To Get Some Air (Dimitri)

by **Jaelyn Baroth** on April 22nd, 2011, 3:04 pm

Dimitri's shield intercepted Jaelyn's spear, pushing it away and leaving her with few options to respond to his retaliation. Unable to bring her spear around to block the only option was to dodge, and so she rolled to the side as Dimitri's sword passed through the air where she had just been.

Unfortunately Jaelyn wasn't terribly acrobatic, and her roll ended up with her on her back laying on the ground once more. She wasn't about to give up, even in such an awkward position, and so she swiped her spear around low, hoping to catch Dimitri's feet. At least from this position she would be able to block his next attack, which she was watching for.

by **Dimitri** on April 27th, 2011, 12:14 am

Dimitri watched her roll onto her back then swipe with her spear at his feet. Dimitri slammed his shield down into the ground to stop the spear from reaching him. He dropped to one knee, most of his body hidden behind the shield as he stabbed forward with his blade. In such a tight scenario, a sword was ideal for an attack. He wondered how she would counter, as he didn't have one of his own if this failed.

He felt a slight twinge of guilt, for not just attacking an opponent that was down. Not just any opponent, but a fellow squire, a sister to him essentially. A very good looking sister. And it's not like she was helpless either, having gone through the same years of training as himself. He guessed women would always be his weakness, and women would be his downfall, and likely the cause of his death. He hoped to find a woman close to him worth dying for. But until then, he would train, and train by attacking his squire sister as she lay in the dirt.

by **Jaelyn Baroth** on April 27th, 2011, 2:59 am

Jaelyn was expecting a strike from Dimitri, and so she twisted her spear to catch his thrust on the shaft of her weapon. His blade slide along between her hands, and left her in a bad position. She could no longer strike at Dimitri without opening herself up to his attack first.

"I believe," her breathing was a little fast from the excitement of the exchange, "That this round is yours. I cannot move without opening myself to attack. Well done."

Waiting for Dimitri to remove his sword she got up, and gave him a wide smile, "It is my turn to count, and yours to hide now. Should I move back to where you were counting?"

This was honestly the most exciting she had found training in quite some time. There was not only the work, but something to work towards other than just bettering herself.

by **Dimitri** on April 27th, 2011, 4:06 am

"Thank you, and same to you, did you hear me coming? And Aye same spot."

He left his spot, happy he won the first round. He waited until she was out of sight, and made his way down into the creek. He hopped down on the side, and slid down the mud until he bottomed out. He then walked down the stream bed. When he crouched he was able to stay out of sight of the bank he came from. He walked until he was beneath a slight overhang, a dark alcove, with a tree hanging over. It was dark enough to sit in, so the only way to see would be to get into the stream bed, or be on the opposing bank and peer in. There was enough room to move further up or down the stream or even across. Roots hung down from the over hang, and the area was sandy and moist.

He watched the water, tring to drown out the sound, so he could listen for a possible approach. The wind was dead so that helped. He kept scanning the area like a sentinel. He kept his sword and shield ready but out of sight, so the glinting metal wouldn't give him away. He then realized he could see his own footprints in the nearby sand and mud. And cursed himself silently. He then had an odd idea and had to move quick before the countdown finished. He stepped into ankle deep and walked a few steps down the bank. He then walked backwards out of the water and had his footprints seem to match his trail. He then retraced his steps back into the water and went back to the alcove. From the shade he smoothed over the prints leading into his alcove. The path now appeared to lead into the water. He settled back out of sight, and prepared to listen and look for his opponent.

by **Jaelyn Baroth** on April 27th, 2011, 4:03 pm

"I did not really hear anything until right before you jumped over," Jaelyn said with a smile, "A little bit quieter and I probably would not have been able to defend against your first strike."

Moving back to where Dimitri had counted Jaelyn crouched down, closed her eyes, and started to loudly count to one hundred. As she counted she tried to listen for sounds indicating where Dimitri was going. There were some soft sounds, but nothing she could make sense of. Just before she finished though she heard the distinct sound of sloshing water.

Smiling to herself as she finished her count Jaelyn stood and turned her gaze towards the river. Taking a firm grip on her spear with both hands she trotted over to the river bank, and then cautiously peered over the edge. Of course Dimitri wasn't there, but his tracks were there in the mud and sand.

Staying up on the grass Jaelyn followed the tracks down, and paused as the turned into the water. Glancing back and forth along the flowing water she frowned slightly, finding no prints leaving the water either way. Maybe he had found somewhere to hide connected to the water? Another quick glance around showed nothing that she could see from this side that might work.

Moving a little ways over, as the bank she was at looked like a steep drop down, she slid down the muddy embankment and glanced around for a possible hiding spot. Finding that the bank she had been on not long ago was actually a dark overhang Jaelyn cautiously approached it, spear at the ready as she watched for signs of movement in the darkness.

by **Dimitri** on April 27th, 2011, 6:16 pm

Dimitri sat there in the shaded enclave, listening and waiting, his breathing barely noticeable to himself. A few grains of earth shook above him, tumbling down. He wasn't sure if that meant his hunter was above him or if some earth merely fell away for no reason. He couldn't hear foot falls or breathing, but he didn't let down his guard. If it was Jaelyn he was surprised she came this direction so fast. Had she heard him?

He continued to scan the area as the realization hit him. She'd heard him enter the water. He'd bet his honor on it. He inwardly cursed himself for such carelessness. His suspicions were confirmed when he saw Jaelyn slide down a nearby bank and begin examining the immediate area. She moved toward his hidden area, likely couldn't see much more than movement. He could try his chances at open combat, for she would be at a disadvantage stepping into the darkness from the light. He could try a different tactic however just to change things up a bit. He quickly examined the bank roof and wall, looking for his option out. And he found it.

He took a hold of the thick root, and saw it ran up the wall and across the ceiling. He would wait as the rules stated until she was within striking distance, and beneath the wall, or close enough to it to be distracted. He figured if he pulled the root free and hard enough, some earth would shower down, he could climb the bank and attack her from behind. He waited until she was close enough to where there attacks could reach each other, then ripped the root from the wall and ceiling. The earth began to rain down as Dimitri darted out the opposite side and scrambled up the bank.

He turned to walk around the overhang when his eyes widened in horror. The over hang sagged and gave way, dropping straight downwards to where he'd been and Jaelyn could possibly be. The earth and tree slammed hard into the ground, the tree tipped over into the water sending up a massive spray of water. Horrified at the thought he may have injured or killed Jaelyn he ran and leapt down into the stream, and turned. "Jaelyn!" leaving himself open, not concerned with the game but rather his sister-in-arms.

by **Jaelyn Baroth** on April 29th, 2011, 2:00 am

Cautiously Jaelyn proceeding into the darkness, knowing that it would be hard for her eyes to adjust quickly, and she kept her spear up and ready to block a possible attack. Her breath caught as she saw movement, hearing moving dirt, and she tensed in anticipation. No attack came, all that happened was... dirt fell on her face?

For a moment Jaelyn frowned in confusion, and then her heart jumped as a deep groan reached her ears. Instinct screamed at her to move, and her well trained body responded. In a smooth movement she turned and jumped as the first large chunks of earth began to fall. Tossing her spear aside she curled her arms up over her head, and shutting her eyes tightly reduced her world to to nearly deafening sounds and a sharp pressure from her knees down.

Finally the sound died down, and Jaelyn held her breath. Slowly she opened her eyes and looked around. Dirt and dust filled the air, and the branches of the tree were arched over her like a great clawed hand trying to cage her on the ground. There would have been little need for it to trap her though as her legs from the knee down were buried in fallen dirt.

Hearing Dimitri's voice calling for her Jaelyn finally took a breath, and immediately coughed from the fine dirt that still filled the air. Taking a slower, more careful, breath she then called out, "Dimitri, down here," and she lifted up her arm and waved to try and draw his attention.

by **Dimitri** on April 29th, 2011, 4:49 am

He turned and the overhang was gone. A cloud of fine earth billowed out, a mound of earth and tree was where he'd been. He saw no hide nor hair of his squire sister. He looked all around, maybe she got away? Panic tried to take hold, but he kept his head. He ran over to the fallen roots when he heard her call his name. At least she was still alive. The dust finally settling he could see her caged in by the roots, and her legs pinned. "Are you hurt? Anything broken or bleeding?" as he knelt down next to her, taking her hand through the mesh of roots, genuine concern on his face, fear for her in his eyes. He squeezed her hand, "I'll get you out of there, don't worry."

He let go of her hand and stepped back to examine the situation. He definitely needed to move the tree. However just pushing it would likely crush her leg. He would need leverage. And something to put beneath it so it didn't roll back onto her legs. And finally he would need to remove many of those roots before moving it, to prevent injury to her face and neck. He drew his sword, "Lean as far from the roots as you can, I need to chop them off." He waited a moment and then swung his sword down hard. It chopped through a few thick roots, tumbling down, before embedding into a thicker root. He continued hacking away at the roots until he felt they were trimmed enough.

He looked down at Jaelyn, "Almost got you out Jae." His voice carried confidence, but was weighed down with guilt and a small hint of fear. He found a few large rocks, and slowly lugged them over to one side of the tree. He wedged them beneath the bottom of the tree and the mud. He then picked up her discarded spear. He wasn't used to such a long heavy weapon but it would do. He walked up to the side of the tree with the rocks. "Jae, get ready to move." He then jammed the butt of the spear into space beneath the tree, a rock offering leverage. He hoped the spear would be strong enough. And himself of course. "One. Two. Three." He pulled down hard, yet stead on the spear. At first nothing happened, the spear threatening to snap against him and strike against his head. Then the tree started to wiggle. Dimitri rocked the spear a bit and the wiggle grew to a shake. He continued straining against the spear until the tree slowly rolled away, an inch at a time. Now that he had better leverage he pushed up on the spear, the tree rolling a few feet away. He held the spear and knelt next to Jaelyn, offering to help her up. "Are you okay Jae? I'm so sorry, it wasn't supposed to happen like that."

by **Jaelyn Baroth** on April 29th, 2011, 5:01 pm

"No, I think I am just stuck," Jaelyn responded with a soft smile to Dimitri's worried questions, and an attempt to pull her legs free later she gave a small nod, "Yes, definitely stuck. Maybe a little bruised, but I don't think I'm bleeding anywhere."

At Dimitri's instructions she drew her hand back close to her body and leaned back against the dirt as far as she could. Calmly she watched him slice through the roots, trusting his skill in the sword. Her grey eyes followed him as he moved about, and she nodded and smiled softly at him as he reassured her. She trusted him to help get her out, and knew that panicking would only make the situation worse. Her heart was certainly pounding though.

"Ready," she replied to Dimitri's next instructions, turning as much on her front as she could to use her arms to help her pull out. At the count of three she started to try and pull her legs out of the dirt, clenching her teeth tightly to keep from crying out as pain shot up her legs.

Finally after some struggle the pressure on her legs decreased and she managed to pull herself out of the confining dirt. Once free she collapsed back to the ground, her breathing heavy and ragged from the pain radiating from her ankles. She struggled to regain her composure as Dimitri came up and asked if she was okay, but the smile she offered him was pained, and her breathing was still ragged, "It was not your fault Dimitri, you could not have known that would happen. As for me," she took Dimitri's hand and started to get up, "I think I will Ahhh!" she interrupted herself with a cry of pain as she put weight on her right ankle, and promptly collapsed back to the ground.

Several heavy and ragged breathes later Jaelyn pushed herself back up onto her hands and knees as she spoke, "I think I might have injured my ankles..."

by **Dimitri** on April 30th, 2011, 1:06 am

Dimitri heard her cry out in pain, and quickly rushed up next to her, close. "Let's get you to town Jae." He knelt down in front of her, pulled her arms over his shoulders, and her legs out on either side of him. He gripped her behind her knees and gently stood up. "Hold on tight." He stood up fully, adjusting his center of gravity as he carried her on his back. He walked slowly back to horses, so as to not jar her ankles. He walked quietly, feeling the warmth of her body against his back, her heart beat thumping. As he moved carefully he made a mental checklist. He'd have to recover their gear, secure her horse to his, pack the gear.

He brought her to the horses, standing patiently. He stood on a fallen tree near her horse, raised up on his toes and slid her into the saddle. "Get comfortable. I'll finish up." He went back and collected her spear, his sword, and shield. He brought them back to the horses. He gathered up her armor and bundled it all together. He tied that to the back of the saddle of her horse. He placed her spear across her lap. His hand alighted down her leg gently, tenderly. "How you holding up?" He knew she was just as tough as he, but he still had a small soft spot for her. He stepped away and packed up his own gear. He then lead her horse to his gently, and tied the reins to the back of his saddle. He then jumped up and over his horse, looked back at Jaelyn. "Let's get you home sister." He beamed a smile at her as he lead the horse back to Syliras.