09-16-2026, 10:20 PM
Standing with the two sisters, one on each side of him, Gath's pulse had picked up a little. He hid it well, but Evie noticed it at his neck. She also picked up a tiny change in his breathing, but he was controlling it enough that it would go without notice to the untrained eye.
When Evie joked back with him about the pain sticked, he chuckled, "That would be interesting to see. I've gone through it myself. My family is not quite as enthusiastic about such rituals, but we at least participate where it is most influential." He nodded, "It certainly tests one's endurance. Pain itself can be mitigated to a degree, but the effects it has on the body are hard to deny. Brute strength gets you through the first few, but then it is having the stamina to endure and continue until the end. It is not for the weak of heart. Given your idea, there would very rarely be a Klingon Admiral."
Witnessing the banter between A'kilees and Cortez, Gath smiled. It was good to see such things. It wasn't all about battles and skill, it was often more about the relationships you formed along the way. A true warrior knew that it was relationships that gave you a reason to fight when others would give up. Things like hope, love and friendship were not weaknesses, they were what gave a person deep motivations and inner strength that was hard to come by in any other way.
With those thoughts running through his mind, he looked down for a moment to take stock of his own friendships and relationships that he held closely. He had lost many, but he was forming others that were showing great promise.
When Evie joked back with him about the pain sticked, he chuckled, "That would be interesting to see. I've gone through it myself. My family is not quite as enthusiastic about such rituals, but we at least participate where it is most influential." He nodded, "It certainly tests one's endurance. Pain itself can be mitigated to a degree, but the effects it has on the body are hard to deny. Brute strength gets you through the first few, but then it is having the stamina to endure and continue until the end. It is not for the weak of heart. Given your idea, there would very rarely be a Klingon Admiral."
Witnessing the banter between A'kilees and Cortez, Gath smiled. It was good to see such things. It wasn't all about battles and skill, it was often more about the relationships you formed along the way. A true warrior knew that it was relationships that gave you a reason to fight when others would give up. Things like hope, love and friendship were not weaknesses, they were what gave a person deep motivations and inner strength that was hard to come by in any other way.
With those thoughts running through his mind, he looked down for a moment to take stock of his own friendships and relationships that he held closely. He had lost many, but he was forming others that were showing great promise.