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Sarah Hartwell

Sarah didn't expect what came next, she made her small noise, she felt pathetic for it. Everyone looked at her, except the guy at the door, he pretty much looked at her the moment she entered, which was obvious, but she felt she needed to let everyone know she was in the room. It was probably rude to not make some noise. But it seemed it was the wrong thing, or maybe she shouldn't have just waved as she watched one man look at her then suddenly leave the room. Sarah lowered her arm as she watched him run off. What did she do? Was waving rude where he was from? Was it rude not to say something while waving? That could be the only reason, she wasn't sure what else it could be. She glanced at the others in the room, looking completely confused. Did they know him personally or were they just as confused? But they didn't seem to know any more than her.

As she looked around she saw that everyone seemed tired. She came a bad time it seemed. And it was voiced when a red headed woman introduced herself then said goodnight to everyone. It seemed she was late for the group talking. Which might as well be a good thing, she wasn't even sure she could talk to them. The male that had exited as soon as he saw her put her off. She looked at the red head when she asked if everything was alright, realizing she didn't introduce herself back to her. Before she tried, the blonde male spoke up. From what he was saying, she apparently missed a lot between them. She wasn't sure how to react. He turned to her, making her stiffen as she waited for him to speak to her. She nodded at his first question about her being new and then nodded once again when he spoke about the tournament. Though she looked surprised when he said that she should join them. Did that mean they didn't think she was too weak to join? She froze a bit when he asked for her name. “I...... I.....” Sarah started, her fingers twitching as she spoke the one letter. Before she could stop herself her fingers began to move. My name is Sarah, I just joined today, I just wanted to say hello and. She quickly stopped herself, realizing what she was doing. There was no way anyone here knew sign language. She needed to speak up. “I'm Sar.... Sarah.... I.... I heard.... that..... that there were new recruits.... like..... like me and I just wanted..... wanted to say.... hello.....” She said, looking down, her face growing red as she tried to keep her hands in place. This was a bad idea, she already knew that. She was just embarrassing herself just like he said she would. She just nodded yes about being new, there was no need to say she was new again. She should have said she was interested in the tournament as well, but she couldn't find her voice anymore.

She kept quiet as everyone spoke to each other, learning quickly that Acel had lost his family and that was why he said next time he would be more collected. That explained a lot and Sarah felt her heart clench in empathy toward the man. He had nothing to lose it seemed, or that what it seemed to him. So he was here for revenge, since he joined the baiters, it could only mean he lost them to the A.I.s or he really was more on the suicidal part of grieving. But that didn't make much sense to join the B.A.I.T.R.s when you could run out and kill them, or try. Sarah observed the man, concluding he was here for revenge and his lose was very recent. Sarah noticed a slight glow under the man's shirt, her brows furrowed as she looked at it, wondering what was underneath. She had seen that before, but she was too afraid to ask anyone what it was, and she was still too afraid to ask. She looked over the other woman and man as Acel introduced her to them. She nodded at each one in greeting, just the same as Kawaguchi did to her. Sarah looked at everyone seeing that they seemed to all want to leave, Kawaguchi and Kadiatne were going off to eat. She should probably just say goodbye and apologize. She took a deep breath and nodded at everyone. “It was nice to.... to meet you and I apologize if.... if I kept you.... from.... any plans...” She said before turning and, against what she really wanted to do, hurried out of the room.

She was too nervous to leave slowly. Her nerves felt shot. It was a bad idea to see people after her first life or death fight. She quickly walked down the hallway, turning as soon as she could, feeling her phone go off in her pocket. She pulled it out, still walking quickly, seeing she got a text. She opened it to see it was a number she didn't know, but it said that her things were in her room and then it told her the room number. She felt a little more at ease, she had somewhere to scurry off to. She glanced around, looking for a map again. She would need to explore a bit some time. It didn't take her long to find a map then find her way to the living quarters. She walked up to a desk, kindly asking for a key the best she could for her room. The woman behind the desk simply smiled and handed her a key card. Sarah walked down the halls, keeping the text up so she could make sure she found the right door. Once she found it and was inside, she could breath easily. She locked the door behind her, looking at the room. It was bare, which to be expected. On the bed was her luggage, her heart lifting when she saw her violin. She could bring it! She looked at her suitcases, slowly opening them as she thought about what had happened. Acel seemed like a very nice man, trying hard even with his lose. Sarah hoped he found something that helped besides killing the A.I.s. Kawaguchi seemed a bit distant, unless humor or something of that sort was brought in. Kadiatne was definitely open, quickly responding to Kawaguchi's flirting. She wondered if something would developed, but she wasn't so sure. Relationships of that kind were now far from her understanding. Corrinne seemed really nice, showing some concern for her when she stepped in the way she did. Sarah hoped to have a chance to get to know her more as well. Though the last man, Dal'Mori she was sure was his name, it was one name Acel used that he didn't actually point to the owner, it seemed she offended him in some way. Maybe he knew who she was and thought it was an insult she was here. She would just have to avoid him if she wanted to avoid any trouble. She pulled her hood down, shaking her hair a bit so it laid down better on her head. She hated wearing her hood, but she wasn't sure she could just walk around without it up. Sarah put the last of the clothes she bought away, closing the door to her closet before turning and looking at her weapons' case and her violin case. She opened the weapon's case and slowly unloaded the black boxes from her belt into the holes inside, then placing her gun in as well.

She slid the case under her bed and looked at the last one. Running her fingers over it, she realized she wanted to play, just a little. She would play quietly of course, so she didn't disturb anyone near her. She put her phone on the nightstand beside her bed, sitting up. She pulled her violin out and then lightly pressed a few times before beginning to play, other music playing with her violin. She reminded herself to play quietly, and it was easier to do with classical than mixing techno with it. When she was more comfortable and she could find somewhere, she would play other pieces. But for now she just wanted to relax and that could brought out by either singing or playing. She played till the end, stopped her phone before it went to the next piece. One song was enough, now she felt tired. That didn't take long. She smiled as lay her violin back in it's case and put it beside her nightstand. She changed into a night gown and pulled herself in bed. She pushed the button behind her headphones, releasing them from their perches at the side of her head. She heard nothing as she set them down on the nightstand and curled up under the blankets. She didn't hear as the covers rustled from her movement, she didn't hear her sigh of relief as sleep began to creep on her.

The back and forward between Kawaguchi and Kadiante was slightly disturbing, though Acel couldn't put his finger on whether it was because he was not such an openly sexual man, in the sense that he wouldn't make such lewd comments in public, or if it was due to his recent loss. He had grown used to going to sleep beside his wife, cuddling her and kissing her before bed. He could remember making love to her, and the exchange between the two left him feeling hollow in a way he hadn't even thought of since he had lost them. He had made his apology to Kawaguchi with complete sincerity, knowing that he had acted wrongfully when he threatened him and lost his cool the way he had, but when Kawaguchi shook his hand and told him that it was good that he could at least admit that he had been wrong. He ground his teeth slightly, knowing that the man was teasing him by his tone, but finding it hard to just be okay with it. However, he was not quite as strung out as he had been a little while prior, and as such eh was able to swallow the rising anger. He knew the bubble of rage was only present because of the thoughts of his wife from Kawaguchi and Kadiante's exchange. He was thinking about how lonely it would be in the empty home he was going to...how empty the bed would be...he dreaded the attempt to fall asleep tonight more than anything. He would kill for the opportunity to have Jasmine to hold. Then, something unexpected happened. The man lowered his tone and spoke to him on equal level without sarcasm or wit. He told him that he should get some rest, even if it wouldn't cure his sorrow, it would help at the very least. Acel squeezed the man's hand tighter as he had spoke and he nodded to him, a smile gracing his lips. "Thank you. I regret not realizing the interior man behind the callous shell. I judged you quite wrongly, and I look forward to remedying that over time. Hopefully you two don't...occupy too much time...and end up tired tomorrow. I would hate to beat you just because you had indulged in too many after hours activities." Acel stated with a low chuckle as he looked from Akio to Kadiante. Before he and Kad ended up leaving the room together, he grabbed her by the arm lightly to stop them, looking at her with a smile. "I am sure it's not an easy life to be a warrior who failed to protect the people that depended on him. I lost two people. Very important people, of course, but he lost everyone. You can tell by the way he talks about it...these kind of losses are not easy to share. Especially when you've lived a life that demands you to be a 'strong man'." He stated, exaggerating the last words to show the absurdity of people's conceptions that men can't be strong and sensitive to their emotions simultaneously. "It was a pleasure to meet you, and I thank you for your support and advice. I will do my best to get rest, if my mind will allow it. Have a good evening you two." He stated with a smile as he let her move forward with Akio and turned back to the other two.

As he had asked Sarah about her name and if she was a new baiter like them, and she seemed to clam up, suddenly throwing her hands around into different shapes and symbols that completely baffled Acel, and at first he thought she was making fun of him, but she quickly clasped her hands together, and he wondered if she was completely incapable of speech. It was at this point that she actually piped up and began talking, introducing herself as Sarah. He smiled warmly toward her as she spoke. The uncertainty and nervousness to her was astounding, and he felt bad for the girl, wishing he could just comfort her so she wasn't so afraid of them, or so harsh on herself. Her confidence was lacking, to be sure, but he didn't see any reason for that to be true. She had stayed a while longer, as the others began to leave and go about their own activities, but as he turned back when she spoke again, she was already saying her goodbyes, explaining that she had just wanted to say hello, and that she was sorry for keeping them from plans. "You're not bothering any of us at all! We're all going to meet back here in the afternoon, and I hope that you will come! The tournament is going to be a good training exercise for all of us, I am sure!" He called after her, though he didn't know if she would have heard it as she ran off down the hallways. Corrinne spoke up to talk to him about wanting to see the town and the library and he smiled fondly. There hadn't been many books in Bergerac. Especially not enough to fill something as gaudy as a library. To him they were treasures, and a library--the very idea of a library--was astonishing. It was a treasure chest full of the most incredible things you could find. As Corrinne prepared herself to head out of the training area, Acel lifted a hand and waved back to her. "The lady at the front reception desk had asked me to bring the notice to this room, so I imagine this is likely where it will held. So, I will definitely be making my way back here tomorrow. If you come back for it, then we will see each other for sure." He stated as she walked away, smiling as he turned around. She was an extremely pleasant woman in essentially every way he could think of...he thought back to when he had first met her and the way she had been towelling herself off, and he almost blushed as she was walking away. His mind traced back to his thoughts earlier about his wife--about Kad and Akio--about his empty bed, and the company that he longed for before he picked up his jacket and slung it over it shoulder. It was time to make his way back home.

He walked out of the training room, his swords still slung at his hips as he made his way through the maze of a building, needing to ask for directions multiple times. He wasn't used to complexes like this. He was used to simple homes--easy to navigate and open. Not these labyrinthine buildings that looked the same everywhere you went, but led nowhere. However, when he managed to get out of the building, finding his way to the edge of the main areas and the beginning of the residential district wasn't hard. The apartment building that they had put him into had a set of steel stairs that led to the second floor, and an outside entrance allowed him access to the apartment. He opened it up and stepped inside to be greeted with a beautiful two bedroom apartment. The entry smelt like flowers, and he realized someone had come and left him a welcome gift in the form of a bouquet. He smiled as he picked them up and he smelt them, pressing his nose to them gently and breathing in. They were fragrant, sure, but they were subtle. He didn't know much about flowers--he had always been a crop farmer and that was it, but they were beautiful. The entry led directly into an open space living room to the left, a wall with a large port hole looking into the kitchen was at the back of the living room. The dining room was dead ahead of the entrance, and it led into the kitchen to the left of the dining room. The right of the entrance was a hallway that led down into the two different bedrooms as well as the bathroom. He smiled as he looked around. It was cosy, to be sure. Much more modern than he was used to, as his vice could activate the lights and..well..almost everything else in the place. He made his way to the bedroom and he began to take his clothes off. Tossing the jacket on a chair and the rest of his clothes into the laundry basket. He could deal with that stuff later. When he had taken his clothes off fully he went to the bathroom and stepped into the massive enclosed shower space with a waterfall head. He stood under it and smiled, feeling as though the shower was raining on him--like a warm rain in Bergerac, cooling him down as he finished a hard day's work. He let the water take away the crusted blood on the edges of the mechanical contraption they had built into his chest, and the sweat and grime from the hardships of the last couple of days. He shampooed his hair and soaped his body and then got out, towelling himself off and wrapping the towel around his waist, stopping to look at the aperture opening in the mirror, letting it open and close to reveal the Code Core in his chest. After seeing the sensor lights flickering across its golden surface he quickly became annoyed, thinking about the whole idea of being a baiter--the responsibility of the world on his shoulders. But he was not alone. Hell, he had met people who were knew and who were veterans. There were plenty of people that the job fell on, and all he could do now was work on banding together with them to make it work. To cleanse the world of the infection that it had before the fever ate it away. He law down in his bed and he rolled over, his arms slapping down on the empty side that Jasmine had always slept on. He listened for the faint sounds of Lidia snoring in her crib, or the light whimpers that told him she was waking up or having a dream. But when the silence was all that answered his alert ears, his tears began to flow once again and he grabbed the pillow on the other side of the bed and he clutched it tight to his chest, sobbing into it until he exhausted himself, letting the darkness claim him as he waited for a new day. He would stay in bed all morning. He had no energy or motivation to get up early, but he knew that he had to make his way back to the training room before afternoon...he would manage that later. Just a little more rest.

Line Count: 514

OOC:

Ӄȁɗɪᾳηϯє Ɉɑӿӽ

Kad had to keep herself from wrenching her arm away from Acel when he had grabbed it but the moment she heard him speak her logic was able to take over her instinct and she listened to the man looking him in the eyes, but said nothing more on the subject. She had a full night planned, well at least dinner and something to keep them away from all the heavy feelings that were swirling around all of them for one reason or another. She could think about it later. Waiting for the men to do their dance in goodbyes Kadiante rocked on her heels slightly until Akio let Acel know it was just dinner. Good, she had picked up on the right vibes from Kawaguchi. Company in the most innocent form was wanted, and Kad was used to being around others as well so she of course had jumped on the offer when it was made. As they had left the training room and made their way through HQ Kad went ahead and told Kawaguchi her story on the last time she had been talking about food, explaining about the prison riot and her eyes and how that had led to everything. There were no sad tones in her voice just matter of fact, it had happened nothing she could do about it. She had grinned and agreed with the thought of Japanese food; it was not one she was very familiar with besides the showy hibachi table deal one restaurant at home had. Though she was horrible confused when he said he wanted, whatever in the hell he had said. She would try it if he wanted to grab it but laughed and grinned when the beef bowls were mentioned. “That sounds good, a little safe, but good. I am honestly just happy to be able to be moving and out. Three days stuck in a hospital bed doped up sucks,” She laughed as they walked into the smaller restaurant. The smells that filled the air were new but they still made her stomach grumble as they had sat down. When Kawaguchi ordered she just nodded her head and repeated the order except asking for water with her food, she could tell she was dehydrated and needed as much as she could stand to drink.

The idle chatter between the two was nice, they seemed to be able to talk without issues or worrying about offending the other and that alone relaxed Kad. Though she would get loud and express with her hands at times when she got excited not giving one s**t about the looks she got when she did. When he asked about her heritage she told him about her mom passing when she was born and all her Father knew was that she was Korean, and that her Father was South American. She had not grown up with any heritage from her mother at all since there had been no family to contact. So when Kawaguchi offered the knowledge he did she listened, though it was more just interesting to her than she was likely to go out and dive deeper in it. She might with him if they got free time, he seemed so excited about it. When they had filled their bellies the talking started up again and as he spoke about his culture she asked questions back and had no problem stopping him and asking him to explain anything she did not understand clearly. She let him know anything he asked about how she had been training to become a baitr, but had not finished training due to the accident. She had always just wanted to be one since she heard all the stories and saw them often when going to events with her father. Then the conversation died down and still she flirted, but it was harmless good fun from her and she hoped he knew that. She did not want him thinking that she was an obsessed little girl after him, to make sure she let him know that too as they left the restaurant.

The bookstore they wandered into as they had been walking their food off was okay to Kadiante as she lazily followed behind him letting him have his fun. Though, when they got to the weapon store she went right for the gun counter looking them over with knowing eyes. She was in need of a shot gun, but Tayla had said that would be handled so for now she was just window shopping in that department. After getting her fill of the guns, a few she had not seen before and had asked plenty of questions about she saw the small blades section and looked through finding a strong well made dagger that came in a sheath made to rest on her boots. It would be handy, and she had always wanted one. Soon as it was purchased she slipped the dark metal dagger in her boot having to take the walk back to get used to it. After everything she had heard in the past day of how the A.I.'s were attacking anyone at anytime Kad wanted as much weaponry on her as possible, as well from unsavory humans that she knew all too well existed. Before the two parted Kad gave him a grin, "Thanks for the invite out tonight, it was nice to talk with you. Hope we get to hang out again soon. See ya in the morning love!' She waved at him and turned to go to her room having enjoyed the night greatly. The fact she had met and gotten along so well with someone right off made her feel more at home. Walking into the small apartment she smiled seeing that Tayla had come in once more and sure enough a short nose black shotgun was sitting on her bed with plenty of ammo. A note told her that in the training room there was endless practice ammo she should use for any of her guns. Kad knew instantly that was where she was going to be all day. Once her belt and all of the weapons were carefully placed in her night stand she stripped off her clothes throwing them to the sides as she made her way to the shower, she could clean them up later. Kad took a quick shower thinking on everything that had happened in the last day. She could not help but feel a swell of pride that she had passed through without getting harmed, but she had to keep her ego in check, it would not always be as such. Turning off the water she opened a drawer and pulled out a tank and a pair of shorts and fell into the bed knocking out.

As typical Kad woke up before the sun was up. She stirred and had to clear her head for a moment wondering why the white sheets in front of her were purple. Then it all rushed back to her and she let out a groan rolling to her side to get her face out of the drool. That had been the best night of sleep she had in the last couple of days and she knew she could easily sleep more but she had to get ready for the day. Sleeping in was going to be reserved for home visits and after missions. There was too much to learn, and she needed to try out her new gun. Slipping on a bra under the black tank she pulled on a pair of dark washed skinny jeans and pulled on her boots. Moving around she pulled her dark black hair back into a messy high pony tail to keep it out of the way and it easily still fell halfway down her back.Strapping on her belt, hand cannon, mace, boot dagger, and slipped her switch blade in her pocket she looked in the mirror. It had been odd waking up with the eyes, though they looked metal they were still soft tissue feeling when she blinked. She could feel the Turbine Beetle in her mind being restless itching to do something. "Don't worry we will get out soon enough," Kadiante muttered out loud as she left her room, after swinging the s**t gun strap over her head and went heading right for the training room. She was not hungry and as she walked what Acel had told her when they were leaving mulled in her mind. Yes, she could not even begin to comprehend the loss the two had gone through thankfully but she was trying to understand. Still, the man struck her as odd, like he was trying to raise himself up higher than he was. He might have more experience, that she would give Dal'Mori, but they were all currently on the same playing field. If anyone should be teaching them it should be an experienced member. But then again they all could stand to learn something from each other, but Kad was unsure what the man intentions had really been. As she walked into the training room she saw her companion from last night looking more focused and at ease. She could tell from his concentration that she would not bother him and actually changed the way she walked. Coming from the background she did naturally Kad was a heel striker, and in her boots it was always obvious when she was coming. So as she walked across the training room she changed her gait to walk more on the front of her feet and not make as much noise. If he acknowledged her she would simply nod right back at him and let him be. Her thoughts were getting dark as she had been thinking of the possible loss Da'Mori had been though, and carnage was never something good to have on her mind so she went for her relaxation, target practice. Stepping up in the range she typed into the computer what weapon she was using and the ammo instantly appeared as well as targets. "Calibration mode first, then go to 'well skilled'" Kadiante commanded the computer and she loaded up the heavy gun and arranged it correctly on her shoulder firing the moment the first target popped up. In the training room anyone could see into the shooting range but the sound was almost completely muffled to keep from disturbing anyone else. It would take someone shouting loudly at her to get her attention since she had the proper ear muffs on.

Corrinne looked up at the main facilities from the train station and sighed. Part of her wanted to stay in the retreat with John and just idle the day away. But the other more persuasive half of her realized that she needed to return to training. Who knew when an attack would happen, she needed to be ready.

John stayed with her till they reached her room. Handing her the books they got from the library he smiled and waved to her. “Remember, you promised to hang out again soon.”

“I promise.” She smiled wistfully and waved back, watching him leave. For a moment, she was lost in her thoughts again. Her mind leapt about like a ping-pong ball, she couldn’t stay focused, and she knew what she needed to do. Closing her apartment door behind her. She looked around her room and changed into proper workout clothes: a long sleeve, dark purple breathable T, she left her black leggings on but changed her shoes to bendable tennis shoes. Packing her backpack with the usual, towel, water bottle, and extra clothes. She slung the bag over her shoulder as she turned to her weapon. The staff waited patiently for her, leaning against the bed. Picking it up, she observed it. It hadn’t changed from the day before, except that it appeared brighter; maybe because of the shower it received last night. Looking down at the books laid out on her bed, she picked one up and placed it in her bag before leaving. Gripping the staff in her hand she locked the door behind her and headed back to the training center.

Some of the others were already there training and Corrinne felt a little ashamed that she had been wondering around nonchalantly most of the day, while the others worked hard training their minds and their bodies. But Corrinne had promised to spend time with John and that time was better spent with him at the library, somewhere where the both of them could feel comfortable. Everyone seemed more ready for their training session today, dressed and equipped with the necessary materials.

Her eyes roamed over the room till they fell on Dal’Mori, who looked rather intimidating in his battle armor. Corrinne studied the armor quickly before looking down at her outfit; it had none of the protection that Dal’s offered him. She made a mental note that she would need to go out and buy some battle armor of some type. Hopefully armor that would allow her to move around to the best of her ability, she counted her speed as one of her more helpful attributes in her battle against the Reaper Crab.

Corrinne dropped her bag next to the right wall and leaned against it as she studied Dal’Mori’s movements. The speed and agility with which he moved around caught her attention, not to mention the strength his body conveyed. She began to daydream as she watched his swift movements, they felt out of place here in this corporate shell of a training room, he belonged outside, under a blue sky and field of green grass, with the wind catching and playing with his long black hair.

After a while of this adrift dreaming, Corrinne caught herself daydreaming about him and blushed furiously, turning away towards the wall. She breathed in deeply, trying to calm herself down and remember what she was there for. She hadn’t realized that she was gripping the staff rather strongly and it left marks on her hands, indentations of the staff’s ridges and texture.






LINES: 396

OOC: John Bishop.
Okay, she's got a crush on Dal, get over it! whee

Sarah Hartwell

With barely one eye opening, Sarah was quick to close it. The sun was shining right in her face. With a quick motion and unable to hear it, she cursed and threw her blanket over her face. Why couldn't she have removable eyes instead of ears, that would be nice, especially for moments like this. The sun sucked. Sarah sat there for a little bit, thinking about last night at the training room. Acel said that they were all meeting back at the training room, but she wasn't so sure. She made a fool of herself already. How could she face those people with the way she spoke to them. She sighed, thinking back at the parties her family would throw, after she could hear. How did she avoid talking to those people? Probably because they still avoided her like before. But there was no way they would avoid talking to her, they did have any reason to not to.

With a big breath, she kicked her covers off her, flinching as the sun blasted back at her face. She slowly sat up, reaching over to grab her headphones, putting them on and pressing the button to latch them onto the ports. She grabbed her phone, seeing that her oldest brother had texted her what seemed twice every hour last night, the twins had texted her one an hour, and the youngest just texted her three times. Her mother and father texted her as well, but not as often as the oldest three. She couldn't help but smile at the text messages as she read through them, asking if she was doing alright, if she needed anything, reminding her that she can use the credit card they gave her for anything she needed, especially clothes since she didn't bring that much. She sent them a mass text saying that she was doing alright, her room was basically one bedroom apartment, and she planned to go clothes shopping soon. She wondered if she should tell them about the tournament, quickly typing out that she maybe joining one for the newer members like her. She typed that out, she realized she should tell them about the people she met. But she figured she would tell them about Acel and the others later.

After sending the message to her whole family at once, she set the phone down and stretched. A shower then food, that sounded good. She grabbed an outfit, one of her very few for now and went to the bathroom. The water was very warm, which was surprising since there were so many people here, she wondered if the water boiler was very large. She didn't question it long, but was thankful for whatever it was. She let the water run over her a while before opening her mouth and began to sing. There was no stumbling over words as she did. But she never stumbled over her words when she sang, didn't matter if there was someone there or not. She took her singing much more seriously than speaking. She couldn't describe it, maybe it was because she could finally join her family when they sang. When she finished, stopping when she had to step under the water, she had finished getting herself clean and was stepping about out of the shower.

Getting dressed, she wondered what was in the kitchen. She froze at the thought. She didn't have a cook anymore. She wasn't as eager to get out of the bathroom now as she pondered about what she was going to do. She never cooked before in her life. Being rich meant you paid someone to do those tasks for you so you could focus on more important things. Sarah stuck her head into the kitchen, frowning at the stove. She wasn't going to touch that, if she remembered right, that thing could make fire happen. She stepped far away from the stove and went to the fridge. It had various items inside, one of them was apples and oranges. Sarah smiled, happy to see that she didn't need to go out to eat just yet. She grabbed an apple and a couple of oranges, peeling the oranges before taking her fruit to the dining room. She sat down at the small table, looking around herself as she put the first slice of the orange in her mouth. She felt lonely suddenly. Usually her brothers would be already at the table, her older brother Jameson would be off the table and hugging her with enough strength to make her afraid he would break her spine, and suffocate her. The twins, Benjamin and William, wouldn't to be far behind him to ruffle her hair. The youngest, but still older her, Jacob would stand by as he waited for the other brothers had their fill of cuddling before giving Sarah a light hug. The mornings weren't always like that, but it happened enough for her to miss it now that it was gone. Sarah finished the oranges, but put the apple back, feeling too sad to try and eat it.

She went back to her bedroom and pulled out her weapon's case. She slid her belt into the loops of her pants before putting the boxes back into their spots on the belt, then put the gun in the holster. With a couple of deep breathes, she grabbed her jacket and threw the hood up before stepping out of her little apartment, making sure she had the key on her. She slowly made her way to the training room, but froze at the door, slowly peeking inside. The man that walked out as soon as he looked at her was in there. Maybe she shouldn't go in at all. Maybe she could join a different tournament. She would hate to make him even more angry with her. He was in some armor and was practicing. She saw Kad inside a shooting area, she couldn't hear the fires, making her a little concerned that her headphones were malfunctioning again, but she could hear Dal practicing so it wasn't that. Maybe it was sound proof. Sarah saw that Corrinne was standing off the to side. Sarah wondered what was wrong, she looked troubled. As Sarah looked inside, she nearly jumped out of her skin when her phone suddenly went off. Quickly ducking out of the door way she was peeking around, she pulled out her phone and for the first time, a glare fell across her face as she realized who was calling. The glare said something of pure hatred as she turned the sound off. If she hit ignore, he would only keep calling her, so she just let it ring until it finally went to voice mail. She took a deep breath as she pocketed her phone. She really didn't need him yelling in her ear, or sweet talking her either.

Dal'Mori Cestrol Menne

Within a few minutes of these styles of movement, the man going through them felt more relaxed than he had in almost a full week. It was incredible. Never before had he felt so invigorated, never before had he felt so strong and capable. Every movement, while still a little jerky at times, was flowing smoothly into the next, and he felt exhilarated. He felt his blood pumping, his body striving to get better, and he knew that this was what he needed. He could feel the tight tension washing away from his muscles, and almost sighed in relief, having not been aware how tightly wound he was.

Things had been rough.

As he snapped into an almost perfect replication of the final attack he landed on the beast that now resides in the sheath, currently attached to the back of his armor, he noticed a few things. The first? A sort of anger. It was hard to place it exactly, but he felt an unnatural source of anger, as if something in his mind was upset at him for doing that move. He pushed the thought aside, but the damage had been done, his concentration had been broken.

This brought his attention to sensation of being watched.

He casually turned his head to the side, a motion brought on by years of training. Sharp, jerky movements stole attention, and as such should be avoided when you're not trying to get the attention of a predator. Not to say these people were such, but it was a normal reaction to him now when he felt eyes on him from an unknown location. The first was the sick woman from yesterday, at whom he offered a nod of acknowledgement, figuring she was watching him to gain some insight into his fighting style, to borrow it into her own.

He was fine with that, the only issue he had was that his motions were based heavily on the spear tip of his weapon, rather than the blunt nature of the rest of his weapon. It wouldn't allow her maximum efficiency if she borrow it. He also mentally commented on how she should be training, but chose to not react to that thought.

His mind inevitably reached the tournament, and he wondered if she would be his opponent. He found himself instinctively finding her not to be a threat, which caused him to mark her as one. It was not common, but some of the women who joined the Militia at home did it. They would act soft and vulnerable, to lure unsuspecting enemies into a false sense of security. This marked her as a dark horse in Dal'Mori's book.

This is about the line of thought going through Dal'Mori's head as he turned his gaze away from her, and his brow to furrow immediately.

His head tilted to the side a small bit, simply in sheer confusion.

The man who seemed to hold no respect for the death of children was staring at him. Or rather, turning away from staring at him as he got ready to leave. It made Dal'Mori wonder why the man was doing so. He seemed more than competent, didn't use a weapon like Dal'Mori's, and was very aware of the warrior contempt for himself, if his smirking was anything to judge off.

He glanced down at the ground, trying to stare at nothing as he tried to work this out in his head.

This was a weird thing for Dal'Mori. He had never once found himself in a situation where someone was able to get under his skin, least of all as efficiently as that man seemed easily capable of. Everyone at his home was always so kind and generous, which lead him to believe that perhaps he had never truly experienced honest animosity between people? No matter, the point was, if he wound up fighting that man, he worried he might not be able to keep his head.

He sighed heavily and stretched his arms above his head, before simply tuning everything out once more and stepping back into his training. This all consisted of him doing all mannerisms of stretches and continuous action, basically pure physical exercise. This was his hobby, this was his career, this was his everything. Training his body so it can always be a little better, always be a little faster, always be a little stronger. Now though, now it was more important than ever. He had seen what happened when he wasn't enough of these things, and he never wanted it to happen again.

He found himself glad for the sound that came from the door at this moment. A few minutes after he started the pure physical exercise, which was not that strenuous, more along the lines of a warm up, he heard a sound from the doorway. It was so sudden, his body snapped towards it in a combat ready stance, his weapon pulled before he even realized he grabbed it.

He was glad, because it had interrupted a dark line of thoughts, allowing him to fight it back down and feel normal again. He did wonder, however, what the hell the sound was. There was no one there, and nothing that he figured could make that sound in sight. Then again, given that there were apparently machines that can make anything in your imagination, he guessed it could have been something over there, and he just didn't know what it was.

His eyes were shifted over to Kadiante shortly after he gave up looking for something he wasn't sure he could find anyway. Once more his thoughts were brought to the upcoming tournament. She would be a difficult opponent. No matter which way you turned it. Range was certainly not his strong suit, and she seemed very comfortable there.

It was then the chaotic nature of the way her weapon fired made sense! It hit a wide area in front of her, almost guaranteeing a hit. This made him amend his thoughts in regards to her. He already figured she was capable, but he didn't realize she was a genius. That was incredible! Which was also a little nerve-wracking. This was the first time he looked at an opponent, and couldn't easily imagine how he would go about attempting to fight them. She was immediately marked as an honest threat to him.

Suddenly there was a sound unlike any he had ever heard before. It was crippling! It even seemed to bounce off the walls, causing Dal'Mori to just drop to the floor, incapable of handling the sound. Having lived in a wide open area, he grew used to listening for all the quiet things. With this in mind, this sound that was clearly meant to bring about some kind of reaction, but the one it got from the man was the fetal position. Within, thankfully, a few short moments, the message ended, and the sheer volume decreased dramatically, save for a slight ringing in his ears.

He couldn't imagine how he must look to these people. They must have been used to the volume of whatever that was, especially considering it was used for such a frivolous reason. He on the other hand? Fell to the ground like he took a blow to the back of his head, and then curled up in pain. He sincerely hoped they wouldn't look down on him for this, but was certain even if they did, he could find a way to make them rethink their position.

A short while later Acel showed up.

In that period of time Dal'Mori decided he wasn't going to push himself too much farther, so as to not hinder himself in the up coming fight. So, he moved over to the wall and rested again it while sitting on the floor, right next to where he hung his jacket.

He was shortly followed by another man, one whom Dal'Mori did not recognize, but immediately put the warrior on guard. He held such an authority about himself, it was as if he was the whole collection of elders in his village, all wrapped in one. He seemed kind enough as he spoke..

But then the air started.

He heart dropped as he watched his jacket get lifted off of the weapon it was hanging on, and flew away. This was something of great value to him, and suddenly it was flying away. He shot after it immediately, and actually managed to catch it in a short period of time, after which he spared a short glare at the old man. The power this man seemed to exude caused him pause, and as the area around him started to change his opinion of the man followed.

This man was a monster. He could warp reality with what appeared little effort.

The bad part?

It didn't make Dal'Mori scared. It make him hungry. He wanted the level of power. It would make destroying the beasties so much easier. Such a power, to be able to warp reality around them, would be irreplaceable! It was so entrancing, watching as the man altered this stuff called matter at a whim.

Luckily for Dal'Mori, Acel came over in short order, and snapped him out of those thoughts. He felt like he could achieve that, but he needed to know how, as such he was thinking of ways to get the information from the man, which would no doubt end in horrible, agonizing failure. Thus, it was as if Lady Luck herself was smiling down on the warrior today, as he was once more snapped out of a dark thought process.

His eyes scrunched up once more in confusion, staring down at the hand Acel offered up. He had no idea what it was for. Perhaps it was their form of greeting? He was used to bowing, or nodding. A comfortable distance away from the other person. It was explained to him, by the elders, that this was a respectable way of greeting, without spreading around sickness. However, he didn't want to be seen as if he was keeping himself at a distance. So, he stuck his own hand out towards the farmer.

That was it. No hand shake, no high five, he just imitated the action completely, before nodding his head in his own greeting and stepped away. "Never go into a fight afraid you're going to lose, for it then becomes inevitable." He offered up a little nugget of wisdom, something his father had given him when he was younger. It had saved his life many times, because he never allowed himself to even entertain the idea he could lose.

Looking around at the available arenas, he picked one that would fit with what he wanted. He wasn't looking for anything spectacular, just basic. Thus, his choice in the form of a big field. The reason for his choice? He wanted to have them on even of a ground as possible. Make sure Acel could more easily find his footing, and have plenty of room to attack about. The ideal thing Dal'Mori wanted from this fight, was to help Acel a little more in depth, by fighting him directly.

So, with that in mind, he came to stand outside the entrance to the arena, not giving the farmer a chance to put any input in. He didn't want some silly notion of combat being so much better in an enclosed area, surrounded by trees or something. In fact, such things generally made combat more difficult. Thus, without asking for an opinion, he entered the arena they would be fighting in.

When they got into it, Dal'Mori would allow Acel to find his own starting position, then move to stand a few feet across from him, getting into his own ready stance.

Quote:

Quote:

B.A.I.T.R Standing: 44
Health: 206/320
Control Limit: 352

Skill: 35 [--]
Strength: 33 [35]
Defense: 20 [--]

Quote:

Tactical Advantages

Power House - Level 1 - Every time you deal damage to a foe, they lose 2 Defense for the duration of the fight.

Ooc: Basically, a huge, open field. 3nodding

Line Count: 876

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Raven62

Ӄȁɗɪᾳηϯє Ɉɑӿӽ

Kad stayed in the training area she was in for a while. She needed to get used to her shotgun, it was heavier than the one she used at home all the time. No bother though, she would just have to get stronger, which she would soon as she had to start swinging the mace around in fights. The targets moved and popped up as she went through the training sessions. They were wonderful. They picked up on her weakness and challenged her even more. Her footing was perfect, it was her aim and able to move from one side to the other that she knew needed the most work. As she had been moving and taken her breaks between sessions she had peeked out into the room. There were the others besides Acel there, and she noticed Akio had left. At the same time she had not given herself much time to think on anything other than getting her shotgun well known. The mace, she just had not felt like swinging around yet. It was procrastination but at the same time she would learn when she got in the tournament and had to start using it. Then she would know the weight in it and be able to better learn the basic form. It was a primitive weapon, there had to be little to no form when using it. She would learn that soon enough. Just as the sirens went off through out the facility Kad pulled off her ear muffs and put them back but waited to disarm the shotgun, wondering if something like the prison riot was happening again. Turned out it was letting everyone know about the tournament and that it would take place in the training room, and soon. s**t. She had missed her chance to go grab a bite to eat and put away her knew toy. By the time the announcement was over the shotgun was unloaded and slung on her back. She would just have to leave it to the side or something. She knew she would be going against a fellow peer, and even though it had to be in the rules she could not bring herself to use the shot gun in a fight with them. It just was so unethical. Her .45 would be on her hip the whole time, and if needed she would use that. A hand cannon used more skill then a wide blasting shotgun after all.

Just as she was stepping out to speak to everyone that was in there, especially seeing her buddy Akio walk back in the blonde guy came and Kad swore she had seen him before. Maybe one of the times she had to dress all fancy like for one of her fathers swanky social events they sometimes had to go to. She was not sure though and stayed still right outside the door frame. As the man spoke she listened carefully to what he had to say and quirked an eyebrow at the name she was pitted against. Then it hit her just as the winds did and the door in front of her changed coding making her now in the same room as everyone else. Holy Hell. Sarah Hartwell. The pretty little violinist she had seen at one of the events not too long ago! The whole family had come to preform for the guards on their appreciation dinner that was thrown every couple of years. In Rio guards were held high right next to what was the past military in North America. They did their part to keep humans safe from their own kind, one less worry. Kadiante was still reeling from knowing suddenly who the quiet girl had been last night that the effect the man had done was put in the back of her mind to drift off to later. She had to leave something to think about when she was bored. As she walked more towards the middle of the room she pulled her hair out of the high pony tail to do it over again since the wind had pulled all those annoying strands out and she needed it tighter for what she was about to do. A small part of Kad was nervous, but really she was craving it. She wanted to try out her new self, even though her body was not vastly stronger, it was enough for her to notice.

First she walked up to Akio and poked at his hair, lightly to make sure she did not mess it up and grinned up brightly at him, “Awwwe! I liked the fluffy! Made me want to snuggle you!” She chirped out at him teasingly. Last night had been nice and she felt comfortable around him. It was rare she could have an actual conversation with a dude and there be no actual hitting on that made her feel awkward. She had done her best to return the favor and hoped he knew. “So, maybe I'll be done with my fight when yours is still going on so I can root for ya! I have faith in you, but I'll do my best to keep you entertained while you have to wait. Too bad you couldn't fight Dal right off eh?” She whispered the last question with a mischievous grin and patted Akio on the shoulder as she looked for Sarah now good and well knowing about her. Soon as she spotted her she went to her and smiled sticking her hand out for a shake, trying to give the deaf girl a chance to turn on her tuners so she could hear. Kad made no extra effort to slow her words down or even enunciate more as she started to speak to her peer. She was not being rude as far as she thought, but figured Sarah would appreciate being talked to like everyone else. Technology had made her overcome enough to be ale to play beautifully after all. “Sarah, girl. If the skill you have for your violin is ANY reflection of your fighting skills I am in trouble!” Kad chuckled giving the girl a sincere grin and noticing the belt she had. They actually looked similar with their get up and Kad of course took stock of the other girls hand gun, well at least she knew to look out for that. “That reminds me, I need to put this somewhere, save it for the A.I.'s out there. I am really looking forward to this spar and seeing how you are. Your family has got to be proud of you making your own way, I know I am. And I don't even know you that well yet. Only thing that sucks about this pair up is only one chick can move on, besides Corrinne of course, but it would have been great if all us girls matched against a guy and kicked their asses. Anywho, I will stop gibbering and head in. See you down there! I'm just walking into an elevator and seeing what chance has for us!” Kad continued to smile at Sarah letting her respond if she wanted to before the glowing eyed woman turned and did just that after setting the unarmed shotgun to the side of the elevator. She knew the others were around and waved to them as she saw them wishing them well as best she could while in her hurry.

As she stepped into the elevator Kad pulled off the mace from it's magnetic holder and moved her hands around to warm them up. The good thing about shooting all morning was she was loose and limber and ready to go, but knew after this first fight a crashing might ensure if she was not careful. When the doors opened she was rather surprised to find that chance had chosen for them to fight in a pretty little valley with a blue stream coursing through it. It was not a huge arena and the terrain was rocky even under the soft green grass that mushed under her heavy boot falls as she walked a few steps away to give Sarah some room to get settled in herself. The 'sky' was pretty and the air was crisp and clean. It reminded her of the few times she had gone hiking with her father in the mountains. No, she could not start thinking off, she had to focus. Bending her knees slightly she turned to where the elevator would drop Sarah off, curious if the girl would come right at her, or give Kad a first chance to swing. Though, Kad had to know it was her eyes that made the grass such a pretty green...