PM to join A Meet and A Spar [Faircroft]

[Alexander Ross]

Alexander Ross Spring 11, 516 For once, the Training Grounds were more quiet than usual. The perfect environment that would allow Alexander to train by himself without being bothered by others. However, he knew for a fact that the silence would not last long at all, all the more reason to get in whatever practice he could before a bunch of rowdy squires drive him off. He grabbed the collar area of his chest piece and shifted it a bit, before reaching back and pulling his longsword from its harness that rested on his back. By the gods, he was glad to have finally found a set of armor that fit his form better than the usual clunky heavy sets. He rolled his shoulders a bit and gave the steel blade a few testing swings, admiring how it cut almost effortlessly through the air. A lock of his hair blew into his face, and he jerked his head to the side to toss it away. His hair was getting quite long, which usually never bothered him much. However, he wouldn’t be surprised if his patron ordered him to get it cut. His bangs were now reaching past his chin, and normally, his nose was the limit. He simply shrugged it off and gave a few more practice swings with his sword, before admiring how the silver blade gleamed quite beautifully in the sunlight. Ever since he had acquired it, it had saved his life on multiple occasions. Of course, he very much doubted that it has seen more blood than most weapons carried by other squires, something he sought to change in the near future… despite his dislike for killing. He walked over to one of the sparring dummies and took a deep breath, hoping to ease himself in a calm state of mind before continuing with a few stretches to loosen his muscles up. Multiple times before, he had refused Ranqor’s instructions to limber up before training, which once lead to him pulling a few muscles… including a hamstring. Ranqor was quite amused after that, and since then, Ross had resolved to always do a few stretches before participating in physical activities or labor.

[Alexander Faircroft]

Description "Alex Common" Alex thoughts "Myrian" "Fratava" "Others"

A calm morning rolled by as Alex stepped out into the city. Enjoying the cool clean air could only last for so long however, Alex had neglected his training for a day and was already beginning to feel the rust building up at the corners. Literally coated in steel and blades he rose up the staircase to the training grounds, his footfalls near silent even within the weight, purely a feat of weight control. He’d learnt how too during the season of winter adjusting to the armour first and then learning how to minimize its noise. Despite not being form fitted it still felt natural despite the bulk and ill fit.

Still he’d thought that the training grounds would be empty this morning, oddly this was not the case, and instead Alex found another person there whom he’d not met yet. Seeing as only the weapon masters were there and they were too preoccupied in honing their own skills, Alex would have to train with this new squire. Drawing his bastard sword Alex looked at the blade the odd swirling motion of much darker cold iron permeating through the shining steel was something he was very glad for. Terag had done a wonderful job with his blade. As such this was slightly heavier but held an edge so much better and for so much longer. Adjusting his shield on his arm he place the point over the back of his hand and gave his empty shield arm a few swings to check the belts were secure. Then a few wide arc swings with his blade, much better control than when he’d first picked the thing up.

Resting the blade of the sword on his shoulder he slowly trudged over to the squire in the middle of the grounds looking over his form. Smaller than himself but possibly lighter to boot. Having said that Alex was no slouch. With a soft and airy voice Alex spoke.
“Excuse me but would you mind helping a fellow squire out. It’s kind of empty and I was wondering if you’d partake in training with me?” A genuine smile on his features as he stood sizing up the other squire. Either this would be a fair fight, or so one sided it wasn’t even going to be funny.

[Alexander Ross]

Alexander Ross Alex figured that it would not be long until other Squires came in to train. However, he did not expect one to come in so soon. He sighed in frustration, his shoulders slumping a bit as he watched the Squire approach him. Alex had never been a very social person, and often tried to keep to himself. There were very few people he would actually prefer to spend his time with, and strangers were not one of them. He reached his hand up and gently pushed his glasses further up the bridge of his nose with his middle finger, before brushing his bangs out of his eyes. "What's wrong with the sparring dummies?" He simply asked, placing the blade of his longsword across his shoulders. He looked the Squire over carefully, noticing that he might be a bit larger than himself. He seemed polite enough... and it might not be very polite of Ross to refuse just because he wanted to be alone. Ranqor always told him to get to know the people around him and make friends, despite his fear of losing them. "You know what? Never mind. Don't answer that." Ross corrected, rubbing his eyes before his tone change to one that was a bit more polite than before. "Yes, I would be delighted to train with you. It would be much better than whacking away at unresponsive targets." He noticed the blade that the other Squire held, and recognized it to be what he believed was a bastard sword. "Nice blade. You know how to use it, right?" He asked. It would probably be best to ask now, rather than finding out later after accidentally covering the poor Squire in bruises.

[Alexander Faircroft]

Description "Alex Common" Alex thoughts "Myrian" "Fratava" "Others"

What was wrong with the sparring dummies? Nothing particularly, it was just that Alex didn’t entirely feel like wailing on a target that couldn’t move. It didn’t show whether or not he was improving. However a moving and more malleable target was something much more likely to test him. Looking towards the other squire’s hands he noticed the longsword in his hands. Judging from how he was standing he had a semblance of how to use it. Perhaps that wasn’t the best idea?

Alex always got away with more than he’d hoped he could by masking his skill with his blade, or his bow. Trying to hide it had served him well in the past in some dire circumstances. Still the rhetorical statement came out of the other squire let him know two things. One he wasn’t too sure of himself. Secondly he didn’t have the greatest appreciation for other people. Even when countermanded by the other sentence he spoke his body language and other actions more than told him the truth already.

Alex gave a light almost empty smile speaking lightly again.
“I’m, still not too sure on how to use it. Hoping to test my skills to see if I can find where I need to improve.” Alex spoke and acted in such a way where it almost seemed like he was unsure of how to wield it effectively masking that behind a veneer of confidence. In truth he’d faced a few formidable and quite powerful opponent’s already, Ball, Archie, and Garland to name three. Lifting his shield in front of him, the style that shield was laid across Alex’s arm he was pretty sure was a very foreign way of holding it. Or at the very least an uncommon one.

“Well then let’s see how this goes.” Let's see if I can give my self a tactical advantage by playing an idiot. Clearly you seem to think I am. Alex pressed his attack first. Normally he’d hang back and allow his opponent to strike. A tactical advantage to learn a few things. However right now he was playing the fool, the brash newbie. And that would yield far better results. Alex stepped in on the wrong foot, actively turning his body against the grain. Normally he’d step in and pivot on his right, use his arm like a whip and snap the attack out for more power but here he used his left foot. Planted it would give him a harder stance but much less power. On the initial attack hitting hard was the core point of it.

Keeping his shield pinned against his torso he brought the blade across aiming for the other Squires central mass, looking to land a strike but not cause damage merely bring forth the idea of Alex being a newbie. Hit or miss, hopefully that seed would be planted. “I’m Alexander Faircroft by the way.” Alex spoke with a small smile, hopefully re-enforcing the brash fool appearance he was hoping for.

[Alexander Ross]

Alexander Ross Alex gave a simple nod in response, taking in as much detail as he could. From what he could guess, the Squire did not have a very large grasp on how to use the blade he carried, which made him doubt the idea of sparring with the young man. Ross himself was no skillful master, but he knew his way around a blade enough to where it would make it difficult for novices to hold their own against him. However, if the young man was as much of a novice as Ross thought, then that would be where he comes in. As a fellow Squire, it felt only right to lend a helping hand by training with him. Perhaps Ross could even lend a few pointers and help him with whatever weaknesses he had? Of course, Ross had never used a bastard sword, but he figured it wouldn’t be much different from a longsword. Not to mention that Ross had never taught anyone anything before… “Fair enough.” He responded, his grip tightening on the hilt of his own sword. In all reality, the only formidable foes Ross has ever faced was his patron… and possibly a few bandits. Either way, Ross never underestimated his foes… at least, he tried not to. For all he knew, this Squire could be purposefully giving off the vibe of a novice, but is actually quite skilled once he steps into the fray. As soon as he saw the Squire raise his shield… which he found curious, the way he was holding it.. Alex was already calculating in his mind how he would react to the first strike. The Squire’s first blow was not very well executed, as Ross could almost immediately tell that he did not step forward with his dominant foot. However, the strike was quite sudden, and it was only by reflex that Alex managed to swipe the blade away with his own in time. Immediately, he took the most solid stance he could, raising his own shield protectively in front of him… gods, he hated using shields. He noticed that the other had his own shield held closely to his torso, which left his legs open to attack. He tilted his head a bit as the Squire introduced himself as Alexander Faircroft. “Really? How curious…” He said with a chuckle. “My name is Alexander Ross. If you’d like, you may just call me ‘Ross’. No need for everyone to have us confused.” He said with a rather polite smile that contradicted his earlier demeanor. Wasting no time, he quickly swiped his blade towards the Squire’s right knee in an attempt to at least knock him off balance.

[Alexander Faircroft]

Description "Alex Common" Alex thoughts "Myrian" "Fratava" "Others"

Alex held his stance for a second after his strike had finished, the impact resounding against the other squires sword. Something stood out at Alex, and that was the fact that the other squire wasn’t familiar with the shield. Or at least didn’t like it. Something about how he was standing told Alex that he knew how to handle a sword. But the other squire introduced himself as Alexander Ross. Interesting, Alex versus Alex.
“Well Ross, feel free to just call me “Croft” as that should make things easier on people.” Alex gave a smile but his notice never went away from the blade. Something about how he spoke tipped Alex off that he should have been careful and thankfully he was.

Alex’s left arm dropped down low to catch the shield’s very end against the edge of the blade. A rattling pain shot through his left arm as he blocked it. A recall back to the dislocation two days earlier. He’d thought he’d gotten over that pain and could just soldier on. But no this wasn’t a clean push in and done this was a lingering muscle pain. Damnit...I didn't leave enough time to heal...Looks like i'm going to have to do this the hard way...Even with the pain Alex tried to hold a firm and jovial look. Attempting to play the fool to the best of his abilities. Perhaps though the sudden arm drop was a bit too much?

Either way Alex Stepped back with his dominant foot and made a retreating slash. Only to feel the pain in his shoulder start to kick in. Damned injuries. He thought he could just power through them but they weren’t going any time soon. His stomach began roaring at him as well, his abdomen on fire as the bruise pushed through his consciousness. He hissed out a breath through his teeth. His retreating slash was far too wide to be of any use other than as a deterrent. Perhaps this would be a good thing?

Alex picked up his shield arm and reversed his stance, leading with his sword arm his shield arm fallen behind. Knowing full well he couldn’t put too much pressure on it he opted for an aggressive stance aiming to turn both his sword and shield into weapons. At least that was the plan.

Alex stepped in again this time with his dominant foot his sword arm swinging with a hollow speed. He imparted only speed to make the attack look more powerful and threatening than it was. In the wake of it he brought his shield arm around and attempted to use the edge of it as an impact weapon to drive into the elbow of Ross. His plan was to put Ross in a mirrored situation that he was in. Partially, to level the playing field. Whether it would work or not was something only Priskil and Yahal knew.

[Alexander Ross]

Alexander Ross Croft, hm? Alex thought. Indeed, that would make things much easier than trying to guess which one was being spoken to when one was addressed by a knight. The young man had enough confusion going on in his day-to-day life, any more and he might just have a serious mental breakdown. He found the concept quite amusing… breaking down all because someone else had the same name as him. His patron would never let the poor Squire hear the end of it. Ross blinked in surprise as the edge of his blade collided with the very end of Croft’s shield, sending an uncomfortable vibrations up his arm. Ever since he had first picked up the blade, he always had a problem with nearly dropping it every time it hit something solid and sent jolts toward his hand, causing him to loosen his grip. Nowadays, he had gotten quite used to it and had even taught himself to tighten his grip on the blade’s hilt, rather than nearly dropping it. However, it was still a rather uncomfortable feeling, and the nineteen-year-old Squire was quite sure that he would never be able to fully ignore it. He had to admire how quickly the blow was deflected, though… He watched as Croft took a step back, making a rather wide retreating slash towards him. He had not expected a retaliation so soon, and it had once again caught him off guard. He threw himself back and ducked behind his shield, his ears twitching as the edge of the other’s blade slashed across it with the dreaded high-frequency screeching sound the Squire hated. His sudden dodge along with the force of the blow hitting his shield was enough to send him off balance. However, as luck would have it, he placed his dominant foot behind him and righted himself quickly enough, which also allowed him to place himself at his usual solid stance with his feet placed apart and his knees bent. He also couldn’t help but notice that something about Faircroft seemed… off, though he couldn’t place his finger on it. He didn’t exactly have time to figure it out, however, as his eyes suddenly caught sight of the gleaming bastard sword sailing right at him. He ducked back and deflected it with his own blade, this time having better control over his balance. However, what he did not expect was Faircroft’s shield suddenly crashing into his elbow, causing pain to jolt up his entire arm. “Oi!” He yelped, before leaping back to gain a foot of distance. He landed without much trouble and placed himself back in a solid stance, however now his shield arm was throbbing with pain. No doubt that there would be a decent-sized bruise there. It was a good thing he was wearing his armor this time, or else there would have been much more pain than that… and possibly a broken bone. By now, it had already occurred to Alex that Croft was a bit more skilled than how he made himself seem earlier, and he cursed to himself for underestimating the Squire. On the bright side, now he could start taking this seriously, which would be a nice change of pace. Gritting his teeth, Alex dove forward with his sword hand held back, making it seem as if he were going for a quick jab to Croft’s midsection. However, rather than actually going through with the attack, he quickly ducked and rolled past him in an attempt to confuse the Squire. With a grunt, he gritted his teeth and slashed toward the back of Croft’s knees. So far, Ross had only been attacking towards the legs. His plan was to have Croft focus more on protecting his lower half, with might give Ross a chance to catch him by surprise if he made an attack on his torso. However, in his haste to execute the maneuver, he was unprepared for the slight dizziness that followed after and as a result, the slash was rather poorly executed. Whether or not it would hit would only be dumb luck.

[Alexander Faircroft]

The strike on Ross’ elbow had worked, though one of the roundels had limited the force of the impact. Still though judging from how much of a reaction he’d gotten it wasn’t enough to even the playing field. Slow breaths Alex. Slow breaths, don’t aggravate the injuries more than you need to. Limit your movements. No sharp exaggerations. Sadly that wasn’t to be the case. Ross had recovered from that hit much faster than he’d thought likely. Now he was not only on the back foot he was struggling to maintain any kind of footing. A visible reaction to his injuries was beginning to show, at least in his body language.

His face however still held a smile. A sharp line curved into a grin. Despite the roaring pain in both arms and his midsection he was lightly rocking his body back and forth on the balls of his feet waiting for the next attack. Trying to predict the course of action to limit the further damage he was causing. With a flash of moment that belay the weight of his armour Ross came at him. Sword aimed to take a strike at his core. Alex couldn’t allow a strike to his torso and instinctively aimed his blade to try and parry the strike. To limit the damage to mitigate the pain of the event.

As Ross closed in though he made a sharp direction change, darting around him and attempting a strike from behind. He wouldn’t be able to get his shield nor his sword there in time but he didn’t fully need to. Gritting his teeth as he turned he shifted his footing. Spinning around and using the momentum of his body he brought the plate coating his shins over to take the start-up impact from the strike. Minimizing the damage but still hurting like nobody’s business. An audible grunt escaped him but now with the positioning of Ross Alex had a height advantage. And he intended on capitalizing on it.

Drawing his sword arm high he acted like he was going to go for a large overhead slash, to try and put Ross in a position where he would be incapacitated. This wasn’t his attack. Another feint. Behind that he brought his shield arm around him and looked like he was going to attack with that. Again another feint, instead setting him up to parry an incoming strike if one found its way towards him. Instead the initial strike which’s signals looked like a downward slash turned out instead to be his plan to strike Ross hard on the shoulder with the pommel of his blade. Using it like a hammer. Howe Irathia had shown him with the hammers she used.

Still this was a gamble, an incomplete risk. Was what he was doing the correct action? The right path and line of attack? He wouldn’t know until it either hit or missed. Either way he’d chosen it and would have to live with the consequences. Much like he was now dealing with the pain in his leg from the impact of Ross’ sword.

[Alexander Ross]

Alexander Ross As a more experienced fighter would have expected, Ross had put himself in a rather difficult position when he had executed his last attack. Now, Croft had the advantage of having the higher leverage, and the Squire wasted no time in taking advantage of it. As soon as he glanced up, he caught sight of Faircroft’s sword and shield both sailing down toward him. Once again acting upon reflex, Alex drew his blade up to parry the sword attack. Only this time rather than swiping away the blade, Ross aimed for the Squire’s plated forearm, before leaping to the side from where he was in his crouched position. He gritted his teeth a bit as he once again nearly stumbled off balance, but was luckily just barely able to keep from falling over. His heart pounded within his chest as adrenaline began to course through him, and he blinked a few times to try and remain focused. There was a nice, if rather sudden change of pace in the spar just as Ross had expected, which was not necessarily a bad thing… as long as he could keep up. It would make things even more interesting if Croft would be able to keep up as well. The other Squire seemed more than capable enough, given how quickly he seemed to be reacting to most of Alex’s attacks, and doing it with a literal smile gracing his lips. After only a few seconds of leaping out of the way, Alex took this chance to execute a combo. Dashing toward Croft, he swiped his blade toward his shoulder, allowing his hand to slide down to base of the hilt to allow for better reach. He immediately followed up by whipping the blade around to strike at Faircroft’s other side, before raising his shield and charging forward with as much of his strength as he could muster in an attempt to shield bash the other Squire off balance. However, given Ross’s rather novice skill in using a shield, he had no idea how he would recover after executing the last attack. Gods forbid if Faircroft should dodge the shield bash, it may just cause Ross to fall flat on his stomach, considering that his own momentum would be working completely against him. However, by his calculation, he might have executed it so suddenly that it may have caught the other Squire off guard.

[Alexander Faircroft]

The pain in his shoulders and body was starting to ripple more. Had they been from regular styles of attacks or at least regular power attacks he may have been able to just shrug them off and simply push on through. In this instance though he wasn’t able too. The sheer force of the blows had rattled something in him. And now the strike from his sword arm being parried had wrenched the joint of his shoulder a little more. The angle forcing him to almost let go of his sword in pain. Rolling with the strike to try and retain some grip and minimise the pain.

Turning the middle of his torso brought more pain than it prevented but at least he was holding onto his sword still. However that wasn’t the worst to come. Blade towards the shoulder. He leant his body back straining his midsection more. The tip of his bastard sword meeting Ross’ own and parrying the blade to fly over his head. The follow up came too fast for Alex to block. A back handed strike that careened straight into the side of his armour. He slid his foot out to catch himself and reeling in the feeling of pain. His left hand visibly clenching now.

Then he tried to follow up with a shield bash. A large slow one at that. Alex waited for it to be just within range and then turned the whole of his body to swing on his left foot. Letting Ross sail past him. Clearly the weight of the steel lump on his arm something he was unaccustomed too. Unlike Alex who was used to the lighter but still significant weight of his smaller better angled shield. Which Alex now sought to capitalize on. Turning his body, and shifting his hips into it he motioned to donkey punch Ross, but not in the back of the head like one may expect. Instead, he was aiming to rob him of what little balance remained. And knock him off balance. He’d them motion his sword over to Ross and put him in a position of victory.

If his move failed then it was back to square one. And Alex bluntly didn’t have the pain tolerance to deal with this for much longer. Even now he was about to collapse. He could feel the toll on his stamina just holding himself up right now was taking on him. If he failed here… He was done. He didn’t have the momentum, the steam to keep running.