What is your Limit?

[Estrella Divina]

Estrella glanced up at the tall, vibrant building before her with Althul at her side. Everytime she saw the architectural masterpiece it brought doth a child like awe in her. Her eyes brightened at the sight. While she was taken back by the appearance of the Limitless Headquarters, she couldn't begin to imagine what the fish man thought of it. She had a feeling that he had never seen such a glorious building like so many others. Of course, Limitless was a worldwide super power so the modern and sophistication of the building indicated their rule.

"I remember first walking into this building. There were a ton of war criminals and scum bags being brought here. Even though they were begging to be released after so many crimes, I didn't even care. I was too amazed by this architecture. It's fascinating...but I guess for those guys and plenty others it is a scary place to be. You don't want to end here if you're a junky " She had given a short story that was entirely true. The first time she walked into the building it was to hand her application in for the Limitless organization. Fortunately, she was not alone when she had applied or else she may have been intimidated.

"When we walk into the building just follow my lead. I'm sure some of the higher ups will be happy to see you. Before we go in, so you have anymore questions fish brain? " Her voice asked calmly. She had a feeling he was full of questions. Who wouldn't be?

[collapsingeclipse]

Althul felt his eyes trailing at every turn to look at how beautifully-designed the building was. Quite honestly, he was stunned. As untrustworthy as he felt, this was a nice place to be in. At least something good would've happened to him. He stopped scanning for a pure instant as he was jolted back to listening to Estrella talk about the headquarters. I guess this would be the time for him to join in, then. He understood the reason very well. It'd be very scary, if not majestic, to be on the bad end of this. Especially considering how this would be an organization who seems to be looking for new recruits by the second.

Althul was jolted straight to memories of comparison. Parfilen homes were usually different. First off, they were made by rocks and metals. Usually, this led to beautifully-patterned homes. This place was big and beautifully-designed. The whole city of Parfilen looked like a dome, where rain would only appear from the unguarded top. Even then, it'd be dumb to say the top was unguarded. Men trained in the use of Bow and gun were sometimes stationed. Parfilen had the term of a king to be the strongest fish around. They let leadership go to the strongest of the strongest. Then, after they were defeated, leadership would go to the winner. He never once doubted the validity of the customs, either. And he wouldn't, as he found his own customs reasonable. He actually knew the appearance of one, but that was about it.

As he heard about the higher-ups and all that, he thought them organized, so he went about the questions there. He was irritated after being called "fishbrain", though. "To start off, the only thing that's fish-like of me is my teeth. Now, I assume they're organized? How does it work?" He awaited an answer for this before sharing something. If given an answer, he'd continue with this: "Right. The homes where my race live in were usually made by rocks. Sometimes, they had a wild array of patterns because of it."

[Estrella Divina]

attire: i34.photobucket.com/albums/d133/AngelicsenPadme/Final%20Fantasy/IMG00184.jpg

An arrogant smirk framed her face when Althul mentioned that his only feature that was fish like was his teeth. She was not expecting him to bite back on her playful remark about his fish-brain. She had smirked because it was true, yet funny to her that he would take it to heart. After he talked about his appearance, he had asked her a question about organization. The Limitless Organization were highly organized with a ranking system. It was one of the many reasons they were a world wide super power. However, despite Limitless wanting Althul alive for the military unit, the top commanders were not present inside and usually weren't. It was for safety precautions she figured. Not was it just for the safety of the commanders, but they were always busied with top priority missions.

Once he had finished his tiny description of his home, she went on to explain to him why Limitless was organized and how they worked in general. Of course, she only had a couple of minutes to explain to him some standard procedures that the organization practiced, therefore, she started her way up the stairs and motioned Althul to follow her into the building. There were more important things she had to do besides give a history lesson. Since she didn't want to be rude, she gave him some information based on her experience.

"You basically earn your right to be called a Limitless soldier which means you have to pass a series of exams. First, you take a written exam. Then you're placed in a couple of field exams, in which, you can die in. I've heard many horror stories about it too." Luckily, she had managed to pass all the tests, but it was with the help of one of the major commanders who would be revealed on day to Althul if she had gotten to trust him. Remembering about the last test, she decided to go ahead and tell the curious swordsman so that he would at least be wary of it.

"Oh yeah...silly me how could I forget? There is something else you have to do, but most people don't get passed the first two steps. You'll probably have to be in a bloody, cage match. If you're lucky, you might get paired up with someone that isn't ugly or looks like a freaking gorilla monster." She remembered who she got paired up against. Once again, due to her connection, she barely managed to get passed that last test. However, since she was helped so much, she was never promoted to commander and was under constant protection. It was the terrible circumstances of her testing that had forced her to be looked over as if she were a baby even though she was a capable soldier.

[collapsingeclipse]

Althul had never seen the inside of the building. As he trekked through it as he followed Estrella, He noted how they seemed very organized. He had seen some people walking by. They wore organize suits and the like. They seemed to have been members of this..organization. As he registered that, Estrella was taking her time in explaining what the organization did for recruits in a nutshell. They passed a plethora of tests of their worth. As it looked, Shroud wasn't gonna have the easy route out of this. Not that he'd care. If the tests were to be of actual worth, then it'd probably be for things mostly related to wit and skill, which seemed to be accurate to what he thought. Estrella noted that first it would be an exam to write in, and then a couple of field exams to which he could die in. Right..

Althul wasn't very bothered about the death part, but he got the impression that they were tough. Although, he was reminded of his race. The arfilens were separated by strong and weak. The weak were the small fish. The small fry were assumed to barely hold their ground in a one-on-one match untrained. When they train and get renown, they then get placed in the privilege of being the big fish. These were the types of guys that could take on a number of the small fry and end up being victorious. They were no less as wary as the small one. Shroud started as small fry, and he's racked himself up to a medium extent. He was confident that he could survive. He did feel sorry for the ones appointed as "guards" for the biggest of them all. The biggest fish ran Parfloss, the home of parfilen. The guards were placed in an exam where they fought against two highly trained small fry on their way to being the big guys. They never held back, so Shroud thought that it was one thing to avoid in his lifetime. For his years, he gathered enough information to know about the parfilen. He knew his own race.

What got him off guard was the bloody cage match when Estrella said she forgot something. It was instantly visible, as he stopped abruptly, with his eyes nearly looking frozen. He then quickly turned around to Estrella, with an "Eh?" Althul wasn't expecting the cage match bit at all, and it was present in his face. Really, his face was a comical one, with his teeth showing as if they were smaller. The shark teeth could be barely seen from that comical-looking face, only the white. A shade almost intensified in his eyes. It would've probably been especially noteworthy as Shroud was as calm as could be for the first part, but then got surprised the second. He would regain his composure and be jolted to normal if someone got his attention.

[Estrella Divina]

Sept 30, 2013 21:19:49 GMT -5 collapsingeclipse said:

"Eh?"

Stopping at the top of the stairs after talking about the cage match , she turned towards Althul who had let out a response she had heard too many times before. These type of responses were usually from students who were unaware that they would be put into a cage match against someone else. While this match was not part of being accepted because the field test was the most important, it was used to show how committed and tough the newly students where. In other words, it was basically used to prove themselves against worthy opponents. Who was a more worthy opponent than Limitless soldiers?

She shrugged and rolled her eyes at his reaction.

"You're not becoming a chicken wuss are you? I saw how you handled those gang losers. You should be fine." A smile had framed her face as she took notice to how his facial expression had turned to a comedic one. She should have mentioned the cage match sooner, however, she hadn't because he still had to pass other tests before it. It was a process that took a couple of weeks. It was best not to get ahead of themselves just yet. While he had the skills to certainly pass the examinations, he still had to meet with the higher ups.

"Alright, enough chit chat. We need to get our asses inside so the higher ups can tell you what they need from you. Lets get this show on the road." With that said, she urged him to follow her inside the modern building. The lobby was just as modern and sophisticated as the outside. Unlike the stairs where there were no people, there were hundreds of workers moving around inside the building. They basically looked like a bunch of busy bees trying to get their work done. It was a vibrant display of colors as everyone wore different colored uniforms according to their rank and purpose. Why exactly were they so busy? They were constantly occupied with territorial disputes, new technical discoveries, rebels, recruiting, demands from the higher ups, and many other things that required a world inter-dimensional super power to stay on top and in control.

She didn't seem bothered by all of the people moving about though. She had become used to it. Waiting for Althul, she planned the best route to get to where they needed to go. The building was large and one could easily get lost if not careful.

"Stay close to me so you don't get lost."

[collapsingeclipse]

"But they were just chumps," were the only things that seeped past his mouth. Shroud had taken everything else silently. The fact that he was called a chicken wuss did nothing to alleviate matters. It made his blood boil as he knew he wasn't one, yet someone was going ahead and saying different anyway. He flicked a finger and formed a ball of ice. As he was walking behind Estrella, he hid it. He was wondering whether to just hit her for that one, but then he thought back to something. To start off, he nearly got his ass filled with bullets because he just messed with her. He let the ball be in warmth. It'd melt in a few seconds anyway. It was given the cold just right to break in one shoot. So he shot it at the ground.

He put his hands in his pockets, glad that he got himself out of that death wish. He trailed Estrella trying to get through this in peace. As he reached the main lobby, he saw plenty of people seemingly trying to get through the day. Shroud turned to look at Estrella, who seemed to have already taken the lead. He picked up the pace to reach her. Estrella then highlighted the obvious about having to keep with her. Or was it really? Shroud was fascinated by the decor himself. Either way, he seemed to have been reaching somewhere. The people hinted at it with just their walking around with things heavily weighing them down. If anything, he'd stay here for a bit.

"I can see that. So, you said we were meeting with the higher ups?"

[Estrella Divina]

A slight chill traveled down her spine. For an instant, she glanced back at Althul because she thought he may have been doing some kind of ice magic again. Seeing that he didn't have anything dangerous in his hand, she shrugged it off. He stuck out like sore thumb, yet none of the busied workers seemed to pay attention to him. It was mainly because they weren't authorized to deal with him, and they had their own jobs to get done.

"The higher ups aren't usually here for safety precautions, but you will be talking to some higher ranking officers than me who put me on this mission. I think they'll be pleased to see you. They've been expecting you. There aren't many ice cream makers.. I mean ice magic users like yourself on Limitless. You should be proud. " She chuckled a bit at her joke. For some reason, she found herself in a more pleasant mood than usual. It was probably because she had done a good job bringing in Althul and keeping him interested. With her rough attitude, it wasn't easy to do so it was a win in her book.

As they stood in the lobbies, many people walked by them and paid no attention to them as if there were nothing more than statute. She was a popular one in Limitless, but most of the workers were entry level and had not gained any status. They were basically like working ants working for the queen ant. Since she was a trained soldier, she too paid little attention to the surrounding crowd.

"Alright, let's go..." She took a step forward, but stopped when she heard someone shout her name.

"Hey, yo Estrella!" A tall, blond man had caught sight of a fellow ranking soldier and quickly made his way towards her. He had a beaming smile upon his face despite the rather serious lobby

Stephen Gray appearance:
images.wikia.com/shadowhearts/images/f/f6/Joachim_Valentine.jpg

"Ugh, no why now?" She hid her face slightly when she caught sight of who it was that called out her name. The individual wasn't welcomed. She wasn't exactly the joyous type either. Stephen Gray was a fellow student which had passed the tests on the same day as her. Not only was he irritating, but it was to be known that he always crossed the line.

"Hide me..." She took a small step behind Althul who was left to stand and face Stephen who kept a non wary smile on his face.

"Hello, there. Where ya going Estrella?" He was clueless to the fact that Estrella didn't want to see him. He even missed the fact that she rolled her eyes at his greeting. Once he greeted her, he noticed a blue haired man.

"Who are you? " He asked Althul.

Estrella face palmed. It was obvious the idiot had not read the files he was supposed to read. This was going to be a pain in the ass to deal with. Rather than shoe him away as she wanted to, she responded to his question while keeping her distance.

"This is Althul. He is the mission I was assigned to. If you actually did your work, you'd know who he is." She said with seriousness.

Stephen smiled continued to shine even moreso that Estrella spoke to him.

"Ah, so you're talking to me again. He's that ice magic user right? I did some skimming about this guy. He isn't giving you trouble is he? " His eyes remained set on Althul despite asking a question. He hadn't cared for Estrella's response mainly because she down played situations. If there was something wrong, she wouldn't share with him. He decided to check out Althuls reaction and her body language to get his perspective on it.

"I've read you'really a pretty good swordsman eh? " He waited for a response and was sizing up Althul. He knew some importance of Althul so he didn't go overboard as he wanted to.

Estrella kept her eyes narrowed on Stephen.

[collapsingeclipse]

Did she just underestimate his ice magic- She just did. He recalled to the words again until he realized that was exactly what she said. This caused him to bare his teeth. It was more to intimidate. After he saw what she did, he'd ease it. He caught on to the teasing, so he immediately replied. He had to watch his actions with her. Even more so since he'll be saved a good, dramatic, time where he'll be filled with even more bullets. "You'll need more than ice to make ice cream--And I'm not giving you the list." he moved his head away to avoid eye contact. It was more a comeback to teasing than anything else. It was true, however. He wasn't that good with ice at all. He'd need a bit more training with it.

As he did that, he looked back at her. He was about to say something--Wait, what? Estrella had stepped back for awhile, requesting him to hide her. Now what could be so infuriating that she'd hide? His eyes scanned immediately, spotting a bunch of workers. Then he saw a blonde man walk towards him and her. A smile beamed on his face, too. Oh, boy. To make her step back.. This looks like it's gonna be a joyous conversation. The man didn't seem to see that Estrella was utterly bothered by his presence. The man took no simple second to address Shroud. He kept his distance; "My name is Shroud Windraven.." Althul didn't let on his true name. He wanted to keep it secret. Within his understandings, he's only told Estrella and that's it.

His face showed little concern. The man seemed friendly enough. He kept a wary eye, though. He still wasn't convinced that it was all that just yet. The next question was a curious one, asking whether he was a good swordsman. "..Nowhere above my superiors, but I'm well reaching it." he didn't want to bring too much information. He relaxed his muscles, and put one hand in his pocket. The hand at the side where his Shakelmir was..well, that was still out. He didn't feel comfortable yet, but he had a serious face on him.

In the distance, a worker had fallen, although he did not react in any way to the sound. His eyes were still on the man. "And what would you be?" The worker had stood up, picking up his luggage. The "luggage" was scrambled, so he had to look at each paper and put it where it was. He was sweating bullets, already stressed out by what had just happened to him. If Shroud had looked, he'd feel that the man must be really late for something. Sadly, he was more focused on the blonde man with a smile that carved 10 sunshine in one.

[Estrella Divina]

"He isn't bothering me. He is here to get testing done for Limitless. Why don't you go busy yourself with telling yourself how awesomely, bad you are." She narrowed her eyes at Stephen who only chuckled at her backlash comment. It was to be expected.

"Relax...Estrella...relax. I am just here doing my job to make sure this new guy doesn't step out of line. Besides...we all know how...."

"Shh" Estrella silenced him before he could say anything else. Folding her arms, she kept quiet after her shushing Stephen especially when he was about to spill out personal information she didn't need anyone knowing.

Stephen smirked knowing just how to silence the fiery woman.

"I think he's got some potential." Then he heard Shroud's question. Was the newcomer asking about his skills? He was almost appalled that Shroud had the balls to even ask him a question. Not only was Stephen skillful, but he was one of the best...according to his ego that is.

"You mean you haven't heard of the Nunchaku master? Well I'd be sure to give you a fight...well once you pass the test that is. I usually don't waste my time on recruits. However, to make it up to you, how about we go on a small tour? I can show you around this place. I think it'd also give Estrella a chance to get a break from explaining things to you. She's had a long day. What do you say? It's my treat. It's not everyday a man of my status gives recruits a tour. " He was trying to be nice, yet it was with utter arrogance.

Her thoughts were on what Althul had mentioned earlier about ice cream. Standing slightly behind Althul mainly because she didn't like the Stephen individual, she exhaled deeply to relieve the inner rage she felt inside She was on the brink of knocking Stephen out simply because of how cocky he was. Regardless, she couldn't let her bad memories of Stephen get the best of her. Her nostrils flared when Stephen continued to ask useless questions that Shroud was forced to answer. She was about to tell Stephen to take a "hike" when she caught sight of someone that had fallen over. The heavens must have listened to her prayers of needing an escape. This was it. This was her chance to gather her thoughts.

"Excuse me. I have some business to deal with. I'll be right back." The tension didn't seem to bother neither Stephen nor Althul because were more focused on each other than they were on her. Stephen had offered to give Althul a tour. She'd probably have to come along knowing Stephen. Leaving them for a second, she rushed to the aid of the worker who had dropped all of his papers. She looked like she was about to help him, but instead she took out some of her unwanted frustration out on him. He was just an innocent worker though.

"Can you please clean this stuff up? You need to pay more attention. I am trying to make sure this place looks at its best while trying to show this recruit around. Now..clean this up before I kick your ass to the moon." From the distance, neither Stephen nor Althul could have heard what she said to the worker. However, telling by the worker's actions, he bolted with his paper work in hand and didn't look back. He was scared off. The fact that the worker was scared off eased her raging insides. He was just the therapy she needed. While she spent time with the worker, she had no idea what was going on between Stephen and Althul. She kept her distance away from them until they had worked on some kind of agreement. The only thing she hoped for was that Stephen wouldn't mess things up.

[collapsingeclipse]

Althul shot a glare as Stephen remarked about being a nunchaku master. Obviously not. It's only been some months where he's been focused on his own business. He rarely wanted to know about anything else. Now that he felt that he had no chance of being able to escape from this fancy place, he could eavesdrop more freely.  Not that he wanted to stalk anyone. His glare weakened for a split second to talk more comfortably. "I've rarely been a year here." he shook his head. He thought it nice to have a tour, though. "Lead the way, "master"" Althul had removed his focus from Stephen, to see that Estrella was busy helping someone.

He then turned back to the blonde ray of sunshine with a question yet again. "Now what is your name?" Shroud himself didn't care whether he told him or not, though seeing from how the man liked to bring his title up, his name should be no hard grabbing. Now, he himself had other questions before Estrella came back. "What did you mean by "we all know"?" Althul, for one, didn't know anything about Estrella other than her name and that she was out to get him. More knowledge could come in handy at anytime.-- Well, he learned that she wasn't the analyzing type and was rather rude and impatient. All he just hoped was that he wouldn't get killed in such a short time. He was worried about the tests more than anything else, after all.

[Estrella Divina]

He then turned back to the blonde ray of sunshine with a question yet again. "Now what is your name?" Shroud himself didn't care whether he told him or not, though seeing from how the man liked to bring his title up, his name should be no hard grabbing. Now, he himself had other questions before Estrella came back. "What did you mean by "we all know"?"

Stephen, who was thrilled to be asked what his name was by the newcomer, smiled widely. He could go on and on about who he was because he had a plethora ofaccolades to brag about. However, since the newcomer hung out with Estrella and he wasn't in the mood to argue, he decided to keep his introduction to the point.

"My name is Stephen Gray. Lets just say I am a celebrity around here." Once he commented about himself, he tucked a lock of blond hair behind his ear. His smile faded slightly when the newcomer pointed out what Estrella almost always neglected to speak about. She had her reasons, yet he didn't always agree with them. In fact, he could tell the whole world and not feel an ounce of guilt for it. Assuming that she was still away from them, he lowered his voice to a whisper.

"Well you see sport...There is a reason why so many people are scared of her, and it's not because of her fiery attitude and rudeness." He chuckled at his own joke, but continued answering the recruit's question.

"It's basically like being afraid of a rose. It can definitely sting you, but that is the least of your worries. The reason why people are so scared of her...." He didn't finish his sentence because he was interrupted by none other than Estrella.

After throwing her weight around and releasing some of the pent up aggression, she returned to Shroud and Stephen. Her eyes caught sight of Stephen's moving lips, yet she only heard jumbled whispering. She inched ever closer to them both. It was a surprise that they hadn't seen her until she had spoken up. It wasn't until she heard "the reason people are so scared of her" that she immediately let her presence be known. She finished the sentence with her own theory.

"Is because I'll break every bone in their body" She wanted to make her reasoning as detailed and gruesome as she could, therefore, Shroud would believe it to be true. Once she interrupted Stephen, he rose to his full height and kept a smile upon his face. He wasn't concerned in the slightest about almost letting her personal secrets known to everyone. They were her secrets that she expected to be respected.

Her eyes glared menacingly at Stephen.

"Yes..that is exactly why. You heard it from the star herself." Stephen tried his best to cover his tracks. This situation was more than amusing to him.

"So...are we ready for that tour?" His attempt to change subject was to keep Estrella from pouncing on him and causing a scene as she always had.

[collapsingeclipse]

Shroud had nodded as he received the name. He was more worried about hearing about Estrella, though. Thankfully so, Stephen leaned closer and tried to comply with him. He described it like a rose with thorns. He presumed from it that Estrella was a rose, and that the thorns was either her or something else. It was something he suspected. As he recalled back, he wasn't too convinced about her being the same protected person than anyone else. Now was the time he knew. As soon as he was about to hear the truth, however..Estrella happened. She gave off a determined yell that she could crush someone's bones. Shroud looked at her with a glare that told of his expression silently. He found her troublesome. Stephen Gray reassured him by confirming it, however. He then continued on by asking about the tour.

"Lets." Althul gave a nod. Pensively, Shroud was thinking about what Stephen Gray just told him and why Estrella butt in. She didn't seem like sharing that one before. Less so in a yell. He found that something was fishy, though he kept it at that. Shroud hadn't stop to look around; his thoughts took over quickly. "I'll think back," Shroud thought "to the time we first met". Shroud's arms were in his pocket, and he was looking at the ground. The first time, he threatened her. Then, guards came with guns ready to shoot him. Eventually, Estrella managed to knock them all out. He recalled to when she said that they weren't limitless soldiers. He was suspicious all up to one point. Althul thought that Estrella never told him the riper points.

Then came Stephen Gray with the comments about that everyone knew.and then the rose that can sting you. Was he saying that Estrella was the least of his worries? Cause if so, it added up. He was no more afraid than Estrella than being afraid of getting riddled with over 50 bullet-holes. There must be some reason. Perhaps she's being helped? Could it be that she's the least of his worries, and that there are other allies that are much more troubling than her? His suspicions took over, and his creative juices were flowing to a logical conclusion. He quit the thinking for a while and went on with Stephen Gray. As he went on, he no doubt saw himself asking questions.

"So. Are you a member? What did you go through to become one?" Althul was curious as to what he was about to be pulled into.

[Estrella Divina]

"I think that would be best." Estrella commented after Stephen Gray quickly changed the subject at hand to focus on the newcomer's introduction to the Limitless Organization. She had not understood what Stephen's problem truly was, and why he was so willing to give away all her secrets. Rather then confront Stephen for his lack of better judgement, she decided to join in on the field test. After all, she was responsible for Shroud getting to where he had to go, and she wanted to keep a close eye on Stephen. Since she was a recruit, she had never trusted him and for good reason. He happened to get promoted the same year she had. Therefore, their classes together brought forth the troubling issues that caused her to not trust Stephen. As friendly as he appeared, he had a darker side, and one she had not shared with anyone.

Stephen remained positive even after he was barked at by Estrella. His signature beaming smile remained present on his face. He wasn't about to let his fellow classmate get the best of him or make him look foolish in front of a new recruit. At the same time, he never understood why she hated him except for the fact that he only offered her an upgrade. Putting those thoughts aside, he nodded to Estrella's comment and started walking alongside her. He was met with another question about himself. Oh, he enjoyed these type of questions.

She started walking down the white, waxed-tiled hallway. Telling by the direction they were headed, they seemed to be going to the new recruit rooms where younger students were taking written tests. They would probably visit the evaluations rooms too that were designed to pinpoint the next super soldiers. Once they were walking as a trio, she heard Shroud speak. She rolled her eyes when Shroud had asked Stephen another question about Stephen. While it was true she was cocky, she wasn't one to go on and on about herself like Stephen was. Her mind drifted to avoid listening to another useless, lengthy story.

"Hm, that's a very good question. Lets see...where should I begin? I graduated the same year as Estrella here, but we came in differently. When I was a young kid, I was brought in here because of my exceptional skills whereas she was a walk in. I was evaluated like anyone else, I went through the tests, and then I became one of Limitless' top soldiers by going on thousands of world wide missions. You could say I am kinda like a prodigy." He said confidently. He didn't care if his ego sounded bloated because he thought of himself as the best.

{What an arrogant assho....} She thought to herself, but couldn't help feeling a tint of rage. Her cheeks turned pink because she had a hint of jealousy at the fact that he was able to go on any mission he desired. However, she turned her face just so they couldn't see that she was irritated by the conversation.

[collapsingeclipse]

Althul quickly caught on to how the man liked talking about himself. Other than that, he gave a bunch of nice tidbits of information. He looked to Estrella, who had her head tucked away from the rest. Shroud thought she was just looking at the scenery, and turned around to the man. "A prodigy, huh? Judging from our previous conversation, you have skill with nunchuks?" He continued the question and answer primarily because he wanted to familiarize himself with the place. Other than that, he had no other reason. Stephen Gray's behavior had shown that these types of question will leech answers out of them. Thus, if this succeeds, he'll know what to expect. He hadn't forgotten about where Stephen said he'd challenge him.

In the meantime, he also kept an eye on the sidelines to see. Bunch of people working, some fields. He hadn't payed as much attention in his eyes than by ear. After Stephen stopped talking, he'd take his new turn by showing some slight teeth. They were the most unnerving thing about his character. That or the blue hair. He then pointed to the field. "Is that one part of the test?" he had asked this because he had just seen a man utterly dominate someone with just a sword. The man had literally grabbed someone's weapon, hit them with the pommel of his own weapon, throw the enemy's weapon away, and point it at his neck. All of this was as fast a second. If he had blinked, he had surely missed it. It was nothing Shroud could do easily. But he instantly assumed the man was powerful.

[Estrella Divina]

Stephen walked proudly even when they briefly walked passed the training room. He didn't catch who it was that was in the room with the students like Shroud had. It was mainly because Stephen was too involved with his ego to really care. Shroud had caught sight of someone completely destroying another one in sword combat. It might have been a trainer that was at a whole different level than anyone else except himself, yet Stephen had not seen who it was in the room, but Estrella certainly would.

"I am the the best one out there. I've defeated countless of enemies worldwide." What he said was true, but again he showed off his arrogant side.

She wanted to hide her face when she heard Shroud ask a more in-depth question about Stephen. Why did he want to find out so much about Stephen? It was obvious to her that Shroud seemed fascinated by the arrogance of the so called prodigy. As they walked through the hallway as a trio, she suddenly froze to see who it was that Shroud was watching after he had asked about the tests. Her eyes widened at the sight of who it was that had bested another, younger student in a "sword" like duel.

Immediately, she pushed the two forward to get them away from the training room.

"We should probably not stand in front of here especially when there is glass. Both of you can probably get hurt or something, and if you do, I am definitely not healing your asses." She wanted to make it seem like it was for their benefit. However, the glass was bullet proof and it would have been extremely difficult to break.

Stephen stopped dead in his tracks as soon as Estrella had attempted to push Shroud and himself forward. What was her problem? He was in the middle of discussing his awesomeness.

"What's wrong Estrella?" He turned to her and had not yet looked over into the room as Shroud and herself had. It seemed like she was concerned, but why?