Second Wind [Dated]

[Kroll]

November 15th, Year 4. Early Morning

Kroll walked down the steps that lead to the dungeons nestled in the bowels of Griffon Headquarters, carrying a small tray with a cracked, clay teapot, two cups, and a few day-old biscuts. Yesterday was a rather humiliating day for both Aella and the captain, and today was going to make up for that. After getting the key from the jailer, Kroll made his way over to the cell that his associate resided in.

[Aella]

Aella lay curled up upon her bed in the corner of the cell, gazing up and out of the solitary barred window at the sky of Manehattan. A couple of bloodstained feathers and several bruises marred her pure white hide, a mark of shame for yesterdays failure. The fact that she had been defeated by a creature that she could normally cut down without a moments thought was a secodary bitter sting in her breast.

Aella sighed and looked around the damp cold cell that was her home, and felt a deep yearning to be on the other side of the bars on her window. The griffoness began to sing softly so as to not disturb the jailer, a half remembered and wordless tune from the days when her mother had been permitted to care for her.

[Kroll]

Kroll stood outside of Aella's cell, listening to her quiet song. The captain waited a bit longer before interrupting his associate's wordless tune. "Morning, Aella. "

[Aella]

Aella jumped in surprise when Kroll spoke, her song cutting off mid-note. She quickly pulling herself into a sitting position and bowed her head to her handler.

"Sir."

[Kroll]

Kroll chuckled a little as he balanced the tray on a shoulder while he unlocked Aella's cell. "That was very beautiful, by the way." he said as he slid inside the griffoness' cell, making sure not to drop his tray.

"I hope you don't mind, but I figured I'd join you for breakfast today. I know firsthand how awful the food can be down here, so I took the liberty of bringing some things in for us to enjoy..." He paused for a moment, looking up at Aella. "You don't mind, do you?"

[Aella]

Aella paused for a moment, trying to decypher her handlers intentions.

"... not at all sir" she said, maintaining her bow.

[Kroll]

Kroll smiled as he sat down in front of Aella, setting down the food tray between them before reaching behind him and sliding the cell door shut. After securing the door, the captain began to set up the items on the tray, passing a small clay cup and saucer to Aella before putting a teabag in the chipped teapot of hot water.

Leaning back against the bars of the cell door, Kroll looked over Aella, noticing the assortment of bruises and bloodstained feathers that peppered her body, his face reflecting a look of concerned interest. "So. How are you feeling today, Aella?"

[Aella]

Aella gratefully accepted the hot drink and sipped at it before answering.

"I... should be able to fight if ordered" she said "My injures will not leave lasting damage"

She sat in contemplative silence for a moment

"I am sorry about yesterday sir... I failed you and deserve whatever punishment you may choose to inflict"

[Kroll]

Kroll shook his head. "No, no punishment this time. Your failure yesterday was my fault as much as it was yours. The Commander put you in my care so you could learn the roles and duties of soldiers, not to be used as a gambling piece. All the same, you gave your all during that fight, and I couldn't have asked for any more from you."

He paused for a moment, pouring himself a cup of tea and taking a sip before continuing. "However, that is not to say that you could've done better. And while I acknowledge that your experience in the arenas gives you a leg up over some of the other soldiers here, you won't be able to succeed on those skills alone."

Kroll trailed off, taking one of the biscuits off of the tray before passing the plate to Aella. "With that said, starting today, we're going to start training. After watching your fight, I saw a few things that you could definitely improve upon...but I want to hear your piece on this; what do you think you could improve on?"

punctuating the question by taking a bite from his biscuit, the captain looked to the griffoness across from him for an answer.

[Aella]

Aella took one of the biscuits and took a bite. The fight had gone badly for her when she lost her polearm and the little mare pummeled her into the ground with her hooves. Evidently the polearm was a crutch to cover up a lack of skill elsewhere.

"I think... I need to work on talon to talon combat sir" she said, taking another sip from her cup.

"And... maybe I should get some armour of some kind as well"

[Kroll]

Kroll nods, swirling his cup before taking a drink out of it. "Yes, yes. Talon-to-talon fighting is something that could be improved, especially since its become a more valued skill for soldiers to have these days...as for getting you armor..that could definitely be arranged. Do you have any idea what kind you'd prefer? Something light, heavy, orrr something more in the middle?"

[Aella]

Aella put a talon to her beak as she thought about the suits of armour that she had seen guerellas marching around in, or hanging from pegs in the armoury. Ideally she would wear something that would not inhibit her mobility too much, while preventing her from getting gutted on the street.

"Maybe... a flight harness? breastplate, helmet and such" she said.

[Kroll]

Kroll sighed with relief. "Ah, that is a lot easier to do then a full set of armor. That can definitely be worked out. But before we even start travelling down that road, we should focus on trying to hone your fighting and endurance skills. Consider your armor...a reward for completing your task. Or however you want to think about it, really. Up to you." He trails off, taking another sip of his tea.

[Aella]

Aella downed the last of her tea and took another bite from the biscuit before nodding.

"When do I start training sir?" she asked, eager to get out of her cell.

[Kroll]

Kroll smiled at the question the griffoness posed. "You're motivated. I like that." After finishing the last of his biscuit and tea, Kroll slid the tray to the side, standing up to off any crumbs that got onto his lap. "I made some preparations in the training rooms, so we can start immediately."
Sliding the door to Aella's cell open again, he stepped out, motioning for the hen to follow him. "This way."

[Aella]

Aella set down her cup and followed her handler out of the cell block, ignoring the lustful gaze of her jailer as she stalked past.

[Kroll]

Kroll led Aella up the stairs and towards the direction the training center is located. "We'll be needing to make a quick stop at the armory to get geared up. I figured we'd start with something...simple; just a little warm up before we really start working hard."
Upon reaching the armory, Kroll unlocked the door and stepped inside, taking a deep breath before smiling broadly. "Ah...I missed that smell..." he shakes his head, cutting his detour down memory lane short, motioning towards one of the aisles labeled 'Equipment'. "Right then...this way."

[Aella]

Aella dutifully followed Kroll down the aisles of metal, wood and leather, not really seeing the appeal of the odd mixture of oil, rust and sawdust that pervaded the place. She eyed the occasional item as they passed, a barrel full of unstrung bows, a rack hung with large sheets of chainmail, a pair of rats dissapearing into a hole in the wall as the pair approached.

[Kroll]

Kroll browses through the equipment racks, pulling out a large wooden bin marked with a label that read 'Training Armor'. He smiled as he looked down inside at the bin's contents. "Ah...these haven't changed a bit." reaching inside, the captain pulled out what looked like a burlap vest with steel plates on the front and back of the torso, as well as the shoulders.

Kroll heaved one of the burlap vests over to Aella. "This, Aella, is a training vest. Pretty heavy, and in theory, could provide protection in an actual combat situation." he pauses as he slides the practice armor over his body, sighing as it weighs down on his shoulders. "Now, it's a bit heavier than the issued armor they hand out now, but it's still good for getting used to having to work with heavy loads. Go ahead and slip it on."

[Aella]

Aella slipped on the surprisingly heavy plate, wrinkling her nose as the sweat stained fabric tugged at her feathers. She shifted, bobbing up and down to feel the weight of the armour. Thankfully she was strong enough that it did not slow her down... much. She doubted that would last as she became tired.

[Kroll]

Kroll grinned. "Ah, that fits you perfectly...sorry about the smell, I don't think they ever clean these things..." he said, sniffing his own, recoiling slightly from the smell. Shaking his head, the captain walked over to one of the other aisles in the armory. "Alright, time for weapons...we'll just focus on what you're familiar with, for now...you like polearms, right?"

[Aella]

Aella nodded enthusiastically, excited at the promise of some exercise.

"Yes sir, trained with them for as long as I can remember"

[Kroll]

Kroll nodded, tossing Aella a training polearm. Though it seemed to be made entirely of wood, the blade of the training weapon seemed to be just as heavy as the real thing. A few moments later, Kroll walked out carrying a training version of a khopesh. "As you can probably tell, these training weapons are made to weigh just as much as the real deal...makes training more interesting that way." he paused to adjust part of his training vest. "Okay, now that we're all set, let's head to one of the training rooms so we can get started."

[Aella]

Aella idly twirled the polearm in her talons, forgetting that she was in a storeroom for a moment and knocking a number of helmets from a shelf. She sighed and propped her polearm up against a wall and picking up the helmets. She quickly replaced them onto the shelf before trotting after her handler with her polearm over her shoulder.

[Kroll]

Kroll chuckled, shaking his head as he led Aella into a sparring chamber, consisting of a large dirt circle with two parallel chalk lines a few feet from each other. The captain brought the griffoness to the sparring circle, motioning to the chalk line across from him. "Let's just start with some light sparring. We can step it up as we move along."

[Aella]

Aella trotted over to the chalk line indicated by her handler and reared up on her hind legs into a fighting position. She held her training polearm low in both talos and watched Kroll carefully.

"ready"

[Kroll]

Kroll nodded, crouching down low as he raised his khopesh defensively, studying Aella's stance. "Very well. Let's begin."

[Aella]

Aella feinted a lunge at her handler, then spun and swung the pole end of her weapon at ther handler with an agressive cry.

[Kroll]

Kroll leaped to the side, to dodge Aella's swing, rolling a little before coming to a stop, looking up at his opponent with a small smile. Not bad.. he thought to himself as he ran at Aella, swinging the hooked blade of his khopesh at her polearm at an upward arc.. Not bad at all.

[Aella]

Aella stepped back and swung her weapon behind her back to avoid the blow from Krolls sword. She quickly swapped the weapon over to her left talon and swung it down over her shoulder, aiming for her handlers extended right arm.

[Kroll]

Kroll grunted as his sword was smacked out of his grip by Aella's polearm. Dammit... Keeping his eyes on his opponent, Kroll strafes around his opponent, scooping up his khopesh before taking a step back, taking the defensive.

[Aella]

Aella flapped her wings, driving dust from the dirt floor up at her handler. An instant later she flapped again, driving her forwards with her polearm held outstreched in both talons in an all out lunge.

[Kroll]

Kroll squinted to try and keep as much dust out of his eyes as possible. Through the dust, he could see Aella's polearm coming towards him and uses the hooked blade of his khopesh to snag the shaft of his opponent's oncoming polearm, and redirect it away from his body.

[Aella]

Aella felt her polearm deflected away and realised her misteak. She had expected to hit Kroll and had overbalanced. The griffoness fell flat on her face in a distinctly ungraceful manner, and after a moment of recovery rolled onto her back and held her polearm across her body to protect her unarmoured head and neck.

[Kroll]

Kroll cracked a small smile as he watched Aella roll onto her back. "You need to not overcommit to you attacks so much." he reprimanded as he swung his sword down at his opponent's polearm, using the weapon's curved blade to try and wrench the polearm from her grasp.

[Aella]

Aella struggled to hold onto her weapon as Kroll tugged at it. In a moment of clarity, she pulled the pole end of her polearm into the dirt and used the extra leverage, and her handlers attempts to wrestle her blade from her to drive the bladed end in a arc towards Krolls neck.

[Kroll]

Kroll's eyes widened as he reared back sharply, barely avoiding the bladed end of Aella's polearm. Reassuming a defensive position, Kroll began to slowly back away from the griffoness, trying to read her body language to see what she may do next.

[Aella]

Aella rolled onto her belly and stood up onto all fours before rearing up again, her polearm held in her right talon. She was beginning to feel the weight of her armour, how it restricted her movements. She considered for a moment then began to advance, holding her weapon ready out before her.

[Kroll]

Kroll began to sidestep around Aella, keeping his khopesh raised defensively. "You can't always rely on standard attacks, Aella; be unorthodox!"

[Aella]

Aella pondered her handlers words for a moment, then changed her grip on her weapon to hold it like a javelien and threw it at Kroll. She immediately leaped after it at the tercel, talons outstreched.

[Kroll]

Kroll rolled out of the way of the polearm, opening his beak to reprimand Aella when he realized the griffoness had launched herself at him. ...clever girl He grunts as the two collide, sending the captain and the former gladiator tumbling across the dirt floor of the sparring room.

[Aella]

Aella snarled as they rolled, lashing out at the unarmoured portions of Krolls head and neck with her fists, and giving him an unladylike kick between the legs.

[Kroll]

Kroll grunted as Aella punches at him, raising his forearms to defend himself from the griffonesses' blows. He jolts as he feels the hen's foot connect with his crotch, causing his face to warp into a look of indescribable agony. Grabbing ahold of one of Aella's shoulders, Kroll tries to knock his opponent off oh him by arching his hips up and to the right, attempting to roll ontop of the hen.

[Aella]

Aella squawked in surprise as Kroll crotch-bumped her onto her back, ending up with her wings splayed out on the ground and her fists raised to protect her head.

[Kroll]

Kroll starts punching at the uncovered sides of Aella's head, pinching his knees into her torso to keep himself from falling off.

[Aella]

Aella snarled as Krolls fists smacked into the sides of her head. Dazed by the blows, the griffoness grabbed her handlers shoulders, lowered her head and smashed the top of her skull into Krolls face.

[Kroll]

Kroll fell backwards as Aella's head connected with his. Landing on his back, he started to scrabble towards his khopesh, located not to far away from him.

[Aella]

Aella pulled herself unsteadilly to her feet, her ears ringing from the impact as she looked around on the ground for her polearm.

"I... think I need... a helmet" she said as she swayed unsteadilly.

[Kroll]

Kroll stumbled forward as he felt around on the ground for his khopesh. "Yes, but this is good practice for when you don't have one..." grabbing his hooked sword, he slowly got up and began to stagger towards Aella.

[Aella]

Aella spotted her polearm on the ground and moved unsteadilly over to it. Picking it up, she turned to face Kroll again, leaning on her weapon for support as she tried to get over what was almost certainly another minor concussion.

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