sranks | we are the cursed we came from fire and ice

It's something most of us are taught. We learn to swing a sword, and then we learn how to repair it. It isn't particularly easy, but it's rewarding.

[There we go, that should do it. He gives the sword a few more swings and nods, setting it aside. The next one requires some work on the blade...]

I guess you could call it relaxing. It's important work, and it keeps my hands busy.

[He doesn't like sitting around and doing nothing, unsurprisingly.

He chances a glance at her, studying her expression for a moment in silence before getting back to work.]

The most important thing to do first is assess the chips in the blade. If they look like this, they can be repaired. If it goes deeper, there's no point in fixing it. You can't send a blade back to the forge and hope to fix it up that way - it's too much work and results are inconsistent at best. You'd have to reforge the whole thing, which is way too much work.

[Felix continues as he works, explaining the best way to remove chips from blades and the proper way to determine when a blade isn't worth trying to fix. He sounds like he knows what he's talking about, at least.]

It certainly sounds as such...

[Camilla does wind up staying quiet while he continues, though; she's not surprised that he took so well to it, in hindsight. Camilla watches him work and listens with surprisingly rapt attention, watching him fix the blade and explain just how to remove those chips and how to determine if a blade is worth fixing. It's actually not bad to hear such things; Camilla's been learning much in the way of taking care of animals and she knows much of taking care of people, but weaponry and the like has always been beyond her.

Camilla's expression isn't soft, by any means, but...well, once he's done with the explanation, Camilla rises.]

I'll be back in a moment.

[If Felix decides to watch her, she's actually going over to get the training swords he didn't take and some supplies--she's got a decent memory, and she makes sure to grab everything that she saw with him, before setting everything down rejoining him.]

...I think I may be able to understand what to do, through watching you; allow me to see if I can't learn to do so even half as well as you.

[It's not competitive, or even teasing; it's a genuine interest on Camilla's part to learn from him.]

Though, I do supposed I am curious, if this is something you know...would a similar principle apply to other such weaponry? Or are there different ways depending on the weapon?

[Felix has no problems laying all this out for her; it's relatively easy, and even though he doesn't usually talk this much at any one time, get him started on something he enjoys and he can keep going for awhile.

He doesn't look up when Camilla starts speaking, only when she rises. He nods at her words and watches her, and then pretends he wasn't staring when she rejoins him. The slight flush is probably the only indication that he was nearly caught staring.

It's... nice to know that she's interested in this, okay.]

There are differences, yes. Your axes, for instance, would require you to look for different sorts of cracks. Given the way axes are structured, fatal ones will look different than those of swords. Admittedly, I haven't been taught much about repairing axes, so I'm not sure how much I can help you with that.

[His eyes stray to her hands as she works, and though he'll fervently deny it if she calls him on it, he is smiling.]

[Camilla will at least get started on attempting to care for one of the weapons in question--she gives it a thorough look over, as she's seen him do but his words do cause her to dart her eyes over to him to see...

...Oh.

Oh, that's...a cute smile--were Camilla perhaps feeling teasing, she'd call him on it, but that's...nice, actually. Perhaps for the first time in a bit, Camilla finds herself smiling very slightly as her eyes go back over the sword in her hands, looking it over and finding it satisfactory at least to start.]

Well, you have given me a good base to start from. [Camilla admits that much easily, and her eyes dart over to his hands really quickly to pick out what she needs to start.] I think that is something I'll look into, then. I would find that to be exceedingly useful knowledge to have on the field, and...I wouldn't mind passing that onto you. Though I know you don't use axes at all.

[Alright, let's just get this started--Felix might notice that while Camilla has a good idea of what to do, she might be applying a bit too much force while she tries to repair some of the chips. It's definitely not because she's angry, but she kinda...still doesn't know how to hold back her strength a lot...please help...]

[She sees, and he immediately steels his expression back into something more neutral. Thankfully, Camilla doesn't tease him, which gets the tension in his shoulders to slowly slip away. Maybe she realizes what he's trying to do and that's why she doesn't feel the need to call him on it.

It's... kind of nice, anyway.]

It'd be worth knowing. Even though I don't use them, having someone else around who knows how to take care of them will always be useful.

[She gets to work, and it doesn't take him long at all to notice that she's being entirely too forceful. His eyes narrow as he ponders whether that's because of the changes or if she's always been like this.]

Careful. If you're too hard on them, you could break them or cause even more cracks. Be gentle with it, it doesn't need very much force at all.

Then I shall do that.

[--Oh, whoops. Camilla stops herself and blinks a bit down at her hands, before shaking her head. No, there's no use in contemplating why this much is happening, even if she does seem briefly frustrated. She didn't expect this to actually become a problem at all...]

Oh my, of course. My apologies; I'm afraid I did not know my own strength. I shall endeavor to be more careful.

[Camilla dials back the force quite a bit and gets back to work, concentrating hard. She's doing better this time, though, at the very least.]

Just take it slow. There's no need to rush.

[Felix watches her as she works, primarily studying her efforts with the blade, but eventually drifting back up to her face. She really has changed a lot, huh...

He returns his attention to the sword he's working on and focuses on the task at hand.]

Come find me sometime. For sparring or for this sort of thing. It'd be better than putting up with Sylvain.

[...That is the most backwards way of asking to hang out with someone more...]

[Camilla nods her head in response to that; honestly, she wants to take it slow, if only because this is something that's definitely helping her get her mind off of everything that's happened, if only slightly.

...Of course, Felix's very backwards way to ask her to hang out does get her gaze to dart over to him, something slightly amused on her face, before she goes back to her work--]

I will; I'd be happy to, you know. When I'm not serving my lord, my time tends to be quite free, and I would be most happy to spend it with you.

[It's gentle, with no teasing behind it. Sparring with Felix is always fun, after all, and the distraction would be nice.]

I can imagine that dealing with Sylvain and his rather...debonair ways would have many a way to leave one irate. So, truly, it is no trouble at all.

[camilla doesn't even respect sylvain enough to call him lord, rip]

[it's what the fuckboy deserves!!!]

If he's been giving you trouble, I'll throttle him.

[He huffs at that; he's pretty damn sure Sylvain hasn't been, if only because the entire Blue Lions house has an unspoken agreement to suddenly pop up the second Sylvain so much as looks Camilla's way, but still.]

I've known him since we were kids; he's always been exactly like this.

[There's no fondness there, definitely not any exasperated fondness, okay!!]

[Ah--Camilla stops her work quickly and shakes her head.]

No, no, he hasn't been. I can assure you of that. He hasn't bothered me at all.

[...Still, Felix being so willing to fight him is kind of sweet. And funny at the same time...]

Believe me, he'd be talking about the lovely dip he had in the pond if he did...but I'd be certain to let you know if he did. Promise.

[Of course, Felix does say something interesting, and Camilla goes back to work with a smile.]

Has he? I must admit, I'm not surprised; he seems like the sort to have come into the world with a wink on his face and a rose in his hand...

[Camilla chuckles, though.]

Would you tell me more, if you're so inclined? I must admit, I am curious.

[It sounds like there's a storied history there, and maybe it won't be so sad!]

Good. He'd deserve it.

[And so much more!! Felix is content to let that drop for now, and at Camilla's question he sighs.

For a moment, it seems like he won't elaborate. He's focused solely on removing a chip from the blade and that seems to have captured his attention entirely. But then he starts, almost hesitantly.]

Sylvain, Ingrid, and I were all friends with the boar when we were kids. We didn't usually all get together, but I saw a fair amount of them growing up. The boar and I spent a lot of time together; our fathers were close. Ingrid and Sylvain spent a lot of time together too, and she has all sorts of crazy stories about the things he did around her. Mostly he tried to drag me into his stupid shenanigans.

[As he speaks, his expression softens a bit.]

It wasn't all that bad, I guess. I spent a lot of time with them, and a lot of time with my older brother. We... had fun.

[...]

That's all in the past now, though. Ingrid's fine, but Sylvain's a pain and the less I see of the boar, the better.

[...Oh, that's...

Camilla wasn't sure if Felix was going to speak of it at all, but when he hesitantly starts, she can imagine it at least slightly. Sure, she never really had friends in House Gloucester other than Lord Lorenz, but her experiences in House Krakenburg--the few good ones--at least give her an idea of what it was like. The four of them, playing together, doing silly things, having...well, a childhood together. It's sweet, really.

It makes it all the more sad, what happened with Felix's brother and thus most of their friendships, but...]

...Even if it was all in the past, it sounds like those memories were happy ones. Ones that you cherish...and certainly, I can imagine all of it well. You all must have been very happy together, even with such silly shenanigans and the like.

[It's gentle, at any rate, while Camilla works as well. She doesn't want to sound sympathetic at all, and she's trying to keep that out of her tone while she works.]

Such friendship does sound incredibly wonderful, after all.

[Camilla finishes her current sword, testing it out like she's seen Felix do it--everything seems all worked out, at least, but she's giving it one last check over just in case. She isn't looking at Felix, at any rate, and her look seems a little distant.]

[Felix doesn't respond verbally, but he does nod briefly after a moment. It was wonderful, but that was then. It doesn't matter what things were like in the past, what matters is here and now.

He realizes he's being entirely too harsh with the blade and clicks his tongue against his teeth before setting it aside. He's not going to risk adding more cracks or worse, breaking the blade. It's stupid how easily his emotions get the better of him, especially about something so pointless.]

That's all in the past, though. I've got more important things to focus on now.

...So you do.

[Camilla's look wanders over to Felix, wondering if she said too much. She studies how hard he's being on the blade and forces herself look back over to her own, setting it aside and picking out another to work on.

Maybe it'd be better to get off of this subject.]

...At any rate, I really do hope that you will be able to find the strength that you seek. And we shall all be here to help you hone it. We would be remiss not to, truly.

[It's definitely a bit of a sideways way to say she's looking forward to helping him get stronger, but it's there.]

And the Leicester Alliance's specialty is bows, you know. Have you been training with them while I've been gone?

[camilla oh my god]

Yeah. I know.

[The subject change gets a laugh out of him. It's short and sharp, but not very loud.]

I'd be lying if I said I transferred without thinking about how the Golden Deer house could help me with my marksmanship. I've improved considerably since I started with a bow. No thanks to Claude, of course.

[in this house we drag claude]

[we absolutely drag claude

...though we drag him slightly less since he saved lorenz's life]

Really now? You'll have to show me how that's going, then. I imagine Seteth still won't allow me on a wyvern for a while yet, but I would rather like to see such things in action.

Who know? Perhaps you'll actually manage to land a hit.

[That's slightly competitive. It's...nice, at the least, to get some pep back in her.]

Tch.

[It isn't an annoyed sound at all, though he's doing his best to pretend he's annoyed. The twitch at the corner of his mouth is probably enough of an indication that he's holding back a smirk.]

With all the extra practice I'll be getting, I'll take you out before you have a chance to get near me.

[Camilla's look darts over to Felix briefly and she sees that half-smirk he seems to be restraining--it's adorable that he thinks he'll be able to beat her.]

Oh, truly? I'd quite like to see that. I'll just have to destroy you utterly before you get the chance to fire off even one little arrow~

You make it sound like it'll be that easy. Watch yourself, I won't hold back.

[The smirk is openly visible for a moment before he realizes and tries to temper it back into something a bit more restrained.]

I'll be around whenever you want to spar, even if it's nothing too serious.

[She'll probably have to build back up to it, after all...]

I know you won't. But it shall be quite fun.

[Camilla smirks a bit in kind, though her expression settles a bit after.]

Then I'll gladly seek you out. It...may be some time before I can battle at my full strength, but I assure you, I'm not holding back when we spar. It's...

[Camilla's mind briefly wanders back to that month, that hideous, awful month before forcing her eyes shut and simply breathing to calm herself. She's safe here. She's safe.]

...It's simply going to take some time. That is all.

[Camilla looks down to the sword she's working on and shakes her head a bit, thankful she didn't crack it further. It's fine, she's fine, she's not exhausted or anything it's fine.]

But until then, I'm certain that keeping myself sharp will only be a benefit, so...thank you.

[Felix looks up when she hesitates, watching as she shuts her eyes and breathes. He doesn't have any idea what she's been through, but he can only imagine how horrific it was. She doesn't want to relive it. She doesn't want to think about it either.]

...Yeah. If it gets to be too much, you can tell me to back off.

[It's not something he'd offer anyone. But he offers it to her now, because he really doesn't know how to handle this, and maybe throwing herself into training isn't what will help Camilla the most right now.

He lets out a sigh and picks up the sword again to get back to work.]

I'm bad at this. I don't know what to say or do. But if you need a distraction, I'll always be here. That much I can do for you.

[It has a hard edge to it, though it isn't angry. Frustrated, perhaps, but only with himself. Even so, he doubts anyone really knows how to help Camilla right now; this isn't something a bunch of kids should know how to handle.

But still... he wishes there was more he could do for her.]

[Oh, that's...Camilla's not sure how to respond at first, and that's a little obvious given how she looks at Felix with a bit of shock. She's never known him to hold back, but to offer that to her is...]

...You're not bad at this at all, Felix. I want to assure you of that much. I'm simply a touch scattered right now, and I don't think even I know a way towards getting better.

[He's doing pretty well at distracting her, but she can tell how frustrated he is. It doesn't feel fair to expect him to have answers for all of this, and she won't, but--]

You're doing more than enough, by teaching me this much. And I truly can't thank you enough for offering so much to me when I am in such a state; to hold back if needed, to spar whenever I would like...

...I truly can't thank you enough for simply being here, Felix.

[That's honest. Camilla knows damn well that this is hard for him, and she wouldn't expect anyone to have a proper answer for how to move forward. But they're both doing their best, and that's all Camilla can ask.]

[He exhales softly, then finally looks at her properly.]

You're welcome. I want to do what I can for you.

[It's honest, though colored by that mild annoyance he can never really seem to get out of his tone.]

So... whatever you need. Let me know.

[There are things that other people will be able to help her with, but he trusts that she knows what he can do for her. So if there's anything she needs that he can provide, he'll offer it, without any hesitation.]

I don't know how long it'll take, but that doesn't matter to me. I'm not going anywhere.

[...You know, there's much she expects to come out of Felix's mouth but that. That is not it? The idea that he wants to do what he can for her, that he's not going anywhere, it's...well, she's pretty sure her mind's dwelling on it more than needed, and even if Camilla's expression looks composed, she's actually just a bit flushed and pointedly focusing on the blade.

It's fine? All of this is incredibly fine, she even looks happy with that but it's...nice to hear that. It's nice. That's all it is.]

...Thank you. That means much to me, that you aren't going anywhere and that you're willing to do such things for me.

[This blade is really fascinating right now.]

Do let me know if there is anything more I can do for you, as well.

[...Right, well, he's looking back at his blade, though he's careful not to be too hard on it.]

Yeah. I'll let you know.

[Because the last thing he wants to do is treat her like she can't help him right now. He figures she'll appreciate being treated as she always would. Maybe he's wrong, but that's what makes the most sense to him.]

But don't worry too much about me. I'm doing just fine, now that...

[you're back.]

...Never mind.

we are the cursed we came from fire and ice

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