Deus Ex Machina: Verdict of a God

Fight to the Sixth - 06

They circled each other like lions on the savannah, the light of the sun glinting off of their blunted blades. Their sweat soaked the sand in the pit, clumping it together in masses as their feet shuffled along. In a burst of energy, they clashed, the sound of their blades ringing through the evening. They fought like animals, weaving in and out and swinging their blades at any exposed body part. Gunnr masterfully parried Alex's swing at his neck and struck his knee, bringing him down to drive his own knee into Alex's face.

Alex rolled away in a daze, covered in sand and his mouth dripping blood. He was seething, the concept of a 'spar' far gone from his mind. He chucked his shortsword at Gunnr and raised his hands to the sky. Dark clouds gathered and blocked out the sun, flashing with lightning and rolling with thunder. Before he could call down anything, however, a flash of light and a whining sound disabled him, then consecutive swift blows rained down on him and put him in the sand.

Rain poured from the clouds Alex had conjured, soaking the sand. Gunnr picked up Alex's sword and strode over to him, offering him a hand. Alex--still upset over the fact that he was humiliated--slapped away his hand and climbed out of the pit, probably to go sulk inside. Gunnr sighed and looked towards Karya, who had been practising archery; before it started raining, at least.

"Why do you train him?" Karya asked. "He is ungrateful, petty and a leech." Karya grimaced and sneered as she spoke of Alex, not caring if he heard or not.

"For the same reason I trained you."

"But I was a child! This boy is years older than me when I came here!"

Gunnr climbed out of the pit and made his way to the house, tired of the all too familiar argument. 

"Child in mind, man in body," he said.

Gunnr pushed open the door and was greeted by the smell of lightleaf porridge. His golems were hard at work in the kitchens preparing and serving what would be the night's dinner. The seasoning on the meats (and Daro) had driven Alex out of the kitchen. The appetizing smells and the nagging golem had eaten what was left of his short fuse. He was sitting in the living room stewing in his rage and Gunnr had no desire to deal with that at the moment. He sat at the table and instantly, a golem rolled up to his seat and laid out the food. Dekanta and lightleaf porridge sprinkled with allspice. He put his fists together and lowered his head, a prayer to the war god. 

"Life's sacred, take what you need," he mumbled. 

Karya had sat in her seat and done the exact same, clasping her hands. A prayer to the nature god.

"I savour your blessings," she mumbled. 

They sprinkled the Dekanta into the food and dug in. Daro rolled into the living room and scowled as best he could at Alex with his wooden features, bringing a little smile unto Alex's face. 

"What do you want now?" asked Alex. "Don't you have something to do?"  

"Sadly, I have to get your sorry...ass to eat. Then I can...what were those words again?"

"Fuck off?" Alex said with a grin. The golem gave its woody smile and did exactly what Alex had just said, only stopping to check if Alex had been following. As they entered the kitchen, Alex's mood immediately soured. Seeing Gunnr and Karya only served to remind him of the sham of a fight that just happened and his childish attitude after the fact. His pride, however, refused to let him simply accept that he was being a brat.

He made sure the chair dragged along the floor, then sat in the most violent way possible. As he shovelled and slurped the porridge into his mouth, he made no eye contact whatsoever with Karya as she stared daggers at him. She pressed her bone spoon down on the table, ready to snap as the spoon did, but Gunnr spoke up to save his ears from her fury. 

"Our food stores are low," he stated, looking to Alex as he did. "I want you and Karya to go hunting tomorrow." Snap, the spoon went. Karya looked absolutely livid as she bore holes in Gunnr with her stare. Alex was the exact same at the other end of the table, his spoon being held in a death grip. If looks could kill that day...

"Why do I have to go with him?" she questioned, "I could bring back enough food on my own, especially without dead weight."

"I agree--wait, the fuck? The fuck you mean?" Alex shouted. He flew up from his seat and knocked his chair back. 

"Don't fucking start with me--"he started, but was quickly cut off by Gunnr slamming his fist on the table. 

"Enough!" he bellowed, veins bulging from his forehead. "You will both go to the forest, you will both hunt and you will both bring back enough food to last for months, do you get me?"

They both sat in silence, fully chastised and dressed down and knowing full well that they had no choice in the matter. They mumbled a yes and finished eating the now cold porridge, then went to pack for their hunting trip.

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Calm tf down, you'll get your action. *thirsty fucks*

A/N Was that boring? Do you think it was needed?