Growing pains

Absinth's gaze shifted between the two brothers, taking in their earnestness. She listened intently to Oleander's question, her smile twitching upwards on one end as she chuckled and regarded him with her full attention.

“You raise an interesting point, Oleander,” Absinth began, her voice steady and a touch amused. The boy was tripping over his words, but she didn’t mind; he wanted to learn and she was willing to teach. “In combat, there is a fine line between fighting and protecting. At their core, both actions involve confrontation, but the intent behind them can differ greatly.”

She paused for a moment, allowing her words to sink in with a flick of her charcoal tail before continuing. “When you're fighting, you're trying to overcome your opponent, to assert dominance or achieve a goal. It can be a matter of survival or conquest, maybe you just want to get your hands dirty. I for one enjoy the rush of blood in my veins~” She shot them a feral grin, her admission a roguish purr in her throat before she continued. “Protecting, on the other hand, is about safeguarding something or someone. It's not always about engaging in direct combat; sometimes, it's about standing your ground, shielding others from harm, taking the harm to your own body, or even making a retreat to ensure safety.” Was that the full spectrum? No. But it was to the point, and Absinth did not beat around the bush.

She took a step closer to Ollie, her presence reassuring yet commanding. He had been the one to ask the question, after all. “In essence, fighting may involve protecting, but not all protection requires fighting. Change your approach based on the situation at hand, discern when aggression is necessary and when a more defensive stance is called for.” Her gaze was sharp, like a dagger, and entirely confident in her own words.

wormwood