Continuously Be Ready

Continuously Be Ready

The sword bobbed against Petra's hip as she entered the BART train. The travelers didn't really think about her, too used to seeing Knights these days to mind. Petra was feeling better; she didn't need anybody checking her out.

She contemplated the composition in her knapsack, the one with red inked words endeavoring to slither off the page. It called to her, mumbling like wavelets prodding the actual edge of her awareness. Her rucksack squirmed as the composition attempted to get away. The Mage had cautioned her that it was risky, and had paid her extra to move it, however Petra hadn't viewed him in a serious way.

When was she going to learn?

She contemplated Severin, her educator. His approach to advance notice her had been to request that she get a window box from the abandoned corner of his nursery and carry it to him. She had shrugged, pushed her blue twists out of her eyes, and got the pot with one hand. The pot had begun vibrating and a smooth sloppy animal had jumped out. Petra had howled and dropped the pot, which had broken into sharp pieces, causing the little seed soul to slither away seeming a bit piqued.

Petra reviewed how Severin had checked out at her, the main indication of his dismay the high lilt of his dim eyebrows. "Never handle the things with anything short of complete watchfulness, particularly since sorcery has stirred on the planet. You should continuously be ready. Mages are lost to them, the call of wizardry excessively solid. They will neglect to caution you, and you are the person who will wind up addressing the cost."
Petra wished Severin was riding the train with her. This was her most memorable vehicle, and her nerves were anxious. The rails shrieked and sang as they rose above Pecan Stream, yet they couldn't overwhelm the song of the original copy.

"Ways of catching and control movement," the Mage had murmured with scarcely held back happiness when she had gotten some information about. "Be cautious with it!"
Obviously, the manner in which she planned to protect it was taking it on a jam-packed BART train. Brilliant, Petra.
It was the main strategy, since her bike was still in the shop.
"nineteenth Road Station," the guide's voice called out.

Very few individuals came on, and the BART train left the block facades of the underground station, easily transcending the turnpike. Powerless daylight enlightened the greyscale colors inside the train vehicle, shining somewhat off metal-studded boots or smooth baggage sets. Petra kept her eyes stuck to the entryway, watching who left and who came in. She'd two or three Knights-in-preparing and one Mage, yet most were normal society approaching their day. The disclosure of sorcery and the resurgence of Knights hadn't changed the Straight Region much, then again, actually seeing children "blade"- battling on the shores of Lake Merritt or taking speculative chemistry classes from Mages at the Exploratorium was presently typical.

"West Oakland Station."

Petra moved and put her hand on her blade when she saw him.
The shroud he wore was green velvet and covered his face, however she could see the sparkling Expressions of Insurance painted on the underside as he stepped into the train vehicle. Just completely prepared Knights could wear garments or protective layers with the Words and Petra in a flash paid heed. Every one of the seats were taken, so he snatched a shaft, rings stacked on his fingers. His nails were similar variety as his cape, which influenced as the train took off. What irritated Petra was that it was all the while influencing.

She arrived at down, claiming to beware of her boots so she could really take a look at his shroud, however when she dropped down, she heard the obvious whistle of blades rushing through the air.
Getting her blade, she moved onto the aisleway of the train vehicle, the knifes simply missing her. Those hadn't been rings on his fingers.

Somebody shouted as the blades arrived in the seat where Petra had quite recently been sitting.
She realized she several seconds while the Knight went after his blade, so she jumped up, sword good to go; it was not the length of the ones most Knights utilized, yet that implied she could be faster with it.
The ringing kiss of their swords crossing filled the train vehicle with a cruel sound that struggled the shrieking of the rails. Somewhere off to the side, Petra could see travelers covering their ears. She didn't have a lot of opportunity to look as the Knight pushed forward.

Petra gritted her teeth and held her ground. Her rucksack was cut to her cowhide protective layer in different puts and secured in on the back, so she wasn't worried about losing the composition. She simply didn't savor dueling in a BART train.

"You could never have held on until I got off at Embarcadero? Parts more space to repel around there," she pondered with a wild smile. The other Knight laughed and charged at her, blade swinging from over his head.
Petra dodged into a (fortunately) void arrangement of twofold seats and cut at the Knight's shroud. The sparkling Expressions of Security went out like pixie lights flickering off. Then, at that point, she kicked at him, her weighty boots interfacing with his chest as he attempted to jump at her.

Petra exploited his transient staggering to push through the sliding entryways interfacing the train vehicles. The whoosh of air between the vehicles overpowered her faculties briefly, and she almost lost her own equilibrium. Then her hand found the other entryway and she pulled it open.
Petra went through the train vehicles, blade held near her body so she wouldn't incidentally run anybody through. The train tilted over the modern pieces of Oakland, dabbed to a great extent with bright Mage gardens and Knight settlements.

Out of nowhere, a rope folded itself over her arm, snapping her back and making her fall on the ground.
One hand held her blade firmly and she pulled herself upstanding a seat. There weren't as numerous travelers at this finish of the train, and she moved into the more open region before the entryways, prepared to battle.
Swords moved together eagerly, meeting in a shudder of metal on metal. Her body turned as she met the Knight's attacks and counter-attacks; she felt like a cattail in the breeze, flexible and strong against the flows of movement. Petra remembered all that Severin had showed her, muscle memory getting a move on liberating her brain to accumulate data. The Knight's face was as yet not apparent to her, however his style was fairly recognizable . . .
The train started its plummet down into the passage under the Straight, and the other Knight staggered back, caught off guard for the adjustment of movement. Exploiting his unexpected shortcoming, Petra pushed forward, cutting through his shroud and sticking him to a seat with her sword.

Before she could rip off the hood of his shroud, she heard a gurgling sound.
The percolating transformed into full-throated chuckling and the Knight pulled off his hood to uncover a recognizable face.
"Severin!" Petra shouted with a mope. "You were following me this entire time?"
Her instructor gazed toward her, his eyebrows raised cheerfully. "I needed to be certain you could stand your ground on a vehicle. Call it a last test. All things considered, far more awful than me might come after what you convey one day."
Petra feigned exacerbation. "Fantastic. I thought you said I was at last prepared to take on transports all alone."
"Goodness, you are," Severin said with a smile. His dark facial hair covered a large portion of his face, making him look more brutal than he truly was, yet Petra could perceive he was glad with himself. (Maybe her, as well.)
"However, didn't I tell you? You should continuously be ready!"

He was as yet stuck to a seat and tapped the one close to him.
Petra plunked down, anticipating sensation of outside air all over when they arrived at the city.
"Anyway, you going to unfasten me for sure?"
Petra smiled. "Not yet. I believe it's my chance to show you a thing or two."