"I'm going to tame this monster!" Reiji claimed to himself
He was dodging and deflecting a barrage of floating objects hurling towards him and Rowan.
They are facing an emergent monster classified as Catis within Felinial type monster.
"Reiji!" Rowan called.
*KRRRACK!
A crisp sound of snapping branches filled the air.
"It's targeting you too," Reiji noted.
Rowan & Reiji stepped back further.
Reiji inhaled deeply.
"It's better if I go beyond the lethal distance of its range. So you could focus on your assault." Rowan informed Reiji.
Then he added, "But it has a wider range that I do. The closer you get to it, the less support you should expect from me."
The monster began its barrage of random objects again, flung with force at them.
Nonetheless, they were at a safe distance. Making it easy to dodge or deflect the projectile.
"I'll cast a healing spell," Rowan stated.
Reiji understood the job and protected Rowan while he was casting.
"It hasn't moved in its position. The profiling Rowan provided is pretty accurate. It's perceptive and smart." Reiji thought.
"Solflare, fer auxilium. Golden Fire." Rowan incited.
It covered Reiji's body with warm light that mended the scratches made by the debris when he's deflecting.
"Don't underestimate those scratches, Reiji. If you lose a certain amount of blood, your body will start to feel heavier." Rowan reminded him.
"Got it. I'll try something." Reiji responded.
Reiji carried Rowan over his shoulder and went further away until the Catis stopped with its attack.
"That monster deliberately chose that location for its dwelling. That central square is open and it can see anything that comes in too close." Reiji began explaining.
"What are you saying?" Rowan asked.
Reiji leaned a bit and continued, "It means it does want anything to get close. Maybe that's all it has to offer, its magical skill. It's not powerful at all in physical combat."
Rowan nodded slowly, weighing Reiji's words in his mind then said, "You might actually have a point there."
"Right?" Reiji asked while nodding.
"But hold on, it might not be strong in terms of physicality but I'm sure it's agile. It might just run away to keep its distance if that's the case." Rowan continued, cautiously trying to read the situation.
Reiji curled his lips up on the side and asked, "Do you happen to know anyone else around here who's agile?"
Rowan smirked and inquired, "Alright, now tell me what was it you wanted to try."
"Will you be able to cast a Flameball while running?" Reiji asked with intent.
"Don't underestimate me," Rowan asserted.
Reiji smirked back and began explaining his plan to Rowan in detail.
After a few moments, they agreed and carried on with their strategy.
"It's time to catch a stray," Reiji announced as he cracked up his hands.
They started running forward, Rowan was in front this time but Reiji came in closely behind.
Rowan pointed his staff toward the Catis and started chanting, "Exi flamma, et consume in me voluntatem. Flameball!"
In which the monster responded with a defensive dusty gust to disperse the fire.
"Flameball!" Rowan threw another while still running forward
The monster dissolved Rowan's flame once again.
"That's good enough," Reiji emerged, jumping over Rowan from behind.
The Catis stayed stationary and started to float the mix of pebbles, branches, and bones around to fire towards the changing Reiji.
*SWOOSH!
*SWOOSH!
The pebbles hurled past him as he dodged.
While he also carefully deflected branches and bones with his quarterstaff.
"I have to keep it engaged." He kept telling himself.
He dashed forward erratically to keep the monster's attention towards him.
But it was more perceptive than he originally thought, when he moved to the left, a swirling pebble would push him to keep moving towards the left.
"It's trying to keep control of my direction," Reiji grinned in amusement.
Reiji kept his eyes fixed on the Catis, while calculating his options.
The pattern of how the monster was projecting the object towards him showed it was a deliberate intention.
Reiji understood, "It's forcing me to turn left, moving away from it."
So he stopped.
He dodged and deflected the projectiles with a flow motion.
If it's a pebble, dodge.
If it's a branch, or a bone, deflect.
If it was projected towards a non-vital part of his body, he took the damage.
Those were the strategies he stuck to, to change the rhythm of their stalemate battle.
When he caught the pattern, he started walking slowly towards the Catis.
Its ears perked up.
Reiji reacted quickly.
The moment the Catis stopped firing, Reiji quickly dashed closer to it.
The monster scrambled the debris in the air and it jumped at it as it fell down to get away.
"Not so fast," Reiji jumped up and met with it mid air.
*SWOOSH!
He swung his quarterstaff with full force.
The monster protected itself by taking cover behind a falling branch.
But the indirect hit was still a fatal blow, it flung down back on the ground and skidded at the dirt.
Not falling a second behind, Rowan cited, "Ignis tutela, hostem meum reprime. Firewall!"
He created a U shaped wall of fire to corner the Catis.
The moment he landed, Reiji bolted at the only exit out of the wall and stood firm with the quarterstaff in his hand.
The little Felinial monster arched its back, puffing out its fur to appear larger and more intimidating while hissing.
Reiji did not falter and walked slowly at the terrified monster.
The Catis created a small whirl and lunged itself, fangs and claws out, towards Reiji.
It was a swift attack that Reiji had to sacrifice his hands just to block it.
As a reflexive reaction, Reiji stepped back a little and looked away for a brief moment.
He felt a bite on the web of his hands.
"Huh?" Reiji stammered, confused.
He closed his hands immediately and was able to grab the soft and furry limbs of the Catis.
It attempted to get away, but the small scratches and the shallow bite it did was too weak for Reiji to mind.
So, Reiji plucked one of its legs before letting go.
The little poor monster limped on the ground with its tail tucked behind and ears folded back against its head.
As the firewall dissipated, Rowan approached and asked, "Did we get it?"