Not Quite Vacation (Celeste)-FINISHED

[Anya Kandice (Ozera)]

It was good to know that with some more of working, she would graduate finally, she was sad to be leaving the academy which had been a safe haven for her (until recently that is) but she was excited to be going to the "real world" so to speak. Today, she had landed at the royal court to see her friends Lissa, Rose and whoever else she could find, she would have been here sooner but the flight had been delayed. She was not alone though her mentor Celeste was with her, it was crucial that she kept up her training and not to mention therapy and have a bit of fun in the process so that she could finally graduate.

She sighed as she walked through the place, she hadn't been here since last summer, even though she corresponded with people regularly via email and all. All she wanted was to train, that was another reason why she was here yes, it was guarded by wards but this was also another place for her to train. She also had managed to keep her spirit power in check which was another good good. She knew she had been acting a bit off in the last couple years and more off in the recent two months but she knew she had to keep her mouth shut.

Not thinking properly, she bumped into someone.

[Guardian Celeste Carter]

Celeste hadn't been to Court in a few years. The last time she was there was when they transferred her to the Academy, which was her life now, and she enjoyed it for the most part. Celeste Stepped off the plane, and smiled. It felt good for her to be back at court, where she first met her first task, Lord Szelsky, but that was back when she was 18. Now she was back looking at court at the age of 38, as a mentor. Celeste, headed to some of the guardians she knew. She smiled and made small talk about how she was doing and what they were up to.

Celeste felt someone bump into her "Anya" she said to her "Will you pay attention to where you are going, you could have just walked right into strigoi and you would be dead" she lectured er before about paying attention to where she was going. She wasn't meaning to be mean, but it were true, Celeste could have been a strigoi, and Anya would be dead. "We are here for a few months so we will start your training tomorrow, today go find your friends, and relax." she said then looked at her and asked "unless you want to start today?"

[Anya Kandice (Ozera)]

"I'm sorry guardian Celeste" she mumbled. She hoped to God that she would be able to tell her secret soon, all this keeping secrets was making her heart not work properly, she asn't thinking and acting like herself, on a normal basis she would've known but she didn't say a thing she kenw better than to question her mentor, she didn't want to she loved and admired her and she was willing to take any lectures she dished out. She than shook her head. "Yes, I would love to train a bit before I find the others" she told her as she pulled her hair out of her face. Her body, was like a dhampire well, according to everyone else but that was an illusion she had created for herself back when she had discovered the ability, she knew not many spirit users used it, this was half the reason why she was half drained all the time but she was still strong, one of the best the only reason that she hadn't graduated was the post traumatic stress after the ski trip and than of course the attacking on the school hadn't helped neither had seeing Rose and Lissa go off on their own.

But she would be able to do that soon, provided that she passed her field training she had failed the last two times she'd tried the first year when she was supposed to have done so had been out of the question, and she sighed as she looked at her mentor. She was about to say that their enemies the Strogois could not get into court because it was so heavily protected but she didn't say that either she kept her mouth shut. "I'm sorry" she said. "and yes, lets..." she wanted to train her wrists hurt like hell, she had told Celeste that a knife had slipped from her hand, again. She just hoped training and getting the crap beat out of her by her mentor would make the rest of her wounds cover up this one. The cutting was her own doing what with the secret and all but she would never admit it.

[Guardian Celeste Carter]

Celeste looked at Anya, she could tell something was wrong, but Anya knew her suck it up and deal with it solution. Celeste didn't feel the need to tell her again. Celeste turned to the other guardians and they said something, and she just shook her head. "Since you wanted to start today" She said thinking about what to start her off with. "Run a mile, then come back and find me. She said hoping that it would take her a little bit to run the mile. Celeste even thought she might join her, but she wasn't sure. "Can you tell me why you run, before you run" she asked, wanting to make sure Anya knew what she ran at least the mile every training session.

Celeste like to break up the training session into running, stretching, and then combat, and if they were luck they would talk a little bit about why she did the things that she did, and how to kill strigoi but Celeste hadn't even given her a practice stake yet. The other guardians just stood there and watched as Celeste talked to Anya. "When you get back we will stretch, then combat, but since we have some other guardians, you have to fight a few of us at one time." Celeste said, and some of the guardians looked please with this idea. "Just so you get to know what its like fighting more than just me." Celeste smiled they didn't get to use other guardians to often at the academy because they were all busy with classes, or with their students.

[Anya Kandice (Ozera)]

Anya thought hard, why did you run, she tried to focus on Celeste's words. The solution came to her and she responded "Guardian Celeste you run because sometimes, you might not be able to fight and you have no other options BUT to do so" she hoped she was right, Rose had said something about it ages ago and she remembered the words. She nodded at Celeste's words to fight guardians in here. She had never been allowed a practice with a stake in all her years at the academy, everyone had been worried about what she would do with it due to her emotional stability. At first she thought that the others thought her to be incompetent, a little talking with Alberta helped to realize that her psychology had been more of an issue than her competence. She was getting better, talking helped and she had no problem with following instructions.

Celeste was a hard guardian to fight or attempt to fight she got more bruises from the woman than she could count. The idea of fighting other guardians excieted her because all these years Celeste had been the one that dealt with her even at the field experiances which she hadn't passed but she'd always been allowed to take part in them year after year since she'd been able to.

Without another word, the girl ran she ran as fast as she could as if she was being chased. Inn her mind, thinking that she partly was being chased helped. She passed a couple guardians now here but in the school previously but she did not acknowledge them there would be time to catch up later but she took her training seriously especially if Celeste was considering giving her a practice stake, now was not the time to get distracted.

[Guardian Celeste Carter]

Celeste smiled, and looked at Anya. "Very good" she told her. Sometimes she had to explain why she taught the things she did, or why she would ask the questions that she did. Celeste watched Anya run, like she was being chased. Celeste turned to the other guardians and said "All she really had to do was jog, but she can run" she said with a smile. Celeste was proud of her student. It was like Anya was willing to learn and accept her guidance, with out fussing over it.

Sometimes Celeste just worried about Anya, the knife just slipping, she didn't think that was an accident, but she knew that if Anya wanted to talk to her, then she would in her own time. Celeste was like that, after her first battle. She started to slip, her first battle was against her old mentor. She hadn't realized that he had been turned strigoi. She took that very hard, when she wasn't on duty, she practiced and practiced. Trying to make herself better, all of her friends worried, and tried talking to her, that didn't work out. Her friends ended up with some nasty bruises. By the time her second kill came around she was prepared, and took her out with ease. After that kill she finally talked to her friends when she was ready to tell them.

Celeste knew that she pushed Anya harder then her mentor pushed Celeste. Celeste didn't want Anya to become grief stricken over her first kill with someone she knows. She wanted her to be able to push through and say 'That wasn't the same person i once knew' Celeste started to stretch so did the other guardians. It had been 2 days since she last fought with Anya. Anya barely ever was able to take her down, but she knew Anya's moves, but Anya knew hers as well. So Celeste though that if Anya could beat the other guardians in a match with me, she would be one step closer to taking her trials and passing.

[Anya Kandice (Ozera)]

Lost in the thoughts of running, thinking was not an option she ran until she was sufficient that her mentor would be satisfied she neared the place where Celeste stood with other guardians than she came to a stop, she caught her breath which was not easy, jogging was one thing, running for dear life was another story. She than prepared to respond to the questions that she was sure were coming, you stretched because your body needed to function and regular stretching stopped your body be more flexible, you trained to fight because practice made perfect, these were the same words she had given Celeste over the last year or so as she slowly learned why, before she had been more concerned about the acts itself not the concept behind it, another one of her issues.

She looked at Celeste and asked her question carefully. "You dont' believe me about the knife do you?" she wasn't psychic and no she was definitely no mind reader but Celeste was her mentor, she could read the older woman's thoughts better than she could probably read Shakespeare and in her younger days, she had loved stage acting and reading Shakespeare had become a second langue. They were close and she preferred Celeste to her own mother, so she often tried to not lie and whatever else, she wasn't lying about the knife slipping but than again it wasn't the entire truth either. She knew that if Celeste found out what really was wrong, she might not give her a stake in the summer or maybe even the fall and she so hoped she'd go through her trials and graduate this coming year. But than again, if she didn't tell someone soon, she would go crazy from all this burden, she was sure she couldn't hold all this in much longer.

[Guardian Celeste Carter]

Celeste looked up and seen Anya in front of her breathing like she was out of breath. Well for that run she just did Celeste would be too, or well maybe not because Celeste had been running a lot longer then Anya had been. "Not entirely no" she said to Anya, then continued "And now is not the place to discuss this." Celeste didn't need this conversation in front of other guardians. That particular conversation would be held later when they were in her room, or Celeste's room. She looked at the other guardians, and nodded. It meant for them to jump in when they felt like it, and back out too, then jump in again, to keep Anya on her toes.

"Anya you need to stretch a little" she said to her, and smiled. She didn't need to ask any questions here. "When your done stretching," Celeste smiled and continued "You will be facing 4 of us. Remember your training try to take out the one that puts you in the most danger first." she said to her. "So if i'm right here and Guardian Tanner is closer to you, go for him, and worry about me once you have taken him out." she said to her with a smile knowing that she would do well in this exercise. "Also just thrust your palm into the guardians chest, like you would with a stake, and they will consider themselves dead" she told Anya and she was also speaking to the guardians also.

Celeste stayed back to watch her fight Guardian Tanner, Hans, and Guardian Reyes. She would jump in when one of the other three went down. She nodded as soon as Anya was ready.

[Anya Kandice (Ozera)]

She did the stretching as asked. She knew facing four guardians or even more than two was out of the question but she was now thinking to herself "if you think you can't do it, you're screwed to begin with" and she knew she was right. The whole idea behind her becoming dhampire was the fact that she wanted to prove a point, it was taking a bit to get there but oh well. As she was stretching though, she saw one of the guardians come towards her.

It was Guardian Reyes, she didn't know the guardian that well but she knew she wouldn't know an enemy that well either, her job was not to get to know them, her job was to "stake" them, she sure hoped that she was allowed a stake soon. She paid attention to the other as they circled, right now he was the closet to her or so she thought, someone yanked her arm from behind now she was facing two of them, one in front and one in the back, that wasn't a good position to be in so she kicked out behind her and tried to find a way so that she would not be in the middle. This was very difficult, not only were they not school guardians she knew little of the court's surrounds as much time as she's been here over the years. Before she was yanked to the floor she righted her position and she kicked and punched without realizing who she was attacking. After about a couple of moments she had Guardian Tanner right in front of her and she thrusted her hand into his chest as if to stake him.

[Guardian Celeste Carter]

Celeste watched and she was proud of her student, with her ‘Staking’ of Guardian Tanner. She was proud of her but she couldn’t be proud at the moment. She had to jump in, and teach Anya about fighting or well give her another lesson. Celeste jumped in and pushed her way into the fight. Guardian Tanner stepped back out of the way and watched. Celeste ducked and waved, and bobbed; trying to avoid her punches and kicks. Anya landed a few good hits on Celeste.

Celeste moved from defensive to offensive. She moved quickly, and steadily. She threw a few punches, and snaked her leg out; she knew that some of those would land a hit. She kept at it, until either she was hit, or she took Anya down. Celeste thought back to when she had a mentor, she was put through the same exercise, but she had more people to attack and then she also had to defend someone at one point in time all to get her ready for her trials.

[Anya Kandice (Ozera)]

Anya tripped well, almost. At the last second she managed to turn in the oppisite direction and she threw Guardian Reyes in her path. She was tempted to use compulsion but she knew that would give her whole secret away and she had no idea the consequences for compelling a guardian, it was one thing to do it on Strogoi's it was quite another thing to do it in a practice battle. She took a hit from the other guardian and went for Celeste. She stepped back a little pretending that she had taken a defensive position. She hoped Celeste would not see what was coming.

Guardian Hans kicked out making her fall back when she was about to bear down and attempt to "bite" Anya stood up and threw her whole weight against the woman pushing her towards Celeste and plunging the imaginary stake, Guardian Hans smiled as she graciously stepped out of the way now she was behind her mentor and she kicked her.

[Guardian Celeste Carter]

Celeste played keep away, snaking out to attack every once in a while. She tried to keep enough distance, but stay close enough to attack. Celeste moved and attacked, like a snake. Celeste threw hits and kicks, along with the other guardian that was left. It was like watching a ballet with all movements, and maybe someone thought it was, because people were starting to gather to watch what was going on. It was mostly guardians and Novices that were already in court. There were very few Moroi who wanted to watch them fight.

Celeste knew something was up, but didn’t figure it out early enough. Celeste tried to keep her eyes on Anya, but she lost her for a second when Hans, attacked, and then got staked. Celeste Spun fast enough to get the kick in her right side, instead of her back. She faltered a little but not much, but she hoped Anya would see the small falter and attack again.

[Anya Kandice (Ozera)]

"So much for that" she thought to herself she was nearly out of breath and she knew that this would be a challenge but with two guardians to fight her odds of not passing out became very good. She looked at Celest she was so much not worried about the other guardian but her mentor. She wondered if she should attack but switched her tactic to defending herself from the other guardian. Defending against a guardian that she didn't know was the same thing as attacking them, it was hard. She finally managed and turned so that her back was to a pole. She now had both guardians in front of her and she kicked out "staking" the last guardian.

Now it was just her and Celeste and she tried this again this time though she didn't think pushing her would be a good idea there was no one else in this to distract her and only now she realized being up againtst a wall wasn't a good idea. As people gathered another guardian, the one that had come to watch aht first did jump in. She glanced at him and gritted her teeth she had hated him ever since the academy and she was polite with him but that didn't mean she liked him. She wondered if she could use this to "stake" Celeste.

:ike before she backed up from them hopefully the spectators and everything else would shield her and than she came back from her mentor's opposite end and grasped her shoulders wheeling her around and "staking" her or rather, attempting to hopefully it would go through but if Celeste grabbed her at the last minute she'd be screwed.

Guardian Sutherland smirked and decided to see how she'd do if he came from behind her but before he did anything he wanted to see if the girl would "stake" her mentor.

[Guardian Celeste Carter]

Celeste was very proud of Anya but now the moment of truth, could she, would she stake Celeste. It would be very hard for her to. Anya had been trying to take Celeste down since the beginning of their mentor relationship. Celeste wondered if Anya could really stake her. There had been plenty of opportunities to stake her, but she didn't take anyone, but then again it was another lesson that she was learning. Don't go for the obvious kill. Celeste seen someone else want to jump in, and she was glade for that. She guessed the Guardian wanted to get kicks in too. Anya seen them too and payed more attention to Celeste then she did to the other guardian. It was a smart move on Anya's part.

Celeste kept a close eye on Anya, and when she made her move, it was Celeste's decision to either let herself get staked, or fight back. If she was a real strigoi she would fight, and thats what she did. The moment Celeste felt Anya's hands on her, she made her final move. Celeste grabbed Anya and spun her around, and tilted her head to one side. "You lost" she said, to her and let her go. Celeste smiled at her as she let her go. That was the biggest fight that she and Anya where in.

"Are you ok?" she asked Anya. "I could have let you stake me, but thinking like a strigoi, i didn't, and neither will they." She told her. "You missed a lot of chances to take me out, but im glad you didn't go for the obvious kill those times, because it could have been your last" She told Anya. "You really did almost have me, a few more practices and by the end of this year you will have surpassed me." she said with a proud look on her face.

[Anya Kandice (Ozera)]

She nodded that was hard, at least she never had to turn around and fight the other one, half of her wished she had the chance to do so just so she could give him a good kick but that was out of the question. She without a word, went over to where her bag lay and didn't say a word until she sipped it, it was blood actually but no one would know, her power of illusion blocked it so for all anyone knew it was just plain water. She would tell her mentor soon enough what she'd been doing than she closed her eyes and opened them again she was glad it was all over, win or lost she was done for the day.

Than she turned to Celeste. "I think you and I should have a little chat....like...before this day is over, I have to talk to you about a lot of things and it might not go over very well with you..." she mumbled she knew it could be a suicide mission for telling the woman her secret but at least she could start telling her some truth. She could not live another day with all the guilt inside her.