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Apprentice Shipping - Percival & Galahad

Percival had never taught another soul before, but at times Galahad needed all the help he could get. At times she wondered why he even wanted to be a knight - a gentle soul like him was better suited to the life of a monk, or perhaps a master of the written word. But at least Galahad was persistent, and every attempt he made was full of honest determination. She could not fault him for this - in fact, it was a trait she admired. Any challenge she gave him, he pursued until it was fully accomplished.

Although lately he had been... distracted. She couldn't pinpoint what it was exactly, but often it seemed as if his mind wasn't entirely within the conversations and training sessions they had. She had no idea what could be capturing his attention, and in fact was a little annoyed that he was no longer giving it his all. If he was expecting mercy in this slight slacking, he'd get none of it from her.

Percival waited at the training grounds, already dressed in her armor. Today was supposed to be simple exercises, nothing more and nothing less. However if Galahad dared to be distracted by... whatever... again, it could become a lot worse for him. Her tail flicked back and forth behind her. Just why was she so upset?

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Training sessions with Percival were always the highlight of his day. There was nothing he enjoyed more than getting praise for his accomplishments, however infrequent they were. It seemed as though Percival were one of the few that could understand the burden of having a power that most didn't.

Galahad stood to attention when she called his name, but as her tone grew annoyed the grin he naturally wore faded. "This m--" What was wrong with the way he..?

Oh. His cheeks flushed red of embarrassment.

"I.. apologize. I must have left it at home."

Percival's tail flicked a little more. His look of humility bordered on the adorable, but she would not give him mercy. He had made a mistake, and thus must learn from it.

"Take out your blade." She commanded, doing the same already. "In battle, you cannot afford to make such careless mistakes."

He could feel his heart jump at the orders. "Y-yes." As commanded, Galahad unsheathed his sword and almost immediately dropped it. Her words had a way of being intimidating in their own rite.

Galahad sheepishly retried his blade and held it in his palm. "I will not make the same mistake again."

Percival suddenly ran at him, swinging her blade toward him. An outsider might have thought she really was going for a killing bow, but those within the knighthood knew this was not even her full effort.

"You have been far too distracted lately!" She called out as she lunged. "Pray tell, is there something far more important to you than your improvement?" Normally she was hardly so bitterly sarcastic, but she was in no mood for amusement.

It took a fast reaction time to try and block what he could of the unexpected attack. Galahad slid backward from the impact and his weapon went flying, sticking in the dirt some distance away.

Galahad looked down and fell to one knee to admit defeat.

His heart sank. "..." She seemed so aggravated at him and his slow progress. He lacked the raw physical strength of his father and the other Knights, and the abilities he had must have been an inconvenience to deal with. Her being forced to train with him must've been an insult to her abilities and status.

"There is nothing more important than the time I spend with you." She was a wonderful teacher, and he admired Percival since her father had introduced them. "But.." He looked down. "I have come to understand that I am not your ideal student." She'd much rather spend time perfecting her own skills, wouldn't she.

A moment of quiet tension passed. Percival's tail had stopped flicking, and now lay calmly as it should. Then, after a thoughtful sigh, she spoke. "Galahad. There is no such thing as an ideal student. It is your duty here to learn."

She then ducked the tip of her sword under his chin, making sure not to cut flesh, in order to lift his head. "If I seem harsh, it is because kindness does no favor in combat. If I seem impatient, it is because I know your potential is there and waiting." To her these were simple facts. After all, if she really wanted to get rid of him, all she had to do was say so.

He tilted his head upwards when he was forced to. Percival was a great knight, everything that he wished that he could be: powerful, dutiful, and honorable. A true representation of their Kingdom.

Though he couldn't nod at her words, given the blade, he took the words to heart. While he did truly want to learn he wasn't immune to whispers through the Kingdom that slighted his progress and thought of this 'special treatment' only because of his father. It was hard not to take such things to heart, thus why he was so distracted.

"I understand. I would not expect any less from your teaching methods." She was a great teacher, her methods were of no concern, And very beaut--Galahad averted his eyes as the thought crossed his mind.

It could have been all well and good, but he had to look away, didn't he? Percival glowered, and pulled back her sword. Even now, in the midst of such a serious conversation, he dared to be distracted? He thought of something more important? This would not stand.

She grabbed his shoulder, and then put her head right in front of his own. She never would have guessed that it was her looks that took his attention so - as far as she was concerned, not only was she not as beautiful as the other women in the kingdom, but that by taking up such a 'mannish' livelihood it had diminished any hope she had for beauty. "What is it that bothers you still?" She tried not to let a growl enter her voice. "What is it that holds your attention!"

His eyes grew wide as she continued to berate his actions. There was so something intimidating about her glare. Of course he could never admit why he'd looked away, but lying to a question that he was asked was.. not something that he could do either. With his chosen profession he'd all but forfeit the ability to lie.

"I apologize... " Suppose that he couldn't keep it to himself for long; Galahad had the habit of wearing his thoughts on his sleeve. "I've heard whispers around the kingdom about my choosing this path: That my training is special treatment, that I don't deserve it, and that abilities like mine have no place in the Knights when I can't hold a sword the same way that you do. I wonder if they are right to say such things, but I know I want to protect this city."

A pause. "I also think of you." He took a breath. "I admire you. You are a wonderful teacher; strong, graceful, generous, and ..beautiful. I don't wish to disappoint you. If I seem distracted, I will try my hardest to make up for it."

All of these were standard confessions, it wasn't surprising that his self-confidence was as low as the dirt his sword was stuck in. She had tried to raise it without actually using words, but it seemed as if those doubts would follow Galahad wherever he went. She was about to tell him not to pay attention to the whispers and the gossip, that he should believe in himself and the path he wanted to follow -

And that all flew out the window the moment he said beautiful.

In one crashing motion, her serious posture deflated, and though most of her face was hidden by her helmet, it was impossible to miss her dropped jaw. Very few enemies had ever caught this fierce knight by surprise, and he'd done it with just one word. Even her wrist went lax, nearly dropping her blade in shock. A few pathetic attempts at words failed off her tongue, but after an embarrassed swallow, she managed... something.

"I'm... I'm what?"

"A wonderful teacher....?" Galahad trailed off cluelessly.

The reaction and drop of composure was something he'd never seen from his teacher. He slowly rose to his feet, retrieved the sword, and offered it to her with a polite bow of the head. Ultimately, he said nothing more for not wanting to embarrass her.

"I... that's not..." What in the world had he done to her? Percival have willingly abandoned her femininity, and any hopes of finding a mate, when she defied tradition and took up the blade. As a result, she was absolutely not prepared for the compliment he had given. Did he really not know what word was the killing blow? Could anyone in this kingdom - in this whole realm - be that naive?!

She snatched her sword away from him and swiftly turned around so all he could see was her back - and her twitchy tail. "Yes... well... regardless..." She cleared her throat, struggling to take back some sort of control. "No matter how you see me... as a teacher... I am also as mortal as you, and capable of making the same mistakes. I have never taught another before, so some of your faults are mine as well."

Galahad watched as she turned her back to him. Stammering wasn't typical for his teacher, her words were generally clear and concise as her movements.

"Then I should have no faults or mistakes. I will have to work until I've achieved that." He held his hand out towards the blade that had landed in the dirt. It shook and trembled before quickly returning to its place in Galahad's palm.

It was his casual attitude about this whole nonsense that calmed her down the most. Percival shook her head, and after regaining all of her wits, turned around to face him once more. As far as she appeared, the flattery and stuttering hadn't happened at all... except for her tail that was still very active.

"You're not listening to me at all, Galahad." She lectured, but this time in a tone that contained less anger. "It is impossible for someone to have no faults or commit no mistakes. Even your father Lancelot has made some mistakes as well. What matters is the kind of mistakes that are made."

Galahad nodded. From a practical standpoint, what she said made sense. No one was perfect. But.. He couldn't think of one mistake that Percival had ever made off the top of his head. She was always elegant, graceful, and a valiant fighter.

"Mistakes? Can you give me an example or a mistake that you'd want to make?"

Edited 2015-09-23 00:54 (UTC)

"I can give you one that just happened." Had he even noticed how completely flummoxed he had made her mere moments ago? And now she'd have to go through it again? Thank goodness she liked him or this would have driven her to pull out her fur.

"Take how I reacted to your... compliment." She strained on the word a little. "Instead of merely taking it as it was, I... overreacted." Sure, let's go with that, while she glances away. "I shouldn't have lost my head over one little word. But all it did was delay our training, and nothing important was lost or created."

Compliment? As far as he was concerned he was merely reiterating the truth, And she saw this as a useless mistake?

"That wasn't a mistake." It was how he..felt. "If you reacted that way, it means that those around you must not tell you this enough."

It looked like training would be delayed even further, as Percival found herself thrown off once again. Galahad really seemed to have a knack for flattery, although perhaps this blessing was also curse if he even even realize what he was doing. Her tail flicked again, and even appeared to fluff up a little in agitation.

"It... well... that's... hardly the..." Stop it stop it stop it, she's supposed to be the teacher! "I don't really... hear that often, I admit, but... that sort of thing is natural, for a... woman in my position. I am a knight, I am no fair maiden."

Galahad looked down. "I must politely disagree." She was the fairest maiden in all the Kingdom in his own opinion. He couldn't speak highly enough of her skill and beauty, though he was the student and she a teacher. Saying all he thought of her wouldn't be becoming of a student. "I..apologize. Perhaps it's not my place to say these things."

"... You are always free to speak your mind in my presence." Once again, she refused to look at him, and was grateful her face was mostly obscure under her helmet. "But that's hardly the point... if anything must be learned today, it is that we will both always have faults, and we will always be improving. I have no regrets taking you on as a student, and I will never give up on you."

A breath. "... That said, if you value me so... highly... then you must never give up on yourself either."

He smiled at her invitation to speak his mind. Not that he would step out of line, but he made a mental note for it in the future. Perhaps she valued his opinion enough to hear it?

"I won't ever give up. On my word." Galahad said enthusiastically. "Shall we start our lesson now?"

Thank goodness, they could get back to business. It would take some time for the fluttering feeling to leave Percival's heart but at they very least they could set out what they were trying to do that day.

Yet she couldn't help but have a notion that from now own, these days of training wouldn't be quite the same anymore.

She held her sword up with two hands, took several steps back, and then face him fully. "Come at me, when you're ready."

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Apprentice Shipping - Percival & Galahad

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