She wanted to absolutely avoid any sort of contact, but that seemed to be somewhat impossible with the presence of whoever it was manipulating the bane of her existence. She forced herself to her feet, the chasers hadn't quite caught up to her yet.

"Ice," she breathed, taking a few steps back, "Fucking ice."

"They're coming -" Mist started to say when she grabbed his sleeve, and dashed, not bothering to wait for his feet to get a hold.

"I think we should split -" she started to yell but her throat caught in pain. Split? What was the point of splitting up in a landscape as barren as this?

"Bad idea!" he screamed stumbling over his feet and barely keeping himself up.

"Then we'll have to fight -" she skidded to a halt. It was frustrating that there was no space to hide as far as eyes could see.

"Do you think you can take them?" he huffed.

"Not at all."

The temperature turned chilly as their pursuers sauntered toward them, for everyone seemed to be aware that there was nowhere to run.

"Identify yourselves!" One of them said crisply.

She wondered if she could get away with a fake name, but her aura way too easy to glean. And she didn't want to risk Mist being found out as a Ghost. Her eyes smarted.

"Fiera Celosis," she whispered, seeing her words turn foggy when she spoke them. "And this is Mistral Squell."

Her instincts screamed as one of them removed his hat, showing shockingly pale grey hair, "Separate the boy," he said.

Two of them bolted at Mist, who screamed as they neatly grabbed his hands and dragged him a distance away. She saw him failingly grasp at his bag as they snatched it away from him for their search. The air turned chillier still.

"I don't think there was ever a time," the grey-haired one chuckled, "when The Search was completed so early."

The blade steamed in her hand and she gripped it, slipping into her stance.

"Do you really think you can fight?" He snapped his fingers driving ice molten into the ground right into her face. Her neck snapped back, and she felt her skin tear at tiny places as ice cut it up. Her hand wavered as she struggled to find footing again. She fixed her stance and spat out some ice as the gray-haired man smiled at her.

Fire wouldn't be enough.

But she also didn't need to do anything more than, distract them enough to flee. And if she was successful in confusing them, she would be able to find more time, because her pursuers would focus on find their brethren over finding her.

"Are you sure you want to fight me?" she yelled.

She swooshed the curtain to reality above her and tossed her sword up, making it vanish into the empty space. One of the men holding Mist, stumbled back in horror. In other situations, maybe she would have found it prudent to keep her magic ancestry under the wraps. But it was essential that she get away from there as soon as possible with the minimal contact. And preferably Mist would be smart enough to make his escape in the distraction she provided.

"You must have some guts," the grey-haired man hissed, "Engaging in dark arts on the lands of Inima."

Dark arts.

Oh well.

She unbuckled a knife from her thigh strap, and sliced open her palm, letting the blood leak. She had a limited supply of blood, and her magic would be limited in supply too. But, she didn't have to engage in deep magic.

She shook her hand, clenching her wrist in pain letting the blood fall to the ground below.

He snapped his fingers again, trying to shove ice into her face, but the ground stayed still, the water stayed as water.

"Witch!" he snapped.

From the corner of her eye, she could see Mist grip his bag.

She clapped her hands, and ice rose from her feet, slamming into the grey-haired man, just as Mist smacked his bag across and took a dash. She danced her fingers into the air, drawing a sign and muttering under her breath, before the men froze in their tracks.

"Run!" Mist screamed.

Well that was the point, really.

She took to her feet.

This should buy them some more time.

Ugh, they better find somewhere to rest up quick.