Welcome to Gaia! ::

{ RESERVED FOR GROWTH }

The sun had barely lifted above the horizon when 'Zuba and Zemel were awakened and drawn from their nice warm beds. They were barely awake as they quickly got dressed and were ushered out into the expanse of the backyard by their mother. Out there, waiting and sitting on a rather large trunk, was their psuedo-uncle Matthias.

"Good morning, young ones." He greeted, nodding to them with a faint smile. Ah, the look of young, unsuspecting pupils in the morning. Been a while. "Biscuit?" he asked, holding a plate out to the two youths. Though, what was on there could hardly be called "biscuits". The hard, round circles were more akin to hard-tack, their hardness proven when he took a bite out of one with an audible "crunch".

"Mnn....no thanks..." the blonde murmured, rubbing his eyes sleepily. He may be half-asleep; but he knew inedible when he saw it. Those looked more like rocks than food. Yuck. Zemel yawned, stretching his arms a bit. "Any particular reason why we're out here so early? My pants are getting soaked from the dew, and it's cold out here." he mumbled, shaking his head a bit, trying to shake his drowsiness away. He rubbed his arms, trying to warm himself. Curse cold December mornings. He could see his breath, for goodness sakes!

"Would like one..." 'Zuba murmured softly, taking one of the "biscuits" and gnawing on it. It was hard, crunchy, and rather tasteless except for a hint of salt, but it was better than nothing. Besides, she assumed that Uncle had made them, therefor it'd be rude not to take one. It didn't taste that bad, anyways; it was tolerable. She listened, chewing on the "biscuit" as quietly she could manage. The cold didn't seem to bother her as much as it was her brother.

"I am quite glad you asked that, Zemel." Matthias said, chuckling a little. Here came the fun part. "You two start training today." He stood up from his seat, opening the chest. In it sat two sets of cheap practice armor, three wooden swords, and three real ones, neatly stacked and placed. "Consider these early gifts in the spirit of the holidays." he said, handing each of them a set of armor and one of each sword, leaving two for himself. "Put the armor on. It will protect you from careless mistakes, for the most part."

"Training?" Zemel said, his expression becoming serious and somber as he saw their "gifts". "You mean as in sword fighting?" He shook his head, stepping back and frowning as the items were held out to him, leaving them in Matthias' hands. "I'm not sword fighting material. I mean, look; barely any muscle there, Uncle." That, and Uncle Matthias was holding out a real sword. Him, with a weapon? He couldn't imagine it.

'Zuba did as she was instructed, putting the armor as the swords laid at her feet. Sword training? It wasn't that she was concerned that she couldn't do it....what if she hurt her uncle or Zemel like she'd hurt Vinny? She couldn't have that! She gave a worried glance to her uncle, who returned it with a reassuring smile before looking to her brother.

"You will learn. Sword fighting is good for a young one as yourself; builds the body and the mind." the dark-haired fae said calmly, smiling at his nephew. "It is about time you two learned." He looked to his young students. Zemel had the right sense of determination and the "gaurd" instinct for sword fighting, and 'Zuba....'Zuba had the raw power and the cold demeanor about her. Perfect. They'd either work exceptionally well together, or clash horribly. It could go either way.

"Now, let us begin. Pick up your wooden training swords."

Hell. This was definitely Hell. The boy's arms burned, muscles screaming in protest at him. No more repetitive swings, they screamed. No more clashing wood against wood. No more. Zemel's training sword hung loosely in his grip, his arm hanging limply at his side as he watched his sister and uncle have a go at it again. This was definitely his sister's sport, not his. He wanted to quit. He wanted to go inside and curl up on the couch or something. But he wouldn't. He'd already started, so he'd see this hellish torture out until the bitter end.

"Good. Very good." Matthias said, swinging at the split-skin spawn again. She'd caught on rather quickly; he was impressed. The training swords met again, and with a flick of his wrist and a turn of his hand, Matthias disarmed the girl. "Very good, but you must keep a better grip on your sword, Azubahiel." he said. He then looked to Zemel, motioning him out onto the "training grounds".

'Zuba nodded, picking her sword up as she waited for further instruction from their mentor. She looked at Uncle Matthias' shirt, at the rip. She'd managed to make a hit. Just once, though. But once was enough; the cloth had caught on her sword and torn. She felt an odd warmth in her chest, an emotion she couldn't quite identify. She was glad she'd landed the blow, that she'd temporarily bested her uncle, her teacher.

Zemel groaned as he was summoned forth again, walking to stand next to his older sister. Whatever they were going to do now, he could almost guarantee he wouldn't enjoy it. He glanced up at the older girl, who offered him a reassuring smile. That made him feel a little better, but not by much.

"You have both had one on one teaching." Matthias said, his tone calm and unhurried. "Now, I'd like to see a mock fight between the two of you so I may see what your strengths and weaknesses are from a spectator's standpoint." He stepped away from the two, looking a bit too amused. "You may begin when you are ready."

'Zuba readied her sword, slipping into the starting stance they'd been working on. She smiled; this would be fun. "Ready." she said, shifting her grip on her sword a bit. She knew Zemel was still having trouble with this; that's why she'd let him call when to start and would do her best to go easy on him.

Zemel gripped his sword nervously, his stance and poise awkward. "Ready. Start on the count of three?" he asked, pausing as he got a confirmation nod. "Three...two...one..." he counted down slowly, bracing himself. "GO!" He lurched forward, making a shaky upwards strike at his sister.

'Zuba blocked his strike, countering with a swing in his direction. She gripped her sword tightly after almost losing her grip as the wooden practice swords met again. This went on for a good five minutes, neither of them landing a serious hit.

*This isn't so bad.* Zemel thought, smiling a little. Actually, it was kind of fun, despite the aching muscles. Maybe this wasn't as bad as he had originally- The blonde fell as his sister's wooden sword swung well above his, clocking him square in the head.

"Oh my...." the split spawn trailed off, dropping her sword as she hunched down by her brother. "You okay?" she asked, worried. Crap, she hadn't meant to actually hit him! He was still awake, that was good! She glanced up as her uncle knelt on the other side of the boy.

"Zemel, are you alright?" Matthias asked, his tone calm. Maybe he should have gotten them helmets as well. He helped the blonde boy set up as he looked to Azubahiel. "Go get an icepack. It will help stop the swelling." he said, watching a moment as the girl ran back into the house before going back to tending to the boy.

Stars. He could have sworn he'd seen stars there for a moment. "Oww..." he whimpered, gripping his head. Not so bad? Could he have been more wrong? The throbbing in the side of his head confirmed his first assessment; this was hell.