nature versus nurture (merik) (fin)

[Merik Dragmire]

"And it's especially amusing to me that I can look at you and finally know the answer to how things might have been had I been raised by my father; you see I'm finding that all the parallels between us just make this more and more interesting." Merik said, a little cryptically, as he put all of his thoughts into line.

"Well to start we have the most obvious that we're both Gerudo. Your mother was a Gerudo and you were raised by a Hylian Knight, my father was a Hylian Knight and...well I was raised by my aunts as my mother died giving birth but the point remains I was raised Gerudo. You've been raised to hate your mother's people as I've been raised to hate my father's people. We both favor the scimitar though you prefer the larger, two-handed and I prefer two separate blades. Raised by Hylians you're probably fairly adept with magic, it was supposed to be the same with me but I've never had the time for proper magical training..."

His next words were quickly cut off as she spun to kick at him causing the King to backpedal a few steps. As her scimitar swung at him, sparks flew as it crashed against a scimitar seemingly crafted from a fiery ore. Just as suddenly the tip of a second scimitar made of ice was resting at her throat, freezing fog drifting off the blade and across her skin.

"And as you can see we both wield elemental blades." he finished with a smirk as he slid Flamestrike back and forth along her blade.

[Nairore]

x x

She raised her chin as his blade rested dangerously close to her throat. He already had the shot by the slight movement gave her a little breathing room. The weapon cast cold against her skin, causing goosebumps to blemish the pale perfection. She growled from her throat as she felt his other sword against her own blade, the fires mingling. He had her at a slight disadvantage, but she had fought dual wielders before and won; it was just a different fighting style, it had its own weaknesses.

"Actually I've never been able to use magic," she admitted to him, a reward for his gaining the upper hand in the fight, as it were. "But I make up for it with other tricks," she hissed, her free hand snapping up to bat his sword wide while she ducked in the other direction, then took half a step back and swung her sword at him, releasing the fiery energy it contained in a slash that extended onward, a projectile that went straight for him. The scimitar lost its glow and returned to normal as she brought it around to guard.

"I'm nothing like you," she said with disgust, though his points were all valid and she knew it. "You and I are enemies, and I see to it that my enemies are cut down."

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[Merik Dragmire]

As the girl stepped away Merik mirrored her movement. As she swung her blade and released the energy he released his grip on the dual swords, both of them disappearing before touching the ground and placed his hands right into the fiery attack. He growled faintly for a second as he held the energy in place for a second before pulling his hands apart and tearing the beam in two.

Taking a step back he shook the residual energy from his hands, looking at the faint burn marks before smirking at her again.

"And the list continues to grow." he said as his weapons reappeared in his hands.

A sudden swing of Flamestrike released a ball of flame towards the girl's face, fully expecting it to be blocked by her scimitar, and then fired an icebolt at the weapon's hilt trying to freeze her hand.

[Nairore]

x x

Fortunately for Nairore, despite being incapable of magic herself she was raised by a strong magic wielder. One of her primary lessons from her father was learning how to fight against magic, even if it's not actually being used by a mage. In this case they were two projectiles being shot from Merik's own blades. Nairore knew never to underestimate the properties of magic, as what appeared to be a fireball could easily be a magical plague or something. Instead of raising her sword to block, she spun into a graceful pirouette to the side.

She turned the dodge into an attack, directing the spin so that she finished closer to Merik. Her hair whipped about in a flurry as she used the same momentum to snap her sword around, feigning a horizontal slash at his midsection with her good hand but, at the last second, giving the sword a lazy toss so that it was collected by her offhand. Her left hand snatched the weapon upward and turned the attack into a delayed slice at Merik's neck. Provided the first attack was dodged or blocked she would continue with her momentum and aim her feet up high for another roundhouse to finish the attack.

"The only thing similar between us is that we'll soon both be dead, first you, then me," she growled regardless of what attacks connected or missed.

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[Merik Dragmire]

As the girl became all business Merik decided to end the little encounter before she hurt herself. Her spinning towards him caused him to react as he brought up Flamestrike to block her scimitar before she tossed it. Seeing her leg kick out and her other hand catch her sword he immediately reacted.

Frostbite rose to crash against her sword as Flamestrike disappeared and his now free hand closed around her ankle like a trap. Knowing he didn't want her to have an opening to do something stupid with her free hand, he followed his defenses by smashing his head down onto hers with enough force to at least stun her if not put her down for a few minutes. He knew he'd regret it, headbutting always left him with a few hours worth of headaches, but as long as it served his purpose he could deal with it.

[Nairore]

x x

Her attack seemed to be going well. Nairore smirked as he fell for the feint, his sword going into a mid guard. Her transfer from one hand to the other went smoothly, as that was the most dangerous part, leaving her open for that split second if such a maneuver could be predicted. She clashed swords with him, her foot coming behind to slip past his busied guard. Unfortunately magic was her downfall, as she wasn't ready for the quickness of his other hand. Her attack had been timed according to the weapon, but once it disappeared he had much more maneuverability with his other hand, allowing him to block.

He grabbed her foot, but she maintained her balance with ease. That is, for the split second before the world exploded. Everything exploded into a burst of color as something hard hit her in the head. Her vision blurred and spun and her practiced balance was thrown completely off. Her foot in the air, in his grasp, kept her from reeling from the attack and she fell to the ground in a crumble, sheer instinct alone keeping her sword in her hand as she clutched at her head with her offhand.

She blinked several times to get her senses back, kicked her foot out of his grip and rolled to the side. Being grounded was a severe disadvantage in a fight, something that could end it if she wasn't careful. But Nairore wasn't ready to die there, either. She rolled once but it only caused her vision to dance again and she stopped when she was on all fours, staring at the ground and trying to get her bearings, to find her balance.

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[Merik Dragmire]

Merik watched the girl stumble and roll around for a second before stepping forward and placing his boot firmly on her scimitar's blade. He then stooped just a bit and pinched two fingers on pressure points in her neck, not to much pressure but just enough to hurt her.

"Now I understand this hurts quite a bit but it's mostly to keep you from doing something stupid. Now if you cooperate and follow my instructions I'll let you go, but if you don't I will hurt you." he said as he squeezed just barely tighter to make his point before easing it back. "Now that we understand each other, I want you to let go of your sword."

[Nairore]

x x

Nairore growled as she felt his fingers press against the back of her neck. The pain wasn't anything she couldn't stand. It was an indicator, mostly, of the pain he would be capable of inflicting if he pushed harder. Of course the pain would incapacitate a normal person, but Nairore spent her life bettering herself in combat; pain was a natural part of this training. Still it was annoying to be incapacitated so easily.

She hesitated for merely a moment before letting go of the sword. Of all the people she had to be beaten by. She could accept defeat, it was a part of getting better. But this man was her sworn enemy, her father's sworn enemy, the antithesis of everything she'd grown up with. And she wasn't even able to land a blow. When Naurlambe left her grasp it seemed all too fatal of an action, but he had her at his mercy.

At least, where pain was concerned. "What now? If you kill me or kidnap me you'll start a war. Even if it's done at night, my father will find out, I can assure you," she winced, feeling the rocks dig into her knees. It felt like his two fingers on the back of her neck was weighing her down, like she was leaving an imprint in the ground where she knelt. She didn't even notice the stinging where her wounded hand pressed into the dirt.

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[Merik Dragmire]

Merik reached down with his free hand and lifted the scimitar by the blade before tossing it up and catching it by the hilt.

"One, no it wouldn't start a war if I decided to kill or kidnap you; if war could be declared over every random death believe me I'd have started another war already over some of the things bastards like your father have done lately. Two, I won't kill an unarmed foe if I can avoid it. Three, I try my very best to never kill a fellow Gerudo. Four, technically I believe 'kidnapping' someone who was previously kidnapped to take them home is still a rescue." he said seriously before giving her a last disorienting pinch and letting her go.

He walked a few steps away and turned to watch her as he gave a few experimental swings with her scimitar before resting the blade against his shoulder.

"This is a good sword, it's a shame that you choose to use it against your sisters but you can't be blamed for how you were raised..." the King said before falling silent in contemplation. "Honestly I'm not sure what to do with you. I'd like to be able to help you but I've got a strong feeling that you'd be very much against any sort of help I could offer..."

[Nairore]

x x

His hand let go of her but the quick pinch sent a shiver through her nervous system that caused her arms to slackem, dropping her to the ground again. It was humiliating, to say the least. When her strength returned and her vision stayed still she managed to keep her arms straight and returned to her feet. She was still alive, which meant Merik didn't see any reason to kill her. In fact considering what he'd been saying he had no intention of harming her.

She thought this over as she dusted herself off and glared at him. Naurlambe didn't seem right in his hands. Few people had ever held that weapon aside from her, and it made her feel uncomfortable to know it wasn't within her reach. She brushed herself off and her hands found the curve of her hips, resting on top of them as she stared at this man who had just bested her so easily. He had been so confident, so smooth in his motions. It was ridiculous.

It was, actually, everything she wanted to be. She constantly sought to better herself, to further her training, to push herself to the limits. Here's a man who could best her easily and not hold any punches because they were afraid of her father (quite the opposite of that, it seemed) or because she was a girl. He was far from a pushover and had quite a large amount of experience in battle. He certainly wasn't green.

Was she really thinking this?

Her weight shifted onto one leg, causing her hip to sway to the side as she found the slightest touch of a grin on her lips. "Teach me," she said simply, vibrant blue eyes staring at him unblinking as she waited for his response.

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[Merik Dragmire]

"Teach you? And how would you propose I do that? I may be able to enter the Castle as a diplomat but I doubt your father is going to allow me into his barracks, much less to train you. And if you are constantly sneaking away into the desert I'm more than certain you'll be found out within due course." Merik said, more than a little amused at how quickly she had switched from wanting to kill him to wanting him to train her.

In truth he had an idea for how it could be done: with the appearance changing capabilities of his tunic, and his father's armor he could pose as a Knight for an opening to offer his services, perhaps to take her as a squire. Of course if she was following him around everywhere it would make his journey around a little more difficult.

[Nairore]

x x

Keep your friends close and your enemies closer.

The fact that he didn't immediately shoot down the idea told her that he had at least bitten. Which meant the idea was plausible. Her father definitely wouldn't improve, though, but he didn't need to know. And by keeping close to Merik she might even get the chance to kill him should his guard drop. After she learned all she could from him. The fact that her head was still hurting was a constant reminder that he had bettered her, and that was enough to earn her respect.

That and she now owed her life to him. He had spared her when he could've easily just ended her life. Merik wasn't a merciful man, he was a calculating man. If he had spared her there was something going on in his mind. She could appeal to whatever thought process he was having, get in and learn from him. Techniques she would never learn from the Knights. Techniques that complemented her choice of weapon and her heritage. It would easily be a boost in her own capabilities.

"You and I both know you are capable of this sort of thing. And we both know the idea interests you. I have no doubt you'd be able to get into the barracks, and even if we can do it elsewhere. I've bested most of the Knights and the ones I haven't would not fight me. My father's looking for a tutor for me, looking to find someone to help train me." She honestly couldn't believe her own words, going against her father like this. But it was a means to an end that would make her father proud; she would be better and Merik might even be dead.

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[Merik Dragmire]

"Would your father approve of you becoming a travelling Knight's squire? That may just be the easiest way of handling it unless you only wish to be trained once every few weeks or so." Merik said after some more contemplation on the matter.

He expected that the girl had an ulterior motive for wanting to be trained by him, probably to try and get near him to fail at killing him later. But with enough time he figured there was a chance he might be able to break through the Hylian brainwashing that the Knight's had put her through.

[Nairore]

x x

It seemed intuition was right and Merik had some sort of plan. The ease with which he accepted the job was a bit unnerving, but Nairore wasn't the type to be put off because the situation seemed a bit dangerous. The real task would be getting her father to believe her when she said she'd found a viable tutor. Merik seemed confident enough, but then he didn't know the man that was out for his life, it seemed. She shook her head at his speculation.

"Not a Knight. He'd see right through it; you don't have the proper complexion and he'd look into your background. Thoroughly. I doubt you'd be able to put together a viable lie. Traveling would be no issue, especially if he knew it was for training. The Goddesses know how often he is out on some campaign hunting for you," she said, though there was no humor in her tone. She thought about trying and sneaking him past her father, only to reveal the Gerudo at the last moment and allow the Knights to capture him. It was a foolish plan, though. Merik was elusive, and he had so much to teach her.

She would get what she wanted out of him first, that much was set.

"The truth would probably benefit the cause better. Not the full truth, but the fact that someone beat me and would take me into their tutelage would be enough to convince him, I believe. He would have no reason to disbelieve me, in any case." She didn't lie to her father often. She didn't have any reason to. So why would she try it here? Was she really going to go along with this foolish thought? She stared at the man who would be her teacher. "If you're honest about helping me. You spared my life, I have no reason to think you have malicious intent."

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[Merik Dragmire]

"I could impersonate my father and claim to have been imprisoned for years, unless the Commander knew him personally it could easily fly." Merik said with a smirk, not really going over how he would appear to be a Hylian for the meeting. "But if you wish to tell him the abridged truth feel free to do so. You'll have until the last day of the festival to get set to go."

He then took her scimitar by the blade and extended the hilt out to her before smirking.

"And seeing as we're going to be travelling together and I'm to train you, I should probably know your name."