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Oliver was beginning to settle into a good routine. He was never called on for missions, but his routine chores took him between the labs and the infirmary, both of which were growing comfortably familiar. Sometimes he would see someone he knew in passing. He still didn't 'hang out' with anyone during his spare time, most of it was spent sleeping in his room.

Sometimes though, he managed to get out to the training field. Today he had found a quiet area with a couple training dummies, and with Jökul's advice, was practicing the large, sweeping movements required for an attack.

Oliver jumped half a foot at the unexpected sound, and whirled around to see that man from the other night. The one who had left him with Ian. The kid was starting to become familiar with that expression, the cold, lying smile that put him on edge every time he saw it.

The Life trainee took a nervous step backwards. The man's tone was as deceptive as that smile, and Oliver found himself struggling against the urge to run away. "I c-can?" He asked timidly. Did Ian need looking after again, or had he stumbled across another intimidating guy with a coffee addiction? Somehow, with that expression, Oliver got the feeling it was nothing so mundane...

All of Oliver's instincts were telling him to get out. They were screaming at him, this was not an opponent he should fight. He looked around, but the place he had chosen for practice was a little out of the way, and there was no help in sight.

"I-I'm not very good at fighting," Oliver said quietly, hoping that would dissuade the other. He wouldn't be very good practice at all, since he was still so inexperienced with the large axe. Even with Jökul's coaching it would be a long time before he could hold his own.

But it would also be a long time before he could say no. "I c-can if you want though..."

The kid shot a nervous glance at the man's face, and saw no warmth there. It was like his recruitment all over again. He didn't want this, but did he even have a choice?

Oliver nervously glanced around one more time, almost with hope that someone might come and save him. But the pair of them were alone. And the other man was sizing him up, almost as though trying to figure out what kind of meal he would make. Oliver couldn't help but compare him to some sort of predator, his eyes were just so cold.

Fighting against his shaky hands, he twisted the axe to make a quick, horizontal slash.

HP: 40
Damage: 2

Oliver scrambled back, but he wasn't fast enough to keep the chained dagger from hitting it's mark. He could have attempted to block the strike with the large axe's handle, but that would mean altering the direction of the swing, breaking the momentum, and that was difficult when the axe was so big. Inwardly he had similar doubts. It was an awful big axe, and he was hardly a proper fit...

But instead of extending the conversation, he swallowed heavily and let the axe resume it's swing. With a slight shift in grip it turned upwards, and he was able to bring it down in a heavy, but predictable attack.

HP: 38
Damage: 3

Oliver tried to convince himself the smile was a good sign. Like with Before, who smiled at every attempted hit. And Shiloh, who smiled like he wanted to smile all day. He might have even accepted Finn's sort of smile, the kind that said 'oh you are in for it now,' because it meant he was seen as another person. Perhaps a small, weak, little person, but still.

Alistaire smiled like he was ready to pull some wings off some insects. Small, weak, little insects.

Oliver winced and jerked back as the dagger sliced past, interrupting his swing and bringing the axe tip dangerously close to the ground. He tried to recover by lunging forward, with the sharp edge turned towards the other man's body.

HP: 34
Damage: 2

The weight of the axe while recovering from the jab pulled Oliver forward a step, but he shifted his weight and somehow managed to clip Alistaire on the return swing. He paused before the next attack, the axe tip wavering once again.

"Ah, um... No... Sorry," his apology was automatic, it took some concentration to keep his balance, as was evident from his recent motions. And even more embarrassing, it took a great deal of effort to attack with any force. Oliver had yet to build up the stamina and muscle mass required for heavy duty sparring, and after his earlier swinging practice, he was already starting to tire.

But he really didn't want Alistaire to know that.

"I-I'm just r-really focusing," he stammered nervously.

HP: 34
Damage: 1

"Um... Keeley." Oliver said, the nervous edge in his voice growing. Had he ever felt such close scrutiny as this? "Oliver Keeley..."

The dry tone made him wince inwardly, but with the events of the other day brought up, he found it hard to keep his mind on the fight.

"Um, w-what happened that night? T-To Ian?" He asked timidly, his desire to know tipping the scales away from the fear of speaking up. Ian still hadn't said anything about it.

The realization that they were still sparring suddenly took the kid off guard, and he quickly made a long, horizontal slash mostly out of fear of those chained daggers. He didn't want to leave too many openings, but it was becoming impossible with such a large weapon. He needed to get better, fast.

HP: 34
Damage: 8