[P] climbing every rib inside us;

[Theodosia]

let our eyes show the
fire in our hearts tonight

“I never said it was,” She shoots back, although there is a rough edge to her words that makes them far more serious than the jest they are meant to be -- right now, she does not feel much like joking, cannot afford to waste her time with laughter. There could only be the continuous cycle of training and patrolling, of carving her body into a weapon and holding on fiercely to the thought that she couldn’t disappoint Asterion and Israfel, too, not when she has already disappointed the Commander.

There will be no rest until she can redeem herself -- she will not allow herself weakness any longer.

She sees his feint in the fraction he allows her, the way the spear jerks so unsteadily in his grip, and she moves so that the handle of her own weapon blocks his with the spearhead pointed toward the ground. Deftly, she upturns the spear so that it is hooked behind his and yanks, seeking to disarm him.

“A weapon is no use if you cannot keep hold of it.”

credits

@Asterion