So take one!

{if CombatDelilahNotUseful == True}"I had a plan, I just didn't get a chance to execute it. It's not that I'm useless or anything." Delilah says, visibly upset, but this time with sadness. You think that might be a first for her.

"You and I both know that you aren't useless, Delilah, but think about what your teammates see -- they don't know what your plan is, they just see your sickles being, unfortunately, a poor matchup against such an armoured enemy, so they came to help." Professor Phoebe says in a level and consoling voice. "There's a reason Warriors always work in partnerships, at a minimum -- there's no shame in being helped."

"But I could've done it alone. I'm good enough to handle that. I didn't need to be helped."

"Maybe not, but since you didn't make your plan known, they couldn't have recognised that. Not because they think that you're weak, or that you're useless, but because your wargear happened to match up poorly with your enemy. Rock isn't useless for being ineffective against paper."

Delilah's shoulders sag a little bit, and she looks to the ground.

"I still did a good job staying undamaged, right? Even if I didn't get to do anything useful other than stall...."

"Absolutely. Countering and evading so many fast attacks, and working your defensive movements into your offensive strikes, is a very high level skill. The fact that you've picked it up so early is a sure sign that you'll succeed in your time here. You have three years to get perfect, remember that -- if anyone here was already flawless, they wouldn't need to attend."

Delilah nods, and seems to be a bit relieved at that. Not that you notice though -- you're too{elseif CombatDelilahBlowUp == True}"My weapons weren't effective against their hides, so I used the next best thing I had. Isn't that okay?" Delilah asks, a bit upset.

"It was a difficult spot you were in, but one that you put yourself into by ignoring your teammates -- and one that we both know you had the talents to escape." Professor Phoebe replies in a level and consoling voice. "Destroying the bridge in such a dangerous way should only be a last resort, and you shouldn't have been to that point.{if CombatDelilahBridge == True} You almost caught Debbie in the explosion."

"I didn't mean to!" Delilah's head snaps upwards. "And I waited until she was out of the way, and I didn't detonate all of the bombs to be safe -- I didn't expect for her to be there!"

"I know." Professor Phoebe consoles. "That's why communication is so important in situations like these. It can help eliminate those risks -- I know you didn't mean to risk hurting your teammate.{endif}"

Delilah's shoulders sag a little bit, and she looks to the ground.

"I still did a good job with the sickles though, right? You know, considering everything."

"Absolutely. Countering so many fast swings and working the movements into your own is a very high level skill, and it's a good sign that you've picked it up so early. I don't think there's any reason to worry about your future as a Warrior at all, but there is still reason to make what improvements we can. You have three years to get it perfect, remember that."

Delilah nods, and seems to be a bit relieved at that. Not that you notice though -- you're too {else}As Professor Phoebe wraps up her talk with Delilah, you've made yourself {endif}busy taking loose leaves from the ground and trying to peel them down to just the stems. After your first three failed attempts the boys joined in with you so you're all silent in focused precision, still not fully recovered from the strain of the fight but definitely getting there. It sucks though, because you keep getting so close, but with how thin the stem gets at the other end of the leaf it's nearly impossible.

"Got it." Says Jace to your left, holding up his for display.

"Aw, what?" You say.

"Alright!" Professor Phoebe says, clapping her hands together to get everybody's attention. "I hope you all enjoyed your first encounter with with 'monsters'. We've got a lot of good stuff to work with over the next few classes, but there's always room for improvement, so let's run it again now that you've caught your breath."

"WHAT??" You ask again, having your entire world unravel in just a few lines of dialogue. The rest of your class groans and slowly gets up to their feet, as Professor Phoebe climbs to the hut's roof again and flicks her helmet's cage back down. This is going to be a really, really long day.....