[Training] [se] Kiss my axe

The look Tal shot her was initially wary of compliments from this woman with the clever tongue, but he couldn't find any obvious catches. He gave a wry nod of acknowledgment, afraid to say anything else that might get used against him later, and changed the subject with a snowball to her face.

Or at least, at her face. His jaw didn't quite drop as she seemed to effortlessly dodge the surprise projectile, but by the time she looked at him again his aplomb was mostly back in place and he was reaching for another big handful of snow.

This time he packed it carefully, and his lips were already tugging back up towards a grin. "It's only practice if you use the axe, right?" he called challengingly before stepping into the throw with a lifetime's practice of throwing snowballs at insufferable older sisters - this one aimed for Hotaru's left shoulder.

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

She levels a fondly exasperated look his way for his gumption, and spins the axe handle idly around in a full circle to reestablish her grip on it. Already he is compacting a new snowball, and she is preparing to utilize her axe this time well before his teasing voice springs forth.

“Cheeky man,” and it’s unclear which emotion is stronger in the words; pride, amusement, or exasperation. But she severs the next snowball clean in half with the axe blade when he throws it, and her smirk is positively devilish. She’s sure his wonderful arm will take her by surprise eventually, but for now she allows herself to preen a little. “Am I allowed a little revenge, or is this just for you to try and pelt me with one of those eventually?”

He'd never spun his axe that gracefully, and he grumped under his breath as Hotaru made it look so easy. It did give him extra motivation to throw the snowball extra hard, however - which only made it all the more disappointing when she followed through with a clean and swift bisection of the lumpy sphere, escaping unscathed from his attack.

A smirk tugged at his lips at her words even as he reached for another handful of snow and began to trot in a wide, slow circle around her, making the next projectile's angle harder to predict. "Nope, not allowed," he declared confidently. "You were the one who wanted training, right?"

But maybe because he was moving and talking he had too much going on and got overconfident. His next snowball was aimed high but fell low, making a wobbling arc towards Hotaru's knees.

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

Ru spins slowly to keep him centered directly in front of her, amusement winning out by a hair. It helps she gets to show off a little, though she truly does need the refresher. Short weapons and hand-to-hand are not her normal fare after all, and she’s been glued to Deimos’ side enough years to have the importance of being well-rounded drilled into her head.

The next throw goes wobbly and low, and lest she take her kneecap off with an eager swing, Ru refrains from trying at all - letting the compacted show hit her in the shin, leaving a dark mark behind on her leggings. Laughing, she kicks her other leg through the snow to try and catch Tal in it. “I’ll count that as a hit because it was so sad,” she says through a sharklike grin. “Come on. One more and then we can have some tea?” Though the cold will never truly be foreign to the likes of them, it gets him in the door of her spa if nothing else. One step closer to the trap.

The throw was pathetic and Tal's expression shifted to dismay for a moment before he wrestled it into a semblance of nonchalance. He tried to cultivate an air of 'I meant to do that' but Hotaru's laughter took all the smugness out of actually scoring an accidental hit.

Her words did nothing to help, either, but before the scowl could come back Tal had to dodge an incoming snow shower in a surprisingly graceful scramble out of the way. He gave her a wounded look of betrayal even as he scooped up two handfuls of snow and let fly in quick succession.

There was precision in both of them, his pride making up for his earlier failing with projectiles that flew straight and true with wicked speed and the power of two natural twenties behind them; one aimed at Hotaru's stomach and the second at her face.

"Nah, Dierdre'll have my hide if I'm any later with the firewood." He looked genuinely disappointed for a moment, guard down and blissfully oblivious as to how close he'd come to falling into her trap this time.

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

The evasion was equally pathetic, if she’d tried at all. Sputtering through the snow, knocked back a step by the blow to her shoulder, Ru laughs good-naturedly at the devastatingly precise attacks. “I’ll have your hide before she does for that,” she laughs, and with a flick of her fingers arcs a snap of lightning right at the young man’s hip. Closest she could get from this angle to his ass.

Wiping snow off her face, now damp and red with the chill, the Valkyrie turns and throws the axe one last time - letting it stick dead center in the round splitting wood against the spa. Dusting her hands and flexing out the cramps, the Valkyrie walks over to Tal and bumps shoulders with him amiably. “Thank you for taking the time to help me train dearest,” she simpers, expression warm. “Now get out of here before your skin is really on the line.” Winking, she departs from his side, and waves him goodbye from the front steps of her spa.

- Fin