Bandages and Bruises [Private w/ Nym Magenta]

[Terra Fennel]

Terra snickered at the little half-joke and relaxed into Nym's touch. As much as she prided herself on how the fur on her tail and ears looked and felt now, the wolf couldn't help but realize that Nym might have been the first person to get her hands on the fluffy appendage in its current state. There'd been little time for proper washing and grooming as she'd traveled from Mantle to Vale. She'd taken what opportunities had come, but even when someone had the opportunity to grab her tail, it hadn't been quite this soft.

“Mhmm. It's not magic or anything. You won't just have super soft and smooth fur after one day, but I just brush it, take my shower, shampoo and condition like you should be anyway, and then brush it once it's dry.” As the vixen took in the scent of her shampoo, Terra found herself thankful that even the occasional person who had walked by the classroom had more important things to do than look in. With senses as strong as theirs, it wasn't uncommon in her experience for faunus to greatly enjoy a pleasant scent even if it came from another person, but she was all too aware the awful jokes one of their human peers might have made with Nym breathing in the scent of strawberries from her tail.

“I wouldn't mind helping you if you don't believe me.” It was strange seeing this young woman go from absolutely demolishing her opponent to being smitten with Terra's fur. More importantly, it was nice to run into someone who reminded her of home without all the unpleasantness that usually came with it.

[Nym Magenta]

Terra wouldn't mind helping her, huh? Well, the girl was looking to become friends with Nym, possibly even join a team with her. This seemed like the sort of bridge building that was appropriate for that, but was Nym comfortable with it? Would Ax be comfortable with it? Ax probably would be. It's not like brushing out a tail was that intimate of contact between faunus, unless Terra was offering to help wash and condition it, but...well, she could do that with pants on and a tub of water or something. There were ways around it.

Did Nym even want a tail like this?

What would Ax think about her tail if it was this smooth.

"Yes," Nym said with confidence. "Er, I mean, yeah, actually, I don' believe you. Yer gonna 'ave t' prove it t'me," Nym said jokingly as she finally relinquished Terra's fluffy appendage. Having a silkier, smoother, shinier tail could only be a good thing. Maybe she could look at this like the first step towards trying to wear slightly more feminine clothing in public. When she felt like doing that. If she ever felt like pushing that boundary.

[Terra Fennel]

Terra couldn't help but snicker at the way Nym had answered, as if she didn't want to seem too eager for the idea. As the calloused hands stroking her fur released her she turned around in her chair, this time not bothering to spin it as she did. “Then we can just meet up at your dorm or mine sometime and I'll put my money where my mouth is. I could probably even fill some of those little toiletry bottles for you so you have some until you're able to get your own if you like the outcome.” Of course Nym would like the outcome, Terra didn't doubt that at all. Having someone else who knew what they were doing brush out your tail was heavenly, and she'd even be happy to help the girl wash it if she wanted.

How that she was facing the fox again, she couldn't help but let her attention be drawn to the terrible weapon Nym had used. Even in a neutral state it was a frightening thing that reminded her more of a caged beast than a compact weapon. There was no concealing a shudder as she imagined the wounds it would leave. “Your weapon is, something else. Definitely a hell of a lot more intimidating than what I use, or really what most the students use.” Was there even a polite way to say that someone's weapon scared the hell out of her?

[Nym Magenta]

"Right, gimme yer scroll numba' n' we c'n make it 'fficial." She was at least able to keep a straight face after her over eager agreement. Ax would probably want to do this too. Was it manipulative of her to do this with Terra to increase the chances that Ax would do it with her? Ax had a particular hair care regime, but feathers weren't fur and fur wasn't exactly the same as hair. What worked for one didn't necessarily work for all. Before Nym could get too lost in thoughts about Terra and Ax brushing out her fur together, Terra was looking over her weapon, questioning her about it.

The fox reached over her shoulder to place it in her lap. "S'part'a the design, t' not jus' be lethal, but scary. The chain's practical. The way it spins, the, er, centrifugal forces? They let me move in strange ways. It's bloody 'ard t' swing it, though. It wobbles when ya swing it 'cuz of the spinnin'. It takes a long time t' adjust to it. No one'd be able to pick this weapon up n' use it the same way I do." Nym mercifully refrained from transforming it into it's melee arrangement. "Bladed chain makes every hit hurt more, n' if I c'n pin somethin' down, it'll tear it t' pieces. Only way not t' kill people with it's not t' use the chainsaw. S'brutal. Scary. Makes people panic when the chain tries t' rip their weapon from their 'ands. S'...designed t' be a terrible, cold, killin' machine." She knew every nook and cranny, every subtlety of Whisper. It had been the only thing that kept her alive after she'd left Wind Path.

"Wasn' designed by me, though. I jus' use it."

[Terra Fennel]

“Would help if I remembered it... Uh.” Terra pulled her scroll out as Nym asked about her number... Stars, she really should memorize it so she could just say it or write it as needed. She didn't even know where to find it in her scroll, and instead had to look it up on the student directory every damn time she needed it for paperwork. Instead her finger tapped and swiped across her screen until she had found a way to send a contact request to Nym directly. “I think that's how Ax did it when we were on that mission.” Terra half-muttered under her breath. There were things she'd taken to like a fish in water at Beacon, but some things she felt like she'd forgotten her gills.

As the wolf looked up from her scroll able to focus more on what Nym was explaining, she saw the weapon in the girl's lap. “I- I think centrifugal is right?” At least she was pretty sure. The sciences were something she'd been excelling at, though that was a must as someone learning medicine. “I've never really been,” The wolf hesitated as she tried to think of the word, “comfortable with weapons designed like that. I've had to patch up people who've been hit with a chainsword before, and it's always a terrible wound, like the weapon is made to maim survivors more than it's meant to insure a kill.” Blonde hair bounced as she shook her head. “I'm glad to know you didn't design it though.” She wanted to say how twisted someone had to be to design a weapon like that for themselves in the first place, but there was no way to know how Nym had acquired it. Calling a lost loved one twisted was a sure way to get into a fight.

[Nym Magenta]

Nym felt her scroll vibrate in her pocket and nodded at Terra's mutterings. The girl had figured it all out just fine. She'd accept it later and they could figure out a time. Her eyes wandered back down to her weapon as Terra spoke of treating those wounded by a chainsaw blade. "S'built fer maximum destruction. It ain't designed jus' t' maim. It turns glancin' wounds inta bloody gashes, n' near fatal ones inta' death blows. The chains rip through platin' on Grimm like it ain't there. It ain't meant t' leave people alive. No one I've eva'...er..." Nym cut herself off before getting to into that, but the damage was probably already done. What she was going to say was probably obvious enough.

Her eyes trailed down towards the floor of the room. "Sorry, I meant t' say...if I was eva' gonna make me own weapon, redesign whispa' or...maybe 'ave t' make me own if it was eva' destroyed or lost, it'd still be a weapon like this. 'M too used t' fightin' with the chain. Holdin' a normal sword or axe don' feel right." She could only hope that Terra understood what she was saying. Nym hadn't ever had to clean up the messes she left behind, but here was someone who had. What would Terra have thought had she walked into the snowy clearing that Nym had left stained with blood when she'd first arrived in Vale? Perhaps they wouldn't be having this same conversation.

[Terra Fennel]

There was a moment that the world seemed to go quiet, a solemn admission leaving Nym's lips without the sentence ever being finished. As much as the wolf wished she could just pretend none of her peers had ever or would ever have to end a life besides the strange unlife of a grimm, she had lived that necessity. The circumstances around the decision to end a life could be a varied as the reasons to save one, and not be wrong. Not for a moment did she consider pressing the issue. As much for fear of hearing the terrible details of what Nym's weapon had done as the danger that she might share what she'd done.

Instead she spoke softly, keeping any judgment out of her voice. “No, I don't think anyone could expect that of you. To spend years learning how to use your weapon in such a unique way... It would be a waste of your training, time, and effort getting this far.” Nym already knew the cost of letting that weapon fly. Terra could only hope the people who had been torn asunder by the vicious teeth of that sword had been deserving of the fate. “It's one of the reasons I've been struggling in my own training matches. I've learned to almost exclusively fight with dust. I know the basics of using some other weapons, and I'm a decent enough aim with a gun, but that's not the same as really knowing how to fight with something.” More and more she regretted the promise she made Vesper, but maybe if she could find a way to make the way she fought entirely her own, she wouldn't really be breaking it.

[Nym Magenta]

Nym blinked and tilted her head. Terra was struggling in her matches because she only knew how to fight with dust? She couldn't follow. When Nym had first come to Beacon her dust use was minimal at best. Her raw physical speed and strength, the killer instinct she'd honed, her years of experience in life or death combat had put her at the top of her class from the start. She'd been jealous of how much dust some of the other students could use. Ax had been a particular inspiration in just how much one could get done with dust and had also been successful in expanding Nym's dust using horizons. Terra couldn't be helpless, she got into Beacon. What did she mean?

"I...don' think I follow," Nym responded, quite happy that they were moving away from the topic of her own fighting style. "I know plenty'a students who almost only use dust n' they ain't strugglin'. What're you strugglin' with?" Was Terra just not used to fighting people? It wasn't totally unheard of, but it seemed uncommon. How else did one practice their combat skills? Training dummies only got you so far.

[Terra Fennel]

“Uh- um...” From one uncomfortable subject to another, and she had a feeling that Nym would interject an answer that would be the same as she'd heard from one of her professors. Unfortunately that professor didn't understand what went into raw dust casting. Not many did anymore. Terra found it a little harder to look Nym in the eyes. If she was expecting to be on a team with her and Ax, neither of them would particularly be comfortable with this particular problem would they? It was better to explain than leave it to be discovered later.

“So, with dust, you probably know this, but there's a bunch of different ways it can be used. I was taught how to utilize it in its raw form.” She held her scarred hand out palm up and willed a small cloud of whirling snowflakes to form. Harmless and useless save for the cold emanating from it. “My semblance makes this very easy for me. Like how I connected to you, I can connect my aura to the energy within a crystal and either by changing my aura and using that, or the energy in the crystal directly, I can utilize it for all kinds of things. It works off intent and willpower.” The orb expanded contracted with each breath she took.

“The man who taught me was a master with dust casting, but if he was going to teach me, I had to make a promise. I couldn't use what he taught me against people, humans or faunus, unless I had to to protect people or save a life. He'd seen a lot of death in his time in the military and was tired of contributing to that, so he made it very clear how important that promise was if he was going to teach me,” Terra laughed halfheartedly as she spoke, “and I mean, I've only ever wanted to help people so I promised. I didn't realize that because of that, when I think about using dust in a training match.” The flakes of snow blew away and vanished. Just like her chances of ending up on a team with anyone, and if she didn't solve it, her chances of staying of graduating.

“I've not had issues using it in the field, but... not so much luck in training matches.”

[Nym Magenta]

Nym listened as Terra spoke. Her semblance and what it could do sounded extremely versatile. Connecting well with dust and using it precisely were good skills to have and she would be forever jealous of those whose semblances let them be creative with it. It was a shame that Terra seemed to be so hesitant to use them because of some promise she'd made a long time ago. The answer seemed to be quite obvious. "Er...I don' wanna sound rude, 'cuz I d'no what otha' people've told ya or nothin', but...why not jus' break yer promise? F'you don' practice 'gainst people, what're you gonna do when people're comin' at ya?"

The fox shifted in her seat, crossing her arms. "N' don' say yer gonna 'ave 'nuff practice fightin' Grimm t' hold 'em off. People ain't Grimm. People c'n think. They c'n do things you don' expect 'em t' do. They c'n snuff yer life out in a second f'you give 'em a chance, n' if yer too busy tryin' t' get ova' some promise t' pull the trigga' when it's time, yer jus' givin' 'em that chance. I mean..." Nym frowned, her brow furrowing. "You can't fight with techniques that ain't jus' second nature. F'you ain't used t' pullin' the trigga', yer gonna be too slow t' save those lives or protect people. Would you want someone protectin' ya that barely knew 'ow t' use their weapon?" She rapped on her chainsaw with a knuckle. "Think y'd want me swingin' this anywhere near ya 'f I didn' practice with it every day?"

[Terra Fennel]

And there it was. It didn't matter that she focused on the intent and will that went into dust casting, or that she talked about how the moment she thought of breaking that promise her dust just fizzled away. Terra shook her head with a heavy sigh. It wasn't merely a promise, but no one got that. Her problem was entirely mental. “That's exactly what both of my combat professors have tried to drill into my head, without either of them actually being dust users and understanding what goes into that.” Nym wasn't a dust user either, she didn't know, and what was the purpose of going to a class focused on the intricacies of dust casting when it was becoming ever more rare as dust tech advanced. Vesper had warned her when they'd left for Beacon that unless she found someone who was a dust casting specialist, she'd run into issues, but she was supposed to have him.

“It's not just breaking a promise. It's not like taking up a scalpel and drawing it across someone's neck after promising to do no harm.” Her hand mimicked the motion on her own neck. “Dust casting is will and intent. That promise being made to someone I looked up to before they died carries a weight. Even if I am so tired of getting knocked around the arena like I'm some sentient punching bag and want to break the promise. When I've needed to fight grimm, or protect someone, it comes to me second nature. I've learned how to cast through anger, sadness, and every other distracting emotion there is. It's become a mental block, one I'm constantly trying to work on.”

“Which is why I've been looking for another way.” Terra clenched her fists in her lap, frustration clear in her voice. “Because I know it needs to be instinct, and I'm so tired of people thinking I'm just not willing.”

[Nym Magenta]

Nym pressed her own knuckles into her lips as she listened to Terra speak. So it wasn't a matter of wanting to or not wanting to. The way she talked about it made it quite clear her will was in the right place. It was the kind of problem that probably required more than a pep talk or a paradigm shift to fix. Her brow furrowed as Terra continued and the gears in her head turned. What would she suggest? If a tool of hers wasn't working, and she couldn't fix it, and she couldn't find someone to fix it, would she hang on to it? If it was a tool that only worked in one specific way, worked well in that one specific way, would she discard it? She'd probably work on making sure she had other tools.

And why was she feeling like she needed to solve this problem herself?

Nym didn't dwell on that thought long. "What kinda trainin' 've they 'ad you doin'? And what kinda otha' way d'you want?"

[Terra Fennel]

Stars, this girl was doing a better job of actually thinking about her problem than her combat professors. They ignored that her grades were stellar. Even in her losses in the training matches they threw here in, she was fantastic on the defensive, avoiding things others of her year were having issues with, and that was with a handicap of not using her dust. They both just saw a student who had yet to win a single match, not the fact every mission she'd been part of had been a success, but somehow Nym was actually asking more questions. Though, they were questions the professors knew the answer to.

“My professors have been sort of, brute forcing the problem. I guess under the assumption that if I'm thrown into enough matches against other students, eventually something will fall into place and I'll be able to use dust against them like I was able to in my entrance exam or on missions.” Terra wrung her hands as she talked, and her gaze only met Nym's intermittently. “That works well enough for most students. It's easy enough for most students to find a training partner, and work on their weaknesses before their next match.” What worked well for most students simply didn't work for her, but with so many students, she couldn't expect focused attention.

“I've been trying to think of a way of fighting or a weapon that I might be able to use with my dust casting that will be enough of it's own thing that I don't have to feel like I'm betraying Vesper, and...” Her being a huntress was his idea. Why did he have her make a promise that made that so difficult? Why did he have to die and leave her alone? Terra took a steadying breath to keep herself from getting too emotional. “I don't know if I can do it on my own. Which is why I've started thinking so much about what was probably just an offhand comment to make me feel better...”

[Nym Magenta]

Nym tapped one foot against the floor lightly, her heel going up and down while she listened, her tail swishing in the air behind her. Terra couldn't just flip the switch and make it work in any old training match. Throwing her up against random students over and over wasn't working so far, and by the sounds of it she didn't have any regular partners to try on over and over. There were a lot of ways you could approach the problem from, but if you didn't have someone you could communicate with and brainstorm with it was an effort in futility. You were rolling the dice instead of practicing. It was the laziest possible approach. Maybe she shouldn't have been surprised. Beacon did it's best to educate, but you did have to sink or swim. She'd nearly drowned in schoolwork when she'd first arrived and the only reason she hadn't dropped out was determination and fear.

"Well...hm..." She started to think out loud. "D'no if it'd work, but I could come at ya like I was gonna kill ya n' see if that'd help." Nym didn't have any problem getting in a murderous state of mind in a fight. It was harder to think of training matches as practice than a life or death fight. "But, if that don' work, I could also try standin' there n' lettin' you try n' get comfortable shootin' at me. Or...we could work on yer otha' fightin' skills n' jus' 'ope somethin' clicks 'long the way fer yer castin'."

[Terra Fennel]

Nym was really putting a lot of thought into this. Maybe her chances of being on a team with her and Ax hadn't been as damaged as she had feared with the admission of her troubles. One thing she was terrified to admit was that she had a feeling Ax, or rather her semblance would help her be able to ignore that mental block in her presence. That woman quite literally radiated confidence. Even riskier maneuvers with dust had worked, and had encouraged her to learn a new dust type on the off-chance they got to work together again. When Nym finally gave her suggestion though, Terra was already shaking her head.

“Unfortunately, even realizing one of the students was pulling his punches to get me as close to the red as possible before he'd hit me with everything he had didn't exactly trigger any survival instinct.” Bastard at least got in some deep trouble for that malicious attack. Even Professor Aka couldn't brush off what he'd done, though that might have had more to do with her having to miss class for a week while she recovered. “Believing you were coming at me with killing intent, still wouldn't solve the problem of needing to feel that way in my other training matches. I might be able to use dust against you at the very least if it worked, but my match record is still awful, and the professors might be even less likely to believe me if I solve it with just one person.”

[Nym Magenta]

"Er...Well, I was thinkin' more like the uh...boilin' a frog method, but...in...reverse?" Metaphors were probably only helpful if she actually knew how to adapt them. She should speak straight. "I'unno, was figurin', I could come at ya like I'm 'bout t' kill ya n' if y'could use dust right then, well...could keep doin' it fer a while n' turn down the intensity. Like gettin' ya used t' usin' it when yer life's prob'ly in danger, then sorta in danger, then maybe in danger, then not in danger." Nym shrugged. "I ain't real good at thinkin' a ways t' get 'round problems like that. Y'd prob'ly need a therapist or somethin'. But I c'n teach ya 'ow t' fight betta' with the tools y' can use."

Nym scooted her chair closer to Terra and held the wolf's hands lightly in hers. "And 'f that don' work we c'n think'a somethin' else."

Faunus ought to stick together, right? Ax had stuck her neck out for Nym when they'd first met. Nym felt the urge to do the same. Terra had a problem that might not be possible for Nym to solve entirely on her own, but it was obvious she wasn't getting much help from anyone else. What might Nym have become if she hadn't encountered Ax? What could Terra yet be with a little help?

[Terra Fennel]

Terra's eyes widened at the mention of boiling a frog, the turn of phrase not one she was familiar with. While she'd skewered more than cute furry squirrel or rabbit on the way to Vale to roast, or more accurately char, boiling a frog just sounded grim. Whether the explanation that followed was due to her reaction, or Nym struggling with the words herself, she wasn't certain, but it was a lot clearer. Her idea was a possibility. With her understanding of dust, she didn't see a reason it wouldn't work eventually. It was still brute force, but at least it had a better goal than just see if something stuck.

Terra smiled at the fox's hands on her own. It was always nice to physically feel someone's presence. It was comforting. “Already been talking to a therapist about some stuff. Was sort of encouraged when I enrolled. I think your idea has a chance of working. At least a better chance than what I've been trying so far. I still think I'll eventually need to change things up, find a way to incorporate my dust use into another way of fighting that feels right, but it might at least let me hold my own in a training match or two.” To think she'd merely meant to get to know the fox better, and the girl was already trying to help her be stronger.

“Thank you Nym. I wasn't necessarily planning on bringing this up just yet, but I already feel a little better about my odds.” Even if it ended up that she didn't end up on their team, maybe she'd have a little help at least.

[Nym Magenta]

Nym nodded at Terra, glad to see she was smiling. "There's a bloody million ways t' use dust, 'specially if you've got the kinda control ova' it you do. Don' 'ave t' be offensive with it. Seen professa' Valiente put up walls'a Ice n' Earth, send 'erself flyin' with wind n' fire dust. Plenty'a ways t' use it that don' involve actively tryin' t' hurt someone else. F'you can learn t' swing a weapon n' shoot while doin' all'a that, you'd be a real threat. Jus' gotta figure out what feels right for ya." Terra might have been behind the curve, but that didn't mean she was hopeless. With enough effort and time, anyone could learn how to use any weapon. It was all about finding the one that worked best for you.

She laughed, thinking about the idea that Terra would have hesitated to talk about this issue with her. "Sparrin's a good way t' be betta' friends. Forces ya t' learn 'ow t' communicate. I can't tell ya whatcha did wrong n' right 'f I don' say it out loud. Can't 'ave goals without talkin' 'bout 'em, and...turns out fightin's prob'ly the thing I know most about." She'd picked the right person to open up to.

[Terra Fennel]

“That's actually how I was taught at first. How to use dust in the little ways that most people neglect.” The urge to show off and prove she wasn't incapable was strong, but Nym already seemed to believe she had potential. “I've not really sorted out flight yet, but I've been able to breath underwater, manipulate water to pluck a fish out of a stream, or use dust to remove a poison from someone's blood and fix a broken bone. Dust is just so amazing, so versatile in its raw form that it's such a shame so many people only think about how it can be used to hurt someone.”

The idea of sparring anyone was a scary prospect, but she'd seen other students spar and laugh afterwards. It didn't have to be like how she'd learned to fight. "I've never really had the best experience sparring with others, so I didn't really consider it much of a solution, and just a way to get roughed up some more. If I could even use my dust defensively in a training match, that would make a world of difference, but even that's been difficult in my fights.” It was so stupid that even creating a wall of ice or using a solid blast of wind to deflect an arrow or bullet seemed to just fail. It couldn't just be because of her opponents skill either. She knew when her dust was working.

[Nym Magenta]

Nym's eyebrows raised in obvious surprise. All of the applications that Terra was talking about seemed like they were well outside the possibilities of her own skills. Was it the enhanced precision of her semblance that allowed her to do those things? Was it really just creativity that let her do it? That was a little beyond Nym's current level of expertise. What Terra said next was not. There was a goal they could shoot for. Get Terra to be able to use her dust defensively. Practice a thing until it became second nature. She felt a sudden burst of energy in her legs as she sat there, suddenly itching to drag Terra off to a training room.

"You wanna start right now?" Nym laced her fingers together behind her head. "'M already warmed up, n' if you got the time, the soona' the betta'." Her head was already running through what kind of diagnosing she'd have to do. Where exactly did the problem lie? Could she do it any time? Was it the pressure of a match that made her crumble? Was it the imminent violence? Could she throw up a wall to stop a ball? A grenade? A charge from Nym herself? This was the kind of problem that she was good at solving, a skill she'd had a natural talent for, figuring out how to fight. With Ax's help she'd honed it to a razor's edge.

[Terra Fennel]

The wolf was used to people looking surprised as she claimed some of the more mundane capabilities of her dust use. It barely even taxed a crystal to do any of them, or all of them at once. It required so little energy all while letting her practice precise, minute control of the energies and will. When it came to dust, people started big! Spears of ice, great balls of fire, arcing lightning reaching out to destroy the user's target, all just barely at the edge of their control. It only took a moment of wavering control to result in a terrible accident if they didn't have the precision. Though, she supposed one wouldn't recognize the difference in the scars in her hide. They hadn't come from her own ineptitude.

What was a surprise was Nym offering to jump right into it. Terra shifted nervously in her chair before speaking, her eyes moving to Whisper. “I mean, not particularly, but I don't really have a reason not to give it a shot. I'll need to double check what I have on me, and collect any dusts missing from my repertoire.” It wasn't like she had anyone else to spend time with, or anything to do besides study for classes or medical lessons. There was so much to learn still. Besides, maybe if Nym saw some of what she could do prior to swinging that terrifying chainsaw at her, there would at least be a chance her hopes wouldn't be dashed.

[Nym Magenta]

Not particularly? That wasn't what she wanted to hear! But she couldn't blame Terra for not being enthusiastic about it. This was a sore subject for her. By her own admission she'd been frustrated, smacking her head against a brick wall over and over making no progress towards any sort of goal. Why would she want to start again with a new wall? Who could be excited about that?

She'd come around. Training with random people day in and day out wasn't the same as training with a dedicated partner who knew what they were doing. It might only take one session for her to see the light. "Right," Nym hopped to her feet. "I'll be in one'a the public trainin' rooms. Get whatcha' wanna get, change yer clothes if ya got a dif'rent outfit ya wanna wear, take a showa' or whateva', grab...grab a snack?" Nym shrugged. "I c'n run some'a me own drills while 'm waitin' for ya n' we c'n talk some more 'bout what we're gonna do." She stepped forward and put a hand on Terra's shoulder. "And don' worry, this ain't a test or nothin'. Far as I'm concerned, yer alright. I'd 'ave ya on a team'a mine, n' if you eva' want someone t' run on missions 'r patrols or whateva', lemme know n' I'll 'ave yer back."

Nym was almost taken aback by the words coming out of her mouth. She really had changed, hadn't she?

[Terra Fennel]

A cold pit of dread was taken up residence in her stomach, her thoughts running laps around her skull as the gears turned. She felt like she was going to be sick, but wasn't entirely sure as to why. Nym's reassuring hand on her shoulder encouraged her to at least look up at the fox. The young woman seemed so confident and ready to go. There were few times in her life that she ever gave off that energy. She could count them on both hands and have a finger or two left over. Once had been beside Ax. Their confidence would likely be infectious to the wolf if somehow she made the team.

“I don't have a special combat outfit yet, but I think a shower may be a good idea.” It would give her time to calm down and find her nerves. A snack would be a terrible idea. The last thing she needed was to humiliate herself in front of Nym or whoever else might be in the training room. “I'll try not to keep you waiting too long.” Her eyes flicked between Nym and her weapon, the feeling of dread spiking as she did so. She understood exactly what she was afraid of in that moment, but maybe that would help her break through that barrier. If she was genuinely afraid, maybe she could at least use dust to defend herself.