[SE] [Training] Punch the lights out

Zavien

Zavien can only imagine what kind of menace Flora must be in a marketplace, all elbows and determination striking in every direction. And if there's a sale? Gods help them all, she'd probably raze through the crowd like a scythe. It's enough for him to grin, even as he makes a mental note not to be one of the people standing in her way.

He lets her reset the scenario, watching as Flora steps back into her ditzy drunken disguise as easily as walking through a magical mist. Still trying to act as the 'unsuspecting Pierce,' Zavien doesn't shift or anticipate any movements, his stance relaxed and confident while his eyes pretend to see nothing but a stumbling girl. So when her foot comes down hard on his, he sucks in a breath, hinging at the hips to stabilize himself. With his positioning, he easily grabs at her elbow before it can strike, not that he tries to. 

Releasing her arm and stepping away, Zavien flexes his toes in his boot. There's a grimacing smile on his face that beams with approval. "The first part was good, but people in pain instinctually hunch to protect their stomach. You'd do better to use the moment to hit their face, usually with a well-placed knee or elbow." Depending on their height, of course. In his case, an elbow would probably be best. His head nods encouragement. "Give it another go."

Stay focused on your mission,
remain steadfast in your pursuit of excellence,
and always do the right thing.

flora

Flora snorted, breathless with effort and delight alike, one hand propped on her hip while the other fluttered dramatically in mock scandal. "So pretending to flirt with you is off the table, but elbowing you in the face is totally fine?" Her grin sharpened, eyes glittering with heat and humour. "Gods, I can only imagine what your preferences are in the bedroom. Some poor girl goes to kiss you and you’re like—no, babe, uppercut me instead."

Laughing, she gave a little wave of her hand. "We’ll mime it so that I don't break your nose."

Straightening her posture and shaking the hair from her eyes, Flora took a step back and rolled her shoulders loose again, prepping not for the act this time, but for the explanation of it. "Alright, here we go," she said with a flourish, then immediately fell into the rhythm of narration, her voice pitching into the breathy cadence of faux-innocence.

"Oh no, here I am, stumbling across the party in heels I definitely can’t handle..." She twirled a little dramatically before catching herself on her foot, pausing for emphasis. "Oops—sorry, Pierce, I just accidentally stepped on your foot. Whoopsie-daisy!"

Waggling her brows at him, she waited for Zavien to play along and curl protectively forward. The moment he did, Flora stepped in close, curling her arms smoothly around the back of his neck—not unlike a dancer leading her partner—and lifted one knee up in a controlled motion. She didn’t touch him, of course, just hovered in that dramatic closeness, enough to suggest it her knee going straight into his face.

"And boom," she said sweetly, one arm still looped around him while she raised an eyebrow. Instant nosebreaker. The crowd goes wild."

I can't stop you putting roots in my dreamland

Code blatently stolen from queen of codes, Sky!

Zavien

Laughing, he shrugs his shoulders, unbothered if she couldn't understand his strange reasoning. "One would be a lot easier to explain if Lena walked up." He thinks that's the end of it, but then Flora's bringing up his sex life and a bright pink blush paints across his cheeks. If she only knew what kind of landmine she'd stumbled on. 

Luckily, she's hurrying the topic along, and Zavien chuckles to clear some of the embarrassment, rubbing a hand down the back of his neck. "I would appreciate that." If only so he wouldn't have to explain a broken nose to anyone and relive the particulars of this lesson. 

Flora's actions seem more theatrical this time, a comedic and over-dramatized version that has him grinning along. It reminds him of all the times he's played the 'big bad evil guy' against the kids in his neighborhood, letting them beat and tackle him in heroic feats that ultimately save all of Caido. So when Zavien gets into his own character this time, it's with the playful and childish ease that comes with years of practice. 

He deepens his voice and adds mock outrage as he moves like he might grab at his foot. "Argh! How could you be so clumsy? Don't you know who I -" Her arms wrap around the back of his neck to pull him towards her knee. As she'd promised, it doesn't connect, but Zavien clutches at his nose, crying out in a very dramatic and fake shout. "Aaah!" 

With the kids, this might have been the moment he collapsed on the ground in an obvious display of utter defeat, but he straightens and laughs, meeting Flora's eyes with glittering amusement. His hand throws out like he could cast a magical illusion of the future he sees. "And everyone sings your praises while Pierce slinks away to nurse his nose - and what's left of his pride."

Stay focused on your mission,
remain steadfast in your pursuit of excellence,
and always do the right thing.

flora

Flora laughed, tossing her braid over one shoulder like a banner caught in the wind. "Okay, okay, fair. Don't want to get you in trouble with your girl by pretending to swoon in your arms. Elbowing you in the face, though? Totally platonic."

As Zavien played along with exaggerated flair, she doubled over in breathless giggles, swatting lightly at his arm when he pretended to cast the scene into existence. "I knew you were more dramatic than you let on," she teased, her grin lingering as the moment settled and her pulse started to slow.

The training, for all its theatrics, had done what it needed to. Her breath still came quick, but the edge of desperation had dulled—like seawater finally receding after a storm surge. Wiping a bit of sweat from her temple, she tilted her head and let her gaze settle on him more seriously. "...Hey," she said, brushing a damp curl behind her ear and lowering her voice. "If I really do this—" A nod toward the imagined party, the pool, the punch. "—would you have my back?"

Her fingers itched lightly toward the scar carved into her shoulder by that godsdamned black sword. It didn’t hurt, not really, but the memory of it was always there; embedded in skin and bone like flint. "It’s okay if not," she added quickly, offering him a small, crooked smile. "You’ve got other obligations and you have to live here..and I know you can’t go charging into a fight every time your sparring partner decides to be crazy." Her tone was teasing, but the hope behind it was real, because the number of people Flora felt like she could actually count on these days was shockingly few.

I can't stop you putting roots in my dreamland

Code blatently stolen from queen of codes, Sky!

Zavien

Flora's giggles send him into laughter of his own. He gives a dip of his head that nearly resembles the bow of a performer, a bright grin on his face. "Only sometimes." When he's not harrowed by adult thoughts or traumas or responsibilities. It happens less often now, but the moment lingers like sweet lemonade on his tongue, a childlike delight. 

His own pulse starts to slow, calm and content until he turns at the quiet and serious 'Hey' that draws his attention. Her question hits harder than any of the strikes she'd landed, wiping the peaceful expression from his face. It feels risky to talk about in Stormbreak, so close to the source. Playful jokes of punching Pierce were made with sarcasm and teasing - something that would never actually happen - but this is something real with intention, and if they were overheard, it could prove dangerous.

Zavien glances around at their surroundings, using the moment to search for threats as well as his own heart. He finds it steadier than before, stabilized by time and the return of his companion. It echoes with the certainty of courage and responsibility that have always rooted him. 

Finding nothing purple or otherwise out of the ordinary, he finally responds. "I... would." His voice is soft, tinged with caution that drags at his syllables. "But I'm not sure how much help I'd be. I don't think I'm at a point where I can face a member of the Family. I couldn't even face one of their minions without getting killed." There's regret in his thin smile as he looks down to meet her eyes, wishing he was stronger so he might offer more assistance. "It'd really depend on how things played out. If anything, I'd do my best to get you - and everyone else - out alive." And despite the fear associated with facing death again, Zavien knows that he would do it all again if it meant protecting someone else.

Stay focused on your mission,
remain steadfast in your pursuit of excellence,
and always do the right thing.

flora

Gods. She shouldn’t have asked. Not of Zavien, who she barely knew outside of shared sarcasm and borrowed training time. Who had his own life, his own scars, his own ghosts to look after, and who probably had reasons to dislike her if word of what happened between she and Koa had spread throughout the dragoon's barracks the way it probably had. And especially not here, in Stormbreak, where walls had ears and the wind liked to whisper. Flora felt her throat catch on guilt, lips parting like she might try and backpedal, only for his soft I would to land like a stone in her chest.

She didn’t smile; couldn’t. Her expression twisted instead, knotted with emotions she couldn’t untangle, let alone name. And when his voice quieted, touched with regret and caution alike, Flora’s eyes dropped to the ground between them. "I’m sorry," she whispered, biting the inside of her cheek. "You...you don’t owe me anything. I shouldn’t have—" She shook her head. "It’s stupid to ask someone else to put themselves in danger for my revenge."

But gods it was tempting.

"Do you think he’d go after people around me?" Her voice cracked a little around the question, barely above a breath. "If I do something reckless at his party, do you think he'd just...attack everyone else?" The wind tugged gently at her braid, like it wanted to steal the question and carry it away before she could regret it more.

Her arms crossed, her weight shifting in a slow, defeated sway. "I just hate how he got to kill me, and..and nothing happened," she snapped, voice rising despite herself before she yanked it back under control. She looked up at Zavien then, at the flecks of gold in his eyes and the worn understanding written in the lines of his expression. Her voice gentled, but it didn’t lose its edge. "Though I guess I'm preaching to the choir with you, huh?"

I can't stop you putting roots in my dreamland

Code blatently stolen from queen of codes, Sky!

Zavien

Zavien gives her a bit of privacy from his gaze, letting it wander out to the open sky, still cautious despite the casual sweep of his head. His voice is still soft, gentle in her apology and the accompanying lack of favors between them. "It's true. I don't." Not accusing, just factual before he continues with a more distant tone, lofty in dreams that he knew few would share. "But I think we should all do what we can to stand against the Family. Whether it's for revenge or not shouldn't matter." 

Pulled from his idealistic wishes, Zavien doesn't miss the fear that catches Flora's words, the fears he'd similarly voiced. When his eyes turn to her, he doesn't pretend to hide the pity or sugar-coat the truth of the matter. "I'm not sure. I don't know him well enough to guess at what he'd do, but I don't think such an offense would go unpunished." And she'd already learned one of the many ways he might choose to do so. 

A rueful smile quirks at his lips, flattered she would compare his experience with hers. "I think my circumstances were a little different. I wasn't prepared, so it was as much my fault as the Void's." He hadn't been a target like she had, and the Family had shown no signs of caring whether he'd lived or died in the end. Shrugging his shoulders, Zavien tries to lighten the topic a little with a breathy chuckle. "I'm not sure I deserve revenge in quite the same way you do." Sympathy paints his words, his own self-pity looking weak compared to the struggles she must be dealing with. "After all, the thing that killed me is already dead. Pierce isn't." The monster in his nightmares couldn't come after him again. Hers could.

Stay focused on your mission,
remain steadfast in your pursuit of excellence,
and always do the right thing.

flora

The I don’t wasn’t harsh, but Flora still glanced over, wary by habit now, like every conversation she had was just one wrong look from collapsing. But Zavien wasn’t sharp with it—just honest. And so she nodded, letting the moment pass between them without flinching.

"I don’t want anyone to get hurt because of me," she murmured, her voice quieting as her fingers worked absently at one of the rings on her hand. "So if things go sideways, and you’re thinking more about getting people out than jumping into the mess with me..." Her shoulders lifted in a small shrug, careful and wry. "That’s probably the smarter play."

She drew in a slow breath, then let it out through her nose, glancing out toward the sky. "I was on a birthday walk with my boyfriend, when it happened," she said, keeping her tone light despite the way the words clenched like a fist in her chest. She too had been unprepared, though something told her that regardless she'd likely have ended up in the same situation.

But her mouth quirked a little at his final words. "Pierce isn’t dead," she echoed. "Yet." The threat was sugar-coated in a smile, but it glittered like broken glass.

Turning slightly toward him again, she tipped her head and offered, more playfully this time, "I’ll give you a wink at the party if I’m planning on doing anything reckless. You can decide then if you’re in or out." Her gaze lingered, teasing but not unserious.

I can't stop you putting roots in my dreamland

Code blatently stolen from queen of codes, Sky!

Zavien

Perhaps Zavien's fears were more fueled by anxiety than legitimate threats against his loved ones, but he understands Flora's reasoning, nonetheless. He nods his head, unable to say if he'd stand and fight rather than ensure Lena and the others were out of harm's way. "I think it just depends on how Pierce reacts - whether he focuses on you or begins targeting others." And the more unspoken factor of other participants - that being Family members joining Pierce or citizens joining Flora. 

Her casual words grip at his heart, aching for what she'd had to live through. And what was he supposed to say to that? She'd been attacked during a time that was supposed to be one of her happiest moments, murdered for her efforts against the Void. Nothing he says will change her experience or the emotions associated it, but he offers his apology anyways, genuine sorrow in his voice like the brush of sunlight sinking beneath the horizon. "I'm sorry. That must have been... terrible." His mouth opens, ready to ask about her relationship and whether her death caused a similar strain between them as it had between him and Lena; but he closes it before getting out a word. That feels too personal to ask, too cruel when the memory stains her words with something too dark to be light. 

Zavien tucks the selfish curiosities away, smiling softly at the sharp edges of her smirk. "Yet," he confirms. And despite her disarming playfulness and glittering smiles, it wouldn't surprise him if Flora is the one to ultimately kill the man with a shard of glass she plucked from her sparkling mask. A woman scorned and whatnot.

He doesn't discount her words with the sunshiny tone, tracking them like he might points on a strategy board. His smile turns firm in its understanding, ready. "That's more than fair." Any warning was more than how they'd started the discussion with, so he's just happy that she's including him enough to keep him informed of her intentions. "And I'll rub a hand on my neck if I'm in. That way you know someone has your back." For example, and to rid some of the prickling, Zavien drags a hand against the back of his neck, offering a grin that he hopes instills her with some semblance of peace in her plan - that even if it all went wrong, he'd do his best to help.

Stay focused on your mission,
remain steadfast in your pursuit of excellence,
and always do the right thing.

flora

Zavien’s agreement steadies something in her. Not the kind of steadiness that makes things easier, but the kind that draws breath into lungs that hadn’t realized they were holding it. So when he drags his hand across the back of his neck—casual, practiced, all part of the plan—Flora surges forward before she can think better of it. Her arms wrap around his middle, tight and brief, her cheek against his chest for the span of a single breath. "Thank you," she whispers, quiet and fiercely meant, before stepping back with all the grace of someone determined not to make a big deal out of it.

Because it was a big deal. And that’s exactly why she couldn’t let it linger.

She turns then, glancing toward the patch of grass where Spice is still locked in her never-ending wrestling match with Sol, the pair of them tumbling like white and gold chaos under the sun. Nodding toward the little dragon, she smiles faintly. "If I don’t see you before the party,”" she says, glancing back to Zavien, “"I’ll see you there."

And with that, the queen heads toward her companion, braid bouncing at her back, the glint of purpose already beginning to return to her stride.

~FIN

I can't stop you putting roots in my dreamland

Code blatently stolen from queen of codes, Sky!