Vibration made William's back tingle as he throttled on his bike, the powerful 1500cc motor propelled his two wheeled death machine along at slightly excessive speeds. He glanced back over his left shoulder, then shifted down for power and sped around a car in front of him, gliding back into his lane as the car behind him angrily blared their horn. William just laughed to himself and continued on his way home, soon waiting for the gate of his middle-class apartment complex to slide open.<br/><br/>After parking his bike in the usual spot, he made his way up a flight of stairs and into his sparsely furnished apartment. A large flat screen TV, a coffee table, and a plush leather couch populated the living room. Jogging past these William made his way to his bedroom, only one large bed and chest of drawers in there. He reached down to turn the shower controls on, then began to stand up when  he had a sudden head rush from the quick movement. Her face...again. That strikingly beautiful face that brought sorrow every time it flitted through his mind uninvited. William dropped to his knees, then to his belly, forehead resting on the cool tile as he thought of her face.<br/><br/>~--------------------------------~<br/><br/>"GOOD STRIKE!" The sound of steel on steel echoed across the meadow as the two combatants faced off, circling each other after the last powerful encounter. Both were breathing heavily, they had been sparing for hours now. Wallace saw an oppurtunity and took it, lunging forward sword point leading at his opponents face. The other man reacted as Wallace expected, sword drifting up to deflect the blow, but slower than usual after the long day. Wallace's sword danced to the right at the last second, allowing the other sword to sail up and past when given no resistance. With a leap forward Wallace closed the distance between them and rammed his sword hilt home into the other's stomach. His partner stumbled back, dropping to one knee while gripping his abdomen.<br/><br/>"I yield Wallace, I yield... Gods that smarted."<br/><br/>Wallace smiled and held out a hand to the man, helping him up and patting him on the back.<br/><br/>"Well that's kind of the point, isn't it Shawn?"<br/><br/>Both men laughed as they placed the blunted practice weapons back into their packs and whetted a cloth to rinse their necks. Wallace offered to make dinner tonight, to which Shawn wholeheartedly agreed. Despite his good cheer Wallace kept thinking ahead, a few days ahead, to what they had planned. He wondered if she'd be there...that thorn in his side...that constant annoyance. He kind of hoped so.