Cyran had gone very quiet watching Del kick the dummy with devastating force, enough to send the thing crashing to the ground with a devastating THUD. So quiet, in fact, that he almost didn’t register that the others were speaking to him, asking about his technique.

He forced himself to look away from Del’s powerful legs as she straightened.

“Ah.” He cleared his throat, turning back to the others. His technique? He supposed he had a few… usually, Cyran relied more on his natural speed than any set technique, but he had recently come up with a decent method to make use of his blades when dealing with a difficult enemy to take down.

“I suppose I could show you a move of my own, if you’re all interested.”

He’d need both of his blades for this, though. Cyran extended his palms outwards, summoning Spell Slicer and Cold Steel into his waiting hands with a burst of shadow.^[1] Twirling them around in his hands with a small flourish to test their weight. More of a habit at this point, really. He’d been using these daggers for so long that their grip was second nature to him by now. He stepped in front of the dummy, choosing his words carefully.

“I traditionally do this maneuver with two blades, though it can be accomplished with two fists - or a single sword - just fine.” He explained. “The key behind this trick is the opposite of Gerhart’s, I suppose. You want to strike fast and light, making sure to hit vulnerable areas and disorient them enough to retreat. It’s a good tactic for when you need to make a quick escape. You make three strikes, like so.”

He turned his attention to the dummy, making three quick strikes - first with his left hand, where Spell Slicer was held, the second with his right, clutching Cold Steel. Where his second hand was still close to the dummy, he twirled the dagger and readjusted himself until he held it in a reverse grip, edge out, and left a devastating, deep cut along the dummy’s face as he retreated just as quickly as he’d advanced.^[2]

What was left behind was three neat cuts - none particularly deep, but rendered in places that would cause a man to bleed out rather quickly.

He tucked his knives away before turning back to the others. “… That’s the gist of it, anyways. It can be accomplished with a single blade - you just need to move back and forth. Speed is the key, not power.”

He redemonstrated the technique, this time with only Spell Slicer in his hand. Back and forth, he sliced the dummy in the exact same places as his first attempt. Neat. Clean. Precise.

“Make sure to retreat when you’re done. The idea behind this technique is to get in and out, and leave your opponent reeling by the end of it. Make them wonder if you were ever really there at all.”

---

1. Summon: Possession
2. Cyran's Haunting Blade

Del beams, stepping away from the dummy as Cyran steps forward to show them his technique, wondering for a moment about the fluster-- perhaps because they had just put him on the spot? That was likely it. He was a humble man, but she knew from experience that he was a force to be reckoned with in the course of a battle. As was Gerhart, and though Del had not seen Cirice fight, from the way she weilded her whip-sword, she felt that could be attributed to her, too.

"It would be an honour for you to demonstrate," she beams, taking a step to the side now so she can get the best angle to watch. The explanation is clear and concise, and when Cyran demonstratdes... she lifts a hand to her cheek as she watches him land his precise, fluid blows, and on the second pass, land them once more in the exact same spots. Graceful, precise, elegant...

What was she doing again?

Del clears her throat and steps forward again to give that a try. Some techniques could be applied to empty hand, but lacked the weapon itself. "So you use two hands to accomplish that? Hmm." She eyes the paths that Cyran had struck, and reaches out to give it a pass, holding her palm cupped and taut, a knife-hand technique that was more for damaging with surface area than it was for cutting, of course. Her main hand strikes true, carving the line with her rigid fingertips along the exterior of the dummy, but her off hand is slow, missing the target. She steps back with a low hum, brow furrowed.

Watching Del attempt to strike at the dummy with both hands, thoughtful as she missed the second strike, Cyran suddenly feels sheepish. “It’s not as difficult for me - I’m ambidextrous.” It slipped his mind that others might have a harder time implementing fast, accurate strikes. While Del puzzles over the conundrum, Cyran steps forward, trying to think of how the technique could be appropriately modified for her.

Gently, he grabs both of her wrists, pointing her hands at the dummy, so she can get a feel for the movements. “In your case, it might be best to work around your off hand, instead of against it. Change the points you target - don’t follow my movements. Like this… small, big, small.” As he explains, he moves her hands to the rhythm, starting with the dominant hand first. A blow to the throat. Then the second, non-dominant hand, aimed to crack the ribs - before delivering a third blow right to the temple with the dominant hand once more.

Clearing his throat, Cyran releases his grip on her and steps back. “At least, that’s how I would do it.”

Del allows Cyran to take move her wrists, trying to focus on the motion carefully even while the blood is rushing in her ears and she feels heat rise from her neck to the tips of her ears. She keeps a careful clamp on her jaw, fixed and studious, as his cool hands guide her through what he understood the technique ought to look like from her own hands.

It's sound logic, too. He truly understands the technique itself. She nods a bit distantly as he steps back and swallows around a mouth full of cotton. "I can, ah... yeah, I'll try that." She flashes him a quick, sheepish smile, and shifts her position. Just like how Cyran demonstrated, Del lands the blows, connecting with the dummy's most vulnerable areas as she rocks it back. She blinks at her hands and smiles; now, that was devastating.

"That worked!" She turns to Cyran with a bright smile. "Thank you for guiding me through it, that did the trick." Realizing she was still a bit flushed, Del clears her throat again and smiles at Gerhart and Cirice. "Ah... your turn!"

"That's sort of the fun of learning fighting stuff, you pick up a lot of different stuff and you just gotta make it work for you. Some days I wonder how I woulda ended up if I had any actually you know...training for any of this." He grins.

He had refined things a bit since the dungeon, but his style was still very reliant on instinct and raw talent than any sort of trained knowledge. His swings had power behind them, but it wasn't uncommon for him to leave openings that more skilled fighters could exploit. It was also part of the reason he could take a few hits.

There's a little smile as he sees the two getting flustered about each other, happy to see his friends happy. Even if Cyran seems to not be taking his own advice to Gerhart and just going for it, or at least that how it seemed.

"Would you like to go first Cirice? I've always fought with two weapons, so it makes a lot of sense, it's just getting the momentum down with longer, heavier blades."

Whenever he did finally go, Gerhart would flourish his wooden swords with a little twirl before stepping forward with a jab step. The first sword would go high to low across the right shoulder to hip, the second coming across the midsection, before he flipped grip on it to get another stab in and stepping out. The first strike would pull the guard high giving the second sword an opening and switching the grip at the last moment would change the angle of attack before they could guard again as Gerhart moves back.

"Well it at least works on a dummy!"

Cirice watches her beloved godfather show off his technique with the fluid grace she’s come to know well in her travels alongside him. But more than that she watches with a wide grin at the blatant and adorable flirting between him and Del. Its clear they have feeling for each other, she wonders if they’re just holding back for her and Gerhart’s sakes. Or maybe they still haven’t admitted it to each other…

Watching Cyran take Del’s hands and gently guide her movements makes her just a little bit embarrassed, like she was watching her own parents in an intimate moment she had no right to intrude on. Del quickly tries to move past the moment, flustered and blushing. Cirice sympathizes with her, its so hard to really push past that initial embarrassment and go for what you want,she still marvels at the fact she managed to admit her own feelings for Gerhart. She hopes Del and Cyran can be as happy as she is with her beloved.

Gerhart offers her the next go, but she shakes her head, more than happy to watch him. Her knight is as skilled and devastating with wooden swords nearly as much as he is with steel, and she finds herself blushing with pride as he easily pulls off the technique in one try. She could watch him train forever and it would be too short.

“You’re all so amazing…” She sighs wistfully, “I’m so lucky to have you in my life.”


Supposing its her turn to give it a try, she steps forward and looks at the gashes left by those before her. How can she replicate it with just her single sword? If she used it as a whip then she wouldn’t really be able to do it right.

“Um… how can I do it right? I’m not sure, you all had two weapons, how can I do it right with just one?”

Just as Cyran instructed, Del drove her fists into the dummy with enough force to send it reeling. If that had been a normal person, Cyran had no doubt that it would have been reduced to a heap of broken bones. Every one of her blows packed with precision and power. Cyran smiled, giving her a double thumbs-up, hoping his face was not too horribly red watching her. “Yes, exactly like that. Very quick learning. Perfect. Beautiful. Uh… oh, yes! Cirice!”

He turned to his goddaughter, who’d asked for help figuring out how to implement it with only one sword.

Cyran reached over to Gerhart’s collection of fake swords, grabbing one and holding it experimentally in his hands. He didn’t often use bigger blades, though with a bit of practice he could make due in lieu of his knives. “I’m not sure how to include the whip component, but you could always attack like this…” He demonstrated a back and forth slashing motion in front of the dummy, almost like a Z. Maybe it would take some time to get the movements down, but Cirice could move with unnatural speed when she wanted.

By the time he was done demonstrating, Gerhart had flawlessly executed the move with two swords in his hands.

Cyran put his hands on his hips, looking between the other three with a proud, almost sheepish smile. “Goodness, you all picked it up so quickly… it makes me feel like a bit of a loser in comparison.”

She tucks a loose curl of hair behind her ear sheepishly as Cyran praises her take on his skill, stepping to the side to allow Gerhart and Cirice to take a crack at it. They both do remarkably, and Cirice's weapon specifically being quite devastating with the technique. She applauds them both enthusiastically, and watching Cyran teach... Well.

It was hard to make sure she was watching what was going on at times, but she managed to keep her wits about her. Even if it meant having a strange, dreamy little smile most of the time.

 "Well done! --Cyran." Del leans over to give Cyran a little poke to his arm, her brows lifting in amused chastisement. "If you are a loser, then I am the bottom of the barrell. Thank you for showing us your technique, it really takes some skill to get used to."

Sitting down at the table again, Del smiles, resting her chin on her palm. The whole experience felt quite surreal to her. Del did not have a family she could remember, and the man who mentored her, while like a father in some ways, tended to be quiet and reserved. Until her recent time spent at Shade's Valley, she didn't have a broad frame of reference, of experience, for this sort of familial interaction.

Perhaps... she did now.

"It helps that you did the hard part of figuring out how to make the technique work Cy." Gerhart grins and gives him a part on the shoulder. He collects up any of the training weapons anyone had been using to put away and cleans up the training space for a moment as everyone collects themselves.

When everyone gathers back out at the table, Gerhart taps one of the small barrels in the kitchen and pours out a mug for everyone who is willing to partake in an alcoholic drink. "I am not much for brewing and making things, but Mom and Dad often would make their own drinks since they traveled a lot. I think I remembered the recipe right, should be peach flavored."

He raises a glass in toast with everyone when they are ready, mugs clinking together as Gerhart's face brims with one of the brightest smiles he's ever had in front of them.

"Thank you all....really...for being willing to come out here. I know it's not close for any of you and there's a lot going on out there more important than this, but it means a lot. You're all welcome to stay here if you don't wish to travel. There are two guest beds...then just mine so I uh." He pauses and covers his nervous blush with an awkward laugh. "I can uh just sleep down here."

“You could never be a loser, Cyran!” Cirice protests with a shocked look. Her whip nearly hits her falling down as she paused mid-swing. “You’re just a really good teacher!”

She motions with her arms at Del as she also breaks down his self-depreciation. She goes over and links arms with the arm Del isn’t leaning on and gives Cyran and Gerhart both a look. “Neither of you get to talk down about yourselves, got it? We’ll get mad, right Del? You guys are all amazing and you just have to accept that, too much humility is bad.”

Before they leave the training area as Gerhart is cleaning up she unhooks her arm from Del’s and goes to mend the dummy back to near-perfect condition.

“Mmm its wonderful, Gerhart!” She says taking a big swig after their toast. His smile makes her heart flutter. Seeing him happy is the greatest thing in the world. “Of course we’re happy to come and visit, there’s nothing I’d like to do more than see the people I love. Thank you for hosting us.”

She takes another deep swig of the drink, blushing along with him and trying to blame it on the alcohol. “Its your house, you should sleep in your own bed. Maybe ummm….” She trails off, embarrassed.


Another gulp of the drink for courage, “We could uh, share? I-If you want….”

Hides her face behind her mug.

Cyran shrugged, sheepish and perhaps a bit uncomfortable at the praise from others. It didn’t quite feel deserved, but he didn’t need praise or compliments to accomplish what he’d set out to do. He’d managed to give his dear friend, goddaughter, and her partner another technique to defend themselves while they were out adventuring. He couldn’t wrap the kids in armor and protect them from the rest of the world - that ship had long since sailed. But at the very least he could ensure that they had something to get the hell out of a situation and run if they ever found themselves in a dire situation.

… Though he had a feeling an escape method might be lost on Gerhart.

Thankfully they finished up training after a bit of practice and enjoyed some of Gerhart’s peach ale. Cyran allowed his sore muscles to relax, enjoying the company of his loved ones. “Nothing is more important than friends and family. Im very proud of everything that you’ve accomplished here, Gerhart. Your home is lovely.” He raised his drink, flashing Cirice a small smile, one that was perhaps a bit coy. “And I am very happy for the two of you. When Circe told me that she was dating someone, I was a bit nervous. But those worries dissipated when she told me it was you.”

Idly, he toyed with Del’s ring around the chain on his neck when he spoke, then wondered why that was his first instinct as he spoke of love and partnership.

“You two are family, okay? Never hesitate to reach out to me if you ever need anything. Thank you for allowing us to visit your lovely home.”

He turned to Del, a warm smile on his face, slightly flushed from the drink, but that alcohol made him bold. “You’re family as well.”

As a treasured… friend. Yes, a friend. Though even that term didn’t feel quite right to encompass their companionship.

“And you can take the other bed. I rarely sleep much, anyways. Most of the time it’s meditation, anyways.” He wouldn’t take no for an answer - as the evening wrapped up and they all settled down for rest, Cyran moved to sit cross-legged in a nearby chair, and closed his eyes. His rest was as light as always, but it came easier than it had in a long time.