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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"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..

Constance had probably told Kennedy this on more than a few occasions. Kennedy hadn't paid as much attention as she could have, but she was paying attention now. Must have something to do with actually getting to square off with people who looked like they belonged in a fight instead of on Masterpiece Theater or in a library for once.

The compliment didn't hurt much either.

Shifting her focus like Triela had said (there was probably some cheap joke to be made here about how you'd think Kennedy would pay more attention to-- let's not make that joke, okay? No.) was actually more useful than just anticipating the same attack as before and gave her the chance to step to her right, like Triela'd done to her earlier, pivoting to square up and grab the arm if she had to.

Hey. That made sense.

Coooooooooool.

Triela paused, allowing Kennedy a beat to get a feel for where they were both standing, then she pivoted on her left foot, bringing her fist around in a backhand strike.

...or maybe not that much sense, if someone was thinking a step ahead of you. Things to get better at, check. The list was going to be epic.

"Whoa!" Kennedy yelped, and dropped into a highly inelegant half-crouch, not far enough to have trouble getting back up.

"Good reflexes," Triela said as she stepped back again, opening the range. "But you see the advantage of staying centered. If I had overextended I wouldn't have been able to switch directions like that."

"I get it now, yeah," Kennedy said. She straightened (ha), moved to stay squared up with Triela, and reminded herself not to fall for head and hand movements right away-- it might even work.

Seriously. Epic list was going to be seriously epic.

Nobody tell her that her Watcher already had a copy of that list, okay?

[[have to run afk for a few hours, sorry. back around 8:30ish?]]

"In that case..." Triela grinned just a bit and rushed in. She led with a right-handed punch at Kennedy's belly, immediately shifted into a sweeping elbow from the left, stepped to the side slightly and brought her right knee up, and finished with a hard kick aimed at the other girl's knee.

Time to see just how much Kennedy would remember when the pressure was on.

[No problem! See you then!]

She remembered about half of it. Which wasn't bad, considering.

Kennedy managed to twist wildly out of the way of the first punch but took the elbow on the forearm that she flung up barely in time to avoid a hit to her jaw.

Centered. Centered. Stay centered.

She tried, anyway, and got a knee to the side for the trouble, which meant that jumping back from the kick to her knee had her stumbling backwards and nearly falling.

Her smile was a little bit closer to a grimace-- the blows Triela had landed weren't that painful under the circumstances, but she'd still be a bit sore for a while.

"That wasn't so bad."

"Not bad," Triela repeated in agreement. "You move well enough, and your balance is generally good. All you really need is more practice." A lot of it. "So that you don't have to think about what you're doing."

Triela needed the same thing, which is how she knew.

A lot of practice.

A lot. Of. Practice.

Triela was obviously good, which was why Kennedy's smile was both genuine and a little chagrined, the closest she could make herself come to saying thanks for the critique. "I've been training with pretty much one person most of my life. A month in Fandom, and I get the feeling that kind of screwed me over."

Triela snorted slightly in sympathy. "It's from fighting new people that you learn the most. Otherwise you don't learn general things, just how to beat that one person."

She'd made that mistake once.

Kennedy made a what can you do? face.

"I think I've learned more since being here than I learned in the last couple of years," she admitted. "She always holds back on me, too. Drives me up the wall."

"At least I never had that problem," Triela laughed. "And field experience helps a lot too. Until you really have to use your skills it's all just theoretical, you know?"

"Learning that real quick," Kennedy half muttered. "And we haven't gotten invaded by anything yet since I've been here."

The that is so not fair was unspoken but obvious.

"You sound disappointed," Triela snorted, definitely amused.

"It was a big selling point in coming here," Kennedy replied. "I'm not so much with the heavy resume in the field experience department, either. Kinda wanna fix that."

"That's fair," Triela nodded. "Well, knowing Fandom... it won't be too long before you get your wish."

"Sweet," Kennedy said with a full-on grin.

She might live to regret that.

"Let me know if that's still how you feel after your first invasion," Triela laughed.

Re: Hit and Dodge!

brat_inslayage - 2009-09-23 01:42 (UTC) - Expand

Re: Hit and Dodge!

sorella-vecchia.livejournal.com - 2009-09-23 01:46 (UTC) - Expand

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