Johnnie
*It's certainly been a while, hasn't it?*

*Artoria stopped. She found herself in the middle of a field, standing amongst the seemingly infinite expanse of rolling green hills. The air had transformed from the moist, humid of summer into the cool, dry air of autumn. However, weather was the last thing that mattered to Artoria. In the past few months since the circus incident, she hadn't seen much action at all; in fact, she'd resigned herself to living in the wilderness, becoming used to hunting and cooking her own food for survival, although her diet had consisted solely of venison, rabbit, and when she got desperate, the occasional bit of carrion. Mix these in with a couple of berries or wild plants every now and then and boom: you got her daily meals in a nutshell.*

*Her time in the woods wouldn't have left her with unsharpened skills, however. On the contrary, it was more of the opposite; despite her mental regimen of self-restraint due to her internal turmoil, the kitsune had been polishing her magic to the point where she had conplete mastery over two spells, both of which harnessed her innate power as a pyromancer in order to burn brighter and hotter than ever before. Her time alone in the woods had sharpened her mind as well, giving her the analytical ability to not only focus on one target - and for that matter, aim solely at one target - to two objects simultaenously. It took a great amount of effort, yet one day it finally 'clicked' by her making use of her subconscious to analyze extra targets in the background while keeping her conscious focused on a main target. She would describe it as a kind of advanced peripheral vision; if you scoped in in a target, that doesn't mean you gain tunnel vision towards that object. You're still able to see whats on the edges of your visage, yet Artoria would also be able to focus on what was on those edges as well as what she was mainly looking at.*

*On the other hand, though, her hand to hand combat skills had gotten significantly weaker than how they were beforehand. Part of the blame was definitely that change she experienced a few months back - not just the gender transformation, but also the proportions of power between her physical body and magic. She had it coming, though. There's no one in the wild to spar with in the first place.*

*It brings us back to our current setting. Artoria scoffed silently, curling her lips into a frown. How long were things going to stay stagnant like this? How long would it be until she would find it in herself to rest easy about her past actions? It was an entirely different monster in itself. She could slay groups of people coming after her tail, but she could not put to rest the internal conflict from within. Artoria swore to herself that she would practice restraint, that she would force herself to stay away from the world for the greater good, yet the boredom of her daily life was apparent. She wanted to break the cycle. It was almost ironic in how, when she was evading the law to escape prison capture, she trapped herself in an even more viscious loop than she expected.*

*She sat down, growing tired of standing up. She'd figure something out eventually, but for now she had to keep on sticking to the same monotonous cycle.*
Jose
*The ocean of grass would flow in tandem to the new autumn breeze, under a dark cloud sky which blocked out all light. It seemed nearly infinite, unending.*

*Yet no matter how large something was, everything came to an end.*

*That was what Katherine thought as she jogged among the plains, the emerald blades swishing against the heavy armor. Metallic clanging should have been heard, but the armor was as silent as if it was a part of her. Footsteps slammed on the ground in determination as the macen continued on with her run.*

*Irony. Her magic potential had _increased_ after that day. As if the world was giving her a consolation prize. At the cost of what? Her pride? Confidence? Maybe 3 of her damn limbs? And... Him. Katherine couldn't bear to hear his name, the emotional scar running deep, causing each memory of him to imagine what her life could have been like. Happy, safe, secure. Maybe even settled down. It seemed that the universe enjoyed seeing her suffer, bringing her hopes high, a towering pillar of crystal, only to be shattered into tiny pieces, the razor shard shards each leaving a painful cut, and then giving her a single coin as compensation. She had lost nearly everything, and her increased power felt more of an insult than anything.*

*Being able to fire two fireballs at once? As if that would help. Time and time again, Katherine had seen her magic rendered useless, whether through pain or other magics. What good would it be to increase what little power she already had?*

*It's not like her defense was great either. Only as little as a month ago, that _thing_....What it did to her.*

*She had somehow been able to link her armor to her magic, thank god, and spiritual energy replaced flesh and blood, the armor attached to it. But it just wasn't _right_. It felt imbalanced, clumsy, rudimentary, not the real thing.*

*So she had to get stronger. Maybe if she used them more and more, she would get used to it, and her disability would be negated.*

*As she ran though, she would soon spot a figure standing in the field. Doing nothing, just standing. Female, it seems, a little taller than she was. It looked to be a kitsune, with familiar gear, and a similar expression.*

*Was it... She didn't even know. Him, her? Whichever was the case, this could possibly just be Arthur. By chance. Traitor of New Sunlight, burning all in his path with hellfire.*

*Someone she considered a good friend, it hurt her to have him killing innocents, sliding down a slippery slope.*

*She would attempt to approach the Kitsune as closely as she could, and as soon as she would turn around, she would find Katherine, in full armor, besides her helmet, which would reveal her face.*

"Arthur?"
Johnnie
"Arthur?" *She heard call out to her.*

*A name which she hadn't used in almost half a year. When that word escaped the feminine voice behind her, she would feel her hair stand up on end. Who the hell was this?*

*She got up from her place on the ground, whipping her head to face behind her. The kitsune, as if woken up from a daydream, felt her fingers tingle at their tips, her heart's beating escalating from anxiousness she felt. "Arthur" Wasn't her name anymore - it was a relic of the past. To her, it was something to look back on, yet simultaneously something that could not be brought into the present. Anyone who knew who she was, however, would definitely not think so. The name alone was synonymous with a bounty, and with bounties came bounty hunters. She'd had far too much experience with the latter, and to her, anyone outside of 'those two' who knew who the Kitsune was became akin to an enemy in Artoria's eyes.*

*When she turned her head towards the voice, she was met with someone unfamiliar. Clad in armor, purple tatoos adorning her pale face, the woman she had come face to face with came across as imposing. The fact that she was dressed for a battle didn't help either; on the other hand, it only made Artoria feel like something was being setup even more. She quickly moved her head around her, trying to see if the woman came alone; an ambush was entirely possible in this situation. She put her hand to her sword's hilt.*

"Who are you? How do you know... How do you know my name? What do you want with me?"
Jose
*And with that, she knew.*

*It was expected for the figure to turn around and place a hand on their sword hilt. After all, who wouldn't, suddenly awaken from a silent tranquil only to be walked on by a random voice. And random did it appear to Arthur... Or, Artoria, since 'he' no longer went by that pronoun.*

*It only took phrase to make sure.*

*'How do you know... How do you know my name?'*

*It was him, er, her.*

"....You don't remember, do you? Not that I was ever important enough that you would."

*A blue glow emitted from her right hand as she extended it from the right, and a beautiful azure longsword would appear from it.*

"My name is Katherine Vayne, Fledgling of New Sunlight. I'm taking you with me, Arthur, for your crimes and betrayal against the guild. Please, don't make this harder than it should."

*Both hands would grip the shining blade, and it would ignite in a bluish flame, and her helmet came back over her face, the armor shimmering with light. Her voice would have a waver to it, as if talking hurt.*
Johnnie
*Great, another one. This was the... Fourth person sent after her from the guild? There was a knight, two squires, and a mage... So that would make this person, 'Katherine Vayne', the fifth. Not that it mattered, did it?*

*She did find it a bit odd, however, on how the woman implied that they were familiar with each other in the past. As far as the kitsune knew, this person was just another nameless face in the crowd; just another person she'd have to dispatch of.* 

"'Fledgling of New Sunlight?' You got some gall to openly declare that you're just going to 'take me with you.'" *Artoria drew her sword from its scabbard, holding it with one hand. Closing her eyes momentarily, she cast Burn Up and Flame Guard on herself, the fire being summoned flaring outwards until it was reeled back in as an aura around the kitsune.* 

"You don't want to do this. For your own good, just back off."
``` Flame Guard and Burn Up cast. Remaining Mana: 285/330 ```
Jose
"Mevis and Hitoshi wouldn't want that. For you to kill, burn even more. It's ironic, you know. I saved you once. Now I'll fight you, and possibly, no, *Probably* Even die trying."

*The blade is raised into a high guard. Katherine knows what Arthur's capable of, but she has to try. She knew that this fire wouldn't hurt.*

"But I won't be able to live with myself if I don't."

*As Katherine swings down, a curved blade of fire appears from the slash, hurtling towards the kitsune. Her sword would then perform a left to right diagonal rising cut afterward as she rushes forward.*
```Energy Blade and Flaming Blade cast, 20 mana spent, 5 regained, 120/135 mana remaining.```