"Families aren't necessarily just those related to you by blood. If they truly care for you, and you for them, even strangers might become family one day." - Saying attributed to the Silver Maiden.
"Oof, thanks," said Zoya as Aideen helped her rise to her feet. The therian woman rubbed her nose with one hand, visible surprise in her face, as apparently she was not used to healing magic that worked that fast. From the trip the delegation took, Aideen did notice that healers were somewhat rare in the empire, with Khaer Ul being the strongest healer she had seen there by a longshot. "Got me good there. Also, damn, Art said you're good with healing, but I didn't expect this."
"There aren't many healers in the empire, are there?" Aideen asked the question that had made her wonder. Even the villages they visited along the way to the capital mostly relied on herbal remedies, with magical healing being a rarity compared to Ptolodecca. "Why is that? I recall there being more prior to the war."
"It's the war. Even before that, healers tended to be hoarded by the human nobles who kept them in private employ, and during the war many of them got conscripted to work for the armies," explained Zoya with an evident distaste in her voice. "Needless to say, when the bloodlust runs high, not that many have the presence of mind to keep them alive. Some even targeted them specifically."
"As for healers of your caliber, I think we can count the number we have in the empire with the fingers of one hand. And that included the emperor himself already," continued the therian woman frankly with a shrug of her shoulders. "By the way… you are used to using something heavier, aren't you? I could tell from the way you used that staff… that and you hit hard enough for the ironwood to break apart like that."
As if to punctuate her words Zoya bent down and picked up the broken staff Aideen used in their spar, the longer part still had around two-thirds of the length of the weapon intact. She weighed the piece of wood in her hands and estimated its weight. "This chunk is like a couple kilos, so probably half again that when whole. What the hell did you use that you find this too light? Even most greatswords and polearms we used are lighter than this."
"Oh, I use this usually," said Aideen nonchalantly as she drew her adamant staff out from her storage. She held it towards Zoya with one hand, the staff parallel to the ground below, as her hand held it comfortably by the middle.
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The therian woman almost dropped the staff when Aideen let go after she held it in her hand. Even then it took Zoya some effort in order to catch herself under the unexpected weight.
"What the-" said the surprised therian woman, while to the side Artair sported a wide grin as he watched. He was naturally familiar with what exactly Aideen used to fight, and even to this day he still shook his head when he thought about how she handled that hideously unwieldy staff that weighed twenty kilos like it was a regular wooden one. "How the hell do you even use this thing as a weapon? It's way too heavy!"
"Lots of practice," replied Aideen nonchalantly as she took her staff back from Zoya. As if to demonstrate, she whirled the heavy adamant staff around her body with well-practiced movements. The black staff moved so fast it was practically a blur to the eyes of those who watched, while she handled it with practiced ease.
The spectators' eyes widened at her feat, especially amongst those who also used pole weapons as they thought whether they could do what she did with equal ease, and came up with a negative answer. Artair was the odd man out as he snickered into his hand at the others being so surprised. Aideen never neglected her practice, and since they had lived together for years now, he was used to the sight.
"I'll be damned," said Zoya as she gave a whistle of appreciation to Aideen. "Looks like having you use practice weapons really held you back, didn't it? Interesting way to fight, by the way. I don't think I've ever fought anyone who fought that way before."
"I learnt from my teachers. They were from the Huan Confederation far to the northwest, so I guess that style would indeed be rare here," replied Aideen in a relaxed tone as she stored her staff once again. "You fought well yourself. Trained for a long time, I wager?"
"Yeah. We're a military family, so all of us trained with weapons since young, even Artair there," answered Zoya to her question. "All that training also got put to good use when the war happened I guess."
"Indeed… while some wish for peace to remain forever, I feel it's better to be prepared for the times when it doesn't," replied Aideen with a long sigh as she looked somewhat melancholic at the thought.
They stayed by the training area as they watched the soldiers train diligently under the hot sun for a while, and Aideen had to admit that the average imperial guard was highly skilled, and were physically imposing specimens to boot, a point made evident when the guard pairs off for group spars.
Afterwards, Zoya took them on a tour to the palace gardens. The small animals that lived in the garden proved to be very tame and accustomed to the presence of people, as they happily leapt down to grab food from their hands when offered. Aideen had some birds pecking at grains held in her cupped hand, while Artair passed the time as he fed the small fish in the river.
They only returned to the castle when it was time for lunch. The delegates had adjourned their meeting for the same reason, and everyone gathered at the same dining hall from the day before as they ate. All around, the delegated mingled and chatted harmoniously with each other, as Aideen caught up with Mimia and Éirynn.