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Scott hesitates before he knocks on the door.
Should he wait a little first? Abolish did just die, after all. Would he want a bit of space? He hesitates long enough to start to feel awkward, and then shakes his head and taps his knuckles against the door. There! Decision made. He's not a coward like Apo; he's come all this way, so he may as well see it through.
There isn't an immediate answer, and his hands happen to start feeling a bit clammy. It's a little hot out, he reasons, and wills the air around him to blow a cool breeze his way. It doesn't help very much. It does ruffle his hair a bit, though. He waits a little longer, just in case. Abolish may just be resting after what happened earlier that evening, in which case he just has to answer the door and tell Scott he's busy, and he'll just head home.
Would Nikos have been a better person to ask? He's much closer than Abolish is to Scott's house, and Nikos would at least outright tell him if he wanted to help out or not.
But there's a reason that Scott came here instead of just walking over to Nikos's part of the hill.
He taps his knuckles against the door again, and frowns. This is a waste of time. Abolish clearly won't be answering the door any time soon. He glances up at the sky, and his frown deepens, just a bit. No beauty sleep for tonight. Maybe he can eat some of those lotus petals and enjoy the night in a comfortable stupor. Yeah, that sounds nice.
"Do you need something?"
Scott does not jump, thank you very much. He lets out a quick noise of alarm, then schools his expression into something more pleasant, hoping to hide this blunder. Judging by the slight quirk of Abolish's lips, he doesn't succeed. Ah, well, he's a bit out of practise, given how long it's been since he's been on a stage. Hardly his fault. "Abolish," He purrs his name and settles into a relaxed stance. "Just the man I was hoping to see! I wanted to ask you for something."
"If it's a weapon upgrade, it'll have to wait."
"No, it's not that. Although it will probably involve weapons, so. I was coming to ask you if you'd be willing to train me."
Abolish raises an eyebrow. Standing in the doorway, the glint of torches behind him, his hair looks almost like dancing flames. The crisp lighting suits him very well, highlighting his features and making his eyes pop. They're nice eyes, a beautiful burnt-orange colour that Scott hasn't seen before. "Train you," Abolish remarks.
Scott steps forward. "Well, after such an entertaining display in the arena, I figured I'd come to you for help. You're clearly," He lightly touches Abolish's bicep, because he can't help himself, "very strong, and just as capable. Who better to learn from?"
"You want me to teach you to fight, huh?" Abolish looks him up and down with an indiscernable look. "I could be persuaded."
Perfect. "When do we start?"
"Depends. What do you have to offer me?"
Scott holds up his free hand, shamelessly still touching Abolish's arm (his skin is incredibly warm, and his muscles are firm, and Abolish doesn't seem to mind), and summons a wind charge in his palm. The contained winds howl and broil in a furious sphere, aching to be released; a stark difference to how calm and tempered they usually are. "I have too many wind charges for one person." He holds it within grabbing range and looks up at Abolish expectantly.
"I have plenty of those, you know," He says, meeting Scott's eyes. "And you offer them to practically everyone. If I'm going to teach you to fight, I want something you haven't given to everyone. That's fair, isn't it? I'll give you something personal, and you do the same for me." Abolish takes Scott's fingers and folds them over the wind charge, dispelling the winds. They race around them and then fly out into the open air, whistling gleefully as they disappear.
The winds are particularly unruly today, and he doesn't quite know why. It's probably not too important, right? Not more important than this, anyway.
What can he offer to Abolish? The wind charges are his go-to for pretty much everything. He has the monopoly on them, after all, so they're obviously valuable. Scott doesn't really have much that he hasn't shared with other people.
Aside from one thing: his ultimate. It's a trump card he's been keeping in his back pocket, hoping that it'll buy him some time in the arena if his opponent doesn't expect it. It won't magically make him win a match, as much as he'd love for that to be the case. Does he want to show it to Abolish, though? Abolish is already a capable fighter - it's why Scott is seeking out his help in the first place - and with that knowledge of Scott's abilities, he'll easily win the fight if they're ever voted into the arena at the same time.
It's all he can think of, though. He supposes that it'll also be a show of trust; Abolish shows him some moves, and Scott shows him what he's capable of.
He may as well. If he has to pick anybody to learn about his ultimate before he uses it in front of the others, Abolish is easily one of his preferred options. "I can show you my ultimate. Nobody has seen it before, so you'll be the only one that knows. Aside from me, obviously. Does that sound like a better deal?" Please say yes. Otherwise I may have to proposition you, which will make things really awkward if you end up saying no.
Abolish smiles, but to be honest it looks more like he's bearing his teeth. Definitely terrifying to see in the arena, but here at the forge, it's not. Scott can't fully articulate what is so different about it here, as opposed to seeing it right before they fought off the Feather Holders, or when he was in the middle of that 3v1 in the arena. Maybe it's the hot air, making him think weirdly. "Much better. I'll take you up on it, Scott. Come by tomorrow morning and we can get started." He grabs the hand on his arm, squeezes it, then lets go. His hand feels warm from the lingering heat of his touch.
Scott matches Abolish's smile as he spins on his feet, feeling significantly lighter. "Can't wait. See you later, handsome!" With that, the winds obediently gather around his feet and he leaps up into the air, gaining height and distance until he lets himself go into free-fall.
His hand feels warm all the way back to his house.
Scott doesn't sleep that night.
The next morning, Scott is ready and raring to go. He takes his time getting to the forge, mainly to mentally prepare himself - it'll be a very hot and sweaty event, after all, and he needs to keep himself a little contained - but also because he's had to entertain an unforeseen guest.
"Yes, it's just a fighting lesson." He's been saying that for the past five minutes. Scott leaps up into the air to reach the top of the hill, and he continues to follow the path to the forge. It's a pleasant morning, and a calm one. Things have been tense after yesterday. So many lives were lost, and all in one day! Scott even got involved himself! And sure, he didn't manage to help Nikos that much against Pyro, and he didn't manage to kill anyone after Cleo lost a life, but it could have been much worse.
Still, though, he could have been one coin short if he was less careful. If he had mistimed one of his fog clouds, or if he hadn't jumped out of the way, then an errant sword could easily have hit him. Scott won't let that happen to himself. The next time they try something against the Feather Holders, he's going to be more useful. This is the first step to becoming a better asset for his allies.
And if he happens to see Abolish all hot and sweaty, looking especially delectable with that sword of his, well, then that's just an added bonus.
If only Aeolus could agree.
The winds pick up around him, chattering insistently. A warm gust of wind races around his hand and Scott instinctively swats the bold breeze and scowls. "Well, excuse you!" He mutters. A milder one brushes against his cheek apologetically.
"Oh, so that's why they seemed rowdier than usual last night? What did you think was going to happen?" A pause. A gale whips around his head and disturbs his hair, which he hastens to fix. "For- no! As much as I would love for him to have been implying that, I doubt it. Get your gusts out of the gutter." He sighs as the winds continue to protest against him, only roaring louder whenever he denies it.
Scott just lets the winds rant as he walks. If he ignores them (difficult, given that at this point he has a whirlwind concentrated around his body that is keen to chat his ear off right now), then it's an otherwise peaceful journey. The landscape here is ethereal; the sun bathes the grass in a warm golden glow; the lakes are full of gorgeous clear water that is perfectly cool against his skin whenever he takes a dip in them; there are vibrant flowers almost everywhere, some wholly unlike anything he's seen before, and he's had a lot of bouquets in the past. It's not a bad setting for his death. It's certainly nicer than dying on a stage, in front of an audience that didn't even realise he was dying in the first place-
Ah, but that's neither here nor there! No use dwelling on it. Scott isn't still dead, and that's what matters in the end. When he dies in the arena - because he's not disillusioned enough to believe that such a thing will never happen - he won't go out like that. He'll have a more dignified death.
The winds cease their chattering as soon as he reaches the forge, and they dispel as soon as he spots Abolish. Typical. They'll gossip all they like whenever Scott's the only one to hear them, but as soon as someone else is around, they clam up! And it's not like anyone else can magically understand what the wind is saying.
At some point, someone is going to see Scott talking to the air and assume that he's crazy!
Abolish looks over in his direction and grins. "Good. You're here. Follow me." He waves Scott over, then jogs over to a circle drawn in the dirt. Scott raises his eyebrows but doesn't comment on it.
A wooden sword is tossed his way, and Scott catches it right before it hits him in the face. He opens his mouth to say something then immediately has to leap into the air to avoid the sword that comes swinging at him.
"Rude!" He chides, landing behind Abolish in the dirt circle. "I figured that you'd at least give me a warning, first."
"You have to be prepared for anything." Abolish shrugs, but the broad smile on his face betrays him. He's enjoying this, isn't he? "Don't use your powers. I want to see what I'm working with." And with that, he rushes forward, his blade raised to strike.
Scott nearly jumps, but Abolish ducks low to swipe at his feet, almost knocking him over. He has to quickly sidestep out of the way to avoid losing his footing. Turning around, Scott raises his sword to block the next attack, and he lunges to try and hit Abolish, but Abolish easily dodges, and before Scott even realises it, his sword has been knocked out of his hands. It lays on the dirt, appearing entirely innocuous.
He glares at it with a bit more vitriol than strictly necessary.
That's the end of that, right? Scott raises his hands and huffs a laugh, then ducks down to avoid the sword that is still swinging at him.
Abolish doesn't say anything. He's definitely holding his punches, and Scott has a moment to feel offended before remembering that oh yeah, he's getting his ass handed to him right now. Scott nimbly evades the next attack, but a foot hooks around his ankle and disrupts his balance. He falls backwards, hard. Abolish presses his sword to the base of his throat.
...Well, this is an awkward time to learn something new about myself.
"I-" He pants as he tries to regain his breath. "I wasn't expecting that right out of the gate."
The sword tip is removed from his throat, thankfully, and an open hand replaces it. Scott grabs onto it and pulls himself onto his feet. He dusts himself off and quietly begrudges that his clothes are going to have dirt stains by the time this is finished.
"That could have gone better," Abolish says slowly. Scott can't help but agree. "At least I know what you're capable of, though. We can start to build up foundations, and depending on how that goes, we can work on some skills."
They start going through simple stances. Scott holds the sword in front of him and muscle memory from all of his plays takes over, guiding him into what he hopes isn't a terrible way to position himself.
Abolish nudges his feet apart with his sword, then guides Scott's shoulders down so that he's slightly bent in on himself, and grabs Scott's hands to loosen their hold. "You don't want to hold it too stiffly, otherwise you're sacrificing some flexibility, and you'll need that in a fight. You're pretty nimble anyway, so take advantage of that. Go for quick slashes rather than hard hits. Got it?" Scott nods. Abolish is practically speaking into his ear, and with him pressed up against Scott so closely, his body is starting to get the wrong signals. A shiver runs through his body as Abolish's hands slide up his arms, then retreat.
It's going to be a long training session.
Eventually, they move on to how to actually use a sword properly. Abolish demonstrates how to slash and stab and parry, and Scott mimics each move as best he can. It's surprisingly easy to fall into a rhythm like this; he scarcely even notices that it's approaching noon until Abolish recommends that they stop for a quick rest. Scott uses the winds to generate a cool breeze, and he sighs contentedly as he lays back in the grass. His arms ache from holding a sword for so long.
They get back up, and Scott is about to go through the motions again before Abolish cuts him off. He picks up his sword and gets into the very stance that Scott has practised on and off throughout the morning. "Put what I've taught you to good use," He calls out, then immediately rushes forward. This time, Scott is more prepared. He moves one foot back, brings his sword up to parry, then turns and taps his sword against Abolish's side. They dance around each other, Scott falling on the defensive until Abolish (purposefully, if he has to guess) creates an opening for Scott to exploit.
Scott dodges a strike and strafes to the right, arcing his sword in a diagonal slash that Abolish counters without a struggle. Their swords collide, then Abolish puts his weight into it, and Scott is forced backwards. He hastily raises his blade to block the next hit.
It feels almost like dancing. This is different to the choreographed fights that Scott is used to, with the fancy flourishes and pauses for the occasional banter and/or monologue. There's a lot more movement - they've long since abandoned the dirt circle by this point - and Scott is concentrating too hard to try talking. Aside from the loud thuds of their wooden swords and their heavy breathing, it is silent.
He starts to push Abolish backwards, finally finding an opportunity to go on the offensive for once, when his feet stumble. There is a faint rustle, and just enough time for Scott to mentally curse out his god before he trips.
The good news is that he doesn't fall face-first into the dirt.
The bad news is that he falls directly onto Abolish, who still has his sword in front of him.
Scott twists, trying to avoid impaling himself, and his shoulder smacks against Abolish's chest. He braces himself to hit the ground and is pleasantly surprised when he remains perfectly upright. There is a new problem, though: the fact that Scott is now pressed right against Abolish.
Actually, it's not much of a problem at all. Up close, Scott can see the sweat glistening across his muscles, can hear him panting for breath and feel each exhale against his skin, and ultimately, he's perfectly content to stay here, thank you very much. He uses this as an opportunity to catch his breath and shamelessly admire his sparring teacher.
They don't move apart. Scott has the nagging feeling that if he does try to put some distance between them (not that he'd ever want to, gods forbid), then another errant gust of wind will blow by and coincidentally push them back together again. He'll certainly yell at the sky when he gets back to his house, even if he doesn't get a response, because surely Aeolus has better things to do than meddle in his life.
Or maybe that's not the case. What does Scott know about how the gods conduct their business? They're resolving their squabbles with a literal death tournament, for crying out loud.
"What do you think, handsome? Do I have the makings of a gladiator?" He asks, placing a hand on Abolish's chest and meeting his gaze. Screw it. He may as well have fun with this. His god could intervene in his life in worse ways, he supposes.
Abolish pauses to think, then shrugs. "You're not the worst I've ever seen," Scott has a brief moment to preen before he continues, "but I've seen a lot better."
He gasps in affront and whirls around to dramatically 'faint' against Abolish. "I'm wounded!" Scott feels Abolish chuckle more than he hears it.
"Oh no, whatever shall I do?" Abolish remarks drily.
"You could kiss it better," He tilts his head back against Abolish's shoulder, right next to his neck, and bats his eyelashes up at him. Scott taps his cheek with his finger, grinning broadly. "Right here."
Abolish rolls his eyes, but to Scott's surprise, he tilts his head down to kiss his cheek. It's a brief peck, really, but Scott still gasps quietly. He didn't really expect that to work. It was teasing, more than anything else. Since it did work, though...
As if sensing Scott's internal machinations, Abolish steps back and readjusts his grip on his sword. "We still have work to do. You have a bad habit of leaving your side open..."
After Abolish is finished giving tips, they fight again. They have a couple of spars in between Abolish teaching Scott how to counter moves and how to take advantage of openings, and Scott does see actual improvement in his ability. Just this morning, he could barely last thirty seconds in a fight, and now he's able to stay on his feet for at least a minute and a half. Which isn't very long, still, but it's still impressive! He's already thinking about how he can use his wind charges in combat - maybe he can use them to move around people faster, or to knock them off-balance?
He does notice, much to his irritation, that the winds are still interfering in their matches. Whenever one of them starts to advance, the wind will pick up and suddenly they're falling into each other.
Look, at first it was kind of funny, but now it's getting old! He needs to have a good, long talk with the wind later about this.
Their swords meet, and Scott throws his weight into it before Abolish can, hoping to force him backwards, but he holds strong instead. He grits his teeth and keeps pushing, to no avail. Eventually they have to separate, then throw themselves together once more. It is as Scott is leaping forwards, preparing a feint to Abolish's left, when a squall slams into his back and pushes him forwards, Scott colliding with Abolish, and Abolish colliding with the ground.
Seriously. What is up with Aeolus today? This is just ridiculous!
"Sorry about that. For some reason, the winds don't seem very happy with me," He grumbles, sitting up only to realise the position that they're in.
...It's a pretty good view, all things considered (Screw you, Aeolus! We're having a talk about boundaries after this!).
"Is that why you're constantly throwing yourself at me?"
"While you are incredibly attractive, I do not literally throw myself at every handsome man that I see." He takes in Abolish's hair splayed out around his head, then the sweat rolling down his neck, and the sliver of pectoral muscles visible under his clothes, and hums appreciatively.
Maybe he'll leave an offering out for his god, or something. Hopefully Aeolus likes lotus petals, seeing as Scott doesn't have much aside from drugs.
"I mean, I'm not complaining or anything. Just curious." Abolish's hands rest on Scott's hips, squeezing lightly.
"If I'm honest, I'm used to the positions being reversed."
"We can reverse them, if you want." What does that mean, he starts to ask before Abolish wraps his arms around him and rolls over, switching their positions with alarming speed. All he can manage is a surprised squeak in response.
Scott can't tell if this is much better. Actually, it might be worse. Because now Abolish is straddling him and looming over his face with a cocky gleam in his eyes and a grin on his face that Scott really wants to kiss, damn it. Abolish has braced himself with one hand resting against Scott's shoulder and the other on the ground next to his head. Their faces are closer than they justifiably have to be.
"Better?" The hand on his shoulder glides down to his chest and lingers there, if a bit hesitantly. Abolish glances down at his lips for a moment before his gaze goes back up to Scott's eyes.
Well, after all this strenuous activity, Scott may as well have some fun. "Better," He says, then lifts himself up to kiss Abolish.
At first he doesn't deepen the kiss, giving him the chance to pull back and retreat, but Abolish eagerly reciprocates. His hand leaves Scott's chest to run through his hair instead, his nails scratching against his scalp and making him shiver. Scott loops his arms around his neck and pulls him down.
They separate long enough to catch their breaths before diving back together. Scott's tongue traces the outline of Abolish's lips then pushes into his mouth, their tongues sliding together. The hand in his hair tightens. Their noses press together awkwardly and Abolish laughs into his mouth as they tilt their heads for a better angle. It's definitely a little clumsy, but Scott is more than happy with that. His hands move to cup Abolish's face, thumbs stroking over his cheekbones. His skin is soft and a bit damp from all the exercise in the sun; he commits the feeling to memory, just in case this is a one-time thing. He wants to remember this.
Abolish pulls back, and there's a line of spit connecting their lips. "All good so far?"
"Come back here," Scott grabs his shoulders and pulls him back down, crashing their lips against each other, their teeth clacking. He feels Abolish's hands roaming, one tracing along his jaw whilst the other rests at his collarbone. Warmth envelopes his body at each point of contact between them, but it isn't enough. He needs more. Scott pulls Abolish flush against him and only then is he satisfied at the lack of space between them.
The kisses gradually start to lose their intensity, slowing into something softer, more languid. Their lips glide together and they hold onto each other, basking in the moment. Eventually they pull apart and don't reconnect.
Scott laughs to himself. "Your hair is all messy now," He says, reaching up to move some of the strands stuck to Abolish's forehead. "I take it that we're probably not going to get anything else done." Please don't make me go back to sparring after this. I swear, I will vote you in for the next match if you do, don't test me. He smiles imploringly up at him.
Thankfully, Abolish nods, shifting off of Scott to sit on the grass next to him. "Yeah, I think we're done here. You do still have to show me your ultimate, though."
"Do I have to do it right now? I'm tired. Like, really tired. And I don't want to get up, the ground's comfy."
"I guess you can show me later. We can't stop after one session, you know. Not if you want to stand a chance in the arena." Abolish barks out a laugh at Scott's answering groan.
"Don't talk about the arena right now. Let's just... enjoy the moment, yeah?" While we're still alive to enjoy them. He glances over to his side and takes in the view. A breeze ruffles Abolish's hair, making it even messier than it already was. He smiles, then looks up at the sky.
(Later that day, when Scott gets back home, he storms up onto the roof and furiously flings some lotus petals into the air.
"Screw you for messing around today." A pause. "But also thank you, because I honestly needed that. Just don't make a habit of it, yeah?" The wind feels like fingers softly carding through his hair. He lifts his hand, feeling the air slipping between his fingers, and smiles fondly.
It was nice. Even if it never happens again, even if Scott ends up dying tomorrow, or if he loses the tournament, it was a nice morning.)