Goal: 1,000 words

I woke up to the sound of lupa's howl and sun shine as it peered through the grey clouds above. I gathered the strength to get out of bed and sighed as I stared out the window. Everyone else in the cabin began to awake aswell, reaching under their beds and pulling out from underneath small boxes that contained their gear. As I put on my pants and made sure to tightly strap on my boots-I couldn't help but notice the glum looks on their faces. That depressing and regretful look, you could even see it in their sorrow filled eyes. A look that Im afraid we all shared, including myself.

They walked out the tiny and crampt cabin with their chins held high. When the light of the sun glittered across their faces it reminded me of those scenes in movies where the heroes would stand over a hill and march into the sunset as if they were some sort of-chosen guardians looking for a cause. It almost got a smile out of me. I could feel the tiniest bit of hope rise up from my broken soul, but it faded quickly when I was once again reminded of where we were.

I looked around at a glum, grey, and bland cabin.  I could feel it mocking me without it ever needing to speak a single word. Even the slightest trickle of water from above as it dripped from the ceiling and splashed against the splintered wooden floors triggered something in me. A strong hatred-an anger, with no one to direct it at. Except myself.

I stared down at the small box on my bed and took out a gladius. It wasnt too heavy nor too light. Balanced if anything- its edges were sharp and the tip was narrow and pointed to the smallest amount possible for maximum stabbing potential. Perfect.

I gripped the sword tightly in my hand and stared into the blade, my reflection stared straight back at me-looking into my own grief stricken eyes. With a slow but swift motion of my wrist and fingers- I turned the blade onto myself. Already, I could feel the tip of the blade press against my stomach.

I took a shakey breath, and began to push.  I gritted my teeth as the tip of the blade, slowly entered my stomach. Blood started to slowly seep out.

"Not Yet."
A voice whispered

"Soon, but not yet."

Almost immediately I stopped and stared at the blade again- the tip now stained with my blood. I huffed as I cleaned off the tip and sheathed the blade onto my side.

I walked to the training grounds and it looked like training had already begun. Everyone was only on the beginning drills and was being closely watched by Aster and his sister Jasmine.

Aster, was a towering and burly Satyr, with horns larger than a bulls, and scars scattered all over his lightly haired forearms. His legs resembled that of a cow but werent too large. Jasmine, compared to Aster was small and slender in physique, though she still had some muscle. Her skin unlike her brothers was quiet pale, and her torso was littered with brown freckles. Unlike her brother, her lower half was that of a deer and covered with white blotches of fur.

I joined the others in the exercises hoping they wouldnt notice my sudden appearance. Though as soon as I saw Aster turn and beginning marched over, I knew I had been caught. Putting his hands on his hips he stared at me.

"Prescott, you are late."

I looked up at the towering satyr. With a good guess i'd say he was at most 7'0((7'8 counting the horns)).

"I over slept, sir."

He stared at me, before letting his eyes wonder.

"Your bleeding"
He said as he pointed to the blood stain on my shirt.

"Its-nothing sir, just an accident with my sword."

"An accident?"

"Yes."

He stared, nodded then walked away watching the others as they trained.

I took a deep breath then continued my exercises.

As we ran across the fields, I spotted a sillhouette in the corner of my eye. From the dead oak trees, came who we called "mother Lupa" a 20ft she-wolf- followed by her large entourage of timber wolves-whom dwarfed in size compared to her.

I saw Aster whisper something to Jasmine, she nodded, and he walked over to Lupa.

I don't know exactly what he said to her, but I could make a pretty good guess of what it was about. They both turned their heads in my direction, and even though they were 200 yards away from me. I could still feel Lupa's gaze, hitting me like a sledge hammer to the temple. I almost tripped.

Lupa and Aster talked the entire way over, and more than once I could feel Lupa stare at me. Whenever our eyes locked as I came around for another lap, I could feel the tension crawl up my spine and the sweat pour down my cheek. As we approached our last lap we sprinted straight for where Lupa and Aster were, Jasmine close behind.

We kneeled and rested, breathing hard and trying to catch our breathes. Jasmine came around, pouring water and small amounts of nectar into our mouths.

It tasted like sweet potatoe pie with brown sugar and a bit of maple.

"Up on your feet centurions, sparing formation."
Said Aster

With in a few minutes we were organized into a "C" like formation around Aster. Who pulled two people from each side into the middle and watched as they spared. This would go on for well over 20 to 30 minutes. Before we knew it, the sky had gone orange and red with a few shades of violet, purple, and midnight blue. It was the after noon and the sun was beginning to go down.

I looked over to the right to see who I'd be facing off with. Staring intensely into the ground with their arms crossed was a young girl with lightly browned skin that reminded me of cocoa. She played around with her pony tail and leaned on one of her long legs. The emblem on her arm on her arm glistened in the sun, a crimson red helmet over two crossed spears and a shield . The Mark of a war god. She stared intensley at the ground with a "bored" look on her face.

"Go for her left leg."
Said a voice behind me

"What?"
I said as I turned around

Behind me was a tall guy((about my height)) looking at me with their grey-smokey eyes half way closed. The guy had very sharp handsome features like tiny bristles of hair growing on the sides of his face and a smooth chin. His hair was messy and waved around in the wind. He wore black timberland boots, baggy jeans, a thick leather belt, and a plain black shirt that seemed a bit tight on his muscular frame. But then again it wasn't like we had much variety in clothing.

They spoke again
"Your fighting Caroline, right?"
As he moved his hands around as he talked, I couldn't help but notice the strange scorpion necklace hanging around his neck from a thick strand of black string.

"I guess"
I responded emptily

"Whenever Caroline fights she does this specific move where she steps forward with her left foot and uses it for balance. Then she spins, then kicks, then spins, then kicks."

"Okay"
I replied

"Whenever she brings her feet back down to get back into her guard her legs cross. Making it easy to tip her off balance with a well timed bash."

"Okay, uh...anything else?"
I crossed my arms

"When she's about to thrust she stomps forward with her right foot. By the time her thrust is all the way in, it'll take her a while to recover and spring back into her guard. Best option is to knock her over or exploit the back of her head or the kidneys.".

"Alright...thanks."

They only nodded in return

"Have I ever met you before?"
I spoke up

"No. I dont think so, im Anthony- Anthony Harp, Son of Nemesis."

"Julius Prescott, Son of Somnus. But you could just call me Jove"
I replied back

"Nice to meet you, Jove."

When he talked he never looked straight at me. Instead he peered of the right and down at the ground. I couldn't help but be curious about what he was looking at.

"No offense, but what exactly are you looking at?"
I asked

"What do you mean?"
His head shot up and his grey eyes now locked on me
He responded

"You were staring at the ground."

"Oh, sorry you see- im blind."

"What?"

"Yeah, I cant see anything."

"Then how do you know about Caroline's moves?"

"That's...kind of hard to explain. You see-"

"Prescott and Hancock, your up."
I heard Aster say, waiting for us in the middle of the field.

"I'll explain later, just trust me. I know what Im talking about."

"Wha-"

"Prescott!"

I walked over to Aster and Caroline, grabbing onto the handle of my gladius and pulled it out. I faced Caroline with Aster working as a sprt of referee. The first thing that struck me about Caroline, was her eyes. Those enchanted hazel orbs bright as the sun, seemed to stare at me with a deep tension.

As Aster explained to rules as usual, Caroline just stared at me. Her eyebrows furrowed and eyes staring into mine intensely. I couldn't help but notice how her fingers twitched and constantly re-adjusted along the handle of her swords seeking that even sweet spot.

She made me feel nervous and uncomfortable, the way she stared at me made me feel like prey and she was the predator hiding in the bushes ready to pounce at any time. Sweat balled down my chin as I nervously waited for Aster to finish talking.

"And finally, no bone breaking or dismemberment of limbs. Understood?"
Aster finally finished

I nodded, moving into a comfortable position with my sword out front. Tip forward. Caroline did the same, fixing her self with her legs spaced out and swords out front aswell. Covering both her face and abdomen.

As Aster walked over to Lupa and sat down next to her, the match began. Slowly we circled eachother waiting for one another to strike first. I could feel Caroline's gaze as she searched for weak spots and un-guarded areas.

We started to spiral closer to the middle. With a quick step of her left foot she thrusted with her right and just like what Anthony said it took her a good 2 seconds to actually get back in position. As quickly as I possibly could I struck back with a hard knee to her temple leaving a bruise. She stumbled to the side, holding the side of her head.I took advantage and sliced down, only for her to swiftly side step.

She wrapped her hand around my arm, tucked her self under my stomach and threw me over her back.
I landed on my back with a hard thud, with out a second to even compose myself. Carolines thick boots swiped me across the face, so hard in fact that I turned over onto my stomach. Before she could nail me again, I sprang up onto my feet.

I had lost my sword and it was right behind her. I constantly ducked and side stepped avoiding Carolines endless assault. I made a mistake and Caroline slashed me across my chest I coughed up blood as I fell to the ground. Caroline raised her foot over my face and brought it down. I grabbed her foot, sprang up and shoved her down into the dirt. With a strong kick to her cheek, I dove for my gladius. With it in arms reach, I grabbed it.

I felt a tug on my legs and soon was lifted into the air and thrown back into the dirt. It took me a while to recover but just in time to dodge a kick to the face and slice into Carolines hand. She shrieked as she dropped her sword. Quickly, I picked it up, and shoved her to the ground.
Almost immediatley she rolled back and hopped back onto her feet. I panted catching my breath, Caroline stared at me. Holding her hand as blood dripped from it. She looked pissed, eye brows furrowed and a scornful look in her hazel eyes. She wiped away some blood dripping from her cheek and got in the same position-and so did I. When I looked into her eyes, I could feel the sweat roll down my neck. The original hazel had faded away and turned a dark shade of bloody crimson.

Before I could even react, I felt her elbow colide with my temple. Again, her elbow colided with my temples and with a turn of her sleek body her boot broke my nose. I fell onto my back with a thud, in a daze until another boot to the cheek knocked me out of it. I tried getting up but she was right ontop of me, slashing away. Eventually she broke my guard and knocked both swords out my hands. She raised the sword and as it came down I grabbed the handle and threw her to the right then kicked her away. I got up, but fell back down quicklg crawling for my sword. As soon as I turned around she was already sprinting at me full speed, and with a stomp she jumped, spun around and lamding on her right foot the heel of her boot rammed into my chin.

I fell on my back, staring into space. I felt her knee pierce into my stomach. She raised her swords up in the air and I covered my face as she brought them down. I was on my back, heaving, head throbbing and blood seemping through my nose. I blinked up to find aster raising Caroline's hand in the air, a grin on her dirt and blood spectacled face. The blured noise sharpped into distinct war cries and chanting that spurred on my ever growing head ache...

From the group of spectators Jasmine came and slipped off the large basket on her back and reached inside. She handed Caroline a large piece of ambrosia bread. Caroline took only a bite and already she looked refreshed, her skin even seemed to glow. The bruises and small cuts on her body closed up, including the large slash over her hand leaving a scar.

I winced as I slowly got up, holding my nose as blood dripped from it. Jasmins walked over to me, reaching into the basket and handing me a piece of ambrosia. With the first taste, I felt warm-the sensation feeling like a well performed massage on my muscles and joints.

"Come on, lets get you to a medic."
Said Jasmine

Just a few feet to the west of our camp was a large tent hiding among the dead oak trees. Though then again, it was impossible for you to miss it. The tent was really only dead trees held together by thick vines blooming with bright flowers of all colors. It was the only place that actually seemed- well alive.

We pushed aside the hanging vines and entered the tent, inside were woodland nymphs-spirits of nature in their human forms. Now though they made herbs and medicines, something they seemed to enjoy to some extent. One was humming as she braided someones hair and one was grinding up herbs and leafes in a tiny stone bowl into a green paste.

I took a seat on the soft grass, a nymph noticing me and Jasmine as she smiled brightly. She had a petite figure and long legs, she moved elegantly like leafes flowing through the wind.

She spoke
"Be right with you Jove."

"Thanks Lilly"
I responded

Lilly walked over to some ferns growing in the glistening sun light and picking berries before disappearing into another room

"You know, you fought pretty well out there, Jove. Usually, Caroline's opponents don't last so long."

"Thanks."
I winced as more blood dripped from my nose and onto the floor

"Put your head back, that'll stop the blood from coming out."
Advised Jasmine

I winced as I looked up at the ceiling. Ever since before the war I haven't had the privilege of seeing much beauty for myself, but staring up at clear blue skies and watching the birds fly in through the top colletting twigs, leafes, and whatever materials they could find to build their nests reminded me of when life was so much sweeter before all of this happened. I sighed.

"Pretty isnt it?"
Said Jasmine

I glanced over to her, she was staring up into the sky like I was. The sun light complimented her brown fur and made her brownish eyes glow almost a golden color.

"Yeah, it is"
I responded

Jasmine folded her arms and glanced down at me and our eyes met.

"Hey umm, Jove is everything alright with you?"

"Of course, why do you ask?"

"Curious."

"Do I seem troubled?"

"Well...im worried about you Jove."she sat down next to me legs crossed.

Worried? Why is she worried? Im fine.

"Why?"
I responded

"Well..."how she was toying with the grass in between her fingers showed she was nervous about something."Before all this, back when we met for the first time-you were different."

"How so?"
I asked furrowing an eyebrow

"You-you used to be...kinder in a way. Before you were so-hopeful. Vibrant, not exactly a social butterfly but happy and kind none the less. Now, your different."

Different? How? Im still the same person-im still the same Jove Julius Prescott arent I? Arent I? No, how could I change? There's nothing wrong with me. Right?

"Jove....I miss that old you."

"But Im still that same Jove. Nothings changed, im perfectly fine."

"No, no you are not-your so distant I can hardly even talk to you anymore. You feel so cold-so far gone."

"Jasmine I-I honestly don't know what your talking about."

Jasmine tensed, clenching the grass in her  fist. She sighed.

"It doesn't matter anyway..."she got up"Lupa should be coming...she wants to talk to you."

"Why?"

"I don't know, just wait and see I guess."she walked to the entrance pushing aside the vines"there's gonna be an asembley at noon. Don't be late Julius."she walked out the tent and left.

I watched as she stepped out, a piece of me wanting to get up and say something. To grab her by the hand and apologize or something, but no...I just sat there and watched.

Lilly came back with a bowl of green paste, water, and and some herbs.
"Here we are."

I was conflicted and confused, taking me a few seconds to finally realize that Lilly was there.
"Oh, thanks Lilly."

"Is everything okay?"
She asked "You look, perplexed."

"....yeah, im fine."

Achieved:3,159 words