Settling Up [Nairore] [Flashback]

[Jacqueline]

In the first few weeks of her training, Jacqueline hadn't understood much more than a third of the vile obscenities her fellow initiates had hissed at her. Even after she'd gained a complete enough grasp of Hylian to understand what was being growled at her she'd managed to keep herself impassive enough for the others to lose interest in the direct verbal assault.

That was when the rumors had started. Violence was something Jacqueline had lived with her whole life. This warring with words was something she'd never encountered before, cutting her in places she didn't even know could be cut. But if her body could be conditioned to take a hit, so could her heart.

Until she'd heard some of the other trainees mention Nairore's name. She listened in. "Shit, really?"

"Really."

"Man, no wonder that bitch is so frigid."

"Guess all that training was just a substitute for something, huh."

"Yeah. Some hot wannabe gerudo ass. You hear that, bitch? Finally getting a taste of home, huh!? Bet she tastes like sand! Ha!"

They'd dragged Nairore into this. Ever since the rumors had spread that they were a couple, Nairore had stopped talking to Jacq almost entirely. And it killed her.

A while later, Jacqueline was late to reporting in for training by two minutes. As she'd come running in, the rest of the trainees were already lined up and waiting. As she took her place in line, she noticed Nairore casually leaning up against the opposite wall. She smiled at her. It was small, barely noticeable, but it was there.

[Nairore]

x x

Training with the Knights was a necessary evil. On one hand she got to put all of her abilities to the test against some of the most elite in the kingdom. On the other hand most of them were nothing but nobles sons and spoiled brats who had a stronger wit than sword arm. She was significantly better than the bulk of them, and they knew it, so they liked to grasp everything that they could hold against her. For the last few weeks their pet project was dragging her name through the mud because of her friendship with one of the newer recruits, Jacqueline.

When Jacqueline had arrived Nairore had felt a connection. Zenethil wasn't too pleased, but it couldn't be stopped. Jacqueline was an outsider brought in just like her; they both struggled with their identity and suffered for it from the other Knights. Of course Jacqueline settled for it much calmer than Nairore, who sent Knights to the Medicae for just about any attempted sleight against her. She was a master at nonlethal punishment, injuries that got their message across and healed quickly. Nairore made it clear to the Knights that she wouldn't tolerate their bullshit.

Then this new rumor started. Talk of Jacqueline having feelings for her. Nairore had dismissed it as typical Knight gossip-mongering, but it was persistent, and Jacqueline had done nothing to deny it. It was at that point that Nairore knew Jacqueline would only get in the way from there on. So she had isolated her, turned the cold shoulder toward her, and eventually the rumors started to abandon her. Except Jacqueline was still around, so they never died, not entirely. There was always some new recruit who picked up on it and decided it was a great way to challenge authority.

Now the Knights stood in a line as Nairore watched them show up for training. Nairore had decided it was time to put an end to those rumors. Zenethil was away on a campaign as he often was and once more it was down to Nairore to run some training. As Jacqueline fell into line Nairore stepped away from her spot and walked toward the line-up. It was easy to tell there was something different his day anyway, as instead of her custom training sword that many Knights had felt in the past, Naurlambe was strapped into the snap sheath on her back. "Alright, today we're doing practice with real steel. Weapons are arranged on that rack if you did not bring your own. Partner up and find your spot. Do not injure your partner beyond repair, victory will be determined by first blood drawn from torso or head area," she barked, before standing in front of Jacqueline, letting everyone know who her partner was going to be.

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[Jacqueline]

Jacqueline's greatsword was too big to be carried in any kind of attached sheath comfortably. Instead she usually opted to carry it by hand, wrapped in thick oiled leather. She unwrapped it then, taking a moment to appreciate the inscription on the blade. That sword bore the names of every woman in Jacqueline's tribe, including her own. No matter where she went, Anisa never had to leave them behind completely.

"Yi, Nairéša," she greeted, smiling at her friend even as her heart raced. She was so beautiful and she would never be hers. "Its has been long time since ah seen y' last. If ah not know better ah'd say yore being mad at me."

[Nairore]

x x

There was a certain arrogance there that Nairore didn't appreciate. The way she brought the great sword to training, when training was typically conducted with training swords that were provided. Nairore was the only one who typically carried a custom training sword, since the Gerudo two-handed scimitar wasn't exactly a common weapon for Knights. But there were plenty of training swords for those who wield a great sword. It was more common than a scimitar, anyway.

Nairore had specifically not told anyone that it was live weapon training that day. Yet Jacq had hers handy. It was arrogant and stupid. And exactly the kind of thing Nairore would do. Perhaps that was what was pissing her off more than anything. She stared at Jacq's precious great sword and then at the human woman herself. Human raised by Gerudo, coming to train with the Knights. She had none of the racial advantages a Gerudo had when it came to that training, so the training was likely not nearly as effective.

She had gotten the worst of both areas wherein Nairore had gotten the best. Gerudo martial expertise with the best training of the Knights. She growled and looked around, making sure the rest of the Knights found their partners. It was still training for them, after all. When that was all done she reached back to the hilt of Naurlambe and pulled it from the snap sheath, drawing it around to put it between herself and her old friend. Old being the keyword. The Gerudo language and the accent were grating.

"Me? Mad? No," she said, somewhat sarcastically. But frankly it wasn't anger that drove her, though she felt the tips of it creeping at her mind. No, she was doing this to show the Knights that there was nothing going on there and that their rumors were groundless. "Don't hold back," she said as she brought her sword up into a defensive posture to work. If she didn't hold back it would be much more humiliating. The more Jacqueline tried and the easier Nairore dismissed her, they'd see it.

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[Jacqueline]

Disappointment followed by determination settled on Jacqueline's face as she took a high guard, raising her tremendous blade up above her head. She took her time deciding on an approach, a luxury she had a nagging fear she was getting too used to with all this dueling. She used the moment to try and coax something resembling conversation out of her. "Ah wuz to be get 'nother letter from home last zetya- uh, thursday? Ah think. Aaminaríλ gives 'er love."

Aamina was Anisa/Jacqueline's mother.

She approached, taking short, controlled steps towards Nairore, keeping her stance solid but her feet mobile. She kept it simple, opening with a powerful diagonal hew aimed at Nairore's right shoulder.

No restraint meant no mercy. Considering the way Nairore had been treating her, Jacqueline would gladly cut loose in this fight.

[Nairore]

x x

With her low guard Nairore watched the expressions spread across Jacq's face before she settled in with a high guard. Then it was quite clear to Nairore that the girl was deciding her attack. Nairore already knew exactly what kind of attack she was going to go through with, though she wondered idly if the girl would try something unpredictable. The attempt at conversation was perhaps the closest thing to unpredictable that came out of Jacq's next few moves, and caused Nairore a fraction of a second of confusion.

But once Jacq started moving the confusion stepped aside for her instinct to kick in. And Nairore's instinct was particularly honed and deadly, especially with the weight and feel of Naurlambe in her hand, a sword she knew inside and out and acted as an old friend at all times. And didn't spread rumors about her. Though Nairore did have to admit Jacq's stance was flawless, the way she was able to keep steady even as her feet pumped wildly to bring her forward very quickly. But, as flawless as she held it, Jacq's chosen stance advertised her first attack.

So when she swung the sword diagonally for Nairore's shoulder from up high, where the high guard had placed it, Naurlambe was already there to greet it. Steel clashed against steel and Nairore twisted her sword, using the curve in the scimitar to throw Jacq's momentum out wide. Even though the scimitar was meant for two hands Nairore used it with one, and she would not be able to stop all of Jacq's two-handed momentum, so she pushed it aside instead of even trying it, letting the other woman's sword fall wide.

But Nairore wasn't done. Her foot dug in and her free hand lashed out in the most straightforward attack possible once you were inside someone's guard. While Jacq's sword was thrown wide it left her wide open for Nairore's punch, straight for her face, looking to end this right away with a broken nose. Some might think it'd be more humiliating to draw it out and make Jacq look like a fool, but they were fools themselves. There was always the potential for lucky shots, and the quicker it was over the more obvious it became that Nairore was always in control here. So she looked to bloody Jacq's face immediately.

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[Jacqueline]

When Nairore threw her punch, , Jacqueline's right was already there to receive it, her left hand still holding her greatsword, keeping Naurlambe locked in the block with just as much force as if she were using both hands. Jacqueline grabbed Nairore's approaching forearm, brought her back leg forward and hooked it around Nairore's front leg and let momentum do the rest, throwing her forward and to the side.

Turning to face Nairore, Jacqueline smiled smugly. Her greatsword was now held effortlessly in a ready position in her left hand with her right hand held in a martial guard, ready to block or strike at need. "Whah ain't yew been talkin' ta me, Nairéša? Ah thought we wuz ta be bein' friends."

[Nairore]

x x

Nairore felt Jacq's hand clasp on her fist, and saw her leg hook forward before it happened. She knew she could get out of the throw if she needed to, but her quick wit weighed her options. To counter would just lock them up further, which would turn into a grappling match that wouldn't achieve anything in this kind of fight. She wouldn't be able to get enough momentum into any of her strikes to break anything, and neither sword would be much use in that close of quarters. Nor did she want to have Jacq's hands all over her, considering all the rumors.

So she let the woman hook her leg and throw her to the side, quickly twisting and using the momentum as a forward roll instead of stumbling into a fall. Her feet found the ground and she was back up and standing, Naurlambe between the two of them once more in a low guard. Always in control, that's what mattered here. Every move or blow Jacq made would be allowed by Nairore, and every one that failed would fail because Nairore didn't see any advantage in it.

Control was humiliation, to be defeated before the fight started. Plus, frankly, Nairore particularly liked being in control when she could. Everything in her life was out of her control in some way or other, whether it be the taunting of Knights who just don't learn or the orders of Zenethil, her father, which she obeyed loyally. But when it came to combat and training, Nairore took all of the control she could gather, almost hungrily, and so she was doing so right here, even if it wasn't training for her.

She weighed her options once more and decided to take the offensive. Keeping her low guard up she closed the gap between them, then swung Naurlambe upward, even going so far as to grab it with both hands to put all of her strength into it. Such an attack would normally be quite foolish, to put all of your momentum into a single, predictable attack, but Nairore was posing Jacq an ultimatum. Either the attack hit and drew blood, causing her to lose, or she guard and give up her sword and the ability to attack.

And considering Nairore's fighting style, if Jacq took the second option, which was the more likely, there was a spinning back heel kick coming around with the rest of Nairore's momentum, whipping around and raising her foot high, straight for the head once more.

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[Jacqueline]

Jacqueline was getting angry. Of the few people actually willing to be around her, one of them was now seemingly abandoning her. Not only that, she seemed bent on not just defeating her, but finishing her, barely even acknowledging Jacqueline's presence in this fight. Nairore was looking at her like she was nothing. Like this was just a formality. In those eyes, Jacqueline saw herself reflected as an ant standing before a goddess.

This was personal.. Oh that bitch.

Determined to win, Jacqueline brought her sword low to intercept Nairore's strike and brought her arm up to block the oncoming ki- too slow. The kick connected, spreading Jacqueline's nose over her face with an audible crunch and sending her flying to land hard on her back.

She was bleeding. Her nose was broken, she'd bit the inside of her cheek in the fall and she was defeated barely seven seconds into the fight. Slowly getting to her feet, spitting blood and growling as she straightened her broken nose, masking her pain with anger, Jacqueline rounded on Nairore. "Ya happy now?! Ya going ta be talk ta me now?! BI LAE SAE GAŽ!"

[Nairore]

x x

Before the other Knights had even managed to start, Nairore had finished, her foot connecting with Jacq's face and creating that telltale crunch. Nairore finished the spin, letting the rest of her momentum carry her around, before stomping her foot down to stop her movement entirely, Naurlambe still in hand at her side. The sword rarely tasted blood because of her combat style and typically doubled as a shield in combat. This had been a flawless show of her abilities, and Jacq was down.

She didn't even need to look to see that Jacq was bleeding, but she did anyway, with the added bonus of having been thrown to the ground. Nairore ran the last sequence of events through her head and realized why. With one hand holding back Naurlambe and the other raising, all of Jacq's weight had been grounded to one side to keep her steady against the constant press of the weapon. The sudden strike wasn't accounted for and Jacq's balance would have been lost, sending her to the ground.

Made the victory all the better.

She acquiesced Jacq's demands with a few choice words. "Disappointing, recruit, go to the Medicae and get your nose healed." Was she being a bitch? Oh yes, but it was necessary to teach the Knights that she wouldn't tolerate them fucking with her. It would also immediately dismiss all rumors regarding their relationship. You didn't humiliating a friend in the manner with which Nairore had just humiliated Jacqueline, and the Knights would know that.

So with her business done she turned her back to the human and started to move away, to patrol the field and watch other Knights in their training. Was it cold? Hell yes, and if it had been Lorina or Zenethil she might have had some remorse. But those two were the only ones Nairore allowed herself to be close to, so turning her back to Jacqueline was just as easy as cutting through a rope, cutting all ties, and she didn't think twice about it.

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[Jacqueline]

Humiliated, angry and heartbroken, all Jacqueline could do was stare, shocked and hurt by how easily Nairore could cut her out of her life.

Fine. Just... fine.. She'd show her what happened to people who wronged the Bloody Eyes. With the kind of silence only learned through vicious night-time raids, Anisa picked up her sword and followed Nairore.

By the time one of the other trainees managed to shout a warning, the blade was already headed for Nairore's head.

[Nairore]

x x

Turning her back to the person she had just humiliated had probably not been one of Nairore's wisest ideas, but so set was she on proving her point that she didn't think it through. It was only thanks to the call from one of the recruits that the Gerudo was able to turn around and measure the incoming strike. And if it had been anyone but Nairore in that position the training ground might've seen its first decapitation. However it was Nairore and her honed instinct kicked in, moving a lightning speed to weigh her possibilities. That was Nairore's true strength: her ability to process almost instantly tactical decisions that would take most at least a few seconds.

The sword came for her head and Nairore leaned back. Even with her honed reflexes and lightning instinct, though, she wasn't able to dodge the strike altogether. She felt the tip of the blade dig into her skin, cutting a nasty gash from her forehead and across the bridge of her nose. The sword followed through with the slash and Nairore was suddenly seeing red. Both literally and figuratively, as blood began to gush from the gash as forehead cuts were wont to do. Jacq may have been part of the Bloody Eyes, but for the moment the label fit Nairore much better.

A deep rage welled up inside her. Not because she had been cut, Nairore never held a grudge for a wound, but she couldn't believe Jacq's recklessness over such a petty thing. So thorough was the rage that Nairore didn't even take the time to draw Naurlambe. Instead she delivered a swift kick to Jacq's hands, followed by another one to the sword, knocking it free of the woman's weakened grip and to the ground. Before she could even realize it Nairore kicked again, her legs a blur as the precise kicks shot out one after another. This third kick was to Jacq's knee which snapped back in a way it really shouldn't have, a sickening crack resonating from the impact.

Jacq didn't even fall to the ground herself as Nairore was on top of her, delivering several swift punches then to Jacq's already beaten face. Other Knights stopped everything they were doing and watched, awestruck at the sheer merciless beating Nairore was laying down. She had been holding back with Jacq, and that much was clear to everyone. Finally Nairore caught herself mid punch, her chest heaving as her breaths came heavy. She wiped the blood away from her face and smeared it across Jacq's shirt. "Recruit, don't you ever, ever assault someone on these training grounds while their back is turned. It's reckless, stupid, and shows a complete lack of respect for everything the Knights stand for. The only reason you'll even be allowed to stay is because Zenethil wasn't here, but trust me when I say he'll be hearing about this," she growled before dismounting Jacq and brushing herself off.

"Training is over for the day, I need to head to the Medicae. Someone take Jacqueline there as well, she'll need medical attention," Nairore said to the gathered crowd, not even bothering to give Jacq a title. With a grunt she headed out and the crowd parted neatly for her, no one wanting to get in the way.

[EXIT]

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