Solo [Anthonius Fighters' Pits] Offensive Diversity. II

[Archailist]

28th of Summer, 514.

The Py-Pole wasn't the only weapon he needed to learn about. And it wasn't the only weapon that he was sure Fist could teach him. The basics with, anyway. He was pretty damn sure that she could at least show him how to wield the damn whip - since he had some experience with the pole thanks to his father, but that was it. His father had experience in a few things after all. The whip and the string, nothing. He'd thankfully picked up the two weapons from the various shops around the city, and now he needed to learn how to use them. As before, there were some Gold Miza's pressed into his back and held in place with his clay. But in both paws, was the whip. It had to be held in both paws because the handle was pretty much caught up in several coils of the bound leather, meaning that he'd have to unravel it all and realign it the right way before he could even get to swinging the thing, let alone actually using it in a battle.

This time, Fist wasn't at the edge of the Pits. She was right outside the entrance. Well, he had appeared around the exact same time as the previous day. He supposed that these sessions were becoming a bit monotonous - ad predictable. She didn't even say anything.. he just deposited the five gold coin from his back and the other Pycon nodded, turned and walked back into the Pits alongside him. "Suppose we'd better see what you can do, again, before we start. Stand over there." She'd already begun pointing off to one side of a spare patch of arena but the squirrel shook his head. He knew that she wanted to get into another fight but there was no point getting into one, when he had absolutely no understanding of the weapon. He'd barely picked it up a few days ago, after all.. he'd pretty much never heard of them, except for what he'd been told by his father. And that was just knowing a little about them, what they looked like.. never how to use one. They certainly looked complicated.

"I've never used this before... in my life. I don't know how to do anything with it." That brought a bit of a deeper frown into Fist's face, but she nodded all the same. Apparently he hadn't given her exactly the answer she'd wanted to hear.. but at least it was something that he had a weapon of his own to use. She pointed to the same space again, but before he could make another argument the female instructor had turned her back and was busy fetching her own whip. And now, he was going to be whipped. Even if he'd never used the weapon before, he was going to get beaten down into the ground. Typical, he should have known. Every time he came in, even when he was pretty confident in something, he got beaten down for it. One way or another.

Except, she didn't walk to the space opposite. When she returned with her own whip - worn with loose, faded with cracked leather and looking generally.. well, pretty damn old - she didn't take the spot directly opposite the squirrel. She took a spot beside him and slowly unraveled the coils of the whip until it was completely unwound at her feet. The thing formed several long loops of itself - it could easily swallow up an entire Pycon if given the chance. And when she glanced his way, he immediately copied her and began to slowly unwind the heavy cols with his free paw. They certainly felt quite heavy.. even though it was pretty much just wound leather formed into tight knots, it was still in a very long length and therefore carrying the thing was pretty damn hard. He wasn't even really sure how it was going to work, because he'd never seen a human using it. He'd never seen a human use a whip at all.

Just as he finished unwinding it, Fist used her paw to grab the base of the whip, just above the handle and began to twist it, in order to coil it back up again. He knew that she was going pretty damn slow but this was becoming excrutiating. He resisted the urge to simply call out that he wasn't a complete child, and a few chimes after he quashed the need and instead set about the job with pursed lips, he was glad that he'd kept his mouth shut. "You can't use the whip when it's not coiled up. Coiling it up is something you'll have to learn for yourself how to do - the faster you become, the easier it will be to use in combat. I suppose I'll have to teach you everything about this weapon. It is one of the most difficult to use." At the last word, he turned back and finished winding up the whip delicately. He held the coils in one paw and the handle in the other, but the squirrel wasn't even half-way through winding up the weapon. "There is no human weapon more powerful." She meant it, and he knew it. Why was he suddenly so excited?

[Archailist]

My Words | Your Words | My Thoughts

When he finally finished coiling up the rest of the whip into a neat package, they continued with the conversation. Or at least, one of them did. Arch mostly just stood there and listened to the whip being steadily explained to him. He'd never had any of this nonsense with the Py-Pole. The thing was a pole, you whacked people with it.. done. "The Py-Whip is a delicate weapon. It requires dexterity and grace. It's a difficult weapon to learn.. and even more difficult to master. But not even someone in a full compliment of armour will be able to stand against a Master..." Now that really had his eyes widening and his back straightening. Something that could get through the tough armour was not to be sneezed at, after all. Even if it was supposedly delicate.. which, in other words, meant that it was difficult. Not just to wield but to maintain. Still.. there were a lot of positives and negatives. The biggest positive being that he'd finally have something against the damn full-plated knights in their shining armour..

"I'll show you, and you repeat." The female Pycon suddenly reeled back the handle of the whip - sending all of the coils shortly afterwards, unraveling as they went and slowly forming the incredibly long length of the whip as it snaked through the air just above the whip. That alone would take some skill - but immediately afterwards, the instructor brought the handle forwards again, with a two-handed swing somewhat similar to that of a heavy blow with a heavy weapon, but at the same time there were something different about it. There was certainly a bit of a delay - the long coils unraveled again as they snapped from behind her and wound themselves out in a long, winding line before her. Every little movement of the handle was transferred into a much stronger motion as it was carried down the line of the whip, from the base to the very tip. A little flick as the female pulled it back again behind her, translated to a sharp crack that had a few heads turning in their direction. At the same time, it was obvious what she'd been explaining earlier. She could bring the whip back towards her body but she had to catch it in one free hand in order to wind it back up against the handle.

"Now, I want you to try it." He looked over to her with wide eyes, but he supposed he'd have to. Not that he could even come close to emulating the grace that she'd displayed earlier. Not to say he wouldn't bother trying. He wanted to make something out of it, at least. A good few swings, a flick here and there.. it took skill, that was certain.. but it didn't look like there was that much weight put onto the weapon, compared to the heavier objects. He swore, with the heavier hammers and swords, he could see veins bulging in the sides of heavier knights necks when they tried to control a good few swings with the mighty weapons. Even the squirrel had a bit of trouble, sometimes, when controlling his Pole, and bringing it to heel because of all the tension he had to work to keep focused inside the pole. But there was none of that with the massive whip. It all looked so simple...

He was sorely mistaken. As he tried to reel back the whip in the same fashion as he'd seen Fist perform, the coils didn't unravel themselves. Rather, they knotted into a tangled mass that swung back more like a mace on the end of a chain, rather than a whip. He toggled it back and forth a little but it did little to help.. so he had to pull the whip back in front of him, and then untangle the mess. "Alright. Coil it like this. Twist it while you go around the individual loops - it helps them hold together effectively." He was obviously going to have trouble if he couldn't even wind up the whip for its next use, but he submitted and handed the whip over to the instructor as she demonstrated. With the handle in one paw and the length of the whip held in the other - the point near the handle - she twisted as she moved her paw up and around, causing the length to twist and the leather parts to creak as she went along the majority of the whip. When she was about two-thirds complete, she handed it back for Arch to finish.

Indeed, he wasn't quite sure why it was important to coil it in such a way.. but when he pulled the handle back again, the stuff actually.. showed signs of unwinding. It didn't unwind all the way, and soon enough it flopped onto the floor because when he tried to pull the handle forwards, it simply.. didn't work. Instead it all collapsed into a small heap, with knots down its length.

[Archailist]

My Words | Your Words | My Thoughts

At least there wasn't any shouting. He knew that if he ever pulled such pathetic nonsense with his patron, he'd get more than just a few earfuls. Fist simply shook her head, and waited for him to untangle the damn thing again. Which was hard. The leather was smooth but wound tightly in its place, and the knots it made were even tighter because of the strain that he spread out over the entire length of the whip every time he made a sudden move with it. Even when he was finished pulling the knots out and straightening out the damn whip, he had to coil it back up in the special way that he'd been shown, to make sure that it would unwind the way that he needed it to. The day was quickly turning into a very long and boring one.. and he wasn't even up against a real opponent, or fighting. He was just learning how to control the damn whip and manipulate it in the way that he needed to. Or at least, the way he was shown.

And piece-by-piece, he and his instructor began to push towards what he hoped would eventually be a good offense. Because the whip was never going to be useful as a defensive object. It couldn't hold back a sword, or a shield.. heck, he didn't understand how the thing was supposed to work against armour, or shields. All it could do was flick out and about very fast, but that was about the limit. It was very pretty and nice, watching Fist throwing the thing about like it was a fancy trick. But he didn't understand how it would ever become effective in combat. "Now, you can't be slow. You need to make your movements faster and sharper, otherwise the whip won't stay above ground. It's.. like the Py-Pole. It only works if there's tension inside it. So you need to find a way to build tension and work with that. Only this time, it's more delicate. You need to find a balance between tension and control that works for you." Even as Fist was talking, her whip was practicing - snapping back and forth with smooth, recurring actions. She had to pull it back in to wind each time but she'd obviously gotten used to the movement by that point. She wasn't just flailing it about and hoping for the best.

Every time he tried to build up pressure however, it just wouldn't work. Of course he tried - he tried as hard as he could manage, by swinging the whole length of the whip with every ounce of strength in his body. The thing still just ended up flapping behind him.. it felt like he couldn't draw it forwards fast enough for the whip to make it over his shoulder. But in truth, he was very far from it. After the fifth attempt swinging the thing over his head and lashing it out in front of him in the same way he'd seen Fist perform with comparatively little effort, he was ready to give up. But Fist wouldn't allow it, and dropped her own whip to take his wrists and begin manipulating them to control the whip as she did. "Alright. First, we'll wind it up and prepare it." So he did - he twisted it around nimbly, folded the whip up in little circles so that it seemed eager to pull out of his hand. He'd not noticed that when he'd first seen it done, though.

"Then, we release it and we pull back the handle at the same time to bring it back over our shoulder." So, she did - drawing the thing back behind her and leaving the coil to unwind. Even though Fist apparently didn't need to look over her shoulder to make sure the thing was unwinding correctly, Arch did - he could see it unfolding and at the last moment, before the thing had completely unwound, Fist flicked the handle forwards. She didn't pull it forwards, she didn't even really seem to push against the whip and he felt little strain follow down to the handle. There was some, but not much. Yet the whip followed - all of it, twisting around in a long coil that snapped forwards, and another nimble twist of the handle caused the tip to snap like an angry, hissing snake striking and then drawing back to gather itself. It was unbelievable, how quickly his own whip transformed from a hunk of leather into a living, breathing animal just as deadly as a Myrian Tiger.

[Archailist]

My Words | Your Words | My Thoughts

After his first swing, he had to recoil it again. It meant pulling the thing back from the very base, because he'd not yet mastered the art of flicking the tip back at himself, and then looped it around several times so that it could tighten in place. It took quite a few chimes.. and he knew by that point, as if it wasn't already clear, that he'd need a lot of training before he tried to put it to use in a battlefield. Heck, if he ever got caught in a life-or-death situation, he'd be much better off using his own two fists than the mass of leather in his paws. But it didn't stop it from being a rather astounding weapon.. and he could only dream of what it would eventually be capable of, when he mastered its use. Once he got the hang of swinging the damn thing, and manipulating the extensively large coils of the whip.. then he might actually be able to topple a knight with it. Just get a good flick around the leg, and a tightening.. although he couldn't really visualize any of it. With his Py-Pole, sure.. he could visualize pretty much everything with it. The way that the length would coil around when the pressure built up inside the core.. the way it flicked around sharply and slammed straight into a leg, sending the owners balance flying, along with the rest of their body...

He didn't have time to dwell on any of it, regardless. Fist soon had his concentration out of the clouds and back on firm earth when her free hand clipped him around the back of the head and sent a few stars flickering across his vision before he turned to her. "Stop daydreaming and go and stand over there, opposite me." He immediately knew why, and shook his head furiously. She stopped him though, before he could voice an actual complaint. "You won't know how to use this weapon until I show you. I can't show you unless I have a body to use it on. You'll feel the power that can be harnessed by this weapon, and you'll know the best way to use it. If I find a willing human subject, we'll practice on them - later, when I want to show you the better ways on using it with a larger body, and when you bring more Mizas. Until then, you need to feel it for yourself. And for that, you need to stand over there." There was no point arguing, but he knew that already. Instead, he turned and dejectedly began to walk towards the spot that she'd chosen. Knowing, at least mostly, what he'd soon be facing.

On the way, he turned back and lifted up his own whip. "Oh, yeah. Do I even need to be holding this, for this part?" He didn't get a reply because she was still coiling up her whip and preparing it for the onslaught. The sight only made the squirrel even more nervous, and he decided to keep it in his paws at the very least as he finally turned and stood in place. There really wasn't that much difference between them.. about a few footsteps for a human, but the whips weren't very long anyway. Proportionally massive for a Pycon, but then again, when one lived in a world that was entirely disproportionate to their own body.. they quickly grew to compare everything to the environment around them rather than reference to their own bodies. He'd never expect to fight a Pycon, after all.. so the only creatures that he really needed to focus on, were human or at least human-related. If there were any more that might turn up, he wouldn't know anything about them, and therefore they wouldn't be a threat.

[Archailist]

My Words | Your Words | My Thoughts

When she was finished preparing the whip, she didn't really give any sign before they went. She simply swung the handle, uncoiling the length as she went, before spinning the thing out in a wide arc towards him. He really, really wanted to move.. so he did. He hopped aside when the whip came for him but it made absolutely no difference, and that was the part that utterly astounded the squirrel. Normal weapons didn't work if you could move around them - if you could step to the side of them, dodge them. But the whip wasn't a normal weapon, and it never stayed still. The entire thing was alive, constantly moving from left to right and back again.. he couldn't dodge it because even as it came for him it wasn't still. Even when he stepped to the side, the whole thing seemed to twist back on itself and suddenly his leg was caught in a coil, and the full weight of the whip threw him through the air to land on his back with a heavy thump. It didn't stop there, though. With little tugs, she could drag him along the floor.. and she did, slowly getting closer until he picked up his shattered senses and pulled himself free of the coils. After getting to his feet though, he could only.. well, stare.

He had a whip in his paws. He needed to use it while she was still preparing her next assault. Only, he didn't know how on earth he was supposed to manage that - he'd just have to follow the advice she gave him. First, wind it back.. let the coils unwind by themselves.. then make a smooth motion, with both paws on the handle pulling it forwards steadily.. and indeed, the whip did steadily unfold and the squirrel found his grip becoming tighter and more languid. But as it came close to the female instructor, she casually brushed it away with a single paw and the entire length flopped against the ground. He didn't even have time to stare for very long, because she'd finished coiling her length up and immediately drew it backwards before unleashing it upon the squirrel. Once again, he made the mistake of trying to move out of its path. By hopping left and right, ducking and weaving.. it did practically nothing. In skilled hands, the lengths seemed to emerge from all angles and focus entirely on him. Whenever one coil wrapped itself around him, and he managed to slip it off his body again before it could tighten, it was immediately replaced on a different part of his body. Eventually, he gave up; a heavy coil looped around his stomach, and the tip continued winding a few more times before a solid jerk launched him through the air and straight for Fist.

By that moment, she was just adding insult to injury by tugging him forwards with a baffling amount of strength, before lifting one knee and slamming it into the middle of his stomach to leave a heavy crater as he doubled over and struggled to push clay back into the fresh wound.. and catch his breath. Meanwhile, the coils were casually unhooked from around his body and wound again in that same, traditional way. "You need to learn how to control the very tip. The tip is the part that will wrap around the body, at first. Then, later, you learn how to use the rest of the body. It comes with time and effort, and lots of practice. But you will do it." It was nice to hear a little bit of faith coming from the female instructor, but the squirrel was still sore all over from the constant battles against snakes of leather. Even when her constant beating had stripped any self-confidence that he may have gathered before he'd walked into the arena. If he just kept persevering.. perhaps tried a few more attacks with other people, most of which would probably involve constant and utter losses.. he might actually be able to use the weapon.

[Archailist]

My Words | Your Words | My Thoughts

It was with these thoughts in his head as he turned back, allowed her to unwrap the loops from his stomach, and then walked back to the space opposite her to rewind the loops of leather into a tight bundle just under the handle. If I can get her at least once, it'll all be worth it. He just needed to stop wasting his time and energy on avoiding the whip - it was just too flexible, too versatile for him to be able to leap out of the way of. It wasn't a sword, or an axe, or a foot - it could change direction, loop back over itself mid-swing. He needed to do what she was doing. Pushing it aside, deflecting it with one of his paws or with the whip itself - either the length or the handle, whichever was best for him. Whichever he could control with enough strength to be able to force it.

Fist reeled her paws back and released the coil much faster than Arch could - it swung straight towards him at the same time as his whip sped towards her. For a moment, it looked as though the two of them were going to collide. It had turned into a game of chicken, testing their nerves to see who would back away first. Of course it was going to be Arch. The last thing he wanted to do was lose his weapon to the unyielding grip, but instead he lost his feet as the whip sped towards him and he forced himself to avoid jumping to the side and avoiding it. Instead, he mimicked what he'd seen her do before, and brought the handle around to try and slap the tip aside in the hopes of unbalancing it. Instead, the body was disturbed and the tip lashed backwards, winding around his wrist at least three times before tugging back with enough force to raise him from his feet, and then slam him down into the dirt.

It was only until he got the effort to rise to his feet again that he realized that he'd dropped his whip through the shock. Fist casually strolled over, helped the coils from their death-grip on his wrist, and picked up the second whip to recoil it in a perfect mirror to the first. "Not bad, but you still need to work on your balance and your grip. It'll come, with time and with practice. Just don't go and try beating up knights with it just yet." Despite the rather reserved tone in her voice and the normal gruff expression she wore, there might have been a tinge of amusement hidden back in the far corners of her statement. He took it as encouragement, happily took the whip again in both of his paws and turned to leave the arena again. I wonder if Ser Iros has seen me fighting with one of these yet... maybe I could show him some things.

[Katelyn Marks]

Due Rewards

“After nourishment, shelter and companionship, stories are the thing we need most in the world.”

― Philip Pullman

Archailist

Skill	EXP
Observation	+5
Weapon: Py-Whip	+4
Socialization	+2
Acrobatics	+2
Tactics	+1
Endurance	+1

Lores

➢ Py-Whip: Properly Coiling and Uncoiling
➢ Py-Whip: A Powerful Weapon
➢ Py-Whip: Effective Against Armored Foes
➢ Py-Whip: Timing Your Strikes
➢ Py-Whip: Large Compared to Pycons
➢ Py-Whip: Hard to Evade
➢ Hammer Fist: She Makes it Look Easy

Shield Points: +4 for training

Comments

Note :

This was a nice little training thread! Good job. I really enjoyed it. Easy to read and well-written. It was amusing to see Arch be thrown around by a whip, I have to admit. I liked the learning curve you offered yourself, and I awarded you thusly. I also gave you some endurance and acrobatics for trying to dodge Fist's strikes.

If you have any concerns about your grade please feel free to send me a message.