Weak.
Titanyana could not think of another word to describe the performance of Trebar's squad. She could conceptualize a more accurate term, she just wasn't knowledgeable enough in the English lexicon to manifest it. 'Lackluster', 'Lukewarm', 'Disappointing', all more descriptive terms that escaped her mind for the time being.
"Was I like that when I started?"
She couldn't help but think about how pathetic she would have looked back then. Until now, she had never put any serious thought into it, she was just too tired to care. Looking at them like this though . . . half an hour in and they were already dragging their feet? She lasted longer than that right?
Right?
Titanyana couldn't remember, though she had a feeling she probably looked like they did. Why wouldn't she have been? What reason could she possibly have had to be in a better physical state than they were?
"Pick up your feet Anbel!"
Titanyana's ears flattened at the all too familiar tone of voice. It was an instinctual reaction at this point. That meant more exercise, more sweating, more suffering. She recognized that she was excused from it in this case, but her conditioning was not so easily shaken off. Her empathy on the other hand, that was easily dismissed. Half an hour of jogging? That was easy at this point.
"You aren't off the hook either Trebar, get those legs moving!"
She had mixed feeling about his attitude towards Trebar though. Trepidation and confusion as to how he could treat his superior in such a way. What would happen if she talked like that? Would Donovan yell at her? Haze her? Fire her? He probably wouldn't do something like that at this point.
Still Titanyana couldn't help but think. . .
. . . and think . . .
. . . and think about her and Donovan's position as she watched those soldiers march along.
Titanyana realized that their relationship wasn't nearly as formal or rigid as she thought. She had yelled at Donovan like that. During their sword lessons she often raised her voice to grab his attention and tell him off. She had done so in the capacity of an instructor, in a situation where her experience granted her a higher rank. Donovan and Trebar's current situation was likely the same.
Trebar had relinquished his authority to Donovan to achieve a result.
"Get your ass moving fatty!" Donovan spanked Kerefel as he passed. He was the farthest behind by almost a lap, but it seemed to be more a function of his size rather than a particular failing of his anatomy. He wasn't fat, just bulky, and he didn't have the endurance to keep moving like his lighter comrades.
"Sorry sir." He managed to gasp the words out between labored breaths, his feet shuffling forward as fast as he could manage.
"I don't want an apology, I want your ass running!" Donovan then shoved him on the back, almost toppling him. After recovering his pace had increased somewhat. "That's it!"
Titanyana frowned a little bit. Something still felt off in comparison to what the Sanna, Wall, and Len had suffered through. The lack of a surprise wake up was a product of circumstance, as was the hour at which they were working, but something was different in comparison to what she had witnessed three weeks ago. It didn't seem nearly as intense.
Was it the number of people? The lack of shock? Was she just used to it now? None of those seemed right.
Maybe it was less related to everybody else and more related to Donovan himself. Titanyana thought on it for a few minutes before coming to something of a revelation. The nicknames Donovan had chosen were rather tame in comparison to what he had used before. Fatty might be a bit insulting, but it had nothing on 'pigs', an animal whom he had explained in great detail was a disgusting creature.
'Maggots', bug larvae, had also popped up a few times back then.
"Is he being tame?" Titanyana could hardly imagine Donovan being reserved when training her, but she supposed that he might still have concerns with regards to Trebar's squad. They weren't 'captive' like she was, they had no reason to stay. It was entirely reasonable to assume that if they felt he went too far they could just leave.
They were already powerful, successful, and did not view this method of strengthening to be particularly useful. He had to push them hard enough to where they would see results, but he couldn't push them so far they would run away. She marveled at how quickly Donovan had come to that conclusion.
"Nemo, go sit down. You are limping far too much for me to believe you aren't injured."
". . . yes milord."
Titanyana's ears once again fell flat and her tail swung violently to one side. Nemo was walking her direction.
- - - - -
Diana did not give herself time to rest upon walking through the front door. She didn't have that time in the first place. Something very important had come up during "class" this morning, and she was going to need to have a series of serious conversations with those who resided in the barracks.
She was 'given the opportunity' to throw a party for some nobles on account of her having something that resembled a personal residence, which was apparently a rarity for nobles attending the Sanctum's academies. Merndil, a man she had found to be profoundly helpful in expanding her knowledge of those around her, had half negotiated on her behalf and half pushed this party onto her. Evidently he was not particularly keen on the idea of having to host yet another party, and they had definitely talked about the subject of parties in the past week.
The only question at this point was whether or not Diana would actually be able to pull a party off.
She could probably petition the Sanctum or Arboreal Maiden for funding with regards to music and catering, how she spent those funds was a different matter entirely. She had an idea of what nobles 'should' enjoy considering her lessons with the Scholar, but how she should go about purchasing those services was beyond her. Merndil would undoubtedly provide assistance on this matter, he seemed more than happy too when she brought it up.
Merndil was far more experienced at this sort of task than she was, and he was far more in tune with the preferences of the posse that had formed around himself. That same posse seemed to be the primary catalyst for the parties he had grown tired of throwing, even if he admitted they were probably good for his image.
"Cherry dear, where is Donovan?"
"He is in the courtyard, 'entertaining his guests'." Cherry greeted Diana in the hall, accepting her overcoat as she followed behind.
Diana's face screwed up a little bit in confusion. What was with that strange emphasis? Ever so slightly concerned Donovan might be doing something he shouldn't, Diana hastened her pace as she made her way to the courtyard. Opening the door, which was centered on the square, she was met with the sight of Donovan slamming a young man into the dirt quite violently. She knew just how violent based on the loudness of the thud.
A scream of pain furthered the panic she was facing. The identity of this mystery man was irrelevant, dealing with the consequences wasn't.
Keeping her wits about her, she strode towards Donovan only to find that nobody was reacting negatively to the body slam that had just happened. In fact, a few of them were laughing slightly.
"DON'T TEST ME SHITSTAIN!" Donovan delivered a savage kick to the ribcage of the reeling Zulf, earning a yelp and groans of pain. "My apologies for the interruption. Down! Up!"
Donovan assumed a calmer, more commanding stature as he paced back and forth in front of the prone bodies before him. A few of these people were no longer able to support themselves with their hands, and were instead resting face-first in the dirt. She recognized a few of them.
"What's going on here?" Diana found Titanyana, who was sitting off to the side, and tried to get some information out of her. Rize was back with his parents, which was unfortunate because she would have loved to have him recount everything that had happened thus far. "Titanyana?"
Her ears were flat and her tail was twitching back and forth, Titanyana was irritated for some reason.
"Hm? Diana?" She didn't even bother to hide it. Titanyana's tone of voice might have been pleasant, but her body language very clearly displayed her displeasure. "They are training."
"And that throw was training?"
Titanyana's ear twitched. "No, that was punishment. Zulf broke the rules of their fight earlier, so when he woke up and attacked him Donovan responded appropriately."
Diana didn't quite believe it, but given the fact that Trebar didn't raise any objections it was probably approaching the truth at minimum. With that matter addressed to a satisfactory degree, Diana pondered the prospects of inquiring what was pissing her off. She had a feeling it was due to her inability to be out there training with them.
"Are you feeling alright Titanyana?" A less direct approach would be better in this scenario. Given her 'recent' injuries Diana could pass it off as checking in on her, but if she felt the need to divulge her ails then Diana would listen. "Is there something I can do?"
"Hm? I'm feeling fine . . . do you think it would be okay if I left to get some water?"
"Do you want me to come with you?"
". . . no?" Genuine confusion from the Nekh princess, she didn't catch on to Diana's implication.
"Oh . . . then, go ahead. If Donovan asks where you went I will cover for you."
"Thank you."
- - - - -
Titanyana's tail would not stop twitching as she walked down the halls toward the kitchen. She did not like Nemo. She did not like her one bit. Almost everything about her irritated Titanyana to some degree. Her fighting style lacked honor. Her outfit was unbecoming of a warrior. Even her eyes, the only visible portion of her face, made Titanyana irrationally angry.
She understood that these feeling were, in large part, the result of the disgrace she had suffered at Nemo's hands, but she didn't feel any urgency to see her in a better light. Donovan might have told her to try to be amicable, but until she made a proper apology she would not even consider being neutral. What little dignity she had remaining would not permit anything else.
That said, she recognized that acting this way was not benefiting her at all. Nemo, as much as she despised her, was going to become one of her fellow vassals under Donovan and Diana. She had seen first hand the results of feuding and infighting on both the lord and the vassal, she had seen the lifeless bodies hanging from the castle gate. Feuding that impeded the objectives of the king was tantamount to treason, and it followed that such treason should be punished by death.
Their gripes with each other needed to be handled as soon as possible, lest the worst come to pass.
"Excuse me, may I please have some water?"
One of the kitchen staff silently handed her a wooden mug full of slightly fragrant water. This was probably the fruit infused water that was all the rage amongst the staff.
"Thank you."
She moved back out into the dining room and took a seat, staring blankly ahead while she took sips. It tasted good, relatively speaking, but the reason she was slowing her rate of consumption was to avoid going back out for as long as possible. She could always get more of this stuff, in fact the staff seemed ecstatic to give her some whenever she asked for it, so there was no need to savor it.
Titanyana would sit and stare at the wall while she tried to calm herself down, her anger at Nemo slowly morphing into discontent with herself.