Loki laughed quietly. "Not so tired as that. My hands feel a bit weak, but I don't think I could sleep now if I tried."
He thought of a few more entertaining, light things on which he could speak. Those seemed best. Now was not a time to tell Soma grim things.
He cleared his throat. "That same great house had an armsmaster, a one-eyed man who was an old soldier. He had no use for a girl in his practice court, and no use for a boy who was too clever for his own good. He was quite cruel to both of them, trying to humiliate them and give them bruises in an effort to force them to run away like cowards. The girl refused to give in and showed up every day, no matter her bruises, no matter if her arm was in a sling.
"The boy was not so dedicated. He didn't want to be there anyway. Instead he hid away in his mother's gardens and read books he wasn't supposed to read. Even as his brother and father taunted him constantly for shirking his duties. If he could not be found, he could not be forced to do what he did not want.
"His brother found him one day and dragged him to the practice ring..."
He hesitated, realizing at that point this story made it very clear that the boy in question was him, though he supposed Soma had already assumed as much. He snorted quietly.
"The boy decided that he was tired of the game. He cast a spell so that there were illusions of him and the armsmaster didn't know which to strike. While the man was distracted, the boy climbed onto the man's back like a monkey and held a dagger to the man's throat.
"The armsmaster had no choice but to yield. But everyone was angry with the boy, because he'd humiliated a good warrior, and embarrassed his family. He got strapped for that. But he didn't cry because he knew he'd won, and they never made him go to practice again if he didn't wish."
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He thought of a few more entertaining, light things on which he could speak. Those seemed best. Now was not a time to tell Soma grim things.
He cleared his throat. "That same great house had an armsmaster, a one-eyed man who was an old soldier. He had no use for a girl in his practice court, and no use for a boy who was too clever for his own good. He was quite cruel to both of them, trying to humiliate them and give them bruises in an effort to force them to run away like cowards. The girl refused to give in and showed up every day, no matter her bruises, no matter if her arm was in a sling.
"The boy was not so dedicated. He didn't want to be there anyway. Instead he hid away in his mother's gardens and read books he wasn't supposed to read. Even as his brother and father taunted him constantly for shirking his duties. If he could not be found, he could not be forced to do what he did not want.
"His brother found him one day and dragged him to the practice ring..."
He hesitated, realizing at that point this story made it very clear that the boy in question was him, though he supposed Soma had already assumed as much. He snorted quietly.
"The boy decided that he was tired of the game. He cast a spell so that there were illusions of him and the armsmaster didn't know which to strike. While the man was distracted, the boy climbed onto the man's back like a monkey and held a dagger to the man's throat.
"The armsmaster had no choice but to yield. But everyone was angry with the boy, because he'd humiliated a good warrior, and embarrassed his family. He got strapped for that. But he didn't cry because he knew he'd won, and they never made him go to practice again if he didn't wish."