Private Tales Scorched Earth

[Fife]

She nodded, an affirmation. It would take practice to feel comfortable, but she wasn't imbalanced. More... aware? Like learning anything else, it would take adjustment and repetition. Brushing Dusty and Socks had not always been so familiar, after all.

Fife stood and bounced up beside him to put on her boots and sword. She wasn't done fussing and offered to help him with his own sword; it wouldn't do for him to be using his arm any more than necessary, and putting his arm through a baldric was hardly necessity.

Patting her belt, she looked around for her knife and put it on. The one in her boot lived in her boot and was adjusted when she slipped them on -- never far in spite of feeling safe here. She picked up the dishes from breakfast, drinking the last of her tea without a shred of decorum before going out with a skip in her step. At one point in her life, Fife might have thought the idea of such a rigid routine as droll and daily training as too much work. Now it was useful employment she happily engaged.

// Raigryn Vayd //​

 

[Raigryn Vayd]

Raigryn wasn't going to resist the help. His pride had taken enough of a beating over the last twenty years. The engraving of his terrible visage across the entrance was hardly a boost to his ego under the circumstances.

He sighed as they stepped out into the morning light. It was relaxing to return to a routine as well. Raigryn knew that once he was healed up he would feel the tug to be on the road, but it would be some time before it overcame what he felt for this place. And the affect it had on Fife's confidence. There was no safer place. There was certainly nowhere she could so brazenly carry plenty of blades.

Aretta flicked a hand at him and then the far side of the tent when he followed on Fife's footsteps. He gave a nod and walked away, sitting cross-legged on the dry, bare earth.

There was a tense few minutes as Aretta waited with Fife in silence. Gerish and Ylerial arrived one after the other in quick succession. The elf was rarely late.

"I...am...saw...ree..." Ylerial said quietly.

Aretta raised one eyebrow at her and shot Gerish a more withering glance.

"Fourth form to warm up. Slow and controlled."

 

[Fife]

Fife was there on time, and she stood with Aretta to wait for Ylerial and Gerish. She spared Raigryn a slightly confused glance as the time seemed to stretch before they finally arrived. Together.

Her cheeks warmed remembering what Raigryn had said about the pair. It still seemed strange to Fife stranger things had happned. Ylerial had gone through a range of feelings in his absence that she might not have understood otherwise, so she supposed it was best he was back. Averting her eyes from the pair she stepped up to take the form for warm up.

She'd taken the training seriously, and not entirely because Raigryn had advised her to. It was growing on her, the challenge of learning a weapon that wasn't her strongest point but still viable. Lifting the sword had strengthened her arms. Memorizing steps had improved her balance and tracking her opponent made her more alert. The repetition and quick calls for changes had only made her more dexterous and agile. They were skills that transcended just simple swordplay.

// Raigryn Vayd //​

 

[Raigryn Vayd]

Raigryn watched them both move fluidly through the motions. A skill was far easier to learn when you could dedicate hours every single day to it. The idemni culture was all built around ensuring that they had plenty of time to hone and pass on blade work.

Humans could not mosey between professions over the decades as an elf or dwarf could. They needed dedication to learn an art, improve it and pass it on to the next generation.

She wasn't even drawing on her empathy. Moving so smoothly between stances it made it even more clear that she was a young woman and not a child. Raigryn offered an encouraging smile and chose to watch the elf's form for a little while.

 

[Fife]

She didn't look to Aretta or Gerish or even Raigryn as she went through the movements. Her instructor made no qualms about pointing out mistakes and making her corrections so she kept her eyes ahead, her focus on herself, the angle and position of her sword. Fife trusted her memory and practice, and it didn't let her down.

They did their warm-ups independently before Aretta called them to practice together, following forms similarly in the same slow, controlled manner. She spared only a glance back at Raigryn, stepping quickly to take position without incurring the wrath of her instructor for dawdling. The point was to show him she'd been learning, not get caught looking to him rather than paying attention to her lesson.

// Raigryn Vayd //​

 

[Raigryn Vayd]

"You are content?" Aretta asked him suddenly.

"Hmm?" went Raigryn. He had not even noticed the Idemni teacher slide up beside him.

"You are watching intently, so I assume you are assessing whether I have done well with your student?"

Gerish stepped between the two and started explaining their mistakes. Aretta must have put him in charge before moving over to Raigryn.

"I am not 'assessing' you Aretta. She has made good progress."

"Your people are so caught up on words. Of course you are, even if you appreciate the favour. I would want to see what progress my student had made in another field. And she is quicker than you. Pays more attention. Had you not been wounded I would like to see if you remembered your lessons or reverted to hacking away like a barbarian."

Gerish had the two students fetch their sparring swords to face off against one another properly.

 

[Fife]

She had sort of missed Gerish, which was a surprise. When he'd left with Raigryn, she'd been certain she could dislike a person just by circumstance in someone else's plans. But having him back to point out her errors instead of Aretta in their culture's blank, emotionless tone was sort of refreshing. Correcting her spacing, she repeated the maneuver to his satisfaction.

And at last -- sparring. While she really enjoyed the warm ups, she really did like the sparring best. Even if she and Ylerial were fairly well matched, Fife craved the challenge of catching an opening or being just a little faster than her. They fought with two very different swords that required two varied disciplines and approaches, which often meant the lessons were simultaneous and divided, but she it was just as interesting to listen to what Ylerial was learning as herself.

Chewing with a look to Aretta then Gerish, Fife flashed a small grin at the elf before biting it back again as she got into position.

// Raigryn Vayd //​

 

[Raigryn Vayd]

Raigryn grinned in synchronisation with Fife. Aretta noted this as she observed him.

"And where did you find your new apprentice?" She asked quietly. Even her tone conveted little of her curiosity.

"She tried to steal from me," Raigryn explained.

"And that led to her becoming your apprentice..."

"...because she used a very rare form of magic to try and escape me without even thinking about it."

 

[Fife]

She didn't do awful today. She had certainly had worse days. Ylerial didn't appear to be entirely present and Fife played that to a shameless advantage, catching her where she was careless.

But a moment of overconfidence left her wide open. Fife grimaced before the practice sword even touched her. Whether it was Ylerial disliking the mute getting a few strikes in or her mistake in judging strength and distance, it smarted.

Hastily stepping aside to get out of range, Fife ignored the desire to rub at it. She'd already leaned all the lesson she would require on the matter, but she looked to Gerish then Aretta and Raigryn, looking entirely sheepish. She didn't make mistakes like it often, but it had been a pretty big one for once.

// Raigryn Vayd //​

 

[Raigryn Vayd]

Aretta narrowed her gaze at Fife and then looked to Raigryn. This time her expression managed to say something. Her eyes managed a resigned sigh.

"She is not normally so careless," Aretta said. Gerish was already moving between the two and highlighting their respective mistakes.

"She was, I think, rather too eager to show you her improvement. Do you think it is best that you leave or that she overcomes this?" Aretta asked.

"You're asking?" Raigryn said, in surprise.

"Was it not obviously a question?" snapped Aretta. "You will keep out of the way of my instruction in the sword, but you are still responsible for her."

"I will stay today and then keep from tomorrow's lesson," Raigryn said. There were many distractions in battle. Fife would have to work through far worse than being too eager to show her skill to her mentor. "Much improved!" Raigryn called out to her, offering an encouraging smile. Aretta sighed.

Gerish was already setting them up for another round. Then Aretta would return for more detailed, technical lessons.

 

[Fife]

Somehow, Raigryn was the one who was in trouble, not her. She moved as if to argue for a very brief moment before remembering herself and putting her hands down. She gave Gerish a withering look then lowered her eyes entirely.

She hadn't been showing off. She'd had a rare moment of surety and it had been wrong. The sharp burn of chagrin and temper didn't go unnoticed, and she tamped it down. Perhaps a more effective punishment for her in particular to put Raigryn in hot water because of her. Gerish directed her and Ylerial back to their positions to begin again and Fife glanced his direction only briefly at his encouragement, but her face was scarlet.

It was a mistake she wouldn't be repeating today or any time soon. The guilt would linger for a bit, but going through a new spar burn off any remaining temper that she hadn't quite quelled on her own. She focused on not getting smacked again and keeping her openings to a minimum.

She managed to keep out of trouble for the rest of the lesson. Aretta always found something to instruct them over, and Fife knew she was far from perfect. Lessons generally involved a lot of nodding and redoing things until she got it right. To her merit, she didn't let her earlier mistake frustrate her, but she was more sober than usual.

// Raigryn Vayd //​

 

[Raigryn Vayd]

Raigryn wasn't certain that he had been the cause of the mistake either. Having not watched Fife at work for some time he didn't know whether she was prone to mistakes. Everyone made mistakes. His scars were a testament to that. He had made few enough that he was still alive.

Aretta dismissed the two students. Gerish left before Aretta which led Raigryn to wonder the terms of their relationship.

"You're doing very well," Raigryn told Fife as he walked over to her. She was packing away her sword carefully. More than anything else their culture revolved around care of weapons.

"Hungry already?" he asked.

 

[Fife]

When she was finished, she put away the practice sword and mindfully put hers back on. She looked up to Raigryn when he came, but glanced about before smiling faintly.

Thank you. She adjusted her sword belt fitting and laid the strap more comfortably over her shoulder. Hooking her thumbs in it to give her achy arms a rest, her responding grin was more humored. Fife simply nodded. When wasn't she?

Falling into step beside him, Fife kept pace as they set their feet on the path toward lunch. She could already smell something spicy and she sighed heavily.

I miss dwarven fare, she told him, face kept neutral but hand moving in humor as she mixed Silent Way and their sign. She would have killed for one of their meat pies right now. Raigryn had spoiled her by indulging her burgeoning palette.

// Raigryn Vayd //​

 

[Raigryn Vayd]

"So we have established that you do not get on with spicy foods, is that a complaint of your palette or your stomach?" Raigryn mused as they left the lesson.

"One trick is to mix the goat's milk into the sauce to cool it down. Just...well let's do that only back at our tent. I don't know if they'll consider that a sign of weakness."

Raigryn laughed easily despite his arm being in a sling. The harrowing experience had struck deeper than the wounds on his arm. He was going to have to bathe it again later. They had such an obsession with it here.

"We will find the heaviest dwarven stout and a game pie when we go to Elbion."

 

[Fife]

She shook her head and tapped her lips. Palette. Her stomach could eat anything after... well, doing just that for however many years she was. It was good, and Fife wouldn't dream of suggesting it wasn't to any of the people who made it. She sure couldn't cook anything better. But she missed the savory tastes of Belgrath, as odd as that was.

She nodded and was unable to hold back the smirk at his mirth. He was in a good mood today. However, she shuddered at the mention of Elbion and stuck out her tongue in a quiet faux gag. Elbion! She would be content if she never returned to it, with its walls and passes and dingy streets.

// Raigryn Vayd //​

 

[Raigryn Vayd]

"I can't think of many other dwarven inns around these parts," said Raigryn. "But I'm sure we can find somewhere outside of Elbion with pies."

Raigryn offered a shrug. "Or we could just take the portal stone to Belgrath."

It was an obvious option and he wasn't sure why it hadn't immediately occurred to him.

"Your signing teacher hasn't tried to turn you into an assassin yet then?" he asked with a gentle shoulder nudge.

 

[Fife]

She answered back with a resigned sigh, but to the prospect of going back to Belgrath perked up once more. Of all the places they'd visited, the dwarven city had easily been her favorite. It would be good to visit the cool caverns after months here in this arid valley. But she bit down on that eagerness as her mind wandered to a happy visit to their tinkering acquaintance, because she surely must have been lonely these past weeks if she was entertaining seeing Belduhr as pleasant. Of all people!

Then again, the dwarf had offered an exchange of letters to practice her letters after leaving his tutelage. Fife would never admit out loud that she liked that idea. Perhaps she would find a way to ask Raigryn so as not to betray her established dislike of the man.

She was getting distracted, though. The gentle nudge to her shoulder was enough to teeter her to the side, and she returned to her usual place beside him with a few quick little steps. Fife shook her head and made a sign for uncertainty. If Maellarn was trying to, she wasn't being too overt about it. Nobody had pulled her aside for lessons in poison or daggers yet, anyways

You will have to listen and watch, she told him, pointing to his arm. He wouldn't be doing many new signs today. You are behind. Fife added a humored twitch of her hand to soften the blunt sign.

// Raigryn Vayd //​

 

[Raigryn Vayd]

"I don't know, has she asked you to learn any more skills? Given you any tests?" Raigryn asked her. "Just want to understand when you've been shown how to poison me in my sleep..." he joked.

He might have smiled, but he did not want Fife shown how to become a killer. In his mind there was a line between being shown how to fight and how to murder. It was a line that he did not want to have Fife cross.

 

[Fife]

Her brows tugged together momentarily, but with their destination in sight, she consciously softened the expression. Hiding the smirk was more difficult. She didn't have the sign repertoire to say she wouldn't imagine doing such a thing, only waving her hands and shaking her head.

Jokes aside, though... Had Maellarn tested her? They had talked about her knives a little. Did that count? Now she felt a little dense, like she hadn't caught on or paid enough attention.

Discussed knives. Fife phrased her answer awkwardly; tense was strange. She had just thought it was friendly Idemni chatter about skills they found valuable. But not valuable in that sense. He'd warned her that there might be some distaste in the use of a crossbow, but knives seemed common.

I don't want to, she told him. Her hands faltered as she tried to find better words to express how she felt on the idea of being an assassin in signs he also knew. But several weeks of missed lessons and an already limited vocabulary meant that saying "I have enough blood on my hands for my liking" was difficult. So instead she eased the borders of her mind. It was reluctance and hesitation, discomfort for the thought of killing. Fife struggled to connect with people, but she wasn't that cold.

// Raigryn Vayd //​

 

[Raigryn Vayd]

Raigryn was taken aback by her novel method of communication.

"I see. That shows skill you know, being able to open your walls enough for another empath to touch your feelings? Just enough, but still leaving yourself guarded."

There were Empaths who had bonded strongly through their feelings. People who knew the colour of one another's emotions as well as their own. Usually they were nebulous things that only took distinct shape if one drew too much.

"Don't worry, it was mostly a joke. Everyone here knows that you are my student."

 

[Fife]

She must have been getting better at it. Fife knew she let her mind slip a lot forgetting to keep her mental barriers up because it was still a new concept. And yet not. Honestly, she didn't know if letting them go was more natural than keeping them in check. Her feelings were so frequently duplicitous. But his response seemed positive, at least. After her misstep at training, she was glad to do something right in regards to her other lessons.

Fife nodded, offering a brief grin. She was still an outsider here in a lot of ways. Even when the Idemni were friendly she never doubted that they kept close to the back of their minds who had brought her here. Not that she blamed them on that front -- she was a foreigner, and it didn't sound like they had a positive record with foreigners in recent decades.

She skipped ahead of him to hold the tent flap for him, then followed after with a lively gate. Fife's features were schooled into a soft neutrality, but her dark eyes were bright as she greeted a few of the individuals she recognized. She'd eaten here a lot on her own while Raigryn was gone, enjoying the sound of other people. It was a lot like their early days on the road, where he talked to her in busy country taverns and she had simply listened. The atmosphere wasn't uninviting, even for a relative stranger, once she'd understood their signs for tone.

// Raigryn Vayd //​

 

[Raigryn Vayd]

Raigryn too had become more accustomed to the idemni way. He was used to the calm of their monotonous voices, the visual silence of their expressions. As an empath it was placing a filter on the world to make it a bit less bright. It could be overwhelming.

"Don't feel bad about one mistake in training. That's what training is for," he murmured as they joined a small queue. As soon as he said it he hoped she wouldn't immediately slam her walls back up. Raigryn couldn't read thoughts, but sometimes it was easy to work out the source of an emotion.

I'm return he lowered his own barriers. His pride percolated through to the surface. A warm feeling.

"I'll get an extra mug of goat's milk," he chuckled as they stepped up and spooned portions into wooden bowls.

 

[Fife]

Fife wasn't surprised he'd been able to skim off the top. He had however many years ahead of her, and was her teacher for a reason. It didn't really bother her anymore -- he'd felt a lot worse when it was a lot stronger.

His reassurance wasn't unwelcome, but she was surprised by the returned feeling of warmth. Raigryn laughed and she failed miserably at not smiling, smirking. Fife from a year ago would have called her sentimental and foolish, and she was keenly aware of the gazes of the locals, but damn it if it wasn't hard to not smile.

Nonetheless, she returned her features to one of forced sobriety as she pointedly filled her bowl from the yellowest offering they had for the day.

// Raigryn Vayd //​

 

[Raigryn Vayd]

A little too much of the way her smile made him feel snuck through those thin walls too. Raigryn shook his head and concentrated on getting some food.

Bending over he was able to pick up a bowl with his right hand and then do the spooning with his left. He found a slightly larger jug than usual of milk so that Fife could cool down her meal.

"It won't be long and they'll have the two of you spar with some of the idemni. Just the younger ones, but you can't always learn in isolation. Be prepared for a big jump in the skill of your opponent."

 

[Fife]

She watched him awkwardly getting his bowl of food with a brow hitching upward. Fife might have been prone to fussing, but wasn't going to treat him like a child in front of the others. A grown man, he wasn't hurting himself, so she let him be.

She also noted the milk, a touch of humor lingering.

But she sighed at the idea of getting beat up more in practice. The ache in her ribs was a keen reminder of what her future would soon be like, facing off against young Idemni who had been doing this a lot longer than her.

Fortunately, she was quick to get back on her feet and it would be a good motivation for improvement. Her pride certainly wasn't going to suffer too terribly from being the worst of her peers -- that chagrin had been burnt from her a long time ago.

Fife pointed to a table and looked up at him, then signed for home. She didn't particularly mind where they went, but it was up to how social he was feeling today. She would be polite in giving him the option since he was the one eating with his off hand.

// Raigryn Vayd //​