Ssarak Dyreackthanose and Jenna Fellrein (EliteCommander and Leon5431) --- (Before timeskip) Ssarak had been too distracted to pay close attention to what was going on around him. He had been keeping his distance, so he almost didn't notice when Mar, Althalus, and a few others left. He only snapped back into reality when he noticed that Annabeth had left. Given their conversation before, he found it strange that she had left without a word and wondered if he had accidentally done something to offend. He decided to see if he could find her, but unfortunately, he had only a vague idea of which direction she went. After a few minutes of wandering the halls aimlessly, he quickly realized be was becoming lost. "Guess I have sometime to kill." Jenna thought as she unslung her bag and dropped it onto one of the many tables in the mess hall. She fumbled for a moment as she struggled pulling the first glove she wore off. "I can fire a bow with ease with you on, yet still after all this time I struggle with taking you bastards off." Jenna growled as she finally managed to pull the glove off. "Ha! Gotta ya!" She said as she threw the glove onto the table triumphantly. She chuckled at herself and removed the second glove, this time with ease. "There." She said as she flexed and extended her fingers able to move entirely unrestricted now. "Nice and free, but cold..." She said before she opened her bag. In the bag was an assortment of things. Most of them being supplies they could use if something went wrong while they were hunting. It took her less then a moment to find her goal. It was a cloak, long and furred, its primary color was black but around the neck it had a thick brown fur which added to the provided warmth. "Ahh here it is." She said as she placed the folded cloak onto the table. She looked up and looked about the mess hall, it was rather empty what with breakfast having already been served yet a few people populated the halls. She shrugged and looked back to the task at hand as she began removing the thick winter hunting clothes she wore a sight likely seeming odd and indecent to those watching. She removed the top revealing the undershirt she was wearing and threw it down onto the table. Her undershirt was a white long sleeve shirt. She took a moment to straighten her shirt before taking of the lower half of the winter hunting gear. This took a moment before she slipped out of them and laid the clothes on the table. For pants she was wearing a pair of tight black linen pants. She fixed her pants which had moved to an odd, uncomfortable angle when she removed the hunting clothes. She looked back to the cloak before remembering something. She looked through her pack for a moment before giving up her search, "Damnit, I thought I had forgotten something. Ugh whatever I'll just go back to my room and get it later. Maybe change into some new clothes while I am at it." She said adding the last part quietly to herself. She grabbed the cloak and pulled it over her, immediately feeling the pleasing warmth of the cloak. "Much better." She commented happily, content to just enjoy the warmth of her cloak After a while of walking, Ssarak ended up in hallways he was familiar with. He realized that the dining hall was nearby, and while he had not originally intended to go there, he figured he could use a good meal, and perhaps a drink or two. He had eaten not too long ago with Annabeth, but his appetite did tend to be voracious. Stepping inside, he saw that there were not too many others inside, which was to be expected between meals. He was not too particular with his food and simply selected the first few things he saw, though when it came to his drink, he made sure to pick some strong ale. Taking the nearest seat to him, he began his meal in silence. Eventually Jenna forced herself to reach her hand out from under the cloak and began packing away all the clothes she had placed on the table. By the end her pack was rather full. Once she finished her eyes lifted back up as she noticed someone new in the room. It was the Esyire, Ssarak. She had seen him and even spoken to him on some occasions when her, Deven and Leith were training in the gym. He was one of the other people that trained religiously in the morning. Outside of that she had barely spoken to the Esyire but, he was at least a familiar face. Jenna grabbed her pack and slipped it over her shoulders before she began making her way to the Esyire. As she neared she spoke up, "Uh Ssarak right?" She said in her usual friendly tone. "Mind if I join you?" She asked gesturing to a seat across from Ssarak. "Certainly." Ssarak responded. He recognized the Human as being one of the training partners of his roommate, Leith. They had spoke on occasion, as she was in the gymnasium almost as much as he was. He was not quite certain why she had elected to approach him, but he had learned to simply accept whatever Humans did as normal until he learned otherwise. "Jenna, correct? What brings you to me?" He asked before taking a drink of his ale, curious as to what she wanted. "Thank you." She said as she took her seat unslinging her pack before she did and leaning it on the chair. She listened as he asked as to why she approached, she hadn't really thought of a reason, "No reason in particular, I am just trying to pass some time. And seeing as you are practically the only familiar face in the mess hall right now, I thought it wouldn't hurt to approach. Besides I have heard good things about you from Leith so I thought you wouldn't mind." She said before falling silent for a moment. "I hope you do actually not mind." She added a little apologetically. Ssarak shook his head. "Not at all, I was simply curious. I could benefit from a conversation myself. There is quite a lot on my mind which I would rather be forgotten. Take a seat. Have you eaten yet? I could go collect a meal for you, if you wish." Ssarak offered in an attempt to be polite, as he wanted to show that her apologetic expression was unnecessary. Jenna smiled at him before responding. "No thank you, I'm not quite hungry yet. Me and Deven ate before we went hunting but...that was some hours ago. Maybe later I'll come back and eat." She said with a friendly smile. "But, is there anything I can help with? I would be happy to help you talk it out if you want." Jenna offered smiling softly. She looked Ssarak over as he sat there, she felt like she was forgetting something, something significant about Esyire. [I]What was it? Something about colors....what was it....come on Jenna...think.[/I] She thought to herself as she eyed the black scales on his hands. Then it clicked, [I]Their scales! It's the color of their scales. It depicts their mageblood![/I] She thought pridefully before the realization of Ssarak's magic dawned on her. [I]That's right...he's a pshycomancer....wait....can he hear me? He's not reading my thought's right?[/I] She thought a little worriedly. Her eyes shot back up towards his face where she seemed a little flustered. [I]Mind your thought Jenna mind your thoughts! Nothing incriminating, nothing important just stick to basic things.[/I] She thought warning herself. "I thank you for the offer, but I do not believe I wish to speak about it. There are some times where discussing problems can aid in overcoming them, but in other cases, it is far more helpful to simply find something else on which to concentrate. I believe this is the latter." Ssarak responded, ironically too wrapped up in his own thoughts to notice that Jenna had become unsettled. Instead, he continued on in a friendly tone with their conversation. "Y-yeah." She said stammering for a second before regaining her composure. "I understand what you mean." She said before falling silent for a moment. She couldn't help but think about the times where she tried to make Deven feel better but only ended up making things worse by pressing the topic. [I] Ah no Jenna stop, watch your thoughts! Nothing incriminating. Come on now this can't be that hard. Just don't think about that sort of stuff.[/I] She thought scolding herself. [I]Look at him he hasn't even hinted at knowing your thoughts, he's devious.[/I] She thought to herself as she looked at him. [I]Damnit Jenna stop don't piss him off he's twice your size![/I] She thought once more scolding herself. She cleard her throat before she spoke, "Well, if you should ever want to talk, I am here." She said with a friendly smile. [I]Good that's good.[/I] She thought. "So, how goes your classes? Your a...pshycomancer right?" She said almost faltering as she said his magic type. [I]Come on Jenna, don't fuck it up. You got this.[/I] Ssarak nodded as he took a bite of his steak. "That is correct. I have been regularly attending private lessons with Satori for months now, so my psychomantic abilities have certainly improved. Actually, between my classes, lessons, and physical training, I have had time for little else. As you have no doubt seen, I have been training Annabeth in physical conditioning and how to properly wield a weapon. I was a warrior before coming here, so those skills are well-ingrained within me. I notice you and your friend Deven have been giving similar training my roommate. How has he been progressing? I have not had cause to ask him as of late." Since he was not, in fact, attempting to read Jenna's mind, he showed no reaction to her internal panic. Any discomfort he saw in her he assumed was simply because she regretted asking him about what was troubling him. Jenna nodded along as he spoke, [I]Is he even reading my thoughts? I am starting to get the feeling he isn't....but what if that's exactly what he wants me to think...[/I] Jenna thought, gaining no ground in her attempt at dispelling her uneasiness. As he finished Jenna nodded once more before speaking, "Yeah, I would imagine after training and private lessons that you are left with the bare minimum for free time." She said before she paused to think about her answer for how Leith was progressing in his training. "He's doing good, he's learning. We had a few rough patches here and there but everyone has some difficulties at one point or another when they train start training." Jenna said shrugging slightly as she did. "He is definitely right to want to learn how to fight at least a little. These are some, dangerous times...and it doesn't hurt to at least be able to hold your own should your life be threatened. You having been a warrior probably know what I am talking about." Jenna said trying to change the topic from his mageblood. Ssarak nodded. "Indeed, danger is something I can never seem to escape, that anyone can escape, really. I believe everyone should endeavor to learn to defend one's self, but...well, I do not believe I can recommend the life of a warrior. There is a distinct difference between fighting for defense, and fighting as a trade. If there is anything I have learned through the years, it is that war should be avoided as if it were a disease, which I wouldn't say is far from the truth. As I said though, there is no shame in learning to fight. The training required builds one's health and well-being rather well. Perhaps we should train together at some point during our training sessions. Annabeth and Leith may be learning entirely different fighting styles, but the physical conditioning should be fairly similar." Ssarak was close to finishing his meal, and about half done with his ale. He could feel its effects already, though he would not be greatly intoxicated by the time he finished it, unless he decided to go back for another glass. Jenna listened as Ssarak spoke. What he first said made her curious, 'danger is something I can never seem to escape.' He curiousity was roused but she did not push, it was far to early for he to ask anything of that sort, she still barely knew him and he her. Or at least so long as he stayed out of her head he didn't know her. As he continued speaking, more of what he said hinted towards his past but, still Jenna did not ask. As he changed the topic to all of them: her, him, Leith and Annabeth training together she nodded, "I'd like that, though Deven would likely be there as well." Jenna said adding to last part a second later. She knew Deven wouldn't miss out on an opportunity to train with all these people. "And he is more than welcome to join." Ssarak responded. "Even if I knew I was never going to pick up a weapon again in my life, I do not believe I would ever stop training. There is something...calming about it, and I always enjoy bringing in more people when I can. Perhaps we can all learn from one another. Speaking of which, from whom did you learn to fight? There are people from all parts of Tien here at the college, so I imagine many people have techniques I have never seen before." Ssarak had asked others similar questions before, as he was curious to learn what kinds of information was simply unavailable in his homeland that was present at the college. "That's good to hear, I'll be sure to tell him." She said with a smile. She had managed to mostly distract herself from think about the fact he was a psychomancer and had managed to calm down. She nodded as he spoke about the relaxing aspect of training, "I can see what you mean, I can definitely see how you can blow off some steam in training." She said with a shrug. [I]Maybe that's why Deven likes to train so much.[/I] She thought as Ssarak continued to ask who she learned to fight from. "Well actually, I am primarily an archer. I am not one to brag but I am a hell of a shot with a bow, I just started training in swordsmanship recently and all my training in it has been from Deven. But I was trained to use a bow by my uncle Bran. He's my father's youngest brother, I started training when I was fifteen, haven't stopped using my bow since." She said with a proud smile. "You might have noticed I have been training Deven to use a bow recently, if you ever wanted to join in, you could." Jenna offered with a welcoming smile. By this point, Ssarak finished his meal, then took a drink of his ale before responding. "Intriguing offer. I have never been skilled in ranged combat, truthfully. My fighting style relies on closing distance to become deadly. I was trained as a warrior of clan Dyre, so I commonly fought as a part of a larger force. I can do little at range, but I am helped by the fact that my armor can stop most projectiles. Bows such as longbows cannot pierce quality plate armor, such as the set I keep in my room, though crossbows do have that capability. A light, mobile crossbow pierce enough to cause injury depending on the angle, strength of the crossbow, and so on, while a heavy crossbow will pierce easily. Fortunately, our enemies rarely used such weaponry. I am not certain how common they are in human lands, though. I could attempt to learn, but you would essentially be teaching a novice. Perhaps I can return the favor with some advice for strength training? I do not suppose you have an interest in wielding blunt or heavy weapons, do you?" Jenna listened and nodded along at times as Ssarak spoke, he delved a little into his past saying he was a warrior for a clan by the name Dyre, she imagined that must mean he was a soldier of some type but she did not ask. As he spoke about his armor an image of her first day at the college came to mind, it was when they had first arrived, he had stepped forward out of the crowd and was wearing his ful plate armor. As the image left her mind she was not surprised that such a set of armor could resist arrows from even a longbow. "Crossbows are not uncommon, I know a good amount of people cling to them because they are easier to use than bows are and are more powerful at piercing armor such as yours. But still, many more use bows due to their ability to put out six times as many shots then a crossbow can." She said before remembering another thing Trystan had told her when she was learning to use a bow. "Plus, i've heard some people prefer bows because they take more skill then crossbows do." She added a second after she finished speaking. She shook her head as part of her response to his offer, "No, strength is not really my forte, I much prefer moving fast and staying out of arms reach. Heavy and blunt weapons are not really my area. Though you may want to try offering that to Deven if it comes up. He might have a different answer for you." She said smiling apologetically before returning to her usual friendly and happy expression. Ssarak grinned, seeing a place for he might give helpful advice. "I know blunt weapons are commonly associated with slow, strength based styles, but I believe you might reconsider wanting to learn how to use them, even if it is not as a primary weapon. Something like a warhammer or heavy battleaxe would of course be unusable without a good deal of strength to back it up, but something smaller like a one-handed mace can be a practical, useful weapon, even for someone of average strength. Blades excel in the area for which they were designed. They cut through the air even more quickly than they cut through flesh; they are widely used for a reason, but the one area in which they fall short is dealing with heavy armor. A sword is very nearly useless against a full suit of plate armor, as no person can produce enough force to put a sword through the plates. To deal with an armored warrior, one must choose the correct tool for the task, and blunt weapons are that tool. While plate armor excels against blades, it does not protect well against blunt force. Even a light mace can allow one to go head-to-head with an armored soldier. You may not always have allies available to handle situations you are not adept with, so I believe it is good to have a versatile skill set." Jenna listened as Ssarak spoke, she couldn't help but notice the grin that spread across his face before he started speaking and only chuckled lightly at him before falling silent as to pay attention to what he was saying. He seemed quite knowledgeable in this subject but, given his past occupation it came with little surprise. Besides it would probably be smart for someone to know the weakness of their armor set so they know to try an avoid those using their weakness more in a fight. Jenna's mind finally stopped wandering just as Ssarak finished speaking, she nodded as she thought for a moment, "I guess you have a point, I wouldn't hurt to have another weapon style to fall back onto if I run into a hulking suit of armor." She said shrugging before she smiled at him. "You're very knowledgeable about your weapons Mr. Ssarak." Jenna commented smiling light heartedly. "I had good teachers. Clan Dyre, along with Clan Xhoth, are among the proudest warriors in the Scorched Lands. That has led to...tension, conflict, but I believe they are at peace for now. At least, I heard our leadership was having peace talks with our rival clan when I left. I hope they are at peace. To think I once held such hatred for our rivals." Ssarak took one last drink, finishing off his glass. He could have gone to get another, but decided that Jenna was better company than a mug of ale. "At any rate, I should not dwell on such things. Now that I have finished my meal, I too need to find a way to pass the time. I have yet to go on my daily run, if you would like to join." He offered. Jenna nodded as Ssarak spoke, she was all too familiar with political struggles. Wintercrest always seemed to be in dire political straights. When Ssarak spoke of his old hatred for his rival clan she could not help but think of House Fellrien's old hatred for Djarkel. They had been raised since birth to hate Djarkel and had done just that till they were driven out of their own homeland by their own people, now House Fellrien holds a better polotical relationship with Djarkel then Eania. "It is strange how someone you hated for so long can become an ally." Jenna said in a sort of reminiscent tone. Jenna remained quiet for a time before Ssarak spoke up again offering her to join him on his jog. She smiled and was about to nod her head and agree when she remembered the entire reason she was still in the mess hall. She was waiting for Deven to arrive so they could be ready for Trystan's arrival. She smiled apologetically before she answered, "I would love to but, I need to wait for my friend Deven to arrive. Sorry, maybe next time?" She asked hopefully. She felt bad about turning down his offer but she doubted he would mind. Ssarak nodded understandingly. "Of course, I understand." He stood up and stacked his empty glass onto his plate. "I believe I will take my leave. I suppose I will see you tomorrow morning in the gymnasium. Farewell." He said with a smile. After putting away his plates and glass, he returned to his room to gather his armor and weapons. For each of his runs, he always made sure to carry his axe and wear his armor in order to train his endurance more thoroughly, although he usually left his helmet behind. Once he was fully equipped, he proceeded to run and, since Jenna did not join, fly along his usual path around the college. --- Some time later, Ssarak found himself rushing back to the dining room. After his run, he had found a place outside to lay down and relax for a time. Unfortunately, he became slightly too relaxed and ended up falling asleep. He did not know what time it was, only that the night's feast would likely be starting soon. He did not have time to drop off his equipment in his room, or at least he assumed he did not. Other than the minor discomfort of wearing it, though, it was not likely to cause any issues. There were armed individuals pretty much everywhere as of late, so he hardly stood out. As he entered the dining hall, he breathed a sigh of relief. While a crowd had certainly formed, he was by no means late to the feast. Looking around the room, he searched for familiar faces, for friends to join with in the feast.