[center][h2]Damian Gerard|Outside Crocus[/h2][/center]

[color=B20C0C]"...dodge to the left and strike!"[/color] The young man had shed the top half of his leather armor for his training today, running through a combat drill routine that helped him maintain his form and precision while also allowing him to work on building his body's tolerance for his magic power. Even after so many years, releasing the Alpha power lock still left wear and tear on him, though it was nothing like when his magic had first manifested, his reserves overflowing as he watched his father and mother struck down. Dancing back from an invisible foe, a hiltless longsword blade passing through the space he'd just occupied, Damian Gerard began again.

[color=B20C0C]"Dodge,"[/color] he moved in and thrust with the black bladed [url=https://img.roleplayerguild.com/prod/users/64f55a4d-5bb1-4ab4-b766-bf26fa22fff5.jpg]Ares Blade[/url], the longsword blade also moving back before slashing again at him. [color=B20C0C]"Parry,"[/color] the two sword blades clashed and Damian smiled as three extra he'd summoned struck the invisible foe in a triangle formation, defeating them and causing the longsword blade to vanish, [color=B20C0C]"and Three Point Strike."[/color] He turned to a pair of grey wolves laying in the shade of a nearby tree. The two had been his constant companions for several years now, despite his best efforts to dismiss the magically summoned wolves, and since he was stuck with them, he'd named them accordingly. [color=B20C0C]"Well, Jaëger, Carmilla? Think my control's improving?"[/color] Jaëger, the male of the two and bearing two piercing silver eyes, picked up his head to look at his master before snorting and laying it back down, causing Damian to roll his eyes as the golden eyed Carmilla, the female, stood and trotted to the shirtless man's side as he kneeled down, enjoying the attention.

[color=B20C0C]"See, Jaëger? Carmilla thinks I've improved at least a little."[/color] The male snorted again before standing and stretching, his claws becoming visible above the grass around them as his canines flashed in the sunlight due to his large yawn. The pair of wolves had magically appeared at Damian's side around four years ago while he'd been fighting against a dangerous dark mage on a solo job one of the corporate guilds had passed on because the client hadn't much to offer as a reward. As the former soldier had watched the man turned down at the doors to the guild he'd been eating near, the words his father had taught him echoed in his head. [i]"Remember Damian, that a soldier's duty is to always help those who cannot help themselves; to protect those who find themselves unable to protect themselves."[/i] Paying for the burger and fries he'd ordered, Damian approached the man and asked about the job. It had been simple enough, the Dark Mage had wiped out most of his family and he just wanted justice for them. He could only offer one thousand jewel as a reward, but Damian waved it and did the job for free.

As it turned out, the Dark Mage was a shadow mage who could more or less make clones of himself while attacking. If it hadn't been for Carmilla and Jaëger appearing when they had, the Arsenal Mage wouldn't be around anymore. They had intercepted the 'shadow clones' and torn them apart while Damian went for the kill on the Dark Mage, taking first his hands and then his head. Granted, the Magic Council was less than pleased that the young man hadn't taken the mage alive, but one less pawn of evil was threatening the land, so they let it go, that time at least. Damian smiled as Jaëger walked over and forced his head under one of Damian's hands, earning an ear scratch from the young man.

After that, despite Damian's best efforts to dismiss the pair, he hasn't yet managed and at the end of the day, he was often glad for it as they kept him both safe when he rested and company when he was awake. Standing, he looked over the expanse of the city of Crocus from where he was training, letting the wind blow through his hair and cool his sweat covered torso. It was just a few days ago that he had finally found the location of the Fenixtear guild and joined them, the red guild mark showing on his upper right arm, but he could already feel he'd like it there. The guild itself was welcoming to him and he could hardly wait to join his new guildmates for jobs all across the nation, but for now, as Carmilla nuzzled him softly from behind, training called.

[color=B20C0C]"Right, right, I know."[/color] Turning his back to the city, Damian summons his Hercules Blade and focuses, channeling the power of the wind around the blade. A large part of the reason he was outside the city to train rather than renting a hall was because A) it was much cheaper and B) his magic was harsh on training equipment, especially the elemental components of his swords. Still, he was determined to push himself a bit today, so rather than unleash a potent thrust or slash with the glaive in his hands, he continued focusing, even as the winds began to whip into more than just a strong blowing force and edged closer to hurricane strength. Carmilla took up her position on Damian's left as Jaëger took up his spot on their master's right. When he moved, they would, as a family, as a pack.