Lucky Combat

[Headmistress Briarthorn]

A grizzled old man stepped out into the middle of the Combat Arena and surveyed it with a frown. He was tall, with a full, grey beard and not even a wisp of hair on his head. He wore a military cut version of the school uniform, one that had its share of medals. Over his shoulder was a sheathed longsword.

His frown turned into a scowl when he saw Talon on the other side of the Combat Arena, smirking at him.

"Thinkin' about your latest crop of losers, Hargel?" She called.

"No, merely thinking what a shame it will be for the freshmen to get such an...incomplete education from one such as you. Such a pity." The Melee Weapons Teacher shouted back.

"If you think that way, maybe you should try me without a weapon, old man!" She sneered back at him.

"Quiet, the both of you!" Called out a elf woman, Ms. Hawk, soft purple hair and lavender skin, her yellow eyes almost shining. She was putting the finishing touches on setting up a row of targets. "What would the students think if they say you two squabbling like children?'

"Prob'ly something along the lines of 'Fight! Fight! Fight! Fight!'" Talon replied.

As if on cue, the bell rang, and students began to filter in, for the first Combat classes of the school year.

((Okay, here's how this is going to work. One, Lucky Day is still in effect. Two, if you have a Combat class, you're here. If you have two combat classes, decide which one happens first. Also remember *cough*Juraj*cough*, anyone who skipped the opening speech is still Unlucky. And this class has live fire, and live steel, and Talon in it. Have fun.))

[Ethan McCordy]

Ethan stepped into the Arena for the second time that day, nervous as all get out. The time had come for Ms. Talon's dreaded Introduction to Martial Arts class. This was definitely not going to be the highlight of his day, not by a long shot. He was surprised to find more than Ms. Talon within. There was also a very grizzly-looking old man with a beard and what appeared to be a purple-shaded elf, instructors as well. Probably all of the combat classes took place out here, though he was a little surprised that they'd apparently be happening at the same time.

Despite his every want otherwise, Ethan forced his shuffling feet to take him over to the side where the dark-featured vampire stood, clutching somewhat at the strap of his book bag. He prayed they didn't concoct something like a class verses class activity. If there was one thing he was worse at than physical fitness, it was competitive physical fitness.

[Anastasia Noldavir]

Ana walked into the Combat Arena, Gabby leading the way a half a step ahead of her. So far the day had been going surprisingly well. The classes she'd taken so far hadn't been as hard as she'd feared. The subjects were definitely not what she was used to, but not nearly as complicated as she'd feared. And now it was time for Introductory Martial Arts.

"Has your Mother taught you anything about how to fight yet?" she questioned curiously as they moved toward the intimidating elder Vampire. Though Ana was certain Talon wouldn't be an easy instructor, she was also somehow certain that she would be a very thorough one. And Ana was very interested in getting stronger.

So strong, that no one would be able to make her a victim ever again.

[Mattie Sykes]

Mattie stared at the rather intimidating bear of a man--whom her schedule named Mr. Hargel--who would be teaching her the Introduction of Melee Combat class.

"Wow," she breathed, to no one in particular as she'd been separated from Rose and Kate earlier due to different classes. "He is . . . really big."

She fidgeted a little, but Mattie wasn't known for being faint of heart. Deciding to jump in feet first, she marched right up to the intimidating instructor and gave him her brightest smile. "Hullo, Mr. Hargel! I'm Mattie Sykes, I'm in your next class!"

[Prince Adashan]

Prince was whistling to himself as he sauntered into the Combat Arena, amused to see the other two classes would be occupying the same place.

He noticed the targets set up on the side and smiled. He hoped they'd be using bows. He could at least aim those in the proper direction.

He really hoped there wouldn't be any crossbows involved though. The neighbor's cat never had forgiven him.... Add in that it was a talking cat, and, well.... Let's just say he was glad to be well away from the cat.

At that point, a stray bit of dust managed to get up his nose, causing him to sneeze for the upteenth time that day. A glance the tip of his apparently sapphire hair, complete with translucency and sparkle, and started to miss the cat.

"I see we all have class together. This should certainly be fun."

[Grove]

Grove stalked silently into the class behind the others, doing his best to keep as far from them as possible.

This. This was the class he had most wanted. This was the class that would teach him what he needed to know to hunt down that demon bastard and make it pay.

He easily spotted the teacher, and moved toward him, though he remained silent. His eagerness showed through though, as he couldn't quite keep himself still. The feeling reminded him vaguely of how he used to feel when he heard about a storm bringing in big waves. But there was such a separation between who he was now, and who he had been a mere handful of months ago, that it was difficult to recall why he'd loving surfing so much.

For now, he simply stood off to the side, wishing for the rest of the class to arrive so he could begin learning the skills Radcliff had promised him.

[Headmistress Briarthorn]

"Well hey there, wolfie." A familiar voice said behind Ethan, and when he turned, Kate was only about a foot away from him, her characteristic feline smirk on her face. "Didn't expect to see you in Talon's class. But it's pretty good fortune." She stepped a bit closer to him. "Who knows, maybe she'll partner us together. I'd love to see what sort of...holds you know. Maybe we could wrestle a little."

----

There was a smile on Rocky's face as he entered the Combat Arena and a spring in his step. Suddenly, doing freshmen martial arts did not seem so bad to the sophomore.

First, there was the nerd Shad had said was hitting on Kate. Poor dumb bastard did not seem to realize Kate was doing all the hitting on, but for a blunt instrument like Shadrack, Rocky really never really needed to be a hundred percent truthful on every single detail.

Next, there was the kid that had hit Shad right in his face. Seeing what sort of skill he brought to the table would help big time in keeping him in line in the future.

But most importantly, there was the Teacher's Pet and her hot friend. The only downside was, they were in the class of said teacher, but the vampire was positive he could work the situation to his advantage, somehow.

Oh yes, this would be a fun year.

*****

"My mother has taught me some basics." Gabby explained as they entered the room. "But only the basics. I am..."

Whatever she was going to say was cut off when Talon was there and picking up Gabby in a massive hug--which was impressive, givenn Gabrielle was a few inches taller than her mother.

"C'mere, kiddo!" She said embracing the girl tightly. "How's your day been so far?"

"It has been...do you need to carry me, Mother?" Gabby said, somehow blushing against her pale skin.

"Hell yes." Talon replied, though she put her daughter down. She then frowned at Gabby for a moment before pulling a handkerchief out of her pocket and wiping a spot of blood from the corner of the younger vampire's mouth while she squirmed in protest.

"Is this necessary?!" She sputtered. Talon only grinned.

"Kid, I haven't been a mother for centuries. You gotta indulge me somehow." The she turned to Ana. "Making friends already, I see. Good. Keep my girl out of trouble, won't you?"

"Mother!"

***

Trickling into the room with a few other students, Rose carefully made her way through the door, holding over her head a red wood bow nearly the same size she was.

Slowly, she made her way around the edge of the room, so as to not run into anyone while she focused solely on taking one tiny step at a time.

However, her care availed her not, and the bow caught on the edge of an exposed nail, and she stumbled forward, losing her grip on the bow and flailing to grab something.

Something solid met her arms, however, and as she steadied herself, she saw she what she was holding onto was, in fact Grove Longbeach.

Her pale cheeks lit up brightly and she stumbled back. "Oh my, I'm so sorry, I didn't see you there!"

***

Michael glowered from the corner. Teaching vampire and nephil and werebeasts how to fight! What was the world coming to, anyway?

Nevertheless, he resisted the urge to smite the abominations in the room, instead staying out of the way as well as he could, hoping to avoid...

"Hey Mikey, you're good with a sword!" Talon called. "Why don't you help out Hargel today. Geezer could probably use it."

"Talon, I'm warning you..."

"Are you talking back to a teacher, Michael? I'd hate to have to call your parents."

Though he did not stop glaring, Michael made his way across the arena towards Mr. Hargel's group.

***

Mr. Hargel smiled kindly at her. "Hello, Miss Sykes. I like the enthusiasm. Keep it up and we'll have a great year, I'm sure of it."

"Did you need my help....Hargel?" The gorgeous albino boy from earlier asked the instructor.

"I'd be honored, Michael. Why don't you and Ms. Sykes here start rounding up everyone in Melee Combat? We have a few minutes before class, but I'd like to get a quick start."

***

Five girls were crowded around Prince, two of them elves and one of them a vampire.

"Oh my god, your hair is so cool!" The vampire exclaimed. "How did you get it to do that? "

[Ethan McCordy]

Ethan jumped a little in surprise at the sound of Kate's voice, letting out a canine-ish yelp of protest. He turned, then blinked at the pretty female as she continued to speak, at a complete loss.

"Wha?" he blurted, looking a mix between confused and stricken. "Wrestle?"

This was supposed to be Lucky Day, so why did Kate keep finding him? And more importantly, why did she keep teasing him relentlessly? Pretty girls like Kate didn't go for nerds like him, so that had to be the only logical explanation for her odd behavior.

Ethan shoved his glasses more firmly onto his face, ignoring the wolf inside who was growling and posturing--apparently more than willing to 'wrestle' in any capacity.

"'Tis martial arts training," he finally pronounced, purposefully being dense. Maybe if he refused to give her a rise, she'd stop tormenting him. "I dinnae think they wrestle in kung fu."

[Mattie Sykes]

Mattie relaxed considerably when Mr. Hargel smiled back at her. D'aw he's just a big ol' teddy bear, she decided with an inward giggle. All gruff and no meanness.

Her eyes widened again, however, at the sound of that voice behind her. She turned to see the heart-meltingly attractive boy from earlier standing right behind her.

OMG! she squealed internally, feeling her face flush with pleasure. He's in my class!

When Mr. Hargel suggested they work together to round up the rest of the Melee Combat students, Mattie almost passed out on the spot. Lucky Day was the best!

"Hi Michael," she blurted somewhat inanely, then. "I'm Mathilda. I-I mean Mattie. Well my name is Mathilda but everybody calls me Mattie."

Then, not waiting for a response and somewhat embarrassed by her nervous rambling, Mattie turned to face the congregation of students and dealt with her given task with her irrepressible enthusiasm.

"Hey yo!" she hollared, cupping her hands to her mouth to increase the volume and cut through the din. "Mr. Hargel's Awesome Melee Combat class, over this way!"

[Anastasia Noldavir]

Ana grinned a little at Ms. Talon's somewhat unexpected show of affection for Gabby, and at the younger vampire's uncomfortable embarrassment. She wouldn't have thought the somewhat scary-looking Elder would be so open with her feelings toward her daughter, but seeing the adorable display went a long way toward endearing the woman to Ana's affections and chasing away what little remained of her fear.

She smiled and nodded readily when Talon addressed her. "Yes ma'am," she agreed, giggling a little at Gabby's continued discomfort.

A moment later and her smile dimmed, as she suddenly recognized someone in the throng. She stared at Rocky as he sauntered into the Arena, smirking in her direction, and her good cheer died a swift death. She hugged herself instead, determindly turning her back to him, though the damage had been done.

Isn't he a sophmore? she wondered somewhat frantically. What is he doing in this class?

[Prince Adashan]

All was right in Prince's universe. Surrounded by pretty girls who were all focused on him. Or at least his hair. Which, of course, was a part of him.

"Father let me experiment in his lab one day. You could say it's the result of a... happy accident? Some bezoar shavings were knocked into a vat of something my father was working on. I must say though, except for a few eye bleeding colors, I rather like it, yes. Shall we see what color we can get to change to next?"

He winked at one of the elven girls, before pulling a feather from a pocket. With a dramatic flair, he made the girls take a step back and clear a space, since it wouldn't be at all polite if he ended up sneezing on one of them. Sticking his arm straight out, he bent it at the elbow and then tickled the tip of his nose with the feather.

The sneeze was nearly instantaneous. before he'd even finished, his hair and eyes had changed, and he grabbed some of the hair to inspect it. It was now a brilliant, neon red.

"Certainly not the worst color I've had. So girls, what do you think? Does it suit me?"

Before he could get a response from them however, he noticed the teachers glaring in his general direction.

"On second thought, how about we not anger the Teachers any further. What say we get back to talking about me at say, lunch? Splendid."

[Grove]

Grove was knocked, quite literally, out of his downward spiraling thoughts as Rose collided with him. It was pure instinct that made him reach out and catch her before she hit the floor.

The moment they touched however, his whole body involuntarily seized up. A bizarre cascade of near mindless pain shot through his body, followed almost immediately by waves of intense euphoria. All of it coming from the Brand on his back.

He was barely able to hold onto Rose long enough for her to settle herself, much less respond for what seemed like hours as his mind and body tried to cope with the dueling feelings.

After what was really only a few moments, he managed to hiss out a response to her.

"It's fine."

He forced himself to let her go, and moved several feet away, trying not to let his reaction show. Through the slowly fading confusion, he also tried to wrap his mind around what had happened and why she had caused the Brand to react like that.

He dreaded the answer the little voice in the back of his mind whispered to him.

That he was no longer fit to be among humans, and this little stunt proved it. He was tainted and worthless.

He tried to ignore the voice, but his body still hadn't quite stopped shaking, and the Brand was throbbing along with his heartbeat now, slowly overriding the feelings of euphoria with dull and constant pain.

He tried to focus as the teachers started class, but it was difficult, and he could feel his mind slipping off into darker thoughts brought on by the whisper.

[Kovach Twins]

Combat class. Both types held at the same time? Well good that meant that Juraj could keep an eye on his sister. Granted he wasn't having the best of days. Even the simplest things were going wrong. He assumed it had to do with that whole 'lucky day' tripe. He didn't care. They were just lucky he wore the school uniform. At least most of it, his shirt still wasn't tucked in and he wore the power supressing medalion out for everyone to see.

Jalora on the other hand was dreading this part of class. Things were going well for her on this 'lucky' day. Everything seemed to go fairly easily. Juraj on the other hand was having a bad day. Probably served him right. But as he wandered over to his side of the room she did as well. Keeping quiet she waited for class to start.

[Headmistress Briarthorn]

"Oh, I'm so sorry, Grove." Rose said, blushing heavily. Stupid girl. Dad told you getting close to them would just hurt.

The angst was interrupted, however, with the sound of the bell. All of the students were gathered around one of three teachers-- Mr. Hargel for Melee Combat, Ms. Hawk for Ranged Combat and, of course Talon for martial arts.

"A were not in my class." Talon mumbled, eyes on Jalora. "Oh well, one was bound to slip through the cracks somehow."

As they were headed to Hargel, the white-haired boy said, "Michael," and made his way to Mr. Hargel's side.

****

Mr. Hargel waited until everyone was assembled in a line in front of him--with not small amount of help from Michael and Mattie--and said, "Alright class, today we will get two things out of the way. First, you must select the weapon of your choice." As he said that, row after row after row of weapon racks rose up behind him. "If you have trouble finding what you are looking for, please, ask. I'm sure I have something you could use lying around somewhere."

****

Ms. Hawk smiled expectantly at the class. "First of all, let's do as Mr. Hargel is, shall we?" Even more weapon racks sprung up behind her, each bustling with a variety of weapons. "Select what you want to be trained with, and we can begin with weapon maintenance."

Rose raised her hand. "I have my bow already, Ms. Hawk. What should I do?"

"Well, why don't you practice some with the targets, Miss Caulfield. Let's see what you know already."

Rose nodded shyly and carefully carried her massive bow to the targets. She pulled a red-shafted arrow from literally nowhere and braced herself in an expert archery stance. She pulled the string back, and let the arrow fly.

Bull's eye.

She pulled another arrow from nothing and launched it as well. It landed right next to her previous shot, as did the next, and the next, and the next.

***

Talon presumably rolled her black eyes, though it was hard to tell. "Alright class, we're gonna do somethin' a little different from what those losers are doing."

A stack of staves fell to the floor with a clatter. "I want each of ya to pick up one of those and then I want you to try to hit me."

There was a murmur in the crowd, to which Talon held up a hand. "This is your lucky day, remember? Don' worry, this ain't gonna be ego strokin' on my part. There's a lesson here you need to learn. Now, you all gonna sit around all day, or are we gonna get started?"

[Ethan McCordy]

Ethan, after his momentary shock, moved forward as he'd been told and picked up one of the staves before quickly stepping back. The shorter boy held the weapon somewhat uncomfortably, not at all sure what to even do with it. Let alone how to hit someone with it.

And, of course, as soon as the staves had been passed out, those ink-black eyes turned to him. Ms. Talon gave a wicked-looking smile.

"Alright McCordy, let's start with you." Ethan almost whimpered. "C'mon kid, step up here. We don't have all afternoon."

"Go on, Wolfy," Kate murmured next to him, giving him a helpful nudge in the arm. She grinned at him. "Go show us whatcha got."

Go show us how badly you can screw up for our amusement.

Ethan scowled at that, shoving his glasses up his nose before striding forward, deciding to just get this the hell over with. The staff--much bigger than he was--caught on the ground and almost caused him to trip, stumbling several steps. Much to everyone else's amusement. Ethan quickly righted himself, face flaming.

Talon gave no indication of what he should do, merely stood in front of him expectantly, arms at her sides. Finally, with nothing else to go on, Ethan took hold of the staff like a baseball bat and swung with all his might.