A Day Without Wind(Non-hostile)

[Alkaiser]

(OOC:This thread is an extension of Alkaiser's involvement in the Beyond Control story arc, which can be found here.)

The sun beams gently down upon the masses of people standing inside Hircine stadium, just outside the school walls. A man on the bleachers gives a speech as the crowd listens intently, responding at just the right times. When neither speaker nor listener makes any noise, a serene silence passes over the land. It is an ironic quiet that mocks the violent noise, not long quelled by Hircine's authorities.

"Sooo...what the hell do we do now?" A voice speaks up from the crowd. A few of the lesser-known Varronite fighters look back and forth to each other, bewildered as to their next move as a group. With the riot that just occurred, everyone seemed to be on high alert. Steve Barzahd, one of the better-known Varronites, takes little interest.

After watching a public beating and being forced into listening to a speech by one of the school's pillars, Alkaiser was not in the best of spirits. He walks past, rolling his shoulder to loosen the joint. Having been more of a strategical piece and less of a fighting pawn during the action, Steve doesn't ache like the rest of these men. He doesn't glisten with sweat, and he does not feel the great rush of adrenaline from having just emerged from a gruesome battle with your head still attached. Rallying troops was not as fun as beating other's troops down, Steve concluded, finally popping the joint in just the right way so as to relieve the tension throughout his arm. He walked with both hands behind his head, showing laid-back disappointment as he began to leave the stadium, only a few minutes after the pillar and his personal henchmen had.

"Hey, Barzahd!" Steve stops for a moment, thinking to himself. Having a name was troublesome. More so when people knew it, and used it to ask for something. "What do ya want?' Steve sighed as he slowly turned around to notice the three or five warriors from before alot closer than he had remembered. "Hey...umm...you were giving the orders before, so you should know...what happens next?"

Steve looks at the guys faces, all seeming to show the same expression. It was a childish display of embarrassment. The kind of embarrassment a kid feels when he doesn't know which way mommy went and he needs to ask for directions. "How should I know?" Steve barks back. The men seem crushed. For a bunch of hardened fighters they sure did have some puppy-like qualities about them. Feeling guilty, he decides to give a little help to the mob. "Ah hell...what happens next, is you guys train and you get stronger." Steve looks around with shifty eyes for any Hircinian with influence that might be ready to scream conspiracy on high. He puts his arms down and leans in a little closer. "Crap like this can happen whenever and wherever, and if you get called upon you'd better be ready. If you're the one winning the fight, then you never need to wonder what happens next."

The guys look to each other, as if to say "Oooh, I should've known." Steve turns around and begins to walk away again, already feeling as if he wasted five minutes of his life explaining which way was up to these poor sad little newbies. It's not long before he hears a group of footsteps behind him. He slows down, and they follow suit. He speeds up and their right behind him. He stops immediately and they all bump into each other. Knowingly, he turns around to see the men following him. He gives a scolding glare. "so...uhhh...when does training start, cap?"

For a moment, no sound is made. Their curiosity is all that stands between them. Where was the wind on a day like today? Maybe it was the warm sun beating down on his head, or maybe it was the feeling of still having a score to settle with those Hircinians, but something compelled Steve to deny his initial reaction of shooing these guys off. A stray thought crosses Steve's mind, telling him that his delusions of peace are going to become further before they get near. He scans the small crowd, seeing some fighters have assembled that actually have a decent reputation, beside some who have nothing but hope. "Guys...I'm no lead--"

"Come on! We gotta get strong! Now help us out you wanna be ex-captain sonovabitch!" A resounding cheer comes from the group. If they had nothing else, they were ferociously driven. Steve couldn't help himself, and was immediately fired up. He instantly, and perhaps subconsciously, agreed to become the leader of this...well...whatever it was. "You bastard! I'm gonna make you jackasses train until I get tired! It's after school isn't it? Make way to the gym, NOW!"

Most of the men rush off immediately, yelling and saluting. He looks on with a prideful expression, although his mind inquires as to what he just got himself into. "I'll be damned if I'm not looking forward to the next scrap though," he thinks.

[pinefresh]

Unlike Alkaiser Malikai had been fighting hard. He was tired, he was aching, he was sweating, and he was full of adrenaline. He actually felt very much refreshed and alive in his element. Win or lose Malikai was created to be a fighter, he learned how to take a hit and how send one out and his training never ended. Though part of his wished his head and ribs would stop throbbing so annoyingly so he could think straight. This was never going to happen but wishful thinking was never a bad thing.

Making his way back through the school a smile on his face from the idea formed during the beating of the Hircinian's. Also by the need to find the Varronite who started it all off and managed to escape the hand of justice. The kill was close but the intervention of a big jock had stop it from happening. The jock would pay for his actions considering you pay for the side you take in war. There was also the little fact that Malikai hated jocks immensely and beating one would bring him great pleasure.

That is about where the sounds started, softly first then grew exponentially in volume. Moving fast to cover ground Malikai was brought back to the bleachers and the stadium. There seemed to be no escape from what was going on here, no escape from what was about to happen. The Alkaiser would make sure of that, that is after all why he stood there surrounded by many others.

He seemed unwilling at first to take charge but the feeling was quickly placated by the willingness of the men around him. Sure it was a small group of people that were still probably in shock as what happened to them. Sure they were left with the lingering feeling of defeat after such a weakness had been exposed. That however did not change the fact they were willing to follow a leader who stood virtually untouched by the fighting as Malikai could see it. He had Alkaiser had been somewhat allies for a while, it was time to see what had become of that alliance. Secretly though he would not admit it, Malikai also looked for someone to follow.

Moving slowly around the inside of the stadium out of direct view Malikai was able to make his beside Alkaiser as the others ran off. "Where have you been lately? I hope you haven't just been avoiding me." Malikai's words were semi-harsh as he was slightly angry at the entire situation. He would not let any half-assed answer fly, he wanted a full answer and nothing else would suffice.

[Alkaiser]

"Hmmm?" Steve looks up to see his old friend Malikai standing next to him. A little taken aback by the fact that he snuck up to him unnoticed, Steve takes a moment to look at the man, who had obviously had quite a bit more fun than Alkaiser did in the fight. He was jealous.

"Awww...don't tell me you're mad just cause I didn't call you on the morning after, sweetie." Steve gives a big grin, being able to joke with his friend as he used to enjoy. Malikai, however looks less than amused, seeking a more serious answer. Steve looks to the ground, avoiding the disappointed glare that he would most likely be receiving.

"If you must know...I participated in the school musical." Barzahd, a little ashamed of his off-color extracurricular, begins to explain a little more into the matter. "I figured it was a nice thing to try once...it really brought out some charisma in me...and I still had to train everyday, which ate up most of my trouble-making time..."

Steve shrugs, finally looking back up at Malikai to gage his reaction. Maybe he would find it interesting...or maybe he'd just laugh. Either way, it was the honest truth. The event had an outlandish effect on Steve, which would explain the unusual acceptance of his new leadership. He then focuses, looking to his friend inquisitively. "Why? Did I miss something?"

[pinefresh]

"Don't bother flattering yourself hun, you never were and probably never will be that good." The reply came almost immediately with a certain practiced ease Malikai barely even knew he had. After hearing such things come out of the mouths of some of the females he had been with, it was rather easy to regurgitate. Of course such things only occurred after you broke up or if you forgot to call. It is amazing how people either hide their feelings on something or lie about them to make someone feel better. Malikai had no such reserve and set out to tell the truth no matter what the situation.

Malikai could not help but smirk when he heard Alkaiser mention being part of the school musical. Being only part of the school choir was bad enough but to participate in such a thing was laughable. Something about Alkaiser acting and dancing was actually quite comical. The only thing Malikai could see Alkaiser doing was standing up on stage making sarcastic remarks and cracking jokes. The whole joke aspect seemed much more geared to his character than either that of a singer or an actor. Then again, people were always full of surprises and perhaps his voice sounded like a little choir boys instead of a donkeys whine.

"You have missed much." Malikai said moving toward the rest of them who were running off. These people expected their leader to train them and that was not going to happen if he stood around talking. There was a time to train, a time to talk, and a time to train to and talk. This was one of those situations where it was better to walk and talk as more goals would be accomplished this way. There were however people who could only do one of the two at once, either walk or talk. The question was what type of person was Alkaiser. "Come on oh fearless leader we can discuss this while we follow your men." The words were slightly sarcastic, more of a joke than anything and easily getting the point across.

[Alkaiser]

(OOC: Ick...short one for ya. I couldn't really think of much more to add.)

Steve gives a chuckle as Malikai's mood lightens. He also found the phrase "Come on oh fearless leader, we can discuss this while we follow..." to be ironically funny. He moves to walk beside Malikai, in the trail left by the group of fighters making headway towards the gym. "Allright, inform me. I have hardly even been able to lurk recently, so I am quite ignorant to current events."

The two men walk and talk, Steve listening intently to everything Malikai has to say. The sun is shining and the day is warm, giving a serene sense of potential now that the fearsome tag team is back together. As they approach the gym Steve's mindset shifts slightly to decide how he's going to train all those wide-eyed fighters that wait inside for his coaching.

[pinefresh]

(OOC: Random talking post, how I suck at thee)

"Lets see what can I tell you that I actually remember." Said Malikai as he continued to walk. It took him a few moments to gather his thoughts enough to speak. So much had happened in such a short time it was hard to tell what should be told first and what shouldn't be.

"I ran into your former School Captain or soon be be Captain Leon Loire." Deciding to talk about others who fight for the same cause was probably a good way to start.

"He seems to dislike the system as much as you or I, for what reason I do not exactly know. Well I suppose I know now, did you hear he was beaten one on one by Tiao? At least thats what they are saying. Can you believe it, beaten today while the rest of us were being herded out of the halls like cattle." Going off topic was always easy when there was some juicy gossip going around. The problem with gossip was that there was no way to prove the truth behind it until you ask the person(s) involved. Malikai would be sure to check it out with Loire later on in the week or next week depending on when he could see him.

"The point is he is going to start to gather forces and influence again to attempt to challenge the Pillars. Basically he's making our work quite a bit easier as he'll be occupying everyone for us."

"Next you missed a smaller fight in the school halls where I almost got to rip apart the hall monitor who caused me so much grief last year, had Stern not intervened. Leon was there to be threatened by Kurtz, about his actions. Personally keeping him close would be a good idea, a magnet for trouble means we can move freely around him without contesting."

"The last of the major things to happen I guess was I ran into a boy. Kazuma or something like that, he ripped apart 6 students on the roof without much damage to himself. The point is after helping him escape he now owes me a favor and may come in useful later on. That's about it, by the way how are your scars healing up?"

[Alkaiser]

Steve nods silently at the conclusion of Malikai's report. He looks up at the last question posed. "My docs were awesome. They cured me up just fine...I hardly have a scratch left. The nurse helped my recovery quite a bit too..." Steve stops there, recalling the event in great detail. Had it not been for that, Steve never would've tried theatre, which turned out to be a great passtime while he was healing up.

"I've met Kazuma before, and he is indeed an impressive individual. I imagine that I'll run into him sometime soon as well. As for Leon, he definately is worth following, if for no other reason than to inherit some of his greatness. I'll have to look into things as far as he's concerned."

Steve turns back to Malikai, pointing over his shoulder with his thumb at the gym, now right in front of them. "I have some work to do whipping these guys into shape, but you're welcome to join if you've got the time." Steve smirks as he offers, always willing to accept help in guiding his new forces. In his mind he knows that it's still his responsibility, but he's always ready to split the workload. Alkaiser is sure that Malikai probably has other better things to be doing with his time, such as investigating more, so in the back of his mind he already begins scheming a unique regimen for the others.