Chapter Ten: Attack on the Beat!

He was more surprised than anything. Nicole had a natural talent of wielding a glaive despite no prior training. Though he quickly learned that Nicole would rush headlong without a second thought. Another was simple instructions were of no use. She does better by doing.

He simply taught her how to defend, parry and attack without speaking. Nicole was quite tenacious in her attacks that left much to be desired though. She often left herself open to attack but with a few quick strikes fixed any opening.

It wasn't easy for Tirithion either. He wondered how Eun-Kyung managed to train Nicole. A part of him wondered how they got their powers in the first place and how they trained to control them. But as for now, he must focus on training Nicole.

After a two-hour lesson, Tirithion was forced to call it a day. He was impressed with how much Nicole's progress. She quite literally made leaps and bounds with her first lesson. That does scare him a bit.

"Impressive with your first lesson," he smiled and started to flirt. "Are you sure you haven't had a lesson in your life?"

"What the fuck is that supposed to mean?! I could easily cut off your dick and force feed it to…."

"I meant that I'm impressed with how fast you are learning this. It almost feels like you have done this before," he said.

Nicole didn't know what to say. Part of her was telling her that he was flirting; another said that sucked big time and he was trying to be nice. But another part was telling her that she was awesome.

"Yeah, thanks," Nicole decided to let it go for once. It sounded cold and unfeeling, similar to Danielle's way of talking. "So why stopping? Afraid I will kick your arse."

He gave a smile, "I would like to see you try."

Nicole was poised for the attack, but Tirithion gently pushed it down with his hand. This took Nicole off guard. What was he up to?

"But not today," Tirithion said. "I do admire your spirit for it."

"Are you calling me weak?" Nicole felt anger swell.

Tirithion got closer and Nicole back away some. She wasn't used to a guy admiring her for anything. Other than how well she played in sports or she had a good pair of girl balls. But nothing like what he's doing.

"Not at all," he reached for her. "You are far from weak. Unlike most women I know, you have a lot of unbridled enthusiasm and very passionate. I like that in a woman."

Now Nicole was getting creep out about this whole thing. Sure a few guys thought she would make a great girlfriend but rather saved their skins. This was stemmed from the fear of her two older siblings, the 'ice queen' Danielle and the eccentric Constantine who was known for his kickboxing. A rumor has it that Constantine had taught some powerful moves to her for self-defense which is largely untrue.

Tirithion could tell she wasn't comfortable with him being so close. His curiosity peeked about the reasoning. What was the reason for this, her instant shyness and dislike, for anything flirtatious? True, there were some elleths that were more career-minded than some, but they weren't like this.

"I am your friend," he smiled.

His finger touched hers. Tirithion could feel a couple of sparks that came from her. This was an interesting feeling for him. But he wasn't any fool; he knew he was pushing his limits with her. Tirithion wasn't a fool, but his desire for her was making it hard for him.

"What the fuck are you doing?" she asked in a harsh voice.

"I want to shake your hand," Tirithion said. "You did a job well done for your first practice and it is customary to shake after a friendly spar."

Nicole didn't know if that was true. Eun-Kyung wasn't there to tell her otherwise. And it seemed that Tirithion was telling the truth. Though she wasn't to entire sure about it what harm could it do? It seemed to be fair, it was like after the football game when each team would say 'good game' and shake hands. It was sportsmanship that won her over.

Nicole let her right hand left the wooden pole and opened her hand out. Tirithion knew he did the right thing in telling the truth. Well, he wanted to hold her hand and give her a kiss but that will take a while to do so. It was customary to do it and he was pleased he could use it as an excuse to sneak a touch. Tirithion grabbed her forearm, which surprised her.

"Do the same," Tirithion told her. "It is how we shake."

Nicole was still unsure about this but she did it. But she did have a sneaky feeling he was up to something. So, she gave him a small jolt when they finish the whole thing. Tirithion quickly took his arm away from her and gave it a good shake.

"I had a feeling you had a motive," Nicole gave him a hard stare. "But if you try to do anything stupid then I will fucking mess you up."

Tirithion was surprised that she was aware of his ulterior motive. He was planning to sneak a kiss before they finish their handshake. Nicole might not be as intelligent as any elleth but at least she something. He must give her credit for it.

"I might have something planned when we shook," Tirithion slyly smiled. "But I'm glad you did that since I might not stop once I started."

"What the hell is that supposed to mean you dipshit?"

"I would like to tell you but I don't want to scare you off," Tirithion said. "I don't want to stop our friendship because of it."

She had a sneaky feeling about it. But since she never had a boyfriend, let alone a romantic interest, she was baffled. Part of her wanted to know what he meant but another didn't want to.

"I guess we could call it a day. You may keep that glaive as a gift to symbolize our friendship."

"Really? Even though we just met," she looked at him and he gave a nod. "Fucking sweet, this friendship will be awesome."

'Awesome?' he thought. 'What a weird thing to say.'

"Yes, and it would grow in time," he said. 'Maybe into something more.'

"Hmph," Nicole quickly moved the glaive parallel to her. "Anything else I need to know?"

"I'll come around about the same time tomorrow," he said.

"Fine, I have some things I need to do."

Nicole went back inside the house. Thankfully there was a copper spool that she got earlier that day. She thought she might use it to fix Ezar's wagon but didn't use it. Now she was glad she bought it. While she went to work putting the wire on the glaive, Tirithion had a moment with Eun-Kyung.

"You're up to something," she said.

Eun-Kyung couldn't figure it out. After years of training, she can't pick up on any stray thought from him. And Xavier made sure all telepaths under his training have a code of ethics on not entering on non-combatants or abusing their powers for personable gain.

But even without the use of her powers, she knew something was up. Tirithion had a motive of sorts. But without a stray thought or allowing herself to read his mind, she can't be sure on what.

"Whatever made you think that," Tirithion said.

"It is simply a disquieting thought more than anything. But I would warn you if you were up to something it won't end well."

"I'm sure I can deal with Coal pretty well. I just need to avoid her powers. May I ask how you got them in the first place."

Tirithion gathered a lot of information from Eun-Kyung but suspected she wasn't going into great detail. She did refer them as being mutants which is something he loathed for some reason. Yet he had to accept.

She informed him that mutants gain their powers around puberty. Some do know beforehand or it is obvious from birth. But all shared a common trait. None of them have control of what powers they got. Eun-Kyung finished it off by saying their powers are a blessing and a curse.

'How queer is something like their powers can be both a blessing and a curse,' Tirithion thought when told about it. 'It is a gift and should be a blessing.'

Tirithion didn't know about a how a mutant's power can be a mixture of the two. Two good examples were Eun-Kyung and Rogue. For the former, she can hear any loud stray thought and people's minds can be dark and twisted. While the latter can absorb any power with skin contact but the downside is that Rogue can't have a physical relationship with anyone.

"It isn't her powers that you need to worry about," Eun-Kyung pointed out. "It's the sibling who's first thought is murder when something bad happens to Cole."

"I'm guessing it is her older brother Tine."

It wasn't Tine he needs to worry about but Danielle. She learned firsthand while training with her and Vivian. Eun-Kyung didn't want to go into great detail since the likelihood of him meeting Danielle was slim. To top it off Nicole doesn't know about her older siblings being mutants or Danielle's protectiveness.

"If the sibling comes, you will be forced to face them," she simply said.

"You seem to worry about me," Tirithion found a golden opportunity to flirt. "It seems that you like me, Lady Yi."

"It isn't that I don't like you, Mr. Tirithion. It's that I won't be able to stop them from attacking."

Tirithion didn't know what to say about that. He gathered that there are more people like them but is it possible that they're more powerful than Eun-Kyung. She seemed to be quite strong in her own right despite him seeing little of her power up close.

Meanwhile, Nicole was having some difficulty with putting the copper wire to the glaive. The wire itself was for jewelry making. And it wasn't as easy since she had to be careful. But her patience was wearing thin since the wire didn't want to cooperate with her.

She had the idea to use her powers to fuse the wire to the wood for a secure fit. It took several tries, a few blisters and a couple of misfires, replacing good portions of wire and a lot of cursing before she got the fit and design she wanted. Once finished, she felt a great sense of tingling in her fingers but she was pleased with herself on a job well done.

Of course, something upset her terribly. She started to have strong cravings for deep-fried foods and chocolate for some reason. Tirithion should get her something deep fried; after all, he is her good friend. Now, where is he with her deep-fried food? Now she was getting piss off since she doesn't have deep fried food or chocolate. She must kick some ass, mostly Tirithion, because of it.

While that was going on with her, Eun-Kyung and Tirithion's conversation was interrupted. It wasn't Nicole but a horde of Corsairs and Haradrim. This was quite unusual since Corsairs rarely go on land to attack and Haradrim rarely are seen without their mumakil.

"This is unexpected," Tirithion was left aghast. "Why are they attacking together?"

"What is wrong?"

"The two groups are on the same side but quite uncommon to see them fighting side-by-side."

Eun-Kyung saw that Tirithion took a defensive stance with his glaive. She followed suit with hers. A part of her knew that these people aren't mutants and it would be an unfair fight. Of course, that doesn't really mean a thing since in real-life fights rarely anyone plays by a strict set of rules.

A few were foolish charge at them but only stop when they saw Nicole rushing in. She wasn't happy because of cramps. Her glaive's blade lets out a few sparks. The angle she entered it was in a way that the mixed group of Corsairs and Haradrim and Eun-Kyung and Tirithion would be on either side of her.

Tirithion was impressed to see her in action in a real fight. She managed to hit a few that were too close to her. But now he realized that she was royally pissed about something and he didn't know why.

"I want something fried or chocolate and neither of you got that for me. Why in the fucking hell didn't you get it for me, Yi?! I thought you can fucking read minds. I mean what in the fucking hell! I want fried foods or chocolate really bad and I want it fucking NOW!"

Nicole found another sad group that was too dumb to live and attack them. It made her feel better to strike something and those who are too dumb to run away kept getting in the way of her glaive. Her attacks were almost precise. The glaive cutting ability was enhanced thanks to Nicole's own powers. Yet the only downside was that Nicole wasn't realizing how she was doing this. It was a combination of her subconscious mind and ability to recall her first focus lesson with Eun-Kyung.

Now Tirithion had a good understanding of Eun-Kyung's madness. Nicole's glaive had cut down a column that was in her way. Normally that won't work with any bladed weapon but with Nicole pouring her own lightning powers into the blade it was like a dull knife cutting through cold butter.

"Now we have to deal with a PMS Cole," Eun-Kyung stated rather dryly. "But she's achieving in ignorance."

"PMS, what is that and why I'm afraid of it?" Tirithion asked.

Eun-Kyung walked up to him and made a gesture to come closer.

"It is almost the time that Mother Nature gives her gift," Eun-Kyung whispered.

"Not following."

"A dishonorable discharge from the Uterine Navy," she used another female teammates' favorite euphemism for a woman's monthly cycle.

Tirithion was still at a blank. Of course, he didn't really understand. Any euphemism for a woman's period would be lost to him and Eun-Kyung wasn't pleased about that.

"It is her time of the month," she didn't want to say period.

"Oh," he said flatly before it dawned on him. "OH! Now I understand. So, we are in trouble if she focuses her wrath on us?"

"Sadly yes."

Tirithion had learned the hard way about mortal women and their time of the month. Unlike elleths whose gifts don't come around as often. This was due to elves immortally and keeping their numbers in check.

Now there was a very PMS mutant attacking any idiot who came too close. Most Corsairs and Haradrim fled from the scene for they fear for their own lives and safety. Some of them, mostly the Haradrim, didn't even want to fight. They want to be at home with their families living peaceful lives away from the battle. Now they have to run for their lives from a glaive-wielded psycho. While it was clear to them she was still new with this weapon it was how she charges at them with no regard for anything.

"I feel sorry for them," Tirithion told Eun-Kyung. "Should we stop Coal and let them flee?"

"If we stop Cole, we must do it delicately," Eun-Kyung responded. "I don't want to be the brunt of her anger."

Both enter into the scene. There were some Corsairs and Haradrim remaining. One problem was that they were regrouping. Many were gifted archers and were about to shot at Nicole. Thankfully Eun-Kyung stopped them in mid-air.

However, if they get out of Eun-Kyung's line of sight then they would be safe to shot. But they didn't know it. Or that she'll be sending most of the rules to win. To top it off they were in her ten-foot range to hear their thoughts.

While there is a language barrier between them she could easily pick up patterns. Eun-Kyung just needs to focus on a few to pick it up. It wasn't easy at first but give her time and she'll figure it out.

"Come at me you fuckwards. You are nothing more than fucking cowards and in damn need of growing a pair. A nice big fucking pair," Nicole yelled at them.

It was doubtful that some of them knew what she was yelling about let alone understand the meaning.

Eun-Kyung was vexed by her but she had to help the younger mutant from killing herself. Tirithion was there to help her. She'll need it.

The plan was simple. Get up to Nicole and pretend to be back-up if she asked. Eun-Kyung would knock-out Nicole while Tirithion would catch her. If they attack, Eun-Kyung could protect them from any arrows.

Walking to her was the easy part. However, the Corsairs and Haradrim seemed to flinch a bit. Were they afraid of what would happen? Was it something that made these three people more terrifying?

An elf from Lindon, someone who looks like a Haradrim mutt who wields a glaive-like psycho and a pseudo-Easterling girl does make a highly unlikely team. But the team seemed to be well matched and be on equal footing with each other.

"If you leave, we won't give chase," Tirithion said and then pointed to Nicole. "If you stay then we will let our friend have her way with you."

He was hoping one of the Corsairs or the Haradrim knew Common Tongue and thankfully one did. The one Haradrim translated what Tirithion had said and they began to retreat. Nicole got super angry with both Tirithion and the men who were retreating. Oh, Tirithion would be her butt monkey for the next month or so.

How she would work it out stopped due to Eun-Kyung knocking her out. It was simple enough. It was the matter on how powerful the psionic inundation to knock Nicole out but without putting her in a coma. While she couldn't read Nicole's mind due to its natural mental static, it doesn't mean that Eun-Kyung couldn't project harmful psionic valleys at her.

By the time Tirithion catch the unconscious Nicole most if not all of the Corsairs and the Haradrim had run off. Both Eun-Kyung and Tirithion knew that should have handled this a lot better but they didn't. Thankfully the local militia was more than happy to send them off and let Eun-Kyung and Tirithion leave with an unconscious Nicole.

"May I ask you a few questions Lady Yi," Tirithion looked at her.

"You may."

"Coal isn't her real name, is it?"

"No," she said. "It isn't."

"What is it then and why didn't she give me it?"

Eun-Kyung mulled over this. She wanted to tell him but couldn't. It was a fine line since she isn't too sure herself. It might be better to let Nicole tell him anyway.

"She isn't fond of her given name," Eun-Kyung remembered the small tidbit of information. "However, her name means 'Victory of the People' and it comes from a goddess that personified victory."

Eun-Kyung didn't go into great detail about Nicole's name. It was information she had from Vivian who believed Nicole's name would bring her luck. However, she turned the empath's complaints that her "Lil' Nicolette' hated her name.

"'Victory of the People,'" he said with a smile. "It suits her better than Coal."

TBC

A/N: Again thank you for reading and please leave a comment, review, constructive criticism, or any thoughts.