User blog:Radiantancient/Small Things

Swords rang as the pair circled, eyes narrowed on each other's move, seeking out openings. The girl's hand shook a little while she held her blade high, ready to defend herself. They had been practicing for quite some time, and while they had taken breaks, she was tired. The next strike came, barely more than a blur. She planted her weight, managing to defend against the first strike, but the second, coming from the left, knocked her blade free from her hand. She jumped back, shaking her arms to try to bring feeling back to them. "Got me again, Lloyd."

"Maybe, but you've done great today, Sara!" Lloyd replied, smiling brightly. He fetched her sword and gestured at the rocks near their waterskins. "I think we've done enough for today."

"I wish I could keep practicing, but—" Sara twisted her lips in disappointment, "I'm pretty done in."

"I bet Lippy nearly has dinner ready too," Lloyd pointed out. He grabbed a water skin and sipped, careful not to take too much, before passing it to Sara. "Sara... I just gotta ask. You seem really intent on training a lot recently. Any reason why?"

"W-well, I gotta be in the best shape I can be if I'm going to help take down the Seeds of Ruin!" Sara said, her cheeks flushing slightly. She tried to keep her fears off her face. Things had been more challenging lately and she was getting worried. What if she wasn't good enough for the job? She was only a girl with a sword, not a stonecanter with powers out of legend...

"Sure. You've got a hard job to do. Probably harder than anything the guild has ever done," Lloyd agreed. "It just feels like you're more concerned about it than usual."

Sara absentmindedly fiddled with her ponytail, letting the strands slip through her fingers. "Have you... ever felt like you're holding your team back, not knowing magic?"

Lloyd's eyebrows raised towards his hairline. "Not really. Genis and Professor Sage both need people to protect them while their casting."

"Oh." Sara's voice dropped as her eyes looked to the ground.

"Genis once told me that he felt like he wasn't contributing anything, though. We were fighting a bunch of enemies where magic wasn't very helpful. It was pretty hard on him." Lloyd drew one knee up to his chest, looking out in the distance towards the horizon. "I tried to tell him that he was still helping with meals and stuff. If he wasn't cooking, Professor Sage might have tried and you know how that would have ended!"

"Did it work?"

"Not really. I guess he felt like it wasn't very important." Lloyd shrugged. "I'm not always good at cheering people up."

"I can't believe that, Lloyd!" Sara objected. "You've helped so many people!"

"Maybe, but that doesn't mean that I don't fail sometimes."

Sara was tempted to ask who Lloyd was talking about, but didn't want to press too hard. There was something about his eyes that said whatever it was had hurt him pretty badly and still bothered him to this day. "What happened with Genis?"

"Another person in our group, Regal—I don't think you've met him?" Sara shook her head. "Regal helps out sometimes with the group, but spends most of his time managing a pretty large caravan trading business. He's a good fighter, but his business takes up a lot of his time. Anyway, he said this, and it's always stuck with me. 'It's not the large things that make the greatest difference in the end. For every large thing, there must be many, many small things to help it come into being. Even the greatest heroes in the world were helped by small acts of kindness.'"

"Huh."

The pair sat in quiet for a moment, both thinking over the words that Lloyd had said. Finally, Lloyd sighed and stood, stretching his arms overhead. "We should get back. Don't want Lippy and Allen to worry."

"Yeah." Sara mirrored Lloyd's motion and helped him start packing up the things they had brought for their sparring session. "Thanks, Lloyd. For the training and the words."

"If you're really worried, I'd talk to Allen about it. He's probably better at this stuff than me." Lloyd grinned. "Now, race you back to camp. Loser gives the winner their dessert."

"No way!" Sara sprinted after Lloyd, trying to put her doubts aside. Somehow she knew that the final battle was coming. She had to get as strong as she could before it happened. And maybe Lloyd was right; maybe she should talk to Allen.

But for now, she was just going to enjoy the small things. A warm meal, the stars in the sky—

—and the company of good friends.