Remnants of the Earth
AEDOLIS => Haviah => Advanced Training Complex => Topic started by: Anonymous on June 19, 2008, 12:26:22 pm
-
Latona tapped her foot irritably. They were late, as she expected. She just knew whatever candidate she got they would be a total idiot and have no respect for authority. It was her first one so obviously they would land her with a candidate who was less than pleasant.
Still this wasn’t going to ruin her plan. Ever since she became a pilot she knew how she was going to treat whatever unfortunate mentee she got. Befriend and betray, that was her tactic. Make them think she was really friendly and sweet and then turn on them when they least expected it. She’d even sent them an email acting friendly and telling him not all pilots were cruel. Like that was true. She was so evil it was scary. She’d been treated badly when she was a candidate so it was only fair she got to be mean to them, she’d lost count of how many times her wings had been broken during her candidacy.
Latona was going to be a sight for Nika. To some she probably looked like an angel, white hair, white wings, bright blue eyes and she was going to act like an angel for him…to begin with anyway. She had even made sure she sort of looked the part, white jeans and a nice floaty white top. But he would soon find out she was far from angelic…if anything she was a demon. Not the pure evil demons that stole people’s souls though…more like the ones who attached themselves to ships to play around with the mechanics…Gremlins that was it! She was more like a gremlin…No that wasn’t right either…Oh well.
Latona laughed to herself; sounding not unlike a schoolgirl but underneath, the laugh was full of malice and foreboding.
She fluttered her wings slightly and leant back against the wall. If he didn’t show up soon she’d have to go find him, that would be a pain…And if he took much longer she be too annoyed to act all sweet and innocent.
Sighing she sat down on the floor, her feet were starting to hurt from standing around. Maybe she could hover and freak him out when he came eventually…Nah.
“Must you torture your candidates?” said the growling voice of Tenebrous in her head.
“Yes,” she replied cheerfully, “And you are such a hypocrite, you told me how your frightened one of Dyerlich’s unfortunate candidates and insulted another. You are as bad as me.”
“I’m not their teacher,” he replied indignantly.
“Precisely, I am, so butt out.”
She shifted her position on the floor, why wouldn’t he hurry up! What kind of a name was Nika anyway, it sounded like a girl’s name.
-
Nika had gotten some stupid e-mail from his mentor, all sickly sweet and flowery. Lovely. He got some overly friendly twit to teach him. Maybe it was better then having someone as twisted as the two pilots from the other day, but Nika didn't really think so. At least they had interested Nika, their casual cruelty had been rather pretty.
Though all in all, Nika didn't really care. He was rather annoyed at having to be here. But maybe if his mentor was an idiot he could manipulate her to his advantage. Though he was much more interested in the other candidates. They were his new group of toys.
The teenage boy casually strolled down the hallway. He glanced down at his datapad, checking the map. He was still getting used to where everything was as all the hallways tended to look the same to him. All dull, all boring. And Nika hated being bored.
The pretty boy gave a flick if his head, tossing the hair out of his face. He had gotten his mothers good looks, her delicate features and pretty coloring. When he had been younger there had been lots of pictures of him and his mother as she gave the camera her perfect smile. As he had gotten older then attention faded. Now there were only a few pictures at events he attended with his family.
Though after the incident with the school and his getting recruited for the pilot program, there had been a small flurry of excitement. Nothing Nika wasn't used too. He had little interest in it all.
But he finally arrived and he gave his mentor a brilliant smile, "Hi! I am so sorry I am late. I got lost again. I can't seem to be able to find my way around these halls very well. You are Latona, correct? It is a pleasure to meet you. And I am so glad that I heard from you. It looks like I lucked out with the nice mentor."
-
Latona noted how casually he had been walking despite saying he got lost. He obviously wasn’t serious about being a pilot but few candidates were to start with. Most of them had been forced into it. Not her she had wanted to become a pilot.
If she wasn’t acting she would have called him on his lateness and attitude and he’d have gotten a broken limb for his trouble. Still she was nicey nicey Latona today. She brushed across his mind and could tell that he was as bad as she was; he too was acting nice. She didn’t really have to read his mind, his manner gave it away.
In reality he was a spoiled selfish brat. Well that would have to beaten out of him. But not today, no the first week was going to be a grace period of sorts in which she would act nice. Unless he pushed her far enough, which was possible.
“Yep, I’m Latona,” she said cheerfully, “Nice to meet you.”
She didn’t know much about his history because frankly she didn’t care but those who’d been mentors before told her knowing it might come in handy. He was the son of some actress who had been famous a few years back. So him being spoilt and selfish was not really a surprise.
“And yes indeed! You won the mentor lottery!” she laughed, “Like I said in my email, violence is too messy. And what good is hurting people for teaching anyway?”
It was he most effective method there was but she wasn’t going to tell him that…yet anyway.
“But we’re behind schedule! And the first thing on the agenda is a tour! You probably had one with Roman but you can meet my dragon on this one!”
She’d just tell him Tenebrous liked to joke and that he was friendlier than he acted….And failing that she’d bribe the old grouch somehow.
-
The young pretty boy smiled again, nodding his head, "It looks that way. It is very nice to meet you." That was kind of a lie. Nika just didn't care one way or the other. Latona held no interest to him on any deep level. No one really did.
The boys mind was an empty, swirling blank. His shields were quite good for his level, though any trained pilot would be able to work around them. But there wasn't much in there. So much of the boy was a giant void of feelings. He just didn't connect to people, he didn't understand how too.
But he did perk up at the mention of meeting a dragon. That was exciting! And his perfect smile was very much real, so was his pleasure at the idea, "I haven't really had a tour yet. So that would be great if you showed me around. And I can really meet your dragon?"
-
Latona flapped her wings a couple of times and along with her telekinesis floated up onto her feet.
“You haven’t had a tour yet? Oh well, the dragon pens shall be first, since you seem so excited by it.”
He did seem strangely keen to meet the dragons despite his otherwise uncaring attitude. Maybe it was something to do with them being able to kill a human with one strike.
She began walking the corridor, not bothering to see if Nika was following. If he wasn’t she’d just have to make him.
“As you already know when you become a pilot you get a dragon. Like humans their personalities vary a bit, you might get a nice one, or you might get a nasty one or anything in between really.”
Best not to mention what Tenebrous would be like, that would wait until Nika had made his own judgement. Latona still believed she would be better with Reise, Alei’s dragon; she was cool, lazy, but cool.
“Dragons won’t be the only thing you’ll pilot though. You’ll be trained to fly the various crafts and vehicles first. Dragons come much later. Still it’s good to see what you might be flying one day.”
Eventually they reached the entrance to the pens; there was a large door for the dragons and a smaller one for the humans. Latona never understood why both didn’t use the big door. It would make a lot more sense. Some of the dragons were a bit touchy about the pilots using the big door though and unfortunately Tenebrous was one of them. He was of the impression the dragons were better than the humans, that was probably true but it was just a door!
She turned to Nika before entering and pointed to the big door, “For the dragons,” then to the small door, “For the pilots. It’s probably obvious but always make sure you go through the little door, some of the dragons are a bit picky about people using their’s.”
Spinning on her toes she then entered the area itself. There were pens stacked like giant pigeon holes both vertically and horizontally. With the pilots returning from space a lot more of the pens were occupied these days. There were a few dragons in of various colours and with varying degrees of armour and machine parts. She noted Lartech was in her pen close to the ground and a little higher up was Arka. Tenebrous’ pen was on the fourth row up and getting there was no problem for Latona, getting Nika up could be a problem…she hadn’t thought of that…
“Do you any telekinesis yet? Because my dragons Tenebrous is four rows up. I usually fly up there,” she explained, “But if not I can always carry you.”
She suspected he’d be a typical and male and say something along the lines of ‘I’m not letting a girl carry me’ or he’d think it at the very least. Tenebrous never came down unless he had to, so calling him was out, he was above coming when she called, stupid old grouch.
-
The fact that she was flying was rather impressive. Nika had seen a few people with wings before, but they had always been vestigial and he had just assumed that was what Latona's were. Some cosmetic implant to look cool.
His eyes widened as he followed her, watching the wings, "Your wings move. That's amazing. Are they natural then?"
This was rather exciting. And quite fun. He was going to get to meet a dragon. Nika had never seen a dragon in the flesh before. And he couldn't wait. As the pilot explained about the doors, Nika nodded his head, "Always use the little door, yes." That would be a good note to make. Nika disliked rules, but he wasn't stupid about it and dragons were dangerous.
Entering the room the boys jaw dropped and he turned in circles, trying to take it all in. There were so many dragons here and they were massive. And so majestic. He gave a small shiver of delight at the knowledge that one day he would get to ride one. Because Nika had no doubt that he would become a pilot.
It took him a moment to realize that his mentor had spoken. He turned to face her slowly, trying to recall what she has said, "What? Oh, no. I've never had any telekinesis." His telepathy was rather rubbish as well. Nika's abilities were much...stranger.
He didn't really like the idea of having someone touch him and the thought flitted across his mind, but it had nothing to do with the pilots gender. But the boy glanced back up at the dragons and nodded, "If that is the only way, then I suppose I will have to get a ride."
-
“Yeah they’re natural. Fake ones would be inconvenient in this line of work. Real ones sometimes are too but at least I can fly with them,” she said cheerfully.
To properly fly it took a lot of room and a good run up as well as some kind of updraft. However she had perfected using telekinesis to create updrafts and get herself off the ground, once she was up her wings did the work.
She noted that Nika wasn’t stupid enough to ignore what she said about the doors but once they entered the pen area his concentration drifted, as her’s had when she first went there. Still he managed to register what she said.
“Okay then.”
In truth she was a little disappointed that he didn’t have telekinesis, that was her speciality. She slipped her arm around his waist, flapped her wings a couple of times and floated up. Then she flew toward Tenebrous’ pen. The old grouch looked like he was asleep, but she knew he wasn’t. He always complained whenever he sensed her nearby it woke him up.
“Meet Tenebrous,” Latona said as she let go of Nika.
He was quite a scary looking dragon and was one of the largest. His would have majestic and impressive looking if it weren’t for his helmet which just looked stupid. She was always threatening to steal it in his sleep. The flaw with that plan was he woke up whenever she approached and then banned her from the network for a week.
Tenebrous opened one giant eye and glared at the pair.
“So your student turned up then.”
The large dragon’s voice was not the most pleasant, it was loud and booming and hard to hear yourself think over.
“I almost feel sorry for you whelp, having such a poor excuse for a mentor as Latona. Expect to be at TRIM by the end of the year.”
Latona laughed nervously, “Heheh, don’t joke Tenebrous. Don’t listen to him Nika I’ll make sure you pass!”
Yeah, she’d make sure he passed because otherwise she might not be given another student. Tenebrous wasn’t ruining her plan however, he hadn’t told Nika she was deceiving him.
“Are you actually not interfering for once?” Latona asked her partner.
“Perhaps.
-
The young boy gave a shudder as Latona wrapped her arms around him. He wasn't found of people touching him, but it was worth it to get to see a dragon. And flying was a new experience for the teenager and he turned his head to look this way and that as the pilot flew them to the dragon. He was impressed that she could still fly while holding another person.
Though once landed, the boy took the dragon in with a wide-eyed amazement. He wasn't afraid of the huge dragon, he was almost never afraid of things. But he was fascinated, and seeing such a huge, impressive creature with such an odd looking helmet was rather amusing.
At the dragon's comment, the boy grinned, his smile wide and picture perfect, "Ah, that is alright. I am sure that she will be a good mentor. And I don't think I'll end up in TRIM." Nika was confident that he would pass. He was looking forward to being a pilot, having the freedom they had.
"Besides, if she was so incompetent I am sure a dragon would never have chosen her." Smile smile.
-
Latona couldn’t help thinking “He told you Tenebrous!”
Maybe this kid wasn’t as bad as she had thought.
She knew why Tenebrous had chosen her though; it was because she was one of the few who would stand up to him. Other pilots he had through the years had listened to him blindly, taken his criticism without a fight and made sure they never offended him. She hadn’t; she had criticised him back and didn’t care how many times he punished her, she would never become his mindless slave who daren’t breathe unless he said so. And she liked to think she’d earned his respect even if he would never tell her that.
“You are not worthy of anyone’s respect Latona,”
She laughed internally, “Really Tenebrous, prying into people’s thoughts is rude.”
Tenebrous stood up then to his full height, probably to try and scare Nika. The boy didn’t seem frightened ofthe dragon at all, which Latona had to give him his due for. The large dragon hated to think people weren’t scare of him, particularly candidates.
“I’d learn not to talk back to me if I were you boy, what if in next three years I decided to dispose of my current pilot? And made sure my next one was you. I could make your life a living hell.”
That was a bit below the belt…she’d like to think Tenebrous wouldn’t kill her. He probably wouldn’t, he was just trying to scare both of them.
Latona laughed nervously, the stupid dragon was a judgement on her and if she had an evil dragon chances were she was evil…well she was but she didn’t want Nika to know that.
“Anyway,” she said turning round to look at the other dragons, “Since we have such a good view up here why not have a look at the other dragons. Some of them are a lot less grumpy.”
-
Nika took a step back from the dragon, though it was more so he could see him better then out of fear. The boy's emotions were badly mangled and he didn't always tend to have the smartest response to things.
At the comment, the slender boy just shrugged, that large smile still on his face, "Then it means that my mentor is dead and I have passed my candidacy. That doesn't seem so bad to me." He glanced out at the other dragons, then returned his attention back to Tenebrous, "Besides, what point in doing that would there be. I'm sure you could hurt me right now if you wanted too."
The candidate didn't enjoy getting punished, but it didn't hole a lot of fear for him. He would do his best to avoid it, but all in all he didn't really know how to be properly afraid of it all. There was just a deep, empty, silent hole where many of his emotions should have been.
Then he turned his smile onto Latona, "I would like to see the other dragons. Who is partnered with who?"
-
“Hey!” Latona said at Nika’s comment.
How long had he known her? And he already wanted her dead, that wasn’t very nice. Still if he wasn’t her candidate she’d be tempted to push him over the edge right now. It was a wonder Tenebrous hadn’t yet. He just snorted indignantly and went back to being ‘asleep’.
Shaking her head exasperatedly at her partner she then turned to Nika, “The gold dragon at the bottom is Lartech, she’s Dyerlich’s dragon. I think you’ve already met him. The green one one row down is Arka he’s Mara’s dragon and the orange one across from us is Reise, she’s partnered with Alei. You probably won’t see Mara and Alei much until you pass; Mara’s been a pilot 70 years or something and he still hasn’t been given a student. If you ever meet him you’ll see why. Alei is a bit…spacey…and weird. He has purple hair so I’m sure you’ll know him if you see him.”
She then glanced around herself a bit more, she didn’t know all of the dragons there but there were some she knew, “The black and green one is Lantenac, they’re partnered with Satori, not really surprising considering she has a scorpion tail.”
Just like the pilots, the dragons were a varied bunch and at times they could be just as immature and moronic as the pilots. Considering being a pilot meant you were the highest caste, it was strange that becoming one seemed to cause you to de-mature a few years to an almost teenage mentality.
-
Nika didn't really want Latona dead. He just didn't care if she was dead. And getting to become a pilot in the process was fine by him. But he smiled at her, "No offense to you or anything."
The boy moved closer to the edge, his bright eyes watching the other dragons intently. He liked the dragons, they interested him. He had never seen anything like them. And Nika liked things that interested him.
"They are pretty." He smiled back up at Latona, "I hope that I can get one. Is there really a pilot with a scorpion tail? That must be weird." His focus went back to the dragons, though he still directed his comments to the pilot, "The pilots all sound....weird. Are Dyerlich and Roman not the norm then?"
The way everyone had talked about pilots it had seemed they were all sadistic bastards. But maybe that wasn't true. And Nika wasn't sure how he felt about that.
-
Latona laughed, “Define ‘the norm’? All we pilots are different, there’s me and Seiteki and Victor who all have wings, Satori has a scorpion tail, Dyerlich’s a…something, Alei has purple hair, Mara is an immortal who can’t be killed and can control his own hair at will. Even the human pilots aren’t exactly what I’d call normal.”
Nika might as well know the truth to be a pilot was to be strange and eccentric, sometimes physically but always mentally.
“So yes, all the pilots are weird. Bet you can’t wait to join the club.”
She then noticed just how close to the edge he was…the temptation to push him was almost overwhelming but if she did her plan would be ruined…Unless she ‘accidentally’ pushed him! It wasn’t as if she was going to let him die, she’d use her telekinesis to catch him just before he hit the ground…Hearing him scream might be funny, if he did scream that was. He didn’t seem to be able to register fear at all…
[OOC Just to warn you ZC next post he's going over the edge ^^]
-
Latona's right. None of the Pilots are... normal. A low growl registered a few feet away from Nika, and a formerly sleeping dragon opened one of his eyes lazily to look up at the Candidate. Pushing himself up, the tan-scaled dragon sat up, stretching out his metallic wings and scratching at the few shreds of flesh that hung on to the base of each. His muscular body was denser than some other dragons- he certainly lacked the grace of many of them- and his size was certainly something to marvel at.
The giant ruby compartment set into his chest was large enough to hold his Pilot within if she curled up, and his metal legs continued to creak with every movement. He felt stiff- it wasn't as if he needed an oil change or anything that primitive machinery would need, but the tops of his still flesh-covered thighs still felt as if they needed a good stretch or two.
If you make it through the program, you'll be a freak, as well. Jorinth's voice, though not overpoweringly loud like Tenebrous (he saw no need to make his audience deaf, after all), was extremely deep, and seemed to carry an almost mechanical whir behind it. His deep laughter shook his body, and he made sure to laugh both audibly and mentally.
My Pilot is Fala. I'm sure the others would prefer if you didn't refer to them as their Pilot's dragons, winged one. Some don't take well to it. Shaking his head and scratching lightly at the base of one of his two segmented horns, he lay down before the newest Candidate, spreading out his wings prone on the ground.
You, Candidate. I need a scratch. Between the shoulder blades, if you would.
-
Nika laughed at Latona's comment and nodded his head, "Yes. I would very much like to join the club. Besides, at this point my alternatives are death or TRIM. And I would not enjoy those much at all."
As the other dragon rose and stretched, Nika moved back the same way he had with Tenebrous, there was no fear, just a want to take the dragon all in. And the dragon was huge. Were they all this massive? The small boy felt rather dwarfed between the two huge dragons.
"I'll be a freak? Why? Because I'm a pilot? Or does something happen to you when you get accepted?" Nika was aware that he wasn't normal, though how abnormal he was was a bit skewed. He didn't really have a good base to base his definition of the word on. And getting sent to the training complex hadn't really improved that base any.
The boys eyes ten widened as the dragon lay its massive head next to him. He...got to touch the dragon? How exciting! The boy wasn't really tall enough to reach the back of the dragon with out crawling slightly on top of him. But he then happily began to scratch away, "You feel....interesting . Warmer then I expected."
-
(Ah, yes... for reference, Here's Jorinth. :3 (http://http://kuraikitty.deviantart.com/art/Aedolis-Dragon-Breakdown-69344920) Size relations in the picture are not accurate.)
Tell me, Candidate... how many Pilots have you seen here that can be vaguely seen as normal? Answering Nika's series of questions with just sarcastic one of his own, the relatively smooth-scaled dragon continued to recline, not even bothering to crane his head up to actually look at him. His metallic tail did move slightly, however, when those small, delicate human hands began to dexterously scratch that one area he'd been wanting to get at for some time.
Granted, it wasn't like a dog wagging its tail- he wouldn't stoop so low. Rather, the tip of his tail moved slightly, back and forth, almost like a cat's when it's feeling at ease. A deep, relieved sigh made its way from his throat, and he remained still, enjoying the scratch while it lasted.
You're not the first to tell me that. My little one said something similar to that, too. I do recall her whining about it, the one time she rode on my back. Said it felt warmer than a lizard should. An indignant huff made its way back at the memory. Fala hadn't always ridden in the chest cockpit- she'd at first tried to ride atop his back, as most Pilots did to their dragons. However, being a bipedal specimen, generally speaking, Jorinth's back had never been particularly suited for riding in that manner.
And she had called him a lizard. Damn that girl. At least with a week's lock out, she learned not to do it again.
After a few moments of this, he opened one eye lazily, looking up towards Nika, then back to his Pilot mentor.
Off, boy, and thank you- that will do. Your mentor's waiting for you. Thrumming without the normally grumpy huff that he traditionally took to humans, Jorinth wiggled his wing to signal that the ride was over, for now- he'd get more opportunities to meet with dragons later, if what Latona was doing now was any sort of indication. In fact, he wouldn't be surprised if she used them as a reward system, with the way Nika was reacting!
Just like Fala's mentor had tried to do for him. Only he hadn't liked her, then. He generally had quite the inherent dislike for female Candidates- much too clingy and inquisitive.
...Latona. You ought to show him to Whiro, sometime. Ah, but his willingness to subject Candidates to rather unfortunate situations was still there, and still going strong. If he hadn't been so tired, maybe he would have picked on the kid some more...
But there was always next time.
-
Latona laughed when Jonrinth berated her for referring to the dragons as if they belonged to the pilot.
“I know we’re the dragon’s bitches Jorinth, it’s just it easier to explain that way. And it annoys Mr Sunshine over there,” she said indicating Tenebrous.
She then turned to Nika, “I’m not really sure if you become a freak when you become a pilot or it’s just that only the freaks manage to pass. I’d like to think I was normal before I became a pilot…but somehow I doubt it.”
Ah she remembered orientation; she had been innocent then in comparison despite nearly dislocating Alei’s arms and having her own wings broken.
She was a little surprised when Nika seemed happy to scratch the large dragon…maybe she could use seeing the dragons as a reward. Jorinth’s suggestion that she let him meet Whiro was interesting…
Nika wasn’t quite so close to the edge now, a pity she couldn’t make pushing him over look like a accident…Unless…
“Tenebrous…? Could you do me your annual favour?”
“No…push him yourself. And you already used the annual favour when you begged me not to drop you into that acid lake.”
She sighed internally, “Can I tell him you did though?”
“…If you must.”
Heheh, she wondered if he would scream on his way down. Maybe she’d set herself a challenge and try and get him as close to the ground as possible without killing him…She might even break his nose and ruin that pretty face of his…Nah, not yet. She was still going to push him though.
Focusing she sent a pulse of energy at him, it was telekinesis basically and since Nika said he didn’t have any, he wouldn’t be able to stop it.
-
The boy had carefully slid off the dragon's back once it had had enough. That had been quite fun and the short candidate was smiling broadly, almost glowing at having gotten to touch the massive creature.
He turned to reply to Latona when he found himself hit with a powerful physic force. He twisted, trying to find something to grab onto but he was suddenly over the edge before he could locate anything.
At first he didn't scream. He just watched the ground rapidly approach. There wasn't fear yet, it was still taking him a moment to register what had just happened to him. Then he screamed, high-pitched and frightened. His body twisted in mid-air, trying to get into a better position to land. Not that it would do a lot considering how far up he had been.
He had sort of expected his life to be flashing before his eyes, but there wasn't really anything. Just the knowledge that it was going to hurt when he hit the ground and he really didn't want that.
-
Whoo-hoo! Victory, he screamed! So he wasn’t completely fearless after all. That was good, it meant he was human. And he’d be screaming a lot during his candidacy so he’d have to get used to it. It was funny watching him try and grab onto nothing. She had to suppress her laughter though.
“Nika!”
3…2…1…Then she caught him. She peered down over the edge looking worried but really she was just seeing how close he had come to death. Hmm…hard to tell. She jumped down and glided to the bottom.
1cm! Latona shoots, Latona scores! She then let him drop to the ground, falling from 1cm was not going to kill him.
“Are you okay?”
“You are a sadistic bitch Latona.”
“I think Tenebrous has something against you,” she explained, “He did that to me too when I first met him.”
He had as the well the bastard. Today the dragon was not at fault but he was the type to do that to people.
-
Nika jerked on the floor, his heart pounding painfully against his chest. He hadn't liked that, not one bit. He lifted his head to glare at Latona then up at the dragon. There was a dark hatred there, flashing across his mind before he managed to control it.
He slowly sat up, breathing heavy, "I see." Nika closed his eyes, trying to stop the trembling. His body was still coming down off the adrenaline rush of almost dying, "I am fine. I think. Nothing broken."
Already the fear was fading from his mind. He just stopped caring about pain and fear once it had passed. He gave Latona a shaky smile, "Thank you for saving me. It wasn't a moment too soon."
-
When a dark look flashed across Nika’s face, Latona thought only one thing, “He knows.”
But he managed to regain his composure. So her little act had become a game between her and Nika. Whose façade would fall first?
She prided herself on being the best female gamer she knew and she was not going to lose to her candidate, the selfish spoilt brat that he was.
He was shaky but still managed to keep his polite demeanour and even thanked her for saving him though he undoubtedly knew she had something to do with his fall.
“That’s good,” she said sighing in relief, “Do you want to go back up to talk to some of the other dragons or would you rather stay on the ground.”
If he was gutsy or stubborn enough to go back up there, he would have another unfortunate ‘accident’ and this time she would break his nose.
This choice was actually part of the game; hopefully he’d be smart enough to make the right one. She didn’t want to be beaten, but she was at an advantage and it would not be sporting to keep the rules from him, instead she would subtly give him them and he would have to be smart enough to realise what they were.
In fact making his training into a game of wits between the two might be interesting, and good training. He would never beat her but she would like him to get close.
So what was the score so far? She had impressed him with the dragons and her wings so 2 points to her, as well as one for pushing him off the pen. He earned one for realising she was not as sweet as she seemed and for managing to keep up his façade. Latona 3, Nika 2. Hmm, already close but there was still three years to go.
Meanwhile back with the next choice, if he chose to go up there again, she would gain a point and then another if she successfully dropped him and broke his nose. If he said no then he would gain one, making them equal in the scoring but certainly not in power.
-
"I don't think Tenebrous likes me very much." Nika gave a small shrug, his expression a little sad, "And I would probably only upset him again if I went back up." He glanced around at the other dragons, "Maybe I can meet more of them another day. If that is alright."
Nika honestly didn't care one way or the other about Latona pretending to be sweet and nice or not. He didn't have much interest in authority figures. Though it might prove to be interesting, too see how long she would keep it up.
For Nika it wasn't really an option of not keeping his facade up. He always had, it was second nature to him. And part of him liked it, liked living the lie, pretending he was normal. So he just smiled again at his mentor, "Maybe we can finish the rest of the tour?"
-
“There aren’t many people Tenebrous does like; I certainly haven’t met one yet.”
Damn, she was hoping to push him off again…oh well. But what to see next? The hangar, or maybe the Artificial Environment Generator, that was pretty cool. He didn’t seem the type to like machines so she’d take him to the hangar. And if couldn’t at least feign interest, then he would lose a point. This was going to be a fun, how many points would they have by the end of the three years? It would probably run into the hundreds unless Nika managed to lose some.
“Okay, let’s go the hangar next. You can see the ships you’ll be trained to fly.”
She found it quite interesting, she quite liked machines. Not enough to make it her whole life, not that she could anyway, but machines were interesting.
She exited the small door and began heading down the corridor. If Nika knew what was good for him he’d follow.
“It isn’t too far from here,” she said cheerfully.
She headed down the corridor and through some double doors into a more metallic looking corridor. At the end of that corrdor was a large metal door which folded up. Inside the hangar was huge; it had to be to hold all the different craft. They weren’t as impressive or pretty as the dragons but they had their own charm.
-
Nika nodded, happily smiling up at Latona, the earlier fear gone. And the anger had receded, locked away for now. He was practically skipping to keep up with his mentor, "Well, maybe he can at least not want to push me off the edge. And the other dragon didn't seem so bad. I liked him. He let me scratch him."
He glanced over his shoulder, wanting one last glimpse of the dragons before he left. He enjoyed being around them. Maybe he sensed that they were like him, "The hanger? That sounds like fun!" Another bright smile, "When do I get to start training on piloting those?"
Nika liked machines well enough. He found them interesting and he liked to interact with them. And the few times he had driven a vehicle he had had far to much fun. And getting to pilot the large air crafts the Training Center had was rather thrilling.
As they entered the room, he gazed carefully around, taking it all in. He might not think much of Latona, but at least she was showing him interesting things. Dragons and crafts that one day he would get to fly with.
-
He was actually interested; maybe he wasn’t as much of a girly pretty boy as she thought. He wasn’t feigning though, so no points for him.
“It’ll be a little while before you get to fly this, in a year or so maybe, it depends how long you take learning the first part.”
She pointed to a nearby ship, “That’s the type you’ll probably train in first.”
It was a small ship and a slightly older model. It was only really designed to fly above the earth, not go into space. But still it was cool looking. Obviously built for speed, it was streamlined with a slightly pointed end. Its wings stuck out horizontally from its body and on top the ship’s main body as a clear blue dome that covered the cockpit.
“It isn’t the greatest of ships but it’s easy to fly.”
-
The boy didn't seem that much more then some pretty femme boy. His blue eyes seemed almost empty as he watched Latona, listening to her carefully. To be around his mind was a little strange for a physic. As it just seemed to be missing parts.
And for now, Nika was actually interested. How long he would stay interested was another matter though. "Ah. Well, hopefully I will be a quick learn then. I haven't driven many things, so we'll have to see."
He gave Latona another smile, "How does it reflect on you how fast or slow I get through the program?"
His attention shifted to the other ship, the older model, "It looks fast. I like the fast ones." He couldn't wait to get to try one out, to find out how fast it would go.
-
So Nika was asking how him failing or passing and how fast would reflect on her. No doubt so if he did fail or was slow passing he could blame her and console himself with the fact she’d be laughed at by the other pilots. Which she would be, however she was going to pretend she didn’t hear his question.
“Some of the other ships are much faster; they have to be to get of the atmosphere.”
Should she take him for a ride in it? He might get bored after a few minutes and she hadn’t flown one of those in a while, they were more for training purposes. Besides Tenebrous got jealous whenever she flew a ship and complained about humans replacing dragons with machines. Like they would let that happen.
Maybe she could take him to the AEG. Sometimes she liked to go in their and train, sort of like a virtual video game. Or she could show him the dojo and see what kind of a fighter he was…and how easily she could crush him. That might not be a bad idea; she could assert her power and let him know she could break him so he’d better behave…No…maybe another day when she wasn’t being nice Latona. So the AEG it was!
“Let’s go to the Artificial Environment Generator next. Like the name says it creates realistic environments. It’s pretty cool.”
-
She ignored his question. Interesting. Nika would take that to assume that it would reflect badly on her. Not that Nika would want to do things poorly just to reflect badly on Latona. That held little interest for him. But it was worth storing that thought away for another day.
"Ah, yes. Space flight. That I really want to try. But I probably wont get to do that until I'm a pilot, right?" Nika gave a small sigh, then brightened, "But I am sure that you'll be a wonderful teacher for the rest of the crafts."
He did perk up slightly at the mention of the AEG, "Is that like a video game? I like video games." He beamed up at her, looking quite excited, "That sounds like fun! Let's go!"
-
“It is kind of like a video game yeah, I like to do my training there. Even when you’re a pilot you still have to practice and the main areas used for that are the dojo and the AEG depending the pilot’s personal tastes. I use both areas. If you want me any time but can’t find me I’ll probably be in one those two areas.”
Hopefully he wouldn’t take advantage of that and come and annoy her. She got the feeling he wanted to spend as little time with her as possible though.
She turned and started leading Nika out of the hangar, “And yeah space travel isn’t until you’re a pilot. Space isn’t really that interesting after you’ve seen a couple of times; it’s just a big black, star speckled expanse with a few giant rocks here and there.”
Space was king of boring, the first time she saw it she had found it beautiful now she just saw it for what it actually was a big blackish spotty thing with the odd planet dotted about.
She walked down the corridor toward the AEG which was a little bit out of the way but eventually they reached it.
“I know it looks boring now,” she explained as she stepped inside, “But trust me it is pretty cool.”
Currently it just looked like a big grey room with nothing in it except a small computer terminal.
“You tell the computer whatever type of environment you want and what you want in it and a realistic projection is produced. It even imitates the tastes, smells, temperature, humidity and textures of the environment.”
It was very handy; she liked to create environments with lots of monsters in, just like World of Warlocks.
“If you have a dragon of course, you don’t need to use the computer, they’ll program it for you. Unfortunately my dragon isn’t nice enough to do that but you’re in luck because it means I’m not lazy and actually know how to work the thing.”
-
The boy carefully followed, taking everything in. He wanted to learn about his new environment. He didn't actually mind being here, it was a much more interesting place then his home had been. And there was getting to mess with his mentor. That was proving rather amusing. Nika liked games.
He nodded as she spoke, listening as he memorized the route to the AEG, "That is good to know! When I am lonely, I shall look for you there. What is the dojo like? What kind of fighting will we learn there?" Nika also liked fighting. He got to hurt people and it was allowed. Though sometimes it was hard to make sure he didn't go to far. "Will we get to fight monsters and stuff? In the AEG thing."
Though Latona's comments about space made the boys smile fade a bit. He actually looked rather crushed, "You don't think space is that interesting? But it is so.....beautiful in all the pictures. I can't even imagine what it must look like when you are really there. All those stars and planets around you..."
But once they entered the AEG he perked up a bit more, though the sight of the flat gray walls didn't inspire much confidence, "What kind of enviroment do we get to play in?"
-
“You learn a few different fighting styles but most of the pilots settle on one or two. Mine is…well you’ll find out sometime soon, but not today.”
Telling him would be a foolish idea, he’d know what to expect then and if she were to say wrestling which it basically was, he’d probably realise what sort of woman she was; the violent kind who loved to break bones and cause physical rather than mental harm. And she had a good reason not to try and break their spirit and mind too badly, she had seen what the training had done to others, Wulf and Alei were good examples.
“And yes you can fight monsters in the AEG, that’s how I train. I don’t really advise it unless you’re with someone experienced or until you’re a pilot. As for space, well that’s my opinion; some of the other pilots might have a different one.”
She went over the computer in the AEG, “You can have any environment you want, just tell me what you’d like.”
After typing in her username ‘Pilot Cardinal Latona Eisurin’ and password ‘latona_la_angel’ she clicked on the favourites icon on the menu and scrolled down to one of her preferred environments. Over the time she’d been a pilot she kept changing it and modifying it so by now it was quite challenging, it was virtually impossible to kill Nika with it though. And she probably wouldn’t scare him either; he was actually being good and not stuck up and disrespectful.
On clicking ok, the room suddenly changed and became a huge green meadow sprawled across the room making it look huge. It looked very realistic but barely like anything that existed on earth. In the distance a forest could be seen as well as a river. What really made it great though were the monsters wandering around. Some looked like the mutant animals you found outside the city borders, some looked like trolls and some looked like bears and other large and dangerous animals.
“This is one of my favourite environments, but the AEG can create virtually anything.”
-
"Well, I shall look forward to the day I get to see you fight then." The boy grinned up at her. He seemed to smile a lot, his mouth almost always pulled into that Cheshire cat grin, "I haven't had the chance to spar in quite some time." Then he tilted his head his expression curious, "Will you be teaching me to fight as well? So I will learn your style or will someone else be teaching me?"
The fact that his mentor had wings made Nika think he would probably not be learning to fight from her. She would want to fight in a very different way then he would. Nika was fond of quick, brutal forms of fighting that let him use his small size and fast reflexes effectively.
"I don't know how to work this," The boy gestured to the walls around him, "So I can only use it with a pilot. So I don't think I have to worry about fighting monsters alone." Though he did watch her as she worked at the computer, curious as to what was going to happen.
When the room changed the boy gasped, his pale eyes going wide with surprise. He wasn't really used to natural environments, having lived in the domed city his entire life. He blinked in the bright 'sun' and gazed around, mouth hanging open, "It....it is....beautiful."
-
[OOC Really, inexcusably short *begs for forgiveness* Fell free to describe the monsters, I said mutant animals so make them up ^^]
“I might teach you my fighting style some day but to start off with someone else will teach you, you don’t have wings so it’ll be difficult for me to.”
His reaction at the artificial environment was interesting, but most people found it amazing, because it was.
“Yeah, it is, isn’t it? Some of the pilots have different tastes but this is one of my favourites. So want to fight some monsters?”
-
"Just...barehanded?" Nika cocked his head, watching some of the beasts. They didn't look like things he wanted to be touching. And while he was an alright fighter, he would have much rather had something between him and them.
"I don't think I can hurt the armored ones. I'm sorry. I can just try and get the ones that look like I can hurt them." There was one that was off to the left that looked hopeful. It wasn't too massive, maybe only 6 or 7 feet tall. It was long limbed and moved with a strange rolling grace. Chunks of its fur and flesh and slid away to reveal the muscle under, and in a few places, it's skeleton.
Nika had mostly picked that one because it seemed to have noticed them and was moving closer.
-
“You…do know I was kidding right?” Latona asked.
He was unarmed and didn’t have any telekinesis of course she wasn’t expecting him to fight them. She could however.
There was a monster heading towards which wasn’t very big; she could probably take it down without resorting to her psychic abilities. Nika would get a taste of her fighting style but well…she wasn’t wasting psychic powers on it, it wasn’t worth it.
Walking towards it briskly she took in its height and strength, a fair bit taller than her but small in comparison to the other monsters. First she dropped into a fighting stance then in a flash she flew behind it and pushed it to the ground by kicking off its back. Once it was on the ground she flew up before shooting down going an elbow drop onto its back. It roared in pain and got to its feet just in time for Latona to ram her shoulder into its abdomen and throw it over her shoulder. The monster narrowly missed Nika on its way back to ground but disappeared the moment it hit.
Normally, a human woman should not have been able to pick a monster like that up but she had wings so clearly wasn’t human. She was a lot stronger than even the male pilots.
She turned to Nika smiling, “Okay, so you got a bit of a show today but trust me I’m better than that usually.”
[OOC Hooray for wrestling! Lol and Tomboyness!]
-
Nike had watched Latona very carefully, watching how she moved, how her weight shifted. He wanted to learn as much about it as he could. It would probably come in handy later.
She was very strong and fast, though it made Nika curious about her bones. Were they hallow like a birds? She had to be rather delicate, or he wings couldn't support her weight. But she had been able to lift him as well. There must be some trick to them. It would be interesting to learn that trick.
When the monster vanished, Nika clapped his hands, smiling that picture perfect smile of his, "Ah! That was very impressive! Fast and effective!"
-
“Thanks,” Latona said brightly as she pushed her hair back into place, “It would have been faster to use my psychic abilities but it would have been a waste. That one was weak in comparison to some of the others.”
She flexed her wings slightly, and then continued, “So want to see another environment or do you want to do see the dojo now?”
Nika probably wondered how she could fly and be so strong. It was simple, the bones in her body were just like human bones but the bones in her wings and the bones connecting them to her back were full of a kind of magic as the medics of the ATC had discovered when they’d been broken on her first day. Needless to say she was really lucky she was a psychic, else she’d have ended up a TRIM.
-
Nika tilted his head to the side, his gaze shifting to the spot the monster had vanished from, "You can use your physic powers to kill something?" That interested the boy quite a bit and he couldn't fully conceal that from his expression, "Can you teach me how to?"
Nika glanced around the room and at the monsters, "I think I would like to come back here and see more places when I can....interact with it more." Then his smile was back, "But the dojo would be very fun. Do you know who I will be teaching me to fight?"
Maybe his mentor would be quite useful. She could teach him new and interesting ways to hurt people. Though he wondered what she would think of his ability. But he would keep that to himself unless she asked. It was always nice to have a few surprises.
((OOC: Ah! >.< So short! I'm sorry!))
-
[OOC That's okay ^^ mine are short a lot of the time o.O]
“Yeah, you can use telekinesis to slam them into things, or to pick them apart atom by atom…” Latona said surprisingly cheerfully, “Or if you’re more of the telepathic type you can cause severe mental stress and cause a complete brain meltdown. Of course that won’t work on pilots, but on normal humans and animals it will.”
Doing that however required a sound knowledge of the human brain and how it worked, and picking something apart atom by atom was certainly not the fastest way to kill someone, it required immense concentration. Alei had always seemed very good at that though, for some reason he found it really easy to visualise and actually do it very quickly.
“And yes, I will teach you how to kill thing with your powers eventually. As for who will teach you how to fight…whoever volunteers I guess or whoever I can bribe to do it.”
She could think of a few people who might, given the right incentive, maybe Fala might…
“Anyway, let’s head to the dojo.”
She went over and shut the computer off before exiting the room. The dojo was a bit of trek from there really. Maybe she should have planned the route in advance…
“So Nika…What’s your specialist psychic area? Do you have one yet?” she asked, “Mine’s telekinesis but I can do the other things too. Except the whole sensing emotions and memories from objects, that’s for hippies.”
[OOC Heheh, never let Latona meet Devi, it will not end well o.O]
-
((I can just see it now XD As Devi wont like Latona making fun of her power and she doesn't tend to back down well))
Nika's eyes widened slightly as Latona spoke and his small pink tongue darted over his lips before he could stop himself. That sounded like so much fun. Nika then quickly smiled again, trying to repress the excitement, "That would be interesting to learn. I hope I can master my powers that well some day."
Nika was a little sad as the images faded back into the plain gray walls. He had liked the wide open spaces and the strange monsters. He would have to come back her e more often to play, "I hope that you can find a teacher soon. I could use the work out. I am getting rusty here."
He paused for a moment at her question before quickly recovering the distance as he trailed after Latona, "My physic area?" Darn, so early to have to reveal what he could do. But there was no point in lying about it, she would find out eventually and he would just get in trouble for not telling her. "I can control blood."
-
[OOC >.< Short]
“Blood? Really?”
That did sound interesting.
“How exactly?”
Being the unladylike woman she was she liked blood and gore and being able to control blood sounded like a cool ability to her. She could probably control blood using telekinesis if she really concentrated but was his control of it faster and more efficient? Or maybe it was something else entirely.
As for find someone to teach him, she would do it soon, she’d have to. The question was who. She’d have to ask around.
-
Nika shrugged, smiling slightly. He was still new to his power and hadn't fully figured out what he could do with it yet. But he wanted to learn, he wanted to master it. Though he suspected in wasn't a common ability. He hadn't even known you could do it before he had bleed someone out.
"I can...control blood. Your blood, my blood. I can make it do what I want. Call it out, make it stop moving, stop bleeding."
It was an interesting power. He felt it fit him, "Will you be able to teach me to use it? If you can't use it, can you still teach it?" Nika didn't really know how that would work. But he was hoping he could get more control with it.
He kept a careful eye out as they walked, taking in the way to the dojo. He was probably going to want to spend time there.
-
It was good she knew he could do that now. If she suddenly discovered she was suffocating then she’d know he was probably stopping her blood flowing.
As for being able to teach him how to use it…
“The basic principles should be easy enough, I’ll teach you those then you’ll have to develop that ability yourself.”
They continued walking until they finally reached the dojo. It looked basically how you’d expect it to look. Lots of mats and straw dummies that kind of thing.
“It isn’t as interesting as the AEG I’m afraid but you’ll need to know where it is.”
-
Nika wasn't likely to try and kill Latona. And not in such an obvious way, as he didn't really want to get executed for killing a pilot. And while Nika seemed to lack empathy and other emotions, he wasn't stupid. And he wasn't interested in killing people just because.
"I look forward to learning more about my powers." His telepathy was quite rough as well. It wasn't very strong and he had put up some impressive blocks around his thoughts, though they worked to keep him from reading other people's minds. And they lacked any real finesse. A skilled physic could tear them down with some effort.
As they entered the dojo, the boys pale eyes scanned the room, "I was hoping for something more interesting." He smiled, cheerful and wide, "I don't really know what else I was expecting. But things have been so....different here. And then a very ordinary dojo."
-
Latona shrugged, “How could a dojo be any different.”
Anything you could think of to add to one, the AEG could be used for. That’s why she personally used a mix of both. Being the game nut she was, she preferred the AEG but if she was training with another pilot the dojo was better.
Where could she take Nika now? She’d shown him the interesting things. The classrooms would bore him and he’d be shown round them when classes started anyway. Instead she’d ask him and if he couldn’t think of anywhere she’d call it a day.
“So anywhere you want to see?”
[OOC This thread probably doesn't have much left to it. Unless Nika can think of something want to call it a day?]
-
"No, I think that is all. Thank you." Nika smiled and bowed slightly to her, "Do I need to see you everyday or will you just find me when you are want to work with me?" Nika wasn't really looking forward to all the classes the candidates had to go through here, but it was a necessary evil.
(OOC: Yeah ^.^ That sounds like a plan))
-
“Don’t worry I’ll find you, or email you,” Latona replied, “I guess that’s it then. You’re free for the rest of day. Later Nika.”
She stretched and then began heading down the corridor.
[OOC Sucky, but meh o.O]