"It's good to see you too, brother. If those old fools weren't there, I would have greeted you in the meeting room." Said Damian who walked into the room while the ice that he used to block the path of the hunters, melted in seconds.
"Wait, how could the two of you be brothers?" asked Talon in a shocked manner. His question was understandable as they looked nothing like each other, but it only made the two burst out in laughter.
"We are not brothers by blood, but we have fought together in the war against Edoran for years… some bonds are deeper then blood." Said Lance, his words made Talon clench his fist in anger, but he did not show it on his face.
Damian simply nodded at the Huntsman's words, a smile playing on his face. Then, he turned towards the hunter. The training grounds almost froze over as the temperature dropped to a dangerous level, but he quickly deactivated his gift, not wanting to harm Talon or Rokara with the frost. However, even in that brief moment, both of them were exposed to the cold, weakened by it, both of them shivered uncontrollably.
After Talon gathered his composure back, he began to try and warm his hand with his own breath, trying to warm himself, then turned back to look at Rokara behind him. "Are you alright?" Asked Talon with genuine worry in his voice.
Rokara just weakly nodded back in response, still weakened by the cold and even drained by the repeated use of her gift. Talon could see that her eyes were clear now, maybe what broke her out of her trance was the temperature change in the training ground.
"It's time for us to go, both of you need to have breakfast first, you will need the energy for the training later today." Said Damian as he began walking out of the training grounds, casting one last spiteful glance to the hunters, who only glared back at him. Then he waved to Rokara and Talon, signaling for the two to follow him.
But before they could leave, Talon was halted by the friendly huntsman. "I will consider you the victor of your spar, and I think that you have high potential with the spear," said the Huntsman before continuing. "I already heard that you have killed a blue-rated beast, and that will be forged into a fine weapon by Makar. If you would consider crafting it into a spear, I have a yellow-rated beast that I killed once. It would be a great addition to craft it together with the beast that you have felled. Crafting the two together would produce a fantastic spear variant. This is what I want to reward you." Said Huntsman Lance with a smile on his face.
"Before the two months run out, I will teach you to wield that spear masterfully." Said the huntsman. "Thank you, Huntsman Lance, said Talon with a genuine gratitude in his voice.
Huntsman Lance then turned away and signaled to leave with his hand to Talon. He unleashed his bloodlust to the hunters, but Talon did not stay to watch as he rushed in the hallways to catch up to Rokara and Damian.
"There you are, what did he want to say to you?" Asked Damian. "He, wanted to reward me because he considered me the victor of our spar—" Talon couldn't even continue his words as Rokara shouted, "It was a draw at best!"
"Now you are the one that acts like a sore looser! And how could it be a draw you cheated?" Added Talon, trying his best to not laugh out loud. "It wasn't cheating you bastard, I just lost control, not my fault!" Shouted Rokara, this time, Talon could not hold back, as he burster out laughing. "Laugh all you want you bastard." Said Rokara, her words adding fuel to Talon's laughter.
"Sorry, what was I saying… yeah, after he said that he deemed me the victor of our spar, he said that he wants me to ask Makar to craft the stag that I killed into a spear, and he would add a yellow-rated beast to it to make it stronger. Oh, and he will train me to use a spear in these two months because he thinks that I have good potential wielding the spear," Talon explained everything, which only made Damien frown.
"Is that bastard trying to take away a pupil from me, again?" fumed Damian, his reaction only making Talon ask him, "Wait, again?"
"I don't know if you heard it before, but I had two disciples before you. They did not really like my… extreme training methods, so, when that bastard told them that he could teach them too, they jumped at the opportunity." His explanation only made Talon gulp. "How extrema are we talking about?
"Don't worry, you will get to know today." Said Damian as he showed a sinister smile to Talon which made him shiver in fear.
The three of them only walked for two minutes, as the canteen was close to the training grounds.
The bustling aroma of freshly made meals greeted them as they entered the canteen. A lively hub of activity, hunters clad in various gear occupied tables, sharing stories of their latest endeavors. The clatter of utensils against plates harmonized with laughter, creating a vibrant atmosphere, but that soon stopped as the three gifted walked into the canteen.
Every hunter within shot them dirty glances, but the moment they spotted Damian behind Rokara and Talon, they swiftly redirected their gazes from the two. The trio proceeded to the end of the canteen, where a lineup had formed. They picked up trays and patiently waited their turn, sensing the lingering glances from their fellow hunters. Talon, feeling a bit uneasy, turned to Damian and asked, "How's the food here?"
"Ninety percent of the menu items are dreadful, but I can recommend the lamb stew." Said Damian with a shrug of his shoulder, almost missing the fact that he was the next in line. "Morning, Jane." Said Damian with a smile on his face, as he greeted the woman named Jane before him.
Rewritten version: "Morning, Damian," the woman named Jane inquired with a monotone voice, though a subtle smile graced her face. "The usual, I presume?" Jane sported messy, long, bright red hair, the same unusual color as a Huntsman lance, just like her violet eye, bearing a striking resemblance to the huntsman. While the left side of her face was covered by an ugly third burn scar.
"One order of lamb stew!" Jane hollered into the kitchen, signaling the chef. "Coming right up!" echoed the chef's response. Then Jane noticed Rokara and Talon, both of them stood behind Damian with a tray in their hands.
"Talon and Rokara, I presume?" Jane inquired. "What would you two like to eat?" Simultaneously, both responded, "Lamb stew." Jane chuckled at their synchrony before shouting to the chef in the kitchen, "Another two orders of lamb stew."
"Have you met my brother yet? He was quite agitated after the incident with the other three huntsmen." Before Damian could respond, he turned to Rokara and Talon, saying, "Why don't you two grab a table? I'll join you in a minute." The two wasted no time and headed to a table near Damian.
"Yeah, we met. Your bastards of a brother wants to steal my pupil away, again..." Damian complained to Jane, who responded with a stare conveying the unspoken words, 'you brought this upon yourself.' "Don't look at me like that, Jane. I'm not that bad of a teacher."
Jane retorted, raising an eyebrow, "You're not that bad, Damian? If not for Roland being gifted with a talent for healing, he might have lost his arms. Naturally, he jumped at the slightest chance to escape to my brother. John was always a better teacher when it came to wielding weapons."
Damian chuckled, acknowledging the truth in her words, but he still acted hurt. "How dare you, Jane? Your brother can only wield a spear while I mastered every single one of them, and you say that your brother is better?"
"Yeah, that is true, but you are a terrible teacher." Their bickering continued, Meanwhile, in the bustling canteen, the aroma of the lamb stew intensified, signaling its readiness.
Suddenly, Damian's booming voice cut through the banter. "Talon, Rokara, grab your trays! The stew's ready!" The two hastened to the counter, collecting their trays with the warm, savory stew piled high.
As the trio settled down at their table with trays of steaming lamb stew, Damian exchanged a hearty goodbye with Jane. "Until next time, Jane. Try not to miss me too much," he quipped, eliciting an eye roll from her. Jane smirked. "I'll manage just fine, Damian."
With a final nod, Damian joined Talon and Rokara at the table. The aroma of the stew wafted around them, and just from the sight of the hearty meal, Talon couldn't help but salivate, 'It's been years since I had eaten normal food.' As he gazed at the stew, he gulped audible.