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Post by Kai! Kai! on Feb 6, 2006 17:07:27 GMT -5
Blake Rolled her eyes as Kain spoke though she was a little surprised to see him in her room this early. She hadn't been expecting him for another hour. Because of that she wasn't dressed 'properly' all she was in was her undewear and a shirt. "I wasn't expecting you this early Cap," Blake remarked. "Give me a minute.." she moved ot her draws and pulled out a pair of shorts slipping them on before pointing tothe couch. 'Take a seat." She dissapeared into the bathroom for a moment and came back with her hair up for once before she moved over otth e couch where Kain was now sitting and sat down beside him. "So... lets get this overwith, the night is young and we have alot to do."
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Archangel
Recruit
And thus did the Archangel descend from Heaven itself...
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Post by Archangel on Feb 6, 2006 22:19:46 GMT -5
Joh leaned on his bo staff, staring at the student in front of him.
"Good. Now again! And with more feeling!"
He barely got the staff up in time to block the slicing katana. Even in his armor, he curled and rolled hard, sliding over to the side of the young boy, and giving him a good rap on the calves, just for fun.
"Come on! Can't you catch an old man like me?"
The katana came screaming back in, an overhand cut that was just a little too wild for Joh's taste. He threw the bo staff straight up into the air, flicked out one of his dual blades, the one on his right hand, and parried the katana's wild fall. He had the blade back into his armor, and was sliding backwards, even as he caught the bo staff as it fell through the air. The student was shocked at how fast he had been deflected, and was overbalanced in the front, his center of gravity put off by the last swing. Joh simply stepped in with his foot, and tapped the boy's head, rather sharply, with the bo staff. The boy fell to Joh's feet, sprawling on the ground, and Joh had the end of the bo staff pressed firmly between his shoulder blades, not allowing him to get up.
"Now, Sohanny, do you see the mistake you made?"
There was a light groan from the boy, as the staff was pressing quite hard into a very sensitive pressure point. "Yes, Father Johdalar! YES! Please...gods, it hurts!"
Joh quirked a smile, then very carefully removed the staff from the boy's back. The boy clambered to his feet, but Joh did not relax his attack stance for a single moment.
"Be wary to never overbalance yourselves, children. Sohanny's downward swipe was far too out of control...he couldn't stop his body from following the katana. Next time, if you focus your control on the end of your blade, and yet keep your weight centered in your belly, you can keep the blade under control AND deliver a devastating blow. And remember....speed is what separates the excellent from the mediocre. A fast Knight is a living Knight."
Suddenly, he lunged forward, and slammed the butt end of his staff into the boy's midsection. The boy blew out a huge puff of air, and groaned, as he fell over backwards, completely out of breath. If he had not had light armor on, he would have probably passed out. Joh looked down at the boy, then offered his hand, pulling him up. As he did so, he spoke.
"And never, ever, EVER let your guard down. Not for an instant. Because that instant is much too long."
He smiled at the boy, who went to join his classmates. There were seven of them, the six who had not been sparring were watching with avid interest. Joh smiled at them, a kindly, if slightly superior smile. "Class dismissed. Practice your weaponry. We start on blade maintenance tomorrow." With that, the children all left. They were all between the ages of 12 and 16, and were still a little unruly. But the training to be a Dragoon Knight put a damper on such crazy behavior. They were becoming disciplined, and strong, now that they were undergoing weapons training. And Johdalar was an excellent teacher.
As the kids walked away, Joh wiped a gloved hand across his forehead, wiping away the sweat there. This got harder and harder every single year. I'm getting too old for this, he thought to himself, and it almost made him laugh, how cliche that line really was. Resting his staff on his shoulder, he began to walk home through the maze ruins of Nimbel, the path easily marked in his mind, which had undergone intense training as well as his body. He was a Dragoon Knight, wasn't he? And didn't that make him...adequate to walking through a simple maze?
But Johdalar pushed that thought aside as soon as he thought it. There was no room in this place for pride, conceit, hubris. They were fighting a war, a bloody war, against all those who would oppress them. And he did not do this just for himself. He did it for all the people, the oppressed and the free alike, the deluded and the righteous, the rich and the poor. They all needed him, whether they knew it or not. They all needed the Dragoon Knights. And Joh was doing his part to further his end. He taught the children their basic fighting skills. Others would focus on the other aspects of their fight: the intrigue, the high-tech armor, the reconnaissance data. That was for others. Joh was an old-timer, didn't even own a suit of the high tech "junk" most Dragoons wore. He relied on his trusty armor, with only oiled joints and flipping blades to keep him safe, and it had saved his life dozens of times. But that's what he did now...he taught others how to use their bodies, their hands, and their instincts, to take out the enemy and make them pay. And one day, this crop of new Dragoons, or maybe the next, or maybe the next....one day, they would rise up and take the power back from Baron, take it back and redistribute it for the good of mankind. And the city would finally be a good place to live in.
Joh made it back to his house soon enough. It was a one-room shack, really, in an area known as The Barracks to anyone who lived there. But it was home. He was a Dragon Priest, and damn proud of it, and that didn't mean he got to live in a fancy house in the ruins and drink wine and eat meat all day. He was a trainer, and he trained the children. That's all that mattered. Going to sit down in the room's only real chair, Joh propped his feet up on a table and leaned back, sighing an old man's sigh of old bones and old muscles. He groaned, and closed his eyes, if only for a minute. And in that space of time, he slipped off into a light sleep... Time to refresh the batteries, he supposed....
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Post by odi on Feb 10, 2006 1:07:56 GMT -5
"Aww... and I thought I was gonna put my thingy in your thingy first," Kain remarked. Blake looked at the papers (already) on the table before them and looked to her partner. "So... what did you find out?" He smiled, "Alot," and pointed to blueprints. "Now, what you're looking at is Project Omega. This is a buildin' which is said to harness MAKO energy. And you know what that means..." ... "...But that is the energy of the planet!" He nodded. "That's right; Inner Councils of Baron must be workin' to injure the planet, Blake. And I have no idea what this energy is FOR..."
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Post by Skye on Feb 11, 2006 20:44:51 GMT -5
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Post by Kai! Kai! on Feb 12, 2006 4:55:11 GMT -5
Blake nodded grimly and looked over the blueprints for the reactors carefully her eyes flicking back and forth in quick succession. This was her area; she understood these blueprints thoroughly, reading every detail over before looking to Kain, the faintest lines of concern etched on her face. “This has to get back home ASAP...' she sighed nad leaned back rubbing at her face with both hands as she thought. then she lowered ehr hands and smiled. "Well I might have a solution. eeing as I do have to be punnished for my disrespect to you glorios Captain why not send me out on patrol on the boarder to Nimbel after all it is disgustingly grimy down there and I ddo loathe grimy places as I recall. so why not send me out on patrol there and I’ll just 'happen' to have the blueprints with me and I can just 'happen' to get lost down there with them for a few days..." she shrugged and then stood up rolling the blueprints up and smiled as she carried them over to her armor and slid them within the hollow compartment within her lower leg guard. It 'wasn't' there according to the specs of her armor but both she and Kain knew it was.
Stretching luxuriously Blake sauntered back over to Kain and sat quite deliberately on his lap knowing how much it frustrated him when she did that, along with every 'accidental' brush with her body, the way she walked when she went past him and even the clothing she wore. It was an ongoing game between them she would flaunt herself and taunt him and Kain would look on with a stern disapproval in public that wasn't there at all in private as-mater-of-fact it was quite the opposite. She smiled innocently at him her violet eyes dancing with mischief once again as she observed the effect she had on her 'Capitan’.
Blake leaned her back against his chest and tilted her head back exposing her neck and the slightly opened neck of her shirt so her mouth was nearer to his ear. “It will be good to see Zephyr again and the others back home…” Though her room like Kain’s was free of bugs there was something that just weren’t spoken aloud, such as the names of their dragons.
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Post by Skye on Feb 12, 2006 9:16:45 GMT -5
Shika didn't have much to do. The others were sent out but she stayed and watched over the dragoons hidden temple while their father figure, Joh was out training little ones. As she walked down a long corridor, she looked as though she was searching for someone, something? Making a left it brought her into an open courtyard. Something caught her eye, something was behind a dragon statue. She stepped towards the statue, her back leaning forward and arms put out to the sides. She was virtually silent and whatever was behind the statue was going to get a "Surprise!" Shika leaped infront of the opposite side of the statue where Fafnir reared up with a roar. "Found you." she grinned laying a hand on the side of his neck. The golden dragon snorted. It wasn't often she played little games with Fafnir but it seemed to make the relationship all the better. "We should go see Joh." Fafnir nuzzled her with an approving purr then lowered his head, Shika grabbed onto a horn on his neck as she raised up and began running for the entrance of the temple.
As Fanir leapt from the temple entrance, Shika decided to make a stop somewhere.
Joh was woken hours after the training session with a rap at the door. "Package for Johdalar Reian." That voice sounded familiar. Slowly opening the door Jon found a big black draconic nose muzzling his chest. "Fafnir," Joh smiled and rubbed his nose, "now where's that knight of yours eh?" The crimson eyes of Fafnir looked to the left as his head tilted and went out of the doorway. Shika stepped out from the left holding a bottle of whiskey and an open basket of various crackers, cheese and fruits. "Don't ask how much it was." Shika invited herself into the roomy, but small shack to set down the food and alcohol. She pulled out two seats as Fafnir laid himself down infront of the door, laying his head on the ground, watching them. His four horns even with his head laid down measured just above the door frame, Fafnir was a large dragon and still quite young. "Where's Kan-Dam?" Shika motioned for him to sit as she began slicing some cheese for him, the crackers laid out from the box.
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Archangel
Recruit
And thus did the Archangel descend from Heaven itself...
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Post by Archangel on Feb 16, 2006 23:21:12 GMT -5
"Shika! What a pleasure!" He invited the girl in, a huge smile on his face, and felt a burst of pride. Shika was one of his favorite students, and definitely one of the most talented. She made such an excellent Dragoon Knight. She was quick, strong, agile, and smart. That made her deadly as well. It was a good thing she was on their side, because if she wasn't...the Dragoon Knights would be in some serious trouble.
"Oh, Kan-Dam? He's out and about. I expect he's probably visiting the cemetary, or wandering around and greeting old friends with purrs and nudges, even if they actually turn out to be total strangers! You know how he is." And Joh laughed, a strong belly laugh that filled the little shack. They both knew Kan-Dam was going, and it wouldn't be long before the poor thing would be gone. He had one foot in the grave already. But he was still a strong dragon, and a fierce and loyal fighter, and Joh loved him very very much. They had a bond that went deeper than most other Dragoon Knights had with their dragons. Joh treated the big lug like he would treat his father, and Kan-Dam acted like Joh was his real son. It was a great relationship, and both of them felt really close to each other.
Just at that moment, heavy footsteps were heard outside the door. Fafnir raised his head, and suddenly they all heard a loud bellow from outside. It was roughened by age, and not as strong as it used to be, but it still could strike fear in the heart of any enemy. Kan-Dam had come home.
Fafnir dashed out the door, colliding solidly with the old dragon. The roared to each other in greeting, and Kan-Dam literally fell over with the younger dragon's enthusiasm. They rolled on the ground, and Kan-Dam finally succeeded in pushing Fafnir away, even if the younger dragon did sort of let him. He struggled to his feet, his tongue lolling out, his milky, glassy eyes wandering over the group in the house.
Joh smiled to see his friend playing with Fafnir. It was such a sweet moment. He grinned a great big grin, then turned back to Shika. Pulling an apple from the basket, he adjusted the armor around his midsection and spoke before taking a bite.
"So what brings you to the neighborhood, my dear? Come to see an old Priest like me just from the goodness of your heart?" And he laughed again, a playful sparkle in his eye.
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Post by Skye on Feb 21, 2006 22:29:56 GMT -5
Shika smiled, "well I decided since I wasn't doing anything, that I would come to see ya. Besides, I thought Kan-Dam needed to her harassed by a younger dragon." She chuckled, grabbing a few grapes. "The others are out on a mission, though I decided I should stay. Just in case something came up." Kan-Dam made his way over to the doorway, where Shika stood and went over to greet him with a friendly rub upon his head. "I didn't come empty handed for you either." she grinned and popped a dragon treat into his mouth. Fafnir snorted with a whine and Shika rolled her eyes, "You've had enough already, Fafnir." Shika sat back down, "he got into the box of em' the other day, dirty blighter." Shika shook her head with a chuckle. "Well Joh, I might as well tell you another reason as to why I am here," she looked to him "I'm gonna need your help."
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Archangel
Recruit
And thus did the Archangel descend from Heaven itself...
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Post by Archangel on Feb 22, 2006 23:38:59 GMT -5
As Kan-Dam gratefully took the dragon treat and retreated into the corner to gnaw on it in peace, Johdalar looked at Shika slowly, and very solemnly. She seemed serious enough, and that worried him. Shika was a carefree young woman, at least most of the time, and she never seemed to worry about...well...anything. At least, not when Joh had been her teacher.
Joh remembered those days. He had still been an old man. Just not...AS old. And she had been such a spunky, vivacious young girl. She had learned well every lesson he had taught her, and at times had come to excel at things even he had trouble doing. She was quick with her weapons, and quicker with her mind. He remembered one incident where he had playfully tossed an apple at the back of her head during one of the lessons. The apple ended up split exactly in half, one half on the ground, the other she began munching on as if nothing odd had happened, smiling like the imp she was. God, were her reflexes fast! But more than that, she was quick in mind. She could come up with a solution to any problem, in record time, without even worrying about it. That was the Shika Johdalar knew, the Shika he had taught, the Shika he was fond of. But now...Shika needed help. Whatever it was...it must be big.
"You need my help? Now what could an old Dragon Priest like me do to help a young Dragoon Knight like you? Unless you need me in my official capacities.... But whatever you need, just tell me, and I'll do my best to help you, ok? You know I've always liked you, my dear."
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Post by odi on Feb 27, 2006 21:46:21 GMT -5
"Yeah... I miss Lily..." He muttered with a sigh. Blushing profusely, Blake interrupted with a "H-hey!" and Kain innocently replied with a "What...?" "Y-you're... Kain!" "Yeah. I'm Kain." He winked. "W-what I m-mean is..." She moaned, "Y-you're s-squeezing my... Oh dear..." He continued, a gasp or moan stopping him a moment. "Anyways... Your plan is a good one. And I... Can't leave yet. The Guard THINKS I'm 'ere... To... Y'know. It would look suspicious if I left..."
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Post by Kai! Kai! on Feb 27, 2006 22:12:51 GMT -5
Blake would have liked to have argued that he could just laze about on the couch but God’s why now of all times was he doing what he was going. She couldn’t even think straight! All she could think about where what his hands were doing. Blake steeled herself and reached down to grab his hands laughing softly. “K-kain, slow down here. W-we work together we don’t-“ ”Why not?” Kain replied with a sly smile. ”You spend every waking hour teasing me with that body of yours. I hear the talk from a few of your male friends and I’m curious to see if you’re really as good as they say…” He slipped his hands free of hers again throwing all coherent thought out the window and any chance of formulating an argument that would stop where things were going. ”You offered and I’m taking, no more arguments Lieutenant,” he teased. “That’s an order.” All Blake could offer was a half hearted ‘oh dear’ as Kain swung her up onto his shoulder and carried her into the bedroom. -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
Blake awoke slowly in her bed aware of soft snoring and a warm body to her right. Rolling onto her side Blake looked at the sleeping figure of Kain and felt herself blush like a school girl as she recalled what they’d done. It wasn’t like her to blush like this, she’d had fun with plenty of men but Kain was… She shut her eyes and felt her face go hotter. They weren’t meant to… and they did!
She sighed softly and rolled onto her back staring at the ceiling mind blank of all thought. Finally she sighed softly and rolled onto her side again so her back was to Kain and smiled despite herself. It had been rather enjoyable night, not that she’d tell him that. It would just make him unbearably smug. Closing her eyes Blake slipped back into a content sleep after all it was still dark out and she’d need what sleep she could get before heading off.
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Post by odi on Feb 28, 2006 20:59:23 GMT -5
5:00 AM
The Captain of The Royal Guard slipped out of Lieutenant Blake's quarters and walked down dark corridors. The city was not awake but Kain was not alone. A presence in shadows watched him...
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Post by Kai! Kai! on Feb 28, 2006 21:20:09 GMT -5
Blake awoke at 6 to a lack of presense in her room. Rolling over she found the space next to her was empty and cold. no doubt Kain had slipped out while she was still sleeping. Slipping out of bed herself Blake moved from her bedroom to the bathroom and too ka hot shower before she stepped out and dried off changing into her training clothing which consisted of a black singlet, a pair of fitted shorts thta sat just above the knee and a pair of soft shoes that would allow for easy movment. Dressed she took a canteen of water and set it ot the belt about her waist and stepped out her door Locking it behind her before she set out at the rate of a steady jog. Most mornings Blake started the day with several laps around hte Barracks ot her her body working and mind focused. her body warmed up to the task by the second lap but her mind unfortunatly couldn't stop lingering on the night before. It didn't matter how hard she tried she could only think about that. Eventualy Blake just stopped tyring ot think and focused on running, letting her mind work at all. It was on her fifth lap or so that she sighted two figures standing off to the side. One raised ahand signaling for her to stop. Blake fet her already flushed facehheat all the mroe when she spotted Kain and much to her dismay that leech of a seargant of his. The man was like a tic always within sight of the Capitan. Slowly to a walk she came to a halt before the Captian and Saluted. 'Capitan,' she adressed him looking fleetingly to the Seargant then back at Kain though her eyes couldn't stay on him for long withuot dredging up the memories of the previous night. Damn it! it's so stupid I've slept with men before, but Kain and I are meant ot be worknig to gether... why damn it does this have ot be so damn awkward and wh ythe hell do i feel like a bloody school girl!?
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Post by odi on Feb 28, 2006 22:00:17 GMT -5
The Sergeant cocked an eyebrow. "Over exurtin' yerself, Lieutenant Blake?" The Dragoon Knight blushed a deeper shade of red and Kain - in uniform - spoke up. "That is enough, Sergeant." He stared at Blake with a sternness unlike him. "Blake: Because of your insubordination about a certain DRESS POLICY-" He paused and looked her up and down. The poor woman almost died with embarrassment. "-and obeying your Commanding Officers, your punishment will be scouting Nimbel. We need information on a group called Dragon Priests. You are dismissed in 0800 hours; pack what shit you need and get out. Understood, Lieutenant?"
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Post by Kai! Kai! on Feb 28, 2006 22:09:46 GMT -5
blake saluted. "Yes Capitan," she turned and continued running a look of reliefe spreading across her face as she moved away heading for her quarters for another shower and to pack a change of cloths and anything else she would need.
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- Blake moved steadily through the dakr deserted maze htat was nimbel leaving the safty of the boarder poast far behind her. she walked steadily for an hour before she was sure enough she was out of sight and whistled lowly. The sound carried through the silent place but was soon replaced by the scraping sound of claws against steel and stone. The slowly Zyper came inot sight. Smilnig broadly at the dragon Blake ran forward and embraced his powerful neck laughnig as the dragon issued a deep vibrating purr of pleasure. 'Missed you too Zypher but now we gotta head home and take stuff to the others. its important so we gotta move fast ok?' Zypher nodded hsi head and allowed blake to mount before turning and running ta full speed through Nimble towards the place where the Dragon Knights considered home. The plans fgiven to her by Kain still tucked away securly within her armor. For now Blake was content with just reaquainting herself with Riding on Zyphers back and the feel of riding a Dragon again. It had been too long between her visits with Zypher, looknig ahead she smiled as home can into sight. Patting Zyphers neck he let out a cheerful bellow that carried through the ruins to whatever Dragons were around to say he was home.
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