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| Monster [FIN]; [Private: Serelle] | |
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| Topic Started: Sun Jun 26, 2011 3:00 am (455 Views) | |
| Serelle | Sun Aug 21, 2011 3:04 pm Post #16 |
 
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Serelle slept on the bed peacefully! Her eyes snapped to wakefulness as Nkiruka lifted her. She smiled warmly and removed the woman's hands. "Inky, you don't need to be so loud." Serelle explained. She got up and dressed herself, quickly pulling on another practical riding outfit. They set off, Serelle nodding as Nkiruka explained the job to her. "Okay! I'll intercept someone who looks just like me." Serelle said with a giggle. Time passed slowly as they traveled down the road, Serelle's eyes scanning the dark as though she could see perfectly. Eventually her vision froze and she stopped, staring off in the distance. She could see a man riding side-saddle in the distance, his feet hanging off the side. "I see him!" She said. Serelle's hands worked quickly through a spell. She muttered the incantation quickly, falling to all fours as her body shifted. Bones bulged and slid from her, slowly remaking the girl into a massive beast as she sprinted forwards. A massive skull, reminiscent of an ancient ramming ship formed as the creature's massive red eyes glazed over. It dove into the ground, kicking up a massive spray of sand as it did. At the speed of a running horse it surged forwards, hidden. Halfway to her target she resurfaced, and adjusted her course slightly. The man's horse panicked as she neared, bucking him off and leaving him on the ground. Serelle surfaced and seized the fleeing man in her massive jaws. The jaws closed with a spray of blood and the crunch of bone. Serelle dutifully trotted back to Nkiruka and dropped the man from her jaws, the massive beast cocking its head to the side. |
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| Nkiruka | Sat Aug 27, 2011 4:50 pm Post #17 |
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"Serelle, wait-" The albino girl rushed off before Nkiruka could finish her sentence. She cursed to herself, pursuing the bone-white monster a short way. When it became clear that the man wouldn't make it, the soldier urged her mount to a stop. Serelle returned a few seconds later with the now lifeless man in her jaws, dropping it in front of her like some sort of massive dog seeking praise from its owner. Nkiruka dismounted and crouched in front of the corpse. "The report said he had a tribal tattoo on his left arm." Her cat's eyes reflected the little light there was as she looked it over. She tore off the corpse's right sleeve with a single tug, revealing a thick black symbol printed over his shoulder and down his upper arm. "It was him." "Serelle," Nkiruka said, standing, "I-... eh. I know that wasn't right for you to do. It was reckless. Honestly, though, I might have done the same thing." She obviously felt a bit uncomfortable actually reprimanding the girl for this, especially considering her earlier talks about making split-second decisions in battle. "You did well. Just... when we're doing jobs like this, it's better to be more careful. The Army of Istan has kind of a bad reputation in the rural areas, and we need to do our part to make them like us more. That means less murder. Okay?" Nkiruka rounded around the corpse, considering her options. "Do you think just his head and arm will do, or should we bring back the entire corpse for burial rites? Either way, we need to get moving." |
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| Serelle | Sun Aug 28, 2011 7:12 pm Post #18 |
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Serelle wiggled her great head in agreement. Their horses sniffed her, found her to be Serelle-like and decided she was not a threat. The monster became a girl again, still in the same clothes she was before. "A bad reputation? But the army is great, 'specially if they recruited Inky." Serelle countered. She supposed the provincials wouldn't like the authority of the sultanate. But the girl stared off into the distance. "I'll be sure that someone is a threat before I attack them, then." She said quietly. Attacking thoughtlessly would ruin their day, she'd need to keep military discipline. Serelle's fist struck into her open palm. "How do I join the army?" The little albino asked. She shrugged at the corpse, remembering their original task. "Err, I think the head should be enough? I mean, sure we might annoy the Arezma, who prefer removing the organs, but the rest of the groups should be fine with it?" Serelle said. She leaned closer, examining the tattoos. "Oh! He's a Western Rimarin. They cremate, so it'll be enough." Serelle said. It was good to employ the knowledge she had sometimes. She patted Inky in the shoulder. "So was that it? What else will we do today?" Serelle inquired. She mounted her horse, leaving the funeral preparation for Inky. There was one downside to this military shtick she realized, they couldn't collect bounties. The bounty would probably have been better than Inky's pay! Her hands stroked her sword in an indignant fashion. |
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| Nkiruka | Sun Sep 4, 2011 7:28 pm Post #19 |
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Nkiruka's eyebrows raised to indicate that she was mildly impressed. Maybe Serelle's book-smarts would actually be useful on these missions. The soldier herself had almost no knowledge of Istani culture beyond that of her parents' own tribe and those immediately related to them, such as the Jarandi nomads. In a region as varied as Istan, Serelle's cultural sensitivity could definitely come in handy. She got to work removing the head from the body, tying it to the saddle with a cord. The rest of the body she had to lug over the back of the horse, so they could dump it somewhere later. "People complain about dead bodies on the Phoenix Road," Nkiruka explained. "It disturbs the travelers and, of course, it stinks. We'll take a quick detour to drop it off in the scrub out of sight of the road." The soldier gripped the reigns and instructed her mount to turn off the road, into the wasteland away from the Istan River's shore. Serelle asked her what they were going to do next. "We need to drop the head off to the warden in Kalau, the next town we'll reach. Then we're staying there for the rest of the day. Their barracks have a large training area I want to use with you." They reached a stand of short, gnarled trees and brown shrubs. Nkiruka unceremoniously pushed the dead, headless man off her horse, turning around as it hit the ground with a dull thud. Once they returned to the road, Nkiruka glanced back at Serelle. "Were you serious when you were asking about joining the army?" In her current condition, Serelle wouldn't last a day in such a structured military force. "It would be different for you. You're a noble, and I'm some backwater tribal they picked off the streets. They'd put you in an academy to become an officer. Do you know any martial arts? Almost everyone, even patrolmen like me, has a background with some sort of Istani martial art." Nkiruka looked forward. By now, the sun was beginning to rise. A medium-sized town stood in the distance. "Ah. There's Kalau. I'll drop off the head." She tossed the albino a small coinpurse. "You get us some breakfast. Meet me by the bronze statue in the town center." |
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| Serelle | Thu Sep 8, 2011 7:30 pm Post #20 |
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Serelle followed along after Inky, watching corpse bounce on the horse's rump. It was certainly a morbid sight. "I suppose someone would be disturbed seeing a corpse on the side of the road." Serelle said. It had never really occurred to her. Dead things were dead! Might as well be dirt. She watched as Inky trotted off and dumped most of the body, leaving only the severed head. Mangled flesh hung off in awkward ways, she'd need to work on making the teeth cut cleaner. "I was completely serious about joining the army! If you make the entrance tests as a noble, they don't let your family take you away until you are done. For a young noble, they'd have to have parental permission, but seeing that I'm twenty five, I don't need it." Serelle explained. It was a good rational, but when she was younger she'd never have risked her lily white skin near a blade. After fighting alone and by Inky's side, it seemed much more plausible. In fact, knowing that even Inky could tame herself made the girl much more confident. "Officer Academy sounds fun. I'll just learn to keep my soldiers alive, and become all inspiring." Serelle said. Inky asked her about martial arts, and she nodded. "I know the basics of the tiger-based art from Nalai. I'd like to continue, but I broke my arm doing it once and my parents didn't let me go to Rajah anymore." Serelle said. The art was incredibly useful for one such as her, for with a few minor adaptations it was perfect for striking with actual claws. They separated in Kalau. Serelle wandered off and returned with a set of spicy sliced potatoes and an istani omelet. She strolled over to the bronze statue, noting that Inky was already there, and sat down next to her. She handed half the omelet to Inky. She wolfed down her section. "Maybe I should have grabbed a snack earlier this morning." She said with a little giggle. Halfway through her meal she glanced to Inky. "So what's on the agenda? I'll do better this time, I promise." Serelle pleaded. She still felt bad for failing earlier. |
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| Nkiruka | Wed Sep 14, 2011 3:24 pm Post #21 |
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Nkiruka suddenly took on an odd expression before blurting out, "You're twenty-five?" That was not an age the soldier would have guessed for the naive, whimsical, small girl. Maybe seventeen. Not twenty-five. Not three years older than Nkiruka herself. "Uh, wow. Alright, then." It was just one of those times that Nkiruka had to face her own youth head-on; usually she felt older than she actually was. Arriving in Kalau, Nkiruka left to deliver the head. After running a few small errands, she made a beeline for the meeting place they had arranged. She turned a corner, sipping a cold jug of imported coconut milk, and saw Serelle. The girl had made a good choice of breakfast food, and Nkiruka indicated her appreciation for the meal by eating it extremely quickly. She guzzled down the coconut milk and stowed away its glass container. "We're going to utilize the Kalau Guard's training ground for the rest of the day. I want to start teaching you about some of the more subtle techniques of combat. Soon, these things will become so second-nature to you that they will carry over whenever you enter a focused state." She took on the matter-of-fact sort of speech, like she did whenever she was trying to be a good teacher. "This won't be the only day we do this, of course, but I want to focus on it while we're in Kalau, since their training grounds are new and very nicely set up." She stood. "Come." Even at this fairly early hour, there were already guardsmen doing drills out in Kalau's massive training ground. As a soldier of the Army of Istan, Nkiruka had requested special permission to utilize it. Thankfully, the Guard-Captain of the town was terrified of the army. It was a huge, flat area on the outskirts of town, marked out as a massive rectangle. Smaller, circular training fields were fenced out near the north edge, to which Nkiruka led her student. The soldier looked them over with a hint of disdain on her face, especially the ones lined with training dummies. "If you don't have the stones to strike a real person without holding back, you aren't fit for combat," Nkiruka spat, glaring at the armored strawmen. "We'll use this one." She approached an empty circle, opening the gate to enter it. She walked into the training area for several paces, looking it over, before definitively pivoting on her heel to face Serelle. "This first day of training will be completely unarmed. No shapeshifting, no weapons. If you want to become a soldier -- or simply use my fighting style -- you need to be prepared to use every single tool at your disposal, including your body. If your weapon gets knocked away, or if somehow you can't shapeshift anymore, you need to be able to keep attacking. Now take a stance." Nkiruka approached Serelle, looking her over. "Your stance is the backbone of your fighting. If you have a bad stance, you can be knocked down easily." The soldier put a hand on Serelle's shoulder and swept her leg around the girl's leg in an attempt to trip her. "If you get knocked down in a fight, you're dead. Period. I won't even go into all the ways you could get killed when you're in that kind of situation." She paused, though, crossing her arms to think. Situations in which Nkiruka had been knocked onto her back were some of the most painful, stressful, and potentially lethal experiences in her entire career. She seemed to revise what she just said. "...But later on, I'll teach you how to survive if that happens." Nkiruka reached down to fix some minor aspects of Serelle's stance, sliding her legs into place and adjusting her posture. "Memorize this. If we're ever sparring and I see something wrong with your stance, I'll throw you down before you can blink." After a bit more practice with this, the soldier shifted the topic slightly. "Before we go further, I want you to teach me everything you know about Nalai tiger style." |
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| Serelle | Sun Oct 9, 2011 3:23 am Post #22 |
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Serelle giggled at Inky's shock. A lot of people misinterpreted her age, including her dad! The albino watched as the woman guzzled coconut milk. Inky appeared to love that particular substance. Was it alcoholic? The soldier's words drifted into her head, and she came to attention. "Oh, certainly! We'll go to the training grounds." Serelle squeaked. She trotted off after Inky, witless as to what she was going to make her do. Knowing soldiers, it was probably marching in ranks. They entered the training ground, Serelle's eyes tracing towards men fighting sacks of hay and sand. "Yeah! Holding back is bad." Serelle agreed. One of the soldiers striking a dummy stepped back and tripped over a scraggly plant. He landed flat on his back, getting a giggle from the girl as she trailed just behind Inky. She found herself standing in a training area, with Inky pacing around her. It got her nervous again, she hated fighting Inky. On orders, Serelle snapped into a stance, light on her feet. She raised her arms into the air, keeping them just above her shoulders and opposite to one another. Nkiruka promptly grabbed her and forced her over, sweeping one of her legs beneath Serelle's. Her center of gravity shifted and the sky began tipping backwards. The little albino hit the ground with a squeak and a growl. "Inky, that's a grapple! I'm pretty sure you need to step out of those or counter it with a different grapple." Serelle said. She stood again, patting off her legs. "There are in truth several types of stances, Inky! Those that dodge and those that resist. My martial art, Zou Shiho, or Nalai tiger style, is all about being light on your feet in the stances with a few stances for heavier striking." Serelle explained. She crossed her arms and nodded with certainty rarely seen in the slight woman. "I know many of the forms but I'm still studying them to get out the essence of the maneuvers, but I do have plenty of combat experience." Serelle explained. She went through several of them, moving quickly with bounds and sweeps of her legs. Her hands lashed out at imaginary foes, striking with as many limbs and surfaces as she could. Zou Shiho was an art famous for quick strikes from nearly any angle. |
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| Nkiruka | Tue Nov 1, 2011 9:39 pm Post #23 |
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"Good." Serelle's book knowledge must cover combat maneuvers, too. Nkiruka's face soured a little bit when she went into further detail, though, going to far as to correct Nkiruka's simplistic explanation of stances. "Yes," she remarked dryly. "Read a lot of war books, I guess." Regardless, she stepped back and watched Serelle move through the forms of Zou Shiho. From what Nkiruka could tell, the girl's form was actually pretty good for a novice: no huge missteps or shaking limbs. She wasn't sure what kind of application the martial art had in combat, but at least it was something to work with. It'd be a good style to demonstrate if Serelle actually went through with her plan to join the Army of Istan. Their training continued for the remainder of the day. They went through countless drills, practiced more than just stances: different striking patterns, deflections, how to redirect an opponent's momentum, some basic joint locks and breaks. Their sparring became a blur of fists. And this combat training continued for days. It became a routine part of their life together, patrolling the desert. At times, Serelle even aided Nkiruka in putting down crime or other jobs along the way. Once they reached the central Istan city of Sondag, they proceeded northwest. The flat desert started giving way to long, uninterrupted sections of high sand dunes until their surroundings became nothing but a sea of sand. They switched out horses for camels. In the meantime, they continued training, beginning some of the advanced techniques of Nkiruka's fighting style that would further enable Serelle to control and focus her power. While camping at the foot of a larger dune, Nkiruka showed her student a map of Istan and pointed out a city. "Hashem has a military academy, and it's only about two weeks out from where we are now. I thought I'd have more time with you, but this is probably your best chance if you still want to join the army." She rolled up the map and put it back in her bag, then flopped in front of the fire across from her white-skinned student. "You've progressed a lot. We'll work hard on some of the most practical techniques before I see you off." |
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| Serelle | Fri Nov 18, 2011 2:39 am Post #24 |
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Serelle glanced upwards, her mind flickering at the name Hashem. It had a famous officer's college, and many of Istan's greatest commanders had been trained at Hashem. Her little heart fluttered for joy as she imagined herself in the different uniforms of the Istani officer corps. She wondered if she'd be a member of the faceless berserkers, considering Inky's training regimen. Nkiruka took a moment to give Serelle praise, something she did infrequently. The albino beamed and clambered into bed. She slept like a log! The female awoke in the morning, stretching and yawning. She crawled over to where Inky was already preparing for the morning, and grumbled. "Let's get this technique stuff over with, Inky." Serelle squawked. Late in the day they arrived at Hashem, the pair walking through great gates into an expansive training ground. Recruits jogged by, sparred, while officers trained them extensively. No soldiers stopped them, noting Nkiruka's uniform and her relative fame. The two walked until Serelle darted off to bother a man on horseback leading a cart full of bored looking tribals. "Are you a recruiter?" Serelle asked. The man nodded, but quickly took up a harsh demeanor. "Why yes, yes I am! And why is a lily-white Striberg girl gawkin' at my fields?" He snapped. "B-b-because I want to join the army." "Look, we don't take little girls." He snarled. Serelle glared at him. She handed Nkiruka her bags and cocked her hips at him. "I am Serelle Hosker, heir to Hosker Silks. I am twenty five years of age, and I wish to join the army and the officer's college, as is my birthright." Serelle stated with the indignation only a noble could muster. The man guffawed at her. Serelle's eyes narrowed. In a flash of motion she bolted forwards, jumping into the air. The man guiding the cart recoiled as a tiny woman rebounded off of it. Her arc reached its apex, and her little body twisted in the air. Her foot crunched into his face, knocking him off his horse. He crashed into the ground as Serelle landed gracefully beside him. He glared upwards at her as she leaned down and smiled, presenting her signet ring. "Where's the officer academy? I have an entrance exam to pass." Serelle inquired. The man at her feet gurgled in reply. |
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| Nkiruka | Fri Nov 18, 2011 4:32 pm Post #25 |
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Nkiruka genuinely laughed at Serelle's antics, bearing her teeth in a smirk, although the noise was mostly drowned out by the worried talks of the tribals and the pained groaning of the recruiter. Either Serelle had this attitude in her all along or Nkiruka had done a good job instilling some pride in her accomplishments; either way was fine with her. "Actually, I think the officer academy is right over there," the soldier pointed out. It was a slightly smaller part of the campus that looked richer, cleaner, and less overcrowded than the boot camp they were currently standing in. As Nkiruka accompanied her student to it, giving the injured recruiter the respect of getting up on his own, she thought about what Serelle had said to him. The soldier had already stewed plenty enough during the trip about how Serelle's opportunities were so different just because she was born into a certain family, but it reminded Nkiruka of everything that was wrong with the army. Tribals or any other lower-class Istani were barred from the officer academies completely and therefore relegated to the lowest ranks possible. It was possible to be promoted to an officer rank in your regiment, but that required an especially open-minded commander that the Army Rangers simply didn't have. Even then, the other "true-born" officers looked down on these people, insinuating they bribed themselves up the latter or other forms of "cheating." In any case, the Colonel of Nkiruka's regiment was a staunch traditionalist. She put these grievances aside so they wouldn't overshadow Serelle's accomplishments. That tiny albino girl earned it: she grew quickly and became a fierce fighter even with an incomplete training in their fighting style. They reached the officer's academy in a few minutes and stopped in front of the door. Nkiruka looked awkward for a couple seconds as she considered hugging the girl in goodbye, reconsidered it, and saluted her instead. "This is not a permanent goodbye." It sounded like an order. "They changed my schedule to stay here in town for two weeks. I'll come visit you while I'm still working here." Nkiruka smiled weakly. Confronting the absence of the slightly annoying noblegirl that had accompanied her for so long was a shockingly difficult thing to deal with. "Invite me to your commissioning ceremony, okay?" With that, the patrolman turned to leave rather than waste any more of the girl's time. "Bye, Serelle," she waved a bit over her shoulder. "Come in," a heavily accented voice, speaking in the Istani language, said on the other side of the door. Nkiruka pushed it open and walked through, a pack slung over her shoulder and an oddly troubled look on her face. She was still upset about Serelle's absence, not looking forward to resuming her patrol alone, and not in the mood to keep working. The fact she had to do a job for the Guard-Captain right after letting go of her traveling companion seemed a bit cruel. The source of the voice was a friendly-looking woman with a slim figure, dark skin, and blue eyes. A colorful headscarf wrapped around her like a hood, keeping her black hair brushed away from her eyes. She was hard at work at her desk, a quill in her hand and a pile of papers lined out in front of her. The woman smiled at Nkiruka and beckoned her in further. "Good to see you. Please sit." Nkiruka took up a chair in front of the desk. Her carriage remained as sullen as ever. "I'm sorry, the schedule I received didn't have a name on it. May I ask your name, patrolman?" It took a while for Nkiruka to process such a heavy accent, especially in a language that wasn't exactly native to her. "Nkiruka Menai," she answered after a short delay. "What a lovely name." Her tone seemed genuine, but the compliment just passed through the soldier. "My name is Captain Aisha Zaman, and it's a pleasure to meet you." She extended a hand to Nkiruka, and she shook it only so she wouldn't disrespect her employer. "Hashem has a positive relationship with the Army of Istan, and I'm glad we continue to cultivate it." "Why was my schedule changed to two weeks here?" Nkiruka asked. While Zaman's accent was regional, Nkiruka's slight accent in the Istani language was probably due to some lack of practice. Otherwise, Nkiruka spoke in clear, unaccented Common. "We have a lot for you to do here. The first thing is rather urgent. Something strange appeared in the desert overnight..." |
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