377 CHPT 377: The Brawler, The Assassin, and The Berserker.....

"[Well, this is bound to go....swimmingly.]"

Arne's words reeked of poorly hidden sarcasm. Poorly hidden like a DireBear in a teashop. Poorly hidden like a Vampire at a beach. Poorly hidden like any and every other analogy that could possibly be used to express how confident the Lupine guide was that Claude and Ursula working alongside the Raiders in hiding would not go well.

You didn't need to be a Detective to know so either.

They didn't fit. Like puzzle pieces from a different set being jammed into the open spaces of a partially done set. They stood out in every way.

Tensions clashed. Like a physical energy, ducking and weaving through the stone floor of the training grounds that had been risen and shaped into a intricate battleground fit with rooms-- upper floors, spots for cover and even sections made for an obstacle course. The Earth Element user who'd set it up was just about as talented as the Professor who'd done the same for his Training class back at the University of the Pheonix.

And you'd never guess who it was. Actually, you would.

Erik. Tank and talented Earth Element user. He only hoped his other thieving compatriots weren't so far along in System granted power. It would drag along the process of erasing them when the time came.....provide more chances for him and his pack to be found-- injured, by the Demons that had seemingly gone into hiding. He had too many enemies. Out of all of them-- the Raiders were the weakest. He needed to study them now and eliminate them very quickly after because the line was already too long. And he wouldn't break his promise to Brenda.

For a moment, he wished he had the Alpha power of a Lupine of Remus. Just so he could bite a large number of homeless people who had faded into the shadows of nonexistence in society and force them into his bidding of revenge and upholding responsibility.

But. Only just for a moment. The thought was crushed by the idea of how much guilt would flood his mind. How many of them he'd have to watch-- feel, die. How many would've had tame and harmless lives before he came in and threw them into Lunar charged violence.

He shook off the thought. Shook off the sight of Dolion and Jack. The idea of making life easier for himself. The thought of ripping into the Raiders right where they stood.

His mind went black-- bursting with the glow of verdant life as he glanced across the field with his natural vision. The obstacle/combat course hid the enemy on the other side. Not from his element though. Very little went unseen by Nature.

Just like the tangible waves of tension flowing through the air like water currents. Something naturally felt by humans that Claude and Ursula could smell.

Anxiety-- no battle-hardened warrior was ever really associated with such a word. But anxiety was natural. And required in a game with stakes. It swelled around them all for varying reasons.

One thing they all shared in reason was, greed. Growing stronger by the second.

Claude knew greed well. Like a child encountering a pond for the first time, their relationship only grew more comfortable-- more intimate over time. First a dip of his finger....maybe a rattling of the clear reflective surface. But, as he learned more of his enemies-- learned more of just how much he needed to grow, the urge to dive in completely, felt like less of a choice and more of a requirement.

Greed was survival for him-- in a way no bowl of coins could ever compare. His anger at being so close to the Raiders-- forcing him to stay in the moment to avoid changing, only matched everything else.

It overran the other scented emotions and heightened feels like an invasive tidal-wave. A tidal wave lit ablaze by Ursula's icy rage.

"Right side, Ready!?" The Knight in fully encasing silver and red armor guarding the money said, aiming his Rune-Written BroadSword at them.

"Reflexes, you ready?" Erik asked from behind him.

Claude swallowed the urge to spin around and rip his throat out, "Mhm."

He did the same for Ursula. All she could manage was a nod as icy clouds of frosted air escaped from her hood with each chuffing breath.

"Damn, you two are intense. I like it! We're ready!" Erik said, reeking of excitement and greed as he, let his bellowing voice rise until Claude's ears stung.

The Knight standing between the two teams off the field nodded before turning and raising his sword to the other side. "Left side, ready?!"

A chant of yes' fell on Claude's ears.

There was nothing left for them to do. No more tension building. No more horrifying thoughts. It was time to get a good studying session in before the Full Moon.

"[Remember. Your control is everyone's just as your shift is. You can inspire her and all the monsters residing within you to change-- you can also soothe them into stasis....hold them at bay. This is your responsibility.]"

"My responsibility.." Claude murmured.

"All sides ready???! BEGIN!"

Claude took off, delving into the stone labyrinth of a Earthen battleground. Ursula followed behind-- her heavy breaths and stomps fading as she veered off to the left, following Erik. The female Swordsman-- who he'd learned was named Kat, dashed past him, eager to wet her blade.

She was fast. But he was faster when he transformed. He needed to see her bladework. So, he and Frosty followed, dashing and twisting through the maze of stones close on her heels.

In a matter of seconds, the sounds of quieted breaths morphed into the clashing of blades and elements. Footsteps above him directed him to the rotten Archer who stalked like a human skinned rat on a thin path of stone that looped over the entire course like a network of intersecting dull rainbows.

He was following Claude. Eager to see if his reflexes would hold up-- or possibly suspicious.

"Watch him." Claude whispered to Blackbeak who stood camouflaged on his shoulder before taking off to hover above the arrogant Archer.

Silence fell in his domain of focus. The sounds of battle rose in the distance-- accompanied by bursts of firelight, thundering echoes of Lightning and wooshing gusts of wind. The smell of blood lingered on the air, heightening his senses as the predator within stirred.

He let it empower him-- but not change. Focus remained. He stalked in silence at the far right side of the course.

Despite only playing as Assassin in name when posing as a Night Runner-- Claude was learning the ins and outs of such a position more and more by the day.

Assassins were to stay out of the mix. Hug the shadows and only ever emerge when they were guaranteed a strike. Rule one.

Following these directives put him in a certain zone within the training room full of combative heroes.

He was in the home of Assassins.

He dropped low to a crouch, hugging the twenty foot tall wall of stone with his ears and nose expanding across the room.

Breaths, smells, the scrape of a sword against the stone floor.....counting. Closer than the others.

"three....two..."

Claude placed his hand against the stone wall he hung close to, pressing the fabrics of his Druidic Cloak into the wall. In a flash, his hand blossomed in the green glow of Natural Energy, pouring and growing the small remnants of life interwoven into the fabrics of his cloak.

CRWSHH!

"AHHCK!"

The Assassin on the other side yelped in pain as wooden tendrils and vines burst from the wall he leaned against and gripped him like a pack of snakes. Holding him upright and in place.

Claude stayed still. Using more of his Mana to hold his Nature-- even as the Assassin struggled and shook to break free.

After a few seconds, his stamina waned and Claude's hand lost it's glow. He stood up, breaking off the wooden vines and tendrils that he'd grown from the surface of his magical cloak. All that remained were a few collections of frizzed fabric as if nothing was ever there.

He moved onward, feeling Frosty send out a wave of (Intimidation) that held the man frozen in fear while the roots held him.

The maze led him left, pulling him towards the center where the sounds of battle were at their highest.

The wall ran for another forty or so feet before splitting and giving way to what he assumed was an open floor. The sounds of madness produced from the area shook the stone beneath his feet.

Bones crunched, people cursed and questioned-- it sounded wild. But then again, he didn't know sparring etiquette or tempo. He could only assume it was the norm.

He moved onward.

The opening growing closer and closer until..

KPOOF!

The sound of two objects colliding stunned his ears, followed by a person flying out of the main room and into the stone hallways he stalked. The person hit the wall hard enough for it to crack as she sagged to the floor barely concious.

Claude moved on instinct, ready to protect her from the next hit that he could feel coming. He stopped a few feet short, registering that it was the female Swordsman and Raider meant to be on his team.

He hung back.

Watched as she painfully rose to her feet-- just in time to witness the wall of flame heading towards her.

Her eyes went a light shade of blue as she leaned into the blast, cutting through it with her blade.

FWOOM!

The flames were snuffed out in an instant, leaving a few burning embers on the leathers beneath her armored arm.

"That's a strong slice...." Claude commented.

"[No it's not. Look at her blade.]"

Claude's eyes followed his guide's directive, panning down to her sword as the Knight who'd thrown her engaged her in combat in the stone hallway.

He came in hard with a Shoulder Charge, bashing into the stone wall in a glowing flash of purple. Kat sidestepped and raised her blade just as the Knight spun and swung at her wildly.

Claude watched as the Knights blade came close. A straight and true path backed by power of at least a Silver Rank. Only-- when their weapons collided, there was little sound...and even less sparks.

His sword didn't even sound like it connected.

Kat took advantage of the deflected blow with his side exposed and kicked him in the side, creating distance between them only to swing at him again despite their shared distance.

FWWWO!

SHLCK!

She'd missed. But a line of red still burst into existence across his thigh through his ripped pants.

"Wind..."

"[Indeed.]"

Now that he knew, he could see the tiny pebbles and dust particles whirling around her single edged sword where she focused her wind Element.

The Knight charged. She tried her ranged invisible slice again. The precise cut of wind collided with the Knights purple Aura that hovered in a controlled state over his frame. From the depths of his visored helm, he could see the hostile purple glow of his eyes.

"AAAAGGGHH!!" The Knight roared, raising his sword.

THud!

WOOF!

Kat stepped into the Knight's attack, stomping into the floor to send a surging gust of wind exploding across the floor all around her as her brown ponytail rose with the attack.

The Knight was lifted off his feet before his sword could ever connect.

While suspended in the air, Kat used her (Slash), Skill.

FWOO!

SHLCK!

She came to a stop behind the Knight, her sword lacquered with blood and the Knight on the floor both legs cut open with the femoral artery in his left thigh severed and leaking blood profusely.

The overpowering smell of large quantities of blood flooded his nose and primal mind. It was too much. This wasn't how sparring went....and with the walls up, few could see.

Things didn't look too good. And the Knight was minutes from actually dying...easily chalked up to a work accident.

"Fuck...Fuck!...Raiders never fail to be piles of shit!" He snarled, storing the combative information he'd gained from watching Kat.

In the following seconds two things happened, interrupting his thoughts.

One. Eyes, they burned into the back of his neck like two flaming arrows.

And two. There was a pile of dirt standing behind Kat as she faced him-- looking down at the bleeding out Knight. From the mound, another Assassin emerged, throwing away his blending ability to attack, cocking back his arms to throw his daggers at Kat's exposed back.

After what she'd done, he wanted to let the knives hit. He wanted to let his claws hit...but the eyes. The Archer was watching-- and with his sharp eyes, Claude knew he could see.

He growled, dashing towards Kat as he bounded from wall to wall until he rose to run on top of the thin stone blockades where he could see the Assassin clearly. And get a clear shot.

By the time the Assassin saw him, he'd already thrown his spear and heard the wet tearing sound as it sunk into his shoulder.

SHLCK!

"ACK!" The Assassin wearing dark brown leather light armor and a matching mask flew back into the pile of dirt, his knives missing their targets.

Before he could witness Kat's reaction, his gaze was pulled to the center of the course.

The center of the violence.

Erik stood at it's center. Brutalized Heroes lay around the stone ring unconscious and leaking blood from their bruised faces and limbs.

The few that still stood warily stalked around him.

"Come on boys!" Erik bellowed, beckoning them to him with his bloody knuckled hands.

"He's not using weapons...."

The Heroes surrounding Erik looked to eachother before nodding and charging him. Erik laughed before his fists were shrouded in the silvery white glow of his Aura. It glowed and flickered like fire with it's flames only growing when he slammed his fists into the floor and sent a shockwave of his Aura sweeping across the stone floor.

The Heroes joined the others outside the ring.

"Erik! Left!" The Archer yelled.

Erik turned left like a mindless drone and threw a punch off to his left.

FWWSH!!

His Aura flew, morphed into a projectile that crashed through the stone wall and almost hit the Hero on the other side.

He threw his Aura.....he threw it...

The smells of blood emanated from everywhere and everything. Staining the stone walls, slicking the discarded weapons of the Heroes... simply hanging on the air like a red fog.

From his Pack Bond, he could feel Ursula's control faltering.

"[Claude. This isn't good-- you need to do something about the Night Runners and the Raiders..]" Arne snapped as Claude's mind raced.

Night Runners would die. Ursula risked changing. He needed to make a decision.....then again, the decision was made the second Kat decided to go for kill shots in a training drill.

He made a promise. And it seemed it was being tested even in a sparring match.

The Archer was a problem.

Claude's eyes flashed green as he activated (Beastial Assistance), resulting in Blackbeak divebombing and stunning the senses of the Archer.

His window of opportunity was as open as it would ever be.

THud...

His boots hit the stone floor below as he crouched, feeling his fangs lengthen and his legs warming with the heat of change....

Frosty was already moving, heading off to drag the Heroes out of the ring.

The Ancient Markings running down Claude's arm glowed with natural power. Power to heal. The power to stop the Raiders from doing what they'd done to him not long ago.

The next time he spoke, it was through his Pack Bond.

"Ursula.....kill the lights."