Salle [afternoon]

[bloody-luck.livejournal.com]

Never let it be said that Mat couldn't go and exercise when not being forced by bloody knife point. It wasn't that he was worried that Arthur some people here might outstrip him in terms of skill.

It was just that he hadn't worked with his quarterstaff in far too long and he didn't want his arm muscles to disappear. Not that he wanted to have shoulders like bloody Perrin, mind--he liked coats that fit--but women were more eager to talk to a man who didn't look like he would blow away in a gust of wind.

So there Mat was in the salle, beating the stuffing (not literally, at least, not yet) out of a dummy with a stick taller than he was.

He was really, really good at it.

[OOC: Open!]

Comments

[guardianborn.livejournal.com]

It wasn't like people playing with crazy weapons was all that weird around here, but Rose could honestly say she'd never walked in on someone fighting with a small tree before.

Which wasn't to say he wasn't all kinds of awesome at it, and Rose took a moment to appreciate that fact.

[bloody-luck.livejournal.com]

Mat finally glanced over his shoulder and grinned. "Like my big stick?"

[guardianborn.livejournal.com]

"I'm pretty sure size stops mattering when you get to the size of a tree," Rose said, grinning back.

[bloody-luck.livejournal.com]

Mat, fortunately for everyone, had never asked Loial about how Ogier went about courting. Hopefully the mothers eventually stopped being involved.

"Then it becomes more of a logistical headache," he said, winking. "Have you worked with something this large before?"

[guardianborn.livejournal.com]

Well... there's Dimitri.

"I don't think I have," she replied, eyes widening teasingly. "Want to show me how it works?"

[bloody-luck.livejournal.com]

"It would be my pleasure," he said. "My da used to win the village competitions in the quarterstaff almost every year."

[guardianborn.livejournal.com]

And Rose really, really hoped that that wasn't meant to be dirty.

She closed the distance between them to study the staff. "What about you?"

[bloody-luck.livejournal.com]

"I beat two Warder-trained princes," Mat said proudly, "right after I recovered from--" "possessing an evil knife" wasn't the reputation he was after, "--a lingering illness."

[guardianborn.livejournal.com]

Yes, a lingering illness was much manlier. "So I'm guessing they weren't terribly thrilled by that?" she asked.

[bloody-luck.livejournal.com]

"Not at all," Mat laughed, "especially when they had to hand over their gold because I won the bet."

[guardianborn.livejournal.com]

"So show me?" she asked, raising her eyebrows at him.

[bloody-luck.livejournal.com]

"Do you have a big stick?" he teased.

[guardianborn.livejournal.com]

"Hell no, I don't need one," Rose teased back.

[notqueenyet.livejournal.com]

Aravis, in a pair of loose yoga pants and a t-shirt, wandered into the salle with her scimitar in hand.

She took a moment to consider who was there and whether he might prefer to work alone.

And then realized that was an absurd idea. "Whatever did that poor dummy ever do to you?"

[bloody-luck.livejournal.com]

"Said horrible things about your legs," Mat answered promptly. "Hello."

[notqueenyet.livejournal.com]

"Ah, the bit about the scales, I expect," Aravis said, nodding wisely as she found a small spot to polish her blade not dirty omfg she doesn't even HAVE one of those, guys. "It's good of you to set him straight, then. You have my gratitude."

[bloody-luck.livejournal.com]

Mat grinned cheekily at her. "Here for me to beat you with a quarterstaff?"

[notqueenyet.livejournal.com]

"I think you may suffer delusions, my dearest Mat," Aravis said sweetly. "I was rather planning on winning."

[bloody-luck.livejournal.com]

"Should we wager on it, then?" Mat replied.

Mat should probably remember that he has problems hitting women.

[notqueenyet.livejournal.com]

Aravis gave him a lazy grin. "What would you like to bet?"

She had her own ideas, of course, but she'd wait to hear his.

[bloody-luck.livejournal.com]

"Hmmm," Mat mused. "We've done kisses...and other kiss-related things...shall we bet an hour where the loser must do whatever the winner wishes?"

[notqueenyet.livejournal.com]

"Perfect," Aravis said, beaming at him as she neatly got up and got a better grip on her sword. "Because I, for one, have many ideas."

That last was delivered perfectly innocently. Really.

[bloody-luck.livejournal.com]

"Do you indeed," Mat said, smirking and holding his quarterstaff in a defensive ready position. "Let's see how good you are."

[notqueenyet.livejournal.com]

Aravis raised her scimitar, her eyebrow arching. "I do indeed."

And with that, she moved closer, swinging her blade at him -- though of course she would not be intending to actually strike him.

[bloody-luck.livejournal.com]

Mat, who had gotten his ass rather thoroughly handed to him by Tahiri at Fight Club on Sunday, was doing better with a weapon in his hand, at least for the moment.

The quarterstaff smacked solidly against the scimitar, then whirled to clip her at the knees.