[META-BATT] Attention! (Sarcel & Nahori)

[Melancholies]

You'll be glorious yet

 

[Melancholies]

"Alright Caviap. First thing first; being able to assess a situation is imperative, but in a fight, you need to have a rhythm. You need to have a muscle memory. An instinct. We're going to start building that up." The military section had a variety of resources available to recruits. Within the halls Sarcel had discovered a small gym of sorts, and that's where she'd summoned Nahori the night after their conversation.

"I want you to come at me first. Properly countering your foes is important, but meaningless if you don't have any sort of rudimentary technique down for yourself. Whenever you're ready." Sarcel's body language was calm and poised. Ready.

saedusk

feel free to roll whenever!

 

[saedusk]

While Nahori may have appeared calm on the outside, an improvement considering the way she usually looked, she was actually quite nervous. The calm was like the sea before the storm, all an act. She'd been anticipating this meeting since early evening.

"Yes sir," she said, tugging at the perfectly fit sleeves of her uniform. Her weapon was set off to the side for now. "I, um, never really... learned the basics, so..." So there was a lot they needed to do before she'd be ready for her trip to space. Then again, what sort of fighting would she really need to do up there? None, right? Surely.

Stepping into a stance she thought was at least mostly right, Nahori threw a straight, predictable punch in Sarcel's direction.

--

HP: 20/20
Nahori deals 3 damage!

Melancholies

 

[Melancholies]

Quote:

Sarcel dealt 7 Damage!

Never learned the basics, huh. Well, that much was painfully obvious.

Nahori's punch was more than predictable. It caught flawlessly with Sarcel's open palm, her own hand much bigger and much stronger. "Your approach just cost you. You'd be dead in a real fight."

Her other fist, free, rolled into a powerful uppercut as she slammed it into Nahori's stomach.

"The threat we're going to face in space will be unlike anything you've likely dealt with. Come at me again."


Quote:
HP: 37/40
Adult: +1 to damage rolls
Invisibility (Novice Agi B): 1/1
Adept Artifact Defense Style A (Swhings): 4/4

saedusk

 

[saedusk]

Nahori would never say it out loud, but she hadn't walked into the session thinking it would be anything like a real fight. It scared her, absolutely, but she thought they'd take baby steps, she thought that knowing nothing wouldn't be a problem. Maybe it was naive to think—in the limited span of time before their trip—that such a thing would be okay.

Gasping for the air that left her body like a shot, Nahori doubled over at the waist and clenched her stomach. "S-Sor-" The apology caught in her throat. It was completely unsuited to this situation, but she didn't know what else to say. She lifted her arm, but couldn't manage a swing.

--

HP: 13/20
Nahori deals 0 damage!

Melancholies

 

[Melancholies]

Quote:

Sarcel dealt 0 Damage!

"Don't apologize. Find your breath." Sarcel still stood poised. "It hurts, doesn't it? Let it make you stronger. You can do this."


Quote:
HP: 37/40
Adult: +1 to damage rolls
Invisibility (Novice Agi B): 1/1
Adept Artifact Defense Style A (Swhings): 4/4

saedusk

 

[saedusk]

Of course it hurt, that much was obvious. Verbal berating had never made Nahori feel stronger, so it hardly made sense for physical punishment to shift her viewpoint, either. In the end, the most she'd ever done was make herself keep going. She hadn't given up living, hadn't stopped breathing. Maybe she was tough in that way, she'd just never taken the time to consider it.

Sniffing, she swiped at her eyes with her sleeve and coughed until she could breathe again. She could do this, because the only other option was laying down and admitting to herself and everyone that she couldn't be a soldier just like she'd couldn't be anything worthwhile. Even Nahori wasn't ready for that yet.

It was still messy, but she took another swing.

--

HP: 13/20
Nahori deals 5 damage!

Melancholies

 

[Melancholies]

Quote:

Sarcel dealt 0 Damage!

"Good!" She grunted as she caught the messy punch. This one had a little more effort behind it, a little more force, and it made Sarcel grin. "Remember every time someone looked down on you. Remember every time you doubted yourself. You have weaknesses Nahori, but you cannot let them define you."

"Don't give your opponent time to think. Keep going!"


Quote:
HP: 32/40
Adult: +1 to damage rolls
Invisibility (Novice Agi B): 1/1
Adept Artifact Defense Style A (Swhings): 4/4

saedusk

 

[saedusk]

Nahori's breath hiccuped as she took another swing.

How many times would that have been now? Ten, twenty? They numbered countless by the moments Nahori doubted herself alone. It felt like self-loathing and weakness did define her, but instead of trying to parse through her own thoughts, she forced herself to take Sarcel's words and put them at the forefront of her mind.

For now, in the heat of the moment, it would work.

--

HP: 13/20
Nahori deals 2 damage!

Melancholies

 

[Melancholies]

Quote:

Sarcel dealt 3 Damage!

Sarcel was basically letting the blows hit her at this point. They stung in dull, dull ways, but nothing like she'd been through, nothing that would ever debilitate her or put her down. Sarcel had been through a lot, and this was insignificant in terms of pain. Still, she watched the way Nahori struggled, knew what it was like, knew that this moment was far more defining for her, far more crucial.

"Don't you hate struggling?" It was a taunt, but a sympathetic one too.

Moving swiftly to the side, she tried to trip Nahori's feet out from under her.


Quote:
HP: 30/40
Adult: +1 to damage rolls
Invisibility (Novice Agi B): 1/1
Adept Artifact Defense Style A (Swhings): 4/4

saedusk

 

[saedusk]

The move caught her off guard, she'd been far too focused on the waist up. With a short gasp, she stumbled, very nearly keeping herself on her feet. In the end, she just couldn't manage it. Nahori went down, but the fall wasn't particularly bad. She caught herself with her arms, wincing at the faint jolt, but feeling it more in her chest than anywhere else.

"I hate it..." she admitted, fighting back to her feet.

--

HP: 10/20
Nahori deals 0 damage!

Melancholies

 

[Melancholies]

Quote:

Sarcel dealt 0 Damage!

"It's a terrible feeling, isn't it? Hurts more than that punch did earlier, right?" She watched Nahori like a hawk as she fumbled to her feet. "Nothing really stings the same."

She turned to the side, spat on the ground, cracked her knuckles. She waited.


Quote:
HP: 30/40
Adult: +1 to damage rolls
Invisibility (Novice Agi B): 1/1
Adept Artifact Defense Style A (Swhings): 4/4

saedusk

 

[saedusk]

"Yeah..." Funny how having someone hit the nail so bluntly on the head could feel like this. It was relieving to know Sarcel understood, in a way, but equally frustrating to be reminded of how her own shortcomings consistently hurt her.

The fact it was so obvious to everyone else was embarrassing, too.

"I wish it... it didn't." She swung again, but this time tried to be a little trickier about it. It threw her balance off a bit.

--

HP: 10/20
Nahori deals 1 damage!

Melancholiesss

 

[Melancholies]

Quote:

Sarcel dealt 3 Damage!

Sarcel didn't seem to say anything for a while, not as Nahori's sloppy punch found purchase in her body, not as she retaliated with a finessed blow in return. Instead her eyes glimmered. She wondered what Nahori was really thinking. She was trying to strip her down enough to see.

"It will never stop hurting." She told her, "That's why you have to take it and use it as a weapon. You need to take everything that hurts you and sharpen it into something stronger. You've come this far without laying down to die, right? Why do you continue going forward, even when you want to give up?"



Quote:
HP: 29/40
Adult: +1 to damage rolls
Invisibility (Novice Agi B): 1/1
Adept Artifact Defense Style A (Swhings): 4/4

saedusk

 

[saedusk]

"I just... want to do what I... what I can," she huffed, "I don't really know...

This time Nahori didn't crumple when Sarcel returned her messy attack with a stronger one. This time she went right into another swing, another experimental one. It was weak and awkward, it might not even make contact, but she was trying new things. Nahori was attempting to do what she'd always done without even realizing it—she was trying to adapt.

--

HP: 7/20
Nahori deals 0 damage!

Melancholies