59 Autumn 218
Briarbird Training Grounds
Tobias fell hard onto his back on the side of the sparring ring that had been set up for Briarbird training. He breathed heavily, weakly wiping away sweat as it would begin to pool in the corner of his eyes. Opening his eyes, he takes a moment to appreciate the calluses he had built up along his hands and the small scars earned across his forearms, his half-elven skin tanned over time from when he had first joined the rebellion. As he gasped for air, he pushed himself to sit up and scuttled over to lean his back against a crate for support, allowing him to look on as the training continued across his field of vision.
As his eyes rested upon a pair dueling with wooden longswords, a sudden cold sensation ran down his neck and back, causing him to bolt up and take a defensive position. When he turned however, he found himself shadowed by the looming presence of Resh. She stood nearly six and half feet with biceps seemingly the size of cannon balls. Though she claimed to be human, he couldn’t help but assume that there was giant lineage somewhere in her family. Though he wouldn’t blame her for it, her size did cause him to reflect and feel a tinge of self consciousness at his comparatively meager frame and height of just barely over five and half feet. As he looked up to her, her dark skin glistening with sweat and a broad smile across her face, he found her holding a mug of water as she stifled laughter.
“Resh what the hells! I was taking a break!” he exclaimed, moving to sit on the crate he jumped from.
“Hehe, sorry mate, couldnae resist! Ye seemed t’ be comin’ over all peely-wally and I reckoned ye couldae used a titch o’ the ol’ gutter wine t’ get ye back at it.” She hoists the mug of water in front of him, almost a thimble in her palm as an offering. “Mayhaps gonny no leave yourself so vulnerable next time, eh?”
Tobias still struggled to fully comprehend Resh but he had gotten better at it in the several turns since the two had met. At the very least, he understood the gesture of bringing him water. He took it with both hands and quickly gulped down at least half of the contents as Resh moved to sit next to him on the box.
“Thanks,” he said, wiping droplets from his chin. “How’s progress on your end?”
“Ach!” Resh suddenly erupted at Tobias’ question. “Pure barry an’ ye reckon gettin yer arse battered t’ be trainin’! Paloma’s no joke ‘pon th’ start o’ sparrin’! Don’ rightly unnerstaun how a woman her age is as quick an’ strong as she! I wantae learn how she fights but her trainin’ consis’ of wallapin’ ma arse an’ offerin’ treats after! ‘Tis embarrassin’!” Resh concludes, throwing her hands up in exasperation.
“Sounds as though things are going as well for you as they are for me,” Tobias sighs. “Consus has delegated training us to his daughter. She clearly knows what she’s doing and is an excellent teacher,” he pauses, considering his next words carefully before remembering who he is speaking with.
“But, I don’t know, she’s just so young!” he continues. “Clearly she’s been through hell and back with the way she carries herself, yet part of me is still frustrated to take lessons from someone nearly ten years my junior! Not to mention she holds nothing back and will beat us all into submission…”
Suddenly, a spark lights in Tobias’ mind as he connects Resh’s story. “Wait, if you’re training with Paloma, what’re you doing here? She’s on the other side of the woods I thought?”
“Two-fold,” she responds, one massive hand hovering over her eyes to block sunlight as she scans the various training rings.
“First, I need a wee breather. Paloma canny skelp ma lug if I ent there. Second, I’m lookin’ for someone an’ I heard tell they’re o’er yonder this-a-way…” Resh rests her eyes and a wide smirk breaks across her face. “Found ye!”
Resh grips Tobias in a headlock with her right arm, dragging his frame closer and pointing to the middle distance with her free hand. “Whit can ye tell me o’ oor lad down yonder?” Resh breathes.
Tobias pulls weakly at Resh’s arm, caught off guard. When his attempts to pull free prove useless, he drops his arms and angles his head in the direction she had indicated. It took him only a moment to see the person she was referring to, considering he had been eyeing the young man as well.
In the distance, a tall man with dark, olive skin was practicing a series of spear maneuvers with a sparring dummy. Stab, slice, roll, stab up, twist back and crack the butt against the head. His hair was messily tied up with strands falling across his face that he kept pushing to the side. He was also wearing a shirt that appeared to be at least twice his size. And where it would normally flow about in the breeze was instead weighed down with sweat.
Tobias immediately feels the blood rush to his cheeks and hopes Resh just assumes she’s holding him too tightly. “He’s been here several days now. I don’t recognize him from the crew that Danica and her friends are from, but they all seem familiar with one another.”
“I heard they found him in th’ woods. Draggin’ a great big lion after him an’ a half-deid dwarf o’er his shoulder,” Resh whispers in an excited tone.
“Wh-what?” is the only response Tobias can muster at the absurd claim.
“Oh aye,” Resh excitedly continues. “Other folk say he’s a deserter from th’ Swans who used mental magic tae sneak intae oor rebellion! I also heard the Octurne lives in his eye an’ he can use it tae turn intae a monster!” she concludes with a bellowing laugh.
“Resh, that is absolutely ridiculous!” Tobias retorts, finally pulling himself free from the chokehold.
Both Briarbirds halt as in the distance a large snap is heard. They both turn to find the man they were whispering about standing over his training dummy, broken in half at the midsection. The man turns quickly, scanning his immediate surroundings before turning back to the dummy. He picks up the top half and gently places it on the lower, waiting only a moment before it slides back off. The figure ponders a moment before snapping his fingers and quickly removing his shirt. He fixes the dummy once more, this time using the sweat soaked shirt to tie and keep the dummy in place. It seems to hold, though the upper half is held at slight angle. However, before it can fall again, the man turns and speed walks away from the scene, directly towards Tobias and Resh.
The man walks up at an awkward speed before stopping in front of both of them, checking over his shoulder to find the dummy fallen over again. He turns back with a guilty look in his eyes, rubbing the back of his head. “Hi, hello, nice day, hey could I steal some of your water?” he asks, pointing to Tobias’ mug, a gentle smile breaking across his face.
Both Tobias and Resh were spellbound at the man. He appeared to have no right eye or at least a void where his eye should have been. Instead, Tobias only saw stars and night colors look back at him. At the same time, Resh looked the young man up and down, reading through the stories the numerous scars told. A massive one near the center of his chest appeared the freshest, though how anyone could survive something like that was beyond her.
Tobias blinks hard, realizing that he had been staring and shoves the mug into the man’s chest. “Yes of course, sorry! I-I didn’t mean to stare!”
“I did…” Resh mumbled to herself.
The man proceeded to gulp down a majority of the remaining water before pouring the rest over his neck and back. “Ah man I needed that desperately! Thanks!” he expresses, returning the mug with a slight confused look in his eye.
“Oh! You mean my eye? Nah don’t worry about it, I stopped wearing an eye patch a while ago so I imagine some staring will be a thing from now on. And you’re so tall and have such huge arms! What’s your name? I’m Bax!” he exclaims with a massive smile, holding a hand out towards Resh.
Blood rushes towards her face now, so rarely did she receive complimentary remarks on her figure. She takes Bax’s hand and replies, “Ah, name’s Resh. An’ this here’s To-bi-as.” She enunciates his name as to be better understood.
“Oh wow and you have an accent like my friend Sav! How cool! Sorry if I don’t understand you all the time but I’ll try my best!” Bax turns to Tobias holding his hand to him. “Is it alright if I call ya Toby?”
Tobias returns the gesture, gripping the hand tightly as he does his best to push any embarrassment aside. “Toby is acceptable, pleasure to make—” He is cut off as Bax pulls him in closer, taking his other hand and gently runs it across Tobias’ hand. This causes the blood to rush up once more to his face.
“Your hands are really calloused. I can tell that you guys, especially you Toby, have been training really hard. I’m glad I get to fight alongside you guys!” he concludes with a grin.
Both Briarbirds feel their faces burn up as Bax lets go of Toby’s hand. “Oh geez, maybe we should all go get more water? You guys look a lil bit flushed. Where’re the water barrels at anyway?” Bax asks himself as he begins to walk away from the two.
Tobias clasps his hands against his face, unable to comprehend what could be wrong with him or why this Bax character got him so flustered. Resh sighs watching Bax walk away and states, “Oh. If we survive this, I most certainly am goin’ tae break him in.”
“Resh, have some class, please,” Tobias deadpans as he moves to follow Bax.
“Whit? You’re more’n welcome t’ join us!”
“Resh!”
Episode navigation
Back to: