32. Respite Part 2
General Summary
Penny for Your Thoughts
You're outside, on a lawn. The gardens roll away below, its a gorgeous view. You're grabbing coffee on a study break. "So. Been a few days you've been at the infamous Noor residence. What do you think so far?" I think he takes a second to look around, picking words. Unlike his tightly-shut mouth on the day you arrived, he kind of looks like he's more figuring out how to phrase rather than trying to find something nice to say. "Honestly?" He's looking out over the grounds, not looking away from you but not at your face, either. he's being really thoughtful about his answer which I clock, and appreciate. "I knew we came from different places, I didn't know how different. I hardly knew how to stand when we got here. It's been... it's been a learning experience, I guess. "I get why you missed it. This place is... its huge, even the people here are larger than life. Christsakes, I knew you had a big family, I didn't know having a dozen extra people around for dinner was normal. But I see you racing across the lawn or laughing in the kitchen and..." he gestures vaguely, looking for words, "this place, dad's apartment, it's the same thing, you know?" He looks like he's got more he wants to say, but doesn't know how. "Anyway. It's very you. And you're pretty cool. So." You have coffee, he takes a drink, possibly to stop his own rambling. "Thanks. Means a lot." Marwa takes a sip of her coffee, looks over the grounds, thinking. "I think it's okay...I think it's okay for this house and your apartment to not be the same thing, you know. I grew up with...more than I ever needed, to be honest. Not that it needs saying. But the people here - at the end of the day, they're what matter to me. Not how many rooms are here, or that I get the best coffee in Auria every morning." "Boss's instant stuff is going to taste like fucking dirt for a while, isn't it?" "I don't know how I'm gonna go back, to be honest." "Like I know I'm going to have to, but I can barely stomach the thought." "Hey, at least misery loves company" raises mug in solidarity "Anyway I get what you're saying. I never gave a fuck how much space we had. Home's where you make it, you know?" "Exactly! Exactly. I feel just as much at home on the road with all of you as I do here, to be honest." He glances at you sideways. Idle curiosity, probably. "You know, you said you started travelling for fun. You never said why you kept going back out. Like, I know why I'm running around the realms and not chilling at home. And Saeldor and Cri are ramblers, Ta'lok's a worse workaholic than I am, except he likes his job. You though," he leaves it as a question "Why does a girl who has everything leave?" Marwa looks thoughtful. he shakes his head, waves a hand "Nah, not like that." If you look confused he'll kind of shrug, "I dunno, I never figured why someone would go out looking for trouble unless it was like, necessary for something else?" she gives a wry smile. "I maybe was born for trouble." He smiles. "It suits you, to be honest" "First of all everything suits me, so jot that down. No but seriously, I didn't expect to love doing this as much as I do. It started out as something to do. Something I hadn't tried before. But there's nothing else like it. Using my skills to help people I care about, who are ... doing good in the world. What more is there?" So he's listening, and not necessarily nodding, but absolutely following, finding the sense, but then when you asked, rhetorically I assume, 'what more is there?' he had a look like there's an answer so obvious it makes the question ridiculous. "I guess I get most of that. I've figured for a while that this is a better use of my situation than just sitting on my hands, so to speak." I give him a confused look, trying to prompt him to explain. "I mean, sure it's not as noble as like, doing rescue missions, chasing off monsters, etcetera. But..." He's uncomfortable, embarrassed maybe. "Surely there's something to be said for more... I don't know, domestic pursuits?" "I get this place has everything, but you really never wanted to find one of your own?" ok he's not blushing but he is uncomfortable. this is personal. "...domestic pursuits, what an academic turn of phrase, Mika Benedict Oliviera." he snorts "I nailed it this time, didn't I." "I don't have a middle name, unless the one I'm currently using counts." (he's not actually irritated, he's smiling) She gets halfway through the thought and starts the phrase suggesting that they should get to give him a middle name, before realizing how important names are to him and she slurps that phrase right back up. "What?" "Um nothing." "Well now I'm really curious" "Oh - okay fine! I had a dumb thing I was going to say about the fact that if you didn't have a middle name, we should get to give you one. But then I remembered names are really important to you and your family and I'm not that much of a dick, so. There." His expression softens. "I see where you're coming from, and it's a nice thought. You're right that it's a no-go, but also" he shrugs "naming yourself is also like, insanely crass, yet here I sit." He shrugs. "I mean I had to call myself something so I don't feel that bad about it, but you know what I mean." "Yeah, I get it. There's something powerful in the name my family gave me, and something just as powerful in the name I chose for myself. I think, anyway." "You're absolutely not wrong" "But to answer your earlier question - yeah. Of course I think about having a family, a home someday." I think the return to topic catches him off guard "It's just not something you go out to the store and buy, you know? So I'm enjoying life where it leads me, and for right now, that's with all of you idiots. Finding Wishes." nose-exhale laugh. "Yeah fair enough." He smiles at his hands, "Lucky me, I guess." "Lucky for right now, but you know we have training later, right? Might not feel so lucky when Baba's whooping your ass." "Fuck that's right. He said he wants to move on to sparring today" genuine dread "If it makes you feel any better, he's going to have me on my ass, too, so we'll both be sore tomorrow. Hopefully sparring with Ta'lok will keep him occupied and we can skip out early." "fingers crossed"Training
okay so what if he says something flirty to her as she walks over to Baba and she just full on blushes and Baba clocks it, doesn't know what was said but sees the reaction and then she fumbles her first move and he fumbles his in an attempt not to skewer her something that would get that kind of reactino out of her, and honestly that's genius, right as she goes to spar with her BABA she's glaring daggers like, "bitch I will get you back and you won't see it coming" Welp, he might just get some comeuppance because next round is Mika vs Alejandro I think after a few lessons he'd try to find ways to use what he already knows. Distorting his attack arm, etc. maybe Alejandro comments something like maybe if he put as much effort into his training as he did into making jokes... yeah I don't think he's a cruel trainer by any stretch but he's not going to pull his punches just because this kid is skinny or his daughter's friend, he's going to treat him the same way he treats all people he trains also I think he can clock that Mika lacks internal motivation. like he doesn't want to be good at this, he's not interested in being skilled. He's interested in fulfilling what he sees as an obligation. its like a kid taking lessons cause their parent signed them up. They don't dislike the thing, but they're not doing it for their own sake. Alejandro wins but it doesn't mean Mirage did badly. I think he'd correct the error that cost her the match, try the same move a few times to let her practice the suggested counter. As Marwa circles, she tries to think of how she can get the element of surprise. Maybe, if she could somehow get her hand on the hilt of a blade and zap some electricity into it, make him drop his weapon. But she's never done it before. its a static shock; startling but not enough to disarm. maybe he's grounded by the material on the hilt. I think he likes that you tried it. you should be using all your skills, not just the blades I think he would've said something to this effect to Mika as well. He's figured out a way to use distortion and it improves his feints a lot, but I think the initial invitation to use any skills, magical or mundane, in training met flat refusal "My shit doesn't have a nonlethal setting." it probably bothers Alejandro, he can't train the kid for actual application if he won't use what he would use in proper application I think of all of them, he might have the biggest reason to think his daughters investment is a bad idea. I feel like Julius and Alejandro are the most struck by the goolock thing, but Alejandro feels a sense of responsibility. he actively pushed Isaac, talked to Isaac, tried to get him to snap out of it, so I can see how Alejandro would see this as futile: he failed, so how can he expect her to succeed, especially given that Julius is the smartest person he knows and Julius tried REALLY HARD to find a way out of it and couldn't yeah I don't think he's on board with it, tbh. On top of the fact that he's a time bomb, the kid's an annoying shit. constantly flippant, doesn't take his training seriously. I don't think he's going to tell her what to do because he knows she'll just do the opposite, and that's not how any of this works, but I think if Alejandro had his way, the two would not be this close. but in the same way that Marwa tries to poke at someone until their feathers are ruffled and they start talking honestly like you better focus up or someone's going to give you a matching set on the other side Mika fumbles a counter/dodge not in a regular 'wrong stance/missed the timing" but in a definite "I saw terror in your face and no move you made just there indicated intention beyond survival instinct." He just kind of scrambles backward and Alejandro reprimands him because keeping a clear head in melee is absolutely something they've already gone over before they got to this point but Mika doesn't seem to even hear him I don't want to patronize or embarrass him but Marwa shoots up out of her chair "Baba, what the fuck?" If she's looking at him she can recognize the look on his face is no longer fear, but intense concentration well I mean the fear's there too "I didn't hurt him. (then, to Mika) Get up. Again." Mika's still unresponsive. Alejandro goes to repeat that he needs to stand up and try again, and Mika interrupts. with a "Will you shut up and let me concentrate for fucks sake??" (still concentrating fit to bust a vein) that I think actually does shut Alejandro up for a split second just with the sheer audacity Marwa is watching it play out, not getting in the middle of the testosterone over there. Once she ascertained that Mika was okay, not that Baba would hurt him but like fuck, dad, if he's gonna have a panic attack leave him be for chrissake I think Alejandro does leave him be after that. He's pissed, and he's watching the kid, but he stops talking after a minute Mika's breathing slightly more normal. "Okay." He exhales. "again." Its closer than previous matches - much closer. I think Alejandro goes for a similar combo to before and Mika's white-knuckled but he counters it, but then fails to counter the next thing. Wasn't watching that side. I think Alejandro will just kind of wordlessly gesture him to get over to the side, it's Marwa's turn (last round?) watching him carefully, scrutinizing Marwa vs Alejandro again. Focused. No more fucking around I walk back to my chair as he walks in, passing me, I whisper to him. “Back right leg. Old adventuring injury he forgets about.” its the first match these two have had that wasn't like, decisively Alejandro's victory I imagine that like, Mika got him to stumble with the back of the leg thing But he recovered in time to take Mika’s blade but it was a close thing I wonder if Alejandro would want to talk to him, on the note of like, stress management in melee. Partly like "if you freeze like that in a real fight, you could get hurt. people around you could get hurt." and partly like "its not an uncommon thing to happen but you gotta figure a way to manage it and I didn't need the attitude" yeah I think Alejandro's not the MOST tactful of the dads but he knows to let the moment cool it'd probably be later You have to find your reason to fight. Like if you’re gonna train. You have to mean it. You have to get your brain and your muscles prepared to do this shit reflexively because in battle you don’t have time to think you have to just react. So like, I think he’d actually do the opposite and be like if you want to stop training That’s fine. No harm no foul. But if you come back to that training ring I need you to give a shit, because it’s not just your life on the line I think he listens to everything he's saying, about needing to find his own reason to fight, to care, to take it seriously, and how he could hurt the people who rely on him if he doesn't, and looks like he's considering taking the out re: quitting training, but isn't happy about it - Alejandro can clock frustration. Alejandro is probably expecting a yes-I'll-start-giving-a-shit or a well-im-out-then, in one form or other what he gets is, "Sir can I ask you a personal question?" “Yeah.” "You did the merc thing. Why'd you stop." “My spouses said no.” Smirk and chuckle "and why'd you start?" “I was a soldier first. Decided I wanted to pick who and what to fight for.” He nods. "Kay. So here's my deal. I have a reason to fight. I wanna go the fuck home. I want my worst fear to be a missed deadline again. I'm trying to get to where I won't need this shit anymore" with a gesture in the direction of the training arena "So I don't know if I can give you motivation beyond not going down before I can pull that off. You want me to have a reason, 'Better odds of survival' is what I've got. I can try to focus if you can understand that making a career out of this stuff sounds like a goddamn nightmare to me." this last with an unspoken but inflected, 'deal?' Alejandro’s eyebrows raise in an intrigued way. “You just told me your reason to fight. And it’s a damn good one - to go home. To survive.” “If you are open to sticking this out for the next few days, I want you to train like everyone you have to fight is standing between you and your mission - home. Next time you and I spar, think of me as an obstacle on your journey home. And act accordingly.” "Deal." decisive Handshake
Report Date
07 Apr 2025
Secondary Location
Related Plots
Related Characters