Completed [Antinous Training Grounds]Two Worlds Collide (Ehati)

[Orion Michaels]

37th of Fall
Antinous Training Grounds
13th Bell

The weight of the world felt as though it had been lifted from his shoulders, but a heavier burden had fallen upon his soul. He had said his part to Hadyn, an almost apology for the fool he’d been; now he had to figure out just how he was going to follow through with the words he’d promised. When troubled times fell upon Orion, he found refuge in the same spot: the training grounds. Scarce were the days when the squire sought sanctuary in the bottom of a glass or comfort in the bed of a stranger.

No, his respite was in blood and sweat, the ringing of steel. In those moments he could lose himself completely in the fury of battle, even if the battle was only in his mind.

The broadsword still felt strange in his hands, but it had become his goal to figure out the new blade. The balance of the weapon was different than the long sword he was used to, and despite the many bells he’d spent practicing with it, even a fundamental understanding had escaped him. Although it was similar in some ways to the weapon he was used to, the differences made it a struggle to wield properly.

The dull training sword spun in his hands as Orion nervously wagged the blade back and forth before him. The entire grounds were full up with squires and their patrons honing their skills, but Dinah had left him to his own desires, as long as it was training. It seemed like every time that she did that, something happened to single him out. All he could do was hope that it wasn’t something doomed to repeat eternally.

Before the squire sat a wooden training dummy, nicked and cut up by season after season of beatings at the hands of zealous and ambitious squires. Today would be another day of suffering for the innocent dummy, this time at the hands of Orion Michaels.

Taking up an open stance, Orion stood at the ready. With a shield in one hand and his sword in the other, he prepared to face off against the imaginary foe that stood before him. The former doctor spread his feet shoulder width apart, leaning down somewhat to position himself best to strike. With a couple of short, choppy steps, Orion closed the short distance between him and the target, starting his assault with a wild backhand swing with the heavy kite shield. The metal barrier collided with the wooden frame, driving it back across the ground. Recoiling back, Orion bent at his knees, raising the broadsword over his head and brought it crashing down on top of the wooden dummy. The dull broadsword bounced off the top shoulder area of the training frame, his arm flailing wildly as he attempted to regain control of his momentum. He couldn’t figure out what he was doing wrong every single time. He couldn’t chain attacks together, and it seemed like it should have been so simple. There was something wrong with his stance, something wrong with the way he was holding it. Something. Anything. But it all eluded him.

”What am I doing wrong!?”

Frustrations boiling over, Orion’s voice rang out as he stood alone before his ‘foe’. So much for keeping a low profile. He glanced around, blue eyes scanning around for anyone paying him any mind. He was embarrassed enough without making a spectacle of himself.

[Ehati]

Ehati often found herself in the training grounds on a somewhat quiet day like this, one of her rest days. She did not find pleasure in wandering the city and visiting the merchants, and flying Otaki was not good for his health in this weather. It was too blustery, and she felt bad for keeping him during the later part of the year like this, but she was so used to keeping birds year round that she really found it hard to let them go, despite how natural it was.

Her sparring with the wooden dummy took place with her lacking armour, a dangerous practice in itself, and her talon sword grasped tightly in her hand, admittedly clasped in a sweaty grip, wavered as she breathed, slowly, to reach some sort of meditative state that would have been impossible to pull off out in real combat.

Tensing slowly, bringing her arm back as she stepped forward, the Inarta lashed out, striking-- only to have her blow go askew at the shout of frustration that rang out, shattering her meditative peace that she had spent a good handful of chimes standing there, being snickered at, to achieve. Immediately, she was angry, and she whirled on her head, scuffing the hard ground, to glower at the twat who broke her focus.

"You're being dumb, that's what you're doing," she snapped, harshly. Her eyes were narrowed, honed in on her prey, and she waved her sword at him, losing all semblance of knightly class and resorting to that flailing Inarta in her irritation. She swung at the dummy, her arm jarring as the sword hit it, but the pain only intensified her irritation. What good was this session if she was going to be inturrupted?! Everybody else was being quiet, but no. This dek licker had to ruin the atmosphere. "How about you pick up a sword that fits you and learn how to use that instead?"

[Orion Michaels]

Yes, Orion was being loud. Some people yelled when they were training. Others grunted and screamed. Maybe he was making too much of a ruckus by unleashing his frustrations on a training dummy. Apparently there were people here who'd never had a little pent up stress to release.

He'd just planned on minding his own business and continuing on his training, but no one short of a weapon master was going to talk to him like that while he was trying to better himself. Orion had drawn the ire of every weapon master in the area throught his time. That voice was not one.

"By the gods what is that unholy shrieking?" Orion turned on his heels to face the unknown woman, ready to verbally eviscerate her, but anger turned to amusement when he saw the fiery red hair which only served to accent the bravado with which she spoke. Towering a foot taller than her, Orion took a few steps towards the Inarta, letting the tip of his blade scrap across the ground as he approached.

His piercing blue eyes met her magnificent green while a smirk spread across his lips. Blustery, confrontational, short, and gorgeous. Oh how the squire loved redheads. While it didn’t hold true for all of them, many experiences were similar. Judging by her spiteful reply to his yelling, he had a pretty good idea of which sort he was dealing with.

Orion gave the Inarta a half bow in fake apology, his gaze never leaving her face and his smirk never leaving his lips. ”Please, forgive me Sera. It was absolutely selfish of me to allow my volume to rise to such levels.” His tone dripped of mocking, of teasing, and of playfulness. The blue eyed man never shied away from poking the hornet’s nest. ”With your great talent with the blade, perhaps it would be better if you show me how to wield it properly. Besides, wouldn’t beating me down be proper punishment for interrupting such intense concentration?”

The blade came up to the ready, the shield soon following. Orion wagged the end of his weapon at her, challenging her to really put him in his place. He wasn’t sure if he could goad her into fighting, but he wasn’t going to waste the chance, either.

[Ehati]

Ehati found herself not backing down as the squire bore down at her, simply cocking back her head, her stance tightening to show she wasn't going to back down, much like a falcon may bulk themselves when intimidating another bird. Although this was hardly a clash of personalities between two birds. Nuances in body language weren't exactly the same at all smong Humans. He had talons, she noted. Such a trait was refreshing amongst squires. It gave her some hope that they all didn't come to the Knighthood with bellies of milk and the lingering affections of their mothers, or that they weren't all blatant womanizers.

"I graciously accept your apology, squire," Ehati bore her teeth in a fierce sort of smile, a grimace even, and narrowed the vivid green eyes she wore, wordlesy accepting the challenge he presented. Fiery and lively. Volcanic. Her fingers tightened at the hilt of her own blade. Scowling, the expression turning distinctly avian, taking him seriously if for a moment. A mouse in the glade, he could be. "Fine," she all but cawed, taking up her sword in a two handed grasp, although she weilded a weapon better one handed. Lacking a shield, however, and unwilling to retrieve one for she was so intent on this combat now, Ehati scowled at his advantage. However, with the pride and arrogance of both youth and the Inarta psyche, she made no compmaint and rather enforced the trickle of thought in her head that stated she could kick his petching ass if given the chance, shield or no.

Without warning, she swung at him, a blatant strike towards his sword arm, careless and foolish with her strike and open intent. She didn't even know the name of this taunting squire, but in the same way the dumb songbird taunts the roosting hawk, Ehati wasn't going to just let it sit without reparation. Evidently, it wasn't difficult to goad her into responding to his challenge the way he wanted. Hot-headed, she was.

[Orion Michaels]

Orion was excited, genuinely excited, by this encounter. It had been some time since he’d come across someone quite so spirited. This woman radiated energy, defiance, and pride. She was different than anyone else he’d come across in recent times. So many of the squires he’d encountered were either extremely boring or less fit for the order than he seemed to be. He’d met few knights, none of them nearly as intriguing as the one before him.

He’d danced to a similar song in the past, but it was not a clash of steel which was the finale. It was new; it was exhilarating. Eyes locked in challenge and they were ready to exchange blows, but not until after the stare down ended, of course. So many questions came to the squire’s mind, the greatest of which was simple. What did she feel that she had to prove? She was defiant to anything he did, an immediately so. The frustration she displayed was palpable, and her attack was all the more obvious for it.

Orion jerked his shield across his body, sliding back as her weapon impacted with his defense. The force transferred from the steel guard and ran up his arm and shoulder, forcing the squire to yield a few steps to the unexpectedly powerful Inarta. ”Right to things, Sera? I like how you work,” Orion said, smirking as he began an attempt to circle the stranger. His feet never fully crossed the other as he remained balanced on his toes. Nothing would be quite so embarrassing as being upended by someone half his size.

He extended his sword arm to give a few probing strikes at his foe. The tip of the broadsword shot towards her midsection a few times as he tried to judge her range and reaction. He would be favoring his shield in this exchange, of that he was determined. She was an aggressive fighter, he figured, very much the opposite of what Orion had been throughout his training. He raised his shield to cover his mid section and took a few quick steps towards the Inarta, attempting to use the steel defense like a ram. He turned his body as he charged, using his leading shoulder to add more force to the blow, if it were to connect. His sword arm trailed behind him, the blade wagging wildly towards the ground while he advanced on Ehati.

[Ehati]

This was exhilarating, Ehati had to admit it to herself. Certainly, she had encountered more than enough opponents during her term as a squire, and then a knight, but rarely had she felt like she could be experiencing something enlightening.

Pride had her arrogant as she forced him to step back, his yield satisfying, and she drew into herself rather than continue the advance. She was ever so aware that he had a shield, and the fact that while she didn't have the benefit of such protection, she felt that she possessed an agile edge he sacrificed by clutching at that barricade. She stepped back, allowed him the first few steps in his manoeuvring, before she began to mimic him. Yes, she was certainly arrogant, looking down her nose upon the squire that so eagerly challenged her. Each probing strike urged her to angle away, or raise her own blade to deflect. She was yielding for him, allowing him to advance, grasping her talon in both hands and keeping wary. Always so wary. She was still unlearned with her weapon handling, still wary with her own strengths, but she absolutely refused to yield and claim defeat to a squire. She could be so proud, when it came to it.

"You talk a lot, squire," she remarked, but that quickly stopped as he advanced again, charging forward with his shield as a ram, giving her so little time to react. Reflexively, she made to retreat at the face of something unexpected, but then she hardened herself, and stepped forward, and to the side, allowing the blow to glance against her and stagger her and exchanging her own safety to get a pointed jab in with a sword meant more for slashing before she went to move aside for his retaliation. Oh, if her sponsor had seen her in that moment.

[Orion Michaels]

The squire was surprised that she gave up ground to him so quickly, and was somewhat pleased by this fact. She'd struck him as a much more direct fighter, not a counter attacker as she would display with her reaction to his attack. He'd left himself quite open as she mostly dodged his sudden strike, and she didn't waste any time in retaliating.

Mostly absorbing his attack, she moved aside to give herself room to jab at his exposed right side. Orion forced his sword up, blade meeting blade as his broadsword collided with her talon sword. Steel scrapped against steel as he drove his blade skyward, sliding her weapon down his under the edge of the blade rested against his hilt, and the tip of her blade was pointing just above his head. She'd nearly done him in with a simple sidestep. Even an unranked knight such as her far outclassed him, a mere squire.

He gave her weapon a shove with his, retreating back a few steps, grinning at the Inarta. "Sera, it's not the only thing this mouth is good for, I assure you." Shooting a lewd flick of his tongue towards Ehati, Orion prepared himself for another exchange with the knight. Though he lacked confidence with the broadsword, he would still be able to rely on his shield and hopefully goad her into a mistake. "But your point is made. We should save any tongue play for after this spar."

Once again he began to advance on the redhead, shield raised and at the ready. Beyond repeating the probing jabs, the squire did nothing but continue to move towards her, attempting to crowd her and limit the usefulness of her weapon, leaving him free to bash and control with the heavy steel guard strapped to his arm.

[Radiant]

Orion :

Experience

Skill	XP Earned
Weapon: Broadsword	+2 XP
Weapon: Heavy Shield	+1 XP
Endurance	+1 XP

Lores

Lore Earned

Ehati: Grumpy Knight

Loots

+1 Shield Point

Notes :

Too bad it was abandoned. I gave what I could.

My radiance is not bright enough?

If you have any questions or concerns regarding your grade, beam me a PM and we can work it out.

[Orin Fenix]

Grades are Served

You already got your grades. But still was fun to read your posts. Look forward to learning more about Orion in the future.[/tab]

 

Ehati

Skill	XP
Falconry	1
Weapon: Talon Sword	3
Intimidation	2
Socialization	2
Observation	1
Endurance	1
Tactics	1

Lores

• Falconry: Knowing the Weather
• Tactics: Taking a Blow to Get in a Strike
• Location: Antinous Training Grounds

Shield Points

2

Training

Extras :

Was a good read! Always nice to read an exciting training thread. Would've loved to see more but there's always hope that Orion and Ehati will meet again in the future.

Don't forget to edit or delete your grade request in the grade request thread.

If you have any questions or concerns about your grade please feel free to send me a message.