[P.A.L.E.] Leaf Initiation ~ Between Fall and Winter

[Ashla]

Another initiation was taking place...

This time, Ashla wanted to limit her physical activity to make sure her unborn child could stay healthy. Three months along, Ashla considered herself still capable of doing regular activities - including fighting. However, Ashla was still extremely careful in combat, having fitted her entire style around protecting her kid.

Ashla had entered the Citadel yet again and for yet another initiation. This time, her recruit had stated he had no idea what he wanted his position to be in P.A.L.E. Ashla understand that this was a faun, a species of creatures that were close to nature. Ashla was curious on her opponent's skills, but hoped he wouldn't be trampling her with his hooves, particularly in her condition.

Ashla was tired out from conducting these invitations, for the sake of both Icebreakers here she had to rest. Right in front of the door, the world outside felt far away to Ashla. The girl leaned against the wooden door she was to enter for a moment. She pressed her head against her hand, eyes closed in exhaustion. She regretted only allowing herself a moment of rest, but she had to keep going...

At the other side of the door, Ashla was happy to see she was in a simple field of green grasses. A beautiful sun shone in a blue sky. Ashla scoffed, knowing it was here she would much rather be taking a deserved break... but she could not rest.

Ashla pulled her pine buckler out, grasping it in front of her stomach. Meanwhile, she pulled her damascus broadsword out and let it hang loose in her hand.

Why am I doing this?? She tried to gather the strength she needed while waiting on her next initiate.

[Leaf]

Across the field of simple green meadows from where Ashla stood a faun lay belly-first down amongst the grass. The long stems were high enough to tickle his collar bones as he hunkered down, waiting for his opponent. Thoughts ticked by his his head, but not to any fast and furious extent. They were leisurely ones, like the even flow of a gentle stream. Thoughts of "why on earth had he agreed to this?" Thoughts of "what on earth would Philomel say if she found out?" Thoughts of "When they want peace, why resort to violence?" and thoughts of "... what the hell?"

He saw the young lady there, dressed mostly in black, but he could not help notice the fact her stomach was round with a few months of pregnancy. Being the eldest brother of seven children he had grown up partly the man of the household, used to seeing his mother giving birth and his sister Lily preganant with her first. Even if she tried to hide it with a loose cloth shirt, it was not invisible to the man who knew too much about children.

Twisting his head to the side he saw where his nearest ally lay in wait. Around twenty-five feet away Cookie the ginger piglet blinked, staring into the distance. His eyesight was best of any of the troupe, hence why he was acting as the scout. To the east and west the two other pigs lay in wait, likewise bent down in the grass, waiting for the mental signal to strike.

Leaf connected with Cookie's conciousness and bade him wait a moment longer. As the slow thoughts clicked through his mind a plan came into form, a plan that Cookie deliberated over - then whole heartedly agreed with.

Preparing himself, Leaf placed his hands beneath his body, then slowly pushed himself upwards onto his knees. In full view now of the young lady he quickly ascended onto his hooves, unarmed as yet, but purposefully so. Catching her gaze now he spread his hands on either side of him, empty palms open in a mock-surrender, inviting her to come forwards.

"You must be Duchess Icebreaker," he said, softly, "It is an honour to meet you."

[Ashla]

Ashla found herself smiling at the fact that her recruit was being a gentleman. The duchess smiled back, "Likewise. And you must be Leaf Enna van der Terra?"

At the site of pigs beside him, Ashla wondered what they were here for. She'd never seen a pig fight... A light breeze came over the field, giving Ashla a slight chill. It however did not stop her from her mission. She kept her buckler where it was, yet her sword was much more relaxed. She hoped to get some casual words in before starting.

[Leaf]

He inclined his head gently, though kept his eye contact steady with hers. He noticed how she subconciously looked from side to side, touching the areas where the pigs attempted to hide - obviously they were not hiding enough. The long grass was barely able to remove their distinctive colours from entire view.

Lifting his head back out of the limited bow, Leaf let his hand trail along the hilt of his sickle, thinking of what violence he had wrought so far with it. The blood of that gun-girl, trailing across the cobblestones. Another time, a centaur, trampling Thor beneath his hooves. Then, yet another time, his sister herself, slaying all of them in nothing but a few deft stokes of her sword, until they fell, fell, fell, all toppling down as one mighty army against the single warrior of another ...

And now - now there she was, raising herself into power. She had moved from simply being a private whore, favoured of a couple of Dukes and an Earl or two, to being self-styled Matriarch of a whole shipful of prostitutes. The things she told him were perhaps not all true, but she was vaguely honest when it came to his questions. Already he knew there was some connection to pirates, though that did not surprise him. There was also a couple of mentions of killing with the word "Escort" being thrown around as if it was a deadly virus. Sometimes he just rolled his eyes when he heard her, and her old fool of a mother, Lacey van der Aart, his father Enna's "other" swoman. Other times he shook in fear at what might happen when and if Philomel got the power she so much desired.

Power he honestly feared. Hence here. Now. Standing in a meadow of grass opposite a young lady smiling at him with little shyness. He ran a tongue across his lips, considered her state of being and coughed before he spoke up about her pregnancy.

"Excuse, ma'am, are you sure you should be ... fighting in your condition?"

[Ashla]

The Icebreaker narrowed her blue eyes when the question was brought up. Apparently, she couldn't hide her pregnancy anymore... maybe it was time for some new clothes? Ashla sighed, "I should be fine..."

She darted her eyes across the field. She could already assume that the pigs were fighters. Ashla's own precious pet, Fireleaf, carried the feisty fighting instincts of every cat. He often enjoyed jumping into fights with her. Ashla's best friend, thick through thin, was Fireleaf. Some would say "it" was "just a dumb feline", but that stubborn cat was so much more...

Ashla couldn't help but wonder if the same went with this faun and his pigs. How the pigs and him, if the domestic hogs were combat equipped, operated in combat was the key to this entire match.

As the wind softly blew, causing her hair to blow lightly, Ashla decided to advance. Still keeping her oak buckler protectively over her stomach, Ashla stepped forwards, tightening the grip on her lowered sword. "Let's see what you're made of. You certainly make me curious..." The Eiskalt royal smiled lightly.

[Leaf]

Watching her move was somewhat discomforting, but she seemed determined to do it. He frowned as his eyes glanced from her slightly swollen belly to her azure eyes, and she seemed intent on watching him. She said something about him making her curious and it only made him frown even more, the corners of his mouth bending down towards the ground as if pinned by gravity. Gradually her footsteps brought her closer, beyond the line which Popsy and Thor attempted to hold, and closer to him. Holding her sword out in front of her she seemed ready to stab, threaten and send shockwaves through the small army; a thought which Leaf found uncomfortable.

Begrudgingly he dragged his sickle from the scabbard. The deep grey damascus blade hung curved in the bright light, carving the sunshine in two. The long grass around him was just the right height to be cleaved with the blade, and he let the weapon slip a little so one stem was cut. Fresh smell of grass sap rose to his nose and he sniffed a moment before staring at the oncoming woman.

"Are you sure about this?" he said, raising the sickle, ready for her charge and her probable killing streak, "I mean, your belly might get in the way of your ..."

Rudely, he cut off his own words. Immediately, then, he placed a hoof hard on the ground and pushed off from it. Running at full sprint he aimed for the pregnant woman, holding the sickle with both hands and summoning up his energy for a mighty swing. He told the pigs to wait, to pause so that they might come only at the right moment, if they were needed at all. His aim was simple - to go for the woman's chest, then feint to the side at the last moment to show her that fighting was not at all necessary. Peace, after all, should be established outside of violence, at least that was how he thought of it as. If this duchess wanted a little sword clashing, then she would get it, but only as a dance from him.

He went for her, but only to dodge. After that he would step to the side, lower his weapon and speak to her calmly.

"Don't fight when you are pregnant," he would say, "Mother never would have approved."

[Ashla]

Ashla's blue eyes narrowed. You think you can toy with me, eh?

Her thoughts on her own mother, who she never met, echoed in her mind. "My mother," the Icebreaker stated, "Abandoned me at birth. She also carried me behind prison bars. Does it sound like she'd approve me fighting or not?"

A sound breeze fell over the meadow. One of the pigs snorted in the chill. Ashla didn't mind the chill though, worse came from her home. "Also, this isn't a fight. Simply a spar to test your skills - not mine... Got it?"

The words were calm... coldly calm. They showed that Ashla had authority over anyone joining P.A.L.E - including Leaf - and that she wasn't to questioned.

The breeze calmed, the smell of fresh grass still freshening. Ashla pulled her sword up, "Mind trying to hit me this time?"

[Leaf]

Her sudden seething anger made him still, positioned there to her side like an awkward suitor. Pausing for a moment the truffle hunter stepped back, before lowering his blade. Slightly to the side, he titled his head, his eyes wandering over her form as he assessed her slowly and listened to the raging torrent that was her outspill of fury. He could hardly understand her words, as she cursed her mother, though kept it in a strangely monotone voice.

Leaf could not seem to gather the reasons for the uprising of emotion; after all, all he was doing was trying to protect her from injury her foetus. But then, maybe pregnant people do get furious. Leaf had just never seen that in his mother because of her constant depressive state.

Upon his face a small frown formed, but his spirit lay quiet and calm. At last his ears picked up the meaning of her tongue as she asked him to fight her again, and this time try to hit her. Leaf's brow furrowed a little, bemused at all her vehemence and determination to clash metal even though they were meeting to discuss peace. Yet - he decided that it was not worth infuriating the young duchess more. By her appearance she could be no more than twenty, which already set her younger than him. If she wanted a fight, she would get it, but the faun farmer definitely knew he did not want to harm her baby.

Sighing, internally, he took a step back and moved around her a tiny hoof-print to his right, in order now to stand directly in front of Cookie. It meant the princess could now no longer see the ginger pig, and would be blocked by his movments by the much larger being in the way. In the rush of a fresh breeze Ashla Rose Icebreaker stared the rustic fungus-expert right in the black eyes, showing him that she deemed herself as queen of all her righteousness ... and Leaf, for a moment, had cause to believe her.

He crouched back on his left foot, paused - then swung his sickle forwards in a mighty swing. He let out a bellow of pure faunish nonsense before rushing forwards and clashing arms with her. Within him he took everything his sister had recently taught him - the fancy footwork, the spins and twirls, the movements and the parrys of the blade as he danced with this duchess. To the far reaches of the grasslands the pigs lay still - that was, all the ones Ashla could see. Despite their footwork and their burst of energy into simple sword-clashing, he made sure that his body constantly hid that which ran up behind him.

To Leaf, this seemed to please Ashla, and he could imagine her thinking 'this is what I have been waiting for.' Leaf kept her busy, though it was clear that her blade skills were far more superior to his, and he received a couple of cuts on his arms because of this. Still, however, he kept his body lithe and in the way, preparing for the moment to come. He was a distraction, a minor part in the grander plan at work here, and it only was because of his pigs that he even had the will to do such a thing as this.

Cookie ran up behind him, and linked as they were in the mind, leapt exactly at the right time. With that second, Leaf parried a lunge before suddenly ducking himself right down into a ball. His back now flat the ginger piglet went from ground to the flesh, and then kicked himself off from there right at Ashla's face. Underneath Leaf yelled, "NOW!" and little pigs began to scatter ... all except Cookie who was lunging for the face, with all his wicked jaws open.