#rivervale_lodge

Still, she nods, and resets.

And waits.

He falls back, breathes, and resets. Watches. He approaches, carefully. He waits and then......attack!

Parry-parry-parry-parry-opening....

He takes it!

Better. But now she moves her blade towards him in a slow arc so he'll have to move into one of the practiced parries if he doesn't want to get hit.

He does just that, and with the repost!

And the riposte gets through! (Though she may have let that happen.) A satisfied nod, and she steps back. "Drink."

A touch aways, they might spot Dagmar atop Stormwake - a morning jaunt for exercise.

Brekke nods to Dagmar and Stormwake as they pass, then drinks.

He does as ordered.

After she drinks, she does not go directly back to the ring. "Adam, why do you do as I say?"

"Huh?" Confused.

An eyebrow. "Why do you follow my instructions?"

"Cause you're the Chief? You're in charge?"

"So, because I have rank."

"Yes?" Adam seems to think about this. "And..... everyone says you're a hero. You've.... like, Sacklebreaker and stuff. There are stories about you. So. You have.....cred."

"Mm. So, if I were not titled, you would still follow my instructions for fighting, because of my reputation."

"Yeah, sure."

"Mm." She nods. And she looks down on him, towering over him. "If I had neither rank nor reputation, but I ordered you hit that target dummy in a certain way, would you do it?" And the way she looks at him may make him feel rather small, indeed.

He straightens in the face of it. "If it worked."

"Without knowing if it would work, would you do it?" She looms over him.

He straightens, reflectively. "Maybe. Depends on the situation." Proudly.

A slight snort. "You would do it. If you did not know me, did not know my reputation, did not know my temperament...if it were a matter of a larger person telling you to do a thing, against the risk of that larger person harming you, I believe you would do it."

"If they were worth following. Yes."

"Bigger isn't' better."

"Ah." A nod. "How do you decide who is worth following, then?"

"I don't.... what?"

A pause. "Let me ask differently: How do you decide who is worth listening to?"

Adam thinks about this. "A leader..... like, a coach? Someone who knows the game. Played it."

"Someone who can... teach."

"So...a person with experience and some level of expertise."

"Yeah. But......"

Eyebrow.

"Someone who loves it, too."

She considers this. "Passion."

"Yeah!" -Then- he blushes. "You know, someone that loves it. The game, or whatever."

"So...a person with experience, expertise, and passion about a subject is worth listening to?"

"Yes."

"Then why did you disparage Lucia's chosen activity yesterday?"

He has to think about that. "Cheer?"

A nod.

"It's -cheer-." As if it's obvious. "Ok, so I gave her some sh.... some noise. Fight back? Stand up?"

"Oh, so because you made a wrong-headed attack, it is her obligation to meet you on that battlefield?" Eyebrow.

"Adam...if you wish to train with me, learn this -- never disparage another's skill as being unworthy. It is a skill that person has developed through focus and dedication. Simply because it is not your skill does not make it any less 'real.'"

"Yes, ma'am."

"Besides...you never know when you will need to rely on somebody else's talents, specifically because they are not your own."

He nods slowly. "I don't have magic. Much."

"There are many skills you do not have. That can be said for all of us. Now...practice on the pell for another fifteen minutes before you stop. I have patrol."

"Is it... I don't know, is it a Fae thing?"