37th of Ymiden, Arc 711
Praetorum stalked from the house, an incoherent mix of frustration and fear and disappointment all bubbling within him. He wasn't... he needed...
Praetorum let out a frustrated noise. What he really needed was something to occupy his mind, something that would let him focus on anything except the conversation he'd just had. What Prae needed was a fight, but since that wasn't a good idea right now, he'd settle for training instead. So, with that thought in mind, he circled around the outside of their house, taking a shortcut through his father's garden to the courtyard.
Grabbing his favorite scythe from off the weapon rack, Prae took up his place in the centre of the courtyard, and rolled his shoulders to loosen up, bouncing on his feet. Grasping his scythe in both hands, Prae stared down his muzzle at an enemy only he could see.
For a long few bits, he took his frustration out on this enemy with wide, sweeping blows, wishing he had a training dummy so he could really feel the impact of his scythe against something real. The anger faded quickly under the onslaught of attacks; the frustration did not. He needed something more mentally involved than just hacking and slashing at thin air.
When this enemy raised her sword to attack, Prae seized the opportunity to strike first, stabbing his scythe forwards to catch her under the ribs. As soon as the tip of his weapon sank into her flesh, he twisted the weapon wickedly, and sliced outwards, cutting his way out of her side.
As he did so, he stepped forwards, and pivoted on one foot, using the momentum of the slice to spin into a leg sweep, using the butt of his scythe to catch her behind the knees. Twisting around, Prae brought his scythe back down against her chin, only to to suddenly find a boot kicking against his side.
Prae tipped over with a yelp, finding, in place of his imaginary enemy, his very real mother, standing over him with her hands on her hips. Prae had been so occupied with his training, he hadn't heard her come out of the house into the training courtyard. He grinned sheepishly at her as she frowned.
"What have I told you about fighting like that, Prae?"
Prae sighed, flopping back onto the ground. "Function over form, Prae. Flashy moves will get you killed. You're fighting a war, not participating in a dance contest."
"Exactly." Vitaria knelt down next to her son, nudging him affectionately with her knee. "I know those moves feel stronger, feel like they take more skill to execute. And they have their place, under very specific situations. But it's the basics that will get you through every battle, every time. Drill those fancy moves, and you'll automatically use them in the heat of battle, even when you shouldn't. Drill the basics, and you'll be safe long enough to use those flashy spins when they actually are useful, alright?"
Prae pouted, but nodded, hopping to his feet.
"Also, I keep having to tell you, use the concave edge of the scythe to cut. The blade of a scythe is like our claws; you cut by dragging." She demonstrated lightly against his hide with her own claws. "Now, go through your drills, alright?"
"Got it."
Prae readied his scythe again, settling into a comfortable stance that gave him as much mobility as possible. Narrowing his eyes, he conjured in his mind another enemy, and then lunged. With one hand steadying the haft loosely, Prae made a series of jabs, forcing his imaginary opponent backwards.
"Good!" Vitaria called from the sidelines. "Try to vary where you hit, so your opponent has a harder time predicting your moves."
Prae followed her instructions, using the hand on the back end of the scythe haft to change the angle of his thrusts. Leaping back, he tightened his grip on the weapon, and moved to practice his slashes, aiming for the head, hands and feet of his imaginary foe. Again and again his blade sliced at his opponent as Prae worked to increase his accuracy and speed.
"Switch sides." Vitaria called.
Prae paused, thrown. "What?"
"You're mostly attacking from your dominant side." Vitaria told him. "That makes you predictable, and easy to defend against. You have to be just as strong attacking from your opposite side, or your enemies will exploit that weakness. Always give yourself as many options as you can."
Turning back to his enemy, Prae gave it a go, trying to alternate the direction of his strikes. It was difficult, not to fall back into the habit of attacking from his strongest side, but he gave it a good effort anyways, sweeping his scythe 'backwards' after twisting it in his and to orient the blade correctly.
The exercise turned out to be surprisingly helpful; the fact that his scythe only had a single cutting edge meant Prae had to think through every blow as he made it, something which helped temper his eagerness, and made him more precise in his blows.
He kept up these drills for another break and a half— until his breathing grew ragged, his muscles turned to jelly and his mind had settled— then stumbled to the side of the courtyard, and sank down onto a bench. Vitaria settled beside him, wordlessly offering a mug of water.
"So, now that you've got all of that out of your system—" Prae groaned softly, already seeing where this was going to go— "Do you want to talk about why you're out here, angrily murdering invisible soldiers?"
"You know, we could simply not talk about it." Prae sighed. His peaceful mood was already evaporating, and the frustration from before was coming back full force.
"You can't just ignore it until you two deploy, you know. You really want that to be the last interaction between the two of you before you go off to the legion, and Ri to the Order?"
Prae ground his teeth as his mother bluntly stated the fact Prae had been trying to ignore for the last two breaks. "I just can't believe he's..." Prae trailed off, unable to even say it.
That was when his mother said something truly surprising. "This is my fault." Prae blinked up at her, baffled. "Mine and your fathers. We never prepared you for this possibility; to be honest, I suppose it never really occurred to us that you two might separate as adults." She shook her head. "No, that's not it. I suppose... it never occurred to either of us that you two might not want to follow the paths we laid out for you. We just assumed the two of you would just. Go together, into the cavaliers, or the order. And look at you two now; you're joining the legion, and Serinus wants to break out from under your shadow." Prae made a furious noise at that.
"It's not like that." Prae snapped. "I'm not joining the legion as some... some form of rebellion. And I don't overshadow Ri! We're brothers, we're close—"
"He is in your shadow. I would know, I put him there. Put both of you in this position, really."
"But I'm supposed to be his—"
"His protector?" Vitaria sighed heavily. "That's exactly what I'm talking about. I've been thinking this for a few arcs now, to be honest. Luca asked me to talk to you two, but I never said anything, since you both seemed... happy. Content in the roles we'd put you in. I suppose he was right, after all." She smiled wanly. "Don't tell your father I said that, he'll never let me live it down. But I should have talked to you two earlier."
"I made you his protector, and I made him your ward, when I should have just let you two be... you. I had you hover over him, every bit of every trial, and I think it's taken its toll on him. He was sickly as a child, yes. But I think it's time to acknowledge that he isn't weak, not now. "
"I don't think of him like that." Prae protested, weakly.
"Maybe not, but you act like it, because that's how you two have always acted. You've always protected him. Even now that he no longer needs protecting. Prae, he can make his own decision about how he wants to serve the Empress. And if that means going somewhere you can't follow, that's okay. He—"
"I got it." Prae stood suddenly, scowling. "I got it. I just. I just need to sleep on it, alright?"
"Okay." Vitaria said softly. "Just. Talk to him about it, alright? Neither of you want to be fighting."
"Yeah." Praetorum nodded slowly, then turned away. "I will."
Praetorum let out a frustrated noise. What he really needed was something to occupy his mind, something that would let him focus on anything except the conversation he'd just had. What Prae needed was a fight, but since that wasn't a good idea right now, he'd settle for training instead. So, with that thought in mind, he circled around the outside of their house, taking a shortcut through his father's garden to the courtyard.
Grabbing his favorite scythe from off the weapon rack, Prae took up his place in the centre of the courtyard, and rolled his shoulders to loosen up, bouncing on his feet. Grasping his scythe in both hands, Prae stared down his muzzle at an enemy only he could see.
For a long few bits, he took his frustration out on this enemy with wide, sweeping blows, wishing he had a training dummy so he could really feel the impact of his scythe against something real. The anger faded quickly under the onslaught of attacks; the frustration did not. He needed something more mentally involved than just hacking and slashing at thin air.
When this enemy raised her sword to attack, Prae seized the opportunity to strike first, stabbing his scythe forwards to catch her under the ribs. As soon as the tip of his weapon sank into her flesh, he twisted the weapon wickedly, and sliced outwards, cutting his way out of her side.
As he did so, he stepped forwards, and pivoted on one foot, using the momentum of the slice to spin into a leg sweep, using the butt of his scythe to catch her behind the knees. Twisting around, Prae brought his scythe back down against her chin, only to to suddenly find a boot kicking against his side.
Prae tipped over with a yelp, finding, in place of his imaginary enemy, his very real mother, standing over him with her hands on her hips. Prae had been so occupied with his training, he hadn't heard her come out of the house into the training courtyard. He grinned sheepishly at her as she frowned.
"What have I told you about fighting like that, Prae?"
Prae sighed, flopping back onto the ground. "Function over form, Prae. Flashy moves will get you killed. You're fighting a war, not participating in a dance contest."
"Exactly." Vitaria knelt down next to her son, nudging him affectionately with her knee. "I know those moves feel stronger, feel like they take more skill to execute. And they have their place, under very specific situations. But it's the basics that will get you through every battle, every time. Drill those fancy moves, and you'll automatically use them in the heat of battle, even when you shouldn't. Drill the basics, and you'll be safe long enough to use those flashy spins when they actually are useful, alright?"
Prae pouted, but nodded, hopping to his feet.
"Also, I keep having to tell you, use the concave edge of the scythe to cut. The blade of a scythe is like our claws; you cut by dragging." She demonstrated lightly against his hide with her own claws. "Now, go through your drills, alright?"
"Got it."
Prae readied his scythe again, settling into a comfortable stance that gave him as much mobility as possible. Narrowing his eyes, he conjured in his mind another enemy, and then lunged. With one hand steadying the haft loosely, Prae made a series of jabs, forcing his imaginary opponent backwards.
"Good!" Vitaria called from the sidelines. "Try to vary where you hit, so your opponent has a harder time predicting your moves."
Prae followed her instructions, using the hand on the back end of the scythe haft to change the angle of his thrusts. Leaping back, he tightened his grip on the weapon, and moved to practice his slashes, aiming for the head, hands and feet of his imaginary foe. Again and again his blade sliced at his opponent as Prae worked to increase his accuracy and speed.
"Switch sides." Vitaria called.
Prae paused, thrown. "What?"
"You're mostly attacking from your dominant side." Vitaria told him. "That makes you predictable, and easy to defend against. You have to be just as strong attacking from your opposite side, or your enemies will exploit that weakness. Always give yourself as many options as you can."
Turning back to his enemy, Prae gave it a go, trying to alternate the direction of his strikes. It was difficult, not to fall back into the habit of attacking from his strongest side, but he gave it a good effort anyways, sweeping his scythe 'backwards' after twisting it in his and to orient the blade correctly.
The exercise turned out to be surprisingly helpful; the fact that his scythe only had a single cutting edge meant Prae had to think through every blow as he made it, something which helped temper his eagerness, and made him more precise in his blows.
He kept up these drills for another break and a half— until his breathing grew ragged, his muscles turned to jelly and his mind had settled— then stumbled to the side of the courtyard, and sank down onto a bench. Vitaria settled beside him, wordlessly offering a mug of water.
"So, now that you've got all of that out of your system—" Prae groaned softly, already seeing where this was going to go— "Do you want to talk about why you're out here, angrily murdering invisible soldiers?"
"You know, we could simply not talk about it." Prae sighed. His peaceful mood was already evaporating, and the frustration from before was coming back full force.
"You can't just ignore it until you two deploy, you know. You really want that to be the last interaction between the two of you before you go off to the legion, and Ri to the Order?"
Prae ground his teeth as his mother bluntly stated the fact Prae had been trying to ignore for the last two breaks. "I just can't believe he's..." Prae trailed off, unable to even say it.
That was when his mother said something truly surprising. "This is my fault." Prae blinked up at her, baffled. "Mine and your fathers. We never prepared you for this possibility; to be honest, I suppose it never really occurred to us that you two might separate as adults." She shook her head. "No, that's not it. I suppose... it never occurred to either of us that you two might not want to follow the paths we laid out for you. We just assumed the two of you would just. Go together, into the cavaliers, or the order. And look at you two now; you're joining the legion, and Serinus wants to break out from under your shadow." Prae made a furious noise at that.
"It's not like that." Prae snapped. "I'm not joining the legion as some... some form of rebellion. And I don't overshadow Ri! We're brothers, we're close—"
"He is in your shadow. I would know, I put him there. Put both of you in this position, really."
"But I'm supposed to be his—"
"His protector?" Vitaria sighed heavily. "That's exactly what I'm talking about. I've been thinking this for a few arcs now, to be honest. Luca asked me to talk to you two, but I never said anything, since you both seemed... happy. Content in the roles we'd put you in. I suppose he was right, after all." She smiled wanly. "Don't tell your father I said that, he'll never let me live it down. But I should have talked to you two earlier."
"I made you his protector, and I made him your ward, when I should have just let you two be... you. I had you hover over him, every bit of every trial, and I think it's taken its toll on him. He was sickly as a child, yes. But I think it's time to acknowledge that he isn't weak, not now. "
"I don't think of him like that." Prae protested, weakly.
"Maybe not, but you act like it, because that's how you two have always acted. You've always protected him. Even now that he no longer needs protecting. Prae, he can make his own decision about how he wants to serve the Empress. And if that means going somewhere you can't follow, that's okay. He—"
"I got it." Prae stood suddenly, scowling. "I got it. I just. I just need to sleep on it, alright?"
"Okay." Vitaria said softly. "Just. Talk to him about it, alright? Neither of you want to be fighting."
"Yeah." Praetorum nodded slowly, then turned away. "I will."
