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Gideon Nav ([personal profile] ninth_cavalier) wrote2024-02-24 10:58 am
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Open Post: The Arms of the Emperor are Never Idle

Gideon spends her mornings in the practice yard, bright and early, despite the cold. She jogs and stretches to get her blood pumping and her muscles warm before she draws her sword, and then after drills she brings Tally her coffee, and then after that it's back to more sword—unless Tally hauls her off to some other activity, which she pretends to hate but is secretly devastatingly grateful for. The absolute worst part of this place is all the time. Endless stretches of time, with barely any work to be done.

In some ways it's just like the Ninth—except on the Ninth she knew her exits. They were few, sure, and near-impossible, but she knew them: buy her way out, fight her way out, trick her way out, or truly earn it.

None of those apply, here.

She breaks for lunch, and wanders the halls trying to locate various Clues and Mysteries that might end up giving her a way out, and mostly just finds people. More and more people.

She's not antisocial. She likes the people here, more than she's openly liked anyone in her life, individually or as a group. But a gnawing restlessness keeps her on the move rather than letting her time fill up with idle conversation as so many here do. She's always hunting for something to keep her busy, to wear out her body so that when she sleeps her mind is forced to rest rather than serving her a lovely buffet of the worst things she's ever seen and even worse things she hasn't, the things she was yoinked away just in time to miss.

Sometimes it even works.

[This post is open in perpetuity until something happens to make me close it, at which point I will edit it and say so! Feel free to find Gideon in the morning doing sword drills, or tooling around inside, opening and closing drawers and trying peel the wallpaper off in case there's flesh underneath.]
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[personal profile] tallyyoungblood 2024-03-03 03:09 pm (UTC)(link)
Tally's not too flustered to note that Gideon is also flustered, and it makes her heart kick up in her chest again. She hopes Gideon thinks her flash tattoo is just spinning from the pain. Or maybe not?

When Gideon comes back, she sorts through the first aid kit and finds old-fashioned Rusty adhesive bandages, and sticks one to her chin. It's totally not pretty-making, but Tally hopes it makes her look dangerous.

"Oh, really?" she says, heart sinking a little. "I mean, I promise I can take a little blood. Don't treat me differently just because I'm pretty. In fact, I heal really well because I'm pretty."
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[personal profile] tallyyoungblood 2024-03-03 06:08 pm (UTC)(link)
"Am I?" Tally asks, raising her eyebrows, then relenting. "Okay, well, I guess it would be totally brain-missing to get hurt for no reason. Then you'll also be protected. For when I totally push you over."
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[personal profile] tallyyoungblood 2024-03-04 05:58 am (UTC)(link)
"Like yoga or gymnastics mats, maybe?" Tally had never been super into sports, but her parents had let her try all kinds of stuff. "I bet mansion-la will give us some if we ask nicely. Even a rug would help, probably. I guess the problem is just finding a drawer or closet or whatever that's big enough."
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[personal profile] tallyyoungblood 2024-03-05 04:20 am (UTC)(link)
"Okay, I know you have a total problem with the word, but that rug is ugly," Tally laughs. She squats over to touch it. "Soft-making, though. We can totally roll around on this."
Edited 2024-03-06 17:25 (UTC)
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[personal profile] tallyyoungblood 2024-03-07 04:29 pm (UTC)(link)
None of this hits Tally as hard as it used to. "You say "protective lust" like that's not another way to say love," she points out. "But yeah, this rug is uglier than any human being, I agree with that."

She decides to go for overwhelming force this time, and runs at Gideon, thinking about momentum and her new- pretty strength.
tallyyoungblood: (Default)

[personal profile] tallyyoungblood 2024-03-08 02:49 am (UTC)(link)
Tally watches Gideon's chest rise and fall with her quickened breath with satisfaction, then realizes she's staring and looks up at Gideon's face instead.

"That was, like, totally acrobatic," she says admiringly. "I can tell you've practiced a lot."
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[personal profile] tallyyoungblood 2024-03-10 02:52 am (UTC)(link)
Tally gets on the floor and does a quick roll, not wanting to have to practice it right after being knocked over just yet. "Like that, but after you knock me down? I feel like a cat," she giggles. "I meant it, though, you're good at this stuff. Obviously." She gets back up again.
Edited 2024-03-10 16:57 (UTC)
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[personal profile] tallyyoungblood 2024-03-12 02:13 pm (UTC)(link)
"Okay. I totally got this." Tally tries her best to copy Gideon's motions. Her bubbliness proves a blessing and a curse: she's awake and aware of her movements, but maybe too aware. It turns out that pretty gracefulness at least partially comes from not thinking too hard about where to put your limbs. The enhanced reflexes help to compensate, but not enough to keep her from stumbling a few times before she starts to get it.

"The operation totally doesn't give me muscle memory," she complains. "I'm going to have to get it myself. Utterly naff." She goes into another roll and manages to get into a crouch, if a totally wobble-making one.
tallyyoungblood: (Default)

[personal profile] tallyyoungblood 2024-03-15 04:51 pm (UTC)(link)
Gideon's touch feels electric in her bubbly state. Part of Tally wants to fuck up worse to get Gideon to touch her more, but that feels dishonest. She's determined to have no gigantic, life-ruining lies this time.

"Maybe you should, like, try to stab me now?" she asks. "With something not as sharp, maybe? For motivation?"
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[personal profile] tallyyoungblood 2024-03-16 12:19 am (UTC)(link)
Tally catches it. "You're not going to get me on reflexes," she says, smirking. The wooden blade is surprisingly heavy, even when Tally shifts it so that she's holding it by the handle and not the blade, which is how she'd caught it. She can't resist doing a couple of swishes through the air before she readies herself properly.

"Okay, just, like... knock me over again but then try to get me," she instructs. "Or I guess surprise me. Um, whatever. You're the teacher."
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[personal profile] tallyyoungblood 2024-03-18 03:15 pm (UTC)(link)
Tally dodges, but just barely. She feels the blade against her side for a nanosecond before she darts away. She laughs, exhilarated again.

"This is so bubbly-making," she says. "But you always make me bubbly." She tries the same move back on Gideon, but she can already tell her swing is clumsier, unused to the weight of a sword in her hands.
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[personal profile] tallyyoungblood 2024-03-18 03:28 pm (UTC)(link)
Tally's glad that she's exerting herself, so she has an excuse for her face going a little pink.

"Um, of course it is. That's what we've been trying to do this whole time." This time Tally gets hit, but she doesn't flinch or fall over. The pain sings through her. "Bubbly equals not pretty-minded and useless. You're really good at making my heart beat fast. You know, with all the coffee and stuff like this." Tally's also distracted now, even as the world shimmers with bubbliness. "Are you going to knock me over or what?"

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