The training blade clattered to the ground with a oh so familiar sign-song trill, "Pick it up, we go again" the older man said, he spoke with authority, not unkind but clearly impatient.
"No!" the younger man said, throwing off the fencing mask, "I can't do this, I'm done." He made a motion to move past his instructor who held a blade out to block his path "Damien, these skills are important, pick up the blade" The older man said, Damien pouted "Why Cedric? why are they so important? Papa always says-" "The tongue is the sharpest blade." Cedric interrupted, "I know, I grew up hearing the same little brother, but Papa..." He hesitated, "Papa is a child of different times, this war, its worse than we could have imagined, you can't rely on your opponent to always listen to your words, sometimes you need to fight."
Damien screwed his face up further, he new his brother was right, he was just too petulant to admit it at the moment. "We are all one people, all of Galifar... I can't- I don't want to fight." Cedric removed his mask and took a knee to meet his much shorter brother gaze, he sighed "You have a good heart Damien, and strong blood runs through it but sometimes that isn't enough. The Thranes are holding well but I hear of soulless beasts, walking corpses are progressing further west form within Karrnath, those aren't going to go for a coffee and a chat, as charming as you can be, these skills could save a life one day." Cedric smiled softly, Damien returned a look of indignation but quickly softened at his bothers smile, disarming as it was.
With no further words, Damien walked to his discarded equipment, donned it and took a defensive stance. His Brother raised, wincing as he did these days, that leg is the only reason he was here to chastise Damien at all, he would do well to remember that. "good" Cedric said returning the posture, "Now, thrust, parry, riposte. As we practiced"
Memory is a funny thing, they come back at the strangest time, Damien thought, as he checked over his equipment. Muddy and blood soaked coat on the floor beside him, he glanced to his friends across the way, treating wounds and securing the relic they travelled all this way for. Damien gave a pained chuckle, 'these skills could save a life one day', he thought to himself, "when you're right, you're always so damn right Brother, thank you..."