[Anthonius FP] Ohh we're just sparring in the rain(Tsukiko)

by **Milartek** on November 5th, 2013, 7:30 pm

19th Fall 513

It was wet. Again. It seemed as though the sky's had done nothing but rain for the past 4 days! The streets were beginning to become water logged and the training pit had started to become, well, more than slightly damp.

Still it was a good wide area to train in, and to Milarteks surprise he wasn't the only one utilizing the facilities. 2 Men bashed at each other with swords and shields, a woman in the corner was practicing her archery and another man was choosing a weapon from one of the racks.

Milartek had brought his lakan with him, but decided to start the day with a little unarmed training. He shrugged his shoulders, cracked his neck and jumped up and down shaking his hands out, trying to force blood back into his increasingly chilly limbs.

He started by sinking into his familiar stance, legs shoulder width apart, left leg in front and right leg behind pointing at 45 degrees away from his body. He bent his knees slightly and raised his guard. He started simple with the basics. Left jab, thrown quickly out in front of him, trying to snap it quickly out and back to guard. Followed by right cross, trying to start the movement from the foot, rotating his right foot round the movement coming up from his leg. His right hip bone rotated forwards and then right shoulder and finally arm and fist. This movement would give his punch extra power as it would utilize the weight of his body.

Setting it up with a left jab would further help the movement, snapping to one side from the other. Well this was the theory anyway, but he hadn't quite perfected it yet, his right foot still slid backwards slightly taking moment away from the movement.

Then back to guard and move. He skipped to the left and only had to make a minor adjustment before he was back into position. Jab, cross move.

Jab. Cross. Move.

After about 12 of these he started slipping an imaginary punch before he moved. He leaned back, pulling his head away, but not so far that he lost balance, keeping his guard up. Then moved. Jab. Cross. Slip. Move.

Jab. Cross. Slip. Move.

He kept this going until the cold had been replaced with warm heat in his limbs, and he stopped a happy smile on his face. He was improving, and the basics were becoming more and more second nature. That was good.

Now he just needed to figure out what to do next.

by **Tsukiko** on November 9th, 2013, 1:58 am

It wasn't the first time she had been out in this sort of weather, far from it, considering that she had spent most of her life at sea... this one at least. Any other lifetime she had had, was unknown to her. Making sure the hood of her already soaking cloak was secure, the sailor duct hurried along the water clogged streets, almost considering taking of her boots, as they seemed to of little use in this rain.

It had been the longest time since she had trained, and in light of recent events, namely the drykas that were kidnapping women and children, she figured it was about time she got back into the swing of things. Tsukiko was painfully aware of how rusty she had become, and with luck, she might be able to find a sparring partner to accommodate her. However, she did not have high hopes in this sort of weather. She just hoped that she wouldn't land flat on her face too quickly.

The thought that no one would be at the training pit briefly crossed her mind, but was quickly dispelled as she passed through the doorway. There were four men and woman, as far as she could see, and each seemed to be far above her level. What caught her attention, was an unarmed man practising his strikes into thin air. Perhaps what was most striking was that he was a deep midnight blue. 'Interesting,' she thought as she watched him, surprised by this stranger. It was the first time she had ever seen an Akalak, though she had heard stories from the Lia of the Oceangems.

Even to her untrained eyes, she could at least tell that he had some skill, and stood in the shadow of the entrance, observing his form for several moments. Realizing she was staring, Tsukiko stripped off her cloak, leaving hanging it on a sheltered hook to hopefully dry while she trained. Stepping out into the area, she looked around, wondering how to go about things, her fingers playing along the hilt of her crescent blade.

by **Milartek** on November 10th, 2013, 10:43 pm

The rain was really starting to annoy him. It had lessened in intensity but he was already wet so that didn't help to appease him. Still at least he would not get to hot today! He shook his arms out to his sides again, blood rushing to them. He looked around the pit searching for anyone free, but no one struck his eye so he carried on with his shadow boxing.

Jab. Cross. Slip.

Quicker on the jab this time. Snap it out and snap it in all in a tic.

Jab. Jab. Jab. Jab. He skipped to the right, and threw another, trying to lash it out and then get it back to his chin as quickly as possible. A couple of times his elbow tugged in pain as he over extended his arm, but he felt that he was slowly getting quicker.

He then pretended to parry some incoming blows. The palms of his hands coming out to slap away invisible fists. If he slapped his left hand across his body he would lean his torso and head slightly to the left to further getting out of the way.

It was only after a couple of chimes of this practice that he started to feel he was being watched. At first it didn't bother him, but then the suspicion grew more and more until he stopped and looked around the pit.

Someone new had entered. A woman, not unheard of in the pit but still unusual. It was the weapon at her side however that caught his attention the most. The blade was curved in a crescent shape and he didn't think he had ever seen anything like it. Immediately he wanted to find out more about it. How you attacked with it. What style it led itself too. How you defend against it.

He realized that he was now himself staring at the woman, whether or not it was her gaze he felt he wasn't sure. He contemplated going back to his training but the temptation of learning about a new weapon was too much, and he approached the woman eager to find out more.

by **Tsukiko** on November 14th, 2013, 9:07 am

Her skin no longer resembled goose-flesh, the cool rain having tempered the warmth from her limbs, which would not make for an easy start. She would have to stretch, for despite the trek from the docks, her muscles had already begun to cool and stiffen.

Tsukiko had not realized that the Akalak had begun to approach, until he had nearly reached her. The sailor noted that he seemed look at her crescent sword with interest, and assumed that he had not seen one before. At that thought, she realized that she herself had never encountered another crescent blade, though she had seen similar swords, kin to her own weapon, such as the scimitar.

In all honesty, crescents merely appeared to be a more exaggerated version of the scimitar, the more extreme ones curving so far back, that the tip almost reached it's wielder. This feature rendered a shield next to useless, as the blade could curl around such an obstacle, striking its target from behind, decapitating a person much like a scythe.

However in her case, though the crescent sword was a double edged weapon, the edge along the inside of its curve was only as small part near at the tip. This meant that her blade was more suited for slashing or slicing motions with the outer edge of the curve, and with enough control, stabbing. Her crescent was a much milder version, being more of a balance between a scimitar and an extremer example of a crescent. It had been a parting gift from Tsukiko's family, along with three bone ornaments, which dangled from the hilt, taking the forms of a crescent moon, a dolphin, and a whale. It never ceased to amuse her that they had chosen such a sword for her out of all the others. They matched, more than most would guess. She supposed that it was almost a reminder of who she was... what she was.

Turning her attention back to the man before her, she had to look up to meet his gaze, which made her realize that he was a full head taller than her, something that did not happen often. Absently, Tsukiko admired his shade of blue, reminding her of a night sky. "Hello," she smiled pleasantly, "you wouldn't happen to be open to a sparing partner, would you? Though I must admit... my skills in the arts of combat... leave much to be desired," she said timidly, while adding the last a bit sheepishly, glancing enviously at the people training around them.

Crescent Blade :

by **Milartek** on November 17th, 2013, 5:59 pm

The woman turned towards him just before he reached her, and he smiled not wanting to seem intimidating. Her appearance was pleasing to the eye and her pale blue eyes complemented her golden skin well. She looked young but there was something in her gaze that seemed older, like she had experience beyond her years.

She obviously saw him looking at her blade as she glanced towards it herself. It was unusual. The point was more curved than a scimitar and it confused Milartek as to how one would use it.

He openly smiled when the woman asked if he wanted to spar. It would be a perfect opportunity to see how this weapon worked and what it was capable off. The woman was smaller than him, and definitely not as strong. But she looked like she was capable of swift movements. It would be an interesting bout.

Good morning, my name is Milartek its nice to meet you. Your blade caught my eye I have never seen one like that before, what is it called? Yes a spar would be great, i'm keen to see how it is used.

by **Tsukiko** on November 29th, 2013, 8:04 am

Yes! He had accepted the request for a spar! And he seemed to be friendly even, she thought with a smile. Wait... he had accepted the request for a spar... Now she began to feel a bit nervous at the prospect. For one, it had been a while since she had last spared, and if she had anything to go by, this man seemed to quite adept. "Nice to meet you as well. My name is Tsukiko, and this is a Crescent sword," she replied, momentarily distracted by his question and comments on her blade. "I have yet to be even called competent with my blade... it seems that I have had bad luck in finding a teacher," she shrugged. "It doesn't appear to be common, so what I know are mostly theories..." she trailed off, realizing how terrible this really sounded. Here she was, asking someone nice enough to agree to spar with her, and she was describing herself as basically a complete novice. Wonderful.

"Umm.. sorry... this sounds really bad..." she mumbled, looking down in embarrassment. "Perhaps... we could... experiment?" the sailor asked hesitantly as she internally berated herself for her thoughtlessness. She imagined she was making quite the fool of herself.

by **Milartek** on December 8th, 2013, 11:59 am

Milartek smiled kindly as the woman replied, albeit a bit nervously, to his questions. It seemed there was good reason that he had never seen a weapon the like of hers, even she was not completely sure of how to use it and its strengths.

She seemed to be very self conscious and she seemed to be uncomfortable with the situation. The young Akalak had to wonder why this was the case, he had been trying to come across friendly and kind and indeed he intended the woman no harm. He just wanted a sparing partner.

He was about to apologize for making her uncomfortable, and explain that it was not his intention, but then she surprised him by still seemed keen to Spar causing his face to light up into a satisfied grin.

"That sounds great! Don't be nervous a spar is not to hurt each other, but to make each other stronger. We will go half speed and half power, that's for the benefit of both of us."

The young warrior then stepped back sinking into his fighting stance, right foot forward left back at 45 degrees and knees slightly bent. He then draw his Lakan and waited for the woman to respond. He nodded signifying he was ready.

"You may make the first move"

by **Tsukiko** on December 15th, 2013, 10:52 am

His words comforted her, and gave the sailor some relief as she watched the Akalak take his position. Her eyes followed his movements while he drew his Lakan, and watched him place his left foot before his right. 'Does he favour his left foot,' she wondered, mimicking his stance, placing her right foot ahead instead, and drew her crescent blade with her left hand. Taking deep, even breaths to calm her nerves, she settled into a comfortable position, holding the hilt in both hands; her right above her left, and nodded in return.

She was surprised at how easily she was able to lift her sword, though on later reflection, it was likely due to her time working in the summer as a barmaid, ferrying drinks across a busy tavern. Smiling slightly, she eyed her sparing partner, looking for an opening. "A gentleman, I see" she replied to his admission for her to take the first move.

'It would not do well to rush in thoughtless on this man,' she thought. He was about a head taller or so taller than her, and undoubtedly had a longer arm span than herself, though then again, he wielded a Lakan, which was shorter than her own blade. However, this did not fool her into thinking that we would not be able to compensate for this, considering his build.

Thinking back to some of her first experiences in training, she recalled something about stances. One had to constantly adjust their footing, since there was no such thing as a 'perfect stance' for depending on the angle your opponent attacked, they could easily knock you over. If she could engage his blade, while taking him by surprise, and pressing into the weakest point of his stance by coming at him from the side, she might be able to catch him off guard, but she doubt she would be able to move fast enough. Besides, she did not know his reaction speed in the first place.

She shook her head slightly. Clearly, she had begun to over think things, which was not something she did normally during the day. It was a friendly spar, and she needed the practice. Still, deciding to play it safe, Tsukiko dashed two paces to her right, the last as a feint, before taking an additional step to her left, angling her blade so that the tip was on her right with her arms slightly bent, in a slashing motion aimed at his side; her grip on the hilt neither too loose nor too tight. She was light on the balls of her feet, her knees bent slightly to allow for swift movements in the case she needed to dodge. As out of practice as she was, she knew her form was not as clean as it could be, her slash wider than she would have liked, and hoped that she could work it out as soon as possible.

by **Milartek** on January 4th, 2014, 12:43 am

His right hand clenched instinctively around his weapon as adrenaline pumped through his body in anticipation. Sure this was only a spar but if you fight how you train. Train well and one will fight well. The woman also seemed to know more than she was saying, taking a while to sink into her stance. She seemed to be taking a long time to formulate a plan of attack, something Milartek found useful if you have the time to do so before engaging.

At first glance one might think that fighting is just brawn against brawn speed verses speed. But its more than that. Sure you get some warriors that rely on their strength, brawn over mind, but these were not the fighters Milartek wanted to imitate. No the warriors of Riverfall combined mind and brawn into a graceful style, looking upon some you may even say they are dancing a deadly dance.

Yes fighting is as much a mind game as a test of physical prowess. He did not want to become just another blade swinger. He saw his opponents eyes scanning him, weighing him up. She was smaller than him, hardly surprising, so her arm reach wouldn't be as long as his however that long blade would make up for it. He presumed she would not be as strong as him, however as this was just a spar and they would be going half speed then the strength should matter overly.

Seeming to make up her mind the woman sunk into a stance and advanced towards him. Her moves were quick and she looked fairly light on her feet, his eyes pinned on her as his knees bent preparing to move. Her first to steps were to her right, the second was more of a faint as she darted to her left.

He scorned himself realizing he had been paying to much attention to her legwork and not her blade as the crescent sword arched towards him. He brought his lakan up and across to meet it, steeping his left foot back as he did to absorb some of the impact that ran through his body. It was not a hard blow but it was enough that the two blades emitted a shrill clang as they met.

His lakan slid awkwardly along the surface of his opponents sword due to its unique shape, and he had to grip and push harder than he thought necessary to ensure the lakan stopped the blade. The shock traveled down his arm and his elbow bent slightly to absorb it.

With the blow blocked, all be it messily. He stepped forwards to the left hoping to position himself behind her, turned to face her, and delivered a long slash from his left shoulder down towards his right. His knees were slightly bent and he tried not to lean too much into the attack as to not throw himself off balance.

by **Tsukiko** on January 15th, 2014, 12:15 pm

If it had not been for her minimal exercise of dancing between feet and luggage while hefting trays of food and tankards filled with bear, Tsu doubted that she could have withstood the shock that ran through her. Having not been entirely prepared for the impact, a slightly numbing ache, shot through her stiff joints. Though it may not have been a hard blow for the taller, fitter, and more competent Akalak, it was strong enough to shake her.

Noting that her opponent's blade was sliding awkwardly along her own, and that he had begun to press harder, she tilted the bottom of her hilt forward; making use of her blade's curve to deflect it, and meanwhile taking a step forward while lowering her body, moving to slip under his arm.

Once her sword was free of Milartek's Lakan, she used her bent knees like a spring, and utilized the momentum to duck past him, just barely missing the downwards slashed aimed towards her back. Her movements were clumsy, having leaned too far forward during her charge.

"Well that was close," she said, turning to face the man once more. She would seem a bit shaken; skin a hint paler under her tanned tones and her eyes with a new found glint of wariness. "You almost caught me there," she added in a light tone, only the merest hint of a tremor marring it.

Her wariness was not only caused by the the shaking blow, but also by the realization that she had shown her back to an opponent. Whether or not is was friendly spar, it was a fool's thing to have done. This time, with a voice free of tremors, she joked, "You almost had me where you wanted me to be," a playful smile appearing once more.

Briefly, she wondered what a certain squire would have though of such a remark, deciding that she would perhaps tease him later to see his reaction, and settled back into her stance. This time, she forced herself to relax; releasing as much tension as she could manage. It would not do for something to cease up when they had only just begun. Slowing her breathing, she gave the Akalak a quick nod, indicating that it was his turn to strike.

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