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

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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From:

lanselos_du_lac

"Aye," a nod.

From:

summerdude

So he lifts his practice sword and, uncomfortably aware of Jack's silent judging as he flies overhead, surges forward, trying out an opening Lancelot had taught him the week before.

From:

lanselos_du_lac

This time Lancelot meets him, rather than hanging back. He moves in, seeking to knock Magnus' sword out of the way with his shield, to create an opening.

From:

summerdude

"Señor, look ou--" Jack calls, but Magnus is already twisting to the side, trying to dodge the move and knock his own shield against Lancelot's to destabilize him.

"No cheating, Jack," he calls with a whoop. "You can give me notes after."

Jack's silence after that has the weight of a sullen one, but it is a silence.

From:

lanselos_du_lac

Magnus is nearly successful in putting Lancelot off-balance, but at the last moment he pivots and shifts his weight, trying to score a hit from the outside.

From:

summerdude

Magnus tries to get his sword up to block him, since his shield is busy continuing with the momentum shift of his attempt to knock it against Lancelot's. He's einherjar-fast, but that just results in his body twisting into a weird contortion that tells him his moves were definitely too wide and obvious and absolutely not economical enough.

But knowing the error he made is pretty cool, actually.

With a grin, he drops to the ground, confident that his athleticism and reflexes will serve him better by disengaging and then rising again than by trying to recalibrate and block.

From:

lanselos_du_lac

"Good!" Lancelot's exhortation is genuine, though he doesn't pause or slow down. He gets a little space and wheels on Magnus, coming in with an overhand swing.

From:

summerdude

Magnus rolls to the side, bringing his shield up between him and Lancelot. His grasp on his sword falters, which is, like, against the first rule of sword fighting (rule #1: have a sword in hand), but is consistent with his fighting history. This time, he doesn't let himself get distracted by scrambling for it; his focus is on blocking the swing. He can fix his grip after.

From:

lanselos_du_lac

Lancelot pulls the swing up a little short, so as not to send a shock up Magnus' arm -- it's a good block.

From:

summerdude

With a little flexing of his fingers, Magnus manages to get his hand firmly back around his hilt, and he surges up right in front of Lancelot, trying to make him stumble back so that he can get a swing in.

From:

lanselos_du_lac

This turns out to be quite effective. Lancelot swallows a curse, staggering back, and reacts more strongly than he intends, swatting Magnus' blade away with his shield -- probably too hard.

(He is distracted. He knows this. He should have begged off for today. There is too much on his mind.)

From:

summerdude

Magnus pulls back. It was hard -- not too hard; Magnus can withstand a lot -- but a lot harder than normal. "You good, dude?" he asks, staying at the ready and circling just in case this is a fake-out.

From:

lanselos_du_lac

"Yes," Lancelot says, instantly. But just as he's about to move in again he stops, stepping back and swinging his blade down. He takes a breath. "Perhaps not."

From:

summerdude

Magnus lowers his sword and his shield. "What's up?"

From:

lanselos_du_lac

"I think-- perhaps we should stop for today."

Lancelot is frowning slightly, in spite of himself. It isn't Magnus' business, nor does he want to make it Magnus' problem.

From:

summerdude

Magnus opens his mouth to protest, then closes it, squinting at Lancelot, like he's trying to read some kind of deep hidden meaning in this choice. Eventually he nods. "Okay," he says. "Um, I'm sorry if I, um. Stressed you out or something." By making him keep a secret for so long or whatever.

From:

lanselos_du_lac

Lancelot shakes his head, saying evenly, "No, Magnus. It is naught to do with you. I just-- it is my fault. I should know better when I should beg off for a day."

From:

summerdude

"Okay." Magnus hesitates a moment. "Do you, like. Need anything?"

From:

lanselos_du_lac

"Only a little time," he says, trying to gentle his voice and clear his expression. He has a queer buzzing feeling -- all of his distractions and unsettled thoughts seem to be coming together, shaping into something he does not like.

Lancelot sheathes his sword and takes a breath. "Magnus, it's all right. I am not upset with you, and you've done nothing wrong. I am just off today. I would rather have a clear head when we spar. I can't be a good help to you otherwise."

From:

summerdude

"Oh. Yeah, totally. Sure." Magnus doesn't state the obvious, which is that Lancelot is the first Sword Guy he's worked closely with who cares about stuff like headspace. He's pretty sure this is a good thing -- for Lancelot, at least, due to all of his trauma. "Um, feel better soon?"

From:

lanselos_du_lac

Lancelot gives the tiniest of bows, "Thank you. We can begin again the day after tomorrow, as usual."

Then he leaves the clearing, setting off toward the mansion. He is annoyed with himself, still tense, obscurely nervous (?) at the knowledge that Susan confronted Magnus -- he had thought all was well, and that there was no cause for concern. He is mulling all of this over as he mounts the stairs; often, he would stop at his old room to stow his gear away, but today he simply goes straight to their shared room. He's watchful for Regina as he opens the door.

From:

quote_gentle_unquote

Susan is sitting at the desk, in a simple shift she never wears outside of their room, hair loose and still drying from her morning's wash. Regina is on the desk next to her, 'helping' by batting her pen every time it moves. "Hello, sweetheart," she says, not looking up from her notebook. "How was training?"

From:

lanselos_du_lac

His frown does ease at the sight of her, but he likely sounds troubled when he responds. "I cut it somewhat short, today."

He turns a little to the side to start removing and putting away his gear.

From:

quote_gentle_unquote

Susan glances up at his tone and frowns, watching him sort himself out for a moment. "Is everything all right?" she asks, after a beat. "No one got hurt, I hope?"