Training

A cool breeze swept down from the hallway, bringing with it the dull rumble of voices echoing from the bustling Dark World town nearby. A small distance from the hum of Darkners beginning their day, you sat against a stone wall, looking out over the room containing a single training dummy. The stuffed caricature of your friend slowly shifted in the breeze, scarf and hat bending ever so slightly. Legs pulled close to your chest, you sunk into the corner away from it all. The breeze died down, a moment of silence washing over the temporarily secluded spot. You enjoyed these moments where you could simply breath, relaxing in this peaceful world away from so many responsibilities and expectations. You loved your family, hell, you even liked school at times. But finding a space to be away from it all was rare, something you treasured in your hometown. Just a moment where you could feel at peace before whatever came next.

You lean your head back against the smooth surface behind you, closing your eyes and allowing the reverie to take you. You wish moments like this could last forever.

"You wanna go beat someone up or something?"

Or at least a few minutes.

"I'm pretty sure that's considered assault Susie." You blow a tuft of hair off your face, only for another set of strands to drop down, leaving a sour expression underneath.

"Yeah, but like, what if they wanted us to? What if they were like, 'Please beat my stupid face in until it's not as stupid anymore!'" You begin staring at the ceiling, Susie's mocking voice echoing throughout the near empty training room.

"I don't think Berdly is around right now Susie."

Seconds pass before you feel the impact of the mauve dragoness' palm clapping you on the back, her booming laughter resonating throughout the hall.

"Damn Kris, birdbrain probably felt that one from all the way back home."

Leaning back into the wall, the sour expression on your face soon dissipated. Susie's laughter could be hard on the ears when so near, but the sentiment was infectious.

Now settling back into her well-practiced scowl, only a few moments pass before you hear an exasperated sigh escape the dragoness beside you.

"Ugh…come on. Ralsei said he'd only be a half an hour. What's taking the fuzzball so long?" You shrug limply. Although you had certainly found some amount of peace simply being in dark corner away from the town, Susie clearly didn't share this same level of enjoyment.

Admittedly, it had been quite a bit since you met with the cloaked prince. You had initially hoped to explore further into the mountains above the kingdom, curious as to whether any Darkners lingered outside the castle's boundaries. You told yourself, with so much space outside the castle walls, there may be a number of beings you could recruit and welcome into the quickly developing town.

At least, that's what you told Ralsei. Deep down, you simply wanted an excuse to keep adventuring in the Dark World, an activity Susie clearly didn't mind as she near dragged you off your feet into the closet's portal following the end of class.

You stretch out your legs and reach down to your greaves, adjusting the straps holding each piece together. Upon securing the clasps, you lean back once again, unsure as to how to pass the time. Instinctively, you pull out your phone. Although any calls and apps brought up on the device provided only garbage noise and imagery, you at least found a proper reference of time on the screen's home.

50 minutes had passed.

With a huff, you stow your phone back into your pocket. Upon meeting with Ralsei, you could immediately see the panic and stress furrowing the goat's face. In a near breathless voice, he acknowledged that, while many of the residents of this Dark World were finding comfort in the peace, others struggled to find what to do with themselves. Following a near brawl between the local baker and Swatchling leader, tensions had begun to rise, with many residents of the previous and new Dark Worlds submitting complaints for the prince's consideration.

You worried about Ralsei at times. As bright and well meaning as the Darkner prince was, managing an entire kingdom of misfits from across multiple realms was quite the undertaking. You and Susie tried to offer assistance when possible (Susie leaning into intimidation when solving delicate issues), though Ralsei refused adamantly within recent days.

"I've never had so many people relying on me. I-I don't always know what to do, but I have to figure it out! You guys won't always be here, so I have to be able to handle everything down here. That's what a prince does!" You remember Ralsei attempting to seem confident in his words, prior to shooing you out of the castle.

You stifle a chuckle. Ralsei would be a great leader, but he had to work on his face's fur becoming puffed up when he was nervous. It was both adorable and hard to take seriously, a dangerous combination when preventing a mad baker from throwing cakes at the local café.

"Gah! I can't take it! Come on, let's do…something, anything!" Susie sprang to life in a flash, rising from the corner you two had chosen and began pacing around the room.

"We can't really go that far out or anything. If something happens, we need Ralsei's healing."

Susie glares down at you, magic flickering at her fingertips.

"I-I mean, not that you can't heal. Just, you know, it's safer to have all of us…?"

Susie's hand drops to her side, shoulders slumping in defeat.

"I know, I know. But he could be sorting out those idiots all day. Why don't we go back into the fields or something?" Susie gestures down the hallway, corners obscuring the elaborately designed doorway.

"Pretty sure that's gone Susie. We closed the fountain, remember?"

"Shit. Well, what about the computer lab? We could go there and…"

Trailing off, Susie quickly notices your raised eyebrow and huffs loudly.

"Right, gone." Susie returns to pacing, slightly snorting to herself in frustration. Part of you wants to point this out to her, that you can always tell when she's frustrated by the subtle growls escaping her maw. Though you expect such an observation would be met with a punch in the shoulder. Besides, you found it cute in a weird way.

"Wait, I know!"

Before you can even yelp in response, Susie immediately snatches one of your arms, lifting you to your feet and dragging you over to the center of the room.

"You're wimpy and weak, right?"

You struggle to devise any response to such a genuine question coming from a now smiling dragoness. Was she even mocking you? She asked as if she was just stating a fact…

"How about I train you, bulk you up like me so you can actually take a punch? Come on, you can't always, like, do that lovey dovey crap with everyone."

Wresting your arm out of her grasp, you remember back to your battle with the King of the first realm. You thankfully didn't find yourself resorting to slashing wildly at the King in combat, but had Lancer not secured the assistance of the King's minions, you really weren't sure how that would have played out.

A pit in your stomach forms. You remember raising your shield in defense of Susie, blocking many of the projectiles aimed directly for her. Despite this, you were soon blasted backwards off your feet, barely able to maintain consciousness. If you were a bit stronger, maybe you could have taken the blow without falling. If the King had set his sights on Susie after knocking you to the floor, if he had conjured another set of projectiles…

"Fine, but just defensive stuff, I don't want to aim for vitals and-"

"Hell yeah! Alright, you stand here." Susie grabs you by the shoulders, slightly shifting your position into the center of the room. Confused, you watch as Susie turns away from you, walking to the other side of the room.

"Uh, Susie? Aren't we using the training dummy? I don't think Ralsei would mind or-"

Stopping mid-sentence, you notice Susie drawing her axe, hefting the slab of metal over her shoulder. Turning to you, a smile creeps upon her face, one you were less than excited to see. In one fell swoop, Susie swings her axe forward, launching a number of edged projectiles careening towards you. Although clearly not one of her specialized attacks, the blast of deadly energy surges through the air, crackling as it closes in.

Scrambling to your side, you retrieve your shield, pushing into the first blast and deflecting much of the energy off to the side. You're knocked back a number of steps, the shield before you thankfully absorbing most of the force. Before you can breathe a sigh of relief, the air once again crackles as further projectiles begin careening towards you. Dropping lower to the ground, you brace yourself behind the bulwark.

The first impact shakes your entire being, slamming into the metal and pushing your forearm against your chest. The crushing weight feels as if your shield could snap at any moment. Despite this, you heave with all your might, shifting the projectile off to the side, slamming into the floor close to your feet. Before you can identify just how close you were to losing an extremity, the second impact smashes into your shield, nearly knocking you backwards from the force.

This was quickly becoming a losing battle. The projectile, still pushing deep into your shield's surface, was gaining traction with each second. If allowed any further, you would be knocked off balance, throwing you back into the dirt behind. Still kneeling, feet now sinking into the surface of the ground below, you realize the force will be impossible to push away. At this rate, you would be inevitably blasted backwards, unable to take the force of so many attacks.

Perhaps that's what you needed though. You quickly shift further down to the ground, buckling your legs so as to sink as low as possible. In a single movement, you angle your shield towards the ceiling, allowing the projectile's momentum to send the blast careening off into the wall behind you. Hearing the impact from behind, you let out a sigh of relief, slowly returning to your feet.

And right into the tackle of the scaled brute before you.

Toppling over into the dirt, you feel your arms pinned down, a shadow falling over you as you lie prone below. Instinctively struggling to free yourself, you realize the monster's grip on your extremities would be impossible to break.

"Gotcha! Goddamn you're a dodgy freak when you want to be! The way you took all those hits, just bam! One after another. Holy shit dude, I didn't know you had it in you!"

An excited Susie hovers above you, close enough to feel her breath on your cheek as she struggles to regain her energy. Still pinned to the ground, you look up at Susie, still struggling to catch her breath in between her outbursts of excited praise. Smiling down at you the entire time, you stare into her golden eyes, glowing ever so slightly in the shadow created from her form.

Despite your aching muscles and adrenaline-addled brain, you begin to realize just how…close Susie is. You immediately feel your face begin to flush. Here you are, trapped and prone on the floor by someone who nearly killed you only moments ago. And yet, you wouldn't want to be anywhere else.

"…I mean come on, the way you deflected that last one backwards. I thought for sure that one would hit you! Goddamn, you must have way more muscle under all that-"

Susie pauses, eyes going wide in a moment of realization. Looking down at your arms and then to your face, mere inches away, she immediately recoils backwards. Shifting off to your side, you see Susie's face now flaring into a form of deep crimson you didn't realize her scales were capable of.

"W-What I mean to say is, just-"

Another pause. You sit back up, slightly rubbing your arms to distract yourself from the thoughts raging in your mind.

"A-Anyway! Good job, I guess." You look over, seeing Susie squeezing one hand in a show of nervousness you had never seen before. Was she just embarrassed about being so close…?

"Next time though, I'm gonna use some serious shit."

Wait, that wasn't her serious shit? You're quickly shaken from the thoughts swirling in your head.

"What do you mean? One of those projectiles almost took my foot off!"

Susie looks back up at your, clearly shaken from her previous state, only to roar in laughter. Once again blowing back a strand of hair obscuring your vision, your expression shifts back into a soured frown.

"Wait, no, come on dude. Don't give me that look! I wouldn't throw actual lethal moves at you! Not yet anyways." Susie's laughter soon dwindles, leaving only a toothy grin. You roll your eyes. You wish you didn't enjoy her smile so much when it appears so often at your expense.

"It certainly felt pretty lethal…" You grumble to yourself, partly hoping Susie didn't hear your complaints.

"Well hey, I bet you feel a bit tougher now, right? Hell, maybe you could even train me one day." Susie lightly punches your shoulder, fangs bared in what you can now safely identify as a smile from the dragoness.

You pause for a moment, considering what you could even offer someone who can nearly crack a metal shield open with a single axe swing. Maybe how to dodge? Susie did have some trouble moving around attacks at times. Perhaps even to use a sword? Though you rarely actually attacked with the blade. Honestly, you just enjoyed how it made you feel like some hero.

Was there anything she needed or struggled with? She did ask you for help once before, maybe she would still be open to it?

"What about ACTing?"

Susie began wring her hands once more, staring downwards into her lap. You begin to reconsider the offer. Maybe she was just talking about sparring? She didn't take offense, did she? She's done much better in actually talking to enemies lately after all. You begin to open your mouth, offering an out from the awkwardness suddenly created.

"Y-Yeah, sure. It's still kinda…tough to figure out what to say." Susie's words fall to her lap, mumbling a weak response to your offer.

"But how would we even, like, train? It's just talking about shit; we do that all the time."

You hadn't considered that. You and Susie had hung out almost daily since first entering the Dark World. If just talking to each other was enough, the two of you would be masters.

"Well, is there some part of talking to the enemies that's tough? Something I could show you how to do?"

You tried pushing for something more specific. Talking was never a skill of yours, though ACTing had often come naturally during your time in the Dark World. Perhaps it was never about talking, so much as it was having something important to say? If you could find even one specific type of communication Susie wanted help with, you may be able to offer something of value.

Snapping away from your thoughts, you notice the lingering silence between you two. Susie continued to wring her hands, seemingly intent on creating a fire with her scaled palms. Although Susie's hair hung down over most of her face, you could see barely visible hints of darker colors forming on her cheeks.

"It's okay if there isn't anything. You've been doing great lately, even taught Ralsei how to ACT on his own. Just let me know if-"

"Flirting."

What.

You freeze in place, the words hanging heavy in the air. A knot once again forms in your stomach.

"Wha…."

"I-I'm just bad at it. It feels weird as hell to say, like, n-nice things to people like that. I don't know, dude. Look, forget it. Let's just do something else." Susie trails off, immediately attempting to distance herself from the idea.

"N-No. I mean, no, I can show you how to do that. Flirting." Susie's gaze flashes towards you for a moment, then returns back to her lap.

You stand up, unsure if your shaking body is due to the recent battle or discussion. Now or never, you figure.

Breathing as deeply as you can, you nearly choke in an attempt to calm yourself. Brushing your greaves and bottoms off, you offer a hand to Susie, quickly pulling her back up to her usual towering height. Stepping away, you line yourself up to simulate a proper combat encounter. You feel something within you begin to resonate. Reaching out, you choose to…

-ACT

*CHECK

*FLIRT

*You tell Susie how alluring her eyes are, glowing like amber in the darkness.

"W-What the hell freak, that's-"

*You tell Susie how you wish she wouldn't hide under her hair all the time with how beautiful she is.

"K-Kris…"

*You tell Susie how safe you feel when you're with her.

…

*You tell Susie how hot she is in her leather jacket.

"KRIS!"

"Uh, guys? Should I…come back later?"

Out of the corner of your eye, you spot the green robes of the long-awaited prince, face curling into a mixture of confusion and amusement.

Looking back over in front of you, you now notice Susie attempting to bury her face deeper and deeper in her shirt. You'd swear some kind of smoke or steam was rising from her buried maw. Did dragons like Susie actually breath out smoke? You weren't sure, perhaps you could look in that book Asriel checked out so long ago.

"NO! N-No, we're done. Totally, completely ready to go and do something else!" Susie let out a panicked response, Ralsei continuing to look on with barely hidden glee.

"Alright, well, I'm very sorry to have kept you two waiting for so long. Mr. Kaard had a never-ending list of complaints regarding the new residents. Much of it related to them not respecting his royal bearing. But that's all done!" Ralsei chattered away, seemingly unaware of the atmosphere hanging over the room or reveling in the moment silently.

"Great! Cool, lets go and fight something already please." Susie began stomping up to Ralsei, pushing him back towards the town despite his yelps of surprise.

As you begin shuffling to catch up with your companions, you begin to wonder if you may have…overdone it. When you ACTed, you often felt as if the words and actions simply came of their own accord. Although you certainly have some input, much of what happens is on the whims of what resonates deep within you. At times, the process comes so naturally you barely register what you had even done. ACTing has almost always been effective though, so maybe Susie was just having trouble keeping up with the lesson? That was probably it, ACTing was probably difficult for some people.

Rounding the corner, you find Ralsei smiling softly in waiting, with Susie nearly buried in her mane, face obscured by the long hair she often let down freely. You gestured to Ralsei, the princely mage striding towards the steep slope path into the mountainous region above. You begin following behind, only for Susie to step in front of you, barring your path. Looking up at the dragoness, you struggle to see underneath her mane, hiding any expression that may indicate the sudden stop.

"D-Did you mean what you…like, what you said, it was really specific and…" Susie pauses, words seeming to stick in her throat.

"Look, I…thanks, I guess. Maybe we could…shit, I don't know. Maybe we could-"

"Train again?" You interject, realizing she must be referencing the sparring session. Of course, she just wanted to keep practicing and feels awkward about asking! You mentally chastise yourself, why didn't you pick up on that sooner?

"Y-Yeah! Training! That would be…nice." Susie grinned, barely noticeable underneath the hair covering much of her face.

You chuckle to yourself. Altogether, a pretty successful day. You not only survived training with Susie, but you managed to find a way to help her out as well. Shuffling past Susie's looming figure, you feel more capable than ever to explore the unknown reaches of this Dark World.

Nothing can be as terrifying as sparring with Susie after all.

"So, uh, back there? You and Kris, were they flirting with-UMPH!" A sudden muted yelp from behind you rang out, the soft yet delicate cry of a dark world prince having his mouth forcibly shut by the nearby dragoness.