"Hmm hm hmm hm hm..." A young Miqo'te hummed blissfully as he strolled through the beautiful forests in the furthest reaches of the Black Shroud, his tail swinging about in a carefree manner. Dragging a large carry trunk with one hand and holding a map in the other, the man navigated his way through the forests, taking a route not known to the general populace. As he continued the trees began to part, revealing a clear field with a large castle at the end, accompanied by several other smaller buildings such as a greenhouse, stables and store houses. It was the middle of the day and the sun rose high in the sky, shining down on the Miqo'te's light blue hair and reflecting off his glasses.
"Well now, this place doesn't look to shabby." He said to himself, taking in the view before he continued onward. He originally headed for the large main entrance to the grand hall before noticing several people in what seemed to be a training area nearby. Deciding to make a detour, the Miqo'te turned and headed towards them. Various training dummies and archery targets were scattered throughout the area with several warriors currently practicing, with the exception of a blond Miqo'te who had some sort of table set up on the ground beneath the shade of a large tree. The visitor studied the man for a moment before approaching him.
"Ah, you must be Mr. Laris Aranai." He said, greeting the blond Miqo'te who shot up, surprised by the sudden visit.
"Woah! Who're you?" He quickly asked. The visitor chuckled slightly, adjusting his glasses before replying.
"Forgive my rude interruption. My name is Alvin, Alvin Ballard. I am the newest member of your little company here." He answered. Laris' eyes grew wide as he leaped up in excitement and wrapped an arm around Alvin's shoulder.
"New friend! Buddy! Pal!" He blabbed excitedly.
"Haha it is nice to meet you. How come you're not training with the others? I wasn't made aware that you were skilled at crafting." Alvin inquired.
"Oh, Gaius ordered me to make a bunch of items for him so I gotta work my tail off all day here. I'm super useful you see. And smart too." The blond Miqo'te answered proudly.
"Ah Mr. Nassau, he's the one who hired my services. Would you be able to tell me where I can find him?" Alvin asked.
"He's probably in his room throwing books around. I mean, he's probably busy doing leader things and... stuff." Laris answered, quickly correcting himself. Alvin shot Laris a queer look before smiling again.
"Thank you for your assistance, it's been a pleasure." Alvin bid his new colleague farewell as he made his way closer to the training grounds. He set his things down near an armour rack and approached a silver haired Hyur who was training against a striking dummy with a lance, swinging and stabbing it ferociously with incredible speed, it was surprising that the dummy was still in one piece.
"Well well, at first glance you seem pretty handy with a lance." Alvin commented, chuckling slightly at his own rhyme as he approached him. The silver haired man lowered his weapon and turned to the voice.
"I don't believe we've met." The Hyur began. "I'm-"
"Mr. Leo Blake. The company's so called 'blademaster' and from what I hear, Gaius' personal manservant." The Miqo'te interrupted. Leo gave a slight frown before easing his expression again.
"And you are?" He asked.
"My name is Alvin, Mr. Nassau hired me as your company's new battle tactician. I just arrived and saw you folks training so I decided to get an immediately glimpse of the mess I'm supposed to clean up." Alvin explained.
"Excuse me?" Leo questioned, a slight hint of agitation found it's way into his usually calm voice.
"While your strikes were swift and powerful, you were only focusing on the target in front of you. Your stance and pose left yourself completely exposed to a surprise attack from another enemy. While focusing on an enemy you must always be alert and ready for the unexpected. Otherwise you'll end up beat up and worn out just like this dummy here." The Miqo'te instructed.
"I can handle myself." Leo replied.
"Is that so? Well then how about a little sparring match, I happen to be quite handy with a lance myself. Come on let's play, it'll be fun, what do you say?" Alvin challenged the man as he grabbed a practice lance from a weapon rack.
"If you're so confident in your ability to defeat me, then I suppose it is only fitting that I show you your place." Leo answered confidently, readying his weapon. Two female onlookers who were previously training caught attention to the arising conflict.
"Hey Robin, who do you think that new guy is?" Asked a tall dark haired Elezen woman.
"I dunno but he's nuts if that scrawny kid thinks he can beat Leo in a fight, ain't I right, Leona? Haha!" The brawny Roegadyn woman replied.
"Urgh, why do men always have to fight to boost their ego all the time? It's so stupid. Oh well, at least I might get some tips on some new lance techniques." Leona sighed. A Hyuran rogue in dark leather pants and a plain white shirt approached the women from the archery target he was using to practice knife throwing and sat down beside them, parting his messy long black hair as he placed on a pair of shades.
"Ha! Tired already, Alex?" Robin scoffed.
"As if. I just wanted to watch the show. It's been a while since I've seen that kid brother of mine in proper action." The rogue replied.
"Well, it seems like we have an audience. If I am correct, then our spectators today are the drunkard ninja, the chef and your very own rival Dragoon. Let's give them a stellar performance, shall we?" Alvin beckoned as a shifting glow began to illuminate from his hand, quickly taking form into a shining aetherial lance. Leo gripped his weapon tightly and jumped straight up into the air like a speeding bullet. After a quick moment he brought his lance rocketing down, impaling the ground and causing a fiery explosion. Although when the smoke settled his enemy was nowhere in sight.
"So predictable." Came a voice from the large tree. Alvin stood crouched down on a long branch with his weapon neatly leaning against the trunk below.
"Do you always jump right into the fray without thinking?" He asked, leaping to the ground and readjusting his glasses. Leo swiftly removed his lance from the ground and threw it towards the Miqo'te like a spear. Alvin leaned to the side as the lance flew right past him before it buried itself in the tree trunk followed by a loud scream.
"What the hell, watch where you're throwing that thing!" Laris screamed, seeming as though he was recovering from a heart attack. Leo gave his apologies in his head before quickly grabbing another training lance from the nearby rack. Alvin recovered his weapon and made his way forward, swinging it in the air to his side playfully as though it were a baton. Leo rushed forward with a swing and Alvin swiftly blocked it with ease. Leo's attacks were quick and powerful yet none of them seemed to hit his target as Alvin blocked every single strike. Leo gripped his weapon behind his shoulder, going in for a powerful swing as Alvin parried the attack and swung his own lance down towards Leo's feet, sending him toppling down to the ground.
"You may be strong but you lack proper technique. You just rush headfirst into battle without planning ahead. It's amazing you survived this long, no wonder you weren't able to protect your home all those years ago. It's quite shameful really." Alvin mocked. Leo got back to his feet, gritting his teeth and leering at the Miqo'te with fierce anger in his eyes.
"Hey asshole, what'd you just say?" Came a voice from behind as Alex headed towards them.
"Geez no need to be so angry, I was just saying that if Leo had been trained properly then maybe he wouldn't have let those awful beastmen take your family's lives." Alvin explained. Alex clenched his fist tight, raising it back.
"And what the hell would you know?!" He roared as he swung forward, barely missing the Miqo'te who dodged at the last moment by a millimeter.
"That was close. I had heard your punches were devastating, it's fortunate that I was able to evade it in time." Alvin commented, turning to face the man with a smug grin.
"And what the hell do you know about us, furball? You better start talking before I break every damn bone in your body!" Alex growled , getting ready to attack once more before finding himself being pulled back.
"Easy there, lad." Robin said as she wrapped her arms around his elbows and restrained him.
"You're even more reckless and hot headed than your brother. But I guess that comes as no surprise considering you're not even an official member of this Free Company. You should be honoured that I'm even willing to train you." Alvin sighed before looking over to the blond Miqo'te who was still strangely hard at work.
"Mr. Aranai, a moment of your time please." He shouted across to him.
"Just a second!" Laris shouted back as he quickly got up to join the group.
"I'll kill that runt." Alex mumbled through his teeth as Robin released her grip on him after feeling his muscles ease.
"Easy there, grumpy." Laris told him as he stood with the others.
"You wanna share a grave with him too?" Alex threatened.
"Come now friends, settle down. You all get worked up so easily. Having a cool head and a calm demeanor is an important asset to any victory. Now I would like to test you all at once, it would be far more efficient that way. So! I want everyone to grab their weapons and we'll begin on the count of five." Alvin ordered, watching as the other five combatants prepared for battle.
"Five... Four... Three... Tw-" The Miqo'te's announcement was cut short as a cloud of smoke burst out from behind him, hiding behind it a pair of sharp blades that were headed straight towards his neck. A short-sword materialized in Alvin's hand as he turned around and blocked the attack at the last moment.
"Well now, those don't exactly seem like regulated training equipment, do they?" He asked, still holding back the force of her weapons.
"Ye didn't say anything about fighting fair." Robin grinned. Alvin forced his weapon forward and leaped back, creating distance between the two before readjusting his glasses.
"Hehe, very well. Two, one, let's have some fun!" He shouted, beckoning the other warriors. They all came at him with a flurry of fists, knives and lances, yet no matter how fast and strong their attacks were, none of them seemed to hit him. It was as though Alvin was able to study their movements and predict exactly how they would strike. After a short moment each of their movement patterns and combat styles became plain and obvious to him.
"Okay I've seen enough, I've grown tired of this futile attempt." He announced. The Miqo'te's short-sword began to glow and changed form into a lance. Alvin leaped up and slammed his lance into the ground and spun himself in a circle around it, knocking his attackers back. Returning to the ground, he gripped his weapon and caused it to change form again, this time into a tome. Hastily scribbling through the pages, Alvin cast a spell that bound the five of the warriors in place before the tome began to glow and once more changed into a staff. He waved it around with a bright light and a barrier formed around each of the bound combatants as they looked to each other with confusion before turning their gazes back upon their opponent.
"Time for the finale." Alvin said as he focused magic through his staff and raised it up high. "Firaja!" He shouted as a gigantic explosion of flame followed, sending everyone else flying back. Thankfully they were all unharmed due to the barrier's protection that he had cast on them. The group began to get back to their feet as Alvin approached them steadily, dismissing his weapon.
"You all lack the necessary skills to work together as a team and fight efficiently. However each of you do show great potential. I'm certain that under my guidance you will become a powerful combat unit, although we have a lot of work ahead of us. This is going to be so much fun, we are going to be such great friends, all of us!" Alvin said gleefully as the rest of the group grumbled and moaned.
"What is all the commotion out here?" Yelled a dark haired Auri male with glasses, followed by a quiet Midlander woman.
"Mr. Nassau, it is a pleasure to finally meet you. I am Alvin, Alvin Ballard." The Miqo'te introduced, extending his hand.
"The pleasure is mine Alvin, I'm glad you finally arrived." Gaius greeted politely with a firm handshake. "I see you're already acquainted with some of our members?" He asked.
"Yes, in fact I've had the opportunity to catch a glimpse of their abilities already, I apologize for the noise we made. They show quite a lot of promise, I'm sure with my guidance i can help them reach their full potential swiftly." Alvin informed him.
"Very well." Gaius began. "Everyone, listen clearly, especially you Laris. Alvin here has been hired as our new battle tactician. It is his duty to make sure everyone learns to co-operate together productively and fight as a unit. When in training you will all be under his strict orders and Mr. Ballard will also be in charge of party leadership when I am not present. He will also play an important role in planning on how we proceed on missions and providing the most efficient tactics in battle. He has quite a reputation proceeding him and I am certain that this new addition to our ranks will greatly benefit us all. I am counting on each and every one of you to help make this company live up to it's full potential." He announced.
"There is no need for any concern Mr. Nassau, we'll all do wonderfully together." Alvin reassured him. "After all, we're going to have so much fun together..." He grinned as he adjusted his glasses.