Blind Stalking

[Shinigami]

Light sparring gear was a rare look for Jahaziel, but he had been feeling a bit frustrated since all the visions and whispers of war started. That, and Aeven didn't make things any better. He had narrowly escaped a rather embarrassing disaster at dinner, and ever since Ziel had been avoiding the girl like the plague. Currently he was decked out in worn brown trousers, knee-high dark brown leather boots, and a blue tunic. The sleeves were tied down under brown leather arm-guards that cover the length of his forearms and he had his beloved daggers strapped to his thighs. Ziel added the bone face-plate that covers his eyes as an added precaution in case a session of sparring got heated.

The sight was a shock to quite a few of the soldiers working through routines in the training room. A few even stopped what they were doing to watch him walk in, no doubt wondering what the poor blind man could accomplish in his current state of dress. Jahaziel wasted to time in warming up once he found a spot clear of bystanders, and pulled his daggers to work on some of his forms solo.

Jahaziel hadn't been looking for a sparring match, but he heard a familiar voice offer. The young soldier had been in the house since he was just knee-high, and Ziel had gotten to know him well over the years. Ezekiel had trained him, and the man had learned his lesson when it came to underestimating a blind man as old and well trained as Ziel. The young soldier's friend, however, had not gotten such a lesson, and was relatively new to the house. He called out in protest, thinking the offer had been meant as an insult.

Ziel smirked as he face the group that was now bunching together. "You don't believe I could hold my own in a spar? Well then, come at me. Let me show you want this old Seer can do." At first he didn't hear anything but whispers - some were awestruck that I had challenged the man, others held and undertone of snickering as they awaited the lesson his man was about to be taught, and still others expressed concern about Ezekiel not being there to keep an eye on things. "What? Are you a coward? Afraid of a little light spar with a blind man? Really... to have such soldiers-"

He was cut off as he shifted his weight and easily avoided the slow charge. Jahaziel hadn't even really had to try to taunt the poor man. He chuckled. "Yes, that's it. Again!" Ziel was forced to draw his arm up, glancing the tip of the oncoming sword off of his dagger as he shifted once more. He sighed, the man was obviously going easy on him, but at least he was -trying- to keep Ziel on his toes. The man moved so slow, all Ziel had to do was shift and block, turn, and repeat.

[Maira]

Since coming back to the House, Aeven had been having more visions than normal and none of them were of the pleasant variety. Some were incredibly vague, just an image of darkness, a feeling of heat, and what could only be described as distant screams. Those visions actually scared her. The ones of soldiers in their battle gear on their way to war, though disturbing, didn't really bother her. At least Aeven knew what they were about.

Thanks to the nightmares she'd been getting as a result of the visions that scared her, Aeven hadn't been sleeping well. When she -did- manage to sleep without nightmares, Aeven was plagued by images of Jahaziel. Three nights ago at dinner, she had nearly let her control go and had almost pounced him in the dining room. It was that darn hand of his on her thigh that nearly did her in. Since then he had seemingly been avoiding her and his avoidance just made her want him more, which in turn made her non-nightmare dreams very steamy and left her even more exhausted when she awoke. She needed some decent sleep damnit!

Finally, unable to take her mind off of the visions or Jahaziel any other way, Aeven had begged her father to kick her ass. She desperately wanted to lose herself in a sparring match with the Custos. If she was lucky, he'd work her so hard that she'd get tired enough to collapse into a dreamless sleep when they were finished. When he agreed to spar with her, Aeven had shown an unusual amount of affection for him and had thrown her arms around Carma's neck and breathed a relieved, "Thank you!" in his ear.

Now, about 10 minutes before she and Carma were supposed to meet up, Aeven was standing in the doorway of the training room starting at one of her problems dressed in his battle gear. If it weren't for the other soldiers in the room, she likely would have been drooling. She had come to the training room early so that she could warm up and once again get a feel for the place she had called home for so very long.

She was torn between running away, as Jahaziel likely didn't want her to interrupt his own sparring session, and going in there and replacing the slow incompetent buffoon that was attempting to give the ancient angel a run for his money (and failing miserably). She didn't have to think for more than an instant before she stepped fully into the training room. Already dressed for sparring, Aeven wove her way silently through the crowd that had gathered around Jahaziel and the amateur soldier.

A few rows back from the actual fight, Aeven paused and watched. She'd only ever seen Jahaziel fight a few times in her life and those times were against his twin Ezekiel and very breifly in an attack against the House. Those few occasions had been quite impressive to a younger Aeven, especially compared to how he was fighting now. Aeven wasn't stupid though and she knew that the lack of skill Jahaziel was showing wasn't because of his own level of skill, but that of his opponent. Aeven couldn't help but wonder just how long the younger man had been in the House. If it had been for any length of time he surely would have been whipped into shape by Ezekiel by now.

After a few moments of watching the two men spar, Aeven slipped between and past the last few soldiers that stood between her and the fighters. She knew what she was planning would likely get her yelled at and give her away, but when the new soldier got close to her, she reached out and pulled him toward her like she would in a dance, and practically shoved him into the crowd as she slipped into his place facing off with Jahaziel.

While she had been watching the pair from her place in the crowd, Aeven had studied the young soldier's fighting pattern and, hoping to surprise him at least a little, Aeven followed his timing. Her moves however were much more graceful, quicker, and came a lot closer to making contact before she danced out of Jahaziel's reach.

[Demeter]

Carmine whistled as he wandered into the training. He had a date with his daughter to whoop her ass in sparing. When he saw the group of soldiers and trainees his whistling died off and he wrapped a hand around Talos' hilt. Well, what was going on around here?

Carma shoved his way through the crowd; he'd been flaring his Custosic aura whenever he'd been around large groups of angels. It made them move quicker. Most were uncomfortable with a Custos being in the house, let alone one of his level. He stood at the front of the crowd, arms followed over his chest and watched Aeven's form. He waited until Jahaziel realzied the shift if oppentents before loosing Talos, swinging the blade fom scabbord to hand in a blink, before sliding in and swinging at Aeven.

He grinned as his daughter fought off two attacks at once. She'd taken on more then two attackers while training under Aries and Mars but that had always been against her fellow trainees, never against two as skilled as Jahaziel and himself. She'd told him that she wanted to be worked into exhaustion. Carmine planned on doing just that.

He spun around, arranging himself opposite of Aeven, placing the girl between him and Jahaziel and pressed his attack on. Some of the gawkers, because that is what they were, had their hands on their own weapons, ready to pounce on two who'd dared to attack the blind seer, despite the seer managing to hold his own.

War was coming and he knew that there would be attackers on all sides of one person. One on One training was good but in war, it wasn't about proper foot placement or the correct manner of sword holding. War was about ducking and dodging, spinning from one attacker to another. It was about life and death, blood and swords.

He wondered what would happen if he swung on the crowd. Gawkers tended to get limbs chopped off instead of chopping off the limbs of their attackers.

[Shinigami]

Jahaziel was growing bored with his little dance, and actually found himself thinking about other things while shifting through the endless cycle of steps this young one was taking him through. The point of his presence in the training room was to forget about his worries and lose himself in a match, not the other way around. His wandering mind dulled his senses a bit, not bothering to utilize them to their full potential do to lack of need. Because of this, the entrance and approach of his little Seer-in-Training went unnoticed until he heard a slight shuffle and a shift in the form of the attacker.

The new attacks were coming much faster with more grace and knowledge, and they were also coming from a shorter person. As he blocked the first few attacks easily he let his senses cover the room, instantly recognizing the aura that had replaced his original sparring partner. Aeven was mimicking his previous partner's pattern beautifully, but she was just too skilled to keep him from noticing the change. Ziel was a bit put off that the center of his frustration was once again his sole focus, but as he smirked and shifted he figured - Why not work of some of that frustration against her?

Ziel quickly upped the ante, shifting from defensive moves to a quick attack. Aeven had one blade that called for the use of both of her hands, but Ziel had two blades and the ability to use both hands independently in an attack, so he set out to challenge the girl. He danced around her, alternating between attacking and guarding himself. And now that his senses were keeping close tabs on the entire room, he felt the presence of Carmine instantly.

Caution led his movements for a moment, unsure about Carmine's quick approach and what he was going to do. When Aeven took the attack, Ziel moved instantly to take advantage of her distraction. It was a brilliant way to teach soldiers to be skilled in a free-for-all such as a battle field in war. However, Jahaziel was keeping and "eye" out, so to speak, having learned long ago never to trust anyone on a battle field, or in a situation such as this.

[Maira]

Once Jahaziel figured out that his current sparring partner had changed, his fighting style changed and Aeven grinned. There just weren't some things that could be changed and her height was one of those things and she had a feeling it had a been one of the factors in giving her away as she was a good 4 inches shorter than the man she'd replaced.

She was just getting into a happy rythm facing off with Jahaziel when an incredibly familiar Custosic aura entered th training room. She nearly groaned. Carma was likely going to totally ruin her fun by reminding her she had a "date" with him. Gods she hoped not! If she'd known Jahaziel was going to be here she never would have begged her father to kick her ass as she was certain Jahaziel could do just as good a job all on his own, blind or not.

Yet, Carma didn't do anything to ruin her fun. She was a bit surprised when he swung Talos at her, and she squeeked slightly as ducked an attack from Jahaziel right at the moment that Talos connected with her sword. She wasn't used to fighting with a sword, as typically she fought with a bladed staff, but it was in her quarters. She'd wanted more training in the sword as it tended to wear her out quicker than her staff did.

Once she'd recovered from her surprise, Aeven grinned wickedly at her father and got down to business. Defending herself from two very skilled warriors was quite the challenge but she was enjoying ever second of it. More than once she saw the look in Carma's eyes as he surveyed the crowd surrounding them and mentally she was begging him to swing at the gawkers. It'd serve them right. Plus it might give her a tiny chance at an opening against him. Doubtful, but a girl could hope right?

[Demeter]

Carma would have purred in pleasure if he'd been in bed. Next to a enjoyable romp, this was the best way to spend an afternoon. Of course, the only thing better then either one of those options was running amuck on a battlefield, the beserker half of him laughing like a loon while creating a blood bath. Carmine grinned. Yes, bloodbathes were enjoyable.

He stepped back, out of the range of Aeven's sword but he didn't slide Talos but into her scabbard. He glanced around at the bystanders and shook his head. Some where standing there with open mouths. Really, what if he'd been a double agent or the like? They'd just let him walk up to the much vaunted Seer with a naked blade. Not that he would swing Talos at Jahaziel.

He watched as they continuted to stare and then he shifted his gaze to Aeven and her "crush." He'd teased her mercilessly once he'd found out that she pined for the Seer. He chuckled as he glanced around the crowded room. Aeven needed a different sort of work out, he thought, rather then a spar to wear her out. He spotted the young angel who'd started out sparring with Jahaziel. He stood, sword tip against the ground in a loose grip, with wide eyes and gaping mouth. He seemed to be the most stunned out of the lot.

Lightening quick, he lifted Talos and swung at the young angel, cackling with glee when the angel yelped at the sight of the sword Carmine honed nightly coming at him. Talos ghosted within a hair's breathe of the man's nose before he managed to get his guard up. Attacking the Seer and his daughter was one thing, swinging on the crowd another. No doubt Ezekeil and the Arrgihi lord would laugh it off. Young, hot-headed soliders were different.

Within seconds he had ten swords at his neck and Carmine fought down the side of him that would gleefully slaughter those ten men. He show these children how to fight against multiple oppentents. He'd made his name on slaughtering multiple oppentents. Once he was good and involved in the battle, Carmine backed up and, every so accidently and yet completely on purpose shoved Aeven at Jahaziel with a elbow to her back.

[Shinigami]

Jahaziel was having far too much fun. He hadn't had a true spar in a long time, and he was certain the three of them were giving the young soldiers gathering around a good show. He was stepping up his moves now, pushing just a bit harder on the down strokes of his blades and just a bit faster in his footing and wrist movements. Ziel was more confident now that they had begun in earnest that Carmine wouldn't swing his much fabled sword in his direction. The other man was keeping to the outskirts of their little match, providing Aeven with an extra challenge.

When Carmine's aura shifted even further out into the crowd of onlookers Ziel pushed in on Aeven a bit more. He had recognized early on that she was using a sword, which was not a weapon she was particularly used to before she had left. Even now he could tell she had improved with her swordsmanship quite a bit, but she still wasn't as comfortable with it as she should be.

The additional sounds of shuffling and the sound of swords whistling through the air caught Jahaziel's attention for a moment. He just knew it was Carmine causing a playful ruckus, but he wasn't sure if it was such a good idea with these soldiers. They were young, and none of them had known this particular Custos had worked for the House before. With an impending battle with a Custos army making -everyone- nervous, part of him became worried he'd have to reign the horde in. After all, the group may -think- they can teach Carmine a thing or two as a group, but Ziel knew better. It would be the soldiers that got taught.

Ziel eased up on Aeven a bit to devote some more of his attention to the others in the room, keeping tabs on the young soldiers. The distraction was enough that he barely realized Aeven's sudden rush towards him was not purposeful on her part and hadn't been planned as an attack. He was just able to get his blades out of the way, not wanting to accidentally do his student any harm with his sharpened daggers, before he found himself on his ass on the ground.

He hissed quietly to himself as he sheathed the daggers in his hands and tried to figure out how in Hell he had lost his balance.

[Maira]

How she had missed the approach of her father once more, after he had so obligingly attacked the crowd and left her in Jahaziel's capable hands, Aeven wasn't sure. All she knew was that following a sharp pain right in the middle of her back from Carma's elbow she went flying into Jahaziel, toppling both of them to the ground in a bit of an awkward heap.

Luckily, the angel's daggers had been kept from skewering her in the gut, and she had flung her sword arm wide to keep from doing the same, but without that arm to brace herself she had landed squarely in Jahaziels lap, plastered against his chest. Instantly her breath caught in her chest and her heart started to race more than the sparring session had caused it to do. Wasn't this exactly the kind of situation she'd been hoping for? And yet all she could do was sit and stare.

The staring only lasted a moment though before Aeven silently thanked her father and his likely totally intentional elbowing of her back, and dropped her sword so she could wrap both of her arms around Jahaziel's neck and press her body against his as she kissed him soundly. The kiss was quite a bit more passion than was likely appropriate for such a public setting but Aeven could care less at that moment. She had been wanting Jahaziel for so long, and their little game at dinner just made it worse, that she didn't care what others thought anymore.

[Demeter]

Carma smirked to himself. His plan worked and it caused several of the young angels to stop and stare. Sweet little Aeven locking lips with the seer? That just wasn't what was supposed to happen. Ducking around and under the swords of the few who hadn't been succesfully distracted by the kissing, Carmine scooted out of the training room, whistling just as he came in.

Making a quick stop at the Lord's rooms, and with Ezekiel, to explain just what happen, Carmine left the house to stroll through the gardens. Sooner or later, he would have to go home. No doubt that Darius would be pissed to learn that he was aiding an angel house without permission but he didn't want to return home just yet. Rune was, by all accounts, a happily married man with newly born twins.

Carmine didn't want to see that. Nor, as he'd found during the last two years, did he want to spend his life leaping from lover to lover. His mother had shrieked with happiness on learning this because that meant the possibiliy more grandchildren.Aries had understood, he thought, though Cupid has been pissed upon learning that he wasn't the man Carma envisioned in his future.

In fact, the only man Carma seemed to envision these days had silverly blonde hair and had recently become a father. Carma sighed and sat down. There were times when life, all nine-hundred-plus-years, wasn't fair.

[Shinigami]

It only took a second to realize that someone was in his lap as he propped himself up on one elbow, and then another second to realize that person was -Aeven-. Jahaziel lifted his other hand to see if she was alright, and try to speed up her exit from his lap before anything embarrassing happened, but he was far too late. He only had a moment to suck in a breath before Aeven's lips were attached to his and there was a moment of hesitation before he just couldn't resist anymore.

Ziel's free hand was in Aeven's hair before he had a chance to think about it, and suddenly kissing the girl didn't seem like it was such a bad idea anymore. A small part of him, however, was still cursing Carmine. He knew it had been the Custos that was responsible for his and Aeven's current position, and he still knew it would cause some tension with Ezekiel, but there was still a much larger part of him that was thanking Carmine for giving the literal final push.

Jahaziel could tell that they had shocked the crowd of soldiers quite a bit, as all the sounds of sparring had stopped. He could also sense that along with Carmine, a few of the others had left the room. It reminded him of where the were, and just how... inappropriate their behavior was in their current surroundings, but before he could do anything about it a shadow fell over them.

A very distinctive voice cleared their throat in a disapproving manner and Jahaziel could feel the tension rolling off of his very annoyed brother. He pulled back from Aeven and tilted his head up to give him a rather sheepish smile. "Hello, Ezekiel." That only made Kiel glare down at his brother with more intensity. Kiel had been happily spending time with Salut when Carmine had come and informed him of what was going on in his training room.

Ezekiel crossed his arms over his chest and raised an eyebrow, waiting very impatiently for his brother and his student to untangle themselves and explain what in Hell was going on.

[Maira]

If her lips hadn't been plastered to Jahaziel's, when his free hand tangled itself in her hair she likely would have whimpered shamelessly. As it was, her body shivered ever so slightly as she somehow managed to press herself closer to Jahaziel.

She had been so totally lost in her embrace with Jahaziel that when the shadow fell on them and when a throat cleared behind her she didn't notice. Only Jahaziel pushing back from her brought Aeven even slightly to her senses. She looked at him curiously, trying to figure out what she might have done wrong to cause him to stop kissing her. When the man she was deterimined to have as her lover greeted his brother, Aeven instantly flushed bright red. With a quick glance over her shoulder she got a good look at her weaponsmaster and the look on his face caused her to squeak and scramble out of Jahaziel's lap.

For the longest time, Aeven refused to even look at Ezekiel. Then, remembering that she was a grown woman who was fully capable of making her own decisions and taking control of her life, she looked up at Ezekiel then stood to face his wrath head on. "This wasn't a planned activity Ezekiel, so quit looking at us like we're a couple of your errant students. I came here to spar with my medling father but Jahaziel was already sparring with somebody else. As I hadn't ever sparred with him before I replaced the other warrior and we were having a nice go at it when my father came in and started causing trouble. While I may have wanted to jump your brother's bones since the moment I returned home it was my father's sharp, hard elbow in my back that knocked me into him and gave me the opening I'd been looking for. I am grown, your brother is grown and the only people who witnessed our actions were grown warriors as well so you have no right to be angry with us."