melodiesoflife | Sad Chrom in the Snow

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Sad Chrom in the Snow

WHO: Chrom, OPEN
WHAT: Chrom is no longer murdered, hooray! Robin is in crystal though, boo! All he can do is keep his head up and remain fighting.
WHEN: July 10th, 2016
WHERE: Hospital and Aqures Ixen
NOTES: The below prompt is just for the hospital. He'll be moving around Aqures Ixen running errands and checking on the training school, doing lordly things afterward, so feel free to catch him in a scenario of your choosing.

He drew his first breath with a shuddering gasp, stumbling out of the crumbling remnants of crystal that even now were beginning to fade and disappear. It was quiet. The only sound in the room was that of his labored breathing, the light clacks of his boots on the floor, and a distant beep of some sort of...equipment. He wasn't sure. Machines in general were still a great mystery to the Ylissean prince.

It took him several moments to shake off the cloying daze of his slumber. Once he realized where he was, he spun in place. "Robin." He hurried to the spot he'd known her to be, hoping to find an empty space. But she was still there. His hopeful expression faded, and his hands drifted down to his sides as he gazed up into the crystal of her lovely face. Still asleep. He supposed this meant she had not been murdered, and he was glad of that. His own death had been rather gruesome. But it also meant that there was no telling when she'd wake up again, and that he would return home to find her room empty.

He lifted his arm, pressing his gloved fingertips against the crystal case, just where her hand rested...the hand that still bore the ring she was gifted during the winter. He could feel the presence of his own matching ring beneath his glove. Whether she woke or not, he would be true to her.

"Robin, I'm sorry," he said quietly. "I...should have proposed to you sooner. I had thought you would find me too hasty, and advise me not to become distracted with such things so long as this fight needed our focus and attention." He bowed his head. "Forgive me."

He wanted to say so much more, but his voice echoed oddly in the chamber. It mattered little in any case; she couldn't hear him, and neither could anyone else. Slowly he eased himself down to the floor and sat there, head tilted up so he could look at his beloved. The world had surely not stopped for either of their sakes, but he needed a moment just to catch his breath, and to miss her in earnest without fear of interruption.

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"I would be happy to do so," Chrom returned with a friendly smile. He retrieved his boots, sitting on the bench shoved up against the wall to don his footwear. Then he rose to his feet and led the way. "The room we're in now is smaller, meant for private practice sessions with just one or two people. There are many of these. Here," he opened the door that led to a room stocked with all kinds of padded and wooden weapons, "we keep the practice arms. Just about anything one might want for their jobs can be found here. Firearms with soft corks," he pointed, "blunt-tipped arrows, spears, padded gloves, all weighted and balanced to be as close to the real thing as possible, and in different sizes to accommodate shorter and taller Heroes." He pointed to the back of the room where another door stood ajar, but darkened. "The armor is back there. Mostly padded chestguards, gloves, and face masks, but we've some real armor there too to help those who are new to their Jobs grow accustomed to wearing protection. The weight and bulk can take some getting used to, as I'm sure you're already aware."

The friendly smile caused a similar twitch to the ends of Sephiroth's mouth, which is something considering he's not really the big-smiles type.

Easily he falls into step as Chrom steps from the mat and nods as an explanation of the room they were in was given. It seemed to make sense, given the rooms that Sephiroth had seen already on his own little wander around, that there were a great many rooms which were tailored for one-on-one or one-on-two combat. Perhaps two-on-two at a push depending on if they were talking martial arts or armed combat.

The equipment room though, now that was interesting. At Chrom's invitation Sephiroth steps close enough, or just inside the door enough to have a long look around, his sharp attentive nature picking up on each item as it was listed off. All very well and in good order; it had seemed that Chrom really was serious about having this place as a dedicated training hall.

To think that they had armor, in order to allow people to adjust to it was something Sephiroth both appreciated the need for yet also lightly huffed at. Not quite a scoff, but more to the fact that he'd not had such an introduction and had quite a heavy opinion that some things were best learned through hardship and good old fashioned trial and error.

"I didn't know what to do about it when I first arrived here. In full Warrior get-up in the peak of summertime." He tried to make light of what could have been perceived as an almost arrogant huff a moment ago. He realized he probably hadn't meant to come across so harsh.

"Some might argue, it's better to sink or swim with it, though."

"Swimming might be an impossibility," Chrom laughed openly. Once Sephiroth had his fill of the weapons, Chrom closed the door behind him, leaving it unlocked just in case there were others who meant to get in some training before the facility closed for the night. "I'm unaccustomed to wearing much armor myself, as I have greater mobility without it. Showing up as a Crystal Knight was a unique experience."

That was the nicest way he could put into words the agonizing pain of falling into one of Morgan's pit traps while saddled with the gaudy armor. It was great at stopping claws and blades, not so great at being dropped down a steep pit.

"It does get easier with practice, of course, which is why we keep it on hand. Over here, I'll show you the bigger room where we hold group lessons." He led the way toward a wide set of double doors, pushing them open into a large outdoor courtyard. The roof was covered with a thick sheet of glass to let in natural light, but the ground was mostly dirt with some occasional patches of hardy grass that hadn't been trampled by scuffling boots.

"There's another with a padded mat," Chrom said, holding the door open, "but it's best to simulate battles held outdoors in this type of area."

"Um-hm," He chuckled alongside Chrom, but did not laugh so openly, otherwise there wasn't any sign much of the fact that he didn't wholly agree with the other man. Those that couldn't swim, or even attempt to, he'd argue weren't worth the time in training; Hero of Light or not. It was certainly an old hang over of an attitude from his time in Shinra -he never did do well with the fresher recruits- but it had always served him rightly before. As for Crystal Knight; well Chrom was lucky to have had access to such an advanced job right off the bat, in his opinion.

As the double doors to the indoor-outdoor courtyard were opened and Sephiroth stepped through he found himself having to squint for just a few seconds until his eyes adjusted to the natural light. It wasn't as if there weren't windows in the other rooms, but it certainly was more open and spacious in this space.

He nodded again to Chrom as he explained about the idea of simulation. It was a concept that the SOLDIER knew well; better to get as much experience in a range of circumstances as possible and then one could never been surprised what the real world might throw in your path. That thought almost felt too philosophical.

"That makes sense. Being as it also encourages awareness in spatial awareness to be improved." Sephiroth commented as he looked around inside the courtyard, pacing a little as if he might map it all just by walking around and looking. It was one thing being in a room where, after a time, one might learn exactly the number of paces from wall to wall, it was totally another to have features that resembled those that might be on the plains, or in some forest et cetera.

If he were able, Chrom would have loved to have a room dedicated to each of a variety of natural environments, but the city had size limits, and there was really no practical way to have a swamp room next to a desert room next to a thick forest. Unless there were an illusionist, he supposed.

...Actually, that wasn't a bad idea. He'd have to consider that.

"You're welcome to use any of these spaces for your own purposes as well," Chrom offered. "A schedule of lessons and room reservations is posted near the front door, so you can check the list and see what suits you." He waited near the doorway for Sephiroth to examine the room to his liking. "We would also welcome a guest instructor, should you feel so inclined."

It might not be so bad, in helping others to expand the wide-range of possibilities that could be brought about with the illusionist job, either. Kinda of a two-way training, in that way.

"I might well have a look into it." Sephiroth spoke of the general purpose of the training hall. After all it would be a shame not to come and use the facilities that someone had clearly put a lot of time and effort into getting into working order once more. It made him smile, where he'd been picking the random unused sports or weights halls that he came across within the 10th and often feeling like he was trespassing in a way, this essentially gave him a dedicated place to come. He imagined Terra might like it, to come as well.

After another couple of minutes, Sephiroth wandered back towards the doorway where Chrom waited. He huffed something of a dry chuckle at the suggestion that he could instruct.

"I'm afraid I'm hardly the most suitable tutor you might be able to find."

"How do you mean? Gods, man, you could be my equal on the battlefield," Chrom grinned. Maybe his better. He wasn't sure, as the two had never had an occasion to cross blades in the past.

He folded his arms as he looked back into the training room with a smile on his face. "I'm aware of your time restraints. You give much to Esdham and the defense of our forces all over the world." Chrom glanced at Sephiroth once more, one brow lifted. "But 'hardly the most suitable' as far as skill and prowess goes, I don't believe that for one moment."

"Perhaps." An accompanying flash of a grin followed at Chrom's first comment. Indeed, he and the other man had never taken an opportunity to cross blades as of yet. Sparring had been only been something relatively new on Sephiroth's list of hobbies; such activities he'd enjoyed with his friends, once upon a time and so had been sacred almost, until recently.

He followed Chrom's line of sight back over the training room. The temptation was very much to also pull his arms up into being folded but the fact that he was aware of Chrom doing it made him hold that automatic gesture of his back and away from being expressed.

"Even if it wasn't for the limited time my usual schedule affords me, I'm not one that has the qualities that would be desired in a mentoring role." He cocked his head to the side a little, inclining it towards Chrom.

"That's how I meant."

"Ahh," Chrom inclined his head with a grin. It was a shame, but he wasn't about to pressure him to show up and present a lesson if he was unaccustomed to instructing students. It was a talent, to be sure...one Chrom wasn't often sure that he had. Mostly he just showed his students the way he did it, then encouraged them to imitate him. Simple, really. He could make individual corrections when he observed those imitations. "Understood, then."

He pushed away from the wall he'd been leaning against. "Is there anything else you'd like to see while you're here? We've covered the basics, unless you have a longing to explore the water closets."

It was borne from a difference of function, perhaps. In where Sephiroth had been sent in front of mostly over-enthusiastic recruits to SOLDIER to weed out those that could from those that were just dreaming as opposed to actually encouraging skill development. He was almost too sharp in picking out the flaws, and in many ways his own highly trained skills were a burden in that he found it hard to see the potential in flaws.

"I wouldn't say no to an infrequent sortie though-" He smiled again at Chrom and hoped the man took the meaning for what it was. That included potential sparring sessions with Chrom himself, too or perhaps even as a guest in an key-lesson or two. The grin grew wider at the further comment about the other facilities that the training center had; it seemed Chrom had at least something of a similar sense of humor as him, perhaps.

"I'm sure they're all in working order...." Sephiroth almost chuckled, before another thought -one that wasn't ever too far away in these days so soon after Zelda's demise- near enough dropped it from his face.

"...I suppose it's quiet here, at the moment..."

"Yes," Chrom inclined his head. His expression wasn't quite so grim, but there was a touch of regret nonetheless. "I should hope that indicates something positive. They still trust us to protect them." Even so... Chrom shook his head. He still wished he could have done more, but if he started to mope, who would punch him in the face to snap him out of it? Robin wasn't here anymore, nor was anyone else from Ylisse.

He rolled his shoulders and straightened, bearing a calm smile on his face. "But I confess it's been sometime since I've had the pleasure of squaring off against another skilled swordsman. I would be glad to cross blades with you when you can spare the time."

Hope. There was that word again, a word that had worked its way into Sephiroth's vocabulary almost without him noticing. He'd always think of Zelda when he thought back about it, and how she'd always seem able to light up a room with her presence alone. She gave hope to so many...

"If there is one thing I've come to learn, that is never to attempt to understand the logic of the citizens of this World. That said, rightly or wrong, what other option do they have but to trust us? They face annihilation alongside us if we fail, yet we're the only ones that may yet be able to fix everything."

Sephiroth's face turned into something of a grimace as he thought that uncomfortable set of thoughts through once more. It didn't make a lot of sense to him either, even after so long. He was glad that Chrom then changed the subject, making a noticeable effort to collect his mood from the floor.

"I shall keep it in mind-" A firm nod, to enforce the mental note taken. "-I'm not sure of the plan with regards to the upcoming Festival and the security arrangements but as soon as I'm assigned we'll arrange a time."

"I'm pleased to hear it, then." Chrom was actually looking forward to the festival. He hadn't even thought that such a pleasant affair would be interrupted by Palitutu and her Doom Squad, or anyone else with nasty plans and motivations. But that was why Robin was the tactician, and not Chrom. At least Sephiroth was on top of things, and he gave a nod of gratitude.

"Let me know if you need a stand-in during those days," Chrom offered. "You should have a chance to relax and interact with the townsfolk as well, and ah..." Well, there was really no gracious way to put it. "My significant other isn't here at the moment, so my presence would be fairly limited regardless."

He offered his hand to shake Sephiroth's once more before they both decided to call it a night and part ways. "Thanks for coming by."

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Sad Chrom in the Snow

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