Merging Back Into Society [Training, R, Open]

[Alicia Maine]

Location: Vandenreich Empire

Specific: Courtyard

Why: Morning Assembly

Bigger why: As if she wanted to told one...

The whole idea of having to represent the Vandenreich in such a manner made her skin crawl. In all honesty the girl wasn't within the Vandenreich on the notion of faith or a sense of duty on behalf of her family. Alicia frowned on what she had to do as a member of the Sternritters. At first she really did think that they would be something more impressive. At least those among the Letters above her are. The others were crazed zombified hooligans with their so called "God's" stick up the ass. Yeah yeah she knows how much they like it up in their mess, but they are a little to "faithful" to the point that made her want to barf out loud. Geez, there was only so much she could take, but thankfully that there were upstarts that desired to abandon the Empire. Gave her something to draw her attention away from the whole thing.

Pushing past the dawn skies the sun was slowly poking over the horizon. Over and about, the Sternritter stood over those of the newcomers who were being added into the Empire's ranks. Fresh to boot and completely green to what was really going on. They completely stunk. Eager to learn, filled with the belief that their lives would surely go their way. Heeh, not while Alicia was around. And despite how she appeared she was already more experience then they could ever hope to be. She roamed the darkness that very few ever make it back from, let alone able to experience the void.

So there she was, Alicia stood in front of the two dozen new arrivals. Each of them looked to be full of pride and success. Wasn't the first time she saw such gleaming expressions nor would it be the last, but a lass she took great pride in breaking them. Or rather she took great pleasure in such activities. It didn't faze her that she is smaller than a majority of the crowd in front, because it made some of them even more smug, as to why they should be taking orders from her. At the same time she never did formally introduce herself to the group.

Thus far her name was only given, and that she does outrank the newcomers, other than that no other details were given. However, despite her dead white hair and awful attire, she always kept that smile. Arms hidden beneath the oversized sleeves of her tunic latched on to the hips of her uniform, resembling much of that of any asylum straight jackets, Alicia merely gazed about the group with exhaustion. No no no she wasn't tired, solely for appearance sake. "Welcome all to the Vandenreich, I want to welcome you all personally and also here to separate the worthy from the trash." The cutesy voice didn't help to make her sound more menacing, but did help to rile up their cocky spirits.

"So do please take this time today to rest and prepare yourselves for the time to come." she stated before leading into a dismissing gesture. She was riled up herself, so much in fact that she can't resist laughing. Oh how much fun was it going to be when she reveals to them her little lesson plan. It'll be so much fun.

[Jyuria "Elisa" Arroj]

It was so strange being around them again. The Silbern always was a place she'd remembered fondly, as mourning a rememberence as it had been. And when she had heard talk of the gathering she had almost ignored it. Sure she was a lowly Private, but what really would she gain from such an experience? A little voice in her head explained that it was a chance to see the new sternritters. Her predecessors from her past. The ones that had taken her place after her...incident.

So there she was, watching from behind the other newcomers, her face hardly prideful, hardly confident. She was always a warm, playful woman. But she couldn't afford that right now. Now as a rank-and-file newcomer. She was stony-faced and serious. Once she had her ritter's cloak again? Sure., she'd fall back into her old ways. But she would show discipline in the meantime. Unlike those shining faces, her own visage had a stern, harrowed look. The look of a woman who had once understood suffering unlike anything any living human being could endure.

She stood silently, watching as the...strange and disheveled-looking Ritter gave her little speech. The woman certainly seemed a little...unhinged. Jyuria didn't seem confident like the others. She had been a sternritter before. She had met Caesar, and several others back in her day. The ritters, no matter how...cute and tiny, were not people to be trifled with. Even if Jyuria was a good two heads taller then the woman. And most of the men present. In any case, once they were dismissed, Jyuria about-faced and was about to make her way to the corner when she noticed that one of the young men was in her way, giving her a bright smile.

"Hey, you're a new member too? I don't remember seeing you at the end of training. My name's Isashi Okure, what's yours?"

She paused, briefly a little.....confused by his bright personality. She was still...adjusting to the company of quincies. She was so used to eating them, or dealing with fellow hollows, that it was simply...strange. "Uh.... Jyuria. But you can call me Elisa." She noted softly, noticing the strange look on his face. And of course he had every right to be. Usually only sternritter had secondary names. She ignored the look, watching as he brushed it off as well.

"Well if you ever need a training partner, my quarters are in the east wing. Room-"

She stopped bothering to listen, just watching him as he went on and on, until eventually her attention meandered back to the ritter that was, feasably, going to be their trainer for the day. She knew the drill. There was some sort of test coming up. She herself had run several little meet-n-greets like it. A morning of niceties, and then bam, in the middle of the menos forest, watching the new recruits scream bloody murder at the sight of menos towering over them, and then they got to see their fearless leader cut the monsters down to save their little asses. It instilled loyalty like a motherfucker, and she was intrigued to see what it was that THIS Ritter had in store for the group.

[Alicia Maine]

Location Vandenreich Empire Offices

Time 2000 Hours

Before the dawn, in between the darkness and light was the time where it will all begin. The newbies were ordered to take the time to know one another and to use the day to prepare themselves for what was to come. This did was meant for Alicia to do so too. UUggghhh, how much crap did she have to prepare? "Uugghh fuck me!" Too much paper work to look through and too much planning to do for something so simple. This was why she didn't like to be of service to the Vandenreich. Too much shit for too little compensation. If anything she was more like indebt than anything else. Like seriously, they expected her to really lead people when all she was originally good for was killing. Pretty much the only reason why she was there for.

Page by page the Sternritter peered through the previous training routines and scenarios. Each one proved to work in forging bonds with their comrades and weeding out the weak from the herd. The lessons taught the Quincies how to protect themselves, including in recognizing their enemies and their capabilities. All of it was proven and sounded legitimate in every aspect. To be fair, it worked in the highest regards. "I hate it." she put her thoughts into three words. Yes yes it worked, but the one thing that it lacked was individuality, self reliance, and the intent to kill. In other words they relied too much on each other and their superiors.

They did not have to survive like Alicia. Restrained against her will. Thrown into the darkness. Her body riddled by the touch of men. Alicia gave the world a silent sigh. That was her reality of her upbringing. Madness attracts madness, and so her own was born. Then it came to her. Alicia's smile came abruptly. "This is gonna be fun." she giggled. It came to her as if it were a memory, she knew what she was going to do with them. A trial by fire. And by fire, she was thinking something along the lines of Hellfire.

0200

Location Bell Tower

Alicia didn't sleep, like at all. She was too excited. Too excited that she didn't even wait for the original scheduled timeline. Her body quivered with the chill air around her but didn't cease the body in feeling it at all. The only sensation that came to her was the thrill, the growing excitement that was beginning to swell up inside the woman. The very thought of what was going to happen made her fingers tremble, itching to hurry up with the plan. "Take on the day with a 1, 2 punch, puuussshing down theway, time to the face and time to make it snappp-py, but you know you first got to make it out of beed.... the girl softly sang to herself, conjuring the world's energy into the palm of her hands. It splintered, splitting into two to unfold the wings of her bow. Its light reflecting the pure white sheen of her teeth that are shown through her smile.

"Hey there Mr. Sunshine, how are you today? Want to say hi but got' to make you red now...." Every word sung was like a step into forming the arrows needed to begin the her tests. "So now I say 'Good-bye ol'gentle sun cause now I paint you red." she finished releasing the string to send the two arrows at their intended targets; her company's sleeping quarters. And these were not ordinary arrows as their rank in power were that of Class 1. The bolts of reiatsu came crashing into the two buildings, tearing through the building materials that made up their respected structures. The first test had begun.

Quincy candidates flew from their beds down into the holes and crevasses that the two arrows made. She could see just fine from her elevated position, that some of the other Quincies remained in the cover of their rooms, hiding, taking cover from what some of them believed to be an enemy attack. But to their joy it wasn't. To their horror, it was their own platoon leader that initiated the attack. She did so with a large smile across her face. She was targeting them with the intent to kill. No Hollows, no Shinigami. None of the other races were involved by the smallest integer but the Vandenreich. "Good morning everyone! Let our little test begin now. The objective of the test is to locate and retrieve a flag located in the forest up ahead." Alicia explained. "Take them and bring them back here at any cost. I don't have to tell you the price for failure, do I?"

Her smile widened. Just how big was it going to get? "Wha.. Wait, what is.. Why, why are you doing this? This isn't.. this isn't how Quincy are suppose t-" the male Quincy was silenced, almost immediately as he was wrapping up his quandary. A single arrow pierced the man's skull as easily as a heated knife through butter. This was the price of failure, when one allows the world's madness consume him or her. Survival was the second objective to the mission, survival against a threat that perceives all of them. As for those that didn't move towards the forest ahead, they found out quickly that Alicia didn't joke around. Another two found arrows shot at them. One of them piercing through her chest. The Sternritter didn't have any quarrels about killing, that was a fact. After all, this was a test. And one that weed out the weak and the undetermined.

[Jyuria "Elisa" Arroj]

Training for CTP

Jyuria continued to remain stoic as Alicia explained the purpose of the first day, and immediately felt a slow cutting paranoia. She smelled something was up. Of course the other recruits at it up like candy, she saw them all visibly relax from the information, even going so far as to laugh and joke around once Alicia had left, all of them acting fairly relaxed and pleased with themselves. She herself noticed a pair that seemed to have approached her. Isashi and some girl she didn't know.

"Cmon guys, we at the very least have a day to relax. But I just have a few things to say..."

---

The sudden sound of bowfire ripping through the compound caused Jyuria to wake up with a jolt. Her eyes snapped open and she sat upright just in time to see the other recruits immediately beginning to panic. A soft little snort escaped her nostrils as she noticed the source of the disturbance. She shuffled, struggling her way over to the window and grunting as she peered outside. She saw, and heard, the ritter who had been their teacher. And already she could see the woman firing her bow, cutting down those that weren't fighting or reacting.

She was thankful she'd thought to prepare. A hail of arrows would dip in, two separate volleys from other sections of the hospital would lance in Alicia's direction. Thankfully she'd instructed her two new 'friends' that they were likely going to have to fight sometime soon. Possibly even against their instructor. She herself had spent time preparing, going through various items and techniques, and two skills in particular had been utilized. She peeked through the window, spotting Alicia, who no doubt would be a little surprised to find the arrows flying in her direction. Jyuria, as well as her two companions in separate areas of the barracks, would be rapping out orders.

"EVERYONE TO THE FOREST! GET up! No hiding! Get running or start giving your comrades covering fire!" She roared about, grabbing one of the cowering Soldat and roughly bringing him up to his feet, those many many months as a Ritter kicking in, her instincts as a leader hitting her like a truck as those around her responded. They didn't know what to do, so they immediately flocked to her commanding voice. The same voice she had instructed Isashi and Isa to use. Within moments, several designated quincy were firing at Alicia, a number of them were actually not bad, giving the ritter a nice hail of arrows to deal with, but utterly, most, if not all of them, wouldn't put a scratch in the woman.

Spending 120 TTP to Profficient Glänzendes Blutgras and Master Dia-Aufnahme

She needed this. there were also three distinct groups of them heading straight for the forest under the cover of their comrades. Jyuria looked around, making note of those that had made it so far, but it was now time for HER part in the plan. She had spent all night practicing, while the others had been socializing. Taking a slow, deep breath, she sighted Alicia, narrowing her eyes. All of the arrows from her classmates were normal, arching up and into the air before dropping down in a rain. She suddenly summoned her bow, that brilliant light wrapping around her shoulders in that hooded, feathery cloak. But this was a special version. The cape only extended to about her mid-back.

A shortbow version.

She narrowed her eyes, spotting Alicia before she focused, her reiatsu rippling as suddenly a surge of energy tore through her body, suddenly cranking out a mass of energy as she activated Gate. And with a sudden hiss, she fired one of her special arrows, a tiny heart-shaped six-winged seraph, the arrow racing out an blinding speed, twice that of a normal quincy arrow (1600) as Jyuria herself completely vanished. Meanwhile that arrow immediately dropped to the ground, the arrow itself modified, it's form sleek, unglowing, dark, and incredibly hard to see. For Alicia, the arrow would be invisible given all of the distractions, and the fact that she had zero skill in being able to spot hiding targets. And it wouldn't have much more energy than any of the other arrows, so amidst the covering fire of the other soldat, there was no reason for her to notice it.

that arrow would rush in and aim to send itself straight through her side, right below her left shoulder before plowing straight through, what with Jyuria's gate and her increased power (950 os), that arrow would be enough to even pierce the woman's blut if they were using it. Of course the arrow wouldn't stop, and in fact it would track any motions of Alicia, as Jyuria's arrows were living, and with her directing the arrow itself, she was more than capable of using it's speed, and her high reflexes to make sure it pierced the woman, and then went straight through, streaking into the forest where suddenly Jyuria would burst out of the arrow's shadow, the arrow re-materializing in her cloak as she immediately re-fired it over her shoulder, sending the arrow streaking back toward Alicia, intent on making it begin circling her to repeatedly attack her until the woman found a way to handle it.

All the while, reasonably Jyuria would be able to get most, if not all of the other soldat into the forest, and begin the hunt for the flag. Though deep down, Jyuria was skeptical as to wether there actually WAS a flag. Even so, it was worth looking for the damned thing. She would turn and grunt as she aimed to keep heading into the forest, allowing her arrow, with it's limited intelligence, to continue harassing Alicia, meanwhile her quincy cross would begin sucking in reiatsu, relenishing some of the energy she'd used up as she headed in to look for the flag. A bit of a smile on her face. She was starting to like Alicia. Outside of just being cute, the girl really did remind her of her ritter days. And a little of the fonder times of being a hollow.

She made a mental note to get to know the woman.

40 Reiatsu for a Class 4 Arrow
150 added to Arrow cost for Dia-Aufnahme making it 190
Arrow's cost doubled by Gate, now 380
Arrow's cost halved by Shortbow, now back to 190
Arrow's speed doubled to 1600 due to costing more than 50 with Shortbow
Arrow speed: 1600 Arrow Offensive Strength: 950

-190 reiatsu for Arrow
-250 reiatsu for activating Bow Properties 6 and 5
-100 for Gate's per-post cost
+150 Reiatsu from quincy cross
Net Change of -390 reiatsu
610/1000 reiatsu remaining

[Alicia Maine]

Oh how thrilling it was to see the new recruits flailing about like chickens. Few immediately fell into a panic, others rallied together to protect themselves, and another quarter fled into the cover of the forest. So it was as what was predicted. Yet, on the other hand, there were those that rallied together, converging their individual strengths into that of a single force. After her initial assault those that didn't break apart fell onto the words of a single Quincy. Like a Captain giving her orders those that heeded her words fell into place and struck back with force. And that force came to show her what they were made of. It made her happy to see that some of them actually have some balls.

Volley of arrows made of light descended unto Alicia's position over the tower. Many of the arrows were of poor aim, yet, there were those who knew of what they were doing. Obviously the adrenaline was marching through their veins, causing some to fall prey to rapid decision making, while others suffered tunnel vision or better yet a lack of thought. Merely robots that did what they were told. Nonetheless, they still manage to hit their mark, at the very least. A toothy grin was all that could express, believing that their little training session would be nothing more than ruthless babysitting. She spoke too soon. The hail came upon her, riddling the scene with dust dust and crumbling bits of the structure. But most of all, as the dust began to settle so did the shadowing veil that eclipsed the woman's new form. The Blood Fountain. (-400 Class 2 Release)(-50% Freak type)

Just like the arrows that were given form by the gathered reishi around them, the formation acted in the similar manner. She could feel her skin being tucked into that of a secondary skin. Her shackled robes vanished from the naked eye, only to reveal vein like spikes sprouting from her backside, three inch talons, with fanged helm. The remainder of her body was tucked into a body suit made of blood. If anything, her new form resembled more to that of the legendary Vasto Lordes. Every inch of her body was covered, emanating the spiritual strength of the woman's reiatsu. Its pulsating surface remained firm against the inferior volleys that came after, each one breaking the subtle arrow head tips that came crashing down on her. Alicia giggled softly to herself before tearing through the seamless helm open to belly out her joy.

Yet, her laughter ceased when she felt the sudden use of a technique she wasn't familiar with. That drew her attention almost immediately towards its caster. A technique that she felt develop a great rise in reiatsu. Her keen sensory labeled it "weird" at the very least. For one, its strength surged to match that of a Lieutenant, or a Captain among the Vandenreich ranks. At the same time, it was weak. It straight up puzzled her like no other, like drinking hot sauce while in a ice bath. So, when the arrow came at her, it was both a shocker and a literal "what the fuck" moment too. Like first it was there, then it vanished. Huh? Now that wasn't said just once, but twice as the Sternritter felt a sharp burst of pain seeping into her side.

Blood spat out from her side, like exploding kinda spat. The entire breastplate section of her release splattered, marking the roof top up to 3 foot radius of herself, and leaving a battered rib cage on the side of the woman's body. Alicia couldn't keep up with the arrows speed, yet, being a two class difference in terms of arrow and release, a majority of the arrow's lethality was suppressed with the armor that the Quincy bestowed upon herself. What would have resulted in a deadly blow quickly turned into a small butting ram that definitely pushed the girl off her ass, then back onto it. She gasped for air while forming a deep smile, laughing. And while she does all the little Quincies fled to the forest, right where a flag was said to be located. However, was there more than one flag? Yes, there was more than one flag, because there are two flags. Both of the flags were located about a mile within the forest.

Easy to spot and easy take. Traps? Psh, no. Some insane obstacle course, not even. Nope. All there was are the pair of flags, and a note located the base of them. Just simple card seated at the base of the small red flag simply stating the purpose; "Hold onto and survive. Finishing line at the stroke of 4." This explanation had many different meanings, but the one meaning that would stand out would be this, "Take and keep the flag until 4 pm by whatever means necessary." So seeing only two flags available to a group, only two flags, the Soldats will fight among themselves over the flags, possibly even kill for them. But wait, Alicia was still up and running about, which added more to their grueling situation. Waltzing through the halls and back out the front door, Alicia was off to hunt once more.

Gathering the particles beneath her feet the Sternritter launched herself into the forest ahead, reeling herself ever so closely to the fleeing Quincies. *Splat Splat Splat* Along the length of her talons the drops of blood continued to fall onto the floor, expanding themselves to that of a 3 foot splatter mark. Dead ahead did another volley spring out from the distance. Those darts of light were canceled almost immediately when making contact with remaining portions of Alicia's armor as reishi was gathered into the palm of her bloody talons. "Hehehehe, I found you." the girl snickered happily as several arrows grazed past her ribs, resulting in two things to occur; ripped clothes and minor lacerations. Nothing bad that couldn't be shrugged off. But, those lacerations, it was if she wanted it to happen. Did she? (-50)

Remaining Reiatsu: 1065/1340

1/3 Properties Active

-400 Class 2 Property (-200 Freak Type)
-50 Hirenkyaku
+375 Quincy Cross

[Jyuria "Elisa" Arroj]

Jyuria eventually caught up with her group, panting a little as they continued to move into the forest. Of course, she sensed Alicia, her Arrow was continuing to speed after them, never losing sight of the woman as her skills in anti-stealth were more than enough to keep them from slipping away. In her mind, her arrow continued to feed her information regarding it, as best it could. She was getting close. That was the extent of the relayed information. She rolled her eyes. Her arrows currently were very simpleminded. Like dogs. So she supposed she couldn't really expect much more.

Fine, keep attacking her. Ankles first. She instructed. And the arrow understood. As Alicia tore into the forest, that arrow whizzed after her, sqeeping side to side as that stealthed arrow would once again sneak it's way towards her, ripping through gaps in the foliage before aiming to plow it's way through one of her ankles, then circling around to have another go at the other one. Alicia would find that this arrow was quite persistent. It didn't just vanish after being fired, and with it's speed and stealth, it was quite dangerous, especially given how strong it was.

Back with Jyuria, she found herself at an....interesting scene. The soldat were fighting. Amongst themselves? She saw them cutting at eachother. Slashing, shooting, even knocking eachother out for a chance at the flag, and immediately she narrowed her eyes and shouted. "OI!" And suddenly the melee stopped, her eyes narrowed as that cape dropped to full size, transitioning from it's shortbow version to the full cloak. Immediately two arrows emerged from that feathery cape, each of them shrieking menacingly as she suddenly LAUNCHED her spiritual pressure, immediately weighing down on all of them and dropping them to the fucking floor. She snorted, stepping over their prone forms as she made her way to the flag. There was probably another one in the forest. But she would worry about one group at a time.

"Idiots. We just need it in our posesssion. There's no need to kill eachother over it. Get your asses up. We have a ritter going for us. And if most of us kill eachother, then what do you think is going to happen to the rest of us? You think she's gonna pat us on our fucking backs and give us a 'well done'? She's gonna try to take it, kill us, or both. Get up and scout for a high ground. She's still a ways away. Find high ground, and then we dig in. I put a hole in her and knocked her down. And all of you at least scratched her. she literally cannot take all of us. I'm going to teach every one of you the tehcnique I used earlier. Anyone with a name starting with A through M, you're learning first. The rest are sxcouting for a base. Then we rotate. It's a simple move. If you learn it, you'll have an escape. I have a plan." She noted softly, and watched as the sheepish soldiers got up, soft apologies moving around as they gathered, or started searching around.

Her two arrows took off, circling both groups so that if her stealthed shortbow arrow somehow lost track of Alicia, one of them would spot the insane ritter before she got too close. Then Jyuria would deal with her. In the meantime, she began laying out her plan. They would treat the flag like a baton. They forted up and defended. If Alicia somehow managed to break through, then someone would grab the flag, and then use the arrow transport in order to escape Alicia. Then it was just a game of keep-away. If every single one of them kept zipping away, passing the flag from person to person, Alicia wouldn't be able to do much.

Alicia had no skill in hunting down stealthed targets. This Jyuria had found out. She had taken a VERY strong blow, and Jyuria had noticed the sudden surprise when the arrow had hit. That meant that with the skill, most, if not all of the unit would be able to get the hell away from her if needed. Not to mention every use also included a refiring of the stealth arrow at Alicia. Jyuria had only used Gate, but some of the more competent quincy more close ot her own strength would be able to use gate AND blut arterie. Sure there were only a handful of them capable of this, but that was plenty.

And to be frank, even if things all went awry, it would be better, she imagined, than what was probably going on at the other flag at this moment... She hoped that the other two she had helped would be able to rally and keep the other soldat from killing eachother. Frankly, it was just silly to think Alicia would kill EVERYONE who didn't have a flag. Not only would that be a tremendous waste of troops, but it would hardly be great for the morale of the survivors: the idea that the sternritter would simply throw them away whimsically. Jyuria herself was begining to wonder just what Alicia's intentions were...

She paused, looking at all of those faces around her. After explaning the basic principle, a couple of the smarter ones had actually gotten it on their first try, now she literally just sat back, watching as the others began teaching one another, leaving Jyuria to glance over her shoulder at the flag sticking out of the ground. She thought for several long moments about what was in store for the group, let alone herself. It was possible that the flags would even just be bombs, set to go off and kill whoever was holding them least...

Another glance at the others... Hmmm... She decided to make sure that nobody was holding the flag. She decided to take the meaning of 'hold' as 'have control of'. It was the safest way, and the way that ensured the least number of people were left behind. glancing up at her arrows circling in wide circles and zigzags overhead, she frowned to herself. They were flying very high, so they would hardly give away the group's position. Though honestly Alicia probably knew where she'd hid the flags. They would have her on their tails sooner or later. Probably sooner. She needed to think of how to deal with them...

Gate seemed to have done the trick. Very well in fact. And it would probably have to do. She didn't know Blut, so she wouldn't have quite the offensive bite that some of her peers did. She would have to just hope it was enough.

-80 Reiatsu for 2 class 4 Arrows with Gate active
-75 Reiatsu as reiatsu intake should have been halved last post due to active properties
610->455/1000 reiatsu remaining

[Alicia Maine]

The groups of individual reiatsu ceased their conflicting ways, finding peace among themselves. Did they decide to work together? She'd find out soon enough, but first things first, she had to tend to a little matter with a fly. Its presence was similar to what she faced before back at the structure, the same presence that struck her side. Something that had been flying around her that couldn't be seen with the naked eye. The silence that it brought with it was staggering, and with her sensory abilities as spread out as they were, it made the task in tracking it all the more difficult. How she found this out was it striking her ankle. A single strike was more than enough to provide the woman with the necessary information that she needed. And that information did come at a cost. It pulverized the region of her leg.

Her armor was still very much intact, with only her torso region exposed. Having a two class superiority to the arrow it destroyed the layer of armor that had been protecting her right leg, resulting in the area that she stood in stained with blood. Blood erupting from the arrow making contact with the armor section, leaving the girl with a broken heel. A broken heel would be worth it due to what came next, as her reiatsu stained the little annoyance with her artificial blood, more than enough to track its blurred movements. Air pressure, wind resistance and direction, and narrowing her sights in terms of Energy sensory the Sternritter quickly adapted to the faint presence that loomed around her.

Its speed was the annoying fact that the arrow had on it, but beyond that the girl could manage the situation. Based on its behavior it was definitely sentient on some level. The repetition in mannerisms that it exhibits told her what she needed to know. Although it had some form of intelligence it never went beyond what it seemed to do. Beyond that, the arrow was rather predicable. Taking in reiatsu within her cross and earrings, the girl was more than ready to manage the situation. Thus, when the red blur came around for a second strike it would erupt, causing its form to splinter and weaken its foundation, allowing its own speed to cause the splinter to widen and snap the arrow in two. The amount of pressure that such speed had on its form would have been considerable when having to shift its direction in order to come about. (375 Quincy Cross/ 300 Spirit Fragment)(-500 Class 1 Release)(-250 Freak Type)

With the annoyance gone Alicia continued onward towards where she had placed one of the flags. Not long before she heard the whistling from high over her head. There she felt it, two signatures much similar to the one that struck her ankle. The girl may not have been a strategist or highly intelligent, but she wasn't stupid either. Possibly a means to keep track of her or perhaps setting her up for something. Not that it mattered to her since it made things all the more exciting for her. Only an hour had passed since they started with their little test and already few did not meet her expectations, but some were already proving to be prime candidates. However, for those who had to rely on others to help coordinate and usher in their abilities wouldn't last long. This was test to see who would break under the strain of the pressure that the Sternritter provided, as well as hardening them for what resides ahead of them against their foes.

Their enemies are strong and numerous. War isn't pretty and so is fighting. There is no such thing as "fair fighting." There is no such thing as honor or code when it comes to the point when someone is attempting to take your life away. Alicia fought against people before, a dozen at least when trying to tie her to her bed, sedating, and raping her. Their numbers grew more and more when she fought back to the point that they stopped trying altogether. Years upon years of experience drove that hard fact into her mind, and it would be something that she will press into them. Forcibly if necessary. The Quincies had to rely on themselves first before they could rely on others, but as for Alicia, she relied on no one to help her. For what she knows, she was already dead. All that came after them now was nothing more than a husk looking for a reason to live. A corpse looking to live. That was why-

Arrows came and struck her arms, arrows soaring through the woods at her. They came by the dozens each time just as Alicia was regaining focus once again. Some arrows pinged off her helm as she covered her sides and chest with her arms. She could feel them pushing back, retreating with every step she took closer to them. Alicia didn't need to see them to know where they were or how they were behaving, their reiatsu told her everything that she needed to know. She took a step forward, they took a step back. Every motion that the other did resulted in more arrows being released. Some pinged off her remaining armored pieces while others made contact with her exposed areas. More specifically her unarmored leg. The girl was limping, partially with a damaged heel. If anything, it felt more like she pulled a muscle. Running wasn't out of the question, but just hurt like Hell, so she wanted to keep it to a minimal. Now that didn't mean she was completely defenseless.

Alicia had an arm extended towards the grouped reiatsu sources. From there she commanded her armor, her blood armor and those drops of red fluids, to dart out away from her to greet her targets. Like shrapnel they fired, only to be rewarded with a few screams of pain. What seemed like an utter victory only turned out to be three of the eight being wounded. Small wounds, but still hurt like Hell, more or less compared to her heel. Some would turn tail and run to save themselves, while the others carried their wounded with them, slowing their own retreat. As they fired continuously with their retreat, trying to slow her down as she made their way to them. The Sternritter ducked and covered to make herself as small as possible, widening her sensory range, as she returned fire with more blood shrapnel from her talons. The more that came to help with their retreat only met with more wounded and more burdens to carry.

That was when she felt it. Two blades, one jabbing into her side and another colliding with her talons. Two Quincies snuck up behind her while she was distracted and tried to stab her. One made it through and the other saw the opportunity to hack off her arm, that didn't work. She felt it, its warmth penetrating through her skin and into her ribs. It seemed that some of them had the nerve to really take matters into their own hands, to really step up their game and strike the woman down. "This madness has to stop. Y-You, you shouldn't be in command, or even here. You fucking psychopath." This was a sensation that she hadn't felt in a long time. Alicia screamed in utter pain. In pain, then, into joy. Alicia smiled at the Quincies, to have his partner bare witness to the back stabbing Soldat's body erupt in a gory mess. Then, before the secondary Quincy could even scream in terror his face was impaled by the blood of his partner. It was a gory pleasure.

Alicia waddled out of the woods, and into plain view, with her helm establishing its toothy grin. "I found you." she said, staring into the eyes of those who would come to know fear.


Remaining Reiatsu: 995/1340

2/3 Properties Active

-500 Class 1 Property (-250 Freak Type)
+675 Reiatsu Cross/Spirit Fragment

[Jyuria "Elisa" Arroj]

As Alicia managed to deal with the two attackers, Jyuria was making her way in all the closer, watching as, unfortunately, the pair was obliterated by the overly-violent Ritter. Who apparently was of the opinion that these two who had managed to sneak up on her and stab her were not worthy to live. And it was such a disappointment. It was ridiculously rare that Jyuria fond other quincy who were interested in being sneaky. And seeing two of them just vanish made her mildly upset.

So her response. Was perhaps... a bit more intense than she might have otherwise planned. those two arrows she had left slipped in, streaking in at that blinding speed and were much more direct. And with Jyuria there, she was more than capable of reacting in the event that Alicia did something to try and stop them. And those arrows were living, in the event that they hit something, because of their offensive power, they would not be easily destroyed, they would simply crawl around obstruction and go for their targets

Alicia's leg, as well as the wound in her hip. The leg was a bit of a gamble, relying on penetrating Alicia's flesh, and hoping she did not activate Blut. but the hip was another case altogether. There was already an open wound there. Even if Alicia managed to activate blut, the arrow wouldn't be able to go deeper into the flesh. But it WOULD still be able to crawl into the wound, and then slide it's wings into the surrounding tissue to anchor itself for what came next.

BWAM!

The arrows would detonate, or at least one of them would. The one that would be in her hip would explode violently with the full force of Jyuria's Gate-boosted offensive strength. And feasably, even with Alicia's powerful abilities, Jyuria hoped that at the very least, the ritter would be incapacitated to some extent. A hope that came to be all the more dire as her world began to spin and she stumbled, blinking owlishly as she realized just how much of her reiatsu she'd tried to use. The arrow aimed at Alicia's leg hadn't even gone off. It had simply glowed brightly, burning it's surroundings as it fizzled out.

Jyuria was very low on reiatsu, and as she hit the ground, she realized that that was ging to be it for her ability to fight. Down on the ground, her cloak that served as her bow dissolved, peeling away into pieces as she panted, trying to regain her energy. She had a very limited ability to draw in reiatsu and energy after all, and it was painful as she tried to get herself back to her feet. But at the very least, the others would be able to get away. She wasn't entirely down after all. And the detonation had been a very hard curveball. The arrows had behaved identically to those that had attacked Alicia before, and before burrowing into her body and staying there instead of piercing straight through, they wouldn't even have had a reiatsu flare until Jyuria had aimed to blow them.

For all intents and purposes, she gave herself at least a sixty percent chance of managing to get out of this. And that was the best she could hope for she supposed. In the meantime, she began looking around for the Ritter, or whatever bit of her there still was. She sincerely doubted that even if her plan had gone off flawlessly that the ritter would be Dead. She doubted it fairly hard. And in her heart, she honestly was not all that guilty about the damage she would have done to Alicia. She would confess to being a bit...reactive to the fact that Alicia had slain more than just the weak and the stupid. She had slain competent soldiers. Soldiers that belonged to the Vandereich.
Alicia was pretty, but not pretty enough to have quelled her mild rage.

-100 Reiatsu for Gate upkeep
-200 reiatsu to Detonate one of her arrows
-150 reiatsu attempting to detonate the second arrow.
Gate Ends
55/1000 Reiatsu remaining.

[Alicia Maine]

Her body felt like complete shit. Being stabbed through the ribs and the pulsating bruises to her body didn't make it easier. Not to mention those annoying arrows that did a number on her body from who knows where they came from. She lost some amount of blood, but thankfully her property kept much of it flowing back inwards. The concentration that Alicia required was somewhat lacking, but the pain pinpointed exactly where the little effort was needed. Much of her waddling was noticeable. Hey she was hurt, so there wasn't really a way for her to keep herself upright. Alicia took it slow when advancing ahead. Too much movement would only cause more pain. Kinda like getting back into a work out session when being out of the game for too long.

Many of the Quincy around her were too soft. Whether they be extreme fanatics to their so called faith, or peace loving sort that end up pussing out. None of them knew the harshness of the world around them. When they are on their own. None of them knew what it meant to survive on their own and fight for their own lives. She was there in that dark place. No one to cry on or tell her that everything was going to be alright. No one. Alicia stood in that darkness that was filled with the hate, anger, and despair. Both soul and mind spiraled into a whirlpool of madness. It was in that darkness that Alicia learned the truth. She could only rely on herself, to trust in only herself. Everything and everyone else that came into contact with her would only serve as a stepping stone. To what exactly? Who knows?

To what she faced before, this was nothing. Alicia lacked will, a soul. A soul was suppose to be filled with life and joy. Something that continued to enjoy the world around it and grow from it. When death came for it, fear would come along with it as well. It felt pain and hate that would later become life lessons that will serve it later on. The sadness of loss and of pain. A soul is what makes a person feel alive. Alicia lacked all of those components. She was nothing more than a shell. If anything, she was more of a Hollow than any one of those creatures. What the Quincies were facing now was something that was already dead.

Alicia's wounds throbbed. It kept her from doing what she set out to do this day. Everything about her hurt. But, that only proved that she was still alive. Alive and dead? Heh, it would seem like she was more Ghoul than human. The red stains over her body was just another testament as to what she was. Her own wounds were leaking the crimson fluid, just as the gore that splattered from her last two victims sullied her remain dripping from the curves of her body. Her superior sensory abilities alerted the coming of two. The same two auras that constantly harassed her during the training exercise. The same tactics used over and over again, which the Quincy picked up before hand. Bolts of reiatsu that seem to learn and react according to a will. As to who's will she didn't know, but a will all the same.

The entire session they were aiming to maim her body so she would be left helpless, unable to continuing their little session. Smart, but foolish too. She had to give them credit, but disappointed as to the lack of creativity. The arrows were noticeable in terms of energy, their familiar presence were made more aware due to the amount of their usage. All the more easier to calculate. So when they came close, Alicia's body erupted. A wave of blood erupted from the remaining bits of her armor, staining all around her vicinity. She had no more use for such a crippled defense. As such, her Lover's Hand had the layer of blood armor explode before hardening itself into a thickened sphere of blood. Resembling much like concrete, the woman's body was encased in the hardened blood for the arrows to remain stuck within its confides.

As smart as they were, they wouldn't touch her this time aro- BWAM. Well shit. Alicia didn't see that coming. The blast was more than enough to shatter the sphere and blow away her thick sphere of protection. Not only that, but the blood still had oxygen in it too, so made the explosion all the more worse. Chain effects can be a major dick. Despite the sudden drawback, but of the woman's body remained safe, besides her left arm. Much of the limb had been caught in the blast of it. Much of it dripping along the floor. Seared and tender, the pain was immense. Too much for even the body to even recognize. She was in a state of shock. She was familiar with the state she was in. The wound was so tender that it went completely numb. In other terms, useless. But.......... it didn't matter to her. It wouldn't stop her.

From beyond the smoke and debris, she could her the Soldats cheering. They laughed, a few cried, but most of all grateful that it was all over. Their session had come to an end. At least, what they thought. Until they heard it..........

SPOILER: Click to show

{Play}

"Hussh little baby please don't say a word............. mamma will buy you a mocking-bird............" The tune was soft, but clearly heard. The tune was weak, but clearly noticeable. "And if that mockingbird don't sing............... then mamma will make the whole damn world bleed...." From the haze of dirt and smog from the detonation, the Sternritter emerged. Broken, beaten, wounded, the woman continued to waltz slowly towards the remaining Quincy. One was slowly motioning towards the floor. The girl from before, she thought. Chucks of her left arm was missing. Blood splattered the green blades of grass along her trail. Alicia was tired, not from the blood loss, but from straining herself to move on. She didn't feel her wounds as they gone numb. For that reason her body slowly treaded towards them, with trails of blood following, patching the open wounds. It was alive. Weaving threads to fill in the missing gaps that she was missing. But even more so, she was smiling.

She felt so alive. "Good job you guys. The session is done." What? The Obsessed was stopping the training session? Turns out that hardly anyone was paying attention as to the time of day it was. The deadline had been met, and so, the session was at an end. There was no reason for them to continue on. "It's four o' clock you guys, so congratulations on surviving for the day. But don't worry, we'll have more fun next session. I just hope that the lesson in this session isn't forgotten so easily." she said coming to a halt to smile at all of the remaining Soldats. Some began to cry, while others scurried away, watching their rears as they went along. Yet, one was ippidy about the whole session. Angry maybe? Confused? The albino leaned forward slowly, letting her red irises lock onto the Quincy girl. "We are going to be best friends." she chuckled.

[Jyuria "Elisa" Arroj]

Jyuria had to admit that she was surprised to find that blood suddenly erupting around her arrows, trapping them into that massive sphere of crimson, and for a moment, she almost lost hope, in her mind she wondered if this would be enough. But when that arrow detonated ad then the chain was set up, the blood soon exploding along with her arrow, she felt a sudden wave of relief. She hadn't completely failed at least, that she could take solace in.

She managed, slowly, to sit up, listening to the cheers and sobs of the other quincy. She still felt.... disgruntled. She had to admit though, that most of these quincy qould likely develop beautifully as a result. Some of them were already quite enamored with her, and no doubt, she would have quite a few of them look to her for leadership in the future. However, as that singsong voice came up, she simply stared calmly as Alicia emerged from nowhere. The damage was not what she'd hoped for. And almost immediately she felt a tingle of worry. She started dragging in reiatsu, getting ready to attack the woman again. However, of all things, Alicia seemed to....relax.

The training was over, and she seemed almost to congratulate everyone. At once most of the group ran off, no doubt to recover from the ordeal, but of all things, she watched as Alicia walked over to her, and leaned down, smiling down at her with that blood-stained body. The words that came forth were... a surprise. Jyuria tensed a little before a smile crossed her features and she laughed gently. Friends huh? she paused, briefly admiring the woman. Sure she was missing an arm, but she had to admit, the newest batch of ritters was a bit more aesthetic than the last ones from when she had first been one.

Jyuria patted the ground beside her, inviting Alicia to sit with her as Jyuria leaned back against her tree and sighed. "Name's Jyuria bye the way. And I certainly hope so Ma'am. My mom always said to make friends prettier than you are." She noted with a calm little smile. Now that this was all over, hr personality shifted back to it's flirty, joking norm. She felt accomplished, and she was a little too tired to be formal. She'd probably take a while crawling her way back to base, and she felt no innate desire to hurry. Despite the trial, Alicia was still a comrade, and potentially one of her peers once she earned the rank of Ritter again. She held no grudges, and simply smiled.

[Santa Ajora]

66 Paragraphs
Both Participants chose CTP (or did not specify and therefor get CTP)
330 CTP to both Participants


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