Open Post: The Arms of the Emperor are Never Idle

[ninth_cavalier]

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.]

Comments

[sorrowandsorrow]

"All right, pipsqueak." Janet pulls a stave off her back. "I'll show you a couple tricks, but don't get too excited and start humping my leg or something."

[ninth_cavalier]

"As if," retorts Gideon, and takes several long steps backward, eyeing Janet with interest.

[sorrowandsorrow]

She may as well grab the other one, too. Sorrow's nothing without Sorrow. By now, Janet's used to how magic answers her here; the ice crackles into place to form those axe-heads, frost gilding its way up her arms to her elbows. She looks across the training yard, narrows her eyes at a tree just outside its bounds, then takes a step forward and cleanly flings one of the axes toward it so that it buries itself in the trunk.

[ninth_cavalier]

Gideon whistles, and jogs over to examine the blade of ice. She tugs it out of the tree, which takes some effort, and is impressed when the blade doesn't shatter or even chip. She wanders back over to Janet, tapping her knuckle against it. "Interesting choice of material."

[sorrowandsorrow]

Janet aims a fresh grin at Gideon, holding out a hand in anticipation of receiving Sorrow back. "It's because I'm such a coldhearted bitch."

[ninth_cavalier]

Gideon snorts. "Useful to have something that just melts away when you don't want it, too. And you don't have to worry about upkeep on your edge."

[sorrowandsorrow]

"Nope," Janet agrees cheerfully. Those are both absolutely plusses for a queen who came straight from L.A. and not from the kind of background that teaches you shit about weapon maintenance. "They used to be one single spear."

[ninth_cavalier]

Gideon takes a last look at the handle of the axe before handing it back. "Huh. Not a spear gal?"

[sorrowandsorrow]

Janet takes it gladly and gives it a little twirl. She's got a few cool things up her sleeve. "Not a spear gal, and also really fucking pissed at the guy who used to own it. I broke it in half."

[ninth_cavalier]

Gideon whistles again, and steps back to let Janet continue the demonstration, if she so chooses.