Lyla

Adventures of the Blood Rose Irregulars

@Arthanus To make it clear, Sonya is now with Odessa and Silas in center?

Adventures of the Blood Rose Irregulars

Odessa had gotten up early that morning as well, though she felt she had slept surprisingly well for what was looming in the near future. However instead of finding a way to train, she simply did some warmups, stretching to make sure her muscles wouldn't cramp, and watched the horizon and all of the beauty nature held within it's grasp. Her thoughts wandered to her worries, of blood-soaked armors, but felt much better than the night before - Sonya and she had made plans, to which she felt was the best way to utilize both of their talents. Before she realized how much time had passed, she found herself lining up in a formation in front of the commander.

At first, she could only think of how unusual he seemed, perhaps snobbish in his dress, almost reminding her of the nobles that loved to play knight but would never dare risk actual battle. As the man spoke of how everyone was going to die, she instantly frowned in disgust - 'how dare he! With some many lives at stake!' She knew that morale was important and this boy was destroying it. It only took a moment more before a man had climbed to his station and punched him right in the jaw! The man was gruff and ragged-edged to his speech, but she inwardly cheered to herself for the great timing.

Odessa smiled as the speech continued, glancing at the image of Sonya happily, until she suddenly heard her name in the middle of it. Blinking in slight surprise, even feeling her cheeks flush, she scoffed slightly at the idea - though as flattering as it was. Thankfully not many people knew what her name was - 'wait, how does he know?' She furrowed her brows slightly before just sighing and letting the slight fade away into her mind, listening to the rest of the plan.

As Silas started to divide people up, she made her way to Sonya, making sure they were near each other. Another surprise though as Silas directed her to take center field with him while Sonya took left flank, causing her to raise her hand and get the man's attention, "excuse me!" As the masked commander turned to her, she closed the distance between them just enough to be heard without yelling. "Normally I wouldn't question tactics... but Sonya and I.. well, I made a promise to her. She has the ability to control the field as she's practiced wind and water magics for those purposes exactly. While discussing last night.. we thought it best that I act as her guardian while she focuses on using her magic to help everyone." Taking in a breath, she continued, "the thing is, I think she trusts me. Especially considering the amount of concentration she'll need, I think that trust is important to her own morale, which benefits all of us.. so wherever you put us, please allow us to work together." Truth be told, Odessa was more pleading for the benefit it'd lead out in the battlefield, more than anything... even if she got amazing first impression from the masked warrior.

Adventures of the Blood Rose Irregulars

@Arthanus What me to go ahead and post that then?

Adventures of the Blood Rose Irregulars

@Arthanus That's okay. SimpleD and I had an rp scene off site so we could wrap it up without holding the RP up. Basically it comes down to, Odessa promised to protect Sonya so she could use her magic to control the battlefield, like creating a fog, winds, etc (similar to the other two, but with wind and water mixed). Since there's an amount of trust between them already, Odessa would feel it best if she could personally ensure her safety. Its a mix of morale and practicality I guess.

However if Silas still doesn't like that reasoning, then Odessa would go with him and apologize to Sonya.

Adventures of the Blood Rose Irregulars

@Arthanus Well, there's more going on than just liking Sonya... >.< She's not quite that shallow, lol.. but I feel like it doesn't matter what the reason or how sound it comes across, there's no point. So, I guess.. never mind.. I won't have her speak up so I don't waste everyone's time.

Adventures of the Blood Rose Irregulars

@Arthanus Are you okay with Odessa objecting about the teams? Sonya and her had talked the night before and.. yeah, it'd be within character for her to do so.

Adventures of the Blood Rose Irregulars

Slightly shaken from her thoughts, she noticed a small woman who wore a mask approached, easily drawing her attention from crowd watching. As she looked down, their eyes matched, causing Odessa to hold her gaze for a moment and sent a strange chill down her spine. For some reason the mysterious warrior made her feel more sure of herself, unable to pull away until her new companion finally looked the other way, making Odessa shake her head slightly. Feeling a tinge of heat on her cheeks, she pursed her lips and looked back over the crowd, dismissing any wandering thoughts.

"I'm a little nervous," she replied, gently folding her hands in her lap as she let out a sigh. "But I admit, it's mostly out of worry for everyone. There are a few warriors here who have experience or enough training to survive - I think.. that's common in most companies, I'd imagine, but the rest?" She distorted her expression back into worry, her shoulders slumping at the thought. "I fear for their lives.. I was just thinking.. this might be the last time anyone sees them alive. It won't be their sisters, brothers, parents, lovers... it'll be us, who see them breath their last."

Her gaze wandered back to the masked woman, her eyes betraying curiosity. ".. we could win, at a heavy cost..." Odessa had seen a few talented individuals since the march, including another man who masked himself, but nothing like this small woman. Though she did get gut feelings of some of them, from the knight to that bragger she ran into, her new companion seemed to have a particular aura that caught her attention. Not sure of what it was, she knew enough that she hoped that the masked warrior would survive the coming battle.

_@SimpleD

Adventures of the Blood Rose Irregulars

@Arthanus Let me get one reply in and I'll be good to move on. Just realized Simple posted. XD

Adventures of the Blood Rose Irregulars

As the rush of wind was felt before the man even made it to her, she tensed, ready to strike whatever surprise was coming her way. Thankfully at the last moment, she recognized the presence as a man - a wind magi to be precise - forcing her to tense and twirl in the air until she had feet on the ground again, scowling. 'Jerk!' she thought to herself, wiping sweat from her brow once more and taking a moment to catch her breath. She watched as the magi shot off across the plains for a bit and settled down, only for some other woman to approach him.

Stretching her shoulders for a moment, she let out an irritated huff. 'Show off.. but I guess I shouldn't be surprised.. boys will be boys..' She had never cared for any men in the past and normally this wasn't that much of a problem, that was until she started training. Now that her body was more toned, especially in particular areas, it seemed like all the boys wanted to get her attention. All a bunch of pigs, she figured, often writing off their little games are pointless - no, she preferred the gentle, intelligent approach of a woman and even the forceful ones had an air of finesse.

At the very least, he had interjected at an opportune time since it was near the end of her training. Odessa took the time to stretch out her muscles as they cooled down, making sure they wouldn't cramp and taking out some rations as she munched on them afterwards. Now that her body was warmed up for the next day, she began to wander the camp, not seeming as exhausted as she ought to be. After passing a man trying to play Legion, she caught the end act of a spar between knights where a sudden thought struck her mind. 'Knights? I thought this was mostly militia?...' Having just finished her rations, she wrapped the crumbs up and tilted her head in interest at the mock fight came to an end. There was clapping as the pair wandered back to their tents.

It was then she realized that she didn't have much to do. Most of the men that composed the unit were what you'd expect of militia, commoners and peasants that were barely trained to hold a blade. The thought had crept into her thoughts once before when they were marching, watching a lot of them tire out before Odessa had even felt fatigue. Now though, that it was resurfacing, it painted an expression of worry on her face. She didn't like the idea of rushing in barely trained men into battle with beasts and the hard truth? There was going to be a lot of deaths. At least she had a chance, even not facing real combat, but these men and women? The thought forced her to groan in disgust.

Odessa felt sick to her stomach as she realized another thing - she didn't have friends or comrades like most of those here, but the worst of it was, despite her usual loneliness she knew it was a fruitless effort to even bother. Simply said, the reality of the situation was settling in and it was making her heart sink as the moments went by. She jumped lightly onto a large rock and just watched as people wandered by.. this might be the last moment that anyone ever saw them again, outside of battle. The last moment anyone would remember them without blood on their armors.

Adventures of the Blood Rose Irregulars

Only a hundred yards away from Silas and Dixon stood Odessa. Though unlike most of the militia that sat around campfires, laying in cots, and comforting each other, the woman stood alone just outside the entire camp. The owls betrayed the sense of tenssion that radiated from the group that she had been lumped together with as the soothing moonlight glistened over the various tents. Odessa had been practicing for nigh an hour now, going over a strict regimen of movements that warmed up the muscles and got her magical energies flowing throughout her body. While at the beginning, some of the others were watching and some even trying to catch her attention, she stayed focused on the task at hand while everyone else eventually trickled away.

'Have to stay focused..' she thought to herself, thrusting a fist through the air as a tiny burst of arcane magic shot from her attack. It was her final exercise before her second half started as she felt it to be of the utmost important to keep her mind keen and her body trained. While she had gone over and mimicked several things she already knew, now was the time to focus on the more dynamic part of her training. Taking a breather for only a few moments, her eyes glanced over to the camp. 'Everyone is scared.. I don't blame them.. so am I.' She reached up and wiped some sweat from her brow, hearing the distant cries of a priest.

Her ears perked at the mention of lost ones as she clenched her fist. 'Aye.. lost ones.. I suppose that's why I'm training while most of them warm their hands by fires.. hm.' Drawing in a deep breath, she went at her training once more with a fired passion. It was not the deliberate, slow motions like before but instead a spark as she pushed her body and spirit to it's limits, fighting some unseen foe that fought in a way that no orc could - forcing her to use kicks, swings, arcane bursts, and even having her jump high into the air as her magic propelled her upwards. Most notably, at least in her mind, she was trying to focus and practice on both using her magic to create a shield and create a second push in the air, so she could potentially double jump. Suffice it to say, she managed it a few times, but not enough to be used reliably in battle.