Training Day (Kumari, Celia, Josephine, Artok, and Karmin)

[DukeWolfRein]

The time was past Sunrise as Artok walked along the Courtyard outside of the Imperial Palace. The ground soft and covered in hay to ensure the safety of those practicing in it. There were targets painted by the stone wall that surrounded the courtyard, and these were freshly painted as he had asked. Today he was to train two very important Cadets, and everything would have to go just as he planned if he hoped to make any progress with them.

As he walked along the wall, the sound of a horse broke his quiet contemplation and he rounded the edge of the wall to look towards the open stables. Upon a black horse rode a woman with light leather armor, her light brown hair, long and past her shoulders, moved through the air as she dismounted her horse, tying the reins to the stable. Artok sighed softly as she turned and smiled, she walked towards him, her eyes filling with glee as she got closer and closer to him. Her eyes fell on his, and his mouth became a very straight thin line as she spoke "Hello Artok. It's been a while. I hope you don't mind my intrusion, I was sent over to assist you in the training of our two important Charges." She got closer to him and softly whispered into his ear "Hopefully this doesn't take long, that way we have time to catch up." She walked away towards the courtyard, her words hanging in the air.

Artok rubbed his eyes with his fingers and sighed. Wherever Karmin went, there was always trouble. He had taught her almost a decade ago how to be the woman she was today, and there was not a day that he did not regret it. Her sick obsession with him angered him beyond words, and usually ended in him beating her within an inch of her life. She never fought back, and she knew how to push the right buttons for it. For her, each blow and wound was like a kiss from him, and for him it meant losing the control he vowed long ago to have under any circumstances. The beatings were not commonplace, and had he not been pulled off last time by another Commander, he would have ended her life. But here she was, already teasing him, knowing what she was doing. He hoped nothing would happen today, the day was far too good for such things. 

Artok made his way back to the courtyard and noticed his two Charges were already standing in the middle. The two of them stood next to each other, but he knew they he arrived with different carriages. Karmin stood in front of them, her face was cold and indifferent. Artok knew that she had learned to take little notice of those she considered weak and beneath her from his treatment of her. He stood next to her and examined the two Cadets in front of him. There was a Drow girl with pale skin and pitch black eyes, the Councilmember's daughter whose life had been promise to the Emperor. And the Undine girl whose Father had been among the best Elite Storms in the Empire, looking to follow in her father's footsteps. He nodded at both of them and looked at Karmin "Meet the two most promising cadets of the past 50 years. Celia Dendar and Kumari of the Undine Kingdom." 

Karmin looked at the girls and sighed "They look like they haven't seen a day of fighting in their short lives. These girls should be in the Royal Academy learning how to sew and cook, not here." She walked towards Celia and sneered "This one in particular. Daughter of two Council Members and she can't even be bothered to learn proper Shadows Magic. She's barely ever held a sword, and it shows." Karmin looked into Celia's eyes "Your place is on your back in some nobleman's bed my darling, not here." 

Artok shook his head "It is up to us to teach them that they are much better than that. Disregard Commander Cori, she speaks with little thought." He moved to face both of them and nodded "You are here today to learn to hone the skills you learn at the Academy and apply them in real life situations. Situations that will require fast thinking, endurance, and being able to move past your limits." He walked towards a chest by the wall and took out two leather paulders. He handed one to each of them "Put these on. These are your Learner's paulders, a sign that you are not yet ready for combat. Once your training is done you will be able to remove them and earn the Theysilon brand, signifying you are part of the most Fearsome Army in Strophya." 

Karmin grinned "If you live beyond your training that is." 

"You must be curious as to why you are training with the Outer Guard. One of you is destined to be a Council Member, the other an Elite Storm. The Outer Guard goes through some of the most intensive and rigorous training in the Empire. We drive back the hordes of enemies that threaten the Empire's very heart here at the Main Capital. If you can pass the Outer Guard training, then you are ready for most anything that Strophya can throw at you." Artok looked at both of them and nodded once. "Any questions?" 

[thetexanqueen]

The sky began to turn a faint purple color with streaks of pinks and yellows as the sun slowly began to rise once again. The sun rising was the alarm clock for many in Strophya. The farmers, the soldiers, the Emperor, slaves and maids and many more rose to meet the sun and face another day. Celia was among those early risers. Her parents being members of the Council they were either waking up early or just coming in as the sun rose to get a few hours of rest before returning to duty and since Celia was training to work alongside them one day she was expected to do the same. After running through her morning routine Celia ventured off to her parents’ bedroom to see if they were awake or even in there. Her mother slept quietly on her side while her father’s side was empty. He must still be out… Celia quietly closed the door and made her way back to her room to dress herself for the day. She had more combat training to do today so that meant tossing on her training armor and grabbing her weapon. Each day of training she grew closer and closer to her goal and she couldn’t wait to receive her Council robes.

When the time came for Celia to be out on the training grounds she quickly hustled her way over there, she was late for being early. She wasn’t sure who else would be down there with her today, but she hoped they were just as serious as she was when it came to their training. As she passed by the other guards and servants wandering around the Empire grounds she waved in a greeting as she rushed by them. As she rounded the corner to the training arena she could hear a horse and some voices, she better pick up the pace. Celia took her place and stood perfectly still as she waited for Artok to come over and address her. Before Artok appeared someone stepped up beside Celia, a Undine. Celia glanced over at her and gave her a small smile before facing forward again. A female was approaching them and Celia had no idea who it was, maybe someone else to train with them? But then she started speaking. It was all Celia could do to not laugh. Her parents had told her at some point she would encounter someone like this. Shouting in her face, trying to degrade her and break her to see if she truly was Council material, and they were right. She knew how this went, it was just her showing her authority and trying to break them down so they would show weakness, but Celia refused to show any emotion as the woman spoke to her. Celia only focused back in on the conversation when she could hear Artok speaking, the woman did not matter much to her if all she was going to do was attempt to shake Celia, she was here to receive training not listen to some power hungry Guard try and rattle her.

“No sir!” Celia responded to Artok and turned her dark eyes onto him.

[darkpigeon]

Kumari had been ready ever since the sun had gone down the day before this. She had been sitting on her bed, ready to go and too nervous to get a good night of sleep. The undine had braided her hair, read all the books she could muster so she could fill her head with all the informations she needed so she would not look like the fool in the courtyard. This was to be a very important day, her very first step to become an Elite storm.

Her long green and blue hair was braided and laid loosely over her shoulder as she watched both the human man and woman talk. Kumari stood tall and proud and the only thing that betrayed that she was nervous was the thin smile that was spread over her lips. The human male did not seem to care about the woman that was talking to him, his whole face spoke for him as he seemed to almost detest the woman who followed him as he made his way over to both Kumari herself and the Drow that stood beside her. She glanced to the drow, she was a good looking woman. Kurami wondered what a good looking drow made, and as she felt her mind straying away from this moment quickly snapped her gaze away and looked straight ahead.

She did not miss what the human female said. She was right, the training for the empire's elite was the toughest that there was. People died, lost limbs or just disappeared. It was not for the faint hearted and she knew that she should not show any of her weaknesses.. especially not now. "No sir" both Celia and Kurami said simultaneous, she looked at the human male with her light blue eyes and never felt this ready to start her training.

[DukeWolfRein]

Artok nodded at both of the girls and turned to look at Kumari "Because of the nature of training, it has become a necessity for you to have two trainers. Commander Cori and I will take it upon ourselves to teach you everything you need to know about survival." He moved slowly towards them, his steps were long, but fast. In one swift move he had his hands around their necks, tightening as their backs collided with the wall behind them. He held them in place and watched as two roses, glowing with light, hovered inches from their faces. Karmin grinned "Let me do it Artok...let me ruin their pretty faces."

Artok looked at Celia and Kumari, his face was still calm and serious "The first lesson is that even your teachers will want to hurt you and kill you. You should never let your guard down, even in the presence of those you trust." He grabbed Celia tight by the neck and threw her towards Karmin before letting go of the Undine and punching her, making her head rattle against the wall. "You have to run, or fight. Whatever you want to do, you have to do it as quickly and as effectively as possible." His sword let out a soft whistle as it came out from its sheath and the hilt connected with Kumari's face. He threw the Undine to the side and walked towards her, sword raised in the air, poised to come down.

Karmin stepped down on Celia's back and aimed her hand down at her, the two floating roses flying to the Drow's neck. "Come on Dear, no one likes a girl that ends up face down." She kicked her side, sending her flat on her back. The roses flew to Celia's neck and stayed there. Karmin giggled and snapped her fingers. The roses let out a huge glow and their petals fell off before they both exploded right next to the Drow's face. The goal had not been to kill her, or even wound her, but to leave her confused. Karmin looked at Artok who nodded "Let see them run Artok dear, they're much better when they run."

[thetexanqueen]

It was like Celia blinked one second and was just simply listening to Artok speak and the next second she blinked and was thrown up against the wall. It took her by surprise and she had to admit it made her heart skip a beat, but she knew this was all apart of her training so she regained her composure quickly. She blocked out the mild discomfort from Artok's grip and focused on his words, they were important and full of wisdom and she wasn't going to miss out on a single tip from him. Her eyes shifted quickly to the rose petals near her face and she looked over to Karmin and raised her eyebrows, Rose petals? How intimidating. Celia knew of Magic and how powerful it could be, but if it was up to her she wouldn't portray her power through thin flower petals. She expected something a little more showy from Karmin considering how she spoke to them earlier, but maybe she was like Celia and liked to be underestimated. Before another thought could cross her mind Artok was throwing her away like trash. Celia tucked as best as she could, but she still hit the ground pretty hard and Karmin didn't waste a single second before pouncing on her. Celia took her blows as best as she could, the Drow was tough but being kicked and tossed around still sucked. The second she was tossed on her back she immediately regained her focus and pushed the rose petals out of her face. Thrusting her legs forward she was back on her feet and her sword was drawn and pressed up against Karmin's throat.

"You talk big for someone that likes to play with flowers," Celia smiled and gave the sword a slight push against Karmin's skin, just enough to irritate her throat, and then landed a kick in the woman's chest. "It'll be a cold day in hell before you see a Dendar run." She quickly took a defensive stance and waited for Karmin to come back with an attack. Her heart was racing and the feeling of adrenaline rushing through her body was great. She had trained before with her parents, but that was just with her parents, going against other people was a totally different story. Celia could predict her parents moves pretty well since she had seen them in combat before, but going up against someone she didn't know at all was a different story and she liked it.

[darkpigeon]

It went all down so very quickly. She had thought there to be some scolding and some jelling of insults as this seemed to be the regular progress between soldiers and their captains. She was prepared for insults and she had been working on her own so she was fully prepared for all of them. She was able to let them wash over her without getting angry or sad or having the urge to be revengeful. This though, this you did not read in the books about proper etiquette or training of soldiers. She felt like she needed to tell this or ask about this progress and what it was called. She simply had not not expected to be tossed around like an old stinky cloth. As she was flying through the air and landing firmly in her side, she started to rethink her idea of informing her teacher about his teaching ways, and she chose to fight as he so desperately wanted to see what she had store for him.

She had not come here because she needed to learn every single thing, just like the drow female that had been standing next to her they had showed to be promising. She was a talented young woman and had proven herself to be quite capable to keep herself alive in a fight. A fair fight that was, a controlled one with dulled weapons. Fights that were not as unpredictable as the one she was having now.

She could see it in her teachers that he was very serious and would inflict some serious pain if she was not to protect herself from harm and fight back. This was the real deal, and fighting pretty and fair was not something this man was looking for. Now she had to learn to fight and to win, no matter how ugly it got. She watched him come over, she counted the amount of steps he had to make and calculated how far her Polearm was away from her. She rolled over the courtyard floor, flipped and landed a bit wobbly on her feet as she held her polearm in her hand. He was faster though, he had seen her look at her polearm and knew that she was going for it before she could reach it. As she stood there and tried to strike the end of her weapon against his legs she felt his perfectly polished boot kicking her against her chin.

She fell back and was barely able to roll away from his sword that came down fast towards her shoulder. Kumari muttered angrily as she was rarely being tossed around like a ragdoll and pushed the end of her polearm into her teachers private parts. She was incredibly proud that she got a nice swing at him, a pride that soon faded as she felt his sword cut into her arm.

[DukeWolfRein]

Karmin felt the blow to her chest and placed her hand where it had connected. She looked up at Celia and smiled "Oh, we have a feisty one Artok. This should be very interested." She walked forward, dodging the following blows from Celia and finally grabbing her by the neck and raising her up, the Drow was still young and not to her full height, this was an advantage to Karmin. She looked at the Drow and giggled as a glowing flower appeared from her free hand and flew at Celia's face "Don't ever doubt the power of the Rose, girl." As the flower connected with Celia's face it exploded in a burst of magic energy sending Celia back as Karmin let go of her "It might surprise you." She walked forward and sent two more Roses at the Drow, both of them exploding on impact, this time the explosions were loud and strong, enough to punish and scar, but Karmin liked to play with her food before devouring it.

Her legs and arms let out a glow as she ran at the Drow and she jumped high into the air before coming down with her fist, aiming at the girl's head. Celia had moved at the last second and all that remained of the ground where Karmin's fist had fallen was a small crater. She looked up and grinned "Things just got very interesting."

Artok kicked Kumari once more and backed away "Sometimes not all the factors will be present before you. Sometimes the battlefield will change, especially the participants." He looked over to Karmin and then whistled "Josephine!! Finish them off."

[darkpigeon]

Josh was looking at the fight from atop of the eastern wall with much amusement. It was more fun to see Artok beat on someone else for a change,  instead of beating her. Ever since she became a warden of the empire she had been stuck with him for better or worse. Ever so often the Empire would take in children, pretending to care for the less fortunate while everyone silently knew that they did not. She was around 5 years old when she was swooped of the street. She was a cute little girl, black curls, pale skin and big dark eyes. A poster child for sad little orphans that was being used to make the emperor look more like a human being. She had been own her own from the very day she could walk and surely would have been less fortunate than she was now. She had been Artoks apprentice from her early teenage years and would be until she was of the right age. She was 17 now, and despite the harsh ways that Artok treated her she saw him as the father figure she never had, for he did not leave her to rot in the streets while he was more worried about getting his drink on and fucking some whores. And he was there to learn her everything she needed to defend herself.

She had been told by Artok to be at in the courtyard before the trainees would arrive and he himself. She had hidden  herself at the courtyard and only to show herself when she was called. She knew that this was as much training for her stealthy ways and fighting abilities as it would be for the two new girls that he had to teach.  And so she did, no questions asked as she knew that would just get her in a shitload of trouble.  She did not want to anger the man she quickly had learned was rather violent man. A man who would as easily beat the living daylight out of her as he would with these new Trainees.

She had hidden herself on the walls, she had been there since the moon had stood high in the sky and had enjoyed her night far away from anyone else. Only the cats she adored kept her company and had crawled against her to keep her and themselves warm. Now that the morning had come and the training had started she watched Artok and Karmin giving the new trainees a proper beating. A few of Josh's cats still kept her company and softly purred as she shared the meat of her turkey-sandwich that she had 'found' in some guards bag that very evening. She kept the cats a secret and from Artok. She knew perfectly well that he would hate those animals. Seeing them as a sign of weakness that she was taking care of a creature far weaker than them. Josh fully believed that he would very much like to inflict pain to those cats to teach Josephine any kind of lesson. So she kept them all as a secret and loved their company as they were more affectioned towards her than Artok would ever be.

As he shouted her name it was time for Josh to show herself. She quickly placed the sandwich down and said her farewell to the cats. She was to show now what she had learned from Artok, as he would surely beat her for anything that represented any less. She took the first part of her 2-piece chakram, calculated the distance, the way the wind was blowing and how firmly she wanted to hit her target and threw it towards the unexpecting Undine while her second one was going for the Drow.

Kurami frowned, she was not liking this way of teaching as she felt that she was only learning what pain and humiliation felt like. She crawled on her feet, but was kicked down again by Artok simply because he could. He walked back as he watched Josh coming down from the walls like the small agile acrobat she was. Kurami heard a soft whistling sound which confused her a little. It was high pitched that quickly came closer until she felt a firm hit against the side of her head. She did not even get the time to get back on her feet as she slammed down again and felt a hot liquid going down her face. She was surprised alright, she tried to crawl on her feet again while the world was buzzing and twirling around her as she felt her breakfast coming up.

Josh was on top of Kurami in a split second, and kicked the Undine in her stomach and smiled as she watched the rainbow of breakfast leaving the Undine's mouth. She was concentrated on her target without losing eye on her surroundings, and smiled as this target came down so very easily. She knew that the Undine never been in a real fight. Especially not a dirty fight as she was in now. The Undine was fighting far to clean, far too predictable, to naief, and was thinking more than she was acting. Fighting was about feeling, about being able to predict your targets movement a few steps ahead. That she learned form Artok the hard way. He had treated her as he would any adult. A beating was a beating, failing was failing. He simply had no time for cutesy friendly words, and felt little for any kind of affection as he was as much forced to be with Josh as Josh was to be around him. 

Kurami got angry, she wanted to yell for it to stop and how she was learning nothing at all. She quickly rolled away, taking her polearm with her as she felt all her strength fade from her body. The horrible taste and smell of the vomit made her want to puke again but she kept it down. She was not to give up and pushed herself up again. Only to fail as she got somewhat entangled in her own clothing. Her light eyes grew large as she felt her own clothing preventing her from fully rising on her feet and watched the small dark frame of this new opponent come close. The Undine finally started to understand that she was not as good as she always thought she was. And that this fighter could easily kill her if it wanted to.

Josh let out a loud laugh, this was why you never should wear capes, dresses, skirts, or anything else that had loose fabric. Her small swords came flying out of her sheets and with the tip of her blade she gave the young undine a wound that would leave a very neat looking scar on her face. A nice present from Josh to remember her very first real fighting lesson by. The undine yelped out in pain, before she felt a firm hit in the back of her neck as the hilt of Josh's sword came into contact with her making everything turn black. Josh kept the Undine alive, it was her mentor that got to kill them if he wished so. It was not her place to make such decisions about these 'promising' new recruits. 

With the Undine out only the drow was left. Karmin had left the Drow for Josh to take down and stood smiling as she watched the fight from a small distance. The drow seemed somewhat dazed after the fight with Karmin and the blow she had gotten from the second halve of the Chakram surely had done his part. Josh quickly made her way the courtyard. Her feet hardly touched the ground as she seemed to fly as she made a series of complicated jumps. She landed next to the first piece of her Chakram and quickly threw it towards the drow hitting the young creature firmly against her ribcage. Josh snarled at herself, she wanted to hit the black woman in her neck but she had not been paying enough attention. She knew that Artok would know she had made a mistake and he never ever forgave a single mistake being made.

[DukeWolfRein]

Karmin looked at Josh as she ran towards Celia. She noticed the lithe young girl prepping to make her move and take away her prey. Karmin was a lot of things, and a glutton was among those things. She growled and stepped in front of Celia, blocking Josh. "This one is mine." she said in a low menacing voice before kicking Josh back and sending two flowers towards her that exploded on contact, sending Artok's new apprentice back a few feet.

Karmin's legs began to glow once more and she dashed to where Josh was before sending a fist into the girl's face, sending her back. Karmin had seen Josh, she knew the girl was fast, but not as fast as her. Her fists began to glow a faint yellow color, her feet followed. "You do not steal the prey from the lioness." It was a mere blink for everyone else, but to Karmin everything seemed calculated. Three hits to Josh's mid section followed by a kick to the face and finally grabbing the girl and twisting her arm, pushing her down to her knees and holding her in place "Do you want your arm? Or should I just do as I please with it? And what pleases me is pain."

Artok ran up behind Celia and touched her shoulder "Stay." he walked towards Karmin and Josh and shook his head "Let her go Karmin. She's had enough." Karmin sneered looked from Josh to Artok "Is this your new pet Artok? You teaching her everything you taught me?" His hand flew to her neck and he walked away, pushing her towards the wall. Karmin let out a moan as he touched her and as she felt herself being pushed she broke Josh's arm before letting go and feeling her head crash against the wall.

She smiled at him "Oh Artok, are you going to beat me again? Please do. Please..."

Artok growled and let her go. "Josh, gather your fellow students. It's time for your first mission."

[darkpigeon]

Josh barely stopped in time as Karmin came between her and her target. "Don't get yisser panty's in a twist! Artok Told me ter go an' git dem. she's al' yers ya nut arse." The young girl spat out at Karmin. She knew little of this woman, but what she knew was that Karmin was a nut case. Not as much as Josh was herself, this woman had no control and lived for violence and death. As she punched her away from Celia, their shared target, Josh snarled angrily. She calculated in the blows, making sure that no vital parts were being hit by the crazed woman. Artok had taught her well already, tough her training lacked 'magical missile dodging' and that showed as she barely was able to dodge the first and caught the second one on the side of her face.

Josh landed in her hands and feet, ready to pounce towards the woman that was attacking her. Her target had switched from Celia to Karmin and she would love to get a few good hits before being taken out herself. Josh knew that she was outmatched, Karmin was faster, stronger, able to use magic, and had far more experience than Josh had. She knew she would be losing, but that did not mean that she could still be winning some valuable training and experience as she was to fight Karmin. Even thinking this made her to slow to react and before Josh could do anything about it she was on her knees with her arm bend in an unnatural position behind her back. She spat out some blood and cursed, more to herself than Karmin as she had failed so miserably."Git off! me, oi did as told that's al'" Josh yelled angry as she felt Karmin pushing her down further. Josh knew that she had deserved every single blow, she should have been focussing more, be quicker, think less, do more, be on the move every single second.

She smirked as Artok told her to let her go, she knew that she was being favored over Karmin. She was not as much as a pain in the ass as that woman. She had seen that look in his eyes as Karmin even came towards him on the courtyard. That damn bitch surely was jealous and she enjoyed that. That the woman broke her arm however she enjoyed far less. She let out a cry, quickly muffling her own sound as a loud fighter was a dead one. Though her anger flared up as she saw the strange bend in her arm. She needed those! for.. well.. loads of things! " Why is dat fucking nut wagon 'ere! she broke me arm, feckin 'ell artok.. kill dat bitch or oi will!" She hissed as she watched those two. She wanted to do something, kick that woman in her private parts .. just anything! but as an order was given she knew that she could not disobey. If anything Artok hated people that refused to listen more than the woman he was holding.

She turned around, fuming as she walked over the Undine that was sitting on the courtyard floor. Kurami felt the side of her head and let out a soft yelp as she saw blood on her hands. She was not bleeding was she! what was that thing that even did that. She turned around, watching the small woman in leather coming towards her, and how Artok had pushed Karmin against the wall. "Come on lass, just folly me. yer be roi as rain before yer know it" Josh said rather sweetly, hoping that the woman would come without to much difficulty. "Yer too! folly me blacky. don't be wastin' me time" Josh roared over the courtyard towards Celia, hoping for dear life that the woman would be listening.

[thetexanqueen]

Celia had to admit the blows from the rose petals did take her by surprise; she didn’t expect them to have that much power behind them. Never doubt the power of magic Celia, she could practically hear her mother scolding her in the back of her head. Narrowing her eyes she grounded herself again and took a deep breath. She was beginning to learn how the petals worked so she was prepared for the next attack.

“Lesson learned,” Celia growled under her breath before jumping into the air and flipping behind Karmin and slicing her back, not deep enough to do any damage but deep enough that it would draw blood and sting later. Tucking and rolling past her she kicked Karmin’s legs out from under her. She turned around to face Karmin and waited for her to throw petals her way. Before she even knew what happened something else had attacked her, someone else to be exact. Celia had no idea someone else was the ring, but she would take to heart to never let her surroundings go without a thorough check. Celia felt the air leave her body for a second and pain filled her ribcage quickly, but she refused to show it. Weakness was something she refused to show.

“Two against one? Good to know we aren’t playing fair anymore,” Celia chuckled and pushed herself up from the ground and gripped her sword tightly. Just as she was about to charge Josh she saw Karmin attack the girl. Celia watched as Karmin put the smack down on the young girl. She was surprised at how Karmin reacted to Josh intervening into the fight between the two of them. Celia viewed Josh as a lesson, as she did everything in the arena, but Karmin obviously didn’t see it that way. She took a few steps forward when she felt Artok’s hand on her shoulder and his words demanding she stay in place. Her eyes widened slightly as she watched the interaction between Artok and Karmin, that woman was truly insane but for some reason that insanity drew Celia in. She wanted to talk to her, get advice, tips, go back at it again and learn from her. Her course of action was changed when she heard Josh holler in her direction. Without saying a word she turned on her heels and followed the two women in front of her in silence.

[DukeWolfRein]

~~~A Few Hours Later~~~

Artok walked in quick, long steps. His eyes darted from one place to the next as they went deeper into the Forest. They had exited the Main Capital an hour or so ago and were now deep into the Kildreth Forest. Karmin followed close by with Celia and Kumari following behind her. Josh walked next to Artok, his hand at her shoulder not quite gripping but holding her steady. He looked at her as they walked "How does your arm feel? My healing spells aren't the best, but it should be good by now. I need you to take both of them and teach them what it's like to fight a group of Goblin mercenaries, if you can do that for me then I'll forget how you couldn't even get a hit in when Karmin faced you. No excuses." His hand moved away from her shoulder slowly.

Karmin sighed as she walked with the other two girls, they were far a way from Artok and Josh to not be able to hear their conversation, something that Karmin was not too happy with. She looked at Celia and then at Kumari "Whatever this mission is, I don't expect for it to be easy on you. More so I don't expect you to be as pretty coming out of it. Artok is a lot of things, but an easy teacher is not one of them, one of his many charms." She sighed and looked at Kumari "Whatever the case, I don't want to be stuck with you for much longer, I have far more important things to do and people to kill than to be babysitting Royal Brats."

Artok stopped near a clearing and looked back at them "We're here." Karmin stopped walking, her eyes focusing on Artok immediately. Every time he spoke, breathed, or moved her eyes would follow and light up. It was almost as if she admired the fact that he existed, let alone that she would be allowed to stand so close to him. Artok had known from the very first time that he saw that look that Karmin would be trouble. He nodded "Your mission is to track down a mercenary group of Goblins known as Kir's Murderers. They have been raiding villages nearby and must be taught discipline. Complete this mission and you might just have what it takes for your future roles." Artok stepped forward and looked at Karmin "Commander Cori will be leading this mission. Here are the papers." Artok handed Karmin a scroll and looked at the younger girls "You fought against us and lived, don't think that is an easy feat. Commander Cori and myself have killed opponents far bigger, scarier, and more skilled than yourself. You survived and fought back, that in of itself tells me you can do this." Artok began to walk away back the way they came and looked over his shoulder at them "Oh, and by the way...I expect proof that you killed them. All fifteen of them." He smiled and then kept on walking.

Karmin stood there, in a center of the road with the girls around her. She growled and gripped the scroll that Artok had given her, the paper rustling, almost tearing. She looked at Josh and then at Celia, her eyes filled with rage and spite. Her fist took on a red glow before she walked towards a tree and punched it, making it explode into splintersand leaves. "You're leaving me with them!?" She yelled at a figure that was now a mere silhoutte on the horizon. Her jaw tensed and she looked once more at the girls "This is ridiculous...He can't expect me to take care of you brats. You'll get yourselves killed and then I'll be blamed for it!" She walked further into the clearing and sighed before closing her eyes and releasing her grip on the scroll of paper. She raised her head and opened her eyes, the midday sun shining down through the foliage at her. The forest was quiet. She looked down at the paper and opened it up. She scanned the words on it and looked back "We're supposed to stop them from attacking. They're about two days' away from us on foot. Move out." Her eyes had gone back to their normal cold state, almost detached from the world around her. Inside, however, she wasa burning pit of anger.[/font]

[darkpigeon]

Josephine looked up at Artok, his healing magic was indeed lacking its full healing power. But that he had been as generous as to heal her brought a small smile on her face. She trusted him like nobody else and she did all that he asked, no questions asked. "Oi I will be gran', don't yer worry! I Will do me best teachin' those two, canny promise yer though dat they are ter learn somethin'. they seem juicy new to al' av dis." she said with a gentle smile. She was glad to hear that he was to forget about her failing him miserably at the fight only a few hours before. She promised herself that her next fight with Karmin she would be getting some punches in. If any thing Josephine was a quick study and capable of slithering around her enemy like her the animal her nickname "the Ferret' came from. At least her nickname did not point out the fact anymore that she had cut of the cock of a rich old man with a cheese knife only a few years back.

Josh stopped and stood next to Artok as he started to speak. Goblins, god.. why had it to be fucking goblins. She did not like them, they were fast, greedy, hateful, and rather smelly. Worse of it all was that she had to fight them on a terrain that never really felt like home for her. She was a city girl trough and through and this forest was giving her the chills already. She was not at all amused that Karmin was given the lead to this mission, she knew that she herself was not capable enough to do so and that from all of them Karmin was the best choice. But she was unpredictable and that did not feel right for Josephine. The one thing though that brought a smile on her face was that they were to bring prove of those death goblins, that.. that truly was just a hoot for Josephine and she planned on having the two new recruits carrying every single head back to the city. That surely was to stain those pretty clothes they were wearing.

Karmin truly was outraged that she was to take care of all three of them, and that amused Josh like nothing else at this very moment. That woman was as dangerous as she was crazy, truly she was the worst possible person to leave three teenagers with. Things would get so very ugly, but luckily for Josh she was not the most unexperianced member of this group, and these two new girls were to have a very hard time. So! instead of worrying she just showed no fear, or joy, or anything else for that matter and stood there silently awaiting her order. She was to get this woman frustrated by doing everything she wanted her to do, say yes and thank you! Not giving Karmin a reason to get angry at her just would make her week... yes, Josh had a strange ways of enjoying herself and making others miserable.

Kumari was not amused, her wounds were barely healed and her ears were still ringing faintly after the multiple hits she had been given by both Arthok and that little girl. These people truly did not read the books that she had about proper training, and she wondered if they even truly cared. She nor the Drow standing next to her had the proper training, that much was clear. That he was sending them off into the forest with a unstable leader showed nothing more than Artoks proper way of training both their training. But she was not to complain, yes in her head.. she could complain inside her own brain! She surely was not to show her disapproval of it all, and as Arthok was one of the best in his field she had to trust his judgement.. how crazy it may seem to her.

[thetexanqueen]

Celia walked along in silence with the other women that walked with her, she wanted to talk but she felt that it would not be appropriate for some reason. She could barely hear what Artok was saying to the woman that had appeared from nowhere and attacked them, but she assumed it was something about her arm. This training day had taken an unexpected turn, but she liked it. Artok always kept her on her toes, he was a good trainer and she hoped that one day she could do the same for some upcoming trainees. Celia’s eyes drifted over to the Undine for a brief second wondering if the girl was alright, she seemed to get the short end of the stick, but it happens sometimes. If the girl truly was strong enough to be trained by Artok then she would recover fast.

Her eyes snapped ahead when Artok stopped in his tracks. Celia placed a hand on her weapon, just in case he had heard or seen something that would be a threat against them. That is what she wanted. To fight someone that didn’t care if she lived, that had the same survival instincts as her, that would provide a real challenge outside of the arena. Celia focused on each word that Artok spoke and could feel her heart rate pick up, she was getting what she wished for. She was presented with an actual challenge, one that if she failed she would not be returning back to her family. Celia tried to contain her excitement and focus on preparing herself for the battle she was about to face.

When Artok told them that Karmin would be the one leading them she felt her heart flutter for a second. She trusted Artok knew what he was doing but that woman didn’t seem…like leader material. She was too into her emotions and was so unpredictable it didn’t seem like a good idea to Celia, but then again it was not up to her. Celia tried to curb her worries about something going wrong while Karmin was in charge but something in the back of her head said this wasn’t right, that something wasn’t right with Karmin. But, nonetheless Karmin was now in charge and Celia would have to answer to her.

“We won’t disappoint, Artok,” Celia said to him as he passed her. She couldn’t help but feel a sense of pride, he was trusting them with an actual task, that meant they were improving in his eyes. Just as she was about to voice her excitement Karmin let out a shriek of disgust. Celia’s eyes widened slightly at her outburst, she knew that Artok and Karmin had a history, but Celia found it extremely disrespectful to whine about orders that have been given. I think she’s the one that needs the training, not us. Celia rolled her eyes and waited for the woman to end her ridiculous temper tantrum and return to them with orders. She glanced over at the other two girls with her and got the sense that she was the only one happy with their situation. Yes, she was a little sore from the arena but she would be perfectly fine by nightfall and ready to slice some Goblin heads off. Celia opened her mouth to offer some words of encouragement but Karmin cut her off, instructing them to keep moving. Without a second thought Celia began walking and decided she best keep quiet, they didn’t seem to be in the talking mood.

[DukeWolfRein]

Karmin walked along the forest road, her thoughts were arguing amongst each other as to what her next few actions should be. The girls that Artok had left in her care had never been outside the Main Capital, they didn't know the dangers that inhabited even the very forest around the city. They were unaware that a band of Goblins, even just 15 of them, were more than just an annoyance, they were a deadly threat. Her eyes scanned the ground and trees for any sign of traps they may have left behind in their rush to pillage yet another Theysilon town. Pests, that's what they were. Karmin hated vermin, of any kind. She stopped, ahead of them was a campsite, perhaps a few days old. Her hand came up, motioning a full stop and she looked around.

The area was littered with the bones from the meal of whoever had been there. There were utensils and bits of paper scattered about. Goblins were messy, and they cared little of the mess they left behind wherever they went. Karmin took a look around once more to check for traps when she heard a twig snap to the right of them. Her head spun and saw something moving around the undergrowth. There was a growling and Karmin's Roses once more appeared from her hands. She prepared to throw them when a loud roar pierced the silence.

A Sefalin ran from the trees, tearing them apart as he roared at the invaders in his property. Karmin cursed under her breath as she watched the beast bear down on Josh. The thing about Sefalin that made them so deadly was their huge jaws that could break through stone, and its impenetrable skin, only the toughest of weapons could hope to even make a scratch, this however were both additions to its already massive size and strength, coming in at 10 feet tall and being able to run and break through wood, stone, and even soft metal. Karmin let her roses fly, both of them exploding on the beast's eyes and making it miss Josh by a foot. She dashed forward in front of Josh and growled "Not one of these..."