PART II - MEET THE TRAINERS - THE BLADEDANCERS

Lena found herself wanting to look around for Callie to see how she was doing, and even saw a quick glimpse of something pink talking to a Bearkin. But the other part of her, the apparently sane part of her not fixated on mothering the Gnome, concentrated on looking for her own brown tent sign with the red cross swords. She eventually found it along a row of other Warrior-class tents. Outside the tent, two white Tigerkin were chatting with each other, one male and one female, their fur blending with the white of the robes so only their black stripes and amber-irised eyes stood out. She was fairly sure she recognized them both from the intake line. They were there when Vanis was revealed to be the Prince.

“These robes give you two some great camouflage,” Lena said as she walked up.

The two Catkins looked at each other and then down at their robes. “You’re right,” the first said. “If only it were snowing,” the second added.

Lena held up her class identification block. “Bladedancers, right?”

“That’s right,” both the Tigerkin responded in unison.

“Great. Well, I’m Lena.”

“I am Moka,” the male said. “This is my sister, Koka.”

“You’re siblings? And both the same class? What are the odds, I wonder.”

“We are not just siblings…” Moka began.

“... but we are littermates as well,” Koka completed.

“Really! I always wonder if being twins affected the likelihood of getting the same class.”

“No one was more surprised than us …” Koka began.

“...when we both received Bladedancer as our class.” Moka finished. “But our other two littermates are of different classes than we are.”

“Didn’t I see you both in line earlier?” Lena asked, cocking her head. “Yeah, when we found out that Vanis was the Prince.”

Koka giggled slightly, and Moka looked uncomfortable. “I’m afraid that we …” Koka began.

“...acted a little foolish,” Moka concluded.

Lena waved them both off. “It’s no matter. I’m sure he understands and had to expect it was going to happen. He’s actually quite polite, nice even. Not at all what I would have expected.”

“Pardon me ladies and kind sir, this tent is for the Bladedancers, yes?” a voice said, interrupting the conversation.

The trio looked to see another furry Catkin joining them. He was shorter than the Tigerkin twins, and shorter than Lena as well, perhaps just over one and a half meters tall. His coat was a light gray, with white fur around his mouth and nose, and again at the tip of his tail and ears. Another patch of white on his chest was peeking out from under his robe.

“It is,” Lena said. “Welcome.”

“Greetings to you as well. My name is Dregorio.” His speech was heavily accented indicating he was definitely not from this region.

Lena and the Tigerkin introduced themselves. “I must ask,” Koka said. “Your accent?”

“Beautiful Tigress, I come from far to the south, across the central deserts, on the ocean shores. Fates have taken me far and wide and through luck, I ended up here. Whether that luck is good or bad remains to be seen. It is my hope to do my duty to remove my Conscription and then return to the land of my childhood.”

“You must have some amazing stories to tell from coming all this way.” Koka said.

"Many, and yet few. But the brief story is that I left my home for love, like so many wayward souls. Alas, it was not meant to be for long and before I could return to my home, I was Conscripted. I did not even know my class at the time, but once I was Conscripted, it was determined and this is where I ended.”

“That’s a little sad,” Lena said. “To end up here because you followed your heart.”

“Such is the danger of love,” Dregorio said with a sad sigh. “In the end, though, it is the challenges we face that make for the epic tale of life. Who knows, perhaps I shall find new love or a new direction to wander. Whatever may happen, it will at least be exciting.”

“Well said, Recruit,” said a new voice.

Lena looked up to see Major Celeste approaching. She appeared slightly flushed and winded, as if she had been running. She had a basket in one hand. Lena quickly offered her arms and Major graciously handed it off.

“Thank you. Sorry I was running behind. I am doing double duty this term as both the Bladedancer trainer as well as my normal duties in charge of internal security for the camp. Unfortunately, our previous Blademaster trainer decided he was ready to retire, but didn’t inform us until two days ago.”

“If we can help, please let us know,” Moka said.

“I appreciate that. How many are here? Four? That’s good, that’s what I was told we had. Shall we go in and sit?” Celeste gestured towards the tent entrance.

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All five entered and the recruits took seats on large pillows along the walls. Celeste removed her belt, which held scabbards for her twin swords and set it aside, before collapsing on a pillow herself with an exhausted exhale.

“I’m going to keep this all pretty brief because there’s not much to do today,” the Major began. “First, I’m Major Celeste and I’m a high Gold Tier Bladedancer. Honestly this is the first group I am training, so I’m not completely sure what I’m doing. It’s possible we may pair up from time to time with other classes if they are working on similar tactics, and I have two trainers from those classes that are directly mentoring me as well. I don’t see any problem getting you all to at least mid-Silver.”

“That’s great,” Lena said. “Again, however we can help.”

Celeste nodded and then really noticed Lena for the first time. “Hey, you were with the Ogre, from earlier.”

“Yes. Tazrok is a friend of mine.”

“I’ll be honest, when he started storming down the line, I was worried for a moment that something ugly might happen,” Celeste said. She then took a minute to recount the adventures from earlier in the day with the Dwarf and the Pixie to Dregorio, who had not been present.

“Tazrok is truly gentle. He hates hurting people, but he won’t hesitate to protect the weak,” Lena said.

“What happened to the Pixie?” Koka asked.

“Last I heard, she was in the Medical Ward being tended. I thought I saw Master Trainer Thorn over there earlier, so I suspect they are determining if she can join her training class. I don’t know much else.”

“And the Dwarf?”

“Released from the Healer within twenty minutes, and he rejoined his group,” Celeste said. “But, without his beard,” she added with a chuckle.

“I saw that braided cutting of hair hanging by the bell; just flopping in the wind,” Dregorio said. “I hadn’t yet heard the story of how it ended up there. Now that I have, I find it both amusing and angering. Dwarves pick on the weak far too much.”

“We will keep an eye on that Dwarf. If he continues that kind of behavior, I’ll personally send him to the front.”

“Good!” both Lena and Koka said at the same time.

Celeste clapped her hands. “Alright, let’s try to get through what we need to. First question, do any of you have any off-class skills unlocked already?”

Lena raised her hand, as did Dregorio.

“Good. Lena, tell me what you have.”

“Several actually. Under Scout, I know the Thief skills Hide in Shadows and Nimble Fingers. I also have Truthseeking, which is a Scholar skill.”

“Thief skills? Anything I need to know or worry about?”

Lena pushed up her sleeve, revealing the three circular tattoos. “Former life. Leave it at that. I also have the Parkour perk from Thief.”

Celeste nodded, no surprise in her eyes. “Still, devoting so much time to skills outside your class shows dedication, especially Specialist skills. They could be quite usable with the Bladedancer class, too. Especially Parkour and Hide in Shadows.”

“Oh, I know that, too. I’ve got Flashstep under Bladedancer as well, so you can imagine how well that helped in my … former life. Triple Riposte is another one I have.”

“Do you know if you’ve unlocked your Dual Wielding and Ambidextrous perks? They would support your Triple Riposte skill,” Celeste asked.

“I have, yes,” Lena responded. “I even underwent some formal sword training. I don’t claim to be a swordmaster by any means, but I’d like to believe I’m not awful either.”

“Great!” Celeste said excitedly. “Your assistance to the other three will be valuable.”

“How did you end up with Truthseeking?” Moka asked.

“Let’s just say I got tired of getting the raw end of bad deals. I made the effort to try to make sure that couldn’t happen any more. It’s saved me more than a few times.”

“I am greatly impressed by your dedication, Miss Lena,” Dregario said. “It makes my paltry off-class skills pale in comparison.”

“What do you have?” Koka asked.

“I have learned a Wizard Firebolt skill, as well as a Healer Minor Healing skill.”

“Quite the difference,” Celeste said.

“I was young and foolish and thought the Firebolt skill was flashy and would impress the ladies.” Dregorio then chuckled. “I quickly learned Healing when I found out that fire could also burn the caster.”

“A hard lesson, but having that emergency heal ability is a great addition in a large battle, so it is certainly no wasted effort,” Celeste said.

Dregorio gave a little bow of his head in appreciation of the compliment.

“Nobody else has any off-class skills?”

Both Tigerkin shook their heads.

“Next, some basic info. Training will start about three hours after sunup. Like usual, you’ll hear a thirty-minute bell and a ten-minute bell. Please don’t be late.”

Celeste went on to review noon meal needs, confirming that Lena wasn’t opposed to eating meat, and other administrative information.

“The last thing I want to talk about are your Symbiotes, which I have here. As soon as we are finished, please take them back to your bunkhouse immediately and put them in your footlocker until you are ready to use them. You have no idea how expensive Specialist worms are and I don’t want to risk you dropping it or forgetting it somewhere. Understood?”

The four recruits nodded in unison.

Someone from the Healer staff will be visiting each bunkhouse to assist you. I won’t lie, it really isn’t a pleasant experience. Just lie down and try to sleep through it tonight, it’s the best way to cope. Don’t worry about the blood. It’s normal and there shouldn’t be much.”

Koka raised her paw. “I’ll be honest, I’m really scared about it.”

“A Healer can actually put a sleep spell on you if you’d like.”

“Oh, that’s good. I think I’ll do that.”

“You are going to be surprised how many of those ‘brave’ Dwarves are going to be sobbing and begging to be knocked out,” Celeste said with a chuckle. “There’s no shame in asking for assistance. And once it’s done, you’re done for life. They say your binding to the Symbiote is better if you stay awake, but I’m not sure if there’s any truth to it.”

Koka’s face fell at that news, and one could see that she was wrestling with her own fears.

The five chatted for a while longer. The Major was a relaxed, knowledgeable teacher, and Lena could feel she would learn a lot from her. The other recruits all seemed to be good people, and were genuinely excited to start training. Dragorio was an interesting Catkin. His smaller size betrayed his ancestry as a Domestic, and the exotic accent and his attitude caught her attention. She found herself wanting to get to know him better.

With no further questions, everyone stood and shook their limbs out. Celeste gave each recruit their box with their brown circles and specialist emblems, collecting their class blocks in exchange, before sending them off with a reminder to go straight home.

“Again, let us know if we can help in any way. Working both roles must be chaotic, and we wouldn’t want to make things more difficult,” Lena said with a bow. “Duwana.”

“Thank you, Recruit Lena,” the Major responded gratefully. “Duwanai.”