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 Posted: Wed Aug 03, 2022 11:55 am
They’d picked a smaller room to start working in; there were no windows, so no glass to worry about, but a small part of the wall had broken out and moisture and plants had started to grow in. A root had worked its way into the room, and it was so thick that they’d decided that maybe it could just stay for now. Besides, Belmont didn’t even know where the tree was, all he could see was where the root had broken out a hole in the wall and knocked loose a few bricks. There was something a bit off about the room but he couldn't really tell what it was. They’d had lunch though, so he couldn’t even be hangry.
The old stone was worn and covered in moss, but they’d picked at it, cleaned at it. Pulled loose the vines; they were all dead, so he wasn’t even worried about killing anything. Some of them even seemed as if they had burned–something they chalked up to the storms, considering how much they were raging in the distance.
At some point in time the room had flooded; it had been covered in mud.
But now, it was clean.
They were fed, rested, and ready to be productive again.
“It’s all about keeping proper footing,” Belmont explained; he stood across the room from her and had planted his feet solidly on the ground. “Chances are, you’re going to get hit at some point in time, but if you know how to shift your weight, you’ll know how to stay on your feet. If you wind up on the ground, you lose a lot of your ability to have a good defense or a good offense.”
They’d been talking about battle things over lunch, so now it was time to put them into practice. “Right now, I’ve got good purchase. Even if you come to hit me, I think I’m grounded enough that I could retaliate. But if I don’t have good footing, even if I can block, I’m still leaving myself open. You want to come try and hit me and see? We can test the theory.”
He’d mentioned that he wasn’t afraid of getting a little roughed up, and they had a first aid box for a reason. This was an important step to making sure they both stayed alive!
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Posted: Wed Aug 03, 2022 12:42 pm
Targovishte was a little tired from the cleaning, honestly she wasn’t one to engage in may physical activities and was more than a little spoiled but…she hid it well at any rate. The food had helped, and she had decided that Belmont had very good taste in sandwiches and rather appreciated it. He spoke of footing, and she looked down at her own boots, trying to figure out if she had good footing or not. Most likely not to be honest. She didn’t feel like someone who could withstand being pushed down but…
“So, when you say come try to hit you, do you mean with my fist or with my windsock? Because, I think I could actually land a hit with the windsock but I need to warn you, Belmont, my fists just aren’t made for hitting. I can slap you though!”
Brightening at the thought, Targovishte moved swiftly towards Belmont, hands outstretched. Hitting him didn’t have to be punching or slapping, she could literally try to shove him…and if all this was was a lesson on how to stand the right way…well. In theory, he shouldn’t fall down when she shoved him.
Which she did.
As hard as she could.
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Posted: Wed Aug 03, 2022 12:57 pm
He almost laughed when she sounded so much more enthusiastic about slapping him–she even seemed excited!–to come and shove him. It felt like kids playing some schoolyard game more than fighting, but it was training! He didn’t laugh; he braced himself for impact, and when she collided with him he latched onto both of her arms.
His knees didn’t bend. He didn’t fall.
The floor was still a bit slippery from all the cleaning they’d done, so he hadn’t expected for her to actually be able to move him, but he slid–slowly–back into the wall.
His back didn’t quite slam into it, it didn’t hurt but it was forceful. He laughed anyway, even though he felt something click behind him. He glanced over his shoulder but there didn’t appear to be anything broken behind him, and he wasn’t in any pain. He looked back at her.
“Well, pretend like the ground didn’t slide, I think I’m standing on some soap. But see? I kept my form, I didn’t go tumbling down. If I’d been less stable, I might have wound up on the ground, and then you could have just started kicking me. If there wasn’t a wall behind me, I might have been able to throw you over my shoulder, but I suppose I could use the force from the wall to shove you back. I’m not going to because I already know it’s slippery over here, but you did really well. Let’s move to a different part of the room though, maybe somewhere a little drier.”
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Posted: Wed Aug 03, 2022 1:04 pm
“I was half expecting you to fall over, in fact, I was hoping for it, it would have been nice to feel strong, you know?” Targovishte laughed and still felt quite pleased that she had been able to move him like that regardless. Soap or not, she was strong.
“How would it be…I mean, can you show me a bad stance? So I would know what not to do? Obviously I’m not great with this and don’t have wonderful footing, I’m not really sure that these boots have any tread on them either, which makes things worse. They’re very soft?”
Moving back to the center of the floor she couldn’t help but grin, feeling…excited, and much more energized, surprisingly. This was…kind of fun. And if they continued to just push each other around on the freshly cleaned floor, they could pretend that they were skating…and oh.
Wow she wanted to go skating now. That was something that she hadn’t done in years.
Her smile faltered for a moment though. She had enjoyed the activity with her brother but…ah well.
“I think it’s dry over here. Come on, Belmont! Let’s go again! I’m going to make you fall this time!”
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Posted: Wed Aug 03, 2022 1:16 pm
Now, Belmont laughed when she admitted that she’d wanted him to fall over! “You want me to show you a bad stance? I think you’re just looking for a weakness so you can push me down!”
He didn’t say no, though; he could play along. Except, between one step and the next, something felt wrong.
There was a loud crack, and he thought it was thunder at first, but then he felt like he was sliding. And then stumbling. And then falling.
There was an empty click across the room where he’d just been, like a button had been pressed into place. He didn’t get a chance to look back at it before the stone floor that they’d just cleaned crumbled beneath them.
There wasn’t anything to grab onto–
He fell.
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Posted: Wed Aug 03, 2022 1:19 pm
Oh god. Targovishte hadn’t meant for him to fall through something.
Swiftly she scrambled, remembering her words from just a few minutes ago, that falling was one of her greatest fears and here it was, playing out before her…but. Of course there was nothing to grab on to, and after one last moment of panic, she joined Belmont in falling, a cry of absolute terror ripping from her.
She was going to die. On Jupiter of all places…in a strange, crumbling castle that she had just spent so long trying to help clean and now she was going to die but.
…At least she wasn’t going to die alone.
Small comfort but. Comfort all the same.
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