ioduanlogs | How do You Solve a Problem like Meira?

Valdis’ many feelings regarding Bobby’s attack created certain feelings that she very much wished to ignore. The problem with ignoring them was that the issues wouldn’t just go away. X’s inability to defend himself despite having the necessary knowledge of skill, meant that it was his body that lacked the coordination and range of movement, not to mention the attitude required. Acquiring two wooden practice blades had been easy enough, and the message Valdis left on his yimo indicated he should meet her here, in the park they had first fought.

She sat on the newly built bench, wooden blades leaning against the arm, waiting for the Mirror to arrive. Valdis had plenty of experience with beginners, yet someone with the body of a beginner and the potential mind of an experienced sword user might be a unique sort of challenge. She’d have to find out just how it functioned and the quickest route would be a spar.

Edited 2018-08-05 04:15 (UTC)

It was jarring, avoiding Valdis for so long -- however unconsciously -- and then finding a direct message from her asking if they could meet. It wasn't something X could have predicted, which meant -- what? Maybe something happened. Maybe she had a sincere change of heart. Maybe she heard about what happened with Bobby. Maybe she met Bobby.

Either way, refusing to meet didn't even occur to X as a viable option.

When he arrived, he definitely hadn't dressed for a spar, though it would do in a pinch; and his hair, at least, was braided back. He took one look at the wooden blades Valdis had brought, and his expression morphed into bemusement. "You can't be serious," he said, knowing full well that she was. "What did Devin tell you?"

Valdis could care less about how prepared X was for combat. If he were attacked, the problem wouldn't wait for him to prepare himself. Valdis rose from the bench, plucking both swords from the ground.

"Devin hasn't told me anything," Valdis said, tossing one of the blades at X, "Aside from the fact you met Bobby. Quite the piece of work, isn't she?"

The fun thing about tossing a sword to someone who only really knew the theory of how to catch one was getting to watch them try, fumble, second-guess themselves, and drop it onto the grass. All of which X did. Thank Asri it was only wood, or he'd probably have speared himself through the hand.

"Wasn't she," X murmurs, less bemused and more withdrawn now that Bobby had been brought up. "I'm a little attached to the past tense, where she's concerned. You met her too?"

Valdis watched X as the sword bounced around and ended up in the grass. She really had her work cut out for her. She arched a brow at him, then set her own sword down. He seemed to be cutting himself off from something emotionally, or at least trying to.

"I did," she replied, "It was a fascinating conversation."

Her mind was more on how to teach X to move himself as he 'remembered'. She was certain he knew what he needed, he just lacked the finesse and muscle memory.

"Toss that to me," She gestured to the sword he had dropped, "I'll show you how it's done."

It was a fascinating conversation. Uh-oh. Anyone else, and X might have taken that straight; because it was Valdis, he knew instantly not to.

He picked up the sword, and threw it back towards Valdis in the same way she'd thrown it to him. It wasn't perfect, but it wasn't far off the mark either. For all that handling any sort of weapon was still abhorrent enough to make him drop one thrown to him, you didn't befriend dozens of warriors without picking up something.

"Fascinating," X repeats, dubious. "What did you talk about?"

Valdis caught the wooden blade by the hilt, tossed it up into the air where it rotated twice and caught it with the opposite hand as it fell. She rolled the hilt between her fingers, making the blade move as if dancing with it.

"Hobbies. Fashion. Dating. The definition of friendship."

Another toss, this time with a spin added, catching the blade and flipping it over her shoulder only to catch it again and freeze, wooden tip pointed straight at X.

"Normal girl things."

X watched Valdis toss the wooden blade up, and smiled. "You're showing off," he said, but sounded impressed and thrilled nonetheless. Showing off or not, that was some impressive skill she showcased. And she wanted X to learn how to do that?

Somehow, he doubted that all Valdis talked to Bobby about was normal girl things. But it was hard to ask when he wasn't completely sure how seriously Valdis wanted to take this sparring match, and he stared at the wooden tip of her sword pointing right at him, wary but unafraid.

"Isn't that my weapon?" he asked.

"Of course I'm showing off," Valdis quipped, "I don't get to do that nearly as often a I would like."

There were certain societal norms that one had to bow to in order to fit in, to survive, to not intimidate or be seen as a threat. These were simple enough tricks, but fun ones, harmless ones. Unlike the tricks and tactics used against Bobby. Valdis smirked, gesturing to the blade still leaning against the bench.

"Lesson number one," she said, "Never surrender your weapon to an enemy."

"You're an enemy now?" X asked, a small smile on his face. He didn't move for the other weapon right away, too wary of another trick or a trap. "Thank you for the warning."

Bobby wasn't Valdis. All of X's fear of Bobby came from Devin, from Devin's memories and Devin's perception of her. If Valdis ever decided to trap X in a room and break his wrist, he knew intimately why he'd be afraid of her, and it wouldn't have anything to do with anyone else. Yet, Bobby was gone, Valdis was the one pointing a sword at him, and X wasn't afraid. It was funny, sometimes, how things worked out.

He moved slowly toward the bench, his eyes never leaving Valdis, and picked up the other wooden sword. "I should warn you," he said, "you're not the first person to try teaching me this sort of thing."

Valdis inclined her head at X's joke, moving counter to him, keeping the tip between her and him. The point of the exercise was to teach, not to keep him from a weapon. She smiled at him, but her amusement faded to a sort of aloof seriousness.

"I'll admit there's much I don't understand about your ability or your world," she said, letting the sword drop to her side, "But you told me that you regretted sleeping, that you were sorry, and you didn't mean to. If all that is true, then there's no reason you shouldn't be able to learn this."

She took two steps back, lifting the blade again, "If you don't want to read people, to tread upon what is sacred to them, then learning to protect yourself is logical. You won't necessarily need to read others to save your own life."

A man more inclined to fighting might take advantage of Valdis lowering her sword, but X's gaze doesn't even flicker to where it hangs at her side. The weight of any kind of blade in his hand is too unfamiliar, and addressing the topic Valdis raises is too important.

"I agree with you," he says simply. "That's just not how it works. The moment someone decides they want to kill me, that's it. I can't control it. I wouldn't have time to defend myself first."

But, he'll admit, there's something familiar about the way Valdis is so intent on helping him learn. It reminds him of Szandor. The fact he raises his sword in turn, awkwardly, but readily, says he's not opposed to learning how to use it.

Valdis sighed, "You could have lied you know."

She drops the blade to the ground, walking over to correct his position. Arm up, slightly bent, sword straight, shoulders back, left foot slightly forward.

"Is it only based on desire to kill?" she asked, moving back to pick up the practice blade. Based on how awkwardly he moved the sword, perhaps it was best to show him the movements and slowly work up to speed. Knowledge was clearly not anywhere near what was needed. So much for that theory.

"Or is it based on a sense of danger?"

X shook his head. "No, I couldn't have. I know everything about you. It's only fair that I return the favour."

It was a decision X didn't even realise he'd made, but nevertheless, he'd made it. If he didn't think too hard about what Valdis was like before she got her emotions back, before she got her soul back, then he could easily answer all of her questions with full honesty. It wouldn't be the first time he'd trusted someone who was a member of a police force -- and this time, he had more to go on.

"Both," X answered, trying to hold the position Valdis put him in, frowning in concentration. It felt both completely familiar and utterly foreign. "It's a misconception, in my world. Someone published a theory that readers read other people constantly, and that's how we know the moment someone wants to kill us. But that's not true." He exhaled, a little amused. "I'd go mad. It's not just people, it's anything. Poison, weather, magic, accident. The moment my life's threatened, I go into that trance."

Her gaze narrowed, "You don't know everything about me, X. You only know what I know."

And there were people back on her own world that knew more about who she was and what part she was supposed to play. Yet right here, right now, none of that mattered. Valdis moved several yards to his left, taking up the same stance she had put him in.

"While I appreciate your honesty, it does make what I'm attempting to do rather useless."

She went through a block, letting him watch and then reset her position so they could do it together.

X nodded in concession. "True. Still, for thousands of years, that's an unfair advantage."

Thousands of years. The most unfair part, X felt, was that he finally had an inkling of what it felt like to be Luci, and he didn't have Luci around to talk about that with.

The next thing Valdis said made X laugh, and he forgot his stance for a moment. "Yes," he agreed, "a little. But you've made me curious now. I still want to learn, if you're still willing to --"

Ah. She was. With another smile, X copied her block, as exactly as he could manage. It wasn't perfect, but it wasn't the unsure and stiff movement of a beginner either.

"It's only an advantage if you sought to use it against me," she replied, moving through the block again and resetting.

Clearly he didn't, and barring some sort of personality shift, the chances of it were unlikely. When she next moved through the block, she added another step, a short counter, then paused for him to catch up.

"I know what it's like to lose yourself in the lives of others," she said, "Not to the extent that you do, and it isn't exactly the same, but close enough that I can...empathize to some extent."

Once he had joined her, she repeated the movement, adding a third step, then moved back a few paces to reset.

"And you'd be worried, if you didn't already know I'd never do that," X pointed out. He knew Valdis, now, inside and out, and he knew she was the kind of woman who could identify potential threats in any given circumstance. If X's knowledge was a threat, she would already be dealing with it.

Equally, though, she knew X would never use it against her. She didn't read universes, but she read souls, emotions. She felt safe, or she wouldn't be taking the time to teach X how to defend himself.

"I'm serious, though," he insisted, moving his way slowly through the counter and the block. "I know you don't have much experience with mutual honesty for honesty's sake, but if there's anything you want to know, I'll answer. The offer's open."

"I wouldn't be worried," she replied, grinning at him, "because I'd have already found a way to remove the threat."

A fact he must know considering she'd done it more times than worth counting in her history. Valdis considered the worth of putting aside training in favor of asking questions, but she didn't exactly know what kinds of questions to ask.

"You aren't afraid," she turned to face him, "You know everything, but you don't even flinch when I look at you."

Valdis wasn't the first person to ask that particular question. Silvanes, Szandor, Kassina -- all of them had trouble understanding why X could speak to them, understand them, help them, without running as fast as he could in the opposite direction. They all thought he'd only see the terrible choices, the cons, the murder, the anger. And all X ever saw was the hurt and the pain that drove and forced those choices.

He gave Valdis the same answer he gave them, returning her look, echoing her attention on the subject, but still practising the counter and the block she'd given him.

"I can't be," he said. "I can't be scared of you without also being scared of myself. It doesn't help." He smiled a little. "Besides, I don't think there's quite as much to be afraid of as you think. You're powerful, I know that, but I've also seen all the progress you made, all the people you helped in Keeliai and all the good you try to do here. I have the objectivity to know both sides of you, and I have the good fortune to know who you are now. Or -- at least who you were two months ago."

Valdis resumed showing him different steps, blocks, counters and resets, listening and considering his words, moving through nothing more than muscle memory.

"You are discounting one vital detail," she answered, "The Void. You know more than anyone about how dangerous it is, what it has done, and what it could still do. Even those who have seen it in action cannot comprehend the internal struggle. You know of Dante, Anton, and Wan, of how those feelings put everyone at risk, and yet here you are."

She turned, slashing down at him, more slowly than she was capable of and with the intent to pull it should he fail to block.

Still, X followed Valdis's examples, stumbling a little more now that he needed to concentrate on what he was saying.

"The Void isn't you," he said. "Of course I'm scared of the Void. You wanted to know how I don't flinch when I see you, and it's because I know who you are. If I know what the Void's capable of, then I also know --"

Too late, X reacted to Valdis's slash, blocking awkwardly with his own sword just enough to redirect her hit and get a glancing blow instead of the full strength behind it. It still hurt, and he didn't bother trying to hide that, grimacing and rubbing his bare arm.

"-- then I also know what you're capable of," he finished, checking under his hand to make sure skin hadn't broken. Valdis saw love as a weakness in her struggle, but X saw only the strength and raw potential of it.

He moved to block, so she followed through, though perhaps she should have pulled sooner since she still landed a blow, however slight. Valdis retreated several steps, setting position, still facing him.

"It's threatened Devin, you know," she replied, "He's far too stubborn to back off, and he has certain powers he can use, but you...you are far softer. If it leveled the same threats against you, what would you do?"

It was less a test than sheer curiosity, but she glanced at his arm when he rubbed it.

"I didn't hit hard enough to do more than bruise," she said, "If that."

"I don't bruise easily," X murmured. He hadn't even known what a bruise was before meeting his husband, and learning how humans from Earth could bruise off of something as simple as a stubbed toe terrified him. Sure enough, when he inspected his arm, there was absolutely nothing there, and the smarting pain had already subsided. He was fine.

"I don't know," he answered thoughtfully. His stance drifted further and further off-centre as he spoke. "If it threatened you, I'd trust you to know how to handle it, because you're here now when you don't have to be. If it threatened me, I'd... become you, I suppose. I could ask Devin for help, or any number of other people here." He smiled, and it was a smile less like his usual gentle ones and more like the tired, lightly sharp smile of someone who struggled a lot more than they let on. "I've been threatened by a god before," he said. "I'm not as soft as I look."

Valdis paused, considering his reply. Her sword tip dropped ever so slight.

"Become me?" she asked, not certain what he meant, "It's one thing to ask Devin or anyone else that knows, but I don't understand that part."

It was true she knew how to deal with any threats from the Void. It had never been successful before, as much as it had tried in the past.

"And you are as soft as you look," she added, "You are just also stronger."

X | Before the 8th | The Park near the Shore | CW: None

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