After this meal, the three of them stay for some hours, during which Dorian watch how Isa and Garm interact. It seems clear, within the given time, that both of them act like family, with the old man taking the role of a father figure to the girl. She is a well of curiosity, asking another question as such as the former is answered. The teen stood up with a smile, after yet another of Isa's endless questions.
— Mister Garm, do you think that I can learn how to fight ?
Once the words are out, the girl falls silent. She often asked her caretaker to train her after all, and she watches intensely how he will rebuke Dorian. Garm's gaze, however, turns icy.. He stays silent while the leaves continue to move in the wind, and Dorian fidgets as he eagerly awaits the answer.
— Show me your weapon.
In front of the warrior, whose crossed arms give an air of controlled strength, Dorian looks sheepishly at the ground. He doesn't have any to show, and understands immediately why that would be a problem.
*He… He won't agree. I'm nothing for him.*
— So… ?
With an audible gulp, the boy shows his empty hands.
— I… I don't have one.
Before Dorian can react, Garm moves. The approach is so fluid that he can't do anything before clutching his hands on his head, which the warrior knocked firmly with a fist.
— Yes, you have.
With a neglected wave, he shows the boy the forest all around them. Dorian shivers, thinking that the man saw his shadows.
*It's over. He'll chase me out*
— We are in a forest, there are branches and stones everywhere.
*Huh ?*
The boy looks bewildered at the stern face of his trainer. He still doesn't understand that Garm already accepted and began the training. A grin appears on the warrior's face, as the man crosses again his arms on his chest. Without a beat, Dorian grabs a branch on the ground and takes his guard, mimicking as well as he can what forms he remembers from Belle's books. All the while, Isa pouts cutely.
— Unfair ! You never want me to train !
— You're still too young, Isa.
Talking, Garm bends over and takes a branch too. With a swift move, Garm disarmed his student without breaking his stern grin, the branch flying from Dorian's grasp and landing softly on the ground.
— This isn't how you wield it.
From there on, hours pass before the sun begins to descend on the horizon. Dorian's body, at the end, is covered in bruises even if he didn't do anything but take his weapon and lose it each time that Garm moves. He sits again, under the heavy glare of the little girl, while the warrior throws both wood pieces in the fire.
— Stay here, both of you, I'll hunt.
Garm steps out of the clearing, not letting any of the children say anything in response. While he is out of view, Dorian instructs his shadows to stand guard around and takes another branch on the floor. He feels that, without the warrior, Isa's security falls on his shoulders. During this time, she stays silent, still pouting after the treason that she felt when the boy was taken under training.
They don't need to wait long before Garm comes back, a hare in the hand. The traces on its paw testament of a trap that the boy never saw while coming.
*If only I could do this…*
Afterwards, the warrior gives his prey to Isa, in order for her to gut it, while gesturing at Dorian to watch attentively. He visibly intends to train the boy on all aspects of survival, which earn him a grateful nod and a smile from him. Ignoring this exchange, she begins her work, her moves steady and precise, while still pouting even if all can see that she does it more to prove her point than by genuine jealousy. Never having interacted much with children younger than himself, Dorian doesn't understand that she shows off in order to be praised by the new boy, which greatly amuses Garm.
— Why don't you tell him what you're doing ? He'll have to learn from you after all.
As the warrior puts some emphasis on the fact that she has something valuable to teach, Isa is unable to pout anymore as a bright smile appears on her face. She's a teacher now, better, she's a teacher to someone older than herself ! She immediately puts on airs and begins in earnest to impart her knowledge to Dorian. Her words, for the next few minutes, are the only sound that they can hear, covering the natural ones from the forest. She stops only when the meat is ready, the sky darkening. As he sees this, Dorian fidgeting comes anew, as he sees nothing to shelter them all.
— Calm down, boy, everything fine.
— B… But.
— We come often and it won't rain tonight.
Defeated, but his worries still heavy, Dorian nods simply before beginning to cook the meal, as he decides that he can't be the only one not doing anything here. Of course, the lack of utensils hardens the process but, in the end, he succeeds. One silent meal later, the girl rolls herself in her cape, close to the fire, while Garm stays seated and ready to take the first turn of night guard. Looking at it, Dorian eases himself and goes to the tree with his oxe's shadow before laying himself for a good night's sleep. The warrior lifts an eyebrow at that.
*This boy… Why go so far from the fire ?*
This night, despite his original plan, Garm doesn't wake the boy for the second turn, he instead keeps guard all the time while his eyes often go back to the sleeping form of this teen. After only one night, he is even more sure that there is something, off, about him. All actions taken by the boy during daytime proves that he is absolutely new to survival life and has trust problems but, at night, he is far more at ease that he should, even more when near an armed stranger. Finally, morning comes and he wakes Isa.
— I'll sleep, be wary.
Her eyes at this unusual precision, dust off all sleepiness that she still had beforehand. In the year since he took her under his wing, he only told her that during the first few months.
*The only change recently…*
Isa takes a tentative look around, before narrowing her eyes when she sees Dorian's sleeping form. Lacking Garm's life experience, she doesn't see anything amiss with it, but still chooses to let the teen sleep. If the warrior told her to be wary and didn't wake the boy, he should have his reasons.
When Dorian finally wakes up, the sun is already quite high in the sky. Looking around, he sees Isa doodling near the dead fire and waves at her as he searches a little more for Garm until he finds him still sleeping. Standing up, under the tree's shadow, the teen recalls his oxe's one inside his own discreetly before coming to her and waiting for the adult's instructions. Less than half an hour later, both can hear a rustle from behind and understand that Garm is awake.
— We go.
As they move, Garm shivers. There is, something, in the forest. This something follows the group, out of view, out of reach, but is here, he knows it. His instincts are clear, and in all his mercenary years they kept him alive, so he trusts it.