-Break-

Location: Lugh room

Φ In a room with a single candle light, lies Lugh who is reading a book to himself. As he stares into this book he breaks off one of his nails and then flings it directly at one of the shadows in the end of the room.

Shadows from the room move to intercept the nail, and as they do this Scáthach appears from one of the shadows and looks at Lugh saying, “Attack a woman I thought I had thought you better.”

“You taught me to strike down anyone who tries to use their power for evil, did you not you peeper.”

Pulling out a chair from her shadows, Scáthach sits opposite to Lugh and says, “Don’t make it out to seem that I looked upon you for some perverse sexual gratifications. I just thought that seeing a scared smile on your face would be fun.”

“Play such pranks on your current students.”

“The only student of mine who still gets spooked is Ferdiad, Setanta just smiles whenever he sees me. How unfun.”

“You should cease your foolish games, you’re not youthful enough to get away with them anymore.”

“Rude. I would have you know that my body hasn’t degraded a bit since I saved you beastkin.”

“I meant mentally not physically you undying witch. Now would you state your business or leave.”

“I just came here to say both Setanta and Ferdiad are moving along splendidly. They have mastered most of my style, and have grown far more refined in combat than they were before.

Setanta has added a calm and collected approach to his incredible battle instinct, yet he is still too obsessed with the physical to truly control his soul yet.

While Ferdiad has added technique to his fiery confrontational personality. He is just as aggressive as he was before, but there is logic to it as well now. Though his mind can betray him quite a bit stunting his growth.”

“How would you compare your students in battle?”

“They are both pretty even, but I would say Ferdiad has the advantage right now, his style of fighting is a lot more focused on one-on-one combat than Setanta is. Setanta is like water a substance that can be gas, liquid and solid, ever-changing in any situation.

“I thought the same, Setanta is stronger with more freedom on the battlefield, while Ferdiad shows his best when the battlefield is calmer and simpler.”

“Though I would say, my daughter is stronger than the both of them by a large margin,” Scáthach says with a smile. “Though she keeps saying she wants to quit a procced in dance, and it is all your fault.”

“She does carry red branch blood, so I found it suit to get her a tutor. If she has found her other studies more fruitful than training, let her attain them.”

Scáthach stares directly at me with a glare so intense a murderous, that I feel slight bits of fear and say, “You know what let me talk to her, send her over to Gorias castle whenever you can I will make time.”

“I refuse because if Setanta runs into her he will try and take my beautiful daughter.”

“My son is already quite infatuated with the squirrel girl as I am sure he has told you.”

“Regardless I refuse, I don’t need him pursuing my angel.”

“You are far too overprotective, scheduling her from all of us beastkin, and controlling her interactions, you should be more hands-off like I am with Setanta.”

“Don’t use Setanta as an example when talking about discipline, your son constantly gets himself in life-endangering situations.”

“Ok then, I will make sure Setanta is out when you send her over. Though I would like to add you wouldn’t need me to talk to your daughter if you and your husband didn’t spend over sixty years to get married with your game of hooky.”

“Don’t bring up such embarrassing memories!”

“Even though you had both known each other for a long time, you decided to keep your feelings till yourself till he was eighty-eight, then got married. You’re daughter also ended up being a rather annoying type of wonderbeast, so you spent another thirty years pregnant before you could push her out, and your husband died during that process.”

Scáthach covers herself in shadows to hide her embarrassment, then says, “You evil boy stop bringing up my most embarrassing memories.”

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I let out a little laugh, and say, “Sorry I might’ve gone too far. But in hindsight, it does make sense why you are so obsessive with her, a thirty-year pregnancy is no more than an aggressive form of torture, though I do have another theory.”

“What is that?”

“The fact that you might be hiding her from the beastkin for the sake of us not figuring out what she really is.”

The air in the room grows tense, as Scáthach says, “Whatever could you mean.”

“You haven’t aged a day since you first helped the beastkin which was over one hundred and thirty years ago. Depending on the wonderbeast fused into us, beastkin can live for much shorter, or much longer periods of time. Yet as all of your students like myself know, you’re not a beastkin.”

The shadows in the room start to grow and move towards Lugh and as they do, he says, “You don’t have any form of curse put on you, or you would love the ability to use spirit energy, you also don’t have the distinct smell of a dragon, so master what are you?”

The shadows lock in on Lugh and as they reach him they form a little woman and Scáthach starts to talk to it saying, “See Deichtire, your husband is so invested in another woman’s body. Even though I have known him since the womb he tries to hit and seduce me.”

With my book, I break the shadows, then with an annoyed look, I say, “You aren’t funny.”

“You thought I was funny back you were a wee little baby boy.”

“I thought many things back then,” I say while opening my book.

“A the little light of the Faoláin, whose father and brothers died on the battlefield, so he was the last one left with any degree of Faoláin blood. All of the servants of the house were incredibly protective of you.”

“They threatened me like I was a child still within their mother's womb.”

“I can attest to that with how they acted during our training sessions. Hiring me to train you to be strong, but at the same time constantly interrupting us anytime you face any single degree of physical or mental strain.

But worst than that you always made them worry with the way you would just run off who knows where with no mind for your life, battlefields, forests, even into the jaws of wonderbeasts a lover of chaos.”

“I was no such thing. If I wanted to rule Gorias I needed more knowledge than what could be found in the castle, so I had to leave and find out more so I could better rule.”

“I know, but I just think that behaviour is very similar to a certain little wolf.”

“Setanta rummages around to fulfil his own desires, I did it for nothing more than a learning experience, once I got the knowledge I needed I stopped. I am sure that even when Setanta rules the land he will still be the same as always.”

“That is true, but you shouldn’t discount how intelligent that boy is. If one only saw his work, and not his personality, they would think he is the most well-taught child in all of Louernia. You should give him some words of affirmation for his great work.”

“Unnecessary, he would grow pigheaded and do more foolishness than he already does.”

“Still hearing praise from one's own family is of great pleasure for the receiver.”

“I don’t understand such things, he already receives praise from countless sources, I don’t see why I would be a special one.”

“Spoken like a true parentless child.”

Slightly peeved at her words, I say, “Idioticy all around.”

Her shadows form into a finger and flick me on the head, then she says, “You underestimate how much that boy idolizes you. If not for the pride he takes in you I can guarantee you that he would have been far more vain than any who lived.”

Moving close to me, she says, “A few words would give that boy energy for the next fifty years.”

“I will think about it.”

Grabbing the book out of my hand, Scáthach makes a chair of shadows and falls back on it then says, “You have taken up your late wife’s hobby of reading now?”

“It is one of Deichtire's books, I have been spending the last year going through them.”

“Deichtire liked collecting all pieces of knowledge she could find from the humans she conquered on the battlefields, she was particularly interested in searching for the great sage Cordum; a human with knowledge that spans countless centuries.”

“Many would chastise the princess of Louernia for taking such a keen interest in the history of humans. Yet she didn’t care.”

“Because she is just as obsessed with knowledge as her husband.”

“No, because she understands that us Beastkin were humans once and knows that human accumulation must be well kept.”

“If I remember correctly, she is the reason that you have made education mandatory in Gorias, due to that most beastkin in your providence actually know their relation to humans.”

“I am sure most of the Tuatha Dé Dannan want to forget that fact entirely. But it shouldn’t be forgotten.”

Giggling a little, Scáthach says, “Are you a human sympathizer Lugh?”

Standing up, I say, “Humans throughout history have built beauties that make nature look stale, created tools that pervert death, and have passed down knowledge that would save the lives of countless in the future.”

Standing at the window in my room, I say, “But it is all for nought. Since they have destroyed most of it. Their wars, their mistakes, and their lack of control have burned so much of it to the ground.

I am sure if we had kept all of the books regarding medical technique alive, we would have been able to find a cure for pregnancy incongruency, and Deichtire would still be alive.”

“You dislike humans.”

“No more than trees, I simply know how they act, and I know what must be done because if humans are left unchecked, they will someday create something that has the potential to end all life on earth, or worse they will continue to be as stagnant as they are.”

“So is that the reason which the current Lugh Ó Faoláin fights for?”

“Yes it is, and I hope to have you help. I want you to accompany the Fuinseog and make sure they don’t kill too many humans.”

“I will, but only if you keep a promise to me as well.”

“What is it?”

“Keep a close eye on Setanta throughout all he does, and I am sure you will find something that could save even that resolve.”

“Have you?”

“That is a pointless question to ask me, the reason I fight isn’t resolved but a cowardice, to simply keep my daughter in a shining box of ignorance while the world burns around her, at the very least she will be able to find joy in such a thing.”

Sinking into her shadows, she says, “And revolution isn’t for an old witch like me to head, I will simply follow the world those who I have taught have made.”

-Break-

Φ Waking from my nap, I open my eyes and look out the window where I see Setanta and Ferdiad training. Looking at them, I ask, “How long have you two been up?”

“Three hours,” They reply.

“WHY!!”

Setanta stopped saying, “Because we have no time to rest, since today we leave for our great battle!”

-Four days later-