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General Serpentine had been hunting more frequently in the past few days then he had in months and only now did he realize how he had missed it. The heady buzz of Chaos, and the enhanced physical capabilities it offered were his right to bear, as much as his armor and whip. He and Buddingtonite had earned their rank and all its accompanying privileges through sheer tenacity. Many times they had stumbled, but inevitably they rose, like the cream that they were. He missed more having his friend hunting beside him, but that would have to wait until he was able to leave his sick bed for extended periods of time. If it fell to Serpentine to beat their worth back into the collective conscience of the unicerse, then so be it.

His left hand was bandaged. He had yet to face the General-King's wrath and recieve the punishement he was due... but it was only a matter of time. He wore no gloves, but his vanity would not stomach constantly looking at disfigured flesh. Gloves were a constant in his daily work at the flower shop but for his Negaverse duties... a bandage would have to do. He was growing accustomed to using his whip and performing other duties with it. True, it would be worse if it were on his favored right hand, but it was bad enough. Soon, he hoped that its presence would feel as natural as the gold and green cloth that adorned him. Currently, he waited beneath a blooming magnolia tree for his youma to return with their target.

Stheno was having a grand time. She had her master all to herself and was luxuriating in the freedom she had been given. He had even let her pick her own meal today! It had taken some time for the Naga to slide through the park, staying in the shadows as she was bade, and to locate the perfect one - an orange-headed girl getting a snack from a Korean BBQ truck. Once the vehicle drove off, she was completely alone. That was when the cobra sprang out from the shadow and began to chase the shrieking girl towards the flowering tree.

Stheno was the one to see the lieutenant first. Hot jealousy welled within the cobraesque figure, and her eyes narrowed in the darkness. Someone was coming after her meal, or after her General? No, no one would take what she had earned from her! She flung the orange-haired screamer directly into the tree, where her cries were cut off with a sickening sound. She then turned to face the lieutenant with her fangs bare.

“Stheno, stop.” The command was given in the same tone that one might give to a junkyard dog, but when it was spoken the Naga sent the General a sulking look. She had gone out and hunted down her prey and had only been defending what was rightly hers! The youma slid through the slick grass to coil possessively around the one in green and gold, her small arms wrapped around his waist. Her fangs still dripped with venom she had not sprayed and, unwilling to swallow it down, the youma spat it at the unconscious girl on the ground. It was a move more of petulance than anything. Sure, if the morsel opened her eyes again that night, it would burn and blind her. For now, though, it merely sank into the skin uselessly.

“Lieutenant.” Serpentine’s voice lost some of its sharpness as he acknowledged her presence, looked her over. He did not apologize for the youma’s actions, but that was because he felt no apology necessary. Nothing detrimental had happened. She looked… young. Her uniform was far more modern and flashy than his had been at her rank. He took comfort, and a sense of self-satisfaction, in noting that his own had always been more practical and impressive to behold. After insuring that the orange-haired girl propped up against the tree was not going to roll away, he stood a bit straighter and gave the officer who had appeared his full attention.

“What brings you?”

The general considered her answer. Learning her limits...so, he assumed, a newly inducted member to the Negaverse. One willing to put forth effort, it would seem, but left directionless, without the training she would need to fully learn her roles and duties. Her other words confirmed it. If exploring in this manner was all she knew how to do with her powers, then she was just wasting time and energy. There were far more productive matters to which she needed to attend. The city swarmed with enemies that needed killing, bustled with energy that needed draining.

There was a time when Serpentine might have left her to do her wandering, but his time as an officer had been riddled with such pitfalls. He and Buddingtonite had struggled from their first rank all the way to their ascension as generals dealing with poor intercommunication - having expectations of them that were never clearly stated, having to find their own mentors to teach them the most basic of skills, suffering punishment for each mistake made along the way. Now, they had the power, the authority to do something about it. Zinkenite may label them traitor… but what could prove loyalty to the cause more thoroughly than preparing the ranks?

The rainbow-haired man had no intention of coddling and sparing this girl, or anyone, the practical education of war. She would face pain and slaughter, and she would follow orders just as he had done, perhaps with some of that same stumbling along the way. But she would have the benefit of it being his orders, acting as proof of his ability to lead. It would be her honor, as well as his obligation, for him to train her. Besides, she had immediately taken on the proper, respectful form of address he deserved. She knew her place; Serpentine would show that he knew his as well. A general was responsible for maintaining his troops. Best to get started immediately.

“I am General Serpentine - she, my youma, Stheno.” His introductions were short and to the point, no less cold than the command moments before had been. He placed his bandaged hand atop the cobra Naga’s hood in a reassuring pat so she would release him. Stheno hissed in consideration… but ultimately decided to stick to the path that would earn her favor in her Master’s eyes and more quickly get her to the dinner she had hunted. She uncoiled from around him and slunk beside her prey.

Serpentine motioned for the lieutenant to come closer to the unconscious girl as he crouched beside her. The most basic, and pertinent, skills she would need at this level and regardless of branch would be energy gathering and starseed pulling. How lucky for her that he could provide both. “Place your hand over her chest.”

The cobra-esque Naga had not anticipated the girl's greeting... and she gave a sullen, "Hello." She was clearly not happy that her dinner had been interupted.

"Just so," Serpentine replied softly. Her positioning was perhaps a little off of the true heart, but in his experience the location of a starseed was less defined then one might think for an anatomical object. The important aspect was that she had identified the correct general location. A little digging around would root it out. "Under there, in her chest, is a starseed. They are useful; youma eat them, for instance. If you take this, it will kill her."

He kept his gaze on her hand more than her face. It was more important that he give feedback on her performance. Her emotions were something beyond his control. He reached out to gently press down on her hand with his own, a physical direction to make contact with the victim's body. "But that will come later. For now, rest your hand against her chest. Direct contact - with any body part - provides an opportunity for energy draining."

Here he stopped, his gaze tilting up as he tried to think of the words to explain. Buddingtonite would have been poetic in both his descriptions of starseed pulling and energy draining, but Serpentine was too practical for such things. All that mattered was that she recieved the information, understood it, could act upon it. "You are... siphoning life energy away from her to your hand. It forms a fragile orb. This orb can be made any size - but with expected consequences. Each officer has a quota to fill. Gathered energy supports our missions."

Was that enough explanation? Surely so. If she had questions, then he would answer them they went. "Now drain."

Stheno coiled closer as the ball of energy grew. It may have been small, but it was bright and warm, a smaller extension of the sweetmeat she hoped to claim from their victim. For now, her gaze was fixated on that small sphere of light. Soon, her patience would be rewarded. It made her fangs drip just thinking about it.

Serpentine was pleased at Empressite's aptitude. Yes, it had taken her a bit of time to capture the energy effectively, but that was not in itself poor. More impressive to him was that she did not ask him to explain again, she did not complain, and she did not give up. All were promising traits, as far as he was concerned. All the more proof that she deserved his attenton.

He removed his hand from hers to allow her free reign to continue. He also answered her question, though peraps not with the precision she would like, "All quotas are different. The immediate supervisors of your branch will decide how much is required of you. Naturally, as you advance, your quotas will change. I drain less energy now and take more starseeds than I did as a lieutenant. Tonight, drain as much as you can from her without dropping the orb. If you do that, all the energy will be lost."