She had never seen fighting like that before. Certainly, Daphne had seen many fights before then...even been in many before then. But the way Furley fought her and Amaken, then Kildwin after that was something completely foreign to her. It was impressive to watch.
But the sparring match was strange. Daphne had never ganged up on a person with someone else. She'd always been the one with more than one person on her. Not only that, but Furley and Amaken were not her cousins. She'd only ever sparred men in her family. Now, she'd fought men which weren't family members before. But she'd intended to damage them. She didn't want to hurt Amaken or Furley. Not that she would have had much chance against Furley anyway, it seemed. But it was confusing and awkward to be in such a match.
She could still feel the bruising up her side from his kick, with every breath she took. Not that she'd let anyone else notice, especially not him. He already seemed embarrassed for how he changed during the fight.
Daphne noticed the moment his eyes changed. It was him...but it also wasn't. She'd seen such looks in the eyes of those who had been in war, or seen such terrible things in life that their mind just couldn't handle it in some moments. She shouldn't have pushed him to join them. She'd thought he was being a wimp. Whining about being ordered around. So she pushed him and he joined. She should have known he had a good reason not to.
Daphne rubbed her chest at the twinge of pain that stuck in it. She could see that look in her head. It made her shudder. It didn't belong on him.
The words that Anastasiar said to her in the Hall of Fire echoed in her head, and she quickly shook them out. She couldn't think about that. She had to focus on preparing herself for the market. After all, she may have to take the role of a merchant. Her! A merchant! The thought was ridiculous. But, if she was told to, she'd do her best. She knew that people weren't her thing, but it couldn't be that bad. At least she still didn't have to learn how to write. Then she'd probably handle even more business. Not that this was her reason not to learn.
She would probably have to dress presentably, which she didn't particularly like the thought of. She'd worn shabby leggings and a sleeveless shirt the day of the sparring, knowing Kild would be hard on them. But something as small as leaving her hair down had made everyone look at her like she was from a completely different world. She felt ridiculous. She hadn't even meant to wear it down..she just had to run to catch up for the Company meeting that day. She'd spent too much time deciding whether or not to wear nice clothing. What was wrong with her? She mentally slapped herself, reminding herself that her reasons for her way of life were perfectly reasonable.
She shoved it out of her mind again as she lay down to rest. She'd promised Ana that she would try to speak to Furley next time she saw him. He'd avoided their questions about whatever issues he was dealing with, as much as he could. The newest addition to their group had made it easier for him to walk away without truly giving an answer. Though Daphne was already terribly fond of the Hobbit lass, which is certainly quite a feat, she wanted to help him with whatever was going on.
Part of it was her fault anyway, she felt. Hopefully he would talk to her.
If there was one thing she learned that day...it was that he wasn't nearly the pushover she'd thought he was before.
