Sky and Sea Event

Alterion grinned as he placed a hand on the blade of the weapon, then he moved to grip the pole with both his hands. He weighed the polearm horizontally, eyeing it from top to bottom before he began twirling it between his grip – careful at first, before it was spinning faster, and faster, his experience with the weapon seeping through as he danced with the weapon in his grasps.

He leapt from place to place, swinging the polearm about with calculated precision. He spun himself with the momentum, allowing it to take him through the motions. An hour passed in ten minutes, two in twenty. Before he was aware of it, it had become four.

He was without breath by the end of his practice, the honing of his skill with the weapon. Alterion was heaving to catch his breaths, before he sucked as much oxygen as he humanely could into his lungs, straightening out his back and holding it in, before letting it go through his lips. The lion smiled, his eyes rested once more on the weapon yet still in his hold.

Satisfied, Alterion walked over to a bench, dropping lightly onto it. He opened the iced trunk he had brought with him, took a cooled water bottle from it, uncapped it and poured the water down his throat, feeling refreshed with every gulp he took. Then dropping the bottle aside – relatively carefully – he grabbed an iPad by him, tapping the screen several times to bring up what looked like footage from a surveillance camera.

Playing the video, it was of the practice session he’d had just moments earlier, as he had danced and sprung about with the polearm. He watched every move he’d made with a critical eye, playing several moments back to discern moves he could have done better. He made mental notes, scrutinised the positioning of his feet, the angles he swept, each thrust. Then when he was content, he put the device down, stretched his joints and limbs and back out.

At the sound of a throat clearing, Alterion set his sights on his visitor immediately, an ear flicking with the fondness blooming in his chest. He relaxed into his seat, smiling back at the lion sauntering in with a sandwich wrapped in alfoil.

“Done with practice?” the lion asked, then with a chuckle, he continued. “If you could really call it that.”

Alterion laughed, shrugging. “Yes, I’m done with practice.”

The lion raised his eyebrows disbelievingly, shaking his head. “I don’t understand why you call it that, when clearly, you’re a master at using that.”

Alterion shrugged, then with a glance at the polearm resting against the bench by him, he replied. “Yeah, but there’s always more I could do to improve. Besides, it’s fun.”

The lion mirrored the action, then with a soft chuckle, he nodded. “Yeah, understandable.”

There was a beat before the lion continued.

“Let’s head back.”