Closed Simply Heading East

[Khal'iah]

Whilst the dark one hearkened to the itinerary laid out by the young woman, his right eyebrow elevated in surprise. For a woman of such youth to make such travel plans, seemingly alone, and then survive in the Wildlands was a feat in of itself. Suffice it to say, the Akalak was impressed, and upon concluding her travel plans, Ha'lik let out a hearty chuckle. "And you got this far all on your lonesome?" he stated, almost in a questioning tone. "Well, you're just a hardy little survivor, now aren't you? I've heard of many a man falling victim to the Wildlands...but you've managed to get this far in one piece." With just a touch of flair, the warrior elevated his waterskin as if dedicating a toast to this accomplishment. His arm lingered in the air for just a moment before he lowered the skin to his lips and took another swig. "Kudos to you Lexa!" he exclaimed, beaming. When she inquired about his own being in the region, the Akalak grew quiet for a moment. It wasn't because he had anything to hide. It wasn't because he was uncomfortable. It was simply because he had to mull over the right words to express why he was there; as the Common tongue could not adequately describe the Tukant word he had in mind. "Let's see...I'm here because I seek to grow stronger. I want to better myself through training with many different races." He grew quiet once more, his attention turning to his open palm. His mind wandered to that which motivated him to pursue this voyage: the death of his sibling so long ago...his palm drew into a tight fist and he stated simply: "If I can grow stronger, then I will be able to protect that which matters to me the most. I won't lose anyone, ever again." Ha'lik paused so that he may take another sip of his waterskin, then set it down at his feet. "To be honest with you, this is the first I've journeyed outside of Riverfall on my own. I went to Konti Island once in my lifetime, but it was with the entire family...and it wasn't for a good occasion..." The dark one's voice trailed off. Though he was the passionate, eccentric one of the pair, both he and Khal'iah felt the same sting in their hearts when they recalled their beloved twin. It was hard to think of her, even after so many years had passed. "Now then, the gist of my current travel plan is to get to Zeltiva or Lisnar. There's much to do in both places and I think that I'll have the opportunity to test my mettle against someone worthy in either of those cities."

[Lexa Maze]

Lexa let a light chuckle escape her lips. She'd been traveling all her life, though this was the first time alone. Her back was torn to shreds but she was alive still. She thought about Her motivation for being out here in the first place, but honestly, she couldn't think why. What was she doing with her life? Wondering aimlessly? Fighting, eating, sleeping. That was her life before, now her family was gone. She couldn't peruse healing like her mother. She couldn't become monstrous and brutal like her father and brothers. But what else was there... The Khal'iah expressed his reasons for living. To become stronger. To protect that which matters to him the most. That nearly made Lexa cry. She felt her own fist ball and she averted her eyes from the great purple giant. There was a lump in her throat that she could not seem to get rid of. It just hurt. Her mother had been so kind. So pure. So honourable. She felt like nothing beside her. Nothing but a stupid girl who didn't have strength enough to save her. And now what was she doing? But maybe this man understood her. It seemed like he had lost someone close to him as well. But he was so much stronger. Had so much more drive. Lexa was just trying to stop the constant grieving, and then work out who she was. She didn't want to admit to him what a coward she had been that day. That was all that made her bite her tongue for the time being. His last words rung in her mind. Someone worthy, huh? "Do you still want that fight, Khal'iah?" Where did that come from? Oh well, at least it would distract her from this damaging train of thought for a while. She stood slowly, Katana in hand. There was enough light from the fire and the moon alike. Maybe she could prove to herself she wasn't a weakling, in the only way she knew how. She flashed him a smirk and stepped away from the fire, already calculating the fight in her mind. This would be fun.

[Khal'iah]

And suddenly, the young woman was speaking the Akalak's language. The smile that was plastered across the warrior's countenance took on an edge of excitement, and he ascended to his feet as swiftly as possible. "Do you even have to ask?" was his avid response. Before he even reached for the weapons on his person, he took a minute to size the one before him up. She was shorter than him and of a smaller build; meaning, though she probably would not be as strong, she would definately be quicker on her feet. Her weapon, a katana, happened to have a similar blade length as his longsword, and seeing as though the Akalak was of larger stature, he had a slight advantage as far as reach went. With these factors in mind, Ha'lik set about calculating his initial plan of attack. His fingers reached for and clasped the grips of his longsword and Lakan, wrenching them fre of their sheathes and lowering them into a defensive position. His offhand, which clutched the lakan, was given a solid shake to set his buckler in place as well. Ha'lik then moved in a slow, cautious semi-circle about the fire, stepping away from the tents so that a stray blow did not render them homeless. "I'm most interested to see what you can do Lexa, come at me!" He stated with confidence, his longsword elevating slightly so that he may react adequately to her blow.

[Lexa Maze]

Lexa took a moment to size up her opponent. His size and presumed physical strength were not disimerler to that of her older brothers, Toukou and Alar. She had to use that strength against him. Use his momentum to her advantage. The disadvantage would be his larger reach, and greater strength. Directly blocking was sure to be staggeringly hard, she had to make sure that not all of the weight behind his blows transferred to her or this fight would end with her swift defeat Lexa's eyes grew cold again, and her expression became one conveying nothing but focus and seriousness. She locked any other side to her away, and readied her blade. She usually preferred to let her opponent strike first but in this case, speed was her ticket, so she would attack hard and fast, with very little space in between until he countered. With a battle cry she ran at him, closing the space in just seconds. She feined a first strike to the shoulder diagonally, knowing he would be all to ready for a blow such as that. Then, using the downwards momentum,she spun on the ball of her foot and launched herself into the air, katana slashing across his cheats. She landed and pivoted again, this time aiming diagonally downwards. She kept this up, dancing around him, her foot work was what she focused on. Her speed second. She would step to his left, swing, spin to his right. Then through with a thrust. All the while she awaited a counter of some form. She looked out for it so she wouldn't be taken off guard. I wont lose. I won't

[Khal'iah]

As the Akalak had anticipated, the young woman was indeed quick on her feet. In the blink of an eye, she had traversed the distance between them and was launching her initial assault. The first movement, an attempted diagonal strike at the warrior's shoulder, turned out to be a false movement that triggered the warrior's reflex. His longsword moved instinctively to counter the incoming blade, yet met nothing but air as she spun on her heel, ascended into the air, and came down to strike at his chest. 'A feint?! Damn...better than I thought.' admitted the dark warrior. He made a hasty, sloppy deflection of her blade, scattering sparks from the collision of metal against metal. Her dance was far from over, yet Ha'lik managed to recover from the initial feint. She landed and pivoted, aiming a strike diagonally and downwards. This he parried with his longsword and then deflected the next blow with his buckler. His arms moved as swiftly as the Akalak could command them in order to keep up with her swift footwork, their battle culminating in the form of a dance of sparks as metal struck metal. Finally, she came in close with a thrust, a perfect opportunity for a counter attack. The Akalak swung his Lakan with a mighty force, relying upon his superior strength in an attempt to rattle his opponent once their blades collided. He swung his trusty blade from bottom to up, parrying her thrust in a manner that would send her arm and blade upwards from the sheer force of the collision, thereby hopefully creating a brief opening to exploit. Then, should his tactic succeed, the Akalak would close the gap with a step closer before her arm could be brought down to defend, aiming a neat horizontal strike with his longsword underneath her arm that was poised to strike her exposed torso. However, due to the fact that they were merely sparring, the Akalak held his sword in such a way that it would be the flat of his blade which collided with her and not the cutting edge, thereby only robbing her of breath upon collision and not inflicting any serious injury. 'I won't be losing. Not today.'

[Lexa Maze]

Her onset of moves had been met with blocks that were effective, but at the same time, she could see he struggled to keep up. All went well until he went in for the counter on her thrust. The blow was with shattering strength, as their swords clashed. His parry just about disarmed her. She saw what he was doing and she knew it would end badly, so she made a hasty retreat. She couldn't her her katana down in time, but she was a martial artist as well. The blade was mealy an extended reach of her right arm. She didn't care if this was perceived as a dirty move in a battle of blades. She saw him step forward, saw him begin the strike she wouldn't be able to defend in time with her sword and she feined distress. But she stepped backwards as he stepped forwards, her body dodging to the side of the blade that aimed for her torso rapidly. His momentum was forward and now his hand was in her reach. Lexa picked up her knee as the blade missed her by inches. and, moving her katana in a wide arch so as to keep her balance and also distract him, if she was lucky, performed a hooking kick. Her foot was aimed to collide with his armed hand on the hilt of the weapon, in hope he might let go of the long sword on impact. 'I did tell him about my combat style after all'. Normally a kick like this one would be aimed for an elbow or knee, but if this worked, she didn't want to risk a possible broken bone. No. This was a disarming kick. It might crush his fingers a little, however. Even if this was foiled with that pesky buckler he held or simply by him managing to keep a hold on the longsword, it will have gotten her out of hot water and into a good position. Now that she was properly grounded again and to the Akalak's left side she could swing again with her katana, aiming for his torso, and bringing her dance to a start once again.

[Khal'iah]

In the split second before the strike was launched, the Akalak witnessed the look of distress which suddenly populated the young woman's face. 'Sorry kid.' said the dark one to himself, before his attack continued; unfettered by her feint. This was met with heavy opposition on the part of Khal'iah, but Ha'lik honestly didn't care what his "light" sibling had to say at this point. This was a battle and if the girl couldn't handle herself, she shouldn't have offered to enter the fray. The violet-skinned warrior was almost amused when he uncovered the truth of her dirty tactic, her expression being just a feint in order to attempt to gain an opening to launch her surprise movement: a swift kick that crunched her foot against the fingers of his swordhand. Ha'lik was pleasantly surprised, since his point was proven, and despite the pain kept a solid grip upon his blade. There were no breaks, thank the heavens, but his fingers were certain to be sore in the morning. Once the girl retracted her foot and got solid footing once more, the Akalak jogged back a few steps in order to give himself a little bit of breathing room. He witnessed her immediate initiation of her swift tactic once more and he realized that he had to bring that to an end if her was to emerge victorious from this contest of strengths. The blade of her katana sang through the air, aimed for the left side of his torso, and a cold smirk formed upon the warrior's lips. She was outright attacking his offhand, which housed his buckler. Now was the time to set her off balance once more...The Akalak surged forward a step, putting a large amount of effort into his swing, so much so that a roar escaped his lips. His buckler soared through the air and collided with tremendous force. The purpose of his tactic was to hit the blade hard enough for it to fly out of the woman's hands, effectively disarming her, or to send her arm careening in the direction of the collision, thereby exposing her torso. Immediately following this, his right foot stepped forward and he once more launched a solid strike with the flat of his longsword, aiming a powerful, downward stroke that was poised to collide with her shoulder. Admittedly, he was holding back the vast majority of his strength when it came to this blow, lest her shoulder be shattered, and should it meet its mark it would leave a nasty bruise yet nothing more.