One morning the training pattern changed; by now the group of trainees were down to a manageable thirty or so, and Sharon knew the instructors and her fellow gladiators by sight, temperament, and in some cases smell. She had become more acquainted with a few of them besides Ebon and the young man Hassan (whose continued bodily reactions to Sharon prior to their training bouts had earned him the unflattering nickname of 'Hardon' in the mess hall and with a few of the trainers) ... but in most cases relationships were kept at the absolute minimum of acquaintance. Though the likelihood of being set up against one of their own stablemates was low, the possibility of being sold to another gladiator house was always there; only matched pairs or established teams could be assured that they would never face off against each other in the ring some day.
Sharon saw more of these professional gladiators these days, as the fresh trainees were culled from the courtyards and the old pros began to mingle amongst them. The pride of the K'ral Stables (for that, Sharon eventually learned, was the title of the noble lord who owned and maintained the enterprise) was a four-man fighting team, all seasoned veterans of countless arena battles, and reputed amongst mess hall banter to lie at night together with each other, some taking the part of a woman.. whether this was truth, jealous gossip, or projection on the part of the younger men Sharon had no idea, since she had only heard of the Carrion Crows (as the team was known) through the talk of her fellow trainees. Most of the elites remained aloof from the new meat, occasionally demonstrating techniques alongside the trainers but sticking to their own quarters and their own company during the day. Ebon did not appear to be one of these elites, for he trained alongside Sharon's batch with several other mid-level gladiators; if they had more experience than Sharon, it was most likely through a month or two's head start and a lifelong understanding of the gladiator culture.
By this time Sharon was as fit and strong as the men at her side, and no longer let nudity or physical exertion trouble her. She had browned the color of warm toast by the end of her first week exercising under the hot noonday sun, and though the hungry stares of some of her fellow trainees never completely vanished, her ability to throw with the best of them and the continued watchfulness of the guards seemed to have precluded any thoughts of "ungentlemanly" action.
The guards themselves were not all that gentlemanly either, but the head trainers had apparently made their desire to keep Sharon undamaged if at all possible perfectly clear; therefore she kept her own private (if not exactly luxurious) quarters while the rest of the men slept in communal barracks.
In any case, one morning after the daily calisthenics exercises Sharon found that the trainers were ready to start weapons training. She saw for the first time in several days that Kane was up on the central dais, and there were several other well-dressed figures with him, as well as the bulk of the top trainers. They were surveying the assembled group of trainees, and Sharon couldn't shake the feeling that they paid far more attention to her, as she went through the warm-up routine and followed the practice motions of the lead trainer. "Well, I guess I can't help but stand out some, huh?" she thought, as she mimicked a blocking-and-stabbing stance alongside her companions.
After an hour or so of practice they broke and assembled into smaller groups to be coached through the use of actual weapons.
Sun Mar 2 18:27:41 2003