Brawling for Idiots (Alea)

[Banir Ironwood]

A breath, that's all it was as it flowed into his lungs and back out again. Banir saw what Alea had did and tried to stop before impact. The metal guards on his boots would have harmed Alea greatly if he kept his speed. While seeing the world move in a slower motion than normal he in took his surroundings in amazing detail. Everything he could see in such detail move so slowly as he fell over the huddled Alea. Somewhere in this adrenaline fueled frame of mind her heard the clash of metal against flesh and cloth. It all seemed to move by so slowly, like clouds in the sky he saw the ground coming to meet him. Sadly his body could only move so fast. A gloved and clawed hand extended to absorb most of the impact. Though they moved as slow as the rest of the world.

Excited, frightened, ready. He only enjoyed moments like this too few times, and it was always gone quickly and almost forgotten. His hands caught him before his face made friends with the snow covered ground. Supported by his hands his legs sprawled behind him over Alea. He felt clarity fresh from the adrenaline and slowly began to get up once more his feet clumsily moving underneath him.

[Alea Davenport]

Alea had underestimated how much getting rammed by armor could hurt. In fact, she hadn't really considered armor at all, since it had never really come up in her life before. The bruises developing on her sides should have been the lesson that her "clever" tactics were foolish and ineffective, but she was too stubborn to admit that she might be wrong about anything.

She wriggled out from under Banir, since he had so graciously not completely crushed her with his weight. She had hoped to get free in time to take advantage of his nearly prone condition, but he was getting up as well, and she was slowed by the not-particularly-familiar sensation of pain. Her instincts still told her to make sure she was not too terribly injured whenever she felt pain, instead of having her ignore it and keep fighting. For a moment she was envious of Banir's ability to think solely of fighting and ignoring all pain, but she realized that the emotional damage that caused him would probably not be something she wanted to deal with either.

They were both nearly recovered, so Alea decided it was time to attack again while there was still a chance she had an element of surprise (given their respective sizes, surprise was pretty much her only asset, as far as she could tell). She scooted toward him, not bothering to stand, and hooked her legs around one of his, trying to bring him down again. This time though, she got ready to roll out of the way if he started to fall.

[Banir Ironwood]

As he staggered to his feet his hands stung from preventing full impact on the ground. Hearing snow crunch behind him he knew Alea would try something desperate. He had several advantages over her and they both knew it. Even so she was managing to hold up in this little spar of theirs. Though she had made several mistakes that could or more likely would get her killed. Banir was impressed at how well she adapted to the situation.

Sudden movement, a jerk from below. Quickly Banir decided to counter by shifting his weight to his other foot. Partially successful he fell towards her. Rather than miss the opportunity he sprung on his weighted foot. Snow flew from his booted heel as he raised his left elbow ready to put it into her chest.

Readying his right arm to absorb most of the impact to the ground. He wanted to hurt Alea, not severely injure her. She needed to learn how to forget the pain and focus on the moment. It was hurting her a great deal right now, but if she learned. Alea would be ready for far worse fights against more vicious opponents.

[Alea Davenport]

Alea's eyes grew wide as she realized what Banir was doing. She'd been ready to evade if he fell, but he was coming at her faster than that. She tried to roll out of the way anyway, but Banir's elbow still hit her hard in the stomach, knocking the wind out of her. The pain was secondary to the fact that, very suddenly, Alea couldn't breathe.

Time seemed to slow down. Alea tried to inhale, but no air entered her lungs. Fear gripped her as she wondered whether she would ever be able to breathe again, or if she would die suffocating. She flashed back to all the times she had managed to catch a fish, and she saw their little mouths gaping, and in that moment she knew exactly how they felt.

She saw Banir recovering from the fall out of the corner of her eye, and she feared that he would attack her again before she could recover. Time, she had to buy more time. Get away, maybe hide, gain an advantage somehow. She scooted backward, trying to put some distance between herself and the man she finally realized was over twice her size. She was about to start panicking when, abruptly, she was able to breathe again. She inhaled grateful lungfuls of precious air, and filled with renewed energy, she hopped up and faced Banir, curling her hands into clumsy fists.

[Banir Ironwood]

Slight pain in his elbow and generally his whole left side had the dull sensation as well. It was easy to ignore as he stood up, like a mountain he returned to his full height. Spying Alea on the ground gasping for air he had to admit that he liked the sight. Before he could enjoy it further the pesky feeling of guilt quickly snuck up upon him. When she began to breath again he let her a moment to get ready. Though Alea couldn't fight worth much against a real opponent. He had to admit she was doing rather well for someone who just started. Once he saw the flimsy fists, he got ready himself. Slowly moving into the stance he depended on, his body facing sideways. It wasn't perfect but it at least prevented from being hit in a sensitive area.

Banir's mind quickly thought of a little something new, instead of charging he simply walked towards her. His left arm raised in defense while his right arm was ready to strike. His heavy foot falls crunching the snow below his armoured boots. The second he was only a few small feet from her he just went for a dash. Right arm raised his red eyes ablaze as he closed for the attack. Before he landed the blow with his clawed fist he stopped. Letting it freeze before her, his voice came from behind his his scarf.

"I think we're, done for now. You've probably got, enough bruises for, the day. You can learn more, another time. Brawling is rather, dangerous and I, think you've had enough." With that Banir lowered his fist, his breathing was noticeably heavy but not exhausted. Banir himself was far from tired but he didn't want to hurt her anymore then necessary. His dirty green coat still had some snow and scrapes from frozen dirt. Looking at Alea he waited her answer, and braced for a fiery response.

[Alea Davenport]

Rather than charging her, Banir walked slowly toward her. That brief respite was all it took for her adrenaline to collapse, and a strained expression escaped to her face as she gasped for breath. Her torso felt like it was going to implode; it was like what happened when she ran too much, but worse. Unlike Banir, she WAS exhausted. When he raised his fist to strike, she raised her arms and bent her head down, trying to protect her face.

She couldn't express how relieved she was when he declared a stop. No, really, her pride wouldn't let her. Once she'd gotten back to breathing regularly, she grinned at Banir, and said, "All right, I get it. If you're too tired to keep going, we can pick this up another time." She was about to turn and leave, but then an impulse struck her, and she abruptly gave Banir a hug. "Lets do this again soon, ok?" Without waiting for a reply, she turned and walked away, stretching out her shiny new bruises. She was sweating, and she wanted to get indoors before it froze on her skin...

[Creeper]

Alea   Skills Investigation: 1 Persuasion: 1 Brawling: 3 Bodybuilding: 1 Observation: 1 Tactics: 2 Wrestling: 1   Lores Brawling: Everything is a Weapon Mental Note: Practice Near Trees Distraction: Throwing Snowballs Brawling: Surprise Attack   Other Bruised Side Bruised Stomach Well done, though I would've liked to have seen more fighting/training. In real time this fight would've lasted maybe a minute or two. But well done, keep up the injuries! Banir   Skills Observation: 2 Teaching: 3 Bodybuilding: 1 Brawling: 2 Running: 1 Tactics: 2   Lores Teaching: Providing Openings in a Fight Teaching: Stopping Before Severely Injuring   Other Bruised Elbow Well done at teaching Alea how to throw down. Like above, I would've liked to have seen more fighting, but well done indeed.