Completed [The Bronze Woods] Friendly Sparing (Clemens Kos)

[Arden Whitevine]

Arden moved her sword to deflect his attack. “Ice reaving manipulating the snow that all ready exist. I can not create snowy weather or ice out of nowhere.” She jumped forward swinging her blade forward towards the man. “I know a lot of people like to debate about which God is better, everyone has their own opinion. In my opinion, from where I was born, Morwen has given her people a wonderful gift, being able to survive in the severe cold weather and having a greater appreciation of the snow itself.” Before she had gotten to close Clemens, she danced off to the side and twirled her sword around in her hand. “I know the topic of religion is difficult, but I cannot talk about ice reaving without mentioning Morwen.” She moved her feet slowly moving towards him, his weapon was huge, so she assume, closer combat would make it harder to use the weapon. Arden swung her sword at him, using the blunt, flat side in case it made contact with him. The flat of the blade felt like it had made contact, with what she was unsure of. She closed her eyes at the moment her sword began momentum towards the shoulder of the tall man. Arden did not want to hurt her friend, but they were sparing so she did have to attack him. She truly didn't know what she was doing. In her mind it was luck that she avoided the first advance. But this would continue until one of them yielded, and it would probably be her. Her muscles already ached from the strain of holding and supporting the sword. Arden watched as it seemed effortless for him to move his large weapon, no strain seem to appear on his face. She hoped to be able to hold her sword with such ease. Her eyes still closed, but her sword was no longer in motion.

[Clemens Kos]

He tried to imagine how those knights did their training. He'd imagine they use some dummies, or what not, but whacking a piece of wood wouldn't exactly make you an expert fighter. There was probably sparing similar to this involved. Sparing that caused injuries and pain for both sides. Sparing that ended up with bruises, or a missing tooth. If the two really wanted to get something done, they'd need to go at this much more serious. He watched her, with closed eyes, and wondered what she was thinking of at the moment. Being like that, he thought to himself there are probably other things that are on her mind. He wasn't able to say he knows Arden as a person. For all he knew, she could of simply make everything up and he wouldn't be the wiser. But his own gut feeling told him she was speaking the truth. That she was really trying to learn how to protect herself. And for that, he wasn't going to hold back. Neither should she, for that matter. And with that thought acompaying his movements, he decided to take action. Clemens followed put with her strikes. Seeing it was a clunky attempt at a swing, using the broad side as well, left him with a quick enough action do make. Even though he got closer, which he didn't really like to see, because his weapon had an edge in range, after all. As his own swing was deflected, he used the momentum of his weapon to his advantage. His right hand sprung into motion, almost like a punch, to meet her attack. That caused the whole wooden shaft to move with him, and clash with her sword in a single thud. Using the moment of being locked with her, he stepped forward, using sheer force to ram himself into the woman, and forcefully push both hands outwards, causing his weapon's broad handle of shoving the woman away, hopefully getting her to loose her footing, before she would be able to move her sword. This was a spar, but playing along would do good to nobody. In his mind, he already decided. He'll take this serious, or stop doing it all together. After all, he wanted to get better. And he was sure Arden wanted to get better too. So his quite ungentleman-y and crude motion towards a girl was explained. At least in his own head. The weight of his own weapon was noticed, and any longer use of it would cause him to get tired quite easily. But for now, he had just enough endurance to, well, endure the weight, and strain his muscles further. "Quite nice of this Morwen. I can see why you people hold her in high regards." He decided to reply with a neutral stance, not wishing to insult his friend by saying something he didn't even understand himself. He had no right to judge, after all. He knew next to nothing, and from what he was just told, this god of hers is quite a good patron. So at least there wont be any fanatical outbursts, he hoped. If there would be, however, well. A sparing accident would quickly silence any and all worships, he thought. because he noticed the woman was giving it her all, even if her attempts were fleeting, at best. In time, she'll learn. As will he. They simply need to do this on a regular basis, and help each other out. It was quite a wonderful thought, really, finding someone he could actually rely on. But be it as it is, he wasn't going to daydream about this girl. At least not right now. There was a sword, and a halberd in the way, and if he dropped his guard he'd be in a world of pain and trouble. So he did what he could do best, and shove those unnecesary thoughts to the side, preparing himself for her own reaction.

[Arden Whitevine]

Arden fell from the force of his shove, her sword falling out of her hand and onto the ground beside her. So we're going to play it this way. As she got up she rubbed her back side, it had hurt since the ground was still frozen. Being her, Arden forgot about the sword which had fallen from her hand and stood up straight. If this was going to get physical, then she will become physical. With a single step and a lunge she launched herself at the man. To her, sparing didn’t always include weapons, so she’s going to throw her weight around. Grabbing on at his waist, she moved her leg behind one of his, and in a movement that she had only seen been done by the fighting types in Avanthal, she tried to pull him down. Arden thought this was all fun, a way to learn new skills, but also not get too injured in the process. So if he was going to use himself during the spar, then so will she. It’s not like she knew what she was doing anyway, if she could get him to surrender then that would be great. No injuries, no blood. After realizing that he wasn’t going down, she used more of her weight, trying to kick his leg out from under him, or at least to get him to lose his balance enough for her to get him down. She really was trying her best here and it didn’t even seem to faze him much at all. Her eyes at this point changed back to their regular green colour as she began to concentrate. Her hair now half out of the thing material used to hold it up, she flicked her head to get some of it off her face and away from her eyes. She continued to pull at him, and push with her feet. All thoughts of weapons vanished from Arden's mind, it now was all about taking down her target, any way possible. No matter how strange it was starting to look. She felt the lean muscles under the leather, and realized that she might be in trouble now.

[Clemens Kos]

He hoped the push didn't leave too much of an ache as he saw her reaching behind herself and rubbing the spot in question. He imagined the impact not being that painful, even though blunt blows usually hurt for a while, even if his own shove wasn't that strong. Then again, the ground was still frozen, so if not else that would of done the job. Be it as it is, he did not expect the next thing to follow. Their spar seemingly shifted a whole gear, as Arden stood up. She left her sword on the ground, which confused the man greatly. Here he thought they were going to practice with their weapons. Maybe that was the plan of her buying a sword in the first place. But no, the woman decided to go physical. He didn't really expect it, but he felt her hands around her waist, as she began to feel her weight against his form, being pulled down. Even though confused, he was lucky enough to keep a firm stance, forming a some kind of triangle with his feet and heels, and that made him somewhat difficult to fall. Even though his weapon was now proven useless. Unable to actually deliver a cut, or a swing of any way, but to whack her against her lower back with the dull rear of his weapon. The whole situation would easily look really wrong to any by-passers, as he began to lose his footing. Being so close to the woman, he could easily feel her warm breath, which was getting more and more rapid due to the strain she was giving in. It was obvious she wasn't playing around. He could take in her scent, as well, as she made one last pull against him. And that's when it happpened. He felt a stinging pain in his shin, as she went in for the kick and apparantly miscalculated the target. Suddenly, he wasn't really able to keep himself up any more. Under the force of her tugging, he finally gave in, and with that dropped his own weapon to get a better grip. He felt her leg behind his, and knew he was going to drop down any moment now if he didn't act. Luckily for him, his oponnent wasn't a well known street fighter, so he might of at least have a chance. As he was pulled down, dropping on his back due to her position, his hands wrapped around her back as well, and with a forceful tug, he decided the only good reaction was to bring her down with him. If he succeded in such an action, he'd try and roll himself to the side while still falling, so he'd fall on his side, and prevent her from falling on top of him, but rather, half of her would also hit the ground. He wasn't really ready to serve as her pillow, yet. The whole tussle and hussle caused his mask to loosen up, and with the impact he made with the ground, his head jerked upwards, and his mask slipped down, revealing himself once more, with a grunt. His leg was still aching, and his hair was now covering most of his face. But he didn't mind. He would keep a tight grip around her back, applying pressure to press her against the ground with him. Even though, he wasn't frowning, not glaring in anger. No, he was having a smile on his face. One to hide the fact his shin filled like exploding, but he was in a good mood regardless. This day keeps getting more odd by the moment. He tried to calm his breath, to speak out. "This...Wasn't what I had in mind. No, not at all." He finished, before shaking his head. "But if you want it to go this way." And with that, he kept the breath inside of him, as he decided to make another roll, this time trying to roll on top of her, to pin her down on the ground. His hands leaving her back, and were placed on her shoulders, while he would straddle himself up on her thighs, to prevent any low kicks. He was breathing deeply, trying to calm himself down.

[Arden Whitevine]

Her foot connected with his shin, when he had finally lost his balance, she too seemed to go down also, but only because he had a grip on her back. With a huff, the breath escaped her lips as she hit the ground again. She landed on her side, hip first probably leaving a fair sized bruise this time. She noticed the mask fall again, which to her mind was better than only seeing a small bit of his face. She really preferred to see his face, to be able to see emotion, or sometimes the lack of while he thought. Arden noticed the smile, which caused her to smile slightly also. “This wasn’t what I expected either.” She laughed breathlessly. “I wanted to pin you down, or, at least try to.” She had tried to move before he had tried anything, but the effort was fruitless. He was now pinning her down, hair splayed out behind her head like a fan. Great. She thought his hands on her shoulder and straddled her thighs. Guess he didn’t want her kicking anything. With her arms free, she gripped his upper arms, and tried to bend her legs to get some leverage and grip into the ground. “Only one of us can win this you know.” She said. She noticed his breathing was really heavy and ragged. “Tired already?” She smiled more at the thought. “We can call it a draw this time if you want to.” She laughed this time. But her breath was also uncontrolled, her chest heaving, moving quickly up and down, as she took deep breaths. “I, I guess we are both out of breath.” She smiled with a huff, before closing her eyes to gain control of her breathing again. She took several deep breaths while her eyes were closed. Opening them she looked up at the sky, not at the man who had her pinned. Thinking this time she wanted to get an idea to get him off her so that she could pin him instead. She could feel the cold of the snow soak into her clothing the longer she stayed on the ground. A shiver ran up her spine, shaking her body as the cold of the snow was actually felt. It was something she wasn’t used to actually feeling. With a deep breath, she moved her hands to his shoulders and gave a push until she was able to lock her arms into place. Hoping his weight was enough to get him to fall off her. She tried rolled off to the side.

[Clemens Kos]

He shook his head slowly. This wasn't about winning, at least for him not. He didn't have much of a problem admitting defeat, or giving the glory to someone else. Simply because he was lacking that feeling of self-worth to begin with. The reason he was actually in this was to become better, not to win some kind of completition. He offered the girl another smile, and simply rolled off her without her needing to push him away any further. Slowly, as he rose to his feet, he extended his own hand at her, to help her get up. They both suffered quite a nasty fall, after all. He knew he's going to be all grumpy the next day, as there is going to be a lasting pain in his shin for a little while. Even though he didn't really seem to mind it all that much. Probably because he was used on even harsher beatings, if he by chance didn't do a thing or two he was told, back a few years. It was sad, really. As everything he did slowly pointed itself at his little adventure with the man with swords and chains. His smile slowly fading, as his eyes kept looking at the woman. His free hand going to dust his own clothing off, trying to get the unnecessary snow off him, and get him into a better shape. If she got up, he'd walk up to the weapons on the ground, and silently picking them up. Lying on the ground like that, they seemed like toys, and not an object of pain and death. "You can win, if you want to." He spoke out, as he grabbed her sword by the blade carefully, and offering the handle to the woman to take. He used his own halberd as a walking stick, supporting himself on the wooden shaft, where the unarmed butt of the weapon once again got pressed against the ground. The blade being up in the air, pointing at the sky. "I simply want to get better." He offered one more smile, but unlike the other ones, this one was slightly faked. He didn't want to appear as a bothered soul to anyone, as he hated to be pittied, after all. So he did what he was best at, and simply try and shove his feelings to the side. After all, their day together wasn't over yet, and if he wanted to mop over what happened in the past, he'll have the night for that. So he nodded, and simply gritted his teeth. He forced his chest not to rise and fall so hard, going to calm down his breathing. His cheeks were tainted slightly red, and that was probably because of the sudden wressle they had. Blood coarsing through his body. Maybe he didn't want to win, but this was actually quite enjoyable. he was having fun. "I say we take a break. Let's not tire ourselves out just yet." He himself noted that both of them were drawing for air, and so he decided to take five to catch their breaths, and calm down slightly. If not else, he wanted to sit down and try to imagine the pain in his shin away. Let's not mention the fact his shoulder also ached due to the impact with the ground. Funny, though, as neither of these injures were done by a sword. And here he was worrying about all the injures that could happen to the two. It seemed like in the end, they'll be covered with bruises from falling down too much. "That was a nice throw, by the way. Did not think you had it in you." He replied, offering Arden a nod, as he commented on her previous attempt at falling the map. After all, he did slightly underastimate her, simply because of how she looked. That quickly taught him not to judge anything on first glance. He was right, after all. If they wanted to learn something, they'll need to give it their all. "Where did you learn that? Got a brother who you were wressling with?" His next question was a bit personal. He didn't know much about the person in question. It wouldn't be difficult beliving someone grew up in a rowdy family. He simply wanted to know more, for now. They were on a break, after all.

[Arden Whitevine]

Arden smiled and propped herself up on her elbows before sitting up fully. She was still breathing heavily; she stood up and brushed off some snow, then went to sit beside him. Taking her bag, she pulled out two cloth wrapped rations and handed him one “Take it, and I won’t take no for an answer.” She opened her own, breaking a piece off she bit a small mouthful. “I was an only child, but I have friends, a few choose to protect the city. They would wrestle with the rest of us.” Arden smiled at him. “Do you have any siblings?” She asked honestly, since they were taking a break. He looked like he could have had a few siblings, mostly younger perhaps. She chewed silently on her rations, they weren’t as tasty as she was expecting, but what else could she have done. There was no way to cook anything way out here. She wasn’t going to start a fire, mainly because she didn’t know how, and she didn’t know of her companion did either. And wilderness survival isn’t something she was still to learn so soon. Right now sparing seems like the most reasonable way to start. She gave a small laugh to herself, hoping he didn’t hear it. It would be difficult to explain random laughing. Though that to would be funny as well. But for now she just ate silently waiting for his response. But even Arden couldn't do that. "Our next bout, I'm so gonna win." With that she laughed really loudly, her hair falling out behind her.

[Clemens Kos]

The man tried to relax. Sitting down on the rock, and feeling the cold that it was radiating, didn't seem all that bad. With his face exposed, he tilted his head to the side, to fully expose himself, and tugging the mask down, so it wouldn't feel all that uncomofrtable. Be it as it is, he was right about the sibling part. Or well, almost right. She was supposed to be shown a manevour like that by someone else, because he didn't really expect it. Even though, he did try to imagine a little girl going to wressle with someone, and the whole scene simply drew a smile to his face. To her question, he didn't really wait all that long to respond. Even though he always wanted to have a sibling. Someone who he could of protect, and someone that could lean on Clemens when things went tough. Of course he didn't realize the whole problems of growing up with someone else, as he was a lone child, but none the less he could at least dream. "No, I don't." He replied, keeping the smile on him. He never gave it thought if his parents wanted another child, or was the accident in his family the reason he was left alone. Then again, he probably shouldn't dwell on that thought too much, or it might make him feel really depressed. And that was somethnig he didn't want to show out in the open. So the conversation went on. He shook his head in a joking motion, as she said she was going to win next round. His eyes looking over at the woman who was filled with energy and joy. That's good, he thought to himself. Better that than having a really disinterested person next to you, who doesn't care what they do. He much rather observed a person like Arden. Simply because it motivated himself to do better, as well. He realized that sometimes his mood shifts towards that of his conversation partner. It was really difficult trying to think something other than happy, or interesting thoughts with the girl around. Probably because she wouldn't let him. If Clemens tried, he feared that he might get kicked again. His shin was still aching, after all. That blow was perfect. He hummed in thought. He should be careful the next time they decide to spar again. If she knows more than him, this litle tutoring might end up stomping on his pride when the day ends. And even thought he didn't really mind that, he wanted to at least be seen as someone who's somewhat capable. "Thank you." He smiled, accepting the rations he was given. He didn't really care much about the taste, but the gesture itself was kind enough. Without a complained, he unvelied the leaves and began eating. Slowly, he stood up, reaching down for his weapon once more. His gloved wrapping around the wooden shaft, as he offered Arden a nod. "Alright, let's try this once again. At this time...Let's use the weapon at hand." He started, slowly beginning to walk away, giving her enough time to prepare. As he turned around, he took in a somewhat agressive stance, with his left hand grabbing the handle right bellow the bladed end, which would give his swings a lot more impact, if only to have less range. But he didn't seem to mind. Their previous fight was cut short because she got too close, so if he shortened his weapon, there was a better chance of actually fighting, and not be locked out. "We'll try practicing swings at each other, and either deflect, or parry them. That way you'll get a feel for your weapon." He explained further.

[Arden Whitevine]

Arden smiled. “I think you would have been a great older brother.” She yawned and finished her tasteless ration. “This is really bad.” She laughed, putting the cloth back into her bag. She stood up and dusted off the crumbs. Arden stretched, she twisted around at her waist, moving her aching muscle. She bent down to touch her toes, stretching her back and her legs. She then sat back down on the rock. Arden watched him stand and get his weapon ready. She wasn't sure if she wanted to continue with this, she was getting tired and was really sore from the sparing. Arden yawned again, it was a couple hours after noon now, the sun was casting long shadows across the ground. “Hmm, alright. But you have to show me how to deflect and parry properly.” She picked up her sword and took he same pose as Clemens. She twisted the sword in her hand, then pointed it at him, a smile on her face. “Alright then, I'm going to win this spar.” With that she laughed and smiled bigger. “It's always nice to see your face.” Arden did truly enjoy seeing his face, it was always covered up, it made him look much friendlier. She smiled like always, she was truly happy to have a friend like him. He was able to teach her stuff, and maybe she could teach him something's as well. Give him some knowledge of herbs and spices. Teach him which ones help with sore muscles and wounds, from major to minor. “Maybe next time I can teach you some things.”

[Clemens Kos]

If he would be asked about being tired, he'd blatantly disregard the question. He didn't want to be seen as weak. That was one thing he tried to prevent all this time. But none the less, the small break they had didn't exactly replentish all of his energy. Where his breathing and heartbeat did calm down, the weapon felt heavier in his hands than before. He tried to ignore it, but it is hard to ignore a weight such a weapon had. Trained in carrying it around or not, after a while it does become a burden. His eye looked over his sparing partner, and quickly realized he wasn't the only one tired and out of shape. This was going to be their last spar for today, he thought. It's good to strain your muscle every now and then, but going too overboard could lead to complications. Or accidents. Or both. And he didn't exactly want to witness that. He really did not feel like carrying the woman all the way back to her house once again, so the two should be careful. After all, not a halberd, neither a sword was a toy. And the two needed to know what they're doing. Or learn. "Alright, I'll slow down the movements. I will explain the basics. You can be attacked from two sides. Your left, and your right. And on three plains. Your legs, your chest, or your head." He began explaining, as he lowered his guard down and walked forward, going to tap her knee, her waist, and her shoulder with the butt of his weapon, simply to create a picture for what he just explained. "You'll need to try and see the winding up of your oponnent's weapon, and meet theirs with your own." What he did next, could of maybe come to a slight surprise. He lowered his halberd, and took out his dagger that was on his side. The blade was shorter that the sword, but not for much. And the whole weapon looked quite nasty, due to the way it was built. One stab, and getting it out could make even more damage than the initial thrust. He tried to get a feel for the weapon's weight, as he hefted it up and down, nodding once he felt comfortable enough. Armed with his weapon, he turned to Arden. "Focus on your movements, and not on winning, alright?" He asked, before he rose his dagger up, going to swing at her from the left side, with the blade pointed to hit her shoulder. The movement wasn't really hostile, however, but more of a practice swing, so she could learn to move and react. Weither she managed to block, or not, another swing came from the left, aimed to her right leg, and he'd end up the proceedure with a motion of stabbing directly against her chest. And much as before, his movements didn't really have the impact behind them, and were most likely simply there to train the movements. After all, he didn't really fight with his dagger to begin with, so getting some practice on it was always good and welcomed. That and, his hands were too tired for the halberd.