The rest of the retinue came in rescue of the drow. From Manald, Merik and then eventually Rudolph. Acrius was slightly impressed at how open and accepting the rest of them are. The reactions of the soldiers, however, was expected. Luckily Leonidas came to disperse the already whittled down crowd. The prince's speech would tug at heartstrings but the deep-seated hatred of drows after years would likely win over his words. The crowd were all but gone now but Acrius could feel some leery soldier eyes their way. Leonidas would then heal Zatana before assigning each member a gate to watch. Acrius failed to stifle a chuckle at Zatana being treated like a child and told to go rest. He wouldn't have known if she was glaring at him as he quickly looked away.

Acrius sat on a box and kicked his feet onto the battlements that overlooked the northern plains. The attack on the western gate was definitely the biggest of the day. The rest were just small attacks that looked to prod and test the city's defenses. All Acrius had done was don the bow a couple of times; most of the time, however, it was just idle chit-chat with the crowned prince. Nothing of much import, just musings of past misadventures and events.

Soon the sun would be swallowed by the horizon and they were all given free time. Acrius noticed that Faira and Zatana were to have a mission but since it didn't involve him he shrugged and walked away. Still, only being allowed to use the bow all day made him a little stir-crazy. The tavern seemed to bustle with activity but the memory of his night of (forced) drinking drove him away. He'd rather not get close to ale again.

His eyes would be drawn to an open field that seemed to serve as training ground. A few shadows tussled and wrestled with each other. Despite it being night there seemed to be a few recruits and what seemed to be a higher-up overlooking their late-night training. [i][color=#FF9900][b]Oho, even after all that, it seems that some of 'em have more energy than I gave them credit for.[/b][/color][/i] Acrius mused to himself as he tucked the Royal Guard badge into his tunic. Luckily he had taken his armour off at the inn they were staying at earlier. Donning a (rather taut) tunic and trousers, he looked like some starry-eyed schmuck looking to serve the kingdom.

Acrius noisily made his way to, what looks to be, the sergeant overlooking the recruits training. The sergeant, as expected, noticed him immediately;

"State your name and rank," The sergeant eyed him up and down, "... and the reason you're here, soldier."

[color=#FF9900][b]"Sir!"[/b][/color] Acrius played it up and even did the Empire's salute as accurately as he remembered, [color=#FF9900][b]"I'm Arthur Bain, a fresh recruit from the countryside!"[/b][/color]

"Hmm..." The sergeant hummed and stroked his chin, he seemed hesitant but eventually continued, "At ease, Arthur. I'm Sergeant Geraldson. Currently overlooking these fresh recruits' training. The lot are recruits from this city, said they want to join the Prince in defending the city, heh."

[color=#FF9900][b]"I would like to join my fellow recruits training!"[/b][/color] Acrius kept standing at ease, trying his hardest not to break out into a grin. [color=#FF9900][b]"I've been told that my grappling was a little exceptional!"[/b][/color]

"A lively one, eh?" Geraldson let out a heart guffaw, and decided to haze the fresh-eyed recruit a little bit, "Alright you will fight Petyr, one of our best. Petyr! Come here."

A giant behemoth of a man appeared and towered over Acrius. Petyr was about 6'4" and was really muscular. [i][color=#FF9900][b]What in the hells are they feeding this man,[/b][/color][/i] He thought idly as he looked up at him.

Acrius kept up the act, trying to look as scared as he could manage.

"We will do two matches, recruit Arthur," Geraldson smiled at him, "But worry not, [i]you[/i] will be able to tap out."

The oranged-eyed boy popped a vein at how Geraldson enunciated 'you' but he let it pass.

The match would soon begin. Acrius kept up a standard grappling stance while his opponent simply smiled at him. It seemed that this recruit in particular had become a little cocky due to his size advantage. [i][color=#FF9900][b]Well, well, we can't have that with the Empire's recruits, can we?[/b][/color][/i]

The rest of the recruits giggled amongst themselves; they began to gather to watch what they expect to be a fresher recruit put into his place. Even Geraldson seemed eager to be entertained.

Acrius let the man make the first move, offering a tiny bit of resistance to seem genuine. Petyr was quicker than he gave him credit for and appeared behind him, placing him into a rear naked choke. Acrius rated it so-so, about a 4/10. [i][color=#FF9900][b]What lax training.[/b][/color][/i] He could easily escape in three ways; the most basic was to grab the choking arm and squat downwards whilst lifting said arm into a backwards throw. However there was also empty space in the hold; an amateur mistake as you never leave empty space. The empty space could allow him to place his own arm to weaken the choke. The same empty space could also be used to escape.

The swordsman would let them tumble back onto a floor rear naked choke hold. The choke itself let him breathe easily but he gave it a few more seconds before he 'tapped' out by hitting the ground floor.

Acrius faked cough and accepted the hand that hoisted him up, [color=#FF9900][b]"You're good, Petyr!"[/b][/color]

Petyr seemed please with himself and turned away not expecting 'Arthur' to want another round. [color=#FF9900][b]"One more round, ser Petyr."[/b][/color]

Petyr simply huffed and turned around and prepared himself for what he expected was a second beating. Acrius would now simply swat away any attempts at a hold. Petyr's dive was swatted downwards, his face dragged into the dirt. The same rear naked choke was simply countered the few times he attempted it. The giant seemed to get angrier and angrier as each and every choke hold attempt was easily denied. The crowd also got quieter and quieter as their star recruit was being played with, like an adult would play-fight with a child.
 
"You bleeding coward!" Petyr screamed, holding the lapels of Acrius' shirt and lifting him up. "Are you going to fight back or not?"

[color=#FF9900][b]"As you wish."[/b][/color] Acrius let his grin show, it was a big mistake to grab him by the lapels of his tunic. The orange-eyed boy would jump upwards and slithered his right foot around Petyr's arm. His other foot would grip around his neck as he pushed the giant downwards. He had performed a flying armbar choke. Petyr, being inexperienced, had not seen this choke before and fell downwards like a giant bag of bricks. The giant's arm was now locked into place and another motion could potentially snap it. There was something that made all men equal, and that thing was [i][b]leverage[/b][/i].

Acrius exercised restraint, however, and waited for Petyr to tap out. He did place more and more pressure on the giant's arm but he just wouldn't tap out. If anything, Petyr had a respectable amount of pain tolerance. Acrius looked to the now bewildered sergeant, to see if he would end the fight, but he didn't say anything. The crowd's earlier booes and jeers from Acrius' avoidance of holds were now replaced by a stunned silence.

Acrius sighed to himself and let the hold go. There was no fun in combatants who didn't know the concept of defeat; the body is a fickle thing, sturdy yet weak. So knowing when to give up to preserve your future was obvious. Soon he bent down and hit the dirt, signifying him tapping out.

[color=#FF9900][b]"Petyr, you need to work on your fundamentals,"[/b][/color] Acrius growled, somewhat disappointed at the brutish man, [color=#FF9900][b]"... and know when to surrender."[/b][/color]

The silence was deafening. Questions could be read from their confused faces; 'Who the hell is this Arthur', 'How'd Petyr go down that easily'. Petyr kept his mouth shout and didn't move from his position; instead he seemed to enjoy gazing up at the starry night sky. 

[color=#FF9900][b]"I thank you my fellow recruits and Sergeant Geroldson for this opportunity,"[/b][/color] Acrius said and bowed indignantly, [color=#FF9900][b]"I need to train myself harder for future battles."[/b][/color]

Later, Geraldson would inquire on who 'Arthur Bain' was but was quickly told it was Acrius Stroude, the 'wild dog' of the Prince. 

Acrius walked away from the open field, folding his hands behind his head as he whistled a bard's tune he'd heard awhile back. He had worked up a decent sweat and his stir-craziness was somewhat abated for now. His mind flickered over to Lancelot, he'd be one that could entertain Acrius. The boy couldn't help but feel eyes on him. Surely from those soldiers earlier, right?