fandomhighdorms | Behind the Dorms, Tuesday After Classes

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Behind the Dorms, Tuesday After Classes

"Dodging," Arthur started, as soon as all had assembled, "Is a fine art in and of itself. When you lose your weapon, you may not be able to replace it. And even if you do have it, it might be useful to avoid being struck in the face." He paused briefly, grinning once. "But ask Zack about that. Today, we will be practicing that skill: it's a basic fighting technique, but there's no reason we shouldn't be brushing up on it."

Zack did his best to look indignant, but mostly he just came off as 'playfully pouty.' It was entirely possible that the muscles in his face had forgotten how to look indignant years ago.

"We're not going to do full-out sparring today, because there are so many different skill levels here, and we don't have a means of pairing you off the same way that Fight Club has. But we are going to pair you off anyhow. One of you will be our designated hitter, and please, don't use any powers, or super strength, or anything like that until your partner confirms that it's alright. The other one will dodge. Don't get hit, guys. It's not really all that fun. Throw a few hits, dodge a few hits, and swap off every five minutes." He swayed on his heels for a moment, and then added. "If anyone ends up hurt, then stop. If the injury is serious, let us know right away so that I can give you a healing potion or so we can get your butt to the clinic post-haste."

"Above all, share what you know," Arthur finished. "If someone conducts a particularly ambitious swerve, ask how, and attempt to repeat it. Remember to keep your distance, to watch your opponent's movements, and not to lose control of your own. I believe that's everything; grab a partner, and get to work."

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Triela's own self-opinion tended in the same direction, so she just grinned confidently. It actually took some effort for Triela to make herself dodge that rather than blocking. Because when you blocked someone you could hurt them if you did it right, and that was her preferred tactic.

Still, she leaned to her right, trying to get outside the arc of Kennedy's arm.

Kennedy had been on the blocking end of a few of those painful incidents herself, and could vouch for it if pressed. She'd prefer not being pressed that way, though.

Triela's move meant the roundhouse kick that Kennedy opted to follow up with as her actual opening attack was going to be off target no matter what; she'd been expecting Triela to lean the other way.

"Nice," she said. "Why'd you decide to go that way?"

"It's part of a counter," Triela answered. "If I get outside your arm, then manage to grab any part of it, it's easy for me to get behind you. It also takes me out of line for a follow-up strike with your other hand."

It was also slower, of course, but Triela's enhancements meant she had speed to spare.

Kennedy's eyes narrowed in concentration as she listened, then nodded. "I was going to go with a kick, but that's even slower."

She went through with said roundhouse kick anyway, just to see how the other girl-- who obviously knew what she was doing-- would counter that.

Triela danced backward, just far enough that the kick might reach her if Kennedy overbalanced herself forward. She grinned, watching for any sign that the other girl might make that mistake.

Yes. Yes, Kennedy did make that mistake, as a matter of fact. She knew it as soon as she'd done it, but by that point it was too late, huh?

"Crap."

Overextended like that, it was easy to step around the kick, and Triela rushed forward before Kennedy could recover her balance.

"Hmm... This dodging thing may not be so bad," she decided.

"Speak for yourself," Kennedy replied, scowling slightly as she stumbled. "It gets kind of old from my end, fast."

"You want to switch up, then?" Triela suggested.

Yes, actually, but Kennedy shook her head doggedly. "I'm good for a few more minutes of this." Triela's explanations were a lot less glassy-eye-inducing than her Watcher's could be.

"Fair enough." Triela stepped back a little bit and fell into her stance again. It wasn't that she was an expert, yet, but she'd been focusing a lot of her attention on hand-to-hand combat for the past three or four months and it was actually paying off.

Plus Triela had the field expertise Kennedy only wished she did.

"Hey, learning experience and all." She didn't sound quite as carefree and cocky as usual, but she was giving it a game effort. This time she went in with a quick (for her) left-right punch combination to the solar plexus and jaw, not a feint, just an outright attack.

Again Triela leaned to her right, but with that first punch coming in so low she had to turn the lean into an outright step to the side. Once she was moving she went ahead and took another step, hoping to get far enough out of line that even if Kennedy twisted that second punch wouldn't be able to connect.

Kennedy did twist, but she'd also overcommitted to her forward momentum and the second punch whistled wide. But since she was shifting her weight in that direction anyway, she tried to compensate for the distance with a side kick.

Her balance shift was a bit awkward, though.

Triela was spending at least part of her attention on not moving at full speed, since that would sort of skew the exercise. But trying to move as fast as a normal person instead meant that she wasn't paying enough attention and she just barely dodged the kick. The edge of Kennedy's foot grazed off of her shoulder.

"Good recovery," she nodded. "But now you're even more off-balance."

Kennedy's slightly aggrieved look was enough of a hint that she realized it. But she was in a bit of a geek mode about this now (yes, she could be a geek, but she never thought of it in those terms) and asked, "What would you do about that, if you weren't dodging?"

She could actually learn from these things if someone wasn't trying to get under her skin. Who knew?

"Being off balance means your reactions will be slowed. That gives me two options to select from." Triela took one long step backward and pulled back her jacket, revealing the empty shoulder holster she was wearing. "Option one is to open the range and shoot you before you can react." Then she took two long steps forward and reached a gloved hand forward toward Kennedy's throat. "Option two is to close the range and kill you before you can recover enough balance to dodge."

"The problem with being off balance," as Triela well knew, "is that until you recover, any further movements make it worse. So even if you avoided my follow-up, it would put you in an even worse position."

Safe to say Kennedy was plenty freaked out right about now, but she covered it up with a disaffected "Hrm" and a thoughtful narrowing of her eyes.

"Right." She was so not as casual as she thought she was trying to be. "So it's worth losing the attack momentum sometimes."

"Sometimes," Triela agreed. "It's not always as simple as never overextending, though. If you're sure that an overextension will take out your opponent, then it's often worth it. But the consequences of judging that incorrectly are high..."

She smiled, thinking of Pinocchio. It was a chilly sort of expression because he'd underestimated her, and it had killed him.

And whoa there with the creepy.

"Right," Kennedy said again, a little shaken. "I think I'm ready to switch now."

Girls who looked thirteen weren't supposed to be excited about killing people, it was true. "Okay," Triela grinned. "I'll try to keep this at a normal speed."

She stepped back and then found her stance. "Ready when you are."

Totally not. Creepy, and yet Kennedy kind of liked her.

...normal speed. You know, she could develop a complex about this soon, but then again, vampires were supposed to be stronger and faster than humans anyway, so it was pretty much in line with training. Right? Right.

Kennedy got back into a ready position and balanced her weight on the balls of her feet, hands down at her sides (it took effort to remind herself to do that). "This is me, saying when."

That was enough for Triela. She moved forward, weaving her body to the right, and as her weight shifted downward as part of her stride, she lashed out with her left hand at Kennedy's stomach.

Damn, that was some efficient movement. The weave to the right fooled Kennedy long enough that the only evasive option she could take in time was to take a quick hop backward, and she could've sworn her shirt got grazed by the punch anyway.

Still. This was Kennedy not looking worried. See her not looking worried here?

"Not bad," Triela complimented her. She stepped back and resumed her stance. "One trick is to not watch the head or hands of your opponent. The center of gravity," she reached down to tap her hip, "is where movement comes from. So just watch that to figure out which way I'm really moving."

It wasn't a perfect method, but it was a useful place to start.

Then, without waiting for a response, Triela rushed in with exactly the same move: weave right, punch left..

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