Vayond: The Shadowed Hunters

Micah heard three noises in quick succesion: a whirring of something flying through the air, the clang of metal on metal, and the soft thud of something hitting the dirt. He spun quickly, and saw a dagger impaled into the earth right in front of him, a small dust cloud settling where it landed. He also saw the young woman glaring at him, and a man with a drawn sword. Hunters! was his immediate thought; without wasting time trying to put it all together, he drew his scimitar from it's scabbard on his back, and prepared for battle.

Vayond: The Shadowed Hunters

Isla's gaze shifted to Falcon when his dagger collided with hers. A part of her was happy that he had done it; the other part of her only became angrier.

However, she quickly looked back at the man, who had drawn his scimitar. Isla rolled her eyes slightly. Why did I not see that coming?

Slowly moving away from the door, she withdrew both of her swords and said, "Consider yourself blessed. That dagger would have killed you."

Vayond: The Shadowed Hunters

Micah watched her dual swords carefully, surmising every possible move she could make next to be sure he wasn't caught off guard. "That makes you very unlucky, for now you must face me honorably, and I am an excellent swordsman." He stepped cautiously to his right, trying to keep both the woman and the man in view at once. His pulse quickened and his mind steeled, as his body prepared itself for the imminent battle. At least they don't know where our Hideout is, he thought to himself, or they'd be there already. I may die here; but at least the others will be safe.

Vayond: The Shadowed Hunters

Falcon watched as everything went down, as Isla and the man exchanged threatening words.
Who is this man, and why is she attacking him? Falcon thought. If he is a threat, I hope she remembers what I've taught her.

Vayond: The Shadowed Hunters

"Only excellent? Hmm..." Isla arched a brow and sheathed her left-hand sword.

Isla shifted on her feet and said, "Show me."

Vayond: The Shadowed Hunters

Micah hesitated for a moment; her sudden smugness seemed strange. This person didn't seem like the same sort of dark, heartless murderers who had been chasing them the night before. He observed her eyes; they raged with passion and a tinge of instability. Was she even a Hunter?

"I'm not the one who desires a battle," Micah responded with a firm glower. "You made the first move by throwing your dagger. You will have to strike first again if you want to duel now."

Vayond: The Shadowed Hunters

“Isla, remember.” Falcon said, “Arrogance invites harm, humility begets benefits. Do not let your skill as a warrior weaken you.”
Falcon walked around the two as they prepared to duel, he prepared to enter and possibly end this without anyone being hurt.

Vayond: The Shadowed Hunters

Isla heard Falcon's warning, however, she didn't acknowledge it. She smirked as she took a few steps closer. Lifting her sword, she touched the blade of Micah's sword, but only enough to move it to the side a few inches.

A moment passed before she struck again, more forceful and quicker than before.

Return of the Fountain Fellowship

Raven made sure her sword was secure in its scabbard, then took a deep breath and followed Cale down the ladder. If this place has been abandoned, then there's no telling how long it's been since someone checked on this ladder, she thought with a shudder. I hope it still holds.

Vayond: The Shadowed Hunters

Micah anticipated her second attack and parried, glancing the blow to the side as he side-stepped, and brought his scimitar round for his own strike. The clang of their swords meeting announced the beginning of the duel, and once it started, it grew into a fury of speed and skill, as both nimbly evaded and returned their opponent’s attacks. Micah’s mind flashed back to his younger years, when he had received combat lessons from his father.

The blade is an extension of your own might, his father’s voice echoed from a distant memory, but it is also an extension of your mind. Do not sacrifice sense for strength, nor brain for brawn. Fight intelligently. As they fought, Micah tried to figure out his opponent. Her skill spoke of many years training, as well as many years of practical experience in authentic combat. Her style was somewhat familiar, but mostly foreign; probably a hodge-podge of techniques from several different cultures, indicating she was most likely an avid traveler. She fought aggressively, full of emotion and passion; and most interesting of all, she was obviously having fun.

Their blades locked. Micah pushed her back, and for a moment they paused, both breathing hard as they awaited the next round. "You fight well," Micah said, and then added spitefully, "Do you often ambush innocent strangers, or only on Wednesdays?"

Vayond: The Shadowed Hunters

Isla laughed, shaking her head. "Only on Wednesdays."

She struck again and said, "My name is Isla. Does it sound familiar to you at all?"

Vayond: The Shadowed Hunters

Falcon stopped and lowered his sword, something that he would have scorned Isla for, as he suddenly realized that she was fighting him because it reminded her of her past. Does she know him? Falcon thought, “Isla, do you know this man?”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Calix continued to fight when suddenly the sound of clanging swords broke through the harsh sounds of a tavern brawl. “Ooh!” Calix shouted as he punched another man so that he could get to his stuff that he had set down when he first entered, “I’ve got to see this.”
Calix ran for the door, but turned before he left, “I’m sorry, but I must leave you all.” Calix said, “If there is one thing that Calix can not stay away from, it’s watching a good sword duel. So again, I bid you all good bye as I leave this humble gathering.” A plate with mashed potatoes came flying and hit Calix square in the face. “Eh! Watch it!” Calix shouted as he wiped his face, then he turned and left the eatery.

Vayond: The Shadowed Hunters

Micah’s confusion was evident on his face. “Isla? I’ve never heard the name in my life.” Their fighting had paused, but a small group of passersby had stopped to watch. Even Calix had left his brawl to observe the goings-on outside. Micah stared at Isla blankly. “Who exactly do you think I am?” He was beginning to suspect that she was not in any way connected to the Hunters after all.

Vayond: The Shadowed Hunters

Isla moved then, putting more than 6 feet of distance between her and Micah. She quickly put away her sword, pulled her gloves off and said, "Who I thought you were does not matter anymore. Clearly, you are not the person I was supposed to meet."

She dipped her head reverently. "My apologies and thank you for the practice."

Isla looked at Falcon and walked toward him, "I thought I knew him. His face looks like a pirate I once knew, that is all. I have acted foolishly and I regret my actions. We may continue on our way."

~*~Brywahr Academy~*~

Stevie sat in the library, still gazing at Will. She loved to hear him talk.
She stifled a sigh as she realized he, again, just answered a question without asking her one back. How could she ever get him to fall in love with her if she was the only one keeping the conversation going.
Just as she was going to ask him another question, Alder walked in with Kasey behind her. To Stevie's dismay, the two girls walked over to them. She liked Kasey, and Alder was her best friend, but this had been one of the few chances Stevie had gotten to be alone with Will.
"Hey, you guys!" Alder said with her friendly smile. "What are you guys talking about?"

~

Tivvens smiled at Dan, very pleased. She was glad he realized what an honor this was.
"You wont need to worry much about lessons any more. You have been promoted. Recievers of your level only have one class a day, instead of the usual seven. With the extra time, you will spend half of it with Childress, and the other half doing as you please."

~

Brownie froze still as a statue, his heart racing, as McKenzie threatened him. When he was suddenly thrown backwards, he was too frightened to even react.
Suddenly he heard the noise of a door opened -- it was Darak's door. Brownie used this as his opportunity to escape.
Without another word, he stood up shakily but quickly and raced through the open doorway, slamming it shut behind him.
Brownie's breathing was quick and hard. He took his hand and wiped McKenzie's spit out of his eyes. Then he looked up.
"I'm sorry," he said to Darak and Atom. "You've no idea... what it's like... never being punished by a Giver...but punished...by everyone else."
Out of breath, he sat down on the floor in almost a collapse.
"I wanted to ask a favor."

~

Henry frowned when he heard Daniella's troubles. "I'm very sorry to hear that," he answered. "Sit over here on the bed, and we'll talk about it. Now. I hope you didn't believe him when he called you stupid. You're a beautiful creation of God, and nothing God creates is stupid. And just looking at your face and eyes, and hearing you talk, you seem like a very intelligent girl to me."
"Does anyone else know he forces you to do his homework?" Janiece asked.

~

Nan smiled. "This is just a test disc. Listen--" she attached it to the device and hit certain buttons. A voice sounded out of a tiny speaker on the device, saying over and over, "Test...test...test..." Nan hit another button and it stopped. "This disc was made just for this lesson. But the device can erase any disc like it, no matter what content is on it. This will be helpful to you in your life after Brywahr Academy."

~Riella