Sable

Sable trembled still, staring ahead out the window at nothing. What had that dream meant? It couldn't have just been her emotions manifesting; there had to be a deeper meaning to it. There could have been any number of meanings was the problem.

"Breakfast?" Akeem asked. Sable jumped and let out a noise of surprise. Akeem handed her a plate of eggs and bacon. Sable gladly accepted. "What's got you so riled up?"

"I-I had a dream last night," she said shakily. She picked at the eggs on her plate with her fork. "I just... It was really strange. It was unexpected."

"You can talk to me about it," Akeem told her. He sat in the chair next to her, watching her carefully. "What was your dream about? You don't have to worry about me not taking it seriously. Inara often had dreams of the future."

"I- what?" Sable froze. "Of- of the future? Like with..." She trailed off. She couldn't finish the sentence; it was far too embarrassing. She had never had a dream like that before.

"It was definitely not a future dream. It was about Conor though," she said finally. She chewed on her lip and returned to gazing out the window.

"Alright," Akeem nodded his head. "And what happened in the dream? Was he alright?"

"More than alright," Sable muttered. Her eyes widened and her cheeks warmed. "He- um. Well, things were getting really- hot."

"Oh," Akeem said. "And you're shaken up because...?"

"I've never had a dream like that before," Sable whispered. "It was so strange."

"Wait- so you're telling me you've never had... one of those dreams?" Akeem asked. "Even as the reincarnation of the goddess of that kind of thing? Not even with all those raging teenage hormones?"

"No! Now stop, okay," Sable growled. "And I think there was some deeper meaning to it. He seemed- not himself." Akeem raised an eyebrow.

"Well, assuming his intentions were to bed you, he really probably didn't seem like himself," Akeem shook his head. He took a bite of eggs off her plate while Sable stared at him with wide eyes. "He probably would have seemed more... like an animal?"

"Okay, aside from that, then," she said in a high voice. "Stop harassing me. Conor already did enough of that."

Akeem nodded and stood. He picked up another bite of the eggs on her plate before turning to the door. Sable's gaze followed him.

"I'm going to get my own breakfast," he said. "Please put your worries aside and eat. Meet me outside once you've finished- we have some training to do."

"Okay," Sable sighed.

Once he had left the room, she continued to pick at the food on her plate. She wasn't quite so hungry. She knew that it was necessary though and, even if she had no appetite, she finished off the plate anyway.

The air outside that morning felt warm. Sable was glad for that. Akeem was leaning against the side of the house and finishing up his own plate of breakfast. He looked up at her when she stepped out, and put his plate down on a wooden crate when he was done.

"Alright," Akeem sighed. He straightened up his posture and looked her over. "Have you ever had any sort of experience with close combat? Any practise, sparring- even play fights?"

Sable shook her head slowly. "Not really. I've not been known for my athletic abilities..."

Akeem ran his hand over his face. He looked out and off into the distance somewhere. Sable chewed on her lip, hoping that she wasn't completely hopeless. When Akeem looked at her again his eyes were determined.

"Come with me," he said.

Sable followed him as he led the way around to the back of his house. There were several training dummies set up in the dirt. Sable wondered how many times they had been used in the past.

"Let me show you a few things," Akeem said. "First before getting to anything else: correct posture. It will be very easy to throw you off your balance if your stance is awkward."

Akeem worked with her on her stance for a while, and on a better way for her to throw blows. He showed her how to add force to each blow. Eventually he had her throw a few punches at him, with him blocking and giving her advice on how to improve.

He showed her how to block attacks, though he was very gentle with her. Sable didn't know if she was strong enough, should she actually have to engage in close combat. She relied heavily on her magic. Had Inara been able to fight?

"Akeem, these are important skills and all, but I don't think I can do it," she said to him. "I'm not very strong... And I'm really not suited for close combat."

Akeem sighed and looked her over again. He made a face as he touched her arm.

"Yeah, you don't have a lot of muscle like Inara did," he muttered, more to himself than to her. It still irritated her a bit.

"Hey!" Sable exclaimed.

Akeem pulled a small dagger from his hip. He unsheathed it and handed it to her, holding onto the blade carefully so that the handle was pointed toward her. Sable took it and turned it over. The colour of it was a faint blue. It had some weight to it for a dagger, but it was still light enough and easy for her to move about. It glided through the air with a soft hum.

"Oh," Sable gasped. "It sounds like it's singing."

"This is Sidh," Akeem told her. "The way it was created and the materials used to create it are what make it seem as if it's singing."

"It's lovely," Sable said quietly, but she remained focused on the dagger in her hand.

"It's yours," Akeem said. Sable looked up at him, smiling wider. "And I'm going to teach you how to use it properly. You can still seriously injure someone with it, and defend yourself well; even if you aren't that strong."

"Okay," Sable agreed.

Akeem directed her over to one of the training dummies and instructed her to swing the dagger at it. Apparently she hadn't done that correctly, so he took her arm and assisted her with the movement. Once she had swung the correct way a few times he had her lunge at the target.

A few hours went by, with them switching back and forth between using the knife and using her fists and legs. Akeem refused to let her walk away without her knowing the different ways she could protect herself.

"And there are ways that we can help you to build up your strength," Akeem said later. They were making their way back to his house for lunch. "There are villages who could use assistance with transporting items, and working on gardens and such."

"Oh," Sable said. "I don't think I'm going to get instantly buff from just a day or so of all that."

"Of course not," Akeem laughed. "But you will still be building up strength. And we don't know when Conor will be here, or how long it will take him to gather the army."

Sable sighed and nodded. Perhaps she was just trying to get out of having to do any physical labour.

They grabbed a basket and packed sandwiches, and then headed back outdoors. Sable had suggested eating by the river. Something within her told her that she had to be there.

Once they had settled by the river, they stated putting their sandwiches together.

"Wait, you put butter on your sandwich?" Sable asked, making a face. She had just witnessed what she considered to be a blasphemy.

"Yeah, it's good," Akeem said. "The bread can be very dry; the butter keeps it nice and moist."

"Gross," Sable shook her head.

"You should try it," Akeem insisted.

"No, thanks," Sable said. She held her hands up, a motion that told Akeem to keep away. "I do not feel like ruining my sandwich today."

"You won't be-" Akeem began. His eyes widened and his mouth fell wide open as he stared at something behind her.

"What-" Sable started. She froze when Conor collapsed beside her. She reached for him and pulled him close, turning him over so that he was facing upward. He was shaking and his eyes were completely red. "Conor!?"