A Big Surprise [JT/Ajraka]

[Ajraka Kuchiki]

Ajraka was pleased to see that Miranda was actually giving in, and as the actual squad members themselves showed up, it wasn't too awful to actually transition into the training. Ajraka made sure that Miranda took a good ammount of participation. Having her guide the others through the exercises, it was a nice thing to see. And truth be told, she wasn't sure what it was about the girl that she actually keyed in on. The notion that she would make some sort of friend, after what happened to Raygin? She wasn't sure what to think of it, but all the same she felt a leaning toward the girl.

When at last most of the recruits were exhausted, she called an end to the training. she couldn't help but notice the looks of dissappointment in some of them. The looks of yearning in others who wanted to learn more. And even some who seemed to be already getting their second wind, running off to no doubt have spars and test out their new skills. It was interesting to say the least, and looking over her shoulder, she made a note of Miranda, whom she had instructed to stay behind. Turning her attention to the girl, she let out a soft little huff and grinned, showing off those wickedly sharp teeth.

"Ah, you actually stayed! I'm glad. You know, I was actually a little worried you'd be too exhausted. But...." She paused, looking to the stragglers, a few who seemed curious, but when they saw her glancing their way, they continued their leave, letting Ajraka and Miranda remain by themselves as the sun began to set and dusk began to veil itself over the sky. Ajraka took a deep breath and let out a light little yawn. Hmmm, maybe she was in need of a little rest herself. But this was important, turning her attention toward Miranda herself, she tilted her head, watching them so very closely.

"Do you know what a Beast Clansman is?" She asked very softly. She didn't waste time in asking what Miranda thought of her. It had become abundantly clear quite some time ago that Miranda seemed to have a high amount of respect for her. But something had been bugging her. Something that hadn't occurred to her in.... a while. Her father was so busy these days. Funnily enough...... Miranda was really the only person left in soul society that she could talk to. And she had barely even met her. Well, she supposed it was better than nothing. But for now, she remained....careful. She simply decided to survey the girl for now, those pupils dilating, narrowing as she watched the girl closely.

[Miranda Frost]

The others would finally show. To say she was anxious was an understatement. The spotlight was on her and Ajraka, but surely they would question how she, one who was green as grass when it came to the workings of this squad, would be chosen over those who had been serving squad 10 longer than she had. Miranda was anxious, and perhaps even afraid, but her blood was a stubborn one. She had agreed to the task given to her and, gods be damned, she would carry out. She drove her fist into her palm and furrowed her brow. It was time to get to work.

When it was all over, Miranda found herself in the middle-ground of exhaustion in comparison to her comrades. She wasn't collapsing in dark heap of flesh and uniform, but if she didn't watch herself, she might. She took a deep breath and sipped from her canteen, her eyes flicking back to the crowd of soldiers. Miranda had been worried over nothing. She had been expecting jealousy or confusion, but she only received encouragement and motivation, even a stray cat-call here and there. If the training itself didn't bring her exhaustion, then the anxiety finally leaving her body did.

The soldiers made their exit, no doubt to the slightest intimidation of Ajraka, leaving them alone. She relaxed where she stood and basked in the glow of her burning muscles. She probably would have gone with the others, but there was something about this whole ordeal that distracted her. The glow of the moon was bright and the air was warm around her. It was a good night. Ones such as these came few and far in between, even in the extended lifetimes of shinigami. Frost turned towards the towering noblewoman when spoken to, her distraction shattered.

Then came the question, "Do you know what a Beast Clansman is?". Frost took note of the woman's soft voice trailing even more delicately than she had before. Frost's cheek tensed. "Aye. I do.", She nodded and sighed, resting her hand softly upon the pommel of her blade. "Or rather, I know only what i've heard in tales of legends from a time forgotten... or possibly from a mind drunken beyond belief.", she laughed and brushed the hair from the silver of her eyes. "Besides the statues worshipped by fanatical priests, you are the first one I've properly laid eyes upon."

[Ajraka Kuchiki]

Ajraka couldn't or rather didn't feel especially inclined to hide her surprise at the woman's reveal. Had they had some sort of reverence toward her kind? That struck her as a bit strange, thinking back to all the times she had been treated as more or less a nuisance in the past hundred years or so. The idea of a village worshipping her kind was....alien, and she couldn't help but scratch her head over it. "Well that's .....interesting. Especially given that I heard that my kind are supposedly cursed to be this. It's a punishment or something like that from a long time ago." She murmured in idle contemplation. To think that a curse would lead them to this...

Her eyes darted to Miranda herself and she crouched down to eye level with the woman as she had before, her head canting to the side before she suddenly darted her tail forth at high speeds, or rather that a speed that would be fast to miranda, but not unavoidable, to see if she could give the girl a boop on the forehead. She honestly had to admit that she wanted to see Miranda grow. But ah, training things like her at her stage was so hard. Her tail would continue to almost lazily prod at Miranda, at the hips, shoulders, chest, and forhead. It was more or less a game for Ajraka, to see how good Miranda's reflexes were. And to help improve them.

"you've been a part of squad ten a while. Surely you should have run into a few of us out in the wilderness. You're part of the defense squad. Haven't you ever been out on a patrol past the rukongai?" She had seen shinigami often enough out there after all, it struck her as logical that of all the squads, ten would be the most familiar with her kind to say the least! She even entertained the notion of taking her there herself. but well for now she put that aside. TECHNICALLY speaking, she was not really officially associated with the soul society. She was a noble, and was here under priveledge, the same priveledge that allowed most nobles to do as they wished. Her charisma just meant that it was a common thing for her to be out and about the place. But as of late....she DID question the motivation behind that...

Maybe she should try and place herself elsewhere? On one hand, she helped the shinigami out on a fairly regular basis. With intel, or just her own feats of strength. But that didn't chance the fact that she just outright wasn't a shinigami, and that perhaps her being so attached to them might be a limitation. After all, in the longrun, would it even matter how many shinigami died? They reproduced so damn quickly, what was even the point of destroyed walls? But....for now....he would have to worry about it later.

[Miranda Frost]

What Miranda had said had stirred something in the Noblewoman's demeanor. Miranda could see it painted over her face, and could hear her talk, albeit in a tone she couldn't properly discern even at the quiet air falling upon the training grounds. The giantess was a bit taller than her after all. However, Miranda did catch the meaning of what she said, or so she thought. Frost didn't know what to think of another suggesting their own existence as a cursed one. Lady Ajraka seemed to take joy in her life and that smile of hers led Miranda to believe that feeling to be genuine.

Again Ajraka crouched low, her gaze one of an observer. The steel of Miranda's eye caught the movement of the woman's tail. Surprised, Miranda stepped back out of sheer reflex. The strike was fast and at the slight moment, before it touched, Frost flinched. The "strike" on her forehead was soft and controlled like a playful tap. It was something she was not prepared for. When her focus regained itself the other strikes came in on her position. Her balance was rough, the initial surprise of the action proved difficult for her to gain a hold on herself. She managed to narrowly dodge a couple of blows but in the end, her lack of balance felled her.

She tumbled back onto the cool tile flooring with a soft thud. "Damn...", she murmured, her hand soothing the slight pain on her rump. She had almost forgotten that they were still training. The others may have retired to their racks but Miranda still remained. "Haven't you ever been out on a patrol past the rukongai?" Miranda paused and glanced up at Lady Ajraka. She hadn't been in 10th squad for very long, but she chose to keep that to herself. "I have, aye, but usually to help clean up after.. hm... failed patrols." Her body shuddered as she recovered and stretched out her back.

She was reminded of her first mission. Apparently, there was a sudden incursion of hollows in a certain region. It didn't go as well as she had hoped. Her memory was still a bit fuzzy, no doubt because of what had happened, but she knew for certain she shouldn't have survived. "But no. Never met another Beast Clansman until today.", She reaffirmed, pulling herself to her feet. "I mean, in a society of potentially billions of souls it is possible that some of us haven't seen certain things.", she continued, stroking her chin in thought. "That makes me wonder how we are able to defend such a large breadth as well as we do with as little manpower as we do."

[Ajraka Kuchiki]

Ajraka nodded slowly at that, and her tail SNAPPED out like a whip, lashing Miranda across the chest with enough force to knock her solidly onto the ground, this time at full speed, with every intention of flooring the woman as Ajraka calmly continued to circle the girl slowly, thoughtfully, like a shark eyeing something it might eat. She thought about the girl's answer and took just a moment to look over her own claws. "It's something els.e Fighting one of us. There's something to be said about fighting Hollows or Arrancar or Humans or whatever. In those fights you're mostly just looking for the trick. The....tell. The trump card." She hummed.

She took just a moment to look at Miranda again. "But fighting with us well. It's kindof different. Some of us have our tricks, sure. The more unusual ones. But it's not like fighting a person. You don't catch them by surprise. There isn't really any tricking them. Because we generally don't think in battle. We use instincts. Our Gut. Our heart." She noted softly, and her tail whipped out, just barely within Miranda's own speed range as she sought to snag the woman by the ankle and lift them up by it. Her eyes watching them carefully as she did so.

Maybe I should take you out to the wilderness sometime. Have you meet some of them. It's a learning experience. I'll say that much. Especially since we are born fairly strong. If...well..if I were to wager. I'd say a Beast Clan fresh at fighting age, would be something akin to .... a seventh seat. I wasn't very grown when I myself fought a vice captain. Managed to take him down at that. A shame he went and vanished, honestly." She sighed, shaking her head slowly. "We could find a pack. After all, soul society has been in....negociative treatytalks with them. And we have a few back and forths these days. It wouldn't be hard. We could call it a research mission. You shinigami really aught to learn some of our customs and more about us." She hummed thoughtfully.

And then those eyes drifted back to Miranda. IF she had managed to snag her, it would be at this point that she would drop the woman. "We'll have to train you up first though. Get a bit more strength in you. Pretty you are, but there's still yet to be much starch in you. What do you think?" She asked, head canting to the side as she surveyed the woman, her foot tapping thoughtfully as she thought it over. It might be a bit of a fighty situation, but it was certainly doable. Miranda could earn the respect of a pack. It would certainly make her stronger. Wasn't that the important part?

[Miranda Frost]

Miranda remembered being told once to expect the unexpected, and that memory burned ever clear in her mind when she felt the full blow of that tail against her chest. At one moment she was on her feet, her steel eyes following the gargantuan woman’s movement and pacing, the next she was on her rump. There was something frightening about Ajraka that Miranda couldn’t quite understand. The fear rested there, nestling beneath the adoration she had started to build in her mind. Miranda saw a figure different from the others physically but had the mental capacity and intelligence of those she interacts with on a daily basis.

If she’s human in spirit, beastly in appearance, what was unsettling Miranda? Could it be those predatorial eyes that gazed down upon her, making her size difference feel even greater between them? Could it be those dazzling sharp teeth that could tear her throat free of her neck with minimalistic effort? Perhaps it was that ghostly speed or that unreal strength? No, it wasn’t any of those. What had begun to unsettle the unseated member was the unpredictability of her movements, of her actions. As if reading her thoughts, Ajraka-sama said it. “Instinct, gut, heart.”, she repeated under her breath. Perhaps this was what was unsettling her the most. It was strange, but perhaps there was something the giant otter-woman could see, no... feel that Miranda could not.

The movement the corner of her eyes broke her concentration and forced her to act immediately. With her hand and feat flat against the stone, they tensed with a sudden burst of energy flowing through them. In a mere moment, she was a few feet away, narrowly dodging the tail that had lunged for her. Miranda turned to the otter-woman, her eyes inquisitive and curious simultaneously. Her clenched fists loosened and her body relaxed. When those eyes eventually wheeled back to her, she stood firm. Then there was the suggestion, the proposition. Miranda would meet others like Ajraka deep in the bosom of the wilds.

Miranda smiled wide and nodded, her hand gripping the pommel of her blade. “Do you think I can handle it, Ajraka-sama?”, she asked, the excited smile of hers calming to something slight. “If they are as strong as you describe they could likely break me with their mere presence.” But then again, if she were to go, the benefits may as well outweigh the risk. There was something missing within her, something she sought. Upon reflection, she saw it in the way she moved, the way she strategized. It had nearly gotten herself killed on a few occasions. It was all mind, all brute-force calculations, but not what Ajraka described. If that was what Miranda was missing, Frost will seek it out.

“But, I… do agree. Maybe this is exactly what I need.”, she continued, choosing not to elaborate further on her thoughts. There was no need for Ajraka-sama probably already knew. Still, it was good to have friends in various places and seeing something besides the sereitei or her home district would do the pale-haired woman well. “But, I do have to ask.”, she sighted her hands moving to her hips. “And it’s not just you either. I’ve seen the looks as of late. I’ve seen it in the eyes of my captain, my lieutenant, and my squadmates. They are all the same. So…”, she trailed off, the grey of her eyes unable to hold the connection with Lady Ajraka’s further. Instead, she turned them upwards to the moon that shone above. “What do you all see in me?”

[Ajraka Kuchiki]

The moment Miranda used shunpo, Ajraka intercepted her. Using her own shunpo to outrun, sweeping past them, getting in their way so that rather than meeting their destination, Miranda SLAMMED into Ajraka's hip, likely bruising the woman's face and torso before causing them to drop to the ground, the Otter watching them very closely as she considered the woman's words. She tilted her head for just a moment and thought about it. "Honestly there never really is a way to tell. I hardly think you're ready to go doing it alone. But so long as I'm there you should be fine, I imagine. I just need to make sure you're strong enough to survive me not having to be near you constantly." She reasoned.

However at the girl's question, she was surprised at that. What she and they saw in her? That seemed a bit generalistic. And the otter flat out chuckled sensibly at the very notion. "No idea. Well, so far as the other two. You seem to be under the impression that they're all the same thing. But Your Captain, your Lieutenant, your squadmates. there could be any number of things they see in you. You may remind them of someone else strong. Or they could simply have someone in their past you seem similar to. As for myself? You simply seemed intrigued. Most squad members look confused or frightened when they see me. A few are in awe. But you looked genuinely curious." She explained with a shrug.

"I don't see anything in you other than that. You don't have any particular special talents. No idealogies or strategies that separate you from the numerous other shinigami in the gotei. And to be frank, I don't think there is any inherent difference from your potential to that of any other squadmate. Every shinigami has the potetnial to be able to use the most absolute forms of bankai. Why it's so rare is beyond me. No other race has any sort of restriction like yours except Arrancar, but then again, they are very shinigami-like." she mused. and paused...

"Frankly, If I were to be honest. Shinigami have the absolute lowest and most variant growth of any race. In every single other race, every single individual, barring death, is generally capable of being the strongest of the strong, and bringing out everything their power has to offer. However, with shinigami and arranczr that doesn't seem to be the case... And indeed, you may very well also might not have the potential to have bankai or anything like that.." She paused. "what were we talking about again?.... Right, what I see in you. Uhhhhh, nothing. you seemed interested in me, so I decided to reciprocate." she noted, putting on a big grin with the.....simple logic she offered.

[Miranda Frost]

“So here I lay at the gates leading into the steepest of mountains. The gates are old and worn, with its rusted iron joints struggling to open. Before me, an opportunity awaits to burst gates of stagnancy, the first barrier on my way to captaincy”, she thought momentarily, her hand caressing at the newly formed bruise on her cheek. Ajraka-sama made the wilds out to be a place of unpredictable danger. She also saw a glimmer of potential in Miranda. Otherwise, why would she even bother? Her hand fell from her cheek and pushed up from her knee.

“You’ve a lot to say about this subject, Ajraka-sama. Been thinking about something similar, or do you usually go off on a tangent.”, she mused internally, the corners of her mouth stretching into a pained smile. “I appreciate the kindness, Ajraka-sama.”, She responded, pushing herself back to her feet. It was then when she found out how hard she had hit the otterwoman. Her entire backside ached from her rump to the back of her neck. The Noblewoman was fast, that much was evident, but Miranda had no way of predicting that she’d be fast enough to interrupt her own shunpo, or perhaps there was and the Shinigami’s mind was just closed to it.

“So it seems If I’m to get stronger, Ima have to get broken in.”, she observed, dreading the words as they flowed from her mouth. Miranda was not a sucker for pain. If anything she detested it, but she knew its usefulness in regards to improvement. The pain was there to let her know she was still alive, and if she was still alive then she could fight. The use of her muscles and skills from that point would bring improvement. As long as she could still perform, Miranda was certain she would get better, she’d just have to find the barrier that held her back and break it.

“And once I am, I’ll accompany you to the wildlands, is that it Ajraka-sama?”, she inquired, her arms stretched out by her side. Her mind fluttered back to her words prior, about the potential these beastclansmen had and compared it to the Noblewoman’s commentary on the average shinigami potential. The difference between the two was striking, but within the depths of her growing anxiety shone a sparkling of excitement. She reached forward, grasping Ajraka’s giant paw into her own comparatively smaller hands. Miranda’s excitement could barely be kept in check. Before Miranda was the key to her success or at least a fragment of that key. It was hope, and she’d hold onto it as tightly as she could. “When will we start, Ajraka-sama?”

[Ajraka Kuchiki]

Ajraka smiled calmly as Miranda seemed to get her meaning. "Ina round-about sort of way. Yes! I suppose you will have to be broken in." She noted with a bright smile. Though she did pause and make her way over to the girl, taking a moment to consider. "Buuut, not quite right now. I think you still need to get more familiar with yourself and your squad or something smart like that. If you're going to come out. I want you to at least know how to release your Zanpaku'to. Then we can train you for the wilderness." She pointed out.

Of course she knew well enough that it would still be hard. The wilderness was no cakewalk like so many shinigami played it out to be. Miranda would need to be ready for a gauntlet. And thats exactly what Ajarka planned on preparing her for. She'd need every ounce of strength in order to combat what she'd run into out there. Hmmm, it would be hard to choose an exact point for it to go on. But at the very least she presumed it would be interesting once they got down to it.

"For now. Focus on communing with your sword, and learning to release it safely. Otherwise you won't be able to last very long, even with me protecting you! I may be fast. But out there, most enemies will be almost as fast. Or even as fast as Me. Skill is a powerful tool. But NEVER underestimate numbers. No matter how much weaker than you they are." She noted with a sagely nod, reaching into her robes and pulling out a ham sandwich, which she promptly popped into her mouth like a candy and munched.

"Till then, you are dismissed."

[Ludwig Verrlicht]

102 Paragraphs Total= 510 TP awarded to each

Miranda: -40 for Mastered Karin Shunpo (Given she's class 4 and the tech is class 5.) Remaining TP= 470 => Converts to 235 SP for Miranda

Ajraka: 510 TTP awarded