Flashback A Bigger Stick

[Aoren]

25th Day of Summer, 510 AV

“Ouch! Would you watch where you’re throwing those things?” Aoren frowned and rubbed his forehead where a small rock had made contact with his skull. He glared at his childhood friend Ileera. She was currently tossing a stone into the air repeatedly catching it in the palm of her hand.

“I am watching where I’m throwing these things. The whole point of this exercise is to get you to do the same.” The young man shook his head to stop the ringing in his ears.

“I am! It’s just that it’s difficult to see them coming is all.” His red-headed friend narrowed her eyes.

“That’s kinda the point. In the middle of a fight you’re not going to know what direction your opponent is coming from. You won’t have time to stand there and think about what you want to do, Aoren. You simply have to act.” Before Aoren could raise his staff in defense she pelted him with another rock that struck him square in the shoulder. He jerked back in reaction and hissed.

“Ow! Hey! I wasn’t ready.” Ileera nodded.

“Exactly. You weren’t ready. Did I say we were done practicing? Did I say I wasn’t going to throw another stone at you? No. You assumed we were done because I smacked you in the head.” She toyed with another stone in her fingers before flicking it at Aoren. This one hit him in the thigh. He resisted his natural instinct to curl up into a ball, drop his quarterstaff and swat at the rocks being thrown at him.

“Stop flinching away from the rocks. Stand your ground. You won’t get anywhere if you run away from things, Aoren.” That struck a chord. The young man was suddenly reminded of how the two of them met. He had been pelted with rocks. He had been kicked to the ground and beaten ruthlessly. Ileera had come to his rescue then doing much the same thing as she was doing now. She had thrown rocks at his attackers and stood up to them with the same fiery intensity as she met every other challenge in her life.

“Alright, alright. I’ll try harder. Just let me focus for a second, okay?” He was met with a rock to the nose. “Ow! Hey! Ileera!” Another rock struck the back of his hand and he flinched.

“No. You don’t need to focus, Aoren. You need to act.” She threw another rock at his feet. It bounced off the top of his bare foot leaving a nice red welt. He yelped and jumped back. Aoren was beginning to grow irritated. He grit his teeth and adjusted his position digging his heels into the dirt. He swung the quarterstaff outward like a club trying to connect with the next rock that was aimed at his chest. It glanced off the stone only causing it to veer off course and connect with his forearm.

“You almost had it there. Stop trying to think about it so much and just let it happen.” He listened to Ileera’s advice but the more he tried to focus on the words she had said the slower he seemed to react. “You’re still not listening. You’re thinking about listening. Stop it.” Another rock made contact with his shin. Aoren resisted the urge to jump back.

“Okay! Okay! I get it!” Ileera shook her head.

“Then block the rocks.” She threw another one aimed for his head. Aoren moved too slow and it smacked him in the forehead. He hissed. His wrist flinched as he naturally wanted to soothe the sore spot by rubbing it but resisted the urge.

Finally Aoren stopped focusing on the pain that was radiating from the sore spot in his forehead. He stopped thinking about the words that were coming out of Ileera’s mouth. He stopped resisting the urge to let his body move. His shoulders lost the tension that had him hunching over, his arms loosened as the muscles stopped bracing themselves for the impact of the stones being flung his way and his legs lost their rigid stance. His eyes focused not on the stone that Ileera was about to throw his way but on the movement of her hand.

He took in the angle of her shoulder, the way she reared back in order to put a bit of extra kick into the stone’s momentum, the way in which her forearm snaked out at a slightly diagonal angle and her wrist flicked to release the stone. Aoren was ready for it this time. Rather than try to meet the rock head-on he leaned slightly to his left shifting his weight and bringing up the tip end of his quarter staff. He didn’t swing the staff in order to try and fling it back at Ileera, rather he just allowed the rock to connect with the wood rather than his flesh. The stone bounced off the tip of its own accord and rolled off onto the ground.

The two of them stood there for a moment as they both realized that Aoren had actually pulled off blocking a stone with his quarterstaff. Ileera didn’t smile. Not completely. She gave him an acknowledging smirk and inclined her head.

“Now you get it.” Aoren studied her for a moment. She brought up her hands revealing she had no more stones to throw.

“So does this mean we’re done throwing rocks for the day?” He quirked his head to the side and waited for her response. He didn’t loosen his grip on his staff nor did he drop out of his stance. She observed him for a moment before nodding.

“Yup. It’s about time too. I only had to scoop up every rock in the area for you to get the hang of it. I thought I was going to have to start throwing knives.” She gave him a lopsided smile and he broke out into a grin rising to his full height.

“Whew! Well I’m glad that’s over with!” He wiped his brow to accentuate the remark. She brought up a finger and shook it at him.

“Oh we’re not done, mister. I want to see more of your skills with that stick, buddy.” She gestured to the space before them. “Show me what you’ve got.” Aoren sighed and stepped forward. His bare feet found the warm grass comforting after standing in one place for so long.

He took a deep breath. He had always found that clearing his head as much as possible before he demonstrated his skills always helped improve them. Though he sometimes found clearing his head easier said than done it was worth the extra minute or two it took to concentrate. Dropping his knees he dipped into a squatting position. He edged his left foot outward so that it extended slightly further than shoulder width apart from his body while he leaned forward on his right knee. He slid his hands along the shaft of the staff so that it was held at an angle in front of his chest. Closing his eyes he took in another deep breath then exhaled slowly.

“Here we go.” Aoren leaned forward as if he were about to sprint then kicked upwards with his left foot. He used the momentum to carry him around 180 degrees then swung the staff upward by releasing the end closest to the ground and pulling the skyward end down toward the earth. He released the staff slightly so that it would slide from his grip before clenching his fist around it toward the center then spun it so that both ends scraped the tops of the grass. He let go of the staff with his left hand and spun his body around to face the opposite direction by digging the heel of his outstretched leg into the ground and doing an about-face. He twirled the staff first by twisting his right wrist then propelling the staff onward with his free hand by continuing the motion. He finished the small demonstration by thrusting the butt of the staff outward from his body as if jabbing into the gut of an unseen opponent.

He finished. His breathing was slightly elevated. Aoren could feel his heart pounding in his chest. He had just done a great deal of twisting his body in an effort to keep the staff in motion and to carry out precise moves that would keep potential enemies at bay through said motion. He was facing away from Ileera so he stood up from his stance and turned to face her. She brought her hands up and started clapping.

“I’d say you’re getting the hang of it. Though I still thinking you look like a flailing monkey it’s better than nothing.” She grinned at him.

“High praise from someone who spends their time with a bunch of howling idiots!” She broke out into laughter and Aoren soon joined her.

“Come on you big lummox! I’ll buy us a drink at the Golden Dragon.” Aoren shook his head. He was sweaty from the day’s efforts, tired and sore but a night of drinking with his only friend in the world would do them both some good.

"I wonder what tomorrow will bring? Then again, does it matter?" Aoren pulled on his boots, picked up his things and followed after his friend.

Aoren suspected it didn't.

[Balderdash]

Delicious rewards! Happy days and jubilation!

Skill	XP Awarded
Observation	2
Acrobatics	1
Quarterstaff	2
Unarmed Combat	1

Lores: Getting Boinked In The Skull, Constant Vigilance, Eff Focus, Don’t Think, FEEL, Block Them Rocks, A Warrior’s Trance, Using A Quarterstaff As An Acrobatic Aid

Items and Consequences: Your character has a minor concussion, and bruising on his forehead, as well as a permanent scar where some of the rocks hit in the shape of a delicious, buttery croissant. Or a crescent moon. Take your pick.

An amusing little thread, and a pleasant surprise from a fresh writer. Keep up the good work! I sadly couldn't give much XP due to a lack of detail. It wasn't so much that you didn't go into the nitty gritty, so much as, in the grand scheme of things, Aoren didn't really do that much in real time. Of course, you still got an extra point for going into said nitty gritty.

If you have any questions or concerns about this grade, please PM me. A happy you make a happy Balderdash!