The Making of a True Reconciliator II (Eitan)

[Tobias]

♅ 65th Ash, Year 121, A.O.S ♅
Company: Eitan| Thoughts: He's keeping me on my toes.| Mood: Comforted

---

The clinking of swords can be heard as Tobias eventually followed the advice that he had given him. He became more disciplined in his ways; using his breath for control rather than shouting insults, like the bardic tales his father used to read to him when he was a child. Yet, those were memories. It was time to forget them; to move on and put the past behind and move forward for a better future. It was going to be a difficult journey

It was the way forward; eventually it took a while for Tobias to get his bearings from his vigorous training session. He sighed as he took a deep breath; the exhaustion poured through as he took a moment to rest. The sweat from Tobias was doused as he took a moment to regain his strength. Unlike Eitan, he was much more on the thin side; he had alot of strength to regain, alot of things to work on for him to be successful. Eventually, Eitan sighed as he started at the other man for another moment within a presence. He removed his shirt for a moment as the heat bothered him; he glanced over to Eitan again "So, another round? Or do you need a moment, Watcher..." He asked.

There was a smile upon his face; it was unlike any other interaction he had. Firstly, his session with Stefan didn't exactly go so well as he thought. Eitan was different; it appeared he was much more understanding compared to Stefan. There was somewhat a strange empathy that came from his abode. However, when he saw his own reflection upon a mirrored wall. He stepped away from it; like he had some sort of insecurity, hiding his reflection. What was worse was the keloid scarring amongst his back, from when he was flagellated. It was something Tobias didn't talk about often and yet he was completely oblivious to it. It was like he never had them at all.

"Y'know, I did realise something; I'm an idiot, I'll admit it. I had everything and I chose to throw it all away at one point." He paused for a moment as he took a glance around the room for a moment "Tell me, Eitan... Do you have regrets?" He asked as he stared at him with such eye contact.

---

"Tobias Speech"

[Eitan Angevin]

It was good to have a regular training partner again, and Tobias was very nearly as skilled as he was, which kept him on his toes. They used different sorts of blades and Tobias was shorter and more slender than he was, trending toward quickness which was exciting to counter. And sometimes he couldn't counter him, especially when he stopped running at the mouth and focused on what they were doing. That was an improvement in his eyes, but he shook his head when Tobias tried a more subtle taunt.

"I am ready when you are, runt," he replied, and while he smirked when he said it, there was, perhaps, a hint of affection in it. It might have been nothing more than camaraderie between underdogs, but time would have to tell. Of course, he had noticed the man's scars. Eitan himself had a few of his own, though none so bad and none from so obvious abuse. He didn't ask questions yet. He wanted Tobias to feel safe and comfortable coming to him and confiding in him and, unless they were in imminent danger, he wasn't going to press for information he didn't outright need.

"I'm glad you realize you're an idiot." The smirk remained, as did the hint of something to soften the edge in his words. For a moment, he was thoughtful. "I think every man has regrets. If he says he doesn't, he either doesn't know himself or he is lying."

While waiting to see if Tobias would follow up with another question, a comment, or an observation, Eitan brought his cutlass around in a series of movements designed to keep his wrist flexible and his muscles warm. In the heat of a battle, adrenaline burned fire through the body. In practice, it was too easy to cool down and invite unnecessary injury.

[Tobias]

♅ 65th Ash, Year 121, A.O.S ♅
Company: Eitan| Thoughts: He's keeping me on my toes.| Mood: Comforted

---

The smirk on his face proved that the man had a slight affection towards him; there was a sense of playfulness and flirtation from the other man as he stared at him deeply into his eyes "You call me a runt, and yet I call you a Watcher, what kind of ettiquette is that, I'd say thats double standards." He smirked obviously teasing the other man yet again. He sighed deeply as he took a deep breath as he listened to the other man further.

He took a moment to compose himself as he looked by the mirrored wall and sighed "Hmm, do you ever look at the reflection of yourself and feel the urge to punch away the ugly features you have; I feel like that all the time" He said in a much more self-loathing manner; his hair, his body and the colour of his skin. It was perfectly mixed with silver and porcelain, the kind of features that would not appear to be of human quality, but of Siltori. There was a point to his ears, although it wasn't obvious unless someone inspected closely. A half human and half Siltori who didn't even know that was within his blood. Eventually, he sighed "I'm sorry, I tend to have a moment of self loathing, now and then; it shows how completely unsatisfied I am with myself" It was true. Tobias had some serious insecurity issues involving his self esteem. He thought it would pass, but it appeared that there was room for improvement.

He approached him as he looked up as he was talking about regrets. He raised an eyebrow as he took his rapier and walked closer to him. "Yeah, regrets are something that people lie about often. If you don't have any regrets, your life must be perfect or your a liar." He said with a smile as he let out a smirk "Although, I will say one thing..." He immediately slices through Eitan's shirt, cutting it in half as he lets out a mischievious chuckle "En Garde!"

---

"Tobias Speech"

[Eitan Angevin]

"You call me a lot of things," he noted with an arched eyebrow. But he didn't lean into it, instead observing and listening as Tobias opened up a bit. Eitan could surely understand self-loathing, and his own features were comely to some, though he wished he looked more like his half-sisters and less like some Dratori slut. He might even have commiserated, building a bridge between them, but Tobias took that opportunity to play dirty as if that would impress Eitan.

He had let his guard down as they were taking a break and talking, so one could argue that the ruined shirt was his own fault. While he saw the attack coming, Tobias was too far inside his guard for him to counter properly without risking greater injury than to his shirt, so instead, he froze. The Aspirant wasn't so skilled that he trusted him to change such a surgical stroke halfway through and Eitan didn't want to decorate the floor with his guts. If he practiced with a sword that was sharp enough to cut cloth, Eitan would have to never let his guard down.

Tobias was chaotic; there was no denying that. The jury was still out on whether Eitan could turn him into a reliable ally or if he would remain a loose cannon who would get those around him into serious trouble. But he didn't understand how Tobias' regret over his father's tribulations didn't galvanize him to act differently. Perhaps people couldn't change.

"You owe me a new shirt, Toby," he growled. He pulled it off and set it aside before taking up his cutlass again and falling into a ready stance. With his free hand, he lightly swept up the faint trickle of blood from his abdomen. No, Tobias never did calculate the risks to his words and actions. This was going to be a long haul, but hopefully he would turn out better than Albrecht had.

[Tobias]

♅ 65th Ash, Year 121, A.O.S ♅
Company: Eitan| Thoughts: He's keeping me on my toes.| Mood: Comforted

---

There was a common link between Eitan and Tobias, they were both half elven, they both had reputations on the line, but yet it was difficult for Eitan to get through to him. However, maybe Tobias already knew, he was back in defensive mode again. The clinking of the swords was getting louder as Tobias tried to inflict some force to his weaponry. However, this caused his technique to become clumsy, giving Eitan an opportunity to disarm him. He slowed down a bit as he looked over at Eitan, having also realised that he had made a mistake. If he ripped his shirt off in a actual fight; Eitan would've had the upper hand in spilling his guts entirely. He now realised that "Yeah, I owe you that new shirt" He smirked, letting his ego get to him once again, only this time he was much quite about it. He was already taking some advice from Eitan, but there was much to work on.

Tobias looked over at Eitan as he appeared to be fishing out for opportunities to strike; there was much to deal with in terms of battle. For example, being in a real scenario where magic would be at prominent use by witches and wizards. He wondered how he could deal with a single firebolt or a mesmer's mind wrack. He sighed as he overextended to much, to the point where he was at risk of being cut as he moved backwards.

At that moment, Tobias had messed up his footing, causing him to stumble and fall to the ground. He fell backwards as the heel of his boot caught a small crevice, causing him to fall sideways "Whoa..." Splat. He fell flat on his face as he winced slightly, realising that the might have mildly strained and pulled a muscle in his leg "Fuck..." He winced as he tried to get up, but successfully does so as he limps "I'm fine... Lets go on..." He said. However, he wasn't fine, he had just pulled a muscle in his leg. It appeared that he needed time to heal.

---

"Tobias Speech"

[Eitan Angevin]

Even though Tobias smirked when he made the admission, it seemed like progress so Eitan grinned back at him. If they were wasting energy fighting each other, they wouldn't be able to help each other fight real enemies. The Watcher bore his Apsirant no ill will, but even for Zaichaer's most loyal, there were those within the frameworks of power who only sought more power for their own benefits.

Then they were back in the exchange of blades, and Tobias gave as good as he got. Eitan wasn't so much better; he wasn't teaching him, but he was training him. Through practice, they would both improve. They sharpened their skills on each other to be more efficient with their blades in the future. Several times, Tobias made a mistake, but not so great that Eitan could leverage it against him. And Eitan made a few mistakes of his own, minor ones, perhaps, but they might have meant trouble in a real fight. And in a real fight, these things had to be second nature because he might also have to be holding down any number of shields to protect himself, his men, or his ship.

Witches and cultists would take any opportunity offered and so he couldn't offer them any.

It wasn't until Tobias fell that Eitan invoked any sort of hierarchical power over him. While on his way to offer Tobias a hand up, he watched how he limped before shaking his head.

"No, best make sure it's not severe," he said. Pushing through pain was one thing, but exacerbating injuries for no good reason was as good as treason, weakening the tools and soldiers of the State. He slung an arm under Tobias' to help him over to a small bench near the door. Once Tobias was seated, Eitan leaned his cutlass against the wall and crouched down to ease the man's foot out of his boot. Carefully, he held his foot by the heel and gently prodded his fingers into the softer parts to see if anything caused an intense pain reaction in the man.

Dark eyes studied Tobias' face.

"How's that, then?"

[Tobias]

♅ 65th Ash, Year 121, A.O.S ♅
Company: Eitan| Thoughts: He's keeping me on my toes.| Mood: Comforted

---

Despite the fight between the two reconciliator's; there appeared to be an edge of truth to the matter. Indeed if they were wasting energy fighting each other, they wouldn't have been able to help each other gain confidence in the thrill of combat. Tobias had to prove he was amongst the very best of those aspirants in there. The exchange of blades would be something that would cause Tobias' concentration to be shifted amongst the blades, rather than his overall footwork. They both weren't perfect in terms of fighting; there were mostly clinical errors from Tobias' stance, but it appeared his real issue was his balance and control. Whilst he had such a light body with the ability to easily maneuver about, he didn't realise where his center of gravity was.

The fall came all of a sudden as when he got up he tried to continue, but Eitan reiterated. Tobias gritted his teeth with such a wince as he pushed through the pain. Perhaps he pulled a muscle or something? Who knows; only Eitan could inspect the situation and find out what went wrong. He looked at him for a moment as he sighed out, having a moment of calm and quiet. He did not mention the injury, the incident or his mistake he made. Perhaps he knew himself what the mistake was. His footwork. He would watch as Eitan leaned his cutlass against the wall and crouched down at the man's boot, carefully lifting it off.

The way he did it; so elegant and smooth as Tobias couldnt help it. He felt a little flush in his cheeks. A deep anxiety as he gulped it down. He let out a sigh of relief as he felt the other man prod his fingers until he winced slightly at the source of pain. His ankle, all the way down to his heel appeared to be swollen "I think it's just a pulled muscle or something..." He said with a sigh. Great, what next I'm gonna be put in the infirmary? He thought to himself as he couldnt get ill, sick or injured beyond this point. It would be detrimental to him if he was to miss a couple of weeks of training "Do you think everything's alright?" He asked for a moment as if he made brief eye contact with him for a moment.

He looked away for a moment, as if he was to hide something. Was he blushing? Oh no, act cool He thought as he looked downwards upon him. He had only met the reconciliator and yet he was blushing oddly. Why? Perhaps the moment where Eitan and Tobias had their very own Cinderella play, or just the moment of fighting together. He shrugged it off as he let out a deep sigh "Watcher?" He asked as his tone was more earnest than sarcastic.

---

"Tobias Speech"

[Eitan Angevin]

Eitan had given Tobias' ankle a visual examination, and now he just watched his face for tells as he delicately examined it with his fingers. He noted the flush, which could be embarrassment about the situation on multiple levels, or something else.

"I should probably take a refresher course on first aid," he admitted with a wry twist of the lips at his own expense. "I'll never be a medic, but I've had to help with triage after a battle. I'm certain you'll live, but I think it best we pause in our training. I'll lace up your boot tight before we leave so the joint will be more immobilized and less likely to swell. Tomorrow, if the pain hasn't diminished, we'll have to take you to the infirmary for an expert opinion and treatment."

But he didn't put his boot back on straight away. Instead, his hands moved up away from the injury, gently but firmly massaging up his calf. The body had its reactions to injuries, even minor ones. Swelling helped with immobilization, but muscles would also incur more tension as the body sought to overcompensate to protect the injury.

"I'll work you hard," he explained, "but I take injuries seriously. Dealing with them properly and promptly will mean less time needed for recovery before you can get back to work. I want you to know that I will take them seriously, and I need to trust that you will give me an accurate assessment of yourself when I ask, and even when I don't. You're my responsibility now."

Eitan tried not to communicate it in terms of a burden, but rather something he took seriously. As he had said since they met, they had to be able to work as a team. Pride would only hurt that. Perhaps that was why he was providing comfort now, hoping to prevent a need for undue discipline.

[Tobias]

Tobias looked down at Eitan as he gave the examination and sighed as he listened further to the other man; when he mentioned first aid course, he smiled as if the man had been fully prepared for what was to come. Tobias liked that; a man with competence written all over him "You seem good with your hands, yourself... Can't complain" He added with a smile as he took a deep breath and exhaled deeply. The stress settled in once he said he was going to be taken to the infirmary. He hoped it was ease by tomorrow so he could continue his training.

His face lightly flushed once again as he gently moved his hands away from the injury and massaging his calf. This time there was a tension stopping Tobias from speaking as he opened his mouth for a moment "I..." He stopped himself as he wanted to say something; it was if he had forgotten what he was gonna say. He listened to Eitan; I'll work you hard. Those words repeated in his mind once more. They appeared to be the words of a true Zaichaeri citizen.

"Of course" He nodded as he looked over at him, feeling a sense of gratitude "Oh and... Thank you" He said as he looked over at the other male. It appeared that kind of help was something he had given his father; he had probably never received help from such a man, perhaps because of the slurs the other reconciliators place upon him "Thanks also, for not judging me based on what I've done..." He blinked for a moment. A frown was upon his face; he reflected on the mistakes he had made in the past, perhaps it was time to put that behind him.

"It really has given me hope for a new beginning" He watched Eitan as he further massaged his calf. It appeared the tension was relieved, but there was other tension for Tobias to relieve himself from. The shame and guilt of what he did. Zaichaer had a burning halo over his head. It was time for him to redeem himself from the purgatory he had made himself. Redemption. That was his goal, that would be his answer.

[Eitan Angevin]

The comment made Eitan smile slightly, though he was glad Tobias didn't lean into the flirting. He was a good-looking fellow, but there was quite a bit of focus required of both of them if they were going to dig themselves out of the holes they had dug for themselves and that meant they had to learn to work together. He wasn't a medical expert by any means, nor a masseuse, but he did what he could, knowing it would feel good and relax him a bit.

"Of course," he said, giving Tobias' calf a last good squeeze before he stopped. "We ought to be mindful of the past, but work toward the future. Together."

That said, he made Tobias remain where he was seated while Eitan gathered their things and carried what needed carrying, including Tobias' spare boot. Then, he helped him bodily to rise and made the Aspirant put his arm around Eitan's shoulders so he could take the weight and keep it off the injured ankle until they could be sure putting weight on it wouldn't exacerbate things.

As good as his word, he helped him to the infirmary, letting Tobias set the pace and neither ribbing him to go faster nor protesting that he ought to slow down. He was the leader, but he wasn't a despot. He wouldn't take away the man's agency; he wanted an apprentice, not an automaton. The more Tobias proved himself, the more he could treat him as such. He stayed with him through the examination by the medic, wanting to hear a diagnosis from the horse's mouth so Tobias wouldn't attempt to shrug it off if he needed to take it easy. They hadn't known each other long enough to say they were friends, but it was clear that he cared.

Time would tell where that would lead.

fin.