[Training] Who am I without my armor?

MAEA

"Mhm, that would make anyone bulk up," she agreed. Having put her weight against that same rudder and tillar, Maea had never felt more like a featherweight. "Most people - men especially - have this swagger about them when they know themselves to be strong. That's why I was surprised. You don't really do that..." Which made sense if it was a recent development. She was not displeased. Having friends who were stronger than herself meant she didn't have to worry about them - and it gave her plenty of reasons to keep working on herself.

Stretching out on the ground, Maea listened to Tal's explanation, nodding the sense of trading any weapon for a god-forged one.

"Hm? Ah, I'm... not sure." Pulling the chakram from the belt, she offered it to Tal ut he wanted to have a look. "Remember the person who tried to kill me? I took that as a keepsake from her... I've figured out how to use it, but I've thought about getting something with more range. Maybe a bow... Close range is risky for someone my size. You have to be really quick and agile to compensate for reach and strength."

She recalled her spar with Hotaru; a prime example on someone who did the close quarter fighting really well. Better than fancy kicks, at least; even if they were satisfying and good to practice with, actual combat was too messy most of the time.

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Tal grinned at Maea's agreement since she'd wrestled with the Peregrine herself, but it faded to a rare expression of thoughtfulness as she explained her observations. "Huh... guess I never really though o'it like that..." Indeed, the courier had a tendency to hunch in on himself, making himself smaller when under stress, and he was skittish at the best of times. Too many years spent being bullied or running like hail to avoid fights he couldn't win...

Just because things were different now didn't mean the habits of a lifetime changed overnight.

He reached for the offered chakram, taking it gingerly and turning it around with care as he tried to figure out how it worked. "Huh. Th'Fae lady?" he murmured, thinking back to their first conversation amid the flowers of Mourn. Chakrams were definitely exotic as far as he was concerned, and he handed it back after just a few moments, clearly puzzled by the weapon. "Bow's're good," he agreed. "An' you've got your kicks if someone gets too close t'shoot. That's why I went with th'Dagger like I did. I wanted somethin' like a spear, t'keep enemies way th'fuck back." His lips twitched towards a rueful smile. "Frey pointed out that a Dagger that could do that magically was a lot less obvious, an' a lot easier t'carry around. I can still stab at things from a distance without gettin' too close, but if somethin' does charge all up into my space, then I can still use it like a regular knife."

He shrugged and paused in his scratching of Boreal's back until she grumbled and shifted to nudge him with her wing until he resumed. "Does your spinny thing have any magic powers?"

MAEA

"Yes, her. Nephele, was her name." Saying the name summoned her image and left the petite woman staring into the distance, brooding over the past. Accepting the weapon back to her hand, she put it away and rolled over on her back. The rock was cold beneath her sweat-dampened shirt, but she let the numbness seep slowly into her limbs as the listened to Tal. It seemed a fitting punishment. No more than a murderer deserved.

"Frey seems to be a sensible Herald," she hummed. "This one only burns when it cuts. I suppose it would be possible to improve it..." But she would like to finish the armor first. One step closer, she ticked off the steps on her fingers and allowed herself a grin. Almost done.

"Thank you. For sparring with me. Can we do it again some time? Mayve when my own armor is ready..." By then she would make sure to have an answer for Talyson's quest, too.

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He slid a glance over towards Maea as she took back her weapon and settled down onto the stony strand. It was still weird to think about the petite woman killing anyone, but hail, defending herself against an attacker out for blood wasn't really murder in his eyes. The experience had clearly affected her, however, and after a moment he looked away, leaving her to her own ideas of penance and working hard to keep the conversation going as if nothing had gotten briefly weird about it.

"Yeah, I like 'em a lot," he agreed on the topic of Frey, and then nodded amiable agreement to the idea of improving the chakram. "Seems like a good fit for your fire magic?" he offered, a little uncertain if she would agree. "Or is it gettin' t'be too much fire?" There was that whole 'too much of a good thing' saying...

Her grin was a relief when he glanced over again, and her request was a lot easier to meet with a grin of his own. "You bet! An' maybe y'can help me out th'next time I'm gettin' my Dagger improved, too?" It was always nice to have people to rely on for quest tasks.

Even if it was weird to realize that he had people in his life now that he did rely on, no longer the grumpy lone wolf who spent more time with dogs than humans and tried to do everything by himself.

MAEA

A quiet huff of amusement accompanied her little jostle of the head. Horns scrape against rock, limiting her range of movement. "No such thing as too much fire," she assured him, with a rather Ancient looking grin.

"Of course," she readily agreed; feeling better when offered a trade she could easily accept. "Just say the word. It's what friends are for." Shifting around a bit, she tried propping her head against Boreal instead, like the dragon was a pillow. "Where are you headed now? Back to the Grounds, or somewhere else?"

If he passed by a settlement on the way she might just catch a ride. The sun was passing zenith and while it would be bright for a while longer, the same could not be said for the warmth.

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Tal grinned back at the Ancient at his side as Boreal rumbled her approval of the sentiment, even if she didn't fully understand the words. As a once-and-future Halovian, he also had a fine appreciation for the flammable things in life. "Agreed!"

And it was nice to have something they could barter without being bogged down by his shrine quest. He hadn't realized how much of a touchy subject it was going to be among the Ancients... which was probably why Frey had tasked him with talking to them about it. So far no one had said 'no' but no one had said 'yes' either, making things... well, awkward as hail. Being able to talk with Maea again, at least for a little while, without the weight of it felt really good.

But something she said caught his attention, and a faint warmth threatened to pink his neck and ears. He ducked his head, but given their current angles - him sitting up and her lying down - it probably wouldn't hide the shy smile of pleasure that tugged at his mouth. "Is that what we are now?" he asked, a flicker of hesitance in his words. "Friends?"

Boreal was perfectly happy to be used as a pillow, shifting in turn to curl her warm bulk around the Ancient and snorfling at Maea's hand before letting out a large, contented sigh. Tal snorted and shifted his scratching to one of her wing joints as he contemplated his friend's question. "Mm. Grounds first," he decided. "Gotta check the courier station an' see if anyone's dropped off anythin' new. Might as well stay th'night at this point, an' get an early start t'Stormbreak in th'mornin'. Th'winds get a bit wild this time o' year, an' I hate droppin' anchor in th'Feverlands any more times'n I have to." He grimaced, giving an unhappy shake of his head. "Have y'been there before?"

MAEA

The dragon was warm, countering the chill of the wind and the stone. With Boreal's heart and breath counting out a slow rhythm in her ears, and the sighing waves of the sea, and Tal's low voice to form the topline, it made for a pleasant lullaby that might have put her to sleep, given half a chance. Well fed, exercised and entertained - she made for a pretty easy to handle companion, she mused.

Only, the hesitance in the Messenger's tone had her look over, wondering if she'd said something wrong. It probably wasn't very friend like of her to make him wait for an answer regarding the shrine, after all, and they really hadn't known each other that long. But still... "I mean... I hope so? I'd like to be... "

He kept talking about the weather, but Maea couldn't quite move on yet. Had to know first if she had completely misunderstood their relation.

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The confirmation brought the grin back in earnest to the courier's face as he finally relaxed enough to glance over at Maea with a firm nod. "Yeah, I would, too. So I guess that means we are, right?" Boreal gave a lazy snort of fond exasperation for her clumsy human, but she was far too comfortable to move any further than that. Tal just tugged teasingly at her wing, turning his grin on his companion. "Oh, don't you start!"

He cleared his throat self-consciously, thinking back to when they'd met... back in Flowerbirth, two seasons ago already. They'd known each other half a year, been on a few adventures, put a spirit to rest and were investigating the awful void stuff together. So... yeah. He trusted her to help him out, and he didn't mind helping her out, which was pretty much what friends were, yeah?

MAEA

You would think she'd confessed her undying love or something, the way he fumbled with words. Amused, and no small bit relieved, Maea let her head fall back against Boreal.
"As long as we're clear," she drawled, just shy of a chuckle.

"And yes, I've been to the Feverlands. Between my being brought back from the dead, and the war, I spent a lot of time there. It suited my state of mind quite well." Lots of death and gloom and soggy clothes that an Ascended wouldn't feel or care too much about. "Fortunately a friend convinced me to brood somewhere else... or I might be there still." Maea's expression softened at the memory; even if the conversation with Harper hadn't been too kindly the impact of it on her state of mind had been profound.

"Do you plan on going home anytime soon? Home home, I mean." To Halo, or King's End, or wherever he felt more rooted.

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He relaxed at her chuckle, relieved to have that sorted. They were friends, then. Officially. And it felt good to have it cleared up and set out in plain words, so he wouldn't hem and haw and make things unnecessarily awkward with his uncertainties.

Tal had done his share of brooding, pouting, and running away from his problems, but his nose wrinkled in reluctant sympathy at the thought of problems so bad they drove someone to the swamp. "That sucks," he offered succinctly, with his usual tact in an attempt to be supportive. "I'm glad y'left! I hate that fuckin' place. Between it an' Hak Etme it's a close tossup for 'Caido's armpit." Though the Feverlands probably won that contest on the technicality of being more humid.

Her question had him scratching under his chin, brow wrinkling thoughtfully. "Well... yeah, I really need to, after this next delivery run 'round th'horn." South to Stormbreak, then west to Torchline, north to Halo, and east to King's End again... "Sunjata asked me t'build a road in King's End. He's hopin' t'get more people t'move there. An' I want t'spend more time with Alys," he added shyly, dropping his hand to rub Boreal's back again, causing a happy rumble to vibrate through the dragon's ribs. "What about you? What's your next big plan?"

MAEA

It had sucked, indeed. Lacking eloquence aside, Maea could only agree with the sentiment. It was not a time in her life she enjoyed dwelling on, but unfortunately it lay too close in her mind to avoid entirely.
"Mmh, I don't know... Hak Etme sounds like a warm and cozy place," she objected, teasing him gently. "Do you ever take that route from Halo to the Greatwood?" It was a place largely unexplored to her, and she was admittedly curious.

Somehow she managed not to scowl at the mention of Sunjata. Determined to lay that chapter of her life behind her, Maea considered whether a road really would be enough to make people leave established regions for the Wilds. She was about to say something about it, when Tal dropped a name that sounded vaguely familiar. Not to mention... Was he blushing?

"Ooh, is that so!" she grinned, and wriggled around until she lay on her stomach. Waving her feet in the air, Maea propped her chin up with a hand and granted her newly minted friend with her full attention. "Never mind me, tell me about this Alys. Who is she?"

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Tal stuck his tongue out at Maea when she called Hak Etme 'warm and cozy,' then wrinkled his nose in distaste for the region. "Y'mean dry an' sandy an' dusty an' infested with landsharks," he grumped back, though he was fighting not to grin at her teasing. "An' yeah, sometimes. Not many people live there, but a few do, so I make deliveries there sometimes. Th'landsharks are no joke though," he reiterated more seriously. He could practically see the curiosity oozing off her and the last thing that he wanted was for her to go missing in the desert.

The road was just part of the Archon's plan, but Tal was doing a bad job of explaining it, and he was blithely oblivious to the history that his friend had with his region's leader. Before he could realize all the important bits he was leaving out, Maea had latched on to something else he'd said. If he wasn't blushing before, he was by the time she wriggled around to finagle him into some good old fashioned girl talk. "Oh. Um. Well, she's... she's a Seer," he fumbled, too pleased to talk about Alys to mind the question. A true smile spread over his face as he looked down bashfully at Boreal, scritching her horns. It made him look years younger, almost boyish in his delight. "She uses special cards t'help people out with their problems an'... an' she's also my partner." Which, even seasons later, he could hardly believe his luck. "I hope you'd like her. She's smart an' stubborn an' she's got enough common sense for both o' us." Which was a very good thing, considering how little Tal had most days.

MAEA

"Oh, I know it's dangerous," Maea assured him. "The one time I did pass through it was to hunt down a bone monster. The one I told you about? If Ronin and Remi hadn't been there it would have been a close call. Even with them there, a man still died." Turning serious for a moment, she nevertheless wouldn't let that keep her from exploring. Maybe not today, but danger was everywhere in Caido. "There are landsharks in the Grounds too though... and wildfires, and wicker women, and seed ghosts - I'm as likely to get hurt picking apples as walking across a desert." So there really was no point in holing herself up and go mad from staying locked up in a cage. Her blithe expression found no trouble in facing danger; it was simply part of life.

Far more interesting than landsharks was the way Tal fawned over the description of his woman. Maea's smile returned, charmed by his obvious infatuation - even if she did grow increasingly certain it was the same person she had met.

Damn. That could be awkward .

"I might have met her, if it's the same person," Maea told him, choosing to be preemptive about this. She didn't want to risk her new friendship on stupid lack of communication. "I... think I may have scared her, unfortunately." It had been her intention at the time, at least.

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Tal nodded slowly as she listed the dangers of the Grounds, though he might have been a bit relieved that she was already familiar with some of Hak Etme's deadly peculiarities already. "Yeah, good point," he agreed, lips twitching into a rueful smile. "Sorry... didn't mean t'get overprotective there." He might have meant well, not wanting to lose his newest official friend so soon, but it wasn't his business to try and wrap anyone else in wool and straw, like a shipment of fine glassware in the Peregrine's hold.

He risked a glance over at the petite lady lounging on Boreal and caught her smile, which only made the flush on his neck and ears more pronounced as his own smile widened. And when Maea said that they'd already met he raised his head hopefully, curious what she thought of his partner--

But the admission that followed gave him pause. And if they hadn't just hashed out the whole friendship thing and things hadn't been going so well he might have reacted very differently, but since they had...

"Well... I mean, it was an accident, right?" he double-checked, hesitantly. "Just a misunderstandin'?"