[Bronze Woods] Home Again (Fallon]

by **Rhuryc** on June 17th, 2013, 7:17 am

"Good. Never tighten up. If your muscles are locked you can be disarmed, or put off balance. And it makes you slower." Rhuryc spoke while he observed the Squire's stance. Proper Knight technique and all. He fought as the Sylirian's did, any kind of training he offered the girl would be easily obscured as mimicry.

"There. Now you can hold a sword. Before you swing it learn to move with it. The blade is extra weight, she can be a curse as much as a boon if you don't treat her as a partner. First. Footwork." When did he decide to give an impromptu lesson in swordplay? Perhaps this is what he did now. No matter. He shifted his stance and swept his back foot around. First he brought it in in a forward crescent, met his other foot, then brought it out to return to the same stance. The motion was easy. Smooth. and he was never once off balance.

"You can feel your surroundings with your movement. A bad step can end you as easily as steel through the chest." He took another similar step toward the squire. He was close enough now to strike. "Go ahead. Stay relaxed, keep your shoulders square, but don't tense. Try to not look where you're going, but feel it - close your eyes if you have to, but put the awkward motion out of your mind. Ignore the sword for now."

by **Fallon** on June 17th, 2013, 9:03 pm

Fallon flinched and felt herself go straight out of reflex. Having the eyes of another fixed upon her was uneasy to say the least, firstly because he was watching, secondly because he was a stranger. She tried to relax; she tried not to be tight. But it sounded a lot easier than it actually was. Swaying was becoming hard to resist, her feet turning inwards out of instinct and an attempt to keep balance. The squire cocked an eyebrow at the comment Rhuryc made.
“A partner?” her lips pursed with thought as she studied his foot work “Bit like a dance…?”

She gave a blink, and puffed out the air as she tried to mimic him. Of course, he made it look easy. The signs of an expert, a man who had lived by the blade. She swept her left foot – her back foot – forward, and immediately found herself wobbling on the spot. Her arm that she had held back came out through reflex as she steadied herself. She shuffled the foot back, a few taps against the ground as she did. Frowning the squire watched him come forward with the same movement, and leaned back on her heels.

“You know… you can get people that find it hard to relax?” she looked down at her knuckles that gripped around the hilt of the blade “I think I’m one of those people.” Wetting her lips she listened to his advice and proceeded to square her shoulders the best she could. An untrained mind and body, against someone who was. She wiggled her toes, before shaking her head “Don’t look, feel? So instinct over thought.”

There was a moment of thought, followed by clarity. Fallon nodded. She knew what she wanted to do, it was just doing it. Slowly and steadily, she brought her back foot curving round once more stepping into it “Step into it, bring the blade up to block, bring the free hand round to… no no…” She snapped back quickly, shaking her head and the frown once more fixing itself in place. She spoke more to herself than to Rhuryc himself, “That’s wrong. Should not be like that… what am I missing?”
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