[Training] Keep the faith

He was stillness to her motion; a steady glacier to her dancing flame. She soaked in information and clues like a sponge and he shared what he knew when prompted, though he spent each word like a clam parting with a pearl. Not with reluctance, but with a care and precision that recognized the consequences of each word that he loosed into the world, and the dangers that might come from them.

Hadama tilted his head in a slow, graceful motion, considering Maea's willingness to change the subject. In the end, however, there was too much value in gaining a new perspective on the dangers facing them for the Tidebreaker to turn away from the topic of the void-touched. Her questions that followed, for example, were ones that had him pausing to think deeply before offering a slight shake of his head.

"Hmm. I have not heard of that," he admitted slowly. "Many are dangerous to be near. They have an... aura. Cold. Frightening. Corrupting. And the chance of an accidental injury is too high. I will not endanger my people for curiosity." He inclined his head to her in respect, but quiet determination. "The potential good is great. But the risks are currently greater."

MAEA

The quiet refusal to pursue her line of thought gave the former Loreseeker pause. She wondered whether Jigano would have ever taken such a firm stance; recollection of the descent into the Spire, and later exploration into Whitebrim suggested his hunger for knowledge had been greater than self preservation. Or indeed care for others. He must have rubbed off on her more than she'd realized; Hadama in contrast was very sensible and honorable and she found it quite vexing.

"Ah. Well, as a leader it would be worrysome if you would." Maea smiled, shrugging lightly."I don't mind looking into it on my own. That way no one else will be at risk, and the potential losses insignificant." Picking at a fraying hem, she considered how an experiment might best be set up. She would need void creatures, of course, but also untainted ones, and a location away from people. Wine spiders came to mind; they were small enough to transport, and easy to deal with if they were corrupted... "Mmhm, should be able to find out a fair few things, like the speed of corruption, at which point healing stops working, and whether the taint spreads between flora and fauna freely or through damage only..."

Her expression was growing rather eager, utterly lacking in concern for her own safety.

Lost in a world full of non-believers
Searching for smoke in a still water pond

BASE INSPIRED BY ODD <3

Hadama had lived below the waves during the era of the Loreseekers, unaware of the landfolk scholars and their voracious appetite for answers to every question on Caido and beyond. The Tidebreaker was curious; curious enough to come to the surface when his journeyman training was done and learn of the humans who had long been either bogeymen or targets of ridicule for many Mer, but he was cautious, too. And that caution had only increased when he became a King and took on the responsibility for an entire region.

He inclined his head in acceptance of Maea's comment on his leadership, but as she continued he tilted his jaw, emerald gaze fixing thoughtfully on the pale Ancient. He did not interrupt as she fell into thought, and her spoken plans began to spin out like the webs of the spiders she contemplated studying.

Only when she trailed off did he finally speak, his voice a low rumble in the quiet of the Temple's reverent atmosphere. "How do you measure the significance of the risks? And potential losses?" he asked, his regard a solemn weight in the candlelight.

MAEA

Maea glanced sideways at the King, unsure how to interpret his tone. Too much a stranger, even with how easily she could speak around him, she had no key of experience to measure his moods against. Turning back to her scrutiny of the ceiling, her response came out flat and perhaps a touch too honest to be entirely polite.

"Hm. In collective pain and grief, I suppose. How many will be inconvenienced, and what would the repercussions be for anyone who had to deal with the aftermath of a mishap." There was a crass logic to her tone, and a detachment over the expression on her face that stood at odds with the care Hadama had expressed for his people.
"I am not strong, so taking me down if I was infected would likely noy be difficult, and since I have no family or close friends, no one would mourn overly much if I didn't make it. Limiting the number of people involved in the project would ensure that no one else suffered, too." Considering it all like she was scrutinizing a test paper, Maea nodded to herself, content with the conclusion.

"I would say that the potential discoveries far exceed the risks. Not to mention, I would be spending my time on something useful." Fangs glinted in the diffused light as she grinned softly, feeling excitement mount in the face of the work ahead; not unlike the thrill of balancing on a cliff's edge. It would be a lie to say the risk didn't make it more interesting.

Lost in a world full of non-believers
Searching for smoke in a still water pond

BASE INSPIRED BY ODD <3

Given that he dealt with Kaiden on a regular basis, Maea had a very high bar indeed to come across as 'impolite' in comparison. If her bluntness offended him he gave no indication, simply watching quietly as she answered his question with a clinical precision. His expression remained serenely stoic, but his gaze had sharpened as they spoke and some of his weariness had fallen away. He took his time with his response to her bleak summary of her reasoning, treating it with due respect, regardless of whether he agreed with her conclusions.

"Mmn. It is your decision," he agreed at last, inclining his head in acknowledgment of her autonomy. "Though I have found Ancients to be formidable training partners." Edmund was certainly an excellent sparring partner and worthy of respect for his ferocity in battle.

He was silent for a few minutes, thinking through what she had said before he tilted his head at her in invitation, indicating first his trident and then the door leading back outside. "Would you show me your skills?"

MAEA

It was indeed her choice to make, and Hadama rose a fair few notches in her esteem by not trying to stop her. Having half expected some form of objection or protest, Maea was actually surprised by the taciturn lack of cautions. Surprised... but pleased, and visibly so.

A pale brow rose at the shift in the conversation from science to combat skills. It wasn't every day kings invited her to spar, especially not on the steps of a cathedral. She didn't doubt that someone would find reasons to object to such conduct - which, considering her current mood, meant she absolutely couldn't decline.
"Not sure what you're expecting... but I don't mind," she replied. "I just hope my lacking skills won't lower your thoughts of my kin." It hadn't been very long since Deimos showed her how much she had yet to learn, so Maea didn't have to feign the humility. Even so, she liked training. It was relaxing, one of few chances she got to still the thoughts clamouring in her mind; her expression brightened with the invitation and the flashed the merman a bright smile as the bounced to her feet.

Picking up her boots, Maea carried them in one hand as she sidled out of the pew. Waiting for Hadama to join her, she balked at the height difference between them as they made their way outside but said nothing - being the shorter one was par for the course in her experience. The night had faded into the were hours during their conversation, yet the moonlight remained slmost blinding after so long indoors. The paved square in front of the cathedral was large, and people still moved back and forth despite the late hour, minding their business; casting a look around for any Dragoons, the Ancient shrugged and turned to face Hadam, spade tipped tail swishing lazily about her legs.

"Sure this is the place you want to choose?" Last chance to change his mind; any embarrassment would soon become a very public affair.

Lost in a world full of non-believers
Searching for smoke in a still water pond

BASE INSPIRED BY ODD <3

She was not of his people or his region and Hadama was aware that he had no right to stop her, or to protest any experiments that occurred outside of Torchline. Issues of regional rights and sovereignty had been a cause for some political furor before Starfall, though they had largely faded under the slew of newer and more immediately dangerous problems.

Which was not to say that he approved of her plans. Only that he knew better than to try and stop them.

Emerald eyes gleamed with interest and perhaps some amusement as he placed a hand over his heart and gave her a small bow from his seat as she agreed to his proposition. Her kin were indeed safe from any repercussions or changes of opinion. In truth, though he had come seeking religious solace tonight a light spar would prove a distraction and balm of a different but no less worthwhile kind.

He swung his legs out of the pew and used his trident to help himself stand, It was hard not to loom over the petite ancient, but Hadama was not ashamed of his height. He followed, slow but steady, as they made their way outside. If he was surprised at how busy it still was at the late hour he didn't show it. Instead he gave a single nod and led the way off to the side so they wouldn't block the Temple's entrance. Once they were out of the way of any late-night parishioners he lifted his trident into a defensive position, though his stance below the waist was almost awkwardly stiff.

"Indeed. Come at me if you are ready."

MAEA

In all honesty, Maea knew that if anyone was to embarrass themselves tonight it would likely be her. She hoped to avoid it though, and the nightly pedestrian traffic would be a good reminder to pay attention and avoid silly mistakes. Besides, if she couldn't fight because someone was looking at her, there were far bigger issues to deal with than bad form.

"Alright then. Let's have some fun."

Pale hands scarred by fire reached in beneath the coat and produced a curious weapon. The edge of the chakram glowed with heat in the moonlight as Maea set it to spinning around a finger. Flashing Hadama a playful smile, she approached him cautiously and began to circle around him, choosing to move towards his off hand side so that he would have to turn to keep her in view. Not above using his disadvantage against him, she faked throwing the spinning disc at him a few times, catching it at the last moment then making it spin again - all the while watching how he reacted, the way he moved, looking for openings.

"Have you ever tried dancing?" she asked casually - and lunged forward with the chakram flashing, spinning edge attempting to slice into the arm nearest to her, wary of the extended reach the trident offered but bold enough to try her luck anyway.

Lost in a world full of non-believers
Searching for smoke in a still water pond

BASE INSPIRED BY ODD <3

Magic items might have been common place among the Accepted and Attuned of Stormbreak but personal magic, magic generally associated with Abandoned, was a new and not necessarily comfortable phenomenon to the people here. Hadama stepped out onto the street, surprised at how bustling it still was at the late hour. He had expected them to be mostly alone, but there were enough citizens wandering about that he held up his hand in silent request for Maea to wait.

He considered the problem for a moment before pointing to the ground with his trident. Water gathered at the tip, manifested and controlled by his own magic, but it seemed as if it were guided by the weapon as he paced a large circle around the area he and Maea had chosen. Ice spiked upwards as the water froze and stretched upwards to create a crystalline barricade in the moonlight. He returned to his starting point and nodded at the Ancient. "To the call of yield. Or to being knocked out of the ring," he set as the conditions for victory and loss. In the meantime, the barricade would keep bystanders from wandering too close to their combat.

The ring was plenty large enough for them both to move around within it, and as Maea set her chakram to spinning Hadama considered the weapon's movements, studying it curiously as she circled and he slowly turned with her, the trident held still and at an angle before him, pointing towards Maea all the while.

She was not his first opponent to use conversation alongside her weapons, and the Tidebreaker's habit of not immediately answering stood him in good stead, as he was not trying to speak when she lunged. He stepped back and twisted, not light on his feet but neither was he unbalanced as he pulled his arm out of her reach and swung the trident more like a staff in an attempt to knock her outstretched arm with the haft of his weapon. "No," he replied then, simple and conserving his energy for the fight, though there was a flicker of amusement in emerald eyes.

MAEA

Eying the icy barrier Hadama set up around them, Maea felt a pang of loss mingled with no small amount of jealousy. Once, she had been able to do that, too. And while she held hope that the spark within her might still exist, it was difficult to accept that some things were forever lost to her.

Swallowing the dark mood, hiding behind the airy grin and banter that wasn't quite her usual style, Maea caught the chakram as it bounced off the trident and quickly backed up to avoid the return smack of the haft. He was quick; she couldn't entirely avoid the return and the force made her lose the grip on her dagger. It clattered off to the side, and Maea hunched down further as the found herself unarmed.

"That's too bad. You should try it sometimw - it's fun."

Keeping her body low, she dropped down and swept her leg towards the merman's feet, hoping to knock him off balance; all while furiously thinking of a way to get within the guard of that trident.

Lost in a world full of non-believers
Searching for smoke in a still water pond

BASE INSPIRED BY ODD <3

Unaware of what she had lost before her rebirth and having only met her as an Ascended - unaware at the time that she even was Ascended - Hadama was oblivious to what his use of magic might mean to her. Nor did he know her well enough to see beneath her mask of fey humor. He was not so confident in his landlegs that he could attempt to banter, even if he had been the type to do so. Instead he focused on the fight and the unfamiliar sensation of wielding his trident on land as something other than a walking staff.

Indeed, was all he rumbled in return to her suggestion--

And nearly lost sight of her as the petite woman dropped even lower. Not confident in his ability to dance - in or out of combat - or keep his balance with fancy footwork, Hadama instead stood as steady as his other moniker. The Tidebreaker slammed the butt of his trident down into the cobbles beside his leg to defend his vulnerable ankles, intending to use it to block the incoming sweep.

But at least in using it for defense, he couldn't use it to launch an attack this round.

"You are quick." he noted with approval.

Maea

And I only needed one more touch
Another taste of devouring rush

And quicker still she had to become, because no matter how pleasant it was to push her opponent into defending himself, it meant nothing if she couldn't take advantage of the opening.

So Maea didn't pause to answer to the compliment. Instead she shifted, and the form that rolled in behind Hadama and leaped up to crash into his shoulders with dangerous talons and staggering bulk was a Molten Tiger, white as moonlight and hot as Apopo itself.

She did keep the paws soft, as best she could. And even though the maw snapped for his neck, she was not about to seriously maim this man who had been kind enough to listen and take her seriously. Despite what simmering bloodlust would have her do on a bad day, Maea was no man-eater.

But the room was so quiet
Whose side am I on?

Base by Skylark, Art by Midjourney

There were times that silence was a compliment all its own. When Maea had become so focused on the fight that she could not spare energy for conversation and quips, Hadama knew that he was doing well. It was not something that he intended to dwell on, however. Their spar was still in progress, and the currents of combat could shift at any time.

Like an Ancient into a tiger, for instance.

With his trident firmly planted he was able to move more swiftly as his two-legged form became, effectively, a far more stable tripod. He pivoted around the weapon with deceptive quickness, following Maea as she attempted to roll behind him, and as the first ripple of her shape shift began to twist her limbs and stretch her skin his emerald eyes gleamed with a quiet satisfaction.

And a dome of water half a foot thick manifested around him as he dropped to a knee, flash-freezing hard and solid as he curved its surface to deflect rather than to absorb the impact of the molten tiger against it. His trident was visible flat on the ground sticking out of the shell, but the dome itself was a milky, opaque white, like a bowl of cream four feet high and wide turned upside-down on the cobbles.

Maea

And I only needed one more touch
Another taste of devouring rush

The tiger roared in dismay when her target slipped out of reach. The weight of her as she barreled into the iced dome set it to humming, a dull clamor of bells that continued as she tried several times to smash it. But the walls were thick, and the ice opaque; it was not the kind of barrier you broke with sheer force.

Very well then.

With a grunt the tiger leaped up to settle herself onto the top of the barrier. It was unpleasantly cold, and the knew it wouldn't be good to linger for too long. But sitting still had its own rewards. Soon enough, liquid metal beaded around the blued steel stripes, and little by little they sloughed off. There was an evil hiss as the cherry red metal touched the ice. Hissing and bubbling, leaving a indentation in the frozen surface, like pockmarks. Again, and again, little by little, the metal dribbled down and ate into the barrier, leaving constellations of metallic residue behind.

It would come down to endurance, if no one did anything else. Would her limbs petrify first? Would she melt the ice? Would Hadama tire of his new house and break out, or was he content to idle away the night in there?

They would find out in five, four, three, two –

But the room was so quiet
Whose side am I on?

Base by Skylark, Art by Midjourney