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Post by JezusBagels on Jun 5, 2009 15:25:39 GMT -5
Returning from his run-in with Malleus and the mercenaries hunting him, Monkuta rode into the clearing of the forest and dismounted Jaeado, his pony.
"Where is that girl?" he asked Jaeado jokingly. "Oh, the things you would say if you could talk, my friend. Maybe I'll look into that." He chuckled and pulled an apple from a nearby tree, placing it in Jaeado's mouth, much to the pony's great pleasure.
He walked away from his pony then, pulling his hood down and examining the clearing. "Marina!" he shouted in frustration.
Is she really going to make me wait?
He went inside his cabin and grabbed a loaf of bread. He proceeded to remove his cloak and weapons, stretching and readjusting his posture to the missing burden. Then he went back outside, sitting on a nearby stump and eating his bread.
She'll show herself when she's ready...
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Post by ivory on Jun 5, 2009 15:48:12 GMT -5
"Well damn!" Marina cursed as she heard her name being yelled. Giving his room a quick glance in satisfaction, she climbed out the window, wiping her shoes off in the grass outside before heading off into the woods.
She hadn't trusted him, hadn't trusted this whole ordeal. Why would she get carted off to be a Ranger? She didn't even know what one was to tell the truth, but she hadn't thought much about it then, grabbing at any chance to get out of the prison of Womanhood. But she had on the way here and started to wonder if this all wasn't some joke played by Jordain. He came from a rich family and he didn't care for her much since she'd bloodied his nose two years back. It'd be just like him to bribe someone to make a fool out of her. Well, she'd show him. She'd show the lot of them.
So she'd dumped bucket after bucket of water on his dirt floor until it turned into a nice thick pile of mud. Of course, that was after she caught quite a few worms and had shoved them in his pillow. She'd only had time to sew the hole up half way before he came bellowing for her.
Marina circled around to come up the trail as if she'd just gotten there and stopped when she saw him. She played the innocent girl, digging her toe in the dirt, head down to watch her foot carve designs, and waited for him to make the next move.
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Post by JezusBagels on Jun 5, 2009 16:12:15 GMT -5
"Done playing pranks?" he asked rhetorically. "Good. Now, here's the plan."
He reached down to a small tin box sitting beside the stump he was sitting on. He opened it, pulling out a small bundle and throwing it to the ground about half way between Marina and himself. He took a huge bite of his loaf of bread, nearly swallowing half of it with one gulp.
He pointed to a cluster of trees far to the left of the bundles with targets carved into the sides.
"Take those and throw them at the targets. I want to test your aim."
He leaned forward onto his knees, waiting for her to move. It annoyed him immensely that she thought she could fool him. He'd been told enough about this girl to know there was little about her that was at all innocent.
"The sooner you drop the act, the sooner you can take the test and clean up the mess you made in my cabin. Come on, get moving."
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Post by ivory on Jun 5, 2009 16:24:43 GMT -5
"Done playing pranks?"
She was glad her face was lowered to the ground where he couldn't see her startled expression. She wrestled it under control, telling herself that there was no way he could know, before looking up to see him reaching toward a small tin box on the ground beside him. She tensed in preparation for him to play his own cruel joke he'd been paid to play by Jordain.
But only a bundle of something was hurtled toward the ground a few paces in front of her. Her eyes grew wary as she studied it, wondering if this was the joke.
"Take those and throw them at the targets. I want to test your aim."
She didn't move, not trusting him for a second despite that this wasn't Jordain's usual way. He paid them to be quick about it since he was so impatient. And she hadn't been able to spot him in the surrounding terrain like she usually could.
"The sooner you drop the act, the sooner you can take the test and clean up the mess you made in my cabin. Come on, get moving."
She looked up at him in anger. "You find a mess in your cabin and you immediately blame me?" The smart part of her mind ignored that fact that it actually was her fault.
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Post by JezusBagels on Jun 5, 2009 16:28:26 GMT -5
Monkuta smirked.
"I heard you moving about behind the cabin. I haven't seen anything. But it's beside the point. You'll be cleaning up later. Right now, get throwing. Daylight only lasts so long and we don't stop training just because you feel cold."
He inhaled the remainder of his bread, waiting in silence for her to begin.
He was determined to civilize this girl and if that meant turning her into a ranger, he would do that too.
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Post by ivory on Jun 5, 2009 16:34:05 GMT -5
She glared at him. She was a Lady, how dare he speak to her that way! Why, she'd have Jordain hung and dry in no time when she got back home. She'd shove his face in a pile of manure after whipping his tail in front of the whole town!
But first she had this creep to take care of.
"I will not! You may be getting paid by a slime of a pig to play these stupid tricks, but I'm done with them! You can just go ahead and leave! He doesn't need you anymore and I'll be damned if I let him make a full of me! You know what? Why don't you take the bloody knives and throw them yourself - right into his stupid neck! And while you're at it-"
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Post by JezusBagels on Jun 5, 2009 16:41:48 GMT -5
Monkuta sighed, standing as she spoke and walking over to the bundle on the ground. He opened it, pulling two daggers out; one in each hand. Then, using the instincts that had become reflex long ago, he lunged the two daggers past Marina's head, lodging them hilt-deep in a tree behind her.
As they flew through the air, he summoned his angriest tone and shouted, "SHUT THE HELL UP!"
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Post by ivory on Jun 5, 2009 16:46:29 GMT -5
Marina cursed and ducked as the knives sailed over her head, effectively cutting of her rant. She didn't come up though, instead letting out an angry yell and lunged foward to ram her head into his stomach.
Now this was more like Jordain's plan of attack, though he'd never used knives before. He preferred to keep her alive so he could continue to torment her. But he had to get his buddies to gang up on her since he was too much of a coward himself. And it was always at least two on one, but they'd all been only a few years older than her so she could see how he'd only think to employ one grown up. And he had knives so that more than evened it out.
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Post by JezusBagels on Jun 5, 2009 16:52:20 GMT -5
Monkuta growled and grabbed her head as she came near, pushing her into the ground and leaning over her.
In a hushed, but obviously angry tone he said, "Listen to me. We do not joke about the Ranger Corps. Whatever you think about what is happening here is wrong. I am a ranger and you are my apprentice. "he revealed his oakleaf, putting in the light where she could see it clearly.
"Now start listening to me or get lost. I don't have the patience to deal with a little brat all day."
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Post by ivory on Jun 5, 2009 17:05:20 GMT -5
Marina shoved her hands behind her to lessen the force of her fall as she was shoved backwards into the ground. She glared fiercely at him, but it started to fade as he began to talk. She admitted that it would make a great deal of sense if what he said was true.
Curious now, she cocked her head to the side as he pulled out an oakleaf from beneath his shirt and held it in the light. She'd never seen anything like it, but before she could say so, he spoke again.
Her glare was back. "I am NOT a brat!" She let her glare settle for another few seconds before picking herself up and turning to go grab the stupid knives. She didn't even bother to dust herself off, well used to the dirt of Mother Nature.
She swirled back around to glare at him, a knife in each hand. She wouldn't admit she'd never touched a knife outside of cooking a meal, let alone try to throw one; her pride wouldn't let her. Still glaring, she aimed for the blasted targets and threw the first one.
She turned her glare on it when it went too far to the left before flicking it back toward the man, warning him to not say a word. She concentrated this time, feeling the weight of it in her hand. She notified the distance and figured she'd have to aim higher to actually hit the mark like she had to do with her bow.
Eyes pulled together in a concentrated scowl, she pulled her arm back and threw it foward. She watched as it spin tip over handle repeatedly before sinking to the hilt in the outer ring. She turned to the 'ranger' with a sneer before crossing her arms in satisfaction.
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Post by JezusBagels on Jun 5, 2009 17:08:01 GMT -5
Monkuta looked at the dagger in the tree, than at Marina, then at the dagger that had missed, then back at Marina again.
"Not bad for your first time."
He reached down and tossed the remaining bundle at her feet.
"Keep trying. We've got all day."
He shot her a calm smile and returned to his stump, where he watched in silence.
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Post by ivory on Jun 5, 2009 17:20:20 GMT -5
And when he said all day, he meant all bloody day, Marina soon found out as she threw knife after knife at the stupid tree. She'd done the stupid thing in silence, keeping her glee to herself as she hit mark after mark. After she'd gotten the hang of it, she'd aimed more toward the center, though she had yet to hit it.
She'd long lost her scowl as her face was now one of pure concentration. As she released the knife, she looked to the tree, expecting it to be there. It never came. Scowling again, she scanned the surrounding terrain and her eyes widened in shock as she found it within the body of a bird.
"I-I-I didn't mean to," she said as she swirled around to face the man. "It must have, it must have flew in front of the knife. It was its own fault not mine and if it was that stupid it deserved to die." The first stage of her shock was now hardened into stubborn belief. She would not be punished for killing the stupid bird when it wasn't even her fault.
It wasn't like he actually could punish her anyways, though she'd long ago accepted that he hadn't been hired by Jordain. She still didn't know who he was or what he did, but she'd stuck around only because she was curious.
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Post by JezusBagels on Jun 5, 2009 17:24:22 GMT -5
Monkuta raised his brow in amusement. He scratched his head in thought. Standing, he walked to the bird, removing the knife and lifting each in his hands.
"Good job. You killed breakfast. Now get back to throwing. it isn't even fully dark yet."
Satisfied, he returned to his seat and started plucking and skinning the bird, eyes never leaving Marina and the tree.
She was a good learner, but she lacked to discipline to put it to use. Oh well, he thought, inhaling deeply. I can fix that.
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Post by ivory on Jun 5, 2009 17:28:16 GMT -5
Breakfast! her mind and stomach screamed.
"What about bloody dinner!" she screamed allowed. "If you think I'm just going to go home after throwing all day you can just forget it. My stomach's been growling for the last three hours and I want to bloody eat something." She glared at him with her hands on her hips as she waited for a reply. And it had bloody be the right one, she thought viciously.
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Post by JezusBagels on Jun 5, 2009 17:33:50 GMT -5
Monkuta sighed, pausing his plucking in mock frustration. He'd been like this in the beginning as well. The stomach is the most difficult part of the body to train. Always is...
"Learn to be hungry. In our line of work, you could go days without access to anything more than the scarce edible plants and berries you might find in a deserted wasteland. Look at it this way: You're learning two lessons at the same time. Be glad I'm such a time-efficient mentor."
He laughed, not entirely sure what he found funny about the situation, then went back to his preparation of the bird for eating.
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