Open Fancy Footwork

[Saraphina Skyglow]

Saraphina Skyglow Y uri had earned his laughter. Saraphina didn't feel embarrassed or slighted by the noise. Calming down and now feeling more relaxed since the arrival of a familiar face, she turned to Halin'a and nodded to his question, "I am Kelvic. My teeth are always this length, but you can't usually see them till I smile or....snarl I guess. Sorry if I startled you Halin'a....that's just how I tend to react when I get snuck up on. You're the first Ethaefal I've ever met. I like to see what you look like at night sometime." Turning back towards Yuri, she smirked at the mercenary, shrugging lightly. Responding to his light, humorous tone with one of her own, "Fair enough Yuri, I deserve that. I guess we can call ourselves even now. Thank you for your complement....but if I'd been paying more attention, I would have seen you coming. I give credit where credit is due. Your stealth skills are quite impressive, you should certainly keep practicing." S araphina looked back at Halin'a after talking with Yuri. The Ethaefal was quite attractive. But then again, so was Yuri. She pondered for a bit as she stood among the sand. It would only be a few short seasons before she peaked in her maturity. She already felt the need to find and connect with others, hence why she was trying so hard to meet new people. It was an instinct she could not fight againist. Shaking her head to clear the thoughts, she smiled briefly at the two men, "Well....seeing as you two don't seem to have anything else to do....either of you gentlemen care to become my sparring partner? Jabbing at thin air is fine....but a moving target is much more appealing. Care to try your luck?" She looked over at the two men, smiling gently. Saraphina rocked back and forth on her heels, now a little jittery that she'd stopped moving.

[Halin'a]

Halin'a grinned at Yuri's words, but focused on Saraphina. "I'm not particularly good at hand-to-hand," he said a bit sheepishly. "But I would love to learn more. Perhaps I could watch you and Yuri spar before I join?" Looking to Yuri to wait for the other man's answer, Halin'a idly mused that he liked the look of Saraphina and what he'd seen so far of her personality. He had the feeling she could be a good friend.

[Yuri Lehrer]

While he stood and waited, Saraphina turned and talked to Halin’a, informing him of her race and her reaction to being startled before she turned back to face Yuri and answer his light-hearted joke in a tone similar to the one he used "Fair enough Yuri, I deserve that. I guess we can call ourselves even now. Thank you for your complement....but if I'd been paying more attention, I would have seen you coming. I give credit where credit is due. Your stealth skills are quite impressive, you should certainly keep practicing." He smiled at the compliment about his stealth skills, and nodded in agreement at her suggestion to continue practicing before quietly contemplating whether it would be wise to try something like sneaking up on someone again. Deciding against such a course of action, Yuri stood back and, as casually as he could, drew his broadsword and inspected the blade, searching for any signs of rust or blade wear, when he was satisfied that there were none, he replaced the blade in its sheath, looking to Saraphina once more.

She had turned to face Halin’a again, so Yuri couldn’t be too sure if she was going to speak to him or was thinking about something, when she shook her head, seemingly confirming the latter. Saraphina then smiled at the two of them for a brief moment before asking “Well....seeing as you two don't seem to have anything else to do....either of you gentlemen care to become my sparring partner? Jabbing at thin air is fine....but a moving target is much more appealing. Care to try your luck?" Yuri considered this for a couple of ticks Well, I am certainly wearing the right gear to have a go, but I have next to no experience; then again, no pain, no gain. It would be beneficial as well, who knows I might even learn how to use this to my advantage at a later date? When he looked up from his period of thought, he saw Saraphina rocking on her heels, as though eager to get under way, Halin’a had backed away a little speaking sheepishly as he went. Everything seemed to hang on Yuri’s next few words, which he supplied in an even, but friendly tone “Ah... you know what, I might as well have a go, I’m wearing my armour so it shouldn’t hurt so much, and I have no hand-to-hand experience, so it’ll be a lesson of sorts then, I’m not afraid to take a bit of punishment to learn.”

Smiling as he walked a couple of metres from where Saraphina and Halin’a were, he removed his cloak and sword from his person, then walked nearer to where Saraphina was, adopting a pose similar to his ready stance when he used his broadsword. Yuri stood at an angle to Saraphina, right arm held up defensively, and left hand held at the ready near to his midriff, most of his weight on his back leg, ready to spring forward, or roll backwards, should it be needed. He then let the familiar feeling of his ‘training calm’ take over before speaking in a neutral tone “I’m as ready as I’ll ever be, shall we begin on your call?” Yuri waited for Saraphina to signal the beginning of this spar, wondering how much force she would deliver with her blows and whether he would have the reactions to try to stop her fast attacks.

[Saraphina Skyglow]

Saraphina Skyglow S araphina smiled at Halin'a and nodded in understanding, "I've never tried to teach anyone my fighting style before, but I can attempt to if you want Halin'a. The sand here is pretty soft, so it would be easier to fall on than hard surfaces. And we can start with the basics as well." She didn't want to scare off a potential sparring partner by being to aggressive or pushy. Halin'a didn't have the appearance of a warrior. He didn't smell pampered or wealthy, but there was an aura of....civility? Well educated perhaps? She couldn't quite put her finger on it. But then again, most people she met had more life experience than she did. It was part of being a short lived Kelvic. G lancing at Halin'a as she rolled her shoulders, she spoke to both in hopes that they would both learn something from the match, "When you fight anyone, you should always watch their center of mass. That way you can see when they shift their weight. It gives you a slight edge. Weapons are harder to predict, but unarmed, most attacks start with shifting weight. Legs are also longer than arms, and with the proper distance, a great deal more powerful. But only if you can hit with a fully extended kick. Punches are meant to main and distract. Fingers can be easily broken if you don't hit the right spot. The face and lower torso are the prime target for a punch." S he grinned in a slightly feral manner when he agreed to a practice fight with her. The mercenary was harder than Halin'a. He trained vigorously and was used to taking a few tough licks. It would be a better experience than making up moves on imaginary foes. Waiting while Yuri removed his cloak and sword, she turned her body to the side to lessen the surfaces that could be hit. Raising her hands up, she circled to the left of Yuri. Saraphina kept her eyes focused not on Yuri's eyes, but rather on the center of his mass. In this way she would be able to see his body shift and could predict his movements better. After a half circle around Yuri, Saraphina lunged forward with a fake jab to the face in hopes of causing him to block falsely and open up his side. She shifted her weight after the maneuver, twisting on back leg to deliver a light roundhouse kick to what she hoped was an open area.

[Halin'a]

The Ethaefal listened intently to verything the Kelvic said, nodding in understanding. He'd noticed that in his nights working at Loveless; the customers' movements seemed most often to originate from the trunk, not from the body part that moved. Only made sense that the same thing would apply to fighting as rutting. Halin'a watched carefully as the two settled into place, noticing how Saraphina turned to the side-- she was already small, but this movement gave Yuri even less of a target to aim for; a sensible move. Halin'a supposed he could try it, but he doubted it would be quite as effective with his large frame. Halin'a studied Yuri more intently-- the man was closer to Halin'a's size, so his techniques might be more applicable to Halin'a. He noted how the human's right arm was held in such a way that he could easily move it to block most oncoming attacks, and his left was held ready to deliver a few strikes of his own. He seemed to be putting most of his weight on his left leg, which was place slightly behind himself; Halin'a wasn't sure, but he knew that if he were to adopt the same position, that would gvie him the readiness to move in a couple of directions, depending on the direction the attack would come from.

[Yuri Lehrer]

Yuri waited patiently in his ready stance while Saraphina got herself ready for the coming practice bout, looking at her but also listening to what she was saying to Halin’a, which consisted of "When you fight anyone, you should always watch their center of mass. That way you can see when they shift their weight. It gives you a slight edge. Weapons are harder to predict, but unarmed, most attacks start with shifting weight. Legs are also longer than arms, and with the proper distance, a great deal more powerful. But only if you can hit with a fully extended kick. Punches are meant to main and distract. Fingers can be easily broken if you don't hit the right spot. The face and lower torso are the prime target for a punch."

Thinking to himself, Yuri made notes of the information he deemed important Watch the Centre of mass... sounds sort of like swordplay, but I prefer to watch my opponents eyes, kicks are good when you prefer to attack from further away, but are much less effective if not delivered with full force... Punches are used to distract opponents, and should be aimed at your opponent’s face or midriff... OK, that seems relatively straightforward, let’s give it a go... When Saraphina adopted her ready pose, it was markedly different to his own; she stood side on to him Probably to give me less of a target to hit, not that I would likely hit her, if her reactions are as catlike as she is She then raised her hands up and began circling Yuri to his right, he followed suit, circling in the same direction noting the similarities between this action and a sword fight, and kept his gaze on Saraphina’s midriff, like she had suggested just before Circling your opponent, something I do if I get into a sword fight, or when I practice... seems it applies to fighting unarmed as well.

After a half circle had been completed by both combatants, Saraphina started the fight by lunging forward towards Yuri, aiming a punch at his face, just as he began to raise his right arm to block this blow, he remembered what Saraphina had said about punches They are meant to Distract Abandoning his blocking motion, Yuri collapsed his left leg, and pushed off of the ground with his right, and rolled backwards from the attack, which kept true to what had been said, Saraphina had abandoned the feinted jab and followed through with a roundhouse kick, it missed Yuri, but not by much. When he came up from his roll, Yuri quickly adopted his ready position once more, thinking quickly to himself OK her reactions are very fast, it will be very hard to get the upper hand in this fight, but I would imagine that I could get a surprise attack in, if I try something... well... unconventional, but useful in a swordfight, I need to stop her from building up a momentum or else she will dictate this fight from start to finish.

When he was sure his guard was up once more, Yuri looked to Saraphina, wondering if his own reactions would be fast enough for what he was planning to do It had better work, or else I’m not going to be able to do much else in this fight Yuri steeled himself, and launched his own assault, hoping Saraphina would be off balance for a period after her kick had failed to connect, he began by slowly advancing, his guard ready to try to stop any more attacks aimed at his head, but also opening up his guard around his midriff, this was intentional, if what Yuri had in mind was to work, he needed Saraphina to attack his apparent weak point and attribute it to his being new to unarmed combat.

[Saraphina Skyglow]

Saraphina Skyglow H alin'a had been nearly forgotten by Saraphina. Her focus was on Yuri now. As her foot sailed through the air and whisked by, she spun agilely on the ball of her planted foot, temporarily exposing her back. If Yuri had been more experienced in unarmed combat, he might have been able to land a solid hit in that moment, but the mercenary had summersaulted backwards to avoid her attack, so the Kelvic was able to recover her balance rather easily. Rocking back and raising her hands in defence again, she eyed Yuri as the swordsman rolled back onto his feet. 'He fast, much faster than I anticipated. Good...it will make this fight more interesting.' Saraphina gave Yuri a half smirk and a tiny nod of respect before resuming a fighting stance. Her sparring partner moved forward slowly and she took a second to assess his stance. His arm was held up to protect his face, but he'd left his gut open to an attack. To someone who was less experienced than she, it would seem to be a perfect opening for an easy hit. To Saraphina, she could tell by the way Yuri moved his feet that it was an attempt to draw her in. S he decided to take the bait and add her own twist to the mix. Darting from side to side in an attempt to throw off Yuri's rhythm, Saraphina snaked forward. She used her forearm to block any punches the mercenary might aim at her face and tried to drive her fist into the exposed part of Yuri's lower torso. Now in close to the man, she twisted and hooked her ankle in behind Yuri's, shifting her weight with the maneuver in an attempt to sweep his feet out from under him and knock him prone to the sand.

[Halin'a]

OOCI'm going to sit back for the next round or two-- however long it takes you all to finish your session; not much for Halin'a to do besides observe, and that would get tedious describing it in every post. When you're finished, then I'll jump back with what Halin'a saw and learned, then we can start with Halin'a and Saraphina sparring?

[Yuri Lehrer]

Yuri was amazed at how quickly Saraphina regained her balance after missing her attack, pivoting on the ball of her foot, or at least that’s what he thought happened I can’t be too sure, considering I wasn’t really looking Shaking his head slightly to refocus his attention, Yuri continued his haphazard advance towards Saraphina, looking out of his guard to spot any attack which would have hit his opened guard on his side, but alas, this attack was not coming... Looking away from his open guard to Saraphina again and noted the slight nod and smirk she directed at him, he replied in kind, a half smile and small nod, without taking his eyes off of her, before she resumed her fighting stance, a target too small for Yuri to chance an attack... Unless... if she were to attack me... Yuri believed that being given such a large opening would have been obvious bait, if he were in the same position as Saraphina So that strategy won’t---

It happened to be at the moment he thought his strategy of drawing her in to an attack failed when Saraphina chose to attack, she rose her forearm to block any attack’s Yuri could have, but didn’t, launch at her face, while using her fist to try to punch him in his exposed ribs. Luckily for Yuri he had stopped his advance while he thought and it gave him precious few moments to prepare, and he did so as quickly as he could, tensing his stomach muscles to hopefully reduce the impact of the punch, Yuri watched Saraphina’s eyes, but glanced to her arm which was being used to block any facial or head attacks. Making his mind up just before Saraphina’s punch connected, Yuri made a grab for the blocking forearm with his right arm, in the hope he could pull her off balance and then sweep her legs out from under her, or at least trip her up.

When the punch connected with his exposed guard, Yuri grunted and felt himself take a step back and into the leg Saraphina had hooked around his ankle without him noticing, hoping his grab had connected, Yuri pulled his right arm back quickly, thinking If I’m going down, then you will come with me. As he fell backwards, Yuri thought about his next move If Saraphina doesn’t end this fight within the next few ticks then I’ll roll to the side and get back up to continue this bout, but it all hinges on the hope Saraphina doesn’t knock me out, or otherwise declare our bout over. With that thought, Yuri landed on his back wondering what would happen next.

[Saraphina Skyglow]

Saraphina Skyglow Y uri's quick reflex's likely saved him from an uncontrolled fall that would have quickly ended the match. But as Saraphina had thought, the swordsman was a fighter and more skilled than he gave himself credit for. Even as the Kelvics punch connected strongly with the leather of the mercenarys gut, most likely knocking the wind from Yuri and leaving a small bruise. Saraphina hadn't wanted to hurt him badly, but the best lessons always required some pain to fully understand them. Yuri's grapple on her arm was successful, his grip nearly bruising in its tight hold on her wrist. That made for a slight problem as Saraphina's sweeping foot worked to knock him off balance. It was an unplanned response, but not one she was unprepared to adjust for. A s Yuri's weight started to fall backwards and he tried to bear her to the ground, Saraphina roughly twisted her arm which would cause Yuri's arm holding her to rotate in an unnatural way. It would not be impossible to hold onto the tiger Kelvic, but it would be very painful and uncomfortable, making defences quite difficult. Assuming that the twist dislodged Yuri's grip, Saraphina would use the forward momentum from Yuri's fall and attempted pull to slam her fist against Yuri's temple and knock him out. If the hold was maintained, the Kelvic would make sure to drive one knee into Yuri's gut and the other into his groin on the way down, hopfully landing on top of the man....a bit of a dirty trick perhaps but fights could get that way.