Sad Chrom in the Snow

[shepherd_prince]

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.

Comments

NEITHER BWAH HA HA HA

[shepherd_prince]

"It's a sabre," Chrom smiled, glad to see she was familiar enough with swords to name two of them. "I think you'll find it more versatile than a rapier or estoc, as this one has an edge as well as a pointed tip. You can slash and pierce with it, depending upon your needs. I'll fetch you a buckler from the back. With the right stance, you should be able to maintain a decent defense against most attacks."

He slid past her, turning his body to the side, then moved into the back room. He emerged with a wooden buckler as promised, as well as some padded training armor and a wire mesh mask for her head. A wooden weapon was dull, sure, but it could still put a nasty bruise in someone if used with enough force.

"If you like, once you've built up enough training and confidence in the classrooms, we can go out to the Calm Plains and defeat a few monsters. That should give you the gil you need to purchase your first proper weapon."

EXCALI -- wait. wrong canon! xD

[boomchucka]

"Oooooh, I remember those now. Guess I remember more from my lessons than I thought," Selphie admitted. "They're the ones that curve up at the tip."

A weapon that was both light and strong would be perfect for her as Selphie stepped back to give Chrom more room. It was a long time since she'd ever seen so much training gear and at first, it had her gawking a bit in surprise. Eventually though, she knew that if she didn't have it on, she'd be black and blue by the end of the day without it. The perky brunette moved forward to relieve some of the burden from the Prince.

"Right," she replied with a nod. "I have some Gil stashed from work that I was saving for a rainy day but now it looks like it might be a good time to use some of it. In the meantime, we'd better get to work."

[shepherd_prince]

"Right," Chrom agreed, appreciating her determination. She didn't seem like the type who would complain or drag her feet about coming to lessons, and he determined she'd likely prove to be a good student. She was enthusiastic too, not registering the slightest hint of disappointment or unease at the thought of fighting monsters. "Choose a buckler that suits your size, and meet me in the training room at the end of the hall. You'll want something that covers as much as possible, but not so bulky that it hinders your ability to move."

Rather than hovering over her shoulder, Chrom left the armory. He slid open the door to the smaller and personal training room, sitting down on one of the chairs to pry off his boots. Right now he wanted to concentrate on the movements of the upper body rather than focusing on footwork. Once he was confident she could swing a sword with some competence, they could practice on solid ground in the footwear of their choice.

[boomchucka]

"Something that suits my size..." Selphie murmured as she examined the buckler that Chrom had pulled out. It looked like it might have been too big for someone of Selphie's stature. She held the offered one in her hands before working her left arm into the straps. It felt awkward to hold and a bit too heavy as the perky brunette put it aside.

"Are there any more?" She asked. "That one felt too big. Maybe something a little smaller...? Hmmmm..."

She paused to examine the buckler a bit more closely and felt that it looked to be around the size of a large dinner plate. Selphie had never fought with a shield before so choosing one was proving to be a challenge. She was leaning towards something around the size of a smaller sandwich plate as she started looking for something a bit smaller.

[shepherd_prince]

Chrom continued to wait in the training room. He was a patient man, and wasn't about to stomp back to the armory and see what was taking her so long. Choosing one's defense was a crucial element to combat, and someone who chose poorly was putting their life at risk.

So he waited, leaning against one of the walls, listening to the faint sound of her voice down the hall.

[boomchucka]

When Selphie didn't get a response to her question, she frowned a bit and thought her way through the problem. The larger buckler's felt strange in her hands and would probably be more cumbersome than useful. She recalled a lesson from her early years in Garden when they were choosing their weapons.

"Choose something that feels natural." Was the lesson that the perky brunette was recalling.

She took the smallest buckler's she could find in the armory and laid them out side-by-side and studied them carefully. Some were small and wider, others were longer and narrower. They were only using wooden sparring weapons but eventually, she settled on a small, wide buckler about 8 inches across. She pulled on the padded training gear quickly enough and with the sabre and buckler in hand, she finally entered the training room.

"Sorry," she apologized. "I couldn't figure out which shield would be best. I guess you didn't hear me when I was asking a question..."

[shepherd_prince]

Chrom shook his head. "No, I didn't. I apologize." He'd heard some murmuring, but thought she was just talking to herself. Ah, well, she'd managed to find some suitable gear, so they could begin.

"With a weapon like yours, you'll be relying more on speed than brute force, so your footwork should be light. Knees bent, front foot pointed forward, and twist so that your sword arm is presented." Chrom demonstrated accordingly, holding his wooden weapon out while keeping his left shoulder turned away. "You can see just by looking at me that turning to the side makes you a smaller target. There's less of you to strike, and it's more difficult to hit your vitals. Make sense?"