[Beginning of the End 2/7] Training Again
|| The day after their encounter with Lucedio, Damien got up at exactly five in the morning. While he wouldn't be waking up Chava for another couple hours, he figured it would be best to set up the old training area again. Luckily for him it was nearby, so instead of apparating, he walked out the door after getting dressed, walking to his destination and enjoying the cool morning air. His thoughts turned to the conversation he had Chava had after their conflict with Lucedio, and more specifically Chava's appall at waking up early. He would probably have to resort to drastic measures to get her up. It wasn't that much of an issue prior, as he'd always let her sleep in, while he went off to the Ministry. Now that she wanted to go everywhere with him, it would pose quite the issue, until she got used to being up early, of course. He arrived at the dark alley near the shop, and cast his eyes about the area, as if trying to plan out the session. "Every session is different." he told himself, "It allows for variety, and makes sure you don't get comfortable with a routine." He couldn't even use his normal teaching methods given his unbreakable vow. He would have to find some way to have the same effect, without having the potential to cause harm. He walked up to the side of the shop, pressing his finger against the mortar between the bricks, testing how strong it was. Figuring it was good enough, he pulled the knives from his wrist, and laying them on the ground. With that he moved on to other parts of the alley. Inside the shop, he re-summoned the single training dummy he typically had on the inside. And finally in the alley, he set up several dummies in the lighter areas, not that there were many. He felt he should have been satisfied, however he felt that something was missing. Anyone could sneak by a dummy. If he were a bit stronger magically he would make them aware, but that wasn't an option. He would just have to be part of the course himself. He would give her a bit of leeway on this first day, but as she progressed he would make everything harder. With an hour spent since he first awoke, he decided to pass the time in the shop by summoning another dummy to train on. When that final hour passed, he apparated home, and walked into the kitchen. It was best to have a backup plan after all. He walked over to the sink, filling up a glass with cold water, before putting a couple of ice cubes in it, as well as brewing a cup of coffee. The carrot and the stick as it were. He wasn't sure if Chava enjoyed coffee, but he would certainly learn to day. He finally walked upstairs, placing both the cups on the nightstand, and shaking Chava's shoulder. "Time to get up." he spoke. "Training. If you don't get up now, you'll get ice cold water poured on your head."
|| For whatever reason, sleep was important to Chava, very much so. As it was, on her own she was a nightmare to deal with, but a sleepless Chava, dead on her feet, would be a much worse deal. She could hardly even focus, too groggy to care what she did. Lately, she had been getting more than enough sleep for herself, which most likely contributed to her happy mood and the fact that she had less and less breakdowns. So it was fair to say Damien was treading on shades of glass here in waking her up as early as he was. She hadn't woken up as early in a while, so she was bound to take it worse than he might suspect. Being the ironically light sleeper that she was, vaguely she heard Damien's voice in her ear, but it was met only with a scowl. She'd rather just pull him back down to her, curl around him, and continue sleeping, but she was already guessing he wouldn't allow as much to happen, not while training was planned. "I fucking dare you," she grumbles lowly, her eyes still shut, having not moved an inch since barely waking up. And he did dare, it seemed, as moments later she releases a loud shriek, of something like shock and frustration. She jumps and sits up, running her fingers through her now wet hair. She whirls on Damien, snarling, still pointedly sitting in bed. But hey, she was most definitely awake now. "Damien..." she growls, shivering slightly. "What the hell?"
|| For the first time, Damien realized Chava was somewhat of a light sleeper. It just seemed she liked her sleep. He noted this, before raising a brow at her dare, before instantly turning the cup over her head, chuckling as she shrieked and sat up. "To be fair, I did warn you." He waves his hand towards the dresser, before handing her the coffee he'd brewed. "You might as well get dressed. I'm not going to relent until you come with me for training." He started moving towards the door, figuring to make them a quick breakfast before heading out. He pauses before turning his gaze back towards her, "I wouldn't suggest anything too loose, nor too restrictive. You're going to need to be agile." With that he turned away and head down stairs to make their breakfast.
|| Even though she took the coffee and began to take sips at it, Chava was still scowling, curling the blanket around herself. She was still very tired, and not even coffee would completely fix that, this she knew. She doesn't say a word as she goes, simply laying back down after he does? Did she dare try to fall back asleep? Probably not. She knew, in her right mind, that she had kind of done this to herself, and desperately needed training after all. But even if she knew this deep down, her tired body was still dead set on being unreasonable and stubborn. Eventually, however, she finishes her coffee and pulls herself out of bed, gets dressed, and drags herself downstairs to meet Damien once more. Dragging her feet across the floor, she moves to Damien to curl her arms around his torso from behind, closing her eyes once more with a squeeze. "Do we have to do this now?" she whines softly. "Why not later on?" She tugs on his sleeve as if she were a child, jutting her lower lip out into a pout. "Can't we go back to bed now?"
| Damien places two plates of bacon and eggs on the table as she comes down before nodding at Chava. "Yes, we have to do this after we eat." He takes a seat, waving at her to sit as well he jabs a fork into his eggs, before shaking his head. "If we do it later on, I'll be annoyed because of my time at the ministry, and I'll end up using that training to take out my annoyance on you." Between every few words he takes a bite of his food, preferring to down it as quickly as possible, before commenting again. "Besides. It's best to train when you're of your element. That way you learn to adapt." As soon as he was done with his meal, he brings his plate over to the sink, before turning back and leaning against the doorway between the kitchen and dining room. "I'll be going easy on you this session, and you'll be able to go back to sleep if you want as soon as we're done."
|| Chava was decidedly affectionate towards him, as if hoping she could change his mind about the whole affair, and push it back later. She really only picks at her food, finding herself unable to eat so much in the morning while she was still very tired. It was better to not give herself anything to throw up later once she got moving. When he finishes and stands, she drags her way over to him once more, leaning on him and again curling her arms around him, tugging his shirt. "But I'm tired," she pouts, even sniffling a little for extra measure. Usually, she was quite stubborn, but now she didn't much have the energy for even that. It was a losing battle, this she knew. She just wouldn't admit to it outright. She grumbles as some form of begrudging agreement, though still not letting go of him. "I don't like you," she insists, huffing.
|| A sigh escapes his lips and he shakes his head slightly. "I'm tired too. Do you think I liked getting up at five in the morning?" he questions gently with a raised brow. He shakes his head again before speaking, "You'll get used to it eventually. But don't worry, you'll still be able to sleep in every now and then." He smirks at her comment, chuckling again. "Yes you do. You wouldn't have married me otherwise." He smirks slightly, before reaching out and grabbing her hand, apparating them both to the alley. Where before his expression was encouraging and warm, he now took a more serious expression. "Alright. You have four things to do today." He pointed towards the wall with the daggers laying on the ground in front of them. "You want be with me when I go somewhere? You're going to need to learn how to climb a building. Since this is your first time, I'm allowing you to use those daggers. The mortar is malleable enough for you to drive them through it." He moved his arm to the door to the show, where in the basement was the dummy. "You'll be practicing your combat skills against a dummy. You're already decent with a wand, but Lucedio is better. You're also abysmal with daggers. Train both." He moved his had towards the shadowy alleyway with the training dummies. "You also have stealth training over there. Since dummies are easy to sneak by, I will be participating. I'll be watching for the first part of the course. During the last part, you'll have to get past me without me noticing to pass." He turns towards Chava with a grin as he relayed the last task. "And once all that is done, you'll spar against me. The spar will end when either you're too tired to continue, or you manage to land a hit. Since I am bound by my vow more than you are, I won't do my standard training methods, such as throw knives at you while you climb the wall." he folds his arms with a smirk before waving his arm all around. "Where do you want to start?"
|| It was fair to say Chava was very overwhelmed by all the information just presented to her. Almost everything looked next to impossible. Her mouth drops open as he speaks, introducing her to each task. She had something to say about but each of them, once she could get over her initial shock. It was one of those times where she was glad he was bound by his unbreakable vow. "Throw knives...?" she whispers incredulously, before shaking her head and closing her gaping mouth. Oh yes, she had made the decision to be difficult. She points at the first task, the wall climbing. "First of all, no," she says simply, before gesturing wildly at her own arms. "You think I have any upper body strength?! I can't do that." She says this as if she had already decided she would not do it. The task would take forever. The second task mentioned was her favorite. "I can fight a stupid dummy," she sneers. She knew magic and she was adept /enough/ with a blade to at least know how to kill. That should be fine, right? She had gotten plenty of real life training after all. She moves on to point out the third task mentioned. "Can't I just apparate? Concentrate enough and I can get out as well as I want," she huffs, crossing her arms over her chest, before moving to the last task. She stares at him dead on, face serious. "I am /not/ fighting you," she says sternly. She would be caught much too off guard and even if she managed it in the first place, it would be pointless, as there was no way she could try and get a hit against him, no way she'd want to or be willing. Even if it would be practically harmless.
| Damien chuckles slightly, shaking his head. "Be thankful my vow makes sure I don't do that." He turns towards the wall, taking a few steps towards it before turning back towards Chava. "Everyone starts from somewhere. When I first started climbing I fell quite a few times. It took practice. I'm not asking you to succeed your first time. But at the same time you must try." He folds his arms, narrowing his arms before saying, "Or you won't be able to keep up with me, and I won't allow you when I go anywhere other than the Ministry." The tone he used made it seem as if he'd be using body binds against her to make sure she didn't join him. When she talked about the dummy, he shook his head chuckling. "Oh no. If you don't do it I'll be using a spell to animate the dummy. It's much harder to hit a moving target." What was all he said on the subject, as he turned his gaze towards the shadowy alley. "And if you run into an "Anti-Apparation Ward? Not to mention, you went to Azkaban because you got caught. So learn how to not get caught." Finally he spins around to face her. "And you will fight me. If it makes you feel better I guarantee you won't win against me this time. But it's always best to train with sparring. Not only does it help you fight better, it also helps you anticipate an enemy's moves." With that he waved his arm around again before narrowing his eyes again. "Now pick what you're doing first. Remember. I'm not asking you to succeed your first try, but that you do just that and try."
|| Folding her arms over her chest, she wanted to keep fighting this training, even if she knew how necessary it was. Under different conditions she may have been enthusiastic and tried everything as soon as possible in an effort to please him, but now she simply wanted to sulk. This being so, she didn't have much of a filter as she spoke. Which lead to saying things she didn't actually believe because she wanted to be mean. "Really? I thought I went to Azkaban because you let me." She regretted it immediately after saying it, and winces, side eyeing Damien careful. She knew it wasn't something she should bring up, she had wanted to be mean, in her frustration. "Sorry," she insists, trying to brush over it, before immediately making her way over to the dummy, to start working as compensation. Why not start with what seemed like her easiest option? She blinks at it, pulling a blade and her wand from her pocket. "I..." What exactly did he want her to do, just fight at an unresponsive dummy for a while? She figures using the blade was the more important part, since that's where she was much worse off in her training. She gives him a questioning look. "I don't even know the proper technique to throwing a dagger," she admits sheepishly.
|| This was becoming more complicated than it needed to be. Every single time he'd trained someone, they'd at the very least been willing to go through his training methods. But Chava seemed content in being difficult. He was about to say something when she beat him to the punch, which was apropos since her comment felt like he was being punched. And then kneed. And kicked while he was down. "Well I guess next you're going to do the thing you did last time you accused me of that and leave me?" Just like she seemed to regret what she said, he winced. He typically had a better control of what he said, but this time he couldn't seem to help it. He decides to apologize later and just get on with the training. "You won't need to throw a dagger yet. That'll come later. For now I'm focusing on things you'll need to learn." he sighs lightly seeing that she wasn't using any spells to animate the dummy, so he waved his wand, causing the dummy to start moving around. "The focus is being agile. Not throwing a dagger. Watch. Anticipate. Strike." he steps back leaning against the wall, before tilting his head slightly. "One more thing. From now on, my motto is your motto: Expect the Unexpected." He would let her figure out what that meant later. But for now, he leaned back to watch what Chava did.
|| Out of all the words that could be used to describe Chava, 'agile' was not one of them, nor would it probably ever be. Especially considering most of her work stemmed from anger or fear, a complete mental breakdown. And yes, she definitely had it coming from her comment, but Damien's still stung just as much, and went so far as to make her angry. Angry that there was no apology either. And so to take out that frustration, she immediately starts to attempts to jam the blade into the bow moving dummy, letting a shriek of frustration leave her. She wanted to keep being mean. And she wanted to take all that anger out here, if only she could get a god damn hit in. She was too erratic and uncontrolled in her movements, and never did she do anything so much as anticipation. She wasn't thinking, just acting. She didn't quite know how to behave otherwise. Which of course, leads to her next comment aimed at Damien, equally as cruel. "You might as well follow the pattern and cut me up while we're at it." Of course, her own comment only makes her angrier, this time at herself for even saying it. What was wrong with her. She screams in frustration, dropping the dagger to the floor and settling instead, in her impatience, to kicking violently the stand of the dummy when it came near her, trying to reach her hands out to rip apart the fabric.
| Damien could only shake his head as Chava relied on anger rather than rational thought during a fight. Granted he'd given into his own anger earlier, but he wasn't in a fight or in training He'd had enough experience to anticipate even while he was angry. In that train of thought he decided to go down the rational route during this conversation. "Oh, you mean the part where something had been done with my mind, and Lucedio had every opportunity to kill me?" Well maybe not totally rational, but it would do for now. He flicked his wand and the dummy moved out reach of Chava, speeding up as it did. "Speaking of patterns, don't let yourself fall into them. When you're out there, there are no patterns, no convenience. Anticipate, but don't rely on the same anticipations every time."
|| If there was one thing she knew, it was that her aim was better with her wand. She continues to kick the blade away, pulling her wand in hand. He had said she could work on the two after all. And so she backs up to get a better look at the dummy, intent on actually hitting it, finally. She wanted the god damn thing to blow up if she could get it to. And with her wand, she could anticipate, just slightly. So she was to anticipate, but not expect patterns? That made it harder for her to figure out what exactly she could do to make this easier on herself. She shoots a small spell just to the left of where the dummy was, and then immediately to the right, figuring either way it moved at least one of the spells would hit. And it did, if you could even say as much as that. It brushed the side of the dummy, enough to say it touched and would have an impact, but not enough to truly call it a hit. Screaming in frustration, Chava casts an uncontrolled succession of spells around the room, in the general vicinity of the dummy, not looking anymore to see if it hit. She kicks it again, before storming off the slam her fists into a wall, wincing at the impact. "Fuck that dummy," she snarls, her face red.
|| If there was one thing he had to applaud Chava at, it was her switching to her wand. While it was good to train your weaknesses to make them better, it was also good to recognize your strengths and use them accordingly. However her movements and strikes became more and more erratic as time went on. That was something he'd have to work on, but for now it wasn't important. She had at least tried, and while it wasn't a full on strike, she had managed to nick it, which showed quite some potential. He walked over towards Chava, placing a hand on her shoulder offering a slight smile, "You did well." he paused slightly thinking of their conversation earlier, before wincing again, "And I'm sorry for what I said in there. I know you wouldn't leave me intentionally." Barring death, he wanted to add, but he was trying to defuse the situation rather than accelerate it. "That's one down two to go. What's next?"
|| Even despite what they had both said, Chava collapses onto him when he comes near, a low groan escaping from her throat. Yes, what he said stung and hurt her, but all the same she said something first, she brought it upon herself. "I kind of deserved it," she says truthfully, sighing, before pressing a kiss to his cheek and straightening back up. None of the options were good ones. The wall was entirely impossible, in her eyes. "One to go," she insists, before her chin out at the wall. "Because I can't do that one." And to further prove her point, she strides over to the wall and picks up a dagger in each hand, before reaching up and slamming the blade into the wall. Well, that was the one part she could do. She sets on foot up on the wall and grips the dagger, pulling herself up, but because she didn't mass in any upper body strength, the dagger simply slid out from its place in the wall, and she falls back to the floor. "My arms are useless," she nods, then trying to pull herself up using whatever strength she had in her arms, and failing miserably. "See? Impossible. Pointless!"
|| While he was slightly annoyed at her insistence at not doing this one, he did say she need only try. As long as she tried once every day, she would be able to get better at it. But she seemed to rely on only upper body strength. "While upper body strength is quite necessary, and I want you to work on that in your spare time, that's not the only factor." He snatched up one of the daggers before turning towards the wall. "For example, this wall has a good portion of rubble, and it's bricks aren't entirely in line." As if to prove his point, he placed the blade between his teeth, before using loose bricks to climb about halfway up. "Having a keen eye is good for this as well. Besides spotting handholds, another example is finding weak points for you to exploit, and that doesn't just go towards climbing." To prove his point, he took the dagger and pressed it into the mortar. "You also have many tools at your disposal to help you. For example, Magic." To prove his point, he cast a hardening charm on the mortar. He reached up and grabbed onto the dagger, and as if to prove his point, let go with his other hand. Once he felt his point was sufficiently proven, he dropped back down to the ground. "It is up to you to make use of the tools you have. Especially this one." With that he tapped on her head, before spinning around. "But I'll keep my word and consider that an attempt, and allow you to move on. Just remember what I said for next time."
|| She certainly listened, and she supposed it all made sense, but Chava had a very important problem for everything, all of the training in general- and that was her impatience. She didn't want to wait, anticipate, or think too hard on what she had on hand. She just wanted to do things and see what worked. She wanted to hurt, immediately, and not wait for a better opportunity to do so. And this seemed a skill that required some level of patience. And since she couldn't get it today, therefore she automatically assumed she would never learn how to do it. Still, she was thankful to move on. Impatience again- she wanted to get it all over with. Maybe he'd forget about the last step if she was lucky. "Thank god," she mutters before peering curiously at the next task. She shakes her head, unsure exactly what he wanted her to do with this. And so just to be snarky, she takes a step back and turns on the spot, apparating and reappearing right behind his back. "Okay done, lets go home," she claims, though there was a bit of humour to this after all.
| Damien had to chuckle at her insistence to move on. It was quite amusing and reminded him of himself in a small way, back when he was a child learning all the things he was teaching her now Patience wasn't his strong suit then, but he'd certainly learned it. "Think about this for a moment. I learned all of this when I was a child. If I could do it then, you can do it now. I have faith in you." He smiled encouragingly at her before frowning at her apparating. "I'm not counting that as an attempt" He walked into the shadowed alley, waving his arm around, pointing out the shadows. "During the first part you're going to sneak by all of these dummies while I watch. Step out of the shadows, or get 'caught'" At this he made quotation marks with fingers, "And you'll have failed the challenge and will have to start again. Once you get past those dummies, you will have to get past me." He pointed down past the dummies into an area with more light, yet still a considerable amount of shadows. "And I will not stand still, nor will I move in any patterns. Anticipate. Then move." With that, he moved past the dummies and turned around to watch. "The purpose isn't to kill the dummies, but to get past them. So no weapons, and no apparating."
|| Chava figured getting past lifeless dummies would be easy- getting past Damien, moving around and watching, much harder. Especially considering Damien knew her, and would know she's around, and was much, much better at this than her. She wanted to argue, and bring up things like polyjuice potions and invisibility cloaks, but she knew it would get her no where and she would have to make do. But the shadows couldn't even hide everything. Did a weapon include her wand? He wanted her to play on her strengths after all, did he not? She wouldn't use it as a weapon. So with a huff, she nods. "Fine," she mumbles, before making her way down the shadowed alleyway, moving to slip under a shadow to pull out her wand. She found that, no matter what task she was given by Damien, she immediately jumped to being unable to do it, without even giving it much thought. So what could she do with a wand and a little confidence? She wanted to make Damien proud after all, she she not? With this mindset, getting past the dummies was easy enough if she stuck to the shadows and hugged the wall, keeping her wand over her chest. But to get past Damien? She points her wand out just in front of her, keeping it within the shadows, before casting a spell across the alley, throwing sound of her footsteps to the other side, made with just a little bit of cracked rubble on falling to the floor. She breaks out into a grin when Damien actually moves closer to the sound she created, and took this as a go to continue on. Of course, that overconfidence is where her mistake lied, as soon after she must have been too loud, with Damien coming upon her. She sighs, holding her hands up as if in surrender. "That's all I've got right now," she admits. "I tried."
|| He had to say, he was quite impressed. First she managed to get by those dummies without a problem, but that wasn't what impressed him. She seemed to have learned from what she said, and used a great tool, her mind, even if her plan didn't quite work. While he'd been distracted by the sound for a brief second, he was already suspicious and seeing nothing caused him to turn around towards the direction he guessed the spell came from, only to spot Chava a bit of a ways right of there. He steps towards her and she holds up her hands. He tilts his head slightly, smirking, before applauding. "I have to say, I am thoroughly impressed for your first try. You did fail, but we'll get there. But we'll move on. That was good thinking, however you should have anticipated my suspicion at the sound. Or rather my suspicion that it was a distraction, but well done nonetheless." With that he grabs up two daggers, and places one in her hands. "Now we spar."
|| Chava straightens up with pride when he said he was impressed, despite the fact he had caught her. All she knew was that when she really could put her mind to it, she could be stealthy enough. That was the problem though, most of the time she was too impatient or preoccupied to think it through. Now was much different than out in the real world. She offers him a broad smile, and would have hoped to head back home next, hoping he had forgotten about the last part. Her smile instantly fades once more when he mentions it, her shoulders slouching again. Her hands the dagger to her, and she stares at it a moment before simply dropping it onto the floor, blatantly refusing. "No," she stubbornly insists, crossing her arms over her chest and staring at him. "No," she says again. This was something she would be incapable of doing without proper persuasion.
|| A sigh escapes his lips, and he turns around slightly, scooping up the dagger as he does. He had to get her to spar, as it was quite important. If she didn't get better, their chances of winning would remain as low as it was currently, which was currently pretty low. By training and getting better they could raise that chance. But how to go about it? She always seemed receptive to guilt trips, but he hated doing that. Was there another way he could manage it? As far as he could see, no. Chava was quite stubborn that way. "Oh well, I guess you'll forever be second best to Lucedio. And without you able to stand beside me, I might as well give up now." He tossed the daggers to the side. and walked off down the alley, in the direction of the manor. "Let's go home. Might as well enjoy my life before I die by his hand."
|| Chava didn't dare think for a moment he actually meant all that he said, but it had the desired affect nonetheless. She takes a step back, not moving with him, pointing a finger out at him as if in accusation. "I know what you're doing," she mumbles, continuing to point. He certainly loved to play into the one of two things that caused her to give in. But hey, she figured she could play back. "Besides, I'll be the one to die by his hands first, he said it himself," she huffs, crossing her arms. It wasn't a lie, Lucedio had said that while Damien was off on the other side of a building. "Right now I'm only putting myself at stake," she tried to tell herself, but even then she knew that wasn't entirely true. Once done with her it would be an easier path to lead Lucedio to Damien, and Damien had previously expressed his pain in the thought of her death. But still, she said it. But she didn't go homeeven still. She stayed in place.
| Damien sighed at her accusation. She was right, but he also knew she had to train. For her own sake. And to some small part his own. "Maybe. But, whether you realize it our not, our very lives could very well depend on this training. Sure the climbing and stealth are there to help you keep up with me, but the dummy in the shop, the sparring?" He walked closer to her placing a hand on her shoulder, "They're so that you can defend yourself better, and myself as well. I can handle myself alone to an extent. But if you were killed because you weren't as strong as Lucedio, or because you couldn't effectively use a dagger. I would die shortly after because your death would be devastating. And in the thick of battle, hesitation leads only to death." He sighs, turning around again, "But if you want to keep telling yourself that you're only putting yourself at risk, take a good hard look at yourself. Remember when Lucedio harmed you. Remember when you were taken by that second-rate criminal. I rushed in without thought for anything but you. Sure I succeeded those times, but luck runs out." He gave another sigh, before turning away from her. "But if you want to go home, let's go home."
|| As much as she wanted to just go home, she knew all that would lead to was disappointment on Damien's end, and less luck for the two of them. And she hated making Damien upset or disappointed. She figured, really, that she could try to spar, but also /not/ try too hard, she refused to try hard enough to actually hurt him. But like he said earlier, she couldn't even get so far. So she would settle for his win, and her own self defence, as they sparred. That should do, for now. She releases a very long, very drawn out sigh, before holding her hand out at his turned back. "Give me back the god damn dagger," she mutters, and once it's in her possession again, she holds it in front of her, as if trying to figure out where to start. "If it'll make you happy," she sighs, waiting for his move. Earlier he said they would continue until she grew too tired or she got a hit. Did that still ring true?
|| As much as he hated the method he chose, with Chava it got results. He snatched up the daggers placing the other one back in her hand when she asks for it. He brings up the other dagger up in front of him defensively. "It will. And it'll help you get better." Not wanting to be a target that was sitting still, he rushed off to the left moving around and behind Chava, all the while keeping a close eye on her, before speaking again. "I know it's early, and you don't have much patience, but you will see how much this helps eventually. Just not now." He tilts his head slightly with a large grin, "In fact I wouldn't be surprised if you hated me at some point during training. But I do get results."
|| Gripping the dagger in her palm, Chava spins around to meet Damien again, blade held out in front of her as if for defense. She couldn't help but continue to think on the point of this spar, if it had any point at all, like he said it did. He could strike but he could not hurt her, thanks to his vow made forever ago. And Chava was the type of person who could only really fight if prompted. If he could do next to no damage, how was she to try to do any more? How could she do anything but halfheartedly strike out at him? "Pointless," she grumbles, before rather weakly striking the blade towards his shoulder, moving closer to find some better aim. "Its my own life on the line," she points out once more. "You already know this stuff, you'll be fine." She strikes again, but equally as weak, without motivation. "If Lucedio comes and tries to kill me with a blade that'll be on me, don't /you/ worry about this."
|| Frustration. Perhaps that was one way he could manage this. Perhaps if he got her angry or frustrated enough she'd start to strike out with some actual force. He blocked her attacks effortlessly, and now that she faced him, he charged forward aiming a couple strikes at her side, hoping she could block them. "It may seem pointless /now/, but it's not" He took a few steps back before shaking his head. "I don't mean to sound like a selfish asshole, but if you think your death wont affect my chances of surviving you're dead wrong." He sighs lightly before narrowing his eyes."I've been fighting Lucedio for around fifteen years now, and he's been /winning/. Even when I've had help. Even now. Don't forget, your life isn't the only one on the line. Especially considering he cares more about me dying than he does you dying. So yes I will worry, because I have a /right/ to."
|| She immediately moves to block his strikes to her side, but more so to protect his vow than for any worry of herself getting hurt. Damien was so insistent on the idea of him dying first, or her death affecting him in such a way that he couldn't beat Lucedio. But she knew he couldn't think like that. Every option had to be thought through and planned for. She strikes at him again, this time lower, toward his abdomen, with only a slight bit more force. A growl escapes her lips. "Damien, I /need/ you to prepare yourself too," she sighs, ducking her head and moving to the side of him to strike again, aiming to move around more. "I need you to think about the case of my death. Because I probably, will most likely, die, and if I do before you, you need to be ready enough to beat Lucedio still." Her views had yet to change on the idea of her own death. Once Damien was safe her life would mean nothing to her. "Id need you to be okay, physically and mentally, and emotionally, in that case." It was almost like she was saying goodbye now.
|| While he was able to easily sidestep the strike, he also recognized that it was done with slightly more force, so he could manage to get her to actually try if he could figure it out. He circled around to the left moving out of reach at her second strike, before shaking his head. "I've prepared as much as I possibly can. I'm a damn good fighter with my daggers. That's the best I can hope for. I'm not going to be good with magic. I don't have any usable powers. My old allies are either dead or gone. This is the best I can hope for." He sighed taking a step back, before bringing his hand up to his forehead. "Yes let's think about your death. Do you honestly think I won't be affected should you die. Do you honestly think I won't be devastated? Because I will, and you can't change that fact. Think about this. What if I were to die right now. Lucedio just appeared and killed me. You're alive. Are you telling me you wouldn't be affected?"
|| Simply the thought of Damien's death made her upset and angry, and Chava strikes out suddenly against him once more, putting her weight into it, before moving as if to turn around and fall behind him. She didn't know what to say without sounding hypocritical. All she could do was sound hypocritical. "He'd kill me right after he killed you, and I'd welcome it. I'd ask him to," she presses, and thus she meant. "Because yes, I'd be affected by it, yes, I'd be absolutely devastated, and I'd have less care for my life that I do now." She sighs. Nothing she was saying would help her case at all. "But, Damien, you..." Her mind was whirling, growing distracted and catching her off guard. She grunts and falls back, before stepping forward again to press the blade towards his chest. If she didn't think so much it was easier. If she simply grew frustrated and angry it was easier to manage. "He wants to kill me first. It's something we have to plan for."
|| In a bout of frustration, after dodging her strike, he threw his dagger out at her. "EITHER WAY WE'D BOTH DIE!" he shouted out, before snarling before turning away. "You die first, I'll go shortly after. I die first, you'd die shortly after. Why do you think I'm doing this?" he waves his arm around at the alley, before turning back towards Chava a flash of red in his eyes, "I'm trying to protect us. BOTH of us. You get stronger, better, faster, and we can work together and kill him." Without warning, he pulled his hand back, before throwing a punch at the wall with as much force as he could muster. Without even turning to look at her, he lets his now bloodied hand fall before saying, "I'm trying to save /BOTH/ of us. And if that makes me selfish, so be it."
|| Damien was lucky Chava had thought quickly on her feet. Under different circumstances she might have cowered, as Damien was the single one who could make her do such a thing, since she loved him, but this time was slightly different. She was already getting angry. At his outburst, her wand slips into her hands, managing to stop the thrown dagger in its tracks before it could do so much as nick her. Even that would kill Damien, based on the wording of his vow. And again, normally she would have cowered and left it there, but this time, she spins the dagger around and sends it flying, magically, just past Damien and aiming to lodge it into the wall. "WHAT THE FUCK?!" she screams, her face burning red. That was certainly something she had never seen before, not with Damien in his right state of mind. "Be careful, or you'll fucking kill me yourself," she hisses. She wanted, almost desperately now, to stop being angry. So she could calm Damien down herself and remain reasonable. "I'm not sure what you want me to say." She speaks softer this time, rubbing her forehead and taking a step back from him.
|| Damien snorted somewhat before muttering under his breath. "At least I'd die with you in that case." He of course regretted it instantly, since he hated thinking of Chava dead. He sighs slightly, the glint of red fading away back to the usual steel grey. "I don't want you to /say/ anything." He takes a few steps closer towards her, before falling to the ground though not out of physical pain, but out of mental anguish. He positions himself so he was sitting down, before looking up at Chava. "I want you to train harder than you have been today. I want you to climb that wall, face that dummy, traverse that alley, spar against me, do all these things as if your life depended on it. As if /my/ life depended on it." he knew she didn't care about his own life, which was why he hastily added in the last bit, before sighing again. "Because whether you accept it or not it does. Everything we do affects this war, whether you realize it or not."
|| Chava remains standing, looking down at his form on the ground with a steely glint in her eyes. After his first statement, it was hard for her to focus on anything else he had said. Though, with what did get through to her, a small plan formed in the back of her mind. Something she may enact if he responded to her first plan correctly. Because, of course, she was still very angry. So if he killed her, he'd at least die with her? The sentence pissed her off, which, really, said something about her, about how she looked at death in the first place. He didn't need to know that yet. And so, her face burning with hurt, and anger, she makes a point to drop her wand to the ground and kick it away from her, holding only her dagger in hand. If he could play this game, twice, so could she. "Is that how you feel?" she whispers, her voice sounding almost too calm, dangerously so. In a flash, she's crouching down on the floor next to him, grasping his hand and curling his fingers around the hilt of the dagger. She presses her forehead to his, before taking his wrist and bringing the blade of the dagger to her throat, moving him to press against her skin gently. "Oh go ahead then, Damien. If it'll make things easier for you," she mutters, looking directly into his eyes.
|| As soon as Chava had asked her question, Damien had a bad feeling, and his feeling had been completely and utterly correct. He managed to take a step back, though Chava still managed to get close to him, pressing a dagger into his hand, and bringing it up to her neck. Instantly he shook his head, saying firmly "No." he gripped the dagger, pulling it back away from her neck. "Absolutely not." However, despite his words he flipped the blade around pressing it against his own neck, and placing her hand on the blade. "No matter what was said, would /you/ be able to do it? Because I'm not. I can't even stand the thought of you dying at Lucedio's hands, let alone my own."
|| His response worked for her until he switched their positions, bringing the blade to his neck instead. She could count that as a third time. She simply releases the dagger from her fingers, letting it fall between them. "Then do try not to throw daggers at me, or next time I won't stop it from hitting me," she says pointedly, not releasing her grip on his wrist. And this time she meant it. Her hand snaps upwards as if she were to strike, but instead she simply brushes her fingers gently along his cheek. Her eyes still don't leave his, so he knew how serious she was. She brushes the hair out of his eyes. "I don't like when my Damien, in his right mind, does things that would make Lucedio proud." She sighs. "Because you are not the one who hurt me. Understand?" She quirks a brow before nodding, pulling her wand back to her. Without another word, her hand moves from his wrist to grasping his forearm, locking him in place. In a moment her wand produces golden strands of light that wrap themselves around their entertained arms. Another Unbreakable Vow. Chava starts to speak before he could think to move away, letting him know this was a good kind of vow. "I, Chava Mae Thorne, do swear that I will not actively seek out death, or throw myself into danger with the intention of not saving or protecting myself, for my husband Damien Thorne's sake. I will do anything I am capable of to stay alive, and care about the safety of my own life." The magic twirling around their arms gleams gold, before it fades, the vow done. A shiver runs down Chava's spine. This was a dangerous vow. Debatably more dangerous than her last vow. She could easily forget. She could very easily let her emotions crowd her thoughts and judgements and throw herself into danger at her own expense, and even Damien's. But it was Damien she had to do this for. "Happy now?" she asks, brow quirking. She stands, tugging him up with her. Despite the vow, she was still cold, and kept herself at a slight distance from him. There was that cowering she mentioned earlier. He was not met with a kiss. "Now would you like to finish this training, or can we just go home?"
|| For whatever reason, sleep was important to Chava, very much so. As it was, on her own she was a nightmare to deal with, but a sleepless Chava, dead on her feet, would be a much worse deal. She could hardly even focus, too groggy to care what she did. Lately, she had been getting more than enough sleep for herself, which most likely contributed to her happy mood and the fact that she had less and less breakdowns. So it was fair to say Damien was treading on shades of glass here in waking her up as early as he was. She hadn't woken up as early in a while, so she was bound to take it worse than he might suspect. Being the ironically light sleeper that she was, vaguely she heard Damien's voice in her ear, but it was met only with a scowl. She'd rather just pull him back down to her, curl around him, and continue sleeping, but she was already guessing he wouldn't allow as much to happen, not while training was planned. "I fucking dare you," she grumbles lowly, her eyes still shut, having not moved an inch since barely waking up. And he did dare, it seemed, as moments later she releases a loud shriek, of something like shock and frustration. She jumps and sits up, running her fingers through her now wet hair. She whirls on Damien, snarling, still pointedly sitting in bed. But hey, she was most definitely awake now. "Damien..." she growls, shivering slightly. "What the hell?"
|| For the first time, Damien realized Chava was somewhat of a light sleeper. It just seemed she liked her sleep. He noted this, before raising a brow at her dare, before instantly turning the cup over her head, chuckling as she shrieked and sat up. "To be fair, I did warn you." He waves his hand towards the dresser, before handing her the coffee he'd brewed. "You might as well get dressed. I'm not going to relent until you come with me for training." He started moving towards the door, figuring to make them a quick breakfast before heading out. He pauses before turning his gaze back towards her, "I wouldn't suggest anything too loose, nor too restrictive. You're going to need to be agile." With that he turned away and head down stairs to make their breakfast.
|| Even though she took the coffee and began to take sips at it, Chava was still scowling, curling the blanket around herself. She was still very tired, and not even coffee would completely fix that, this she knew. She doesn't say a word as she goes, simply laying back down after he does? Did she dare try to fall back asleep? Probably not. She knew, in her right mind, that she had kind of done this to herself, and desperately needed training after all. But even if she knew this deep down, her tired body was still dead set on being unreasonable and stubborn. Eventually, however, she finishes her coffee and pulls herself out of bed, gets dressed, and drags herself downstairs to meet Damien once more. Dragging her feet across the floor, she moves to Damien to curl her arms around his torso from behind, closing her eyes once more with a squeeze. "Do we have to do this now?" she whines softly. "Why not later on?" She tugs on his sleeve as if she were a child, jutting her lower lip out into a pout. "Can't we go back to bed now?"
| Damien places two plates of bacon and eggs on the table as she comes down before nodding at Chava. "Yes, we have to do this after we eat." He takes a seat, waving at her to sit as well he jabs a fork into his eggs, before shaking his head. "If we do it later on, I'll be annoyed because of my time at the ministry, and I'll end up using that training to take out my annoyance on you." Between every few words he takes a bite of his food, preferring to down it as quickly as possible, before commenting again. "Besides. It's best to train when you're of your element. That way you learn to adapt." As soon as he was done with his meal, he brings his plate over to the sink, before turning back and leaning against the doorway between the kitchen and dining room. "I'll be going easy on you this session, and you'll be able to go back to sleep if you want as soon as we're done."
|| Chava was decidedly affectionate towards him, as if hoping she could change his mind about the whole affair, and push it back later. She really only picks at her food, finding herself unable to eat so much in the morning while she was still very tired. It was better to not give herself anything to throw up later once she got moving. When he finishes and stands, she drags her way over to him once more, leaning on him and again curling her arms around him, tugging his shirt. "But I'm tired," she pouts, even sniffling a little for extra measure. Usually, she was quite stubborn, but now she didn't much have the energy for even that. It was a losing battle, this she knew. She just wouldn't admit to it outright. She grumbles as some form of begrudging agreement, though still not letting go of him. "I don't like you," she insists, huffing.
|| A sigh escapes his lips and he shakes his head slightly. "I'm tired too. Do you think I liked getting up at five in the morning?" he questions gently with a raised brow. He shakes his head again before speaking, "You'll get used to it eventually. But don't worry, you'll still be able to sleep in every now and then." He smirks at her comment, chuckling again. "Yes you do. You wouldn't have married me otherwise." He smirks slightly, before reaching out and grabbing her hand, apparating them both to the alley. Where before his expression was encouraging and warm, he now took a more serious expression. "Alright. You have four things to do today." He pointed towards the wall with the daggers laying on the ground in front of them. "You want be with me when I go somewhere? You're going to need to learn how to climb a building. Since this is your first time, I'm allowing you to use those daggers. The mortar is malleable enough for you to drive them through it." He moved his arm to the door to the show, where in the basement was the dummy. "You'll be practicing your combat skills against a dummy. You're already decent with a wand, but Lucedio is better. You're also abysmal with daggers. Train both." He moved his had towards the shadowy alleyway with the training dummies. "You also have stealth training over there. Since dummies are easy to sneak by, I will be participating. I'll be watching for the first part of the course. During the last part, you'll have to get past me without me noticing to pass." He turns towards Chava with a grin as he relayed the last task. "And once all that is done, you'll spar against me. The spar will end when either you're too tired to continue, or you manage to land a hit. Since I am bound by my vow more than you are, I won't do my standard training methods, such as throw knives at you while you climb the wall." he folds his arms with a smirk before waving his arm all around. "Where do you want to start?"
|| It was fair to say Chava was very overwhelmed by all the information just presented to her. Almost everything looked next to impossible. Her mouth drops open as he speaks, introducing her to each task. She had something to say about but each of them, once she could get over her initial shock. It was one of those times where she was glad he was bound by his unbreakable vow. "Throw knives...?" she whispers incredulously, before shaking her head and closing her gaping mouth. Oh yes, she had made the decision to be difficult. She points at the first task, the wall climbing. "First of all, no," she says simply, before gesturing wildly at her own arms. "You think I have any upper body strength?! I can't do that." She says this as if she had already decided she would not do it. The task would take forever. The second task mentioned was her favorite. "I can fight a stupid dummy," she sneers. She knew magic and she was adept /enough/ with a blade to at least know how to kill. That should be fine, right? She had gotten plenty of real life training after all. She moves on to point out the third task mentioned. "Can't I just apparate? Concentrate enough and I can get out as well as I want," she huffs, crossing her arms over her chest, before moving to the last task. She stares at him dead on, face serious. "I am /not/ fighting you," she says sternly. She would be caught much too off guard and even if she managed it in the first place, it would be pointless, as there was no way she could try and get a hit against him, no way she'd want to or be willing. Even if it would be practically harmless.
| Damien chuckles slightly, shaking his head. "Be thankful my vow makes sure I don't do that." He turns towards the wall, taking a few steps towards it before turning back towards Chava. "Everyone starts from somewhere. When I first started climbing I fell quite a few times. It took practice. I'm not asking you to succeed your first time. But at the same time you must try." He folds his arms, narrowing his arms before saying, "Or you won't be able to keep up with me, and I won't allow you when I go anywhere other than the Ministry." The tone he used made it seem as if he'd be using body binds against her to make sure she didn't join him. When she talked about the dummy, he shook his head chuckling. "Oh no. If you don't do it I'll be using a spell to animate the dummy. It's much harder to hit a moving target." What was all he said on the subject, as he turned his gaze towards the shadowy alley. "And if you run into an "Anti-Apparation Ward? Not to mention, you went to Azkaban because you got caught. So learn how to not get caught." Finally he spins around to face her. "And you will fight me. If it makes you feel better I guarantee you won't win against me this time. But it's always best to train with sparring. Not only does it help you fight better, it also helps you anticipate an enemy's moves." With that he waved his arm around again before narrowing his eyes again. "Now pick what you're doing first. Remember. I'm not asking you to succeed your first try, but that you do just that and try."
|| Folding her arms over her chest, she wanted to keep fighting this training, even if she knew how necessary it was. Under different conditions she may have been enthusiastic and tried everything as soon as possible in an effort to please him, but now she simply wanted to sulk. This being so, she didn't have much of a filter as she spoke. Which lead to saying things she didn't actually believe because she wanted to be mean. "Really? I thought I went to Azkaban because you let me." She regretted it immediately after saying it, and winces, side eyeing Damien careful. She knew it wasn't something she should bring up, she had wanted to be mean, in her frustration. "Sorry," she insists, trying to brush over it, before immediately making her way over to the dummy, to start working as compensation. Why not start with what seemed like her easiest option? She blinks at it, pulling a blade and her wand from her pocket. "I..." What exactly did he want her to do, just fight at an unresponsive dummy for a while? She figures using the blade was the more important part, since that's where she was much worse off in her training. She gives him a questioning look. "I don't even know the proper technique to throwing a dagger," she admits sheepishly.
|| This was becoming more complicated than it needed to be. Every single time he'd trained someone, they'd at the very least been willing to go through his training methods. But Chava seemed content in being difficult. He was about to say something when she beat him to the punch, which was apropos since her comment felt like he was being punched. And then kneed. And kicked while he was down. "Well I guess next you're going to do the thing you did last time you accused me of that and leave me?" Just like she seemed to regret what she said, he winced. He typically had a better control of what he said, but this time he couldn't seem to help it. He decides to apologize later and just get on with the training. "You won't need to throw a dagger yet. That'll come later. For now I'm focusing on things you'll need to learn." he sighs lightly seeing that she wasn't using any spells to animate the dummy, so he waved his wand, causing the dummy to start moving around. "The focus is being agile. Not throwing a dagger. Watch. Anticipate. Strike." he steps back leaning against the wall, before tilting his head slightly. "One more thing. From now on, my motto is your motto: Expect the Unexpected." He would let her figure out what that meant later. But for now, he leaned back to watch what Chava did.
|| Out of all the words that could be used to describe Chava, 'agile' was not one of them, nor would it probably ever be. Especially considering most of her work stemmed from anger or fear, a complete mental breakdown. And yes, she definitely had it coming from her comment, but Damien's still stung just as much, and went so far as to make her angry. Angry that there was no apology either. And so to take out that frustration, she immediately starts to attempts to jam the blade into the bow moving dummy, letting a shriek of frustration leave her. She wanted to keep being mean. And she wanted to take all that anger out here, if only she could get a god damn hit in. She was too erratic and uncontrolled in her movements, and never did she do anything so much as anticipation. She wasn't thinking, just acting. She didn't quite know how to behave otherwise. Which of course, leads to her next comment aimed at Damien, equally as cruel. "You might as well follow the pattern and cut me up while we're at it." Of course, her own comment only makes her angrier, this time at herself for even saying it. What was wrong with her. She screams in frustration, dropping the dagger to the floor and settling instead, in her impatience, to kicking violently the stand of the dummy when it came near her, trying to reach her hands out to rip apart the fabric.
| Damien could only shake his head as Chava relied on anger rather than rational thought during a fight. Granted he'd given into his own anger earlier, but he wasn't in a fight or in training He'd had enough experience to anticipate even while he was angry. In that train of thought he decided to go down the rational route during this conversation. "Oh, you mean the part where something had been done with my mind, and Lucedio had every opportunity to kill me?" Well maybe not totally rational, but it would do for now. He flicked his wand and the dummy moved out reach of Chava, speeding up as it did. "Speaking of patterns, don't let yourself fall into them. When you're out there, there are no patterns, no convenience. Anticipate, but don't rely on the same anticipations every time."
|| If there was one thing she knew, it was that her aim was better with her wand. She continues to kick the blade away, pulling her wand in hand. He had said she could work on the two after all. And so she backs up to get a better look at the dummy, intent on actually hitting it, finally. She wanted the god damn thing to blow up if she could get it to. And with her wand, she could anticipate, just slightly. So she was to anticipate, but not expect patterns? That made it harder for her to figure out what exactly she could do to make this easier on herself. She shoots a small spell just to the left of where the dummy was, and then immediately to the right, figuring either way it moved at least one of the spells would hit. And it did, if you could even say as much as that. It brushed the side of the dummy, enough to say it touched and would have an impact, but not enough to truly call it a hit. Screaming in frustration, Chava casts an uncontrolled succession of spells around the room, in the general vicinity of the dummy, not looking anymore to see if it hit. She kicks it again, before storming off the slam her fists into a wall, wincing at the impact. "Fuck that dummy," she snarls, her face red.
|| If there was one thing he had to applaud Chava at, it was her switching to her wand. While it was good to train your weaknesses to make them better, it was also good to recognize your strengths and use them accordingly. However her movements and strikes became more and more erratic as time went on. That was something he'd have to work on, but for now it wasn't important. She had at least tried, and while it wasn't a full on strike, she had managed to nick it, which showed quite some potential. He walked over towards Chava, placing a hand on her shoulder offering a slight smile, "You did well." he paused slightly thinking of their conversation earlier, before wincing again, "And I'm sorry for what I said in there. I know you wouldn't leave me intentionally." Barring death, he wanted to add, but he was trying to defuse the situation rather than accelerate it. "That's one down two to go. What's next?"
|| Even despite what they had both said, Chava collapses onto him when he comes near, a low groan escaping from her throat. Yes, what he said stung and hurt her, but all the same she said something first, she brought it upon herself. "I kind of deserved it," she says truthfully, sighing, before pressing a kiss to his cheek and straightening back up. None of the options were good ones. The wall was entirely impossible, in her eyes. "One to go," she insists, before her chin out at the wall. "Because I can't do that one." And to further prove her point, she strides over to the wall and picks up a dagger in each hand, before reaching up and slamming the blade into the wall. Well, that was the one part she could do. She sets on foot up on the wall and grips the dagger, pulling herself up, but because she didn't mass in any upper body strength, the dagger simply slid out from its place in the wall, and she falls back to the floor. "My arms are useless," she nods, then trying to pull herself up using whatever strength she had in her arms, and failing miserably. "See? Impossible. Pointless!"
|| While he was slightly annoyed at her insistence at not doing this one, he did say she need only try. As long as she tried once every day, she would be able to get better at it. But she seemed to rely on only upper body strength. "While upper body strength is quite necessary, and I want you to work on that in your spare time, that's not the only factor." He snatched up one of the daggers before turning towards the wall. "For example, this wall has a good portion of rubble, and it's bricks aren't entirely in line." As if to prove his point, he placed the blade between his teeth, before using loose bricks to climb about halfway up. "Having a keen eye is good for this as well. Besides spotting handholds, another example is finding weak points for you to exploit, and that doesn't just go towards climbing." To prove his point, he took the dagger and pressed it into the mortar. "You also have many tools at your disposal to help you. For example, Magic." To prove his point, he cast a hardening charm on the mortar. He reached up and grabbed onto the dagger, and as if to prove his point, let go with his other hand. Once he felt his point was sufficiently proven, he dropped back down to the ground. "It is up to you to make use of the tools you have. Especially this one." With that he tapped on her head, before spinning around. "But I'll keep my word and consider that an attempt, and allow you to move on. Just remember what I said for next time."
|| She certainly listened, and she supposed it all made sense, but Chava had a very important problem for everything, all of the training in general- and that was her impatience. She didn't want to wait, anticipate, or think too hard on what she had on hand. She just wanted to do things and see what worked. She wanted to hurt, immediately, and not wait for a better opportunity to do so. And this seemed a skill that required some level of patience. And since she couldn't get it today, therefore she automatically assumed she would never learn how to do it. Still, she was thankful to move on. Impatience again- she wanted to get it all over with. Maybe he'd forget about the last step if she was lucky. "Thank god," she mutters before peering curiously at the next task. She shakes her head, unsure exactly what he wanted her to do with this. And so just to be snarky, she takes a step back and turns on the spot, apparating and reappearing right behind his back. "Okay done, lets go home," she claims, though there was a bit of humour to this after all.
| Damien had to chuckle at her insistence to move on. It was quite amusing and reminded him of himself in a small way, back when he was a child learning all the things he was teaching her now Patience wasn't his strong suit then, but he'd certainly learned it. "Think about this for a moment. I learned all of this when I was a child. If I could do it then, you can do it now. I have faith in you." He smiled encouragingly at her before frowning at her apparating. "I'm not counting that as an attempt" He walked into the shadowed alley, waving his arm around, pointing out the shadows. "During the first part you're going to sneak by all of these dummies while I watch. Step out of the shadows, or get 'caught'" At this he made quotation marks with fingers, "And you'll have failed the challenge and will have to start again. Once you get past those dummies, you will have to get past me." He pointed down past the dummies into an area with more light, yet still a considerable amount of shadows. "And I will not stand still, nor will I move in any patterns. Anticipate. Then move." With that, he moved past the dummies and turned around to watch. "The purpose isn't to kill the dummies, but to get past them. So no weapons, and no apparating."
|| Chava figured getting past lifeless dummies would be easy- getting past Damien, moving around and watching, much harder. Especially considering Damien knew her, and would know she's around, and was much, much better at this than her. She wanted to argue, and bring up things like polyjuice potions and invisibility cloaks, but she knew it would get her no where and she would have to make do. But the shadows couldn't even hide everything. Did a weapon include her wand? He wanted her to play on her strengths after all, did he not? She wouldn't use it as a weapon. So with a huff, she nods. "Fine," she mumbles, before making her way down the shadowed alleyway, moving to slip under a shadow to pull out her wand. She found that, no matter what task she was given by Damien, she immediately jumped to being unable to do it, without even giving it much thought. So what could she do with a wand and a little confidence? She wanted to make Damien proud after all, she she not? With this mindset, getting past the dummies was easy enough if she stuck to the shadows and hugged the wall, keeping her wand over her chest. But to get past Damien? She points her wand out just in front of her, keeping it within the shadows, before casting a spell across the alley, throwing sound of her footsteps to the other side, made with just a little bit of cracked rubble on falling to the floor. She breaks out into a grin when Damien actually moves closer to the sound she created, and took this as a go to continue on. Of course, that overconfidence is where her mistake lied, as soon after she must have been too loud, with Damien coming upon her. She sighs, holding her hands up as if in surrender. "That's all I've got right now," she admits. "I tried."
|| He had to say, he was quite impressed. First she managed to get by those dummies without a problem, but that wasn't what impressed him. She seemed to have learned from what she said, and used a great tool, her mind, even if her plan didn't quite work. While he'd been distracted by the sound for a brief second, he was already suspicious and seeing nothing caused him to turn around towards the direction he guessed the spell came from, only to spot Chava a bit of a ways right of there. He steps towards her and she holds up her hands. He tilts his head slightly, smirking, before applauding. "I have to say, I am thoroughly impressed for your first try. You did fail, but we'll get there. But we'll move on. That was good thinking, however you should have anticipated my suspicion at the sound. Or rather my suspicion that it was a distraction, but well done nonetheless." With that he grabs up two daggers, and places one in her hands. "Now we spar."
|| Chava straightens up with pride when he said he was impressed, despite the fact he had caught her. All she knew was that when she really could put her mind to it, she could be stealthy enough. That was the problem though, most of the time she was too impatient or preoccupied to think it through. Now was much different than out in the real world. She offers him a broad smile, and would have hoped to head back home next, hoping he had forgotten about the last part. Her smile instantly fades once more when he mentions it, her shoulders slouching again. Her hands the dagger to her, and she stares at it a moment before simply dropping it onto the floor, blatantly refusing. "No," she stubbornly insists, crossing her arms over her chest and staring at him. "No," she says again. This was something she would be incapable of doing without proper persuasion.
|| A sigh escapes his lips, and he turns around slightly, scooping up the dagger as he does. He had to get her to spar, as it was quite important. If she didn't get better, their chances of winning would remain as low as it was currently, which was currently pretty low. By training and getting better they could raise that chance. But how to go about it? She always seemed receptive to guilt trips, but he hated doing that. Was there another way he could manage it? As far as he could see, no. Chava was quite stubborn that way. "Oh well, I guess you'll forever be second best to Lucedio. And without you able to stand beside me, I might as well give up now." He tossed the daggers to the side. and walked off down the alley, in the direction of the manor. "Let's go home. Might as well enjoy my life before I die by his hand."
|| Chava didn't dare think for a moment he actually meant all that he said, but it had the desired affect nonetheless. She takes a step back, not moving with him, pointing a finger out at him as if in accusation. "I know what you're doing," she mumbles, continuing to point. He certainly loved to play into the one of two things that caused her to give in. But hey, she figured she could play back. "Besides, I'll be the one to die by his hands first, he said it himself," she huffs, crossing her arms. It wasn't a lie, Lucedio had said that while Damien was off on the other side of a building. "Right now I'm only putting myself at stake," she tried to tell herself, but even then she knew that wasn't entirely true. Once done with her it would be an easier path to lead Lucedio to Damien, and Damien had previously expressed his pain in the thought of her death. But still, she said it. But she didn't go homeeven still. She stayed in place.
| Damien sighed at her accusation. She was right, but he also knew she had to train. For her own sake. And to some small part his own. "Maybe. But, whether you realize it our not, our very lives could very well depend on this training. Sure the climbing and stealth are there to help you keep up with me, but the dummy in the shop, the sparring?" He walked closer to her placing a hand on her shoulder, "They're so that you can defend yourself better, and myself as well. I can handle myself alone to an extent. But if you were killed because you weren't as strong as Lucedio, or because you couldn't effectively use a dagger. I would die shortly after because your death would be devastating. And in the thick of battle, hesitation leads only to death." He sighs, turning around again, "But if you want to keep telling yourself that you're only putting yourself at risk, take a good hard look at yourself. Remember when Lucedio harmed you. Remember when you were taken by that second-rate criminal. I rushed in without thought for anything but you. Sure I succeeded those times, but luck runs out." He gave another sigh, before turning away from her. "But if you want to go home, let's go home."
|| As much as she wanted to just go home, she knew all that would lead to was disappointment on Damien's end, and less luck for the two of them. And she hated making Damien upset or disappointed. She figured, really, that she could try to spar, but also /not/ try too hard, she refused to try hard enough to actually hurt him. But like he said earlier, she couldn't even get so far. So she would settle for his win, and her own self defence, as they sparred. That should do, for now. She releases a very long, very drawn out sigh, before holding her hand out at his turned back. "Give me back the god damn dagger," she mutters, and once it's in her possession again, she holds it in front of her, as if trying to figure out where to start. "If it'll make you happy," she sighs, waiting for his move. Earlier he said they would continue until she grew too tired or she got a hit. Did that still ring true?
|| As much as he hated the method he chose, with Chava it got results. He snatched up the daggers placing the other one back in her hand when she asks for it. He brings up the other dagger up in front of him defensively. "It will. And it'll help you get better." Not wanting to be a target that was sitting still, he rushed off to the left moving around and behind Chava, all the while keeping a close eye on her, before speaking again. "I know it's early, and you don't have much patience, but you will see how much this helps eventually. Just not now." He tilts his head slightly with a large grin, "In fact I wouldn't be surprised if you hated me at some point during training. But I do get results."
|| Gripping the dagger in her palm, Chava spins around to meet Damien again, blade held out in front of her as if for defense. She couldn't help but continue to think on the point of this spar, if it had any point at all, like he said it did. He could strike but he could not hurt her, thanks to his vow made forever ago. And Chava was the type of person who could only really fight if prompted. If he could do next to no damage, how was she to try to do any more? How could she do anything but halfheartedly strike out at him? "Pointless," she grumbles, before rather weakly striking the blade towards his shoulder, moving closer to find some better aim. "Its my own life on the line," she points out once more. "You already know this stuff, you'll be fine." She strikes again, but equally as weak, without motivation. "If Lucedio comes and tries to kill me with a blade that'll be on me, don't /you/ worry about this."
|| Frustration. Perhaps that was one way he could manage this. Perhaps if he got her angry or frustrated enough she'd start to strike out with some actual force. He blocked her attacks effortlessly, and now that she faced him, he charged forward aiming a couple strikes at her side, hoping she could block them. "It may seem pointless /now/, but it's not" He took a few steps back before shaking his head. "I don't mean to sound like a selfish asshole, but if you think your death wont affect my chances of surviving you're dead wrong." He sighs lightly before narrowing his eyes."I've been fighting Lucedio for around fifteen years now, and he's been /winning/. Even when I've had help. Even now. Don't forget, your life isn't the only one on the line. Especially considering he cares more about me dying than he does you dying. So yes I will worry, because I have a /right/ to."
|| She immediately moves to block his strikes to her side, but more so to protect his vow than for any worry of herself getting hurt. Damien was so insistent on the idea of him dying first, or her death affecting him in such a way that he couldn't beat Lucedio. But she knew he couldn't think like that. Every option had to be thought through and planned for. She strikes at him again, this time lower, toward his abdomen, with only a slight bit more force. A growl escapes her lips. "Damien, I /need/ you to prepare yourself too," she sighs, ducking her head and moving to the side of him to strike again, aiming to move around more. "I need you to think about the case of my death. Because I probably, will most likely, die, and if I do before you, you need to be ready enough to beat Lucedio still." Her views had yet to change on the idea of her own death. Once Damien was safe her life would mean nothing to her. "Id need you to be okay, physically and mentally, and emotionally, in that case." It was almost like she was saying goodbye now.
|| While he was able to easily sidestep the strike, he also recognized that it was done with slightly more force, so he could manage to get her to actually try if he could figure it out. He circled around to the left moving out of reach at her second strike, before shaking his head. "I've prepared as much as I possibly can. I'm a damn good fighter with my daggers. That's the best I can hope for. I'm not going to be good with magic. I don't have any usable powers. My old allies are either dead or gone. This is the best I can hope for." He sighed taking a step back, before bringing his hand up to his forehead. "Yes let's think about your death. Do you honestly think I won't be affected should you die. Do you honestly think I won't be devastated? Because I will, and you can't change that fact. Think about this. What if I were to die right now. Lucedio just appeared and killed me. You're alive. Are you telling me you wouldn't be affected?"
|| Simply the thought of Damien's death made her upset and angry, and Chava strikes out suddenly against him once more, putting her weight into it, before moving as if to turn around and fall behind him. She didn't know what to say without sounding hypocritical. All she could do was sound hypocritical. "He'd kill me right after he killed you, and I'd welcome it. I'd ask him to," she presses, and thus she meant. "Because yes, I'd be affected by it, yes, I'd be absolutely devastated, and I'd have less care for my life that I do now." She sighs. Nothing she was saying would help her case at all. "But, Damien, you..." Her mind was whirling, growing distracted and catching her off guard. She grunts and falls back, before stepping forward again to press the blade towards his chest. If she didn't think so much it was easier. If she simply grew frustrated and angry it was easier to manage. "He wants to kill me first. It's something we have to plan for."
|| In a bout of frustration, after dodging her strike, he threw his dagger out at her. "EITHER WAY WE'D BOTH DIE!" he shouted out, before snarling before turning away. "You die first, I'll go shortly after. I die first, you'd die shortly after. Why do you think I'm doing this?" he waves his arm around at the alley, before turning back towards Chava a flash of red in his eyes, "I'm trying to protect us. BOTH of us. You get stronger, better, faster, and we can work together and kill him." Without warning, he pulled his hand back, before throwing a punch at the wall with as much force as he could muster. Without even turning to look at her, he lets his now bloodied hand fall before saying, "I'm trying to save /BOTH/ of us. And if that makes me selfish, so be it."
|| Damien was lucky Chava had thought quickly on her feet. Under different circumstances she might have cowered, as Damien was the single one who could make her do such a thing, since she loved him, but this time was slightly different. She was already getting angry. At his outburst, her wand slips into her hands, managing to stop the thrown dagger in its tracks before it could do so much as nick her. Even that would kill Damien, based on the wording of his vow. And again, normally she would have cowered and left it there, but this time, she spins the dagger around and sends it flying, magically, just past Damien and aiming to lodge it into the wall. "WHAT THE FUCK?!" she screams, her face burning red. That was certainly something she had never seen before, not with Damien in his right state of mind. "Be careful, or you'll fucking kill me yourself," she hisses. She wanted, almost desperately now, to stop being angry. So she could calm Damien down herself and remain reasonable. "I'm not sure what you want me to say." She speaks softer this time, rubbing her forehead and taking a step back from him.
|| Damien snorted somewhat before muttering under his breath. "At least I'd die with you in that case." He of course regretted it instantly, since he hated thinking of Chava dead. He sighs slightly, the glint of red fading away back to the usual steel grey. "I don't want you to /say/ anything." He takes a few steps closer towards her, before falling to the ground though not out of physical pain, but out of mental anguish. He positions himself so he was sitting down, before looking up at Chava. "I want you to train harder than you have been today. I want you to climb that wall, face that dummy, traverse that alley, spar against me, do all these things as if your life depended on it. As if /my/ life depended on it." he knew she didn't care about his own life, which was why he hastily added in the last bit, before sighing again. "Because whether you accept it or not it does. Everything we do affects this war, whether you realize it or not."
|| Chava remains standing, looking down at his form on the ground with a steely glint in her eyes. After his first statement, it was hard for her to focus on anything else he had said. Though, with what did get through to her, a small plan formed in the back of her mind. Something she may enact if he responded to her first plan correctly. Because, of course, she was still very angry. So if he killed her, he'd at least die with her? The sentence pissed her off, which, really, said something about her, about how she looked at death in the first place. He didn't need to know that yet. And so, her face burning with hurt, and anger, she makes a point to drop her wand to the ground and kick it away from her, holding only her dagger in hand. If he could play this game, twice, so could she. "Is that how you feel?" she whispers, her voice sounding almost too calm, dangerously so. In a flash, she's crouching down on the floor next to him, grasping his hand and curling his fingers around the hilt of the dagger. She presses her forehead to his, before taking his wrist and bringing the blade of the dagger to her throat, moving him to press against her skin gently. "Oh go ahead then, Damien. If it'll make things easier for you," she mutters, looking directly into his eyes.
|| As soon as Chava had asked her question, Damien had a bad feeling, and his feeling had been completely and utterly correct. He managed to take a step back, though Chava still managed to get close to him, pressing a dagger into his hand, and bringing it up to her neck. Instantly he shook his head, saying firmly "No." he gripped the dagger, pulling it back away from her neck. "Absolutely not." However, despite his words he flipped the blade around pressing it against his own neck, and placing her hand on the blade. "No matter what was said, would /you/ be able to do it? Because I'm not. I can't even stand the thought of you dying at Lucedio's hands, let alone my own."
|| His response worked for her until he switched their positions, bringing the blade to his neck instead. She could count that as a third time. She simply releases the dagger from her fingers, letting it fall between them. "Then do try not to throw daggers at me, or next time I won't stop it from hitting me," she says pointedly, not releasing her grip on his wrist. And this time she meant it. Her hand snaps upwards as if she were to strike, but instead she simply brushes her fingers gently along his cheek. Her eyes still don't leave his, so he knew how serious she was. She brushes the hair out of his eyes. "I don't like when my Damien, in his right mind, does things that would make Lucedio proud." She sighs. "Because you are not the one who hurt me. Understand?" She quirks a brow before nodding, pulling her wand back to her. Without another word, her hand moves from his wrist to grasping his forearm, locking him in place. In a moment her wand produces golden strands of light that wrap themselves around their entertained arms. Another Unbreakable Vow. Chava starts to speak before he could think to move away, letting him know this was a good kind of vow. "I, Chava Mae Thorne, do swear that I will not actively seek out death, or throw myself into danger with the intention of not saving or protecting myself, for my husband Damien Thorne's sake. I will do anything I am capable of to stay alive, and care about the safety of my own life." The magic twirling around their arms gleams gold, before it fades, the vow done. A shiver runs down Chava's spine. This was a dangerous vow. Debatably more dangerous than her last vow. She could easily forget. She could very easily let her emotions crowd her thoughts and judgements and throw herself into danger at her own expense, and even Damien's. But it was Damien she had to do this for. "Happy now?" she asks, brow quirking. She stands, tugging him up with her. Despite the vow, she was still cold, and kept herself at a slight distance from him. There was that cowering she mentioned earlier. He was not met with a kiss. "Now would you like to finish this training, or can we just go home?"
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