[IC] Ashes [EliteCommander and Vesuvius00]

[EliteCommander]

Tarentek removed one of his earplugs after Onyx finished shooting to hear her more clearly. "I think your accuracy is exactly where I'd expect it to be. You're just starting out, so you're not going to be great at first. Make sure when you're aiming that your sights are completely aligned, else your aim will be thrown off. Otherwise, you seem to be following proper form, though I can't tell on your breath control. In any case, there is only so much that explanations can do. Beyond that, only practice and experience can really help you improve. I'd keep trying as often as you're allowed. I know bullets can be hard to come by, but 9mm is a common ammo type, at least. I know I'm kind of low for my rifle. I have a magazine and a half left, and 7.62x51mm will be harder for to come by."

Replacing his earplug back into his ear, Tarentek motioned to the target. "Anyway, why don't you try again? Try to keep a count of how many rounds you have left. That pistol will hold fifteen rounds. Sixteen, if you already have one in the chamber when you reload. After you run out that magazine, if you still want to continue, we'll see if you can reload it."

[Vesuvius00]

"I Think I'd rather just stop after its empty this time." Onyx said as she tried to recall how many shots she had fired already. I think there are only 5 left... She turned back to the target and turned the safety off again. Focusing on lining up the sights and controlling her breathing she fired the last few shots.

Miss... Miss... Hit, near where the first one was... Another hit... I missed again... She counted five, but wanted to make sure she was right so she aimed again and fired, and nothing happened. She turned the safety on, just in case, and pulled the cloth off of her head. "What do you want to do now? If you still want to, I'll spar with you, or you can practice with your relic and I'll go do knife training."

[EliteCommander]

"You had a few hits, at least. I think you'll do well with more practice. Though, at the very least, your threats with that thing will have a lot more bite in the future. Just remember to pick up some ammo for it before you go out next time." Tarentek suggested. Pausing a moment, he removed his earplugs and put them away before continuing.

"It has been a while since I've had target practice, but unfortunately I don't have the ammo to spare. However, I...think I might be able to handle a good sparring match. I'm still not fully recovered, but I'm doing better than before, and I'd like the exercise. As long as it isn't too intense, I should be fine. I'll admit, I've never sparred against someone who could fly before, so that should be interesting. You ever gone hand-to-hand with someone like me before?" He asked curiously.

[Vesuvius00]

"No I've never fought with any of your race before, not any that I can remember at least. I have fought reptiles before, but none very similar to you." Onyx pointed to a large sandy area a little ways away from the shooting area. "That's where we hold sparring matches and duels. I was thinking earlier that if we spar I would try not to fly, if you thought it would be more fair that way. Our fighting style uses flight and speed to overtake an enemy quickly, but there's a sub-style for when we can't fly that I need to practice more."

[EliteCommander]

"That...might be a good idea, actually. I am feeling better than before, but I definitely won't be fighting at my best. It might even things out for you not to fly." Tarentek answered as the pair started to walk towards the sparring area. "We tend to be physically stronger than a lot of the races we come across, so we use that to our advantage. I don't think I can even pretend to be as agile as you, though. Personally, I'm a marksman by trade, but all soldiers, especially scouts, receive their hand-to-hand training. We have to be trained to be able to survive in harsh conditions, and without normal equipment."

Once they reached the sparring area, Tarentek glanced around the open area. "Is there anywhere I can put my robe?" He asked, completely casually.

[Vesuvius00]

"What?! Wh-!" Onyx was surprised at how casually Tarentek was acting, she narrowed her eyes at him and lowered her voice. "That is not a funny joke. Why would you say something like that?! Do you have any idea how uncomfortable it makes me already that you don't wear anything when you sleep?" Onyx took a few steps away from him and crossed her arms, waiting for his explanation.

[EliteCommander]

Tarentek cocked his head to the side, looking at Onyx with genuine confusion. "What are you talking about? I don't under-ohhh, I think I get it. I think I remember hearing similar things from some visitors to Amman. From what I remember, mammals like you have you...reproductive parts on the outside of your bodies, so you always make sure to cover them with clothes. The same isn't true for us. I don't know if you saw before, but all of those parts are completely inside my body, so we don't really have a reason to cover them. Our scales do that for us. Visitors sometimes found it odd, but once they learned that, it usually wasn't an issue. Our clothing is entirely practical in purpose. For instance, my robe is meant to protect me from sand and wind. It's just...not that great to fight in, given how bulky and loose it is. Our combat armor is usually thick leather and layered cloth, which conforms much more closely to our bodies. I would have been wearing it in Amman, but the attack came by surprise." He explained. It was becoming difficult to keep track of how many differences there were between his people and the Elissics.

[Vesuvius00]

"No, I've never noticed. When I noticed you weren't wearing anything I automatically looked away, except for the time you showed me your scars, but then I was too distracted by them to notice anything like that." Onyx was still standing with her arms crossed, but with what Tarentek said she was starting to be able to calm down. "I suppose, if you'd rather fight without it on, you could put it on one of the dummies over there." She motioned to a group of wooden training dummies not too far from the sparring grounds.

[EliteCommander]

Tarentek gave a nod to Onyx. "Okay, one moment." He said as he walked over to the nearby training dummy. He propped his rifle up against the dummy, then removed his robe and draped it over the top of it. He then untied his machete's sheath from around his waist and set it down at the base of the dummy.

As he walked back to Onyx, it was immediately noticeable that he was in much better health than before. He actually looked to be well fed, and his scars were much fainter than before. The major ones were still prominent, but others had faded as as the scales regrew over them, and most of the ones that had been light to begin with were gone entirely. It was a testament to the Karisskan's strong regenerative capabilities, as many other races would have had those marks for life. His strength had not returned entirely, but he looked good enough to fight. Tarentek was not the strongest among his people, but just looking at him, it was easy to tell he was a trained fighter.

"Alright, is there anything I should know beforehand? Obviously we don't want to seriously injure each other, but are there any other specific rules that sparring matches follow among your people?" He asked.

[Vesuvius00]

"Not really. There are rules about duels, but not for spars. For example, if this were a duel, we would have to be supervised by a sentry because I am not of age yet, and there would be formalities such as greeting bows and explanations of why the two people are having a duel in the first place. Duels are not training though, they are meant to be a way for two people to solve a problem between themselves, while spars are simple training." Onyx realized she may be over explaining so she kept the rest short.

"The only 'rule' for sparring is that you are not allowed to seriously harm the others involved on purpose. Most spars start informally in a pre-set situation, as if one person is already in a corner, so to say." Onyx thought for a moment to try and remember if there was anything else important to say. "Oh! I almost forgot, if you are stuck in a situation where you are unable to speak, we recognize three taps anywhere on the other's body as surrender and you'll be released immediately."

[EliteCommander]

"Okay, so not much different from what I'm used to, then." Tarentek responded, moving himself to a spot the right distance from Onyx to start the fight. "There usually aren't any special rules in our matches either, and we often set up signals as well. I will say, there is a good chance of me surrendering during this. I want to have the exercise, but I need to be careful not to put my body through too much, else my recovery might be slowed. Well, anyway, I guess we should begin."

Tarentek took on a combat stance and brought his hands up into a guard. He already knew what his likely advantages and disadvantages would be, but he still ended up sizing her up out of habit. He watched her stance and movements to try and get a sense of how she might fight. He expected her to be more agile than himself, while he had strength and reach. He supposed this meant she would probably stick to fast, well-aimed strikes to his weak points. If he could get her into a grapple, he would be able to gain the upper hand by leveraging his strength against her, so she would likely be getting in and out quickly with strikes that would wear him down, something he would have to put a stop to quickly. With her speed, it would not do any good to rush her, so Tarentek stood his ground in a defensive stance, waiting for her to make the first move.

[Vesuvius00]

He's waiting for me to strike first, smart. Onyx thought to herself as she thought how she should start. He was definitely less agile than her, so she had an advantage there. If she could tire him out with quick jabs she'd have less of a chance of getting caught in a grapple with him. She knew her strength and wasn't too worried if it came to a grapple, even if he is stronger than her she'd be able to slip out, he'd probably be surprised if she used her claws against him, so she wouldn't have to hurt him to get away either.

With her plan in mind she moved. She rushed behind him and got a few jabs at his ribs and sides before she backed away again and began circling, repeating her rushing attacks every so often, aiming for pressure points.

[EliteCommander]

Tarentek's assessment of Onyx seemed to be accurate, as her attacks were following the strategy he predicted. Unfortunately, it was also a difficult strategy for him to fight. She could use her agility to dart around him, getting in quick blows and backing off. His ribs and a few other points were already starting to ache, and the strikes he had managed to deliver in return were not direct enough to do much harm. Something needed to change if he was going to recover; he needed an opportunity.

Onyx had managed to get off quite a few successful jabs, but eventually, Tarentek was able to accurately predict one of her attacks. As she dashed behind him and went for another strike, he spun around and slapped her with is tail in the process. Not wanting to let go of a potential way of gaining the upper hand, Tarentek took the chance to retaliate and attempt to grab her. He would prefer to control her arms, but he would grab anything he could get a hold of as long as it could bring them into a grapple. He had his training in some grappling techniques to use to his advantage, he just hoped the strike from his tail threw her off-balance enough that he could get a hold on her.

[Vesuvius00]

Onyx could tell her plan was working, he wasn't able to hit her very hard whenever he managed to hit her, and she was beginning to think she should go a little easier on him when she dashed in again, and he managed to hit her with his tail. She felt herself lose her footing and begin to fall, and she tried to change her momentum in a way that would make it so she would roll away and recover instead. Before she was able to though, Tarentek managed to grab one of her arms.

Now Onyx was kneeling on the ground, mid-roll, but stopped by Tarentek's hold on her arm. She moved quickly, before he could get her other arm, standing and turning at the same time in an attempt to twist his arm and get out of the grip, while with her other arm she started jabbing the pressure pints in his shoulder, or trying to anyway.

[EliteCommander]

Tarentek's effort had some success, but the situation was not ideal. Thanks to his training, he was able to move with her to keep his arm from being twisted excessively as she brought herself to her feet, but there was still the matter of her free hand. As she started to jab at his shoulder, he tried to use his own free hand to grab hers, but her strikes were fast, and he couldn't get a secure grip. With each jab, Tarentek felt his grip on her arm weaken, so he had to make a decision.

Instead of trying to grab Onyx's free arm, Tarentek tightly grasped the arm he had already grabbed with both hands. This secured his hold on Onyx, but left him open to strikes from her other hand. To combat this, Tarentek decided to try and use his size to his advantage. He quickly moved one of his sizable feet behind hers, then pushed against her with his shoulder in an attempt to trip her up and force her to the ground. His hope was that she would be too focused on her footwork to be able to do much damage with her free hand, but if not, he had to hope he could endure the pain of her retaliation long enough to secure his advantage.

[Vesuvius00]

Onyx wasn't able to get her arm from his grip. She had felt him loosening but he used his other arm to keep his grip and then started trying to trip her. Onyx decided to change tactics as she had to focus more on not tripping. She stepped as close to him as she could, racking her claws up his wrist as she did and turning so that her back was to him and both his arms were in front of her. she grabbed both his arms with both of her own, digging her claws into his wrists but not drawing blood, and slammed her back into him, hoping to knock him over and finally get out of his grip.

[EliteCommander]

Onyx did focus herself on keeping upright, but that only briefly delayed her retaliation. She managed to turn and put her back to him, then grab his arms. If one of his arms was still free, he could have used the position to get a tight hold around her, but as it stood, she had his arms and was clawing at his wrists. Certainly, it did hurt, but Tarentek's scales were thick, perhaps more-so than Onyx expected. Against a forceful stab or slash from a knife or other blade, his scales could not hold up, but his natural armor was reasonably effective in hand-to-hand combat. When she slammed into him to knock him down, he did indeed start to fall, but he had managed to keep his grip on her arm, so he was pulling her down with him.

Tarentek prepared for the impact. If Onyx was thrown off enough by the fall, then he had a good chance of getting his arms around her and forcing her into a situation where he had much more control. Grappling on the ground was where his strength would really shine. If she came up with something creative, however, he could lose control, and likely wouldn't gain it back. He did not currently have the endurance to sustain an extended fight.

[Vesuvius00]

As Onyx had hoped, Tarentek fell, but as she had not hoped, his grip did not falter and he puled her down with him. She landed on her side, and surprised by the fall she had accidentally let go of his arm that wasn't still occupied with keeping hold of hers. She used her free arm to start trying to get into a crouching position, she had to get off the ground, she couldn't let him pin her.

She thought, only for a second, about flying. If she could get into a crouching position she could use her wings to help her get back to her feet, and possibly drag her arm out of his grip. She was crouching now, still deciding on if she should try her trick, as she had told Tarentek that she would try not to fly. She made up her mind to do it, but by that point she may have hesitated too long.

[EliteCommander]

Tarentek had almost had the breath knocked out of him when he hit the ground, but he had expected it, and pushed through to hasten his response. Onyx had released her grip on his arm, but he still had a hold of hers. As he rolled onto his side and started to get up, he saw that she was in a crouching position, paused for a brief moment. In an instant reaction, he seized the opportunity, pouncing on her in order to hold her down with his weight. He kept a hold of the one arm while quickly grabbing the other near the elbow. Finally, he tried to reposition himself so he could hold her torso down with his knee. It was possible this would force her to give, though she could always have more tricks.

[Vesuvius00]

Onyx had almost acted in time. As she was about to take off though, Tarentek pounced on her, getting hold of her other arm and pinning her to the ground with his knee. She felt a quick shot of pain through her back as she landed on her half-opened wings. She closed her eyes for a second and couldn't think of any way she could get unpinned that wouldn't possibly hurt her or Tarentek too much. She tried shifting her weight, but Tarentek's hold kept her still and the effort sent another quick pain through her wings and causing her to wince. "Ow, ok you win. Get off please."