[Flashback] Shooting, with a side of Friendship (Closed)

[Sairque]

Sairque's initial position wasn't terribly enlightening, she was just standing there warming her muscles up, waiting for Fen's response. "I'm fine with it." he had stated, with only a small quiver. He sounded like she felt.

Honestly, she wasn't as surprised as Addy was. The man probably knew he needed to develop some traits that he could rely on for confidence, if nothing else. but they would be used for other things. Just a good idea to learn to defend one's self. Which is why she agreed to this. Honestly, going up against a long, sharp sword with nothing more than a dagger that has only been used to dress animals...not smart.

He sounded like she felt. Unshakable confidence in one's self wasn't a good thing, but they did have that stupidly brave streak running through their veins. He probably figured that going up against the graceful and strong Endal was brave, and she thought that going up against a novice with a sword was brave.

She gave him a crooked smile, produced solely for his benefit...and horribly at that. She wasn't good at that sort of stuff like her sister was. It was less important to make Fenilen at ease and hide the fact that she was taking this spar very seriously, and was planning on doing everything she had to to keep from letting him land a hit.

For a while she dumbly watched him warm up, sharing that nonplussed look with Addy, before giving the dagger a light toss up and catching it by the hilt. Indeed, time to do her own warming up. The dagger was left on the bench. Moving a ways clear of the bench, but still with an unimpeded view of Fen, she started stretching. Always with an eye on her opponent.

Upper body first. Her left arm was brought straight across her chest, the muscles pulling in a sensation that felt just so good. When they stopped pulling, she repeated the exercise with her right arm. Then she clasped them behind her back and straightened her elbows, lifting them as far up on her back as she could. Every exercise had to be held for the proper amount of time, stretching and loosening the muscles so they gave her a full range of motion, snapping quickly where she wanted them to. There could be no rushing it, she had to listen to her body. It was what was going to save her from developing Acute Entrail-less Syndrome. Feet together, legs locked, she bent straight forward, arms still locked behind her, and brought her chin to her knees. The muscles of her lower back and the ones of her posterior legs pulled taut. She pulled her hands closer to the ground. This was held for quite some time, her braid trailed on the ground, and her head was turned to watched Fenilen.

He had started to play 'Warrior', no shame in that. Sai did it all the time. And he was becoming familiar with his weapon, the first step to learning how to use it. He didn't know how to add power to some of the swings, on others he couldn't change their direction quickly enough.

Arms popped away from each other, she had released her hands, and lowered. She straightened up, but continued backwards, feet sliding apart to maintain balance when she leaned all the way back. Her body, thighs and torso, formed a neat arch, and just when it looked like she was going to topple back on her head, her hands darted out to catch herself. Putting more weight on them, she pushed upward so that her abdominal muscles were stretching. Only after they had loosened did she slowly start straightening her knees. There was no way she would ever get her legs all the way straight, but it gave a little bit extra to them, and she could feel a few muscles in her legs stretching.

She tried to kick up so that her feet went right over her head, becoming a hand-stand and then letting her land on her feet...but she really just collapsed into a pile, kinda falling sideways and having to curl up into the fetal position so that nothing got bent the wrong way. Aw, well, she would get it eventually. But as long as she was on the ground...using her knees as a point to push off from, she twisted to the left, and then to the right, loosening more muscles in her back. It was settling, calming, and helped her focus, these movements with her body, feeling the muscles pull, tighten, and loosen. The rest of the stretches were gone through with just as great a care. By the time she was finished, Addy had settled herself onto the bench, Fen was standing with her.

In one fluid motion, she rose to her feet and started toward the two. There was an unshakable calm resting deep in her chest, visible through her eyes, apparent in every precise movement of her body. "Should be wrap the blades in something?" Frankly, she thought the idea was genius.

[Fenilen]

Odd. They seemed surprised by the fact he had actually accepted the challenge. Had it been a joke that had slipped past him? No, they both appeared to be treating his response seriously, albeit with the aforementioned air of surprise around them. They must have been serious, if only partially, if only with a small fraction of their hearts and minds. He couldn't tell if this was for better or for worse, in the long run. A frown claimed his lips.

Then Addy approached him, requesting a moment with his sword. He had no qualms with this, none at all. He happily handed the weapon over, the smile returning to his face as he did so. She was a sweet girl. Very friendly, very encouraging. Not to mention, very attractive. Once the weapon was secure in her hands, she backed away, allowing her room to swing the weapon a few times if she so wished. His arms folded over his bare chest as he watched her curiously. Cute. She looked much the same as he had when he had first picked up the weapon. When she returned the weapon, he smiled and nodded, bowing ever so slightly. Natural reflex, if anything.

His eyes danced over to Sairque-- she needed a nickname too. Sai. He believed he had heard her sister use the nickname before, so it had to be appropriate, no? If not, he would find out when he was slapped. Gah, slaps hurt. Just watching the woman stretch made the man nervous. She knew was she was doing, and she went about it with an almost professional grace. Where she stretched to loosen her muscles for a full range of movements, he simply stabbed and slashed blindly at invisible foes. He thought it was clear who had the ever so slight upper hand in the situation.

Fenilen nodded in agreement when Sai made a comment about wrapping the blades. "We could tie the scabbards to the hilt in an attempt to keep them on. A bit bootlegged, but it should serve better than dying from wounds procured in a spar," his voice was quiet, a sense of uncertainty within it as he put this new idea onto the table. After he finished speaking, he slipped the Talon sword into its scabbard, leaning it against the bench once more as he settled down next to Addy.

"Problem being, I don't have any rope or cloth long enough to tie my scabbard down," Fenilen then confessed, frowning slightly. His eyes fell upon Addy's hair as he did a sweeping glance of the area around the, scanning for things he could use. "I mean, we could use the silk in Addy's hair, but it would ruin it," Fenilen thought for a second, and the remembered something. He was wearing a scarf. Bah, he had extras. He removed it from around his neck, and, to the best of his abilities, tied the scabbard of the blade down to the hilt of the blade. When he finished, he examined his work. Bootlegged, but good enough. "One of Addy's strips should fit fine on your dagger, if she can spare one," Fenilen then added.

A smile played its way across his lips as he continued looking at her hair. It was still slightly disorderly, considering the fact she had never taken the time to fix it after the incident with the bow. The fact she had just rolled around in the grass for a minute or two with him couldn't have helped, either. However, despite the disorder, there was still something beautiful about it. Ah, how he felt like a complete and utter stalker at times. He flexed his bandaged finger. She had already sacrificed one silk band for the cause. Surely another was not too bad...?

The man rose to his feet, swinging the sword a few times to get the balance of the blade with the extra weight. Slightly heavier, slightly slower. Add more power to each swing to offset this. The scarf managed to perform its job admirably. Curiously, he tapped his right arm with the hard edge of the sheathed weapon. Safe enough. Better than losing a limb, that was for certain. He held it levelly in front of him, starting with a wide hold on the hilt.

"Whenever you're ready," was all he said in between his deep breaths, as his body quivered slightly due to uncertainty.

[Aidara]

Whipping another green strip of silk from her hair, Addy presented it to her sister with a flourish. "Remember, I can only heal flesh wounds, and a stubbed toe or two." This was said in jest, teeth flashing in a smile at the both of them. There was a glint of uncertainty in her eyes as she spoke though, but she kept it well hidden. Sairque would have needed to be searching for the uncertain blip in the otherwise pleasant waves of emotion that was traveling across their bond. However, she felt a flush of inadequacy every time she mentioned the limitations of her power. Not that she expected to be able to bring the dead back to life, or anything...But she had twenty-two years to develop her power. And she hadn't. In her hesitancy to do so, she decided to try herbal medicines instead. This dissatisfaction was a constant battle with the woman, though she would admit it to no one. Once again, internal dialog had pulled Aidara away from the present. A small sigh and she refocused her attention on the pair in front of her. "Okay, well I guess I could verbalize some rules, just so we know....Kay? KAY!" Clapping her hands together, she stood from where she was seated on the bench, walking over to actually hand the silk strip to her sister. "Don't aim to kill, obviously. I don't want to lose either of you today. And if one of you gets seriously hurt...well, let me try to help before you continue. Oh, and also. Be safe, and make good choices." As Sai blunted her dagger with the material, Addy walked back over to Fen and took his arm, dragging him towards the middle of the clearing. In an act that some would consider brave, while others sheer idiocy, Addy moved from Fen's side over to her sister, taking her by the upper arm and moving her about ten paces across from the man. "You don't take directions well, so I figured I would show you." She quipped at her sister as she let go, and left her to position herself as she liked. Addy didn't care if Sai didn't appreciate being shown where to stand, her pride getting in the way of ever needing help. But Aidara knew her sisters bark was worse than her bite...at least, when it came to their relationship. Back to Fen again, and she paused, seemingly undecided as she watched him flex his finger, observing the makeshift bandage she had provided him with earlier. Then, before she could change her mind she rested a gentle hand on his shoulder, holding out her other and beckoning in a demanding way with a flick of her fingers. "Your finger, please." Taking his hand gently in her own, she removed the strip of cloth she used to bind up his cut earlier. Bending to peer at his hand, she turned it gently this way and that. It was still clean, and the very edges of the torn flesh had already begun to knit back together. Addy nodded then, but it was almost imperceptible. "I can do this.." she whispered to herself, unaware that she had spoke out loud. Lids slowly closed of green eyes as she prepared to find to find her center. A deep breath, exhale... Inhale...Exhale. This went on for several minutes, though it seemed like hours to Aidara... until finally, she felt it. The deep, empty calm that she was searching for. Anxiety washed over her as she began to realize that her actions were holding up their spar, and her concentration broke along with her tenuous grasp of her center. Starting over, she breathed slowly again but the calm came faster, washing over her as she let the power of her gnosis fill the void that she had created in her mind. Carefully, she tucked all of her other emotions and thoughts away in what she visualized as a box, the lock turning as she closed the mental lid. Slowly, her slender fingers traced over the tiny cut in Fen's finger, and she felt a surge. In her mind, she pictured a pair of fingers plucking at the power that resided deep within her, pulling strands of it out of the mass and "pouring" it onto the man's finger. Addy felt her hand warm, though there was no actual generation of heat, as his flesh began to knit together, the layers of skin one by one slowly repairing themselves with her aid. It was really a simple fix but by the time the last layer had mended, a sweat had broken out on Addy's forehead. Opening her eyes, she felt the lock spring free on the box in which she trapped her consciousness. Green eyes blinked owlishly up at Fen, and then she glanced over her shoulder at her sister. She really had no idea how much time had passed. Shaking herself, Addy looked back at the man whose hand she still held tightly in her own.Leaning forward to whisper ever so softly into his ear. "Fun fact of the day: She's fast, don't let her get behind you." An encouraging smile as her hand squeezed his shoulder before she walked away, trying her best to act normal, though her knees felt rather shaky. Pausing at the bench, she grabbed her bow from where Sai had placed it. Moving back towards the center of the clearing, where she had a good few of the up and coming spar, she folded her legs under her. A small sigh as she sat, feeling extremely worn out from her recent endeavors, she shifted her grip on the weapon and laid it across her folded knees, absently sliding her fingers along the well polished wood. Her heart fluttered a little bit as she watched her sister and Fen face off, poised and ready to fly at each other. Addy wondered if her sitting and watching was going to throw Fen off his game, or if she should have waited until after their practice to heal his finger. She thought it would allow him to grip his sword better if she did it before, and frankly, he needed to be on par if he was going to have a decent chance against Sai. If her presence seemed to be a distraction or a hindrance, she always had her bow. Maybe if she wasn't watching.... It was hard telling how Fen was going to react to pretty much anything. She would have to wait and see. Patiently waiting as the pair circled each other, taking an inordinate amount of time to size each other up, it's not like they hadn't been hanging out for the entire day or anything, Addy's attention began to wander, thinking over the display she just created. A blush rose to her cheeks. Sai was probably going to have something snarky to say about it, but it was the first time she had used her gift in what seemed like years.. Hopefully they would start soon, for she needed a distraction as self doubt began to creepy back in.

[Sairque]

Sai barely managed to snag her dagger off the bench and start wrapping it before her hasty sister started pushing the two combatants out onto the grass. While her sister laid out some fun rules, she always had to contribute something whether necessary or not, the Endal carefully started wrapping the dagger in the offered scarf. It was a very sharp weapon, and the silk would do little good besides provide peace of mind, but Sai wasn't planning on getting the small blade anywhere near the handsome man anyway. The silk was going to be toast pretty quickly, but she would be sure to give it back to her sister at the end of the match. The dagger was more for contact with Fen's blade...Sai stopped wrapping it suddenly and stood staring at it for a few seconds. This coincided with Aidara making snarky comments about her inability to listen, so Sai didn't hear a word of it. Lucky for Addy.

Sai looked at the talon sword in it's sheath, then back at her dagger. She didn't want to do any damage to the pristine sheath during a practice run, so she removed the scarf that Addy had just woven into her braid and added that to the dagger as well. Now she had a long, pink, fluff dagger. Intimidating, right? It had occurred to her to fight without the knife at all, now that she didn't need a back up plan to prevent Acute-Evisceration-Syndrome, but this would be good practice. With the way the balance of Fen's blade would be thrown off, she should be able follow his movements well enough to only touch his sheath with the flat of her blade, hopefully minimizing any damage.

"Fun fact of the day: she's fast," Addy informed the dreamy redheaded man gravely. Sai just arched a brow and shook her head. Like he wouldn't be able to deduce certain things just from looking at her. She wasn't musclebound, but her muscles did things like...ripple when she moved. Not in the gross way body builders did, but in the way that extremely active women who happened to haul themselves up a mountain face with nothing but their hands and feet did. That kind of muscley. And he knew that she was flexible, and small, compact, really.

Sai tested the weight of her dagger, feeling the hilt in her hand, familiarizing herself with it's length again. Okay. Sai, still tranquil down to the innermost reaches of her mind and body, took a deep breath, gave Fen a stern look, and...burst into action. Her arms flew into the air, her legs twisted her back arched. And she stretched, stretched like a cat waking up from a nap. Arms, legs, abs, legs, back, butt, every muscle all at once bunching up and contorting her body. Suddenly the muscles relaxed, but this stretch left her body antsy. She bounced up on her toes, clenched her fist periodically, wiggled a little bit...and just in time. Addy was just turning away to find a seat on the bench, leaving Fen there to defend himself against the little ball of determined violence.

"All right, Fen. I'm all yours," she said by way of invitation, sharp yellow eyes sizing him up. The stance was natural as opposed to something that had been taught. Her feet were roughly shoulder width apart, her knees bent in anticipation of his first strike. She was facing him squarely, her hands up, the right one grasping the dagger loosely for right now. Her breath came in even pulls, her body only tense where the muscles were actively being used. Fen was nervous, she could see. She checked his grip, predicting that he was clenching the hilt for dear life and that his palms were sweaty. Her eyes took in his stance, the way he moved, how stiff he was. Finally, those yellow orbs settled sternly on Fen's, watching with her peripheral vision for movements of his weapon or body toward her.

She would stare, moving in tune with him, if he was indeed circling. A woman, only 110 lbs, barely 5'1, his hand was as probably as long as her waist was wide. Her body was ready to jump into action, striking or parrying, her mind was calmly dissecting his actions, and her eyes were slowly boring into his.

[Fenilen]

When his finger was asked for, it was produced, his hand leaving the grip of the sword and entering her grasp. Large green eyes watched as she unwrapped the silk that protected the wound. What was she doing, he wondered? His curiosity intensified as she drew her fingers over the cut. Over and over again, this motion was repeated. The question repeated over and over again in his mind. What was she doing? Why was she stroking his wound? Would that not simply disturb it and perhaps cause it to bleed once more?

Then, he watched in amazement. Her small movements appeared to have knitted the flesh surrounding the injury back together. Her movements had healed an injury that would have taken a day or two to heal in no more than a minute or two. Fenilen would have to inquire as to how she achieved this later. For now, he would focus upon the task at hand, and that was defeating Sai-- preferably without making a fool of himself.

"Thank you," he said, with a smile and a nod. He absorbed what she said to him about her sister's speed, nodding to show he had heard and understood when she finished. Fenilen's face turned a familiar shade of red when she touched his shoulder, but it was muted. Perhap he was finally getting used to the physical contact.

Fenilen's now-healed hand found its way back to the hilt of his sword. He could do this. He knew he could. While her eyes found his, his did not move from the center of her body. From there, he could watch all of her movements. Nothing would slip past the hawk-like gaze,

Her words passed through one ear and went out the other, barely registering with Fenilen. However, he knew what the basic idea behind the words had been. She was ready. He was ready, too. Or at least, he was as ready as he would ever be. Which really wasn't that ready, but that was beside the po- DO SOMETHING!

So he did something. He approached Sai at a sprint, stopping before her. A single, horizontal slash was directed towards her. It was an awkward attack, considering he was making it after coming out of a sprint, and he was making the attack with a sheath still attached to the blade. The latter was just simply not something a swordsman was supposed to do every day. He watched for movement at her torso, waiting for the inevitable evasion or counter-attack. Fenilen could simply sense it coming.

[Sairque]

Fen burst into a sprint, and his lanky self could cover good distance! Sai was prepared to throw herself to the side out of the way of his charge, but he stopped in conjunction with an ill-performed swing. He would see her footing shift, the swipe might have been waist level for him, above his belly button, but it was chest height for her. Left foot slid back just enough to keep proper balance while she bent back to get out of range of his sheath, then her dagger came up. It didn't move against the motion of his, but rather with it. The pink flat of the blade made contact and pushed his blade, Sai stepped forward to keep adding unexpected momentum. With his sword, carried by all the power he put into it and that Sai added, she was ready to strike him square in the sternum with the palm of her left hand if the opening was presented.

Sai knew it was only an awkward maneuver because of the constraints of his weapon, and that he would get better with each swipe. She hoped that she would also get better, because the evasive maneuver with the weird parry wasn't terribly effective, she didn't think.

PSSo...I don't have any experience with fighting scenes, so feel free to let me know if I do something wrong, chances are it's because I don't know what I'm doing rather than blatant meta-gaming or anything like that.

[Fenilen]

Fenilen took note as he watched her torso shift. She was moving. She was attacking. Or parrying, as he soon found out.The extra speed with his swipe definitely messed him up. The blade carried on far deeper into the swing than he had anticipated, forcing him to release his left hand's grip on the blade to finish it's sweep and save the muscle from strain. Needed to compensate, bring it back before he was hit. If he was hit by her dagger, it was over Too late. The palm met his sternum, and he coughed loudly as he staggered backwards. Wasn't fatal, the spar would continue. Breathe, Fenilen, breathe! Don't let this single strike keep you from drawing more into your lungs! Being starved of oxygen was possibly the worst thing that could happen at this point. Delayed reactions, exhaustion... No, he could not afford that.

The red-head took in a sharp breath. This was enough for now-- he would work on regulating his breath later. Quickly, bring the sword back! Fenilen rotated his blade, and with his right hand alone, choked up on the blade. The slash was quick and sloppy, but it was necessary. As it came back across his left side, he fastened his hand back onto the hilt. His breathing finally regulated. Good. Oxygen starvation was not happening to him today.

[Sairque]

The heel of her left hand squarely made contact with his sternum, with not only the force of her thrusting arm but her body when she stepped into him to keep his sword at bay. He stumbled back, she retreated a step back into her ready stance also. She brought the pink fluff dagger back in front of her at the same time he swung with his right arm. It bought him the time he needed catch his breath, because Sai jumped wildly backwards out of the way. She managed to keep a decent stance, but her arms had pulled back to avoid being clipped by the sheath, elbows at her sides, her hands near her shoulders-nothing protecting her vital organs.

If Fen was fast enough to take the opening, he would have Sai on the defensive, using her agility to evade. If he didn't, Sai would quickly bring her pink fluff and left hand back up, prepared to parry and counterattack the next slash

[Fenilen]

Breathing under control. Good good. Aha! When she pulled back, she had, either intentionally or unintentionally, created an opening. The man was not going to let it slide-- even if it could be a trap. He had to get her on the defensive, because if he didn't, she would control the pacing, and with her weapon, he had no doubt the pacing would quickly become much too fast for him. Forward, Fenilen! Take the advantage, while it still presented itself! Do not let it slip past! Cease it now!

and so the lithe boy did. Bringing his hands down on the hilt once more, he raised the sword up over his head. He took one step forward to bring himself slightly closer to Sairque, and then let the swing loose. It came downwards at her undefended mid-section. If the sheathe were not on, the blow would aim to slice through her chest and abdomen. She was lucky it was on. He was lucky it was on. Hurting her would make him feel awful for a long while. Probably the rest of his life. He cleared his thoughts. No time for distractions. He had to give this all of his concentration.

[Sairque]

Really, lifting the sword up over his head should have given Sai plenty of time to bring her defenses up, predict where his sword was going to move, and be able to block it. However, she only made it as far as predicting it would made a downward slash, and then she got hung up on trying to figure out how to use her dagger to block it. Should she try to stop it above her head? But her dagger was so small in comparison. Should she kinda put her dagger up and guide his sword off to the side? Oup, too late. It came down hard and fast, with all the force of a full grown man behind it. Fen might see the disgruntled widening of her eyes before she dove to the opposite side his swing was leaning to.

It wasn't graceful. Normally she could have managed to go straight into a somersault and end up back on her feet, but her eyes lit on the pink fluff that was hiding a very pointy and sharp and long dagger. It was a gimpy maneuver, but she was agile enough to get back onto her feet and face Fen. There was only a slight gash in the white material of her bryda, fringed with the barest coating of blood. Not enough to indicate a wound they should be worried about. Probably just a thin scratch.

She didn't notice it, her defenses came straight up to meet whatever he was going to throw at her next. Because he could definitely pace her momentum and see where she was going to get to her feet. The disadvantage she was at was given no thought, she just had to be patient and she would get the upper hand back.