by Harlon Banks
"In general, the max number allowed is four people for any given party mission however two can be accepted alone if they both are of the same color or higher than the required assignment. Anything below Silver more than one person is optional. If the mission has in the terms possible death as a consequence you upon taking the contract acknowledge you might not come back and we aren't responsible for your demise. Choose your jobs carefully." She blatantly warned the group. This was just like when Dal and Wren went on about applicants for the artifact retrieval mission waiver any responsibility for their deaths.
"So much for guaranteed safety." Kayde sighed under her breath as she twiddled her fingers. "Then again I guess a free ranged program like this has its downsides; it isn't a school after all. It feels more like an unofficial correction facility though." She shrugged quietly now raising both hands to try to smooth out the spiky bangs of her storm grey hair to no avail.
"Teamwork huh?" Melissa said softly in thought. Jonath peering her way again with curious eyes. "I guess I could put aside my antisocial tendencies if there's a large enough reward involved. Hopefully my teammates are fine with my shady shenanigans though." She sneered. Jonath blinking at her words, Melissa was antisocial? Melissa turned her one-eyed gaze to Jonath, her bright cerulean blue eye staring into his own as eye contact were held for several seconds.
"What? You want to team up with me, pretty boy?" She shot him a teasing smile with an alluring gaze, her voice like honey. Jonath snorting at her taunting and looking back up at Min. He had to play it cool and make it look as if he weren't so unsure of his own capabilities around these guys. He didn't know any of them, the slightest show of weakness could backfire on him very quickly.
"Thought you were going to start calling me Jon?" He responded with a nonchalant tone of his own, hands moving into his jacket pockets. Melissa shrugging as she clicked her tongue at him and looked back up at Min as well. The woman on the stage rambling on about campus rules on no killing each other, escaping unauthorized or other common sense stuff and the consequences that came with doing so.
"You're right, I did." Melissa snorted with a sly smile without looking back at him. "Alright then Jon, try to get the same color level as me so we can go out sometime on a mission. Love to see what you can do." She worded her statement as if implying it would be a date. Jonath eye rolling at her, she seemed to get a kick out of shallow flirting. A gentle and warm breeze blew the scent of the crystal forest across everyone's nostrils, ruffling hair and feeling good against skin as the clouds blotted the moon out once again.
"With all of this said and done I think it's time to get on to the fun part of this entire introduction." Min sneered as a light-skinned man who looked to be in his mid to late twenties walked up on the stage from the left. He was tall and toned with short spiky black hair with thin bangs looming over his cat-like yellow eyes that were accentuated by the darkness of the area around them. Aloof facial features giving him a punkish bad boy aesthetic as he donned a black v-neck muscle shirt, dark cargo pants and military boots with dog tags slung around his neck. He stood taller than Min, easily a couple of inches above Jonath even. His stance casual, golden hued skin accentuated by black clothes and a toned, slim muscular physique.
"Seems like you got competition in the pretty boy department Jon." Melissa teased with a chuckle, Jonath ignoring her completely. Min gesturing idly to the man standing to her left as he looked indifferently at all the recruits.
"We will start by introducing you to the rest of the crew overseeing your ascent here. This is my younger brother Dast. He's going to be in charge of all the combat related criteria you'll be facing here. He's got a bit of a temper despite his quiet and calm façade so don't piss him off or you quite literally will find your head slammed into concrete." She warned with a light chuckle. Delaren snorting upon hearing that as if he wished that man would try. Jonath staring quietly, analyzing everything about Dast from his nonchalant stands of hands idling in pants pockets and hunched over posture to the bored, unimpressed at what he saw look in his cat eyes. The man gave off the vibe he was rather powerful, without a doubt at least in Jonath's eyes.
"He's going to section you all off and we will begin the testing and evaluation processes. You'll be introduced to the rest of the crew after we get everyone organized. There will be a written test, a physical test, and a teamwork evaluation to see what color you will be placed under and then we will show you to your barracks where you will be staying. It may be an everlasting night in the sky but it's still early morning here on Kynerva. Do your best and exceed expectations. Chop chop!" Min clapped her hands before tapping Dast on the arm and exiting the stage on the field. Dast watching her take her leave momentarily and then turning his hard gaze to the rest of the group as nameless militia soldiers moved all around them to file them off into lines.
"Alright, let's get this over with. We'll start by getting you all through the written exam first, there will be a small break and then we'll engage the physical part." Dast's voice was rather smooth and deceptively baritone to the ears. Jonath and the others moving to follow the gesturing soldiers as the amnesic sighed quietly under his breath. Damn... He hoped to the Gods he didn't flunk this test.
It all begins here.
Nightborn Extravaganza
The Challenger Chapter Twenty-Eight: Nightborn Extravaganza
The written part of the series of evaluations were done in less than two hours; the group of Nightborn back at the grassy open field of the facility as Jonath groaned scratching his scalp. Sitting in a chair for so long wracking his head over exams was something he could go the rest of his life without. Wondering if he'd either embarrassed himself with the answers he put down or did better than he gave himself credit for. The test didn't seem too difficult to him, surprisingly, the questions rather basic. However paranoia was a staple part of his personality at this point; he wasn't about to give himself any slack. As far as he knew, he completely failed a basic exam that only really scoped out the bare minimum intelligence of the test takers.
"That test made me think these guys thought some of us were a bit on the slow side." Melissa chuckled to Jonath's left as she raised her arms up clasping her hands together to arch her back in a standing stretch; when her arms lowered a quiet, content exhale left her lips accompanied by a slight chuckle. "Then again I wouldn't be surprised if some of the lot here were." She glanced at Jonath and discreetly thumbed over to a random looking off into space away from them both. Jonath snorting abruptly at her antagonism and trying not to sneer.
"That's a bit mean don't you think?" Kayde muttered from behind the two with a disapproving yet subtle scowl at Melissa. The cerulean eyed young woman shrugging slightly with monotone features.
"I get called mean almost as much as I get called pretty or sexy; it's a part of my personality and aesthetic by now love." Melissa sneered at Kayde while pointing to the grey eyed woman's chest. "I was initially gonna call you Big Tit Bimbo when I first saw ya, what cup size are they? I'm thinking D, cause I'm a C myself." Melissa said casually pausing as she tapped her lip looking skyward in sudden thought. "I actually feel a bit threatened every time I see your figure and compare it to mine; like you just one upped me in hips, waist and tits. I like to think I'm more toned and flexible than you though since my abs can vaguely be seen when I look at myself in the mirror..." She lowered her hand snorting now annoyed herself as she peered back at Kayde.
"Is your stomach smooth as a baby's butt or do you have some definition like I do?" She asked genuinely curious. Why was she even asking questions like this?
Kayde and Jonath both blinking in astonishment at how blunt Melissa was; the former discharging a bit of static electricity from her eyes when she blinked out of irritation as her cheeks flushed red slightly. Melissa really had no chill. What made it ironic to Jonath was that compared to Kayde, Melissa was just as good-looking if not better in certain departments in his opinion, not that he'd ever say it though.
"
Shut up!" Kayde said quiet yet sharply as to not draw unnecessary attention to them and the topic at hand. Jonath sighing quietly, and scratching the back of his head slowly turning to look away to pretend he didn't hear anything. Now he knew Melissa was a bully. A subtle bully, but a bully nonetheless with a streak of egotism. The dark-haired female chuckling as she waved off Kayde and looked up at Dast walking back up on the small stage before them all under the moonlight.
"Ok Ms. Super Slim Thick." Melissa snorted. At this point one could wonder if Melissa felt an inferiority complex towards Kayde and covered it by bullying or if she just was an ass. Oh well...
"The written results won't be in for another few hours so we're just going to get right into the physical stuff." Dast spoke in a calm yet attention grabbing tone as he stood nonchalantly looking over the group, all eyes on him. "To put it simple, instead of a series of useless simulations that only gauge aspects of your capabilities that will rarely if ever be isolated in live situations, we're just gonna put everything into one big test. Well, two actually, but the second test won't happen today. Don't want to wear you all out." He paused, letting all of what he said settle in the minds of the quiet trainees. A sinking feeling churning in Jonath's stomach, he knew where this was going. The only way multiple skills could be tested simultaneously with vigor was...
"We've made a bracket; you guys are going to spend the next couple hours beating each other up in a controlled environment to see how well you can use your powers." Dast said casually with a huff. The first person to say anything after him was Delaren (standing behind Kayde) as he glanced over to Wrain (in front of Melissa). A devilish sneer creeping across his amber hued eyes and punkish features, fingers flexing as he spoke with a tone laced with impatience.
"You hear that snowflake? If we get pitted against each other I'm gonna roast you that smug ass look off your face; see if you're so tough then." He chuckled with a slasher smile. Jonath and Melissa both looking over their shoulders at the pyromaniac a bit put off by his anger issues. Wrain however, made no noticeable shift in either vibe nor body language. His hands remaining in his puffy black coat pockets as he simply exhaled frost with his eyes remaining closed.
"I always thought polar opposites attracted in a good way." Melissa deadpanned, glancing over to Kayde again as her deadpan curved upwards into a taunting smile accentuated by a sultry half-hidden gaze. "You complete the elemental trip ya know Kayde? Maybe you could let both of em tag team ya to keep equilibrium." She chuckled sticking her tongue out. Kayde leering at Melissa now as Jonath went wide-eyed in disbelief momentarily as Blade (now looking over his right shoulder) and Delaren even looked at Melissa like she had went too far.
"You need to tone it down a bit, Melissa." Jonath said low and stern. Melissa eye rolling and just waving off the suggestion with a snort.
"You guys are so sensitive ugh; thought you'd at least be able to see a joke when it's said Jon." Melissa side-eyed the amnesic with a huff. Jonath simply closing his eyes, exhaling, and shaking his head in silence. Kayde still glaring daggers at Melissa yet not saying anything out of her own nicety taking control of her inner desires. No doubt though if she and Melissa got paired up to fight Kayde would probably have more than just a reason to fry the bully right out of her.
"Anyway we've already randomly picked who you all will be sparring with. We're doing one battle at a time since there's close to thirty of you here and not enough to call for multiple battles happening at once. Each battle will last five minutes exactly as we've only got just slightly over two hours to get this done and filed away. Should only take five minutes anyway to get a feel of which of you are prodigies through and through and which of you are worthless and need training. Five minutes feel a lot longer in combat so trust me, you won't need any more time." Dast spoke prominently to the group. Jonath narrowing his eyes, only thirty others here that weren't teachers or staff we Nightborn too? Considering his bus was only about half full he could believe it.
Liariana's visage flashed across his mind momentarily...
"Wonder where she is now..." he muttered. After their whole interaction in the ruins and her saving his life twice over prior, he couldn't just wipe her memory from his mind like he wanted.
Jonath shook the thought from his head. He shouldn't be thinking about Liariana now. He couldn't help it; everything about that woman was an enigma to him. He couldn't fight the fact that his curiosity about her was almost as strong as the curiosity about his own past. A beeping noise snapped him out of his thoughts; eyes looking up to see Dast holding a holographic projector in the palm of his right hand. A giant blue electronic screen appearing before the entire audience displaying the randomly assigned matchups. An image of each arrival placed beside their opponent; Jonath wondering when the hell were they able to take mug shots of him when he saw his face up there. Tensing when he saw the name of his opponent.
Kelgard Crimson, the profile picture depicting a man with short, spiked and ruffled, jet-black hair that was slicked up and parted at the forehead with two thin strands of hair on the opposite sides of his forehead falling over his eyes with noticeable sideburns. Dark red eyes that were a bit heavier in color than the bright scarlet hues of Liariana's for comparison, contrasted well with his pale complexion and his gaze portraying a lonely and suffering spirit. Just looking at this man's picture made Jonath feel as if he were in for a beat down on his part if he couldn't get a grip on his powers soon.
"Ohhh you got the emo Blood King." Melissa chuckled at Jonath as she spoke. The amnesic glancing at her confused especially when her next words were a simple chuckle followed by,
"Good luck." She snorted clearly showing how little faith she had in the amnesic.
Well that was comforting. Jonath now glancing around the crowd for this Kelgard guy, spotting him rather quickly. Some distance down from his right, Jonath saw Kelgard quietly staring at the hologram with an emotionless, empty face much like Liariana's. He didn't know why he kept comparing Liariana to him, maybe it were just the superficial similarities. Both aside from opposing genders were tall, had black hair, pale skin and red eyes with empty, hollow gazes. One could even at a glance assume the two were related if it weren't for the fact Liariana's last name was Yelkath and her eyes glowed in darkness unlike Kelgard. She also looked like a foreigner with her features compared to him. Still, 'Blood King' was a rather ominous nickname...
Kelgard dressed in a simple black tee with cargo shorts and black boots. A blood-red necklace strung around his neck as his lean and muscular visage coupled with his height (a couple of inches taller than Jonath who was 5"11) further instigated this guy was probably one of the stronger guys out of the group if he were brandishing the nickname 'Blood King'. Long as he wasn't shooting silver-black flames at Jonath it wouldn't be so bad he guessed.
"Tch!" Delaren grunted irritated as he saw his matchup. "Who the hell is Orath Advent?" He barked annoyed turning to look at Wrain, whom simply snorted and looked over his shoulder once more as the group began to disperse when soldiers started gesturing where to go. Orath was one of the twins, the girl.
"Guess you have to wait before I can put you down like you want me to. Shame." He said calmly cocky as he walked off. Delaren growling heavily irritated... Melissa walking over to tap the man on the shoulder as she then passed him as well.
"Don't worry, you can live vicariously through me when I beat up ice-cube there." She smiled tauntingly pointing to the versus screen having her against Wrain. Looking towards Kayde now with another sneer. "You're against Lee Advent. Have fun with that you escort." She snorted as she ignored the growing agitation in Kayde's glare at her. The electromaniac tightening her hands into fists as she were visibly shaking with anger now. Jonath snapping her out of her darker thoughts when he placed a hand on her shoulder and spoke in a calm voice.
"As long as you react to what she says she'll keep doing it, just ignore her." The amnesic nodded with a solid stare. Kayde relaxing a bit from his words, and nodding in
exchange as her glare faded and she sighed.
"Okay..." She said calming down.
With that Jonath headed away with a portion of the group, nothing but randoms mixed with those he saw on his bus. Hopefully he wasn't having such bad luck he'd be the first one to fight. He needed a bit to at least figure out how he could use what he knew of his powers effectively.
Kelgard Crimson...
Kelgard, was he on the bus with Jonath and Melissa too? Jonath tried to see if he could without a doubt remember seeing the man but only drew blanks. As he thought to himself while he followed the group Jonath didn't notice Kelgard approaching him; Jonath noticing the taller man just in time to keep from crashing into him as Kelgard kept a lax, silent posture with his right hand nestled in his pocket, left hanging free. Jonath blinking, narrowing his eyes next as pale greeted blood-red, Kelgard not saying anything for at first...