Dabbling in Magic? (Open)

Right of strength, he says. Morrigan couldn’t help but mock the claim in silence while the dust settled around them. Being blown back by her technique might have discredited him if she’d even bought it, but to his credit, he held out remarkably well. Expected in part, but Morrigan still frowned as Sen lifted himself from the sand. He was too smug and undisturbed for her liking. She was beginning to think he really did have strength in reserve, and either refused to use it or couldn’t with the wound he gave himself. The mere thought of the former made her blood simmer.

“Don’t you dare,” She warned with a raised hand, poised to strike. For her claim that she wasn’t afraid, her stance betrayed caution and anxiety. If she were truly fearless at the moment, why hesitate to attack? She realized it herself, that her brother and sister were holding her back. And it was frustrating! The very moment that Sen moved to retrieve another of his weapons, Morrigan shot forward with the tension that had rooted in her muscles. From inside her sleeve, a sinister red glow heralded a slight boost in her force. Moving her hand in a winding motion as she approached, she brushed away the bullets that would have hit, and lashed out once Sen was in her reach! Aimed straight for the just-cleaned wound at his centre, it was a deliberately cruel attack. And much as she’d like to follow up on it, there was still a problem.

Whipping her head back, she saw the bullets that had flown over her shoulder. Beyond that, still not out of sight and therefore not out of range, Sith and Si. The pair were a cut above the average Earthling, Morrigan wasn’t even sure the typical man with a gun could break their skin. Unfortunately, her opponent wasn’t very typical. Responding automatically, she leapt away from Sen, turning and sprinting across the sand to catch up with the projectiles. Without much time or immediate energy to do better, she had to settle for throwing herself in front of them. The bullets didn’t do her too much harm — few even drew blood — but the fact that they hurt at all was a testament to the potency of Sen’s weapons.

Tossing a glance over her shoulder to check on her family, she saw them seemingly unharmed and still a distance away. They’d paused at the sound of gunfire and looked back to their younger sister, visibly confused. Morrigan sighed and prepared to shout for them to leave, but to her slight surprise, the two were quick to turn around and pick up their pace in the opposite direction… Good.

Now allowed to refocus on her adversary, Morrigan strode back the way she’d come, not hurried but practically radiating vexation. Lifting one arm, she pried a bullet from where it had stuck in her wraps, leaving a flesh wound that slowly reddened the tape. “This is the form your supposed strength takes? Metal bits and dirty hits?” She flicked the slug into the sand as she lambasted him, still approaching with a glare.

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So caught up in striking back for his wrongdoings, Morrigan had forgotten for a moment what the antagonistic man had wanted to begin with. She’d used her blood ruby with the simple desire to hurt him, but here he was smiling for it, still mocking her. Confusion cut into Morrigan’s severity and she stopped in her tracks. Was that really it? Maybe the smart thing was to be thankful for the brief exchange, but she still wanted to fight. Or just to make him sorry. She was tempted, as Sen turned away and began to take to the air.

“I… Don’t let me see you again,” Morrigan called after him, though without much conviction. It was possible he wouldn’t even hear. She wasn’t used to disliking someone so intensely. She didn’t much like what she was feeling. Lashing out angrily wasn’t just the act of a child, but an affront to her discipline entirely. Watching Sen disappear into the sky, she took a long, shuddering breath and laid a hand over her bullet wound. “Ow.”

Looking back to where her siblings had run off, they too were now out of sight. She hadn’t planned on passing along Sen’s message, but part of her did wish they would come back… Well, the problem was averted. Hopefully they wouldn’t have to have a problem again, though Morrigan recalled having similar hopes when a giant worm had tried to eat her. Maybe she shouldn’t be so hopeful this time. For now though, she just needed to get out of this damn sun.

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