The Salle - Sunday Morning

[thinkbetterofme.livejournal.com]

Faramir's morning had consisted of a high amount of sneaking around. Well, at least a higher amount than was usual, he had escaped Maladicta's room before she'd woken up. It sounded much more exciting than it had been as she had merely offered him the spare bed once he found his roommate in desperate need for some privacy. It was almost like having Boromir here.

So now, after tending to Baru's, Faramir was in the salle, hoping that his disappearance that morning would not have angered Maladicta into standing him up. He was testing the practise blades which the school provided as he waited for her. They felt uncomfortable in his hand, their balance not quite perfect, but it seemed better to use them instead of real blades.

[Open salle, omg.]

Comments

[swordsandsoccer.livejournal.com]

Dolf... still wasn't a fighter.

But he had been Carolus's First Squire, and received the training that involved, though it wasn't nearly as impressive as it sounded. Real life was nothing like the movies. Three months wasn't any amount of time in which to master the sword. Hell, Dolf had still been useless with it by the end.

Last Friday, though, had been another sign. He thought. He opened the door to the salle very tentatively, and stuck his head in, feeling foolish and more than a little ill-at-ease.

"Faramir!" he said, in surprise. Though really, Faramir was a fighter of sorts. Of course he was here.

[thinkbetterofme.livejournal.com]

Faramir startled, having been too caught up in his own thoughts to hear the door opening. His swing at the dummy went embarrasingly wide, missing it by several inches. Luckily dummies could not retaliate, or he'd been open wide there.

"Rudolf," he realised, turning to face him. "Good morning."

[seaweed-demigod.livejournal.com]

After last night, Percy decided he really could do with some time at the salle. He'd been awkward and out of place in the bar but he felt better as soon as he had Riptide out and was striding into the salle.

He recognized the other boy but didn't think they'd met so he gave him a nod. Since he was taking out some aggression on the practice dummies, he didn't say anything that might throw him off.

[swordsandsoccer.livejournal.com]

"Sorry," Dolf said, trying - and succeeding - not to blush in embarrasment. "I wasn't trying to keep you from working."

He slipped in through the door, and closed it quietly behind him. "I have just not been here."

[thinkbetterofme.livejournal.com]

Not so much aggression as confusion, perhaps.

Faramir finished the exercise before he turned towards the other boy. "Good morning," he greeted, unable to not notice the peculiar sword he was carrying. "I believe I saw you at the tavern last night. I am Faramir."

[thinkbetterofme.livejournal.com]

"No need to apologise," Faramir assured him, he glanced around the room for an instant. "They appear to be well prepared for allowing their students to train their fighting skills."

[seaweed-demigod.livejournal.com]

"Uh, yeah," Percy said, laughing at that memory and resting Riptide against his shoulder. "Yeah, I was there. I don't know why but I was there. You have a good time?"

[swordsandsoccer.livejournal.com]

"It's weird," Dolf said, puttering off hesitantly in the direction of the training swords. "It's like all times falled together, sometimes." He pulled one out, and stared at it dubiously.

At least it looked like the ones Carolus had used.

[thinkbetterofme.livejournal.com]

"I met some new people and talked to those I knew already," Faramir said. "I would believe that counts as a good time. Did you?"

[thinkbetterofme.livejournal.com]

"Fell," Faramir corrected, watching Dolf move across the room. "Do you have experience with the blade?"

[swordsandsoccer.livejournal.com]

"My friend Carolus teached--" Dolf bit down on his lip, and thought of Faramir's correction. Teached wasn't right, was it? No. Not teached. But what then? "...he showed me how to use it," he ammended. "But I'm not very good."

He gave the sword one practice sweep, adjusting again to how clumsy it felt in his hands.

[seaweed-demigod.livejournal.com]

"I had..." Percy didn't really know what sort of time he had. "It was weird. It wasn't awful though. I don't know if I'd do it again but it didn't hurt anything doing it once."

[thinkbetterofme.livejournal.com]

"Taught," he suggested gently as he saw Dolf look for the word.

"It takes a lot of practise," Faramir agreed, "and these blades do not have the balance of a good sword, but they'll do."

[inneedofcoffee.livejournal.com]

Since it was just a friendly offering of the unoccupied bed in her room, there was clearly no need to be awkward. Amused? Completely.

Because what did it say about poor Faramir to flee in the morning?

"Still alive, I see."

[thinkbetterofme.livejournal.com]

"I believe it would depend on what your intentions were," he agreed, and his curiosity got the better of him as he motioned towards Percy's sword. "That looks like a fine blade."

[swordsandsoccer.livejournal.com]

Taught. Right, taught. Dolf felt a little stupid pride roaring up, but he batted it away with efficiency. He wasn't going to master a new language by getting annoyed that other people knew more words than he did, and so what if this was a modern language he should know better?

Dolf sighed. "I'm not a fighter," he underscored. "But I think I'll have to try again."

[thinkbetterofme.livejournal.com]

That he was considerate and did not want to get in her way first thing in the morning? Or that he'd lay awake far too long, uncertain to come up with the best way to handle the morning, and thus retreat had felt like the best course of action.

"Are you disappointed?" he asked, managing to hide his relief.

[seaweed-demigod.livejournal.com]

"What? Oh!" Percy brought Riptide back down to give Faramir a better look at it. "Thanks. I inherited it a few years ago and haven't really been able to use another sword since then."

[thinkbetterofme.livejournal.com]

"It is not something I do for my own pleasure," Faramir said, thinking he understood what Dolf was saying. "It is necessary, however."

[swordsandsoccer.livejournal.com]

Dolf sighed, and padded towards the center of the room with the practice sword still in hand. "Necessary," he echoed, frowning. "Everyone did well last week."

[thinkbetterofme.livejournal.com]

"It is meant for your hand then," he guessed, moving towards Percy to study the sword a little closer. "We never make swords in bronze."

[thinkbetterofme.livejournal.com]

Fighting was a fact in Faramir's life, one he had accepted long ago even if he'd rather spent his time in the archives at Minas Tirith.

"You feel like you didn't?" he guessed.

[seaweed-demigod.livejournal.com]

"Yeah, it's sort of a special sword," he replied, nodding. "It's old. Like really old. Might explain the bronze since it's not recently made. I just keep it sharpened."

[inneedofcoffee.livejournal.com]

"Not at all," Maladicta replied, shooting him another amused look. "Should this be when I interrogate you?"

[swordsandsoccer.livejournal.com]

"I did enough," Dolf said, shaking his head. "Everyone lived." And he'd rather not repeat last night's embarrassing breakdown on Jason, if it was all okay with everyone. "I'm not good with big fights. But I think I can do more."

That made sense, right?