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“Yes,” he wouldn’t have invited Fysarious out if he didn’t have a destination already selected. “I found this field while out on a hike. It seemed secluded enough that I feel confident that nobody will happen upon us accidentally.” He’d already done a quick scout around the area which revealed no tent communities with homeless civilians and a brief glance at his ComTech now revealed no powered signatures either.

“We’ll be safe enough to practice here.” Cypher felt confident in that fact.

When finally they arrived, the area was rather unassuming. No lights to illuminate the practice area unlike the track field at the school he attended. There were, however, plenty of insects and a couple of creatures that were much larger; flying foxes and owls were two that he’d been told could be found out here.

“Would you prefer to start with stationary targets or go straight into moving?” Targets were brought just in case, but with how their conversations have gone thus far, he felt certain that Fysarious wouldn’t be content standing still for too long.

“Fair enough…” Cypher turned and walked about seven or so paces away from Fysarious. Enough to make it seem as if he were undecided.

Shooting at stationary targets would do nothing to help save him from the downward spiral he’d found himself caught up in. It was an often boring exercise that required low effort and minimal sense of achievement if only because the measure of success was to count the number of blaster hits and see how tight the grouping was.

Normally he’d give a count down or time to prepare but with the mood Fysarious was in, Cypher felt like it would be better for his comrade to be able to let that frustration out instead of bottling it up inside. Cypher was used to keeping things mostly to himself, but Fys… this seemed to go against his nature so venomously that he worried that his friend might lash out at someone undeserving of his ire.

His hand came to rest on the blaster attached to his hip and as he pivoted on his heel, Cypher withdrew his weapon from its sheath and fired a warning shot at Fysarious’s feet causing dirt and debris to explode upward about three feet high

"Your move," he turned to retreat towards a more covered area.

Until now, he hadn’t really taken notice that Fysarius neither had a blade nor blaster attached to his hip or backside as many of the other Cadets. This would explain
why Cypher had been expecting a blaster shot; one like Fae-Fae or Andreiya’s weapon maybe but with far less impact, or at the very least a stun his own. Something he could dodge or hide behind a tree to avoid. But that’s not what came at him.
He had to give his comrade credit, it was a tactful decision and along that same vein, highly unanticipated. While he ran, Cypher’s attention was straight ahead as he pushed aside low-hanging tree branches and jumped over shrubs that were about knee-high.

Mid-air in a downward descent from a high leap, Cypher had no room to react to the energy wire that appeared on his right. Its magnetic-like energy pulled small rocks, some leaves and branches to it causing loose debris underfoot. What’s worse was the slight tug he felt on the side of his boot that made his foot slide sideways when he finally landed.

Cypher shot at it with his blaster hoping it would disperse as he pulled his leg away, stumbling a bit in the process.

Between the sound of leaves crunching beneath his feet, the low-hanging branches that swept past his face, and the sound of his own heartbeat pounding in his ears from the recent fall, Cypher didn’t hear what Fysarius had shouted only that something had been said. Part of this was because his mind was still startled by the string that his comrade had shot at him. Most other cadets, and a few Commanders, all had either blasters or blades; this alternative weapon was most unexpected.

Even with the snow now melted, finding proper coverage in dim light was still hard to find. Bushes were often a good choice. However, even while hunched, they were usually not as tall as he was and if spotted, nothing would stop a blaster shot from shooting him through the leaves. To add insult to injury, their uniforms did not offer much in the way of camouflage either.

Finding a wide enough tree to hide behind, Cypher rolled his ankle over one of the exposed roots and fell to one knee. He hissed in irritation at his own clumsiness but paid the sprain no mind and instead looked behind him at the narrow opening where Fysarious stood idly in the open. It felt odd that he chose not to hide, but in his own mind this was a training exercise, so he fired a warning shot to give his reluctant participant ten seconds to move otherwise he would not be so kind in missing with the next aim he took with his blaster.

Cypher had thought that if he remained still enough

then his comrade would continue on past him further into the woods behind him towards the training area he had been trying to lure his friend towards. However, Fysarius had a much keener eye and spotted him easily. He cursed his uniform. The color of it did nothing to help him blend in with his surrounding.

Suddenly there was a fist coming towards him and while he anticipated being hit, he was startingly surprised when it instead grabbed hold of his collar and lifted him up to full height, or close to it. At the very least Cypher was now at eye level with his comrade and what he saw made him sober up immediately.

Hate.

Not mild irritation but seething anger that burned behind Fysarious’s golden eyes. It spoke volumes of emotions that Fysarious had not given voice to. “Perhaps going with what I thought would be best, was not the right decision.” Clearly, he had miss read his friends' needs, and rather than being an outlet for him to let out his frustrations, it seemed that Cypher had managed to add to them if not become the source of more.

Perhaps he shouldn’t have tried to coax Fysarious out of the house, or at the very least told him where they were going and let him decide if he was interested in seeing the training area he had been trying to build. So many mistakes like these made it clear as to why Cypher had little to no friends among the Vanguard let alone in the classes he had been taking at the University.

“My apologies,” he added. Near choked on the words since he was not accustomed to telling anyone he was sorry. And yet, he genuinely felt remorseful for pushing Fys into doing something he clearly wanted no part of.

He had expected Fysarious to let go of him, to back off in a huff and perhaps go back to the house they’d been staying at- something he refused to call home since this city, this planet, was anything but that.

Unfortunately, he drastically misjudged the situation and exactly how Fysarious was, not just at the situation they’d all found themselves in, but at him. The first blow to the side of his face left him seeing large black spots in his vision as he reeled backward; his heel caught a root and sent him sprawling on his backside atop the dew-laden grass.

Too stunned to move, or react properly, had left him wide open for his comrade- no... opponent to pin him down and take another swing. He brought both arms up in a guard to protect his face but his reaction time was slow and while he was able to partially deflect the second hit, Fysarious still managed to connect with the side of his eye, his knuckle catching Cypher’s eyebrow with enough force that it broke the skin and bled rather freely.

A third swing descended upon him, however, this time Cypher was not idle in his response. With both hands, he reached out to grab hold of Fysarious’ uniform and pull him down to close and towards his right shoulder as he bucked his hips to try and unseat him. With the weight atop him shifted, he rolled to his side, tucked his knees up, and moved out from under Fys.

He maneuvered in such a way that when Cypher got to his knees he quickly reached out and hooked an arm around his opponent's neck. He then pulled him back against his chest and held him in a rear naked choke hold. A move meant to cut off oxygen to the brain, not inhibit his ability to actually breathe.

“Enough,” he grunted through clenched teeth, an action that caused his head to throb with incredible pain. Cypher was more than certain that his jaw was broken and within the next couple hours, his eye would be swollen shut.

With his heart hammering against his chest and adrenaline coursing through his veins, Cypher could barely register Fysarius’ voice.

The sharp pain in his jaw when he clenched his teeth was distracting enough, coupled with his narrowing vision from the eye that was swelling shut and dull pounding in his head from where Fys had grabbed a fist full of hair so hard it felt like he’d been scalped if only a dagger had been held to his hairline. Fortunately, that was not Fysarius’ preferred weapon. A small silver lining- as humans often said when something good came out of a horrible situation.

Still- Cypher’s mind didn’t initially register that his hair had been let go, or that his comrade had stopped trying to push away his arm. He was functioning on the notion that Fysarius was still a threat to him.

He knew that one good headbutt from the back of Fysarius’ head would have ended this fight in his favor. But, between heavy breaths, he could feel that his movement stilled. Cy- Blood from his brow ran down the side of his face onto Fys’ uniform.

Cypher gradually released the pressure until he was certain that this fight was in fact over. “You know your way back-” he stood, the taste of iron filled his mouth and after rising unsteadily to his feet, he turned his head and spat a mouthful of blood onto the ground beside him. Any intent he had to bring Fysarius to the training ground he had been building was pushed to the wayside.

Turning away from the house they’d been staying, not home- never would he call this place home. Cy turned his back to the one Vanguard he thought that he could call a friend; now he wasn't sure opening himself up to that was a good idea.