บท 25: Stew'd
Afton had just left the classroom that Doran had been teaching them in, he never really liked the lessons teaching the Codex, fortunately they were only done once a week to "reinforce" their loyalty. From Afton's observations "reinforce" meant "brainwash", there wasn't much he could do about it though, his life hinged on everyone thinking he believed in the almost cult-like Codex.
Shaking those thoughts from his head he walked into the cafeteria where Miles and Melissa were sat. He found a place next to them after receiving some food... Some kind of stew with potatoes and unidentifiable meat, if he had to guess it'd probably be Gekko due to how many there seemed to be outside.
"Afton!?" Melissa exclaims after seeing him sit with them.
"Yeah?" he replies, wondering what the big deal was.
"This is the first time we've seen you in weeks! I don't believe you were so busy that you couldn't visit us!" she continues.
Afton shrugs, "Yeah, I had some downtime here and there, I just didn't think it was worth distracting you from your studies. You did fail, remember?" he says, causing the duo to flinch as if they'd been jabbed.
"That's only because I forgot one of the test answers... Well, more than one-but that doesn't matter!" she quickly says before stuffing some food into her mouth.
"And you Miles, why'd you fail?" he ignores her and turns towards his other more timid friend.
"I-ah, I barely passed the theoretical test but came last in the physical... It's my bad, I couldn't move my legs when I saw the scorpions..." he mutters with a downtrodden expression.
Afton shakes his head, "I think you would have passed if you didn't stand there to hold the gate open, did you not see that it wouldn't lower even if you let go?"
Miles nods, "I did, but it looked very unstable... If it collapsed onto someone I wouldn't be able to forgive myself." he admits.
"You shouldn't worry about that, the Knights wouldn't construct something that could potentially kill their children, next time just concentrate on yourself. Becoming an Initiate is about proving your own strength, once you've passed the test you can then try be a team player." he explains, getting a small smile from Miles,.
The trio drops into a momentary silence as they eat their food, one which Melissa seemed to be offended by as she starts trying to strike up a conversation about literally everything, no matter how mundane it is.
Another voice is clearly audible from another table however, "Teacher said I was one of the most talented marksmen in our group, I hit my target half the time with a laser pistol, way better compared to you guys." an arrogant voice causes Afton's ears to perk up.
Afton took a small glance and spotted that it was Steve Lynch, one of the five that came first to receive water in the physical test. He was twelve years old and tall for his age, messy brown hair and a visibly strong build.
Most of his class usually sat next to each other, no matter if it was lunch, breakfast, or any other social event. He could hear Sandra Torres snort from the table, "Half your shots? He said 'Best in your group', not class. Me and Afton got personal tutoring from Senior Knight Ramos for a few hours, and are now able to hit the target most of the time." she says, knocking the braggart down a peg.
He seemed to not appreciate the challenge and shook his head, gesturing at Afton who was currently sat with Miles and Melissa, "I doubt an Initiate who still hangs out with children is any good at anything. I bet he still wets his bed." he loudly says, causing some of the table to laugh.
Melissa scowls and looks to Afton, "They're making fun of us, should we hit them?" she asks.
Afton shakes his head, "Why would we hit them? They're just hot air and don't seem to remember who came out ahead of them in all of the tests." he says loudly enough for them to hear.
Steve stands and glares over at them, "What was that Parker? You got something to say to me?" he asks threateningly, his height a head taller than Afton.
"No, but it sounds like you've got a lot to say to me, or are you only good for insulting me behind my back?" he remarks, not even looking at them and continuing to eat his stew.
Steve's face reddened at his words and he glanced behind him to see everyone else's reactions, he could see they were expecting him to do something, if not he'd lose face in-front of his peers... His pride was worth more than any punishment he'd received so he slowly started walking over to Afton, his hands balling into fists as he tried to psych himself up.
"You know Parker? I never did like you." he says as the adrenaline causes him to act, he makes a quick step forwards and tries to punch Afton in the side of his head from where he's sitting.
Afton knew this was coming and so leant back to avoid it, the punch ended up hitting Miles instead, angering him. He grabbed his tray and flung his bowl of stew at Steve's face, the hot liquid splashing over his face and causing him to shout in pain.
Afton took the opportunity to get out of his chair as Steve tried to wipe the stew from his face, muttering things about how he "Was going to pay for that". He couldn't help but think back to the lessons Veronica had drilled into him, the teen in-front of him was nowhere near her level, and looked almost comically unprepared due to his stance and posture.
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Niggross
Niggross Hope you guys liked the chap, if I missed anything please let me know.
I think its a tradition for anyone with the surname "Parker" to have a bully encounter. Just be grateful I didn't name Steve "Flash" or something.
บท 26: "Disciplinary"
Steve doesn't open his eyes for fear of the stew burning them, allowing Afton to walk up and deliver a roundhouse punch to his face, knocking the teen to the floor.
Apparently that wasn't enough as they slowly get to their feet, anger allowing them to ignore the hot liquid on their face. He charges at Afton, throwing his arms around at random in an attempt to hit him. Clearly no one had taught him how to fight, or even punch properly...
Afton gets clipped on the shoulder by one but it isn't all that effective, dodging the next and dashing forwards, hugging Steve to prevent anymore flailing punching being thrown. The boy tried to wrestle him but found that Afton was actually stronger somehow.
Veronica had taught him how to punch and fight in general, but it was Christine who'd shown him how to utilise other things that weren't his fists. Afton takes a small step back to get space before slamming his elbow into Steve jaw, the metal fixtures on his Initiate uniform providing an almost unfair advantage.
*Crack!*
Steve's jaw made an awful sound as he slumped to the floor, backing his head on a nearby table as he's knocked unconscious. Afton just looks down at Steve with a small amount of disappointment... His first real fight in this world and even his previous one, and he'd not even been challenged. He shook his head, this was the difference between a trained and untrained combatant he supposed.
The cafeteria was silent when he walked back over with his tray to get more stew, the Initiate tasked with giving everyone their meal blankly just handing him another bowl, not realising that giving Afton anymore was against the rules due to rationing.
...
Afton found it hard to ignore everyone staring at him, even Melissa and Miles with mimicking owls towards him...
"That... Was... SOO COOL!" Melissa finally exclaimed after recovering from the shock of seeing Afton utterly decimate an older Initiate.
Miles rapidly nods, "How did you do that, who taught you!?" he quickly asks, apparently wanting to get tutored himself.
Afton just shakes his head, "You should ask to learn some hand-to-hand combat when you become Initiates." he say simply, not wanting to trouble Veronica or Christine.
Soon enough Paladin Edgar Hardin and their teacher Scribe Doran Dumble walks into the room, scouring it with their eyes before both find Steve Lynch's unconscious body and Afton.
"Initiate Parker, with me!" Paladin Hardin commands as Doran gets some help from other Initiates to carry Steve's body to the infirmary.
"Can I take my food?" he asks just as Hardin is about to leave the room, causing most of the room to look at him as if he were crazy...
Hardin glances at Afton and an almost undetectable smirk finds its way onto his face, "As long as you clean up after yourself." he states and walks out, Afton picking up his tray and quickly following, getting confused and awed looks from everyone else.
Afton was lead into the man's office where he was already sat down, the fact he was wearing his Power armour made it look like the chair was a small stool, but he managed to keep himself from chuckling at the sight.
Hardin gestured to the chair on the opposite side of the desk and Afton sat down, placing his meal on the table and biting into a potato nonchalantly.
"Do you know why I have called you here Initiate Parker?" the mans asks with a stern expression.
Afton shrugs and swallows his mouthful, "No sir, I was simply defending myself so I see no reason for action against me."
Hardin slowly nods, "... I agree, you were provoked first, and hadn't made the first move. Not only that by that idiot Initiate managed to hit a young student in the face while he was at it, someone he was supposed to be protecting. It seems we've misjudged his character if Initiate Lynch is capable of doing that." he explains.
"Why did you call me then?" he asks, confused.
"Because regardless if you are at fault or not, I need to be seen investigating it, even if I already know what happened. I'm proud that you handled it in such a way, and impressed you managed to take on someone two years older than you. Those lessons you're getting from Veronica seem to be paying off." he says with a small grin.
"Ah, you knew about that?"
Hardin nods, "Who do you think covers for Veronica when the Elder is unable to find her? Even when she's on break the Elder comes looking for her, the man doesn't seem to understand not everyone can go on without sleep for days... Plus, I think what you're being taught is valuable knowledge, initiates are taught hand-to-hand combat a couple of months after they are promoted, which is too late in my estimation.
Being trained at a younger age instils the movements and attitude required of a warrior, it makes you more combat-oriented and confident, something that will never be a bad thing. As the old proverb goes, it's better to be a warrior in a farm, than a farmer in a war." he explains.
Afton had just finished his stew as the man was talking, but he nods in understanding, he agreed with the man. Knowing how to fight did make him more confident, and being thrashed by Veronica so many times had given him a wider perception of others actions... To most someone gripping their fists and tensing their jaws as nothing, may just irritation, but to him, it was potential aggression.
"May I leave now? My classes should start soon." he asks and the man nods.
Afton picks up the tray and is about to return them to the cafeteria when Hardin grabs his attention.
"Oh and Initiate Parker? Good job in there today." he says sincerely, despite the fact he'd beaten a fellow Initiate and potentially broken his jaw.
"No problem sir, hopefully this won't happen again anytime soon though." he says as he finally leaves.
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Niggross
Niggross
Hope you guys like the chap, if I missed anything please let me know...
Yeah, I imagined Hardin to have been kinda like this before Helios One, a "bro" if ever there were one.
If you like my content or want to read ahead please go to https://www.p.atreon.com/Nagross, I'd appreciate it.
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