Afterlife

9

It has been three weeks since Fiara joined the group, everyone was very supportive of her decision to do so, and soon after, she decided she wanted to become an IP like all the others in the group, who were all willing to put at least some effort into training her so that she would be able to keep up with them on their mission next week. The group was assigned to go on a guard and scout mission, and they wanted Fiara to be able to defend herself in some manner before they left for their mission, which would last for at least two weeks, depending on the conditions of their report at the end of each week. However, Santino had told Fiara, that if she didn't meet his level of approval by the time they were to leave for the mission, then she would have to remain at the group home, while they went on mission without her. It wasn't a punishment, he simply didn't want to put her into potential combat if she wasn't ready.

In order to prepare for this, Fiara was hard at work every day, doing her best to ensure that she would meet Santino's level of mission approval. She didn't want to be left behind. Even though the notion of going out on a mission to protect the city from extreme dangers sounded a bit scary, and not going to lie, did put her nerves slightly on edge when she so much as considered it, she still couldn't stand the notion of staying behind. It wasn't just the fear of loneliness, but also the fear of failure which drove her to meet Santino's goal. To ensure that this would happen, she asked each member of the group to help her with her training. Santino was the main trainer for the group, which explained how he knew what the outcome of her spar with Diego would be. He knew everyone's moves, and how they would react to certain situations, because he taught them those moves, and how to read their opponents. It was going to be hard to reach his goal... but with the help of her new group... she was optimistic that she could do it.

She started her training by having Marcus help her build up her endurance and muscles, with a work out routine that he and Santino had designed to help whip new recruits into shape. She was already in reasonably good shape before she died, so she only had to do a few days of the workout before Marcus sent her to Topaz to have her help find the perfect weapon for Fiara's physic and personality.

"Keep in mind, the weapon you choose will take longer to master depending on how heavy it is, and how many types of techniques you can use on the weapon you choose," Topaz said as she entered the war room, followed closely by Fiara. The walls of the room were lined with multiple different types of weapons, some of which Fiara had never even seen before. And there was a large table in the center of the room, covered in charts and maps of what Fiara assumed was Afterlife, but she wasn't too focused on the rest of the room's appearance, due to her attention being drawn to the vast display of weapons for her to choose from. "I would recommend starting with something that you are at least partially familiar with, then you can either improve that, or choose another weapon at a later date," Topaz added as she walked over to the table and leaned against it, arms crossed over her chest as she waited for Fiara to choose.

Fiara looked over the large rack of weapons, releasing a slightly overwhelmed scoff as she said, "How could I choose just one?! I don't personally have any weapons training at all, and all of these weapons look amazing. What would you recommend I try first?" she asked, hoping Topaz would have some insight on what was a good weapon for beginners.

Topaz looked Fiara up and down as she considered what may be a good weapon, at least for her to start with, that she could learn to use in a short amount of time, along with what her current physic would allow. She then glanced over the wall of weapons, making faces at certain weapons as she considered their potential. Then her face settled when her eyes finally landed on one that she thought would work. Retrieving two strong, matching, twelve-inch long daggers, she then returned to Fiara, holding out the daggers for her to admire.

They were simple in appearance, each one having what looked to be a strong metallic hilt, wrapped with a leather binding to provide a better grip, and two long, double sided blades, that appeared to be very strong, and durable for all sorts of fighting. Topaz handed them over to Fiara as she then said, "These would be good for you to start with. You can change to another weapon, or add another to your arsenal at a later date if you so wish. You should talk to Diego about helping you train. These were what he started with as well, so he should have a lot of ideas he can show you. He can also help you improve you're hand to hand fighting."