Closed Ser Iros And The Snake.

[Archailist]

1st of Fall, 514.

Just another day. Although he knew that today would be different. He'd scheduled a meeting with Suresslynn, the snake-girl, for more training sessions. Specifically so that he could hone his combat skills, which were pretty much useless when practised against his patron knight Ser Iros. The crimson Akalak patron just stood there with a huge shield and poked at the squirrel with a spear until he got tired and called the fight off - it was hardly thrilling. Not to mention, he'd thoroughly enjoyed the last few they'd went through, much unlike his fights with his patron.. and that day was going to be little exception, he was sure. He was about ready to go - gathering his pole and pushing open the door, just to reveal the imposing figure of his patron knight ready to knock, staring down at him with a raised eyebrow."Well, I was about to take you out for a spot of training, but I can see you had something else planned." Man, he was totally busted. Caught red-handed. All of the above, pretty much. "And since you seem so eager, why don't we go and see what exactly it was that you thought would be a better use of your time than training alongside your patron in preparation for your knightly duties.." Oh shyke.

...

A few bells later, and they were out and riding together through the Bronze Woods, with Arch ahead and the huge Akalak pacing himself just a few steps behind. The squirrel knew that he was already in trouble - after all, Ser Iros was intent on getting rid of the squirrel as soon as possible. They weren't exactly close friends, either of them. One was a fanatic of strength and power, and the other was a Pycon. And now, the Akalak knew that he was 'sneaking out' in order to train with someone else. Goodness knew that only Ser Iros would consider it that.. squires were supposed to have personal lives of their own. Friends, things like that! Not Ser Iros.. every scrap of his free time was spent doing his other knightly duties and building his body to new ridiculous lengths. The squirrel found it utterly appalling. By the time the Akalak would be satisfied, he'd be far too big to even fit into any of his plate-mail.

So, show me Squire Archailist. Where is this girl." The damn man was just rubbing it in by now - speaking in his loud, looming voice with barely an inch of restraint. It would have been less embarrassing if the man just began shouting at the top of his voice, for Sylir's sake. The squirrel only remained quiet as he continued on his way towards the Well of Filth.. and mercifully, the man didn't follow up on his question. It allowed him to continue the walk in a mixture of shame and anxiety in near-complete silence. Broken only occasionally by the heavy hoofprints of the Akalak's huge destrier, and the clatter of his full plate-mail, huge tower shield and equally large long spear.

[Suresslynn]

Suresslynn sighed and looked up at her horse, which was easier than it probably should have been since the blasted creature had bucked her off his back again. Now she was lying flat on her back looking up at her horse, who just snorted and nuzzled her hair. "Stop that." she said, pushing his head away from hers and standing up before looking at her horse with something that could be best described as irritation. "You know, you keep bucking me off, one of these days I'm going to bite you right in the nose." she said, sounding rather miffed with her mount. Not that she'd actually do such a thing to the horse, but she was getting irritated with him and his habit of ignoring her.

Taking up the reigns, she climbed up on his back and looked at the sun. "Great, we need to hurry. And don't buck me off this time." she said, turning the horse back towards the well of filth. As she started riding towards it, the Dhani caught a whiff of something truly foul and slowed her pace, slowly approaching the Well of Filth. "Well, that's truly a disgusting smell. No wonder everyone said it would be easy to find." she said as she dismounted and tied her horse to a tree.

Looking up at the sky, Suresslynn figured she had a while before Archailist showed up for their meeting, so she amused herself by practicing her punches while she waited. After a while, she heard hoofbeats and looked towards the direction they came from. "Archailist doesn't ride a horse, does he?" she said, looking at her horse, who just snorted. "Didn't think so." she said, looking back towards the direction the hoofbeats were coming from. After a moment, Archailist came into view on his dog followed by...something that Suresslynn was not sure how to classify. A large...male, she thought, with crimson red skin wearing heavy armor and carrying heavy weapons. She doubted he was particularly fast or agile, but maybe there was a reason for such heavy gear.

"Hello, Archailist. It's good to see you again." she said, smiling at the squirrel before looking up at the other person. "And hello to you too, though I don't believe I've made your acquaintance. My name is Suresslynn." she said, waving at the man before turning her attention back to Archailist. "So how've you been? I admit, I've been looking forward to our match." she said, grinning.

[Archailist]

My Words | Your Words | My Thoughts

Eventually, they pushed out into the clearing near to the Well of Filth, just in time to see Suresslynn.. punching trees. Ser Iros only stared for several long moments.. and when they both finally drew to a halt and dismounted, Arch readied himself to speak - but Ser Iros beat him to the punch. "So this is where you've been training without me, Squire Archailist." The displeasure was practically dripping, although at least the man kept a rather cool disposition in his body language. Arch's head was still hanging, as he rose his voice afterwards to Suresslynn. He supposed that he might as well introduce the two of them and get this whole thing over with so that he could go back to his dorm for the rest of the evening. Goodness knew that his day had been ruined quite enough already.

"Hey Suress.. this is my patron, Ser Iros, the Akalak." He lifted a paw to the crimson man that still stood with both heavy arms folded over his chest, eyeing the pair of them in equal amounts. "And Ser Iros, this is Suresslynn, the Dhani. We actually met last season and we started training together." Now that really had the knights eyebrows raising in surprise, and only made Arch wince even more. He probably shouldn't have mentioned the Dhani part. Or the fact that they'd been training together for a whole season - pretty much as long as the Akalak and the Pycon had been training, in fact.

"I see. So, you've been training with this girl - who, I might add, is not even a member of the Order - over me." The squirrel was about to open his mouth to protest, but Ser Iros was having none of it. He just continued through it, with his loud voice easily muting Arch's complaints as if they weren't even there. "I suppose that training with a knight that has spent decades body-building, and learning, just isn't good enough for you any more. I suppose, that maybe you don't want to be a knight at all, if you're going to train with others over your own patron." There wasn't even an ounce of hurt in his voice - just disdain. Although he contained himself, it was quite clear that he was disappointed in Suresslynn, despite the fact that she'd done nothing wrong either.

"Of course I want to be a knight!" He'd always wanted to be a knight. But Ser Iros wasn't providing him with what he needed. He didn't dare say it to the man else he'd likely just hurt him, but it was true. The man believed in strength, pushed him to try and become stronger.. but he wasn't a strong Pycon. He'd never be able to do the things that Ser Iros did with those heavy weights and neither did he want to. The man was big, and strong, and slow - and he could afford to be slow. The squirrel couldn't. He was a squirrel -he was made to be nimble, and fast, and he was. He'd spent years training himself to be just that, in preparation for when the knighthood came. This knight had no right to try and push him to be something he wasn't. Not that he could ever say any of this to the man's face. For all he knew, dismissing a patron knight could get him kicked out of the squirehood. For better or for worse, he was stuck with Ser Iros.

But that didn't mean that he couldn't look elsewhere to find what he needed. "I just work well with her, that's all." That really got a bit of a menacing look from the knight. Goodness, he was just saying all the wrong things that day.

"Well, what if I want to see this work, hmm? Go on, then. Let's see you go at it together. See what you've 'learned'." Evidently he expected little to nothing at all from the experience. In his mind, there was nothing to be learned from such a small and lean little girl about strength and honour.

[Suresslynn]

Suresslynn merely raised an eyebrow as Archailist introduced his patron, wondering what had happened that had put the squirrel into such a foul mood. And then the Akalak opened his mouth and made it immediately obvious what had the Pycon looking so down, namely that the large male was an arrogant piece of shyke. The fact that he seemed to be ignoring Archailist protests made it all the worse. "You know, from what I've seen you so far, knight, I wouldn't think you'd be able to teach a hatchling how to swallow their food. Besides, you've spent decades on body building, what good is that to him? I don't know if you've noticed, but your squire is a squirrel. A squirrel. Outside of learning how fight someone like you, how is your body building going to help him in any way? Can Pycon's even get stronger that way?" she said, her tone a strange mixture between cold and angry.

Since the big male seemed to want her and Archailist to fight, she was more than happy to oblige, though she wasn't sure she wanted to fight the Pycon under the disdainful eye of his so-called teacher where he could make snide comments, but she pressed on regardless. "You want me and him to fight? Fine, I'll go for that, and gladly. And you might want to pay attention, vagik, because I doubt if you could even hit me with all that heavy armor and bulk." she said, stepping back and pulling into her usual stance.

"Well, Archailist? Why don't you come help me show your patron how much his arrogance has blinded him. Besides, if he's been that way the whole trip here, I don't doubt that you're itching for a good match as much as I am, most likely more." she said, ignoring the Akalak now and focusing entirely on the Pycon, who she favored with a friendly grin.

[Archailist]

My Words | Your Words | My Thoughts

Ser Iros' top lip curled for just a brief moment at the girls words. For a fully-fledged knight of the Order, he could at least expect a bit of respect from the citizens that he protected. Apparently it wouldn't be the case for this girl - and that really wasn't going to better his opinion of her. The biggest problem, though.. was the fact that she was right, in some respects. He was a squirrel.. and he full-well knew that. Sometimes by the light jests that came from other knights - although to him, they weren't all laughs and light-heartedness. Strength was what made the knights - it was what should have been valued, and indeed what made them what they were. A knight with no strength, what was he? Little. Just like Archailist would be, if he ever rose the ranks.

"I will do what I can for Squire Archailist. If that means that I must build up strength inside him, whether it be physical or mental, then that is what I shall do in order to make him suitable for knighthood. Not that this should be any of your concern." His reply was guarded, as he threw glances towards the squire in question. Arch was more than happy at that moment to stare back, though. After all, it was neither polite nor particularly enjoyable to be talked over as if he was little more than a child. He'd likely seen more in his preparations for knighthood than the Akalak had in his entire life, although he never dared to actually put such thoughts to mind.. not when he was just a squire, at the very least. He needed to build up connections, and control over other knigths, before he begun to throw around accusations.

When the order came to fight, the squirrel.. honestly wasn't that prepared for it. Despite all of the thought, all of the work he'd been doing between their last meeting and this one, most of the morning that far had managed to completely dissipate all of his fortitude. It didn't help that as Arch was readying himself for the combat and preparing his Py-pole, Suresslynn was still fighting with Ser Iros - and the crimson Akalak didn't seem about ready to turn back yet. Far from it. "Oh really? I think we should test this misguided view after Squire Archailist and you are finished demonstrated exactly how you've managed to waste bells of your time each day." He didn't hold his spear and shield in a particularly threatening stance.. but they were certainly intending to be imposing. Big weapons for a big man, after all.

"In fact." Arch stopped at the words. Ser Iros removed something from one of the saddle-bags of his destrier and held it out for the Pycon between two fingers. A coil of string - just a single strand. "You can put your lesser-used weapons to the test for this session, Squire Archailist. It seems you've put enough effort into your current ones already - you need to make your knowledge more diverse." Arch knew exactly what the weapon was - because he'd bought it the previous season, just before entering as a squire. The real questions were how Ser Iros knew about such a thing, and how he'd gotten his hands on the string. No matter, he supposed.. nothing had gone as planned that day and he shouldn't have expected that even a normal fight would be the same as he'd hoped. Instead, he stabbed the metal point of the pole into the soil so that it would hold in place, while unwinding the Py-string.

"Well, you're right there, Suress.. although, I don't know. I've never used this before." It was just something he'd hoped he could get around to using.. when he had enough competence in his other skills to be able to hold himself up in battle. Either way, he unravelled the sharp piece of string between both of his paws and held them pretty far outstretched, ready to.. actually, how the petch was he going to do anything with string?

[Suresslynn]

Suresslynn simply raised her eyebrow at his comment that he was going to do what he could for Archailist and that it wasn't her concern. "So dismissing how he trains when he's not with you is building up strength inside him? I'd hate to see what you do when you decide you need something smashed down." she said, her tone now as dry as the desert she had grown up in, though significantly colder. "And I do believe it is my concern. I respect Archailist, and more than that I consider him a friend. I will not stand aside and do nothing while you berate him in such a manner, to say nothing of myself being dismissed as apparently something... lesser than you." she said, only realizing as she said it that she had told the truth. She did consider Archailist a friend, and that didn't happen very often with her.

When the big man offered to test her notion that he couldn't hit her, she grinned slightly and looked him over again. "All right, sure. But I do have to ask that you don't impale me. I need to look into something that's happening with the local serpents, and I can't do that if I'm hospitalized until they go into hibernation." she said calmly, though her tone was still fairly cold.

When the knight handed Archailist a string, she gave it a rather confused look, then shrugged slightly. She knew of a few rattlers that fought with their tails, and Archailist himself could mold his body at will. Of course, she had no idea what he would do with a string, or how she'd counter it. "Well, I had thought about some new counters against the pole, so maybe this will be more interesting..." she said as she approached him, slowly and with her guard raised. She knew better than dismiss something merely on appearances, after all she wasn't Iros.

[Archailist]

My Words | Your Words | My Thoughts

Ser Iros grunted in mild annoyance at the girls words as well as her tone. "If you are not a fellow squire, nor a knight, nor a member of the Order, then how can your training prepare him for his eventual knighthood. As his patron, it is my responsibility to make sure that he is trained in preparation for his eventual quest - and he, as a squire, is my responsibility. You are his friend, and I am his mentor." In the heat of the argument, he might be getting a little full of himself. Then again, it seemed that neither of them were going to resolve this argument with words alone - not without the help of one throwing their metaphorical weight around hard enough to knock the other one stone-cold. Given Ser Iros' stature, it was quite obvious that physically throwing his weight around would likely result in exactly the same ending. "He should be happy that he was ultimately paired with me - any other would not have shown him the path of strength that all knights should take."

All through the bickering happening to the side, the squirrel was looking down at his string - then to Suresslynn - and back again. Like many to all Pycon weapons, there wasn't really anything obvious about it. A sword.. well, everyone knew that all you needed to do was swing it and chop off an arm. Pycon weapons were never like that; the Py-string likely the least so. It was thin enough to be mistaken for a string used on a musical instrument, after all, and didn't look particularly threatening or dangerous. The best thing the squirrel could think of doing was holding it like a garrotte - both paws evenly spread out to the sides, ready to tighten or loosen whenever he needed to. Everything else was pretty open - especially as Suresslynn took a step forwards. If I had my Py-pole, I could swing it for her legs and trip her. But he didn't.. he just had a piece of string between his paws.

Wait a second...

Just like that, he dropped down onto all-fours - grabbing both ends of the string on one paw so that it wouldn't get in the way - and charged straight for Suresslynn's ankle. He didn't know why it didn't come to him earlier, but suddenly he had an excellent plan on how to use the string.. or at least, an idea that he could attempt to see if it would work. I don't have a pole.. I have string. But that doesn't mean I can't trip her up either. He wasn't a particularly slow runner, so he soon managed to close the distance between his diminutive body and her foot - but when he did, he reared back onto his hind-paws, gripped either end of the Py-string in both paws, and spread it out wide as it drew closer to her ankle. Hopefully, he could wrap it around her ankle in time and give it a good shove with the rest of his body. Archailist, you genius. You just earned yourself a clay nut.

[Suresslynn]

Suresslynn considered Iros's response for a moment, then gave a slight nod of her head. "I will concede that I don't know what he requires for his knighthood. And yes, his training is your responsibility, which makes your behavior all the worse. You should be setting an example of proper attitude and behavior, leading by example. Instead, since you have arrived, you have insulted him, dismissed what he does on his own as meaningless, and ignored his attempts at explanation. I fail to see what it is he should be grateful for." she said, her tone now more resigned than anything else.

Turning her attention back to Archailist, she watched as he charged her legs, waiting a moment as he closed the distance between them, then did the most sensible thing she could think of: she sidestepped him and his desire to trip her, then crouched slightly in concession to the squirrel's height and flung a right handed jab at him as a feint, hoping to make him dodge it and attempt to go for her legs again, before she pulled into her real attack, a left handed straight.

[Archailist]

My Words | Your Words | My Thoughts

Ser Iros was pretty much done arguing now that the two were underway. He simply folded both of his huge arms over his chest and watched intently as the two went at it, seeing no reason to interrupt them any more while they were evidently busy elsewhere. At least he was giving them that. Meanwhile, though, Arch was far too focused to even bother answering any questions even if Ser Iros had continued asking them. Just as he reared up, ready to wrap the string around her ankle, she stepped aside and readied a punch. She's getting better at reading me. The first fight they'd gone through hadn't been anything close to this, surprisingly. Now they could actually have a full-fledged fight without worry of some strange monster appearing out of nowhere and trying to bite their arms off. Just as the squirrel thought that, the punch was thrown and he did the first thing he could think of - kept between the legs by rolling underneath the punch. When she came for a second one, he hopped back and attempted to remain in the same position.

She likely knew as well as he did why it was just a bad idea to use feet against a Pycon. Likely she wouldn't be able to use her hands in order to fight with him either, if he was between her legs and she'd be bending all the way over just to see him - let alone actually land a punch. All he had to do was keep in that position and he'd be fine - oh, and aim for the ankles, of course. While he was standing an equal distance between her feet, he kept his gaze shifting from one to the other.. as if he was trying to gauge which he should go towards. He didn't know why it was important, he just did it anyway. Not that any of it mattered in the first place, because once the punches stopped, he ran straight for the left one without so much as a thought.

Once again, the coil of string was spread out wide - but a little looser than before. He wanted to wrap it around her ankle and then tighten it afterwards, to make sure that she tumbled once her balance was utterly lost. Heck.. perhaps he could even wrap it around both legs and use it that way. All he needed to do was build up a bit of momentum and he could likely rip the ground out from under her with little more than a tug. No harm in trying. Perhaps that wasn't so, with Ser Iros watching.. but the man seemed content to just watch. Not mentioning a word, uttering a sound.. just watching and assessing every little thing as if he was a critical father more than an avid mentor. It was slightly unsettling, really, to have him doing that.

[Suresslynn]

Suresslynn was glad Iros had decided not to interrupt them anymore, she'd have to thank him for that spat of manners. Especially now that the Pycon was between her feet, which was precisely where she did not want him to be. When he lunged for her feet again, she stepped quickly away from him, not wanting that string around her legs anymore than she wanted the squirrel attached to her body. "I'm know better than to let you get that thing around me, Archailist. After all, you don't train with me because I'm some fool hatchling." she said, grinning at the squirrel.

As she spoke, she considered her options. His short stature was a problem, as was his new weapon that left fairly close to the ground. She'd be having an easier time fighting him if she was in her serpent form, but she figured she didn't have the time to strip out of her clothes and change forms. That would require almost a full chime of uninterrupted time, and she doubted she would get that kind of time. So instead she settled for the same crouching motion she had used earlier and waited. When Archailist got in range, she jabbed twice at him with her right hand before throwing a left hook at him.