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 Posted: Tue Jun 16, 2009 10:50 am
Sebastien grinned under his mask. It had been a while, hadn't it? He hoped he wasn't too rusty. With that thought along with most others fading from his mind, he took a step forward, advancing slowly, and made a presentation; he didn't want to start too quickly or be caught unawares. Sebastien did not know Archer's skill and he intended to find out before going much further. Sebastien's blade was thus in the air, inviting Archer to engage it with his own so they could start the duel.
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Posted: Tue Jun 16, 2009 11:26 am
Archer sidled quickly up to Sebastien, starting the match with his attack. Watching both Sebastian's foil and the valid target area, he attempted a false, hoping to force the Frenchman into reacting and hopefully giving Archer an opening for an Attack au Fer. Until he knew how Sebastien defended himself, he wasn't going to lunge in for a hit, he would much rather force the Frenchman to parry and show what he knew.
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Posted: Tue Jun 16, 2009 12:26 pm
Archer's blade now moving towards him, Sebastien mechanically began a riposte, first attempting a parry to deflect the other man's foil, and then launching straight into an immediate counterattack. He had briefly thought about doing an envelopment instead, but his body had automatically moved into the riposte without time for him to think on it any further.
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Posted: Tue Jun 16, 2009 12:37 pm
As Sebastien began his counterattack, Archer backed up, parrying and attempting to deflect the Frenchman's blade and move in for an Attack au Fer, as he had originally intended. Moving quickly, he couldn't help his hands trembling slightly as the duel began. The adrenaline of a match against a real opponent was a heady brew, and it was trying on the Englishman as he tried to find an opening and fend off his attacker all at once, but muscle memory didn't fail him. The hours of practice that the Englishman had devoted over the years was just enough to keep him in the game, at least for the moment.
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Posted: Tue Jun 16, 2009 12:58 pm
The Attack au Fer had connected, just briefly, as Sebastien hesitated on his counter-parry and let Archer's blade lightly touch his side. Cursing, Sebastien disengaged, moving to push Archer's foil to the side so that they could return to their lines. It had already been one minute, Sebastien realized, as his eyes flicked towards Wraith as the man held up one finger and motioned that Archer had received the point. He was rusty, and it was showing. He'd just have to try harder then.
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Posted: Tue Jun 16, 2009 1:08 pm
Archer relaxed slightly despite himself as he returned to his line. He had hit the Frenchman once, he could do it again. Even if it had been close, now that he knew he at least had one hit in him, he felt more reassured. Nevertheless, he couldn't let himself get carried away- It was only one hit out of three needed for victory and there were still two minutes left in the match. Sebastien was a superior, and though he had let his guard down, surely he would not allow himself to do so again. Steeling himself, Archer bit down his sudden surge of confidence, it was certainly not deserved. He returned to his line, waiting for Sebastien to begin this time.
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Posted: Tue Jun 16, 2009 1:18 pm
Sebastien did not wait for Archer this time. That surge of mingling energy and lightheadedness he had always felt when he was sparring or hunting with Henri had gripped him and he lunged forward without warning, slipping into an aggressive Coulé, expectant of the sound of metal against metal and the friction he knew would result from the foils.
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Posted: Tue Jun 16, 2009 1:28 pm
Archer startled at the sudden movement, it was all he could do to use his forte to deflect Sebastien's quick foible, and even then he feared perhaps the blade had grazed him, his adrenaline was pumping far too fast for him to be sure. As the strong attack was aimed at him, he attempted to use the fricton to launch into a Froissement, trying to displace Sebastien's blade and in that moment move in for another hit. He doubted it would succeed, but the Frenchman's furious offensive clearly required something to be done, and in the heat of the moment, the Englishman would take whatever move floated readily into his mind.
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Posted: Tue Jun 16, 2009 5:35 pm
Sebastien had quickly moved his arm, sweeping the foil around to bind the other man's blade before he decided he would move in with a thrust. His foil was just about to make contact with the other man's when he heard Wraith telling them both to stop with an air of finality. He let his arm and blade drop, looking at the man, his friend, expectantly. That hadn't been three minutes, had it? He... he hadn't lost?
Wraith bright eyes flicked between Sebastien and Archer, and only familiarity with one allowed him to distinguish the men behind the masks. "Point. To Sebastien. You are both tied. That's all I need to see."
Sebastien pulled off the mask with a frown and shook out his blonde hair, petulant. He had been having fun. He saluted Archer, and then much less formally grinned at the other man and made to shake his hand. "You are a good fencer Monsieur Archer! We should play again sometime." He lowered his voice and leaned in slightly. "I think you pass. Good job!"
Wraith cleared his throat, glowering. "Congratulations, Archer. Level One Recruits are granted leave from the base for personal reasons, if it has been cleared with me. Any questions?"
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Posted: Tue Jun 16, 2009 6:10 pm
Archer looked over at Wraith nervously as he saluted. What did it mean? Pulling off his mask, he accepted Sebastien's handshake, flashing him a polite smile to match the Frenchman's rather less reserved grin. "As are you. It was a pleasure to be your opponent." But, he thought as his hands slowly stopped shaking, he wasn't quite sure he could pull off the close tie twice.
His smile widened ever so slightly as the Frenchman whispered, but he bit it down. Looking over at Wraith, he heard his congratulations and bowed solemnly. "Thank you, Sir. No, I have no questions." Trying to remain stiff and serious, he looked at the door, waiting to be dismissed. There was a hastily suppressed idiotic grin tugging at his cheeks that would be highly inappropriate to show in front of his employer.
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Posted: Tue Jun 16, 2009 6:53 pm
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