I didn't get any sleep last night, planning on my next approach. I had no idea where to start or where to go. I felt delusional thinking that my only sense of direction came from a voice in my head to find the Stars of Lupus. I thought to myself whether or not I should just help Griffin at Masonry. I leaned back in my chair, the sun slowly creeping over the horizon from the east. I decided to go over some of the navigational charts held on the ship, but when I finally looked them over, all I saw were too many targets, and I didn't know which ones were in need or were better off left alone.

I scanned over the warrens wistfully, hoping that somehow it would help in getting my sense of direction back on track. What I needed was a plan of action, but so far, I had no starting point, no heading, and no idea what to do once I got it. Maybe I should have gone to sleep. But it was too late for that as the golden dawn heralded a new day in Gem Fido. I sighed and decided to head to the mess hall early. I had to compensate lack of sleep with something, else I wouldn't have any energy to lift a sword, much less fight.

As expected, most of the crew members were still hunkered down in their beds, cots, and hammocks, snoozing through the monotonous humming of the engine, as well as Eol and Ubi, who had to share a bunk bed in one of the guest rooms. I guess the nurses in the sick bay gave the all clear.

The mess hall, devoid of stirring crew members, had a rather homely atmosphere, warm wooden furnishings, cushioned seats, even a vase or two scattered amongst the tables. I took an empty seat, deciding to pass the time by working on a long overdue creation. I pulled out a fist sized diamond and started whittling at it with Kokuryu, down to a clean, lethal point, I bore a hole at the base of the diamond, threading the wire through the hole along with an iron ball to adjust the weight.

The wire itself was around 60 feet long, the iron ball close to a 100 grams. I tested the edge of the diamond by twirling the wire around my finger and letting go in springing release, causing the diamond to fly forward, embedding it into the opposite wall. With a quick tug I brought my fully functional rope dart back into my hands. After giving the bow to Ubi, I thought I would settle for a mid-ranged weapon, a rope dart was the only thing that came to mind given the materials I had.

Hearing footsteps I stowed away the rope dart, looking back towards who else but the captain. Gilda addresses me.

"Well, Well, someone's up early for having such a late night..." she notes with a rather leisurely smile.

"I'm no stranger to insomnia." She giggles before sitting down.

"I figured I would get used to it with this goof," she remarks, nudging Griffin, "Except half the time he sleeps like a rock. Do all humans have such a screwed up way of sleeping?"

I lean my arm on the table, "Only when they're actually trying..." I reach for the glass of water next to me, taking a small sip.

"Fair enough," She brings over a nearby pillow and sits down on it at the table. After getting a second look at Gilda, I notice that she had a fresh sheen to her feathers, it dawns on me what Griffin and Gilda did last night...

"Well, today’s the day. Gotta get through chatting with all the newbies, then I figure you and I can do some training so I learn how to use my sword properly, letting them watch of course, then I teach them some fundamental magic."

"You might want to tell them to stand back..." I warn, "I'm not only teaching 'sword tricks'."

"Of course, same here. Wouldn't want any of the non-combatants getting hurt."

Just then, I hear Maria roll in the food-cart, laden with plates of steaming hot food.

"Well, you're all up early..." She says before pulling down a microphone, "Get your lazy asses up hear, it's time for breakfast!" She turns back to us and places a plate of food in front of each of us, "Enjoy your meal."

Laid out before us was a simple home-cooked meal of roasted sweet potatoes and some smoked salmon.

"Smells delicious." He grabbed the fork and was about to lunge for it, before looking at me and bowed his head in silence before eating. I gave a slight smile, 'I guess he has learned something.'

I couldn't enjoy my meal though, my mind distracted on where I was planning on going next. After finishing, I head up to the deck, finding Ubi and Eol already prepared.

"Are you feeling okay, Eol?"

"Peachy," he said holding an okay sign with his paw.

"Good, cause you'll need to be on full alert for this training session." I brought over a few wooden weapons, as well as some rocks. I would get to the rocks later. "First off, let's work on your individual strengths and weaknesses, as well as how to turn those weaknesses into a strength." I grab a wooden staff, "For example, Eol, you lack in using weaponry but excel in hand to hand combat, and Ubi, you react very quickly as well as have an eye for marksman ship, yet you lack in lower body power, hence why you seldom kick in hand to hand combat."

"And what about you?" Ubi asked me, "you've told us our weaknesses, what about you?"

"That's what I'll be teaching you. On point analyzation, by the end of a two on one sparring match, you are each to find one flaw in my fighting style, and like always, I won't go easy on either of you." I take a staggered stance, holding up a defensive stance.

"Ready?" They nod.

Combat option: Non lethal intent, use minimal force. Do not attack vital areas or fracture skeletal structure of attackers.

They dash forward in unison, Eol swerving to the left, Ubi crossing over to the right. 'Flanking maneuver, keep vision centered.' Eol attacks first, going for a sweep at my legs. I jump and counter with a crescent kick to his shoulder, bringing him to the ground. Ubi strikes at the advantage, going for me with a mid-air punch. I bring up my right knee to block, stopping him in his tracks, then grab his arm and give a rough twist, flipping him over on his back. I bring back my legs behind my back, dropping onto his abdomen in a knee drop. He gasps, air rushing out from his lungs. I flip over and reform my defensive stance.

"I'm going to pause right here, give you a moment to get back on your feet." I brush off my clothes, "Meanwhile think of what just happened." I sit down on the deck, cross legged, while both of them are still lying on the ground.

"If you're both going to lie there, then I have time to explain. From what I can tell, I don't think many diamond dogs are trained rather well in advanced combat, simply whatever gets the job done. Other than raids, there's not much room for actual combat experience. To get your honest opinion, how easy was it to take down the Black Brothers?" I cock my head to the side, straining my ears for an answer. Eol groans.

"Now that I think about it, they did seem a bit..."

"Disorganized, distraught, and caught completely off-guard. We dealt with about 20 ponies that didn't know anything more than petty assassinations against defenseless ponies." I took a deep breath before continuing, "Child's play to two who've had a modicum of combat experience. Now that you seem to be able to talk and listen coherently, do you know what exactly happened, if so, were either of you able to pinpoint the flaws in my style?"

"It seems airtight to me," Eol answers, rubbing his sore shoulder.

"Oh? And why do you suspect that?"

"Well, because you cut through both of our attacks like nothing."

"You're only half right. Since you got this far, I'll spill." I go over and help Ubi up, "From what I've seen from both of you, Ubi has learned somewhat of my style, even though he might call it something else. Isn't that right?"

"I don't know what to call it, how we fight is just instinct." Ubi strained to stand, nursing his injured abdomen, "Wait, how is how I fight similar to how you fight?"

"I never said it was how I fight, I just said it was my style of fighting, well, one of them at least." They both drop their jaws to the ground.

"I take it you're even more confused?" They nod, I sigh, "Apparently, since this world derives somewhat from our world, it isn't uncommon for some fighting styles like karate to have been derived as well, no matter how diluted in simplicity they become. I noticed that different clans, when you get down to hand to hand combat, have different traditions of fighting, depending mainly on the need of the style as well as body structure of its practitioners." I was starting to lose them, "Simply put, neither of you noticed anything when you attacked?" To my disappointment, both shook their heads.

I rubbed my temples, "First and foremost, the style I used is a slight derivation of the Wushu northern style. I derived its moves for more defensive hand to hand combat, centering it around what you will remember as 'zoning'. Are you with me thus far?" They nod, starting to grasp the concept. "Zoning consists of egging or tricking the opponent of getting into striking distance, combined with a style based on deceptive, fast attacks, it's a highly effective defense tactic. However, each style has flaws. Take a few more moments to think about what I said, and what you've just experienced first hand." After a few minutes of thinking, Eol answers.

"If it's centered around defense, then there can't be much offense." I clap slowly.

"Excellent, you've just learned how to analyze a style by getting hit by it first hand. But on the real field of battle, enemies won't wait for you to figure out their weaknesses or strengths, you have to learn to take them apart, find their weak points, and utilize your new knowledge immediately. Remember, knowledge of the enemy is useless when you're dead." They nod, hanging on to every word I say.

"I'm assigning each of you 2 hours in the training room, you can spar with each other after the lesson is over, remember what I told each of you about your weaknesses and work on them, and most of all, learn from each other. Let's move on to the next lesson. " I pace towards the pile of rocks.

"In battle, you will have to take notice of every single detail in a split second." I notice Griffin coming down onto the deck. "And react accordingly."

"Hey Aoi, there you are." I shot him a glare. He zipped his beak and allowed me to continue.

"As always, things work best with a demonstration and hands on experience." I take my sword out from my obi and place it against the wall near the wooden weapons, "No personal weapons, please." Eol and Ubi follow my directions without further ado.

"You too, Griffin..."

"Aye." He strips off his weapons and his dragon-scale armor, placing them with all the other weapons. I grab a handful of rocks and pass around a pebble to each of them.

"Stand in any formation you'd like around me. Now how this going to work is that you three are going to try and take your best shot at me. But nobody throws until my stone hits the ground, is that clear?" Everyone nodded, a sizable crowd hounding the triangle. I hold the small pebble high into the air, waiting for a bit before dropping it.

*CLAK*

Ubi is the first to throw, the stone racing for my forehead, I swipe down with my open palm, catching it with the very tips of my claws. immediately I turn, swinging my arm just in time to knock Eol's shoulder. I pivot on the ball of my rear paw and throw the stone at Griffin, his stone colliding with mine and falling to the ground in a clatter. I slowly release the breath I was holding. The Captain looks at me with intrigue.

"Hmm... impressive reflexes... I guess I'm next?" he asks casually. Does he really think it's some kind of game? I shake my head and answer.

"If you'd like..." He walks over and picks up all the pebbles, standing where I was. I back away and grab one of the stones he picks up. The crowd starts to back up, hoping not to get hit by a stray throw from the captain. He starts to look at each of us, as if sizing us up. He grins at me with a conniving expression, further confirming my impression.

'If he honestly think he's gonna win this 'game' like that, he should at least cover his damn poker face.' I thought to myself.

"Everyone ready?" He shouts to everyone. I nod, staring at him blankly. He turns around to face Eol, Looking over his shoulder, by now it's no surprise. He quickly turns and sends his stone straight at me. I toss mine into the air, catching his stone with my now free hand. I feign backwards as if I'd been hit, clasping onto Griffin's stone. When I turn, I slingshot the stone over his head, whizzing by his beak by a mere centimeter. I reach under my other arm to catch my stone. Thrusting it forward, I put the force of my thumb under the stone. Stepping forward, I lunge outward, flicking the stone like a bullet towards the unsuspecting captain's forehead. It connects with a sound smack.

As Keith would have put it, "Head shot..." He pauses for a second.

"Heh, Aoi, ya got me. Even if the others HAD hit me, you were the only one to throw your stone after mine hit the ground. Wasn't counting on you catching that and slinging it back at me as a distraction. Good move." I relax and stand back up.

'Ma~a... (Oh well...)' You can teach a child the importance of gold, but you can't expect them to use it. I look back up and see the captain having a rather noticeable stream of red trickling down his face.

"You better get that patched up, I may have hit you too hard..." I rub the back of my head coyly, "Sorry about that..." he reaches for his injured forehead, pulling away a splotch of blood on his talons.

"Nah, it'll be fine on its own." He waves away the matter.

"Well, if you're sure about that, don't come complaining if you get an infection..." I learned even small wounds could be viable to infections.

"Given all the citrus I eat, I'm not at all surprised I haven't caught so much as a cold since coming here." You're joking me... "Hey, it's good for you and tastes damn good, too. No way in hell I'll let there be a case of scurvy on my ship." Scurvy and colds are one thing, but a staph infection and tetanus are whole different things altogether. Shaking my head, i went over to the stash of wooden weapons, grabbing a long wooden staff and a great sword. I toss the great sword over to him.

"You're familiar with this kind of weapon, am I right?" I think it's about time I taught him he should be taking these things seriously. What better way to do that than to teach him more about offense. He swings around the sword, testing the feel and balance of it.

"It's a bit lighter than what I'm used to, but hey, at least we won't kill each other." I bend down and take Kokuryu in hand, shaving off half of the staff, leaving a curved tip at the end.

"Tell me, Griffin, are you familiar with kendo?"

"Not beyond the basics. mostly I evolved my own style by figuring out what works. You know, best techniques passed on by the survivors? I'm lucky enough to still be alive after something doesn't work to find something that does." In that case, he won't notice the difference. I crouch low, my two digits sliding along the edge of the blade, until the back edge rests on my claws as I bring the handle near my eyes in a flat thrust stance.

"I see..." He's more used to unplanned brawls in the street, "But how well can you 'evolve' your style?" He responds by taking a defensive stance. Immediately, I focused on the openings in his defense. after what seemed like barely a second, i was ready.

"Let's find out, shall we?" I took a small breath, letting my shoulders relax.

"Ikuzo (Here I go!)" I dash forward my back paws tapping across the deck in a patter of unbelievable motion. I go for a low thrust, he takes the bait by sweeping upward with the blade, knocking it upwards. I slacken my grip, bringing it easily over the captain's neck. With a savage jerk, I pull the blade forward, the blade slamming into his exposed neck. He back-flips, flaring his wings to regain his footing and crouches low, ready to attack.

I straighten my stance, holding the blade at my side. At the very last second, He goes for a short thrust. I pull the blade up, the flat of my blade skidding against the tip of Griffins. I pull upwards, sliding my sword across his, slamming it into his open beak.

"HUGRK!" He lurches back from the impact, winded and coughing. I stand over him with a disappointed look.

'You're not thinking...' I tap my two digits to my temple, hoping he gets the hint. He rolls over, swinging his sword in a wide angle, giving him leeway to get back on his feet again.

"Hmm..." He pauses for a second in deep thought before making his move. He rushes towards me, veering his body to the left.

'Will he actually get it right this time?' I think to myself as he thrusts his blade forward in another stab, I bring the edge forward to parry, 'I guess not.' He twists the blade, bringing rune to rune and pushes forward with full force, slamming the hilt into my chin. I lean backwards into a back-flip to solid ground. He rushes me, swinging his sword in a sweeping arc. I jump over it, planning on on getting him with a jump attack. A glance at his hand shows his blade gone.

He brings his fist forward, crashing it square into my jaw. I reel backwards, skidding on the deck, I flip backwards into a crouched position, massaging my jaw with a massive grin.

'NOW he's getting it...' I stand up slowly and start clapping. After a few seconds and a few confused looks, the spectators around us start clapping as well.

"Well done, Captain, you pass, so what exactly have you learned?" He cocks his head, scratching his chin.

"Let's see, smaller weapon, designed for getting past defenses... more like a long dagger. In terms of strike speed, so long as I held that thing, I wouldn't be able to hit you." He walks over and picks up his weapon, "Now then... I wonder..."

"Go on..." He takes a reversed grip on the blade, holding it down over his front side. "How would you deal with this kind of defense?" He says smugly. I think for a few seconds.

'I know that stance before...' Chapter 12, section 3 of Siege: Tactics of Medieval Warfare. I bring my stance low, left paw almost touching the ground, my right hand gripping the wooden sword with a reverse grip. I spring forward, using my claws to gain traction on the ground.

Distraction: I throw the blade forward, the sword clacking on his defense.

Bait: He thrusts his blade forward, I jump into the air, clearing the captain and his thrust.

Trap: I grab his wrist as he finishes the lunge, a twist commands his wrist to drop the weapon.

Subdue: I land behind him twisting his arm towards his backside, rendering him incapable of fighting back.

Finish: I bring down my arm, throwing him clear over my head towards the adjacent wall. I grab my blade from the air just as the captain rebounds off the wall from the impact. I mighty spring of my legs thrusts me forward, slamming into Griffin, blade poised at his neck.

"Ow... FUCK... OK, you got me..." I ease my hold on the captain, letting him catch his breath. I glance at Eol and Ubi, what surprises me is I see Ubi trying to hold back a laugh, "Ah, DAMMIT that hurt. I gotta remember that the next time I use that stance." He starts to waddle over to the mast and leans on it, "Takes me a near decapitation and a mouth full of stick to figure out your weaknesses and you figure mine out in four seconds..." He squints, "You really are an assassin aren't you?" I drop the blade on the ground and head over to the weapons.

"That line of work being my bread and butter for a few years, it should stand as no surprise that I learned how to bypass defenses."

"Well, I know what my problem is, I'm just not built to deal with the quick ones." He shuffles towards his sword, "Then again... that's why I have this..." He touches Hades, whispering something, "Accelero." A wisp of blue encircles him, then vanishes, he picks up his sword.

"Besttwooutofthree? Readysetgo!!!" He lunges at me. Adrenaline floods my veins as I duck a swing of his right wing.

"Letseeyoustopthreeattacksatonce." I drop down to the ground, grabbing my sword as he passes over me with the pommel of the sword. Instinct takes over, I reach towards the hilt of my sword, drawing it with sounding fury.

'Hoki no Kiba (Uprising Fang)" The quick-drawn slash cleaves through the great sword like butter, the slash barely missing Griffin's beak by a mere millimeter. He drops his right wing down onto my neck in a body slam, knocking the wind out of my lungs. He gets up, panting from a mix of fear and anger.

"WHAT THE HELL, AOI!!! WOODEN SWORD!" He points down towards the cleanly sliced hilt of the wooden great sword. It hit me, he was just going for a rematch. I glanced around, all the ponies somewhat terrified, Gilda glaring at me with near seething rage.

Social Options: Call him out on a his blunt sneak attack, justifying my attack. Possible argument, Gilda might become hostile towards me, but might establish some common ground with the captain.

Apologize and recognize my actions. Unbelievable at best, but would give a reason to almost killing the captain.

I didn't want to scuffle with his mate, I've had enough for the day, "Sorry... instinct." He scoffed in response.

"That attack was THIS close to cutting me in half. Instinct my ass..." He took a deep breath to recollect himself, "I guess the point is that it didn't. Seriously though, I don't know WHAT the HELL is going on in that head of yours, but you've been distracted since we left Canterlot." I glared at him: he couldn't tell distraction from an honest mistake if it manifested right in front of him. "I can tell you've got something on your mind." He was right about that part, but only by half.

"I suggest you get your shit in order." My nose twitched in irritation.

'Learn YOUR place, CAPTAIN. I try to teach you something and you try to show off and attack me in a rematch.' My thoughts screamed at him into a searing expression. He froze, sensing my gaze at him. He turned around, I wondered if he actually read what I was thinking...

"I think we're done for the day. Now go get some rest. Staying up all night isn't good for you..." Him and Gilda start to walk away after gathering Griffin's weapons. He turns around, "Don't even thing of trying to slip out, or I'll get Nadene to come over, and you do NOT want that," he warns me, shaking a finger in my direction.

I shake my head and sigh, "Do you always threaten your guest like this?" He pauses and turns around.

"When they nearly KILL ME?! YES! I know all about the whole insomnia deal, I've been through it. If you don't get some rest I WILL drug you, so I suggest you lay down. I don't care if you sleep, meditate, whatever the hell it is you do. JUST STAY INSIDE!" He disappears down into he galley, leaving me on the deck with the dumbstruck ponies. I wade past the crowd of ponies to head to the barracks. Before I take another step however, Eol and Ubi return to my side.

"Hey, Aoi, don't take it to heart, it's not that you went wrong in teaching, just a simple mistake. For what it's worth, I learned a lot." Eol grinned, his words giving me some amount of comfort.

"... wish he'd get his head out of the clouds..." Ubi reasoned, walking past with his paws tucked away in his tunic.

"Thanks... but right now, I just want to be alone for a bit." I walked down with them to my room and bade them farewell for the evening.

I spent the rest of the evening trying to gain a heading, there were just too many targets, each of varying defenses. I only had a clan of three. I needed a plan, as well as finding a warren that won't attack us on sight, and hopefully show some inkling of diplomacy. I poured over the reference material that Eol had on the various clans, all of which showed either a danger level of 5 or higher in the guidebook for the surrounding area. I was getting nowhere with this fast, slamming the covers shut and tossing the book aside in frustration.

Here I was, the leader of a clan of three diamond dogs, with not so much as an Idea how to lead them. I couldn't just lead them into a hostile warren expecting to come out alive and unharmed, I needed someone who would listen. It was an amazement that other clans have heard of me, but even then those other dogs that came with Ubi were runaways, deserters of their clan. I highly doubt other clans would be willing to simply line up at my side.

My best option seemed to be to wait on the ship with the Captain until we got back to the Dominion, there we could check on Eol's former clan, maybe grab some re-enforcements. No, what am I thinking, I'm starting to sound like a warlord vying to take over Japanese provinces. What I needed to do was convince the other warrens to help solve the problem, not to start an all out feudal war...

It hit me. Gem Fido was just like the situation of Feudal Japan. The Dragons were the shoguns, vying for resources and territory. The Alphas were their right hand, regulating the peasants for supplies. The dogs who followed the Alpha's were the samurais under them, following their beck and call with unwavering loyalty. This brought some new light to the table. I didn't have to convince the Alpha's, just the dragon's in control of them. I gave a loud laugh at my revelation. I sighed in relief, this was a huge game-changer, now all I had to do was take advantage of it.

By now the sun had set, leaving me in the dark, the moon starting to wane after its streak of full moon nights. I decided to settle down for the night, blowing out my candles, leaving only the faint glow of the gem lamp on my nightstand. I closed my eyes, remembering an old family photo I always kept with me. As I yawned, I thought of my mother singing me to sleep.

"Good night mom..."