Steelsong

They'd taken their time climbing the rest of the Way and Tal had sprung for lunch at a little cafe Soh had recommended. Rested and refreshed from their training, he followed his friend to the edge of the city and the sheer cliffs that fell away beneath the floating island in the sky. The area wasn't entirely unfamiliar to him; the skyport was located nearby and he was probably more comfortable with that than anywhere else in Stormbreak, but now they were going down instead of up, hopping over a precarious path that led between pillars of stone and fell away in breathtaking drops to the ocean far below.

They'd heard it before they saw it: the moaning, sighing, singing wind that never ceased this high up, stroking the whale-kissed stones to their haunting music. Tal shivered and rubbed his hands over his arms with a grimace of distaste as he hunted for one that was at a convenient height for his purposes. "I never get used t'these things," he admitted to Sohalia as Boreal flew contentedly nearby, playing in the updrafts and cross breezes that blew threw the Falling. "Every time I come, it's like listenin' to a skeleton plinkin' a jig on my spine with icicles for mallets! How d'you stand it?"

Sohalia

They made their way back to Stormbreak, taking their time up the rest of the Way, and found themselves in one of Soh's favorite little cafes. Despite her protests, Tal insisted on paying for the meal, and she insisted that she would pay him back. She didn't want to be a burden, and she had the opportunity now to bring in income through the sale of her maps and artwork.

In any case, they left the city and the argument behind, wandering toward the Falling. It was a breathtaking landscape, with steep cliffs dropping into an ocean far below. Soh paused several times just to look out over the majesty of it all, but always hurried to catch up to Tal. It seemed safer, somehow, to stay near him, even though the height of the cliffs and the threat of the water below didn't bother her.

The haunting music of the stones, carved by whales, met their ears long before they saw the rocks. She saw Tal shiver, and she placed a hand on his arm comfortingly. Ever since her run in with Jude, she'd found physical touch easier - he had comforted her with a hug, and now she hoped to convey that same support to others. "I think they're beautiful," she admitted. "Sad, but beautiful." She looked at the stones, which always seemed to bring her lingering grief to the forefront of her mind. She shook her head, banishing her sadness. "What did you say you needed them for again?"

it's just a spark, but it's enough to keep me going

Tal wasn't bothered by the heights either, though he probably should have been. Brashly confident in his own abilities, however, he moved fearlessly along the narrow path, going just slow enough that his friend could comfortably keep up with him. He was still unaware that she could shift into a winged form if she needed to, and he wanted to be close enough to catch her hand if she should slip on the rough trail.

Her presence was reassuring, too, as the singing stones lived up to their name and wailed their lonely dirge to the uncaring sky. He glanced to Soh with a quirk of a smile for the contact and reached across to place his other hand atop hers, squeezing lightly in silent gratitude. "Yeah? I guess it prob'ly grows on you... or it drives y'crazy. Either one." Ever the poet, Tal tried to shake off the unnerving sounds and spied a singing stone within reach of the trail. He tugged Soh over to it and freed his hands to draw his Dagger and a bottle of oil.

"I'm gettin' an extra blessin' on my Dagger," he explained, finding a smooth section in the whale-worn stone that was nearly flat and pouring some oil onto it. "From Frey. I gotta do a couple o' things first, though. One of 'em is sharpenin' it on a singin' stone." He began to strop the knife slowly but deftly at an angle over the rock, pushing a little puddle of oil with the blade until it ran down the side of the stone and he had to pour on some more. "Y'ever sharpen a blade before?" he asked her curiously, uncertain about what her guardian had and hadn't taught her before they died.

Sohalia

Soh followed along willingly as Tal tugged her closer to one of the stones, and listened with interest as he described his quest. "An extra blessing?" she asked. "What does the dagger already do?" She watched as Tal poured some oil on the singing stone and began to run the blade along the rock. She wasn't sure exactly what he was doing until he said he was sharpening the blade.

"To be honest, I've never really even held a dagger before - unless you count a knife when eating a meal," she admitted, flushing with embarrassment, as though she was somehow lacking for her disinterest in violence. Her guardian had always kept her sheltered from physical violence, including the art of self-defense - which, Soh thought ruefully, was probably a mistake, in retrospect.

it's just a spark, but it's enough to keep me going

Tal paused at her question, only then realizing that she'd never seen him use the magical blade before. He took the chance to pour a few more drops of oil on the rock before he continued the steady, practiced motion of pushing the steel edge across it. "Shit, guess I never showed you," he admitted ruefully. "It's kind of a secret weapon. It looks like a fancy knife, right? But I can use it to stab things with it that are pretty far away. Means I can stay out of reach and hit anythin' comin' at me before they can hit me." His boasting had a moment's hesitation as he added with reluctant honesty: "Hopefully."

He went back to his work on the stone, eyes fully on the Dagger though his ears were open to Soh's words. Tal cleared his throat a little self-consciously as he nodded to his hands. "Y'don't want t'sharpen it too often," he explained. "An' you usually don't need t'sharpen magic ones at all. But since Frey asked..." Realizing he was rambling he swallowed what he was going to say next and paused to add a little more oil. "Put water or oil on the stone, an' tilt the blade about twenty degrees. Always push it away from you - safer that way.  Y'can hone it dry, but wet is better."

Sohalia

Soh tilted her head, her lips twitching with mirth at Tal's curse. She'd never been one to use profanity herself - not that it bothered her. Auden had just never used it, so she'd never really learned. She watched the blade as Tal sharpened it, pressing it smoothly along the stone. "That's interesting," she said of the blade. "It certainly sounds useful." She pondered its uses for a moment, lost in thought. If she were far enough away to use such a dagger, she wasn't sure she wouldn't just shift and flee. But then, she'd never really been in a position to be forced to fight before.

She listened as Tal explained what he was doing, soaking up the knowledge like a sponge. She never knew what she might end up needing one day, and it mightn't be a bad idea to pick up a dagger before she went off on her next adventure, just in case. And if she had a dagger, she would need to know how to care for it. She was quiet for a moment, watching and listening, and after he'd finished explaining, the silence stretched on.

"Do you... do you think you could teach me about blades, maybe?" she asked finally, hesitantly. Quickly and succinctly, she explained what had happened with the Ceffly Dwr and Deimos, and how if it wasn't for the monster hunter, that she might have died that day in the Oerwoud. "It's just, I don't want to be unprepared again. I can't rely on someone else to show up and save me. It's why I wanted to train to begin with, in case I ever run into trouble that I can't just fly away from."

it's just a spark, but it's enough to keep me going

"It's come in handy a few times," he agreed with a grin, half-boasting -- but only half. The knife had saved his life before, and the lives of others thanks to its special properties. He slipped into his explanation of sharpening easily from there, happy to share his knowledge with a friend who listened as politely as Soh did. When he finished and she said nothing he didn't seem to mind. If anything, he was comfortable in the silence that was broken only by the haunting music of the rocks and the quiet scrape of steel over oiled stone.

The courier's nose wrinkled at the mention of the Warden but he kept his thoughts locked behind his teeth as he lifted the blade to examine the edge. Nodding in satisfaction, he turned the weapon and began to sharpen the other side when he realized his gesture would probably be taken as a response to Soh's request. "Uh-- I mean, yeah, of course I'd be happy t-- wait, did you say 'fly?'" He paused in honing the blade to turn his head to look at her in surprise.

Sohalia

Sohalia watched the knife with interest, wondering what it must be like to wield such a powerful weapon. She wasn't sure she'd like it. She was a peaceful person, and the thought of needing to resort to violence made her shudder. Still, she'd seen for herself that sometimes it was necessary to ensure one's safety - or, she supposed, the safety of others. If her loved ones were in trouble, would she hesitate to protect them through any means necessary? It was a troubling thought, and Soh pushed it aside, uncomfortable with the answer.

When Tal looked back at her in confusion, Soh stared right back, wracking her brains. Surely she'd told him that she was Attuned after he'd helped her with her fear of skyships? But she couldn't recall having done so, and his obvious surprise confirmed it. She looked away, suddenly sheepish. "Oh, I - I'm Attuned. My shift is a snowy owl," she explained. "At first I didn't say anything because it sounded so stupid, me being able to fly but being afraid of skyships, but then it just never came up, I guess." She peered up from beneath her lashes, suddenly nervous that her omission of this information might cause a problem. She valued her friendship with Tal more than she could describe, and to lose it over something so silly - well, she hoped it wouldn't come to that.

it's just a spark, but it's enough to keep me going

Tal squinted at his friend as she refused to meet his eyes, but he waited for her to explain what she'd meant. Sure, he had an inkling... On Caido that sort of thing was pretty common for Attuned, after all, but there was always the chance it was a magic item or some other reason.

His first guess turned out to be correct but before he could get his own feathers ruffled her explanation made him open his mouth... and then close it again with a click.

Well, shit. He was all too familiar with not bringing something up because he was embarrassed about it. It was Tal's turn to look away, turning back to the stone to continue his sharpening as he cleared his throat to buy himself time. "Uh... well. S'not like y'have t'say anythin' about... what you are..." he mumbled awkwardly. "I mean... I'm just a boring ol' Accepted. Um. What... were we talkin' about, again?" he asked, desperately seeking a distraction from his own tripping tongue.

Sohalia

"You're not boring!" Soh exclaimed, offended on behalf of her friend. "There's absolutely nothing wrong with being Accepted." Say what you like about her - that didn't really matter. But insult her friends? Absolutely not - especially if it was negative self-talk. But despite her outburst, she wilted quickly. "Anyway, I probably should've mentioned it before now. I'm sorry," she said, ignoring the awkwardness to try to repair the little rift between them.

In any case, Tal didn't seem to hold it against her - or, at the very least, he seemed to desperately want a way out of the conversation - so she shrugged off the moment of embarrassment. "Knives?" she said helpfully. "I was saying that I'd like to know more about them. If you wouldn't mind, that is."

it's just a spark, but it's enough to keep me going

For most of Caido what Soh said was true. Certainly in the Hollowed Grounds Accepted and Attuned had been favored by both society and the gods (and the link there had been undeniable) for as long as the Barrier had held, and some habits died hard. But Tal was a child of Halo, where Abandoned magic had provided an edge in a world where the gods were silent, and Attuned senses made for hunters no mere Accepted could match. The world had turned, and changed, but a lifetime's worth of envy didn't wash away in a single year or even three, and Tal had to duck his head against the flush that threatened to redden his ears and neck at his friend's staunch defense.

"I... thanks, Soh," he mumbled, abashed and not sure how to respond with any grace. At least her apology was something he knew what to do with and he shook his head sharply before focusing on the knife once more. Skirrr. Skirrr, went the blade over the stone. "Y'got nothin' t'be sorry for."

Knives? Knives! His shoulders eased and his expression lightened though he kept his eyes on his work. "Yeah! We can do some trainin' after this, if y'want?" He lifted his Dagger to inspect both edges and nodded in satisfaction. "I'm pretty much done here. D'you have any butter knives back at your place? We can use those for practicin'." Better than risking an accidental slice with a real weapon!

Sohalia

Awkwardness passed by, and Soh turned to other topics. As Tal continued to sharpen his dagger, Soh looked on. She'd never really considered knives as weapons for herself before, nor did she really think she'd carry one, even if she knew how to properly use them. Still, it couldn't hurt, and any physical activity would be good for her training. Surely there were things about knife fighting that could translate to other types of self-defense.

So she nodded. "After this would be great! I do have butter knives. I think there's enough space in the shop to practice, if we shift some of the furniture out of the way, too." She waited patiently for Tal to finish, and then led the way home.

-FIN-

it's just a spark, but it's enough to keep me going