Closed The Myrian meets the Eagle (Sira)

[Turrin]

Time Stamp: 7th of Spring, 515AV
Location: The Fighting Pits
Who: Sira

Staring up at the clear sky, Turrin tried to forget out about the cool breeze on his bare skin. If it was winter, he would have to cover up otherwise he would get frostbite, but it was the seventh day of spring and the endal could feel that Morwen power over Wind Reach was starting to weaken on Mtn. Skyinarta. Holding both his wooden practice swords in each hand, Turrin imagined their was a imaginary opponent in front of him. The myrian never dual wielded his weapons before, so he felt unsure of himself as he held his weapons. While holding the other wooden practice sword, Turrin noticed that his grip in his left hand was much weaker than his right hand. The warrior frowned at this little detail, but he wasn't sure how to correct it. The endal decided that he needed a target, so he fixed his sight on a rock at the edge of the cliff.

When Turrin was ready to start, he held the hilt of his wooden swords by his waists and pointed the tip of his swords at the chest of his imaginary opponent. The endal took a deep breath and clumsily brought the swords over his left shoulder and swung down and across to the left body. While Turrin was swinging, he could tell that he could tell the toward in the left hand was moving much slower than the sword in the right hand, so the attack synchronized and awkward. Turrin switched his stance, so his right leg was in front and left leg back. The endal rested the hilt of his swords by the waist of his bryda and pointed the tips of the both swords at the chest of his opponent. When he was ready to strike, he brought both his swords up over his left shoulders and swung down and across to the right side of his body.

Once again, the attack was horribly synchronized with his right handed sword moving slower than the left hand. The myrian stared up at clouds above him as he tried to figure out the reason for it. Nothing came to mind because he had no clue what he was doing. Biting his lip, he shook his head and decided to try a over head strike. Bringing both wooden swords back to his hip, Turrin took a deep breath and pointed the tips of the both swords at the chest of imaginary opponent. When he was ready, Turrin brought the both wooden swords over his head, so the tips of the swords were pointing at the sky. The myrian sliced down with both his swords. In his mind, it would have been a crushing blow, but in reality, it was a complete disaster.

Turrin grip on the sword with his left hand was much weaker than the grip with his dominate hand, so the wooden talon sword flew out of his left hand. Because he was paying attention to the sword in his off hand, the sword in his right hand hit him in the shin. If it was a real sword, it could have done serious damage to his leg, but the weighted wooden talon sword hit him hard enough to leave a large leave a nasty bruise. The endal immediately cried out in pain, dropped to his knees, and held his wounded leg. The myrian knew that he would be fine in five or ten chimes, but it will the hurt in the meantime. Feeling the throbbing in his leg, Turrin lifted his leg to revel a nice welt on his chin. When the throbbing started, the myrian looked around and noticed a melting snow pack next to him, so he reached out grabbed some snow and place the cold wet snow on his bare skin.

[Sira]

Sira had come to the Fighting Pits to train, as she often did, whether that training was by herself, or against a real opponent. She enjoyed it most when she could spar with real weapons, despite the danger, but there were few such instances when she could actually do that, and so Sira had brought with her a wooden sparring sword in addition to her talon sword. She arrived as Turrin was beginning to practice, and leaned against a wall, obscured by a shadow, to watch. He held two training swords, as opposed to the usual one that most Inarta used. It took a skilled swordsman indeed to wield two weapons effectively.

For herself, she had never actually tried to dual wield talon swords, or any other combination of weapons. She preferred to use just the one blade, at least for now, though she'd often considered training with both. She did sometimes train in her off hand, and often used her sword two handed, but never had she actually tried two swords at the same time. Sira mused over that, thinking that she might ask this warrior, she did not recognize him at the moment, if he might teach her, and she hoped she would at least be in for a good show.

It quickly became apparent that this warrior was no master, and Sira could see the awkwardness of his strikes. Either he was completely a novice with the weapons, or he had not practiced much with two of them. Sira sighed, watching the man work, and realized that she certainly would not be getting a lesson from him that day. At least not in the art of dual wielding. When he managed to not only throw one sword into the air, but smack himself in the leg with the other, Sira couldn't help but laugh, and her attempts to cover it did little to stifle the sound.

"Sorry," she said, stepping out of her place in the shadows. "Maybe you should stick to one weapon for now."

Now that she could get a better look at him, a flicker of recognition came to Sira's eyes. Turrin Apovini. Endal. She'd not seen him since Winter two years ago, and when last they met, Sira was not exactly the most friendly or social of people. How different he would find her now, she wondered. Sira was not completely back to her old self, but she was no longer depressed like she had once been. She'd changed over the past few years, more the hunter now than she had been when Aidara was still around, but bits of her old self managed to shine through. She was Sira once more, instead of the mindless hunting machine she had been. Turrin, she recalled, was supposed to be good with the talon sword. Clearly not at dual wielding, but perhaps they could enjoy a good spar.

"Do you need a training partner? I'm Sira. I don't know if you remember me or not."

Sira hoped he didn't remember, actually, but she doubted she would be so lucky. It would be easier if this could be her first impression, but if not, well, perhaps she could still win him over.

[Turrin]

Turrin groaned to himself when he heard footsteps approaching him, so he looked up a saw a face that he hadn't seen in a year, Sira. It was hard to miss Sira because the endal was quite gorgeous, but the last time that he saw her. The beautiful woman seemed quite angry and couldn't help himself from noticing the sadness in her golden eyes. Today, the woman didn't seem as sad or angry as he remembered, so she seemed more approachable now. When she commented on his lack of ability to wield two swords, the myrian chuckled to himself and said while looking for the practice sword that he threw, “I totally agree with you, but do you the sad thing, Sira?”

Turrin slowly stood up, winced slightly at the pain in his leg, and said with a smirk, “I hate myself, so I will continue to try to learn it.”

Turrin walked slowly with a slight limp when he got his sword that he threw. When she offered him a spar, Turrin picked up the wooden practice sword and said with a nod, “Yes as long as I don't have to spar you with two weapons. I think it would be short battle and clear victory with zero challenge for you.”

The myrian set the sword that he threw aside and decided to use the one that he hit himself to spar Sira. He made a mental note to check the sword for cracks in the wood after the spar. Turrin looked at Sira and said with a smile, “Last time I met you, Sira. You...seemed..” The myrian paused if he should be diplomatic, or if he should just be blunt like he was to every other endal. The myrian decided to just treat her like any other of his peers, “You seemed angry with a sad look in your eyes. Yes I do remember you, Sira. However you seem different now, so I am glad that we could met again in much better times.”

Turrin did a few practice swings one swing was downward strike and the other was horizontally across his body. The myrian got into his defensive stance with his tip of the wooden talon sword pointing at the ground. His front foot was pointed towards her, but his back foot was pointed away from her, so the only part of his body facing her was right side of his leg, side of his torso, and shoulder. He wanted to give the woman as little targets as possible, so his made sure his chest was pointing away from her. Putting his hand back on left hip, he protected his off hand from a potential strike. Rising to the balls of his feet, Turrin said with a nod his golden eyes just waited for her to strike, “However, I doubt you want to ramble about the past while you have your sword in your hand. We can talk about the past later over a pincher of beer.” When he was finished talking, the endal lifted the tip of his sword till it aimed just right with the center her chest; however, the clenched his jaw to try to control the pain in his leg.

[Sira]

Sira tried not to frown when she not only realized that he remembered her, but that he was asking her, or rather bringing up her emotional state the last time they met. It was not something Sira liked to remember. The past was in the past. Best not to dwell on such things, or she might get depressed again.. but maybe it was smart to talk about it every once in a while, to test her strength against the bad memories. She wanted to truly move on, and to do so, she had to be able to face her memories when necessary. Thankfully, Turrin did not seem to want to push it too far, and Sira was able to get away with a short response.

"Yes.. those were bad times, but things are better now. Sorry if I was.. unfriendly back then. I'll gladly have a beer with you, assuming you can still walk after we're done."

Sira did not miss much. She noticed the way he favored the leg he hadn't hit. A weakness, and one she could exploit, if she wanted to. She wasn't trying to kill him though, she didn't need to exploit it.. but still, she noted it, and stored the information away for later use. He adopted a sideways stance, giving her less of a target, and pointed the tip of his sword toward her chest. Sira grinned and undid the belt that held her real sword in place, tossing it aside, and took the wooden talon sword up in hand.

Sira mirrored Turrin's stance, holding her own sword in her right hand, right leg forward and body turned to the side. Her free hand did not fall to her hip as Turrin's did, but remained poised and relaxed near her navel. Her hand was cupped into a half fist, as if she were very loosely grasping something. She'd been trying to incorporate unarmed combat into her fighting, and if she had the opportunity to do so, she would. She did not sink too deep into her stands, her knees loosely bent, and a skilled observer might note the slight shift to her back leg as she pushed off, skipping forward suddenly to deliver an overhand strike toward Zhol's shoulder blade. She was fast, but the strike should have been an easy block if Turrin was ready. Sira was simply trying to get a feel for him at the moment.

OOCYknow, somebody (possibly a group of somebodies) should really do a writeup on Talon Sword fighting style. It's a unique weapon, and I think it would be good if we all knew just how to use it.

[Turrin]

Turrin gave the Inarta women a pained look when she told him that he might not be walking by the end of the spar. A part of him knew that she was joking about crippling him, but he lived with red headed humans for a long time, so he knew that they tended to think more with their hearts than their heads. The half breed watched as she mimicked his same stance, and he wondered if she learned the same fighting style as him. He learned the basics of the talon sword by his Inarta mother, and she told him that she learned it from her father. Sira must have learned a similar style in her years growing up in Wind Reach. As Turrin observed Sira, he noticed that she was a lot more comfortable and fluid when she got in her stance, and the myrian started wonder if she was equal or better in skill with a talon sword than him.

Looking into her golden eyes with his own, Turrin loosed his grip on his sword, so he could angle the single edge blade as he needed. The myrian was excited and kind of terrified to spar with someone equal or better with a talon sword than him. If she humiliates him during the spar, at least, he will always have opponent to strive to beat. Waiting for her attack to come, the Inarta woman quickly sprung forward, rose the wooden talon sword over her shoulders, and swung in a downward strike to the top of his left shoulder. The half breed figured the woman was testing him with such a predicable attack. It was simple downward cut to sever his arm. The myrian had two opinion parry her blade with his own blade or simply side step and avoid her attack altogether. As Sira rose her sword to strike down onto his shoulder, the Turrin stepped to the side away from her attack and brought his sword up and over his left shoulder to protect his left side from another potential the incoming blow.

Turrin knew the side step was enough to dodge the initial incoming attack, but the secondary defensive move protected him if suddenly she attacked his side, or he wasn't quick enough in his dodge her first attack. As he moved to the side, the half breed could feel the throbbing in his leg start to increase especially once his both his feet were planted on the ground. Wincing in pain, the myrian brought the talon sword around his head and swung down and horizontally across his body towards the side the back side of Sira's abdomen. Feeling the adrenaline pumping through his veins, the whole time the myrian had a wide smile on his face as he sparred with someone about as equal or better skill than him. He just hoped the throbbing in his leg would work through the pain before the spar was over.

oocMy cat is watching me strangely as I try to figure out the fight in my living room by acting it out. Yes I would love to help you devolope a swordfighting style for the talon sword.

[Sira]

Sira was not surprised when Turrin sidestepped, and she completely ignored the sword he brought up to block a secondary attack from her which never came. Instead she continued forward, right through the space he had previously occupied as he swung his sword around in an attempt to slice her abdomen from behind and stayed just ahead of the blade. As soon as she was out of range she pivoted around to face him again, her right arm swinging back around to bat the hopefully still moving blade of her opponent and, if she was lucky, knocking him off balance ever so slightly with the momentum.

Sira stopped after that, falling back into a defensive position, a grin on her face. She loved the thrill of combat, even if it was just sparring. A half myrian Turrin might be, but Sira herself likely would have fit in with the warlike people as well as he. Wind Reach was her home, however, and she would never need it, and knew nothing more than rumors about the supposed cannibals of the land south of the Kalean mountains. She didn't put much stock in rumors, however, though she would not really care if most of them were true. Wind Eagles ate people too, from time to time.. though they were not cannibals. Sira mentally shrugged the thought away. Turrin wasn't a myrian, regardless of his heritage. He was an Inartan, just as Sira was, despite her own heritage. And he was an endal, just as he was, despite their heritages.

Sira darted forward again, thrusting straight forward with the blade. It was an odd strike for the curved sword, and she found that it often threw people off. She aimed for his belly, and the attack could easily be blocked or dodged, if he was quick. The point wasn't to strike, however, but to catch him off guard with the unorthodox attack that was more suited for a rapier than the long curved blade of the talon sword. At the last second she planted her front foot hard, twisted her hand over, and whipped the blade upward. Her body twisted as well so that as the blade sliced up toward his chin her body twisted so that as the blade reached the top of it's slice she did a sword of pirouette, landing on her feet poised and ready to strike again, her blade back to it's normal defensive position.

At least, that was the intent. The thrust and the slash both would go off with success, but if Turrin did anything other than dodge, Sira's acrobatic twirl would end with a bit of a stumble, perhaps even a fall if Turrin did something more extreme. Sira was graceful, and quite skilled with the sword, but she was trying to expand her abilities, adding acrobatics, evasive maneuvers, and unarmed attacks to her repetoire of combat skills. If it meant stumbling or even falling on her face in a simple spar that was alright. She needed the practice.

[Turrin]

Immediately, Turrin saw the differences in fighting styles between Sira and him. Sira seemed to be a finesse fighter who used her speed, agility, and grace into her fighting style. While the half breed was more of a stand your ground fighter who used his strength, endurance, defense, and counter moves to wear down his foes. Both styles were effective, but Sira seemed to have taken her fighting style to the next level. The way she fought was almost beautiful in the eyes of seasoned warrior because she seemed to put a artistic flare into her fight style. He will definitely have to ask her for pointers after she thoroughly puts him in his place. Turrin was amazed at how quickly she was able to pivot his attack and parry his sword away from her body. Still holding the hilt of his sword by his waist, myrian shuffled his feet backwards as he pointed his sword at her chest. Quickly, he returned to his defensive stance.

The myrian watched as Sira quickly lunged at him with the curved sword pointed at his chest. Turrin quickly side stepped (to his right) the lunge and swung his sword downward to deflect her blade. It was either his bad leg, his lack of timing on his parry, or the speed of her upward swing because Turrin's blade intercepted Sira's blade in at point where he couldn't get the full range of motion or power into his swing, so Sira's wooden sword ended up knocking his sword up and away from her. Now, the half breed was completely off balance, so he stumbled backward unceremoniously as she pirouetted away from him. The lack of balance completely took away his ability to counter attack, so as he spent his remaining energy on regaining his balance. If it was a real battle, he would be dead. He needed to find away to not let her surprise him again.

When Turrin got back into his stance, Sira was already done with her spin and was ready for her next attack. The half breed was smiling now because he knew that even if he lost. He would have lost to a worthy opponent. With a smile, the half said to her in common, “My mother told me stories about talon sword masters of old. She told me that the masters fought with such grace and beauty in their duels to the death. It was like watching two wind eagles dance on the wind... ”

Turrin didn't finished the story because he figured that he needed to attack. The myrian moved forward to close the distance between the two of them and brought the curve of his sword around the left side of the body. With a backhanded attack, he slashed his wooden sword up towards her left side of her waist and continue the slash up through the middle of her torso towards her right shoulder. When he was a younger, he could never get the strength enough to make the attack lethal, but as a grown man, the attack was quiet lethal if his opponent couldn't do anything to parry or dodge the attack. Turrin didn't have the speed or the agility of Sira, but he had the fortitude to attack her straight on in battle. He just hoped that she made a mistake, so he can capitalize on it and follow through on his second attack.

[Sira]

In a real fight, unless you truly knew what you were doing, twirls and flourishes were more likely to get you killed than accomplish anything worthwhile. Normally Sira would not have performed such an attack, thrusting and spinning like she did, but she was not in a real fight. Practice sessions were the time to try dangerous stunts. Practice sessions were the time to see if unconventional methods could be made conventional. Had Sira performed a simpler attack that had Turrin dodging and off balance like he was, she would have immediately gone in for the kill. But she had not.

Turrin's words gave Sira enough time to recover, and when he attacked she was ready. Her eyes flickered to the oncoming weapon for just an instant. Being ready did not mean she could effectively deflect his attack. She could parry, but doing so would leave her in awkward and vulnerable position. She was holding her sword in her right hand and her stance was not ideal for blocking an attack coming in from the left at that angle. She could try to dodge to the right, staying ahead of the blade, but she might not be quick enough. She could try dodging back, but again if she wasn't quick enough blow would still hit and, while maybe not as deadly, would still be enough to take her out of the fight, if they had been in a real fight.

Sira moved forward. She lunged toward Turrin, moving inside the reach of his blade, and slammed into him. Turrin compared her to a wind eagle dancing in the sky, and while that might be accurate sometimes, when a wind eagle dove for the kill it was not a dance. It was sudden, and brutal, and quick. Sira lunged forward inside Turrin's reach, slammed into him, and thrust her blade into his gut. Or.. That's what she would have done if she had actually been trying to kill him. Instead she let the blade slip harmlessly past his side, like an actor in a play pretending to stab someone. Wooden sword or not, actually stabbing Turrin in the gut would not have been pleasant for him. This was all assuming Turrin didn't find a way to avoid her attack, and there was still a chance Sira might take a hit in the process.