Why did she DO that? There was no one, not a single soul in the entire camp that would hurt her. Was there no trust? And it hurt more because it was Aladar. Aladar was the one she'd pulled a knife on, the one she'd instantly threatened to attack. Reflex, instinct, fear...

Giving a sheepish nod, she lowered to sit on the edge of the stump again, her trembling hands resting on the rough wood as she let out another soft, embarrassed laugh. "Sorry... About that. Not sure what got into me."

Hm, a drink. A real, proper drink would be nice... But water would have to do, she decided with a slight nod, taking the canteen from him and drinking some of the contents.

Of course... Of course he'd talked to her, and she hadn't heard. It must have been on her left side... And that was a conversation she didn't want to have. She didn't want to explain it to him because he wouldn't understand that it didn't really affect her, except in the rare moment like this. She'd been fine until now, why couldn't she continue being fine without uncomfortable questions ever being asked? She couldn't remember ever hearing anything on that side, though it was her understanding that for the first few years of her life, that ear had been fully functional. It just wasn't now, and her partial deafness had never caused problems like this. She was still convinced that she'd just overreacted to him frightening her.

"No, didn't hear you," she said almost dismissively. "Maybe I was just too focused... Or maybe you just thought you said something?" Ah, bad choice of words, but she couldn't take them back... She didn't doubt that he'd spoken to her. She didn't doubt that she was supposed to have heard. But she didn't, and if she could deflect the attention away from the fact that she hadn't heard him due to her own fault, then maybe she could avoid an awkward conversation.

It was a vain hope and she knew it.

She watched him as he took the chunk of wood she'd dropped and began to whittle away at it, with much more skill than she or even Tendral possessed. It was almost hypnotic to watch him work, actually, as she tilted her head slightly out of habit. For a moment, she was quiet, listening to the soft sound of Aladar's knife slicing easily through the wood she'd abandoned, shaping it beautifully.

"No," she finally said. "You said it out loud, I'm sure... I just didn't hear. I mean, to be honest, I can't... hear really well on the one side." She was stammering, awkward, digging her fingernails into the wood of the tree stump as she sighed again and shook her head. "Actually, I've never been able to hear well on that side. Or, at all, really."

She shifted her weight uneasily, glancing over at him and waiting for the impending explosion. He was a good man, and a good captain, but she knew she'd caused nothing but trouble for him and the new information that she'd been half-deaf the entire time... Probably wouldn't be taken all that well.

Aladar was surprisingly focused on Ali and the wood simultaneously, his attention to detail in both impeccable. His motions and thoughts were well thought out and planned, calm in nature as he took the time to listen to the woman and hear her out. Just too focused? He didn’t really speak? His hand slowed just a tad as he glanced at her with a slight rise of the brow before continuing to work on the wood. “I see.” It was all he said for the moment, deciding to let her get lost in her own thought. He had long since learned that Ali tended to be dismissive. But he also knew when push came to shove, she would be out with it.

So he was patient, deciding to let the silence and his presence do the work, having a feeling if he pressed on the matter she would fall into defense. At this point, he was more than aware that something was going on. The last thing he expected, however, was an actual disability, the captain totally stopping what he was doing to look up at her again. He wasn’t sure what he believed it all to come down to... just not... this. Perhaps that she had been in pain and was too distracted, but he found a lot of issues and information packed into the few sentences she spoke.

Returning to the piece of wood that was taking shape, he allowed his muscles to fall back into rhythm, finding a certain amount of calmness coming with it. Whittling when angry or frustrated was the last thing a person wanted to do, patience being a key and skill that came with the ability. It was perhaps the first time he had ever learned the ability to keep a cool head, though he still had his moments. But even those tended to be dictated by clear thinking and quick judgment.

There was a sigh as brown eyes did not move back to the woman. “So, you are telling me you are deaf on your left side.” It was a simple statement to begin with, letting its weight sink between them. It now made sense why she tilted her head to the right, slept on her left side, kept her right always faced towards entrances. It explained the way she did some of her fighting. All things Aladar had noticed about her as part of what made Ali, Ali.

But there was the part of them that stayed loyal to his men, first and foremost, and the captain in him came out before anything else did. “You’ve put a lot of men in danger,” his voice stated simply, no malice but the authoritative note that was always tangled in with the part of him that held the final say over his men. “You’ve put yourself in danger. I am aware that you can function and do your part, but that doesn’t change the fact that you have a blind side. And one blind side is enough to take down an army. And there would be no way of you necessarily knowing how much it had affected you. If I had walked away after I spoke, you would have never known I was there.”

He never stopped whittling. The whole speech was stated while he worked the wood, flicking the knife in quick, sharp motions. And yet, he wasn’t exactly paying attention to what he was making either. He no longer had to really, having learned to let the wood shape itself.

“At this time Ali, I must always think of the army first. You know this. But that said...” he paused, wiping his dagger on his pants to rid it of woodchips as he finally looked at her. And his face gentled, the knife returning to its sheath. “That said, as a man who greatly respects and cares for you, I am impressed you have managed to keep it hidden this long. I am finding you hold many secrets up your sleeve.” His hand extended with what had become the perfect imitation of a lioness, handing the figurine to her.

“You’re not the only one. But try not to keep the pertinent and life-changing ones hidden from me."

He was looking at her. The motion of the knife in his hand stopped abruptly at her announcement, as he stared up at her with a hundred unspoken questions swimming in his brown eyes. Then, without a word, he returned to his carving, and she silently leaned forward, resting her elbows on her knees as she watched him. The wood that she'd struggled with was rapidly taking shape, into some sort of animal, but she couldn't recognize what it was.

He finally spoke, breaking the heavy silence that had fallen, and somehow to hear him say it felt deeply wrong.

"In... So many words, yeah," she said quietly, her hands clasped in her lap as she avoided looking directly at him, studying his work instead. "But it's really not that bad, I can still hear perfectly on my right side..." Her arguments would accomplish nothing and she knew that better than anyone. Running her fingers through her hair, which was now several inches longer than regulation and had gained quite a wild, curly appearance, she slumped forward a bit, sighing quietly.

"I'm sorry-... I should have told you, I know... But I thought you'd..."

Send me home.

She closed her eyes for a second, an almost bitter smile tugging briefly at her lips when she recognized the familiar irony of that statement. Deja vu, much?

"I didn't mean to put anyone in danger," she mumbled, guilt evident in her tone and body language as she shifted further onto the tree stump and pulled her knees up.

Just as she did so, he offered the finished piece to her, and she took the smooth wood in her hands, looking down at it as she gingerly rubbed her thumb over the beautiful, delicate, perfectly carved details. A lioness. A beautiful thing to be treasured... A work of art, that Aladar had made right in front of her, when she didn't even know he whittled. "It's beautiful," she said softly with a faint smile, tucking it away in a pocket so she would remember to put it in a safe place, not wanting to lose it.

"But try not to keep the pertinent and life-changing ones hidden from me."

The guilt from that simple request hit harder than she expected, and she took a quiet breath, her eyes closed for a second in a concealed wince. There was a lot of stuff she hadn't told him. Some... arguably important and life-changing stuff. And she didn't plan on telling him, either... She couldn't. Not yet.

"Yeah, of course," she said with a nod and a smile she didn't feel. "I'll tell you anything else that comes to mind." An attempt to joke, to ease the tension she felt in her own conscience.

And that tension never went away. The constant guilt, the tiny nagging voice in the back of her head. It never stopped, every time she even looked at him, to the point where she avoided him a bit. Not noticeably, she just didn't feel as comfortable anymore for... some reason. She didn't like it, but she also couldn't look him in the eye without that voice in the back of her head reminding her of the lie she lived.

After a few days, it got easier, but she still kept herself busy with training and sparring. There were rumors circulating around the camp, starting about a week after the conversation with Aladar about her being partially deaf, about an upcoming battle, and she wanted to be in decent shape... She wasn't ready, by any means. And she knew that, she wasn't stupid. She figured that Aladar wasn't going to let her go, if there was going to be a battle. But it was just in case he did.

It was two weeks to the day after her conversation with Aladar when the company was called together for an announcement. Ali had a pretty good idea of what said announcement would entail, as she slipped in with the crowd, waiting for what Aladar had to say.

Calling the entire company together sounded easier than it felt for Aladar. He had told his men when they arrived that they were taking a break from the fighting, getting a chance to train and recoup from the painful losses they had been struggling with. But he had always known that it did not keep them safe from any battle. Because like it or not, there was still a war raging, and an attack was going to happen soon, and his company was going to as backup. It was a large-scale attack and they needed every man on hand.

Brown eyes hardened slightly as they gazed over one hundred soldiers, standing and waiting for him to tell them the reason they were all there. For a split moment, he caught sight of Ali, gaze lingering in her for a moment before continuing to sweep over the men that were about to find out they were heading back into the fray. He stood straight, hands held behind his back as he took a breath through his nose, deep and meant to give him strength. Because he was going to need it. His men had suffered through so much already... and he knew this would be hard. But they knew this was always a possibility. But he intended to raise morale, and that meant talking it up.

“Those of you who have been here with me for years already know why I have called you. You are well-aware of what this war has exacted on us and what happens when all are called. We have been resting, training, taking the time to find ourselves and encourage our brothers. But the war for our country and home is still being waged on the front lines and they need us. You are strong, the best company that there is to offer. And we have been requested to help in the next attack against the Rithnarian army. We will not be on the frontlines, but we are meant to be the standing force for those who are.”

He paused, letting his words sink in, though did not give time for talking to ensue. “For the next week we will be spending every day working on the formation we will use. But we will not go in blind, nor will we go in defenseless. You are all aware of the recent discovery of my ability to use force shields.” His smile lifted, having heard grumbling at first that he had used it to save Ali... back when he wasn’t even aware he could. But now? “You will be going in with protection. I walk in with you on foot! We will stand together, and we will fight together.”

“Look around you men!” He lifted his voice, feeling the hope that they would come out of this battle victorious. And when Aladar felt hope, he was contagious, knowing his men, knowing how to rally the troops. “Look around and see the faces of your fellow brothers. Not only are you fighting for your country, you are fighting for each other. We will stand out ground, and we will help push our other brothers forward. We have suffered much loss, but not this time. This time we will rise! HAVE FAITH MEN!” And he meant it in both ways. His brown eyes glowed with the anticipation, having made the battle almost sound exciting.

He lifted his sword into the air with a shout, the men following suit, the air ringing with the sound of voices, cheering on each other and their Captain. The camp was coming alive again. Because one Captain knew how to do his job well, and the morale was high, the air filled with the energy Aladar had electrified it with.

“Grab your weapons and meet me in the sparring field! Report to your Sergeants and Lieutenants! Dismissed!” He had already spoken to the four Lieutenants under his command since he already had a strategy underway, working off the information that was brought to him from the other three companies they would be joining. He had plans and with all his soldiers buzzing, he knew the training would go smoothly, and for the first time, he could use his magic to benefit his men.

Stepping down from the platform as men jogged to collect their weapons and meet in the sparring field, he could hear the voices, the words of encouragement being passed around and small shouts back and forth. He paused in that moment, taking in all the faces he could. Morale was high but he saw so much more than that. New recruits... this about to be their first battle, excited for the horror of bloodshed they were about to meet. Men who had been with him since he was first made their Captain... faces marred with the lines of stress and past sorrow, gazes intent and determined, but underlined with hidden fear. And then there were those who were simply caught in the high of the speech. War was brutal.

He felt both relieved that he had brought such encouragement and hope, but also guilty. Guilty because if the battle went south... everything would shatter. But he was used to the feeling, because he had it with every speech. The paradox of emotions he was burdened to bear...

His thoughts were cut off as his gaze landed on Ali, Aladar pressing into long strides to catch up to her. A hand reached out, grabbing her right shoulder, gaze searching to find hers. “Not you. You’re not meeting in the field with the others. You won’t be joining the battle. I’ll be having you stay here with Orym and Lebuin.” There was nothing in his expression that said this was a joke, everything yelling that this was not up for debate.

Because he wasn’t about to send a woman into battle.

A woman who barely survived the last one.

A woman who could barely catch up with the weakest of the men that could spar.

A woman who was deaf in one ear.

The woman he loved.

God have mercy on him and may his men understand, but Aladar refused to let Alyana fight. Because there was no telling what would happen or if they would end up on the front lines, and he was simply not taking the risk. And partly, though it was subconscious and something he did not fully realize, it was because she would be a distraction. He had attached himself to her in a way that was beyond the emotions he felt for his men, and he would be constantly trying to catch glimpses of her in battle. And he needed one-hundred percent focus if he was going to go in with forceshields.

“I don’t want to see you at the training either so you don’t confuse your squad or platoon.”

And with that, he started to walk away, as if she was meant to simply accept that and move along back to her tent. It was not intentional that he seemed to b blowing her off, but he was balancing his position as Captain and a man who deeply cared, loved, for Ali. And it came out in the form of a Captain to his soldier, with the intent of a boyfriend to his girl.

The announcement he gave, rallying speech ignored in her mind, was exactly what she expected. A battle... Another one. So soon after the promise of rest to the company... But she knew nothing was set in stone when it came to war. And that was just part of the uncertainty of their lives; always hanging in the balance over a stupid war, the reasons for which were far from the minds of the soldiers it affected most.

"This time we will rise."

She didn't believe him. The last battle had almost killed her, and even though she had a sneaking suspicion that he wasn't going to let her join the rest, the fact remained that there were soldiers among them that wouldn't be going home. Sure, his speech made her heart beat a bit faster... Sure, seeing him so brave and proud, urging the men to have faith, stirred something within her. But it was because of him, not his words. It was because of how much she adored him, and the sudden realization brought about by his speech, and his mention that he would be going on foot, that he might be among the ones that didn't come back.

It wasn't courage that his words brought to her soul, it was fear, and the look on her face more closely modeled those of the seasoned warriors than the excited new recruits, or those swept along by the encouraging words.

As the others scattered to prepare for the training session to follow, she started to do the same, striding across the camp and dodging a young recruit who was too busy excitedly talking to a friend to notice she was there. She sighed softly to herself as she watched him go, then continued to her tent to gather her sword and equipment... Mid-step, however, she felt the familiar weight of a hand on her right shoulder, and she turned to face Aladar, offering a smile in greeting as she waited to hear what he had to say.

She didn't have to wait long, and her smile faltered in an instant. Not necessarily at the words he said; she was expecting an order to stay home, sooner or later. No, it was the tone he said it with. It was the sternness, the coldness in his voice that she wasn't expecting. It was almost colder than she would even expect an order from her captain to be... Detached.

She blinked, her brow furrowed as she shifted to move his hand off of her shoulder. She had no argument, stunned into silence for a moment, lips parted slightly in mild shock...

And just like that, once he'd gotten his point across, he just turned and walked off, leaving her to process the new orders and the tone in which he'd given them... What was she supposed to do? What, did he mean for her to just sit around and do nothing while the rest of them were- While he was risking his life?

"I don't want to see you..."

"...so you don't confuse your squad..."

She didn't let him get far, jogging after him and stopping in front of him.

"Why can't I go?" she asked, hands on hips. She knew why. But she wanted to hear it from him. She wanted to know why he was being cold and distant towards her, giving an order like that and just walking off, leaving her to process it alone, to wait here alone while they fought for their lives...

"Tell me why."

Having shifted his mind to the task at hand, Aladar was leaving Ali behind to register the news he had given her. He held strong to the order that she was to stay, but his execution was flawed in nature. In his state of mind, trying to keep his soldiers number one, he had overcompensated for his feelings he felt towards her, coming out colder than usual. Colder and he didn’t even realize that he had, trying to keep his mind on the one track of the oncoming battle, something that even the slightest slacking could result in a massacre of his men.

His steps came to an abrupt halt when she flung herself in front of him, forcing the man to stop. Why couldn’t she go? She knew DARN well why she couldn’t go! Aladar straightened some, though it did little considering that they were the same exact height. His brown eyes gazed into hers, the orbs hard in their expression and determination, because it came down to this. He had to get the training started before the morale died. He had to go keep the hype up for something that was by no means exciting or something to celebrate or be excited about.

“You know why, Ali. You are in no condition to be fighting. You can barely manage your way through a sparring session against men who have never held a sword in their lives.”

It was the captain in him coming out again, laying the facts down as they were. Some of the facts, others left out because they were not professional, and some would simply be painful to say and for her to hear. And yet, staring at her, after his harsh response, he knew this was different. He could not treat her like one of his men. They had long since passed that point, and there was no going back now. They both knew it.

His expression softened, hand reaching up to thread through his hair, pushing it back. “Ali... you know you aren’t ready to go out there. And I’m not ready to send you out with the troops. Orym managed to save you once. I’m not sure he could do it again, or if you could even do it again.” There was a sigh as he shook his head, “We both know war isn’t pretty. It’s not some game, but I don’t get to treat it any other way.” His arm swept out towards the soldiers jogging and making their way to the sparring field. “If I told them the truth of what they were about to face, the whole company would crumble.”

Somehow, the conversation had shifted to the painful truth he had to face in his position. “I can’t lie to them. But I can paint a pretty picture. I’m painting a picture of roses out of blood, and they are growing excited over it as though it is some privilege. I can’t involve you in that. In any of this. Not anymore. And out there, all my attention has to be on protecting all of them. Because I told them I would. But we both know not everyone is coming back. But at least I don’t have to be worried one of those will be you if you stay here.”

His hand tangled in his hair again before falling away, the man straightening once more and the look returning to his face that screamed dignity and determination, unaware that he had shown Ali that it was all a façade. That beneath that speech and the cold tone he had given her only a few moments before, laid a man who was just as scared of the battle as the seasoned soldiers. Just as scared and preparing to bear the guilt of any deaths that happened under his watch.

“If you would like, you can come to watch. Just don’t participate since I need the soldiers to be fully comfortable with the exact plan.”

She shifted her weight to the other leg, arms moving to cross almost defensively over her chest as she waited for his response. The near-glare that he sent in her direction, the way he stiffened when he saw her, it all hurt in different ways, and yet she felt dumb for allowing it to hurt her like that. He was doing what he thought was best. And what he thought was best was for her to stay here, she should have never questioned him... But it had made her angry to hear it like that, angry in a childish, selfish way. She was beginning to regret her outburst, her demands, when he finally spoke and gave his reasons.

Yeah, yeah, she knew that much. Those were the reasons she knew she'd be asked to stay back. But she wanted to know the real reason why. If it was only because she hadn't been able to return to her pre-injury level of strength and activity, he wouldn't have been so cold towards her when he gave her orders to remain at the camp.

So she waited, knowing that he would crumble sooner or later and tell her the real reason. Or maybe he'd just push past her and go to training. It was his move, really, and his reaction would decide hers.

And just as she expected, she could see the harsh and determined look in his eyes crumble, one hand moving to run his fingers through his hair in a familiar sign of frustration. And behind the mask he wore, she could see the fear he hid. He had to hide it. If the captain showed fear, the company would sense it in an instant and even a moment's hesitation would mean a battle lost and far too many lives with it. Her own stubborn look faltered, her pale blue eyes moving to stare briefly at the ground near his boots as her shoulders slumped ever so slightly. Some selfish beast you are, Ali...

When he fell silent again, she gave a nod, looking up at him again. "I know," she muttered quietly, arms still crossed over her chest as she stepped aside. "I know, you're right..."

"But not everyone is coming back... Like you said. And if one of them is you..." She clenched her teeth, refusing to think about it. "I won't be there," she finished.

She remembered how he'd said he was going in on foot, with force shields. And she knew for a fact how much large force shields exhausted him. If the shield failed... He'd be on foot, defenseless, exhausted... She was terrified for him, to say the least. If something happened, she wouldn't be there for him. Not that she could really be there for him in a battle scenario, but if nothing else she could try to do for him what he'd done for her. She could hold him, she could stay with him... All things she couldn't do if she was here with the medics, never knowing from one moment to the next if he was fighting, wounded, not knowing if he was even alive until the soldiers returned.

And that scared her.

"Maybe later," she mumbled, finally letting her arms fall to her sides again and stepping further aside so he could pass. "Good luck training."

With a sigh, she slowly made her way across the camp, in the opposite direction as the training field. She needed a drink.

The day that ensued was a day of hard work, everyone getting ordered for the first time as lieutenants darted among the ranks, collecting their squads. Aladar shouted orders to get the platoons in their proper positions as the formation was set up. It was no longer simple sparring as it had been over the past month. This time the captain was setting up what would be crucial to their survival and the survival of the other companies that would be in battle that day. And more than that, he was setting up the pattern of which platoons he would shield, and when.

Tendral, as usual, was caught in the crossfire, the one to run most of Aladar’s message around through the ranks. It was an exhausting job, and he was still expected to be part of the actual exercises. By the time everyone broke for food and sleep, the lanky soldier was in one of his grumpier states, taking his food to the side to eat it before heading to the main tent to sleep away his frustration at what had been a rather chaotic day.

Not that he got to enjoy that pleasure, the soldiers piling up around him until he was faced with his worst enemy of a community tent: getting smushed and smothered by men half his size. Which was saying something considering he was rather tall. He just lacked the broadness that was supposed to come with those extra inches and it always ended up being his downfall at night. He had been managing rather well, but with so many exhausted, no one overly cared that one soldier was squirming and grumbling about them being pathetic oafs. If anything, it was him who was getting told to shut up and let everyone sleep.

And that did not sit well with Tendral, who sat up, snatched his sword and sleeping bag (after an insane amount of tugging and shoving his foot into another’s man ribcage to free it), and left. Aladar got a bloody cot for the gods’ sake! And considering it was technically Aladar’s fault he was so exhausted, possibly more so than the others, he was going to invade the captain’s space at his own risk and sleep in there. Aladar could deal with it.

Though he never quite got there, something catching his attention. Or rather, someone. He had seen Ali moving off in the darkness towards the sparring field. Green eyes watched her intently before the man left his sleeping bag in Aladar’s tent. More like tossed it in with no explanation to the captain who had only lifted his head with a slight glare. Tossed it and left, following the woman in the darkness, curious as to what she was doing.

Which brought him out onto the sparring field, witness to the woman releasing her frustration towards invisible enemies, working on her swordsmanship. He took a few moments to simply observe before shaking some of the tired bleariness from his eyes as he stepped forward and into the field.

“Is there a reason we are both standing out here in the middle of the night when I should at least be sleeping?” he asked, arms crossing over his chest. “Or do you simply have no regard for the day and night cycle?” Tendral started with his brusque manner, which was only to be expected from him as he pulled his sword from his sheath.

“No point in you fighting the shadows though. Damn liable to trip or something and then Aladar will blame me. So perhaps you would rather fight a real opponent and tell me why I am out here sparring with you when I would much prefer to be sleeping.”

Having spent the overwhelming majority of her day alone, and a good hour or so of that time with a stolen flask of alcohol in her hand, the main camp deserted as every useful soldier trained, she couldn't help but wonder if this was how the entire next week would be. She had nothing to do, barred from the training fields. She supposed she could go talk to Lebuin and Orym, if nothing else, but how absolutely dull would it be to talk to the medics all day? That wasn't to say that she thought they were dull people... Just that they weren't soldiers, and she didn't even know what they were talking about half the time as far as herbs and medical things...

It felt strange, to be alone for the entire day. Stranger still when Aladar didn't come to see her after the evening meal, as he usually did... He was probably too busy, she told herself. Sure, their only interaction for the day hadn't been on great terms... But she was sure he was just too tired after the long day of training to think of her, that night.

It was fine. She didn't mind. She'd been on her own all day, what was a few more hours of solitude? She'd decided early in the day that as soon as the others turned in for the night, she would make use of the training field. If she was stagnant for too long, she'd get stiff, and a week with no training was not what she needed right now. It would give her a chance to work the frustration out of her muscles, too. Frustration and fear and dismay, that this was all happening and she couldn't do a thing to stop it.

She didn't eat the evening meal with the other soldiers, choosing to stay in her tent. There were sure to be questions from her squad, though her lieutenant had certainly been informed that she would not be joining them. She didn't want to answer those questions, not until she felt a bit better and less helpless about the situation herself.

Her fingers curled tightly around the hilt of her sword as she silently moved towards the training field. The camp, now enveloped in silence and darkness, seemed to echo the soft sounds of each footfall, and her breathing seemed deafening. There was nothing wrong with her training at night, she told herself. Aladar had only told her not to train with the others. She wasn't doing anything wrong by using the training field while it was empty...

Nevertheless, she hesitated at the edge, taking a shaky breath and letting it out in a puff of white fog in the chilly air. With a final glance over her surroundings, she stepped onto the disturbed dirt of the field, drawing her sword with the familiar metallic hiss of metal on leather. Her movements were slow and controlled, going through the motions of one of the simpler practice "routines" in an attempt to warm up stiff muscles.

It was just as she was beginning to move to more complicated forms, already out of breath and growing increasingly frustrated as usual, her movements fast and choppy but not incorrect for her chosen practice, when Tendral spoke and broke her focus. She jumped, her sword clattering to the ground in a wonderful display of competence before she scooped it up again, turning to face him with a sigh.

"No one told you to come," she huffed indignantly, though a large part of her was relieved that he'd come. Even if he had scared her and broken her focus. "But if you insist... By all means, I'm not going to complain if someone actually wants to spar with me."

Leveling her sword and returning to a proper fighting stance, she met his gaze, attempting to cover up her embarrassment over being caught attempting to train alone. She probably looked stupid... Fighting shadows, as Tendral put it.

"Figured I'd start training at night," she muttered. "Considering I'll be sitting on my ass for a week otherwise. And I've had quite enough of that."

Her frustration bled into her tone and into her attacks as she lunged at Tendral, making the first move. She handled herself well, and her form was... decent for a right-handed soldier wielding left-handed. But the fact remained that there wasn't enough strength behind her attacks, and she was slow, her stamina having taken a heavy blow that it hadn't yet recovered from.

And she hated it. She hated all of it. She hated how her muscles cramped and her chest burned at the site of her injury after only a few minutes of activity. She hated how her shoulder seized up too badly for her to confidently wield a sword with her right hand, as she should. She hated it all.

“There are other exercises to help you with being fit other than training you do realize,” he pointed out, “and with an empty camp you could train during the day if you are so set on it, instead of having me out here in the middle of the night.” It was simple observations he made while keeping the defensive during her attacks. There was no point in him actually attempting a normal spar with her, already well aware how she was struggling against some of the weakest recruits. That being said, she held up rather well and the man was fine with being her punching bag. It was the best he could describe the way she fought at the moment.

“Would you like to explain why you are really out here?” Tendral shifted his sword to block an attack, feeling far too tired to be dancing around an empty field in swordplay. The things he did for people he liked... “And don’t pull the ‘I need to train’ card. It sounded like this was much less about training and more about you being stuck at camp.” There was a clash as steel met steel and the man took a retreating step back.

“Enough Ali, put the sword down.” He waved his hand towards her for her to stop as he returned his blade to its sheath. The man eased himself to sit on the grass before falling back to be staring up in the night sky, throwing one arm across his face. He remembered days like this far too well. Nights when he had first come and he was angry at everyone. Angry at Aladar, angry at the other men... just an angry youth. And his solution was to take it out on the shadows, as though that would bring any true relief.

“You’re going to drive us both into the ground and I have another full day ahead of me tomorrow.” He groaned for a moment, hand flicking towards her. “Sit down at least. Because you and I are going to talk before you are the death of me and I feel the need to come out every single night to make sure you don’t hurt yourself. You’re in one of those moods.” He was blunt, but some of his usual brusque sarcasm was seeping away. Because he did understand. At least to some extent, though he knew what he had faced years ago, was different than how she was struggling. But he would offer what he could.

His arm stayed draped over his face as he thought for a moment. “So out with it, woman. No one spars in the dark unless they are fighting the demons inside. Believe me... I know. I spent many nights sparring in the dark and wanting to fight every single man I came in contact with. Especially Aladar. And he hadn’t done a damn thing wrong.”

He moved his arm to peek over at her, to see if the mention of Aladar had hit a chord. Why was he doing this? Hell if he knew why. But Ali was the closest thing he had to a sister, and against his greatest judgment, he cared for her. He cared for a lot of people behind the mask of hating them all and just tolerating their presence. Because men didn’t have heart to hearts... except Aladar. But he could with Ali and it felt necessary.

“What is said between two friends, stays between two friends.”