[SE] [Training] Shifting dreams in shifting sands

Elizabeth

"Hmm. I'd think that might get tiring after a while." Whether the accusations are good or bad, to have people always making assumptions could be draining on a person, especially if it starts affecting their view of themselves. Danta seems the confident type, but people often mask insecurities with banter and nonchalance. 

Shrugging her shoulders, Elizabeth concedes the point. "I suppose that's true." Although she wonders whether there's anyone out there who's succeeded without telling anyone. It's hard to believe that there's no one that's gone unnoticed by the Family. 

Her punch goes exactly how she expects, but she laughs at his surprise, as warm and golden as honey left in the sun. "I'll never lie about my shortcomings." So when he steps forward to give her instructions, she takes them, nodding along and adjusting her fists. The weight of her arm... Elizabeth pushes her arm forward in another punch towards his shoulder, misjudging the distance and the shifting sand and everything else in between so that she stumbles off balance.

Sometimes in the waves of change
we find our true direction

Dantalion

how the fuck am I supposed to know

"Only if the accusations aren't true," Danta says with a practiced yet cocky bounce of his eyebrows. His banter and nonchalance mask is very well-formed, Elizabeth, and thank you so much for noticing. Now back to the punching, no need to look any closer. "I don't know if I'd call this a shortcoming given the lightning I saw you use," he adds with a soft laugh. "Perhaps just a skill you've yet to perfect."

One which does not appear to be getting any better, he notes, because despite having made some corrections - and Danta even braces for a better punch - Elizabeth overbalances and misses entirely. "I feel as though that one would've been a good one," he chirps, beckoning her to a more flat area. "Okay, what if you try standing like this instead?"

Spreading his feet in a way that will allow him to pivot his hips with the movement of his arm, he throws a few practice punches at the air to show her. "That should stop you from missing so much. Just don't aim for my face now I'm showing you all of this, okay?"

if we're in love or if we're in pain?

Code blatently stolen from queen of codes, Sky!

Elizabeth

Letting him get away from the topic (for now), Elizabeth laughs at his attempts to encourage her. "I didn't say I was powerless, but I'm not going to pretend that physical combat is something I'm good at." With or without weapons, she's very much not built for fighting. Even with her magic, she doesn't necessarily have the stomach for it. 

She catches herself before she can end up face down in the sand, throwing out her arms to balance. Once she has her feet under her, Elizabeth smiles teasingly at the very wrong implication that her punch had been 'good.' "I appreciate the polite lie." Her eyes show no signs of being upset about the matter, only a rich brown of acceptance and a willingness to try again. 

Following his lead, she braces her feet against the sturdier sand, doing her best to match his stance, even if hers looks soft and paltry in comparison. Still, she laughs, raising her fists. "I'll do my best, but I can't make any promises considering how poor my aim is." And then she strikes out for his shoulder again, luckily not hitting his face, and managing to keep her balance this time.

Sometimes in the waves of change
we find our true direction

Dantalion

how the fuck am I supposed to know

"I would never insult you by suggesting you were powerless," Danta croons, flashing Elizabeth another fanged smile. "But with tricky little meatheads about who can apparently stop you using a lot of that power, it's good to broaden one's skillset, no?" Danta likes to be as punchy as he is fiery, after all, and although granted he'd still opted to not when it came to Pierce and the developing fight, it's nice to know he has something savage in his back pocket.

Chuckling at her appreciation, however dishonest he might have been, Danta braces again for a punch that may or may not land on his shoulder. This time, it appears, Elizabeth's aim is true, and the hit lands square just beneath the Maverick's collarbone, driving a huff of air out of him. "That's more like it," he praises, eyes lighting up with something that's all chaos and brimming violence.

"There you go, see? Now do that again, but I'll try to stop you, okay?"

if we're in love or if we're in pain?

Code blatently stolen from queen of codes, Sky!

Elizabeth

Elizabeth chuckles at Danta's 'clarification,' shrugging her shoulders and giving him a playful point like she's marking something on a scoreboard. "I can't argue with you there." Even if she doesn't plan on getting in the middle of whatever nonsense the 'meathead' might be involved in, there's no guarantee that she won't end up as collateral. 

Her landed punch is better than she expects, going as far as to elicit a huff of air from the man that has her eyebrows raising and her hand dropping. His dangerously sharp grin should probably frighten her, but Elizabeth feels like she's a good judge of character, and there's something in his smile that's more playful than murderous. So she doesn't balk or flinch, letting out a light laugh that flies freely over the sand. "Sure. At least I didn't hit your face."

The next 'challenge' is laid out, and Elizabeth shakes her head with teasing exasperation. "Okay, but I doubt you'll have to try very hard." And then she moves back into position, making the same movement that she did before, slow and steady to keep her aim from wandering.

Sometimes in the waves of change
we find our true direction

Dantalion

how the fuck am I supposed to know

Offering a roguish little bow as Elizabeth concedes to his appraisal of the ‘meathead’ situation, Danta straightens up and readjusts his footing as they move onto the pinnacle of this is how you punch. (AKA, about a tenth of what might actually happen in a fight should she ever get into one). ”Ah, don’t put yourself down,” he croons, ”maybe you’ll hit me in the face this time.”

Clearly he’s missed the part where she’d clarified that she was glad she hadn’t done such a thing, Danta instead watching with quiet delight as she goes to punch him again. Granted, yes, it is slow enough that it’s easily intercepted, but that’s all part of learning, right? Right?

And so, stepping in and to the side as Elizabeth’s arm extends, bringing them snug and close together, Danta catches her wrist and draws it back, as if to twist her arm behind her. ”It looks much more impressive when it’s at full speed,” he jokes, ”but feel free to use that one if anyone tries to throw a fist at you, yeah?”

if we're in love or if we're in pain?

Code blatently stolen from queen of codes, Sky!

Elizabeth

Laughing, Elizabeth shakes her head, reiterating that she doesn't want to hit Danta in the face despite what a serious brawler might strive to do. "I sure hope not. Then you might not want me to get off this island." He doesn't seem the kind to hold it against her in the nature of 'good fun' and sparring, but if he's her best solution for escaping, she'd hate to risk her chance.

As expected, her fist doesn't land anywhere but the open air, and she finds Danta standing at her side with a smug grin on his face and her wrist in his grasp. She feels the slight tension as he pulls, even if it's not enough to hurt. Elizabeth chuckles, looking at the hold as she tries to figure out how she's supposed to do the same thing herself. "Just... grab their wrist?" It can't be that simple, but her limited experience with combat means she could be wrong about a lot of things.

Sometimes in the waves of change
we find our true direction

Dantalion

how the fuck am I supposed to know

”I feel as though I’m not the one who gets to decide when you leave this island.” Danta says with a grin, even as he stands with Elizabeth’s arm gently pinned behind her back. ”That might be up to the island itself, in fact.” And as for the hold he has on her, he can only shrug as if to say yes, it really is that easy (as long as you don’t look too closely at the multitude of steps and skills that go in between start and finish).

”More or less. And then if you manage that, you can— whoa!” Cut off by a rumbling beneath their feet that Danta can only describe as fucking ominous, the Maverick releases Elizabeth in time for the sands to shift and a causeway to promptly open up between where they stand and the distant shore. It might take a little island hopping, and perhaps some short distance swimming, but when the land settles again, there is a path back to the mainland.

”Well,” says Danta, ”would you look at that.”

if we're in love or if we're in pain?

Code blatently stolen from queen of codes, Sky!

Elizabeth

Shrugging her unpinned shoulder, Elizabeth wonders if he's always so argumentative about everything. "Sure, but you had at least offered to help if the island didn't, and I don't think it'd be polite to return that favor with a punch to the face." Not that her current position implies that it would even be possible. 

Before she can ask him to show her the way to lock someone into a hold, the sand beneath their feet is shifting, and she's stumbling out of his grasp while looking frantically to see if the island is being swallowed by the sea. Interestingly enough, quite the contrary happens as a thin spattering of sandy isles appears between them and the mainland to make a relatively safe path that has her eyes widening. 

Righting herself, Elizabeth crosses her arms, somewhat baffled by the observation. "Huh." She leans towards Danta and lowers her voice while keeping her eyes glued to the new path like looking away might just make it vanish again. "Do you think it heard us? Or was it completely coincidental?" Either way, she's grateful for the pathway and has no intention of losing her chance to get back. Still, the curiosity remains. 

When she's fairly certain that it isn't going to vanish back into the water, she looks to Danta with a small grin. "Well, I think that's my cue. Thanks for keeping me company." She'd also welcome a walking/swimming partner, but she gets the feeling he'll want to be off on swift wings. "It's been a pleasure meeting you, Danta, and I hope to run into you again some time." Her smile is disarmingly warm to disguise the surprising wisdom in her eyes - the ones that see more than he probably wants and searches gently for more.

Sometimes in the waves of change
we find our true direction

Dantalion

how the fuck am I supposed to know

Little does Elizabeth know that Danta absolutely is this argumentative about everything; luckily, rather than quipping that he might enjoy a punch to the face, he merely offers her a grin and a shrug. Besides, they’re soon both very distracted by the way the island literally begins to move under their feet, opening up a delightful little pathway to lead her back to Torchline’s mainland.

Also straightening up and having to hold out his arms to keep from overbalancing until the isle has finished stretching in its sleep, he offers her a secretive grin in response to her question. ”I reckon it heard us. And either it likes you and it wants to help, or this is a polite invitation for us to go away. Either way, it’s probably best we listen.”

Straightening his obnoxiously floral shirt, Danta gives Elizabeth a polite nod and a smile, stepping back so he might shift back into black, donut stealing feathers. ”The pleasure is all mine,” he promises, before, with only a sparing glance over his shoulder, man becomes gore crow and he takes prompt flight up into the endless blue skies overhead.

~FIN

if we're in love or if we're in pain?

Code blatently stolen from queen of codes, Sky!