Book 2, Chapter 101 - The Barracks (2/2)

Drake leaned in and whispered. “The people here are all nobles, or people with talent. Make them comrades in arms, brothers and sisters of the battlefield. Be their leader. If you do it well, it’ll help you in the long run! After all, everyone here is going on to do great things when we leave this place. Don’t waste the opportunity to create a network!”

Drake was pretty straightforward, and his logic was solid.

But Cloudhawk yawned and maintained his disinterested manner. He was unambitious, the sort to go with the flow. Maybe even write off as a hopeless cause. Cloudhawk didn’t have any interest in writing a legend for himself, perform any great deeds. He certainly wasn’t interested in being some sort of hero. A network didn’t mean anything to him, that’s why he didn’t worry over offending anyone.

But… if Drake wanted him to say a few things, then he might as well.

“Alright, everyone listen up.”

“Since none of you could do better, they made me the captain of our team. You all can keep plotting ways to take me down. Anyone who wants to take a shot then you can. Hell, I encourage it. But if I give an order and you decide not to follow it, or if you try and fuck with me, I’m not gonna let it slide. You hear what I’m saying?”

Drake was mortified. This was not what he had in mind.

He was practically begging for people to challenge him, even threatening them. He had to think about what sort of people these trainees were. His threats were only going to piss them off.

“Enough bullshit. As your captain I’m gonna deliver my first order, so listen up.” Cloudhawk pulled off his boots and leaned on his bed. He still wore his armor, and his sword rested loosely in his hand. “From now on you keep your clothes on when you sleep. Your weapons never leave your side.”

“That’s so uncomfortable!” A baby-faced woman with a ponytail whined at him. “Who are you to tell us how to sleep?”

“Yeah!” An effeminate, scrawny man joined in the complaints. He squawked in a painfully duck-like voice. “You’re micromanaging.”

Everyone seemed puzzled by his decision.

“You want me to tell you why?” Cloudhawk huffed at them. “Because I – your captain – hate sleeping. I especially hate sleeping in beds. And if I don’t like it, then none of you get to. It’s that simple. Anyone who disagrees is violating military law. Gabby here will be taking names so the assistants know who to whip in the morning. You there, the pansy. You saw what I can do. You want to try your luck?”

“Who are you calling a pansy!?” the pansy shrieked.

Cloudhawk heard the hum of a relic before he saw drops of water begin to gather around the frail man. Each one was about the size of a fingernail, but there were twenty or thirty of them in all. Each one was infused with power and were sure to hit with the force of a bullet.

Gabriel rolled his eyes. He didn’t know what he was going to do about Cloudhawk and his attitude.

“Everyone listen up!” Drake couldn’t listen to any more of this. He shot to his feet. “Cloudhawk’s point is we need to be ready, for anything, at any time. We have to be able to respond to any threat. I’m a soldier, I used to be in charge of eight hundred men and I know how new recruits are treated. We’ll be rounded up at a moment’s notice, and by now you know how they treat stragglers here. Better safe than sorry.”

The effeminate man was quiet, but the droplets of water continued to rotate around his body.

“Caspian Black. Show me a little respect.”

“Hmph.” The androgynous one called Caspian rolled his eyes. “For you, no. But I’ll show my respect for the Thane family.”

He dismissively waved his hand. The water droplets splattered against the floor.

Except they didn’t. To everyone’s surprise, the droplets bounced like rubber balls, half a meter off the ground. They hopped around for a little while before melting into a pool.

The other trainees gave the pansy odd looks. What a strange power. He was obviously a water-type demonhunter.

Cloudhawk barely spared him a glance, but inside his mind whirred. Shit… fuckin’ creepy sissy.

Gabriel yawned theatrically. “That’s enough of that. Sleep, let’s go.”

Claudia had no respect for Cloudhawk or his orders, but followed them all the same. She obediently laid on the bed fully clothed and with her weapon nearby. She leaned back on the hard cot and stretched her legs out.

Just as she was about to shut her eyes, a sweet voice whispered in her ear. “Claudia… who is this guy? You two seem to have a history.”

The girl looked to be about sixteen years old, one of the youngest. She was the baby-faced one, thin, with a pair of pony tails on either side of her head. Her big eyes and innocent features made her look entirely harmless. Back in Skycloud, though, she went by the nickname ‘Demon Kitten.’ Beneath her adorable exterior was someone who would murder without blinking those big beautiful eyes. Claudia had no interest in getting any closer to her. She was already too close for comfort.

“He’s no good. Best to leave him alone.”

“Oh…”

Felina slowly blinked her big eyes as she stared curiously at Cloudhawk.

Cloudhawk didn’t pay any mind to her or anyone else. He lay on his cot with his hands folded behind his head, one leg crossed over the other.

Now he had Drake and Gabriel in his corner. Together, they would be able to handle anything short of a master demonhunter. As such no one was going to thoughtlessly make a move, they weren’t going to win a fight. Stay out of trouble and leave it at that, this was the predominate thinking.

Felina’s lips pulled back into a sweet smile. “He sure is an interesting guy.”

Given his appearance, she assumed he was perhaps a few years older. In truth the two were about the same age. [2]

1. The Chinese is ‘as though he had popped out of the rocks’. I may be way off base, but I think this is in reference to a quasi-trope in China about supernatural beings emerging from innocuous objects. The Monkey King, for example, pops out of a ‘stone egg.’ A famous cartoon called gourd boy was born from – you guessed it – a gourd.

2. In Chinese, she referred to him as a 'little big brother', a term of quasi-endearment for men who are slightly older than you.Since it doesn't translate well into English, we just went with 'guy'.