Description: Target: The fancy weapons of a highbrow. Obstacle: The sharp end of a rapier. Alias: Aeriell. Summary: An afternoon of practice is interrupted by the approach of an aristocratic fencer. While swords may not be Ayame's thing, the fancy, rose-like daggers he also has catch her eye. He would've just given her one, but of course Ayame always has to do things the hard way...
Very few people are naturally proficient with a style of fighting without some kind of training. Very rare is the individual that can just fight without practicing first. Surely they exist - just like there are those who can watch a piano be played and sit down to bang out a beautiful aria without ever having had a single lesson...
But Ayame isn't one of those. Adept at picking things up, she still needs practice in order to improve. Some things are easy enough to practice in the more cramped areas of the city but there are tools among her repertoire that require more in the way of space in order to train. Such as the rope dart she is practicing with right now.
A ten foot long wire-thin rope has a three inch metal 'dart' clipped onto a ring on the end - a pointed, cylindrical object. About two feet up the rope from it is a bright red cloth. Intended to be a distraction in combat, it makes it harder for opponents to focus on the real threat of the dart when they have a flashing red in front of their eyes...
The weapon and the technique to power it are an ancient Chinese art and when used by the girl that looks like she'd fit in a lot better in the ghettos of south Southtown, it seems strangely out of place. Back and forth the agile girl weaves, wrapping the rope around her shoulders and torso, using her feet to kick the metal object out then whip it back in close with a flick of her wrist.
Constantly on the move, the style is as graceful as it is deadly, her thick soled shoes kicking up dust from the dry patches of the clearing. Hanging from the boughs of trees along the edge of the clearing are a number of boards suspended by ropes. Now and then Ayame flings or kicks or spins the little rope dart out to bang against the boards, sending a wooden thunk echoing throughout the area.
Practice and training -is- important. Some people practice and train religiously, even. And this happens to be Vince's excuse for coming out here now, since the athletics yard at Pacific High was a bit cluttered. But he's come to be rather fond of the forest of Southtown. A nice, quiet little reverie away from the garish city lights, the mindless meandering crowds of the streets... no, it's more peaceful here. More calming. It's where one can focus.
So Vince is just arriving at his preferred locale - a little clearing in the middle of nowhere. Unfortunately for him, someone is already here. The blond swordsman watches her curiously for a few moments, weighing the options he has at hand: make his presence known, or depart. Since he's always been the socialite, the noble is decidedly not leaving. But trying to find an opportunity to bring attention to himself without becoming accidental cause of self-injury... that's a little more tricky.
Icy blue eyes observe the path and patterns of the dart zipping about, biding his time until she's just kicked it out again. That's when he lifts his right hand to his lips and politely clears his throat - polite, but audable enough to be heard over the forest creatures.
She becomes vaguely aware of another in the area before he clears his throat, but gives no visible indication of it, just going about her practice. Perhaps she expects to be attacked and wants to leave whoever approaches unaware. She's paranoid like that... The dart plinks against a dangling wooden board as the stranger clears his throat, but when Ayame flings it back this time, she turns around, allowing it to fall over her shoulder and land in the grass some feet away from her with a metallic thunk. A coiled snake in the brush, ready to strike at a moment's notice...
And that's when the girl's eyes come to focus on the young man who has joined her here, taking his appearance in in a pointed analysis from head to toe then back up again, not seeming very shy in sizing him up in the slightest. Fit, muscled, a nice looking rapier at his side, and a pair of smaller impressive looking stilettos at his built. Her expression is neutral as she focuses on his face in the end, as if trying to find signs of hostile intent in his icy blue eyes only to not notice anything of the sort. A foreigner. Hmn.
Well, well, this is unexpected. "Hello," the girl speaks up, mouth curling into a warm, disarming smile. She doesn't think he came here looking for her, or else her reaction would be far more guarded. Instead, it seems reasonable to turn on the charm. She already sees something she wants... But first she needs to figure out what the young man is about.
Vince seems completely unabashed in the surveying, the faintest hint of a grin tugging at the corners of his lips. When one dresses in the manner that he does, one expects to be given curious look-overs. It is, however, returned in kind. The girl has a very, very odd sense of fashion, he's noticed. Odd, but not a complete disaster. The girl herself is a bit on the pretty side, at least.
Boots draw the swordsman closer a few steps, charming smile now touching to his features in full. "Good afternoon," he offers politely. "I hadn't expected to encounter someone this far from the town. If I have mis-stepped and interrupted, I apologize."
"No need to apologize," comes the reply. Her voice bears a kind tone to it, her friendly expression in spite her strange attire suggesting no annoyance or ill intent there. "There's room enough here for a large crowd, let alone just two people." she grins, sweeping her right arm out at the clearing.
She scoots in closer as he approaches, stopping just outside what most people would consider their 'personal space', as she looks up at the slightly taller foreigner. She believes him to be close to her in age and while she pegs him as European, she doesn't know from which country exactly...
"Sometimes it's nice to get away from the city and enjoy not feeling cramped up in some kind of steel and concrete jungle, you know?" she remarks, suspecting that that might by why he came all the way out here himself. After all, there's got to be places to practice fencing in the city, and he's probably not so concerned about being found as she is.
She clasps her hands behind her back then and leans forward a little, "My name is Aeriell. Nice to meet you. Are you a regular here? I don't come by this location often."
Vince doesn't seem to shy off or flinch when she comes closer, but his left hand does settle over the pommel of his sheathed rapier. The arm does, however, appear to be relaxed, thus making this position a likely standby. "I do, indeed," he concurs. "I find the city to be lacking in some ways that the wilds flourish."
And speaking of flourish, Vince's posture adjusts mildly, left boots shifting back. His right hand lifts towards her gently, palm turned skywards. "An exquisite name, my lady. I am Vince LaRose." And this he says with pride.
His compliment for her name earns him the faintest blush in the girl's cheeks. Exquisite. She's pretty happy with it herself. Imagine if it was even really hers! "Vince LaRose," she repeats back, seeming to recite the name for the purposes of remembering it, placing a certain amount of the emphasis on his last name, speaking it a bit slower as if to appreciate the weight behind such a fancy surname.
One hand comes up from behind her back to press against her cheek, looking maybe a little sheepish as she continues, "Your weapons... that's called a rapier, right?" she asks, her other hand coming forward to gesture vaguely at the impressive sword at his waist. "Is that something you've been practicing for long?"
Vince's untaken hand is eventually recalled with th faintest hint of a frown. It sets at his side, resting atop the pommel of one of his rosettes. To her question, he nods slowly, bangs drifting outwards. "You are correct. It's the legacy of my family. Pioneers of the rapier, masters of fencing. The LaRose family is one with the rapier, in the same way that every rose bears a thorn. To say I've been practicing it is to say you've been practicing breathing, my lady," the noble explains.
She detects the frown and chides herself for not recognizing the gesture for what it was before he lowers his hand back to rest atop the weapon at his waist. She should be more aware than that. She listens to him explain his level of experience with the weapon that she knows to require a high level of finesse to master and begins to worry a little. She was hoping it was just for show. A fancy foreigner expecting people to leave him alone just because he proudly bears a few weapons visibly... But that doesn't sound like the case at all.
Her hands aren't idle now, however, as she runs her fingers along the thin rope holding the rope dart in place and starts to coil the line in loops over her left hand. Retracting it as it were. "A family art? How wonderful," Aeriell continues. "I wish I could claim to know something like that. This is just a novelty interest of mine of a year or so," she continues, swinging the metal end of the rope dart back and forth before draping the entire coiled rope over her left shoulder.
It's killing her to hold back, her fingers twitching with anticipation at the idea of trying out one of those sharp pointed weapons of his. They look light, agile. Probably fun to use in combat. "Those are such fancy daggers," she remarks, sounding facinated, clearly indicating the stilettos, "Are those part of your family style as well?"
"The rosettes?," Vince asks, looking to his belt briefly to regard the polished red and green stilettos. "No. When one masters LaRose Dansant, they're expected to personalize it and make it their own. The rosettes are a part of mine," he explains. "I make them myself. Each one done by hand."
Two fingers hook one of his rosettes by the bloom, kipping it into the air only to smoothly catch it once more in both hands, handle extended to Aeriell.
"Do you like them?," Vince asks with a softer smile.
At last. As Vince extends the handle of the small weapon toward her, the girl lights up, both of her hands raised now, at first hesitantly as if unsure of herself, then finally clasping both hands around its handle to heft it from his hand gingerly, carefully, clearly respectful of such a nice looking blade.
"The end looks really sharp," she comments, amused at how the 'dagger' has been colored to mimic a rose. Goes with the last name, she muses. "So neat looking, yet so dangerous," she continues, continuing to hold it carefully in her two hands. And then she takes a step backward, lowering one hand while keeping the rosette clasped in her other.
"Thanks. I think I'll keep it." she grins, twirling the flowery blade around in her hands. She takes another step backward. Is she serious?
This might be a little unexpected.
On both sides.
"I was.. actually offering it to you," Vince says, sounding a little estranged by the girl. "As I said, I make and design them. But was it your intention to -steal- it from me?," he asks a bit more critically. "I'd think you were more than a mere brigand..." The eyes, in fact, become a bit more cool and perterbed, not looking terribly pleased at the idea of this girl thinking she could rob him.
Aeriell's smile fades as Vince throws a complete curveball at her. That was definitely unexpected. She likes to be the one in control of a situation, and to have him plan on giving it to her in the first place has caught her completely off guard to the point that she isn't even sure what direction she wants to take this strange situation in order to reassert her control here.
If he makes weapons like this and seems so willing to just hand them out then... he must have a lot of money... Maybe it's even on him. Besides, adding his weapons to her collection back home really appeals to her. She doesn't have a rapier yet.
"Maybe I am," she states in reply to the idea of being a brigand, her friendly demeanor melting away quickly. "And maybe I'm interested in more than just this stiletto." she continues, left hand coming up to caress the green blade thoughtfully. She likes it. She's never been called a brigand before. Ah, those noble types.
"In that case," says Vince, now sounding more testy and annoyed than threatened, "A lesson is in order, here. I'm not taken to cutting up ladies..."
The right hand sets to the handle of his sheathed rapier, and the blade is drawn out in an instant, aiming to slice downwards from her right shoulder to left hip in the same action.
"...Fortunately, you are no lady."
Indeed, the sheer audacity of someone stealing something from -him-? Perposterous. Highly insulting.
COMBATSYS: Vince has started a fight here.
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Vince 0/-------/-------|
COMBATSYS: Ayame has joined the fight here.
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Ayame 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Vince
COMBATSYS: Vince successfully hits Ayame with Quick Strike.
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Ayame 0/-------/-----==|-------\-------\0 Vince
She had been curious about what level of skill he had with the sharp fencing weapon, and now it seems like she gets a chance to find out first hand. "Is that so," the girl replies as he suggests a lesson to be taught, and an inhibition against cutting up ladies. But she should probably spend less time with smirky back talk and more time paying attention to the weapon that lashes out at her faster than she can manage to react.
The slice hits home, cutting deepest at her bare shoulder, a thin red line from the slash visible on the surface of her skin as well as a few cuts following the same angle through her black blouse down toward her opposite hip. His speedy attack gets the girl's attention, her eyes widening a little with some surprise at the first strike that she hadn't expected. She must've really gotten under his skin, it sounds like.
Hurt, but hardly slowed, 'Aeriell' adopts a very tight lipped, neutral expression as she realizes she'll have to be serious here. "Let's see how your little rosette looks once it's pricked skin," she remarks, lunging back in toward him, attempting to push his fencing arm down with her left hand while simultaneously stabbing out with her right hand with that very weapon that he was going to offer her as a gift. Maybe he'll get squeamish at the sight of his own blood, she muses, not quite sure what sort've aristocrat she's dealing with here.
COMBATSYS: Vince blocks Ayame's Quick Strike.
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Ayame 0/-------/-----==|-------\-------\0 Vince
The attempt to dissuade his sword arm fails terribly, blade and arm both whisking easily past her. The incoming stiletto is partially deflected by the flat of the rapier, set to her wrist. Accompanied with a sideways turn, the blade manages only to graze skin and cloth. It's enough to annoy the swordsman, though. A creature, this unworthy, playing with -his- handmade weapon. Disgusting.
In an instant, Vince retaliates against the attack and her close quarters. His blade thrusts out sharply towards the center of her chest - a strike that is easily painful enough on its own merit. But this stroke is enhanced by a sudden discharge of visible wind energy, lancing from the blade towards her to make the wound even more grievous.
COMBATSYS: Ayame dodges Vince's Venteuse.
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Ayame 0/-------/-----==|=------\-------\0 Vince
Unsuccessful in getting in close and personal to disarm his defenses, the blonde girl is forced to fall back on speed to avoid getting skewered. It's something she's familiar with. She's certainly stabbed many a person in her days, even if it wasn't with something quite so long. Even as she leans hard to the side in order to allow the point of the rapier slip past her, the girl doesn't miss the burst of energy that accompanied the strike. Nn. More than just a fencer, he knows chi manipulation as well...
The evasive lean leaves her a little less able to capitalize on the opening his missed strike might leave but that doesn't mean she doesn't try for it all the same. Where one long, sharp weapon isn't enough, maybe two will do the trick. While her right hand maintains a grip on the rosette, her left hand slips to a thin leather sheath in the belt around her skirt, slipping a second weapon from it - a butterfly knife which she flicks open in the very process of removing it. It has a blade and a point, which the girl attempts to utilize now.
"Not holding back at all, I see," she remarks as she attempts to slash out with a sweeping arc with the butterfly knife at roughly chest level, perhaps hoping to steer his attention to it, while she leans as a follow up in an attempt to land that stab he managed to defend himself from the first time, "I like it!"
COMBATSYS: Vince dodges Ayame's Assault and Battery.
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Ayame 0/-------/------=|=------\-------\0 Vince
It's somewhat disappointing that the stab didn't skewer the vagabond. But he's far from being finished with her. And when she attempts to strike him with the butterfly knife, the experienced swordsman leans back to allow it to whizz past him. The subsequent stab that comes, he twists aside to evade completely. And the moment her stab misses, the rapier is blurring in action again. This time, three sharp stabs are aimed for the girl's torso, each one more punctuated and harsh than the last one.
"Retreat and leave the rosette, and I may yet be merciful," warns the noble tersely.
COMBATSYS: Ayame dodges Vince's Medium Strike.
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Ayame 0/-------/------=|=------\-------\0 Vince
Swish. Swish. Both of her swings meet with nothing but air. Mister LaRose seems very comfortable with opponents in close. It makes sense, the girl muses, even as she just barely manages to avoid being skewered by the sharp point of his rapier, using the rosette itself to nudge aside the third strike in the nick of time. Whew.
But it seems she's going to have to take a different approach with this one. He's better at sword play than she is probably. She wasn't born with a blade in her hand like it sounds like he was. Retreat? An option, for sure, but she senses more reward to be gained by sticking around. Leave the fancy weapon behind? Not if she can help it!
"I think I understand your style now," she remarks, hopping backward in order to sacrifice ground. The knife in her left hand is flicked closed and resheathed. The stiletto rose blade provides a bit of a problem, however, since she doesn't have any where to stash it. So... she quickly back pedals, reaching behind her to wrap up a long length of her hair into a bun on the back of her head, then stabs the stiletto through it. There. An ornate hair pin.
Lowering her hands, the girl finally reaches up to uncoil that thin rope he saw her practicing with before, unfurling the rope dart as she hops backward another time, twisting around in mid-air, landing with a swift kick to the metal weight to send it flying out with remarkable force toward Vince's chest. The tip isn't sharp, but the weight is sigificant enough to hurt if it lands.
COMBATSYS: Vince dodges Ayame's Medium Fling.
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Ayame 0/-------/------=|=------\-------\0 Vince
"Doubtful," Vince remarks back to her calmly. Calm as he appears, he's still quite obviously irritated by her. The rapier settles itself at a downwards angle, deceptively at a relaxed position. Finding his rosette in her hair just sickens him further. He'll definitely be taking that stiletto back from her, and he'll likely see to it that the authorities are alerted to her whereabouts.
But in comes the fancy little rope-trick knife. Unamused by it entirely, Vince shrugs his right shoulder back to twist aside and evade it cleanly. And at the same time, his left hand has drawn another rosette from his belt. The stiletto is whirled masterfully along his fingers, ending with a straight launch back at her chest in return.
COMBATSYS: Ayame overcomes Medium Fling from Vince with Medium Fling.
- Power hit! -
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Ayame 0/-------/------=|=------\-------\0 Vince
That he managed to put his speed to get out of the way of her ranged attack isn't too surprising. He's fast. And proving himself faster by the moment. Almost distressingly so. She isn't used to being thoroughly out-speeded by most opponents she picks on. She knows better than to go after celebrity fighters... /too/ often. Sometimes she makes mistakes though.
That he's throwing the knife presents the girl with a dilemma. On one hand she really would like a second one. On the other hand, catching it chest-first doesn't sound like a very good idea, and her hands are busy manipulating the rope dart that requires a lot of her focus and attention for the moment.
Deciding to react defensively instead, the blonde spins, sending that rope dart out a second time, this time intersecting the trajectory of the stiletto and plinging it out of the air before continuing directly on a collision course for the foreign noble. She would've aimed it for his face, just to see if placing a few bruises there might get him to relent easier, but the dart end of the weapon is on track for his chest after knocking aside the flowered blade.
COMBATSYS: Ayame successfully hits Vince with Medium Fling.
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Ayame 0/-------/-----==|===----\-------\0 Vince
The fact that the dagger moved quickly enough to deflect his stiletto is surprising by itself, and it collides with his torso as she intended. It gets a grunt from the fencer, who becoms a bit more annoyed. Nevertheless, he seems collected still. He dashes in towards her, closing the distance swiftly.. and in the meantime, another rosette is retrieved and flicked nimbly at the girl's chest. Just to keep her guessing while he closes the distance on her.
COMBATSYS: Ayame dodges Vince's Sudden Fling.
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Ayame 0/-------/-----==|===----\-------\0 Vince
Ayame is paying closer attention now. She thought him someone who would be more helpless at range but he's quickly proving that to NOT be the case at all. While she managed to deflect his last attack nimbly she can't hope to pull that off reliably by any means. Landing after her last hop, she retracts the rope dart, wrapping it over her shoulder twice before leaving it to hang down in front of her...
Vince is closing distance and she isn't feeling as confident about her range game against him as she was moments ago. Time for another tactic. She notices the second weapon coming in at her and this time she actually does manage to catch it out of the air, spinning around and sliding it into her impromptu hair bun at the opposite angle as the first, giving the young man a roguish grin as if taunting him a little.
But smirks and taunts aren't going to let things go her way here and this Aeriell girl isn't uncomfortable fighting in close either. He comes in at her and Ayame leans forward to rush in and meet him, her left palm striking out to land directly into his chest as a means of slowing him down while her right and seeks to get a grip on his left arm in order to twist it up behind him with a hard yank. "I knew you couldn't keep away for me. Missed ya."
If she succeeds, the girl will finish by sweeping her feet for his ankles, attempting to drive the noble face down into the dirt of the field. Nothing like a little dust for his clean white shirt. It's more harm to pride than it is a particularly damaging attack.
COMBATSYS: Ayame successfully hits Vince with Quick Throw.
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Ayame 0/-------/-----==|====---\-------\0 Vince
And Vince is thusly tripped and felled... but hardly deterred. She's doing little more than enough to annoy him, which may very well wind up biting her in the end. While his land is rather graceless, he quickly rolls over and pushes up to his feet - simultanious with an exceedingly harsh, sudden stab for her midsection, aiming to skewer the girl yet again. Far enough for her body to meet the hilt of his rapier. Suffice to say Vince is not playing around, and does not take well to insult.
COMBATSYS: Ayame fails to interrupt Fierce Strike from Vince with Harvest's Reaper.
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Ayame 0/-------/---====|=====--\-------\0 Vince
Once he's down, Ayame decides to fall back on something she's far more comfortable with when dealing with someone who's an expert in weapons like Vince appears to be. From a black pouch that's been hanging from the belt around her skirt she slips out a six inch long metal tube of roughly two inches in diameter.
A press of her thumb in the right spot and the tube expands out swiftly into a full length, six foot long bo staff made of titanium. Light weight but incredibly strong, the long weapon might give her the defense she needs to deal with the sharp rapier her surprisingly difficult opponent is trying to attack her with.
When he comes in with his blade, she tries to react in turn, sweeping the low end of the staff upward, trying to deal with not just his attack but deal a devestating strike to him as well... But the fencer proves the superior in this quick exchange, his weapon slipping in past Ayame's defensive strike to skewer her deeply at last, sinking into the middle of her torso and causing her to gasp, eyes widening as she simply gapes silently, stuck there on his weapon, looking all together shocked.
For all of her talk, the girl is no masochist. She doesn't like getting cut up or stabbed just like anyone else and now that she's finally felt the full length of his sword run through her, her confidence in dealing with the expert fencer is dwindling fast.
And with the girl supported apparently by little more than the rapier embedded into her, Vince callously plucks the rosettes from her hair and tucks them back into his belt. "A beast like you deserves no trinket," he hisses at her. But finally in a sharp, sudden movement, the rapier is retracted from her body. Vince backs a few paces from her, as if ready to let her leave...
But no.
Vince instead hops the short distance forward and drops into an extremely deep lunge, aiming to skewer her once more. Perhaps after the point is made clearly, she'll run away - if she's capable.
COMBATSYS: Vince successfully hits Ayame with Balestra.
- Power hit! -
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Ayame 1/-------/=======|=======\-------\0 Vince
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As the makeshift hairpins are removed, her hair falls back down over shoulders where it prefers to lay naturally, the girl helpless to do anything to stop him as she agonizes over the minor issue of a sword sticking through her. As he takes a few steps backward, finally having pulled the weapon out of her, Ayame slams her staff down against the ground in an effort to prop herself up, not looking too well at all.
What comes next doesn't do a lot to help with that condition either as he comes in for another lunge. She tries to shift that staff of hers to get it in the way in hopes of knocking aside the blade, but this time she's too early and he's left a clean shot to run her through a second time, this time with more force than the last. A choked cry escapes her lips as his rapier skewers her through the middle again followed by a cough and a small amount of visible blood at the corner of her mouth.
Trembling a little she hasn't the slightest idea that he intends to relent any time soon and by now she's not really wanting to end her illustrious career as a thief by becoming a pin cushion for some highbrow. Her left hand comes down to wrap around the shaft of his rapier as she takes steps backwards, clearly trying to get it out of her again before it can inflict any more damage.
Her right hand, on the other hand, brings the staff up and around, whipping it over head before attempting to slam the full weight of it against the top of his right shoulder. One handed, it's a little more clumsy than her norm, but the impact would be painful all the same.
COMBATSYS: Ayame successfully hits Vince with Fierce Strike.
Glancing Blow
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Ayame 1/------=/=======|=======\=------\1 Vince
Vince smirks, blade embedded into the girl once more. "Now I advise you flee. Only a fool would insist on pressing this attack," he says calmly, eloquently to the girl. And with her hand wrapped around his blade, he quirks an eyebrow. How quaint. The sword is pulled free of her gullet, and he spies the staff swinging downwards hard. He begins to twist out of the way, but the staff clips his shoulder, and will very likely account for a bruise.
Regardless, Vince raises to his full height again and sweeps his blade in a smooth, outwards circle, curving upwards from right hip to left shoulder swiftly. "Do not force my hand further, wench."
COMBATSYS: Vince successfully hits Ayame with Quick Strike.
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Ayame 1/-----==/=======|=======\=------\1 Vince
Freed of the sword for now, Ayame recovers after her less than graceful swing of the staff, pulling it up and holding it in front of her at an angle, both of her hands back on it now. Bleeding from two severe injuries in the torso with matching marks in her back, her black shirt is clearly ruined, torn and stained with her own blood. The encouragement for her to flee comes, and Ayame strongly considers that option. After all, it beats the stabbing she's taking here...
As if to add emphasis to his remark, he comes in again with a quick, shallow slash, crossing her in the opposite direction as at the start of the fight. Though she attempts to change the angle of her staff to account for this, she misreads the reverse sweep, and the tip of the blade slices along the girl again, elicting a hiss of pain. The thin gash through her shirt forms an X now that it has been paired with the original one.
She looks unsure now. The foreign noble seems a lot better off in this exchange than she is now. Maybe falling back would be the better choice... But still, the girl has gotten her licks in, and with another solid blow or two, she might be able to wear him down, she figures... and being called a wench doesn't do a lot to sooth the temper starting to build in the girl. Gritting her teeteh, she moves in on him again, this time looking as if to swing out with her staff, but turning to the side at the last moment and trying to plant her thick soled shoes into his stomach instead, maybe just hoping to test his reactions one last time.
COMBATSYS: Vince blocks Ayame's Light Kick.
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Ayame 1/-----==/=======|=======\==-----\1 Vince
Her persistance has become annoying. Vince narrows his icy eyes on her and prepares for another flash of the blade.. when she suddenly kicks at him. His left arm drops a little, forearm taking the most of the force backing the kick.
"So be it."
Vince turns a half-spin to close in range with her, and at the final step of the spin, his blade thrusts out at an alarmingly fast speed. And again. And again. And it continues, the first two incredibly sluggish to the others, which simply blur out of vision. His arm itself vanishes from sight, replaced instead of a vague whir of motion, each one a harsh, cruel stab aimed for various locations all along Ayame's body. These cover from thighs to collar, and the number of stabs are outrageously numerous. Impossible to keep track of them all.
COMBATSYS: Ayame counters LaRose Thorns from Vince with Weapon Jab.
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Ayame 1/-------/=======|===----\-------\0 Vince
His arm absorbs the the kick readily enough, but Ayame was playing it a bit conservative with the strike it would seem as she immediately comes out of the motion with her staff already swinging into position with the intent to make a second strike without any window of opportunity for him to retaliate...
But even with her quick timing he manages to go on the offense well before she can bring that large weapon to bear for another swing. But that doesn't mean the girl is caught flat footed this time. Her staff inbetween Vince and herself, she manages to move the pole arm in between the first two slower strikes as the fencer aims to build up speed to the truly devestating, fight ending stabs that are to follow. Sparks fly as she blocks the first stab to follow the initial ones and then the girl gives up - There's no hope of defending against all the blows to come...
So in the end she hops backward out of range, surrendering ground and lunging out with the six foot long weapon to stab it right against his chest with just enough force to keep him from advancing on her further, both of her hands tightly gripping the other end of the weapon as she simply holds that defensive albeit non-mantainable defensive posture for several seconds, doing her best to scowl back at Vince in spite her haggard rate of breathing now. That burst of speed didn't come for free, nor does she suspect she could muster it a second time. But at least she's shy several dozon holes in her skin and clothes right now!
The staff thuds dully against his chest, and Vince grunts against the hit. How annoying. She retreats when it would be more convenient for her to stand still, and she stands still when it would be wiser for her to retreat! The staff does not seem to deter Vince, however. His rapier lifts to strike it aside and close in once more. If she insists on sticking around, he'll have to dissuade her yet further.
This time, the attack comes as two quick stabs. The first point is aimed for her chest just beneath her throat, the second one aimed more for the abdomen. "Is it for pride that you linger when you should flee? Are you so insistant on risking fatal injury?," the noble asks.
COMBATSYS: Ayame blocks Vince's Quick Strike.
[ \\\\\\\\\ < > /////////////// ]
Ayame 1/------=/=======|===----\-------\0 Vince
This time her reflexes seem to be picking up, but she can't quite block his rapier strikes completely. The stab toward the base of her throat is knocked aside by a shift of her wrist, moving the top half of the staff at an angle against the bladed weapon, and then swings the staff back the other way to intersect the second stab... but this time she only manages to knock it slightly astray, earning her a scratch on the side of her torso and another slash through her poor, hole-riddled shirt.
His question about her pride does hit home though... She's often asked others the same question when they insisted on fighting her inspite her besting their abilities. What's the point if she can't beat him? She has nothing to prove here if she can't knock him down... nothing to profit by being bloodied and stabbed over and over...
Still, if she CAN take the fencer down, those neat weapons of his would be hers... "I just want your stuff," the girl replies, her tone sounding a little matter of fact. Pride doesn't seem to factor into it. Living as she does? There's not much room for pride and self respect, unfortunately.
Deciding to chance being in close against him again, this Aeriell girl steps in, staff raised at a verticle angle, before she swings the weapon down toward his right side and then immediately reverses the direction back for a slam against his left side, extending it out a bit longer to lend a sweeping arc to it. "Clearly you can afford to part with them!"
COMBATSYS: Vince blocks Ayame's Medium Strike.
[ \\\\\\\\\ < > ////////////// ]
Ayame 1/------=/=======|====---\-------\0 Vince
Vince seems to flourish well enough in the close quarters. Her staff meets with his rapier both times, slowing the strokes to shadows of what they -could- have been. He'll likely still bruise over, but nothing serious. "Just imagine if you held yourself a bit higher than a thief..."
Vince suddenly pivots over, aiming a sharp sidekick for Ayame's face. Indeed, a kick. Very unlike what he's been using against her, and the hard leather of his boots makes it rather unpleasant.
"...You would have a souvenir by now!"
COMBATSYS: Ayame fails to counter Light Kick from Vince with Requiem For Fallen Blossoms.
- Power fail! -
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\ <
Vince 0/-------/---====|
COMBATSYS: Ayame can no longer fight.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\ <
Vince 0/-------/---====|
"It's what I am," Ayame snaps back as he derides her self-ascribed lot in life. Not that she hasn't had reason to rethink that as of late. A generous offer from a certain super star... A job offer from another organization that seems suspicious but might provide a better life than this... Maybe it is time she scraped herself out of the gutter - accepted the help others have so generously presented to her. Maybe it is pride. Maybe it's stubborn refusal to believe anyone wants to help her just because they're kind. They always have to have an angle, she's certain of it...
"I don't want your charity!" the girl snaps back, sounding angry for the first time this fight, finding her control over her temper slipping along with her strength. When he swings that foot out for her, she tries to intercept his strike with her weapon once again, only this time the entire length of the staff flares a violent, angry red, small particles of chi pouring off the ends of it as she seeks to shove his leg out of the way with the first of more strikes to come...
But she just doesn't have it in her. The surge of energy is met with blunt force as her staff knocks against his leg ineffectively and his foot finds its mark against her cheek with the sound of leather smashing against skin and bone. "A-aya!" the girl cries out as she gets kicked to the side, falling clean off her feet and dropping to the dry, fall grass with a thump.
Slowly the girl's hands come out at her sides as she slowly tries to push herself back up, arms trembling, her hand trying to lift up her staff to use it for support, but in the end she slumps back down with a gasp.
...Wait.
Vince spent all this time lacerating and punching holes in the girl's body, only for the final climax to come with a somewhat uncharacteristic boot-to-face sidekick? Vince might see the humor in this, if he weren't so disgusted.
The boot sets neatly back to the grass, and Vince takes a step closer to her. His rapier is spun over his index finger by means of ringlet, and he ends the fancy little display by angling the tip of his blade towards her throat.
"When Rose Dansant was first discovered, duels such as these were common," he says. "But these exchanges often ended in death after one was defeated. It's expected, especialy if one were wronged in the way you did me. But to leave you alive would be the far greater justice to myself - forcing you to live with the shame of defeat, knowing I, as your better, am too good to take a life like -yours-."
Doesn't mean she's getting off scott free, though. Vince has every intention to notify the authorities. Even still, he turns from her and walks a few paces away from her. He pauses then, and in an instant, his left hand has flung a rosette towards her to embed itself in the ground beside her. "A token of remembrance," he comments over his shoulder, back still turned to the girl. "Although doubtful, if you should see someone with a rosette like that, tread carefully. Adieu, Aeriell."
And with that, the swordsman begins his trek back to civilization in silence. Off to find a signal to call up the police on his cell. Surprise surprise, he actually does carry one.
COMBATSYS: Vince has ended the fight here.
As the sharp blade of the weapon is angled at her throat, Ayame remains perfectly still, eyes widened, her breath coming in gasps. She knows when she's been thoroughly bested and she is powerless to deny him a killing strike if he wanted. No one would care if he did. If someone found her dead there would be no life to trace, no family to contact, no one to pursue justice for the dead brigand as he had called her.
But for all her bluster about not wanting his charity, she also doesn't want to die. If it means living knowing the nobleman is a superior fighter to her, at least it's living. Which is why when he pulls back the tip of his weapon, sparing her the final punishment for having wronged him so, she relaxes a little, sinking down a bit more on her back as she remains silent.
The sharp stiletto is flung into the ground at her side where it sinks in a few inches, standing upright like a rose. With a weak glance to the side, her eyes focus on the symbolic weapon, hand reaching over slowly to wrap her fingers around the blade carefully. It's a beautiful piece of art. Even in light of the way it was received she'll treasure it all the same.
Of course there'll be no treasuring anything if she doesn't get up. Her wounds are not trivial, and she doesn't want to test whether or not anyone else will be coming after her here. Rolling onto her side, she finally pushes the staff upright and uses it as support as she gets up. Ayame's hand slips back down to retrieve the rosette. Lacking a sheath for it, she stucks it into her belt... And with that, using the titanium pole as support, the girl finally starts to shuffle her way out of the clearing.
Vince LaRose, she muses. She would very much like to test herself against him again. Perhaps she should look into just who he is... A disguise would be necessary next time, of course. Shaking her head slowly, she glances down at the rose shaped blade in her belt.
Rose Dansant, hm. It's a fancy name for a fancy style. Fitting. She kind of likes it. Bleeding, cut, her shirt sporting a number of undesierable holes, Ayame slips out of the clearing, off to nurse her wounded body and pride.
Log created on 13:15:36 11/03/2007 by Ayame, and last modified on 22:09:02 11/03/2007.