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Re: Nothing Like A Bit of Violence Between Friends
Posted: Sun May 28, 2023 9:27 pm
by Aeros
TIMESTAMP: -
NOTES: -
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“Oh, dragonshards are an interesting topic to delve into in general! We should sometime, especially because the lodestones you can make as an elementalist can have similar properties. It’s a massive reason why I myself want Elementalism…they can be infused with magics from one’s other Cardinal Runes, too…but that’s– I’m getting sidetracked,” he sounded really rather enthusiastic, almost, until the end where it shifted to bashful, catching himself segueing as he was so very prone to do.
Æros could read the apprehension, the concern that Hilana felt regarding what information she was able to divulge– it rang dissonant in her Symphony. “I only mean insofar as what’s safe to share– I know how tight lipped the Vigilia can be,” and he knew she worked with them. “...but if I can lend a hand, I’d like to.” Out of curiosity, for perhaps a degree of personal gain, a bit of altruism…he had many reasons, but all the same, his desire to assist his friend was genuine.
And perhaps it was wise for Hilana to abstain from spirits on this occasion, because her assumptions were correct– though House Sælyan as a whole stocked a wide variety of alcohol, the ones that Æros found himself drawn to or acquired on his own were always quite a bit stronger than what the rest of his kin preferred, even those who liked their drink. They simply didn’t have the same metabolism as the half-Fæ did; Æros often forgot how much more he needed than most, too.
At this point, Æros wasn’t clumsy with a blade, he had a pretty fair grasp on swordwork, but he felt that he still had quite a bit to go and, in this case, he wanted to make use of the single Reaving trick he had– Returning. Though to use that, such a thing would involve dropping his blade and recalling it repeatedly; useful, sure, but he’d have to be creative with it.
Having chosen to let her strike first, he’d braced himself, and when she did lunge forward, he pivoted on his heel out of the way, bounding out of the way with grace. She was swift, but he expected little less– the girl was a boundless source of energy and she moved fast in even the most mundane of situations. After avoiding her hit, he moved to chop downward with the outer curve of his blade; he’d repositioned to the side of her and meant now to strike her back, using his height as an advantage here. And given that he was bigger than her, he did have a bit of an advantage in terms of reach despite their weapons being similar in size.
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'Thoughts'
"Vallenor Tongue/Speech"
"Vastien Tongue/Speech"
"Valasren Tongue/Speech"
"Common Tongue/Speech"
Re: Nothing Like A Bit of Violence Between Friends
Posted: Wed May 31, 2023 12:39 pm
by Hilana Chenzira
With his blade coming downwards, Hilana knew that his greater strength meant she was going to feel the shockwaves if she allowed them to connect. She darted to the side, and it was clear why she had chosen that style of skirt. Had she been wearing her usual long skirts, unless the wind spirits carried it for her, she might well have caught herself on it and stumbled. His grace with his movement and body control was absolutely to be expected; she had seen him move before. Of course, her moving allowed the Fae to get a better position, but better to move than allow him to hit her with that khopesh.
His greater size and strength meant if this had been a real fight, she was going to be losing it. This was where her Rune would come into practice, as well she knew from her lessons with Sentinel Ævril. She could even the score, such as it was, until or unless her opponent and their weapons or armour were warded. And Hilana didn’t think that that blade was just then, but at this moment, it was not necessary for her to use Elementalism. This was just to practice, for both of them, and until Hilana got a training dummy situated and could practice her forms and movements. Maybe she would ask Æros when Khyan was better if he could also practice with her.
Maybe. She didn’t know just how much Khyan wanted to see her.
She would have to wait until he got out, but maybe...
She was forced to bring up her falcata to strike and angle Æros’ khopesh away from her before it could come down on her arm, and his casual strength surprised her. It shouldn’t have, but still it did. Back and forth they went, blade on blade, steel on steel. The metal sang its song to them to dance to, and while Æros was not clumsy, Hilana was very clearly out of practice. The basics were there, but the finesse was not. The gazelle was forced on the defense more and more, but she did not let it get to her, and her boundless energy was serving her well. If given the opportunity, she might well keep going all evening until he gave up. But when one stroke got too close, instinct that had been instilled in her by her Sentinel paedagogus had Hilana enmesh Æros’ blade, turning the weight to nothing in hopes that the off-balance would be enough for him to lose it and give her a moment to prepare herself or finish their sparring match.
Re: Nothing Like A Bit of Violence Between Friends
Posted: Thu Jun 01, 2023 4:08 am
by Aeros
TIMESTAMP: -
NOTES: -
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Swift as a gazelle, Hilana bounded away from his strike; though in doing so, Æros himself moved in accordance– like a dance, they reacted to one another, ingress, egress, like the tides, each had waves of offense, of defense. Æros had been training more, however, in preparation for receiving Reaving in the first place, so the ingress was usually his, the egress hers, rusty as she was. Nevertheless, her agility afforded her much in terms of hit avoidance.
Æros had not expected much in terms of magic use in large part because he had wanted them to focus on their bladework as well as his very newly minted Reaving, so when she instinctively enmeshed his blade, it caught the starry senator very much by surprise. The shift in weight did throw him off balance and his grip had been situated for the the weapon’s proper weight; as such, in turn with the swing of his arm, the hilt slipped from his hand, and given his innate strength, the force of his swing caused the blade to fly at an angle, clattering to the floor some feet away from them both.
He looked quite taken aback, though not offended, just surprised. And once that surprise at dropping the weapon had melted away, he’d come to the realization he could actually make use of his Reaving through that ‘mistake.’ Disarmed, he bounded away from her to create distance, but, perhaps counterintuitive to Hilana’s eyes, he moved in a direction opposite to where his weapon had followed.
With a flex of aether in tandem with his movement, empowered by the Lunicite he wore, he’d thus positioned Hilana between himself and his weapon and compelled it to return to him. Given his lack of experience, his control of the blade’s angle in the air was limited, though he did try to maintain it such that the blunted edge of the blade’s curve would strike her in the upper legs. He didn’t actually want this to hurt her– but he did want to see if she would dodge it; quick as the weapon was, if her focus was on him instead of the fallen blade, she might not notice quick enough to react.
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"Vallenor Tongue/Speech"
"Vastien Tongue/Speech"
"Valasren Tongue/Speech"
"Common Tongue/Speech"
Re: Nothing Like A Bit of Violence Between Friends
Posted: Wed Jun 07, 2023 11:29 am
by Hilana Chenzira
She looked apologetic when she realized what she had done. “I am sorry, Dominus,” Hilana began. “I didn’t mean to do that. It is what one of my paedagogi has been stressing and pushing.” It was no excuse, but it did explain that it hasn’t been malicious. Then again, the girl rarely ever was, and when she did have a cloudy mood, it was passing and never actually aimed at him. His Mesmer told him that she was at least telling the truth about the fact it hadn’t been deliberate - just something that had been pressed into her over and over and over until the way he had gotten so close to scoring a good hit on her triggered it.
Which was both good and bad, as Hilana knew she needed better control. Proper practice with her weapon and in fighting situations that were not more exclusively focused on her reactions and spells from Elementalism would help her keep control of that that much better. It was about awakening that which had been forgotten and unused for years, and bringing that back and honing it. Just like everything else she did, and practice made perfect. You did not practice until you got it right, one had to practice until they could not get it wrong.
Her ears told her where his khopesh landed, and she risked a glance back to make sure she was right about that. She didn’t want to risk taking her attention off of him too much, because doing so was sure to make her miss something... but since she had just used one form of arcana, that opened the door to his using it... and he had a lot more than she did. But when he moved back, the Vastiana took a moment to breathe, her eyes narrowing. She didn’t lower her blade, because Hilana had a feeling there was a trick somewhere to be had.
SWORD FLYING SWORD FLYING SWORD FLYING!
She almost missed it, too, and had it not been for her connection with the air spirits and their warnings, the Fae would have brought that blade with the full force of the spell into one of her long legs. As it was, Hilana did the absolutely least graceful thing out of sheer instinct - the girl threw herself out of the way so that she was no longer a point on the line between Æros and his pacted weapon. And as lithe as the gazelle had been before, in her haste, she stumbled and hit the ground with a grunt, landing on the heel of one hand and her knees. Her haste at getting out of the way meant she had had some velocity behind that fall, but the girl rubbed her hand and got up... only when she was sure that her sparring partner had his blade in hand again.
Turnabout was fair play, but at least they could continue.
Re: Nothing Like A Bit of Violence Between Friends
Posted: Thu Jun 08, 2023 10:49 pm
by Aeros
TIMESTAMP: -
NOTES: -
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The timing of Hilana’s sudden apology was unexpected, though he’d felt the emotion behind it in her Symphony before she verbalized it; initially, he figured she’d say something only after their duel. He didn’t say anything in immediate response, as his mind was elsewhere, focused more on recovering from his surprise and getting his blade back in his head. He wasn’t upset with her at all, though, as her cast had given him the perfect opportunity to use the one Reaving skill he’d any real grasp over at the moment.
His own movements were easy, graceful as he was by default, but the Return of his blade ended up narrowly missing its intended target. Hilana’s evasion, however, was rushed, and as a result, the girl had landed herself on the floor by the time Æros opened his palm to catch the khopesh’s hilt. And by the time she would try to rise, the starry senator had closed the distance between them.
Effectively, this meant that he’d won this round, because if it were a real battle, he’d easily have been able to strike at her neck, provided magic use was still off the table.
“No need to have apologized so profusely– I understand that some magic becomes instinct…as much a part of you as breathing,” he said with a bit of a laugh, though breathier than normal. “A lot of Mesmer is like that for me.” His words were slowed slightly, on account of the greater need to breathe from the exertion.
“Plus, Return is the only Reaving skill I have at the moment; you gave me the opportunity to use it, though I suppose I could’ve thrown the sword myself,” he continued, a ponderous tone to his voice.
Though it was evident both his heart and breath rate had increased, Æros did not appear tired. “We can continue if you’d like– I’ve the time.”
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"Vallenor Tongue/Speech"
"Vastien Tongue/Speech"
"Valasren Tongue/Speech"
"Common Tongue/Speech"
Re: Nothing Like A Bit of Violence Between Friends
Posted: Mon Jun 12, 2023 6:57 pm
by Hilana Chenzira
He has certainly won that round, because as soon as Hilana was getting to her feet, the horned hybrid was there and in position. She may have been quick, but that movement of dodging had cost her a bit, and sure enough, Æros was faster to the draw. The blade of her falcata was pointed towards the ground, the handle towards him. She surrendered, clearly, but the girl was in good humour about it. “I suppose you could have,” Hilana nodded when he said he could have thrown it himself. “But that does leave you open. How fast can you recall it? As soon as it leaves your hand?” she wanted to know. If anything, she could always run around and he could throw it at her… maybe once she had tired him out of traditional sparring…
“Again,” Hilana agreed, upright and having dusted her hands and skirts off from hitting the ground. There was some redness on her forearms and the palm of her hand that had hit the ground, and she just shook it out, and took up her position. He had first go this time, and the Vastiana was ready to continue, starting to bounce on her toes before preparing herself into a defensive stance. Where he was breathing a bit more than usual, Hilana’s eyes were bright and her wildness sang in her symphony, and she was clearly ready to continue.
When he struck, she did her best to give as good as she got. But there was no quit in the young woman, even with her flouncing skirts. Hilana would keep going until Æros called it: while she may have been out of practice, the girl was definitely not out of shape. Given the opportunity, she would keep him occupied until well-past dinner time. She might not be able to beat him with the blade, but she might be able to outlast him.
Re: Nothing Like A Bit of Violence Between Friends
Posted: Mon Jun 12, 2023 10:24 pm
by Talisman
Review
Name: Æros
XP: 10 Points, can be used for Reaving
Lore: 13 Lores
Injuries/Ailments: None
Loot: Mixed Berry Tartlets!
Name: Hilana
XP: 10 Points, no magic
Lore: 13 Lores
Injuries/Ailments: Scraped palm and knees
Loot: None
Notes: Practice makes perfect... eventually! It's rather funny to imagine Hilana racing around while Æros throws his Khopesh at her...