EndRep's Short Stories

Training

Gluttonous-Claws growls at my struggling to stand still then laughs coldly as I fall to the hard planks below. I can't get this damn step right, and if I don't get it down by tomorrow night then that bastard of a trainer says he'll kick me from his side and adopt a new apprentice.

I groan, my bones and teeth whining in protest as I stand once more, gripping the wooden beam where I was standing just before, hauling myself up onto it regretting ever asking a thief named glutton to be my stealth trainer. I plan to become a scout for a secret service guild leading a journey into the Black Marsh sometime within this next year,and I'm determined to get on board with them; if not by seniority, then by skill alone.

"You are not trying, kitten. This skill is the easiest of them all." He mumbles. "But you have no balance, kitten! You aren't determined enough." His words scolding, but voice concerned.

"One more try. I've got it, I swear." I say confidently, dodging his clawed swipes and finally, shoving him off to the cold ground.

"What are you here for?" He asks loudly, standing straight, hands laced carefully behind his back; red eyes, locked into my own in the fury and excitement I've only seen in master thieves.

"To become a scout." I reply, placing my hands on the wooden board and lifting my legs up above me perfectly. I've got this.

"A scout you say? Why come to Gluttony when one can have a normal pact scout train you?" He growls in annoyance.

"I wish to shroud myself in the shadows." I say shortly, taking a sharp breath when I almost lose my balance. Safe. "A scout would teach me fighting skills. I know how to fight, why be taught the same things over again?" A small noise escapes his mouth, most likely a loosed breath. "I want to survive. I want to get out alive and unscathed. So I turned to a master like yourself,"

"This one is no master. You want a master of thievery and stealth? Visit the direwolf. She can teach you how to survive. What are you actually here for, kitten?"

Finally, I place my feet safely on the board for the first time, and I catch a glimpse of a smile from him, then back to a straight face."I don't know." I respond, swinging off the plank landing in front of him. "Show me why I should choose you over the direwolf."