.:The Pond - Alice/Azmot:.

Alice stared down into the pond, mindlessly watching a silver trout swim in small circles. Her brown hair cascaded over her shoulders and blew gently in the wind, looking like feathers at the ends. She poked two gloved fingers together and pouted. What was there to do in a place like this?

Alice had originally wandered here on account of losing Oz; she'd looked for him but couldn't seem to catch up with him. 'He's far too curious for his own good,' She mused in her head while watching a green dragonfly land on the dock she was sitting on. Crystalline violet eyes watched the creature move with apathy as the breeze gently blew again.

It was calming here, almost too calming. Where was the discord? The disorder, the dissonance? Where had it all gone? Alice wondered thoughts such as these only because she'd lived in the Abyss for far too long and knew nothing was ever truly calm. But here, it was.

Laying back on the wooden dock, she closed her eyes and began to doze off, as the dragonfly landed precariously on her nose.

"Oh, what a beautiful young lady on a dreadful-compared scene. I must say, you put this once beautiful pond to shame!" Azmot said as he entered the clearing. He was on a wooden chair, it floating with the power Azmot was using, his Telekinesis. He had found the chair not to long ago, down by the estate. But regardless, luck struck him when he choose to zoom by and examine the pond.

He picked up a rose and dismounted, walking over to the lady, handing it to her. " Oh, even though you look so beautiful with the dragonfly there your eyes tell me that you are wicked. Your in luck, though, for I am a wicked one two. My name is Azmot, and what name may I dub thy beauty?" Azmot asked, his hand outstretched to give her the rose.

Alice opened her eyes and stared at the rose for a moment, blinking up at it with a lightly flushed face. "...My name is Alice... and I don't consider myself wicked." Picking herself up off of the ground, she gently took the rose and told herself to be polite. "Thank you. And what is your name...?" Alice couldn't kid herself into thinking the man wasn't handsome, much to her embarrassment, but she (being her tsundere self) looked out at the pond and watched the water ripple lightly to avoid eye contact.

Azmot, seeing the girl slightly embarrassed, tried to lighten the mood and explain himself at the same time. "Don't think I meant to harm your feelings, Alice. I was simply saying that I noticed you bear an uncanny resemblance to someone I saw once upon a time in.... the Abyss. She was as breathtaking as you, and almost as fearsome. She was called the Black Hare. And, kiss me if I'm wrong, but are you not that same Alice? I hope not, mainly because a kiss would be nice, but because you look not wicked at all." Azmot said in a delightful tone, then realized that he was still flattering the girl quickly added. " Although, you look like a sort of girly-girl, maybe you're not such a fighter......."

Alice pouted at the man's last statement, turning to him. "You'll not be getting a kiss on those grounds, then. I am that same Alice, rage in check." She flushed and looked down at the rose, then put it behind her ear. Muttering, she turned back to the pond, the sun reflecting off of the water and into the eyes. "I am that beast, yes, but not at the moment."

"Not a beast, lest one that ravages my heart. But a rose by any other name is just as sweet, unless her name is Alice, then it is a million times sweeter." Azmot said at the girls discontent. He shuffled with unease, making another flower fly up above her face, it slowly twirling. " A chain we are both, so proud, so strong. A bond between us could not be so wrong..." He said, smiling warmly. " Oh, by the way, my friend, have you heard of the organization by the name of 'Pandora'? I am looking for a job and, as you can see, I would require more currency than a magician's job could pay. I mean, surely a women of your grace has no doubt heard whispers of this prelude?"

Azmot looked up at the sky, seeing the clouds move about and the sun shining. It was beautiful sight, not compared to Alice, though.

Alice blushed an even deeper red. "I've heard of it, yes..." She sat back down on the grass after gently taking the flower from the air. "But I don't think they pay currency." She looked up at him and extended her hand from her sitting position. "Care to sit next to me?" A butterfly fluttered around Azmot's head deftly and Alice giggled at it, moving her hand to her mouth."Azmot-san," She smiled, "I think it likes you."

Azmot laughed with Alice's giggle, a cute one at that. " Of course" he said, shooing away the butterfly in shame. He sat with her, looking in the ponds shallow yet aloof waters. Azmot had an Idea on how to impress her. Using his powers he made an indention in the waters that made out-

Alice is Beautiful

He looked towards here to see her reaction. For some reason, though, he wanted badly to fight her, to feel her passion in battle.

Alice looked over at the water, seeing movement, and paused. "..." After a moment a red blush raced over her cheeks and she hid her face in her hands. "You're too kind, really. How do you do that...?" She peeked out from behind one of her hands, only her slightly innocent eyes showing.

"I'll tell you if you give me the honor of battling the black hare? No worries, though, because I cannot harm such a wonderful lady as you. I simply want to enjoy your passion." Azmot said, bowing. As he straightened out, he allowed himself to float above the ground. " So, shall that passion be released, or will you stand down, letting your better judgement control you. Because sometimes your feelings are more of a Wild Factor, an all or nothing. Will you take the risk of battling me? If you lose, we simply make a date of the day. If I lose, we do what you want, however ridiculous!" Azmot said, chuckling.

Alice grinned softly, looking up at Azmot. "Sounds like a fair deal," She murmured, standing up and calling her scythe to her side. She wouldn't harm him, either. Something about this boy grew on her in the short time they talked. "When shall we start?"

"Well, right now, of course!" Azmot said, giving a slight second on his Mental Projection. He put up his palm, and a lion burst out of thin air, roaring like crazy. "This is one of my many random thoughts, A lion named Leo. I can think hard and make him manifest into our reality when I wish, along with my other random thoughts. This is my most basic. A fire-breathing lion that can live without air shouldn't be to much, right, Alice?" Azmot said, letting Leo burst forward. He shot at high speed, his mane rippling in the wind. In .5 of a second he had closed the distance between Alice and Leo. He shot out a ball of fire, aiming for the space far above Alice's head.

Alice almost screamed as the fire roared over her head, barely catching the ends of her hair. She'd ducked just in time; he may have underestimated her speed. Chains shot out from behind her as she raced forward at him, raising her scythe. Either he'd have to block her attack and step very close to her to avoid the chains, or be bound in them.

Azmot laughed as she got her hair partly burned, then shut it once the chains grew near. He was going to get hit, but then an idea dawned onto him. Azmot opened up a Crack in Space in front of him and one behind Alice. As the chains hit the Crack, they were transported behind Alice and flew towards her. He quickly grabbed the chains, stopping them on the other side. He thought of what she might to do him if he even tried to hold back, so he let them go, and they continued to Bind Alice. They weren't there, yet, though, and Azmot was confident she was being nice and holding back on him.

Alice turned around just in time to see Azmot let go of the chains and she squealed as one of them quickly wrapped itself around her. Growling, she struggled a little. "I wish you would've gone easier on me," She mumbled, "that's way less embarrassing than having your own attack backfire." She snapped her fingers and the chains disappeared, leaving only her scythe.

"Crap!" Azmot said as he realized he was open. He looked at Leo and nodded, the lion disappearing into mist. "It seems as though you ARE the black hare, but I wonder, how would you do with a dragon after you?" Azmot smiled, still slightly holding back. He could mentally project a dragon, but it would be to fierce. So he used his telekinesis to separately control a million drops of water, each weighing about .2 of an ounce. As long as he controlled the drops separately, he could hold an infinite weight of them. He created a 10 foot long Chinese dragon, and it swept towards him, lifting him away from the scythe. He went over the lake, standing on packed in water on the dragons head.

It was a fine morning. The sun was shining brightly, the birds were singing beautifully and the flowers were all blooming brilliantly. It was a perfect day, well, minus the scowl on Elliot's face when he saw Oz.

"Haaa, I hope that they won't break into a fight in the middle of the meeting. I wonder why the Nightray sent Elliot, their heir, to meet with the enemy household. Kinda strange ~ Hm... Oh well! Not everyday that I can go to the Vessalius mansion like this! Hope they won't mind if I explore around a bit ~"

As befitted of the name Vessalius, one of the four great Duke Houses, the Mansion was just simply gorgeous. The designs, the sceneries, everything was in perfect harmony. Unlike the cold feeling of the Nightray Mansion, this one gave out such a warm and welcoming feeling.

Leo just wandered around lost in his own thoughts and not noticing that he was getting to the border of the Vessalius land already. Suddenly there was an explosion. Someone seemed to be fighting. "What could this be?" Leo ran towards the noise and stopped dead in his track as a giant dragon emerged in his sight. "What the...?"

Azmot, still on his dragon, glared at the boy. " How rude. Leo, I call you forth. If you would," Azmot said, the lion appeared next to the boy ",please send him away, for me and Alice are still playing." Leo circled around the boy, clawing at his torso. "Leo," Azmot yelled ", don't hurt him!" Leo simply nodded and roared, a wave of non painful heat blasting forth.

Leo could feel fear swelling up inside of him. What should he do? Every cell in his body was screaming danger. He needed to flee, fast! This was not the place where a defenceless person like him should be. Leo tried to move but his legs wouldn't listen. Fear seemed to have frozen them.

"How rude. Leo, I call you forth...." A strange person riding on the dragon said. That snapped Leo back to reality. Leo? Is he talking about me? Oh wait.... Leo felt a wave of heat blasting at him. A lion? Leo immediately pulled out his gun as a mechanism of self-defence. His shooting skill was nowhere near perfect but one thing he knew for sure was that he mustn't die here. Elliot....

Leo shot at the lion but none of the bullets seemed to hit. Is this lion a chain? No, it doesn't seem so. The bullets just went straight through the creature, which was seemingly made from pure fire. Leo was confused. His brain was scanning through all the books that he had read but nothing seemed right. What on earth is this creature??

Azmot watched as the bullets passed through Leo, disintegrating in the process of passing through. "Step down, boy!" Azmot said, making Leo disappear. "He and his friend will come back, so if you plan on staying, tell me why our here!" Azmot said with fake conviction, mainly messing with the child. He did enjoy annoying people, and this boy was no exception. If he wanted to interfere, he would be eliminated. That dates mine! Azmot thought, anxious to know more about Alice, the infamous B-Rabbit, the Black Hare.

Leo actually thought that he would be killed because nothing he did could harm the beast. The only weapon he had, the gun, also proved to be useless. A sweat drop trickled down Leo's forehead I'm done for sure. Ugh I hate that I can't do anything but accept this. Leo was prepared for a painful attack from the beast but then nothing happened.
The lion disappeared at the mysterious boy's command. "..... staying, tell me why our here!" the boy said.

Leo slowly exhaled, gathering his composure. Then he spoke, his voice clear of fear: "My name is Leo. I am the servant of Elliot Nightray, the rightful heir to the Nightray Dukehouse. Today I am accompanying my master to a meeting held in this mansion and as I found myself some free time while my master was attending the meeting, I decided to marvel at the beauty of this mansion. I guess curiosity has led me to this po...." Leo stopped suddenly as he recognised the figure standing near the lake. His eyes widened in surprise "Alice-san? Why are you here? Aren't you with Oz-kun? And may I know who that gentleman over there is?"

[Leo, this was marked "Azmot/Alice"... x_x]

Alice sat through all of this and spoke up when Leo talked. "I am here simply out of curiosity, however, I met Azmot here on a stroke of luck." She smiled softly over at him. "And as for Oz, I could never find the little runt," She huffed, "because he's too curious for his own good. I think I've lost him."

"Alice, be he friend or foe? If foe, then I shall char his guts to a smoldering pile for you. If he is friend, I will send him away! No one shall get in my way! I shall have that..." Azmot stopped when he realized he was rambling on about nothing. He looked at the boy, and even though he didn't look at all hostile, Azmot picked him up, allowing the boy to float freely in the air. Actually, Azmot didn't just pick him up, as for when he did he created a Crack in Space under Leo, this one leading into a volcano. "When you get to know me, wonderful Alice, you shall find that I keep my word. And I say now, by the power in my word..." Azmot burst out laughing, not able to contain it anymore. The Crack disappeared and Azmot let Leo go. "Why, I'm not that Evil! No, no, I hold no anger towards you, Leo. I just simply needed to make sure two things." Azmot said, holding up one finger." One, that you were not an enemy," Azmot continued, holding up a second", and two, that you were not one betrothed to Alice. And judging by her reaction to you, you are most definitely not." Azmot finished, relieved.

Alice smiled softly at Azmot's behavior and only sat back down on the green grass, wondering why Leo had come over here. At the same time, she sort of wanted to be alone with Azmot; she was enjoying herself thouroughly. Deciding not to be rude, she said nothing and laid back on the grass, staring up at the sky.

[I'm sorry Alice ^^; Azmot said I should join this so I went ahead and did T__T. Sorry ;A; I can easily withdraw from this if you want, because I'm pretty useless in this topic anyway T__T]

Leo was bewildered. What was that boy talking about? He didn't seem to be a Vessalius or servant. Why would the Vessalius let strangers roam their land like this?? And that was no ordinary boy! He had powers that normal humans could only dream of. A contractor? No, he didn't seem to have a Chain. Wait.. Don't tell me... Leo didn't know whether to feel happy or scared about his conclusion.

"Alice-san, Oz has an important meeting with the Nightray today, which is probably why he can't accompany you, so please don't beat him up later (if Elliot haven't already)." He then turned to Azmot, bowed slightly and tried to speak as calmly as possible "Nice to meet you, Azmot-san. And yes, I am just Alice-san's acquaintance, no more than that. This may sound rude but may I impose on you a small question? I will humbly leave you two alone after my guess has been confirmed." Leo swallowed and asked "By any chance, are you also a Chain like Alice-san?"