(no subject)

[hylianqueen]

There was, incidentally, a training room buried deep within the hotel and it had taken Zelda this long to find it. She usually liked to go out of doors as much as possible as she hated being confined but today she had sought out amusement within the hotel itself; doors were still something that were hit or miss and she hadn't felt like taking the risk today.

It looked nothing like a Hylian training room would look. The equipment was all impossibly modern and several contraptions were so complicated that Zelda did not have any desire to try to learn how to use them. What was of interest were several training dummies that looked remarkably like the ones used by the Hylian army to hone their sword and shield skills. This, she could work with - but not in a dress.

She returned to her room and changed into Sheikah training garb she'd worn all her years as Sheik but decided that she wanted to hone her physical skills in Zelda's body and not effect the change. Not today. It would cause too many questions and produce lies that she was unwilling to keep up for the moment. So much of her life had been trafficked in secrets and the hotel was the one place where Zelda wanted merely to be honest.

The fit was a bit tighter, considering, but Zelda had always been slender no matter which form she took. It would work for her purposes today and she stole back down to the gym to train. She had daggers tucked in her boots and launched an attack, daggers flying into the face of the two dummies to her left and right as she flung herself toward the center one to use fists and feet.

It had been a long, long time since she'd been able to use this particular set of skills.

Comments

[highland_hawk]

It had been, without a doubt, the strangest month of his life - and considering he'd spent most of it in one form of war or another, that was saying something. While he'd given in enough to take a room inside the hotel and he had to grant that having water available with the turn of a knob had been the best thing. Even worth putting up with the noise and artificial light.

He spent most of his time behind the door Zelda had found, enjoying the sea air and being in a place he at least somewhat understood. The rest of the time he'd started exploring the inside of the hotel and to find what else there was here.

Midway down a corridor, he heard the distinct sound of steel being thrown. He paused, hand on the hilt of his sword, and looked inside the room.

What he saw there stopped his breathing. "M'lady," he said.

[hylianqueen]

Zelda startled for a moment, which was never something good when one was throwing steel around. "Careful! I could have caught you with one of these things and done you a terrible injury. I am easily startled when I am practicing because I am not paying nearly enough attention to the world around me."

While she was skilled in battle, this was a definite flaw and Zelda did much better with the cloak of stealth that magic gave her. Out in the open, she was vulnerable.

[highland_hawk]

Erik leaned against the door frame, smirk firmly in place. "Beggin yer pardon, but I reckon I could handle anythin ye threw at me, love."

He added a wink at the end, hoping to bring that lovely blush to her cheeks again.

[hylianqueen]

Zelda huffed lightly, color coming to her cheeks. She could have truly hurt him and she felt like he was taking it entirely too lightly. Still, she guessed she did not look terribly threatening in this particular body.

"It's not something I do lightly. I've killed my fair share."

[highland_hawk]

The confidence in her tone raised his brows close to his hairline. "Have ye?"

He looked from the woman to the target she'd aimed at and gave a grudging nod. "I can see ye've got a bit of lethal aim there, Princess, but daggers are one thing and swords quite another."

[hylianqueen]

"A sword has longer reach," Zelda conceded. "But if you are filled with arrows and steel before you ever see your enemy, the sword does you no good. I do not particularly enjoy open combat if I can possibly help it. Too easy to be overpowered and killed by someone who possesses more brute force."

[highland_hawk]

"Point to ye," Erik allowed. "Arrow would certainly agree with ye as he favors a bow over any other weapon and he's dead lethal with it. But I've always preferred a sword t'a quiver that can empty and leave ye open t'attack. It's good t'have a backup lest ye find yerself run through."

[hylianqueen]

"You might be run through. They usually do other things to women," Zelda said quietly. "Before the running through, anyway. Would you like to see me use a sword? I don't think I could lift yours. It's entirely too large for a woman my size. We would need something much lighter if I were to actually be able to do anything with it."

[highland_hawk]

Despite the comment about what was done to women, a problem even in his time, Erik laughed full and deep over the rest of her statement. "Ah, love, don't ye know the best way to a man's heart is t'complement the size of his sword? Despite the size, I'm certain ye could lift it fine."

He was never more thankful for his kilt as it did an admirable job of hiding the evidence of his mind conjuring images of her doing just that. Especially dressed as she was, like the other women here, with her legs almost bare, covered only in a form of braies.

[hylianqueen]

Zelda was sure that she could, if only because she could use magic to augment her strength. Still, she was hesitant to show such things in front of Erik because she cared for him and was interested in him and she did not wish to see him look at her in disgust for using magic.

"Well, shall we give it a try, then? May I hold your sword?"

[highland_hawk]

Erik had to close his eyes and concentrate on his breathing for a few moments before unsheathing his sword and walking, carefully, over to stand in front of her. "Aye, ye may. But have a care with it. It's more dangerous than ye might think."

[hylianqueen]

"I am no delicate flower," she said, lifting the sword. It was too heavy for her to swing normally but she used magic to give her strength and flipped backward, holding the sword against the dummy's throat.

"But I still do not prefer swords. Yours is very fine, though, and well-made."

[highland_hawk]

"Nay, I can see that," Erik commented as she lifted the steel easily, something he knew was no small feat as he carried the thing on his back as well as in battle. "Ye've a touch with the blade and a lethal streak with it," he commented with a nod to where the blade's edge rested.

And thankfully, his body was starting to get over the reaction to the talk of her handling his sword.

[armedagainstlove]

Athos had not intended to sleep here, but with the overwhelming amount of red wine in his system, he rather believes he had not been capable of choosing where he slept. So, instead of making his way back to his room, he had found himself a small corner with a firm mat to use as a pillow, thinking it would serve the same purpose as the one he had in Paris.

They were not much different.

Wearily, he rouses himself when he hears noise in the room, staggering to alertness as he often does -- clumsily and with great slowness. Cracking one eye open, he makes out the figure and gestures clumsily towards it. "If you use the force of your hips as you strike, it will be even more effective," he says, head pounding and oh, did he wish for ice for his head.

[hylianqueen]

Zelda was not entirely certain she should take the advice of a drunk man sleeping in the corner but she tried what he said, using her hips and shifting the weight of her body as she attacked the center dummy.

"More like this, then?"

[armedagainstlove]

Athos weighs the merit of staggering to his feet, but decides it is not worth the effort. Instead, he plants one hand on the ground and watches as the attack is repeated, nodding his head and gesturing with his hand in the direction of the dummy. "Yes, you can hear it. Porthos always seemed to lead from his hips and it was always the most devastating smack when his fist made contact. Not a thing I liked to receive."

[hylianqueen]

"I think you should choose your friends better if they want to hit you," Zelda said, laughing lightly. "Or does he not normally greet you with a fist?" It sounded like what it had been like long ago when she trained with Impa; hard work, yes, but rewarding in the end.

[armedagainstlove]

"It's part of training," Athos says. "I assure you, I take great strides to make sure he fights Aramis and not I." Though, he believes that Porthos takes fights with both of them kinder than he would with an enemy and Athos does fear for that. Staggering to his feet, he disturbs the bottle of wine he had brought with him, listening to it clank as it rolls on the ground while he tries to steady his balance, running a palm over his face. "What are you doing here?" he asks, as though the answer is not obvious.

[hylianqueen]

"Training," Zelda said, brushing her hair off her forehead where it stuck there, sweat-soaked.

"I have become lax in my combat skills since I have been here in the Nexus and I wish to correct that. It has been a long time since I had to fight anyone since it's so safe here."

[armedagainstlove]

It catches up to him a moment later that they appear to be in a room for exactly this purpose. Inhaling sharply, he sees it for what it is, and sees an echo of the garrison's own training grounds in it. Perhaps he had stumbled here because of the sense of familiarity. "And you have no one to train with you?" he enquires, before he makes such an offer.

[hylianqueen]

"No. My bodyguard did not come through the door with me," Zelda said. Impa had been gone long before she came through here, too busy with her duties as the Sage of Shadow.

"I have to train myself now."

[armedagainstlove]

Athos breathes in sharply through his nose. "While I do not look entirely up to it, I assure you that if you seek a trainer, there are no finer in the art of swordwork," he remarks, bowing his head and grimacing when it takes quite a lot of effort not to simply let it fall. "Though, I am typically more sober than this when in the midst of my works."

[hylianqueen]

"I know little about using swords," she said, considering his offer with some great deliberation. It was a weapon that she had always disliked because it was so heavy and she was so small but it would be a great advantage. Using a sword meant longer reach and it was less likely she would have to get in close quarters with her opponent.

"What would you want in exchange for lessons?"

[armedagainstlove]

"Nothing at all," Athos replies, given that she would be doing him the favour by permitting him to continue with his skills. "It would give me a reason to stay sober," he says, though he means only mainly, "and I suspect that I could use another pupil to smooth out my rougher edges." If he is to take d'Artagnan under his wing, he could do with a bit of that.

[hylianqueen]

"Oh," she said, flushing bright. "I couldn't accept without some fair exchange. Please tell me there is some favor I can exchange for your help? You need only but ask it of me and I will try my best to make it happen."