who we are and all that we're trying to be
The Reaper was pleased to find that despite the sunshine disposition, the effervescent platitude, or the beneficence, the youth was able to apply himself. He listened – and even if the assault was drastically slowed – and managed to land the block. What he didn’t expect (and likely should have, based on these interactions in the past five minutes) was the incandescent excitement suddenly exploding out of the field. Sascha was proud and content with his efforts, and the beast didn’t have the heart to tell him that it’d been a means, a measures, to practice the counter alone – the notion that every adversary or enemy would be purposefully slow was laughable. Instead, Deimos let him have his moment, quietly nodding, struggling to hide the smirk threatening to sketch its way along his mouth. He wondered if Sascha would celebrate every single movement or motion that was successful; which would be a very quick and easy way to be mauled, lacerated, and murdered. He tilted his head, studying as the other man continued his exaltation; the warrior had never honored his efforts in such a way, but he’d started young, when triumphant blows to a target were met with snickers and a puff of his chest, and then swiftly knocked away when an instructor thought him too arrogant. Sascha’s production wasn’t in imperiousness; but seemingly a genuine delight in using his sword correctly.
Well – time to up the ante then.
“You did,” the heathen nodded, raising his sword back up in the interim, calm, composed, waiting for when Sascha would be ready for the next. It was an unsung ferocity pulsing and pervading from his form, but an unnecessary thing here – his nefarious interims weren’t the focus, weren’t required. He inhaled, exhaled, then proclaimed their foreshadowed endeavors. “We will try again.” He didn’t follow the same movement – coming from a different angle with his sword, and faster, increasing the speed, the descent and turn of his blade intending to go for Sascha’s left hip this time.
It takes dying to know
How to live as ghosts
