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[The soldier is usually pretty stern, intimidating, all that jazz, but right now he's downright grumpy. And... snarly. Clearly he's not in a good mood.]

Why. The fuck. Are these fucking fireflies everywhere?

[Speaking of, here's one fluttering against his shoulder right now. His hand slams down on top of it, squashing it. He growls.]

They are getting in the way and they are making Steve forget he has to eat. Is there a way to stop them other than crushing them one by one?

Comments

[barbarus]

[ Damen watches him. Yes, he'd been hurt. But there's no reaction. Not like with Damen. Either he's dealing with it better, or much much worse.

Worrying. ]

What was the mission before? In your own world.

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Kill Natasha Romanoff also known as Black Widow, or enable her capture.

[That part comes out mechanically.

The next part... he hesitates first, glances over to where Steve is, then says it more quietly.]

Kill or enable the capture of Captain America. Steve Rogers.

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[ Almost as surprising as the mission itself is the fact of Steve's rank, because Damen knows he doesn't have one. He'd been a trainee, yet to see battle.

There's something wrong here. One step at a time, though. ]

Steve Rogers. And yet Steve is alive.

You refused?

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No. I didn't.

[He frowns. This is... a very complicated subject.]

He is from... before. I am from much later.

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[ Damen pauses. The concept of different timelines is, to say the least, strange to him. He turns more uncertain now, his eyes darkening while he watches Bucky. ]

So then...later. You will kill him?

You intend to?

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[And here is where the soldier becomes uncertain, hesitant.]

I... have been ordered to.

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[ Damen nods, his expression unchanging. ]

I know that.

It's not what I asked.

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[He shifts, clearly uncomfortable.]

I don't... I don't want to.

[He chokes out the words, like it's physically difficult.]

But I might not have a choice.

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[ Damen's head tilts. ]

We always have a choice.

Why do they want this of you?

[ It's honestly difficult for Damen to imagine Steve being this much of a danger to anyone. This has all the markings of a specialised assassination, and frankly, it just seems like overkill. ]

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[He sighs, shakes his head a little, but doesn't expand on the choice bit.]

He becomes... a great soldier. A great military leader. Because of that, he makes enemies. The people who... made me what I am, who... [He hesitates, goes through several options of what to call them before he settles,] that I work for, are some of his oldest enemies. Their vision of a peaceful world doesn't look like his. They don't want him to get in the way of their realization of that vision.

[barbarus]

[ A great military leader?

This, in fairness, is also difficult to imagine. He's seen Steve.

He has the character for it, but it's hard to think of him on a battlefield. He'll be surrounded by men bigger and stronger than him, and he's supposed to not only survive, but lead them? Damen is skeptical.

He doesn't say so.

Instead he frowns, thinking about the way Bucky's talking and the people he's describing. People who exert that kind of control, who try to manage their world in that way, do not rate highly with Damen. The description reminds him too forcibly of the Regent, for whom the world is a game that he's playing. ]

And you? What do you think of him, when he's this great leader?

You're more than what they made you. He doesn't think you're a threat.

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I don't... I don't know him. I'm just ordered to kill him. I'm not a threat to him here because... he's not the one I was sent to kill.

[Maybe it's nitpicking, maybe it's semantics, but by god he's sticking with it.]

They made me. It's all I am.

[It's all they let him be.]

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But if that's true, he's easier to kill now.

Younger. Less experienced. Weaker. A simpler target, unless it's an honourable match you seek.

[ Which he doubts, honestly, if Steve is nothing more than a mark. Damen doesn't believe he is, though. If he had been, he'd be dead already. That much is obvious. ]

You can choose. You're choosing now. You choose every time you look at him, and let him live.

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[This conversation is hurting his head.

He's shaking his head, no, no, no, clutching the sides of it and closing his eyes.]

Please stop.

[He can't... he can't process this, not right now. If he thinks about it too much... he doesn't know what will happen.]

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[ Damen watches him, brow creasing with confusion.

This is more than being given orders that aren't agreed with. He holds up his hands. ]

All right. I'll stop.

I said that I would teach him to fight. I still mean to, just so that you know.

[ Perhaps more now than ever - just in case Bucky's resistance to those orders happens to fail. ]

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[He takes a breath, and slowly, his hands come down and he looks up again. He does his best to move on from the previous train of thought.

This Steve is not his target. This Steve needs protection, needs to learn to fight.]

Good. He needs to learn.

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He will.

[ He will have training and protection, should he need it. Should it come to that. ]

Now, tell me what it is that you need. What will make this easier for you?

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[He's quiet for a long moment.]

I don't know.

[Another pause.]

I would like... to learn to use a sword better.

[He's good with knives, daggers. But swords, not as much.]

[barbarus]

[ And that would make it easier? Damen lifts his eyebrows.

It might. Discipline and training helps Damen to work through a great deal, when less than pleasant feelings are pushing at him. He values that. ]

Train with me, then. When I know your skill, I'll see if there's something I can teach you.

[ Damen is the best swordsman he knows, but he's dealing with an assassin here. That's not a threat he'll underestimate. ]

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[He nods. Training would help. Training would keep his mind off of impossibilities and paradoxes. Training would help him stay here and now.]

Thank you.

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[ A careful nod. ]

Whatever helps.

Do you have a sword? The armoury here is well stocked, and the blades well made. You'll find something to suit you there.

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[He nods again.]

I've been there. I haven't chosen a sword yet.

[barbarus]

[ Damen nods. He’s actually glad. ]

I could help with that, then, if you like. Choosing the right weight and balance is important. So is your own strength. Are knives what you prefer?

[ It’s all too easy to slip back into these practicalities. ]

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Yes. I'm very familiar with knives. I've handled swords before, but not to the same extent.

[barbarus]

We can work with that. If you can use a knife, it's a good start.