A punch flew past her cheek, sweeping Beidou's hair aside as she stepped forward, twisting into a punch of her own. The kid blocked it and stood his ground, another punch sent her way.
He was a ways off from actually being able to match or push her back with that superior strength he held under his belt but he was far better off than when they first started. His dependency on a clear plan of action and an intrinsic hesitation still slowed attacks but something had clearly changed. One conversation hadn't been enough to dispel it, but it was as though a certain weight she was all too familiar with no longer held him down.
Not nearly as much as before anyways.
She was almost tempted to have him take up that sword and see what he could really do. Brief glimpses of the way he swung the weapon revealed him to be an experienced swordsman of some kind. Or at least he had been anyways; the instincts and habits cultivated through those experiences hadn't been as easily lost as memories.
But, while his body might've recalled that history, his mind sure didn't. The way he regarded the blade when she first handed it to him told her as much. Those widened eyes lacked the nerve needed to properly use a weapon against another.
A shame really; between his impressive strength and remnants of skill, whoever he'd been would've made a fine addition to fleet assuming the personality was the same. While she was no stranger to men attempting to show off their muscles, a body like that clashing with an unsure attitude like his made for an endless source of entertainment.
"Captain!" Beidou blocked a straight from the kid, grabbing hold of his wrist and forearm then twisting, pushing him away with the aid of a shifting wave. He stumbled but caught himself as she turned to one of her crew mates, a telescope held out for her. "We've spotted the island."
"Good." Beidou said, taking hold of the scope and getting a look herself. Even with the aid of the telescope the landmass was no more than a distant dot of green from this far out, but it was the place they'd been headed towards.
"Full sail ahead!" She ordered, lowering the scope. Everyone got to work in an instant, the sails of the Alcor completely unfurled and the ship picking up speed. If the winds stayed on their side they'd be there before the morning was over.
"Is that where the pirates are?" The Kid asked, rolling an arm as he stepped up beside her.
"No. A ship this size will spook them before we ever get close." She said while handing him the scope. "Consider it a stopping point."
If all she heard about this particularly nasty group was true, they'd have to account for hostages and the like. That called for a more subtle approach.
…
Sand crunched beneath Vincent's feet as he followed the old man alongside Shi, both of them carrying supplies from the ship. Stepping onto land was somehow familiar yet profoundly off putting. He found himself attempting to adjust his stance for little reason at all, instinctively accounting for shifts that were no longer present. Needless to say, his sense of balance was a bit skewed at the moment.
An effect of being at sea.
They'd made it to that once distant island that Beidou referred to as a stopping point. The actual ship remained a good distance away, the crew taking small boats to and fro, supplies carried across the sandy shore of the island and towards the forest line of dense greenery and tall but slim rocky mountains, the beginnings of a camp taking shape.
"What exactly is going on?" Vincent questioned the old man.
"The group the captain has set her eye on is known for kidnapping and the like." The old man explained without looking back, leading them not towards the camp but across the island's beach. "Had the entire fleet been present, surrounding them would've been a simple matter, but even then, a frontal assault would still be risky. I'm certain this island is part of her plan to account for such things. A sort of stopping point if you would."
It sounded like the old man was on the exact some page as Beidou despite not knowing whatever the plan was.
"Put that out of your minds for now. We shall resume your training."
"Right now?" There was still plenty to bring from the ship, the camp barely set up.
"Sand makes for excellent resistance training." Hei said, his pace picking up ever so slightly, Vincent and Shi forced to match it least they be left behind. The old man's walk turned brisk, but they kept up, or at least, Vincent did, Shi already beginning to lag behind. That walk turned to a light jog and Vincent began to understand what the old man met as he tried to match the new pace.
His skewed sense of balance was bad enough but running through sand with hefty crates of supplies stacked in his arms? The struggle turned real. Getting a proper foothold in something like sand required more force than he was used to and consequently used far more energy to maintain any sort of decent pace.
"Don't drop anything." The Old Man warned from ahead. Shi, who'd already been short of breath and struggling to keep pace, held out despite his dwindling state. Until Hei broke out in a full-on sprint.
Shi tripped up, dropping the single crate in his arms and got himself a face full of sand, Vincent slowing to wait on him.
"Keep up." The old man called out. Right, he wouldn't be making any stops on Shi's account.
"You've got this." Vincent encouraged before chasing after Hei who'd already put a gulf between them. That Old Man was too damn spry for someone at that age.
…
Vincent huffed and puffed, hutched over and gripped his knees as he tried to regain his breath. Shi was spread out across the sand, drenched in sweat and wheezing. He hadn't managed as many laps around the beach's sands but trudged on right up until he dropped. Then there was the old man, relaxed as ever and getting a stretch in.
"How are you not tired?" Vincent questioned between breaths.
"It's all in the breathing, my boy. Find the correct way to breath and you will never find yourself winded." Ambiguous anime-like advice. How informative. "Or so they say." The Old Man added. "Routine will be enough. Your body will acclimate to the stress on its own."
"Already putting them through the paces, you old fossil?" Beidou said, drawing all of their attention as she joined them on the sands. She and many others had been gone for most of the day since their arrival, having set out on a collection of those smaller boats.
The old man stopped his stretching, nodding sagely. "Diligence is an important trait to foster. Care to join us, Captain? I'm sure he can handle a little more exercise."
"Not this time." Vincent held back a sigh of relief. He'd already gotten one beating today: another was not on the to-do list. "We found the island those pirates have set up on. We'll be doing some more scouting but be ready in the coming days."
"Understood." The Old Man said noticeably more serious, Beidou nodding in satisfaction.
Vincent couldn't help but watch as she took off towards the distant torch lights of the camp that'd been set up. He needed to be more like that. Confident and forward facing. Easier said than but he had to try. What else was there to do? Wallow in sadness and waste this second chance?
But then, if everything was snatched away from him in the blink of an eye once, what was stopping it from happening again? What was the point in anything he was-
"You've got eyes for the captain. Don't you, kid?" The old man questioned, now at his side. Heat rushed to Vincent's face as he tore his eyes, which had at some point fallen to her fleeting backside and denied the accusation. Said denials went ignored, the old man patting his shoulder. "Dare I say, you have a better chance than most, but you'd best prepare yourself. Maintaining the interest of a free spirit like that will be no small feat. Now, another lap."
Vincent was pushed forward and made to once more run through the sands.
Damn that old man.