[RP]Obake Blade

[ForceFightWMe12]

"Yes, yes, we have research to do. Coming, coming." Kyo said, grinning faintly as she tugged on his arm - almost in the likeness of an eager child. "You've already wounded my pride - no need to rip my arm off as well!"

[Rogue Nine]

The morning passed rather pleasantly following Maggie and Kyo's little spar. They had settled under a large willow tree, with various scrolls and tomes scattered about.

 

Carwyn looked at them from his seat on a small knoll to the side. Maggie seemed quite animated in helping Kyo with his research, poring over the various literature with such intensity, it was hard to say who looked more studious, she or Kyo. He remarked as such to Aya, who was sitting next to him and she grinned.

 

Stretching his bare feet out into the soft grass, Carwyn leaned back with his hands and stared into the clear blue sky. "I wonder when we'll have another day like this," he remarked quietly.

 

"Hmm?" Aya said.

 

"A day just to sit back and enjoy the sights," Carwyn explained, turning to look at Aya. "We've had some crazy experiences the last few days, so this peace is something very welcome." He blew a stray blade of grass out of his eyes. "I can't shake this feeling however... That this might just be a calm before a huge storm." He rubbed his hip absentmindedly, tracing the tiny mottled line of stitches from his wound.

[Rexraptor2000]

Having joined the group under the tree, taking amusement from Kyo and Maggie studying with the warm breeze gently brushing against them, Toa smiled the whole time. Rarely had he a moment like this for six years, where nothing really seemed to matter but taking a moment to relax. There were a lot of good people in the world, more than there were bad: Just looking at those under the tree and those in the monestary stood testimony to that. However, there were some people who could do things that made up for all that sadly. Toa knew that all too well, and he was grateful for the company.

 

"I can't shake this feeling however... That this might just be a calm before a huge storm."

 

Toa shook his head as he overheard the ranger and said "Well, I'll turn that storm into a cloud of steam before it ruins a day like this."

[ForceFightWMe12]

As Kyo scanned the last few pages of a smaller book he held in his hand, his mind couldn't help but wander. He could feel Maggie sitting only a few feet from him off to his left, and on his right, Toa was just stirring from a bi of a nap. On the other side of the tree, he could hear the voices of Carwyn and Aya as they talked, but he was able to keep enough focus on the book in his hand enough that their conversation was muffled and indistinct.

 

Father Abbott had returned inside, stating that he was off to find Brother Hanzo for one reason or another and so - besides their small group - little else stirred in the garden. The breeze was soft and peaceful, enough to be refreshing, but not enough to bother their research by flipping pages and tossing scrolls about.The water of the pool reflected the sunlight a few yards over, and the tree above them swayed gently. All in all, quite a picturesque scene.

 

When he had glanced over the last page, he flipped the book closed and let it rest in his lap as he leaned back against the tree trunk, looking over the garden with soft, peaceful eyes.

[JasraLantill]

"We've had some crazy experiences the last few days, so this peace is something very welcome." Carwyn blew a stray blade of grass out of his eyes. "I can't shake this feeling however... That this might just be a calm before a huge storm." He rubbed his hip absentmindedly, tracing the tiny mottled line of stitches from his wound.

Toa shook his head as he overheard the ranger and said "Well, I'll turn that storm into a cloud of steam before it ruins a day like this."

 

Aya let out a giggle at the pyromancers remark, "Well, we're safe enough here for the moment." Nevertheless, she wiggled herself closer to Carwyn until their shoulders touched. "This monastery's been here for... for centuries, I think."

 

She looked over to where Kyo and Maggie were. "I'm sure Mags knows more about the history of this place than I do." She let out a little snort. "Kyo probably knows more about the history of this place than I do." She shook her head with disbelief. "All those books and scrolls and... how can they be so happy with all that boring stuff around them?"

 

She gave Carwyn and Toa a look. "We should do something," she said definitively. "Play a game or something." Her eye darted to Toa. "And no games where we have play with bones. I had a weird dream about playing games played with bones," she added. "You two are both from the West. Think of a western game we can all play."

[Rexraptor2000]

"We could play Hot Foot. Granted, you would have burns on your feet, but it certainly shows how fast you really are," Toa said with a mischievous look on his face. "But assuming you want a game that doesn't involved getting burned intentionally, Capture the Flag is a good one. Not the kind where you grab those little pieces of cloth, but where your taking actual Flags made of flame and have a horde of Pyromacer made soldiers coming after you. Like I said, no intentional burning. Also, we may both be from the West, but I'm from the Volcanic region. Chances are he's from the Forested region from what I've seen."

[Quist]

Maggie sighed as she shut the book she was perusing, unable to find exactly what Kyo was looking for. Every time she happened upon something that she thought might be relevant, it just didn't seem to suit Kyo's field of research and it was annoying her just a little bit. Stretching her sore muscles, she stood up and worked the kninks out of her legs. They'd been reading for quite some time, and the sun was pretty high up in the sky. Her little spar with Kyo had gotten her adrenaline running and she felt as if she now had all this energy to burn.

 

Trotting over to where Aya and Carwyn were sitting, she gave them both a wide smile, then looked at the blond ranger. "Master Stormchild, would you care to indulge me in a sparring match?"

[ForceFightWMe12]

Kyo, who had overheard Maggie's request, couldn't help but chuckle to himself.

 

"Miss Magdelena, our good ranger friend neglected to spar with me, due to the fact that he isn't a melee combatist - nor did he think he could match me." peering from around the other side of the tree, he smirked at her, "After you've beaten me as soundly as you did, why would he want to face you? He's probably scared to death of you."

 

In entirety, Kyo was simply ribbing Carwyn in jest. Shifting a bit to look at the Ranger, he smiled at him to reassure that point.

 

"Isn't that right, Carwyn?"

[Quist]

Maggie glanced at Kyo behind her and smirked amusedly at him. "But I thought you'd claimed victory in our match, Kyo?" she said playfully. "Or do you concede defeat now?"

[Rogue Nine]

Carwyn had been mulling over which game to suggest, rubbing his stubbly chin in thought, when a lilting female voice made him look up.

 

Maggie was standing in front of him, the bright sun behind her making her brown hair seem lighter, but not quite as bright as her smile. "Master Stormchild, would you care to indulge me in a sparring match?" she asked sweetly.

 

Before Carwyn could even make a surprised noise, Kyo spoke up "Miss Magdelena, our good ranger friend neglected to spar with me, due to the fact that he isn't a melee combatist - nor did he think he could match me. After you've beaten me as soundly as you did, why would he want to face you? He's probably scared to death of you." He shot Carwyn a smile. "Isn't that right, Carwyn?"

 

"Petrified," Carwyn responded, having found his voice again. "Completely, utterly and all-encompassing-ly petrified." He smiled at Maggie easily, then uncurled himself from the ground and stood up to his full lanky height. "But I never was one to turn down a request from a pretty lass. If it's a match you're wanting, it's a match you'll get." He swung his shoulders back, feeling the joints pop satisfyingly. "So what're we using for weapons, Maggie?" He gave her a pleading look. "Please say the bow and arrow."

[ForceFightWMe12]

"I thought it was rather obvious to everyone that you had beaten me," he said, grinning, "I had to allow myself some scrap of pride."

 

Kyo gaped at Carwyn slightly as he agreed to spar with Maggie, a grin quickly replacing it. "So you'll fight a woman but you won't fight me? Some man you are!"

[Quist]

Maggie grinned at Kyo. "I can accept that just fine," she said happily. "But don't think you're getting out of that match you promised me."

 

She turned back to Carwyn. "We can do the bow and arrow some other time, though I don't think that'd be much of a contest, master archer." She put a finger to her lips in thought. "Well, seeing as we don't really have much in the way of weaponry, I believe an unarmed match would be the best recourse."

[ForceFightWMe12]

Kyo grinned at Carwyn as his bow and arrows were denied, standing and shifting to come around to the other side of the tree. Sitting down next to Aya, he smirked at the ranger.

 

"Go on, Carwyn." he said, nudging the back of Carwyn's leg. "Good luck."

[JasraLantill]

Aya nudged Toa with her elbow. "I think we've found a better game to play." She gave the mancer a wink. "Or at least one to watch."

 

As Kyo sat down beside her, Aya looked over Carwyn, then Maggie, and then Carwyn again. "Hmm... hand to hand sparring is good exercise, and it's always good to keep up your skills, but..." Her brow wrinkled with mild disapproval. "You'd be hitting a girl, Carwyn."

[Quist]

Maggie nudged her friend with her foot. "Hey, what makes you think he'll be able to hit me in the first place, Aya?" she asked while winking at Carwyn at the same time. "Since he's not a professed melee combatant, I'm going to slow down for him, but not by much."

[Rogue Nine]

Carwyn scratched the back of his head, looking from Kyo, to Aya, to Maggie, then back at each of them before finally settling his gaze on Maggie. "Good to know people are rooting for me, I guess," he said, a rueful grin on his face. "And yeah, I'd appreciate it quite a bit if you went easy on me, Mags. I'm definitely not as nimble as Kyo and would really not like any bones broken."

 

He finished stretching out his arms, then shrugged his unbuttoned shirt off and left it next to Aya as he trotted over to the open patch where Kyo and Maggie had had their match. "So, unarmed you say?" he called out to Maggie. "Does that mean we fight only with our feet?" he asked facetiously while wrapping his arms around the small of his back.

[Quist]

"I'll see what I can do, Master Stormchild," Maggie replied as she watched him remove his shirt, exposing his lean and sinewy torso. He had broad shoulders which were not as wide as Kyo's but still quite muscular from his skill in archery. As he turned to walk towards the sparring site, she couldn't help but let her eyes wander over his lean frame.

 

"So, unarmed you say? "Does that mean we fight only with our feet?" he called out, placing his arms behind his back.

 

She grinned as she walked over and stood a few meters opposite from him. "No, not quite, though I'll not stop you should you wish to handicap yourself," she replied. She held a finger up and said, "One moment, please." Bending over, she took the bottom of her skirt and with a sharp tug, ripped a long slit in the left side, then repeated the process on the right. She straightened up, unbuttoned her blouse and tossed it to the side, leaving her clad in only her sleeveless undershirt and newly-slitted skirt. Taking a deep, calming breath, she bowed respectfully to Carwyn, then shifted her body into a basic fighting stance: legs apart, knees bent, arms up and ready.

 

"Whenever you're ready, Master Stormchild."

[Rogue Nine]

Carwyn's eyes widened as he watch Maggie ready herself. She could have passed for Aya's sister, both having long dark brown tresses and lambent brown eyes, but as she settled into her stance, the differences between the two women became more readily apparent. Maggie, from what he could see, was more defined physically, judging from the toned look of her legs and arms. He raked his gaze over her figure and realized for the first time just how attractive she was.

 

He shook his head, snapping out of his idle observation. Get a grip, man. This is Aya's best friend, who is probably about to beat the living snot out of you. Try not to embarrass yourself. He steeled himself and dropped into a stance he hoped didn't look too ridiculous on him. Locking eyes with Maggie, he said, "Oh no, ladies first."

[Quist]

(( Joint post with Rogue Nine. ))

 

"You men and your chivalry," Maggie chided lightly, then moved in quickly for a punch aimed at Carwyn's solar plexus.

 

Carwyn observed Maggie's forward momentum and how she tensed just a slight bit before throwing her punch. Slipping deftly around it, he grabbed her wrist in both of his hands and twisted up and out, intent on flipping her over onto her back.

 

Maggie fully expected Carwyn to dodge her first punch, but she had not anticipated that he would riposte so quickly with a move of his own. As she felt him grip her wrist, she realized what he was trying to do and forced her body to flow in the direction he was intent on forcing upon her. She went airborne for a few moments as Carwyn executed the flip maneuver on her, but instead of landing on her back, she hit the ground with both feet and abruptly stopped the force of the move. Gritting her teeth, she pushed back into a counterattack of her own, grabbing his wrists with her free hand and torqueing them in the opposite direction, effectively reversing the move he had tried on her.

 

Carwyn could tell that he had caught Maggie unaware, and was pleased with his counterattack. However, he had also resigned himself to the fact that it probably would not have the complete desired effect and was proven correct when Maggie deftly reversed the maneuver on him, sending him into the air, spinning like a top. He quickly freed himself of Maggie's grip, then landed rather ungraciously on his back, feeling the wind being forced out of his lungs from the impact. Inhaling, he lifted his legs into the air, then brought them down and foward, using the momentum and inertia to bring him back to his feet. He quickly settled into a defensive stance, trying to get ready for whatever Maggie was to throw at him next. "I knew that wouldn't work on you," he remarked to her breathlessly.

 

"Then why did you try it?" she asked as she wasted no time pressing forward, aiming a sweeping kick towards the ranger's legs.

[ForceFightWMe12]

"Then why did you try it?"

 

Kyo shook his head slightly, grinning in amusement as he watched the duel. "She is merciless..." he murmured softly as Maggie sprung right back into action again. Even in the first fourty or so seconds of the fight, she had already laid Carwyn flat on his back with enough force that Kyo winced. The bigger they are the harder they fall, as they say...

 

His calculating green eyes flashed from one combatant to the other, watching every movement of muscle as the two clashed together again, trying to pick out what attack or defense they would give before they gave it. He found that, as a third person party, it was far easier to observe...and soon found that he had a near uncanny precognition for their movements. Carwyn was easy - as melee was not his most skilled method of combat, his movements were often very straight forward as he tried to fend off the smaller, faster Maggie. But it was the Monastery girl that kept Kyo guessing. She was trained to fight and defend herself - as he had witnessed first-hand earlier that morning - and so her movements were faster, cloaked, and utilized no more energy or movement than exactly what was needed. She was the one that he couldn't seem to always get right.

[Rogue Nine]

Carwyn's head thumped softly to the ground for what seemed like the umpteenth time, not hard enough to hurt, but just enough to make him dizzy. Rising slowly to his feet, he turned to Maggie just in time to see her step into a roundhouse kick aimed squarely at his head. Raising his arm just in time, he caught her shin in his left hand, then gripped her ankle in his right and pivoted, twirling her around and launching her in the opposite direction.

 

Maggie felt Carwyn counter her kick, then twist and pivot to throw her. Relaxing her muscles, she allowed herself to be thrown, twisting in midair to land softly on her feet, a fair few yards away from him. The ranger had proven to be a decent combatant, capable of fending off her attacks and sometimes throwing them back into her face, but it wasn't hard to tell that his melee skills were rudimentary at best. However, he was nimble and his reflexes were sharp and those traits helped him stay on his feet more often than not. And he did not seem to tire or give up when he did not land on his feet, almost immediately finding his footing after every fall.

 

As she stalked forward, she absentmindedly wiped a sweaty strand of brown hair out of her eyes. Studying Carwyn, she could see that he had worked up a sweat too, rivulets of perspiration streaming down his chiseled frame as he set himself again. She allowed herself a small moment to admire the sight before snapping out another horizontal kick, aimed for his midsection.

 

Doesn't she ever tire? Carwyn thought to himself as he moved to meet her attack. Catching her leg again in his hands, he lifted her foot high above his head while simultaneously stepping forward to whip a foot to the back of her other leg, buckling it at the knee.

 

Maggie felt Carwyn catch her kick again, but before she could carry out her next attack, he had stepped foward and planted a kick of his own to the back of her knee, causing her to lose her balance. Reaching an arm out, she braced herself for the impact against the ground, but also freed her front leg from Carwyn's grasp, then curled it around his neck, using the momentum of her fall to bring him down as well.

 

Carwyn thought he'd finally gotten Maggie to fall, but that thought quickly vanished as he felt her sinewy calf and thigh around his neck, pulling him to the ground with her. They fell in a tangled heap, both landing on their sides, but with Maggie's leg still wrapped around Carwyn's head.

[JasraLantill]

Sitting on the grass next to Toa, Aya watched the fight between Maggie and Carwyn with great interest. She had seen Maggie spar in a similar manner with some of the monks on past visits to the monastery with her father, but those had been training sessions. Now, however, it seemed that Maggie had reached full proficiency.

 

"You know, we should have made popcorn," Aya said to Toa, hugging her knees to her chest as her eyes fixated on the fighting pair. "This is getting good."

 

But her brow raised and her eyes widened when Maggie and Carwyn ended up tangled on the ground--with Carwyn's head nestled behind Maggie's knee. She looked at Toa askance. "Well, that was an interesting move...." she said quietly.

[Rexraptor2000]

"Well, that was an interesting move...." she said quietly.

 

Toa glanced at Aya and said to her with a cheery smile "Well, one things for certain: she certainly caught my eye with some of her moves, and this one is a definite eyeopener. I wouldn't think much of it though. As for the popcorn, I would have made some, but then would come the part of not burning down the monastery in the process of making it."

[Rogue Nine]

Carwyn lay on the ground, breathing heavily, his face nestled behind Maggie's knee. Moving gingerly, he used his hands to move her leg off his head and raised himself up into a sitting position. His longish blond hair felt wet on the back of his neck, and he shook his head out, spraying sweat in all directions. Combing it back with his fingers, he turned to look at Maggie, who had also come to a sitting position across from him. "Okay Mags, I concede defeat," he told her, a lopsided grin on his face. "You win. Not like there was ever really a contest..."

 

"Oh no, you put up a great fight, Master Stormchild," Maggie responded brightly. "Quite the workout."

 

"Yeah, I'll bet," he said, rubbing the back of his neck. "And it's high time you started calling me Carwyn."

[Quist]

(( Another joint post with Rogue Nine. ))

 

Maggie grinned at Carwyn. "Fine, then," she said, clambering slowly to her feet. The dull ache that usually followed a good training session was starting to seep into her muscles as she could feel them protest a bit as she rose. Trotting slowly over to Carwyn, she held her hand out to him. "So we'll just say this was a decisive victory for me, right?"

 

"Decisive?" Carwyn remarked idly as he took her hand and hoisted himself up. He almost slipped, since his and Maggie's hands were slippery with sweat. Wiping his palm on the hip of his leggings, he looked at her and could see that she was perspiring as much as he was.

 

Maggie could feel the perspiration running down her legs and down the front of her shirt. The bright sun in the sky, coupled with her recent spar with Carwyn had made her work up quite a sweat. Combing her hands through her long brown locks, she trotted over to where Aya, Kyo and Toa were sitting and plopped herself next to the blond warrior.