[Training] Men with sticks (Kane)

[John Griffin]

John was not in a favorable position. His arm was stuck, and he'd need momentum to get it back to a normal position. It was not only uncomfortable, but a little painful as well, his shoulder aching from the contortion. But the knight was no stranger to a little bit of pain, such often being the best of teachers for a warrior-in-training.

Instead of using his shield to block Kane's attack, John opted for a riskier move...using his shield as the weapon and his blade as the defense. He stepped in to meet the attack, swinging his blade in with a strong but unrefined parry, knocking Kane's away from its intended target. Using the momentum of his step and attack, he continued to turn his entire body, using footwork to spin around. Leaning slight forward the momentum pulled his arm back over his head, and he aimed the edge of the shield for Kane's shoulder. It would not likely hit, the Sunberth native's own shield being at the ready, but it had moved John into a more favorable position. One of the things William Erindale had ground into John during his years as a squire was that attack was the best defense. Not to say never to defend, but that often a defender is most effective when they attack aggressively.

Meanwhile John's shield edge sliced towards Kane.

[Kane Roth]

John acted amiably, though he was a Knight, and Kane would think that they might know a thing or two more than most, especially Kane. Though his attack had soon failed, John managing to parry the blow and deflect it, Kane readied his shield, partitioning his energy between recovering his blade and readying to deflect the shield which was now approaching his upper torso. Soon enough the two shields contacted in a distorted clamor, Kane's position holding, though he soon decided to follow up with an attack, considering that John had momentarily gotten rid of his main defense. Bringing an underhanded chop to bear, Kane swung hard as he hoped to take advantage of the shield's temporary misplacement.

[John Griffin]

His slice had failed, as he had anticipated; but that was not to say that John had not put any force into it. The collision of the shields sent a jolt of force through his arm that was less than delightful. Realizing his back was open to attack, he though of something his father had once told him. John had thought that a knight should be a rock in battle, unyielding towards the enemy, resisting the onslaught of attacks with a legendary resiliency. His father, upon speaking of it with his son, had taken him to the Sunset Falls, and taught him about erosion. The meaning of the lesson was that a warrior must sometimes be like water, fluid and flowing, and not just stand his ground.

With this in mind, John chose to simply continue in his directional movement. He continued with the momentum, though some of it had been robbed by the impact of the shields, and took several quick steps forward, vacating the space Kane was attacking. He was narrowly missed by the blade, feeling the rush of air as it passed behind him. The young knight continued on several more steps and turned around, a smile on his face, back into his defensive posture.

"I'm impressed, Kane. You most certainly know how to handle a blade."

[Kane Roth]

The slice missed only by a hair, or so Kane would've liked to think, as John had continued onwards past his strike, a move he'd regretfully failed to anticipate. Kane was still too used to dealing with untrained slaves and warriors whose only experience had been that of his own; practical usage of their preferred weaponry. But John was different, John was a trained opponent, one that Kane couldn't easily defeat, and such a realization made Kane a bit more confident in his being John's squire, holding the young man higher and higher in his mind. As the two turned to face each other yet again, John had smiled and began to speak, "I'm impressed, Kane. You most certainly know how to handle a blade." Nodding in appreciation, Kane caught his breath for a moment before replying, allowing his face to drop below the edge of his shield as he did. Allowing his gaze to meet John's own only a few moments later, he returned the smile, speaking his own praises of the young knight,

"That I may, but I can't match your skill with a shield." Looking to his own for a moment, "But perhaps I could... some day." Bringing his shield to bear, Kane prepared to close the distance between the two, while bracing his arm against his shield, he wouldn't put all of his weight behind it until he knew he could use it to any effectiveness. Soon he began such, not going into an all out charge until he was sure he might have a chance at John, though soon enough he'd closed with him, being only five or so strides from him, and so Kane made the first move, or rather two, with a couple of short jabs to John's left, trying to see where, or if, he might be able to get past his shield, though the short feints lasted only a moment, they still left Kane vulnerable. His shield still held at the ready, Kane continued with the probes, waiting for John to make a move.

[John Griffin]

"I'm not that great with a shield," replied John. "I'm sure you will."

John readied himself as Kane approached, keeping alert, trying to watch his opponent's feet, shield, blade and eyes all at the same time. He waited for the other man to make the first move, his own shield at the ready, shoulder high, and the practice blade low and back, ready for anything. John thrust his shield out and to the side to block the jabs, creating something of an opening near his chest, where the shield no longer was. After each jab he pulled the shield back in tight, as much to keep his arm from wearing out as any defensive maneuver.

He tried to get a feel for the rhythm of Kane's probing, and once he though he had about as good an idea as he could get, he struck. He swung his sword in an underhanded arc, aiming for Kane's wrist. The move required him to turn his shoulders quite a bit, and if the move failed, or Kane was not put off balance by it, John would have a big opening on his right side.

[Kane Roth]

A sudden strike only a short distance from the cross guard of the blade caught Kane off guard, his peripheral vision failing to detect the attack that John had sprung so quickly upon him, the blow managing to send the blade flying from Kane's grip. Immediately a sense of alarm, or moreso of one, set upon Kane, his pulse quickened and a chill managed to worm its way down his spine, and already Kane was weighing his prospects; go for the sword and risk his defense, or push the attack at this unexpected moment? After a moment of thought, Kane opted for the latter, bringing his shield back and then forward again in an almost level swing from his left, John's right. He'd probably loose this match, but he wouldn't go down without trying, his feet closing the small distance than remained between the two and build a slight bit of momentum for his attack.

[John Griffin]

John was used to fighting knights that fought like him, especially since many of those knights had taught him how to fight. But he was not used to someone like Kane fighting like him. Most people would have gone for the blade, but clearly Kane was not most people. John almost smirked as he was caught off guard by Kane's shield attack. It was the sort of thing he would have done, attacked while on the defense, put your opponent off guard by doing the thing most people wouldn't. His respect for Kane's ability in a fight rose by one notch.

Had John been expecting such an attack, it would have been a simple matter to step back, let it miss, then lung forward and win the fight. However, he had not expected it, and was barely able to lean out of the way, the corner of the shield sailing by, inches from his nose. His arms swung up and out, trying to keep his balance, and he had to take a step back to regain his footing.

He lunged anyway, his shield prepared in case Kane tried to bring the shield back the other way in another attack, and thrust low, under normal shield position. The attack was late, and would not likely get through, but when you had an enemy at the disadvantage, you had to press them until they cracked.

[Kane Roth]

Having purchased a handful of direly needed moments, Kane set about to regain his lost weapon, shield kept close to his side, scurrying back away from John to his weapon, his gaze quickly transferring between the two as he did. Soon enough he was reunited with the wooden sword, though not after dropping it once, being more concerned with eying John at the time, and resumed his traditional position. Already he could feel fatigue beginning to set into his legs, his lack of exercise recently beginning to cost him, though it was soon becoming obvious that John was the superior in this fight; both in skill and conditioning. Still, such was to be expected, John was a knight after all, and Kane was but a hopeful, though perhaps he might soon become a squire... With a heavy sigh, Kane began to trudge forward, closing the distance between the two, deciding that this particular match had gone on for long enough, and with a long, under handed swing, he struck out at John. The blow would be easy to deflect, though Kane was tiring of the constant stalemate, and a loss would hurt his pride, whatever little he had left after fleeing from Sunberth.

[John Griffin]

OOC: Shall we wrap this up?

John's thrust missed, as he anticipated, when Kane stepped backwards out of his reach. The older man fumbled to retrieve his blade, but retrieve it he did. John knew he had the advantage, and would have pressed it more against any number of opponents. But the object of today was more about evaluating Kane than beating him. Nor was it the objective of the young knight to grind Kane's confidence or pride into the ground. That kind of thing broke squires, when you were supposed to be building them up. It was for this reason, and truth be told, John was tiring, that he held his ground, not advancing after his disadvantaged opponent.

He was breathing heavily, he noticed. The thrill of the moment had kept all thoughts of such out of his head, but now he was keenly aware of it. He blocked the incoming attack with his shield, and took several steps back. "How about we call it a day. It was good to work my arms against a live opponent, but I think we've had enough for one afternoon. Eh?"

[Kane Roth]

OOC: Sure man.

John began to speak, something Kane wasn't expecting, and slowing his attack, Kane listened, his stiffened arm absorbing the blow. "How about we call it a day. It was good to work my arms against a live opponent, but I think we've had enough for one afternoon. Eh?" The first few moments thereafter Kane remained cautious, not knowing if such a question could've been to get his guard down, his shield still drawn ready to deflect a blow, though soon enough he lowered it, inhaling deeply. Nodding after a moment or two of thought, Kane agreed,

"'Twas good for me also, been too long since I've faced off against a person... though a break from the action sounds pretty good." Looking about, one could see that, over time, one or two had come to watch them for a few moments before carrying on, perhaps he'd provided a bit of entertainment here after all... no need for killing. Setting down the shield, an action which the muscles all along his left arm met with resounding approval, and took up the bota slung over his shoulder. Should he have continued the container would've been easily drained within several seconds, though Kane thought to offer it to John before he'd taken most of it for himself, and unslinging the skin from his shoulder, he offered it to John. "It'll be good learning from you, John."