The Salle, Friday Morning

[bitchprince]

There had been a moment where Arthur had flirted with the idea of not showing up at all. There were more pressing matters to deal with - the only problem was that the only thing he had right now involved waiting: for Liir to find something, for the Lady Zoe to hold her audience for the day, for-- something.

He wasn't up for much of Dinah's cheer, either, and he'd have preferred a male training partner just so he could have something to squarely beat the shit out of for his own nerves' sake, but it seemed he'd have neither.

He brought a staff with him into the salle, tapping it on the floor once before he settled into a stance. Any exercise might keep his mind off things until he actually got to act; he was fairly aching for some action.

There just weren't any answers he could use.

[[ arthur is expecting one, but the salle is a free and open space ]]

Comments

[blondecanary.livejournal.com]

Dinah had woken up feeling physically better, emotionally a little... off. There had been nightmares last night; the soldier who'd tried to kill her had gotten up, and tried to finish the job, chanting he loves you the whole time. Which had meant reminding herself of what Tahiri had said, and what Sam had pointed out, over and over: not their fight, not the ones who started it. Still unnerving.

"Hey." Plus, there was what she'd heard on the Radio. She headed for the staffs. "Merlin's missing?"

[bitchprince]

Oh, right, radio. "I'm working on it," he assured her, giving his staff a twirl that was half-hearted, but in that way where you could only tell if you spoke fluid arrogant disdain.

Arthur was not operating at peak efficiency right now-- emotionally, anyway-- but the people he trusted with that information weren't to be found on this island. "Right now, there's waiting."

[blondecanary.livejournal.com]

"Crap." Dinah sighed, rubbed her head, then grabbed a staff. "Tell me when you need back-up to deal with it, then." She turned to him, wondering if she was imagining that he was moving with less focus than usual. "This doesn't have anything to do with the invasion in the Preserve, right?"

[bitchprince]

"If anything's happened to him, it'd be far too dangerous," Arthur said, bringing his staff down, pointed at the floor, while he waited for her. "...Invasion in the Preserve? What are you babbling about this time?"

[blondecanary.livejournal.com]

Which was way unnerving, both the idea that it'd be too dangerous to help, and that Arthur didn't already know. "It didn't make Radio notes?" Dinah brought her staff into position, and set her feet. "Uh. It was dealt with." Because really, he had enough to worry about right now. "Sam Winchester organized some people, no one was seriously hurt, the green guys left." She took a breath. "Ready?"

[bitchprince]

"I was there, Dinah," he shot back, "The squirrels are blind in comparison."

He didn't move his stance much, but steadied the staff in his hands. If there was any weapon with which he was familiar, it was this one. "Let's see if you can manage anything."

[blondecanary.livejournal.com]

"You were?" Dinah blinked, confused. "I didn't see you there at the ship fight... Hunh." She shrugged, and made a note to go listen to the Podcast, then took a breath.

Not as familiar with the staff as with eskrima, but still way better with it than the sword. "Now."

She started out with a sweep across the middle, then upward toward his jaw.

[bitchprince]

His hands shot over with his staff to deflect her blow rather effortlessly. "No, at the causeway," Arthur said, realising that he'd probably misinterpreted something or whatever but he wasn't going to let her know about it. Nor did he particularly care. "Is that it?"

[blondecanary.livejournal.com]

"Not even," Dinah said, although she had to focus harder from the conversation, now that she'd realized he's misinterpreted what she'd said, and she'd gotten what he said wrong. "Later, I'll tell you later." Maybe. Sometime. It wasn't like she wanted to think about it. Or about Merlin being missing, agh, although now that was bugging her too.

Whap-whap, and go for the knees this time, and a shot to the foot as well.

[withoutverona]

Romeo nodded a greeting to Dinah at some point when neither of them was hitting anybody else with a stick. "Good morrow, Dinah. How has your week been?"

[blondecanary.livejournal.com]

"Good. Weiiird. People leaving, new job, and a fight on Wednesday. Mostly good?" She smiled at Romeo, and reached into her bag for her bottle of water. "How about yours?"

[withoutverona]

"Too many people leaving," Romeo said, with a crooked attempt at a smile. "I have my plans for fall sorted out, though, or so I hope. What was your fight?"

He assumed she meant sparring.

[blondecanary.livejournal.com]

"Yeaaah. My roomie's gone soon," Dinah said, unable to contain her gloom on that. "Where are you going? And when?" She bit her lip, trying to think of how to be succint about Wednesday's events, and settled for, "There were a bunch of people who grabbed some little kids on Wednesday. Alien religious nuts. Sam Winchester got people organized and it all came out okay."

[withoutverona]

"I'll go to study business in Tokyo, at the end of June," Romeo said quickly, still blinking as he processed Dinah's recounting of Wednesday's events. "... I cannot believe I missed that. How was no one hurt?"

[blondecanary.livejournal.com]

"Element of surprise? And it was fast, I mean, I walked off the street and within an hour we were heading into the Preserve to look for them, and they weren't exactly hiding, so. Fight fight fight." Dinah shook her head. "I think heard Hurley got dogpiled, and people got knocked around, but I still don't know all the details, really. Tahiri got their leader. I don't even know what they were called." She shivered. "Creepy, though. I'm very glad they're gone." She smiled a little. "There'll probably be another one before you leave and all."

[withoutverona]

"I hope you've not cursed us with that," Romeo said quietly. "I'm no coward, but I don't like how much survival on the island seems to depend on luck. I would be pleased if we had peace until I go."

[blondecanary.livejournal.com]

"I hope not too. There'll be new kids who have no idea what's going on," Dinah said, thinking about that, back to March. "Although, there weren't any attacks until I was here-- maybe two months? I think? And Francine and some of the others said there wasn't much last summer when they were here." Aside from Jamie and his warnings about Jell-O dragons, and Marco and the dinosaurs.... Okay. "Skill, too, I think that helps. At least I hope it does," she said, more subdued.

[withoutverona]

Romeo had practiced with his guns for about as long as he could bear without a break, and was heading back to the dorms to, he supposed, study Japanese again. That could wait, though; for the moment, he paused idly in the Salle's entrance.

"Good morning, Arthur."

[bitchprince]

"Romeo. Morning." For a moment, Arthur was tempted by the urge to challenge Romeo to a fight, but he supposed it was a bit dishonorable, beating up on someone who still lacked the skills to actually put up a good fight (Merlin didn't count; he was a servant, that was his job).

Shame. He turned, sweeping his staff firmly along and down to the ground (not that he was showing off; he wasn't in the mood. That was just natural aptitude).

[withoutverona]

Arthur's not-showing off looked a bit like showing off to Romeo, to be honest, and he took it as an invitation to enter. He stepped into the Salle.

"That's something like Reno's baton."

[OOC: it's up to you, but if he gets beaten up, I can have him feeling too sorry for himself to go to the newbie picnic tomorrow. Win-win from here.]

[bitchprince]

"It's just a staff," Arthur said, approaching Romeo, "I regret not getting a chance to spar him with one." Okay, so maybe showing off was something he did the way other people did breathing - but that was aptitude for you.

[withoutverona]

"He trained me with one a bit," Romeo said, eying the staff. "Not technique, really, more ... pounding on things. And not a true spar."

"He will be back." Romeo had to believe that.

[bitchprince]

"I'm sure he'll make an effort," Arthur said, idly, because that part wasn't the important part (reassuring as it no doubt was), "So you know how to fight with a staff?"

That was interesting.

[withoutverona]

"I know how to hold one and hit a dummy," Romeo reiterated. "A true fight might be a bit beyond me."

Then, considering (with his pride in mind as much as anything else), he added, "I did skip my training session Monday."

[bitchprince]

Arthur was just going to hear what Arthur wanted to hear. Although by the sounds of it, Romeo wouldn't be much of a challenge. And beating up on Merlin was fairly impossible right now (which he just wasn't going to think about. he was going to fix this). He swept the staff up in a good imitation of the way he knew to twirl a sword.

"A spar, then," he said, "Make sure your muscles don't get lazy."