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Suddenly seeing the barrel of a gun pointed right at his head stopped the boy's breath just as effectively as the fierce blow he had taken earlier. Oliver tried to move. He really did, but that moment of thinking about his circumstances cost him a moment of action.

For a second he thought he was going to die, but then the gun was lowered, and the force of being hit was quickly followed by the pain. Oliver stumbled backward, but his steps were shaky, and he wasn't sure how he had kept his feet under him at all. He could barely lift the axe after receiving that last attack, and only with an enormous deal of pain. The trainee looked terrified, but whether it was pure fear keeping him rooted to the spot or some sort of hidden courage, he was watching the gun in Lex's hand like he was getting ready for another shot.

The tenseness dissipated, and for a second it looked like Oliver was ready to collapse to his knees.

"Ah, ow..." He muttered as Lex suddenly picked him up. "I-I'm oka--Ow!" The large axe returned to a fossilized tooth on a cord around his neck so he could tentatively explore the shoulder wound with his fingers. It hurt worse than anything he had experienced as a teenager, it was even more painful than when Alistaire had stabbed him in the leg. It was probably the fear shield that made the difference.

"I think I can... uh..." He was going to say he could probably go to the infirmary himself, but he trailed off, distracted by the blood on his fingers and suddenly aware of the shaking in his legs. He had no fear shield. Had things gone on longer, he could have died.

Oliver's reaction to the injuries was limited to stunned silence, at least until Lex began to fuss over him. Then there were some tears. Little whimpery 'no I'm not crying' tears he managed to sniffle through during the bandaging process. The wound on his shoulder wasn't even a bad one, not since his fear shield held up through most of it, but crying was Oliver's way of handling things when the shock began to lessen.

Once Lex was done, Oliver had wiped away all his tears and seemed more like himself. "O-okay," he replied, looking more like he wanted to avoid another training session at any cost.

Oliver nodded, this time hanging his head slightly. Dummies were good, but his biggest weakness was moving around. Sometimes it felt like learning to play ping pong without a partner. It was fluidity of motion that he lacked with the large axe, and the balance of motion and timing required to wield it was not something he could achieve without at least a little coaching.

He glanced up, a frown on his face. "I-I thought you already weren't aiming for vital areas..." His shoulder hurt, but he would live. And his whole chest ached, but that was just bruises. Possibly bruises upon bruises. Nothing vital though.

"Oh..." Oliver mumbled quietly, immediately pressing a wrinkle out of the freshly adjusted sheets with nervous fingers. "Jökul doesn't talk much, i-is that normal? I don't even know what he is-"

<> the rumbling voice interrupted.

"... Oh." The kid repeated. "He's a leviathan." Oliver glanced up, his pale eyes still a little watery. "B-but he still doesn't talk much."

Carhop Cavalier

"He really likes fighting..." Oliver admitted, "sometimes he tells me how to do better." He was sure Jökul would like it better if he actually won fights, but the leviathan never seemed grumpy over the losses... He couldn't see why Jökul would have chosen him in the first place.

But that reminded him of something that had been weighing on his mind, and suddenly it seemed like a question that couldn't wait to be asked later.

"What happens to the weapon if a hunter dies?" Oliver blurted out suddenly. He was clearly concerned, but there was almost a certain grimness hiding among the kid's nervous expressions. A part of him still hadn't given up the idea of accepting death rather than becoming a liability. He really wasn't good at fighting, and was quick to panic when things got rough. He hadn't even been involved in any missions yet. All he was able to do was sit on the island while better hunters than himself fought and suffered.

Oliver hoped Jökul could bond with another hunter, but the leviathan gave no response. For some reason, it was easier for the kid to accept his own death than the thought of his weapon never getting to fight again. How long had Jökul waited in the first place? Would he be able to forgive Oliver for being so weak?

Despite Lex's reassurances, the teen's heart felt heavy. "Yeah..." He agreed quietly as he looked down at his hands, and then his lip quivered. And he wiped his eyes with a loud sniff.