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She stumbled into Cullen's office and closed the door behind her, leaning against it with a sigh. He turned to see who'd come in, but his eyes widened upon seeing her.
"Maker's breath, what happened to you?" He said, his voice quiet. She shrugged, grimacing at the pain in her shoulders, and walked up to his desk.
"I just sparred with Bull."
"With Bull?!" He came around his desk, grabbed her as gently as he could and sat her down in his chair before looking her up and down.
"He asked and I needed to see how it'd go." She explained before smiling.
"What do you mean?" He leaned against his desk, arms crossed over his chest. Scratches and bruises were everywhere; on her face, her arms, her chest.
"I mean that I'm a hunter, an archer. In close combat I'm as useless as a nug." She sighed. "Which is why I'm here. I'd like to ask you if you could give me some training."
"Wouldn't it be more helpful to ask Cole?" She shrugged, again feeling the pain.
"A sword sword, you know? A big one. That's not really his specialty."
"Agreed. Well, if it means you'll be safer, then I'll gladly help." He said as he leaned down and gently kissed her lips.
"We could just ask Bull." She opted. Cullen grumbled something she couldn't quite hear as he shot glares at his soldiers. No one wanted to spar with her. She could guess why.
'Landing a hit would mean certain death at the hands of Cullen, probably.' She thought with a grin.
"Hey, boss! Watcha doin'?" The Iron Bull stood in the crowd as well now.
"Would you mind sparring with me again?" She asked. The crowd shuffled uncomfortably to let him through. Bull stood in front of Cullen and herself, a wide grin on his face.
"But of course, boss."
"I'm not very good with a sword yet, so bear with me okay?"
"Got it." He gave a nod. Cullen looked on anxiously as they prepared. He'd made her rest before doing this, so that the wounds from her previous session had healed. He'd taught her the basics of sword fighting, like stance, how to hold it and how to swing it. Still it didn't ease his mind one bit. He took a deep breath as he signaled the start. Almost instantly, Bull flew forward, his mace heaved over his head. She ducked away as he brought it down and tried to swing the sword at his side, but it was too heavy for her to move quickly and she wasn't in time to deflect the attack Bull sent her way. It hit her right in the stomach and she was sent flying.
Luckily for her, Cullen was there to catch her and break her fall. She coughed up some blood and jumped out of Cullen's arms, back to her feet.
"Are you okay?" He whispered, trying not to sound worried beyond compare.
"This much is nothing." She said through gritted teeth as she held the sword in front of her, assessing its weight and calculating how much time it would cost to swing it. With all that in mind, she charged at the Qunari, dodging his first attack and this time swinging the sword successfully to slightly scratch his side.
"Come on, boss, don't hold back!" He swung the mace again, but this time she barely escaped.
"Alright then." She said with a nod.
They continued like that for half an hour before Cullen called it.
"This is quite enough for today." He said, grimacing at how broken she looked.
"Thanks, boss, we should do this more often. It's fun." Bull said as he walked off, waving, not minding the few wounds he'd gained in the slightest.
"Yeah, sure thing." Her voice was hoarse and she was panting heavily, trying to stay standing. Cullen walked up to her and let out a deep breath as he supported her.
"Let's get you fixed up."
"But I did pretty good, didn't I?" She asked as the healers healed her wounds. Cullen nodded.
"Exceptionally well, given your opponent." She smiled, happy with the compliment.
"But please don't make it a regular thing... Your sparring with Bull." He said with a worried frown. "I-We need you alive, remember?"
"Of course, don't worry. How about you spar with me next time?" She smiled mischievously.
"I'll see what I can do, Inquisitor." He said, returning her smile in the same fashion.
~END