Learning to Kill

Evania returned the forced smile. "It's nice to meet you," she said. Despite being told to stay, Evania didn't make to sit back down again. Nor did she plan to stay either. "The guild is, well it's not home. I'll get used to being here though, in time. People here are friendly enough." The mystery of who the girl was had been cleared up. Evania hadn't been sure if she was the daughter or sibling of the guild master but she had expected the answer of sibling. He had been so formidable in the cell yesterday that she had a hard time imagining him finding a wife, or just a woman in general willing to birth him a child. Everyone had someone in the end, she supposed.

"I really should go, I think. It'll give me some time to warm up for training and all." And to calm her nerves. Even if the two said to stay, there was something troubling the both of them. Joshua was considerably better at hiding how worried he was than Giselle. The girl was almost an open book. She bid them both farewell and wished them to find an easy solution to whatever problem was plaguing them. Evania grabbed a banana from the bowl and left, finishing her apple before she got to the training room. She quickly scarfed down the banana as well before she wiped off her hands and began to stretch. Once she felt good and ready, she took out the knife and began to practice throwing it at targets until the others arrived.

She was only by herself for perhaps forty minutes before other assassin's began trickling in. When there were about fifteen of them present, she stopped throwing, suddenly a little more nervous with others watching her. In her time there, Evania managed to get the grips correctly done, especially with her right hand. The left still needed a little work to hold it right on the first try. As for her aim with the grip... That would need weeks of work until she could hit the target she wanted. With her right arms should at least hit close to the intended area. Her left was unbelievably off. Plucking the knife out of a dummy that she'd been aiming at, she slid the knife away and went to sit on the ground, keeping away from the others for now.
 
The other assassins spent a fair bit of time watching Evania throw the knives, though none seemed to notice the special grip she was using. That would have gotten her a lot of attention, if they'd recognized it as being Kavil's. She had some time to work by herself before a few of the assassins finally approached her, starting to work with her on the beginning things. Just some general exercises, and giving her some safety lectures that were common sense anyway.

Joshua showed up after a little while, and he spent more time than the others working with Evania. There were a few others in the early parts of their training, and Joshua seemed to be helping them all. He wasn't doing much of his own training, but he said he'd do that later in the day. He dedicated his morning sessions to helping the apprentice assassins learn the trade. He was the official teacher of one of them, and he was filling in for the other two's teacher while she was on a contract too advanced to bring them along.

It was Joshua who noticed Evania's peculiar grip before too long, and he pulled her aside for a moment to ask, "Did Kavil show you that grip?"
 
Soon enough, Evania was back on her feet. Some of the other assassin's came up to her and began to offer her tips and such. The exercises they ran through with her was for general things and she was able to move through them easily. It got her thinking that perhaps she'd be able to get through this without too much suffering and frustration. They also went over some basic safety rules. Evania would study those hard. Before long, they were back to having her throw the knives.

It was soon after that that Joshua came in. Evania didn't take notice of him, too busy focusing on hitting the bullseye of the target before her. He came to her though and pulled her aside, asking about the grip. "Oh, um." She looked down at the knife in her hand. Would it matter if she had learned it from Kavil? She didn't want to bring any grief to him, but did not want to lie to Joshua. Besides. If he saw it and recognized it at Kavil's, surely he knew it was. "Yeah, he showed me last night. I got lost finding my way back to my room and wound up in the armory. One thing lead to the other I guess and he showed me."
 
Joshua actually smiled at that. "I'm glad to hear that," he said, seeming a little relieved. "He needs to interact with other people here. It would be good for him." He wasn't going to make any trouble for Kavil. Why would he? Joshua wasn't anywhere near as skilled as the Angel, and he was close to retirement as it was. Why rock the boat?

"Did he talk to you much?" he asked, a little hesitant. "I'm afraid he doesn't say much to me anymore. I worry about that boy..." It certainly looked and sounded like that was the case. Valerie had said that Joshua cared about Kavil. That much was obvious now.
 
Evania was relieved that there wouldn't be trouble. She couldn't help but laugh at Joshua's comment about Kavil needing interaction. She had to agree with him, even if she only knew Kavil for a day. She shook her head. "Not really. I did most of the talking today when I found him. It was mostly him answer questions, so long as it didn't pertain to him." She trailed off into silence and then sighed, giving the knife another throw without much force behind it. It was meant to be lazy, but the blade stuck into the target just a few centimeters away from the bullseye. She left out a soft noise of surprise before chuckling to herself and stalking off to retrieve it. Evania wiped it off on her pants leg before talking to Joshua again. "I'm going to make him talk," she said with conviction. "So long as I can find him in this place, I'm going to force my presence on him. His silence... is it... Is it just because of his rank? Or is there something else there? You don't need to tell me what it is, I'm just curious."
 
Joshua chuckled at the idea of Evania forcing her presence on Kavil. He liked this girl. She had a lot of spunk to her. That was refreshing, and he hoped she could keep that spunk. She might be good for Kavil, if she made good on her promise. When she asked about Kavil's silence, though, he just looked sad.

"There's a story behind that," he said, "and it's not one that anyone who was there for it likes talking about." He fell silent for a moment, thinking, then continued, "Now's not the time to recount it, anyway. But keep in mind that Kavil has been a full assassin since he was nine. This isn't a profession that one so young should have gotten involved in." There was a touch of bitterness in his voice as he said this, though it wasn't directed at Evania.
 
She was surprised to discover how long he'd been an assassin. Evania couldn't even fathom becoming one at her age of twenty, let alone from the age of nine. That seemed ridiculous. Why would one become an assassin so young? A child couldn't have been able to make such a life changing decision. It seemed impossible.

The mood between them had become somber and made Evania shuffle her feet some. Around them, assassin's were training left and right. She looked about, wondering if she was the only new recruit they had. She spotted a few others who seemed to stand out but she couldn't be sure if they were new recruits or not. Everyone in the room seemed to have different skill levels at different things. Evania decided to change subjects. "Training huh? How long does it take? I mean, until I finish the whole thing and have to... to kill someone."
 
Joshua was glad to have a change in subject. Talking about Kavil's past was hard, seeing as Joshua had played a large role in it. Larger than he'd let on, certainly. Perhaps someone would tell Evania down the line, but for now she didn't need to know.

"It depends on the apprentice," he said with a small shrug. "Some progress more quickly than others. But we'd never send someone on a contract before they're ready. We don't want our apprentices to fail."
 
"Obviously," she muttered under her breath. Didn't want them to fail? More like didn't allow them to fail. She knew the rules already. If you fucked up in any way, shape, or form, you were killed. It wasn't very fair in her eyes but then she was still an outsider for the most part. She would consider to have that status until she made friends and felt home here. Not to mention, until she was a full-fledged assassin and joining their ranks. It was nice to know though that she wouldn't be sent out until deemed ready. She could only imagine the terror it would be in the first place, but to not be ready for it? It made her shudder as she stood there.

Evania sighed. "I better get to work then, huh?" she asked. "I don't want to be an apprentice forever." Or did she? She wouldn't have to kill anyone then. Evania doubted that she would be allowed to stay with this status for too long. If she did poorly on purpose someone was sure to notice. Beside she would feel like she was cheating herself.
 
Joshua nodded, though he managed a small smile for her. "I suppose you better," he said. "Since it's your first day, I doubt anyone would find it odd for you to take the afternoon off. Your body's not used to the rigor of training. You should ease yourself into all of this. Otherwise, you won't be able to move tomorrow." That wouldn't be a good way to start things off for Evania. Joshua certainly didn't want her to be horrendously sore the next day.

He saw one of the other apprentices doing something stupid with a bow, and he sighed before going to correct the guy before he could accidentally shoot someone. At least Evania wasn't utterly pathetic at the start. It seemed like that apprentice wasn't doing all that well. He was probably very new to the guild, too.
 
"Perhaps I will," she echoed after Joshua as he mentioned that if she took the afternoon off, no one would judge her. "I'll push myself as long as possible though." She wouldn't want to feel weak in front of the assassin's. With the way she had grown up with Elyan, Evania was in fairly good shape. Granted she'd slacked off on keeping up with it since he'd left so she would have to get used to the exercises again. Her gaze followed Joshua's and she understood his sigh. Some fool was messing around with a bow in a fashion that could only end terribly. She herself probably didn't know how to use one properly, but she could get a few rabbits using a bow and arrow.

After Joshua left her side, Evania continued on with training. Eventually, she grew tired of doing exercises and such to help her ease into getting her endurance up. Evania was covered in sweat and out of breath by now, definitely ready to call it quits for the day. Or at least, until she had a rest and something to drink. She headed first to the armory, giving Joshua a brief wave as she left, to return the knife she'd taken the day before. Kavil had said her own things would be arriving some time that day. She would have her own knifes from that point on to practice with. Evania was confident that she would do better with them in her hands.

Evania headed upstairs. She peeked into her room to find that her things had already arrived. She was more than ecstatic and quickly shut herself in to go through. Everything was there, apart from any sorts of furniture. Even her small chest of coins that had been hidden underneath the floorboards was present. She dug around, first finding clothes to put on after she bathed, then for her knives. The set of two were easily found. She unsheathed them, sitting on the floor with the sheaths in her lap, and traced over them with her finger tips. The handles were ornate metal, decorated with swirls. The very cap of the hilts were a pretty ivory. The sheaths matched the handles. Unable to bear the feeling of sweat on her any longer, Evania took her clothes and went to bathe.

When she was clean, she knew it was time to eat. Her stomach was rumbling at her as she dried her hair. She dressed again in dark pants with the same boots and belt she'd worn previously. This time, she added her knives to her waist and wore a thin grey top. Her own cloak would complete her outfit once she returned to her room.
 
As Evania left the bath, she had excellent timing. Kavil had just left his tower, though he was further down the hallway than Evania was. He didn't glance behind him to see who had come out of the bath, though. He just kept on walking down the hallway, his hair tied back in a low ponytail as it had been when she first met him. His attire was different than this morning, consisting of an all-black outfit that seemed more like an official uniform than anything else. He had his knives sheathed at his hip, as usual, and he had a bag slung over his shoulder.

He stopped once he had reached the common area at the end of the hallway, though it hadn't been by choice. Someone had stepped in front of him to block his path. This someone was a blond man who appeared to be in his late twenties. He was handsome, but he had the looks of someone with a huge ego. The way he was smirking as he gazed at Kavil definitely gave off an arrogant impression.

The man spoke to Kavil, his confident voice carrying down the hallway. "Loraziah's approved my skill exhibition," he stated, looking very pleased with himself. Then again, that might just be the way he always looked. "He's going to give me a top-level contract soon. You know what that means?"

If Kavil replied, his voice didn't reach Evania. He must've done something to answer the man, though, since the blond gave a short laugh and stepped closer to him.

"Right. Of course you do," the man said. "You know that it means I'll be able to challenge you. And I am so looking forward to it..." He shoved Kavil, following up with drawing a knife on him. The man had Kavil pinned against the wall a moment later, holding his blade to the younger male's neck. He was still grinning at Kavil, about to make some kind of scathing remark before his smile faltered.

He might have a knife against Kavil's throat, but Kavil had dropped his bag in favor of drawing two knives of his own. One was poised to slide between the man's ribs, and the other was pointing toward the man's thigh. Stabbing there would sever a key artery, and the stab between the ribs wouldn't be easy to survive either. It was an easy stalemate, robbing the man of his opportunity to gloat.

Of course, Evania might not realize that Kavil had the situation under control. Their body positions only gave her a clear view of the knife at Kavil's throat. The knives in Kavil's own hands were blocked from her view.
 
Evania walked down the hall. Her eyes had been on the ground when she exited, so she didn't notice Kavil up ahead of her until she heard a man's voice carrying down the hall. She looked up immediately and recognized Kavil, despite the wardrobe change he'd done. She continued down the hall, intending to not get involved and simply going into her room before she went to find food. Her ears picked up everything the man said to Kavil, but nothing Kavil said. If he said anything at all, that was.

Suddenly, the man shoved Kavil then pinned him to the wall, a dagger clearly pressed against his skin. She couldn't mistake that even at the distance she still had. Evania froze where she was, her eyes widening. Had Kavil just been challenged for his position? No, she didn't think so. Hadn't the blonde man said he would be able to soon? Then again, if he had motive why would that stop him? Evania didn't want to get involved. The last thing she wanted was to stick her nose where it didn't belong (even if that's what her plans for Kavil pretty much was) and make enemies. Especially enemies who would easily be able to overpower her. But she couldn't just stand there and watch as Kavil could be killed. She was sure he didn't need saving, at least, she knew he could handle himself. With a rank like his he had to be able to. But he looked unarmed, and that didn't seem all that fair.

"Hey!" she cried out suddenly, conviction in her voice. Her voice surprised her, as she'd only thought about distracting the man for Kavil to be able to get away or pick up a weapon. She panicked quickly now that the man's eyes were on her, even though it was a brief flicker before they returned to Kavil. It was clear to see who he deemed the bigger threat. Evania swallowed the lump in her throat and took a few steps forward, her grey eyes narrowing. She dropped the clothes she'd been carrying to the ground and withot thinking much about it, she created a small ball of flames in her right hand before sending it flying down the hall. It would hit the arm the man was holding his knife in, quickly catching the cloth there aflame.

Evania gasped, and her eyes went wide as the flame licked up into the air. What had she just done?
 
If the man had been expecting something from Evania, that hadn't been it. The ball of fire caught him entirely by surprise, and he backed off in a hurry with an exclamation of, "What the shit?" He patted out the fire quickly, but the sleeve of his shirt had been ruined. The skin beneath was slightly burned too, but it could have been a lot worse. She had seriously pissed off the guy, though.

After he'd backed away from Kavil, the two knives in Kavil's hands were plainly visible. It was now plain that Kavil did indeed have things under control. Evania's input hadn't been necessary, and she'd just made herself an enemy in someone who might be taking Kavil's position soon. Not a good move.

"Who asked for your input, you bitch?" the man shouted at Evania, pissed off. He threw his knife at Evania, aiming for her chest. The man was looking to kill her for attacking him, but his knife was intercepted in the air by another knife. Both knives clattered harmlessly to the floor, and the man turned to give Kavil an angry glare. "The bitch attacked me! Why the fuck did you help her?"

"I will deal with her," Kavil replied. "Leave, Zane."

The man Kavil had identified as Zane scoffed at that. "Sure you will," he grumbled, though he retrieved his knife and Kavil's. He threw Kavil's knife into the wall right beside Kavil's head. The younger assassin didn't even flinch. That got another scoff from Zane, but the man did go to the stairwell. That left Kavil and Evania alone in the hallway now.

Kavil plucked his knife from the wall and sheathed it along with the other one. He picked up his bag again and slung it over his shoulder. Dealing with Zane had been quite the inconvenience to him, and now he'd have to do something about Evania. It was technically against the rules to attack another assassin of the guild. Zane had just been trying to intimidate him. Kavil understood that. But Evania had actually thrown fire at him. It was to save Kavil from a perceived threat, though, so he wasn't quite sure what he was going to do with her. Not kill her, obviously. That was a little extreme, and the rules did offer some leniency depending on the situation. So uncertain...
 
Evania's heart pounded in her chest, more rapidly than she liked. Things seemed to go into slow motion as the man backed off and put out his burning sleeve. It was overtly clear that the man was pissed, and that he wanted blood. With the blonde out of the way, Kavil's blades were in plain sight. He had had everything under control the entire time. "Fuck," she whispered to herself. Evania knew she had screwed up, and not in a small way. Clearly.

Things came rushing back as the man shouted at her and came towards her a few steps. He hurled his knife directly at Evania. Rather than scream, or try to dodge it, she stood still as stone and squeezed her eyes shut tightly waiting for the impact. Evania had been cut before, but never in a life threatening manner. This knife, if it hit her, would sink right into her chest. She hoped it would be relatively painless and quick. But the blade never sank into her. A clanging noise caused her eyes to open up for her to see two knives clattering on the ground. Kavil had thrown one, intercepting the man who was now being identified as Zane's. He had stopped her from being killed.

Her heart continued to race as Kavil dealt with the man. Evania didn't know what to say. She couldn't think of a single word, as if she'd never learned any in her life. She simply stood there, frozen by her pile of dirty clothing as Zane muttered and stalked into the stairwell. Kavil picked up his bag and got his knife from the wall. When had it gotten stuck there? Evania hadn't noticed it being thrown again. She grew worried very suddenly throughout being frozen in place. Kavil was the Angel of Death. Hadn't there been a rule against attacking an assassin? Her brow furrowed and a few hot tears leaked out of her eyes. Not even her first full day of training and she'd broken a rule punishable by death.

Evania stayed where she was, watching Kavil. Maybe she would be able to escape whatever way he would deal with her. Or maybe she should just stand there and let it happen. It could be quick and painless, after all. Through out all of these thoughts, Evania failed to realize that Kavil had just stopped her from being killed and how that contradicted what she was thinking. To her, it was the only possibility right now. However, her opinion did suddenly change. Evania wasn't going to just let Kavil kill her right there in the hallway. In a split second's decision, she bolted, right for her room and leaving the clothing behind. She made it in and slammed the door behind her, sliding the dresser to block the door from opening. It had escaped her mind in her terror that Kavil wouldn't be stopped by such a thing as a blocked door. Evania took her stance beside the bed and window, her knives drawn and in a fighting position. She would fight to live if she had to.
 
Kavil watched as Evania fled back to her room like a scared child trying to evade punishment. Clearly she thought Kavil was going to kill her. That thought plainly terrified her, enough to run away like a coward. Cowardice wasn't a trait Kavil appreciated. There was a time to run, yes, but this wasn't it. He'd made no move to harm her. He'd even saved her life. It actually bothered him somewhat that she assumed he'd kill her now.

He looked down at her pile of discarded clothes, inwardly sighing before picking them up. They shouldn't just be left in the hallway. He took them back to Evania's room, guessing that she'd probably either locked or barricaded the door. As such, he didn't bother with it. He just went through the wall, though he remained in his ghostly form once he was inside. If she threw a knife at him, it would just pass through him and stick in the wall. If she touched him, however, he'd have to solidify. It was a secret he kept from everyone, but he couldn't stay a ghost if a living creature touched him. He couldn't pass through people and animals.

If she looked closely enough, she'd see that he had her clothes--now as ghostly as him--in his grasp. The bag was still slung over his shoulder, and he certainly didn't have any knives drawn. But in Evania's current state, who knows if she will see him as anything other than a threat?
 
It wasn't long before Kavil appeared in her room. The ghostly figure came through the wall, startling her. She recovered quickly as she remembered his ability. She didn't know the extent of it, but she knew enough. "I didn't mean to," she said, referring to break the rules. What surprised her now was that he didn't ahve any weapons now. Instead he carried... her laundry? Her weapons lowered to her sides and she relaxed slightly. But Evania was far from letting her guard down completely right now. She trust Kavil, despite her fear of his rank right now. Still she was ready, just in case. "I didn't mean to," she repeated.
 
Kavil waited until Evania had lowered her knives before solidifying. He put the clothes down, unsure of what Evania wanted to do with them. There was a room on the first floor where the assassins did their laundry, but he doubted Evania had been told that yet. It would likely fall to Felicia to tell her those details.

"I know," he said softly. He was trying to be patient with her, and the effort was showing. "And I am not going to kill you." He'd already decided that. What he needed to decide was what he was going to do with her. He needed to get going on a contract, too. That much should be obvious.
 
Kavil solidified as soon as her knives were lowered, letting her clothes fall to the ground. That was fine with her, they were dirty anyway. Besides she wasn't thinking much about her discarded clothing. Her brow stayed furrowed, but her hot tears slowed greatly. Though they did not stop completely. As soon as he said he wasn't going to kill her, she let out a sound of relief and relaxed, crumpling downwards and sitting on the bed. But if he wasn't going to kill her, then what was going to happen? She shuddered at thoughts of torture, or having to go in front of the guild master and a, if there was once, council of assassin's like a trial. What if they found her guilty despite Kavil saying he wasn't going to kill her? He would have to then. It'd be an order from the master.

A few more silent tears rolled down her cheeks before she looked back to Kavil. She noted he was dressed in an official looking way, and his bag.... Was he going away somewhere? Was that why he wasn't killing her? Evania scolded herself, remembering that he'd stopped the knife from hitting her. That had to count for something. Kavil didn't display any sort of emotions, and he didn't really even talk to her. Surely saving her like that... He had to have a good reason behind it. She hoped it wasn't just for fun or something. Though, she wasn't expecting it as a friend of friendship or otherwise. More of a token that he didn't mind her always find him and pestering him as she'd done since she arrived.

"What happens then? He... I didn't even really realize I was whipping it at him until it was released. I mean, he had had you against a wall with that knife!" Evania sounded distressed as she spoke, and was obviously getting hyped up about it. "I didn't know you had them. I should have assumed but I didn't." She paused before adding, "He seemed like a prick."
 
Kavil looked away from Evania once he saw the tears sliding down her cheeks. He didn't like seeing people cry. He'd seen plenty of that already in his life, and it was never pleasant for him. It always reminded him of his first contract, and that was something he didn't want to be reminded of. Honestly, he'd much rather forget the events of that night.

He listened to Evania's explanation, such that it was, without comment or reaction. His eyes remained fixed on the floor, still not looking at her. When she called Zane a prick, though, Kavil gave a quick release of breath that could almost be considered his version of a laugh.

"Zane is a prick," he agreed. He still offered no answer for what would happen to Evania now--he still hadn't decided--but he did look at her again. And perhaps there was a little spark of life in his eyes, unless it was just Evania's imagination. Could just be that, really, since that spark was gone a few moments later.
 
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