HOME | DD

Description
"Nicely done. I must say, you really have improved quite a lot since we've started." Letting out a pleased sigh, Lucina let the tip of her sword drop to the ground. “You still have a long way to go though, of course, but this is a wonderful start.” Though the two of you hadn't been training together long, you had quickly become Lucina's favorite sparring partner. Almost daily, she would search the camp until finally finding you. When she did find you, you always knew exactly what it was she wanted from you. Glancing down at her sword, then to a barrel of nearby weapons, she thought. "Do you think we should train using something other than swords?"

Lucina's words caused your brows to knit. Using a sword was proving hard enough for you. You didn't want to sound like you were complaining, of course, especially since you very much enjoyed your time together, but had she not asked you to, you never would have picked one up to begin with. Fighting, after all, wasn't exactly your style. "If you do decide on that, you're going to have to find yourself another partner." Smiling weakly, you continued. "I'm still trying to get the hang of using a weapon at all, I don't think I'm ready to start using another one."

"Ah, that is true." She nodded. "Then for now, I suppose we'll stick to this." Tightening her grasp on the hilt, Lucina lifted her sword into the air once more. Her firm, determined look was more than enough to clue you in on what she was about to say. "It's still early. What do you say we have one more match before calling it a day?"

The aching in your muscles made it hard for you to agree, but your pride made it harder for you to say no. The fact that she looked terribly excited about having another match wasn't making it any easier for you to say no either. Before you knew it, you were nodding to her request. "Sure, why not?"

"Perfect." Quickly adjusting her grip, Lucina squared her shoulders and lowered her stance. In the blink of an eye, everything about her had changed. Despite the fact that the two of you were only practicing, she now looked completely ready for battle. In a way, she was almost a bit intimidating. "Ready yourself."

Still not quite sure how you were supposed to go about doing that, you mimicked her movements the best you could and hoped it would be good enough. "Alright, I think I'm ready."

The moment the words had left your lips, Lucina lunged at you. She did this so quickly, you barely had time to move out of the way. Even attempting to counter her attack was out of the question. Unlike earlier when the two of you had sparred, she didn't seem to be holding back at all. Doing nothing more than dodging, you forgot all about trying to launch any attacks yourself. You knew Lucina wouldn't actually hit you, she had far too much control for that, but you still couldn't bring yourself to let your guard down. "Don't stop moving between blows. It's more difficult to move quickly from a standstill than it is to simply speed up."

"Understood." You tried to do as she said, but your movements were still sluggish at best. You blamed this in part, on the fact that you were already rather tired. Despite being unhappy with your own performance, Lucina must have seen some sort of improvement, as she saw fit to praise you.

"Good, just like that. As long as you remain light on your feet you have an advantage over your enemy. Just be careful not to expel too much energy. If you do, you'll tire to quickly and be left vulnerable to someone with more stamina." Despite how quickly she was moving, Lucina didn't seem the slightest bit winded. If you were moving at the same speed as she was, all while wielding a sword, you would have been gasping for air. It wasn't that you were out of shape or sickly, you simply weren't accustomed to this activity. Running from one end of the battlefield with a stave, mending those injured, was nothing for you, but this was something you weren't sure you could get used to. “You're slowing down again. Pick up the pace.”

“I'm trying, really I am.” Your heart now racing wildly in your chest, your lungs began to burn from your rapid, sharp breaths. “I'm just not sure how much more fight I've got left in me.”

“Fight? You haven't fought at all yet, only dodged. You should have plenty of fight left in you.” Though her expression didn't show any sign that she was joking, you knew all too well that Lucina had a terribly dry sense of humor. For this reason, you really hoped she was just teasing you a bit.

“True enough.” Sidestepping just in time to avoid another one of her lightning fast blows, you let out a sigh of relief. “I guess what I should have said, is that I don't have much more dodging left in me.”

Those words caused Lucina's flurry of attacks to come to a sudden, unexpected halt. Tilting her head to the side, just slightly, she looked at you with confusion in her eyes. Just as quickly as she had stopped sparring with you, the realization hit her. With a slow shake of her head, she finally sheathed her sword. “I'm working you into the ground, aren't I?”

“Well, not to the ground exactly.” Honestly quite glad today's training was over, you couldn't help but smile. After taking a deep, much needed breath in, you placed your sword into a nearby barrel and continued. “I am still standing, after all. Barely, but still.”

“Yes you're standing, but you're exhausted.” Feeling guilty that she'd been able to overlook this with such ease, her entire body went lax. “I should have noticed sooner.” Taking a step towards you, Lucina gently placed a hand on your shoulder. “I'm sorry.”

“Don't be.” She had no reason to apologize, at least not in your mind. You did enjoy learning a new skill, especially with someone as patient as she was, so you weren't upset by her enthusiasm to keep going. Then again, her enthusiasm was the main reason why you hadn't told her that you needed a break. Even so, you could have spoken up, or at least given her some hint that her rigorous training was too much for you to handle. “You would have noticed sooner if I had said something, so it's mainly my fault.”

Still confused as to why you hadn't spoken up, Lucina questioned you. “You're not anymore at fault than I am, but why didn't you say anything?”

Why had she had to ask you that? If you told her the truth, you ran the risk of offending her, and you didn't want that. Still, Lucina was your friend, so you doubted your answer would do too much damage. Swallowing back your worries, you finally admitted the truth. “Well, you just really seemed to be having a lot of fun, and I didn't want to be a downer.” As you spoke, a rare smile tugged at Lucina's lips. She actually looked like she might laugh. “What's so funny?”

Lifting a hand to her mouth in an attempt to hide her growing smile, Lucina spoke. “I was enjoying myself so much, because I thought you were. You seemed so eager to learn how to wield a sword, I wanted to give you as much of my attention as possible.”

With the situation now crystal clear to both of you, you couldn't hold back a weak, almost defeated sounding chuckle. “We really need to learn how to communicate better, don't we?”

Lucina nodded. “We do.” Her smile quickly vanishing, Lucina's expression became deadly serious. “From now on, we must promise to always tell each other the truth, no matter what. If comrades can't trust each other with the truth, no one can.” Taking a half step back, she held her hand out to you, as if she wanted you to shake on it. “Agreed?”

Though it was a strange promise to make, seeing as the two of you should have been doing this all along, you firmly took her hand in yours. “Agreed.”

“Good.” Instead of shaking your hand, as you had expected her to do, Lucina pulled your body to hers, hugging you tightly in her arms. Though this was the last thing you would have expected her to do, as she had never hugged you before now, you certainly weren't complaining. After the shock wore off, at least enough for you to make yourself move, you returned her hug tenfold. Still holding you in her embrace, she spoke in a serious tone. “Remember, this is a promise, if you break it, I won't be able to forgive you easily.”

Her words didn't concern you in the slightest. You may not have been very good with a sword, but you were excellent at keeping your promises, especially where your friends were involved. Sounding a little more prideful in that fact than you meant to, you quickly moved to reassure Lucina. “Trust me, you don't have to worry about that. I haven't broken a promise yet and I don't plan on ever breaking one either.”

Obviously approving of your answer, she smiled again. “I'm glad to hear it.” Still hugging you, even now, the air around the two of you grew awkward. After a few more uncomfortable seconds, Lucina cleared her throat. “This hug has gone on a bit too long, hasn't it?”

“Since we're being honest with each other now, yes.” You nodded. “I think it might have.”

“Right.” Quickly, and a little clumsily, Lucina stepped away fom you, letting her arms drop to her sides. Though you weren't sure if it was from the earlier sparring or embarrassment, her cheeks were now dusted with a rosy pink color. “Well then, that's enough training for today. You should go get something to eat, you look exhausted.” Turning on her heel, she began stepping away from you. Before she had gone too far, she looked over her shoulder and waved. “I'll see you in the morning.”

Waving back, you flashed her a smile. “See you then.” Though today had been strange in many ways, and awkward in others, you didn't mind a bit. As oddly as it had come about, you could tell the two of you had grown much closer. If she did, in fact come to see you again tomorrow though, perhaps instead of sword fighting, a lesson on hugging should be taught. After all, it would be nice to be the teacher instead of the student for once.