Welcome to Gaia! ::

"Alright. Normal sleep I guess." Normal considering the very active dreams. He couldn't quite call them nightmares but his brain was having a hard time slowing down after the mission. "But I have always been pretty good at getting up. I was always early to class and school and stuff. As long as I know my schedule ahead of time." Nerd.

He stretched his arms a bit and did let slip a little yawn. "Not a morning person?" He playfully nudged Gale which was probably guaranteed to annoy his friend.

"Good morning everyone!" Ennéa chirped, slightly out of breath from running to the training field. She waved a friendly but careless hello to the already assembled hunters and then went over to stand nearby Jordan.

Thank goodness it looked like everyone was still just warming up. When she couldn't find her left shoe this morning she had been certain she was going to be late and Caelius would rip her a new one. Ennéa stretched and shook out her arms before holding out her right hand and summoning Baraz. The blue bead on her bracelet glowed and then floated off her wrist, reforming into her axe. She took a few short practice swings.

Enuugh. Baraz grumbled. Too early.

"Aw come on, Baraz. I thought you'd be excited about any class with the potential for blood and violence." Ennéa said aloud, still unaware that to onlookers it looked like she was quietly talking to herself.

Hmph. Baraz still sounded grumpy but the blue slit-pupiled eye in Ennéa mind blinked and seemed to be more alert after that.

Ennéa shook her head and smiled before turning to look at their instructor. Wait, that wasn't Caelius. She leaned over to Jordan and whispered. "Who's that?"

But the question wasn't really necessary as Ben was still talking and Ennéa quickly caught on. Strays, huh? What the other hunters called them didn't mean much to her, she was used to being teased in school, so Ennéa just shrugged and continued stretching despite Baraz's grumbling.

Was it just his imagination or did the trainees look extremely put out? Granted, he would be too if he had to work with Caelius any more than necessary, but there was another vibe to it, a sort of unmistakable emotion.

The trainees were lost.

It wasn't an uncommon feat among Hunters, especially starting ones. Deus Ex had a pattern, a way to things, a way of rules, systems, unspoken duties that went well beyond a simple cell phone text and perhaps a mailed letter. For the trainees to break into that system however, it was going to take quite a bit of time. Possibly months, possibly years before they could be even partially integrated. And by the time they understood that some things just were, that fighting the system, asking confidential questions usually caused even more problems, they would not be trainees at all but full fledged Hunters. The adapting part was the real learning curve, especially with some of these trainees quite young to start off with.

In a sense, Ben almost sympathized with them. "I'll tell you what strays." It seemed he also liked the nickname given to this set. "Let's have a group spar, all of you versus me. For every hit you land on me, after the session, I will answer one question. As truthfully and honestly as I can." The substitute instructor looked a lot more honest than Caelius, though that really was not saying much.

"Now, lets get started, you can use your charged attacks but be mindful of how tired your weapons might be." He tapped his hand and fist together, and in the place of his right fist was a simple weapon, what looked almost like a gauntlet weapon, claw knuckles extending down the back of his hand in metal platelets and down to the length of his elbow. The ridges in between the platelets glowed a soft yellow. "This is Baki, and he's just about as ready to take on you punks as you are to meet him." The weapon flashed a brighter yellow in response.

And then Benjamin was on the offensive.

HP: 60/60
Benjamin is targeting Madison: 17-8 = 9 damage

Ennéa flinched and instinctively brought her axe up in a defensive stance when Ben suddenly moved and took a swing at Maddie. That looked like it had hurt! Obviously, their sparing instructor wasn't pulling his punches. "You okay, Maddie?" She called.

Hey! Don't get distracted! Baraz chided. His wings were rustling, eager to fight. Go attack him!

Ennéa nodded and then charged at Ben. The muscles in her still sore arms complained as she swung but the axe head connected with a solid chop. Ennéa beamed, "Two!" She called, proud that she hadn't screwed up her attack.

Good, good. Baraz said impatiently, But don't just stand there all wok-eyed -- move! Remember, defense?! He heaved a great sigh. You're killing me here, Pinkie.

Damage: 2
Target: Ben
HP: 40/40
Fear/Charge Attack: Sonic Blast - Ennéa can twirl and create a whirlwind gust around her for several paces when Baraz is charged (Swift Strike). Charge: 1/3]

((of course you fail me dice))

There was that word again, strays.

It was irritating to hear this hunter say it over and over again without explaining the nature of its meaning, however Leon was intrigued with the deal this Ben offered with the group fight. and just as quickly bashed right into Madison. " Hey hey, isn't to early to be hitting girls, have you no honor?" he asked in an uproar over the strike, mostly because he himself wasn't ready for it as he swung the chainsaw into proper position. It was always safety first with this weapon called Nid.

Oh just let me at him meathead! Nid grumbled back, clearly grumpy over the lack of the most important meal of the day.

"Alright alright, here have a helping!" the boxer roared as the chainsaw swung down past Ennéa.
The arrival of Jude McLostcowl was quickly ignored.

Damage: pfft
Target: NOT Ben
HP: 40/40
Fear/Charge Attack: Ravenous Roar (Battle Cry lvl 2):
Nidhogg's serrated teeth enlarge to four times their size
without the drawback of losing acceleration

Bix hopped back when Ben went on the offensive. He had been busy admiring the other's weapon when Madison went under attack. He hopped back, making an effort to put some distance between them.

For a few yards back he fired on their sparring partner.

[[ HP: 40 /40
Damage: MISS ]]

Bix got a lifted eyebrow, Gale eying him with great amusement and a bit of exasperation.

"You were one of those prats who always was ahead of their class, weren't you?"

This was all said quite good naturedly - at least, for a teenager who would rather be asleep rather than standing out in the middle of a field at seven in the morning. Gale gave the albino hunter a Look.

"Stop poking me."

So this Benjamin guy wants us to attack him, is that it?

<< Seems like it. >>

The rest were all beginning to fight, but it seemed rather...busy. There were shots going wide, yelps and hasty apologies, and Gale pinched the bridge of his nose between two fingers.

Not for the first time - and probably not for the last time - he thought It's too early for this.

Resignedly, he swung the rifle up, pulled it into position, and took aim at the redheaded figure. Squinting through the telescopic lens, Gale closed one eye, focused, and took a shot.

Fortunately he didn't hit anyone other than their instructor, though it was just a glancing blow.



[ HP: 40/40
Target: Benjamin.
Damage: 3.
Charge: 1/3
Charged Attack: Diamond Dragon of Fucanglong: For a limited time, when Jin is shot, tiny ribbons of crystallized ice twist around with the bullets, giving them more force and causing more discomfort to the target. Gale uses "The Battle Cry." ]