Closed A Day with Sei II

[Roderick]

6th of Fall His boots flattened the dirt as he walked, the soles crushing the grains and leaving behind a light print to mark his passing. Roderick's sword was lying a few feet away, abandoned amid the dust of the Pit. Coming to a stop beside it, he stooped to take it, fingers slowly closing around the leather-wrapped hilt, raising it up out of the grime and grit of the Pit's floor. As the length of old iron rose through the air he adjusted his grip on it, curling his fingers around it more tightly, pressing the hilt closer to his gloved palm. Resting the length of metal across one hand, he ran the flat of his hand across the weapon, feeling the leather rasp against the crude iron as it went. Lowering the blade and digging its tip into the ground the man rested his weight against it slightly, while he ran his eyes over the Kelvic standing opposite him. For the past few minutes Sei and Roderick had both spent their time recuperating from the sparring session they'd had, and while the Zeltivan's breathing had finally eased off, he still felt the twinging pains in his muscles, courtesy of having to swing around a heavy weight of metal for half a bell. As he waited for Sei to make ready for the fight, Roderick went through the different moves he'd used before, in the hopes of setting them down for later use in his mind. He nodded towards where Sei was, signalling that he himself was ready for the session; whether or not his friend was ready was an entirely different matter altogether. Drumming his fingers against the crossguard of his sword, Roderick worked to rid himself of the nervous tension that built up inside his chest whenever he was taking part in something like this; even though it was a mock battle, he couldn't help but feel nervous about someone trying to hit him with a sword. If he failed during training he could just keep going and have another go at winning the fight. In a real battle he wouldn't have that luxury available. He arched his back slightly, stretching all of his muscles again and feeling bones popping as he relieved the tension in them. Off to the right a small war was going on between two different fighter, both using large longswords. As their steel clashed they grunted and shouted and struggled fiercely with one another, all so that they could get a chance of creating the slightest opening in their opponent's guard, and with it the opportunity to exploit the weakness and use it to their advantage to win the fight. The larger of the two unleashed a heavy strike at one point that unbalanced his lighter opponent and drove him back a step. As he stepped in to deliver the final blow however the man's opponent regained his balance and threw himself forward roughly, knocking the larger man to the floor, where he pinned him with a boot while his hands held the tip of his blade to the man's neck. Turning his gaze back towards his own bout, Roderick gripped the hilt of his blade more tightly and prepared for another grueling battle.

[Sei Tendo]

Sei lifted his short sword, and glanced over at the fight beside them. After a few moments, his gaze locked onto to Rodericks, and he gave a slight incline of his head. He murmered something, and began to charge at his target. He brought the shortsword up, and arced it where it would hopefully meet Rod's. He knew Roderick would either use his sheild, or block with his sword, and he listened to the faint whistle of the wind as he swung the blade. He withdrew, and circled his opponent with new determination. He backed slightly, and advanced again, trying to close the remaining distance with swift movements of his feet. His moves were clumsy however, and he managed to make a teasing thrust before withdrawing once more. He drew in a sharp breath, and continued his cirlcing. He would eventually stop, but for now he decided to stay on the move. He made a wide arc, and slipped beside Roderick, and forced the hilt of the short sword hopefully into his left side. If his opponent was fast, he would be able to see the opening as Sei withdrew, and would make a counter attack. He quickly drew up his slack, and turned to make a strike from behind. He made a wide slash from behinde, close enough to only break through his armor.

[Roderick]

There was the tiniest of nods from Sei, followed by an unintelligible mumble, then suddenly the Kelvic ran forwards, slashing out towards the hunter, who took a step backwards and held his shield out in front, allowing the blade to bounce away harmlessly. While he was recovering his opponent began moving around him, so he swung himself around to face the Kelvic again, just managing to prepare himself for a quick thrust, stepping away from it hurriedly and then hopping back to where he was before so he could make a quick return swing. By that time his partner had already moved out of range, so his sword whistled uselessly through the air, while the tiger continued circling around him. Completing his movements Tendo stepped in close and slammed the hilt of his sword into the hunter's side, exposed because he'd failed to move his shield into position properly. The pommel of the shortsword smacked harmlessly against his armour, but all the same the force of it was enough to make his wobble over to the right somewhat. Turning around as Sei retreated Roderick saw a chance to attack and took it, lashing out with a downward hack and then following through with an upward cut. Off balance as he was his attempts were wild and haphazard, but it didn't make them any less powerful. Righting himself he watched as his opponent moved behind him and made a strike towards his exposed back. Whirling around swiftly he found his right arm moving faster than his left. His blade clashed against Sei's as he caught the Kelvic's weapon in place, but this time the blade lock wasn't any good and their swords quickly slid free of one another. All the same a slight opening had been made so he kicked out at Tendo to drive him backwards, at the same time bringing his sword around and stepping forward as he made a thrust forwards, overextending himself slightly and putting his balance off a little.

[Sei Tendo]

Si watched as Rod took a step back and lifted his shield, avoiding the first wave. He watched Roderick closely as he spun to face him, and smirked as his opponent hurriedly blocked his thrust, and stepped back top avoid being hit by the next swing, followed by a swing of his own. Sei, however, was already out of range by that time, and gave Roderick a smug look while watching the sword whiz by. He watched as the hilt of his sword connected with Roderick's side, and grinned when he wobbled back. While retreating, Rod took the opportunity to make a downward hack, which Sei deflected by holding his sword overhead, thereby stopping his skyward swing. Before he could land the hit to Rod's back, he whirled out of place and met Sei's blade with his own. The blades slid from one another, and Roderick kicked him back a few steps and brought his sword down toward him. He leaned toward the left, avoiding the blade, and defended himself from the thrust by averting Roderick's blade with his own. His grip on the sword almost failed, but he tightened his focus and held on. He saw the slight wobble to Roderick's balance, and threw a quick punch of his own to make it worse. He swung his foot out to kick his opponents sword shoulder, hoping to knock it from his grasp, and pointed the sword at Rod's throat.

[Roderick]

Roderick sighed inwardly as his first strike failed to land, swishing harmlessly through the air and avoiding its target completely. As the hilt of the Kelvic's sword connected with his side the hunter wobbled, his balance broken somewhat, and managed to right himself and send a return blow towards Sei; he defended against it by bringing his own sword up above him, stopping the attack. When they clashed blades together there was a bad scraping noise as they parted. Taking his chance Roderick kicked Sei back and slashed down at him, but once again his target maneuvered out of the weapons path, while he quickly deflected the thrust aimed for his chest. It seemed that Tendo was about to lose his grip on his sword for a moment, but then he adjusted his hand and it became solidly held again. The hunter's balance was slightly off, and the punch from the Kelvic very nearly set him on his back, but he turned and went along with the force of it, and instead he used it to regain his stance, planting his feet on the ground for a second time. By that time his partner had prepared a vicious kick for his sword arm, slamming his foot into the archer's shoulder, sending a spasm through it which ruined his hold on his blade and made it slip from his grasp. The sound of the metal as it fell to the dirt sent a jolt of annoyance through Roderick, made worse by the sight of the Kelvic's own blade being held before him, the point aimed straight for his throat. The fact that he'd just lost this bout within a few chimes angered him; he could do better than this. Roderick kept his face utterly neutral as he lifted his right arm up and, setting his leather vambrace to the steel, pushed the Kelvic's weapon aside. He clenched his other hand and threw a punch at his opponent's face, not caring if it hit. There was a jolt of pain as something connected with his hand, but he didn't see what it was, nor did he care. By that time he was swiftly stepping away, ducking down to avoid any retaliatory blow from Tendo. Opening and closing his left hand was a painful experience, but that was unsurprising. When he spotted his sword lying in the dirt he slipped his fingers around the hilt and lifted it, straightening and turning towards his foe as his arm brought the weapon up into position. "Sorry. I've no idea where that came from." In truth he actually did know where it came from; his childhood. The fighting he'd grown up with had never been a simple case of swinging a sword around; there'd kicking and punching - and even biting once or twice - and the only way to win in a bout against his friends was to go along with the behavior. Sei still wasn't going to appreciate what he'd just done, though, so he figured that if the Kelvic thought it had been an act committed in the heat of the moment, rather than a deliberate, calculated move, things might not go too sour between them. Roderick tried opening and closing his hand again and found that it still throbbed and ached, though it was slightly less painful than before. At that point he was still considering the possiblity that he'd just broken something - not a good thing; it would make any further training that needed both hands a difficult affair.

[Sei Tendo]

Sei smirked as Roderick fell to the ground, but was unprepared for his opponents next action. Roderick punched him in the face, and Sei decided not to complain. He instead gave Rod a sympathetic look, and waited for him to make his next move. His opponent stepped away, and grabbed his sword, again ready to strike.

"It's fine. Let's keep going." He said, stepping forward, and shifting from walk to run. He charged Roderick, and made a swift slice of the blade that left his right side completely open. He was still unsure of how to prevent such openings, but he decided he would find out soon enough.

He reeled in the short sword, and thrust it forth for Rod's stomach.

OOCSorry, Schools been a pain in the arse, but I'll be more active now.

[Orion Michaels]

Sei +3 Weapon: Shortsword +1 Unarmed Combat lore : Straight to Business, a Spar with Roderick results : Roderick +3 Weapon: Bastard Sword +1 Weapon: Kite Shield +1 Unarmed Combat lore : No Mistakes in Real Battle Notes Sorry to see the spar end so abruptly. A couple things, guys, that will really help us graders out. Make sure you make some mention of what you’re equipped with. I had no idea you had shields until you started maneuvering them to guard. I thought I missed it in your earlier paragraphs. The other thing, please be very specific as to what kind of sword and shield you are using, Rod, one so I know if you’re playing your level, but two, so I can get you your XP in the correct area. let me know if you have any questions/comments/concerns. Please edit your request in the grade queue to reflect its completion.