logsinthenight | combat training mingle log

Entry tags:

combat training mingle log

characters: everyone
location: the village gymnasium
date/time: every wednesday & friday throughout october
content: at the town hall last month, javert offered to set up a place for combat training. this is him making good on his promise. as he mentioned in his bulletin ad, these sessions are open to absolutely everyone, not just those who want to learn how to fight. partner up with someone and spar. do whatever you want, just don't hurt each other too badly—or javert will have words with you.
warnings: violence

setup

The gym's certainly seen better days, with it's crumbling walls and lost ceiling tiles. Javert doesn't need it to be pretty, though. He only needs it to be functional. In the last week, he's been doing what he can to clean it up, washing the floors and making some minor structural repairs.

Once the first day of combat training begin, the day after the ferry sinks, it's as clean as it possibly can be without any sort of overhaul. There are mats set up along one end of the gym, for people to stretch or otherwise use for sparring, and a collection of swords near the door. Some are blunted and old, perfect for training — though they may still hurt — while others are sharp or unwieldy, and will need to be handled with care. Use them, Javert says, but return them when you are finished.

There's a tiny collection of knives, too, though there aren't any targets to practice throwing them at. It's a work in progress. For light, there's a torch set up along the wall, illuminating the room and allowing combatants to spread themselves out from one another.

meetings

For the sake of not being micromanagey, there isn't going to be any formal structure to these practices. Javert is available to teach hand-to-hand combat and swordsmanship, should anyone wish it. He's also enlisted the aid of Jason Grace, who will teach hand-to-hand and swordsmanship, and Bucky Barnes, who is proficient in knife fighting as well as hand-to-hand combat. Anyone else, of course, may teach others as they please. Just this once, Javert's not going to be a stickler for formalities. He just wants to see everyone making productive use of their time, in some fashion.

Training will run from seven o'clock to nine o'clock in the evening. Arrive promptly, or Javert will berate you for being disruptive. No one is required to come to every single meeting, so come as often or as little as you like. If regular exercise is supposed to help combat the effects of total darkness, why not give it a try?

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[ It's either a good guess or this man well practiced enough in the combat arts to know a fellow practitioner when he sees one. Still he wears no armor and aside from the arm - possibly a weapon in itself - doesn't appear to be carrying arms, or at least not the kind Kettara recognizes. Perhaps he has a gun. Humans seem to like those.

Kettara nods slowly, still watching him. ]

Do you know how to fight with a sword?

[ It's not her weapon of choice, though she knows how to defend against it, and if she's here she might as well improve. ]

Yes. It isn't my best weapon. I'm better with knives. But I can use one.

[Oh, Kettara. The Soldier is always armed. And not in the punny fashion, either. There are knives hidden all over its person. Probably like eight of them. Since this is a practice day and it'll be around people who don't know how to fight, though, it did leave its guns at home.]

[ She leans forward, not caring how it looks, and gives him a suspicious sniff. He smells like metal, and like a human. Nothing too strange. She's met humans before and even likes a few of them, but his man is - different, somehow. There's very little in his expression and she distrusts any creature that takes such care to conceal itself.

But it won't do to go snarling at every human that responds to her, either. Master Muln would disapprove, and if she can do anything in this place she wants to honor her teacher.

Kettara straightens, sticking out her chin to show off her tusks. ]

Show me.

[ It's said somewhat defiantly, a small challenge. She will survive this place, and she will do her part to protect it. If that means sparing with a human, then she will do it. And she will do it well. ]

[That's an order. The Soldier follows those. As she isn't an actual handler, though, it can qualify while it moves to the collection of weapons and select a sword:]

I need to be ready when more students show up. But I can show you for a few minutes.

[It picks a simple machete, familiar and with a good heft, even if not its favored weapons. Not the first time it feels jealousy for Scarett's curved sabers. It turns back to Kettara and holds the sword in a ready position. Waiting. (Come at me, doll. Let's see how you do.)]

[ No hesitation at all. It might not be a favored weapon, but he's clearly familiar enough with the weight and balance.

Good enough, Kettara supposes, and pulls out her axes. The blades are heavy, and deliberately notched. If it were practice she would pick a sword as well, but this is a demonstration. Proof that he has the expertise to teach.

She wouldn't have tested him if he'd been anything other than human. But it's hard to trust in this place. There need to be lines. ]

Good.

[ And she moves. Not with killing intent, but intent to strike; one at his gut, the other for his face, just to see how he'll react. A good swordsman will demonstrate smart footwork, control their breathing, and won't throw a useless blow. Kettara's axes are flashy and quick, meant to distract while she moves in for the kill. If he can hold his nerve and establish his footing, then he'll be worth learning from.

Kettara has a feeling he will be. ]

Edited 2019-10-06 21:04 (UTC)

[The sword comes up to block the one for its gut, and the metal arm comes up to reflect the one to its face, striking a spark against the plated metal. The sword-block turns into a slide to one side, letting the axe blade glance off, and the angle of reflection with the arm deflects the power behind Kettara's thrust off to the Soldier's left while it steps easily to its right.

Keeping the arm between them, like an off-hand shield that could turn into an offensive weapon at any moment, and has grasping fingers on one end. It's more dangerous than the sword is, a literal extension of the Soldier's body.]

[ Well that's certainly new. He doesn't even bother dodging or turning the second blow, just takes it on the metal arm without a second thought. And he moves as if he has full control over it, full control and no pain. It's like no shield she's ever seen, nor any prosthetic. Perhaps it was forged by magic?

Curious. She wonders what would happen if she called lightning down onto it. But that is a question for a true battle, not a demonstration.

Kettara nods again, face serious. He's good. It's not the style she's been taught, but it's worth learning. ]

Now attack me.

[ She wants to learn, so she'll see it through; both offensive and defensive. ]

[(Aren't we supposed to be the teacher here?)

The Soldier hitches the flesh shoulder in silent commentary to the chatty guy, but obeys Kettara's order anyway. It makes sense. She wants to test it, and needs to see how it is on the offensive as well. So it drives at her with the sword, style more slashing than pointwork, as appropriate for a wide blade like a machete.

It aims high and to the right, Kettara's left, guaging just how ambidextrous she really is, with a narrow strike down, metal arm held between them under the strike to protect its body and deflect a coutner-attack if needed.]

[ Not bad. Kettara controls her breathing, keeps her feet under her. It's better to move rather than plant her feet. She's not armored up enough to take big hits so she needs to keep moving, test the weapon's reach. Learn how to duck under it, how to deflect a blow, how to turn with one. She's not familiar with the exact blade the man uses, but it's hardly the first time a human has swung a sword at her. She adapts.

Kettara grunts and hooks the blade, twisting to strike under his guard. ]

You're strong.

[ Strong enough that she's reminded of fighting one of Ogrimmar's warriors. Strange. She never thought a human could match that power. Not on their own, anyway. ]

[It shifts half a step to one side, grabs the axe blade with its metal hand, and yanks its blade free with a shriek of metal.]

So are you.

[Not as strong as it is, probably, but that's what happens when one has super-soldier serum, and it's not planning to go all out for a testing fight, anyway. Just enough to shove her back with its hand on her axe and the fist holding the sword hilt, so it has room to use the sword again, this time slashing at her face and following up with a (pulled) punch to the gut while she's potentially distracted by the blade.]

[ Kettara dances away without fighting to get the axe back. She wants to learn more than she wants to win. ]

Humans aren't meant to match our strength.

[ Not the strength of her generation at any rate, who were born tainted by demonic corruption. Kettara knows she's smaller than most and will never have the raw strength her fellows enjoy, but she's always been comforted by the fact she can overpower a human if she needed to.

This no longer seems to be the case.

Kettara twirls the blade, waiting for an opening. The motion is distracting to less disciplined warriors. After a moment she simply charges him, attacking hard to see if he'll plant his feet or try to deflect her way. ]

You're different.

[ It's said conversationally, despite the violence of her blows, and with some curiosity. ]

[Well, that's an easy enough explanation. This is a lot of conversation for a fight, even for practice, but it feels weirdly normal. Also, probably good to get used to it, since the Soldier is going to be teaching and will probably have to do this then, too.

So it says,]

Not human.

[And then it side-steps her charge at the last second instead of deflecting or bracing, quick for such a large man, and aims a pommel-strike for her back and a heavily-booted foot under her feet to either interrupt her charge and send her sprawling, or tangle her up if she tries to turn.]

[ Not human, he says. How strange. He certainly smells like one.

Kettara grunts, taking the blow to the back and dodging to the side. She recovers quickly, getting her feet under her and moving again, still holding her axe. This one is worth learning from, then. ]

No?

[ She grins suddenly. ]

What a relief. Shall we continue?

[Sadly, the "not human" is mostly in the Soldier's head, and a little bit in his blood, and in his left arm. But it's the thought that counts, right?

The grin gets a small, slightly hesitant smile back. It's nice when someone doesn't make a big deal out of the not-a-person thing (even if Kettara is definitely understanding it wrong, and the Soldier has no idea).]

Until the students arrive. Then I have to teach how to fall and dodge.

Of course.

[ Kettara reaches out a hand and murmurs a prayer to the elemental spirits of Air. The axe she dropped whizzes through the air and returns to her hand.

She grins. ]

Please continue.

[That's. Weird. The Soldier looks from where the axe had fallen, to her hand. Is that like what Crowley and Aziraphale do? Probably safest to ask.]

Magic?

You can call it that.

[ She gives the axe a twirl, not showing off so much as just moving so she won't have to hold still. Her blood is up enough to make her antsy, wanting to move and act and react. ]

The elemental spirits lend me their power. It's not a human thing.

Not an Asset thing, either. I definitely can't do that.

[It tosses the sword once in its hand, then does as previously requested and attacks again, this time faster, feinting for her left side shoulder before swinging down at her hip, instead. The metal arm stays up to its left, ready for a counter-attack, and now it's listening to see if she does that muttering thing again. Just in case it can also be used in battle.]

Asset?

[ She knows what the word means, of course. Something that can be leveraged, can be used in a person's favor. But she's never heard of any magic being called that.

But then he's moving again, and the time for questions is over.

Kettara grunts, raising her weapons to turn the blow before it can cleave into her side. Whatever this man is, whatever he means to do, he fights like an orc and she can take comfort in knowing he won't pull blows. Every strike does exactly what he means it to do and if she cannot respond properly, then she will take the full brunt of it. It's a simple thing and she needs some small measure of simplicity now, something she can recognize and control. She goes low this time, aiming for his legs. ]

I am - learning, swords. I can show you the elements. Do you want to see?

[ She often speaks when sparring. Even during battle. The tone is conversational again, though she's grinning and her strikes are just as hard as before. ]

Asset. What I am.

[It drops and rolls to the left, away from her axes blades, rolls back to its feet nimbly and dives back in towards her right with a straight thrust for her side, under the level of her ribs. It is, in fact, prepared to pull back if she doesn't block it or dodge, but it's pretty sure she'll block it or dodge it. She's pretty good.]

Is that something I can learn? Or a gift?

[ Kettara twists, deflecting the blow with one blade and then swinging for her counter. It's a good, hard spar. She's learning. The sword moves differently from an axe, though the range is similar. The position required to hold and turn it is very different, though, and Kettara supposes she will need to wield one herself to truly understand it.

But the fight? That's easy. That's just like home all over again.

She swings up, for his face, and jumps for additional power. ]

I don't know. Do you hear the elements? Do they favor you?

[Catching the counter on the arm, as anticipated, the Soldier flares the plates there to catch at one of those notches in the blade-- then clamps them back down again, aiming to keep the axe stuck between the pieces of metal.]

Don't know.

[Then it ducks under her launch at its face, tugging down on the trapped axe and sweeping out with its leg to try and send her topping to one side while she's mid-air.]

What's that like?

[ That's unexpected. His arm is fully articulate and weaponized by some power she doesn't yet understand. Kettara grunts, though her eyes are bright and wondering, and kicks off from his chest to gain distance.

She claps her hand and throws lightning at him, just to see what he'll do. Will that arm of his conduct it? ]

Connection. I feel the world more.

[Rolling back again and to its feet, suppressing the flinch at the sound of the clap, the Soldier turns back to face her just as time to see the lightning coming. Fuck! It throws up the metal arm between them, which keeps said lightning from frying itself, but it does short out the arm with an evil sounding crackle. It drops like dead weight, pain hitting the nerves that join it to the Soldier's body.

There's a flash of memory, not a full malfunction this time, but enough to make it step back and obviously disengage, sword coming down at its side, while it integrates the sensation. Someone else doing that to the arm before, only with a little round disc thing. Someone with red hair. Who was that.

The Soldier moves again after something like twenty seconds of frowning at nothing, shakes its head vigorously, says,]

That's effective.

[Then it swings its arm in a full circle from its shoulder to reboot it and bring function back online.]

And I don't think I've ever felt a connection to anything.

[ It's not the reaction she expects. The arm reacts like a mechanical thing, something that does indeed conduct electricity and cannot immediately compensate for the sudden abundance.

The man is another matter all together. He just - goes away.

Kettara tips her head to the side and doesn't attack. ]

Not even to your body?

[ There's something she's missing, some context that would make this moment fall in line with the logic she knows. ]

Did I hurt you? I wasn't trying to.

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