david and goliath

Paws skittered and kicked up sand and dust as he scrabbled to remain inside the arena. As luck would have it, Artorias managed to get his footing just before he went out of bounds, his toes just barely missing the perimeter of the arena. As his momentum died and he shifted his weight to spring back after her, Artorias noticed that Lillith had stopped trying to run away. The smaller girl was locked in place, breathing hard while her body trembled. She'd pushed herself too hard in their spar, or maybe he'd pushed her too much. Concern crossed his face while Lil spoke between heavy breaths like she couldn't get enough air into her lungs, conceding defeat.

"Hey, it's not about winning. You did a hell of a job keeping me on my toes and dodging my attacks," he said with a small smile, though his concerns were still mainly focused on making sure she was okay. "Here, have a seat and catch your breath." Artorias came up alongside Lil, gently ushering her hind end down to sit and breathe. He didn't want to coddle her or treat her like she had a handicap, but he also had to make sure she was okay. To be ignorant of the fact that she was still recovering from a debilitating sickness and did need special considerations would be reckless and dangerous of him.

"How do you feel?" he asked, sitting down beside her so she could lean and rest against him if she wished. Did she need water? Some time to catch her breath? Someone to help her back to bed? Whatever she needed, Artorias would try to provide for his accomplished little warrior. She'd earned it.

"Artorias Carpathius"