Brilliant! Very good! you got all but one important task that spheres can do. Imbued with certain commands, spheres of water can act as spies in certain areas, recording locations of certain things and sensing danger of different types. Other than that, you basically got them all. Now, retrieve a sphere, a disc, and a tendril from the stream, and have at me!

*nods* Okay... *summons from the water the forms she is instructed and watches them dance within her palms for a few moments. Raina looks at her opponent, then swiftly flings the disc at Rana. A split second goes by before the dragon cracks the tendril of water like a whip and connects the thread with the disc, pulling it back and hurling the sphere at Rana instead*

OOC: Wow...that's pretty good! IC: *immediately shielding herself with a thick blockade of water, rana lashes out with a whip-tendril, slicing the sphere in half and throwing it in completely opposite directions*

OOC: ^.=.^ IC: *Raina smiles and draws the halves of the water orb back together so that they buffet Rana on either side. Snaps a thread of water lightly toward her chest*

*two swirling discs block the spheres, dissipating them into hondreds of water droplets* *rana directs the two discs at Raina, shooting them at her like missiles* *one flies quickly past her, while another swerves around to the side, taking longer to reach raina* *the result is that she either has to turn around to battle the one coming back behind her, or face the one coming at her in front*

*shakes her head back and forth, undecided, then takes a tendril of water by its middle and snaps it outward in both directions, both ends making contact with the discs and creating a formidable weapon*

OOC: O.O...you can't steal my weapons! *stutters* that...that's just not right! IC: *as Raina is preoccupied with the two discs, rana shoots forward a water dart at her chest, totally unprohibited*

OOC: *giggles* My bad. IC: *reaches out and calls the water to herself, letting all of the water forms around her caress her scales and become a part of her...including Rana's little water dart*

OOC:...you're a very good opponent...this is hard! IC: *suddenly, Rana disappears, completely invisible to Raina's eyes* *a few moments later, Raina's shield becomes substantially thicker, giving Raina a sense of security, despite her invisible opponent* *at Raina searches the premises for Rana, she is suddenly attacked by hundred of spikes driving inward, driving through her scales and pressing major nerve points which immobilizes Raina* *after doing this, Rana reappears with an even stronger water shield* ^-^ Try again, youngling. OOC: THAT'S for stealing all my water attacks! Thief! hmph!

*collapses and growls* Hey! You never said anything about stealing your weapons to make my own. *snorts and slowly gets onto her feet, shivering and grumbling in Rana's direction. The dragon stands and assesses the situation* Well...I'm screwed...

hello!!

Hey there, Nayru!! *HUGGLES TIGHT!!!* How are ya?

/ *is slightly strangled by tight hug* *choke* better if *cough* you let go..*squeak*

Err...whoopsie....*lets go* a-hehe... ^.=.^;;

woah, what is that face??? *jumps back slightly*

Umm....embarrassed, sweat-droppy dragon? o.o

oh... ok btw, i might have to go suddenly. i'm hiding from dishes

*giggles* okay. I hate dishes. >.<;

i have to do them by hand... blech. the water gets all nasty... with chunks of 8 day old food.... *shudder*

Ewwwwwwwww................

yeah. fortunately, a movie is being watched, so i am being ignored. @cat: shut up!! you are giving away my position!!!!

*shushes the kitty and giggles quietly* My cat's a pain in the butt.

my cat is really sweet. he is also very fuzzy. he hates me

Phht. haha. Mine's sweet too, but he's always RIGHT THERE, y'know? His breath is absolutely atrocious and he sheds horribly all year round. lol. But, I mean, he's a sweetheart.

peehew!! *plugs nose* well, i probably should get back to the dishes. bye!!

hehe. Bye! *HUGS*

OOC: Hi raina! You still here? *glomps* IC: *Rana's water shield drops, being absorbed into the ground* That was good! You did very well. So well, in fact, that I was forced to use this trick...*Rana disappears instantly into the ground* *a few seconds later, she reappears from the feet up* to beat you. *wide grin*

OOC: Yup! I'm right over here! *HUGGLES!* IC: *looks at, tilting her head to the side and murmuring gently* Did you...become part of the groundwater? Or what? *blinks*

Alright...slomo then. *rana's arm becomes invisible, but for a moment, raina can see the shape of rana's arm swirling invisibly, only barely distorting the scene beyond* *then the swirling is gone, and rana's arm reappears again* Did you see that?

*sits back on her haunches and watches...nods* (OOC: I've gotta go, Rana. I'll ttyl!! *HUGS*)

OOC: awww...bye! IC: Alright. That trick is officially called maritransmorphing. Basically, it's changing yourself to water. (I'm not going to go into the detail of this, b/c obvioulsy it wouldn't work scientifcally) What you do is imagine that 70-some percent of you that's water...imagine that that is ALL of you. think on that until your entire being is water. This takes a huge amount of concentration and meditation and connection with water, and rarely could someone as new as you at water controlling achieve it. However, once you do this, remember that you have extremely limited control of your body. You're either going to be drawn by gravity, or (in a water battle) attracted to whomever is pulling the most water. You still have some control to change your shape, but that's it. You also have only a limited amount of time to pull yourself together before all your water particles go seperate ways, but once you do, you lose an enormous amount of energy. For now, let's just turn your claw into water, ok?

*nods* Okay, gotcha. So...claw to water? ...hmm... *looks at her palm and hums gently, her eyes flickering gently as she imagines her claw as the water from within. Raina shivers gently as her talon grows slightly chilled, and opens her eyes to see her claw shimmering lightly as water takes the place of flesh, bone and scale* Like this? *bites her lip and her 'claw' drops to the ground and soaks through the grass* !! ....ummmmmmmmmmmmmm.........................

OOC: halloo Raina... =)

VERY GOOD! *does a little happy dance* now call your claw back...ummm...i don't know how else to describe this...just, think about your claws original shape, and your bond with the water, and call it back.

OOC: Hi Jade! Sorry...wasn't paying attention. IC: Ummmzzzzzz... *tilts her head to the side, but does as she's told. Raina is relieved to find that her claw returns easily and completely*

YES! You did it!!! *super happy dance* Okay, the deal with this, is if you can get your entire body to turn to water, you'll retain your shape for a little bit, but be invisible. You can't move during this stage. Then, gravity takes it's hold and you go down quite suddenly, sometimes causing a splash. Once you go down, the more engergy you use against gravity, the more tired you'll be, and the shorter time you have before you have to come together again. However, you CAN move, and you can basically control your shape. And you can call yourself together again. It's a weird feeling, being water, but it's cool. One other note, NEVER use this trick in the desert or underwater. Both cases are basically suicide.

*nods* Okay. I don't think I'll be trying the whole-body maritransmorphing anytime soon. hehe

hmmm...lets see...oh! You need to learn to swim properly if you want better connection with water itself! *Rana jumps into the stream and disappears* *slowly, a gigantic swirling pookl appears, several feet deep and several feet wide, plenty big enough for a dragon to swim comfortably* *rana jumps out of the water and lands next to raina* Okay, test your swimming skills!

*watches with a tad of trepidation before fluttering her wings gently and landing within the pool. She dives and stretches her wings under the water, beating them in great slow motions that propel her forward with the slight help of her forelegs. Pops her head up out of the water and looks at Rana, questioning her opinion*

good, good. now, swim around the pool as fast as you can. I want you to make a major swirly!

*warbles with ridiculous enthusiasm* MAJOR SWIRLY!! *giggles and dives back under the water, beating her wings faster and swishing her tail to help her gain momentum. After several moments she picks up enough speed to produce a whirlpool, from the center of which she explodes, her golden wings shining in the sunlight*

*jumps in swilry pool, swirls around many times before finally slowing down a little bit* Very good. Now, this is going to be a bit harder. I want you to swim in the very middle of the pool, and use your water-controlling to make the edges of the pool swirl. *Rana dives underwater, swimming against the swirl to slow it down* Alright, now try that!

Okay, so...let me get this straight....I'm going to be in the middle of the pool and make the water swirl around me? *blinks and tilts her head to the side*

Yes. Sometimes it works better if you're underwater, but I'm not sure if you can do that yet. OOC: There are a lot of tricks that we tried before but you couldn't get them, so maybe you could try again?

*shuffles her wings gently, nods, and dives under the water. For several long moments nothing happens, then the water begins to gently stir. It starts to swirl slightly, just quick enough for a slight indentation to build in the center. Before it can go any further, Raina's nostrils breach the surface, causing a display and sound much like that of a whale's exhalation at the water's surface*

Good job!!! When you try again, visualize the whole pool turning into a huge water tornado. That usually helps

*Raina's nostrils flare momentarily before her muzzle disappears back underneath the water. The water begins to whirl about and slowly but surely pull downward. Soon the walls of water pull downward around Raina, the swirling water bathing her scales in dancing light*

*rana jumps in the swirl, kicking around and around with her now-mermaid tail* *as the swirl goes faster and faster, the water on the edges rises above the edge of the pool, and the water in the center pulls down towards the bottom.* *rana swims towards the middle, helping raina hold the huge amount of water in place and continuing to increase the speed*

*continues to add her own control--seemingly nonexistent compared to that of Rana--while watching the water around her* How far will this go??

Watch this! *with Raina's brute power combined with Rana's finesse, rana takes the center of the pool and lifts it high into the air, like a gigantic water tornado* *setting it on the ground, she lets go of her control, allowing the waterspout (that's what they're called) to take off, wreaking havoc among the forest* *mischevious laugh* That's how far it can go.

*sits on her butt, her hind legs sprawled out in front of her with her front feet planted between them. Watches the waterspout* O.=.O

That's how you control giant masses of water. The momentum should last quite a while, but you have to remember not to hold the water for too long in your power. Eventually, that much water is going to break apart and follow gravity, no matter how much control you have.

Ooh, okay...gotcha.... OOC: Hey, idk how often I'm going to be around nowadays. I have a new mate that occupies most of my time, so yeah.

*allows the pond to fill up for a little bit, then turns to Raina* Alright, can you make a waterspout like that you think?? OOC: A mate? O.O Details Raina, DETAILS!!!!

*nods and smiles, picking a point and coaxing the water to swirl around it slowly at first, then more and more swiftly, building up the sides....concentrating, she draws it upward, pulling the center down and setting it spinning. Raina smiles and gives the waterspout a touch of the passion she has for her mate, light flickering over projections of doves within the water--a wonderful trick of the light that she has just learned she had the power over...giggles and smiles as the birds flicker about within the waterspout* OOC: He's AMAZING!!! His name's David and he's a few years older than I am. It's a long-distance thing, but I know we can make it work. We've been involved for about three weeks now, and he treats me like gold and makes me feel like a goddess. I'm not even kidding. And the weird thing is...I can see myself spending the rest of my life with him. He's so amazing, Rana...*sighs, impassioned* It's so hard to explain because a lot of people can't see how it's possible, but...oh well. <3 <3

*stares in amazement as a beautiful light flickers through the waterspout as it crashes through the forest* Wow...that's very good! You're getting much better! Do you want to try some serious maritransmorphing now? OOC: Sweet! That's really awesome! Where'd you meet this guy??

*sits back on her haunches and watches her creation, the red scales of her cheeks deepening in a gentle blush as she watches the doves whirl about in an intricate dance of passion...blinks a few times and looks at Rana* Hmm? Oh, thanks. hehe. Yeah, sure. Let's do it!! OOC: I met him through a mutual friend online over a year ago. He's soooooooooooooooooo sweet, Rana. Like, you have no idea. I need him like I've needed no other of my past mates. I thought I knew what love was, and then I met Dave. He's so...fantastic. *smiles*

OOC: Someone's in loooooove! LOL! Have you ever met this guy face to face? IC: Alright, remember what you did with your claw, yes? Now, I want to do that with your whole body, starting with your feet and moving up to your head. I'll be standing by, and trying to keep you in form as best as possible, so you won't sink into the ground. Even if you do, I'll help you pull yourself back together, so your in no danger this time. Go ahead. *nods, and holds out arms, ready to take control as raina maritransmorphs*

OOC: That's one of the things that people don't approve of; they don't see how you can love someone you've never truly met. Think what you like, sweetheart, but I know how I feel and how he feels as well. Besides, these kinds of things are based more on personality than looks. It may sound like I'm making excuses, but I'm not. I'm just trying to explain. IC: Err...my whole body...all at once?? *blinks and shifts her weight from one front foot to the other* That...err...makes me nervous...any tips before I get started? I want to be as best prepared as possible...I'm sure you understand. I mean, none of us really want to lose ourselves underground as water. ><;

OOC: Alright, I wasn't accusing you of anything. I'm just saying that a lot of people have been hurt by that situation. So...if nothing else, just...be careful, ok? IC: Well, first off, you're not going to go underground, because I'm going to be right here holding you in shape. Second, hold your shape together as best you can in your own consciousness. That in itself can last for quite some time. Third, go slowly, so that you get the feel of it before you move on to the next part. Other than that, just know you're safe and go for it!

OOC: Thanks, Rana. I appreciate it. Truly, I do. And, well...I myself have been hurt many times that way. But, you know...when you get thrown off the horse, you gotta get back up, y'know? If you stop looking, you'll never know what there is to find. That's just the way I feel, anyway. And it's led me to a fantastic person that I love dearly. IC: *shuffles her wings gently* Umm...okay...*sighs and concentrates, working her talons into the earth gently, her eyes drifting shut...Raina calls to the water within, giving up her flesh to it, feeling her outline gently shimmer and her claws maritransmorphing slowly. The dragoness murmurs quietly* How am I doing?

OOC: Ok. I just...I rather see my friends be safe than get hurt. That's all. I'm your friend, so I'm here to watch out for ya, and love ya as best I can. *huggle* I really hope it works out! IC: *holding her amrs out, Rana begins shifting them back and forth, holding Raina's claws and feet in place, their outline barely visible against the background* You're doing great, keep going. I can hold a lot more.

OOC: Awwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww....Ranaaaaaaaaaaaaa.....Thank you! I love you too! *HUGGLES TIGHT* IC: Okay...*nods and concentrates harder, feeling her legs and tail start to turn to water...but for a moment she loses concentration and her watery frame shivers* Oooh, jeez! *her tongue pokes out of the side of her mouth in the classic expression of concentration, but can't stop her form from wavering*

OOC: *is squeezed to death* Ah...Raina...loving the affection but...need...to...breathe...here...*gasp* IC: *Rana shoves her hand to the side, re-establishing equilibrium* Keep going, you're doing great!

OOC: Oops...sorry...*loosens her grip and smiles* IC: *sighs softly* Thanks for that... *as her form stops shivering and grows stable, she slowly continues the process, her tail and legs giving way to the water that continues to creep over her form and fill her in...Slowly her hips and belly maritransmorph, followed by her wings, chest, and neck...but suddenly the water refuses to continue, leaving but her head un-maritransmorphed* Aww, dang it...

OOC: I love you too! *huggles softly back* IC: You're doing great....*closes eyes and slightly shifts her hands, keeping Raina balanced* You are water...you are water...you are totally water...lose all your consciousness to water...keep going...I've gotcha

OOC: <3 IC: *murmurs softly* Be the water....beeeeee the water....*imitates Genie from Aladdin* Beeeeee yourself...*giggles quietly and almost loses concentration* Whoops!!! a-haha... ^^; *regains her posture and loses herself in the song of the water that is her form, her entire being finally completely maritransmorphing* Hey, I did it!! ^.^

*Rana's hands are shifting all over the place, keeping Raina's form intact* That's brilliant! Great job Raina!! Now...for the tough part...*Rana begins to pull her hands closer to herself, drawing Raina closer* Flow...flow toward me. Float like water on the top surface of the river.

*squeaks softly as she's drawn toward Rana, her nearly-transparent insides churning with nervousness as she tries to flow...Raina closes her eyes, holds her breath, and lets a few threads of control go, letting the water do what it will as she tries to move to Rana*

*Rana continues to draw Raina's water forward, moving it in a small circle around her* That's good...just keep moving, follow the flow...

*nods and flows toward Rana, but suddenly her form shifts and slips downward* Eep!!

*Rana shoves her hands upwards, keeping Raina from falling* Alright, enough! Bring yourself back!

*nods and coaxes the water to give way to flesh once more...the dragoness finds it considerably easier as the water recedes slowly until just her claws shimmer lightly. Raina raises one paw and flutters her watery talons lightly* Looks kinda neat, huh?

Very. That was some nice movement you had going there! Now, if you maritransmorph again, I won't be there as much, so you're going to have to hold your own shape together, and follow your own flow. Now...*thinks* What are some things you haven't done with water yet...hmmm...

*smiles* Thank ya! Hmm...idk...*waits patiently for her next lesson, idly maritransmorphing her talons*

Hmmm....were you able to successfully connect a tenril to a water disc? *Rana pulls out a water sphere and quickly flattens it into a disc* *out of the other palm she draws out a tendril, using that hand to lead it towards the disc* *with a quick flick of the wrist, Rana connects one end of the tendril to the edge of the disc, causing the tendril to fly around the disc like a tail* This is perfect for lassoing around something and tieing it up, or for softening the edges of a disc, or if you make the tendril sharp, creating a lacerating effect of cutting that s extremely hard to heal. Try it.

*flutters her claws gently and calls upon an orb of water, slowly transforming it into a disc within one palm. She watches it, her emotions flittering within as birds with broken wings before they explode into small flickers of light within the disc. With her other claws, Raina calls forth a tendril that lazily twists around her nails. With an over-the-top flourish, she throws the disc into the air and weaves the tendril from her opposite claws and snaps the thread of water almost angrily at the disc, connecting the two and lashing out with her new weapon*

*jumps back in surprise as the weapon lashes past her* Whoa! Easy there, you don't want to be slicing me to bits here. This attack can easily slice through all but the thickest bones, and, with enough time, pressure, and superior control, can even go through layers of steel and stone. Also, like I said before, the edge of this thing is super sharp, creating a cut that is really hard to heal. Here...*sets up a thick stump at the end of a large clearing, several yards away from Raina* See if you can slice completely through this. It's wood, so it should be easy to cut, but it's also far away and think, so it will require some advanced control.

*nods and glares at the stump, her emotions boiling through the weapon in her palm. Raina works the tendril in her claws for a few moments before lashing out with her weapon, the disc snapping off and sailing into then =through= her target* Umm...whoops...

*Rana immediately reaches out, using the ground water nearby to soften and slow the path of the weapon before it can do any more damage* *she turns and glares fiercely at Raina* YOU MUST CONTROL YOUR POWER! Letting any weapon move beyond your power and you will no longer control it, but it will control you! Do NOT EVER lose control of your power, for it could destroy an innocent, living being! Forests will strike back, they hold grudges for infinite amounts of time. You must be careful here...*Rana notices raina's expression and softens* Is something troubling you, dear?

*looks down, clawing at the earth* Sorry, Rana. I'm just all messed up nowadays. Lost my mate, you see. I may get him back, but I'm not sure how things will go. He's having family problems...it's throwing me off. Sorry. That...umm...won't happen again. *stares at her talons, a tendril of water snaking between them*

*looks sadly at Raina, then goes up to hug her* Was this the one you met online? I'm sorry...*huggles extra extra tightly*

*holds Rana to her, a tear steaking down her cheek* We made it a month before all of his family issues started. I can't blame him, but it still hurts...and I still really miss him. Once everything settles down we might be okay, but I'm not sure. *nuzzles gently* Thanks, Rana.

*is quiet and snuggles* *mysterious bits of chocolate start to appear, gradually surrounding Raina wif chocolatey goodness*

*looks around and smiles, a soft giggle drifting through the air. Looks down and hugs Rana tightly* Thank you. <3

*throws Raina a cookie, comically bonking her in the head* whoops, ^-^' Cookies fix all problems!

*blinks and shakes her head, turning to snatch the cookie in mid-air. Noms on it and showers you with crumbs as she talks* Yeff, yeff they do! ^.^

*ignores the shower of cookie crumbs and huggles Raina* Twill all be ok in the end, you'll see! ^-^

*huggles back* Thanks, Rana. I really appreciate it. But, hey, I've gotta get going. I have a bunch of homework to do. ><;; So I'll talk to you later! Oh, hey...do you have any messengers, like yahoo or msn? o.o

I has MSN, but unfortunately, I can't invite you. My mom is accepting and ok with me chatting on this site, but she really cracks down hard when it comes to emailing people I don't know. I know this from experience, so I'm sorry, I can't invite you. Also, I has homework that I need to do to, so good byes! I luvs ya! *huggles tightly before waving and disappearing*

Oh alright. No biggie...my folks used to be that way. haha. Loves ya too! Bye bye!

*holds out the water disc with tendril attached, and carefully passes it to Raina* Would you like to try again, dear one?

*sits back on her haunches, her tail skipping across the ground behind her* Yeah, I think so. *reaches out and draws the tendril to her claws, swinging the weapon slowly, her eyes on her wooden target. After a few moments of mental preparation, Raina lashes out, but lacks the control to close the gap between herself and the stump* ... -.=.-;

*Rana grabs at the water weapon, and draws it back in to Raina* Try again. The stump is the enemy, a destroyer of all good things. Attack it, and destroy it, but do not harm the innocents surrounding it!

But...it's a stump...*reacts the way the little ant does in Bugs Life when Flick gives her a rock and tells her to pretend it's a seed* It's not going to kick anyone's butt...*looks at Rana and smiles* Alright, fine. *growls at the stump, sputtering quietly as she giggles, then crouches and concentrates. After a few long moments she lashes out again, reaching the target this time and burying the weapon in it. Raina growls, smiles, and yanks it back, attacking again and again, hacking the wood to bits.* MWAHAHAHAHA!!!

Well done Raina, well done! As for viewing the stump as an enemy, you often have to view your target in training as an enemy, even if it's not. Tis called imagination. OOC: I LOVE BUGS LIFE!!

*sits on her haunches and raises her foreclaws, making a rainbow of feeling between them in the air as she talks* Im-agi-naaaaaaatiooooooon... *laughs like an idiot, wondering if you'll get that reference. Lowers her feet to the ground and nods* Target as enemy. Got it. (but it's still a stump)

Granted, but for the moment, it is your enemy. Now, here's something. I want you to make up a completely new weapon using only your water powers to attack the stump. OOC: *doesn't get the reference and feels dumb*

OOC: Spongebob! XD IC: Okay...a completely new weapon...*summons an orb and a tendril...stares at them for a moment* OH! *attaches the orb to one end of the tendril and then another, making a pair of water bolas. Raina swings the weapon over her head and hurls it at the target, the bolas twisting around the stump and digging into it. Raina smiles and creates another new weapon, embedding sharpened discs into the sides of a longer, thicker tendril of water, the tip of which is also sharp, the entire thing like a spear with extremely sharp protrusions. The dragoness sends it flying toward the stump and the weapon merely passes through it until caught by the last disc* Yay!...I think. XD

Sweet! those are some awesopme new weapons!!! part of using water element is that you have to come up with new weapons to face different enemies.