Fall 7th 517 av
Perhaps it had been unwise to make the challenge, but bullies were only tolerable for so long. Perhaps that was why he’d said that he would do it, he’d fight the boy. Or young man as it were, the orphanage was home to all sorts, from people who wanted to be bakers to people who wanted to be soldiers and all manner of people in between.
So when the posturing child began swinging that wooden sword around like he owned the place it was obvious what his intentions for the future and the moment were. Hwyn shouldn’t have even involved himself, but he couldn’t help it. The boy wanted somebody to fight and it was obvious that even if it was disguised as practice whoever was going to be the sparring partner was in for a bludgeoning. He’d stood up without thinking, getting in between the bully and his target and said he’d spar with him, of course the boy sneered, but he still accepted, for him any target was good enough.
Thus they’d ended up outside, in the small courtyard, each armed with a wooden short sword. Hwyn a head shorter than his opponent. With that in mind he watched his foe, the boy was cocky, but perhaps he’d earned it, he was to be an apprentice by the years end, so there was no doubt he know his way around the wooden blade in his hand, even something dull would smart and possibly break bone if it caught him badly.
Standing opposite his opponent he tried to remember what he’d learned in Syliras. Hold your sword like an extension of yourself. Slowing his breathing he frowned, but his sword hand stopped shaking, he was going to wait on his opponent to make the first move. The sword increased his reach, but not by a huge amount, and his opponent was already bigger and had more reach on him. So he’d have to get within his opponents danger zone to land a hit. But… how do I get in without getting hit myself? Frowning hwyn waited on the attack as his opponent got impatient.
The boy across from him jeered as Hwyn waited, he wanted him to make the first move. The pointed insults didn’t even sting him any more. The fact that he was even about to fight this bully was mildly surreal. However the time for thinking was up, the boy fed up with Hwyn’s silence made the first move rushing in to make a swipe at him. An attack? If it hadn’t been for his bodies own reaction he probably would have taken the hit to his shoulder. Jerking back reflexively he managed to barely dodge the attack but even then he hadn’t been able to muster the courage to swipe back, merely getting out of the way had been all he’d been able to do. He could hear the boy jeering again, laughing at his craven reaction.
Tightening his jaw Hwyn looked at his brawny opponent. And held his sword steadily, this time taking a square stance and facing his opponent.
“Fine… I’ll fight you”
