[OPEN] DEFENSE MEETING

[uncalled_for]

Date & Time: Five days after the completion of the bombing event. Starting early morning.
Location: Whatever area is decently clear of debris.
Characters: Anyone, whether it was previously arranged with Fiona, someone else did the convincing, or they just happen to be around the cleared area at the right time.
Summary: First “Defense” Group Meeting. Some chatting, some sparring, a little showing off, and everything in between.
Warnings: Violence and swearing, I guarantee it.


[When most have gathered Fiona will find some small piles of debris to climb on so she can at least be eye level with everyone else. It’s not the biggest of groups but it will hardly do if no one can see whoever is speaking. She’ll tap her staff to get some attention.]

Thank you all for coming and taking an interest. I’m Fiona, the one who spoke on the network before. Sorry there was a delay but I appreciate everyone coming nonetheless. [Detecting a little anger here…]

If what’s happened this past week has proved anything, it’s proved we need to work together and defend ourselves and each other. Those bastards aren’t going to help us no matter what lies they feed us. They can’t defend us, they have proven that again and again. They say they’re glad we survived, but how many of us didn’t make it through this last endeavor? We’re dealing with complete fools and we have only ourselves to rely on. So we need to find a way to help each other. You don’t have to agree with all of my opinions, but at least stay long enough to try and see if this will work.

[She’ll take a deep breath] This is only our first meeting, none of us really know each other or what each other is capable of. If we actually intend to defend each other then that is the first thing we need to fix. Use this meeting time to get to know the person next to you and what they’re capable of. And if you can fight then show everyone else what you’ve got. [She’ll hold up her hand and produce a tiny ball of fire, whirl it around a moment and wink it out as quickly as she made it.] Lets not be caught off-guard by those bastards again.

[And then she'll start hopping off the debris. Ah, wait. Almost forgot something.] Thank you.


[OOC: Behold the tiny organization abilities. All right so, here’s how I’m thinking this can roll. We’ve got a little fighting and a little chatting for threads. If conversation leads to battle you are welcome to keep it to the talking thread, just maybe tack it into the subject line “Chat -> Fighting” or hop to the Battle thread! Feel free to jump in as you please, opened, closed, whatever. This is a fantastic chance for CR, spoil it rotten! And thanks for being patient with me despite the OOC delays. :)

Edit: Okay so. People are on hiatus and stuff and that's okay. If your character would happen to be here, but you just can't toss them in, try putting down a placeholder reply or something. I am gonna be doing a headcount from the tags list when this wraps up so leader picking later on is easier to handle. :)]

Comments

[ofthegrey]

[He pivots and follows her movement with a backslash of one dagger, raising the other to catch the swing of her sword at a deflecting angle. Still low, he jabs toward the opening left by his block, one movement flowing seamlessly into the next and no time given for regrouping.]

[ladyspitfire]

[She turns, the blade slicing into her boot as she pulls out her second sword. It comes down and across with an arc of silver, the Cousland blade a familiar weight in her hand. With a twist, she's moving right back out of range and turning to face him once more. He gives her no quarter and she responds in kind, stepping back in with both blades stabbing inward and then slicing out.]

[ofthegrey]

[The second sword sparks along his vambrace as he draws back, gathering himself and leaping above the dual sword strike. He kicks a feint toward her face, lands, rolls inward at an angle and slashes toward her thighs. He holds back nothing on his speed. However, should the blades contact there's only enough force for a light scratch. He's well aware she has no armor today.]

[ladyspitfire]

[Her head turns at the last moment, too late to realize it's a fluke. She spins with her blades and feels the glancing swipe of his own at her thighs. Had she been a real enemy, he could have crippled her with that blow alone.

Grip tightening on her swords, she goes for a different approach. Her time fighting alongside Sten and Shale has taught her a thing or two about redirecting force, even with her thinner and lighter frame. When she moves, it's to go down and strike with one blade, the second twisting expertly in her hand. When she comes back up, it's swinging, the pommel of her sword going for the armor guarding his solar plexus.]

[ofthegrey]

[In avoiding the downward stroke of one blade, he's forced into the pommel strike of the other. Even with the armor, it's a hard enough blow to force breath out in an audible chuff.

He brings an arm down in a blur to try to trap her wrist and forearm in place across the point of impact, his free arm swinging up for a pommel strike toward her chin. As before, the speed is there but not the force. It might hurt but not break skin or bone.]

[ladyspitfire]

[For all of that armor, he's faster than her, more properly trained in an art she still hasn't quite perfected. Elissa more or less steps back once she's been struck, her other arm trapped. She yanks on her blade and forces herself into the constraint of his arm, though it gives her ample opportunity to hook her foot around his and turn, taking him with her. Under other circumstances, she could have tripped him; they'd both fall over each other like fools if she did it here.

But the momentum is enough to have her pulling upwards with her blade to dislodge herself, a smirk on her face in passing.]

[ofthegrey]

[His teeth flash in a feral grin. He had said he'd enjoy this, and he is. It's not often he has the chance for friendly sparring these days. He knows she could have taken him to the ground.

As soon as her arm is free, he's leaping out of sword range. With a flick of his hand, something hits the ground and erupts in thick smoke. Instead of taking the most likely expected pivot behind her, he steps slightly to the side of where he was so that if she decides to stab forward instead of turn around, he won't be taking a blade to the gut.]

[ladyspitfire]

[Oh, now that's just not fair. Next time she goes to any meeting, she's coming prepared. It will be much more entertaining when they can both let go without fear of hurting each other.

A stab could do some serious damage. Instead, she turns and swipes one blade into the smoke, the other coming back around to defend her back. She's seen enough of this trick to know what the most likely attack will be. When there's nothing to collide with her swords, she knows she's chosen wrong, and she immediately slips back to reposition her defense in preparation.]

[ofthegrey]

[As she's moving, a leg kicks out from the smoke in an attempted sweep, a fast, low, vicious arc.]

[ladyspitfire]

[She doesn't see the strike quick enough, stumbling back and falling. Her grip doesn't loosen on her swords as she goes, landing awkwardly on her rear.]

[ofthegrey]

[He rolls in close but stops short of another strike.] Wear armor next time.

[He's out of breath and smiling. It's a request, not an order. Climbing to his feet, he sheaths both daggers and offers a hand down.]

[ladyspitfire]

[Her answer is only to laugh softly, just as short of breath as he.]

I intend to. Politics are always so cutthroat, even when you're not sparring your mentor.

[She sheathes her blades and takes his hand, getting to her feet.]

I haven't had a good fight like that in a long time. I don't often catch the other Wardens when they go to train. A shame.

[Amaranthine kept the troops busy and the recruits well-trained.]

[ofthegrey]

Aren't they just? Believe it or not there was a time in my life I avoided it as much as I could.

[He tugs her up and releases her.]

I haven't had a good fight in a long time, either.

[It was hard to enjoy it to the same degree when something was literally trying to take one's head off.]

We should remedy that. Whip those recruits of yours into shape.

[He's joking mostly. He has no idea what sort of training the others have. For all he knows they could teach him a thing or three, something he's not opposed to.]

[ladyspitfire]

And yet you do so well being the diplomat.

[Her father had welcomed him warmly and Duncan had been more than a gentleman. He understood the games the nobility played, probably because he needed to.]

I wouldn't call them my recruits any longer. Nate and Anders are five years older than I in experience and though the others defer to me because of rank, I know I am far behind them in practice. But I won't be for long.

[The VR program taught her not to be complacent.]

[ofthegrey]

Not bad for a street rat from Orlais.

[If any of his former associations could see him now, they'd hardly believe it. Since running into Fiona, he has thought of it from time to time. If people could be brought from their past, anyone could appear. Genevieve. Guy. There was a less than pleasant thought. He twisted away from it with the same dexterity as he wielded his blades.]

I'll be glad to help with that. I need something to keep me in practice.

[ladyspitfire]

Not bad at all, actually.

[That night in Highever, though years ago, is still a fresh thought in her mind. Despite how he'd been afraid of being unable to get her out alive, he certainly was strong and fast enough to put her skills to shame with ease. Whatever he claimed to see in her, it had paled in comparison to what he could do.]

So long as we avoid that wretched 'VR' contraption, I'd be glad to work with you.

[ofthegrey]

I'm happy to avoid anything that has earned the moniker of "wretched contraption". So far I believe I've missed out on whatever that is.

[He gestures for them to walk over to the side in case anyone else is feeling the need to work out a little tension or test themselves.]

[ladyspitfire]

[She follows him off to the side, rolling one of her wrists to stretch them.]

It was a machine that trapped us in illusions of our pasts. Everyone in them, friends and enemies alike, attacked us and we were forced to fight them. No one person had the same illusion.

[ofthegrey]

Ah. I was told a little about that. No one seemed to have precisely the same description or explanation. It made me think of being in the Fade.

[He rubs at the side of his beard thoughtfully.]

Speaking of the Fade...

[He's not quite sure how to broach that subject, or if he wants to here. After a moment, he makes a soft scoffing sound and shrugs.]

Another time on that. Too many ears.

[ladyspitfire]

It was a little like that, yet. The injuries felt real, however, to the point that I could still feel them for some time upon waking. It was the oddest thing.

[Even the Sloth Demon hadn't managed that much. She raises an eyebrow to look at him questioningly, but then she nods.]

If you're certain. We'll have time later.

[Another day, perhaps.]

[ofthegrey]

That is odd and disturbing. I think I just summed up our new home in two words. [Suddenly dry.]

I'm certain. It's nothing pressing, just nothing I'd care for others to overhear.

[ladyspitfire]

[She pats his arm.]

We should tell them to write that on the welcoming banners. "Odd and disturbing." It's the most accurate description I've seen yet.

[ofthegrey]

Oh, no, I'm done with the job of selling others on an unpalatable idea. Someone else can take that over.

[Yeah, sure. That's why he's here. He's not fooling anybody, least of all himself.]

[ladyspitfire]

[She smiles.]

No? I was under the impression you were in here in part to smooth over some feathers.

[ofthegrey]

If they need it, I won't be completely opposed.

[He drops his voice lower.]

All kidding aside, we're going to have to stretch our diplomacy to the limits, all of us if we want this to go anywhere. It's one thing to sell an idea to people whose history you know and understand. In this situation with some of these people we don't even know what constitutes basic courtesy, and we're asking a lot.

Not what I envisioned for my retirement. [Very dry. His "retirement" was a hurlock blade across the neck. He supposes just about anything is better than that.]