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 Posted: Wed Jan 07, 2009 5:41 pm
Listening with half an ear, Val found himself hearing a brief, amusing description of the types of people Ilmxena had associated with during her period of training. What he heard was inconclusive as far as determining what, exactly, she had been training to become. He had mates who could be described similarly, and he knew that mages were the same after accidentally stumbling into a bar frequented almost entirely by student mages. He and his mates had been more than a little tipsy by then, and in search of sport. They weren't drunk enough to antagonize the mages they found, though, and quickly went to another establishment, where rowdiness was less likely to be rewarded with a hex or a curse.
"They sound like decent sorts," he said noncommittally as he walked around the side of the place.
There were other kinds of bars, too, which served a very specific clientele and to which Val would never be allowed access without someone to vouch for him. These were more like private clubs for the ladies and lords of the underworld of the Underdark, where notorious assassins and thieves congregated. Though he was not allowed to enter such places, and would not be foolish enough to try, Val had occasionally taken advantage of the unspoken rule which seemed to exist which forbid any sort of "work" within a certain distance of these establishments. It was odd, but they were actually some of the safest places in Llurth Dreir, since the criminal element would come down on their own for breaching this restriction. The bar he was taking Ilmxena to, the Fat Serpent, was in no such district, and so it would be better for both of them to mind their coin pouches.
"Of course you can't," he grumbled. After all, it wasn't as though she'd be the one returning to Baen'duis Manor with cuts and bruises which he would probably have to account for to his Aunt Rilinid. Not that he didn't usually come home with such injuries on nights when he prowled the city, but here he was just looking for excuses to complain. "You may as well. For the prices they charge, catering mostly to students, you won't find many better places."
He barely had to tap the door for the well-sprung hinges to open, providing a familiar view of muscular youths lounging and drinking, bragging about their prowess and trying to impress each other and members of the opposite sex. Stepping over the doorjamb, he automatically paused to hold the door open for Ilmxena. He had never lost the habit of being polite to females. Even ones he didn't get along with. He recognized at once about half of the people there, and wondered how long it would take them to recognize him.
Not long at all. He was greeted almost at once by an enthusiastic, off-key chorus of "Val!"
One of the warriors who had been in his classes the first year he was training, someone many years younger than he, crossed the room at a heavy-footed gallop. His hair was shaved partially off in a new, unattractive style, but his gap-toothed smile was the same as ever. He looked with wide orange eyes at Ilmxena.
"Is that your sister?"
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Posted: Wed Jan 07, 2009 6:58 pm
"Actually..." Xee grudgingly responded to Val's assumption of the pair she had just described. "they weren't half bad as far as company went. I rather wish I could have brought them back with me. But they had obligations elsewhere."
She followed val into the establishment, non-commenting upon the fact he held the door open for her. And it semed to be a rather moot point to keep agreeing this place sounded like a good visit. Xee was more then ready to let the place prove that on it's own...
And it did not dissappoint. As Xee stood beside Val, her interest and gaze was busy sweeping the room even as Val gained the attention of others. Shortly, she assumed, Val would be drawn off to a crowd somewhere. Which was fine. She could sit and watch him if nothing interesting was to happen.
It was the question that was indirectly aimed at her that caught her ear though. Xee's head turned to look at the youth that had come over to speak at Val. His sister? Xee's lips quirked upwards into a rather...bemused expression.
"No. I'm his illigetimate child."
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Posted: Wed Jan 07, 2009 7:31 pm
Val was halfway through swigging a proffered mug of ale when Ilmxena announced their relationship. He coughed and then he choked, and then an enormous person was clapping him heartily on the back, which wasn't really helping at all. In fact, blackness was creeping around the edges of his vision by the time he managed to cough up the alcohol which had gone down the wrong passageway, he was doubled over with entirely too many concerned eyes watching him in this moment of relatively perfect humiliation. He glowered at Ilmxena, who was a lot closer to eye-level when he was nearly folded in half and heaving up the contents of his lungs.
Someone's hands were trying to lead him to a table and urging him to sit while other hands patted him and tugged on his hair, which he'd been allowing to grow out in the months since his final test. The barrage of questions was too much for him to make sense of on an individual basis, and he said as much as someone pressed another mug of ale into his hand, warning him not to make a mess this time. Someone else joked that maybe he'd forgotten how to drink since he left the academy. Someone else asked if he'd forgotten how to fight, too.
He'd guessed it was coming, but he would rather wait to have the requisite fight until he had gotten his breath back. To buy himself more time he decided to address the issue of Ilmxena's identity. He looked around for her, but it was impossible for him to find someone of her stature in the crowd of huge-bodied warriors.
"That lady," he said, taking care to enunciate, "is not my sister. Nor is she my child - illegitimate or otherwise. She's my cousin, and she just returned from studying abroad."
He swallowed a mouthful of ale and looked around once more, making sure that she wasn't close enough to overhear. Then he said with a mischievious grin, "So please resist any ***** urges you may have toward her. She's off-limits."
He knew that was an open invitation to anyone to try anything with her, and he couldn't help it. He'd enjoy watching them try. She looked like she could handle herself, and she'd said he didn't have to look out for her. Maybe she'd even enjoy his friends' good-natured attention. They were mostly harmless, and wouldn't do anything too awful, knowing she was family.
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Posted: Wed Jan 07, 2009 8:48 pm
When Val lifted his gaze a little to glare at Xee, he would be met eye to eye with a very bright eyed grin. His reaction could not have been more perfect or amuseing. Xee even took that short moment to wink one of her red eyes at him.
Then he was carried off in a crowd of what she assumed were admireing ex-classmates. She herself became lost in a crowd of, thankfully, nearly her height males. They were built more then she was, and she was sure there were a few that could easily snap her in half. But at least she wasn't lost in a sea of boobs.
In order to get herself comfortable, Xee scooted her way through the crowd of males and to a barstool seat. Actually she rather liked this place. There was that musky male scent that she had come to be comfortable with from her caravan. The deeper male voices was a soothing tone, and of course the scent of ale only lightened her mood. By the time Val was getting around to explaining to the crowd about him that Xee was not his child, she was busy ordering herself a mug of her own drink. With the tankard clasped firmly between her hands...she had to admitt she was not completely surprised when a pair of males sat down a bit close to either side of her. Holding the untouched mug, she took them both in stride with a slow raking gaze.
"So your Val's cousin?" Began one. Xee's lips quirked into a faint smile.
"So it would seem." She replied before taking a deep swallow from her draft. Both of the males continued to bombard her with questions.
What did she do for a living - Answered questions.
Why did she come with Val today? - He owed her.
What was her favorite drink? - The one in her hand.
What did she think of Warriors? - What was there to think about?
Could he buy her a drink? - He could buy her two if he was honestly looking for her attention.
Xee's questioners changed up at least twice. Either due to the nature of her slightly whimsical answers or out of discuragement from her lack of actual information. In the end though she did find a pair that were not deterred by her responses, and by now Xee had a nice line of mugs to indulge herself on.
"Your not seriously going to drink all of those are you?" A novice by the looks of him asked. Xee flashed him a toothy smile.
"Indeed I do." she remarked while turning in her seat to find Val.
"There is no way you can finish all of those!" Exclaimed a slightly older male.
"Wanna bet?" Xee daringly shot back.
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Posted: Thu Jan 08, 2009 6:23 pm
After a number of his friends had obediently gone off to bother Ilmxena, Val settled back and allowed those who remained to catch him up on gossip. It surprised him that he still cared, but not in the same way he would have if he was still at the academy. At the academy, he would have felt a greater personal investment in the news he was hearing. Now he merely noted it with an almost professional interest. He could feel himself evaluating the strengths and skills of the people under discussion and wondering how he would deal with them as an oppenent. What if they were hired by an enemy of his house?
He'd always been older than his classmates, since he started late, but that hadn't ever been a problem before. Now it was almost like he existed in another world. Their was so insular, and they didn't seem to realize that real life was out there, waiting for them. They were so confident in their ability, they thought that because they'd made it so far in their training they were invincible. He wanted to shake them and tell them that there was more to life than these petty squabbles between classmates over a ranking which made little difference in reality. He could afford to say that, though. After his first year in training he had never placed anything other than first or second in his year. According to one of the people he'd roomed with in his last year, that made him ineligible to comment on the value of the point and ranking system.
So he listened, smiling and laughing at appropriate intervals, and generally evincing interest. There was no one at the academy he really cared enough about to inquire after. His closest friends had all gone on to live their own lives - or death, in Zar's case. They didn't keep in touch, just in case they ever ended up being enemies. It would make it harder, and no one had any illusions that their superiors would excuse them from battle simply because their friends were out there. They had never made non-agression pacts as some students did, where they swore never to raise their weapons against each other with murderous intent. It was impossible to keep such vows.
It was kind of disappointing, really. He'd hoped that he could fall back into the old camaraderie just by being with these people. He'd missed that, but it appeared that simply dropping in on them while they were out drinking wasn't the same as being one of them. He didn't have to wake up before the mages brought up the light to do calisthenics, he couldn't complain about his taskmistress as they could - she was his aunt, and it would be inappropriate. He'd already pushed his luck in directing his former classmates to pester Ilmxena. Which reminded him...
She was much easier to find when he knew who to look for in terms of companionship. The line of ales on the counter before her was enough to make his eyes widen. By straining his ears he could barely make out the thread of conversation...she was betting on something. His brow furrowed as he tried to think what she might be betting on, and whether he ought to ignore her instructions not to look out for her and intervene. She was very small, and that was a lot of alcohol. By drinking all of it, she'd be lucky if there was any blood left in her alcohol system. As he considered his options he was given a third option as he was asked why he'd brought his cousin here, and had she replaced his sister in his affections.
"Hardly," he said derisively.
One thing led to another, as he had guessed it eventually would, and Val found himself in the yard out back, watching a female who pretended to take offense at his preference for his family over her in terms of bedmates as she did a few limbering up exercises. At least he hoped she was pretending. She carried a claymore, which was really not a weapon he would have chosen to go up against with just the small blades he kept hidden in his boots and the flat blades he wore against his forearms. At least he had bracers on his forearms, though they wouldn't be too effective against a claymore except as a last resort. He'd have to disarm her quickly.
This, at least, ought to be interesting.
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Posted: Thu Jan 08, 2009 7:11 pm
The more she drank...the easier she became company wise. With her two settled companions, Xee found herself sharing a delightful joke involving a patron that had 'accidently' slept with his matrons identical sister and how he managed to convince them both that he was certain he knew who he had been with that night. The ending of the joke turned out to be that it had not been the matrons sister at all that he'd slept with, but her triplet brother dressed in a wig.
Xee was about to return to negotiating a bet on how many mugs she could drink, when nigh near half the room up and trailed out the back door. Her companions proved useful in explaining that someone had issued a challenge to Val, and he had accepted! Well then! This was just a grand old bar wasn't it? Xee finished the ale in her current mug, then grasped a tankard in each hand and followed the crowd out.
"I'm betting two gold On Val! Who wants to match me!" She cheerfully called to the crowd abouther. It was a surprise t hear most would not take that bet...but with Xee's gleeful eagerness, and a upping of two to three, she soon had three takers on her bet.
"Whoo! This should be fun! Who wants to lift me up so I can see?" She turned to her companions, and with a slight sherik of a laugh...she found herself atop the shoulders of her older drinking pal for the night.
"Get her Cousin!" She called out and lifted one mug up in a slight 'Hoo-rah' before she lowered it and began to drain it's contents.
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Posted: Sat Jan 10, 2009 5:00 am
Val had opted not to bother with the extensive warm-up his opponent was going through. For one thing, he could tell most of the poses she struck were more to show off her physique to its best advantage than to actually stretch anything, and he wasn't about to go to the trouble. There was something else. Everyone showed off in different ways, and it had been Val's habit for a long time to show off by not warming up obviously. He rolled his shoulders and dropped his head forward and let it loll from one shoulder to the other. That was it.
He heard Ilmxena's voice among the others and winced inwardly. He was the favorite to win this match based solely on reputation, and it wasn't really in good taste to urge him on to victory because of that. For all that everyone's money was on him, they all wanted Riina to win because it would be a great upset for her. It was a little perverse, but that was how it went. She was actually the underdog here, even though she was female, approximately his size, and in possession of the larger weapon. He had the reputation. He wouldn't lie: he liked having a reputation for being excellent, even if it meant he had to deal with more challenges when he went out among others of his profession.
When he was ready he stepped into the widest of the concentric circles and waited for his opponent, Riina, to do the same. She took several more minutes to ready herself, not-so-surreptitiously watching him as he stood seemingly at ease within the circle. He wasn't at ease. Not exactly. He was taking advantage of the time he'd been granted to clear his mind of distractions so that the entirety of his focus would be on his upcoming fight. It wasn't something he was often allowed because a warrior rarely got the chance to focus himself before being plunged into battle. There were usually other factors to be taken into account in a real battle for most people. Val planned to enjoy the fact that this would be pure battle, with no outside considerations except that he should try not to step outside the circles.
At last Riina deemed herself sufficiently limber and joined him in the outermost circle. No rules were explained, but it was understood that killing people was not allowed, nor was causing any permanent damage which would later interfere with their career. Generally they would fight until third blood or until there was a clear winner, unless other rules were specified. So maybe it wasn't a completely pure fight, but it was the closest Val was likely encounter unless he ended up engaging in a duel to the death someday. All betting ceased once Riina stepped into the circle, because from that moment on, the fight had begun. The noise level did not drop significantly despite this, as everyone began to speculate, comparing their knowledge of the two fighters' styles. Val had been best trained in the Streea Yllssigul style with a saif, but he wasn't carrying his weapon of choice. He didn't even seem to be carrying a weapon, though it was inconceivable that a warrior would go about totally unarmed. Even a very cocky one, which everyone agreed Val was not.
Riina was forced to make the first move, because Val wouldn't. If she stepped to one side, he moved to keep the full diameter of the circle between them. If she stepped forward he held his ground. She couldn't induce him to do more than react to her. In a less experienced fighter who had less training, Val's behavior probably would have infuriated his opponent and driven her to attack in rage, but Riina wasn't an idiot. When she did attack, it was cautiously, though there really wasn't anything she could have done once Val decided to disarm her. She came in with a straight thrust, extending her arm in perfect form. He was a little surprised that she used the claymore one-handed, though he had seen it in her exercises. Claymores were heavy swords. She could probably use it in either hand, and was probably accustomed to fighting with another, shorter blade in her other hand in some variation on the Chath Killian style. Which made him wonder why she wasn't using it.
He batted her thrust aside, using his metal bracer to absorb the impact and deflect the point of the blade so that it went harmlessly to the outside of his body and spun inside her guard with an economical half step which left his right side facing her before bringing his other bracer down on her wrist, all the while keeping his left arm up in a guard against a return stroke of the sword. When that didn't cause her to drop her weapon, though it did make her grunt in pain he changed the direction of his right arm's motion and drove his elbow into the space just below her ribs and then snapped his fisted hand up to strike her chin, knocking her head backward. All of this seemed to be one fluid movement from the time she began her thrust.
Riina's sword was too long to do anything while Val was so close to her, but she seemed reluctant to let go of the now-useless weapon, perhaps thinking that it was impossible he would really fight her without a weapon. While her head was still back, Val used the same hand which had struck her to catch her by the throat with his thumb and forefinger behind her jaw and the rest of her hand forcing her chin back, effectively blinding her to anything he might do, as her face was now straight up, and struggling would only force him to choke her. With this hold he gripped her wrist with his left hand and placed his right foot on the outside of her right foot and forced her to overbalance to her right, using the leverage he had on her throat and his grip on her right wrist, which he was holding straight out to the side to keep her claymore at an awkward angle for her to use it, he lowered her to the ground, sitting on the thigh of her folded leg.
He still had a moment of difficulty when he ran out of hands as she swung her left leg around and tried to catch him in the face or throat with her food, but by that time she had finally decided to release her grip on the claymore and was probably beginning to black out from a lack of oxygen. Being pressed to the ground by one's throat is a really good way to suffocate, after all. The result of this was that Val, no longer having to worry about being diced up by her claymore, blocked her kick with her own arm, dragging it awkwardly across their bodies so it formed a diagonal line between them. It wasn't an ideal position, really, and he couldn't actually stay there until she asphyxiated, so he hunched his shoulders and ducked his head, preparing to release her right hand.
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Posted: Sat Jan 10, 2009 11:03 am
The moment the sielnce fell on the crowd, Xee found herself with one mug of ale left. She too fell quiet. Despite the alcoholic glaze in her eyes, and the unconcealed grin on her lips, she had enough sense about her to be quiet when the fight itself was to start. She did seem to watch with a keen enough of a gaze. her eyes shifting with no difficulty to watch the manner Val moved in reaction to his opponent.
The start seemed boring enough. But Xee could appreciate the patcience it took not to lose oneself to that. Both Val and his opponent seemed to have good heads on their shoulders. The fact the female was weilding a sword like the claymore one handed was a surprise though. She sharply drew in a breath, and wondered just what sort of strength the female had to have in order to pull that off.
Even with so much ale in her system, Xee remained clear headed enough to enjoy and appreciate the manner Val was dealing with the female. Stepping inside was definatly a good tactic. She could definatly follow the reasoning behind the move. It was one she would have wanted to use...but...the female really should have had some sort of close fighting weapon. Hindsight perhaps?
Xee refrained from cheering or otherwise making a commotion. Though she did squeeze her legs a bit excitedly about the shoulders of her current carrier. Gaining her a small chuckle from below. Hmm, seemed he was enjoying this a bit too?
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Posted: Sat Jan 10, 2009 2:00 pm
From his position atop Riina Val would have been afforded an excellent view of her cleavage if he'd cared to look. He wasn't really that interested though, unless she had something dangerous stashed in there, which was entirely possible. He didn't know many females who didn't wear some sort of sharp object between her breasts, outfit allowing. After all, the whole point of this match was that he wasn't interested in Riina. Staring at her breasts would be akin to forfeiting anyway. So he ignored the proffered view and proceeded with his initial plan to release her right hand, hoping he could get at a weapon quickly to hand quickly enough that she wouldn't have an opportunity to get at another weapon of her own.
He let go and hoped that his shoulders would provide enough of a buffer against whatever attacks she brought against him for the split second it took him to slip one of his knives from his boot. She struck at his face with her free hand and with an impressive heave threw him to the side and reversed their positions so that she was straddling his waist and he was no longer able to keep his grip on her throat. Where his hand had been there was an already-darkening mark which Val hoped wasn't indicative of permanent damage. He didn't think she would be indelibly harmed, though it would look like she was into asphyxiation for pleasure for up to a week. Being the academy's resident sexual pervert, he got to hear about all sorts of other perversions which had never even occurred to him, and some of which left him faintly nauseated at just the thought.
There were some things Riina had neglected to consider in flipping Val onto his back, however. First, she had moved both of them away from her claymore, which meant she was definitely unarmed. Second, Val had a weapon handy now. Third, Val's legs were completely free to move however he cared to move them. And he decided to move them by swinging them straight up and rocking his weight toward his shoulders so that she slid forward toward his chest enough for him to bring his feet and ankles over her head and cross them over her throat. The inevitable momentum of gravity from such a maneuver knocked her flat on her back again. It was still an awkward and uncomfortable position for Val, who was barely able to free his legs in time for her not to break his knees by landing on them.
Naturally, she was fighting gravity tooth and nail, but it's one of those forces which is hard to defeat unless one has the magic to do so, and Riina didn't seem to be of noble blood, which put levitation beyond her ken. Val quickly shifted to a kneeling position between Riina's thighs, forcing her knees back and leaning over her to nick her lightly on the shoulder with the tip of his knife. A thin line of blood welled up and a single bead of the stuff slid toward her collarbone before he rolled to his feet and hopped nimbly backward to avoid a scissoring sweep of her legs designed to trip him. He'd anticipated it, though, because it was standard at the academy to teach its students to keep their opponents at the same level. He wondered if he was similarly predictable.
He took care to hop toward Riina's claymore so that he could kick it out of the circles, and therefore out of both of their reaches. It wasn't nice of him, and it certainly did little to even the field, but the idea appealed to him. In the time it took him to get rid of the claymore Riina was on her feet. She had a knife in her hand, so clearly she wasn't armed only with the large sword, as he had been concerned might have been the case. Maybe she was even secretly a knife fighter. It didn't seem likely, from the muscle mass in her shoulders and arms, but all things were possible. Well. Most things. Those things which were impossible could be made possible by the will of the Goddess, but Lloth didn't often will it, for reasons known only to Her, but which seemed fairly easy to guess.
She held the knife low, at about waist-level, with the hilt loose in her hand, which was the right way to hold it at the ready. Val held his knife similarly. They began again their cautious dance.
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Posted: Sat Jan 10, 2009 2:41 pm
Her mugs were empty...they were only...her fourth and fifth? She wasn't certain. Xee's mind was less on her lack of ale and more on the fight itself. There was something highly enjoyable about watching the pair fighting. The way they moved... Xee had never seen moves like the ones Val was using. Inwardly she could think of the hundreds of things she herself had been taught...but not many of them matched up to this match. Xee's main manuvers were the sort that included a lot of dodgeing and rolling.
That was a difference between them though... Xee was a velguk...and Val was a sargetlin. And this was a excellent way for her to become familar with some of Val's fighting techniques if ever there was a need for her to know. He certainly seemed a cool headed and level fighter...
Xee dropped her mugs to the ground so she could free her hands up and place them on her 'mounts' head. That last move...she could see a small scratch from where she was sitting. That would be first blood to Val then. If he managed it a second time did that mean he won? Or was it a total of three rather?
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Posted: Sat Jan 10, 2009 4:00 pm
Val and Riina circled once more, moving to the second circle from the outermost one, as was appropriate for fights involving close-range weapons like knives. The wider circles were to allow freedom of movement to those who fought with long weapons, but it was considered bad form to take advantage of them in a knife fight. The element of danger was lessened if the opponents stayed so far away from each other, and that detracted from the battle overall. Which is not to say that Val would have willingly stood so close to someone intent on putting a knife in him under ordinary circumstances, but there were certain protocols to be followed, and ignoring them in this crowd would be a bad idea. These were not student warriors who appreciated the prudence in executing an opponent the quick and dirty way. They still cared about forms and methods because it was all they knew, and the idea that an inexperienced person off the street could get a knife into them through sheer effort did not sit well with them. Val didn't like it either, but he accepted it and tried to account for the unknown quantities when he fought.
Within him there was a slight dilemma. He knew he could win this match. He could nearly guess exactly when she would spring forward to begin her assault anew, and how she would attack, and from there he could follow the fight to its logical conclusion in his mind. There were, of course, numerous options for the fight's conclusion, depending mostly on what he did, because even when she took the offensive it would still be a reactionary action, feeding into whatever Val did next. He could draw this out, allow her to draw his blood, or he could end this quickly. He was enjoying the fight, even though his opponent was not of the same quality he was, and for that reason he wanted to prolong it. He was so tired of artfully losing to his Aunt Rilinid just to preserve her vanity. On the other hand, drawing the fight out would be seen by the others gathered as though he was toying with her, and that was another one of those things frowned upon by students of the academy. It would be cruel. Riina already knew that she was outclassed, and he had no cause to be unpleasant about it. Someday he, too, would meet in combat someone with more skill or more luck, and he hoped that his death would be honorable if that was what the Goddess deemed his fate to be.
So there was really no choice. It saddened him somewhat that even in this, an activity he enjoyed, he was not allowed to extend his pleasure. The reasons were really irrelevent, as the end result was the same. It was actually the same attitude he took toward fighting, that the individual techniques and attacks used were not as important as the outcome. If a person died executing the perfect thrust, he was still dead, and perfect thrust or no, the de facto loser. With a very soft sigh, Val switched which hand he held his dagger and closed the distance between Riina and himself with a few heavy-footed steps. She scuttled away, making a tentative sweep with her knife to keep him at a distance which he deliberately caught on his bracer, forcing her arm away from her body again, then she moved quickly to avoid being caught the same way she was before, thinking she recognized the technique he was using and would then be able to evade it. As she moved in a controlled spin which went with the momentum of his empty-handed block Val held his other hand out so that she would spin directly into the flat of his blade. With a careless flick of his wrist he turned the blade so that a thin line of blood appeared at the small of her back, just above the empty knife sheath she wore there.
The crowd converged on them ,offering congratulations all around, and Val turned his gaze to the last place he had marked Xee, sitting on the shoulders of someone tall. She was audacious, that once. In some ways, very like Shri, who would have insisted on having the best view somehow, even if it inconvenienced the fighters themselves. Well. Maybe not the fighters themselves, but definitely anyone else in the audience. He knew she did it to affect an air of arrogance, but he also knew that if she went to that sort of trouble it was because she was genuinely interested and wanted to see more so that she could learn more. She always wanted to know more. Thinking of Shri he smiled, and everyone thought he was pleased at his victory. He let them.
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Posted: Sat Jan 10, 2009 8:41 pm
With her hands on the males head, Xee was able to lean forwards and follow the fight with her eagerness exhibited. Here she felt...less pressure to remain clamed up. Honestly! She missed the merchant caravan. Right now she'd be skipping ahead with master Jalkan, attempting to pick out fresh monster trails and flush out any daring raiders ahead. She'd have the blood pounding in her veins and her ears straining to catch the slightest whisper of a sound.
In essence, she'd be feeling more alive and more electricly charged then she did huddled in that cave of a room worrying about the intrigues and plots of fellow drow. There was no mistaking it in her mind. City life, and life in the wilds, were two extremely different deadly grounds.
Watching Val with his fight though..that brought back some of the excitement. Muted, that was granted, as it was not her out there fighting. She doubted she'd be able to take a opponent on in a fair fight. She could already detect a slight undercurrent of expectation in the ones near to her. There had to be rules that she was quite unfamilar with. Out in the wilds she had learned that to fight and survive was the only thing that mattered.
As Val would finish his fight, and what a impressive finish it was, Xee heard the collective cheer go up. Oh! She was no exception either! Throwing her fists into the air she joined the cheer whole heartedly! The shoulders baring her bounced a bit, and with a rather rawkus sort of laugh Xee took a bit...of a tumble...right off the back of the male and into the crowd. Falling as she did, Xee merely kept her hands stretched out over her head. her palms hit the ground first, and her elbows bent. She tucked her chin against her chest, so as not to klonk her head on the ground, and she allowed her body to heavily fall upon it's back. She heard the male call down to her a query...and again Xee merely laughed.
"Ach! I'm fine! I'm fine! Help me up! I've got some coins to claim!" Shooting her hand up to the male, she was helpfully and a bit effortlessly hauled to her feet. "See, this is why I like warriors." She cheerfully squeezed the males hand, a flushed grin plastered to her face. "All those muscles. Can't think of a time when muscles aren't useful."
Of course...if he was going to think that perhaps Xee may have meant a bit more by that, she could hardly care. She was busy looking for the three that owed her money!
The short of it though...she only managed to find two of the drow that owed her. Still, she wasn't going to complain over the third. She couldn't remember his face anyways. Shifting and wriggling her way through the crowd of congratulationg drow, Xee pondered if she should head back to claim another pair of mugs from the bar or find Val... In the end she wiggled her way through the crowd looking for Val. "Cousin! Hey Cousin!"
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Posted: Sun Jan 11, 2009 6:57 am
In the aftermath of his fight, Val's first instinct was to seek out his opponent and offer her his congratulations. She wasn't difficult to find, as the two clusters of people in the yard were either around him or around her. He made his way through the clump surrounding her and bowed shallowly to her.
"My thanks for an interesting fight," he said sincerely.
Riina turned away from her friends, who actually seemed to have been consoling her, though she was by no means in tears or otherwise particularly distraught looking. When she looked at him, Val felt a sinking feeling in his stomach. It had clearly been a mistake to beat her so easily. She now looked at him with an expression of admiration that she did not even try to conceal. He ought to have let the fight drag out after all, risking the irritation of his audience rather than allow her to come up with the wrong idea about him. A healthy respect for his abilities was one thing, but the awe on her face was bothersome. He didn't like when people held him in awe. It was uncomfortable.
"Was it actually interesting to you?" she asked. "Because it felt like you knew what I was going to do even before I did it. Like we were demonstrating a choreographed fight, and I'd been assigned the role of the losing combatant."
"It was the most interesting fight I've engaged in since leaving the academy," he told her truthfully. There was no reason to mention that losing deliberately was boring, even if it required a certain amount of ingenuity to lose without looking like it was purposeful. "It reminded me of one of the academy's best points, the opportunity to face opponents of varying styles, strengths, and skills."
"Thank you," she said. "I wish you would reconsider your preferences. I wouldn't mind taking you to bed at all."
Val panicked briefly, but through his panic he replied calmly, "You do me much honor, but I am unable to take advantage of your tempting offer, as I am sworn body and soul to my House."
"I understand," she said disappointedly, turning back to her friends. Val frowned at her back, wondering how old she was, and if she realized that he was probably several decades her senior. She had not fought like a seasoned student of the academy, which led him to believe she was younger.
Relieved that the uncomfortable exchange was over, Val returned to the bar, where he was offered entirely too many drinks. He took one mug in each fist and moved to where he was told his cousin was. Finding her, he stooped a little so that he could make himself heard over the clamor. He offered one mug to her and said, "I have about six more of these waiting at that table over there, if you'd like to help me work through them. You seem to have a capacity for that."
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Posted: Sun Jan 11, 2009 3:30 pm
"Ah! There you are." Xee cheerfully greeted her larger cousin as he appeared through the throng of drow. She stood up a bit on her tip toes to hear him as he bent down, and she of course accepted the offered mug with no hesitation. His offer to share the drinks waiting for him was met with a rather wide splash of a grin.
"I think I just might. Lead the way, you'll cut a easier path through this chaos then I will." Her hands clasped tightly around the mug he had given her, and she tipped the edge to her lips for a quick pull of the fresh drink. She was seriously going to have to remember this place...and remember to come with Val again if this was going to be a normal outcome. Honestly! Xee had managed to obtain so many free drinks she hadn't needed to worry about her spending this evening at all!
Since it was terribly noisy, Xee choose not to speak again until Val managed to lead her to the table he had spoken of. She didn't feel like shouting up to him to be heard when she could just draw up a chair close and half shout to be heard. Heh!
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Posted: Sun Jan 11, 2009 4:40 pm
Ilmxena was right: Val did cut an easier path through the chaos than she would have at her diminutive height. Unless she decided to goose people to make them jump aside, but that was an iffy means of controlling the movement of crowds at best. One could never quite predict which way a person would twitch when molested. Besides, there was always a certain element of danger involved in grabbing the behind of a warrior. The ones who reacted badly also tended to react with weapons in hand. None of this was information Val had gathered personally, but he had observed it while at the academy as his friends tried to catch the attention of various prospective lovers. The results were amusing, at least, but often resulted in injury, usually for the goosing party.
At the table Val had to dislodge a few people to make room for his cousin, but he was not going to follow their suggestion to put her in his lap. He thought Ilmxena and himself would enjoy that about as much as they would enjoy being fed to hook horror. He had noticed her perching on someone's shoulders, but that wouldn't carry the same connotations as sitting in his lap would. Not with what most people present knew about him and his sister. He didn't know why they would think his affection for his sister would extend to his cousin (to whom he still wasn't sure how he was related), but he didn't want to give them any reason to think that it did. For some of them, just bringing her out was probably enough, but after watching her consume alcohol like it was air, he doubted anyone would give any credence to those rumors. It was obvious she liked to drink.
"So," he said in a half-shout that sounded like his normal tones in the raucous atmosphere. "Is this the sort of outing you had in mind?"
To be honest, it didn't much resemble his plans, but it had been diverting nonetheless. Besides, he wasn't really built for creeping through shadows or stealing across rooftops, though it was a necessary skill for the games he played at night. It went against his better judgment to give himself a night off, even after a day such as this one, because he would lose what meager skills he had acquired on his haunts, but he was thinking that he might actually sleep that evening. Ilmxena had taken her toll on him, both emotionally and physically, between the near-despair he had felt when he thought she and Shri were lovers and the fight she'd gotten him into. Well. To be fair, she didn't exactly get him into the fight, but he wouldn't have been in it at all if she hadn't been involved.
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