Astridr was finally back on her feet and was heading toward her job. She worked down at the training grounds and helped others learn while also learning some new skills herself. She had lessons with Kili as well with the bow. Well his bow for the time being. She didn't have one of her own yet. Astridr was practicing hard and showed excellent courage. For a dwarrowdam, she was actually a really good fighter which shocked others. Not many seen her fight but once she gotten the job, she was able to show off her skill and hope that she wasn't going to be judged about her skill. Some might be jealous cause at times, she was better than others which made them jealous. 

She was practicing and didn't see Fili walking up to her. It had been a few weeks since they saw each other. Often times, he would come to the tavern she was staying at to see how she was going. Astridr ended up staying at the tavern longer than she thought she would. Astridr heard the footsteps but assumed it just someone coming to train but she doubted it was for her. These past months going on with winter was harsh. Now springtime was in the air. 

(Sorry, this isn't my best. My responses will get longer as we go)

With the welcome and familiar weight of one of his well-crafted swords in each hand, Fíli hurriedly made his way to the training grounds brimming with excitement and in no mood to try and hide it either. Having being given the choice by Lóni to either spend the day practising his writing with the Guild of Scribes or practise his swordsmanship with Glóin and the others down at the training ground, Fíli had made his mind up in a split second and before Lóni could give him any more to do, Fíli had rushed off to gather his twin swords before cheerily making his own way down.

As he entered the grounds, he made his way past several groups of young Dwarves taking their first tour of the training grounds, all of them gaping in awe at the sheer size and the facilities offered. Fíli would have bet safely that after this, at least half of them would be persuaded they wanted to fight in Erebor's army. He offered a few quick greetings as he wandered past, not really finding the patience to stay and chat for too long- it wasn't everyday that he was allowed to come down and practise.

He greeted Glóin upon entering the grounds and was told that there were a few spare training rings and areas that were free towards the back and so with a brief exchange of words, Fíli walked over to the back of the hall, watching the various fights going on around him as he approached.

It was then that he caught sight of Astridr, the dwarrodam training on her own in one of the rings. Fíli paused to watch a little while- he had never actually seen her fight despite knowing and having visited her in the training grounds. He watched intently as she warded off imaginary foe, and Fíli was actually a little surprised at how talented she was with a sword in hand. Of course, he was able to still pick up on all the small faults in position and footwork she had- being trained under the critical eye of Dwalin would do that to any Dwarf- but overall was pretty good.

"Greetings Astridr!" He greeted cheerfully as he announced his presence. "You're looking very well on this fine spring morning!" He complimented her. He paused slightly, looking at her with a smile before he spoke. "Though you know, the problem with fighting imaginary folk is that no matter how good they are, you'll always be better. So what do you say to a friendly fight between friends?" He challenged as he smiled brightly at her.

Astridr turned around and couldn't help but smile when she saw Fili. "I would love to have a friendly fight with you" Astridr said. She readied her sword and noted the surprised look he gave her when he had seen her fight. It was true that he had never actually seen her train, let alone fight. She was only just starting to come to the training grounds so she was a bit out of practice.

Astridr got in her fighting stance and waited for a move. She smiled even more excited on the thought of dueling with her friend and ally. "Ready when you are Fili" Astridr said with a small smirk on her face. Astridr couldn't help herself but to do it. 

Fíli did nothing to suppress the almost overwhelming excitement he felt as he joined Astridr in the ring, he honestly felt like a giddy Dwarfling holding a sword for the first time. But it had been what felt like an eon since he had been able to come down to the grounds to practice his swordsmanship that the very thought of a friendly duel was enough to make his spirits soar with joy.

He stretched his arms and neck quickly one last time as he tried to cram in as much of Dwalin's lessons in the span of a few seconds to remind himself of all the common mistakes he should watch out for and recall the techniques he had practised with the seasoned warrior. He sliced the air with both of his swords as he adjusted his balance and grip so that he could move easily and make the most of his twin swords.

When he felt ready, he turned back to Astridr who was waiting for him in a defensive stance, he decided it best to start off lightly- after all, this was just a friendly fight and it had certainly been a while since Fíli had swung a sword and he wasn't sure if Astridr would be able to keep up if he gave it his best. So the Dwarf Prince donned a rather casual stance and gave Astridr a bright smile.

"Come on then Astridr, let's see what your made of!" He said as he raised one of his swords, the other staying by his side and he waited for his opponent to make the first move.

Astridr grinned when she saw that Fili was ready to start the friendly fight. The fact that he was letting her start out made her even more happy. It has been awhile since she had done anything of this kind of sort. She made the first move on Fili knowing he was sure to do something.

As Astridr came in to make her first move, Fíli felt the excitement rising in his stomach and he gave Astridr an almost childish grin as he watched her spring into action. And in the split-second that she had begun to move, he paid close attention to her posture, how much strength she used and the fluidity of her movements. Dwalin had always said that half of winning a duel was knowing what your opponent might do next and that he was never to underestimate the importance of watching what his opponent did Though there was no time for him to draw anything from what he observed as she approached swifter than Fíili had anticipated. Forced to move quickly, Fíli leapt to the right so to dodge the full brunt of her attack and he brushed the sword away from him with a parry and then retook his stance to prepare for Astridr's next attack.

"You bear the signs of a great warrior Astridr" Fíli chuckled as he saw the speed and fluidity with which she made her moves. He himself was a little unused to fighting such an opponent for many of the Dwarrow he battled had used their strength and crushing blows to fight with and often Fíli would best them by using his own agility against them. It had been a while indeed since he had fought with someone who used the same technique as did he. "But we'll see if they are good enough to best myself!" He chuckled merrily as he looked to Astridr. It was so nice to see her smiling- so happy and merry. So different from the Dwarf he had first met.

"I'm not the best warrior around Fili but I do try my best" Astridr admitted while getting into another stance. She was quick and surprised others with her moves. Each one happened to be very quick and sometimes other dwarves found it hard to even beat her. Astridr made her next move which was once again quick. True it had been awhile, since she had practiced but it turned out that she was better than what she had even expected anyway.

Astridr was starting to become happy once more and that was a very good sign. She was starting to interact more with others and spend time with other people. She just avoided very sensitive topics in order to speak about something happy. Astridr was only a little bit younger than Fili himself but they had proved to be good friends. It was the same way with Kili too. Astridr surprised them a few times with her pranks and appeared to her that they were pretty impressed with her skill of fighting and the pranks that she ended up pulling every so often.

“And that’s all anyone can ever ask of you” Fíli smiled as he deflected her next blow- this one a little easier than the first as he was starting to get a feel for her style. It was not often that he sparred with someone as fast as Astridr these days, but he had grown up training alongside Kíli who was heavily reliant on his speed and agility to outmanoeuvre his opponent so he had an idea of what to expect.

As Fíli turned to face Astridr again, he could not help but give her a broad smile at how much she had improved over the past weeks. And even if it had been allowed, he thought that it was much better for Astridr to have stayed at the inn instead of with him as she seemed to be becoming much more social and engaged in the community. “I have heard that you’ve been doing very well for yourself over the past weeks. I’ve even heard that a couple of fine young dwarrow only have eyes for you and have plans to seek for your approval when courting season comes around. ” Fíli laughed at how a few weeks of staying within the tavern had already earned her several admirers. He imagined that Astridr, being a very comely, kind and generous dame would have no trouble with the men when courting season came and he suspected that she might have quite the line of admirers.

Now it was Fíli’s turn to make a move and he advanced with a precise yet quick move and attacked her only once- leaving Astridr with ample time to defend herself. After all, it seemed silly to the prince to cut launch himself into full offensive if they were only here for a spot of fun.

Astridr easily blocked Fili's move. True she was having a blast. Every once in awhile she would go back to the inn but sometimes she went back to her home to try and organize things a little bit better. She preferred to be neat of course.

"You aren't bad yourself with that sword of yours" Astridr commented with a smile.

"Not bad?" Fíli laughed as Astridr commented on his sword-fighting. He expected her parry and drew back a little to finish his sentence. "With Dwalin having trained me to the best of his abilities almost all my life, I'd hope to aim a little better than that" He gave Astridr a wink as moved in with speed and precision to strike his first proper hit. He pushed the edge of his blade against her own and used his strength to force her back a little bit. And with Astridr off balance, he flared his sword to her right to tap her on her leather chest plate.

"Though I've heard plenty about your skills with a blade from the young ones you've been training. It seems like you're really very good at dealing with children." Fíli remarked. He wondered if she had ever wanted her own children some day, seeing how well she dealt with them. Well, it was not as though there was any lack of decent folk in Erebor who would give her what she needed.

"And I probably sound as though I'm worrying excessively right now, and I apologise for sounding like an over concerned mother- but you are feeling better now, aren't you? You certainly look a lot better but do remember if there is anything troubling you then don't hesitate to tell me, deal?" Fíli flashed her a smile before taking up his stance once more. He'd hate to let her down after having promised so much.

"Now let's see just how good you are!" He grinned as he motioned for her to make her move on him now.