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 Posted: Sat Jan 10, 2015 2:20 pm
Horace had not eaten much for breakfast - some toast. He was absolutely certain that anything he ate would not sit well; it was more likely to be beaten out of him. He'd sparred full hunters before - America had been kind, although she hated him now (of course), Rep had not, and Peyton had been fun. But defeats, every last one. Horace couldn't expect to win against a full hunter,. but he'd at least hope he would win against some fellow trainees. Maybe he just wasn't suited for this, after all. But there was no other option except to keep slogging forward until he died or got better. Horace was hoping for the latter, although he supposed his life was only worth what the organization thought of it. As it should be. Leaning against an unused dummy, he flipped open a book and waited. With how quickly he'd wolfed down his food, he was probably here early. Horace stifled a yawn. All other basement improvement supplies needed to stop until he could get a coffeepot runic'd or something. Idly, he wondered what kinds of books Jordan read - probably not romance novels. Maybe he'd ask. Grimacing, he tucked the book away and began to stretch. He could at least take this time to warm up.
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Posted: Sat Jan 10, 2015 2:42 pm
Jordan showed up a short time later, absentmindedly pulling his hair back into a short ponytail as he walked. The kid standing by the dummies must be Horace, he surmised; the guy's face resembled the icon on Twitter, and he had the nervous demeanor and slightly uncomfortable posture that most trainees didn't shake for several months, the sense that they didn't quite know what to do with themselves. He headed over to where the younger man had occupied himself with a book. "Morning," he greeted Horace. "Ready for a bit of a workout?"
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Posted: Sat Jan 10, 2015 3:21 pm
He looked up, unaccountably startled even though he knew Jordan was coming, and even though he had heard the other man's footsteps. "Hey - Jordan, right? I'd say I was born ready but that'd be a lie." Quickly, his eyes scanned the other man. He knew he was a full hunter, but didn't know the division. Not death, obviously, since Horace had already memorized the names and ranks of those within his own division. Scars on the left side of his jaw. Horace clacked the barbell in his tongue against his teeth. All in all, Jordan looked, well, normal. "Horace Nokoni, death. I really appreciate your offer. Gotta find some way not to be a burden." He smiled lopsidedly at Jordan. The book was tucked evenly more securely away - no need to have it bouncing around during a fight. Horace's fingers pulled at the hem of his green sweater for a moment. "So you know I've small, hand-held weapons, what kind do you have?"
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Posted: Sat Jan 10, 2015 3:25 pm
Jordan nodded. "Jordan Miller, sun division. I hope I can help you out a little with combat." He offered his hand for a handshake, adding, "And this is Ferros," a the red stone in the heavy ring on his index finger lit up briefly with a light that came from within. "Heavy warhammer. Mind summoning so I can see who you're working with?"
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Posted: Sat Jan 10, 2015 3:44 pm
Horace took his hand and shook it quickly and firmly. Grandma Dora had always told him a handshake was a first impression, so make it count and don't ******** it up. It was funny, he thought, how little pieces of her advice floated through his mind here - even when he was so far away. Dr. Jannisari gave advice in a different way. He worried about his grandmother occasionally, in that little house nestled snug up against the woods. But he felt a little guilty that he didn't worry more. Everything still felt a little unreal, and maybe that was why he threw himself into everything - meeting other hunters, sparring, missions. Horace could tell himself that it was to gather a network, to get better, and it was, But it was also because he was half afraid it was a dream.
His hand reached up briefly to tug on Jannisari. The heavy earring was formed into the shape of a plague doctor's mask, and small chains dangled off of the back. "I feel like everyone here's working larger weapons." The chains of the earring seemed to sway and then they were gone. Brightly silver, Jannisari gleamed across his knuckles. He held out both hands. "This is Dr. Jannisari."
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Posted: Sat Jan 10, 2015 3:59 pm
"There's a pretty good range. I've seen hugely oversized all the way down to very small, but size isn't really an indicator of how effective you are or will be. A good bond with your weapon helps, as does learning your own style." Jordan nodded respectfully to the weapon. "Hello, Doctor."
He fell into a loose guard stance, not summoning yet. "You'll have to get in close in a fight to use them effectively, so I'd suggest focusing on on agility and dodging. Go ahead and take a swing at me."
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The Semblance of Unity rolled 2 8-sided dice:
7, 1
Total: 8 (2-16)
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Posted: Sat Jan 10, 2015 4:05 pm
"Yes - I've never really fought before. I was always more of a 'take the hits' kid." Horace still was a kid, technically,but that was neither her nor there in practice. Jannisari hissed dryly in his mind, a thread of pleasure at being addressed with respect. Horace smiled - it was rare for the doctor to appreciate another person.
But as Jordan dropped into a stance, he raised a brow. "Not summoning?" Horace swallowed and lunged forward, trying to find some of the speed he'd seen in Peyton. Without a weapon... For some reason, he hesitated, and connected, just once, with the other hunter's shoulder. Not good enough, but still he moved back.
HP: 40/40
DMG: 2
CHG: 1/3
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Posted: Sat Jan 10, 2015 4:25 pm
"Yeah, I didn't either. I usually talked my way out of it when I could." Horace seemed to hesitate, striking only a glancing hit even though Jordan didn't move out of the way. "You're not always going to be facing off against things that are visibly armed. You can't get too squeamish about that." He nodded to Horace. "Might want to step back," he advised, and held his right hand out to the side, low and angled away from himself. The ring dissolved in a swirl of glittering motes, flowed and reformed in Jordan's hand as a massive hammer, easily as big as the hunter's torso.
Jordan brought Ferros around and up in a relaxed defensive position in front of him, the haft of the hammer angled down, keeping the bulk of it low and between the two humans. "I've got a lot of reach on you, so you'll either need to get around Ferros or target him instead of me. You'll still chip away at our shield if you're hitting him, but it's better if you can get in close enough to hit me. More effective when you're inflicting pain as well."
HP: 58/60
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The Semblance of Unity rolled 2 8-sided dice:
5, 4
Total: 9 (2-16)
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Posted: Sat Jan 10, 2015 4:28 pm
Horace did as Jordan suggested and felt his mouth drop. "Holy ******** s**t. You're huge, Ferros." He felt a little silly talking to a giant hammer, but had extended that courtesy to his own weapon. And Ferros was just too big to not talk about. Horace knew, with utter certainty, that this fight would be over quickly and perhaps painfully. ...He was kind of looking forward to it.
"..Pain, gotcha." Horace gathered himself, then paused. He couldn't really feint around a weapon this large. But he tried, and aimed his fists lower, at Jordan's hip.
HP: 40/40
DMG: 3
CHG: 2/3
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prolixity rolled 2 10-sided dice:
7, 10
Total: 17 (2-20)
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Posted: Sat Jan 10, 2015 4:55 pm
Ferros radiated smug satisfaction, and Jordan didn't bother to hide his grin. "I'm not going to lie, that never gets old," he said, his serious expression melting briefly into something more like mischief. "He started out about a third this size, says he's still not big enough, but he's hard enough to swing indoors as it is."
Horace dodged around Ferros, getting in close enough for his weapon to glance off Jordan's hip; Jordan stepped into the hit and past Horace to bring him back into Ferros's range, turning and planting one foot to spin in a tight circle and bring Ferros around in a long and vicious arc. He'd meant to pull the blow a little, but the momentum carried them into a powerful strike.
Ferros hit hard, fed, made a silent and sheepish apology that twined together with the thought of hungry, hungry, and an echo of a chill and shadowy touch underneath his own furnace heat.
HP: 55/60
Dmg: 11
Charge: 1/3
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The Semblance of Unity rolled 2 8-sided dice:
8, 7
Total: 15 (2-16)
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Posted: Sat Jan 10, 2015 5:06 pm
Ferros swung and when he hit, it hit hard. Horace could feel it burst along his shield violently,. He stumbled, but instead of going down , he moved into the fall and past it, using that tiny kick to come back around at Jordan. Close, closer, closer. Horace swung out, fist aimed for the other hunter's jaw.
HP: 29/40
DMG: 9
CHG: 3/3
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prolixity rolled 2 10-sided dice:
1, 7
Total: 8 (2-20)
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Posted: Sat Jan 10, 2015 5:20 pm
The fist slammed into Jordan's jaw, knocking him back a step and giving him a moment of dizziness; he pushed through the moment of disorientation to bring his elbow up to jab into Horace's ribs, shoving him away with the side of Ferros' handle.
He shook his head to clear it, but he was grinning, openly pleased by the retaliation. "Yeah, that was a great recovery. Use the momentum and take whatever openings you get, and listen to your weapon's instincts. They know how they want to be used."
HP: 46/60
Dmg: 2
Charge: 2/3
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The Semblance of Unity rolled 2 8-sided dice:
8, 6
Total: 14 (2-16)
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Posted: Sat Jan 10, 2015 5:40 pm
The elbow was expected or, at least, some form of retaliation was. It still hurt a bit: aimed right into the side that had taken Ferros earlier. He slid back and bounced on the balls of his feet. "I think," Horace said lightly, eyes lit up, assessing options. "-that if Ferros got too much bigger, people would think you were overcompensating." It was a joke parroted from his spar with Hattie, but he couldn't think of anything else other than the size of Ferros. Jannisari whispered in his mind, reminding him of the location of major arteries, tendons. She wanted blood on her - to taste the nature of it, even if she did afford some measure of affection towards Jordan.
Horace's grin mirrored Jordan's - it felt good to hit, to succeed. "The Doctor likes to talk of arteries ad how to incapacitate, mainly. She's much more talkative at night, though." He shot forward, his body weaving slight (he'd seen Peyton do it just so. He was larger than her, not as fast, but still he ducked under Ferros. The boy didn't have any doubts that Jordan would be less of a threat on the ground as standing, but this was about learning - so he ignored the simple allure of kicking him in the kneecap. Instead, he aimed his right fist into Jordan's gut. Getting in so close and up-front was dangerous, but maybe he could get away quickly enough.
HP: 27/40
DMG: 8
CHG: 3/3
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prolixity rolled 2 10-sided dice:
10, 5
Total: 15 (2-20)
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Posted: Sat Jan 10, 2015 6:04 pm
Jordan snorted, amused. "Yeah, we've never heard that one before," he replied, but didn't appear to be offended. "She likes to fight?"
Horace dodged under Ferros and drove his fist into Jordan's gut, good and hard; Jordan huffed a heavy breath and fell back a step, going to one knee. But the motion was deliberate. His other hand came up to grip the hammer's haft for stability, and as he caught his breath he surged up from the half-crouch, angling the bladed finial on Ferros's barrel into Horace's chest and shoving upward hard as he came back to his feet.
HP: 38/60
Dmg: 9
Charge: 3/3
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The Semblance of Unity rolled 8 4-sided dice:
2, 4, 2, 1, 4, 4, 1, 4
Total: 22 (8-32)
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Posted: Sat Jan 10, 2015 6:18 pm
A glimmer of satisfaction shimmered through him as Jordan fell onto one knee. This is the part in a video game, a tiny corner of his mind said, that some villain laughs evilly and say 'bow down'. But neither Horace nor Jordan were villains, even if Ferros look like he came straight from a game, so he said nothing in that brief moment. But the other hunter surged forward, not with the heavy hammer, but the end. Now that was entirely unexpected. Horace felt his shield warp, struggling to contain the damage as all the breath let his body. He was knocked back neatly, one hand rising to press against that spot.
he joked, but it was with a sense of admiration. {May I?} Her assent burned through him. Sometimes she refused him, or he ******** it up. But he wanted this spar to continue past the normal boundaries of his body. The now-familiar spark grew between his tekkos, leaping up quickly before shooting back down into him. Horace panted in the aftermath, skin flushing. "s**t." But he was grinning. "Dr. Jannisari doesn't like fighting so much as blood or getting close enough to know the nature of their bodies. I guess it makes sense that she's short-ranged. A rather intimate weapon type."
HP: 38/40
DMG: +20 heal
CHG: 0/3
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