Completed Wisdom for the Next Generation

Gaage Eberwhit

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Bullshit. No, more than that. Absolute horseshit.

Gaage Eberwhit had been on his very best behavior, and that was saying something. He'd done all of his work at the Academy, and hadn't seriously hurt anybody in training. He'd even stopped sneaking Delaney into his room at night, which was definitely not helping either of their moods. All so that the Academy would give him a mission with some real meat on its bones. Something that could really get his blood flowing, where he could let loose and get some action. To his surprise, they'd given it to him! A large caravan of thieves had made off with a huge haul from Vel Anir's market with help from some disillusioned guards who looked the other way in exchange for a little gold. It was suspected that these thieves were part of a larger cabal: The High Tide. They'd been small time for years, but lately they'd been getting more and more aggressive and bold.

So, they were going to send Gaage to tail the bastards and gut every last one of them! That sounded like a dream come true to Eberwhit! So, what was the catch? Well, she was about five feet tall and two years younger than Gaage. Another fucking youngblood. This time to be his only partner on a two-person assignment? What the hell had he done to get stuck babysitting all the time now that he was back in mission shape? The shittiest part was that he couldn't really argue; griping would just lead them to pick somebody else. So whatever. He'd bear with it. They had a cart all armored up and ready to roll into any bandit hidey-hole they could find, so Gaage bit his tongue.



"So, Yuh-so-bull, isn't it? What do you do, anyway?" The first half-hour of their trip had been totally silent except for the sounds of the city they were leaving. By now though, those noises were fading into the background as they passed through the gates, following the path that The High Tide had been seen fleeing down. Gaage thought that Fen girl was quiet, but Ysobel seemed just as stoic. God, were all the girls from the new class brick walls to talk to? Eberwhit didn't know the first thing about the blonde woman sitting beside him, and it didn't look like he would any time soon.

Fine, whatever. He cracked the reigns, speeding them up a little. "Well, stay out of my way and you'll do fine, kid. I'll even tell them you killed a couple of them, make you look good." A smug grin spreads on his face as the tracks ahead of them grow fresher. Whatever the Tide bandits had been driving, it wasn't as fast as them. "We're getting closer. Tell me if you see anything." The clearing they rode through was being swallowed up by an oncoming patch of forest, and Gaage would take as many eyes as he could get in a place like that.

Ysobel
 
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Finally. Getting the fuck out of the academy was something Ysobel had been waiting ages for. Training could only prepare her so much and most of the time it was boring. Anything was boring when you were filled to the brim with energy and had no way to express it. That was how The Academy wanted her though. Just unhinged enough to do what they had sent her out for on that particular mission and hopefully nothing more.

Some of her classmates dreaded being sent out with the older initiates, but she loved it. Not only did she get to learn from someone more experienced, but she found them to be much more cocky when stuck with someone from her year. It was even better when she got to watch them get knocked on their ass because they told her to 'stay out of the way' or 'I'll show you how it's done.' It was best when they would beg for her to help even though they'd told the tiny girl to stay back because they were so much better than her. Simply glorious.

Yuh-so-bull

The interesting pronunciation of her name caught her attention. She hadn't realized she had been staring off into the distance silently for however long they had been riding. It was just the medicine. She'd remind herself. The pills they gave her to keep her tame also had a tendency to leave her in a trance at times. It was annoying to say the least.

Why was he saying her name and asking questions? Had she missed something? She wondered as she briefly looked in his direction.

Stay out of my way and you'll do fine, kid. I'll even tell them you killed a couple of them, make you look good.

She rolled her eyes, the edges of her lips creeping into a sly smile. In one short moment he was doing exactly what she loved the older kids doing. Fucking asshole.

"Ee-so-bel." She finally spoke up. "That's how you say it. Not Yuh-so-bull. I'm glad you can read, though. Even if you can't put your letters together when you say them out loud, it's a step up from my last mission. Is there a reason so many from your year are so dumb?" She turned her attention back to the forest that was closing around them.

What was the other part of his question? Oh!

"What I do will depend on the situation Gaage. I am gifted in aeromancy and hydromancy. You know...wind, lightning, suffocation." She wiggled her fingers as tiny sparks shot out of them. "Of course, I'm just as good with a sword. What about you? Are you good at anything?"

Gaage Eberwhit
 
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"Ee-so-bel. So like Isabel." Gaage rolled his eyes. He wasn't one to talk about odd names, but he swore Anirians had a penchant for just spelling regular names however the hell they wanted. Like Henk for example. Who the hell spells Hank with an E? Whatever. Really, this would have gotten off to a much better start if Gaage knew just how alike he was to the younger Initiate beside him. The big difference was that Ysobel knew she was being medicated. The Academy had never given Gaage that courtesy, merely slipping it into his meals.

Quickly they rode into the woods, the shadows dancing over them as the sunlight leaked through the treetops. Gaage supposed it could have been worse, he could have gotten one that never shut the fuck up. At least this one spoke back when you talked to it, not like Fen, who he wasn't even sure knew how to speak common tongue at this point. "Pfft. You call me dumb." Gaage flittered his eyes back to Ysobel as he cracked the reins again. "They didn't exactly give me a rundown on how to pronounce your weird-ass name. I'm just trying to make sure I know what I'm working with in case shit goes down and I need your help. I'm not the brightest, sure, but that's not stupid. Don't assume the worst of your partners or nobody's gonna fucking stick their neck out for you, kid."

Look at him, doling out legitimate advice. For a second he thought he might be sick, but his words were genuine. Gaage didn't have many friends, but he would take an axe for Delaney and Zael, and he made damned sure those two knew it. Raising an eyebrow at the little spark of magic at her fingers, he smirked. "Not bad. You're gonna be some poor bastard's nightmare before the end of this mission if you find one I don't get to first." He teased, looking back down at the tracks they followed. "I'd show you what I've got, but I don't think you'd be too thrilled about that. I can mess with organic matter. Muscles, organs, bones. That fun stuff. I can pull somebody's heart up through their throat without getting my hands dirty. I know, I've done it."

It was a specialty that was almost violent by design; what practical use was there for a power like his? That's one reason Gaage didn't mind being a killer. It was what he was good at, and he was damn good.

The tracks were getting heavy now, fresh. Gaage pulled on the reins, slowing their wagon a bit. He didn't want to risk catching up to them before they'd returned to their camp; Killing the thieves was one thing, but letting them lead the two Initiates back to camp and burning it to the ground would look real nice on their debriefing. "Since we're on the topic, do me a favor. Can you shift the breeze so it's moving towards us?"

Ysobel
 
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“If you have an issue with my name, you can take it up with my parents…oh, wait.” If she had rolled her eyes any harder, she was sure they would get stuck in her head. “And it’s not like you’re one to talk Gaaaaaaage with two a’s.” She took her sweet time stretching out the unnecessarily long version of Gage. “Though I did hear the extra ‘a’ was an issue when they filled out your paperwork here. That true?”

Forty-seven minutes. It had only been forty-seven minutes and he was already on thin ice. It wasn’t entirely his fault that she was pissed off, but the way he spoke to her only made it worse. It was obvious he thought he was better than her, but how much better could a man be if he couldn’t even spell his own name?

“I didn’t call you dumb.” She huffed, “I called your classmates dumb. The ones I’ve been paired up with at least. Did your training require you all to run headfirst into walls or something?” A quiet chuckle escaped her lips before he cracked the reins again.

She raised a brow. “In case you need my help? Did you not just tell me to stay out of your way? Has the plan changed? I was beginning to like the idea of me sitting here and you going away. Perhaps it's you that should not assume the worst in your partner. Just because I’m younger than you does not make me any less of a threat.”

She knew he meant…well-ish. As much as he could at least, but his way of going about it certainly was not resonating with Ysobel. That was until she showed the tiny sparks. It was nothing compared to what she could do if The Academy would just let her. Nevertheless, even the tiniest bit of praise was Ysobel’s language. “Oh it’s a dream come true, really. Show him a little glimpse of heaven before the Hell. Ugh. It never get's any less satisfying.” She smiled.

While her suffocation was the cause of the tragedy that ended her family, it was still her favorite power. There was just something so glorious about watching people suffer. Watching them struggle, the life drained out of them. Going so painfully slow, enjoying every moment of control she had. It was divine…but Gaage’s skills piqued her interest. “I don’t believe you.” She stated bluntly, the smile on her face growing. “I want you to do that to one of the bandits for me. Prove it.”

Perhaps this mission wouldn’t be a total waste of time.

She noticed the wagon slowing and her eyes scanned the environment. Still, she saw nothing out of the ordinary. “Yeah, I can shift it. Why? Is everything okay?” She would wave her hand as he requested, shifting the breeze from their left so it was now coming at them head on.

Gaage Eberwhit
 
If Gaage's attention hadn't been caught by something related to the mission, he probably would have carried on with Ysobel for the next hour. Whatever she was firing back with this time, the older Initiate was far too focused on the path ahead to even process what she was saying to him. He caught the end, at least her request to see his powers in action.

"Yeah, sure." Gaage nodded absentmindedly to her in agreement as he pulled on the reins to their wagon, bringing them to a stop in the middle of the path. Ysobel stirred the wind up a little bit for him, and Gaage's nose twitched a little as he slid off the Wagon and walked out in front of their ride, humming under his breath. "Clever fuckers. They're trying to shake us. See how the wheel marks here are deeper, and then they get lighter after this point?"

Gaage stepped aside to show Ysobel the trail the thieves' cart had made. Sure enough, the grooves were deep in the ground until just a few feet ahead of them, and then became shallower. Eberwhit clicked his tongue and then swirled a finger around. "Hit me again, would ya, Yoh?" He waited for another burst of wind, and then pointed off the path, to the left. "They unloaded the goods here and carried them off into the woods, that's why the tracks are lighter; the cart wasn't so heavy. They probably sent one or two ahead with it hoping we'd chase them."

It was a smart move, but they weren't dealing with a goddamn amateur here. They were getting special treatment for trying to put one over on him. Gaage turned back to Ysobel, or 'Yoh' as he'd called her. "They're probably camping not far from here-- I smell grub cooking and no smart person is gonna set up camp so close to Vel Anir. Park the wagon on the side of the road, we'll go in on foot and surprise the motherfuckers."

The real fun was about to start. Ysobel wanted to prove she was dangerous? Good. Gaage wanted to see it after all the shit she talked.

Ysobel
 
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“Yeah, sure?” That wasn’t really the reassuring answer she was going for. Especially after the attitude he had been giving her for the past hour or so. “Not a very confident one, are you?” She watched patiently after changing the direction of the wind, still curious as to the reason behind the sudden change in his demeanor.

Clever fuckers. They’re trying to shake us…

“Huh?” Ysobel looked over the side of the card to examine what he was talking about. I'll be damned. Had he not pointed it out, she would have happily continued on until she eventually found the empty cart. “Not confident, but very clever.” She rustled his hair from above, her voice naturally condescending though she was genuinely impressed. “Well done, Gaaaaaaaaaage.”

She raised a brow as he demanded more wind. “Did you…just click at me like a horse…?” She didn’t wait for an answer before hitting him with a stronger gust.

“That is quite impressive for some thieves.” She sniffed the air hitting them. “I don’t think I would have noticed such a small detail.” She admitted before doing as he instructed, parking the cart off to the side near some bushes and hopping out.

She landed lightly on her feet, bouncing over to the other initiate, unable to hide the big smile on her face. The poor girl was practically buzzing with excitement, ready to explode as soon as she was given orders. "lets go. Let's go! LET'S GO!"

Gaage Eberwhit
 
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Gaage was short-tempered, hot-headed, and always ready for a fight. He wasn't some kid pretending to be a highly-trained warrior, though; He'd been doing this from the moment he was old enough to fight, just like Ysobel. Eberwhit was powerful when it came to lethal force, and his sharp eyes and ability to think on his feet often got overlooked as a result. Granted, he usually resorted to violence before he had a chance to do anything else wise. "Oh, I'm more'n confident too, Yoh. It's just that you'll be seeing me ruin some poor bastard's day whether you ask for it or not." The scarlet-haired boy corrected her as she moved to park their ride.

Gaage turned to Ysobel with a smirk as she climbed down from the cart to join him. She was eager, and didn't shy away from a fight. He had to give her some points for that. "Finally, you're speaking my language. Maybe you're more fun than I thought you'd be." Last time he got paired with a younger Initiate they were a sniveling coward. Oh, your power only works from hiding? What's that, the power of being a bitch? Needless to say, that hadn't gone too well.

All of a sudden he was feeling a little more confident about this pairing.

Gaage gives the excited girl an enthusiastic pat on the shoulder before he takes the lead off the path and into the trees. Almost immediately the two of them were bathed in darkness, only thin streams of light breaking through the thicker canopy above their heads as their feet crunched noisily against the branches and leaves on the ground. Eberwhit probably should have been trying to keep it quiet, but he didn't give a damn about getting the jump on these idiots. As long as he got a fight, he'd be happy.

The farther they went, the stronger the smell of roasting meat became, and soon the voices of men would weave their way through the trees to meet their ears. The edge of a clearing was approaching, a bright patch of daylight leaking through and guiding their path, but before they reached it, Gaage stuck his hand out in front of Yoh's chest.

"Hold up. Better at least see how many dumbasses we're dealing with first."

Bending his knees a little, Gaage walked carefully to the treeline, treading lightly enough that he wouldn't be heard by a particularly attentive sharp-ear.

They had certainly gotten comfortable. The groups had both humans and elves, at least 6 sitting around a large fire roasting some meat in the middle of their camp, and the two large tents to the rear had who the hell knew how many more. Sure enough, the goods that had been stolen were tied underneath a tarp between the tents, with a rather burly-looking man on guard in front of it in heavy armor.

Turning back, he gestures Ysobel to join him.

"Alright Yoh. I've decided I'm gonna let you decide how we jump em. I guess maybe I wanna see what you're made of."

Ysobel
 
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Ysobel was more than ready to get on with the mission, bouncing along behind Gaage. She did her best to avoid stepping on new leaves or branches and instead tried to only step where he had cleared them before her. It was complicated and he probably thought it was some childish game, but as far as she was concerned it was for their own safety.

Well it was, until he stuck his hand out and she hadn’t been looking which caused her to slam right into it. Her instincts were to send a tiny shock out through him. Not enough of a shock to harm him, but probably enough to get him as riled up as she was. “Sorry!” She whispered before following him as he crouched.

“What do you see?” She tried to look over him through the opening in the trees. “Your big ass body is in the way.” Her whispers continued as she hopped up onto his back to look. “One…two…three…” She pointed out each one she could see.

“There’s at least one more. They wouldn’t travel in an even numbered group.” It was a ridiculous statement, but she followed up with her equally illogical thought process. “There’s no leader in an even numbered group. Everyone is equal. But no one is equal in reality, therefore there must be at least one more. If not one, then three. Do you follow?”

She stopped speaking after that, giving only a moment of thought to her plan of attack before hopping off his back and creeping closer. If Gaage was watching her, he’d see very little other than the girl crouched in a bush but if he was looking towards the camp, he’d notice one of the one’s with the pointy ears grabbing at their throat and coughing like they couldn’t breathe. Two of the one’s surrounding the elf would react as though he was choking, but they too would begin to clutch at their throats.

It would take a few minutes for them to stop fighting and fall into a limp pile on the ground. She nodded her head towards Gaage, signaling that he could join her if he liked before she continued on closer.

Gaage Eberwhit
 
Gaage would let the whole shock thing go. Just this once. Still, he gave her a glowering look as he held the wrist she'd juiced as he watched the camp with wary eyes. He was missing something, he was sure of it. It just... smelled off. Whatever was bothering him, it kept him from hearing Ysobel's complaints behind him, until she decided to fucking mount him like he was a horse to look over his head.

"Fuckin' hell, Yoh!" He hissed quietly. She wasn't heavy, but he hadn't been expecting it. If Eberwhit hadn't been able to swing his foot forward to balance himself in time and brought his hands back to hold her steady by the back of her legs, Ysobel would have sent them both rolling down the small hill and right down into the camp. "You gotta give me a little warning with that shit..."

But she was making her own observations, insisting that there had to be seven goons total, not six. Gaage didn't even pretend to understand what she was blithering on about though. Something about equality and leadership? Who the hell was this girl? When she finally stopped, Gaage deadpanned up at her. "What in the fuck are you talking about?"

Eberwhit didn't get an answer. Without another word, Yoh slid from his back and started sneaking forward on her own. Lord, this kid was going to get them both killed, wasn't she? He'd just reached his hand out to grab her and pull her back when he heard the thump of the first elf's body hitting the floor, and looked up just in time to see the second and the third.

Damn. Neat trick. But she wasn't about to show him up without a little competition

By the time Ysobel turned around to signal him, Gaage was already moving past her, and not being nearly as sneaky. Yoh had taken out the three that weren't sitting at the fire, and she'd been quick enough that the other three that were still loitering by the roasting food hadn't noticed what happened.

They did notice Gaage though; He was standing straight, strutting into the camp like he belonged there. In the blink of an eye, blades and bows were drawn and trained on him.

"Who the hell do you think you are, brat?"

"Don't talk to him Fin'a, he's probably with Anir. Let's just waste him now and get out of here before more show up."


Gaage raised his hands above his head in faux-surrender, wearing a cocky smirk on his lips that didn't match somebody who was worried about his life. "Gentlemen, surely we can talk about this like men. Or, a man and a couple of shit-heeled thieves."

The one to the left drew back on their bow, and Gaage quickly twisted his hands, both in a very precise direction. That little bit of taunting hadn't been for the hell of it; He used the time to reach out and find the spots he wanted to manipulate, wrapping his magic around the right muscles in bow-boy's arms. Right as he moved to fire at him, Gaage ripped those particular muscles to ribbons, sending the elf's arms flying in pain and sending that arrow loose wildly off course-- right into middle elf's gut.

"Now, Yoh! Take the last one!"

Ysobel
 
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Fuckin’ hell, you’re an eager one aren’t ya?” She mostly laughed to herself, mimicking him as he passed her up, making a beeline towards the campsite. She held her position until she was sure the three she had gone for were dead, their energy flowing through the air to join a girl who was already overflowing and overcharged.

She continued her more subtle approach, creeping closer between bushes as Gaage made his way to the center like the big oaf he was. It was perfect, they didn’t notice her because he was so goddamn stupid and decided to put himself in front of a bunch of armed thieves. She was going to save the day when he inevitably fucked up their entire mission. It would be fucking glorious.

If she wasn’t so incredibly smart, talented with magic, and humble she would never let the older initiate live down the moment she saved him. She could almost see the look that would be on his beautiful chiseled face when she made her grand entrance and saved him from the-

“Don’t worry little one.”

"Huh?"

A hand wrapped around her neck and a sharp object, probably a dagger, was jammed into her side. Her response was to let out a large explosive barrier made entirely of electricity, knocking back and frying the man, before booking it straight towards the group as Gaage called out to her.

Of course. The one time her math was actually right.

Bolts of lightning danced around her, arcing off of her hair as she jumped and tackled the final thief that was outside of the tents, the dagger still protruding from her side. She may have been small but she was fast and lethal. Even something as minute as the touch of her finger in this frenzied state was enough to stop a man’s heart and this elf was lucky enough to get her entire body.

“Seven.” She remained crouched over the thief's body, breathing heavily as she calmed herself down. “At least seven.”

Gaage Eberwhit
 
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Well, that was a little bit disappointing. Gaage'd had the whole thing mapped out in his head; the dramatic double kill, and then the signal for his trusty assistant to finish off the last one in style right on cue. Ysobel's timing was off though, and about a second passed with an angry elf staring him down in which Gaage wondered if he was gonna have to deal with this one too.

Oh! Nope, wait, there she was! Sprinting down the hill towards them with lighting sparking off her like she was an angry blonde thundercloud, and then tackling the poor surprised elf like a fuckin' hungry goblin. Shit, he was shocked she stopped there, half expected her to start gnawing on the poor bastard. That voltage coursing through his feisty friend had already toasted him though, he was smokin' out of his ears and all.

"I'll be damned, maybe you weren't just talking outta your jumpy little ass after all." Gaage sauntered over to congratulate the younger initiate, maybe pull her off of that elf before it burst into flames from all the juice she was giving it, and then he saw the dagger in her side.

Ah, shit. That was what she meant by seven.

Quickly moving to kneel beside where she sat crouched over, Gaage tilted his head to look at where she'd been stuck. Yeah, whoever snuck up on her had gotten her good. Eberwhit winced, reaching out. "Hey, breathe for me, aight? You'll be okay, we just gotta get you back to the Academy. They'll be able to yank that nasty fucker out of you and patch you up."

Looking around the camp, Eberwhit let out a little sigh. They'd have to send back for the goods, but they shouldn't go anywhere now that all the elves were toast. One literally. Ysobel wasn't going to be able to move much without hurting herself even more. Which meant...

"Hey listen, Yoh. I'm gonna have to carry you back to the wagon. Shock me and you're getting tossed, got it?"

Assuming they were at an understanding, Gaage carefully scooped Ysobel up into his arms with a grunt, holding her at chest level as he headed back up out of the camp towards the wagon.

Ysobel
 
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Ysobel remained shockingly still in the moments following the seventh elf’s death until Gaage crouched beside her. “Don’t touch it, I’m breathin’.” She clenched her jaw as she spoke, any slight movement causing sharp pains where the dagger stuck out from her.

Carry me back to the-” She yelped as he picked her up, using any will power she had to prevent herself from shocking him into oblivion with the other elf. “Please…” She gasped for air. “Please Gaage…set…me…down.

One wave of pain later she decided to do something most definitely against her better judgment- she bit him in an attempt to get him to listen to her demands. “Stop it or I’m going to shock you. I swear to god I’ll fucking do it Gaage Eberwhit. Put me down. NOW!” She spoke quickly, stopping only for another gasp of air as she finished.

She would make sure he knew she was serious as he would begin to feel static electricity throughout his hair. “We came here for the goods, so get the fucking goods.” Her demands continued, as did the unpleasant growing feeling of the static electricity. “I’ll be fine. The dagger is pretty secure. I’m not bleeding out anytime soon so you go get the boxes of whatever shit they stole and I’ll walk back to the cart, okay?

Gaage Eberwhit
 
Oh yeah, he felt her tryin' not to cook him as soon as he wrapped his arms under her to haul her out of there, but if she physically couldn't keep herself under control, Gaage wished they'd have told him that. Alright, yeah, that was pretty rich coming from him.

Yoh was being a stubborn brat, and if he wasn't half-convinced she wasn't bluffing about the whole electrocuting him thing he'd have said it to her face. As it stood she was squirming and gasping and yelping like an angry to the point where Eberwhit worried she might lose it if he didn't do what she said. So he shrugged, setting her back down on the ground.

"Not knowing when to quit is how Dreadlords die, y'know. Even I know when to fold em' Yoh." Yeah, Gaage's advice was more than likely falling on deaf ears, but if she ended up not making it back to town she only had herself to blame now. Leaving her there on the ground, Gaage untied the ropes holding the crates of goods the goons had swiped from the city. It was a pretty substantial amount, enough that he'd need to make a few trips without Ysobel's help. "You prefer walking around like a living pin-cushion, who am I to deny you?"

Maybe he felt a smidge of guilt over miscounting the elves. Maybe.

Still, by the time he'd loaded the last crate of stolen shit onto the wagon, hopefully, she'd made it back to the cart in time to leave with her. "Am I at least allowed to haul your half-dead ass up into your seat, or is that gonna earn me a shocking too?"

Ysobel
 
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Not knowing when to quit is how Dreadlords die.” She repeated his words in a higher voice, clearly mocking him as he set her down. “Shut the fuck up and go get the crates of shit or I’ll do it myself.” She pointed towards the campsite, little sparks still shooting off her fingers. It was obvious to both of them she would not be able to move any of them, but she was pissed off and when she was pissed off she said stupid things.

She kept her finger pointed towards the crates until he had finished untying the ropes. “I’ll leave that one up to your discretion. I am not responsible for things I cannot control. Not my problem.” She shrugged, followed by wincing at the sharp pains as she moved. “If you’re going to be a pussy, just leave me to be eaten by rats or something. Just make sure you get everything we came here for. I’ll be fine. I am sure it won’t be the last knife in me.



Ysobel waited until he had begun to start moving things to make her own way back towards their cart. “Slow and steady.” She whispered to herself at first, moving at a much slower pace than Gaage would be. He’d likely pass her up multiple times before she even got close. “Gonna be okay Essie.

One hand remained around the edge of the blade handle, pressed up against the clothes covering her in an attempt to keep it still. The blood wasn’t exactly pouring out uncontrollably, but it wasn’t stopping either. Her breathing was getting more labored as she hit the halfway point between the camp and the cart.

And the world was…moving? She stumbled for a few steps as her eyes adjusted to the foliage that was tilting left and right, legs crossing in front of one another before falling to her knees. Yes, this is better. The ground is moving less when I’m down here. She crawled along the ground for a few feet before looking back up where things now appeared to be spinning as the outsides of her vision darkened. I feel woozy. In her mind she had continued on towards the cart, but in reality she chuckled between gasps for air before collapsing in the dirt.

She supposed she could wait for him to finish the job before trying again.

Gaage Eberwhit
 
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At least, Gaage would have asked her as much if she'd made it to the wagon. By the time he had everything loaded and ready to go Ysobel still hadn't managed to make her way back. She mocked him, but she was doing a damned fine job of proving his point, wasn't she? Casting another glance to the now loaded wagon, Gaage sighed. Hated to leave the goods unattended for even a minute, but he wasn't leaving without that noisy ball of lightning.

Much as he hated to admit it, he was growing a little bit fond of her.

The redhead trudged back into the trees, weaving between the large trunks sprouting from the ground until he made it back to the incline overlooking the elven camp. That's where he found his platinum-headed partner on her hands and knees, wheezing and gripping the dirt as if she'd fall over without the anchor. Poor thing was like a wounded puppy. She wouldn't have been in this much pain if she wasn't so insistent on being a pain in his ass.

Eberwhit crossed his arms, looking down at her with a raised eyebrow. "Comfy down there?" He chirped, leaning down to loop his hands under her arms. "Come on, I ain't leaving your sorry ass in these woods or I'll never hear the end of it." Yeah she kept talkin' like she was gonna cook his goose, but Eberwhit was pretty sure she didn't have the juice to fry an egg right now. Still, he had to be careful about that wound she had, so cradling her was really the only way he could get her sorry ass back to the wagon.

"My fault anyways, I guess. Didn't listen to you when you told me how many you counted. Be shitty of me to pretend I wasn't warned of that shit."

Ysobel
 
Comfy down there?

In her mind she had snapped her head towards him, giving him an angry glare as he stood above her making his cocky comments.

In reality, she groaned as she moved slowly to glower at him, gasping for air the entire time. “F…” She dug her fingers into the dirt. “Fuck off.” Her voice was no louder than a whisper as she was scooped up from her position and hauled off. “I was,” Her words were broken up by her gasping. “Nearly back…at the wagon…

Ysobel wished he would stop moving so…not smoothly on the walk back to the wagon. With each step he took, electric pains were sent through her ribs. And with each shock she would panic, trying to figure out how she was to explain ‘frying the older Dreadlord to death after they’d finished their mission’.

“So we agree,” Another breath, “it was all your fault.

There was a short chuckle, followed by another pain in her side. “Follow my lead next time, okay?

As if there’d be a next time.

She was quiet for the rest of the walk back to the wagon, save for a few yelps here and there when Gaage had moved too much. Surprisingly, she had not turned him to ash by the time they approached the cart. It was a little win for Ysobel. Maybe she could control herself all on her own. No more pills or strange concoctions forced down her throat by the proctors.

Or maybe it was because she couldn’t breathe.



She shifted uncomfortably on the wooden bench, unsuccessful at finding a position that didn't feel as she had been stabbed. Ultimately, she chose to lay on the opposite side with the knife handle pointing up towards the sky and her hand wrapped around the bit of blood soaked clothing that surrounded its entry point.

Her eyes were shut tightly as she finally broke her silence. "Distract me." As though she were in any position to make demands. "Tell me something. Stories about your life or...make something up. Anything. Please."

Gaage Eberwhit
 
For somebody with a dagger stuck in her, she sure liked to run her mouth, didn't she? Gaage woulda thought talking would only hurt more, but Yoh seemed to be distracting herself or something. He couldn't really relate, that level of pain... well, he hadn't been aware the last time he'd felt it.

Carrying her was slightly treacherous at times; Now and then he would get a little jolt, mostly whenever he stumbled or moved to fast for her liking, but for the most part she was either too exhausted to zap him to a black piece of char or she'd finally found a little bit of self-control. That would make one of them, anyways.

By the time the both of them got back on the road back to Vel Anir she'd quieted down, and honestly, Gaage kinda worried she'd died on him for a minute when he looked back to see her eyes closed. One of his hands left the reins to poke at her a little when she suddenly asked for him to talk instead.

Gaage blinked, pushing his tongue into his cheek. "Uh... alright." Shit, Eberwhit ran his mouth all the time, why did her putting him on the spot leave him tongue-tied? Turning back to the road, he cracks the reins to keep the horses moving and thinks for half a second. "You ever see a fire-giant? Big fuckers, and angry too. Well, I actually managed to sweet-talk one into getting me out of prison once. See..."

For the rest of the trip, Gaage recounted the story of when he'd been arrested with several other initiates as part of a mission, and how he'd managed to get the ferocious Fire-Giant Tial to help them in their escape. He may have omitted some things, like how he'd been supposed to kill Tial but opted to go for a diplomatic approach because he'd had the shit beat out of him, but the lion's share of the tale was true.

By the time the story had reached its end, they were rolling through the gates to Vel Anir. Home, and safe at last.

Ysobel
 
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Her nose scrunched up as he began to tell her a story. “A fire-giant?” She wasn’t even aware that extinguished giants were real. As far as she knew, there were only human sized humans and elves, and short things that kinda looked like people…but smaller and wider. “And they can talk…that’s…weird…

He’d be able to hear her quietly interject his story or the sound of her wheezing and groaning as she shuffled around to get comfortable until the last stretch of road before entering Vel Anir. After that point if he looked over at his partner, he’d see the ghostly pale girl slumped over in her seat.

The dagger was no longer sticking out of her side, but rather sitting in her loosely clenched fist.



There was a distinct period of time missing between her pulling the dagger out and waking up in the infirmary. A period of time she was glad to have missed.

She had no intention to worry Gaage, and hoped he would not receive punishment for the choices she made. She was technically to blame for anything that had gone wrong with their mission, but she was also the one that was bandaged up in a hospital bed. Regardless, she chose to stand where she had before their ambush and it was her choice to pull the dagger out of her ribcage. Her reasons may have been stupid for the latter of the two, but she was sure she could argue her reasoning with whomever was asking. Surely, they’d have to show sympathy.

Her golden eyes slowly fluttered open, scanning the room as she woke up. It would have almost been cute to witness her come out of her unconscious state had it not been paired with the horrifying noise of her gasping for air as she struggled against the restraints she had on her wrists. She looked down at them as she pulled her arms. Was this protocol for all Dreadlords or was she just an unstable and unpredictable creature they had to protect themselves from?

Hello?

Gaage Eberwhit
 
"Sup, moron?"

The fiery-haired Initiate she'd last seen before succumbing to unconsciousness was now the first to greet her when she returned from it, standing over her bed with his arms crossed and an absolutely nonplussed expression on his face. "You done being a lazy sack yet? Getting sick of comin' up here every day wonderin' if you've kicked the bucket, Yoh."

As Gaage had expected, the Academy wasn't entirely thrilled that he'd come back with a half-dead underclasswoman bleeding out under his watch. It sure as hell didn't look good for his reliability, and he'd been getting sideways glances ever since they'd returned. Gaage made trips to the infirmary every day for four days, checking on the stubborn girl, hoping she could at least stay alive so they wouldn't have a reason to say he was responsible for another Initiate death.

Well, that was the main reason he came to see her.

If Gaage was being honest, he knew she'd gotten hurt because he hadn't listened to her headcount. She'd said there were seven, and Gaage killed six and then let his guard down. It was his own error and it earned Ysobel a knife in the gut. Maybe, just maybe, there was a teensy amount of remorse in him about the whole situation.

Sliding a stool over to her bedside, he sat himself down with a yawn. It looked to be afternoon, the sun glowing through the windows was a deep orange.

"You oughtta be fine. They patched you up four days ago, but you lost so much blood I guess you needed the sleep." His head tilted towards the restraints. "Took a half-blacked out swing at the poor nurse. Woulda taken her head off if you hit. Don't like being tucked in, I guess."

Ysobel
 
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Huh?” She had not noticed the older Dreadlord until he spoke. Maybe she was getting rusty. First the stray elf, now Gaage had completely snuck up on her. “Lazy? Every day…? How long have I been here?” She fell back onto the pillows with a sigh. “Please tell me you’re joking.

She attempted to move one hand over her eyes to hide her disappointment but the metal shackles only gave out a quiet clank against the bars on the cot. “If I missed my exams I’d have been better off left to bleed out. The professors are going to kill me.

Her eyes shut tightly to hide any tears that were trying to escape. She couldn’t lose her future as a Dreadlord because of one small mistake, right? It was only a day or so that she’d been in here. Even if she lost time to study, she could still perform above average if she could just get the stupid handcuffs off.

Four days?” Her head turned so she could look at him, staring a little too long as she studied him. He was definitely messing with her. There was no way it had been four days. He was such an asshole, coming here to get her riled up like this. With his stupid hair that looked like a beautiful fire the way the sunset was hitting it and his dumb face that was chiseled by the gods-

There's no way you’re not fucking with me.” She looked away from him to stare out one of the other windows. “I get it. I messed up the mission, but you don’t have to rub it in my face.

Gaage Eberwhit
 
Yeah, she was fine. Just as weird as she'd been before she went to sleep anyways. Gaage rolled his neck a little, watching her as she squirmed and called him a liar. Look, he got it, it was a little disorienting to wake up after such a long outage, but the sooner she stopped having an existential crisis the sooner they'd let her out of here.

"Why the hell would I be fucking with you? We completed our objectives, and the only reason you got hurt is cause they got sneaky with us. You ain't in any trouble, dumbass." Eberwhit snorted, rolling his eyes. "You wanna be a Dreadlord, you're gonna take a lot more punishment than this. Don't start freaking now." You could really tell they didn't beat these kids half to death the way they used to. Still, he couldn't help but feel a little bad for the girl.

So he let up a bit.

Shifting in his seat, Gaage ran his hand along his face. The Initiate hadn't trimmed up his chin very recently, and the growing red stubble along his jawline itched a bit. "I took care of it. Explained things. I jumped the gun, you got ambushed because I wasn't lookin' and I didn't listen to your head count. You insisted we finish the mission instead of getting you help right away." To Gaage's surprise, they hadn't even given him much heat for it. It was almost like the Academy had expected trouble.

A knock sounded on the door, and the red-haired boy turned to look at it before flashing a smirk at Ysobel.

"You did pretty good, Yoh. I'll let you take lead next time, I think."

The nurse entered the room, casting a sharp look at Gaage as he rose from his seat to leave.

Ysobel
 
Ysobel wasn’t ignoring Gaage speaking, but she remained quiet as she stared out the window. It wasn’t worth sharing her own self deprecating thoughts as he made an attempt to reassure her.

Still, he did have a point somewhere in his ramblings. She had spent however many years confined within the walls of the Academy, yet still had not managed to toughen up like the others had. She could only feign thick skin for so long until her temper had reached its limit. Being dangerous and unpredictable was certainly no replacement for the acquired personality.

“I took care of it. Explained things…”

Huh?” Her eyes flickered back towards him. “But that wasn’t your fault. None of it was your fault. I was the one who wasn’t paying attention and I was the one who made you finish it. Please tell me they were not upset with you. I would feel even worse if they punished you for my decisions.”

A quiet cough left her mouth, followed by the jingling of the cuffs once again as she tried to press on the wound.

What do you mean next time? Is there already another mission?” She didn’t get a response before the nurse entered and Gaage had prepared to take his leave. “Wait! Don’t go please.” She wasn't ready to lose his presence so quickly after she'd awoken.

A pleading look was sent towards the nurse, hoping she would allow him to stay. “Are you here to let me out of these cuffs? Does this mean I’m ready to go home?

Gaage Eberwhit
 
Holy hell, she wasn't going to get very far in this whole Dreadlord thing if she kept finding ways to blame herself for everything. It really hadn't been her fault, and on top of that getting Gaage to admit fault to anything was a tough sell. She sure as hell wasn't makin' it any easier to be nice and help her out. Well, he'd come back later and see if her head cleared up a bit, he supposed.

Ysobel wasn't having that, even as the Nurse glared daggers at Gaage, her platinum-haired patient implored he be allowed to stay. The woman attending to her gave her a kind of confused look, before dragging her eyes back to the older boy and making the connection that Gaage's thick head hadn't picked up on yet. With a sigh, she nodded to Ysobel. "Fine, but not for long. I need to check up on that wound and he doesn't need to be here for that."

Eberwhit hadn't really been asking to stay, but between Ysobel's begging and the Nurse's weird look, he'd feel like kind of a cock not to. Clicking his tongue against the roof of his mouth, he spins back around and walks back to Ysobel's bed as the nurse busies herself with something across the room.

"The cuffs are rune shackles. They keep your magic under control, so you don't cook the doctors while they work on you, goof." Gaage had been put in those things way too many times not to know how they worked. He sat back down beside her and reached over with the cup of water that had been sitting on the table beside her, offering to her lips. "We completed the mission, so they didn't give too much of a shit. I haven't heard a word about it after that first day back. You'll be outta here as soon as the wounds healed, and it'll be like it never happened."

Why was she so worried about him, anyways?

Ysobel
 
Fine, but not for long. I need to check up on that wound and he doesn’t need to be here for that.

Ysobel rolled her eyes towards the nurse who was now completing some menial task in order to give the initiate time to ogle the older one. “Oh no, whatever would happen if this disgusting man were to see my ribs?” She stared past Gaage towards the woman. “I don’t know what I’d do. Probably burn in hell for committing the sins worse than any tramp off the street.

Her spirits certainly were returning with each breath she took.

That hardly seems fair though. It only happens in self defense. And sometimes not in self defense but that’s hardly the point. I’d just like to go home.” She continued to jingle them, hoping she’d annoy one of the two in the room enough to take them off of her.

But…after I’m out…” She paused. “When you said ‘next time’, what did that mean?
 
The nurse turned to shoot Ysobel a look so sharp even Gaage felt like scooting his chair back to avoid the invisible knives he could practically see coming from her face. "We're going to be changing you into a fresh set of clothes too, but if you're really set on him seeing all that, fine." She added rather sharply. Then, point having been made, returned to her work. Gaage let out a low whistle, looking between the nurse and Ysobel. It made him wonder if Academy Nurses had gone through Dreadlord training too. Did they have some crazy magic they could bust out? Flying bandage tendrils or some shit?

Questions for later, he supposed.

The clinking of her restraints brought his attention back fully to the platinum blonde initiate in the bed in front of him, and his lips curled into a smirk. "Nah, you're right. They should let you shock 'em until they're dead and there's nobody to treat you." Yoh wasn't much using her noggin right now, but then she'd been sawing logs for days; couldn't blame her for having some cobwebs to shake. "I figure she'll yank em' off when you change, so hold tight just a minute."

Since she seemed so focused on the whole 'next time' thing, Gaage figured he'd tell her and get it over with. Honestly he was trying not to get her too excited, not when she was still laid up. But something inside him said that she'd be anxious to get out and back at it as soon as the Academy let her; he certainly would be.

"The stuff we brought back led to them finding out about more stolen goods. We took out one part of a much bigger smuggling op, apparently. And, since we have the most experience with this particular group of sharp-ears, we'll be working together to take the rest of them down."
 
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