Welcome to Gaia! ::

The summons had been sent out earlier that evening, before the sun had fully set. It had allowed the general time to enjoy the wealth of color that painted the sky as she waited for the lieutenant. Beautiful bright oranges and pinks, splashes of magenta, purple, navy, indigo. They had melted together, swirling and growing richer with every passing minute that ticked on until the sky was rich with darkness and the first sprinkling of stars like diamond chips scattered over head.

It was a church she had chosen. Closed for renovations for what seemed like the entire summer now, though it looked to her as if nothing had been done in two months time. It was the same place she had brought Slate when she had delivered him to the Negaverse.

Now she waited for another new recruit. Perched on one of the arms of the large cross that overlooked the roof. The sun had well and truly set by now, and her attention had drifted down to the street below, watching the passage of cars and pedestrian bodies flowing back and forth beneath her. Like ants, she thought idly, smiling to herself.

She felt him coming, or at least someone of his level heading towards her in the dark. It had her turning her head to watch the lieutenant approach. Silvered eyes catching the soft light from the moon. She'd wait til he'd climbed up to join her, calling her name. "Ashantite." No honorifics, no titles or rank. He had yet to earn that from her. In time, perhaps, if he proved himself an asset, but that remained to be seen.

With a smile she left her perch, dropping down to land softly on the roof in front of him. A small thing, petite almost. The general stood no taller than 5'7" with the help of her heels. Skin tight, dark, with the shadow of a hood lending darkness to the splash of black across her eyes. One small hand lit upon a cocked hip as she looked up at him, appraising.

"My captain tells me you are in need of more intense training." Straight to the point, Xenotime seldom sugarcoated the truth. Honesty was often much more rewarding. "You will be working with me now, as well as captain Umber. Please make no mistake, I may appear smaller, softer. I am not." The way she carries herself, the confidence in delicate features and pale eyes. She carried herself as if she expected men and women to fall at her feet, and should they not, she was happily inclined to make them.

To be fair, she probably could have ended him without so much as a drop of added power from the Negaverse, but then fighting was the girl's day job. It was what she lived and breathed for. She had been training religiously from her early teens. Now? Now it almost wasn't challenging anymore, though occasionally someone surprised her. From Shale's description, she did not expect any surprises from Ashanite.

He did, however, poses a respectful tongue. Something Xenotime certainly appreciated. Truthfully, a little charm would have been perfectly acceptable. Compliments and pretty words had always been sweet to the general's ears.

Weapons appeared in the captain's hands, a set of daggers, though not in the traditional sense. Curious blades that looked as though they could be thrown as easily as wielded. Her gaze lingered there a moment, then slid up once more, a slow rake of silver eyes over his bare chest before they landed on his face with a knowing sort of smile. "Very good." Her own weapons remained mysteriously absent.

"I'm going to test you, you're abilities. Combat, to obedience, to endurance, and," she grinned, teeth very white in the moon light. "Of course, your nerve." She liked to push her recruits until she found their limits, a breaking point. That line they would not cross. And once found, shatter that barrier completely.

The smile was returned, though the general's was considerably more predatory, as if she were wondering what he tasted like, and if he would scream when she sank in her teeth. Perhaps the night would be kind to her, and she'd find out.

Again he offered a pretty answer, and she'd nod her approval. "That is good, because I hate to be disappointed." There was the barest thread of warmth to her tone, a hint of a hint, but what it belayed was a mystery. In time he would know, but not quite yet.

"You're going to show me what skills you possess in combat. So I may better evaluate the sort of training you'll need." Her hands lowered to her sides, feet sliding apart. "You will fight with everything you have, as if I were a threat to your life." She was. "I will not go easy on you." He would walk away from this evening sore, but if her were lucky the bruises wouldn't be his only consolation prize.

Xenotime was used to the stings and aches that were fixtures of a violent life style. She may even have liked them, just a bit. Savoring that sweet pain of good brawl, or a near death. When she was younger she'd wondered vaguely if she didn't have a screw loose. Her mother had wondered the same, a valid concern, but clearly neither could have predicted this for the girl. The general had found her place in life, in this war, and she was thriving in it.

Ashanite's assurance had the girl's smile growing wider, eager to see what he had to offer. If it was even worth seeing. Shale had not painted a very flattering image of the officer.

She was expecting some manner of hesitation. Reluctance, a lack of conviction. His initial charge suggested otherwise, but it was like so many first impressions, potentially deceiving.

It would take more than those first swipes to judge. It wasn't an awful attempt, high and low, and against your average senshi it would have proven effective. Against Xenotime it was less so, but then this was what she was best at. A jerk back avoided the swipe at her face, and she was ducking around that arm, pushing the palm of one hand into the wrist of the other to send the sharp edges of the dagger away from her stomach. It created an opening, made it easy catch an ankle with one of her feet to send him ought balance.

Probably wasn't going to kill him. No promises.

If they had communicated more, if the general taken any time at all to get to know the captain she was facing off against, and how he felt about any of this, she might have had a thing or two to say about adrenaline, and the sort of rush you got from a really good fight. She knew the feeling well. Hell, she lived for it, every damn day of her life.

Openings in her defense were hard to come by. She pivoted as he came at her with a dagger, turning away from his free hand, and then almost casually delivering a sharp elbow to his back, just below his shoulder blade.

"So," she struck up sweetly. "How about you tell me a little about yourself." She grinned at him. "All I know is what Umber has told me." And that wasn't very flattering, in the least.

A palm against his wrist pushed his hand away from her, the dagger zipping harmlessly past her shoulder. Against a normal person he would have been having a lot more luck. By contrast, Xenotime made evading him look terribly easy. Years of practice and hard work at play.

"Oh, he was generous alright," she mused, chuckling softly. Shale had had generous amounts of disdain to share about the other man. She did fall quiet to listen though, forever curious about those she found under her charge, in whatever respect that may be. Ashanite wasn't really her's, but he wasn't anyone else's either, and if there was a claim to lay, she would lay it.

"Do you resent the negaverse for taking you away from the white moon?" It wasn't an idle question, though her tone was easy enough.

A back handspring took her out of range of the leg sweep, but only just. A little more speed, a little less obvious intent, and she could see him doing exceptionally well in combat. Reckless and fearless, it was a potent mix the general approved of, but there was room for fine honing. Turning the wilder swings into precise strikes. She'd work with him, and he would grow. It was simply a matter of time and patience.

His retort had her grinning back at him as she landed, chin up and eyes sparkling in the faint light that filled the night around them. Clever boy, he answered her honestly(as far as she knew).

She'd wait til he blinked. Disappearing, only to reappear again behind him, hands falling to his waist as she pressed her cheek to his arm. "We're not all bad, though." Not a question this time, but a confident statement. "We've given you a new life, and we'll give you new memories." The brush of nails against his skin, dragging back in soft lines against his hips.