Claws of Truth

Assertion of Power

Reverberations from dozens of glasses clinking onto the tables and into other glasses alike were the only sounds that filled the otherwise eerily dead silence, which moments before was filled with murmuring chatter and clacking pool balls. Eda and Luz slowly turned their heads towards the filled room, desperately hoping that the reason everyone went quiet was for something else besides them.

They were wrong.

A bolt of searing hot fire came bellowing out from the middle of the crowd and careened directly towards them.

"Get down!" Eda yelled, already on her way prone. Luz followed suit and fell to her stomach as the fireball passed overhead, singing a few of her hairs in the process. No time to fret with that right now.

Eda twisted and thrusted her staff forward from her grounded position, sending searing blue fire in front of her. The flames engulfed the floor and the tables, rising towards the bar patrons. A few threw up shields of varying color to deflect the heat while a couple slower ones ended up covered in fire, doing their best to stop, drop, and roll.

The screams of agony were a bit distracting, but Eda knew how to adequately block out a noise of that caliber. She gave her staff a quick squeeze, prompting Owlbert to spread his wings. Eda twisted the staff again and conjured a red spell circle with her palisman's wingtips. A powerful concussive burst erupted from atop her staff, throwing many of the witches there off balance and a few onto their glutes.

Eda pushed herself to her feet before anyone had the chance to recover, while Luz had just finally gotten her wits about her. It's not that Luz hadn't been in her fair share of fights. In fact, living with Eda had provided her with more confrontation than she would have ever imagined getting in a lifetime. But almost getting burnt to a crisp would throw anyone for a loop; exception: Eda.

While her mentor got proper footing, Luz took some initiative of her own. She pulled out one of her plant glyphs and gave it a tap before tossing it out like a professional ultimate frisbee player. It landed in front of a tall, dark, muscular man with a golden quiver and matching heart crop top. The vines erupted out from in front of him, pinning the man to the ceiling.

Eda gave a quick glance back to Luz who was getting herself upright. "Not bad, kid. You've really learned a thing or two from Willow."

Luz grinned at the complement. Ordinarily she would be hyperfocused on her next move, running the play by play countless times in her mind to optimize her chance at winning, but considering she was fighting alongside Eda for this battle instead of against her, she was able to relax just a little.

But they were still fighting for their lives, after all.

Eda turned her attention back to the room. A few ice shards were shot at her; she dodged those with a side step. A bolt of lightning crashed, originating from her side; she redirected that into another witch nearby, blasting them back. A few sharp knives were thrown, and were easily absorbed by the yellow shield she conjured, clanging to the ground after it dissipated. A beam of pink, shimmering energy whizzed towards her, and she absorbed it with her staff. Eda slammed the staff down, redirecting the burst of energy out into a crescent shaped wave which engulfed the floor of the bar, knocking all the others to the ground.

"That all you got?" Eda chided. They may have gotten the jump on her at first, but these half rate witches had nothing on the greatest witch who ever lived.

"Nyah!" A voice cried out from behind her.

Eda whipped around to see the face of the bartender who was right on top of her with a knife of his own, cocked up and careening towards her. She had absolutely no time to react. She was going to actually die in a bar. Fully sober. And not even a nice one!