Completed [Squire Dormitories] And Then There Were Two

[Bitt]

4th day of spring, 514 AV

Bitt groaned softly as he pushed open the door to his small, windowless dormitory in the Stormhold Citadel. Living as a squire in Syliras was not at all how Bitt had envisioned it. The air here was so dirty, it stank too. Thankfully Bitt was able to get some relatively fresh air in the courtyards some of his training took place in; that and some natural light. Bitt thought he would get used to it soon enough. Whether or not it was something Bitt wanted to get used to was another story.

Bitt's mentor, Crowe, was brutal in his training regime. He was strict to say the least and was not at all tolerant of any attempts to cut corners or rush things. Bitt appreciated this aspect of his patron; he liked to do something properly. That didn't mean that Bitt didn't hurt in places he didn't even know he had; it just meant that he was able to tolerate it. Just thinking of being sore caused the various welts on Bitt's back to come to the forefront of his mind. Needles of pain shot through him; he would be sleeping on his stomach tonight.

Thankfully he didn't use any equipment in his training today or he would have had to polish, sharpen and generally maintain it. With a great force of effort he pulled himself onto his bed and lay face-down. It would still be a while before he could go and grab something to eat so he decided to practice the breathing exercises he was being taught. In through the nose, out through the mouth. In through the nose, out through the mouth. The simple repetition calmed him and helped Bitt ignore the pain in his back. His patron said he would give him something to put on them tomorrow, but he would have to suffer tonight. The thought of tomorrow was a bleak one.

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[Altos Ironheart Coglias]

ALTOS 4th Day of Spring, 514 AV Altos trudged through the dimly lit corridors of the Squire Dormitories. The exhaustion and soreness of his body was evident as his arms lay slack at his sides. The Knights it seemed, had a no holds barred attitude when it came to training. He'd spent the day doing grueling exercise and he dreaded the thought that tomorrow was going to be more of the same. It was beginning to feel like the hallway was going to stretch on for an eternity by the time he got to his assigned room. He was grateful for his people's innate sense of direction, something he'dd never really appreciated till now. He could only imagine having gotten lost for hours and it wasn't a thought he enjoyed. Altos all but stumbled his way through the common area in the suite he'd been assigned. Pushing open the door he entered the small three bed room and was caught by surprise as he saw another Squire in the room. The young boy -or at least he assumed it was a boy for the tangled brown hair hanging down to there shoulders was long enough to be a woman's- lay face down upon the bed opposite to Altos'. He was caught off guard for a moment and was about to question the Squire's presence in his room before remembering that he was in a dormitory and he would obviously have at least one roommate if not two. All of a sudden the exhaustion set back in as his curiosity faded and he groaned before plodding over to his bed and sitting down. A sigh escaped his lips as he no longer had to stand on his legs which had begun to fail him. Glancing at the boy Altos realized he was awake and doing some sort of breathing exercise. He tried not too sound tired as he spoke up. "Hello, I am Altos Ironheart. I assume we are roomate's? Might I ask your name?"

[Bitt]

Bitt was starting to doze off when a voice pulled him back to reality. Startled, he pushed himself upwards and spun into a sitting position. He had expected it to be Crowe, but the person he saw sitting on one of the other beds was definitely not his patron. By Bitt's best guess it was a young man, probably not much older than he was. The stranger was glancing in his direction; what was he doing here? What had he said earlier? Bitt furrowed his brow in concentration for several ticks. While he did hear what this newcomer had said, he wasn't really listening at the time... Altos! That's right, he said his name was Altos! It seemed like he had a new room mate.

Bitt nodded his head in satisfaction before he realised he still hadn't responded to the pony-tailed man sitting across from him.
"Uh, sorry! Altos was it? I'm Bitt; nice to meet you!" Bitt put as much energy as he could muster into his reply. Unfortunately, without his earlier preoccupation, the consequences of his earlier upright-jerk came crashing into him. The welts on his back flared and Bitt exclaimed, making a noise that could be described as the bastard child of a groan and a yelp. Embarrassed, Bitt coughed into his hand, holding a feeble hope that the stranger would be fooled into thinking the earlier noise was a cough as well.

"I haven't seen you here before Altos, I take it you're also a squire?" Bitt asked the question to distract his new room mate from his earlier, ridiculous, display. Still sore beyond all reason, Bitt grinned at Altos, he didn't want his senior to think he couldn't handle a little bit of pain. Despite his discomfort, Bitt was excited by the opportunity to talk to somebody other than Crowe. While it's true that his grizzled patron was a good teacher, Bitt wanted someone he could speak with without having to be so formal.

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[Altos Ironheart Coglias]

ALTOS The squire pushed himself up and after settling into a seated position he introduced himself as Bitt. It would have been a completely normal introduction until the strangest noise escaped from the squire. As if to recover some dignity Bitt coughed into his hand in an attempt to pass it off. Altos pretended he hadn't heard the sound, mostly because he probably felt just as bad as his fellow Knight to be sitting across from him appeared to be. "I am. I joined only yesterday and I'm just about to drop from exhaustion already." Altos shifted so that he could lay down on the bed. Stretching his arms out to the sides he tucked them under his head and closed his eyes for a moment. In that moment it felt like he was drifting away from his body and losing consciousnesses. Forcing his eyes open Altos glanced towards the other squire. with his face no longer firmly planted into his pillow Altos got the chance to examine him. Bitt had stunning green eyes and what seemed to be a slight scar running across his forehead though it was barely visible under the tangled mess of hair that sat upon his head. His nose was slightly crooked but not enough so that it marred his looks for the worse. "How long have you been a squire, if you don't mind my asking?" Altos questioned the other youth. He was hoping the squire had been here longer, much longer, than he had. It would help if he had someone he could readily ask any questions about the place. The passages and halls weren't hard for Altos to adjust to as he'd spent most of his life living underground in the Coglias clan city, but the little things like how to identify the ranks of the Knights or even where stuff was were things he had little to no clue about.

[Bitt]

It was when the other squire began to move that Bitt finally noticed the trademark metallic arm of the Isur. Isur were rare, relatively speaking, outside of Sultros; Bitt did not expect he would be sharing a room with one, least of which one who was a squire. He didn't know much about the race apart from the fact that they were generally excellent smiths. All things considered, Bitt wasn't the type of person to judge others based on their appearances, so he took it in his stride.

What did surprise Bitt was that it was he, not Altos, who was the senior member in the knights. Well, they were both squires so technically their rank was the same. Bitt remained sitting upright on his bed despite Altos taking a more comfortable position. One could still have a conversation whilst laying on their back; but laying on one's stomach? Not so much.
"Three days. I've been a squire for three days," Bitt grinned, "Well, three-and-a-half; I joined on the first." Had it really only been three days? Bitt's time with Crowe felt so much longer than that! Bitt shrugged the thought away; of course running around for four Bells would feel more like seventeen.

If Altos' patron were anything like Crowe, then Altos would be feeling sore... and he'd be worse tomorrow.
"If your muscles feel cramped tomorrow make sure to stretch them out. I know it's tempting to just relax but Crowe told me I'd regret it if I did." Bitt smiled to show the good nature behind the remark before he realised Altos, who was laying down, wouldn't be able to see the gesture anyway. Bitt also took comfort in the knowledge that most squires would be receiving similar treatment; everyone's patrons would work them hard.

[Altos Ironheart Coglias]

ALTOS "Thanks, I'll keep that in mind" Bitt was right and Altos knew it. It was something he'd been taught by his uncle back in his old home, the clan city of Coglias. Altos had been told that before training, sparring, and even real combat that if possible he should always stretch and limber up his muscles. However, it had been one of his least favorite parts of his tutelage under his uncle, and if not for Bitt's reminder he would likely have forgotten about it. His uncle Damiras had been a hard, strict teacher but also a good one, and that was probably the only reason he hadn't dropped dead yet. Altos shifted and frowned slightly as his thoughts turned towards his family and birthplace. Even now Altos doubted his decision to leave, not that he had chosen to leave but that he had done so without his families permission or even their knowledge. Altos caught himself drifting into his memories and thoughts, forcing himself to remember the present situation. He was here now and the past mattered little, not to mention it would be rude to just drift off leaving the other squire confused and offended. With a semi-forced smile he turned to Bitt and tried to stop thinking of his old home by immersing himself in conversation with Bitt. "So is it just me or do the Knights seem intent on killing us with the amount of training we do?"

[Bitt]

Bitt was silent for a few ticks as he fully absorbed what Altos had said; then, he began to laugh. It was the first time Bitt had laughed in earnest since some time last Winter. He wasn't sure why, but he found the older squire's comment hilarious. All of the worry and self-doubt he had let build inside of him these last few days flooded away in an instant. It felt so reassuring! He wasn't alone in his struggles, in his pain and in his exhaustion. As his laugh died down he finally answered Altos' question between muffled chuckles;
"You know something Altos... I think... you may... just be right!" The training Bitt was being put through was ridiculous. Again, he felt relief that it seemed to be a universal practice. That is, he was relieved that Crowe wasn't a radical who overworked his squires. His training was diabolical all the same; it just wasn't as unordinary as Bitt had originally thought.

"Today, Crowe had me meditating," a thought struck him before he continued, "Crowe is my patron's name, I probably should have mentioned that... well, I suppose I should refer to him as Ser Crowe. Anyway! If I moved too much or lost focus he hit my back with a reed! On top of that, I had to be kneeling in this really uncomfortable position; it was brutal!" The prospect of being able to share his experiences with a fellow squire cheered Bitt up. He was able to ignore the pain in his back as he excitedly described his day to Altos. His tone had become much friendlier and his story was accompanied by dramatic hand gestures. He had taken a liking to the older squire; anyone who could make Bitt laugh was alright in his books.

[Altos Ironheart Coglias]

ALTOS Bitt burst into near hysterical laughter much to Altos' surprise, he hadn't intended his comment to evoke such a reaction but he was glad it had. Bitt's good mood was a bit contagious, and he found the melancholic mood that always shrouded over him when he thought of the past begin to recede. The smile that had been forced only a moment before lost all trace of awkwardness instead replaced by a genuine grin. It was a good feeling and Altos realized that he had may just have luckily stumbled onto a good friend, something he had never really had before. Bitt was now talking about his Patron, a Ser Crowe, who'd had him meditating. Altos wasn't really sure why a Knight needed to meditate, wasn't learning to hit things properly enough? Then again Ser Logan, Altos' own Patron wsa constantly pestering Altos about learning to well, learn. According to him knowledge was just as good a weapon as a blade. Bitt continued on explaining how his Patron had tortured -that was only word Altos could think of to describe such a situation- him with a reed in an effort to mantian his focus. It seemed like Altos wasn't the only one being out through such grueling tasks. "At least all you have to do is sit there, as uncomfortable as it may be." Altos' sighed as he thought back to his training earlier in the day. "Try having a philosophical debate with Ser Logan while you get beaten with a wooden stick and eat dirt every other swing, I mean have you ever tried to get up off the ground while wearing full Plate Armor? It is not what I'd call fun." Towards the end of his speel he'd sat up on the bed and found himself venting his frustration to the other squire.

[Bitt]

Bitt grinned as Altos told his story; it seemed that what Bitt had endured over the last three days, he had to endure in one. He was pleased that the older squire was also enthusiastic about the conversation; Bitt had made himself a friend.
"I know exactly how hard it is," Bitt started as he remembered his training with Crowe two days prior, "Crowe had me running around the training grounds in full plate. I lost track of how many bells passed before I collapsed from exhaustion; getting up afterwards was not a fun experience." The memory made him wince slightly. It was around this time that Bitt's stomach growled; he was hungrier than he thought. The sound made him chuckle slightly.

"Sorry about that," Bitt grinned and rubbed the back of his head with his palm, "today was a long day and I'm starving!" With a grunt of effort he pulled himself onto his feet and began to stretch out his limbs. Bitt gazed longingly at the the door before he turned his eyes back onto Altos and continued, "Want to come to the mess hall and get some dinner? I can finish my story on the way; that day of running didn't end with just running." Bitt took several strides until he was positioned in front of the door and turned back to Altos in invitation.

"So, you coming?" Bitt gave his friendliest grin. He hoped Altos wasn't offended by the suggestion, Bitt was just famished and the allure of a meal was too much to resist. Bitt's time with the Syliran Knights had been interesting. He hadn't been here long, but it was already the hardest he'd ever had to work in his young life. With a teacher like Crowe and a new comrade in Altos, Bitt thought his life as a squire was about to get even more interesting.

[Altos Ironheart Coglias]

ALTOS Altos dreaded the thought of such harsh training but it also was in a sense comforting. He had come to Sylrias looking to find a place where he could become stronger and he had found it. If he could survive this training he would definitely get rid of this feeling of weakness that plagued him now and again. Altos had always been confident in himself but after failing to join the Hammer's whenever the pressure built he always seemed to hesitate. His train of thought was interupted when a strange sound came from Bitt which caused the other Squire to chuckle. After a second the slightly confused look on Altos' face lifted as hwe realized that Bitt's stomach had been growling in hunger. With a friendly smile his fellow Squire stood and invited Altos to join him for a meal in the mess. Without waiting for an answer Bitt headed straight for the door, turning around when he'd reached it to make sure Altos was coming. Altos stood and stretched for a second, his muscles aching as he did so though not nearly as bad as they'd been earlier. Relaxing and talking to Bitt had released the tension Altos had accumulated throughout the day and it was only now that he realized he too was famished. The thought of a good warm meal was the only motivation that he needed to propel himself towards the door. He responed with an enthusiastic grin of his own. "Of course. Lead the way"