Banished Pt. 10

"Oh? Does that mean Gisela's finally gonna get some of that 'man-flesh' she's been eyeing?" she asked, and I suppressed a pleasurable shudder at the thought, which made Casey furious.

"Fucking pig. Are you seriously thinking about it right now?" she shot, and I smirked.

"In my defense, she has... really nice boobs," I countered, and she rolled her eyes at me, before smiling a little.

"Ugh. I hate that we can have this conversation without it really bothering me," she said, and I smiled.

"I think this might be my favorite thing to do with you," I replied.

"Not the anal sex?" she asked, and I acted as if I was in serious thought about it, until she shoved me, and I snickered at her in response.

"Fine. The anal sex is good," I admitted, "but being able to talk to someone like this isn't something insignificant to me."

"Seriously? Just to talk to about sex?" she asked, and I chuckled as I shook my head.

"No; I mean, someone that I don't have to hide my true nature from... someone I can openly declare my intentions to, without them running for the hills or declaring me monstrous."

"I'm not as comfortable with those things as you seem to think," she replied.

"Oh, I know... but you keep your inhibitions in check for my sake, and the sake of the group. That might be the most significant thing anyone has done for me."

She smiled a little, and moved closer to my side as we walked on.

We didn't talk much after that, except to exchange playful jabs and tease each other about our past exchanges, but the time just seemed to fly by as we ended up eventually back at the camp.

As we approached the little area just north of the camp, I noticed something going on, and I quickly pulled Casey aside, as I wanted to get a better look at it before we were spotted.

"What is it?" she asked, and I shook my head reassuringly, to let her know that there was no real danger.

"I wanna see what's going on," I whispered, gesturing ahead as we sneaked along the tree trunks beside the little clearing until we were close enough to take in the scene.

"Come on! I thought you wanted to be a 'super soldier'!" Francesca called, and Bianca had a glum, pouty expression on her face. "Do you think Nate wants a super soldier that can't even land a single hit?"

Bianca was holding onto a wooden stick, much like the ones we'd used for our little sparring exhibition back at the cluster, and Francesca was wielding a stick of her own, and goading Bianca.

Bianca made a clumsy, desperate lunge forward, swinging her stick wildly as she did, and Francesca easily swatted the stick out of her hand, then swept her legs out from under her.

She aimed the butt end of the stick down at Bianca's face, and the girl seemed on the verge of tears as she shook angrily.

"You might wanna intervene," Casey said, and I nodded, as I quickly made my way out from our hiding spot and over to Bianca's side.

"Hey, are you okay-?"

"Leave me alone!" Bianca shot, as she swatted my hand away, and climbed to her feet.

She stalked off, and Francesca shook her head as she stared off after her.

"What was that about?" I asked, and she turned to study me.

"I was just giving your little soldier a combat lesson," she teased, and I shot her a questioning look.

"What prompted that?" I asked.

"Well, she seems to think that you have some faith in her potential as a fighter. I was just putting that to the test a little," she answered, shrugging, and I snickered at her.

"You're a fierce little lion," I said, ruffling her hair playfully, before continuing, "but Bianca needs a slightly more tempered approach to instruction."

She frowned.

"So, you're really gonna teach her how to fight?" she asked, and I let out a sigh.

"I'm mostly using this teaching thing as a means of trying to figure out how cores work," I explained, and Francesca's mouth fell open.

"Oh... oh my god, I'm so sorry! I fucked up your plans, didn't I?"

"It's fine... I kind of wanted Bianca to start getting better acquainted with everyone anyway, so I'm just glad that someone actually took an interest in her," I said, and she smiled happily as I ruffled her hair once more.

"Speaking of training, though... I was actually wondering if you wouldn't mind giving my little apprentice some combat lessons."

"Well I tried, but she just stalked off," Francesca joked, and I snickered at her in response.

"I meant Lucia-"

"I know~," she sang, nudging me suggestively as she headed off to find the girl.

"Part of me wants to say that teaching Bianca to fight is a bad idea," Casey began, as she moved to my side. "But the other part of me just saw how terrible that swing was... so, maybe not so bad after all."

As I glanced across the camp, however, I caught sight of Raul, tied near to the supply cart, and casting furtive glances after Francesca, so I indicated to Casey, and we moved over to his side.

"Hey," I said, turning to follow his gaze in Francesca's direction, and he quickly shook his head apologetically as he caught the questioning look in my eyes.

"Sorry, didn't mean to stare. I just... I don't get how she's improving so quickly."

I studied him as he continued:

"If I'd fought her on the day we met, I would have beaten her easily; but today, if we were wearing the same armor? I'm not so sure I'd even win. She's been in one battle, and, what? Two, maybe three fights? And that's if you can even count that pathetic suicidal goblin attack as a fight... it doesn't make sense that she could get that much better from just that limited experience."

I chuckled a little.

"Falling in love, are we?" I teased, and he scoffed.

"Love? I'm terrified of her," he shot, before letting out a sigh, and sitting back against the tree trunk beside the cart.

To his surprise, I undid his bindings, and he shot me a questioning look.

"Have I earned my freedom already?" he asked, and I snickered a little.

"Just try not to make everyone more uncomfortable than they're already gonna be, and we'll see about letting you loose on a more regular basis," I explained.

"So, parole, basically. Is she gonna be my supervisor?" he asked, and I shook my head as Casey shot me a worried look.

"No; your pledge should keep you in check. You can make yourself useful if you wanna improve the group's perception of you, just... ease up on the lumber work," I teased, as I gestured to the rather large pile of unused lumber beside the supply carts.

"I'm gonna go liaise with Gisela," Casey said, shooting me a 'you better appreciate this' kind of look, and I smiled nervously, as she headed off.

"Actually, I think I might have a daily task for you," I said, as Raul rubbed his wrists gingerly just where they'd been tied.

"Training the crazy girl?" he asked, and I nodded.

"I want you to do it under my supervision... and not so much training, just-"

"Deplete her core?" he asked, and as I nodded, he studied me. "You're really working on understanding everything about this whole world, huh?"

I shrugged.

"I don't see how we're gonna survive in the long term if we don't," I answered, and he sighed.

"It just makes me feel as if I've been plowing through this whole thing like a dumbass all this time," he said, and I snickered a little at him.

"I'll come find you when I'm ready for Bianca's training sesh," I called, and he waved after me, before gravitating towards the group of Kobalt who were working on building the new supply carts.

I moved to the supply cart where our spare armor and weapons were stashed, greeting the hunters stationed there as I did, but as I checked through our inventory, I suddenly remembered the armor pieces we'd purchased with the special skills.

Fuck! I was supposed to discuss that with Casey.

I headed over to the princess' area to look for her, when Jeannie approached me.

"Hey; are those training sessions open to anyone?" she asked, gesturing to where Francesca was now sparring with Lucia, and I snickered a little.

"When we have downtime like we do today, I think it'd be helpful if everyone trained a little. I'm sorry though, I didn't organize anything just yet, but I definitely should, huh?"

She nodded.

"I definitely want to get better... good enough to be useful the next time we have to fight, at least. Motivating Molly and Evie to do the same is gonna take some work, though."

She let out a sigh.

"I don't think we should push anyone into combat training just yet," I said, as I studied the slivers of armor in my hand.

"What are those?" she asked.

"Special armor," I replied, thoughtfully.

"Oh... guess it'll probably be for the elite fighters, then," she said, a little despondently, and I quickly shook my head in response.

"Actually, these are better suited to those who aren't gonna be front line fighters," I explained. "This one, for instance... it supposedly teaches someone the medicine skill."

"Really?"

I handed her the armor, and she studied it for a bit.

"Can you really gain a better understanding of medicine from wearing a piece of armor?"

I shrugged.

"Honestly, I have no idea how it works... although, I am much better at running now that I have the speed skill, and apart from the muscular gain, a huge part of it has to do with my improved running technique. Things like that."

"This is all so crazy," she said letting out a long sigh, and I smiled, nodding in agreement.

"Do you think any of the girls have shown an inclination toward medical treatment?"

She bit her lip, as she thought about it.

"Evie definitely is the nurturing type, so maybe that might transfer to that kind of thing?"

"She's definitely a candidate," I agreed.

And having a midwife to assist Ryker when the time came to deliver the baby is a must, I thought.

"Maybe float the idea by them," I suggested, and she nodded. "And if you want to get in on the training, I'm heading there myself in a bit."

"I'll be there," she promised, as she headed off.

"Hey," I called, as soon as I spotted Casey.

"What? Did you miss me already?" Casey teased, and I snickered at her.

"I forgot to mention something earlier," I said, as I explained the situation with the special armor to her.

"Hmm. I know Danica probably knows her stuff, but did you really need to spend that much on a blacksmith skill? I mean, we don't even have a forge."

"According to Danica, you can smith even without one," I explained.

"How?"

"Energy manipulation."

She rubbed her chin, as she processed the thought.

"But who the hell is gonna take up smithing?" she asked, and I shrugged.

"A few of the Kobalt are well suited to the task, but getting their cores up to the level of using the armor, and learning those skills? That might probably take a while."

"The medicine and alchemy skills are pretty good though. Ryker can probably guide someone through the early stages of medicine, and as for alchemy; there's all kinds of uses for the herbs that grow naturally in this forest, and the Kobalt might have someone who can teach us more about it, giving us a pretty good head start on developing it into something useful."

"I'm trying to think of who might be best suited to each of the skills," I said, and she nodded.

"I'll keep it in mind," she said, and I thanked her, before returning my attention to the training area.

I scanned the camp for Bianca.

I couldn't spot her anywhere, then I remembered that her pledge allowed me to divine her general direction, so I summoned up the image of her in my mind, and as I tried to focus on it, the image changed to what she was currently doing.

She seemed to be crouched down, and was wiping at her eyes, and as I followed the pull that pointed me in her general direction, I figured she was by the stream where I'd found Jeannie the day before.

I quickly made my way over there, then crept cautiously toward her.

"Hey," I called, and she wiped at her eyes.

"I'm not crying!" she shot, and as I snickered a little, she pouted furiously. "You're laughing at me!"

"No, I'm just admiring how cute you look, even when you're 'not crying'," I said, and she bit her lip, as she pouted again.

"She was mean to me," she said, and I walked over to her.

"Maybe she was, but she does mean well," I offered.

"No. She just wanted to embarrass me," Bianca whined, and I shook my head.

"Well, maybe she wouldn't if someone didn't run around telling everyone about the super-secret mission that I sent her on."

Bianca's face went red.

"I- I didn't! She must have figured out. That's it!"

I ruffled her hair, and she stomped her feet, and shot me a feisty look.

"I'm not a child!" she said, putting her hands on her hip, and I surprised her by brushing the back of my hand against one of her breasts.

"Definitely nothing child-like about those things," I said, and she eyed me, still frowning.

"She treated me like a child. I'm older than she is," she said. "And you're taking her side!"

I shook my head.

"I'm not taking anyone's side, but maybe you need to think about this a little differently... Francesca didn't offer to teach anyone else how to fight," I said. "And she's a really good fighter."

She scoffed.

"I would be too if I was by your side since the beginning!"

I frowned, as Bianca kept her eyes on me.

"Hnn~. Would you now? I'm not sure I'd have trained you to be a fighter, though," I said.

"Why not? Am I that bad?"

She really started tearing up again, and I quickly shook my head.

"No, I just... would have probably preferred you do something that would let you stay closer to my side, is all."

She wiped at her eyes, then studied me.

"You say that, but you don't even sleep close to me," she said.

"Well, if someone would actually try to get along with everyone else, maybe that would change," I said, and she frowned.

"They're not trying either," she said, and I nodded.

"I know... but you're the outsider in their eyes. You've gotta make the effort."

She made a pouty look again, and I quickly moved to placate her.

"For me," I said. "I want to spend time with you, but I can't if the group gets uncomfortable every time we go off together."

"What do you mean? Did someone say something about our trip yesterday?"

"No, everyone did," I lied, and she bit her lip.

"Then why did you even take me?" she asked, and I brushed my hand against her cheek, as I replied.

"Because you deserved a little reward, and I'm willing to take the flak for you, as long as you keep working at the things you need to do."

She frowned again.

"Why is everything always so hard?" she asked. "Can't I just be loved? Spoiled. Be a little important without everyone trying to hurt me?"

A little dramatic, I thought, as I chuckled at her.

"You'll have everything you desire and more," I promised. "Right now, we're not in the place where anything is ideal. I mean, danger might still pop out at us around the next corner. We just need to get through this tough time and things will settle down as soon as we get the hang of this world."

She let out a sigh.

"Are you gonna make me train with that girl?"

"Francesca," I said.

"What?"

"That's her name," I reminded her, and she waved a hand dismissively.

"Right, of course. Do I really have to learn to fight from her?"

I shook my head.

"Learning to fight isn't really that high up on the list of things I want you to learn right now."

"Then how am I gonna be a super soldier?" she asked.

"There are other ways to deal with an enemy than direct engagement with a spear. We'll find something much more suited to your talents," I said. "For now, though, I really want you to focus on depleting your core as often as you can."

She sighed.

"I sleep for so long when I do that... what if everyone gets ahead of me. Or-"

What if you leave me, like the useless piece of shit that I am, she finished the thought in my mind, and I studied her carefully.

"You are not useless," I said, "and I will never leave you behind."

Bianca teared up again, and as she moved into my arms, I held her, stroking her hair comfortingly as she cried softly into my chest.

We remained like that for a bit, until I was finally able to convince her to get back to training.

As she spotted Francesca however, she shot me a puppy dog look complete with adorable whining sounds, and I gave her another comforting pat on the head.

"Relax; your training partner is someone a bit more familiar," I said, and she followed my gaze to Raul, who was now standing over a nervous looking Kobalt, who was trying with some difficulty, to work on building our new and improved supply carts.

Maybe he might be useful as a builder, I thought, and I suddenly wondered why we didn't invest in any armor that carried some kind of construction skills.

I waved Raul over, and as he caught sight of me, he took a deep breath in, then reluctantly made his way to my side.

"Are we training this psychopath again?" he asked, and Bianca smiled happily.

"I'll take psychopath over bitch. Psychopaths are awesome! Just watch your fucking step around me," she declared, grinning evilly at Raul, who shot me a somewhat hopeless look.

"Let's get this over with then," he said, as I handed him a piece of armor, and gave Bianca her little dagger, but before the two could begin, I signaled to Bianca to hold on.

"I wanna try something," I said, and she eyed me, as I placed a hand on Raul's armor over his shoulder, and focused on the flow of energy that I could now perceive with my sensory perception skill.

There was a definite thread connecting his armor piece to his general energy stream, and as I focused on strengthening that thread, I nodded to the two to begin.

Bianca shrugged, before moving in to Raul, and began to repeatedly stab him in the belly.

Francesca shot us a curious look, but I needed to focus in order to keep the energy manipulation skill active.

As Bianca stabbed away, however, I tried to keep count of how many stabs she could land before the armor deactivated, but her irregular stabbing, coupled with the added stress of focusing on Raul's energy stream made me lose count quite quickly.

When his armor finally deactivated, however, I relinquished my focus, and turned to the two.

"Did that last longer than it usually does?" I asked, and Raul nodded.

"What were you doing?" he asked.

"Something called energy manipulation, I think."

He tilted his head at the mention, a thoughtful expression on his face.

"Never heard of that," he said, as Bianca tried to twirl her dagger in her hand.

"You really don't wanna cut yourself with that," I chided her, and she shot me a nervous grin, before stowing the weapon away.

We dallied while the armor reconnected to his core, then resumed the sparring, however this time, I was certain that the armor lasted much longer, because Bianca began to show quick signs of exhaustion by the time it deactivated for the second time.

"This suddenly feels... really heavy," she said. "~Why is everything so heavy~?" she sang, and I snickered at her.

Too soon, I thought.

Raul shot us a questioning look, and I shrugged, as we waited for his armor to reconnect, however this time, I switched my focus to Bianca, as I paid close attention to her energy pattern, which I noted had that same labored flow that I'd noticed when I'd observed Lucia, right before her core had depleted.

As Raul's armor reconnected and she began to stab at it, however, each stab seemed to cause the energy threads to emit chaotic pulses, and the faint blue light flickered several times, before going out completely just as the dagger clattered to the floor, pulling me back to reality.

I was slow to catch Bianca this time, and to my surprise Raul caught her, but as he scooped her up, he quickly offloaded her onto me, then shuddered, as if the very act of touching Bianca disturbed him greatly.