Running jumping and climbing trees

[shewhocompels]

Who: Teyud za-Zhalt, Edward Finklestein, Susan DeRay, and possibly YOU the reader.
Where: Around Caissa mostly
What: Teyud ranks up to Knight, and enjoys not being flipping exhausted all the time
Warnings: Comic mischief


[Room Q101]

For months, Teyud had felt tired all the time. The crushing weight of this world had been slowly wearing her down. Her body had put on an awful lot of muscle in response, but the long and short of it was that Martians were not built to thrive in this much gravity. It wore at the soul.

Then one morning she woke up and did not feel like she had two twin sisters lying on top of her while she lay in bed, slowly crushing her into the mattress. She felt...normal. For the first time since she had appeared in this world. For a confused moment, she thought she was back on Mars.

No this was definitely still Enprise. Feeling properly light on her for the first time in far too long, Teyud got up and stretched, only then noticing the letter that was waiting for her. It was filled with flowery language, but seemed to basically boil down to "Congratulations, you are now a knight!"

Very interesting.

[For Ed!]

Since they were both knights now, Teyud has decided it was time to whip this kid into proper shape before he got himself killed. Again. With that goal in mind, she had dragged him away from whatever stupid thing he had been working on to a practice yard somewhere. There's probably one by the Hall of Heroes or something, I don't remember.

Face still showing the faint smile she had had all day from behind her fencing mask, Teyud stood across from Ed with a practice sword in hand.

"We have both gained an impressive new weapon recently. It is beneficial to our chances of survival that we learn how to use it immediately."

[For Susan!]

The time: way too damn early. Normally, Teyud kept more or less to herself until she had gotten some caffeine in her system, and gave monosyllabic responses to anything anyone said to her. Today, she was filled with more energy than normal, and so on seeing her friend Susan also sitting down for breakfast, Teyud joined her. Perhaps she would be amused at hearing of Teyud's rather fruitless attempts to get Ed to be honest with himself.

"Amiable morning's greetings to you, Susan."

[For Anyone!]

Teyud felt like her body was light as helium. She took full advantage of her new found superhuman strength to take great bounding leaps across the landscape, sometimes even hopping up to the rooftops of buildings that weren't particularly tall. This must be what the vas-Terranan felt like on her world! She was unstoppable!

Or so she felt. A slight miscalculation on a jump led her clipping one foot against an ornamental fountain. Her balance upset, Teyud spun her arms around trying to turn herself back upright as she tumbled through the air. She landed face first in the grass in an undignified sprawl.

She seemed unhurt, at least, if the way she rolled over while laughing at herself was any indication. It would be a surreal moment for anyone who already knew her. They would have trouble thinking of any time they had heard the normally reserved Martian laugh out loud

Comments

[fuhrinkaed]

He's noticing the speed difference--he's faster now, as well. Even faster than a Pawn, which is already faster than his usual, unaugmented speed back home.

Still, her reach is longer, her guard is up, and if he can't close in... His foot nudges the wall. Nowhere left to run. He tries not to give away his intentions--but there's something a little bit suddenly off in his smile that may betray that he's planning something. Now or never, Ed.

Cornered, he ducks down and his right hand falls to his scimitar, gripping its handle. He figures she might have planned for that... He doesn't swing it--if she's planned for it, she's probably expecting that. Plus, he's not supposed to.

He presses his mana into the sword and it rockets forward into him. The flat of the blade smacks into his back as he's pushed directly at her while remaining low to the ground. His left hand makes a wild swing as he closes on Teyud, all he has time to do before rolling along the ground as the scimitar goes bouncing across the ground a bit beyond him. Definitely used too much energy there.

[shewhocompels]

The maneuver was just so completely off the wall it did indeed take Teyud by surprise. Striking yourself with your own weapon to grant lift? You'd be flunked out of fencing school!

But she was still fast to react. She twisted mostly out of the way, but still took a touch to the torso. Had they been using actual swords it would have been a wound, but not an incapacitating one.

By Martian fencing rules, they meant she was still in the fight. She took advantage of her long reach and tapped her sword against his chest, signaling that she had "killed" him before he had a chance to reclaim his weapon.

[fuhrinkaed]

He laughs, sitting up and reaching for his practice sword (Which he dropped at some point during the roll--it's all a jumbled mess in his mind).

"Ahh... you got me, then. That's our Teyud." His free hand reaches for his back, rubbing it. "G-good job."

[shewhocompels]

"You wounded me before I killed you. It was an inventive maneuver, but if it doesn't work it leaves you disarmed and easy prey."

Constructive criticism for Ed. Teyud does not leave a lot of room for friendliness when it comes to combat drills.

[fuhrinkaed]

"Yeah..." He puts a hand to his chin, thinking it over.

"You've got me beat in reach, experience, and probably natural strength. It was pretty obvious within a few seconds that I didn't have any conventional moves that would let me close the gap or have a chance of victory. So, I left it to a gamble." He taps his chin for a moment. "I should work on that for next time."

[shewhocompels]

Finally a modicum of the levity that being able to move properly has filled her with cracks through again. "I admittedly have an unfair advantage in a straight sword fight. True combat is rarely fair, though, and so training should not always be either."

She helped him up. "Again. I shall make a deadly coercive of you yet."

[fuhrinkaed]

"Of course. ...without the magic this time." She'd be expecting it now--surprise attacks only work once.

He's still totally pumped even despite his tumble and the ache his stupid move had left him in his back. That's just how Ed approaches practice.

"I'll figure something else out, until it works. I promise."

[shewhocompels]

Insert one brutal beatdown montage of Ed losing here.

[fuhrinkaed]

Something which is likely very cathartic for Teyud.

He's actually a much more respectful learner than you'd think from his demeanor, listening to feedback, trying to think things through on his own, and oftentimes outright asking questions when he's confused.

--Before getting his ass roundly handed to him again in the next round, of course.

[shewhocompels]

He is admittedly a good student. Impulsive and reckless, yes, but on the other hand he also is clearly making a wholehearted effort to learn and improve.

Eventually, even her knight-powered body started to feel some fatigue. She figured it was worse for Ed, who was spending a fair amount of the time on the ground.

"I think that shall suffice for the moment. Your performance was deplorable, but with a realistic chance for improvement."

[fuhrinkaed]

He breaths in deeply, letting himself just flop back on the floor now as he catches his breath.

"Th-that sounds about right. I'm not really a very skilled physical fighter yet."

He pauses, then adds: "I won't die again."

[shewhocompels]

"Most people only get to die once. You should feel honored for the opportunity."

Sass.

[fuhrinkaed]

He laughs.

"Still... this makes, like, two times? That's about two more than I want to deal with. Even if I live through it or if it was a simulation that did it, it hurts like heck when you wake up--y'know?"

[shewhocompels]

"I cannot say that I do, having never experienced personal extinction myself."

With a mildly grim and determined look she went on to say "Nor do I intend to any time in the near future."

[fuhrinkaed]

"Right..." He looks down at the ground, and tilts his head from one side to the other--mulling something over.

"If it comes down to it, and I'm there, I'd definitely help you out in a second."

[shewhocompels]

"I appreciate the gesture, but I also calculate a high likelihood that you will be in mortal danger far sooner than myself."

[fuhrinkaed]

"Nah, I already had mine. It's definitely your turn to be in mortal danger next time."

--He's joking, of course, but the way that he says it sounds pretty close to his usual brand of optimism and fluff.

[shewhocompels]

"Would you care to wager, say, twenty five colle on it?"

She was not above a little bit of gambling.

[fuhrinkaed]

"I'm down for that!"

Or so he says immediately and without bothering to think about it.

"It'll be the easiest money I ever made."

[shewhocompels]

"Then it is agreed. When next either of us requires a rescue from death, they shall claim defeat and make a payment of twenty five colle."

[fuhrinkaed]

"Alright then." This little smirk Ed has is one of confidence. He's got a plan of some kind.

"No hard feelings either way. I'm a little better at this stuff than at Atanj, you know."

[shewhocompels]

"I certainly hope you are."

His Atanj game was improving but was still, frankly speaking, terrible.