A/N: And here we have another chapter. It's a bit shorter than the last one, and for that I apologize. Hopefully you'll still find as much enjoyment in this as the previous ones. Have a lovely day!

Chapter 6

Only after they left the major general's office did Karla steal a glance of the man behind her. Olivier had called him Buccaneer, so it was only common sense to assume that was his name. He was perfect for this environment. After all, what better type of man to serve here in the north than one that looked a hell of a lot like the feared animals that lived in the nearby mountains?

"The hell're you just staring for?" he demanded. "You have no idea what you're doing here, right?"

Karla's eyes narrowed. Well, that was rude, and one thing she hated was rudeness. "Of course I know what I'm doing here," she spat back. "I'm tired of people assuming I'm clueless. What, you think just because I'm younger than you that I know far less than you do?"

"How old're you?" Buccaneer asked.

"Seventeen. Why?"

He made a skeptical huffing sound. "Yeah, you have no idea what you're doing here. You're too young for all this shit. Get going, alchemist. We're going outside."

Karla grumbled defiantly and turned around, about to take a step before she turned back to face him again. "Wait a minute," she said, only now noticing the rank on Buccaneer's shoulder marks. "You're only a captain? Then why the hell are you giving me the orders? I'm a rank above you! I should be the one ordering you around!"

Buccaneer took a step towards her, looking down at her, blocking the light above them with his massive form. She knew he was trying to intimidate her, and damn, it sure as hell was working. "You're going to learn to keep that mouth of yours shut real fast," he growled. "The general's orders overwrite yours, and if you think for one second that you can come in here and flaunt rank all you want, you've got another thing coming, Red." His eyes narrowed, and his next words were more of a growl than anything. "Now, get going."

She was determined to keep her fear concealed, and therefore she sighed and turned around, trying to keep her trembling hands hidden by clenching them into fists. "Am I allowed to ask where we're going, Captain?" she said, hissing out the words as she began walking. She was really not liking him right now, and she was most certainly going to let him know so.

"I just told you," Buccaneer answered. "You weren't listening, were you? We're going outside. I'm going to turn you into something our enemies can actually find threatening."

What in the name of hell was that supposed to mean? She barely resisted the urge to turn around and attempt to slap him, but she knew that would be an awful idea for more than one reason. She was plenty threatening, after all, and his statement was more than merely insulting! Right, right, right. She had to calm down. She wouldn't get anywhere if the first person to work with her here ended up completely hating her. "I know how to fight, I hope you realize," she said after a moment. "My father was an assassin, after all. I couldn't be his daughter without knowing how."

"Teaching you to fight ain't what I'm concerned about," said Buccaneer, and suddenly he seemed slightly more approachable than he had at all previously. That was strange. Granted, if she looked back at him, he would probably still be as fearsome as when she'd first looked at him, but his voice seemed to have changed from its initial coldness. "You're not going to get very far if you don't start bulking up. You're so skinny you look like you'll freeze outside in five minutes."

Karla turned at the next door, opening it to arrive outside. Well, good, at least that was an exit. Now she didn't have to look like an idiot, at least, not yet. "While that may be, why in the world are we doing that outside, then? Isn't snow a bit of a hindrance for exercising?"

She looked back at him, watching him slam the door shut behind them before moving in front of her to take the lead. "What, you think we stop outside the fort and do everything right here?" His tone was teasing, and her eyes narrowed as she began following him. She really did not like being made fun of, and there was that urge to slap him again. God, why the hell did he infuriate her so much already? This was ridiculous…

After some time walking, Karla saw that Buccaneer had led her to some sort of training grounds, marked off with flags that flapped in the breeze that had accompanied them. It seemed to be some sort of track made out in the snow, and it felt as if she instantly knew what was going to happen here. Oh, god, why this? I'm fast enough already! "These are your training grounds?" she asked, looking over at him with an eyebrow raised.

"Don't start bitching about it," he replied, going over to the side of the track and crossing his arms. "You're going to start by running a mile. That's four laps around this track. You're going to keep doing it until I've decided you're done, got that?"

Oh, that was fine. She could do it. She could probably run laps around him more than easily. "Yes, sir," she said, making sure he heard the final word.

"Get going," he said, gesturing to the track. She nodded, then went over to the starting line. It was a damn good thing she was used to running in snow. Once she'd taken her position, she took off running, easily adjusting to the deepness of the snow. Yes, this would be easy. He'd see exactly what she was made of.

Buccaneer had decided to keep her running for several hours. She'd lost track of how many miles she'd managed to run by the time he'd called for her to come back, and her legs were stiffer than they'd ever been before. She'd lost some of her speed as she ran, and as she hobbled back over to him, she was panting with the exertion. She couldn't believe she'd ever thought this would be easy. She should've known he wouldn't go easy on her…

Her legs weren't wanting to respond as eagerly as they had been when they'd gotten out here. Once she'd reached her destination, Karla dropped to her knees, completely ignoring the chill of the snow as it settled in her uniform. Right now, she would be content to sit here for the rest of the night. She looked up at him to see he had his arms crossed, staring down at her, seemingly surveying her.

"What?" she asked once she'd managed to get some of her breath back. "Did I not perform well enough for you or something?"

"You lasted longer than I expected you to," he answered, his voice gruff. "Surprised me, at least. You're so damn scrawny I really didn't think you could do more than a few laps."

She sighed in irritation. If he could lay off of how I look for five minutes, that'd be nice. He was trying to get to her. He'd been trying her patience ever since they'd met, that was for damn sure. "Look, I'm fast enough, aren't I?" she demanded in response, looking up at him. "That should count for something, at least."

"Yeah? Well, what if you encounter someone faster than you? Speed ain't going to help you there. You're going to need strength and fighting know-how to get anywhere." He paused for a moment before looking down at her again. "So. Up for another dozen miles?"

Karla shot him a murderous look, and all that sounded from him in response was laughter.