exsiliumlogs | Just keep spinning, just keep spinning--

Date & Time: February 6th-ish [Backdated for great justice]
Location: The Hold Gym/Work-out-atorium
Characters: Blaine Thorps + ERRYBODEH
Summary: He's practicing with his staff. Come bug and distract him.
Warnings: Eh, Blaine potentially flirting? Nah, I got nothin'.

The first few days after the last mission had been the worst. The information he got from his older self was kind of shocking, but he really didn't know where the dark cloud that had loomed over him for days had come from. No matter how hard he tried to sweat it out he couldn't get the events off his mind. Now the unintentional sequestering was over.

Blaine felt a little bit lighter and he could push aside the somewhat foreign thoughts and memories and get outside. Well, outside of his room anyway. He found a spot along the edge of the floor to himself and pulled out the flashlight sized rod out of his pocket. He twisted it and pushed a button and it extended out to its full size, a little shorter than his 6'2" height. He spun it once or twice before he went slowly through a practice form by himself to warm up. Once done, he looked around and spotted someone who looked like they might want a partner.

He gave a half smile, "You wanna spar?"

[[ Prose or action tags welcome. Come at me bros. ]]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Blaine wasn't the only one distracted from the last few weeks. The memories were fresh in Elissa's mind, not just those from their timeline predicaments but from home as well, from the blood and the fire and the loss. Everything was raw now, blistering, and she did her best to try and put it behind her. But it was difficult to be sure, and she could only distract herself with the usual: exploring, alcohol, and training.

She was focused on the latter for now, wearing the spare set of leather rogue armor she'd brought from home. Her blades were out in flashing arcs of silver, her body moving as if dancing through the various steps of a fighting form. She stepped and swung, legs steady even as she spun and decapitated an imaginary foe. Soon, she promised herself, she would try out the VR program again. And she would use it to its full extent.

Blaine's voice caught her attention and she turned to look back at him, surprised he was even there. What time was it? How long had she been working? She brushed some of her hair back behind her ear, glad she'd remembered to tie it back that day. Her gaze slid to his weapon and she raised an eyebrow. "With what? Are you certain?"

A few minutes had gone by before Blaine had said anything. He stayed well out of her way and had watched as she twisted and spun, her body engrossed in the task. He leaned lightly on the staff, cheek pressed against fingers that were wrapped around the top. There were all sorts of flowery wounds to describe it. Poetry in motion and the like, but in his head he could leave that off and just acknowledge she was deadly and skilled. Skilled in a way that, even back home, would go for a high price if you wanted it quick but messy to send a message.

He took in a breath and mentally shook off those thoughts of the darker parts of home. He didn't want to think about home at all right now, so he put on his smile and interrupted the twirling blades before Elissa could suddenly become aware of him. Her look was incredulous and her question perhaps even more so after her surprise waned.

Blaine let his smile inch a bit wider. "I can't spar with a gun, unless you want me to use rubber bullets?" He shifted his weight off his staff and let his fingers trail down to the center of it and gently spun it halfway around. "Spare a little time to give me a good smiting. I'll consider it bonding time."

Elissa cocked her head to the side briefly. "Actually, I'd eventually like to spar with your gun if you're offering to try and shoot me." Despite the danger present at such a prospect, she had a good reason for wanting it. "If the United Earth is keen on using firearms, then I will need to learn to combat them. But that can be for another time." When he felt like lending her a hand. For now, he had a request, and she was going to help him.

Sheathing one of her longswords, she turned and set it down, scabbard and all, to the side. The one she gripped was her family's sword, the crest of the Cousland family embedded in the hilt. Her thumb brushed over the laurel wreath as she moved to take her place opposite him. She slid into stance. "Whenever you're ready."

Edited 2013-02-12 00:50 (UTC)

His eyebrows lifted, but his smile remained the same. "Maybe if they have some paintball guns." Rubber bullets hurt like a bitch, and paintballs traveled slower. They'd be good to start off with instead of rubber or whatever else they used. "You should learn to shoot, too, if you haven't already. That'll help you."

Blaine watched her set one sword aside with casual interest. His gaze was less casual when she took up her starting position, sword in hand. His eyes did a quick sweep, analyzing as he followed suit. A second to get his mind in the correct space and he slid forward, going for a quick jab to the face.

She shook her head. "No. I want the real thing. The United Earth isn't going to go easy on me simply because I'm not used to their kind of warfare." Better to have to get a healer and deal with the consequences of a few stray bullets than to face the enemy without a good method of retaliation.

Elissa waited for him to move in before she stepped to the side, drawing her blade up in a mock-parry. She gave him a critical look. "You've used one of those before, correct?" she asked. It wasn't banter, per se, but if it got him riled, why not? She gave him a faint smile.

"I have," he replied, and he returned her smile with the same half-grin from before.

"Did you practice dodging arrows by having them fired at you right off?" Blaine asked as he moved back just enough to try and bypass her blade and send a curved strike towards her solar plexus.

"Perhaps," she returned, spinning just out of the direct line of his strike. It nearly grazed her, a good move, and she shot him a look. Her grip on her sword tightened and she slipped back into the range of his weapon so she could give a warning swipe towards his side, a deliberate miss.

"But my father was a warrior who fought in an occupation. He knew how to train soldiers." And then she ducked down to swing her leg out in an attempt to trip him up.

Oh, hey now. He didn't have sharp things on his staff. He gives her a returning look at that, shifting his grip to block if it looked like it was going to hit. He started to thrust forward again when she suddenly dipped low and he only barely jumped back, but he was a bit off balance and it took a second to regain it.

"I don't know how to train someone by shooting at them with real bullets."

She hopped to her feet with a look of amusement, though her eyes held a glimmer of confidence, a strength she gained in battle. With a brief twirl of her blade, she brought it up and gestured for him to attack. If she kept on the offensive, she could seriously hurt him.

"Rubber bullets it is, then. Don't worry, I won't break."

Blaine gave her a look at that statement. "I'm not worried about that." He was worried about accidentally killing her. Rubber bullets weren't something to joke around with, even with all the magically inclined people hanging around a blow to the head was serious. Right now though, he really had no doubts about the abysmally small percentage of a chance he had of injuring her. And most of that was up to good luck. He aimed a curved strike at her sword bearing arm.

Elissa was lighter on her feet with only one blade, though the arc he threw his staff into caught her off guard and it smacked into her arm. If it hurt, she showed no sign of it. In fact, she had to actually restrain herself from doing the very natural follow up of slicing back, knowing that she could very well take his head off.

Instead, she ducked back and then forward, the pommel of her blade's handle going out for his wrist.

She was coming for his hand and he still remembered the sharp pain from his fingers from his earlier match. He was quick to take a diagonal step back to try and maintain the distance while turning the staff around to try and whap her on the side before changing his grip.

Just keep spinning, just keep spinning--

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject