A Little Practice

There weren't a whole lot of space rocks floating nearby, but there was enough to get some better resources than what we had to work with. Evan's first plan was to get some quality resources and work on improving the refiners. We needed them to get the most out of what they processed otherwise we'd end up being stuck with nothing left to work with. While he worked on that I continued my training, my range was improving quite a bit and I was already able to sense quite a few creatures in the habitat, they were definitely getting comfortable with us being here. Today I decided to go back to harnessing ice, I wanted to prove to myself that I was capable of using it. For this I set out for a more remote location in the habitat.

The edge of the desert part of the habitat. It was hot, Evan had constructed this habitat very well. Being at the edge of it I had some water not too far off though it was warm and not the most refreshing thing to drink, however I wanted to make sure I didn't damage any of the technology we had made and so I figured this area would be able to handle a bit of a cold influx better than other spots. Drawing the correct energy was much easier this time, I had a feeling for it already from the incident that happened and knew what the energies should feel like. Creating frost in a desert setting was very interesting, I settled on a minor invocation of ice instead of trying to draw too much of it. I created frost drawings on the sand and watched them evaporate shortly after they were drawn. I felt much more at ease with my powers, they were flowing well and I was gaining a much better control over them.

I only ended up spending about an hour training, after that I was just getting too hot and so I set off for another area to train in. This time I chose an area closer to where the more violent creatures were. I wanted to test some more potent forces and knew that if I were in the right spot I might find one willing to fight. After freezing a few small ferns I finally sensed something coming closer. From the feel of the energy it was much larger than the cat-like creature from before and, if it were hostile, should prove to be a fun fight. As it came into view I saw its long claws digging into the ground, its teeth glistened with saliva which seemed to pour endlessly from its mouth much like a dog that sees a treat that it desperately wants. It had little tufts of dark red fur on its scaly looking body, mostly around its upward pointed ears and on its knees. Its scaly skin was a deep brown, it blended in well with the shadows, if it weren't for my ability to sense it I might not have noticed it. I estimated it was about twice my size, mostly muscle, however it was very quiet in its movements. As I took all this in it seemed to size me up as well. After a moment it decided I looked tasty and ran at me, mouth open and drool streaming behind it, it was still pretty quiet even as it ran. As it came near I unleashed a blast of cold which froze the drool into horizontal icicles behind it, the creature seemed a bit shocked by this. It shook its head and the ice flew away, it looked like shattered glass in the light. The creature turned again towards me and leapt, it was an agile creature and that seemed odd for something so bulky. I ducked and rolled under it, leaving behind a fire where I was for it to land it. The creature yelped as it hit the ground, cinders flew up around it. This was definitely proving to be fun.

Normally I wouldn't consider myself malicious, but after my encounter with the beast I was desperate to be able to hold my own. I had been fighting with the creature for a couple of hours, it had hit me a few times, the unhealed wounds on my body proved that, but the creature was in much worse shape, though it was relentless. It appeared that once it had a target it was dedicated to finishing it off. I was getting tired and needed to finish it off or else risk finally being overcome despite the fact that I was sure the creature wouldn't be able to live long after this anyway. It still drooled profusely and I had an idea of how to finish this. As it made its next charge I created another blast of ice, freezing once again its drool, I had timed it well, the icicle was huge. As it sped past me I felt its claws rip through my leg, but I had grabbed the frozen drool and had broken it from its spot on the creatures body. It was heavy and thick and very cold, but it was sharp as well, it would make a good spear. As the creature turned again and came for me I leap at it and thrust the spear through its open maw, piercing its vital organs. With a gurgle the creature fell to its knees, dust kicking up in a cloud around us. As the dust settled and I saw the creature was finished I pulled out my knife, there would be meat on the table tonight.

I must admit, it probably wasn't the best meal I've had, it was very gamey from all the running around, but it was a nice change to eating fruits and vegetables. As I enjoyed my meal Evan returned, I had forgotten all about what he had been working on today and seeing him was a bit of a surprise. He had upgraded his skeleton and smoothed out the roughness of it. He now had a metalic skin that was without impurities and clearly much stronger for it. He had been taking the time to refine what we already had and produce a better technology from it, he informed me that the new refiners were much less wasteful and he had decided to keep them as seperate tools so that I could use them as well instead of him having them as part of his body's functions. After this he looked me up and down and asked what had happened. I realized I hadn't yet healed all my wounds and as I charged up some healing energies I recounted the battle to him.