Rose went to school like she always did. Walking with her brother Ruben was the calmest part of the day. She enjoyed walking in the cold mornings. In the predawn there were very few people out and it was mostly walking in silence with her brother. This was the calmest part of her day.
Summer was coming and these cold, calm walks were getting shorter as the sun came up earlier and hotter. People were coming out more. The markets they walked through were being set up. Rose was no longer enthralled by the Kindred on display like she was last year. She thought herself much more mature than the naive first year that walked this path last year.
Now when she looked at the kindred that were on display she felt like she understood what they were going through. She saw them in their cages and yearned for the time when she herself would be free.
She walked with Ben to their school, where they each went to their separate classes. She watched as Ben went over to the kennels where the school Kindred were kept. He was studying all about Kindred while Rose was learning about all how Kindred were integrated into society and all the jobs that worked directly with them or supported them.
She saw her teacher, Mr. Handon, as she entered the classroom. An old grizzled man, hardened by a life filled with laborious work. Rose was disappointed in what she was taught in her first year of general studies.
She didn't see how teaching by telling mostly anecdotal stories was a good way to get students to learn.
This year was different. Mr. Handon was now teaching them about all the different jobs that Kindred interacted with.
Rose shook her head and stopped thinking about last year and focused on today. She looked around and saw her friend William. He was wearing a Bone Stitching Splint on his right arm. He waved briefly with his left as he noticed Rose.
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Rose sits next to her friend. William has been Rose's friend longer than anyone else. They met in this school last year. They bonded over the physical competitions then found their mutual interest in fighting. Rose was obsessed with the act of fighting. The thrill of the physically of it. She would fight whenever she could. Taking advantage of any opportunity to get better, always looking for more experienced opponents.
William was attracted to the study of fighting. He would watch all types of fights. Learning from all the different styles of fighters and incorporating different bits into his own form. After picking up bits William would practice in live fights. He was getting hurt often trying to learn the perfect ways to use new moves. That's how he ended up with his broken arm. While sparring with Rose, he attempted a one armed hip throw. As Rose twisted out of it, his elbow popped and when he hit the ground his forearm broke in several places. He also hated to be called anything but William.
"Where is Samuel? Did something happen?" Rose asked. "Ya. He was training with some rich kid, when he got a cheap shot. When he went down, the kid kicked him in the head!"
Rose clenched her teeth and balled her fists in an attempt to keep control of herself as anger flooded her body. She felt hot as heart thundered in her ears. "What happened after that?" She gritted out from between her teeth.
William shrugged. "Dunno. But you know how these things go. They prolly paid off his parents then went on with their lives. Samuel is pretty messed up. Prolly won't be back to school this year."
Rose wasn't able to concentrate on anything at school. When it was over she met up with her dad, who was waiting outside for her.
Her father would wait for her when he had an opportunity for her to practice fighting. Most of the time it was a paid fight where she would be able to make money for the family. She liked doing this, as she was able to fight her hardest and was helping her family.
Other times her father set up people to coach her in fighting techniques. Having experts teach anyone anything is a costly endeavor. Getting true experts to share their secrets usually takes more than just money. If Rose knew how difficult it was to get the personal training she received, she would have been thoroughly impressed, but it was just something she took for granted that her dad made happen for her.
The final thing was sparring events. Most of the time it was set up between her and someone she knew, mostly both from her class. Those were the easiest to set up and she always knew about these beforehand. What she hated the most was the sparring events where he was basically the punching bag for someone else. Matt set these up because they paid a lot of money. He knew that his daughter was smart enough to be able to pick up fighting techniques that were used against her.