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He wasn’t ready for it, and you’d put plenty of power into this one. It hit how you wanted, Magnus’s abdomen was relaxed, but even then it was like punching a tree.
“Uhff,” Magnus exhaled sharply as you drove your fist into his solar plexus, and he grit his teeth and clutched where you’d hit him, but he only stooped his back a little. Heller called this one the <span class="mu-i">Bridler</span>- this sort of smack was usually followed up on, though not this time.
“Magnus”! Yuliana called from over where you’d left her, and she was starting to storm over, “Dust girl, your <span class="mu-i">arrogance</span> beggars-” but Magnus fixed her with a stare, and she hesitated, before turning her head like she’d been kicked.
“Alright,” Magnus wheezed after a moment, “Are you satisfied?”
Sort of. You weren’t about to blow your top anymore, at least. “Answer the question.”
Magnus straightened his back, and coughed. “Why I can’t just choose.” You nodded once, sharply. “…I don’t see it as the same as the other things I’ve had to choose on. Lack of decision on the battlefield is toying with the lives of others. You must be strong willed in your command there, or die. The lives of many were placed in my hands, innocent and not, loved or no. Now, away from there, away from the steel and shot? A decision made solely for myself…is something I have grown unaccustomed to.”
Hitting him had cooled you down a lot, but you clicked your tongue. “Tch. No excuses. I’m going to whoop Yuliana’s ass at whatever she thinks she’s gonna do, and then, no matter what happens, you’re making a choice. Got it?”
“Anya,” Magnus said with exasperation, and you grabbed his braid again and pulled him down to your face.
“Hey.” You said, the frustration touching something in you besides anger as you stared into his eyes. “I’ve been with you out there, in the shit. I’m with you here now. Don’t I deserve the same in both places?”
Finally, he relented, and put one hand on your shoulder and another on the hand holding his braid. “Very well.” You let his braid go so that you could knit your fingers into his measured grip. “You’re right. I didn’t intend to condescend, but if I’m to act responsibly, I should pay proper mind to what you wish to see of me. A man in my position shouldn’t disappoint his fellows.”
“Yeah…” you sighed, “Yeah.”
