Auror Training Grounds
5:45 pm

The Auror training grounds certianly looked like they were used frequently.  Then again it was often said by the Senior Auror's that part of the responsibility of being an Auror is always being physically and mentally ready to take on a foe.  She always thought that she was ready to do that.  To go out and prove to her Father just how good she was.  Recently though she wasn't even sure if she was capable of doing it.  Those doubts had been brought out when she had accidently sat down to lunch across from her boss Tamis Raynor.  Then shortly later joined by none other than the Minister of Magic...Marcus Annwyl.

Today was her training session with the Minister himself.  Most would probably wonder how she had managed that, but she always had problems seeing Marcus as the one in charge of everyone.  Maybe because he was more like an Uncle to her than a superior.  Yeah that probably had a lot to do with it.  Regardless he was going to be training her...and she knew it would be hard.  So she had no idea how to prepare for it.  So she just tried her best to keep her mind focused on the task at hand.

Scirey had been rather busy lately, and so Ciarra was often going home to an empty apartment.  It was something that was kinda disheartening in a way.  Especially when you just grew accustomed to someone always there to welcome you when you get home.  It was a comforting and odd feeling at the same time. 

Ciarra was dressed in her usual attired, all black and even wearing her absolute favorite black lace shirt over her t-shirt.  She sighed and took a seat on a bench and striaghtened her boots and made sure they were good and tight.  She was double checking everything and her wand, to make sure she was good and could move easily in her outfit.  She still tried to look her best regardless.  Now all that was left for Marcus to arrive...then the training would begin.

Ciarra was one of the few that Marcus could actually consider family. That's why he had such a hard time dealing with the fact that she wasn't doing so well in her training. Since that lunchtime meandering, Marcus had been studying her for any flaws. As Marcus stood perched overlooking the Auror training grounds, he suddenly realized just how creepy his actions actually were. If it weren't for the aforementioned familial bond, there could be some serious implications as to why the Minister of Magic was spying on a young girl.

He shook the thought from his mind, and chose to focus on something more pressing. Namely, Alex's garb. It just wasn't possible for a Metamorphmagus to emulate the clothing of the one they choose to mimic, so Marcus had to actually wear some of Alex's clothes. So much black... how does he move around and not sweat puddles? Marcus calmly thought to himself.

Every exercise that Marcus planned had a deliberate focus on it. Ciarra could be an excellent Auror, but he felt that she was limiting herself by refusing to let go of her problems. She carried them like a sickness that just won't go away. Marcus, in this instance, would be the medicine. He took the physical form of Alex, drew his wand, and Apperated down to the unaware Ciarra.

"What do you think you're doing? Get up," Marcus said, disguised as Alex. "Do you think that by becoming an Auror that you can win my approval? That by becoming an Auror you could truly be my Daughter? That's not how it works!' Marcus took a wand stance that was distinctive for him and not Alex, and levelled his wand at an obviously shocked Ciarra.

Marcus tensed up, displaying an anger that could easily be seen by the young Auror-In-Training, "You try so damn hard to gain my acceptance. Why? It's a losing battle Ciarra, and becoming an Auror is just going to make matters worse. My daughter would never be so weak. You've already failed the Ministry, Ciarra. Are you going to fail me to?"

Marcus tightened the grip on his wand and let loose a Blasting Curse at Ciarra's feet, purposely avoiding damaging her in any way. "C'mon! Answer me dammit!" Marcus released another Blasting Curse at her feet. "I said answer me!"

Every fiber of her being shook as she saw the image of her Father storming on to the training grounds.  The way he carried himself was different and the moment he began to speak she trembled at the voice...

"What do you think you're doing? Get up. Do you think that by becoming an Auror that you can win my approval? That by becoming an Auror you could truly be my Daughter? That's not how it works!"

His wand pointed at her.  She couldn't help as tears instantly formed in her eyes at those words.  It didn't matter that she knew something was off.  Why would her Father even know she was here?  Had Marcus told him?  Was he going to stop her from training?  Stop her from trying to be an Auror?  No that couldn't be right...he would never...he had never interfered in her life...so why would he now?

"You try so damn hard to gain my acceptance. Why? It's a losing battle Ciarra, and becoming an Auror is just going to make matters worse. My daughter would never be so weak. You've already failed the Ministry, Ciarra. Are you going to fail me to?"

Why?  Why did she do it?  Why in the world did she want her Father's acceptance?  Well how about he was her damn Father and she felt she deserved to be able to rely on him, to be loved and protected by him.  But no she never got that, all there was, was a man devoted to his work.  How could she fail him?  How could she fail a man that had never had any expectations of her?  Despite her resistance in her mind, she began to cry out loud, unable to sustain such words being said...

Then a blasting charm was sent at her feet and she stumbled back and fell to the ground...she began to move backwards as he yelled at her, demanding an answer and casting another blasting charm at her.  It didn't hit or damage her, but it was clearly to intimidate her. 

"No! No!  My Father would never say anything like that to me!" Ciarra gathered up all that energy and diverted it into a way to regain her concentration.   She pushed herself back to her feet.  "My Father, has always let me make my decisions and make my own mistakes.  He would never demand anything out of me!  No, he wants me to make it on my own, so thats why I have to!  And I'll prove it to anyone who thinks I can't, and I will do it with my own hands!"

Now she was angry.  And really there was only one person who would even do something like this...only one person capable of such a good disguise as her Father.  "Marcus! What's the big idea?!  Why would you..."  She suddenly lost her voice.  "...you knew how hard it would affect me..."

One would have to be made of stone to not feel for Ciarra at this moment. In this instance, however, that's exactly what Marcus needed to be made out of. Ciarra had been broken during this training session, and it had not been more than ten minutes. Marcus changed form, to his natural state. He removed the leather battle gear, revealing a simple black shirt and black pants. Enchantment or not, I'm glad to have those things off.

"Your biggest problem, the one thing that will keep you from being effective on the field, is your useless desire to hang onto emotional baggage wherever you go. I hate to be so hard on you, I really do, but it is absolutely useless. All it's doing is keeping you from focusing. I changed into your father because I knew it would hit you the hardest. Here, have some water." Marcus tossed a cantene to Ciarra. "You've got to get past that, or you'll never survive."

"If I had been an enemy disguised as your father, I could have killed you. Before you start thinking, 'How can they know so much about me,' let me clarify. Being the daughter of the Law Enforcment Department Head aside, the enemy can find out anything they want about you if they have the resources. Since you're Alex's daughter, it makes things a bit worse. Your dad's a pretty public figure, and it's not hard to dig up dirt on him or his family. All it takes is one mildly crafty wizard or witch to concoct a terribly simple potion, and BOOM... instant hesitation." Marcus lowered his voice, "Instant grave."

He changed gears, not wanting her completely discouraged. "What you did was pretty good though. You got past enough of the shock to see that not only my stance was different, but that your father would never say such a horrible thing. Now all we have to work on is your poker face, for lack of a better term. If you can get that down, then the emotional detachment will, hopefully, follow. Let's change that 'pretty good' into 'excellent', and continue tothe next phase of the training. How are your defensive spells?"

Marcus tossed her a cantene and she took the moment to take a long drink.  She knew that he was right...that if she couldn't keep herself under control and then one rather clever opponent would be able to take her out of the fight before it even had a chance to start.

"You've got to get past that, or you'll never survive."

It wasn't that easy but she knew it was the truth.  But just how was she supposed to do that?  It wasn't as if she could just suddenly get over it.  It never worked that way, and she wasn't sure...well perhaps if she could just get herself to focus on her task and try to push out everything else from her mind.  That could work...if she could manage to do so.  Whatever she ended up doing wouldn't be easy...no matter what.

"Let's change that 'pretty good' into 'excellent', and continue tothe next phase of the training. How are your defensive spells?"

"Defensive spells?  Well I know a number of them, but they've been drilling my reflex time more than anything else.  I mean I know a couple shield charms but thats about it.  Am I intpreting what you mean by defensive spells right?"  Ciarra was a bit confused, but that also comforted her in a way.  It meant that Marcus was going to be able to teach her genuinely something she didn't know.  And who better to learn from than a veteran ex-Auror and the current Minister of Magic?  She knew she was lucky...but she wasn't sure just how hard this was all going to be.

"Yes, you're interpreting what I said correctly, and incorrectly. Defense as a charm is easy to figure out. You wave your wand, say an enchantment, and you've got a Shielding Charm to fend off just about everything. Defense by definition will include any and all spells that can protect you from harm. Invisibility, Apparation, Transfiguration... as well as many other things, can keep you from dying."

Marcus had a hard time deciding how far he wanted to take Ciarra's training. He had an idea of what she was capable of, but that wasn't the concern. How much can she do if pushed? "Some say that the best defense is a good offense. They're idiots. If you want to avoid harm, one of the best ways is to throw off your opponent and keep him guessing. This is where a good arsenal of spells comes in handy."

In any other circumstance, Marcus would have opted to not say the spell name. It was imperative that Ciarra be involved with the entire process, so Marcus would utter the actual spell.

"Intremo!" The ground shook in a localized tremor at Ciarra's feet. "Coruscus!" Marcus disappeared for a split second, and reappeared behind Ciarra. "Anticus Contego!" A blue shimmer, similar in size and shape to a standard Shielding Charm rippled through the air and pushed Ciarra forward a couple of feet.

Marcus gave her time to recover and gain her footing. She almost saw the spell coming at her, even though I was behind her. Not bad at all... "Excellent recovery, Ciarra. An equally excellent job of tracking me without knowing exactly what I was doing."

"Intremo is the quake spell I used to distract you. Coruscus is what I call the Flash Step, and allows you to gain an advantage on your opponent. It's similar to Apparation in that you can move behind your opponent, the downside being that it leaves behind a magical signature. If your opponent is adept at seeing those, then you need another option. The last one is a variation on the Shielding Charm, except it can also be used to push your opponent. Sorry if I hurt you, I tried to dial back the intensity."

"Take another drink of water if you want, then show me what you can chain together, based on what you have in your arsenal. Bonus points if you use a spell that I just used, and even more if you don't hold back." Marcus' mouth formed a grin that seemed to scream, Bring it on.

"Some say that the best defense is a good offense. They're idiots. If you want to avoid harm, one of the best ways is to throw off your opponent and keep him guessing. This is where a good arsenal of spells comes in handy."

She knew that Marcus was also one of the best when it came to defense, while her Father was more towards offense.  It was nice to see the opposite side of it.  That was when Marcus launched his assualt.  The first spell put  her off blance and then he disappeared.  She had seen her Father use Marcus' Flash Step spell on different occasions.  Obviously he was using the incantation out loud so she would hear it.  Ciarra knew that her enemy would never be so generous as to say the attack.  Not if they were attempting to throw her off her guard.  Then there were people like her Father, that had the ability to use Leglimens which meant you might as well say it out loud.  But that wasn't something she needed to think about at the moment.

It happened quickly and without realizing it she started to move.  Almost as if she knew that Marcus was behind her.  And she brought her wand up as Marcus launched another spell and she managed to limited its effect as it pushed her back across the floor.  It would have done much more if she hadn't reacted so quickly.

"Excellent recovery, Ciarra. An equally excellent job of tracking me without knowing exactly what I was doing."

She knew that she had to be on her guard all the time in a training session.  To be honest her reaction time was never bad, just undefined.  Her trainers seemed to push her only to see if they can break through it.  Basically half the time they just wore her down.  But Marcus was infinitely more clever than they could ever be.  Perhaps it was just his experience that forced him to be that way.  Then again that was what she lacked...experience. 

"Intremo is the quake spell I used to distract you. Coruscus is what I call the Flash Step, and allows you to gain an advantage on your opponent. It's similar to Apparation in that you can move behind your opponent, the downside being that it leaves behind a magical signature. If your opponent is adept at seeing those, then you need another option. The last one is a variation on the Shielding Charm, except it can also be used to push your opponent. Sorry if I hurt you, I tried to dial back the intensity."

"No, I'm fine.  One thing I've always learned is that you can never let your guard down as long as you are on the training ground.  Though I'm sure Father would say that the more correct term would be to never let your guard down...period."  She gave an amused chuckle.  "Magical Signature?  You know I did kinda feel something.  I don't know why, but I just knew where you were at.  This sounds loads more useful than the things they've been teaching.  They never go much into strategy..." 

She took another large drink of water from the canteen that Marcus had given her.  She focused her thoughts for a long moment before putting it down and sliding the drink away.  Ciarra held up her wand for a moment and looked at Marcus who was ready for her to try.  Wanting her to try and combo her spells?  Chaining together spells and in a logical order would be one way to break through an enemies guard.  Though the Flash Step looked like something she really wanted to try out.

Thinking out her strategy...she charged forward.  Sending out a disarm spell followed by a blasting charm would cause Marcus to move in some direction.  That was where she needed to be, she focused on that location , "Coruscus!"  Then she disappeared and reappeared in a split second.  It was a lot different feeling than apparation.  Perhaps it was because of the way it had happened.  And she hadn't anticipated the slight diorientation that came with the Flash Step.  So now her timing was off.  Marcus was already turning towards her and avoiding the first two of her spells.

Instincts kicked in, "Coruscus!" She Flash stepped again.  Ready this time for the disorientation and moved on to her next new spell.  "Anticus Contego!"  Hoping that this push with the Shielding Charm would put him right back into the path of her disarm and blasting charms.

Two Flash steps in a row though she could feel was physically taxing.  But she was more than capable of handaling a downside like this to such an obvious advantage of a spell.

Ciarra sent two spells at Marcus, something he wasn't sure she was ready to do. It was her attack though, and her choice. Marcus moved to the right and put up a Shielding Charm in preparation to deflect the attacks. Marcus then noticed that Ciarra had cleverly moved behind him. She's using the Flash Step technique. Unfortunately, Marcus hadn't explained all of the effects of the spells he had used. He grinned in anticipation of Ciarra's next attack, which came quicker than he had anticipated.

Marcus caught a glance of Ciarra stumbling, unable to anticipate the disorientation that was associated with the Flash Step. It was an acquired taste, so to speak, and took a great deal of concentration to get past. He wondered if she was going to throw up at all. While images of a physically ill Ciarra went through his head, Ciarra was busy using the Flash Step again, followed by another one of Marcus' spells.

Luckily, she Shielding Charm he had brought up was instantly useful, as it blocked the Force Shield Charm that she had expertly been able to use. It wasn't as powerful as he would have personally liked, but experience will teach her how to properly use it. The resulting collision pushed Marcus back a few feet. Interesting strategy, Marcus thought to himself as he saw both the Disarming Spell and the Blasting Charm flying towards him.

In his split second judgement, Marcus Apperated to the other side of Ciarra. "Fulminis!" Marcus closed his eyes to avoid the blinding flash that he had created. Ciarra wouldn't be so lucky. She'd be blinking out spots for the next few minutes.

"Very good. Not only did you send out two spells at once, but timed it so that your distraction would hit right before the other attack did. Speed, coordination, and you were thinking on your feet. Unfortunately, you didn't take into consideration any side effects of using the Flash Step Charm in rapid succession. Also, I didn't tell you any side effects." Marcus winked, and then realized that Ciarra couldn't see his friendly gesture. "Go ahead and sit down for a minute, shake off the spots and that queasy feeling I know you've got. When you're ready, we can continue with phase three. But only when you're ready. This is training for battle, but still only training."

"Phase three involves reflexes, which I know you've been training hard on, but it also includes stamina. First though, I'm curious how your actual Auror training is going. We may need to step it up for everyone, you know."

"Go ahead and sit down for a minute, shake off the spots and that queasy feeling I know you've got. When you're ready, we can continue with phase three. But only when you're ready. This is training for battle, but still only training."

Yeah she hadn't known any of the downsides that had been associated with his Flash Step spell.  From casual observation and a couple of uses she figured it had to be a variation of apparation.  The biggest difference is it was faster and had a more physical downside.  Apparation presented discomfort when traveling...but too much of the Flash Step was obviously impossible without a lot of training in its use.  And it had probably been a bad move for her physically to use it twice.  But her strategy had already been decided as soon as she had seen the move.  At the moment she was attempting to get her vision back, which the blinding light had taken away.

She didn't have the advantage of experience or even her Fathers use of Legilmency.  Her Father could feel when any intent was coming towards with him even if someone was guarding their mind.  She didn't have any kind of warning system.  Ciarra needed to learn how to identify dangers and what to prioritize over certain other things.  It was not an easy task to be sure.  Then again being an Auror was anything but easy.

"Phase three involves reflexes, which I know you've been training hard on, but it also includes stamina. First though, I'm curious how your actual Auror training is going. We may need to step it up for everyone, you know."

"My actual Auror training?" She was confused by Marcus chosen words so she took a moment to think about it before answering.  "The first two years focus primarily on procedure and law.  As well as the basics.  Sometimes it can be a refresher course.  But its the last year that is focused towards an Auror's strength.  So I imagine most of the basics and procedures are already taught to me." 

No, she wasn't sure if that was the answer he was looking for but it was the one she was going to give to him.  She took a drink of her water after picking up the canteen again.  It hadn't even been an hour into the training session and she felt like they had been going for at least 4 hours.  That just showed how much better Marcus was a teacher.  Her trainers were hard on her...but obviously not as hard as they could be.  She had to do her best.  She wasn't going to give up, no matter how hard it got.

"No, I should have clarified." Marcus laughed. Not the sort of laugh one does when mocking, the kind that involves massive confusion and an inability to clear up said problem. "I was curious if you're learning most of the things you feel that you need to learn. However, I suppose your answer tells me more than I would have ever gotten with clarification. I'll speak to Tamis Raynor, and maybe we can make a push to step up everyone's training."

"Just because we're in a time of peace, shouldn't keep the trainees from fighting like there is a war coming." Marcus thought of his statement, and prayed internally that it wouldn't turn out to be true. This is why we have Aurors though, Marcus thought to himself. "I remember back during the Second Rise, we were so short on Aurors that we had to take first year trainees with us out onto the field. But, that's neither here nor there..."

"Okay. Phase three, as I said before, is reflexes." Marcus began to pace a bit, to make sure that he didn't lose any of his adrenaline. "Reflexes is not just about being fast against guarding physical attacks. It's also important you are fast against mental assaults as well. Most every dark wizard I have ever fought has been skilled in breaking their opponent's willpower. It's as if it's a prerequisite to practice the blacker magic."

"Unfortunately, I'm not proficient in Legimens, so we'll have to do the next best thing. I'm pretty much going to try and make you cry. Again. But harder. If I could do what Alex does, then this would be a lot easier for the both of us. When life hands you lemons, and all that." Marcus attempted to justify his statement, and realized it probably didn't matter anyway. Moving on... "Based on the Shielding Charm you put up when I used my Force Shield Charm, I'm going to assume that you've got at least a half-decent will, or the Shield would probably have faltered."

"Now, we're going to put that willpower to the test, and see if you can fend off against an attacker that will try to lessen your resolve, and use that as an opening to get through whatever you're going to dish out. As an Auror, you must never let anyone get the advantage in combat over you, no matter what happens."

"I could give you a warning, but..." Marcus launched into an attack. "Curis!" A white light in the vague shape of a spear head launched at Ciarra. It wasn't the beefier form of the spell that would actually cause major physical damage... but she didn't know that.

"Just because we're in a time of peace, shouldn't keep the trainees from fighting like there is a war coming."

She understood the point of that.  And for the most part that was how her Father wanted the department to be.  Ready for everything to go wrong at the drop of a hat.  Then again she was sure if her Father had her way the training would be a lot longer...or maybe add more ranks in Auror's so that it would take like seven years to be a full fledged Auror.

Perhaps not, her Father mostly believed that experience was the only true way to develop as an Auror.  And in times of peace it wasn't like you could go make a Dark Wizard for new Auror's to go against.  And the most they could do was face off with the older generation.  The war Auror's.  The ones that had been here for sometimes not just the 2nd Rise of Voldemort but the 1st as well.  Marcus, who she was training with, had been a trainee during the 1st Rise if she remembered correctly.

"Now, we're going to put that willpower to the test, and see if you can fend off against an attacker that will try to lessen your resolve, and use that as an opening to get through whatever you're going to dish out. As an Auror, you must never let anyone get the advantage in combat over you, no matter what happens."


Ciarra instantly became nervous at the thought, even if this was a training exercise.  She knew it was something that she needed to be prepared for.  Something that she would ultimately one day have to face.  All a manner of wizards were quite skilled at breaking through a wizards defenses, and a lot of that often had to do with the morale of your opponenet.  She knew that if you could make them question an action you could force them to make a bad mistake.

"I could give you a warning, but..." Marcus launched into an attack. "Curis!"

When presented with an attack against you, that you aren't ready for you can do more than a few things.  You could completely panic and end up getting hit...you could just go with your instincts...and still possibly get hit.  Ciarra didn't think and instead just reacted. 

She rolled quickly to one side and looked back at Marcus.  However, the Minister was already pressing his assault.  He sent the same spear looking attacks at her.  She kept moving, dodging one after the other.  Then something in her gut forced her to move back.  She brought her wand up and casted a shield charm.  The spear made of light was stopped in midair.  However, it was still trying to move towards her, and the pressure put on buy it was immense.  Ciarra had to use both her hands to keep it from pushing her back towards the wall.  Using all the strength she could she deflected it off and towards the wall.

Ciarra could feel sweat falling down her face.  It had all happened so fast that she couldn't remember how long she was attempting to dodge the attacks.  No matter what she did Marcus knew where to keep putting the next attack.  The only time she got any ground to stand was when...she stopped thinking.  Marcus had years and years of experience to draw from.  There was probably little she could do to surprise him.  She still had a lot to learn.

Exhausted once more she collapsed on the ground, "I'm sorry I just need a little rest before we continue."  She managed taking in big breaths.

Ciarra seemed to dodge the sudden attack with decent reflexes. It was by no means an expert defense, but that was why they were training. She was at least better adjusted to Shield Charms than her father was. Alex wasn't one for... defense.

The assault continued for a few more turns before he noticed that beads of sweat were beginning to roll down Ciarra's brow. Far from tears, but it was a start. Ciarra was feeling the intensity of combat, feeling the constant pressure it took to retain a solid defense. Marcus sent one Light Arrow Charm after another, each one building in intensity. Ciarra was keeping up, but Marcus could see her resolve fading.

"CURIS!"

Marcus called out the spell with an uncompromising ferocity. He wanted to make sure that this last of the Light Arrow Charm was stronger than all the rest. She would have to deflect it, or it would cause serious harm. Luckily, Ciarra threw up a Shield at the last second, deflecting the arrow to a nearby wall. The enchantments on the Auror trining ground would prevent any actual destruction, but the impact was enough to illustrate just how crucial it was that she block it.

"I'm sorry I just need a little rest before we continue."

Ciarra collapsed on the ground, and Marcus watched as she struggled to maintain composure. Resting was the last thing on Marcus' mind. "Not an option," Marcus retorted with the cadence of a drill sargeant. He counted to three inside his head and sent a Blasting Curse at the ground next to her feet, careful not to cause any actual harm. "Get up, that's an order! We rest when I say we rest!" Marcus sent another Blasting Curse at her feet.

Marcus counted to three in his head once again, hoping that she would react in time to his next attack. "Curis!" Marcus shouted, pointing his wand in Ciarra's direction. He couldn't get inside her head, but this certainly was the next best thing.

"Not an option,"

Ciarra tensed up at those words.  She could somehow sense that it was far from over.  It wasn't a matter of if she could handle it, this was a test not just on her skills to be an Auror, but her skills as a person.  There was a part of her that wished she could have gone a different route in life.  One that could have sworn off her Father and hated him...and she could have gone her own way and forgotten all of it.  However, there was a reason.  She had to prove herself to her Father.  If that meant getting hurt...or even killed along that path.  Then so be it.  That was the choice she made.  And there was no way in hell that anything was ever going to sway her.

"Get up, that's an order! We rest when I say we rest!"

Marcus sent a blasting charm towards her feet, and though she realized it wouldn't have hit her, she rolled backwards and jumped to her feet and gripped her wand tightly.  Sweat fell down her face but she no longer noticed.  Instead she waited, but it wasn't long before Marcus resumed the attack of light spears.  The first spell she used the shield charm again and deflected it much more easily than she had before.  But his attack persisted.  Deflecting them all would be impossible and would most likely take far too much of her energy. 

She rolled to one side, dodging more attack spells as she attempted to formulate some sort of plan.  Ciarra knew that she had to keep her cool, to make sure she could formulate a strategy even in the thick of battle.  It sure as hell wasn't easy with Marcus continually casting curis at her.  Though she was getting more and more exhausted she still managed to keep herself moving without losing the speed in her dodges.  Then Marcus suddenly increased the intensity of his attacks.

She couldn't dodge them all this time.  The problem was, she wasn't sure she could block the last one.  There was no recovery time.  Then a thought came to her.  Ciarra didn't miss a beat and went towards the wall and using her speed ran about five feet up the wall and performed a backflip, all the attacks hit the wall and she turned quickly back towards Marcus.  With her luck...training was far from over. 

She was breathing very heavily, but most of her body felt numb and she didn't feel any pain, but that could probably be because of the adrenaline that was pumping through her body.  Either way, she was determined to get as good as she could.  Even if people thought that her reasoning for wanting it was wrong.  She would not deter from her path.

Ciarra was nimble, Marcus would give her that. Running up a wall was something that Marcus certainly didn't expect, but Ciarra had aparently learned more from her father than he figured. Unfortunately, it looked like she had not performed that particular move often, as her recovery time was... well, there was much to be desired with it. Marcus used the opening to launch a Blasting Charm at her feet. She had become used to the Curis spell, and now Marcus had to switch gears, keep her guessing.

"You do the motions," Marcus began, "but I don't see the passion. Where's the passion, Ciarra? Stupefy!"" Marcus sent a more novice spell in her general direction, not even trying to aim at this point. It was the kind of battle awareness that Marcus had nearly forgotten, using pure instinct and feeling the spell as opposed to just merely casting it. All Aurors had learned to enter this state of mind, and it was something that Marcus hoped Ciarra would adapt to. "You're still thinking too hard! You want to be good, you have to stop fishing for acceptance!"

Marcus sent a Disarming spell towards her. "If you continue this destructive behavior after you've graduated from your training, you're going to get a lot of people killed! Do you want that much blood on your hands?!" Marcus cursed the day he had opted not to learn Leglimens, it would have come in handy here. He never liked to see his surrogate niece in tears, but he knew it was the only way he could get in her head. "Would Father really want you to seek approval?" Contradiction was the name of the game here, and Marcus had hoped that she could get past it all and go on the offensive.

Without resorting to useless tears.

Ciarra rolled out of the way of the blasting charm and figured that she was too used to the Curis spell by now.  Marcus was most likely going to truly test her now.  She wasn't sure if her body could keep up with it for much longer.  She knew the importance of it though.  There would most definitely be times as an Auror that she would have to force her body to move regardless of how tired or even how much pain she was in.  Things were never easy.  But she was determined to keep herself going.  Her breath got more ragged but she kept her focus on Marcus.

"You do the motions," Marcus began, "but I don't see the passion. Where's the passion, Ciarra? Stupefy!"

Ciarra was able to deflect the spell with ease, compared to the Curis spells which had a much more difficult force behind it that made it hard to predict how to manuver her spell.  She couldn't let her guard down, she had to keep herself focus.  She had to keep herself from letting his words effect her...

"You're still thinking too hard! You want to be good, you have to stop fishing for acceptance!"

Acceptance...but what else could she do?  All she ever wanted was her Father to spend two minutes seeing her.  To be able to have a Father that she could run to.  One that she could get a hug from...one that would tell her that he loved her.  She wanted that so badly.  Why didn't anyone understand that!  She didn't care if her reasoning was wrong, she didn't care if she had to hide those thoughts from the whole world.  Her reasoning was her own!  And she would prove them all wrong!

"If you continue this destructive behavior after you've graduated from your training, you're going to get a lot of people killed! Do you want that much blood on your hands?!"

She deflected the disarm spell, knowing that Marcus tactics had definitely switched.  Maybe he was right.  Perhaps the way she went about it was destructive, more specifically self-destructive.  But no one understood what she went through.  She didn't just lose her Mother when she died.  No, she had lost her Father too.  Both her parents were gone.  The only one she could get back was her Father.  And she would die before she ever gave up on that personal quest.  Not just for her, but for her Mother.  She knew that Mom would never want her and Dad to be so far apart like they were.  Ciarra owed it to her Mother and her Father and all the people that had lost their own parent during the war with Voldemort.  If there was one thing in her life that she could accomplish it would be to be there for her Father.  Be there for the man who had loved her Mother so much that he fell apart so completely when she was gone.

No one could understand her pain, what she had gone through, what she had decided for herself.  And it didn't matter what they thought because she didn't need their approval.

"Would Father really want you to seek approval?"

"Of course not.  I know more than anyone that it is the last thing he wants me to do.  But regardless of my reasons, I do know that he would never forgive me if I ever gave up on anything I put my heart into!" Ciarra yelled and sent a disarming charm at Marcus, and continued it by attacking with her own storm of spells.  She knew that the whole point of the exercise was her reflexes but her resolve and determination gave her no option but to attack.