A Commander's Request [Closed/Calendrea]

Promptness, that was her new by law that her world seemed to hinge upon these days. Since joining The Order her life seemed to have a bit too much order in it. So many things to do, so many protocols to learn and personnel to meet. She was quick to learn who she could reply upon, who had to be checked up on, and who to stay the hell away from. The latter category was divided into the talkers, the squawkers, and the down right lewd. One day she had been accosted in the corridor by a smattering of all three. Fortunately she had been able to steer her course through the mild throng dispatching them all to their own tasks thus sparing Aodh from the hassle. These people needed to get with the program or go home.

Thank God for Cassandra though that perky routine of hers was a bit much for Calendrea when she hadn't even gotten through her first cup of coffee in the day. She tossed a heap of files on her desk and looked at the clock on the wall. "Yes, she would have just enough time to...",  her mouth gaped open interrupting her thoughts, as she rubbed her eyes and checked the time again. "Damn it Cassandra, I told you to put new batteries in that thing!",  she blurted out to the empty room. Naturally she did not handle the staffers with such a tone, but she was going to be late now for sure if she ran by the kitchens and snagged a bite to eat. Oh well, there was nothing for it. She would just try to get something for lunch a bit early, and not for the first time this week.

Exiting her office she headed over to the meeting place where Aodh had told her to report. As usual he was short on details, but she didn't think it was going to be a hassle. It was not like he could possibly have anything to complain about. She showed up for work, put in long hours, and never balked at a command. Not only that, she didn't drag her heels around the castle like some of the hangers on did. Calendrea had noticed there was a bit of dead wood on the staff, those people who were lifers and didn't feel like they had to impress anyone. "Well change is here folks", she mused as she walked past people busy going to and fro dutifully occupies with their tasks. It was really not shaping up too bad, to be honest. She was just a bit surprised that things had been so disorganized imagining that everyone had good work ethics within The Order. Unfortunately when it came down to it, Quincy were just as human as the run of the mill unsensitve souls in the world. No better or no worse for all their mystical powers.

Upon arriving at his office, she knocked on the door softly in case he was in a meeting, and opened the door to enter. Several times she had done this in order to hurry some long winded visitor out with some comment such as, "Your next appointment has arrived, Sternritter Birith". That usually got people moving for this was no visitor's center of coffee house but a place of business. She never thought she would wind up in government work that night when Aohd had sworn her into knighthood, but so far that's exactly what it was; civil service. She grinned at Aodh in greeting glad to see that he was expecting her and not plagued by some long winded soul. "Good morning Sternritter", she said. It was quite a distancing form of address but she was trying to be as professional with him as possible since shaming herself so in his presence. Things were different and that was just the way it was.

Taking up her customary position before his desk, she waited to be offered a seat and said, "What is it that you wished to discuss?" Standing there in her uniform, the blue doublet pressed and looking smart, she was the picture of military professionalism. No one would have suspected how out of her depth she considered herself to be. At least she could stand to be in the same room with him without her stomach tying up in knots. Even so her thoughts still rose to plague her, "That was an improvement, right?"

Word Count: 742

He glanced up over the rim of his laptop screen to see Calendrea had entered. The man bit back a curse. It was time for work again. Bookmarking the Egyptian History page he'd ended up on he closed the laptop, he'd gotten so far off track he couldn't even pretend that the article was related to the assignment. Gesturing to the seat at the other side of his table he give a brief smile.

"Dame Hughes. Please sit."

Yes not Calendrea today. They were Military right now and there was no time for informality, especially not when someone could interrupt them at any time. It was so very tiring but it was also...empowering? Aodh had never thought he'd end up in the military. The man despised conflict, he abhorred violence and he hated the thought of battle. However that was exactly what he trained both himself and others to be ready for. Perhaps however that was what the Quincy needed? Maybe 

"I hope the new day finds you well." he added pleasantly. New day. What a joke. Aodh had napped for 3 hours in the past 25.

He pushed the file that he'd admittedly only partially read himself across the table to Calendrea. "I've just come from a meeting with the Her Majesty and Sternritter Khen." he informed her "Both of us have been issued Orders upon which our performance will be judged and from there Freyleif will pick her Sternritter Asche." he explained calmly "We can bring which ever support staff we wish so I would like you to come with me."

He gestured at the report "A Quincy Clan in Egypt is suffering from some sort of Spiritually based plague. Likely Hollow induced." he paused with a thoughtful expression "I have never heard of such a thing but we'll see more once we get there. Hopefully we can help those poor people."

He held up a hand "I'll state this now. I couldn't care less about the Asche position. Amelia is a fully capable woman with a keen mind and power to spare. Our first priority is to help these people not win some sort of contest."

He had found it distasteful how Freyleif had stated such a thing. He wouldn't compete for it. Whoever was assigned as Asche would be Asche. Aodh would continue doing as he did, serving the Order. Of course he didn't say such a thing, he might not like it but the Queen was the Queen and he wasn't about to openly disapprove of her actions. As such he kept his expression and tone carefully neutral and without judgement.

"Now as for what I am w-" he cut off as the door swung open. Two maids, one of which he was sure was the girl from the breakfast meeting, entered carrying trays one of which carried the food while the other carried the drinks. They put the pot of black coffee down onto the centre of the table with sides of milk, sugar and their cups so they could serve themselves. Then the second of the women placed their plates of toast and eggs along with butter, salt and peppers shakers.

Aodh give the two women a smile. "Thank you this is wonderful, I appreciate the quick turn around." he said gratefully knowing they'd already been put through their paces for the extravagant breakfast that Freyleif had put out at the meeting.

They stood at attention and it suddenly clicked to Aodh that they were Quincy too, they were likely military themselves with all the training the Knights had. Where any of the castle's servants just servants? However despite their formality they smiled in a mixture of pleasure and surprise at the compliment.

"It's no problem My Lord." one replied as the other swiftly interjected "It's our pleasure sir."

Well thank God only one of them had used the noble title.

Aodh nodded "That will be all, thank you again."

The two nodded and quietly left the room, no salutes, maybe they weren't fully military or perhaps they just knew Aodh didn't care right now. The constant bowing and saluting got exhausting when done in private such as his office. Once they'd closed the doors behind them he fixed his gaze back on his Lieutenant. Reaching across he began to pour himself some coffee and then he did the same into her cup.

"I had no idea if you'd had a chance to eat." he told her with a shrug "I remembered you liked coffee however so help yourself. No point talking on an empty stomach."

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WC: 763
Total WC: 1335

All business. She was more than fine with that. Calendrea was well aware that there was a time and a place for everything and she was finding that adjusting to this new life was going a bit better than she had anticipated. Recalling how she had been filled with such skepticism about bowing to any authority at all, the irony of things was not lost on her in the least. Reaching out to the chair, she gripped the back rest to pull it out just a bit before taking a seat. "Thank you sir", she said as she lowered herself into the chair.

"I am quite well", she replied shortly without going into any detail. It was easy enough to take the cues that time must be spent upon the task at hand and this suited her sense of curiosity just fine. While it was true her duties were quite mundane in nature, she was learning a wealth of things about what was going on in the world and how everything fit together. That simply was not something she could pick up at the library nor on the streets in that this was another layer altogether. Sure she had studied history getting lost in the past. One article linked to another and another until she was leagues away from where her research had begun, and she had definitely acquired a wealth of knowledge about people and their motivations while growing up as a vagabond, but this was a completely unique glimpse into a life style she had only dismissed up until now.

As expected, Aodh got right into the meat of his purpose for their meeting without further delay by shoving a file across his desk top for her to examine. Reaching out with her left hand, she took up the information opening the file and let her eyes scan over the documents it contained as he launched into his explanation. From time to time she would raise her head to make eye contact with him before leafing through yet more of the pages within her grasp.

Their first real mission of mercy. The assignment filled her with anticipation. This was what she wished to do with her life, her whole reason for training and casting off her former ways of denying her heritage. She recalled sitting in that internet cafe back in Karakura town while Lucas tried to recruit her, her eyes looking out at the innocence of the people who were quite clueless to the dangers of the supernatural world. Back then she felt his enthusiasm, this crusade to save the world was like trying to empty the sea of water using a soup spoon. Such a fantasy goal. They could never make the world a safe place from its pain and suffering.

The only thing was, futile as the grand scheme of things might be in reality, she could no longer be just one more person who gave into apathy and didn't even try. She never had been, truthfully if she thought about it for she often had indulged in random acts of charity. Even when she had little to nothing upon which to eat, she had been known to give her last bit of food to the street children she and her brother encountered. There was always someone worse off than herself in need. The numbers were jut overwhelming and her resources nonexistent. How then could she, now that she was empowered to actually effect change that could save lives do nothing just because it would not solve everything?

Lost in the prospect of going to Egypt though, her mind flitted through all the lore she had stored up for what child did not get drawn into the wonder of that ancient civilization? She grinned, for mummies and tomb raiding was right up there with dinosaurs in a child's imagination. The assignment was designed to fulfill everything she could have hoped for. the chance to do something meaningful at the level that would save lives within a land she had only ever dreamed about.

Calendrea was suddenly jarred out of her initial delight in the prospect to leave the world of dusty tomes and endless documents behind by Aodhs revelation over the Sternritter Ache position being up for grabs. Raising her head from the file she stilled her mind and focused solely upon his features trying to read those micro-expressions he was so adept at masking. Even though they were being ever so professional with one another, adhering to military protocol and a behavior suitable to the work environment, she was rather startled by how openly he revealed his distaste over the way this mission was being used as a prize for advancement.

If nothing else had made her sure about joining The Order and how that had been the right choice for her to make, the reaction of the man seated across the desk from her at that moment certainly did. He was not a corrupt power hungry dilettante or but rather a true humanitarian who put the welfare of the people first. Often times when people were in a position of power their focus would change and they lost sight of the things in themselves that made them human and became corrupted by greed for more. To see that this would not be the case with Aodh warmed her heart and helped to set to rest even more of her reservations about being in The Order. But what of the other Sternritter? Was she also of a similar nature? Hopefully so, for with leaders who knew what was important, to keep their eyes upon the true purpose of the Quincy the likelihood that others would follow their lead was greatly improved.

She was about to comment when the two attendants came in with the breakfast trays Aodh had ordered. Shutting the file and folding her hands over its outside, she sat at attention while they laid out the food and went away. It didn't astonish her how many Quincy put their hands to mundane tasks around the castle very much. Naturally it would be impossible to maintain any semblance of secrecy if non-sensitive humans were on staff. She herself was a military attache, a glorified file clerk , a receptionist, and secretary all rolled up into one. Even Aodh had been a high school teacher. Other than the Queen and Faelen, she had as yet to meet a Quincy who didn't have a run of the mill day job.

Her stomach was quick to rumble though in the presence of food and she gratefully reached for the cup of coffee eschewing the addition of milk and sugar. "Thank you sir. I have not broken my fast yet this day. This will surely save time while we discuss the mission", she was quick to say before sipping from the mug. The heat settled into her body and she just held onto the cup a bit letting its warmth translate into her joints.

The aches from her training injuries with the Sanrei Device were still quite prevalent. Those long hours in which she had strained to draw upon Reishi and manifest her claws had been agonizing leaving her hands raw and bleeding by the time she had managed to bond with her torc. The visible signs had healed prior to her return to Berlin, but the wounds within were still lingering on. Her relief as she held onto the mug was quite visible for the little signs of pain eased from her features for a moment.

Those memories of Ireland threatened to rise but she refused to entertain them today and was quite to say, "I can't imagine these eggs will be as good as the ones you fixed back in Karakura Town, though. What was that dish called again?" He had rolled the eggs inside seaweed and it had been quite the treat to her at the time.

Word Count: 1322 + 742 = 2064

As the door clicked shut the two women Aodh had let himself relax. He’d slumped into his chair a little bit while raising a hand to cover his mouth when a yawn finally escaped. What he wouldn’t do to just wrap himself up in a heavy blanked and sleep the day away without any interrup-

“Huh?” he asked aloud looking confused. “Oh.”

Lifting his coffee he sipped at it. That was right he had made her breakfast back home. Aodh had forgot how much he enjoyed playing around in the Kitchen, he didn’t get to do that anymore. Not only was there a severe lack of time for him to do anything approaching enjoyable and needless but the looks he got from the staff every time he tried to sneak into the Kitchen ranged from incredulous to annoyed. He supposed that they didn’t like even a Sternritter stepped into their realm. Besides he didn’t want to get in their way and the Kitchens seemed to be a constant buzz of activity although it made sense when one considered it saw to the needs of the entire Castle.

‘God just how many people live here now? We need to get a real barracks sorted out. How long can we expect Knights to live four to a room?’ he pondered. It was thoughts like this that made Aodh very happy that he was a Sternritter. Private living quarters was a blessing he’d never stop being grateful for.

Turning his mind back to those times in Karakura Town, in his old house, when the then High School teacher had cooked for his wondrous pupil. Oh what had it been? The man pressed a hand lightly to his temple as he frowned in thought. Those days felt like they’d occurred a lifetime ago and were cloaked in a strange mental fog when he tried to recall them, it took him a moment to realise that it was because he tried not to think of those carefree days. He’d been happy back then hadn’t he? With his student, his cousin and his friends. He felt like he had everything he needed with the exception of strength. Now he was growing strong but everything else that had made up his life seemed to be slipping away. How strange the tides of time could be as everything could be turned upside down over the course of mere months. Oh! That’s right.

“Tamagoyaki.” he said with a smile. “Japanese omelette. That’s right…” he added with a chuckle. “When was that first morning? October? It feels so long ago now doesn’t it but it’s only been six or seven months. From High School Computing Teacher and Librarian to Knights in an actual Castle. Who would have predicted that?”

Lost in thought he man began to message his left palm lightly with the other. The feeling brought him back to reality and reminded him of why else he’d called her here. Holding up his left hand the man pulled down the sleeve to reveal the white Archery Glove he wore.

“I have, finally, begun to wear my own Sanrei Glove that I made all that time ago back in Karakura Town.” he told her with a smile. “However I have found my powers being greatly limited since then. I worry that I will fail the Queen in this mission she has given us due to this.” he said with a sigh.

“And yet there was little else I could do if I wanted my powers to evolve. Without the Sanrei I may have technically been able to grow in terms of power but I would have stopped growing as a Quincy. So now I have a new bridge to cross if I’m going to be worthy of this whole Sternritter business.”

Aodh lowered his arm as he lifted his coffee and took a sip, it really was quite good. “Do you know you’re the only other Quincy in the Order wearing a Sanrei?” he asked with a smirk. “More than that you’re the first Quincy I’ve ever met who put one on. Well the Former King Weylin might have had one truth be told but I’m not sure. Even if he that man was far beyond the need for such things and had probably mastered it long before I ever saw him.”

“So, I thought, who better to help me get used to mine?”

Leaning forward, putting his elbows on the desk. “So what do you say?” he questioned “Will you assist me with my training Dame Hughes?”

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WC: 758
Total WC: 2093

Free from the presence of the two Quincy, she brought the mug to her lips and sipped of its warmth gratefully. The taste was rich and without that bitterness that often accompanied the generic brands she had made for herself over the years. Although there were quite a few changes in her life not all of them were monumental. Most involved little things like this coffee that most people would take for granted. Others were more significant but all has worked to mold her into the woman before him today. Could he even conceive of what a force he had been? She sighed softly, setting the cup back on the tray, knowing he did not.

His recollections though caused her to smile and say, "Yes, Tomagoyaki. It certainly seems like a whole lifetime ago. If you had asked me back then I wouldn't have been able to imagine a worse fate." As she leaned forward to increase her reach, then shifted his plate from the tray setting it nearer to the man. "I can't say that it is a bad thing, however Sternritter O'Mongan." She grinned at him deliberately using his title as she set his set of rolled up utensils to the left of his plate. "Afterall, it is pointless to have the abilities we do and remain in such mundane jobs. That is not to belittle teaching and library work, it is quite important. It is just not living up to our potential, for the Quincy are finite while teachers and librarians are not."

She collected her plate and silverware, leaning back fully in her seat to support her breakfast within her lap. Unrolling the napkin, she took out the fork and left the knife and spoon within the napkin before tucking them beneath the edge of her plate. As she ate she listened to Aodh speak about his Sanrei Glove recalling the time he had shown it to her. Those rune carvings within his coffee table came to mind and she had to rethink her earlier words. All the signs were there, everything was working to lead them both to Berlin and The Order; they just had not been paying attention.

The eggs were about what she had expected, but then eggs that sat awhile were never the greatest thing in the world. They were really not a favored food, but then she always ate what she was given for fear the next meal would never come. Some changes would clearly take time to fully eradicate the past. Pausing in her repast to sip more coffee, she was resigned to having to make peace with the Fates and the schemes they wove.

She had fled from the strings The Eternal Bitches tried to weave between her and this man only to be led right back again. This time it was she who would be called upon to lead the way, or so it seemed. What could she really give to him, however? Pushing the eggs on her plate onto the fork with a triangle of toast, she said, "Oh course. I will help you, though I am uncertain how beneficial that will be. Eat. You will need your strength, that much I know. It will feel like we are accomplishing nothing and working five times as hard to boot."

Having wrangled the last bit of her eggs into place, she ate the last morsel and finished up with her toast. Washing it down with another sip of her coffee, she would set her empty plate upon the tray, silverware stacked upon the top. "If only the future could be so easily cleared", she mused internally. Calendrea had little doubt that the Fates had many more entanglements and snares already in the works. “Let me suggest one thing, and it will be one of the hardest concepts to grasp.” She pursed her lips frowning a bit as she was about to actually quote her grandfather, bastard that he was. The man did have a great wealth of wisdom, even though he was a horrid person. It would have been much better if he had been totally without merit instead of a combination of both the good and the bad. There was much about the man that was lovable, however this only seemed to make his bad qualities hurt all the more.

“You can never fail to be who you are. You only fail when you refuse to see how amazing that can be.” She shrugged thinking perhaps her grandfather had been experiencing an out of body moment, cause it really was quite kind of him to say. Usually he was pushing her to fit his ideal of who and what she was meant to be, rather than encouraging her to explore her own path. There were just too many layers to the elderly Quincy that she felt she would never understand. All in all, she was not too sure she wanted to either.

“Don’t worry so much about letting the Queen down.”, she continued. “You won’t. With or without your full powers you will never give half measure. Even half measure will be more aid than those Egyptian Quincy have right now. Just showing up will make all the difference.” She pointed to his plate and grinned, “So eat. The colder those eggs get the worse they will taste.”


Word Count: 891 + 2064 = 2955

Aodh was silent for a moment as Calendrea spoke. Pointless to have mundane jobs with these powers? She was quite right. Unfortunately. It was almost precisely why he was stuck here serving as Sternritter to the Crown, that and a feeling of duty towards his people. Would he rather a simple, easy life? Sometimes he thought so. However that might just be the pressure of the job talking. He was hardly a natural fit to the army however, once there were more powerful Knights, Aodh hoped to shift into a less combat intensive role. In fact he was already in talks with the Queen in developing “Spheres of Influence” for each Sternritter, not tied to a particular Sternritter title but each Sternritter would be responsible for something suited to their skillset. In fact Aodh had already pitched 2 such necessary spheres to the Queen which he felt best suited himself and Sternritter Khen. His own would allow him to focus more on scholarly pursuits, training and general education of the Order. Perhaps eventually an Academy could flourish from such a thing. He already had some roles under his future Sphere planned out, including for the woman in front of him although he wouldn’t tell her yet. He needed to get things finalised first but he knew it’d bring a smile to her lips and that would make it worth while, he in truth he owed her so much more than that.

“It’s not a bad thing.” he finally agreed with a smile. “We’ve achieved so much and we’ll continue to do so. It feels good… to be useful.” he admitted. He’d always cursed his own powerlessness but now he felt like he could start striding forwards again. He could ascend to new heights and finally be of use to not only his old friend Frey or his former student sitting across from him but Quincydom as a whole.

“Thank you.” he said with nothing but pure gratitude as she agreed to his request. He would need her help desperately if he was to master the restrictive Sanrei device.

Aodh sipped on his coffee before finally giving in to his growing hunger and Calendrea’s voiced concern he took a piece dry toast. His stomach was a little unsteady although whether that was because he was overly tired or just because he never felt that hungry in the morning he wasn’t sure. Nibbling at the toast in silence he pondered her words and he chuckled after a few minutes.

“Ah Calendrea. If I didn’t worry unnecessarily then I wouldn’t really be Aodh now would I?” he joked. “I’ll try not to. However the importance goes beyond that. Like it or not I represent a considerable amount of the Order’s overall military strength. Not just me of course, you count amongst that number.” he told her with a slight shrug. “And, again like it or not, but it’s that combative power that will keep Quincy, as well as mundane Humans, safe from the threats that seek to do us harm.”

Aodh suddenly laughed softly “Or maybe I’m just embarrassed of Sternritter Khen once again showing me up with her skill.” he added with a smirk. “She’s a rather intimidating woman after all.”

Finishing his toast and coffee he waited until Calendrea was done too before gesturing to the door.

“To the training fields then?”

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WC: 561
Total WC: 2654

Watching him as he spoke, she let her own tendency to worry creep upon her. Toast. That was not enough to sustain a bird let alone a grown man about to undergo the sort of training putting on the glove would entail. She might not be able to do a thing about his eating habits but she sure could hack and slash away at his itinerary. It would mean delegating tasks to other people, but with the influx of recruits there would certainly be plenty of hands to spread the work load between. Even so, there was just no way around it, there was a shit ton of work involved in his new role with The Order and no amount of sharing the work load would get around it. She chuckled softly and nodded her head, "Yes, it is a good feeling to be useful." So new and more rewarding than she ever expected it to be.

There were times when she didn't even recognize her life anymore but unlike Aodh the changes hadn't been from one profession to another, they had been much more monumental. The irony of having to depend on others in order to gain her own financial independence was not lost on her and she knew that the man before her would never fully understand all that he had done for her. Not only did she have a home to call her own, the surety of food, shelter, health care, and a family, but she was contributing and actually mattered. While Rick certainly had given her training, he never once thought to inquire how she managed to live let alone do anything about it. She rose to her feet suddenly, turning toward the door and making a show of rubbing the small of her back, less her emotions fly across her face and give her away.

"Yes, we had best get busy before someone decides to have an emergency form they will die over if the Sternritter Birith doesn't sign in triplicate", she quipped as she wipe the tears from her face. She hadn't even realized she was about to cry until she had turned her back to him. "Perhaps too much has changed. I never used to be such a drip", she berated herself. Feelings were quite the pain in the ass these days. "I suppose the first thing to do is wear you out trying to manifest your bow. Run drills and such until you can even think about drawing another spec of Reishi from the air", she chuckled even as she reached for the door. Her grandfather's methods had been harsh, to say the least. "Then I can use you for target practice while you try to use Hirenkyaku", she said pivoting in the doorway to flash him a grin. "I promise not to miss, often."

She didn't know too much about this Sternritter Khen but she had a sneaking suspicion that once he mastered his glove that Aodh would not have to worry about her embarrassing with her skill. Slipping through the door she was hasten through the halls toward the training field and the long training session yet to come.

Word Count: 529 + 2955 = 3484

Aodh's head tilted to the side slightly as a puzzled expression found it's way onto his face. The Sternritter watched Calendrea suddenly fly to her feet and turned towards the door.

"Guess your finished eating then." he noted with a bit of confusion and amusement mixed together. Putting down his remaining toast he rose to his feet, taking a moment to straighten out his uniform as he did so.

Aodh walked around his table as his friend spoke and the man give a faint chuckle as she spoke. "Sensei knows best." he quipped in return before his tone became more serious. "You've been through this so you know better than I. My only knowledge of this topic comes from my Grandfather, the last person to achieve true mastery over the Sanrei Device within my family." he told her.

Passing through the door after her he closed it behind him causing the lock to beep in response. Following Calendrea he continued. "I can summon a bow, it's not my bow, just the standard Kojaku variant of the Spirit Weapon." he told her. "Pretty much all my abilities are vastly decreased than what I am used to. Even just loosing Heilig Pfeil for a short period of time is utterly exhausting I'm afraid."

Leaving the castle entrance doors he paused for a moment. "I think the Vierte Feld is free." he said referring to the fourth training field. "We should head there so as to not interfere with anyone else's duties."

"Anyway my Grandfather's ideas about training were much the same. Archery drills, Hirenkyaku training and Reishi Manipulation sessions seem to be the most important areas to work through." he told her.

He could recall the days of his childhood when he would sit along the edge of the O'Mongan's private training fields and watch his Grandfather train. Even at his advanced age he was an amazing Quincy with power far beyond anything Aodh had ever seen... with the exception of Weylin and he imagined the current Queen wasn't far behind catching up with how he imagined his Grandfather. The former head of the O'Mongan Clann had been capable of great feats. His marksmanship was peerless, his speed with Hirenkyaku was breathtaking and then there was his mastery of the Sanrei, or Leiden Hant, his Grandfather had used both names for the device. He remembered that time he had ran to the fields without his Grandfather realising and he had seen the man with his wings of pure energy, the memory etched in his mind of his beloved family member wearing angelic wings which seemed forged from Reishi. It had been the first time he'd heard of Vollständig. Clenching his fist Aodh looked at his archery glove and wondered if he would ever reach such prestigious heights as to wield the single greatest power available to any Quincy. One that was largely considered legendary and not real. His Grandfather had kept such a technique secret for reasons that Aodh hadn't understood when he was a child although it made more sense to him now.

Once they duo reached the field the Irishman pulled his mind from his memories to focus on the present. "Alright Dame Hughes... shall we get started?" he asked.

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WC: 540
Total WC: 3194

'Sensei knows best?', she rolled her eyes and shook her head and said, "Having experienced something doesn't necessarily mean I can teach." She grinned over at him as they moved on. Walking with him to the training site, she veered her course toward the Vierte Feld as he directed. Hearing about the training his grandfather supported toward this goal was reassuring to her increasing sense of doubt in her mind.

The bulk of her difficulty revolved around her grandfather's duplicity and removing the decision to take on the Sanrei training from her completely. While Aodh could already summon up a Kojaku, she had struggled longer with achieving that much due to her anger at the man. Had she willingly entered into this stage upon her own volition, she felt her progress would have been more fluid.

Perhaps the thing to do, rather than thinking about the circumstances of the experience would be to relate some of the difficulties she had faced. Smiling to Aodh as they came at last to their destination she said, "Have you ever wondered what it feels like to other Quincy, to draw Reishi from the air, I mean physically and emotionally? Like is it different for each of us, or is their some common sensation and a certain mind set you have to assume that makes it possible to do?" She snorted softly at how obscure she was sounding then proceeded to explain further. "Like, before I was collared I didn't really think about how or rather through what process I was gathering Reishi. But afterward when it was suddenly so difficult to do, I found that visualizing helped give me greater focus, to push through the fatigue it created." She shook her head and shrugged.

"Anyway, when you are ready go ahead and summon your bow and shoot as many Heilig Pfeil as you can at the targets at the end of the field. Doing is sometimes the only answer." She felt more than awkward trying to explain to him for she was certain he knew much more about what was involved on a technical level than she did. 

Word Count: 355 + 3484 = 3839

"Light." he responded immediately to her point about visualising the act of gathering Reishi. "I've always pictured drawing small specks of light from the air inwards towards myself." he admitted with a slight shrug. "It was how Grandfather explained such things."

As he spoke Aodh brought his hands together, cupping them so his palms curved in such a fashion that there was space between them. A glow began to from in that space and the man slow drew his hands apart. The light spread, took shape and finally he was holding the basic glowing blue longbow that was known as Kojaku although the O'Mongan Quincy simply called it Bogha.

"Although you're quite right." he told her "Such methods were not necessary before I donned the glove. I simply willed it and the power came to me although, I think, in the back of my mind the little image of glowing light being drawn to me persisted. I always did have a powerful imagination though."

Placing his fingers lightly on the string of the bow he forced power into the weapon to form a glowing Heilig Pfeil. Embarrassingly it actually took a few seconds for the arrow to form instead of simply being an immediate response to his will. The outcome of mastering the glove had better be worth all of this nonsense.

Drawing back on the weapon he sighted down the arrow before loosing towards the target. Even as the Helig Pfeil leapt from the bow he was already drawing the string back to form a second projectile, swifter this time. His brow became creased as his eyebrows drew down into an expression of concentration. He immediately loosed the second arrow and began to prepare a third. Aodh repeated this motion over and over. Despite his obviously weakened powers his aim was utterly unaffected, thankfully his archery technique was not tied into his Quincy powers. Each arrow found it's mark striking the targets dead center and gathered in a tight grouping, occasionally a new arrow would split and shatter the shaft of one in the boss. Regardless after a minute the Heilig Pfeil would dissipate, lacking the energy to remain corporeal for any longer.

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WC: 371
Total WC: 3565