Frayed threads (open)

[Mathew Amtrum]

It still felt uncomfortable to be associated with Cabal Academy.  He'd thought he had left school a lifetime ago.  And for it to be in territory 259 felt like it was hitting it on the nose a little too much.  It was funny how the world worked sometimes.  Or maybe it was tragic enough to bring a grown man to tears.  The world had changed so much and so little at the same time, but it had changed, and in many ways drastically.  With little knowledge on the how and why.  Sure some cold hard facts he knew, everyone knew.  The Qi drugs being peddled by people like Sean Barker, the accords were signed and peace more or less settling over the land.  For now, the peace was not a complete one, nor could it ever be he suspected.  War was the natural state of the world, it was how nations, or in this case territories competed for their goals. It was naive to believe that they would always line up peacefully, but the accords were important in that it stopped full-scale destruction from ripping the land asunder once more.

But that still left a lot of questions for him.  How did Cabal get the funding and clout needed to form.  This was the kind of thing that would be shut down by all other parties one would imagine. Though it did have it's rivals, such as the syndicate.  Whatever that was.  Or more importantly whoever that was.  Countless small other groups of various goals and effectiveness as well dotted the territories.  Cabal needed soldiers, and he would fight if he had to so that he could get what he wanted.  Information.  He would use Cabal and their resources to pursue his own interests and discover what he needed to know.  He would plan his next move from there.

Those were the thoughts as he sat under one of the trees in the courtyard.  A well-worn book in his hands, one of his favorites.  Or at least one of his most read books.  The Art of War.  And within it's pages lay a quote that had always stuck with him, one that he could always look back to when he felt his path wavering and faltering.  

Foreknowledge cannot be gotten from ghosts and spirits, cannot be had by analogy, cannot be found out by calculation. It must be obtained from people, people who know the conditions of the enemy.

Simply put, he can't find out what's going to happen from the dead or the past.  He can't just sit and think and figure it out.  He needs to talk to people because people were the ever-changing factors.  People were the living records of not just the history of what has happened, but of what is unfolding now.  And there was no larger concentration of soldiers than right here.  And when it came to matters of war, who better to talk to than soldiers, both the ones who fought the wars of the past, and the ones fighting on the front lines today.

[Bailey Oleander]

To say the academy's fist impression on Bailey was overwhelming was a bit of an understatement. Forget the Territory, the academy itself was bigger than anywhere she'd thought she'd be. For once it felt like there were as many doors as opportunities, or maybe it was the people it housed. Thinking of herself as one of them felt strange, like she was seeing it through a fogged lens. Different thoughts flickered through her mind as she walked the grounds. How long she would be here? What could she learn, and do? Sometimes she was still stuck on why she was here at all.

The thoughts chased each other as her feet took their own path. For the most part, it seemed quiet, so much so that she she didn't realize she'd come across someone else. The world seemed quiet, somewhere between resting and holding its breath.

Right up until she bumped into some poor man who had the misfortune of sitting in a pleasant shaded area.

"Ack!" Whether it was a collision or not, Bailey hastily drew back, cheeks heating as she felt like a fool. "S-sorry!"

[Mathew Amtrum]

He felt the vibrations of her footfall rapidly approaching, glancing up from his book to see her unaltering course he shifted he stared her down, mentally willing her to shift her course and yield to him. But alas it didn't happen that way. Swallowing his frustration he would close the book and offer her an apologetic smile.

"Are you okay?"

[Bailey Oleander]

Her hands fluttered rapidly as she smoothed her clothing, buying precious seconds to gather her dignity. While she hadn't wound up face first, Bailey couldn't miss the fact that he'd been right there and she'd been oblivious to something that she should have seen.

"Yes, thank you." She offered him a small smile and a nod. "Are you? I'm sorry, I didn't mean to disturb you."

[Mathew Amtrum]

"I'm not so fragile as to be harmed by a small accident. There is no need to concern yourself."

He'd say as he closed his book, tucking it away into the inside breast pocket of his coat before slowing rising to his feet. He'd take a moment to brush the grass and dirt off of himself, which would allow him a moment to size up the young lady that was now standing before him. Young for sure. At least a decade his junior. She had an air of fragility and unease around her. Though it was hard to say how much of that was an act and how much of it was just something that hadn't been pounded out of her yet. This place was a military installation. He would be surprised if she was able to maintain this air for long.

"New here I am assuming?"

[Bailey Oleander]

The even tone of voice was almost more reassuring than his words. Bailey shifted her weight to her other foot as her hands came to rest in front of her, giving him a fraction more space as he rose to his feet. There was an air of dignity about him that she could appreciate, and knowing she hadn't managed to immediately anger the first person she'd met felt like a step in the right direction. Some of the tension eased between her shoulders, though she bit the inside cheek at his question.

"I suppose it's pretty obvious." Her lips quirked in a sheepish smile before she held out her hand. "I'm Bailey, by the way. Bailey Blake."

[Mathew Amtrum]

He looked down at her offered hand with an amused quirk of his lips. It was a quaint gesture to be sure. He couldn't remember the last time someone had offered their hand to him in a simple greeting like that. It was a reminder that there was more than one world overlapping here. And the world that he had grown used to delving in, a world of violence and danger, wasn't the same world that everyone else lived in. That some things like simple manners and optimism still flourished within some people. It was... unusual for him. But he wasn't so uncouth as to completely ignore it. Slowly and with a little hesitation he'd take her hand and give it a firm shake.

His hands were rough and calloused, his grip strong without being overbearing. He didn't have any quips or remarks for the moment as she introduced herself. Nothing clever or biting to say, not even a profound statement tucked away in his back pocket. A place like this is the last place he'd expected to see such a peaceful and normal gesture. Well, abnormal now maybe, but he remembered a time when that wasn't so.

"You can call me Eric."

[Bailey Oleander]

Every second spent looking at her offered hand felt like an hour. Bailey was starting to question whether she'd made the right choice, or if she should have just moved on. It was something in the way his lips lifted in what she hoped was a smile. She'd been taught to respect her seniors - even more so if they could probably make you regret it. She'd already been half expecting it since she had arrived, but since he wasn't offended by her graceless moment, she had assumed it was alright.

But at last he took her hand, his grip firm and hands rough. The hands of someone who was used to hard work. It reminded her of home, and her smile grew more confident as Eric gave her his name.

"It's nice to meet you, Eric, though I'm sorry I interrupted your reading." The idea of sitting out in the shade with a book was a pleasant one, something for another day.

[Mathew Amtrum]

He'd shake his head slightly. "Think nothing of it. These printed words are all but eternal. First encounters are ephemeral."

And exactly what he was looking for. To get a finger on the pulse of this place and these people. Only then could he chart his course on these unknown waters and regain his bearings. This wasn't the easiest way to go about doing what he planned to do. But he was used to not taking the easy way, he was the type to forge his own path and to follow his own stars. This young woman Bailey could be the first step in the direction that would shape his life and others. Such was the power each of them held over each other, the power to shape the world around them.

"Well if you are new I guess I'll ask the obvious question. Have you gained basic control of your abilities yet? Or are you here to take those first steps?"

[Bailey Oleander]

Bailey nodded as he dismissed her concern, using words that reminded her of a poet or philosopher, eloquent and reflective. Instead he turned the conversation towards what she expected of people meeting for a first time in a place like this, learning their purpose and, most likely, what she could do. Her lips quirked at the question, recognizing a much more polite phrasing of what she had received back home.

"I know a little, but yes. I'm here to learn how to control my abilities." A sense of direction. A purpose. Other than the plans that seemed to be laid out at her feet, Bailey had no clear idea of what that would mean for her, in the end.

[Mathew Amtrum]

"You mean how to fight with them?"

That was how the majority of people in this place utilized their abilities. He was no exception to that of course. Battle was an inherent part of existence. Every day was a battle for survival. For some time Humanity had become adept at it that the individual could be forgiven for not noticing their own battles and victories. Such luxuries were now, however, less abundant. Violence was ultimately what all authority was derived from. Might made right as it were. Again society has changed the perception of this with laws and traditions, but even those stem from the fact that breaking said laws or rules have consequences. In a bleak way it was a fascinating thing to think about, and something that he could discuss in length with the proper partner. No, maybe not a partner. But associate, that may be a better word.

"Barbaric sounding I know, but believe it or not the stress of battle is often the most efficient way of bringing forth latent potential when it comes to these abilities we have. I like to think of it as the bodies way of putting up or shutting up."

He gave her a wicked smile, a hint of danger gleaming in his teeth. But it was gone almost as fast as it appeared. His head lowering in a small bow.

"But that is just my humble opinion."

[Bailey Oleander]

Her eyes widened at the mention of battle, the last thing she'd been thinking of in the current moment. But it had come to mind before, and not just her own. Battle was high stress, it needed timing on her part, and Bailey doubted she was near that level of control down to her bones. She shook her head, but let him finish speaking rather than interrupt. Most back home didn't know about her powers for that exact kind of mindset. There were so many ways to apply the basic idea. Sometimes it felt more like she'd been elevated as a form of tool that was expected to be used once it was finished being made.

"I...not exactly, no." She blinked a few times at the shift in his words, a little sharpness peeking out from beneath the well-polished demeanor. It was a military institute, and part of Bailey knew it would have to be field tested eventually. The thought slipped away as she considered Eric's words. A way to test the limits and abilities. A different type of experiment.

"Though it certainly makes sense." At this point, her gut instinct screamed the likelihood of her failure, but he did have a point. "But there are other ways. I don't necessarily have to be fighting, myself." Her words faded off, her thoughts already taking over.

[Mathew Amtrum]

"Of course not. If combat were the only way to strengthen yourself then there would be no need for discipline or other lessons. People would just be ripping each other apart in the streets."

He'd motion with his left hand to the courtyard which currently lacked people fighting and blood raining down around them. No, it was quite peaceful at the moment. And that was because there was much to learn other than fighting. Combat was a tool to achieve your goals, whether implied with laws or overt with wars. But violence without cause or direction was more often than not wasted energy.

"I am however curious. Is your hesitation at the thought of battle born from an abhorrence to the innate violence of such an act? Or is it born from the fear that you may lose?"

[Bailey Oleander]

"That would defeat the point of this place, yes." Bailey's gaze took in the otherwise empty courtyard, well able to imagine the chaos that Eric mentioned. They were, at least, civilized on some level. The idea earned a sheepish chuckle from the blonde as she shook her head.

"I'm not fond of violence." The expression on her faced faded, dipping into a near frown. She understood that she was fortunate, that there were others who only knew war and a harder life than she had ever known, that sometimes people found it impossible to get what they wanted or make a point without it, but even what was gained usually needed to be rebuilt.

"Where I'm from, we don't really have the manpower to risk someone letting things get out of hand, or damaging equipment. So it's also inefficient."

[Mathew Amtrum]

Rather than offer a rebuttal he'd simply nod, considering her words. There were a few territories that he knew of that were like that. Generally smaller weaker ones, but advantaged by location. A location that offered them the tools or means to protect what was theirs with little manpower and remain mostly self-sufficient. Whether or not she was part of one of those places was a question he would likely leave unasked, but what she described was not something beyond what he'd witnessed.

"I would pose the idea that violence is the core way that any creature exerts influence over the world around it. However, I will submit to your point about efficiency. Violence for the sake of violence is often pointless. If you find yourself desiring a stress test I am more than happy to offer myself to the task. And if you believe that your goals can be achieved passively than I applaud the handicap you have elected to take."

He would settle himself back against the tree with introductions out of the way. Though he'd refrain from sitting back down, as that would be rude and dismissive. Which was not something he wished to portray himself as.

"I am curious what drew you to the Academy, however. I assume if you are gifted than that means you are a valuable resource to your people. Do you intend to stay with the Academy or learn what you can and then depart?"