(LA Day)Retraining (Not in LA)

[Joshua]

"Where are we?" I asked for the third time, seeing nothing but trees and wild grass around us. "And where the hell did you learn to drive?"

"A man named Micheal Knight," Avalon answered from behind the driver seat. "And for the record, no, we are not there yet."

"That's not what I asked," I replied with a barely tolerant snort. "Where are we going, for the fifth time already?"

"Somewhere that reminds me of . . ." she stopped speaking and took a deep sigh. "I spoke with Doc and a few others before leaving. There is a small cabin, abandoned, in a ravine out this way. I scouted it out during my "restroom break" back at the last gas station while you were filling the tank. It is out here, and it is exactly what you need in order to regain your strength."

"Couldn't have just taken me to the hospital or some local gym, or even the Training Gym?" I half-begged.

"No," she answered shortly.

"Why?"

"To use a reference on a movie I have actually seen," she explained, "Rocky, who won the fight, beat the Russian by training in the wilderness while the Russian was trained in a laboratory watched over by scientists. We can do more out here than we could in all the gyms in LA."

"And why couldn't I bring my glaive?" I snapped.

"You could not even lift it," she observed.

"I will be able to by the end of this wilderness training thing you've got me going through," I protested. "Plus I'm fully trained in how to use it."

"That makes little difference. Besides, you no longer have the superior strength of a Slayer to maximize its use. You should consider favoring another weapon."

"Like a Soul Dagger, like the one Doc gave Charlotte?"

She just shrugged, and then slowed the car down and then turned off onto a side dirt road. "Your choice," was all she said.

I let out a long sigh, cursing my aching muscles, which hurt more than they ever had before, even after losing a fight, ever since I had been able to walk on my own again.

And then I saw, in the distance the place where my sister and I would be staying for the next two to three weeks.

"We couldn't have just gone straight to Hell?" I asked aloud, my despair more than clear in my voice.

[Avalon]

(1 week later)

"You really are weak," I teased him, looking down on him from just over the edge of a cliff. After a week of endurance training and constant running, climbing, and sparring in the evenings between the two of us, Joshua was a lot better than when he first started, but he was not yet even up to the level he had been at before he gained Slayer powers.

"Oh shut up!" he groaned, hanging, barely, by one hand from the twenty foot cliff. Not lethal, but he'd be bedridden for another long while if he did happen to fall.

With a heaving grunt, he brought his other hand up and latched on to a rock that was only a couple inches higher than the one his other hand held onto. The moment he exerted real pressure on it, if cracked and then fell off the mountainside. Good thing he remembered to keep his hold on his only other handhold.

"Need a hand?" I offered. He glowered up at me, and then sighed. Then he did what I had been expecting him to do from the start.

Bracing his legs against the rockface, he got a precarious foothold, and then so I could see his muscles visibly straining, he jumped straight up, flipping over me to land right behind me on the cliff.

"No thanks, I got it," he answered, though very out of breath.

"Let us proceed then," and I started jogging off in a random direction.

(2 weeks later)

"NOOOO!"

I rushed into the room, nearly tearing the door off in my rush. "Joshua! What is wrong?" immediately identifying no immediate threats, I assumed that he must have had a nightmare. He had been having them a lot recently.

"Nothing, it . . . it's nothing," his breathing was labored, but he made no move to try and get any more sleep.

I joined him on the floor. The cabin we had been staying at was little more than a shack with several rooms in it, no electricity, not even any furniture. So, we were forced to sleep where we could on the floor.

"Tell me," was all I said.

"The others . . ." his voice faltered for a moment. "Something has happened," he said with absolute certainty.

"You are not yet ready, and even at my top speed, it would take at least 3 hours for me to get back to the city, not counting how long it would take for me to find them and whatever they are facing," I tried to console him.

"I know Lon, I know," he answered, sounding very depressed, and then he just lay back down, turned on his side away from me, and mumbled, "Good night Lon."

"Good night Shu," I whispered back and then silently crept back to my own room.

(The Last week away)

[Maya]

((i'll take this out if you want, but i figured that josh did it, so why cant Mai?))

It was wierd this way round... instead of finding myself drawn somewhere, i had to fight my way through the trees, which seemed so much darker than before.
Eventually i saw a shaft of light, and headed towards it. I burst into the sunlight with a smile on my face-I was coming to really love this place. And there he was, standing on the cliff.
"Hey you." I called out. He turned with a half smile,
"Hey." He replied, "You ok?"
"Aren't i supposed to be asking you that?"
"Im getting better." he replied, "But something has happened- in LA. Hasn't it?"
I sighed,
"yeah." i croaked.
"Mai?" He asked, coming closer as soon as e saw my distress. “What happened?”<br>“New vamp in town- Grace. She… she sired Rory… and it was ok cos we got him a soul sword and bought his soul into it… but then… oh god, Josh, she got Chelle and Killian.”<br>

[Joshua]

"Shh, it's going to be OK," I whispered in her ear, having found her in my arms seeking comfort after only blinking.

"You know, those things are turning into quite the party favors, huh?" I tried to joke.

"Huh?" she whimpered, looking up at me with a tear streaked face.

"The soul-weapons," I elaborated. "I make one for Avalon, she shows up with it fully powered, Doc makes a Soul Saber for Nicki at the same time, Aredhel finds an ancient Soul-weapon that was made specifically for her hidden for several thousands of years only a week earlier than that, then Avalon and I finish your Soul Sword, and give it to you the same night that Doc finishes and gives a Soul Sabre to Charlotte. Now Rory and how many others have Soul weapons just from this?"

Suddenly she giggled through the tears. "I guess you're right. Maybe we should be the Soul Slayerettes," she giggled again.

"More like the Lost Soul Slayerettes, considering where we live," I offered my own "suggestion", sparking another round of giggles from her.

"Look, much as I would love to drive all night and half the morning, Avalon says I'm not ready yet, and I'm forced to agree with her. I swear though, if you are personally in any danger I'll . . ."

"Move heaven, earth, hell, and anything else that gets in your way to protect me," she whispered softly, looking me right in the eyes. "I know, you've told me before. And you proved it even. You came back to me . . . to us, but thanks to your gift, I can handle myself better than ever."

"Good, and it's from me and Avalon. Powerful as she is, she's still a hermit, and we need to get her out of her shell, starting with giving her credit where credit is due. If it weren't for her, neither of us would be alive today."

"Oh, and by the way," she said in a slightly more 'sly' voice, "Did you know that I could extend the length of my Sword to over ten feet?"

I don't think she expected my expression to change from one of loving concern to another type of loving concern, laced with anger and overprotection.

"The only way to do that is if you use more soul energy Mai. Mai, a soul is considered an endless energy source, but that's only because it's a living thing, and can replenish it's own energy, but only if given time to recuperate. Using your Soul Sword takes the excess energy given off by your own soul, same as when Avalon uses the powers of her Soul Sword now. But if you use even more . . . Mai, be careful. Doc's probably already given you a lecture or two, but I . . ."

"I know, and I'll be careful. Why do you think I'm sleeping now? Besides, I'm a Slayer, come morning I'll be perfectly fine," she assured me.

"I'll be home as soon as I can. I promise you," I swore to her, kissing her hand, and then her one more time.

"Good. Now . . . wanna have another wet dream?" she giggled, pushing me back onto the ground.

[Maya]

((erm... really not sure what to say to that...))

[karen]

(((Zeroc this is a dream. A dream)))

[Maya]

((dude, u cant be here- karen is right, its a dream. Just me an josh in our own little worl no one else can enter. Avalon isnt there, and neither can you be.))

[Joshua]

(((Yeah, sorry about that. Both the limited attendance for this thread and the little bit of PG-13 smut at the end of my last post.)))

A sound of metal striking metal echoed across the ravine. It repeated several more times, only interrupted with quiet sounds of grunts and other sounds of physical effort. The night was pitch black, not even the stars or the moon visible behind black clouds to provide illumination.

And then, a tiny spark, followed immediately by another clang of blades meeting. Again. And finally, a last spark and a final sound before total silence was heard.

Moments later, the first animal tentatively made its first sound, and slowly, the sounds of nature resumed their usual noise.

A moment after that, a fire was started, on a torch that shown on the face of two people.

"Well? How'd I do?" I asked the woman holding the torch.

She smiled at me and began leading off in a specific direction. "Well enough. You should be able to handle any vampires you come across, provided you are not outnumbered and it is not too old," Avalon answered me.

Holding my new weapons, a pair of curved knives that were held the same way as brass knuckles, I admired the fact that they weren't even dented and shined in the firelight.

"Considering I've only had about a week to get used to these I think I did more than well enough. I'm still going to use my glaive though. Have to get used to using it again though." I commented.

"I meant how you manuevered in the dark," Avalon corrected me. "We will head back in the morning. If you wish to continue training, I will of course be glad to help, but for now, I consider you healed and no longer need it."

"Well that's good to know," I sighed, glad to be going back. We came to the cabin and without any preamble, Avalon put out the torch and we went in and went to sleep.

Tomorrow we would be home.

[Jackson ''Doc'' Ellison]

(((Kinda just in time for the whole Karen thingy, too.)))

[Azoth (Kyler)]

(((Ok, it's gone... where exactly does it say that this is a dream? I must ahve missed it... either way, I deleted the post...)))

(((sorry)))

[Maya]

((hehe, you kinda just have to get that its a dream what with the whole forest/cliff symbolism thats been in all josh and mayas joint dreams, and the fact that Maya is still in LA!))