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.
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.
