[Training] [se] Kiss my axe

One of the benefits of being out on the Tundra was that there were no bossy sisters out on the trail, making their grumpy little brother run errands for the family store. Tal might have found an excuse to head back out there even now, if he hadn't felt obligated to stick around and vote for the next Warden. So until that happened he was dragging his feet around Snowcloak, running messages in town when his professional services were needed--

And slouching to pick up a fresh cord of firewood to replace the one Alexia's dogs had gotten into and chewed to kindling when he couldn't claim his business as an excuse to avoid it.

He was kicking a chunk of ice down the path and watching it skitter over the packed snow when a pair of laughing young women his age came bustling past, and he stopped at the scent of fresh flowers that wafted past in their wake, intrigued in spite of himself. They'd come out of a nearby building, one with a sign for some kind of spa out front...

His eyes went wider as he recognized the head of straight blond hair belonging to the woman outside it and Tal hesitated awkwardly, beginning a slow, surreptitious shuffle away in case she hadn't seen him yet.

death is the mother of beauty. and what is beauty? terror.

The spa is in need of repairs after so long without inhabitants, but Hotaru is undaunted. Nobody had gotten past the front door, so it’s mostly airing it out and refreshing the items within as she repairs the external damage from the elements. And when that is done, she begins practicing once more with her new weapon to familiarize herself further with it. Of course it doesn’t diminish her awareness of her surroundings, and Tal’s furtive attempts at escape do not succeed.

Turning, practically smelling blood in the water, the Valkyrie grins to herself and waves him over with a sharp cut of her hand. “Tal! Join me.” He can run, but Ru is certain she can catch him on foot, paw, or feather.

Tal looked around in the desperate hope that she was talking to some other Tal, but no such luck. No one else on the street had so much as paused, and though he hesitated for a couple of long seconds, judging distance and speed to the next corner--

With a sigh of resignation he stuffed his hand in his pocket and rested the other on the axe that hung at his hip. He didn't quite slouch his way over to Hotaru, but he did drag his feet as he approached, bobbing his head in an awkward nod to the lady. "Hey, Hotaru. What are you doing?" Nope, he definitely wasn't going to ask anything about the building behind her. That might give her ideas he really didn't want her having, so he stuck to something eminently safer: the weapon in her hand.

death is the mother of beauty. and what is beauty? terror.

Hotaru can almost taste his reticence, and it only stokes the strangely sisterly glee inside her breast. Part of her - distinctly animalistic, as both cat and falcon can attest - hopes he runs so she may give chase. It appears he has better sense than that though. Shame.

"Spent most of the morning fixing up the spa," she gestures gracefully to the outside of the building, cleared of snow and with small notable repairs. Then she wiggles her slingshot in her other hand. "Now I'm just doing some training." Heterochromatic eyes drop to the axe his own hand rests upon, and an idea - something beyond the scope of simple teasing and occupation of time - begins to bloom. "You any good with that?"

Tal's problem was that, with three older sisters, he practically had the words "dearest baby brother" tattooed on his forehead, much to his chagrin. At least he had enough experience to know when fleeing was futile - which was how he'd gotten roped into his current errand - and he made his wary way over to where the beautiful older woman was doing... something?

He glanced at the spa with a darting glance that immediately returned to Hotaru's face as his worst fears were confirmed. He wasn't sure exactly what those fears were, but he hadn't forgotten how she'd gotten the upper verbal hand on him before, and he was determined not to give her any more openings this time.

Ah, optimistic youth.

"I mean... I can chop firewood with the best of them," he returned cautiously, even as his attention was drawn to the slingshot. He hadn't picked one up since he was a kid... "How about you and that?" He nodded to the little weapon, a genuinely curious question slipping out in spite of his best intentions.

death is the mother of beauty. and what is beauty? terror.

Hotaru has to bite inside her cheek not to laugh at the darting, fearful glance towards her business that doesn’t escape her notice. Admittedly the man’s reticence has already sealed his fate - somehow, someway, no matter how long it takes her to wear him down or trick him inside, Tal is going to end up inside that spa. Even if she doesn’t manage to get him down on the table for a massage, the mud bath is quite the hazard to trip into, and Tal has delightfully vulnerable ankles.

For now, at least, he is safe. Maybe being close to the spa without going inside will lower his defenses like some hilarious version of exposure therapy. “I’m quite handy with it, but see now we’re at odds. You have a close range weapon, and I have a long one.” Because already her mind is determining ways to turn this into shared training instead of solo. Snapping her fingers as an idea comes to her, the Valkyrie holsters her weapon and hustles to the side of her spa where the stacked firewood is. There lies her own axe (and the splitting maul which she ignores for now). Returning, she hefts it with a smile. “Care for some target practice? We can use them both for long range training.” Training that will be more fair with the same weapon in both their hands.

Odds? Tal squinted suspiciously at Hotaru but nodded slowly in reluctant agreement that their weapons weren't a good match--

Wait, why did it matter? They weren't going to fight, were they?

When she came back with her axe, though, Tal's frown slowly lightened into a smile and he rested his hand on his axe more confidently. "Well, I guess a few minutes of practice wouldn't hurt..." He didn't have the axes that were balanced for throwing on him, but he'd thrown his fighting axe before, and Hotaru was right about them being on even ground. Tal slipped his free of his belt and hefted it to find the most comfortable grip on it - looking maybe just a little cocky - before looking around. "So, what are we aiming at?"

death is the mother of beauty. and what is beauty? terror.

His on-edge expression shouldn’t fuel her glee so easily, but it’s the equivalent of gasoline on a fire. She simply can’t help it somehow. From the moment they met, some young girl in her mind sat up and took notice, and now she can’t look at the young man without having intrusive impulses telling her to tackle him to the ground and wrestle him in the snow.

Really, it’s how she shows her love. Just ask Deimos how many times he’s been hit in the back with snowballs.

At least he seems more confident and eager when she returns with a similar axe. “Well neither of these are throwing axes, but enemies don’t care what type we have. So I’m thinking we use the dummies instead of the wood slab.” She leads him around to the side where two plain straw dummies stand, snow dusted. She’d had Deimos help install them one random day when she was too annoyed with the prospect of traveling all the way to the Barracks to train. Winking at Tal, she lets her axe fly, and it lands dead on in the center of the dummy’s chest, dexterous as every.

In the near future, Tal would indeed ask Deimos about Hotaru, and the answer he'd get from the General would plant the seeds of wicked mischief. Mischief which would only come back to bite Tal in the ass, but he was too young and proud to think that far ahead yet. For now he had to settle for a wariness ingrained from a lifetime of being teased by his siblings, and an instinctual recognition of Hotaru as the natural predator of his kind.

Neither of which were any match for the surge of eagerness to show off when the opportunity presented itself, and Tal followed Hotaru like a lamb to the slaughter.

"Sure," he agreed confidently. "I've thrown an axe in a pinch befo--" His jaw snapped shut on his words as she let loose her axe and it landed clean and center of her dummy. Tal's stomach dropped about half a foot as his grin faded, but he stepped up to his line resolutely. A scowl of concentration came over his face as he glanced from his dummy to Hotaru's, and then he rocked back and forward again with a two-handed grip, releasing at just the right moment to send the weapon spinning into his own dummy's torso with an audible thunk.

"What kind of enemies have you fought?" The question slipped out past his scowl, curiosity getting the better of him again.

death is the mother of beauty. and what is beauty? terror.

If it’s mischief he seeks, he will find it returned in spades, but it is a clashing of the minds that will be saved for another day. For now there is only the laughter that startles its way out of her like a flock of birds at the abrupt cessation of his words, the lightning-quick flash of shock he is too young to know how to conceal. Lifting a hand demurely to cover her grinning lips, not wanting to appear overly prideful - though she is - the Valkyrie waits for him to throw his own axe before she responds. He performs splendidly, nothing to sneeze at, and her face is warm with approval when she turns to him.

“All kinds, I presume. Gods, false gods, men and women. Spirits, LongNight monsters, beasts of the wilds.” From Helovia and Caido both. Walking down the range to retrieve her axe with a swift yank, she returns to the throwing line. “I am no stranger to war.” The sentence lands heavier than the previous one somehow. Echoing cavernously with something old and scarred. Yet it seems not to linger as she turns and arches an inquisitive brown at Tal. “And you?” She throws the axe again - it lands and sticks deep, but a little further to the right on the target this time. Ru clicks her tongue in disappointment, ever the perfectionist.

Tal hid a breath of relief when his throw went true, not wanting Hotaru to see how worried he'd been about screwing up. He took in her warm approval with a mix of suspicion and pride, sensing perhaps a shark waiting beneath the waters for him to lower his guard.

But it had been a pretty good throw, if he said so himself.

"You've fought gods?" Respect warred with skepticism as he tried not to be too gullible, however badass it made her sound. He followed her down the line to retrieve his own axe and hefted it thoughtfully before looking back at her with speculation in his eyes. "Me? Cannibals, bandits, wolves, an' ursurs, mostly." And none of them more than a handful of times in his young life, though he wasn't about to admit it.

"Hey, how about we make this a little more interesting?" he asked, a wicked gleam in his eyes as he offered her his axe. "Think you can hit something comin' at you out of the air? We should practice using the axe defensively, too," he added, not quite succeeding at hiding the mischief in his grin.

death is the mother of beauty. and what is beauty? terror.

His incredulity makes her laugh, the tightness in the corners of her eyes hidden by the sway of golden hair as she shakes her head in amusement. “Yes, but not here. In my home land. Our own gods assisted in their demise at the end, yes, but most of the work was done by men and women of faith like myself.” Truly they’d usually only shown up at the end to ensure the twisted false gods would stay dead.

The way he says the list is somehow downplaying their gravity, and as Ru rips her axe free with a hard yank she gives a hum of appreciation. “Ursurs are quite the bounty. I’ve only encountered the cannibals once myself…unpleasant business, that.” Body parts stuffed into boxes were not the equivalent of presents one liked to open.

The proposal has her pausing from where she had been eyeing the target anew, body twisting to give her full curious attention. Hand already reaching to seize the offered weapon before Tal has finished speaking, trusting. The gleam moves like a wildfire spark from his eyes to her own, and she grins, testing the weight and balance of the unfamiliar weapon. It’ll do, though perhaps she will gift him with one meant for offense someday. “I’ve got archery and slingshots mastered, but an axe? Well, don’t tease me if I’m a little slow on the uptake,” Ru winks, amusement in her face even as her shoulders draw back, confident and ready. “What are you thinking of throwing?”

Tal just shook his head at the craziness of outlanders, but with all the recent rumors swirling in the winds... "Hope that doesn't happen here," he muttered, pale eyes uneasy at the thought of mortals having to face any of Caido's pantheon.

Compared to Hotaru's exploits, the young man was feeling decidedly underwhelming with his own short list, but he managed a wry smile at her attempts to encourage him. "Didn't say I won when I fought the ursur," he admitted. "And the cannibals... the less said, the better." A shiver that had nothing to do with the cold ran down his spine and he shook his head to banish the awful memories, turning instead to more immediate concerns.

She took the axe and Tal stepped back a little ways, walking backwards with a cocky grin. "What do you think?" he shot back - and then bent to scoop up a fistful of snow, packing it and hurling it at the masseuse in a smooth easy motion. The projectile flew straight and true towards Hotaru's face!

death is the mother of beauty. and what is beauty? terror.

A hum is all she can give to the soft mutter of his words. Hotaru has found that wishing does little to change the outcome - either your are prepared, or you are not, and she would rather be the former. It’s precisely why she’s here training instead of relaxing in the spa. It may be on offer for others, but Hotaru has different expectations of herself. Harder ones.

“Still nothing to sneeze at,” she assures, which is compliment unto itself from her, especially when paired with the little smile she sends his way. It vanishes into a surprised expression, mismatched irises catching light as her eyes widen when Tal scoops up the snow and lobs it her way. Whether it’s because Deimos has done much of the same in the past (or her insanely good roll for evasion which allows her some dramatic flare) Ru is able to spin to the side in an arc of golden hair, the snowball flying straight past her face. Eyes narrowing playfully at the boldness, a slow smirk steals over her lips, and she lifts her axe. “Oh, you’re on.” Ready to try and hit the next snowball out of the air. Perhaps they’ll make this a new sport - baseball, but with axes and snowballs.