It's Kerrigan's Sacrifice, and it's set up for some actual training and sparring. There are plenty of practice weapons, some made of wood, most padded in some way. There are also plenty of drinks, Gatorade and the like, sitting in a cooler of ice. There's armor, courtesy of Polk, although all of it is mundane, for anyone who wants to use it. There are targets set up for archery or knife-throwing, as well.
And Dielle is pacing around the place, trying not to be nervous because it's like throwing a party and wondering if anyone is going to come.
Peggy comes. She is a super keener. Can she come early? Because if she can, she does. She pokes her head in and waves. "Hi, Dielle!" she calls out cheerfully. Then she's trotting inside, ponytail swinging. "This looks amazing. Ooh! Practice weapons? I was worried I was supposed to bring my own."
Duncan ambles in, hands in his coat pockets and eyes drifting around the cavern. He gives a low, appreciative whistle for the size of the place. He's dressed in normal clothes with a black pea coat over the top, and sporting no obvious weapons. Duncan makes his way over towards the Captain and the eager blonde woman and flashes a grin. "Recruit Morrow, Reporting for duty ma'am." The storm-elemental makes a lazy salute to Dielle, not terribly serious about it.
The shadows in Kerrigan's Sacrifice deepen slowly, heralding the next arrival before he actually steps into the Hollow as the strengthened darkness spreads out from the exit to the Hedge. A few minutes after this, in walks Vorpal. The Hedge denies him the ability to hide himself or his nature, so when he enters, so too does the oppressive sense of his Wyrd, proclaiming him both Sublime and Ancient to those in attendance. Granted, it's not like there's many flavor of "terribly Wyrd" people to go around, so the subtleties are like as not lost. Still, for all his strange shadows and phantom flesh, his scars and smile are very, very stable... if not overly reassuring.
"O Captain, My Captain," he calls in as he enters. "Are we abo-"
He stops dead as he sees Duncan in his black pea coat. Looks down at his own black pea coat, back to Duncan, back to him. "... well. Suppose I'll be needing a NEW coat now.
"
Tom comes in from the Hedge
Dielle smiles as look, people! She says to Peggy, "Hey, Peggy, I'm real glad you could make it! It's nice t'see you! And yeah, it's a legitmate worry. I mean, I like all of you folks, but I don't know that I'd want to loan my bow to anyone, that thing's like a teddy bear or somethin'! Duncan, hey! Congrats on findin' this place! 'Lo again, Vorpal. So, as far as this goes, I'm not gonna pretend for half a second that I'm better at various kinds of fightin' than most of y'all, although I ain't too bad with a gun and I'm kinda damn good at turnin' most things into a weapon. But I figure it's a good time to meet everyone, in case you haven't, and exchange phone numbers and find out who wants to learn what, and get some practice in!" Her Southern accent is /very/ strong, probably a sign of nervousness. By the way, pretty sure y'all know each other but if not, this is Peggy," and she points to everyone as she says their name. "Duncan. Vorpal." She does not comment on the coat situation.
Peggy raises her hand and waves enthusiastically. She's very pep squad. She gives Duncan a big smile. "Hi, nice to meet you!" and then blinks at Vorpal, and his scars and such. And the wrongness of him. Her hand falters. Then she's waving a little again. "Nice to meet you, too." She is polite! She glances sidelong at Dielle, eyes wide.
"Hello," he responds to Peggy's smile with another broad gin. And no sooner has he greeted the first two arrivals than Duncan begins to feel the sense of something Wyrd coming. His eyes slide toward the entrance that's filling with shadows, and the man's expression takes on a wary cast. "What the hell...?" he mutters under his breath. Vorpals entrance causes a bit of a double take, but it's not the other man's coat that's bothering him; more the crazy level of Fae. That and the fact that the guy is staring at him for some reason. The one time he saw Vorpal before was in the 'real' world, and this is different. "Damn." Dielle seems to be taking it all in stride, which draws Duncan's gaze back to her before he returns to Vorpal. "Nice to meet you," he says. "Don't think we had time for introductions at the Ashen Hunt."
Jerk of a cat, jerk of a latecomer cat. Tom does as Tom will, which doesn't involve black peacoats and fashion faux pas; it involves slouching in after the others with a bottle in one hand and a certain air of surprise that he's ended up here, of all places. It might, just might, imply that the cat's having a Mad Tom kind of night with visions and randomly knocking stuff off tables. Or it might just be your average Saturday. He yawns upon coming in and bats the air in Dielle's direction. Far less of an impression than Vorpal, which lets him stalk around without throwing out his introduction as bidden.
"Don't sell yourself short, Captain, you far exceed my talents in both those arenas. Without a proper weapon at hand, I'd rather just punch something. Melt my hands off someday, you watch," Vorpal retorts, grinning as he shrugs out of his coat and folds it just so, setting it aside as he's speaking. "Peggy, is it?" In all honesty, he can't help hiding a bit of sardonic delight in the wide-eyed stare Peggy turns towards Dielle, and Duncan's reaction in general.
"No, I don't believe we -did- have time for introductions. Allow me to greet two compatriots with one bout of pretentious drivel. I, friends," Vorpal continues, sweeping into a too-elegant bow as his shadow flares behind him to drown the entrance until he straightens and the flourish is no longer necessary, "Am Vorpal. God of the Hunt, Martyr of the Dawn, Recruit of the Greenies, and as of recently, full member of the Harvestmen. And, unless we meet someone else new, that's the last time you'll hear me vomit my entire list of titles. Vorpal is -perfectly- fine a mode of address. It's a pleasure to meet you both, Duncan, Peggy." He sets the coat down and moves towards the practice weapons, studying them for a few moments until Tom wanders in.
"Ah! And this, ladies and gentleman, is Tom." He leans towards the two he's just met and stagewhispers. "You can call him Rookie."
Dielle tries her hardest, she does. Which means she looks down before rolling her eyes at Vorpal's list of titles and then looks back at Peggy with a sardonic smile. Tom walks in and she says, pleased, "FLUFFBUTT! I mean, Tom!" She makes the round of introductions again, and says, "Ok, so, for fightin'. I know most of you know how, although I'm not sure how good Tom or Duncan are, and who knows how to do what. For me, I can brawl, and use a few kinds of weapons and shoot things. I know Duncan can soak some serious damage, and Vorpal is basically John Wayne. Peggy, I know you know how to make a fist, now, why don't you start by letting us know what you do know, and what you want to learn?"
"Y-yes, it's Peggy," Peggy confirms, head bobbing and ponytail swinging. She listens to the titles, nods very slowly, and opens her mouth to say something. Then closes it again, because there is Tom, whom she waves at, and Dielle is addressing her specifically. Peggy's cheeks turn a bit golder. This is perhaps how she blushes. "I can make a fist. Um. I can do... well, kicks and things. But not at people. I haven't kicked a person." She clears her throat gently, her cheeks still gold. The gold is coming in on her ears, now, too. "I don't know how applicable any of that stuff is. I've hit a punching bag? Over at the Iron Church?" It's all coming out questions now. She holds up her hands to show the scrapes. "I'd like to learn how to use a sword."
Tom's survival instincts are this good: his answer to Vorpal is to take another drink out of his bottle and greeting the "Rookie" title with a raised middle finger, which takes doing when one's paws are, well, very like paws. Still, he does it, just flips off the God of the Hunt. "What do you mean, how good I am?" he asks Dielle. "I'm amazing." He doesn't flip off Peggy; he gives Peggy a great big pointy grin. "You gotta start somewhere. I've been so many people's first slap in the face. I could win an award." Take things seriously? Yeah right. As any cat might, he starts examining weapons, but without a lot of real interest. The face of 'how many of these can I knock over at once?'.
Duncan gives Tom a nod in greeting -- it seems they're acquainted in some small way. Otherwise the Elemental listens and has very little to say, thus far. Vopral's elaborate introduction gets a chuckle, but over-the-top isn't unusual among the Lost in general, let alone those who have grown so strong in the Wyrd. He has another easy-going "Nice to meet you," for Peggy and then Tom as Dielle makes formal introductions, then he turns to listen to what the newest recruit has to say for herself. He gives the woman a bit of a dubious look, then clears his throat and takes his turn. "I can manage a gun but I'm no great shot," he begins. "I'm pretty good with fists and weapons, and yes, the body I've got now can take a beating." Elemental. Go figure. "So I've usually been one of the guys up front. Contract-wise, I'm good with Air and Water. Some Summer. I have some of my own Hedgespun gear at home, but it's a little flashy for walking around town."
Vorpal tips Dielle a wink after she looks back up from her eyeroll, confirming he takes himself about as seriously as she does. As she introduces him, he shakes his head. "Drexel. John Drexel, not Wayne." Straight face. Someone missed the golden age of Westerns.
"If it's hand to hand or swordplay... hm. I can teach unarmed combat with the best of them, and KNIFEplay, but for swords, you'd probably want to consult Kowal. The Rotmistrz. Looks like a tin soldier, actually made of lead. If you bite him, don't chew, definitely don't swallow. But knives and fists- those are my specialties. Well. Those and -defending- yourself with weapons of all sorts," he explains, starting to claim a selection of light blades, taking a moment to look Peggy over- Duncan and Tom, too. "Captain's the boss, but with her say so, I'd be happy to share what I know with anyone cares to learn- though I'll warn my methods work better for the fast rather than the strong, generally speaking."
Dielle says, dryly, "Because me and Peggy /look/ real strong." She grins back at Vorpal and Tom's answer gets a surprised chortle out of her. "Ok, Peggy, you get final say in who you wanna work with, but I'd suggest starting with Duncan, I kinda want to see what Johnny here's got, myself, with the knifework." Ok, there may be another reason for that. "Tom, you wanna join me and Vorpal or Duncan and Peggy? Assuming Peggy agrees, that is. We can save shooting things for some other time."
"Uhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh." Tom dangles the bottle from his fingertips, tips it back and forth like some crazy spin-the-bottle where-she-stops-nobody-knows decision tool. Given his reputation for seeing things that aren't really there but are nonetheless true, who knows how useful that might be? He eventually settles on Duncan and Peggy. "I'm a rookie," he says, with teeth. "Isn't that what he said? Better start me out in the beginner class. My use isn't guns or tools or that shit, mostly."
Peggy's head bobs. "Okay," she tells Dielle. She reaches up to adjust her ponytail. Only the highest, bounciest ponytail will do. And she's still tinted gold, especially with the dubious look leveled her way. "I'll work with Duncan with, um. Practice swords sound good?"
"There -are- others in attendance, Captain," protests Vorpal in mock chiding tones, his curled lip betraying his amusement at the accuracy of her comment. He, himself, turns from the weapon rack and wanders back towards Dielle, carrying exactly one knife- despite four knives being missing off the racks. Weird! He doesn't... SEEM to be carrying those as he moves over to the Captain. "Grab what you want off the wall, Captain- we can get started whenever's convenient for you." His attention keeps drifting to the new faces, though. He's interested in how -they- do, as well.
Dielle goes and grabs a practice knife, and whispers to Vorpal as she does so. "It's actually more because you've got that whole Wyrd thing goin' on and I don't wanna freak out Peggy or Duncan, Vorpal. Ain't no slight against your teachin' abilities, since I expect I'll be learning quite a bit from you. Just want to take it slow with them, let them get a bit more used to you before overwhelming 'em." It can be overheard by anyone with significantly good hearing, but she is making an effort to keep it down to keep anyone from being embarrassed. Then she raises her voice. "Oh, by the way, Vorpal here is plannin' on takin' over the Aspire and teaching self-defense classes. He might let me work there, too, if I ask real nice. There may have to be some construction and all."
Peggy makes her way over to the practice weapons, finding herself a sword. She picks it up and gives it some test swings. Calling over to Tom, she asks, "Do you use swords at all?" She puts the first sword down, picks up another. Swings it. Makes a face. Goes back to the first with a small shrug. A glance toward Dielle and Vorpal. "Maybe I can help out with that!"
Duncan folds his arms across his chest, listening to each of the others in turn. There's a nod for Dielle's instructions, and then he looks to Tom and Peggy both. "We can figure something out." The blonde's suggestion earns a nod. "Sword works."
Tom shakes his head at Peggy, a shaggy sort of amiability. He sets down the bottle, but points at it as if it might run off on him. Drunken swordplay is always an excellent idea. "I know which end is pointy," he tells Peggy. "By preference, not really. Mostly, I take an extremely foolhardy approach to life and don't go around armed, unless you count these." Fists up, briefly. "I'm a lover, not a fighter, and for me, that's combat enough." So about the slapping -- that probably seems like an obvious answer to Tom. Or shoes thrown. Such alleycat. "I'm willing to fail at it alongside you. Or behind you, even better," he tells Peggy.
Vorpal nods slowly to Dielle at her explanation, the two standing off together while the others debate what weapons to practice and test the ones available to pick their favorites. Vorpal has a single blade in hand, though- if one can judge by the empty rack slots beside the last remaining knife- he's likely absconded with more than that.
"Oh, don't be silly. Of course you can work there. You as well, Peggy, if you like. I've got very little reason to turn anyone away. That'd be completely counter to the purpose of taking over."
Dielle moves away from the weapons rack. She may have an extra fake knife or two, as well, and she's starting to grin. "Tom, I'll be happy to work on smacking you around after Johnny, here, is done showin' me I'm not all that." She can make a joke of it, she knows when she's outclassed and doesn't mind anyway.
Peggy smiles at the unsettling man. "Okay! Thanks!" She turns toward Tom and blinks. "...Why behind me?" Peggy asks. She glances at Duncan, and back to Tom. "Umn. Are you... inebriated? Right now?" Practice sword in hand, she sidles closer to Duncan, who is less... scruffy.
A fresh warm spring breeze, smelling of roses, gunmetal, and copious amounts of vodka, blows into the room and ruffles hair everywhere, then settles down. Kowal is in the house. There's a Polish-sounding whisper near Dielle: ~I'll fix the boo-boos. Not in fighting form right now, hahaha.~
Itsuki arrives with Teagan, the normally more reserved Nakamura chattering about something when they come into sight of the training grounds, the bun falling silent and black ears perking up as he looks over the cavern, head tilting back to examine it.
Itsuki is wearing a big black hoodie, although this one is nicer and newer and fluffier than his usual. Also actual winter pants.
Dielle nods as an inebriated Kowal shows up. "Hey, if anyone wants healing from Kowal, remember to offer him food. He doesn't have to accept it. Same thing for me, although he's got the full dealio and I'm only good for bruising and concussions and shit like that." She adds to Kowal, "There's goodies in the cooler, although no booze, Kowal!" Because she ain't no dummy. "Hey, Teagan, Itsuki. You joining in the fighting? If so, practice weaponry is over there." She points with a knife.
The Summer Shadow, preceded and accompanied by the Mantle that Ashe's player called THE HELL MANTLE, being as it is broiling Summer heat and crackles of static and the scent of asphalt, walks alongside Itsuki, their hands in their pockets. The androgynous Darkling that is Teagan is followed by a puddle of shadows that dog their heels faithfully, and they listen to Itsuki with a vague, contented smile sliding across their face. They nod along as Itsuki chatters, cheerfully so. "Cheech, I am offering you the chocolate bar in my pocket," they announce as a way of greeting, reaching out and resting a hand briefly on Itsy's back familiarly. "Oh, I didn't know I was invited. Sure, can do. What are the rules?" Read: exactly how hard can Darklings cheat?
"Tipsy, sweetheart, tipsy," Tom informs Peggy. He is clearly not kidding that sword-handling is not something he does. He picks up one of the practice weapons as if he expects it to light up and make vwoop-woop noises, swishing it with an air of disappointment and no little visible lack of skill. Don't hold it like that, cat, and don't hit...oops. Other swords clatter. He steps back as if to ensure that something else gets blamed. Talking wind, maybe.
Duncan gives a laugh for Tom's somewhat rambling explanation and shakes his head at the cat. Bad kitty. "My money would be on 'yes,'" he says to Peggy's question for Tom. But they're here for training. "Okay, so who am I fighting? Both of you?" He looks to Peggy, "Just you?" Seeing the woman already has a practice sword in hand, the storm-elemental goes to fetch himself one as well. He's not particular, grabbing the first one within reach. There's a nod to the newcomers as he grabs himself a weapon.
Vorpal glances aside as some more familiar faces arrive, lifting a hand to wave at both Teagan and the bun with him. "Hey! Itsuki, Teagan! Pleasure t'see you both." He glances to Dielle and gestures vaguely back towards the growing crowd. "What do you think, as far as pairs go? And as for ground rules, while you're at it, Captain."
And the Damion is there! Why wasn't he here before? Mind your business, that's why. The big dragon comes into the Hollow, wearing jeans and a tee. He glances around the area, trying to get a feel for who's doing what with who.
"Maybe just me to start," Peggy tells Duncan, casting some side-eye at Tom. "He kind of has a mess to clean up." Does Peggy understand cats? Who knows? She waves over in Teagan and Itsuki's direction, calling out a chirpy, "Hello! I'm Peggy!" Dielle is given a confused look - Kowal whatnow? - but she's hear to learn, so she smiles at Duncan. "Are there drills to do first? Movements to learn?"
Dielle considers and says, "Ground rules. No Contracts. Fair fights only, this is for training more than practice. By fair, I mean that if you're workin' with someone who don't know shit, teach them. If you want to spar, there are more people, give a yell and find another partner and I'll fill in, instead. Vorpal, I think maybe I should step back, you mind finding another partner? Sorry, but we've got plenty of time." She makes an open-armed gesture, and says, "If you guys want to join, please do. Rules of hospitality and all that." She backs up, shaking her head and looking almost overwhelmed for a moment.
Damion makes his way over to where Captain Ed is laying down the ground rules of the fight. "Contracts are out again, huh? Fine with me. Hello all." He raises a hand to those he recognizes, and those he doesn't. "Reaches over to ruffle Itsukis hoodie. "I brought you something." Gesturing at who accompanied him here."
"Absolutely, Captain. Those rules make sense to me." Vorpal glances around at the others, scritching at the back of his neck with his free hand. "As a suggestion? If you feel like you're pretty experienced, I think we oughtta stand aside, so the less experienced folks can pair up. As a thought." He moves towards the least populated area of the room, leaving the more crowded area the de facto bunny slope.
Heh.
Itsuki falls mostly silent as Teagan is pulled into the fighting, shaking his head. "Just here to watch. Promised I wouldn't fight. But also I wouldn't anyway cuz I would suck at it." The bun goes white as Vorpal waves at him. Literally, black and fuzzy ears turning to a snowy white. Granted, the chiaroscuro Fairest's shading tends to change all the time, for dramatic effect or no reason at all as he just stares at the godling a minute, brow furrowing before waving in relief as Damion and his brother arrive. "Hey!"
Haruki's here with Damion, sticking really close to the dragon, trying to soak in some of his heat.. He's dressed casually as well, though bundled up for the cold. "Someone. Not thing." He murmurs under his breath, but his smile is a warm, affectionate one, even if there's an edge of nervousness to him. Haruki's gaze keeps flickering around, uncomfortably, trying to see who he does and doesn't recognise.
~Chooooocolate...~ the Czcibor-sounding wind whispers with an almost obscene love. ~If my heart did not belong to another, Teagan, you'd've seduced me right then and there.~
Itsuki blinks in confusion as the vodka-scented cloud starts talking.
"Right," Duncan says to Peggy. He looks down at the fallen weapons, then over to Tom, and he makes no move to clean it up himself. The cat probably won't, but you never know. Instead the Elemental sets off toward his opponent. He squares up a few paces in front of Peggy and lifts his sword. Drills? That gets a laugh. "Try and stick me with the pointy end," he suggests.
Tom clutches sword handle to his heart as if wounded, either by the suggestion he should clean something or perhaps by the suggestion of fighting fair. He certainly makes no visible effort to pick anything up that someone (not him, of course) has knocked over, nor to jump in the combat. Instead, he...gets the bottle again and leans somewhere to watch while holding the sword. This is Step One.
"Hey," greets the Shadow to Peggy. "Teagan. Summer, Squire of the Broken Bough." A beat. "Well, I came to watch sweaty guys with you, I ain't gotta fight," Teagan points out to Itsuki easily, and when Itsuki goes white? The Darkling's distracted, reaching a hand to rest it between Itsuki's shoulderblades. They lean in and murmur something to the bunny. Dielle's rules are acknowledged with a thumbs-up, but their attention is mostly on Itsuki for the time being. They make no move, either, to surrender the rusty, bloody-edged machete hanging at their hip.
Did someone? Something? just mention chocolate. For Haruki moves his backpack off of his shoulder and starts digging around inside. From within he removes a bag filled with chocolates, which he thrusts at Itsuki. Sweets. And then he's sidling over towards Dielle, with another bag of chocolates to offer her. Dielle likes sweets? It's probably not the time or the place, and he'll skiter back to where Itsuki is.
Damion looks down at Haruki and smiles. "Right, someone." He ruffles his head too. Then he loks over to where Duncan stands with Peggy. He tilts his head, watching curiously. He does say to Teagan, "Hey again. Doing okay?" Then he calls out to the unicorn, "How you enjoying this job, DL?"
Peggy's nose wrinkles for a moment. "Oh. No basics first, huh?" She frowns, then darts forward to thrust the practice sword in Duncan's direction. So, good things: she's not just trying to poke him with it, she's moving forward. She's not being timid about it. That would be a healthy prod if it connected. Bad things: she telegraphs it like crazy and it is so, so easy to dodge. She's a bit lost in concentration, and can perhaps be forgiven for neglecting her waving and hellos.
"Cut 'em with the sharp edge," Teagan informs Peggy, as if that's all the training the Darkling ever got. It's total deadpan, though, with a lopsided smile offered, something that passes as quickly as lightning flashing. They hang out by Itsuki for the moment, though they wink at Vorpal in greeting, and tip their chin up at Damion. "Hey, again. Yeah, I'm good." As the Spring Break Vodka Tornado that is Czcibor whorls past them, they droll back, "Oh, Cheech, my friend, I am way too much for you to handle. It's okay."
Dielle waves at Damion and her eyes get /very/ big. "I wasn't expectin' this big a turn-out. Think they may have to be a regular thing. How you doin', Dragon?" She takes the chocolate and looks at it, then laughs and says, "Haruki, better offer some this to Kowal over there." And she points. "He's a healer type. And if you ain't gonna fight, no need to worry about it."
Itsuki's ears drop a little as he relaxes, nodding at something Teagan said but looking not wholly convinced. He ooohs at bag of chocolate and grabs a hold of his twin as Haruki comes over, hanging close to him. But still confused by the talking vodka-cloud as he squints in its general direction, looking to Teagan for possible explanations.
"No," Duncan says to Peggy. No basics first. He sidesteps her thrust without much trouble, steps forward, and then pivots. His sword arm swing his own weapon in an arc aimed for her back, try and whack her across the shoulders with the practice blade.
Teagan's wink is returned by the godling standing on his own, studying the crowd. He raises his voice to call out, "If you consider yourself a more experienced fighter and want a sparring partner, come stand over near me! It'll make more room for the fresh faces to find more suitable match-ups!"
You know. If you want to go stand near the terribly Wyrd fellow literally radiating a sense of sublimely divine strangeness. It's -ever- so inviting, truly it is.
Peggy sucks in a sharp breath of air and stumbles forward a step or two. No crying out, though. Not even an 'ow'. She turns herself toward Duncan again and swings out with the sword as she does so, lips pursed with concentration. It's a good try. It's not gonna succeed. This will perhaps be a long night for Peggy.
"They are for you." Haruki says to Dielle. "Thankyou for inviting me. Thankyou. I wasn't sure what you'd like." He's looking a bit worried now. "I didn't know Kowal wanted chocolates too. I think I've some left." He digs around in his backpack and removes one of pink and red foil wrapped hearts. These were definitley not for Czcibor but nevermind, they're all he has left. And he's shuffling over that way to offer them wordlessly, no eye-contact, before hurrying back. "Should have brought enough for the class." He mumbles to himself. "Selfish. Rude."
Tom studies his sword. It's really something to behold, this staredown. It involves him nearly mishandling the sharp end and...yes...licking the handle. How else is he going to know where to start? After he's satisfied himself of the taste and then washed it away with still more booze, Tom enacts Step Two of his plan. This involves weaving for the exit with his practice weapon, which he has claimed by licking, and not finding a practice partner as directed. He might inadvertently find one if someone decides to step in, of course, but he's seeming to be taking the cover of the sudden influx of people and the ongoing fight to sneak out again.
Damion says down to the two rabbits and the andrgoynous rocker-ish person with him, "I guess he subscribes to the teaching without actually teaching school of linstruction. Interesting choice. Not what I'd have gone with myself." Then he says over to Dielle, "Hitting each other tends to be popular, yeah." He notes Harukis reactions and frowns a little. "You don't HAVE to give away all your stuff, hon. Not like you can be epxected to carry enough for everybody that happens to show up."
Dielle shakes her head. "Haruki, the offer is because Kowal is a healer, and the offering of food means that he can do some healing for free. It's not about sharing with the class, it's about magic." She gets distracted by Tom licking the handle, and looks surprised. Then clearly decides that it's either a cat thing or a sex thing and either way, she don't wanna know from it. But since Haruki's said that it's a present for her, she hugs her chocolates and has a look of mine-mine-mine-aaaaallll-mine.
Itsuki lean-hugs against Haruki. "It's okay. We can share mine too if anyone wants. Thanks for bringing it." The (slightly) smaller Nakamura offers Damion some of his chocolate too, and nodding at Dielle's reassurance. "See? It's fine." Some of his attention goes tow atching the actual sparring match of course, watching D uncan and Peggy swing at each other. He doesn't know what good swordsmanship is so is just enjoying the spectacle. He doesn't notice the cat sneaking away with the sword of course, although his player probably appreciates it.
Duncan grins at Peggy's renewed attack, enjoying some part of the obviously one-sided contest. He parries her blow and steps back, opening the distance and passing on a chance to counter-attack himself. "Good effort," he tells her. It's acknowledgement, if not exactly encouragement. "I'm better than you." He shrugs as if to say 'so what?' "What are you going to do now?"
"It's not that different from some of the ways I learnt," Teagan answers Damion casually. "Got my ass kicked a lot but I cam out tougher." They arch an eyebrow at Vorpal and offer, "Ain't nobody can hit your ass without trickery, and Dielle already said I can't use trickery, so, who you think's gonna fight you?" That's definitely good-natured, and maybe even vaguely affectionate. A flash of their even white teeth toward Vorpal, and then... "... is... that ... Tom... is Tom licking that sword? And... stealing it?" They wrinkle up their forehead confusedly. "Uhhh."
Peggy is holding her sword a bit like a baseball bat at the moment. She blinks at Duncan. "Thank you? Are we...? I'm sorry, did you want to stop?" She lowers her practice blade. Her cheeks have flushed gold again. "I mean, we both know you're better than me. We both knew that before we even started."
Haruki listens to Dielle, surprised. He nods at what she says. "Magic. Offerings." He nods. "Bowls of milk. Salt. Grains of rice. Bread crumbs. Carrots and cookies and whisky. Wine." He's looking embarassed and uncomfortable and he leans against Itsuki, twitching a bit.. of the fighting. And he pressed something into one of Damion's large hands. His gaze is darting everywhere. "Steaaaling." He murmurs.
"Come now, let's be honest, not everyone here -knows- they can't hit me," protests Vorpal in the direction of the other Shadow. He wanders back towards the group of folks, seemingly bored of standing on his divine lonesome, and heads towards the only active brawl, watching Duncan goad Peggy to find ways to improve. "If I may? You seem. Faster than you are powerful. If you let the weight of the sword do more work, using momentum and gravity more than muscle, you can save your strength to guide the blows instead of power them. Does that make sense? Or would you like a demonstration?"
Duncan hasn't lowered his own guard, and when he sees Peggy's arms go down he takes a step foward and jabs at her in the stomach with a quick thrust. Apparently that's a no, he did not want to stop. "What are you going to do about it?" he repeats the question to her.
Dielle says, "Hey, now. I said no Contracts. If you can fight dirty, fight dirty, it's not magic so it's fair." Apparently, she's got some WEIRD ideas about what constitutes a fair fight. "Peggy, may I suggest you try hitting Duncan a few times in a row? And try to keep your movements small. You ain't swingin' a baseball bat, you're using a sword and it ain't much like what you see in the movies. Movements tend to be precise...Vorpal, go ahead and demonstrate, let Peggy see what it should look like. Peggy, back up a bit, you don't wanna be in the way of them if they go at it." She winces as Peggy gets hit, but hey, it's how you learn, sometimes.
Peggy jumps, but it's late. She got poked in the belly. Her free hand - that's the right one - touched her midsection where she was struck. Frowning, she looks from Duncan to Vorpal, and to Dielle. Back to Vorpal. Peggy steps aside, watching intently.
Damion smiles down at Itsuki, "It's fine. Thatnks Itsy." Then he turns his attnetion back to the fight. At Vorpals words, one of his brows raise. "Yes, I definetly don't know that myself." He looks down at whatever it is Haruki pressed into his hand, then looks up and calls out to Duncan, "Just a thought. Letting a less experinced person get better by fighting somebody is one thing. It doesn't work so good when the person literally doesn't even know how to hold the sword at all. Might want to wait for the 'Try to push what you can do' stuff for when she at least has the basics down."
Is it really stealing after you've frenched the equipment? Who will want it after? That might be Tom's logic. Or his logic might simply be: Mine now. Kitty brains, not the most complicated. As stealing goes, it's fairly brazen, since it's jauntily resting on his shoulder as he's heading to the exit. He even salutes the room with it before leaving, nearly smacking himself with it. Kitty tilts his head, and pauses briefly to watch Peggy get poked in her match, a small distraction from his sneak-off exit. "What you're gonna do about it is not be nice! BE THE MONSTER YOU WISH TO SEE IN THE WORLD," he advises. "Failing that, kick him in the gilhoolies." Awww. He moderated his language just for Peggy. And then -- out he goes. Cat plus stolen weapon plus booze. Watch the news for the followup.
There's a chorus of advice, so Duncan too steps a step back. He raises his practice weapon and his other hand both. "Hey, the Captain asked me to give her some pointers," the storm-elemental is sounding more than a little annoyed at all the kibitzing. "Someone else wants to do it? Go for it." The suggestion that he take on Vorpal instead draws Duncan's focus back to the shadowed guy with the crazy Wyrd. He tilts his head and gives a good natured chuckle. "We doing this?" His weapon lowers to a guard postion.
"My fighting dirty involves lots of contracts, Dee," explains Teagan, casually lounging near Itsuki. Their left hand drops to rest on the handle of their machete. "Which, like, I get why, for the purposes of the exercise. But I fight dirty with contracts." They don't seem offended, mostly just amused. "Anyway, like, I could fight someone. If someone wants to." Their fractured-mirror eyes glitter sharply .
Vorpal nods towards Dielle, and returns to the weapon rack momentarily, returning the knife in his hands and trading it for a heavy, one-handed sword. He holds it more confidently than Peggy, but it's clearly weightier than he's comfortable with. As Duncan peers his way and chuckles, taking the ready stance, Vorpal does the same. "Peggy, this is what you're doing." Vorpal moves in towards Duncan, swinging the sword towards Duncan. It's not... -bad-, to be honest, but he's forcing the blade to move, fighting gravity, fighting momentum, wasting energy. It's not overly hard to block his blows- Duncan likely has an easy time turning aside the overly controlled blows. "You fight its weight. Fight its movement. Try to argue with the sword. MAKE it do what you want. This- is not- clever, unless you're -strong- enough to make the sword do what you like, unless you're -stronger- than gravity and momentum."
Peggy's head bobs, lips pressed together thoughtfully. Her ponytail swings with the movement, glinting pure gold. "Don't argue with the sword. Okay." Her voice is quiet, but serious. Intent.
Damion teagan= :nods.
Itsuki counter-leans against Haruki, the bun moving to find a sit spot nearby and starting to relax, ears falling calmly back as he pats the ground to drag their little watching group down. "You guys going to go next?" This apparently directed at Teagan and Damion, as he watches the more experienced Lost walk Peggy through the basics in her duel with Duncan.
Seeing that Vorpal is only trying to make a point, Duncan cooperates by stepping back a bit to keep distance while parrying the blow aimed his way. There's clear impatience with this from the Summer Elemental, but he's trying to be a good sport about it. "She needs to figure out what she can do," he counters. "Before you start telling her how to do it."
Haruki leans in against Itsuki, letting himself be dragged wherever. He sits down and closed his eyes a moment. He's not comfortable at all. He pulls his own hood down over his face.
Damion notes over to Teagan, "There's gonna be times you're out of Glamour, or just can't use contracts for whatever reason. It's important to have your basic skills up to snuff too. So practice can't hurt." He looks over at the others, and his brows draw together. "I can tell you right now. If you've never used a sword before, what you can do is 'Not know how to use a sword'. Plus if you go too long you can start building up instincts that are wrong. Show them a basic stance, how to hold the sword properly, and how to do basic cutting and thrusting. Then let them experiment and see what they're inclined towards."
Dielle says, peaceably, "Sometimes that's best done by demonstration, Duncan. Wasn't tryin' to critique your teachin' ability." She continues to stand near Peggy and adds, "Although for future sessions, if it's here, it's gonna be Harvestmen only and ask if Vorpal minds if we use the Aspire for mixed sessions. And I don't mind the audience for this one, but for the future ones, if you show up, be prepared to participate." She doesn't sound angry, just decided.
"Oh, I know it," Teagan answers Damion, "But that's why it's good, for one, to know what the catches on your important contracts are and be sure you're always satisfying them." (Don't think too hard about the catch for Smoke 5 and how Teagan always has it satisfied.) "And I didn't say I couldn't fight without fighting dirty, but this knife-sharp fucker -- " and there they swing their Squire machete loosely off their hip and use it to gesture at Vorpal, "-- is no one I can fight without tricks." They swing the machete loosely, slide it back into its ring holster. "You, on the other hand," they cheerfully inform Damion, "I think I could fight just fine without tricks." Broad, sharp smile, there. "Ah, well," they sigh at Dielle. "I'd fight, but." Ain't nobody taken them up on it.
Peggy takes a deep breath. "I didn't mean for this to become a... thing," she says. She nods once, firmly. "So. Who can show me the basics, please? I want to learn."
"What're catches?" Haruki asks. "What're the catches to the contracts." He looks up, over at Dielle a moment, then says to those he's surrounded by. "I don't think there's anyone for me to fight here. I thought there'd be some beginners."
"No," counters Vorpal, dancing back a pace abruptly, casting aside the heavier blade to skitter into open ground. "First, she needs to know what she -can't- do. Before she starts exploring what she can. Dolphins don't learn to dive if they're still trying to figure out how to swim through air. Delineate the bad choices. Then start honing the good ones." He nods in Damion's direction, though the more practical explanation probably makes tons more sense than his own.
"So. Let's see what it looks like," Vorpal says, pulling a large knife out of what seems like thin air. Sharp eyes can note him pulling it free from the small of his back and flipping it up to be flourished "into existence" by his other hand. "-to work WITH your weapon. Watch closely."
And then Vorpal goes on the offensive again. This time, it's no clumsy, ham-handed wrestling match with the blade. This time, he's letting the weight of the blade flow into his blows, uses that momentum to recover his balance, reroutes it into another strike. He's not aiming to dismantle Duncan, just to demonstrate technique. "Don't stay extended, strike and retract. Not -retreat-, mind, but retract. Always strike from a position of strength, of balance. Not of weakness, or-" And here he intentionally does just that, giving Duncan a glaring hole in his defenses to exploit.
Damion rolls his eyes at Teagan. "Oh, you do huh? Fine then. Lets see." He stretches, then heads over to the weapon racks. He looks for a nice, blunt training sword that's on the bigger side and lifts it. He gives it a few swings, then notes to Haruki, "Basically things you do that make the contract not take any energy on your part. Like earlier, with being able to heal somebody who has given you food. It varies for each thing you do." He moves over to a different area, and motions Teagan over. "Grab a practice blade. Using that thing in a sparring match is a bit overkill." Then he glances at the other sparring match before saying to Peggy, "I did say I'll give you some lessons. We can start those tonight if you'd like."
Dielle says, "Ok, quit criticizing Duncan for having a different teaching method than you do. I've had people teach me like that, too. Works better for some than for others but it's still a method." She takes a breath and lets out and pats Peggy's shoulder. "S'all good." She opens her mouth to answer Haruki, but since Damion does it first, she closes it again.
"Sword may not even be right for her," Duncan retorts to Damion. Then Vorpal comes at him again. Doink. Doink. Doink. The Elemental has little trouble deflecting each of the demonstration strikes, but then that's the point of the exercise. Not that he looks to be enjoying it. The opening is noted and Duncan gives Vorpal a sort of 'seriously?' look. Then he takes it, slashing downward at the other man's right collar bone with his practice weapon.
Peggy smiles a bit at Dielle. Still blushing gold, though. She bites her bottom lip and keeps watching Vorpal and Duncan. Again, intently. Like she can memorize everything if she just watches well enough.
Haruki nods at what Damion says. "Where can I find a list? Or who should I ask? Is that something you can use against your opponent to exhaust them?" He looks at Peggy and then asks her. "What's it you want to learn? Swords? Something else? Or you just trying to improve at what you already know?"
"I could walk through a mirror if I..." Itsuki frowns, the bun's brows furrowing together in thought. "I can't remember. There was a way to do it for um, yeah, for free though. But it's all pretty fuzzy..." He trails off as others explain it better.
"NO!" Haruki says to Itsuki. "DOn't walk through mirrors. Bad bad bad. You'll get lost or stuck or whatever comes out the other side won't be you. They're bad bad bad bd bad!"
Vorpal takes the hit with a hiss, reclaiming his balance and pulling back a pace, rolling his shoulder. "-or that happens. A smart opponent won't let gaps like that pass. A CLEVER opponent will create gaps that look like that, meant to draw you in and expose -yourself- trying to capitalize on their weakness. Fighting is a mindgame as much as it is physical competition." He gestures towards Peggy and her sword. "Do you think you have a little better idea of what you're working towards? Duncan's right, blades may not be what you settle on- but for now, it's as good as anything else."
Dielle walks over to Haruki and Itsuki. She looks annoyed. "Gentlemen. If you're here to watch or participate, then do so. If you plan to have an argument, get the fuck out. Don't disrupt MY people while we're trying to practice and teach." She sounds pissed.
"Catches, Haruki," Teagan explains, "Are like how people offer food to Czcibor. If someone has offered food to Czcibor within the last day, he can use the first clause of the Eternal Spring contract on them without having to put any oomph behind it. For the real heals, you gotta tell Cheech you love him -- and mean it. So if you know how to make contracts work without putting the oomph behind it, then, you know, you can use your tricks if you run dry." They absently spin their machete again, unhooking their machete from their hip. "I dunno about mirrors, couldn't tell you about that one. But, you don't get stuck in mirrors, I'm still alive because someone knew how to mirrorwalk. Anyway." They slide their coat off, and wrap it around the blade as if they're swaddling up an infant, setting it up on top of the weapons locker with a mild, uncertain expression on their face. "I'm the one who started the conversation about contracts," they offer to Dielle, "ain't their fault really, Dee." A practice machete? Why, Teagan thinks they shall, thank you much. "Aight, dragon," they address Damion. "Pick your spot, and let's see what you've got."
Damion shrugs over at Duncan, "Entirely possible. Maybe she's better suited to knives, or something else. You have to start somewhere though. And swords are pretty basic. Fighting with a knife is harder." He glances over at Haruki, and raises a brow. "Well...you can't use Contracts yourself, hon. And it's more something that's convenient when you can do it than things you can use all the time. Lot of the catches are pretty situtational, or something you don't really want to have to do if you can avoid. Like, at least one clause of a Contract I know of can be activated for free if you see somebody you care about badly hurt or killed. If I knew that one already, I really would not want to be able to use the catch." He takes his stance in a cleared area, then motions the andgrogyne Summer towards him. "Come at me then."
Duncan gives a grunt of acknowledgement when Vorpal takes the blow. He's seen the man in action and has some idea how quick he is. The conversations among those watching don't get much of his attention, as he remains focused on this 'opponent' until the demonstration is clearly over. Then Duncan steps back to disengage. "Get yourself a gun," he advises Peggy. "It's easier." The Elemental looks around at the smallish crowd that's gathered, then back to Dielle. He chuckles in a way that still sounds a bit irritated, even though he says, "Don't worry about me, Captain. I've got a right thick skin."
"Guns don't always work in the Hedge," Peggy tells Duncan with a crooked little smile. She nods to Vorpal. "I think I understand the idea? I'll have to practice. And for now I can watch. Maybe after your fight, Damion, you can go through the basics with me?"
Haruki's eyes go wide as Dielle scolds him. He begins to tremble and nods, just shutting up as he tries to move behind someone... anyone for protection. And while he hears Teagan, and he nods at what they say too, he doesn't answer. "Sorry." He mumbles. He sighs as Damion says ge can't use contracts and there's a mumbled. "Useless."
Itsuki looks a little surprised at Haruki's insistence, but pats his arm. "Okay. I won't. Was just... something I remembered from-" He pauses as Dielle marches over. Ears going back to attention as he scoots back a bit instinctively, "I'm sorry! I wasn't- I mean we weren't-" He seems completely caught flat-footed.
The Mirrorskin crouches, and unlaces their boots, kicking out of them. So, interesting note for people who haven't seen Teagan anything but totally covered up before -- because Teagan is so often completely covered up -- their arms are long and muscular, the back-of-the-mirror metallics tattooed up and down with smooth, arcing black lines that intertwine, and in between them are sets of 5 hash marks, scattered. Counting coup, perhaps. On the back of their right wrist is their name, in bright green calligraphy, and on the back of their left wrist, in the glimmering silver ink that can only be Hedgespun, typeface-style writing reads: 'this machine kills rapists.' Their feet? Look like they've just stepped in fresh blood, always, even though they leave no bloody footprints behind. Teagan takes one deep breath, and then another, and coughs sharply, before falling into a loose fighting stance, turned sideways toward Damion. Their face slowly shifts and slides, becoming slightly more femme for whatever reason, and they bring the practice machete up, swinging it easily. "C'mon, Damion, let's have it."
Dielle still looks pissed and says, "Not useless. Different." Like even thinking he's useless has her annoyed all over again. "Different skill set. Doesn't mean useless. And don't apologize, but remember why you're here and decide what you want to learn and what direction you want to go. Both of you. Every actual rabbit I ever met could kick and scratch and claw if necessary. And they fight each other. And plenty of humans do the same. If you want to learn this, that's why you're here. If you don't, then that's fine, but be courteous." She takes a breath, lets it out and goes back over to where Peggy stands, and surveys those actually fighting. Like she's really trying to either learn something herself or assess the fighters.
Vorpal turns back towards Teagan and Damion, but they've started their own match, so he heads towards Dielle instead... which... is GREAT news for the Icki brothers. "So what'd I miss while I let myself get smacked for the education of the next generation?"
Is the wind laughing? Yes. Yes, the drunk wind is laughing.
Speaking of removing clothes, Damion peels his shirt off and tosses it aside. For anybody who hasn't seen HIM naked... there's no tattoos or scars or anything anwhere that really stands out. Just a lot of red-scaled muscle. He leaves his own shoes on, taking a two-handed stance with his considerably longer blade. He studies the currently more femme androgyne a few moments, then he's coming at her. His style is more about power than finesse, though he's not clumsy or anything. He just leads from the starts with a strong overhanded blow at one shoulder, putting his full strength into it and bringing the sword down hard.
Haruki leans against Itsuki. He just nods at Dielle. And then there's a shirtless Damion about to fight, so he looks over that way.
Dielle sees Damion stripping and says, "You missed me losing my temper and my night getting muuuuch better. Damn." Then she realizes something. "Oh, FUCK." She walks back over and sits down next to Itsuki and says, very quietly, "You brought a non-freeholder to the Harvestmen hollow. What the ever-loving fuck?" She doesn't yell at him, just talks very quietly, so as not to be heard over the noise of people fighting.
Seeing as things are done and Peggy is now shopping around for another trainer, Duncan strides purposefully over to store his practice sword back in the rack. There's a brief glance toward the other fighters gettting ready to spar, but the Storm is already headed for the exit. His winds are already blowing someplace else.
-> >> Teagan to Here << <-============================================
Rolled 8 Successes for an exceptional success.
< 1 2 2 2 3 5 6 6 7 7 8 8 8 9 10 10 10 10 >
-> >> Wits + Subterfuge.Blank_as_an_Empty_Mirror + 2 + 1 9-Again << <-==
Itsuki is so distracted by shirtless Damion for a few moments that he barely even notices the shadowy godling stalking over, until he does and then also Dielle's back and yelling and screaming at him and pulling his ears. Or that's what he's reacting like anyway, the bun's eyes going wide as he looks at Haruki, leaning back and against his twin protectively, "Wha- but- I definitely- Aniki is too in the freehold! He swore an oath and everything!" The monochromatic rabbit's ears are standing straight up, a hunch to his shoulders as he fights off a flight instinct.
Vorpal looks between Dielle and Damion a moment. "... you really -do- have a type, don't you?" He laughs, pleasantly enough, before shifting to watch the beginning spar with a notable degree of interest. He misses Itsuki's reaction to him, and perhaps even the comment made to Itsuki entirely as he studies the two warriors getting ready to go at it.
The Mirrorskin's eyebrows go up slightly when Damion strips his shirt off, and their face shimmers and shifts; they give little to nothing away, though. Teagan is a blank mirror, almost always, and today is no different. They give nothing away about their motivations, or which way they will move. Damion's movements with the more powerful weapon make him move slower than the Mirrorskin, who simply... dodges. They move fluidly out of the way, stepping aside and circling easily. Their fractured-mirror eyes glitter and shimmer, some sort of unreadable emotion playing across their metallic skin. "Oh, come on," they droll toward Damion. "And here I thought you wanted to tap this ass, you can't even touch this ass."
Dielle says to Vorpal, "I just appreciate a good show. No, that ain't true, I totally got a type." She turns back to Itsuki and says, "Not Haruki. Teagan. Please do calm down, I ain't gonna do anything to you. I ain't even gonna yell.
Haruki stands in front of Itsuki, to protect him. "But Itsy doesn't even know how to get here." He says firmly. "He doesn't even go. It must have been Damion? But he's sworn and promised." He's looking confused. "And so am I." And Teagan isn't. "If they're here they already knew how and they must have... Itsy doesn't know how."
Damion quirks a brow at the Mirrorskin when they make the comment about tapping asses. "Sure you're not projecting there, Tea?" He begins to spin his weapon around him slowly as he approaches hera gain, watching how her body moves as he does. Each of the movements could become a swing, or thrust. Then he's moving otwards her again, lashing out with a quicker blow aimed at her side. He is quicker than you'd expect for his size. And he handles the weapon as though it weighs nothing.
Dielle says to Vorpal, "I just appreciate a good show. No, that ain't true, I totally got a type." She turns back to Itsuki and says, "Not Haruki. Teagan. Please do calm down, I ain't gonna do anything to you. I ain't even gonna yell. This is the Harvestmen hollow and I'm gonna be all kinds of hospitable because they're here, but an invitation to you and Haruki ain't the same as "invite anyone you want to bring." And bringing a non-freeholder to a freehold place without permission ain't something you should do, ever, it just ain't done. Please remember that for next time. Haruki, sit down, I didn't bite Rorschach when he tried to eat my face, I ain't gonna eat either of you."
"Oh..." The color drains from Itsy's face. I mean there wasn't any but even more so, the shading starker as the bun processes that. "Oh." Well, at least he looks calmer, biting his lip and tugging at Haruki's sleeve as he shakes his head, "I... I'm sorry. I didn't know they weren't... I thought..." He looks at Teagan, maybe hoping they'll say oh actually I just joined yesterday. Maybe?
A slight roll of their shoulders. "I don't lack willing partners, Dragon," Teagan drolls. "Got no need to project. But, you know. Whatever makes you feel better." Their manner of speaking never beaks its casual way, even as he cuts and thrusts toward them. They just keep dodging, for now, backing slowly around in a circle, their practice machete swinging. It spins in their hand as if it's a part of them, as if it is merely an extension of their arm. "Oooh. Better luck next time," they droll, smiling sharply, briefly.
"You invited Teagan?" Haruki asks Itsuki. "They didn't trick you? You..." he looks so disappointed and worried and scared. And he looks at Dielle. "How do we make it right? How do we fix it? This is bad and dangerous. We didn't mean to compromise your security and let a spy in but that doesn't change that we did."
GAME: Teagan spends 1 Glamour with reason: oh no it's a harbinger doing a bad luck to damion oh noooo
"I know Teagan, so for this one time, y'all got a pass, with the understanding that if it happens again, I'm gonna lose my shit. I'm also going to arbitrarily decide that if it's Harvestmen-only, it's here and if it's any freeholder, it's in the Aspire. I don't think this can really be fixed, but understanding the enormity of what you did goes a long way towards fixin' my upset." Dielle takes a long breath and lets it out. "Helps that they're a Squire of the Broken Bough and so it's not like you invited just anyone. But it's why I'm askin' you both to check with me before inviting anyone else. And one of you needs to accompany them out, although that person could be Damion, too, I'll go for that." She realizes she's still holding the chocolate and pulls out two pieces and offers one each to Haruki and Itsuki as a peace offering.
Vorpal rubs at his shoulder as the drama unfolds behind him, seemingly unconcerned while he watches Teagan face off with Damion. He checks once to see if drunkwind is still around, but for the most part? There's a fight. That's where he seems to be focused.
"I. Just me. Aniki didn't... I didn't tell him. I wasn't thinking. I'm sorry." Itsuki looks miserable and takes the chocolate, barely even tasting all the delicious sugar.
"Damion is a freeholder and a harvestman." Haruki says. "That's why I went with him. And we will check with him. Or with you. How do we make sure someone is those things? But we don't know the way anywhere." He offers Itsuki his chocolate too. "But we should have asked and doublechecked and made sure. And we will next time. It will never, ever happen again. It's easy to forget that not everyone is sworn and promised."
Damion just keeps coming at Teagan since she's not fighting back, one blow after another trying to catch the nimble mirrorskin. They're about to deliver another hard chop when they become unsteady for a moment, blinking as weakness briefly settles into their muscles and they let out a grunt.
Dielle says, "Sorry, Haruki, I didn't realize you had nothing to do with it. And you can always ask another Lost if they're in the freehold. It's entirely allowable. Because it IS easy to forget. Stop beating yourselves up over it, don't do it again, and we'll call it good. Ok, you two are gonna have to excuse me, I really wanna go see how good Vorpal is." She gets up, and says, "Hey! Johnny! FITE ME!" It's easy to see how she used to be Summer.
Drunkwind is still around; the scent's still in the air. But he is apparently not paying much attention to anything, just waiting for someone to yell OW or for someone's dramatic failure to end up creating a sucking chest wound with weapons that don't do damage.
With no more banter coming from Damion, there's no more banter, for the moment, from Teagan, just a vague wryness breaking their otherwise totally blank expression. When Damion loses their balance, though, the Mirrorskin finally swings in with their machete, sliding a half-step aside and coming in -- hopefully -- under his guard, toward his side. Their bloody feet move quickly across the floor, and if they realize they're being talked about, they don't show it. At all. Fucking Mirrorskins.
As the Mirrorskin slices into his side with her blade, Damion lets out a slight grunt. It's a blunt weapon, so it doesn't actually cut him of course. But there's still an impact, only somewhat dulled by the natural armor his Summer Mantle gives him. However he also takes a hand away from his blade. Long enough to deliver a lightning-fast jab at the jaw of the Darkling.
"Czcibor," Haruki asks the air. "Where are you? Are you drunk? The air smells drunk. I gave you chocolates. Only I dunno if it was you. They're for you anyway. I can't love you yet. Is it like romantic love or just friend love or like how you love a hot air balloon ride in the middle of winter." He's mostly speaking to himself it woudl seem, a bit vague now Itsy's gone quiet. "Thought there was going to be someon emy skill level so I could fight. Everyone is scary. Is like a movie only I'm just the comic relief."
Vorpal perks up as he's addressed in such a deliciously direct manner. He whirls, elegant even in his haste, and grins her way, flourishing the practice knife and moving to a clear spot where he can face her. "Come, then! Cry Havoc, and let loose the rainbow sparkle unicorns of war!" He offers a flourish of a bow before she's quite in position, and adopts a defensive stance, blade between them.
Now Damion lands a blow on Teagan's jaw, which knocks them a step or three off-course; they recover smoothly, shaking their head just the once, and their smile beomes all the sharper. They flip the machete around in their hand, spinning it helicopter-like almost so that their blade can come 'round at his back, this time. The color of the skin on their jaw changes from dark mirror to ... silvery-light mirror. That'll be a bruise. No more chatter, and nothing that could even vaguely pass as flirting. Now it's fight time, and that's either all deadly-serious or... well, who the fuck knows, Teagan's expression doesn't change.
Dielle goes and grabs a blade of her own and tosses off, "Haruki, that woulda been Peggy. You can still ask for a lesson from anyone, but I'm gonna get my ass kicked first. Because everyone here is better than me, too." With that, she pulls her practice blade into the right position. She's not without skill, but she's nowhere near Vorpal's skill level and she knows it. Not that sword is really her specialty, but that's the point, she's not shooting Vorpal. Instead, she aims a flurry of blows at him with reasonable technique and a total lack of success. "I'm better at stabbin' with my head," she says as she misses repeatedly. "But I misplaced my horn."
Damion twists his body, angling his blade to catch the blow at his back, then pushes the weapon away before slashinga gain, and again. Then he purposefully tries to lock weapons with them. And if so, gets in close to the Darkling and makes it more a contest of strength. "You're okay with hat hedge-chopper there of yours." He isn't paying much attention to what's going on around them.
Vorpal fends off Dielle's competent strikes with rapid, deflecting blows from his knife, using what is essentially a series of dragging slashes to pull, shove, and rip Dielle's blows off-target, letting himself be forced back pace by pace. To a casual observer, he might even seem like he's being forced to work to defend himself- he IS working to LOOK that way. It'd take someone who's seen him at his best to realize he's up to something.
~I'm here, Haruki,~ answers the wind, and there's the sound of a laugh in it. ~I appreciate your offer of chocolate very much, but you should eat it. I don't have a mouth right now. I can, however, heal rather a lot of trouble for you for free for the next day now, since you offered it to me. And I am only moderately drunk, but it makes walking difficult. In fact, it makes putting a prosthetic leg on difficult! I would not advise a morning nightcap if you regularly remove your limbs. It can be platonic love, most certainly-- it can be familial, fraternal, romantic-- any kind of love you like, only it must be love from your heart, and you must mean it truly. You do not know me well enough to love me, and that is all right.~
Dielle works harder and harder. She's really trying. She's throwing punches and kicks along with the blade blows and every one is blocked or parried easily. She seems utterly uncaring about who might be watching her completely fail. At one point, though, she stops and says, "Ok, that move. The one you just used to parry. How did you do that? Show me, please?"
Haruki nods at DIelle. "Okay." And then the wind is speaking to him and he smiles. "What if I melt it or burn it? Can you have it then? Can you at least smell it? Did you evaporate? Can you become a person again? Person shaped I mean. You're very, very worshipful... loveable though, so very there and like the sun only no not sun, the wind that's different."
The thing is, Teagan isn't strong. What they are is sneaky and distracting. They feint when he comes in with his heavier weapon, and steps aside, trying specifically keep him from pinning them down. That feint is smoooooov, yo. "Well it's no Baby," they grunt, attempting to slide out of the way and keep themselves from being pinned in place by the much stronger Draconic. "But yeah, it's kinda my thing... " their voice trails off.
And that's the secret apparently. Damion starts to put more emphasis on power, hammering away at the guard of the Mirrorskin and not trying not to let them just slip away and try to come at him from odd angles. He's fast enough it's hard to escape him. Eventually though he stops and steps back, glancing around. "...you know, that's probably enough for now. We could continue this another time."
"Oh! Absolutely! Alright, so watch me." Vorpal clearly -delights- in getting to teach, and he steps in, launching towards her with her own moves and pausing, abruptly, before striking. "Alright. Here. You see? What I did was catch the crossguard of my knive on the pommel of yours. That's a real short lever, compared to the rest of the blade, and a little force there jerked your whole blade the wrong way. See?"
Dielle nods, and says, "Can I try that a few times? Show me slow, and let me try it at one-eight speed a few times before speeding it up?" Clearly, she's been to more than one class on how to fight, if she's asking for it so that it can become muscle memory.
Casually, the Darkling lets their machete drop, swinging it from their left hand. (Interesting fact: either Teagan is ambidextrous or they're left-handed; they've been fighting left-handed all this time.) "Oh. Well, if you think it's enough, then, I'm not one to tell you no." It's totally fine and Damion wasn't just about to trap them or anything. Totally fine! Casual Darkling is casual. "Sure, we can finish this another time. That was hella fun." They swing the machete loosely one more time, adding, "This... so doesn't feel enough like Baby. It's weird."
Vorpal grins wider and repeats, as many times as Dielle needs. In this, at least, he proves patient, delighted to watch Dielle take in the lesson he offers, taking her pace to let her drink in the details. "Remember, it's not about force. Go in too hot, and you're liable to just glance off the hilt."
~...sweetheart,~ the wind says hesitantly to Haruki, ~do you need a ride home? I can get rid of the drunk very quickly and go get my car, if so. I'm just a guy, and I can turn back into a guy, but I should go get my car first.~
Dielle takes her time and listens as she practices and really puts her attention into it. She kinda seriously loves this aspect and that she gets to have any of it at all during a training session delights her no end. It shows.
Haruki beams. "That would be lovely. But you were drinking and drunking for a reason? And if it goes away will you be hurting on the inside? While helping people on the out?"
Damion nods to Teagan, "Yeah, it was fun. And I get what you mean. Not really the same as the Tooth." He hefts his own sword to demonstrate, then moves to replace it on the rack. Checking as he walks over that there's no damage to the weapon. Setting it down he stretches. They weren't exercising very long, but it was strenuous so there's a few drops of sweat here and there on his skin. Presumbably they seep out between the scales or something. He looks over at the spar between Dielle and Vorpal, then at Haruki talking to the wind.
~No, it's served its purpose,~ the wind tells Haruki affectionately. ~You're sweet to worry. Will you be okay right here while I go get it? I will be a few minutes.~
"Excellent, EXCELLENT. Alright, now. I'm gonna come at you, full- er. Well, fast, anyway. Try it at normal speed, see if you can twist my-" And then, the rat fink that he is, Vorpal lunges and tests whether she's still on guard before he finishes the sentence!
Haruki smiles and nods. "I will be. Thankyou."
Dielle is on guard! And she performs the move perfectly, because she isn't that great with books, but she's a Beast and learns by doing. Look! New technique!
The Darkling follows Damion to the weapon rack, casually loping in that direction. They put the practice machete back, and take down Baby, hanging it back on their hip. "Your sword's name is Tooth?" It isn't mocking -- it's genuinely curious. Once the machete's hung back on their hip, they stretch their arms out, shaking them loosely thereafter. It's almost impossible to tell where they're looking, because their eyes are broken mirrors. Funny how that works.
Vorpal lets his blade not only get deflected, but completely disarms himself as Dielle tosses his blow aside! Before it hits the floor, he has another blade out and STRIKES, lancing the knife past her guard and shoving it STRAIGHT through to impale the space beside her head, retracting and pacing back immediately after. It's a stunningly fast maneuver, and close enough that Dielle might wonder if she felt the blow graze a few strands of hair near her temples in passing.
"That was -excellent.- That move should serve you well, if something has the balls to brave your firing arc long enough to get close."
Dielle grins and pokes Vorpal's arm and says, "Ok, I think I'd like to continue this some other time. But I definitely want more lessons." She turns around and looks at everyone and says, "I hope y'all enjoyed yourselves and learned something?" She's asking, not just telling.
Haruki smiles at Dielle. "I learned lots. Thankyou very much for inviting me and Itsuki. I really, really appreciate it and so did he. I'm sorry Peggy left before we could fight but hopefully next time? But I learned lots anyway."
Damion smiles crookedly over at Teagan. "Dragon's Tooth. Not the most original name, I admit." He looks over to Dielle. "You bet."
"My machete is called Baby," Teagan points out, slinging their coat over their shoulders and sliding their arms into the sleeves. "So I don't really get to say anything about name originality." They wander up and touch Haruki's shoulder briefly in more greeting, and then tip their chin up at Dielle. "Thanks for your hospitality. It was an awful lot of fun, and, yeah. I did."
"Absolutely. I'd be delighted to offer more lessons," Vorpal confirms with a bright grin. "I'm very much happy this happened. What of you, Dielle? Did you enjoy yourself?"
Vorpal watches Teagan as they detach from the fight and move to comfort Haruki a touch- maybe?- and keeps his distance lest things devolve again.
Dielle says, "I really did. And I'm looking forward to the next one. This was a LOT more fun than I thought it'd be."
Damion bends down, picking up his shirt, then slips it on again. "Yeah. This was fun. Now I think I'm going home and taking a nap. See you all around." He waves to the other Lost there.
|
