The Otter

Blades of Iron Roses: An Anime-Inspired Knight RP

Fionn MacKerracher

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@HereComesTheSnow@ERode@VahkiDane@Krayzikk@6slyboy6@Raineh Daze@VitaVitaAR

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Fionn had slid off he horse's back almost as soon as Tyaethe did, tying it off to an empty post beyond the fort's wall. He silently shared Gerard's sentiments—he'd seen his fair share of such fortifications left depopulated and rotting, after all—though he could imagine certain things that could leave so peaceful an exterior after whatever massacre had been taken up. "Stick to the center of us, if you would," he bade Amy as he approached, drawing out his own sword. "I don't think we can afford to leave you in a vulnerable position near the edges of the group, if your words ring true." Better to save that for those whose skills revolved around physical combat, not magical arts.

With a single word muttered under his breath, the tip of his sword began to glow, ensuring he'd have light without need of a torch once they were deeper within. "Tyaethe, any idea how long dead?" As familiar as he'd become with heaps of corpses, he was well-acquainted with the stench of rot; from where they stood, the fort didn't yet reek like a charnel house, though if the numbers of the dead were low enough they could well have to delve within to encounter such stench. "Is it blood or bloat you're smelling?"

Blades of Iron Roses: An Anime-Inspired Knight RP

Fionn MacKerracher

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@HereComesTheSnow

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Fionn's blade lowered, his posture loosening up considerably. Returning to the conversation of the present. "Not quite," he replied, with a small shrug. "But I never go full speed and strength with you either. Same as you don't with me. You've got a good sense for what is a good sparring intensity rather than actual battle."

Blades of Iron Roses: An Anime-Inspired Knight RP

Fionn MacKerracher

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@HereComesTheSnow

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"I can't imagine his was any softer, though. Seems like growing a hard head is a defense mechanism." Blade up again, over the left shoulder. "Florian didn't really say anything like that to me, though. There wasn't much opportunity to speak it felt like." He surged forward like a spring suddenly released, point flying out towards his imaginary target as he stepped slightly to the left. Changing the line of engagement. Stopped as though parried; raised his blade to cover, imaginary opposition sliding off his flat as he stepped back to the right, blade whirling in a tight cut down into the short guard.

A quick jab forwards, arms extended in long guard for a moment, before drawing back, posta frontale, ready to defend from any retaliation. A smooth progession, a sequence fast even for a trained eye, though Gerard at least would recognize how slowly and deliberately Fionn was stepping through it, his focus drawn almost entirely inward, away from the conversation. "When he did, though..."

He stepped forward again, blade rising to turn a probing thrust; their blades met again in the eerie silence, points brushing against one another lighter than a feather. The touch was almost soft-like the breath of a breeze in spring, ahead of an oncoming storm. A gentleness belying the killing intent that drove the probing contact. For all that Fionn knew his skills with a longsword were very proficient-some might even say excellent-he knew the knight across from him was perfect.

"Reactionary," the other observed in a clinical tone. "Defensive, restrained...but brutal. Curious combination." The pressure eased off for a moment, the other's tip circling around, changing the angle for a the barest moment to seek an opening. Fionn responded in kind, restoring the original orientation just as the knight lunged; the thrust was beaten down and aside, and he stepped forwards, a quick cut towards the other's face. The other blade came back up just as quickly, a hanging guard, now the blades crossed at the forte. Both knights as tight into each other as their bladework had been.

Fionn stepped forwards quickly, bringing his pommel up towards his imagined foe's face. Continuing past, whirling around again, blade once again crossed with some unseen enemy, nearly nose to nose. Stretto, as he'd been taught to call such a close distance. "He didn't really focus on anything about technique with me," he continued, pausing for a moment. Didn't call out any deficiencies or the like. I think he knew that I know where I lack. Just commenting on my thought process."

There were opportunities. Seize his blade and strike low. Step off line and continue in with a pommel strike to the face or neck. Wrap his blade beneath the guard and send the other's flying, grasp his arms and throw his opponent down across his leg. But in each opportunity, an obvious invitation, any number of chances to counter, to make each opening a trap.

Their steps continued, each twisting on the balls of their feet to face each other again. Himself back-weighted, blade across his shoulders. Aggressive and inviting. The other, forward-weighted, blade low and to the side. Solid and indomitable.

"No sense prolonging the fight-or the suffering," he replied. "It's quicker. Direct, like." Almost as one they shifted stances; his blade came forward slightly, point threatening the other, hilt high next to his brow. The other shifting back, blade closer in, in-line, but still down. The traps remained clear.

Damn you, Florian, he thought suddenly. He almost thought he saw the hint of a smile on the Mirror Knight's face. Not Cyrus, not Parvan, I have to get the knight that wants to pick me apart inside and out. He wasn't sure how long they'd been at this back-and-forth, constantly feeling the other out, but compared to the speed with which most of his engagements usually ended it felt like an eternity.

"No reason to waste time and energy."

"That's not all there is, is it?" Florian asked, his cheeks as of yet unmarred by the sweat that beaded on Fionn's own. "Such a valiant, true, idealistic knight. Guide, advisor, and protector, defensive even in your manner of fighting. Truly one that Lady Mayon would favour...but we both know it isn't borne out of any deep altruism, just that you've turned it to serve your nobler impulses."

Florian stepped forward, feinting another lunging thrust into a low cut instead. There was a chance there - lunge forwards, take the blade under his ribs in return for planting his point in Florian's throat. No winner. An obvious double, but not bait. Another test.

He came down into the short guard on the right, catching the cut and keeping his point on line. Florian retreated a step, and their blades once more crossed at the point.

"You don't just enjoy the combat. The test. Not like you convince yourself you do." Even as much as this had been the best bout Fionn had been in for an age, it felt like, he almost had to admit that Florian was right. The prolongation dampening his enjoyment, but not utterly extinguishing it. "You want to win. You want to dominate, don't you? To command, to control. You love breaking people. Tell me, MacKerracher, if you could end a fight in a single stroke, or a war, even if it meant you didn't personally win, would you really do it?"

"Aye, Florian, I would," he growled under his breath, lunging forwards in the well-trampled dirt of the training yard. Blade rising to a feinted thrust; without missing a step he shifted his grip on his pommel, blade whirling around into a devastating rising cut, left hand reversed upon the hilt. His point drifted to the side as though pushed away, before he shifed his hand again, pushing aside an invisible thrust.

He stepped in tight again; his left hand came down to block Florian's arms, his sword rotating, pommel behind Florian's crossguard, and he sent the founding knight's blade flying off to the side as he continued on past. His point drew in again, primed for a thrust—before he felt a quick, pinching pressure under his arm, rapidly shifting to white hot pain. His grip slackened, and within the same heartbeat he was flat on the ground, Florian atop him, both breathing heavily.

Another test. To see if he was true to his word. Sure enough, the trap was obvious—such an easily-exploited thrust from that position wasn't something a knight of Florian's caliber would normally do, purely because the chance that he lost his own sword, suffered a broken nose, broken teeth, or any number of worse things was too high. But he'd let himself be disarmed, leaving Fionn dangerously close to planting a blade between his ribs, before tackling the Veltish knight and sticking a dagger in his armpit. Were there other knights there, Fionn fighting alongside comrades as he normally did, Florian would be the dangerous enemy left wide open for reprisal. A desperate attempt to salvage a poor choice for any more normal opponent, but one that had very little chance to succeed beyond the immediate kill.

For Florian, just a teaching moment. "Good," the Mirror Knight replied, coming to his feet with a small nod. Overall, it wasn't dissimilar from what he'd done with Jeremiah. Make himself a threat, keep the enemy occupied, and let the others get the actual hits in. Against a lesser foe, this likely would've proved a mutual kill, like some of the other opportunities he'd seen before.

"Don't lose sight of that." When he rose again, he nodded back as Florian bowed to him, before taking up his sword once more against armoured juggernaut whose corpse his friends had just faced down in the Cazt tomb.

Fionn blinked, glancing back at Gerard. "Sorry, lad. Was I talking to myself there? Still playing it all back in my head."

Blades of Iron Roses: An Anime-Inspired Knight RP

Fionn MacKerracher

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@HereComesTheSnow

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Fionn grinned. 'Disdain' wasn't something he was unfamiliar with, all things considered; he'd endured enough of it as a mercenary, and then again when he first joined the Iron Roses. It was utterly unsurprising that there were some within the order, originally of noble birth, who had little but contempt for any commoners who were raised to the ranks of knighthood. Showing a few up in the practice yard had done enough to silence their complaints in his direction, at least, though they weren't the caliber of the founding knights.

"Aye, Talderians. There were some, shouting in something other than Old Talderian. I could about pick up what they were saying, if I focused enough, but there wasn't really any opportunity for that." He brought his training blade up, across his shoulder, imaginary Talderian ahead of him. Gilded armour, elaborate plume of rank atop his helm, and a great shield paired with a short, stabbing blade. Reliving the fight, for a moment. "Had to open the one up. Come in hard, really commit so that he'd actually break my strike with his shield. Catch his other arm with my left hand so he can't stab me, hook him around the ankle with my own and bring us both down..."

He shook his head, a disapproving tsk coming out.

"We stabbed each other. His knife in my side, mine in his armpit. No winner." The feder came down again, his eyes narrowing. "He was nothing like going against Florian, though. I at least could've joked around with Cyrus, I think, but Florian...was himself that had to give me the best fight of my life, so he did."

Blades of Iron Roses: An Anime-Inspired Knight RP

Fionn MacKerracher

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@HereComesTheSnow

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Fionn nodded along as Gerard spoke, the strong similarity between their dreams not lost on him. "Aye? Quite the punch that must have been." It must have been the downtime, he decided after another moment of thought, turning back away from Gerard as he pondered it. The lack of action, not even travelling along the road, just relaxation and ennui outside of the training and building. So soon after the excitement of hunting down Jeremiah and the assassination attempt at the ball.

For two men such as themselves, former mercenaries, such a span of inaction could have strange consequences on the mind. As such thoughts passed through his own, he glanced at Gerard's slow movements, watchful eyes passing from his grip all across his body down to his feet. Especially in regard to the last discussions they'd been having, the similar dreams, the foes they'd been facing, he could not lapse in his own efforts at mentorship.

"Had one like it. Proper dreadful. A lot of fighting...thought it'd end when I first died, a Knight of the Wild Hunt just completely ignored my dagger in his chest and planted his own in my throat. Next thing I knew, though, I was back up, sword in my hand, and ready to fight some northern brute. Had an audience, too."

He paused, thinking back to the dream.

"Fun time, like. I was just after a different dream going into it, though, so that was odd."

Blades of Iron Roses: An Anime-Inspired Knight RP

Fionn MacKerracher

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@HereComesTheSnow

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Fionn nodded as Nico left, before Gerard's words drew his eyes back. "Not sleeping well?" he asked, raising an eyebrow. Gerard had never really struck him as the type to suffer from night terrors or the like. Surprisingly, really, given what all he must have seen in his years as a mercenary; it was a rare man who could take all that in stride. Fionn found it hard to imagine, given the time elapsed and the man's blunt manner, that he had simply been taking for granted that Gerard didn't experience such—no, by now Gerard surely would have mentioned it.

Something new, it had to be.

"Maybe I shouldn't have gone running before the two of you got up for breakfast. Anything been eating at you lately?"

Blades of Iron Roses: An Anime-Inspired Knight RP

Fionn MacKerracher

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@Raineh Daze@Krayzikk@HereComesTheSnow

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Fionn nodded at Lilia as she walked off, rapidly turning back to Nico. "Commenting on lacking her mother's speed and making up for it with magic, and between you and me, I think she either underestimates herself or overestimates most of those any of us might be expected to fight. But that's beside the point. Your weapon isn't much lighter than ours, it's more a matter of the balance—and that balance gives you a lot of opportunities we don't have, even as much as it means you don't have the ones we have. And regardless of the weapon, unless your goal is explicitly to try and take the other person alive, any action you take that isn't meant to immediately end the fight in the safest manner for yourself is an unwise choice, especially if it leaves you open—like you said, you can't defend as easily if you're committing to strike at the hamstrings or the knees, or the legs in general. Now consider Gerard in your position with your sort of blade rather than a longsword—no magical talent, no magical weapon, and now using one that is somewhat disadvantaged in the cut compared to what he actually uses. He's even worse off than before if whoever he's fighting has even thick trousers."

Fionn shook his head, both at how clear what he was pointing out should have been and yet apparently wasn't, as well as the headache that he was starting to experience. Had he forgotten to drink anything that morning before he set out after Lein?

"No attack that is truly directed at the legs, with commitment, is going to be a sound attack with the weapons we use. Either their blade is down low, in which case they're prepared to parry you anyways, or it's up high, in which case you're leaving yourself entirely exposed to a lethal response. An enemy with a broken leg or severed hamstring can make their way back to the healers. You, if they split your skull open, bury their blade in your throat or lung, hew down through your collarbone and ribs into your heart, can't."

Blades of Iron Roses: An Anime-Inspired Knight RP

Fionn MacKerracher

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@Raineh Daze@Krayzikk@HereComesTheSnow

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"Against an opponent in armour, he'd be doing similar. Looking for exposed areas. Halfswording and using it like a spear for extra control, or outright turning it around and using it like a hammer. Swords like the two of you have, in normal hands, might be easier to beat aside—but you can just as easily evade the beat, come back around, and use the point control afforded by your weapon's inherent balance to seek out armpits, holes in visors, and under-protected necks easier than we can, in some ways, if they don't think to simply push your blade aside with a gauntleted hand."

Fionn narrowed his eyes at Nico. Surely this had to be some sort of trick.

"Beyond that, Lilia's comment towards armoured opponents was about her magic, not purely the blade work."

Blades of Iron Roses: An Anime-Inspired Knight RP

Fionn MacKerracher

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@HereComesTheSnow

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He looked back up at the dissatisfied noise that Gerard himself made, glancing over at the younger man. "Properly covered, lad. That's the important part to remember. If you're close enough to strike at my leg, even if I'm overextended myself, you're close enough that I can split your skull at the worst, or at best just cripple you in return by striking at your hands and forearms, whether or not I let yours land." He lifted his training blade, lightly jabbing at Gerard's chest for emphasis.

"Sure, you might be cutting from tag down to pflug, but like I said, any strike to my leg should be incidental. A result of me not voiding your cut properly. You always aim for a strike that will end the fight, remove the other person's ability to keep attacking, and keeps you covered at the same time. Aiming so low doesn't do that. That is why I keep telling you it isn't a valid target whenever we're keeping score in our spars."

Blades of Iron Roses: An Anime-Inspired Knight RP

"I'm an idiot, Fionn. Solid posture."

He'd walked right past it through all that.

@HereComesTheSnow

Fionn MacKerracher

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@Raineh Daze@Krayzikk@HereComesTheSnow

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Fionn simply looked down and sighed.