The Salle, Early Thursday Morning

[puppy_fair]

It was morning! And Arthur had mentioned a while back that Zack needed to get out and actually practise more often, and so Zack had pretty much charted out a day of training for himself, starting here, and then moving on into the preserve later on. He had no classes on Thursday, so why not?

And if he just so happened to be humming under his breath as he ran through some patterns with his sword, it wasn't as though he was thinking much of it, really.

He was Zack. It was normal.

[Up for great SP justice. I want to get some playing in today, dangit.]

Comments

[bitchprince]

After a yet to be played out utterly bizarre wake-up, Arthur was... heading back into the salle for some practice. Come rain or shine or Fandom insanity, he was going to get some time in with his sword - not dirty - and he'd just have to keep his mouth shut or something like that.

Which was why Zack got a nod as he entered.

[puppy_fair]

What, no witty and typically Arthur-like welcome?

Zack blinked, and then shrugged and waved hello back, shouldering his sword for a moment as... Music seeped in around them. Little 'Ha-cha-cha-chaaaa' sounds.

"Hello world, we're shining so bright! A new day's here, it's really dynamite! Feel the love! Savor the joy! There's a rainbow for each girl and boy!"

... Dear gods. He was singing.

"On this... Happy morning! Haaaappy mooorning!"

He'd be clapping, but with his sword in hand? That would be a bad idea. So mostly he was just looking baffled. And possibly a little irritated that he couldn't stop.

[bitchprince]

... Arthur shot him a look. "Zack," he started.

... Dammit. Talking. And he could feel another hum coming on, at that. Don't. Just don't. Just--

"There are only two types of people in the world," Arthur admonished, then quickly jammed his mouth shut and... raised his sword. Maybe if they were fighting, they wouldn't be singing.

[[ this is dedicated to all you Merlin vidders and your insane song choices out there! ]]

[puppy_fair]

Zack nodded and bit his lip and lifted his own sword back off his shoulder. Yes. Yes. That sounded like a good idea, really, didn't it?

If Arthur would be so kind as to pummel the Happy Morning right out of him, he'd be thrilled, actually.

[bitchprince]

Arthur would be happy to oblige--

"The ones that entertain and the ones that observe."

He was not going to sing here, dammit. No. None of it. Arthur gave his sword a little twirl-- "Well baby, I'm a put-on-a-show kind of boy--"

Oh, for the love of God.

He threw a blow at Zack's shoulder before he even knew he was moving.

[puppy_fair]

It probably said a great deal that the blow to his shoulder connected with his armor and thus really only succeeded in knocking the next line of Zack's stupid song out of him.

"Get up, get out of bed! You can sleep when you are dead!"

...

This was the stupidest song ever, and Zack was going to demonstrate exactly what he thought of both of their songs by twirling his own sword around and bringing it down hard and fast for Arthur's own shoulder.

[bitchprince]

Yes, much, much better. They couldn't sing while fighting. He brought up his sword to block as fast as he could, then struck out again, faster-paced than his usual style just to keep his attention on the blade rather than--

--"Did they send me daughters when I asked for sons?"--

--Randomly derailing onto another song.

[puppy_fair]

Oh, that was mean!

Which was exactly why Zack was making a face as he blocked and sidestepped, and then swing his sword in another strong, heavy slash aimed across Arthur's chest.

At least all the singing was distracting, or something?

[bitchprince]

Yeah. Very distracting.

Arthur blocked it off with speed, of course, considering a kick but opting not to because, well, that would mean a short cessation of fight--

"Don't like the backseat, gotta be first."

Struck low at Zack's knee.

"I'm like the ringleader, I call the shots."

[puppy_fair]

This music was starting to get kind of catchy, actually, wasn't it?

Zack bounced back from the shot to the knee, grinning and bouncing forward again as he slipped into a rhythm of sorts. Swing! Block! Dodge! Bounce!

"This is the ultimate showdown... of ultimate destiny! Good guys, bad guys, and explosions, as far as the eye can see! And only one will survive, I wonder who it will be? This is the ultimate showdown... Of ultimate destiny!"

... He kinda liked that one. Which meant, naturally, that he was going to be preoccupied for a moment, humming along.

[bitchprince]

Which was probably not a good thing when the blunt end of a sword was coming at your head, no.

"I feel the adrenaline moving through my veins--" Yes, definitely for the head. "Spotlight on me and I'm ready to break."

[puppy_fair]

"D'oof."

No, totally not a song. Maybe getting clonked upside the head was a good thing in that it made it difficult to carry a tune?

Either way, Zack was tripping back a few steps again, taking a moment to regain his wits. And continuing to hum, yes.

[bitchprince]

That was just making it too easy for the bloody music to take over, though, even as Arthur twirled his sword to the best of his ability.

"All eyes on me in the center of the ring just like a circus--" Swoop. "When I crack that whip, everybody gon' trip just like a circus..." Twirl.

He slipped back into a battle-ready position.

"Don't stand there watching me, follow me, show me what you can do."

[puppy_fair]

Zack gave his head another good shake, making sure all his marbles were still in place up there, before nodding and charging forward again- this time more with his shoulder than with his sword, which swung out with the sole intention of getting Arthur's out of the way so that he wouldn't skewer himself on it.

Bull in a china shop, perhaps. Or maybe he was partly hoping to knock the stuffing out of himself, too, just so that he wouldn't start singing again.

[bitchprince]

Arthur, for one, actually sort of appreciated the impact right now as stumbling back seemed entirely preferable to continuing the song he'd just started.

Of course, he returned action immediately unlike the mun whose inbox is hating, adjusting fast and levelling his sword and slicing at Zack's hip and just. Do not. Open. Your mouth.

[puppy_fair]

One-handed, Zack was bringing his sword around and down to block the one headed for his hip. It wasn't the most powerful block he'd managed, but it did at least keep him from having to reattach his leg or something, and he was going to consider that a plus.

His other hand, meanwhile, was reaching upward a-la-fist in attempt to hit Arthur in said mouth. Because it was hard to sing without a mouth, see? Zack was totally doing him a favor!

[bitchprince]

Arthur was just going to twist this way and... catch Zack's fist anyway, which hurt like all hell and forced him to make a spirited attempt to stagger back and away, out of Zack's range.

On the plus side, he wasn't singing anymore. On the negative side, that would leave a bruise. And again: it hurt like hell. Though that came with the territory.

[puppy_fair]

That was half the fun of it, really, wasn't it? The sting that reminded you that you weren't dead yet?

Zack sometimes had a weird definition of fun, yes.

He allowed himself a moment to offer an apologetic smile, but the best that was going to happen was a deep breath, and another verse.

"Well you're the real tough cookie with a long history, of breaking little bones like the ones in me! Thats o.k., lets see how you do it, put up your dukes, lets get down to it!"

Zack's sword went clattering to the floor as the lyrics swept in and made him do just that, his hands going in fists in front of him.

"Hit me with your best shot! Why don't you hit me with your best shot! Hit me with your best shot! Fire away!"

[bitchprince]

Did Zack just really decide to switch up for a fistfight?

All right then. Arthur's own sword found the floor. "There's only two types of guys out there," he said, idly, and wiped at his mouth to rid himself of some spittle and what he was fairly sure wasn't blood, at least.

"Ones that can hang with me and ones that are scared--" He threw a left-hook at Zack's head like it was nothing, really.

[puppy_fair]

Well, punching one another seemed to be doing more good for them than beating on one another's swords had.

That, and Zack was better at dodging swings when he wasn't hauling around that huge sword of his. His head weaved out of the way, and he threw another punch somewhere toward Arthur's stomach. It was hard to tell, since he'd started singing again.

"You come on with a come on, you don't fight fair, but thats o.k., see if I care! Knock me down, its all in vain... I'll get right back on my feet again!"

Perhaps he should have let Arthur punch him in the head after all.

[bitchprince]

That might have ended better for the both of them, yes.

However, Arthur's stomach wouldn't make for much of a change beyond some wheezing through his lyrics, so he dodged away, attempting to use the advantage to catch Zack across the more sensitive parts of his shoulder.

"This is fight music." Oh, that one was back.

[puppy_fair]

Zack, at this point, was looking for reasons to stop singing, and like hell he was going to avoid a blow to the shoulder if it stood any chance at all of shutting him up, dammit.

Instead of stepping away, he lifted his arm slightly and moved into the blow, allowing better access to his shoulder around the pauldrons he usually wore.

Instead of lyrics, the sound he made was a hiss of air. There was a wince to go with it, which hardly held any sort of rhythm to it. Now would be a good time to step again and swing around with the arm that wasn't currently all pins-and-needles for an attempt at an elbow to Arthur's chest, perhaps?

[bitchprince]

This time, Arthur was ready, his hands shooting out to catch that elbow before it could strike him, attempting to give it a good yank just off its original target and send Zack stumbling off balance. That was the plan, at least. He hadn't fought Zack hand to hand very often, and he was unsure how his exceptional strength would feed into it.

But there was no better time than one where you wanted to absolutely, positively be distracted to try.

[puppy_fair]

No urge to sing! None of that throwing his concentration off for the moment, and so Zack was planting his feet as firmly into the floor as he could manage, snapping around with his still tingling other hand to grab at the wrist holding his own elbow. His balance was shot, true, but damn it if he was going down again without putting up a fight on the way.

If he could grab that wrist, he was going to give it a good twist as he fell, and he wasn't going to let go.

[bitchprince]

It was a quick twist-and-yank that meant Zack didn't break his wrist.

It also meant that Zack got a firm hold of his arm, however, which was just as well for the last of Arthur's balance, as the sudden weight yanked him off it - hopefully to Zack's satisfaction, there - allowing him little more than a surprised "Huh," before he found himself eating floor.

Well, and a chunk of Zack's arm, if you were going to be pedantic about it, but it was a little hard to aim for just the floor when you had someone yanking you off your feet.

[puppy_fair]

Hello, floor, cracking hard against Zack's head! Hello, Arthur's mouth on his arm!

Zack was going to take a moment to stare up at the ceiling, somewhat bewildered; you don't take that many shots to the head without winding up in at least a little bit of a daze, after all.

And then Zack was going to giggle. Just a little giggle, somewhere in the back of his throat, that he figured wasn't going to go anywhere at all.

Really, Zack, you should know better by now.

"Dun-dun-dun dunnnnn-dunnnn dun dun-dun-dunnnn!"

It wasn't quite a victory... But close enough.

[bitchprince]

Well, there was really only one way to properly appreciate such a moment.

Arthur lifted one tired fist and went for a suckerpunch. A... horizontal suckerpunch. Probably not one that was too effective.

It was the symbolic value that counted.