Closed [Patchwork Port] Swords Don't Float (Dexius)

[Aislyn Leavold]

Even though she knew it to be foolish, there was some small glimmer of hope in her that each attack would be something near effective. That somehow, despite her obviously inferior ability, she’d be able to do something vaguely good enough to catch her opponent off guard. Like somehow, she’d awaken some secret ability within her to be talented with a sword, graceful, like she’d done it her whole life. In reality, there was nothing truly graceful about Aislyn. She was shaky, she fidgeted, she was unsteady and uneven and unprepared for most situations. Her wrists were serrated and her eyes sunken in with a lack of sleep. She was not invincible, and certainly didn’t look like it.
So, in the end, the best she could do was find a way around such un-invincibilities.

At first, her attack seemed promising. All went to plan; step forward, make a glancing blow. Don’t expect success at first, so prepare to strike again. Create an opening, instead of waiting for one. Then the actual strike.
For half a tick, Aislyn felt a certain difference in the way the Symemenstra approached her attack. He didn’t immediately move to disarm her, nor to parry her blow. Like he knew something she didn’t; like he was waiting. Then in the midst of her attack he stepped back, and her wooden stick of a sword fell short.

It was easy to forget to move in the core of a strike, it seemed. It was certainly easy for Aislyn, who somehow managed to forget that she had the legs to move forward with her sword rather than ending up with just air to hit. After that, she fully expected some sort of retribution, Dexius making up for lost time. Yet still, no counterattack came, and the woman was given ample time to recuperate her stance. She went over the same list she’d been given, adjusting her legs and feet and arms until she was in a similar position to her opponent. In the breath between battles he spoke. His voice was grating; like the compliment he almost gave wasn’t quite there fully. It seemed more like something he said for the sake of saying rather than something he meant. Do your best. Like she was some child that needed encouragement.

Grinding the back of her teeth, Aislyn made a point of saying nothing in response to his jeers. It wouldn’t hurt if he hit her, brilliant. Because that was what she had been worried about, of course. Him hitting her.
It was a bit frustrating that she’d failed to lay any sort of scratch on him as of yet, every blow of hers being met with the end of his sword. He wouldn’t hurt her, yes, but she would most certainly hurt him if given the chance.

Dexius moved to face her again, and Aislyn took the chance to make sure she’d recalled what he’d told her correctly. Stance low, weight balanced. Weapon out, at the ready. Then he made his move, and Aislyn felt the mocking familiarity in it as her sword was pushed to the side. Pulling the wooden tool back towards herself, the illusionist attempted more of a defensive position like he’d done before. In her previous attacks, when she’d been the one attacking. Her movements seemed so slow and arbitrary compared to the speed of the battle, her mind reeling with the thoughts of what she might be forgetting. It was only at the last second that she remembered what she’d learned just moments ago- to move.

His sword came very close to her, the roughened point just an inch or two away from the fabric of her shirt. If he stepped forward it would touch quite easily, his seeming reluctance to do so more evidence of the fact that he was holding back. In a way, it seemed as if he were mocking her, doing such a thing. But from the other side of the coin, it was probably for the best. She would have to reach the point where she were competent enough to face him without the failsafe of faux swords before they had a true fight between them.

For a moment there was silence, Aislyn standing back and Dexius with his sword precariously close to her chest. Then the woman took it upon herself to end the silence, pulling her sword back up into a more ready position, pushing her opponent’s out of the way. It was no attack, of course, just a way to get back into a position to begin again. Soon the action would be repetitive, until she’d done it right so many times there was no way to move wrongly. Either that, or she grew so frustrated with the existence of the irritating Symenestra man that she dug her sword into the ground and returned to her usual, nonviolent tendencies.

”Are we to repeat that until one of us dies, then?” The unspectacular dodge was certainly no great achievement, but it was more than what she’d had prior. At very least, she had proven to herself that she was capable of remembering what she’d learned. ”Or is there something else to this dodging game?”

Rolling back her shoulders, Aislyn tried to imagine what a fight less scripted would be like. There wouldn’t be the chance to recuperate like they did, no taunts between blows. Her battles before had been more ranged, certainly, but she’d also had less thoughts towards how she was meant to improve and more towards simply surviving. She didn’t have to imagine much- the wintertime had given her more than enough battles to remember- it was more of an application to her situation than anything else. There was no real danger or incentive with wooden swords and a resigned opponent. There was, at the moment, only Aislyn’s growing irritation.

”It would take an awfully long time to die from a wooden stick, after all.” She nodded towards the metallic version of her weapon, sitting unregarded to the side. Perhaps she was bargaining for a bit much, but she had at least a bit of logic behind her implications. If she only ever learned to fight with something made of wood, using a metal sword in actual combat would put her back to square one.
After all, Aislyn didn’t plan to spend all that time tolerating the man for her skill to go waste.

[1,073]
"Speech" - Thought

[Dexius]

In the beginning of this round Raimu seemed to be gathering her wits and thoughts and pushing them to action. A little at least. He almost smiled a little when his would be student actually remember she had feet attached to her legs and decided to dodge back against his attack. Obviously he didn't put much effort into the strike or he could have otherwise made contact with her. But then she smacked his weapon away with her own, and that look in her eye came about. That look where somebody looks completely and totally uninterested in what was happening in front of them. Then came her words, and what words they were.

Dex sighed at the women's brash words about the practice of swordplay. He could just as easily not have bought the wooden blades and just cut the potential lessons into her. Perhaps that would have been easier. Then again, he was not the kind to just cut down random women, even if he didn't like them.

After a shift in hands from his weapon, left to right, his now free hand hand to rest on the hilt of his real rapier. Then again, she seemed very interested in a rather painful lesson. "I came here with these so that I could press into you the importance of certain lessons in combat." The Symenestra shifted to a more relaxed stance and walked a half circle around the woman. "If we had gone straight at each other today what do you think would have happened? You couldn't even think to move your feet in tandem with your arms before now."

Dex ran a finger across the smooth wooden surface of the practice weapon. He had really wanted to give her the chance she wanted, the same he had asked for back in the alley. Though compared to Raimu he had asked relatively important questions to the subject, accepting her word as law as it were. Hers came off as demeaning and insulting. He almost wanted to spit on the ground at her feet and tell her off.

Almost.

Something inside of him told him not to just abandon her at the early signs of her ignorance. He wasn't always such a careful and learning student as it were. Though his father's methods were a tad more..harsh compared to his own. Dex wanted to try to move the woman with words and actions rather than just the latter. Everything was important. One slip up and you have a sword in your chest and that is it.

The swordsman then had a cause to draw his blade tonight. His left hand took the wood sword while his right pulled the metallic weapon from it's resting place on his belt. "If you really wish to learn the hard way, be my guest."

Dex held the real blade out and at the ready before motioning in the direction of the woman's similarly made weapon. "Hopefully you've enjoyed the dodging game because you had better learned something from it." The Symenestra's demeanor was rather different than it had been that entire night. It was much less of a forgiving look and almost held the resentment the woman had seen in him at the end of their previous engagement.

The practice was over. He had promised the woman blood tonight and so she would get it. More than likely her own and all over her clothing. "I'll even let you make the first move if you wish. Choose your path wisely and strike like you mean it." A deep breath escaped the Symenestra's lips as he prepared for the woman's reaction.

"Nobody will give you second chances." Apparently tonight she would either learn to fight, or learn to bleed. Either way he will have completed his end of the bargain.

[Aislyn Leavold]

The man had a point, regarding the finer motions of Aislyn’s sword fighting ability. She would have most definitely been more concentrated on simply surviving, rather than whether her left foot was in front of her right or if she was moving with her strike. That being said, the undead didn’t fight with wooden swords, if they fought with swords at all. Therefore, Aislyn didn’t plan on fighting with gloves on either. Metaphorical wooden gloves, at least. Leather gloves were fine.

At first, the woman had fully expected to be outright denied when it came to her request, yet Dexius continued to surprise her in more ways than one. Not only did he begrudgingly approve of her request, but he didn’t put down the wooden sword when he picked up the metal one. Apparently, he intended to fight with both. Aislyn, on the other hand, simply exchanged hers. Somehow, wielding two weapons at once seemed like it would more easily complicate matters than actually help with her fighting ability. Nonetheless, it appeared the fight was now two versus one.

”Now, that’s hardly fair.”

The spider held out his weapon, swinging it in her direction to motion at Aislyn’s own. He didn’t seem terribly friendly now, not that the illusionist was complaining. She hadn’t intended to strike a nerve with anything she’d said most recently, but it appeared she inadvertently had. That made things a tad bit more interesting. Or dangerous. Most likely, both.

When Dexius gave her the floor, Aislyn found herself in the same position she had been during practice. He almost seemed to mock her, giving her the first move. She’d never had any luck with moving first before, there was no reason she’d have such luck now. Nevertheless, it was worth a shot. His last words struck a rather unfortunately true note. No second chances, this time. She’d tried a few strategies, and none of them successful. Striking at his body first hadn’t exactly worked out well, so maybe she’d try something less drastic, to at very least give herself a chance to get more than one move in. Then again, striking at the blade hadn’t worked the second time she had attacked. Though granted, it had gone marginally better.
So she’d improve upon what she’d learned. Strike at the blade, but move with the feet. She hadn’t moved enough, hadn’t paid enough attention. Now she was most certainly paying attention. He wouldn’t kill her if he had the chance, certainly, but with the mood he was in he most certainly didn’t seem against inflicting damage. Her pride, more than anything, was what was on the line. Not that Aislyn had ever been much of a prideful person, but when Thief had been given a life of her own the illusionist had learned how different her illusions could be from herself. And with ‘Raimu’ facing down a very sharp blade, it didn’t exactly seem like the time nor place to eat her words.

Concentrating on the parrying, Aislyn bent her knees a bit to allow her to move more quickly when Dexius inevitably struck back. She went for the blade in a similar fashion of her second attack, but this time intended on following it up. His longer arms didn’t exactly help her case, but if she kept moving perhaps she could make up for that fact. Aislyn had never been a fan of gambling, but one way or another someone was getting stabbed, and the odds weren't exactly in her favor.

"Speech" - Thought