The Salle, Sunday Morning

[nottrivial]

Training early in the mornings wasn't new to Alec, especially now that he was used to the salle and starting to appreciate the relatively simplistic layout of it -- especially its lack of the Institute's high support beams for practicing balancing and flips, which had only ever made him fret about someone's safety cord snapping in the middle of training. He wasn't really much for those acrobatics anyway.

Since his bow had gotten a lot of use lately, today he was changing it up and practicing with seraph blades. He had three on him, each one dull and inert in his left hand as he assumed a fighting stance across from a target, steadying himself. Then he took one in his right hand, gave its name -- "Camael--" and as the blade extended and flames sprung up around it, making it glow, he hurled it at the target, where it landed cleanly in the right shoulder.

Not bad. He'd been aiming for the neck, though.

Time to try again.

[[open like a salle on a boring sunday!]]

Comments

[nottrivial]

That left Alec wondering whether she was trying to make some sort of dig at him for not fighting up-close.

"Well," he said, visibly closing off a little. "They do share a certain element of distance, yes."

[whenshewasnice]

Considering Natalie was planning to get archery lessons because the distance was appealing even despite her being physically predisposed to up-close combat? It wasn't a dig.

But she did take note of his reaction all the same. Observations.

She shrugged a shoulder. "You like what you like."

[nottrivial]

He watched her closely, somewhat surprised by the lack of judgment on her face. "It isn't quite kicking people," he said finally. "But it's what I do."

Like bluntness. For example.

[whenshewasnice]

"Fighting is a pretty hands-on thing where I'm from. Figuratively." Since she was actually more likely to use her legs. Which he had some personal experience with. "Could say it's tradition."

[nottrivial]

Huh.

Somehow Alec hadn't expected her to be so calm in response to that. Which had him wondering if he'd actually said that to her that as some kind of test, and if so, whether she'd passed.

"It's not a bad idea. Having skills there," he admitted. That was possibly his very first compliment to Natalie, which was possibly why he followed it up with the halfhearted disclaimer, "As far as mundane approaches go."

[whenshewasnice]

Too bad it didn't register as much of a compliment with Natalie, who didn't really take any responsibility for how she'd come to have the skills she did. Wasn't like she trained for it or anything.

She offered up another noncommittal shrug. "Guess so." Great conversation from Natalie Adams there, once again.

[nottrivial]

Alec... didn't really know what to say to that.

And a part of him thought his compliment merited a bit more appreciation than a 'Guess so,' even if that wasn't entirely fair.

He cleared his throat. "Well."

...Yeah, they were about evenly matched as far as conversational skills went.

[whenshewasnice]

Except Natalie felt zero need to be awkward about it. Which wasn't much of an advantage, but she'd take it anyway.

It meant she could spend a moment of silence on just watching him, before saying anything else.

"You seem to have bounced back from the weird week well enough."

[nottrivial]

"Not much alternative," Alec said, which was true enough -- though Natalie could probably tell that he was back on his guard. "That seems to be the done thing around here."

[whenshewasnice]

"Well it's either that or leaving," she replied, idly. "We don't tend to dwell."

[nottrivial]

"I guess not everyone always remembers everything," Alec said. "Which must make it easier."

If it looked like he was scanning her face for signs of recognition at that, well.

[whenshewasnice]

Yeah, he wasn't going to find anything there. Not a single trace of 'I know Jace is lying to you about not remembering things'. nope.

Her face stayed perfectly neutral, just as it had been. "Fandom seems to be fickle about that, yeah," she said.

[nottrivial]

Well, it was Natalie. Somehow he'd known he wasn't going to find much in her expression that she didn't want there.

"Do you?" he finally asked. "Remember everything, I mean."

He wasn't sure which answer he'd've preferred.

[whenshewasnice]

"Most things, as far as I can tell."

Technically not a lie, though it did leave room for subsequent lying. Natalie was good at choosing her words.

[nottrivial]

Alec just nodded. "It's strange. The... variation."

[whenshewasnice]

Natalie shrugged. "Different plots require different levels of forgetting, I guess."

Sure, Nat, talk some nonsense at the boy, that's reassuring.

"And there's variety in all of the island's crap."

[nottrivial]

Alec... couldn't say he quite understood that first part, but he was just going to go furrowing his brow instead of outright asking about it. "Right," he said, looking down. "I guess."

[whenshewasnice]

It was usually best not to ask.

"Should I take this as you not remembering everything?"

She was just curious about how deep in denial everyone was going to be about certain things.

[nottrivial]

"No." He wasn't in denial, he was just keeping the obsessing about it fairly quiet. Which... wasn't hard, because he only ever spoke to like two people. "I think I remember all of it."

[whenshewasnice]

Natalie didn't look surprised, but that wasn't exactly new, was it? With the way she didn't tend to give anything away.

"You think you remember all of it?"

[nottrivial]

Alec shrugged. "If there's something I'm missing, it fits out easily enough that I don't miss it."

[whenshewasnice]

"Guess that's how it works." Natalie knew she remembered everything but hell, things could have slipped through the cracks, somehow.

She flicked her bangs out of her eyes. "But I should probably leave you to your training."

[nottrivial]

"Guess so." He was still a little puzzled by how civil this conversation had been. It was almost a little annoying on some level, actually. Disliking her was simpler.

"I'll see you around."

[whenshewasnice]

Natalie gave him an almost imperceptible nod, before vanishing the way she'd come.

Well, she supposed seeing him around again would be kind of inevitable.

[nottrivial]

Alec watched her go with a curious look on his face, then shook his head and turned his attention to his seraph blades.

"Ambriel," he muttered, and fired another one off at the target.