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 Posted: Wed Nov 12, 2008 2:16 am
"Overreact? Are you completely without intelect?" Lenneth questioned as her foot retreated, "I did not overreact. Starting a brawl while I'm with you will certainly link me and my family's shop's reputation with you! You really ought to think about other people before you do something so impulsive. And you're a White Fang too! You should know how to strategize!"
She huffed as she crossed her arms. She was very close to throwing a glass at him and she wished again that her father had not confiscated her weapons so she could show him just how angry she was. A crashing of plates and glasses caught her attention and she looked to the side. Striker's opponent had just slid across a table. He didn't get back up.
"And see? Looks you you and your buddies DID make the biggest mess of all," she said just to get back at him. Oh yes. When Lenneth's temper got the better of her, she tended to press whatever advantage she could get her hands on.
She fumed at him when he so bluntly put that she was no match for him. Once again, she vowed that she would train harder and get the better of him. Some day, he was going to regret ever saying that to her. She gritted her teeth. This man was infuriating and arrogant! What on earth did her father had in mind when he set her up with Brandon? They were never going to get along!
She glared at him before she turned around and stepped outside. She was eager to see the cards and get the hell away from him. The faster they completed their deal, the faster she could escape from this nightmare of a date.
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Posted: Fri Nov 14, 2008 1:57 am
Brandon let it all come over him. He did know how to strategize, those guys were down weren’t they? As for her reputation, judging from the insults from before it wasn’t that good now was it? Well, he certainly knew that if he said that he would be in even more problems. God help him if he ever wanted to tame this woman. Well, it would be exiting and he had always said he wanted a woman with a spark.
Then he heard the ruckes from where Striker had been and looked over to see a guy flying over a table. He chuckled as the man bumped his head when he hit the ground. He soon stopped as Lenneth was fuming at him again. Damn, this woman didn’t have a spark in her, it was an entire forest fire. Then she suddenly turned away from him and paced out of the bar. Brandon let out a sigh of relief and whipped away imaginary sweat on his forehead.
Meanwhile Striker had come up to Brandon and was grinning, “did you see him fly? Man, the look on that guys face when he thought he had a chance.” Striker chuckled and hit Brandon playfully on the shoulder, “why don’t we have a nice practice fight when we get to the barracks? I see that the dragon you were with is gone.”
Brandon laughed and shook his head. “Why must you always tease your opponents like that? I mean seriously, just knock them down and be done with it. This way it’ll get you killed someday.” He then gave Striker a playful pat on the back of his head. “The ‘dragon’ didn’t leave. She just want outside and I best run after her, she’s more interesting then most girls around here.” Brandon then made a small sprint for the front-door seeing how Lenneth had just stepped out. Striker was left behind with a puzzled look on his face, why couldn’t Brandon just enjoy a normal girl?
Brandon stepped out into the cold night and looked around. Thank God that there was a full moon tonight so he could see everything pretty clearly. He quickly looked around and finally spotted Lenneth. With a grin on his face he ran towards her and quickly caught up. He slowed down next to her. “Hey, don’t run away like that. Who knows, I might not find you anymore.” He smiled and stuck both hands in his over coat. “Say, I think it’s best that we go to the North Gate and that I show you these cards outside of the city. You never know what might happen.” In truth Brandon was afraid that a guard saw him playing around with the deck and reported it to his superior. White Fangs weren’t allowed to draw there own weapon in the city, especially Brandon. Something about minimizing casualties and avoiding innocent deaths. Who really knew what that was good for.
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Posted: Fri Nov 14, 2008 4:00 am
“Hey, don’t run away like that. Who knows, I might not find you anymore.”
Lenneth firmly kept her mouth shut on that one. Good lord. She should have just ran away as fast as she could and hope for the best. She thought back on the day she left and wondered which one was worse. Leaving because of all the rumors or leaving because of this one exasperating man? She was leaning more on the latter.
“Say, I think it’s best that we go to the North Gate and that I show you these cards outside of the city. You never know what might happen.”
"Then let's hurry up," she said and started walking. Her steps were faster but still they held that certain amount of unconscious control. She was still angry but it was no longer as bad as when she was inside the Dragon Inn. She took a deep breath as she passed the market. Once she let the air out, she was back to being the calm cool headed traveler.
Wouldn't her father laugh at that description?
She huffed as she passed the large looming gates that separated the city from the outside world. The last time she passed those metal barriers, she'd been a mix of dread and resignation. This time was very different. She was feeling both anticipation and excitement (and perhaps still a bit of rage). She was not going out to see the world by herself. She was going to see a Silverlake masterpiece in action.
Lenneth stopped just right outside the gates. She wasn't talking much anymore, a sign that she was tired and sulking. She frowned. No. She was not sulking! She was just...upset...
Oh who was she kidding! She was sulking. Why? Probably because she was back in a town that didn't welcome her. Not only that, she had been forced to go to a date (that was quite possibly the most horrible thing that had ever happened to her). The worst part of it all was that she couldn't take out her frustrations because she was far too polite and too civilized to start shouting and ranting and just basically destroying everything on her path.
"So...let's see the deck in action," she said, her voice weak and tired but still, there was an ounce of stubbornness in it. She didn't give up whenever bad situations occurred. For all she knew, it could still go worse.
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Posted: Sat Nov 15, 2008 3:49 pm
Brandon could take a hint, apparently Lenneth was still mad at him so he just quickly followed her. Matching her quick steps with long ones of himself. As they passed the market place nobody bothered them like before, only now they also avoided Lenneth after throwing one glance at her face. Brandon sighed in himself and wondered what people would think of him. Not that he cared, not really anyways.
As they passed under the gate one of the guards shouted at the two of them. “Hey buddy, I suggest you hurry up, whatever you two are going to do, we close the gates at night, remember?”
Brandon looked up and grinned. “I’m one of the White Fangs. Don’t worry about me, you always keep the small door open for emergencies or returning squads so I can still get in with her.” The guard shrugged and went back to his duties, rolling dice and warming himself on the fire.
Brandon nearly ran in to Lenneth as she stopped right outside the gate. He raised an eyebrow and kept walking a little bit further. “Come on, there is light enough outside and I don’t want strange rumours spreading about me if I suddenly start pulling out my weapon under there noses.” So Brandon walked further until he was out of sight from the people on the gate, if they looked now all they would see were two black blobs. He figured that Lenneth would follow and just ignored her demand, no matter how tired it may have sounded.
When he stopped he pulled out his deck with his left hand and placed his right hand on top of it. He mumbled the words to unlock the magic inside. Unless Lenneth had some type of supernatural hearing she wouldn’t have a clue what he just said. Whatever it had been that he said, he knew it was correct because he could now feel the deck vibrating off life between his hands. With a wide grin on his face he opened the small box and pulled out the actual cards with his right hand. He then raised his right hand in front of him so that Lenneth could see the bottom card. He motioned his hand in an arc to the right with an open hand. Instead of falling down all 53 cards stayed in the air in the same arc his hand just described. “So what do you want to see first? All the different sword or how I can manipulate these cards?” Brandon asked with both arms at his side and the card in the air.
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Posted: Sun Nov 16, 2008 7:00 am
She almost groaned out loud when instead of doing as she had demanded, Brandon simply kept on walking. She followed him of course but it was not without some measure of annoyance. She really couldn’t see the logic behind his actions. So what if he pulled out his weapon(s) OUTSIDE the city? He wouldn’t be breaking any rules (as far as she knew anyway). And wasn’t it he who said that he could always rid himself of the rumors by staying in the wilderness for a day or two?
Lenneth was in the middle of her mental rant when Brandon stopped and mumbled something. She was about to tell him to ‘just spit it out already’ when his dead suddenly came to life.
Ah. Must be the activation code,’ she thought as she watched in fascination.
It was as if she’d been given new life. Her anger and irritation had been banished by the beautiful art before her. Her eyes were lighted with joy at being able to see the deck in action and a smile was starting to form on her lips. For someone who was raised in a world where weapons were treated as spectacular art words, witnessing something as magnificent as this like a dream come true. Her trance abruptly ended, however, when Brandon spoke up.
She blinked and tried to recall what he’d just asked her. Something about techniques and the swords? He must be referring to his mastery of the deck. She thought for a moment, trying to put together the words that would make it seem as if she’d been paying attention to him and not the cards, before she nodded.
“I would very much like to see your technique,” she answered, a bit proud of herself for coming up of a neutral response. She just hoped that it was enough to hide the fact that she wasn’t exactly sure if she had made a complete fool of herself.
She pulled out three paper dolls from her skirt’s pocket, “I usually use these as distractions. Feel free to destroy them. I have a lot more waiting for me back at home,” she said by way of explanation. She tapped each doll’s (they were half the size of her palm and so, fit on her hand perfectly) head. They glowed green for a second before Lenneth threw them as she would a knife. They didn’t succumb to the force of the wind. They sliced through air instead and only came to a stop a few meters away from the two humans. They duplicated themselves and began to grow to human size and like humans, they would move away from impending danger as fast as they could…which wasn’t really that fast.
“These are actually defects.,” Lenneth explained, “They move far too slow to be used in a battle. Go ahead and use them as practice dummies.”
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Posted: Mon Nov 17, 2008 12:21 am
Brandon saw Lenneth’s face clear up as he pulled out the deck and could already guess what it was about. She must have grown up with these things and it must be refreshing to see something you are so familiar with. It didn’t escape him that his question pulled her out of her concentration so he didn’t mention anything about her weird question. He hadn’t said a thing about techniques.
He watched in fascination as she pulled out a few paper dolls and magically activated them. They grew quickly and even duplicated themselves. These would make excellent training dummies for the White fang if they proved to be good enough. Then again, if these were defects he would only wondered how fast the real ones are.
Brandon gave Lenneth a short smile before mentally sending all the cards to his right hand. The joker card was left floating on his left side. He then made the cards change to Espandon, first the handle was created at the cards changed. Brandon gripped it tightly and in a matter of seconds the entire sword had been formed.
He chuckled and swung it around a few times with his right hand. Then he looked at Lenneth for the last time and ran forward. There were six opponents as each paper doll had duplicated. Instead of starting at the sides Brandon rushed in to the middle and stabbed towards the first one he reached. He wouldn’t stop there. The stab would be turned into a wide swing to the right, either slicing trough a few more dolls or scaring them back. The swing wouldn’t stop but continue until he had turned 270°, now facing to the left from his original stab. He would rush forward again and slice his closest enemy. Meanwhile his Joker card flicked around him, guarding his left and back, still controlled by himself.
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Posted: Mon Nov 17, 2008 2:23 am
The first doll ripped apart with Brandon's first move along with the second next to it. They were far too slow to avoid the attack. Instead of deactivating, however, they multiplied. Previously, there were only two paper dolls ripped. Now, there were four smaller versions. And instead of running away, they moved to cover Brandon, trying to entangle themselves around his body to get him to stop moving or to distract him long enough to get their mistress to retreat which was what they were actually made for. The other original dolls moved back, trying to get away from the swing and succeeding. And as Brandon rushed forward once again, his target moved back. It was too slow, however and the doll ended up being sliced in two. However, like the other two, it duplicated itself and rushed towards Brandon's face. They'd stick themselves to his eyes and blind him.
At present, there were now three cowardly big dolls and six smaller, more braver versions of the paper dolls.
So the cards transformed into swords that can be held. She'd assumed wrong when she thought that they would be thrown and then the cards would transform. But maybe they did as well? She didn't know but perhaps she would find out tonight. And what did the Joker card do? Wanting to test it out, Lenneth eyed one of the dolls, the furtherest one from the group. It had backed away once Brandon had moved forward. It would be perfect for the job. Her eyes narrowed and she controlled it's movements so that it instead of backing further away, it approached Brandon's left. It's paper arms stretched out, aiming to grab the White Fang's shoulders to get him to stop butchering it's paper friends.
She had to admire his movements though. He was all control and focus. She wasn't in his level in terms of combat but she was willing to bet that she could at the very least surprise him with her moves and tricks. She smirked as she thought about it. She didn't fight with her strength or her sword techniques. She fought with her brain and her speed. She and Brandon had very different tactics on the battlefield. She wondered what would happen if chance have it that they would have to work together to get through a battle.
They probably duke it out amongst each other before turning on their enemies. She massaged her temple in an attempt to get rid of the mental image. She had to focus on the demonstration and learn all she could about the cards. This was, after all, a chance in a life time.
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Posted: Fri Nov 21, 2008 3:56 pm
Each swing had been executed, if it hit or not. The effect was the same for Brandon. An enemy that backed away was gone for a moment, then he could turn his back to that one and attack a new enemy. An enemy slain was exactly the same. It’s true that Brandon didn’t think about more about his surroundings then were he placed his feet. But to think that he doesn’t use his mind was wrong. He didn’t think anymore about his movements or his swings. He knew they were perfect and wouldn’t fail. Instead he used his mind to map out where his enemies were, how they would react and act. This usually resulted in a perfect read of the battle and insured his victory.
He hadn’t however calculated in that those dolls would split and attack him more aggressive then before. That’s why he seemed to have paused for a moment in the battle the moment those first four dolls acted. Just as fluently as before he finished his second rush. Instead of standing still Brandon already knew his exit. The dolls had slowly been circling around him and at the moment only his left side was open. With a precious control he shifted his weight and jumped to the left and exited the group while facing them. He held Espandon with two hands in front of him. Suddenly it appeared to fall apart in cards as he moved both hands to his side. He was holding a handle in each hand and the cards quickly gathered to them. In only two seconds Espandon had split and formed two Leafswords. They were shorter but even faster and more agile then the bulky Espandon.
He grinned as he saw the large doll approach him from the left. Was this normal? A quick glance to Lenneth confirmed his suspicions. It was indeed controlled by her, the increased concentration showed on her face and body language. This also meant that if she joined she would have to be considered an enemy. He looked back at the dolls in front of him and send the Joker card towards the big doll that Lenneth controlled. It stopped in front of it and then suddenly emitted a high pressure energy shield. It stopped any object from going trough either way. At that point Brandon turned around to the left and flung out his left hand towards Lenneth. He released the sword in that hand, it was aimed for Lenneth’s neck. Directly as it left Brandons hand the cards split and formed two throwing knives. If Lenneth stayed still the knives would cut a few hairs at both sides but not harm her. Brandon figured that this would prove enough skills, both those of the deck and his own. It would also signal the end of the battle, because if she continued he would use some more lethal actions against her.
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Posted: Sat Nov 22, 2008 8:37 pm
It was through sheer instinct that Lenneth dodged the warning attack. She did a backwards somersault, letting the knives wiz past overhead before she turned upright again. She kept her eyes on Brandon even as the dolls burned into ashes, signaling that whatever small amount of magic that had been in them had run out. She was starting to develop a tick in her left eye from the effort it took to keep herself from screaming at him. The dolt! Though she knew that the knives were not aimed in such a way that would harm her, if she had not acted on her instinct, then her precious hair would have been cut! Now Lenneth may not be the typical shy female on the block but she was still female! And like most females, she took hair business very seriously.
“You...you almost cut my hair,” she said as her voice shook with repressed anger, “that is it! That is the last draw!”
With her hands fisted at her sides, Lenneth walked towards Brandon, her face twisted into a look of pure anger. She stopped when she was only a few inches away from him. Her body was shaking with the effort she took to keep from punching him outright. As it was, she was already thinking about the best way to kill him without anyone knowing. Fire was good. It didn't leave any evidence but he'd screaming his lungs out. Wait till she got her hands on her Chernobog. Killing him wouldn't be a simple task but it would be possible if she played her cards right.
"Brandon," she began before she shut her mouth, too irritated to speak, too angry to think of an insult. Instead, she growled low in her throat and glared at him in the most menacing way possible. However, since he was taller than her, the effect was diminished to that of a cat who'd been rubbed the wrong way. With a great deal of work, she forced herself to step back and took a deep breath. Engaging him in combat right now was suicide and she had no doubt that if she tried to hit him, he would restrain her. It was frustrating.
She blinked and her mouth parted into an 'o'. And then she promptly smacked her forehead.
"This was why it was you he set me up with!" she wailed as she turned around and began walking towards the gates, talking more to herself than him, "dad knows that I can't hit you without repercussions! Oh when I get my hands on him, he's going to wish he never set me up!"
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Posted: Fri Nov 28, 2008 3:48 am
Brandon saw her dodge his attack with a smile. She had good instincts, something she should be very proud off. Apparently she was even more proud of her hair. He hadn’t expected her to react like that. With a fling of his hand the knives turned back to cards and raced back to him. His sword did the same thing and the cards now hovered next to him. Bashfully he scratched the back of his head. “I’m sorry?” He muttered as he was a bit overwhelmed but couldn’t wipe off the grin on his face.
His grin however disappeared when she walked towards him, looking very, very mad! He didn’t know this would happen, for heavens sake, it’s just hair, right? He sighed as she talked to him, “I didn’t know your hair would be that important.” He shook his head in disbelieve. But quickly stopped as she started growling, somehow he found it hard to be serious anymore.
It only became harder as she smacked her own forehead. For crying out loud, what was this women thinking? As she turned around Brandon quickly grabbed her by the shoulder to stop her. “You do know that you can’t enter the town again without me?” He chuckled slightly and walked right next to her with a smile. “Look, I’m sorry about the knife attack, but I had no doubt you would be able to dodge it.”
He gathered all the cards in his left hand and stuck them back in their package. Snugly he stuck them back in his pocket. “Besides, I wanted to really know how good you are. Judging by your dodging, I would really like a spar with you…” He shrugged and grinned, “but hey, if you think you aren’t up to it?” He really hoped this would hit a soft spot.
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Posted: Fri Nov 28, 2008 4:16 am
Lenneth tensed when she felt him stop her forward movement. She expected her skin to crawl. She did not like men touching her, however, she felt no such thing from Brandon. She frowned, slightly ignoring his comment about getting inside the town, and continued walking. Her mind was on that peculiar reaction when he apologized. Somehow, what he said made her smile. He had expected her to dodge. It meant that he did not underestimate her.
And then he had to ruin it by casually giving her a way out of that spar. Her small smile turned into an insulted frown as she crossed her arms and looked at him. That did it. He was going down! There was no way she was going to back out of this one! He was sorely mistaken if he thought that she was going to go easy on him.
"Of course I'm up to it! Hmph! When and where?"
Her eyes were blazing as she asked him. There was no doubt in her mind about this challenge. She was going to give him the fight of his life! And if not, then something close to it! Lenneth stopped though, when they were at the gate. She looked around, trying to see where that small door was but to her annoyance, she could not pinpoint it's location.
Hiding it from plain sight must be a protective measure, she thought as she continued trying to spot that blasted door.
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Posted: Fri Nov 28, 2008 4:48 am
Exactly the way he had expected her to react. He smiled and let go of her shoulder as they made their way to the gate. It had already become midnight so Brandon doubted his superiors would like him practicing at this time of night. “I don’t think the people at the barrack would like me practicing right now. And if I remember correctly you don’t have your weapons on you. I would suggest we do this tomorrow morning at 10 o’clock. What do you think?”
Meanwhile the guards on top of the gate were looking down at Brandon, “well well, did you two have a nice time?” Both of them were smirking, it was obvious what they thought the two of them did.
Brandon looked up to them, “how about you just shut up and open the door?” There wasn’t a door insight, yet Brandon just seemed to focus on the gate, somehow thinking it would open. It took a few moments before one of the guards got down. Suddenly a crack was visible at the gate, it seemed the door was just in the wood, however, it had been worked in so good that when closes, it wasn’t even visible. Brandon looked at Lenneth to see her reactions before he let her pass the door first.
“How about we head to your house, so your father can give you your weapons again and we can go at it tomorrow?”
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Posted: Fri Nov 28, 2008 5:27 am
"Fine. Tomorrow at the barracks at ten. You have yourself a spar," Lenneth said as she nodded. She would show up and probably ten minutes early too. If they were going to spar somewhere other than the fields, then she wanted to see just what the setting was going to be like. She wanted to be very prepared. She would not shame her family name by losing because of her carelessness.
The guard caught her attention when one spoke. Lenneth was about to deliver a scathing reply t when Brandon beat her to it. She glanced at him from the corner of her eye and noticed that he was simply looking at the gate. Unbidden, she too began to stare at the gate and was pleasantly surprised when the small door appeared. Well what do you know? That was excellent craftsmanship, she thought in admiration. She hesitated a little before she passed the door.
"My house...uhm...no. There's no need. I am certain my father will give me back my weapons once I return."
She didn't want him to know where she lived. It was obvious. Why though? Simple. She wanted to lessen their contact with each other and since she would be spending most of her time in the shop (also known as her house), she didn't want Brandon hanging around and getting on her nerves. Besides, her father was going to tel him all sorts of things about her if ever she gave them a chance to talk to each other.
"Well, it's been a pleasure Brandon. I better go home, however. It is quite late. Have a nice night," she said to him before she began walking away.
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Posted: Fri Nov 28, 2008 3:41 pm
The guards closed the door behind them and Brandon gave them a friendly nod. Later in the week he would make sure these guys get some better grub then usual just to keep them on his side. The inner workings of the military, it could all be greased with better food.
Brandon shrugged it off, “I would give you a goodnight kiss but I think I’ll only get a kick in the nuts if I try that.” He chuckled and only gave her a short nod before he went his own way. He had no doubt he would be having a though spar tomorrow morning, he just hoped they wouldn’t be interrupted.
With his hands in his pockets he turned left to head towards the barracks. In truth he full well knew where Lenneth lived, heck, everybody knew where she lived because everybody had heard off there family. They were famous afterall.
Casually he walked down the streets towards the barracks. Surely by now the night watch would be out standing guard. This meant that Brandon had to come up with a reason to be so late, he could casually drop the word ‘date’ and most men would just nod and grin. However, he didn’t want the word to spread out that he and Lenneth had been on a ‘date’. Not until after the spar that is.
He decided to but on a little play, hobbling from one side to the other, Brandon pretended to be drunk. As he walked towards the gate he kept laughing for now reason and clamped the first guard he met. “Hey buddy, I think it should be illegal for girls to wear short-skirts. They always get me so far as to follow them in to those dark alleyways and then I have to fight people!” Brandon suddenly started regurgitating, as if he was about to throw up.
The guard that Brandon had clamped on to got a worried look on his face and started shoving Brandon away from him. Brandon carefully made sure that by now his back had been facing the rest of the barracks so as the guard shoved him he blundered away from him, “hey thank buddy!! I really appreciate this!” He said as he walked in to the barracks. The guards hardly knew what hit them and truly wondered why Brandon had let go this night.
Brandon knocked back on his bunk after he had gotten rid of all his clothes. It didn’t take long for him to drift off and get some solid sleep. Like most White Fangs, Brandon could sleep anywhere at any given time. If he wanted too he could sleep trough a raid on his own camp if he trusted his companions enough. Which he never did, rather a worried White Fang then a dead White Fang was his motto.
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Posted: Fri Nov 28, 2008 6:11 pm
Lenneth scowled at her father's smirking face. Instead of giving him what he wanted, she headed straight up the stairs. Her father was not one to be deterred, however, and he followed her, grinning all the while. She sighed as she walked along the second floor hallway and, knowing that he wasn't going to let her have some sleep unless she dealt with him, asked him what it was he wanted. She made it to her bedroom door before she got her answer.
"Isn't it obvious? You were gone a long time. Did you like him? Do I have a potential son-in-law?"
She whirled around and planted a nasty frown at him. Her father was just like a kid. A girl child who wanted in on the latest gossip. Sometimes she just couldn't see how they could be related. They were like fire and water in certain situations and like the same kind of spice in others. How they had managed to live in the same house for a long time was beyond her but she could honestly say that she had enjoyed her life with her beloved, annoying, but beloved father.
"No, you do not have a potential son-in-law and before you say it, there is no chance of it! I did not like him. He was uncouth, he lacked manners, and ...and he irritates the hell out of me! I am meeting him again tomorrow," she held up a hand as her father opened his mouth, her action cutting of his interruption, "but it is not a date. He challenged me to a spar and I need my weapons back."
"Your weapons are back in your room," her father said as he turned away, heading to his own room. He was grinning like he was the cat that ate the canary. Lenneth didn't see it though so he wasn't in any trouble. His daughter may not realize it yet but he certainly did. She liked Brandon. She talked about him, albeit not in a good way but she talked about him. Usually, Lenneth only gave him the cold look and refused to utter anything about the date. He would only find out the what had happened the next day once the rumors started spreading.
He was going to have a son-in-law! And a worthy one too! One who would be able to protect his daughter. He silently nodded to himself as he entered his room. Yes. Brandon had been a good choice.
Outside, Lenneth raised a brow at her father's quick retreat. He was up to something. She could tell. He never let something go so easily. She shrugged. Tomorrow. She'd think about it more tomorrow. For now, she needed her second bath and her sleep.
The next morning found Lenneth fixing her hair into a high tail. She was dressed in her travel attire: stretchable black pants, a dark green peasant shirt that looked like it was well-taken care of, accentuated only with the black vest she wore above it, and her emerald green wind boots. As an addition, she wore her favorite pair of silver earrings. She checked herself in the mirror one last time before she chided herself in thinking about her appearance. What was she doing? She was going to a fight! Not a ball! She scowled at herself and turned away, heading out of the room.
Her sword was strapped to her back. Her chakrams were ready at her sides. And she had a few surprises in her vest’s pocket too. She was looking forward to this fight.
"Well look at you! Aren't you all dressed up? For a spar no less."
Viktor Grant. He was Lenneth’s older brother but not by blood. He was adopted two years before Lenneth had been born and although they hadn’t gotten along when they were children, they were inseparable as adults. Viktor did not posses the Silverlake name because that legendary name could only belong to those who were related by blood. That shouldn’t mean to suggest that the Silverlake family treated the man with blond hair any less than a real son and brother.
"It's simply a spar brother. I need to go, I have to memorize the battle ground," she said before she stole her brother's apple and headed out, ignoring his protest. Quickly, she walked towards the barracks while she calmly ate her Viktor’s apple. She passed by several people she knew and she felt their stares but she paid them no heed. Her mind was centered on one thing: the upcoming battle. So distracted she was with her thinking that she almost tripped on an upturned stone. She visibly shrunk in shame. Being in her home town was not good for her defenses.
As she entered the barracks (ten minutes before the agreed time), her gaze immediately landed on the several White Fangs practicing. She watched them move as her mind replayed Brandon's own movements from the night before. If she could find a pattern, then perhaps she would have a better chance at this. They were so fluid with their movements, as if their strikes were already second nature to them. That was probably the case, she mused as she walked further inside and stayed near the shadows of a large column at the corner. She was not as graceful, as precise as them, and that was going to be her major problem later on.
She turned her gaze towards the battle field or what she assumed would be the battle field. She would need to feel comfortable there first before the spar began. Better get a move on then, she thought before she walked towards an empty sparring court and felt the air, trying to get accustomed to the difference.
This time, she didn't mind if Brandon was late. The more time he gave her to adjust, the better.
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