Seven Years Gone
Aug. 13th, 2013 05:00 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
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birthright_rpg“And rest.”
They were down to the endurance training now, having to test how long Allison could either stand or crouch in one position, and Julianna had to admit she was pleased and a bit impressed with the results. The girl may have been only sixteen, but she’d proven to be an apt pupil in the physical area as well as her study of lore. This session had lasted for an hour so far, and she wanted to give her student a breather before putting her through more of her paces. Slayer training seemed to take forever, but it was actually fairly brief considering all the aftermath would entail.
“Would you like a bottle of water?” she asked the teenager, padding over to the ice-filled cooler and taking one for herself. The dojo was stifling at this time of day, and Allison would need to stay hydrated if she wanted her body to support her. “Catch,” she said, tossing a second container in the girl’s direction in an impulsive test of her reflexes. She may have been oddly bookish for a combatant, but the Slayer would need more than brains to survive out there, especially since she’d be alone.
“When will you want to eat?”
The Slayer felt her muscles slowly relax, and despite her newfound physical abilities, it was a relief. She caught the bottle deftly, the condensation cold against her fingertips. Allison smiled shyly. The girl still wasn’t quite used to this. She had always been the cliche, picked last for the team type.
“Soon,” the teenager replied eagerly. “I feel like I haven’t eaten in weeks.” Allison wiped a bead of sweat with the back of her free hand. Rays of sun streamed in, illuminating stripes over the mats. She stared at them contemplatively.
“How will I know when I’m ready?,” she asked finally, then bit her lip in case it was a stupid question.
“You’ll know,” Julianna said obliquely, and she wished it was up to her when to turn the girl loose. She and Allison had been paired up because it had seemed like a bad idea to put someone so shy with a male Watcher, and while she wasn’t motherly towards her it felt a bit like releasing a lamb into the company of wolves. “All Slayers have an innate sense of when their skills have grown to the point that they can stand on their own.”
She’d brought sandwiches, something simple and not too filling, and she set them out on a cloth napkin while pulling at her water. She was dressed in workout gear herself, hair pulled back into a ponytail. Despite being much older than the Slayer, she kept herself in decent shape and was trained to use swords and distance weapons because Mother had insisted when she was a girl. She wouldn’t be able to back Allison up out there, but she was no slouch at defending herself.
“Did you finish the Plato I loaned you?” Because that was part of the intensive relationship too, stimulating the girls’ minds as well as their bodies, and the Englishwoman had been delighted to meet someone so young who read for pleasure. “I know there are those who find him very dry, but intellect is an asset just as much as physicality. I’d like to give you something by Kafka next. It’s a bit bleak, but The Metamorphosis could be seen as a cautionary tale.”
The younger girl drained a third of the water before descending on the sandwiches. She would usually pause to show her gratitude to the Watcher, but she was famished. They had been training so hard, although Allison wondered if it would ever be enough. While she was the introspective type, could she trust her own judgment on this?
After finishing her first helping, Allison wiped her mouth with a napkin. “I did,” the girl said eagerly. Now they were on a topic with which she was fully confident. “I have trouble sleeping, so I read instead. I finished it in a couple of days.” Homework, if one could call it that, was something Allison always excelled at.
“I’ve been having nightmares,” she admitted.
“Have you?”
Prophetic dreams were, of course, a by-product of the calling when a girl was summoned to be a Slayer, so it shouldn’t have been much of a concern, but Julianna was practical enough to know that it could interfere with Allison’s training if she was dwelling on something unpleasant. The Council didn’t provide for psychological help, but she was right there and it was her duty to do what she could to prepare the girl.
“If there’s something troubling you, dear, you should know you can speak to me about it.” And it was at times like these that she hated the natural formality in her voice, but she was too British - and too old - to be comfortably casual with her charge. “What do these nightmares entail?”
Allison knew she was coming off as a scaredy-cat, but she figured she was allowed to be, a little. If not now, when? Not when she was in “the field”, as the Watcher called it. The field, as in the world.
As in, there was a very real chance of her dying. The Slayer was only sixteen, but wasn’t that the party line? Of course, the nerd in her wondered about the anthropological roots of being chosen for such a task, and at such a volatile age.
She shrugged, and it showed her youth more than anything. “It’s a mix of things. Things I’ve read, and things...that I fear. You know, meeting something that I can’t face. Can’t defeat.”
It was fortunate that the Watcher was turned away from Allison, taking time to drink from her half-empty water bottle before answering. The teenage years were difficult enough without adding the burden of Slayerhood, and she wondered whose bloody idea it had first been to harness the power of a demon in this manner. She was torn between trying to shore the girl up and offering her platitudes, and after a mental debate she settled on shoring her up, no matter how awkward it felt to her.
“You have strength,” the older woman said, turning back towards her charge. There were no chairs in the dojo because seats would have implied it was a place for relaxation, so she moved to stand near the wall where she could at least lean. “And not just strength but courage. It’s not every girl who’d willingly come to this place to receive instruction. I’’m not saying there aren’t dangers, because there are, but you mustn’t let dreams trouble you. As well-known as Mr. Freud is, the subconscious isn’t as powerful as all that.”
The Slayer nodded, mollified for the moment. Maybe she would be okay. After all, the power had chosen her, hadn’t it? Allison sprang up, energized once more. “I’ll just train harder,” she declared to the Watcher. “I won’t allow them to catch me off guard.”
The girl smiled at the older woman, proud of her own tenacity. Despite her fears and worries, Allison could feel herself growing, changing. Becoming someone special. It could be rather exciting, if one thought about it.
“I will...I will miss you when you leave,” Julianna said very softly, and she was already reaching for the handweights as Allison re-situated herself. How much longer did she have to train the girl, three months? Such a short time. “I’ve enjoyed conversing with you as much as I have helping you demonstrate your physical abilities. Most teenagers don’t even know who Plato is, much less read his works.”
She handed off the weights to the Slayer, since she’d need a burden for this portion to remind her of how to balance something larger than a stake when she was in combat. The Council’s training relied on traditional methods, but the Watcher believed that there could be an advantage in learning to improvise.
“So. Let’s begin again.”
NPC Allison was written by Jessica
They were down to the endurance training now, having to test how long Allison could either stand or crouch in one position, and Julianna had to admit she was pleased and a bit impressed with the results. The girl may have been only sixteen, but she’d proven to be an apt pupil in the physical area as well as her study of lore. This session had lasted for an hour so far, and she wanted to give her student a breather before putting her through more of her paces. Slayer training seemed to take forever, but it was actually fairly brief considering all the aftermath would entail.
“Would you like a bottle of water?” she asked the teenager, padding over to the ice-filled cooler and taking one for herself. The dojo was stifling at this time of day, and Allison would need to stay hydrated if she wanted her body to support her. “Catch,” she said, tossing a second container in the girl’s direction in an impulsive test of her reflexes. She may have been oddly bookish for a combatant, but the Slayer would need more than brains to survive out there, especially since she’d be alone.
“When will you want to eat?”
The Slayer felt her muscles slowly relax, and despite her newfound physical abilities, it was a relief. She caught the bottle deftly, the condensation cold against her fingertips. Allison smiled shyly. The girl still wasn’t quite used to this. She had always been the cliche, picked last for the team type.
“Soon,” the teenager replied eagerly. “I feel like I haven’t eaten in weeks.” Allison wiped a bead of sweat with the back of her free hand. Rays of sun streamed in, illuminating stripes over the mats. She stared at them contemplatively.
“How will I know when I’m ready?,” she asked finally, then bit her lip in case it was a stupid question.
“You’ll know,” Julianna said obliquely, and she wished it was up to her when to turn the girl loose. She and Allison had been paired up because it had seemed like a bad idea to put someone so shy with a male Watcher, and while she wasn’t motherly towards her it felt a bit like releasing a lamb into the company of wolves. “All Slayers have an innate sense of when their skills have grown to the point that they can stand on their own.”
She’d brought sandwiches, something simple and not too filling, and she set them out on a cloth napkin while pulling at her water. She was dressed in workout gear herself, hair pulled back into a ponytail. Despite being much older than the Slayer, she kept herself in decent shape and was trained to use swords and distance weapons because Mother had insisted when she was a girl. She wouldn’t be able to back Allison up out there, but she was no slouch at defending herself.
“Did you finish the Plato I loaned you?” Because that was part of the intensive relationship too, stimulating the girls’ minds as well as their bodies, and the Englishwoman had been delighted to meet someone so young who read for pleasure. “I know there are those who find him very dry, but intellect is an asset just as much as physicality. I’d like to give you something by Kafka next. It’s a bit bleak, but The Metamorphosis could be seen as a cautionary tale.”
The younger girl drained a third of the water before descending on the sandwiches. She would usually pause to show her gratitude to the Watcher, but she was famished. They had been training so hard, although Allison wondered if it would ever be enough. While she was the introspective type, could she trust her own judgment on this?
After finishing her first helping, Allison wiped her mouth with a napkin. “I did,” the girl said eagerly. Now they were on a topic with which she was fully confident. “I have trouble sleeping, so I read instead. I finished it in a couple of days.” Homework, if one could call it that, was something Allison always excelled at.
“I’ve been having nightmares,” she admitted.
“Have you?”
Prophetic dreams were, of course, a by-product of the calling when a girl was summoned to be a Slayer, so it shouldn’t have been much of a concern, but Julianna was practical enough to know that it could interfere with Allison’s training if she was dwelling on something unpleasant. The Council didn’t provide for psychological help, but she was right there and it was her duty to do what she could to prepare the girl.
“If there’s something troubling you, dear, you should know you can speak to me about it.” And it was at times like these that she hated the natural formality in her voice, but she was too British - and too old - to be comfortably casual with her charge. “What do these nightmares entail?”
Allison knew she was coming off as a scaredy-cat, but she figured she was allowed to be, a little. If not now, when? Not when she was in “the field”, as the Watcher called it. The field, as in the world.
As in, there was a very real chance of her dying. The Slayer was only sixteen, but wasn’t that the party line? Of course, the nerd in her wondered about the anthropological roots of being chosen for such a task, and at such a volatile age.
She shrugged, and it showed her youth more than anything. “It’s a mix of things. Things I’ve read, and things...that I fear. You know, meeting something that I can’t face. Can’t defeat.”
It was fortunate that the Watcher was turned away from Allison, taking time to drink from her half-empty water bottle before answering. The teenage years were difficult enough without adding the burden of Slayerhood, and she wondered whose bloody idea it had first been to harness the power of a demon in this manner. She was torn between trying to shore the girl up and offering her platitudes, and after a mental debate she settled on shoring her up, no matter how awkward it felt to her.
“You have strength,” the older woman said, turning back towards her charge. There were no chairs in the dojo because seats would have implied it was a place for relaxation, so she moved to stand near the wall where she could at least lean. “And not just strength but courage. It’s not every girl who’d willingly come to this place to receive instruction. I’’m not saying there aren’t dangers, because there are, but you mustn’t let dreams trouble you. As well-known as Mr. Freud is, the subconscious isn’t as powerful as all that.”
The Slayer nodded, mollified for the moment. Maybe she would be okay. After all, the power had chosen her, hadn’t it? Allison sprang up, energized once more. “I’ll just train harder,” she declared to the Watcher. “I won’t allow them to catch me off guard.”
The girl smiled at the older woman, proud of her own tenacity. Despite her fears and worries, Allison could feel herself growing, changing. Becoming someone special. It could be rather exciting, if one thought about it.
“I will...I will miss you when you leave,” Julianna said very softly, and she was already reaching for the handweights as Allison re-situated herself. How much longer did she have to train the girl, three months? Such a short time. “I’ve enjoyed conversing with you as much as I have helping you demonstrate your physical abilities. Most teenagers don’t even know who Plato is, much less read his works.”
She handed off the weights to the Slayer, since she’d need a burden for this portion to remind her of how to balance something larger than a stake when she was in combat. The Council’s training relied on traditional methods, but the Watcher believed that there could be an advantage in learning to improvise.
“So. Let’s begin again.”
NPC Allison was written by Jessica