[Training] the cut of our cloth

Evie

i'll plant a row of daisy seeds
in the space beneath each eye

It may be much of the same tactics, but Evie doesn’t have nearly the breadth of magical ability as Deimos, and her healing wouldn’t work on him even if it somehow counted in their game. Despite the repetition, it seems to be working, and her partner’s exasperation has Evie biting down laughter, teeth squeezing down on her bottom lip in a vain attempt to not rub salt in the wound.

Since the water had worked for him last time, Evie is somewhat expecting it this time, and despite having remained relatively motionless so far she knows she can’t avoid it that way. So she darts to the side, jogging a loose half-circle with Deimos at her center, and checks her hair to ensure no snowflakes had captured her. Grinning impishly at her rare, lucky success, the Evergreen commands the earth below Deimos’ right foot to buckle downward, hoping to trip him off balance.

so they'll remind you of your beauty
when they bloom each time you cry

DEIMOS

the fire can't touch me
for I have burned too many times

Truth be told, if he were obtaining all these hits and sieges, he’d be gloating and laughing just the same. So it only took a moment of disquiet, of the rumbling beneath his feet, to push back with his own incantations and ensure success – an actual miss. That small semblance of triumph was enough to merit his features with a wide grin – as if he weren’t standing there in his bare feet.

And to laugh as she ran around him, because all of this was reaching new heights of ridiculous.

He had to be careful about his next movements – avoiding the use of fire and life drain entirely. So he gentled his approach, realizing it didn’t need to be ferocity and dominion all the time, and conjured a bout of leaves, billowing them straight at her. Maybe they’d get stuck in her hair.

the sea can't harm me
for I have been drowning all my life

Evie

i'll plant a row of daisy seeds
in the space beneath each eye

After all her luck, she can’t be too disappointed over her ensuing failure, jog slowing to a stop as socked feet tap quietly on the stone. She doesn’t feel the cold yet, too warm with motion and exertion and glee. At least, not until he uses a magic she hasn’t encountered firsthand too often, sending a gale her way that she has no idea how to stop - and certainly not in time.

The wind snags at her long crimson locks, spinning them about and tickling her cheeks and nose with errant strands, leaves planting themselves in the empty spaces they can find. Evie splutters and laughs, hands rising to try and smooth her hair back down and bat away the more stubborn strands. “Okay that was a good one,” she admits, and considers her options for clothing. The logical choice is her socks, like Deimos had, but she doesn’t enjoy the idea of bare feet on cold stone. So instead she pulls her longsleeved shirt off, leaving her in just her bra and with ivory freckled skin on full display. Undeniably colder, but better than cold feet in her opinion.

Plucking a few visible leaves from her hair, Evie laughs good-naturedly and uses them directly against Deimos in turn, sending them flying back at him with her telekinesis, uncertain if the standalone leaves would work with earthen enchantments.

so they'll remind you of your beauty
when they bloom each time you cry

DEIMOS

the fire can't touch me
for I have burned too many times

He moved closer to the brazier, soaking in the warmth of the fire along his feet, tilting his head in a distinctly boyish demeanor as soon as the leaves stuck to Evie’s hair. Maybe the gentler factions provided greater amusement – not ceasing the ensuing rumble in his throat and chest – as the Evergreen became adorned in nature. Probably not unlike working in her shop or amidst the forest.

Which gave him an idea – though Deimos was slightly distracted by her choice of disrobing, opting for her shirt rather than socks. He wouldn’t deny that he looked, granting a wide smile once more as the barrage came full circle.

Plant life returning towards him – and fended off with another stroke of wind and air gusting her way. Figuring they could bat them back and forth, he also added some conjured soil and sticks, so they all came along twists and turns of miniature gales.

the sea can't harm me
for I have been drowning all my life

Evie

i'll plant a row of daisy seeds
in the space beneath each eye

Moving closer to the braziers is smart, but there’s little wind in the training room that isn’t magically created, and her light jogging keeps her warm enough to ensure even being relatively topless isn’t a bother yet. Deimos’ wandering eyes and grin spur her own, winking in the short time she has before he is avoiding her attack and redirecting it. Evie sets off at a run again, laughter trailing behind her as she narrowly avoids the sticks and other detritus he’d tried to batter her with.

As she jogs - not pausing this time in case the wind catches up to her - she calls on the fallen pebbles once more to rise and angle for his back and glutes, devilish and playful. Too comfortable with her body to care about the natural movement of breasts and arms, and only mildly inconvenienced by the inevitable uncomfortable bouncing that occurred as a result of not wearing a sports bra. In fact maybe it would distract him enough to earn another hit as she was losing her lucky streak.

so they'll remind you of your beauty
when they bloom each time you cry

DEIMOS

the fire can't touch me
for I have burned too many times

The Sword stood beside the fire, content now with merely watching Evie run around. From a rational and logical point of view, he was plenty warm, could survey as he pleased, and would be able to launch attacks from there with no need to haunt or chase. He couldn’t help but laugh though, for this was not how he’d foreseen today going.

However, it would eventually swing back to the inevitable, and the slight fortune and luck he’d had ran out once more as pebbles flicked against his back. With a residual sigh, he watched them drop along the floor, before hands went towards his long-sleeved shirt, peeling it away from scarred skin and well-defined muscles, tossing it aside to be immersed in the scattered pile of clothing. Maybe that’d be a distraction too.

Eyes rounded back to her, for multiple reasons, narrowing slightly as he calculated and considered. This time he settled on the pursuit of snow, snagging some lingering on the climbing wall, and sending it towards her.

the sea can't harm me
for I have been drowning all my life

Evie

i'll plant a row of daisy seeds
in the space beneath each eye

It’s more exercise for her than him, but it seems a fair trade considering Evie likely needs the stamina training far more than he does. Running is far more enjoyable to her than other pursuits. She’d jogged most mornings in the Grounds both for exercise and as a way to travel into the woods for her herb gathering. It has the dual purpose now of keeping her warm without lingering near a brazier, and avoiding the General’s more wily machinations of air and water.

Unfortunately - though she’s likely supposed to say fortunately - her next attack hits, and she is immediately distracted by the miles of scarred, toned skin that Deimos equally shamelessly reveals. She doesn’t stumble (thank the Gods) but it’s a near thing, and it leads to being swept up in particles of snow and ice moments later, the surprise and chill equally forcing a squeak of objection from her throat. The snow melts on her freckled skin, and she jogs over to the nearest brazier to try and chase away the cold, wrinkling her nose over her shoulder at Deimos for the success as she considers which article to dispose of next.

Socks are the logical solution once more, but she’s still loathe to chill her feet even with the fires nearby, and there’s undeniably an appeal to hastening the ending of their training game. Furthering distractions and enticements. It wasn’t as if he hadn’t seen her in a bikini mere days ago, but there was a different element when it was not a pre-accepted article of swimwear. So without musing over it any further, Evie pulls her leggings down her legs, kicking them aside with her stubbornly socked feet - and then tossing those, too, at Deimos, content to utilize the same plans. Lingering this time by the brazier, firelight flickering on the long pale skin of her legs, highlighting the darker cloth interruptions of the only remaining undergarments.

so they'll remind you of your beauty
when they bloom each time you cry

DEIMOS

the fire can't touch me
for I have burned too many times

He’d already ran several times alongside the rest of his warriors beside the Citadel wall, along their dawn patrols. And then looped back around to chase after stragglers. So her current wandering only re-emphasized the teasing, because while they’d been foolish and ridiculous, they’d also been silent in the latest rounds, concentrating on fulfilling their end of bargains. “You can always come jog in the morning with us,” not saying that they started before the sun came up.

But suddenly the footing was shaken up again, because the pursuit of snow hit pale skin, forcing her towards a brazier and to admit some level of chill contorting through the air. Flames played off of both of them, highlights of juxta positioned flames, and the grin remained an unrelenting spirit along his mouth, even as she pummeled him with her pants.

Which he caught, but allowed to count, rolling his eyes as he launched them towards her pile.

Deimos took a moment to survey in slow, precise measures with his hooded gaze and tilted head, before remembering he had to take his off as well. Snorting, and realizing quickly he was going to be down to very little shortly, a slight wrinkle to his nose compelled as hands went for the buttons on his pants. Thereafter, it was a graceful tugging of zippers and trousers, leaving a shudder as his skin felt the change of temperature, well-muscled legs, and more scars. And boxers – the only thing he was down to.

Following in her stead, he smirked, rolling them up in a ball and hurling them in her direction.

the sea can't harm me
for I have been drowning all my life

Evie

i'll plant a row of daisy seeds
in the space beneath each eye

He doesn’t say it, but Evie can assume the early hour contingent upon the offer. It’s not much earlier than she already awakens however, always rising with the first rays of sunlight even as a girl so she could utilize every moment of sunshine the day could provide. “I’d like that actually, but I’ll need to get some snow running shoes.” The rubber spiked ones they sold for a higher price in the markets. The soldiers were welcome to their boots, Evie would be avoiding her own sprained ankles thank you very much.

She grind as he catches her leggings, watching the slow traveling of his eyes as he in turn watches her, memorizing the shades of his interest and appreciation. Gratified to return the favor as his own pants are peeled off, but spinning to the side to avoid them instead of catching them the way he had. Clicking her tongue in playful reproach, the Evergreen mimics his previous attack to try and make the stone shake beneath his feet, to vibrate and tickle at the soles of them.

so they'll remind you of your beauty
when they bloom each time you cry

DEIMOS

the fire can't touch me
for I have burned too many times

“Should be easy to find,” he commented, maybe by way of distraction, mind coiling in too many different directions. The offer of simply making her some contorted across his tongue, but predicting the answer already, he allowed it to dissipate back into their mutual silence – waiting for the other to strike, the rising tension in closing moments, in foreshadowed, fortuitous designs. If he felt like he was continually holding his breath, he made no comment about it; lungs still forging onward while provocation stirred in veins.

The rumble beneath the soles of his feet was enough of a warning that the game wasn’t over, and the control of the earth pummeled through his frame effortlessly; ceasing and stopping her efforts. With a sly grin, as if he were turning them over and chiseling beneath the stones themselves, he sent the volley ricocheting back to her. To tease or torment, to rise or fall or stumble along the makeshift wake.

the sea can't harm me
for I have been drowning all my life

Evie

i'll plant a row of daisy seeds
in the space beneath each eye

She can almost taste the offer he withholds, and that more than his answer is the reason for her fond laughter that echoes quietly around the massive empty space. She loves gifts, loves feeling that she was remembered in moments apart, but she has seen him give so much that it feels unfair. That he respects her outlook - despite surely disagreeing - is endearing.

Not enough to distract her however, despite her slight pout at her failure. She can see the shake of the discarded pebbles and clothing as he redirects the wave back towards her, and she summons a small stone platform to rise above the quake, putting her a few inches taller as well. They’re pretty close to the wire now, playing with proverbial fire, and Evie is eager to end the game no matter who wins. She sends the discarded leaves - and any remaining in her hair - to skitter along the floor towards his face, eager to return the favor even without the accompanying wind.

so they'll remind you of your beauty
when they bloom each time you cry

DEIMOS

the fire can't touch me
for I have burned too many times

An impasse doomed to fracture at some point, and already at a disadvantage, Deimos saw the writing on the wall. And though he loathed to lose, at the very least this game didn’t come with monumental circumstances, death knells, vacant threats, or looming failure. Not a crushing defeat, not a plague, not a floundering, but a sigh quelled deep within his chest, as he admitted her victory.

For the wind battered at his face, even as he lifted his jaw to it in some seditious display, the leaves sticking and curling into his locks, eventually being the only thing worn.

“All right,” he uttered with only the slightest pout and frown, discarding his last remaining stitch of clothing, snatching at the waistband of his boxers and adding them to the pile. Standing very close to the braziers now, arms crossed and entire figure on display (again), he managed to bow and tilt his head in some mocking anguish. “You win. What is your prize?”

the sea can't harm me
for I have been drowning all my life

Evie

i'll plant a row of daisy seeds
in the space beneath each eye

She’s no gloating winner, especially when it’s a miracle she won at all, so there’s nothing but the pleased grin is a display she will allow herself. He looks like a majestic forest deity with leaves in his hair and beard, bare skin gleaming in the firelight, orange and red dancing on the knotted, paler scars. Her hands twitch with the desire to paint him; either on canvas, or placing the pigment directly to his skin, so she might explore the valleys of his body with her brushes.

Shamelessly following the path of his hands as they pluck at his waistband to shove the last garment to his ankles, Evie’s eyes lid themselves, cobalt a shimmer of appreciative hues in the half-light. With her victory assured now she strides slowly across the stone floor, eradicating the space between them until she is a scant few inches from his chest, forced to look up to meet his eyes. Hands rise to gently settle on the sides of his waist, marveling at his warmth but not quite moving yet. “I find myself conveniently distracted and without ideas,” she teases, hands gently squeezing his side, firm instead of tickling. Evie tilts her chin up invitingly, the game and its ensuing prizes forgotten already. “Raincheck?” she murmurs.

so they'll remind you of your beauty
when they bloom each time you cry

DEIMOS

the fire can't touch me
for I have burned too many times

He arched a brow in the ensuing wait – heart beating in a rapid ricochet as she approached, processing the inevitable. Expectations clustered and coiled in a myriad of directions, with his mind wandering in variety of calculations – most ensuing into more intimate notions. He glanced downward at her approach, piercing eyes drinking, taking, her in, skin undulating in a brief shudder at her hands along his waist. He didn’t quite trust himself to unfurl away from the current position of his arms laden across his chest –

And then to be teased and taunted thereafter only ensued another rapid snort. The breath he’d been holding measured in a long, drifting sigh, but he consented nonetheless, already agreeing to the terms from before, even if she seemed to stretch them out as some other layer of punishment. “Fine,” came on a cheekier notation, taking the compliment instead and nothing else; for he hadn’t been the victor.

Instead, he snagged at their discarded clothing with a rapid twist and turn of the Air, hastening them into separated piles to either be snagged or ignored for the moment, floating and flickering along behind them.

{FIN}

the sea can't harm me
for I have been drowning all my life