Resuming the training (Cobalt and Airen)

by **Cobalt Smith** Tue Feb 07, 2012 3:59 am

Cobalt looked at the gravestones as he waited for his apprentice to arrive. The thing about graveyards that always got Cobalt wasn't that they were creepy, as most people thought, but that they always seemed to be quiet. He wasn't a stranger to quiet, his best work was done in silence after all, but it always made him feel on edge.

Of course it didn't help that he had been born a Catholic. Graveyards were sacred to him but he needed the atmosphere for the training of his student. Doing something he hadn't done in decades, Cobalt knelt down in the middle of the graveyard and drew out a band of rosary beads. He began muttering his prayers, using the beads to count.

by **Airen Auditoren** Tue Feb 07, 2012 8:08 am

Airen was wary of graveyards, but it wasn't because of the creepiness. He gave them space because of the memories they were sure to bring to the front of his mind. If one were to find the ruins of the Swordmage Academy, then they'd see many stone crosses in a field nearby. The graveyard was made by their sole survivor, Airen Auditoren.

Seeing Professor Smith praying, Airen got on one knee, like a knight in the Medieval ages, and prayed himself. Finishing before the professor, he sat cross-legged and waited patiently for him to begin.

by **Cobalt Smith** Sat Feb 11, 2012 9:55 am

Cobalt finished his prayers and put his beads away. He didn't move out of the prayer position though, just kneeling there besides Airen without moving for a few moments. Eventually however, he spoke,

"You are christian Airen?" he asked the boy quietly, "Yet you recognise that life must be taken sometimes... to protect what we hold dear. To uphold our values."

He stood up and made the sign of the cross on his body, a very serious expression on his face,

"Blessed be the Lord, my rock..." he glanced at Airen as he continued, "Who trains my hands for war, and my fingers for battle. Psalm 144."

Cobalt gestured at the graveyard around them,

"Look at the proud dead Airen." he instructed the boy, "Before you join their ranks you will have sent many a man and woman to meet their Lord. And that is where we find ourselves today."

He frowned a little bit and took out a small knife as he sat down in one of two chairs he conjured,

"Sit Airen." he instructed the boy as he began to play with the knife. He rolled it across his knuckles and then back up, as other men played with coins, "You are not as you appear Airen. Tell me... have you killed?"

by **Airen Auditoren** Sat Feb 11, 2012 11:42 am

Airen looked up at Cobalt. He himself was surprised that Cobalt was a believer, but, given recent events in his life, he knew that not everything and everyone was what they seemed.

"Si, signore (Yes, sir). I am. And yes, I do, even if it is not the most pleasant task," he said solemnly. He stared blankly at the gravestone in front of him. His eyes were looking at the stone, but his mind was in Italy. Another graveyard was situated in the middle of a recent battleground, a school to be exact. His old school.

Airen listened to Cobalt. He remembered the verse. It saved him from going down a darker path. He nodded his head at the teachings of Cobalt. He sat in the other conjured chair.

Taking a deep breath and closing his eyes, Airen steeled his nerve to face the music. He opened his eyes and looked at Cobalt. This would be the first time that he would tell the whole story.

"Yes, sir, I have been forced to kill is more like it, though. I was almost another number in a massacre. only eight months before I came to Hogwarts, my order, the Swordmages, were ambushed at our headquarters in Italia. The battle was fierce," he said. He unsheathed his sword. He whispered 'rivelare il sangue su quest lama' (reveal the blood on this blade). The diamond blade was soon coated in a deep maroon shade. "This is the blood that stained my blade that night. The battle ended with me using a rare spell that few have the power to use. La rabbia del drago. Dragon's rage. When it was all over, I was the last one in Europe," he finished.

Tears poured out of his eyes. He felt the guilt wash over him. He wasn't strong enough to save anyone. The screams of his comrades ringed in his ears. The blood-stained walls filled his sight. He was back at the battle. With a huge amount of will, he shut his eyes tight, and the images and sounds faded into the back of his mind.

"I'm sorry that you had to hear that, but you need to understand. I'm not just some kid who had a dark past," he said sadly.

by **Cobalt Smith** Sun Feb 12, 2012 3:48 am

Cobalt sometimes had doubts about his lifestyle, he was a wetboy after all, he was paid to kill. He was paid large sums of money to reap that which God had sown. But he could tell, from a glance, that Airen was even more confused than he himself had been. The boy's faith was stronger than his it would seem. He frowned a little bit,

"That's just the thing isn't it though Airen?" he sighed a little bit and touched the ground, playing with some loose dirt, "Killing is not pleasant. It is not permitted by our Lord. But... it's easy. Every kill you make it gets easier until it's as easy as breathing."

He rested his chin on his hands and waited as Airen told him the story. Truth be told, Cobalt had heard whispers of the massacre. It was hard to cover up that many people suddenly dying after all. But he hadn't known much about it, not how had attacked or who had been defeated. He watched with interest as the boy's blade became red, with the blood of his enemies. He waved off the boy's concerns,

"Do not appologise for showing remorse or guilt. The second you do, you become nothing but a monster in a human shell." he sighed a little bit as he rolled his knife across the back of his hand. He paused, stopping the action, "You are a swordmage. I am not a swordmage, so some areas of your training will be self-taught. Other than some spars with your swordmage training. Do you have skill with other weapons apart from the sword?"

by **Airen Auditoren** Sun Feb 12, 2012 12:35 pm

"But isn't that why God sent his son? So that no matter what kind of things we have done, we can all be saved?" Airen inquired. He knew that was one reason why he was still the same gentleman he was raised to be and not some bad boy. He hoped that his faith could help others, but even then, he still had a wisp of doubt that hovered in the back of his mind.

"Yes sir," Airen said in respond to the statement about the monster. "I understand. Before the massacre, one of my mentor's said that I only had one more year of training left, but that was if the Swordmage Academy still stood. Now, It'll be more like four more years," he sighed.

"They tried to make us as diverse as possible in combat, but we didn't get far before that night. I only got past all the kinds of swords and the sniper rifle, so that's about it."

by **Cobalt Smith** Fri Feb 17, 2012 4:20 am

Cobalt closed his eyes for a second. Airen raised a valid point to be sure but it was one based on faith, faith in the divine ideal that every man, woman and child had the potential to be saved,

"After so many years taking lives, saving lives and everything in between... I have met people." he paused here and shook his head, "Do you think I believe that everyone can be saved? That everyone deserves to be saved? Either way, it's rather irrelevant."

The man nodded at the boy's words. They were truthful and wise, qualities not often found within people his age. Cobalt smiled,

"Good to see that you acknowledge where you need to improve." he shrugged, "We will work on it together at points as well. It's all well and good knowing how a thing works on paper but it's not the same as when you use it. Even having used it, it's not the same as when you use it on a person. We'll spar when you learn new techniques."

The fact that Airen had been trained with a sniper rifle made Cobalt sigh in relief with a happy grin,

"Oh thank god for that..." he took out a pistol, a Walther P99, "You have no idea how hard it is to explain a gun to a pureblood for the first time... either way, I want you to take this pistol. Back-up."

by **Airen Auditoren** Fri Feb 17, 2012 12:58 pm

Airen raised an inquisitive eyebrow at Cobalt's words. True that there were some people that were evil at heart. He didn't know if they could be saved if they repented in the afterlife, but he hadn't really thought to dwell on that until now.

"I guess that some people can't be saved, but I'm sure you'll get there. You show repentance, so God will forgive you, right?" he asked. He felt a wisp of doubt forming in his mind, but his heart remained true, so he decided to listen to his heart.

"Yes sir," Airen said simply, acknowledging his mentor's words.

Gulping a little, Airen took the pistol. He backed up as Cobalt had instructed. He thought he knew what the man was going to ask him to do, but he felt that he wouldn't be able to curl his finger that little bit.

by **Cobalt Smith** Sat Feb 18, 2012 7:03 am

Cobalt shook his head a little bit. There were many reasons why he wished he would go to heaven but, to his mind, there were also too many reasons why he would not go to heaven. No, Cobalt had a special circle of Hell reserved for his actions and he was sure of that,

"I repent some actions. Not others." he shrugged a little bit, grinning lightly, "But I'm not a philosopher! So let's not stand around here moping and arguing about religion yeah? We'll argue about religion when you're deciding whether or not you want to baptise the first child you and Char have together."

Having thrown that in just to tease the boy, Cobalt rolled his neck muscles and shook his arms out to get loose. Feeling as if he was ready, Cobalt patted himself on the chest, dead centre, a few times. He grinned at Airen,

"Check to see if it's loaded." Cobalt knew it was but it was a good habit to encourage, "Flick the safety off... and shoot me in the chest. Empty the clip into me, right now Airen."

by **Airen Auditoren** Sun Feb 19, 2012 4:17 pm

Airen wondered why the man had so many doubts about whether he was going to heaven or not. He remembered a sermon a former mobster gave, and they were supposed to be criminal warlords. He decided it was best not to argue with someone who could shove his hand into your chest and crush your heart with out leaving a mark.

"Sì, signore (yes, sir)," Airen said, thought he did blush at the last part. He hadn't been thinking about kids until that moment. He was only twelve, well almost twelve.

Airen nearly froze at Cobalt's command. The man wanted Airen to kill him! However, at the professor's grin, Airen decided to follow and trust that everything would be fine. He slipped the clip out and found that it was fully loaded. Sliding it back in, Airen grabbed the gun and took careful aim. Finding his target, he squeezed the trigger. The gun let out a sharp, loud bang. Airen quickly squeezed it again and again. Each shot hitting no more a few centimeters of their target.

by **Cobalt Smith** Thu Feb 23, 2012 6:34 am

Cobalt could see Airen's conflict on the subject, his body language was almost screaming it. But he was also very glad that the boy decided to leave it alone for now. Of course when he blushed at his comment about children Cobalt grinned wickedly,

"So you agree that you want to get my daughter pregnant?" he pressed with a smirk and a raised eyebrow before laughing, "Sorry... couldn't resist messing with you there a bit."

The freezing up on the command to kill was something that Cobalt was glad happened, if he was honest. Meant that Airen didn't find it easy to kill, morally. Hopefully he would stay like that. But he also followed orders, quickly going about checking to see if the gun was loaded as instructed. The first shot thumped wetly into Cobalt's chest and he took a step back from the force. The rest of the clip made him stumble back another step. When the clip was done, Cobalt focused for a second and a bullet proof vest, complete with the bullets, fell to the ground after phasing through his clothes. He rolled his neck with a small smile,

"Good Airen, you pass the first test and learn the first lesson." he looked at the boy, now serious, "The first lesson is that when we are training or when I am taking you out for some experience you do exactly what I say, when I say it. Do you understand Airen?"

by **Airen Auditoren** Thu Feb 23, 2012 9:31 am

Airen blushed brightly at Cobalt's remark, but it faded when the man said that he was just joking. He hadn't even thought of Charlotte in that manner, and he wasn't planning to for awhile. He decided to play along.

"Only with a ring on her finger, messere (sir)," Airen replied. He thought that he may as well be honest, even if it was teasing. "Well, that's a relief."

Airen's shoulders were tense from the act he committed. He looked as Cobalt stumbled from the shots, but he didn't fall. When Cobalt revealed the bulletproof vest, Airen sighed in relief, his holders relaxing from their tense position.

"Completely, sire," Airen said.

by **Cobalt Smith** Mon Feb 27, 2012 4:50 am

Cobalt chuckled at the blush Airen sported and shook his head slightly. The boy was just too easy to wind up, not that that was a bad thing of course. It was pretty damn funny actually. He raised an eyebrow, stilll grinning,

"Well I can't argue with that Airen." he paused before looking at the boy a little bit more seriously, "But you won't have my blessing as her father unless I'm confident in your ability to keep her safe and happy."

He smiled at Airen, ruffling the boy's hair with a smirk. The whole exercise had been a command exercise and Airen had passed with flying colours. Now all he had to do was ignore the collection of heavy bruises on his chest. He nodded,

"Good." he paused, "Keep that gun with you at all times Airen. A wizard rarely expects another wizard to be carrying a gun, let alone a child. But a child with a pistol can kill a man with a wand any day of the week."