Private - Poached, Scrambled and a Job Well Done | Page 3

"I'd be happy to just spend time w-with you, Savvy. Fishing with you sounds a whole lot of fun, e-even if I've never a-actually fished before." She blushed, shrinking under the embarrassment at admitting that she'd never tried something that her friend seemed to really enjoy. "S-so you'd have to t-t-teach me how to d-do it and I'd p-probably mess up a bunch until I was b-better at it." She clearly didn't have much confidence in her ability to pick up new skills either.

She shivered slightly as the world around them started to get colder, the higher up the landscape that they climbed. She tugged her clothes tighter to her body and stepped as close to Savannah as she possibly could, feeling the chill on her her body, thanks to her admittedly fairly revealing outfit. She hadn't thought it'd be so revealing when she'd picked it, but now that she actually had to wear it she could see just exactly why some people thought she was the type to put out or like being seen by people. It was pretty mortifying when people actually voiced or acted upon that assumption too.

Though Savannah, the woman seemed entirely fixed on the idea that everybody should be strong, that they had to be strong for Lucia. Sometimes, Luna was tempted to believe that Lucia was invincible and that nothing could ever even hurt the woman, though she was aware that thinking such things was selfish and horrible. It was okay to be afraid of combat, but to rely on Lucia to be strong for her all of the time, to completely pass on her own strength and rely solely on the Necromancer's, was an awful thing to do.

Though, she hadn't been expecting Savannah to actually request her help with something. She blinked, before nodding and offering the woman a friendly smile. "Of course I'd be willing to help you, Savvy! I lo-uh, I-I like you a lot..." She blushed at her almost slip, quickly backtracking. "What is it you need help with?"

 

To be honest, I’ve never fished in real life either. There was no shame as these words escaped her, just unabashed honesty. I’ve never had the money nor the time and certainly no one to take me. I’ve only done it here, in TerraSphere, and I’ve gotten pretty good. I wouldn’t mind teaching you. It’s a…really calming activity. It can get frustrating through. Some of these fish are super smart.

Savannah could have mentioned the bass-trout-thing she had caught as a newbie that somehow got away from her, but she remained quiet. Just remembering how long that fish was and how big it was and how lucky she had been to catch it with her novice ability had filled her with pride and awe. And then, she turned around to put the damn thing in her inventory and it was gone. Whether it flopped back into the water or was stolen by some animal right beneath her nose, who knew! But it wasn’t a moment she was proud of, at all.

Clearing her throat, she glanced at Luna for a moment before dragging her eyes away and toward the horizon. In one swift movement, the woman shrugged off the heavy bear cloak that had been draped around her shoulders and passed it to her compatriot, a soft smile etched on her features. Here, can’t have you getting sick and before you yell at me about getting sick, I’ve trained in this weather with less than what I have on now to acclimate myself. It’s fine.

Maybe that was a little too much information, but she couldn’t print a retraction now.

I, uh, remember seeing one of the tanks during the Bandit King ward off some of the spells that the hydromancers were casting. Just…cast them aside like no problem. And I think there are more…magic users than martial weapon masters in the game, if you really want my honest opinion. She hesitated here, not wanting to go into a long and drawn out explanation. However, she understood that context was important and would probably be the defining factor of whether or not Luna would help.

So, I figure, since you and Lady Lucia and Vivian are all spellcaster, perhaps, maybe, I should learn how to counter some spells…just in case? Her voice got a little high towards the end of her statement and she fake coughed into a closed fist, careful not to look Luna in the face. So, basically, I’d need you to, ah, cast your spells at me so I could learn how to deflect them or tolerate them or…something like that.​

 

Well, it was good that Savannah was willing to teach her how to fish in the game and she was honestly glad that it was a skill that the woman had only picked up inside of the game and wasn't, like, some hobby outside of the game that she'd brought into the game and excelled even further at. She'd have hated to offend the woman by being awful at something that she was super passionate about. She smiled, nodding along as Savannah offered to teach her more about fishing.

Suddenly, she found Savannah's cloak wrapped around her and she looked, dazed at the woman's sudden gesture. She was about to speak up or pass it back, before Savannah argued that she'd practiced wearing much less in cold weather and would be fine without it. At least things weren't as bad as they had been when they'd gone after the Bandit King and had to huddle closely together for warmth. That had actually been a lot of fun. She'd enjoyed it.

Then, Savannah started mentioning the spells and the tanks, bringing Luna back as she wondered if Savannah was going to ask her what she sounded like she was about to ask. And indeed, she did, stunning Luna for a moment before she looked at the woman uncertainly. "Uh, I-I...are you sure? I c-can if you want, b-but Arcanamancy is.....d-dangerous."

 

Savannah stopped a moment or so after Luna did, about an arm’s length of space separating them. She hung her head for a minute, wondering silently to herself why she had even asked. It was dangerous, she knew that, and she knew that Luna had a tender spirit, one that wasn’t keen on fighting. And yet, here she was, asking the poor girl to shoot beams of arcane energy at her so she could learn how to get better countering them.

Really smart thinking…

Turning, she gave Luna a smile, though it was forced, and nodded her head. I mean, yes and no, she started to say, her hand lifting and scratching at her head. I can’t think of any way for me to learn how to counter spellcasters or protect you all from them. Perhaps you can just…blow them up from afar, but what if they’re really hardy? What if you can’t? I can at least stand between you and block of the damage. But I can’t do that if the first fire blast sent my way lands me on my ass.

She spoke calmly, but there was a fierce determination resonating within Savannah’s silver eyes. Perhaps she had thought about this longer than she had let on as her plan sounded…well, sound, outside of the pain she would endure learning how to withstand such attacks. Still, Luna’s hesitation bled into the Knight and she found herself rethinking her words, her brows furrowing, her jaw muscles tight.

It is dangerous though, you’re right. Maybe…ah, I dunno. Let’s just, uh, forget it for now, okay? You don’t have to make any decision now or anything. C’mon, the camp should be close by.

Savannah fell in step beside the other woman and remained quiet for the rest of the walk, the land around them giving way to plains and then, eventually, wastelands. There were a few snow flurries falling from the overcast skin and the temperature was cold enough that every breath steamed in front of the blue-woman’s face, but she didn’t shiver, didn’t look phased at all. Either what she had said about training in these extreme conditions was true, or she was a master at hiding her discomfort.

There’s my tent, she said suddenly, pointing out a structure that was set away from the others, the grey tent covered in a light dusting of snow. The area around it was well kept, but there was not much around to keep. There was no grass, no trees, just barren wasteland like the rest of the area. Further in, there was the hustle and bustle of Lucia’s Citizens milling around near the camp center.

Well, lets get in and get these eggs warm. Then we can start training or wait until the storm blows itself out. The Knight glanced up at the overcast clouds with a frown as she opened the flap and held it open for Luna to enter first.

Hidden: Savannah's Tent

 

Luna shook her head at the first signs of Savannah doubting her idea, patting the woman on the shoulder as she shot her a warm and tender smile. "I can h-help you with it, really! I-It'd b-be good practice for me too! I-I need to get better at h-holding back with my spells, i-in case I h-have to fight any new players." She explained, wanting to be of help to the woman in any way that she could. If she had to fire spells at Savannah in the hopes that the blue woman would pick up a new skill and be able to shrug them off like they were nothing, well then she'd have to just put her trust in the knight. That wasn't too hard.

Quickly though, they found themselves on the outskirts of Lucia's camp, heading straight for Savannah's tent without even sparing a single second. She was fairly sure that Lucia was away at that moment anyway, so it wasn't exactly as if they'd be missing the woman if they didn't drop by her own magnificent tent. Idly, she noted that this would be the first time that she'd ever been inside of a tent in Lucia's camp that wasn't the necromancer's tent itself. She wondered just what it would be like on the inside.

And once she was inside, she found herself more than slightly jealous at just how nice the knight's dwellings actually were. There was a decent bed, a bath and a loveseat in there, along with a few other things. "W-w-wow, this is such a nice tent you have. I-I'm pretty amazed that you fit all of this h-here, to be honest." Though saying that, she had seen the inside of Lucia's tent a couple of times. Now that tent, was an impressive sight to behold.

"Let's see..." She mumbled to herself, before using some furs and blankets to create a makeshift nest on the loveseat, gesturing to it for Savannah to place the eggs there. "That should keep them warm, right?"

 

Lucia’s Death Knight glanced around the interior of her tent and gave an embarrassed shrug. She didn’t have many personal items outside of TerraSphere and none that she cared about as much as she valued her VR Headset. The items in the tent meant little to her, but she didn’t want Luna to think she was a hoarder or something. The reality of the situation was far from that, actually.

It’s the Citizens, Savannah replied with a small sigh. This place just used to have some furs for a place for me to sleep and a little pit for like fire and stuff. But, they started bringing me stuff and I can’t just…refuse them. I mean, they’re learning and everything and their gifts were appreciated…I dunno. She gave a chuckle and shook her head. Part of her didn’t mind that they had gotten her these things, but she didn’t know how to show her thanks. Perhaps she’d need to talk to Lucia about it.

Ah, yeah, that’s a good idea, she said with a nod. Going into her inventory once more, she fished out the two eggs, surprised to see that about an hour had passed since they had fetched them from the forest. They still looked the same to Savannah, but maybe Luna could detect some subtle changes in the egg shells that she couldn’t? They felt the same too, no shaking or spiderweb cracks to worry about.

Carefully, she set the eggs down within the little nest that Luna had made, a smile comforting her lips. They looked…cozy. Much cozier than one the ground surrounded by those multicolored pebbled.

Here, I’ll light a fire so it’s a bit warmer in here for us too. It should help thing, I think. She moved off a bit from Luna and the eggs and knelt, easily starting a small fire within her tent. The smoke from it twisted upwards and out a little opening in the ceiling so that the two women wouldn’t get sick from smoke inhilation.​

 

Oh that made sense. As the citizens learned and grew, they'd started to give Savannah gifts for staying with them. In truth, she still felt a little bit jealous of the knight, but she couldn't exactly fault her for not refusing the gifts, considering she knew that she herself wouldn't have been able to refuse them. It was kind of rude to refuse a gift that somebody had given out of genuine kindness, after all. It was actually rather nice of Savannah to have kept everything that she was gifted. Maybe that was one of the biggest upsides of living with Lucia and camping with her? She didn't know for sure, she'd rejected the woman's offer of staying with her more permanently, not wanting to be a burden on the necromancer and her civilization that she was slowly building.

She watched Savannah place the eggs into the little nest that she'd made and smiled, placing a hand on one of the eggs and examining it. Only a couple of hours left until it hatched and, as she examined the other egg, both were in excellent health. That was pretty amazing, considering the conditions outside. It almost made her sad. The mother would have been an excellent carer, considering the eggs were this healthy so late into their incubation period, despite the cold and bitter weather outside in the world at those late, winter months.

Watching Savannah start a small fire to keep the inside of the tent warm, Luna couldn't help but smile and look around. That bath was.....really tempting, especially on her aching legs after the hike up to the camp. Maybe after they'd had some practice with their weapons, they could take a bath or something? Both of them would fit in it, after all, even if it would be a bit snug. "S-so um, d-do you want to just leave the eggs here and practice with our weapons for an hour or so?" She asked, unleashing a wooden practice scythe from her inventory and gripping it between both hands.

Then, she blushed, shifting awkwardly in place as she raised a shaking hand to the bath and pointed at it. "U-ummm, t-t-t-then afterwards....w-w-we could....takeabath?" She hurried the rest of the question, before gulping. "I-I mean, it'd w-warm us up more and s-sooth any aches!"

 

Savannah finished stoking the fire to a comfortable level and stood up, her arms arching over her head in a long stretch. The quiet pop of her shoulder joints realigning sounded in the tent and she sighed a content sigh once her stretch was done. Turning toward Luna, she was only mildly surprised to see the scythe within the girl’s hands. Obviously, she was eager, and Savannah couldn’t fault her for that. However, the smile that was about to cross her lips hesitated upon hearing Luna’s next words.

Her eyes skittered over to the clawfoot tub that sat in one corner of her tent. It had taken four Citizens to carry it here and three more to install the thing, all while Savannah had stood idly by watching the scene between her fingers. They had seemed happy, smiling and joking with one another. Even after they had set the tub down and prepared to leave only to find that one of them had accidentally allowed a finger to become stuck beneath one of the legs of the tub.

Savannah had been mortified.

Ah, s-s-sure, she murmured with a small nod of her head. A hot bath would be great for their joints after their sparring session…but memories concerning her Ladyship immediately sprung to life within her skull. Her mouth went dry and her tongue felt heavy inside her mouth. Luna didn’t…mean…

She shook the thoughts from her head and quickly walked over to the wooden chest that sat comfortably at the foot of her bed. She threw it open and withdrew two hand axes from within before closing it. She didn’t bother with the lock. Since they would be practicing just outside the entrance, there was no way anyone would be getting into her living quarters without her knowing.

Okay, she whispered before turning toward her friend, compatriot and…lover. Alright, lets, ah, head out there and get started. Yeah?

She led the way outside, still sans her heavy armor. The snow was falling a little heavier now and there was a decent dusting on the ground, keeping what little green blades of grass that had grown from showing. Savannah glanced off toward the center of the camp, her silver eyes matching the heavy grey overcast clouds overhead. Lucia still wasn’t home, it appeared, for the Knight couldn’t see the tell-tale plume of smoke drifting upwards from where her tent would be.

Okay! So, ah, these weapons are dull. They’re made specifically for practicing. They won’t tear your flesh. She blinked and glanced at the little slip of basically nothing that Luna was wearing before she gave a bark of laughter. I fear for your clothing though. No matter; if I fuck it up, I’ll buy you something new…and more adept for up close fighting. What do you think?​

 

Phew. She was really glad that Savannah had agreed to take the bath after the spar, thanking her lucky stars that the girl wasn't offended or disgusted by the idea of bathing together. They would probably be really sore after training and Luna didn't want either of them to be in a bad mood for when the eggs finally did hatch. The young raptors would be impressionable and would learn behavioral skills and traits through observation after all. They had to set good examples for the infant creatures, as strange as such a foreign idea might have seemed to either of them. It was something that Luna felt like she just knew to be true and that it was one of the only things she'd ever really know best at.

She watched Savannah pick up two wooden axes from her chest and smiled, glad that the woman was also going to just be using practice weapons for this. It wasn't that she didn't trust Savannah not to kill her somehow, but her own stupid feet would have probably had her stumbling her way into a beheading or something at some point during the spar. She shifted slightly, weighing up her scythe in her hand, smiling as she was satisfied with the way it felt when she held it.

Eventually, they found themselves outside standing opposite each other as Savannah mentioned being afraid of damaging her clothes a little. Luna blushed, but shrugged it off with a warm smile and an attempt at a flirty wink. "A-Ah um, don't worry about it. You wouldn't be the....first person to use stripping me as a way of training." She shifted, before readying her grip on her scythe and focusing slightly more. "Any tips for a beginner to the art of cleaving?"

 

Beginner tips? Ah, well, it will…be more intense than spellcasting, I think. There’s going to be resistance when you swing and hit.

Savannah placed a hand axe in each hand and demonstrated a very basic swing with one before following up with the second. She was hitting the air so it hardly displayed what she was talking about, but overhand swings were probably the easiest to do with her weapons. However, glancing at Luna’s scythe, she couldn’t say that that would necessarily be the same. So, perhaps practicing with side swipes would be better?

You…gotta get a feel for your weapon. Hand axes like these are lightweight and super easy to use. Your scythe is probably much heavier, even being a wooden weapon, so it might be a little tougher to swing. And when you connect, there might be more…impact than you’re expecting. Here, lets just try that first.

Savannah lowered her weapons to her sides and nodded toward the other woman. Come and do some practice swings on me. I’ll let you do three, so you know what it feels like to hit a body, then I’ll block three so you know how it feels when someone counters your attack. ​

 

More intense than spellcasting? She'd assumed that to be the case, though having it affirmed out loud by somebody made it feel all that bit more realistic than it had. It'd barely set in until now that she was learning to wield a scythe.

She watched in wonder as Savannah gave a demonstration of a few slashes with her hand axes, inwardly breaking them down and analyzing them, trying to figure out how she could alter them to be more suited to using her own scythe. It was probably a bit of a better idea to swing from the side or from below, as well as make sure she used the cutting edge of the scythe blade and didn't let whoever she was facing step within her guard. She'd watched a few fantasy shows and played a few RPG games before, so she could probably figure it out.

She hummed, nodding along as Savannah spoke about having to get a feel for the weapon and all of that kind of stuff, hefting her scythe in her hands as she gave a few mock swings at the air, before Savannah recommended she try hitting her with it. Luna nodded, a serious gleam entering her eyes.

After a moment of focus, she took her first swing from the right side, the blunted head of her practice scythe slamming into the blue woman, though the impact made Luna stagger slightly. Savannah was solid and build sturdy as a brick house. Luna grunted, swinging from the right again, though this time she came in at more of a diagonal angle and slammed the practice head into Savannah's stomach, before rapidly adjusting and swinging from the left, catching the woman barely on the side.

"Wow, it's much more different than I thought." She mused out loud, before she nodded. "Right, time for the blocks." The swings would come in the same sort of manner. One from the right, one from below and one from the left.

 

Savannah held a wide stance as she waited for Luna to attack her. The blow from the scythe didn’t necessarily hurt, but she did grunt from the impact. Though wooden, there was enough weight behind the weapon for the impact to slightly sting. It wasn’t comparable to any of the battles or fights she had been in before, but at least this would give Luna some measure of a starting point. There would always be resistance when striking out at an opponent and, most of the time, you could use that to your advantage.

But those were advance tactics. They were still in the beginner tier.

Good, good, Savannah remarked with a smile. She didn’t fancy herself a teacher, but if Luna was getting anything from just this little bit of practice, then she was happy. If your blade ever goes through an enemy or there’s no resistance, you’re probably dealing with an illusion. I guess that’s something you can’t really tell from far off spellcasting. I’ve seen some illusions persist right through a fire ball or a lightening explosion denoting at their feet.

When Luna indicated that she was ready to move onto blocking, Savannah gave a tight nod of her head and brought up her weapons. Your weapon is gonna vibrate a little because of the impact, so get ready for that.

Sure enough, when Luna’s scythe met the blade of Savannah’s hand axes, there was a slight ricochet of movement through both weapons. Savannah was used to it and barely ever thought about it. But for a newbie like Luna, it could be highly distracting. This’ll always happen when you’re fighting weapon to weapon, she murmured, parrying another attack with slow, exaggerated movements, trying to teach with her body more than her words. It’s probably the game giving martial fighters weight to their actions or some shit.

An easy shrug passed over her shoulders as she parried the last blow, a satisfied smile comforting her dark blue lips.

Okay, now I’m going to go on the offensive and you can block my attacks. That way, you’ll know what it feels like on both ends. Now, I’ll go slow so it’ll be easy and then later on, we can speed up and see how you do on your feet, okay?​

 

Luna could definitely see how it'd be easier to notice an illusion up close than it would be blasting it from far away, even if she'd never actually faced anybody that used illusions before. For that knowledge, she was grateful that the knight had decided to teach her, seeing just how she might see such a thing as useful on the field of battle. Sure, illusion users might not be the most common bunch milling about, but that just meant that fewer people were aware of how to counter them, which made them dangerous enemies.

Though, she'd definitely been wrong if she thought that she was ready for the vibration of having her strikes blocked by the woman, then she was dead wrong. With each block, it threw her aim and adjustment off massively, though she did manage to make every strike connect with Savannah's blocks, her teeth grit as she realized just how different and difficult learning to fight with an actual weapon would be. The resistance, the drag and the vibration of having her blows blocked all were harsh reminders that even if this was a game, it was also as realistic as reality at some points. Maybe this was one of them?

Eventually, Savannah suggested that she switch to blocking, Luna nodding her agreement as she readied up. The first blow, she failed to block, misjudging the location of her own weapon in comparison to Savannah's and taking a blow to the chest as a punishment. From there, she slowly started to improve, though it was clear that blocking would never be her strongest suit. She'd much rather avoid blows than block them, as evidenced by her natural inclination to duck and jump away rather than block.

Eventually, she stopped, panting. "B-Blocking is scary, even with a big weapon." She admitted, shuffling slightly. "S-sorry I tend to dodge more. I-I definitely learned a lot though!"

 

The Death Knight found it amusing that they were basically ten feet away from the place where they had started practicing. She hadn’t intended on following Luna with her strikes, but the girl was more likely to duck and scamper away than stand there and take the blows. She could see the appeal of it and it was attainable with the scant bit of armor that Luna wore, but Savannah only found it frustrating. When they finally paused, she gave a grim smile.

It’s alright, she chorused, her chest rising and falling rapidly. It was easier to follow her sans the heavy armor that Savannah usually wore, but that didn’t mean it was any less energy consuming. Everyone has their own fighting style. Yours just might encompass more nimble maneuvers than mine. I’m built to stand up in the front and take blows and punishments that come my way. You, on the other hand, would be better as a skirmisher perhaps, ducking in and out of fights and going for weak points.

A critical silver eye coasted over Luna’s weapon and a small chuckle came from her. Well, in as much as you can manage with a weapon of that size.

She beckoned the girl back to their starting area, just in front of Savannah’s tent. Heat billowed from inside the tent and made their little practice area warmer than the surrounding landscape which was covered in a light dusting of snow. And still it came from the sky, fat snowflakes that colored Savannah’s midnight black hair and dotted her azure skin. She didn’t seem phased by it or the cold and exhaled a puff of steam, the cold seeming to invigorate her instead of slow her down.

Alright, do you think you’re ready for a practice spar? I won’t go all out, but it’ll give you a taste of what combat could possibly be. What do you think?​

 

Luna felt for a moment that maybe she'd upset or disappointed Savannah with her inability to commit to blocking and parrying blows, eyes wide as she looked at the floor for a moment. It wouldn't be the first time that she'd ever disappointed somebody that was trying to teach her a useful lesson, she tended to screw up a lot after all. Still, she'd really hoped that she would do well with this sort of thing, even if that had been merely wishful thinking and nothing more. She hadn't even noticed how far they'd ended up moving from the starting point, blushing when she finally did realize as Savannah started walking back to the starting point. It was official, she'd screwed up.

That was when Savannah mentioned a practice spar and holding back. Luna gulped, shifting awkwardly for a moment. "I-I-I think I'm r-r-ready, a-a-as long as you don't want me to block as much...?" She asked hopefully, shifting into a stance that was a little bit more ready for actual combat than her previous, awkward standing around using her scythe like a crutch. She really did like the way the weapon sat in her hands, if she was honest. It'd take a lot of practice to learn to wield, but she could do it. She had to be able to do it!

She breathed, in then out, calming her tense and distracting nerves as much as she could, a small blue gleam appearing in her violet eye. She'd fight the way Savannah had suggested that she fight, using her speed and agility rather than her strength and endurance. Those weren't the qualities that had manifested themselves as strongly in herself, trying to rely on those would be trying to be somebody that she wasn't.

She took another set of breaths, in and out, running like a mantra in her head as she thought. Scythes were great at embedding themselves into and rending away armor. Her scythe would be what she used to open up enemies for further attacks.

Without warning she span her scythe to grip it in a more battle ready manner, to her right side with the tip of the blade just barely scraping across the ground. "I'm ready when you are, Savvy! Please, come at me!"