|| ThE ReFuGe || discussion

Where students practice physical exercises and self defense.

William Collins had just finished arranging a few weapons in the gym's long table. He glanced at his watch. Any minute from now his first set of students for the day are going to be here. Grade 10.

Octavia and Zander walked in.

Mr. Collins nodded at the two students who came in first. "Take your shoes off and make yourselves comfortable," he said, gesturing for them to sit at the rubber mat-padded floor.

Victoria set her bag down by the door, slightly moving her hair out of her face. She waited quietly. The faint whispers kept filling her head, but she tried to ignore them.

Octavia unlatched her boots and pulled them off. Zander took of his tennis shoes. They both rushed over to the mats.

"Come in, come in and sit down," Mr. Collins called at another student who was quietly standing by the door.

"Are you three new here at the Refuge?" he inquired at Octavia, Zander, and Victoria.

Octavia nodded her head, but Zander shook his head. "No sir, I've been here since 9th grade," Zander said.

((@Kate and Iris.. mind if dragged your charries Katya and Jigiri here? It's their next class, anyway! :D))

Gwen led the two girls towards the gym. She stopped walking and slipped her feet onto her sandals, knowing very well how her father disapproved of her wandering barefeet.

As we need them when we're in our wolf form, she argued inside her head for the nth time.

Victoria slipped out of her combat boots and slipped on her tennis shoes. She sat down on one of the bleachers, a bit farther away from everyone else, but close enough to listen.

Mr. Collins nodded at them, then took his class record from his table as he noticed a few more students getting inside the gym.

"Names?" he asked in a gruff voice.

"And you there," he gestured at Victoria, "sit here. There's a lot of room for the whole class, no need for excluding your self. We'll have a lot of time for practicing self-defense later. But for now I want to teach you an important thing about being in a pack: unless you are surrounded by fools or traitors, there is always safety in numbers. The lone wolf rarely survives long enough, and even he will crave, and NEED, the connection and company of others." He looked at all of them, years of experience etched in his expression.

"Now, of course I know what most of your stories are: lone survivors, abandoned, orphaned, or hunted ones. And that is why the Refuge is here, so you won't be alone again. You may want to go out there at the human world again after graduating, but you won't be alone anymore. The Refuge would be a family you can always run to."

"Okay, enough talking! Hurry up," he called at the newcomers, "so we can start our class."

Victoria quietly moved closer towards the students, not wanting to anger Mr. Collins. She listened quietly to him, but she could no longer avoid the whispers.

Octavia smiled and then looked at Zander who just shrugged it off. He'd heard the little speech many times before and he didn't mind about the human world. He'd worry about it when he came to it. Octavia sighed. The human world is where my family is, she thought.

Gwen jogged hurriedly with Katya and Jigiri towards the padded area of the gym. She slipped off her sandals then sat at the rubber mat, listening as their instructor rattled off a few things. She heard him call a few names and ask her classmates a question, but she didn't understand them because her mind had wandered off, daydreaming, again.

"--asked you a question, miss Collins. Are you paying attention?" she heard their teacher's stern voice, snapping her back to reality.

"Uhm, what?" she asked nervously.

Misty wrote: "((@Kate and Iris.. mind if dragged your charries Katya and Jigiri here? It's their next class, anyway! :D))

Gwen led the two girls towards the gym. She stopped walking and slipped her feet onto he..."

((ah no problem, it's okay, sorry I'm not on very often))

Jigiri introduced herself quickly, but felt annoyed by the teacher's introduction. "What does he mean, he already knows out situation," she thought.


"Don't act like you already know all of us! Sure, you're a teacher, you've been through the hardships that we are encountering now, but don't talk like you know us. Don't you dare pity us, or look down on us, and stop the small talk, and let's get started already!" Jigiri silently thought, with such an infuriated expression.

She stood up and glared at the teacher.

((It's okay!))

Gwen pulled at Jigiri's arm, willing her to sit down. "Jigiri, please. Not now," she hissed, looking nervously between her father and her friend.

Mr. Collins looked at the girl beside Gwen who was giving him a death glare.

"Yes, miss--" he looked at his class record, "Jigiri, I believe. Can you help your friend and answer my query?"

(( XD ))

Jigiri stared at him. "NO," she replied bluntly. She glared at the teacher and said, "I do believe that you said that we're starting class now. So I'M starting, if you're not. "

She faced Gwen now, and shrugged her hand off. " Why do you care so much? If that's your father, then YOU be a good girl. Why would it matter if I'm the one being the bad girl, you're not going to get in trouble. And I won't care about punishment about my cheeky behavior. And, hey, don't you want to move and get something productive done already? We've only been sitting for this entire morning. It's not good for us"

Jigiri moved rigidly towards the back of the room where the weaponry choice was. She took out her sword and scraped it over the concrete walls. "Not sharp enough," she muttered, and began sharpening it and exerting her boundless energy over the walls.

She had had enough. She already sat through an hour of agony with Ms. Asagi. Jigiri could not go through the morning without some sort of action.

"Now, I wouldn't do that if I were you, and I do not tolerate such behavoir." Mr. Collins said in such a calm manner it was frightening. In a blink of an eye he was already standing beside Jigiri, his eyes suddenly turning into a wolf's ones. He took the weapon from Jigiri's hand and put it back to the long table.

"And these weapons are not to mess with, for you might accidentally kill your peers. Yes, kill. I keep them dull for class purposes, as these are not the ones we use during, uh, emergency purposes."

"Now miss Collins, kindly tell us: Do you know what kills your kind?" he continued.


"Silver, sir. It poisons our blood, travels faster than a snake's or a scorpion's venom," Gwen answered in a confident voice, remembering the things she learned early in life.

"Yes, silver. And you, miss Jigiri, do you know what kills your kind?" Mr. Collins asked in an even tone of voice, as if Jigiri did not just behaved rudely.

Jigiri's eyes glowed dangerously.

"Don't touch my sword! That's MY sword! I never took it from your stash of weapons! Give it back! That is my own personal weapon! Nobody touches it!" Jigiri shrilled hysterically, and was almost on the verge of tears. It was very special to her, and given to her by a very special someone.

Jigiri paid no attention at the questions asked by Mr. Collins, and ignored the class' shocked stares and Gwen's pleading of her to stop.

She just wanted her sword back. Tears had started to pour from her eyes. Jigiri did not want to look like a fool so she decided to answer the question now. Maybe then she'll get the sword back, as the adult was ignoring her.

Katya appeared behind Jigiri, she took her by the shoulders, putting he finger on her pressure point, pressing lightly, "Jigiri calm down." she said calmly, sitting down and bringing the girl down with her. "Mr.Collins, would you please return her sword? She'll calm down if she has it." seh said, looking up at Mr.Collins.

Mr. Collins furrowed his brows at what Jigiri had said. He carefully looked at the sword, then shook his head. This sword. How did-- he stopped his thought, then studied Jigiri carefully, wondering how in the world this weapon came into her possession. This was locked up a long time ago along with other very dangerous weapons the Refuge had gathered through the years. Then one day it just vanished, and whoever took it left them with no trail to follow or any clue as to who they are.

He nodded at Katya then said, "I will, later. I have to talk to miss Jigiri first."


He then turned his attention back to his lecture. "As I was saying, it is always better when one knows his weaknesses, and how to avoid, if not overcome, them," he said. "Self-defense is not only about fighting with or fending off your enemies, or those who hunt you. Self-defense is also about knowing how to avoid dangerous things from happening, unless of course if you are assigned a very dangerous task. That's what our training is for," he added.

"Now I want you all to line up, single file. See these blocks of wood? Each one of you should destroy one, use a punch or a kick or whatever, but no weapons! I want to see how strong your bodies are, as we will work from there," he announced.

Katya sighed, releasing Jigiri, "Don't do anything stupid." she muttered. Katya stood up and walked over to the blocks of wood, she smashed it into smithereans using a super strong kick.

Mr. Collins nodded with approval at Katya and most of the students' display of strength. Others were not so impressive.

Then it was Gwen's turn. She was excited and nervous at the same time. She took a few steps back then ran towards the wooden block, right fist raised. She punched through the wood, leaving a hole in the middle. Not bad, she thought, wincing at the slight sting from the impact.

Katya smiled at Gwen, "Nice." she said and grinned at Gwen.

"Thanks," Gwen said, grinning too. "But not as impressive as what you did." She nudged Katya, "Think she's gonna be okay?" she asked, looking at Jigiri's direction.

She smiled, "Ah, whatever." she said. She followed her gaze at Jigiri, "Yeah, she'll recover from her outburst." she said, nodding.

Octavia and Zander stood up quickly when the arguing began. Zander frowned and sensed Octavia's distress. Her frowned. When the teacher told them to get in Line he went first making sure that Octavia was okay. Zander was next in line. He charged forward and punched the wooden block. He broke it in half cleanly. Octavia was after him. She charged and punched the wooden block, but nothing happened. "Ouch," she muttered as she blushed, being the first not to break it. She then tried to kick it, but nothing happened. At least she didn't hurt her foot.

Katya looked at Gwen, "Ill be right back." she said and walked over to Octavia, "Hey, try focusing all your energy on it and charge, close your eyes and give it all you got." she told her.

Octavia frowned slightly. "I-I'll try next time," she said. She blushed a little more, her face almost the same color as her hair.

Kata laughed, "Ok."

Misty wrote: "Mr. Collins nodded with approval at Katya and most of the students' display of strength. Others were not so impressive.

Then it was Gwen's turn. She was excited and nervous at the same time. She t..."

After the sword had returned to Jigiri, she had calmed down a great deal, but was still hurt by the adult's actions. She sat out and observed the class first as Mr. Collins first went to gather more of the wooden blocks.

As he returned again, she went up front, and confronted the teacher.

Jigiri faced him, and the dark glow in her eyes was gone. Instead a more friendly glow appeared.

"Mr. Collins, I'm sorry for my rash actions, I was just having a bad morning. I'll learn to control my temper!" She bowed deeply. Then she rushed to her new friends Gwen and Katya, and apologized to them as well.

"Sorry, I caused trouble for you two. I was just having a bad morning. I'll control my temper better. Thank you for supporting me, though. " She gave a weak smile, and joined the rest of the class in testing their strength.

Katya smiled, "It's fine." she said and watched Jigiri.

Zander walked over to her. "You did pretty good, you can tell you hit it," he said with a faint smile. Octavia shrugged. "I guess," she said.

Joseph walked into the gymnasium, a bemused expression on his face as he noticed all the students already in the room. Well, it looked like he was late today.

Katya turned to look around the room, she noticed a boy who had just came in... Looks like someone finally decided to show up after skipping first period... she thought.

Jigiri allowed the late boy to join the line before her.

"Hey, you go first. Break the blocks with your body, no weapons, got it?"

Zander glanced over at the boy who was late, but the paid no more attention. "By the way, my name's Zander," he said to her. Octavia smiled and held out her hand. "Octavia, I'm an angel," she said. He smirked and shook her hand.

"Got it," he replied, trying not to smirk. He found it amusing the looks people gave him, but he paid them no mind.
Joseph charged towards the block and punched it, his fist going clean through it. He pulled his hand back and looked at it, another bemused expression on his face. With a slight shrug he made his way towards the end of the line, allowing whoever was behind him to take their turn.

Jasmine Dgk Vengeance ♥Zero Kiryu♥ wrote: ""Got it," he replied, trying not to smirk. He found it amusing the looks people gave him, but he paid them no mind.
Joseph charged towards the block and punched it, his fist going clean through it...."


Jigiri was next.

She wanted to be different; she didn't want to do just punches or kicks. Jigiri thought that she could throw the block somewhere really far away, with lots of strength, so that it would break. But, she was already in trouble from her previous incident; maybe the flyaway wood would break a window or hurt someone. So she decided to give the block a swift kick, and it split neatly in two.

Joseph repressed the urge to raise an eyebrow and instead settled for the smirk that was already playing on his lips - he was impressed. It seemed this class may turn out to be more rewarding than he had originally thought.

Zander and Octavia stood where they were and watched the others. Octavia blushed more as she realized that so far she was the only one who didn't break the block. "I'm terribly weak," she grumbled. Zander smiled softly trying to be nice. "Hey, I'm sure as you train and we practice in here you'll get better," he said. Octavia nodded her head. "Y-Yeah..." she said.

Jasmine Dgk Vengeance ♥Zero Kiryu♥ wrote: "Joseph repressed the urge to raise an eyebrow and instead settled for the smirk that was already playing on his lips - he was impressed. It seemed this class may turn out to be more rewarding than ..."

Jigiri lined up again, but this was a bit boring for her. At least she could move around and stretch her muscles, but what was that teacher doing? The class had already been doing this for at least half an hour. Surely it was enough time for evaluation for the teacher to see their physical abilities. Jigiri raised an eyebrow at the teacher, wondering about the next activity.

"Is this all we're going to do?" Joseph asked her quietly, raising an eyebrow. His voice was low and sounded almost uninterested, but his eyes were gleaming.

Mr. Collins cleared his throat as the last of his students had their turn at destroying the blocks of wood. He rattled off a few comments and advice to those who need improvement.

"...yes. And miss Octavia, you can work on that punching bag over there later to improve your punches," he muttered, pointing at the other side of the gym.

"Now, basic and simple weapons first. Who in here is familiar with arnis?" he asked.

Octavia blushed bright red and nodded.

мίşţч wrote: "Mr. Collins cleared his throat as the last of his students had their turn at destroying the blocks of wood. He rattled off a few comments and advice to those who need improvement.

"...yes. And mis..."

Jigiri leaned against the wall, folding her arms together. Wasn't it quite obvious that she was already expreienced in swordplay and the art of arnis?

She raised her own sword in the air.

"Never heard of it," Joseph said blandly, leaning against a wall.

Mr. Collins nodded at Jigiri. "Okay, come here. We'll show them the basic moves of arnis," he said, then tossed at Jigiri a pair of padded ratan sticks.

"For those of you who don't know, arnis is a type of martial arts that originated from the Philippines. Some people call it stick fighting. It's an easy and handy skill to learn."

мίşţч wrote: "Mr. Collins nodded at Jigiri. "Okay, come here. We'll show them the basic moves of arnis," he said, then tossed at Jigiri a pair of padded ratan sticks.

"For those of you who don't know, arnis is ..."

Jigiri nodded back at the teacher, putting aside her own sword on the table, and reaching for the wooden stick. She swung it around a bit, testing it's weight, speed, etc. and was ready to demonstrate.

"Right, so want me to par with you a bit or somehthing?"

Mr. Collins took a pair of sticks then faced Jigiri. "Yes. We'll show them the basic moves first for attacking, then disarming. Ready?"