What Happened To Your Face? (Canali)

by **Canali** on July 1st, 2011, 7:46 pm

A slight hesitation slid over Canali's face at Drayton's words. Though they made sense, she couldn't help but to disagree. No words slid from her lips to echo in the air between them. "Like a brother" signified a close friendship and the idea that they would always be friends. Yes, friends were chosen family, but they were also family who you adopted.

Frowning at Drayton's choice of words about her significant other, Canali blinked. "Excuse my bad memory, but how many years do you have on your belt now?" The number just wouldn't come to mind. Canali herself had nineteen years, soon to be twenty in summer, on her cake. Having really no way to celebrate her birthday, Canali wondered if a local tavern would take a small fee and Canali could make a cake. Probably not. Besides just that, her father's birthday was the next day. Yes, Canali would definitely have to at least do something for the upcoming birthdays.

Snorting lightly at Drayton's words, Canali didn't shrug off the arm around her shoulder. Yes, she was uncomfortable at the contact, but figured it was just a friendly gesture. At least, she hoped Drayton wouldn't pick-pocket her. "To do what?" Even though she asked, Canali made her way to several booths, overseeing wares and buying a couple items which were shoved unceremoniously into her backpack. A small size of black cotton pants were bought, along with thin leather apron. Several strange looks were given to her by the merchants. Obviously cooks in Sunberth were a strange sight, especially with the city being such a bloodbath.

by **Drayton** on July 12th, 2011, 2:51 am

"Your memory's as good as mine, 'bout seventeen years I think. Something around there." The heavy cloth of her vest piled against itself in small mounds with her shrug, falling back to its defeated hanging over her bony shoulders as they relaxed. "You're a bit older, right?" As her shoulders fell so did the grimy hand slip off of her companion. Eleanor began picking at a black crust on her ring finger as they walked forward.

Her first reply was a snort strong enough to rearrange her nasal cavities. "To do what? So you can break the nose of the next sleazy bastard that looks at you wrong, what do you think? I guarantee it will happen, might as well be prepared. So come on, I'll be you're personal punching bag, not like you'll be able to pack much of a wallop." With the last word Eleanor slapped Canali on the shoulder, her hand falling in a friendly, goading manner.

"Well, come on, prove me wrong. Show me you can hand out a couple bruises like the one you're going to get on that pretty little shoulder."

by **Canali** on July 21st, 2011, 4:53 am

A nod came from Canali. Yes, a few years older than Drayton. Perhaps mentally as well. Drayton had always been boisterous and outspoken, choosing to do things Canali would never dare. Of the two, Canali was more cautious of the two; more like a rabbit than ferocious dog. "Yes, I turn twenty this summer." Keeping pace with Drayton was easy. Having always been the skittish one, ready to run, Canali had a fast paced walk. More than once, merchants had eyed her nervously and suspiciously, as if expecting her to have sticky fingers. Even once, one had called after her, seemingly believing she had stolen something and was desperately trying to get away.

Snapping back to the present with Drayton's words, Canali frowned. The next person? Even if the next person was an old human who lived long enough with wits and danger? No, thank you anyways. "I would much rather not…" Stumbling from Drayton's touch, she barely caught herself from falling. So perhaps it would be best if Canali learned to fight back. "Such as the one on my face?" Canali shot back at Drayton, tilting her high cheekbone towards the sky, accenting the dark bruise.

Glad they were away from oncoming people, Canali turned to face Drayton. Curling her fist up, thumb laying flat on top, she jolted forwards; arm straight. The fist connected with Drayton's shoulder such as feather landing gracefully upon the ground, light and barely there. Three knuckles cracked loudly, filling the silence as Canali withdrew her fist; wincing. People did this for a living in the Pits? Were they insane?! A jolt had shuffled up Canali's arm, tensing her muscles spastically.

by **Drayton** on July 30th, 2011, 8:29 pm

"Exactly like that one," Eleanor said, an unsavory sparkle in her eyes. Her laughter crackled through the sea air as Canali winced from her own punch. "Children have hit me harder than that!" she said, and following in a softer voice, "What a favor I'm doing you."

A clear line of grim was visible where the edges of her studded half gloves had rested after Eleanor stuffed them into a pocket. She's got to learn, but brass knuckles on the first lesson is rough... she thought, cracking her own fingers, pale from so many weeks beneath the stained fabric.

"All right, first, if you actually want to hurt someone, unless you punch like an Isur, don't hit them in the shoulder. Always aim for the face. If that is completely impossible, try to hit them in the soft parts, the sensitive bits. Stomach, throat, groin. But the face is the best, you're not going to knock anyone out but slapping them on the shoulder."

Eleanor paused, a condescending look crossing her face, as if to say, You listening, softie? "However, if you punch like that, no matter where you hit me it won't hurt. So let's just practice your wind up. We're both small people, so get your body behind it. Use the momentum of your whole body moving in the direction you want to hit. Once you're moving, then straighten your arm quickly. You'll get the speed of your body and your arm moving behind your fist, and it will hurt that much more. Try it on my hand." She held up a sweaty palm for Canali to hit.

by **Canali** on July 31st, 2011, 8:46 pm

Large, grey eyes blinked innocently at Drayton; long, black lashes fluttering against her cheeks with each blink. Thick lines of distaste thinned out her pink lips, straightening them into a single line. "I would rather not aim for your face." Even though she may not be able to cause much harm, to intentionally cause a friend harm went against most of Canali's morals. Especially if the person asked her to. Using pain as a weapon only made sense if the person was being attacked… Just like she had been. Knowing this was Sunberth and most likely to happen again, Canali mentally fought within herself; More than one person had claimed she thought too much. Since this was Sunberth, men all over were most likely to take what they wanted from women; savoring and relishing in the lady, even more if she not a prostitute and instead one of the rare, hard to come by, virgins. Just like the men had tried to do the other day.

Coming out of her thoughts, Canali was aware of Drayton giving her tips. "...stomach, throat, groin…" Yes, the kick to the man's private areas had done great harm and gotten the point across real quick. The move had also given her a few precious seconds for escaping. Tuning into Drayton's words, Canali mentally tried to figure out how her body would be positioned. One arm tucked in, the other folded up to protect? Perhaps. Would it make more sense to have one leg back, to launch from? Drayton had mentioned putting the force of her body into it.

Right arm tucked under her chin, fisted and elbow pointed out at an awkward angle. Her right foot rested behind and slightly to the side. Jerking forwards with her fisted left hand, Canali launched off of her right foot, coming up on her toes. Flesh met flesh, but it still wasn't a very powerful punch.

Better than before, though.

by **Drayton** on July 31st, 2011, 9:39 pm

"Better, that was better. But using opposite sides of your body simply balances you out, it cancels out all the force coming from your punching side. Try keeping you feet planted, square with your shoulders. Just tilt you upper body with the punch, and don't start with your fist under your chin like that, you're likely to hit yourself. Here, stand like me."

Eleanor stood firmly in her crumbling boots, her legs looking sturdy beneath the flapping holes in her pants. Both of her fists were held level with her narrow waist, and her bony knuckles faced down, palms up, thumbs out. "Don't ever punch with your thumb curled in your fist, or try and do anything fancy with your knuckles, you could break them. That's another good reason to hit the soft spots, hurt them more, hurt yourself less." A lot less... the girl thought, recalling the dislocated fingers she'd earned punching a wall with rage.

"Now, you want to straighten your arm fast, twisting your wrist. Don't let it go totally straight if you're just practicing, locking your arm can make your elbows sore. Though if you're punching a body they should catch the momentum, not your arm, so you won't have to worry about pulling back." She demonstrated a few air punches, the handkerchiefs on her arms flapping as she straightened, pulled back and retucked her elbows each time.

"Your turn, I want my hand to feel sore," and Eleanor lifted up her sticky palm for Canali to aim at once more.

by **Canali** on August 5th, 2011, 6:29 am

Squaring her feet at about arm distance from one another, Canali turned her upper body towards Drayton; the opposite direction of her feet. The wheels were practically seen turning behind Canali's stormy grey eyes. Copying Drayton's movements with her hands, Canali curled her bony fingers inward, like a baby would in frustrated anger. Carefully placing her thumb where it felt most comfortable, across her forefinger's top knuckle and tip pointing towards the pinky, Canali stared hard at her fisted left hand. So many men she had seen throw punches at one another, cracking solidly against another's jaw. Blood had poured from broken noses and dark bruises had formed very soon afterwards. More often than not, these brawls were in the taverns; men drunk and looking for any reason to start a fight. Canali had never been in one of those fast moving situations where thinking was impossible and instinct took over.

She didn't want to be, either.

Doing as Drayton directed and twisting her arm as she straightened it, Canali imagined a target in front of her. Twisting as she reached forwards, Canali put more force behind her punch. Feeling the air whish past her closed fist made her feel like she could seem almost flying if she closed her murky eyes. Glancing at Drayton's dirty hand, Canali frowned slightly. Make it feel sore? Yeah. Good luck with that. However, Canali aimed several forceful punches at it, smacking loudly against it.

by **Drayton** on August 6th, 2011, 4:23 am

As Canali loosed herself against Eleanor’s had the girl thought back to the last time she’d been hit. Not nearly so friendly as this… she chuckled to herself, remembering the knuckles that had smashed against her diaphragm again and again and again. The dry sucking noise her throat made as it tried to fight the rhythm of his fist for air. The ache had hung stubbornly to her ribs, squeezing tightly against the walls of her lungs and burning with each gasp for days. Certainly this was better, but after all, it was only preparation for a situation like that. Everything in Sunberth ultimately wound down to a situation like that. Each person lived their life day by day, scrounging and scraping for a share of the wretched city until the next night they found themselves out too late and too alone. Then the bloodied boots and cracked knuckles reset the clock and everything began winding up for the next evening spent at the back of a new alley.

Just what I’ll be getting away from, soon as I can. There’s no name to be earned in the dirt of these streets… Least none that will outlast our dear neighbor’s short lives. Abdominal muscle that had clenched in recollection of harder blows suddenly calmed, as Eleanor realized that Canali had stopped. Snapping her hand back and forth to bring the blood back the girl’s sharp cheeks rose with a grin. “Much better, your form looks nice. Now you just need to build the muscles to make it really hurt, but even that, my hand’s a bit tingly!” The encouraging sentences were spoken quickly, almost as though by rushing it was easier to move through the unfamiliar tone.

“Okay, so you can throw a decent punch. You’ve got to mix up the ways that you do it. Throw them straight like that, of start your fist lower, and bring it to their chin.” Eleanor demonstrated an uppercut against the air. “Do that with enough power and anybody can go down. But you’re not always going to have a good opening for the head, and ideally, you don’t want to be close enough for a punch to be effective. If you’re that close they can grab you already. So use weapons, whatever you can find. Make sure you move fast and don’t try to hurt them too much. The best thing you can do is stay free until you get the chance to throw in one really good hit. It will do more and cost you a lot less than a bunch of weak blows.”

by **Canali** on August 17th, 2011, 2:56 am

The sun was riding low in the sky when the pair finally called it quits for the day. It had become increasingly dangerous to stay out after dusk in Sunberth. Twice as much as wandering about in the day! Criminals and thieves resided in the slums, waiting for their next victim and reaping whatever awards would be given upon the kill or mugging. Shadows danced upon the ground; both a hiding place and somewhere the imagination would play tricks upon the eyes. Teasing, taunting, and fooling the orbs set inside of a human's head. Making them believe there was a killer around each corner. Frightening them, causing their heart to race from their chest.

After making plans to contact Drayton again sometime in the near future, Canali headed home with quick feet and shifty grey eyes. Though short, the visit had given her some brain food. She had learned how to twist her hands into weapons and how to be somewhat less innocent in a fight. Besides, the market had supplied what she needed; even if she was now a few mizas short of what Canali had had earlier. It had been nice to see Drayton again, after such a long time. When Nathan, Canali's father, had died, Canali had taken it upon herself to keep away from his past friends. This included their children, where Drayton and her had met. Playing hopscotch, robbers and thieves, and hide 'n' seek had bonded the two together in friendship. Which was soon broken apart after a few short years.

Childhood friends really didn't go away.

~Fin~

by **Archelon** on August 27th, 2011, 1:00 am

Thread Award

*starts a sing along*"Why can't we be friends?Why can't we be friends?...""

And the Results!!!!:

Canali :

Drayton :

Would you like some extra turtle sauce ? :