who we are and all that we're trying to be
Sascha followed his orders and directions, capable of taking the commands and requests with ease; it meant he was willing to learn, and for that, Deimos would bestow him with some advice and hopefully prosper the youth with some skills. He listened as he reconfigured a few of his targets, setting them straight and upright, pretending stuffing and cotton wasn’t falling out of a few tattered chests. Forced into an army sounded remarkably like the present, which was unfortunate for Sascha, coming to this realm after escaping the other, falling into the same web, the same trap. “A bow is an admirable weapon,” the beast conveyed, once he’d finished stacking two of the targets on top of one another, swinging his gaze back to the other. “It requires accuracy. So do most of our fighting techniques.” Sometimes it was sheer luck; but determination, perseverance, and practice were much better foundations.
He inclined his head, intending for Sascha to come after him to the wider, open portion of the field, grass shorn either by Zuriel’s handiwork or his sickle; and then turned to face the boy, wooden sword raised before him. He thought about diving into defenses first, especially if Sascha were of the more beneficent descent, not openly encouraged to wage his own wars, but to survive them, escape, run away. “If someone was to come at you with a blade, you could evade.” And he stepped back, as if Sascha’s weapon were coming at him. “But a more effective way could be blocking.” Here, he pretended Sascha’s impending attack was coming towards him, blade for blade, cutlass for cutlass, rapier for rapier, and he threw it upwards, as if to catch it in the middle, stopping it dead in its tracks. He could support it with both hands if he wanted – which could lead to grappling, but it he didn’t want to get overly technical yet. “Give it a try.” Then he drew the training device in an ascent, up and up, before lowering it slowly towards the boy’s right shoulder, so that Sascha would have time to react and defend.
It takes dying to know
How to live as ghosts
