A Forced Lesson [Training, Solo]

[Gabrielle Seawind]

511 Winter 9th The day was ending, and the sun would be out of the skies soon. A cool breeze spread through the docks of Syliras. Few people, mostly fishermen and merchants, were finishing a day's work. Oblivious to everything else to the present was Gabrielle, who was practicing her archery on a wooden crate. On the crate, she had drawn a makeshift target on using leftover charcoal. The target she had made was stacked upon other crates, making it on eye-level. She stood far away from it, maybe around thirty feet, and was careful to stop if she caught even a glimpse of another person passing by. ’But, honestly, if someone carelessly walked by when I am clearly right here with a bow in my hand... then they should blame their lack of intelligence.’ The crates were on the edge of dock, and just past it was the sea. Gabrielle had positioned it so that she would have much more reason not to miss, because an arrow that fell into the sea was practically lost to her. So far, only one arrow had missed the target completely. She had cursed under her breath as it fell into the water. Gabrielle carefully positioned herself for another practice aim. It was the last arrow with her, the rest were stuck to the crate. She could see that only roughly half of the arrows had hit their mark, and she was not satisfied. The young woman released her grip and watched as the last arrow hit the crate – but it didn’t hit its mark. ’Damn.’ She tucked her long bow behind her and walked towards the crate. Gabrielle had been at it for an hour now. Her hair stuck to her sweat uncomfortably, though the chilly breeze of Winter did make her skin feel cool. ”Gab, I don’t know why you insist on the long bow! What happens if your opponent closes the distance? You should at least be skilled in close combat as well,” complained Tanya, her older sister. Tanya was leaning over the railing of Gabrielle’s casinor, which was tied to the dock right next to Gabrielle’s crates. Gabrielle made a face. The reason she preferred the long bow was because it was taught to her at an early age, and she was accustomed to it. Aside from that, it was taught to her by her lost brother, and the memory of her brother was always nice. ”Then I should just make sure the distance is never closed, right?” replied Gabrielle crossly as she started to pluck out the arrows from the crate. The sun was almost gone now, and she knew it wouldn’t make much sense to practice anymore. She stored away the arrows one by one, missing the look of mischief that was on Tanya’s face. Suddenly, the sound of someone jumping down on the wooden dock was evident. After that came the noise of someone quickly striding closer to Gabrielle. When Gabrielle realized what was on her sister’s mind, it was too late. An arm wrapped around her neck and the other immobilized the hand which held the arrows. Gabrielle gave a yell and attempted to struggle, but the next thing she knew, she had her face flat on the ground. ”What the hell, Tanya!?” yelled Gabrielle. She stood up and wiped the dirt away from her face, and stared at her laughing sister. A distance away, some people were muttering to themselves and pointing at the two Svefra women. ”I just closed the distance, and you were helpless!” replied Tanya, her mouth in a wide grin. “Let’s go, then! Take this! I can’t let my little sister die out there just because she insists on using a piece of wood with a string attached to it.” Gabrielle opened her mouth to retort, but instead she found herself helplessly dodging the dagger her sister threw at her. The dagger stuck itself to the crate behind Gabrielle. Seeing that she had no way out, she put her bow and arrows aside and swiped the dagger from the crate.

[Gabrielle Seawind]

In panic, Gabrielle spun around quickly.. Her sister could be crazy at times, there was no telling what was on her mind. And just as she thought, there was a dagger coming right at her face. With a shriek, Gabrielle ducked, and she heard the weapon swiping at the air. "What is wrong with you!?" yelled Gabrielle angrily. Tanya took a step back, a menacing grin on her face. She got into a defensive stance. She had her arms in front of her. The dagger pointed right at Gabrielle, and she beckoned the other girl, taunting her. Cursing under her breath, Gabrielle lunged forward and swiped. All Tanya did was move aside, and Gabrielle continued to swipe, getting herself nowhere. She really didn't have much skill in close combat, even more in wielding a dagger -- a sword would probably be much easier. The range would be greater. "It's difficult to counter with a dagger because the blade is too short, you see?" said Tanya as she continued to avoid Gabrielle's strikes with ease. "So you have to be quick enough to move aside... but then again, mostly daggers are used by those who are swift enough to wield it. And this is perfect for you, because you’re actually quite quick when you move. You want to get a lot out of a single strike, even before your opponent realizes what's coming. You'll be in a huge disadvantage if your opponent's using a sword, an axe, whatever, and then he counterattacks. Always try to get the first strike, while his defences are still down, and make it count." "Why don't you just shut up and--" Before she knew it, Tanya lunged forward and knocked her wielding arm aside powerfully, sending Gabrielle's dagger spiralling to the ground. Then she lunged at Gabrielle sideways, hitting Gabrielle’s stomach with her elbow. Gabrielle was sent to the ground as well, her head hitting the ground painfully. When she realized what was happening, a dagger was coming straight to her face. Terrified, Gabrielle couldn’t do anything but close her eyes in fright. Tanya wouldn’t really—would she!? The dagger dug deep in ground, inches away from Gabrielle’s right ear. After that, all she could hear was Tanya’s loud laugh. Angry, Gabrielle sat up as she rubbed the back of her aching head. ”You’re hilarious, sister!” said Tanya as she leaned down to grab the other dagger—the one Gabrielle had dropped. ”Take that other one, you’ll need it.” Then Tanya stretched her arms, laughing, and got back on the casinor. She left Gabrielle there, disgruntled and annoyed. Gabrielle took the other dagger and stared at it. That had been a very short and very pathetic duel. If it had been a true fight, she would have a dagger jutting out of her forehead by now. Fine, maybe her sister did have a point. Maybe she did have to learn some new things.

[Emblem]

Congratulations! You Get Glorious Experience! Gabrielle Skills Weapon: Dagger- 2 XP Weapon: Longbow- 1 XP Lores People Will Close the Distance First Steps Toward Close Combat Sisterly Love Comments : A nice quick thread, but I can't really give too much skill points for it. However the good news is your sister gave you a dagger, an Iron dagger to be more specific, so go ahead and add that to your CS. Any other questions or concerns, go ahead and PM me!