The scars that crossed the Mer King’s skin were tattooed over in gold, a bright tracery that shone against the dark brown of his complexion. Every scar was a story, a lesson, a reminder in proud radiance of both his mortality and his survival in the face of injury and adversity. He faced Thalassa bare-handed not because he doubted her ability to hit him, but because he trusted in his own ability to overcome whatever wounds he did take.
That, and he always carried a spare bottle of water from the Healing Fountain in the Court of Stars with him.
She ducked beneath his first strike and he began to shift away from her attack when he remembered the purpose of the exercise. Not to dodge or block her blows, but to trust in his armor for protection. It took a conscious effort to take the blow on the thick feathers and hardened starlight that covered his flank, but the enchanted pelage successfully turned the blow aside.
And then its lustre began to fade.
”Good,” he grunted, even as dropped his weight to lower himself a little so that he could throw another punch, this time a straight, solid blow towards her chest where it would be harder to dodge.
That, and he always carried a spare bottle of water from the Healing Fountain in the Court of Stars with him.
She ducked beneath his first strike and he began to shift away from her attack when he remembered the purpose of the exercise. Not to dodge or block her blows, but to trust in his armor for protection. It took a conscious effort to take the blow on the thick feathers and hardened starlight that covered his flank, but the enchanted pelage successfully turned the blow aside.
And then its lustre began to fade.
”Good,” he grunted, even as dropped his weight to lower himself a little so that he could throw another punch, this time a straight, solid blow towards her chest where it would be harder to dodge.
