Then I'll Raise You Like A Phoenix

Ashmedai would absorb the other boy's affections greedily. He really loved the attention, he wasn't going to lie. After a moment, Ash would pull back from Mieu, "Something's been bothering me, though, Mieu..." The slate boy would stand and take a few steps back from his friend, "Do you know how to fight...? If something happened to me... could you defend yourself?" He was truly concerned. Mieu was soft, and Ashmedai really loved that source of positive reinforcement and encouragement, but with the war just behind them, he couldn't help but worry about his little friend, "Okay, Mieu, look. Let's fight. Play fight, but we need to pretend it's real. Pretend I'm someone who wants to hurt you, okay? I promise it's just pretend, I need to know how well you can defend yourself..." Ashmedai walked until there was about ten feet between him and Mieu, "When you're ready," he started, taking in  a shaky breath, "Come at me."