm embedded in it and lifting it by that one arm, were up and about, flinging the giant oak behind him and working out the new crink in his shoulder from the impact.

Something about the impact seemed to jog loose something in Æona, as she was finally capable of forming words again. That sickly feeling from the earlier impact, however, still flowed through her.

(Fog Breath - 4 56)

Naoki took a moment to ready himself in silence, before rearing back and exhaling a strong stream of green mist from his mouth, pushing her back a little in the process but also leaving her rather dazed from the blast. Whether it was from simply her now slightly obscured vision, or the fact that her depth of field was now distinctly shorter than it was, she wouldn't be able to tell. Regardless, she was starting to lose ground again rather quickly.

Pixie's cute snores from Naoki's pocket started to lessen, as she started to awaken from her previous exhaustion, stretching a slight bit and rubbing the sleep out of her eyes while floating up to meet him at head level. "Oh, hey Naoki, what'd I miss?"

Naoki: 26HP, Gaes at 2 turn cooldown, Pixie cooldown resolved, Murakumo at 2 turns
Æona: 20HP, Poison, Fog Breath for 3 turns

The young goddess rubbed at her eyes attempting to rid herself of this new ailment. Was she intoxicated by this fog? In combination with the poison currently flowing through her veins, she felt quite dizzy. Her vision was blurred similarly to when one had drank a few too many tankards of ale and an all too familiar feeling of weakness as her body attacked the poison.

"Perhaps a little light would aid my sight. Great Sunna's star, warm this world with your unyielding light  " Æona said softly, perhaps even with the slightest falter in her strong warrior's voice. Here she hoped that the hot sun would burn the fog away, she would waste time to clear the field as she would have a hard time focusing on her target with the way her body was feeling at this time. If she were to win now, she would have to get creative with herself.

Æona would not give in to the demon, the dryad was too personally invested in this battle to simply give up. She saw it as a bit more of a battle for her path of fate especially given the circumstances they were dueling. Æona actually had something to prove, and losing meant she might not be able to keep Naoki on the correct path of destruction.


(Gift of Warmth)

(Gift of Warmth - 90)
(Poison Removal - 96)

Finally, Æona started to feel the poison slowly leave her system, as the bright warmth of her called sun gave her a newly brought on vigor. It did nothing to help the foggy feeling in her head, though, but it did help her try to ignore it.

"Ah, god, that's way too bright!" said Pixie as she shielded her eyes from the newly brought on bright sun. "It is way too soon after I just woke up for this!" She moved herself to a nearby tree under the shade, trying to keep the sun from blinding her.

(Javelin Rain - 22)

Naoki barely noticed the new sunlight as he leaned down, magical power in him building, before expelling all of that energy in the form of hundreds upon hundreds of small, orange, translucent needles, aimed upward and curving around to Æona's position. A large amount of them missed, but a few of them struck her all along her body, along with a few going through her and embedding themselves in the ground. It didn't feel as though she was being stabbed, per say, but it was still an unpleasant experience, and her movement was once again impaired, as if she was bolted to the ground in those spots.

Naoki: 26HP, Gaes at 1 turn cooldown, Murakumo at 1 turns
Æona: 18HP, Fog Breath for 2 turns, Gift of Warmth for 4 turns, Downed

Æona winced as the orange needles passed through her body. It certainly had a very odd, painful tingling sensation to it. She however did not notice herself as being bound until she attempted forward motion. When the realization came to fruition, the dryad tried to free herself. She was unwilling to stay in tethers to allow him to get some easy hits off on her.

This fog stuff was distracting enough that she kept any comments that she intended to say to herself. She was a dryad, a wandering tree. She would not allow herself to be bound at the roots to the earth beneath her.

Æona shuddered, the white buds in her ‘hair’ beginning to open and once again spread their sweet intoxicating perfume. With this, she hoped to return the distraction and divert further damage for at the very least a short time perhaps even enough to allow her to escape her bindings.

(Nectar of the Gods)

(Nectar of the Gods - 31 65)
(Struggle - 61)

Even with her body still stuck to the ground and impeding, her unique way of attacking was enough to still continue the offense despite her lack of movement.

Both Naoki and Pixie instinctively covered their noses as they noticed the tell Æona had before unleashing that familiar numbing smell. Pixie in particular was determined to keep herself from feeling like that again, remembering exactly how good it felt last time, doing everything she could to keep from having it affect her again. She could feel herself getting woozy as she couldn't prevent it from completely entering her senses, even if she was fighting it with her entire being.

(Heat Wave - 32)

With his free hand, Naoki raises it upwards, creating a familiar sword like shape of light, slamming it to the ground and sending out a bright red wave of burning energy, gashing itself against Æona and pushing away the scent that wafted through the air. It left a burn in a new spot on her body, this time on her left leg.

An audible gasp could be heard as Pixie was finally able to breathe again. "Woaaah, that was...really close, hehe~" she said, moving to a spot to lounge on Naoki's shoulder and still kind of out of it from the small amount she was forced to breathe in.

Naoki: 28HP, Gaes cooldown resolved, Murakumo at 3 turn cooldown, Marogareh at 3 turns
Æona: 15HP, Fog Breath for 1 turns, Gift of Warmth for 3 turns, Downed, Burned

Æona's feeble attempt at postponing damage failed, miserably. She cried out in pain, her body was weakening and soon enough she would have to yield to the demon pair. However, she wasn't out of tricks yet. While she was still unable to properly move, that certainly did not mean that other things in nature were also bound and chained.

"Soon enough I must rest. For now however... let the birds of Bragi sing for you." The young goddess' voice was soft, threatening to crack if she were to speak much louder. While Æona continued to struggle in her bindings, birds that had been in the area were beginning to get louder. While one wouldn't expect it, the meadow was full of life. The tree that her new companions had been resting under harbored quite the amount of little song birds, chickadees and finches. The quail hidden in the tall grasses of the field adding their soft chips and coos to the ever growing lullaby that was forming around the three of them.

It was quite the lovely tune, very relaxing.. If the birds were singing, there was no reason to be apprehensive, certainly one could lay down and sleep now. After all, silence is the most foreboding sound within the confines of normalcy in nature. This choir of tiny feathered beasts was becoming far from silent.


(Sounds of the Serene)

(Sounds of the Serene - 65 19)
(Struggle - 24)
(Burn Removal - 3)

Æona was finally able to free herself from the bindings placed on her, her movement returning to normal as she called upon her woodland friends to provide their song to the demon pair. It was quite hard to shake off the pain from that recent burn, but she was doing a remarkably good job at it.

However, while Naoki was ever so slightly starting to feel it, the effect was having a unique effect on Pixie. She clasped her hands over her ears to shield her from the growing cacophony of the sudden flock of birds.

"Good god, where did all these birds come from?!? I can't even hear my own thoughts!" she was able to shout over the growing chorus. She quickly approached one of the birds and punted one of them off the branch, scaring away those around her with Pixie chasing off the few that remained. "This ain't a feeding ground, get outta here!" She said, shaking a fist at the crowd that flew away.

(Gaea Rage - 21[ 2)

The ground around Naoki started to shake and quiver a little, as the magatama inside him started to glow brightly, much brighter than before. Æona might be confused by what she was feeling, this power being *exuded* from Naoki, but Pixie was fully away of how this was about to go down.

"H-Hey, Naoki, wait a sec! We're not going for a kill here, we're just sparring, ri-" was all she got out before Naoki was already going through the motions. He meant it when he said not to hold back, as he didn't plan to either. And if she wasn't durable enough, then it could mean she will be at risk if she was going to join them in going after beings stronger than either of them. The shaking reached a fever pitch as all of his built up energy was expelled all at once, followed by a moment of silence. An unnatural science.

That was before the fissure appeared under Æona's feet. A fissure of pure like, at that, one that didn't form on the ground underneath her, but the space beneath her feet, a crack in the very fabric of the world. A volatile one at that. Before Æona could react to the appearance of this new figure, all of the energy of a world shattering crack ripped through her very being, sending her quite a distance. The shockwave connected with Naoki, who felt the effects in a similar manner but remained motionless through it. Pixie had taken shelter behind the tree they had started at, knowing just how dangerous that move can be. No physical damage had appeared from the act, as the land around them was undamaged, but the act was felt by everyone present, and likely could be felt by anyone within a good few miles radius as well.

Naoki: 25HP, Murakumo at 2 turn cooldown, Marogareh at 2 turns
Æona: 15HP, Fog Breath removed, Gift of Warmth for 2 turns, Burned

The dryad looked at Pixie, confused by what she was saying. Until she very quickly found out what Pixie meant.

Not even with roots dug into the core of this world would have held Æona down well enough to withstand the great shock-wave. She was certainly surprised by this, coming to the realization she'd been hit only after her feet left the ground and then the pain shot through her from root to branch.

This was quite the heavy blow to the sapling goddess. She hit the ground several hundred feet away with a loud thud, here Æona lay for a long moment before sitting up albeit, very slowly. The gravity of the situation had come to realization. There were cuts and scrapes dripping amber sap on her arms, legs, and face. Her burns oozed and bubbled this sweet liquid, noticeable more so now than before.

Here she got up only to her knees and bowed her head to the victor. She admitted defeat, humbled quite well by this True Fiend. "I believe you now, God Slayer... Naoki. I am defeated by your strength. I know now your determination. You both will be fine companions." Her voice was a tad shaky, the dryad was in a great deal amount of pain, mostly her physical wounds but her warrior's pride was also moderately damaged as well.

Demons are a race worthy of note, perhaps I will bring them to the new world... Æona thought, adding yet another race to her list to... save.

Pixie had since left her shelter behind the tree, having her hands on her hips in a pout. "Jeez, Naoki! You gotta be careful with that one! Save it for the really big things, okay?!? Plus, I know you feel that too!"

"Yeah...but if she couldn't take that...then against other gods.."

"I know, I know, but still! Plus, that probably just sent off a damn mana flare to anyone within a 5 mile radius that says "hey, come get your magic here!" so you know as well as I do that it's not something you can throw around all willy nilly!" Seeing Æona like that made her feel bad, especially about earlier. She had kind of snapped at her about something that might've not been her fault. She dived into Naoki's knapsack and came back out with a small glowing orb, no larger than a pearl, and fluttered over to her with something of an embarrassed blush on her face. Naoki had also joined her.

"Look, I'm...sorry, for freaking out on you, back there. It's just, I'm just a Pixie, you know? For demons, I'm basically bottom of the food chain. And..I'm just used to people thinking we're basically nothing, is all. I guess, I kinda took that out on you. Do you think we could...start over?" She held out the glowing sphere to her. "Here, eat this. It should help you feel a LOT better." Beads of Life were not exactly easy to come by, and they had a finite number of them, but Naoki was willing to let it slide for Pixie's mental state.

"Don't...feel bad, you are..strong, as well. Now...I know what you're..capable of. That'll come...in handy, later. When things get...heated."

"I can assure you Naoki, I am still lacking in experience. I am but a sapling to the rest of these gods.” Æona said meekly, looking up at the True Fiend before she turned her attention to Pixie.

“It is no matter, I must also apologize to you Pixie. It may seem as you are inferior in the way I speak but I… admit I was still attempting to judge your race's skill. Respect in battle is earned. You have certainly earned that much from me.”

The dryad accepted the orb graciously, examining it before she popped it into her mouth and absorbed it. Feeling her wounds closing and burns disappearing she slowly got to her feet.

“I am no mere sprout but I still must grow, for the sake of the new cosmos. Though, I am quite fortunate to become travel companions with you. It seems I still have much to learn. Perhaps it would be wise to learn from you as well.’’ Æona smiled, having more or less befriended this particularly interesting pair she had new hope of continuing her quest without as many difficulties as it would be to walk alone.

“Shall we find a new place of rest? As Pixie pointed out, we may have drawn attention to ourselves. Unwanted or not, it would be best to avoid fighting until we are rested up no?” The young goddess looked between Naoki and Pixie, she wondered what the extent of his energy reserves were. After all that he certainly must be quite tired she assumed.

Naoki crossed his arms and nodded at her words, internally considering this a good thing. Her views matched what he had in mind almost entirely. "Life is...growing stronger. There isn't a...peak, to power. As long as you...keep that in mind, the rest..falls into place."

"Yeah! That's the demon way of looking at it, anyway!" chimed in Pixie, who was super happy at Æona's acceptance and had moved to sit on her shoulder. "Well, to be fair, a lot of demons are like 'power is everything, life is suffering, blah, blah, blah' but I feel like this is the other side of things. Power is important to get things done, and life's all about getting stronger, but not just on the physical side of things! Strength of heart, strength of will, strength of character...stuff like that's not only growing all the time, but makes us who we are!" she said with a bright smile, before noticing where she had landed. "O-Oh, sorry, got a little carried away again, hehe..."

Naoki offered a hand to Æona, pulling her up. "We have...a lot to get to. Can't afford to take...too many breaks. If people come...because of that..then let them. And I'm..fine.." he said, walking forward a few steps before falling to one knee and panting, the damage from the fight (and specifically, that last attack) catching up to him.

"Aw, jeez, Naoki! I told you not to do that last one! It's always overkill!" said Pixie with a pout on her face. She flew under one of his arms, trying to pull him back up and not really getting much accomplished from her lack of physical strength. "Hey, Æona, you mind giving me a hand with this idiot?"

Æona nods, taking this wisdom and adding it to her mental notes. “I will.. remember this. Thank you Pixie. You have filled me with a new sprout of determination.’’

Æona accepts the offer of aid and takes Naoki's small hand in hers, allowing him to aid her to her feet. Her body creaked like that of an old unoiled door as she regained her standing position. She didn't mind Pixie taking perch on her shoulder, in fact it was much easier to hear her speak when she was closer to the dryad's ear.

“It appears we will have to take a break either way.” She said, taking one stride towards Naoki and lifting him from under the arm gently. “I might be able to provide some assistance. Does your form heal itself on its own similar to how the mortal races do?” Æona inquired, perhaps at the very least she could provide some aid, even at the cost of some extra rest on Naoki's part.