[Windmount Stables] Foiled Again! (Jaelyn)

[Lucas Arias]

„I was talking more about fighting on horseback“, Lucas mentioned because it seemed as if he hadn’t been clear enough and she had misunderstood him. „I can fight just fine while I have both my feet on the ground. It’s just a little tricky to look all elegant and knightly on your horse and swing your weapon at the same time, you know?“ He laughed a little. „I fight with a sword most of the time, a longsword to be exact“, he answered. He couldn’t help but remember how some of his favourite enemies had told him that a short guy like him should really fight with a shortsword because a longsword was definitely too long for him. He hoped that Jaelyn wouldn’t say anything like that. „Oh, and a bow, but I’m better with the longsword. It’s my favourite kind of weapon.“ „What kind of weapon do you practice with? Do you also fight with a sword?“ he wanted to know and tuggled at the reins so that the horse would start moving. To his surprise the animal decided to obey and trot out of the stable. It seemed as if this little ride was off to a good start! He smiled a little, and then he nodded. „Around the field is fine for now.“ He pressed his feet into the horse’s sides and tugged at the reins again, so that the animal would move a little faster. He wanted to reach their destination in front of Jaelyn!

[Jaelyn Baroth]

"It certainly does take a lot more care to fight well from horseback,"Jaelyn agreed with Lucas, remembering he troubles with training one horseback with Markus and Dimitri, "I know I could certainly use more work in that regard."

She smiled and nodded softly as she listened to Lucas explain about the weapons he used, "The longsword is my main weapon as well," she touched a hand to the sword sheathed at her hip, "and I also train in the spear as well. Perhaps we could give each other some pointers on sword technique some time."

For a moment Jaelyn watched as Lucas urged his horse into a faster cant and started to move ahead. It would make sense that someone more experienced on a horse would want to go quicker. Jaelyn didn't want to inconvenience her training partner, and she felt comfortable in going a little quicker, and so she urged her horse to go a little faster so as to better keep up with Lucas, "Once we've gone around the field would you like to spar on horseback?" the memory of her training with Markus brought a soft smile to her lips, "Or perhaps we could compete in a little training exercise?"

[Lucas Arias]

„Let’s practice that then“, Lucas decided as Jaelyn admitted that she could use more work in regards to fighting on horseback as well. „Let’s pretend that we are enemies, that I’m an evil Zith who is riding a horse and swinging a sword for some strange reason – or vice versa – and fight.“ It was good that the longsword was her main weapon as well, he decided. He had a pretty good idea about how to defend himself against somebody with a sword – but he didn’t really know how to deal with a spear, a lance or a vicious looking halberd. „A few pointers would be appreciated“, he remarked. „And I’ll of course teach you some of my techniques.“ He pressed his feet into the horse’s sides some more – he didn’t want Jaelyn to keep up with him, but impress her by riding incredibly fast – but he seemed to have done something wrong. The horse almost rebelled, and Lucas decided that it would be better to ride a little more slowly after all. He allowed Jaelyn to catch up with him – and hoped that she hadn’t been paying attention and was beginning to realize that he wasn’t such a perfect rider after all. „Let’s just spar on horseback for now“, he said to Jaelyn. „I will allow you to make the first move.“

[Jaelyn Baroth]

Jaelyn quirked an eyebrow slightly at Lucas' suggestion, but there was amusement in her faint smile as she replied, "That sounds like a good idea. We definitely should be careful while we practice though. I did not bring a training blade today, and I would hate to harm either you or the horses."

Stopping her horse she drew her sword, and after Lucas drew his weapon offered, "I will simply attack with the flat of my blade. That should help make an injury less likely," putting action to words she turned her grip on the sword so it would more naturally swing with the flat first.

Kicking her horse forward into a quick canter Jaelyn rode towards Lucas, left hand on the reigns, and readied a fairly standard overhead slice. When she got to Lucas she brought the flat of her blade down, aiming for his shoulder. That way even if he failed to block it should just cause a bit of a bruise.

[Lucas Arias]

While Jaelyn pondered his suggestion, Lucas wondered who of them would be the better evil Zith. He decided almost immediately that he would play the part of the villain in their little spar. Jaelyn was such a nice, gentle person. He couldn’t imagine her as a winged monstrosity. He probably wouldn’t even be able to imagine that she was a Zith if he closed his eyes. She would still be Jaelyn Baroth, the nice and slightly naive girl. „I’ll be careful“, he assured her. „I don’t want to hurt you, and I certainly don’t want to be hurt either.“ He really didn’t have any interest in having a sword sticking out of his body. He didn’t want to bleed either. He decided that he would attack with the flat of his blade as well. For now though he simply drew his sword and rode towards her. He rode a little more slowly than she. It was hard for him to control both the horse and his sword at the same time, and he didn’t want to make a fool of himself. He still wanted to look as if he were a halfway decent rider. As she had almost reached him, he brought his blade up a bit to meet hers, and then he tried to counter the attack while still making his horse go forward (which was a bit of a challenge). He too decided on a fairly simple attack, a diagonal slash, from her shoulder downwards.

[Jaelyn Baroth]

The familiar clang of metal striking metal rang out as Lucas blocked Jaelyn's strike, and then Jaelyn brought her sword down and angled it to deflect Lucas' in return. As she did she unconsciously pulled away with the reigns, causing her horse to turn away from Lucas as they rode post each other.

The unexpected turn caused Jaelyn to wobble a bit in the saddle as she rode away from Lucas, but thankfully she was able to recover her seat instead of falling off. Letting out a breath she had not know she was holding she took a moment to collect herself, and then turned her horse around to face Lucas once more. After giving the other Squire a chance to ready himself she kicked her horse forwards once again, and then as they approached she held her sword at the ready. Her intention was to block Lucas' strike, and then retaliate with a quick horizontal slash aimed just below his shoulder.

[Lucas Arias]

As Lucas realized that he had in fact been able to block Jaelyn’s strike he grinned. That really boosted his self confidence (he had constantly lost against Jokor, no matter which strategy he’d employed). That brief moment when his mind was elsewhere might have been the reason why Jaelyn managed to block his attack in turn, but really, he didn’t mind. It had still gone far better than he had expected, and on top of that he was still on his horse! He briefly patted the animal’s neck, as if to tell her that she’d done a good job so far. And then he prepared himself for Jaelyn’s next attack. Again he kicked his horse forward. This time he aimed for Jaelyn’s shoulder. He aimed at a little below the neck (because he didn’t want to accidentially sever her head – a headless Jaelyn would be kind of ugly) but unfortunately she managed to block his sword (he felt the strain on his wirst as both sword and wrist were forced backwards). The redhead made a face, and then he quickly brought his sword up to parry her slash. If that was successful, he’d proceed to ride past her and turn his horse around again. This time he lowered his whole body somewhat (almost falling off his horse in the process) and aimed for the young woman’s thighs because always trying to stick his sword into her torso was boring. He wasn’t at all sure if it was a good move or not (in fact it might be completely stupid), but it would be interesting to see how she reacted.

[Jaelyn Baroth]

Again the two Squires traded blows, and as they did Jaelyn focused on not pulling on the horse's reigns as she blocked and retaliated. Her arm moved slightly before she noticed it and tensed her muscles. Fighting from on top of a horse was definitely a different struggle than fighting on the ground.

Turning her horse around and charging once again Jaelyn quirked an eyebrow as Lucas lowered himself a bit. What was he planning. Deciding it was best to play defensively against this unknown attack she held her sword at the ready and cautiously watched Lucas' movements. As he struck at her thigh she quickly thrust her sword down to catch his blade, and the force of the sudden impact rattled her blade in her hand. She managed to keep hold of her weapon as the two rode past each other again.

Encouraging her horse to turn and head back in the direction of Lucas once more Jaelyn prepared to take the initiative this time. As she neared Lucas she brought her sword up and across in what looked like a quick slash at the Squire's head, but the attack was a feint. As soon as she saw Lucas move to block she quickly shifted her strike around and over her head, coming at him from the opposite side with the flat of her blade aimed for his torso.

[Lucas Arias]

Lucas sighed inwardly as Jaelyn parried again. He’d thought that she wouldn’t expect him to try and hit her thigh, but apparently she was better and reacted faster than he had expected. He gripped his sword a little tighter almost as if he wanted to crush it with his fist (he was angry!) and rode past her and encouraged his horse to turn around for the third or fourth time. By the time they were facing each other again his temper had cooled down somewhat, and he was mostly happy that his horse seemed to be so obedient. He was quite happy to let her take the initiative this time. As she brought her sword up, he brought his sword up as well to parry her attack. He didn’t realize that it was a feint. On the contrary, he thought that he was quite clever and a great swordsman because he’d reacted so fast! And then Jaelyn’s sword had already hit him, and he just sat on his horse, looking thoroughly stunned. His sword was raised – he had tried to parry, he just hadn’t been fast enough! He didn’t know how exactly this had happened. And then he made an observation, maybe the most correct observation he had made this day so far. „Petch“. After a moment he realized that his torso hurt a little now, and thus he added, „Ouch!“ in a somewhat sarcastic tone.

[Jaelyn Baroth]

Jaelyn's lips held a faint smile at the success of her attack, but as she brought her horse around again it faded as Lucas' yell reached her ears. She halted her horse, pulling back slightly on its reigns, and lowered her sword. If they were both upon the ground and sparring she might have continued her attack, but on horseback over eagerness in training could lead to dangerous injuries.

"Are you alright to continue, or would you like to stop for now?" she called out to her fellow Squire, "I did not strike to hard, did I?" she certainly had thought she hadn't hit hard enough to cause any real damage, but maybe the movement of the horses had added unintended strength to her blow?