They're going to have to practice a lot to make the most of them.

Mmm, Gideon might prefer keeping this as - just something they do, outside of the stresses of 'practice' and 'training.' Because if she thinks about practice too much, she'll get anxious about everything she isn't doing but could be.

As long as they just do it a lot.

Can be a regular feature of resting after training. 

She'd like that.

Ellyn's wish is her command.

Happy shiver!

"You like being bossy?"

"I do, a bit."

"Good, because bossy is an excellent look on you."

"I'll keep that in mind."

What else does she want to command? 

More kisses!

As the Reverend Daughter wills! 

How devoted her cavalier primary is.

Only because Ellyn is the best. 

Lucky to have her.

The absolute luckiest cav. (Kiss!)

Kisskisskiss.

Ellyn's general mood over the next while is much improved with the addition of their new post-workout routine.

And Gideon starts spending less waking time down in the Tomb. (Not none, though, she does keep going down there for swims and to talk to her mom or just study alone - but she's more careful about keeping her hours down there to when Ellyn (and Aiglamene, since she can't neglect her cav training) isn't otherwise available, which mostly means the very early morning.)

The both of them progress at what's probably a reasonable rate. It's not like they have much in the way of benchmarks available. Ellyn continues refining her practice of bone necromancy (still the superior necromancy in her opinion. Flesh magic is... squishy. She can mend cuts and bruises from training well enough, and keep the ever-aging population of the Ninth more or less ticking over, but they simply don't have the resources and she doesn't have the time to make a truly in-depth study of it. Bones are the Ninth specialty, and bones are what they have to work with.) as well as her command of the grappling arts. She's even put on a little muscle, though nowhere near as much as Gideon.

By the time she's eighteen years old, Gideon makes it to 'barely passable' in Aiglamene's view, which is the absolute best compliment Gideon's ever gotten from the old retainer. (Aiglamene doesn't like how Gideon insists on learning more than one combat style, which probably is downgrading her a bit. She's let herself be badgered into learning the rapier, which she'll readily admit is her worst - she prefers her two-hander if sword work is needed, her knives or simply her body if a lighter touch is called for. Aiglamene has no end of criticism for how she keeps treating her rapier as a particularly pointy knife.)