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 Posted: Tue Nov 29, 2011 11:29 am
Not a day had passed since Sparrow's beatdown from Roch, and he was back in the gymnasium already.
He still was not nearly back to normal. In fact, if anything, his fight with Roch had made the situation worse, since it only solidified just how pathetic Sparrow felt; just how useless and utterly inadequate he was. He had not really been that upset that Roch had attacked him so thoroughly - and they would both have to answer to Xiu sooner or later (Sparrow hoped for later) - but it had given him something to think about, at the very least.
His mind seemed to never shut down, and he had barely slept the last two days. His pets had decided their owner was going a little stir crazy, most of them fluttering away and perching on high places to avoid Sparrow's tendency to throw things around at random.
You are not yourself.
The thought was there, in the forefront of his mind, and Sparrow knew he was acting distinctly different from his normally calm and collected persona, but he could not seem to calm himself down this time; especially not with Asia's last word reverberating in his mind, over and over again like the beat of a drum.
Fools.
He pushed his shirtsleeves further up his arms, brushing sweaty bangs from his face as he spun the scythe around, aiming for one of the test dummies.
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Posted: Tue Nov 29, 2011 11:46 am
Being coped up in this room, no matter how huge it is, practicing alone is not going to cut it. Yǐn Cáng had thought as he went through his routine morning stretches. After his stretches he had gotten a drink of water, plucked a large spider from the quickly dwindling webs in his room, and left the hallway, munching on his breakfast.
His last trip to the gymnasium had been...enlightening. An entire class of students, and then a battle in which he had failed to do much of anything, missing his opponents more than hitting them. His hands balled into fists as he jogged toward the gymnasium, ignoring the actual paths to the building but keeping them in sight. He desperately needed to practice. His fighting style, all close range, had been almost useless against those beings who could stand back and fire on them at will.
He walked confidently until he neared the door, and then unconsciously his posture began to hunch down just a bit, and actually entering into the he was sneaking more than anything else, slipping through the door and hugging the wall. As he scanned the room one boil in particular caught his eye, a boil swinging some sort of weapon at a dummy. He crept closer, eyes intent on the weapon. It appeared to be a sort of staff, something he was familiar with, but with a blade on the end. Interesting.
The boil was alone, and straightening up Yǐn Cáng strode over to him. "Would you welcome a partner to practice with?"
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kuropeco rolled 1 20-sided dice:
14
Total: 14 (1-20)
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Posted: Tue Nov 29, 2011 10:00 pm
The voice, as it had with Roch's sudden entrance, startled Sparrow. The black scythe fell from his fingers, clattering onto the floor with a noisy ruckus, and he spun around so fast he very nearly fell over, wide eyes searching for the source.
His gaze fell on a boil several feet away, approaching him with a cautious, yet curious look on his face.
Sparrow had never seen this boil before.
Instant suspicion and panic rose in his veins, Sparrow taking a few automatic steps back, his feet tangling and almost tripping himself in the process. Without the scythe in his hands, he felt uncertain, naked and vulnerable.
"Wh - "
The words caught in his throat abruptly. Sparrow swallowed hard, bending down to retrieve the fallen weapon and hold it tightly between his bare hands, ungloved for once.
"Who are you?"
[ rolling for initiative~ ]
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ramenli rolled 1 20-sided dice:
13
Total: 13 (1-20)
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Posted: Tue Nov 29, 2011 10:08 pm
The weremantis dipped his head. Good job. Startling someone into dropping their weapon is not a good first impression. "My apologies. My name is Yǐn Cáng, and I am a new student here at Amityville."
He paused, not sure if he should explain himself or not before pressing on. "Recent events have shown me that my current level is not sufficient. I need to practice my fighting skills, and I would like to test myself against someone who wields a weapon. I thought you might be open to the idea."
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kuropeco rolled 2 6-sided dice:
4, 4
Total: 8 (2-12)
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Posted: Tue Nov 29, 2011 10:14 pm
"...Y-Yǐn Cáng?" repeated Sparrow, the name tasting foreign on his tongue. He did not trust strangers, not in the slightest - especially considering the happenings that had just occurred at Amityville not even two days previous.
"A...new student, you say," Sparrow murmured, eyes darting around the empty gymnasium as though searching for a way out. He felt absurdly out of the ordinary with himself; under normal circumstances he would have extended his hand to the other, offered him a genial smile and a laughing greeting.
But these were not normal circumstances - and nothing would ever be normal again, not after feeling the fire against his skin.
"You...want to fight me," said Sparrow, sounding very much like a broken record. He could not deny that what he wanted most was to be stronger, to prove his abilities not just to the rest of the world, but most of all to himself. He still did not trust this stranger, but it could not hurt to try and spar with him.
...could it?
The response was slightly hesitant, though still there.
"All right."
Then he swung the scythe out without a second's thought.
[ HP: 30/30
Damage: 2 ]
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Posted: Tue Nov 29, 2011 10:22 pm
Yǐn Cáng is such a derp-face he forgot to roll
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ramenli rolled 2 6-sided dice:
5, 5
Total: 10 (2-12)
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Posted: Tue Nov 29, 2011 10:23 pm
Yǐn Cáng should have expected an attack. But he was accustomed to a spar being a somewhat formal match, where both parties first bowed to one another and then began their attacks.
The forest should have prepared him.
He had not been taken completely off guard and he tried to back up, the scythe only leaving a light cut across his stomach, enough to rip one of his only shirts.
Which somewhat annoyed the weremantis. He only had a couple shirts, and did not need the ones that he had to be ruined. Nor did he want to spend his time patching the ones that he owned. He quickly stepped in after the attack and landed several rapid blows to the other boil. One step, three punches. Basic training.
HP: 28/30
Damage: 4
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kuropeco rolled 2 6-sided dice:
1, 4
Total: 5 (2-12)
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Posted: Tue Nov 29, 2011 10:28 pm
Sparrow should have been polite - he should have followed the rules of etiquette, given Yǐn Cáng some warning before he lashed out and attacked him.
But the suspicion was still there, despite the fact that they were within the boundaries of Amityville High. After all, that had not protected them in the past.
Not anymore.
The punches came quickly, in rapid succession, and Sparrow staggered backwards, flinching. He was already winded from his own training earlier, so these just made it a bit worse. Sweat gleamed on his forehead as he spun the scythe between his fingers, spinning it out to meet the other.
He missed, the note of desperation in his eyes still visible.
[ HP: 26/30
Damage: 0 ]
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ramenli rolled 2 6-sided dice:
3, 5
Total: 8 (2-12)
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Posted: Tue Nov 29, 2011 10:30 pm
Yǐn Cáng moved away from the blade, watching the other boil's movements carefully to try to learn how to read them. "I did not catch your name earlier, may I ask with whom I am sparring?"
To the weremantis his speech was not oddly formal for a battle, it was merely how members of the Clan spoke. But to an outsider's ears his accent may have sounded...off. But as polite as he sounded he was not going to give up an advantage, and he hit the boil again, fingers oddly pointed as he struck for a nerve, missing what he had aimed for but still striking the brown-haired boil.
Then again, it was probably difficult for the boil to move in such stiff looking clothing.
HP: 28/30
Damage: 2
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kuropeco rolled 2 6-sided dice:
6, 2
Total: 8 (2-12)
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Posted: Tue Nov 29, 2011 10:37 pm
Sparrow stumbled, nearly dropping his scythe, but he managed to catch it at the last moment, pushing sweat dampened, sandy coloured bangs away from his face, drawn and pale.
"...Sparrow," he said quietly, in a slightly hoarse tone of voice. "My name is...is Sparrow."
He spun the scythe around again, this time using the non-bladed end to whack across the other's arm.
"How long...have you been at Amityville, exactly?"
[ HP: 24/30
Damage: 2 ]
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ramenli rolled 2 6-sided dice:
3, 1
Total: 4 (2-12)
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Posted: Tue Nov 29, 2011 10:42 pm
Keep your guard up! Yǐn Cáng had his stance loose enough to move with the attack, but still he could feel the sting racing up his arm. "I arrived the day before the forest...incident. I left my clan a little over a month ago and found my way here."
The talking distracted him, and the next punch he threw missed completely. Knowing that with a weapon in Sparrow's hand he did not want to distance himself he stayed put, and tried to distract the boil. "Why do you fight with a weapon? Is it out of concern for ranged attacks?"
HP: 24
Damage: 0
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kuropeco rolled 2 6-sided dice:
6, 3
Total: 9 (2-12)
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Posted: Tue Nov 29, 2011 10:47 pm
Light tan brows drew together in confusion as Sparrow tried to piece together what Yǐn Cáng was saying.
Clan? What clan? The only clan I know of are the horsemen clans, though they're a separate story entirely.
And, of course, thinking of the horsemen made him think of Asia again, which made him think of her scornful last word again. Sparrow shook his head, as though trying to clear it.
The boil's question was slightly odd. "I fight with a weapon because I am a reaper," he answered carefully, and then dissipated abruptly, disappearing in a gust of black smoke.
"It is my nature," came the quiet reply, and Sparrow reformed behind the other, the scythe knocking against Yǐn Cáng's back.
[ HP: 24/30
Damage: 3 ]
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ramenli rolled 2 6-sided dice:
6, 2
Total: 8 (2-12)
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Posted: Tue Nov 29, 2011 10:53 pm
"A reaper?" the boil questioned, a puzzled look across his face. And then Sparrow disappeared. The attack from behind was completely unexpected, and the only reason that Yǐn Cáng stayed on his feet were the years of practicing his stance and staying balanced. Still, he was knocked forward several steps and he whirled around to face his attacker.
He had never encountered anything like that. "Reaper's have their own dorm don't they?" He asked just as carefully. "But what are they?"
He threw a light punch, straight at the reaper's stomach, a rather straightforward approach for his fighting.
HP: 21
Damage: 2
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kuropeco rolled 2 6-sided dice:
1, 2
Total: 3 (2-12)
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Posted: Tue Nov 29, 2011 10:56 pm
"Yes," answered Sparrow as he straightened, the black scythe held tightly within his fingers. "I am a reaper."
I am a reaper. I am not weak.
Except that wasn't entirely true, and he knew it - he knew it all too well, especially feeling Yǐn Cáng's snap to his stomach, which sent Sparrow staggering back several steps, his free hand pressed against his midsection.
He leveled a look at the other boil.
"I collect the souls of the dead."
[ HP: 22/30
Damage: 0 ]
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ramenli rolled 2 6-sided dice:
6, 6
Total: 12 (2-12)
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Posted: Tue Nov 29, 2011 11:12 pm
"Is being a reaper a job for males?" the mantodea questioned, curious. It certainly sounded like a job that no female would want, or at least very few of them.
The reaper boil's midsection seemed to be a weak point, and part of fighting was knowing your opponents weak points. Despite his questioning Yǐn Cáng was not about to forget the fight. he feinted with his fists, acting like he had missed but then dropping back enough to kick the boil's stomach. Hand-to-hand fighters were not limited to just their hands after all.
HP: 21
Damage: 6
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