Hueco Mundo JT, OPEN!!

[Arcadus]

Arcadus knew that Corvus needed training. He also knew he couldn't trainin him just in techniques, he wasn't ready to handle something like that just yet, and lastly, he didn't really understand how Vampires worked. Though, he did know that he'd be able to train in Hueco Mundo, the permanent night allowing him to not have any time restrictions. That meant they wre able to heal, or at least rest, between being pushed. Now he just needed a place, and he knew jus the one. It was a spot he'd glassed and blasted into sand stone with cero and shockwaves, not too far from Los Noches. 

It was a perfect, flat sandstone square sitting in the sands of Los noches, high enough that the shifting sands wouldn't cover it, though the steps were permanently sandy. Looking out across it, it was 100 feet by 100 feet, small for a combat arena, but a distance Arcadus felt practicing in. Besides, any larger and Cero stopped being as effective. Blasting the dust from it with a stamp of his foot, Arcadus opened up a Gargaunta to Corvus's apartment, they'd exchanged numbers and addresses after the dinner date, and Arcadus had promised to get him an interdimensional doorknob, if he promised to come by. 

Walking through the Gargaunta, Arcadus was in his usual attire for something like this, gold trimmed Espada Robes and his zanpakuto hanging off of his waist. Motioning for Corvus to follow him, "I said I'd train you today, and I am, step through the portal and lets start." Moving back into the white sand dimension, and staring up at the permanent moon, Arcadus turned to face Corvus, falchion suddenly in his hand hanging to his side, and the razor tipped red and gold gauntlet in his off hand. 

"So, Corvus, you want to get stronger. Thats going to be a bit of a process, and by that I mean it can take decades to get to the kind of power I currently possess. However, I do know a short cut, especially for determining the kind of strengths and weaknesses your soul might hold. Its grueling training, but its something that will allow your spirit to develop and change in response to incredible danger and peril. Its called Reiryoku, and its an aspect of every soul. It determines a soul's potential and its ability to grow in strength, and it can be increased with deadly combat or near death experiences."

"However, I don't have any intention to kill you, and its not something that is especially judgey on what it counts as danger. So the training that I'm going to try, is I hit you, hard enough to hurt, and we see if you either manifest some kind of spiritual abilities or supernatural ability to dodge it. That sound good?" Thinking about it, it didn't exactly sound like the most intelligent way to train, but its what he knew worked and how he had moved up the ranks. 

"I should say, this is a safer, faster form of how I gained my powers, fighting hollows and Arrancar and being the way I was able to survive, and the way I grew in power and fighting prowess. I'm not going to actually hurt you. Do you trust me?" Arcadus looked at Corvus, expectantly. It was either this or they do spiritual exercises, and Arcadus doubted either of them had the patience for that. He hated meditating, and making a mandala in the sand would probably drive him to blood lust. "Its this or wieght training and meditation, so pick one."

[Corvus]

Outfit:

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Having met the Arrancar had been interesting for sure. It had essentially changed and upheaved the way Corvus went about life. He was a lot more careful about, well, everything after the fact. Now he had to worry about Reapers, Shinigami, whatever they were. He didn't even know what to look for, but he was keeping an eye out for black robed and hooded figures with scythes. That's what he knew about reapers from a western perspective anyway, he wasn't too sure how reapers were seen in Asian Culture. 

It was overall a pleasant evening. Sun had set over Karakura and it was nearing pure darkness, generally a time of day that relaxed the Vampire. He was getting a meal from his fridge when he felt the strangeness in the air. Corvus couldn't put his finger on it, but he could have sworn that it was that same sort of ominous feeling from his fashion show. Beth was still worried about his sudden disappearance, wondering if it had something to do with drugs or something worse. He had been tempted to just say yes to get her off of him, but he had just said he ran into an old friend.

Soft music rang out into Corvus' Art-deco apartment. It wasn't to his tastes, but it's not specifically easy to find a gothic victorian home in Japan, let alone as an apartment in the city. His style of home was usually darker, less windows, and more black iron and wooden fixtures. All this house had was white tile and softly colored walls. Not that it was hard to look at, just that it wasn't specifically his own taste.

They had agreed to training together after the date, but Corvus hadn't been sure of exactly when. According to this feeling, he guessed the Arrancar meant exactly two nights later, something that had given Corvus' body the time to recover from a night of passion and to generally recover from the downpour of spiritual energy given off by Arcadus during said passion. It had been like a torrential downpour of strength that had a noticeable impact on Corvus' own spirit. He felt... different in a way, almost like the downpour of energy had been a catalyst for change in himself. He'd study that later, maybe work it into experimentations. He wanted to know more about the tangible aspects of a spirit and how it interacted with the world around it.

The familiar feeling of impending doom was followed by what Corvus could only describe as impending doom. If not for the familiar feeling of Arcadus attached to the sight of a large purple portal opening up in his kitchen, let alone the massive dump of miasma, Corvus definitely would have ran out of the building as if it was ablaze. Hell, even while knowing there was no danger, he still felt that fight or flight instinct to just leave. Instead, though, Corvus decided to get up from his chair and put a smile on his face, because he was indeed happy to see Arcadus again. The vampire hadn't been quite sure of what to expect when the man had mentioned the words Garganta, but this was not it.

Arcadus looked, well, spectacular, in what Corvus assumed to be his Espada uniform. It looked traditional in an almost Asian type of way, but it was immensely beautiful with its golden embroidery and floral detailing. A stray beam of moonlight glinted from Arcadus' uniform as his chest moved with an inhale. Corvus very much appreciated this more let-go style from the man, definitely a stark contrast from the business wear from their prior date. If Corvus had to describe Arcadus' look, it would only be as some sort of ornamental fantasy Asian ceremonial garb, but he absolutely loved it and would most definitely be trying to get some sort of inspired recreation from his favorite designers.

When they spoke, however, Corvus couldn't help but get a little nervous. It essentially sounded like they were forcing his spirit to evolve, which was reasonable, but apparently would pose little actual harm to him given Arcadus' supervision. And it's not like he didn't trust the guy, given that not only was he capable of just levelling him with the snap of a finger, but  Arcadus had already had Corvus in a compromising position and hadn't done anything too harmful with that advantage. Still didn't mean he wasn't nervous as all hell though, as the Arrancar continued explaining.

"This idea of spiritual growth is intriguing for me, because it implies they are static, and react to their environment. I'd love to explore that at a later date, maybe this would be our second? Not going to lie, this training you speak of does sound a little bit intimidating, if not a lot a bit intimidating when you put it like that. But honestly? Yeah, I do trust you, especially after all that power you had over me after our date, which I'm still recovering from, thank you very much. Reiryoku... I'll have to write about it after I experience it first hand. Yes, that does sound good."

Corvus stared into the Garganta, looked into the true darkness of it, and shivered both from the cold emanating from the portal, but also from the portal's anticipation. He wondered if it was safe, but quickly dismissed the thought, Arcadus probably wouldn't have invited him through it if not for its safety. After being extended a hand, Corvus took the act of comfort and pulled himself through the portal. It was dark, very dark. Just for his liking. And it was cold, very cold, but that didn't bother him given his general lack of body heat. It was homey in a foreign alien kind of way.

Corvus tripped as he stepped out onto the sandstone platform. It was the sudden change of elevation that knocked him off balance, kind of like missing the last stair or assuming there to be an extra one. Falling onto one knee, Corvus brushed the residual sand from his knees and got back up to his feet. Somewhat embarrassed about having tripped up, the vampire chuckled nervously and rubbed at his hair. He took a closer look at his surroundings. Aside from the city, it really was just a desert.

"Well, this place seems nice, albeit sandy and empty. Is this your home?"

Corvus thought it was a bit sad, even, how this place just seemed so empty.

[Arcadus]

Arcadus looked out on the sandy exapanse, wondering it this was worth the trouble. Turning to Corvus, he would see that while Corvus had an Olympian physique by human standards, he didn't have much else. His eyes didn't seem to track the micromovements that other individuals with higher senses did, nor did he seem to be able to spiritually sense outside of a normal baseline. Maybe he was a physical fighter? Only time would tell. 

Arcadus's robe swished in the breeze, as he realized he had gone from sizing up Corvus to staring, and focusing back on Corvus's eyes, Arcadus cleared his throat, throwing off his top half of his robe, exposing his bare chest to the cool night air, leaving him in his baggy white pants. "I'm glad you trust me Corvus, trust is hard to come by, especially in this world. I'm grateful for that. And about the other night, sorry if I was a bit rough, its just been a while, and I wasn't expecting you to react to so well to..." 

Arcadus trailed off. It was probably not best to talk about that kind of thing while they were going to be training, otherwise it was going to devolve very quickly. Setting a stone on his robe, he was grateful he'd be able to actually move freely like this. "Second date, Corvus you really are a charmer. If I didn't know better, you'd be the one seducing me." Arcadus chuckle seemed to bounce across the stone rolling with the wind.

"Well, its my home in the idea that people who live in Karakura call Japan home. Los Noches is where I live, and its that structure in the distance, towards the top is where I live. Each of the Espada have floors and space to themselves, though I must admit most of them don't put the effort into decorating theirs as I have mine, though Ailene's is a very captivating library, I'm sure it would be refreshing for you to read some texts you'd be familiar with, and not whatever translations we're left with in the modern day. "

Rolling his shoulders, Arcadus took his stance. He'd been developing a martial art for a while, based on his own style, and the combat theory he'd been seeing at work. It was more neutral and upright than most fencing stances, to allow him to quickly launch a kick without messing with his weapon's reach, or his off hand or gaze which could be used to launch cero. "Take a stance Corvus, because I'm not going to just tap you. And be ready to land." 

Arcadus, watching Corvus take a stance, then began his turn kick, done in a blinding 300 speed, but with more finesse than he would have in the past. It started with his upper boddy and knee. His torswo and hips twisted to swing his left hip forward, and his knee was swinging forward and out to coil like a spring, his right hand that held his zanpakuto remaining forward, maintaining that reach. his anchor, his right foot, was firm and flat against the ground, practically gripping the ground through his slip on shoes. 

That last movement, extending his foot and shin, happened in a flash, faster than Arcadus figured Corvus could manage. But as much as it pained him to hurt the guy, it was part of the training. He was holding back, at most 40% of his strength was in that kick. He was watching, waiting for something to stop his kick, to nullify it, to counter it. That was the point, to force his soul to adapt and to find something within it or without it to survive. 

Some part of Arcadus wanted to slam him with his full force, to really push Corvus. But doing so, beyond injuring him, might break the trust they had formed in that limo and in that restaurant. Though, the way Corvus was putting it, maybe he should invest a bit more trust, and a bit more vulnerability into him. Like he had with Kitai. The thought troubled him, but he found the idea of being vulnerable around Corvus, less objectionable. The man didn't really seem violent, or like he wished for violence. Maybe that was a good thing. 

[Corvus]

It seemed as if the Espada member was sizing him up, and rightfully so, Corvus thought. That's what they were here for, anyway, some kind of spiritual training meant to assist him in reaching his potentially. Corvus couldn't help but feel a certain type of way though when he felt those eyes on him in an almost praising sort of look. The vampire did some appraisal of his own when the Arrancar removed the upper portions of his outfit to reveal his heavily-muscled chest.

"Yes. I very might well be the one seducing you. After all, I am a Vampire you know. It's in my nature to be quite appealing, the exact opposite of Nosferatu if you think about it." He wasn't sure if the Arrancar would understand, but it made himself chuckle and that's all that mattered honestly. Corvus watched as the Hollow man placed a desert stone over his robe to keep it from drifting away in the idle winds of Hueco Mondo's ever-shifting sands. Corvus wouldn't have minded if the man's top flew away, it wouldn't have been so bad to keep the Arrancar shirtless for a little bit longer.

The idea of there being specific floors in the castle was an interesting thought. He had assumed it to just be one massive palace for the espada, not some sort of floor for each Arrancar type of deal. Maybe it was, Corvus wasn't too sure, but what he was sure about was his own desire to reach the library floor and do some studying. They'd probably have at least a few books on the biology and history of the Arrancar, something the Vampire was finding himself to be increasingly curious about.

"I wonder what types of books she has in her library, I really would be interested in spending some time in that castle if you wouldn't mind. I find the idea of studying spiritual books of the Arrancar to be incredibly tantalizing. It would offer me academic knowledge on a subject I know nothing about- something I haven't had for decades at this point." Corvus watched as Arcadus took an offensive stance on the platform across from him, and was suddenly hit by a wave of nervousness/

After hearing Arcadus' words, he wasn't quite sure if he actually wanted to go through with this. Reasonable or not, the Vampire didn't want to actually get hurt or feel a tremendous amount of pain. And from the warnings given, that sounded like what was about to happen after being hit by the man. He had to admit though, that the Arrancar looked good as fuck when he was getting ready to fight, with his muscles prone and flexed for combat.  It was a strange mix- attraction, fear, and nervousness.

It all happened too fast for Corvus to react. All he had really seen was the wind up of the kick before he felt what he could only describe as a cannonball hit him in the middle portion of his body. It wrecked him as Corvus felt an unsurmountable force collide with his body as his senses were overwhelmed with motion and pain. As an equal and opposite reaction to the force that struck him, Corvus went flying backwards into the air as blood sprayed from his mouth trailing behind him. 

Corvus laid there on the ground, unable to move as it felt like every breath was glass shards breaking and splintering into his lungs. The vampire thought that in that moment he was genuinely dying, all because he had trusted some ghost man and his snake oil of training. Dangerous thoughts danced through his mind as he thought that this had been a mistake. Why hadn't the Arrancar held back even a little? Held back enough to not seemingly break everything inside of him.

As everything was seemingly broken inside of him, the Vampire found himself unable to move as the pain overwhelmed him like a raging torrent of rain. Corvus could feel the dark spiritual presence enveloping him as the Arrancar presence flared. Had it all been a ruse to get him out here onto the platform for some type of ritual? Corvus' eyes flashed a look of betrayal before he felt what could only be described as soul-based mitosis as he saw what he thought to be a glob of blood leaving his body. Was that his heart? 

It must have been his near-death state that caused Corvus to hallucinate the sight of a blood-red vampire bad floating in front of him with a scowl on its face. At the very least, before Corvus would die, he would see something cute enough to want to reach out and pet before he died. It was a painful motion, but he at least wanted some form of contact before he passed. "Oh my god are you okay?? Corvus what happened, and where are we?? Here, take this." Corvus wasn't quite sure who was talking to him, but he really wasn't able to take anything from anybody at the moment, let alone hold it for long periods of time.

Instead, Corvus watched with dimming eyes as an orb of blood left the bat and entered into his body. It was as if a warming bliss spread through his form as he felt the broken glass shards in his body reform and melt back into their panes. Corvus could feel his bleeding ebb away as his pain quelled in the same breath. He still felt an ache though as the vampiric substance coursed through his veins and caused a large pair of blood wings sprout from his back. In a protective stance, the wings arched to cover his body as he crawled away from the world with this feeling. It was a strange mix of comfort and pain as his body rapidly healed from the heavy blow.

Dizziness fought against Corvus' urge to stand up and say that he was fine. Thoughts were racing through his head as he tried to make sense of what had just happened. Was this that training or special process the Arrancar had been referring to? Corvus couldn't be sure, mostly due to the likelihood that this was all just an adrenaline-fueled hallucination caused by his near-death state. Maybe he was in some type of Arrancar intensive care unit right now, he couldn't be sure. Corvus was reckoning with the feeling as if his soul had been split in two, with an additional sensory input melding into his brain and general flow of consciousness.

Corvus blinked rapidly as he adjusted to sight through the crimson vampire bat. He knew that he shouldn't be able to see right now, given that he was covering his body in a defensive fetal position with his blood wings, but it was only as if he had closed one eye, even though he had closed two. The sight through the little bat could not be denied, but he couldn't control the thing. It was strange, but he watched through the bat's eyes as it batted its wings towards the Arrancar with a displeased scowl on his face.

"HEY YOU!! Aren't you supposed to like my master??? I thought you two were a thing, and you're just going to hurt him like that? Man- I oughta...."

[Arcadus]

Arcadus watched as Corvus rose up int to the air, sailing five, then 10, then 15 feet. Arcadus figured he'd have been a bit more prepared to get hit, though he really should have figured that someone who described themself as poet and an artist wouldn't have the best combat instincts. Maybe he should have dialed it aback to twenty percent, and watching the blood trail from Corvus's mouth, that was confirmed. He probably had multiple cracked ribs and potentially some internal bleeding. 

Walking over Corvus as he landed, Arcadus also noticed he didn't have much of a landing instinct, practically ragdolling on contact with the stone ground. However, what was curious, was that Something had come of of all that blood that left Corvus's mouth. A bat creature, who he could hear consoling and, seemingly, healing him. Arcadus's concerned look grew into a small smile. Well, at least he'd been lucky this time around, though he hadn't figured a vampire would have a healing release. 

As Arcadus approached, he could see that corvus had been wrapped in the bat creature, like a cloak. Gettin in 5 feet of Corvus, the bat spoke up, asking him why he had attacked someone he liked, why he'd tried to hurt him. Arcadus chuckled, before regaining his composure. "Corvus, I really hadn't gone all out. I've killed alot of people, and they all lasted a lot longer than this. This was an important part of the process. It wouldn't work if I didn't actually hit you with something you would think is dangerous" 

"Though I'm suprised that a vampire has developed a healing release, I had expected something more physical or offesnively spiritual. In either case, all's well that ends well." Kneeling down closer to Corvus and touching his shoulder. "You did really well Corvus, I'm really proud of you. You've bypassed a lot of hard works and training with your bravery. Now, we get to explore what this part of your release, your soul, is capable of." 

Arcadus sat and held Corvus for a while, his body hot and firm, sheilding Corvus from the winds and the cold. It was nice to feel his body warm up, and him slowly come out of the ball he was curled up into. Standing up, Arcadus looked at Corvus and smiled. "Now, we get to learn what your release can do, and what you can do with it. That isn't going to comprise of you getting hurt unless you want it to, so don't worry."

Turning his back to Corvus, Arcadus continued "Oh, and Corvus, I did not hit you nearly hard as I'm capable of. I'll show you what that looks like. THIS is what it looks like" Arcadus raised his fist over his head, tightening his fist, and as his arm and body flexed, his muscles pulsed, veins popping into prominence, his muscles tensing into steel cords, his whole body seeming like metal, a body that Corvus would know to be so pliable and soft when relaxed."

"You're lucky Corvus, to see me flash my strength like this" Arcadus said, before plunging down to strike the very stone platform they were on. A flash of light, which Corvus could recognize as not spiritual in nature, sprung from where Arcadus's fist contacted the stone, and cracks flowed out with the sound of crumbling stone, the entire platform beginning to crumple. Concentric rings, spreading out from that fist, creating a crater that Arcadus and Corvus sat in. 

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As chunks of sand stone fell from the edges of the arena, Arcadus stood up, and turned back to Corvus. "I hit you as hard I did because I knew you could take it. If you hadn't developed a healing ability, I was going to take you to our hospital in this world, and you'd be healed just about as fast. I'm no fool Corvus, and I knew to make use of Reiryoku it would have to hurt. You were very brave, more powerful men than you have keeled over from standing in front of me."

"Now, lets see, what can you do little bat? And Corvus, what control do you have over it? Can you see through it? Hear through it? Is it independent of you or do you have to issue it commands? Does it simply heal, or does it have specific abilities that could be leveraged and used? And you, little bat, tell me your name, if you have one, and if not, I can wait for you to choose one." Arcadus shook the dust off of his hand, and dusted himself off. 

Taking a chunk of sand stone from the crater, he placed it on his robe to secure it. He didn't want it flying a way in whatever they might do, and for now, that could well be anything. Corvus had unlocked a very important part of his soul, and the largest leap so far for his spiritual development. Arcadus smiled, to himself, this was going to be very interesting. 

[Corvus]

Catching his breath, Corvus could feel Crimson's energy rejuvenating him. It was difficult to recover so quickly from the attack, his body still regaining its tempo and breath after it had been brutally taken out of him. As he recovered, Corvus' blood wings  unfurled and revealed him in a healed and healthy state. It didn't mean that he wasn't still a little bit sore, but he was mostly okay now. Taking a deep breath, Corvus nodded as he agreed with the Arrancar. Given Arcadus' general strength, he probably held back a little bit. And what his partner was saying made sense, he had to be in a little bit of danger for the training to work. 

Corvus' assumption was soon certified when Arcadus gave a fancy display of striking the sandstone platform and shattering a crater into his fist's impact. Yeah, it was probably a good thing he hadn't been hit by that attack. It would have been a lot worse than what he had been hit with earlier. He was a little bit embarrassed, to be honest, that he had reacted to the attack with such dramatics, though he did have a pension for acting and generally being dramatic, and it's not like he had really been hit like that before. He had only ever came close during bar brawls and things of that nature.

"I was a bit dramatic about how much it hurt, but you really do pack a punch y'know. I've never felt anything quite like that- referring to both he bunch and the little bat thingy coming out of my body. I appreciate the help though, whatever you did to get this bat buddy out of me actually worked quite well. I will admit, though, that I hope you have some sort of ache cream that I can smear over my stomach later. Even though I'm supposedly all healthy now, I still feel a little bit of something where you had hit me. Not sure what to be honest.

The touch on his shoulder was warm and comforting, something the Vampire appreciated very much to receive on his own cold corpse-like body. Corvus didn't really know what a release was, but given the context clues of this situation, it probably had something to do with the little bat that had left his body. He wasn't specifically sure how they worked either, but from what the Arrancar had commented about his abilities, being able to heal with them wasn't all that common. Corvus had to think about it for a moment, had to ponder the feeling from his own soul. He knew he could heal others and himself with this red bat, but also knew he was capable of doing more with it to help his allies. It just felt right, not unlike how breathing was just natural.

As they sat and shared their warmth together, All of Corvus' emotions about their fight had vanished. He knew that Arcadus had been trying to help him so he didn't really care that the training had been painful. No harm, no foul and all of that stuff. If he thought about it, Arcadus was probably feeling the same type of way about having to hit his lover in the first place. Or maybe Arcadus didn't, Corvus didn't really know from how the Arrancar openly talked about killing and fighting and just general violence. Perhaps it was an Arrancar thing, Corvus wasn't sure.

"Yeah, I can see now that you have clearly held back if you're capable of that kinda destruction with just one punch. So, again my apologies for being a little dramatic. It's not often I experience that kind of pain. I'm just thankful that my release- is that the word? Is capable of healing me, solved a lot of our problems it seems. Kinda lucky too, because I like the idea of being able to heal and help those in need. Thank you for the kind words, but I don't think I'm really that brave."

While they were socializing, Crimson was fluttering around and generally just getting the lay of the land. When Corvus focused, he could focus his vision into incorporating what his Release was seeing. And it's not as if he had to switch between different points of view, it was more just like he was capable of just seeing multiple perspectives right next to eachother not unlike a spider or some sort of animal with different-facing eyes. Corvus felt like he could talk with the little bat too, so he decided to give it a shot before speaking regularly with the Arrancar.

"Hey little guy, you're Crimson, right? The bat that healed me? Thank you for that. What kinda things can you do? Arcadus is curious for our training." He wasn't sure if the bat had gotten his message, because it's not like Corvus had ever spoken with anybody telepathically before, but it was worth a shot since Arcadus had brought up the possibility. Hopefully thinking with directed intention was enough for his little bat to pick up the conversation. And it seemed like the strategy worked, for the bat familiar made a squeaking noise and responded mentally as well.

"Well, Corvus, you are capable of many things with my help. We can form blood bonds with your friends just with the bite of our fangs, something you can now do since your spirit is strong enough. Think of it kinda as a spiritual bond attaching you to whoever you've recently bitten. Give it a try! It's only fair that Arcadus will let you get a little nibble, since he roughed you up so bad. Still a little mad about that, but don't tell him I said that because I know he's important to you.

Nodding after their telepathic conversation, Corvus watched as Crimson fluttered his little blood-red wings over the Arrancar before it cleared its throat and began speaking out loud. "My name is Crimson, Arcadus! I'm Corvus' familiar, and I have my own thoughts and free will, that type of thing. Thankfully, I'm really trusting of Corvus so I'll listen to anything he says anyway. I let him see through me as well, alongside talking to me and stuff. Together, me and Corvus can form blood bonds and heal with my life energy through that bond. You're gunna have to let either me or Corvus give you a nibble so that we can temporarily bond and share my healing."

Corvus knew deep down that's what his release now did, but he hadn't been able to put it into words as well as Crimson had. So he had to thank the little gremlin bat for making this conversation a lot easier. It was good to know his familiar was spiritually aware enough to understand its own abilities, however that worked. "Yeah, you've heard him. At least I think it's a him anyway. But yeah, Crimson or I have got to give you a little nibble so we can demonstrate our power. With your permission of Course Arcadus." With as much passive friendliness as he could muster, Corvus approached his partner with a look of adoration on his face. Crimson followed, with the same toothy grin plastered on its face. 

If the Arrancar would let him, Corvus would go in for a hug and ever so slightly prick the Arrancar's neck with his fangs. It was enough for little snakebites of blood to dot on his neck, ones that Corvus eagerly blotted up with his tongue. Yeah, that felt like enough. After doing so. Crimson would do a little twirl in the air before speaking to Arcadus telepathically. "Hey Arcadus! Know If I heal or help Corvus, you'll get the same exact healing or aid! Doesn't that sound great? You'll be able to sense each other from greater distances as well as through obstructions"

[Arcadus]

"If you're looking for an apology, you aren't going to get one. I'm doing this for your benefit, not mine. Though, some stretches or a bath should fix the soreness, its mostly being hit without stretching or anticipating it that can do that. The physicality of stronger spiritual beings can do things normal human's cant begin to imagine. I've seen 2 of my fellow Espada pressure weld their bones back together with just flexing their muscles, and most of us can move faster than the majority of mortal vehicles without any form of techniques."

Arcadus knew he was rambling, but he was more comfortable with doing so now. Especially since he was talking to Corvus, and he was happy the bampire had seen they were making a big deal out of very little, though a bit of him wanted to say he was sorry. Regardless, he noticed he was throwing out a lot of ideas and terms Corvus might not understand or be able to intuit. He should probably do something about that. 

"I should explain somethings. A release is a spiritual being's innate powers and abilities. Each person has a different one, with some exceptions, those who don't have one, those that share thiers with another person, or rare cases when releases are mirrors of each other. Releases can have multiple levels or abilities, and those who develop them further often find that their most powerful abilities are at the end of that development. "

"A spiritual technique, or a technique in general, is a distinct utilization of one's spiritual strength and energy. Like the difference between a turn kick, and hitting someone with a rock. One is a practiced, formulated set of movements and decisions, and one is raw force being exerted. There are a wide variety of techniques, some of which only specific spiritual beings, like humans, hollows, shinigami, etc, and learn. Some techniques can be learned by anyone." 

As for what techniques Arcadus thought he'd teach Corvus, was an entirely different matter. He wasn't too familiar with human world techniques, or techniques that humans could learn. What would be a good technique for a healer to have against a shinigami? Cero, or something that could be a cousin to it? Energy attacks did tend to even the playing field in terms of a martial arts match. Maybe he'd send them over to Luca, they seemed to be a very strong human.

"Well Crimson, I think that you'd do well to do what Corvus says, him being you master and all. As for seeing through his eyes, that's quite useful. maybe you could leverage that for stealth and observation, having eyes that can be in another room." Arcadus tilted his head, listening to the other bit, about bonding through a bite. "Well, who am I to turn you down Corvus, of course you can." Bending his knees slightly to allow corvus to sit his teeth into his neck, Arcadus barely felt it, it was like a needle going in. 

"Your telling me you aren't brave Corvus, but I think you just don't have context. Perhaps everyone else is just easy to scare, if thats what puts your mind at ease. But you've made the first steps along a very long path, and its one people don't tread lightly. If you keep this up, you'll be stronger than you could ever imagine. Strength isn't good, or evil. Its just ability. What you do with it, determines who you are." Arcadus looked at Corvus, his smile faded to a look that bored into the smaller man, as if expecting an answer to a question.

Dabbing up the blood, and licking it off of his finger, Arcadus didn't feel any different at first, looking around till he heard the bat's voice in his head. Instead of responding, he held up his hand, fingers out, and stuck it behind is back. "Ok Corvus, how many fingers am I holding up. I want to see if you can read minds while this is active. That should serve for a good option, figuring out your abilities at least." 

[Corvus]

All of what Arcadus was saying generally made sense to Corvus. It was good to have the Arrancar explained what all of the spiritual terms actually meant while going through all of what was happening and generally just letting him know what the jig was. He felt like Arcadus had been a bit tough or maybe rude on the subject of the apology- one he hadn't asked for- but aside from an abrasive personality Arcadus was genuinely being helpful in acclimating the vampire to the realm of the spiritual.

Upon mention of the bath though, that's when Corvus started craving the comfort of warmth- whether it be from another's body heat or from the heat of hot waters. It was cold in this desert, Hueco Mondo was it? Yeah, that was the name. He could feel the chill of the desert wind on his skin, and it was slightly exfoliating w the grains of sand caught in the wind. Not a welcoming feeling, but not one that really bothered him. Being cold wasn't a problem for Corvus, more of a mental dislike. It reminded him of his own living death, something he had grown to hate through the years.

Corvus was making sure to take mental notes of everything the Espada was telling him. Spritual beings had physical bodies that more resilient and more commandable than a regular mortal body. Important to know if his release- since that's what it was called- was related to medicine and healing. He'd need to know all about the different spiritual races and their most effective ways of healing. He made a mental note regarding the overall process of release and their general usage. Maybe he could factor that into his general healing, maybe find a way to help with that? It was just conjecture though, nothing serious.

The idea of techniques was interesting- meaning there is somewhat of a school of thought surrounding releases and their usage in combat and every day situations. Perhaps, then, that mean there was knowledge to be gleamed on the subject, or maybe just knowledge already existing within old tomes and dusty notes. He'd just have to find it, wherever it brought itself to be hiding.

"Okay now I guess is the part where I bite you. Thanks for telling me all this stuff, by the way. it would have made my overall academic process a lot harder if I had to define every term myself. I guess my release is revolved around my healing bat? I'm fine with that, I think it reflects my soul's desire to aid humanity. I don't know if there's correlation like that with a release, something I could maybe look into later. I promise it won't hurt, and I'll only do just a little nibble so that my powers activate I guess?"

True to his word, Corvus meagerly walked over to the kneeling Arcadus. The Arrancar really was quite tall, thus the adjusted position required to allow the vampire access to the Espada's neck. His fangs were nearly prehensile in their ability to retract and detract when needed. With a soft and slow motion, Corvus got on the tips of his toes before craning his neck to lick at the Arrancar's neck. In the past, his human partners had told him that his saliva did something to quell the little pinch preceding his feeding.

Plunging his fangs into the Arrancar's neck was an intimate experience. It tasted different- enough to be noticeable. It didn't taste bad per se, but it wasn't good like a human. Instead, it tasted of wine and sorrow- a deep sadness born from what Corvus assumed to be the suffering amalgamation of souls known to comprise an Arrancar. It was like he could taste each and every one of those souls alongside their despair and sorrow. Was Arcadus feeling this way? Or was it how his soul felt. Corvus couldn't know.

But he wasn't here to feed, just grab a little nibble, enough for his powers to activate or whatever would happen according to crimson. Once Corvus felt something shift inside him, he retracted his fangs and brought his mouth back before swiping at the blood beading Arcadus' neck. The last thing Corvus wanted was for the Arrancar to develop an infection, but he was fairly certain that a Bount's saliva was somewhat antibiotic. He hadn't tested the theory himself, but was rather sure of it through his own experiences. A symbol of bad wings fluttered into existence above the Arrancar's head.

Once he moved away from Arcadus' proximity, Corvus took a moment to get a feel for his spiritual energy alongside his general release and what it was doing. He felt that familiar prodding at the back of his mind, the same seemingly offered by Crimson. Tapping into the thought, he saw his vision open up to another degree. The site was immediately disorienting, to be able to see ones self through their own vision. Crimson was right. He could now generally sense where Arcadus was- even though he was right in front of him- but was also able to supposedly see through the man's eyes.

Feeling somewhat nauseous, Corvus almost fell over but caught himself at the last second. "Sorry, being able to see myself through my own visual feed is a little bit disorienting." Crimson spoke to the two of them telepathically, then, with a somewhat cheery tone despite Corvus' malaise. "We are now able to communicate with each other telepathically! Give it a try! You should be able to make it a private conversation between you two, or you could share the love with everybody in our blood network. OH- sorry about that Corvus, you'll get used to the increased senses here in a bit. Whenever you can talk to somebody like this, all of our techniques, as Arcadus said, will affect everybody in the network! It's like communism, but less depressing."

When Arcadus asked how many fingers he was holding, Corvus really had to concentrate on the bond. Specifically, he focused on his own energy that he could feel tied to the Arrancar. He could focus on the telepathic channel for communication, alongside their general visual link, but that was about it. Right now? Right now Corvus couldn't read minds. It was like trying to see through a brick wall, you just couldn't do it.  He could feel the general blood in Arcadus' body and where it gathered, but he could feel that his senses were not up to the task.

"No, I don't think I can read your mind, but now it's been established that I can generally feel where you are, what you can see, and can transmit my thoughts to you. I'll try and use one of my techniques? Yeah, one of my techniques. That's what they are. Okay Crimson, do you thingy with the wings again on me now that they've gone." Having understood the assignment, crimson flew up into the air before gathering a blood ball and casting it down onto Corvus. Instantly, corvus could feel that his aches and pains had all but evaporated, instead leaving him with a comforting bliss.

As expected, both Corvus and Arcadus would suddenly sprout a dripping pair of blood wings, ones that would flap in accordance to whom they were rooted. It would empower their mobility, inspiring them to reach greater speeds while granting them flight. Taking the inspiring magic to heart, Corvus decided to jump up into the air before madly flapping his wings. He didn't quite float, but he didn't fall back down, instead fluttering and slowly floating back down. He could definitely do more with practice. Jumping up into the air again, he struggled to pulse his wings to a rhythm in order to keep up with Crimson in the air. Now hovering a few meters off the ground, Corvus let out a little laugh.

"I do have to admit this is kind of fun. Come on, you should try, Arcadus!"

[Arcadus]

Arcadus nodded, it would be a lot easier to research and have an extended body of works if there was some consistent terminology, and Corvus seems to be someone interested in researching and exploring their powers and the abilities of others. That could be good for someone willing to document the events of a saigo, or his own transformation ritual, if those things went to plan. Shaking himself slightly, Arcadus could see a pair of wings had manifested around him. 

Seeing Corvus struggling with his expanded vision, Arcadus closed his eyes. He'd heard that people with hightened senses could struggle with thier expanded perceptions, so closing his eyes might at least give Corvus some reprieve. In either case, he could see well enough in Hueco Mundo with his ability to sense energy, and feeliung the wings at his back, Arcadus took not of Corvus's flight. Flapping them slightly, Arcadus shifted, seemingly trying to orient them properly. He'd had wings before when he masqueraded as Gabriel, and cricking his neck, Arcadus lifted off the ground a few feet. 

"You know, its interesting how much your abilities so far, have complimented mine. Because you see, " Arcadus activated Luna Paso Cero, and two small flares of reiatsu burst from his feet, rocketing him upwards, the wings holding a small angle to allow him to spin without shifting his stance, and maintaining his balance. Swooping back down, Arcadus twirled in place, pirouetting to a stop. "I'm capable of flight normally, but these, they help out with manuevering and leave my hands free."

Realizing that speaking might be a bit uncomfortable for Corvus, given he could hear it in both his ears and Arcadus's, "That was fun. Well, if its flying lessons you'd want, I'm sure I can help you out in that area, but I think we should work on your perceptions. A bit of training I've heard is to try and learn to selectively focus on specific inputs, and you can do that by just trying to watch multiple films together, or by essentially living with new and multiple perspectives."

"If thats what you want to do, we can go back to your place or, I can show you where I live in Los Noches, or rather, my house, there's an entire floor of the place that is technically mine. I haven't figured out a use for the rest of the place, and could set up a house for you if you wanted. Set it up so that there's a dimensional warp or doorknob to there, though that might prove a small security risk if theres just a portal to Los Noches from Karakura because of Quincy." 

Arcadus mentally smacked him self, with Valeron practically screaming in his head that he was a moron for forgetting arguably a bigger threat to himself, and to Corvus. If the Vandenreich were able to find Corvus, then there was a very high likely hood they'd hurt, if not kill him. Gods he was getting slow, and as much as he liked Corvus, he wasn't sure if he wanted him in his home. Getting a doorknob from the BM wouldn't work for Corvus, not being spiritually strong enough. 

"I should mention, and I'm sorry for forgetting this. The Quincy are a group of humans who worship an Emperor in their secret plane of existance. They hunt hollows and other undesirable creatures, which is pretty much anyone who isn't a quincy who worships the Emperor. I didn't want to alarm you earlier, but it is as much of a danger to you as the reapers. They're fanatics and I didn't know if you'd be a target of theirs if you didn't know about them." 

"As for what to do with them, they tend to be fanatics, but the kind of fanatics that send missionaries first, and troops later. Incredibly religious sort, and if you can avoid them, or stay within a certain range of Los Noches, you should be fine. As for the missionaries, its hard to say. Each one is different, and some Vandenriech are more laidback than others, especially their missionaries. As for moving around Karakura, its very much a kind of "go where you need to and don't linger."

As much as he wanted to invite Corvus to live with him at his home, he wasn't exactly sure if they would be comfortable with that. Nor if he would be comfortable with that. Sure he had his staff, but they were more like doctors. He didn't really notice them, and he was able to act and go about his way without their interference, or in some cases like Maxi, encouragement. Someone who judged him, looked at him as something other than their master, was troubling to him. 

[Corvus]

When Arcadus closed his eyes, Corvus welcomed the well of relief flooding into his system. His nausea slightly faded as he was able to concentrate on the extra vision offered solely by Crimson. Two pairs of eyes was... enough for now, given that he was still getting used to having an increased peripheral sort of vision. It was just so esoteric, the ability to see beyond the scope of a normal human, he wouldn't even be able to describe it honestly, but it was essentially just as if an extra screen had been added to his vision in his mind, one he could constantly see in parallel to his normal sight.

Arcadus seemingly struggled with his wings momentarily, before coming to terms with them and lifting himself off the ground with relative ease. Perhaps the man was just more used to different forms of flight, but it was interesting to note how he grew accustomed to them at a faster rate than the person who had gifted them. Though, in all honesty, it seemed as if Arcadus was generally just more spiritually experienced with techniques and so he wouldn't past the Arrancar to have that kind of diverse skillset to where he was able to pilot a pair of gifted wings with ease.

The Arrancar even used some of his own abilities in tandem with the gifted wings, as a sort of propulsion to give them even more of a momentum. Corvus would have to study that technique too, of course, to see if he could do some sort of similar maneuver to help his wings. As of right now, all Corvus could really do in forms of mobility were these wings, his spectral form, and his standing on air technique. As far as he could remember, his tendency to stand on air and float through matter was just instinctive given his state of undeath. They weren't particularly abilities he had mastered or learned or anything of the sort.

Corvus liked the deep rumble of Arcadus' baritone transmitted to him mentally, it was comforting in a way that having to listen through multiple ears wasn't. It was also a lot easier to understand, remarkably, given that he wasn't trying to decipher it from the cacophony of sounds created by multiple sources. He'd have to work on his focus to deal with this, maybe some sort of spiritual meditation could help. Arcadus would know all about that. Maybe he'd be able to help with his focus. It was just.. in general a lot for his mind to adjust to. But from his own medical knowledge, the mind was very flexible, so he really wasn't worried about it in the long term.

With the manifestation of his powers though? Corvus wasn't too sure why it all seemed so supportive instead of offensive. Maybe it was due to the conditions under which it released? Maybe it was the close proximity to a strong soul that kind of influenced them to compliment each other. Corvus didn't know, but it was fun to speculate. He though his desire to heal though came from his general compassion for Humanity,  he was able to make that connection at least. "I've always wanted to help people, you know, so it's fitting I guess."

"You seem to have gotten quite the hang of this. I am not so familiar with this flight ability, it seems a lot harder than my spectral technique, which is something I've always known honestly. I wonder if my spectral form would also apply to the wings I create- I'd have to test that out at a later date. For now, I'll try and get the hang of these wings, they've got sort of a kick to them. You know, if I ever had the idea of developing powers, this blood stuff was not one of them. Well, maybe blood, but I had imagined something a little more, well, destructive. But then again, I'm not very violent so it's not a huge loss for me. I like being able to heal, it also has great applications to my social life."

It did sound reasonable that watching multiple films at once would aid with the sensory training, but it did admittedly sound quite annoying. But it was probably annoying for the same reason that seeing from multiple eyes was disorienting- it wasn't something his body was used to. Maybe it would come with time, or maybe they could expedite the process by following Arcadus' training. It seemed that the Arrancar generally knew what he was doing, given the overall success of their current training session. It had been a lot less painful than he thought, and a lot more fruitful. In all honesty, he would have expected maybe only a slight ability like making sparks from his fingers or something as an awakening or start to his release. Having a cute bat familiar was a good take away from this session.

Corvus didn't like the sound of the Quincy. Apparently there were more races that just hated vampires and Arrancar from their own state of beings. It wasn't a good thing to know, but it couldn't hurt to have knowledge. It's not like the Quincy had bothered him in his thousand years anyway, so he wasn't particularly too worried about their kind. They sounded like an awful bunch, apparently with some sort of religious motivation to convert and if not exterminate. Not the kind of people he generally wanted to associated, even if they weren't intent on killing him. The whole emperor worship thing was also a little bit passé from his experience. Having another race to look out for would be difficult, especially since he wasn't sure what to look out for. He'd just be a little wary whenever anybody approached him with religious doctrine, which wasn't often these days.

With a look akin to puppy dog eyes, Corvus batted his eyelashes at the thought of being taken to Arcadus' home. "Sure, I'd love to see your place! I'm assuming its somewhere in that massive structure, and I love architecture so it'll be a treat for me to see what inspires it and how its decorated on the inside. You know, I generally played a large role in decorating the castles I used to own. My favorite was German actually, I had this great castle overlooking a lake, had this nice swan motif. So pretty. Does your home have a library? Sorry I'm getting a bit ahead of myself. We aren't even there yet."

[Arcadus]

Arcadus enjoyed the telepathy, it was certainly a novelty for him, that despite his ability to read minds and pick up surface thoughts, Arcadus couldn't have actual telepathic converstations. It was a novelty to think his words and have them be heard, but it was also slightly concerning. Like those time's you think something loud enough that you think you said it, and perhaps it was something you shouldn't have said, but now it was something he had to actively think.

"I do have a library, though its mostly mortal books and scriptures. Arrancar don't have many writings or scholars of thier own, something I'm trying to change. Though I must admit they aren't exactly my collections, I've liberated them from other Espada who've either been absentee or that have been replaced. Its something of a changing hierarchy, though I'm sure you'd enjoy reading some pre christian versions of roman histories and some translations of celtic myths. "

"As for the phasing through objects, I have a similar ability as a part of my release, I could show you some tricks with it, since you can also fly while using it. An important trick to be able to do is to dive into the ground as an escape. Its helped me more times than I'd like to count, and would be something very useful to have when running from reapers or Quincy. Intangiblity isn't an ability I've seen on two many others, and you'd be smart to make the most of it."

"I'd say Corvus, you're blessed. Not many are lucky or have the qualities in them to manifest abilities like you have. Its very kind, to have an ability to heal others, and very good to have abilities focused on flight and fleet, rather than outright fighting others. Its a diplomats powers, and one that I wished were all the more common. Now, I think today's training has bore some real progress. Perhaps you'll develop your own training as you flesh out your abilities, and don't be afraid to seek out others."

"If you're interested in staying with me, I've a guest room thats open that you can call yours for your stay. The staff wouldn't mind another person, since they're honestly bored half to death just looking after me. If you have any dietary restrictions, I'll let my chef know, and we can see what can be done. And, Corvus, if you would." Arcadus waved his hand, a gargaunta opeining up in the space, unveiling the marble gold of the foyer in Arcadus's palace. 

[Kitai Yoru]

102 paragraphs, 510 TP awarded