[Closed Post] ..the sky will come for you once..

[lanselos_du_lac]

The day is warm and bright -- it's lovely, in fact -- and so Lancelot is doing his best to ignore the strange tension that has been dogging him over the last few days. He is, of course, keeping to his usual routine, which helps, and now he is in the little clearing where he and Magnus meet for training. He's waiting for Magnus to arrive, checking the straps of Arthur's shield while he waits, and doing his best to clear his head and focus up on what he has determined they need to focus on today.

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[summerdude]

Magnus, finally no longer being secretive about his training, has his practice sword in his backpack and Jack back on his necklace. His shield, slung over his back, is totally unhidden.

"Hey teach," he calls, coming into the clearing. "Think fast!" And he hurtles a fresh-picked ripe peach straight at Lancelot's head.

[lanselos_du_lac]

He's distracted by his own thoughts, and so the best he can do is duck the fruit, frowning. That's not like him, but he only says, "Good afternoon, Magnus."

[summerdude]

"Dude," says Magnus, now also frowning. Usually Lancelot would catch the fruit. "You good?"

[lanselos_du_lac]

Lancelot takes a breath and says, "Aye. It is a very fine day. Get your gear out and square up."

[summerdude]

"If you say so," says Magnus, doubtfully, but he obedient takes out his sword -- his practice sword, not his Jack-sword -- and pulls his shield into place. Once he's situated, he drops into a fighting stance.

[lanselos_du_lac]

"Very good," Lancelot says, with sincere approval. Magnus has made great progress in such a short time -- he can only hope it's as rewarding for Magnus as Lancelot finds it is for himself. He gets himself into a stance and nods at Magnus to begin.

[summerdude]

Magnus comes at him fast. His confidence has grown over the past five months, and his first pass at Lancelot always involves him trying to throw all of his strength and speed at him, trying to get in one good, wild hit before he settles down to actually learn and follow the methods he's been taught.

[lanselos_du_lac]

Some days, Lancelot essentially lets him get one in. Today, though, is not one of those days. Lancelot meets Magnus' assault with a careful precision -- Magnus' strength and speed outmatch his own, by a fair margin, and although there's a part of him that feels like giving as good as he gets, he can't forget that he is responsible for Magnus' training and well-being. So he deflects, precisely turning Magnus' blade away with his own and then stepping back, giving Magnus enough space to make at least one more good swing.

[summerdude]

Magnus pulls his sword back while twisting his arm, trying to get it up and under Lancelot's blade in such a way that he'll be able to land a hit on his hip.

[lanselos_du_lac]

He manages to twist away again, though it's a near thing, and then he takes a swing at Magnus -- hoping for Magnus to deflect with his shield.

[summerdude]

Magnus does, dropping to his knees and skidding a few feet along the ground -- months of almost-daily training has flattened the grass and left some considerable dirt patches -- as he raises it up.

[lanselos_du_lac]

"Well done!" It's sincere, bright and almost glad. He draws back. "I am impressed."

[summerdude]

"Really?" Magnus hops to his feet and dusts off his knees, excited. "Like, really?"

[lanselos_du_lac]

"Magnus," he says, with a faint humor, "I do not lie to you. Or anyone."

[summerdude]

"I don't know, maybe you're trying to build my confidence!"

[lanselos_du_lac]

Genuinely perplexed, Lancelot asks, "Who builds confidence by lying?"

[summerdude]

"I don't know, people? My cousin's boyfriend when he was teaching me to fall off a three-story mast into the ocean without dying all the way?"

[lanselos_du_lac]

"That sounds..." Stupid is the word that first comes to mind, but seems belittling of Magnus' experience. So he decides instead to shift to: "Irresponsible."

He moves to go back to the spot he started from, resetting the stance. "Know this," he says, "I will not lie to you. If I praise your work, you have earned it."

[summerdude]

"Oh. Well, thanks."

[lanselos_du_lac]

Lancelot laughs a little, "You seem surprised. Have you not worked hard, these months?"

[summerdude]

"No, I have, I'm just still not used to my, like, fighting being worthy of note or whatever." Proudly, "Alex still wipes the ground with me all the time."

[lanselos_du_lac]

He gives a smile. "Good for Alex. May he continue to outmatch thee."

[summerdude]

"Yeah," says Magnus, blissful about it.

[lanselos_du_lac]

Lancelot's smile both grows and softens -- he will, however, say no more about it to Magnus. "You've nearly become a match for me," he says, thinking it only a mild exaggeration -- he was serious about the Not Lying. "I shall have to consider what to teach you next."

[summerdude]

"Actually," says Magnus, "I was thinking... maybe we could try with me using Jack?" Obviously Lancelot will know that he's been keeping Jack back at camp during their sessions so far due to his extreme blabbermouth.