What kind of future did most women envision themselves having? In the village and for a woman of her birth, Ki'te would most likely have become a mother in a few years time. Her father, the best hunter in the village, would have easily earned the favor of another prominent member and gotten her a great husband. She may have her first child within a few years and be on her way to helping raise the next generation. Were women here within the walls similar? Her view of them had been very limited and what few she did see reciprocated her curiosity with their own, and often followed swiftly by disdain. She had heard women outside of the military and even a few within refer to her in less than friendly terms: brutish, unclean, a seductress, uncultured harpy, and those were just what she could repeat in polite company. 

Graduation did little to help her standing with her peers any either. While she, Samara and Koto did well enough to reach the top 10 recruits they would receive no recognition for their efforts nor be permitted to take part in the ceremony. As if it wasn't bad enough they had been stolen away from their homes now they were even being treated like second class soldiers, shown no consideration for their efforts and ushered aside while the remaining members of their class took part in the formal ceremony. Of a class of nearly 100 recruits almost a dozen had been cast aside including them, for reasons not explained to any of them. Had they done something wrong? Had they actually failed somehow? Ki'te had been so confident that at least Koto and Samara would end up on the top of the class but both of them had been thrown aside as well. Why was this happening to them?

Though a serious matter the ceremony proper had been well lit with several prominent members of society and the military alike present. The head of every branch would be there to sort out the recruits and assign them posts, none of that would be provided for Ki'te and the others. Instead of standing proudly among their classmates they had been sent to a dimly lit building just off of the training grounds, hardly large enough to house half a dozen people, much less twice that, and told to wait. Save for two soldiers posted outside the doors they were utterly alone, those present having long since broken up into groups and talking softly among themselves. Seeking refuge in familiar faces Ki'te turned to her brother and Samara, taking a seat along a wall as she pulled her knees up to her chest and passed a somber sigh through her lips.

"I don't understand, we've done all they've asked of us so why are we here? What have we done wrong?" It was a question on everyone's mind but she was the first to voice it. Was it because they were outsiders? Had the military decided not to allow them to enlist after all? What would become of their village if they failed to live up to expectations? Digging her nails into her arm nervously Ki'te chewed her lower lip, her amber eyes darting around the room looking at the faces of those present. Most seemed more confused or annoyed than anxious, she along was showing a great deal of worry over their situation. There had to be a reason for this and yet none was given, they were quite literally left in the dark and meant to wait until further instruction was given. She'd almost prefer to be doing more drills than this, at least with drills you knew what to expect.

Wrapping her arms around her knees she buried her face in them and closed her eyes, mumbling softly to herself to try and calm her nerves. Seriously, if they had failed then what would happen? The ultimatum made that day had been as clear as the summer skies themselves: give us recruits or see your village destroyed. While they had come to enlist they may have been a waste of time for all they knew, meaning the only alternative was... Ki'te's frame shuddered as though a cold wind bit into her and she lifted her head, her eyes shimmering as she stifled tears, looking up at her brother hopefully, then Samara. "We didn't fail, right...? Please tell me we didn't fail..." she whispered weakly, lifting a hand to rub at her face, "We've done our best, surely they can't punish us for that..."