Flashback [Arena of Ancients] The Point of the Spear (Kwantu)

[Kaie]

5th of Summer, 511 AV

There was something strangely fresh about the Arena that day. Whether it was the harsher cries of dropped bodies tossed upon the earth or the strange coolness of shade pervading across the clearing as Syna began to set, the fourteen year old female hadn't a clue. What she did know was ever since Keikyo had ditched their longhouses for a spot in the barracks, she had become undeniably insatiable. The burning that always seemed to glow brilliantly within her amber eyes since she was a child had long since churned into a wildfire. More often than not her vision was filled with crimson, her mind longing for it. And even as she trained long and hard against the relentless beat of the sun's blistering rays, not even Yitmah could quell her fire. That had been the budding issue of Kaie. She always wanted more.

Only a few years ago she had come to the place almost everyday with her cousin. He was no master of any of the arts really, but he was decent for his age. He could be scrappy and gritty when hands balls to fists, and a loyal companion in the jungle. Keikyo had often made it a stupid (and painful) game of theirs to pick opponents out for one another. As one could imagine, the chosen spars were always impossible to take down, and on the off chance one of them succeeded, there were always healthy amounts of teasing and false fights to follow. At least he had instilled in her an industriousness against impossible odds before he left to serve.

Dressed in her typical arrangement of loincloth and leather vest, the Myrian girl entered the primitive fighting space with a long branch in hand. It was a simple looking thing. Nothing more than a broken limb whose ends had been rounded out rather than sharpened, and despite her urge to instead add her mysteriously gifted spear head to the makeshift weapon, nothing good came from spearing kin in a spar. She stood there alone for a moment simply taking it in, letting her gaze cast itself along the bodies present. Most were familiar faces, but a few were new to her. Either they hadn't frequented the sparring circle as often as she or they'd never been to it at all. Yet regardless of the circumstances, it was time to choose...but who?

[Kwantu]

Again! His father threw another punch, but this time, Kwantu was just about able to slide under it before throwing one fist up at the mans chin. Instead of feeling the rich impact, there was only air as his wrist was caught, twisted, and pulled in a different direction. There was no time to move away as another blow landed in his stomach, and a third.. before Kuur pulled back and shook his head solemnly. Kwantu could only stare at the floor, catching his breath - knowing what this meant."You need to practice more. Are you practicing?"

He wasn't. He didn't like working with his hands as much as he did with his spear. "I've been trying to work on my--"

"And what if you don't have a weapon when they strike?" He found himself suddenly cut mid-sentence. There was just no arguing with his father in this state - he couldn't even hide away from the words because he knew they were right. "Practice more. I don't expect silly mistakes like that from you again, Kwantu." Before the elder Myrian could begin his next string of lectures, a horn sounded and the man was on his heels like a bolt. A goodbye faded into the humid air, just through the thin clouds of dust that sprung in his wake, but the Myrian was out of sight before Kwantu could voice a reply. He was alone again.

It should have disappointed him, but in truth, it was far from the opposite. Much as he wanted to live to his fathers expectations - he still adored the spear that lay at the edge of the Arena more than anything else. After all, he'd never have to learn how to fight without his spear, if he never didn't have it. And if they couldn't get it out of his hands. That was all that really mattered.

The bond that he felt for such a weapon was so strong that as soon as he was sure that Kuur had gone for the evening, he ran over and immediately picked up the spear, gripping it firmly and grinning like a child five years below his age. It felt good, to feel its grain beneath his hands, the weight of the tip.. it felt alive, and happy in his hands. It practically seeped through his palms and filled his body. So much better than just a pair of fists...

Myrian Tongue | Common Tongue | Tukant Tongue

[Kaie]

It wasn't long before she she was glancing over each spar in progress for prospective challenges. There was a pair of children already matted with dirt and a bit of blood, wrestling and snarling as they tumbled along the earth like angry pack animals. To her left fought an older pair of veterans with war-like grimaces and feral sneers mixed between exchanged blows. The only other notable battle was right before her across the way. Two males, one clearly older than the other, clashing fists. However it was more fair to say one was the fighter actually doing the clobbering. The younger male was certainly getting it handed to him. It was an all too familiar sight for Kaie. Yitmah would haul her from her longhouse at Syna rise and hang her out to dry somewhere in that jungle. Goddess, she could still feel the bruises he had inflicted not a day before. Yet just as surely as the younger male knew, the female was well aware it was the only way to succeed. To learn. To survive.

She had stood there for a moment in deliberation, toying with the weapon in her hands. Kaie closed her eyes and inhaled slowly, letting her fingers wander the branch and better acquaint herself with it. The pads of her hands slipped along the grain of the wood, noted its shocking even weight. And then came the sound of a horn. Amber eyes flashed open with a readiness even Yitmah might think of commending. Before her was the man again, that young male from ticks before. His sparring partner was gone now, and he had seemed to take a similar likening to his own spear. It was enough fate to spur the young girl into a confident stride across the Arena to stand before him.

"You any good with that?" She inquired playfully with a quirk to her brow, eyes glittering at the opportunity of a challenge. One hand slipped down the spear-branch to tap what should've been its spear end. Strangely it wasn't quite as round as the back end had been. It was sharper with a bit of a pronounced triangle protruding from it. A laughable tool in battle, but enough to be called a decent practice weapon. Despite the mere fact the young male's spear was tipped, she didn't seem to waver. "I'm not too great with mine yet. My technique needs work. So how about a spar?"

[Kwantu]

So absorbed within the soft wood of his spear, he barely noticed the girl with the odd spear-like weapon until she called him out. And he liked to think that his awareness of his surroundings was at least somewhat adequate. "Are you any good with that?" he parroted, while nodding to the odd stick that the girl had, purposefully dodging the question. Because the truth was, he wasn't. The few times that he had gone against others with his spear, he had lost - badly. In fact, most weapons so far. It was better to just admit the truth, rather than try to back up skill with just words.. that was what his father did often, but his father was smart. The old man could bluff his way through anything... and yet, he couldn't even lie without having Kuur see straight through it.

"I guess we can try it." As much as he didn't like being beaten up.. the prospect of a challenging fight sounded exhilarating. A fight with someone other than his father - therefore, one that he at least had a chance of winning, logically. Who knew, perhaps all of the training that Kuur had been trying to run him through would finally pay off.. or maybe it would show the places that he needed improvement in. "I'll try not to hit too hard." Not because he was sure that he would hit at all.. but the girl was younger than him. Not much, but it was at least a little.

As he spoke, he found his position. Feet spread just a little apart, the spear drawn out, hands at least somewhere around the midpoint of the 10ft spear with a rather firm hold. Yeah, he was about ready. He wasn't going to take an offense, though. No no no.. offense was just asking for trouble. His hands were even shaking a little at the prospect of being beaten in front of the small gathering of other fighters, by a girl even younger than him, against a weapon that was just a long piece of sharpened wood. His actually had an iron tip, at least.

Myrian Tongue | Common Tongue | Tukant Tongue

[Kaie]

At the sound of her own words in another voice just as challenging in tone, the youth's smile immediately widened. There were threes types of males in their world she had once decided. First there was the meek, the sort of man that cowered and adverted his eyes under the gaze of the opposite gender. Then came the brash, the sort that sneered at their superior with dreams of fantastical ambitions. They were usually the first cut down in the Training Yard when the females had had enough. It never took them very long. Finally came the ones that had successfully found a safe middle ground. They had found the balance between respect and competitiveness. Their weapons dared to strike true in a spar against a female, they did not cower under their sights. Instead they maintained respect and therefore earned respect in return. If Kaie were to guess, her new sparring partner was the latter of the three. A good choice after all.

"If I was worried about your hitting hard I would've chosen someone my own age. I want a good fight. Pretend I'm a Dhani if you must," She responded coolly with a quirk of her brow, though there was a twist of disgust that came to her lips at the very mention of their most hated enemy. "Besides you should be focusing on how hard I'm going to try to hit you."

The young female adjusted the spear in her grasp, noticing the way her senior handled his own weapon. While she did not mirror she did note the way he stood and the way he held his guard. For but a moment she remembered a peculiar game she had once played as a child with Tinnok, a half breed she had met in the jungle. Much time had passed since then but the basic knowledge of the spear remained. It was time to step up and prove she was just as capable as any. Well, at least she'd try.

Slowly she eased back into a defensive crouch not so different from her unarmed combat stance. Her feet were about shoulder width apart, hands holding the spear in an alternate grip closer to its back end. She let the very end of the spear shaft rest against her side for an extra point of contact. For a tick she remained that way, eyeing him hungrily like a panther in the night. The crude tip of her spear was targeting his chest, but her sights always remained upon his eyes to look for any dilation that would give him away. She found none and so she seized the advantage (or disadvantage) of making the first move. With a yell she jerked the spear forward at his middle, hoping her actions wouldn't come back to bite her in the ass so early in the battle.

OOC:Sorry for the wait on this one!

[Kwantu]

He was supposed to be calm, at least. He couldn't do that, though. The girl was charging him - even yelling. She was about as composed as a Myrian Tiger trying to fend off a Dhani city. So was he, though. As she jerked towards him, he returned the gesture with an equally-loud yelp of surprise and forced anger, and swung in a wide arc with both hands gripping his own spear, cutting much wider than he really should have. Suddenly, it felt much chunkier and heavier in his hand than usual; disproportionately large and overly heavy at one end. Perhaps he wasn't holding it correctly - or he just wasn't swinging with the right speed or angle. At least it caught the crude spear-tip of the girl's weapon, and sent it flying about just as far as his. It was still clumsy, and he knew it, though. So he took a step back, realigned his spear so that it hovered in place, firmly planted.. and tried to think of a way to get through this.

He'd never had a serious fight before. Least of all with a girl. "With a voice like that.. hah, it won't be hard to imagine you as Dhani." he quipped through a slightly hoarse voice, panting for breath between sentences. It was the best he could do to calm himself down. That and take deep breaths, and try to grip his spear tighter, as if it would do anything to help with his fighting technique. "Focused.." He tried to gulp in deep breaths before he went in again. But he most likely should have taken more - his first attack was solid-gripped but its accuracy wasn't fantastic - it came straight for the far side of her chest instead of the center where he'd been aiming, with his foot sliding forwards and sending up a cloud of dust. Some of it went in his own eyes, causing them to water with a mixture of slight stinging and embarrassment. Nearly blinded - by himself.

Something was wrong with him today. If it wasn't the nerves, it was just something else. Damn it all, he shouldn't have accepted the fight. He was having second doubts!

Fool. Shouldn't have done it. Should have practiced more. Should have practiced more with father rather than with a stupid spear. Fool!

Myrian Tongue | Common Tongue | Tukant Tongue

[Kaie]

Lucky for her, Kaie realized not a tick after his reaction that he was truly no more proficient than she was. His weapon clipped her in a crudely executed arch that knocked them both off center. In fact the sudden force of it had made her lean just a bit too far forward to compensate, which in turn messed with her footing. Almost immediately she backed off to right herself once more. To his taunt she said nothing, but gave a mere snort of amusement. Kaie was toying with her spear instead, rotating her back hand to swirl the spearhead in a small circle.

A spear is deceptive. Hard for the eyes to gauge depth. I'm not quite good enough to create any real illusions with this thing, but maybe a distraction? She thought to herself, brow falling as she contemplated her own internal advice.

Her opponent didn't give her much time to formulate a true plot though. Not a time later his spear came again: an off center jab toward her ribs. A gleam of satisfaction came to her amber eyes, a simple counter already coming to fruition with the tensing of her muscles and shifting of her feet. Kaie stepped off center and swung her spear down on the intrusive weapon like an ax upon wood. The brutal shockwaves wrecked havoc upon her arms caused her to grind her teeth. Still, she supposed it was better than ruining her new leather vest.

"Nice jab!" She growled through her clenched jaw with a gleam of grit hardening in her eyes. Then without missing a beat she swung her spear head back in his direction like the lateral whirl of a sword.

[Kwantu]

Kwantu struggled to find a decent strategy to push forwards with - with the girl moving so erratically, switching from one thing to the next, he could hardly decide whether she was going to keep her distance or move in close. Let alone decide when, and where, to make a decent attack. If only he could find a good place to do it, he'd have a chance. But his one attempt at putting on an offensive failed almost as quickly as he'd thought it up - the shaft of Kaie's spear nearly shattered his grip on the spear when it jerked down and slammed head-first into the dust. More clouds lifted up when he pulled it out again, as if neither of them were coated in enough of the stuff already. He had to clench his jaw and just stick with it, he knew, but it would all be so much easier if it wasn't there. If only...!

He'd barely managed to take hold of the situation when the girl came back with an unexpected, sudden slash. She wasn't even using the thing like a real sword - just throwing it in every direction she pleased, like a really long sword. She obviously had no clue how to hold a thing but she still used it well enough to throw him. Perhaps he shouldn't have been so focused on how she used the spear, though - more importantly, he should have been focused on how to stop the crude head of the spear from cutting him a new scar. With the spear free but the head still pointed towards the floor, he had to think fast - which resulted in a jerking flick that lifted his own spear high, and caught Kaie's as well.

It sent both of them sailing high over Kwantu's head, but he soon swung his own spear in a full arc to bring the tip back down to the ground - while raising the butt of the spear directly beneath Kaie's chin. "Nice swing.. maybe if you had a sword, you'd have better luck!" He punctuated the last word by bracing himself for the impact, intent on immediately focusing back on the battle and giving absolutely no room to recover afterwards. His mind was already working hard to come out with a strategy.

Myrian Tongue | Common Tongue | Tukant Tongue

[Kaie]

Another furious growl of agitation vibrated through the wood of her weapon to her hands. It felt as though her very bones were quaking with uncertainty beneath both the weight of the weapon and the strength of the rebound of spear. One tick her spearhead was soaring sideways to slug across Kwantu's flesh, the next it was rudely knocked skyward with a rushed jerk. A bit harder and Kaie might've lost the damn thing to the canopy. Somehow her fingers managed to keep it firmly within her possession, and a rally of curses tore a wound in the tense aura that surrounded them.

Before she had a chance to truly fumble with her spear and right herself, Kwantu was there. Like a serpent striking just short of a child's curious face, the blunt end of her opponent's staff paused threateningly below her chin. The female's breath caught in her throat. Amber eyes grew wide at the sight. Instinctively she jutted her chin upward as if avoiding a truly killing blow, though it was only her pride that would suffer this affront. As soon as he made his mocking remarks, however, those golden pyres upon her face narrowed into a vengeful blaze.

Without warning she leaned out from the spear end and blasted her heel forward toward his unprotected middle. A stern front kick to remind herself of her other satellite skills in combat, and then she danced away. Her spear whipped down before her and she lashed at the air in case he had escaped with thoughts of pursuit.

"Figured since we were exchanging advice I should kindly remind you that the spear is a longer ranged weapon. Hands, feet, and even swords can sneak themselves under your defenses if you're not careful."

[Kwantu]

He finally felt like he was getting his concentration - and above all, his confidence - back, when the girl metaphorically exploded out and slammed straight beneath his ribs, knocking the wind out of him and giving the girl more than enough time to clear herself of his range. He couldn't believe it, but he should have seen it coming.. this wasn't a place where everyone would come just to get their asses kicked and not try to bring their own style into it. He was still surprised, and even lowered his spear for a moment.. before he remembered where he was. "Mmmff.." He should have listened to his father. If he had, this would never had happened - he would know what to do in these situations! He should have seen the kick coming, really. He should havw known, have practiced harder..

Suitably humiliated and knocked down a peg or two, he tightened his grip around the spear and immediately knew that he wouldn't give her a moment to get close enough. That was the plan sorted.

Immediately, he rushed forwards with the spear swinging in a wide arc, about waist-height and with the handle tight to his body. "Then I guess it's time for me to be a bit more careful - and for you to learn what a long-ranged weapon can do!" He practically yelled out the last word as he heaved with the effort of putting every inch of the ten-foot spear to use, even though he knew that trying to use it from the end would leave the head dragging along the ground. He took up as little room as possible to leave the rest to swing, and his entire body leaned back to try and put the center of gravity higher along the pole.

If he kept up a decent range between himself and the girl.. if he could make sure that she didn't come close enough to launch another kick, or a punch.. then he'd be safe. All he needed to do was keep the range close enough for the spear and far enough to keep her hands away. He wouldn't even think about if she tried to use her hands and feet against the spear.. after all, only the head was the dangerous part. The rest was just a really hard stick. Damn it, now he really regretted not paying more attention with his father. If all went well and the girl lost.. maybe he'd ask her to teach him some moves. It could be fun.. and it'd make him better next time somebody tried to kick him.

Myrian Tongue | Common Tongue | Tukant Tongue