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 Posted: Sun Jun 12, 2022 10:17 am
“What do you mean, throw and catch Earth punches? Wouldn’t they be the same on Alastor?” Michael asked as he carefully folded up the blanket they’d used for their lunch. Princess was racing around the atrium again, but there didn’t seem any immediate need to make her return to the fang now attached to his hip again.
“I guess it would be good to make sure you knew what to expect,” he hummed thoughtfully, because maybe things were that different on other worlds.
They’d had enough time to sit and relax, and look for more moths (which they’d found several more hiding along the bark of the oak), and let Princess have a large portion of the food they brought with them. Michael didn’t mind staying longer. He knew that Chad was with the Reids that day, so they could take their time and hopefully not be away when Devyn was needed.
“I can check your stance, too. It’s been a while since you’d actually fought seriously, so I don’t think a refresher could hurt,” he offered. They might as well make sure they covered all their bases.
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Posted: Sun Jun 12, 2022 10:26 am
“Theoretically, a punch is a punch,” Alastor answered, “But you’ve got so many different fighting styles here on Earth. I was pretty adept, back in the day. But I had my own fighting style, I had a lot of influence from everyone and everything. I think, every time I found someone new to fight, I tried to take the best of what they had to offer and learn how to incorporate that into what I was doing, too. And you, you’re strong. I’ve been in fights since I got on Earth, but. It’s sloppy, you know. It’s a bunch of guys who like to fight, but maybe they aren’t really good at it.”
He juggled the thought for a moment and then clarified, “Some of them are. Not good enough to beat me, but. They hesitate. They doubt themselves. Or, they have too much faith in themselves. It’s not really a challenge. I still like going, don’t get me wrong.”
He hadn’t been in a little while, but he’d had other things to keep him busy.
“But if I’m going to learn, I think it would be best from you. You know what you’re doing.” And, he couldn’t promise that another spar wouldn’t end the same way, but at least this way he could actually try to learn.
“You can check my stance, but I doubt you’ll have any suggestions for me, there. I’m very sturdy, and I have excellent posture. My stance is well rounded and serves me well. But, I trust you. So I’ll listen to a refresher and see if you can teach me anything that’ll stick.”
He was prideful, of course.
But, he was here to learn and improve, too.
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Posted: Sun Jun 12, 2022 10:33 am
Did Sessrumnir actually believe that there was anything he could suggest to improve the stance of a man who fought his whole life and never lost? No, but that didn’t mean he couldn’t give him a bit of a hard time. It was probably mean to do so, but Alastor was a good sport.
“Alright, are you hitting me first, or am I hitting you?” he asked, arms crossed casually over his chest as he stood and watched Alastor curiously. He wanted to see Alastor’s fighting moves. It would be good to know so they could work together easier.
“It’s been a while since I had any formal training, but I still practice often. Usually at the gym,” he explained. After all, he didn’t stay in shape by doing nothing.
Princess seemed to be curious in what they were doing, and comically crawled along the grass towards them, dragging her hindlegs behind her, until she was close enough to just flop down completely.
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Posted: Sun Jun 12, 2022 10:54 am
There was no way that Alastor couldn’t be distracted by Princess and how absolutely perfect she was, wriggling across the grass. But, he had to practice. Had to get something more substantial out of this since he did want to give Michael some reassurances that he could hold his own without him worrying so much.
“It’s been a while since I had any formal training. Long while.” He couldn't remember the last person who had taught him anything worth remembering, but that was hardly saying much.
It was a memory in a sea of memories, and Devyn was still fishing them out.
“I’ll hit you first, I suppose. Depends on who I’m fighting, but if it was someone of your build, I think I’d probably want to start with one to the gut to try and wind you and get you to double over, and then a solid second with my left to your ear. I’m letting you know now so you can block me, I don’t want to hit you in the stomach and have you lose lunch, or get you in the ear and do any damage to your head. So, get comfortable and let me know when you’re ready, I’ll come at you as soon as you give me the go ahead.”
Michael knowing meant he could block, and it meant that he’d have an advantage to plan around Devyn–which was good, because Devyn would rather prefer to get feedback on what Michael thought he was doing right–and what he might improve on.
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Posted: Sun Jun 12, 2022 11:19 am
A smile tugged at Sessrumnir’s lip, because it was refreshing to know how considerate Alastor was when it came to sparing. He really didn’t have any intention of hurting him, did he? Then again, Sessrumnir had no intention of actually hurting Alastor.
“I’m ready,” he said with a nod, and then took up his own stance to prepare himself to block the attacks.
The first was pretty simple, since it was meant as a distraction more than anything. The blow to his head would have been meant for a knockout if Alastor was being serious.
So when Alastor struck at his gut, Sessrumnir easily blocked it with his forearm. And when the fist was swung at his ear, he reached up to grab it with his hand.
“You know, if you hadn’t told me your plan, you would have probably knocked me out,” he said with a quiet laugh. Not because any of this was funny, but Sessrumnir was constantly impressed by Alastor’s fighting skills.
He kept his fingers around Alastor’s fist as he lowered it down from his face, although it was never tight enough for Alastor not to pull it free on his own.
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Posted: Sun Jun 12, 2022 12:00 pm
Alastor let Sessrumnir lower his hand but aside from that he made no effort to pull away. He was still grinning, maybe partly in pride and partly because Michael’s laughter just had that effect on him. “Maybe, but I’ve seen you walk off a stab wound, so I don’t think you’d go down that easily. You're fast, I wasn’t really even holding back much.”
He trusted that Michael was going to block him, that much was certain.
“If I’d hit but hadn’t knocked you out, I would have either tried to bring my elbow down on the back of your head or kneed you in the face, depending on which way you were moving. But I’m thinking I should be careful about that, I don’t want to break your neck. I suppose I could always go for the groin, but that seems a bit callous. Better that than dead, though.”
If he was expected to give them a chance, at least.
“I don’t like to use my feet or legs so much to fight, unless I have to. I’d rather be solidly grounded than risk being knocked off balance by a good sweep or something. But I’m quick, so I can cross a lot of distance to get to where I need to be. I’m good at jumping, too. But I can’t show you right now or Princess’ll get too excited. Maybe later.”
When she wasn’t having so much fun crawling on the grass.
“Is it your turn, now?” he asked, sounding very much like this was some new game he’d just fallen for and couldn’t get enough of.
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Posted: Sun Jun 12, 2022 12:49 pm
Sessrumnir released Alastor’s hand then, only so he could lift his hand to rub at the back of his head where the phantom elbow would have hit him, laughing softly as he did so.
“I appreciate you being careful,” he admitted, because he would rather not go home with a concussion. Not that he expected Alastor would actually hit him, but…
He glanced over to Princess, who seemed to be content with wriggling around still. At least she had time to be out and run around. He always felt bad that he couldn’t see her more often.
“My turn,” he agreed, and flexed his fingers. “I’ll feign a right hook. Draw your attention and movement, but I’ll be aiming for your solar plexus with my left. And then a right jab to your throat. But you do know that I’m going to work on getting you off your feet, now that I know you like staying grounded,” he pointed out, because who knew what kind of fighters Alastor would run into.
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Posted: Sun Jun 12, 2022 2:47 pm
“Oh, fancy,” Alastor said, just as he drew back so Sessrumnir could get his stance ready.
“I’ll get off my feet,” he sighed, characteristically dramatic, “I just don’t like it. There are a lot of distractions when you’re moving like that. And if you wind up in an area with rocks or roots, going down is dangerous. Besides, if I stay on my feet, it means I can run if I need to.”
Because that’s what Michael had told him to do if he felt like he was in over his head.
He withdrew a few feet, just enough to give Michael time to build up whatever speed he needed to in order to deliver the attack he’d outlined. Alastor had played it through in his head, but it was slow at first, and then picked up speed by the third time he’d run it through. He thought Sessrumnir would be faster in reality than he was in the simulation in his head–and he was right.
When Sessrumnir moved, Alastor reacted.
He’d been given the blueprint for how it was all going to work out. He probably wouldn’t have anticipated it if Sessrumnir hadn’t gone over it all–he probably would have expected that right hook and been distracted by the feign, and then he’d probably have had a very sore solar plexus, and possibly a very bruised throat.
Instead, he acted as if he did expect that right hook, and blocked where it would have been, just to make sure his timing wouldn’t have left him open and vulnerable to any other attack. It gave him the opportunity to twist just enough that the blow to his solar plexus grazed him–enough to make contact, but not enough to hurt. It gave him ample time push the jab away from his throat with his still raised arm.
But, Sessrumnir was fast, and Alastor was visibly impressed.
“–Although, now that I think about it, they say dancing’s the best way to practice footwork.” As if Michael hadn’t already said he’d go dancing with him.
“You move so smoothly. I can feel how much power you’ve got behind those punches,” and he suspected Sessrumnir was holding back, too. “So you’re strong, and graceful, and handsome. You’d have had a line of admirers for you back on Alastor.”
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Posted: Sun Jun 12, 2022 4:53 pm
When Sessrumnir grazed Alastor, he winced, but not enough to hold back from following through with his planned jab. He did pull away enough to glance down at Alastor’s abdomen, as if he could see any injury through his clothes.
And it was easier for him to focus on making sure Alastor was okay, rather than the stream of compliments he was given.
“Oh, sounds like I was born in the wrong world at the wrong time then,” he hummed, his fingers twitching at his sides as though he was desperately holding himself back from reaching out to unbutton Alastor’s shirt --
Wait, what was he even thinking?? He just wanted to check on him, that was all! Getting ahead of bruises was important. Of course he was a little flustered when he recalled Alastor predicting he would be squeamish about hitting him.
“You did say you were pretty good at dancing,” he reminded him. “I’m sure my gracefulness stops at fighting. It’s been a long time since I’ve tried dancing.”
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Posted: Sun Jun 12, 2022 5:50 pm
Alastor laughed richly and finally lowered his arms. He planted his hands on his hips, comfortable and well grounded and looked at Michael as though he knew what he was thinking.
He didn’t reach to brush his chest once, though he had taken a second to smooth his shirt out. “Oh, you and I both know you don’t give yourself enough credit. But if you need to practice before I take you out, Princess is an excellent dance partner. She’s very passionate. Also the epitome of strength, grace, and beauty.”
They had a good while before he got tired of this sort of training. He just didn’t remember when Sessrumnir had gotten so distracting. Alastor had been good and focused when he’d been younger, and that had served him well! He’d carried that hard working mentality throughout his whole life!
Well, he did have a penchant for getting distracted while Percy was around, too, but that wasn’t fair. That didn’t count, they’d gotten married.
“I suppose we should go on for a while more. But while we’re here, we should take advantage of the floor space around here.” Later! When they were done practicing. He was focused.
And not at all thinking about how fortunate he was that Michael was born on the right world at the right time. Or wondering what he’d do if Michael actually was being swarmed with admirers. Probably shoo them off. Oh, but that wouldn’t have been fair to Michael. He deserved the attention; from all that he’d seen, Devyn firmly believed that Michael would have been an outstanding partner.
He was helpful, compassionate, considerate. Hardworking. Clever. Strong. A romantic, he suspected, with all of that poetry. Thoughtful. Intuitive. Resourceful. Handsome, especially with those scars.
He had quite a list of things going for him, and Devyn was pretty sure he was finding new things to add to that list daily.
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Posted: Sun Jun 12, 2022 6:03 pm
“Oh, I bet she is,” Sessrumnir agreed, although he seemed a little exasperated by the look Alastor was giving him. He wasn’t that predictable, was he? Okay maybe a little, but only about some things! Maybe more than some things.
Then again, it wasn’t really fair, because Alastor seemed to know him better than anyone else.
Sessrumnir gave Alastor a somewhat incredulous look about taking advantage of the floor space, because he wasn’t actually thinking about dancing, was he? Sure, Michael had agreed to going dancing with him, but he didn’t think it would be so soon! And it wasn’t that he wasn’t looking forward to it! He just didn’t want to disappoint Devyn.
But why? Why did that matter so much to him?
And why was it that every time Alastor stood with his hands on his hips like that, Sessrumnir couldn’t help but think how cute he was. Was that even fair to Alastor? Thinking he was cute? Just in case it wasn’t, Sessrumnir made sure to glance away, watching Princess as she continued to roll around in the grass every so often.
“You sure you’re okay?”
Oops, he hadn’t meant to actually ask. He was trying not to fuss and worry too much, but he couldn’t help it!
Sessrumnir clicked his tongue to the roof of his mouth and shook his head, already suspecting that Alastor would just laugh and reassure him that he was fine and that it didn’t even hurt.
“Your turn,” he grunted before Alastor had a chance to tease him, and held up his hands for the next round of punches to deflect.
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Posted: Sun Jun 12, 2022 6:11 pm
Sessrumnir seemed to know him pretty well already.
Alastor did laugh, and finally lowered his hands so he could return to a better position to spar in. “I’m fine,” he assured, predictably, “Not even a wrinkle on my shirt. I feel good. Fresh, alive. Ready for round two.”
And three, and four, and however more they could eke out before they decided to take a break.
And go dancing. Or maybe to the springs. Or maybe they’d just take a nap with Princess. Or go look for more moths, or take another tour of Sessrumnir, or–
There was a very long list of things he thought he’d enjoy doing with Michael.
He looked forward to getting to them all, eventually.
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