Stationed

As the training came to an end I received my first assignment. As it wasn't expected for a new recruit to route Mana beasts or to handle high risk situations, most new soldiers with out a family history of military service get sent to a barracks. I was assigned to the eastern barracks, a middle ground between the high class and the merchant district. Our commander was Ralph the Demon slave driver, as the others called him. I never got the chance to properly meet the man as he was in charge of Little Whites class and not mine, but I soon learned the hard way why he was given such a nickname by my brothers and sisters in arms.

"Move it, Move it, Move it. Get those asses in gear. Max! Pick up the damn pace or it's your job to clean the horses stall today." Ralph yelled at the top of his lungs as we ran down the street like our lives depended on it. And in some ways it did, behind us we could here the sound of heavy galloping. Taking a quick peek behind me I immediately regretted it. Behind us was a large fox made entirely of ice, it wasn't real at least not entirely, in reality it was made of mist to resemble a giant intimidating fox hunting us into oblivion. Somewhere in the fog was little white, weighed down by metal sheets while also carrying the professor on his back.

I felt bad for Little White, the two most eccentric people in the entire military academy decided to take on my familiar as their student. So as a compromise they often planned their classes as a combined lesson. Today they were testing the limits of Little White's ability to maintain Macro mana manipulation instead of Mirco mana control that they focused on in training. For Ralph's part he wanted to keep the pressure on little white so he loaded him with modified weights and thought that basic training could only do so much and a little fear goes a long way in improving ones self.

So here we were being chased down by a large illusion of a snow fox and just barely able to remain ahead. The sad part was that we were supposed to have the advantage as Little White was both under a lot of extra weight and had to maintain a large mana construct all while trying to catch up to us. Yet it felt like not only was he catching up to us he was getting better at the task. Occasionally a mist filled ice spear would shoot from the fox's mouth and obscure our line of sight, when we look back one of our own would be frozen to the ground as Little White froze their feet to the ground. He made a huge show of scooping the fallen soldier into his massive jaws as if he was eating the poor recruit.

"That's right Little White eat the little man." Ralph bellowed loudly from somewhere inside the construct "I guess max is cleaning the stalls tonight after all" A deep belly laugh echoed off the walls of the training yard, the voice was distorted from the fog and it made Ralph sound evil and insane. It scared the living hell out of me and I picked up the pace, Little White was scary with his giant illusion, but what really made us run in terror was the Demon hiding in the mist.

I could feel the blood lust from with in emanating from Ralph, he really enjoyed the hunt and the first time he let out his killing intent. The entire squad buckled and many needed to go and change into a fresh outfit, myself included. It wasn't anything like the intent I felt from Little White or even from the Demi-Human bear in the forest. Looking at Ralph as he let his intent loose felt like staring death in the eyes. All I could do was fall to my knees and hope that a god, any god would spare my soul and grant me a quick death. But as soon as it came it was gone, I looked around only to see the same listless expression on everyone's face. That day it felt like I knew what death truly meant and it angered me, it humbled me and even Setsuna remained silent for days after the incident.

I turned around the corner of the field just as a frozen spear impacted the ground and ice trapped me in place, looking back all I could see was a mouth of razor sharp looking teeth and a lot of mist. In no time I was eaten and spit out and Little White ran a victory lap, that last attack wiped the rest of the group and somehow he managed to make the whole construct look smug.

A boy with dirty brown hair, green eyes and a dazzling smile sat beside me as I tried to catch my breath "So about the dinner sometime are you interested" the boy asked. His name was Anthony and he was already notorious for being a lady killer.

I smiled politely "Sorry Anthony but I am not interested in seeing anyone right now. Besides you know how Little White can be when men try to chat me up, he'll eat you up and spit you out before you could even blink"

"You mean that little rascal, yeah he's a great familiar but he's got nothing on me. Look if it was just me and him. One on one, there is no way someone like me can loose" he said a cocky grin on his face.

"Oh yeah, well then how is this. You beat my familiar and I'll let you take me out to dinner. You loose and you buy him dinner" I said smirking and trying not to laugh

"Oh? Well you got yourself a deeeeeeaaaaaaaaahhhhhhh" Little White who was standing behind the cocky flirt picked the man up by the scuff of his uniform and threw him into the water trough for the horses. He came up sputtering as Little White chuckled at the now drenched Anthony "Hey that wasn't fair, I call foul play"

"Hey a deal is a deal my friend" I yelled back "I guess the only date you have tonight is Little White" the other laughed. This happened almost daily by those three and by this point it was routine. "Hey Little White, you can't keep all the men from me forever. How am I supposed to settle down?" He let out a long snort and I got the feeling that he didn't care and that he will deal with it when the time came. I just shook my head, I just couldn't understand why he was so protective of me. But I just picked him up and gave him a hug, the scent of pine needles tickled my nose. He perched on my shoulder as he always did and I felt contentment flow to me from our bond. I smiled and rubbed his head, he just closed his eyes and let out a long breath. "How about we go and grab a bite to eat in the market?" Little White nodded and we headed out.

"Hey wait for me" Yelled a a boy from behind and Anthony ran up to walk beside us, still dripping water. "Hey don't just leave me like that, if I didn't know any better I'd think you didn't like me" He said as he run water from his top shirt. As we walked down the market street however he manged to wink at every women who caught his eye, half of them slapped him. To which me and Little White would 'Politely' watch at a distance. Other times they either didn't give him the time of day or tried to swindle the swindler out of his money. In my book he was a lost cause, I think he only sticks around because he like to fight with Little White. They seem to have a rivalry going on, but that's not my problem.

Looking over I could see that Little White and Anthony were about to get into another spat. He was the only other person Little White would talk to other than me and his professors. Although every other word was some kind of insult or jab towards Anthony. I sighed and walked up to them and got them to stop before they destroy another peddlers stall. Last time they were banned from the market for two weeks because they started fighting over who would have the last of my dessert. The damages totaled to about seventy gold coins that was footed by Ralph. I never understood why it ended up becoming such a big deal or why Ralph not only footed the bill but also praised Little White for protecting what was his. This is why I don't get guys.

We ended up at on of my favorite shops in town. A little noodle shop that sold the best ramen I ever had. Seeing us walk in the owner immediately spotted us "Ah Kana so good to see you again today, the usual right? I'll get it ready in a moment." He said cheerfully "Oh and Anthony so glade to see your doing well" The owner replied in a monotone voice as if he was forced to greet the boy but didn't want to. "So when are you going to marry my little girl, boy" I could see Anthony stiffen and his eyes go wild, he quickly tried to look for an escape route. But the man placed his hand on his shoulder and dragged him behind the counter. "Now, now, no need to be that way. I mean it's only fair. You bed my daughter, you man up and take responsibility" the mans hand squeezed very strongly on Anthony's shoulder and I could have sworn his shoulder popped from the pressure. "Now since your going to be my son in law you need to learn the family business." Anthony's shoulders drooped low and the cook glanced towards me and winked. I just smiled as Anthony tries to use his eyes to beg for help. I gave him a small wave and sat down.

It didn't take long for the owner to return with two bowls of ramen, one for me and the other for Little White "Thanks again lass for dragging him back here, the meals on the house. Little punk is a feisty one, I know his parents. He's a good kid if he ever gets his head out of his pants." He shook his head "Enough about me, how has training been for you two? Ralph still using Little White as a tool of mass destruction and fear?" the man smiled. It's become a point of interest in the area, business always picked up during the time Little White was chasing us in the field and that made merchants much happier and since I was Little White contractor I received all the praise in his stead.

"Oh you know Ralph, we don't call him a demon for nothing but I think there is a method to his madness." I said as I polished off my noodles.

"Wow record time, do you want another bowl? Its on the house?"

"No thanks Gus I think I'm gonna head to bed early, my little friend here really ran the team ragged today and I could use the sleep. Let Anthony know I left and that he better remember to invite me to the wedding" the man smirked and nodded.

"I'll do that. Have a nice evening Kana and you too Little White" Little White nodded his head to the man before leaping onto my shoulder and we started heading home. Half way home however we heard a piercing scream.

"Ahhhhh Help Me" we both turned towards the sound ready to rush to her aid.