Welcome to Gaia! ::

Ennea yawned as she wandered back towards her dorm after early morning minipet feeding duty. Minipet feeding was slightly less tedious than pod watch duty, but only just. Any wonder she once had for the strange and fantastic creatures kept in the labs had been quickly worn away by routine. Ennea didn't care any more; she just wanted to go back to her room and sleep for a couple more hours. Until lunchtime maybe.

Ennéa idly looked out over the training ground as she walked past. There were a couple hunters out on the courses and the typical assortment of serious over achievers and training fanatics sparring or going through practice forms. Ennea wasn't paying particularly close attention when a wild swinging movement caught her eye. She paused.

It was Crispin, she realized with a small jolt. Huh. So he got his weapon. She thought to herself, eyeing the glaive he was holding. Well, that's good. She sighed and shook her head. Ennea turned to resume walking but then she hesitated and turned back to watch him a bit more.

It wasn't like she was worried about him but... Crispin was like a stray cat. Feed a stray once, give it some attention, and suddenly every time the weather is bad you find yourself looking out the window and hoping the kitty was okay. It was like that.

Man, his form stinks.

Ennea grimaced; Crispin had spotted her and was heading her way. Too late now to try an make an escape.

"Hi Crispin." She said, warily watching Crispin's glaive swing about as the other hunter moved towards her. "Got your uh, weapon, I see."

Ennea shrugged, shrinking a little under the brightness of Crispin's praise. "I didn't really do anything," she said, uncomfortably.

"But I'm glad you're happy, I guess. " She added. Ennea looked at the glaive with an appraising eye; the long balanced shaft was not too different from her own weapon, she noted with a slight sense of almost approval. Swords and crap seemed to work well enough for other hunters but Ennea had always appreciated the reassuring heft of Baraz in her hands. He had great sweeping reach and when they had worked together Baraz's axe head almost seemed to fly with her swings.

It wasn't worth it though, she reminded herself. Any pride she once felt, any exhilaration, it wasn't worth it. They were all going to one day, one way or another, die horribly as payment. Ennea looked at Crispin with mixed emotions both hating his joy and yet wishing there was something she could do to save and preserve it.

"His name is Shaiming?" She asked, pushing those emotions aside as best she could. There was nothing she could do anyway. "How are you guys settling in with each other?"

Crispin's pensive look wasn't lost of Ennea; it was hard to miss when the guy's default expression was usually puppy-like joy. She almost asked him about it but then thought better of it. She didn't want to get involved and besides, it was better that he lean to be wary.

So instead she gave him a small smile. "You'll get used to the weight as you train. Your weapon- er, Shaiming will also help you, if you listen."

Ennea's smile grew a little sheepish. "I discovered that the hard way."

"You're probably over thinking it, that's why." Ennea hesitated for a moment, but then sighed and extended her hand. The bead on her bracelet glowed for a moment and then flashed, stretching into her axe. Ennea gripped the shaft and twirled it up to shoulder it.

Baraz's axe head was much larger and his shape didn't lend himself well to thrust type attacks as Shaiming probably would... but Crispin was right, there were some similarities. Ennea had noticed that herself earlier too.

"I can give you some pointers, I guess." She said reluctantly. "Judging from our weapons, your fighting style will probably be similar to mine."

Ennea sighed and waited for Crispin to compose himself after his awkward bow. When he was finally looking at her she unshouldered Baraz and dropped into a practiced fighting stance.

"I was fifteen when I became a hunter." Ennea said, giving Crispin a wry semi-smile. "I wasn't strong either." She swung her axe, letting the heavy weight of the weapon's head swing her around, executing a quick flashing chop.

"Strength is important, but even more important is knowing how to use your weapon." Ennea resumed her fighting stance, holding her axe ready before her. "Muscles mean nothing if you can't fight for crap, you'll get killed... probably horribly."

"Okay. Try to mirror me." She said.

"That's fine." Ennea said. "Now watch me." She took a breath before moving into a short series of swinging attacks and defensive blocks. Simple warm-up moves that had long been drilled in to her during basic combat training.

Once finished, she straightened and looked at Crispin. "Think you can do that? Try it with me this time." Ennea twirled her axe and got back into position, repeating the exercise, though at a slower pace so the other hunter could hopefully have an easier time following her.

"Clear your mind and just move." She advised as she brought her axe up into a defensive block. "Your weapon will guide you."

Ennea thoroughly stomped on the small pang of unease that she wasn't following her own instructions. She sensed Baraz was passively watching her somewhere, in some corner of her mind, but none of his will was directing her swings. They hadn't worked together in a long while.

She swung her axe in a harder than necessary chop. It didn't matter; this was just basic stuff. She would show Crispin a couple of moves to make sure he didn't kill himself and then she would be done. It didn't matter.