Lucky Combat

[Mattie Sykes]

Mattie wandered around the racks along with the rest of Hargel's class. She considered the vast array of weaponry with a faintly knitted brow, one finger tapping against her pursed lips. She wasn't a violent person by nature, and she didn't exactly relish the idea of hurting someone. But one needed to be able to defend themselves, and there were as many evil magical entities as there were benevolent ones. One needed to be prepared.

But what sort of weapon should she choose? Any of the big polearms were out. She was barely strong enough to lift them, let alone use them. The larger swords were out of the question, too. Some she couldn't even lift off the rack. Mattie was one of the last kids still looking several moments later, and she was beginning to fear she wouldn't be able to find anything that would suit her.

And then all of a sudden Michael appeared, sighing loudly and pointing her toward a smaller rack off to the side. "Try those," he told her, tone clipped, before turning away again.

Curious, Mattie approached and blinked in surprise. They were swords, but they were much smaller than the others, and they seemed to come in pairs, with the blades in the shape of broad leaves--narrower at the base and wider at the tip. When she tested the weight of one, Mattie found that it was surprisingly light. Immediately cheered, she took up the matching set of blades and then bounded over to wait with the rest of the class.

[Prince Adashan]

Prince walked around the racks, testing quite a few bows. He had glanced at the crossbows, but just remembering that poor cat, and the fact that his classmates were much larger and more likely to induce payback, he quickly ignored them. No, no. Better to not risk that.

Eventually he found a bow he liked the feel of, satisfied that it had just the right amount of bend to it.

"You'll do quit nicely I think."

He walked back out to the others, patiently waiting as the remaining few all selected weapons to their liking. While he waited, he decided to watch Talon's class a bit.

Seeing poor little Ethan being singled out, he felt for the poor lad. He had to congratulate him however, as he actually found the courage to at least swing at Talon. Hopefully he wouldn't be hurt too badly...

[Grove]

Grove was starting to get impatient. Yes, there were plenty of weapons available, but nothing that looked like it would be a match for the monster that had destroyed his life.

He shuddered at the memory of when he first realized what it was their father had brought home. He'd been in the kitchen helping to make dinner. Instinct had made him grave the heavy knife he had been using to chop vegetables. In the end, the knife had broken into useless shards of metal, and the Demon had broken most of his fingers, one by one, in retaliation.

He shook it off as he continued to look. No, he needed something big, something heavy. And then he saw it out of the corner of his eye. He turned to see a rack of large swords, quite a few as long as he was tall, or longer. Most he brushed off as impractical. But the last sword in the rack he had an entirely different feeling to it.

He pulled it from the rack. Heavy alright. At least five pounds. Maybe more. It was heavy, but not so heavy he couldn't lift it, or do a few cautious swings with it. It had a good, long blade on it. Somewhere close to three and half feet he guessed. The hilt felt good in his hands as well. Yes, this sword would do. At least for now.

He made his way back tot he rest of the class, slightly distracted as he noticed Rose shooting her bow. The girl may have been rather clumsy several minutes ago, but watching her now, all he could see was a vision of grace and beauty as she, seemingly, effortlessly shot bull's-eye after bull's-eye.

He shook such thoughts from his head as he caught Prince smirking at him. Idiot. Nothing good could possibly come from associating with her. The accident earlier had proved that much.

But still, her accuracy with the Bow was impressive. And Radcliff had said he should find those with skills he didn't. How then, to recruit her to help kill the Demon when the time came, without letting her, or anyone else, getting too close?

More miserable now than when he'd arrived in class, Grove made the way tot he back of his group, waiting for the Teacher to resume the lesson. He'd worry about such things later. For now, he'd just try and focus on what he could do for himself.

[Rory Weyr]

Ruairidh "Rory" Weyr hurried into the combat arena just before the late bell. He might have actually been late--the irish teen had been busily finalizing details with his new girlfriend, an elven girl named Leah, to meet up for lunch--if it wasn't Lucky Day. So luckily, he managed to skirt inside just in time.

So far his stay at Briarthorn had been everything that his mother, grandparents and multitude of aunts, uncles and cousins had told him to expect. His popularity with the ladies was somewhat new. Being half-síth gave Rory a certain exotic look, most of which he'd had to cover up and mask while going to school in Ireland. Not so, now, and there was definitely something to be said about variety.

Rory stepped over to where Mr. Hargel's Melee class was gathering, and when the weapon racks appeared he quickly moved forward to make his selection. Moments later he had a nice, well-balanced longsword in his hand. Nothing wrong with the classics, he decided with a smirk.

[Anastasia Noldavir]

Ana moved forward to pick up her own staff along with the other students. When Ms. Talon called Ethan forward, Gabby winced a little beside her, which was a hint of just what poor Ethan had in store.

Still, nothing could quite prepare them all for what actually took place. One minute the painfully nerdy boy was taking a swing at their vampire instructor like she was a ninety-mile-an-hour curve ball. And then in the next he was flat on his back, blinking up at the sky, with his staff in two separate pieces beside him. Talon had moved so fast they didn't even see her move. Ana was left gaping in stunned shock. She had seen some of what Talon was capable of when the Elder had rescued her, but still.

Others were far more amused at Ethan's predicament than impressed with their instructor's skill. Several let out sneering barks of laughter, though that cut off as suddenly as it started when Talon suddenly turned in their direction, her all-black eyes staring holes straight through them.

"Oh, look. Volunteers for the next round."

After Ethan managed to pick himself back up and shuffle back into the press--to hopefully be largely forgotten for the rest of the class--the three offenders were told to come forward and try to hit Talon at once.

Ana winced as the three of them went flying in three different directions a moment later, having about as much success as Ethan did before them.

[Kovach Twins]

Juraj looked at the mirad of weaponry that laid before him. Swords...too conventional. Axe...too top heavy. Hammer...too dwarf. He grumbled to himself. It being his 'unlucky' day he just couldn't seem to decide on what weapon to use. And once he decided...it wasn't there. Grumbling the boy just grabbed a sword he was able to lift and waited with the rest of the class. This was getting irritating and he just wanted it to be over.

Jalora had watched with wide eyes at the sight of the girl's archery. It was amazing. She wandered over to the bows and picked one out. The other girl made it look so easy as she looked at the bow. She examined the wood of the weapon and the string as well as the arrows that came with it. Who could imagine such things flying through the air with only the aide of a string?

[Headmistress Briarthorn]

Gabrielle went flying, her broken staff tumbling behind her. Half of the broken haft spun through the arena, bounced off the floor, and struck Juraj Kovach straight in the shoulder with a surprising amount of force.

"Watch it, Talon!" Hargel called sternly.

"It's not my fault he's Unlucky." She countered off-handedly, turning to her class as they started pulling themselves to their feet.

"Alright, who can tell me what the point of this was?" The ancient vampire asked her class.

****

"Now that everyone has their weapon," Ms. Hawk said with a smile, wincing only slightly when the staff fragment hit Juraj. "I want you all to take a good look at what you have chosen. Now, group up with others with the same weapon and I will come around and show you each how to disassemble and reassemble it."

Rose stopped her practice, her arrows disappearing from the target as she walked over to the group that contained, among other people, Prince and Jalora, carefully carrying her massive bow along with her.

***

"Are you alright, son?" Mr. Hargel asked Juraj. "Looked like it hit you pretty hard."

[Aislin Phyre]

Aislin stepped into the arena almost timidly, eyes flashing as she looked around. She hadn't long arrived. Despite the suddenness of their arrival in what she now knew to be the Cloakroom, she had taken it fairly well. A quick stop to the dormitories to drop off her things and change into the uniform - green, mostly, not her favourite but certainly not her most hated - and then she had headed off again to search for her class.

Her subjects were sorted, she had chosen to study magic and ranged combat as her electives; the prior because she needed to get a handle on fledgling powers and the latter because she'd already had a hand in fencing at the boarding school. While dancing around with a sword was fun, she wanted to try something new.

When her eyes caught the group with the ranged weapons, she began to walk over with a calmness she didn't quite feel inside, approaching first the adult that appeared to be in charge; a woman.

"I'm sorry for being late, but I've only just arrived." she began. Her eyes flashed between orange and dark amber, a sign of nerves that hopefully no one could interpret. "This is one of my electives and i was told to come here after changing." her eyes strayed as they found the racks of weaponry and she found herself staring at something she had only seen in history books before now; an English long bow.

It fascinated her. Her boarding school had deemed archery unladylike, in that odd way, and yet they had let her touch a sword? Even now, the logic eluded her, but the bow still fascinated her. She wondered what would happen if she set an arrow on fire. Probably best not to do that now, if ever.

It was only when she managed to drag her eyes back to the teacher, realising that she was probably being rude despite all this only taking a few seconds, that the headmistress's words came back to her. "a few elves on staff." She could see ears that were a little longer and more pointed than her own. This woman was an elf!

[Prince Adashan]

Prince winced slightly as Juraj got hit with the broken stick.

"Your brother is going to have a very painful day...." He turned to Jalora then, grinning as always. "You should really try to talk him into going to apologize to the Headmistress. Otherwise, his day is probably just going to get worse and worse...."

He turned his smile to Rose as she walked over.

"Very impressive Rose. Grove apparently thought so to. He just couldn't keep his eyes off you."

Smirking, he did his best to ignore the glare coming from Grove direction. The boy really needed to lighten up. He bet Rose would be just the girl to help him do just that. Provided he could find a way to get them to talk to each other......

He was distracted from his thoughts as the late arrival showed up.

Oh my. Wasn't she something. I wonder if I should go introdu...

He was interrupted as yet another stray bit of dust found its way up his nose, causing him to sneeze.

He nearly cried as he examined what hair he could.

It was some sort of checkered pattern this time. It had light purple squares, alternating with a hideous star-burst pattern of white, salmon, yellow, and what appeared to be actual aquamarine.

He sniffled slightly, caught between sheer misery of being inflicted with such an atrocity, and the embarrassment of being seen with it.

"I thought this was supposed to be Lucky Day...."

[Grove]

Grove had been trying his best to not look at Rose, and instead try to focus on Mr. Hargel. He was failing miserably. For some reason, his gaze just kept wondering over to her. Part of him whispered that it was because of what had occurred when she'd touched him. That darker part of him whispered that it was because she was something he could never have. Personally, he just wished they'd both shut up.

Irritated now, instead of just plain miserable, Grove forced himself to focus on his class, not the others. That lasted about as long as it took for the broken haft of Gabrielle's staff to fly across the room and strike Juraj. Even he had to wince in sympathy at that.

And then he'd overheard Prince talking about him watching Rose.

Anger started replacing the irritation as he glared at his roommate. If Prince knew what was good for him, he'd sleep with one eye open tonight.

The anger was itself displaced shortly by another emotion, one he hadn't felt since the demon. Amusement. He couldn't help but smile at Prince's new look, and the fact that he seemed to be on the verge of tears from it.

Maybe today really was a lucky day after all.

[Ethan McCordy]

Ethan winced--both as Gabby was flung onto her back, and as one end of her staff flung across the room and struck Juraj. Ms. Briarthorn definitely hadn't been kidding about the bad luck. And given the way his day was turning out, he was beginning to wonder if he'd been struck with bad luck instead of good on accident. He might have to track down the Headmistress and ask her later.

At Talon's question, the boy fidgeted. What was the purpose of all this? To show them humility? To show them what they might be capable of if they worked hard? In no way confident about the subject matter--and having no desire to be singled out by the powerful vampire for the second time that day--Ethan kept silent and waited for some other brave soul to speak up first.

[Kovach Twins]

After selecting his weapon Juraj had turned his attention to his sister. He always liked to keep tabs on her and it seemed she was doing okay so far. It was then that he noticed the girl that came in late. Her red hair was striking and those facial features. He had never seen anything like it before. It amazed him, never having had a girl get such a reaction out of him. Unfortunately his staring was ended when he felt the piece of wood slam into his shoulder. He let out a yelp of sorts as he winced and knelt on the ground. Eyes would glare over to Jalora at the concerned look she gave him. It was more to tell her to stay where she was and let him be. Perhaps if he was a were like his sister it wouldn't have hurt so bad but in a moment he was back on his feet. It still hurt like hell and would surely bruise at least but he wasn't going to let it slow him down. "I'm fine."

Jalora sighed as she turned from looking at her brother. She frowned to the comment that was made to her, "Wont do any good." Juraj was stubborn and if he had to he would probably go with being unlucky all year if it proved a point in his mind.

[Aislin Phyre]

Unaware of the attention she seemed to be attracting, Aislin had moved slightly closer to the longbow she could see. It was made of some odd material, almost as though it was made of glass. Yes, definately strange. And there, a smaller version, made of the same.

If she had been aware of the attention she had garnered from at least two male students, she would have rolled her eyes; she was forever getting their attentions, it seemed, and it wasn't always a good thing.

A hand went out to touch the longbow, but paused before falling back to her side. She turned to face the one she was certain was the teacher for the ranged class. The elf. "What am i supposed to do, Ms . . .?" if her tone was bold, it was a mask; she certainly didn't feel so brave. Though she was beginning to feel irritated.

[Headmistress Briarthorn]

"Just choose a weapon, dear, and wait with the others who have that weapon." Ms. Hawk said with a warm smile, completely ignoring the irritation in Aislin's voice.

Meanwhile, Mr. Hargel called out to his class, "Now, everyone give yourself some room and give your weapon a few swings. Get familiar with its weight. After a few moments of that, we will get to our first lesson."

Talon sighed in exasperation. "Really. No one has any clue? The lesson's simple, kids. You're all blessed today. You all had weapons. How far did that take you? At some point, magic will fail. Luck won't be enough. Wood and steel will break. When it all comes down to it, all you have to rely on is yourself. Your strength. Your body. Your will. That's what you're going to learn here." The ancient vampire gestured to her students. "Now, everyone pair up with someone else and show me what you know now."

[Aislin Phyre]

Aislin nodded at her, any and all irritation disappearing in an instant as her orange-amber eyes sought the long bow she had seen.

If memory served, a long bow took a lot of physical arm-strength to bend, to pull the string and to handle, but the reward was great speed and power in the arrow itself when it was let loose. As size of bow decreased, so to did the amount of strength needed to handle the item. Longbows were also, if memory served, roughly the same height as the archer. Which all in all meant she wanted one that was roughly her height of 5'8".

Unfortunately the glass-like one was too tall by a good couple of inches. Pity, because she thought it looked quite nice. But only a few feet away, she found one that matched her with millimeters to spare either way, made of yew and decorated with a burnt-in design at either end. She tested it, raising it and drawing back the string, without arrow, and found to her delight that she could pull back to her jaw. Looking at the assorted quivers, she chose a set of two-and-a-half feet long with what looked like a hard ceramic head and black goose-feather fletches, held in a black quiver.

When she placed a finger onto the tip of an arrowhead, Aislin wasn't slow in moving her finger away again. It wasn't that it was sharp, though it was; her finger tingled in a decidedly unpleasent way, and she had the feeling she never wanted to personally discover why.

Satisfied with her choice, she nodded to herself and slung the quiver over her shoulder for the time being, then walked slowly over to the others that had archery weapons. Nodding in greeting for every pair of eyes she met there, she rested one end of the bow on the ground and casually leaned on the wood, being careful not to put too much pressure on the instrument.

If nothing else, this would keep her mind very much occupied for a long, long while yet.