Embers in the sand [EVENT]

Akemi rolled her eyes when Nymara mentioned the fighting rings. "I'm not unfamiliar with those places, but I wouldn't say that I spend a lot of time frequenting them." There was that time she had infiltrated an underground fighting ring to acquire a rare and priceless item, but that had been for an explicit purpose. Unlike her more passionate apprentice Akemi didn't often fight for the sheer joy of fighting. "Given that I don't drink you'd have to make sure to find pubs which also offer good food." Well, she didn't drink on a regular basis, anyway. Not like she was allergic to alcohol.

"That aside, for how long did you act as a solo mage before you decided to join Fairy Tail? You don't look like you've got that many years as an adult on you." Granted, if she was raised by Vulcanis there was a good chance that the dragon would just have allowed her to wander off as a child. Dragons matured at a slower rate than most mortal races, so in theory they should be more hesitant to let hatchlings wander off, but at the same time Vulcanis wasn't known to be the most thoughtful of dragons.

She caught Nymara's mumbling, the golden-eyed woman raising an eyebrow at her apprentice. "You don't necessarily have to, since it's normal for the mentor to pay for the apprentice's food, but in the future it would be a good idea to make sure you've always got some jewels on you. Trade is the lifeblood of civilization, so unless you're planning to camp out in the middle of nowhere currency is always useful to have." She had to resist the urge to snort as she thought of how dragons were depicted as greedy.

As they reached the noodle stand Nymara was so enthusiastic about Akemi took note of the location. The owner certainly managed to get a good spot: the view here was much better than if it was somewhere in the middle of the city, where you'd only have pavement and buildings to look at. "So I see." This remark came out rather dryly, as the raven-haired mage had noticed that the stall owner was rather concerned by the arrival of the redhead. Given that dragon slayers tended to have a voracious appetite to fuel their powerful magic it wasn't exactly a surprise.

Following Nymara, Akemi found herself a place to sit, then when she saw her apprentice reach over the counter she gave the redhead just enough time to grab a bottle before grabbing her by the shoulder and pulling her into the seat next to her. "I do. They're both versatile in taste and fill your stomach nicely." Luckily the shop owner seemed to be familiar with Nymara's antics, so Akemi wouldn't have to deal with him being all huffy. Ordering some shio ramen for herself she looked back at Nymara. "That said, are you going to drink yourself into a stupor at a noodle shop?"

Current Appearance:

@Nymara

It looked like even the ever-passionate Nymara couldn't ignore the gravity of her own past when she was called upon to recollect it. Still, maybe it contained useful information, so Akemi listened attentively. "Travelling the kingdom, and getting into trouble most likely." She commented dryly. Given the redhead's own admission that she liked to visit places where you could fight for money, combined with her tendency to use her magic in a rather destructive manner, and the dark claw mage was pretty confident in assuming that those two years had been filled with various mishaps as a result of Nymara's reckless approach to life.

She gave a small shake of the head when Nymara tried to ask her about her past. "Not really, no." Her reply was curt and without further elaboration. The raven-haired woman was in no rush to tell her life story, if only because she'd have to constantly think about which parts should be left out or not. Even if Nymara was her apprentice she hadn't managed to earn enough of Akemi's trust yet that the assassin would freely talk about information which was either classified, detrimental to herself, or both. Information was the most valuable resource, after all.

"The only thing you need to know is that I know a lot about what it means to be a dragon slayer, and am willing to share that knowledge with you. Including some stuff which you might find rather important." It seemed that Nymara had understood the message, as she didn't try to climb over the counter again. "Most people would save it for after." However Akemi didn't actually do anything to stop Nymara if the fire slayer decided to start chugging alcohol away before their food had even arrived. Instead she just listened to the exchange between Nymara and the shop owner, who continued to not be quite as happy about their presence as Nymara's enthusiasm might require. "I'm her mentor. I'll be trying to teach her not to burn down shops in the future." The man seemed appreciative of that at least.

"I'll have some shrimp noodles." "Got it, Miss." Yazuki quickly got to work, still eyeing the two somewhat warily but seemingly not quite as worried that his shop would be wrecked as before.

Akemi ignored the shop owner's worried glances and instead looked at Nymara. "Now, tell me about that wyvern that made you burn this shop down." Yazuki winced but kept working. "It's customary for the guild to help pay for repairs if a dangerous mission results in collateral damage. After all, when the situation is dire we can't have guild members risking their own lives and that of others out of concern that they'll destroy something valuable."

She paused for a moment as Yazuki brought her bowl. She gave him a quick nod and a curt thanks before continuing. "That said, if a member is known to make it a habit of fighting recklessly and causing a lot of collateral damage the guild won't be as quick to help you pay. For obvious reason." Fire magic was innately destructive, but she would teach Nymara some measure of control.

Current Appearance:

@Nymara

Akemi shook her head when Nymara voiced herself willing to listen to what the dark claw mage had to say. "I didn't mean right now. There's a time and a place for such conversations." And even if she was willing to talk to Nymara about the nature of being a dragon slayer, she wasn't going to do it out here in the open where outsiders might be able to overhear. Such as the stall owner who was less than happy with the fire slayer.

Unsurprisingly, her apprentice wasn't quite as eager to talk about her experience with the wyvern when the man she supposedly saved was here to point out all the parts of the story which were less than stellar. As the two of them regaled her the story, Yazuki quick to fill in the gaps, Akemi herself enjoyed the bowl of noodles the stall owner had brought her, although her golden eyes remained focused on both of her companions as they went back and forth. When it came to the part where Yazuki revealed the wyvern was of an aquatic nature and couldn't even produce the flames Nymara claimed she'd saved the stall from she couldn't help but let out a small snort of amusement.

At the end of the story Akemi remained silent for a bit longer as she continued eating her noodles, eyes solidly on Nymara as she subjected the other slayer to her piercing gaze. Only after at least a minute had passed did she finally lower the bowl to speak. "It's good that you managed to defeat the wyvern, but you'll have to learn to think ahead." Her gaze shifted to Yazuki and she gave him a quick nod. "Good. I'm planning to teach her a lot, and it'll be important to know if she can't learn as quickly as she should."

She didn't think Nymara needed any more pressure to realize that her mentor wasn't about to just let her keep making a mess of things like that. Yazuki certainly was somewhat intimidated by Akemi's gaze, even if he wasn't the main target. With the both of them having been served their food he quickly turned his attention to his own side of the counter, leaving the two of them to talk.

"Next time, don't try to leave out details." Akemi continued. "If I notice that you make a habit of retelling your jobs while holding back anything you don't want me to know I'll just have to find out the whole story myself, and I won't be happy at the amount of time I'll be wasting on that." Despite having eaten at a deceptively calm pace her bowl was already empty, and she placed it down as she called out to Yazuki. "Another, please."

"Y-Yes! Right away!" Yazuki quickly got to work preparing Akemi's next bowl. The raven-haired woman straightened up and rolled her shoulders to get some tension out of them. "But enough about that. At the end you did manage to defeat a wyvern by yourself, which is no mean feat considering your abilities when you just arrived at the guild." She looked at Nymara once more. "It does make me wonder though: did Vulcanis say anything about what you should do if you were to meet any other dragons? I'm not expecting any specific answer: dragons are as varied as humans, if not more so, and those dragons who decide to teach a human slayer magic have also done so for various reasons."

Current Appearance:

@Nymara

It seemed like Nymara was taking Akemi's threat seriously, which was good, since the dark claw assassin would be unhappy if she actually had to hunt down the truth behind Nymara's story on a regular basis. She was all in favour of manipulating the flow of information to optimise outcomes, but only when it worked in her favour: if people were trying to hide information from her it quickly got on her nerves, especially if that information turned out to actually be valuable. "It's more important that the stories are complete so I can get a full picture." What she didn't say out loud was that watching Nymara squirm as she explained all her mistakes could also be considered fun. She didn't want the redhead to go around thinking that Akemi was looking forward to watching her fail.

Nymara's recollection of Vulcanis was more interesting, however. Akemi had met the ancient fire dragon before, and as her apprentice correctly noted, he hadn't been the most social of people. Not an uncommon trait amongst dragons: they didn't rely on group effort to survive, so especially the stronger individuals would usually just find themselves some territory and stay inside of it, only leaving it if something truly unusual happened and driving away any potential competitors. "It's possible that most others don't interest him much." She noted. She quietly ate her noodles for the rest of the explanation, only speaking up once Nymara was done talking.

"He's not wrong that dragons can be influenced by emotions the same way other people do. Although I wouldn't know what he means by purpose." She snorted at the thought. "Does he believe that we all exist with some goal in mind?" The idea that everyone was just a puppet fated to play out their role in the grand schemes of destiny was not one she believed in, and she didn't have a high opinion of those that believed in it either. "There may be entities who see humans, dragons, and others are mere pawns, but I wouldn't consider turning away from that fate corruption."

She gave a quick shake of her head. "As for why dragons would take on students, I wouldn't be able to say. Maybe they owe a debt, maybe it's merely an experiment for them. They don't have to worry about age the way other creatures do, and as mentioned before, they don't need to rely on groups to survive except perhaps against great threats. It could be nothing more than boredom." Akemi's true self may be quite happy refining her abilities and acquiring knowledge, but living for such a long time could cause dragons to adopt much lower requirements to become interested in something and dedicate time to it. Wasting fifty years on the perfect wood carving was much less of a sacrifice when you could easily live for thousands of years.

"Well, no matter. At least his advice that dragons are as varied as other people you might meet was valid. You should keep that in mind." Akemi finished her bowl and quickly ordered a third before continuing. "More important than that... While you're making progress, your fire is unusually wild and uncontrolled even when compared to that of fire dragons. Do you know why that is?" Vulcanis was a magma dragon, which made it even stranger that Nymara's fire was so different. The flames produced by fire dragons was powerful and destructive, but Nymara's flames almost seemed to be beyond her ability to control them. If Vulcanis was such a poor teacher Akemi was going to have some sharp words for him next time they met, given how much more difficult he'd made mentoring Nymara. The fire slayer was certainly enthusiastic, but being able to control and restrain her own fire was vital for her to become stronger and more competent.

Current Appearance:

@Nymara

Akemi nodded as Nymara proclaimed that Vulcanis had shown no interest in other dragons despite her having asked about them several times. The magma dragon had never been the most thoughtful: his own age and destructive power meant that he kept to himself and didn't concern himself with outsiders unless they intruded on his territory. The fact that he'd been willing to take Nymara in was, frankly, a curiosity in and of itself. "Given that true dragons are, by their very nature, powerful, it's no surprise that they often develop a rather high opinion of themselves. Usually they still respect other dragons as a credible threat, but it sounds like your foster parent found even other dragons worth little thought." The redhead's imitation made Akemi focus a bit more on her noodles, so as to not grimace. It was entertaining, in a way, but it was also really bad. Although she did snort when Nymara commented about her being small. "Compared to a dragon you'd still be very small, so I doubt it would change much."

She tilted her head for a moment, then sighed and dismissed the topic as Nymara stated that she didn't know enough about how Vulcanis looked at the world to comment much further on his thoughts. Not that it was very important right now: wherever Vulcanis was right now, her focus was on Nymara.

Hmmm... Why would Vulcanis have disappeared? It was a good question, and one that Akemi didn't know the answer to. It must have been one that had gone through Nymara's head many times over the years: even for dragons, parents held some importance. And Nymara was a human, so for her, it would be even more important even if she wasn't Vulcanis's child by blood. Akemi stopped eating her noodles for a moment as she considered the question herself. She wouldn't be able to provide a concrete answer considering the lack of evidence, but she could at least hazard a guess. "It's hard to say, but it's unlikely boredom would have resulted in as abrupt a departure as you described." She noted that Nymara was drinking more heavily than before, but refrained from commenting on it. "As already established, he has little to do with others, so it's unlikely he took you in on a mere whim. Whatever caused his departure must have been more pressing than mere boredom." She resumed her meal. "However, the only way to learn the truth is to keep searching for it."

Nymara should benefit from either reuniting with her foster parent or finding closure in his permanent departure. Not knowing the how and the why was more likely to haunt her psyche. That, and Akemi herself also wished to know what happened to Vulcanis: as much of a fool as he was, he was still powerful, so if something had managed to either eliminate him or force him to leave Nymara behind without any warning that was something worth gathering more intel on.

The fact that she might also punch him in the face if she ever saw him again was just a bonus.

"I'd have been very concerned if you thought your fire was lava." She replied dryly. There was no possible way to mistake Nymara's flames for molten stone, no matter how much one tried to pretend that the fire flowed like a liquid. Which it didn't even do, in Nymara's case: her fire was much less controlled in its movements, almost like it was constantly exploding in every direction. What was more important was Nymara's last sentence. "One other with flames as wild as yours... Another dragon?" From what she could tell Nymara was a human through and through (well, as human as someone who'd already learned how to use dragon magic could be), so it wasn't like she could have accidentally picked up her fire magic from another dragon... Strange.

Akemi's fingers drummed on the counter of the noodle stand as she went through her mental archives. A dragon with particularly wild flames... Fire dragons were known for their fierce and passionate attitude. However, as noted before, Nymara's fire was so wild that it was absurd, so even most fire dragons would have their magic manifest in a more controlled blaze...

"If it's another dragon I might be able to find out which one. It'll have to wait until we're back at the guild, however, unless Vulcanis provided any more details." There was something at the back of her mind, but it refused to solidify. It remained as a nagging feeling that she should know who Vulcanis was talking about, making Akemi frown thoughtfully. "If we can find out who Vulcanis was talking about we can use them to figure out how you're supposed to best channel your flames. As it stands your style is simply too rough."

Current Appearance:

@Nymara

Akemi blinked as Nymara muttered something about how her fist wouldn't feel small. The firebrand was inclined to have a high opinion of her own ability, that was definitely true, but this sounded like Nymara wished to attack Vulcanis. Not entirely unreasonable, given that she had been effectively abandoned by the volcanic dragon without any explanation as to why, but given Nymara's upbeat attitude and trusting nature she would have assumed that the redhead didn't hold it against Vulcanis and instead believed something important must have happened that forced the magma dragon away. "Maybe, but keep in mind that something doesn't have to be big to be powerful." The raven-haired assassin looked around, then pointed at a knife that Yazuki used to chop up ingredients that he added to some of the types of ramen that were on the menu. "When you use a sword or a dagger to strike, you put a lot of force behind a small area. This allows it to pierce things that something bigger, like a hammer, has to crush completely before it can pass through. That's one of the reasons why it's important for you to learn how to control your flames: if you can concentrate your firepower in a smaller area you can both limit your collateral damage and be more effective towards your actual target." Of course, sometimes something big was the better answer... Swords and spears might be better at piercing armour and body, but to keep that thin profile they also became more fragile. Sometimes a warhammer allowed you to put more power behind the attack than a greatsword would have been able to withstand.

However, they weren't currently training, so Akemi wouldn't bother Nymara too much about the tactical application of force. It seemed like her apprentice had accepted that she wouldn't just get her answers handed to her and would have to keep searching for them. That was good. There were many entities who were talented, but who also developed a mentality that they shouldn't have to put any effort into getting what they wanted. Akemi considered such entities quite shameful, and she was glad that Nymara wasn't among them. "Given that I'm quite curious about what happened to Vulcanis I'll try to look for him as well. I've got a thing or two to say to him about how he trained you." Powerful as he might be, Vulcanis had no excuse for being such a poor teacher. Even if his own power came naturally, as was often the case for dragons, he had lived long enough that he should have picked up some wisdom along the way.

It truly seemed like Nymara hadn't given much thought to the possibility that her fire came from another dragon. Not entirely surprising: being the daughter of one dragon was already enough for a human, to believe another dragon was involved would require a particularly suspicious mind. Fortunately, Akemi had such a mind. The assassin frowned in thought. "Fire does burn a lot, yes, but yours is particularly voracious. And it's definitely dragon magic, so unless your own nature managed to affect your fire dragon magic to the extent that it developed into a subcategory... If Vulcanis's specialty is magma and he didn't intentionally teach you wildfire it's not unrealistic to suspect another dragon to be involved somehow." She looked at Nymara, golden eyes slightly narrowed as she studied the girl. "However, as well-developed as you might be, I've yet to see any signs that you have any dragon blood in you." It was possible for people to have dragon blood in them. Even from the distant past such a lineage could affect one's abilities and talents. However, if Nymara was the descendant of a dragon there was little to no sign of it. For all intents and purposes she looked like a human who had learned dragon magic and was still in the stage where the dragonfication process was barely noticeable. If she had draconic ancestors it should have revealed itself somehow... unless her wildfire was the indication?

Her thoughts were interrupted when Nymara asked whether another dragon would even be willing to talk to them. Akemi got started on another bowl, answering between mouthfuls of noodles. "There are ways to make them talk. Dragons might not often be willing to talk to mortals of their own volition, but if you can trade them something that they value they can be quite reasonable." Akemi herself dealt with mortals because she found living amongst them more beneficial than holing herself up in a cave somewhere. Most dragons would require more prompting. "However, should it become necessary I won't necessarily give them a choice in the matter. As you're keenly aware, violence can be quite the effective solution to diplomatic difficulties."

Current Appearance:

@Nymara

It sounded like Nymara was realizing that she couldn't just rely on raw destructive power alone. Fire dragons had a habit of developing a mindset that as long as they just poured enough power into their attacks everything would work out. Akemi supposed that it had to do with the fact that their element truly was one of the most aggressive and destructive out there. The only elements more destructive than fire were rather esoteric and had a habit of messing with fundamentals which were better left alone. "I'm glad you understand. If you can complement your power with technique it drastically increases your capabilities." That was a rule of thumb that Akemi had always held herself to. While other people were only concerned with raising the amount of power they could put forth, she had refined her shadows until she could split hairs with her strikes.

She glanced sideways at Nymara as she noticed that the redhead seemed to still be a bit down about Vulcanis's appearance. That wasn't terribly surprising, given that the disappearance of a parental figure was rarely cause for celebration. The raven-haired assassin merely nodded when Nymara brightened up and expressed gratitude for Akemi's willingness to help her find the magma dragon. "Given that you've got even more reason to find him than I, it's only natural I'd keep you up to date." She did smile when Nymara apparently was willing to offer an increased enthusiasm for training in return for Akemi's assistance finding Vulcanis. She hadn't expected her apprentice to say something like that of her own volition. Of course, it wasn't like she had any complaints about Nymara's drive to get stronger, but she could be a bit hardheaded about improving herself in certain ways, forcing Akemi to be a bit harsher with guiding her to optimize her growth and help her realize her true potential. "I'd hope it wouldn't only be in the meantime, but don't worry: I'll make sure to let you know if I want something specific from you." She already had an idea for that, but now wasn't the time.

It was quite pleasant to have Nymara be so openly listening to everything she had to say. Having a bite with the firebrand seemed to be a good way to get her to slow down a little and actually pay attention to the world around her, instead of flying off at the first thing that interested her. Not that Nymara had no attention span, but she wasn't as interested in the mysteries and intricacies of the world as Akemi herself. The raven-haired assassin finished her bowl of noodles once more, shaking her head as Nymara expressed some doubt about her having dragon blood. "I don't think you do either. Which makes it more likely that a wildfire dragon was somehow involved in your training." She frowned. "We can try to find out by ourselves, but it might be that finding Vulcanis first would be more effective. Thoughtless as he might be, he should have some idea why your magic manifests the way it does." It'd be easier to find one dragon than two, even if Akemi already had some ideas of which scrolls to consult to try and track down a dragon whose magic had properties similar to those of Nymara.

Unsurprisingly, Nymara had a higher opinion of her ability to deal with a wildfire dragon attacking them. Akemi leaned back, having eaten as much as she wished to, raising an eyebrow at her optimistic apprentice. "The fact that you can eat their flames definitely would be a boon if we did have to force them into cooperating with us, but don't forget that they would also be able to eat your flames. And beyond that, a dragon's power goes beyond what element they can produce and control: you'll have to undergo a lot more training before you'll be able to stand your ground against one." She paused as another thought came to her. "Now that I think about it, even your ability to eat their flames might not be as useful." It wasn't an issue that often came up, but if Nymara were to face off against an actual dragon she might encounter a problem she had never experienced before.

"Tell me, what do you think would happen if you were faced with more flames than you could eat?" Dragons, and those who had their bodies modified by the usage of dragon magic, had a voracious appetite, but that didn't mean their stomach was limitless. Whether it was food or elemental magic, it was possible to overeat. A wildfire dragon could potentially bypass Nymara's defences against fire by simply overwhelming those defences.

Current Appearance:

@Nymara

Nymara clearly was appreciating the idea that Akemi would help her track down Vulcanis, and Akemi could imagine why. Vulcanis was the one who had raised the firebrand, so his sudden disappearance must have caused her a lot of grief. The opportunity to meet her foster parent once again must be one of the redhead's biggest wishes. Given that Akemi was her mentor now it only stood to reason she'd try to help find the magma dragon, even if Akemi also had her own motives for figuring out where Vulcanis was. While she didn't care for his attitude he was certainly powerful, and he'd lived long enough that he knew a couple of things despite not being as interested in knowledge as Akemi was. While Akemi never really dwelled on it, compared to most dragons she was ridiculously young, and the only reason she wasn't completely outclassed was that she had a ravenous appetite for knowledge and had worked herself to the bone to refine her abilities and skills. Even then, Vulcanis might be powerful enough that she still had to be careful around him...

"Just keep in mind that we haven't actually found him yet. We'll need to gather a lot of information before we can start forming theories for where he might currently be."

Akemi cautioned Nymara to not get too excited yet, because even if she appreciated the knowledge that Akemi would be helping her that help would only become useful once they actually found the magma dragon. Before that point, it was nothing more than an agreement from the mentor to help out her apprentice.

She suppressed a snort when Nymara expressed a desire to meet another dragon besides Vulcanis. Instead, she shrugged. "He probably had his reasons. Or maybe I'm wrong and there was no wildfire dragon involved, although I think it's likely enough that it's worth searching for any wildfire dragons on the continent. As for how they look like..." She shrugged. "I'd guess they're permanently on fire." Wildfire was so energetic and lively that for a dragon with that element it'd probably be pouring out of their body all the time. How much control they had over their fire was also a question: just because one was a dragon didn't mean they had perfect control over their powers, after all, and wildfire was notoriously problemetic in that regard. "Depending on the individual and the element, a dragon's own body can be made out of said element. Earth and stone dragons commonly have bodies made out of dirt and rock, but fire dragons can be partially or completely made out of fire. As you can imagine, it does make physical contact difficult at times."

While Nymara was showcasing her confidence that they'd be able to find Vulcanis together Akemi frowned in thought. How to find either dragon? Once they were back at the guild she'd have to ask Nymara to describe the location of Vulcanis's disappearance as best as possible so she could investigate it. Beyond that she'd have to check news sources from the date of Vulcanis's disappearance to see if any of them referenced the vulcanic dragon. Given Vulcanis's strength it might also be possible to track him by vulcanic activity... she'd have to go through a lot of data, and she somewhat doubted that Nymara would have the attention span to help.

"There's always more to learn, but I know enough that I can at least prepare you for meeting another fire dragon." Having finished her meal, Akemi rubbed her chin as she kept thinking even while conversing with the redhead who clearly wasn't done eating yet. "I'll have to adapt your training to specialize in dealing with hostile fire entities if we're going to focus on finding either Vulcanis or a wildfire dragon. It's also a good idea to be prepared to deal with creatures who use your own element, especially those who can resist it." One of the greatest downsides of dealing with dragons was that if they shared your element you could end up in a stalemate where you both just ended up feeding one another. She'd have to teach Nymara how to work around that, although she doubted that the firebrand would appreciate having to train how not to rely on her flames.

She blinked at Nymara's outburst, although her apprentice quickly explained that she'd experienced the consequences of overheating before thanks to Vulcanis's teachings. It seemed the vulcanic dragon had been thorough in that regard. "I see. I'm glad he was thoughtful enough to make sure you experienced that at least once. It can be very distressing to feel your own element actually work against you, so it's better to learn it during training." In a way it was worse than being hit by an incompatible element, although Akemi personally had found the experience of eating light as a dark dragon the worst. Her body had come close to actually breaking down as a consequence, and it had been a good lesson regarding the consequences of recklessness.

"It's the same for dragons, but I wouldn't depend on it." Akemi made a dismissive motion with her hand as she talked. "As you are now you wouldn't come close to overheating a fire dragon. Even when two dragons of the same element fight they only rely on that tactic if one of them has significantly more power than the other." The raven-haired assassin glanced towards the stall owner, wondering if maybe they were encroaching upon a topic that she didn't want strangers to overhear. She highly doubted that Yazuki was going to go forth and slay a dragon, but information hygiene dictated that if someone didn't need to know something you didn't tell them. "...I'll explain how one fights a dragon of their own element in more detail later."

Her eyes went to Nymara's latest bowl. Unlike herself the redhead was still eating, and while Akemi didn't mind she did wonder how long it would take before her apprentice's hunger was sated. "But as you might have noticed, don't rely too much on making a dragon overeat."

Current Appearance:

@Nymara

Akemi blinked as Nymara complained about not having been told whatever reasons Vulcanis might have had to not tell her about the wildfire dragon that may have been involved in the firebrand's upbringing. Maybe she shouldn't be surprised by it, but it did mean that at some point she'd have to explain the importance of information hygiene. "We won't know until we find him. Given that you were a child at the time, and I'm an outsider in this scenario, neither of us has a good grasp on how complicated the situation might have been."

Fortunately, Nymara was distracted by the food so they could move on from that topic. The raven-haired assassin rubbed her forehead as she imagined what it would be like to teach her apprentice about information hygiene. It was a topic many people had difficulty with, which usually worked in her favour but in this case, would probably give her a headache.

The topic of fire dragons who were perpetually emitting fire was much safer, although Akemi didn't share Nymara's inevitable enthusiasm. "It would serve as a display of their elemental power, yes, but it's also incredibly unsubtle." She idly clicked together the chopsticks she'd been using to eat her own noodles. "If your goal is to make everyone acknowledge your might it's worth looking into, but I can't teach you much about that." While Akemi wasn't exactly afraid to utilise her own considerable abilities when necessary she'd long ago decided to take a more hidden approach. The easiest way to deal with problems was to not invite trouble by antagonising others.

And then, of course, there was the topic of Nymara needing to learn how to deal with adversaries that were either resistant or immune to fire and heat. Akemi shot her a blank stare when her apprentice so confidently declared that she just needed to raise the heat of her flames to beat those kinds of enemies. "It's not always a matter of power. Some entities won't burn no matter how hot your flames are. Besides, it's not as efficient as learning another skill which lets you avoid the issue entirely. You're already good in a fight, so if we want to prepare you for facing off against a fire dragon we'd have to focus on your physical skills." So far she hadn't seen Nymara bother with any kind of weapon, so it'd probably be martial arts. "Slayer magic combines well with physical combat, so it's a good idea to raise both anyway."

At least she didn't have to worry about motivation: true to her element and her fiery hair, Nymara's enthusiasm never seemed to flag or waver. The assassin only really had to worry about steering her apprentice in the right direction, and the firebrand's own passion would drive her forward once she was on the right track. "Always something to work towards?" Akemi actually smiled at that one. "Well, you're not wrong, although not everyone would agree. If you keep working hard it shouldn't take long before you'll at least be able to hold your ground against a dragon."

With both of them having finished the meal it looked like it was time to leave the ramen stand behind. Akemi didn't bother to thank the man for the meal, but she nodded as her apprentice suddenly asked her if she was willing to pay for all the bowls the two of them had consumed in a rather sheepish manner. "Yes, yes, I'll pay for the food." Given that she was the mentor and Nymara the apprentice she figured that was just the way things worked. Especially since Nymara had managed to get through the day without causing any trouble.

A glance outside made it clear that it was getting late. "It's about time we head back for the guild." Paying for the food would only take a moment, and Yazuki seemed to be happy to see them go. Unsurprisingly, given that Nymara had caused him grief before and Akemi... well, she just didn't get along with people.

With the food paid for she left the ramen shop, expecting Nymara to already be waiting outside. "Since it's already late let's do this the fast way. Don't move." Walking around Nymara Akemi stood in the firebrand's shadow, and then grabbed her apprentice by the shoulder. Their combined shadows darkened and rose up, quickly covering the two of them before disappearing, Akemi's shadow magic transporting them back to the guild almost instantly.

Current Appearance:

@Nymara