Closed Wrestling. If you are hugging, you are doing it wrong. (Jez)

[Turrin]

Time Stamp: 19th of Spring, 517AV
Location: The Warstorm Pavilion
Who: Jez Firetongue

Tomorrow is the day of the triathlon and Turrin can start to feel the anticipation welling up in the pit of his stomach. He wasn't nervous about the unarmed combat, melee combat, and especially not the archery competition. He was nervous though about making a fool of himself in the horse race. He was still inexperienced horse rider, but he wanted to compete in everything even if he is terrible at it. The experience and the personal accomplishment for finishing the race will be enough for him. However today as he was going to work on unarmed combat and dabble with wrestling. Maybe. He had to admit that he needed to work on his unarmed combat and acrobatics because if he lost his weapons. He would be almost defenseless in combat. It was a thought that he was ashamed of as a warrior of Myri, but at least, he realizing his weaknesses and is trying to correct it. He just hoped his beloved goddess Myri wasn't ashamed at his neglect of a vital part of his training.

When he walked into the Pavilion, Turrin gave a respectful nod to one of the masters who returned the nod and went back to her spear work. The Inarta warrior went to the unarmed sparring ring there were people. Already in a match, so he took off his boots, talon sword scabbard, filled water-skin, and placed them to the side. When he was ready, he started to run slowly in place for three chimes to warm up his muscles before he started to stretch his muscles. Turrin ran till he was sweating and could feel his heart start to race in his chest. The hunter didn't immediately stop his run because by the end, he was running in place as fast as he could. He needed to work on endurance, so he gradually slowed his pace from a full run to a slow jog to eventual stop this allowed his heart and his breathing to slow down gradually.

Running both hands through his thick loose hair, he started his stretches after taking a drink of water and wiping the sweat from his face. The first stretch he started to roll his head around his shoulders to loosen the next muscles. He did that stretch till he got dizzy than stopped. The second stretch was him moving both arms in circles to loosen the shoulder muscles. He rotated them forward at first than he switched to moving them backwards to loosen different muscles on each side of the shoulders. The third stretch was moving his hips without moving his knees clockwise when he was satisfied, he switched the movement, so he started to them counter clockwise to loosen muscles on both sides of the hips. The Inarta continued the rotation stretches to his knees and his ankles. He was going to be doing a lot of awkward movement when he started to spar, so he didn't need his joints locking up or hurting himself before the competition.

When Turrin was finished with the rotation stretches, he bent over and tried to touch his toes without bending his knees. He could feel the muscles in the back of his legs start to burn. He held the position for thirty seconds when he could handle anymore. He went into the splits to stretch out the groin muscles and more of the legs muscles. He tried to get as low as he could go than he reached to the left and tried to touch his left ankle. He could start the feel the muscles in his left leg start to protect, so he moved and tried to touch the ground in the middle of his split. Both legs started to burn as he tried to touch the ground, but he couldn't quite get there. He finished the last stretch on the right leg when his muscles started to protest. He decided to stop his stretching for now.

Looking at the ring, he noticed that there was dried grass padding on it. He thought to himself that it was probably to absorb the impacts if you fell or thrown down on it. The was a couple of sparring rings all occupied with people preparing for the tournament tomorrow. He noticed the rings with the grass padded floors had people wrestling in them. The others were people working on varies forms of unarmed combat. Turrin watched the wrestling matches with curiosity. He never formally wrestled before, and it looked kind of fun. As he watched, he noticed if he mixed wrestling with his unarmed combat skills. It could be effective combination in real life combat. Having throws, locks, and submission moves added to his arsenal could be a tactical advantage for him when fighting unarmed, so the hunter watched in wrestling spar to the right of his sparring ring with intent curiosity. Ignoring everything or everyone around him.

[Jez Firetongue]

Jez Firetongue 19th of Spring 517 AV Pavi/Grassland Sign , Common, Nari ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ The Triathlon was tomorrow. Jez had been buzzing with nervous energy since waking up. Wind had picked up on it, nudging at him in the early morning as he groomed one of the Firetongue Pavilion’s herding dogs. The gesture warmed Jez; sometimes the stallion acted like a jerk but he was just as often reminded how much the horse cared for him. After finishing the grooming, having carefully removed grass seeds tangled into the dog’s fur, he gave in to the stallion’s demands. He had agreed they should work out their energy with a morning ride, an excited canter across a few grassy valleys where no Pavilions had set their tents up. The ride was fun, some much needed time for bonded Drykas and Strider to maintain their close connection. Having burnt off some of his nerves, Jez returned to his Pavilion to get ready for the rest of his day’s plan. He was fairly confident in his ability to ride and had been getting help recently with using his new shortbow, but still had next to no combat experience. The sparring event was the one he was the most nervous for, so he was seeking out a last minute sparring partner to get a bit more experience in. He wasn’t sure where to find someone to spar with so had decided to head to the Warstorm Pavilion. The Warstorm Pavilion was where the fighters among the Drykas trained. The sessions were rumoured to be intensive, hence why most of his own Clan rarely attended. While the Diamond Clan were warriors, the Amethyst Clan were horse breeders and navigators. Nonetheless, it was the most likely place to find someone willing to spar with him. Jez wasn’t sure what to bring with him. He removed his shirt, knowing he’d prefer not to be sweating through fabric, and set it aside. He liked to be shirtless anyway, able to proudly display his windmarks. The marks were black, an elaborate design of thin lines interweaving and ending in many sharp points. They spanned a palm wide and followed a trail from a small point on the middle of his left shoulder blade, curving towards his spine and following it down to narrow to an end point at his tailbone. He was proud of them, that they symbolised his official status as Drykas and were a permanent reminder of Wind. He was eager to show them off, especially to the walahk, non-Drykas, that he encountered. Jez also untied the knotwork decorations from his sash and hair, laying them atop the shirt carefully. He felt more bare without the knots than without his shirt, but he didn’t want to ruin the pieces while fighting. As a second thought he also removed his dog fang necklace, a prized heirloom handed down by his grandfather, his previous Ankal. Before leaving his tent the Drykas picked up his waterskin, the slosh telling him it was half full. Assuming it would be enough, and not sure if he should bring anything else, Jez left the tent. He called Wind to him and signed as he spoke, “We’re going somewhere different to usual today, my friend. Then tomorrow we’ll be competing. I’m sure you’ll enjoy it a lot, with how you love to show off.” He mounted and they rode to the Diamond Clan, heading for the Warstorm Pavilion. He directed Wind verbally and through leg pressure, their bond making the communication easy. It would help in the riding event tomorrow, which he was feeling fairly confident with. He was also feeling much better about the archery event, having gotten tips on using his new shortbow from Adon a few days ago. However, he knew next to nothing about sparring. He was hoping to find someone willing to spar unarmed. Not knowing how to use any weapon related to sparring, he would definitely get injured if he tried that. He wasn’t joining the event to prove his fighting ability, simply wanting to take part and have a fun day with friends. There was another benefit to learning to fight, a more long term one. He had spent his life focused on animal care and his religion, leaving the physical stuff to others. However, he was leaving alone for Riverfall in a couple of days and also might end up travelling Cyphrus separate from Endrykas one day. The more skills he had to protect himself the better. Jez waited until they were fairly close to the groups of sparring people before dismounting. “Wind,” he got the stallion’s attention and gestured on hand down a couple of times, flicking his fingers at the end of the sign, “Don’t wander too far. I’ll be staying here for a little while.” He trusted the horse to do his own thing, as many Drykas did, and knew the stallion wasn’t stupid enough to move too far from the city’s tents. He turned from the horse and headed towards the temporary rings set up. Most people were sparring, with a few stretching or exercising in other ways. Having never done intensive exercise like this, the thought of warming up didn’t cross Jez’s mind. If he didn’t do it, he’d end up sore the next day and not perform as well in the Triathlon, but he wasn’t aware of the strain sparring would put on his body. He had been riding that morning, as he did most days, and considered that enough for his muscles to be ready to exercise now. As he watched those already sparring, probably getting ready for tomorrow, he felt a little intimidated by their skills. He gently rubbed his black eye, aware the injury Quzon gave him a few days ago was still obvious. Perhaps this was a bad idea. He hesitated, considering turning away, when he spotted a familiar face. He grinned, nerves dissipating as he headed over to Turrin. The man seemed to be in his own world so Jez pulled up alongside him to wave his hands in front of the other’s face, signing as he said, “Hello!” He switched to Common, the language he used with Turrin, “Are you here to practice for tomorrow?” ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ || Jez Firetongue || 25 years || Drykas || Amethyst Clan || Firetongue Pavilion || Strider-Wind ||

[Turrin]

Turrin watched as the two Drykas wrestlers got their stance. It seemed simple enough as he observed the Drykas' feet were wider than their shoulders. They were standing on the front balls of their feet as their knees were slightly pointing inward. Interesting stance, it almost looked like the horse stance in unarmed combat. Turrin next in line for a unarmed combat match. He just needed one more to get in line, so he walked slightly over to get a better look at the side of the wrestling stance. One of the wrestlers had his left foot forward and his right foot was behind him, and his he was bent over, so his shoulders lined up with his front knee.

Suddenly the two wrestlers sprung like snakes and grabbed each other. The wrestler on the left grabbed the wrestler on his right arm, quickly pulled it over his shoulder, grabbed his other man with his left hand under the right shoulder, used his legs to lift wrestlers up, and continued the throw till he threw the wrestler on the ground behind him. He was holding him down on ground, so his body looked like a arc. Turrin had such a hard time believing the amount of strength the human needed to flip the other human over the back of his body. Looking at the size of the wrestlers arms and legs, Turrin was curious on the amount of physical training a man or woman needs have that much strength. If he wanted his body to be able to do it, he will need to start working out more.

Suddenly, Turrin saw a hand wave in front of his face and heard Jez's familiar face. He had to admit the man was friendly, and it was good to see one of his riding instructors again. Turrin playfully smiled at him and gently elbowed him in the rib for waving his hand in his face. Turrin heard him say something in Pavi, but he didn't understand it, but suddenly, he switched to common and asked if he was here to practice. Turrin smirked at him and said with a evil grin, “Perfect timing Jez! I am in need of a partner. I hope you don't bruise easily because we are up next! ” Turrin switched his evil grin to a friendly grin and said, “It good to see you again. Have you been training for the triathlon too?”

Turrin didn't want to hurt him, but he figured that the man was here for the same thing that he was here for training. Besides pummeling each other senseless was a good way for two men to bond. He will gauge Jez's skill level before he went all out on him. If he wasn't very good, he will repay the favor and help him learn how to fight. It was simple just throw a couple of punches and kick to compete in the contest. He doubted everyone in the city was a martial artist, so he might stand a chance if he learned the basics. Looking at Jez, Turrin decided to be friendly and make chit-chat, “I noticed that my arse hurts along with other places more tender. Is there anyway to stop the discomfort, or is it something that you have to learn how to live with?”

[Jez Firetongue]

Jez Firetongue 19th of Spring 517 AV Pavi/Grassland Sign , Common, Nari ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Jez laughed at Turrin’s greeting, feeling much better about being back at the Warstorm Pavilion now that he was with someone he knew. “I am glad to see a familiar face,” he grinned, “My previous visit here I was punched by a stranger outside of combat.” He gestured to his bruised eye, “I would be glad to train with you, but I must ask you do not fight too intensely; I have a similar experience of fighting as you do of riding a horse.” His expression was relaxed, the last statement teasing. Turrin’s training query reminded Jez of just how busy he’d been these past few days. Between working, training, helping out his Pavilion and joining the evening dancing and singing, Jez had hardly had a moment to himself to rest. It wasn’t a big deal; he found that being alone could be fairly tiring whilst being around friends and family always recovered his energy. However, it could sometimes be nice to spend some time apart from others to reconnect with his faith individually rather than as a part of Pavilion celebrations. “Yes, I have been training. I ride Wind often,” he gestured to the stallion, grazing a little way from the Pavilion, “Although I am not sure how we will compare to the other Drykas. I have also been training with my” “shortbow,” he mimed firing an arrow as he sought the closest word he knew in Common, “archery weapon. I am not very good.” He chuckled, remembering his lesson with Adon, as he rubbed the back of his neck. The welt under his right eye had been barely noticeable by the time they had met for Turrin’s lesson, and had since cleared up completely, but he still remembered the sting of the bow string. He had taken to wearing a wrap of leather around his left forearm, upon Adon’s advice, so that the next time he used the bow it wouldn’t bite back. Of all the clothing he usually wore on his upper body, it was the only item he had kept on to come to the Warstorm Pavilion. “Have you been training? Which event are you most looking forward to?” A wide, amused grin spread over Jez’s face as Turrin mentioned the unfortunate side effects that his riding lesson had caused. “I cannot say I have often felt that before, except for when I have been ill and unable to ride for a short time, but even then it is not really noticeable. I hear is it common for” “walahk”, non-Drykas, “and I have heard some advice that may be useful.” He thought back to conversations he had overheard, mainly involving the more inexperienced riders seeking the services of the Healing Hoof and looking to get advice for themselves as they waited. “Perhaps dismounting every so often would help with the general ache. Sometimes on a long ride even Drykas need to stretch our legs so that they don’t…” “cramp up,” his hand clenched and twisted with the accompanying sign, “Hmm, get stuck? I am not sure if that word works for my meaning. Anyway, maybe it is similar for you and you just need to spend even less time on the horse than we do between breaks. Also…” he suddenly stopped, exclaiming, “Oh!” as he remembered an important piece of advice he should give before moving on to other helpful tips. “You should definitely learn to remount properly first. If you are alone and your horse” “spooks…” “runs…fast. Yes, if your horse runs fast with you not on it, then you are in trouble.” He thought of the Glassbeak packs and Nightlion prides just waiting to strike even on the outskirts of Endrykas and shuddered. “Do you know the dangers in the Sea of Grass? Until you are confident with the horse, do not ride far from Endrykas. Even then it is dangerous.” “As for tender areas, that is probably about your position.” He grimaced at the thought of riding with the wrong position, and the potential pain it could inflict. “You need to sit with a straight back and support with your legs, with your” “thighs,” he paused and pointed at the muscular upper portion of his own leg, “with this part. There is a balance between tense and relaxed that you must find.” He thought the advice over, deciding to add to what he’d heard others discuss with a bit of his own from what he’d seen during Turrin’s lesson a few days prior. “It also helps to learn to move with the horse, to predict its movements; bouncing around is going to cause pain.” “I think if you find the pain hard for now then there is help. Perhaps find a thinner horse than Eva to make it easier to sit straight.” Of his own Pavilion’s horses, Jez had had little choice for the lesson. Their broad horses were used to pull wagons and carts, meaning they needed a steady temperament; the perfect temperament to learn to ride with. Most of their thinner horses, which are better to learn riding position on, serve the purpose of transport for hunting and scouting ahead of wagons. The Pavilion only purchased them if they were fast and confident, of a disposition less suited to a beginner. “Perhaps a thicker padding to sit on would also help…” he considered, before directing a reassuring smile at the man, “You will eventually get used to it. When the pain will stop though…” “Kon Toladi Yo…” the web only knows, he accompanied the words with a short series of signs, too fast for someone not versed in Grassland Sign to follow. As they waited for the ring to be free Jez’s eyes drifted to a woman stretching by another ring, talking to a couple of people beside her, and he directed his own question to Turrin. “Is this necessary?” he asked the man, mimicking the arm stretch across his chest to show what he meant, not knowing the words for warming up or stretching in the language they were using, “I ride often and never do this, but there are Drykas doing it here.” Though not a race distinguishable by any biological features, Jez knew that the trail leading up the woman’s arm was a windmark, identifying her as one of them. If other Drykas felt it necessary to stretch before sparring then perhaps, like with archery, he would be using muscles that riding didn’t prepare him for. ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ || Jez Firetongue || 25 years || Drykas || Amethyst Clan || Firetongue Pavilion || Strider-Wind || The Heart of Nature Soothes the Heart of Man More Than Any Woman Can

[Turrin]

Jez told him that he was punched in the face for no reason last time that he was here in the Pavilion. If it was a spar, Turrin would understand, but to hit another person outside a spar was grounds for retaliation. Turrin's eyes darkened slightly and said simply, “I hope you made him pay for hitting you. I would have made them regret their actions.”

When Jez admitted that he was as proficient with combat as he was with riding a horse. Turrin got his answer about his retaliation against his attacker. He figured Jez took the hit and apologized for bothering him. Turrin golden eyes turned to listen to the talkative Drykas. He figured that he needed to help this man learn how to defend himself. Luckily he was her to help him out before the triathlon. Jez admitted that he was training all week like the rest of Endrykas for the triathlon. The Inarta watched as he made the movements for shooting a bow. These were movements that he was quite familiar with, so he picked up what he was implying. When he asked what events that he was going to compete in. Turrin said with a smile, “All of them. I know that I just learning how to ride a horse, but it will teach me to ride with other people. I will test my armed and unarmed combat skills against your people too. It should prove enlightening for me.”

Turrin made the movements for archery and said with confidence, “Even if I was born in Taloba, my mother and father made sure that I learned how to use a bow. I plan to compete and win the archery contest for the sake of my mother and father's spirits.” The Inarta gave him a wink and joked quietly to him, “Besides I am a Inarta. I can't let a bunch of horse-lords beat me in archery. It would be shameful since we basically are born with bows in our hands when we come out of the womb.”

Turrin smirked and looked back at the spar. The coming competition was starting to bring out the endal side of him that he thought died when Aponivi was killed. All Endals were competitive to a fault. It was side of effect of the upper caste of Wind Reach. Only the strongest endal would survive the Unforgiving, so it was natural and encouraged to strengthen your egos. Endrykas was a city of passionate people, but it wasn't as embraced as in his mother's homeland. The Inarta dripped passion since they tended to live short lives even for humans. Even if he was only part Inarta, the passion along with the blood lust of his father's people pumped through his veins. It made him stronger spiritually and embracing those sides made him feel whole.

When Turrin told him his problem with riding, Jez instantly went into teaching mode. The hunter turned and listened to his friend. He was a better at riding than him, so he stayed silent as he gave him advice about riding. The advice from size of the horse, to extra padding under the saddle, or correct riding posture was all sound advice. Jez told him of the dangers of loosing his horse on the Sea of Grass. To the Drykas, he compared it to death. Turrin could only just nod. He hadn't been much outside of the city of Endrykas, but he will have to if he wanted to hunt with any success. The herd of cows outside the city make it impossible unless your protecting the herd from predators. However, hunting had been crap lately because of the lack of a winter. It was depressing to think as a hunter, but he needed to keep optimistic for the sake of staying employed by the city. Turrin said with a nod, “I will try out your advice. Something as to work. Good, I need to just ignore the pain for now.”

When Jez pointed at a woman who was stretching out her muscles, Turrin looked at him and said with a nod, “When you do anything athletic, you should stretch your muscles. It keeps your muscles loose, so it helps from hurting yourself when your making unnatural movements with your body. If you pull a muscle, it could lay out for a couple days, but if you tear a muscle, you can be immobile for weeks till it heals. Yes, it vary important. It could even help you feel better when you ride your horse. Especially the next day...”

Turrin watched as the spar got over, so Turrin nodded to Jez to the ring and said, “It our turn, Jez. You should stretch first. I need to work on a few things before we spar.” Turrin picked up his equipment and walked into the ring. He set down his equipment at the edge of ring. He will hold back against him, but he needed to work on his own skills too. The warrior needed to warm up his muscles, so he got into his fighting stance, so his left leg was in front of him and bent slightly and his right leg was behind him. He spread his legs enough, so they lined up with the with of his shoulder. Turrin made a fist with both hands and extended his left hand while he kept his right fist on his right hip. He slowly started to extend his right arm and brought back his left arm. As he brought his right fist forward, he twisted his fist into his the stomach of his invisible target and stiffened his muscles in his arm at the end. At the same time, his left fist moved backwards to the side of his left hip. The Inarta repeated the exercise with extending his left fist till it hit the invisible stomach of his opponent and counted, “One.” The former endal repeated his exercise and continued counting. With each round of punches, he increased the intensity and speed of the punches.

When he was finished, he could feel the sweat drip down his face, chest, and back. He stood up from his stance to relaxed his muscles. When he was ready, Turrin got down into the same stance as he did while working on his punches. The warrior got down low into his stance. He knew from his aunt's teachings that a warriors stance is pivotal to controls ones body in unarmed combat. It helps with balance, strengthens your body, and adds power and control to your attacks. Turrin made a fist and rested on his right hip and kept his left fist out from his body in front of his face. Lifting his right leg, Turrin brought it slowly forward, so he was balancing on his left leg. He held the position for ten ticks. He could feel his muscles in his left leg burn and core muscles in his abdomen tighten. After he was finished holding the position, he extended his leg forward, and pushed his heel of his foot into the stomach of his imaginary opponent. Turrin held his foot extended for three ticks and he slowly brought it back to the original position. He repeated the kick slowly to the count of ten than he switch his stance, so his left foot was back and his right foot was back. He started his exercise on the left side to the count of ten and stopped his exercise. Looking up at Jez, Turrin wiped his sweaty hair from his face and said with a smile, “Are you ready to spar?”

[Jez Firetongue]

Jez Firetongue
19th of Spring 517 AV
Pavi/Grassland Sign , Common, Nari

Jez looked sheepish as he responded, “Well making someone pay is not really my sort of thing, so…not really. Besides, he is an experienced fighter and I am not.” He shrugged, “I do not have anything to prove to a walahk stranger anyway.” He grinned as their conversation turned to the Triathlon, happier to try and forget about the black eye, “I am glad you’re entering. It should be a lot of fun.”

“If a challenge is what you are seeking, then you will be pleased by the fighters among my people, particularly the Diamond Clan warriors,” he told him, “We have a ritual, imbeko ziq’na, ummm, you might say ‘to show your honour’.” Jez’s translation of the honour proving ritual was not perfect, but would hopefully get the idea across. “If the Ankals cannot settle a dispute then we use rounds of wrestling, armed and unarmed combat to make each other submit, to settle it. Many Drykas train in preparation for they may need to fight in one of these. It is not something I have ever done as my Ankal’s word has always settled my own disputes.”

The Drykas listened intently as his friend elaborated, revealing a little more about his past and motivations for the contest. “Ahh, bow, that was the word I needed,” he muttered to himself. He couldn’t help his frown at Turrin’s phrasing however, “Spirits? Your mother and father have passed on then?” The question may have been insensitive to some, but out on the Sea of Grass death was such a common occurrence that Jez felt no need to dodge around the subject.

The Drykas looked thoughtful as Turrin mentioned he was born in Taloba. That was in Falyndar, right? …to the West, across the sea. “You must have taken quite a journey. Taloba is far from here, is it not?” He frowned, a little puzzled. “You are an Inarta? As in the…bird riders?” He knew Inarta rode large eagles, but was unable to translate it into Common. His confusion came from the distance between the Inarta home land and Taloba. “Are Inarta not from somewhere in Kalea? I must confess I don’t know too much about other races…well, except a little about Kelvics,” he told him, reaching up to fiddle with the Kelvic Glassbeak feather he usually kept knotted in his hair, only to remember, “Ah, the feather is back at home.”

After giving Turrin advice on his riding, Jez started to mimic the stretching he saw a woman doing. He winced as his friend told him that if he didn’t stretch he could tear a muscle. He’d done that a couple of times in the past after strenuous rides and it didn’t feel good. “Well if it stops me getting as injured during our fight then I’ll stretch.” He followed Turrin into the now empty ring and took up a position on the opposite side to the Inarta, placing his waterskin beside him and running through some basic stretches he’d seen others do.

The Drykas started by switching to the arm he had yet to stretch, reaching across his bare chest and holding the position to warm up the muscles. He then raised his arms above his head, the wind marks down his spine shifting as he moved, pressing up to stretch his back. Moving on to his legs, he pushed the right one back, dipping his left leg a little, to warm up the muscles down the back of his leg. He switched over, repeating the action to warm up his left leg also. Next he spread his legs apart, bending at the waist to touch the ground. He couldn’t reach the ground properly, the ache of the stretch stopping him, but his fingertips were able to just touch the floor. Straightening up again, he also focused on his neck. He wasn’t sure it was entirely necessary but had seen others do it when warming up so copied their actions just in case. He tilted his head to touch his ear to shoulder on both sides, then slowly nodded up and down a couple of times. Finally he shook his limbs and jumped up and down a few times, ready to go. He watched as Turrin finished off his own activities, before asking if the Drykas was ready.

“Yes, let’s practise,” he nodded, stepping closer to Turrin, “You will have to let me know if I mess up too badly though.” He didn’t know how to start a spar so instead adopted the stance Quzon had used to try and goad him into fighting before, crouching a little with his right leg shifted back. At least he had been able to learn something from being injured.

|| Jez Firetongue || 25 years || Drykas || Amethyst Clan || Firetongue Pavilion || Bond to Wind ||

The Heart of Nature Soothes the Heart of Man More Than Any Woman Can

[Turrin]

Still in his fighting stance, Turrin looked at him when he remembered that Jez asked a lot of questions of about his past. He asked about the death of his parents, the location of his father's homeland, and the location of Wind Reach. He knew the explanations would take longer than his legs would give him without protesting if he started to go into his life story. The Inarta said with a smile, “I will answer your questions when we are finished, Jez.” When Jez told him to tell him what he did wrong in the spar. Turrin said bluntly with a nod, “You will know when I hit you, but I am not a teacher, so you might want to take advantage of Diamond Clan and get some formal training in unarmed combat and a melee weapon. Especially since you live in such a dangerous location, you don't want to be untrained in combat if the Zith attack. Unless you want to be a slave or food...”

Turrin stood up because his legs muscles were starting to burn, but he felt like the man needed to know that he can't rely on his short bow for close quarter combat unless he was very skilled in it like himself. The Inarta said softly, “I know that you mentioned that you use a bow, but unless you are skilled with it like myself and able to shot in rapid succession accurately. You are going to die in close quarters combat when using it. If you are in the heat of battle, and you're in a life and death situation. Especially in those situations, you're body and mind act differently, and sometimes you won't be able to get your arrow on your bowstring in time before the enemy is upon you or beast is trying to maul you.”

Turrin puts his burgundy hair behind his ears and got back into his fighting stance, and said with a sigh, “Sorry. I know what I said was blunt, but I killed men before in battle, so I know from experience that you can't rely on your ranged weapon to be your primary opinion for defense. Besides, you are a good man, so I hate to see you as a victim...” Turrin realized that he might of made the situation uncomfortable. The Inarta laughed and said, “Anyways, I will stop giving you advice. Lets spar!”

The face of the stone faced warden of Wind Reach appeared on his face as he sprung into action. He needed to practice for the triathlon, so he wasn't going to hold back against Jez. The Inarta awkwardly lifted his right leg slightly to the side, twisted in his left heel, and awkwardly thrust the heel of bare right foot towards the center of Jez's stomach. It was simple side kick with his long legs. He did it to keep the drykas male from getting closer. As he kicked the heel of his foot towards Jez's stomach. He noticed that the aim of his kick was slightly off to right. He doubt that he would hit him unless Jez moved into the kick. He doubted his luck was that good, so he waited for the man to block and counter.

[Jez Firetongue]

OOC Note: Hey! Sorry for the low quality of this post. It’s been a while since I rped a fight scene, and I don’t think I’ve ever done one for an inexperienced fighter, so it took me a while to figure out a decent reaction.

Jez Firetongue
19th of Spring 517 AV
Pavi/Grassland Sign , Common, Nari

Jez grimaced at the mention of a possible Zith attack, remembering all too well the results of previous attacks and the lives lost. He didn’t want to kill anyone, was a rather peaceful soul, but he would definitely make an exception to those thoughts when the Zith were concerned. There wasn’t much Jez wouldn’t do to protect his people. The Drykas were one family, surviving together through mutual cooperation and respect. Perhaps Turrin’s suggestion was right, and after the Triathlon he should get some extra fighting training in with the Diamond Clan. He would likely never be a strong fighter, or enjoy fighting, but he was very protective of those he loved and wanted to help them in whatever way possible.

Hearing that Turrin had killed in battle before made Jez a little more cautious of the man. It wasn’t the sort of information that would stop him from wanting to get to know the other, given how dangerous their world was and how many people killed to survive. Really, so long as it wasn’t a Drykas that Turrin had killed he had no immediate issues with the knowledge. He assumed The Watch would already know if Turrin had killed a Drykas, and would have swiftly returned the favour. The fact that the man was free to live in Endrykas meant that for now Jez saw no reason to question his past deeds.

Jez’s stance could barely be called preparation when the fight finally began. He watched for Turrin’s first strike without the experience to know how to predict the other’s movements. It was fairly lucky that he was able to see the kick coming, despite the fact that he couldn’t tell how close the kick was to colliding with him. Not wanting to take any chances, and largely reacting on instinct, Jez stepped back quickly to avoid the hit. The sudden start to the fight initiated the Drykas’ adrenaline, and he could feel his heart beginning to pick up.

Jez was unsure how to retaliate. He’d watched a few spars and been through a fight with Quzon recently, but that was all he could base his actions on. He gave it his best shot, curling his right hand into a fist as he moved into a punch. He stepped through with his right leg, throwing the punch diagonally left to try and make his fist collide with Turrin’s right shoulder. The move left Jez perpendicular to Turrin. The Drykas’ right side faced Turrin, but the front of his body faced away so that his back was largely exposed.

If the move had connected then the punch wouldn’t be very strong. It would perhaps have enough power to sting, but certainly not enough to knock someone off their feet. Jez wasn’t practised with using his strength this way, and so didn’t know how much power to put into a swing. He was good at lifting heavy supplies and pulling on the ropes of stubborn animals, but not so much at precise, coordinated moves. However, it was much more likely that, faced against the much more experienced fighter, Jez’s punch wouldn’t connect with Turrin. This would leave him in a very vulnerable position, open completely to attacks from behind and swipes to his legs.

|| Jez Firetongue || 25 years || Drykas || Amethyst Clan || Firetongue Pavilion || Bond to Wind ||

The Heart of Nature Soothes the Heart of Man More Than Any Woman Can