Ky takes a deep breath, trying hard to control her impatience. Star couldnt hit the broad side of a barn if she were standing a foot away from it. Ky was trying to decide if she was doing it on purpose or if she just didnt have any hand-eye coordination.... Ky shakes her head, Shes half fae, that cant be it. She moves lightning fast when she wants to...

Ky's thoughts are interrupted by the appearance of Panther and her rambunctious greeting to Star. Raina arrives on her bike a few minutes later.

“How is she doing?” Raina inclines her head towards Star who is rubbing Panthers belly, much to the large cats delight.

“Well, if you want to know the truth, not so good. She's afraid of missing the target and hitting a tree. Or worse yet, missing the target and hitting some poor creature. She had a few demifae clear the area of any animals before we could start, not that they needed to worry, if she actually hit a moving target it would be a miracle.” Ky sighs and continues, “If she were one of my sibs I would goad her and piss her off, make her come after me, but I know that wont work with her. She's just so damn kind hearted... I dont know what to do with her. Maybe it would be better if Erik showed her how to defend herself.”

Raina sighs, “Bloody Hel.... I am entirely too tired for this today...”

“Didnt sleep well?” Ky asks with a hint of mischievousness in her voice.

Raina shakes her, “No, and we dont need to go into it now.” Raina watches as Star picks up the Stars and tries again. “Wow... just wow... you werent kidding...”

Nodding Ky says, “Maybe we should just give her a good knife and call it a day. One she can sheath on her leg so she doesnt inadvertently hurt herself...”

“No, let me try something first...” Raina approaches Star and Panther and Star hugs her warmly.

“Raina! Hi! Ky and Gareth have been trying to show me this...” Star holds up one of the weapons, “but I dont think I am any good at this....”

“Well, look at like this... What if I were someone evil...someone trying to take Ru away from you...”

Rainas face changes, her expression serious and threatening. “What if I grabbed him away from you...”

Raina gets right in Stars face and is close to yelling, “What if I took him and was going to run...”

Stars face crumples and she looks close to tears, obviously not use to anyone so much as raising their voice at her. But with Rainas raised voice Star starts to look angry and her eyes start to darken and look stormy.

Tannr approaches quietly on foot and Ky reaches out and grabs him. She holds a finger to her lips, “Sshhh...”

“What if I had him by the foot.... what if I was headed to the woods....” Raina points to the trees, and the target set up. “What if I had him by the foot and his head was going to bash into a tree unless you stopped me....”

Star looks stricken and angry, then raises her hand, the star held between its points.

“Dont think Star, dont think, just do it. What would you do... your son will die....”

All Raina hears is a soft woosh followed by a thunk. Stars reaction was lightning quick and the star had found its target, quivering in the neck of the outline on the wood.

The stunned silence is broken by a cheer from Ky who comes rushing forward, “You did it, you did it....you hit the target...”

Tannr and Gareth go to the target to see just how accurate her aim was. Gareth gives a low whistle, “Damn, I hope she never gets mad at me.” Raina pulls Star aside and hugs her. “I didnt mean to hurt your feelings. But if someone comes after Ru or Mera, it will happen that fast and you dont have time to think, you have to react...”

Star nods and her eyes slowly start to return to their normal shade.

'The Drow wont think twice and they move as fast as you do.” Tannr hands Star the weapon he pulled from the target.

“Th...they arent all bad... I mean, they cant all be bad...”

“Yes they can and they are. The only good Drow is a dead one....” Tannr says, not noticing the frown on Stars face but Raina feels the compassion and the confusion and wonders what Star is thinking about....

The shadows of the trees are cool, a welcome change from the burning heat of the sun. Keon listens to the messages on his phone as he watches demifae flit among the leaves of Star's thriving garden. Tori had left him two. One was about a report on the license plate number Ron had remembered. The other about people asking to help in the hunt for the ghouls.

Keon watches as a Hell Hound slips by, a bit of deep shadow among the cool darkness. The red eyes gleam as it patrols the perimeter of Wish's spellcrafting. Something rustles in the brush and the Hound stills. A rabbit peaks out, sniffs, and darts the other way. The Hound sniffs at the brush, ignoring the fleeing creature. It shakes its head and moves on.

The property is quiet without everyone around.  Keon strolls back to the porch and picks up the folder he had left on the small table. Inside it is a printout of the patrols, the types of Others involved, along with their talents and weaknesses. He looks over a list of missing people, noting two cabbies. One is flagged. The cab noted as the one the ghouls tried to force Ron into.

Keon picks up a pen and begins to make a list of strategy savvy fighters. Moments later he is on the cell, beginning to make a round of calls. It is time to take the battle to the ghouls.....

I make the jump, landing lightly on the balls of my feet. The crow on the chimney cocks its head, blinking at me. It flutters upward, and shifts. He lands just as lightly and unlocks the roof door. Bowing, his shaggy black hair drifts over his glittering eyes. Silk hides a smile and lowers her lids in a smokey glance. He presses a hand over his heart and sighs.

As my foot touches the first step he murmurs for my ears only, "Guunnar is inside with a new recruit. He cleared the blade room of anybody else."

I smile. I know exactly where I am going. The Viking can just suck it up.

I hear the crack of steel on wood, and the oof of someone landing hard. The hallway is empty. No one loiters near the room to watch. I smile and step soundlessly through the doorway. The girl is slender, her movements are flexible. She looks scared out of her skin though. I watch as she moves in under a swing and pokes the giant Viking in the stomach. He harrumphs and changes his swing to block her next strike. the mere force of his swings sends her stumbling.

"Guunnar, vat ees theese. You teach her fight vith sword, but not dance vith sword?"

I tsk at him and move past, hips swaying. I sheathe my blades and take hers from her hand, turning the blade and measuring its balance. I nod and hand it back, moving to pick up an identical weapon.

Guunnar grins at me. He sketches a low bow and introduces us. "Nina, dese ist Mistress Leather, better known to her friends as Silk." He raises a hand to the side of his lips, feigning secrecy. "Sie vill tell du ven ist ok to call her dat."

I heft an estoc and spin. The tip of its blade flicks across the man's left arm. He is instantly on his guard. The young girl hides a laugh, but you can see it in her eyes. I motion for him to come and he follows me.

"Vatch leetle vone."

The girl hunkers down where she is, eyes wide and eager. Guunnar comes at me, swinging. I lean back and the blade swishes harmlessly by. I twist as I right myself, spinning to roll under his next cut, and score a nick to his thigh. I could have hit higher, but I was proving a point to the girl, not Guunnar.

He growls softly and feints. I sway away from the blow, twisting in to strike. Capturing his arm, I use it to propel myself around him. The girl is laughing and Guunnar's gaze narrows. As I glide closer, he blocks my first strike, nearly missing the next. The third takes him in the side. He jumps back, and bows.

I flourish the blade, and motion to the girl. "As much as men vould like vomen to fight like men, sometimes ve do theengs our own vay. Come. I teach you to dance vith blade, si?"

It takes her a few moments to realize I am offering to help her learn to hold her own against someone as big and intimidating as Guunnar. She rises slowly, looking doubtful.

"I'm fast and I'm agile, but I'm nowhere near as graceful as you are."

I laugh and the girl jerks. "Practeese, mi amora, Ees lots un lots of practeese."

I can taste her unease. Much as she admires what I can do, the kid is scared of me. I wonder what she senses from me. She comes closer and I have her mimic my movements with the sword. "Ven you fight, feel the rhythm of each movement like feeling music ven dancing. Ees a dance of living, child."

As Guunnar strikes I begin to move and she follows my lead. His blow passes us, and she keeps her feet by letting the breeze flow over her instead of blocking it with her body. I think it amazes her. Guunnar laughs as she twists upward, surging into his personal space.

"Vell done, leetle vone!"

She stares at the broad plane of Guunnar's chest as it dawns on her that she is inside his swing zone. She blinks up at Guunnar.

"I did it? I did it. I DID IT!!!!!!!!"

She bounces on her toes and is suddenly vaulting past his reach. I blink and slowly smile. She glances my way and stills instantly.

"Uh-oh...."

I grin at Guunnar.

"Can you do that again, mi amora?" The kid nods slowly. "I theenk ve find sometheeng to vork vith..."

For the next few hours, we dance. I teach her how to see the beginning of each move, to judge how her body needs move out of strike range. She catches on, bouncing around almost faster than the eye could follow. Less often she finds herself on her ass. More often, she is bouncing up and away before Guunnar can make a grab for her.

I warn her that there are those out there faster than she. She doesn't wield the blade nearly as fast as she can move. We start drilling with that as Guunnar catches his breath. When I let her take a break, the kid is drenched in sweat. I don't know who recruited this kid, but she has potential. Guunnar tells her to call it a night and hit the showers.

As she heads down the hall, Guunnar looks at me. "Vell, vas tinks du?"

"I theenk she ees fast. Lots of... energee." I tap a finger to my chin. "She ees deetermeened." I smile, lips twisting in a wry grin, "But maybe no long range veapons. Vith her energee, she may not hold aim vell."

Oh, sweet Goddess….

Erik has set up a target range of sorts in his back yard, and Ky has been instructing Star in the proper use of shuriken – throwing stars. This particular design has five points, and in K’thyri’s hands, they’re utterly, no-nonsense lethal.

In Star’s hands, they’re a chunk of metal.

I don’t know what it is – poor hand-eye coordination, an inability to judge distance, a bad stance – but Star can’t seem to even hit the target, far less hit it square; and on the rare occasions that she does connect, the flat of the star is what connects and it bounces off without penetrating. Granted, it’s a tricky weapon to master; but even the law of averages should have had her hitting the target more often. I wonder if she needs glasses?

If it had been anyone else, Ky would have read them the riot act by now, or maybe inserted one of those stars where no one wants it to go; but tonight she’s a saint, correcting Star over and over, explaining her mistakes and giving her the weapon again with a smile and a sunny “Okay, let’s try it again….”

As for Star, she’s really trying… but I wonder if we wouldn’t do better to get her a shotgun….

Weapons training. Ack!

To their credit, they took my strengths - speed, balance and agility - into account when they chose my weapons. I'm working with a pair of swords, trying to see which works out best. One is about thirty inches worth of slender, light blade, coincidentally called a smallsword. The other is also small and light, but maybe ten inches longer, called a estoc for gods know what silly-ass reason. Oddly, the longer blade seems to work better, not that they're taking my word for it; they're gonna work me with both swords till I drop in my tracks and fall on my poofy tail.

Okay, I kid. My tail's not all that poofy if I'm not a squirrel. Truth is, it's discouragingly flat, much like my chest. Still, it's not like the male of the species is all that studly, either. Squirrels are - well, squirrels. We're known for being cute, not particularly sexy.

Not that my well-known cuteness is doing me much good against the Ox That Walks Like A Man. Yeah, Erik told me they weren't gonna take it easy on me, but he never told me my first instructor would be Guunnar! Hell, he doesn't even have to connect to knock me on my ass; just the wind from his swings is enough to bowl me over. He's waaaay too fucking agile for a guy the size of the Statue of Liberty. It's just not fair....

I think I took him by surprise, though. He didn't know that I could jump over my own head, even in human form. That was good for just one attack - and I didn't score on him - then he started adapting to it. Fuck. Big, strong, agile and fast; it's just not fair....

Did I mention that these blades are slender and light? That means that I can move pretty fast, which is good; it also means that, if a heavier blade hits hard enough, it's apt to snap mine in half. Not so good. Did I mention that Guunnar is using a Viking longsword, about five times the weight of mine?

Geez, how'd I forget that?

Ohhhhhh, holyfuckingCRAP!

And once again I'm on my none-too-well-padded ass. Maybe I should learn to fight from this position; it seems I'm gonna spend a lot of time like this, and Guunnar's not even the scariest guy I'm gonna be learning from. I actually haven't decided who that is, there are a lot of contenders for the crown - Nick, Keon, Ramji, K'thyri - maybe even Mortuis, who's been using a sword practically since they were invented, if you believe the rumors. Next time I'm wearing bike shorts; at least then my ass will have some padding to land on....

Woo-hoo, I got him! It was an accident, but I scored on Guunnar! He now has twin belly-buttons, one just to the left of the original. Oh gods, the look on his face...! He looks like someone dropped a tree on him!

Now I'm up and moving again. I think I have the hang of this swordfighting thing now; the estoc is more for thrusting than cutting, which explains why only the last six inches of the blade is sharp; so while Guunnar's swing is following through, I can poke him two or three times. Ha-ha, got you now, you big doofus!

Ohhhh, fuuuuuuck, not again!

Now I know what they mean when they say "Pride goeth before a fall"....

Gods, my ass is sore....

"C'mon, Erik, let me help!" The speaker is a dark-haired nineteen-year-old shifter, practically bouncing from excitement and an overabundance of teenage hormones. "I want to be part of your team and hunt down the ghouls, and I know I can help!"

I sigh deeply. "Nina, you can help us best by staying home and protecting your brothers."

A look of annoyance and disdain flashes over her face. "Those lumps of suet? Hell, Erik, any ghoul that eats them is in for a heart attack from all the cholesterol in their roly-poly little carcasses!"

Sigh...

"Look, Nina, you're not making this easy," I point out. "One of the first things you have to learn to be on a team - any team - is to take orders without question, and you can't even take 'no' for an answer?" The bouncing stops, but her eyes are wide with hope and stubbornness. "Our teams are made up of experienced warriors - with a few that are less experienced, sure, so they can get experience in the field. You're - what? - five-foot two or three, maybe a hundred pounds soaking wet, and you've never used a weapon in your life. We don't have time to babysit you."

Her eyes go to hot slits.

"You think I can't take care of myself, is that it? You think because I'm not a bear or a wolf or a - a tiger or something, that I'm helpless? We'll just see about that - "

And with that, Nina is gone. Her shorts and tee drop to the floor, and a very pissed-off were-squirrel scampers up my pants leg, chittering with rage. Her tiny claws are like miniature pitons and she moves like greased lightning, moving too fast for me to do more than make ineffectual slaps. I feel her approaching my crotch - oh fuck - and then she's there and I hold my breath. She lingers there just a second - just long enough to make a point, I suspect - then her head pops out of the top of my jeans. I make a grab, miss, and now she's scampering up my shirt, leaving tiny scratches all along the way. More slapping, always too late, and then she's chattering in my ear, her claws dug into my throat and those chisel teeth poised at my carotid artery. I feel them just touch my throat... then she drops like a stone, bounces over to her clothes and - poof! - she's a girl again, and the clothes are even in the right places - a little twisted to be sure, but the shirt is on the top and the shorts are on the bottom and that's better than I could do.

She stands with one hip cocked, looking at me levelly. "Still think I'm helpless, big man?"

"Fuck, no!," I say feelingly. "Okay, you can join my team" - she whoops and bounces some more - "but you're on probation. You've proved that you can fight; now prove that you can follow orders. In the meantime, after school, you'll be schooled in weapons training. You want to be one of us, you're going to learn to pull your weight, and we're not going to take it easy on you because you're young or a girl. Got that, rookie?"

She whips out a flawless salute, going to a ramrod-straight attention. "Got it, sir."

Keon passed Ron's information on to those of us who were there last night, leaving a written report for Tori. She'll take care of informing anyone who wasn't there at the time. We talked - argued, mostly - about plans to deal with the ghouls, now that we know their new strategy. Still, we didn't really come to a consensus yet; by the time we called it a night, the sun was almost on the horizon and Nick had to fly to beat it home. The rest of us followed at a more leisurely pace, too tired even for bedtime games.

Raina joined us this morning, Nick having already gone to his darkroom to sleep the day away, and after we woke up, we managed to while away a few hours before adjourning to the shower... I don't know who designed this place, but the showers are huge, more than enough room for three people, or even four.... Good thing vamps don't really have problems with running water....

After breakfast (which is actually brunch), we go our own ways until Nick wakes. Ky goes to her salle to work out; I go to the garden, just to relax and maybe putter around a bit; and Raina? I think Raina's going to take a nap; she was tossing and turning and moaning a lot this morning. I wonder what she was dreaming about?