Envy's Ford [Vanyel, Veralia]

Were it about five or ten years prior, maybe he really would have been able to get a grasp of fire before water. But, with everything that had happened in the last few years of his life, that anger and aggressiveness that he had during his yakuza days had dimmed. The mastery he had garnered over martial arts had given him a sense of discipline, more than he had back then.

His soul was calm, cool, collected, focused, determined. As Veralia spun around, the flames that followed her trail forced Vanyel leap backward, rather than going immediately into a counterattack. His arms lifted instinctively to protect him, but his body and clothes still got singed from the sudden conflagration.

The side of his shirt where Veralia had jabbed him had a hole in it, the edges burned, several fist-sized holes burned into the back of his shirt, and now his sleeves and some of the front had been taken as well, revealing the musculature underneath. Taking in a deep breath and releasing it slow, he took his stance again as Veralia started to speak.

Fire responded to emotion, to action, aggression, and restlessness. It was alive, active, and wild. What made his soul burn? What drew out such a reaction from him? Fighting felt like the easiest choice, especially when it came to expressing it. But...he knew it went deeper than that.

He always had fun fighting Kenichi, he enjoyed teaching martial arts to Senna and to Violet, but, he also remembered all the times he clashed and butted heads with Amaranta. He focused on his energy, channeling his thoughts within that flow, the feelings he had when in those situations, both positive and negative. Gradually, he could feel his energy heating up, and he subconsciously began to guide it through his body, funneling it to his hand.

His arms lifted, his breathing calm and level as his fists began to glow with the color of garnet, heat rising around him. Taking in a deep breath, Vanyel pressed his foot down on the air, energy rippling from the pressure, and, firing forward in a flash. All of those emotions and thoughts fueled his attack as he unleashed a devastating palm strike to Veralia's chest, a wave of heat rushing by, even if the attack was avoided.