Eleven septes later

Proditione flew from building to building. Overlooking the battle below him, turning swords into worms, and spears into a cluster of differently assorted bugs. He found it particularly hilarious when a man got a cluster of ladybugs stuck in his iron armor. Proditione's small feet balanced on a stone chimney top as he watched the chaos down below. His blood red hair fell just past his eyes as he leaned forward, slightly obscuring his view. As he ran his pale hand through his messy locks, he saw her.

Much like the other attacking Obsurs she stood at ten feet tall. Her eyes, the same black of the coal mined a few miles out from Proditione's father's castle, stared down the man in front of her. The helmet she wore glinted in the sunlight, surrounding her face and wrapping around the back of her head, the top left open for her long black hair to spill out and fall around her waist. Proditione could feel his heart jump as she lunged at the man, missing his chest but hitting his arm. The man collapsed to the ground, clutching his arm as the woman raised her poison coated blade. Waving his long thin fingers, Proditione focused on the blade. A small wisp of purple smoke lifted from his hand as the sword in the woman's hand fell limp. She looked up at her hand and dropped the blade in shock, as a black snake was staring her in the eye. Proditione couldn't help himself as he fell into a fit of laughs.

As he calmed down, he looked back down to where the woman had been standing only to find her looking straight up at him. Her feet planted firmly on the ground, back straight, the wind itself seemed to stop blowing as she glared at him, her ebony black eyes stared into his violet ones. A cold feeling krept up his spine as she stared him down. The surrounding battle seemed to get quieter and quieter the longer they stared at each other. His heart began to beat faster and faster until she was knocked off of her feet, by a soldier who Proditione assumed to be one of the injured man's friends. No one would blame him if he had decided to leave right then and there. He jumped off of the chimney off and flew down the battlefield where the woman was sitting up.

"Are you okay?" He asked loudly, out stretching his hand to help her up.

"You ruined my first kill!" She spat at him, getting up without his help.

Proditione smiled, his straight perfectly white teeth gleaming in the sunlight, "You have to admit, it was pretty funny."

"This fight is not with you elf!" She growled, pulling her other sword out of its sheath, "Because of that I will give you the next ten pendons to run!"

Proditione took the hint, but he didn't stop smiling at her as he floated off the ground, "I hope our paths cross again!" He winked at her

"Eight pendons!" She spat raising her black sword at him, her pale hand, paler than his, tightening around the hilt.

He continued to smile at her as he continued to float upwards, not knowing why the woman made him so giddy, but not caring.

________________________

Mari stood in line with the rest of her troup.

"Are you trying to tell me an elf stopped you from making your first kill?" Major Rory questioned her, inspecting the snake that had once been a sword.

"Yes Major." Mari answered, looking forward, her hand clenched around the sword she was left with

"And what prevented you from killing another villager?" Major Rory asked, standing straight and looking Mari in the eye.

"You called us back to the cave Major." Mari replied

Major Rory narrowed her black eyes, and stared at Mari, "Are you blaming me for your mistake Private?" She growled taking a step closer to Mari.

"No Major." Mari answered, staring ahead clenching her sword slightly tighter, "I only answered your question."

Major Rory stared at Mira. She stood a total of three inches taller that Mari, forcing Mari to stare at her throat as Rory continued to step closer.

"I want you to go back to the village," Major Rory said surprisingly quiet, "and kill a remaining soldier. If you're back in ten dektes, I will allow you to proceed to Lutinate."

"Yes Major." Mari answered.

Mari turned and walked towards the entrance of the cave. As the sun hit her purely with face, she squinted. The village was still visible. She could see the people left alive dragging the bodies the Warriors had left behind. Mari strutted towards the villagers, the black sword shining in the sunlight. A plump woman picking up weapons left behind saw Mari as she neared the village, the woman dropped the mud covered weapons she was holding, and ran screaming to the villagers.

"THEY'RE COMING BACK!" She screeched, "THEY'RE COMING BACK!"

Mira clenched her teeth, it would be so easy to catch up to the woman and kill her, but Major Rory had explicitly said a soldier, and Major Rory had a way of knowing when people were lying.

Mari broke into a sprint. Her leather boots hitting the ground with a thud thud thud. She reached the woman in a matter of pendons, and shoved her to the ground. The woman hit the ground and kept screaming at the village as Mari sprinted towards the already disparaged villagers.

At the front of the village there had been made an rambshack hospital. It would have been easy to kill one of the already injured soldiers, but if Mari really wanted to prove herself she would have to kill one of the men standing guard.

The two men noticed her quickly, Mari could thank the woman's screaming for that. The first pulled his sword of it's leather sheath, but fumbled with it as he ran towards her. The other man sprinted forward, clutching a spear in his hand.

She swung her sword at the first man to attack her. He just barely avoided her sword entering his neck. As he dodged her attack he stabbed his spear in her direction. She moved to the left, avoiding the spear's point, and took hold of the wooden stick, wrenching it out of his small hand. Mari picked the man up by his throat and raised him to her eye level. He held onto her arm, feebly kicking at her.

"Please." He choked, "My wife, she'll have our child in just a few weeks."

Mari didn't answer as she raised her sword. She shoved the black blade into his abdomen, not giving him enough time to feel the pain. It sliced through his iron armor, flesh, and spine effortlessly. Blood spurted out as she pulled the sword out of him, his armor turning red. The same red as that elf's hair...

Mari shook her head. She had no reason to be thinking of the little troublemaker that had almost ruined everything she'd worked for.

Mari pulled the man's helmet off of his small head, his blonde hair sticking out in every direction. She inspected the helmet as she walked back to the cave where Major Rory and the rest of her troup would be waiting for her. A ladybug crawled out of the helmet and onto her thumb before taking flight into the sunny sky.