Simple Target Practice....?

As Rebecca watched skywards, she noted his movement, figuring that for someone of high mobility the top of the pillar was probably a good idea.  Unfortunately...

Well, she wasn't that same kind of easily mobile, even though five of the floating objects were bearing down on her.  In a slight panic, the kitsune thrust out her fist while shouting, "Chaos Blast!"  The resulting explosion, at close range, blew apart the targets, but also knocked her off the pillar...face-first back into the heaps of snow.

While extricating herself from the fluffy piles, the vixen grumbled inwardly.  '...blew the cover as a Chaos Kitsune...and now there are probably even more of them...'  Glancing up at approaching waves of diamonds, she started throwing lances of energy at them again, which worked since they were close range - but might not be able to keep up.

Tyson began to think about different combinations of attacks he could use on the remaining targets. After all, he only had about two more to destroy... not including the twenty or more that were heading towards Rebecca.

He thought to himself... Well this is bad... she's slowing down. I need to destroy most of those targets before Rebecca's energy will fade out... but how...?

He stared at the pillar he stood on. He had a crazy idea. A very deadly and crazy idea.

"REBECCA! DIVE LEFT, NOW!!"

Tyson jammed his dual frost khopesh into the side of the pillar he was on. He raised  his fist, which was glowing a bright cyan, and punched the pillar with one strong jab. The cylinder of ice began to topple over, leaning over the targets.. and Rebecca. And the only way for her to move out of the way is if she listened to Tyson... if she could hear him at all.

"DIVE LEFT!!"

Rebecca kept hurling the Chaos Lances and knocking targets out of the air, but very little she could do at this point actually broke them.  Glaring, she moved her arms mechanically, but she could only pull so much energy out of the air at once.  Sliding back a bit, she put her back against the pillar from which she fell, but knew they'd soon overwhelm her.

...and then she heard a voice.  Left?  It sounded like he said left...then he repeated it...but whose left?

Apparently the shout was loud enough that she could make it out even through the horde of targets.  Summoning most of her remaining strength, she rolled over to Tyson's left, plowing through some snow, then flopped down into the nearest pile, exhausted.

As she dove to the left, the ice pillar had crashed onto ground, crushing the targets that had pursued Rebecca... and as for her, she was safe, a few yards away from the pillar that had almost squished her.

Tyson slid down the pillar, landing but a few feet in fron of her. "Sorry I almost crushed you. I thought you needed help."

The pink vixen coughed a few times before wearily raising her head and, with some difficulty, staggering to her hindpaws.  She coughed hard a few more times, getting snow and water out of her lungs, before looking up as the fox who slid down next to her.

Once he spoke, she blinked a few times to clear her eyes.  After another couple of coughs, she could speak again.  "...I don't know whether to hit or hug you...thanks for that, though..."  Even though she stood, she shook slightly.

Tyson nodded, disregarding the hitting part. He held up his hand, as a sign to wait. He tapped the earpiece that was on his left ear. A voice spoke from it.

"Have both tests been completed?"

"Yes, they have. You can come in now."

"Alright. Don't get your eyes hurt now."

Tyson then faced Rebecca.

"I'd cover your eyes for a few seconds. Lightning can be blinding up close."

The vixen paused and listened in on this side of the brief dialogue.  Shrugging, she glanced at the mess left from the pillar, sighing softly as she considered how such things were even possible...

Tyson's voice directed at her snapped back her attention.  "Huh?  Oh, sure, if you say so.  I'm kinda used to bright flashes of light, but I'll look away."  Closing her golden eyes, she did so.

Soon afterwards, a lightning bolt had incinerated the ground two feet behind Tyson. He didn't even flinch.

"You can open your eyes now."

When she opened her eyes, a tan-ish cheetah had been standing where the lightning bolt had struck. Sparks of electricity seemed to fizzle from his hands.

"Rebecca, this is Zetski. A good friend of mine."


"Hello there, Rebecca!"

She glanced back once hearing the likely-inevitable thunder conjoining the lightning...or glanced back after the flash anyway, at about the same time that the other vulpine first spoke.

Tilting her head at first while watching, she nodded to the cheetah, blinking at the sparks.  First she shook the excess snow and water from her fur, then shyly she waved.  "Uh...hiya, Zetski!"

Tyson and Zetski both nod in unison. They both exchange a glance at each other, like a silent conversation. Then Zetski turns to Rebecca.

"Well Rebecca, I see you did fairly well in helping Tyson with the target practice."

She watches...and figures the two have an extremely close bond of some sort.  However, in the same way they maintain silence, she does too.  Rebecca is about to move to speak when the cheetah beats her to it.

She listens, then nods.  "Well...I tried to help, at least."  While saying this, she shyly glances away.

"I'm pretty sure you helped a lot, Rebecca. If you hadn't intervened, there was a chance that I would have been attacked by those targets from behind."

Zetski nodded. The snowfall had started to swirl around Tyson again, slowly, but very noticeable if you looked close enough.

"Well, since you and Tyson completed the Target Practice, Tyson and I were going to head to a nearby city to grab something to eat. You know from relaxing from training. The exit us is just east of here. You can come if you want."

She shrugged, still glancing away as Tyson spoke...but once he finished, she looked back, tilting her head at the noticeable change in snowfall.  Blinking rapidly, she glanced between them - although once the cheetah began speaking, she crossed her arms, listening.

"...hm...I guess so.  I need to get back in touch with my mentor some time, but it's not so urgent I can't go with you guys."  She nodded again.  "Your lead."

"It's going to get a little bit colder, and the snowfall might pick up. You must be cold in this weather, so I'll change it."

The snow that was within 3 yards radius of Rebecca started to push outwards, leaving a patch of grass around her. Zetski and Tyson started heading east.

"Don't worry. Where ever you step, the protection follows. Cmon."

The vixen looked like she was about to say something...but whatever she had in mind, she sighed and decided not to, even though she was then mentally berating herself.  '...confidence...she expressly said I need to work on confidence...and now I'm not doing it at all...'  This lasted even as she turned her steps east...even though she probably would have been fine in the snow, she didn't raise her voice.

As the 3 personas walked eastbound, Rebecca started to notice hills of snow, and several people on top of it, sliding down with their snow tubes and sleds. Others had snowball fights and rolled down the slopes.

Then there were the few couples that sat on benches, talking and staring at the others. Tyson glanced at them while walking, and his pace started slowing down. Still walking, he started to become lost in thought.

Zetski looked behind him, and saw Tyson a few steps behind him. Zetski was about to say something, but he'd rather let Tyson think. It was best for his meditation. At least that's what he told him...

The pink-furred vixen, who had returned to her snowbound clothing that mostly covered her entirely, glanced around, noting several things.  People were having fun in the snow...that kinda harkened back to the past...but she shook her head.  Not a past she really wanted to go relive in memory.

And then the couples who were together...she blinked between them, but shook her head.  From that point, she tried to not watch them...and although she didn't slow down - except when she had to start slowing down to not run into Tyson - she had preoccupying thoughts too.  Quietly, she slipped past the other vulpine to walk in step by Zetski, though besides a nod to him didn't start a conversation on her part.

Zetski glanced behind him. Yep, Tyson was clearly lost in thought. He was still dragging behind by a few feet, but he knew the way.

Zetski sighed and looked towards Rebecca.

"So, is this your first time here in Urben Glacies?"

Rebecca spared Tyson a look or two, very slightly concerned by his unfocused look, but didn't question it since his close friend didn't.

Rather, she turned to the cheetah who had questioned her.  "...yeah...I'm not too familiar with this area...a good friend of mine, my mentor, sent me out here to spend some time in a colder area...she's well-suited to cold by nature, but I don't like it as much..."

"Hmm...okay..."  She couldn't quite figure out why, but he seemed pretty easy to talk to.  "So how do you two know each other?"

She blinked a few times.  "That sounds like a really long story, but maybe an interesting one for some time..."  Crossing her arms again, she glanced forward to check their progress.  "What about you?  Snow isn't a place I'd expect to see a cheetah, either."

She nodded quietly, still glancing back at Tyson occasionally.  "So I assume he has some snow- or ice-based abilities, though I can't tell exactly what...and what about you?"  Again she looks forward.  "Also, how far is this?"