[Scoarta] I Close My Eyes and I Take it In -Dec MP (Gio)

The sun was still rising, growing it's light with each passing second. By looking at the sun's position to determine the time of day, a trick she had learned in Survival class and a skill @Gio Gambino  had helped her improve, she estimated it was near 11 am. She turned her attention back to Gio just in time to lean to the side and avoid being struck by his hand. Quickly, she readjusted her weight to help jer keep her balance. He swung at her again. This time, she caught him by the wrist and delivered her own blow into his collarbone.

The two continued fighting in this manner away from the town where they could have some privacy, but not too far that if something were to happen, they wouldn't be found easily by those who went on the surveying rounds. They remained where it was relatively safe for them to be out and not have to worry too much about any creatures that lived in the shadows of the forrest. Each had delivered their own painful blows and shoves to each other as well as suffer pain from the other's hand. Gio was faster anf stronger, only restraining himself a little to not harm Valda too much. She was still recovering from the wolves' attack, but was now moving around with ease. Her movements were cautious, thought out, and instinctive.

Gio moved to strike her shoulder, inevitably, her already damaged one. Valda saw it coming and quickly moved to defend herself. She put a fott behind his leg snd brought her hand on his chest. One one swift movement, she had tripped him over her leg had thrown him to the ground. The fallen snow had acted as a cushion, helping break his fall. Valda immediately crouched, one knee on his chest to pin him down. In the movements she made to take him down, she hsd also pulled her knife from the harness around her thigh and placed it near his throat when she was on top of him. "Haha! I did it!" Valda was beaming with pride. Everyday since Christmas, they had been comong out to practice archery and hand-to-hand combat. Valda had struggled and suffered severely due to her previous injuries.

She was now directly over him. The hair that had fallen loose from the braid it had initially been sculpted into cascaded down and created a curtain-life effect over Gio. Valda smirked as she bent down and pecked his lips softly out of the excitement and adrenaline rushing though her veins. The knife was pulled away from his neck as she did. "If you keep training me, I just might get better than you!" Her chest rose and fell with each breath she took. A steamy cloud rose into the air with each exhale.

"I didn't hurt you too bad, did I?" She sheathed her knife, adjusting her weight as she did so that he was freed from underneath her weight. "I saw you going right for my shoulder and just moved quickly to prevent you from hitting it." In their past combats, he had always struck her where she was injured. It wasn't to put her in more pain, but to teach her that her enemies would target any weaknesses they could see. Unfortunately, Valda was an easy target with a stiff shoulder and a limp. That didn't t matter nor bother her now. Now, she was proud of herself and the new skill she was developing. Valda couldn't hold back but give out a couple celebratroy yelps.

Something inside of her was sparked. Determination and an undaunted attitude sparked in her eyes. It could be seen every time she struggled. No longer was she constantly down and uncertain. Being with Gio, learning all the things she had from him and spending time with him to allow their love to grow, she had found her sense of purpose and confidence again. Despite all she had traversed through, having been beaten and broken by crashing waves, Valda was beginning to heal and find herself. Doing so had become easier every time he was in her presence.

This had become their bonding time. It was here in the tucked off space they called their own that he found himself falling more and more in love with her. Valda had hit him like a storm, the impact was sudden and it startled his soul awake. He watched her take her gaze off of him and his weight shifted just as she turned back to him. He hadn’t been anticipating her quick reaction so when she slip his attack he felt the push of his own weight and nearly stumbled. This was where he felt most at home, sparring with another person. Well, at the very least, when he wasn’t being hit in the collarbone. He gave a cough, more of surprised sound.

He was only stunned for a second before he twisted on the balls of his feet with intentions of striking her bad shoulder but instead his felt his weight shift backwards as his foot came from under him and a blow struck his chest. Gio  hit the snow covered ground with a soft grunt, the wind knocked from his lungs and they burned from the effort to fill them again.  He still as the knife appeared before he looked up to see the look on her face. He couldn’t help his smile as he gave a nod, “You did. You’re getting faster.” He praised. This was what they had been working towards. Her hair blanketed him for a moment as she leaned and the lips touched. His grin grew wide as he bit his bottom lip partly.  “Who knows it could happen.” He liked how much she believed in herself it showed in their sparring.

“I’m fine. I grew up doing this…and most of the time there wasn’t snow to catch a fall.” He shifted to sit up, strong hands dropping back into the snow to hold his weight. He reached out, “Valda.” His blue eyes scanned around them and in seconds he was bounding to his feet. “Shhhh, don’t move let me listen.” He knew they weren’t that deep into the wooded area but that didn’t mean they couldn’t attract attention. Gio wanted to go in those shadows where the most dangerous lay; he wanted to find those responsible. His eyes weren’t truly focused as he relied on his ears to tell him what his eyes would miss. There were things that could be missed but simply blinking but years of training had tuned his ears.  He heard nothing for those long few moments before his hands came together and he sighed.

“We can’t be too loud. I know its not too dark out but some things don’t care when they leave the shadows. He glanced around them for a moment. “Okay, lets go again.” He rolled his shoulders. “I’m bigger then you so my weight is my weapon. Not my strength. “  he began as he reached up to touch the bracelet at his wrists, helping his concentration. “If I get too close, if I get ahold of you it will feel impossible to get free.”  He walked towards her, “You use my weight against me. It’s like a dance I lunge forward, you ease back. Don’t exert yourself, being tired will only work against you.”

She was relieved to hear he was well and adjusted herself to hold his hand when he reached it out. Before she could even grasp it, he was on his feet surveying the area around them. Immediately, the hairs on the back of her neck stood stiff, her spine became rigid, and she felt goosebumps dance down her arms. No questions needed to be asked. There was something out there and Gio had sensed it, maybe even spotted it. Within mere moments, they had gone from laughing and enjoying themselves, to being silenced and still, waiting for whatever was out there. If there was one thing Valda didn't like about Scoarta, it was how quickly danger could settle in without warning.

Two instincts arose within her at Gio's actions. Firstly, both of her hands reached down towards her legs. One rested on the knife, ready to remove it again, the other slipped into the edge of her boot, taking the tip of her wand in her fingers. She stayed like this, crouched in the snow with her hands on her weapons, ready to draw either one at the first sign of danger she could see. She could feel her ankle start to twitch. Too much weight had been put on it for too long a time, but she refused to move. Her second instinct was to grab her bag she had set aside so they could fight, grab Gio's hand, and run back to the village where they could be seen. Flashbacks from the wolves' attack came flooding back. She was in a similar position, reaching ofr her knife, crouching on the ground, looking out into the snow as she waited. That was when they appeared out of nowhere and attacked her. Her chest tightened and she was finding it difficult to breathe. Behind Gio's back, Valda was trying to control her breathing so that she wouldn't alarm him and could, hopefully, breathe easily soon.

Fighting the second instinct to run, her eyes moved between Gio and their surroundings that were out of Gio's line of sight. From what she could tell, there was nothing there. Her stomach felt uneasy, however, and her palms were beginning to tremble. "Gio..." his name was breathlessly muttered past her lips, barely loud enough for anyone to hear, when he turned his attention back to her. With a soft swallow, she released a shaky breath she hadn't realized she had been holding and slipped her weaponry away.

Valda was still going to be cautious, even if he continued to practice. She would too, she was enjoying the training. But now, she was being conscious about their surroundings once more. One of her hands reached up and grabbed his in a playful manner to pull herself back onto her feet.

As she crouched into a fighting position, she couldn't help but look over his shoulder, just to be sure there was nothing there. The tree line was clear as far as she could see. Slowly, she was beginning to relax and turned her full attention to him. Gio was always are of his surroundings, a skill she needed to improve. For now, she could only focus on one thing. Fighting, or her surroundings. Gio could do both. Instead of listening and watching for anything suspicious, she put her focus on fighting. If there was something wrong, she was sure her bodily instincts would warn her before it was too late.

She nodded at his instructions. "I'm pretty sure you're still stronger than me. You've got a double advantage." Ease back. Take it EASE-y. When Gio stepped forward, Valda stepped back. She was preparing himself for when he would lunge. The buildup causing the adrenaline to pump through her body. At the moment, she could only imagine the wolf lunging at her. Gio wasn't the wolf though. He was Gio, her guardian, her hero, her Gio.

"You use my weight against me." Valda was only a couple inches shorter than, but he had a point. The majority of his weight came from muscle, not fat. That mean he was much stronger physically compared to her non-athletic, yet healthy build. His words repeated themselves over and over again in his mind as she tried to figure out what he meant. When he first lunged, she jumped to the side, letting him slide past her. This continued until she started to learn the pattern, watching how he lunged at her and what happened to his body's weight as he did. Valda wanted to follow his advice and not use up her strength and energy right away. She wanted to preserve it. To do this, she continued avoiding his lunges until she felt she had figured out what to do.

When Gio lunged, his weight was thrown forward. If any person, or creature that walked on two legs, lunged at her, she could maneuver out of their way and then attack against them as they went past, knocking them off balance. Hoping their arms weren't freakishly long or they didn't predict her next move, her stratagem just may work. Again, Valda was ready for his next attack. She lowered herself, preparing herself for the force his weight would have, ready to fail or succeed. There was only one way she could know if she had learned what Gio wanted her to learn, and that was by doing it.

Within the next few moments that Gio jumped and she adjusted her weight, she felt her blood run cold and her stomach drop. The hairs on her neck stood up again, but she couldn't see or hear anything out of the ordinary. Gio wasn't reacting the same way she was either. We must be alright. He doesn't think we're in danger. The student quickly dismissed it as a moment of panic that she would mess up, and prepared herself for what would happen only seconds later.

He had been in these woods more than he had been inside his home. He and Miha had chased each other through every part of these dense trees and dangerous shadows.  They had grown up learning of the horrors of the monsters that called the area home but it was fair to say that neither had ever been truly afraid. Gio had always thought that when it came down to it, if the worse were about to happen she would be there watching his back like always. Their relationship had hit a standstill and he was working to fix it. Most of his time had been spent with Valda, time he wouldn’t ever dream of giving back.

“Good,” He said as he moved forward and Valda eased out of his way. “So when I lunge you can see the shifting of my weight, here.” His hand rested over the wrinkles in his shirt that kept his torso covered. “The fabric moves before me, giving you a split second to decide. Do you let me grab you and then use my weight against you or do you dodge me again and mount an attack.” He looked at her, his expression serious. “You can’t attack too early and attacking too slow could be your life.” They went back and forth, his body lunging and her avoiding his attacks. What he wanted her to learn was that it took more energy from his body to miss than it did to actually grab hold of her.  With her movements being executed without much effort she wasn't growing tired but Gio could feel himself just at the edge of exhaustion.

He moved to lunge, to finally give her a full attack before his body froze.  This was not happening again, it couldn’t have been. They had survived wolves and exhaustion and had survived battle wounds. He moved slowly, reaching for his bow as his index finger pressed to his lips to keep her quiet. They could turn now and make a run for the village but Gio had learned that most things in the forest outran him easily. “Come stand next to me, close.” His jaw tightened as he pulled an arrow, blue eyes scanning the line of shadow that surrounded them. He felt exposed and that made him anxious.

They had no cover; if they were about to attacked there was nowhere to push Valda off to, to ensure her safety. “Don’t leave my side, unless I tell you to run.” For the first time he looked away from their surroundings to look at her. “You have to tell me you understand, if something were to happen to you…” He couldn’t finish the thought; he knew it would destroy him. “If I say run, you run full speed to the village. You don’t stop and you do not come back. Promise me.” He wouldn’t let harm come to her, not again. He had been reckless before, that would not be the case this time.

Snap!

His arm lifted and without hesitation the arrow was released in the direction he’d thought he’d heard the branch break. They could be easily surrounded, he hadn’t thought of that until now. Gio lifted the quiver to his back, and led her more into the center of the clearing. “Keep your back tight to me.” He needed her to move with him and not slow him down, having her so close to his body meant that she moved when he did. He circled, ready to take another shot if he needed to. “Whatever I feel watching us…it’s not alone.” It was best if she knew the scary parts as well.

His sudden actions confirmed to her that they were in imminent danger. He was prepared to lunge at her, but quickly changed his stance from that of offensive, to defensive. Her arms lowered as she watched him with a bewildered look. Slowly, he adjusted himself as he prepared for an unknown attack. When he motioned for her to remain quiet, all she could do was nod and look over her shoulder at the woodline. Cautiously, she turned her body so that she was back to back with him, nearly pressing her back against his. Valda didn't want to risk having a beast charging at them from behind without either of them spotting it. Instead of just preparing to take the blade out of it's sheath, she removed it now. The metal blinked in the sunlight as she lowered it to her side in a strong grip. Her hair annoyingly hung down around her face, but she tried not to focus on that.

"Gio," though her body was visibly trembling if one studied her form for a few seconds, her voice was soft, but strong. She was confident in her words and didn't let her fear get in the way. Slowly, she reached up to undo the braid and put her hair into a high ponytail. Her own movements mirrored Gio's, being cautious and steady. Now, her hair was out of her face, exposing her dark-speckled freckles, and she could see her surroundings clearly. Once she was in a more suitable position for fighting, the novice-fighter readied her stance with the knife in her hand.

"Don't let the enemies know you're injured." Gio's words from past lessons echoed in her head. The pain in her foot was making itself known, but she had to listen to his counsel, our else "They would go straight for you. Their first exertion, and most powerful force of strength they have would be thrown on you." She knew she was weak, but by giving the illusion that she was just as equally healthy as Gio meant the fight would be evened out. She took a step to the side, still back to back with him, but just a slight portion of each of their backs were exposed. She did this so if he had to turn quickly, he'd have an opening to his right and could see where she was without her being in the way to his left. From this position, a quick glance at the skilled fighter informed her that he was in no position to fight for a long time. If she, an untrained combatant, could realize the danger he was in, then whatever was watching them had likely sensed Gio was the weak link. She worried they would target him, instead of her, breaching Gio's ability to fight.

"...if something were to happen to you…” Her hand reached up and rested on his arm, giving it a gentle squeeze. There was no need for him to finish his sentence. Without any communication needed, she knew what he meant. "Me too." She nodded at his words, unsure if he saw her physical response or not. Her dark chocolate eyes locked with a shadow in the distance. The Klyk Vampira couldn't determine if it was a trick of the eye, or if she was seeing a beast that had come to prey on them. At the sudden snap of a branch, her hand dropped from his arm as she jumped. The familiar whizz of the arrow as it flew through the air rung in her ears. Very faintly, she thought she had heard the thud of the arrow striking it's target followed by a soft screech.

At night, when she couldn't sleep, she'd close her eyes and try to identify the many sounds that came when the moon rose and the villagers locked their doors. Some were terrifying. Others, she had grown to learn were constant and posed no threat. The many late nights she had spent practicing this had enhanced her hearing. She had trained herself to identify the unusual, and quite possibly dangerous, noises.

She followed him and his directions, not once turning her back so that she faced him. "As you wish," she whispered, but what she really meant was "I love you." Valda was worried for both of their well-beings, but she trusted him and his abilities to fight as best he could to protect them both. Of course, Valda wouldn't let him fight this fight alone.

Not wanting to keep herself vulnerable longer than necessary, she turned her attention back to the figure she had been watching. A few more moments of studying the beast and she quickly recognized that it was not a two-legged beast, but rather that of eight. She had caught a quick glimpse of it's hairy, long silhouette as it passed a streak of sunlight that broke through the forest tops. It wasn't attacking yet, but was certainly moving closer. The more she strained her eyes, the clearer it became that what was before her, mostly hidden by the shadows, was an arahnică. Arahnicăs always hunted in groups, too. She didn't need for him to tell him there were more. Valda had studied these large spiders extensively during her fifth year of school, the same year Gio was now attending. "There's definitely more." She was a little frightened to take her eyes off the one she spotted, certain that if she did, she wouldn't be able to find it again, but she had to check for others around them. Reluctantly, she peeled her eyes away and surveyed their surroundings more.

"We've made it this far." She spoke as she lowered herself into a defensive position, ready for what may come at her. "We aren't going to die, just yet. Don't try to say any final goodbyes. We'll make it." With Gio running out of energy, Valda was mentally preparing herself to be the one to lead this battle and rescue them. She wasn't sure what was in store for them, but it was good to be prepared. Gio was strong and persistent. He wouldn't go down without a fight. Valda was smaller, but determined and passionate. She, too, would fight for as long as she could endure. She certainly wouldn't give up if Gio found himself in a similar position she had found herself with the wolves.

< 3 Princess Bride. Love the movie's iconic line.