[Training] [SE] Destruction is a healthy coping mechanism

Sah

After finishing their investigation, Sah and Tal returned to the Citadel. It wasn't long before Sah made his way to one of Halo's training grounds to burn off some steam. Movement always aided him in processing information, and this was certainly one of those times.

Having focused on his magic the last few seasons, the Wild Thunder decided to focus on more on his swordsmanship. It had the benefit of being a more intense exercise as well. Setting up training dummies, he started with warmups before moving on to slashing the dummies apart. When they inevitably fell apart, he repaired them with his magic before beginning anew.

Talyson

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

Tal generally avoided the training grounds in the Citadel these years, but he went where the job took him.

Unfortunately, today that job was made a lot harder than usual. The snow of Snowcloak's streets was melting for the first time in... well... ever, and his usual dogsled method of moving large shipments around the city was in shambles. It left the courier grunting and swearing as he wrestled a large box down the street, pulling a wagon whose wheels were getting mired in the mud - mud!!! - of the side street that apparently hadn't been cobbled before the eternal snow had frozen it over and covered it for centuries.

Except it wasn't so eternal now, was it?

The really galling thing was that this was what he'd always dreamed of. Throwing off Eirachi's influence, healing the land from its coating of year-round ice, restoring the seasonal balance...

He just hadn't considered all the mud it would entail.

It was a very dirty courier indeed, bearing a fierce scowl, who finally wrangled the wagon into the training grounds with a groan and dropped the handle. "Anyone around t'sign for this?" he called out, trying to stay professional in the face of his grumpiness, but gods, he could bite someone right about now.

Sah

Sah had hardly noticed the mud, but it was the heat that he noticed. Build for the cold in both body and magic, the temperature spike was horrendous. He'd been using his magic to keep a breeze going through the training grounds nonstop. It helped immensely but the necessity of it was concerning.

Talyson arrived in fine form and the Wild Thunder snickered, "Want me to wash you off?" As he spoke, he slashed the dummy in front of him, causing it to split at a diagonal, "I could hose you down with some water magic while you wait for however that package is for." The other man clearly hated the mud. If the Sea of Glass warmed up, maybe they could swim in it to cool off. What a harrowing idea.

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

Oh good, Sah was there, and Tal felt a little better at realizing that he wasn't the only muddy one out and about today. At least his Cuff kept him from being uncomfortable in the unseasonably warm temperatures, so they each had one thing going for them that the other didn't. Still, he scowled at the offer in the spirit that it was given.

"Yeah, an' then I can dunk you in th'horse trough t'clean you up," he shot back. "Much as anyone can." There was a wicked glint in his eyes as he stalked forward and shoved the clipboard at the hunter. "You're usin' th'trainin' ground an' you're part o' the militia, right? That means you can sign for it. An' then we can see if you're gettin' any better yet with that fancy flamin' parin' knife y'call a sword."

Sah

Sah snickered with a shake of his head, "And risk the ire of the horses? Absolutely not." Halo's horses were as hardened as her people. The Wild Thunder wouldn't dare cross them.

His smile dropped as Tal spoke, pinching into confusion. "Since when did I enlist in the militia?" Sah didn't recall ever doing so. Did defending one's home from invaders automatically enlist you? Oops. Sheathing his sword, he walked over regardless. I took the clipboard and quickly signed it before handing it back.

Smirking over his shoulder Sah walked back towards the dummies, "Now come on, Errand Boy. And it's a lightning sword, not fire. Or are your goggles too cracked to tell?"

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

"So y'do have a smidgen o'common sense," Tal chuckled alongside Sah's desire to avoid the horses' tempers.

The courier scowled as Sah revealed that he was not, in fact, in the militia. "Figured since you're hauntin' th'trainin' grounds or barracks half th'time that y'were," he admitted, but the hunter already had the clipboard and it was too late now. Maybe he could find someone later to clear up the confusion...

Leaving the boxes next to the wall, Tal began to stretch out his arms as he ambled towards the dummies in Sah's wake, snorting at the comeback. "Hey now, don't go insultin' Safrin's best work!" he protested. "Never thought I'd be defendin' Her honor from you of all people!" Pulling out his Dagger he flipped a quick cut towards the belt of Sah's pants while he was still fifteen feet away. He immediately rolled up onto his toes, ready to dodge whatever steel or magic came his way.

Sah

Sah's head snapped around and he leveled Talyson with a look of ice, "Do not presume that my comment about your recklessness and irresponsible tendencies to be doubt in my Goddess's capabilities." From where Pad sat nearby, the dark wolf let out a deep snarl in an echo of his bonded's rage. Lilly pinned her ears back and grabbed her brother's scruff to stop him from leaping forward.

Because of his focus on the courier, Sah was able to twist and dodge the knife so that it only grazed him. Reaching out a hand he sent a wave of telekinesis and air magic at Tal in an effort to shove the courier back and off of his feet.

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

Tal - who had proven on more than one occasion that he had a talent for finding just the wrong words and fitting his entire foot in his mouth - had known he was pushing a button, and was ready for Sah's explosion.

He just hadn't expected his frenemy to take it so personally.

He was on his toes and ready to dodge the moment he saw the other man's hand come up, slipping to the side of the forceful gust that only ruffled his hair with its passage. He was disappointed in his own attack's lack of connection but only until the flare of annoyance lit beneath his ribs at Sah's words.

"Hey! She's not just your goddess," he snapped, stung. "I've been prayin' t'her a lot longer than you have!" He glowered and shifted back, feet moving lightly over the muddy slush of the training grounds as he struggled not to slip in the unseasonable muck. "An' nothin' she makes could break that easy. I've got faith in her gifts, at least." His Dagger flicked out again from a distance of nearly thirty feet, it's tip feinting for Sah's hip again before its invisible force sliced up in a shallow diagonal cut along the hunter's shirt towards his shoulder.

Sah

Sah barred his teeth as the courier successfully dodged his magic, "And yet, only one of us has actually sworn loyalty to her if I recall correctly." He tilted his head, "Tell me, Talyson, what god are you praying to now?" The Accepted had visited every herald at least once to his knowledge. And yet he dared to question Sah's loyalty?

The Outlander shook his head at the notion of any item, god-crafted or not, being invincible. "Naive." It was obvious to him that Talyson had never watched a god die. Caught up in his anger, Sah moved to dodge the dagger. Although he caught on to the change in direction at the last moment, the mud slowed his twist. The blade cut a clean slice in his shirt much to Sah's irritation. In retaliation, he tapped his heel against the ground and channeled his earth and water magic. Sending his energy through the mud he attempted to have it reach up and grasp the courier by the ankles and pull him off his feet.

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

"O' course you had to," Tal scowled. "You came through one o' th'Voice's portals. Prayed t'other gods, back elsewhere. Y'had somethin' t'prove t'the Old Gods. An' Safrin most of all. I've always been Theirs. Safrin's as much as t'others." From Safrin to Ludo and Vi to Rae, Tal had never questioned his faith in the gods, even when the Barrier had made the heralds a true matter of faith for those outside it.

It was true that Tal had never seen his gods die. Maybe because they were made of sterner stuff than distant outlander gods or ambitious mortals with delusions of grandeur and a good PR department (or at least, that was what he had always believed). He just scoffed at the insult Sah hurled at him, but when the hunter's feet tapped the ground the courier burst into motion, dancing back as the weird Flowerbirth mud shifted stickily beneath where his feet had been. It was thick, goopy stuff with the thaw happening, and Sah's magic wasn't quite as fast as Talyson's dodge.

Since the hunter was using his feet to attack, Tal feinted high and then flicked his dagger's next cut downwards, intending to sever the laces of one of Sah's boots if the invisible blade of force connected.

Sah

"Which means you didn't choose them, just acknowledged them. And you can't even commit! How fickler can your loyalty be?" Loyalty was earned and actively given. One that had to be accepted just as Safrin had accepted the Wild Thunder's oath. It was a choice. Sah's loyalty was not passively agreed upon by fate.

If Tal had spoken out loud his thoughts on the Gods of Sah's original words, this anger-fueled spar would have turned into a true fight. He may not serve Mune anymore, but Sah would never accept such disrespect about the Goddess who helped raise him. His anger only intensified as Tal dodged once more, the mud thicker than he anticipated.

Even in his rage, the Abandoned refrained from calling upon lightning or fire. Sah would never use such destructive force out of anger on an ally. Never. Not even if they questioned his loyalty or greatly insulted him as Talyson seemed determined to continue doing. Suppressing such anger led to him screwing his eyes in focus, stopping him form having the time to dodge properly and his shoelace was cut. Snapping his eyes open he flicked his wrist and sent a wave of telekinetic power down on the courier in an effort to slam him into the ground.

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

"'Course I chose!" Tal huffed. "Y'don't know what it was like, afore th'Barrier fell. Safrin an' th' rest? Hadn't been seen in hundreds o' years! Choosin' t'have faith in someone who doesn't answer's a lot harder'n showin' your belly t'the first one who does!"

They were both mad, Tal no less than Sah at the constant barrage of insults going back and forth between them. The courier might have had plenty more to say, but the physical aspect of the fight that accompanied their verbal lashes carried on, and there was only so much breath and time between exchanges of blows. Tal paused a moment to savor the way Sah was looking, sporting several careful cuts in his gear from the courier's blade, but hubris was ever the catalyst for the fall.

Literally, this time. He saw the flick of the hunter's wrist and started to jump back but he reacted a heartbeat too late. The invisible wall of force hit hard and slammed him down into the mud with a yowl like a scalded cat, all indignation and wounded pride that turned to a yelp of pain as he landed badly on his other wrist. Something cracked as the wall of telekinetic force continued to press down and Tal lashed out blindly with his dagger from the ground, hoping to catch the hunter a shallow graze on his arm that would break his concentration.

Sah

Sah's jaw clenched so tightly it popped, "The first? You ignorant little shit. Do I look like an Ascended hybrid to you? Because before I declared myself for the Old Gods, I had an open invitation from the Voice herself to Ascend!" Showing his 'belly to the first'. Bullshit. Snarling his voice rose, "Do you think my loyalty is so easily won?!" Sah had never been so enraged with Talyson before now.  Even in all of their past arguments and insults, the fury he felt at this moment put them all to shame.

The sound of a crack shocked Sah out of the worst of his anger, "Fuck." Still furious he lessened the downward pressure, he tried to use his telekinesis and air magic to pull Tal to him. At the same time, the Wild Thunder stalked forward, easily dodging Tal's attack. There was no denying that the Wild Thunder was still furious, but this was still a spar and he worried that he'd gone too far.

Having had enough, Lilly let out a sharp bark, one paw on Pad's back to stop her equally furious brother from racing forward. She knew better than to race into the midst of a magic fight, but the silver wolf was at her wit's end with the idiocy of the two boys. Glancing at Boreal she hoped her friend caught onto her plan.

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

"Everyone had an invitation from th'Voice, idiot. She was that desperate for bodies, 'specially with th'War comin' on," Tal shot back, clearly unimpressed at the claim, though in any other circumstance he might have been proud of the hunter for turning the mortal-goddess down. At the moment he was too mad to feel more than frustration that Sah was being a fool.

And then he went down hard, and now he was mad and hurting, and the courier let out a wordless growl as he started to push himself up, holding his injured wrist against his chest. He had petty hope that Sah's shoelace, cut loose in a previous round, would trip the other man into the mud with him, but before he could worry about his next attack he had something bigger to contend with.

Boreal had been watching the boys from the roof, but she leaped down in a heavy glide to join the wolves, turning her head to sniff Pad's ear and distract him from the high emotions of their humans. Lilly was far more used to boys being boys and Boreal met her friend's look with pale, amused eyes. It was time for cooler heads to step in, that gaze seemed to say.

With a wicked hint of: But since we're the only ones here, we'll do it our way.

There was no joyful carol of intent this time as Boreal leaped ahead silently, shamelessly using her wings to scoop the air and give her a little speed so she would hit Sah high in the shoulders to try and knock him to the ground, where the helpful dragon could begin enthusiastically washing his face with her tongue, chortling happily to herself as she gave him the same love and affection she usually reserved for Tal.

Tal she entrusted to Lilly's care, attention, and full weight, knowing that her human would never harm the wolf, or try to get a parting shot in at Sah while Boreal was in the way.