Closed We Both Benefit In Most Terms (Sayana)

[Ferrin Al'Mandrikan]

Ferrin sighed and rubbed his stomach once more to snap it back to reality. Surely, she claims that she was Chawktawe. She did have the matching skin tone, but why take the extra efforts or even take it up a level to converse about others race and their stories that involved with The Order? How come Ferrin hadn't been introduced with any of this kind of information before now? Why would these things be such a huge issue? Why?

Ishtar retorted of the training. Of course he wants the training, this training had given him a more grasp on hand to hand combat and the proper use of using his surroundings as a tool. Things are surely progressing with this training, but he still had some concerns about this odd woman who strangely placed a note on the bulletin board just inside if Syliras the few days prior of today. This was the woman with the infused lists of mysteries on her head. Why does she have to be so... Suspicious?

"Yes, I want your trainging..." Said Ferrin a bit childishly as he stopped rubbing his chest and now the pain had subsided, for now at least. The example that strikes home? Ferrin hadn't of heard that saying before. And he would like to know what it meant, but he could possibly tell that he'll soon know what it meant and means. "Oh... Alright." Said Ferrin a bit confused.

The Chawktawe woman kept explaining of the history that involvednwith the Knighthood and the Svefra and how The Order had treated the rqce so. "I'm sorry for what they've done. Its not right. To anyone, but those who truly have a threat against the good of Mizahar. That is why I've signed up. To fight against the bad and yearn for the glory and the honour. Surely, you understand right? Of course." Said Ferrin with a smile. So, she is Chawktawe, of course.

The woman has the detailed hue on her skin that could show where she was from. And she seemed to have that attituted that had more of a "Matter of Fact" tone to it and a mix of confidence as well. It suited her in Ferrins opinion and she had appeared to know how to handle herself at least, which was good. The question struck him. The hand to hand fighting... And in the dark? Why, he had only done it once... Perhaps a few times when he was in the woods. And when he had met Garland, he fought of a beefy bandit whilst he picked Ferrin up and Ferrin managed to injure him with a few puches to the face though his ribs were being squeezed.

"Not often... Why do you ask?" Said Ferrin as he put away the sword. He picked up his longbow and quiver and looked back to Ishtar. Only to find her rushing back to the caves. "Hey- Where-" Said Ferrin unexuberantly. And gathered his tools up and rushed after her. Once at the mouth of the caves he'd place his weapons down. Just before the entrance so that they wouldn't actually stumble upon and squish the arrows. They were quite expensive and were of value to Ferrin as well.

It was dark within the caves. Shadows engulfed the light that shone from the outside and Ferrin had almost felt a bit timid now as he stepped inside the darkness. Step into the dark, a voice said within his mind. He did so anyway, but not to follow the instructions. Only the to get his Mizas worth and the fundamentals of practicing with the tools given. All of a sudden, as Ferrin stepped closer to what appeared to be the figure of Ishtar a woosh, came over his shoulder and Ferrin flinched almost immediately. "Woah, hey. I wasn't expecting this... Now what? It's a bit hard to see." Complained Ferrin and he was mainly confused and now was reconsidering his second thoughts of putting his longbow down. He still had his sword, the leather armor protected him quite well enough for any more random hits. But, what if this was a trap? Who knows, Ferrin half went along with it and half felt fearful of the session as well. Perhaps he should do this more often.

[Sayana]

“That’s the point. It’s supposed to be hard to see. What if you’re fighting in the night with no moon? Or what if someone has you blindfolded and at their mercy?” Sayana spoke from the shadows.

In some ways she had things better off since her eyes had the time to adjust to the darkness. But as she faced the light from outside, Ferrin was merely a silhouette with the light behind him, whereas from his perspective the limited light surely fell upon her to at least a small degree. She moved about slowly, trying not to misstep or accidentally trip upon the floor of the cave. Parts of it were rocks jutting out, large and small, but part of it was simply dirt. She kept her high arms out so she wouldn’t bump into anything and squinted at the vague shadows of the cave walls.

“Tell you what, I’ll give you an advantage. I promise to keep my eyes shut, and you can use whatever light you can.” Sayana spoke as she closed her eyes. For a moment her balance wavered and then she got the feeling of moving around with her eyes shut.

“Now see if you can throw a punch at me, or even a kick.” She added. In turn, she began to focus much more on the sounds within the cave. Any foot falls or even echoes that might give away his movements. The air itself might even be a clue, though rather short notice if she were to feel the rush of air towards her signifying a punch.

A clack against the stone caused her to raise her left forearm swiftly upwards to block and protect her face. Though it seemed that it had been a false alarm. “Like this,” she encouraged as she mimed a simple punch with her right high hand towards what she was sure was empty air in front of her.

[Ferrin Al'Mandrikan]

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Surely enough, Ishtar had explained the reasoning behind the training in the dark. But, with the little light that Ferrin had that shone from the mouth of the cave still had Ferrin squinting. It was extremely dark. And moist to. Cool, in a way as the humidity crept beneath the armor through to Ferrins skin. The woman spoke with a determined mind and she gave out plenty of good reasons to why practicing here would be a good idea. "You... Have a point there. Okay, I'll put down my sword, but I'll be right back."Said the Squire a bit less exuberant with his wording.

As promised, Ferrin dropped off his sword at the mouth of the cave beside his hunting gear. He came back in a jiffy. He didn't miss anything. Ishtar gave out a suggestion. Ferrin obliged and agreed with a nod of his head. "Alright. If any light can be shone through that is..."Said Ferrin with a simple sigh.

Now, Ishtar had offered him a free kick or punch. Ferrin pondered the two, and went with a pylunch. He squinted through the sunlight and moved towards where Ishtar's silhouette. He took his steps carefully and tried his best to not trip. As trying to see through the dark was merely impossible and just something one can simply do. Unless, they were part bat or something. Right?

The echoes of Syanas feet vibrated through the caverns and Ferrin had a sense of confusion rush through him. He had hoped that as he raised his right hand and quickly balled it into a fist he would hit Ishtar. Though, he punched through midair and the only sound that was made was a swooshing sound and a sigh from the Kenashian, a sigh of discouragement. Mainly.

Ferrin squinted at the silhouette before him. He was positive that Ishtar was there. But, alas, she was not and Ferrin gazed from where he heard the woman's voice echoe. He noticed her arm flex and straighten out with such flexibility. "I think I can do that..." Ferrin felt like a kid again learning the basics of using a sword. But, this time using his fists. He did what Sayana instructed and firmly aimed for the Chawktawe. Hopefully the chest.

Ferrin Al'Mandrikan

[Sayana]

Sayana soon realized that his voice betrayed his location even more than his footsteps. Yet even if she tried to keep him talking, her own voice would cause the same result. Instead she concentrated on the sounds of his footsteps, or the rustle of his clothing. The cool dampness of the cave made it chilly and rather ominous, but as promised she kept her eyes closed and was ready to react to his movements.

His voice came suddenly from just in front of her to the left. He didn’t sound too confident, but just as she took a step to reorient herself to his voice, a fist came at her and struck her left shoulder. The impact wasn’t too strong, but his fist had hit. Immediately she attempted to grab his arm or wrist with her right high hand. For a moment she only felt empty air, but when she made contact with his skin she gripped tightly. Hoping that she’d be able to constrain him just long enough, she took a sudden step forwards and aimed her left fist for where she thought was his side.

“If you want strength in your punches, always use the momentum of your body and step forwards as you punch,” she explained in the darkness. “Unless you want to do lots of quick jabs where you don’t commit yourself.”

If she still managed to hold onto his arm or wrist, she would be able to have an idea of where the rest of his body was despite having her eyes closed. However, he would also know her approximate location even if he wasn’t the one doing the grabbing. Her brain searched for ways to gain the advantage, but at the moment all she could think of was to stay within close proximity so she could throw punches that wouldn’t just hit empty air.

[Ferrin Al'Mandrikan]

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With a grim smirk over his face Ferrin was glad that he had made contact with a part of the Chawktawe. Though, he hadn't hit her with a lot of force, the majority of it was because he was unsure if he were ever going to make contact or not. Fortunately, he did. That was why he was glad.

Ferrins feet skitted across the wet stone floor as he shuffled his feet over towards Ishtar and her silhouette. Or what was her actual appearance of Ishtar. But, as quick as Ferrin moved his fist, Sayana had grasped onto his upper arm, just below his shoulder. Ferrin was restrained and he wanted to pry the lady's hand off with his other hand, but was to slow with his action. As he moved his left hand up, Ferrin had grunted when one of Ishtar's hands punched him right in the gut of his stomach.

It seemed that swords and shields weren't everything now. Ferrin had been able to take a quick breather before Sayana struck at the left of his abdomen. Adjacent to the rib cage. Ferrin grunted a bit. Even with the leather armor that he'd worn he'd felt weak. But, he had muscles and the fortified strength of his arms and torso.

Ishtar explained of how he could fight better with the momentum of his body. "Alright. Like this." As Ferrin spoke he regained his confidence. The Kenashian balled his left hand into a fist and thrusted it towards what was Sayana waist. He didn't want to punch her to hard to knock the life out of her, but to only punch her hard enough to make her let go of her grip. Hopefully, the muscles in his arms would help along with that. At least he wasn't some kid without any muscles. Otherwise, the situation would only appear to be worse.

If he'd managed to loosen Sayanas' grip of his arm. Ferrin would let loose another punch at her side, or what he thinks is his side. If it ever made contact as well.

Ferrin Al'Mandrikan

[Sayana]

His brief words were enough to alert her of another punch that was coming, and with her right high hand still grasping his arm she could feel the slight wind up of his body. But she had no idea where he was attempting to aim the blow. It came at her hard to the stomach and in the process it grazed her right mid arm, under her robe. Instinctively she made an attempt to grab his wrist of the hand that had punched her with her right mid, but even as her fingers started to close around it she quickly let go with both her rights.

Her eyes flickered open for just a tick and she jumped back a couple steps as she caught sight of his shadowy silhouette. “Yes, something like--” There was a movement towards her but she soon realized she was out of range as his follow up punch went through empty air.

“Something like that. Like the first one.” She amended and touched the spot where he had gotten her hard in the stomach with one of her low hands beneath her robe. She took a moment to readjust her clothing so her extra arms were properly hidden once more and she was glad of the darkness the cave provided.

“Lastly, you need to know how to block or dodge. To block, you bring up your arms defensively and deflect my blows.” She explained in a preamble before her next attacks. With her eyes closed again, she readied her high arms in closed fists. There was the slightest sound of movement and she took several steps towards him. While doing so, she aimed a series of punches at chest height. Even though she couldn’t see how close she was to him, if she kept walking with punch after punch, she was bound to hit him eventually. Unless she found herself no longer heading in his direction.

[Ferrin Al'Mandrikan]

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Ferrin rubbed his knuckles after the first punch that had made contact with Sayana. Ferrin didn't know how Ishtar managed to keep her calm when they were out here, in the dark. And in the Alyasas' Caves. This was the first time through his three seasons of stay in Syliras that he'd ever venture through. He would appreciate it if he wouldn't have to venture any further in the caves.

The Kenashian massaged his left hand as it still stun and waited for Sayana to strike. He knew that Ishtar would be returning his attacks fairly soon. From what Ferrin had seen the Chawktawe woman adjusted her clothing. She had commented earlier of his first punch. Ferrin felt achieved almost. Or merely accomplished. "Thank you Ishtar."Said Ferrin slowly. As he spoke he'd noticed the woman come closer to him. Ferrin had little time to react and foolishly leaned his head forward as he tripped over a stone. His face had been impaled by one of Sayanas throws.

Another one had landed at his stomach. With a grunt Ferrin did his best to avoid the punches by turning his body round the Chawktawe. Leaving the last of her punches hitting air. The Kenashian frowned. He balled up his fists and aimed for what appeared to be Sayanas body. He threw a couple simultaneous punches at her. Ferrin put more force into his punches, not to hard to damage any of her internal organs, but to at least make enough physical contact.

Ferrin Al'Mandrikan

[Sayana]

Her fist hit something soft and fleshy, and it was only a tick later that she realized it might have been his face that she had hit. Another grunt confirmed a punch to his stomach. But when her next fist struck only air, for a moment she lost her balance clearly expecting another solid object at the receiving end of the blow. The Eypharian stumbled for a moment, disoriented, and then one of his fists struck her hard against the side.

She attempted to side step away from the attack, but his second punch came in swiftly. However, she was already moving away from him, so it landed much more lightly than the first. Expecting a third, she brought her high arm down quickly to attempt a block, but there was only empty air. Sayana panted heavily from the exertion but she was rather proud of what he had managed to accomplish in the short period of time.

“There, that should be sufficient training today,” she concluded as she opened her eyes. The dim light suddenly felt bright as a candle, since her eyes had adjusted, and she slowly made her way towards the cave entrance. “You’ll need to practice blocking,” she added as she mimed a couple blocks by raising her high arms accordingly. “However, that is better practiced in the light.”

As they reached the outdoors once more, Sayana found herself squinting in the light. She turned to face Ferrin once more and held up a single finger indicating that she wasn’t quite done. “One last thing. If you would like to meet up again for another session, a shorter one, I would be willing but I would need a favor from you. You see, I have this friend who would like to join the knighthood but I’ve told him again and again that it’s a lot of work and not much pay. Do you even get paid as a squire? Anyways, I’d like a detailed account of what it is like as a squire. What are your routines, your schedules…? What time do you wake up? What time do you patrol? What time do you train? What do you eat, who provides the food? Are patrols done alone, in pairs or in groups?”

At that point she had to stop herself and restrain her onslaught of questions. Taking a breath, she further elaborated her reasons. “You see, sometimes he’s rather lazy and doesn’t like to get up early in the morning. And if this is not the life for him, then I don’t want him to get caught up in it when he should be spending his efforts elsewhere. If you could write me something detailed about your life as a squire, then we could do another spar at the end of Spring and I’ll give you pointers. Problem is, my friend is also rather shy, and I’m not sure if I could convince him to meet you.”

Of course, it was all just a means to get more information about the knighthood. She didn’t trust Ferrin enough to directly ask for such, but she figured that if it was phrased in an indirect way with the potential of doing good and recruiting a new squire, then he might be more receptive and less suspicious.

[Ferrin Al'Mandrikan]

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Ferrin had felt satisfied as he managed to make contact with his blows. As Sayana concluded the session. The Kenashian had rubbed his knuckles as as they felt a bit sore from the work. Ishtar had explained of blocking. "All right, I will work on it. Thank you, again Ishtar." Said Ferrin with a nod and a smile, he let go of his hands and let them hang on his sides. "Yeah, so it seems. To practice in the light." Said Ferrin with a light chuckle.

As the two walked back. Ferrin gathered his hunting gear and mounted it about his shoulders. As he turned round to face Sayana she spoke.A favor? It was as if this were another Interrogation. Sayanas finger still posed before him, and pointed directly at him."No, you do not get coin as a Squire. But, Ishtar your living expenses and food is basically free. If you want you can live in the barracks if you don't have a place to stay. Everyone's routines and schedules are different. It's how your patron orders it. I wake up fairly early, but again everyone us different with their schedules, patrols can be either early in the morning, or late afternoon. When we train, it all depends on the amount of free time your patron has that he can teach you. Otherwise, there aren't any restrictions disallowing you to not train. Patrols can be assinged as separate or in groups."

Ferrin felt like he'd been tested. His face turned a rose red and he hoped he hadn't give out any critical info. Besides the usual things. Most locals already know if the squires business and the things alike. It's not much different than an Drykas put on watch duty. But, then again, Ferrin could be wrong.

"Well, if he's such a lazy arse. Why not take me to go and see him. If you can trust me this much already. You must trust me enough to at least try my best to get him... inspired." Said Ferrin simply as he shrugged his confusion away. Ishtar seemed to be concealing something. Who is this man that she talks about. What is his name? Where does he live, is he a bandit? Or another local in Syliras? "Who is this man you speak of? If he lives in Syliras I can try and convince him for you?" Well, if Ishtar had ever trusted him of course.

Ferrin Al'Mandrikan

[Sayana]

Some of his information was useful, but most of it was vague and unspecific. She wanted to retort back at him saying that she didn’t want it now and that she instead wanted him to give her a detailed report after days of watching and noticing. But it no longer seemed fitting to ask such and would raise too many suspicions if she did. Bland, dull… there was nothing detailed in his words. Nothing she could later use to exploit a weakness. She’d have to conduct her own assessment. Still, the lack of pay was an interesting point and he did describe the general culture of a squire’s lifestyle.

“He lives out in Mithryn, but I get the impression that he wants grand adventures and grander rewards. The knighthood might not be able to grant the latter.” Sayana answered calmly with a half shrug. “But I’ll let him know that you’d be interested in ‘inspiring’ him. That is, if he’ll make the trek to the city.”

It was an easy story to come up with and the description of the man could have described plenty of people. She wasn’t too concerned even if Ferrin did attempt to seek out her made up man aspiring to become a squire.

“I think that will be all for today,” she concluded firmly. She hadn’t originally expected someone to come just for training, but the fifty gold mizas felt nice in her pocket. “It was good meeting you Ferrin,” she added as she held out her right high hand for a moment or two so that he might shake it. It felt rather unsettling using a high hand for such a purpose, but the moment soon passed and she took a quick glance around the clearing.

“I should be going. I have to get back to my campsite and cook up a meal before it gets dark.”

With that, the robed woman headed off from the clearing down one of the trails connecting to it. She only glanced back briefly. There was not only her campsite to get back to, but her horse that she had left unattended for long enough.

OOCThis will be my last post.