[color=goldenrod][i][h2][center]Gerard Segremors[/center][/h2][/i][/color]

[@Psyker Landshark][@Raineh Daze][@The Otter]

At mention of his name, Gerard's gaze perked up from the dull feder he'd been halfway through yanking free from the rack— had Fionn been more insistent on pulling Sir Renar into a spell of back-and-forth bickering about his absence earlier in the day, the younger of the two ex-mercs [i]was[/i] indeed planning on kicking off the circuit directly himself. If nothing else, his own approach would have been tailor-made to feed the pair that were better schooled situational insight, with the emphasis on aggression forcing exchanges and drawing Lilia's pressure responses forth. Giving them a rough preliminary on how she worked by simply [i]forcing[/i] work onto her—

But all things being equal, he welcomed Renar to take it for himself, indicating as much with an compliant lift of the hand as he marched over to Fionn's side, and set the ad-hoc blade onto the soft grass before him as his frame dropped to meet it shortly after. One elbow propped onto a knee, he leaned forward and let his chin rest upon the palm as the bout commenced— seated, but far from languid. His amber gaze, so often clouded by the rolling fog of overthinking, was sharp and alert.

Too often, he let instinct and repetition do most of the heavy lifting when it came to the heat of battle, as there was little room for anything else beneath the rushing sensation. Training, similarly, drew upon leveraging his conditioning and fierceness in spars while he continually strove to polish form on his own. It had gotten him this far. It was growing clear that it wouldn't get him much [i]further[/i]— much to the imminent vindication of the other three in their nascent circle of iron sharpening iron. They'd get their ribbing in soon enough.

His gaze flicked back and forth between the dueling pair as the opening salvos were loosed between them. Those instincts had been a crutch for very good reason, it was worth noting— the hunch they'd given him was correct. The girl was [i]quick[/i]. Were it not for how he'd dialed in his focus, he might have lost the motion within the burst that had begun it. With her rapier, a low swipe for the ankles, cloaked in mist that melded into hoarfrost into rime.

[color=goldenrod]"That's..."[/color]

Let them if they chose, then. His unwitting stubbornness had begun to chip, they'd earned the gloating.

[color=goldenrod]"Kinda the same thing that I do, in a sense of offensive effect."[/color]

This was an opportunity to learn the lesson everyone had been trying to pound into his head— and gain those insights for himself. His focus had centered upon that task, and those thoughts were drawn forth as they were formed by mind and tongue in equal measure, floating through the air in a low murmur even as his eyes continued to dart from fighter to fighter.

[color=goldenrod]"The distance is different given the weapon and stance, stretches the ranges out to something more even with most polearms than other swordsmen. Speed's higher. Magic's offering additional lines of attack, but the theory's all the same. Starting by trying to kill the base and mobility, initiating with surprise by shifting vertical levels, and then it's immediately lateral movement and going for pokes while the enemy's still navigating the first range— and then getting dirt in the eyes, too. That one gets everyone once."[/color]

The prattling was clearly more for his own benefit than anyone else's, but Fionn Mackerracher [i]lived and breathed[/i] the finer details on a scale that seemed to be beyond even intuitive— no better sounding board Gerard could think of, and he was right next to him.

[color=goldenrod]"Different details and method, but same principle. Seizing the initiative and adding a new problem every time it looks like he's got a chance to breathe. This is one other way to do that, work to end."[/color]

He frowned thoughtfully, then let it fade— glancing to his friend with a wry, almost needling smirk.

[color=goldenrod]"[i]You[/i] wanna lecture me about the part where she sat in [i]indes[/i] before the dirt though, don't ya?"[/color]