You have my blade

[craggyfaced]

Who: Durge craggyfaced and Konoe catsong
What: Training (and Singing?)
When: Sometime this week
Where: Outside on the grounds
Rating: PG-13

Durge arrived for the second time in the courtyard, this time garbed safely in his chainmail. Most of the people he'd sparred with did not have claws.

He still wasn't sure what the boy wanted from him. He knew there were stronger, smarter, younger, and faster fighters than him in this castle. He'd seen as much on the expedition. But if Konoe wanted his help, he would give it.

The knight was still a little dubious about this Song business. He'd never been very sure about magic. It wasn't a concrete thing he could easily apply any kind of logic to. But he'd also seen the good as well as the bad that it could do.

And, if was being honest, if felt good to be needed again.

Comments

[catsong]

Konoe soon comes running from the castle, hurrying over to Durge with a small smile.

This Hu Man had been really kind to him and gave him an opportunity to train, and while he was sure there were others in the castle, the older man gave him a feeling of safety and wisdom. The ribika felt like he could trust this Hu Man, which was a good thing both when it came to fighting - and Singing.

While he had fought all his life to keep both his territory and his life, training with someone that had more experience was amazing. Rai had trained with him a few times, but it was not enough. He had to be stronger if he would be able to protect his friends and himself.

"Hello... I hope I'm not late?"

[craggyfaced]

Durge shook his head. He rarely smiled, but there is a slight hint of it in his eyes. He'd been impressed by the ribika's enthusiasm to learn. Even if it was just swordplay, it was a trait he both empathized with and valued in others.

"Not at all. Have you decided what it is you wish to work on today?" he said, glancing aside where his sword stood propped up against the wall - not a usual sparring weapon to be sure. He had a dagger on his belt as well, though it was dwarfed by Konoe's own, nor was he really a match for the speed of the boy's fighting style.

[catsong]

Konoe removes his cloak and hangs it over a rock before drawing his large dagger as well, placing it next to the cloak. Then he looks over to Durge and seems a bit nervous for a moment.

"Um... may I still practice my Song with you? I believe you're a very kind and strong man, and... well, I need both strength and Song to help my friends."

His ears lower a bit, worried that the man would change his mind.

[craggyfaced]

Durge looks visibly embarrassed by the compliment. He never took them well, not even from the people he called friends.

"I trust in the purity of your motives, young Konoe. I'll do whatever I can to assist, though it may be little. Tell me how it works."

[catsong]

Konoe's ears perk again and he steps closer, looking quite relieved. Smiling a bit, he looks around for a moment and then flicks his tail. "Um... I believe you will need to fight something for the magic to work, but I'm not quite sure. I only recently learned that I could do this...."

He points towards a nearby tree. "If you attack that, I can try Singing. When I do, you should feel stronger and faster..."

[craggyfaced]

He looks at the tree, and adjusts his gloves as he seems to think it over.

"Do you think it will work, if my opponent is not a living one?"

[catsong]

"I'm not sure." He sighs a little and eyes the tree. He had never done it this way before... hey, he hadn't even done this a lot at all. Rai would probably call him a stupid cat if he knew.

"We can try it, at least."

[craggyfaced]

"You know better than I. Very well," he said, going to retrieve his sword - the larger weapon would better withstand striking an object than the dagger would, and without a proper blacksmith it would take time to repair things beyond basic maintenance.

"Shall I attack first?"

[catsong]

"Yes, if you don't mind..." Konoe steps back a bit and watches, trying to remember the feeling of the Song he had emitted when he and Asato fought the twins. It made him think of the strange poet again... and his music.

He could do this. Even if he didn't have a strong bond with Sir Durge yet, he liked the older Hu Man.

[craggyfaced]

Durge silently hefted the massive blade, the metal of his armor clinking as his muscles flexed underneath. He widened his stance, the balance necessary to offset the weight of the sword itself.

He tries not to question what Konoe is asking. He knows it's silly to try. It matters more to help how he can, even if attacking a tree seems a strange way to do it.

Without a word, he swung the blade back, then lunged forward, using the slight momentum to carry the blade forward into the trunk of the tree.

[catsong]

Konoe closes his eyes, listening to the melody collecting in his mind. He can reach out to Durge, which is a good start. There's a slight flicker of green light around him as the melody is emitted from his body, joined by streaks of white and gold as he does his best to increase the power.

...but making it affect his stand-in touga is difficult. Only a small amount of the same glow shows up on Durge, and the man might feel a little bit faster... but he was Hu Man, and Konoe has trouble connecting. It wasn't like it had felt when he sang for Asato, and for a moment, he's saddened.

That's enough to break his concentration, and the Song stops.

[craggyfaced]

He both sees and feels the spark of magic as his arms move, speeding his blade up enough to bury itself deep into the bark, though not much farther. He grunts surprise and notes that the magic has gone, pulling the sword free and placing it tip down on the ground as he turned to the boy.

"What happened?"

[catsong]

"I'm... sorry. I lost concentration." The young man looks apologetic, ears drooping a bit. Something odd ached inside him, and Konoe sighs. He was doing this for them, so he couldn't avoid thinking of his 'friends'.

He had to concentrate better. Durge was a nice man. He liked him; that should be enough, shouldn't it? The touga-sanga pair that had attacked Rai didn't even seem to like each other. "I'll try again."

[craggyfaced]

"I thought perhaps it was something I did," he said. He knew about as much about this process as he did any other kind of magic, not that he had ever bothered. It seemed best to leave the workings of such things to other people - or, perhaps, it was easier not to think too deeply about.

But the knight saw how sad the ribika seemed and jumped to his usual conclusion.

"Are you sure there is not something else I can do to help?"

[catsong]

"N-no, it's not you!" He feels rather awkward, and finds himself looking at his feet rather than the older man. His tail twitches slightly before it comes to rest again. "I simply... miss the people I traveled with. I'm doing this to be more of a help to them rather than the burden, but I cannot help but worry for their sake."

Konoe sighs, trying to toughen up by taking a deep breath. Emotions were difficult for him - he felt double the emotions of normal people, so the sting from being separated ached with dull throbs. "I-I shouldn't be so foolish, acting like a kitten. I apologize!"

[craggyfaced]

A note of empathy broke through placid exterior of Durge's normal expression. It should have occurred to him, that using this magic would cause the boy to think of home. Just because he'd done his best not to think about what he might be missing, did not mean others did the same.

It wasn't exactly something he was used to. Durge was a man who kept his own feeling tightly closed off, and he rarely dealt with that of others. It required the touch of a more tender heart than his own.

"You cannot be blamed for missing your friends. Would it...help if you told me about them?"

[catsong]

Strange, how different they were. Konoe kept his heart on his sleeve, and Durge hid his emotions deep inside. But maybe that was a good combination?

The young man isn't quite sure what to do, and when Durge speaks, Konoe's ears perk a bit again. He called them friends, but truth was, he hadn't known them for very long at all. But they had fought together... journeyed together, all to help him, even though they didn't need to. Surely that meant that they were friends.

"I'm not sure... they're good cats, though. Strong and a lot more skilled than me."

Suddenly he found himself babbling. "Rai saved me from bandits... he's very cold and seems to really like to fight, but he's helped me a lot. Asato... he went against his whole village for my sake. They told him to kill me, but he refused and helped me to escape. Now he can never go back."

He looks down at his hands. "They've done so much for me... and all I have to give in return is my Song. That's.. that's why this is so important to me."

[craggyfaced]

"Friends such as that are very valuable. I know this well. The longer you travel with them become like kin. Greater even than kin, perhaps, for no one will ever know you as well as they. You would give anything to protect them, even if it were your life, because you know they would give the same," he said with somber tone, his own mind turning to vision of Lady Grace and Travis and all the others he'd been through so much with.

[catsong]

"Yes," Konoe replies, and he knows quite instantly that it's true. He has never had people that treated him kindly before (thanks to his loss making him forget his oldest friend) and even though Rai was... well, Rai, he felt like his life had started when he left Karou.

...and maybe - just maybe - the black cat from Kira was a little more than a friend.

"Even if it was my life."

[craggyfaced]

"Then allow them to be your strength, rather than your sorrow," he told Konoe. Durge despaired quite a lot of things. He could not be sure if his disappearance meant that he'd missed the battle at Gravenfist Keep, or that the Grace would worry about him. In some ways it was better, considering the magic shard he carried in his chest potentially made him a liability.

[catsong]

"Y-you're right. I'm sorry." Konoe takes a deep breath and then smiles, trying to banish the sorrow. He didn't want to give in to an emotion that one of the Devils ruled over, after all. Even if Kaltz had been the 'kindest' of the four.

He moves closer to the other man and then butts his head against Durge's shoulder as a sign of gratitude and friendship.

omg so cute

[craggyfaced]

Durge blinked, then after a moment of hesitation, patted the boy gently on the head. The knight wasn't used to affection. It startled him every time anyone bothered to give it to him. No matter how much he tried to act as am impassive protector, somebody always managed to get closer that he'd expected.

"Shall we try it again?" he said gently.

♥

[catsong]

Those little pats on his head made Konoe purr, feeling quite relieved after letting out all his pent-up emotion for a while. The small rumbling sound continues until Durge speaks, and the young cat's ears perk up. Smiling more easily now, he backs away and nods.

"Yes! Let's try again!"

[craggyfaced]

Durge nods as well, something that might be the shadow of a smile pulling at the corner of his mouth as he takes up his sword again.

"Ready when you are."

[catsong]

"I'm ready!"

So he closes his eyes again, his mind going back to the Poet, and then to the fight together with Asato. The melody poured from his body again, and the Sanga opened his eyes. The Song was steadier this time, and he could feel it better through his consciousness.

...and it was easier to reach out, too. He could do this.

[craggyfaced]

The knight stepped back from the tree again, to give him the proper room. He only glanced aside at Konoe to make sure he seemed all right before he raised the blade again. He waited a few moments, gripping the hilt hard and hoping he was doing the right thing, then lunged forward again, swinging at the trunk with a low growl.

[catsong]

A new cascade of swirling green light and glittering gold envelops Durge, accelerating his speed and strength as Konoe concentrates, focusing fully on the melody in his mind. It's not wavering this time; instead it flows like the beat of a heart. It seems a lot more stable, and he can continue to hold it at a normal level.

...at least for now.

[craggyfaced]

There is a heavy crack as the blade impacts the tree, this time sinking almost a foot into the wood, sending splinters and bark flying in every direction.

The knight makes a slightly impressed grunt and yanks it free, using only a little pressure of a boot to give himself leverage.

[catsong]

Impressed as well, Konoe continues to emit the Song, the shining green swirls increasing in strength... before they starts to flicker and disappear.

The young cat is a bit out of breath, sweaty and strained - but he looks happy. Excited, even. "That was much easier!"

[craggyfaced]

The knight looks only slightly fatigued by the display, part his own training and perhaps partly the magic.

"I'm glad that it seems to have promise. With more practice, you should only get stronger." Or he figured. Was magic like a muscle you could strengthen with more use?

[catsong]

Konoe's ears perk up at that and he laughs a little, clearly pleased with everything. Walking over to Durge and the tree, he glances at the deep cut in it and then presses on the trunk to see if it would fall over. (They couldn't leave a dangerous thing like that around.)

"I truly hope so," Konoe says and seems pleased when the tree doesn't feel unstable. "If I can do this even with Hu Mans, I might grow strong enough to help Rai and Asato."