SPARRING / TRAINING STARTERS // always accepting !
CARDAMOMT // @destinywrought : the match ends when someone is disarmed and ends up pinned
LEON DOESN’T EXPECT TO have his wooden weapons disarmed so swiftly ; nor does he expect the impact of soft ground beneath his back to GREET HIM so promptly after the fact . regardless , it forces the breath from his lungs in an instant , their sudden shift in orientation leaving a swirling sea of STARS to frame cardamomt's all too-familiar victorious smile . he notes however , with a none-too-small measure of satisfaction , that his own gasps for breath are not ALONE — every harsh inhale of leon’s chest harmonized by the SHARP EXHALE that likewise tears through his opponent's haggard form .
there should be a sting of DEFEAT somewhere within him : burning hot and unforgiving like stubborn embers that CLING to the ashes of a dead fire . even now , even here as he only vaguely registers his evident loss .
…. and yet , as the edges of cardamomt’s silhouette sharpen back into focus , the warmth within him doesn’t BURN for a rematch the way it should . perhaps due to the glow of SILVERY MOONLIGHT that pours over him ; bathing those rare , few edges he possesses in a remarkably delicate glow .
delicate seems a LAUGHABLE word to describe him in any context : cardamomt roux , champion of eorzea and hero of light and dark alike . and yet , it’s the only word that comes to mind as leon feels his DAZED ATTENTION drift from the muted halo of white framing his rust-tinted locks , many of which are left TOUSLED by their relatively lengthy match , down to the starlight-dusted freckles spattered over the contours of his dear friend’s LOVELY CHEEKBONES . all the while , he tries not to think about cardamomt’s MOLTEN BREATH pouring over him and mixing with his own as he thanks their rigorous exercise for giving him a good enough excuse to blush .
warmth . fever , and fire . it’s hard to think of little else ; their warrior of darkness lacks his typical armor , and thus leon can feel his rampant body heat radiating through the thin layers of their casual sparring attire — making his own feel that much more unbearable in the THICK HUMIDITY of a summer’s night .
it’s little wonder that a dark sky’s RETURN in this land has brought wide-swept relief throughout the crystarium and its nearby settlements : were they out here breaking a sweat beneath a dry and endless sun , the contact of their skin might've felt far more UNPLEASANT . and stickier .
just barely suppressing a quiet SHUDDER , leon opens his mouth : hoping perhaps that something clever will deign to roll off of his tongue . instead , his throat seals itself shut , and any thoughts are promptly ferried away into the rivers of his subconscious when the roaring of a crowd he had nearly ABOUT ENTIRELY erupts to break the odd silence .
they’d gathered of their own accord , though neither he or cardamomt had given much PAUSE in their activities to acknowledge them . they both required far too much of each other’s AWARENESS in a fight ; neither remotely forgiving of each other’s hesitations .
their sounds must be why the knight turns his head so SUDDENLY — the intensity of their searing gaze DOUSED at last as the other swivels his neck to peer back over his shoulder . at what in particular , leon can’t say with confidence from such an inauspicious angle , but for the briefest moment , leon can feel his competitive nature begin to rear its head once more as an OPENING is duly glimpsed .
that moment , however brief , is ALL HE NEEDS .
it’s cheating , technically : FIVE SECONDS PINNED had been their agreed upon rule , after all , and they’re well past that mark . maybe it’s a need for petty revenge then that drives him to take advantage : using his companion’s brief distraction to break free from the WEIGHT of cardamomt’s forearms pinning his own .
ALL AT ONCE , their positions switch : the black of NIGHT behind his elezan friend turning over as leon swiftly spins them around and takes him down into the lush GREEN of crystarium’s sparse foliage . leon GRIPS his wrists , ensuring he doesn’t use the full strength of his magitek prosthetics as he swiftly applies the ENTIRETY of his weight atop the cardamomt’s legs , shin bones pressing into the firmness of his thighs .
leon registers the crowds gasps much clearer than he had their CHEERS , despite the fact that his face hovers even CLOSER to cardamomt’s own than it had before .
he lets out one last HUFF of satisfaction , mouth shaping into a GRIN as bright laughter rings through the strangely charged air between them .
his next words are muttered close enough for only cardamomt to discern as he dips his head and AVERTS his dark but smiling eyes ,
❛ sorry , but someone has to keep you HUMBLE around these people …. ❜ he murmurs , though the sheer veil of mischievous delight in his tone tells a slightly different story . a rumbling chuckle spills into one of the knight’s pointed ears , ill-fittingly sweet in its cadence , ❛ you’ll thank me LATER ~ ❜
