"Maybe it's one of those, uh...chicken and egg situations, right?" Rion says, but keeps his eyes on the action.  "Like, cyclical or something?"

"They feed off each other, that's for certain.  All I know is that those with power, wield power." Iapeton's lip curls just slightly.  "And as we can see, it's often not pretty."

"I-I don't think that's quite right, Rion," Sapphire squeaks.  "A-after all, reptiles are older than chickens, and they also lay eggs. So, eggs before chickens."

Of all the commentary, it's this that makes Rion break his gaze at the play field.  He squints, tries to form a thought, and seems to fail.  "Even Sapph is smart-assing me now?  What a new low..."

Right at that moment, Vaulda spins off the great shield, moving towards a gap and hoping to pry it into an opening.  Something flashes - steel, darting for the shield straps. Rellka doesn't flinch.  The kick comes just after, directly for her legs - a ploy to unbalance her, put her at a disadvantage. Predictable.

Rellka pivots and steps past the kick, suddenly so close to Vaulda that she can feel the breath on her face when she punches Vaulda's gut hard enough to knock out the wind.  The crowd winces.  Calmly, the Lady Melfisse places the lip of her shield against Vaulda's chin and draws Vaulda's weapon arm around the shield.  She starts to work at pulling the dagger from her hand as Vaulda struggles to breath. "Yes, that's right.  A useful tool.  Honest.  Respectable, even, in a certain light."  She starting peeling back fingers from the hilt.  "Until you remember the truth you're admitting is that your only value is in being used.  And the instant you're not taking orders, you're worthless."

She seizes the dagger.  "And now, I'll show you just how worthless you are."

What do you do?

[3 is fail, unfortunately, and with Vaulda already being on risky ground, she's takes 1 strain and has lost the dagger.]

Vaulda hadn’t expected Rellka to be that fast, a pivot, a step and then a punch to the gut. Vaulda’s vision flashed red and yellow in pain as she began to double over. Only to have the lip of that cursed shield pressed under her chin to keep her in place. Despite the pain, Vaulda continued to process. Pinned. Arm now useless as Rellka pulled it around. The target dagger would soon be lost despite Vaulda’s grip, the nasty waste of armor peeling away one finger at a time. She couldn’t win. She couldn’t breathe. A snarl curled her lip as she struggled, refusing to surrender.

And then a moment of clarity. A lesson taught but never understood. Until now. Just as Rellka managed to claim the dagger, Valuda raised her left hand, the stiletto still in her grip. Her arm pulled back, raising it overhead before she began to swing down aiming for Rellka. At the last moment she pivoted the hilt in her grip, blade safely pointing away as she pushed off the shield. She could feel flesh peel from her chin as it scraped on the shield, gritting her teeth with refusal to cry out.

Her knees went lax as she forced a fall, the dagger at her back suddenly digging in as the rope connecting them pulled taut. The point of combat isn’t to win. It’s to ensure your enemy doesn’t. She had to thank Rellka for finally understanding that lesson. A small smirk quirked at her lips as she was suddenly grateful she decided to wear pants that day. Her arms rose as she fell, covering her head in anticipation of retaliation as soon as she hit the mud. Her dagger hit the mud, disqualifying both of them.

Cal listens to the words of his new friends, nodding along in thought, a paw pressed to his chin as he followed Rion's gaze to the conflict in the mud before them. Even so, he can't help but quirk his head back at over at Rion getting razzed by Sapphire of all people. He stifles a laugh and offers the big man an apologetic smile of solidarity. Ya can't win 'em all.

Little did Cal realize how true this thought would prove for more than just the scion of house Does-Not-Fear until the rest of the action plays out between Rellka and Vaulda.

In the moment Vaulda hits the ground, Cal leans forward, doing a bit of mental calculus, recalling exactly what Instructor Oren had told them both before they began the exercise. He blinks, first once, then twice in a row, processing the situation. It is possible that some would not understand what just occurred, be it from the technical or the emotional perspective. Callicus Q. Thump, however, was just enough of a petty son of a doe that he understood exactly what Vaulda had just done.

And so, once Vaulda comes to a rest in the mud, Cal leaps up elatedly, pumping his fist into the air with a mighty, barking, shout of a laugh.

"HAWWWW!"

Sylara doesn't seem to share Cal's level of enthusiasm, instead opting for a sagely nod that goes on for a little bit too long to be considered serious.

"Let's see what the Instructor thinks of that move... It could go two ways."

As Vaulda's feint came down, Rellka's reflex brought up the now-claimed dagger into an overhead block, windowing her face with the angle of her elbow and arm. A perfect frame of her surprise when her opponent does not move to strike, but instead drops to the ground. She holds the stance, her pupils pinpricks, her pale lips fixed into an unbelieving "oh", her braid drifting in the wind; as if expecting this as yet another clever ruse for which should needed to be ready.

Until the moment the Instructor calls "Disqualified."

Rellka lets her arm drop.  She slips the greatshield from her wrist and shrugs it off onto the ground.  For a long moment, she stands and stares at Vaulda, her expression no longer surprised or confused, but something distant, something dull.  A bank of clouds rolls over the field, dampening the light, and in that dim her eyes almost glimmer like the edges of an eclipse.

She grabs the connecting rope. With a swift cut she severs it, then drops the common dagger.  "Pathetic," spoken softly, almost gently; a tone to identify the weather.

"Cadets Melfisse and Nasar, in my office tomorrow morning. Back to the sideline, thank you."

Then she looks up, eyes widening like waking from a dream.  Rellka returns to the rest of Class Nine to a scattering of unsure applause and the exuberance of Cal's whoops.

The expected blows didn't come. Peeking between her crossed arms, Vaulda watched as her opponent seemed in a daze. The adrenaline was starting to wear off, making her scraped chin burn. Not to mention the ache from the punch to the gut, the twisted arm and oh, yes, those were definitely bruised ribs from being slammed against the shield.

Uncrossing her arms, she wiped her stiletto free of the splattered mud before sheathing it and sitting up. She bit back a groan at the emerging aches and pains. Once more she gave a smirk and a lazy salute to Rellka as she was called pathetic. In Vaulda's mind she won so there was nothing the other woman could do to bother her.

Being the team player she was, she collected the dropped common dagger before heading to the side lines, nodding at Instructor Owen. She untied the rope around her waist, undoing the knot to release her own dagger. Dropping the equipment at the weapons rack, she returned to her group, grinning at Cal's enthusiasm.

”Should have known you'd figure it out, Ears. Don't think I haven't seen your devious little mind working behind your country farmer act.” She kept her voice low to ensure no one outside their little group heard. Standing in line and focusing on breathing without pain, she waited for the next match, soft plops sounding behind her as globs of mud fell from her long braid.

Cal just plasters on his favorite goofy grin in response, bringing both arms up to rest behind his head as he does so.

"Aw shucks, Boss, yer givin' me too much credit."

Even so, Vaulda can probably hear the smirking tone in the words that lend credence to her assertion. Cal quirks an eyebrow as he looks around at the rest of the students, from Rellka's cold composure to Amal's troubled gaze. "Shore was dramatic fer jus' a lil' ol' combat drill, huh? Feels like 'structor Oren's got a lotta stern talkin'-to's on 'is plate all'a sudden."
This message was last edited by the player at 21:31, Mon 08 Jan.

Sylara nods at Cal's words.

"No kidding... we are a bit disfunctional as a Class... I'm just happy I got paired with you, Saph"

She gives the elf girl a sincere smile.

The gold elf's ears wiggle as she smiles.  "Not because I was too easy, I hope!"  She gives Vaulda a light elbow.  "You don't think you're in trouble, do you?  The Instructor didn't sound happy."

"How can he be angry at a student who can take a punch like that?" Rion grins.  "A sucker punch, no less. I could hear the hit from here.  Ouch! Hey, that shield did a number on yer chin too. Starting to look like a real fighter, aren't ya? Ha!"

Instructor Oren raises his hand with two more slips of paper.  "Rion Does-Not-Fear and Mirdan Pettiro to the field, please."

Rion cracks his knuckles and straightens up.  "That's me. It's your lucky day, Horns! Looks like we'll have to fight for real another day."

"Keep your head in the game, Rion."

"Yeah, yeah." He strides out onto the field, squelching mud loudly.  From the sideline, the other student approaches - the thyrnn wearing a green bandana beneath a head of blonde hair and a cocky smile on his face.  Like Rion, he hasn't picked a weapon from the rack.  The only object on him is a strap around his shoulder holding a netted glass jug against his waist.

"Mirdan...? Have we seen him before?"

"I remember seeing him sit with Xander and Rellka at the opening ceremony."  Iapeton rubs his thumb and forefinger together as he watches.  "Haven't seen much else of him, though."

The Instructor finds another spear among the scattered weapons.  "I trust you'll remember the same rules from the bout between Sylara and Sapphire?"  He hefts it, then fires it across the field where it stabs into the earth.  "Please return the spear to me.  Ready - go!"

Rion lowers his stance and begins to circle his way such that he's in between Mirdan and the spear.  "Don't expect me to go easy on ya, all right?"

"Ya kidding?" Mirdan's smirk deepens.  "I'm about to wipe the floor with you."

He pulls the cork off his jug and unleashes a torrent of water which, amazingly, animates into the shape of a twisting, undulating serpent.  With a bubbling hiss, it rains water all over the field, thickening the already wet mud into an absolute soup.

"What is that-?"

More shapes arise from the mud - chest high waves start casting about, first without aim, then suddenly directed towards Rion.  The panthera-kin snarls.  He smashes into the waves with powerful cuts and punches from his arms, but after only two or three he realizes it's like trying to fight the ocean.  One wave drops onto his back and soaks him.  He loses his balance and only just begins to regain it before another wave crashes into his knees and sends him toppling to the ground.

Mirdan smiles and walks - no, he glides, as if the thickened mud deigned to carry him over to the target spear and plucks it from the ground.  "Better luck next time," he says, before riding the wave back towards the Instructor with the water serpent following in tow.  By the time the match is over, Rion's silver mane is stuck to him like a dirty rag.  He stands as the water subsides, shaking his head and throwing off some of the mud.
"You gotta be kiddin'..." he growls.  A bit of color comes to his cheeks, but he makes his way back to the sidelines.

Iapeton meets him and grabs his shoulder.  "Hey, don't beat yourself up.  I've never seen magic work like that. He's tough. A good opponent."
For a second Rion doesn't say anything. Then he chortles.  "I know that, Iapton.  I just..."  He wipes a lick of wet mane away from his eyes. "Gotta get stronger, is all. Or else how am I gonna keep you all in line, huh?  Buncha hooligans, you lot!"

Vaulda formed the smirk that Cal had in his tone, looking down the line at his words. Shrugging at the idea of being in trouble, she settled back into line. ”Won’t be the first dressing down I’ve been given, doubt it will be the last. But if I’m in trouble for ensuring my enemy didn’t win, then Instructor Own needs to reconsider his teaching credentials.”

At Rion’s words, she grimaced, remembering the punch. She could feel the burning throbbing on her chin, it was going to look nasty for quite a while, if she was lucky. If not, well, she’d just have to think of a more entertaining story to go with the scar. ”Thanks Rion. Means a lot coming from you.” She offered a genuine smile, the words truthful as a touch of pride made her stand a little taller.

She offered her own wordless cheer of encouragement as Rion headed out. As it became clear magic was entering the comabt, she put her hands behind her back, allowing her to clench her hands unseen. Amal, Rellka, now this Mirdan. The class was a mixed bag of skills and she wasn’t liking it. What good was spycraft against a straight assault in one on one combat? What good was close quarters fighting against someone that could control water. She didn’t like the way things were stacking up, she just hoped Instructor Owen had a plan.

At Rion’s return, she collected a chunk of mud from her braid and tossed it at him with a grin. ”Not stronger, smarter. We need to figure out how to build a boat instead of trying to fight the waves. Goes for all them, I think we need to start watching our classmates a little more closely. See what they can do and figure out how to beat them.”

Sylara gave Rion a nod as he came back defeated.

"Shame, it was a bad matchup. I think most of us would have struggled handling that. This task in general didn't play to my strenghts. I only won because Sapphire and me played it fair and straight... well, mostly because she played it fair and straight I suppose... but still, if it was combat I'm pretty sure you would have aced this."

Vaulda's response makes a lot of sense to Cal, so as he's thinking, paw to chin, he nods a few times to display that agreement. "Ah cain't 'magine ya would be, really. But Ah cain't say as though ol' Rellka oughta be either, so like..." Cal trails off, unable to come up with a satisfying conclusion and equally losing some focus at the sound of Rion's name being called.

"Aw yeah! Git 'im, Big Cat!" Cal hollers, slapping Rion on the shoulder as he steps into the mud. His grin is even wider as the thrynn Mirdan steps up opposite him. "Ah cain't wait to see ol' boy in action fer real," he remarks to the sidelines. "Big Cat's gonna squawrsh this fella!"

Not long after the words had left Cal's lips, Rion, in fact, fails to squawrsh that fella, finding himself blasted down with wave after wave of mud as Mirdan casually slides across the arena to complete the objective. Upon his return, Cal reaches up and gives Rion's big shoulder a reassuring squeeze.

"Vaulda's right, at least, Ah s'pose she's right," he remarks in turn. "Ah mean, Ah hadn't figur't we'd hafta be learnin' how ta beat our peers, but Ah'm startin' ta feel like we oughta be considerin' how we work in a team."

Cal pauses for a bit, paw back on his chin, looking down into the muddy field as he does so.

"Like, you an' Ah like to git in there an' mix it up, an' them ol' magic fellers kin git us afore we kin git to 'em. But someone like the Boss o'er here," Cal nods towards Vaulda as he speaks, "she kin git up in them magic fellers' faces afore they kin spin up their stuff, but 'gainst a brawler like, well, Rellka Ah reckon..." Cal trails off with a shrug. Vaulda hadn't exactly lost her match, but she certainly hadn't won either.

"An' if Sylara..." Cal starts again, before pausing, considering what the Thrynn girl had just been saying before he started his own rambling. "Ack'shally, what are yer strengths, Sylara?" Cal looks at her a bit bashfully. "Ah mean, other 'an bein' purdy an' clever an' real good at cards, a' course."

He beams in her general direction as he asks, hoping she doesn't take it the wrong way. Cal had been rather impressed with her approach to the drill today, after all, so if this wasn't playing to her strengths, he was genuinely curious to find out what she considered those strengths to be.

Sylara thinks for a moment, trying to figure out how to succintly convey her skills to Cal.

"Hmmmm... I have some degree of control over life and plants. I can use it to weaken foes, strenghten allies and control the terrain in our favor. I can show you sometime, if you want to see it! Though it works best if I have a target I can hurt"

Rion rolls his shoulder, trying to work out a knot.  "So...what, are you sayin' I wasn't supposed to win?"  He frowns at the thought, even more dower now with the benefit of soaked fur.

The Instructor pulls out two more strips.  "Alorna Dandoran and Belbe Yew, to the field, please!"  At his call, two more students make their way out - a trogg with a shawl of thick white fur wrapped over her shoulders and soft carpets of green moss growing on some of her horns.  In one hand she carries a battleaxe, though she seems uncomfortable holding it.  The other student is the nyctikin - a talkative, gossip-y nightjar with large, expressive eyes and rich umber feathers.  She, like Mirdan and Amal before her, also carries no weapon.  Instead she shuffles a deck of cards between her hands with such speed it's almost manic.

"I don't think that's it, Rion. But I'm starting to suspect this isn't necessarily just about sparring."  The sideline looks on as Instructor Oren tosses out the great flail again.  The trogg gives a whistle and suddenly summons a huge white pelican to her arm, much to the surprise of the nyctikin.  She fwips a card into her hand - Chariot - and starts to thunder across the field towards the flail before being intercepted by the trogg while the pelican soars overhead.

"B-but if it's not only that..." Sapphire instinctively winces when Belbe draws up Sword and pummels past Alorna, only to be tripped by a tortoise that emerges from the mud. "Then what else is it suppose to teach us?"

The pelican swoops down and scoops the great flail into its enormous gullet.  Belbe tries to get back to her feet, draw something to stop the bird as it struggles to fly with the heavy payload its carrying.  She fwips again - Papessa - which only cleans her of the mud.  The bird makes a messy landing before the Instructor and heaves up the flail.

"You gotta be kidding me!" Belbe shrieks, standing up from the field and shoving her cards back into her uniform pocket.
"S-sorry," Alorna says, giving a short bow.  "You did well, regardless."
"Whatever." She storms back to the sidelines.  By the time Alorna also returns, she's dismissed the pelican and the tortoise.

"That's almost everyone, right?" Rion asks, rubbing the back of his neck.  "Except-"

"Iapeton Drahem and Xander Morristand, finish us out, would you please?"

”I have suspicions about the lesson but nothing definite. We’ll see if Instructor Owen says anything after the matches are done. Or maybe what he says to Rellka and I. He has to be clever to be a teacher, right?”

She watched the next match with interest, having never seen that kind of magic before. It seemed powerful but she could see limitations. Maybe that was the point. To realize they all had limitations. And perhaps to learn how to deal with loss, she thought as she watched  Belbe seem to throw a fit after losing.

At Iapeton’s name, she clapped, unsure which to cheer for, so instead making a wordless cheer. ”Do your best but remain friends!” Even as the words were out of her mouth she felt embarrassed at how soft they sounded.
This message was last edited by the player at 03:23, Thu 11 Jan.

"I can sort of imagine what he would say to you. I don't know if I agree with it or not, but I can see how as our Instructor he can be worried about you being too ready to sacrifice yourself for the mission. That's not always a good trait, I think."

As Iapeton and Xander are named, Sylara doesn't have much to add but a neutral cheer. While she is in friendly terms with both, she hasn't interacted a lot with either of them, so she doesn't really know what to say.

"Well Ah thin-"

Cal begins to put forth a thought, until the battle between Alorna and Belbe begins. At that moment, his eyes go wide and he points towards the two combatants, or more specifically, towards the beast adorning Alorna's arm.

"Bird!"

Cal points at the sudden pelican, suddenly quite excited. "She jus' done went an' made a bird!"

Cal watches the rest of the fight with rapt glee, even giggling a little when the tortoise makes it appearance. At its conclusion, Cal's cheering and hollering for Alorna while the others converse around him.

"Ho-lee cuh-rap, that was cool!" Cal hops up and down on the balls of his feet a few times excitedly. "Ah wish Ah could do cool shit like that!"

Cal starts making his best attempt at Magic-Using poses as Iapeton and Xander step into the mud.

"Yeah!" Cal calls out, as if suddenly aware of the conversation around him, "y'all better stay friends or else!"

The last two students make their way out to the field, each with their focus intent on the other.  Instructor Oren re-explains the bout rules as he hands a length of rope to them - the same rules as between Rellka and Vaulda.  Standing apart with the common dagger suspended between them, Iapeton seems to tower over Xander.  But even with a head and a half of height between him and his opponent, the bespectacled thyrnn looks completely unfazed.  His hand rest on the butt of his weapon, that strange metal contraption, slung into a leather harness he wears over his uniform.

Iapeton stares him down.  The trogg has been rubbing his fingers together since before taking this field, and now as he pulls them apart, static pops! crackle between each extended digit.  Some of the fur about his neck and head stand up on end.  The space between his horns waver like the wash of heat over sun-scorched stone.

"Begin!" The Instructor drops his hand.

There's a long moment of silence as the two students regard the other; waiting for their moment?  Or an opening?  Some invisible communication between them fills the air as the smell of atmosphere beings to build.  Iapeton narrows his eyes, barely contains a curl of his lip into a snarl.

"Have you figured this one out, too?" Xander's eyes never leave his opponent.

A slow roll of the wrist sends a blue arc running over his knuckles.  "Yeah."  He pivots, narrowing his profile.  "That how you want to do it?"

"Up to you."

Iapeton chews on this, and it doesn't seem particularly pleasant to taste.  "It'd be a shame not to see what that thing does."

Xander quirks his mouth.  "What's a little mystery?

Iapeton's face changes not at all.  The thyrnn sighs at his soured joke.  "Yeah, all right."

It's in his hand - suddenly thunder - crackcrackcrack! - enough to make some of the students gasp, Sapphire in a full-body wince behind Sylara, even Rion raising his arms expecting a blow; fire pluming from the end of the barrel of Xander's weapon, something smashing into the common dagger and ringing it like a chime, rattling up the rope towards his opponent. The weapon is free from the harness and back in an instant, leaving only the smell of smoke and the high pitched tone behind.  In all the action, Iapeton moves not an inch.

He snaps his fingers and lightning - real lightning - splits the air purple and dynamic blue.  The common dagger rattles back down the rope, which now smokes and smolders beneath the forge-iron glow of the weapon under the intense heat of the spell.  In the distance, a vague rumble of thunder rolls over the ocean waves.

"Not bad."  Xander shrugs. "Show and tell over?"

"Up to you."

At this, Xander laughs. He raises his hands, showing them away from the weapon in his harness.  "Hey, we both earned it, don't you think?" He tilts his head as if to ask may I?, and then takes a step forward.  After a moment, Iapeton does the same.  They walk towards each other, holding the rope taut to keep the dagger suspended.  By the time they meet in the middle, the weapon has cooled.

Iapeton takes the dagger; Xander presents a section of rope, and he cuts it.  Afterwards, Xander turns around, and Iapeton cuts his dagger free.  They exchange the weapon, and Xander does the same for Iapeton.

Each holding the other's dagger, they walk to Instructor Oren together, and place the weapons into his hand.  Oren smiles.

"Full marks. Well done."

Cal whoops and applauds for them as they finish their individual displays of skill.

"Wa-hooo! Y'all stayed friends just like we knew ya could! We're so proud!"

Cal nudges Vaulda with a grin and then puts his paw to his mouth for another celebratory whistle for his two classmates.

Vaulda watched the match, with interest. Once it became clear they were working together rather than against one another she began to chuckle. By the time they cut the rope she was laughing, holding her ribs against the pain but unable to stop. There was no way she and Rellka could have done that. Or even thought of that, yet it was so obvious.

She joined Cal in his cheer through the laughter. "Well damn. Leave it up to you two to figure out the lesson. We're all idiots." She bowed to the two, a grimace causing the smile to falter for a moment.

Iapeton and Xander wander back to the sideline to the scattered applause and cheers.  Sapphire peeks out from her hiding place, ears perking up when she sees it's all over.

"Thanks, but..."  He looks over his shoulder at Instructor Oren.  "I'm not sure if that's the lesson exactly. And really, I only started to get wise to the way the Instructor was wording the parameters until your bout with Rellka."  He glances at Xander, who is back chatting with the Lady Melfisse.  "I have a feeling Xander clocked it right from the start."

"You're saying they were all like that?" Rion's frustration peaks, making his voice crack. He grasps his head with his paws. "But...what about...uuurgh!  But all the weapons! And everyone pullin' water snakes and giants birds and throwin' lightning - that would've been nice to know about, bud, by the way! - I mean, this had "sparring match" written all over it!"

"Good work today, Class Nine,"  The Instructor trods back to the front of the sideline, his duffel coat tails blowing in the wind.  "I hope this has given you a perspective on your fellow classmates, their strengths and abilities, and your own.  You're dismissed for the day.  This probably goes without saying, but I'm sure you're all eager to wash your uniforms.  A visit to the hot baths would do you some good too."  He squeezes one eye shut and points a finger a Vaulda and Rellka.  "I'll see you two tomorrow morning, all right?"  And then turning to the student still squatting away from the others.  "Amal, please come with me."

The ash elf stands without comment, his face muddy and blank, and falls into line next to the Instructor as they make their way from the field.  With the lesson complete, the students of Class Nine begin to disperse, off to the showers or elsewhere.

Rion growls. "Ah, forget it. I'm starving.  Who wants a share-boil at the Wick?"

"I-I think I'd like to get cleaned up first..." Sapphire holds her arms out, the mud on her drying to a matte cake by now.

"Yeah. I'll try to catch you before you are done, Rion, just gonna go take a quick shower and change clothes"

She then remembered something, and chased after Oren. "Instructor Oren! Before you go, I wanted to ask: is there any way to check our current class points? Other than bothering you each time"

"...as I'm sure you know..."  The Instructor cuts off what he was saying to Amal as Sylara approaches.  They stop for a moment as he turns.  Amal keeps his eyes directed on the ground.

"Oh, Sylara!  Good work today."  Instructor Oren smiles.  "Yes, you an always check with me during office hours - I don't have all my notes with me right now, unfortunately - and you'll receive grade updates in your student mail each week."

[I'll see about getting a thread up for the grades - apologies for the delay on things, I'm also working on some projects around the house.]

Sylara nods, seemingly satisfied with that answer, and runs back to the academy, to take the previously mentioned shower and change of clothes.

”It might not have been the only lesson, but I think it was a lesson.” As Instructor Oren spoke, she nodded, confirming the other lesson she suspected. At the reminder regarding the meeting, she nodded sharply, face serious. Was the punishment going to be expulsion? Or worse? Was she going to have to spend time with that…no, there was no way he'd be that cruel.

As the instructor began to walk away amd Rion proclaimed his hunger, the serious look faded to her usual slightly amused smile. ”I'm with Sapphire on this. I've eaten enough mud for today. Bath, then food.”

She started to squirm as she felt they'd drying on her skin. ”Ich, I think I have some under my uniform. At least I hope that's mud. There's no mud worms or anything around here, right?” She looked at the two farmers with concerned eyes before squirming again. ”Forget it, I don't care. To the baths!” She turned back toward the building, starting to jog but each step reminded her that she just got bashed into a shield. Slowing back to a walk, she pulled her braid over her shoulder. She had the time, might as well try to undo the braid before the mud dried it into one giant clump.