CHPT 61: The Knight with style

The cool breeze gave the already mellow late day temperatures an added bite of coldness that Claude could feel on the parts of his skin that weren't covered in black leather armor. The effect wasn't nearly enough to snuff out the intense flame of his anger.

Claudes ears pricked as he heard a conversation taking place on the sidelines behind him.

"Samuel, is this why you told the Beast Tamer's not to remind him of the companion retrieval date? Did you know about this event?"

"I may have had an upperclassmen friend of mine tell me about an upcoming event that Beast Tamers tend to do well in....can't have that disgusting monster bastard working with his kind when I fight him..... or else I'll have to kill two mutts."

Claude spun around and saw Samuel laughing with his brother at his remark and admission to plotting against Claude.

Right when his vision began to go red and his fingertips started to itch, a voice in his mind began to speak.

"[Remember to breathe. Since you plan to fight until the twins are selected, you have to keep your emotions in check and that means minimizing the damage you take, can't have you transforming on the field. Oh and Claude, they want you off your game. So don't let your hatred for them lead you to failure. If you want to see them soaked in their own tainted and corrupted blood then you have guide your hate, not the other way around.]" Arne said as Claude walked to the other side of the field.

Claude bounced on the balls of his feet with his back facing Drake, seeing him angered Claude too much and made it difficult to regain his focus.

"Breathe dammit, focus....focus!" He said in between breaths.

He snapped his head sideways as the light and mushy crunch of feet stomping through healthy grass grew louder and louder behind him.

"Hey, you must be Claude. Nice to meet you, I'm Isaac."

Claude turned and noticed his assigned partner stood next to him with his hand outstretched in an attempted handshake. His dark skin glistened under the evening sun, probably sweat from the warm up laps combined with his bulky red and silver armor that was placed over his dense muscles so well that it had to be tailored.

"I-It is?" He asked as he shook hands with him.

"Yes, you're an interesting character. Despite what everyone says, you don't seem all that evil or monstrous yet...aaaaand you seem to aggravate the hell out of the rich boys." He said while flicking his chin toward Samuel and Tai.

"Emphasis on the yet...." Claude said under his breath.

"What?"

"Erhm...you call them rich, but based on your armor you've got to be pretty well off yourself." Claude said.

"Well yea, but you don't see me flaunting my families success all over my body and acting like I own the world. Well aside from this...I definitely flaunt this."

Shing!

Claude watched as Isaac unsheathed a sword he'd only ever seen in books.

"A-A cutlass?....why?" He asked.

"All the other blades that Knights use looked ugly. What can I say? I got my own sense of style." Isaac replied as he inspected each side of the smooth and slightly curved blade. The silver blade shined beautifully and along its length, stylistic lines and swirls were engraved lightly all over it. Even the knucklebow of the cutlass looked as effective in battle as the blade itself. It was studded with sharp metal points for increased damage when punching.

Claudes attention was caught by the peculiar engraving on the base of the sword, it was a depiction of a lion roaring madly.

***

"So, you got a plan? I don't want to get mangled by that snake." Isaac asked after a few seconds of silence.

"Uhhhhh....hmmmmm. I think Alessia's mistake was made when she used her shield on Drake and not Venom so.....—"

"Awe shit..." Isaac said as he looked at his left hand which also held his medium sized silver shield.

"Don't worry, if I defeat Drake fast enough you'll be fine."

Claude lied slightly, but that was also part of his plan. Unfortunately he had to put Isaac in danger because doing so would cause him to be scared by the snake learning his pattern then once the snake decided to go after Claude, him expecting the attack had a chance of scaring Drake as well or at least surprising him.

"Arne, the smell of fear can make me stronger right?" He asked in his mind.

"[Right you are, but it can also make you feral.]"

"A little ferocity is ok every now and then." He replied.

"Drake, are you ready for your next Mob?!" Prof. Brennan asked.

"Yes, sir!"

"Mob, are you ready to take a shot at Drake and Venom?!"

"Ready, sir." Isaac replied while Claude stood next to him with his eyes closed.

Claude focused his mind amidst the noisy murmur of students and yelling of the Professor. Time felt like it slowed for a moment as he pulled his short sword from its sheath on his back, he took one last relaxing exhale as he brought the sword down to his side and time rushed back into focus along with everything around him.

"BEGIN!"