jadelyntate (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
jadelyntate) wrote2011-02-18 10:48 pm
jadelyntate) wrote2011-02-18 10:48 pm
Entry tags:
FIC: From the Ashes, PG-13, multi-season, PART I
Author: Jade
Story: From the Ashes
Disclaimer: I do no own Power Rangers, it is (finally!) owned by Haim Saban and the Saban Corporation.
Summary: During the Great War, one of the biggest casualties was the death of the Ancient Order of the Ninjette, a peace-keeping organization based on the planet Phaedos. Now, ten thousand years after the slaughter of thousands, the Order has been reborn...
Pairings/Characters: Kim/Jason, Billy/Kat, Tommy/Hayley, Rocky/Aisha, Phantom/Cassie, Andros/Ashley, Karone/Zhane, Adam, Zedd, Rita, Scorpina, with mentions of Zack/Tanya and past Kim/Tommy, Kat/Tommy
A/N 1: So, I have been working on this off and on for a little over two years. Mostly it was playing with the idea, giving myself specific scenes. But a couple months ago I finally sat down and actually wrote out notes, scenes, figured out the structure of the Temple, resisted the urge to watch Star Wars and instead decided Kim just needed to steal the clothes designs, lol. And I'm posting this now cause I'm tipsy after a night out with the girls and I don't want to go to bed.
Phaedos, Great Temple, 2005
Kimberly wasn't paying much attention to where she was going. Normally, this would be a cause for concern, since this part of the Temple was still being worked on, but Sabri kept tugging at her arm to get her away from obstacles, keeping her from tripping and making a fool of herself as she read through the fourteen requests for temples. Eltar, Inquiris, Triforia, and Aquitar she understood and agreed with, as they had had Temples during the Old Order, but the other ten...she didn't know any of these planets.
“I need to talk to Dulcea,” she finally said, looking up and blinking; she and Sabri were in the main gardens, or what would eventually become the main gardens; for now, it was mostly a supply station for the rest of the construction. “How long have we been here?”
“About ten minutes,” Sabri answered, sounding amused. “Phelan tried waving you down but gave up when he realized you were occupied.”
“He did?” she asked, startled. “He should have come over—this can wait and...”
She trailed off as Sabri began laughing. “You will do anything to get out of political decisions, won't you?” she asked. “Even deal with Phelan.”
“I don't know why you two don't get along,” Kim said. “You're a lot alike.”
“You know why,” she replied. “We fought on different sides for so long...its hard to let go of those grudges.”
“If I can learn to deal with Zedd, Phelan can learn to deal with you,” Kimberly insisted stubbornly.
“Speaking of your adviser...”
Kimberly looked over her shoulder at the direction Sabri had been staring and found Zedd, former Warlock and current adviser/servant to the Order, approaching. She scowled when he bowed, as he always did, and ignored the smirk on his face; he knew she hated it when people bowed or curtsied to her and she suspected he did it only to irritate her. He may be on their side now but some things had remained the same.
Zedd had come to Phaedos shortly after the Day of Light, the day Zordon had sacrificed himself to stop the attack on the Alliance. He'd asked for the opportunity to make amends, by helping in the rebuilding efforts and Dulcea, Ninjor, and Kim had agreed. Since then, he'd taken it upon himself to teach Kimberly the politics of the Alliance, something he was surprisingly knowledgeable on given he'd been on the opposing side for so long.
“Lady Crane, we have more petitions, twenty-seven in all,” he said, once she waved at him to start talking. She'd dreamt of what it would be like to be a princess or lady or duchess when she'd been younger but those dreams were nothing like the reality—the grovelling, for example, was a continuous irritant.
“Petitions for Temples or Petitions for Pledges?” she asked, knowing he'd been dealing with both. A lot of people in the Alliance weren't happy about that, actually, but after Kim had chastised a visiting prince about trusting Zordon's last judgment, the most vocal had gotten very quiet about it all. Kim still wasn't sure if that was a good thing or not.
“Both,” he answered, eyes twinkling. He paused a moment. “And we received a request for information on the new Order. From Earth.”
Kimberly's eyes widened as next to her, Sabri froze. “Someone from Earth contacted us?” she asked, surprised. As far as she knew, most of the former Rangers thought she was in France with her mother. She kept in contact with them via a communication device the Aquitains had given her but...
She didn't know why she hadn't come clean and told them she was no longer on the planet, hadn't been for over seven years. All of them had moved on with their lives; most had married, had kids, found jobs. She and Tommy seemed to be the only ones unable to actually leave the Power alone, what with him having started a new team and her rebuilding the Ninjette. Even Tommy, though, said he'd retired for good after Mesogog had been defeated. Given she'd never been as...enthusiastic...as some of her friends about being rangers, she'd really like to know why it was her who had been pulled back in so thoroughly.
“Billy sent the request through Rita,” he explained. She nodded slowly—Rita knew all about the New Order, who was running it, and since Kim knew Rita had been very open about her new place in Avalon as the Mystic Mother, it made sense that they had contacted them through the witch.
“But how did Billy find out about it?” Sabri asked, frowning. “We've had to steer clear of announcing it on Earth because they're not an official member of the Alliance.”
“I do not know,” Zedd shrugged. “Perhaps he has remained in contact with the Aquitains and they told him. Or maybe Trey told Jason; my reports indicate the former red ranger traveled to Triforia a few weeks ago when the King died.”
“And Triforia has taken the initiative and already started working on their temple, even though we haven't given them the green light yet,” Kim agreed and then rolled her eyes at Zedd's expression. “Yes, I actually read your reports, try and contain your shock.”
Sabri snickered as Zedd sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. A small commotion by one of the archways leading to a finished section of the Temple caused them to look over. Phelan, former Phanton Ranger and current Champion Knight of the Ninjette, approached. He twitched as he stopped a few feet away and Kim smiled—she knew he intensely disliked Kim's aversion to formalities and would prefer to show her the respect he felt she deserved. It had taken almost five years, but he had finally stopped bowing on instinct when approaching her. Now he just twitched.
“Lady Crane, I feel I must remind you that you have a lessen with the first year Pages in ten minutes time,” he told her, his voice low and formal. “As your lesson is to be held in the Great Hall, perhaps...”
“Yeah, yeah, I should get moving,” she broke in. “Thanks Phey.”
He gave her a pained expression as Zedd and Sabri tried and failed to stifle their snickers. “Lady Crane, I have repeatedly asked you not to call me that,” he reminded her stiffly.
“And as always, I will stop calling you Phey once you stop trying to bow to me,” she told him.
“Lady Crane, I must point out that I did not bow today.”
“No, but you twitched,” she said and then smiled at his sigh. “Aw, don't worry Phey, you'll get there eventually!”
He opened his mouth to say something, apparently thought better of it, and snapped his mouth shut. Chuckling, she handed the datapads with the petitions for Temples to Sabri.
“Take these to my study, please, and Zedd, take the new petitions for pledges to Dulcea,” she said, making sure to make it sound more like a request than an order, as Zandra insisted worked better in getting things done. “And tell Ninjor that at the rate were getting Pledge Petitions, we're gonna need a bigger boat.”
“A boat?”
“I was not aware we needed a boat.”
“Why would we need a boat?” the three of them asked over each other, looking confused. Kim made a face.
“Sorry, Earth phrase; I meant we're going to need more space for the kids,” she explained and they nodded in easy acceptance. This wasn't the first time Kim had made a pop culture reference they didn't understand and they all doubted it would be the last.
“Alrighty, lets go teach a bunch of fourteen year olds about...what am I talking to them about today?” she asked, looking at Sabri and Phelan blankly. Sabri's lips twitched as Phelan sighed. Zedd just outright grinned, not worried about retribution like Sabri or the supposed formalities like Phelan.
“The Ninjette Code,” he reminded her and she let out a small “Oh!” as she recalled the conversation she'd had with Dulcea about it. He chuckled.
“You all do remember I'm still learning it too, right?” she asked no one in particular as they made their way to the Great Hall—this was a common thing of hers in the course of them insisting she teach a class. They'd long ago stopped paying attention to her complaints.
As they neared the ginormous meeting and eating hall, faint sounds of the ninjette in training could be heard coming from inside. As Phelan walked in and cleared his throat, getting the attention of the teens, Kim spared a brief thought to wonder what would happen when news finally reached her friends—and how angry they'd be.
~~*~~
A few days later, Kim sat down at her table, eying the datapad that contained Billy's request for more information on the new Order. She'd been putting off replying to it, fearing the response once they found out she'd been lying to them for years. Unfortunately, Billy had decided to resend his request, this time through Aquitain channels, probably thinking it hadn't gone through the first time. Kim knew the longer it took her to answer, the more paranoid he—and the rest of them—were liable to get. She honestly wouldn't put it past them, actually, to send someone to check it out.
There was a knock at the door, breaking her from her musings. Head snapping up, she waved a hand, inwardly thrilled when it opened. Ninjor, Sabri, and Zedd had been teaching her magic, something she was both excited and terrified of. However, she couldn't help but be pleased at all the little things it allowed her to do.
“Lady Crane, forgive the intrusion,” Hervel, the man in charge of the construction of the Temple, said as he bowed to her. “Lord Belden is ready to begin work on your private garden, if the Ladyship wishes.”
“Send him in,” Kimberly said, knowing the sooner Belden got her garden done, the sooner he could get back to work on the farms. Her rooms had been one of the first things finished, even though she insisted she was perfectly happy in the Inn they'd built up to accommodate all the people coming to work. The Nature Magus had actually wanted to do her garden immediately upon the completion of the surrounding walls, but Kim refused, ordering him to work on the farms so they'd have some sort of Harvest. Ten years, and her private garden was still just a giant plot of dirt, as Kimberly kept finding every reason she could possibly think of to keep him occupied on things she considered more important.
Looked like her stalling had finally run its course, though.
“Lady Crane, thank you for accepting my request,” Belden said, coming inside.
“Not like I have much of a choice,” she said, struggling not to show any ounce of a whine. “You have the list of plants I wanted?”
“Of course, milady, the botanists were most willing to send the saplings and seeds when they learned of their future home,” he agreed with a knowing smile. “Shall I begin now, my lady?”
“Yes,” she agreed. She paused. “What, exactly, do you have planned, if I can ask?”
“I would rather it be a surprise, milady,” he murmured. “I have been working and reworking the plans for ten years, after all.”
There was no reproach in his voice but Kim felt herself flush anyway; she knew a lot of people approved of the way she insisted the commoners and artisans and people came first but for every ten of them, there was at least one who thought she should be more concerned of her personal showing of power as the queen and high priestess.
“Alright, in that case, I'm going to see how the pledges are doing—they're working on bows today,” she said and was rewarded with a smile. There was relief in his eyes too, though she wasn't sure if it was because he hated people looking over his shoulder or because she was giving in and letting him do his magic on her dirt.
“Milady could show them quite a few things, I think,” he said and she smiled faintly; everyone knew how fond of archery she was and many considered her more than proficient enough to teach the lessons if she wanted.
Leaving him alone to round up the three other nature mages that had come to Phaedos, she slowly made her way down to the far end of the field that those training in the way of the Ninjette used for archery lessons and practice. Half the size of a professional football field back home, it was filled with a little over two dozen pre-teens and adults, all working on bettering themselves on the bows.
Surrounding the archery field were other fields, filled with kids learning staff fight, sword fighting, hand to hand, magic...during the day, these fields were never, ever empty.
Waving and nodding hello to the students and instructors who called out greetings, she moved in close to the row of targets and the the twelve year olds wielding bows.
It never ceased to amaze Kimberly how...archaic...the ninjette training was. She'd fully been expecting guns and blasters and bomb training and, for the older students, those in their final years, she was right to a degree. But being Ninjette wasn't about technology, it was about the natural universe. Students were taught to use a variety of weapons that had nothing whatsoever to do with “modern” technology: sword, axe, bows, and staffs were the four main ones but there were more. They were taught to live off the land, to survive unfriendly circumstances, to track and hunt and...it was nothing she'd expected and everything she was privately impressed by.
“We are pleased to have you join us, Lady Crane,” Dulcea said, smiling knowingly when Kim stopped near them, hands behind her back and leaning back on her heels. “Pledges, perhaps if we asked nicely, our High Priestess will grace us with a demonstration of how to properly fire a bow from a long distance.”
Kim resisted the urge to make a face at the warrior; in truth, she did enjoy helping in the archery classes so it wasn't as much an imposition as she led others to believe.
“Bow!” she called out and one of the boys from the village, those who volunteered but who were not training themselves, approached with one of the weapons. She accepted it with a slight nod and the boy moved back several steps, looking pleased with himself.
“How far should I stand, Lady Owl?” she asked, eyebrow raised. Dulcea got a thoughtful look on her face before pointing at a spot about fifteen feet from the target. She scoffed. “I think we can do much better than that, can't we Pledges?”
“Yes, Lady Crane,” they chorused. Smiling at them, she moved to a spot about thirty feet from the target.
Dulcea frowned. “Are you sure your ladyship would not prefer to stand closer?” she asked, feigning concern. Kim raised an eyebrow at her and the woman seemingly backed down.
Inwardly smiling at the familiar byplay (this was something they did all the time with the younger kids; the older ones knew better by the time they were about fourteen), Kim pulled her bow up. Firing off three arrows in rapid succession, she finally lowered the bow and turned expectantly to the kids, all of whom were staring at the target in open-mouthed surprise; all three arrows were clustered at dead-center.
“Perhaps more of a challenge?” she suggested and exchanged an amused look with Dulcea at the skeptical looks on some of the kids faces when Kim moved fifteen feet farther behind, leaving her forty-five feet from the target.
Three more arrows at dead-center had the skeptical looks turning impressed. One of the more braver kids raised a hand. Kim nodded at her, head tilted in curiosity; most of the time, the kids were too cowed by her status in the Temple to openly do something like this so it was always a treat when they actually spoke up. “How far can your ladyship shoot from, if I may ask?” the young girl asked politely.
She was a tiny thing, smaller even than Kim had been at that age, with soft blue hair that was plaited down her back, stopping just above her backbone. Her eyes were a sparkling emerald and shaped like a cat, her skin was a pale, almost white blue, and her ears were pointed like an elfs—Kim finally recognized her as one of the Vespians, the first of her kind to be accepted as a Ninjette (though there was a family of them in the village, all working artisans for the Temple). The Vespians had formed a legal planetary government only after the Old Ninjette Order had fallen, leaving them unable to send any of their children to be trained back then. The girl had been big news when she'd arrived.
“You know, I've never tested it,” she answered, frowning. “That's a very good question, Pledge Josiane.”
The girl looked absolutely thrilled Kim knew her by name and the former pink ranger hid a smile to look at the rest of the group. “Perhaps we should test it today?” she suggested and the kids all grinned at her.
Story: From the Ashes
Disclaimer: I do no own Power Rangers, it is (finally!) owned by Haim Saban and the Saban Corporation.
Summary: During the Great War, one of the biggest casualties was the death of the Ancient Order of the Ninjette, a peace-keeping organization based on the planet Phaedos. Now, ten thousand years after the slaughter of thousands, the Order has been reborn...
Pairings/Characters: Kim/Jason, Billy/Kat, Tommy/Hayley, Rocky/Aisha, Phantom/Cassie, Andros/Ashley, Karone/Zhane, Adam, Zedd, Rita, Scorpina, with mentions of Zack/Tanya and past Kim/Tommy, Kat/Tommy
A/N 1: So, I have been working on this off and on for a little over two years. Mostly it was playing with the idea, giving myself specific scenes. But a couple months ago I finally sat down and actually wrote out notes, scenes, figured out the structure of the Temple, resisted the urge to watch Star Wars and instead decided Kim just needed to steal the clothes designs, lol. And I'm posting this now cause I'm tipsy after a night out with the girls and I don't want to go to bed.
Phaedos, Great Temple, 2005
Kimberly wasn't paying much attention to where she was going. Normally, this would be a cause for concern, since this part of the Temple was still being worked on, but Sabri kept tugging at her arm to get her away from obstacles, keeping her from tripping and making a fool of herself as she read through the fourteen requests for temples. Eltar, Inquiris, Triforia, and Aquitar she understood and agreed with, as they had had Temples during the Old Order, but the other ten...she didn't know any of these planets.
“I need to talk to Dulcea,” she finally said, looking up and blinking; she and Sabri were in the main gardens, or what would eventually become the main gardens; for now, it was mostly a supply station for the rest of the construction. “How long have we been here?”
“About ten minutes,” Sabri answered, sounding amused. “Phelan tried waving you down but gave up when he realized you were occupied.”
“He did?” she asked, startled. “He should have come over—this can wait and...”
She trailed off as Sabri began laughing. “You will do anything to get out of political decisions, won't you?” she asked. “Even deal with Phelan.”
“I don't know why you two don't get along,” Kim said. “You're a lot alike.”
“You know why,” she replied. “We fought on different sides for so long...its hard to let go of those grudges.”
“If I can learn to deal with Zedd, Phelan can learn to deal with you,” Kimberly insisted stubbornly.
“Speaking of your adviser...”
Kimberly looked over her shoulder at the direction Sabri had been staring and found Zedd, former Warlock and current adviser/servant to the Order, approaching. She scowled when he bowed, as he always did, and ignored the smirk on his face; he knew she hated it when people bowed or curtsied to her and she suspected he did it only to irritate her. He may be on their side now but some things had remained the same.
Zedd had come to Phaedos shortly after the Day of Light, the day Zordon had sacrificed himself to stop the attack on the Alliance. He'd asked for the opportunity to make amends, by helping in the rebuilding efforts and Dulcea, Ninjor, and Kim had agreed. Since then, he'd taken it upon himself to teach Kimberly the politics of the Alliance, something he was surprisingly knowledgeable on given he'd been on the opposing side for so long.
“Lady Crane, we have more petitions, twenty-seven in all,” he said, once she waved at him to start talking. She'd dreamt of what it would be like to be a princess or lady or duchess when she'd been younger but those dreams were nothing like the reality—the grovelling, for example, was a continuous irritant.
“Petitions for Temples or Petitions for Pledges?” she asked, knowing he'd been dealing with both. A lot of people in the Alliance weren't happy about that, actually, but after Kim had chastised a visiting prince about trusting Zordon's last judgment, the most vocal had gotten very quiet about it all. Kim still wasn't sure if that was a good thing or not.
“Both,” he answered, eyes twinkling. He paused a moment. “And we received a request for information on the new Order. From Earth.”
Kimberly's eyes widened as next to her, Sabri froze. “Someone from Earth contacted us?” she asked, surprised. As far as she knew, most of the former Rangers thought she was in France with her mother. She kept in contact with them via a communication device the Aquitains had given her but...
She didn't know why she hadn't come clean and told them she was no longer on the planet, hadn't been for over seven years. All of them had moved on with their lives; most had married, had kids, found jobs. She and Tommy seemed to be the only ones unable to actually leave the Power alone, what with him having started a new team and her rebuilding the Ninjette. Even Tommy, though, said he'd retired for good after Mesogog had been defeated. Given she'd never been as...enthusiastic...as some of her friends about being rangers, she'd really like to know why it was her who had been pulled back in so thoroughly.
“Billy sent the request through Rita,” he explained. She nodded slowly—Rita knew all about the New Order, who was running it, and since Kim knew Rita had been very open about her new place in Avalon as the Mystic Mother, it made sense that they had contacted them through the witch.
“But how did Billy find out about it?” Sabri asked, frowning. “We've had to steer clear of announcing it on Earth because they're not an official member of the Alliance.”
“I do not know,” Zedd shrugged. “Perhaps he has remained in contact with the Aquitains and they told him. Or maybe Trey told Jason; my reports indicate the former red ranger traveled to Triforia a few weeks ago when the King died.”
“And Triforia has taken the initiative and already started working on their temple, even though we haven't given them the green light yet,” Kim agreed and then rolled her eyes at Zedd's expression. “Yes, I actually read your reports, try and contain your shock.”
Sabri snickered as Zedd sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. A small commotion by one of the archways leading to a finished section of the Temple caused them to look over. Phelan, former Phanton Ranger and current Champion Knight of the Ninjette, approached. He twitched as he stopped a few feet away and Kim smiled—she knew he intensely disliked Kim's aversion to formalities and would prefer to show her the respect he felt she deserved. It had taken almost five years, but he had finally stopped bowing on instinct when approaching her. Now he just twitched.
“Lady Crane, I feel I must remind you that you have a lessen with the first year Pages in ten minutes time,” he told her, his voice low and formal. “As your lesson is to be held in the Great Hall, perhaps...”
“Yeah, yeah, I should get moving,” she broke in. “Thanks Phey.”
He gave her a pained expression as Zedd and Sabri tried and failed to stifle their snickers. “Lady Crane, I have repeatedly asked you not to call me that,” he reminded her stiffly.
“And as always, I will stop calling you Phey once you stop trying to bow to me,” she told him.
“Lady Crane, I must point out that I did not bow today.”
“No, but you twitched,” she said and then smiled at his sigh. “Aw, don't worry Phey, you'll get there eventually!”
He opened his mouth to say something, apparently thought better of it, and snapped his mouth shut. Chuckling, she handed the datapads with the petitions for Temples to Sabri.
“Take these to my study, please, and Zedd, take the new petitions for pledges to Dulcea,” she said, making sure to make it sound more like a request than an order, as Zandra insisted worked better in getting things done. “And tell Ninjor that at the rate were getting Pledge Petitions, we're gonna need a bigger boat.”
“A boat?”
“I was not aware we needed a boat.”
“Why would we need a boat?” the three of them asked over each other, looking confused. Kim made a face.
“Sorry, Earth phrase; I meant we're going to need more space for the kids,” she explained and they nodded in easy acceptance. This wasn't the first time Kim had made a pop culture reference they didn't understand and they all doubted it would be the last.
“Alrighty, lets go teach a bunch of fourteen year olds about...what am I talking to them about today?” she asked, looking at Sabri and Phelan blankly. Sabri's lips twitched as Phelan sighed. Zedd just outright grinned, not worried about retribution like Sabri or the supposed formalities like Phelan.
“The Ninjette Code,” he reminded her and she let out a small “Oh!” as she recalled the conversation she'd had with Dulcea about it. He chuckled.
“You all do remember I'm still learning it too, right?” she asked no one in particular as they made their way to the Great Hall—this was a common thing of hers in the course of them insisting she teach a class. They'd long ago stopped paying attention to her complaints.
As they neared the ginormous meeting and eating hall, faint sounds of the ninjette in training could be heard coming from inside. As Phelan walked in and cleared his throat, getting the attention of the teens, Kim spared a brief thought to wonder what would happen when news finally reached her friends—and how angry they'd be.
~~*~~
A few days later, Kim sat down at her table, eying the datapad that contained Billy's request for more information on the new Order. She'd been putting off replying to it, fearing the response once they found out she'd been lying to them for years. Unfortunately, Billy had decided to resend his request, this time through Aquitain channels, probably thinking it hadn't gone through the first time. Kim knew the longer it took her to answer, the more paranoid he—and the rest of them—were liable to get. She honestly wouldn't put it past them, actually, to send someone to check it out.
There was a knock at the door, breaking her from her musings. Head snapping up, she waved a hand, inwardly thrilled when it opened. Ninjor, Sabri, and Zedd had been teaching her magic, something she was both excited and terrified of. However, she couldn't help but be pleased at all the little things it allowed her to do.
“Lady Crane, forgive the intrusion,” Hervel, the man in charge of the construction of the Temple, said as he bowed to her. “Lord Belden is ready to begin work on your private garden, if the Ladyship wishes.”
“Send him in,” Kimberly said, knowing the sooner Belden got her garden done, the sooner he could get back to work on the farms. Her rooms had been one of the first things finished, even though she insisted she was perfectly happy in the Inn they'd built up to accommodate all the people coming to work. The Nature Magus had actually wanted to do her garden immediately upon the completion of the surrounding walls, but Kim refused, ordering him to work on the farms so they'd have some sort of Harvest. Ten years, and her private garden was still just a giant plot of dirt, as Kimberly kept finding every reason she could possibly think of to keep him occupied on things she considered more important.
Looked like her stalling had finally run its course, though.
“Lady Crane, thank you for accepting my request,” Belden said, coming inside.
“Not like I have much of a choice,” she said, struggling not to show any ounce of a whine. “You have the list of plants I wanted?”
“Of course, milady, the botanists were most willing to send the saplings and seeds when they learned of their future home,” he agreed with a knowing smile. “Shall I begin now, my lady?”
“Yes,” she agreed. She paused. “What, exactly, do you have planned, if I can ask?”
“I would rather it be a surprise, milady,” he murmured. “I have been working and reworking the plans for ten years, after all.”
There was no reproach in his voice but Kim felt herself flush anyway; she knew a lot of people approved of the way she insisted the commoners and artisans and people came first but for every ten of them, there was at least one who thought she should be more concerned of her personal showing of power as the queen and high priestess.
“Alright, in that case, I'm going to see how the pledges are doing—they're working on bows today,” she said and was rewarded with a smile. There was relief in his eyes too, though she wasn't sure if it was because he hated people looking over his shoulder or because she was giving in and letting him do his magic on her dirt.
“Milady could show them quite a few things, I think,” he said and she smiled faintly; everyone knew how fond of archery she was and many considered her more than proficient enough to teach the lessons if she wanted.
Leaving him alone to round up the three other nature mages that had come to Phaedos, she slowly made her way down to the far end of the field that those training in the way of the Ninjette used for archery lessons and practice. Half the size of a professional football field back home, it was filled with a little over two dozen pre-teens and adults, all working on bettering themselves on the bows.
Surrounding the archery field were other fields, filled with kids learning staff fight, sword fighting, hand to hand, magic...during the day, these fields were never, ever empty.
Waving and nodding hello to the students and instructors who called out greetings, she moved in close to the row of targets and the the twelve year olds wielding bows.
It never ceased to amaze Kimberly how...archaic...the ninjette training was. She'd fully been expecting guns and blasters and bomb training and, for the older students, those in their final years, she was right to a degree. But being Ninjette wasn't about technology, it was about the natural universe. Students were taught to use a variety of weapons that had nothing whatsoever to do with “modern” technology: sword, axe, bows, and staffs were the four main ones but there were more. They were taught to live off the land, to survive unfriendly circumstances, to track and hunt and...it was nothing she'd expected and everything she was privately impressed by.
“We are pleased to have you join us, Lady Crane,” Dulcea said, smiling knowingly when Kim stopped near them, hands behind her back and leaning back on her heels. “Pledges, perhaps if we asked nicely, our High Priestess will grace us with a demonstration of how to properly fire a bow from a long distance.”
Kim resisted the urge to make a face at the warrior; in truth, she did enjoy helping in the archery classes so it wasn't as much an imposition as she led others to believe.
“Bow!” she called out and one of the boys from the village, those who volunteered but who were not training themselves, approached with one of the weapons. She accepted it with a slight nod and the boy moved back several steps, looking pleased with himself.
“How far should I stand, Lady Owl?” she asked, eyebrow raised. Dulcea got a thoughtful look on her face before pointing at a spot about fifteen feet from the target. She scoffed. “I think we can do much better than that, can't we Pledges?”
“Yes, Lady Crane,” they chorused. Smiling at them, she moved to a spot about thirty feet from the target.
Dulcea frowned. “Are you sure your ladyship would not prefer to stand closer?” she asked, feigning concern. Kim raised an eyebrow at her and the woman seemingly backed down.
Inwardly smiling at the familiar byplay (this was something they did all the time with the younger kids; the older ones knew better by the time they were about fourteen), Kim pulled her bow up. Firing off three arrows in rapid succession, she finally lowered the bow and turned expectantly to the kids, all of whom were staring at the target in open-mouthed surprise; all three arrows were clustered at dead-center.
“Perhaps more of a challenge?” she suggested and exchanged an amused look with Dulcea at the skeptical looks on some of the kids faces when Kim moved fifteen feet farther behind, leaving her forty-five feet from the target.
Three more arrows at dead-center had the skeptical looks turning impressed. One of the more braver kids raised a hand. Kim nodded at her, head tilted in curiosity; most of the time, the kids were too cowed by her status in the Temple to openly do something like this so it was always a treat when they actually spoke up. “How far can your ladyship shoot from, if I may ask?” the young girl asked politely.
She was a tiny thing, smaller even than Kim had been at that age, with soft blue hair that was plaited down her back, stopping just above her backbone. Her eyes were a sparkling emerald and shaped like a cat, her skin was a pale, almost white blue, and her ears were pointed like an elfs—Kim finally recognized her as one of the Vespians, the first of her kind to be accepted as a Ninjette (though there was a family of them in the village, all working artisans for the Temple). The Vespians had formed a legal planetary government only after the Old Ninjette Order had fallen, leaving them unable to send any of their children to be trained back then. The girl had been big news when she'd arrived.
“You know, I've never tested it,” she answered, frowning. “That's a very good question, Pledge Josiane.”
The girl looked absolutely thrilled Kim knew her by name and the former pink ranger hid a smile to look at the rest of the group. “Perhaps we should test it today?” she suggested and the kids all grinned at her.