...But Her Aim Is Gettin' Better! [OPEN]

..Damn it, again?!

Once more, the exasperated groan of a particularly... Far too loud company rung in one of the Vandenreich's training facilities. A rather irritated young woman was stomping her foot, shaking her fists with her teeth gritted, blood hot with irritation. She screwed up another throw, instead of hitting the dummy square on, it once again joined it's freezing cold, terrain frosting brethren, stabbed into the wall or floor, only one or two successfully managing to hit the target, but even they didn't bury anywhere deep enough to stick before unceremoniously sliding out and disappointingly hitting the floor.

Vee was the source of this hotblooded annoyance, dropping onto her butt and pressing her fists against her forehead, trying to get the irritation out just a bit quieter - definitely feeling the eyes of her colleagues on her again. Deep breath in, deep breath out, it's just a target, it's just another miss.

"It's alright Vee, you can bounce back from this, it's just a hiccup in the road, you'll be an awesome knife-chucking bad girl in no time. Juuuuust chiiiiilll."

With that short pep talk, she would take a calming breath, hop back onto her feet, breathing and focusing as she gathered more reishi into a new knife. Trying to keep her eyes on the prize, she'd lift the arm to throw, though with no hesitation she'd chuck the knife out of her balled fist, the weapon awkwardly flying through the air until it... Hit! Really awkwardly but...

...And it slid out of place, dropping like a sad bird out of the sky. She'd stare at the dagger, eyes wide, a blank smile as, between her numbed hand and multitude of tries, this just felt like the universe spitting on her while she was already down,

"...Fils de PUTE!" She'd spit the last word with a frustrated kick, crossing her arms and dropping back to sit on the ground. Jeeze, why won't they just STAY?! Stupid knives! She'll never get out of training at this rate!

'Coordinator Eisfluch' had a pleasant ring to it, Alastair mused to himself as he walked through one of the many training facilities in the City of Lights. Still, it placed a weight about his shoulders that he would have to bear from now on. A team of Personnel that would soon be his responsibility, all he needed to do was fill in the blank spaces. The first challenge of leadership, he supposed, was finding those who were ready to follow him.

As he passed by another training room, a chill breeze passed over him and slowly his gaze turned to look for the source. She was not hard to find, kicking and screaming as she was, in the centre of a room that was now quickly becoming more like an ice rink than a shooting range. It did seem that, by whatever means, she was conjuring these icy attacks so he headed inside to see exactly what was going on.

"Is something the matter, Recruit? You will be hard pressed to hit the target whilst on your knees."

His tone was as cold as ever, though he found himself adding a little more emphasis to some words than he would have done previously. He was slipping back into the voice of an officer again. It might have amused him had he been in more familiar company, but instead, his amber eyes just scrutinised the person before him.

Vee was rubbing her stinging, cold hand as she sat on the floor licking those wounds to her pride. Her fingers felt numb and stiff, like they would break like twigs at any minute, constantly breathing hot air onto it to force it to warm up. Come on, come on she HAD to keep trying... No matter how tired she felt from the hours she spent trying to get even a few good shots in. She had her instruction - breathe, aim carefully, but that's all she's been doing! She just wanted to be as good as everyone else, but the dang knives had other plans, she guessed! She wasn't going to give up til she saw some results, until she got them hitting that target dead in the middle!

"Cmon hand, cmon, don't give out on me now..!" She'd beg under her breath, rubbing and breathing on it to warm it up. She was almost afraid she was at her limit for the day, her palm burning and aching.

However her nursing was swiftly interrupted when she heard someone come up behind her. Oh crap, oh crap was she making too much noise again..? A quiet sting of embarrassment hit her as she'd turn to look to who she assumed to just be one of her annoyed colleagues to apologize for the grunting and groaning, only for her to freeze for a second.

The person addressing her wasn't one of her fellow recruits, oh freakin' no, it was Alastair Eisfluch, THE Alastair Eisfluch, successful Sternritter, Jefferson mission hero. She'd heard of him through gossip and news, admired it, but she didn't expect the friggen guy himself to be HERE.

And the first thing he sees her doing is sitting on the ground like a dumbass baby, completely unamused.

Merde. Madame Fate was not merciful to her right now.

She didn't stay gawking at him on the floor for terribly long, quickly scrambling to her feet despite her hand giving her a hard time right now. She tried to look proper and stiff, as not to add to any additional embarrassment this moment seemed to want to milk.

"Of course not, sir! I was just resting for a moment!" Her tone was hurried and awkward as she was quickly trying to save face, "I'll get back my exercises, my apologies!"

Okay. Now she HAD to hit the target. Like, there was no question about it in the slightest. She couldn't screw up in front of a bona fide friggen STERNRITTER. Breath, focus, she'd gather Reishi and reformed that snowflake-like pattern around her wrist that crafted her weapon, that icy dagger forming in her hand, burning at her skin a bit with it's intense cold as it settled. Raising her arm with the weapon held tightly, she'd glare at the target.

You best, you BEST hold this knife. She wordlessly threatened, putting all the strength she had into it, and then threw the weapon, it sailing with some uncertainty and imprecision through the air, until... It miserably hit and stuck pointlessly in the wall, a mere few inches off the ground, nowhere near the center of the target. The woman was silent, flushed, softly groaning and putting her not burning had to her face in a soft, irritated facepalm.

"Destin, pourquoi tu me punies?" She'd painfully ask under her breath, hot with embarrassment.

"Naturally, we must all rest from time to time. Take all the time you need."

Alastair could not hide the fact that his tone made that comment sound more threatening than he had any intention of it being. But perhaps it was the cold chill in the air that put him on edge. Regardless, he approached a little. Not to the point that he was breathing down her neck, but close enough that he could observe her technique and study it a little. Whatever she was doing, it seemed to be something a little different to a traditional spirit weapon.

An eyebrow raised curiously as she summoned up a dagger of what could easily have been confused for ice. It was still Reishi, he was rather sure of it, but it appeared to be cooled to the point of almost freezing by some form of latent spellcraft. The polar opposite of his own power, though admittedly a little more taxing upon her body. Studying her hands, the early signs of frostbite did appear to be setting in. She had been nursing them when he had arrived but he had made no comment on it. Now that he could see the bigger picture, though, it would be remiss of him not to take precautions.

He paid almost no heed to the actual throw itself, for his knowledge of proper knife throwing techniques was as non-existent as her accuracy, because that was not important at that moment. Instead, he approached far closer and began to remove his gloves. Stashing them in his coat pocket, he nodded expectantly toward her.

"Give me your hand, Recruit. It will do you no good to lose a finger or two to overexposure."

Offering out his own hands, they had already begun to emit a soothing warmth that might take the edge of her woes. Should she accept then he could encase her hand in his own and have the matter resolved in a few short moments.

Gosh, it already felt tense, now it was just awkward. Completely missed her shot, right in front of her senior. Her hand would drop off her face, falling to her side as she'd look to the man behind her, tightening her fist,

"I can do better than that, I swear," She'd tell him, her numb and aching hand spreading open once more. She had to do this, she had to make a good impression in front of him. If she had even one reputable person to vouch for her here, it'd be great. She pushed through the burning and stiffness, forming another dagger in her grasp, though her face twisted in discomfort the moment she touched that intense cold. She was pushing her limits, she had been doing this exercise for hours, and had more than once overdid it with the handling, but she just tried to shrug it off, warm her hand back up, and keep going, but really there was only so many times in one day her hand could tolerate that treatment.

She'd raise her hand, gritting her teeth, and threw her arm forwards, the knife merely slipping out of her stiff, frostbitten grip. It trembled, as the knife pathetically hit the ground. Merde.

She held her hand close to her chest, subtly trying to warm it up, turning back to offer more reassurance to her ability, though she was stopped as he offered his hands, requesting she give him her hand. With a defeated sigh, she'd nod, walking over to him and giving up her freezing hand. It would be pure idiocy to be stubborn just to save face.

But wow.. They were not kidding at all when they said he could wield heat, even his hands glowed with a comforting warmth as he took her hand. Sure, she felt the sting of her cold burns, but it was overall a massive relief to the stiff numbness.

"..Thank you, sir. That is much better," She'd nod, though she kept her face neutral as she addressed him, "Vivyan Faye, though 'recruit' would be apt... I haven't been here very long."

Still holding onto her hand, Alastair turned it over so that he could inspect the injuries she had inflicted upon herself. The gesture was certainly unbecoming of a typical superior officer, but either he had not quite settled into that role or that was not the type of leader he wanted to be. He left the truth up to interpretation for her, and instead studied the burns. He was hardly an expert on medical matters, but he had worked himself to the bone enough times to know what he was looking at.

"And yet you are already throwing your heart into training, Recruit Faye. An admirable quality, though it will do you no good if you burn up without being able to show it off."

There was a softer smile on his face now, as he continued to soothe her hand before he turned slightly to admire her handiwork down the throwing range. There had been a lot of misses, but there was still a sense of determination that he found endearing. It reminded him of himself, that drive to surpass her constraints even when it broke her body to do so, and so he offered what comfort he could.

"I am Alastair Eisfluch, from the Sternritter. Though 'sir' is equally applicable. In case you were wondering. I would apologise for intruding but it seems that I arrived just at the right time."

He thought he saw a look of recognition in her eyes as they met. Though it could easily have been a recognition of only the rank or the uniform, it did feel like she knew something about him that ran deeper than what he wore on his person. The thought was offsetting, he did not want nor feel like he was deserving of the renown he wielded. Just as Reida had insisted, they would paint him a hero to distract from the pile of corpses he now stood upon.

She muscled through those burning sensations as her hand was allowed to heat back up rather quickly, though the young woman expressed silent surprise as her senior seemed to be inspecting her palm, which had small blisters and reddish burn markings clearly in the indicative path that she held the daggers, some old, some new. She had been pushing herself considerably harder lately compared to a few weeks ago, and perhaps it was starting to show.

She lit up a little with the young man's recognition of her hard work, however she was redirected to the reflection of perhaps going a little overboard just to achieve it, in which she'd awkwardly chuckle. She was used to pushing things out in small spurts, she had very limited time throughout her life to do any sort of training, mum tried filling most of her time with chores, that dumb lady coaching, and child-tending after all, but that didn't stop her from getting up in the middle of the night when her home was fast asleep, and trying to practice. All she had ever done was work hard with what she had.

"I push myself as hard as I can, I can't really afford to be stuck in one place all my life, you know? I kind of made peace that I have to push myself a little harder than my colleagues have to."

The room's chill did nothing to snuff out the light she felt in being acknowledged, her smile matching his own as her amber eyes were staring brightly back at him. Though she softly nodded when he introduced himself,

"Yes! I know about you, it actually was pretty hard not to. You've done a great lot of service for the Vandenreich. I strive to be a c- great Sternritter like you and those as honorable as you!"

She cut herself off quickly before she stated 'cool'. Being too informal with her superior would be inappropriate, after all. She hardly knew the guy and all she's managed so far was to look a bit of a mess, this wasn't any exchange between friends or acquaintances at all as far as Vee was concerned, she was a trainee speaking to her far more experienced and accomplished senior, nothing more.

Releasing her hand, for he knew that to continue to heat it would only cause further discomfort and provide little benefit, Alastair stepped back from Vivyan to give her back the personal space he had invaded. One hand reached into his coat pocket, collecting his gloves, and he began to pull them back over his own callused hands. The smile remained, though it had begun to grow more distant and wistful as she continued.

"Striving to improve oneself is the true mark of a member of the Vandenreich, nothing less than a hundred and one percent is the standard that I have always beholden myself to. But, take it from one with experience on the matter, pushing your body beyond its breaking point in one session only to end up out of commission for a week afterwards is not the way to grow."

Though his hands and face had healed to the point where it was barely noticeable now, he still bore several notable scars from his clash with Urien. From the long scars that ran across his back to the flesh around his shoulder that was still warped and twisted. He had given in to the urge to cut loose, prompted by the lingering pains of the Jefferson mission, and it had taken a toll upon him physically for all it had done to help him mentally. It had been a lapse in focus, one he was not keen to repeat again.

At the mention of his own service, his own eyes widening at the warm intensity of her own stare, Alastair laughed lightly for a moment. Any more and it might have turned into something hollow, but he was able to keep up the illusion of simple humility for short bursts. Waving a hand dismissively, he did at least try to hold her gaze.

"I just did my job, any other Sternritter in my shoes would have done the same. But that is a key responsibility of the Sternritter, to stand tall in the face of any adversity. In time, it will be my pleasure to welcome you to our number, should that be where your path takes you."

She'd pull her hand back as he released it, rubbing it softly, watching him as he'd put his gloves back on. Her eyes drew to his face, noticing that wink of offness to his smile, but she shook it off - maybe he was just thinking of something, not her business to pry. She'd chuckle softly, rubbing the back of her head with her better off hand as he once again pointed out exactly why working herself so intensely was such a bad idea. Yeah, ending up out for a week because she pushed too hard in one day did not sound like a great plan...

"Yeah, I get your point. I just wanted to improve, super badly. Feels like everyone else is so far ahead, I gotta catch up to them, even go past them!"

That's all she's ever wanted in her life - to excel and go beyond expectations. It stung every time she was told she couldn't come along with her older, more skilled siblings for training, when Da just packed up and left with them, every time Mum caught her and tried to dissuade her from trying, as if to convince her that it was all futile, that she'd be better suited to being raised up to be some man's excellent wife, stuck just like her making more potential quincy children.

She refused that idea, wholeheartedly.

"Of course, sir!" She'd smile brightly, "Standing against the odds is practically in our blood at this point."

"Though, I should probably do something about this.." She'd gesture to her blistered, burnt hand, "I'll try taking it easier, but no burned hands are going to stop me. When i'm a Sternritter you best remember me!"

"Chase those in front of you, do not let yourself grow complacent, but hold yourself to your own constraints first and those of others second. Your journey is only just beginning and there will be more challenges like this further down the line, so remember that a sharp mind is just as deadly as a weapon."

That kind of cocksure attitude got people killed. Alastair wondered how many of the other Vandernreich personnel had been thinking along those lines before they met their untimely end at Jefferson. It was unfortunate how the event so often found its way to the forefront of his mind, like a recurring dream - or rather a nightmare. There was no way he would convey that feeling, though, even if it was there, as he had no desire to lay it on this new trainee.

He did pause as she mentioned doing something about her hands, considering exactly what could be done to ease the burden. Supposing it all came down to the means by which she summoned the daggers of ice, there should be a few potential solutions.

"Perhaps you might be best served looking into specialist equipment. The Vandenreich has an impressive R&D department, they might be able to help you overcome this problem."