I'm bored let's fight! (Avain Manor)

[Almech]

Fall 41 511

Almech was in the courtyard, he was bored, there was nothing to do, he decided he would lift some weights, and so he did. He started with deadlifting, taking a deep breath he gripped the bar, and he began lifting, he would hold the bar at his waist for 10 seconds before setting it back down. Again he lifted the bar up and he could feel his muscles starting to get warm, he set it down and went to the bench press. He layed on his back and gripped the bar pushing upward he lifted it up off the holding arms. He brought it to his chest slowly as he inhaled and pushed it back up exhaling, he never worked with too much resistence. He didn't want to injure himself so he always worked with weights that were in the middle, meaning, not too heavy, but not so light it did nothing. He brought the bar to his chest again, his arms began to shake a bit, he knew it was time to move onto some different weights.

[Miro]

Miro awoke from his nap in the courtyard. Laying against the walls in the shade was an excellent place to keep comfy and enjoy a quick rest. Normally this nap went uninterrupted, but lately there had been more people around. Miro heard heavy breathing from the other side of the courtyard. Miro peeked open an eye to see Almech using the workout equipment. A smile spread to Miro's lips. Seeing other people making use of his things made him happy. If only more people would work harder to be strong, Miro might have a good sparring partner. He stood up and brushed the dirt from his clothes. Slowly he made his way over to the man and the workout equipment. "Well it seems you are getting a bit of training in. Would you like to assist me in my training? I am looking for somebody who wouldn't mind sparring with me hand to hand. You look capable of helping me learn a thing or two." Miro matted down the hair that was out of place. Miro took his padded armor and put it on. "I hope you wont hurt me too bad, I only want to get some practice in. Hopefully it won't get too intense. Well maybe a little intense. I do still want you to try to beat me."

[Almech]

Almech looked at his friend, and smiled, it was something he still wasn't fully accustomed to so instead made an odd lip movement looking more like he was about to puke than a smile. He knodded his head "If this is a learning experiment" Almech said as he removed his silk shirt and the chain shirt he had underneith "Remove your armor, the easier for you to move, the easier for you to learn and practice". Almech took a position with his right foot forward, his hands open with his right hand near his face and extended his reach about 6 inches passed his nose and his left near his heart extended 3 inches from his nose. Almech then gestured for Miro to do the same "Tell me why I took this position Miro, then, i'll allow you first strike, then i'll tell you if you were right". He looked Miro dead in the eyes expressionless, one could say he seemed to be "in the zone".

[Miro]

Miro smirked seeing Almech respond to his offer. As hoped, he was interested. "Yes, learning, there will be a lot of that." Miro paused as he was asked to remove his armor. For a moment he was surprised, but that was soon replaced with excitement. He took off his armor quickly and looked over at his partner. He had taken off his shirt. Miro removed his too and began to stretch his muscles a bit. "No armor, I think I like this idea." He watched Almech take his position. Miro closed his eyes for a moment and pushed his hair back out of his face. "That position? I think it is simple. You took that position because you are wanting me to strike you. I am guessing you want to gauge my skill, try to show your superiority in close quarters combat. It looks to me like you are ready to counter attack. Good luck!" Miro pulled his djed flux to his arm and threw a heavy punch towards Almech's face. It wasn't the fastest punch, but it would be thrown with force. Miro was curious to see how easily this punch would be dealt with. Almech had already shown his confidence talking down to Miro. Finally the perfect sparring partner.

[Almech]

There was another attempted smile that formed on Almech's face as his partner answered him, this guy was kind of funny. Miro came, throwing a punch at his face "Wrong! there is purpose to my technique, low hand guards the torso, high hand guards the head and throat" Almech's high hand moved connecting his palm with Miro's fist. Upon feeling the force of the blow however he changed his mind about stopping it, instead his hand moved with Miro's fist, Almech simultaneously stepped back switching the position of his feet"I stand the way I do to give the illusion that i'm rooted with both feet, when in reality my back foot supports all my body weight".

He guided Miro's fist away "Making it easier to evade attacks" upon saying this the hand that had palmed Miro's fist moved away to the outside, he twisted his hips in the same direction while bending his knees at a fast rate. In the midst of this Almech used the force generated to throw a punch, but it wasn't a punch only meant to look like one. Just before his fist would reach Miro's face, it would turn away sharply sending a powerful elbow strike towards the side of Miro's face.

[Miro]

Miro listened carefully to his lecture, it seemed to teach something important. Miro watched as he changed his stance and center falling with the punch and rerouting it. Miro turned to see a counterattack coming. His djed flux was still extended into his arm but returning quickly. He drew it back to normal quickly while letting himself fall to the left. He dropped down to the floor avoiding the attack. He caught himself on his hands and forced his djed flux down to his right leg. He felt the muscles in his leg pump up as his hands lowered him to rest his weight on the ground. His left leg remained rooted giving him the leverage he needed for a good kick. He pumped the speed and up using the flux, being sure not to enhance it past the limits of his bones. His foot rose up quickly, attempting to land a strike against the hip of the towering man. He had no plan after this cheap attempt, but he would be sure to counter any move his opponent made.

[Almech]

Almech took a deep breath and watched Miro move "Lesson two, don't waste your energy" he saw the kick coming "No unnecessary movements, it makes you harder to follow" just as the attack was about to strike him Almech moved forward and moved the hand on the side he was being attacked from to his side, their bodies mere inches away now. The attack hit him, but all it's power in it was on the other end "Lesson three, how can your opponent hurt you, if you're too close for him to throw a decent attack?". He bent his arm and now it wrapped his leg at the elbow like a hook, he lifted Miro's leg upwards and simultaneously stepped forward. Essentially shoving his body into Miro's, this caused Miro to fall backwards with decent force, smacking the back of his head on the ground. Almech stepped backwards to allow Miro to stand "If you have an opportunity to use leverage do it" and he got back in his stance, ready for Miro to come at him again.

[Miro]

Almech had more and more to say, but it was all starting to fade away. Miro fought within himself, attempting to push his mind to focus on the lesson, but his mind was drifting elsewhere. Around his left wrist, the reminder of defeat. That damn bracelet that proved his weakness. "You are pretty good, but I am done with the games." Miro's eyes shone with a faint red tint. His hair swung loosely in front of his face as he clenched his jaw tight. It was time to test Almech, show him what a real fighter could do. Miro wasn't some child who needed to be looked after, he was strong, capable of killing any enemy. "It is time for me to show you something about fighting. This is what true strength looks like!"

Miro drew his fists up and charged forward at Almech roaring fiercely. A few feet from his opponent he stopped his momentum, now focused on his fists. He split his djed flux between his hands, pulling a great deal of energy between them. He stored a massive amount of his djed in his arms, building as he slowed and locked eyes with his target. The muscles became taught, waiting for a command to move. Stopping the charge caused Miro to slide, shifting his weight from the ground up, leaving Miro sailing forward slowly. He pulled all thoughts from his mind to envision the attack. Time slowed to a stop as Miro visualized the attack. His hands moving back and forth, one after another becoming a blur. Extending his fist out until it made contact and drawing it back to unleash the other fist. It was simple, but executing an attack with so much power left his body at risk. If Almech dodged, blocked or countered, Miro would receive more damage than he would ever inflict to Almech. A risky gamble for a desperate fool.

Miro allowed the vision in his mind to become a reality. As his body shifted forward his fists shot outwards in a flurry. He began roaring, letting his rage boil out through his fists. Each time he retracted his arm he shifted his flux to the other arm, focusing on moving as fast as possible to make contact and pull it back. He forced the barrage to continue for over forty punches, finally losing steam and panting heavily. Sweat poured from his body, he felt as if he were on fire. All he could hear was the sound of him drawing air frantically into his lungs and his heart slamming against his chest. The light faded from his eyes as he attempted to fight against the overwhelming fatigue. He used most of his djed in a brief attack. He was no longer aware if any of the attack hit or if his arms were injured. He found himself wondering if he was even standing. He felt no pain, only a disconnection with his body.

"Was it worth it? Did you impress yourself there, kiddo? Instead of sticking to the basics and practicing them, you try to take these shortcuts and force your body to go past its liimits. I am going to continue to train my kicks, don't bother me until you are ready to challenge me. All I see now is a child seeking attention." Kinneas had always tried to teach him the 'proper way' to train. A strong discipline to push your endurance, testing your will, meditating on your goals. So many hours of doing nothing more than a repetitive motion, analyzing things already learned. Kinneas never seemed to learn anything new, and yet he always stayed so far ahead of Miro no matter how quickly he learned. "Could I be wrong, Kinneas? Am I still that same eager child? Too good to learn any lessons, too stubborn to admit defeat." Miro's thoughts faded with that last thought. He fell into a deep sleep, shutting his mind down so his body could recover. The sun was still high in the sky, the birds still singing songs. The world still continued turning a blind eye to the unconscious mage. His heart still beat quickly, but the rage that drove him to the point was drowned away entirely. No longer would he rush to meet his goal of revenge. Discipline and determination to finish what had been started. Balance and reason would keep him safe.

[Almech]

Almech could see now, the beast within Miro, he recognized the look in his eyes, the eyes of someone who refused to lose, however, this would be his downfall. He had the eyes of a wild animal, there was no intent in them what so ever, only fury. He prepped himself for defense, however he wasn't expecting what would come next, a flurry of fists came at him pelting him like a hailstorm. There was one problem with this though, the initial shock of the attack made Almech stumble backwards as his face was beaten to a pulp almost instantly. However after recieving 15 punches directly to his face he figured out Miro's pattern and Almech's arms did what they had to. They came up placing his forearms right next to eachother in front of his face in a guard position and he felt the force of Miro's blows hitting them, busting blood vessels, causing almost instant severe bruising.

Almech wouldn't be able to stay in this guard position for long, as the blows came his arms became more and more sensitive. He cartwheeled to the side, but Miro was right on him, he performed a backflip to evade but Miro was on him like white on rice. He jumped in the air, doing a front flip over Miro, before he could turn around he recieved a powerful blow to the back of his head. Almech at this point, was still hesitant about putting an end to this sparring match, but at the same time he knew Miro wasn't going to stop. He rolled forward with the force of Miro's punch dampening it's effect, he quickly stood up and turned around facing Miro and put up his guard again.

Almech closed his eyes focusing intently on Miro's blows, he counted them, "1, 2, 3, 4, 5" he counted. As well as calculating the amount of time elapsed before the next punch struck "6, 7, 8, 9, 10" they were starting to really hurt now, Almech was force to start backing up to lessen Miro's strength. Almech was beginning to wonder if Miro was going to stop at all "11, 12, 13, 14, got you!" Almech spread his arms apart just as Miro was throwing his next punch. Miro was berserk Almech could see that now, he felt bad about what he had to do. Almech cocked his head to the left and Miro's fist flew past him, with his left arm Almech gripped Miro's elbow and threw a powerful upward elbow strike with his right arm. His elbow smached into Miro's humorous, he heard a splitting crack sound, but kept moving. Immediately after the blow Almech let go of Miro's elbow, he took a long stride backward very quickly, and just as quickly Almech drove his palm downwards onto Miro's nose. His friend fell back onto the ground "Are you ok?" he asked, but he recieved no answer from his friend.

[Miro]

Miro sat up, looking around to find his surroundings. As far as he could see in every direction was an sight obscuring fog. He lifted his hand to look at it. Small droplets of water trickled down, making dripping noises. Looking down he saw a whitened water surface, seeming impossibly shallow, yet still wet. His reflection gazed back up at him, looking exceptionally peaceful. A breeze resounded through the area but could not be felt. As he listened it grew in intensity before forming words. "Please take care of me." Iliana's voice echoed in Miro's ears before she stepped out of the fog and walked over to sit a few feet away from him. She smiled and looked up at the sky, as if there was something to see. Before Miro could say another voice met his ears. "Ricky Maze, I'm a fisherman from Zeltiva...And of course that is my best friend Odis there." Miro turned his head to the left and saw Ricky with his arm around Odis who barked once before the two of them froze. Ricky staring half amused and half irritated, and Odis, looking as if he were going to run at Miro.

What was going on here? Miro stood up to his feet looking around. One by one, each of his friends walked out from the fog to surround him. Delanie came forth, giving a friendly wink and standing next to Ricky. Alric and Grim came out in a pair greeting him kindly. Pavani quietly crept forward carrying Zlakalia in her arms. Nowa flew down and landed before him, changing to his small child form and clapping for Miro. Even Bones slithered forward looking coldly at the group. Miro smiled with tears forming in his eyes. Seeing all of his friends around him made him proud. He thought of the bonds he made with each of them. How he would feel if anything happened to them. How he would advise his students not to use the Flux recklessly as he had just done. Their kind words flooded his ears. The memories of all the time he had spent with them. He cherished his friends far too much to let this go.

Miro's thoughts were interrupted once he felt a firm hand on his shoulder. Gasping, Miro turned around to view Kinneas, standing tall and proud. His face bore a smile. "Miro, Miro, Miro. Why can't you just behave for me? It is as if you enjoy making me worry!" Kinneas reached out a hand and shoved Miro playfully. He was forced to take a step back, losing sight of him. When Miro moved back to shove him back Kinneas was gone. Turning around he saw a sight that startled him. Almech stood with his arms crossed. His awkward creepy smile revealed fierce sharp teeth. A faint snarling sound was coming from him, making Miro tremble. In a loud booming voice the man spoke. "Lesson four, KNOW WHEN TO GIVE UP!" Almech lunged forward and punched Miro in the face.

Again, everything turned to black. The dream ended and Miro went on to resume his peaceful slumber. Now he moved around a bit, snoring loudly and moaning occasionally. After a few bells he would awake, ready to begin treatment for his wounds and apologizing for his lack of control. He could not blame Almech for avoiding sparring in the future, or ever wanting to teach Miro again. Even so, he would do his best to make it up to the man.