Fate Weaver's convergence

C76 Winters story 6

The next two run-throughs of the exercise went through in a similar manner to the first. So much so that the amusement Stannis gained slowly morphed into frustration. At the end of the third round, he finally exploded in anger, causing him to drastically shift expectations.

It was all and well that everyone was physically exerting themselves. Doing so served as a marginal training influence, as well as experiencing minor injuries possible in the field. The issue he raised, however, was the inability of any of the teams to maintain formation.

To this end, the field was stripped of all objectives and obstacles and a new one was given. Team against team in a shield wall was the given scenario, no more Lady to capture. The victory condition was managing to lay out the opposing team, with no time limit given.

"Who do you think will manage the best?"

Stannis asked, leaning towards me from his chair.

"Hmm, John seems timid but he was patient. Maeve is quick to take on an opportunity for a win, so she may bite too quickly."

Stannis nodded as he leaned back into his chair. The two of us were leaning back close to a small fire at the edge of the yard as the chill of the evening began moving in. With the clashing of metal and wood in the background, we chatted from our position as spectators.

I'm not sure what kind of commentary Stannis rightly expects of me here. Is he testing my observation skills? Er- Hmmm.

I paused my thoughts as I rested my chin in my palm.

The training isn't traditional, you can easily see who spends more time here.

My eyes fell on the teams clashing, Maeve's halberd falling into the opposing team as she attempted to yank someone's shield away.

"Hey, Uncle Stan."

"Hm?"

Looking at Stannis, he was obviously absorbed in the fight himself. It was strange though, as he'd make occasional glances and probe me for an opinion from time to time.

It was fun at first through the scope of playing, at least it felt like that from base emotion... following that little compass of feelings like Kiyomi is in here somewhere. But on my own, why does it feel like Stannis is looking for something?

With me grabbing his attention directly, Stannis raised a brow as he turned his head.

I'm catching a similar vibe to when I was with Chessa. Underneath the surface, there's something he wants to discuss...

"What's up kid?"

I hesitated for a moment, looking up as I thought over my question once more before asking.

This isn't a subject I can beat around the bush on... just ask.

"Why am I here? Er- I mean..."

I leaned forward onto my knees, scratching my neck as I did.

"I catch on quick... the armor stuff, training... I'm a kid but I'm not ignorant of what the purpose is here."

I was awkward in my wording but it felt sufficient. Given my silence on my own history on earth, discussing topics of reality, on violence, was difficult to do efficiently. Two and a half years of talking like a child were taking their toll on my own speech patterns. So much so that any accent, pattern, or mannerism would be unrecognizable by this point. With them, my ability to speak openly on anything that felt volatile was all but stripped away.

"Ah."

Stannis took his eyes off of the skirmish in front of us for a moment, looking down into the fire as he rubbed his chin for a moment. The faint sound of scruff catching on his palm and giving way could barely be heard as he did.