Tutelage Under a Legend [Training w/ Lagi]

he silence of the night was shattered by the noises of the creatures who still stirred. The crickets sung a symphony of chirps, distant wolves bayed, and night birds fluttered through the air in dances. The wind soon joined in, whistling as it tugged on the limbs of trees and jostled banners that hung around Yin Cheng.

The mountain village was sleeping peacefully, comforted with the knowledge that they were safe. Not only were they protected by the local clan of warriors, their homes was high above the head of any enemies. Their buildings were built on platforms, with parts of the settlement extending into nearby caverns. A waterfall cut the village in half, a curtain of roaring water that hid even more of the village behind its foam. Pathways made from wooden bridges and foundations spotted the mountain face, creating more wood for the resourceful village.

One such bridge spanned the space across the platform of the mountain's neighbor. It sat on the edge of the village, guarded by a tower whose eye watched the valley below. Flags embellished with a lion marked both the magnificent bridge and its protector. On the other side of the bridge was a gatehouse, their doors held close for the night. If one were to pass through the defense, they would find themselves traveling down a path lit by twin lines of lanterns, offering them light from the trees that would soon engulf them.

The end of the road would wind higher and higher before coming to a stop to the mouth of a cavern. Jagged teeth rise from the floor and ceiling of the cave, a fierce light glowing from within. Upon wandering closer, they would find half of an earthen bridge. On the other side sits a castle-like estate, its drawbridge raised against enemies. The distance between the two is a bubbling river of lava.

The compound is home to the Hou Clan, known in their area for being a family of fierce warriors guided by militarism, honor, and duty. They keep a watchful eye over the village of Yin Cheng and the forests surrounding their home. Even as the night drew on, its guards kept a stern watch beneath their helmets. Their grips on their weapons never grew slack, and the howls of their beasts assured them that their land was safe. This, however, didn't deter a single woman from sneaking out of the compound.

She stayed crouched by her Bovidae, fingers fumbling with the straps attached to the cargo secured to the beast. Once they were tight, she led him to the edge of the walls. With care, the woman scaled down to rocks whose surface were stepping stones within the flowing river. With well-placed hops, she reached the other side with her beast close behind them. Once there, the red-haired woman climbed onto her mount. The goat-like creature stamped his hooves impatiently, crackles of electricity springing about his horns. With familiar ease, the pair snuck beneath the gaze of the guards.

They avoided the main path down to the gatehouse, riding with care as to not alert the wolves who hunted her family's mountain for intruders. Getting through the gatehouse was easy for the girl whose teenage years were spent watching the very same structure. They breezed through the village, passing by familiar homes and stores. For a moment, they stopped by a particular garden. It sat on the very ledge, giving them the site of watching tendrils of light blazing across the horizon as the sun began to spread her fingertips to drive away the darkness of night. The Jade Dragon Mountains spanned on either corner of their view, and before them sat the rest of the Kou Empire.

But their rest was momentarily, and once again the pair were off. As they made through the final gates of Yin Cheng, the rest of the Hou Clan begun to rise. As they followed a dirt path down the side of the mountain, adults prepared themselves for the day before them. Teenagers dressed in their armor, eager for the day of chores and sword practice. However, one small branch of the family froze in its routine when they realized a certain member was gone. As the girl in question rode onwards, the parents rushed towards the stables on the estate. The brothers, knowing too well what had happened during the night, stayed behind to laugh. It wasn't often their sister disobeyed orders to stay home, which was why neither Cheng nor Xinyi had bothered to keep watch over their child. They hadn't expected her to run off on her training trip despite telling her rather sternly "no".

While Jingyi did feel rude for leaving during the middle of the night, it wasn't like there was much of a choice. Her brother taught her all that he could about Beast Taming, and both Dullahan and she knew that they needed something to challenge them. The feeling of growing stagnant was a sensation that Jingyi could feel, and it unnerved her. If her abilities and bonds didn't grow stronger, then neither would she. And if that were to happen, then there was no doubt that other up and coming soldiers would overtake her.

With that thought in mind, the red-haired soldier prodded Dullahan urging him to pick up speed. In half a day's time, the two together reached a clearance that marked that they had reached halfway down the mountain. It was there that Jingyi disembarked Dullahan, allowing the goat to graze as she collected kindling. Within minutes, she built a ring of rocks and dug a hole in the center. Placing the leaves, moss, and twigs into the space, the woman then used some flit to lit the fire. A trail of smoke snaked into the air, its body fattening with the passing time as Jingyi prodded the growing fire.

he fire crackled in its hearth, one of many tunes in the bustling night-time forest. Birds sang amongst the branches, the wind whistled through the leaves, and countless insects chirped and buzzed. It was an ambient mood, created both by the quiet music of nature and by the gentle glow of embers. The flames cast a soft light that penetrated the otherwise dark forest, a companion that kept the heart at ease.

While sat by its side, Jingyi felt reassured by the light. The feeling was only intensified by the presence of her other companion. Leaning back into his woolly side, the woman could've closed her eyes and fall asleep. But her gaze was trained on the canopy of the treetops. Disjointed moonlight peaked through the openings of the leaves, and beyond them, she could faintly spot different stars.

But then something creaked outside of their ring of light. The underbrush rustled, and Dullahan's head rose. Likewise, Jingyi sat up herself. She glanced about the darkness. But her untrained eyes could spot nothing amiss, and unsteadily she laid back once more. But again, she could hear something moving about. This time, Dullahan climbed to his feet. He snorted, breathing in the air as his ears flicked.

It was probably nothing, Jingyi thought to herself as she pushed herself upwards. While her hand was on her beast's neck -a motion of affection as she stroked his wool to calm him down - the woman heard spoken words. So did Dullahan. His head whipped to the side, his hooves stomping as the presence of a man became known.

Jingyi ushered Dullahan back with a motion of her hand as she stepped forward. She looked towards the stranger, his features still cast in shadow as he stood away from the light of their fire. While her hand itched to creep towards the handle of her blade, Jingyi stilled herself. It wouldn't do her good to appear hostile to a person who may just be a traveler. Who was to say that he aimed to attack her?

"Mind stepping out from behind those bushes? I nor Dullahan are going to attack you, so please..." Jingyi called out, her words accompanied by a hand wave motioning towards the campfire.

ullahan nostrils flared in challenge as it faced Lagi, static electricity crackling about the creature’s many horns. Even it knew that outsiders technically were not supposed to trespass so close to the clan’s compound; more importantly, however, it was on guard. Dullahan had never seen the man before, and he found it suspicious for a human to just be sneaking around the woods - nevermind that his own tamer was doing the same thing for a simple reason. The human before him, Dullahan reasoned, could be a danger to his tamer. And as her beast, it was the logical conclusion that it was up to him to protect her from danger.

But, the human didn’t seem to be hostile in nature. He spoke calmly and raised his hands in a clear gesture of peace. The action caused Jingyi to gently lay her hand on Dullahan’s snout, a silent command for the beast to settle. Without protest, Dullahan stepped back before laying down. Though, he still kept his eye on the stranger just in case.

“Thank you~ Dulla here is an excellent partner,” Jingyi replied with a smile, patting the goat in question on the head. “And nah, I don’t usually come down this far. But, I wanted some peace and quiet to train with Dullahan, and that’s not an option where I live,” the woman continued. She wove her hand towards the fire - an invitation for Lagi to join them - before sitting back down. The red-haired soldier leaned back against her best, stretching out her legs as she rested her palm on Dullahan’s leg to reassure him.

“And I know of the critters that make their home around here~ They’re pretty feisty, but I assure you that they’re no match for this team right here.” To emphasis her point, Jingyi gave a confident pat to Dullahan’s leg, her smile reflecting her self-assuredness. “And anyways, they’re no match for our wolves that we have around here so they don’t venture too close. You have to be further down the mountain to encounter them.”

ingyi gently stroked Dullahan's neck with apparent affection, smoothing out snags in his wool. At Lagi's statements about their guard dogs, she nodded her head. The wolves considered them as balder family members with a few clansmen taking on the duty of assisting the pack. But the man's latter words caused the woman to raise a brow.

She watched as he sat by the fire, her disposition not changing from its cheery demeanor. "First things first, I'm Jingyi Hou! If we are going to doing whatever together, then I suggest that we know each other's names~" Jingyi chirped, curling some of the goat's finger around her finger. "As for my training, well, I'm going to improve on everything, but for now, I'm focusing on my beast-taming!" Jingyi exclaimed as she sat up.

"As for pay, what do you want other than money?" She questioned, resting her elbows on her knees as she studied Lagi. "There isn't a lot that a man could want - food, drink, money, power, revenge. Furthermore, do I even know that you are a proper mentor?" While Jingyi wasn't inherently suspicious of the stranger (when she ought to be), the woman still had questions. It wouldn't do her any good to pay a man who turned to be a poor tutor - especially if she could just figure it out on her own (granted for a longer period of time). There was also the possibility that what he wanted in return was something she simply couldn't afford to give.

ingyi scratched the back of her head as Lagi talked, her head tilted to the side. She simply wanted to know the name of the person that she could be working with - not a lecture on introductions and their pointlessness in their day and age... It was baffling, really, and the woman couldn't help it when the corners of her mouth lifted in amused bafflement.

"Ah, I fight for my country because I fight for my family... As introductions, I just thought that would be best considering that there's the possibility we could work together," Jingyi replied as she grabbed a nearby stick, using it to prod the fire. Embers spluttered to life at her jabbings, one of the logs falling off as the flames grew higher.

"Concerning your display of power, that sounds fine, Mr. Jynx," she continued, setting the stick down and pushing herself off. Behind her, Dullahan picked himself up and trotted over to his master's side. Before the red-head walked over to Lagi, she ran her hand over the goat's head.

"Before getting started, by natural abilities, do you mean fists and kicks? Or am I allowed to use my blades?" She inquired, a hand patting the hilt of her sword for emphasis on her question. "I wouldn't want to draw this on you when you didn't intend for blades to be a part of your display, after all. I'm sure that the "strongest Beast Tamer" I've ever met could handle this baby just fine, but it's better to be safe than sorry~"

he edge of Jingyi's lips twitched downwards, her eyes narrowing. Who did the man think he was? She - a waste of time? He hadn't even seen her fight and here he was... The way he claimed that he would be the strongest Beast Tamer she'd ever have the privilege of meeting, that rubbed her the wrong way as well.

The thought made her blood boil. She may not be famous, but it still irritated the soldier whenever someone, anyone, talked down to her. It was a different scenario with the higher-ups, but with this random man? This stranger who had trespassed onto her land? Especially when Jingyi was kind to him?

"So my only reward would be is the knowledge of your name... I yet to know what you want from me in exchange for training, that is, if I live up to your 'standards,'" Jingyi exclaimed as she drew Chun Yu, the sword sliding neatly out of its sheath. The hilt fit perfectly in her palm, her stance shifting to accommodate the weapon.

"Let's see if you're actually interesting to fight..." The woman snipped back, her grip tightening on her weapon. One could clearly see the irritation in her eyes, even Dullahan seemed annoyed by the man's words.

A short whistle from Jingyi sent Dullahan running in an arc to Lagi's left. At the same time, the tamer would pull out her Skeleton Key before closing the 6m distance with an A-tier fast charge. Once close, Jingyi would slow down in order to swing Chun Yu in a horizontal attack while activating the Skeleton Key's Magic Circle.

Fit Any Hand activated and the key transformed into a another sword. With it in hand, Jingyi stabbed with the impromptu weapon once she finished Chun Yu's swing.