To be trusted is a greater compliment than being loved.
~George MacDonald
A/N: Hi remember me? Yeah I'm still alive. Just super busy with work along with college. At least the semester is over until September. Now I just have to deal with my insane work schedule.
"This is how we used to train on Thanagar when we were teamed up with new recruits. It was the most effective training exercise we had," Shayera explained as she reached up to wrap a black blindfold around John's head. "It's all about trust...and having some nerve," she reminded him as she waved a hand in front of his face, checking to make sure that his eyes were covered. "Can you see anything at all?"
"No," he replied, lowering his head in Shayera's direction.
"Excellent," the Thanagarian grinned as she gently patted his shoulder with her hand. She grabbed a rolled up bundle off the floor.
John heard something unravel, and then felt Shayera close his fingers around a thin, metal handle. "Are you sure about this? What if I hurt you?" he doubtfully asked but soon after speaking he felt the woman's lips gently brush against his ear.
"Believe it or not, I completely trust you doing this," she whispered. "That's why I'm doing this exercise with you and only you."
John could feel her playful grin as she spoke. "I am very grateful to hear that."
"Just like we planned," she reminded him as she walked away.
John grasped a blade in one hand and the unrolled knife case in the other.
"Try not to hurt yourself!" Shayera quipped once she reached the other end of the room.
"You're quite confident in this 'trust exercise' of yours, aren't you?" John inquired, gripping the weapon tightly. "We don't have to do this. You know? We can do a simpler one, like the fall down exercise. It's a lot safer Shayera."
"Yes we do," Shayera rolled her eyes and punched the wall behind her with the back of her fist. "Now just shut up and concentrate, John. Just follow the sounds and only pay attention to the sounds. Drown everything else out, focus on my voice."
John took a deep breath and then flung the first dagger towards the farthest end of the room. He heard it dig into the wall and hoped that Shayera's silence was a positive sign. "How was that?" he asked sheepishly, hoping to hear her reply.
"Not too bad John," she sounded impressed and he felt somewhat relieved. She saw the knife collide with the wall in her peripheral vision. "About a foot away, really not bad for your first try." Shayera folded her arms over her chest and kicked the wall with the heel of her sneaker, completely relaxed and at ease. Even if his throwing technique was sloppy he still managed to make a decent throw. Shayera mused for a moment on how she could easily teach him the proper throwing techniques. Yet another bonding exercise she could rope him into for her own personal enjoyment. "Normally first-timers hit their partners and injure them. I remember one of my partners got me in my left wing. Hurt like a bitch, it was a really nasty wound. Took about a month for it to heal all the way."
"That's not helping. Next thing we know I end up maiming you," he muttered. He focused in on the sound and slowly unstrapped a new blade from the knife roll. "Tell me, why is it that you trust me this much again?"
Shayera smirked and watched as the knife flew through the air. She stood still as the weapon struck the wall mere inches from her right wing, not even slightly fazed. "You already know why Lantern."
"Really?" he prodded, grinning widely. "Remind me again because I seem to have forgotten. I can't quite remember just why."
"Very funny, you just want me say that I love you," the Thanagarian couldn't hide the smile playing at the corners of her lips. "You want me to admit that I'm helplessly, insanely..." her voice began to take on a sarcastic and playful tone.
John chuckled as he flung yet another dagger across the room.
"Desperately in lo—shit!" she cried out.
Panic overwhelmed him as his stomach twisted in knots. John hastily ripped the blindfold off as he felt his heart drop to his stomach. "Shayera!?"
"Your accuracy got better," she noted, completely unharmed as she had ducked down to avoid the knife that was now embedded in the wall where her head just was moments before. "Did I scare you?" she asked, arching a brow.
John narrowed his eyes as he let out a frustrated sigh. "Dammit Shayera, I thought I hit you. Don't do that!"
Shayera smirked as she plucked the weapon out of the wall before she sauntered over to John. "My turn, go stand against the wall. And no moving."
"Is this really necessary?" he inquired as he grimaced. The idea of a highly skilled soldier with years of training under her belt blindly throwing knives directly at him wasn't exactly pleasing to him.
"Don't worry, I'm not going to hit you John," she promised, grabbing the blindfold from him. "That's the goal. Now go." She knotted the ribbon and knelt down to grab a handful of knives.
John stood close to the wall, hands clasped behind his back. "Just so you know babe, if you do hit me, I'm ignoring you for the rest of the day and night."
"Your loss than," Shayera slightly shrugged as she hurled the first knife. "Though, is the mighty Green Lantern afraid of a few minor scrapes from a little Thanagarian?"
The sharp edge of the blade nicked John's left calf before it lodged itself into the wall.
"From you, yes," he tried keeping his voice even, which proved to be unsuccessful, and Shayera chuckled.
John swallowed the lump that was growing in his throat. Even Shayera could make a mistake, she wasn't perfect after all. Though Shayera was seemingly an expert at this and he trusted her with his life. Another knife barely missed striking John in the side and every muscle in his body tensed as he swallowed again. Still, he wasn't fond of having weapons flung at him while being forced to stand defenseless. He kept his eyes on Shayera, admiring her graceful poise as she threw a third dagger. She moved as fluidly as a dancer combined with the skill set mirroring that of an assassin that gave her a deadly beauty. Lost in admiration, John was brought back to reality at the sound of a blade cutting through the air and hitting the wall dangerously close to his left ear.
"Very good, Shayera, I think we've had enough fun for one day. Don't you think so?" he hopefully asked. John was positive that this woman would be the death of him.
"Scared?" She readied a knife in each hand, ready to throw them in unison.
"Now? Yes!" John freely admitted. "I've had quite enough of this."
"Don't move and close your eyes," she said to him. "That normally helps take the edge off."
John shut his eyes, waiting for this to be finally finished. "Please get this over with Shay."
Shayera paused, wondering if John really did have his eyes closed. "Okay, we're done," she announced after a pause.
"Really?" John smiled as he opened his eyes and breathed a sigh of relief as his body relaxed. "That wasn't as bad as I-" Before he had the chance to react, Shayera threw both of the blades towards his head. John's eyes grew wide and in a split second one knife scarcely missed his neck while the other clanked against the wall above his right shoulder.
"That was on purpose," Shayera smirked. "Since someone's being a baby about getting hit. See, you didn't even get hurt. Right?" she asked. Not receiving a response she frowned and removed the blindfold. "John?"
The Green Lantern had slumped to the floor, a dazed looked was on his face.
"Oh suck it up you've been through worse than that," she drawled as she walked closer to him. She took notice of the small cut on his right shoulder. "A little rusty I guess. That can barely be considered a scratch though."
"That doesn't help. You could've hit my neck!" he hissed back.
She knelt before him and reached out to lay a hand over the small cut. "Looks like I need some practice to get back into the swing of things. No hard feelings though, right?"
"I guess," he stated as he took her offered hand and stood. "When was the last time you actually did this?"
"Oh I don't know," she shrugged. "Probably around twenty years or so ago."
John gave her an incredulous look, "And you thought this would be a good idea because?"
"It builds and fortifies trust. Simple as that," she stated with her hands on her hips. "It's an extremely effective technique I'll let you know."
"We could've done something a lot safer than throwing very sharp knives at each other," he reminded her. "We have plenty of effective techniques on Earth as well. Which, might I add, don't involve weapons or possibilities of inflicting severe bodily harm."
"I know that quite well. I have studied your human trust exercises and they aren't too bad. This was simply a lot more fun and exhilarating to do," she stated as she began to reach up to tie the blindfold around his head. "Now stay still we're going to do it again."
John groaned yet the feeling of dread he had when they first started had completely dissipated. He no longer was nervous of him accidently hitting her or vice versa. Perhaps this bizarre trust exercise of hers was working after all.