Metallic Webs

"I don't know how to write," Trinket said. "I can read. I know every word in the world. But making the pen move the right way can be difficult. I need to practice."

She had been created with knowledge of all things. But knowledge was not experience. Knowing the shape of words wasn't the same as being able to duplicate it, just as knowing the shape of a sword didn't make one a blacksmith.

"I know what training is. Training is practice with other people teaching you stuff. But I don't have anyone to teach me."

"Will you teach me how to use an axe to split open the heads of my enemies? We can practice on a dummy first. I can make the dummy move, if it's not too big." Her power had limitations, she knew. She couldn't give commands to anything bigger than a dog or a chair. That was another thing she needed to practice. Though swinging an axe at someone's head would come first.

sah Sah sighed and shook his head. "You still haven't grasped what I mean by training versus practicing." Letting out a breath he nodded, "I can teach you. I predominantly use a sword or magic, but I do know how to wield an axe. But I have a condition to it." Training at the barracks regularly had given him plenty of time to dabble in other weapons. Sometimes he just needed a break from his normal routine and would go and ask one of the soldiers to teach him about their weaponry. It was never a wasted effort and he'd picked up the basics for a variety of weapons and tools because of it. The Abandoned's eyes sharpened and locked on Trinket's, "My condition. Of what I teach you, you can only use to defend yourself, to defend others, or to hunt for food. If you wish to use it to go and use it for any other reason such as to kill someone, you need to ask my permission first. Deal?"

Not all that is fractured is broken

Trinket considered the "conditions." They seemed reasonable enough. It sounded like what she was planning on doing anyway. At least, to her it did.

"Deal," she said. "I'll only use it to split open the heads of my enemies, not regular people." She gave a tiny nod.

She held her doll against her chest. The doll watched Sah, seeming indifferent to the conversation, but never moving its dark glassy eyes from the man's. Trinket's expression was just as blank, except, perhaps, for a touch of curiosity in her eyes.

"Teach me," she said. "We can make a game of it. It'll be fun."

{done}