Completed [Fighter's Pit] Not So Sharp (Garland)

[Orin Fenix]

Morning, 34 Winter, 514

Orin wiped the sweat from his palms on his trouser legs. His hands were shaking and he felt a little nauseous. He was standing at the entrance to The Anthonius Fight's Pit with more than a bit of trepidation. The sun broke out from clouds to illuminate the people sparring and training below. All of them looked graceful and powerful and it terrified Orin. He winced when one particularly brutal blow knocked down a woman. From personal experience he knew that would leave a nasty bruise. The pit was partially covered in mats where people were either wrestling or practicing with weapons. By far most people had weapons and the ring of steel on steel was loud.

Orin had been in Syliras for seven days now and still felt uncomfortable. Most of the people here were so much more confident and presentable than him, or so it seemed. He still took wrong turns occasionally and was loathe to ask for help of any kind. Some of his reluctance came from his deep seated belief that everything here was too good to be true. Yes, there were troubles but nothing like he was used to growing up. He was waiting for the ugliness to rear its head. However, as each day passed and nothing bad happened he felt his wariness ease a bit.

He had heard of the fighter's pit where people could work on their martial skills and come out partially out of a morbid curiosity. He knew relatively little of the art of fighting. He hadn't been one of those children who had staged mock battles growing up or dreamed of becoming a valiant warrior or knight. But he thought it might give his spirits a boost, knowing that he could defend himself in a pinch. And at the moment he didn't have anything else to take up his time. And, if he did ever end up leaving Syliras, as he hoped one day to do, it probably wouldn't be such a bad idea to know a little bit about how to take care of himself in a dangerous situation.

Forcing his reluctant legs to move, he walked into the pit proper. The two weapons racks on the right wall seemed to be more popular so naturally he made his way to the single, lonely rack on the right. He was careful to hug the wall and stay out of everyone's way. He moved slowly, trying not to draw undue attention to himself. Finally though, he arrived, and looked over the selection available to him. Mostly, the rack held swords. He didn't know enough to be able to tell them apart but there seemed to be a wide selection, some large, some small, some curved and some straight. There were a few shields, which also seemed varied. Other than that, there were just a few miscellaneous weapons, and a whip, which Orin was perplexed by. He didn't think it would be much use in a fight.

However, one weapon did caught his eye. It was wedged into the bottom left corner, partially covered by a round shield. It looked very similar to some of the knives he used while cooking. He eased it out carefully. It was weighted similarly as well and he was shocked because he had ever considered the idea that he could use his kitchen supplies to harm someone. But he did keep them fairly sharp and knew how to handle them, he supposed. Stepping away from the wall, he gripped the dagger tightly in his hand, his knuckles turning white with the effort. He made a halfhearted motion to stab it directly forward. It felt awkward and ungainly and nothing at all like the fluid motions of everyone else here. But he was too shy to ask for advice and none of the people using daggers like his were close enough for him to even attempt to mimic their motions. His shoulders, slumped defeated, and he turned back to the wall intending to give up on the entire venture and go home. He should just stick to what he knew.

[Garland]

Another day in the pits, Garland enjoys the rough, no holds bar fighting in the pits rather than just the simple sparring with sword and shield on the training grounds. Down here in the pits, it was no holds barred fighting, either one of the fighters get knocked down or surrender will the fight stop. It's here where one knows where their limits are and where they can push them.

He was happy about the warm weather today, which reminded him of... something very important that he should probably keep to himself. He shook the thought out of his head, he needed to focus on actually patrolling the area, and helping people that need a bit of extra help.

In a place where big rowdy warriors are the norm, there needs to be some semblance authority, and he's the one to do it. He saw a rather shy looking man off to get a rather unpopular choice of weaponry. A dagger, he knows a fair-share from observation, but he's not really that good in knowing or in teaching that type of weapon.

But he looked more like a timid baker than a hardened warrior, and he put it upon himself to be a sort of impromptu welcoming committee. He went over to the strange man and greeted him with a smile.

"Hello there, sir! I couldn't help but notice your choice of weaponry. You seem to be new here, would you like a bit of help?" He asked and extended his hand for a shake. "I'm Garland, nice to meet you, sir. There are a few trainers here in the pits and they charge for the training, but I'm a squire from the knights, and I'm more than happy to give you some tips in fighting, though I'm not very familiar with that type of weapon so I'm exactly the best person to teach you, though I will give you tips I've gathered from observation and experience."

Before continuing however, he wanted to know the man's name. "As I've said before, I'm Garland and I would like to know your name." He said with a smile and bent down to pick up another blunt and rusty dagger hidden away behind the shield.

[Orin Fenix]

Orin Fenix Food Equals Love A voice behind him startled Orin. Jumping slightly, his grip slackened and the dagger plummeted to the floor. He scrabbled out of the way as it fell, afraid of injuring himself. He didn’t even know if it was sharp or not! Orin turned to face the person who had startled him. He titled his head slightly downward, seeing a head of brown hair cut short on top of a muscled body. After several days in Syliras, Orin easily identified him as a member of the Sylirian order. Since he had a rather youthful appearance, Orin pegged him as a squire rather than a full-fledged knight. Orin had been wrong before though and decided to err on the side of caution. However, his guess was soon confirmed by the rather friendly and open greeting Garland gave. Of course, while he’d been making all these observations, his mouth had been active. ”I’m so sorry I didn’t mean to bother anyone! And I knew about the trainers but I wasn’t really serious and I’m sure they have better things to do that help out someone like me. And I couldn’t possibly take up your time you knights, well, squires, you’re all so busy and really honestly I’m fine, I was planning on heading out anyway so you don’t need to stop here with me, I was just fooling around to be honest, I have no idea what I was thinking.” Realizing he’d left Garland’s hand hanging there, Orin quickly grasped it in both of his and pumped it up and down vigorously, abruptly dropping it when he realized that he had been shaking it for an awkward amount of time. ”I’m sorry can I just start again? My name’s Orin and you really don’t need to help me! I’m just a simple cook and I don’t really know what I’m doing out here. I had this, I don’t know, crazy idea that learning how to fight would help me somehow. It sounds silly now that I say it out loud.” Orin hung his head, ashamed that he would even think that he could actually get skilled with a weapon. It was a foolish notion. He bent to retrieve the dagger. He had to scrabble slightly in the dirt and the scraggly grass as it refused to budge and first. He straightened up, intending to go over and put it back where it belonged. Then he’d be on his merry way, far away from the Fighter’s Pit where he was sure all he could do would be make a fool of himself. Garland, however, had continued to the weapon rack and looked to be picking up a weapon that could’ve been the twin of Orin’s. Orin felt a faint hope fluttering in his chest but he didn’t dare to assume that Garland would actually lend a hand to a simpleton like Orin. But, nothing ventured, nothing gained, and the squire certainly seemed to genuinely be interested in helping Orin get control over his unruly limbs. Hesitantly, Orin asked, ”Could you, I mean if you’ve got the time and it’s not too much trouble, could you really help me? I’ve never fought before and I don’t know what I’m doing! As you can probably tell. But only if you’ve got nowhere else to be!” Orin blushed at his tone, wishing that he could be more confident. He only seemed to be able to keep from making mistakes when he was cooking, and even then he was far from perfect. Which, of course, was what had brought him out here in the first place. Maybe Garland actually could do something with his awkward and scrawny body but Orin was already preparing himself to be disappointed.

[Garland]

He gave a soft smile, this man was clearly not suppose to be here, but then again... So was he when he first arrived here when he was just a boy. He went over and looked over the dagger he got, he had no experience in it, but he could give some times he took from observation.

"Don't worry about it, I'm here to help." He said and tightened his grip on his weapon. "Well, like I've said before, I don't know much about daggers, but I guess you should hold it tight, and move quickly. A dagger is light and good for concealment." He said and gave an experimental slash across the air. "Keep your hand firmly on the handle and try not to cut yourself."

He started and blushed, scratching the back of his head, he had no idea what he was doing and was probably giving out bad advice. "Anyway, since a dagger is short, fast weapon, you should get in close and attack the weak exposed areas, like the neck or the heart. I'm not so good with anatomy, but the best place I think was somewhere between the the third rib and the fourth rib or something."

He gave a stab in the air and then saw a straw dummy that wasn't being used today. "Come on, I wanna show you something." He went over to the dummy and pressed the dagger against the straw man's neck. "Here, and the stomach doesn't have a lot to protect it." He stabbed the stomach next. "And if you can, try to disarm your opponent, attack the hands, try to parry and counter. Remember that in a life-or-death situation, it's better to use all your surroundings and all your limbs, don't just use one hand in a fight."

He gave a slash on the dummy's chest and then quickly recovered to attack with his free hand. "Well, show me what you've got." He said and stepped back away from the dummy.

[Orin Fenix]

Orin Fenix Food Equals Love Somehow Orin had managed to elicit sympathy rather than pity from Garland. When Garland smiled at him, Orin tentatively returned it. He nodded attentively when Garland started to describe the advantages and disadvantages of daggers. Orin copied Garland’s slash to the best of his ability although it still felt completely unnatural. Orin took a few more experimental passes, trying to get used to the movements. Orin felt distinctly relieved when Garland mentioned again that he was far from an expert in daggers. Then Orin thought about it some more and realized two beginners trying to teach themselves how to use a weapon could turn ugly fast. He opened his mouth to say something then immediately clamped it shut. He felt too uncertain about the situation to jeopardize it by letting his words ruin everything. Besides, they were in the city, surrounded by people, and close to medical attention if that ended up being necessary. And Garland was a squire so he presumably had some knowledge of how to keep himself from getting injured. Orin was more worried about maiming a squire and the consequences that could bring upon him than any physical harm he might himself suffer. Following Garland over to the neglected straw dummy, Orin watched as Garland demonstrated the proper areas he should try to aim for. The throat made sense to him. The stomach also made sense and after Garland showed Orin yet another attack, Orin stepped up to the dummy and stabbed at the chest where he imagined the heart would be located on an actual human. Orin didn’t know how accurate he was. It was horribly unlike anything he’d done before. Despite having cut open animals many a time, mainly to cook them, the idea of doing something similar on a living, breathing person filled him with dread. Though the similarities between a human body and a cow, for example, might be great, the fact of the matter was, their differences were greater. Orin’s shoulder slumped as he once again questioned what he was doing here. Garland seemed to have other ideas, it seemed. Orin almost didn’t believe his ears when Garland invited Orin to attack him. Orin’s mouth dropped open and words starting pouring out. ”Me attack you? Don’t be ridiculous, you’re a squire and I don’t know how to use this and I could hurt you! I couldn’t possibly do that to you, it’s not even safe I just came out here to try out a few things I wasn’t serious about the whole learning how to fight and you should just move on and…” Seeing that Garland appeared serious about Orin attacking him Orin gulped and stepped towards him. ”Alright I’ll try but first sign that it looks like you’re in danger we’re stopping.” With that, Orin settled the knife firmly in his grip, noting absently that the more he held it the more natural it seemed. Stepping towards Garland, Orin stopped when he was an arm’s length away. Then, he burst into motion, stepping forward with a wild overhand swing that Orin hoped he aimed at Garlands upper left arm, trying not to do any actual damage and give Garland plenty of time to dodge out of the way.

[Garland]

He smiled at Orin, he seemed to be trying to mimic him, hopefully some of what he was teaching was good in a battle. In fact, Orin seems to be much better at handling this type of weapon, the way he holds it, it looked like he had experience in using it.

Garland stepped back and spread out his legs to keep limber and can move easily. He looked at Orin and saw that his attack was slower than when he attack the dummy. He dodged it easily and pressed his fist quickly on Orin's cheek, he didn't hit it hard, it was more like a soft pat on his cheek. "Yeah, that attack was good, good form and such, but try to move faster next time, don't worry. I'm use to getting hit, don't hold back." He said and gave a gentle pat on Orin's cheek. "Remember that everything can be a weapon, use anything you can find to your advantage, a food tray could be used as an impromptu shield, a frying pan can be used to knock someone out and such. If you're weapon hand is busy, try to kick you're attacker's legs, try to make him lose his balance, and then try to attack with you open hand or maybe find some other weapon to surprise your opponent."

He stepped back and got back into position. "The good thing about the dagger is that it is versatile. Hidden inside your sleeve, in your belt, or could be used as a backup weapon in a pinch." He looked at the blunt dagger he was using. "Huh... I should get dagger, it could be useful." He said and got back into position and looked at Orin. "Ready, again."

[Orin Fenix]

Orin Fenix Food Equals Love Garland easily evaded Orin’s strike and Orin felt a gentle fist press into his cheek. Surprisingly, or surprisingly to Orin, his blood was roused and pumping loudly in his ears. He hadn’t expected training to be this exhilarating. He normally was fairly timid, but this was rousing him a bit. Orin was glad that Garland actually seemed to have some experience with fighting and Orin wouldn’t be able to hurt him barring disaster. Orin practically glowed with praise when Garland commented that his form looked good. While it was true his slash hadn’t been as fast as some of the other fighters out there in the pit, Orin wasn’t a warrior and he didn’t feel that he should necessarily be held to such a high standard. However, when Garland patted his cheek, Orin felt his cheeks flush, and not in embarrassment as they usually did, but in anger. It was bad enough he already felt self-conscious and awkward in the middle of all these skilled combatants. For Garland to be condescending to him on top of that was humiliating and sparked a slow burning rage in the pit of Orin’s stomach. Orin listened as Garland expounded on the virtues of a dagger and explained how anything could be used as a weapon. Orin felt ready to put that to the test. Maybe he could catch Garland off guard if he felt Orin didn’t know what he was doing. Of course, that was balanced with the fact that Orin really didn’t know what he was doing. Only a lucky blow would let Orin hit Garland. Garland soon fell back into the position that Orin was coming to recognize as his ready stance. Orin wiped the sweat beading on his brow from the sunlight filtering downward. Then, he was struck with a sudden thought. Orin narrowed his eyes, and began circling Garland warily, as he could see the other fighters doing. As soon as he felt the sun at his back, Orin flung his right arm out in a horizontal slash aimed at Garland’s stomach. As his elbow locked out at the end of his strike, he used his momentum to pivot on his right leg and stomped his left leg down towards Garland’s feet.

[Garland]

Garland didn't mean to be an ass about the gentle slap, it was more to get Orin's head back into practice. He seemed like he had adrenalin in his veins right now.

As he got back into position, he saw that Orin was getting ready as well. He started circling him, it was a strange move, they weren't sparring, they were simply attack practice. He followed Orin with his eyes and saw the sun blind him and he tried to cover his eyes.

He felt the dagger scratch on his armor, and then he felt a strong stomp on his foot, luckily he was armored, but it still shocked him. "Woah! Didn't expect that, good work." He looked at Orin to see his expression. "If you and your attacker were on a staredown or whatever, it would have been good plan, but if you can, try to think on the fly, act on it. If you distracted me, with easily blocked or dodged attacks, you could have moved and I wouldn't have noticed. Stuff like that would do you some good."

He looked at his armor, it didn't scratch it too much, though he could see a thin nearly invisible line across his chest. "Right, seems like you know how to use your environment, next you should try to use your opponent's body to your advantage, try to trip up big and slow opponents, and if your enemy is fast and small you can try to lead them to a trap, they rarely have time to analyze the situation if they move fast a lot."

He looked at the sun. "Should we get breakfast or should we continue?"

[Orin Fenix]

Orin Fenix Food Equals Love Orin felt inordinately pleased when both his attacks landed. Of course, that was soon crushed when Garland pointed out how such a move would require much more preparation and set up in an actual fight. It did make sense that simply walking in circles wouldn’t work. After all, his opponent would be attacking him all the while and Orin would have to dodge or block each of his strikes while attempting to land a few of his own. However, Orin still felt happier about this whole endeavor than he had in a while. He had managed to come up with a viable tactic and even if this was just simulated combat, that still made him feel good. And he had done it without managing to injure Garland in any way shape or form. While Orin doubted he would ever be skilled enough to use the sun in such a way, he could probably avoid having an enemy use the sun against him. And, now that he thought about it, if his weapons were polished enough, maybe he could actually use the reflection to flash it in their eyes. Orin was about to ask Garland about that, but decided against it. He could and would figure this out on his own and he’d already taken up enough of Garland’s time. Orin nodded attentively when Garland spoke about using an opponent’s body against him. It seemed incredibly complicated to Orin and he felt that he had to ask a few questions. ”How exactly am I supposed to figure out if they’re big and slow or small and fast. I mean, the size I can guess at but the speed seems like I would have to be in a fight with them already and by that point it’s already too late.” Orin shrugged and scratched his head in confusion. ”And don’t you have to know, I don’t know, special techniques to trip people up or use their momentum against them and such? I don’t know anything like that!” Perhaps this hadn’t been such a good idea after all. Unless he was cornered, Orin felt as if the safest approach would be to make a run for it. He didn’t think he could ever challenge someone who actually knew what they were doing. Orin had been ready to continue sparring, but when Garland mentioned breakfast, he realized that his stomach was growling. Looking at the sun as well, Orin realized that much more time had passed than he had expected. ”Oh no! I didn’t know it was this late.” Scrambling to put his dagger back where he had found it, Orin suddenly remembered he’d never actually replied to Garland’s inquiry. Spinning back to the squire, Orin babbled out a quick. ”Breakfast would be great but I don’t really know anything in the area, do you?” Orin would probably only be able to grab a quick meal before he had to get to work but he felt that he should do his best to repay Garland somehow.

[Garland]

It was good that Orin was asking questions, it meant he was listening. "Well, bigger usually means slower and such, but you can usually see how fast they are by their legs, big guys, usually take big strides, meaning they cover more ground, but are generally slower, and clumsier than their smaller counterpart." He paused and placed back the dagger where he found it. "The small and fast move with smaller strides and can turn much better, meaning they are more maneuverable."

”And don’t you have to know, I don’t know, special techniques to trip people up or use their momentum against them and such? I don’t know anything like that!”

"Hmm? Well, when someone is running at you... At the last second move to the side, but keep your leg in your opponent's way. It's a simple trip up, but it could also be dangerous, only do it if you're confident in your ability. Getting your opponent so close could be dangerous."

He didn't know any food stalls or restaurants in the area, which was strange given that they would get plenty of hungry fighters if a place that sells food were to set up shop near the pits. "No, I don't think there's any where close by we can eat. My shift is about done anyway, if you don't have anywhere else to go, we can head out to eat?"