Selina: The Flower of Carnage

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Chapter Eight: Dreams Worth Fighting For

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I never imagined myself in a place like this. The technology still wows me like nothing else. So do the people. I don't belong here, I know, but I came here with a purpose. As a man with no real direction and a head full of foolish dreams, what else can I do except follow my heart? I'm not known to think with my head. I admit it: I'm dumb. It ain't all bad, though. Look at where my heart has led me! I've met some good folks who are traveling this journey with me, and I've fallen in love. It's like one of my stories turned to real life. I don't know what I'm doing, exactly, but we'll see what happens in the chapters to come.

For now, I prepare for battle.

Selina and Samson have been good teachers. I learned how to properly throw a punch and I've gained better use of the gun Selina's passed on to me. I can swing a sword, albeit recklessly. All I know is I'm a capable killing machine. Perhaps not a strategic one, but I'll make do. My single intention is to win so we can move on. Not so much for me, though...

For Selina.

I don't know why. She's suddenly become the thing most precious to me; more precious than my own life. Should the situation call for it, I'll sacrifice my life so she can continue to tread on our crummy planet. She's a warrior worth fighting for and a woman worth dying for.

I now sit on a bench, suited properly for battle while I hold my weapons close. There's a voice in my mind telling me how crazy I am. Heh, I know I'm crazy. This will be the craziest thing I've ever done. My days of farming and being talked down to by my brother are over. That is a life I've happily abandoned. I'd sooner become a slave to the Mole Men before I go back to my old home.

Tager is going down. I will bulldoze every last Kin that stands in the way of me and Selina. Or die trying! The day that Selina is taken back into that cruel man's hands, is the day I'm blown to smithereens. He doesn't scare me one bit. All he does is anger me.

Our time to fight is coming...

Here goes nothin'.​
 
"Hold steady, hold steady son!" Samson said sternly as he attempted to train Jon in the art of sniping. "Don't fire just because you can."

Samson had to teach him how to be a professional soldier in a very short amount of time. A normal soldier would have months, he only had a few hours. "Keep focus on the target. Aim for the direct center of the body. That will do the most amount of damage." The targets where in the shape of humanoid beings. For the most part, all the intelligent life were vaguely human in shape or form. While Jon had no experience with actual killing of another being, this would train him not to feel.

Selina sat on a boulder that sat in Samson's backyard. She was watching but didn't add much to the training. Selina had the greatest amount of experience with that gun that Jon was using but in terms of getting the right to become citizens of Oren, she would have to do the close combat fighting this time around. She had her handy spear of Rift Engery and that would be enough to grant them some edge in battle. They were very rare pieces.

Samson knew better than to allow her just to carry it around in public. Once again, he and Ali did a change of looks for Selina. Her clothing and hair colors changed once again. This time her hair had been dyed a pure black and her clothing matched something closer to that of a Rice Grower. If it weren't for her bright blue eyes, Selina could have passed as the sister of Ali and Nana.

Jon focused all his energy on the target. The rifle he was armed with wasn't a heavy caliber but that didn't matter to him. As long as he had something of Selina's close to him during the battle, he knew that he'd great. The girl had an aura to her and refused to fail in front of her.

He closed his eyes and fire...The bullet its target. Jon then smiled.
 
Jonathon was getting the hang of his new weapon. The firearm was something he trusted his life with. Something he'd protect with. And most importantly, it was a precious gift to him. For as long as he lived, he never wanted to part from this gun. Even if he upgraded to something better, he wouldn't ever abandon this one. It would always be used and always be cherished.

Deciding to take a break, he made his way over to where Selina was seated. His eyes were wide for just a moment; he was still getting used to the black hair. The clothes, too. They've done a good job of getting her to blend in with society, but he missed seeing her regular appearance. Her snowy hair was a brilliant sight, especially with those eyes of hers.

"So, how are you doing?" he asked her, sitting down beside her. The gun was laid down on his lap and he ran his fingers through his hair, then made a relieved sigh. All of that practice had his heart beating very quickly.

There must have been a lot on her mind. Maybe she'd talk to him about it...

"Ready for the tournament?"
 
Selina watched Jon learning how to aim her trusty rifle with half interest. It was not that she didn't want to watch. Far from it. There was in fact, a lot going onin her mind. The same worry factors were still floating around but there was something new to combat them. That young man she was watching. Jon had seemingly come out of nowhere and was now more than willing to bite the bullet for her. This was still a very curious notion for her.

He then walked over to her. Selina's heart then jumped for joy. She also found this rather strange. The only other person she had ever felt this way around was her mother. Selina never did know her name, Elaine was just always Mommy in her young world. It was those memories that kept her going for the past five years. Sure. She was only 17 but she had seen more death than a girl her age should have. She had fought the cold and elements and survived. She had fought against goblins, mole men, and human bandits that tried to steal things from her. She had even survived the ever pursing Tager and his ally Edelweiss.

Was this love? She shrugged her head.

"I am fine." She said. "Nana decided to sleep in my bed last night. It was rather strange having such a young human wanting to stay near me."

Selina had never really been around youngsters, not even as a child.

"Well! Either way, that little girl is going to have a good time growing up with Samson and Ali as her protectors!" Selina forced a smile.

She was almost envious. The one thing that she remembered about her father was that he was a very powerful figure. He could show great kindness but overall she wasn't sure if he really loved her or not. He was never around much... Of course, what she didn't know is that he was best friends with Tager. Further more, it was even doubtful that Elaine knew that her daughter was going to wind up as a student of Tager's either way. It had been planned since the beginning.

Life as a half-Kin was never happy....

She then had a happy smile on her face. "I'm ready for this! Together....We'll win. I just know it!"
 
Jon made a light chuckle at the mention of Nana. That poor girl needed someone to cling to at all times, it seemed. Strange, thought, that she would choose to lay near Selina instead of Alia. Then again, was it really that strange? Selina was very warm, and protective. With her around, all of them felt safer. Some might have seen her as a killing machine, but to Jonathon and Alia, she was an angel.

"Yeah. Nana will have a good life," he agreed with confidence. Fate was treating them well, despite the toils along the road. Since they were brought together, life was taking a turn for the better. So Jon thought, anyway.

When she smiled, he smiled as well, his eyes lighting up jubilantly. Seeing this girl smile that way was rare. Unlike the smile before this one, it was sincere and joyful. It made his heart skip a beat.

"There's no way we can lose," Jonathon replied with a nod. "And when this is all over, everything will be okay. You'll see!"

Pleased with the positive atmosphere, he decided to lay back a little with his arms behind him, all his weight balancing on them while his head tilted upwards to watch the clouds. The season had been very rainy, but there was no downpour at the moment. It was a nice change of pace, and made their journey that much less gloomy.
 
"Of course! We will not loose. Not to no way, not no how!" Selina said with a humorous smile.

She then noticed that Jon was now looking up at the sky. It was still the grey-clouds of fall. She hadn't paid that close of attention to the weather ever since she had left the battlefields that her tribe of Kin had been waging against human bandits for the past few decades. What she didn't know was that her tribe was involved with the slave trade and that's was the reasoning behind the conflict that she and Jon would soon become more and more involved in.

"The weather is starting to get cold. Amazing how quickly summer ends." Selina then said. "Changing of the seasons...Heh, according to my mother...That was always the sign that you could go through another rebirth. I might be paraphrasing it though."

She kept her arms crossed. Not because she was cold, her body was designed for the cold. Selina did to maintain some level of posture.

"...I am curious about one thing. What made you leave your home in the first place?" She lowered her tone to more of a cute, sort of curious young girl. "I...I'd like to know...Since if I know an allied soldiers goals and dreams...I can better suit myself for the upcoming battle."
 
Selina's sudden change in voice was surprising, causing him to raise his brows at the sky. He was contemplating what she said about the seasons resembling rebirth, and then in an adoring, curious tone she inquired about his past. Smiling to himself, he scratched at the back of his head while thinking of the best way to put this into words. No one ever asked until now.

"Well... I just felt like I didn't belong there, you know? Farming had its promises, with wealth and good food and all, but it just wasn't for me. My family wasn't too supportive, either. They wanted me to marry a girl I didn't even like, and I was treated like a boy. I bet if I went back, they'd still treat me that way.

I always dreamed of leaving all of that behind, so I could do something great with my life. I wanted to see what the world was like, meet new people, fall in love... It's cliche', I know."

Jonathon was amusing himself with his words. Now that he had actually voiced his ambitions and rotten way of living, he realized how lame it all seemed. It was nothing tragic. He was just a simple farm boy looking to do more with his life.

"That's really all there is to it. I want to meet my full potential, make people proud of me since my family never will be. I... I want to be remembered as someone who did something awesome!"

That was when he stopped himself. He worried he might get too into his presentation, so let himself lay down flat on the grass with his arms folded behind his head. He then looked to Selina,

"When we get through this, do you want to see the rest of the world with me? I mean, you don't have to, it's just... I can't imagine what it would be like without you. I don't want to."
 
"Well, as long as you have your ideals and stick to them. That's what my mom always told me when I was a child." Selina said.

She wasn't really sure if her mother had ever really told her such things, or if it was just her mind filling in a missing bubble in order to make her statements seem more down to earth. Selina knew that she wasn't lying but it wasn't exactly the truth either. Either way, it made sense, so she just went with it.

"Wanting to find your full potential is always important. It is what makes one different from being be a mere child and an adult. I learned that much from my military training." Selina then did a forced chuckle. She hated saying that she learned anything good from her training with Tager. "When we win these battles, you'll definately be remembered. It is not everyday that a farmer and a Kin team up to win citizenship from a Tsar, now is it?"

She then had to pause to think about Jon's question. The future...It always seemed to far away to her. She was lucky if she even knew what the next hour would bring to her while on the run. "I...I..." She paused for a moment. "I'll tell you what. I would like too...." She paused again. "But...I'm going to be honest...It honestly depends on if Tager can be removed from the picture. He will purse me until the day he dies....I can't make any promises...At least not yet. The future scares me and I don't want to loose my friendship with you, if I am wrong..."
 
Jonathon gave an understanding nod with his head. That Kin named Tager was definitely a big obstacle for them to jump over. Selina was right, too. The only way she could escape his clutches is if he died. As grim as the thought was, Jon knew that's what he'd have to do in order to set her free. Already, he was plotting how he would go about such a challenge. That man was as powerful as he was stubborn. Pursuing him would be foolish, but... Well, Jon knew he was a fool.

"We'll make it work! He can't chase you forever, you know," he said with half a smile, one of his hands patting at his head of sandy brown hair. "And there's plenty of time left for the future. So you don't have to give me an answer right away.

I will say, though... I'm overjoyed to hear you'd at least like to go distances with me."

As he laid there in the grass, he let his eyes scan over the cloudy skies above them. Every so often, his eyes would shift, catching a glimpse of the girl beside him.

"Besides... You're like, a guardian to me. To protect me from Mole Men, you know? Those stupid things scare me for some reason and I have the worst luck with fighting them off."

That statement became dull as he talked on, his mind backtracking to the moment when they first met. How stupid she must have thought he was... Getting his ass handed to him by that fellow that was so close to robbing him of everything he had! That had him wondering: did she still think he was an idiot?

'Probably.'
 
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