[PRP] The Handling of a Spear [Emille + Zevron]

[ATh e a r t]

It was an odd sort of day. The sun was high in the sky and there was not a cloud in sight, but the breeze that blew could send a chill down someone's spine. There was a young mare standing in the sun near a tree, able to retreat to it's shade if needed.

Emille frowned as she looked at the stick on the ground. Of course, it wasn't any ordinary stick, but more so a spear. Her father had decided right after she got attacked by a skinwalker that she had to have one and had to learn to use one. Although Emille knew this, she didn't want to fight. Sure, she was afraid of being attacked again, but she had this notion that a 'prince charming' would be there to rescue her from now on.

She stared at the spearhead that gleamed under the sun. Emille knew her father had spent a lot of time finding the perfect rock and then crafting it by hitting it on a rock. Sure, there were the two-leggers that had them, but her father hadn't wanted them. Knowing that her father put a lot of love into making it, she knew she had to learn to use it, but that didn't mean she still didn't want to.

Picking up the spear with her mouth, she frowned. The spear was kind of heavy in her mouth and she didn't really like it. For the most part, she didn't even know what to do with it, really. After a few short minutes, Emille could feel that the spear was irritating her mouth already and dropped it.

Emille decided to flop down with the spear. She lied down and stared at the spear sitting in front of her, slightly frustrated as well as confused.  

[Malis Vitterfolk]

The zhevra sauntered on his way through the near by countryside. He had just come from a heavily forested reagion and was happy to finally see the sky for miles around. The area reminded him of his old home plains, not always the best of times, but he had a few good memories from there. With a snort he broke off into a canter, happy to note all the bruises and scars he had been healing from were finally non existent. What ever possessed him to take on a pair of skinwalker he'd never know but it had been the time of his life even if it might have been the end of his life also. Well, he knew exactly what possessed him though the little flutter had managed to escape and he didn't feel like angering the wrath of the skinwalker pair again just to find out if she had ended out ok.

Changing his direction suddenly, the stallion noticed someone in the distance holding a long stick like object in their mouth. Curiously he decided to investigate and cantered closer, keeping his footfalls soft as he approached so he could observe more. He almost laughed out loud as he saw what it was and then, after she dropped the spear he actually did! "Bwahahaha!! What is this? You trying to kill the tree with it's own stick?!" The zhevra snorted with glee. "For one thing you are not going to kill anything holding that stick like that. It's not balanced or anything!"  

[ATh e a r t]

Emille was quite startled when she heard the voice, quickly standing up and holding her spear funny in her mouth. When she felt like he was no threat, she opened her mouth and dropped the spear out of her mouth. It landed with a thud in front of her, but she paid it no heed. Instead, she stuck her head in the air. "Y-yes, it's just a sti--"

She was surprised. Of course, she knew that her stick was actually a spear, but had chosen to call it a 'stick' for the longest time. Unsure as of why, Emille felt compelled to correct the stallion. Emille looked at him, half glaring. "It's n-not just a stick, it's a s-spear!" She bowed her head and picked it up again.

Talking through her teeth, she showed the stallion. "S-see! It's not just a s-stick! My d-daddy added a spear h-head to this!" Emille put the spear down again, this time gently. "He-he made it for me!" She didn't add, however, that she had no idea how to use it.  

[Malis Vitterfolk]

"Well your Daddy should have shown you how to hold it. Until you have it right it's just a stick. You are going to hurt yourself with that thing if you are not careful." With another snort he picked it up uninvited and sighted down the length before giving it a small toss and repositioning it in his mouth. "T'ere." He said between his teeth. "T'ats t'e point of b'lance." After leaning it next to the tree he glanced over, "Unless you hold it right in the center of balance you might as well just be grabbing a stick. What are you doing any way? Why would a pretty girl like you want to be hitting things with sticks?"

Zevron raised an eyebrow, if there was one thing that surprised him the most about the kawani lands, it was how aggressive the females were here. Where he came from everyone lived within the herd and traveled together. The males took care of protecting the females and the mares were the ones to raise the youngsters. This role reversal was odd to him but it also made things a little more interesting so he was must curious about why than changing it back to what he was used to.  

[ATh e a r t]

The young mare pouted as she watched the stallion handle the spear. Of course, her father had given her some pointers, but at the time, Emille just didn't really want to pay attention. She loved the spear for the fact that her father made it just for her, no other reason. The fact that it was a weapon made her uneasy, but she took it anyways! Pouting, she wished she could handle the spear as well as the stallion. Emille admitted to herself that the stallion might have been able to handle one as well as her father could.

"M-my father made me that," Emille responded, kind of annoyed. "Why couldn't females handle something like that," she thought to herself. "My father w-wanted me to be able to p-protect myself... I just n-never really learned how to properly use it b-before leaving his midst."

It wasn't something that Emille wanted to admit, but she knew she had to. The stallion was obviously well trained in fighting, and she'd rather not irritate him. Emille half wanted to ask him to help her, but was unsure if he'd be willing to. Instead, she just made a strong mental note to where she should at least hold it.  

[Malis Vitterfolk]

Zevron snorted. "There are much better ways to protect yoursef from baddies. The best way of all is to always be one step ahead. For example, I once took down an angry kalona just by a well placed kick." To prove a point he suddenly swung his body around, kicking up his back legs and slamming them into the thick trunk of the tree. While the leaves fell down around them he grinned and shook out his lucious mane. "The blighter did not know what hit him until it was too late. The key to it all wasn't the kick though." he eyed the mare, "It was the cliff side the stallion didn't notice that did him in. Stupid beast did not even think to use his wings though that may have been because I made sure to injure one earlier on in the fight." Zev puffed out his chest a little as he spoke, confidence oozing out of every pore.

"And that's how you fight, not with some stick 'cause that is a sure fire way to get yourself hurt..." He thought for a second, "Unless you use it as a decoy, make it look like you are going to attack them with it and the go in for the kill." Zevron phantomimed dropping the spear before swinging his head, goreing an imaginary foe with his sharp horns.  

[ATh e a r t]

Shock was on Emille's face as she watched the stallion. Sure, he looked like he was well trained, but she hadn't expected that. Emille wasn't completely sure she liked him, but he had more to brag about than she did. All she had... Was more than one attack by a skinwalker and of course, losing.

Emille knew that she could use her spear. Of course, she wasn't the best at it, but it was something that she was working on. "I will learn to use you... But maybe this stallion can teach me something else?"

She wanted to learn to respected him, so instead of fighting about her spear, she bowed her head. "Sir, if you don't think I should be handling my spear, would it be possible for you to teach me something else...?"  

[Malis Vitterfolk]

"Sir? Hah! Call me Zev, that'll work just fine." The stallion wrinkled his nose, 'sir' was for elders, not young spry adventurers like himself! Stil, the respect smoothed out his fur and the shaggy stallion grinned. "Fine, I'll teach you but you have to listen closely. The key is the three S's. Silence..." his hooves seemed to make no sound as he moved to the side, towards the tree. This explained how he was able to get in close before she realized he was there when they first met. "Sight," his voice was barely a whisper and right before her eyes he seemed to vanish! Squinting slightly she could see Zev use the shadows of the tree leaves against his brown and black markings to hide his shape but with his slight movements it would be hard to notice the stallion until it was too late. "Subterfuge." Again the whisper came, this time seeming from just behind her followed by the sound of two hoof-falls. If Emile turned to look she would see nothing until she turned back, facing Zev's grinning visage. "And, that's lesson one. Now time for practice, let's see how you fare."  

[ATh e a r t]

Emille made a mental note of just calling the stallion Zev. It was okay for her, but she was just used to calling those that seemed... Older than her 'sir'. It just seemed to be nicer, especially if she didn't know their names. "It's nice to meet you, Zev. My name is Emille."

She hushed as the stallion leaped into action. For his size, Emille was quite surprised what he was able to do. "Hm... silence, sight and subterfuge..." Emille had to make mental notes while the stallion moved around, not wanting to forget anything.

Looking around at the ground and her hooves, she felt like she could do the silent part, but the other two she was confused about. "Sorry, but... How did you disappear and what's... Subterfuge?" Emille was slightly ashamed for not knowing, but at least she was honest with herself.  

[Malis Vitterfolk]

"Well the hiding is easy. I just use the shadows to break up my form when they fall against my stripes. It's quite a nifty trick in a pinch." He tilted his head and observed for a long moment. "Probably substantialy harder for you unless we added a little mud to your coat." With a chuckle he moved from the sunlight back into the shadows of the tree. Instead of weaving slightly from side to side like last time, he stood still, letting the shadows move on his pelt. This way she could see how the moving patterns helped hide him with a little work. "See, it doesn't work on it's own but with a few other tricks you would be practically invisible! This is where subterfuge comes in." With a sly grin he kicked a rock and let it land to the side with a clink. "There are three ways to use subterfuge. One is easy; distraction. Just like the rock, I can use small items to make sound away from where I am so that who ever I am trying to hide from will look else where. Another is a little harder." All of a sudden his voice came from her other side, "You can learn to throw your voice, especially useful if you happen to be hiding and the person looking for you happens to be moving in close."

With a nod towards the spear he added, "A third way is to pretend to attack with your spear and then use your hooves or something else to attack instead. It's all in persuasion in getting the other to believe in what isn't actually there." The zhevra grinned again, his expression cocky as he retold his tricks, knowing he was one of the best at pulling them off. "Now, how about you giving something a go?"  

[ATh e a r t]

Emille looked down at her coat. It wasn't dark at all, but it was brown. "What about blending into the trees? I'm all brown, but my cloak is a nice dark green. It wouldn't actually be shadows but... The actual surrounding?" It was an idea that Emille tossed up randomly from her mind, but it seemed to be reasonable, at least in theory.

It was amazing to watch everything in action, even step by step. Emille wanted to try it herself, but she wasn't sure if she was ready. Looking on the ground, she looked at where she would have to step and be quiet. It was something that she would remember clearly in her mind. The steps where easy, but the mare wasn't feeling very confident.

She wasn't sure why, but she asked Zev again. "Do... You really think I can do this? Everything seems simple enough, but sometimes it seems easy but harder than originally thought and vice versa..."  

[Malis Vitterfolk]

Zevron took a long look, even taking the time to circle around her, his tail flicking from side to side. "Hmmm... you might have an idea. Try in this spot instead." The stallion moved a little across the grasses to where another corpse of trees stood, slightly darker in tone and surrounded by longer brown grasses. "Take care to observe your surroundings and use them to your advantage. See how the shadows fall?" He gestured towards small spread of trees. "If you stand within the break it should work just as well as the scattered light for me."

The zhevra chuckled lightly, this was actually amusing in a way. It hadn't been long ago that he was beng trained the very same lessons. She seemed to be taking it in pretty fast also which was nice. Very much in need of practice, but the concept had been transferred over quite well. Zevron nodded towards the trees and then turned to his new pupil. "Well it's not likg you are going to become a master overnight. I think you are picking it up ok. Try it out, let's see if you can work this spot better, you might be surprised." As an afterthought he added, "And make sure you are quiet."  

[ATh e a r t]

Emille said nothing, but nodded at Zev's instructions. She made sure to know where the roots of the trees were, or any other large piece of leaf that would cause her to be not so quiet. When she took the position Zev had told her, Emille took a deep breath before trying to replicate what Zev had done earlier.

"Silence... Sight... Subterfuge..." The silence part was easy enough; Emille had been light on her feet ever since she first started training with her spear. Silently, she pulled her cloak a little bit further over and tried to see if she'd disappear.

The three 'S's' repeated in her mind over and over again. Emille managed to stay silent, and it seemed like she disappeared a little bit, but while she watched Zev, it was clear that, although decent for her first time, he could still see her. Emille was a little disappointed she didn't do better, but understood that for a first time, that couldn't have been bad... Right?

The mare seemed to be finished and looked at Zev, a bit to the right from where she was, and a little bit behind the stallion. "How was that?"

Amirynth

 

[Malis Vitterfolk]

Zev made a show of being startled before grinning and stepping to the side. "Very nicely done! With a bit of practce that trick will save your hide if something should go wrong." The striped stallion flicked his tail and then nodded towards the spear. "These tricks can also be used with the spear when you get more proficient. Being silent will keep your opponent guessing. Utilizing the shadows will protect you from getting hit and help you dodge out of the way. Lastly, if you make a feint and then plan your attack from the other direction you'll have a greater chance to land the hit."

Zevron took a few steps back to where the staff stood propped up against the tree and grabbed it between his teeth. He tossed it towards her with a swift motion with a grin. "See if you can hit me." He gave a wink and stood out into the open. "Don't worry about holding back. I doubt you have that much power yet."

atheart

 

[ATh e a r t]

With a sigh of relief, Emille was more than glad that she at least did it somewhat well. It had been a while since she last felt it, but the feeling of accomplishment made her feel really warm inside. Despite Zev being an almost complete stranger, Emille was grateful for his compliment. "Thank you for the encouraging words, it really means a lot to me!"

Emille was kind of startled when Zev mentioned attacking him with the spear. She knew that she was getting more and more proficient at using the spear, and Emille definitely didn't want to hurt the stallion. Emille did know, however, that the stallion was more likely than not more skilled than her.

Plus, it didn't seem like she could talk him out of it anyways.

She caught the spear in her mouth as Zev tossed it over to her. Emille made sure that she used the blunt end. No matter how good Zev was, losses and wins were never a guarantee she knew neither needed bloodshed. Emptying her mind once again, Emille repeated the words in her mind. "Silence... Sight... Subterfuge..."

Emille moved quickly and silently to the opposite side of where she was and used the blunt end of her spear to take a jab at Zev's underside. At this point, Emille wasn't sure if she would hit him, but there wasn't much harm in trying.

Amirynth