Piercing A Dancer's Heart (Xalet)

[Aello]

Aello's feet pushed up against the forest floor, propelling her forward. Her arms swung with her step, her chest too, rose and fell, all the more rapidly, as she began to draw in more ragged breaths. She thought she could hear it, even over the clamor of Xalet's armor. The way the metal plates and rings clashed against each other as he forced himself after her. She could sense him still, his aura a dark silhouette against the endless stream of brown bark, floating several steps behind. How did he know? Aello wondered, as she forced herself to keep on running. As she moved, she thought she could see Xalet gaining on her, but she wasn't really sure, nor did she really care. His aim wasn't too great, and he'd have to stop and load before he could fire at her, which would offer more than enough time to escape his clutches and carry out her plan. Not only that, but he'd have to be pretty caught up by then for her to be within his weapon's sight, which she doubt he could ever accomplish, considering how his armor seemed to weigh him down. Figuring then, it best to simply evade him, and move on with what she had in mind, Aello veered sharply to the left. She kept to the far end of the trees whenever she could, putting them between herself and Xalet as she brought herself back around, in a wide circle, designed to keep herself at the outer edge of his range, but well within the confines of her own. He's not going to know what hit him, she thought, as she kept on running.

[Xalet]

The brutal clanging was unceasing. The metal and wood rocked against Xalet's body with each running stride he took. His stride was large due to his height, but with the encumbrance of all his weight and more importantly some of the restrictiveness of attempting to keep his equipment in order it did well to keep him from moving at maximum velocity. Despite that Xalet had a large amount of endurance, more so than a typical warrior should at his level of skill. He just seemed to press further and further forward without need for a break. It wasn't due to magic or the will of the Gods, it was through simply bodily conditioning. Xalet worked with weight that constantly stressed his skeletal structure while building muscular endurance and plyometric power, even if he didn't realize what such words even meant. That whole time he was simply following orders.

His shield sat in a shoddy grip upon his forearm, only one strap really having gotten around his arm. His bolt still sat in his mouth, and his crossbow rested upon the outer edge of his shoulder, cradled in his right arm with the but resting against a pocket created from his elbow. It wasn't the most graceful advancement stance, but he had to think of something quickly that would enable him to load and fire his crossbow while not completely giving up his forward defense. The shield was a powerful tool in any fight, useful not only in melee but for closing the space between your opponent when they had a distance advantage.

The entire time Xalet tried to keep his eyes focused, pacing from left to right, trying to pick out even the slightest movement in the snow, the tiniest bit of heat amongst the trees. All of his attention couldn't simply be utilized for tracking Aello, but it was then that he remembered finally to look downward, searching the snow for tracks. Signs of Aello's passing. Mostly the powder was too disturbed by life within the forest to utilize. Where he a much more proficient tracker, perhaps he could have learned something useful. Curse his luck.

Without success Xalet tucked himself behind one of the trees, jamming his shield back into the ground as he folded a leg and went down upon a knee. With his hand free from his shield he spat his bolt downward into the palm of his gauntlet and slid it into the groove upon his crossbow. It was a difficult concept, trying to prepare an offense, continue to hold a defense, and be vigilant enough to possibly find the petite Human, "Aello!?" he called out, recognizing voice or not, his position was always given away by the sounds of his equipment, "Is this exercise over!? Has it concluded?" he added, attempting to address her, although her location was unknown to him.

[Aello]

Even as Xalet's voice cut through the dead of winter, Aello remained silent. Remained running, set on her course through the trees. Weaving in and out of their expanse as though she were a needle being drawn through two separate pieces of fabric. Can't stop now, she told herself, as she watched his form come to a stop, and prepare for another strike. He needs to learn the rest of his lesson. Although she could also sense a tad of confusion, and perhaps even fear within him, she though this particular lesson far too important to let it come to a close before its time. Thus, the Akalak would have to endure a few more chimes in wait, before she allowed everything to come together. To cease; yet, grow to make some sense. Aello kept on running. Her chest rising and falling all the more rapidly with each step, as her breathing grew all the more ragged. Wisps of silver smoke escaped her lips, forming veils of fog, which soon dissipated as she ran through their expanse. Just a bit more, she told herself as she rounded a bend, continuing in her loop. Her circuitous path. She knew it was only a bit longer, a few more steps before she wound up where she wanted to be. Within a few more chimes, Aello had slowed to a jog, and laced an arrow onto her bow, as she kept on moving. Slowing some more, to a walk, and then a sort of tip-toe through the forest. She kept to the trees, moving between them, staying behind them, keeping them between herself and her prey. Until finally, she stood maybe twenty paces away from Xalet. Behind him. Her bow rising until her arrow had trained itself on the back of her head. The girl closed her left eye, and inched back on the string. "It's never over," Aello called. "Not until a victor, and a loser has been made clear." She paused, "you shouldn't have let your guard down... now drop your weapon," she instructed.

[Xalet]

Beneath all that metal the hairs stood up on the back of his neck. She was good, quite at home within the woods it seemed. He heard her voice, but he also wondered if her true intent. Did she take him so lightly? Their skills were certainly night and day, but compared to the average man swinging his sword about Xalet had professional training in something even the most deadly assassin's neglected, the Layered Defense.

First, one had to get past Xalet's observational skills, not always simplistic considering he was better than the average man at observing his surroundings and translating that information into action. Second, they had to move beyond his Evantia Aura, which was not difficult when he did not have it erected, but very difficult when he did. The Aura could not be kept up indefinitely, it was only meant for short sessions, much like these. Afterward, Xalet knew he would be feeling the drain upon his endurance, the strain of forcing his mind and body to absorb more information than they were allowed. Third they had to get past his shield, a skill that was often neglected, but rarely uninvolved in combat. Fourth, there was his armor, meant to fill in the gaps for the weakness of any mortal form when faced with the lethality of weapons of war.

"I see. But do you as the teacher think so little of your student?" he said from his kneeling position as he slowly laid his crossbow upon the ground. "Our skills are as far apart as the sea and the sky...but..." he glanced over to the shield still jammed into the forest floor, "...I've never once let my guard down!" his voice was only raised as his body jump started into action. Aello simply seemed to him like the type that wouldn't easily accept simple 'surrender' even in their lessons. Xalet was not the type to simply surrender as well, not when he had planned for such a moment. Somehow she had gotten inside of his Evantia Aura, and that was good enough for him.

Tucking his left shoulder down and rolling to the side, the maneuver was sloppy but effective. His armor kicked up some bits of snow as he tossed his body prone behind the shield he had erected prior, his hand flashing out to drag his crossbow back into position. The crossbow was the one string based ranged weapon that could be fired from a prone position. Already cocked and loaded, it was simply a matter of ability, could he at least fire off one last bolt in time? Could he shock Aello enough to get her to believe that there was some talent that did dwell within his massive body?

OOCWeeeeeee! I left this open so if Aello wanted to, she could shoot the crossbow away from Xalet as he reaches out to grab it, or if you want you can even have him getting his shot off before her arrow blows through his shield almost stabbing him in the face or something . Xalet is incomparable to Aello, but I wanted him to maybe surprise her just once with his resolve.

[Aello]

Aello chuckled, "actually, I do," she responded, as she watched him put down his weapon, only to catch a glimmer of something mischievous in his aura. A hint of something that hadn't been there but a moment before- something along the lines of a plan in the making. Aello thought she could see the gears turning. Feel a sort of recklessness growing within Xalet's heart, and something else, something she couldn't quite put her finger on. He's going to try something stupid, isn't he? Aello thought as she watched him eye his shield, and then roll onto his shoulder. Yup, she thought with a sigh, as she tensed her muscles and pulled the bowstring back a little more. She watched him half-heartedly release another bolt at her. She didn't move, she knew it would miss, given its trajectory. She watched it soar past her right shoulder, and simply stood, silently, angrily. "You see Xalet? What a sad display of bravery that was?" Aello asked, as she moved her bow a few inches to the right and then let go of her arrow, just as he came out of his roll. With any luck, Aello's arrow would skid across the Akalak's cheek. Not enough to do any lasting damage, but enough to leave a temporary mark, and a reminder. A reminder that he shouldn't ask so foolishly, especially around the likes of her. Aello wished only to spill a few drops of blood, to leave a line across his flesh as her arrow flew past; nothing more, nothing less. "We both know you let your guard down Xalet," Aello whispered, her voice as cold and harsh as the winter wind. She watched her arrow fly, idly, and settle in the ground several paces behind her companion. "That if I hadn't said anything, you wouldn't have known I had been there. Consider yourself lucky then, that this was only practice," she finished, as she turned abruptly on her heels, and stormed off into another portion of the forest. Not bothering to collect her things; knowing the squire to be too polite not to do that for her. As she walked, Aello rolled her eyes as her muscles tensed, and she crushed the ground beneath her step. He still has a lot to learn, she mused. To much, another portion of her mind answered after quite some time spent in silence, contemplating Xalet's lesson, and just where he went wrong, after each and every turn. For he simply didn't know which way to go. He needed a map. Direction; something only Aello seemed able to provide.

[Xalet]

So far so good. The maneuver was a success. Grabbing the crossbow was a success. Xalet had his weapon as well as a protective environment from which to shoot it. Although some of his view was obscured, he felt for his trigger and pointed his weapon down range. The best he could hope for was forcing Aello to take cover, back off, or perhaps even dive to the ground. With a pull of the trigger the bolt was off, streaking through the air with incredible force and velocity. That was where the successes ended.

Cursing his luck Xalet noticed a total miss. Had he misjudged? Rushed his shot? Or perhaps did Aello dodge so swiftly that he had not seen her movement? All of these were possible circumstances that could have led to a stray bolt. In a better environment with a lesser skilled combatant, the large squire had felt confident that his abilities with a crossbow would have pressed the combat, or at least caused some mental strain. Here, in this instance however, he got nothing but words of dejection. That and an arrow that looked like it was about to take his head off.

The closing distance of the wooden shaft started as a tiny point but ended up as a huge blur, moving toward Xalet's field of vision before passing by his face, just removed from the cover of his shield long enough to take his own shot. He felt it pass by, perhaps even cutting a few strands of his hair off. Nothing hurt profusely, so he had to assume he was still in one piece. Bringing a gauntlet up to his face the rear plating of the metal came back stained with bright red blood. That was extremely close. Even as the Akalak was about to retort with something in response, Aello stomped away, leaving him with the peace and serenity of the forest before the two disturbed it.

Standing up he brushed the snow and debris from his armor, seeing a few droplets of blood seeping into the soft white powder beneath. His heart rate was starting to slow down, and his breath was beginning to calm after all that movement. He let down his concentration upon his Evantia Aura, and immediately he could feel the strain it had upon his constitution. Good thing the practice was over, any more concentration would have him coming back with a pounded headache, more than likely. Much as Aello had assumed, Xalet looked about at the various ammunition surrounding the foliage of the forest and began collecting it all after slinging his shield over his shoulder. What a strange couple of days.

[Emblem]

Congratulations! You Get Glorious Experience! Xalet Skills Crossbow- 5 XP Observation- 5 XP Rhetoric- 4 XP Running- 2 XP Tactics- 2 XP Bodybuilding- 1 XP Acrobatics- 1 XP Lores Bitches be Crazy A Gutsy Decision Shooting at Human Eye Level Shooting Under Pressure Unorthadox Training Aello Skills Teaching- 5 XP Intimidation- 4 XP Observation- 4 XP Stealth- 4 XP Acrobatics- 3 XP Tactics- 2 XP Archery: Shortbow- 2 XP Running- 1 XP Lores Unorthadox Training Taunting a Squire Sneaking up on a Squire Comments : Wow, now that was entertaining thread! Loved it! Since you are a master at archery, I couldn't award too much XP for archery. If you have questions, send me a PM!