When Cyneweard had asked The Blacksmith for a weapon 'fitting of a knight' he had expected a skillfully crafted but modest sword. Or maybe a shield with a carefully engraved emblem that seemed prominent in his 'research' at the library. Not a massive hunk of weaponized metal that seemed to weigh more than Cyneweard himself.

The Blacksmith had seemed to have read his expression- or maybe just noticed that he had absolutely no idea how to comfortably carry the thing, much less wield it. But you can't un-make a battleaxe- the time and care was already put into it. He would APPRECIATE this gift and make the most of it!

But that would mean. Figuring out how to USE it.

He had found a clearing some distant away from The Blacksmith's Workshop. The clearing wasn't PARTICULARLY clear- there was a fallen log splitting it in half, among other plants fighting for dominance, but there was less to contest with than the rest of Leo's thick jungle.

He would plomp down next to a tree trunk, the axe's duel-sided head in his lap. He traced the ornate accents with a finger. The whole thing trembled slightly like something living; like a contented animal's purr. Or like it was just barely containing it's desire for violence. It WAS very pretty, and he could imagine the sort of damage it could do in a REAL fight.

But today was not a day for a real fight. Today was a day for trying to figure out what the heck he was doing.

He stood, adjusting the axe in his grip. He took a deep breath, and then began to swing. It was haphazard and wild at first, and each failure took a moment to regroup from as he had to yank the blade out of the ground or tree trunk it had lodged itself into. But he slowly got used to it. Using the momentum and his own body weight to arc the blade towards his target. As the finale, he sunk the blade into the fallen log in the middle of the clearing, the blade splintering through the half-rotted metal with ease and a resounding c-c-ccccrrrack!.

Thoroughly exhausted, he would let the axe rest where it was, shaking the strain out of his arms and brushing aside some debris so he could sit next to it.