✟ Training Grounds

@Cary Welch Noia used precised jabs and punches, targeting Cary's open palms and hitting them with enough force, switching back and forth from soft blows to powerful jabs just like how their instructors had taught them while practicing. She feels the way her friend was looking at her, with slight shock, maybe at how far gone she had improved with what used to be her stick-like arms, but no, Cary was giving her a contemplating look, one that hold so many meanings and so many words but he stays quiet, accepting her punches and deflecting her when necessary, from the outsider's point of view, it might seem like they're both into what they're doing. Eunoia's almost glaring holes at the Dhampir's hands, and Cary was boring holes in her skull. They continued the routine for a while, saying nothing but both knowing and weighing each other's emotion.

She was breathing quite heavily when Cary suddenly pushed for a rest, she lowered her hands to her side, the grin she had earlier now completely wiped away as her face completely becomes emotionless, her usual expression in the past three months when she's being confronted by things or people that she doesn't like. She looked at him for s few seconds, wondering if she should sit down beside Cary and probably be forced to talk, or if she should just up and walk away, leave the guy here. But she thinks that would probably go against their sort of 'getting to know you again' stage of their friendship. So she sat down, breathing out deeply and ping her hoodie, letting the fresh air dry her sweaty torso, her tank-top slightly clinging on her body. "Yeah, okay. Break, fine." She mumbles, taking off the gloves with difficulty, clicking her tongue when she failed to do so again after the second try. Cary saw that and reached out, unclasping the gloves and helping her pull her hands free again. She rubber her wrist, shaking her hands because it's been restricted for a while.

"Cary, don't--" She says in slight warning when the male started talking about why Moroi were allowed to fight, she doesn't want to hear it, it's been drilled in their minds over and over again, hers particularly when she started question the extent of their lessons, why they only go up until there and never further, why we're still practically helpless despite taking all these lessons. But still, she listened quietly, waiting for him to finish. He jaw tightened when the topic of the guardian's duty was breached, knowing full well what was the hidden meaning behind Cary's words, and still she's silent, except for the slight twitch in her expression. She spied Cary looking at her and she knows he saw her expression change. He should be able to read her as well as she could him. When he was finished, Noia stayed silent, breathing out through her nose. "Don't you think the idea of having a guardian practically throw his or her life away for some uptight royal is a waste? The discrimination behind it? It's kind of unfair with you Dhampir right?" She starts, softly although her words were cutting. "We...we've talked about this before right? And we both agreed that its kind of unfair. We did. I even made you promise that if ever you'll be my guardian, you won't throw your life away for me." She states, turning her head to face him fully, looking deep in his eyes. "That promise still stands, but I guess it's not applicable now anyway. Because I won't be having a guardian. I refuse." She says, and she stood up.

She froze however at his last question. Flashes of past memory running in her mind and she took a painful gulp, closing her eyes and lowering her head. "Don't go there. It's not. I-- I just- I never- it's none of your business." She says sharply, turning her head and glaring at him. "I didn't ask about yours when you came back, didn't I? I didn't ask when you came back; all marked up, and different! So don't. Don't ask mine." She says shakily, eyes slightly watery.

@Eunoia Drozdov Cary laughed at her remark, and shook his head. “You’ll always be my little troublemaker, your 180° change won’t change that. At the end of the day, you’ll still be the Noia that got me to ditch school to plan a party that then got busted by the headmistress. Lucky us, we have powerful family, huh.” His laughter died, and he glanced at Noia before averting her gaze. “Or, had.” He mumbled, just loud enough for her to hear. Both of them felt that with that, the topic was dead, too. None of them said anything else, talking about his family story had always been a taboo in their friendship, and he felt he shouldn’t push her to talk about hers.

Lucky enough, she let it be, too. Cary grabbed the bag he’d brought along, and got two gloves that boxers used during training and bandages that should support his wrists. Even though he was certain that Noia couldn’t severely hurt him, it was always better to be safe than sorry. He sat on the cold ground while dressing his wrists, and listened to what Noia told him. At the last words he looked up and stopped bandaging, eyeing her for a second. Cary wasn’t stupid. He had heard what had happened to Noia and her family while he was away, and he could put two and two together. Noia’s training, her determination of learning how to fight, and the darkness in her eyes when mentioning the Strigoi; Eunoia, just like him, sought revenge. The moment Cary understood this, his motivation to train her shrunk to non-existence. He wanted her to be able to fight, yes, but he definitely didn’t want to support her kamikaze-mission. Nonetheless, he finished bandaging his wrists, got into the flat gloves and stood up again. He could tell that Noia knew his mood had changed. Even after the time they’d been separated, be it by distance or feelings, she understood him blindly.

Cary did not flinch when she hit him, although he had to admit she’d gotten a lot stronger than she’d been. Even through her long-sleeved shirt, he could see the slim, defined muscles on her arm tensing, and watched in awe. “Alright,” said Cary after a while, and dropped his hands. They still had a lot of time to go, but Cary’s unease grew. Before he taught her anything important, he needed to sort some things out first. He took a towel from his bad, lay it on the ground, sat on the grass and pointed at the towel, so Noia got the message. He wanted her to sit down with him.

“Do you know why Moroi were allowed to fight?” He asked her, furrowing his eyebrows so a deep crease appeared between them. He didn’t wait for her answer, his face dead-serious. “Because they - you - will never really be put into danger. Before a Strigoi can get too close to you, a guardian will throw him- or herself between you and the threat.” Cary looked her in the eye. “This is why you’re taught defensive skills, rather than offensive. You won’t need them. And I know that you know it, otherwise you wouldn’t have asked me for help.” He searched her eyes for agreement, for a sign that he was right. She kept a straight face however, and Cary sighed, his features softening a little. “I need you to tell me why you’ve asked me to help you. Is it- is it because of what happened while I was away?” He had lowered his tone and was about to take her hand, but changed his mind.

@Cary Welch Eunoia smiles as she breathes out soft puffs of air from her worn out lungs, her breath making small clouds of breaths in front of her. She braces both of her arms on her knees as she tries to regulate her breathing back to normal. Okay, admittedly, she might've gone way too far and probably pushed herself more than she allows herself to be pushed. But this is Cary, and she's determined to show him how much she'd improved. Maybe she'll be able to dissuade him from the guardian business if he saw she doesn't need one anyway. But her friend seems to be head strong about that matter, and Noia's sure it has something to do with the last three months he'd spend away from her. During those three months, Cary developed marks, proof that he had managed to kill not only one but many, she thought as she spies the Zvezda on his neck. Whatever it is that the Dhampir went through, whatever event that managed to let him gain those marks, it made the male take his guardian duties much seriously. On a much more personal level, if she can read him right.

"Not bad but still not enough. I know you were holding back." She points out, bumping the other with her hip when she managed to walk towards him, because the male just had to go pass her, and Noia rolled her eyes at that. She pats the pockets of her jacket for a towel, frowning in dismay when she found none and she wondered if it'll be worth it to manipulate the sweat away but thought of it as too nasty so she just let it be. Blonde hair plastered against the sides of her forehead, she breathes deep and let the chilly air dry out the sweat on her body. "Well..." She says, flipping her ponytail in good humor at his compliment. "This is Noia 2.0. Better version. I never missed class these past month. Gave some professors the scare of their lives, to be honest." She laughs, remembering the shocked faces of both her peers and her instructors when she showed up, not only on time, but earlier than expected. She's been excelling ever since, pushed by sheer determination and hard work. She flicked him on the ear, tutting. "So I'm no little and not a troublemaker anymore...Not everyday at least." She snorts, shaking her head.

She still knows how to have fun, because let's be honest, she won't be Eunoia if she wasn't. She was the textbook example of a 'free soul' in the past years, attending classes in a whim, partying here and there, social butterfly, that was what she was. What she was known for. So imagine the royals' displeasure when she was the one who survived. 'Tough luck, I wish I didn't survive too,' she always catches herself thinking whenever one of the families would reprimand her for her 'attitude', her answer was to smile innocently at them and raise her middle finger when they turn their backs.

She nods her head, "Yeah, they taught us basic defense. But not as advanced as the Dhampir's training and I want to learn more than just running for my life and fighting off Strigoi when it's in front of my face." She says, crossing her arms in front of her. The academy, despite its new regulations, still limits the Morois from actually learning how to fight despite having classes made for the same reason, the things they teach are still greatly different. Nois raised her eyebrows at the other's suggestion. "Okay? I'll put my all into it then. You look sturdy enough to not even flinch but oh well..."

She parts her legs, keeping them planted firmly on the ground as she takes up a defensive stance. She positions her balled fists in front of her, arm muscles going taut, before pulling her right arm back and Cary's hands with enough force to knock some regular human out, punching with her left after, doing the 1-2 pattern the instructors drilled in their minds.

@Eunoia Drozdov Running came natural to Cary. Ever since Dhampirs could walk, they were taught to run. It was their very first combat lesson. For half a year, all the six-year-old Novices did was run around the training grounds for one whole hour. Sometimes, during their training lessons, Cary could see the first graders running, their calfs way too muscular for first graders, and their faces red, but never complaining. Cary had hated it, and had challenged the teacher once to demand an answer to how running would improve their fighting skills. His teacher had raised an eyebrow, put aside his book and had asked Cary, what he’d do if he was, for example, in a mall and a Strigoi attacked him. Cary didn’t have to think about it, and said he’d stake him with a silver stake. When asked if he owned one, he changed his reply to burning the Strigoi. When asked what with, he rolled his eyes, saying that, fine, he’d cut his head off. Those were the only three ways to kill a Strigoi. But Cary had soon learned that he, at his age, wouldn’t be able to do any of this. So running was the best way to survive. He grinned at the thought, and touched his Molnijas for a brief moment. He’d changed so much.

This little distraction was enough for Noia to pass him. An eyebrow raised for a short moment, he looked at the girl’s back, both happy and proud. She surely had improved a lot. Had it really only been three months that they’d been separated? But, then again, your family’s death does change a person a lot. He gave her a while to make the most of the triumph and had her bring some more distance between the two of them. He was panting, of course, but he was far from being done. He sped up a little, not talking during speeding because it cost power, and caught up with her. He slowed down a little, keeping her pace, and smiled at her. “Not bad.” Was all he said, and concentrated on the path before them.

They jogged the last five laps side by side, their arms occasionally touching, their breath forming white puffs in front of them. Neither of them spoke, all that could be heard was the rhythmic thud sounds their feet made on the red running court. When they finished running, Cary jogged a little farther, slowing down in the process, and then stretched his muscles a little. He stood up and looked at Noia, both their faces bright red, an odd look in the darkness of the night.

“Not bad, little troublemaker,” he repeated his words from before, grinning. “I gotta admit, I underestimated you. Never would I have thought that you could actually keep up with me.” He got closer to her, and ran his fingers through his sweaty hair, and his dry lips. He’d already started looking as leathery as the other guardians. Being out in the cold paid its tribute to their looks: His hands were dry and had bloody cracks and his lips looked a lot like the rocky mountains around them. Some of the female Dhampir Novices on the campus liked to get manicures during holiday breaks, but Cary deemed that as needless. Their hands looked like this for a reason, after all. It came from hard work, and nobody should be ashamed of working.

“Okay, how much have they taught you? The guardians have agreed not to teach Moroi how to use a silver stake, right?” He asked, but he already knew the answer. Silver stakes were the guardians’ weapons, the Moroi were trained to use their powers in combat; something Cary disliked. If it came down to it, the Moroi should know how to kill, not only help Dhampirs. And water, at that point, wasn’t all too helpful against a Strigoi. It could distract them, but was it really that much of a help?

“Hit me,” he said, arms up high in front of his face so she couldn’t hurt it, fists clenched. “Show me what they’ve taught you already.”

@Cary Welch "Of course, we aren't silly. If we were, all Moroi would've melted like candles. We have delicate skins." She kids, the slight jab on her own kind comes off naturally from her, and her smile turned into a full-blown grin.This was easy, joking and smiling, it feels normal. Like how it's supposed to be, and Noia lets herself think that even for a short while. Hypnotize herself into thinking of the main reason why they're even out here now. "That's why I'm so bitter that I can't even go the beach when the sun's at its highest, I hear some Dhampirs say the sea sparkles." It was one of her wishes to see the ocean when it's bright out, and watch as the blues sparkle whenever sunlight hits the ocean. There's not much to see when it's dark out, her family took her once before, but she cannot appreciate it because all she saw was black, very different from the blues and greens she saw on the pictures. "Mhm, I don't think the Strigoi appreciated seeing you in your underwear that's why they lost to you. Not because you're that great." She rolls her eyes, though the atmosphere stays light. She ignores the bubbling fire when she mentioned the Strigois, even managed to put off the venom and spit the word out. She doesn't want Cary to know or suspect even more. Eunoia noticed how her friend tent to look at her closely whenever she does something out of the ordinary, like he's searching for the reason of the sudden change. But she won't let him notice.

The Dhampir had set his mind to becoming her guardian once he graduates, and she can't have that, because she doesn't want one. Having one would mean that her guardian would be entitled to follow her to the end of the world, and protect her no matter what, and Eunoia doesn't want to rope anyone into her future plans, and get themselves killed in the process. That would mean additional blood on her hands, and she doesn't want that, she already have the blood of her family crying for justice, Cary doesn't need to be added to the pool of reds.

She continues stretching, smile wobbling slightly as the other mentioned training to become her guardian, but she disregarded it and shook her head at him, tutting playfully. "Tsk. I'm no damsel, I don't need bodyguards. I'm sturdy. Besides you might be surprised. I was half-assing through all those lessons in the past but not now, drinking people down isn't my only good point now." But she did laugh, remembering all those times she hauled Cary back to the dorms, trying and failing to keep quiet because they might get caught, and then dumping him by the door with a huff. At her defense, she was weaker before, and she wasn't kidding with half-assing all the defense lessons, because she did. Opting to skip all of those and train her powers instead. But after the incident, she's never missed a class. Never once was she late, and even if the sun's already risen, she stays up inside the training rooms to practice all the moves they were taught. Her body wasn't unfit before, well far from it. But now, you can see outlines of lithe muscles in her arms, legs and abdomen, proof of how hard she had trained.

"What? Hey-- don't just start running all of a sudden!" She complains, slightly bewildered at his words but she ran nonetheless, keeping her pace for the first three laps and letting Cary take the lead. On their fourth, she increased her speed, not yet fully but enough to keep up and jog in the same pace as the Dhampir. On their sixth, he noticed the Dhampir slightly building up his speed, as if to test her if she'll take the bait or not, she didn't not yet, and let him run past her again. But on the tenth lap, Eunoia sped up, using the energy she'd saved in the last laps to bolt faster and outpace the Dhampir. She grinned and waved cheekily at Cary as she managed to run past him, speeding up even more. "Better keep up, teach." She shouts, turning and running backwards, laughing when she saw his surprised face. "Don't tell me that's all you got, c'mon Cary." She teased before turning back around and running forward.

@Eunoia Drozdov “We’re not?” He asked at her remark about not being in the tropics and grinned. “The cold air helps me sort my thoughts out. And I’ve fought Strigoi in my underwear, so I think I can handle a training lesson in short pants.” He said, shrugging along his words. Now that the sun was gone, he did feel cold, but he knew soon as they started their training, he’d get warm again. And then, after showering and before first period, he’d definitely change.

He cocked his head at her next words, and laughed. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d laughed, but it felt good to laugh around her, almost natural. Something essential to his being he’d forgotten while being away, and something only she could remind him of. He loved laughing with her, and decided he should definitely do it more often. It was that moment he decided he’d have to fight for their friendship, too. He’d been the one who left her, and even though there were so many things she did not tell him, he was the one to blame. How could he demand her to trust him with everything that was going on in her life, when he wouldn’t trust her with the things going on in his?

/Because it’ll put her in danger/, a loud voice in the back of his head called. He was certain that his mother, despite knowing where he was, knew nothing about his social contacts, the people dear to him, the people he loved. He knew it had to stay this way, or else she’d try to use his loved ones against him; one way or another. He looked at Noia and knew that despite everything he’d put her through, the one and only thing he could never forgive himself was her death or her awakening. Even if he wanted to, he couldn’t tell her about his mother. Moroi came first, it was the first lesson young Novices were taught, and the most important one. They were to be excluded from guardian issues, and if anything, this was one of those issues he had to exclude her from. He sighed.
“Oh, honey, the day you beat me is the day I dig my own grave. Not only am I taller and stronger than you, but I’ve already been training to guard you since the day I started school. When did the Moroi training start? Four, five years ago? We both know that I’ll always beat you - unless it’s a drinking game.” He added. Even though he weighed way more than Noia, he had never had a high tolerance with alcohol. Two drinks and he was completely wasted. They had always joked about how a Strigoi would only have to offer him a drink to beat him - before he had actually meet Strigoi, of course.

He ignored her statement about not being the same, Zoltan’s words painfully echoing in his head. This wasn’t the right time to talk about what had happened while he was away, and he wasn’t sure he even wanted to talk about it. If anything, he wanted /her/ to talk to him. This wasn’t something he should have been told by anyone else than her. This was something she should want to share with him. This was something she should seek his help for.

However, Cary wouldn’t have been Cary if he hadn’t inherited his mother’s - and whole bloodline’s - bad mouth. It was only a matter of time until he’d spill out everything that lay on his heart - almost everything. For now, he decided, it was best to show her he was serious about teaching her.

“First, we’ll run 15 laps around the court.” He said, looking her in the eye. “And you better be fast, because the time you need to run is the time we’ll meet earlier tomorrow so we don’t waste too much of our actual training time.” And with that, Cary started jogging, well knowing that he would have no problem keeping up with her, but still curious as to how much exactly she’d practiced.

@Cary Welch "Hey back, yourself." Eunoia greets back, the corner of her lips tugging upward slightly. Despite her seemingly perfect appearance(blame the vampire blood), you can see how her usually sunny visage completely dimmed. She's had this expression to her ever since the accident, it took a big toll on her, made her reevaluate her life, her life's worth, her reason to be alive. It pained her for months. She remembered how she cried herself to sleep every night, hand clutching at her chest as tears run down her pale cheeks, continuously gushing like a waterfall of sorrow only leaving sadness and emptiness in its wake. Her usual sunny world clouded over, totally taking over the brightness, the colors, and replacing them with hues of dark blues, blacks, greys, and red; an overflowing amount of red. It was then she realized she wanted their blood in her hands, she wanted them to feel what her family felt, make them go through what her sister might have suffered in. That was the day she was reborn.

For some twisted reason, the darkness cloaked her like a second skin, as if she was made to be this type of person, and not the innocent girl who's molly-coddled, and knew nothing about life. The people around her started noticing her change too. Starting from that night when she was brought to the academy from her family home, her with a burned house and no family. She stayed shocked for quite a few days, staring blankly at everything, not eating nor feeling. It wasn't after three days when anguish kicked in, then months after that, anger. Lots of anger. She's angry at herself for being so helpless, she's angry at the council who, despite her loss, seemed to think of it as a good thing because yeah, 'another candidate lost, bigger chance for our family's candidate', but most of all, she's angry at that friend who promised he'd be with her. She questioned why, she questioned it everyday. Why he left her on her own, and why he wasn't here now, sharing her pain and wiping her tears away. Because he promised. They promised each other, but why is it that she's enduring this all on her own?

The day Cary came back, Noia knows something had changed too. Probably something as life changing as hers, and then she noticed his marks, and she knew. Cary had seen the real world. Outside of these cage they call the school, he knew what its like to meet an actual Strigoi, seen how they killed mercilessly, kin or not. And Cary managed to overcome them, even killed some in the process, in that Eunoia respects him. But still, her pain was fresh and her heart closed, she stayed angry at him for a while, because why wouldn't she? But she started to open up to him again, not completely. She didn't share her future plans, or her weekly sneak-outs at the light of day, body fully covered as she scoured the city. Those, she would never willingly talk about.

It reminded her of her cause, the sole reason that she's alive, and it burned her. Ignited her vengeance further, pushing her to become better. That was how she decided to ask Cary for help, seeing that he'd managed to kill those monsters on his own, it seems only fitting she learned a thing or two.

She stops beside the man, eyebrow raised at his chosen attire, clad in only her hoodie and leggings. "It's very chilly out here, ya know." She starts lightly, pulling at her arm and stretching it up, warming up her body. "Especially now. We're not in the tropics, Cary." Her slight smile never disappearing. Puberty was kind to the both of them, given that their blood would guarantee that their appearances won't be sup-par, especially Noia's since she's Moroi, but Cary grew up well, all firm muscles gained from strenuous guardian training, and him being a Dhampir, assures a nice face too. Noia does not quite understand Moroi girls' standards when it came to being attractive, because for her, even the Dhampirs are attractive, maybe even more. They look more reliable, sturdier. Alive. Than them, with their pasty skin and unnatural beauties. She scoffs at that, Morois are underrated anyway.

"And this is not my first lesson, mind you. We do have training now too. I just...want to improve more." She says, tone cautious. She turned to him and cocked her head, smile challenging as she puts both of her hands on her hips. "The teacher should be better than the student, or else. I'm not the same as before, just saying. I've been keeping up." Her eyelashes bat at him, her face radiating innocence as if she didn't just passive-agressively insulted the other. When they have times like these, it almost felt like they're back to how it was before, when all their problem was how they should sneak out for a party and haul their drunk asses back to the dorms before the sun sets. But no, now, everything is different.

@Eunoia Drozdov The sun was setting already when Cary awoke. Even after having been back for three weeks now, it still felt weird to having gone back to a vampiric schedule - which meant classes at night, and sleep at daytime. He didn’t exactly mind, but couldn’t help but miss the sun nonetheless. Moroi that lived in the real world, among humans, especially the ones that weren’t royal, usually adapted to their lifestyle. Not only was it safer, for Strigoi couldn’t hunt during the day, but also was it more discreet.

After three months of having lived outside of St. Vladimir’s, Cary felt like a completely new person. Before, him and Noia were habitues on every Moroi party on the Campus, be it allowed or forbidden. More than once had he looked too deep into the bottle, and had needed Noia to carry him to his room. Even though he had always known that after graduation, it would have to be the other way around, Cary was keen on enjoying as much of his freedom he had left. After graduation, he would follow Noia wherever she’d go, the only time off he would get was to sleep. Here in the academy, he didn’t have to worry about that yet. However now, thing had changed drastically. Not only was he under house arrest for taking off, but he had a whole new perspective on the job he was being trained for. Luckily enough, the guardian that had found him in Ireland and headmistress Kirova had agreed to keep the reason of his disappearance a secret, but because the search for his mother had come to an abrupt stop, his schoolmates still started gossiping. The rumor that hurt the most was about him having killed his mother because she left him as a child. Cary tried his best not to get in trouble by beating the out of those scums, and sought peace in the school’s chapel. He wasn’t religious, but felt this was the only place where people didn’t come after him.

Today, however, was different. Cary wouldn’t go hide anymore, he wouldn’t let those people get to him. He would proudly present his Molnijas, his Zvezda, and most importantly, would show them /why/ he deserved the second change Kirova had given him. Ever since his return, the contact to Noia had been hard. She, of course, was angry at him for having left her behind, but they slowly began growing closer again. This would be their first time since his return that they’d be alone, for Cary had agreed to train her some self defense; he liked that she didn’t want to be completely helpless, but felt there was more to it than she’d told him when asking for help. And he’d been right; at lunch, Zoltan, a friend of his, had told him the real reason behind it; and it had left Cary’s bad consciousness winning over him. He should have never left, and would give the world to change the past.

He was making his way to the training courts, dressed in only a t-shirt and short sweatpants, knowing well enough that once the sun had completely set, he’d need more than that. But for now, he was fine with enjoying the last sunrays on his skin. He was early, he knew, but for some reason he had been so super nervous, he skipped breakfast and went directly to the courts, where he’d limber up and run some rounds before she arrived.

And when she did, it was like the sun rose again. Noia was beautiful, and in a different world, where Cary’s mother’s last name actually mattered even if he was a Dhampir, he was certain that what connected them would’ve been more than just friendship and this unconditional, yet platonic love. Things were what they were, however, and when looking at her, he felt the same warmth he imagined brothers felt for their sisters. He wanted to protect her, no matter what, and after what Zoltan had told him, his heart broke when looking at her. She had gone through so much, and he hadn’t been there for her. He had broken the first and most important promise he’d ever given her.

“Hey, little troublemaker.” He greeted his friend, although not hugging her. They had hugged exactly once since he was back, and it had been the moment both of them had seen each other again for the first time in what had felt like ages. “Ready for your first lesson?”