Of Beasts and Knights

"He isn't so bright."

she smiles at him "I noticed"

"He has his uses however."

"as a beatstick?"

"More as a line breaker. The man is practically unkillable."

"sounds like a challenge"

"Please don't try."

"for who's sake, mine or his?"

"Yours. Heigen may be a mindless brute, but he's very good at swinging axes."

"Glad you care" *she smiles*

"You might be able to heal, but i really hate seeing heigen get the satisfaction."

"heh, fair enough"

"Also he might actually kill you, and you won't kill him."

"Maybe..." *and then they talked long into the night until they fell asleep*

*He sleeps with his sword laid across his knees, one hand wrapped around its grip*

when he wakes up he sees her still asleep, using him as a makeshift pillow

*he looks at the setting sun, halfway below the horizon. Then down at her, he decides to let her sleep until night falls in earnest.*

*continued sleeping*

*As the sun sets, he shakes her awake*

she flinches for a moment before she actually opens her eyes

"Sleep well?"

"Better than I have in a  while"

"Strange to sleep better before battle, don't you think?"

"I stopped being afraid of battle a long time ago"

"No doubt you longed for it in those dark days."

"sometimes"

"Battle is an art form, and a joy, a contest of endurance, and a blood sport. But above all it is a game of chess."

"It's two groups trying to kill eachother. There's thinking to it, strategy, ways to position men to better kill other men, ways to arm men to better kill other men, but at the end of the day it's lots of death and killing in one place."

"Such a southern outlook. To my people, combat was a sacred rite of passage."

"Cause you have gods to prove yourselves to. We don't. Our gods don't need us to prove ourselves to them. I'm not saying I don't like combat. I got pretty good at strategy in my time."

"Not simply the gods, to the rest of the tribe. A Young blood must prove themselves before they become an adult."

"*slight chuckle* Feel like i've more than proved myself at this point."

"Indeed you have. You're blooded."

"Yeah... one time the general even asked my help planning the strategy. We won that one."

"I am unsure whether to believe that one"

"It's... a long story. One you'll probably have to get me drunk for. As for the battle... well it was against those pointy eared fucks from ulthuan. Don't know exactly why they were attacking. What intel we had indicated that a pirate group had managed to sack a city on ulthuan, and the elves had tracked them to three potential cities. Rather than simply weed out the pirates, they sacked two of those cities themselves, and were marching on the third when we arrived."

"Wonderful, i would love to sit and listen, but we have a city to sack ourselves."

"Short version, I had our greatswords pin the spearmen in place, supported by our state troops to keep them stuck, not losing, but not going anywhere, and then had outridesr spring out of their hiding places and wheel around behind their spearmen, raking them down with repeater-handgun fire."

"Wonderful. Now... Would you like to get off me so i can stand up?"

*I'm assuming her head is basically in his lap, since he's sitting cross legged with his sword across his knees*

"...sorry" *she stands up, stretching*

*He stands also, mysteriously silently for a man clad in full plate* "Do you always sleep on your friends?"

"Honestly.... I don't remember. *she pauses for a second. then grins.* Thanks."

"What?"

"Actually calling me your friend. That's new."

"Hmn... Did i say that?"

"Implied"

"I suppose i did." *He leans on his sword* "We can chat about it later."

"Right... which way?"

"To the treeline... we have the cover of darkness now."

"Right..." *she grabs her weapon and starts heading that way*