Thanks Satan

[The Gourmand]

If only that smile could have gotten bigger, it would have once the displaced princess stepped up. One may initially assume the merman’s chilling grin was based on bloodlust alone, but no. Kiara had earned just the tiniest iota of respect merely by stepping up to the likes of him. Just the tiniest.

Though this positivity was quickly eradicated, and a look of displeasure made itself known within moments.

“Silence.”

It was not a cry. It wasn’t even above a speaking voice. The Gourmand was clearly used to having his orders headed, so excess energy would not be expended yelling. Eyes twitched back and forth between Zamora and Shang, the sources of the displeasure.

“There will be no coddling. Those days are over,” still, not above a speaking voice, but that only seemed to make it more commanding, “Nothing will be learned if you are not pushed. If Kiara wishes to shed the onus of her privilege and try to earn her keep through her own grit, then how dare you try to stop her.”

Something like a growl sounded from his soft palate at inhaled and he looked down further.

“If you all wish to fight with me, then you will need to wait in line. In the meanwhile,” he said, his voice elevating to indicate he was back to merely giving his lesson plan, “Choose a partner. One-on-one. I will call a short break once my… personal session is over.”

The Gourmand narrowed his eyes: not in a terribly threatening way, but it was stern enough to give the impression he would be unhappy with future interruptions. After a few moments of that, he blinked and brought the red of his eyes firmly into focus on the adolescent lioness, the first to fall under his tutelage.

“Hunting, was it?” the Gourmand crooned in a musing tone, “Well, that shall be no issue for me. I am not only warrior, but an apex predator as well. Now this... should be more familiar to you, your royal highness.”

Another growl, but this one was different; lower, resonate -- like thunder. What seemed to be a necklace of teeth around his neck split like a seam. Breath poured through as the teeth separated. A second mouth -- a huge, gaping maw of one. The voice it emitted was satanically deep as it ran through massive vocal chords;

“LET THE HUNT BEGIN.”

The harpoon was discarded and the monster advanced, tendrils spreading and reaching out like a hawk splaying its talons. An ungodly roar, matching the scale of his lower throat.

[Zamora]

Like hell he would.

Like hell he will.

Crest begins to rattle as The Gourmand seems to talk down to her for standing up for a fellow soldier, let alone one so small against someone so large.

Let alone someone so inexperienced against someone so bloodthirsty.

By the time he’s all but dismissed her, there’s a rare, wild sight beginning to well up. Dark thunderclouds of dander, pale eyes welling up with deep crimson. The gap was too wide. That wouldn’t be training. It would be abuse.

”LET THE HUNT BEGIN.”

Thwack!

A branch. About as long as one’s arm, really. About as thick as one, too. For a blind woman, Zamora’s got some impeccable throwing aim.

And she’s aiming to knock out The Gourmand’s teeth, it looks like.

The heat the Pit Beast was giving off was oppressive, to say the least. It’s enough to melt away any frost or snow in her path as she shifts to stand next to Kiara. Bladed tail sways lightly, coming to rest in a curl behind the lioness. It’s not stopping her, but it seems more... protective. Supportive. Zamora wouldn’t allow The Gourmand to attack Kiara while she was alone. If he wanted to harm her, he’d have to do it with twelve fingers around his throat.

Zamora would not give him the chance. This was Jasper’s daughter.

No.

This was her daughter.

[Akando Mato]

The massive bear takes a step back as the chaos erupted curtesy of the giant creature which had suddenly grown a second mouth out of it’s neck.

“What the hell? What the hell is this?” Akando grumbled in shock. To hell with that things orders he, wasn’t even sure if the other soldiers would follow them as he watched Zamora chuck a branch at Gourmand’s face. Red colored eyes flick towards the others to see if they would do battle with the creature or follow the things orders.

[Kiara]

Kiara hadn't expected anyone to step in, to attempt to dissuade the Gourmand from fighting her. She'd kind of assumed that they'd just... Let it happen. Sit back and enjoy the show, maybe. Her tail twitched and twined around her feet nervously as red eyes shifted from man to alien to fish-creature.

So... Was that a no to fighting? Kiara couldn't say she'd be terribly disappointed at being saved from her own fool's decision. It would give her a way to bow out without losing face in front of her fellow trainees.

Except not.

A single ear folded back as the Gourmand expressed his displeasure with the interruption before returning his attention to her. His tone sent a shiver of apprehension down the lioness' spine: quiet and deadly and far too pleased with the situation to make Kiara feel comfortable. Was this what a hare felt when it met the jackal's hungry gaze? A moment of silent regard, a connection between the gazes that almost seemed to relay exactly how the events were to unfold. Was it only Kiara's paranoia that showed her a promise of death gleaming in those red eyes, or could it be a glimpse of the Gourmand's desire?

Kiara shuddered in horror as the creature's throat opened not with an explosion of blood but a roar of challenge from a fang-lined maw. Her paws slid back in hesitant steps, shaking with the sudden adrenaline-boosted instinct to run.

But -- no. She'd started this.

Sinking claws into the snow Kiara sought to ground herself, as though a tight grip on the earth itself could halt her trembling and return her fled courage. Gritting her teeth the lioness sank into a crouch before leaning forward, her own muzzle flung wide as she screamed out an answering roar -- her returning challenge.

I won't run!!

Before Kiara could launch herself forward without a planned thought in her head a flung branch interrupted lioness and jellyman. Kiara's jaw clicked shut audibly in surprise as her muscles locked to keep from falling on her face. A widened crimson gaze slid from the Gourmand to the melting snow below her paws -- slush now, really -- behind her to the clicking of a tail curling close to her own legs. Then up to Zamora.

An unexpected affront from a most unexpected source.

[The Gourmand]

For jaws that frequently snapped clear through flesh and bone, a branch was nothing. The wood splinted where the dagger teeth shut like a bear trap, but the motion was so quick it left most of the wood outside his jaws undamaged to clunk to the ground below. It didn’t take much imagination to picture what would have happened if a living thing was in the place of that branch.

It did nothing but annoy him. But that was enough.

He eased off the throttle, but didn’t slam it to a stop. The Gourmand willingly and eagerly stood up to the Sea King, a merman most likened to a god, so Zamora would have a difficult time intimidating a nemesis to old Triton. Though that didn’t appear entirely necessary. He got a good idea of what she was doing, although he was visibly displeased by it.

“What gave you the impression I needed more fiber in my diet?”

One quip.

One quip before the internal storm.

Why try to stop him? Didn’t they see what he was trying to do? They needed to face their fears. The battleground was no place for the faint of heart. The tougher skin they got, the more prepared they would be. They had to know the horror, or else they would get stupefied with fear. And fear was death. Who would know this better than the Gourmand?

They didn’t trust him. They thought he was a brute. A stupid monster. A stupid m o n s t e r .

Though the word was only in his head, his reaction spoke loud and clear. Something had struck a horrible chord with him. And struck it hard. The second mouth gradually shut and revealed his real face. Brows knit but eyes widened as pupils slowly turned down to look at himself. Anything that might have been said to him was only a hollow echo. The Gourmand was thrust into a very dark place in his mind.

“I’m finished,” he turned and his pod hovered slowly back to the spot where he initially placed himself, and sunk back far in the seat, “I want one-hundred push ups, or squats for the four-legged. Or as many as you can muster. I want stretches afterword, or, believe me, you will hurt tomorrow. I want any further questions directed to General Shang until I say otherwise.”

The voice was utterly blank. But don’t worry. It was about it get worse:

Of course it would. Why wouldn’t these stupid emotions come back to me at the worst possible time? I don't need them. I’ve had enough of them, telling me what everyone else thinks of me.

You’re a monster, Brutus; a stupid, unreasonable eating machine. Just like your father. He’ll never love you. They’ll never love you. No one will ever love you.

You’re a monster, Brutus. You look like one, you act like one: so tell me, how are you going to ever justify to these people that they should ever see you as something more? You’re not like the others. They won’t care about you until you become like them. Fit in. Conform. Don’t question. You’re different. They hate it. They hate you. Why? Who cares. That’s just how things are. You are a freak and you need to be fixed.

Look at you, trying to seem intelligent. You’re not fooling anyone. Elegant speech? Big words? That means nothing. Why are you trying to look smarter than you are? More civilized than you are? Who are you fooling, Brutus? They see right through you, Brutus. You’re an impostor.

That’s right. Your name is Brutus. What are you, Brutus? Orphan? Miner? Royal Guard? Philosopher? Warlord?

No. You’re a stupid violent animal. Atlantica never saw you as anything more. The Dawnseekers will never see you as anything more. Stop trying to befriend them, Brutus. They don’t trust you, Brutus. You’re stupid for thinking they would ever see you as anything more than a evil monster.

Don’t even try Brutus.

Shut up.  Shut up.  Shut up.

“I’ll be back.”

The voice had devolved into sounding miserable, if anyone managed to even hear it at all. The Gourmand would just… duck out temporarily. He needed something to eat quick.

[Shani]

Everything that followed had happened so quickly Shani didn't have much time to react.

The Gourmand had been the Council's pick for someone to train those that needed it, since he seemed to have a fair amount of past battle experience. She was having second thoughts on this decision now.



Kiara had stepped forward when the Gourmand challenged someone to face him. Both Shang and Zamora had stepped in to avert this, since it very clearly wasn't the smartest idea. The Gourmand shot them both down, and the words coming out of his mouth made the fur on Shani's back prickle.



He was sounding way too threatening for this to be just a simple training session.



The roar that resonated from the Gourmand made her wince, it was so loud. She gave a worried look in the direction of Kiara, and seconds later noticed that Zamora's scent had moved from behind herself next to the other lioness. She could hear angry noises coming from her alien mother-figure.



There was a few moments where nobody said much of anything, then the Gourmand went back to his original spot, telling them to listen to General Shang, clearly giving up on training them.

A few more moments passed before the sea-creature pardoned himself from their presence entirely.



Shani gave a sigh, letting her fur lie flat.

Regardless of her fighting ability, she was a leader now, she needed to take control of this situation before it got any worse.

"He was out of line," she muttered, before turning to the small group gathered,

"Zam, thank you for stepping in. Kiara, while I appreciate your enthusiasm for wanting to step up... I think both of us should start off only taking on what we know we can handle. That being said, The Gourmand shouldn't have challenged anyone to that degree, much less someone with little fighting experience. I'll talk with the rest of the council later and see what we can do to address this."



She then turned to Shang, dipping her head slightly in his direction,

"General Shang, I do believe you have been put in charge of this training session from here on out."

[Li Shang]

Shang could do nothing but watch as his commanding officer shot down his request and told him that he would fight Kiara. The general kept his mouth shut; his commander spoke and he listened. Although, it did not feel right for Shang to sit back and watch. Had he been the young man he was when he met Mulan, he would have stepped forward and defended his decision; now, the seasoned warrior would not defy orders.

Then the Gourmand began to shake and a mouth opened where his neck belonged. Shang, frightened and in shock, pulled out his sword and nearly charged. But he remembered, staring at the glinting sunlight dancing off his blade, that this creature was still his commanding officer. So Shang held back once more, although he began to think perhaps he should loosen his respect.

Watching the exchange of Zamora and the Gourmand was the final straw. Shang stepped forward, and picked up the shattered tree branch, as the Gourmand deferred direction of the training to him. Holding the piece of wood in his hands, Shang looked at Shani and nodded. No time for dramatics or hysterics.

"Troops, you heard our Commanding Officer. 100 push-ups, squats for the four-legged and stretches after. Men of the Middle Kingdom, I expect your usual regimen. Princess Kiara, Shani, Zamora, I would like to speak to you privately."

Dismissing the men, Shang gathered the lions and alien he had requested for, still holding the piece of wood. His fist clenched the brnach tightly. Shang looked up at Zamora, looking very unhappy. "Zamora, you disrespected a commanding officer and his direct order. Insubordination from this point on will not be tolerated. Not from me, and certainly not from the Gourmand."

Shang's face was cold and stern. Slowly it softened. "That being said, I believe you made the right choice. Kiara would have been completely injured and wounded badly from this fight. Shani, Kiara, I can imagine the two of you being a wonderful team; your lack of sight will not hold you back if one fights by your side. Zamora, as part of your... "punishment" for your insubordination, I'm assigning you to train Kiara and Shani as a team. Work with them as you see fit, but all three of you, report back to me every day and share your progress. I'll focus on the other men."

Shang bowed with respect to the other three. "I trust you will grow strong, Shani, Your Highness. And Zamora? Hold back until you see fit."

[Daniel (Tiny)]

“Mrrrrrrrrr hisssssss!” The tiny tabby cat was a puffball, fur standing on end as he stupidly leaps in front of the bear. It seemed that Tiny Dan had chosen his opponent in the form of Akando.

“Hey! Fight me jolly green giant!” He spits out, at the grizzly. His blue eyes narrowed as his claws sink into the slush. “I still can’t find my girlfriend-she’s the most prettiest-no! Sexy dog in the world, all spotted” the cat says,

[Akando Mato]

Akando stares down at the little feline almost in disbelief at it’s boldness. “You sure about that?” He grumbled, lowering his head to be closer to Tiny Dan as he spouts out something about finding his girlfriend, who was sexy apparently. The bear’s mouth pulls into thin line as he looks at the other soldiers wondering if they were hearing any of this.