awashlogs | [ Closed ] May Catch-all!

[ He has no illusions about being able to make the Philosopher’s Stone. Indeed, he’d dismissed the quest as nonsense. #FFFFFF can find Paracelsus or whoever if they want the stone so badly, but Tristan for his part has no talent for magecraft.

Indeed, the only thing he knows he’s really good for is the town’s defense—a task which he takes quite seriously, and one which has brought him to Fran’s path. The forest, he feels, is edging a little too close to that lovely patch of flowers she’s currently enjoying, but he decides on a more oblique approach to warning her about it: ]

What a lovely sight it is indeed, to see a lovely young maiden among the spring flowers. How are you today, Berserker?

“I am grateful that you would take the time to spar with me, my friend.”

It had been at his invitation, sure, but it had come at short notice. And now here they are, at some isolated open field where they can fight without any obstacles or passerby in the way. He doesn’t intend to go all out, but neither does he want to disturb anyone with the noise of battle when the town so desperately needs some peace right now.

Drawing his own sword—“You do not have any objections to using naked steel, I take it?” After all, this isn’t that one time anymore. They can just as easily go with practice swords if that’s what Tonbokiri wants.

“I find my swordplay a bit lacking as of late, and I can think of no better way to sharpen it than by testing it against your spear.”

He shakes his head, quietly saying once again, "Any time." Short notice doesn't matter; he is simply pleased to be useful to his friend.

He eyes Archer's sword appraiseingly as the man draws it. It seems to be a fine, if ordinary, blade. He hasn't seen it used since that one time... A time he is both embarrassed to remember, but thankful for.

"Naked steel is fine, but I must warn you, you may come away cut." He unsheathes his spear and naturally sets his stance. "I am pleased that one specializing in archery would also choose to refine their sword skills. To that end, I shall lend you my chest. So come!"

A curious expression, but not unfamiliar—he might have heard echoes of it in the hallways of the Chaldea observatory, in what feels like many months ago. Regardless, he smiles a grateful smile. Leave it to Tonbokiri to take everything seriously—including this. But how far will he go?

“It is a knight’s duty to excel at all manner of weaponry and—” He cocks his head to the side with a smile—“endure a few cuts, besides. So you need not hold back.”

Archer says it is his duty, but why now? Did something happen to suddenly give him reason for perusing the sword?
Either way, Tonbokiri has no time to mull that over now.

"Understood." He is indeed taking this seriously, but he still gives a small smile and nod to acknowledge the invitation to not hold back. Then his expression falls back into complete seriousness as he bends his knees slightly before he springs forward. He recalls Archer's dexterity and fearlessness in that first bout, so he shall attack straight-forwardly.

To start, a swipe at the man's torso to push him back, and follow up with a stab.

With that spear’s wide reach, he knows he’s already at a disadvantage in terms of range. But this is precisely the sort of thing he wants to correct in this bout. Tonbokiri might not fight similarly to a certain someone, but that brute strength…

He’s definitely avoiding that swipe, raising his sword as if for a parry instead. But this position reminds him a little too much of his earlier bout with Mordred, and he quickly springs back.

With a gasp, “Too close…!”

His eyebrows rising is the only outward indication of surprise that Tonbokiri gives to that abrupt change in Archer's stance. 'Too close?' He'll have to get closer if he wants to reach with his sword.

Pressing his advantage, Tonbokiri takes a wide stride forward and stabs towards Archer's torso again, aiming for that small opening in his armour.

This was never about just swordplay. If his life (and death) aren’t so damned complicated they would have been enjoying some tea or relaxing in the baths by now, but such are the whims of fate. As Tonbokiri advances, Tristan merely dodges where he can, and parries what he cannot. At this rate, keeping on the defensive isn’t getting him anywhere. And his hooded gaze—such as it is—continually glances at Tonbokiri’s legs, as if he might be expecting something to come of it.

By now though, Tristan’s seen enough of Tonbokiri’s fighting to know that the man favors his upper body strength above all else. Furthermore, he knows that Tonbokiri is an honorable man who will never fight dirty.

But then again, is it really Tonbokiri he’s fighting here? He’s distracted enough that Tonbokiri will likely find an opening in his defenses soon enough. After all, he did let himself get backed into a corner like this.

Please be careful with that…!

[ Look, he doesn’t mind cleaning up and helping to clean up in general, especially after the dragon thing, but it’s precisely because of what happened after the dragon thing that he’s much more wary of Xie Lian trying to…fix things.

And his room’s gathered quite the bit of dust—mostly because he doesn’t actually sleep or do much in it, save maybe to play something painfully melodramatic on his harp or stare at that snowglobe of his on the bedside table. Possibly both. But Xie Lian is veering a tad too close to the breakables and Tristan now regrets not putting that thing away. ]

At least the man does start parrying him, which while consistent with their previous bout, does not seem to fit the man's intentions in asking for this sparring today.

It doesn't take Tonbokiri long to notice that Archer is paying particular attention to his legs, and again he has a fleeting moment of wondering 'why'. This level of distraction is unbecoming of the knight.

... Perhaps he'll see if he can snap Archer's attention a bit.

Although his body is human, it is also supernatural. Therefore, he is capable of jumping higher than the height of an Ootachi and striking it from above.
Now, he leaps back as if taking a moment to gather himself for the next thrust of his spear, but instead jumps up. In an instant, Tonbokiri is bearing down on Archer from this unusual angle with not only his own weight and power behind his spear, but the boon of gravity as well.

He’s stunned for a moment when Tonbokiri seems to back away, perhaps frustrated with how he’d been behaving (he is, too), until—

“Tch.” He quickly leaps out of the way to avoid the thrust, though it finally gets him to move on the offensive and swing his sword around, aiming for the back of Tonbokiri’s neck. The intent ultimately isn’t to kill—he’ll stop short of actually touching a hair on the man—but at least he’s getting more serious now.

Don't you worry, I'm being as careful as I can! [says Xie Lian as he goes around the room with a wet cloth and a broom. This is Extreme Spring Cleaning! And he's not leaving until the entire room is sparkling clean.]

Honestly, I realize you may not need to sleep, but that's no reason to leave your room in such a state--have you dusted this place at all since you first moved in?

[Being stuck in a foreign land is not an excuse for uncleanliness! He ducks down to try to get under the bed, the handle of his broom getting dangerously close to knocking into that table as he sweeps out whatever debris he can find....]

Tonbokiri breathes out sharply- That's better.

It is a keen move, to turn about and aim for his neck. At last, Tonbokiri makes a defensive move himself, bringing up the back end of his spear to block the attack. It is a relatively simple matter to knock the sword away like this, but it will be very clear that his next move is to bring the spearhead back around so he can return to an attacking stance.

But if Archer takes the opportunity to press his attack, Tonbokiri is ready for him.

Well, I have, but—

[ He knows excuse aren’t going to cut it—Xie Lian seems absorbed in Extreme Cleaning Mode, and Tristan fears an even greater disaster should he attempt to quell this whirlwind now attempting to sweep up all the dust in his room.

And more importantly, he gently snatches that broom from Xie Lian’s grasp. He’s not gonna need it down there. ]

But…are you perhaps… [ how to put this delicately— ] making some attempt to distance yourself from…certain events? This feels rather sudden…

[ And it hasn’t been long since his wedding’s been called off—Tristan of all people knows that people can do some pretty crazy shit because of thwarted love. ]

Ah—as expected, Tonbokiri’s defenses are ironclad. But he hadn’t expected any differently. No matter how he sees it, Tonbokiri is an impenetrable wall that he might not be able to surmount by mortal means—less so, given his distracted state.

With a sigh, he pulls his sword away. “Forgive me, my friend. Grave matters have encumbered my strikes a great deal. As I am, I am truly no match for you.”

[He doesn't argue the theft of his broom, wiping a bit with the increasingly dirty cloth in his hands instead.]

Certain events? What events are you--

[That broken-off sentence is immediately followed by him smacking his head extra hard against the bed because he just realized what he was talking about--

Which causes him to twist around a bit, his leg catching against the leg of that unlucky bedside table--

Aaaand something appears to be falling. Guess what it is!]

His lips turn up in a light, understanding smile as he relaxes his stance.

"No, you are not." Perhaps, some day, they can have a bout that lasts a bit longer and neither of them are encumbered. But still, "There is nothing to forgive. Sometimes one can sort their thoughts better while fighting, yet sometimes words are needed. So won't you now try another way to express what has your mind bound? For instance, by speaking about why you chose to pick up the sword now, and why were you doing such peculiar things during the bout?"

[This one, again? She lifts her head before he speaks, acutely listening for him to come any closer.

She knows well enough about the threat of the forest, but at least for once she isn't trying to chase the menacing presence that lurks inside it.]

Uuh. [She's doing fine, really.

Then she bends her head down again, hunched over a flower that's just about been accidentally uprooted from the earth and carefully attempting to pack it back in again.

I meant the—

[ Crap—he’d thought he was safe when he’d taken the broom out, once again forgetting that Xie Lian is a lot stronger than he looks. He realizes too late that the table’s been knocked over, and his hand flies out…his fingers just barely brushing the surface of the unfortunate snowglobe before… ]

[ …it crashes to the ground, shattering into pieces like his heart just did. Whoops. ]

He sheathes away his sword with a wry smile. It’s wonderful that Tonbokiri understands—though he’d expect no less from a man he’d worked so well with in combat. But indeed, now that there’s a snarl in their synergy, it would be best for both their sakes to untangle it.

“Of course…an honorable man like you would not have realized it straightaway.” He sighs, dropping that smile as he wonders if asking for this spar had been a good idea after all.

“But someone from my past has arrived in this world, and I am having difficulty…coping.”

[ He’ll maintain a polite distance and refrain from trampling the flowers, if nothing else. It would be very sad if he accidentally ruined them… ]

Oh? Has anything emerged from the forest as of late?

[ He frowns with concern, not at all missing what she’s trying to do. ]

If something is disturbing the flowers…

Tonbokiri worries at the implication that he would have to be a less honourable man to understand what is happening with Archer...

When he looks up from re-sheathing his spear, he tilts his head attentively.

"Your past...? The past can be heavy with things that one would rather not confront again." He pauses for a moment, thoughtful. "You need not be alone as you find a way to deal with this person. Although this spar did not help, perhaps there something else I can do for you."

There are many things worrying about this situation in general.

“I would rather you did not.” Even Tonbokiri’s no match for that kind of thing, he thinks.

“Not to put it too delicately, but the person in question is a woman. You should certainly try to keep from getting involved, for your sake.”

[ Closed ] May Catch-all!

Quest 58

Quest 56

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

Quest 59

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

1/2

no subject

no subject

no subject

1/2

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject