Hunter of Midnight

Ch.18 The Vulcan Drákon

Training was uncomfortable before when it was just Darius and I. Now, we have to share the training area. Worst of all, it's always Audrey in here with us. I should just be happy she doesn't pay me any mind, being out of her focus is a blessing, but her mood is insufferable. It's like being in a store with a bad stench, you can't leave because you need to be there, say the wrong thing and you'll offend the shop owner and likely get yourself kicked out, so you just have to deal with it. Audrey's mood is the bad stench, and it's grown so bad that now everyone can smell it... or err... feel it I mean.

"Does she always get like this when she's mad," I ask, looking over to Darius. "This mood seems so counter productive..."

"Yes she does, and yes it absolutely is," Darius huffs, wiping off the sweat from his neck and cleaning the dirt from his ears. "Audrey's the kind of person who lets her emotions boil until the kettle is screaming from steam. By the time she takes off her lid to let it all out, steam's all that's left in the kettle."

"That is so unhealthy..."

Darius bumps me with his elbow, smirking a bit. "Yeah? And neither is refusing to eat till you get a task done."

Damn it, Bula ratted me out again. Between her and Simone, I feel like I can't say or do anything without them jumping in or saying something. I mean, I won't really complain about it. It's really nice to feel cared for, but it's still weird.

I let out a sigh of defeat, pushing Darius slightly so he can direct his stupid smirk elsewhere. "I'll let you have that," I tell him with a sigh before going back to watching Audrey beat the hell out of the dummy she's fighting. "Still, isn't it scary for you guys at times? I can't imagine it's really comforting to be under a captain with her temper."

With a sigh, Darius nods his head and watches Audrey. "I'll be the first one to admit she isn't the most pleasant of people to work with. She really hasn't ever liked me so that's part of the issue."

At that, I glance back at Darius with my brow raised. "What's wrong with you," I ask. "In all honesty, you don't seem like the sort of person who's easy to hate."

Darius shrugs his shoulders, still watching Audrey. "I was raised on a continent in the Old World near Themýskyra," he explains, leaning back against the wall and crossing his arms. "As such, I was raised in a world where women had the power. My mother and older sisters were regarded highly in our town, and they taught me how to give and show respect. Upon first meeting Audrey, she was incredibly uneducated about my birthplace and had made many assumptions that rubbed me the wrong way. With the two of us still being so young, we said things that neither of us meant, and now we are here."

Slowly I nod, leaning back with Darius. "That... unfortunately makes a lot of sense. Though, I am somewhat confused. I've heard of Themýskyra, but... the Old World?"

"Ah right, no one's talked to you about it yet," Darius nods, turning to look back at me. "The realm of Eqular is split into the world of legends, where Sparta, Athens, and Ithaca are and the world of new stories, which is where we are right now. The Old World does not perfectly match the world that the great poets spoke of, but it's their half truths that have kept us safe."

"Right, I understand." Another loud whack has my attention back to Audrey. At some point in talking to Darius, she demolished her old dummy and has now begun breaking the new one. I wince, grateful that the dummy isn't me. "So uhh... back to Audrey... why exactly is she so mad? Is it because of how slow I am in training?"

"There's a lot to unpack with her, bud," Darius sighs, shaking his head. "I can name at least five things she's angry about right now. Although, if I had to pick one, I'd say what's got her so riled up is Ka'Jai."