Summoners Corner (Junpei)

[Ziare]

Ziare walked out into the small garden in the back of the school that she loved so much. She went to the back corner where a small clearing stood next to a pond where koi fish swam. It was here she came to talk to Armenius.

She sat down on the grass her blue jeans seemingly swallowed by the overgrown grass and her blue t shirt set off her eyes as she looked around and with a thought summoned Armenius. The huge dragon stood filling the clearing as Ziare stood and climbed onto Armenius's massive paw. She had found that the fire summon was extreemly comfortable and she lay down as he curled around her protectively.

She laughed at something Armenius said about being in her mind all the time her laughter ringing out across the garden. She loved this place. Kalladra flew from her room landing and stetching into her true form.

"Go fly Kal." Ziare told her. The bird nodded and took off circling the park keeping an eye on her chosen as well as enjoying her full size and flight.

[Junpei]

Junpei Taltos wasn't in his usual attire. No black t-shirt adn blakc slacks today. Instead it was his blood red summoning robes that seemed to fall to exactly where they should, just above his feet. He could still walk but the formal robes were still loose enough to look like they would pool if they did fall any lower. Looking down at teh circle before him Junpei sighed and flicked his right wrist. Instantly a torch on his wall was showered in black flmae and lit, keeping those black flames alive. He had failed this new summon, and as such he had to wait a whole week to try again.

Putting down the book he held and placing te bloody knife on his desk Junpei walked over to the door and decided it was time he got some fresh air. Steeping out of his room Junpei felt little talons dig into his shoudler and then relax, Loish was comining to. Even so Junpei couldn't help but feel today was ging to get worse and as he walked into the courtyard he happened to look up and see a massive red dragon.

Well fuck...

You said it Boss.

Just standing there Junpei noticed something in the dragon's hand, a girl it seemed.

"Umm.. hello?"

[Ziare]

Zieare heard the voice call out and she turned her attention from Armenius to the voice. A boy she thought looked familiar but she couldn't place it for some reason. He was wearing summoner robes which covered a hell of a lot more than her own summoning robes but then again men decided what her robes looked like and well come on!

She sat up from Armenius's comforting arm and slid down to the ground her blonde hair falling behind her as she landed bending her knees to soften her fall.

"Hi." Kalladra came flying down shrinking to her eagle size and the pheonix landed on her shoulder. "Y-you were in my sister's candy store the other day." she said finally seeing him up close.

[Junpei]

Seeing the girl before him slide down the dragon with ease Junpei realised it was just a pet or summon, most likely the latter of the two. Seeing a large bird come down from the sky Junpei watched it shrink into an eagle sized form and easily land on the women's shoulder, with ease and grace. It was a phoenix, and for a moment Junpei was stunned. Jhereg were hard to get a hold of but a phoenix, those things were damn near impossible to even see.

Hearing her words snapped the young summoner back to reality adn he smiled warmly at the women before him, he had to admit that she was a beauty and that had he known her before he summoned Harlow he might have even been willign to ask her out. But the way Harlow and him were, if he summoned Harlow with a loved one nearby he wasn't sure what might happen. Sure Negi was safe from harm because Harlow knew the boy could easily kill him, but anyone else and Harlow might turn Junpei against them. Sighing Junpei nodded once and then spoke calmly.

"Yes, I beleive we did. I'm sorry about that whole incident, I was on the run from a couple of guys who wouldn't realise that losing a fight means you lose."

Bowing slightly Junepi felt Loish shift to get comfortable adn then readjust as Junpei stood.

"My name is Junpei Taltos, summoner."

[Ziare]

Ziare saw him bow and she followed suit Kalladra dipping with her claws digging into Ziare's shoulder. Little tendrils of blood could be seen on her shoulder after she stood back up right. She smiled at him sweetly.

"A summoner how wonderful. You may know this one..." she summoned Sheeta with a thought and the girl stood there very similar to what he had seen the other day.

"My name is Ziare Sorcerer of Summoning." she said. "This is Kalladra my familiar. It's a pleasure to meet you."

[Junpei]

Junpei nodded and watched as with just the wave of a hand this woman coudl summon, he still used a blood sacrifice but he also summoned up demons and fallen angels, so their branches of magic were totally different, yet the same. Raising up his left hadn Junpei scratched under the chin of his own familiar, who then proceeded to arch his back like a cat and close his eyes, almost smiling.

"This is my familiar Loish, a Jhereg if you have never heard of one."

Junpei let his hadn fall back down adn Loish sniffed a sigh of happiness and then sat back down, digging into the plush material softly. Junpei coudl only feel the very tips of his claws, were he coudl smell blood comining off the woman in front of him. Junpei had long ago gained the ability to smell and recognise all forms of blood. He hated it because he had learned it from his own blood. Slipping out a small knife from his sleeve, with a simple flick no less, Junpei sliced his hand open and let the blood pool onto the ground. It soon formed into a blood seal adn out raised Harlow the Dark Angel, Harlwo the Forsaken in summoning circles.

"Meet Harlow, my one and only summon at the time. He has guided me through many a challenge."

Harlow, being typical Harlow, took in the girl adn simply let out a grunt. Then again for Harlow this was absolutely amazing. He hadn't even brought his swords out of their sheathes like he normally did when comming into this plane.

"Who's the girl?"

"Ziare, Harlow, now please go back."

Harlow did as commanded and slipped back into the circle from wence he came, Junpei had used his magic to seal Harlow in there this time. he didn't want a fight breaking out between summons. If Ziare would notice she would see that his wund was gone, completely healed with only a thin white line to mark it's presense.

"Sorry for that, Harlow is a bit rough around the edges."

[Ziare]

Ziare watched as he cut himself to summon his being with a blood circle. She had never had to do that she used to have to really concentrate but now she could summon off of thought alone. She saw the summon come and though he was a trifle aggressive she didn't feel like she was in harm. Maybe because she had Sheeta, Armenius, and Kalladra were with her but she didn't think so.

She dismissed Sheeta and the girl disappeared as if she had never been there and Ziare didn't move a muscle. Kalladra took off into her true form and flew around the park again and so Ziare stood with Armenius.

"Do not worry. Armenius is like that too, he is very protective of me." she said motioning to the dragon behind her. "He is my main summon. We are bonded by a blood bond." she explained.

She turned around and lifted up her shirt slightly to expose part of her back that was covered in a dragon and celtic runes and designs. In truth the tattoo covered her whole back but she wasn't going to take her shirt off so he got to settle for this. The tattoo was the same bright red color as the dragon.

"So you use blood to summon I see, but heal quickly?" she said looking at him and sitting in the grass hoping he would join her.

[Junpei]

Yukio nodded slowly as she sat down and he joined her, sitting down while smoothign otu his robes. Lish took the chance to take off and do some real flying, he didn't get out much with Junpei in constant study lately. Maybe Junpei should just get an aviary installed. Than again random birds in his room wasn't good either, cept for an ever hungry Loish.

"Yes, it's part of my blood seal. I use a bit of my life force to summon, so in returb my wounds, those from summoning, are healed. I am a dark summoner, so I use blood to make my summons stronger. It may seem drastic, but the power it grants is unending and limitless. MY grandfatehr used th same type, so I leanred a lot from him..."

Junpei trailed off at the end as he thought of his family, the only one left beign Negi and his grandfather. Without even thinking he continued on.

"My summoning of course relies on dark magic, and since that is so, I have become adept at it as well. So much so you may not call me a summoner but a dark battle mage. It's funny isn't it, how much one's soul can bare. My line of magic slowly eats away at my soul, every time I cast a spell a piece of it snaps off and is shattered into pieces, so much so that by the tme im 25 i will probably die from a lack of soul. Thus is my curse for my pact with dark magic."

Junpei snapped back as Loish landed on his shoulder for a nap.

"I'm so sorry I didn't mean to drop that on you liek that..."

[Ziare]

Ziare listened to his story and paid close attention as she did when anyone spoke to her. She was a firm believer in everyone had something interesting to say and this boy surely seemed to have quite a bit. She looked at him and offered him a warm smile as he finished and appologizing. She shook her head.

"Don't appologize, there is no reason too. Some times it will feel better just to tell someone though they may not understand." she told him. "Truthfully all you can do is look forward to each day and live it to the fullest. At least you know your life may be shortened and therefore have the option to do what you want with the rest of your life."

Ziare thought back over the conversation and picked up on something.

"Wait a sec. You told me your grandfather taught you this correct? Well if he was old enough to teach you and be your grandfather then he lived a ways past twenty five. So don't be so set on the end instead think of the days you are given and who knows what will happen."

Ziare hoped she didn't sound like some nut and that he would actually take her words and think of them if nothing else.

[Junpei]

"He never made a blood pact with a demon either. He only uses dark magic by converting pure mana to a summons power. Since I use my own soul my summons are stronger, but my life is shortened. It's the price you pay to protect those you love..."

Junpei brught his knees up a bit and leaned back, staring up at the sky. His eyes slipped shut as he thought of Negi. Ngi woudl live a logn and full life, carry on the family name, become a great mage in his own right and even go on to become a legend. Junpei smiled to himself and opened his eyes again, his brother woudl live because of Junpei's sacrifice. Junpei didn't mind, his bother was a light mage anyways. His brother was a mage that used his mana not his soul. He had no price to pay for his magic, but Negi was a child prodogy of magic. Able to use it as an infant even, if it was only a light wind he could still use it. A tear rolled off of Junpei's cheek as he thought of his brother's future. His darling little brother that still had no idea his big brother would die in 8 years or so. Wiping away the tear Junpei blinked a couple of times and rubbed his eye once.

"Sorry, you probably don't want to be hearing all of this from a complete stranger."

Sitting up again Juppei looked over at her and smiled softly.

"So, how were you introduced to magic? If you don't mind my asking."

[Ziare]

Ziare smiled and let the subject on his life span go. In truth if he was going to die soon then there was no reason to waste the time he had left by talking about it.

"I actually was awakened. My power was latent in developing I didn't know I had it for a long time til I was about ten." she began. "I was in the woods with my sister at home and some bears attacked us. Instinctively I held out my hand to protect us and the attack never came. When I opened my eyes ol Armenius was there but smaller and had scared them away."

She shrugged.

"That is how I woke and since then I have gained other summons and Armenius and I have a bond. A deep bond." she said happily and smiled. "What about you, how did you get a bond and why? What made you get into magic?"

[Junpei]

"Born into a family of mages so of course from my youngest days i was taught magic."

Junpei looked up at the sky once more and saw the phoenix pull a lazy arc around a thermal. Smiling up at the bird Junpei let Loish go and let him fly more, the small lizard a spec next to the mammouth bird the phoenix was. Raising his right up Junpei spred his figers and watched the spec go between each finger, riding the same thermal.

"My brother.. Negi... he knows nothing of this so I would appreciate it if he never found out."

Junpei looked over at her and let his hand fall to his side once more. It was funny how this woman brought this out of him, the effects of goodly magic he supposd.

"Personalyl i think my power came at age...6... about then I started my summoning. When i was 14 i started my blood summoning, most people are given ten years at least, maybe less if they use this magic all the time. Negi's... his was from birth.. he coudl use magic at 1. It was amazing... a true miracle to our family that such a prodigy would be born in. I personally see him as my future as well as the family's..."

[Ziare]

Ziare listened and was impressed by him and his brother's early talent.

"Truth is the family I lived with and grew up with was not my family. My mother was a great summoner but died giving birth to me. They think somehow that repressed my powers until I needed them most to protect my little sister." she shrugged. "It would be nice I think to share magic with a sibling like that. None of mine are talented though I am adopted."

She lay down in the grass her hair laying around her.

"Do you like the academy here?" she asked.

[Junpei]

"Mmmmm yes."

Junpei looked over at her and then back up, leaning back so his hands were holding him up. He really liked this, just talking. It was something he hadn't done in a while. Something that he was afraid to do. If he let himself get attachted, even through friendship, he would leave behind pain.

"I just arrived two weeks ago though. How long have you been here."

Junpei set his sights back on the spec that was Loish as he dived adn caught a bird, a necessary death so that Loish may live. Maybe that's what Junpei was.. a necessary death. Liek many a prey Junpei could just be here to move another on, like that bird was moving Loish on by being food, like Junei would die so his little brother would stay safe. Junpei glanced over at the woman and smiled.

"Thanks... for just talking..."

[Ziare]

Ziare turned her head to look at him.

"Why wouldn't I want to talk to you? You seem like a nice person." she said truthfully.

She looked at him. It seemed that his fate weigh heavily on his mind. She knew that if she was going to die and she knew it leaving her sisters and brothers behind would be a pain near unbearable. To live with such knowledge would be difficult.

"You know you are lucky in one way." she said pulling herself up on her elbow her hair falling around her. "At least your summoner robes cover you mind seem to leave not a thing to the imagination." she sighed and lay back down watching Kal in the sky.