[Stumble Alley] Learning How NOT to Die (Open)

[Zenai]

Bob suddenly attacked the Benshira with a handful of sand and his own cane-sword. Did Zenai expect that kind of etiquette from Bob? Half-expected. Was Zenai surprised? Hardly. Bob was the kind of person you wouldn’t mess with unless you are better than Bob himself or knew Bob well enough to know which buttons to press and not to press. Hopefully, the Benshira is sporting enough to cater to Bob’s need for revenge. Zenai wondered whether having Jinsen fight alongside with Bob would be fair. What’s fair in Sunberth? Zenai decided to let it go and let him deal with it. Zenai then realized Bob was a bad influence as the next thought provokes an action.

It was then Zenai suddenly drew his own talon swords and charged at Eridanus. Neither Zenai nor Eridanus didn’t exactly call an end to the round so Zenai assumed that they should continue on with Bob and that Benshira duking it out with their own fight. Surprise attacks are the forte of successful strikes and Zenai had it in his hands. Zenai charged at Eridanus but instead of trying to slash him with his talon sword or kicking him with his armored leg, Zenai would have slammed into Eridanus mid-region and reached his hands around Eridanus. He would then squeezed Eridanus tight around the waist and lifted him off his feet using all his strength. Finally, he would toss Eridanus behind him, turn around and stab his swords into Eridanus.

If Zenai have failed to grab Eridanus, Zenai would have stumbled and would need to roll away to keep his distance from Erianus while Zenai himself would need to take a defensive stance. If Zenai have failed to hit Eridanus while he’s lying flat on the ground from being tossed by Zenai, Zenai would have kept slashing and slicing at Eridanus if the Ethaefal dodged and/or rolled away from Zenai’s attacks. Zenai wants to keep Eridanus off his feet so he could have a good nice target to hit at. This time around, Zenai made sure his feet are standing solid and are ready to dodge and jump if needed. He doesn’t want to be made a fool for falling for the same trick twice.

OOCInitiative to the fastest poster!

[Eridanus]

Eridanus finally cleared enough sand from his eyes to see properly, and he was glad that there was a glimmer of recognition on Bob's face, though he was more thankful that the midget was now trying to skewer him. The next few events were so surprising and unexpected that though he noticed the succession of events, his body did not react as fast as his mind, and so to he it was like watching a sluggish series of still-motion pictures. His Benshira friend suddenly appeared from behind Bob. What's with this guy and Stumble Alley, Eri wondered. It looked like he did not know what exactly was happening, and naturally assumed that Eri was in trouble just like the first time that they met. It also seemed that he had a natural tendency to want to help people, and he dove straight first into Bob, knocking him from the back. Now this would be a pretty comical sight, if not for the fact that Bob still had his cane sword drawn and pointing at the Vantha. Did he mention the sharp end? Yes, the sharp end was still pointing at Eri, and Eri gasped in horror as the midget stumbled forward, desperate trying not to turn his recent acquaintance into an Ethaefal shish kebab sans the cooking. He dodged, but his sluggish body surprised by the chain of events hampered him, and it was all he could do barely avoid the sword, it ripping through his clothes and causing a shallow laceration across his chest, ripping a line across his tunic. His skin was still white, and his body was still trying to comprehend what happened to it, and so blood have not began forming yet, only leaving parts of it on the sword and some splatters on his clothes. Then, it was like normal time resumed, and he rolled again. Somehow he's been rolling alot recently, and doing so was beginning to become a natural thing for him. He swore, removing his tunic and glancing at his wound, checking for the magnitude of damage. It looked like a superficial wound, though he'd need to stem the blood at least cover the wound or more sand will infect it. He rolled up his tunic and tied it tightly around the area of his chest that had the glancing wound to cover it in an attempt to prevent sand from getting into it. He winced as he ended the knot, feeling the sting as the wound touched the cloth. Not paying attention to the happenings, he looked up just in time to hear Zen inviting the rest to join in the spar that ended with Bob initiating an attack at the Benshira with a sand attack. Those reflexes were too quick, and the only explanation was that Bob was already thinking of doing so, with Zen's announcement being the trigger that he needed to attack. Zen then charged at the Vantha, not seeming to bother the injury he sustained from Bob's sword, and he swore again, trying to signal to the human that he wasn't exactly in the mood for further sparring. Still, the look in Zenai's eyes fully expected him to respond and if he stood still he might actually get killed accidentally. He did not doubt the capacity for being involved in accidents, especially since he just sustained an injury from one. He rolled again - ("What? Roll again?", his Ethaefal personality derided him.) - dodging the charge and trying to get his hands on his blades again. Going bare-handed against a dual wielding talon sword wielder was suicide, especially since he was not an unarmed master specializing in disarming sharp edges. He had no wish to feel cold steel to his skin again, and this was the motivating factor that pushed him to avoid the slashes. Grabbing a blade on the floor, he spun around and raised it in a general blocking posture, barely preventing his head from being lopped off while still on the ground. He swung the sword at Zenai, forcing him to dodge backwards to avoid the attack, and took the time he bought to feel around the floor for the other blade, grabbing it and sliding his butt backwards (in yet another uncool posture), his aching legs pushing himself up to a more comfortable standing posture. He opened his mouth to tell Zenai to stop, but he was rushed again, and he glanced behind him to find Bob and Idue in the midst of combat, so he was pretty much sandwiched with nowhere to run. His heart pounding, and his chest stinging from the wound that was beginning to seep more blood through the cloth, he blocked the next attack with a practiced stance, his muscle memory automatically taking over as he reacted and countered, dodging at times when his blade couldn't meet his opponent's and parrying when he could, trying to push forward the battle so that he would not so close to the height-mismatched duo so that he could dash to somewhere safer to announce his intentions without losing a limb or two.

oocAlright! Initiative is miiine!

[Idue]

Wow, It is rather funny that one throws sand in the eyes of someone who lived in the desert his entire life.

What Idue thought a comical moment slowly turned out to be a mistake that nearly cost Eridanus his life. The Benshira's foot connected with the short man's back, and it wasn't until the short fellow was falling forward before Idue noticed the sharp end to the cane. Did he just impale the man who he had tried to keep alive not too long ago? Oh, how karma had a way with people. Try and save someone, and you end up killing themself. But the short man twisted while he fell, and only nicked Eri across the chest. A miracle that saved the life of the man, and saved Idue the knowledge that he caused the death of that man. He didn't deserve to die, unlike so many in this city. But why hadn't the short man just let his blade run through Eri? Wasn't he there to kill him and possibly mug him for whatever he had on him? Or had The Benshira jumped into a dire situation only to learn they were practicing? By now, Eri had rolled over to the side to check his wounds, and the midgit was checking the dog he had with him. So only the red headed man stood standing, and he walked over to the Benshira. He named himself Zenai, and deemed the midgit Bob. What a good name for such an odd man. When Zenai questioned if he knew Eridanus, Idue nodded. Whether he was acquaintances was a different story. Surely acquaintances didn't impale each other on swords. But then again, these two seemed to know each other, and they were doing just that. In fact, they all were just sparring. Odd people lived in Sunberth. But Idue shook the man's hand regardless. Why be rude? "Well met, Zenai. You may call me Idue." Zenai asked him a second question, and again, Idue answered truthfully. This man probably knew nothing, so it didn't matter if he knew Idue's reasons for being here. Every person had to have a reason to live in a hole like Sunberth. "I'm looking for a mother I never knew." Well, truthfully didn't have to be a winded speech. This Zenai, a talkative person, then brought up to the idea of continuing their spar. So instead of breaking up a fight to the death, Idue really did ruin this person's practice with Eridanus. But why had they fought two-on-one? Truly Idue had no clue how to react around people like this. A midgit, a dog that attacked my licking, and Stumble Alley itself. To the Benshira, the desert was boring, but safer. Idue never did get to say aye or nay to the spar, as the midgit spoke before him. The man stood up, picking up his cane sword, and walked up to them. He choose Idue, the man who kicked him down like a ball, and did something Idue didn't expect. The Benshira, the race born in the sand, had the gritty substance thrown into his face by a midgit that came up to his stomach. Irony had cruel ways to get at people, and this was cruel as it came. Idue had only one axe in his hand, and he swung his axe horizotally. Only Idue realized after the blade went through thin air that he swung at a six foot man while fighting a four foot man. Which was why the Benshira deserved to have his legs knocked out from under him. Being made a fool by a midgit. Sunberth truly was not a place Idue felt comfortable in.

[Bob Barton]

There was never a moment more than this one that Bob could feel proud about Zenai. Even in their time of youth it was hard, very hard to take him out for anything fun but it was Zenai's prudence which saved Bob a lot of trips into the tank. There was only hope that his newfound liberation will not be the cause of his downfall like so many others who littered the streets of Sunberth wholly or in pieces. It won't be too big a problem here. After all he is only fighting Eridanus in a friendly spar. Fortunate that Bob did not accidentally kill Zenai's partner because of the interference of that benshira.

What kind of person would name a child Idue anyway? Bob wouldn't. If Idue thought that Bob's name fit his odd nature, he was lucky that Bob had resisted any pun like "I don't" so far. Saying that could wait for a better time. Now, initiative for petty revenge called for action! Bob was rewarded for that with Idue who was now on the ground like so many others who had underestimated him because of his height. Let no man make the same foolish mistake in thinking that Bob the four footer was the same as the six foot cattle.

Having Idue's axe completely missing him made Bob feel invincible. So invincible that he knew he should be able to do whatever he wanted to safely as long as Idue was still blinded. Not killing anyway. Bob was way too good for something so barbaric even if someone had humiliated him with a kick from behind. He stole a glance, probably long enough for Idue to get the sand out of his eyes to see how Zenai and Eridanus are doing. He could see that Zenai, naturally was dominating the prettyboy. In Sunberth he could have whatever sexual orientations he wanted, as long as it did not effect Bob.

The conclusion that Bob would reach after watching the fight earlier and the fight now was simple. Zenai has while Eridanus had...two weapons each! Not only will it up the lethal factor by two, it also looks cool. But Bob only brought one canesword with him. He got it! Now was Bob's time to shine. He drew the sword from the cane and ended up with the sword on one hand and the cane on the other. Fortunately for Idue, this would be the first time he done this and could be used to the benshira's advantage but until that happens, Bob will continue attacking.

Now Bob could hit Idue without any worries of killing him. With the sword, he kept hitting around Idue's axehand over and over as hard as possible hoping to either disarm him by knocking the weapon away or hurt his hand bad enough for him to drop it. An easy goal with a hard target. The hand was sooooo small compared to the axe and Idue was moving it too much. After a few misses, Bob gave up on the hand and started slashing on the bigger target and that was the axe.

While he was doing this, he needed to distract Idue from the fact that Bob was trying to disarm him and that was where the cane came in. Randomly swiping it at Idue's body did not work out as well as he had hoped. It was too new an experience for him to focus on both weapons and the only time he would attack on one hand was when the other hand was committed to the attack and moving at its target. All this messed up Bob's accuracy even if Idue's body was a big target. Nevertheless Bob continued smacking the cane alternately at Idue's head and hand in hopes that trying to defend those points he will neglect the axe.

Either Bob will stop soon from trying to use the flurry of Idue would come out on his own. But once the benshira comes up he would find Bob trying to catch his breath and arms limping downwards to the point that his weapons would be dragging on the ground. Unable to attack, Bob would keep moving to try to circle around the benshira until Idue was placed at a very advantageous position for Bob to use another attack that only he could in the alley.

[Zenai]

One swing from the right, Eridanus parried. Zenai then made a downward slash from the left but again, blocked by Eridanus. The process was repeated several times. One swordsman almost equally as skilled as the other and with almost no end in sight. Again, Zenai had to be creative with his attacks and like Eridanus did before, Zenai threw some opportunistic jabs and elbow strikes. Most were deflected and Eridanus used those opportunities to push forward. Zenai understood why; they were quite close to the fight between Idue and Bob. His mind raced on how to react to this; on one hand, they is obliged to give room to Idue and Bob as well as allow Eridanus some space but on the other, giving Eridanus any more space would give him the initiative. Fine. Zenai puts in a couple of more strikes before doing another double-bladed whirlwind attack while putting enough power behind it so Eridanus would have to block it with all his might. This would give Zenai the opportunity to jump back and giving themselves more room to spar in.

Zenai stole a momentary glance of the spar between the Benshira and the midget. Bob was doing quite alright by himself as he used his size and agility as well as his opponent’s inexperience against Idue. Bob also attempted to dual wield with the cane in one hand while sword itself is in the other. It was very obvious Bob was very new to the fighting style as he heavily favored one arm over the other whilst using the other just for defensive purposes. The cane can be used to block and parry other weapons but it may also be good at bludgeoning people’s noses. However, Zenai doubt that Bob could reach the heads of some people and have to make do by attacking people’s mid and lower regions meaning legs and guts. Bob was deadly in his own right but once his opponent could easily go for powerful downward cuts and put Bob on the defensive. Still, he had the agility to dodge such attacks.

Eridanus charged to cover ground but Zenai did likewise instead of being defensive while his sparring partner on the offensive or vice versa. Zenai lowered his talon swords to his lower right as he gets ready to unleash an upward power diagonal slash with his two blades. This also allows him to parry most of Eridanus’s attacks if it comes to that. Zenai sensed Eridanus has weaken so he wants to try to twist around Eridanus’s swords so he would lost hold on his swords and Zenai would effectively disarmed him. If Zenai still felt Eridanus still has some strength left, he would try to overpower Eridanus and tripped him by kicking him in the shins.

If both don’t succeed, Zenai would throw a flurry of thrusts and jabs to mix things up a bit alongside the usual slashes, chops and kicks. In actuality, Zenai didn’t like the idea of thrusting with his talon swords as the weapon was made for slashing rather than thrusting. Talon swords also don’t have the reach of long swords so Zenai had to be quite close to effectively do his thrusting attacks. Zenai then remembered one last faculty in his arsenal; his head. If Zenai succeeded in parrying Eridanus’s sword away from his head thus rendering it defenseless, Zenai would throw a headbutt and Zenai thanked Old Leg again for providing a helmet for this kind of situation.

Unbeknownst to Zenai, Eridanus was injured earlier from the accident between Bob and Idue. Zenai must have missed it while he was busy with Jinsen, helping Bob up and checking out the Benshira. Depending on the injury, Zenai might call off the sparring session until Eridanus healed up and they could come together on another day. Of course, superficial flesh wounds shouldn’t stop them from sparring. It would better prepare them for the coming fights where small injuries would normally slow down a fighter. It’s better for them to learn to fight with small injuries so they could learn to withstand pain while fighting for your lives. If Eridanus isn’t up to it, Zenai can still spar with either Bob or Idue or both of them. A three-way fight would be interesting indeed as the rules of the game have shifted and change.

While dueling Eridanus, Zenai took the opportunity to try and multi-task. “Hey Idue, good to meet you and good that you’re joining in our little friendly spar.” Zenai dodged a swing by bending over then coming back up. “You’re looking for your mother, you say. Sounds like a noble quest. If I hear anything, you will be the first to know.” Zenai threw a jab at Eridanus but the Ethaefal ducked sideways. “Why would your mother come to such a place like Sunberth if you don’t mind me asking?” Zenai then gone for a cross-sword strike against Eridanus but followed suit and their blades met with a loud clang. “Bob might also be of assistance. Of course, you may need to beat the information out of him but I’m sure he rather be paid for it though so he can keep on good terms with you.” Zenai dodged a thrust from Eridanus but his long sword was able to make a superficial cut across Zenai’s left cheek. The Half-Inarta holds the pain in. “Bob, you will help for a price, won’t you?”

Maybe Zenai is just skirting death by talking to Idue and Bob while trading sparks with Eridanus but they were all friends and Zenai felt that they should be able to do this naturally. This would allow one to practice the mind to process several thoughts and actions as well as train the muscles to memorize and react to certain conditions like feeling an oncoming strike towards the neck by the wind it blows on the hairs on your neck. Then again, this could be something stupid Zenai has picked up from those adventure books he read long ago in the faraway city of Syliras.

[Eridanus]

The two friends exchanged blows, and the Vantha realized that Zenai was trying to make conversation with the Benshira, and something inside him swelled, annoyed that he was not being paid attention to that seriously. The logical part of him demanded him to stop, but the emotional part of him absolutely demanded that he continue, for what is a little superficial wound when one's pride might be at stake? He knew that he would not bleed to death, and continuing to exert force would merely cause him to be more tired than usual when he woke up the next day. That is, if he could withstand the stinging pain as he continued pushing his body physically. This would be an excellent chance to condition his body to tolerate pain, and he gritted his teeth, parrying a blow as he heard the human now involving Bob in his conversation. Earlier he was considering stopping the duel, but now he only wanted to kick the human's ass. It's a courtesy thing, and he believed in the concept of paying attention to one's opponent as a sign of respect. And damn will this human learn some respect by the end of this, he swore to Leth. As the human continued his conversation, he grunted, feigning sounds of pain while actually gritting his teeth and muttering phrases in an unintelligible jumble. Well, half-feigning for the stinging cut was real and his lack of real tolerance for pain forced him to fight against his urge to produce tears. The unintelligible part was, well, he did not what people to hear what he was actually whispering. It does not matter that the incantation had to be properly pronounced, what mattered was that his mind could grasp the imagery and as long as he knew what he was saying, it mattered little what it sounded like when it left his mouth. Then what was the point of saying it? Well, Eri firmly believed in the idea that vocalization tend to strengthen and reinforce mental imagery, and as he was not really good in Flux he had to have a really firm image of directing djed streams in order to successfully pull it off, especially in the small time-frame that he had been unknowingly allotted by Zenai. "Ol' ye lights, focus now on my balance. Venture up, seeking strength, forgetting mobility. And stoic I become, like a boulder I defy", he finished his mutter quickly, realizing that he had made a calculation mistake and rushed the incantation quicker than it took for his mind to properly reinforce the image. He was rewarded by the usual drain in strength in the rest of his body but his upper torso, but somehow the concentration of djed did not spread equally throughout his upper torso as was expected, but clumped together in his right forearm and left shoulder-chest area. The unequal distribution felt highly uncomfortable, and he felt the immediate urge to recast the spell, possibly correcting the imbalance but risk exerting more than his body can provide for a recast would further drain the djed streams in the rest of his astral body. However, his decision was made for him by Zenai with the human's next enthusiastic swing of the talon sword, and he noticed with interest that his sparring partner had resorted to using thrusts and stabs with his weapons. He silently commended the man for doing so, for it was close quarters and stabs with a shorter blade would prove to be superior. It was time to turn the tables, and as he narrowly avoided getting skewered, accidentally glancing Zenai's cheek as he made a clumsy counter-attack - no doubt to the djed imbalance - he breathed heavily, trying to redirect the streams back to its default positions. Not bothering to glance back, he focused on his sense of hearing for a moment to determine that the midget and Benshira were duelling to his right, and he leaped backwards to the left, constantly trying to create distance so that he could abuse the superior reach of his long swords. The human caught up to what he was trying to do, and constantly pressed forward, keeping Eridanus on the defensive. He swore, then decided to take a risk. His djed had only recovered half its state, his legs still at three-quarters strength while his upper torso was still slightly imbalanced in djed distribution. He took a deep breath, and using a burst of energy he suddenly - or at least momentarily - changed the tides of the spar by swinging and stabbing both his blades in a frenzied motion. This was not a very economical technique, and in a battle of attrition - or even of minimal skill - he was bound to fail. However, what this afforded him was the heavy clashes of blades and the fact that Zenai would be too focused defending against his overzealous wild swinging of steel that he would not notice his words and whispers. "Ol' ye lights, focus now on my balance. Venture down, seeking mobility, giving up your strength. And nimble I become, like the wind I proceed." This time, Eridanus internally swooped with triumph as he felt the condition in his upper torso lightening, but also continuing to drain past its usual level, while his legs began to feel stronger. However, this also caused his wild swinging to deflate quite a bit, and Zenai would definitely tell the difference. He used this energy to leap backwards in an unnatural burst of speed, creating that optimal distance between the two of them that he can use at his advantage - just within reach of his long swords but out of reach of Zenai's talon swords. He was now panting, and the exertion drained his stamina more than he expected, no doubt the combination of physical activity and Flux workings using up more energy than the sum of its parts. He would have to stop soon, but his body rejoiced at its seeming invincibility and power, it was like a sort of high. He would deal with that later, for now this human needed to be taught the value of respect. Taking advantage of his new-found agility, he pressed the attack, jabbing and thrusting at his friend while using his visibly superior legwork (since it was augmented with Flux) to maintain the unfair distance between them.

[Idue]

If there was one thing Idue did not miss about leaving his homeland a year ago, it would be the endless sand. He hated how it got in his eyes, how it dried his lips, and how it got into certain parts of his body he didn't want it in. He hated it all, and this Bob just had to throw it in his face. Idue figured it was better than getting headbutted in the groin, but it was a close tie between the two. Very close. But Idue knew how to handle these situations, having been in them for so long. Using the end of his turban, he wiped the sand out of his eyes. He didn't understand why we had a chance. Why didn't Bob stand straight and hit him in the face? It wasn't like he needed to squat to hit a target laying on his back. But when Idue looked up, he noticed that this Bob had glanced over at Zenai and Eridanus, giving the Benshira sufficient time to even the odds just a little. So Idue stood up while Bob was distracted, knocking off the dirt. He had already blind-sided Bob once, and he wasn't going to do it again. And even when the short man noticed him, Idue still didn't attack. Instead he left his second axe stuck in the sash while Bob turned his cane sword into a cane and a sword. So this man could dual wield? Watching the man closely, Idue noticed it was new for this man. An advantage on top of the height difference. But Bob wasn't wary about attacking, targeting his hands. But Idue could just move his hands out of the way without worry. He was sure Bob couldn't handle his weapons well enough to strike with both hands at once. Idue had trouble in the beginning, and he still wasn't completely confident in using both hands at once. So Idue kept parrying blow after blow from Bob, almost like a dance. Swing at axe, parry. Swing at head, dodge or parry. Repeat. All the while, Zenai was trying to speak with Idue. If he heard anything about his mother, he would let Idue know. A nice notion even if Zenai had no chance. His mother had come here twenty years ago, and could've left soon after. Really Idue was on a quest that was nearly impossible and was his excuse to travel the world. But the red-head brought up a good question. Why would his mother come here? So Idue could only answer Zenai with a simple "I don't know why she would choose Sunberth." As Zenai continued speaking, Idue found his next statement easier to reply to. "As for Bob here, I'd like to beat something out of him, but not information." Alright, maybe that was a little harsh, but he threw sand in Idue's eyes. Revenge was upon the midgit. Slowly but surely, Bob was tiring. But he was still a hard bugger to catch, running circles around the Benshira to stay free of a possible counter-attack. So Idue just drew his second axe, waiting for Bob to try his next move. Two could play this dual wielding game. And a third can have sand in his face too.

[Bob Barton]

It was a close tie between getting sand to the face and headbutted in the groin? But those were but a few of the many advantages that Bob had over Idue on a fight. His height and his craftiness. Unfortunately both have already played their part in this match and Bob was a person who did not want to use the same trick more than once in the same act while there were so many others that just want to get out. Idue and Zenai were pretty similar in more ways than one. They were blunt, stupid and honorable. Bob probably had an idea of another thing that would fit among the tie of Idue's face full of sand and groin headbutt as it was one of those things which already happened to Zenai. Birds of a...nevermind that.

Idue would deserve it too if he was anything like Zenai. Just look at Zenai now, taking advantage of Eridanus and his injury. After this fight he had better thank Bob for the help even if it was an accident. Bob picked up his weapons again as he stormed on an attack. This was just a sparring match and was not serious for Bob to storm off but his rage was real. Just what sort of "idiot!" talks to another person in a "fight!" when they were in one of their own? It was frustrating enough to think about which caused Bob to swing his sword at Idue's axe harder and harder between each time he shouted some unintelligible word which could be almost like a swear as he tried his best to hook the axe and pull it off.

If Zenai wanted, Bob would give him all the time he needed to "talk!" right after be beat down this stupid benshira. There is also one thing that Zenai should remember about his relationship with his dear friend Bob. Continuing his relentless attack, he would say that it was Bob who "dragged!" people into whatever "mess!" he wanted to. It was not up to Zenai to "volunteer!" the midget to "help?!" In between all the profane and harsh words being thrown around, from what anyone can actually hear him say they would know that Bob did not like the idea of helping especially for such a stupid thing as finding Idue's mother. If it was a woman it would make things so much easier. All that was required was to take the naive fool to any of the brothels in Sunberth or if he really had the coin, one of the more reputable establishments like Ruby's or Brega's.

The fact that Bob was actually associated with this collection of weirdos who did not belong; a failed Endal who also failed as a knight, a pretty boy who somehow was able to keep the drunken louts away and a patsy desert boy looking for his mommy. Lets not forget the biggest weirdo of all. A midget who is just as strong as the weakest link. It only made him a lot more frustrated. Switching the hands he focused on, Bob swapped to the cane and started hitting even harder at the benshira's midsection. Ribs, spleen, pits, it did not matter. As long as Bob could get a blow in. It would not kill Idue and that would mean even longer for Bob to punish the benshira.

No matter how hard he did it, Bob just could not get past Idue's defence. He was tired earlier but now he was totally spent but circling around did its job to put both fighters right where Bob wanted them to be. Bob dropped both weapons using whatever he had left to just hold on as he opened himself up to try and provoke Idue to attack. Once Idue took the bait, Bob would cry out for "Jinsen, come to Bobby!" and opened his arms like he always does when he says it. Finally, Bob had a chance to do this after waiting for so long. Idue would unfortunately be in between the loving dog and its master and as they say, dogs have a one track mind to their goals.

[Zenai]

Eridanus must be desperate as it wasn’t like him to swing wildly in a frenzied flurry of attacks then again, Zenai did a few surprising moves himself. Eridanus might tire himself out doing this but if knocked out Zenai, then it’s worth it but Zenai isn’t about to give in to Eridanus. Zenai called upon his own reserves of power and urged his body to go beyond its limits. He forced his body to react much faster than it previously could. His swings meet Eridanus’s swing as Zenai parried and blocked Eridanus attack. Eridanus actually was able to hit Zenai cross the chest but luckily for Zenai, he had worn his armor and would suffer nothing more than a bruise.

Zenai stole another momentary glance at the other fight going on. Bob was busy circling the relatively bigger Benshira and smacking him with his cane. However, the Benshira kept a tight grip on his axe while he was busy cleaning away the dirt away from eyes. Bob is going to be in trouble if Idue got his sight back and start smacking Bob around with his axe. Zenai thought of trading partners with Bob when he was done with Idue but from the looks of things, Bob wanted to finish off Idue.

Zenai’s own burst of strength also seems to pay off as Eridanus’s attacks was getting weaker and weaker. Looks like Eridanus has tire himself out trying to get at Zenai through sheer amount of attacks. Unfortunately, Zenai also tire himself out countering most of Eridanus’s blows. He needs to slow things down and take a breather otherwise he can’t keep up this fight. As Zenai thought of a way to give himself room, Eridanus backed off quickly leaving Zenai in the dust and the room he wanted. Zenai also backed off and got into a defensive stance with his talon swords arranged in an X-shape. He took the time to take in a few breath of air. Each inhale taking in fresh air to rejuvenate his body. Each exhale taking the bad breath away.

Eridanus took the initiative and took advantage of his long sword to use its reach against Zenai’s relatively shorter talon swords. However, Zenai didn’t want to go on the offensive yet. He was happy enough to keep his distance from Eridanus and countering the long sword-strikes with his shorter blades which made it easier to parry and block strikes from the longer blades of Eridanus. Zenai took a step back after a few trading of steel and iron. Zenai still had room to spare and he wanted Eridanus to overextend himself. When Zenai see the chance, he would rush up to Eridanus and give him a combined knee-kick and headbutt.

Zenai thought for awhile if they should end the spar soon so they could get some hand-to-band combat training. It hadn’t occurred to Zenai that they would be fighting without any weapons and sometimes, you need to knock out your opponent rather than stab or slash them to death. Perhaps fighting with your bare hands is deemed to be animalistic and barbaric. Case in example would be drunks and bears. Perhaps another day. Today, they practice with their blades, honing their martial skills against dangerous armed opponents. There’s a reason why mortals chose to wield weapons. For now, Zenai is satisfied with just avoiding drunken brawls and bear caves.

Whether his headbutt-knee-kick combo attack worked or not, Zenai would still want to close the distance with Eridanus again and fire a barrage of stabs, jabs, kicks and slashes. He doesn’t need to use much power behind those and expected Eridanus to blocked, dodged and parried them all because the objective was to tire Eridanus out so he would submit. Another objective was to overload Eridanus’s senses with strikes from top, bottom, left, right, middle and everywhere else. Too many attacks to stop and too little limbs to do so. If Zenai actually hits Eridanus, he would either reach around and hold him with his arm or trip him his leg.

[Eridanus]

Eridanus frowned as his tactic appeared to fall flat. He was not gaining an advantage, but rather Zenai was actually countering the jabs pretty well, the both of them stepping front and back in some sort of macabre dance of blades. It was like a dance, one that followed the whimsical rhythm of an invisible conductor, and the clashes of steel were like the musical notes in an orchestra. Eri could see the beauty of this moment, a moment where things seemed like it was most intense but at the same time it was a sort of tranquillity in the way that they traded blows in an almost meditative state that could only be entered when one was utterly focused at the task at hand. The use of flux had weakened his upper torso, and his arms could not match the human in terms of strength and speed, and thus he chose instead to rely on the low-energy attacks like multiple thrusts and he used minimal strength to do so. Strangely, his friend had parried his attacks with an almost lazy-like manner, somehow matching his pace and he appreciated the considerate thought of practice being more important than victory. However, he still needed to be taught respect, and from what he heard Bob retort to the human he would not be the only one who thought that way. Sudenly, Zenai dashed forward, catching Eridanus by surprise. He chided himself, here he was determined to teach his friend a lesson for not showing respect in a one-on-one spar, and here he was deep in his own thoughts. It was the equivalent of not showing respect and he winced mentally as he labelled himself a hypocrite. His thoughts were cut short as Zenai tried to kick him with his knee, and he leaped backwards, still being able to dodge that attack despite the human taking the initiative for he had his secret weapon of flux that boosted the speed and strength of his lower torso. With that spell he traded his strength and swinging speed for movement speed and superior manoeuvrability, and he intended to make full use of it. He side-stepped quickly to avoid Zenai's head-butt, and he chose to leap further away, raising his swords in an X-shape similar to how Zenai always used his talon swords to block. Metal rang in the air as he blocked yet another blow from the enthusiastic ex Syliran knight, and he was faced with another series of attacks. Like the previous exchange of attacks, this one was weak as well, and he began to suspect that Zenai was trying to win him over in a battle of attrition. This had begun to change into a battle of stamina, and it was one that he was not sure he could win, for the use of flux generally traded stamina for bursts of speed and damage, and as he could not overwhelm his friend, a last man standing strategy would be highly disadvantageous to him. He decided to make one final push for victory. If he failed, he would yield. He knew that he could not continue, for his body was already beginning to complain and the repeated use of flux served to diminish his reserves of strength as well. He also made the determined note to stop there, for he also knew that if he continued he might get the kind of high that flux users get not unlike mind damaging drugs, and having experienced it before he was determined not to let it happen again. Eridanus chose not to dissipate the unnaturally gathered djed in his body yet, opting to go for a final, winner takes all, attack. Tired of exchanging attacks that were meant to wear both duellists down, he took the offensive once more and side-stepped quickly, faster than a normal person naturally should. He followed it up quickly with a top-down slash with his swords, not caring if it hit or missed, for Zenai was protected with armor unlike him and with the strength he applied in the attack it was unlikely to cut through the armor. The Vantha though, was not, and a similar cut would be highly lethal. Regardless if that attack hit, he rushed in once again with that blinding speed, and simultaneously he released his grip on the sword that might be locked in a clash with a parrying talon sword to grip Zenai at his neck, signifying his victory instead of punching and crushing the windpipe of his friend as he normally would for an enemy. He also used his remaining sword to cut sideways at Zenai's torso, also not caring if it hit him or was met with a parry, though he fully expected his friend to defend against that swing or he would be disappointed. Using the same strategy, he released his grip on the other sword as well, reaching for the human's face and intending to halt it just in front of his face. He was confident of pulling it off, for it was a pretty creative manoeuvre that he was sure Zenai wouldn't expect, and even if he did he would not be able to block his unarmed strikes fast enough for a hand without a sword moved faster than a hand wielding one, and that was a lesson he extrapolated out of a gadgeteering related lesson - something to do with levers - in Zeltiva University a long time ago.

oocI think we should wrap this up. Maybe one more round or so and then we can close it