Closed The Divine & The Savage

[Halin'a & Ayatah]

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The Divine & The Savage

Postby Ayatah on July 31st, 2014, 2:33 pm

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ooc :
No worries! I'm a bit rusty as well :)



Ayatah's eyes remained fixed on Halin'a, her brows furrowed in concentration as she watched his first attempt at stabbing her. He missed, but to her surprise, he didn't seem to need any guidance to correct himself. This impressed her. When learning to spar, it seemed most people were quick to be frustrated should their early attempts be far from perfect. Even Ayatah had had the odd one or two tanstrums when she was learning to fight as a child in Taloba. But Halin'a remained calm, focused. This was promising.

"You're doing well." She said as the point of his blade poked her stomach, touching one of the three long scars, now faded, that stretched across the width of her abdomen. "You are a quick learner, and know where you go wrong." She answer his grin with one of her own, then retook her side-wards stance.

The smile was still on her face when she spoke next, and the words were accompanied by a playful quirk of her eyebrows, "I'm not going to go that easy on you the whole time, though. Try again." This time when he would go to stab at her, Ayatah would step swiftly to the right, twirling in a slow circle like a dancer.

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The Divine & The Savage

Postby Halin'a on July 31st, 2014, 3:10 pm

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Halin'a obeyed, taking less time than he had previously to strike; he knew Ayatah was going to dodge, but he didn't have any way of seeing where to or how she was going to move, so he settled for simply aiming for the middle of her stomach; he had learned in his fifty-seven years since his fall that when the opportunity presented itself, it would be wise to observe all that he could, and take his time before trying to devise a plan of attack. A plan based upon many gathered facts was better than one based only on instinct.

When he struck, Halin'a was careful to watch Ayatah's body, watching the way it tensed and moved just before his blade touched her, moving her to the side and into a pirouette that carried her away from his blade. Halin'a overbalanced, too caught up in observing Ayatah, and stumbled to catch himself, flushing slightly. Still, he moved back into his original position. "How did I do?" he asked.
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The Divine & The Savage

Postby Ayatah on August 4th, 2014, 3:48 pm

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"You did well." Ayatah replied simply, with a shrug of her shoulders and an assuring smile. And in truth, Halin'a had reacted once again in an impressive manner: he concentrated dutifully, and seemed to pay close attention to Aya's movements and dodge.

She took up the same, sideward on stance again. "Sometimes it's difficult to guess what an opponent will do next." Ayatah said, flexing her knees so she bobbed and down minutely. She pointed to her feet, "But in this instance, see how my right foot is pointed to the right, instead of towards you? And how the majority of my weight is also shifted towards my right?" She emphasised these actions by twisting her right foot in the same direction until her ankle clicked, and shifting all her weight in that direction too. "All these indicate that I'm going to avoid your strike and go off to the right..." her voice trailed off after that final word, and Ayatah reached out with her right hand to touch the point of the blade. She was struggling to explain how to guide what his next actions should be, so she decided to simply show him as opposed to describe.

With a gentle touch so as not to unbalance Halin'a, Ayatah pulled the blade to the right side of her, leaving a gap of approximately a foot between her and the scimitar. "So, you want to bring your weapon to the side which you think I'm going to turn into. However, you'll need to leave a gap between your target and the weapon," her hand wavered between the space between her waist and the scimitar blade, "mainly to allow you to have enough room to bring some force into your blow, but also to account for the movement of your opponent."

She regained a normal stance, and her hands hung at her side. She watched his face carefully, hunting for any signs of confusion, "does this make sense? It is hard to describe...."

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The Divine & The Savage

Postby Halin'a on August 4th, 2014, 4:33 pm

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Halin'a smiled at her praise, but quickly refocused on Ayatah's instructions. He followed her movement with his gaze and body, letting her guide him. "I think I have it," he said after she was finished. "So, I watch your feet and where you seem to be putting your weight, and then adjust to... intercept?" He set himself back up in the original stance. "Shall we try again?"

He found himself having fun; more fun than he'd had in quite a while, if he was honest. Yes, this was hard work, and Halin'a had to focus more than he was used to, but he liked the actions, liked learning, and liked learning to use his body in a way that could protect himself and others. That was one of the core parts of Halin'a: his protectiveness. It was almost a hero complex, but he couldn't leave someone he perceived to be in trouble to suffer alone. He'd been reprimanded by those that he'd attempted to help before, but that hadn't served as much of a deterrent.
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The Divine & The Savage

Postby Ayatah on August 5th, 2014, 6:02 pm

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She was pleased with his enthusiasm, so Ayatah nodded happily to his request to try again, "yes, of course!" She started to regain her sidewards position, but Aya relaxed her muscles just once to quickly mention, "once we've tried this a couple more times, we could move onto unarmed combat if you want?"

This time, she hoped Halin'a would notice how it was her left foot that was pointed, indicating she would move off in this direction as soon he went to jab at her stomach. Again, her movements were slow and precise, so as soon as the point of the scimata would come towards her, she would pirouette herself to the side.

Once again, Ayatah's dark eyes were on Halin'a; his arms, feet and torso. He was a quick learner indeed, but Aya knew that bad habits were easy to develop - Myri, even she was known to lose her posture every so often! This young male appeared to be enjoying learning the ways of combat, which certainly made Ayatah happy to see. And if she were to be truly honest, she was rather enjoying being a teacher.

oocI'm hoping we've gone through enough for you to gain the maximum 5 points in your weaponry skill- what do you think, are you happy to move onto unarmed after a couple more posts?

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The Divine & The Savage

Postby Halin'a on August 5th, 2014, 7:41 pm

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Halin'a grinned. "I'd like that-- that will certainly be more useful in close quarters than a scimitar." Halin'a paid attention to Ayatah's body, carefully watching for clues-- and he wasn't disappointed. This time, Ayatah looked like she would be moving to the left, so as Halin'a attempted to hit her with the mock sword, he shifted his own thrust to the left. He wasn't quite fast enough, not hitting Ayatah in the stomach as he'd aimed for, but rather just brushed her side. Halin'a frowned, returning to his original stance and experimentally repeating the movement-- he thought that he hadn't let his foot move to keep his balance, thus keeping him from reaching the full potential of his movement.

"Again," Halin'a insisted, a bit of stubbornness flaring. He would get this right before they were done with this session, come hell or high water. The second time he managed to tap Ayatah in the stomach, and he nodded, satisfied with that for now.

OOCSorry if that last paragraph was a bit god-moddish; I can fix it if you've got an issue with it. :)
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The Divine & The Savage

Postby Ayatah on August 6th, 2014, 2:32 pm

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oocNo worries, no issues here. It's always difficult to do sparring/training threads without godmodding :)

Ayatah enjoyed seeing that flash of stubbornness; she recognised it in herself even now at times when she trained. It was a sign of passion, a desire to perfect the skill of battle. So she regained her stance, twisting to the right this time, and felt another surge of pride when she the blade poked her stomach. "Yes! Well done." She praised, clapping her hands with excitement. It was an enjoyable experience, seeing how Halin'a improved with each attempt.

She paused to stretch her legs - all that twirling around had tweaked a muscle in the back of her thighs. Once the dull ache had surpassed, Ayatah nodded succinctly, as if closing the first chapter of their training session. "Right... So. Unarmed combat." As before, she paused to try and consider how to introduce this means of combat.

The best way to start, she decided, was to describe her own previous training and use of this form of fighting. "Where I come from, unarmed combat only truly exists within Taloba city. If you step out into the jungle without a weapon, you will die." The fact was short and sweet, one that could not be denied. "So unarmed combat - brawling, or anything similar - is more learnt through play fighting, or childhood squabbles. We learn some in the Myrian military, but it is far from the main focus of training."

Being weaker than her pureblooded counterparts, Ayatah had generally avoided close-up fighting. It usually ended with her sporting a black eye or bloody nose, if not worse. But her clanmates had been keen for her to learn at least the basics, so she had begrudgingly taken lessons under her older cousins and aunts.

"You'll want to take the same stance as before, sideways on." Ayatah also took up the position, but this time she positioned herself next to Halin'a and not opposite him. "And the first thing, I guess, is a punch." She bought her hands - both rolled into fists - up to guard her face from an invisible opponent. Then she pushed her right hand out, her body twisting into the punch to throw more weight behind it. "Ideally, you should move your body into the punch to make sure that when you connect with your opponent, you actually do some damage."

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The Divine & The Savage

Postby Halin'a on August 6th, 2014, 2:53 pm

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OOCStill, if I ever do anything, feel free to slap me with a fish or something and ask me to rewrite it. :)

Halin'a joined in with his own cheer, a short celebration before buckling down and listening once more. He nodded in agreement with her story of the jungles of Falyndar-- he'd never been there personally, but he had heard other stories. It made sense that one could not protect oneself without a weapon of some sort when one's opponents would be animals and not other men. When Ayatah moved next to him, Halin'a made sure to watch her carefully, setting his own body up in the same way that the Myrian did hers. He could throw a decent punch if it came down to it, although he'd usually relied mostly on simply using his bulk and size to physically push others where he wanted them, or at least away from where he didn't.

He watched Ayatah strike out, analyzing how her body moved to throw her weight into the punch to give it more force. Then, he settled into the stance, bringing his own fists up and taking a breath before lashing out, attempting to twist his own body in a fashion similar to the way Ayatah had twisted hers; he got the feeling that he didn't quite succeed, although it was had to tell when striking at air and not an actual, physical target.
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Postby Ayatah on August 7th, 2014, 8:46 pm

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Once again, Ayatah found herself thrilled at the enthusiasm and quick learning og Halin'a. His positioning was spot on, as was the way he carried his body through with the punch. "Yes, good." She praised, nodding keenly, "you have the basic offensive down. But defence is just as important, if not more so." Especially in the line of work Halin'a was in, Ayatah mused as she paused momentarily.

How to word this to avoid insulting him?

"It might be uh -- useful, for you to learn how to defend yourself from someone from the, erm -- behind." The high intonation at the end of her sentence would betray Aya's lack of confidence in her wording. Common was not, after all, her mother tongue, and there times when she did not know how to best word her thoughts.

She cleared her throat awkwardly, and then briskly set about her next lesson. "Right. So. When someone tries to attack from behind, most enemies will grab at least one of your arms. Otherwise, you could get away easier." The shrug of her shoulders indicated the simplicity of the statement. "But the trick is to not panic - which is easier said than done." Even as a trained Myrian warrior, Ayatah still felt that glimmer of cold panic if someone grabbed her from behind - a common tactic during her training.

Ayatah stood with her arms crossed in 'X' on her chest, mimicking a struggle against an invisible attacker. "The first thing you want to do is, obviously, free your arms. And the most efficient way to do that is by..." She threw back her head in a dramatic gesture, hitting her enemy in the invisible nose with the rear of her head, "...connecting the back of your skull to your attacker's nose, or teeth. Most people, if you've hit them hard enough, will instinctively let you go. Once they have, you can stomp on their feet, punch them... anything to keep them busy wailing in pain whilst you either get a weapon, or run the shyke away."

After modelling the defensive actions she wished Halin'a to learn, Ayatah took a step towards him. "Now, the best way of learning is by... doing. So if you don't mind, I'm going to try and... attack you." The final two words were accompanied by a rather sheepish grin.

That's right, Myrian. Attack your student...

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The Divine & The Savage

Postby Halin'a on August 7th, 2014, 10:27 pm

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Halin'a couldn't help but be amused by the way Ayatah stumbled over her words, but he didn't say anything, not wanting to make the Myrian more uncomfortable than she had to be.

When Ayatah explained how to startle an attacker into letting go, Halin'a couldn't help but chuckle. "I'm an Ethaefal; at night, I wear the horns of my kind. They curve and twine behind my head, and will deal much more damage than just my skull," he said with a wolfish grin. At last, a way that his horns could be used for something productive, not just lucrative or decorative.

The Ethaefal nodded when Ayatah told Halin'a what she was going to do. "All right," he said easily; he agreed with her. The best way to learn was to do, and it would be far better to do now, in a controlled environment, than in an actual dangerous situation.
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