[Training] like lambs to the slaughter

Seren

Sunlight streaming in through open windows glinted on sword-metal and armor, on belt buckles and polished buttons in strict uniforms. Dust swirled in the air as numerous feet trod across sanded floors, and from perches along the walls and in the high arcing ceiling, dragon's perched, watching their humans move with deadly grace through the complex tours of a death dance.

As her instructor stepped away, Seren took a moment to breathe and ease the tension from her shoulders. Her hands were blistering and raw from moving up and down the shaft of the spear, shifting from stance to stance under watchful eyes. The weapon was new to her - a pole taller than herself, with a twenty inch curved blade at the top made for an unwieldy companion at first - but she was getting the hang of things. A pleased smile lingered on her lips after the praise she had just received, and as she sipped from a water bottle, the girl kept her eyes moving between other trainees.

They were keeping their distance from her. Ever since darkness had begun trailing behind her as she ran, and cloaked her limbs with night and stars with every shift and stance, something in their eyes had withdrawn. They still answered when addressed, but they simply did not seem able to look past Safrin's touch in her the way they once had. Even her fleeting eyes on them made her supposed comrades stiffen and tense - she could see them stumble and falter in their previously so flowing motions.

With a faint sigh, she averted her gaze. Looked to the older Dragoons instead - though they were hardly any better.

Battle born they send us
Covered in our noble blood

ABRAHAM

Watch your tongue
or have it cut from your head

Abraham's gaze never flinched when the demigoddess looked to him.

While others might be intimidated with the way she was covered by Safrin's grace and love, Abraham was not. He was loyal to Ludo, that was true and sure and solid as stone, but that did not mean that the accepted could not appreciate (was that the right word? probably not) still the work of another herald. Dismissing his own trainee -- a fumbling idiot, in his own opinion -- Abraham moved towards Seren.

"You'll have to get a proper weapon made for you, if you keep it up with that." He gestured to the spear-like weapon with his chin. "If its not properly weight and adjusted for your body, skill won't ever matter." His voice was level and even, calm and lacking his usual sharp edge. Not that it wouldn't appear -- it just wasn't there in the moment.

Save your life
by keeping whispers unsaid

Seren

Seren appraised the man that came towards her. Tall and looming, he reminded her somewhat of Sunjata in the way he carried himself. Unlike the Flood however, there was a lot of hard edges and very little warmth to this face. A common trait among the veteran Dragoons.

"I suppose I might be in the market," she replied, the usual warm smile greeting his advice without hesitation. "I only took this one up recently, so there hasn't been time to find a weaponsmith yet. But I rather like it." Giving her spear an appraising look soon followed with a satisfied grin, the demigod turned back to the man and held out a hand, slim and long fingered. Soft looking, but with callouses aplenty from weapons training.

"I'm Seren Taliesin. It's nice to meet you."

Battle born they send us
Covered in our noble blood

ABRAHAM

Watch your tongue
or have it cut from your head

With lips pulled together, Abraham crossed his arms over his chest before she reached her hand out in greeting. The leviathan did not move to finish the gesture, instead he nodded and turned back towards the training field before them. "Have you been training with it long?" He let his arms fall again and, taking a few steps forward, grabbed his own spear off of the weapons rack. "You'll want to make sure you can be really proficient with it before spending too much coin trying to have one made for you. Though, some of our smiths who admire your mother might do it for free." He shrugged and turned back to her, twirling the spear idly as he spoke.

Abraham himself did better with hand to hand combat, but was skilled enough to hold his own with a slew of basic weaponry. When he had to choose a weapon, however, he often weighed the choice between spear and sword.

Save your life
by keeping whispers unsaid