The "Ire" in "Squire" (Jokor)

[Xalet]

Xalet couldn't help but note how Jokor didn't retreat for long. Just jumping away long enough to dodge a blow, before moving right back into melee range. The planks of Xalet's shield flexed slightly against the second impact. Due to the heavy plating of armor the akalak wore, he wouldn't be jumping in or out of combat anytime soon. Instead he had to rely on powerful leg muscles to shuffle his feet forward or rearward in an attempt to get better positioning.

His Patron was completely right, combat did require explosive leg strength. Heaving his right side forward, Xalet had to move his shield aside to attack with his training blade, something he had not done yet. Having sparred before, Xalet understood the purpose of attacking with lighter than normal blows, despite his weapon having no true point or edge. Even as a fairly light sword, a full strike upon an unarmored foe could do some damage, and a fight against an opponent without platemail wasn't something Xalet was used to.

His short training blade shot outward in a jab, and then against with another. The short, light weapon was good for throwing a duet of thrusting attacks at a foe with the intent of gaining an advantage of positioning or balance.

[Jokor]

Jokor just tried to keep a cool head as his opponent didn't even recoil from the hammer bashing on his shield. If the blue skinned giant didn't want to budge yet he just needed to keep hammering on him till he was black and blue, or whatever color a bruise on an akalak had anyway. Janking back his hammer he waited for a good opening to knock the blue akalak on his ass. At least that was the plan, until suddenly xalet had enough of being on the defensive side and lashed out with that oversized kitchen knife of his, instinctively Jokor raised his left arm to defend himself from the blows. Just to scream bloody murder when the dulled blade still hit a lot harder then a unarmed fist would. Jokor quickly abandoned his plan of attack and quickly retreated out of xalet's reach, cradling his hurt arm against his body, trying to flex his arm and hand. While it hurt a lot he didn't feel anything broken as far as he would know. Carefully keeping his distance he began circling xalet, readying his hammer again but this time waited till xalet attacked, he was faster then that guy so he would be able to react in time. At least he hoped so.

[Xalet]

"You alright?" Xalet asked, only to see Jokor reaffirm his stance and begin circling. "Guess so." the akalak thought to himself. The shock of pain worked differently upon many people, but Jokor seemed to handle it quite well. Xalet's muscled stayed tense, something he was working on reducing. The tensing of the muscles in a combat situation meant increasing the speed of fatigue, and in sparring sessions with individuals more conditioned than himself he found that regardless of strength or size when one's wind finally gives out it creates enormous holes in their offense and defense.

Sliding his feet and stance slightly to follow Jokor's movements Xalet lowered himself slightly, a sign that a rapid approach from him was coming. As he gained further experience in combat, he imagined he could find ways to channel his strength without telegraphing his movements quite so obviously, but for now he had to utilize the knowledge that he did possess as best he could.

Rocking forward on his toes, Xalet took several large steps forward, his platemail clanking loudly as the metal slabs rubbed and chimed together. Turning his dulled blade slightly and folding his shield to the side much like expected during a sword attack, he slashed from the right to the left. It seemed the time when he was most vulnerable was during and just after an attack, when his weapon was not ready to parry, and his shield was moved aside so his attack could follow through.

[Jokor]

Jokor scoffed as xalet asked if he was alright, wondering why in the name of hell almost every damn squire he sparred with actually thought it was a good idea to show concern about their opponent during their fight. Did their knights teach them that or was the food they got as kids laced with lead? Either way you had to be a moron to act like that, what where they going to do when they where fighting against a real enemy? When he saw xalet lower himself slightly more against the ground he tightened his grip on his war hammer and took a few steps backwards, guessing that he probably was going to charge at him, what else could he do? He only had melee weapons so unless he was able to shake some kind of magic out of his fingertips he needed to close the distance. A smirk made its way on his face after xalet began charging him, the heavy armor clanking loudly. Jokor simply kept backing up increasing the distance the armored squire had to run and as far as he knew running in heavy armor like that just had to be tiring as hell. He just had found his way to win. He just needed to let him tire himself out before kicking him down. Still xalet was a bit faster then he had guessed and caught up with him, dodging a few steps backwards out of habit, the short practice sword barely missing him. Keeping to his plan he quickly tried to put some distance between the two of them by darting of towards his right, guessing that xalet couldn't use his shield to intercept him.

[Xalet]

Xalet seemed to be locked on his target with a single-minded dedication. Regardless to how Jokor moved to the rear the akalak continued forward, recognizing he was starting to gain so long as Jokor didn't turn and sprint completely. Once Xalet had some momentum going for him those long legs provided a decent gait when perusing someone. The squire was quick to lash out with his weapon, cutting through the air, and equally as interested in getting the edge of his shield into a horizontal plane by lifting his forearm up parallel to the ground, slashing outward with it.

Both attacks had little effect, due to the limited range they possessed. It was now that having a spear at his disposal would have been quite beneficial. Coming to a stop for Xalet was more like skidding to a halt. His feet dug into the ground, leaving visible scores into the dirt beneath him from the sheer amount of weight he was maneuvering with.

Turning to face Jokor, Xalet took a deep breath, swelling the air inward through his nose. The nimble man was going to be a difficult one to catch if he kept moving around like that, but Xalet still had his steely defenses on his side. Wearing his armor and wielding his shield he felt confident enough, this was just for fun after all. He wouldn't be able to throw out another charge like that for a bit. Xalet knew he had to take some time to allow his body to recuperate from the exertion of a sprint in full plate, which meant he had to try to close the distance with more moderation. He began to slide step forward, sword back behind his shield, looking over Jokor's frame to get an idea into his movements.

[Templar]

Xalet: Bodybuilding +1 - Observation +1 - Rhetoric +1 - Philosophy +1 - Shield +2 - Brawling +1 - Short Sword: +3 - Running +1 Lore: Queer Training Routines, Heavy Armor Conditioning (Basic), Stay away from Alero Tynar, Learning an Opponent, Proper Style: Sword and Shield (Basic) Jokor: Hammer +3 - Observation +1 - Rhetoric +1 - Philosophy +1 - Brawling +1 - Running +1 Lore: Akalaks are For Serious, Alero Tynar isn't so bad, Shields are Weapons Too, The Right Moment to Strike, An Arm is not a Shield, Wearing down Your Armored Opponent, Additional remark: If you have any complaints or feel you have been mistreated. Please send me a PM with your complaint and I will address the issue.