Heroes in Training

[Gisk]

The sun came up on the two story house that sat on the hill. The hill itself was bare, just the foothills to a mountain extending into the forsest, there was a field to the west and a great forest to the east. To the north, on the edge of the forest where a stream was flowing there was a small town, just a league away.
Inside the house, the smell of cooking sausage was strong, and someone was clearly bustling around the kitchen. The children were still asleep, each in their own bunk, stacked two high in a single room on the second floor.
The children were awakened moments before the sun seeped through the window, by their door being thrown rudely open. In the doorway stood the children's new teacher, already fully dressed, even with a sword on his belt. "Wake up, before I have Jayce set your beds on fire! There's food downstairs, but we have work today, so don't fill yourselves too full."

[VoyageUnlimited]

Franchesca awoke with a start at the sound of the door banging open. She bolts upright in her bed and looks around frantically, an Ice spell already charged in her hand. As she spots Roland she sighs, and the spell dissipates. She hops out of bed and opens her drawer on the adjacent dresser. She pulls out a short black robe and throws it on clumsily. After a quick brushing of her hair she strides lazily past Roland and out of the room, heading downstairs to eat her meal before the eccentric Master decides to haul them off. She sits at the table, and looks to Roland's wife, Susan, with a bright smile. "Good morning Miss Susan, breakfast sure smells lovely." She says sweetly.

[Aydan Tenaebra]

The light of the rising sun dappled on a young, sleeping face surrounded by deep red hair. The girl slept in the mid branches of a rather large tree at the edge of a forest she had wandered upon a few months before. The warm light on her face cause brilliant, cat-green eyes to open drowsily. The red-haired child went by the name of Cael Marie Reinholdt and was, if she had counted the months properly since the fire, 14 years old. She stretched her long limbs with a wide yawn and rubbed her eyes, nearly unseating herself from her limb in the process.

Cael squeaked, eyes popping wide open as she startled awake, and clutched the branch in an attempt to save her balance. She was successful even to the degree that only a single arrow fell from the hip quiver she wore. She shrugged. At least it wasn't her on the ground, courtesy of gravity this time. Carefully, the tall teen swung down from her branch and dropped to the leaf litter below, restoring her arrow to it's home. She pulled the bow from her back, making certain no harmful insect had found it's way to the wooden weapon. For the last year she had used it to make a good measure of her height growth. Her long-bow seemed to be on it's way to being a standard short, as she seemed to have gained a good six inches of height since, marking her around five and a half feet. Aside from that, when she was satisfied that the precious recurve was unmolested, she swung it back across her shoulders.

Now wide awake in the crisp morning air, she turned her eyes to the west- away from the already brightening sun- and took notice of a house on the next hill top. She tilted her head curiously and debated a moment before deciding to investigate. Perhaps, if the people seemed kind enough, she might get some breakfast and a night in a real bed in exchange for some house or farm work. Her stomach seemed to growl excitedly in agreement with her thought. Her father had known a bit of low magic that had passed through their family as essentially a good hunting tip. It was now that Cael employed this little trick that he had taught her, and used the magic to distort the sound of her footsteps to near silence. She hadn't quite mastered the bit that seemed to blur a form and fade it a bit into the background, though it didn't stop her from trying to do it the closer she got to the two story home. She crept rather low to the ground and crouched below what turned out to be the kitchen window.

Occasionally, she would rise just enough to peek inside and see a woman bustling around and several other people- including children- begin to gather around a table for breakfast. A bit of the scent drifted through the tiny crack between the bottom of the window and the frame, causing Cael's stomach to growl softly again. Anytime it seemed like someone might turn to the window, though, she would quickly drop back down and press herself against the side of the house, fearful of being noticed.

[Gisk]

"Well thank you little miss!" Susan responded to the compliment by immediately scooping up a healthy helping of sausage onto Franchesca's plate.

~~~

CRUNCH!
Suddenly every move Cael made was magnified ten times. As she settled back down from her latest quick glimpse of the house, the noise echoed through the forest, sending nearby birds flying away.
"I'm sure that trick works wonders," a voice was speaking from directly above her, "When you're sneaking into most country homes. But you can't spy on a magician so easily."
There was a man standing, casually as you like, on the branch above Cael. He looked quite old, and was bent over a little, leaning his weight on a fine cane.

[Lydyn]

Aw'del had always been a lighter sleeper and this morning was no different as the door cracked loudly against the wall, causing the young girl to practically jump out from under the sheets. Her hands immediately went to find a piece of a metal, a dagger, a piece of glass - anything to defend herself with - only to find nothing but blankets and pillows. Realization slowly settled in though as she heard Roland's voice and looked up into the dim-lit hallway and the older man that had a blade strapped to his waist. His hair had already started to grey and wrinkles formed subtle marks across his expression as his eyes darted with a sharpness across his would-be students. "Wake up, before I have Jayce set your beds on fire! There's food downstairs, but we have work today, so don't fill yourselves too full." 'Really?' she thought to herself. She had doubts it was that much of an emergency, since no one was baring blades down on them and they had time to eat breakfast. Aw'del huffed lightly to herself and brushed back her brown hair with one hand, letting the fingers comb through the strands gently. Why she was here, was beyond her.

Only a week ago, Aw'del had been crawling through the bushes to hide away from some angry bread maker, poking her eyes out enough to gaze out to the edge of town as the man tried running after her. Only after a moment, he had adorned that confused, upset expression she had seen so many times - it meant he wanted to find her, but had lost her trail. With frustration, the baker threw his wooden spoon against the ground and stomped back off into to town, allowing the young teenager to shuffled herself out from under the bush and look at her new prize, a loaf of bread her stomach had eagerly growled for only moments ago. Before she could take a bite though, she felt a sudden presence of someone behind her and quickly looked up to see another older man. Spinning and drawing a dagger, she didn't even get the chance as he grabbed her wrist and forced her grip to falter. For some reason, that day, Roland decided to take her back.

She slipped out of bed and tied her sandals to her feet before brushing off her clothes, a simple peasant shirt and beige long shorts, and glancing to the others. She hadn't even talked to them yet, but she didn't really want to right now either. She was confused enough by her own situation to spare the energy trying to make friends with other kids that probably wanted to play sticks and heroes. Or even magic, as the flash of ice forming on the one girl's hand flashed in her mind's eye. The thought made her shiver a little, being trapped here with teenagers just as confused as her, but being able to freeze things with just one touch. Were any of them responsible enough to wield that sort of power? That was a scary thought. Before anyone else besides Franchesca could make a move, she quietly slipped by Roland and carried herself downstairs, her nose being assaulted by the warm smells of food. A smile graced her lips very lightly as she thought of just devouring a plate full of meat and eggs, but she had a feeling a full stomach wouldn't do any good if they were doing anything physically draining. She needed enough to fuel whatever training they'd be doing, but not enough to slow her down.

Looking over to Franchesca for a moment, she took the furthest chair she could find and sat down in it silently, glancing over at Susan's almost overly-cheerful demeanor and wincing slightly at it's presence. Letting out a light sigh, Aw'del just sat there, assuming she'd be served something - or rather hoping - but if not she had survived long enough on an empty stomach that it wouldn't bother her much. It was just too uncomfortable to talk right now, in this moment. However if she was given any food, she'd reply with a soft smile and a quiet, "thank you m'am.."

[Yevin]

With a violent twitch at the booming voice, Xander shot up and cracked his head on the beams of the upper bunk. A stinging pain snapped through his skull while he rolled out of the scratchy wool blankets and searched for his shoes.

Before he arrived here, his aunt and uncle had scrounged up for some decent clothes of sturdy material. Xander tucked his heavy sleeved shirt back in his pants (he slept in them), tightened his belt and shoved his leather boots on. The boots were the more expensive articles he received from them. “So you know what a good solid pair feels for futures to come,” his uncle had said. Xander wriggled his toes; they were still a bit big for him.

With a jaw-breaking yawn, Xander wandered out after the girls to the table for breakfast. It smelled wonderful, almost as if someone fried up some sausages – oh. Xander stood in the doorway, quite amazed at the sight of the huge pile of meat for breakfast. Usually, in his aunt cooked up some eggs and buttered some bread for the morning. A hearty meal laid out on the table was for special occasions – like some celebrations. Dazzled by this special meal, Xander randomly took a seat and waited his turn in awe.

[Aydan Tenaebra]

The lanky red-headed girl nearly jumped out of her skin when she dropped down, out of sight of the window once more only to have her once-silenced movement echo with an almost deafening crunch. She flattened herself against the ground- causing another ear-splitting THUMP- with her heart pounding in the pit of her stomach. A voice from above her attracted her attention to the root of her seemingly-failed magic. Bright, cat-green eyes, bordered with long (and surprisingly dark) lashes widened in a mixture of shock, awe and fear at the old man in the tree. She froze in place, not twitching a muscle, as a stream of several nonsensical syllables left her mouth when she tried to speak.

Had Cael been a more violent girl, she might have remembered the bow at her back and the quiver at her hip. Perhaps, she would have considered using them on the (she decided) deceptively frail looking old man before bolting back into the forest an leaving the two story house behind. However, she wasn't. She was no murderer. Had she been braver, or at the very least harder to startle, she may have been able to speak to the man who had caught her more coherently than just mumbling and bumbling nonsense. She wasn't. Or, mayhap, had she even been a greater coward, she may have fled without a glance anywhere but away, but she wasn't that either. She was Cael; a terrfied, lonely 14 year old who had been caught trying to spy on a possible meal ticket and warm bed- even if only for a night. She gulped rather audibly before she tried to speak again. Her voice squeaked and died.

She took a deep breath and closed her eyes briefly before looking back at the bent figure on the branch. Third time's the charm, so they say. This time her voice came out, albeit somewhat shakey, "I-I'm sorry, sir. I- I promise I wasn't trying to sneak in. I just... I just wanted a look. I-I thought maybe, if it seemed nice enough, I might try to work for a meal and a night's rest? P-please don't be angry. I'll leave if you want."

[Gisk]

Susan was delighted with the children and their polite demeanor, and made sure that each one got two whole sausage links before carrying the pot of eggs over and scooping a generous spoonful onto each plate as well. She went back to the wood stove and put the skillet and pot back on, stirring occasionally still.

Nearly five minutes later, a dark haired boy came down the stairs after, his long hair neat and obviously freshly combed, his face scrubbed, and his clothes fully assembled and as neat as he could make them. "Good morning, Aunt Susan," he said, as audibly as possible.
"Good Morning, Marcus," she replied, ever the more cheerful at his apparent good manners and clean habits.
The boy looked around at the others and then followed their example, sitting down at the table. Unlike them, however, he didn't choose his seat randomly, or as the first seat that he came across. He deliberately crossed to the end of the table nearest the door, and sat in the seat to the left of the table's head. He didn't have to ask for food, as Susan was already making sure that he was fed. He gave her a quiet and automatic "Thank you," and started eating, taking small bites and occasionally wiping his mouth on a napkin.

"Took your time..." Roland said, looking down at Marcus with a mild expression. The boy looked up at him, surprised. He put down his knife and fork as his uncle spoke. "You're on my schedule here. If you want to preen, wake up before the sun rises."
Marcus was still surprised, apparently stunned at being scolded, even with such calm words. After a moment, apparently having nothing better to say, he answered, "Ye Uncle."
"Just Roland from now on," He looked down at the table from his place near the stairs, "We're one short."
"He needs his beauty sleep more than me," Marcus chimed in, as Roland climbed the stairs to retrieve the last one. The group at the table heard a loud thump as Roland pulled Leon roughly off his bed.

~~~

The old man in the tree laughed, and took a step backward, out of her view. He should have fallen, but instead he stepped out from around the tree trunk immediately, as if he had been there the whole time. "If not for your obvious guilelessness I would not believe you. We are having breakfast right now, if you want a seat at the table, go knock on the door." With that, he faded away, just an illusion after all.

[vincanity0011210]

Leon had been awake. Granted, he hadn’t moved since he woke up, so anyone could assume he was still asleep. He stared at the wall next to his bed, where last night with his blue fire he carved his brother’s name into the surface. With misty eyes he thought of his brother’s freedom, the adventures alone he would be having right now. With a deep sigh, a couple tears dripped from his eyes and met his lips, where he licked them up, almost hungry to destroy the symbols of weakness that feel from his face.

As he did, the door of the room opened again. Leon closed his eyes tight, waiting for yelling or being told to wake up again, knowing he wouldn’t have a choice. He was partially right; there was definitely no choice left in getting up or not, but the method was not what he expected. As he slide out for the bed and crashed to the floor, Leon let out a loud yelp, similar to a dog that had been hit by its new owner. When he was left to his own body again, Leon pressed himself into a crouching defensive position again the wall, frightened. After seeing who took him out of bed, Leon just let his mouth quiver for a moment. Quickly, he darted around Roland and muttered an apology with his cracking voice. Keeping his head down as he came down the stairs, Leon avoided eye contact with everyone. Seeing a fresh apple on the table, he took it in his hands and found himself a spot to stand away from the rest, leaning against the counter. Leon picked at the apple with a finger before taking a tentative bite. The sweetness gave him a moment of cheer before looking at the others around the table for a brief second. A chill ran through his body, so he switched to staring out the window.

[Aydan Tenaebra]

Cael blinked as the illusion faded, brushing a strand of dark red hair out of her face. She glanced at the house and then back to the tree, swallowing hard and licking her lips nervously. She wanted to know how the old man had done that. She wanted to know who he was. More than that... She wanted food, real food. Her stomach growled in loud agreement at the thought of more than a bit of stringy rabbit and some nuts, berries, and mushrooms. She wasn't a bear, she was a girl- a growing one at that. Shakily, she rose to her feet after sliding just far enough to the side that she was out of view of the window (really, how queer is it for someone to just pop up in front of a window before approaching; she didn't need to seem any more off).

She walked quickly, with some sense of purpose, toward the front door of the house. The lanky girl stopped just short of the door and fiddled nervously with a strand of curly hair that fell over her shoulder, blue eyes shifting from the wooden door before her, to the tree line. Another loud grumble from her stomach wiped away any doubts of not knocking on the door. Standing up straight and taking a resolved breath, she reached out and knocked on the door firmly three times. Then, she waited with hands folded in front of her. Cael hoped the rest would be nice as that old magician had seemed. She still quivered a bit, though now with the anticipation of a hot meal.