Woody smiled at her and disappeared under the bar before he popped up with a rather unimpressive bottle. "I don't have good stuff. You get what you see." He explained to her request. This was a secret guild and he didn't make much himself. Merlin didn't pay for the booze, he did so the good stuff that Marian wanted was non-existent around the Guild tavern.

"Don't be mean, Woody. We all know you have a private store of the best." Snow condescended while she watched around the tavern. Hunters were coming and going now that the rain had stopped. Contracts were flying off the board and she felt a bit of jealousy. She had too much work to do for Merlin to take off on a long trip. She straightened up as Beast walked past and pointed at him. "If the critter isn't enough to convince you, then maybe he can."

Beast only stopped for a moment before he realized what Snow was talking about. He didn't recognize the kid next to her, he must be new. The kid was likely having trouble understanding what he got himself in to. Beast was one of the closest things to a real monster the Guild had at its disposal, so Snow often requested him to shift for that defining evidence. Beast faced the young man and let his clothes tear away as his body doubled in size and a large gorilla stood before them.

The impish girl's blue eyes grew wider and wider as the exciting tale went on. It was easy enough for her imagination to run away with a story, but Ash's gesturing and miming made it all the more real to Pete. She could almost see the great beast plowing its way through a forest, and the young hero of the story with his blade coming to save the day. Quietly she pondered what the beast had done to be slain. It did sound a terrible monster. Another thing nagged at Pete's mind. Why did the father have to first ask if he had slain the Jabberwock before offering an embrace and congratulations? Perhaps she was thinking too much on it, and it was simply done that way to preserve the rhythm of the poem. It was quite an enjoyable tale, nonetheless.

"I wonder if anyone's ever drawn a Jabberwock," Pete announced aloud, eyes sparkling with joy. "I bet it'd be gigantic, with hard, sharp, armoured scales. And teeth as long as my arms!" She giggled wildly at the thought, knowing that even if the creature did exist, it would have been long ago slain by the boy. Her laughter quieted, and her expression grew thoughtful now. "Y'know, being here, we'll have to be same as the boy. Huntin' monsters, I mean." Serious moments with Pete, however, did not last very long at a time. She leaned in toward the nearest bookshelf, scanning the titles as though what she wanted would conveniently be right there. "Maybe somebody wrote a book about the Jabberwock. Maybe there are pictures! What if there are more?" Pete turned to Ash at the last part, her mouth agape in awe at the idea. Could she just imagine such a thing?

Ashling felt her cheeks flush with happiness at Pete's approval of the poem. The girl's curiosity over the Jabberwock made Ash wonder a bit herself where she had exactly remembered the story. Perhaps it was read to her when she was young, but the vague memory of a mirror made her question the fact. A mirror, and scrambled writing, and a face that resembled a mouse or a bug. The image faded as she was met with a rather serious-looking Petria. Her words slipped into the air and melted, and Ash simply nodded. Thinking of slaying beasts at this moment was a far away idea, but upon remembering that they were Hunters she grinned. A wide, somewhat chaotic grin. It passed in an instant, and she was returned to her tired-looking self while watching Pete explore the shelves again,

"Maybe there is a book," Ash spoke up, "I remember hearing... Or reading, rather, the story someplace before, but I forget where." In a room with a mirror, that might have been where. Perhaps it was simply another dream, but one from long ago. She hadn't been to a room with a mirror recently. Eventually the library grew quiet and Ashling let her head lean against her hand, getting comfortable in the seat. Around her there was a quiet bustle, a rhythmic noise, and the noise dragged down her eye lids. The threat of sleep was gathering.

"Ashling."

The voice was quiet but demanding, purring close to her ear, and her heart practically burst. There was a flurry of movements as she nearly toppled from the chair, saved herself, and then caught sight of Vapor, who lazily balanced on the chair beside her. He didn't speak, no, instead he glared at her. A silent warning.

Stay awake.

A nod towards the Library door drew her attention there, and she blinked when Rumple passed by. Why point the goblin out? Ash turned to give the cat a questioning look but, much to her lack of surprise, he was already gone. And she was left to ponder.

~Vapor~

A purr rumbled deep in his throat as the world passed by at an alarming speed, shifting from one room to the hall. He was nothing, just a floating essence of mist, and then two eyes formed. Bright yellow, dilated pupils, cat eyes. A body formed around them, thin furred and painted in a muddle of different colors, paws, claws, and finally a tail. Soon a rather thin cat was standing on the cool flooring, padding down the hall towards the tavern. The girl would be fine on her own for now, and maybe with the hint he gave her she'll figure out where the dumb trinket is. His eyes focused on what was ahead of him, and his ears twitched at the sound of distant talking. Exploring this new dump wouldn't hurt much. After all, he needed to scoop out the area, in case the worst happened. The hall opened and a thick smell of people and alcohol filled the air, making the cat grumble. Vapor kept to the shadows, keeping his presence low while his eyes scanned the room.

The cold woman was there, he remembered her scent (apples and wind), along with the bartender (whisky and wood), and two other people. One smelled like a mixture of a bear, a gorilla, and a man, a creature he had never experienced before. His eyes narrowed at the sight of the furry man, face scrunching up at the ridiculous smell. There was another man there, with dark hair and the smell of rain lingering on him. He seemed to be the newest. Vapor slunk forward a bit then sat, tail curling around his front paws, half shielded by the shadow of the wall. This scene in front of him seemed positively interesting, might as well see how it unfolds.

Kenichi had looked back quickly enough to see the knowing look on Beast's face before the transformation. Had he not, he would have immediately drawn his sword. The fact that the hulking creature that now stood before him made no hostile movement was also cause to stay his hand. He glanced around the tavern for a moment. There were a few patrons who were surprised, but none seemed truly terrified. This was clearly not the first time this had happened here. Still keeping an eye on Beast, he glanced back to address Snow once more.

"You are correct. This is much more convincing," He replied, slowly easing back on his seat. "So not only do you hunt monsters, you employ the more agreeable of them. I am reminded of the Oni, back in Japan. According to folklore, which it seems may in fact be true, demons in Japan are not necessarily evil, though they rarely make considerations for humans unless it is in their personal interests."

Again, he nodded deeply, this time to Beast as he returned to his business, throwing in a quick "Arigato- gozaimasu" before turning back to the bar.

"What would you have me do?" He asked.

Marian

"What a shame," Marian said, "That was such a nice shirt on you, Paul." She gave the 'gorilla' a rakish grin and downed the rest of her little cup of tequila.

"Woody, mas tequila por favor," she said as she slid the cup his way. "Did you really sell outta that pretty bottle I brought up from El Paso? I can get more... I'm thinkin of takin up that contract in N'Awlins, provided I can take a steamer down river instead of ridin. You can get a lot'a good liquor in N'Awlins..."

Red packed away the remaining food back into her basket, seeing as no one else seemed interested. She listened to the discussion quietly soaking in the experience of the others. She ignored Jack’s chiding words. She wasn’t afraid of witches. The only thing she truly feared was something he would do well to fear also. But he didn’t know. The only one here who did was Mme Ellie.

Still his plan was sound, and Ellie seemed to approve. Should it be a few stupid girls playing with fire they would give them a scare and a spanking and send them on their way. If it was something more sinister, well Red knew what to do. Her duty to the Guild assured her compliance, not that she would take much prodding. If there were dark forces at work she would stand against them.

As the train pulled into the station she stood, shook out her skirts, pulled the voluminous hood of her cloak over her head, and picked up her basket. Beneath the hood her blue eyes shimmered in the dim light, and just a hint of teeth.

"Alright. I'll pose as your bodyguard, Madame Rose. It should make things simpler and keep questions off me," Devin suggested.

He gave his equipment a quick check while the train was grinding to a halt. His bow was already strung and carried on his back, ready for action at a moment's notice. Bows weren't the most common weapon in recent times. Devin was well aware that guns were all the rage. Simple to use and packing a huge punch, even he could see the weapon's attractiveness. But in the hands of a good archer, a bow would never lose to a gun. They were noisy, had terrible accuracy and most importantly were unreliable, a point his father often commented loudly about. He drew a finger down the length of the bowstring, before slinging it back over his back.

Devin jumped off the car as soon as the train stopped at the station. The place was nothing more than a wooden platform, with a small hut to the side. There weren't more than a handful of passengers alighting aside from them. Devin turned around and offered his hand to Eulalie.

"Do you need a hand, Madame?" Devin said playfully, then chuckled. "I think this is how a gentleman acts?"

Raised in the countryside, Devin was a true-blooded country bumpkin. Technology confuses him. However, he had some time to observe the behavior of the city folk during his short stay in the Guild headquarters, so he wasn't completely clueless anymore.

Eulalie

"Yes, you are a natural, Monsieur Huntsman." she said with a smile as she allowed Devin to help her down. She could have him wrapped around her pinkie in no time...

Eulalie glanced around once she was outside and a few steps away from the train. There was a level of humidity and a scent of burnt coal coming from the steam engine that was reassuring to her. The hustle and bustle of cargo being loaded or unloaded was smaller than what she was used to in La Havre, but made the area a little more homey for her despite being so far from the coast. It was only lacking more people, being that the small town's train station seemed to be staffed by less than a dozen men. As the smoke and steam from the stopping of the train engine faded away the town was revealed more fully before them in the fading light. There was a mixture of wooden buildings and brick buildings, but far more wood. There was a warehouse and office for the train station to their right, and a general store towards their left. She could see other signs poking out from rows of buildings down the main road from the train: a saloon, a bank which also housed a telegram service, then on the general store side of the street there was a notary public, and a courthouse with a jail that really didn't look large enough to be either of those things. It looked like the end of the road faced an Inn, with something that looked like a row of workhouses next to it. Otherwise, the other buildings seemed to be residences or storage buildings. If there was a church, it was likely to be on another street over or so where there were more residences. Eulalie figured the same would be true for the houses of anyone well-to-do.

Jack looked at Red and smiled slightly, he knew that he made a good choice picking Red to be his partner for this mission. He knew that Briar Rose had some distaste for him, and that he and Hunstman would likely clash as far as ideals were concerned.

"This is for the best anyways. We'll all meet up tomorrow morning, after a good nights rest, after that the investigation will begin. There's a saloon down the main stretch of road which may have rooms for us to stay in, it'd be a good place to start for now, I'll get to talking to the locals at the bar anyways and find out what they know." Jack spoke to the group before scratching the back of his head.

In the hurrying of the rest of the group, he grabbed his things and slung his rifle over his shoulder with it's strap and holstered his revolvers on his hips, making note of how it seemed that everyone was armed to the teeth, and that might not sit well with many people in this small town. "We need to be careful with our weapons out aswell, we could be seen as bandits or brigands or theives or what have you. It's best to lay low and make sure we only use our weapons if we need to." He looked to Devin as he spoke this, knowing that a man with a bow, some axes and some arrows would cause a bit of a fuss in a town like this.

"If any of us run into trouble, i guess we could use our guild seals to communicate and share information. Good luck." Jack finished before making his way to the saloon, not really sure if it'd be good for Red to come with him in there. But then again, she did work in the brothel, so Jack assumed she could handle some handsy drunks. Contnet with the choice, he pushed open the doors to the quiet saloon and lookaed around the room, making note of the few people in it and the fewer people at the bar.

"Well, this is rather drab..." He spoke as he went to sit at the bar, looking at the portly fellow who stood behind the bar, cleaning a glass. "Good evening, I'd like a shot of whiskey please." Jack spoke as he eyed the weary looking giant, the night was slowing down to a halt. "And I'd like to get two rooms, one for myself, and one for my friend, who will be here shortly." He was playing calm and polite, he wasn't sure how agitated the people in the town were yet about the talk of witchcraft, but from what he understood, most country folk aren't too keen on the idea of witches and omens and stories run rampant in small towns.

The large fellow grunted and poured the shot, looking Jack in the eyes with a sort of suspicion, it was strange for a man who looked to be rather privileged to show up in a tiny hole like Havensburg, "What brings you here? Aint nothin in this town but dirt and trees, old loggin' community here. Ya aint here about the witches, are ye'?"

Jack wore a slightly surprised l;ook on his face, then shook it off shortly afterwards. "No, never heard of any witches, I just had family here a while back, wanted to see where my uncle used to live." He lied, but this was a perfect way to get information about what he needed to know about. "But about these witches? You know it aint real. Just stories." Jack spoke then took the shot slowly, thinking about how forward the bartender was about the situation. "Besides, you'd think in an old logging town there'd be talk of other nefarious creatures, wouldn't you?"

The bartender just shook his head and responded with a simple statement, "Well, just go ask the village chief, Triston Galley. He knows more than anyof us and has been working on getting to the bottom of whatever is going on in the forest." The man slid two keys infront of jack and sighed. "Since yer here to visit old family ground, tonight is on the me, just becareful about where you go and what you do."

Snow was relieved to see that her little ploy worked. Beast shifting was usually enough to get anyone convinced, but ocassionally there was an adamant non-believer to walk inside. She stood up and looked around. Nobody had approached her about her pendant yet and she was starting to get worried. She'd have to find it herself later, but she had things to do first.

"I like to take care of things right away. So, if you're on board, I want to see what you're capable of." Snow looked around and didn't see the faces she needed in the Tavern. She turned to Marian. "Will you go find the new girls... Ash and Pete, I believe. Bring them to the courtyard. We'll meet you there."

Snow tried to be polite as possible. Ellie was always the Guild favorite and naturally talented at befriending and teaching the new students. Snow didn't really care how much she was liked, but she did need to reach these new students while Ellie was away. Snow quietly got up and made for the courtyard.

Marian

Marian nodded, knocking back the last of her beverage. She turned from the bar and looked about to try to think of where the two lil things might be. Before heading towards the hall, she looked to Woody once more, "We'll talk more about liquor another time. Just know I can get it."

She patted Paul on the arm as she went by, and made her way down the hall with her ears open. Surely two young girls would not be sitting quietly, they would be moving about and chatting and giving away their location. She paused as she passed doorways to listen with no results at the private doors. There were some shuffling noises at Rumple's door, and Marian stopped. Should she check? Or not? She could hear the little man talking quietly to something, and thought maybe the girls were in there.

She pushed open his door, mouth smiling and open ready to call out to the girls, and stopped dead in her tracks. Rumple was sitting at his stool at the desk. The room was lit with candles lending it a soft glow, and there were two place settings as if he were hosting a meal for a guest. The 'guest' placed across from Rumple at the other plate was the creature Marian had recently delivered, still in its cage but sitting up towards the cage door making purring noises. Rumple turned at Marian's entry in the middle of ladeling out what seemed to be some kind of casserole, and gave her a dark even look.

"Oh... um - pardon me." she stuttered and backed out the door shutting it quickly behind her. So, that was weird... You know, I don't want to know... she thought and let out the breath that had caught in her throat. She shook herself and moved on to the Library to keep up her hunt. She could hear female voices somewhere in the aisles and knew the girls were there somewhere.

"Ash, Pete! Ladies, come out come out wherever you are. Snow wants you," she called as she paced the aisles. She wasn't one for book learning, but the smell of the place sure was nice. Paper and warmth, and the scent of old treasured things.

"Ladiiiies... come on now."

Devin was glad the lady approved, whose pleasant smile was dazzling. In all honesty, it didn't take such beauty to charm the Hunstman; he was just as easily satisfied by a simple farmer girl. Thus, his behaviour towards Eulalie wasn't one of any special interest. It was simply how Devin acted towards any human of the female gender that was even slightly pleasing to the eye.

The party disembarked from the train, and promptly left in their own separated ways as planned. Jack and Red left in the direction of the saloon. Devin, with Eulalie right behind him, headed into the town. Havensburg was reminiscent of Brotterode, the nearest town to the hut he shared with his father. A small, quaint place, surrounded by woodland. Devin liked the place already. He approached a passing lad and asked him about the residence of the village leader, which he shared with a slight hesitation. The man's suspicion went unnoticed by the naive Huntsman. Although his bow and clothing clearly identified him as some sort of hunter, his foreign features and unfamiliar accent made the locals wary of Devin.

With Devin still leading the way, they looked for the 'large, brick house behind the church'. Sure enough, there was a building that matched the description. It was hard to miss, as it was significantly bigger than the other residences nearby. Fitting for a leader, Devin supposed. He gave Eulalie a quick glance before walking up to the main entrance. A large brass doorbell was affixed to the middle of the wooden door. Devin rang it.

At first, it seemed like nobody was home, but heavy footsteps began to approach the doorway from inside the house. The door swung inwards, revealing a large man. He looked to be in his early fifties or late fourties, but did not look frail in the least. Grey tinted the edges of his short blonde hair. He wore a white shirt and dark blue pants, clean and freshly pressed.

"Yes?" he asked, clearly puzzled at their appearance.
"Good afternoon, sir. My name's Devin and I'm accompanying the lovely lady Eulalie on her journey. She has some business with you," he said, bowing slightly and moving out of the way for Eulalie to come forward. He paused briefly, waiting for the woman to introduce herself to the village leader.

Briar Rose

Eulalie was genuinely surprised that Devin found the place so easily. Then again, everything else was very simple and plain. It made sense the man in charge would also be the richest and have the nicest home.

Her heart sped up as she looked at the large man. Then she blinked in an effort to abate her anxiety. He was a man, a rich enough man for such an area. She would charm him.

"Bonjour monsieur," she said softly and giving a small curtsy. "I am Mademoiselle Eulalie Bellerose, of... zee... ministry." she bluffed. She allowed her accent to permeate her English now, hoping to use her exoticism as part of winning him over. Her hand went to her family crest at her throat, with the rose encircled with the thorned crown of Christ. "I am inveszigating some small matteur, and would be pleased to speak wis you, si vous le permettez?"

The older man regarded her carefully, though somewhat appreciatively. "The 'ministry' you say? Ministry of what? From whom do you derive authority?" he asked, not being an idiot.

"Le Ministère de l'Crucifix," she answered, making up a name that sounded legit enough. "I was sent by La Mère Supérieure, who takes orders from zee bishop in Massachusetts. Zat ees as much as I can inform you, monsieur. Might I come inside and speak wis you?"

The man regarded her warily, and she looked upward at him with wide doe eyes. Finally he nodded, and motioned for them to follow. She hoped Devin caught the name of her fictional ministry in case he was asked. Entering the foyer, which boasted wainscoting along the walls up to her waist and a fine floral wallpaper covering the plaster, she noticed there seemed to be no other guests, and enjoyed a moment of smug satisfaction that Sawyer was in some bar not getting ahead of her right now.

Too much pondering left one tired, so tired that they begin to fall again. Back down the rabbit hole, as she called it. Ash drifted slowly down the drop, feeling rather guilty that she couldn't up hold Vapor's request to stay conscious, but for some reason her brain insisted on sleep. So she did, and it seemed as though everything was back to normal. Around, the tight walls of the tunnel widened and eventually Ash found herself surrounded by flowing fields of grass and flowers, and a sky that seemed to gleam purple. Dreamland. She allowed her knees to buckle and body to relax as the world around her spun, visions of the day she had just experienced flashing throughout. This was a leisurely activity that Ash found herself partaking in after a long or exciting day, it was a nice way to remember (or forget) what had happened before. Plenty of images appeared, meeting up with Pete, speaking with Snow, noticing Vapor out of the corner of her eye. One picture stuck, the sight of Rumple, and then it just became another blurry memory.

Lots of things just became blurry memories nowadays.

"Perhaps I am mad." Ash spoke out loud to herself, leaning back on her arms as she gazed up at the strange purple sky that was slowly shifting into a deep green color. Did normal people see this sky in their dreams? It was a strange to think about. There are plenty of strange things to think about here, like how the flowers giggle at nothing and how the animals talk and walk and wear human clothes and how the drinks make you shrink and the cakes make you grow. Thinking thinking and more thinking...

'Ash...'

She jolted when she heard someone call her name and the beautiful land suddenly vanished like smoke, being replaced with the dull colors of the guild library. Someone had called out to her and Pete, someone she couldn't recgonize by voice. Seems as though Snow wanted to have another little chat.

"Curious..." she whispered, standing slowly, ignoring the creak of her bones as she did so. Blue eyes scanned the room, but was only met with a maze of wood and books, and without turning to see if Pete was following, she ventured into the asisles, hands flowing softly over the thick bounded books on the shelves. The voice called out again, though Ash barely heard it this time, as she was too focused on the ground, which seemed to be shifting from brown to green right before her very eyes. The feeling of sleepiness clutched at Ash's brain and made her entire being felt heavy and oppressed, while visions of dreams flickered every so often in front of her, but she continued walking. On and on and on until her body collided with another and her eyes widened with fear and embarrassment. She fell back, managed to catch herself on the edge of the shelf, and stammered out a 'S-s-sorry!' before glancing up to see who she had run into.

A woman Ash only knew by the name of Marian. She had overheard Snow speaking to her (or was it about her?) a day or two before. Ash straightened and gave a small, polite bow,

"H-h-hello. Snow wanted to see us?"

~Vapor

The one that smelled of smoke and whiskey had gone to fetch Ashling and her companion after receiving orders from Snow. Apparently, they were heading to the courtyard. Vapor slowly stood, eyes glaring down at the group as he realized that they were obviously going to be showing off their battling skills. A pang of worry quickly faded and he grinned his same old dazzling grin before vanishing into a puff of mist, moving quickly and quietly from his hiding spot towards the courtyard. He would only watch, he would not interfere. He wasn't one to involve himself in trivial matters like training and fighting... But he would stick around, just in case.

Marian took the girl by the shoulders when she crashed into her, looking the child over. Seemed like they get younger and younger, these recruits. Then again, she had been blowing up railways and running from the wrath of both the Texas Railroad and Pacific Railroad companies and their mercenary sheriffs. They'd try to build there again one day, but for now the ranchers would keep their property...

"Well hi," she said with a wide smile, "Yes, Miss Snow is callin on y'all. I don't see where your friend went..." Marian said, looking about, "But I'll take you to her for now."

She turned the girl about face and guided her out the Library back towards Snow and Kusa were waiting. "I'm Marian by the by. From El Paso, in the great state of Texas." she explained, "I been round here a couple years now, but I'm gone a lot on missions. Reconnaissance type things, or re-a-pro-priatin' missing things as were stolen from members. That kinda thing. Lots of travel. Got a nice horse though, Bodaway's the fastest filly most folks ever seen. Right pretty too," she said wistfully, "Got her from a Shaman whose life I saved."

She stopped talking as they passed Rumple's door, and she stopped and released the girl while she put an ear to it. Not hearing anything, she shook her head and continued, starting to hum Clementine lightly. She led the girl into the tavern where Snow and Kusa waited at the bar.

Ellie watched her students run off into the fray of the town. She had been to Havensburg once before. She was just a budding new member of the Guild herself back then, and she held the same eager ambition that they did. Back then, the town was smaller, mostly just the mill and houses. It had grown a lot since she'd been gone. No doubt a direct result of her taking care of a mischievous pixie that was poisoning their forest. Their logging business must have exploded after the trees became healthy again. She would need to get her own bearings if she was to provide any help to her students while they were in town.

Ellie decided to follow Sawyer and Red to the saloon. It was a smart move. As a common place for the men of town to gather and the alcohol causing loose-lips, one could learn a lot about the area just by listening. She pulled Red aside before they entered and made sure none of the villagers had been listening to their conversation.

"I'm not sure you should hang around in there. Your cloak will protect you, but if one of them was to get too aggressive...well, I don't have to remind you what can happen. Take a look around town, maybe talk to the preacher. We'll meet up later." Red was always a good listener and surely agreed with Ellie's logic. The cape would be much more frail than her collar ever was. It was best not to take any unnecessary risks while in an uncontrolled environment. Red nodded in agreement and headed off in to town. However, that left Sawyer on his own, too.

"Drinking on the job, Jack?" Ellie tried to sound demanding as she walked in to the saloon. She turned a few heads of some of the men that had only started their drinking for the night, but most were too involved in their own drunken stupors to care. The barkeep raised a eyebrow as she marched in. Part of him wanted to see it all play out in a violent manner. "I assume you haven't procured us any rooms, yet. Do you plan on having me sleep on a bench, again!?"

Ellie hoped that Jack had caught enough bits about her to know she wasn't actually upset. A little bit of role playing went a long way on a job. Huntsman and Rose had a good set up that they could mimic. Hopefully, it wouldn't cause too much concern for multiple parties of ladies and their guards to arrive in town together. Despite her only pretending to be upset, the sun was setting and they'd likely need to stay the night. They'd have to procure rooms if they wanted to avoid sleeping outside.

====================================================================================================

"Just one?" Snow cocked an eyebrow as the girls returned to the bar. "Well, it will have to do for now. I don't really have a lot of time and am curious to see what you lot can do." She spoke the last bit to their newest arrival. They only had a few members from the East and they were quite talented. She was always curious to see what they were capable of. She stood up and headed to the door in the back.

Through it was the courtyard. It sometimes changed themes depending on the needs of the day, but usually it was set up as a practice area for the Guild. Straw dummies were set up all over for combat training. There were also a few skill tests set up around the corners of the courtyard for those that wanted to practice events that could be encountered in the field. Her favorite was the lockpicking test, mostly because new members underestimated its difficulty and often triggered the bomb traps she had set up.

As her chosen members stepped outside, she motioned for them to step up to the combat training dummies. A few other members of the Guild were out enjoying the sun now that the rain had stopped. Some of them stepped back from the training dummies, curious as well to see what the newbies could do. "Go ahead and show off a bit. This isn't an official evaluation, but more of your chance to impress us," Snow explained to the new recruits.

"Pick some dummies and don't hold back."

Hitomi strode into the courtyard, her gait elegant and poised with a sway of her hips. The fact that she kept her hood lowered the moment she returned wasn't helping the concentration of the male (and to her pleasure, some of the female) students either. They had apparently just began training, as Snow was still giving them instructions. "Ever the taskmaster." She greeted the woman as she leaned against the low stone wall surrounding the courtyard. She flashed her contract to Snow, showing her the details of it. "Just took care of that necromancer down south. I'll be around if you need me to assess their agility and stealth skills... or if you need someone to scratch an itch. The latter extends to you to, Marian."

The Fox came on to pretty much anyone she was familiar with, but she was a lot worse with Snow who seemed to always be busy. "A few of them look promising... combat-wise, anyway." She observed the students training with the dummies. Hitomi rarely paid any attention to the newbies, but there were a few students that came from the East and it was always interesting to see people hailing from her continent. That's when one of the girls from the brothel passed by, apparently having been sent on an errand or chore of some kind. Hitomi smiled and produced a ruby with a flourish, the girl walked over and chuckled as she took it and pocketed it, giggling.

"Thank you, Fox."

"You're welcome. I told you I'd bring you something to match your hair when I got back." She winked and swatted the girl's butt before sending her on her way back. She wasn't exactly a role model for the students in the courtyard at the moment, but hey, the idiots could learn a thing or two about using charm and coin to achieve their objective instead of relying on strength of arms. She caught a few of the guys staring at her more than they were paying attention to their training, and before Snow got mad at them (or her) for not taking things seriously, she whistled and gestured for them to continue. "You wouldn't be staring at me if those dummies were real monsters, so stop staring unless you want to know what a real hunter or huntress can do."

The warning seemed to get them focused on their training, along with the fact that Hitomi crushed a pebble in her fist into sand as she said the words. She giggled when she noticed a few of the boy seemed to have closed the gap between their legs, as if they had imagined the pebble in her hand were their family jewels. Not that she was going for that effect consciously, but if it got them focused...

Not having had a proper training space in his months-long journey, Kenichi was eager to see the environment that the Guild had laid out, though he did not show his enthusiasm. He walked silently, taking up the rear with the jet-haired English girl between Snow and himself, taking visual note of the layout, the other students, and the familiar shape of the eyes under the hood of the sultry female figure who had been waiting for them. He did not hesitate once she and Snow had finished conversing. He circled around the girls, toward his chosen target, and without so much as breaking stride, sent a previously concealed bo-shuriken sailing through the air to bury itself in what would have been the target dummy's face. He then dropped his traveling pack before him, throwing himself into a dive-roll over it, and picking out his sword as he executed the acrobatic maneuver. Still, he did not slow. He had closed the distance to the dummy, and was solidly kneeling the moment he had landed, allowing him to draw the weapon into a horizontal slash across the target's abdomen. In the same movement that returned him to standing height, he delivered a single stomping kick to the target's chest, sending the upper half tumbling to the ground behind its post, showing off the beautifully clean cut. In this brief moment, Kenichi had dropped the sword's sheath behind him, and his left hand then took its place on the handle. The next cut was diagonal, as he took a step to his left, and the dummy lingered in place a moment before the separated section, shoulder to waist, slid to the ground.

Still, Kenichi was not finished. Wheeling around, yet another concealed bo-shuriken flew from his fingers, sailing across the field to strike a third dummy in the face. Making his way across the field, he used his foot to flip his sheath up into his left hand, putting the blade away, then used that same motion to bring a long haft within reach. He took a few steps ahead of the heavy Bisento before propping the weapon against his shoulder, and with a tremendous step-and-turn motion, slammed the massive edge into the side of an un-touched dummy, splintering its post and dropping the bulk of the target between himself and the target that had taken the second bo-shuriken. Under its own considerable momentum, the polearm's massive blade swung around his arm, resting directly behind him, and with a single step, he popped the weapon over his shoulder, bringing the blade crashing down into the final dummy's head.

Finally, Kenichi stepped back, blade in front of him, surveying the damage he had just caused. His mind lingered in that combat mentality for several moments; "Zanshin," as it was known. A few seconds passed before he finally relaxed his posture, and Kenichi returned the Bisento to his pack before retrieving the steel spikes from the faces of his straw victims. Bundling his gear and re-concealing his bo-shuriken, Kenichi bowed to the group, properly this time, before standing aside and allowing someone else the opportunity to demonstrate.

Marian. Ash made sure to remember the girl's face and name with a half-smile. Her accent was strange, but her way of speaking wasn't exactly uncomfortable and Ashling found herself somewhat interested in the pretty filly named Bodaway who had been a gift from a Shaman to the Texan before her. The one-sided conversation ceased suddenly, as they passed Rumple's door, and Ash made a mental note of that as well before continuing on to the group of Snow and Kenichi. Blue eyes slid to admire the foreign face of an Easterner but were quickly cast back down to the wooden floor, the idea of staring for too long much to rude to her, and then they were moving again, to the courtyard.

The fresh, rain-soaked air was welcome after being inside the stuffy Guild all day, and Ash took a deep breath before realizing how busy it actually was. People, some familiar and some not, sat in small groups, chatting, training, doing whatever hunters did on their days off, and a faint feeling of fear ebbed in her head but was quickly gone when Ash noticed how beautiful everything appeared. The sky was gray-blue, the color you would normally see after endless days of rain in England, and covered with swirling bleak clouds and wisps of promising white. The sun was warm, already nearly drying the damp grass and concrete and wood around the courtyard, yet underfoot moisture squished up from her boots. Ash stared down, hiding a small, silent smile, until she heard Snow speak, something about using the training ground, and a faint blush covered her face as she glanced back up and noticed the dummies and skill-oriented tests scattered throughout the landscape. Snow wanted them to show off right now? Alice rubbed her shoulder, opening her mouth to protest, but before she could even spit a single word into the air Kenichi was moving. Flashes of silver danced across the poor, defenseless dummies, and in what seemed to be a matter of seconds three of the dolls were destroyed, ripped apart by amazing swordsmanship and some other, smaller weapon Ash couldn't name.

'Impressive'

"Impressive." someone whispered in her ear, and Ash jolted forward slightly as wight suddenly pressed down on her shoulders, something soft curling around her neck. Vapor snuggled up close, his voice low, eyes piercing the back of Kenichi with interest, and then Snow, and finally meeting Ash's who was slightly confused about his sudden appearance (but then again, when was't she). He purred, tail uncurling from around her neck to point down behind her, where a familiar sheath lay.

"Brought you something that'll help you show off."

Ash slowly lowered herself down, trying to keep the cat balanced comfortably on her shoulder, and finally wrapped her fingers around cool leather. The Vorpal Blade. Apparently given to her by the strange Guild Leader, Merlin. Ashling straightened, slowly removing the dull leather sheath from the short sword, a small smile appearing as she once again got to stare at the beautiful carvings in the hilt and blade. It was a short sword, nearly a machete, covered from point to hilt in floral designs, and just holding it gave Ash a feeling of weightlessness and energy. Something else was in the leather holder as well, and she tipped it over slightly and was surprised to see a pack of cards tumble to her feet. Ah yes, these had simply appeared three days ago on her bedside table, and what an unpleasant surprise they had been. The cards inside were heavy, and the edges were ridiculously sharp and nearly cost the sleepy Ashling a finger. They were stupid playthings, but the idea of using them as a weapon was prominent among her varied thoughts, and she turned to give a small smile of thanks to her cat friend, but he was already gone.

"I suppose..." Ash spoke suddenly, slipping the pack of cards into her dress pocket, "I'll go next." Her finger traced the edge of the Vorpal Blade, blue eyes lolling dreamily over her plentiful targets until she decided on a small patch of three dummies placed close together. And then, with sudden swiftness, she bolted forward with loud footsteps, seemingly a black blur against the dull colors of the courtyard. Speed was everything to Ash, her main point in fighting and defending, and she thought it best to show off that good point by always moving. Even when she was in front of her first target she did not slow, not a single bit, instead she jumped forward, plowing blade-first through the doll's chest. The fabric gave and split as the blade pierced the dummy, and then came Ash's added weight which managed to knock the post over completely with a sudden crack. The wood splintered and then both bodies were falling forward, but she recovered quickly, pulling the blade free as she rolled over the doll's body and back onto her feet, already continuing onto the next dummy.

'Perhaps using the cards could work on this one.' her brain noted as soon as she realized how far away the next target was. Memories of Kenichi's fight from before, with those needle-like objects, replaying in Ash's head, inspiration blooming. She slipped her free hand into the pocket, using her middle finger and pointer to pull four cards from the already open case and with quick finesse she flung the four forward. Three of them simply caught the wind and fluttered to the earth lazily, evidence of her lack of understanding on how to throw the weapon, but the other one sailed through the air like a small whirlwind, barely missing the dummy as it planted itself into the very edge of it's face. She was upon it in a moment after that, arms raised high to give the unmoving doll a downward slash. The fabric once again split and two halves slumped to either side of her blade and then she was spinning around, foot lifting and extending to give a strong kick to the remaining post, sending it toppling, and then she was running once again. The last dummy was closer, and there were plenty of ways to finish it off, chopping, dicing, jabbing, more cards, maybe showing off some hand-to-hand, but instead she began to think about herself.

'Right now I am fast, but heavy. Not very heavy, but heavy. I can be lighter, faster, I can kick off this dummy without knocking it over. I can float. I will float.'

Blue eyes widened suddenly, gleaming brightly, and then narrowed. Her steps became lighter, body much more fluid then before, and the loud footsteps became quieter. The dummy was suddenly in front of her, looming, looking fragile. Light. Light. She was light. Ashling jumped forward, this time with her foot first, and planted it square against the doll's chest. There was a feeling of hardness within the body, the wooded post perhaps, and then she was kicking backwards, flipping higher into the air. Wind whistled passed her ears and weightlessness set in, a whirlwind of butterflies and leaves suspending her momentarily in the air. Her body tightened, the arm that held the blade was thrust back, and then the familiar weight of a weapon was gone, thrown forward at the target. The sword sailed downwards, gleaming in the mid-day sunlight, and it split right through the weak fabric and dug into the wet earth behind the dummy, leaving behind a large hole in the doll's chest. Ashling grinned, breathing quickly as her skirt fluttered around her knees, the same wind from before slowing her descent. Her mind was painfully clear and light and her legs felt raw yet ready for more running, but that was the price for jumping so suddenly into dummy-training after a few days of no exercise at all, and as soon as her toes connected with the ground she was running once more, slower, to gather up her weapon. She then straightened, neatening her appearance while eyes eyes locked on her toes as her face flushed a pale red,

"Sorry," her voice was hoarse, breathing heavy, "haven't done much of that since I got 'ere."

Marian grinned and leaned against a post to watch the new arrivals demonstrate what they could do. That was when she saw that minx Hitomi come in. She must have sensed one of her countrymen had arrived and the homing pigeon that was her vagina had activated. She didn't mind the forward woman so much. She wasn't Marian's type, as she lacked male equipment, but she didn't mind the attention. The woman had been a little too into Marian's red hair until a redheaded whore was hired. It was harder to offend Marian than to just hit on her, though. She gave the woman a polite smile and a wave for her attention, but was eager to see what the newbies would do.

The eastern man sprang into action, and Marian adjusted her attention. She leaned forward with interest, watching him roll and slice the dummies. "Well, hell's bells..." she said with a slow drawl, "Where were you when I was in El Paso..." she said to herself.

The girl had to put in more effort, but managed to ruin her own set of dummies well enough. She seemed rusty, and probably in need of guidance in throwing weapons. Marian hoped Kenichi would be interested in helping teach the girl. Marian used ranged weapons herself, but they were guns and crossbows. She hadn't brought her weapons with her to the courtyard, and had just decided she wasn't counted in the demonstrate her skills category since she was already a member who'd been completing missions, but Snow must have planned to have her show off because a young boy tugged at her sleeve. He had her crossbow and some bolts bundled in his arms.

"What are you suppose'ta be, a squire??" she asked, somewhat annoyed. She shot a glance at Snow who only looked at her expectantly, and resigned herself to putting on a demonstration. She snatched her equipment from the child before he managed to hurt himself with it, and loaded the bolts efficiently. Across the practice yard were a line of cans, but Marian snorted and looked about. On the second floor balcony above the yard someone had left a wine glass sitting on the ledge. She lined up the crossbow allowing for the considerable crosswinds and let the bolt fly, effectively shattering the glass into sparkling shards and causing a loud shriek of surprise from somewhere inside the balcony's room. A girl rushed out, noted the bolt stuck in the door frame, and looked angrily at the group.

"Come on, honey, toss that bolt down here for me. And don't leave cups out on the balcony where they can get hurt!" The girl scowled, and pulled the bolt from the wall and dropped it. Marian motioned for the boy to go fetch it, which he did quickly.

"Cans on a fence are for babes at the breast, can we move on?" she asked.