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 Posted: Sat Sep 10, 2016 5:24 pm
Beth was both excited and nervous as she showed up at 1:55pm to the indoor training area in her customary yoga pants, windbreaker, and pumas outfit. She had been meaning to buy more active wear, with how often she was having to wash her only pair of spandex, but there was still the question of how. She'd heard there was a small town nearby, but without access to a post office, she wondered how she was expected to give a delivery address. In any case, she was both dressed and ready for success. She'd forgotten her whip the first time she walked out the door, but she hadn't gone far before she realized her mistake. She told herself that the job back was to get her color up, but she hoped she didn't look too gross and sweaty whenever Brian arrived. She kept fussing with her hairline, to be sure no strands had escaped the high bun on her head. It was a nervous habit that she knew had the opposite effect of her intentions. At least she still knew how to tie a ballerina's bun from that ill-advised time when she was 8. Beth skirted to the side of the room, casting her eyes around for her friend, trying not to make it obvious how uncomfortable the idea of physical activity made her. It was more than that, of course, and she instinctively tugged down the sleeves to her windbreaker. She wondered how long it would take before Brian called it quits and denounced her as a lost cause.
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Posted: Sat Sep 10, 2016 5:45 pm
Brain was already there, although potentially unrecognizable from behind except for the shaved head. Fifteen minutes early was on-time for him and, at the moment, he was inspecting the padded weaponry available for sparring. He hadn't had the chance to make it down here with anyone yet and so had brought his own equipment with serious concerns that he was going to hurt Beth. Padded arrows were definitely a plus, although using his own bow would be necessary. It was the proper weight and size for him after all.
It was only by chance that he turned and saw Beth looking much different than he had seen her last night. Her hair was taut, almost professional, and her clothing was... different. Of course. He was in a sleeveless shirt himself and a pair of basketball shorts.
He approached Beth with a smile, looping his bow over an arm.
"Hey," he said, and almost offered his hand to shake. Why in the world would he do that?! He diverted it halfway and touched Beth on the shoulder. She looked nervous. "Are you ready to go?"
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Yekaterin rolled 1 20-sided dice:
13
Total: 13 (1-20)
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Posted: Sat Sep 10, 2016 6:45 pm
Beth started in surprise as someone who she was relatively sure wasn't Brian revealed himself to be exactly him. She gave him a quick and tense smile, unable to quite muster up the happiness in her chest at seeing him to translate to her face. "I think if you give me time to think about it, I might run out the door. I'm not a..." she fumbled around for her words, "combat person." She finished lamely. Then she scrunched her nose. "Did I say that already? I feel like I said that already. Well, anyway, it's still true. The most I do is yoga, so I'm all limbered up, I guess!"She appreciated the light touch on her shoulder. Sometimes she thought people didn't touch each other enough. There was something about a hug, a squeeze, a caress that could convey more meaning than a thousand words. Too bad she was already such a chatterbox. Beth wiped her sweating palms on the thighs of her yoga pants and grinned. "You're the coach, Coach. I'll follow your lead."Beth's Health: 47/47 Initiative: 28 Beth's Weapon: Whip (agile ranged)
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bobaTJ rolled 1 20-sided dice:
9
Total: 9 (1-20)
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Posted: Sat Sep 10, 2016 7:04 pm
Brian nodded. "Yeah, you said something like that."
Really, Beth had chosen one hell of a weapon if she wasn't a combat person. It was ranged, sure, but it still involved combat skill. Of course, he had also seen her use it on the mountain. He had respect for someone who would choose something so unconventional when they weren't a "combat person." He had even more for someone who could figure out how to use it in such a short amount of time.
"Coach?" He could work with "Coach." Of course he had absolutely no idea how to do battle with a person armed with a whip, but they'd figure that out as they went. He stepped back, one arm out wide while the other let his bow slide down into his hand.
"Then go for it." He gave her a little furrowed look, but he was smiling. He wasn't sure how much he could tease Beth without her worrying, and he had promised to not make fun of her after all. "Come at me, Bro" just seemed a little uncouth for the moment. "Ladies first."
380HP: 47/47
INT: 24
Weapon: Bow (balanced ranged)
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Yekaterin rolled 1 6-sided dice:
2
Total: 2 (1-6)
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Posted: Sat Sep 10, 2016 7:52 pm
Beth gave Brian a pained look. "I thought you were at least going to give me some pointers!" This was going to be difficult. Already she could see that she was at a disadvantage. He could keep her at a distance, while she needed to be relatively close to hit him. She was also terrified that she was going to hurt him. There was only so much foam covering could do if she, by some sort of anti-miracle, got his eye. She threw her arm out, her heart not in the strike, and it showed as the loop flew in a slow, lazy arc toward him. "Well, that wasn't good at all!"Beth's HP: 47/47 Damage Dealt: 2 Weapon: Whip (agile ranged, base 4, +1 to hit)
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bobaTJ rolled 1 6-sided dice:
6
Total: 6 (1-6)
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Posted: Sat Sep 10, 2016 8:30 pm
"How would I know how to use a whip?" At the very least, Brian didn't try to dodge her attack. That didn't mean that it struck particularly well. He felt the whip more or less slide down his chest and watched it go. Well then. It seemed like Beth was reluctant.
"Come on, you can hit me," he assured her. They had been repeatedly stabbed by birds and it hadn't started hurting until it got especially bad. He highly doubted that either of them was going to come out of here wounded.
Of course, it was hard to live by your own ideals. He worried he might hurt Beth, but he couldn't let her know. He startled walking back slowly, at a rather leisurely pace actually, nocked an arrow, aimed, and shot Beth in the chest. Hopefully it wouldn't hurt her, but maybe it would incite her to attack more earnestly.
537HP: 45/47
Damage dealt: 12
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Yekaterin rolled 1 6-sided dice:
1
Total: 1 (1-6)
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Posted: Sat Sep 10, 2016 8:38 pm
Beth squealed more in surprise than pain as the foam arrow hit her chest. She did nothing to avoid it even as she watched him fire it at her. "That's fair, I guess," she allowed as she watched the arrow fall with something like displeasure in her gaze. "I just....It's hard to work up the willingness to do something that might, you know, actually hurt you." Nonetheless, she owed it to him to try. She didn't want him to think she was a waste of time. She followed him, circling around a bit to his right, and then swung. It was an adequate movement, but as she extended her arm, she realized that her sleeve was pulling up almost to her elbow and the need to keep her skin covered distracted her from letting the whip connect as it should have. She sabotaged her own attack to save face and didn't even have something to say for it. Beth's HP: 35/47 Damage Dealt: 2 Weapon: Whip (agile ranged, base 4, +1 to hit)
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bobaTJ rolled 1 6-sided dice:
1
Total: 1 (1-6)
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Posted: Sat Sep 10, 2016 9:03 pm
Beth looked disappointed that he'd shot her a point-blank range, and really he couldn't blame her. That was sort of the plan, though, wasn't it? He nocked another arrow and watched Beth flail. He wasn't sure why at first, but it became increasingly apparent that she was afraid of her sleeve rolling up. He was wearing potentially the most revealing clothing he owned, and she was worried about her sleeve. He fought down a laugh and kept a straight face, but his arrow fell benignly off of the half-drawn string.
His face took on a comically worried expression. "Oh, s**t." He ducked to pick it up again, considering how near it had fallen.
655HP: 43/47
Damage dealt: 0
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Yekaterin rolled 1 6-sided dice:
5
Total: 5 (1-6)
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Posted: Sat Sep 10, 2016 9:21 pm
Beth looked up from frantically pulling her sleeve back down to her wrist to see Brian distracted and hunting around on the ground. A little whisper that was more instinct than thought said she needed to strike now, when he couldn't retaliate...or see the scars she'd been hiding from her fellows for the past few days. Her gaze narrowed and flicked her wrist out, satisfied when it connected. The satisfaction was short lived as she realized what she had done. She clutched the handle of the whip and looked as contrite as she could manage. "I'm so sorry! I just thought....Did I--Did I hurt you?"Beth's HP: 35/47 Damage Dealt: 8 Weapon: Whip (agile ranged, base 4, +1 to hit)
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bobaTJ rolled 1 6-sided dice:
4
Total: 4 (1-6)
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Posted: Sun Sep 11, 2016 9:42 am
Brian felt the whip lash at his back and startled slightly.
"Hey!" was his first reaction, through laughter. Poor Beth seemed honestly concerned, though, so he recollected himself quickly. "No, no, that's how you do it! It didn't hurt at all! It felt like a good strike, though." He began to back up from Beth then, realizing that she had the upper hand in close range. She could get him three times while he prepared to shoot! So back he ran, then strafing sideways and loosing an arrow in Beth's direction. It connected and he smirked.
Good. Now maybe Beth would come after him, attack him for real like!
770HP: 35/47
Damage dealt: 6
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Yekaterin rolled 1 6-sided dice:
6
Total: 6 (1-6)
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Posted: Sun Sep 11, 2016 11:28 am
Brian seemed to come to the realization of her advantage at closer ranges around the time that she did. He was faster to move, though, and got out of range just as she sprang to close the distance. He hit her again, as she moved, and she was dismayed by how close to pain it felt. But she wasn't going to give up. Something about the kindness in his voice and the richness of his laughter made her determined that she not fail his expectations. That she should, in face, exceed them. So she twisted through the attack and flicked out her weapon again. Her enemies on the battlefield wouldn't care about the superficial scars on her forearms. Being so concerned about them in practice would mess her up when her opponent was not as influenced by her well-being as Brian. It was a good hit, if she had to judge. Beth's HP: 29/47 Damage Dealt: 8 Weapon: Whip (agile ranged, base 4, +1 to hit)
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bobaTJ rolled 1 6-sided dice:
5
Total: 5 (1-6)
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Posted: Sun Sep 11, 2016 12:40 pm
Brian was surprised by how much that whip crack stung! It was all good, though. It was nothing more than a momentary slap. Beth really seemed to be getting into it, though! Good! He took this moment to experiment a bit. He needed to be better at shooting while moving. Not every enemy was going to let him stand completely still and draw up his bow. So he continued moving, trying to circle around Beth and still land the shot. He drew back and let it fly, pleased and also a bit worried as it struck. If his whip stung, was he leaving bruises on her? He hoped not.
879HP: 26/47
Damage dealt: 6
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Yekaterin rolled 1 6-sided dice:
4
Total: 4 (1-6)
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Posted: Sun Sep 11, 2016 12:50 pm
Brian started walking around, giving her a moving target to hit. She wrinkled her nose. She was tempted to say something, but realized that she probably needed to save the breath. She was getting a bit tired. She was disappointed in her own weakness. All the more reason, she thought, to focus on the task at hand. Rather than jump in a linear fashion, Beth zig-zagged, and when she got close enough, she attacked. Not as good, but it connected solidly. Beth's HP: 23/47 Damage Dealt: 4 Weapon: Whip (agile ranged, base 4, +1 to hit)
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bobaTJ rolled 1 6-sided dice:
3
Total: 3 (1-6)
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Posted: Sun Sep 11, 2016 1:08 pm
Tired or not, Brian was impressed at Beth's determination. She had begun unwilling to attack him at all and now was trying offensive maneuvers to get to him. She could have fooled him with her fatigue.
As she came close, he felt the whip lash at his belly and fired a shot that merely skated over Beth's shoulder.
Height differences were a b*****d.
HP: 22/47
Damage dealt: 3
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Yekaterin rolled 1 6-sided dice:
3
Total: 3 (1-6)
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Posted: Sun Sep 11, 2016 1:30 pm
The more she used the whip and the longer she and Brian moved together, the more she became used to the dance and riposte. Using fencing terms for either of their attacks seemed silly, but it was the only thing she could think of. The shot he had just made collided with her left shoulder, but she turned with it, letting it glance away as she flicked her hand upward in an underhanded swing to get underneath his weapon. She was surprised by how her own exhaustion reflected in his face. Though she wasn't experienced at gauging the fight an opponent had left in him, it seemed right to think that they were around the same level of hurt. Beth's HP: 20/47 Damage Dealt: 4 Weapon: Whip (agile ranged, base 4, +1 to hit)
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