Roof - Friday Late Afternoon

[guardianborn.livejournal.com]

Rose's ass was thoroughly kicked by her second training session in the afternoon.  So much so that she was pretty sure if she sat down on her bed, she'd end up asleep right up until tomorrow morning.  Which would be pathetic. 

The rain seemed to have stopped though so she wandered up to the roof and sat on the wall.  It was totally dorky, but she even had a book with her to study. Something about that new determination plus actually having talked Dimitri into fight training had made her realise there were other parts of being a guardian she hadn't been paying attention to.  So she was fixing it...even if this book was a little too focused on the threat of guns to the protectees. 

The longer she was up there, the less the book was actually getting read.

[Home from work early wheeee]

Comments

[provostsdog.livejournal.com]

"Patrol," Beka explained. "Hobble Ra-troublemakers." She caught herself

[guardianborn.livejournal.com]

"What, are you a superhero?" she teased, not following.

[provostsdog.livejournal.com]

Beka blinked. She'd not heard the term before, but it wasn't hard to guess. "Just a city guard." She only faltered for an instant.

[guardianborn.livejournal.com]

"So you're a cop then," Rose decided. "How's that work? You're pretty young for it, yeah?"

[provostsdog.livejournal.com]

Cop, she'd heard that term used before for guards. "Not really," she said, not understanding the question. "There's a few Dogs my age who started along with me."

[guardianborn.livejournal.com]

"Have to be over eighteen to do anything here," Rose said with a shrug. "Don't ask me why. So what's it like being a guard?"

[provostsdog.livejournal.com]

And yet, the why was on her lips before Rose could say not to ask it. She kept it to herself, frowning thoughtfully. Not about her response, that was easy. "Tis good work. Rewarding," she paused. "When you're not sore and bruised all over."

[guardianborn.livejournal.com]

For some reason that made Rose laugh. "That's about how I'd describe my training. Except for the rewarding part." Though spending a few hours with Dimitri every day wasn't a bad thing.

[provostsdog.livejournal.com]

Her eyes flicked up, curious. "What are you training for?"

[guardianborn.livejournal.com]

"Guardian," Rose said with a shrug. "Like a bodyguard. Get to take my trials and all that when I'm eighteen."

[provostsdog.livejournal.com]

Beka smiled gently and nodded. Twas nice not being the only one with the interest to guard. "So not long to wait anymore?"

[guardianborn.livejournal.com]

"Like six months and a few days," Rose said instantly. She coughed. "Not that I'm counting."

[provostsdog.livejournal.com]

"Course not," Beka grinned and she rested her elbows on the railing. "How does it work, becoming a bodyguard? Will you get more training after the trials?"

[guardianborn.livejournal.com]

She pulled her hair over her shoulder, combing her fingers through it. "I'll get assigned a Moroi - they're the ones we protect. Kinda a long story - to guard. She'll probably be my best friend, Lissa. I'll train more, obviously, won't ever be good enough, but I'll be officially on duty then."

The 'officially' was the only change from every moment of every day she was with Lissa. They come first

[provostsdog.livejournal.com]

"You'll be the only one to guard her?" Beka asked. "No Senior guard to help out or a partner?"

[guardianborn.livejournal.com]

"Depends. If it's Lissa, there'll be two of us - probably my mentor and me," Rose said. "But not everyone qualifies for two guardians. There aren't as many of us as there used to be so they have to ration us out."

[provostsdog.livejournal.com]

That was a strange choice of words and Beka turned away from the railing to look at Rose. "There aren't many guards?" she asked, wondering if she was understanding it right.

[guardianborn.livejournal.com]

"Guardians," she corrected. Because apparently it was important. Rose shrugged. "And no, not a huge number. Definitely not a lot of girls."

[provostsdog.livejournal.com]

"So the guardians are spread thin?" Beka guessed, stressing the term this time.

[guardianborn.livejournal.com]

Rose winked at the stressing of the word. "Pretty much. All the royals get guardians but beyond that, it's the luck of the draw. We don't tend to have a lot of kids most of the time."

That whole a) dying young and b) lack of fertility had something to do with it.

[provostsdog.livejournal.com]

"It's a family trade?" Beka asked, uncertain where the kids remark fitted in.

[guardianborn.livejournal.com]

"It's kinda a supernatural thing?" Rose said, unsure how much Beka could deal with. "We have a set of inherited traits that helps us with the job."

[provostsdog.livejournal.com]

"And only people with your Gift can become guardians?" Beka asked, not looking surprised so far.

[guardianborn.livejournal.com]

Rose looked over at her then chuckled. "Yeah, you could say that."

It was easier than the truth anyway.

[provostsdog.livejournal.com]

"They might have to revise that if you're with so few," Beka mused.