[Training] [SE] [Training] Feeling Crabby

Lisbeth trudged down the beach, her boots kicking up sand. She had her bow and quiver strapped to her back, and she carried a large bag containing the rest of the goods she had brought for her mission. It was all quite heavy, and she had to stop frequently to rest.

Her mission was complete, and it was time to return to the portal and head back to Stormbreak. But the day was early yet, and she had some time to kill. She had half-heartedly considered going for a swim, but the last time she had swam in the ocean, she had nearly drowned. She just wasn't strong enough to handle the waves and the undertow.

Frustrated with herself, and feeling that her mission report would be inadequate, she wanted to get some of her aggression out. She hated it when her squad members saw her temper. They always made fun of her for it. Better to get it out now, when no one was around to see it.

She tossed her bag on the ground and pulled her bow from her back. There wasn't much around to practice with, until she spotted a few crabs crawling in the sand. She nocked an arrow and took aim. Her first shot missed, her aim just a bit shaky with her emotional state. She took a deep breath as she drew the second arrow. She aimed down the length of the shaft, holding her breath for a moment, then gently released the bowstring, letting the arrow fly. It shot across the sand and pierced a crab right through its shell.

She grinned. She'd get some practice in, then have a nice seafood lunch waiting for her.

Sah

Sah had been practicing with his sword, getting used to moving in his new armor. Safrin had outdone herself. The starmour was lightweight enough that it hardly felt different than wearing his normal clothes. He was able to move just as fluidly with as he would without the protective piece. And he'd be lying if he said that the dark obsidian coloring that glimmered faintly with starlight wasn't stunning to look at.

It was as Sah was going through a few sets of exercises that he heard the distinct twang of a bow. A crab that had been crawling past him had a new accessory. Eyes snapping over he Abandoned let out a heavy sigh as he saw just who was cresting the dune. "Just because you don't trust me doesn't mean you have to follow me around and monitor me." Sah called out. He knew that the Accepted likely wasn't following him, but he was still exasperated from their initial meeting.

I think there for I am,
But what if all I do is bleed?

Lisbeth blinked a few times, unsure for a moment on the identity of the familiar voice. She walked closer, squinting in the sunlight. It took her a moment to recognize the man she'd only seen once before under the moonlight. When she realized who it was, she grumbled and rolled her eyes.

"I wasn't following you," she said, stopping a reasonable distance from him. "I'm training."

Another crab crawled past Sah's feet. In a quick motion, Lisbeth drew and arrow and fired. The arrow clipped off a few of the crab's feet, sticking in the sand. Sighing, she drew another arrow and aimed more carefully before planting the arrow right in the crab's shell, putting it out of his misery.

"You can leave now," she told Sah. "Would hate to miss and accidentally scratch your..."

Her eyes went wide at the sight of his armor. She remembered what he said last time they met, about petitioning for a gift from the gods. She hadn't really believed him. But there was no doubt upon seeing the armor that it was mystical in nature.

Sah

Sah raised a bow as he eyed her bow, "I can see that." He watched her take out the crab, noting that she must still be mastering the bow. It made sense given how young she appeared to be. And the likely fragile nature of her health from what he remembered.

Her following attempt to dismiss him actually pulled a small snort of laughter from the Abandoned. "You have no authority over me, soldier. Stand down."

Lisbeth's words trailed off and Sah noticed her shift in attention. Brow furrowing for a moment, he quickly put the pieces together. "You didn't believe me earlier, did you?" He sighed and shook his head. "Look, you've made your opinion about Abandoned clear. But some of us actually do have good relationships with the Gods. I serve Safrin. I swore my loyalty to her, and she accepted my oath."

He himself hardly believed it. Not just that Safrin had accepted him as one of hers. But also, that he himself had been willing to make that oath. There was a time not so long ago when Sah had truly thought that he would never bow to one of Caido's gods.

I think there for I am,
But what if all I do is bleed?

Lisbeth chewed on her lip. It wasn't fair. It wasn't fair. She had loyally served the gods since she was young, she had prayed at their shrines for years, and never once had one seen fit to gift her with their presence. And this man...this Abandoned got gifts from the gods?"

She set her jaw, her face starting to redden. She drew another arrow. "Fine," she said. "This soldier came here to train, like I said. So let's start training by seeing how good that armor is..."

She raised her bow, took aim, and released the arrow. It flew across the air, straight towards Sah's chest.

If the armor really was a gift from the gods, he would have nothing to worry about. And if not, well...she wouldn't shed any tears over it.

Sah

Sah saw the intention in Lisbeth's eyes before she even raised her bow. Still, he was shocked at her audacity. When the arrow fired, the Abandoned simply rolled his eyes and swiftly reached out, catching it by the shaft.  "Really?"

The look he sent Lisbeth was equal parts incredulous and disappointment. "You claim to be a soldier of the Old Gods. Yet you not only question the Gods' judgement, but attack those who should be your allies?" Her hypocrisy was hard for him to even wrap his mind around. It was immaturity and arrogance on an unfathomable level.

Tsking Sah stepped back, dropping the arrow. "Fine. You want to practice? How about I throw you something to shoot at?" She might wish to harm her allies. But the Abandoned would rather make them stronger so that they'd survive.

Though at this point, he didn't think Lisbeth was an ally, despite their shared allegiance to the Old Gods. But she was basically a kid and Sah would be dammed if he stepped back and let a kid walk into a war without helping them train at least a little.

I think there for I am,
But what if all I do is bleed?

Lisbeth snorted. "I didn't 'attack' you. It's training, remember?"

She drew another arrow and nocked it to the bowstring.

"I need target practice," she said, taking aim. "So I can be a good little soldier when I bleed and die for the gods. And if you can catch arrows, it's not like you're in any real danger, right?"

She let the arrow fly, then drew and fired another, then another. Though she didn't actually want to kill him. She aimed a bit to the side, so that if one of the arrows got through, it would likely only graze his skin. She was a good shot, and could usually hit where she aimed. Usually.

"You're not my ally," she said as the third arrow flew from her bow. "If the gods have seen fit to meddle with one of your kind, then you are a tool. They are using you. So I'll use you too, for target practice."

Sah

Sah rolled his eyes again, his annoyance growing by the moment. "Well a good little soldier is a tool as well, now, isn't it?" They were all tools of the Gods, that was an undeniable fact.

The Abandoned didn't even bother catching the three arrows sent at him. Instead, he simply raised a brow as his telekinesis stopped each on in its tracks a foot away from him. Lazily waving a hand they turned around faced Lisbeth. Sah bared his teeth, "And a good little soldier knows how to dodge, now don't they?"

With that brief warning, he sent the three arrows flying back at Lisbeth, pulling them to a stop a foot in front of her as well till they simply hovered in front of her. "Sure, we're not allies." That was damn clear.  "But unlike you. I don't go around actively trying to make enemies."

I think there for I am,
But what if all I do is bleed?

"I'm a willing tool. Not a self-righteous deluded prick like--"

She yelped and cringed as her own arrows came flying at her. She ducked back, covering her face with her arms, letting out a panicked shriek.

When nothing happened, she lowered her hands and opened her eyes. She took a few breaths trying to calm her nerves.

Then her eyes narrowed. She snatched the arrows back out of the air.

"I don't need to make enemies," she said, sneering at him. "You were my enemy from the day you were born. Before that, even. You were the enemy of my people, of all of Stormbreak, from the moment the Voice rose up and tried to make itself something it didn't deserve to be. And if someone doesn't put you in your place, for all I know, you'll do the same thing. You're clearly proud of your fancy magic." She waved a hand at the air in front of her where the arrows had been floating. "And you think you're hot shit because the gods gave you a little handout. How long until your 'good relationship' with Safrin turns into thinking you're their equal? How long until your magic grows so strong that you think you should be a god yourself? That's exactly how it started. The war between the Old Gods and the New. And your smug self-righteousness shows me that you haven't changed, any more than any Abandoned has."

She gestured with her arrows between herself and him. "You know the difference between you and me? Unlike you, I know my place. I know what I am. I'm a soldier, a servant of the gods. I don't claim to be anything more, nor do I strive to be. I am theirs, in life and in death. But you and your kind? You think too highly of yourselves."

She nocked another arrow, but held the bow low, not firing. She would have loved to take another shot, right at his head. But she knew she was no match for his magic or his speed.

Sah

Sah waited till Lisbeth was done. When she finished her rant he raised a brow, "Done? Good." The Abandoned walked over till he was just a few feet from the soldier, his eyes narrowed.

"Let me make something clear to you, as clearly you don't seem to understand the concept of a fucking oath, despite what you claim. It doesn't matter if Safrin decides I'm worthless. I'm hers to use. That's it. End of story." Short of her betraying him or ordering him to attack his own family, there was nothing he wouldn't do for the goddess. Insinuating that he would defy that oath was downright insulting. The Abandoned took loyalty more seriously than most.

"And yes. I'm proud of my magic. I've spent countless hours busting my ass in training it so that I could protect my home and family. And my place? How could I ever forget what I am? Racist people like you just love to act all high and mighty to remind us." Sah shook his head, eyeing Lisbeth in disgust.

"I'm an Abandoned Outlander. Short of being an Ascended, I'm the lowest of the low in the eyes of the Old Gods. I'm painfully aware. To the point that when I first met an Old God Demi-god I honestly thought they would kill me." That had been a rather awkward conversation. Seren had been horrified that such a thing had even crossed his mind.

A thought occurred and Sah couldn't help but frown suddenly, "One thing about you just doesn't make sense. Your own leader has nothing against Abandoned. I'm met Ronin and he didn't even bat an eye at what I was. And it's not just him. His husband, Ludo's demigod had the same reaction. The Queen of Torchline also has an Abandoned son. The two Wardens of Halo are an Abandoned and an Abandoned hybrid respectively. And Vi's own damn demi-god who lives in Halo has no problem with it."

The Abandoned tilted his head in genuine confusion, "So why do you care? Do you think your judgment is better than your own leader? Then the judgment of the Old God demi-gods?" It didn't make any damn sense to him.

I think there for I am,
But what if all I do is bleed?

When Sah walked closer, Lisbeth raised her bow, pointing the arrow right at his chest. She held the bow and arrow in shaking hands as he responded to her. She shook her head a few times at what she felt were ridiculous words. But his final question was the one that made her think the most.

She lowered her bow. "Why do I care?" She snorted. "Because you," she jabbed a finger into his chest, "are the same as The Voice. Claim whatever you want, make whatever oaths you want, it doesn't matter. You and all of your kind are of the same ilk that led to the first war against the Old Gods. The Voice was one of you, and the Voice made the Ascended, and they are vile creatures that need to be wiped out. And while most people these days seem to not care one way or another whether the Abandoned live or die, that's just because they've forgotten the past. Everyone is thinking about the war to come, and the Ascended monstrosities we'll have to fight, but no one stops to remember where they came from."

She jabbed a finger into his chest again. "They came from you. As much as if you'd created them yourself. They came from your kind, from your magic. Your magic that you work so hard for, that you 'bust your ass' for, to make yourself stronger. You say you just want to protect your family...how far would you go to protect them? Is there a limit to how much strength you would seek, for that cause? To what kind of magic you would wield to achieve that goal, if only you could learn how, if only you could gain such power? If you could create something, like the Voice created the Ascended, would you stop yourself, if stopping yourself meant you didn't have what you needed to achieve your goals? If that power was in front of you, if you knew you could create an abomination, and doing so would protect what you love, would you be able to restrain yourself from seeking that unnatural power, or would you give anything, even human decency, to do what you think is 'right?'"

She stepped back again, out of his reach, waiting for his response.

Sah

Lisbeth's clear fear of him made something left a bitter taste in Sah's mouth. He was angry but he'd never harm her. Not unless she truly attacked him first. Though at least she seemed to understand that if he wished her harm, she wouldn't be able to stop him. Maybe that caution would make her actually listen to him.

As the soldier spoke, it became clear that this wasn't the case. She heard him, but she wasn't listening. So entrenched in her own bias and racism, she seemed deaf to what he was trying to explain. Sah shook his head baring his teeth when she touched him, the sensation making his skin crawl. "All Abandoned are evil. So all Accepted must be good, right? If the word is so black and white to you, that's what you think, isn't it?" Clearly, Lisbeth was incapable of seeing not just the shades of grey in-between but the infinite colors that lay between as well.

But his anger faded the more she spoke, as realization hit him. Pity taking over. Sah eyed her sadly, "Ah. Now I get it. You don't have anyone, do you? The only positive connection you have is the Gods." That seemed to be what he was hearing beneath her angry words.

Sah sighed, shaking his head. "I'm sorry. I hope one day you love someone enough that you'd do anything for them. Because you're right. To protect my family, I'd do anything, become anything." His brow furrowed as he second guessed his next words. Lisbeth seemed to need to hear them though, so he continued, "I have kids, soldier. Two perfect little ones, both Accepted. There's nothing in this damn world that I wouldn't do to keep them safe and happy. If that makes me a monster in your eyes, so be it." He was fucking done with this circling argument. Clearly nothing he said would get through to her.

I think there for I am,
But what if all I do is bleed?

Lisbeth's fists clenched when Sah said she had no one. In her mind flashed images of her father, a hero who died protecting Stormbreak. Of her mother, a face she barely remembered, lost to illness in her childhood.

No one had been able to protect them.

"Gods damn you!"

She rushed at him, dropping her bow. She lunged right at him, pummeling her fists against his chest, trying her best to knock him to the ground. She was half his size, a sickly 80 pound girl who barely came up to his shoulder. But she tried to pummel him with all of the ferocity there was packed into her tiny frame.

"Don't you talk about my family! Don't you dare! You don't know anything! My father was a better man that you could ever hope to be. You are nothing compared to him. Nothing!"

She kept swinging her fists, even as she wheezed and struggled for breath, tears falling from her eyes. "You're just like them! You'd do anything? You would create monsters and unleash them on the world, all to protect your own? You bastard! What about the rest of the world?"

She took a tiny swing at his face.

"That is why I hate you! All of you! You'd do anything, anything, defy the gods, created unnatural monstrosities, unleash hell on the world, and you'd feel justified! You'd think you were doing right, not caring about everyone else, about the children who aren't your own! Do you know what a real father does? He goes out and does what he must, sacrifices himself to save the lives of people he's never met, to save lives you and your kind would throw away! It's not fair that he had to die and your kind get to live! And the world will always be in danger, always so long as there are people like you, people who would do anything, become anything, without caring about the consequences, about the horrors you would unleash on the rest of the world!"

Out of breath, she collapsed to her knees, sobbing, hacking, and wheezing, her tears falling hopelessly on the cold sand.

Sah

Sah seemed to have hit the mark with his words as Lisbeth fell apart before him. She lunged and he honestly was worried she'd concuss herself or break a hand on his armor. The Abandoned hardly felt a thing as she pounded her fists on his chest. As her breathing grew unsteady, he began to grow concerned that she would pass out. The Abandoned had to resist the urge to pull her in for a hug, his own anger and hatred fading now that he better understood her.

Sah caught the fist that Lisbeth threw at his face with a gentle but firm hand. As she screamed, he simply waited, letting the young soldier vent out what was clearly years of grief and pain. And she struck a nerve in him as well, "I wouldn't know. My own father died before I was born." Sah sighed heavily as Lisbeth only seemed to grow irater and spiral out of control.

When she collapsed in tears, Sah knelt down from where he stood, sitting on the sand with a furrowed brow. His tone grew quiet, gentle even. "Hate me if it helps you. I don't mind." Lisbeth's pain and anger were clearly deeply rooted and clearly, he represented the worst of her fears with how protective he was of his loved ones.

With Lisbeth's breathing so unsteady, Sah started trying to talk her through it. "Please breath. In through your nose, out your mouth, five seconds for each. Don't go passing out on me, soldier." If she did, he'd have to carry her somewhere safe. And something told the Abandoned that she'd hate him all the more for it.

I think there for I am,
But what if all I do is bleed?