Post by Shemha on Feb 5, 2016 0:09:35 GMT
Thankfully Shemha had been able to make a deal with her most recent customer or she might have been stuck on that sweltering planet for quite some time. Instead of the payment she had originally agreed to, the Majin had renegotiated the contract to provide her with a ride to Vegeta. The agreement had required that she stay inside the cargo hold alongside her battered space pod, but that was quite fine with her. By the looks of her personal transport it wouldn’t have made it much further on its own, perhaps one last trip. Best to keep it as a backup should events go sour on Vegeta. She didn’t expect them to, but it was better to be prepared just in case.
Some might feel being told to remain in the cargo hold throughout the journey was disrespectful. Shemha took no such offense for she understood the decision and had spent time in far less comfortable places than the spacious cargo bay of the ship in which she now sat. Her information identified the vessel as a trade ship, one designed to hop from planet to planet in order to share goods from across the stars. All around her crates and pallets contained an assortment of various goods, the traders priding themselves on offering a variety of merchandise to their customers. When they were to arrive and the ramp was to drop, Shemha had already planned to make it a point she was not for sale, not anymore.
Such thoughts lead the Majin to past days, days spent with her former master and the life she had known then. For all tense and purposes Shemha had been the property of Ront, a slave, yet the definition of those words had never been negative in her eyes. Brought up into the lifestyle she had adapted to it, learned to embrace it as the existence given to her. As gruff as the man could be, he had never laid a hand on her without the intent of teaching a lesson. What he had chosen to teach her were not the typical skills of a servant, especially when it came to skills related to the battlefield. Yet, he had taken the time (for selfish reason no doubt) to instruct her in the art of combat and Ki control. Now that she was on her own such talents had been literally lifesaving. For that reason and many more, Shemha held fond memories of her former master. With time to spare as her transport drifted towards Vegeta, the Majin’s mind wandered.
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“Hold out your hands Shemha.” Ront’s rough voice gave the female focus. She had always responded well to authority. “Ki is within your being. The point of this exercise is to learn how to harness it. Every living thing has a similar energy, but so few learn to control it to any effect. You may not have the experience of a trained fighter, but I am confident that you have potential. Now focus!” A harsh slap to her forearm followed the short command, the blow not meant to harm, but distract. Drawing forth energy was a relatively simple task on its own and usually the first step down the path of control, but Ront wanted to move more quickly. If she could learn to harness her Ki with distractions from the start, it would save both of them time.
”Of course, Sir.” In all honesty, Shemha barely felt the slap to her forearm. Unbeknown to even her master, she was far more durable than the average individual. Ront of course had not been using near his full power, but the sting he thought she felt was nonexistent. As still as she was able to be, Shem held her hands out in front of her, palms up towards the sky above. Her directive had sounded basic, form a small sphere of energy in each palm and hold them there. Yet, considering she had never once held or thrown a Ki blast, this was brand new ground for the Majin. This was not to say she had never felt the latent energy within her body, but she had never attempted to harness it. Today was the day she would discover how or at least she hoped that was the case. Several minutes later with no development, Ront was not so sure.
“This should not be taking this long, focus girl. I was able to perform such a simple action by the age of three.” A lie most definitely, but one meant to motivate. Ront knew the female believed him for she took his word as truth unless told otherwise. From the start he had instilled a feeling of trust in his assistant; he didn’t need the one that served to be second guessing his words. Shemha was bright, he knew this, but he also knew how naive she often was. It wasn’t her fault really, more a result of her upbringing. At this point in his life the man had no idea he would save her from her naïve nature down the road in a much more direct way then he had ever planned for.
”My apologies. I shall master it soon enough, please allow me a few more moments.” The displeasure was clear in Ront’s tone. To the mercenary time was money and she knew his patience would not last long if she could not grasp what he thought to be an easy task. The last thing she wanted to do was disappoint him. Eyes squeezed shut for a moment, Shemha reigns in her focus. As a servant the Majin had learned to suppress her will more often than not, the will of her master coming first and foremost. In this scenario they two coincided, both worked towards the same outcome. Jaw clenched as well the girl realized she was far to tense, too much of her focus used in order to be so. With a breath she relaxed in an attempt to block out the idea of failure and what it might mean.
Gradually she found what she had needed, a focus not on failure or success, but on herself. A small flicker of red Ki was the first hint of her progress, a dot of light slighty above each of her upturned palms. For a second they both disappeared. Then in an instant they returned, both burning brighter than before. As her eyes slowly opened Shemha saw the energy hosted within her for the first time. Its hue was almost the exact same as her skin, a red that stood out against her black nails. Attention now locked on the glowing spheres of energy, she felt them as if extensions of her own form. That attachment allowed her to fuel them more. Each of the balls grew larger, their diameter quadrupling in the next few moments. Despite her usual control over emotion and expression, Shemha could not help the smile on her face.
Off to the side a smile tugged at the corner of Ront’s mouth. Such an expression was one he did not often wear in regards to his servant’s duties for he knew the boundaries of their bond. If she felt too close to him it might lead to rash decisions at some point instead of obeying orders. That was something he could not have. She had done well though, impressively so. ”Well done, Shemha. Do you feel as if you have control of them, are they stable? If not maintain this stance until you do, I do not want them blowing up in my face. Once you are ready, I want you to throw them to the east.” The human than took a step back to give her room. There was a very real chance she might fumble them and he did not want to be right next to her if she did.
With a nod Shemha showed that she understood. The spheres of energy above her hands seemed under control, their size stabilized and the way they pulsed held a steady pattern. The Majin squared her shoulders in preparation, aware of what she needed to do thanks to the many times she had seen Ront practice. A slow shift of her right foot brought it slightly back as the sole of her boot slide across the dirt. Under the impression that speed was of the essence, she moved quickly. As her arm snapped back she felt confident that she was about to succeed and her mind shifted to thoughts of success. That was when her focus was lost and the small sphere detonated in her hand. Through all her life Shemha had never been the target of an energy blast and had no idea what it felt like to be so. Now she did.
Red energy washed over her faster than she realized what had happened. Unlike the slap to her forearm earlier, she felt the burn as the energy cascaded over her. Unfortunately for her an aftereffect of the first detonation was the destabilization of the sphere in her other hand as that too exploded in a burst of light. Body already in the process of being tossed to the left, the second blast propelled her back the other way. Through all of this she saw nothing, but red, her vision only returned when she was in the dirt. A soft groan ran from her lips, the Majin in a bit of a daze after the new experience. She had just begun to move, in the process of collecting herself, when a strong hand grasped her upper arm. A rough yank brought her to her feet and face to face with Ront.
”I told you to focus. Do you see now how costly mistakes can be? Do it again.” The not so gentle release of her arm made it clear he was far from pleased. Ront expected much from her and he did not tolerate failure. With a nod and no words, she rose to her feet. Shemha understood the man enough to know he wanted action and not dialog. After a moment she was steady again, legs spread slightly. To her relief, it was far easier to summon the energy to her hands the second time around. Perhaps it was the drive after such a failure to impress her master that made this attempt less of a challenge.
Again two spheres took shape above her upturned palms. They grew slowly, the Majin careful to maintain control of the dual blasts so she would not suffer another mishap. Soon enough she was back to where she had been with a pair of glowing red spheres levitated above each palm. Normally a student might look to their master for approval, but not here. Shemha was aware of her master’s expectations and there would be no look of pride on his face for her having reached this point again. With a breath to steady herself she shifted again in order to take the same stance she had planned to use before.
The difference this time was her continued focus. With mistakes came the chance to learn and if anything, Shemha was quick to learn from any wrong choices. She maintained that focus now as a twist and throw of her shoulder sent the first of the two blasts soaring across the dark landscape. A natural reaction would have been to take enjoyment from the accomplishment, yet the Majin was far from doing so. A heave of her left shoulder followed that of her right, the second orb thrown in the same direction before the first had even made contact with the ground. A moment of silence overtook the area before the first of her blasts struck the earth.
This time she was able to see the explosion, a red dome of energy reaching up towards the night sky. In terms of power she was still weak, but the small string of explosions she had just created was the most violent thing she had ever done. (She had never seen the absorptions of others in her life as violent, only necessary to enact her masters will.) As the shimmer of light faded and darkness returned to the land, Shemha heard her master speak.
”Good enough for now. Practice while I attend to my records.” No smile or nod of approval came from the mercenary as she turned to look at him. This had been a task she was expected to perform just like any other, to fulfill to her master’s wishes to his standards. Inwardly she was proud of herself, but had been taught well to hide such emotions. Ront didn’t care for them. Regardless of his lack of real approval, she had done as she was told and practiced for hours. That day had been the first step in route to the battlefield.
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And look at her now.
Several years had passed since that day and she was far more capable in terms of combat. Deep down she hoped that he would have been proud of her for what she had managed to accomplish on her own, yet she would never know if that was the truth. Was her own approval in a sense Ront’s due to the fact he was now part of her? She did not know. What she did know was that her trip to Vegeta was a step forward. From what she had heard of this place there were a number of warriors far stronger than her old master and with far greater purpose before them. If she was lucky, she might have a chance to fit in, to find someone else to serve.
Shemha leaned back on her make shift seat, a stack of metal crates. Her soft body made almost any position comfortable and the hard surface on which she lounged gave her no discomfort. It was where she remained for the duration of her flight, the Majin’s body stationary while her mind wandered. She longed for a purpose since the day her initial one had been stolen from her and she hoped to find it on Vegeta.
I would like Zeni please.