A man must be

[mentore]

Date & Time: November 17th, all day
Location: ANYWHERE AND EVERYWHERE IN THE HOLD
Characters: Ezio Auditore and YOU!
Summary: Ezio is exploring the Hold
Warnings: None as of yet


[Ezio is a man of knowledge. The more he knew, the better prepared he could be for anything and everything possible. Too often has he seen people caught off-guard and fail for one single missing piece of information.

As it happens, he's trying to learn the layout of the Hold. The quickest routes in, the most complicated ones, the buildings more adequate for climbing and scouting. You can find him nearly anywhere in his Assassin garb, hood on, stalking about the place.]

Comments

[mentore]

[Which happens to be the shoulder that earned him a scar from a point-blank gunshot. Not good. He can tell the blow is solid, but he twists just enough for at least the punch to land not quite on his old wound.

A hand moves to attempt to grasp her forearm. If he can pull her in close, he might be able to jab her stomach or throat.

If he can pull her in.]

[gamora]

[ He grabs her arm quick enough, and her expression flicks from a grin to a line as she's pulled forward. But that's not a problem, and her leg shoots upwards as soon as she gets close enough - aiming to get her knee into his stomach if she could. ]

[mentore]

[The blow lands, knocking some of Ezio's wind. He manages to recover enough to hook a leg around one of hers, bending it in an attempt to break her defense and her footing.]

[gamora]

[ She lets it bring her down - landing in a crouch with one leg extended to the side - and she swings her fist towards the side of his knee, hoping to bring him down as well. ]

[mentore]

[He's fast enough to dodge that one, letting his weight drop into his legs as he crouches. Should he feel bad that he's about to full-force tackle into her?

Probably not.]

[gamora]

[ That just causes her to grin, darting out of his way before twisting around and trying to slam her leg into his hopefully unprotected side.

Gamora's almost tempted to use the full amount of her strength, but she'll save sending him into a wall for later. ]

[mentore]

[And slammed he is, but he rolls onto her leg, too, even if it means barely catching his breath. Maybe he could throw her off, or at least pin her down.

Which is starting to seem more of an impossibility.]

[gamora]

[ He doesn't do either, mostly because she slides away from him - and in an attempt to show off - does a backwards flip and lands on her feet, straightening up a spit second after. Gamora doesn't move forward again, just simply waits. ]

Is that really all you've got?

[ She's grinning, chest barely rising and falling from effort. ]

[mentore]

[He rolls easily into a cat-like crouch, eying Gamora. A show-off? He's never had much use for being showy in combat. It only expended energy and time.

In this case? Maybe it was easier to move with her, instead of against her.

Ezio shoots a grin right back.]

Perhaps you should teach me the ways of the universe.

[gamora]

Not one for sharing secrets.

[ There's a moment where she rolls on the ball of her feet - judging, before she moves again. This time quickly closing the gap between them before crouching low and bringing her fist to the side of his face, trying to land a good blow. ]

[mentore]

[Instead of stopping or countering the blow, he weaves with the direction of her fist, just barely out of her reach. He braces his arms and swings a leg to hook around her waist, hoping to slam her back first onto the floor.]

[gamora]

[ It's successful enough in the fact it unbalances her for a second, but then she moves so her hands hit the ground first. Her legs come out and then strike out again - it's a weak stance but if she can actually get her feet to connect and push him back it'll be worth it. ]

[mentore]

[While he does see the blow coming, he doesn't quite successfully manage to drop completely to the floor to avoid being hit. It ends up landing on his hip as opposed to a full on push-back and that stings.

Unlike his home, the floors here are pristine. It's annoying that he can't use a sort of diversionary tactic to throw her off in the usual fashion.

He's seen her fight, true, but how is her fighting on a different surface? On a different level? First he crawls, then he gets up and breaks into a full-on run, using the wall as a jumping off point before aim to pin her again.]

[gamora]

[ Gamora pulls herself up as soon as he backs off and, once she's caught on to what he's about to do - stands still. At least until he comes at her, in which case she darts to the side and twists, lashing out with her leg to hopefully land another shot on his side.

If she can knock him to the ground or at the least unbalance him, she can press her advantage. ]

[mentore]

[It does unbalance him, but he twists just enough to mostly regain some footing. Like he would in any other tactic, he opts to wait for her attack now. She can sense what he's about to do, so there was no point in trying to catch her off-guard like this.]

[gamora]

[ She waits a second or two, calculating, before she runs at him. But instead of going in for another punch, her aim is to use his shoulder as a grip to let her leap over him, and after twisting in air, slamming her fingers into the knot of nerves at the back of his neck after she lands.

It's a risky move of course, but Gamora hardly takes risks into account when she's fighting, let alone sparring. ]

[mentore]

[The move is completely unexpected and he lets out a ridiculously loud grunt in pain through gritted teeth. He's worked through pain entirely too much to let the stinging of his nerves stop him.

Whether it's a stupid move, he'll learn later, but he aims to slams his entire body into Gamora, with an elbow sticking out slightly as to land into her stomach.]

[gamora]

[ She ducks and twists, taking the elbow to her side in favor of getting her shoulder and arm against his chest. The intent is to use his own speed and her strength to flip him over her - hopefully back first into the ground behind them.

Not that she can stop the grin from spreading slowly over her face at the entire thing. ]

[mentore]

[Sure, she grounds him, and badly, but it doesn't stop him from throwing a hard kick into her knees.]

[gamora]

[ She moves enough to escape the brunt of his kick, but it hits the side of it and she drops to one knee. Good thing the heel of her palm is aimed for his face with a fair amount of force. ]

[mentore]

[Even if he tried, there would be no dodging that kick. He could already feel the massive bruises swelling up and the cuts on his face bleeding.

He backs off ro regain some composure and to spit a string of blood. Still, he grins a little, despite the pain.]

You are nothing if not persistent.

[gamora]

That isn't a surrender.

[ Which she takes to mean the fight isn't over. Suits her fine - she's barely begun. There's another second or two and she jumps forward again - tucking her legs against her chest while she flips. Her hands hit the ground and then her legs shoot out again - aiming for his chest again.

She'd be aiming for the underside of his jaw, but it was a sparring match - not an attempt to kill him. ]

[mentore]

[The attack winded him bad, but he's too stubborn and too full of pride to give up.

Though he knows better than to keep going at this point. So instead of attacking, he lays in his back, catching his breath, staring up.]

Would you like for me to surrender?

[gamora]

Only if you mean it. I can go all day.

[ She hangs back, disinterested look back on her face though there's something of an up twitch at the corners of her mouth. Her breathing is even, unlike his, and noticing that makes her grin wider. ]

[mentore]

I'm sure of that.

[He lifts himself up, propping his elbows on his knees, giving Gamora a once over.]

Try not to look so pleased with yourself.