Closed [Rearing Stallion] Beginning with Baking (Alexander Ross)

[Orin Fenix]

Orin managed to refrain from responding to anything Alexander had mentioned until after the squire had finished the yeast. Orin was incredibly pleased to see that Alexander not only put in the proper amount he had also used Orin's method to even out the amount of yeast. Maybe Orin was getting a little better at teaching. More likely Alexander wasn't as scatterbrained as he'd first appeared. Setting that bowl aside, Orin took up the salt. "Alright we're just adding a pinch of salt. That's exactly what it sounds like, pinch your thumb and your index together in the bag of salt and then just throw it in there." Orin demonstrated, the grains of sand familiar to Orin's practiced hands.

Setting the bag aside for Alexander, Orin reached across the table for the oil and water. Confident that Alexander couldn't mess up that simple task with the salt and needing to pick up the pace just slightly, Orin moved on to the next step. "Now, we're adding a dash of oil. I'll measure it out for you since judging it by eye is difficult unless you've done this as many times as I have." Orin put the proper amount in a cup and slid it over to Alexander. "Next what we do is put the oil in, then add hot water, mixing it slowly until the dough becomes sticky which is easy to tell because it sticks to the spoon." Orin put oil in his own bowl and then poured a stream of water in, mixing until it got to the right consistency. His part done, Orin placed the kettle next to the cup of oil. "Alright now you try. Oh and watch the water it's still pretty hot. Won't burn you but it might sting."

Focusing on cooking before speaking had allowed Orin to actually think about his replies for one. While part of his brain had been focused on teaching Alexander just as large a portion had been pondering what Alexander had told Orin. As for Orin's relationship with Sayana Orin had his doubts if his opinion could sway her. While he hoped she would at least consider it, Orin had the impression that she was wildly independent and headstrong, neither of which were necessarily bad traits. But they did mean once she'd set her mind to something changing her course was like trying to move a mountain. It was better to go around or over it and see her on the other side. "You're right that they are a good match. And I'm happy for both of them as well." Orin didn't want to start getting into the specifics of what Orin knew of Sayaba since Alexander, although friendly, was still largely unknown to Orin.

At Alexander's accusation of sorts Orin had reined in his first indignant outburst through sheer force of will. He was still shocked that people had come away from the party believing Orin was hotheaded since he was far from that. Now he was just confused. "I wouldn't do anything like that and I wasn't going insane or anything like that! It's just everything else got crazy and I didn't want any of it to ruin Sayana's hard work since she cared so much and the apartment getting damaged would've been a disaster and I didn't want fights breaking out and it just got all jumbled up for a while there. We're all still here aren't we?" Orin wished there was a hole somewhere he could hide in. Or that he could erase those memories of Orin speaking out from all of the guests' minds. He'd have to settle for proving his reputation wrong then.

Orin hadn't exactly been looking to hear Alexander's life story but he was hooked now. Orin wished there was something more he could do to help the man. It didn't seem fair that everything had been taken away from Alexander. Orin knew the hardship that could bring to a person. "You know, if there's ever a favor you need from me don't hesitate to ask. I can't promise it'll get done but I promise I can try." And Orin nodded for Alexander to continue with his tale. Orin had to interject when Alexander began discussing his stepfather's fate. "You don't know that. For all you know he's partying up a storm in Wind's Reach, wherever it is, and there's a perfectly logical explanation for why he can't get back." While Orin might have lacked conviction since he'd been harboring similar doubts himself, he didn't want Alexander to lose hope.

[Alexander Ross]

Alexander Ross Alex nodded and proceeded to add the salt into the mixture. Knowing for a fact that his hands were less familiar, he wondered if he had grabbed a bit too much, and let some of the grains fall back into the bag. Once he was finished, he dusted his hands off and set the bag aside, making sure it was well out of the way in case he should knock it over. When Orin slid the cup of oil to him, he nearly missed it. Luckily his reflex got the better of him and he caught it before it could slide to far. Lucky... it could've gone off the edge of the counter. He thought with a sigh of relief, before pouring it in. Once he had finished that, he lifted the kettle full of boiling water, his thin arms straining just a bit beneath the weight, and gently began to pour what he figured was enough into the bowl, flinching a bit when droplets of hot water splashed on his hand, but he was luckily able to sustain his grip. With that done, he took the spoon and began to stir. Alex chuckled when Orin seemed to get a bit defensive about his outburst at the party. "Yeah, we are. It was crazy, but I'm glad everyone made it out all right. And don't worry, I know you weren't going insane, you were under a lot of stress. Trust me, I would have done the same thing if I had been in the same situation." He glanced down when he noticed that the mixture began getting increasingly harder to stir. To him, it looked a bit thicker than Orin's, and he wondered if he had added enough water. He smiled at Orin's offer, and smiled even wider when he nodded for him to continue. "Well... I guess I could start when my mother first started bringing home other men after my biological father left. It was always one after the other. As long as they gave her money, she didn't care if they were slobs." He said, rolling his eyes. "Of course, being young and ignorant, I didn't see my mother for what she really was. I didn't understand how her lifestyle worked. I guess that played a big part in what's wrong with me today. One night, she brought home a different man. He seemed nicer than the others my mother had. He liked to work, and made a fair amount of money. I guess that's what really made my mother fall in love: the fact that he would spend money on her almost every day. I thought that she had finally found someone who she could settle down with. Of course, I was wrong." He stopped stirring for a moment to let his arm rest, before continuing. "One day, he attacked my mother. I ran out of the house to find a knight, but he chased me down and dragged me back, and beat the shyke out of me while my mother had run off to save her own ass. Punched me, kicked me, choked me out, dragged me around by the hair... He really petched me up, to say in the least." He cringed at the memory, but continued. "It went on like that for nine years. I tried to persuade my mother to leave him, but all she cared about was the money he gave her. It was then that I realized that my mother never cared if I lived or died. So, by the time I turned fifteen, I snapped. I called them both worthless dogs, and that they should crawl in a hole and bury themselves alive. With that, I stormed out of the house and to my stepfather's house." Alex seemed full of pride that he had gotten himself out of that situation. "I lived with my stepfather and his mother up until I joined the Order. And, well... I guess you know the rest." He said, glancing down at the dough he had been stirring. "Um, should I add a little bit more water? It looks a bit thick to me."

[Orin Fenix]

Orin almost winced when he saw the droplets of water splash onto Alexander. However the water should have been just slightly above lukewarm. And the man had seemed to take it all in stride so Orin figured that the man would be fine. And even if he wasn't there wasn't really anything Orin could do. Besides, as far as Orin knew, squires and Knights got free healing sessions at Soothing Waters, so if the squire had indeed gotten hurt by the water there was nothing stopping him from getting aid there. And if he was working on a stoic facade then Orin should just leave him to it.

Orin grimaced. He had been under quite a bit of pressure at the party. Seeing Aren had been a shock then the whole incident regarding the Zith and finally that murderer appearing. But still there had been no call for Orin to react as he had. Sayana had just been very kind to him and actually invited him to the party even when he'd only been expecting to be the staff, and Orin had just been trying to repay the favor. And then situations kept cropping up and since Orin had volunteered in his mind to help out he'd felt weirdly responsible for them, especially since Sayana had seemed busy with other matters. And Aren who would have been the logical choice to help out had the social skills of a gnat. So that wasn't going to happen.

Orin did his best to stay silent during Alexander's admittedly troubling tale. It far too closely resembled Orin's life for Orin to be comfortable hearing it. And even if it hadn't it was a horrible story and Orin couldn't believe that something like that had happened in Syliras. He knew it had managed to slip under the Knight's notice in Mithryn mostly because what happened in someone's own home was hard to regulate. But not impossible. Mithryn Outpost which while under the control of the Sylliran Order, at least had some partial autonomy and didn't seem to feel the same degree of dependence on the Order. Syliras though, was supposed to be tightly controlled and protected by the Knights. So that means either they weren't as all-knowing as they seemed or they had deliberately let a young boy get beaten and abused by his father and allowed a neglectful mother to continue to be in charge of the child's care.

There was one aspect of Alexander's story that didn't add up though, no matter how Orin looked at it. "So wait, who was your stepfather? I mean I assume he wasn't one of the men that your mother kept ah, seeing was he? Did your mother remarry or something and then they separated? Or did you just call him your stepfather because he was like a father to you?" It simply didn't make sense. If Alexander's mother had remarried and to a good man who had been able to support Alexander's upbringing she would have had no need to sell her body and mind for cash. But if she hadn't remarried this man couldn't be Alexander's stepfather in the technical sense of the term. So the only possible way for these events to have played out as they had was for Alexander's mother to have remarried, then driven the man away but never got a divorce. It was all very confusing. Since Alexander's stepfather clearly cared for Alexander, he would he have fought tooth and nail for him. And if he'd brought the Knights into it he might very well have won custody of Alexander. Hopefully there was a simple explanation for all this.

When Alexander asked at the end of his recounting of his past if he should add more water, Orin just reached over and poured more in. "You did need more water but there's an easy fix for that. Alright, I'm going to give you a few instructions. Right now we sift a bit of flour in until the dough is no longer sticky. Got it?, Next we're going to knead the dough. It's very simple. Once it's kneaded we'll put it under damp cloths in the bowls." Orin dipped two cloths into a bucket of water that was fairly close and laid them beside the two bowls. Orin took his hand and scooped up some flour. He began shaking it cautiously over the dough, letting small streams fall through his fingers, stirring all the while. When it reached the proper consistency Orin dumped the remaining flour back in its sack then pulled the dough from its bowl. He placed it on a relatively clear part of the counter. He put his knuckles to it and rolled them repeatedly across the dough, then flipped it over and did it to the other side. Once done, Orin put it back in the bowl and then leaned over the table to check on Alexander's progress.

[Alexander Ross]

Alexander Ross Alexander had completely forgotten to explain how his stepfather became related, and he sighed, remembering the first memory as if it had only happened a short time ago. Of course, according to some, thirteen years does not seem like that long, but it was almost an eternity from his point of view. How he wished he could go back in time to enjoy the time he spent with his stepfather. "Oh! I never explained that, did I?" He said, continuing to stir after Orin had poured in just enough water to give the mixture the right amount of consistancy. "Well, my mother and stepfather first met when I was six. Apparently, it was 'love at first sight'." He said with a bit of a scoff. He never believed in love at first sight. To him, the thought of falling head over heels in love with someone as soon as you met them seemed insanely preposterous. "I honestly don't know what he saw in her, but they got married almost two seasons later. They were together for a few more, until he suddenly left, but they never officially divorced. I stayed in touch with him, though. Once I was old enough to understand what had been happening, I asked him why he didn't take me with him." He shrugged and pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose before continuing. "It turns out he was homeless at the time, and owed a lot of people money. He had to do quite a bit of work in order to pay off his debts, and was in no condition to take on a child by himself. I guess... I'm still angry that he didn't take me on sooner, but at the same time I understand why he couldn't." Then he chuckled. "But if he is in Wind Reach partying up a storm, then I'll have to knock him over the head for having me so worried. That is, if I make the journey." Carefully following Orin's example, Alex scooped out some of the flouer and, as carefully as he could, let the white powder gently cascade into the dough, stirring carefully. Once or twice, the bowl moved while he was stirring it, a result of having no extra hands to hold it in place. Once he was sure he had enough, he put the remaining flour back and, with a bit of a struggle, lifted the dough out and plopped it on the counter. Going by Orin's demonstration, he rolled his knuckles across the dough repleatedly, before turning it over and doing the same. Once he put the dough back into the bowl, he sighed and turned to Orin. "How's that?" He asked.

[Orin Fenix]

Alexander's story did make a lot more sense now that he explained his mother's relationship to his stepfather. Still there was one aspect of the whole scenario that was still bothering Orin. He probably shouldn't push his luck but he was practically dying to know. "This is horribly personal but why would your mother become involved with all those other men if she loved your stepfather so? Surely she knew that he would come back to her as soon as he was able if it was love at first sight? I mean there are so many other ways she could've scraped by isn't there? I'm sorry you don't have to answer any of that it's just, well, forgive, I just don't think anyone should treat their family so, even if it was mostly through inaction. Not doing something in the face of evil is almost supporting it. Not that your mother was evil though not that at all I just I guess I just mean to say that you had it tough and it was completely preventable. Hopefully it starts looking up for you soon." Orin did hope that Alexander could find a family of sorts with the Syliran Order. While there were certainly individuals among the Knights that Orin didn't get along with overall they were good people. And there were just as many people who Orin had problems with outside the Order. But still, regardless of their personalities the Knights looked after their own and Orin couldn't imagine that wouldn't hold true for Alexander.

Orin draped the cloths over both bowls and grinned happily at Alexander. "Perfect. Now I'm just going to talk you through the rest of this process. We let it rise for a half-bell then put it into a pan and into the oven for just over a half-bell. Then we're all set although usually I wrap it in a wet cloth for a few chimes to soften the crust. You don't need to stick around for any of that. It's about two chimes worth of work for about a bell's worth of waiting." Orin paused, suddenly uncertain. He would normally use this time to train some of his physical skills but Orin wasn't sure how appropriate it was for him to be working on his combat anywhere outside the Anthonius Fighter's Pits. But Alexander was a squire so he probably had at least some martial prowess. So Orin was hesitating, wavering between asking Alexander to spar or just continuing to talk to the man. However Orin's sense of competition suddenly flared up and he decided it might be good to pit his skills against a squire's. It would be a good test of Orin's progress. And if Alexander just wanted to work on technique that was fine with Orin as well. Every little bit helped.

"So ah, I well, I usually try and get a bit of training in each morning. Combat that is! I don't know if you're interested. I don't know very many weapons, only daggers actually. Actually, I don't know how to fight at all really. I mean I can throw a punch but that's about it. Do you think you could help me?" Orin ran a hand through his hair and shrugged, embarrassed. Without waiting for Alexander's answer Orin went through the backdoor into the alley outside The Rearing Stallion. Taking out his dagger, Orin began lunging into strikes, switching between left and right every so often. It was sloppy, and Orin took a moment to correct his footwork before resuming the practice. Whatever Alexander Orin wanted to get a bit of work in with his daggers every day. Even if there wasn't a trainer and Orin was making half of this up as he went, it was still probably good practice for Orin.

[Alexander Ross]

Alexander Ross Alexander was a bit surprised how hesitant Orin was about pushing for more details. He didn't blame him one bit, though. If Alex had just listened to someone's life story, he too would be hesitant about asking for more details, especially ones so personal. But he didn't feel as if Orin was invading, but merely curious, which Alex could not help but respect. If anything, he was glad that Orin was interested in knowing about him, especially since Alex never considered himself a very interesting person. It was hard to believe that Orin was the first person that he actually opened up to. "Oh, it's no problem at all! I'm glad you're asking, in fact. I think it was because my mother brought another man home at the time. She told me that he was only a friend, and not to say anything about it when my stepfather got home. I don't exactly remember the details, but something tells me that my mother wasn't as secretive as she thought, because he somehow found out, that's when he left. Also, I don't believe he had any knowledge of how my mother treated me, because she was always so nice when he was around..." He stopped, unable to recall anything else... or rather, not wanting to. "I don't believe my stepfather was a bad man, he just did what he had to do. I'm sure that if things were different with him, he would have taken custody of me before my mother could say anything to stop him. I'll tell you one thing, though: The only thing that kept him from cutting down the abusive one, was Syliras's laws against murder." "So ah, I well, I usually try and get a bit of training in each morning. Combat that is! I don't know if you're interested. I don't know very many weapons, only daggers actually. Actually, I don't know how to fight at all really. I mean I can throw a punch but that's about it. Do you think you could help me?" At this, Alex beamed and nodded, following the cook out the door. He watched for a moment as he began training with his dagger, then looked down at his own hands. He had no experience with fighting without weapons, and he was pretty sure that Orin had much either, but he figured that they may be able to figure something out. "Maybe we could just use our fists? I mean, if it's all right. I have no idea how, and I don't think you do, but maybe we can just improvise for now? At least until we both get proper training? That, and I don't think a longsword would be fair against a dagger, but I could be wrong."

[Orin Fenix]

Orin waited a few moments before responding to Alexander. He'd finally managed to make his lunges into something that more closely resembled an actual attack rather than random flailing. In fact he'd worked up a good rhythm and got more power behind his thrusts. So he did a few more, ignoring the slight strain in his muscles, wanting to make sure the movements were locked into his body so Orin would react instinctively. However, he couldn't put Alexander off for that long and Orin did his last two stabs before sheathing his dagger.

Orin gave himself a few ticks to collect his thoughts. "So yes sure I mean I guess I can give you a few pointers but this might be like a blind person being led by, well, another blind person. Or something equally useless along those lines, you get it right? But anyway I can show you what little I know and then I guess we can kind of figure it out from there? Oh and to answer your question about using a longsword against a dagger I've never personally tried it but I've heard that it's a difficult fight for the dagger user but not impossible. Actually it's pretty much the same as using the dagger against any other opponent. If I was fighting you for real I'd do a lot of dodging and deflecting and hope to score on you a few times to weaken you or foil your reach by getting in close. After all you can't do much if we're basically on top of one another I can. I think. I've never really had a chance to test my theory, well, one that worked at least." Orin shrugged embarrassed. He'd gotten that little bit of information off a former knight who should know and so Orin trusted it. And there were a lot of advantages to daggers. For someone like Orin, who would never be strong enough to keep a hold of any of the larger weapons without snapping his wrist, they were invaluable. They also were easy to conceal both under the clothes and as regular eating knives. And if you were quick and clever you could best an opponent who thought that just because they were small they were useless. And they were cheap to buy and maintain.

Still Orin had gone off on a bit of a tangent there and really needed to get this session rolling. Coming closer to Alexander, Orin made fists of his hands and dropped awkwardly into a crouch. It was far from imperfect but it at least resembled the proper form. Orin put his left foot ahead then turned to Alexander. "Alright so I think the general idea and I'm sorry in advance since this is probably horribly and completely wrong is that you kind of use the momentum of your foot moving forward to add more power to your punches. Like, I guess just watch me." Orin stepped forward with his right foot and at the same time threw his right fist forward. It was a slowed down version of what Orin thought he should be doing. Of course he'd totally forgotten that he needed to twist his chest so the left shoulder was slightly ahead as well so his fist went awry. Also Orin didn't have a target. He adjusted his form and reset then threw it again this time placing an imaginary opponent's chest in the center of the target area. The nice thing about imaginary foes is you can always hit them. Wish it worked that way in reality Orin threw one more punch with his right fist at full speed this time then switched to his left.

He turned to Alexander and held out his hands in a helpless gesture. Orin didn't really know what else he could do. "So uh, yeah that's it I guess. You should probably check those with your patron. Who is your patron by the way, I mean, just wondering doubtful that I would know him. Or her. Or whatever." Orin scratched his head then realized that he was forgetting the most important part of this whole exercise. "You need to practice! Here use my forearm, to aim your punch at I mean." Orin was well used to his forearm being in pain and it barely bothered him unless it was excruciating these days. A few more bruises wouldn't make a difference. And if Orin was going to be getting hit there or smashing them against the ground as much as he had been in the past, he should probably toughen them up.

[Alexander Ross]

Alexander Ross Alex nodded at this. He had no experience with using daggers either, so he figured that there would be some flaw in his statement. He never really cared for using strength or brute force to get the best of an opponent, mainly because he could not gain any muscle for the life of him. He would much rather use his lightweight build to his advantage; dodging, ducking, and using quick strikes to get at an opponent. He just never had the chance to train with daggers before, considering his belief that a smaller weapon couldn't possibly match against a larger one. But now that Orin explained it, using daggers seemed equivalent to using any other normal-sized weapon, aside from the different techniques used. The boy watched as Orin demonstrated a punch, but didn't exactly execute it right. He bit his lip as he saw Orin's aim go a bit awry. He figured that it was a mistake, and watched as the cook readjusted his stance, this time throwing a punch that seemed more solid. It looked about right... or more rather, it looked similar to how he had seen other knights and squires do it. Of course, with a bit of practice and some proper training, it shouldn't be too hard to master. "Oh, my patron's name is Ranqor Grayne. He's... one of the more smarter knights. You might have heard of him. He's nicknamed Featherblade, because he stabbed some poor idiot in the eye with a quill during a bar fight. I'm afraid he doesn't have any knowledge in unarmed combat, either. I guess it's mainly because he's one of those types to be seen with a quill, rather than a sword." Alex replied to Orin's question with a shrug. He was a bit hesitant when the cook offered his forearm, but of course, Alex figured that he possibly couldn't do much damage, given his novice experience. He raised his fists and bent his knees as Orin had done. Taking a deep breath, he sailed one of his fists at the cook's forearm. It ended up being more sloppy than he had planned. The punch hit it's mark, but it was not very strong considering that he completely forgot to use his foot for momentum. He recoiled and shrugged a bit. "Well... That could have been better."

[Orin Fenix]

Orin hadn’t ever heard of Alexander’s patron but the man sounded like quite the character. Putting someone’s eye out with a quill took skill and bravery, even if it did sound horribly gruesome. Still Orin was shocked to hear that the Syliran Order took in scholars as well as fighters. ”What do you mean he’s one of those with a quill and not a sword? I was under the impression, I mean I thought that the Knighthood, well, it’s a Knighthood. Don’t that mean they are primarily combatants and everything else last? I mean I just find it surprising to hear that the Order would let anyone like what you’re describing Ser Grayne as rise in their ranks.” Orin wasn’t precisely troubled by this revelation just a bit confused. His opinions of the Syliran Order were changing almost daily now. Still, Orin decided that one man of learning wouldn’t make up for the much more rugged majority of Knights who were far more likely to throw a punch than engage in an intellectual debate. Not that Orin had done either with a Knight or a squire for that matter. Orin just tried to steer clear of the Knighthood. They were all good people but they demanded a lot of citizens and catching their attention usually didn’t end well for non-members. Orin was just lucky he didn’t have anything that would interest the Order either physically or mentally.

Alexander’s fist smacked into Orin’s arm but there was almost no force behind it. Orin frowned. He didn’t quite know how to correct Alexander’s punches other than physically touching the squire. Orin was horribly uncomfortable with the idea for two reasons. First, touching anyone was just not something Orin was comfortable with. Since he’d grown up with abuse usually the only type of physical contact he got was being hit. So that had left him with a quite skewed view of it. Of course, Alexander probably hadn’t fared much better if his story was anything to go off of. On the other hand, Orin was well aware of the implication of touching another man on his legs and chest, especially in public and away from the training grounds. Still, Orin rather doubted Alexander would get that type of impression especially if Orin did his best to be matter of fact about the entire procedure. So, although Orin hesitated for a few ticks, in the end he decided it would do Alexander more good if Orin used a hands on approach.
Walking up to the squire Orin knelt down so he could adjust the man’s feet. ”So I hope you don’t mind but I’m just going to help you out a bit here. So just let me give you a few pointers or whatever I’m supposed to be calling them.” Reaching out, Orin grabbed Alexander’s right leg and lifted it off the ground. Orin planted it firmly behind the left, about two paces away. He made sure that Alexander’s feet were both pointing forward by the simple expedient of moving them into place. Standing up Orin paused looking over Alexander’s form. Of course, Orin was completely unsure about all of this himself. He needed to work it out for himself before he gave Alexander any more advice. ”Ah do you mind terribly just staying right there for a moment I just need to figure something out.” Orin stammered that last statement out with a slight blush on his face. It was humiliating for Orin to be trying to demonstrate fighting to Alexander when Orin knew absolutely nothing of it himself.
Dropping into the crouch, Orin brought his hands up to the ready position. Of course, Orin immediately realized that his own feet weren’t properly positioned so he shuffled them sheepishly until they were correct. Orin twisted his chest to the right and fisted his hands. Trying to determine what exactly he did when he threw a punch Orin looked down. His elbows seemed to be making a difference. His left arm was slightly in front, guarding Orin’s chest and face and his right elbow was tucked into his body. Orin threw a punch just to ensure that his arms and legs were actually in the right place. Orin was pleased that it was a lot smoother this time around. He switched to his left, but ran into even more problems on that side. Every time Orin tried to move his shoulders he kept stepping out with his feet. Finally after four or five attempts he managed to get everything where it was supposed to and threw a quick left jab. Returning to Alexander, with an embarrassed expression on his face, Orin ran a hand through his hair. ”I’m sorry that took so long and I hope you weren’t watching my pathetic performance. I mean, it’s fine if you were but I’m probably doing most of this absolutely and completely wrong. Anyway, let’s get back to you now, sounds like a good idea to me.” Taking the few steps back to Alexander Orin put his hands on the other man’s shoulders and forcibly moved them to the right. He placed Alexander’s left arm slighting in front of his body and put the right arm into the body and slightly back.

Retreating back to his prior placement as Alexander’s training buddy Orin put his forearms up and together in front of his face. ”I hope that helps. Ready to give it another go?” Belatedly Orin braced himself for the incoming pain. If he’d actually managed to put Alexander in the right stance then the next punch that came in would hurt quite a bit. At least the man’s accuracy was good and Orin’s forearms were a rather large target. So Orin was just worried about a bruise and that was definitely something he could handle.

[Alexander Ross]

Alexander Ross "Well, I thought the same thing at first, until I actually joined the Knighthood." Alex replied with a nod. "It turns out that every form of authority needs people who know more than just how to swing a sword and shoot a bow. I mean, in my honest opinion, you can't have good fighters if they don't have the brains." He tapped his index finger to his temple for emphasis. "Of course, I don't have a lot of smarts compared to others, but I do plan on learning. That's one of the main reasons I'm glad to have Ser Grayne as a patron. Almost any squire that he raises come out smarter in the end." After Alex had delivered his poor excuse for a punch, he stepped back a bit when Orin suddenly reached down to adjust his feet. ”So I hope you don’t mind but I’m just going to help you out a bit here. So just let me give you a few pointers or whatever I’m supposed to be calling them.” The cook said, before carefully placing his right leg behind the left. For a moment, he watched as Orin tried demonstrating again, shuffling a bit in order to get his feet in the right position, before finally delivering a fine-looking left jab. He shook his head and smiled at Orin's words. "It's all right, I wouldn't exactly call it pathetic, not if you're only still learning." When it came to choice words, he had certain views on each of them. "Pathetic" was one of those words. "And if we are doing it wrong, then at least it's something we can use until we learn a little more about it." He said, allowing Orin to adjust his shoulders and hands. He had to admit, the way he held his stance now felt a great deal more stable than just standing normally. Alex took a deep breath when Orin retreated back to his previous stance, putting his forearms up to cover his face. This time, he used his right foot for momentum as he threw a left jab. Unlike the last punch, this one contained a bit more force, but not by much. Mostly, it was due to the fact that the boy was right-handed, and his left had always felt a bit weaker than his right. But it was something, at least. "Hey... I have a favor to ask of you." He said, recoiling his fist.