Iron Heart - Kelsen, Janesa, Orion and a new aquitance (II)



“That is too slow!”

Turuviel turned slightly annoyed towards the place where the unexpected comment came from. A blonde elf with bright eyes reminding those of Turuninde  was seated atop a barrel of supplies -seemingly materialized there out of nowhere- playing with a straw of grass and watching her early morning exercise with the training dummies.

“A good morning to you as well!” she responded sarcastically.

“Come on, don’t be so bothered! It is slow and you know it.. You take too much time between hits. And you look like you are already tired. You probably do good when you can have the fight your way, and I heard you made the orcs think that the moon itself shoots arrows at them from the night’s sky.. but you won’t last if they see you and come to hunt you! And here, in the moors, they are too many for that not to happen eventually. Take the advice of a friend that saw more fight days than you did.”

Her answer was so cold and with a polish of politeness so thin that it was almost insulting.

“And what is the name of my new friend?”

The elf did not take the insult and laughed full heartedly of her sulky stiffness. Then he bowed as formal and elegantly as if in the halls of Lady Galadriel and introduced himself.

“I am Ruthion. I noticed that you joined us recently but you are always away so there’s no wonder you were formally introduced to very few. And then Veryacano sent you with Turuninde to Imladris and you just returned.”

Turuviel controlled her expression, deciding to respond in kind rather than act like an upset brat. The elf before her might have been a bit too direct and of a too sharp criticism but he was friend not foe and in the moors this distinction was the only one that mattered at the end of the day when deaths and wounds were counted. She bowed slightly and smiled a rare smile.

“I am Turuviel, I am honored to make your acquaintance, Ruthion. Perhaps there is some truth in your words, the time in Imladris posed too little challenge and some practice will do me good”

He grinned  wolfishly and bowed again this time less stiff and formal.

“If you need help or a tougher opponent than that dummy, search for me. I’m sure I can teach you  some tricks that can be of much use in this kind of fight. And before you scoff again: I’ve seen more battle days than you did altogether, my young new friend, and I should be too stupid not to learn form them a thing or two.. and that I am not”

He walked by the dummy and with almost no effort gave it a flick that made it turn fast around its axes for an incredibly long time.

“Pick a point that you need to hit, its wrist for example, and see how many rotations you miss. It’s a good way to see your improvements.” 

“Not a bad idea” she thought to herself as he walked away. “Not bad at all”.