"Annie... help me... Annie..."~ Fiddlesticks, The Ancient Fear
I would have put fiddle's other voice line but this is better in context.
Lets be honest, I'm not proud of this chapter. I'm still trying to get good at interval chapters. Points where they just chill and talk is not my forte. I'd rather just have him jump from point to point and get stuff done but that takes the wind out of the sails from the story. Why would you relate to Daisy if you know fuck all about her? Or any character for that matter. I keep creating characters only to forget about them and move on... I need to fix that.
Also leave comments please. Fuck stones. I want interaction.
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He got the respect he deserved. He also got the undivided attention of anyone he talked to. The doubt against him faded, not because of his show of strength but because one of the scouts had come rushing back after spotting the massacre he had committed. The scout rushed to the council to report his findings.
Only to be met with a lot of shaking heads.
From that moment on, Gregori was given the best treatment from the Avarosans. And he did not avoid their offerings.
The members of the council had apologized to him and had tried to make amends. He had accepted their attempts.
Tryndamere himself had come to him. Thanking him once more for the service he had rendered him and his people as well as apologizing for considering him a turncoat and a coward when he had told him of his story of running from Aatrox.
Gregori did not accept his apologies.
Just because he had lived to tell the tale did not mean his actions were not cowardly. That cowardice led him to his current state. That cowardice saw to him both having a daughter and gaining another. It led him to experience unconditional love. It led him to give out the same love.
And above all, it led him to become strong enough to face any Darkin that came in his way.
He had taken up drinking. It kept the cold out and the heat in. It also helped wash away his sorrows and quell his rage. Drink also helped form connections with the people here.
Braum had become his drinking buddy.
The storied they shared with each other and anyone willing to listen had started drawing in more and more people.
Ashe had also started spending more time with them all. Why wouldn't she? There were four Iceborn and one could easily pass off as her daughter. And Ashe did spend a lot of time with Daisy. Gregori assumed it to be a maternal instinct. The kind that encourages women to protect their offspring. He had stopped feeling jealous of this in the days that he had seen them train. Daisy was free to make her own choices regarding people. She was young but that did not mean she was stupid. She knew who would be good for her and who wouldn't.
And even then, Daisy was well liked by the people of Avarosa. They waved to her when she walked, passed her some food and even told her stories.
She was happy.
By extension, so was Gregori.
The biggest change from the outcome of the battle was Daisy's behavior to her father. She refused to be separated from him, even during training. Some point during the battle, her worry for her father had changed to reverence. His words before the fight rang in he head. His undeniable confidence before the fight, as if sure of the outcome before it even began, it had brought a change in her attitude as well. Daisy asked for training from her father. And Gregori denied her.
Again and again and again.
But she did not let up. He did not bend over backwards for her either.
Until she did something he had never seen her do.
Daisy threw a temper tantrum.
The meek and obedient child of his, threw a temper tantrum.
She kicked and screamed and clawed her way into training with her father.
It was not just her though, everyone who had watched the battle was interested in how the man trained.
A lot of them left after seeing that he did not do any special training. Physically, he didn't do things that much different from most people. The standard muscle focus and running without the absurd things the Iceborn did to their bodies. His training was much simpler, with a greater focus on pushing himself till failure.
What Gregori taught Daisy was not how to train better. No. He taught her how to fight better. There was a difference between brute forcing an enemy and tactically beating an enemy. A good fighter was one who could beat his opponent in his head before doing it physically.
The first thing he taught her was something every fighter learnt. Eyes open and on target. Flinching before a hit was asking to lose. Even if you get hit, as long as your eyes are open, it does not matter. Your vision gives you an avenue for a counter attack.
As much as it hurt him, he started with a weak punch to her face. A slow one with little to no power behind it. Every time she stared at the incoming fist without flinching or closing her eyes, he upped the speed and power.
Little by little, she started to lose the fear of getting hit. The fear of the incoming pain. Gregori was happy because she had achieved this before the truly powerful hits. He didn't want to hurt his daughter but she asked for this. A six year old did not deserve this kind of training but it was what she asked for. One day it might protect her.
Once she had arrived at that point, they moved onto other things.
Dodging was the next skill to be focused on. Instead of facing the incoming blow, he had her dodge it. Every angle saw an attack. But unlike the previous skill, she latched onto this fast. She started dodging blows at varying speeds and power.
After she had completed this, he had pulled her down and started teaching her about the mental things required for physical combat. Just because she could see and dodge the incoming blows, did not mean her victory.
She had just gained an avenue and it laid upon her to use it to her advantage.
He ran her through situations, where he would ask her what she would do in a fight. This was slow. And it had been a month, with little progress. Her six year old brain couldn't comprehend the nuance in battle.
After careful deliberation, he changed the task. He taught her to use her surroundings to her advantage. Her weapon, her enemies weapons and most of all every movable and immovable thing in her vicinity.
By far her greatest proficiency lied in using her body. She picked up punches and kicks extremely fast. She moved better than some soldiers on the battlefield.
As she grew accustomed to fighting, he started to pit her against the three Iceborn. They did not go easy on her. Every dirty trick in the book was allowed. This was when she showed her greatest improvement. Within days, she picked up on the styles of the three. The three would be hard pressed to even touch her. She slipped in and out of anything they could throw at her, while also landing hits. But she always seemed to fall for feints and large movements. Daisy could not differentiate between feints and true attacks yet but she was able to respond to everything. Gregori had seen a few with this kind of bodily prowess, all made a name for themselves.
But this was a scary prospect. Daisy was a six year old. A six year old with unbelievable potential for fighting.
And this was all barehanded.
Gregori chuckled to himself as he watched her train.
The girl wanted to be a swordswoman. Ashe had taken it upon herself to train her in using swords. Gregori taught her as well but his style was distinct. The Rakkor preferred spears but the Hasturs were not that linear. Any thing was a weapon. Hence he had been trained in swordsmanship. Instead of teaching her a specific style, Gregori helped her understand, where to aim for in swings, how to parry and defend from attacks and above all how to come out victorious. She picked it up well, but it was a little slower than barehanded combat. It was acceptable, even if she was the best brawler imaginable, she would still lose to a bladed or ranged weapon. The slowed pace was an acceptable trade for better safety.
Gregori looked up to the sky, Annie's star still shown as bright as it did the day it popped up in the sky.
Three months had passed since his return to Rakelstake. He was almost fully healed. In the next few months, he would begin his move to Noxus.
There was one problem. He was torn between taking Daisy with him or leaving her here. Her training was progressing at a blistering pace and going to Noxus would mean that she would be introduced to bloodshed. It might be good experience but in his eyes, she was still his baby. He did not want to put her in any more danger than she had already been in.
The one thing arguing against him bringing her was that she had failed to be accepted by the True Ice. Thirteen tries. All of them ended in her crying, shivering and shaking in pain.
And he felt just as helpless as the first time every time she touched that shard.
But only when she managed to form a connection to the item could he take her with him, it was that simple. She would go into a coma without the statue's resident aura. And he preferred an awake Daisy over an unconscious one.
He had talked to her about this very early on. Which was probably one of the reasons why she trained as hard as she did. She felt like he would abandon her and leave and it took a lost of coaxing and convincing to make her understand that that was not the case.
Gregori would make it back. Back with Annie. And they would leave on a long journey. He promised to show her the entirety of Valoran.
Valoran was doable considering it only covered the lands of Noxus, Freljord and Demacia. The other continent would be only after Demacia.
The thing that pushed it over the line was when he promised to show her the Silverwing Raptors and the Bellswayers in Demacia.
Once they all had completed their daily training regimen, they all sat around the fire in front of the camps. Unlike every other day, Gregori brought his wrapped spear with him today.
He called on their attention and spoke, "I would like for you all to meet someone." As he spoke, he slowly unwrapped the spear.
"This is Caalyx."
"As I was saying before being rudely interrupted, Don't make fun of a man's age."