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Post by mero on Feb 7, 2011 2:26:20 GMT -5
Merfonde knew it was hard work to start down this path. You suffered painful injuries, grueling hours, unsympathetic mentors... You had nothing constructive going for you... Until you started to see the results. Surprisingly though, Ian hadn't quit. He didn't give up no matter what she told him to do, sure he probably probably thought she was completely insane and ruthless, but nothing she'd thrown at him could shake him.... At least not yet.
He was improving though. At least he wasn't half killing himself every single time she gave him a dull knife. How he managed to do it, she had absolutely no idea. Who cut themselves with a dull knife anyway?! He gave a new meaning to the word 'clumsy'. It would probably be a long time before she let him near any of her sharpened blades. And at least his punches and kicks weren't going wild anymore...
Still, he was far from perfect. Her trained eye found a flaw in near everything he did. But, he'd only been studying for 3 days! Sadly he didn't have a whole lot of time. 3 days...
Her eyes opened the rest of the way, her head lifted. She was wide awake now with little warning. Usually, this only happened when she was on a set schedule and had to be awake at a certain time, or if something happened that she'd been trained to wake up to.
Slowly her gaze searched for Ian. It took only a split second to focus in on him. He looked exhausted, like always, but that meant absolutely nothing to her. His will power would have to be stronger then physical strength. "We've been here to long." She'd made absolutely no sound before now, her voice cutting through the silence like a hot knife through butter. If Merfonde guessed right, he just might jump from surprise.
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Post by ian on Feb 7, 2011 10:28:50 GMT -5
If only she knew how sharp those dull knives really were. True cutting himself on them was pretty stupid, but she had managed to keep them a bit too intact. He didn't say or do much, knowing that part of the training was keeping your mind and your body focused on the surroundings. It was hard telling Stella that he would be busy for the next few days, but when Merfonde spoke, he knew that he wouldn't be able to say goodbye either. He looked over at her.
"Is there somewhere we need to be?"
He wasn't sure what she meant by being there too long, and standing up he had a feeling they were about to leave. If that was the case then he was sure that him stalling would hinder whatever plans she had. So using his speed he headed up to the top floor and grabbed his things and came back down. He made sure to leave a small note for Stella saying that he would be gone for a few days. He didn't say why, only that he would be back as soon as he could.
"So where are we heading next?"
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Post by mero on Feb 7, 2011 13:58:59 GMT -5
Merfonde hadn't concerned herself with the random girl that stayed here at night. She hadn't even let the girl see her, and threatened Ian if he even thought about telling the girl about her. She didn't want some unknown girl knowing about her!
"Not specifically." Should she explain what the situation was to him? That he'd have to be learning on the road and on the job. Finally, she shrugged away from the wall. Unlike him, she always kept her backpack near her, for two reasons. She didn't want him getting into it, and if she had to move fast she didn't have to worry about finding or packing her belongings. He was back already though with his things.
Pulling out her phone she flipped it open, and going through a series of silent text exchanges. Finally she shrugged looking up at him. "If you thought these past days were hard, they are nothing compared to the future. I still have jobs to do, and you are coming with me." Not only would he be learning by one on one training, but he'd be forced to watch her, and learn on the job.
"There are a few jobs I could take here in Europe. None of them are to dangerous, so I won't have to worry about you getting killed." Sooner or later though she would have to take those bigger jobs, and he would be at risk... She'd put that off for as long as possible.
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Post by ian on Feb 7, 2011 15:01:01 GMT -5
Ian knew full well the consiquences of telling Stella about Merfonde or what she was doing here. One of the rules of the bounty hunters that he was drilled into his head was the most important: Nobody is to know of you, you're group or what you're doing. It was hard to do, but he knew it was part of his training.
He gave her a curious look when she answered, looking through her phone before returning her attention to him. That made him wonder, did he have a phone? He didn't have it in his bag, maybe he left it somewhere. Maybe he left it behind so nobody would find him. He felt something inside him growing when she said he was coming with her on missions. It wasn't fear, more like...excitement. The thought of actually going out and trying his newly learned skills on the job and learning more in the process was something he couldn't wait to do.
"Sounds like fun. What are the jobs?"
He didn't know if asking about the jobs would be out of bounds, but his curiosity about what they'd be doing made him ask anyway. It was something Ian didn't remember about himself yet, but he had a habit of wanting to know what he was getting into before he went in.
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Post by mero on Feb 7, 2011 16:34:35 GMT -5
Merfonde was grinning when he finally responded. 'Fun'? Oh, it'd be fun for her, especially to watch him try and keep up. For him though? It'd be a living hell. After all, Bounty Hunter was hard enough as is! Ian though would be worked to the bone. He'd have to survive basic training, which broke a third of all recruits, and survive field work that killed another third. The odds were definitely not on his side...
"Fun...." She couldn't help it, she laughed. "Oh yes, very fun." SHe stopped laughing, he expression growing serious. "Jobs are dangerous. Especially for a raw recruit like you. Normally, you aren't even allowed to accompany an hunter in the field until you are 21. Most recruits get themselves killed out there. You can't make a single mistake, otherwise you are dead." THankfully his speed just might increase his chance for survival.
"Don't worry, we'll start small, investigating small repeat disturbances, endangered runaways, that kind of stuff. They aren't that bad. These are jobs that only new hunters take, the rest of us have moved above them. But..." She sighed. "I don't really have a choice with you in tow. I can't exactly take any of my usual with some green horn." Her usual jobs were assassinations. She might be dangerous when it came to hand to hand combat, but that wasn't her specialty. She was a marksman. One of the best in the business actually. She didn't miss what she aimed for. Ever. But... How could she take him out on one of those jobs? Talk about traumatize!
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Post by ian on Feb 7, 2011 19:50:19 GMT -5
He smiled when he actually made her laugh. Three days and he couldn't even get a smile out of her, but just saying a job would be fun made her laugh? His own smile faded when she grew serious. He knew that she spoke of a bounty hunter's job being tough, but the chance for someone getting killed in their line of work? He had no room for mistakes, just like she said, and all he could hope was to use what he learned and the speed he has to his advantage.
"I understand."
He nodded as he spoke, listening to the types of jobs that she had lined up for them. When she got quiet about her "normal work", he had a feeling that he'd have to have more training to come even close to tagging along with her on that line of work. He nodded his head again when she was finished speaking, knowing that he had just been upgraded from hopeless to green horn. It wasn't a big step in his training, but at least it meant that he had grown more into it than before.
"So what's the first mission then?"
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Post by mero on Feb 15, 2011 14:49:31 GMT -5
Merfonde was still deciding which jobs to take. What would be the most beneficial to him in the learning process? Which did he have the least likely chance of survival? Or should she put some faith in him and take some slightly more difficult jobs so that he could learn even faster? His chance of injury and fatality would increase then... But so would his knowledge. He'd learn a hell of a lot faster if he was thrown into it... Still, did he know enough to have even the smallest chance of survival?
Merfonde was torn about what jobs to take. She started pacing, her gaze on the ceiling as she thought. It would be a familiar sight to Ian by now. "I'm not sure exactly. I'm trying to decide what job you could learn the most on with out having a 70% chance of death." She didn't exactly sound that.. concerned about his chance of survival. But that was Merfonde for you. The looks and attitude of a cold and heartless killer.
Finally she sighed, shaking her head, her pacing stopped. "I guess we can just accept some of the smaller disturbances. They aren't exactly easy for someone of your... level, but I'm pretty sure you can keep yourself alive with that speed of yours." A short pause. "I have a few rules before we leave though. You follow them, not because I said so, but because breaking them could end in you getting killed. Do you understand?" She had him fixed with the absolute strictest look she'd given him thus far. She meant it. These rules were there only to make sure he didn't get hurt.
Merfonde held up one finger. "First, you will listen to, and obey every order, no matter what it is. If I tell you to hide, run, or leave me, you will obey." She held up a second finger. "Unless I tell you otherwise, you will stay by my side at all times. You are never to leave my sight." A third finger went up. "You will not use your power unless you are about to be killed. Keep it a secret for as long as possible." A fourth, and final finger went up. "Do not, and I mean do not listen to or talk to any targets before or after capture. Do not let them shake your resolve. If you let them they can, and will make you doubt what you are doing. They will try to convince you of their innocence. But remember, we do not go after any mutant who is innocent." She lowered her hand, only to plant both on her hips. "Do I make myself clear?"
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Post by ian on Feb 15, 2011 15:20:03 GMT -5
"Yeah, small chance of dieing would be good right now I think."
He watched her pace around the area as she thought, wondering what tasks they would be able to take. He was use to her pacing around, her having done this with almost every question he asked about training and his memories the past three days. He partly wished he wouldn't pick up that habit. What memories would he be able to find once they left this place. Would they have a chance of running into Cain or Sky? He didn't feel ready, in fact, for some reason, the thought of even seeing the two mutants sent fear down his spine. Even if he didn't remember who they were.
He stopped watching her and just stared as she focused her attention sternly on him. Though his excitement of going on missions was great, his want for survival was even greater. He listened carefully as she rattled off each rule to him, making sure he understood each one. He didn't like the thought of leaving her behind, but he knew that she would be more angry with him for not following the rules.
"Yes ma'am." he said with a nod of his head.
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