Completed Angry at the Wood

[Kirsi Winterflame]

Timestamp: 88th of Summer, 513AV, 17th Bell "Stupid petching clay. Stupid petching wood," Kirsi grumbled to herself, stalking along the beach. She had come here to relax, to release the frustration that had been building all day. Heeding the sun's position and the hour, she had stopped only long enough to grab her staff and then set off down the beach. But the trudging only served to heighten her irritation, until she had worked herself into a foul and disparaging temper. On the shoreline stood several scruffy looking trees; their trunks were grey and twisted. The sight of them, standing against the salty air of the ocean only served to make her angrier. Abruptly changing course, she strode toward the nearest of the bunch and, with no thought for proper form or technique, swung her quarterstaff at the wood. Crack! "Oof!" The impact sent vibrations running through the quarterstaff and into Kirsi's arms and she readied herself for another attack on the tree trunk. Dropping back into a crouch, she lunged forward and swung her staff at the trunk, aiming for the exact spot she had last hit. She missed her mark by inches, but hardly noticed. More important was the impact itself. After working all day, unsuccessfully, at sculpting clay in Garob's workshop, Kirsi was uncharacteristically angry at wood in general. Wood had disillusioned her. Thwack! She had been carving wood for years. Since childhood. She knew how to bring forth shapes and forms and beauty from the grain, coaxing spirit and life out of nothing. Smack! She had thought herself skilled. She was skilled, petch it! Just not with clay. One last swing at the tree trunk, notably less forceful. Dropping her arm, she rested the tip of the staff in the dirt and stood there, breathing heavily, arms trembling from the force of her anger. Raising her head only slightly, Kirsi glared at the tree. Not only was it entirely unharmed, it hadn't even had the decency to drop a leaf after all her attacks. Pulling herself upright, Kirsi held her staff crosswise in front of her body, stepped forward and swung at the tree one last time. Crack! If nothing else, it was more satisfying than pummeling clay. Kirsi smiled with no real humor. She was sure to have another opportunity to mangle the clay tomorrow at work. Kirsi leaned back against the tree and looked up through its branches. Breathing in deeply, she tried to forget the day and focus instead on the patterns the leaves made, silhouetted against the sky.

[Jorin Ertihan]

Season of Summer, Day 88, 513 AV

Seventeenth Bell

"Kirsi Winterflame swings away
Clearing her mind at the end of day
Beating on wood after working with clay
Leaning in frustration when it would not sway..."

Jorin grinned as he intoned his little passage, walking up to Kirsi. He'd heard some pretty loud thwacks as he was walking by, having spent yet another tiring but illuminating evening going over the Amphitheater's costume logistics. It was shocking, how easily and readily people just assumed that things would be there, and did not take into account travel time, potential delays ... Jorin had spent Bells working the logistics of it. By the time he was done, it was already evening.

He was honestly surprised to see Kirsi so ... violent. It really was the only word to describe it. She was swinging away with abandon on the poor tree, as though it was the source of all her woes. Giving her his gamest smile, Jorin trotted up to her.

"Rough day, huh?" he said, nodding at the tree. "I'm sure the poor tree could use a break. I've been trying to learn some quarterstaff maneuvers myself, maybe you could teach me? In return, I suppose I could be your target dummy."

Jorin cast about, finally finding a dead branch on the ground that was relatively intact. It would not be a good staff in a real fight, being far less sturdy than the actual quarterstaff that Kirsi was using, but perhaps it would serve as a training tool. He grinned unconsciously as he remembered the first time he'd used a branch in this capacity, unconsciously rubbing his shin. That had been a very interesting day.

"I won't pretend I know the first thing about quarterstaff fighting," Jorin admitted, smiling at Kirsi. "Or the second thing. I'm really a complete novice. I've taken a few courses at the Kendoka Sasaran, and I've learned a few basics through what you might call ... hands-on experience ... but truthfully, I couldn't defeat a wooden dummy."

Jorin grinned. "Still," he continued, "I make a pretty good dummy! At least that's what my instructor at the Sasaran said."

OOCHope you don't mind me jumping in!

[Kirsi Winterflame]

Timestamp: 88th of Summer, 513AV, 17th Bell Without looking, Kirsi recognized Jorin's voice. Frustrated as she was, she managed a smile at the poem. Art should not go unnoticed, no matter how grumpy its audience might be. "Rough day, huh?" "Yes," Kirsi replied, maybe just a bit too emphatically. With an effort, she softened her voice and tried again. "Yes, its been a rough day..." She paused, considering whether or not to go into detail, and ultimately decided against it. Now that she thought about it, her attack on the tree was a childish reaction to the day's events. But hearing Jorin comment on the 'poor tree', Kirsi couldn't contain a quiet snort. That poor tree didn't look any worse for the wear, despite her best, anger-fueled efforts. If anything, she thought, rubbing her arm, the tree has gotten the best of me today. Which made Jorin's offer to spar with her all the more timely. Kirsi was sorely out of practice, which was not a good thing for a woman who was hoping to attain citizenship in Riverfall. There would be a weapons test, and she knew she was nowhere near ready to pass it. She eyed Jorin, considering his offer carefully. "I make a pretty good dummy! At least that's what my instructor at the Sasaran said." At this, Kirsi grinned, decision made. "Okay. But, to be honest, I have forgotten most of what I learned. I remember a few basics. Enough to make very loud noises when hitting a tree," she admitted with a sheepish smile. "But I need to practice," the last was said with a decisive nod, as Kirsi brought her staff to bear in front of her and stepped out away from the tree. Centering the staff horizontally in front of her, she placed her left foot in front of her and slightly out to the side, in a modified lunge. Taking a half-second to find her balance, Kirsi watched Jorin out of eyes that still held just a hint of her earlier temper, waiting for him to find his starting stance. OOCOf course not!

[Jorin Ertihan]

Season of Summer, Day 88, 513 AV

Jorin smiled nervously. Kirsi seemed really serious. He'd been half-joking about the dummy part. Well, OK, the instructor had said he'd make a good dummy, but Jorin was sure the man had been teasing. Right? He could feel beads of sweat forming on his brow, but Jorin just pushed his nervousness aside, tossing Kirsi a confident smile. Had to show confidence, right?

Jorin shifed into position himself. Her stance was not familiar; she had chosen to center the staff horizontally, with her legs slightly apart and her left foot in front. Jorin raised an eye at that. Did this mean Kirsi was left-handed? If so he'd have problems; he'd never fought a left-handed fighter before. Those were supposed to be very tricky to fight, since everything is reversed witht them. Jorin sighed inwardly. He really was going to get trounced tonight, he could feel it.

Nonetheless, Jorin chose to go with the old faithful forward stance. He pointed his right foot at Kirsi, his left foot shuffling back, both knees bent slightly but not too much. Remembering his painful lessons at the Sasaran he made sure neither foot was pointed inward, and that his back was straight.

Jorin's left hand found the butt-end of his makeshift staff, and his right hand went up a quarter of the way, thus pointing the staff at Kirsi with his right thumb making a direct line to her head. The forward stance complete, Jorin nodded once at Kirsi. In truth, though he'd learned a move or two at the Sasaran, it was purely through relentless repetition. He'd not yet even reached the stage where he could reliably call upon them in a spar, to say nothing of chaining any sort of moves together.

Nonetheless, Jorin gave Kirsi a game smile, as he waited for her next move.

[Kirsi Winterflame]

Timestamp: 88th of Summer, 513AV Interesting, Kirsi thought; Jorin looked a bit uncertain. In a heartbeat, the humor dawned on her and she stifled a small giggle. Many times she had faced her cousins and friends the same way, as they attempted to impress upon her the importance of mastering some sort of weapon. It was amusing to her that she had to travel miles and miles from home, get angry with clay and wood of all things, and end up facing a sparring partner who knew as little, or possibly less than she did before she finally took the lessons seriously. Clearing her throat a bit, she gave serious effort to recapturing the focus of the moment. She felt the need to give Jorin one last disclaimer before they fell at each other with large sticks and no knowledge. "I know only a few strikes and blocks; maybe this will work best if we just take turns with offensive moves?" Kirsi could easily see this being a dangerous undertaking if the basics weren't laid out beforehand. Replaying old lessons in her mind, she shifted her hands back a few inches, and stepped forward with her right foot. Continuing the motion, if only at half-speed, Kirsi swept up and outwards with her staff, in a move designed to sweep her opponent's weapon away. If it worked as she remembered, she'd be able to step forward into his reach and hook her foot behind his ankle. Performed properly, it was a bit of a dirty move, but when you were, on average, a foot shorter than most of your attackers, you took advantage any way you could. In any case, it was the most effective maneuver she could remember offhand. Her cousins had given her ample opportunity to practice it; she remembered once knocking her eldest cousin over with a well-timed elbow to the gut after her foot was in place.

[Jorin Ertihan]

Season of Summer, Day 88, 513 AV

"I know only a few strikes and blocks; maybe this will work best if we just take turns with offensive moves?" Kirsi asked. Jorin nodded.

"Yes, that'd probably be best. I barely know the strikes I know, and I only know one block," Jorin chuckled nervously. Kirsi decided to make the first move, stepping forward with her right foot and sweeping her staff to knock away Jorin's own.

Jorin, not knowing this move, did his best to block, trying to maneuver the end of the staff with his back hand to meet her strike. The problem was one of directional leverage; while the forward stance meant that a staff user could potentially guard in any direction, that didn't mean the guard was necessarily particularly strong or effective.

Jorin felt the consequences of that when Kirsi still knocked away Jorin's weapon, even though he was taller than her and had more reach with his arms. She continued to step forward, and Jorin tried shuffling back. Whatever this move was, she obviously wanted to get into close quarters to do it, and that was good enough reason to not let her.

Jorin had no problem stealing quarterstaff moves from other people. As far as he was concerned, a move was a move was a move, it didn't matter that it had been used on him to great effect. Pride only earned you bruises. If Kirsi showed him something new, he'd add it to his repertoire if he could, maybe even surprise her by springing it on her someday.

The problem with this move was that it seemed most effective on people taller then the user. Jorin sighed inwardly. Perhaps he could use it against some of the Akalaks in the Sasaran. Anything to avoid another bruising evening at the school, where his glaring lack of training often earned him many well-deserved beatings from the more experienced fighters there.

As Jorin shuffled back, he tried to gain more leverage to bring his staff into play again. If Kirsi got in close quarters, whatever move she was trying would probably succeed. Not probably, Jorin mentally corrected ruefully. Almost certainly. He backpedaled some more, using one of the only moves he knew, swinging his hands up his staff and sending the butt-end of the staff at half speed at Kirsi's head.

It was called the Horizontal Buttstroke, a technique designed to drive the butt end of a staff into an opponent's face, with the force of a powerful elbow strike behind it. The butt-end would come swinging up diagonally from below, but it also caused the other end of the staff to swing away, meaning that Kirsi now had her staff free to block again.

[Kirsi Winterflame]

Timestamp: 88th of Summer, 513AV The first contact, the thud of weapon to weapon impact, was far more satisfying than beating on the tree had been. Though Kirsi had tried for lightheartedness when speaking with Jorin, she had not forgotten the feelings of inadequacy and failure she had struggled with all day. Repeatedly, she had pummeled that silly lump of clay, and then that tree, whose only real offense had been to grow where she could see it, and neither form of attack had alleviated the pent-up negativity. Sparring with another person, someone who could hit back and dodge and challenge her was the outlet she had been looking for. Stepping into her initial swing, Kirsi tried to follow up with her intended move; turning her body so that her staff would continue to block Jorin's, while her foot could sweep behind his. In a perfect world, it would throw him off-balance, allowing her to remain on the offensive and knock him to the ground. Not that there was enough force behind her movements to fully execute the motion. Or enough confidence in her memories to really commit to the movements, for that matter. But none of that mattered, as Jorin had stepped backward, swinging his staff up and around in a move Kirsi only vaguely remembered. Having only seconds to wrack her brain for the actual, proper, cousin-approved method of blocking, Kirsi managed to bring her staff around in time to block. It wasn't the smoothest move, but the end result was not getting tapped with Jorin's driftwood, so she considered it a job well done. But, while she'd remembered her arm movements well enough, she had neglected to move her feet. The resulting stance was less than balanced, and caused Kirsi to hop back rather inelegantly. Once she had gained a bit of distance between herself and Jorin, she could regain her stance and see what else she'd forgotten. This is going to end up with me in the dirt, she thought, not too upset by the prospect. On the rare occasions that her temper had gotten away with her back home, she'd had no shortage of people hanging around willing to trounce her at some competition or other. Kirsi had never been terribly competitive with anyone but herself and considered those some of the happier times in her childhood.

[Jorin Ertihan]

Season of Summer, Day 88, 513 AV

Jorin was quite surprised the horizontal buttstroke actually kind-of worked. In any case it clearly put a stop to Kirsi's intended maneuver, because she was forced to use her staff to block his branch. Jorin was absolutely certain that it was a complete accident that was the case, though. Nevertheless, he silently thanked Sohyrn at the Sasaran for beating that particular maneuver into his head.

Kirsi hopped back, seemingly having lost her balance after performing her block. She seemed to recover fairly quickly and got back into her stance. Jorin returned to his forward as well. Since it was now his turn to attack, he decided on doing the only other move he had, the forward thrust.

stepping forward with his left foot, Jorin shot the staff forward with his left hand, using his right to maneuver the stick so that it did not take a straight trajectory. Rather it came in at a slight angle, which he was coming to learn was quite crucial in quarterstaff fighting. Straight lines were bad. Straight lines were easy to see, and even easier to block.

The thrust was weak, being done without much force. Ideally, it was supposed to double over the opponent, and transition into the horizontal buttstroke for a potent combination ... if of course, the thrust connected. If it did not, it was crucial to return to your starting position as quickly as possible, or else you'd find yourself dangerously over-extended.

[Kirsi Winterflame]

Timestamp: 88th of Summer, 513AV Kirsi had little trouble regaining her stance before Jorin launched his offensive. The entire sparring session seemed to be moving at half-speed. She wasn't sure if that was helping her renew her knowledge or hindering her. Having time to think about her motions, and Jorin's, felt like even more effort than an actual sparring match. Certainly it relied more on concentration and skill than on pure instinct. Like now, waiting for Jorin's next move, Kirsi found herself thinking about the best placement for her feet, should she shift this one forward or that one back? Her hands, half-staff grip or quarterstaff? It was so easy get lost in second guessing herself with this very deliberate, slow motion training. Motion interrupted her thoughts, and Kirsi tensed as Jorin began his attack. He stepped toward her, 'staff' thrusting toward her at a slight angle, aimed at her mid section and Kirsi allowed herself a small smile. This one she vividly remembered how to foil - it took only a week or two of sore muscles and inconvenient bruises for her to get a good handle on the defensive parry. Kirsi stepped quickly to the side and twisted, bringing her staff to bear against the tip of Jorin's branch, pressing it out and away from her. Even with a maneuver she knew well, she was dismayed at how long her reaction time was. If Jorin had advanced with any real speed, Kirsi was sure she wouldn't have dodged the move in time. But he hadn't, and she had, and this seemed like the perfect time to follow up with Jorin's own attack from earlier. Continuing her downward blocking motion, she pushed the rear of the staff upward. Her motion was a bit tentative, in part because she was still feeling her way through the motions, and in part because she was overall trying to be careful. The last thing she wanted was to be responsible for accidentally rapping Jorin on the head.

[Jorin Ertihan]

Season of Summer, Day 88, 513 AV

Jorin didn't really expect his forward thrust to work. For one thing, it was going so slow that even the slight angle wouldn't have mattered too much. That was more for when the thrust was being done at full-speed, because under those circumstances the slight angle could make the difference between a glancing blow and a full strike.

Jorin felt rather than saw Kirsi's response, bringing her staff up from below as she pushed his stick aside. Doing everything at half-speed meant that he had time to consider his options, though it was only seconds. The move she was using looked familiar, but he didn't have time to think what it was. What was most important was that now that his thrust had been parried his entire right side was exposed.

As he had feared, the forward thrust had left him overextended, and he had two options at this point. If he tried to leap back, even at half-speed Kirsi would still have enough time to hit him with the other end of her staff; it just meant the blow would be glancing. The other option was to commit fully. Jorin had absolutely no experience with hand-to-hand combat or wrestling, but he decided it would probably be in his best interest in this situation to try for something unusual.

Without warning, Jorin lunged at Kirsi. He was looking to bear her to the ground, and thus deny her the space needed to bring the other end of the staff into play. It was a dirty trick perhaps, and he was more relying on his larger size for this ploy to succeed, but in his overextended state he figured the worst case was the butt-end of Kirsi's staff strikes his chest rather than his head; and his ribcage stood a better chance at withstanding her blow than his skull would.