[sub][color=#B9BABC]OAKRIDGE ACADEMY[/color]◆[color=deepskyblue]Charles Arcan[/color]◆[color=6A5ACD]Morganna LeStrange[/color][/sub]
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Charlie's feet, once planted on the hard floor of the training room, were quickly lifted off the ground as he propelled himself up and over the cage of fire that was consuming his previous position. Or rather his spirit did but really, what was the difference? As long as he wasn't burned alive. He landed on the other side of his opponent with a thud, and looked up at the girl who he'd been sparring with. He and Morganna were training, trying to teach her to keep her emotions under control when using her spirits. So far, she hadn't totally lost it, which was definite progress. [color=deepskyblue]"You're doing good so far. Let's keep it up,"[/color] he said, getting back into a fighting stance, ready to dodge anything else she threw at him.

If only Charlie knew the strain she was under. It wasn't because of the massive exertion it took to keep her spirits effect from overcoming, but the very foundation controlling her emotional impulse hacked away on how she was raised. Nefara wasn't something to be controlled but to be expressed in its full splendour. Why shouldn't she be feeling jubulant while her fire chased after her prey? Why couldn't others see the surface she was doing for all of Cetra? Why couldn't they see the necessity of the Fanatics? Unlike the city-states and its soldiers, they went into the dark zone. They purged the sources of infection. They did all the work. Not them. 

Seeing Charlie avoid her flames so easily, it took everything in Morganna's power to not change their training session into a frenzied attack. Morganna was used to killing everything in her sight. Her time at Oakridge took a lot of time getting used to. The Petragradian government sent her here to play nice. If she didn't, she'd be killed. She had to play along with them a while longer. However, the training bouts may be ending soon. Word was a massive operation was about to be launched. The guardians here would be a part of that.

"Doing great? You keep on...!" Morganna took a deep breath. Deep breaths. That's what helped the excitement, the rage, the merciless. Tapping into a different spell, Morganna's hands started to glow. "Let's switch things up. From rapture to fury. You ready?"

Morganna didn't wait for Charlie to respond, she launched several fireballs at the flying guardian. No matter where she was, no matter if there wasn't any immediate danger near her, only the strongest survived. Only the strong. She planned on being among the strong.

Charlie ducked under one fireball with a smirk, and sidestepped another one. The heat had singed some of the hair off of his arm but he ignored it as he used his spirits to propel himself over the final fireball. This time, he didn't wait for another attack. He charged at Morganna before propelling himself above her, then landing, spinning, and sending an icicle straight at her.

He figured if his training partner could handle the stress of being attacked while also using her spirtits, she might stand a chance out in the field. He'd heard about the big operation, and knew already about the four missions that the Guardians were choosing from. He knew he'd go wherever Morganna went. He was worried that she might not be able to control herself out in the thick of it, and he didn't think he could live with himself if he just let her loose on the world.

When her attacks missed, Morganna simply couldn't take it anymore. The will to the violence was too much. The breathing technique failed as she hurled one fireball after another. "Quit moving you, twit!" she said. Following his air movement, Morganna followed his landing as she saw ice fly towards her. Side stepping it just barely, the violence gave way to exhilaration. "Didn't you know? Fire frowns upon the ice."

Fighting the impulse to continue her frenzy, she did her breathing. Her instincts fought against the foreign concepts of calm, but Morganna knew what she was capable of doing. Massive destruction in a short amount of time. There was an incident a few years ago where she almost burnt down a locker room. A guardian was teasing her and questioning the logic of her faith. It was her second strike. She wasn't keen on finding out what happened if she got the third.

Charlie noticed her small slip up. It wasn't nearly as bad as it could've been, he knew that, but he commented anyway. [color=deepskyblue]"You lost it just a little there. But otherwise you did good. Great even,"[/color] he said, wiping some sweat from his brow. [color=deepskyblue]"I think we can call that done for today. Have you heard about the missions they're offering up for us?"[/color] he asked, walking over to the side of the training room where he had an ice cold water bottle waiting for him.

He knew which mission he was planning on. The issues over in Doral seemed like the best place for his skills, although he knew that he'd follow Morganna to whatever she thought was best. Diplomacy and intrigue had always been where he felt most at home though. He'd talked to Eliza this morning and she'd been set on heading to the Nexus Reactor. Something about the sense of etreme imminent danger being rather exciting for her. 

Following Charlie to the benches, Morganna picked up her water bottle and took several large gulps. Food and water never became trivial to her. She knew what it was to starve. "It's boring," she said. "Do you people keep your emotions on a leash too? It's depressing. What's the point of living if you have to limit what makes you human? The good and the bad? Why don't you people embrace it? I don't get it."

Thinking back on the missions, Morganna wanted to go straight to the frontlines and start her violent rampage. Get back to her purpose. She had a sick feeling the higher ups wouldn't approve it. She'd made 'progress'. Why lose it now she figured them thinking. How stupid they were. If they had a weapon, use it. She was a weapon. A tool for Ifrit. Every death was for it. She had to fulfill her purpose. She had to.

But she had to be smart.

"I'm going to Doral," she said. She tossed her bottle back on the bench. "Recruiting, intrigue, all that jazz. Trust me when I say that I'd rather go on Hammer. To lose myself to the wonderful stench, death, and chaos of the battlefield. But, we need bodies to throw at the Mordrem. To purge away the stigma filth." She looked at Charlie. "I will get those bodies and fill them with purpose. If they die? Everyone does at some point. It depends on how we die that matters. So says the tenents giveth onto us by Ifrit." 

[color=deepskyblue]"Well, you're reasoning sounds slightly flawed but I'm not around to turn you away from your religion. I'm just here to make sure you don't burn the place down, which I think I've done an outstanding job of so far,"[/color] he said with a grin. He gulped down the last of his water and stood up.

[color=deepskyblue]"Well I think I'll be joining you on that one. I've never seen Doral, and I think I wouldn't be half bad at getting some people to join us. Though, I don't know if my reasoning is as exciting as all your tak of Ifrit, but it works for me."[/color] He smiled at his student and then held out a hand to help her up off the bench. [color=deepskyblue]"Well, we better get going. Don't want to get left behind on our first mission."[/color]

Morganna shrugged. "As long as we kill Mordrem, it doens't matter the means." Looking at Charlie's outstretched hand, she ignored it and stood up. She didn't need anyone's help. She wasn't going to start now regardless if she was a guardian or not. "Let's go then. I'm tired of this place. Finally, back out in the world. I'm excited. You should be as well. One's worth is proven in war after all."[hr]

Leading the way to the central atrium, the extravagance of Oakridge was something was still getting used to. There was too much luxury here. She wagered a handful of these ' guardians' haven't ever encountered a Mordrem before. Those creatures were the vilest of the vile. A perfect example of what those infected with the stigma would eventually succumb to. It further brokered the question why her people were so frowned upon. Was it not a mercy to kill a man while he remained a man? Sentimentality got people killed for foolish reasons. She'd seen it back in Anatolia.

Making her way through the crowd, she went up to the board and saw the mission prompt for Doral. She looked back to Charlie. "You sure you want to tag along? Babysitting's probably bored you to death." She rose an eyebrow. "I could keep a secret, if you'd rather ditch."

Charlie smirked over and Morganna. [color=deepskyblue]"You trying to get rid of me? Well trust me when I say it'll take more than that,"[/color] he said. He moved through the crowd and over to the mission board where he promptly signed up, not even hesitating. Sure, he'd rather be going on a mission with Eliza, to keep her safe, but he knew very well that she could take care of herself. Plus he didn't have to worry about Eliza setting a whole city on fire. After he'd finished signing up he stepped back and made a rather exaggerated gesture, signaling for her to sign herself up. 

Biting back a crude retort, Morganna signed up for the mission as well. As much as Charlie annoyed her, he became familiar from their time together. He was one of the few guardians that didn't try to attack her for her fanatic history. "A girl's gotta try," she said as she stepped back. Looking about, Morganna wasn't sure what to do. Since they were heading to another city-state, they'd be taking the teleporter. "...Do you know when we leave?"

Charlie shook his head at her inquiry. [color=deepskyblue]"No idea, but this thing says we're taking the teleporter. I'm guessing it's gonna be soon. No need to waste any more time. We should head down, grab our gear along the way. Come on,"[/color] he said, beginning the push through the crowd of people and towards the armory, all too ready for the mission ahead.


[hider=Summary]
Charlie and Morganna did some training together, trying to get Morganna some last minute control over her spirits. Charlie decided to choose the Doral mission so that he could keep an eye on Morganna, and now they're heading towards the armory.
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