Without allowing them any sleep, Nikodemus provided them with the practice weapons Cartias had whipped together for them, and lead them to a makeshift practice arena in the center of the camp. They were paired off; Ayden with one of the men, and the female vampire with the other man. They were told to spar, and soon had quite the crowd surrounding them, watching their every move. All four of them were tired, that much was obvious, but none were willing to admit defeat against the other. It was midday by the time Nik dismissed them, telling them to get some food and some rest; there would be more to come in the next few hours.
The next week was much the same; Lenox would get Ayden in the morning, they'd see more of the camp, and then they'd go to the arena to practice combat. For Ayden, it was particularly difficult to look untrained. His fellow recruits were all clumsy, but getting better, with their respective weapons crafted by Cartias. A full week after their vandalization, Nikodemus interrupted their practice with a gleeful smile, waving a newspaper. "They're calling it 'the embarrassment of the year'! Just wait until they see what we have planned for the Autumn Festival. Keep up the good work, and you're on your way to initiation," he sauntered back to his tent, followed by Lenox, and for the first time, the recruits were alone.
One of the other male recruits spoke up. "Well, at least we did something instead of sitting in those damned tents all day," he complained. "We might as well get to know each other," the female vampire among them scoffed, and went back to sparing with the other male amongst them. The one who spoke rolled his eyes, and turned to Ayden instead. "The names Milo, I'm a warlock from outside the Capital. I can already tell you're a vampire, and I think I've heard Lenox call you Ayden?" The vampire nodded to his companion. "The old werewolf seems to like you more than any of the rest of us." Ayden shrugged. "You're not much for conversation, huh, Ayden?" The warlock questioned, to which Ayden responded by walking off towards the edge of the practice ring, which was at the center of camp, to drink from a cup of half cooled blood that another, older vampire was offering to him and the girl.