[ORP]Training or Fighting....

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Aingeal
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[ORP]Training or Fighting....

Post by Aingeal »

(ooc: Anyone can join in. If you wish to actually duel IG, please send me a PM.)

Aingeal stretched as the morning sun broke through her window, casting its rays across the bed. She let her husband sleep as she slipped from the bed and padded across the wooden floor. Taking care of morning business, she went to the wardrobe and pulled out a fresh tunic, and a pair of well worn leather breeches. She glanced at the dresses hanging there before dismissing them without another thought. The breeches hugged her body like a second skin, not restricting a single move. Pulling the tunic over her head it fell about mid thigh, she cinched it at her waist with a leather belt before sitting in front of the looking glass. Drawing a brush through her locks she deftly plaited her hair and tied it up at the nape, keeping it off her neck and back.

Aing went to the nursery then, to peek in on Amara. The child was sitting in bed playing with her water orbs again. Not wanting to disturb her and have a mess, Aingeal continued down the stairs to the kitchen. Grabbing a biscuit she went out to the stable to saddle her horse. Aingeal supposed they could have servants if they so chose, but Aingeal preferred to do a lot of things herself. Grabbing her cache of weapons she tied them to the saddle before swinging up and riding into town.

Twas nice not to have to go to the Town Hall every day, and now with her new "job" in the castle, there wasn't much she really needed to do. Aingeal was kinda at odds with herself at this point, and didn't know exactly what she was going to do. What she did know is that she was going to teach her family to fight, and grow, and that was the most important thing to her anymore. Finally arriving at the training grounds, she swung down from her horse and tied her up at the post, before tossing her bag over her shoulder and heading inside.

She was pleased to see that it was empty, and she was the only one here as of now. She began her day like the others, stretching out her muscles and loosening up her limbs. One couldn't fight all tense, and there was enough tension in Aing's body to cause herself harm. She tried to clear her thoughts, and work the kinks out of her body before she picked up her first weapon.
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Mother to Amara, Wife to Anessen, Guard of Fenia
Joanna

Re: [ORP]Training or Fighting....

Post by Joanna »

Jo went to the training grounds mostly because she had nothing else to do. The Mentor's office was immaculate, but she had yet to see a new citizen and was therefore bored. Her house was still a pile of warm rocks until she had the money to do better. The taverns were loud and confusing, and she kept losing control and lighting things on fire.

So what better way to spend the day than punching things?

As she entered the training ground, she noticed Aingeal stretching. Intrigued, she watched quietly from the side of the training ground for a moment, then tried to do one of the stretches herself. She had never tried any stretches - she'd always just gone over and started punching at the straw man. Maybe this technique would get more than a nod out of the weaponsmaster next time.

With that thought, she pushed one of the stretcheds just a little to far, overbalanced, and fell over backwards, landing hard on her back. The force knocked the wind out of her, sending a jet of flame about 8 feet into the air. So much for quietly playing follow-the-leader. Sheepishly, she got to her feet and stepped forward into the center of the training ground.

"Hello, Aingeal."
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Aingeal
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Re: [ORP]Training or Fighting....

Post by Aingeal »

Aingeal had seen the girl join her, but kept to her regime. She smiled softly as the girl matched her stretches, or at least tried to. Suddenly the girl lost her balance and a flash of fire caught Aingeal's eye. Aingeal watched as the girl came closer, a red blush creeping up the girl's cheeks. "Hello Joanna," Aingeal said, turning to face the girl. "Still getting ahold of your magiks?" Aingeal hadn't gotten to know the girl well, but she had some type of magiks, whether it be by learning or what she was.

Aingeal continued to stretch and this time talked through it. She never gave up an oportunity to teach. "Stretching is always the most important part of fighting. Whilst fighting can happen in an instant, it is always good to be prepared. You will be quicker and limber when battle arises."
Aingeal stretched her hands over her head with a smile. "Do you have a weapon you prefer to use?"
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Mother to Amara, Wife to Anessen, Guard of Fenia
Joanna

Re: [ORP]Training or Fighting....

Post by Joanna »

"It's just the fire. It never does what I want it too. Ever."

She huffed sulkily, and a small puff of smoke came out of her nose. She was now able to somewhat control the smoke, and at least anticipate the fire most of the time, but other than that it seemed to come out at the worst possible moments.

As Aingeal talked through the stretch, Jo tried again to follow, this time more cautiously and with more success. She also listened carefully to Aingeal's words, using them as a way to focus and avoid charring the other woman. When asked what weapon she preferred, she held up her fist.

"So far, I've only used my hands. I don't own any weapons, and wouldn't know what to do with one if I did."

She tipped her head curiously.

"What do you use?"
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Aingeal
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Re: [ORP]Training or Fighting....

Post by Aingeal »

Aingeal tilted her head. She was a youngling, and one that needed to learn control of her powers. Training would be able to do two-fold, one it would make her stronger, and two it would give the girl focus. Bending over Aingeal palmed the dagger that was nestled in her boot. "I don't favor any one weapon the most, but I do love my dagger," she said, turning it in her palm. "It hides easily in my boot, and I have other daggers that go in my hair or bodice," she said with a smile. Aingeal nodded to the bag she brought with her.

"I have axes and bows, swords and daggers, staves and the like," Aingeal explained. "Fists are good when one is up close, but a weapon is always nice to have...." Aingeal frowned when Joanna said she had no weapon. "That will not do for you to wander around unarmed. You may have your choice of a weapon and I will supply it," Aingeal said matter of factly. Aingeal had left all the encrusted weapons at home, so she only had plain ones with her today.

"And please don't worry about setting me on fire, I have magiks on my own, and healing ones at that..." Aingeal didn't want the girl to worry about hurting her in the end. She might end up bruised and battered, but Aing could keep herself alive and well easily.
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Nikola
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Re: [ORP]Training or Fighting....

Post by Nikola »

The day looked to be another sunny one, warm and bright. Nikola was never sure if that was a good thing, but first thing in the morning it seemed pleasant enough. She had arrived in Imperius late the night before and had risen early to start her day. She had a number of things on her list of things to accomplish today and decided an early start should see an early finish and then she could do what she wanted before returning back home to Fenia. She hoped that might include visiting with friends, but only time would tell. Duty first, as always.

She had finished depositing her wares with the keeper at the market, had stopped by the church to clean a few windows and say a prayer. She had even done a bit of foraging while in town and stopped by the graveyard to tend some flowers that looked a bit wilted. The inn where she was staying was on the way to the training grounds, so she popped into her room to drop off her things and change.

She selected a pair of tan colored trousers and a light brown loose fitting blouse that hung to her upper thighs and which she belted to hold in place. She tucked the legs of the trousers into soft leather boots, a shade of brown that was only marginally darker than the blouse. She was no warrior, but had excelled at training with all the weapons available and usually kept them close at hand. For today’s training, though, she would use sword and dagger, her preferred weapons of choice. After checking the blade for nicks and finding it in pristine condition, the dagger went into her boot sheath. The sai still showed wear from the Xanthareel hunt despite numerous repairs, but it was her favorite weapon and went into a special sheath attached to her belt. She removed the sword from its harness to examine the length of the blade before sheathing it again and buckling the harness across her back. The hilt jutted up behind her head making it easy to reach back and pull free with one fluid movement. She preferred the back harness to the ones that dangled from the hip. She seemed to manage to trip over those at least once whenever she wore them while the back harness was light and comfortable and never got in the way.

She made her way back out into the increasing warmth of the midmorning sun and turned her feet toward the training grounds. It was a bit of a walk, but the exercise loosened her up and felt good after having been in the saddle for so many hours the evening before. She hoped someone might be there with whom she could spar, but even alone she would at least get a few good hits in on the dummy there.

She was delighted to see that the grounds were already occupied when she arrived. Two figures were inside going through their stretches and she was pleased to know that she knew them both. Aingeal she had known for some time, although she was getting to know her better since the move to Fenia. Joanna was a newcomer she had met in the taverns.

“Hello,” she greeted them, moving into position nearby to do a few stretches of her own. “Mind if I join you?”
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Aingeal
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Re: [ORP]Training or Fighting....

Post by Aingeal »

Aingeal went to rummage through her bag, drawing out weapon after weapon. Her new favorite was the sai, a bit larger than a dagger, but usuable all the same. While she waited for Joanne to make a decision, she continued to practice. Tucking the sai in her belt, she picked up her training sword, battered and bruised. She had a better sword, but she would never train with it. Amanda's steward had presented it to her after Amanda's death, and it was Aingeal's most prized possession. She valued that sword more than any emerald she had. She tested the weight of the sword in her hand, before swinging at the wooden post set off to the side of the arena.

The resounding thwack left a satisified smile on her lips. Continued to swing the sword, she moved this way and that, loosing up her body. A new voice filled the air, and Aingeal smiled as she turned. "The more the merrier I always say," Aingeal said with a smile. "And a sparring partner is always welcome...."
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Nikola
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Re: [ORP]Training or Fighting....

Post by Nikola »

Nikola nodded, smiling in return at Aingeal. She moved into a series of stretches designed to limber her upper body. “Sparring sounds more beneficial than a simple workout,” she commented as she relaxed from a stretch. “What did you have in mind? I brought only a few of my own weapons, but I’m game what whatever you’d like.”

Keeping her legs straight and slightly apart, she bent forward to touch the ground with the palms of her hands, looking up at Jo from between her ankles. It was an odd feeling, looking at the girl upside down, but the girl seemed a bit unsure of herself and that had caught Nikola’s attention. Straightening up she looked back over at Aingeal. “I am a bit out of practice, so this will be good for me, I think. I have heard that you are a powerful opponent. I would like to see just how powerful.” She grinned the invitation as she pulled out her sai to check it over once more.
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Joanna

Re: [ORP]Training or Fighting....

Post by Joanna »

Jo hesitated. She hadn't thought much about weaponry, and wasn't sure what would be best for her. Daggers were light and fast, but also more subtle and precise, two things she didn't excel at. Swords were good, but heavy, as were axes, and probably weren't a great place to start on her first day. A bow might work, or...

She was still deep in thought as Nikola entered, but she gave the woman a quick nod and smile before returning to her puzzling. After a moment, she settled on a stave. Simple, direct, and easy to handle. Lifting a short stave from Aingeal's collection of weaponry and tossing it between her hands, she smiled. "I think I'll try this for today."

She gripped it clumsily and took an ill-aimed whack at the wooden post. It bounced off, smacking her hard in the ribs. "Oof."
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Nikola
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Re: [ORP]Training or Fighting....

Post by Nikola »

As she waited for Aingeal to respond, Nikola glanced over at Jo just as the girl whacked a wooden post with an awkwardly held stave. The weapon bounced back and smacked the girl right in the ribs. She hesitated, not sure whether her advice would be welcome or not, but as Aingeal seemed preoccupied, she sheathed her said and walked over to Jo.

“Are you alright?” she asked, and held out a hand for the stave. “If you would like, I can show you how to use that,” she offered.
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