The New Client

[Sparky]

[Refs]

    "Then you should get out more. See new cities, try new things. I couldn't imagine having to stay in one place my whole life, at least not before seeing other places first. Like, don't get me wrong, I'm comfortable where I live, but I can't imagine staying there forever. I'd be bored to death." Luke laughed and shook his head. "That's a good memory, though. You think it's pretty simple, but I'd say it's still a good memory."

    "My memory isn't anything specific. It's just this one day out of my childhood, sometime after I learned how to skateboard." Luke stopped working for a moment just to reminisce, leaning back and staring off into space. "It was autumn, and I remembered just riding out the outskirts of the city, near where the trees had started turning orange and gold. The wind was crisp and the whole world just had that... smell of fall."

    Luke gave a slight smile and closed his eyes, remembering the feeling of the wind through his hair, the cold air against his face, the golden light filtering through the colored leaves. The air felt clean, and fresh. "It's nothing special, just one day out of many, but to me it just has this... nostalgic tinge that makes me feel... warm. You know?"

    The young man would find his daydreaming rudely interrupted by another staff member and would roll his eyes as he returned to the job at hand. He found it kind of silly to get worked up over a sparring match. To these prudes it's probably some sort of spectacle. They must not get a lot of amusement out here.  
    
    Luke didn't take a whole lot of interest in the sparring match, his silver eyes locked on the stupid device that was fucking him over with a sea of troubles, though when Rena mentioned Soren, he would give it a slight pause. Ultimately, though, it wasn't worth his time. 

    Besides, he couldn't afford to let the 'mistress' catch him away from the work station. Gods only knew what sort of shit she'd fling at him for that.

    The techy would hum a bit as Rena went to the window, cracking open his toolbox to grab out a few materials to clean up the inside of the device after it's attempt at offending Smokey the Bear. While he did, though, he noticed something and would stop, smirking mischievously. Wonder how much of this girl is cat-like? Nearby Rena, a bright little dot would pop up on the wall as Luke watched with a grin. 
    
    "Hey, you forgot to ask a question. You even playing this game?" Luke wiggled the laser pointer around, waiting to see what reaction the maid would give. 

    Definitely a lot more interesting than a sparring match.

---

    Lyndon didn't lash out or dodge back or even block. Really, Soren had telegraphed his incoming attack so blatantly, it would have taken bright, flashing neon signs to broadcast it any better... and Lyndon had far too much experience to let such a prime opportunity go to waist. 

    As the birdboy rushed, Lyndon charged forwards and ducked beneath him, letting the bird boy fly overhead. Soren had a light build, and he was using speed to his advantage, which was smart. But the way he used it was completely foolish. 

    Lyndon noted the mistake for after the bout. 

    If Soren still managed to sneak in his spear attack, Lyndon would brush it of with a short flick of his hammer, using the lengthy handle to deflect it away without overextending too far. The old dog wasn't giving Soren any openings. 

    Depending on the effect of the block, Lyndon would eye the boy for any openings he could find. Lacking any, he would continue his defense, whittling down the fast-flyers stamina while conserving his own. His movements were subtle and calculated. When finally an opportunity arose, Lyndon would grip his hammer tight and steady his stance for maximum control. First, he would telegraph a heavy handed strike from above, but would stop halfway and quickly switch, leveraging the pole-half to come upwards and strike forwards with the base in a quick few jabs. 

    In the best case, if the strike caught Soren off-guard and staggered the boy, Lyndon would continue through, flicking the base of the hammer's grip up into the bottom of Soren's Jaw. If it worked, Lyndon would pull the hammer back and prepare for a counter attack. If it not only worked, but managed to knock something around in the boy's head to daze him, Lyndon would follow through again, using his now forward hand to rotate the hammer around his rear facing hand, spinning the hammer head and using the rotational momentum to spin the head not only around, but up towards the base of Soren's chin again. 

    If the jabs didn't work, or Soren made moves to counter, Lyndon would cut the attack off early, and leap back for another set of defensive parries. If the jabs worked, but didn't do enough to open Soren up for further attacks, Lyndon would pull the hammer back and gauge Soren's response, and whether or not it called for a defensive parry, or if a counter-attack was plausible. The Butler never said a word while he fought, his mind working like a machine to watch every motion and calculate the best course of action. 

    Lyndon was testing the boy, but he wasn't going to go easy on him. 

[Sora-No]

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    Mike would give a smile, leaning back and stretching, "That sounds like a great time." He'd give a chuckle, "Well, for both of you guys. Being able to relax and just let the day go by, that sounds amazing. And nostalgia's always amazing." Well, the latter he's not sure about. On the one hand, it's all warm and fuzzy and great, but on the other hand- fuck memories. Though that's more him attempting to keep to the present.

    He'd raise a brow as they said sparring, and would get up and take a gander at what was going on. He would watch for a moment, attempting to see how Soren would handle it. He'd wait until he attacked, then would make a 'tsk' sound almost. The dude didn't leave himself open, and there wasn't enough time to give a counter attack, but the attack could be recognized a million miles away. Though he did have the speed to pull it off, that much is true. Hey, maybe it'll work out, maybe it won't. He'll figure it out after the fact, cause just watching this is giving him anxiety. Maybe because he's just slower than Soren, but if he telegraphed himself that much he'd be hella dead.

    "Yeah, I think it's your turn now, Rena." He'd give a chuckle, "Unless you want to see Parry City, since neither of them are giving any openings and Soren is moving too quickly to be able to actually counter any of the attacks he blatantly telegraphs." He'd give a shrug, looking over at Luke, "So, is there anything I can help with or do I just kind of stare at what you're doing and pick up what I can from that?" Well, that may be a joke, but most apprenticeships are literally that. He was taught how to fix vehicles by helping and watching people pull it off. He was shown at times, but sometimes the most can be taught by just watching and listening.

[Soren]

Rena's eyes got a glimpse of bright red in her peripherals, snapping over to see the dot moving. Immediately her expression showed bemusement, and she stared over at the source of the dot. She raised a single brow at him in question. "Many apologies, but I'm not sure what to adk either of you." It was a truth at least, both had secrets and she paid enough attention to know that ice breakers didn't work well if the answer was mostly a 'skip'. Asking their favourite colour may have been a start, but the two kept asking questions a bit more personal than that. Then there was... the dot. "What are you doing?", she asked as he was still moving the laser pointer around. Perhaps if she was a bit tipsy or something she would chase it about, but that wasn't something they would need to know, now is it?

---

Soren kept the momentum of his twist so that the block only helped him keep his balance as he slid back. He knew he wasn't awesome at fight and that he needed to get better, but this was only the start of the spar. So the only option was to keep on trying. The bird watched Lyndon's movements, turning it into a really awkward staring contest. Soren's body stayed low, wings unfurled only slightly and poised to move at any moment as he crept around the dog.

The moment that Lyndon struck, Soren pushed fowards more, propelling him to the side from Lyndon's perspective. Soren's feet only tapped the ground before he attempted to close in on Lyndon as the dog forced himself back, using his speed to stab his spear at the butler while he was still preparing his stance. Regardless if the hit worked, his wings were ready to move again. Even if Soren was struck then, he was quick on his feet.

---

Shelaleigh caught notice of the commotion, her brows raised with interest. She quietly followed after what other staff had rushed to see the spar Lyndon and Soren were having. It would serve as entertainment for her for now while she took a break from whatever chores she had to do. She knew that the staff would gather like this whenever Lyndon would spar with new recruits. It was a slight surprise that he was going against one of the boys who had appeared for repairing that gizmo, whatever it was. Shelaleigh stood at the sidelines, out of sight from staff so that they didn't panic and bring attention off the field.

[Sparky]

[Refs]

    Luke sighed and flicked off the laser pointer, pocketing it once more as he returned to the device. "Eh, just seeing how much of you is cat-like and if I can get you to loosen up a bit. But, anyways, I guess don't worry about asking any questions. I've pretty much narrowed down the culprit that's fucking everything over in this thing. So I guess once Soren's done with whatever he's doing we'll be out of your hair." 

    As far as Mike went, he really just had to sit around being pretty. Luke was just giving him some opportunities to make easy pay. Luke wasn't actually in the business of taking apprentices. Maybe an assistant at most. Right now, the apprentice title was just a cover, if Mike didn't know that or not didn't matter. It just meant one less mouth to blow their cover. 

    Luke wouldn't ask anymore questions, or really say anything else. He's pretty much just figured there wasn't any point in it. He just cleaned up the device, dug in and fixed the core issue that had been royally ruining his day, and closed the piece of tech up. 

    When the final test started, the device functioned flawlessly. It wasn't super complicated, given it was just a glorified knife with a bit of added flair, but Luke had cleaned it up enough to make it work like it had just come out of the workshop. That wasn't too hard. Well, ok, it wasn't easy, but once I figured it out, that wasn't too bad. Definitely took less time than I anticipated from the original job description. 

    The young man spent a few minutes testing it out, then set it down and started packing up all his tools. "Mike, help me pack up. Everything's working fine, so our job here is done."

    All in a good days work. 

    Now they just had to kill time until Soren finished his little sparring match. He didn't exactly care, though. For now, Luke was just going to pull out a laptop from one of the bags he brought and see if there were any coding jobs he had to do, relying on using his ResLink as a hot spot for internet. Lacking that, he'd just play a few pixel games that didn't actually require any internet to play. He was visibly bored.

    Of course Soren had to pick now to pick a fight.

---

    Lyndon weaved around the thrust, noting the maneuver with a bit of an impressed gleam. It wasn't fantastic, but it was a good use of his maneuverability to get in and try and make an advantage.
    
    But Lyndon also knew how to make himself an advantage. 

    During his duck, Lyndon would twist slightly and lunge forwards, swinging the hammer along the ground and bringing it up towards Soren's mid-section, right below his ribs. With the lengthy range of Soren's spear, it'd take some time to pull back and try and get in a good stab. The weapon wasn't made for slashing either- which removed that option from Soren's table almost immediately. 

    How will you react, young man? Which way will you maneuver? Lyndon had an idea on how the boy would use his speed, gleamed from his years of battle experience, but part of the old man wanted to be surprised by him. To see something surprising. 

    Show me your metal, boy. Let me see your firey spirit in all it's glory! 

    If Lyndon's strike worked... it wouldn't feel good. Even with the protective aura, there's only so far a body could bend before it started hurting. On top of all that, with how light Soren's build was, it would be like a batter striking a ball out of the park, sending him flying. How badly Soren got winded from the strike would determine how successful he could recover before a terrible landing. 

    The strike itself would take about a third of the aura's health, while a bad landing would take off an extra tick from the meter. Regardless, worst come to worst, Lyndon would reposition and throw his guard up once more, the faunus preparing himself for the boy's counter. Bring it on, boy.

[Sora-No]

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    Mike watched with a small smile, enjoying Io trying to see at what point the line is in a faunus is from their animal or human parts. He always wondered it himself. Can cat faunus communicate through their nose instead of vocally? Are koala faunus able to eat food that has no nutritious value? He always found it quite intriguing, but he wasn't going to ask them for the life of him.

    Well, the laser didn't work. Shame.

    He'd give a small chuckle, walking over to Io, "Well, of course it's working, I did most of the work." He coated that sentence in sarcasm, giving a small laugh before helping out Io, speaking as he did so, "Well, hopefully next time I'll be a bit more useful. Usually the smaller something is, the harder it is to split the work between people, you know?" The example that comes to mind for him is comparing a tiny car to a normal car. Sure, you can look in the hood and change shit normally with a group of two, maybe three if you absolutely need it, but for smaller cars it's difficult to bring in other people, and it's a lot easier to do it yourself.

    Having finished putting things away, he'd join Rena near the window, watching the fight, a more critical eye over it. He found it quite interesting how the fight was going, but he'd sound more like a fanatic on it if he ever brought it up, which was problematic. Fucking hell there's that awkward silence again, he'd think to himself, thinking of changing the subject in some way. Might as well choose a question, right?

    "So, Rena, how often are you here working? I'd assume it's a lot of time of your day, but do you ever get days off? Benefits? Stuff like that?" He'd give a shrug, "I don't know, I always found shit like that a huge bonus if you're working hella long hours."

[Soren]

"Because of the amount of people Mistress Shelaleigh employs, I actually work only three days a week during the day.", Rena said simply. "There are actually many times when I can leave my shift early since chores are split and minimal for us. Lyndon does have an amazing sense of organisation. The only time I have to be back on my shift if there was some form of disaster happening, and that is incredibly rare."

"Should I send for more refreshments for either of you?", she asked, noting that Luke was done and doing something else. "Or would you rather a tour of the mansion to kill time?"

---

Soren honestly felt lucky that his eyes were quick to catch movement and that his body was even quicker to react. Of course, he learned things like that when learning to fly and continued to better himself to be as agile as possible. He barely caught onto the hammer movement. Had he been a second later in noticing, Lyndon would have rammed that straight into his chest.

Quickly, Soren twisted his body and curled up, talons out and ready to use the hammer as a platform. When they connected to the hammer, there was a slight shock from the movement, knowing that wasn't his own, and pushing forwards with his legs to rebalance and use the hammer's momentum to boost his own. Soren would swing his spear down, knocking the staff against Lyndon's arm and bringing the swing further than Lyndon may have intended. His talons kept a grip on the hammer and his wings simultaneously spread open and pushed down to thrust his body upwards. He was on the slight hope that it would either disarm Lyndon or throw him off balance.

[Sparky]

[Refs]

    "I'm pretty set." Luke stated, tapping away at his laptop. He was already cracking down on another job request, so his mindset was still in full work-mode. This wasn't anything Mike could help with, but if the guy was genuinely curious, Luke would slow down and just sort of take the easy route of giving a visual showcase of what he was doing, how he was doing it, and all that bullshit. Honestly, it wouldn't be enough for Mike to learn anything yet. 

    That shit would take actual studying.

    Which Mike probably didn't want to do.

    "Mike, when you're finished boxing up the equipment, feel free to do whatever." Luke's voice was calm as his grey eyes remained locked on the computer screen. Lacking any interest in Soren's fight... this was... pretty much what he did for fun. "I'll be here." 

    He'd all but given up trying to glean anything from Rena as well. She either just doesn't like us, has the personality of wet cardboard, or is so attached to her job that she's strung  so tight it'd be impossible to unwind. Luke's fingers tapped lightly against the keys. Whatever the case, trying to talk to her is only giving me a dead end. Well... at least Luke tried to make a new friend. This was a big step for him too, trying to talk with a royal prude. Sure, Rena had the benefit of him being nicer because she was technically an employer- but that didn't mean he wasn't at least putting in an attempt. 
    
    Lot of wasted effort. 

    Luke didn't show it on his face, but the young man honestly was done being here. He just wanted to go home. He felt drained and exhausted. The guy just needed to go home, relax, and recharge. Not deal with some quiet cardboard cut-out or salty lizard with a freaky neck flap. Honestly, the second he stepped foot in this building, he knew that it'd be rough, but as time went on, it just continued to wear him down more and more.

    "Actually, before anything else- can you pass a message on to Soren for me?" Luke stopped typing and cast his glance at Mike. "Just shout at him to hurry up and lose so we can go home."

    The young man went back to tapping at the keyboard. "Tired of wasting time here when we're already done."

    What a friend.

    In all seriousness though, Luke... was losing patience at an increasing rate. His mind was just echoing the feeling that he wanted out of this place and to go home, get something to eat,  take a nap- do shit besides sit around in some spoiled woman's mansion. Sure, Lyndon was nice- but one person out of a whole group wasn't going to sway his heart.

    Dude just needed a nap, can you blame him?

---

    The maneuver Soren used was actually quite surprising. Certainly not unique, or special, but not one he saw used by winged-folk often. He was impressed. Unfortunately, that didn't mean what Soren did worked.

    Lyndon didn't stagger. He didn't lose his balance. He didn't let go. The faunus's grip on the pole-arm was vice-like, refusing to give even an inch. In response to Soren perching on his hammer's head, Lyndon used him as a replacement hammer head, instead pivoting and slamming the hammer down into the ground. 
    
    If Soren remained on the hammer for that time- the action would... really hurt quite a bit. If the young man leapt off and tried to dodge away, Lyndon wouldn't go into the ground. Instead he would carry the downwards momentum, pivot on the balls of his feet, and swing around to drive down an overhanded strike towards the crook of Soren's neck- or at least his wing or arm.

    So far, Lyndon saw Soren pulling a lot of maneuverability to avoid the old faunus's attacks, however the boy was light on attacks. Realistically, if Soren was forced into a one sided encounter such as this, the logical action would be to use his speed to flee to gather reinforcements to support him. 

    But... what if that wasn't possible?

    What if the young man was forced into an encounter against a sizable, experienced enemy, and the only option available to the young phoenix was to fight... and win. The unfortunate truth was, no matter how fast, you couldn't always win a fight with speed. And if Soren was being honest about his lackluster magic, the boy would have to rely on his wits and his spear. 

    Truth be told, Lyndon couldn't tell how seriously the boy was taking this spar. For now, the old man would have to take this at face value and hope that Soren was taking this seriously, but inexperience verses Lyndon's wealth of experience was making him desperate to find a way to win. 

    In some manner, that desperation was good, in another, it was making him overly cautious. Still, the old man couldn't blame Soren. He knew very well that he was an intimidating figure to fight against. In fact, he used that as much as possible to try and push his opponents to their limits to get the most out of them. Right now though, it seemed to have the adverse effect. Lyndon pushed the thought from his mind. It was better to discuss this with Soren later- after the fight, instead of flooding his thoughts with nonsense. 

    Fight now, discuss after. Preferably with a cup of tea. 

[Sora-No]

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    Mike would shake his head, "No, I think I'm good on refreshments and such." He wanted to talk, or at least have some semblance of socializing. As much as he'd like to go 'ayy fuck you guys' and just dissociate, blasting music until he inevitably loses hearing, not only is that fucking rude but also because awkward silences can suck his dick.

    He'd give a small laugh, leaning back on a wall. "Well, being able to have that many days off sounds like a steal. Paid well-" or so he hopes "-and you only have to work three days a week." He'd run a hand through his hair, then would give a laugh, "Shit, do you guys have any open positions, though? Cause damn three days a week sounds great." He was kidding, of course, but it was a great steal. Usually the cliche of maids and servants are that they're underpaid or treated terribly.

    Except when it came to Alfred. Even if he's fictional.

    He'd give a shrug, "Hell, I'll go on a tour. Especially since I don't have work to do or anything like that." When Io had spoken, he'd give a nod and a chuckle, "And I have to do that, as well, so two birds with one stone, and all that." He'd wait for Rena to lead the way, giving a small peace sign to Io before following.
    

[Soren]

Rena put a hand on her chin to recount the positions open. "Unless the Mistress intends on having a child in the near future, I don't believe there are many pleasant positions available." She watched Luke as he was away on his device, disconnection from the world and entering one of his own. Her ears seemed to perk up at Mike's response though. "Shall we start at the lobby floor or would you rather wander and pick a room that interests you?", she asked, giving Mike a choice. As for Luke, she glanced back at him while waiting for an answer from Mike. "Are you certain you do not wish to join us?" She had a feeling Luke didn't fancy places like this, but it did seem to bother her slightly that someone was so solitary. Mayhaps it would be the visiting guests that toured without question making this seem so alien to her.

---

Soren clung onto the hammer, feeling the swing and angling his wings to catch the draft behind the hammer's movement. He wasn't trying to dodge, more lessen the force of the blow. Instead of being a flaming ostrich and getting his face dunked into the ground, he managed to move enough so that he landed on his wings and back, having the wings cushion the impact into the ground. Nice try, old man. Soren's legs acted like a spring, compressed with his talons still connected to the hammer. Now, the move Lyndon made did hurt, but not as much as it should have with Soren's precautions. Soren pushed his legs out suddenly, shoving the hammer off and rolling out of the way, kicking up quite a bit of dirt with his wings.

It was too hopeful a wish for the dirt to get into Lyndon's eyes, so Soren didn't even try to bet on it. Instead, he kept his momentum with a clean spin, spear out to poke around Lyndon's legs. Soren had a grin on his face, he wasn't done with the spar and seemed to be in enough health to keep going. Only a few feathers ruffled up, nothing that would stop him. Lyndon had strength and wit, qualities of a battle hardened person who knows what they're doing. Soren had speed, and he had to think just as fast to keep up, but he knew that he'd get better with time. The bird man let out a breath to keep his cool, his eyes sharp on Lyndon's movements.

[Sparky]

[Refs]

    Luke didn't completely break away. He did listen just a little bit to Mike and Rena while they spoke. The young man just kinda kept his gaze leveled with his laptop though, fingers quietly tapping away at the keys. When Rena mentioned the mistress having a child, he would take a pause in his thoughts to wonder who on earth would want anything to do with a woman like that? Probably some dickhead with an equally terrible personality and some sort of neck flap fetish. But he did pause in his typing as something else crossed his mind. 

    "What is it like having parents?" He didn't look away from the screen, nor was his voice even troubled. It was a genuine question, nothing more. After a few moments, the typing would resume. When the young techy next replied, he wouldn't pause his typing.

    "I'm good. I've seen enough of the place to get a feeling for it. I know the important places, that's all that matters." Luke's gray gaze would flick to Mike briefly. "Enjoy yourself though. And don't forget to tell Soren to hurry up, or else I'm leaving without him."

    That was it. 

    So, what was the problem? Was he troubled? Was there something going on in his head? Well... not exactly. Mostly he was just bored half to death, but alongside that, there were just lines of code being bounced back and forth in his head as he worked around to fix an issue for other people who hired him for more... technological issues. Sometimes these jobs were simple and quick, but with how most of Avalon (and perhaps even Tir as a whole) were still adjusting to technology as a whole, let alone computers... there were some points where it was apparent that a program was written by a schmuck with only surface level knowledge. 

    Doesn't bother him much, long as he gets paid. 

---

    Lyndon was impressed by Soren's use of his own wings to cushion the blow. Of course, the damage was noted by the amulet as being a bit harsher, but out in the wilds it's not exactly a blow that Soren couldn't survive if he repeated his cushioning tactic. The big risk was breaking or spraining his wings. Still, with enough proper practice, it's not all that alien of an idea for the young man to be able to use that tactic not only frequently, but also efficiently. 

    The old faunus danced out of the way of Soren's strike, but only barely. If he had taken any longer, or if he'd been any older, the blow would have cut into him. Or, at least his aura. The old butler spun the warhammer in his hand and primed himself for his next move, telegraphing a heavy right-hand blow.

    Only, he'd stop mid-swing, pivot, and swirl around for a massive left-hand blow, guided diagonally towards Soren's upper body. But Soren was quick in both whit and reflex. Lyndon planned for it, for the dodge, even with a telegraphed attack redirecting his attention. 

    The old man watched Soren's form, his muscles, the way his legs tensed. Would he steady his footing and block? Or would he prime himself to leap out of the way. Lyndon prepared himself for the reaction, and if he saw signs of Soren preparing to dodge, he would pull his attack short and rush the boy with berserker like rage, howling as he instead skated the head of the hammer along the ground, guiding it upwards towards the boy's lower abdomen. The plan was to not only hit him, and hit him hard, but to carry the boy using a combination of momentum and the way the boy'd body would fold over the hammer's head on impact to try for another ground slam. 

    If Lyndon caught Soren off-guard with the rush, it was entirely likely that the first blow- if it hit- could wind Soren, which the old man was hopeful of, as it could disrupt the boy's thoughts and make it harder for him to react as quickly. 

    Lyndon had to keep pushing him harder. He needed to back him to the edge and see which way he fell, to truly see just how much potential he had. In real life battle, an enemy wouldn't back down and give mercy, they would come at him as hard as they could and go for the kill with each attack. So Lyndon did the same. It's how he'd always prepared his apprentices, and now even the new guards, for the reality of combat. 

    Soren would be no different.  Plus it was good experience for the boy, in case he ever came across a bat shit insane tank out in the wild. Bandits could be crazy you know!

[Sora-No]

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    Mike would listen to Reva but would sort of perk up at Io's question. Now, he personally wouldn't be able to explain it. Like shit, what the fuck is he supposed to say? It's not like he had a different situation away from having parents that makes him have an otherworldly clarity of it. Damn dude, he can barely answer deep, heart-felt questions, what kind of shit is he supposed to say to this?

    "Um..." He'd say, putting his hand to his chin, "Well, it's hard to say. I've always had my mom so I couldn't tell you. I guess, you could say that it was that people who have had parents their entire life sort of take advantage of what they have." He'd give a small chuckle, "Like hell, I didn't fully appreciate my mother until I was almost done with school."

    He'd would think for a moment, looking to Reva and speaking, "Well, I have to tell Soren to hurry up before he gets left behind, but other than that you can lead me wherever. I don't know enough about this shit to have a preference on where to be toured around." He'd give a laugh, putting his hands in his jacket pockets.

    He was quite intrigued as to where Lyndon learned his shit. Sure, he could ask, but at the same time they were on a time crunch. And other than Soren, who has wings and can fucking fly, Mike is a human boy with human legs that definitely don't want to walk the entire way fucking back. He'd have to make his own assumptions for that. And besides, if he seems too eager Lyndon might ask him for a quick spar too. And, once again, human legs that don't want to put effort into that shit. He'd speak to Reva:

    "Lead the way."

[Soren]

The boy did seem a bit stiff on the question of idols but putting that and his most recent questions together implied he was orphaned or something just as awful. The answer to Luke's question isn't an easy one to answer, because ther are so many answers one could give. "I suppose it depends on the family. Some parents are harsh and strict, others are more relaxed.", Rena said. She didn't really make much eye contact though as she chose her answer carefully. "I've been fortunate to have parents who gave me personal freedoms within reason and help me grow as a person. However..." Her eyes narrowed slightly as a darker thought entered her mind. "Some parents use their children as tools. Some ignore them entirely to feed their own sins. Some are lost early on, regardless if they were abusive to their children or not." Of course, those who died while their children were young and treated them well were ones who died nobly or innocently.

She closed her eyes and forced herself to have a calmer look than whatever dangerous light was in her eyes a moment before. Generally speaking, good parents are the ones who help you grow and mature knowing rights from wrongs. They're people you live with who leave memories with you the most, good or bad."Ultimately, they are the ones that help shape you from the earliest stages of your life[/i], Rena thought. "However.... A parent doesn't necessarily have to be the ones who birthed you. They could be anyone who has taken another into their home and treated them like family." Would she need to define family too? "I do agree with your friend here, though. As children, we typically do not understand that we're taking advantage of what we do have versus those who don't." She caught herself and bowed her head slightly. "Forgive my tangent... Some of the people I know weren't as well off as I was." To say the least, she was aware of their misfortunes and it would honestly be quite disrespectful to her on a personal level if she neglected to include them in her answer."Questions like that have many answers, so it is ultimately up to what you perceive the answer as after asking others."

Without another word she turned to leave the room, slightly embarrassed with such a negative tangent. It was a while down the hallway that she regained her formal self and started talking again. "I'm not sure how far they are into their practice, but it's best to give them a little more time. Most spars against Sir Lyndon don't last very long.", she said, inserting a key and opening a door. "It's a shame your friend didn't seem so interested in a tour. This is a special study for technology as the world is advancing with it. It's become a favourite place for Sir Lyndon as well as a few other staff members who gained curiosity since the domain's birth." The room was spacious, perhaps an old bedroom now made into something for technology to be studied.

---

Soren's wings thrust down, pushing him back and he dropped immediately into a roll in the other direction of Lyndon's swing, staying out of range with his attacks. This game of tag wasn't going to get either anywhere, and more than likely tire Soren out faster than the dog. Wings pushed off the ground so Soren could easily be on his feet again. He'd seen enough of Lyndon's attacks to venture a guess that he was the kind to use deceiving telegraphs as much as possible. Lyndon was fast at changing up his movements, even with such a heavy weapon, and that's likely what made him hard to hit. They both had melee weapons. Soren wasn't as quick to deceive as Lyndon, so he can't really slide in attacks as much as Lyndon had. It was honestly kind of amazing with Lyndon's weapon being so heavy that he could move it so smoothly like he did. Now that was some strength

Back to the spar, admiration later Soren! Of course, Lyndon roaring like a madman helped him snap out of that thought. Shit shit shit shit shit. Soren tried to crouch and spring off the ground, but that only made it easier for Lyndon's hammer to connect to his body. It still lessened the blow, it would have hurt a LOT more if he was still on the ground, but hells bells the hammer still had enough force to drive its head into his gut all that way. He was caught in the arc of the swing. At the height of the arc, Soren's wings spread out, whether that was a natural reaction or him doing that as a last minute dodge is unknown. He caught the air, lifting off the hammer and pulling his chin up to avoid it from hitting his face. Now was really the time to strike, and man would it be difficult. Soren did his best to regain control of himself, ignoring the dull pain and the feeling of his guts flattening from the blow. He twisted around, tucking half his wings to turn hard, and drove his spear in towards Lyndon's side as the butler was still in the middle of his swing. While striking, Soren's body naturally reacted accordingly, turning so that he landed on his feet and immediately pushing forwards from the ground the bring the head of his weapon closer to Lyndon's ribs.

[Sparky]

    Lyndon knew he wouldn't be able to pull his hammer back fast enough to parry Soren's blow, so his mind immediately went into damage control mode. His only option right now was to dodge, lest he let the young phoenix get too full of himself. Not only that, but the butler had a reputation to uphold amongst the estate guards. 

    The old faunus dropped his guard and simply threw himself to the side, the spear grazing his leg. Without the aura, the blade would have cut through more than just the surface layer of fur, and the amulet reflected that with a brief flash of damage. It wasn't anywhere near as bad as what Soren had sustained, but it was enough to impress the old dog. 

    Throughout his years, only a handful had ever gotten a blow like that in. 

    The faunus rolled to the side and transitioned back to his feet, throwing up his guard. The boy's aura was battered, and it was only a matter of time before it shattered. Just a few more good hits, and it would be over. Lyndon closed the distance, skirting about and making his angle of approach hard to judge. Then, when he was close enough again, the old man came in with a heavy overhand swing. 

    Soren had probably figured out that Lyndon liked to telegraph certain moves, and he was probably doing his best to anticipate the feints and look for the real attacks. This move was just like the others, telegraphed just like it was a feint, while his body appeared ready to switch yet again. Then, as the hammer closed in, his stance changed as Lyndon fully committed to the attack. 

    The Butler used the overhand strike to make sure the boy didn't try to fly away again. He wanted Soren on the ground, not in the air. Lyndon wanted to take away the advantage his wings gave him, and force him into the dirt with a hard slam. The butler roared as he swung the head in a wide arch, using the downward momentum and weight of the weapon to try and slam it down fast and hard. 

[Sora-No]

Click here for Character Sheet

    Mike would go silent, listening to what Rena was saying. He thought about some things that he's heard. Things he's seen. Sure, when it came to experiencing and living life, he didn't have much on his belt, but he's seen some. He's heard stories. He's heard some bad, some amazing, some mixes in between. Just, contrary to Rena, he couldn't relate that largely to people that 'raised him like a parent'. It was never the fact that anyone raised him up, more that he had grown with them. Even his older friends, who had graduated while he was still in school, still had matured alongside him, never really being an adult or a parental figure.

    But whatever, right?

    He'd give a small shrug, "You're all good. Better to say more than nothing at all, right?" He'd give a small chuckle, following behind her to the first tour spot. He'd give a small chuckle, looking back and talking, "Yeah, seems to be the case. I'd offer a quick spar myself, but I have legs that don't want to walk home." He'd look around the area, quite intrigued. The place was tech-savvy, to say the least. While he doesn't fully understand all of it, he can see parts of it that would make sense. He saw computers and shit, but there were some parts where he was simply wondering 'what the fuck am I looking at'. He'd give a small whistle.

    "Yeah, you're not wrong, this shit's crazy. Io'd be psyched to look at this." Though the guy seemed like he just wanted to go home. Maybe it was him being tired. Maybe it was him being sick of this posh up-styled place in comparison to what he's experienced, and Mike can understand that, since it had bothered him at first as well. But he didn't really take enough of a note on it to be able to judge for himself, so he'll simply just finish his statement as it is.

    

[Soren]

"Unfortunately, he seems to be in a hurry.", she said. Whether or not Luke actually had plans or was uncomfortable, Rena was more concerned that he was going to abandon his workmates. "It seems as though time is quite short with your boss, so I will streamline the tour towards where Sir Lyndon is fighting... Soren was it?"

Rena would wait for when Mike was done looking at whatever artefacts they had collected, Holding the door for him before continuing through the main hall. Due to such a crunch, she wouldn't be able to show him things like the stables or the kitchens or even the garden's grand entirety. "The man here is the Mistress' brother. He's left the estate to join in a military force, though you'll have to forgive me as I do not recall the faction he's joined.", she said, gesturing to a painting of a lizard man that shared Shelaleigh's gaze. He was much redder than she, gold eyes staring through the viewer. Rena paused to open a door to reveal another large, open room. This is the gallery. A collection of fine arts and sculptures are kept here. We keep a wide variety." Rena looked around before leaning a little closer to Mike with a hand around her mouth to keep it secret. "If your friend Io does leave without you, I don't think the Mistress would mind giving you a ride home if you need one."

---

Okay, was this man a dog or a lion? Because dog's don't typically sound like that. Soren watched Lyndon as carefully as he could, expecting the switch and not seeing it happen. Soren quickled flitted to the side as quickly as he could. He wasn't quite fast enough, the butler's hammer pinning onto a large pinion feather and forcing Soren to use the tug back to turn. He stabbed his speak into the ground and used it as an anchor as he swung around to kick Lyndon in the side as hard as he could.