The forests around the island of Manta Carlos were far from safe. Despite the efforts of the island security force there were more injuries, disappearances and deaths in the woods than anybody was comfortable thinking about. Werewolves, demons, witches, cannibals and worse dwelt beyond the fringes of society and only a fool would stray from the beaten path this far away from the safety of town.
Murphy sneezed and clambered over a fallen log. He'd woken up at a stupidly early hour in order to make it out here by sunrise but he'd promised Milk that he wouldn't miss training unless he absolutely had to. Granted, a more intelligent individual than he might assume that the thin layer of ice over the pine needles that crunched underfoot and the menacing howls in the distance would be justification enough for missing a sparring session. But no, if he backed out again he was fairly certain his trainer or worse, her bear would come looking for him. He had nothing against the creature but one could be forgiven for panicking at the sight of a colossal ursine beast snuffling at their window as they awoke.
He paused to pull his duster tightly around him and get his bearings. The training ground was a little north of here but before the sun rose it was all but impossible to know which way was which but after a few moments he recognized a battered and chipped boulder and headed further in, oblivious to the critters and beasts eyeing him from the safety of the underbrush.
Eventually he reached a large clearing where boulders had been dragged around in a semblance of a ring, each one bearing a myriad of scratches and cracks where blows that could have killed a man had repeatedly impacted them... and none of them had been from him. Tossing down his rucksack he tightened the wraps around his hands. No sign of Milk or Bear yet, but they might have been on a run while waiting for his arrival. With practiced motions he proceeded through a basic kata meant to stretch the body several times and approached one of the rocks. Looking around a little self consciously he threw a punch at the thing, getting the predictable results of no change to the rock and a dull pain in his knuckles.
Murphy cursed and massaged his fist before trying again. He'd been at this for months and while he was making slow progress in terms of pain tolerance it was hard to shake the feeling that he was still years away from even surviving a blow from Milk. Still, he wasn't about to give up hope that he could at least not be actively detrimental should something happen. The relative silence of the forest was punctuated with the soft, rhythmic thuds of flesh against rock.
@"King"
Murphy sneezed and clambered over a fallen log. He'd woken up at a stupidly early hour in order to make it out here by sunrise but he'd promised Milk that he wouldn't miss training unless he absolutely had to. Granted, a more intelligent individual than he might assume that the thin layer of ice over the pine needles that crunched underfoot and the menacing howls in the distance would be justification enough for missing a sparring session. But no, if he backed out again he was fairly certain his trainer or worse, her bear would come looking for him. He had nothing against the creature but one could be forgiven for panicking at the sight of a colossal ursine beast snuffling at their window as they awoke.
He paused to pull his duster tightly around him and get his bearings. The training ground was a little north of here but before the sun rose it was all but impossible to know which way was which but after a few moments he recognized a battered and chipped boulder and headed further in, oblivious to the critters and beasts eyeing him from the safety of the underbrush.
Eventually he reached a large clearing where boulders had been dragged around in a semblance of a ring, each one bearing a myriad of scratches and cracks where blows that could have killed a man had repeatedly impacted them... and none of them had been from him. Tossing down his rucksack he tightened the wraps around his hands. No sign of Milk or Bear yet, but they might have been on a run while waiting for his arrival. With practiced motions he proceeded through a basic kata meant to stretch the body several times and approached one of the rocks. Looking around a little self consciously he threw a punch at the thing, getting the predictable results of no change to the rock and a dull pain in his knuckles.
Murphy cursed and massaged his fist before trying again. He'd been at this for months and while he was making slow progress in terms of pain tolerance it was hard to shake the feeling that he was still years away from even surviving a blow from Milk. Still, he wasn't about to give up hope that he could at least not be actively detrimental should something happen. The relative silence of the forest was punctuated with the soft, rhythmic thuds of flesh against rock.
@"King"
