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 Posted: Tue Mar 28, 2006 7:13 pm
-> Let's Begin.Step One
"Are you content with your life here, Nonia?"
"Why are you asking me that?" the female Lotus asked carefully. For two hours she and her trainer had been sparring in almost complete silence; the only sound being the hard thud of wooden swords hitting against each other. Such a question was expected when the man was acting so pensive, but she had not expected Sebastien to ask that question. Her surprise made her pause, leaving her defense weak enough for the older Lotus to press his sword just lightly against her stomach. Game over.
Sebastien smirked slightly, pulling back his play weapon as his student merely glared at him. She was not going to protest his win, but Nonia was not the type to congratulate him either. "You really do need to work on your defense."
"So was that a tactic, or did you have something to say?" Nonia grumbled in reply, resting the 'blade' of her sword against her shoulder. The training center was empty except for the two, which was not uncommon at four in the morning. Some people believed in sleep. Nonia and Sebastien knew better than that.
"Are you content with your life here?"
"What kind of question is that?"
"It isn't like you to be shy," The elder remarked. He seemed all too pleased that he finally had the young woman out of sorts. Normally, it was Nonia surprising him, not something he liked to admit. Seeing her unsure was something of a relief.
Nonia simply grunted to show what she thought of shyness. Shifting her weight, she waited for the man to say something else; something less intrusive. He refused with a look. "I'm ******** happy, all right?"
"Not convincing."
"Sorry, sweetheart. Should I dance?"
"Can you?"
"No."
The male Lotus chuckled, and Nonia gave in just enough to offer a slightly cynical smile. Sebastien reached forward, lightly placing a hand on his favorite apprentice's shoulder. A question was quite clear to see within her eyes. "I thought you were a lesbian."
"What the ******** hell-"
"I want you to go to a Soriyu guardian school."
That shut Nonia up rather quickly. If they had still been fighting, Sebastien would have won several times in a matter of seconds. A long pause later, and the female Lotus had finally found her voice, "What? A guardian school� do I look like a guardian to you, Sebastien!? I don't play mommy."
"You should try it."
"Why?"
"I'm telling you to."
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Posted: Thu Mar 30, 2006 10:16 am
-> Let's Begin.Step Two
"Just get me to the border," Nonia commanded, and then, finally, she stopped playing backseat driver. Frankly, at least in the woman's opinion, she could not be blamed for being so nervous. She was unused to the sort of carriage she was traveling in. More often than not, when the Lotus moved, she would drop everything and just go. All she had ever needed, previously, was a sword and at least a little clothing. However, with the addition of a collection of scarves, some interesting weaponry, and a young Lotus blossom to look after, Nonia simply could not hike off into the wilderness. Thus, she had been forced to rent a steam-powered stagecoach, complete with an overly excitable driver.
Needless to say, every five minutes the warrior was screaming at the man to 'stay on the ******** road'.
A lot had happened since Nonia had left Ceres. For some months she had attended a Soriyu guardian school, learning all the proper skills for taking care of another member of her species. After what seemed a life time of studying, taking exams, and training with insufficient partners, she had finally graduated. Another week had passed by, and a delicate, pink Lotus had been placed in her care. Now, her only goal was not to screw anything up. Not-screwing-up began with finding a proper place to live. While Nonia lived as a student in Soriyu, she had stayed at a small, rented home. It had been well enough for a grown, fully capable woman such as herself, but the place's lack of a front door and strange weeds in the backyard garden would be traumatizing to a small child. With reluctance, such as that of a cat being forced to leave its favorite window sill, the female Lotus had packed her bags, and was all but stuck in a horseless carriage for at least six hours as she headed to her ward's native country.
"You're lucky," the red-haired lady grumbled, glancing down at the large, beautifully crafted glass case which held her Lotus. The boy, or at least she had been told it was male, was still in the youngest Lotus stage. In other words, he was merely a rather large Lotus blossom, fragile and barely sentiment. "When you wake up, we'll be there."
Nonia fought the urge to reach into the clear box. If she kept petting the Lotus' petals, it was bound to end up bruised. Or spoiled. She had promised herself she would not coddle the thing, but it had seemed so easy before it had actually been given to her.
A distraction was in order.
"STAY ON THE ******** ROAD, YOU MORON!"
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