Spring 76 124
Sjal shielded her eyes from the sun as she walked. She hated being outside when it was bright outside and still hadn't quite figured out how to counteract it. Sometimes she wore a hat, or a cloak, but that was easier to do in the winter. Eventually she would have to figure out something or accept that she would only be going outside at night.
Sjal approached the inn that she was pretty sure Geren was staying at. She nodded to the innkeeper as she passed by, asking "what room is Geren in?" casually. She absent mindedly flexed her hands, excited to see her friend.
"You a visitor?" the man questioned nonchalantly.
"'Suppose I am," she said with an inclination of her head.
"Right down the hall, third door on the right," he said with a forced smile.
"Thanks," she said, wondering if the man thought she looked weird. She was hard to miss nowadays. She'd grown a little more bold since she learned of her heritage.
She'd knock on his door a few minutes later, saying "Hi, it's Sjal. You in there? I thought we could go have a little fun training."
She wondered if he would question why she wasn't with her father like she told him she would. It was a topic she didn't feel like talking about, to be honest. She intended to talk to him about her travel plans as well. While she did want to train, this visit was mostly to inform him that she would be becoming a sword for hire sooner rather than later. They seemed to have a mutual interest in each other so it only made sense that they stick together, if Geren was still on the fence about settling down in the area.
"Well, I wanted to talk and train. I'm planning on making a trip and just wanted to let you know so you didn't wonder where I was." She spoke as she stepped inside.
She eyed the area through the window and nodded. It would do – it wasn't as if she was planning on a long session. "I think there's a place nearby. It's a nice convenient little spot." She sighed, then continued, "I'm not doing so well, mentally at least. The past few seasons have really done a number on me, as you can see."
"I think it's best if I get out of town for a while and collect my thoughts. I've also learned some new stuff I could teach you, if we have time. Anyways, let's head out?" She'd make her way to the training area and talk along the way.
"So, you want to spar? How good are you with a sword? Or perhaps it was wrong of me to assume your weapon of choice… I like swords, you see. I've been practicing a bit with a scythe and I'd really love to get better at hand to hand as well. I feel like I'm finally strong enough to be a force to be reckoned with. I might not be as strong as you, but even if I'm not, a sword swung at my full strength is going to be pretty deadly no matter what protections are in place."
Was she being too cocky? She couldn't tell. She felt like a different person nowadays - Confident, proud, and determined. It helped that she didn't interact with other people as good as her much so there wasn't anyone in her day to day life that could hope to beat her in terms of raw acrobatic combat skill.
"Fist fight it is," Sjal said with a small chuckle after discussing plans with him. While Geren started flexing and getting ready, she decided to prepare herself as well. The problem, as she quickly noticed, was that moving her arms felt difficult in a fisticuffs stance. It was an odd sensation to not have a sword in her hand when fighting.
"Alright, I'll start then," she said as she locked gazes with him.
Still, she held up her hands in what she thought was a defensive stance. Her fists clenched under her chin as she looked Geren over. When he looked ready, she would shuffle her feet towards him. She would start with a few simple jabs with her left fist, finding the weight of her hand hard to stop as quickly as she wanted it to. The attacks were aimed for his chest and were sluggish at best.
She had no intention of stopping after just a few jabs. If not stopped somehow, Sjal would keep jabbing over and over, trying to get the feel of what it was like to operate without her swords. If, for some reason, Geren was set on defending, she would step forward to try grappling the man by wrapping her arms around him. It was a stupid move and she knew it, but she really didn't want to give him the opportunity to hit her back if she could help it. His muscles were quite large and even without trying she was sure they would hurt like hell. Then again, perhaps he was just as clueless as her.
She was pleased to see that even her sluggish punches seemed to be keeping Geren at bay. Realizing that her fists were indeed effective weapons was a benefit for sure. She kept at it, feeling sweat bead on her forehead even though they'd only just started. Her biceps strained from the effort of keeping her arms lifted and she felt her hands dropping more and more after each punch.
Things went south when she'd tried to grapple Geren. She quickly realized that having a smaller frame made it incredibly difficult to force him to the ground. She pushed with all her might to throw him backwards, so that she could land on top of him, but Geren would have little effort in directing their combined movements.
"You're so freaking big," Sjal grunted as her hair fell in front of her eyes, making it difficult to see. She tried one last time to lift the man off the ground and toss him aside. She felt her back and arms strain under the tension as she tried desperately to hold him still for but a moment… but her legs simply could not generate enough thrust to actually pick him up.
The next thing she knew, it was her who's feet left the ground. She resisted the urge to scream, instead thinking about how she was going to land. It was sure to be painful so she loosened her body and let the wind get knocked out of her when she did thud onto the ground. She tried to force air back into her lungs but it took a moment. A moment during which Geren easily took control of her arms and held her steady.
"Let me go," she managed to say when she got a breath in her. She flailed her legs, kicking at him as best she could in order to try forcing herself out of this bind she'd found herself in. She found some leverage, and tried to push the man away from her while simultaneously yanking her arm away.
Despite Sjal's best efforts, she simply could not best Geren. She didn't think he was any more skilled than herself, but the differences in their size was far too great. She felt like a feeble plant trying to wrestle against a mighty wind.
"No way, I can get out of this," she gasped as she somehow found even more energy to expend. She flopped around much like a fish out of water before finally admitting that she'd been defeated. For a moment she just laid there in defeat, considering all the ways that she might be able to trick him into letting her go without officially giving up. That felt like a dirty way to win though, so she eventually let out a sigh and said, "Alright, I give up."
She let out a sigh of relief when her arms were let go. She could see the spots where she'd been held and hoped that she wouldn't bruise. She doubted she would, but she'd never been held that tightly during a fight before and certainly not by someone so strong.
Feeling bitter and defeated, Sjal stepped off to the side to drink some water. She knew she had no right to feel this way and did her best to suppress her negative emotions. It wouldn't be fair if she ruined a friendship over something so silly as a spar. It took a few minutes but she forced herself to be calm enough to hide her true feelings.
When she was done drinking, she would walk back over to Geren and say, "you're stronger than I thought. Next round though, I want to use swords." She eyed the practice swords off to the side and wondered if he would take her up on her offer. She had a gut feeling that her victory was all but assured.
