Flashback Utopia In Sunberth

[Logan Storm]

Demitri looked scared of Logan when he said wanted them to spar, like a puppy being asked to jump off a tall building. Was Logan really that scary? Of course he had the mass of a man but that did not mean he had the heart of one.

After a moment to herself she turned as fearless, and as playful, as ever. It calmed Logan down a little, for he feared that she would have a heart attack before the sparring began.

When Demitri was ready she struck after him. A right punch straight to the face. He said he would block the punch, yes, but a part of him wanted to know how strong she was. He thought about how frail her hands seem and how sturdy his jaw was then decided against it. He simply grabbed her hand and awaited her next move. If she did decide to kick him then he would block it with no doubt; however, kicking would be hard to do with Logan's palm firmly holding Demitri's right fist.

When he had the chance he would say, "Be careful of where you punch on the face. The human fist is a little softer than one would think. The jaw, a little harder. If you aren't careful you might break your own knucles."

He would let go of her and swiftly back away. A good distance would be gained before he decided to move in to attack her. He would take two steps forward then flick his right fist in her face. This would not connect, as it was meant only to scare her into flinching. The real attack would be her gut which he would strike with his left hand.

However, as Logan would bend his shoulder, fold his fist, and prepare to deliver Demitri her first feeling of poor defense consequence, he would lessen his grip and remove his fist formation. Logan would only poke her belly, which will give her exactly no harm.

He couldn't do it, he couldn't see her hurt. No matter what he told her, his fist and fingers could never lock together to do some damage to her. Was this a sign of his weakness? If he couldn't give her the effect of tough love like his father would train him then how could he train her?

He had a softness for Demitri only, something he could not understand. Did this mean that he valued her more than he thought? Were there more to his feelings than just friendship? Those thoughts raced again. Did he lust for her? Did he love her? Or did he simply adore her? What was happening to him?

He would back away from her, and for a moment he would stare blankly at her. He would wonder about what has gotten under his skin, then wonder if the same thing had ever gotten under Demitri's. He would shake the thought off and smile at her.

"Did you blink? Sorry I couldn't tell," he would say.

[Demitri Maebourne]

Logan grabbed her fist effortlessly; she attempted to kick him as planned, but found it difficult with her arm in the air and at such close range. Instead, she merely wriggled under the grip, tugging feebly in an attempt to free her fist. "Be careful of where you punch on the face," he said, and she looked at him with a sigh and an almost abject expression. "The human fist is a little softer than one would think. The jaw, a little harder. If you aren't careful you might break your own knuckles." He let go and glided back. She smiled again, a playful glance still present even in her sheepishness. "Noted," she said, and readied herself for the next move. She hadn't expected him to come back at her so fast, and for a moment she didn't know what to do. She put her fists back up, the only thing she could recall being instructed to do, but it was almost pitiful in response to his lightning movements. His right fist moved swiftly toward her face, and she flinched and jumped back in surprise. Not far enough, of course, for even in her amateur stupor she saw his left fist flying straight toward her stomach. She clenched her fists ever-slightly in the second she had, squeezed her eyes shut tight, and again readied for what was sure to come. "Kah!" Her outcry was not of pain but of surprise, as her childhood friend merely poked her in the stomach. She folded over like a wide-eyed ragdoll- steadied herself- then laughed boisterously. "Now," she grinned as she began to calm her cheer. "Didn't we say something about not going easy on me? I think you're getting soft, Nyka-boy." Demitri looked up just in time to see Logan giving her the oddest of looks, and her remaining chuckles quickly died. She cocked her head an inch to the right, gazed at him curiously. "Something... wrong?" She feared briefly that she had offended him, or hurt him, or given away her earlier... stranger thoughts. Then she wondered for the third time about those looks of his. Yet she proved herself a messy combination of stubborn, undiscerning, and single-minded. As Logan burst out of his blank look and into his all-too-rare smile, Demitri took the opportunity to straighten up and smile cheekily back. "Did you blink? Sorry, I couldn't tell." "Of course not! Sunberth girls fear nothing," Demitri exclaimed. Then something occurred to her, and she resumed that curious glance. "Oh. What should I do when you try to hit me like that? Block with my arms? I was trying to keep them in front of my face like you showed me, but I couldn't get out of the way fast enough..."

[Logan Storm]

"Of course not! Sunberth girls fear nothing," Demitri said. Logan gave her a look that meant 'I'm no fool,' and shook his head and chuckled at her. "I have been with you too long to know when you are lying."

She went on to ask how she could deal with a gut punch and described how she couldn't dodge his last attack. Logan paused to think, his eyes trailing off to show that he was in his head more than the real world. When his eyes focused on Demitri again was when he spoke.

"Well, the first thing you have to do is not blink!" This he said playfully. "Blinking is a fighters greatest weakness. If you can't over come it, you shouldn't be fighting," he quoted. His dad use to say that, along with an entire lecture on why not blinking was important. He needed to find a way to get rid of that habit other than what his father did, punch the lights out of Logan until Logan learned how to dodge. For now he would just focus on the things that needed more work, and think of a better training regime later.

"Second, when fighting against a fighter, you constrict one wrist to your shoulder." Logan showed Demetri what he meant by placing his left hand to his left should. When he did this, his muscles enlarged to an incredible size. He pointed to his shoulder and said, "like this, and tighten your fist so you can be prepared for the attack."

Logan then leaned down. The elbow that connected to his left shoulder was now in front of his pelvis, and his whole arm formed a V shape and covered his stomach. "Then you lean your shoulder down to where you think the attack will come from. Trust me, the punch will still hurt, but it would hurt more if someone hit your stomach, or your ribs."

"However!" Logan shouted suddenly as he rose from his defensive stance. "When you are going against someone with a weapon, I want you to move your butt. Dodge as many slices and parries as you can, because there is no such thing as blocking a blade with your body. Not unless you want to get cut... And you want the guy who cut you to be murdered by me." Logan gave her a cheeky smile.

[Demitri Maebourne]

Logan remained unconvinced by her assertion of bravery. Demitri gave a sheepish smile; perhaps too much time had gone by for her to get away with grandstanding. At her questions, Logan's face went blank. He was doing that thing again, where he disappeared from her for a time. She watched him curiously, analyzing his features in search of a change, until he returned to reality and centered on her. "Well, the first thing you have to do is not blink!" Demitri cocked an inquisitive eyebrow as he continued. Don't blink? How in the name of the gods was she supposed to do that? She blinked when someone went for the face, because she didn't want to get punched in the eye! It didn't seem like something she could change... Still, Logan knew best, and when he continued on she merely breathed a sigh and decided to accept it. "When fighting against a fighter," he began- as opposed to the usual drunks, she thought- "you constrict one wrist to your shoulder." He demonstrated by pulling a fist to his shoulder, creating an intimidating image that once again raised Demitri's eyebrows. Slowly, awkwardly she complied, flinging her fist up to her shoulder to reveal far more flab than muscle. "Tighten your fist," he said, and the girl complied, wrapping her fingers around her thumb and wondering if there was any possibility she'd ever be able to fight like Logan. The next action struck Demitri as odd- he moved his elbow down and leaned forward. "You lean your shoulder down to where you think the attack will come from," he said, and she nodded with a hint of uncertainty. "Trust me, the punch will still hurt, but it would hurt more if someone hit your stomach, or your ribs." Demitri attempted to mimick Logans moves, then smiled nervously. "Fair point," she agreed. "I'm not sure I'll be very good at this, though. Especially if it's all happening at once." "However!" Logan's voice boomed, but his now-relaxed posture allowed Demitri a deep exhale as she rose. "Move your butt," he said, and the girl grinned with a shake of the head. He gave an all-too-common comment about murdering anyone who did her harm, and she let out her usual, almost abrasively loud laugh. "Well, I wouldn't want to inconvenience you by making you a murderer," she reasoned. "I guess I'll just have to get faster." She looked at him with wide eyes. "I'm not sure I'll remember much of this," she sighed. "Should we just practice a bit more?" OOCGahh I'm back! And almost finished with stressy life things! And very sorry!! And also sorry if this isn't quite up to par because I'm out of practice now. ^^;