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Light. That was all Analeese could see. Flashes of light burst all around her. She ran through the nearby trenches, trying to escape the explosions. Dirt and rocks, which had accumulated over thousands of years, collapsed and fell apart. The landslides buried those sons of bitches unlucky enough to get in their way, or who were ensnared in the masses of barbed wire. She looked forward. There was a gap straight ahead. She ran. Her lungs burnt, as the air become acrid and smoky. She carried on. All she had to do was keep going. He would be there somewhere. She kept a tight grip on her axe in one hand, a pistol in another.Â
Rubble slid beneath her feet, and she crossed several passageways, stepping over the bodies of the dead. The daughter of Nemesis took cover behind a nearby ledge, as a group of large men in khaki uniforms ran past. If caught, she would be branded a traitor and excecuted. A hand clamped over her mouth, yanking her backwards. She bit into the hand, it had a metallic taste to it. The man cried out. She took advantage of this. Her elbow found its' way to his stomach, and she whirled around, preparing to jam her tomahawk into his skull when she realised. It was HIM.Â
"You're getting a little slow Ana." He chuckled. "Watch out wildcat, you'll kill someone. Save that energy for later..."
With those words, she woke up. Her body was covered in a sheen of sweat. Analeese was curled up around the bedroll. Was the sword there? She checked. A celestial bronze broadsword was indeed hidden underneath the bed. She yawned and dragged herself out of bed, it was early morning and Circe's servants would be gathering for their rations. She soaked herself in a bowl of water and got dressed, sheathing the sword and carrying it with her on a strap. The damned thing hadn't left her side for the 65 years Analeese was bound as its' guardian. She made her way to the station and grabbed some basic field rations, gnawing on what looked like a piece of beef jerky when she saw Anwen. "Good sleep?" She asked, sitting next to her half-sister. They were stuck together for the time being. Analeese liked her personal space, but her half-sister was different.Â
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Analeese shrugged her shoulders. She gives Anwen a sideways glance, tearing off a slice of jerky. The young woman drowned out her dreams from the night before. They didn't mean anything. They were reflections of a life that she'd once led. "A ship crashed against the rocks sometime last night." She replied. Circe had seen fit to detain the survivors for processing. She suspected that most were already animals. The thought made her toss the remaining jerky away. Despite her many vices, cannibalism wasn't one that she was about to indulge in willingly. "I don't know how many survivors there were. They seemed pretty excited." Her light hazel eyes flickered to the rest of the group, mostly female nymphs and demi-gods, ensnared by foul magics or the madness of heart-break. The daughter of Nemesis instinctively placed her hand against the simple leather scabbard that held her sword.Â
The young woman turned towards Anwen, looking past her to see the water nymph. A small smirk twisted onto her lips. She didn't have patience for passive-aggressive chit-chat, or whatever girls like her did on a daily basis. "The weather is this sunny everyday." She replied with a shrug of her shoulders. "Unless you fell over and knocked your little head while prancing about in that outfit, or your remaining brain-cells committed suicide, you can see that we're eating and don't want to be disturbed." Her words were delivered like a sharp knife. It was possible to see a little of her mother in her expression. "But while you're here, I heard that there was a shipwreck last night. Mistress must be pleased."Â
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"Yeah. Who wouldn't want to be stuck with you on this island?" She muttered underneath her breath, dripping with sarcasm. Her eyes were wide, like she was talking to somebody recovering from a recent brain injury. Unfortunately stupidity wasn't something that the nymph could cure. Thankfully that would play right into their hands. It seemed like Circe would be occupied for quite some time.Â
She gave a short, sharp nod. "Far side of the island..." Analeese pointed towards one of the isolated beaches, far away from CC's Day Spa. They only had so much time before they were called into service once again, and she fancied getting the details worked out. "Training practice. Make sure to bring your sword." She reminded her half-sister. Anwen was good, she was shy, but that wasn't surprising when one considered the circumstances. Whoever she was, the girl was the only backup she had. Nemesis couldn't interfere, and Circe could easily smite them if she wished. However, she doubted that the minor goddess would want to earn the ire of the gods, especially the goddess of Revenge. Her mother always paid her debts; it was the only thing of value that she had ever taught Ana. Circe would pay, one way or another. "We'll see how your powers are coming along." She said, patting her sister on the back for a moment in a small gesture of camaraderie, before the soldier made her way to the other side of the island. "We can talk here." She whispered. "They're distracted and the noise should cover our tracks."
The daughter of Nemesis drew her tomahawk out of the loop in her belt. Its weight was familliar, as the bones of her hand. She flipped it a few times in her right hand, tossing it towards a nearby palm-tree where it still stuck. She then took out the greatsword and held it in both of her hands. The weapon was also known to her calloused, tan hands. It was a burden. But one which could slice enemies in half. She stood in a defensive stance. "Try and hit me, hard as you can."
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Fighting was her reason for existence. It was her raison d’être. She gave no quarter and expected none in return. Analeese pushed her body and her mind to its limits on a daily basis, otherwise it would be all too easy to end up bored on Circe’s island. There was little to do, except serve when needed. She gave a small grunt in satisfaction, as the axe embedded itself into the bark of the tree. She had put one hand against the tree, and yanked it out with the other, as her sister arrived at the beach. The axe was then placed on a nearby driftwood log, far out of the way.
“I’m not going to go easy on you. An opponent wouldn’t in battle.” Her eyes watched her sister’s feet. The daughter of Nemesis moved slowly, following Anwen’s footsteps until they lashed out. Her peripheral vision caught sight of the celestial bronze sword, headed for her shoulder before sand was kicked at her face. “Distraction. Nice.” She thought, readjusting her balance as she took a step backwards and ducked underneath the blade.
Analeese carried on the momentum, moving perpendicular to Anwen. She stepped to the right and aimed a sweep with her right foot for tendons at the back of her half-sister’s legs, hoping that the fast momentum would cause her to stumble and fall over. She stepped back with her right foot and got back into a combat stance. “You’re getting quick. We’ll need those skills, if we want to talk to the sailors themselves. Maybe they have intel that can get us both out of here.” She suggested, keeping a tight grip on the hilt of her sword.
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"It's alright....don't fall for it again." Analeese sheathed her blade and offered Anwen a hand back up. Her half-sister had made a lot of progress, in the beginning she was unaware of who she was and where she had come from. It was unusual for a girl to wash up on the shores of Circe's island unless she was looking for trouble. In the sixty-five years Analeese had guarded the sword, she never encountered one of her half-siblings. It was hard to trust her at first, but the same blood ran in their veins and that meant something to her. She wondered what would have happened if their places were reversed, if she was the one to wake up on the salty shores of the island, half-drowned by the choppy waters.Â
She wouldn't admit it, but Analeese was proud of Anwen. They made a good team, balancing out the weaknesses of one another. But that wouldn't necessarily save them. Leaving Circe's island meant confronting the past, and Nemesis wasn't the type to mollycoddle her children. On the other hand, she wasn't content to stay as Circe's plaything forever. They were damned if they did and damned if they didn't.Â
"Nice use of distraction. Watch out for your left leg." She pointed out, folding her arms across her chest. The clouds were beginning to set over the stormy seas. This side of the island wasn't safe when the mist came. Circe probably saw it as another way to keep unwanted intruders away. "We should go." She said, her light eyes watching for any signs of trouble.Â
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