Sword & Shield Beta

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Chana sits on the chair underneath the Captain's Pavilion. She can't help but hope that this meeting will explain their new, shiny, running horses that are fantastically used to being around a war. They have been remarkably calm, and Chana is grateful, but suspicious. Her horse is beautiful and solid--very fast. She's tested him on several occasions.

Still..why did they have the entire Unit of Altair train for riding horses? And who were these two, new, tough battlemages that have shown up a few hours earlier with horses of their own, with reassignment papers? Horses this trained and groomed are not common, as well as expensive....so what the hell is going on?

It's a bright day, early morning as the sun is just rising over the tree tops of the forest, making the dark place look beautiful, despite its depressing purpose in this region. The grass is green and alive here, thankfully, on this side of the wall. The trees of the forest are starting to look pretty bad...

At least she's used to being outside, now. Several buildings around the wall's fortification are still being built, so they've had to camp here for the past month as they hold the Kurian's to the forest. Luckily, no Earth Kurian's have shown up, or she'd probably have hated sleeping on the ground. She can still hear the sounds of fighting on the other side of the wall...so much screaming and clashing metal upon metal. A Kurian's roar shakes the pavilon's tent, bringing her attention back to the current situation, where she is left wondering why she is up here, instead of out there, fighting with the other units.

Her head jerks to the side as the two new members that showed up in the night sit at the meeting table. The pavilion sways to the side as the wind swishes through, blowing her hair to the side just as she stares at the strangers with interest. They look noble, to say the least. Great. The Guys'll love having newbies. Though....they sure as hell don't look like newbs.

"C'mon, Mihael, you know Isa is always hard on you. If you were bad at fighting I would have told you so. Don't worry about it, okay?" Regulus said.

He imagined that Mihael had been doing good in the practice and Isadore, ever the perfectionist, had spotted one little thing Mihael hadn't done right and called him out. Or maybe Isadore had been mad at himself and took it out on Mihael. Who knew, really.

Regulus's response seemed sincere so Mihael smiled at him and nodded. "Thanks Reggie," he said, hugging his bondmate tightly. "You're always so nice to me." He was glad that Regulus would tell him if he wasn't doing well; he wanted to be helpful to his partner, so knowing if he was doing something wrong would be beneficial.

Isadore nodded after Takato spoke and the two headed toward the kitchen. When they were near, it became apparent that they didn't need to go inside. The captain was already outside, being hugged and praised by Mihael. Isadore looked down; Mihael must have already told Regulus what had happened. He should have known that saying those things would just get him in trouble. Isadore kept walking until he reached the two. "Captain... I'd like to bring your attention to this." He held out the envelope, hoping to change the subject.

This time when Mihael hugged Regulus it caught him off guard, though he didn't know why since he should have expected it. He guessed he hadn't realized how much Isadore had upset the guy; that stuff really needed to be cracked down on. If just one member of the unit had low morale it would effect the entire group.

As Mihael was hugging him, he saw Isadore approaching. Regulus noticed the envelope in his hand and raised an eyebrow. He gently removed Mihael from himself and took the envelope when Isadore offered it to him. He opened it carefully and looked over the letter that was inside, then read it aloud.

"To Captain Thuban and the Aforementioned Names,

I have long sought a training session with you. For many a months, I have seen your skills on the wall's defense and it has intrigued me. My bondmate, whom is very competitive, has suggested a duel and I think I shall have one. As I have made sure to check the rotation schedule so as not to interfere with either of our duties, I would most certainly appreciate your participation.

You may meet us in three hours time from receiving this letter, just before sunset in the Seadon's Training Room. The torches will be lit and waiting--and of course, so will we. I look forward to our next bout. Have a good evening!

Signed,
Sir (Capt.) Hendrix
Adrian Carter
Marie Canton
Ket Stevens"

He paused for a moment, then said, "What do you guys think?"

Mihael remained close to Regulus even after the hug ended. He leaned against his partner slightly, both so he could take a look at the letter while Regulus was reading it and so Isadore would be less inclined to make more critical commentary. He seemed to tone it down when the captain was close by. "Aww, that's so flattering. They wanted to train with us for months," he said with a smile. "It would be kinda rude to turn them down after they were nice enough to write a big letter just to ask us, wouldn't it?"

Takato shrugged. "You know I'm down, as long as it's not some kind of a trap." It didn't seem overly suspicious to Takato, but he knew that one could never fully let their guard down around here. He nudged his partner. "What do you think? Just remember that you can't bitch at them if they mess up your hair; that would embarrass us all."

Isadore listened as Regulus read the letter, intrigued. He wondered if a duel with these people would be good for honing their skills. After Takato's last comment, Isadore rolled his eyes at him and then turned to the captain. "This may be good for training. Just as long as we don't leave this place too unprotected, though we shouldn't be long."

Regulus listened to what the others had to say about what he had read. They seemed to be for it, which he agreed with because training with other units was a good way to see what tactics they had and maybe learn something. However, they couldn't rule out the possibility of a trap either.

"All right, we'll go then," Regulus said. "But we'll be wary, just in case. Anyway, Isa, I need to have a chat with you. Come with me."

He started to walk off toward his tent, expecting Isadore to follow him.

Isadore wasn't looking forward to the captain's "chat". He glanced briefly at his brother as he started following Regulus to the tent, running his fingers through his hair the whole way. Once inside, he sat down in a chair facing Regulus'. "What is it, captain?" Isadore asked, though he knew it was painfully obvious.

Regulus entered his tent and sat down in his chair, then waited for Isadore. The other man took the seat in front of Regulus, then asked what he wanted. Regulus looked at Isadore sternly.

"It's about what you said to Mihael," he began. "That kind of stuff will not be tolerated, okay? If you hurt the morale of just one person in this unit, the entire unit suffers. You will suffer. Why did you even tell him he was useless anyway?"

"My apologies, captain," Isadore began slowly. "I was just hoping to be constructive with him because there are some aspects of his battling that he could be training more. I understand the importance of morale, but sometimes some harshness is needed to make a point." He paused. "However... I may have been too harsh with him. I will strive to be more gentle in the future."

"Damn right you will be," Regulus grumbled. "You've been in trouble for this kind of thing before and it has to stop. I don't care if he's your brother, you don't just tell someone they're useless! Do you know what that does to someone when you tell them that?! It isn't constructive at all!"

He stopped and took a breath. He hadn't realized how loud his voice had grown, or that he was gripping the chair arms so tightly. He let go and looked down at his feet.

"I apologize for that. But my point still stands."

Mihael stumbled when Regulus walked off suddenly, since he'd been leaning on his partner. He bit his lip as he watched the two of them go; he hoped Isadore wouldn't be in too much trouble because of him.

Takato rolled his eyes as he watched his partner go off with the captain. Isadore really should have seen this coming; he knew what Mihael was like and he should have known that Regulus wouldn't take kindly to someone tearing his partner down. Of course, it's not like it was anything new; even Takato thought Isadore was too harsh with Mihael. He glanced at the captain's bondmate and sighed. "Hey... that hit you got on Isa wasn't bad."

Mihael glanced at Takato. "Really?"

"Yeah, it was a good technique. But... you can hit harder, y'know. You need to start putting some 'oomph' into it, got it?"

Mihael smiled at his brother's partner and nodded. "Got it. Thanks, Taka! I'll put more 'oomph' into it during the duel," he vowed.

"Good, good. That'll shut Isa up- h-hey!" Mihael suddenly hugged Takato. Takato awkwardly patted his head and then wasn't quite sure what to do with his limbs. He'd never met anyone quite as affectionate as Mihael and he wasn't sure what to make of it.

Isadore's gaze shifted to the floor when Regulus started yelling. Making the captain angry at him was definitely a bad move, and he scolded himself inwardly for doing so. He really didn't think that being harsh with Mihael was such a big deal; everyone was always too gentle and forgiving with him, just like their father. Even Regulus favoured Mihael, which Isadore found quite irritating. Mihael didn't deserve the privilege of being the partner of the captain, as far as he was concerned. "...I understand, captain," Isadore said quietly as he looked up at Regulus. "It... won't happen again."

"It better not happen again," Regulus said.

He felt like he had been too harsh, but they'd been through this before and Isadore had never listened. Besides, Regulus' father had always been harsh, probably even harsher than that, and he was now a commander. So that was obviously the right thing to do, though it left a bad taste in Regulus' mouth.

"All right, let's go find our bondmates." He stood and gestured for Isadore to leave before him.

"Yes, sir," Isadore said, nodding politely before standing and leaving the tent. It was troubling that he had gotten Regulus so angry at him; it was an incredibly careless thing to do and he obviously wasn't captain material if he couldn't even get along with the current captain. Isadore stared at the ground as he walked back to Takato and Mihael, disappointed with himself.

Takato was relieved when he saw the two approaching. It meant Mihael would probably shift the target of his affections. He noticed that Isadore seemed really unhappy and opted to leave him alone for the time being; they had a duel to prepare for so he figured it was best to let Isadore stew on his own and get it out of his system.

Mihael moved away from Takato and toward Isadore as soon as he saw his brother approaching with his head hanging. He knew what that meant; Isadore was beating himself up for his behaviour. Mihael felt bad for him. "It's okay, Isa. I know you were just... um... getting really intensely into the training." He wrapped his arms around his brother. Isadore really needed a hug right now. Mihael knew his brother's proud nature would make him resist in spite of that, so Mihael concentrated his energy and firmly murmured, "Hug," into Isadore's ear.

Isadore wasn't particularly interested in hearing anything Mihael had to say, but he was unable to avoid the incoming hug. He sighed, knowing that pushing Mihael away in front of Regulus wouldn't make the captain any happier. Isadore was beginning to gently try to squirm out of the hug when he heard his brother murmur the word. Suddenly, Isadore was unable to stop himself from hugging Mihael back.

"Wh-what...?" he whispered, a bit too surprised at first to realize what was going on. When he did, he narrowed his eyes at Mihael, but was unable to do anything more.

Mihael beamed when Isadore hugged him back. He pretended his brother was doing it of his own volition and hugged him tightly for several seconds. When it ended, he tilted his head at Isadore. "Do you feel any better now?"

Takato watched in mild awe as Isadore returned his brother's hug. He'd never seen that happen before. Unaware of the circumstances of the hug, he glanced at Regulus. "Wow, you must have done a number on him," he said, shaking his head. "You gotta teach me your secrets."

Regulus watched with first surprise, then amusement when Isadore returned Mihael's hug. At first he wasn't sure what to think, but then he remembered Mihael's Command ability. Isadore would not be happy about that, Regulus knew.

"Heh. I gave him a good scolding, but this is all Mihael," he replied to Takato. "Anyway, are there any preparations you guys want to make for this duel?"

[Collab Post with Leah]

Shortly after eating, Demitri and Chana discreetly walked to their secret hideout in the forest away from the battle zone. There, Demitri asked Chana what happened earlier.

"What do you mean? I swapped, I ran, and came back." Chana says dismissively, "Dude, the way that thing touches you is creepy. Makes you cold."

"Cold? You must have been freezing to death if you ran back like that. There must have been something more that happened when you touched it. Could you explain what you felt after you switchedp laces?" Demitri wanted to give a supportive hug, but he needed to get details first.
He kept his stance neutral and his tone calmed.

"It was just cold." Chan says casually, "Looking back on it, I overreacted. I didn't really think about what it would be like to actually touch one before going out there. I just wanted to help Sarah. And I"m glad I did. But, as I said. It was like being dipped in cold waters...like from Vyne."

Demitri paused for a second as he thought. He placed a finger on his lips and stared at the ground Chana stood on. He momentarily thought the event was just an overreaction until he remembered Chana on her knees, repeating the same words over and over. Demitri's face popped with enlightenment.

"But what about the pain you felt? You were on the ground, saying something hurts, over and over and over. In fact, you were in tears, crying like you lost a loved one..."

"It did hurt," Chana replies earnestly, "I was scared and hurting. It was so cold that it physically hurt. I had never been that cold before..."

"That's interesting." Demitri responded. "Maybe the Kurian are accustomed to very cold environments. But why would their armor be so cold if it's been out in the open? Surely, it would have absorbed some heat. And what about Sarah? She never said anything to me about being cold. This is really strange."

"Agreed." She says with a grim expression. "....so what now?"

"Well...we could always report this to Regulus, but he's probably busy taking care of Sarah right now. How about we just enjoy the free time we have now? Demitri grinned and poked Chana in the shoulder.

"You're it!" He exclaimed before sprinting out into the trees. He ran in a zig zag pattern around the trees and quickly hid behind one of them.

Chana squints her eyes with challenge. "Do you really think you can escape me? Really? We both know that I am far superior, just by being a woman!"

She rushes forward, ready to hunt, but she, too, hides behind trees, moving in what shadows she can find so as to make things difficult for him, as well.

Demitri chucked when he heard Chana's cry, but then he remembered how good she is at hunting. As he waited behind the tree, Demitri strained his ears to listen for any sign of her, but he heard only the sounds of the forest. He was tempted to take a quick look behind him, but he knew that would only lead to defeat. Demitri kept his body pressed against the tree as much as he could while using a breathing technique Chana showed him to keep his breath silent. Under all the stress of hiding, Demitri felt like he was having fun again.

Chana hunted...but she could not hear. It seems she's taught the twerp a little too well. She stops moving, looking out with alert eyes, nearly holding her breath. Eventually, one of them will have to move...

No longer able to keep still, Demitri poked his head out slowly and looked behind him. Everything appeared to be still, or so he thought. Deep inside, he could feel Chana was right there staring back at him, grinning wherever she was hiding. Demitri tried to gain the element of surprise by suddenly bolting off as fast as he could.

Isadore was glad when he could finally stop hugging Mihael. He pulled away, folding his arms as Mihael spoke and choosing not to respond. Isadore glanced at Regulus, who seemed to know what had happened but appeared to have no objections against his partner using magic for something so pointless. Sighing, Isadore walked closer to Takato.

"I am prepared, sir," he said to Regulus.

"Hah!" Takato clued into what was going on when Regulus said the hug was Mihael's doing. "I love it."

Mihael seemed unfazed when Isadore didn't respond. He knew his brother was just too proud to admit that the hug had made him feel better. He hurried over to Regulus and latched onto his partner's arm. "I'm ready too!" he chirped.

Takato grinned. "You know I'm always ready. You think we should come up with some kind of loose and flexible strategy to go in with, though? These guys are familiar with us, apparently."

[ATTN: Demitri]

Chana watches as she sees him poke his head out. Fool's decision... she thinks as she nocks an arrow. This one is hardly sharp, with a blunt tip to mark as warning. She fires it as Demitri suddenly begins to run. She had initially intended to shoot near his head rather than hitting him directly, but he ran into the shot.

She winces as the arrow hits home, happy that it shan't pierce its target, but feeling guilty nonetheless. She shuffles sheepishly as she stands, a mixture of guilt and a prideful smirk on her face. "Oops!"


[ATTN: OPEN]

Sir Hendrix, a Knight of all Thessalonian regions, romps forward into the training ground with his unit not far behind. He is smiling confidently, happy to have a real training session soon. He looks to his three comrades, pointing to the back of the area.

"Wait there," He says politely, "I'll go to fetch the rest of our unit so that they may watch and learn."

His bondmate's head shakes, muttering something about over-confidence. Hendrix hears it, but carries on, making sure to get them into the audience seats before returning to the inside of the lit torches that outlined the training area.

"It isn't confidence," Hendrix debates, "They will learn from this bout, whether we win or lose. I never stated anything about winning."

"Riiiight." A man says from the seats. The Knight crosses his arms, a glare heading towards the man and resulting in silence.

Demitri's hopes of escaping were crushed in a second when he felt a sharp pain in the side of his head. Demitri stumbled for a bit, shocked by the pain, and fell forward due to the momentum he was already carrying. Yeah...that was an arrow... Demitri thought as he lied on the floor, his butt up in the air and dirt on his face.

He wanted to feel the wound if it was bleeding, but it felt pretty dry and his hands were dirty after being used to break his fall. Demitri got to one knee, feeling a bruise form where the arrow landed. He looked behind him, finding Chana standing in the bushes. He heard a subtle "Ooops" escape from her mouth.

"Nice shot..." Demitri told her sarcastically. He got to his feet, trying to wipe the dirt off his face with his shoulder, but only smearing it all over.

"You should be careful where you aim those things. You almost hit a wandering rabbit." He joked.

"You're right, Taka. We'll have to come up with something. But first," Regulus then turned to Sarah, "Sarah, I have a question for you. Do you want to come watch our duel or do you want me to take you to stay with someone?"

The girl seemed to be quite attached to Mihael and himself, so he didn't know if she'd want to be left with someone she didn't know. However he felt he should give her the choice anyway.

When given the choices, Sarah immediately grabbed Mihael's shirt. Regulus took this as meaning that she wanted to stay, so he nodded and turned back toward the group.

"All right then, what ideas do you have for strategies?"