Closed Answering That Bell // And I've made up my mind

Finn heads for the sawmill and meets Sophia

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Syka is a new settlement of primarily humans on the east coast of Falyndar opposite of Riverfall on The Suvan Sea. [Syka Codex]

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Answering That Bell // And I've made up my mind

Postby Finn Reefdiver on May 18th, 2019, 12:45 am

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53rd of Spring 519

The weather was hot as Syka always seemed to be as Finn walked toward the saw mill. The afternoon had started to become a little overcast and looked like it may rain a little before it blew inland if it didn’t miss them completely. He could hear the saw going so expected that Lars was busy inside the mill which worked out well for him, he had no intentions on asking permission anyhow. He had heard that the Ashta were behind the mill so he didn’t need to bother the operator at all, he had overheard that Lars watched over the animals rather closely so if he caught him and disliked it then he would deal with that then but being Svefra he always felt an affinity to animals with growing up in the pod so when he had a chance, he was more than willing to see a new kind, especially up close to such a unique one.

Shorts and barefoot were his usual attire and today was no different, although his cutlass was in his hand so he could cut back the undergrowth but he rarely left his casinor without it, he carefully threaded his way through the foliage and around to the back of the sawmill. It appeared to be mostly cleared or trampled down so it wasn’t even hard moving through any of it but the cutlass made short work of whatever he needed out of his way as he walked. From his brief time here in Syka it appeared the undergrowth regrew almost faster than you could cut the paths, only the busiest paths stayed clear and easily passable.

After he stepped into the clearing he saw several large ashta milling around the huge clearing and into a rather large looking pool that didn’t appear to be all that deep. The animals were clearly the largest he had ever seen on land definitely but lumbered around rather lazily at the moment or played in the pool. One of the larger animals seemed to take notice of his sudden entrance into the clearing as it trumpeted and advanced towards him fairly quickly before the surprise wore off and the creature returned to the herd as it clearly didn’t see him as a real threat. He wondered if they were so used to seeing people, that they likely weren’t considered a threat most of the time unless he were to give it a reason to fear him and of course he wasn’t a threat, as his intentions were only to see the animals or if given a chance to get closer to one but he didn’t overly care about that today.

“They are amazing creatures, aren’t they!” he said to himself as he relaxed his right arm and let it and his cutlass hang by his right side while he leaned back against a tree to watch the creatures for a time. He was in a good mood and he had nothing planned for the afternoon except to look around Syka a little more as he slowly learned the settlement, the afternoon heat seemed to make most of the people nap or hide wherever they could stay coolest. He usually was all for either of those or even a trip to the Tidepool bar but today he wanted something else, some excitement maybe, or at least to see something new.
Last edited by Finn Reefdiver on June 1st, 2019, 2:30 am, edited 3 times in total.
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Finn Reefdiver
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And I've made up my mind //

Postby Sophia Sunshore on May 22nd, 2019, 11:40 am

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53, Spring, 519

"Speech"


Sophia had spent the morning organising the various pieces of wood and other material that littered the top of the beach at her acreage. Randal was helping her to build a modest dwelling that would be a welcome upgrade from her tent, and potentially a place where she could start her own herbalist work from. The little home was coming along, though Randal was incredibly busy so it was slow progress and the Svefra was trying to help in any way she could. Sophia was by no means a carpenter and she didn’t like to attempt any of the main construction without Randal, but she could certainly gather and prepare materials among a few other things. Once she had sorted the material to her satisfaction, Sophia decided to head over to the Saw Mill, as she remembered that they would need a few more lengths of wood for the next step in construction.

Before she left, Sophia pulled on some soft leather ankle boots to protect her feet from any splinters or sharp pieces of wood. She also buckled a leather belt round her waist to cinch in her favourite dress, and to hold her cutlass. The dress was a knee-length lemon yellow one with short flowing sleeves, the material light enough and flowing enough that it kept her cool under the incessant heat they were experiencing this Spring.

When she arrived at the Saw Mill, Sophia’s ears were greeted with the sounds of the water wheel. She couldn’t see him, but Lars was clearly hard at work cutting logs to size. Rather than disturb him, the Svefra decided to head round the back of the mill to the edge of the clearing. She had time to kill this afternoon, and her conversation with Lars would likely only take a few chimes. Sophia meandered past the water pool where the Ashta were happily cooling off from the heat, though she made sure to keep out of the path of the bulls. While fairly docile, she didn’t fancy being the one to accidentally upset the creatures.

Sophia stopped past the back of the pool, near the tree line. She stepped just under the shade of the first trees, feeling the immediate relief of being sheltered from the sun. She leaned against the tree for a short while, simply watching the Ashta go about their business before a thought came to her. The Svefra had previously made a resolution to improve her use of the cutlass, a resolution she had not yet kept. She took up the weapon in her right hand, feeling its weight as she studied the blade. Sophia had never put much stock into learning any form of combat, and since being in Syka, the importance of self defence had been repeatedly drummed into her. Bar using the blade to cut through branches that were blocking pathways, she didn’t really know how to use it.

Sophia gripped the weapon tightly and turned her hand over so she could watch light glinting off the blade. It was fairly short and curved, with not much of a point - a slashing weapon, used for close combat. Not really knowing what she was doing, Sophia held the blade out in front of her, flat side up. She moved her arm from side-to-side in a swishing motion, turning her wrist as she did so to make sure that the curve of the blade was always leading. It was more to get herself used to the weight and types of movement she would need to wield it properly.

After a few chimes of this, Sophia’s mind started to wander. She didn’t have any direction for her learning, and just swishing the blade about clearly wasn’t doing anything. With a sigh she put the cutlass away and was about to turn to head back to the Mill when one of the Ashta let out an alarmed trumpeting noise. The Svefra quickly flicked her gaze to see what had started the creature and saw one of the bulls rushing at a person entering the clearing. To her relief, it stopped short and returned to the pool, clearly deciding the person was not a threat. She watched him for a chime as he settled himself against a tree, appearing to simply watch the creatures.

Sophia decided to head over, as she didn’t recognise the man, assuming he was a newcomer to the settlement. She skirted the pool, making herself visible to both the Ashta and the man, raising her arm in greeting. “Hi!” Sophia was not shy about meeting new people, often oblivious to any awkwardness that might accompany such upfront greetings. “Are you new here? To Syka I mean. I haven’t seen you around before.” She smiled widely, the corners of her eyes crinkling. “Or have I just been really unobservant?”
Sophia studied him for a moment, taking in his bright blue eyes and the tattoo that marked him as one of her own. She motioned to it before speaking again.
“It’s good to see another Svefra here.” Sophia turned to look at the Ashta he had been observing. “What are you doing out here behind the Mill?” Her gaze flicked back to him as she caught herself rambling. “Sorry, feel free to ignore me, I talk too much!”
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Last edited by Sophia Sunshore on June 5th, 2019, 8:47 pm, edited 1 time in total.
NOTE: During the Fall Sophia is a Dhani, specifically a golden eyelash viper. See here for more detailed info.
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Sophia Sunshore
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Answering That Bell // And I've made up my mind

Postby Finn Reefdiver on May 24th, 2019, 3:43 am

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He relaxed against the tree as he watched the animals cool off and play in the water or were they grazing on the undergrowth, he couldn’t actually tell but he thought they were eating something over there however after startling the one he had decided he would wait for a closer look at the creatures. He absently tapped the flat of his cutlass against his calf while he enjoyed the day.

The appearance of the woman in the yellow dress into the clearing surprised him since he hadn’t expected to see anyone out here. Maybe the mill was busier than he thought or was it just coincidence that she seemed to proceed into his direction as well. Since the animals didn’t seem bothered by her as she skirted the clearing he wondered if she was familiar with them, or at least a little less intimidated by them. He returned the newcomers friendly wave as she approached until he was able to get a better view of her. The woman was striking, slightly shorter than him to be sure, with blonde hair, and a familiar crystal blue stare that immediately put him more at ease with her regardless of whether it should have or not.

“Hello” he responded to her as neared, her directness was welcomed as was the friendly demeanor. “I suppose I am, just arrived earlier this season. I really couldn’t comment on how observant or not you have been lately though” He had started out his afternoon in a good mood and the Svefra woman’s smile was infectious as he found himself smiling right back at her without even thinking about it.

It took him a tick to realize that she pointed at his gnosis but he also agreed with her sentiment as he nodded back to her, it would be nice to have another Svefra to chat with from time to time. “I wanted to see the ashta and hadn’t made the time to see them until today. Now I’m quite glad I waited but they are magnificent beasts aren’t they? Probably childish of me but I really couldn’t resist the opportunity.” He tried to answer her questions before he laughed with her last remark “Where would the fun be in ignoring you and I didn’t really want to be idle this afternoon anyway so this a nice diversion.”

“Finn Reefdiver by the way….” He told her as he let it trail off to allow her a chime to introduce herself, or at least he hoped she would. He straightened up off the tree so he could turn and face the unknown woman as chatted together “What brings you out here if you don’t mind?” he asked her as he looked her up and down quickly, until he focused for a few ticks on her inner bicep but couldn’t tell what if it was a pod tattoo or not from what stuck out of her sleeve.

He suddenly felt the familiar weight of his sword that was still in his hand as he talked to her “Sorry, had to cut a little of the the undergrowth on the way out here. Do any of the paths stay clear around here ever?” he asked as he started to slip the weapon into its sheath on his hip. “Let me just put it away for now unless you would care to cross blades with a Svefra?” His sarcastic smile to the Svefra woman was easily seen to not be any real threat to her or anything else right then. Some people he had seen reacted badly to drawn weapons so he didn’t want to threaten her although he really could use the practice himself.
Last edited by Finn Reefdiver on June 1st, 2019, 2:30 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Answering That Bell // And I've made up my mind

Postby Sophia Sunshore on May 26th, 2019, 9:30 am

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"Speech"


Sophia chuckled lightly at the Svefra man’s response. Much like Kamilla, he had arrived in Syka who knew how many days ago, and she hadn’t noticed. Uta had been keeping her busy recently, plus she had started to take on her own projects besides. If she wasn’t careful Sophia would forget what everyone else looked like before long. “I suppose I’ve not been that observant of the people here then. I came over last Summer so you’d think I would realise when new faces were about!”

She was pleased that his demeanour appeared much like her own. While many of the residents here were fairly easy-going people, there was nothing quite like the carefree cheer of a fellow Svefra. She flicked her gaze to the Ashta as he mentioned them, eyes taking in the large docile creatures milling about the pool. Sophia had gotten used to them by now, but she could still remember her astonishment at seeing them for the first time. The beasts were unlike anything that lived in the oceans, and she found their long noses and huge ears rather endearing.

“It’s not childish at all. I remember seeing them for the first time too, they really are something.” She smiled. “I always wonder how many other interesting creatures live in the trees here.” Her gaze flicked back to him and laughed at his next comment. “Well, happy to be of service!”

As he introduced himself, Sophia made a point of committing his name to memory.
“Finn, good to meet you!” She noticed how his eyes lingered on her pod tattoo, just visible from under her sleeve. She turned her arm slightly so that he could see it better before she returned the introduction. “Sophia Sunshore.” She gestured through the trees at the sounds of the Saw Mill beyond. “I actually came over to see Lars. I need some more wood for my house but thought I might take a walk first.”

Another laugh left her before she shook her head.
“Not for long they don’t! Everything seems to grow at super speed here.” Eyes fell to the cutlass as he clipped it back to his side, the blade very similar to her own. Truthfully, it had become normal to the Svefra to see people wandering around with weapons. In a place like Syka you never could be too careful.

She grinned and raised an eyebrow at Finn before throwing his own line back at him.
“Unless you want to cross blades with a Svefra, you mean.” She did her best imitation of an intimidating frown before chuckling at herself. “Truthfully, I don’t really know how to use this thing.” She motioned to her own cutlass that was strapped to her belt as an idea came to her. “Hey, I don’t suppose you would want to help me practice?” He had said he didn’t want to be idle after all.

If Finn agreed, Sophia would suggest moving a little further away from the Ashta so as not to disturb the creatures and would then draw her blade.
“I’ve literally only ever used this to cut vines…” She would test the weight in her hand before gripping it tighter, moving her feet into what felt like a balanced position, one foot a little forward, the other just square under her shoulder. “Should we just… try for hits on each other’s blades?” Aside from not knowing how to use the weapon properly, she didn’t know the best way to practice. Aiming for the blade seemed the safest way to go to avoid injuring each other. She would of course, defer to any better idea that Finn might have.
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NOTE: During the Fall Sophia is a Dhani, specifically a golden eyelash viper. See here for more detailed info.
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Sophia Sunshore
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Answering That Bell // And I've made up my mind

Postby Finn Reefdiver on May 29th, 2019, 12:49 am

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Finn liked that she humored his intrigue with the ashta, it was nice of her but he also agreed with her thoughts of what else lived in the jungle. The many kinds and sizes of creatures would be quite different from anything that he was used to. If she had been here in Syka for a year, he figured she might have a better idea than him but that changed nothing. Regardless she seemed to be pleasant to have a conversation with.

She turned her arm to allow him to see her pod tattoo without batting an eye about it and he liked that. Although he didn’t remember her’s or many yet, he doubted he would forget her pod’s tattoo anytime soon. “Pleasure to make your acquaintance, Sophia!” he said formally but with a large grin. He was quite surprised by her reason for being out here at the sawmill. “I couldn’t imagine not sleeping on my ship or the rocking of the ocean for that matter, but that is just me. You on the other hand must be stronger than I am in that regard!”

Finn laughed at Sophia before he raised an eyebrow back at her to tell her “Since you are putting it that way, I wouldn’t mind crossing blades with you today!” He grinned at her “Only in practice though and don’t expect me to know much either. I only had a couple of lessons from my parents some years ago myself.” This day hadn’t turned out to bad so far and it looked like it might be a nice change of pace too, he thought to himself.

He raised an eyebrow as he replied to where she trailed off “like the vines and undergrowth I have been fighting with on the route here, is that what you mean?” he exclaimed in mock insult before he let it fall away again. As the pair walked away from the ashta, Finn released the strap on his cutlass and pulled it back out again. “That might be the wisest thing to do, I doubt we want to actually hurt one another. I don’t have a practice blade either.”

The familiar weight of his cutlass in hand again, although he had never really used one it had always been near. He rarely held aboard his ship but it was always near at hand as well in case he needed it. Once they were away from the ashta, Finn stepped a couple of strides ahead of Sophia before he turned around to stand in front of her. He flexed the sword at his wrist in small circles as felt the weight shift as it moved around. Once it felt right in his hand, he gripped the hilt tightly as he pointed the tip in front of Sophia’s right shoulder. He held his cutlass up so the tip was in the air about half an arm length in front of him. He couldn’t bring himself to point it directly at her just as a precaution.

He planted his feet under his shoulders, his sword at the ready as he waited for her attack. Although he felt slightly ridiculous standing like he was but he also wanted the practice as much as Sophia seemed to. He gave her a wry grin as he told her and then waited “Have at it when you are ready love!”.
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Answering That Bell // And I've made up my mind

Postby Sophia Sunshore on June 5th, 2019, 9:40 pm

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"Speech"


Sophia gave her fellow Svefra another smile at his comments about sleeping on his boat, though this time it didn’t quite reach her eyes. She didn’t miss the confines of her Pod’s ship at all. While she had loved her family, being stuck on the deck had been infuriating for her more than anything else. She realised that her expression might have suddenly shifted, so she chuckled lightly. “I still have the sound of the sea nearby. I spend so much time in the fringes of the jungle now that I think sometimes I have forgotten how it feels to be on the water. But the whispering of the waves at night-time is still a comfort.”

She was surprised to hear that he too was not very experienced with the cutlass. The way he had been holding it earlier at his side as if he barely realised it was there had led her to believe he was comfortable with it, as if it were a natural extension of himself. It would either be a fortunate thing that they would be learning together, or a very unfortunate thing that they were both inexperienced. She hoped they could find a middle ground between being too cautious and being too reckless. She wanted to learn and have all her fingers intact at the end of it.

Sophia bounced herself a couple of times on her toes to check that she had her balance right, and subtly adjusted her left foot. She didn’t need to be falling over in front of a new acquaintance today. She had been holding the blade quite low and watched Finn carefully to see how he handled his own. He appeared to have a better grip than she, and the Svefra mimicked his circling of the wrist to see if that would help her grip at all.

The Svefra had never once raised so much as a fist towards another person before, so when she readied herself properly to take a swing at Finn’s sword, pointed at her shoulder, she almost froze. The situation was so alien to her that her mind simply couldn’t tell her what to do. The cheerful quip Finn threw her way came at exactly the right time, breaking her train of thought and causing her mouth to twitch into a smile. She had no problem swinging at a tree, so why should this be any different? It wasn’t a fight, it was practice.

Sophia steeled herself, and then swung her cutlass up and round into the path of Finn’s own blade. She was definitely not strong by any means, and she had been gripping the hilt far too tightly. Her wrist jarred and her blade bounced off his with such little force that she doubted Finn’s arm had moved much at all. A little embarrassed, Sophia gritted her teeth in an imitation of a smile.
“Okay… so don’t lock up your wrist…”

She rotated her wrist a couple of times to loosen it out and tried again to find a comfortable grip on the hilt of her blade. She still held it tighter than was actually necessary, but nerves and inexperience were getting the better of her.
“I’m going to try again.” This time she relaxed her wrist more, and put some newly found determination behind the swing, moving properly from her shoulder. It was of course, far from perfect, but marginally better than her first attempt. Her wrist was more comfortable, and it wasn’t quite as feeble as before.

Sophia fell back into her starting position, glancing up at Finn, cutlass held ready to try and accept any retaliating strike. Her feet were secure, of that she was sure, so aside from her fellow Svefra missing her blade completely she should in theory be able to take it. It wasn’t quite the fancy-footed session Sophia had imagined, but everyone had to start somewhere and clearly these two were very much at the beginning.

ooc :
Sorry for the delay, it's been a weird week. I also don't like this post, sorry it's not my best. Please let me know if I need to give you more to go on.
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NOTE: During the Fall Sophia is a Dhani, specifically a golden eyelash viper. See here for more detailed info.
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Sophia Sunshore
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Answering That Bell // And I've made up my mind

Postby Finn Reefdiver on June 13th, 2019, 8:58 pm

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Although he wasn’t sure if he agreed entirely, he couldn’t argue with her reasons either. Given the changes he had made this season already, he wouldn’t say it would never happen to him but he didn’t see it in the near future for himself, he simply enjoyed the sea too much still to leave it. Sophia didn’t seem to be bothered too much by his comments thankfully as he smiled back at her answer.

He watched as she balanced herself on her feet neatly and efficiently, she looked to be light on her feet and he would have to try that sometime when he had the time. He waited patiently as she prepared herself and brought a blow down on his blade. It was neither a strong nor fast attack for her first swipe at him, but it seemed to be a more carefully placed blow aimed at his blade which he liked as it felt much safer. Her strike hit his blade and sent a slight jar up the arm as he nodded to her comment, not entirely sure if it had been made to him or herself but it seemed like good advice regardless so he listened anyway.

Her warning of the second strike wasn’t necessary but he found it quite helpful as he twisted his arm slightly to take her strike near the hilt of his blade this time as he let his arm absorb the strength of her blow again while the sound of steel on steel rang out clearly in the jungle. She made it look so easy as she quickly returned to her previous stance with grace, he quickly decided he would follow her example as it seemed to have worked out well. He also preferred to get a read on her before he tried too hard as that usually ended up badly.

“Guess it’s my turn then” he told her with a grin as he shuffled backwards a step although the undergrowth protested loudly as it bent backwards and around his legs as he brought his cutlass up and around to connect with Sophia’s weapon. The motion felt way too much like the hacking motions he used to cut the vines around Syka, but he hoped it looked a bit better at least. The blades clattered together as she stopped his swing easily enough, he looked at her over the crossed blades for a couple of ticks but she didn’t look too concerned either.

“What are you building?” He asked “I think I am going to put a dock in myself, or with Randal’s help anyway. Just need to find a nice spot somewhere before Randal gets around to me.” He let his cutlass slid off hers as he pulled it back to take a swing from his right that he aimed high, slightly above her head even though the swing was a little wild from what he had intended it to be but he kept it slow and lacked much power behind it as he only hoped to not hurt the woman in front of him until he felt comfortable with her ability to stop the attacks. He was far less concerned with getting hurt himself, he would heal eventually.
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Answering That Bell // And I've made up my mind

Postby Sophia Sunshore on July 5th, 2019, 8:23 pm

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"Speech"


Sophia noticed how Finn moved his blade to intercept her own. Her cutlass hit his closer to the hilt this time, and the connection felt different this time, more solid. She supposed that it made sense, as it was closer to the point at which he was gripping the weapon. Her swing still lacked any real power, and while she still had a little more to give she was still nervous of physically swinging a blade at another person.

The easy grin that accompanied Finn’s words put her a little more at ease, and she returned his smile with one of her own. She watched carefully as he stepped back, adjusting his weight to hold his weapon to attack rather than defend. She held her cutlass slanted slightly across her body, her feet spaced so that she felt balanced and waited for her fellow Svefra to make his move. The clash of their blades echoes around the trees when he did, Sophia having twisted her blade to meet his.

She held his blade and his gaze as he offered her a question, and then stepped back into her stance as Finn let his blade fall away from hers. He barely paused before coming toward her with another swing, and Sophia raised her arm, twisting the cutlass to meet his attack a little forward and above of her head. This one was harder for her to take properly, with her arm more outstretched, but she managed it, pushing against his blade with her own till he moved it away again. Sophia resolved to get stronger, as she was certain that Finn was going easy on her and she could still feel how much stronger he was than her.

As she lowered her arm again, Sophia met his gaze. “I’m building… I guess you would call it a deck rather than a house since it doesn’t have any walls.” She smiled again. “Just somewhere I can sleep off the sand.” Sophia rotated her wrist a couple of times to sort her grip on the blade. “I’m also getting a small lab built next to it eventually. I’m a herbalist so I need somewhere to work.”

This time Sophia didn’t warn Finn before she made her attack, though she did make sure that he was at least paying attention. Her first two goes had been pretty much the same - the same height and the same direction. This time she went lower, sweeping her cutlass down and then bringing it up to meet Finn from below. She still lacked force, as they were both still novices and she didn’t want accidents, but Finn’s varied attacks to her had taught her that they needed to have more flow to their movements. After their blades met, she would bring hers almost immediately back around to the other side for another swing, intending for them to start building up small chains of light swings into a rhythm of sorts.

As she stepped back once more, bracing herself for any retaliating attacks, she returned Finn’s question with one of her own.
“Just a dock? So you will stay on your boat?” Sophia hadn’t been paying enough attention to others this season. “What is that you will be doing for work here?”

ooc :
Sorry for the extended absence! Hopefully you caught my scrap post about it. Fingers crossed all is back to normal now! Not my best post, getting back into the swing of writing - let me know if it needs adjusting.
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Answering That Bell // And I've made up my mind

Postby Finn Reefdiver on July 7th, 2019, 4:09 am

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Sophia countered and held off his attacks well enough and didn’t seem to have any problems with either of the attacks. While he was happy about that, he quickly realised that the woman was as good with her cutlass as he was or likely even better. Not that he considered himself proficient with a cutlass nor was he bothered by the thought in any way. He immediately thought that he should watch her much closer than he had been to learn anything he could to better protect himself in the future.

“An herbalist you say, I might have to keep an eye out for your shop then so you can tell me what to eat out here or more importantly I bet, what not to eat!” he stated as he followed her and slowly lowered his cutlass. “Of course that is only if you don’t end me out here in the jungle today!” he teased her slightly in good humor although he never let his attention waver from the blonde lady and the cutlass she held.

Her first strike came low and without forewarning of their first round, he twisted his arm around to catch the low blade which he barely accomplished out near the point of the blade. The blade and arm trembled slightly as he could feel it was somehow wrong but luckily for him, his partner wasn’t trying to hurt him as it lacked her strength behind it however she didn’t wait long before she reversed and struck a second time from the opposite side. The young blonde was quick and good, he was sure of that now, but he turned his arm back and caught her blade better on the second attack. The blades scraped against each other as they withdrew them while Finn stepped back half a step to answer her question.

“Aye, a dock and a small roof should be good enough for now at least; and my casinor of course, doubt if I could get my gull off of it anyway. Can always add onto the land later if I should need to.” He answered her politely as he could but had no intention of moving off his casinor unless something drastic were to happen to his ship. “Besides I am fishing for Syka so having my ship will prove quite useful I think.”

Finn held his blade in front of himself as he shifted his left foot back slightly which angled his body to Sophia slightly and he hoped to give him better movements to stop her attack from last time. Once she looked prepared, he carefully swung his cutlass around from the side to strike at her side. Although it lacked the speed of her attack, he cared more about the control of his blade and not having it be some wild careless attack. Immediately after their blades met he let his blade lower toward the ground and in between the pair before he brought it up towards her on the other side.

Although his cutlass moved up, he could tell the strike lacked speed, strength, and felt terribly awkward still but he hoped his timing wasn’t too much slower than hers had been. He pulled his sword back and held it straight up in front of himself in defense.”Will your shop be in the jungle or Syka proper? I could see either being useful for you but I know nothing about plants.” he asked but hoped it wasn't going to be in the deep jungle as he finished with. “I’m thinking somewhat near the Tidepool bar but anywhere on the beach would actually be fine for me.” He stood prepared for the attacks he expected to come.
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Finn Reefdiver
The voice of the sea, speaks to the soul
 
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Answering That Bell // And I've made up my mind

Postby Sophia Sunshore on July 21st, 2019, 8:54 am

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"Speech"


As they sparred, Sophia could feel herself getting more comfortable with the way she held her weapon. She had heard people proficient at sword fighting describe their weapons as being extensions of their arms, and while she definitely wasn’t there yet, she was starting to understand what they might mean by the phrase.
“Ah, I’m not sure you want to rely on me quite that much!” Sophia chuckled. “I’m definitely still learning what’s safe myself! I use more of the medicinal plants for my work, the stuff you don’t usually eat as you find them.”

Sophia’s keen eye noticed how Finn’s sword arm shook ever so slightly from the awkward angle he had to twist to meet her blade. While she wasn’t strong, Sophia was fairly quick - perhaps when she became more proficient she could try and use that to her advantage over brute force.

At the pause between her attacks and his, Sophia listened to Finn’s words.
“You have a gull too?” She smiled brightly at him, assuming he was speaking of his Tavan. Her own Tavan was the smallest type of gull she had seen, but had enough character for one several times her size. She paused before speaking again, a little hesitant to admit what she was about to say. “Ah, that is a useful job! I… hate to admit it, but I never was very good at fishing…” The corner of her mouth twitched in a little smile. “Some Svefra I am, huh?” Perhaps she could ask Finn to teach her properly sometime.

Sophia set her feet beneath her shoulders for balance, ready to receive Finn’s attacks. His first attack was from the side, and she bought her cutlass round to meet it. The angle was slightly awkward, for she hadn’t really moved her feet to match the swing of her arm, but she caught his blade nonetheless. He barely paused for his next swing, and Sophia moved her blade back across her body to meet it from above. They both appeared to be getting more comfortable now, and clearly they were building a little trust in each other to be able to increase the speed of their blows.

“I’m not too far from Uta’s Place, if you know it. Between her and the path to the Tar Pits. It’s on the beach so I can be close to the sea. While the plants are in the jungle, so are the things that like to attack us.” She gave a wry chuckle. “Besides I’m not sure how many people would be willing to venture to my shop if it were in the trees. I don’t know where the best fishing is, but I guess if you’re near the beach then you’ll be fine!”

Before she readied herself for some more swings at Finn, she paused as an idea came to her. When she had seen people spar before, they never really stopped moving their feet.
“What if we start stepping back and forward from each other as we attack?” Sophia tried to demonstrate what she meant to her fellow Svefra. “I feel like something isn’t working so well and I guess its because we’re not moving too much.”

If Finn agreed, she would implement the idea. Sophia balanced herself with one foot slightly in front of the other, her knees loose so that she could move. She went for a standard swing, just below shoulder height, coming in from the side. The difference this time was that she stepped towards Finn as she moved her blade, which would force him to step back as he intercepted. Hopefully he had understood her idea well enough to intercept, though she was ready to stop her swing or drop her cutlass if he didn’t.
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Sophia Sunshore
Plant Lady
 
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