Stahlmin 99 [Claes, Goib]

Well, it would appear that he was victorious, in a way. Claes took notice of the task at hand, and decided to continue it rather than to spare Liseran a second of her time, by grabbing him and being on her way. "Ow! Do not pull so hard!" He said, before quickly looking at Liseran and giving her a wave. "I'll see you another time, Madam Dormirse." It definitely wasn't the best moment he could have encountered Liseran, but it could have been worse, at least.

As they continued, they'd eventually reach Kiara and the Chief Commander, as he spoke something about her uniform and her marks? He was only able to reach the end part of his spiel, and Goibniu was too respectful to just chime in and interrupt a superior like Richard like that. He merely stood to observe to see how the conversation would unfold, before assessing their task.

"Oh! Thanks!' Kiara chirped as she took the handkerchief. She began to wipe her face, hopefully getting most of the blood off as the chief surprised her by not agreeing with her reasoning. Her eye twitched for a moment before she suddenly crossed her arms and puffed up slightly, a defiant frown tugging at her lips before she spoke.

"A man such as yourself surely understands how important efficiency and preparation is." His interest in her tattoos certainly kept her from being to snide at least. "These marks aren't me taking the easy way out. I know several spells by heart and know enough to experiment. Despite this, one can only speak so quickly. The tattoos activate rapidly and could potentially save lives in an ambush." She rocked on her heels, casually shifting and raising a finger. "Not to mention, if a blow to the head or an injury has left my mind muddled or me unable to speak, the marks on my arm can end up getting me or my comrades out of a potentially lethal situation."

Finally, she placed her hands on her hips and smiled wide. "Plus, they look really cool!...And people tend to have more faith in someone who looks cool and prepared right? I imagine I'll be quite popular as an officer!" Now she was just bragging...

"Oh hello!" She seemed to be all smiles once Goibniu and Claes walked up. "Our mission is finished!" She beamed, giving the two of them a thumbs up.

Despite Kiara's brazenness during her rebuttal, the Chief Commander's reaction was more that of contemplation rather than offense.

"Fair points save for the latter ones," he mentioned as he rubbed his chin. "Despite Expiate officers requiring a standard set of skills, many of us do have our specializations. I suppose you're saying that these tattooed marks are part of how you specialize your own magic. Still..."

Richard gave Kiara's uniform a once-over.

Appalling... he thought.

"We can't have you just altering the uniform based on your whims," he said. "Several of our higher ranked members wear their own uniform variations. So if you WERE to design something, it'd have to be approved and it'd have to be what you wear from now on."

He thought for a moment before casually pointing at Kiara.

"Tell you what," he said. "Prove to me that your marks will be advantageous to you during fighting--that without a doubt, you need them while fighting and they can help you win."

Kiara would then see the tiniest bit of a smirk on the Chief Commander's face.

"See that square?"

He pointed to the floor below them where there seemed to be a small training quadrangle.

"If you can knock me out of the square in a five minute match, I'll grant permission for a modified uniform," he said. "Let's put your readily available tattoos against heavily memorized marks, eh?"

***

By the time Claes and Goibniu saw Kiara, she was standing next to...the Chief Commander himself.

Oh...no no no no no... Claes muttered.

Claes managed to stop her running and straighten up before giving a salute.

"A-ah! Chief Commander!" she said.

The Chief Commander looked at Claes and Goibniu casually as he continued to flip through Kiara's notebook.

"Oh, hello, officers," he said. "I received the letter you three wanted. Thank you for your hard work. I was just talking to the cadet over here about a duel."

Claes' eyes widened.

A duel??

Her eye twitched.

"Ah...pardon?"

The Chief Commander looked at Goibniu.

"McCrae, you have a good eye," he said. "Would you and Alfson be willing to referee?"

WHAT IS HAPPENING!? Claes screamed internally.

He wasn't able to hear much of the conversation, but Goibniu did get the impression that it had something to do with Kiara's magical prowess and the necessity of her uniform to be altered, and the Commander mulling it over. After all, its not like they were talking in hushed toned, right? And when Kiara and the Commander turned to them, Goibniu gave the latter a salute before speaking up.

"Oh, it was? Capital! We are glad we could be of service to-" He began, when Veiller said something about a duel. That one fragment Goibniu didn't catch out of the conversations, and it surprised him quite a bit! Though his response might differ from Claes'. "Oh! How exciting! A good opportunity to refine one's skill I'm sure? I'd feel very honored in your shoes, Ferro!" He exclaimed, while facing Kiara. The Commander then appointed the two as referees, and once again, he proved to be on a different wavelength. "Oh my! That would be tremendous! I will gladly help, and I'm sure Officer Alfson here would also accept to oversee such an event!"

Kiara's eyes seem to sparkle when the challenge was issued. At first, she thought he was simply going to ignore her well thought out reasons and just tell her to get in uniform. This was MUCH better though! She grinned, puffing out her chest and huffing. "Won't be a problem!"

Despite her confidence, she was immediately taking in as many details about the commander as possible. When Claes came over, Kiara was quick to hop over to her, looking QUITE proud of herself.

"Yeah! A duel! If I knock the commander out of the square I can alter my uniform!" She chirped happily. She looked over to Goibniu. She didn't understand the 'honored' part, but she was happy to see he was as excited as her. "Hey, maybe you can spar him next huh?" She beamed. As long as there were no major injuries that should be fine right?

"Oh! I should get my weapons!..Wait I can use weapons too right?" She glanced over to the Commander. A half second passed and she grabbed onto both Goibniu and Claes. "Hey come help me get my weapons!" If left to her own devices, she was up and going to drag them both off.

Claes looked bewilderingly as both Kiara and McCrae vocalized their excitement for the event. Did these two have no sense of situational awareness?? The Chief Commander, meanwhile, gently placed the side of his fist against his palm.

"It's settled then," he said. "Fetch your weapon, cadet. I'll see you three at the square."

With that, he waved them off while still holding the envelope.

***

"I really don't think this was a good idea," Claes would tell Kiara and Goibniu.

The three were at the square now after giving Kiara time to get her gear in order. Claes was leaning against one of the pillars of the quadrangle's arches. She sighed and crossed her arms.

"Kiara, you do realize that this might get you into even more trouble then you're already in, right?" she said. "And McCrae agreeing to the whole ordeal surely didn't help."

She glanced at the Enkidu and sighed.

"Have you ever seen Chief Commander in battle, even?"

A dauntless smile appeared in Goibniu as Kiara suggested that he should spar against Richard next. "Ha! I appreciate the enthusiasm, but the Chief Commander is a man with years of experience, training and knowledge. Years which I don't quite possess just yet." He said, before he clenched one fist and hit the palm of his other hand. "But I wouldn't say no to a sparring session nevertheless. There's much to learn in battle!" And it was then where the two officers were dragged by Kiara to choose proper weapons for the match.

---

A moment later, the trio were at the square with the idea of the battle still in their heads. Claes was more than concerned about it, and she expressed her thoughts to them. "Well, not exactly... But! There is no doubt that a man of his post would prove to be a challenge for anyone. Which is why I am more than curious about how will Kiara try and confront him!" He said, mulling over Claes' words. "And besides, I was in the idea that this was just a friendly spar between comrades. I can't see how Kiara's situation could get more precarious, it wasn't like the Commander threatened her with expulsion should she lose."

Kiara went to work quickly as they set up at the square. She hummed happily, refining the small enchantments she'd put on the weapons prior. It was a small drain on her resources, but having multiple weapons around would serve her well in this fight. There were three in total, her favorite hammer, a spear that sparkled with a blue translucent material and a secondary spear that flashed a dangerous red. As Claes began to speak, Kiara let out a small laugh.

"Unless there's an accidental death, I don't see how this could get me in more trouble." She glanced up, grinning wide. "This is gonna be great!" She giggled giddily before standing and activating the new enchantments. For a moment, all three weapons began to float around her, then, there was an ear piercing noise and both spears dropped to the ground. Kiara stared at them a second with disgust before sighing and picking up the red tinted spear. "This will still be good." She gave it a twirl before making sure her hammer was still floating near her back. "What do you think?" She asked the two of them with a smug expression. "Cool right?"

The thought of the Chief Commander dying at the hands of Kiara was, even if unlikely, terrifying to Claes. This was mostly because she was aware of Kiara's combat methods. They were, for lack of better words, scary.

"Yeah, I suppose you and McCrae are right..." Claes said as she clasped her neck subconsciously.


Kiara went on to show her the different spears. Claes gave in a smile.

"It is 'cool'," Claes said. "Just promise me you'll be careful, okay? I don't know what the Chief Commander wants to fight you for, but a lot of the times he'll pull one over you without realizing it. If you're done, let's go to the square. Do you have anything you want to pick up or go over before we head there, McCrae?"

"This is will be a perfect exercise for both the Commander and Officer Ferro to test their mettle, no better way to figure out your strength after all!" And it seemed like he wasn't the only one looking forward to the battle, as Kiara was merrily checking what armaments she should have before the battle. Not only she was going to use her magic, but she would also use weapons as well! Two spears and a hammer? And she was aiming to use them all at the same time? His own question was answered when she began making them float! ... Or at least, the hammer remained there. A strange noise caused both spears to fall, before she decided to settle for one of them.

"Blazes, that was scary." He muttered, regaining his composure after recoiling from the noise. And when Claes was warning Kiara about the Commander's prowess, Goibniu merely nodded his head in agreement. "It will take a lot of luck and quick thinking to phase him, and even then, that is assuming if he's going all out or not." He pointed out, as Claes then moved to him. "Oh? Nope, I'm definitely good! I can't wait for the sparring session to begin, I have faith that Officer Ferro will put up a great fight!"