And How to stop it.

[Alexander Faircroft]

Continuation of

Description "Alex Common" Alex thoughts "Myrian" "Fratava" "Others"


As he watched her stretch he could see the glint of pain in her body. Perhaps he’d hit her just a touch too hard for that? Now the thought that he perhaps needed to restrain himself a bit more was already beginning to form at the back of his mind. Her words brought a small knowing smirk to his face. “When I said I’m not that strong I meant by comparison. Besides when it comes to physical strength, granted I’m not that strong. I rely on skill, speed and smarts to fight.” Still taking the water out of her hands was enough for him to see that the pain was starting to grow, perhaps he’d best go easy on the second part of the training.

She shifted around taking a moment to lay down. She was right it would have been a better idea for him to take a moment to cool off. Though in this heat he wasn’t sure if it would really work. Even though he did take a moment to move a touch closer. Watching one of those fangs he’d become well acquainted with bite at her lip his shoulder pulsed a little. Had he seen one of the vantha hunters? No not in truth.
“Thankfully no. But if their reputations are anything to go by then it’s better to be safe than sorry. Though from what I’ve heard they can look like anyone. Appearances can be deceiving.” He offered a small smile as he sat down next to her taking a short moment to exhale and try to cook himself down a little. “For example if you looked at me you’d assume I was a regular person, not an ex Syliran knight. At least without the weapons that is.” Another small smile glinted with that genuine twinge to it.

He didn’t miss the lick nor the sly almost drawing look she gave him. If he’d let her look him over, if he did there’s be literally nothing being done but that for at least a good bell or two. He coughed and glanced towards her. Restraining himself as usual he watched her remover the corset and he’d expected something to have been on beneath the shirt but, no that was not the case. Though the first thing that caught his attention was the two bruises that were already beginning to form. Be as through as possible. He gave her a rather deadpan look but there was a sense of him just being a little joking with it, especially with the small smile at the edge of it.

“I’m always through with everything I do.” He spoke lightly almost reassuringly as he pressed his inex and middle fingers lightly against the bruise on her abdomen, just trying to check for the pressure, and then shifted them around again checking to see if there was any particularly sore spot. “I’m sure that stings a little but is there anywhere it particularly hurts?” He spoke calmly almost clinically but not without the air of caution and care surrounding it. His hands then moved to the bruise on her side just at her rib cage again checking there for any damage and to see if he’d inadvertently not held back enough and chipped the bone at all. “Same question for here?”
Most men in a situation like this would have let their eyes roam and perhaps linger some, but instead his were focused on the points he was checking and her eyes.

[Phira]

Timestamp: 30 Winter 516
Location: Alvadas-Falyndar




She laughed, well he certainly showed her all those things today, and they had only just gotten started. Her thoughts on him began racing on how strong he was. She knew he was being easy on her, but how easy? Probably as easy as he could possibly be without actually causing major injuries, but what would a fight with an opponent of equal skill look like?

She looked up at him and felt relieved that he hasn’t seen them either. As strong as he was, she didn’t want him to go up against people that were backed by the gods. Unless he himself was had the alliances of as many gods to help him. Her eyes widened in surprise at his admission, what happened for him to leave Syliras? Why did he become a knight? Her smile grew as she looked up at him, ”You fascinate me Alex. You say you want to help people and do help people at the cost of your own happiness, and you are an ex Syliran knight. I can’t wait to see who you turn out to be.” she said laughed light heartedly. She couldn’t say she met anyone with as much depth as he seemed to possess, and she was genuinely curious as to who he was exactly. ”But you are right. I would never have guessed that. You fit right in with all the normal humans I’ve met, and yet you don’t at the same time.” she said leaving that last comment for him to decipher. One conversation with him and she got the feeling that he wasn’t all that he seemed to be on the surface. He looked like he carried the weight of the world on his shoulders, even though he didn’t have to.

She shivered in spite of the heat, as his fingers pressed into her skin. She relaxed back as much as she could, as he examined her. ”That’s good. I hate it when the small details are ignored." she breathed out as he pressed on her bruises. He began on her stomach and moved up to her ribs, ”Nothing too bad. I think right now I just have bruises.” she said arching an eyebrow. She wasn’t used to men not looking, and to see him actually be concerned for her wellbeing was, well, nice; even at the expense of her vanity. Maybe later she would draw him in more, but now she was comfortable like this.

When her green eyes met her duel colored ones she smiled and sat up on her elbows, ”So what do you say doctor? Can I still fight?” she asked running light fingers over his arm.

[Alexander Faircroft]

Description "Alex Common" Alex thoughts "Myrian" "Fratava" "Others"


The look of relief on her face was something that wasn’t left amiss in front of him. Her words weren’t lost on him either. “As I said before. Someone has to be willing to give up what they want to let other people have what they need. As for being an Ex-knight. Once I saw how corrupted they actually were behind the surface I left the city without a second though.” He heard her laugher and then continued with a little bit more weight in his voice. “The knights are just willing to sit behind their high walls and let the world rot. To let the people who need their help the most desperately suffer. I couldn’t take that, so I left.”

He offered back a small remorseful smile but one that as much as it had that genuine twinge to it also held a deep sadness too. Though when the comments she made about him fitting in with the rest of the humans yet not it gave him a small pause for a moment. “Sometimes looking like you fit in is enough to pass. But it’s who you are and what you do, that define you.” He held a strong look in his eyes as he looked into hers. Like a conviction made out of steel. Like he wouldn’t bend nor break no matter what.

The ripple of her body when his fingers made contact wasn’t lost on him, nor was the extremely familiar feeling that ran over his mind. He pushed it back down and restrained the impulses still right now making sure he hadn’t inadvertently damaged her was his top priority. Her words were reassuring. Removing his fingers from her rib line took a good deal of willpower. To ten extent where he had to briefly close his eyes and focus on having a calm mind in order to do so. As he pulled away he heard her spark up again. Could she still fight?

“Yes I’m fairly certain that you’ll be able to fight. Though I’m not entirely sure those won’t sting for a few days. Luckily there only yellow bruises, they should only last for a couple of days.” He spoke from a good deal of experience there. With a small nod he rose from the seating next to her, a noticeable hesitation in him but still he had promised to do this and he’d keep his word first.
“Alright, you can put yourself back together and then I can move onto teaching you how to defend.” He said opening his eyes and taking a lingering glance over his shoulder this time at her prone form and not just the bruises. Pulling himself back together mentally he turned back away and exhaled slowly waiting for her to be ready to continue.

[Phira]

Timestamp
Location




She rolled her eyes at his words about giving up what they want. They had debated about that yesterday, so he already knew that she didn't agree with him on the matter. ”It’s not about giving up what they want, as much as it is sharing what they have. I will make you see that one day. she said giving him a wink and smile before she continued, "As for the knights and their high wall, I am glad you left and decided to come here of all places." she said not letting the melancholic look on his face slide pass her notice. She hated it. She didn’t know his life, and didn’t know his past, but she did feel that he held a lot in.

The hard look he gave her sent shivers down her spine, ”I won’t argue with you there." She agreed with him. You can look like the meanest person and have the most charitable soul, at the same time you could look like the nicest person and be malicious beyond imagination. It was all about who you were, not what you looked like. She just looked at him and didn’t know if she saw who he was fully. She didn’t have a bad feeling or thought about him, but she knew she didn’t know the whole story. But that was fine because she wasn’t planning on letting him go about being so giving and not getting anything back. At least not while he was in the same city as her.

She smiled at his consensus, and sat up in one smooth motion. ” That’s good. I am having fun, I would hate to cut it short.” she said and began buttoning up her shirt and putting her corset back on. He looked concentrated on his tasks, which was fine they had all day to spend together, and she was ok with just being around him.

She took off her belt and made a makeshift hair tie, looping it around her hair, so her neck could breath. She stood up using the rock next to her and took a moment to stretch. Once satisfied she put her gloves back on and walked over towards the middle of the clearing, then got into the position he taught her earlier, ”Ok I am ready.” she said with some renewed energy.

 

[Alexander Faircroft]

Description "Alex Common" Alex thoughts "Myrian" "Fratava" "Others"


“I know I know, you and I both have differing opinions there. But yes I’m glad I left the knights and headed away from them.” He paused a moment in his wording allowing her to sort herself out.
“Nice to hear those words.” He glanced over his shoulder gain with a slightly cheeky smile with that genuine glint to it again. As she spoke about continuing on with the training he spun back around in time to catch her belting up the last of her corset and start to tie her hair up.

Rolling his shoulder and stepping over to where she’d positioned her herself he shifted his stance motioning his hands into the one he’d shown Phira.
“Alright.” He turned his palms outwards and took a moment to let Phira copy him. “This is simple and easy to follow, take a swing at me and I’ll show you how to do this.” He shifted his right foot back knowing that she’d probably swing with her dominant hand and as such he’d need an open side to do this.

The moment she swung he’d move his right arm to intercept and push the strike to the side taking all of the force she put in and directing it away from himself. His left hand would then come up and over and press the edge of it lightly just enough to feel like a touch into the back of her neck as an indication that defence could also bleed into attack. “Simple isn’t it?” He smiled towards her making sure that she knew how it was done and making her take the same attack again from the other side and repeating the motions in a mirrored pattern.

“Right now you see if you can copy it.” He spoke as he swung his right fist at half his normal speed wanting her to have a chance at blocking it or at least redirecting the strike how he’d shown her. After all sometimes being a little gentler was the correct approach.

[Phira]

Timestamp 30 Winter 516
Location Alvadas-Falyndar




She took the time to look at his stance from his feet to his hands. She put her hands outward, palms facing out and when he told her to attack she did. Leading with her right hand and sure enough he deflected it away from himself causing her to stumble forward a little. It was when she balanced herself again that she felt a hand on the back of her neck.

She nodded slowly at his question, and proceeded to hit him again this time using her left hand, only accomplishing the same thing: a deflected punch away from him, and a hand to the back of her neck. It was easy enough to follow though, and she was confident that she had the capability to do it. So she put her hands up like he did and let him hit her hands. His hits weren’t as hard as it was when he was teaching her to attack, and it certainly wasn’t as hard as she knew he could hit. It was just enough for her to take.

She pushed his hand away to the side, and then the other. She couldn’t get a hand on the back of his neck though. It was because he was so tall and maintained a certain posture and balance when he attacked, and the muddy ground didn’t help. She took a deep breath and grounded her stance as she was instructed to earlier. It was the only thing she could do from her feet sliding as much. She put her hands up again, ”It’s easy enough, though I still haven’t mastered how to keep my footing on muddy ground.” And when his punch hit her hand she went in for a kick just as she did last time, only with her left foot. She still intended on getting him to fall down. Heck even a little slip would satisfy her. She didn't think that would happen any time soon, but it was a goal to work towards and that was always a good thing to have.

 

[Alexander Faircroft]

Description "Alex Common" Alex thoughts "Myrian" "Fratava" "Others"


Her deflections of his strikes was a fair attempt at his technique. Or perhaps it was one of the ones he’d borrowed from other peoples. Her words were a quiet way of telling him she knew how to use it but her footing was still leaving her to no avail. “Alright then that’s what we’ll work on next.” He stood and motioned around her to help her settle in. As he did he pushed on her shoulder to give her the implication that she needed to push her weight into the ground.

“Grind your heels into the mud and build up a small wall behind your boots, it’ll help your stability.” Making a small head notion toward where he’d been standing he’d show her he practiced what he preached. The small grooves in the ground a notion that where he stood he literally dug himself in and was able to strike out. “Also when you punch out next, if you can’t reach the opponent’s neck like I could with you. The aim towards their middle body.” His hands then suddenly slid softly over her back and down to just above her hips pressing lightly on both sides so as to not aggravate the bruises. “Right here. If you hit someone here. Odds are you’ll get enough time to land a second hit whilst they’re still reeling from the pain.”

He stepped back a moment to let her try and practice digging her heels into the ground on her own and lower her stance to push the weight downwards. Once she had he’d take a swing with his arm towards her leg and try to knock her balance out from her. If she’d done it right she’d be standing resolute. If not then she’d tumble. Regardless of the outcome Alex would shift on with his explanations.
“That’s the simplest way to get hold of footing on lose ground, works on snow, mud, sand, and even water slick surfaces. But what I’m going to show you now is how to close distances.” Taking a step further back again he now stood around six feet away from her. The full length of him holding his sword. In essence his maximum range.

“Now there’s an easy way to close the distance.” He slid his foot slightly forwards and then in a split second swung his left in towards her reducing that distance to only around two feet in a single step.
“When you fight someone you need to learn how to gauge the distance and rang someone has over you. Small motions into large steps are a good way to close short distances fast.”

[Phira]

Timestamp 30 Winter 516
Location Alvadas-Falyndar




She lowered herself to the ground as she was pushed, and began digging her heels into the mud as he instructed. It was easy enough to understand and do, she didn’t know why she didn’t do it earlier. She took a quick glance out of the sides of her eyes to the grooves in the mud from her last attempt at kicking him.

She threw him a small smirk and nodded, ”I can do that.” she said and let her smile grow as he ran his hands down her lightly, and got a hold of her hips. When he pulled away she kept her smile though she wouldn't mind it if he let his hands linger there a bit longer. ”So that’s your secret. It seems so simple.” she said and immediately had her balance tested with a hit to her leg. She kept held her ground, just barely by holding out her arms like she was on a balancing beam. She exhaled a breath she didn’t know she was holding and smiled proudly. She didn't fall over. She turned over to him and found him some ways away from her and tilted her head in curiousness.

Before she knew it he was so close to her, and she didn’t even know how. Was it really just a slide of his foot, and a swing of his other? She tried it out to see if she could get as far as he did. She managed to cover some what of a distance, but not as much as him, nor as smoothly. She looked back up at him, ”Small motions into large steps, closes short distances. Creating a wall behind your heel creates stability. And if I can’t reach the neck then aim for their middle. Did I get everything so far? she said repeating her lessons to mark them in her memory. She turned to him and smiled then put her hands up, ”Ok I’m ready.” she said ready for another round. Hopefully she wouldn’t get so many bruises this time.

 

[Alexander Faircroft]

Description "Alex Common" Alex thoughts "Myrian" "Fratava" "Others"


“Most complicated things have a very simple secret at their heart.” Her replication of his moves was well done but there was still that shakiness of being unrefined. Something that would come with time. He smiled lightly that genuine tint at the edge of his face once more. And the recap of the explanations and simplistic techniques he’d given her was easy enough to follow and smooth enough for her to utilise almost immediately. With a single phrase she fell back into stance again willing to try him again to see just how well she could put what he’d taught her to the test.

Grinding his right heel backwards into the mud he sank down into an unarmed stance wanting to take her on in what he was teaching. Instead of letting her make the first motion this time though eh smirked and dashed to the side shifting his weight on to his left foot and stepping around her to her side. His plan was to come at her from a blind spot or at least force her to waste precious seconds to see how she’d react under pressure. As he travelled around eh motioned up to her side brnging his left fist forwards with what appeared to be the full force of his weight trying to pull her attention to that one to block it whilst his true attack was his right hand which moved towards the soft spots he’d told her to attack looking to land the blow with enough force to let her know it stung without doing any real damage or much actual pain.

Still though this was a lesson, not a spar. There was no need for him to win, but that didn’t mean intrinsically he wanted to lose. If she managed to fully avoid this then he’d take a small glance towards her. Bouncing on his feet lightly to burn some energy and try and put them on equal footing.
“How about a challenge, or rather a bet Phira? If you win then I’ll follow your orders for a few bells. If you lose then I’ll have you repeating what I’ve taught you here until your legs are about to give out?”

[Phira]

Timestamp 30 Winter 516
Location Alvadas-Falyndar




She put her hands up and was going to show him that she was a fast learner and a worthy student. She knew he was fast and so braced herself for a straight on attack. Her eyes widened in shock when he stepped to her side, and she did what he taught her and pushed his incoming left hand away. Though his real attack managed with his right hand came soaring towards her middle, and connected slightly before she jumped back. She could still feel the slight sting where it hit but she kept her hands up, and dug her heels into the ground. She didn’t want to find her arse back on the ground any time soon, a little because she didn’t want to get any more dirty than she already was.

She took their distance to close the distance between them by doing what he just taught her. She slid her left foot forward and swung her right foot to close the distance between them a little. She still didn’t cover the range he did, but it was enough to pull a punch on him. But she didn’t want him to think she was predictable, so she jabbed out quickly with both hands towards his abdomen. And then as the surprise factor she swung out with her left leg.

She let her hands drop a little and bit her lip. Was he serious? ”Anything? Because I can get quite creative.” she said with a sultry smirk. She walked back and forth thinking about it, that was quite a reward. He would follow her orders for a few bells, and get him to do anything. She could get him to have fun, to let her take care of him, anything. On the other hand if she lost and had to take the punishment she would be here until she couldn’t stand any more. But it was just too good a deal to pass up. ”If you think I have a fair chance at winning then I accept your terms.” she said and got back into her fighting stance.